pd279-Feb20-mag-web_Neat

preferred candidates
Top 5 jobs in demand (nationally) being headhunted
and approached with
1. Mining engineers (underground/surface) new opportunities on

2. Geotechnical engineers a daily basis.
“This also means
3. Drill and blast operators that their salaries are
going up because
4. Heavy diesel fitters companies are doing
5. Dump truck Operators their best to try and re-
tain those staff mem-
Source: Hays Jobs Report Jan-June 2020 bers,” she said. “Min-
ing producers know
they can’t achieve any
tralia on the back of increased exploration kind of production results without having
activity in the State. those key people on site, so I reckon they’d
Hays also commented that “the supply almost be the best paid in the industry at
of underground engineers has never been the moment.”
high, yet with many gold companies believ- Hays indicated demand for mining engi-
ing the future of their production is under- neers was also high in Queensland, South
ground, demand for these professionals Australia and New South Wales and the
continues to grow”. The firm also predicts resources industry had a challenge on its RC and diamond drillers are in high
the resurgence of nickel mines in WA will hands to reclaim workers who had moved demand in WA, according to Hays
only add to this demand. interstate and/or into the manufacturing
Vermey said the dearth of qualified min- sector during the downturn. tide has turned.
ing engineers was a growing concern for Turton suggested the downturn had left “We’ve definitely seen a large increase
the industry. the mining industry bereft of professional in demand for geos,” she said. “We went
“Without doubt, it’s the biggest skills and technical workers with the minimum through a period where we hadn’t recruited
shortage in the industry. I reckon we could amount of experience. one for a good four years, whereas now
place 20 mining engineers tomorrow, the “When the downturn hit, people that with investor confidence growing there’s
talent is so scarce,” she said. might have otherwise studied for a mining definitely production geology roles being
“Companies are really crying out for min- career changed tack and enrolled in differ- recruited.
ing engineers, especially underground, and ent subjects,” he said. “The mining indus- “I think it’s a really good positive sign for
senior managers that are able to optimise try basically advertised that it didn’t want the industry, there’s a lot less geos without
operations. They want those proven skills anyone knocking on our doors for graduate employment at the moment.”
and people with a really strong understand- work.” AMMA’s forecast indicated WA will have
ing how to operate underground projects MPI managing director Steve Heather the greatest new mining workforce demand
lean and mean more than ever. said the mining industry needed to promote over the next five years, with 30 projects
“People are a lot more open to visas and itself through all phases of the investment requiring 10,679 people by 2024. Iron ore
we’ve seen quite a few are getting fast- cycle to avoid future instances of the skills accounts for 29% of this expected growth,
tracked. We brought a few guys out from shortages being felt at present. while gold, lithium and copper are strongly
the Camborne School of Mines and their vi- “When things are not going as well, we represented.
sas were approved within the month, which can still be promoting the good that min- A surge in new coal Queensland projects
definitely wouldn’t have happened this time ing does for the world to at least maintain over the next five years will require 5,714
last year.” an interest in the wider public,” Heather new employees in that State.
Vermey added the turnover of mining told Paydirt. “This would at least keep a AMMA’s report did not include 153 Aus-
engineers was also “more than ever”, with pipeline of new graduates coming through. tralian-based projects listed by the Depart-
Then education insti- ment of Industry as “possible” for develop-
ment within the aforementioned timeframe.
Forecast jobs by 2024 tutions need to speed Vermey said Acacia, which celebrated
up education deliv-
ery. In an industry like its fifth anniversary last year, had recently
8,660 mining plant operators mining with volatile experienced a shift in focus towards white
2,847 heavy diesel fitters up-down cycles, five collar and executive appointments in Aus-
tralia and North America, whereas this time
years to get some
970 trades people qualified is too last year most of the attention was on filling
similar vacancies in Africa.
(electrical/mechanical/maintenance) long.” “Even expats are returning to Australia
The downturn which
4,110 white collar crippled a large chunk more than they ever have been,” she said.
“We used to predominantly recruit a lot of
(supervisors/management/admin) of the last decade saw Australians to work overseas, now we’re
the number of employ-
4,180 engineers, technicians, geologists ment opportunities for seeing expats wanting to come home and
work back in Australia or other less riskier
qualified geologists
Source: AMMA 2019-2024 Mining Workforce quickly dry up, but jurisdictions.”
Vermey senses the – Michael Washbourne





aUSTRaLIa’S PaYDIRT FeBRUaRY 2020 Page 51

SKILLS





Digital answer to indigenous



financial literacy




new financial literacy tool could assist
A mining companies in retaining and sup-
porting their indigenous employees.
Developed by the First Nations Foun-
dation, the My Money Dream financial lit-
eracy training programme is the first digital
programme of its kind. It has been devel-
oped by First Nations Foundations to help
Indigenous Australians learn more about
both the basics of financial literacy educa-
tion and about issues that are specific to
their culture and family relationships. It is
the first indigenous-designed solution of
this type in the world.
First Nations Foundation chief executive
Amanda Young explained to Paydirt the
idea of the digital programme came from
the Foundation’s experience of working
with mining companies.
“We found running financial literacy pro-
grammes face-to-face for 10 years that Amanda Young
our biggest customers were from mining
who are among the largest employers of are all done through a culture lens very dif- gramme was rolled out to government de-
indigenous people,” Young said. “How- ferent to what Aboriginal and Torres Strait partments in late 2019 – was that it could
ever, we had been getting feedback from Islander People understand. assist mining companies in attracting and
miners that there was a productivity chal- “It was only in the 70s that indigenous retaining staff.
lenge attached to pulling people off site to people were allowed to own anything and “By investing in the workforce, it can
take them through the face-to-face pro- carry cash. This is the first generation to increase productivity. Once people real-
gramme. They were interested to know handle cash, it’s just we’ve never been ex- ise they have financial control, it can be
if there was another way we could do it plained everything around it, the economy, liberating,” she said. “More widely, it can
which didn’t involve taking people away etc. also assist in CSR programmes which are
from their various workplaces, particularly “It is really effective because it explains helping start indigenous businesses, al-
as they are often quite remote.” a lot of things. Many times, indigenous lowing the business owners to understand
While at a course at prestigious US uni- people will see a single word they don’t un- how the economy works and about finan-
versity Stanford, Young began developing derstand and won’t go any further but with cial management.”
the digital solution which allows partici- this programme we go from the basics. We The programme is to be funded by em-
pants to take the programme while on site. are essentially in the process traversing ployers, financial service providers and
“We have been building it for a year and 60,000 years of cultural history.” government agencies. The employer pur-
will significantly reduce the time it takes The statistics lay bare the cultural imbal- chases a licence and offers the service
from the face-to-face workshops,” Young ance around financial literacy in Australia. to employees. The highest cost module is
said. “A company can park the employee Nine out of 10 Indigenous Australians hav- $85/head and the entire programme can
at a desk, we will give the workforce a code ing no financial security and one in two are be tailored and displayed within the com-
and they can start learning straight away. experiencing financial distress. However, pany’s brand requirements.
There is a dashboard so people can fol- 75% of indigenous workers have to carry Young believes it could play a vital role
low their progress and as licenses go for a their families financially. in enabling indigenous financial prosperity.
year, employees can switch on and switch “In Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander “This is our first step on a longer jour-
off, repeat or do it however they like.” Culture there is an obligation to share with ney,” she said. “It starts with acquiring
My Money Dream is the first digital finan- families, and not just the nuclear family but financial knowledge, the second step is
cial system built by indigenous people for sometimes up to the third cousin,” Young applying that and developing financial ca-
indigenous people, with the programme said. “It is a very different dynamic to west- pability and the third step we want to reach
specifically tailored to users’ cultural back- ern culture. Even in urban environments I is well-being, managing finances day-to-
ground. don’t know of an indigenous person who is day but also into the future which is what
“It is a crash course in all things finan- not helping family out.” Aboriginal cultures have always done with
cial, done in a way indigenous people will My Money Dream is designed with these the land.”
be comfortable with. Most financial literacy cultural nuances in mind. The programme For more information on My
programme are built around the same uses a mix of audio and visual aids, mixed Money Dream, visit the website
ideas; creating a budget, buying a car or a in with humour, to engage users. www.mymoneydream.com.au
house, taking out insurance, etc. but they Young said early indications – the pro- – Dominic Piper


Page 52 FeBRUaRY 2020 aUSTRaLIa’S PaYDIRT

Andrea Conte

United approach to fire



up STEMs





ccording to a report by the Foundation more partners to be involved in the initiative.
Afor Young Australians (2018), 75% of all An objective of the programme in year
future jobs will require science, technology one was to reach 3-6,000 students, con-
engineering and mathematics (STEM) skill- duct 200 classroom sessions across 25
sets. schools with 50% female participation. By
In a rapidly evolving world, some of the year three, the ante will be amplified with haven’t even created the jobs for them be-
jobs of the future are not yet even known key deliverables to be achieved including cause the industry is moving at such a rate.
but STEM unitED is intent on preparing kids outreach to 20,000 students, 800 sessions, The Fourth Industrial Revolution tells us we
for them regardless. 50-plus schools, ongoing 50% female par- are changing the blueprint and throwing
With financial and in-kind support from ticipation and involvement of four corporate away the manual of how jobs are going to
foundation partners RUC, WA Mining partners. be run and we have to knock out enough
Club and Platform Communications, lead- Such growth in STEM unitED will help students that are capable to fulfill jobs of the
ing STEM education provider Fire Tech secure government endorsements and future,” Conte said.
Australia launched the STEM unitED pro- participation and see the programme With STEM disciplines taken on more
gramme in schools in March 2019 with im- spread regionally and nationally. widely among students, industries such as
mediate impact. The mining industry could do with an in- mining will inevitably benefit from the great-
“The incredible work done by Barry Up- jection of people with the necessary STEM er pool of available talent.
ton and his leadership with RUC meant qualifications, and Conte was keen to However, with instant access to informa-
in the first three terms [2019] alone 4,200 bridge the gap for students between STEM
students and 32 schools joined the pro- and real-world applications through con-
gramme,” Fire Tech managing director An- nected learning.
drea Conte told Paydirt. “When we talk about connected learning,
“We already have 65 sessions booked it is in all aspects of life besides the role of
for 2020…that gives you the measure of engineering, technology and mathematics.
the programme and how well it has been We talk about connected learning in oil and
received.” gas, connected learning in heavy industry,
The purpose of the programme is to in- agriculture; all of these industries have ex-
troduce students to the wonders of robotics amples of applications of technologies and
and drone technologies, adhering to core mining is the leader in that conversation,”
principles of collaboration, problem solving, Conte said.
innovative thinking, outcome driven and “Mining isn’t all hard hats and hi-vis; there
leadership skills. are a plethora of roles and by fostering that
Through the STEM unitED programme, interest as science, technology, engineer- Core principles of collaboration, problem
students have the opportunity to build and ing and mathematics subjects you are ac- solving, innovative thinking, outcome driven
programme a robot and code a drone to tually preparing yourself to be the viable, and leadership skills are encouraged through
conduct a number of activities in one-hour adaptable-to-change, critical, innovative the STEM unitED programme
sessions. thinker that future work roles will require.”
Conte said that year nine students were tion and misinformation and younger gen-
the focus of STEM because it was at that erations increasingly attentive to responsi-
14-15 years old age bracket where “we may ble practices, the mining sector needs to
not know what we want to do, but we start continue to project positive messages.
forming ideas about what we don’t want to “The perception of being the best employ-
do”. ment place for social, economic, environ-
Statistics have indicated that only 30% mental reasons; I think that is where the pos-
of students are interested in studies in min- itive reinforcement needs to be,” Conte said.
ing or METS, a trend that can be reversed “In the field, the application of thinking
through encouraging a greater awareness and application of state of the art, leading
of what careers STEM qualifications can edge technology needs to be delivered so
lead to. a picture for people is painted that this is
Promoting tertiary subjects through a sector that you want to be in. You really
STEM unitED is targeted at year nine STEM unitED is one outcome, however, need to foster that. BHP Ltd and Rio Tinto
students in metropolitan Perth demonstrating the effectiveness of appren- Ltd are creating environments that are lead-
ticeships or graduate programmes is criti- ing edge. The ability to create more and
Year nine students in schools from low cally important. more opportunities for students and give
to medium socioeconomic areas in metro- “These skills are like your little Swiss them these opportunities early is what they
politan Perth are the target audience for the army knife of knowledge. You can mix and should set in their sights.”
STEM unitED programme. keep adapting because the roles of the – Mark Andrews
In addition to Fire Tech and the three future won’t all be what they are now. The
foundation partners, there is capacity for workforce that is coming through now, we


aUSTRaLIa’S PaYDIRT FeBRUaRY 2020 Page 53

SKILLS



Quail hatches



as WA Mining Club president


































Expect to see more panel discussions at this year’s WA Mining Club events

stablished in 1972 as a network- Quail, a mining lawyer of 25 years and “Overall, no, I don’t think mining has
Eing club for out of work geologists a long-time Club committee member, an image problem, but there are always
and mining types looking to help each has a deep understanding of the industry things that you can do better,” Canavan
other out, the WA Mining Club has since and the next generation that will ultimate- said last month when speaking to Pay-
evolved, but the essence of the organisa- ly drive operations forward in the future. dirt.
tion remains the same. “Having met and interviewed a lot of “It is a bit hard for me to summarise
“That’s what we’re still trying to do; kids applying for the Club’s scholarship views of all Australians, but overall Aus-
help each other out in the industry,” WA programme [worth $10,000] there were tralians understand the importance of
Mining Club president Damian Quail told many questioning why would they want the mining sector to our broader eco-
Paydirt. to join an industry that destroys the envi- nomic prosperity and understand the
Quail has taken the mantle of president ronment and kills wildlife,” Quail said. importance of the mining sector in cre-
from Kirsty Danby who took the club’s “There is a pretty mixed view in uni- ating jobs and opportunities, particularly
networking events to the “next level” and versities and schools on what mining is in country and regional areas but also
played an influential role in ensuring the about. Having worked as a mining lawyer in major cities like Perth. We saw that
Club became more inclusive, with female for 25 years I don’t see it as being bad. last year in the federal election with sig-
membership and participation boosted Sure, we dig holes and that will inevitably nificant support for those political par-
under Danby’s leadership. have some impact on the environment, ties who were supporting and advocat-
Maintaining Danby’s “slick” approach but what I see as a mining lawyer is a ing mining projects across Australia, so
to coordinating events on the back of lot of good environmental initiatives and I think that is fundamentally very strong
attracting the best-of-the-best mining I seem to spend more time dedicated and it is also brought out in some of the
talent to present and interact with the to preparing environmental reports and data that indicates support for the mining
broader mining community will remain a statements, flora, fauna and heritage sector is at record highs across the Aus-
focus for Quail and the Club’s leadership. studies than actual mining activity. You tralian people.”
To this end, for the first time ever an can’t dig a hole until you’ve done all that Canavan said people were also be-
events sub-committee has been appoint- and I just don’t think the mining indus- coming increasingly aware of the impor-
ed to set the agenda for the Club in 2020. try has communicated that aspect well tance mining has in the development of
Members can expect to see an em- enough.” new technologies, not only in Australia,
phasis on promoting the green creden- According to Federal Minister for Re- but around the world.
tials of mining under Quail’s presidency. sources Hon Matt Canavan, a good in- “I think the primary reason why Austral-
For too long mining has been whipped dication of regard for the mining industry ians support mining is because of what it
for being an industry that is “dirty, digs was demonstrated by last year’s Federal delivers for Australia – economic devel-
big holes and destroys the environment”, election, during which key coal mining ar- opment, job creation – but we shouldn’t
according to Quail, who is eager to enact eas were integral in returning the Coali- forget how important it is for the devel-
change. tion Government. opment of the world. The greatest thing



Page 54 FeBRUaRY 2020 aUSTRaLIa’S PaYDIRT

that has happened in our world is the re- these things are going to become no- is having on climate change,” Quail said.
duction of poverty in China and India and brainers, so why would you truck in and “Perhaps in WA because we don’t
other countries in Asia. Our resources burn all this diesel at a mine site when have a big coal industry, we don’t see
sector has played a key role in providing power can be sourced through wind, it as much, but one of the risks I see is
the energy and minerals needed to de- solar or other sources? I think these are that people will tar the whole industry
liver better outcomes to support people,” good stories that need to get out there,” and form the view that mining is bad for
Canavan said. Quail said. the environment, mining is bad for the cli-
It is the type of success stories alluded Despite Quail’s best intentions, the mate. Whereas the likes of lithium batter-
to by Canavan that Quail will look to pro- mining industry’s image is set to be ies and renewable energy is powered by
mote this year and hopes that examples sternly tested this year given the series mining and it’s a good thing. I think that
set by the likes of Gold Fields Ltd at Ag- of bushfires on Australia’s east coast and needs to be communicated a bit more,
new can inspire others in the industry. the perception that the sector had a role but I think the coal industry is going to
“I was amazed at how they can power to play in the destruction caused. have a tough journey.”
a whole mine site with wind and solar “I think Australian mining, particularly – Mark Andrews
and there are others, such as Image [Re- with the bushfires over east, I can’t help
sources NL] which is also setting up a but think people overseas are starting to
solar farm at Boonanarring. Before long, make this link between the impact mining


The WA Mining Club was one of the seed sponsors behind the STEM unitED programme
in 2019, which attracted 30% more schools than originally budgeted for Damian Quail
























































Environmentally positive stories in the mining sector will be the focus
of WA Mining Club luncheons in 2020. Last year, Gold Fields Australia
Pty Ltd senior vice president, Australasia, Stuart Mathews provided an
in-depth presentation on how the company was converting the Agnew
gold mine to be run by wind and solar energy



aUSTRaLIa’S PaYDIRT FeBRUaRY 2020 Page 55

SKILLS





Pybar’s tick of approval




s one of Australia’s largest metallifer- eas so actually having the ability to de- be reviewed after feedback has been re-
Aous underground mining contractors, liver programmes for these people where ceived from participants.
Pybar Mining Services Pty Ltd felt com- they couldn’t normally just go along to Most short courses will run for 1-3 days,
pelled to step up and offer a solution to TAFE really plugs a huge gap,” Walsh depending on the qualification type.
the growing skills shortage clouding the told Paydirt. According to Walsh, a full underground
sector. “What separates AIM from a lot of the traineeship culminating in a Certificate III
Reducing barriers to working under- other RTOs is our trainers are actually qualification is completed over two years,
ground has been on the agenda for safety and training co-ordinators and peo- with on-site roles progressing as new skills
some time, particularly in New South ple who work on our sites, so they’re cur- are learnt and developed.
Wales where Pybar is headquartered. rent with industry and they’re not coming Pybar also recently gained approval
Therefore, the company sought to have from a classroom perspective.” from the NSW resources regulator to de-
its registered training organisation – the As part of the RTO application process, liver the one-day “learning from disasters”
Australian Institute of Mining (AIM) – na- Pybar conducted an extensive review of its course, the first of which was being rolled
tionally recognised. existing training and assessment packag- out at the time of print.
In December, Pybar gained that ap- es and recommended updates to ensure “The course is designed for mine man-
proval from the Australian Skills Quality each one met national framework require- agers and statutory roles and it is about
Authority (ASQA) and is now able to of- ments. identifying what leads to disasters,” Walsh
fer nationally accredited Certificate II and Pybar plans to launch a pilot training said.
Certificate III qualifications for new and programme for new underground work- “I think there’s about eight case studies
existing underground workers. ers over the coming months. This initial in that programme and when you look at
AIM also offers a number of short offering is expected to run for 14 days, each one closely, you can see these pat-
courses on key competencies such as with timeframes for future programmes to terns of failure. If they’d been looked at
shot-firing/blasting, working safely at more closely at the time, those disasters
heights, risk management, health and could very well have been avoided.
safety investigations and first aid. These I expect AIM will “We will also offer that course to other
are also nationally recognised. have a really companies and other sites in NSW.”
Pybar RTO manager Roy Walsh said In preparing for the upgrade of its vari-
the group’s training courses were gen- significant impact on ous training initiatives, Pybar consulted
erally well received by staff, clients and “kills shortages with the governments of the various states
the s
other industry stakeholders. it operates in across the country, including
“Mine sites are generally in remote ar- facing the industry. in Tasmania, where 52 of its workers from
the Henty gold mine are now enrolled in
a Certificate III underground metalliferous
mining course.
“Some of these governments are quite
excited about the possibilities for the future
and the increased traineeship support,”
Walsh said.
“There is something special about tak-
ing on someone who has never worked in
mining before and giving them an induc-
tion, basic training, running them through
all the safety and then placing them with a
crew where they gain experience and start
doing the various operator roles.”
Walsh said he hoped other contractors
and mining groups would follow Pybar’s
lead and look to implement their own na-
tionally recognised training programmes.
“Our sector really lacks national qualifi-
cations,” he said.
“Many of our workers have no formal
qualifications, even though they are very
competent people; they’ve just never had
access to these formal qualifications, so
we see this as a big win for the sector.
“I expect AIM will have a really signifi-
cant impact on the skills shortages facing
the industry.”
– Michael Washbourne
More than 50 Pybar workers from the Henty gold mine in Tasmania are enrolled in a Certificate
III underground training programme
Page 56 FeBRUaRY 2020 aUSTRaLIa’S PaYDIRT

Wherever we are...





trend with us









































































#paydirtmedia #magazines #conferences










Image Resources NL executive director, exploration George Sakalidis near the company’s
mineral sands project, north of Perth, with Paydirt deputy editor Mark Andrews

IPOs




Godolphin hopes






for racing start




























2 019 was a tough year for resources IPOs with just six new floats hitting the

ASX, down from 32 in 2018, as investors preferred to stick with the tried-
and-trusted – established gold and base metals miners. With investors globally
showing little appetite for early-stage exploration stories, several prospective IPOs
were canned. In its annual review of the space, Paydirt finds a mix of commodity
and geographic focus among the hardy few who made it to the bourse.




ompanies contemplating a new re- folio,” Greenwood said. “Those nickel
Csources float in 2020 should probably laterite projects need a lot of attention
seek Ian Buchhorn out for some advice. and money so, while it was doing that, it
The veteran mining executive has couldn’t put the money into these assets
completed two successful IPOs in the which they deserved.
last three years, defying a market trend “And, because Ardea itself had been a
which saw just half a dozen new resourc- successful spin-out from Heron, the feel-
es listings in 2019. ing was: ‘Let’s do it again with the NSW
Buchhorn’s latest venture is Godolphin assets, give them new management and
Resources Ltd, which hit the bourse on their own identity’.
December 18 after a $7.5 million IPO. “Ian has a strong following among peo-
Godolphin is the home for a suite of New ple who did well out of Heron and Ardea.
South Wales assets previously held by There are a lot of believers. That was a
Ardea Resources Ltd. Ardea was itself big factor in getting it away.”
a spin-out of Heron Resources Ltd, Bu- Another factor in the successful capital
chhorn’s original company which is now raising was a piece of classic “nearol-
focused on base metals mining in NSW. ogy”. Godolphin’s portfolio is focused
David Greenwood has been installed exclusively on the Lachlan Fold Belt in
as chief executive at Godolphin, with NSW – it has the largest ground posi-
Buchhorn as non-executive director and tion on the belt with 3,200sq km. The
Mark Sykes as non-executive chairman. LFB is a renowned porphyry district with
Greenwood told Paydirt that Buch- large deposits such as Cadia-Ridgeway,
horn’s previous spin-out success en- Northparkes and McPhillamy’s, however,
sured there was a ready-made investor Godolphin’s IPO pitch was further boost-
base for Godolphin. ed in September by Alkane Resources
“Ardea was focused on its WA port- Ltd’s Boda discovery on the belt.
A sample from a gossan on Godolphin’s
Copper Hill East project
Page 58 FeBRUaRY 2020 aUSTRaLIa’S PaYDIRT

Godolphin has control of 3,200sq km of ground
on the Lachlan Fold Belt in New South Wales



Alkane hit 502m @ 0.48 g/t gold “Land issues are really dependent on ex- hope of repeating Alkane’s Boda discovery
and 0.2% copper from 211m in its actly where you are,” he said. “I’ve met both could be at Copper Hill East, which sits on
maiden diamond hole at Boda, spark- the new owner and the next-door landholder the same Molong volcanic belt structure.
ing widespread investor interest. and they are both pro-mining. It is changing Greenwood said while not as advanced
“The Lachlan Fold Belt is well known more broadly. The drought has seen many as Mt Aubrey, Copper Hill East was showing
as elephant country; it is one of the big- farms take work in the mining industry so signs of alteration and malachite at surface
gest porphyry provinces in the world,” they understand the sector a lot better now. next to copper-in-soil anomalies.
Greenwood said. “And now there is “Land issues are dependent on where you “It is not drill-ready yet,” he said. “We have
the Boda discovery. That was a world- are, with the drought farmers have increas- done some soil sampling work, the results of
class intersection and although there ingly worked in mining so understand the which will dictate the areas we home in on.
is still plenty of work to be done on it, sector a lot better now.” After that, we will do some detailed geophys-
it helps all the other juniors around. Away from Mt Aubrey, Godolphin’s best ics and hopefully by the end of 2020 we’ll
From Godolphin’s perspective, the tim- have some drill targets.”
ing was impeccable because Ardea At the Lewis Ponds project,
started the IPO before Boda was dis- Godolphin has historical data
covered.” pointing to high-grade lead-zinc
While Godolphin has porphyry tar- production in the 19th century, but
gets of its own – its four main projects Greenwood is more eager to test
are within 150km of Boda – its initial the ground’s gold potential.
exploration attention will be on the Mt “They never really targeted the
Aubrey epithermal gold prospect. gold, even when it was later drilled
Briefly mined by BHP Ltd, Mt Aubrey by different companies they didn’t
was abandoned in 1991 due to land- assay for gold,” he said.
holder opposition. The site was reha- “I think it is exciting from a gold
bilitated but a change of ownership has point-of-view and the met testing
opened the ground back up to explo- Ardea did was positive. We know
ration. Godolphin’s plan is to confirm we can produce a clean zinc con-
BHP’s historical work and then begin centrate and a mixed precious
stepping outside the known resource. metal-copper concentrate which
“It was only mined to 40m because is saleable. We just need more
the farmer didn’t want any blasting so geological work.
only allowed free digging but they still Lewis Ponds is littered with remnants of 19th “It is a VMS system with a se-
recovered about 12,000oz gold at century mining, including base metals ries of lenses which are structurally con-
around 3 g/t,” Greenwood said. shafts (below) and a marble quarry (above) trolled. A lot of the historical didn’t go through
“Although the average depth of drill- all the veins so we will drill a horizontal hole
ing was 40m, there were some really through the whole stratigraphy to give us a
good hits beneath the pit. Ardea got clearer indication of what we have.”
hold of the project a few years ago and Despite the tough market conditions for
has since been working it up to prepare it for junior explorers, Greenwood is happy with
drilling. Godolphin’s position and expects positive
“The plan is to check those early BHP news to flow later this year.
holes to confirm, then step out and drill along “The discovery of Boda helped focus at-
strike. Based on the BHP data, there is tention on this region so if we get early re-
65,000oz gold in inferred; that’s not enough sults and there is more success from Boda;
for a standalone operation but there are it will be really good,” he said.
opportunities for toll-treatment. Ultimately Although the plan is to test all four main
though, we want a standalone which prob- projects, Godolphin is willing to adapt.
ably requires 300,000oz so that is our initial “If we hit something early at Mt Aubrey,
target.” we will just keep going with drilling there,”
Godolphin was preparing to start its first Greenwood said. “Having $6 million in the
drilling programme at the time of print with bank gives you a good base to do that. We
3,000m of RC and 3,000m of aircore holes are not going to die wondering. We raised
to be drilled. that money and shareholders want to see it
“Epithermal systems take a lot of drilling; going into the ground.
you must have close control and make sure “Hopefully our work can generate interest
you don’t step out too far, Greenwood said. from the larger companies. We have already
“So, we will twin the BHP holes and then be- had approaches but don’t want to give away
gin stepping out because there is 6-7km of anything too early. We would be silly not to
potential strike length of veining but its need drill it ourselves. At the right time, when we
testing.” require some deep holes, we will be happy
NSW has developed a reputation for land to look at JVs, etc.”
access issues but Greenwood said the new – Dominic Piper
landowner at Mt Aubrey was welcoming of
Godolphin’s plans.


aUSTRaLIa’S PaYDIRT FeBRUaRY 2020 Page 59

IPOS








Brave few tackle choppy IPO waters






African Gold Ltd (ASX: A1G) Edwards told Paydirt sister publication Canterbury listed in March after an IPO
GMJ the company would work quickly to which saw it net $6.15 million. The company
African Gold Ltd (ASX: A1G) may not assess the potential of the ground which will likely need most of that cash to go into
have had the immediate success of has been subject to intense artisanal the ground as it begins its hunt for elephants
stablemate Bellevue Gold Ltd but the activity. in Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu and
West African-focused gold explorer can “We have some ideas for that, but we Queensland.
still be satisfied with its debut year on won’t dwell on the properties, we will The company had already attracted the
the bourse. assess them, make a decision and move support of Rio Tinto Ltd which entered
The company hit the ASX in February on if necessary. We won’t drag our heels a JV to farm-in and then acquire the
following a $4.5 million IPO pushed on a deposit; we are still looking for that Bismarck project on Manus Island, leaving
by its high-powered board of Evan elusive 5 moz gold project,” he said. Canterbury to sole-fund its Briggs copper
Cranston (chairman), Steve Parsons and African Gold launched a maiden project in Queensland.
Tolga Kumova (directors). drilling programme on the Sitakili It appears to have been a clever move.
Led by highly experienced African gold and Boubou/Bourdala permits in Mali In December Canterbury confirmed a
geologist Glenn Edwards, African Gold before Christmas. The company said potentially large-scale discovery at Briggs.
has built a package of prospective gold the 5,000m RC programme would Drilling during the December quarter
tenements across West Africa. initially test seven high-priority targets. encountered broad intervals of copper over
It started the year as an exclusively Few of these targets have been drilled a 600m strike length, with widths of up to
Ivorian explorer with the Agboville previously and Edwards stated his 350m and depths of at least 500m. The
project, 50km north-west of Abidjan, amazement that West Africa could still drilling included best hits of 197m @ 0.22%
heralded as its flagship. The company produce virgin ground. copper, 370.5m @ 0.27% and 130.8m
drilled 174 holes over a 10km strike “It’s incredible that our target areas @ 0.2%.
at Agboville, confirming the bedrock either have never been drilled or that Canterbury managing director Grant
source to the gold anomalism and they have only a handful of holes drilled Craighead declared himself pleased with
returning hits of 9m @ 1.24 g/t gold and over 20 years ago,” he said. the outcome of the 2019 drilling programme,
6m @ 1.12 g/t from surface, as well as pointing to SolGold plc and Stavely Minerals
6m @ 1.42 g/t from 8m. Canterbury Resources Ltd Ltd as indicators of the market enthusiasm
In November, the company expanded successful porphyry explorers could
its West African footprint with the (ASX: CBY) generate with the right results.
acquisition of ground on the Kedougou- The investment case for Canterbury On December 18, the company announced
Kenieba Inlier – host to the prolific Mali- Resources Ltd (ASX: CBY) is relatively it was raising an additional $1.49 million via
Senegal Shear Zone – and along strike simple; find a major copper-gold porphyry a placement and SPP to help fund further
of Resolute Mining Ltd’s Syama gold system and begin attracting the interest of drilling and a maiden resource estimate
mine, both in Mali. the majors. for Briggs.



Page 60 FeBRUaRY 2020 aUSTRaLIa’S PaYDIRT

ASX NEW RESOURCES FLOATS: 2009-2019

Edjudina IPO, Mont Royal flagged an exploration
spend of $1 million in its first year and $1.5
million for the coming 12 months.

Mont Royal undertook its IPO holding an
option over the Yule Brook gold project in
the Pilbara, however, the company elected
not to proceed with the acquisition from
Centrepeak Resources Group.
Sydney-based Mont Royal is chaired by
Gary Lawler, with Peter Ruse (executive
director) and Michael O’Keeffe (non-
executive director) adding their expertise to
the three-person board.

Macarthur Minerals Ltd consumption of coking coal and improved Keren Paterson
(ASX: MOI) environment emissions standards.”
Shortly after completing its ASX listing,
Macarthur Minerals Ltd (ASX: MOI) is out to Macarthur entered into a binding agreement
prove that juniors can be successful in the with Arrow Minerals Ltd to acquire the
iron ore space. rights to almost 5,000ha adjacent to its
After more than a decade on the TSX-V, Moonshine magnetite deposit.
the Brisbane-based company finalised an This tenure will be used for construction
ASX listing on December 6 post a $5 million of supporting infrastructure, including the
IPO. It was an exercise about five years processing plant, camp, airstrip, waste
in the making, but Macarthur is hoping its rocks dumps and a tailings storage facility.
transition from explorer to producer will be It also paves the ways for construction of a Trigg Mining Ltd (ASX: TMG)
significantly quicker. private haul road from Lake Giles through to
Macarthur arrived on the bourse armed with the open access Perth-Kalgoorlie railway. Timing can be everything for a new listing
an offtake deal with Glencore for 4 mtpa for and after a year of progress for the entire
the first 10 years of operations from Yilgarn- Mont Royal Resources Ltd potash sector, Trigg Mining Ltd (ASX: TMG)
hosted Lake Giles, about 175km north- investors may look back on 2019 as the
west of Kalgoorlie. Glencore’s offtake deal (ASX: MRZ) ultimate sweet spot to hit the market.
includes an option for a further 10 years. Mont Royal Resources Ltd (ASX: MRZ) The last year has seen major advances
A PEA was completed on Lake Giles in reported that all lithologies had associated throughout the cohort of ASX-listed potash
June, estimating $US326 million (plus $44 quartz veining throughout, however, a developers with the likes of Danakali
million contingency) would be required to greater intensity of veining was observed Ltd, Kalium Lakes Ltd, Australian Potash
establish a 3.4 mtpa operation producing proximal to the interpreted position of the Ltd and Salt Lake Potash Ltd building
a high-grade blended premium magnetite Pinjin Fault, which also hosts Saracen momentum on their projects and, in some
concentrate above 65% iron. Mineral Holdings Ltd’s Safari Bore and cases, attracting major funding proposals.
Key financials from the study included life- Deep South gold deposits. Trigg has some way to go to emulate its
of-mine free cash flow of $US1.4 billion from First-pass drilling tested about 10km of potash peers, but the company appears
revenue of $US6.8 billion, based on a mine prospective Archean greenstone, centred satisfied with its progress to date.
life of 31 years. on targets identified from an earlier sub- Having raised $4.5 million prior to its
Macarthur headlined a news release on audio magnetics survey. Best results October 3 listing, Trigg launched into activity
January 13 outlining its plans for the year included 5m @ 84 ppb gold and 1m @ 74 in the December quarter, reporting a high-
ahead as: “Iron ore the commodity for ppb gold. grade SoP discovery at its Lake Throssell
2020”. Upon completion of the maiden drilling, discovery in Western Australia following a
“The strong iron ore price continues to Mont Royal said it would continue to successful hand-auger sampling campaign
trade in a spot range [for the last quarter] evaluate the geochemistry and undertake which returned high-grade samples of up
of $US80-93/t for 62% iron ore and this is strain mapping. to 6,660 mg/L potassium with an average
creating momentum in the global iron ore “Further evaluation of results will be grade of 5,29 mg/L SoP equivalent.
industry,” Macarthur executive chairman presented to the Mont Royal board for Trigg managing director Keren Paterson
Cameron McCall said. consideration regarding future field work said the results showed Lake Throssell was
“Historically, iron ore prices tend to retreat in programmes,” the company said in its shaping up as a “significant SoP project”.
the lead-up to the Chinese New Year period September 2019 quarterly report. “These high-grade results across the playa
when mills generally reduce production, Edjudina is comprised of four exploration and the potential scale of the underlying
but this does not appear to be the case this licences covering 24sq km and considered palaeochannel makes this discovery one of
year. highly prospective for Archaean lode-style the most important for Australia’s emerging
“The company’s focus remains on gold deposits. It is hosted in the same SoP industry,” Paterson said.
delivering a high-quality, low-impurity district as Carosue Dam (Saracen), Sunrise The results prompted Trigg to apply for two
magnetite fines product [plus-65% iron] Dam (AngloGold Ashanti Ltd) and Red new tenements north and south of Lake
which will target Asian steel mills that are October (Matsa Resources Ltd). Throssell along the interpreted underlying
focused on producing quality steel products, At the end of September, the company’s palaeochannel.
enhanced furnace efficiencies, reduced cash balance was $4.14 million. During the



aUSTRaLIa’S PaYDIRT FeBRUaRY 2020 Page 61

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Enquire about membership today at aameg.org



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MINING SERVICES






It’s all in the



metallurgy




eading metallurgical outfit Independ- “This will have a
Lent Metallurgical Operations Pty Ltd positive impact on the
(IMO) felt the impact of the growing inter- final design of the full-
est in specialty metals in 2019 and the scale plant and com-
trend is set to continue in the year ahead. mercial production of
Alex Borger, general manager at IMO, HPA,” Hill said.
expects that continued technological ad- While the pilot plant
vances in smart phones, electric vehicles trial delivered what
and the like around the world will only FYI wanted, manag-
mean greater attention paid to the metals ing timings to suit
shaping the future. market expectations
“There’s been a definite demand in was a challenge,
work in the critical and more specialty Borger said.
metals – scandium, cobalt, high purity “Juniors are ex-
alumina, graphite and lithium – and there pected to complete
is always going to be a constant need to and announce pack-
serve the gold, copper and iron ore sec- ages of work within
tors; they are following the specialty met- six months. The mar-
als at the moment,” Borger told Paydirt. ket doesn’t like see-
“A lot of our work in 2019 was definitely ing a junior take 18 IMO senior metallurgist Alex Borger (right) with FYI managing
geared towards the specialities and was months to two years director Roland Hill at the pilot plant trial facility in Welshpool
at a larger scale across the board com- to produce an out-
pared with the past 12-24 months. Previ- come, so overcoming those expectations and design criteria which improves the
ously clients were coming in with a 30kg whilst still delivering a built-for-purpose level of confidence to construct a suc-
[sample] test but now it is more like 3-30t. pilot plant that generated positive results cessful pilot plant. Additionally, we are
Clients are starting to realise that metal- and specification product was a great also requesting clients to look at potential
lurgy in specialty minerals is key. It can achievement,” Borger said. by-products, be open minded about them
be what makes or breaks the project. Companies, particularly juniors, have and investigate what the potential is.”
Having cobalt, scandium and high purity little margin for error and long gone are Borger said IMO’s clients were heed-
alumina in the ground is one thing, being the days where a plant can be cut and ing such advice, however, the pressure
able to recover and refine them economi- copied from one project to another, a to perform and deliver to market expec-
cally into marketable products is com- more tailored approach to treating dif- tations continued for companies of all
pletely different.” ferent ore types is required. This is es- sizes.
One of the recent accomplishments pecially the case for specialty metals “It’s important that we talk timing and
celebrated by IMO and its client has which usually require the development of budgets before announcing to market
been the successful pilot plant trial for unique process flowsheets. what it is you are doing so that results
FYI Resources Ltd’s flowsheet design Therefore, Borger said, it was critical aren’t expected by the market in unreal-
using feedstock from its Cadoux kaolin to let the resource and metallurgical work istic timeframes,’ Borger said.
project in Western Australia’s Wheatbelt. guide plant designs. Geometallurgy is “Maintaining open communication
“The idea is always to test the process one of the major keys to developing ro- lines with biweekly or even daily updates
and not necessarily generate on-specifi- bust process flowsheets. is crucial so when issues do arise it is not
cation product initially. It often takes the “We have been guiding our clients a surprise. Everyone needs to be on the
second or third trials or more to generate towards pre-work as important; mak- same page, realistic expectations need
product as the initial run is primarily for ing sure batch testing is completely op- to be set so that the market is not guiding
testing the process flowsheet,” Borger timised and ore variability is understood schedules.
said. so you aren’t progressing from batch “Whilst investors want value for money,
The initial pilot plant trial produced out- testing immediately to a pilot plant. This our experience highlights the importance
standing results, with the plant achieving is critical for designing and operating a of ensuring that the project development
above the target grade of 99.99% HPA. closed-circuit test with recycle streams process is advanced properly to give
The optimised pilot plant material han- to be completed and analysed success- the best chance a profitable mine can
dling phase achieved 99.997% HPA. fully,” Borger said. be developed. Ultimately it’s about the
FYI managing director Roland Hill said “There may be certain delays with that long-term gains which require a mindset
the outcomes were a result of the efforts because closed-circuit testing can take change from exploration company mar-
made in planning and design and piloting 2-8 weeks depending on the complexity ket investors.”
itself and improvements and refinements of the process, but the information gener- – Mark Andrews
to the flowsheet. ated goes directly into the mass balance



aUSTRaLIa’S PaYDIRT FeBRUaRY 2020 Page 63

REGIONAL ROUNDUP AFRICA




Boris Johnson
‘Let us in’: African



women entrepreneurs




“It is not just about men- through their businesses are increasingly
run and owned businesses... “part of the conversation,” said Tatu Gatere,
the whole team has to play,” co-Founder of BuildHer, a Nairobi-based
Monica Musonda, founder of social enterprise that helps disadvantaged
Java Foods, a Zambia-based women get construction jobs.
rom job creation to clean energy, female food manufacturer that aims to tackle mal- “They are often the pioneers of commu-
FAfrican entrepreneurs can add millions of nutrition, said. nity, if you help women you have a trickle-
dollars to their economies and deliver posi- “We have to scale and make women-run down effect to children and families.”
tive social change if they are taken more seri- businesses profitable because they create Investors are paying more attention to
ously, experts said at British trade event last impact, create jobs and they also contribute women led-businesses, according to Krisz-
month. to development.” tina Tora, chief market development officer
Entrepreneurs from 21 African countries Africa has the highest concentration of fe- at the Global Steering Group for Impact In-
– many of them women – showcased busi- male entrepreneurs, accounting for almost a vestment, an industry body.
nesses from smart street lighting in Nigeria third of all businesses on the continent, the A major hurdle remains, though, which is
to environmentally friendly breweries in Ken- British government said in a statement. not specific to Africa: “Investors tend to in-
ya aimed at making profit and doing good at It is the only region in the world where vest [internationally] in people that look like
the inaugural UK-Africa Investment Summit more women than men choose to become them – white expatriates educated in the
in London. entrepreneurs, according to World Bank fig- US,” she told Reuters.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson had ures which show that African women are half “It is not only a challenge for women but
earlier made a pitch for Britain to be the “in- as likely as men to hold salaried jobs. the whole industry to get beyond their com-
vestment partner of choice for Africa” at the Yet female-led businesses tend to be fort zone to look at what is creating impact
conference ahead of his country’s departure smaller and their owners often struggle to rather than who looks like them.”
from the European Union. secure technical support and investment. Ahead of the summit, Britain announced
But female entrepreneurs from African Musonda said it took her longer to get plans to provide female entrepreneurs in
countries, including Uganda and Zambia, her company manufacturing affordable and Africa with £3.5 million ($US4.24 million) to
said they needed to benefit from the same nutrient-enriched food like noodles off the help with business advice and mentoring.
opportunities as men for their continent’s ground because of her gender. – Sarah Shearman, Reuters
ambitious development goals to be realised. African women striving for social impact



Britain seeks for Britain to be the “investment partner of est bilateral development investor in Africa,
choice” for Africa.
said the bulk of the funds were going to re-
gional African banks, so that they can lend to
Johnson has announced an end to British
support for thermal coal mining or coal pow- entrepreneurs and small and medium-sized
deeper ties er plants overseas, saying it made no sense firms.
The deals included a $US100 million trade
for the UK to cut its carbon emissions from
power generation at home while supporting finance loan with South African lender Absa
coal-fired projects abroad.
to support SMEs in southern Africa, as well
with Africa ey will be directly invested in digging up coal as a MoU for $US100 million to Egypt’s larg-
“Not another penny of UK taxpayers’ mon-
est bank CIB for SMEs and microfinance.
or burning it for electricity,” Johnson said. Investments in solar and renewable ener-
post Brexit countries extract and use oil and gas in the gy projects were also on the list. In total, the
Instead Britain would focus on helping
CDC Group plans deals worth over $US2.5
cleanest way possible and on encouraging billion in Africa in the next two years.
investment in solar, wind and hydropower “The commitments we have announced
schemes, he added. today will accelerate the roll-out of solar
aving secured his country’s exit from Johnson also highlighted deals worth bil- power and other renewable technologies
Hthe European Union, UK Prime Minister lions of pounds with countries on the conti- and support the growth of countless SMEs –
Boris Johnson is seeking deeper investment nent, underlining the roles British companies the bedrock of any healthy economy – cross
ties with Africa. are playing in providing anything from smart the continent,” CDC chief executive Nick
Britain was poised to depart the EU – the street lighting in Nigeria to environmentally O’Donohoe said.
world’s largest trading bloc – on January 31 friendly breweries in Kenya. CDC said it is responsible for over 10% of
and Johnson has expressed a desire to de- Meanwhile, UK government-owned fi- all capital invested through Africa-focused
velop business relations with countries out- nance agency CDC Group has signed private equity funds.
side of Europe. $US400 million worth of African investment
Speaking last month at a summit for lead- deals. – Elizabeth Piper and Karin
ers of 21 African countries, Johnson called Strohecker, Reuters
The CDC Group, which says it is the larg-


Page 64 FeBRUaRY 2020 aUSTRaLIa’S PaYDIRT

SAVE THE DATE





















The premier Africa-Australia mining forum



































SPONSORS AND SUPPORTERS TO DATE:





























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REGIONAL ROUNDUP


































































A polished start for Lucapa






iamond market doldrums appear to polishing, combined with the successful fair market, we can then take that stone
Dhave dissipated for the time being start to operations at Mothae has been and put it into cutting and polishing and
and Lucapa Diamond Company Ltd is game-changing for Lucapa. extract that value,” Lucapa managing di-
poised to bask in the warming climate. Prior to the start of commercial dia- rector Stephen Wetherall told Paydirt.
The company’s first foray into cutting mond operations from the 1.1 mtpa Moth- “Secondly, it starts to open new mar-
and polishing under partnership agree- ae kimberlite in January 2019, Lucapa’s gins for us in that we start attracting pol-
ments, whereby net profits from sales of single producing asset was Lulo in An- ished margins into our group as well. It is
polished diamonds are split evenly with gola. Now the company has two valu- a dual strategy; protect the rough price,
the diamantaire, started promisingly with able sources to produce diamonds and but also start to accrete some of the pol-
an exceptional 8.88ct Pear diamond pro- the freedom to exploit the value-chain ished margins from these magnificent
duced from a 36ct rough stone extracted through cutting and polishing. stones that we mine.”
from Mothae, Lesotho. “It allows us to ensure that we get the In the face of stiff headwinds for dia-
Law changes enacted in Angola two appropriate rough price for our diamonds mond sales prices during 2019, Lucapa
years ago, permitting companies like Lu- at whatever sell channel we choose. If soldiered on to commission its second
capa to enter the sphere of cutting and we believe that the rough price offered is mine in Mothae (70:30 Lucapa/Govern-



Page 66 FeBRUaRY 2020 aUSTRaLIa’S PaYDIRT

AFRICA





The flawless 8.88ct Pear diamond
produced from Lucapa’s Mothae mine
in Lesotho
along peers in Africa, with Sierra Leone, lieves the two industries can co-exist, a
Guinea, Central African Republic, Zim- sentiment shared by Wetherall.
babwe and even Mozambique trying Wetherall said there was a place for
harder to grow their diamond industries. synthetic diamonds, particularly as there
Africa is already responsible for pro- was demand from younger consumers.
ducing 60% of the world’s diamonds and “It pits younger people’s eyes onto
Wetherall is certain the continent will re- diamonds at an earlier stage and that
main an investment hotspot for diamonds means that they might want to maintain
for many years to come. their interest in diamonds and go to natu-
“There’s a huge amount of interest. If rals in due course, so I actually think it is
you have a look at some of the other op- a positive from our perspective,” Wether-
erations that aren’t as well-known as the all said.
public ones; the way they are looking at Emergence of the synthetic diamond
restructuring the interest in those opera- market impacted the natural sector to
tions is quite strong,” Wetherall said. a small degree in 2018/19 and while
“Anglo American [plc] is coming to An- Wetherall believes there is room for both
gola now and has signed five contracts sectors to exist, it is the way that some
for exploration in the sector and there synthetic producers penetrate the market
are other majors in discussions with the which is of concern.
diamond sector as well. Angola has been “Where we have an issue is where
underexplored for so many years and is people try and market it with very false
seen as one of the countries that is most marketing terms and promoting them as
likely to produce the next Tier 1 discov- being environmentally better. It is not; it
ery.” takes a huge amount of power to grow
With its famous Argyle diamond mine those diamonds,” Wetherall said.
in Western Australia scheduled to close “They need to be open, honest and
ment of the Kingdom of Lesotho) and re- later this year, it is believed Rio Tinto Ltd transparent and we as natural producers
port record group production. may be keen on opportunities in Angola don’t have a problem with that whatsoev-
Total carats recovered from Mothae as well. er. But when you enter the grey area and
and Lulo for FY19 was 49,120ct, in- Vibrancy in the diamond sector ap- diminish one sector to promote another
cluding 1,164 plus-4.8ct and 357 plus- pears not to be limited to Africa, with that is where we have a problem with it.”
10.8ct diamonds recovered. Sales to- former Riversdale boss Michael O’Keefe Whether the popularity of synthetic
talled $US55 million (100% basis) and driving ASX-listed EHR Resources Ltd’s diamonds is sustained will only be know
$US1,127 achieved per carat. pitch to acquire Nanuk Diamonds Inc for with time, however, as technology ad-
Wetherall said he was “chuffed” with its diamond fields in Quebec. vances quickly, sustaining the sugar hit
the way 2019 ended, which will be re- will be a challenge for the indus-
flected in the company’s quarterly try.
results due to be released at the “In an industry like synthet-
time of print. ics or lab grown [jewellery] the
“We were very pleased with our advancement of technology one
new operation that we commis- year to the next means it is go-
sioned early in the year and how ing to be a hell of a lot easier for
it performed in its first year, it cer- new people to come in,” Wether-
tainly exceeded our plan quite sig- all said.
nificantly,” Wetherall said. “Synthetic diamond prices in
“From a market perspective, we the last 3-4 years have seen
are also happy with the way the negative movement. A diamond
market ended. Diamantaires were priced at $4,000/ct four years ago
back at the tenders bidding strong- is now selling for $800/ct. As an
ly, their prices were up, certainly investor in that business to try and
from what we saw in the sector maintain your revenue stream
in terms of a subdued and volatile Stephen Wetherall when prices are going backwards
2019.” means you must sell more. When
Upward movement in pricing is expect- Signs of life in the diamond sector also you have to sell more you are going to
ed to continue in the first part of 2020, provides perspective on the perceived be competing with other synthetic pro-
with the momentum coming on the back threat of the synthetic sector overwhelm- ducers. That means you are just going
of a merry festive season. ing the industry. to put so much into the market that you
“The jewellery sales in America and De Beers has taken a measured ap- are going to shatter the price of the lab-
China were very strong and with a strong proach to the realms of lab grown jewel- grown diamonds. The fashion jewellery
festive season you are going to find very lery, however, the likes of Alrosa are not demand is fairly new in our space, so in a
strong restocking happening in the first so keen. couple of years let’s see where it goes.”
part of the year as well,” Wetherall said. Despite dismissing any participation in
The same tailwind is also pushing the synthetic diamond space, Alrosa be- – Mark Andrews



aUSTRaLIa’S PaYDIRT FeBRUaRY 2020 Page 67

REGIONAL ROUNDUP - WITh REUTERS




lings in mining revenue in the 2017/2018 fiscal
year, a figure that rose to 310 billion shillings in
2018/2019. It aims to collect 470 billion shillings
in 2019/2020.
“African countries have not been benefit-
ing from their natural resource wealth, includ-
Gold reporting Tanzania awards ing minerals. Our minerals have been stolen
through smuggling or through exploitative min-
ing contracts,” Magufuli said.
plan for Zambia smelter contracts Gold exports are a key source of foreign ex-
change for Tanzania, which exported gold worth
$US1.549 billion last year, up from $US1.541
ambia plans to make copper mining com- anzania has awarded licences for the billion in 2017, central bank data shows. Tanza-
Zpanies account for the gold they produce Tconstruction of a mineral smelter and nia’s earnings from gold exports rose 42% year-
as it seeks to boost revenue from its mineral two gold refineries to Chinese firms, as part on-year to November, helped by higher prices
resources, a senior ministry of mines official of government efforts to generate more rev- and volumes shipped, the central bank said.
said. enues from the nation’s mining industry. The Bank of Tanzania said in its monthly eco-
Ministry of Mines Permanent Secretary Minerals Minister Doto Biteko said the Chi- nomic review for December that gold exports
Barnaby Mulenga told a news conference nese companies would also soon be award- rose to $US2.14 billion in the year to November
that Zambia, Africa’s second-largest cop- ed licences for mines, each of which would from $US1.51 billion in the same period in 2018.
per producer, was missing out on a lot of require investment worth more than $US100 “The increase in volume exported is partly as-
revenue because only one large mine was million. sociated with government actions to effectively
declaring its gold output. First Quantum Min- He did not name the firms or give details manage mining activities in the country,” the
erals Ltd’s Kansanshi mine, the only mine about the mining or other projects in the East bank said, without giving details on the volume
that has been declaring its gold production, African nation, Africa’s fourth-biggest gold exported. The bank said total exports rose 12%
produced 131,250oz gold last year. producer after South Africa, Ghana and Mali. year-on-year to $US9.53 billion in year ending
Mining accounts for more than 70% of President John Magufuli banned the export November.
Zambia’s foreign exchange earnings and of mineral sand in March 2017, a concentrate
other companies operating in the southern that contains silver, copper, gold and other
African nation include Barrick Gold Corp, minerals, sparking a $US300 billion tax dis-
Glencore and Vedanta Resources Ltd. Mu- pute with Acacia Mining, which already has
lenga said Zambia’s target for gold produc- mining operations in Tanzania. The Govern-
tion next year was 1.25 moz and that would ment invited bids from mining firms to build
come from primary and secondary sources, smelters and refineries, although Tanzania’s
including artisanal and small-scale miners. chamber of mines has said such projects Royalty hike
Mulenga said some mining companies would not be economic.
had not been declaring any gold production, Biteko said 37 Chinese companies had ex- on the cards
arguing that the quantities mined were very pressed interest.
insignificant and therefore sold as copper. “After carefully assessing the financial ca-
“Some mining companies have been pability and history of those companies, we adagascar plans to increase its
claiming that it is more of an impurity but gold have issued licences for the construction of Mroyalties on nickel, cobalt, precious
is precious and can’t be an impurity,” he said. two gold refineries and a smelter,” he said. metals and gemstones to 4% from 2%,
“In some cases, the gold has been hidden “We will also soon award special mining li- according to a new draft mining law.
in the copper blisters or copper cathodes. A cences to two companies to build large-scale The bill, seen by Reuters and then con-
system will be put in place to ensure that we mines whose individual investment is above firmed by Mines Minister Fidiniavo Ra-
account for that gold,” he said. $US100 million.” vokatra in a statement to reporters, also pro-
Zambia’s mining investment company He was speaking in a televised address at poses a government stake of at least 20%
ZCCM-IH would invest in exploration, min- a ceremony in Dar es Salaam at which the in any marketable mining production. Mining
ing, processing and trading in gold, its chief Kenyan authorities handed back 35kg of royalties would rise to 8% from 2% for raw
executive officer Mabvuto Chipata said at gold it intercepted after it was smuggled out precious stones. Rough industrial stones
the same briefing. ZCCM-IH had undertak- of Tanzania. The Government said it had set would fetch a 6% royalty rate while cut indus-
en initial exploration work in north-western up 28 mineral trading centres since March to trial stones would be taxed at 3%.
Zambia in collaboration with the mines min- improve revenue collection from small-scale “It is fair that royalties and rebates are in-
istry and was likely to start mining in the first miners. creasing,” Minister Ravokatra said. “This is
quarter of next year, Chipata said. ZCCM-IH “Gold worth a total of 136.7 billion Tanza- still a bill but discussions with mining opera-
had also started to set up centres for buying nian shillings [$US60 million] has been traded tors and exporters are continuing.”
gold in strategic areas with deposits as a first through the new mineral centres since March Madagascar has compared its royalty
step in a bid to formalise artisanal and small- and the Government has collected 7.7 billion rates with other countries and categorised
scale miners, he said. shillings royalty and clearance fees,” Biteko different minerals, the minister said.
Chipata said ZCCM-IH would provide said. Small-scale miners produce around 20 Democratic Republic of Congo introduced
technical expertise to artisanal miners on tpa gold a year but 90% is illegally exported, a a new mining code last year increasing the
mine planning and safety and give them parliamentary report said. royalty rate for precious metals from 2.5% to
access to earth moving machinery and pro- Magufuli said revenue collection from min- 3.5%, causing an outcry from miners operat-
cessing plants. ing had increased over the past two years af- ing there.
ter his Government tightened controls.
The Government collected 301 billion shil-



Page 68 FeBRUaRY 2020 aUSTRaLIa’S PaYDIRT

AFRICA




fiscal and regulatory stability had ena-
bled the company to make further invest- Mining companies have long complained
ment in its Syama gold mine in the coun- that Egypt’s system of mandatory JVs, stiff
try’s south. royalties and profit-sharing agreements
“We have invested in Syama because have made it unprofitable to explore for and
we have long-term faith in the Malian exploit minerals.
Egypt is hoping a change in rules might
Malian stability mining regime,” Welborn said. “The abil- lead to a bonanza in gold production. Neigh-
ity to invest further is going to be predi-
cated on transparency we can bring and bouring Sudan produced an estimated 93t
20 not 30 years that our partners can bring.” of gold in 2018, which according to the U.S.
Geological Survey made it Africa’s third big-
gest producer.
nder a new mining code, companies The cabinet statement indicated that al-
Uoperating in Mali will be protected though the Egyptian Mineral Resources Au-
from fiscal changes for 20 years, down thority had the right to form JV with a mini-
from the previous “stability period” of 30 mum state ownership of 25%, private mining
years, the mines minister said in January. companies would not necessarily have to do
Mali had previously proposed a 10- this if their mining agreements were ratified
year stability period. But that came under New code for by law.
criticism for being too short and likely to The statement also said mining compa-
discourage investors. Egypt nies would have to pay a rental value for
“We have to consider that the re- their mines and quarries as well as royalties
search phase can take at least seven, at a separate rate determined for each type
eight or nine years,” said Mines Minis- gypt has issued new regulations that of ore extracted.
ter Lelenta Hawa Baba Bah. “So, we’ve Eappear to eliminate the need for min- While considered highly prospective,
gone for... a 20-year stability period.” ing companies to form JVs with the Gov- Egypt has failed to entice commercial min-
Mali has emerged as one of the larg- ernment and to limit state royalties to a ers. The only existing operator is Centamin
est gold producers in Africa with the likes maximum 20%, measures long advocat- plc, which produces 450,000 ozpa from its
of Barrick Gold Corp, AngloGold Ashanti ed by the private sector. Sukari gold mine. Last month, fellow African-
Ltd, B2Gold Corp and Resolute Mining The cabinet released a summary of the focused gold miner Endeavour Mining Corp
Ltd among operators in the country. executive regulations to the mining law after dropped its hostile takeover bid for Centamin
In December, Resolute managing di- its weekly meeting on January 15. The law after failing to win support of its target’s
rector John Welborn told Paydirt Mali’s itself was issued in August. board.








































Under Mali’s new mining code,
companies such as Resolute
Mining will be protected from
fiscal changes for 20 years


aUSTRaLIa’S PaYDIRT FeBRUaRY 2020 Page 69

REGIONAL ROUNDUP





Big River flows into funding mode




ig River Gold Ltd’s remarkable turna- this stage in the [development]
Bround will be complete if it can lock cycle. The good news now is
away development funding for the 2.43 we’ve got a lot of interest from
moz Borborema gold project in north-east various sources both inside and
Brazil over the coming months. outside Brazil and we compare
The company (then known as Crusader very favourably with a lot of oth-
Resources) was in dire financial trouble 12 er projects of our type.
months ago and appeared destined for the “We’ve got good people in
scrapheap until major shareholder Ste- place and the gold price is going
phen Copulos sensationally returned as in the right direction, so a lot of
chairman in a last-ditch effort to save the things are going our way. Com-
business from an embarrassing collapse. pared to last year, where if we
Copulos enticed long-time associate didn’t get the money we would
Andrew Richards to join him on the rescue have gone under, things are
mission and together the pair raised the very different now.”
funds required to put the company back on Veteran finance expert John
a sound financial footing before embark- Cathcart and seasoned ge-
ing on a revised development strategy for ologist Beau Nicholls have also
Borborema. joined the company’s new-
Fast-forward to December 20 last year – look board, which is confident
just one day after publishing a robust DFS of landing project finance for
on Borborema – Big River announced Borborema by the end of Q2
Copulos was retiring and Richards had and beginning construction of
been promoted to executive chairman as the proposed 2 mtpa operation
part of a corporate reshuffle to prepare soon after.
the company for the next phase of its life, The DFS indicated almost
namely securing project finance and en- $US100 million is needed to
tering production “as soon as possible”. develop a standalone mining
Speaking to Paydirt last month from operation producing an average
Brazil where he was meeting with prospec- 71,000 ozpa gold for at least 10 Construction of a 2 mtpa operation at Borborema
tive local financiers, Richards marvelled at years. Output is expected to av- could begin in Q3 2020
the contrasting positions of the company erage 88,000 ozpa at C1 costs
from one year to the next. of $US622/oz for the first four ing about it and waiting for the numbers,
“It’s chalk and cheese,” he said. “Instead years of production. we’re in a position where we have the
of struggling to find where our next dollar Post-tax NPV and IRR are $US285 mil- hard numbers in front of us and we can
was going to come from, we’re now in a lion and 52.5% respectively when a higher start getting serious about indicative term
very comfortable position. $US1,600 gold price is assumed. sheets.”
“We’ll probably have to raise a bit of eq- “The results were in line with our internal While project financing takes centre
uity in conjunction with the financing, but expectations, but in saying that we were stage over the next five months or so, Big
that’s pretty normal for any company at still pleasantly surprised with the [capex] River will quietly chip away at optimisation
number that came out work in a bid to reduce costs and potential-
at the end; we didn’t ly the timeline to first production. Recruit-
Borborema DFS think it would be as ment of a dedicated construction team in
low as it was, but we’ll Brazil is also on the agenda.
Resource: 2.43 moz @ 1.1 g/t gold take it,” Richards said. Richards also plans to spend some time
Reserve: 784,480oz @ 1.22 g/t gold “Since the DFS reminding investors of the inherent value in
LOM production: 729,374oz came out, we’ve had a Brazilian gold projects.
Processing: 2 mtpa significant number of “There are many gold mines over here
Mine life: 10.2 years people who have con- at the moment, it’s just Australians don’t
Recovery: 92.5% tacted us. We com- know about it or have forgotten,” he said.
Capex: $US99.33 million pare pretty well, both Richards has also replaced Stephen
NPV (pre-tax): $US218 million in terms of production Copulos as non-executive chairman of
Consolidated Zinc Ltd. Richards was a
and also costs, to oth-
IRR (pre-tax): 43.6% er mines in the district long-standing executive director of the
Payback: 2.4 years and that’s been indi- Mexico-focused company and played a
C1 costs: $US642/oz cated to us by a num- key role in putting the Plomosas zinc pro-
AISC: $US839/oz ber of the banks we’re ject into production in September 2018.
LOM revenue: $US1.021 billion speaking to over here.
EBITDA: $US527.3 million “We’re into that – Michael Washbourne
*Based on $US1,400/oz gold price nitty-gritty phase now
where instead of talk-


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LATIN AMERICA





Challenger ready



for 2020





t has been a happy start to 2020 for Kris
IKnauer and the team at Challenger Explo-
ration Ltd in South America.
A placement in mid-January of 65 mil-
lion shares at 10c was well taken up by
strategic investors, including domestic
and international institutions, while the
company chairman’s subscription for $1.3
million (subject to shareholder approval) is
some indication of the potential seen in the
high-grade Hualilan gold project (Argen-
tina) and El Guayabo gold-copper project
in Ecuador.
“We were approached by a group of
strategic investors and the chairman had
wanted to put in a whack of money, so we
basically went to the market with $5 mil-
lion done,” Challenger managing director
Knauer told Paydirt.
“Then the brokers wanted us to talk to
a group of funds which we did and we
scrambled to almost get $14 million, but Signs have been good from the six holes assayed at Colorado V in Ecuador
you don’t want to take too much and blow
the capital base out.”
Locking away a swag of cash allows the Knauer is eager to get back on the The results were all struck near surface,
company to approach exploration activities ground at Hualilan given high-grade re- with high-grade results extended 500m
full steam ahead, with drilling on-course to sults at Cerro Sur were received in late further south along strike.
restart at Hualilan at the time of print. 2019 and included 10.3m @ 12.9 g/t gold Challenger has the right to earn 75% in
“We will probably spend the bulk of the equivalent, including 10.4 g/t gold, 28 g/t Hualilan. Now that it has cash, the com-
money initially in Argentina,” Knauer said. silver, 4.6% zinc, including 4.2m @ 21.9 pany is also keen to acquire more ground
“Our partner up there owns two rigs and g/t gold, 58 g/t silver, 8.7% zinc from 115m; in the project area.
we can drill for $26/m drilling, not triple 2.6m @ 25.5 g/t gold equivalent, including The landgrab strategy at Hualilan is
that. That makes a big difference and the 22.8 g/t gold, 218 g/t silver, 0.7% zinc and repeated in Ecuador where the compa-
$6 million we raised is probably worth $10 3m @ 20.5 g/t gold equivalent, including ny expanded its tenement position at El
million in that context.” 17.7 g/t gold, 143 g/t silver and 2.5% zinc. Guayabo by 830% recently after entering
a farm-in agreement at Colorado V, cover-
ing 2,331ha.
Logging of historical drill core totalling
21,472m was in progress across 23,000ha
at Colorado V.
Results from just six of the 56 holes re-
viewed have identified broad zones of por-
phyry and intrusive breccia hosted miner-
alisation.
“In Ecuador it is a big porphyry-style pro-
ject. We have a fair bit of work to do now
in the next month or two re-assaying the
historical core, we have had a quick look
and it looks like the porphyry mineralisa-
tion has been overlooked,” Knauer said.
“There will be a lot of information to
come out in the next 2-3 months and that
will lead us into a drilling programme up
there.”
– Mark Andrews


Broad zones of porphyry and intrusive breccia hosted
mineralisation has been identified at Colorado V
aUSTRaLIa’S PaYDIRT FeBRUaRY 2020 Page 71

REGIONAL ROUNDUP


























































Anglo grows fertiliser strategy




nglo American plc’s pivot towards The acquisition will see Anglo Ameri- ticularly for high-value crops such as tea,
A“later cycle products” continues can expanding its portfolio back into coffee and fruit and vegetables. While a
with the diversified miner announcing fertilisers after it sold its last remaining relatively immature market, Poly4 would
a $US526.2 million bid for UK fertiliser fertiliser project in Brazil in 2016 when it benefit from Anglo American’s global
developer Sirius Minerals plc and its was recovering from a commodity mar- marketing business, according to Cuti-
Woodsman project. ket crash. fani.
Sirius shareholders will receive 5.5p Cutifani last year signalled the com- Sirius had been battling to get bank
cash for each share, a 34.1% premium pany would look to divest its thermal financing to complete development of
on its January 7 price, the day before An- coal assets as it repositioned itself as a the project, on which it has spent $US1
glo American confirmed it was in takeo- greener producer. He said Woodsman billion to date. It began fundraising with
ver discussions with the struggling pot- would fit well with the company’s eco- retail investors in 2017 but embarked on
ash company. nomic and social goals. a review after scrapping a plan to raise
On announcing the deal, Anglo Ameri- “The addition of this Tier 1 project to $US500 million in a bond sale.
can chief executive Mark Cutifani said the portfolio absolutely supports our “We now face a stark choice. If the ac-
Sirius’ Woodsman North Yorkshire poly- transition to those metals and minerals quisition is not approved by shareholders
halite project had “clear potential to fit that will meet the world’s evolving needs, and does not complete there is a high
with our strategy of focusing on world- including infrastructure and food for the probability that the business could be
class assets, particularly given our tra- world’s fast-growing and urbanising placed into administration or liquidation
jectory towards later cycle products that population and the undoubted need for within weeks thereafter,” Sirius chairman
support a fast-growing global population cleaner energy and transport,” he said. Russell Scrimshaw said.
and a cleaner, greener, more sustainable Sirius’ Poly4 product is considered a Sirius had envisaged a 10 mtpa opera-
world”. premium quality fertiliser product, par- tion at Woodsman. Anglo American in-



Page 72 FeBRUaRY 2020 aUSTRaLIa’S PaYDIRT

EUROPE






Woodsman’s polyhalite ore will be Mark Cutifani
transported by pipeline to Wilton
in Teesside for processing into the
Poly4 multi-nutrient product
$US300 a year during the first two years
following acquisition. Sirius estimated total
development capex of $US3.3 billion for
Woodsman.
“We expect development work on the
project to be broadly in line with Sirius’ own
revised development plan, although natu-
rally we intend to update the project time-
line, optimise the mine design and ensure
there is the appropriate integration with
our operating standards and practices,” he
said.
Cutifani said most of the Sirius manage-
ment had agreed to stay with the project
for at least the first 12 months.
Anglo’s move comes at an intriguing
time for the fertiliser space with a number
of majors positioning themselves for major
developers and a swag of Australian jun- “Sirius’ planned production is around 30
iors also hoping to break into the market. times larger than the total polyhalite market
“Anglo American’s potential offer for size in 2018,” it said in a note. “The com-
Sirius Minerals… highlights the potential pany plans to rapidly increase production
for consolidation in the to over 10mt only a few years after start-
potash space and the ing operations, which adds to concerns
demand for world-class of significant disruption to wider fertiliser
projects,” Numis Secu- markets — even with its numerous offtake
rities said of the deal. agreements.”
Another London The project would be Britain’s largest
firm, Berenberg, said mine development in more than a genera-
Anglo’s technical and tion. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnston had
financial muscle made previously resisted requests from Sirius to
the acquisition and de- support funding efforts for a project which
velopment achievable. could create up to 4,000 jobs to the region.
“Given Anglo’s min- Henri Murison, Northern Powerhouse
ing experience it makes partnership director said Anglo American’s
sense from a technical acquisition would provide certainty for the
perspective and Sirius project and its current 1,200 employees.
had been looking for a He also said the project would become a
strategic partner,” Ber- highly visible part of economic renewal in
enberg said in a note to the region.
clients. “Further, given “It will deliver substantial economic ben-
Anglo’s strong balance efits to whole of the UK, including notably
sheet, it can comforta- to the balance of payments, and if the
Sirius’ Woodsman project is expected to cost more than
$US3 billion to build bly fund capex. We can Government is genuinely serious about
see how the project fits levelling up and narrowing the north-south
in the Anglo portfolio of divide, it will need to back privately led in-
tends to stick with that capacity, although late cycle, green commodities, but given frastructure projects like this in the future,”
director strategy and business develop- that this is a new commodity for Anglo, and Murison said.
ment Duncan Wanblad said the project given the market’s strong focus on share- Cutifani said he had been impressed by
was permitted to 13 mtpa and could fea- holder returns, it is likely to take some Sirius’ engagement with the local commu-
sibly produce up to 20 mtpa if required. investor education as to exact market dy- nity. Anglo American has already invested
Fielding questions from analysts on namics and outlook, particularly with BHP £1 million into the Sirius Foundation.
the project’s potential, Wanblad said the [Ltd]’s Jansen project also progressing “As a very clear intent about our support
“nature and style” of the deposit made it along the development path, and how this for the community, on completion of the
unique among polyhalite deposits. fits in Anglo’s capital allocation strategy.” acquisition we would put £1 million into the
“Not just in the total volume but how it Peel Hunt said the inevitable long lead Sirius Foundation and put another £1 mil-
presents itself,” Wanblad said. “There are time for construction meant the project lion on the anniversary of the acquisition
seam widths beyond 20m in some areas was always more suitable to a “much larg- on each of the next two years,” he said.
so it offers a flexibility which known poly- er company”.
halite deposits don’t.” CRU, however, deemed the acquisition – Dominic Piper and Reuters
Cutifani said the company would spend a risk.



aUSTRaLIa’S PaYDIRT FeBRUaRY 2020 Page 73

REGIONAL ROUNDUP





Aussie triple threat



primed for success





f their respective plans for 2020 follow ing of the proposed process plant site, support of the Cambodian Government,
Iwhat is scripted, three ASX-listed juniors relocation of the Kulumadau village and the MIA provided “significant comfort” to
will have gone a long way to quashing per- expansion of the Woodlark mine camp to shareholders and other stakeholders giv-
ceived misconceptions around doing busi- accommodate another 250 people. en Okvau will be the country’s first com-
ness in the Asia-Pacific region. “We are excited to commence construc- mercial mining operation.
Australian success stories in the region tion and development activities in such a “MIAs don’t get signed in too many plac-
have been few and far between over the short timeframe since completing the capi- es in the world, it’s generally something first
past decade and it is only recently that tal raising,” Geopacific managing director movers do,” Hart told Paydirt.
the likes of St Barbara Ltd (Papua New Ron Heeks said. “We [Equigold] got one in Ivory Coast
Guinea) and Medusa Mining Ltd (Philip- “The reception from the local community when we built Bonikro because we were a
pines) have started kicking goals through has been excellent and they are excited to first mover and we’ve got one here because
the eyes of investors. see the benefits of skills, training, employ- we are first mover. One of the main reasons
However, as 2019 drew to a close Ge- ment opportunities, health and education we sought this MIA is because it gives us
opacific Resources Ltd, Emerald Re- as a result of Woodlark’s advancement.” offshore arbitration if there are any issues
sources NL and Nusantara Resources Ltd In Cambodia, Emerald has already suc- with the Government on the development
each ticked off major milestones associ- cessfully resettled 62 local families and of the project.
ated with financing and construction for completed site works to remove aban- “Secondly, there’s a couple of guaran-
their proposed new gold mines in Papua doned structures from its mining licence tees in there because we are a first mover;
New Guinea, Cambodia and Indonesia, at the Okvau project, about 275km north- tax in Cambodia is normally 30% for min-
respectively. east of Phnom Penh. A security fence ing, but they’ve given us a five-year reduc-
Each company has been active in their has also been erected around the prop- tion to 25% and they’ve also given us a re-
host countries for less than five years, but erty, while a 35t bridge across the Prek Te duction to 0% withholding tax on dividends.
all have used that time wisely to under- River for year-round site access is under That means in the first five years of the pro-
stand their respective projects and prime construction. ject we’ll be able to bring back our profits to
them for financing and development. These works preceded Cambodia’s help us build something else in Australia or
Geopacific was the first cab off the fi- Minister of Mines and Energy and Minis- whatever else we need to do. Then, after
nancing rank, raising $40 million via a ter of Economy and Finance signing off that we’d be expecting that money will be
placement in October to begin civil con- on a mineral investment agreement (MIA) going into more projects in Cambodia be-
struction works at its 1.6 moz Woodlark which not only exempts Emerald from any cause of the exploration ground we’ve got.”
project in Papua New Guinea. Staff and import taxes and duties but also paves the Alongside the MIA announcement, Em-
contractors were mobilised to site in early way for project financing terms to be final- erald revised some of the key assumptions
December. ised. and inputs of its DFS, with the NPV and IRR
Initial site works will include road up- Emerald managing director Morgan improving to $US337 million and 69% re-
grades, construction of a new wharf, clear- Hart said while his company had the full spectively on the back of a higher gold price


Government officials have signed off on a mineral investment agreement to underpin development of Emerald’s Okvau project in Cambodia






























Page 74 FeBRUaRY 2020 aUSTRaLIa’S PaYDIRT

ASIA


Key equipment has arrived at Geopacific’s Woodlark project for the start of construction activities








Four days after announcing the Indika
funding package, Nusantara raised $11 mil-
lion via a placement – and a further $2 mil-
lion from a SPP – as it pushes the project
closer towards a decision to mine.
“We ran it a little bit to the wire, but none-
theless you can see from our recent num-
ber of announcements we’ve got a clear
layout for investors and for the project as to
how we’re going to fund it,” Nusantara ex-
ecutive chairman Greg Foulis told Paydirt.
“We have a project we think is an abso-
lute winner and will go into development.
We think this is going to be Indonesia’s next
major gold mine – in fact, we know this will
be Indonesia’s next major gold mine – so
for us 2019 was all about funding and now
($US1,450/oz) being incorporated into the pany confirmed it had signed a non-binding we’re looking to hit 2020 very hard.”
findings. Capex for the proposed 2 mtpa term sheet with Indika for a project financ- According to the October 2018 DFS, a
operation at Okvau remains at $US91 mil- ing package comprising up to $US40 mil- 100,000 ozpa operation at Awak Mas will
lion. lion in project equity and up to $US40 mil- generate a post-tax NPV of $US152 mil-
MIA approval was one of the conditions lion in deferred payments. lion, IRR of 20.3% and revenue of $US1.33
precedent for a $US60 million debt facility The term sheet paves the way for Indika billion from the 11-year mine life. C1 costs
from Sprott Private Resource Lending. Fi- to invest up to $US40 million into a whol- of $US643/oz and AISC of $US758/oz
nal project funding arrangements are set to ly-owned subsidiary of Nusantara in two are estimated, assuming a gold price of
be announced imminently. stages, including an initial tranche of $US15 $US1,250/oz.
At the time of print, Emerald raised $75 million, to earn 40% of the 2 moz Awak Mas It was a transformational year in 2019 for
million from a share placement, with the project. Nusantara during which founding manag-
company declaring the Okvau project now Indika subsidiary PT Petrosea Tbk was ing director Mike Spreadborough departed,
fully funded for development. Foulis stepped up as executive chairman
“When you’re in an emerging market like Nusantara intends to start construction work and Neil Whitaker became its Jakarta-
Cambodia you have to have a funding part- at Awak Mas within the next 12 months based chief executive.
ner that has got the same sort of risk profile Foulis said all the pieces of the puzzle
as we have,” Hart said. were coming together for Nusantara to tar-
“Sprott is very keen to back us as a devel- get construction of a mine within the next
opment team. They’ve had a look at Cam- 12 months.
bodia and they’re very comfortable with “In the first part of 2020 we will look to
the fiscal regime here. Obviously not too complete the FEED, land access agree-
many people know much about Cambodia, ments and basically get ourselves ready for
but they’ve made themselves comfortable a financial investment decision, which in-
about it. cludes having bank finance ready, and then
“On top of that, they’ve given us a $100 we’ll roll this into construction towards the
million M&A fund because they can see end of the year,” Foulis said.
we’re going to get more than one project “There are a lot of companies out there
and they’d like to be part of that. In essence, that have projects that look good on paper,
the benefit to us with Sprott and this style but ultimately you have to be able to trans-
of funding is they’re going to become our late that into moving those projects into
funding partner going forward, so we won’t development and into production. We rec-
have to rattle the tree as such looking for ognise that for the junior companies, one of
debt funding elsewhere.” the critical steps is to clearly demonstrate
Indonesia-focused Nusantara entered how you’re going to fund it and that’s what
2019 knowing the ensuing 12 months would we’re doing with these recent announce-
be primarily spent on identifying the opti- ments.
mal funding pathway for its $US162 million “Everybody here is committed to docu-
Awak Mas gold project in South Sulawesi, menting the [Indika] deal, finalising the deal
having attracted integrated energy and re- also awarded the FEED contract (valued at and getting stuck into what is going to be a
source company PT Indika Energy Tbk as up to $US10 million), with the companies to very exciting year in 2020 in terms of the
a cornerstone investor at the end of the pre- subsequently negotiate terms for an EPC actual physical work for the project.”
vious year. contract (valued at up to $US30 million).
Nusantara’s likely path to funding be- These payments are deferred, subject to – Michael Washbourne
came clearer in December when the com- relevant approvals and conditions.


aUSTRaLIa’S PaYDIRT FeBRUaRY 2020 Page 75

DRILL BITS www.capdrill.com www.capdrill.com



David Southam
continue to invest in resource extension, re-
source development and exploration while
we complete the DFS for our integrated
Nickel Restart Strategy.”

Magnetic attracted
to Lady Julie

Magnetic Resources NL’s first drilling on
the newly optioned Lady Julie gold project
near Laverton has delivered immediate en-
couragement.
The company announced its maiden 90-
hole RC programme at Lady Julie – adja-
cent to the company’s flagship HN9 project
– proved two western shears were strongly
mineralised with 198 intercepts reporting
more than 0.5 g/t with 19 greater than 3 g/t
and 12 greater than 4 g/t.
Best hits from the 4,000m programme
were 2m @ 5.44 g/t from 29m, 1m @ 18.18
Stellar hit for Mincor Mincor managing director David Southam g/t from 15m, 6m @ 1.79 g/t from 1m and
said. 1.78 g/t from 5m.
Ongoing diamond drilling at Mincor Re- Southam said the result showed the CS4 Magnetic has paid $20,000 for an option
sources NL’s Cassini nickel sulphide depos- surface could also extend significantly, with over Lady Julie until March 17 at which time
it at Kambalda returned another exceptional the intersection being 115m down-plunge it can acquire 100% by paying $50,000 in
high-grade nickel intercept in January, with from the last reported intersection. cash and 300,000 shares.
17.6m @ 5% (including 13m @ 6.1% nickel) “It is also our second highest value hole The company said the initial RC pro-
reported from a section interpreted to be per metre [measured as intercept width gramme would be followed up with detailed
within the CS4 channel. multiplied by nickel grade) at Cassini,” he ground magnetics and soil surveys before a
The new intersection is 115m down- said. second, 30-hole RC programme tests north,
plunge from the last reported CS4 inter- “We have committed part of the proceeds south and depth extensions.
section and represents the first result from from our recent $35 million capital raising to
a discrete programme aimed at demon- Mincor
strating the continuity of nickel sulphide
mineralisation at Cassini. This intersection
is down-plunge of the boundary of the ex-
isting resource of 1.254mt @ 4% nickel for
50,400t.
Initial interpretation from this intersection
indicated the CS4 and CS5 channels may
be steeper dipping beyond the current re-
source.
“The CS4 surface has recently taken
somewhat of a back-seat from the remark-
able success we achieved with our drilling
programme in the December 2019 quarter
surrounding the CS5 surface intersections,”






African expertise that delivers results


Contact us to discuss how our knowledge and experience

operating across Africa can help your project.



[email protected] | www.capdrill.com





Page 76 FeBRUaRY 2020 aUSTRaLIa’S PaYDIRT

www.capdrill.com www.capdrill.com





Oklo widens scope source at the Carlton prospect, part of the including some of the highest-grade gold
mineralisation intersected at Southern
Finniss project near Darwin, Northern Ter-
in Mali ritory. Nights so far.
High-grade lithium intersections outside Results included 35m @ 6.3% zinc,
Oklo Resources Ltd has struck more the current Finniss resource included; 35m 2.59% lead, 105 g/t silver, 0.24% copper,
wide zones of gold mineralisation from infill @ 1.32%, 14m @ 1.4% and 8m @ 1.37%; 1.87 g/t gold from 232m (including 5.9m
drilling at SK1 South at its Dandoko in west 23m @ 1.12% and 32m @ 1.52 % (includ- @ 17.13% zinc, 8.34% lead, 376 g/t silver,
Mali. ing 5m @ 2.69%); 13m @ 1.02% and 24m 0.26% copper, 7.6 g/t gold from 232.8m
Results from the final 11 RC holes of @ 1.08%; 27m @ 1.24% (including 4m @ and 7m @ 13.3% zinc, 4.4% lead, 97 g/t
shallow resource definition drilling at Seko 2.28%) and 14m @ 1.22%. silver, 0.1% copper, 0.89 g/t gold from
included 52m @ 1.27g/t gold from 26m (in- There are at least two spodumene peg- 251m).
cluding 3m @ 3.64 g/t gold from 61m) and matite bodies confirmed at Carlton, which Mineralisation associated with this high-
27m @ 1.1 g/t gold from 130m. remains open along strike to the south and grade zone remains open to the south,
Follow-up holes drilled at the emerging at depth. Peel reported.
SK5 trend encountered significant gold The most southern drill holes intersect- Infill drilling at Southern Knights con-
mineralisation including, 5m @ 1.21 g/t gold ed 13m @ 1.02%, 24m @ 1.08%, 23m @ tinue to add confidence to the geological
from 18m. 1.12% and 32m @ 1.52%. model, with recent assays received includ-
Both SK1 and SK5 remain open to the A resource expansion is due to be an- ing 23.2m @ 7.72% zinc, 3.33% lead, 48
south towards the nearby Koko prospect, nounced at Carlton this quarter. g/t silver, 0.1% copper, 0.24 g/t gold from
where wide intersections were recently re- 272.8m (including 10.8m @ 13.1% zinc,
ported. 5.22% lead, 91 g/t silver, 0.12% copper,
A maiden resource estimate is scheduled Peel’s great southern 0.33 g/t gold from 273.5m), while another
for completion in Q2 2020.
results hole returned 41m @ 4.72% zinc, 1.04%
lead, 35 g/t silver, 0.28% copper, 0.4 g/t
Peel Mining Ltd has started resource
Core strengthening estimation work at the Southern Knights gold from 259m (including 13m @ 8.65%
zinc, 1.5% lead, 28 g/t silver, 0.4% copper,
at Finniss deposit in New South Wales. 0.38 g/t gold from 278m).
A new high-grade zone has been iden-
Core Lithium Ltd has announced new tified at the southern end of Southern
high-grade spodumene pegmatite intersec- Nights, about 500m south of the Southern Red 5 on song in the hills
tions that are expected to expand the re- Nights Central Zone, with assay results FY2020 has started well for Red 5 Ltd at
King of the Hills, with results from infill and
extensional underground drilling returning
positive results, including broad whole-
of-hole intercepts 190.6m @ 1.3 g/t gold,
231m @ 1.2 g/t and 58m @ 4.1 g/t.
Extensional drilling has delivered widths
of up to 57.3m @ 2.3 g/t gold outside of
the existing 3.1 moz resource envelope,
together with high-grade intersections in-
cluding 15.9m @ 34.5 g/t and 18.2m @
11.5 g/t.
The latest results came as the compa-
ny’s FY2020 85,000m underground dia-
mond drilling programme at the King of the
Hills continued.


Core has produced high-grade lithium hits from drilling in the Northern Territory





African expertise that delivers results


Contact us to discuss how our knowledge and experience

operating across Africa can help your project.



[email protected] | www.capdrill.com





aUSTRaLIa’S PaYDIRT FeBRUaRY 2020 Page 77

SIGNED, SEALED AND DELIVERED




EcoGraf engineers EPC
partnership

EcoGraf Ltd and GR Engineering Ser-
vices Ltd are expected to enter a formal
partnership over a new, state-of the art
battery graphite manufacturing facility in
Kwinana, Western Australia.
Last month, both parties signed a
letter of intent for an EPC contract for
development of a 20,000 tpa facility,
pledging to work together to complete
pre-development activities.
The proposed development has a pre-
tax NPV of $US141 million, IRR of 36.6%
and annual EBITDA of $US35 million,
based on an upfront capex of $US22.8
million for an initial 5,000 tpa, followed
by a further $US49.2 million to expand
production to 20,000 tpa.
More than 250 workers are expected
to be directly employed during construc-
tion.
RCT Connect is the first digital WiFi communications network specifically designed for
RCT makes critical underground machine automation
connection bles to run between access points and site construction works associated with
a simple installation with only two con- the WTS2 development, including the
Autonomous solutions company RCT
has released the first digital WiFi com- nections process plant, overland conveyor and
munications network specifically de- The network has been tested at a mine non-process infrastructure.
signed for machine automation and con- site in WA and was recently deployed in Work will begin this quarter and is ex-
trol in underground mining operations. an underground mining operation over- pected to be completed during 2021.
RCT Connect is described as user- seas. Meanwhile, Monadelphous recently
friendly, portable and can be installed secured a number of construction and
into a production area and commis- Mondium lands major maintenance contracts worth a com-
sioned with minimal time and expertise. bined $110 million. This includes a con-
Its specialist technology means it can EPC contract tract with BHP Ltd at the Mining Area C
operate in temperatures ranging from Mondium Pty Ltd – a JV between iron ore site and another for the provision
minus 20°C to 60°C. Monadelphous Group Ltd and Lycopo- of services associated with the demoli-
The platform uses a coaxial cable to dium Ltd – has been awarded a $400 tion and rehabilitation of a number of
transfer power and information to ac- million contract for the design and con- end-of-life facilities at Nelson Point in
cess points for up to 1.5 km before an struction of Rio Tinto Ltd’s Western Port Hedland.
additional power insertion is required Turner Syncline Phase 2 (WTS2) mine Monadelphous has also been award-
along the length of a drive. in WA’s Pilbara region. ed a contract with Thyssenkrupp Indus-
RCT said this feature offered several Under the terms of the lucrative con- trial Solutions for the construction of
major benefits over traditional WiFi de- tract, Mondium will carry out all engi- a reclaimer and two stackers at BHP’s
ployments such as reduced requirement neering and design, procurement and South Flank project. Work is likely to be
for configuration, eliminating costly ca- completed early next year.




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Page 78 FeBRUaRY 2020 aUSTRaLIa’S PaYDIRT

Vysarn sends second rig NRW strikes first win CPB set to dress up

to Roy Hill for new subsidiary Robe Valley
Vysarn Ltd’s wholly owned subsidiary NRW Holdings Ltd’s newly acquired sub- Rio Tinto Ltd has selected CIMIC
Pentium Hydro Pty Ltd is supplying a sidiary BGC Contracting has been awarded Group company CPB Contractors to de-
second rig to operations at Roy Hill Iron a $138 million infrastructure contract at liver three separate packages of work at
Ore Pty Ltd. Fortescue Metals Group Ltd’s Eliwana mine Robe Valley in the Pilbara.
The initial purchase order under Vy- and rail project. Valued at around $150 million, the
sarn’s general works contract with Roy The scope includes the construction of work packages include various earth-
Hill was signed in November and has an about 65km of rail formation, including earth- works and civil works associated with
estimated first phase value of about $1.3 works, roadworks, drainage works and con- development of Robe Valley, about
million. struction of bridges and precast structures. 140km south-west of Karratha.
Pentium was planning to mobilise to Current timelines have the project on Other major works – to be completed
site by the end of last month. Based on schedule for delivery in late 2020, with a by the end of next year – include con-
the current scope, the company was ex- peak workforce of about 400. struction of roads, bridges and pits; wa-
pecting to complete the order within 3-4 NRW’s acquisition of BGC Contracting ter supply infrastructure and drainage;
months of mobilisation. for an enterprise value of about $310 million fencing; and site establishment and de-
was completed in December. mobilisation.

DRA advised to proceed

with Colluli build
A notice to proceed has been issued
to DRA Global for the provision of EPCM
services at Danakali Ltd’s 50%-owned
Colluli sulphate-of-potash project in Eri-
trea.
Initial EPCM activities will include a re-
view and possible update of the FEED,
the start of geotechnical test work and
the purchase of critical equipment.
Danakali has also confirmed Earth
Moving Worldwide as the preferred con-
tractor for the Colluli mining services
scope, covering the pre-production peri-
od plus the first five years of production.
Execution of a mining services con-
tract is expected in early 2020, ahead of
proposed first production in 2022.








CPB Contractors was recently awarded
about $150 million worth of work packages
at Rio Tinto’s Robe Valley mine


NUCLEUS















+27 (0)10 593 0509 [email protected] www.nucleusml.co.za



aUSTRaLIa’S PaYDIRT FeBRUaRY 2020 Page 79

COMINGS AND GOINGS




im Dobson has been un- are also set to join Anglo Aus- placed David Kelly on the board
Tveiled as the new chief ex- tralian as chief financial officer/ of Predictive Discovery Ltd. Kel-
ecutive of Heron Resources company secretary and explo- ly is currently acting chief oper-
Ltd. With more than 30 years ration manager, respectively. ating officer at Resolute Mining
of experience on his resume, Ltd, Predictive’s most significant
Dobson joins the NSW-based ohan Williams has retired JV partner in West Africa, and
zinc producer from Canada’s Ras executive chairman and he elected to step down to avoid
Sherritt International Inc where chief executive of Dacian Gold a potential conflict of interest.
he was senior vice-president, Ltd. Former Doray Minerals
metals. He was also previously boss Leigh Junk is the compa- atrick O’Connor has been
president of Ambatovy in Mada- Mark Strizek ny’s new managing director and Pappointed executive chair-
gascar. Ian Cochrane has stepped up man of Metals X Ltd following
ark Strizek has been pro- to a non-executive chairman’s the resignations of predecessor
ewmont Corp is transfer- Mmoted to an executive role. Simon Heggen and manag-
Nring Boddington general director role at Tietto Minerals ing director Damian Marantelli.
manager Jim Cooper to lead Ltd, having served as a non- Brett Smith has also joined the
its Peñasquito mine in Mexico. executive director since July company as a non-executive
Jen Bennett, currently vice- 2017. director representing the inter-
president of operations for New- ests of 15% shareholder APAC
mont’s South America region, arret Dixon has assumed Resources Ltd, while Xingwang
will succeed Jim at Boddington. Gthe chairmanship of iron Bao has replaced Yimin Zhang
ore hopeful Fenix Resources as a representative of Jinchuan.
ldoro Resources Ltd man- Ltd from Bevan Tarratt. Dixon
Aaging director Caedmon has held numerous high-profile
Marriott has been appointed a roles in his nearly four-decade
non-executive director of Gold- long career in the industry, in-
en Mile Resources Ltd. cluding executive general man-
ager of civil construction and
uo Yan Chao has joined contract mining group Henry
GVango Mining Ltd as a non- Walker Eltin, managing direc-
executive director. Based in tor of logistics company Mitchell Rohan Williams
Sydney, he is the major share- Corporation and chief execu-
holder and senior executive of tive of iron ore miner Gindalbie ark Arundell has been ap- Lee-Anne de Bruin
a significant Chinese commodi- Metals Ltd. Until recently, he Mpointed chief executive of
ties trading house which has was executive vice-president Sky Metals Ltd. A geoscientist ee-Anne de Bruin has re-
annual turnover of more than of Alcoa Corp’s global bauxite with more than 30 years’ experi- Lsigned as chief financial
$US2 billion and generates an- business. ence, he has held senior roles officer of Resolute Mining Ltd
nual profits in excess of $US100 with RGC, North Ltd and Rio after almost three years in the
million. driatic Metals Ltd has ap- Tinto Ltd. role. Former Fortescue Metals
Apointed Geoff Eyre as chief Group Ltd and Wesfarmers Ltd
im Staermose and Tolga financial officer to replace the olin Carson, Mark Norwell senior finance executive Stuart
TKumova have been appoint- outgoing Sean Duffy. Eyre most Cand Joseph Taboni have Gale is her replacement.
ed directors of Copper Strike recently held the same position been elected to the board of
Ltd, while Harry Hatch has re- at Avesoro Resources Inc and the Australia-Africa Minerals delaide-based lawyer Si-
signed. was previously chief executive and Energy Group (AAMEG), Amon O’Loughlin and Oklo
of Liberia-focused exploration filling the positions vacated by Resources Ltd managing direc-
ormer Petra Diamonds Ltd company Amlib Holdings. Phil- Bill Turner AO, Ron Sayers and tor Simon Taylor have joined
Fexecutive Robert Kaplan lip Fox has also joined Adriatic Grant Pierce. the board of Stellar Resources
has been appointed chief finan- as chief geologist following the Ltd following the departures of
cial officer and company secre- retirement of Bob Annett in De- managing director Peter Blight
tary of Pensana Rare Earths plc cember. and chairman Phil Harman.
ahead of its planned listing on
the main board of the London ormer Egan Street Resourc- atrick Holywell has been
Stock Exchange this month. Fes managing director Marc Pappointed non-executive
The company is acquiring Ducler will take on the same role chairman of Six Sigma Metals
100% of ASX-listed Pensana at Anglo Australian Resources Ltd, with Eddie King to continue
Metals Ltd by way of a scheme NL. Ducler was appointed to the as a non-executive director.
of arrangement. company’s board, along with
new chairman Leigh Warnick, ohn Gooding has retired as
ariscan Mines Ltd has ap- following the withdrawal of a Jindependent chairman of
Vpointed Gareth Northam section 249D notice in late De- Kasbah Resources Ltd, with
as exploration manager for cember. Former chairman John chief executive Evan Spencer
the company’s zinc projects in Jones will continue as a non-ex- stepping up as executive chair-
Spain. He began his career at ecutive director alongside Peter Mark Norwell man. Keith Pollocks has also
Rio Tinto plc and has more than Stern and David Varcoe. Du- stepped down as chief financial
15 years of experience in the cler’s Egan Street colleagues rrow Minerals Ltd director officer, with Pradeep Subrama-
Africa-Europe region. Brendan Morton and Julie Reid ASteven Michael has re- niam taking over the role.

Page 80 FeBRUaRY 2020 aUSTRaLIa’S PaYDIRT

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LEFTFIELD





CRC gets a taste of Chile




ith just 18 months left of its current system that can be accessed and worked
Wfunding term, the Cooperative Re- on simultaneously by a team of experts
search Centre for Optimising Resource collaborating from anywhere in the world.
Extraction (CRC ORE) is actively educat- IES is being used by a growing number
ing and cooperating with its participants in of operators worldwide to enhance the
the use of its unique solutions, including value of their operations, including CRC
the Integrated Extraction Simulator (IES). ORE participants in Chile.
IES is a cloud-based software plat- CRC ORE’s IES utilisation manager
form for the digital simulation of mineral Dr Eiman Amini was recently invited to IES represents the next generation of
processing operations in concentrators Chile by Teck and Anglo American plc mineral processing simulation
and other processing plants. It simulates to deliver an immersive learning experi-
equipment performance and metallurgi- ence for senior mining and metallurgy
cal response for all components in a min- staff. Attendees discovered firsthand the Trade and Investment Commission es-
eral processing value chain, starting with new capabilities and exclusive features of timating that in 2018 mining contributed
blasting and progressing through commi- IES to conduct several technology trans- more than 53% of Chile’s exports and
nution to flotation and leaching. fer workshops in the use of the signature 9% of GDP. The country is home to the
The cloud architecture underpinning CRC ORE technology. largest copper reserve on earth and pro-
IES enables mass simulations in a matter Chile is of course a mining powerhouse duces a third of the world’s copper.
of hours and positions it as an enterprise in South America, with the Australian


INDEX


Adriatic 80 Emerald 74-75 Lucapa 18, 66-67 Rio Tinto 4, 11, 13, 14, 18,
African Gold 60 Endeavour 69 53, 60, 67, 78-79, 80
Albemarle 28, 47 European Lithium 49 Macarthur 61 Roy Hill 79
Alcoa 80 European Metals 49 Magnetic 77 Royal Bafokeng 6
Aldoro 80 Exore 49 Mali Lithium 47
Alita 47 Matsa 61 Salt Lake 61
Alkane 58-59 Fenix 80 Medusa 74 Saracen 61
Altura 47 First Quantum 68 Metals X 80 Sayona 48
Anglo American 6, 67, 72-73 Force 46 Mincor 37, 76 Sherritt 80
Anglo Australian 80 Fortescue 11, 79, 80 Mineral Commodities 42 Sibanye 6
AngloGold 61, 69 FYI 63 Mineral Resources 47 Sirius Minerals 72-73
Anson 48 Mont Royal 61 Six Sigma 80
Ardea 58-59 Galan 46 Sky 80
Ardiden 48 Galaxy 46 Nanuk 67 Snow Flake 48
Argosy 46 Ganfeng 47 Neometals 29, 40-41, 47 SQM 47
Arrow 61, 80 Geopacific 74-75 Newmont 4, 11, 80 SolGold 60
Australian Potash 61 Gibb River 14-17 Northam 6 St Barbara 11, 74
Australian Vanadium 44-45 Glencore 36, 61, 68 Nova 48 Stavely 60
Avesoro 80 Godolphin 58-59 Nusantara 74-75 Stellar 80
Gold Fields 11, 55
B2Gold 69 Golden Mile 80 Oklo 77, 80 Talga 28, 30, 32
Barrick 4, 68-69 Orocobre 46 Tianqi 13
Bellevue 60 Heron 58, 80 Oz 8 Tietto 80
BHP 4, 11, 36, 53, 59, 73 Trigg 11, 61
Big River 70 IGO 36-37, 40 Panoramic 37
Iluka 8 Peel 77 Vale 4
Canterbury 60 Image 55 Pensana 80 Vango 80
Centamin 69 Impala 6 Petra 80 Variscan 80
Challenger 71 Infinity 49 Piedmont 48 Vedanta 68
Chevron 11 ioneer 48 Pilbara 29, 47
Consolidated Zinc 70 Predictive 80 Wesizwe 6
Copper Strike 80 Kalium Lakes 61 Prospect 46 Western Areas 36-37
Kasbah 80 PTM 6 Woodside 11
Dacian 80
Danakali 61, 79 Lake 46 Red 5 77
Legend 40-41 Regis 75
EcoGraf 78 Liontown 47 Resolute 60, 69, 80
EHR 67 Lithium Power 46



Page 82 FeBRUaRY 2020 aUSTRaLIa’S PaYDIRT

ST GEORGE MINING



is making WA’s


next big nickel


discoveries




































Mt Alexander Project: High Grade Nickel Copper Sulphide Discovery

High grade nickel-copper-cobalt-PGE sulphide mineralisation
commences 30m from surface








High impact drilling campaign underway

Quality exploration team with track record of success
in discovery of gold and massive nickel sulphide deposits

Strong investor backing supports St George’s exploration model



ST GEORGE MINING LIMITED | ACN 139 308 973 stgm.com.au

Exploring South East Asia’s


premier nickel sulfide district






AN ADVANCED NICKEL SULFIDE PROJECT
Ta Khoa Project (Nickel-Coper-Cobalt-PGE),
Vietnam

• Ban Phuc Mine operated from 2013 to 2016,
mining 975kt @ 2.4% Ni & 1.0% Cu for 20.7kt
Ni & 10.1kt Cu;
• Existing infrastructure built to Australian
Standards includes a 450ktpa concentrator
and a modern mechanised underground mine
located within a premier nickel sulfide district;
• Invested capital in excess of US$136m
generated US$213m in revenue and paid total
contributions to government of US$65m
during a 3.5 year period of falling nickel
prices;
• Alliance with Korea’s largest electric vehicle
battery cathode producer, Ecopro BM Co
Limited
• Drilling is ongoing with four rigs on site;
upcoming exploration will include both
infill drilling, targeting the known Ban Phuc
disseminated sulfide zone, as well as step out
drilling, testing newly identified targets;
• New, near surface King Cobra nickel sulfide
discovery bearing semi-massive sulfide veins,
assays pending with near surface downhole
intervals of up to 60m and visual estimates of
up to 20% sulfide mineralisation
• EM and IP surveys underway
• Previously unrecognised PGE grades
suggest a potential by-product credit could
significantly enhance the future economics of
the project;
• Blackstone is fully funded to deliver a maiden
resource and a scoping study by mid 2020













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