2019-Media-Kit-Profiles-A4

Profiles Gallery 2018

PROFILE 1 - Cannacord
PROFILE 2 - MinAnalytical
PROFILE 3 - Western Areas

PROFILE 4 - Draig
PROFILE 5 - Northern Minerals
PROFILE 6 - Prospect Resources

PROFILE 7 - Capital Drilling
PROFILE 8 - Cardinal Resources

PROFILE 9 - Nucleus Mining
PROFILE 10 - Prospect Resources

PROFILE 11 - Black Rock
PROFILE 12 - Neometals
PROFILE 13 - Perth Mint
PROFILE 14 - AEL Mining Services
PROFILE 15 - Ministry of Mineral Resources Greenland
PROFILE 16 - SGS Ghana

25

1994 - 2019

The firm’s global reach may be impressive but it is Canaccord Genuity’s depth of knowledge
of the Australian market which is paying dividends.
At a time when Australian mining stocks, particularly gold and lithium, are outperforming
North American peers, the domestic experience of the Canaccord Genuity (Australia) team
– led by Marcus Freeman – is a clear advantage, particularly when it is coupled with the
firm’s global reach.

Canaccord Genuity has 12 publishing metals Reg Spencer Marcus Freeman
and mining analysts across the global
group, covering nearly 180 companies success provides further incentive for this, according to
across Australia, Canada and the UK. Spencer.

That global element has obvious benefits “We’ve been expecting M&A for some time because
for domestic corporate and investing production has grown strongly, which places more
clients, providing an insight into the trends, pressure on reserve replacement,” he said. “Some of the
thoughts and perceptions of the global companies have been very good at replacing ounces
metals and mining sector. organically but if you are producing 600,000 ozpa, it
becomes increasing difficult to do this. On this basis, we
The international investor’s current shine for think some of the significant cash balances being built up
Australian gold stocks is unsurprising given by the Aussie gold miners could start to flow into earlier
their operational performance in recent stage projects.”
years.
However, instead of taking on the increased risk of
“Many of the more established Australian earlier stage exploration, the mid-tier companies have
gold miners have done an amazing job in shown a recent tendency to support junior explorers and
building globally significant businesses developers.
over the last three or four years,” Canaccord
Genuity’s (Australia) Reg Spencer said. “They have “Most of the mid-tiers – St Barbara, Northern Star, Evolution,
grown their production bases, pulled costs out of their Resolute, Oceana – have taken equity investments in
operations, improved productivity dramatically, while juniors. Instead of building out their own greenfields
remaining disciplined in terms of capital management. exploration teams and taking on the considerable risks
This has resulted in very strong businesses with healthy of early stage exploration and development, many have
free cash flow and balance sheets, and is reflected in their chosen to investment in junior companies, effectively
respective share price performances. We now have six or taking an option on new resource discovery.”
seven mid-cap gold miners with plus-$1 billion market
caps, in and our view, this group has now arguably Spencer believes this could have flow-on effects for junior
become a global benchmark” ” explorers.

Such is the nature of markets, many investors are “That interest shown by the bigger gold companies could
predicting the end of this stellar Australian gold run but be a leading indicator for capital flowing back into junior
Spencer preaches caution at the moment. stocks. Investors begin to look at these investments and
think: ‘If it’s good enough for Northern Star, it should be
“Many are saying Australian gold equities are fully valued good enough for me.”
at the moment. It’s funny, because we all came to the
same conclusion 12 months ago and since then many
have doubled in price.”

Gold’s apparent deleveraging from traditional price drivers
such as political instability, US economic performance
and interest rate hikes makes the job of forecasting future
gold price movements more complicated.

Currency has been an equally important driver for the
Australian gold miners, with the Australian gold price
trading in a relatively tight band over the past 12 months.
This has afforded Australian gold producers some of the
best margins globally.

The big inflow of cash onto Australian gold company
balance sheets has many analysts predicting a wave of
corporate activity ahead. The lack of recent exploration

“The problem for investors is that there are not many high role in the EV revolution and the well-known problems
quality junior stories to choose from because very little on the supply side have led to Canaccord Genuity
has been spent on exploration in the last 5-6 years. So, maintaining favourable outlooks for the short, medium
any emerging explorers and developers with half decent and long term.”
assets automatically become M&A candidates.”
Nickel, meanwhile, is experiencing five-year high prices
If one of Australian mining’s most established sectors on the LME thanks in part to its use in lithium-ion
has provided Canaccord Genuity with solid foundations, batteries. While stainless steel will continue to account
the firm’s understanding of the most nascent, battery for the majority of nickel demand, EV and energy storage
minerals, is setting it apart from peers. demand is expected to increase its share.

“Canaccord Genuity has undertaken extensive research “Nickel is the most interesting of the base metals,” Spencer
into the battery minerals sector, and as an example of said. “Historically, it has been a very volatile market but
this, we now research more lithium companies than any is now probably the best example of how other sectors
other firm globally,” Spencer said. can also benefit from the EV story. Some 70% of global
nickel supply is used in stainless steel but our research
Canaccord Australia has been covering the lithium sector suggests nickel’s use in batteries will grow by +400% by
for almost 7 years, initially through its long relationship 2025, capturing a market share of 10% from less than 3%
with lithium producer Orocobre, but more recently in 2018. This has likely implications for the nickel market
through a continually expanding stable of emerging as not all nickel is suitable for use in batteries”
lithium producers and developers in Australia, Canada
and the UK. This plays into the hands of Australian nickel sulphide
producers such as Independence Group and Western
The increased focus has been well-timed as the Areas who are now pinning their masts to the EV
electric vehicle and energy storage revolution grips revolution.
manufacturers, utilities, carmakers and governments
around the world. Spencer expects investors to warm to nickel’s battery
connection.
“It has been amazing how rapidly the sector has grown
and how the growth of the lithium-ion battery market “The advantage nickel has is that it is a well-known,
is affecting so many other sectors,” Spencer said. “Our transparent and tradeable commodity with well-
research points to EVs and energy storage as one of established companies mining it. So, for investors
the most disruptive trends to enter the mining sector wanting to play the EV market, the likes of Independence
since the iron ore boom of the early 2000s. There are Group and Western Areas – which have good operating
differences, however. The iron ore boom was based in track-records – could provide a lower risk alternative to
the most part on a three-fold increase in Chinese steel more volatile lithium stocks.”
production. The electrification of transport and the rise of
energy storage is a much larger, global thematic, which
in terms of scale has the potential to impact many of the
key metal markets.

“Notwithstanding the success we have had for the firm
and our clients in recent years in the battery materials
space, we remain positive on the long term outlook for
the sector.”

The result of Canaccord’s research is a belief in the
longevity of a market trend some observers still believe
could be fleeting.

“This is not a flash-in-the-pan narrative, it is a 15-20 year
story,” he said. “We see a lithium market suffering from
undersupply for the next 18-24 months, following which
there will likely be some meaningful supply responses
underway from the early 2020s. Interestingly, however,
by the mid 2020’s you begin wondering where the all
lithium will come from again.”

Recent market valuations of lithium stocks belies this
assessment but Spencer points to Galaxy Resources’s
US$280 million sale of lithium brine exploration ground
to POSCO as evidence of the industry’s bullish outlook.

The last 18 months have seen other battery-associated
minerals follow lithium with cobalt, vanadium and even
manganese taking flight. However, Spencer believes the
battery revolution could also have a major impact on two
traditional base metals.

“Copper’s association is not so much for its use in batteries
but more for its use in infrastructure for EVs and energy
storage. Rio Tinto and BHP have already raised copper’s

ChrysosTM PhotonAssay provides a unique, chemistry-free approach to material analysis. It hits samples with high-
energy X-rays, causing short-lived excitation of atomic nuclei of targeted elements. These excited nuclei then give
off a characteristic signature that can be detected and used to calculate metal grade.
The X-rays are produced using a device called an electron accelerator. Similar accelerators are commonly used in
hospital radiotherapy units, and for industrial sterilisation of products such as medical supplies. The PhotonAssay
X-ray source contains no radioactive material.
Unlike the low-energy X-rays used in conventional assay methods like XRF, the X-ray beam used to excite the
samples and the resulting elemental signature gamma-rays are very penetrating, meaning that large samples
can be measured. A true bulk reading is returned, independent of the chemical or physical form of the sample.
Rock chips, powdered or crushed samples, and solutions or slurries can be directly analysed.

Nearly 500 years after it was first demanding quicker access to data clients to review their processes to
documented in De re metallica, the in order to speed up the response take advantage of the accessibility to
fire assaying technique for gold time between results, assessment results, which ultimately will deliver
sampling is about to have some and application. cost savings to their business.
serious competition from a faster
alternative. The fully automated system uses “This is game-changing technology,
high-powered X-ray technology and it has certainly generated a lot
Ausdrill Ltd subsidiary MinAnalytical to activate the gold atoms with the of interest within the mining industry,
will launch the first commercial subsequent signals being counted with several major companies
Chrysos Corporation PhotonAssay by sensitive detectors. supplying samples for the validation
machine at its facility in Canning process that we are currently
Vale, Western Australia this month, Commercial-scale testing has working through.”
becoming the first company to offer proven the technique to be as
the technique to the mining industry. accurate as traditional fire assaying MinAnalytical general manager
and can reduce assay processing Gary Wheeler said the group had
Developed by CSIRO and brought to times from more than 48 hours to worked closely with both Chrysos
market by Chrysos Corporation, the less than 1 hour. Corporation and industry clients
PhotonAssay instrument is a faster, to ensure the machine delivered
safer and more environmentally- Ausdrill chief operating officer immediate benefits to gold miners. “I
friendly alternative to the Andrew Broad said the Chrysos had been following this technology
conventional fire assay technique machine has the ability to for a number of years and when
for gold analysis. revolutionise the way assaying is the opportunity to get involved was
done in the Australian gold industry. presented we were quick to take
The development comes at a He believes that: “This opens up a it up,” Wheeler said. “Ausdrill and
time when the gold industry is whole range of possibilities for our

The ChrysosTM PhotonAssay machine, Andrew Broad
newly installed at MinAnalytical’s
Canning Vale facility in WA “We will have a hub-and-spoke set
up, feeding samples into the two
MinAnalytical’s years of mining NATA accreditation is expected units in Kalgoorlie with the ability
industry experience has proved this month with MinAnalytical to process 3,200 samples a day
invaluable in helping with the showcasing the machine at and turnaround within 12 hours,”
logistics of getting the samples Diggers & Dealers and Gold18@ Wheeler said. “We are looking
from the field to the lab ready for Perth with keynote presentations of at providing a service for grade
analysis. We have engaged a the technology. control and resource development
number of senior geologists from Ausdrill’s confidence in the work to complement our existing
industry to discuss how best to do potential of this technology is fire assaying offering which will
the sampling process. We have further evidenced by its approval continue to service the exploration
looked at different sample sizes for the installation of the next two sector.
and particle sizes to determine the units in Kalgoorlie, underlining its
best way to utilise automation for commitment to satisfying customer Wheeler believes that ultimately
the process.” need for quality results delivered the PhotonAssay instrument could
quickly and is looking to further change the way the gold industry
The validation process saw streamline the process by designing approaches drilling and sampling.
MinAnalytical test the PhotonAssay ways to produce samples ready for
instrument against traditional analysis directly from the drill rig. “This process offers a level of speed
fire assay across a variety of ore The Chrysos machines are in turnaround that the industry is not
types and particle sizes. The ideally suited to grade control currently getting,” he said. “There
new technique has ultimately and reserve conversion drilling, are obvious benefits in handling
proved quicker, more reliable and allowing companies to speed and reduced freight costs because
as accurate as the established up their response to drilling. For of the sample sizes and there is
process. MinAnalytical, the new service will even potential to reduce drilling
allow it to increase its assaying diameters.
Wheeler recognises that capabilities to the gold sector.
“However, I think the real benefits
improvements in turnaround speed The Chrysos techniques allows will only come as the industry starts
rock chips, powdered or crushed using the technology and finds for
are the PhotonAssay machine’s samples, and solutions or slurries itself ways in which analysis can
change from the field onwards.
most immediately obvious benefit. to be directly analysed There will, I believe, be a ripple
effect beyond the cost savings of
“This first machine has the capacity sample size and speed of assay.
to analyse up to 50,000 samples People will start thinking up the
per month because not only is chain beyond just the assay and
the analysis quicker, but the will likely change their entire
preparation time is reduced,” he processes. It will encourage people
said. to think outside the square.”

“Multiple stages of the traditional
fire assay technique are no longer
required significantly reducing
the number of staff required.
Additionally, the non-destructive
nature of the process also means
samples can be re-assayed multiple
times, allowing companies to review
processes to take advantage of
accessibility of results.”

An innovation strategy born out of survival (45-50% nickel content) concentrate. The company will initially
instincts has set Western Areas Ltd on the blend the material with its existing product from the Cosmic Boy
road to a rarity among Australian nickel concentrator, improving overall recoveries by 3-5% over the life-
players; a robust growth story. of-mine, but is also pursuing other options, including selling the
high-grade MREP product separately, potentially for distribution
While Australia’s other nickel players were forced to shutter into the emerging battery market.
operations during the metal’s five-year price trough, Western
Areas applied innovative programmes across its mining, While Forrestania’s existing nickel sulphide production is locked
processing, marketing and corporate divisions to ensure its up in contracted offtake agreements with BHP Nickel West and
Forrestania operations remained robust. And now, with an Chinese stainless steel producer Tsingshan, the 1,400 tpa
electric vehicle-inspired rebound in nickel prices, the innovation MREP is currently unassigned.
programme is set to deliver not just survival but a platform for
growth at the near-$1 billion company. “With significant interest in this new product, including from
parties related to the electric vehicle sector, we have hosted
For the March quarter, Western Areas boasted mill production many site visits in recent months and have also received
of 4,287t of nickel at unit cash costs of $2.71/lb nickel-in- indicative offtake terms,” Western Areas managing director Dan
concentrate. That effort led to positive cash flow of $16.9 million Lougher said.
for the quarter, allowing the company to emerge from the
prolonged downturn in the nickel market with a healthy balance Western Areas has begun construction of a dedicated $3 million
sheet comprising of no debt and $154.1 million in cash and filtration and bagging facility and has already started marketing
receivables. discussions with potential offtake partners.

That performance will contribute to full-year production figures “We will soon commence dispatching samples to a select
of 21,000 tpa nickel-in-concentrate production as the company group of potential customers as part of securing a new offtake
continues to pull away from the depths of the nickel downturn. agreement,” Lougher said.
Since June 2017, Western Areas shares have lifted more than
70% as investors begin to recognise the structural work the Electric future
company has put into all facets of its business. While the company expects the high-grade concentrate to
attract a price premium, it is also eager to pursue opportunities
“Innovation has been key to positioning ourselves for the uplift in the burgeoning EV space.
in the nickel price,” managing director Dan Lougher said. “We
were the first mover into supplying concentrates to the roasting “The MREP produces a plus-45% nickel concentrate which
process – which has paid dividends. We were the first to apply we want to take into the EV supply chain,” Lougher said. “The
bioleaching to improve recoveries and we were one of the first volumes aren’t huge at the moment but we can pursue that
to pursue nickel sulphate opportunities for the battery market. market because the 1,400 tpa doesn’t have a contract currently.”
We are not frightened of doing things differently to our peers.”
Western Areas will be placing its new supply into a market
MREP revitalised by the growing recognition of nickel’s place in the EV
Most prominent among Western Areas’ innovations is its revolution. While lithium, cobalt and graphite have dominated
investment in the mill recovery enhancement project (MREP) the EV discussion to date, nickel – in the form of nickel sulphate
at Forrestania where post-commissioning ramp-up started last – remains the largest component of a lithium-ion battery.
month.
Lougher has been a keen observer of the EV revolution and has
The MREP circuit will recover nickel extracted from Western witnessed a shift from speculative predictions about the global
Areas’ patented BioHeap process, to be used on existing tailings uptake of EVs to a widespread acceptance they will largely
material. The process will produce 1,400 tpa of high-grade replace traditional vehicles over the next 30 years.

“We believe the EV sentiment because there is a lot of positive
language from analysts, banks and investors,” he said. “Instead
of speculating whether EVs would impact on the car market, all
the banks are now making forecasts based on high, low and
mid-range scenarios.”

Australian nickel sulphide miners have the added advantage of
being able to produce the EV-friendly nickel sulphate product

more cheaply than nickel laterite and nickel pig iron (NPI) such that it has already launched a $32 million early works
competitors. programme.

Lougher believes this could lead to a stratification of the nickel Lougher said the acquisition and subsequent development of
market. Odysseus demonstrated Western Areas’ clear commitment to
reinforcing its nickel credentials.
“The sulphide market will be key because it is the main source
into the sulphate market and laterites only come into play at a “We haven’t been distracted by gold or by lithium, our strong
higher cost,” he said. focus is on development of a third mine and Odysseus gives us
that organic opportunity,” he said. “We bought those Cosmos
We think that demand will result in a two-tier nickel price with a assets during the downward part of the cycle but it is a good
floor price for Class 1 nickel sulphides emerging.” project with a 10-year mine life which will produce a good
concentrate product. And, it will come online in 2022-23, just as
Adding further encouragement to nickel players considering the nickel sulphate market is predicted to take off.”
their position in the EV market is growing uncertainty around the
chemistry mix within batteries. The current standard mix of 6:2:2 At Forrestania, exploration is being ramped up in 2018 as
(nickel: cobalt: manganese) could be superseded by an 8:1:1 the company returns to the New Morning and Diggers South
mix in the future as end-users grow increasingly uneasy with prospects. The success of the BioHeap process in the MREP at
higher prices and the ability to source ethical supplies of cobalt. Forrestania has offered impetus to such prospects.

“That transformation hasn’t hit the market yet so there is growth “Using the bioleaching could open up new nickel sulphide
potential still to come,” Lougher said. opportunities at Forrestania and across WA,” Lougher said. “At
New Morning, we can produce a nickel sulphate solution which
Despite the EV market’s rising influence, stainless steel remains can be put through the back-end of the MREP and we will also
nickel’s bread-and-butter and even here supply/demand return to Diggers South.
dynamics are positive.
“This innovation allows for the treatment of lower-grade sulphide
“Many scenarios could play out in the EV market but the stainless material and it works with copper, zinc or any other sulphide.
steel market is still the main indicator of where nickel is at,” In the next 2-3 years we will have both tank and heap leaching
Lougher said. “You have to be sensible and respect stainless so will have the opportunity to demonstrate how it works to
steel’s importance to nickel and there is good projected growth other groups. In this price environment there are a lot of lower
in that sector which will be the main driver of a nickel deficit.” grade projects coming out of the woodwork to which it could be
applied.”
The global nickel supply chain has undergone a number of
structural shifts in the last 15 years as the emergence of NPI Western Areas’ innovative approach goes beyond science.
producers in first China and now Indonesia has flooded the The company had had previously sold 45% of its concentrate
market with cheap nickel products. to Chinese cathode producer Jinchuan but a new contract
with Chinese stainless steel producer Tsingshan which will see
The change resulted in the closure of several nickel sulphide nickel payability increase.
mines however the resurgent spot price has led to some miners
to consider restarts. Lougher is unperturbed by the turnaround. After three years of testwork on the Western Areas concentrate,
Tsingshan is confident it can handle nickel concentrate in its
“As we get into a higher price environment, there are going to roasting plant to produce a high-grade oxidised product which
be operations which are dusted off but the volumes are not big can be blended with low-grade laterite ore and fed directly into
enough to have a structural impact,” he said. stainless steel converters.

Growth opportunities The Tsingshan deal is another example of Western Areas’
Western Areas itself intends to provide the market with more willingness to pursue alternative strategies to maintain its
nickel sulphide concentrate supply of its own via organic growth position in both the upward and downward cycles of the nickel
at both Forrestania and its emerging Odysseus project. sector.

Acquired in 2015 as part of the company’s purchase of “We sit today with a nickel company which is benefitting from
Glencore’s Cosmos mining complex in Western Australia, stable demand and a move towards a higher price environment,”
Odysseus is currently subject of a DFS. Lougher said. “The equation is going to get quite exciting.”

The company’s confidence in the project’s economics is

No modern exploration has been applied to the historic
high-grade Bellevue gold project, near Leinster

A highly skilled technical team and application of modern exploration
techniques is the strategy Draig Resources Ltd is rolling out to unearth the

forgotten treasures at the historic high-grade Bellevue gold project.

For more than 20 years, the Bellevue project in Western High-grade mineralisation remains open at depth, while
Australia’s prolific Wiluna-Norseman gold belt has been new high-grade gold shoots have emerged for further
parked. testing.

Bellevue – 400km north-west of Kalgoorlie – was one Meanwhile, Draig has also delivered from a drilling
of Australia’s highest grade producing gold mines with programme targeting the Bellevue underground mine
output of 800,000oz gold @ 15 g/t reported from the extension in an area defined as the Gap.
underground operation.
Drilling focused on the offset and extension of Bellevue
Hosted within 100km of numerous world-class gold and in late May intersected 3.4m @ 10.4 g/t gold from 576.2m
nickel mines which are operated by some of the industry’s within 4.3m @ 8.8 g/t from 575.3m down-hole and 5.9m
biggest hitters, Bellevue had flown under the radar until below the main zone and secondary zone of 0.3m @ 44.4
Draig’s intervention a year or so ago. g/t from 584.3m.

“I don’t think there are any secrets to it, it is just the simple Draig reported “abundant fine-grained visible gold” in the
fact that it hasn’t been explored for 20 years,” Draig interval which was struck 500m below surface and 190m
executive director Steve Parsons said. west of the Bellevue underground.

“Here we are now 20 years on and this belt has been Draig believes it is a potentially significant mineralised
wrapped up by the nickel companies and this is the zone and immediately started a step-out drilling
first time someone has had a proper go at Bellevue. programme which was in progress during June.
Geological knowledge has come a long way in 20 years,
as has thoughts on high-grade deposits. Geophysics has Parsons said nothing was taking the company by surprise
also come a long way with the structural understanding and it appears the story is finding its way into the market,
of deposits, and all these things are on our side. We are with Cannacord Genuity (Australia) Ltd leading an $8
good at applying these techniques and we have engaged million institutional placement in March which effectively
the right consultants to assist us.” sees Draig funded into early 2019.

Success has been swift at Bellevue, with the discovery of “Everyone likes to have a greenfields discovery, but
the Tribune lode within the Western mineralised corridor greenfields discoveries are very difficult, costly and take a
a nice gift for Draig prior to Christmas 2017. long time to find, while brownfields are an easier sell, so I
think this story will resonate a lot more with the market,”
Tribune – 7m @ 27.5 g/t gold from 92m, including 5m @ Parsons said.
37.5 g/t; 5m @ 22.9 g/t from 25m; 12m @ 12 g/t from 68m;
15m @ 6.8 g/t from 79.5m, including 0.3m @ 284.4 g/t and “The only real surprise is that it is really hard to get your
2.5m @ 29 g/t from 147.5m – is currently defined from head around that no-one has explored it for 20 years, even
surface over a strike of 550m and remains open. the nickel companies didn’t poke one hole in to see if the
Bellevue mine extended deeper. We are just so excited
Draig is drawing similarities in the style and nature of by the geology and the success we had on the first drill
Tribune to the historic Bellevue lode, with recent diamond programme with the new discovery at Tribune and the
drilling targeting extensional, infill and new high-grade recent Bellevue Lode extension drilling. I guess you could
mineralisation also coming up trumps. say that was a surprise but it wasn’t really because you
find gold deposits by putting geological thought into it
Drilling at Bellevue followed a geophysical down- and then drilling holes to find it. You are never going to
hole electromagnetic survey (DHEM), with down-hole find anything unless you are drilling holes.”
diamond drilling results including 4.4m @ 13.5 g/t gold
from 305.5m down-hole; 9.5m @ 5 g/t from 324.5m A key milestone coming up for Draig will be a resource
including 2.6m @ 12.7 g/t; 2.3m @ 8.2 g/t from 53.7m and estimate in Q3, while all eyes will be on whether drilling
0.3m @ 31.8 g/t from 64.9m and 2m @ 9.3 g/t from 92m; proves there are down-dip extensions to Bellevue.
4.1m @ 6 g/t from 92.5m; 4.2m @ 3.6 g/t from 313m and
2m @ 6.7 g/t from 198m. “We will be drilling, stepping out on the Tribune discovery
both to the north and south and at depth and looking

Draig has tied up a large package of ground Draig Resources Ltd (ASX:DRG)
in the prolific Wiluna-Norseman belt
Office: Suite 3, Level 3, 24 Outram Street, West Perth
to expand that. We are looking at coming out with a
resource statement in the July-September quarter and Project: Bellevue gold project, near Leinster, Western
from there we will be looking to grow it from the step- Australia
out drilling,” Parsons said.
Strategy: Reinvigorate the historic high-grade gold
“We will also be drilling the deeper targets which are project
below the old Bellevue mine; they are the key things we
are focusing on. On top of that, the next quarter is about 12 month share price range: 5c-30c
stepping out regionally and testing some of the targets
outside of Bellevue; targeting good grade there as well.” Cash on hand: $11.7 million (March quarter)

Draig has a significant landholding in close proximity to Market cap: $69 million
its flagship Bellevue project covering more than 4,500sq
km in one of WA’s major gold producing districts. @draigresources

While the emphasis for chief geologist Sam Brooks On the board:
will be on Bellevue, Marcus Harden has recently joined
the team to take care of the broader picture for Draig, Ray Shorrocks, chairman
which includes the Yandal, Kathleen Valley, Fisher and
North Jundee projects. Corporate finance background, with over 20 years’
experience advising a diverse range of mining
“We pride ourselves on geology and finding gold and companies during his career at Patersons Securities
that is what we think we are good at,” Parsons said. “We Ltd. Shorrocks is also a director of Estrella Resources
have a very good technical team, which has a good, long Ltd, Galilee Energy Ltd and Pryme Energy Ltd
track record of discoveries around the world. When we
looked at Bellevue and the fact that it was super high- Steve Parsons, executive director
grade and a proven mine – it mined almost 1 moz @ 15
g/t gold – and nobody had looked at it for 20 years; you An experienced geologist, Parsons has underpinned
combine all of those elements with our technical skill corporate growth and shareholder wealth through
set with the view being to find more high-grade gold, world–class discoveries. Parsons grew well-known
near an old high-grade gold mine,” Parsons said. Gryphon Minerals into an ASX200 company before it
was taken over by Canadian outfit Teranga Gold Corp
“Sam is running the near-mine discovery targeting that
we are doing and Marcus Harden, who we have used a Guy Robertson, non executive
lot in the past over a long period of time, is focused on
everything stepping outside of Bellevue looking at the Chartered accountant with extensive experience in all
broader picture of the Bellevue project and beyond.” aspects of the operation and management of ASX-
listed companies, including over 10 years’ experience
Draig’s immediate focus is on the gold potential in the as a director and company secretary of exploration
Wiluna-Norseman belt, as the “walk-up” gold targets companies. Robertson has vast experienced in his
provide an easier opportunity, however, nickel and profession having held senior positions at Jardine
other base metals potential in its ground package will Matheson Group in Australia and Hong Kong
not be underplayed.
Michael Naylor, chief financial officer and company
“The ground is highly prospective not just for gold but secretary
for nickel and base metals and possibly other elements
as well. However, we are very much focused on the gold Well versed in corporate advisory and public company
because it the easier walk-up type targets. There was a management since qualifying as a chartered
historical mine there already for us to leverage from. accountant over 21 years ago, Naylor is currently
company secretary of First Cobalt Corp, Cygnus Gold Ltd
“However, if we do come across other elements such as and Blackstone Minerals Ltd (joint) and is a director of
nickel or base metals that we think look good we will Teranga Gold (Australia) Pty Ltd
evaluate that at the time. It goes back to the fact that
we are very good explorers, so if we do come across On the ground:
some good nickel/base metals targets maybe we will
drill some holes into them. We are not scared to do that Sam Brooks, chief geologist
even though we are focusing on high-grade gold,” he
said. Responsible for taking care of all near-mine discovery
work at Bellevue

Marcus Harden, head of regional exploration

Looking at the wider regional package beyond Bellevue
into Yandal and North Jundee

Northern Minerals Ltd is It has been an impressive feat by Northern Minerals to
poised to take advantage have proceeded with commissioning to the point of
of rare earths 2.0. completion within 14 months of project approval by the
board.
Rare earths have been
overlooked, as the single “It has been an aggressive timeline we have pursued and
element commodities of the commissioning is going really well. The reason why
lithium and cobalt have we embarked on our process and in a very aggressive
taken centre stage on manner was to convince the market about security of
the back of rising electric supply so that they could see there is an alternative on
vehicle demand. the horizon,” Bauk said.

“We see this as being “Even though we are starting on a small scale, it still gives
rare earths 2.0,” Northern the market confidence that there are alternatives to
Minerals chief executive China.
George Bauk said in
reference to how politically and strategically important “At the moment, it is a matter of turning on pieces of
rare earths are becoming. equipment and everything is working as expected. It is
a daily three wins – one loss thing which happens with
“The Donald Trumps and Malcolm Turnbulls of the world traditional commissioning, but there are no fatal flaws.”
have really started to highlight the criticality of rare earths,
with the only big difference between 2011 and 2018 is As Northern Minerals
that demand is real for electric vehicles, plus we have starts to demonstrate
wind turbines, industrial robotics and other divers for the its importance to the
needs of rare earths.” rare earths sector, the
broader industry, led
Northern Minerals is well placed to becomes the world’s by Lynas Corporation,
most significant producer of the heavy rare earth, currently appears to be
dysprosium, outside of China. in better standing than
in times past.
Pressure remains on existing projects in China, as the
processing of rare earths from the country’s mines are “I think in the last 12 George Bauk
heavy reliant on in-situ leaching methods, which are not months Lynas has
environmentally friendly. succeeded and you
need that success and
Therefore, Northern Minerals’ Browns Range HREs project one with profitability
in Western Australia’s East Kimberley is being shaped as a attached to it in the
viable source of dysprosium production in the first world. rare earths market.
Given Lynas was
A major achievement has been made at Browns Range, struggling for some
with commissioning of the pilot plant performing on- time, MolyCorp was
song and due for practical completion by the end of June.

in administration, we have seen a big turnaround in the aren’t partnering with people that could inflict negative
sector,” Bauk said. opinion of them by being associated with unsustainable
work practices, which is becoming a very big topic.
“Northern Minerals is getting a lot of kudos and respect
by what we have been able to achieve and we are on Bauk said Northern Minerals fits the bill for off-takers at
the cusp of production. We’ve had a number of potential Browns Range and while pilot plant activities are just
end-users start to visit our site and are quite surprised and about to start, he hoped to demonstrate further upside
shocked at how quick we have been able to advance our in shareholder value.
project.”
“We are looking to prove our value proposition and the
One of the benefits Northern Minerals has is that it has a next step is to go downstream,” Bauk said.
different suite of rare earths to Lynas, with both companies
primed to play crucial roles in the rare earths space. “One of the issues we have is that this plant produces rare
earth carbonate that basically only has a market of China,
Northern Minerals’ dysprosium is an essential ingredient so by going downstream you are taking the mixture of
in the production of dysprosium-neodymium-iron-boron carbonate to separated oxides, which opens up more
magnets used in clean energy and high technology markets like Japan, other South East Asian countries,
solutions. Europe, the US, greater number of buyers in China, and
then all of a sudden you have a bigger demand.
It is anticipated that demand for dysprosium will hit
3,500 tonnes per annum by 2030 just for demand from “We have announced that is what we are working on and
Electric Vehices. I think if we just said we were working on the pilot plant
for the next three years, I don’t necessarily see that as a
Currently, China produces 98% of the world’s dysprosium huge attraction or selling point, so we are already talking
production and at full scale operations output from to people about what we are doing next,” he said.
Browns Range is expected to be 300,000 kilograms per
annum over the current 11-year mine life. Exploration will also be a key part of the strategy moving
forward, with a round of drilling at Browns Range to kick-
In September 2018, the company will start a new wave off in the September quarter followed by drilling at John
of heavy rare earths production to the global market as Galt later in the year.
stage one of the pilot plant comes on-stream, with most
of the professional, technical and management roles The company was the beneficiary of a $215,000 EIS grant
already recruited to run Browns Range. from the State Government for drilling.

Production from the three-year pilot plant operations will “The State Government has been extremely important in
be purchased by Lianyugang New Materials Sales Co. Ltd a number of areas and we are working with the State and
(JFMAG), a 51% owned subsidiary of Southern Rare Earth Federal Governments to get some money allocated to
Group. the road and improvements in the region. That will help
with greater access to the project for 12 months of the
Meanwhile, there is growing interest from groups outside year,” Bauk said.
of China hungry to secure supply from outfits such as
Northern Minerals. “We have had open dialogue and that is probably one
of the biggest areas that we require support from
“I was just in Germany talking to OEMs [original equipment the government, which is also very interested in the
manufacturers] and they are talking about 7-14 year life downstream processing side of things.”
cycles and the next model of the car they are designing.
They are looking at all the inputs and are making sure
they are confident inputs won’t be something that will
impact on sales,” Bauk said.

“It is really important for them to see a project like Browns
Range come on stream to give them confidence that we
don’t have to look at parts of the world that are totally
void of dysprosium, for example.

“OEMS and end-users want sustainability and
want to make sure that their supply of rare earths
passes sustainability audit requirements. They want
demonstrations of key principles in mining operations
and production practices are adhered to and that they

Arcadia is 70% Prospect-owned and 30% held by
locals, including Executive Director of Prospect

Lithium Zimbabwe (Private) Ltd, Paul Chimbodza who
was the original owner of the lithium project

Prospect to find right
size for Arcadia

Many expatriate Zimbabweans have longed for an Despite the promising future seen by Hosack for Prospect, having
opportunity to return home and for Sam Hosack the a young family to consider and being well entrenched in his
pathway back to his native land has come through previous workplace meant joining the ASX junior was a difficult
Prospect Resources Ltd. decision.
Hosack started as Managing Director of Prospect
in July this year; a time in which both company A third generation Zimbabwean, Hosack has lived in Perth for
and country were positioning to emerge on the the last 12 years having emerged through First Quantum Ltd’s
international scene. projects team.
For any up and coming Managing Director, the
chance of taking the reins of a near-term lithium A particularly big feather in Hosack’s cap in recent times was
producing outfit is one hard to resist. project managing a coal offloading and copper loading port,
120km 230kV transmission line and a 300MW coal fired power
station for Minera Panama, which is 80% owned by First Quantum.

Much can be said for the experience of being involved in Cobre
Panama – one of the biggest copper projects in the world – and
while Hosack will look back on his time with First Quantum fondly,
his finely tuned expertise will be well consumed at Prospect.

PAGE 48 OCTOBER 2018 AUSTRALIA’S PAYDIRT

Sam Hosack started as Managing Director of Prospect
Resources in July. Hosack is a third generation

Zimbabwean and is excited by the opportunity to bring
his expertise back to his homeland.

“My experience in delivering large mining PROSPECT RESOURCES LTD
projects indicates the direction in which
Prospect wants to take Arcadia. I believe in ASX: PSC
the project and am prepared to invest in the
people to build the social license that is so OFFICE: Suite 6, 245 Churchill Avenue, Subiaco,
necessary to operate successfully in Western Australia 6008
Zimbabwe. One thing that Harry [Greaves]
has really emphasised is that social TEL: (08) 9217 3300
integration is essential. This alignment of
values is key to my involvement at Prospect. WEB: www.prospectresources.com.au

Key people: Hugh Warner (Executive Chairman); Sam Hosack
(Managing Director); Harry Greaves (Executive Director); HeNian
Chen (Non-Executive Director); Gerry Fahey (Non-Executive
Director); Zed Rusike (Non-Executive Director); Meng Sun
(Alternate Director to HeNian Chen)

“They [First Quantum] are a fantastic company. I was very committed placed to recruit high calibre professionals to the business given
to them and the decision I took to come to Prospect was not taken its near-term production ambitions. In readiness for production,
lightly,” Hosack said at Africa Down Under. Prospect is currently on the hunt for a production manager. “ I am
confident we will find the right person,” Hosack said. “We have a
“I have a clear skill-set that I bring with me, which matches well with strong Australian organisational culture at Prospect, combined with
the direction that Prospect want to take the company, underpinned the cultural awareness that is critical to operating successfully in the
by Arcadia, which I believe to be a high quality asset. I have a wide Zimbabwean mining environment. Zimbabwe has a long, successful
range of exposure, from small scale business development to large mining history that can be harnessed. We are being smart about how
project execution, with the mechanisms used to be successful in the we select our equipment so that it can be serviced, maintained and
former and the latter being quite different.” operated using local expertise.”

With ground broken at the +20 year Arcadia lithium project, 35km As initial works are underway at Arcadia, the company is in the process
from Harare, and Prospect charging down the development path, of completing an updated feasibility study. Just how big Arcadia will
Hosack’s first point of business as Managing Director was to take stock be remains to be seen, but rest assured Hosack will find the right fit for
of the true potential inherent within the company. Prospect. “We need to look at how well the mine can support sizing
variances on the processing plant, and all the costs associated, in
“We had to take a step back and say ‘who do we want to be when we order to ensure we are maximising shareholder value,” he said, “Once
grow up?’,” Hosack said. “I believe in making decisions that provide we are clear on that and I don’t think we are far from that, then we
long-term rewards and deliver long-term sustainable business. In the will update the market, and progress towards our goal of successfully
short-term however, we all have to roll up our sleeves for Arcadia to delivering the Arcadia project”.
become the cornerstone asset that allows us to become relevant in
the junior to mid-tier mining sector. ARCADIA LITHIUM PROJECT - PRE-FEASIBILITY HIGHLIGHTS

“We need to take time to understand how big this project should Location: 35km east of Harare, Zimbabwe
be. We have a great exploration team and we firmly believe there is Project specs: Sourced from ASX Announcement 19 March 2018
strong regional potential. The resource itself was initially drilled out and updated 4 April 2018
to a 20-year mine life before the decision was made to stop. We are Resource: 43.2mt @ 1.41% lithium oxide (1% lithium oxide cut-off)
going to continue to develop the resource over time until we know Reserves: 26.9mt @ 1.31% lithium oxide and 128 ppm tantalum
exactly where it ends,” he said. Throughput: 1.2 mtpa
Life of mine (LoM): +20 years
At the time of print, pre-stripping of the main pit and tailings dam Spodumene production: 96,000 tpa @ 6% lithium oxide
had started, whilst initial infrastructure development was imminent. (average LoM)
Petalite production: 127,000 tpa @ 4.1% lithium oxide
DRA is in control of engineering services and the plant design of (average LoM)
Arcadia, whilst the earth moving and mining will be performed by Total lithium carbonate equivalent: 27,000 tpa (average LoM)
JRG Goddard (Pvt) Ltd. Pre-tax NPV at 10%: US$401 million

Prospect has regained control of the timetable for building and
financing Arcadia since renegotiating a deal with Sinomine Resource
(Hong Kong) International Trading Co. Ltd, which included the latter
completing a $10 million placement at 6c/share and off-take of about
70% of phase one production committed over seven years.

Lithium expertise is currently in high demand and Prospect is well

AUSTRALIA’S PAYDIRT OCTOBER 2018 PAGE 49

Capital Drilling Ltd (LON:CAPD) Capital pany’s upgraded revenue guidance for
has picked its moment to Drilling FY2018 to $105-115 million.
expand activities in West Africa makes its Prior to establishing new regional bases
to perfection. mark in Bamako, Mali and Yamoussoukro, Côte
d’Ivoire, Capital Drilling has enjoyed suc-
“We made a concerted decision towards now have ongoing work with OreCorp cess in various parts of Africa including
the end of last year that we were going to [Ltd] and Algold in Mauritania, Resolute Egypt, Kenya, Mauritania and Tanzania.
make a big push further into West Africa [Mining Ltd] in Mali and we have picked “We originally started on the east coast
and we are really pleased that it has paid up further work with Hummingbird Re- in Tanzania and have expanded opera-
off,” said Stuart Thomson, Capital Drill- sources plc, also in Mali.” tions across the continent,” Thomson
ing Executive - Business Development To further enhance the company’s capa- said.
and Strategy, bility, Julian Blake has been appointed Capital Drilling has recently been en-
Capital Drilling has doubled its fleet into Business Development Manager for the gaged by the world’s leading diamond
West Africa and will have 30 rigs in the region and will initially be based in Gha- company, De Beers, for work in Botswa-
region during the second half of the year. na. na and hopes to strengthen the relation-
Thomson says the key to the company’s “He will help us to grow, he has plenty ship in the future.
progress in West Africa has been having of local experience and he has recently Thomson said Capital Drilling welcomed
a presence on the ground. been at our Geita project in Tanzania, the opportunity to further operate in a
“The markets continue to grow and we getting familiarised with how we oper- jurisdiction such as Botswana, which is
made the call that basically if we move ate” Thomson said. “Services conduct- often touted as one of the best places in
into the region, we should get the busi- ed on site by Capital Drilling at Geita Africa to conduct mining business.
ness. We were finding that we were comprise blast hole, grade control, sur- “Botswana is a great jurisdiction to op-
talking to people, but you needed to face RC and diamond exploration and erate in, not as geologically attractive as
be in country and ready to go to meet underground diamond drilling. The port- the West African greenstone belt is right
the quick turnaround times required by folio now also includes underground RC now, but things are starting to pick up,
some programmes” Thomson said. drilling – a relatively new innovation to particularly on the copper front,” Thom-
“Our presence in the region has changed the region and a valuable new string to son said.
substantially from where we were early our bow.” “In addition, having De Beers to serve is
last year, when we had intermittent pro- The good progress being made in West good for us because they tend to invest
jects in Mauritania and a base at Tasiast Africa was a key component in the com- hard when they find something and they
with Kinross [Gold Corp] - a long-term also appreciate the focus on safety and
project we have been associated with quality delivery aspects of our business.”
through various exploration cycles. We

PAGE 72 AUGUST 2018 AUSTRALIA’S PAYDIRT

Like any company associated with the blasting contracts continued through- see improvement in pricing in the near
mining sector, Capital Drilling’s number out the downturn. They provided a base term, albeit off a low base.”
one priority is the safety of its workforce. business that delivered continuous vol- In the year ahead, Capital Drilling aims
Earlier this year, major safety milestones umes during the downturn period.” to consolidate its presence in the West
were achieved at two of the company’s “Now the market has improved and African region.
largest operations – North Mara and the overlying exploration business has “It would be nice in the next 12 months
Geita, both of which are in Tanzania. come back on, having all these rigs to have really solid base businesses in
At Acacia Mining plc’s North Mara ready to go has given us the ability to Mauritania, Mali and Cote d’Ivoire with
gold project, two years LTI free was move them quickly into West Africa to several operations up and running in
reported, while at AngloGold Ashanti take advantage of the opportunities in each of those countries,” said Thomson.
Ltd’s Geita gold mine one-year LTI free these markets. This is going to be our “I’d also like to see Botswana continue
was achieved by Capital Drilling during lowest capital outlay for creating rev- to pick up and grow. It is another re-
March. enue.” ally good jurisdiction, in a similar vein
Capital Drilling is well poised to capi- it would be good to see some stability
talise on the uplift in activity seen by “We are seeing rigs starting to get tight return in Tanzania,” he said.
the increasing interest in gold. The now, but pricing hasn’t moved much at Capital Drilling has been operating in
Mauritius-headquartered, multifaceted this point in time. There has been excess Africa since 2005 and has successfully
services outfit now has a fleet of 93 drill capacity in the market but I expect to grown its business despite a number of
rigs, including blast hole, diamond, re- challenges, including the sheer size of
verse circulation (RC)/grade control and the continent, the different geographi-
multi-purpose rigs. cal environments, fluctuating commod-
The company attributes its standing ity prices and changing political situa-
during the great mining downturn of tions.
recent times to this rounded business “The conditions our team operates in
model and prudent management. during the wet season and what they
“We fared well during the downturn be- have to go through – wow! One day
cause I don’t think we over leveraged. they’re in Mauritania operating out in
We saw what was happening so there the middle of nowhere in the desert,
was a lot of work done back in 2012 then not too much further south and
to scale the business back to meet the you’re in the jungle and its pouring with
conditions at that particular time. I don’t rain. When you overcome the challeng-
think the business was over leveraged,” es, and still manage to deliver a profes-
Thomson said. sional service, the sense of achievement
“The other key thing was our large-scale is great.”

AUSTRALIA’S PAYDIRT AUGUST 2018 PAGE 73

Namdini moving closer
gold project to fruition

in Ghana

Cardinal Resources Ltd’s Namdini average head grade of approximately 1.3 Upper East Region of northern Ghana.
gold project in north-east Ghana has to 1.5 g/t gold, based upon the existing It is approximately 60km south of the
moved closer to fruition as the company PEA results and the final throughput size Ghana-Burkina Faso border and 15km from
evaluates larger ore throughput options selected.” Cardinal’s Ndongo East Prospect. Namdini
after reporting a significant increase in the Cardinal’s PEA for Namdini, released to the lies within the Nangodi greenstone belt,
mineral resource. market in February, indicated the project one of a series of southwest–northeast
In March, following an intensive infill could deliver a technically and financially trending granite-greenstone belts which
drilling programme, Cardinal upgraded the robust low-cost mining operation. host significant gold mineralisation in
Namdini indicated mineral resource used The study evaluated three separate Ghana and Burkina Faso.
in the Preliminary Economic Assessment production throughput rates – 4.5 mtpa, 7 Cardinal holds a 100% interest in the large-
(PEA) from 4.3 moz to 6.5 moz gold with 0.5 mtpa and 9.5 mpta – which all resulted in scale mining licence covering 19.54sq km of
moz gold in the inferred mineral resource very strong returns. its Namdini project. During the December
category. Given current market conditions in the 2017 quarter, a large-scale mining licence
The infill drill programme – 15,684m across global gold sector, the preferred scale covering the Namdini mining lease was
35 drill holes – also incorporated grade of development has yet to be decided assigned to Cardinal by the Minister of
control, pit geotechnical, hydrogeology and but consideration is being given to a Lands and Natural Resources under the
tailings infrastructure drilling to contribute phased approach, commencing with a 4.5 regulations of the Minerals and Mining Act
to Cardinal’s ongoing work towards a pre- mtpa throughput with allowance for later of Ghana 2006 (Act 703). The large-scale
feasibility study for Namdini that is due to expansion. mining licence is valid for an initial period of
be completed next quarter. The existing PEA based on the 4.5 mtpa 15 years and is renewable.
Cardinal managing director Archie option and a $US275 million development Although the presence of gold in the region
Koimtsidis said the infill drilling had greatly capital cost suggested a potential mine life was recorded in the 1930s, it was not until
increased the size and level of confidence of 27 years and a post-tax internal rate of the Namdini deposit was discovered by
in the Namdini resource and suggested return of 41%, while the 9.5 mtpa option Savannah Mining in February 2015 that
further potential given the resource (capital cost of $US426 million) offered a modern exploration techniques were
remained open both along strike and down mine life of 14 years and a post-tax IRR of employed in the area.
dip, with mineralisation intersected down to 44%. Cardinal signed an agreement with
650m vertical and still open. Based on the current larger resource of Savannah over the Namdini area in July
“With the majority of the indicated mineral 6.5 moz (indicated) and 0.5 moz (inferred), 2014 and commenced drilling later that
resource continuous from surface to a announced by Cardinal in March, the
vertical open pit depth of approximately company expects the Namdini mine life to
400m, we anticipate a greater conversion increase materially, hence the company is
of mineral resources to ore reserves within also exploring the possibility of studying
a simple, single, large-scale open pit, with even larger throughputs.
a very low strip ratio of approximately Cardinal is currently updating the PEA
1.2:1 over the life-of-mine as the preferred based on the updated resource figures.
mining method,” Koimtsidis said. Following this update, the company plans
“The higher-grade areas of the deposit, to revise and complete the pre-feasibility
close to surface, will be targeted within the study next quarter.
Stage 1 pit in the early years of production. Permitting and approvals work is
As the recent results of our PEA indicate, also continuing in line with Cardinal’s
this Stage 1 pit will be the area most likely to expectations. The Namdini mining
repay capital investment soonest. licence is located 50km south-east of the
“The Stage 1 pit will see approximately 1 regional town of Bolgatanga, the capital
moz mined over three to four years at an of the Bolgatanga Municipal District and

PAGE 64 AUGUST 2018 AUSTRALIA’S PAYDIRT

“Clearly, it’s a vote of
confidence in the Cardinal
team and our Namdini
project in Ghana as well
as giving Gold Fields a
strategic position going
forward,” Archie Koimtsidis

month, with the first results announced in Cardinal team and our Namdini project to factor those prospects into Namdini’s
August 2014. Drilling continued throughout in Ghana as well as giving Gold Fields a development studies, the potential exists
2015 and 2016 and Namdini’s maiden strategic position going forward,” he said. for any discovered satellite deposits to
resource was announced in November “Ultimately, we are not privy to Gold Fields’ further enhance the greater Namdini
2016. long-term intentions. We remain focused on resource and project footprint.
Follow-up exploration in the area included progressing Namdini to deliver value to all The RC drilling at Ndongo returned several
aeromagnetic surveying, regional- and our shareholders which includes board and shallow gold intersections including:
prospect-scale geological mapping and management who also have hard currency
rock chip sampling. Ground magnetic and invested.” • 9m @ 23.3 g/t gold
IP surveys and subsequent geological and While work is progressing on the Namdini (including 3m @ 59.2) from 60m,
structural interpretations were completed development studies, Cardinal is continuing
over the deposit in 2016. its exploration focus at nearby prospects • 9m @ 11.5 g/t from surface
The success of Cardinal at Namdini that could provide significant additional ore (including 3m at 29.8 g/t),
attracted the interest of Gold Fields in April feed.
2017 and resulted in the South African In May, Cardinal reported encouraging • 9m @ 2.4 g/t from 43m,
major gold producer acquiring a substantial results from first-pass shallow RC drilling • 7m @ 4.4 g/t from 14m,
stake via on-market share purchases designed to test one of its six coincident • 6m @ 2.0 g/t from 11m,
throughout 2017. Gold Fields, which has gold-in-soil and geophysical targets on • 24m @ 1.2 g/t from 2m, and 14m
been operating in Ghana for more than 25 the Ndongo licence within the Bolgatanga @ 1.4 g/t from 46m,
years, controls 11.2% of Cardinal shares and project, located 15km north of Namdini. • 4m @ 1.2 g/t from 20m, and
8.7% of the listed options – a position that Cardinal’s interest at the Ndongo project • 8m @ 1.4 g/t from 1m.
Koimtsidis, a resident in Ghana, says he is covers an area of 295sq km, having
comfortable with. been augmented by the addition of two Koimtsidis said the company planned
The investment by Gold Fields led to exploration licence areas from Kinross Gold further infill and extensional drilling with
market speculation that it has earmarked Corp in August 2017. both RC and diamond drill rigs at Ndongo
Namdini as a potential addition to its Ndongo is one of three prospects – the to target the strike and dip extensions of the
existing Ghanaian portfolio, though this is a other two are Bongo and Kungongo – mineralisation.
topic Koimtsidis will not be drawn on. that are within trucking distance of the “We are highly encouraged with the results
“Clearly, it’s a vote of confidence in the Namdini project. Although it is too early at Ndongo, particularly given the strong
grades we are seeing near surface,” he said.
“These results further strengthen our
resolve that the Ndongo licence is highly
prospective with several untested drill
targets which could deliver another
significant gold discovery.”

AUSTRALIA’S PAYDIRT AUGUST 2018 PAGE 65

Johannesburg-based Nucleus Mining Logistics has
focused and specialised on offering tailor-made lo-
gistics solutions to mining projects in Africa for more
than 14 years. Nucleus has in-depth knowledge on
how to achieve results and make those developing
projects in Africa a success based on service deliv-
ery, innovation, adaptability and workable cost effec-
tive managed solutions. We spoke to chief executive
Iain Clark about the company’s success

After a long hiatus, the African resources sector is be- EPCM company long before the construction phase, we
ginning to see a return of development and construction understand the project requirements in advance and de-
projects. What are Nucleus’ particular capabilities during velop sound knowledge of the suppliers products and how
the construction and early production stages of mining the EPCM will be pacing orders which allows us to be in
projects? early discussion with the EPCM and their suppliers, fabri-
cators, etc. to best manage cost-effecting logistics solu-
Nucleus spends a lot of time with our customers from tions based on infrastructure and optimal structure supply
as early in the project as we can. We start by getting an dimensions by having comprehensive up to date route sur-
in-depth knowledge of the project, the commodity, the cus- veys in place combined with local knowledge.
tomer, the geographical area and the infrastructure. Gener-
ally, we already have good information of the area as we Costs pressures are acute during the construction stage
have been operating in majority of Africa for many years, of projects. How does Nucleus assist miners in ensuring
often in remote and difficult to access areas. Nucleus has logistics costs do not get out of control?
spent a lot of time developing local representation that is
fully compliant in local regulations and procedures. By Each project is unique and Nucleus develops set of pro-
building relationships with the project owner/developer/ cedures based on the project – we don’t try and fit the pro-
ject to match a standard set of procedures. Nucleus is not
PAGE 48 AUGUST 2018 AUSTRALIA’S PAYDIRT a corporate, it is an owner-managed business that prides
itself on sustainable and longstanding partnerships with
our customers, and the ability to make quick decisions
with our dedicated project key account managers and sen-
ior management fully involved. We build our understand-
ing of the requirements and the project from A-Z and then
we build transparent and cost-effective solutions. That
said, as projects develop their requirements often change,
but Nucleus prides itself on being adaptable to ensure we
move with developments and stay up to date with the cur-
rent situation on site, through permanent or regular site
representation and regular interaction with all parties.

Import and customs certification often lead to unwanted
delays in importing plant and equipment for African mining
projects. How does Nucleus assist clients with these issues?

It all boils down to planning in advance, understanding
the project and the manufacturers, fabricators and suppliers
and regular interaction with the EPCM and the local authori-
ties. Preparation and in-depth understanding of local regu-
lations and customs is key to projects in Africa. Nucleus’s
longstanding history of managing supply chains and com-
plex construction projects in Africa sets us apart – we have
learned from the school of hard knocks over many years.

Many African jurisdictions have a paucity of infrastruc-
ture. How does Nucleus help clients overcome these
unique challenges?

This is all down to local knowledge, planning and under-
standing the project and requirements. Almost every situa-
tion has a solution; you must be prepared and plan ahead.

Transportation and exporting of final products are the Having been a late adopter, the mining industry is now
ultimate goal for all mining operations. Does Nucleus pro- rushing to embrace data analysis in all aspects of opera-
vide particular insight into these processes? tions. What technical support can Nucleus offer clients in
this regard?
Nucleus is well versed in managing the supply chain for
the export of final products and has done this in multiple Nucleus has spent the last year developing a new CRM
countries with multiple commodities. Working closely with system that gives our customers and their suppliers pass-
mine production and logistics, Nucleus closely matches word access to all documentation, warehouse reports and
commodity stockpiles with inbound loads for quick truck tracking which also allows us to pull detailed reports as
turnaround and ensuring all paperwork is ready. Docu- required. It is important in an ever developing technical
mentation integrity on both import and export goods are world where various parties in the project sit in different
critical to the success of any project or operation and it is countries and time zones that we don’t have delays due to
where Nucleus places maximum focus. information and communication.

AUSTRALIA’S PAYDIRT AUGUST 2018 PAGE 49

Mining Prospects aplenty
in Zimbabwe

The world watched on as Robert Mugabe resigned as president of Zimbabwe in November and there remained
great interest in the southern African nation as its people headed to the polls at the time of print.

Mugabe’s departure immediately brought new hope to Greaves has been a long-time participant in Zimbabwe’s rich
Zimbabwe, however, as political campaigning intensified in mining sector and has noticed a healthy surge in interest
late June, it was reported by Reuters that the defeated faction from peers in the field. Prospect’s fellow ASX entity, Latitude
behind president Emmerson Mnangagwa’s ZANU-PF – the Consolidated Ltd is one such company to have made an early
party linked with Mugabe’s wife – was behind a grenade attack move into Zimbabwe on the back of the Mbeta lithium project.
targeting Mnangagwa.
Latitude announced it would acquire a 70% interest in Mbeta in
Two people were killed at the rally and many injured, with Zimbabwe’s south in April.
the deadly incident cause for concern ahead of the July 30
presidential election and parliamentary poll. “There is a rush in Zimbabwe right across the board, not just for
the battery cycle minerals and not just in mining ” Greaves said.
A poorly run election would be a massive step backwards
for the country, which appears to have come so far in a short “A lot of juniors are coming in looking for gold opportunities, there
amount of time. are several gold plays that have changed hands recently, which
is very good news. Obviously there is quite a bit of heat in the
“If this election is deemed free and fair and there’s a stable battery space, with another Aussie junior [Latitude] announcing
outcome, the number of people that we have seen coming they had some ground not that far from us. We certainly have
through the country in the last six months will only grow, but been approached by a number of vendors and are evaluating
many of them are waiting for the outcome of this election,” half a dozen other projects; there is huge activity in the mining
Prospect Resources Ltd executive director and Zimbabwean space at the moment.”
Harry Greaves said.

PAGE 42 AUGUST 2018 AUSTRALIA’S PAYDIRT

Zimbabwe has an illustrious history in the platinum and gold sectors “We have seen very strong demand from off-takers and we are negotiating
and with the likes of Prospect and Latitude demonstrating the country’s with several off-takers on future supply, which is very encouraging. There
variety in mineral wealth, political stability will determine prosperity in the is a lot of interest for more resources, while we are also actively involved in
resources sector. looking for other opportunities in both lithium and cobalt,” Greaves said.

A drawback for Zimbabwe in attracting mining investment has been the “Ground is being snapped up and people are taking positions, the
indigenisation policy in place, with the requirement for foreign mining Government has a real understanding that this is their time and they need
companies to list in Zimbabwe and open up ownership of operations to make this work. I think there is a general acceptance of the industry, we
to locals. had a workshop recently in Vic Falls specifically on lithium to bring the
industry and government officials together to learn from the four different
“The Government has both removed requirements for indigenisation and lithium players in the country and it was absolutely jam packed.
the proposed requirement for a compulsory local listing . However, it is
recommended that companies coming to Zimbabwe should carefully “I think there is this pent up desire to get the industry up and running right
select and involve local partners at some level ,it is just sensible,” suggests across the board, the are multiple opportunities for Zim – gold, nickel,
Greaves . copper – all sorts of stuff,” he said.

Back in 2013, Prospect negotiated 70% ownership of Hawkmoth Mining Greaves said it was refreshing to have the Government throw its support
and Exploration Pvt Ltd with the Zimbabwe Investment Authority and behind the mining sector, with the entire ministry particularly helpful in
ticked the boxes in accordance with indigenisation legislation at the time. engaging with the power utility and local councils to accommodate the
effort made by Prospect thus far.
The deal is still in place, with Prospect 70% owned by offshore investors
and 30% held by locals, including Greaves and executive director Paul “Mines Minister Winston Chitando and his team remain very much on side
Chimbodza who was the original owner of the Arcadia lithium project. in assisting us and we have been rolled into the second 100 day rapid
results initiative out of the president’s office, which has been key for us,”
Prospect can be somewhat of a model for others to follow in terms of Greaves said.
how to operate in Zimbabwe, with ground to be broken at Arcadia in the
near future. While Prospect has managed to make great strides already in country, an area
which needs to be developed to help others unearth the country’s mining
In May, the company reported financing for the $US55 million first phase potential is in the data room. Unfortunately, Zimbabwe’s political history of
of Arcadia would be a mix of equity and pre-payment off-take, with the last 50-60 years has meant very little modern day data is available.
additional finance offers of foreign debt and equity, off-take prepayment,
as well as, local borrowings were being considered and lithium concentrate “There is actually excellent historical data – pre-1980/90 – but there has
production ready for export on track for June 30 2019. been very little exploration recently outside of platinum,” Greaves said.

DRA has been appointed to provide engineering services and design of “The platinum guys on the known platinum camps along the Great Dyke
the Arcadia plant, while JRG Goddard (Pvt) Ltd have been awarded the went and did the exploration and have been phenomenally successful.
earth moving/mining contract . Outside of that there hasn’t been that much exploration; lots of drilling
and exploration is needed. I think that is the big opportunity, naturally
Prospect has been able to dictate terms of the build since taking back the there’s a time lag between the exploration and ultimate production
contract from Sinomine. As Prospect took back control of the build and which requires political stability, but the opportunities are huge.”
finance timetable, Sinomine completed a $10 million placement at 6c/
share while off-take was reduced to about 70% of phase one production However, the big opportunity in front of Prospect at the moment is
with Sinomine Resource (Hong Kong) International Trading Co. Ltd over delivering the Arcadia project in timely fashion.
seven years.
As Prospect plans the next 12-18 months, the ability to meet its goals will
The amendments to the $US557 million off-take agreement were due be entirely predicated on the owners’ team being recruited. A project
to spodumene and petalite pricing, which has seen the NPV at Arcadia team with the pedigree and experience to lead the project through its
increased by $US61 million to $US401 million, while Sinomine Resource phases have been identified and are undergoing, allowing Prospect the
has agreed to make a $US10 million pre-payment upon installation of the certainty to deliver on the project goals.
ball mill under the new off-take structure.
Zimbabwe has a vast network of hard rock mining experience and skills,
Harry Greaves of which Prospect will select carefully but quickly to ensure the execution
phase of the project is delivered with confidence.

Regarding the operational readiness of Arcadia, there have been significant
advances in the last few months, with all key personnel now identified.
This will allow Prospect to ensure Arcadia management commit the funds
and resources to ready the team for the operational environment by
investing in the systems and process consistent with an operating asset.
The priorities and demands of both the project and operation are now
receiving the full attention of the prospect executive team.

AUSTRALIA’S PAYDIRT AUGUST 2018 PAGE 43

A mong those accomplishments were production of a 99.3% second year and up to 90,000t in the third year. This deal is significant in
concentrate at commercial scale from a ground-breaking pilot that no graphite developer to date has signed a single offtake agreement
plant run and a recently completed DFS for Black Rock’s Mahenge graphite for 90,000t.
project, about 370km south-west of Dar es Salaam. Chinese battery producer Qingdao Fujin Graphite Company Ltd has also
However, for experienced mining engineer de Vries, the biggest thrill came signed up for 15,000 tpa of sized graphite concentrate for up to three
during the compilation of the DFS when his in-country team were unafraid years, meaning Black Rock has now placed about 44% of the proposed
to challenge his thinking on certain points. steady-state production of 250,000 tpa from Mahenge.
“To me, this means barriers to communication don’t exist, our people are “We’ve been working in that space for a while now and effectively once the
engaged, they have a ‘fire in the belly’, a hunger to win and feel they can first lot came in, the phone rang pretty hot for a couple of days,” de Vries
contribute to a project in their country,” de Vries said. said. “I’m confident there are more offtake agreements we’re going to be
“Another way of looking at this is the development of our culture. Our coming up with between now and Christmas.”
people own and define the culture and are fearless in questioning how we Aiding Black Rock’s bid to develop Mahenge is a strategic cooperation
might make the business stronger for longer.” agreement with major Chinese machinery outfit Yantai Jinyuan Machinery
Black Rock is now charging towards construction of Mahenge after Ltd, part of the Yantai Jinyuan Group.
releasing a robust DFS for the project in October, followed by the execution Yantai has committed to supplying process plant machinery and related
of two offtake agreements with reputable Chinese groups. infrastructure for Mahenge as well as help source $US40 million in project
Integrated graphite producer Heilongjiang Baho Graphite Company Ltd finance from Chinese groups.
has agreed to purchase 30,000t of blended graphite concentrate during Perth-based CPC Engineering, which built Syrah Resources Ltd’s
the first year of production before lifting its allocation to 50,000t in the Balama process plant in Mozambique, will also form part of the Mahenge

PAGE 48 DECEMBER 2018 - JANUARY 2019 AUSTRALIA’S PAYDIRT

Office: Level 9, 190 St Georges Terrace, Perth, Key people: Richard Crookes (non-executive chairman), John de
Western Australia 6000 Vries (managing director and CEO), Gabriel Chiappini (non-executive
director and company secretary), Raymond Hekima (vice-president
Tel: +61 8 9320 7550 corporate, Tanzania), Anthony Hall (head of strategy)
Web: [email protected]

construction team. through the investment community, while opening up a whole new market
“Yantai have built four plants in China in the last 10 years and CPC have for graphite hopefuls.
built one plant for Syrah. Put that together and that’s five plants – more De Vries acknowledged that his company needed to undertake an
than just about anybody else, so we’ve got experience on our side,” de apprenticeship in the battery space – the Fujin agreement is only just
Vries said. the beginning, he says – before it could become the master of its own
“If you’re looking to be an investor in this space, having that experience craft. However, there is no denying the electric revolution is an enticing
of knowing what works and knowing what doesn’t work and why is proposition for Black Rock.
fundamentally important to success and provides a great level of comfort. “Everybody is monumentally excited about EVs, but at the moment I don’t
“Most of us know we would have to go to China to secure the componentry own a Tesla. However, I do own a rechargeable toothbrush, so I get excited
at some point in time, and going with a single source means it just about toothbrushes because more people own toothbrushes than Teslas.
simplifies the execution. Plus, we’re going with a group who has done it a Inside every toothbrush is a Tesla wanting to get out,” de Vries said.
few times before.” “You need to be focused on the mining side and producing the best
Black Rock was recently granted environmental approval for staged possible concentrate you can. So, I’m not going to compromise my mine
development of Mahenge, beginning with 83,000t of product and or my balance sheet to try and run a mine to make a battery plant work. It’s
increasing to up to 250,000 tpa over five years. An application for a mining not the tail wagging the dog here. We’re focusing on the things we need
licence has been submitted to Tanzanian authorities and could be awarded to get right and running a mine is one of them. Again, that’s us playing the
before Christmas. long game.”
De Vries said the company’s “crawl, walk, run” approach to business
would be key to Mahenge’s successful development. Location: 370km south-west of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
“We’ve deliberately played a long game here and we’ve taken a very Resources: 212mt @ 7.8% TGC
strategic approach to how we’re going to develop the project,” he Reserves: 70mt @ 8.5% TGC
said. “You need to be much more deliberate, much more focused and Reserve life: 23 years
methodical about developing your project, but we’ve got the right people Life-of-mine: 32 years
to do it, we’ve got the right geology which is pretty tough to replicate and Total life-of-mine concentrate production: 6.6mt
we’ve got the right geography which I think is even tougher to replicate.” Average steady state production rate: 250,000 tpa
Black Rock’s “crawl, walk, run” strategy is also applicable to how the Phase one throughput: 83,000 tpa
company is approaching the fledgling battery space which has swept Capex for phase one: $US115 million (including 10% contingency)
Capex for phases two and three: $US153.7 million
(including 15% contingency)
Post-tax NPV, unlevered at 10%: US$895 million
Post-tax, unlevered: 42.8%
Life-of-Mine C1 Costs: $US401/t FOB Dar es Salaam
Life-of-Mine AISC: $US473/t FOB Dar es Salaam

AUSTRALIA’S PAYDIRT DECEMBER 2018 - JANUARY 2019 PAGE 49

BACKING BARRAMBIE

CHRIS REED SAYS IT’S TIME FOR BARRAMBIE – ONE OF THE LARGEST
VANADIUM-TITANIUM-MAGNETITE DEPOSITS IN THE WORLD – TO BE GIVEN
DUE RECOGNITION. BARRAMBIE WILL BE THE KEY ASSET IN A NEW ENTITY
SCHEDULED TO HIT THE ASX IN Q1 2019.

Adaman Resources has been contracted to provide mining, crushing and
transport studies for Barrambie, while Snowdens will revise ore estimates
and Ausenco will update operating and capital cost estimates for the project

The last 12 months have seen a return to can’t just throw this over the fence and money flies back like in
IPO activity not experienced for some time, the precious metals space. We have to go through that disciplined
however, few debutantes have come to the evaluation and ascertain what the value is to the customers and
ball with a DFS in hand and approvals all give them what they want, which is secure sources of feed from
but secured like Barrambie; an off-shoot stable jurisdictions like Australia.
from Neometals Ltd’s battery minerals “The vanadium market, and most of the world’s production, comes
strong portfolio. out of China, Russia and South Africa, so something coming out of
Australia is going to be attractive,” he said.
Barrambie has been at bay for 15 years, but has been far from idle While Barrambie is geographically located in a premier mining
with $30 million spent on the asset. This capital commitment jurisdiction, the troubled past of the Windimurra vanadium project
means Barrambie – located in Western Australia’s Mid West – has a lingers in the minds of many in the Australian resources community
mature development status and is primed for greater exposure amid and there are still critics that need convincing of the merit of
a bullish vanadium market. vanadium projects down under.
Vanadium pentoxide prices surged 200% in 2018 against a backdrop Reed is not perturbed by the naysayers and nor should he be given
of strong demand for vanadium’s use as a steel additive and the the success his company has achieved ahead of the lithium curve
increasing popularity of vanadium redox flow batteries. Coupled with its Mt Marion mine.
with this, mine closures together with reduced processing of stone “In Perth, vanadium is associated with stalled projects,” he said.
coal and magnetite in China has constrained primary and co- “Investors in Toronto and London have a strong appetite having
production of vanadium feedstocks. had much better experiences backing guys that have gone in with
A handful of producers dominate the vanadium market and even a lower risk, development strategy – i.e. buying and operating a
with new projects entering the equation, it has been forecast that business at a low point in the cycle and then riding it up.”
supply will not satisfy demand in the short to medium term. At an estimated operating cost of $US20/kg, Barrambie has
Therefore, if vanadium prices do pullback from the $US130/kg potential to be one of the lowest cost vanadium projects in the
mark (at the time of print) it is unlikely that the Neometals 2009 world and looks particularly compelling against current record high
DFS operating cost at approximately $US20/kg will be put under vanadium prices of $US130/kg.
pressure. The current $US130/kg price was one that could not be ignored and
“It takes a lot of time and money to get to where Barrambie is and was the catalyst of Neometals’ review of the 2009 Barrambie DFS,
when the new company is ready to go, Barrambie will almost be which is expected to be completed by mid-2019.
shovel-ready,” Neometals Managing Director Chris Reed said. In April, a fresh indicated and inferred resource of 280.1mt @ 9.18%
“In the end, you have to supply what the customer wants and you titanium and 0.44% vanadium at Barrambie was released and will
be factored into the updated DFS. Within that global resource are
high grade subsets including a high vanadium grade band containing
64.9Mt at 0.8% V2O5.
“We drilled to over 300m on select sections and as you’d expect in

PAGE 14 DECEMBER 2018 - JANUARY 2019 AUSTRALIA’S PAYDIRT

a layered intrusion it is still there and the Government seismic Historical Barrambie DFS 2009
shows that is goes down about 4km. It’s a very unique deposit,”
Reed said. PRODUCTION: 6,160t vanadium as
Staged development options will be considered for Barrambie, ferrovanadium
including the merits of offshore processing of crushed ore, onsite RESOURCE (INDICATED AND INFERRED):
production of high-grade concentrate for sale, and refining to 65mt @ 0.82% vanadium pentoxide (0.5%
produce vanadium chemical products. cut-off)
A mining lease with full native title agreement and ministerial RESERVES (PROBABLE): 39.7mt @ 0.82%
approval for the development of an open cut mine and processing vanadium pentoxide
plant is in place, giving Neometals the opportunity to hit the ground MINE LIFE: 12 years
running with the proposed new company listing. THROUGHPUT: 3.2 mtpa
The success of multi-billion dollar market capped companies such CAPITAL COST: $628.9 million
as Largo Resources Ltd in Brazil and Bushveld Minerals in South OPERATING COST: less than $US20/kg as
Africa will be useful reference points for Reed, particularly given ferrovanadium
the $600 million capex estimated to build Barrambie.
Reed says this will be the company’s biggest hurdle in bringing
Barrambie to fruition.
“At current prices, payback on Barrambie is less than a year,”
Reed said. “We would approach that in the same sort of way we
approached Mt Marion. We’ll do the studies, evaluations, build up
the pie, potentially introduce partners to share the capital outlay
and bring development expertise and when we are ready to turn
the wheel, we’ll have an honest conversation on how can we
finance it.”
The Barrambie story has already been taken on the road and has
piqued interest in China, with Reed keeping an open mind on the
best way forward.
“We have guys who are travelling an awful lot to China and
elsewhere, so offtake is high on the agenda. Just like the lithium,
it is an industrial mineral, you have to get a quality offtake
agreement with a quality offtake partner. That is the only way to
make the spreadsheet real, otherwise it is just 2D and 3D models
and financial spreadsheets for the bankers,” Reed said.
“The original feasibility study looked at mining the ore, making a
magnetic concentrate then going through a salt roast leach, which
is a traditional processing route used by the Russians, Chinese and South Africans
to produce vanadium pentoxide; an intermediate product for further processing into
ferrovanadium.
“Fortunately for us, we have a high titanium section to the orebody where we can make
a magnetic concentrate out of that as well. You could put that in the salt roast leach, but
at this stage we’re looking at putting it into the titanium pigment supply chain by selling
it as concentrate to offshore processors who will turn it into titanium slag,” he said.
Now that Barrambie has commanded a sole focus, Reed expects an expanded mine
life from the updated DFS which will precede an investment decision on the project in
mid-2019.
“We are a diversified company and we have had to put a fair bit of time into the income-
producing assets and the immediate downstream processing. That has in part been
why we have been looking at demerging the non-lithium assets into a new vehicle so
we can resource them financially and appropriately with the human capital to capture
the most value out of those projects,” Reed said.
“I think the approach we took with lithium has worked out pretty well in the partnering
process. It is likely that long term offtake will be in place, depending on where they are
from, but it would be easier if they had a little bit of equity in the project.”

AUSTRALIA’S PAYDIRT DECEMBER 2018 - JANUARY 2019 PAGE 15

Amid the unmatched digital disruption
experienced by investment markets over
the past 15 years, gold has retained its safe
haven status with one of the world’s few
fully integrated precious metals houses,
The Perth Mint, working hard to ensure
the yellow metal enhances its standing.

The Perth Mint is one of Australia’s
largest exporters, distributing
$16 billion worth of pure gold,

silver and platinum bullion bars
and coins to investors in more
than 130 countries annually.

Perth Mint Fact File...

• Parent company Gold Corporation, trading as The Perth Mint, is wholly owned
by the Government of Western Australia.

• Operating the largest refinery in the southern hemisphere and belonging to a
select group accredited by the world’s five major gold exchanges, it refined
341 tonnes of gold and 505 tonnes of silver in 2017/18.

• Currently manages close to $3 billion worth of precious metals on behalf of
some 35,000 investors from more than 130 countries.

• In 2017/18, sold close to 8 million coins, medallions and minted bars
worldwide, valued at $838 million.

• Home to the Guinness World Record holding Australian Kangaroo One Tonne
Gold Bullion Coin, the Mint welcomes more than 74,000 visitors to its gold
exhibition in East Perth annually.

PAGE 18 DECEMBER 2018 - JANUARY 2019 AUSTRALIA’S PAYDIRT

It has invested nearly 120 years in ser- than coal and natural gas – and as the first new investment offering.
vicing and promoting the gold industry foreign refiner accredited by the Shang- “Once the retail money starts flowing in,
since being established in 1899 as the gold hai Gold Exchange we are the largest
rush in Western Australia’s eastern gold- non-domestic supplier of 1 kilo bars into the institutions become interested so we
fields began to take hold. Now, as then, China,” Hayes says. are already in discussions with those inter-
Australian gold entices interest from all ested in utilising gold ETFs,” Hayes says.
corners of the globe. Back in Perth, customers – from individu-
als to sovereign wealth funds – use the While the ETF allows The Perth Mint to
“The world used to come to WA for Mint’s depository to securely store their attract established global financial players,
gold, now The Perth Mint is taking Austral- wealth in its network of state-of-the-art its new GoldPass™ smartphone app tar-
ian gold to the world,” Perth Mint Chief vaults. gets a completely different demographic.
Executive Officer Richard Hayes says.
“Our depository allows people to buy Launched in October, GoldPass™
With the capacity to refine 350 tonnes of precious metals without physical delivery. gives retail investors the unique ability to
gold and 700 tonnes of silver per annum, Currently we manage $3 billion worth of securely buy, store and sell gold via digital
The Perth Mint is the largest precious met- metal on behalf of 35,000 customers from certificates. The platform also allows the
als refiner in Australia. It processes almost 130 countries,” Hayes says. instantaneous transfer of gold to other ap-
all Australian gold mine production and proved GoldPass™ app users.
output from regional neighbours includ- “We structure the business so we can
ing Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, Fiji, offer something for everyone. We have a “GoldPass™ effectively tokenises gold
Solomon Islands, Malaysia and Thailand. traditional storage team whom custom- ounces which can then be bought and sold
ers may call to invest and provide various to registered users on the app. Rather than
Hayes says The Perth Mint strives to sup- online platforms.” focusing on traditional investors, the app
port and add value to Australia’s booming targets millennials who use smartphones in
gold mining industry. The Mint’s efforts to find new markets all aspects of their lives.”
are not restricted geographically, with 2018
“We have a world-class refining facility being the year in which two new invest- As with its other offerings, GoldPass™
and assaying services, and we continually ment products were launched – a gold ETF benefits from The Perth Mint’s exclusive
create and develop new markets and new on the New York Stock Exchange and the government guarantee.
demographics of customers for Australian GoldPass™ smartphone app.
gold,” he says. “With the uncertainty and speculative
The Perth Mint Physical Gold ETF (NYSE nature of cryptocurrencies with no asset
Reinforcing The Perth Mint’s standing in Arca: AAAU) is the first ETF backed by backing their value, investors are always
the world of precious metals is the backing physical gold which itself is guaranteed by keen to discover innovative and credible
of the Western Australian government. a sovereign entity. Each AAAU share rep- vehicles through which to safely protect the
resents ownership of 1/100th of an ounce worth of their portfolios,” Hayes says.
“We operate with the world’s only of gold which is 100% secured by physical
government guarantee, meaning we offer gold stored by The Perth Mint. “Many commentators are suggesting
the safest refining, investment and storage that digital gold products are expanding
programmes in the world,” Hayes says. “AAAU is unique because it is the only the market for gold investment, so there
gold ETF where the underlying physical is a distinct rise in the demand for trusted
Its reputation and long history makes gold is government guaranteed,” Hayes modern and contemporary means of
The Perth Mint a revered institution, says. “All the gold which backs the fund is exchange.”
though Hayes recognises the ongoing stored in Perth, so it lessens the exposure
need to adapt and innovate in the face of to the massive concentrations of physical With more than 1,300 users register-
the digital revolution. gold in London and New York. Further- ing to trade via GoldPass™ within its
more, rather than use third party vaults we first month, the platform is expected to
“We have become pretty good at what only store the metal in the seven bank- become one of the Mint’s leading vehicles
we do after 120 years but we are firmly and grade vaults we own. for gold investment.
fully focused on the future,” he says. “We
must stay ahead of the curve by advancing Another key feature of AAAU is that The Perth Mint is also using digital
and harnessing new technologies for our investors may exchange their shares for advances to ensure Australian gold mine
customers.” physical gold at any time, with the Mint production retains its ethical reputation
and sustainability.
Developments have included the offering a range
continual pursuit of new markets. The US of gold products “As an active member of the London
and EU are the Mint’s largest markets with from which they Bullion Market Association, we are working
demand from the rest of the world, and in may choose and on several initiatives around the traceability
particular Asia and the Middle East, stead- have delivered of gold from mine to market,” Hayes says.
ily increasing. directly to their
door. “Traceability is becoming increasing im-
“The Perth Mint is Australia’s largest portant and we are a strong advocate for it.
exporter to Germany by value – more Launched in Some of the programmes are blockchain-
August, AAAU based, while others use physical or chemi-
has performed cal fingerprinting. So, we are watching
well in its first the space very closely and have initiated
few months with several in-house investigations into the dif-
a number of ferent technological developments.”
retail investors
attracted to the Transparency and accountability are
other ways in which the Mint is securing
gold’s importance to international markets.

“The relationships we have with both
miners and consumers are at the heart of
our global success,” Hayes says. “These
connections span the entire spectrum of
the precious metal value chain, from the
mines themselves to the delivery of physi-
cal products and investment solutions to
markets the world over.”

AUSTRALIA’S PAYDIRT DECEMBER 2018 - JANUARY 2019 PAGE 19

aelminingservices.com

PAGE 56 DECEMBER 2018 - JANUARY 2019 AUSTRALIA’S PAYDIRT

AEL:

An intelligent approach
to blasting

As mining practices go, blasting appears as basic as it gets conversion, i-Mining productivity
but as innovation and modernisation takes hold across programmes and blasting consulting
the entire operational chain even this most antediluvian of services to providing training in basic
mining practices is providing technology solutions to miners. blasting principles.

Earlier this year, AEL Mining Services (AEL), a member of the Van den Berg says the company’s innovations
JSE-listed AECI Group in South Africa, has announced its have achieved the cost, efficiency and safety
official rebrand to AEL Intelligent Blasting to reflect its focus outcomes clients are increasingly demanding.
on the technological revolution in the explosives and mining
industry. “We spend a lot of time investigating how our
products and services couple to ensure we are
The company offers the latest generation of products and getting the best outcomes for clients,” she says.
services for blasting operations, including bulk explosives,
packaged explosives, electronic and conventional initiating Every part of the mining production cycle is monitored
systems, blasting accessories and delivery systems as well and analysed but miners are still struggling to interpret the
as technical services via its technical arm; Blast Consult. swathes of data they are now producing. AEL’s intelliBlast™
allows the Blast Consult team to trace the impact of blasting
AEL’s innovation push is displayed in its product and strategies across an entire operation.
service range and summed up by its holistic and flexible
AEL intelliBlast™ platform, which enables it to tailor smart “It is a big problem in the industry,” van den Berg says. “We
blasting solutions for optimal mining outcomes. have monitoring on everything from the blast to the plant
but all this different monitoring equipment is not talking to
AEL’s Meagan van den Berg says intelliBlast™ and AEL’s each other in unison; there is no way of tracking whether
entire product suits allows it to keep pace with the downtime in the plant can be traced to an original problem
innovation advances being demanded by its mining clients. in the blasting.”

“Mining is often criticised for being a laggard in innovation Having responsibility for the first link in the mining
but in the last few years there has been an intense focus production chain, AEL has taken on the challenge of
on embracing technology,” van den Berg says. “While the providing such a solution itself.
depths of the commodity price cycle provided a huge
incentive to pursue innovative solutions, concerns over “We pride ourselves on our ability to collaborate,” van
safety and productivity have also driven the trend. den Berg says. “We don’t like the drop-off-and-go model.
We want to be part of the integrated team on each site
“We find clients are not just looking for cost savings but and we ask what the customer wants and what suits their
increasingly ways of making their operations safer and operations, future plans, etc.”
more efficient. Global miners have arrived in Africa with
expectations of adhering to world’s best practice. By its The company had struck a technology partnership which
nature blasting is a dangerous exercise but the entire will see it create a digital twin of a client’s operation.
industry is realising it doesn’t have to be done in the same
way it was done 100 years ago.” “This allows us to build algorithms for all aspects of the
mine, from drill-and-blast to load haulage, ground handling
AEL is already a leader in blasting technology, having and into plant processing. From there we can play through
introduced new products spanning the blasting spectrum different scenarios and see how blasting may impact
from automated and remote-controlled blasting to efficiencies in other parts of the operation. We can then look
monitoring as well as innovative packaging such as fit- at different outcomes. The entire process becomes proactive
for-purpose pumped emulsion formulas for underground rather than reactive.”
operations.
AEL’s efforts also incorporate the changing cultural
Through its in-house engineering division, AEL designs landscape in mining. The South African mining industry in
and builds Mobile Processing Units (MPUs) for surface and particular is experiencing massive structural change and
underground mining, bulk emulsion manufacturing plants AEL sees its innovation programme as a way of engaging
and modular initiating systems assembly plants. with other stakeholders.

In addition, AEL offers underground mobile and fixed “We must understand the drivers of the regulator and the
emulsion pumping systems. Through IntelliBlast™ total local communities and work out how we can assist in getting
value proposition, this holistic and flexible approach deploys our customers compliant. Being a responsible supplier is not
blasting services that extract optimum value from any just about high quality, safe products and services. It is about
blasting operation, with its combination of products, services investing in local stakeholders and building development
and solutions. These include prime, load, tie and shoot (PLTS) opportunities for communities.
as well as Rock-on-Ground contracting.
For more information on AEL Intelligent Blasting,
AEL’s Blast Consult team offers expert technical services visit www.aelminingservices.com or contact the team at:
across a wide range of related disciplines such as blast
monitoring, design, timing, 1 Platinum Drive, Longmeadow Business Estate,
fragmentation analysis, technology Modderfontein, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa 1645
Tel: +27 11 606 0000 Fax: +27 11 605 0000

AUSTRALIA’S PAYDIRT DECEMBER 2018 - JANUARY 2019 PAGE 57

PROFILE

Great Greenland

A government mapping project in the
Maniitsoq area of West Greenland

Greenland is about as far What brings Greenland to Australia? Resources Ltd, Rimbal Pty Ltd and TAN-
away from Australia as BREEZ Mining Greenland SA.
it is possible to get but that We would be keen to increase the
hasn’t stopped ASX-listed number of Australian licensees active in What commodities should explorers
companies embarking on Greenland. This is why we annually host be searching for in Greenland?
exploration campaigns in the a Greenland Day in Perth, Western Aus-
Arctic island. In October, the tralia, where interested stakeholders can The geology of Greenland is unique in
Greenland Ministry of Mineral visit and learn more about the geology being so diverse, with a huge range of
Resources and Labour held and regulatory framework of Greenland geological environments covering almost
its annual Greenland Day in as a mining investment destination. the entire Earth’s history. This means the
Perth and also participated as mineral systems and commodities to be
an exhibitor at the Australian This was also the first year our delega- found in Greenland are equally diverse.
Nickel Conference. Paydirt tion participated in the Australian Nickel There is strong exploration potential in
spoke with Klaus Kuch Jensen, Conference. We found it very useful and Greenland for a wide range of com-
Acting Head of the Licence it seems to have generated some genu- modities including gold, magmatic nickel,
Department at the Ministry, ine interest for Greenland. zinc, rare earth elements, sedimentary-
about the reasons for the visit hosted copper, IOCGs, platinum-group
and the opportunities on offer in What level of participation do elements, tungsten, gemstones (includ-
the country. you already see from Australian ing diamonds), titanium, graphite and
companies? other industrial minerals. What’s more,
the sheer number of operating mines in
The prospective geology of Greenland correlative geological terranes in parts of
has already attracted significant interest Scandinavia and Arctic Canada suggest
from Australia. Currently, we have five that there must be economic deposits
mineral licensees in Greenland originat- so far undiscovered in Greenland.
ing from Australia. One of these has
been granted an Exploitation Licence
(Ironbark Zinc Ltd for its project by Cit-
ronen Fjord in North Greenland). Others
include Greenland Minerals SA, Platina

PAGE 106 DECEMBER 2018 - JANUARY 2019 AUSTRALIA’S PAYDIRT

What can Australian companies East Greenland. The licence area must For more information on Greenland’s
expect if they look at Greenland as a be at least 1,000sq km. In return, the mineral potential, please visit the
mining investment destination? yearly financial commitments are signifi- Ministry of Mineral Resources and
cantly reduced compared to those of the Labour at http://www.govmin.gl, on
Australian companies can expect a reli- regular exploration licence. The licence Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/
able, accountable, and transparent public is valid for three years and cannot be GreenlandMin/ or through the Greenland
administration. Additionally, companies renewed. Should the licensee manage to Mineral Resources Data Portal:
can expect to feel welcomed, not only by delineate a high potential area within the http://www.greenmin.gl
the pro-mining legislation, but also by the special exploration licence, the licensee
pro-mining population of Greenland. is entitled to have this area granted with Exploration drilling on the Nanulaq gold
exclusivity on regular exploration licence project in South Greenland
Can you describe Greenland’s terms. Copyright Nalunaq A/S
mining licensing framework?
What policies does Greenland have
It is a very easy, transparent and predict- to attract resources investment?
able process to secure a licence for
mineral exploration or prospecting in The Ministry of Mineral Resources and
Greenland. Licences applied for will be Labour, as well as the Mineral Licence
issued no later than three months after and Safety Authority, continuously review
registration of application. financial policies on exploration commit-
ments, royalties etc. to insure Green-
Exploration Licences in Greenland are land remains a competitive investment
granted with exclusivity to area defined destination.
by the applicant. The first licence period
is granted for five years, if the licensee What advice would you give
is fully compliant after those five years, to Australian companies
they will be entitled to a renewal of considering investment in
another five years. After this the licence Greenland?
must be renewed every third year.
Greenland has some very skilful
Prospecting Licences in Greenland are and specialised subcontractors,
granted to non-exclusive standard areas especially to mineral exploration
(North, West, and East Greenland). companies. However, they tend
The prospecting licence comes with no to be very busy during the summer
reporting requirements and no financial field season. So, plan ahead
commitments. It is valid for five years and reach out to the local
and cannot be renewed. If the licensee subcontractors in due time.
manages to delineate a high potential
area within the prospecting licence, the
licensee is automatically entitled to have
this area granted with exclusivity on
exploration licence terms.

Exclusive Exploration Licences on
Special Terms are granted in North and

North American Nickel Inc’s exploration
camp and core yard in Greenland

AUSTRALIA’S PAYDIRT DECEMBER 2018 - JANUARY 2019 PAGE 107

SGS Ghana The world’s leading inspection, verification, testing and
certification company, SGS, is recognised as the global
The current flux in global equity benchmark for such quality and integrity. It has more than 60
markets and geopolitical concerns commercial and dedicated on-site mine laboratories across
across the region has led West African Africa. In Ghana, the group has been active since 1960 and
miners and explorers to demand now boasts offices and laboratories in Accra, Tema, Takoradi,
service providers deliver reliability Tarkwa, Damang, Ahafo, Akyem and Obuasi, making the
and transparency. group easily accessible to clients, whether they are at the
exploration, development or operational stage.

SGS Ghana’s Mineral Services division’s geochemical
expertise ensures it delivers trusted, quality data on a
consistent basis, allowing companies to manage risks,
enhance the value of their projects and get to the
market quicker.

The group’s Environment, Health and Safety (EHS) services
in Ghana is a one-stop-shop for managing environmental
needs across West Africa. SGS EHS works with clients
to develop environmental monitoring plans, carries out
field data collection for baseline studies, provides stack
emissions monitoring, field sampling and industrial hygiene
risk assessments. It can also undertake audit-type work on
environmental due diligence and regulatory compliance.

Paydirt spoke with the SGS Ghana team to find out how the
industry could use its services to successfully navigate the
course between investors, governments and community.

PAGE 52 DECEMBER 2018 - JANUARY 2019 AUSTRALIA’S PAYDIRT

Paydirt: The rate of innovation in today’s mining industry is PD: West Africa has seen several waves of gold
rapid. How is SGS keeping pace with this speed of change? exploration and development investment in the last two
decades. Where does the region currently stand? Is SGS
SGS: SGS upholds a culture of continuous learning building up for another big West African gold boom?
supported by investing in the latest equipment and tools.
Our SGS laboratory in Tarkwa, Ghana, will have the first SGS: West Africa is a large and resource rich region and
microwave plasma atomic emission spectrometer for SGS aside from gold, there are strong prospects for a range
in Africa installed by January 2019 and adds automation to of minerals. Stable political and economic markets are
the equipment list. This technology will add value to the local seeing an increase of investment in the gold and mineral
skills of on-site chemists plus improve safety and reduce sector in West Africa while improvements in technology are
energy usage. SGS is also looking at other technology to accelerating exploration. SGS’s network of laboratories and
automate current methodology which will be introduced technical staff across West Africa ensures strong presence
in 2019 to ensure a more competitive and comprehensive on the ground. SGS works closely with all stakeholders to
service to clients to improve production, turnaround time support resource diversification and growth within the local
and safety. Additionally, the digitalisation of results with SGS markets. Aside from standard laboratory services, SGS is
Engage tool, allows authorised users to get results instantly on-hand to provide clients with access to the global support
even from their phones. This helps clients also better team when issues arise. A valuable example is how SGS
monitor their results over time as well as provide a central goes a step further to assist clients to control and optimise
and accessible data storage solution. their process operation by auditing and offering a solution to
their findings.

PD: How important is it for miners in West Africa to PD: What is your advice to mining and exploration
have reliable, respected and ethical service partners companies coming into West Africa for the first time?
whether in assaying or environmental analysis?
SGS: Stay hungry, don’t be foolish. There are strong
SGS: It is essential. The stakes are high when miners invest opportunities in the region and its great so many companies
so much on all the stages of exploration that protection of are ready to seek them out, however the importance of
information is priceless. A Swiss-established company, SGS dealing with local communities and ensuring protection of
operates with strict principals of security and anonymity. the environment cannot be underestimated.
When handling samples, at every step, technicians must
pass bio-data security verification and our coded tracking Managing the impact of exploration and mining not only
system means that samples themselves do not display any protects workers and company reputation but also reduces
client information. SGS invests heavily on training, security the potential risk of costly clean ups when environmental
measures and monitoring so that all work is carried out with monitoring systems are established early on.
the utmost respect for clients’ data protection.
SGS has a wealth of experience from work in the minerals
and environment, health and safety standpoint to provide
clients with a one stop shop for all their needs, from
sampling to data management both on the field and in
SGS’s accredited network of laboratories.

AUSTRALIA’S PAYDIRT DECEMBER 2018 - JANUARY 2019 PAGE 53

25

1994 - 2019

BMAINTETREA2R0LY1S9 LATIN 4 - 6 September 2019 15 October 2019
Perth,Western Australia
12 -13 March – Pan Pacific Perth AMERICA Perth,Western Australia

15-16 May 2019
Perth,Western Australia

www.paydirt.com.au