pd246 February 17 mag-web_Neat

At present, Base employs The report found that short term

800 people, of which 94% are incentive (STI) payouts have risen

Kenyan and 62% are from the dramatically in 2016 with average

local community. payouts at 99% of target bonus

The company is yet to experi- amounts.

ence any industrial unrest and “For companies who have an

employs just 42 expat staff. Its STI programme, payouts have

goal is to have 15 or less expats steadily increased over the past

at Kwale in the near future. couple of years and are proving

Base managing director Tim to be a great tool for these organi-

Carstens said the success sations to engage their workforce

of Base’s hiring and training to achieve key personal, site and

strategies was recognised and corporate objectives focusing on

adopted by Kenya’s National safety, production and financial

Industrial Training Authority performance targets” Spicer said.

(NITA). “STIs make up an increasingly

“One of the interesting things large part of the remuneration

is the NITA was established not package and it is good for industry

too long ago and it went on a because you’ve got deliverables.”

global search for an industrial Employee nationalisation programmes are being adopted The survey also showed that

training model. They spent six across Africa’s mining sector skills shortages were no longer
weeks travelling around the a major concern for companies.

world and about two weeks after they an indication that companies were in a Instead, employers are more focused

came back…they came down to visit better financial position than in previous on whether candidates fit into the com-

us and spent five or six days at site and years. pany’s corporate culture.

came to the conclusion that ours was the “Companies who’ve put cost manage- “There is a real move towards more

model they wanted to roll out to the rest ment in place over the last few years time, more effort, more assessment of

of the country. We are now working with have seen the benefits of that process,” the individual candidate and whether

the NITA to roll out a Kenyan template for he said. “Everyone from employees to they will be a good cultural fit within the

industrial training.” suppliers has been going through a bit company,” Spicer said. “Formal leader-

The benefits of such programmes of pain as companies adjust targets but ship assessment has been done in the

could be more widespread than often now they are hitting those revised tar- past but not with this level of intent. Com-

perceived. The term “expat” is usually gets there is an upswing in sentiment and panies are asking whether candidates fit

associated with Australian, North Amer- companies are in much better financial the values and principles of the company

ica, British or European professionals, shape and can increase salaries.” and what can they contribute to the com-

however Globe 24-7’s report identified Structured incentives around targets pany.”

that 52% of expats in African operations have grown in importance for both com- And, as the industry begins to consider

were from other African countries, high- panies and employees in recent years expansion again, employers are also in-

lighting the skills transfer that occurs and Spicer welcomed the trend. vestigating ways they can improve staff

between African countries. “The best move in two or three years retention.

Spicer said this was further evidence has been a refocus on target-driven “Companies want to understand what

of the success of national employment organisations it means employees un- structure they have to put in place to

programmes put in place in countries derstand where they are situated within retain staff, particularly as we head to-

such as Ghana and Tanzania. the organisation’s targets. When prices wards another upturn and that has cer-

Globe 24-7’s report also provided Af- are up, performance gets glossed over tainly not been a consideration in the last

rican mining expats with evidence that somewhat in the face of chasing more few years.”

the worst of the mining downturn may be tonnes or more ounces but the trend is – Dominic Piper
behind them with some 75% of respond- being reversed now.”

ents to the survey saying they would be

implementing salary increases among Highlights from Globe 24-7’s annu- • 55% of expatriate workers are em-

expats in 2017. al African Remuneration and Benefits ployed to work on either a 6/3 or 7/3 FIFO

The change in sentiment comes after Benchmarking Report: rotation

three successive years of stagnation or • Expats were most commonly from • Only 21% of companies now offer

even shrinkage in expat salaries. South Africa (30%) and Greater Africa business class for all expat travel. Cost

“Over the past few years, we’ve seen (22%) with the next highest representa- remains the main factor for determining

significant drops in expatriate salaries tion is from Europe/Middle East (15%) class of travel for flights with fatigue man-

especially for new hires and many com- • For the first time in three years there agement a lesser factor, perhaps reflec-

panies have implemented dramatic cost appears to be a likely return to slow tive of shorter commute times for Euro-

cutting measures,” Spicer said. “For growth in salaries from this year. Some pean and African-based expats

the first time in three years, we can re- 60% of expat received no salary increase • Employee cultural fit continues as

port that positive sentiment is returning. in 2016 but only 25% of companies were the most important factor for retention

Three quarters of our participant group not expecting to give pay rises in 2017 with “competition to recruit the right can-

indicate they will be implementing salary with a forecast average increase of 2% didates” replacing “skills shortage” as a

increases in 2017.” • The average payout ratio on short- key recruitment concern

While the expected increases aver- term incentives was 99% in 2016, up

aged a modest 2%, Spicer said it was from 92% in 2015 and 81% in 2014

AUSTRALIA’S PAYDIRT FEBRUARY 2017 PAGE 51

SKILLS

Cost-conscious employers
settle for second-best

Almost 50% of small and medi-
um-sized companies in Aus-
tralia are prepared to settle for an

“OK” employee over someone who

is “fantastic” for the role, according

to the latest study by global recruit-

ment specialists Michael Page.

The Michael Page SME Hir-

ing Challenge Survey 2016 found

46% of small and medium-sized

enterprises did not necessar-

ily recruit the best candidate for

an advertised role in the past 12

months.

Attrition was another major

concern for those companies sur-

veyed, with 35% saying a new hire

had exited the business within six

months of starting employment.

Page Group Australia and New

Zealand regional managing direc-

tor Matthew Gribble said low ex-

isting staff numbers appeared to

be a factor behind a company’s

rushed decision to hire someone

who may not be the ideal person for the among the respondents in the survey, cess because they believed it was too

role. with those eligible ranging in size from 15 expensive to employ a specialist recruit-

“SMEs tend to run fairly lean in terms and 100 staff. er to find the right candidate.

of the staffing that they have to allow the Gribble said the reported attrition rate “Typically speaking, the value attrib-

organisation to do what it does, so if they of 35% of new hires leaving a company uted to their time is significantly higher

lose someone, because they’re already within six months was “anecdotally high”. than what they would pay a third-party

quite lean in the first place, they’ve got a While he was unable to compare that fig- recruiter to handle those sorts of require-

severe, heightened need to get someone ure with previous research, he said the ments,” Gribble said.

“into that job very quickly so the organisa- response was alarming. “That time could be used to generate

tion can keep function- significantly more revenue for

ing,” Gribble told Pay- The biggest single constraint to their organisation than the cost
dirt. they would be saving in a re-

“They’re then faced SME growth in Australia is the cruitment fee.”
with a situation where ability to attract and retain top talent. Gribble urged all companies
because they don’t re-
to prioritise recruitment as a

cruit all the time, they key strategic foundation for

don’t have highly evolved their business.

recruitment capability or techniques, so a “If you are a little bit more generic in “If you’ve got a good team, it goes a

combination of that heightened need and how you recruit, you do potentially com- long way to producing a good business,”

well evolved capability in the recruitment prise on the type of person that you’re he said.

space over time means they go, ‘OK, hiring, so this sort of outcome is not un- “We believe from the research – and

near enough is good enough, we need expected,” Gribble said. anecdotally as well – the biggest single

someone to do that job’.” “It all comes back to having good qual- constraint to SME growth in Australia is

Other key recruitment challenges iden- ity and highly evolved recruitment pro- the ability to attract and retain top talent.

tified in the survey were 43% of com- cesses and structures; a modus oper- “Having some structure, process, rig-

panies believed the cost of hiring was andi that really works in terms of defining our and discipline around the way you re-

expensive for the business and 47% the role, defining a recruitment strategy cruit is really, really important. You don’t

thought the total time average of 35 and pursuing that to get the very best want to find yourself in a situation where

hours spent on the recruitment process person for the job.” you say, ‘oh dear, we’ve got to recruit,

was excessive and detrimental to pro- Gribble said many company bosses what do we do?’.”

ductivity. were sacrificing up to a full week of their – Michael Washbourne
Several mining companies were time in the office on the recruitment pro-

PAGE 52 FEBRUARY 2017 AUSTRALIA’S PAYDIRT

A great 28 served by Brown

It may make simple reading but Mal Mal Brown “There was huge opportunity to grow
Brown’s experiences are far greater your capability by working in different
than his LinkedIn profile suggests; in a business delivering projects in more elements of the business. It wasn’t like I
than 20 different countries. had the single career and did the same
President – Mining & Metals (Australia, thing for 28 years,” he said.
Asia, Africa), AMEC Foster Wheeler No- Through AMEC-Minproc, Brown was
vember 2009 – present determined to branch out and get a feel “I probably held 8-10 different jobs and
for all aspects of the business. I have been fortunate enough to do that
Chief operating officer and project di- inside the single organisation, which has
rector Minproc Engineers September Brown said he was fortunate to be able been fantastic because you don’t want
1988 – October 2009. gain different experiences within the one to be chopping and changing looking for
organisation and while LinkedIn only work.”
Of course, AMEC Foster Wheeler credits him with two job titles in the past
Plc acquired Minproc seven years ago, 28 years, his CV is packed with the kind Young people looking to make their
meaning Brown has served the one com- of experience in project engineering and way in the mining industry could do
pany for 28 years, and while the passion management, commercial management, worse than tap Brown on the shoulder
for mining remains, particularly on the engineering management and general for advice and for those that do, this is
project development side of things, the management expertise any recruiter the likely message: “I say to young peo-
UWA civil engineer graduate with hon- would gush over. ple today: ‘you can manage your career;
ours and a MBA has called time on his you can just sit still in the one spot and
career with AMEC. do nothing or really you can go an say to
your boss I want to work in the estimat-
For now, Brown is enjoying a well-de- ing department for a year and learn or I
served break but his contribution to the want to go on site for a while and learn a
mining industry is far from finished. bit more about construction’. I did that, I
looked at what where I wanted to go and
“The resources industry has been fan- develop and as I say I was fortunate such
tastic to me and 99% of the people in an organisation like a Minproc and AMEC
the industry are brilliant to work for and I allowed me to do that. I like my work and
have really enjoyed working with a whole to turn up for 40-50 hours a week, you
bunch of people inside AMEC/Minproc better go and find something you enjoy.”
or clients and contractors,” Brown told
Paydirt. While Brown departs the industry for
now, he leaves knowing that Austral-
“I think I can add value to organisations ian engineers across the board are very
in setting up projects properly, whether competent and given the necessary 5-10
that is on an owner side of things or a years it takes to skill up-and-coming en-
services side. It’s important that projects gineers, locally produced engineers will
are set up properly because if they are remain world leaders in the sector.
not, you almost have no chance of being
successful.” – Mark Andrews

Leaving it to luck to succeed is fraught Mal Brown says the latest downturn in recover, Brown said there were definite
with danger and Brown hopes that during the resources sector was the fourth dip in green shoots beginning to appear in the
his career he has shown a commitment his 38-year career in the industry. resources sector.
to doing project management properly.
The bust followed the biggest boom “There is a lot more geology and mine
“Project management is a science, time Brown had ever seen, however, it study work out there at the moment.
like any other facets of engineering and was not managed as wisely as it could There is a lot more exploration going on
you need to train people to do it properly. have been in Australia. and there is a lot more work that we are
You need to have a lot of discipline in do- finding in our front-end mining consulting
ing it properly and hopefully the people “One plea I have is that we never use group. Mining and geology are doing a
I have worked for come away from that the cost plus reimbursable model for ser- lot more work and that is always a sign
understanding that if you don’t project vice providers ever again,” he said. “We that projects are making progress; it will
manage properly you are not going to trashed our competitiveness in Australia, definitely come back but it won’t come
get a successful project. A contribution we could always win contracts, but in the back to the same level it was and quite
to the science of project management last boom we structured ourselves as the frankly I hope it doesn’t,” he said.
is something I hope I have made an im- most expensive engineering centre in the
pression on with people I have worked world. Our cost base was trashed and “The damage we did to ourselves
with,” Brown said. engineering work was shipped to India through a huge boom was quite frankly
and China and to get ourselves back to not worth it from a services provider
While spending almost 30 years with the same international competitiveness point of view, maybe it was for the mining
one organisation, Brown worked for five we were compelled to shift 25% cheaper companies that made a lot of money, etc
companies in a 10-year period in his ear- in labour.” and did all their developments, but from
lier days. a services sector we trashed ourselves.”
While the commodity market starts to
That was when he was in his 20s and
travelling the world for life experiences
was a must.

Travelling young helped set Brown up
for a future where he’d be a key player

AUSTRALIA’S PAYDIRT FEBRUARY 2017 PAGE 53

SKILLS

AMMA seeks skills training input

Companies intimately Vacancies for perma- resources industry does pay. The WA
involved in the re-
sources sector have been nent jobs were up 2.4% and Queensland budgets are examples
urged to contribute to a
national initiative target- in November and 14.5% of that and we’re also seeing that now
ing skills improvement.
since August, while tem- at the federal level where commodity
Formed in May 2015,
the Australian Industry porary/contractor job va- prices are having a massive impact on
and Skills Committee
(AISC) consists of rep- cancies only recorded a forecasts in the upcoming budget.”
resentatives from sev-
eral industries across modest increase of 0.4% One trend AMMA has noticed in re-
the country, including
mining, with a common in November and 13.2% cent times is mining companies working
goal of providing leader-
ship and guidance to the for the last quarter. more closely with the governments of
vocational education and training (VET)
system. Queensland had the the states in which they operate, par-

AISC has placed employers at the strongest market during ticularly when it comes to employment.
heart of the initiative, asking them to
nominate what qualifications and skills the second half of 2016, “We saw during the peak a lot of
they want their employees to have as
well as how they should be trained and recording a 23% rise in people coming into WA; a lot of peo-
assessed.
Tara Diamond vacancies, mainly thanks ple came from Victoria and, in fact, the
Australian Mines and Metals Associa- to recovering coal and oil
tion (AMMA) director of industry services most came from Queensland in terms of
Tara Diamond, who is an AISC mem-
ber, encouraged the resources sector to and gas projects. trade roles,” Diamond said.
get involved in the programme.
Western Australia showed a steady “We’re obviously not seeing that any
“Employers are being asked to really
input what skills they need for now and 18% improvement during those six more. We’re seeing that employers are
for the future, and how they should
be taught and how they should be as- months. really focused on having their employ-
sessed,” Diamond told Paydirt.
Vacancies for frontline trades and op- ees come from the regions in which
“One of the things we [AMMA] did
through the skills shortage was actually erators remained the strongest perform- they operate and the states which they
run some national skilling programmes
to support employers connecting with ing occupational category. operate. And they’re working with their
groups of skilled people, whether it
be from particular regions or particular However, it continues to be a tough state government to understand what
types of skills and capabilities.
market for engineering professionals, regions are best to support them if in-
“We also did a lot of work in terms of
getting females skilled and employed in with vacancies only half of what they deed their [operations are] quite remote.”
the industry as we were going through
that transition. Then, as we’ve moved were in late 2013 despite being up Diamond said this approach was also
through the construction and invest-
ment peaks of the cycle, we supported 21% than this time in 2016. Hiring of resonating with the investment commu-
employers in their processes in terms of
how they could potentially restructure to operational management also remains nity.
get the right size for their organisation.”
subdued. “These things [cultural and gender di-
A recent research report prepared by
DFP Recruitment, one of AMMA’s cor- “It’s been quite a tumultuous period versity] have historically been seen as
porate partners, showed the resources
job market was continuing to improve for employers and for employees as soft targets for investors, but we are
following a fifth consecutive monthly in-
crease in vacancies. we’ve moved off such high levels of seeing a change in that from the in-

DFP data showed there was a na- demand for engineering and construc- vestment community where they really
tional rise of 1.5% in total job vacancies
through November, bringing the overall tion within the resources industry and are looking to see if employers have a
rise over the preceding six months to
19.6%. we saw quite a number of organisations deliberate strategy around skills and the

put their infrastructure into care-and- structures they put around their recruit-

maintenance,” Diamond said. ment,” Diamond said.

“We’re seeing some of those things Meanwhile, AMMA has appointed

come back online, wheth- respected employment

er it’s whole mines come lawyer David Parker to

back online or companies head its West Coast op-

looking for more produc- erations.

tivity out of particular Parker was a partner at

mines due to improved the employment law prac-

commodity prices.” tice of Ashurst Australia

Diamond said the im- for almost 14 years and

pact of depressed com- has a strong industry and

modity prices over the policy background, having

last few years was not worked for a major peak

limited to just the resourc- David Parker industry association and
in the WA State Govern-
es industry.

“In the cycle that is the ment earlier in his career.

resources industry, when commodity Former Rio Tinto Ltd human re-

prices are down people don’t set any sources manager Peter Cooke has also

targets, don’t seek to extend their exist- joined AMMA as a principal employee

ing operations or explore to extend their relations consultant, based out of Perth.

existing operations,” she said. – Michael Washbourne

“That affects our members in terms

of employing skilled people, but it also

affects a whole state’s economy, par-

ticularly in terms of the royalties the

PAGE 54 FEBRUARY 2017 AUSTRALIA’S PAYDIRT

REMSAFE looks to orbit
with Danes

Retaining staff is integral to any tor, Wilson said it was an appropri-
successful business, how- ate time for REMSAFE – a 100%

ever, finding the right motivators subsidiary of ASX-listed industrial

to keep employees satisfied is not technology company Orbital Cor-

always easy for company execu- poration Ltd – to grow its business.

tives. “We think it is a great time [to

“I think a big part of it is that expand] and we have accessed

our staff are largely highly techni- some capacity and capability al-

cal specialists and being able to ready. We are in a thriving little

help them to find really interesting business and I think we are actual-

value-adding work is a big part ly starting to manage to attract and

of that. For me, it is about being retain good people,” Wilson said.

able to have a really engaged Orbital has been instrumental in

workforce who know that they are REMSAFE’s transition to corpo-

contributing towards the growth rate vehicle during difficult times

of something really interesting for mining service providers in the

and exciting,” new REMSAFE sector.

chief executive Rob Wilson told “I think anything that has a capi-

Paydirt. tal flavour has been subject to

The hook for employees at delays in expenditure but as our

REMSAFE – developer of a pat- systems are very much a produc-

ented system which quickly, safe- tivity enhancement, as well as a

ly and efficiently isolates large in- safety enhancement, the switched

dustrial equipment from electrical on miners are doing their numbers

charge so maintenance can oc- and analysis and we have a very

cur – is taking the company from good looking pipeline for the first

small West Australia start-up to half of this year,” Wilson said.

globally recognised player in the “[Companies] having been

mining industry. REMSAFE is the world’s leading custom engineered and through that exercise are seeing a

“We are expanding into the rest installed, SIL rated, remote isolation system that payback, generally rapid payback,

of the country [Australia] with the minimises isolation downtime safely typically between four months and

FLSmidth arrangement. We are a year, and that is just on the finan-

expanding offshore, we have our first sales opportunities for REMSAFE out- cial aspects without all the reduced com-

system in Africa with Anglo American side of WA, where major users of the plexity and safety enhancements that our

[plc] and we have plenty of opportuni- technology include Rio Tinto Ltd, BHP systems bring.”

ties that look like they are coming out the Billiton Ltd and Fortescue Metals Group Wilson said while safety was very

ground in South Africa, as well as South Ltd in the Pilbara. much top of mind for mining companies,

America, and eventually the US and “FLSmitdh is a highly reputable busi- there was a misconception that things

Canada,” Wilson said. ness,” Wilson said. “We are keeping our like isolation were largely reliant on ad-

“We’ll be looking at the South African eyes on the short- term at the moment ministrative procedures.

majors and the oil and gas side of things and as we get the relationship humming, “We very much take the approach that

there; we’ll also be tracing around the then we will see where it will lead.” we can engineer safety in. We think that

“platinum industry. In South Africa, I think Despite lean times in the mining sec- the market doesn’t yet understand that

there is a fair amount fully. There is very

of opportunity, par- We are expanding into the rest of the much a market edu-
ticularly with a focus cation process that is

on safety there.” country [Australia] with the FLSmidth needed, I think peo-
arrangement. We are expanding offshore, ple are open minded
Helping REM- and it is a case of a

SAFE reach a global

audience will be the we have our first system in Africa with small organisation
collaboration agree- being able to reach
Anglo American [plc] and we have plenty of
ment with worldwide opportunities that look like they are coming out the right ears, so we
Danish equipment do need to be more
and service provider proactive in that

FLSmidth. the ground in South Africa, as well as South area,” he said.
The initial agree- America, and eventually the US and Canada. – Mark Andrews

ment aims to boost

AUSTRALIA’S PAYDIRT FEBRUARY 2017 PAGE 55

SKILLS

Scholarships offered to future
mining engineers

The University of New South paying, hi-tech job that has
Wales is offering $1.14 mil- portability and applicability in

lion worth of scholarships to so many other areas, so we’re

potential mining engineering stu- filled to the gunwales with ap-

dents in a bid to avoid a loom- plicants,” Hitch said.

ing shortage over the next few “Now is the time to get into

years. mining so you’re there when

In November, UNSW launched the sails are filled with wind

25 scholarships of $48,000 each and there are multiple offers

for first and second-year stu- at the end of your degree.”

dents enrolled in three or four- UNSW is backing the re-

year mining engineering studies cent resurgence of coal and

at the tertiary institution. iron ore – coking coal prices

Scholarship applications tripled in 2016, while thermal

closed on January 31. At the coal and iron ore finished the

time of print, applications had year up almost 50% – to con-

been received for almost all of Associate Professor Paul Flynn with UNSW students inside the tinue.
the available positions. School of Mining Engineering’s virtual reality lab Established mining compa-
nies such as Whitehaven Coal
Michael Hitch, acting head

of UNSW’s School of Mining Engineer- First-year enrolments at the School Ltd, which saw its share price soar 200%

ing, said the scholarships were intended of Mining Engineering peaked at 107 in last year, are on board with the scholar-

to attract students who may be thinking 2013, one year after the perceived end ship programme.

about a career in resources but were of the “mining boom”. Student intake has “We are seeing signs of a turnaround

concerned about their future job pros- fallen away since, decreasing 58% year- in mining activity, a rise in commodity

“pects given the depressed state of the on-year to just six potential future gradu- prices and a flow of investment back into
industry. ates in 2016. the resources sector,” Whitehaven Coal

“Mining engineering managing director Paul

ebbs and flows with how Now is the time to get into mining Flynn said.
mining is perceived nation- so you’re there when the sails are “Based on past cycles,
ally and how the financial
we’ll be short of skills within

markets treat mineral prod- filled with wind and there are multiple three years. That’s why we
ucts,” Hitch told Paydirt. need to attract enrolments
offers at the end of your degree.
“During difficult times now, so we have enough

like we’re just emerging engineers graduating when

out of now, it’s very hard we really need them.”

and mums and dads don’t want little Billy “It’s interesting that as soon as the Hitch said the ongoing support from

or Suzie to go into mining if all they see market turns there is this huge flood of companies such as Whitehaven Coal

in the media is people being laid off or people wanting to go into the mining pro- was critical.

mines being closed.” gramme because they see it as a well- “We’ve been holding these regional

dinners to introduce mining engineering

as an educational option in a number

of smaller of regional communities over

the last month or so and in a couple of

cases people from the companies have

come out, they’ve participated in the din-

ner, they’ve met potential applicants and

explained to them face-to-face that they

are hiring and they’re always looking for

people,” Hitch said.

UNSW is widely considered to have

one of Australia’s best mining engineer-

ing schools and is home to the world’s

first immersive virtual reality mine site

in which students can simulate various

real-life mining scenarios.

Several mining companies are on board with UNSW’s scholarship programme – Michael Washbourne

PAGE 56 FEBRUARY 2017 AUSTRALIA’S PAYDIRT

Meet the
team

at Mining Indaba

Bill Repard Dominic Piper

EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN EDITOR

M: (+61) 418 768 578 M: (+61) 424 934 494
E: [email protected] E: [email protected]

Mark Andrews Michael Washbourne Christine Oelschlaeger

DEPUTY EDITOR JOURNALIST AFRICA DOWN UNDER

M: (+61) 407 477 697 M: (+61) 400 956 703 M: (+61) 420 225 058
E: [email protected] E: [email protected] E: [email protected]

www.paydirt.com.au

6 - 8 September 2017
Perth,Western Australia

REGIONAL ROUNDUP AFRICA

Vector sees value in DRC

New Vector Resources Ltd chief exec- Vector has acquired a 70% interest in the Maniema gold project in the DRC
utive Simon Youds believes only time
will tell the true value of the company’s over the next 12 months, including a first Maniema by the end of this quarter and
latest project acquisition in the DRC. diamond and RC drilling campaign which could even have a drill rig on site ready
is set to begin this quarter. for this year’s first official exploration pro-
Vector completed its 70% purchase gramme.
of the Maniema gold project last month, “We got it for a relatively low cost be-
having begun due diligence in Septem- cause the resource wasn’t advanced “We’ll certainly have some geophys-
ber on the asset hosted in the same min- through to JORC [compliancy],” Youds ics on site as we want to get a handle on
eral province as Banro Corp’s Namoya said. some of the earlier stage projects [Mbu-
and Twangiza mines. tu, Mitunda, Mbala and Tubambo] that
“There was certainly investor interest surround the Kabotshome resource,”
Youds was subsequently installed as in both the location and the commodity. Youds said.
chief executive, with Peter Stockman You would have seen comments from
joining the new-look management team our chairman Gary [Castledine] in the Youds, who has extensive operational
as senior consulting geologist. Jason market and I’ve privately talked to the experience in Africa, including key roles
Brewer was also appointed to the board other major shareholders and they’re in the start-ups of the North Mara and
as the representative for previous co- very confident of the team and of the as- Bulyanhulu gold mines in Tanzania, said
owner African Royalty Company Pty Ltd. set and of the timing of this. he was excited about the opportunities in
the DRC despite some of the warnings
Vector also announced a maiden re- “We’ve got the right tool-kit of people that come with working in the country.
source estimate of 6.966mt @ 1.9 g/t to develop these projects, which maybe
gold for 421,000oz, with a 20 g/t top-cut, others have struggled to purely because “Having met the guy in pole position
for the Kabotshome prospect following of the composition of people or the tim- to be the next president of the DRC, I
an extensive review of the project’s geo- anticipate if he gets the role then DRC
logical database. ing. I think we underes- will become the go-to location in Africa,”
timate the value of the Youds said.
Kabotshome is one of five key pros- timing of this.”
pects within Maniema, which is immedi- “It’s been a long down-cycle for the
ately north of Randgold Resources Ltd/ Kabotshome is the DRC, but the mineral wealth and the
AngloGold Ashanti Ltd’s Kibali mine and most advanced of amount of trouble in the past has really
Amani Gold Ltd’s (formerly Burey Gold) the five prospects at conditioned people just to look forward to
Giro project. Maniema, with 17 holes the equivalent living conditions of some
punched into the main of their neighbours.
“The maiden resource was, in our target area. Some of the
opinion, pretty well ready to go,” Youds better reported hits were “I think you’re going to have a very co-
told Paydirt. “The fact that it wasn’t al- 20.25m @ 2.5 g/t gold hesive group of people in the DRC as
ready in resource was a corporate stra- (including 8m @ 4.03 g/t) those negative elements are weeded
tegic decision by the previous explorers. from 319m and 21.7m @ out. I think the fact there’s a lot of gold
3.58 g/t (including 5.7m operations succeeding in the north-west-
“This has really given us a leg up in @ 8.74 g/t) from 354m. ern zone, which is typically the trouble-
terms of being able to progress the pro- some area, is proof of that.”
ject. The quality of information, the qual- Youds expected his
ity of the resource and how far advanced company will have es- – Michael Washbourne
it is has really assisted us with what we’re Simon Youds tablished a camp at
doing.”

Vector looked set to acquire a telem-
atics and security industry provider un-
til African Royalty struck a deal with the
company to vend the
project into a listed ve-
hicle.

Congolese company
WB Kasai Investments
Congo SARL holds the
remaining 30% inter-
est in Maniema, about
260km south-west of the
Bukavu township and
160km south of Kindu.

Vector also raised
$1.65 million during the
due diligence period
to fund the cost of the
acquisition as well as
proposed exploration
activities at the project

PAGE 58 FEBRUARY 2017 AUSTRALIA’S PAYDIRT

15 YEARS OF ADU

6 - 8 September 2017

Perth, Australia

africadownunderconference.com

For all enquiries please contact Christine on
(+61) 8 9321 0355 or email [email protected]

REGIONAL ROUNDUP

Acacia and Endeavour talk tango

Acacia Mining plc has confirmed me- Acacia chief executive Brad Gordon in the vicinity of 3 moz gold.
dia speculation that it is in talks with discussing his company’s plans at last In addition to exploration in Tanzania,
Endeavour Mining Corp regarding a pos- year’s Africa Down Under conference
sible transaction. where among other interests it has an
which will lead to an increase in produc- earn-in agreement with Australian out-
“Acacia continually assesses opportu- tion compared to 2016 at the operation. fit OreCorp Ltd at the Nyanzaga prop-
nities to grow and develop its business erty, Acacia has ground covering more
in line with its strategy, including the as- In-line with a strong year of production, than 6,000sq km of ground in prospec-
sessment of potential strategic combina- Acacia increased its exploration pro- tive greenfields belts in Kenya, Mali and
tions. Acacia confirms that it is in prelimi- gramme in 2016 with a budget of $US20 Burkina Faso.
nary discussions regarding a possible million focusing on potential discoveries
combination with Endeavour. This may Endeavour operates the Karma project
or may not result in agreement of a trans- in Burkina Faso and is poised to pour first
action. A further announcement will be gold from Hounde, also in the country, in
made when appropriate,” the company Q4 2017.
said in a statement to the market last
month. Endeavour’s experience in Burkina
Faso will be of benefit to Acacia’s plans
Full-year 2016 gold production of in the country, while the former also has
829,705oz, 13% above 2015, and ahead mines in Mali, Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana.
of revised full-year guidance of up to
5% above original guidance of 750,000- Endeavour is targeting production by
780,000oz was reported by Acacai last 2018 of 900,000oz @ AISC circa $800/
month. oz.

Preliminary full-year AISC for the year An Endeavour/Acacia combination will
were US958/oz gold and the company see group production in the vicinity of 2
ended 2016 with net cash of $US219 mil- moz.
lion, an increase of $US114 million during
2016 Endeavour and Acacia have reiterated
that talks are at an early stage, as both
There is a six-month extension of min- companies are assessing all potential
ing at Buzwagi until the end of 2017, options for growth.

Mali gold output up in 2016

Mali produced 50.9t of gold in 2016, lute Mining Ltd, according to Lassana 2017, helped by two new mines.
up from 50.5t produced in 2015, the Guindo, technical adviser in charge of Canadian miner B2Gold Corp’s Fekola
country’s Mines Ministry reported last mines.
month. mine is expected to produce about 10
Industrial production hit 46.9t, with ar- tpa and Hummingbird Resources plc’s
Output in Africa’s third largest produc- tisanal mining adding another 4t, he said. Yanfolila mine about 3t, according to the
er – after South Africa and Ghana – was ministry.
boosted in part by improvements in the Production forecasts were not avail-
Syama mine owned by ASX-listed Reso- able, but the Mining Minister previously The industry contributes around a
forecast output of 60 tpa by the end of quarter of the Government’s revenues.

Production from Resolute’s Syama mine was instrumental in gold production Meanwhile, Resolute has followed on
from Mali increasing in 2016 from its production at Syama with the
confirmation of a major discovery at the
mine.

Three holes drilled at Nafolo since dis-
covery hole SYDD442 returned 19m @
2.57 g/t gold and 18m @ 3.02 g/t, includ-
ed 41m @ 4.9 g/t from 281m and 37m @
3.1 g/t from 372m, 13m @ 6.9 g/t from
434m and 11m @ 2.4 g/t from 472m and
10m @ 3.6 g/t from 385m and 29m @ 4.7
g/t from 446.

The company said there was potential
for ore from Nafolo to be accessed early
in the mine life at Syama.

– Paydirt with Reuters

PAGE 60 FEBRUARY 2017 AUSTRALIA’S PAYDIRT

AFRICA

Huntsman locked and
loaded in DRC

Former Moto Goldmines founder Klaus A sample of some of the gold being won by artisanal miners on Huntsman
Eckhof continues to return to the Resources’ Mambasa project in DRC
scene of his greatest triumphs, this time
with a prospective new float. ern companies through a structured pro- Huntsman also plans to test the gold
gramme,” he said. potential of its Crackerjack project near
Ekhof, whose reputation was burnished Halls Creek in Western Australia.
by the discovery of the now-operating Ferguson was able to secure the pri-
Kibali gold mine in north-east DRC, has vately-held ground thanks to the lengthy “I’ve kept an eye on the Halls Creek
been announced as chairman of Hunts- list of contacts he has built after more area for more than 20 years and it was
man Resources Ltd, which launched an than a decade working in DRC. actually the first goldfield in WA,” Fergu-
IPO in January. son said. “It has a series of structures
“When you’re bumping around for that with shear zones and mineralisation in
Huntsman will be led by Nigel Fer- length of time, you engage with a lot of quartz. In the late 1890s and early 1900s
guson, another Australian with a deep people and are offered lots of projects; they were pulling out 15-20 g/t so we
understanding of DRC thanks to more this one stood out,” he said. “It is privately would be looking at a small, high-grade
than a decade’s worth of exploration in held and we did a bit of work on it and it deposit, perhaps 250,000oz at 3-5 g/t. If
Africa’s largest nation. looked really interesting. It is two sepa- it doesn’t show potential for that, it would
rate licences about 1km apart but the likely fall by the wayside.”
The flagship asset in Huntsman’s $4.5 vendor has a good network of people in
million IPO is the Mambasa project in Itu- the area and there are more opportuni- Ferguson said the Huntsman’s float
ri province, north-east DRC. While Kibali ties likely to come to us once we begin had been welcomed in an investment
and a number of other gold deposits have doing the work.” community with a keen interest in gold
been discovered further north on the Kilo stories.
and Moto greenstone belts, Huntsman By then, the Mambasa district could be
believes the Mambasa greenstone belt attracting other companies. “We have done a quick promotional
has potential to host its own multimillion trip to Melbourne and Adelaide and will
ounce deposits, perhaps more similar to “We know Randgold [Resources Ltd] be heading to Melbourne and Sydney
Geita and other gold deposits in neigh- has been down there but we had already this month [January],” he said. “We al-
bouring Tanzania. signed the agreement but we expect ready have some money in the tin, es-
they’ll be back eventually.” pecially from people who support and
The Huntsman team has made a num- follow Klaus. I’m very happy with the way
ber of preliminary trips to the project and The presence of Africa’s most suc- it has been going. The company has a
Ferguson said there was clear evidence cessful gold discovery team has given tight register and is structured to ensure
of gold mineralisation. Ferguson encouragement Mambasa can that once good results come in, everyone
host a multimillion ounce deposit. can benefit.”
“We have identified a series of BIFs
which look like those associated with “Our goal would be to define 1-3 moz – Dominic Piper
gold in Tanzania,” he told Paydirt. “There gold at anywhere between 2 and 7 g/t,”
is also evidence of colonial-era workings he said.
and artisanal miners are currently 25m
deep across a 600m strike. We’ve been While Mambasa will take precedence,
told they are pulling out up to 1kg gold a
week.”

The Huntsman IPO – launched in Jan-
uary to raise up to $4.5 million – will give
the company the cash it needs to step up
its exploration work.

“We’ve already done one quick phase
of geophysics but we want to follow up
with soils, trenching and then some drill-
ing,” Ferguson said. “The structural work
we have done suggests the rocks look
good and that there is gold in the system.
The geophysics highlighted 1,500m of
BIF strike so we will probably put 50-60
RAB holes in and then move a RC rig in.”

DRC has become somewhat of a hot-
bed for gold explorers in recent years but
Ferguson said the Mambasa district had
been largely neglected.

“It just happens that this is a remote
area which hasn’t been touched by west-

AUSTRALIA’S PAYDIRT FEBRUARY 2017 PAGE 61

REGIONAL ROUNDUP LATIN AMERICA

Aussie lithium boom moves
across the Pacific

An emerging group of ASX-listed juniors is keen to emulate Galaxy’s
progress on its Sal de Vida lithium project in Argentina

Australia’s hard-rock pegmatites were the initial focus of ASX-listed lithium hopefuls but with much
of those prospects now locked up, ambitious juniors are looking further afield and where else to
search than the current home of lithium production; Latin America.

Orocobre Ltd and Galaxy Resources “Do we want to take 100% risk on Sal assay of 1,240 mg/l. Lithium Power said
Ltd were obviously the trendsetters de Vida, or do we want to sell down 30- the results confirmed that elevated lithi-
in the space, entering the Argentinian 40% of the project where essentially we um grades extended across the northern
lithium brines space several years ago. can raise enough capital to fully fund the section of the Maricunga salar.
equity component or maybe even take
Orocobre became the first new some money off the table and help us Across the border, Pepinnini Minerals
lithium brines producer in 20 years de-risk?” Tse said in The Australian. Ltd and Argosy Minerals Ltd are embark-
when it reached full production at its ing on exploration for lithium-bearing
66.5%-owned Olaroz lithium opera- While Orocobre and Galaxy are well- brines in Salta province, Argentina.
tion in Jujuy province in the September established in the region of South Ameri-
quarter, generating operating revenue of can known as the Lithium Triangle, they Pepinnini has acquired 12 exploration
$US33.5 million in the process. have recently been joined by a growing licences in Salta and has used a geo-
throng of juniors keen to find their own physical survey to identify a thick con-
Production from Olaroz is forecast to slice of Latin lithium. ductive layer at shallow depths on the
exceed 15,000t lithium carbonate for Pocitos salar and plans to begin drilling
FY2017 and the company is now investi- In June 2016, Lithium Power Interna- later this year.
gating growth with studies for expansion tional Ltd listed on the ASX after raising
to 35-42,500 tpa production expected to $8 million in an oversubscribed IPO. As Argosy moved into Argentina last year
be completed in May. well as some West Australian assets, and has since identified its Rincon project
the Lithium Power portfolio contained as a fast-track development option. The
Meanwhile, Galaxy – whose focus has tenements in Argentina but it was the company started site works at Rincon in
largely been on the restart of mining at subsequent farm-in agreement over the November as it bids to build an evapora-
its Mt Cattlin lithium operation in Western Maricunga lithium brines project in Chile tion pond and first-stage plant this year.
Australia – has been rumoured to be on which caught market attention. Argosy aims to produce 100-150t of lith-
the hunt for a project development part- ium carbonate equivalent product before
ner for its Sal de Vida brine project, in Lithium Power rates Maricunga as the end of 2017.
Catamarca province. the closest to production, highest-grade
lithium deposit in South America and is While Latin Resources Ltd shares Ar-
A 2013 DFS pointed to a $US369 mil- earning a 50% interest in it by funding gosy’s aim of fast-tracking lithium devel-
lion capex for Sal de Vida but with the development through to completion of a opment in Argentina, the company has
company only recently rectifying balance DFS. chosen to pursue the oft-neglected hard
sheet woes, managing director Anthony rock potential of the country.
Tse admitted in a recent interview with In January, the company announced
The Australian newspaper Galaxy was further high-grade drilling results from a Latin picked up tenements in Catama-
considering ways to de-risk its invest- 12-hole programme at Maricunga includ- rca province in April 2016 and by the end
ment. ing 1,040 mg/l over 186m, with a peak of the year had logged drilling permit ap-
plications for its three priority targets.

PAGE 62 FEBRUARY 2017 AUSTRALIA’S PAYDIRT

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REGIONAL ROUNDUP

Goldcorp sells Mexico mine

Goldcorp Inc has agreed to sell its Los gold output by a fifth over the next five West African bullion producer, want to
Filos mine in Mexico to Leagold Min- years to about 3 moz, driven by capac- replicate that buy-and-build strategy in
ing Corp in a deal valued at $US438 mil- ity ramp-ups at its Cerro Negro mine Latin America.
lion, as the world’s No. 3 gold miner by in Argentina and the Eleonore mine in
market value focuses more squarely on Canada. Leagold chief executive Neil Woodyer
core assets. was Endeavour’s founder and company
Its gold reserves are forecast to rise chairman, Frank Giustra, is an estab-
Goldcorp, which put Los Filos on the 20% to 50 moz in the same period from lished Canadian mining financier. They
block last year under a push to priori- the conversion of existing resources at hold about 20.4% and 9.2% of Leagold
tise its biggest and best mines, said the its Century project in Ontario, Peñasqui- shares respectively.
transaction will help it grow net asset to mine in Mexico and Pueblo Viejo mine
value per share and is expected to close in the Dominican Republic. Last February, Goldcorp cut Los Filos’
in the first quarter of 2017. gold reserves by 78%, or 5.3 moz, be-
Goldcorp forecast its AISC falling by cause production had become unprofit-
Under the transaction, Vancouver- 20% to $US700/oz by 2020. able at lower gold prices.
based Goldcorp will get $US279 million
in cash, $US71 million in Leagold shares “It is this long-term strategy of rising It operated Los Filos with a smaller pit,
and tax receivables worth about $US88 production and falling costs, with a focus lower stripping costs and shorter mine
million. on key current assets, that has us very life plan in 2016 and, in the third quarter,
excited about the future of Goldcorp,” began shifting mining from open pits to
Goldcorp also announced the $US18 Desjardins analyst Michael Parkin said in underground operations.
million cash sale of its Cerro Blanco pro- a note to clients.
ject in Guatemala to Bluestone Resourc- As of June 2016, Los Filos had re-
es Inc in January. RBC Capital Markets analyst Stephen serves of 1.43 moz gold and 7.8 moz
Walker said the Los Filos sale price silver.
The company’s focus will now be on broadly matched his net asset value es-
growing its core business after five years timate of $US462 million in a note to cli- Goldcorp hired the Bank of Nova Sco-
of cost-cutting exercises. ents. tia to sell Los Filos and its Camino Rojo
gold-silver project in Mexico.
“Growth is not as dirty a word as it was Los Filos has just a little over two years
a couple of years ago,” Goldcorp chief of reserves left, but Leagold appears to The company is also considering op-
executive David Garofalo said, warning be interested in its underground mining tions for its 100%-owned Marlin mine in
that the gold industry risked becoming potential, according to Desjardins Secu- Guatemala and 37.5% stake in Argen-
irrelevant if it did not reverse a trend of rities analyst Michael Parkin. tina’s Alumbrera mine, chief executive
falling output and reserves. David Garofalo told Reuters in July.
Leagold said its executives, who de-
Goldcorp said it expected to increase veloped Endeavour Mining Corp into a – Susan Taylor, Reuters

Chile to invite bids on value-added lithium

Chile will hold a tender in April to en- ing shown interest, Bitran said in an in- age investment. That should be the mod-
courage companies to use its vast terview. el for future deals, Bitran said.
lithium resources to move it up the value
chain with cathode or battery production, The Government’s transparency web- “For the Salar de Atacama we have es-
the head of the country’s development site shows representatives from battery- tablished the floor,” he said. “These are
agency said in January. maker Vision Group and rare earths firm the minimum terms for any future agree-
Kanhoo met with Bitran last November to ment.”
Chile is pressing ahead on deals with present a proposal “for a lithium hydrox-
international firms as relations remain ide plant and a lithium battery plant” in The deal covers about a quarter of the
bitter with local lithium producer SQM, Chile. Salar with the rest leased to SQM under
where royalties arbitration is expected to a pre-existing contract that Corfo wants
take at least another year, according to “To make value-added products in to terminate early, alleging SQM has un-
Eduardo Bitran, executive vice president Chile will be huge,” Bitran said. “It allows derpaid. SQM maintains it has fully com-
of Corfo, which manages Chile’s lithium us to create a significant industry.” plied with its contractual obligations.
leases.
Chile currently exports high-grade lith- Bitran has been a critic of SQM, which
The price of lithium, a rare bright spot ium carbonate but the process of turning was privatised under dictator Augusto Pi-
in commodities, has rocketed in recent it into cathodes and batteries takes place nochet in the 1980s and still is controlled
years and is expected to continue to rise elsewhere. by his former son-in-law, Julio Ponce.
alongside demand. Lithium plays a small
but essentially irreplaceable part in pow- Companies bidding in the tender will “We want to normalise the situation,”
ering electric car batteries. have access to cheaper lithium. Corfo Bitran said. “We want a company that
recently signed a deal with world lithium could be a good partner. That could be
The tender to develop value-added leader Albemarle to allow it to boost out- SQM but with its current controller that
lithium technology in Chile should con- put at its Salar de Atacama facility. will be impossible.”
clude by November with two Chinese
companies and a Korean associate hav- As well as the state receiving royalties, – Rosalba O’Brien and
some of that production will be sold at a Felipe Iturrieta, Reuters
preferential price within Chile, to encour-

PAGE 64 FEBRUARY 2017 AUSTRALIA’S PAYDIRT

LATIN AMERICA

Zenith covers all bases

With 26,000 acres staked over an ex-
tensive system of salt lakes within
the emerging lithium brine district of Za-

catecas, Mexico, Zenith Minerals Ltd is

now flush with a variety of lithium projects

for investors to consider.

The fierce competiveness for a good

spodumene pegmatite in Western Aus-

tralia has driven Zenith to make North

and South America its focus.

Prior to entering Mexico, Zenith had

claimed pegmatite-hosted territory in

WA, lithium clay and spodumene-bear-

ing lithium pegmatites in Arizona and the

Spencer and Wilson Salt Flat brines pro-

jects in Nevada.

“We like to have a bit of diversity but

we will push the brines story and I think

the demand is driven out of the batteries

in particular and the product you want to

be making is lithium carbonate or lithium Zenith hopes to be drilling in Mexico this year

hydroxide or monohydrate,” Zenith man-

aging director Mick Clifford told Paydirt. as Ford and Volkswagen embarking on geophysical surveys planned for mid-

“If you can go straight to that, which is major programmes to develop electric January, Zenith hopes to start drill test-

what those manufacturers need, it’s all vehicles, demand for lithium would be ing this year.

the better rather than having to produce healthy in the future. Regional water and surface sediment

a concentrate and get either a third party “I think that gives a lot of encourage- sampling conducted by the Mexican

to convert that or build a lithium carbon- ment to the lithium sector and the de- Federal Government – Mineral Resource

ate plant.” mand story going forward it is not just Council, reported lithium brines up to

The capital required for a brines-based something that is going to be a little blip,” 2.1% from solar evaporation ponds for

lithium project is higher than that of clay Clifford said. salt production on an adjacent lake.

or pegmatite-hosted lithium projects, “For that reason, we set about putting Such results indicate lithium-enriched

however, these projects usually have the together a chunky portfolio focusing on source brines are present in the district

highest operating margins. the US and Latin America as we already and are spurring Zenith on to get moving

Zenith is not yet in a position to start had some really good connections and as quick as possible.

talking about costs and margins, but it the like and we thought we had a bit of an However, funding remains a concern

does realise that it has entered the race advantage overseas, so that is where we for the company and it is assessing a

to lithium production. have headed.” potential capital raising spin-off by IPO,

“It is a race now to get into produc- The Zacatecas project in the district of back-door listing or external funding

tion, to get a good project and show that San Luis Potosi State, Mexico, is com- through JVs or other agreements.

these projects have legs. We consider prised of the Illescas, San Juan and St Zenith hopes the various opportuni-

our portfolio now to be pretty complete, Vicente concessions. ties within its portfolio prove an attractive

so we are certainly not looking to add to it For small-scale drilling programmes, proposition for potential suitors.

and like any project; if you can get a good companies need only community con- “What a number of consumers are

project that is in the lower quartile cost sent and after a series of ground-based looking at is the diversity of supply and I

wise and stacks up, even if certainly think we are seeing

you come in a little late you Japanese creating demand,

can certainly compete on the Koreans creating demand

international stage,” Clifford and you know that there will

said. be significant demand in the

Despite urgency in the sec- US itself,” Clifford said.

tor for companies to demon- “In Mexico, we have a

strate their offerings, Clifford number of car plants at the

is a believer in the long-term moment that have got noth-

fundamentals for lithium de- ing to do with electric vehi-

mand, which is driven by the cles but we’ll see if there is

growth in electrical vehicles that change to manufactur-

and lithium-ion batteries. ing of those types of vehicles

He said with the likes of with time down here.”

Tesla and mainstream auto- Lithium brines will be the focus for Zenith in Mexico and USA – Mark Andrews
motive powerhouses such

AUSTRALIA’S PAYDIRT FEBRUARY 2017 PAGE 65

REGIONAL ROUNDUP

Aussies develop taste
for European gold

Even as the rate of mineral gold operations in Finland.
exploration on the continent The two mines produced a

has picked up over recent years, combined 7,892oz in the Septem-

Europe has still been far from ber quarter at C1 cash costs of

a hotbed of gold exploration. $US791/oz. The recent diamond

However, things may be set for drilling programme was designed

change in 2017. to test extensions to the known

While base metals, graphite mineralised zone ahead of mine

and lithium have all attracted planning and underground decline

ASX-listed explorers in the last development. Hits from Oriversi

five years, the continent’s gold included 4.8m @ 23.89 g/t and

potential has been rarely tested 18m @ 18.05 g/t gold, while best

but a rash of announcements in intercepts at Jokisivu were 1.55m

January suggested gold is com- @ 6.92 g/t, 3m @ 4.3 g/t and 4m

ing to the fore. @ 2.95 g/t gold.

The latest on the European The autoclave for Alacer Gold’s new sulphide circuit on its The company is also in the mid-
gold hunt is Montezuma Mining Çöpler gold mine is unloaded at Samsun Port, Turkey dle of an 83-hole programme at
Company Ltd which announced the Kaapelinkulma gold project.

last month it had been granted an explo- appetite and whether you could develop In November 2016, Dragon received ap-

ration permit for its Bonneval gold project a project in Europe but when you look at proval to start mining at Kaapelinkulma,

in south-central France. France, there is a Government which is making it the third mine – along with

The five-year permit covers 260sq km keen to get its mining sector going again Orivesi and Jokisivu – to provide feed to

in what Montezuma describes as a “high- after several decades of neglect and I the Vammala production centre.

ly prospective region including multiple think there is a fair bit of opportunity,” he Among ASX-listed gold companies, it

historical gold mining centres”. said. is Alacer Gold Corp which stands out as

The project is said to have produced “A lot of the European jurisdictions are the European leader thanks to the perfor-

940,000oz gold historically at grades of in the same boat and are looking at min- mance of its Çöpler gold mine in Turkey.

7-9 g/t gold from open pits and 12-16 g/t ing as a potential source of economic The dual-listed miner produced

gold from underground mines. activity so are more receptive to invest- 119,036oz at $US960/oz AISC in 2016

The majority of Montezuma’s interests ment. These countries have good miner- with the mine forecast to deliver 160-

reside in Western Australia but execu- al pedigree and there are good projects 180,000oz in 2017.

tive director Justin Brown told Paydirt a available. Acquiring ground is cheap and Production is likely to increase further

global scouting mission had highlighted the opportunity to build a real project is in coming years. Alacer is currently ex-

the potential France had to offer. there, whether it is France, Spain, Portu- panding Çöpler’s existing heap leach

“Three years ago when we were in pro- gal, even Britain.” pads to 58 mtpa and is now building a

ject generation mode we began looking The company Montezuma followed to sulphide circuit which will add 20 years

in Europe and came across this ground France, Variscan has been in the country to the project’s mine life and reduce

in France, really on the back of the work for more than four years but its focus has AISC on the remaining 4 moz reserve to

Variscan [Mines Ltd] had done there,” largely been on base metals. $US645/oz.

Brown said. “We found the prospectivity However, on the same day as Mon- Alacer chief executive Rod Antal said

to be excellent, with what we believe is tezuma’s announcement, Variscan de- the two development projects, and immi-

potential for multimillion ounce deposits. clared that drill rigs had been mobilised nent feasibility study results on two other

So, we pegged the ground and have now to begin exploration on the St Pierre gold growth projects, meant the coming year

had it granted.” project. was a vital one for the company.

While Australian investors have long The St Pierre licence surrounds the “In addition to the higher gold produc-

been prepared to back explorers moving historic La Belliere gold mine which pro- tion, 2017 will be a pivotal year for Al-

into developing world jurisdictions in Af- duced 334,000oz @ 12 g/t until 1952. acer as we continue to execute on our

rica, Latin America and the Asia-Pacific Variscan will drill 1,300m of RC holes organic growth strategy,” Antal said. “We

region, Europe has not been a destina- at the Belleville prospect, just south of will continue to advance construction of

tion of choice, particularly with well-es- La Belliere, targeting a 900m by 400m the Çöpler sulphide expansion project,

tablished European economies more fo- anomalous zone identified in soil sam- which is on schedule for first gold pro-

cused on the manufacturing and service pling in 2015. duction next year, and will further define

sectors. Further north, Dragon Mining Ltd – both Gediktepe and Çakmaktepe devel-

However, Brown believes Europe’s which has been producing gold from opment timelines.”

economic downturn is changing the atti- Sweden and Finland since 2005 – has – Dominic Piper
tudes of governments and communities. returned the first results from 32 diamond

“The question was always over the risk holes drilled at its Orivesi and Jokisivu

PAGE 66 FEBRUARY 2017 AUSTRALIA’S PAYDIRT

EUROPE

Winmar kicks on in Spain

There was a period last year when it The loading point at the Lomero mine, which to 1984 produced 2.6mt of
appeared another ASX junior would massive sulphide grading 5 g/t gold and 1.2% copper
be lost to the tech sector, with Winmar
Resources Ltd set to acquire You-A-You “We are going under that and we have ero, where Trafigura sends concentrate
Australia Travel & Technology Pty Ltd high hopes that the orebody will continue from its MATSA copper-zinc-lead mine
(YOU). down. It is hard to believe that the ore- (8km from Lomero).
body is in the shape that it is, it is 1km
YOU provides Chinese consumers long but just 250m deep,” Sainty said. Logistics from Lomero are not a con-
with a single, easy to use mobile pay- cern for Winmar at the moment, as drill-
ment platform, but when results from a “We want to increase the tonnage [of ing to expand the resource and metal-
pilot programme did not align with Win- the deposit] and to do that you need to lurgical studies are priorities ahead of a
mar’s business expectations, the bind- drill on the periphery of the known one. scoping study.
ing term sheet signed between YOU and The further you step out, the greater the
Winmar was scrapped. risk but the greater the reward. We also Meanwhile, as the company looks to
need to get some new samples for met- have an impact in one mineral-rich re-
Soon after, Winmar’s attention revert- allurgy, so at an early stage we will have gion abroad, on home soil it is still to de-
ed to mining, with the Lomero opportunity to be drilling some twin holes within the cide what to do with the Hamersley iron
in Spain’s south-west emerging. known deposit.” project in the Pilbara.

Lomero was formally in the hands of In 1989 Finnish zinc miner Outukumpu Hamersley was once Winmar’s flag-
Kimberley Diamonds Ltd, however, upon drilled three holes under the deposit, ship and despite investing in growing the
official granting of the project in 2016 it all of which intersected mineralisation, resource to 343mt @ 55.2% iron, prices
was not in a position to move it forward. however, since 2000 only Newmont Min- have not helped the company to realise
Having been responsible for pulling to- ing Corp and one other company have any value in the project.
gether all relevant data and related infor- shown an interest in Lomero, particularly
mation at Lomero in his previous role as focusing on the area contained within the A low-ball offer was made for Hamers-
a geologist with Kimberley, Winmar man- old mine workings. ley last year but while iron ore prices are
aging director Rod Sainty was keen to be not at a level for the project to deliver a
involved. Winmar will target the edges of the profit, Sainty said the company would not
current deposit and hopes to discover give it away.
DJ Carmichael conducted an inde- significant extensions or even a new sul-
pendent assessment on Lomero and phide lens. “It is a topic of semi-constant discus-
concluded the project was a good fit and sion and we are mindful that a sale would
within Winmar’s price range. Sainty said Lomero was “located in one be advantageous. The offer was clearly
of Earth’s great mineral provinces”. The too low, but we need to do the work of
Under a farm-in and JV agreement region hosts a number of leading global putting it in front of people,” Sainty said.
with Kimberley, Winmar can earn up to miners including Lundin Mining plc, First
70% in the gold-silver-copper-zinc pro- Quantum Minerals Ltd, Atalaya Mining (a Hamersley is close to Fortescue Met-
ject in Andalucia province. company of Rio Tinto Ltd), Glencore and als Group Ltd’s Solomon Hub, however,
Trafigura. apart from its interest in the early days
A work programme lodged by Winmar the iron ore miner has not approached
had been approved by the mining author- The province is flush with infrastruc- Winmar in recent times.
ity of Andalucia, with a drilling application ture, including a smelter and refinery at
also to be approved for drilling to start at the port of Huelva, 60km south of Lom- – Mark Andrews
the time of print.

Initially, Winmar was preparing to drill
in years two and three of its JV agree-
ment with Kimberley, with first year works
dedicated to acquiring and submitting
more data to the Government.

However, with Winmar satisfying gov-
ernment conditions already, drilling ac-
tivities could be fast-tracked, Sainty told
Paydirt.

“We want to move some of the drilling
forward on top of the other stuff we are
doing. Initially, we plan to do four holes
around the eastern part of the deposit
which is one of the higher grade zones,”
he said. “What is attractive about the de-
posit is that it is not closed off and is open
everywhere.”

Historic production at Lomero to 1984
was 2.6mt @ 5 g/t gold and 1.2% cop-
per, with drilling on the periphery of the
mine intersecting 2m @ 3.5 g/t gold and
7% zinc.

AUSTRALIA’S PAYDIRT FEBRUARY 2017 PAGE 67

REGIONAL ROUNDUP ASIA

Indonesia eases export ban
on nickel ore, bauxite

Indonesia introduced new rules in Janu- banned nickel ore exports in 2014. as the world’s top nickel ore exporter in
ary that will allow exports of nickel ore “Regional economies will grow, [and] 2014, but has now also started restricting

and bauxite and concentrates of other mining areas that died because of the output due to environmental concerns.

minerals under certain conditions in a export ban can grow again,” Antam chief Another Jakarta-based nickel miner,

sweeping policy shift by the key global executive Tedy Badrujaman told Reuters. speaking on condition of anonymity, told

supplier. Last year, Badrujaman said Antam Reuters the new rules were a “massive

A ban on unprocessed ore exports hoped to export 20mt of low-grade ore double blow” for smelters.

was imposed in 2014 to spur higher to help attract smelter project financing, “They have to take low-grade ore,

value smelting industries, but the gov- around 10 times more than the ore it cur- which will raise operating costs, and then

ernment of South East Asia’s biggest rently processes domestically. on top of that the market will crash and

economy has faced a hefty budget defi- The new rules disappointed many in- send prices down further,” he said.

cit and missed its 2016 revenue target by vestors in Indonesia’s budding nickel The new rules are a mixed bag for US

$US17.6 billion. smelter industry, which had been boost- mining giant Freeport-McMoRan Inc,

The resumption of shipments may ed by the export ban. which now has a window to continue

have been drafted to help stop the gap. Jonatan Handojo, executive director of copper concentrate exports beyond a

The new regulations, which took effect the Processing and Smelting Companies previously imposed January 12 deadline

on January 11, sent nickel prices tum- Association, told Reuters the new policy for full domestic processing, and to ex-

bling more than 5% to a four-month low “damages Indonesia’s image throughout tend its long-term operating permit.

of $US9,660/t before they recovered. the world and makes us look like our laws Freeport’s Grasberg operation in Indo-

The rules include broad changes to and regulations can be changed just like nesia currently exports around two-thirds

permit extensions, which may now be that”. of its output as copper concentrate, but

applied for up to five years in advance “Chinese companies will be most its shipments were stopped indefinitely

of expiry, as well as new divestment re- unhappy because they have invested on January 12 along with those of other

quirements. something like $US15 billion in develop- concentrate exporters.

Nickel miners must now dedicate at ing smelters that are already in opera- A spokesman for Freeport Indonesia

least 30% of their smelter capacity to tion,” Handojo said, adding the change said the company was studying the new

processing low-grade ore, defined as be- could damage Indonesia’s relations with policy but declined to comment further.

low 1.7% nickel. China. Companies like Freeport must also

“Where, considering installed [smelter] R. Sukhyar of the Indonesia Smelt- switch from Contracts of Work (COW)

capacity, they can’t absorb production, ing Association said many aspects of to special mining licences (IUPK) be-

[ore] will be allowed to be sold overseas,” the new rules were confusing. The ore fore they can apply for new export per-

Coal and Minerals director general Bam- export ban was designed to give Indo- mits or operating permit extensions, a

bang Gatot told reporters. nesia’s resources sector a competitive process mining minister Ignasius Jonan

Bauxite with an aluminium oxide con- advantage over its neighbours, and al- said would be done in a “maximum of 14

tent of at least 42% may also be exported lowing exports again could cut short its days” once all necessary documents are

“in certain amounts” under the new rules. development, he said. submitted.

Gatot said exports would be allowed “The industry is still in its infancy and But not everyone was convinced.

for up to five years and would be restrict- the Government should wait before “There is still the question of whether

ed to volumes decided by the Govern- changing the rules.” there will be an interruption in operations

ment and independent inspectors, but he The Philippines displaced Indonesia because of the [administrative] require-

gave no further details. ment to change to IUPK,” Sul-
“The Government is between a 10500
livan said.

rock and hard place. It’s in a dire To do so, Freeport will have
fiscal position on the one hand 10400
to agree on new taxes and roy-

and allowing nickel and bauxite Price US$ per tonne alties that it is currently exempt
[exports] will help with that,” Ja- 10300 from, and divest up to 51% of its

karta-based foreign legal coun- 10200 Indonesian unit from 30% un-
der current rules. So far it has
sel Bill Sullivan told Reuters.

A mining ministry official said 10100 divested only 9.36%.
in October that Indonesia could Asked about the legal risks to

export up to 15mt of nickel ore in 10000 the Government from the policy
2017 if the ban was lifted, about shift, Jonan said “If there is ar-

one-quarter of 2013 levels. 9900 6 Jan 2017 10 Jan 2017 14 Jan 2017 bitration, I am ready to face it.”
The policy shift was welcomed 2 Jan 2017 Date
(c) LME – Wilda Asmarini and
by state-controlled PT Aneka Bernadette Christina
Tambang Tbk, whose revenues Indonesia’s relaxing of nickel export bans pushed the LME
were hit hard after Indonesia nickel price down in mid-January Munthe, Reuters

PAGE 68 FEBRUARY 2017 AUSTRALIA’S PAYDIRT

SAVE THE DATE

17 October 2017
Pan Pacific Perth

australiannickelconference.com

To present, exhibit or attend as a delegate please contact Christine Oelschlaeger
on (+61) 8 9321 0355 or email [email protected]

Image courtesy of Western Areas Ltd

SIGNED, SEALED AND DELIVERED

camp, water supply and air strip, priced

at $22 million, and commissioning/work-

ing capital requirements totalling about

$10 million.

Under the terms of the contract, the pi-

lot plant modules will be constructed in

China and then transported and installed

on site in Australia. Sinosteel will be the

lead contractor on site, with other Aus-

tralian sub-contracting brought in as re-

quired.

Fluor has been awarded the FEED contract for Danakali’s Colluli potash project in Eritrea Sinosteel has also agreed to defer pay-
ments representing 20% of the contract

Danakali appoints lead The contract is for a term of three value for a period of 24 months.
engineer for Colluli years, with the option to extend by a fur- The EPC contract is subject to finance
ther year. It is valued at $US112 million
Multi-national engineering and con- ($147 million), with about $US38 million and a final investment decision by both
struction firm Fluor has been appointed required for new equipment purchases. company boards, which is due later this
to lead the front-end engineering design quarter.
and optimisation process for Danakali Mine construction at Yanfolila is under
Ltd’s Colluli potash project in Eritrea. way ahead of the first gold pour in the Sedgman joins Crown
second half of this year. Mountain PFS team
Fluor will provide a qualified team of
project engineers skilled in EPC packag- AMS expects to employ about 235 Sedgman has joined the team tasked
ing as well as personnel experienced in people at Natougou and a further 450 with updating the PFS on Jameson Re-
process plant design and infrastructure. people at Yanfolila. A majority of the new sources Ltd’s Crown Mountain coking
The company has extensive experience workers will be recruited from local com- coal project in Canada.
in potash from previous involvement in munities.
study, optimisation and execution phas- Vancouver-based Norwest Corp is
es. Sinosteel secures leading the review focused on potential
dysprosium deal capex and opex savings.
Danakali selected Fluor from a short-
list of three engineering firms which vis- Heavy rare earths developer North- Sedgman will review coal quality and
ited the Colluli site last October. The visit ern Minerals Ltd has selected Sinosteel advise Norwest on possible improve-
included a tour of the proposed mine site, Equipment & Engineering Co Ltd as the ments to the processing strategy out-
an inspection of the Port of Massawa and EPC contractor for the Browns Range lined in the initial PFS completed in 2014.
an overview of the country’s capital, As- pilot plant at Australia’s first dysprosium
mara. project. The company will also review the
Crown Mountain infrastructure plans with
West African gold The two companies signed a non- a view towards identifying potential cost
boost for upbeat AMS binding MoU in Beijing in November, with savings.
a formal agreement executed less than
African Mining Services (AMS) has a month later. The $60 million contract Norwest began the initial stages of up-
won two new contracts – valued at more for the 60,000 tpa plant comprises pilot dating the PFS in November.
than $500 million – for procurement of plant process facilities valued at $28 mil-
mining services at separate gold projects lion, mining and associated infrastruc- Lithium Australia jumps
ture, such as a tailings storage facility, on Sileach solution

Lithium Australia NL has awarded an

in West Africa. engineering study for the design of

AMS, a wholly owned subsidi- a 2,500 tpa lithium carbonate plant

ary of Ausdrill Ltd, signed a LOI in Western Australia to CPC Pro-

with Semafo Bongou SA late ject Design Pty Ltd.

last year for the award of a min- CPC will provide engineering

ing contract at the Natougou gold design, capital and operating cost

project in Burkina Faso. estimates and comparative logistic

The five-year contract is ex- costs for a number of WA-based

pected to generate $US277 mil- sites.

lion ($370 million), with mining The engineering study, which

set to begin in April. About $55 is part of Lithium Australia’s bid to

million is required for the acquisi- advance commercialisation of the

tion of new equipment, which will Sileach process for the recovery

be funded from existing cash re- of lithium from silicates, is due for

serves. completion in April.

The Natougou contract preced- Port Hedland remains a loca-

ed a similar deal with AIM-listed tion of high priority for Lithium

Hummingbird Resources plc for Sinosteel MECC deputy general Jiang Yongmin and Northern Australia because it provides the

mining services at the Yanfolila Minerals managing director George Bauk complete the greatest flexibility in servicing the

gold mine in Mali. signing of the EPC contract for Browns Range requirements under the company’s

PAGE 70 FEBRUARY 2017 AUSTRALIA’S PAYDIRT

commercialisation agreement with fellow “While large producers are reluctant to fabrication, precast manufacture and

lithium hopeful Pilbara Minerals Ltd. bring on capital projects in the absence modular assembly taking place at the

Successful large-scale pilot testing of greater certainty around coal prices, company’s facilities in Newcastle and

could lead to a 50:50 JV between Lithium they are seeking low cost and low ex- Henderson.

Australia and Pilbara Minerals to process posure opportunities for production in- Works on the project facilities contract

spodumene from the latter’s Pilgangoora creases,” Delta chief executive Neville started late last year and is expected to

deposit, 120km south of Port Hedland. McAlary said. employ more than 500 people at peak

times. The project is due for completion

Decmil lands Pilbara Valmec pumps out new at the end of next year.
The second contract, awarded by

double bonus gold contract Sandvik Group, includes the part sup-
ply, fabrication, surface treatment, me-
Decmil Australia has secured
chanical and electrical install and
a circa $40 million contract with
the modularisation of a stacker, re-
Hamersley Iron Pty Ltd for the
claimer and shiploader for bauxite
design, construction and com-
material handling.
missioning of new facilities at the
This contract also involves the
Silvergrass mine in Western Aus-
fabrication of 2,200t of steel, with
tralia.
the works to be completed at the
The contract scope also in-
Henderson facility.
cludes modifications and exten-

sions to existing facilities at the NRW takes control
Nammuldi central mine services,

also in the Pilbara. of embattled Hughes
Contract work has already be-
NRW Holdings Ltd has acquired
gun and is due for completion later
Hughes Drilling Ltd’s east coast
this year. Valmec will install and commission a new water pipeline coal production drilling operations,

Alliance looks and related facilities at Thunderbox including contracts with a number of
major mine operators and owners.

long-term with CITIC Valmec Ltd has been awarded a con- The acquisition includes the Brisbane-
tract with a subsidiary of Saracen Min- based drilling company’s fleet of 35 large

Alliance Aviation Services Ltd will con- erals Holdings Ltd for the supply, instal- drill rigs and about 140 employees cur-
tinue to provide air charter services for lation and commissioning of a water rently contracted to multiple projects
CITIC Pacific Mining for at least another pipeline and related facilities at the Thun- in Queensland and New South Wales.
derbox mine. These operations are estimated to gen-
12 months.
The contract is valued at about $6.6 erate annual revenue of about $40 mil-
A contract variation was signed by
both parties late last year, ensuring ser- million and is expected to be completed lion.
vices continue while CITIC’s new airstrip by April 2017. Administrators were appointed to

is constructed at Cape Preston. After recent awards for gas and wa- Hughes last September.

Alliance has been providing these ser- ter infrastructure contracts in WA and The acquisition will be earnings accre-

vices to CITIC since 2009. Queensland, Valmex now boasts a order tive, with the purchase consideration of

CITIC has flagged its intentions to for- book valued at more than $61 million, $11 million, subject to certain completion
malise a five-year contract with Alliance with about 75% scheduled for this year. adjustments, funded from NRW’s exist-

for regular air charters into Cape Preston The contract award is another step in ing cash reserves.

as soon as the new airstrip is open for Valmec’s strategy of expansion into new NRW hopes the acquisition will posi-

business. resource markets. tion the company’s existing Action Drill

and Blast division as one of Australia’s

Delta staying put in the Civmec selected for leading drill and blast companies in the
resources and civil construction sectors.

Illawarra Amrun processing “The intention is to integrate the ac-
quisition as quickly as possible with
Civmec Construction & Engineering
Delta SBD Ltd has successfully re- Pty Ltd has been awarded two contracts minimum disruption to staff and clients,”
tained the majority of its contract works NRW managing director Jules Pember-
totalling $160 million as part of the de-
at South32 Ltd’s Appin coal mine in the velopment of a processing facility at Rio ton said.
Illawarra region of New South Wales. Meanwhile, NRW has been awarded
Tinto Ltd’s Amrun bauxite project, near
Some of the contracted works have ex- Weipa in North Queensland. a contract valued at circa $40 million for
panded scope and additional machinery bulk earthworks and civil works at Rio
The larger of the contracts awarded
will be deployed, while overall personnel includes the construction of a process Tinto Ltd’s Yandicoogina mine opera-
numbers are expected to be retained. tions in the Pilbara.
facility, including a bauxite beneficiation
Delta has also increased employee plant and associated water, electrical The contract is due for completion in
numbers at another existing contract at Q1 2018, with NRW to utilise its existing
and lighting systems.
a nearby mine in the Illawarra as well as Civmec will also be responsible for civil construction fleet for the project.
secured new contracts in the Hunter Val-
a combined total of 11,800t of Austral-
ley region of NSW and the Bowen Basin ian steel and precast concrete, with the
in Queensland.

AUSTRALIA’S PAYDIRT FEBRUARY 2017 PAGE 71

COMINGS AND GOINGS

Galaxy Resources Ltd has several Pilbara iron ore pro- ments to the company’s flag- member Brian O’Donnell
appointed Mark Pen- jects and operations. ship Wiluna uranium project has been announced as his
sabene as its new chief op- as well as succeeding in replacement. O’Donnell is
erating officer. Pensabene Kingsgate Consolidated Ltd gaining both state and federal also an executive director of
has more than 20 years of has appointed Leonardo environmental approvals for Australian Capital Equity, the
experience in the mining and Hermosilla as vice-president the Centipede and Lake Way parent company of BC Iron’s
project management sector, of project development. Her- deposits. 26% shareholder. Meanwhile,
including 12 years as general mosilla, who will be based in Hayley McNamara has re-
manager of engineering firm Chile, is a metallurgical engi- Rio Tinto Ltd has appoint- signed as company secretary,
Monadelphous Group Ltd. neer with more than 30 years ed two key executives with chief financial officer Ian
of operational and develop- to its management team. Goldberg assuming the role.
Boss Resources Ltd has ment experience in South Vera Kirikova has assumed
appointed Duncan Craib America, Canada and South the role of human resources David Moore
as chief executive. Craib was Africa. group executive and Simon
previously finance director at Niven is the new corporate Deputy chairman and
Swakop Uranium Pty Ltd and Michael Haynes has re- relations group executive. founding managing di-
chief financial officer at Kala- signed as managing di- Meanwhile, organisational rector David Moore will re-
hari Minerals plc. He was also rector of Coventry Resources resources group executive tire from the board of Mincor
chair of a Namibian uranium Ltd, with non-executive chair- Hugo Bague will exit the com- Resources NL later this year
association during his time man Mark Bojanjac appointed pany on March 31 after nine after relocating to the UK.
working in the country. executive chairman. Ian Cun- years on Rio Tinto’s executive Peter Muccilli has been ap-
ningham has also stepped committee. pointed managing director
Cliff Lawrenson down as an executive direc- after an impressive first year
tor, but will continue as chief West African Resources in the chief executive’s chair.
Former Avenira Ltd boss financial officer and company Ltd has appointed Lyn- Respected mining executives
Cliff Lawrenson has been secretary. don Hopkins as chief op- Michael Bohm and Brett Lam-
appointed the new manag- erating officer and Joanne bert have also been added
ing director of Atlas Iron Ltd. David Edwards has been Thompson as sustainability to the board as independent
Lawrenson was previously appointed to the newly manager. non-executive directors.
chief executive of Pilbara iron created role of chief financial
ore developer FerrAus, which officer at Triton Minerals Ltd. Capricorn Metals Ltd has Peter Muccilli
he led to a recommended Edwards will also take over appointed Jonathan Shel-
takeover by Atlas Iron in De- company secretary duties labear as a non-executive di- Founding director Kent
cember 2011. from outgoing group financial rector. Shellabear has more Hunter has resigned from
controller Paige Exley. than 25 years of experience his executive role with Cazaly
Leigh Ryan has been ap- in the mining industry and is Resources Ltd after 13 years
pointed managing director Twapewa Kadhikwa has currently managing director of with the company. Experi-
of Alchemy Resources Ltd. been appointed a non- private equity and corporate enced stockbroker, corporate
An experienced geologist, executive director of Ban- advisory firm Sirona Capital. adviser and company director
Ryan was recently chief ex- nerman Resources Ltd’s Terry Gardiner has been an-
ecutive of both Chrysalis Re- 100%-owned subsidiary Ban- Gold Fields Ltd board mem- nounced as his replacement.
sources and Boss Resources nerman Mining Resources bers Kofi Ansah and Alan
Ltd after more than 10 years (Namibia) Pty Ltd. It follows Hill have retired. Nico Muller
as group exploration man- Monica Kalondo’s decision to will also exit Gold Fields next
ager for Resolute Mining Ltd. step down after six years on month to take over as chief
the board. executive of Impala Platinum
Artemis Resources Ltd has plc. Muller joined Gold Fields
appointed Alex Duncan- Vanessa Guthrie has de- as executive vice-president of
Kemp to the board as an parted uranium hopeful its South African operations
executive director. Duncan- Toro Energy Ltd after almost in October 2014 and played
Kemp is a mining engineer four years as managing di- an important role in fixing the
who has worked on the Darlot rector. Guthrie oversaw a base at South Deep.
and Tarmoola gold mines as number of technical improve-
well as Phosphate Hill and Non-executive director Pe-
Vanessa Guthrie ter Schubert has been
promoted to an executive role
at Magnetite Mines Ltd and
will oversee the company’s
investor relations and capital
development.

Long-standing chairman
and director Tony Kiernan
has stepped down from BC
Iron Ltd to focus on other busi-
ness interests. Current board

PAGE 72 FEBRUARY 2017 AUSTRALIA’S PAYDIRT

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LEFTFIELD

All eyes on Haile

While the US has a new president asset with leading margins, a growing
in Donald Trump, the country has resource, and significant expansion
also welcomed its newest gold mine. potential,” OceanaGold chief execu-
tive Mick Wilkes said.
Haile, acquired by OceanaGold
At the time of print, commissioning
Corp, is expected to be brought into was on-song with the focus shifting
to the flotation and fine grind circuits
commercial production early in Q2 after grinding and leaching activities
from stockpiled oxide ore were suc-
2017. cessful.

First gold was produced last month, The company is
also working on an
with the first gold doré bars totalling optimisation at Haile
which should be com-
445oz. pleted by mid-2017.

“This achievement marks the first

gold production from the Haile gold

mine in 25 years, and nearly 190 years

since gold was first produced there. The OceanaGold team celebrating the first

The Haile gold mine is a world-class gold produced from Haile in 25 years

INDE X

A-Cap 39 Cobalt Blue 28 Kalium Lakes 37 Randgold 50, 61
Acacia 30, 60 Consolidated Zinc 43 KalNorth 44
ActivEx Coventry 72 Kimberley Diamonds 67 Red Hill 44
Aeris 39 Coziron 41 Kingsgate 72
Alacer 29 Kinross 45 Redstone 44
Albermale 66 Kula 41, 43
Alchemy 64 Rey 44
Alicanto 72
Alliance Minerals 28, 49 Resolute 60, 72
Alliance Resources 18
Alloy 45 Danakali 70 Rio Tinto 7, 17, 20, 22, 29-30, 42,
Amani 39 Davenport 46
Anglo American 28, 40, 58 Diatrame 48 54, 57, 67, 71, 71
AngloGold 57 Doray 39, 43
Ardea 7, 40, 50, 58 Dragon Mining 66 Latin Resources 62 RNI 35
Argo 28, 30, 47 Leagold 64
Argosy 39 Lion One 45 Roy Hill 22
Artemis 62 Lithium Australia 71
ATC Alloys 72 Lithium Power 36, 38, 62 RTG 45
Atlas Iron 42 Lucapa 43
Athena 29, 44, 72 East West Energy 41 Lundin 67 Sabre 47
Aura 39 Echo 41
Ausroc 39, 44 Egan Street 34 Salt Lake 45
Avenira 45 Elixir 41
Axiom 43, 72 Encounter 41 Sandfire 29
Azumah 40, 41 Endeavour 30, 60, 64
40 Energia 29 Saracen 71
Evolution 30, 31, 44
Magnetite Mines 44, 72 Semafo 70

Manas 18 Shaw River 44-45

Mantle 43 SQM 64

Marindi 40 SolGold 31

Metals X 29, 35, 36, 39 South32 31, 71

Fairstar 41 MGT 5 Stavely 10

First Quantum 67 Millennium 49 St Barbara 30

Forte Energy 41 Mincor 29, 72 Swakop Uranium 72

Fortescue 20-25, 26, 31, 40, 57, 67 Minera Gold 43

Freeport 68 Mineral Commodities 17 Talisman 29
Tawana 18
Mineral Resources 40 Terrain 45
Thor 12, 45
Galaxy 6, 18, 62, 72 Minjar 44 Toro Energy 5, 39, 45, 72
Geopacific 41, 43 Toro Gold 28
B2Gold 60 Gladiator 41-42 Minotaur 45 Traprock 48
Glencore 67 Troy 41
Bannerman 72 Gold Fields 41, 72 Montezuma 43, 66 Triton 72
Gold Road 41, 43 Tychean 41
Banro 58 Goldcorp 64 Mount Gibson 40 Tyranna 45
Graphex 33
Barrick 28 Great Boulder 38
Greenland Minerals 45
Base 16-17, 50-51 Gulf Industrials 42 Nagambie 44
Neometals 18
BC Iron 40, 72 Newcrest 31
Newmont 48, 67
Beacon 40 Northern Minerals 43, 70
Northern Star 30, 31
BHP Billiton 20, 22, 30, 31, 34, 57

Birimian 28, 31, 41

Blackham 40 UraniumSA 45

Blackstone 49

Bluestone 64 Hammersley 70 OreCorp 28, 60 Vale 22
Helix 44 Variscan 66
Boss 72 Heron 29, 47 Orocobre 62 Vector 28, 58
Highfield 46 Venture 45
Brilliant Energy 39 Horizon 33, 36 Orosur 42 Vimy
Hummingbird 60, 70 5
Breaker 49 Huntsman 61 Overland 44

Oz 29

Cameco 5 Iluka 17 Paladin 5, 31 Walkabout 43, 35
Cape Lambert 42 Impact 42, 43 Panoramic 29, 36, 42 West African 28, 30, 72
Caravel 45 Impala Platinum Pantoro Western Areas
Carbine Tungsten 42 Independence 72 Parkway 34 Westgold 29
Cardinal 28, 30 Investigator 29, 31, 36 Peninsula Energy 46 Whitehaven Coal 29, 35, 44
Castle 40 Israeli Chemicals PepinNini 12 Winmar
Catalyst 40 14 Pilbara Minerals 62 56
Capricorn 72 46 Peak 6, 38, 71 67
Cazaly 72 Perseus 44
Chalice 40, 44 Platina 18 Zenith 65
Citation 40 Poseidon 44
CITIC 71 Jameson 70 29

PAGE 74 FEBRUARY 2017 AUSTRALIA’S PAYDIRT



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