RGN Vol 6 Iss 7

RESOURCE Volume 6, Issue 7

GLOBAL NETWORK

Mining, renewable energy and oil & gas worldwide

TOWERING

ABOVE ITS COMPETITION IN THE LISTED MINING SPACE

interviews Dean McPherson TSX and TSXV head, business development - global mining

GOLD FOCUS

World Gold Council Teranga Gold First Mining Gold

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WELCOME

The Toronto Stock Exchange’s credentials as the number one global market in the world for the mining sector are underlined by the fact that it had the highest proportion of equity capital raised of any international exchange last year - with 34% of all raises by mining firms coming through the TSX. Furthermore, the TSX and the Venture Exchange provided a home to 1,189 listed mining companies at the end of 2018, nearly double the amount of mining firms publicly traded on the market of its nearest competitor, the Australian Stock Exchange.

In this issue of RGN you can find out how the mining segment of Canada’s primary stock market has performed over the course of 2019, after I spoke to its head of global mining Dean McPherson.

Key themes of the interview include the effect of challenging macroeconomic conditions on new TSX listings from the mining space, but also the encouraging performances of certain commodities, including gold.

The gold price reached giddy six-year highs of over US$1,500 per tonne in August and is still trading at around a 20% premium to its mid-year value. Regular contributor Mickey Fulp offers a baker’s dozen of reasons for why gold has gone on a gallop.

Executive Team Editor Jacob Ambrose Willson Content Director (APAC and Americas) David Hunter Creative Director Hugo Currie ICT Director Stuart Clark Contributor Mickey Fulp Managing Director Simon Curran

And with 49% of TSX mining issuers coming from the gold sector, we have included a selection of in-depth features on gold companies from around the world who have made a home in Toronto.

These include West Africa-focused Teranga Gold and African Gold Group, along with First Mining Gold and M3 Metals, who have gold assets across North America.

Another major development in the gold mining sector this year was the publication of the Responsible Gold Mining Principles by the World Gold Council. In a Q&A with RGN, CFO Terry Heymann explains how this document will provide a one-stop framework for what constitutes responsible gold mining going forward.

We hope you enjoy the issue and encourage you to connect with us on email, Twitter and LinkedIn.

Jacob Ambrose Willson Jacob Ambrose Willson, Editor

RGN is published by Anderson Murray Media: a diverse media and information services company focused on creating and distributing engaging content to business leaders across the globe.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the publishers. Whilst every effort is made to ensure accuracy the publisher and editor cannot be held responsible for any inaccurate information supplied and/ or published.

Copyright: The copyright for all material published in this magazine is strictly reserved.

Anderson Murray Media Fulham Green, 69-79 Fulham High Street, Main Reception, Bedford House, London SW6 3JW Tel. +44 (0)207 148 5630

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CONTENTS

TERANGA GOLD

NEWS 8 Global resources news Our selection of mining, oil & gas and renewable energy stories from the last month

ASSOCIATIONS 18 Toronto Stock Exchange RGN catches up with the TSX’s head of mining Dean McPherson 30 World Gold Council Unpicking the landmark Responsible Gold Mining Principles with CFO Terry Heymann

COLUMNS 40 Mickey Fulp The Mercenary Geologist offers up 13 reasons for the surging gold price in 2019

MINING 48 Teranga Gold Creating value through responsible mining in West Africa

TORONTO STOCK EXCHANGE

WORLD GOLD COUNCIL

CONTENTS

ALPHAMIN RESOURCES 60 Alphamin Resources A remarkable five-year journey to conflict-free tin production in the DRC 72 African Gold Group The next platform for growth in West Africa 82 First Mining Gold A closer look at two unique gold assets in a premier mining jurisdiction 98 Adventus Mining The Ecuadorian opportunity 110 M3 Metals Corp Building a world class diversified metals portfolio in North America

APPOINTMENTS & EVENTS 124 Appointments Notable appointments in the resources industry from the past month 125 Events Our pick of the top forthcoming mining, oil & gas and renewable energy events happening around the world in the months to come

AFRICAN GOLD GROUP

FIRST MINING GOLD

8

NEWS | Brookfield Multiplex MINING

GLOBAL RESO

Our selection of mi renewable energy news

Resource Global Network

OURCES NEWS

ining, oil & gas and s from around the world

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10

NEWS

CENTAMIN REJECTS $1.9 BILLION TAKEOVER BID FROM ENDEAVOUR MINING London-listed gold miner Centamin has rejected a US$1.9 billion all-stock takeover bid from Endeavour Mining, saying it did not offer enough value to the company’s shareholders.

Endeavour, which owns four gold mines in West Africa, said its offer was a 13% premium on Centamin’s most recent closing price.

However, the TSX-listed firm conceded that Centamin had rebuffed several negotiation attempts.

Centamin’s only operating asset is the largescale Sukari gold mine in Egypt, although it is also advancing the Cleopatra project in Egypt along with exploration projects in West Africa.

The takeover bid from Endeavour is the latest attempt at consolidation in the gold sector this year, with the combined entity notionally producing 1.2 million ounces of gold in 2019 at an all-in sustainable cost of $875 per ounce – making it one of the lowest cost miners in the world.

The Barrick-Randgold mega-merger late last year kicked off a flurry of mergers and acquisitions in the gold space, with the Newmont-Goldcorp tie-up following in January. More recently, acquisitions have been made by Kirkland Lake Gold and China’s Zijin Mining during the last two weeks.

Resource Global Network 11

AUSTRALIAN MINERS TO FORM CRISIS GROUP IN WEST AFRICA FOLLOWING FATAL ATTACK The Australia-Africa Minerals and Energy Group (AAMEG) will form a crisis and security group for the West Africa region after employees of an Australian mining contractor were killed in Burkina Faso.

The November 7 incident saw gunmen open fire on several buses transporting workers to a gold mine owned by Canadian firm Semafo.

Of the 39 people killed in the attack, 19 were employed by Australia’s Perenti Global.

“The coming week will see us assembling a crisis and security working group from our headquarters in Perth, WA, to facilitate the sharing of intelligence and focused on

minimising risks for our member companies operating in the region,” said AAMEG’s CEO Bill Witham.

According to AAMEG, there are about 20 Australian companies in various stages of exploration and development of minerals projects in Burkina Faso, which has 14 gold mines currently in production.

“This shocking attack on our mining peers last week highlights the challenges that international companies are undertaking in developing legitimate and socially responsible mining operations,” Witham said.

12

NEWS

AT LONG LAST: SAUDI ARAMCO ANNOUNCES DOMESTIC IPO DATE Saudi Aramco has announced a date for its long-awaited initial public offering (IPO) on Saudi Arabia’s domestic exchange, in what could be the world’s largest ever public float.

The oil giant and world’s most profitable business will list up to 3% of the company on the Tadawul exchange in December, with an international flotation also potentially in the pipeline at a later date.

The recent $1.5 trillion evaluation of staterun Aramco by independent investors is below the $2 trillion anticipated by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman when he first proposed the idea of an IPO four years ago.

However, a 2% sale would bring in as much as $40 billion to the Saudi government, which would help drive Prince Salman’s ambitious economic reform strategy that aims to lesson the kingdom’s reliance on oil revenues.

“Today is the right opportunity for new investors to reap the benefits of Aramco’s ability to achieve value, and boost it on the long-term,” said Aramco chairman Yasir al-Rumayyan at a November 4th news conference in the city of Dhahran.

Resource Global Network 13

PLANS UNVEILED FOR RENEWABLE ENERGY HUB AT SITE OF FUKUSHIMA DISASTER Japanese officials have unveiled a new US$2.7 billion project that will transform the site of the Fukushima disaster into a renewable energy hub.

According to Japanese newspaper The Nikkei, 11 solar plants and 10 wind farms will be built on land contaminated by nuclear fallout after an earthquake and tsunami hit the Fukushima nuclear power plant in 2011.

Construction is expected to be completed by March 2024.

The clean energy projects will produce up to 600MW of electricity – roughly two thirds the output of an average nuclear power plant – with key sponsors including the governmentowned Development Bank of Japan and Mizuho Bank.

The plan also proposes the construction of an 80 km-wide grid within Fukushima to transmit electricity to the Tokyo Electric Power Company’s transmission system in the capital city. The new grid is estimated to cost $266 million.

The project forms a key part of Fukushima’s renewable energy drive after the nuclear disaster. In 2014, the prefecture announced a goal of attaining 40% of its electricity from renewables by 2020, followed by two-thirds in 2030, and 100% by 2040.

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18

MINING FINANCE | Toronto Stock Exchange & TSX Venture Exchange

Resource Global Network

catches up with TSX’s head of global mining Dean McPherson

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MINING FINANCE | Toronto Stock Exchange & TSX Venture Exchange

Over several decades, TMX Group’s equity markets, Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) and TSX Venture Exchange (TSXV), have cultivated their reputation as the undisputed home of global mining financing, offering access to huge pools of capital and a supporting ecosystem to mining companies around the world. This capital comes from a global investor base with a deep understanding of the mining sector, grounded in years of collective experience in Canada and around the world. TSXV offers a launch pad for grassroots explorers and the opportunity to graduate to the main board as the company fulfils its growth strategy. Canada’s senior equities market competes with the Australian and London exchanges for supremacy in the mining sector, and in the following Q&A session TSX’s head, business development, global mining, Dean McPherson tells RGN why Toronto continues to retain its crown as home to the international mining community.

JAW: Hi Dean. How confidently can you declare that Toronto is still the home of global mining financing, considering latest performance figures from last year? What trends have you noticed in the sector over the last 12 months?

DM: I’m very confident that Toronto is still the epicentre of global mining and the latest statistics point to that. At the end

Dean McPherson head, busine

ess development, global mining TSX & TSXV

Resource Global Network of 2018, close to half of the publicly listed mining companies in the world were on our marketplace. That’s a significant margin when you compare to our nearest competitor, the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX). We have close to 1,200 mining companies listed here, while the ASX has just over 600 mining companies listed.

As a result of the sheer volume of listed mining firms on our market, there is a lot more activity taking place in Toronto. In terms of equity capital raised through our market, over the last five years, 36 cents of every dollar raised through public equity by mining companies has been through our markets. Last year was in line; we saw 34% of all raises by mining firms coming through our markets.

In 2018, we saw a trend emerging in mining with a real pick up in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity, particularly in the latter half of the year when we saw some significant deals coming through.

For some time, there was an expectation by many in the industry that consolidation was necessary, based on availability of quality assets and the need for efficiency improvements in the sector. Over the course of the year this M&A momentum has only been increasing.

As global mining companies shop for quality assets and management, they are turning to the world’s central mining market. Our markets have been central to this increased M&A activity. In step with M&A deals, global

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MINING FINANCE | Toronto Stock Exchange & TSX Venture Exchange

mining companies are choosing to enter or

a slowdown across the board globally in

remain on our global markets to raise their

mining. However, activities in the sector

profile amongst global mining investors who

picked up around the middle of the year and

look to Toronto first.

continued in the second half on the back of precious metal prices trending up.

A notable example would be the merged Newmont-Goldcorp entity listing on TSX after

By all measures however, 2019 is proving to

their deal closed. Barrick also decided to

be much less robust in terms of new listings

maintain their listing in Toronto after their

and financings compared to 2018, especially

deal with Randgold closed. This trend is

for junior mining companies. Nonetheless,

indicative of our leadership in the market.

our leadership in mining continues. We have had more new mining listings than our key

JAW: How busy have you been in terms of

competitors combined so far this year. That’s

attracting new IPOs this year?

very encouraging for us.

DM: The mining sector has had a tough

Last year we had 48 new mining listings at

year, especially in the first half. We’ve seen

the same time last year. At this point in 2019, we have 23 new mining listings. When you

Resource Global Network

TSX30 TMX market open September 2019 consider the amount of capital raised, you’ll

middle of the year, breaking $1,500 per

see there is also a drop off. Last year we

ounce for a long stretch, this of course is the

raised over $6 billion for mining companies

reason for the pickup we mentioned earlier

and to the end of October this year we’ve

in the middle of the year. Copper, however,

raised close to $4 billion.

continues to be held back by volatile and unpredictable macroeconomic conditions,

Several significant IPOs we were expecting

not least of which is the US-China trade

in 2019 have been delayed or shelved for

standoff.

various reasons. What is encouraging is the observation that these IPOs are being

JAW: While conditions for new listings may

delayed rather than cancelled. We believe

have been challenging in the first half of

improving market conditions will encourage

the year, what does the recently launched

these projects to come to market.

TSX30 rankings say about the health of mining companies listed in Toronto?

In terms of commodities pricing, we have seen a pick-up on the precious metals side

DM: We launched the TSX30 programme to

and continued volatility for base metals/

recognise the 30 top performers across all

copper. Gold went on a strong run in the

sectors over the previous three-year period

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MINING FINANCE | Toronto Stock Exchange & TSX Venture Exchange

based on dividend-adjusted share price appreciation.

Perhaps many people would be surprised to see mining companies on this list of outperformers, considering the difficult market conditions for mining over the past three years. We were happy to announce to the market that eight of the 30 outperformers were mining companies, led by Kirkland Lake Gold, which ranked 4th overall with a return over 600% over the period.

Trilogy Metals ranked 5th overall, while

“What we can offer to potentia that is ahead of the competitio investor reach and visibility o sector is im Dean McPherson, head, – global mining

al listing companies is a market on in ecosystem depth, global on a market where the mining mportant.� , business development g, TSX and TSXV

ResourceGlobal GlobalNetwork Network 25 Resource

Wesdome Gold rounded out the mining group finishing 19th with a return of 170%.

Other miners ranked on the TSX30 include Ivanhoe Mines, Anglo Pacific Group, North American Palladium and Grand Colombia Gold Corp.

The observation here is that there is money to be made in mining even in a changing and challenging market. TSX30 also helps our clients to gain wider visibility and recognition as we market the programme globally. We observe that common characteristics of these outperformers include quality and

26

MINING FINANCE | Toronto Stock Exchange & TSX Venture Exchange

Kirkland Lake Gold TMX market open September 2019 experienced management teams and safe

Our investor participation is just as global,

predictable jurisdiction.

with over 40% of trading on our markets originating outside of Canada. Participants

JAW: On the topic of jurisdictions, a lot of

in our marketplace are global investors and

TSX-listed mining firms have traditionally

companies that list here and come from

owned assets in North America,

around the world to live in and leverage our

specifically Canada. How geographically

global leading ecosystem.

diverse is the current marketplace?

We remain focused on our global strategy DM: TSX-listed companies are focused not

despite the jurisdictional risk, which

only in Canada. In terms of the properties

sometimes can become significant. In

represented on our marketplace, about 45%

recent months, much focus has been on

of those are outside of North America. The

the flare ups in regions such as Africa. The

next largest jurisdiction represented on our

most dreadful news coming out of Burkina

marketplace is Latin America, with about 19%. Faso, with respect to Semafo employees, is When you look at the distribution map, you

perhaps the worst example of some of the

will see that our geographic distribution is

challenges our issuers and investors face in

wide and far. You won’t find that global reach

many jurisdictions.

on any other market.

Resource Global Network

Wesdome Gold Mines market open July 2019 Despite these challenges, we are steadfast

However, it has brought a bit of renaissance

in our global approach and continue to be

to the sector. The importance of social

active on the ground. TSX and many of our

licence, diversity and general accountability

capital market partners/stakeholders are at

to not only shareholders, but all stakeholders,

Investing in African Mining Indaba in Cape

has brought mining in step with other

Town every February. Our participation

industries in embracing Environmental, Social

at this event is important to highlight the

and Governance considerations into business

positives, understanding the challenges and

planning and operations. We’ve come a long

significant opportunities for mining to play a

way in this regard but we must do more to

central role in the growth and development

highlight and encourage the progress being

of this continent.

made.

In Latin America, recent social unrest across

JAW: Finally, what is your outlook for

the region highlights the important role

the mining industry over the next 12

responsible mining has in helping many

months and what can you offer to mining

nations close the economic divide through

companies looking to list on TSX in 2020?

economic growth opportunities.

DM: What we can offer to potential listing The climb out of the last mining downcycle has been slow and not always consistent.

companies is a market that is ahead of the

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MINING FINANCE | Toronto Stock Exchange & TSX Venture Exchange

competition in ecosystem depth, global

With the US elections in the fall of 2020, we

investor reach and visibility on a market

expect the volatility observed this year in

where the mining sector is important. Joining

the market will only continue if not increase

our markets allows a company to be well-

going forward. The encouraging factor

positioned North America, providing greater

is that fundamentals and technological

visibility and marketing opportunities, as well

advancements, like the electrification

as access to capital to the globe’s largest pool

trend, are persistent and point to a sector

of institutional and retail capital.

(particularly for copper and battery metals) that will see rapid growth when external factors like trade wars abate.

Resource Global Network

“Joining our markets allows a company to be well-positioned in North America, providing greater visibility and marketing opportunities, as well as access to capital to the globe’s largest pool of institutional and retail capital.� on our markets. If you are an investor or mining company seeking investors or partners for growth, it only makes sense to join the market that is the centre of global mining in Toronto.

We think the M&A trend will continue in the short term as investors are encouraging mining companies to be more efficient and part of that strategy is to be larger and more efficient. Much of that activity will continue

a j

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GOLD | World Gold Council

WORLD GOL

Unpicking the landmark Responsible Gold M

Resource Global Network

LD COUNCIL

Mining Principles with CFO Terry Heymann

31

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GOLD | World Gold Council

In recent years, the concept of corporations upholding a robust commitment to responsible business practices has gained greater importance in the eyes of investors and consumers, as these key stakeholders become more conscious of the impact that companies have across commonly defined environmental, social and governance (ESG) benchmarks.

This increased attention paid to responsible business practices has been noticeable across the gold sector, with mining companies in particular put under the spotlight and asked to prove that their gold is produced responsibly.

While a great deal of leading standards already exist and inform gold miners actions towards responsible practices, there has been no single, uniting responsible mining framework for the global gold sector. This was until the World Gold Council (WGC) published its Responsible Gold Mining Principles (RGMPs) in September 2019. The RGMPs attempt to set out clear expectations for consumers, investors and the downstream gold supply chain as to what constitutes responsible gold mining. RGN’s editor delves deeper into the landmark publication in a conversation with the council’s CFO Terry Heymann.

Resource Global Network Jacob Ambrose Willson: Hi Terry. How long has the council’s RGMPs document been in the making and who was involved in the process?

Terry Heymann: It’s taken us two years to get here. This was an initiative led by the board of the World Gold Council. Our board generally comprises of the CEOs of our member companies. This is something that they felt was important to do, because there are a lot of different standards and codes and laws that speak to aspects of responsible gold mining, but there was nothing that brought it together in an overarching framework.

That was making things confusing for investors, supply chain participants and other stakeholders.

We’ve been working on it for two years and consulted very widely. We went through two separate rounds of public consultations, where we put out draft documents and collected feedback and input. We had lots of conversations with governments, civil society, communities and labour organisations. We are very thankful for the organisations that convened roundtable discussions for us.

The World Bank’s mining team convened a discussion for us in DC, the South African Institute of International Affairs did the same in Johannesburg, as did the European Centre for Development Policy and Management in Brussels.

In the second round we held events in Lima and Toronto as well as outreach in China and Australia. We really appreciate the input we

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GOLD | World Gold Council

“The RGMPs has been an initiative led by the members of the WGC, the leading gold mining companies in the world. It’s been their backing and expertise in what it means to be a gold mining operation and what constitutes best practice that has driven the process” Terry Heymann, CFO at the World Gold Council

Resource Global Network got and there’s no doubt that they have made We have tried to provide a single, this a better document, listening to views

overarching, global framework that anybody

from a broad range of stakeholders around

who is interested in gold mining can look at

what constitutes responsible gold mining.

and very quickly understand what constitutes responsible gold mining. It builds on what’s

It’s been an initiative led by the members of

already been done. It leverages existing

the WGC, the leading gold mining companies

practices and stretches them.

in the world. It’s been their backing and expertise in what it means to be a gold

I think it’s a demanding set of expectations

mining operation and what constitutes best

for any implementing company. But it does

practice that has driven the process. I think

really set out what constitutes responsible

we’ve got to a very credible set of principles

gold mining in one overarching framework.

as a result of what has been quite a lengthy

It allows investors and customers to

and comprehensive process.

understand the way in which their gold is being produced. As such, it’s very much

JAW: The aim of the framework is to

intended to further build confidence and

reinforce trust in the gold mining industry. trust in gold and in the gold supply chain.

Why is it important that investors and consumers should feel confident that the

JAW: Looking at implementation, how

sector is behaving responsibly?

widely will the principles be adopted and how will they be enforced, for want of a

TH: I think we see this in all aspects of

better word?

business. There is increasing attention paid to responsible business practices and

TH: Firstly, whilst these have been developed

the gold sector also needs to demonstrate

by members of the WGC, we are keen to see

what it is doing to gain trust and confidence

adoption by all participants in professional

for investors, consumers and customers

gold mining and keen to encourage

including downstream supply chain

companies who are not members of the WGC

participants of the gold mining sector.

to consider implementing the responsible

This is not new in terms of commitments

gold mining principles. Even in the last few

to responsible business practices and

days, I’ve had some positive conversations

commitments to responsible mining. In fact,

with gold mining companies who are not

there are a plethora of different initiatives

members talking about implementation, what

that speak to aspects of responsible mining.

it would look like and how they go about that.

The challenge with that is it can become

As part of the consultation process, we also

overwhelming for those users to simply

met with several non-member companies

understand what is considered as ‘good

and shared positive conversations. I’m keen

practice’.

to see this be adopted by the sector as a whole.

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GOLD | World Gold Council

Terry Heymann - World Gold Council CFO

ResourceGlobal GlobalNetwork Network 37 Resource In terms of the process for implementation,

who look at the mining sector, including the

I should firstly say that many of the

gold sector, and want to understand what

underlying standards and codes are

companies can do and how companies

already enforced by existing mechanisms

operate responsibly. I am a very firm believer

in place, be that local laws or initiatives that

that companies can be net positive in what

companies are required to conform with

they do in terms of their contribution around

as a requirement to access capital. The IFC

the environment.

performance standards are a good example of that. Companies already demonstrate

In terms of climate change, it’s hugely

conformance with a lot of the underlying

important firstly for companies to be held

components.

accountable for what they are doing to combat climate change; as it says in the

Conformance with the overall RGMPs is a

principles to ‘avoid, reduce or mitigate’

voluntary initiative. It’s something that we

carbon emissions. We released a separate

encourage all gold producers to conform

report last month on climate change and I

with, but ultimately it is at the discretion of

believe that the gold sector can very much be

individual companies.

at the forefront in terms of decarbonisation and the potential opportunities around

However, I firmly believe that companies

decarbonisation.

will choose to implement because they will recognise the positive impact this will have in

If you consider the circumstances of gold

demonstrating to investors their commitment mining, many of these mines are situated to responsible mining and I fully expected

in very remote places that have historically

this to be adopted as a common standard,

relied predominantly on diesel. There is a

not least because the investor community will fairly rapid transition to renewables taking be looking at this as an expectation of any

place, because these areas are often well

company that they consider investing in.

set up for renewables adoption. The cost argument is becoming ever more compelling.

JAW: Diving into the 10 principles, perhaps

I think that’s really encouraging because

you could talk briefly on each of the three

what we need in the fight against climate

areas, starting with environmental. How

change is more companies and industries

will the RGMPs enable gold producers to

decarbonising, and the gold industry really

reduce their impact on the environment?

has an opportunity to be at the vanguard.

TH: In the environment section, we cover

We also look at tailings, which is critically

environmental stewardship, biodiversity,

important and quite rightly a lot of attention

water, energy and climate change. These are

is paid to this issue, as well as gold-specific

very well documented concerns of people

issues, such as cyanide. It’s important that all

38

GOLD | World Gold Council gold mining companies operate in line with the standards of practice of the International Cyanide Management Code.

Mercury is another issue that is more important for gold than many other commodities. In part, this is because mercury is unfortunately often used by artisanal and small-scale gold miners. Industrial mines do not use mercury. Mercury can also be a byproduct from the gold production process and that needs to be responsibly managed.

All of these areas are covered under the environmental principles.

Turning to social, we are looking at issues around safety and health. This is very important for the mining sector, and the responsibility of mining companies to protect and promote safety and occupational health for their workforce is set out as the number one concern.

We as an organisation have done a lot of work in human rights and particularly conflict, by which I’m talking about serious human rights abuses. In 2012, we set out the Conflict-Free Gold Standard that is

commitment to engage with stakeholders to

referenced in the RGMPs. Labour rights,

understand your impact is also important.

recognising the role of labour and working

Also recognising that gold mining companies

with communities living around mine sites

have impacts beyond just themselves is

is another crucial aspect that is included in

underlined in the principles. This covers the

these principles.

broader supply chain, procurement as well as engagement with artisanal miners.

For governance, it really is about how you set your business up so that you can operate

JAW: Finally, how confident are you that

responsibly with a commitment to ethical

the RGMPs can contribute to a more

conduct. Understanding impacts and a

rounded understanding of responsible

Resource Global Network it from the mining community, and it’s been very gratifying to see the number of mining companies commit to the RGMPs through their investor presentations and social media channels, but also the positive reception it has had from a broader set of stakeholders.

I think that is testament to the consultation process we went through.

Again, this is not an isolated development, it builds on a significant foundation of existing good practices and it raises the bar. I am a firm believer that the RGMPs will enable the mining industry to demonstrate how it can play a really meaningful role in social and economic development in communities and countries where they operate. Because if you can mine responsibly, the potential to do good is huge and that’s what this is about.

I’m delighted with where we are but there is more work to do to ensure better understanding of what the RGMPs are and I hope that investors and mining companies become very familiar with this. Further, I hope that other stakeholders, including communities, governments and development gold mining and ultimately a more

organisations are aware of this and reference

responsible gold mining industry?

it as a tool to support social and economic development advanced through responsible

TH: I think this is an important development

gold mining.

for the industry and I’m thrilled that we released the RGMPs earlier this year. I am particularly pleased to see the response to

aj r

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COLUMNS | Mickey Fulp

WHY GOLD HAS GONE ON A

The M

Resource Global Network

A GALLOP: A BAKER’S DOZEN LIST

Mercenary Geologist offers up 13 reasons for the surging gold price in 2019

By Mickey Fulp, the Mercenary Geologist

41

COLUMNS||Ian Mickey Thomson Fulp 42 COLUMNS

The saying ‘a baker’s dozen’ refers to the number 13. It originated in England in the 13th century when all the king’s men required bakers to sell their goods by the dozen with a specific minimum weight or suffer a fine and perhaps worse. So, savvy bakers loaded another loaf on the pan to ban the man.

Back in September, I weighed in on the astounding rise of gold on our monthly commodities podcast for Kitco.com, now in its 10th season. Our usual alliterative title

The impressive uptick has come mostly

was: “Gold Has Gone on a Gallop” (Mercenary

during the traditional summer doldrums,

Musings Radio, September 3, 2019). And

a season in which the gold price usually

today, I tell you why.

founders and sometimes reaches its yearly low.

Bullion was US$1,270 per ounce on May 21 and is $1,520 per ounce as I write this

Figure 2 (page 43) is a normalised record

missive. Folks, that’s a 20% gain in three and

of the yearly gold price composited for the

a half months! It can be argued that gold has

past 23 years; each month is represented by

run up too far too fast and is overdue to test

about 21 days of trading. Note, in particular

downside resistance.

the downturn to flat market for gold from the beginning of June (day 106) through

I agree with that assessment but at this

late August (day 169). That’s the usual

juncture, why don’t we just sit back and enjoy

summertime blues.

the ride?

My baker’s dozen of reasons why gold has Figure 1 shows the year-to-date chart

made an unprecedented move to the upside

illustrating that 2019’s gains have occurred

this summer is as follows:

entirely during the late spring and summer: • Lowest interest rates since 2016; inverted yield curve for US treasuries; negative

ResourceGlobal GlobalNetwork Network 43 Resource

MICKEY FULP Figure 1 rates in EU. • Ever-increasing world government debt at $63 trillion; $15 trillion at negative interest rates.

• Central bank bullion buying, especially by second and third world countries.

• Ongoing trade disputes between the US and China and also the US and the European Union (EU).

• A slowing world economy, especially in China and attributable to its trade war with the US. • Renewed EU economic stimulus that includes buyback of its own bonds.

• Major banks and other financial

The Mercenary Geologist Michael S. “Mickey” Fulp is a Certified Professional Geologist with a B.Sc. Earth Sciences with honour from the University of Tulsa, and M.Sc. Geology from the University of New Mexico. Mickey has 35 years’ experience as an exploration geologist and analyst searching for economic deposits of base and precious metals, industrial minerals, uranium, coal, oil and gas, and water in North and South America, Europe, and Asia. Mickey worked for junior explorers, major mining companies, private companies, and investors as a consulting economic geologist for over 20 years, specialising in geological mapping, property evaluation, and business development.

In addition to Mickey’s professional credentials and experience, he is highaltitude proficient, and is bilingual in English and Spanish. From 2003 to 2006, he made four outcrop ore discoveries in Peru, Nevada, Chile, and British Columbia. Mickey is well-known and highly respected throughout the mining and exploration community due to his ongoing work as an analyst, writer, and speaker.

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COLUMNS | Mickey Fulp

ResourceGlobal GlobalNetwork Network 45 Resource

Figure 2

institutions long speculations on the gold price.

• Increased holdings of paper gold in ETFs, now at nearly 2,500 tonnes and highest

• Increasing demand for physical gold by private hoarders.

I can summarise my list of reasons for gold’s recent run up in one succinct paragraph:

since 2016.

Gold is money. It has filled that role over the • Ongoing devaluation of all the world’s fiat currencies.

entire course of human history. Gold is the world’s only safe haven and insurance policy against financial calamity and economic

• Long-lived gold bear market; 6.5 years since the price crash from $1,680 to as

collapse. Smart money hoards gold to preserve its wealth.

low as $1,050.

Remember the golden rule: He who has the • Geopolitical turmoil: China-Hong Kong;

gold makes the rules.

Iran-Venezuela sanctions; UK-EU over Brexit.

• Fears of an imminent world recession stoked by mainstream media sensationalism.

Ciao for now, Mickey Fulp, the Mercenary Geologist

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48

MINING | Teranga Gold

TERA GO

Creating va responsible minin

ANGA OLD

alue through ng in West Africa

Resource Global Network

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50

MINING | Teranga Gold

In the third quarter of 2019, TSXlisted Teranga Gold achieved first gold pour at its Wahgnion Project in Southwestern Burkina Faso two months ahead of schedule. The commissioning of Wahgnion (Teranga’s second operating mine in West Africa) is a major company milestone, not just because it will boost consolidated production by approximately 50% commencing in 2020, but also because it creates asset diversification across multiple jurisdictions, which can serve to increase the overall valuation of listed mining companies. “Over the last decade, investors have moved away from single-asset companies,” says Richard Young, president and CEO of Teranga Gold. “Having multiple assets reduces risk, and becoming a multi-mine, multi-jurisdictional company can make a positive difference in our valuation.”

After acquiring the project from Gryphon Minerals in 2016, the Teranga team took Wahgnion from exploration to production in less than three years, without a lost time injury during the construction phase.

A 2017 feasibility study underlined several attractive project metrics, which were

Resource Global Network improved in the following year when an updated study estimated a measured and indicated mineral resource of 2.4 million ounces (Moz) at 1.6 g/t Au for a 13-year mine life.

The mine is expected to produce 132,000 ounces (oz) of gold annually in the first five years of its life at an all-in sustaining cost of $761 per oz and with a total free cash flow of $311 million. Meanwhile, there is strong potential to increase the mine life further through reserve development programmes.

Ramping up at Wahgnion Teranga will continue to ramp up to commercial production at Wahgnion through the fourth quarter of 2019 and expects to declare commercial production by the end of the quarter. The company is set to produce 30,000-40,000 oz of gold from the operation in 2019.

Teranga has also continued to balance operational achievement with a responsible approach to development in the communities touched by its activities, evident in its handling of a progressive resettlement programme for local families living near the site at Wahgnion.

The phased programme has already resettled around 100 families over the past year, with a further 250 families set to be moved over the next 15 months beginning January 2020, for a total of nearly 500 by 2023.

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MINING | Teranga Gold “We’ve done a lot of work on the structure and compensation for resettlement and earned the trust of our local stakeholders,” Young explains. “We focus on improving the fundamentals such as healthcare, clean water accessibility and food security to these communities.”

In addition, Teranga has hired 30% of its Wahgnion workforce from local communities and in 2018, 92% of Wahgnion’s employees were Burkina Faso nationals. This is another way Teranga mitigates the impact of the mine on the area – a policy characteristic of a company that puts responsible development at the core of its business proposal.

The flagship mine Teranga’s first and flagship mine is Sabodala in Southeastern Senegal. Sabodala is the largest operating gold mine in Senegal, producing approximately 1.8 Moz of gold since the company’s initial public offering in 2010.

“In each of the last two years alone, we’ve mined about 25% more gold than we anticipated at a higher grade and more tonnes. That’s led to higher production from Sabodala, which is a credit to the grade control measures that we’ve implemented,” says Young.

Teranga has a proven track record of consistently replacing the reserves it has mined at Sabodala and the company is currently working through a significant opportunity for reserve growth after it implements a village relocation programme.

Resource Global Network

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The local Sabodala village sits on top of Niakafiri – the largest gold deposit within Sabodala’s mine licence, and so Teranga is in the process of resettling around 600 households using IFC performance standards and international best practices as the benchmark.

“Once the village is relocated in 2020, we will complete the drill programme on the Niakafiri deposit,” says Young. “In parallel, we will commence reserve development programmes elsewhere on the mine licence and regional land package.”

In addition to a strong sustainability mandate considering the needs of all stakeholders, Teranga brought in Environmental Resources Management, a global firm with over 30 years of experience in relocations across Africa, to manage the Sabodala resettlement programme.

“We wanted to bring in a firm with a high level of expertise to complete the relocation in the best way,” notes Young. “We’ve got a board that has instructed us to work with the communities to make sure that these resettlement sites are sustainable and something that our management group, employees and shareholders can be proud of.”

Advancing exploration at Golden Hill Returning to the subject of Burkina Faso, Young and the Teranga board are highly encouraged by the initial resource estimate

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MINING | Teranga Gold at Golden Hill – the company’s most advanced exploration stage asset located on the highly prospective Houndé greenstone belt.

The initial resource estimate provides a solid base from which to grow Golden Hill with 415,000 oz at 2.02 g/t Au in the indicated category and 644,000 oz at 1.68 g/t Au in inferred. As well, the company’s ongoing drilling programme has produced excellent gold mineralisation continuity along trend and to depth.

The company has completed metallurgical test work and preliminary engineering, has a flowsheet locked in and has cemented its sustainability strategy ahead of its expected mine licence application for Golden Hill in 2020.

The company also commenced a 27,000 metres RC and DD drilling and exploration programme at Golden Hill in July 2019.

“The results we’ve seen at Golden Hill to date are very encouraging, and we are optimistic that we’ll continue to make positive exploration findings. We believe that Golden Hill has the makings to become our third gold mine,” Young continues.

Exploring Côte d’Ivoire Teranga recently moved into Côte d’Ivoire, its third jurisdiction in West Africa, as it expands its portfolio and builds its reputation as a leader in West African gold mining.

Australian Resource Business Global Network

“Having multiple assets reduces risk, and becoming a multi-mine, multijurisdictional company can make a positive difference in our valuation” Richard Young, Teranga Gold CEO and president

Côte d’Ivoire is the largest economy in West Africa and it makes up the greatest proportion of any country within the Birimian greenstone belt – the enormous geological formation underpinning the region’s gold abundance – at 35%.

What’s more, Côte d’Ivoire is relatively underexplored compared to neighbouring countries like Ghana, Burkina Faso and Mali as a result of the successive civil wars that rocked the country between 2002 and 2007 and again from 2010 to 2011.

After a sustained period of peace and relative political stability, Côte d’Ivoire is becoming increasingly receptive to foreign investment in the gold industry. Barrick Gold CEO Mark Bristow even hailed Côte d’Ivoire as the number one jurisdiction in Africa for gold exploration.

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MINING | Teranga Gold

“We entered Côte d’Ivoire through two

and three exploration permits, providing a

joint ventures, the first with Miminvest

significant opportunity for scale that is rarely

– a company controlled by our largest

seen in West Africa aside from the shared

shareholder David Mimran. The second

systems in Ghana and Mali.

joint venture relates to the Afema property.

Through these joint ventures, we have three

“We are very encouraged by the Afema land

early-stage exploration projects that look very

package and certainly expect to recommence

attractive.”

our drill programmes when the rainy season ends,” says Young.

The most advanced of the three projects is called Guitry, which yielded encouraging

A true regional player

results from its maiden drill programme

Young also highlights the ease at which

conducted last year. Drilling is set to continue

Teranga has expanded from one jurisdiction

in 2020 across all three prospects.

to three in West Africa, owing to much of the region’s close alignment along linguistic,

Meanwhile, the Afema JV covers an area more than 1,400 km2 including the mine licence

judicial and business lines.

Resource Global Network

“We have focused on French West Africa

jurisdictions, allowing us to leverage our

and countries that are part of the West

skilled team and infrastructure already in

African Monetary Union. Countries in this

place in West Africa.”

organisation have very similar legal systems, labour and environmental laws and similar

With the Wahgnion Project up and running,

mining codes.

Teranga will now turn its attention to reserve development programmes at Sabodala and

“As a result, we’ve been able to move over

Wahgnion and exploration programmes

50 employees from Sabodala to Wahgnion

at Golden Hill and in Côte d’Ivoire, all while

across several key departments. Part of

maintaining its status as the model for

the reason we chose Senegal, Burkina Faso

responsible gold development in West Africa.

and Côte d’Ivoire is because of the easy movement of people through the three

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60

MINING | Alphamin Resources

ALPHAMIN

A remarkable five-year journey to co

Resource Global Network

RESOURCES

onflict-free tin production in the DRC

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MINING | Alphamin Resources

In June 2019, Alphamin Resources completed C4 commissioning of the processing plant at its Mpama North Tin Project, located deep in the jungle of North Kivu in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The C4 certificate indicates that each plant component can successfully operate with ore material. C5 stage/commercial production – attained when the facility can be run and held at nameplate capacity for 48 hours – was completed by the end of July. This major milestone is a fitting bookend for Alphamin’s remarkable fiveyear journey from concept to full production at Mpama North.

What began with an idea to build a responsibly produced tin mine in an area scarred by conflict and exploitation will end with a globally significant project that will also serve as a major catalyst for socioeconomic development in the region.

“The plant is running remarkably well given the time period its been running for,” says TSXV and JSE-listed Alphamin’s then CEO Boris Kamstra. “We naturally would like to get our recoveries slightly higher and we have plans in place to lift them, but overall the plant is doing very well.

“The mine is producing sufficient material and the grade is surprising us on the upside.

Things are going as smoothly as one could wish.” Construction of Mpama North –

Resource Global Network the first phase of the mine at Bisie – was completed on time and first production was achieved in the second quarter of 2019.

In the following quarter, Alphamin boosted production by 269% to 2,345 tonnes of contained tin and overall plant recoveries improved to 65% in August and September, edging towards the company’s stated target of 72%.

Tin grades mined and processed also increased in Q3 to an average 5.6% Sn, which is expected to taper off to 4-5% Sn during the final quarter of the year. Alphamin said it expects to produce 2,000-2,200 tonnes of contained tin in Q4.

A globally significant tin mine Alphamin believes Bisie is one of the highest grade tin resources in the world, with two known deposits – Mpama North and the adjacent Mpama South, where access work is already taking place to develop the company’s next deposit. There are also additional exploration targets further South.

Current metrics estimate that Mpama North will produce approximately 10,000 tonnes of contained tin a year, based on a mineral resource estimate of 208,100 tonnes in the measured and indicated category.

The 12.5-year underground operation has a short payback period and it should fall into the lowest cost quartile of all tin producers, while generating an average EBITDA of

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MINING | Alphamin Resources

“The plant is running remarkably well given the time period its been running for. The mine is producing sufficient material and the grade is surprising us on the upside” Boris Kamstra – Alphamin Resources CEO

“In addition, whenever we encountered

$110 million per year at tin prices of around

Congo SARL was Alphamin’s choice of mining

$21,000 per tonne, according to Alphamin.

contractor at Mpama North.

However, these figures are currently being

“On the ground, we had Congo River doing

revised by the company in connection with

our earthworks and they were absolutely

a change of mining method. “The mining

exceptional. Getting kit into our region is a

method has always been a challenge and we

challenge, let alone to the mine itself. They

have been faced with the conundrum of how

did all the earthworks and civils impeccably.

artisanal workings, we would get a high volume of water coming to us and we were concerned about the risks of mud rush. In a defensive mode, we went to a cut and fill type mining operation, which we have been doing to date while we get a better feel for the orebody and decide on our optimal mining method.”

South Africa-based Bara Consulting carried out the initial mining study at Mpama North before DRA took over the studies via Tony Cox – a sub-level caving expert. Reliant

to mine efficiently and safely without leaving too much orebody behind,” says Kamstra.

“Then we had Group Five doing all the structured steel, piping and mechanical and

When Alphamin first started drilling the

electrical installation. Locally, we used Busy

orebody back in 2012 it was as much

Bee as our chartered flights partner, ATS is

exploration as it was resource drilling, and a

our catering and camp services provider and

decision to mine using sub-level caves was

TMK our logistics provider.

made using the information provided by core drilling results.

“Our local partners have been quite remarkable in their ability to get things

However, when the company eventually went

moving and keeping us on schedule, all of

in underground and made the first few drill

our sub-contractors and service providers

blasts, several issues quickly became evident.

have been exceptional,” declares Kamstra.

“The host rock was fragmenting far more than the mineralised material which would give us major problems in the flow of the cave.

Resource Global Network

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MINING | Alphamin Resources

Stimulating local business

Kamstra often discusses the tremendous aptitude for work expressed by the residents

More recently, Alphamin has looked to

of the Bisie region that have been engaged

reverse engineer much of the operational

on the project, and the former CEO lights

components it requires at Bisie, while also

up when asked about the story of one

finding ways of developing enterprises for

man who encapsulates the sheer grit and

local people and integrating small businesses

determination of the local people.

into the project’s supply chain.

“One of our employees is a man called For example, Alphamin is growing a network

Anderson. Before he came to us, he taught

of local small-scale farmers for the camp’s

himself English using YouTube and he had to

fresh vegetable requirements. This centrally

do it after midnight because that’s when data

organised structure is connected to a wider

charges are lower. Since then he has worked

network of farmers in the region, but still

his way up the ranks and today he is one of

gives ATS a single point from which to place

our key control room operators.

their orders. The company is looking to expand this enterprise into other staples

“I walk into the control room one day and

including fish, poultry and eggs.

there is Anderson, sitting behind six screens with three two-way radios blaring out. He

ResourceGlobal GlobalNetwork Network 67 Resource

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is sitting at the heart of our operation and

The conflict-free pledge

he’s able to keep the ship steady and going

A fundamental part of Alphamin’s licence to

strongly.

mine is derived from its promise to deliver conflict-free tin in the Bisie region, where

“That gives us an enormous sense of pride

previously up to 2,000 artisanal miners toiled

and it’s nice to see that we are able to find

in rudimentary deposits at the mercy of

people who don’t necessarily have the

armed militias controlling the distribution of

skill required at hand but have more than

tin from the area into global supply chains.

sufficient capacity, willingness and desire to learn how to do it, and then do it very

At one stage this sprawling illegal mining

successfully.”

network hosted 16,000 people at Bisie and accounted for 4% of global tin supply. It

Alphamin ultimately plans to count its entire

soon became apparent to several major

operational staff from the local area, and

corporations that their supply chains were

this is just one way in which the company is

tainted by chaos, misery and death.

making a huge difference in the region which still harbours scars from years of artisanal

In response to this grave realisation, an

conflict-driven mining.

international legislative drive aimed at preventing the proliferation of conflict-

68

MINING | Alphamin Resources

driven minerals into supply chains led to the

However, the recent outbreak of the Ebola

development of several initiatives including

virus in the South Kivu and Goma areas of

the Dodd-Frank Act.

the DRC poses a significant risk to Alphamin’s operations, although the company has

“We are delighted to be producing conflict-

enacted strict protocols to prevent the spread

free tin from the very site that was catalytic

of the disease.

in getting conflict minerals recognised and bringing the Dodd-Frank legislation to light,”

An individual carrying the virus is

Kamstra exclaims.

only infectious when they have a high temperature, so Alphamin has erected

“The impact in the area has been enormous,

temperature monitoring stations at several

from massive improvement in safety

important checkpoints. So far there have

and security to the development of local

been no instances of infection within the

businesses. We’ve opened up the logistics to

Bisie area.

the area so now there are shops selling all sorts of produce. Local farmers producing

“We have a rigid system in place whereby you

palm oil and other products are now able

cannot get on the plane in Goma until your

to access broader markets beyond the local

temperature is taken. And when you get off

areas.”

the place it’s taken again and again when you enter the mine site. You’re likely to have your

Resource Global Network

temperature taken 12+ times in a day. This

“I think it’s terrific that in the middle of one

allows us to quickly identify potential Ebola

of the most inaccessible areas possible,

carriers to treat them and isolate them from

with every reason why you shouldn’t be

others.”

able to do what we done – there it stands, a

Coming full circle After seeing the Bisie project through from

tin producing mine! And it will produce tin for many years and continue to add to the wellbeing of the area.”

early feasibility to production in just under five years, Kamstra recently decided to step

Alphamin is aiming on extending the life of

down from his role as CEO of Alphamin.

the Bisie mine through the development

Commenting on the legacy he leaves behind,

of the Mpama South deposit, which could

the outgoing boss says: “It’s been a wonderful

be funded by revenue generated from the

privilege to be involved in a project like this

Mpama North ore, as it seeks to cement

and to have been able to influence such an

Alphamin’s position as a long-term catalyst

incredible part of the world for the better.

for socioeconomic development in the region.

TSXV:AFM JSE:APH

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69

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72

MINING | African Gold Group

AFRI GOLD G

The next platform for g

ICAN GROUP

growth in West Africa

Resource Global Network

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74

MINING | African Gold Group

African Gold Group (AGG) is a West Africa-focused Canadian exploration and development company listed on the TSX Venture Exchange, with a primary focus on the Kobada Gold Project in Mali – a low cost operation with 122 km² of prospective exploration concessions in the prolific Birimian Greenstone Belt.

The company recently appointed a new corporate leadership pairing in Stan Bharti and Danny Callow, two seasoned mining engineers with a range of complementary skillsets. Throughout his career, COO Callow has taken through to construction several greenfields and brownfields operations across Africa for large corporates, while CEO Bharti has garnered a reputation for developing undervalued assets over the last 30 years.

“Stan had a couple of very good hits in the West African gold space,” says Callow. “He’s highly entrepreneurial, a great mentor and likes to let the operational guys get on with their work. Coupled with myself on the operational side, I think we make a very good CEO/COO team.”

After coming on board in August, Callow recommended initiating an update to the 2016 feasibility study for the Kobada project to include additional data from drilling, geological trenching and regional geology work, ahead of a bankable feasibility.

Resource Global Network

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MINING | African Gold Group

The original feasibility indicates a total

metallurgical test work, and encompasses

resource of over 2 million ounces (Moz)

an infill drilling campaign that resembles

at Kobada, however this estimation only

a significant opportunity to upgrade the

accounts for drilling from a 4 km portion of

reserve at Kobada.

the main shear zone of the property, which is about 12 km in length.

“One of the things I’ve been pushing for is to undertake this final phase of drilling before

“That tells me that we have enough to start,

moving to construction so we can upgrade

but we also believe there is a lot more in the

the resource where we can and make sure

ground, which can give us a phased approach to have incorporated all of the geological to growing this project from a 50,000 oz per

information available to us. This will give us a

annum operation to 100,000 oz and beyond,” much better understanding of the structural Callow declares.

The phased approach

geology, which is important when we go into the design of the open pit and the type of crushers and mills that we need.”

Phase 1 of the pathway to production is designed to enhance confidence in resource

The processing method also needs to be

modelling, mining engineering and advanced confirmed by AGG, which was seen in the

Resource Global Network

2016 study to be gravity concentration only.

listed company out of Toronto I think it’s an

The company is currently undertaking test

important baseline to have.”

work to ensure all stratigraphic boundaries across the orebody are incorporated and

The current ESIA has already been approved

amenable to low cost gravity concentration.

by the Malian government and the Kobada mine is fully permitted, so the Phase 2 drive

Moving into Phase 2, AGG will deliver a

is all about optimising the existing metrics. In

bankable feasibility by April 2020, which

fact, once the bankable feasibility is delivered

will identify an accurate capital costing

in April, AGG can theoretically push the

for the project along with all key long lead

button on construction of the mine.

items and other crucial aspects of the plant design. Phase 2 will also usher in an updated

“I have always worked on the philosophy

environmental social impact assessment

that when you have enough resource to start

(ESIA).

construction of a mine, you should look at a phased approach. We are looking at a 50,000

“I am pushing for the ESIA to be upgraded

oz Phase 1 and then an additional 50,000 oz

to IFC and World Bank guidelines. Even

Phase 2.

though that’s not a requisite for Mali, as a

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MINING | African Gold Group

“The advantage of that is the whole plant

“My opinion on exploration is you should

is designed in a modular fashion so you

never stop drilling while you have good

can easily add to it. At the same time, you

prospects. If you can drill enough to replace

can often fund Phase 2 with cash flow from

every single oz that you take out the ground

Phase 1, and that’s what we’ve done very

with another oz, you extend the life of mine

successfully in the past.”

and also give yourself the opportunity to grow the size of the production.”

This approach makes perfect sense at the Kobada mine, where there is significant

Local procurement

opportunity for resource growth through

Callow and Bharti believe in utilising

additional exploration. Looking to the longer

local partners as much as possible when

term, Callow sees a third phase taking place

developing projects, particularly in

that will poke holes in some of the other

Africa where there is an onus on mining

shear zones within the licences that are

companies to ‘do good’ by supporting local

prospective for mineralisation.

ResourceGlobal GlobalNetwork Network 79 Resource responsibility (CSR) in the Kobada region, and these actions have been a key focus for Callow during the last 12 years of his career.

“CSR is part of our social licence to operate and very often can determine the success or failure of a project. If you think that you can just come into a country, set up base, take all of the resources out the ground and 15 years later leave without leaving a footprint behind, then you will fail.

“In its simplest form, CSR is looking to identify and employ skills from the local community, because what that does is bring money into the local community. The community then begins to improve and develop, and it becomes a self-sustaining model.”

The COO describes the snowball effect precipitated by mining companies employing locally and supporting local enterprises; These small-scale ventures start bringing in more materials and grow into larger supply chains, which in turn supports key

enterprises providing additional goods and

stakeholders in the project vicinity.

services, which leads to the community becoming less dependent on the mine.

At Kobada, AGG has used a local Malian driller and a local construction company for

Another vital part of AGG’s CSR strategy

the camp, among other in-country suppliers

centres on maintaining full transparency

and contractors. The company’s EPCM

with stakeholders in the local communities

partner has been a rare exception to the rule,

through regular communication. This

coming out of South Africa but boasting a

consultation is as much about keeping

strong reputation for delivering gold projects

locals updated of the latest project updates,

in West Africa.

as it is about discovering what the local communities need from AGG in its role as a

Local procurement and community uplift form key tenets of AGG’s corporate social

steward.

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MINING | African Gold Group “Rather than just assuming what is needed by the community, we sit down with them, explain how much is in the CSR budget and ask what they would like us to get involved in.

“That way we can deliver sustainable projects, because at some stage the mine is not going to be there anymore, but if we’ve got thriving agriculture and other little businesses, when we leave those guys can carry on.”

Sitting down with the chief Grounding this point in the context of the Kobada project, Callow refers to a recent meeting with the Kobada Chief Dantoume Diawara and his village elders to discuss the progress of the project and AGG’s plan moving forward.

“Clearly this was the first time this chief has experienced someone sitting down with him and explaining what we’re going to do and when. I outlined our commitments to local employment and local procurement and pledged to visit him on a quarterly basis to provide key updates.” a boardroom table with a PowerPoint In turn, the chief thanked Callow for

presentation, is so important. Instead we sat

employing 12 semi-skilled labourers from the

on plastic chairs with the chief on his veranda

village to help with clean up and preparation

and began a two-way relationship, instead of

for the upcoming drilling campaign, and

just telling him what we will do.”

underlined his commitment to managing the relocation of artisanal miners around the

In conclusion, AGG is running full steam

Kobada concessions.

towards a bankable feasibility for the Kobada project in April next year, at which point it

“I think that meeting with the local people

will be ready to commence construction of

in a very informal way, not sitting around

the mine. But, the development doesn’t end

Resource Global Network

there, as the company’s phased approach

world’s most prospective regions for gold

will see it add increased capacity through

exploration right now. The company would

subsequent resource growth.

certainly look to consolidate into other West African jurisdictions should any opportunity

AGG is also interested in additional

fall in the right investment bracket.

opportunities across West Africa – one of the

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MINING | First Mining Gold

MAYUR RESOURCES

First Min

Developing an industrial minerals and power generation platform in Papua New Guinea

ning Gold

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MINING | First Mining Gold

First Mining Gold’s chairman Keith Neumeyer first began building an asset base for his company in the second half of the 2010s, at a time when the capital markets environment was brutal, particularly for junior resource developers. However, the mining investment industry veteran glimpsed an opportunity to pick up high potential projects in trusted jurisdictions when belief in the mining sector was low, and his team went about compiling a list of 10 projects to pursue. After a rigorous screening process, First Mining bought six of those plus a few more shortly after to total eight acquisitions in a 15-month period. Today, the Toronto, US and Frankfurt-listed company has a diversified portfolio of gold assets across North America with a sharp focus on two assets in Ontario, Canada: The Springpole and Goldlund gold projects.

Next, First Mining brought in new COO

The onset of 2019 brought changes to

Gold and Premier Gold Mines and the Magino

the management team at First Mining,

project by Argonaut Gold. These are all 10-

starting with the appointment of new CEO

30,000 tonnes per day operations which have

Dan Wilton in January. The experienced

been permitted in a two-year timeframe, so I

mining finance executive was joined by Mal

think this is one of the best jurisdictions to be

Karwowska in April, both of whom arrived

operating in.”

from mining-focused private equity firm Pacific Road Capital Management.

Ken Engquist to lead the technical and operational teams as the company looks to drive its two flagship projects forward.

Following these managerial changes, Wilton believes that First Mining has the right team set up to execute its vision in Ontario.

“I think we are blessed with these projects being where they are,” Wilton tells RGN on a recent business trip to London. “Four of our projects are in the same region of Northwest Ontario, towards the Manitoba border where there is an established resource economy.”

Mining, forestry and to a lesser extent power generation are the big drivers of industry in this part of the world, and this means that local permit authorities and regulators have a strong understanding of the mining sector going back several decades.

Local regulators are highly cooperative and supportive of mineral development projects according to Wilton, and this is evidenced by Ontario’s recent track record of approving permits for three large-scale open pit gold mines in the last three years.

“There was the Côté project by IAMGOLD and Sumitomo, the Hard Rock project by Centerra

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MINING | First Mining Gold

Resource Global Network

The Springpole Gold Project Located 110 km Northeast of the town of

that we could take recoveries from around the 80% level to the low 90s through flotation and fine grinding.�

Red Lake in Ontario, the Springpole project is one of the largest undeveloped open pit gold

The outcome of improving the recoveries rate

deposits in Canada, capable of producing

by a margin of 10% is a noteworthy drop in

over 400,000 ounces per year at the peak of

the costs per ounce of the project, with direct

its operation.

operating cash costs estimated at $575 per ounce of gold equivalent, and all-in sustaining

First Mining completed an updated

costs (AISC) valued at $611 per ounce of gold

preliminary economic assessment (PEA)

equivalent.

for the project in October this year, which indicated a 12-year mine life with a post-tax

Although initial capital costs went up to $809

net present value of US$841 million and an

million, the overall message that Wilton

internal rate of return of 22%.

took from the PEA is that Springpole is a big enough gold project to be meaningful for any

“The real goal of that study was to update

mining company in the world during the core

the economics and the production profile

part of its mine life.

to incorporate some metallurgical work we had done in 2018-19. The test work indicated

87

Are you generating enough value to attract investment? #AskAusencoHow

www.ausenco.com

Resource Global Network

Fracflow Consultants Inc. Environmental, Hydrogeological and Geotechnical Engineering Consultants

St. John’s, NL / Dartmouth, NS Tel: (709) 739-7270 / (902) 468-1317 Email: ffc_nf@nfld.net www.fracflow.com

Packer Test

Fracflow provides a full range of hydrogeological, geotechnical and environmental baseline services to support open pit and underground mine design and water management, especially in fractured bedrock. Collected physical hydrogeological, fracture geometry and aqueous geochemical data are integrated into 3D flow and transport models for prediction of water quality, pit inflows, dewatering design, ecological impacts and pit lake chemistry, on mine closure.

3D Numerical Modeling

Fracture Logging

Piper Plot

“We’re happy with the PEA, but there still is a

While detractors of the project might argue

lot of work to do. Last week we announced

that approval could be difficult to secure,

that we will be taking the project through to

owing to the deposit’s position under the

the pre-feasibility stage (PFS) and we need

shallow bay of a lake, First Mining has

to consider our plan for initial capital costs,

collated seven years of environmental

and we’ll look into our production profile and

baseline work that suggests otherwise.

tailings waste management. Overall, the PEA gave us a good sense of what we need to do

This wealth of information is currently being

in the PFS.”

incorporated into a terms of reference (ToR) document ahead of submission to the

Alongside the technical advancement of the

Ontario environmental ministry by the end

Springpole project, First Mining is progressing

of the year. The ToR will effectively form

along the permitting timeline, which is a

the table of contents for the subsequent

lengthy process to undertake in Ontario, but

environmental impact assessment (EIS)

one that is ultimately reliable once all the

document.

required documents are submitted to the authorities.

Throughout the next 12 months, First Mining will maintain close consultation with key indigenous groups regarding the content

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MINING | First Mining Gold of the EIS, ahead of a formal submission of

important vote of confidence from what I

the document by the end of 2020. At around

think is one of the best engineering groups in

the same time, the company hopes to have

the world for a gold project of this size.”

completed the PFS for Springpole.

The Goldlund Project

“Then the project goes through the

First Mining’s secondary focus in Ontario

environmental assessment process which in

is the Goldlund gold project, located

Ontario typically takes between 18 months

approximately 60 km Northeast of the town

and two years. This timeline would keep us

of Dryden. The property has a strike length

on track for a construction decision in 2023

of over 50 km and has shown strong district

and financing around the same time,” Wilton

scale potential.

projects.

The current resource estimate stands at Global engineering firm Ausenco will

809,200 ounces of gold at 1.96 g/t in the

complete the Springpole PFS, in an

Indicated resource category and 876,954

interesting deal that will see First Mining pay

ounces of gold at 1.49 g/t in the Inferred

the Australian company in shares for their

resource category, although there is

engineering work.

significant exploration potential and several targets identified across the property.

“It’s an interesting model for alignment with our technical partners, and I think it’s an

“We probably under-sell the fact that the

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MINING | First Mining Gold Goldlund deposit as it sits right now is one of the highest- grade open pit projects in Canada. You’re talking about 800,000 ounces of Indicated resources at 2 g/t and approximately 870,000 ounces of Inferred resources at 1.5 g/t that falls into an open pit and we think there is a lot of room to grow that just in the Goldlund Main Zone.”

In addition to the high-grade mineralisation present at Goldlund, the project is blessed with excellent infrastructural links. The property is located next to a provincial highway with existing power lines 20 km away.

However, the real value driver at the Goldlund project is its district scale potential.

This outlook has been evidenced by a string of exciting results from regional prospects, most notably at the Miller target over the last two years.

Miller is located approximately 10 km Northeast and along strike of the current resource area and has been the primary focus of the company’s 2019 drill programme at Goldlund, with visible gold often observed.

The prospect is not currently included in the resource estimate.

“I think Miller is a real example of one of a number of similar type targets that we can test along the big strike of this property,” says Wilton. “Ultimately, we think Goldlund could become a large gold district feeding one central mill.”

“We probably under-sell the that the Goldlund deposit is of the highest grade open pi projects in Canada right now we think there is a lot of roo grow that just in the Main Z Dan Wilton, CEO and directo First Mining Gold

e fact s one it w and om to Zone� or

Resource Global Network

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MINING | First Mining Gold

First Mining has maintained a strong

Having demonstrated the district scale

relationship with its drilling partner from

potential of the project via successful drill

the Springpole project and has retained

programmes at several deposits, First Mining

Winnipeg-based Rodren Drilling’s excellent

is returning to the Goldlund Main Zone for

services for the Goldlund campaigns.

Resource Global Network expansion and infill drilling, which will contribute towards a better understanding of the resource estimate there.

“At some point soon, we will need to wrap some economics around this project and take it through a PEA, which shouldn’t be difficult or take long. We have an opportunity here to demonstrate the robust nature of the project, especially with the grade and strip ratio we think we can achieve in an open pit.”

A big year ahead First Mining is on the brink of a massive year in the development of its headline gold assets in Ontario, with the submission of the EIS and PFS for Springpole earmarked for 2020, while Goldlund is also set to receive more substantial economic assessment next year.

Hitting these milestones will serve to significantly de-risk the projects and demonstrate to the market that quantifiable progress is being made, which should pave the way for greater recognition of this unique opportunity to invest in world-class gold assets in a trusted jurisdiction.

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MINING | Adventus Mining

ADVE MIN

The Ecuadoria

ENTUS NING

an opportunity

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MINING | Adventus Mining

Ecuador is a relatively small South American country that is rich in natural resources but remains underexplored, despite being located between and sharing geology with the longestablished mining jurisdictions of Peru and Colombia. After the discovery of the world-class Fruta del Norte gold deposit in 2006, the broader international mining community opened its eyes to the untapped geological potential of Ecuador, which is now typified by strong government support for mining activity and modern infrastructure. In particular, it took Lundin Gold’s entry into Ecuador in 2014 with the acquisition of the Fruta del Norte Project from Kinross Gold to kickstart the influx of several major mining houses including BHP, Codelco, Newcrest Mining, Anglo American, Solgold and Fortescue Metals Group.

TSXV-listed Adventus Mining entered Ecuador two years ago after scouring the world for jurisdictions to build a significant base metals company within. The company’s president, CEO and director Christian Kargl-Simard tells RGN that the decision to pivot the company to Ecuador was based on the very strong geological potential of the country.

“We believe it is one of the last frontiers for copper. Located in the Andean Belt, we know about the geological potential to the North in Colombia and Southwards where Peru and Chile are two of the world’s largest copper producers. These geological features extend

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MINING | Adventus Mining into Ecuador and it hasn’t been properly explored to date.”

A new era for Ecuadorian mining While there remains plenty of unexplored potential in Ecuador, this year has seen the country evolve into an industrial scale metals producer after the opening of two largescale mines – the Mirador open-pit coppergold project in July, and the Fruta del Norte underground gold mine – nearly 15 years after its discovery.

The Mirador project is a multi-million ounce copper-gold-silver resource operated by a subsidiary of the Chinese consortium CRCCTongguan, while Canada’s Lundin Gold has spent over US$1 billion developing the gold-silver Fruta del Norte deposit over the last five years. Lundin produced first gold in November after receiving the final two permits required to move it into production.

“Ecuador is a mining country with a lot of international funding that continues to help us grow our portfolio of three copper-gold projects. We believe our most advanced project could be the next mine built in Ecuador after these two big ones have reached production.”

Kargl-Simard, a professional metallurgical engineer and former investment banker, first visited Ecuador about 10 years ago after the initial discovery of the El Domo volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) deposit in central-West Ecuador. Today, El Domo is

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MINING | Adventus Mining

the most advanced deposit within Adventus’

“It started with the Curipamba earn-in

21,500-hectare Curipamba Project.

agreement, but we have also put together what we call the ‘Exploration Alliance’, which

On this initial visit to the deposit, he met one

is a joint venture that sees us work together

of Ecuador’s most influential geologists Fredy

to find attractive projects in Ecuador,” says

Salazar, who had worked with Newmont

Kargl-Simard.

Mining in the 1990s and now leads an exploration team that has helped discover

Throughout the last two years, Adventus has

around 30 million ounces (Moz) of gold in

reviewed close to 20 exploration projects in

Ecuador over the last 30 years.

the country and it has signed deals on two with Salazar – the Pijili & Santiago projects.

Salazar went on to form Salazar Resources companies listed on the TSXV – in 2007,

Broad in-country expertise

largely keeping the same exploration team

More recently, Adventus has deepened

together that served Newmont so well in

its ties in Ecuador by bringing in one of

the 90s. And so, when Kargl-Simard came

the country’s largest and most respected

knocking on Salazar’s door in 2017, Adventus

private organisations – the Nobis Group –

was able to strike an earn-in agreement with

as a strategic investor. Nobis has business

- one of the first Ecuador-focused mining

Salazar Resources for the Curipamba project.

ResourceGlobal GlobalNetwork Network 105 Resource

interests across the agricultural, real estate,

Curipamba is Adventus’ most advanced

industrial, commercial, construction and

asset, with early indications pointing to

tourism sectors of Ecuador.

a high grade deposit at El Domo close to surface and mineable both by open pit or

“Nobis brings to the table a long history of

underground methods to produce saleable

success and partnerships with government

copper, zinc & lead concentrates, with

institutions that continue to support project

strong precious metals credits

investments which further the economic development of Ecuador.

The preliminary economic assessment (PEA) of May 2019 brought together new infill

“They also have an organisation called the

drilling data from the last 12 months, along

Nobis Foundation which is significantly

with new metallurgical test work from this

augmenting our community development

year and various infrastructure trade-off

activities around our projects. In addition,

studies.

Nobis’ trust in us continues to attract other Ecuadorian and Latin American high net

The result of this new data compilation was

worth investors into Adventus.”

an improved post-tax NPV of $288 million (at 8% discount rate) for the El Domo deposit,

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MINING | Adventus Mining

Resource Global Network a 40% post-tax IRR and a capital cost of $165 million for a 1,750 tonnes per day operation over a 15-year mine life.

“We think this is a really good base for us to grow on, and there is significant optimisation ahead of us on capital and operating costs. In fact, this may be a project where the capital cost decreases as we move from PEA to feasibility study,” suggests the Adventus chief.

Introducing geophysics This year, the company flew an airborne

“Ecuador is a mining country with a lot of international funding that continues to help us grow our portfolio of three copper-gold projects” Christian Kargl-Simard, president, CEO and director Adventus Mining

geophysical survey over the entire Curipamba district for the first time and came out with

began in Q4 of this year, which adds to the

14 new geophysical targets, some of which

over 10 years of baseline environmental work

are deemed very large targets that could be

managed by Salazar since discovery.

porphyry systems.

Adventus plans to start the full feasibility “The goal is to demonstrate that El Domo is

study in H2 next year and complete it by the

not a one resource wonder and that there

summer of 2021. With three roads already

are multiple deposits within the district, such

to the El Domo deposit, there would then be

as additional VMS, epithermal gold, and/

about a one-year construction period, so the

or porphyry. If this is the case, our project

company is targeting first production in 2023.

base and development scale could grow substantially.”

“In the meantime, If we discover something of a similar size to El Domo, or even a porphyry,

In 2020, Adventus aims to turn these targets

that could change the scope of the project

into discoveries while advancing the El Domo

and postpone engineering and construction

deposit at the same time. The key hurdles to

beyond 2023. That’s why we are prioritising

overcome next year include the completion

the exploration work right now, just to make

and submission of the environmental impact

sure there’s no low hanging fruit that can be

assessment (EIA) for El Domo.

discovered after a drill programme.”

The EIA requires up to a year of baseline

Adventus also started geophysics

work and data collection relating to water,

programmes late last year at Pijili & Santiago

fauna, archaeology and other environmental

– the standout projects from the first

considerations. This detailed programme

collection of properties reviewed by the

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Exploration Alliance between Adventus (80%)

“Geologically the area has very strong

and Salazar Resources (20%).

endowment with historical drill holes of over 300 metres at 0.5% copper equivalent

From those geophysical programmes,

from surface, with grades picking up to 0.8%

Adventus was able to highlight 20 potential

copper equivalent at the bottom of the hole.

copper-gold porphyry targets and has been

This substantiates that it’s a mineralised

consolidating groundwork on the best

system and the recent airborne results

targets throughout 2019 for drilling, where

suggest it can be a very big system.

the eventual goal is to announce one or two significant copper-gold porphyry discoveries.

In good company

“Likewise, the Pijili project is adjacent to Southern Copper’s billion tonne copper porphyry project. There is a large system

In particular, Santiago has the potential

there, but we think it could be much larger.

to be a +1 billion tonnes copper porphyry

We’ve been doing a lot of groundwork there

discovery according to Kargl-Simard. This

in preparation for drilling, such as building

view is strengthened by the presence of

a local team and camp facilities. We’ve also

Newcrest and Solgold at properties close to

received water permits on the projects so are

the Santiago project.

Resource Global Network

very excited to be drilling these projects in

firm’s decision looks like a masterstroke. The

2020. We hope our efforts will lead to major

true geological potential of Ecuador is finally

new discoveries.”

being realised, and Adventus is enjoying first mover advantage in one of the world’s last

When Adventus went public in February

great copper frontiers.

2017, it had $11 million in the bank and a licence to go anywhere in the world. The company looked at 240 projects across 25 countries and eventually picked Ecuador.

Now, with so many major mining houses ramping up their investment into the emerging exploration sector in Ecuador, the

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MINING | M3 Metals Corp

M3

METALS CORP

Resource Global Network

Creating a world class diversified metals portfolio in North America

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MINING | M3 Metals Corp

The year 2019 resembles a major turning point in the story of Canadian exploration firm M3 Metals Corp, after shedding its old name ML Gold Corp in July to better reflect the company’s diversified base and precious metals portfolio. Then, in October M3 bought the Mohave Mine Gold Project in the US state of Arizona, significantly bolstering its collection of assets across North America, which include the Block 103 Iron Ore Project and the Stars Project - both in Canada. Speaking after the July rebranding, M3’s CEO Kosta Tsoutsis said the new name would reflect the company’s focus on the large-scale Block 103 project while allowing it to continue moving other projects forward, in what can now be deemed as a nod to the acquisition of the Mohave project.

Exciting times “I think now is an interesting time for us after adding the Mohave project to our portfolio,” Tsoutsis tells RGN. “This is a more developed asset compared to our Block 103

The corporate pairing frequently evaluate

project with a much smaller capex. Obviously,

assets around the world and move quickly

it’s in a different sector with closer term

when they spot value or high potential, as

production and this is exciting for us.”

was the case with Mohave.

M3’s strategy is simple: Secure low-cost

“Adrian brings a lot of experience in Canada

assets with clear exploration upside,

and the US, and we have a network of

with a specific focus on gold and copper

technical guys who have worked across these

opportunities in the Americas. Orchestrating

markets in the past, so we are focused close

this approach is Tsoutsis and M3’s president

to home and in low risk jurisdictions,” says

and director Adrian Smith.

Tsoutsis.

Resource Global Network

The Mohave opportunity

The project has in the past received more

M3 secured an option from two separate

than 550 drill holes totalling more than

vendors to acquire a 100% right, title and

68,000 feet in a Northern quarter of the

interest in the Mohave project, which is

property, along with mapping and sampling

comprised of 160 claims (including lode

programmes in the Southern three quarters

claims and mill site claims) over five square

of the property, which have not yet been drill

miles of strongly altered rocks in the historic

tested.

Weaver mining district of North Arizona. “What really attracted us is the near surface samples and drilling results it’s had in this

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MINING | M3 Metals Corp one small section. And then we looked at some of the data on the mapping of the rest of the property and noticed that there were very consistent soil samples and rock samples across five km of the property.�

The previous work on the project was conducted in the 1980s and 1990s and funded by a private investor who actually managed to build heap leach infrastructure on site to 90% completion, although the project never reached production.

As the years went by, Mohave fell into a prolonged stasis under private hands until the opportunity was spotted by Tsoutsis and Smith. While the existing soil and rock samples show a gold trend along 5 km of strike, there is a belief among M3 that further tests could reveal a wider system of mineralisation.

There are at least 18 anomalous gold zones on the project that have not been drilled, leaving the potential for M3 to significantly increase the known size of the historic resources on the property.

M3 aims to create a 3D model of the historic resource, estimated at 96,000 oz Au, and bring this into 43-101 compliance category, although currently the company is focused on compiling the large amount of existing data from previous mapping and sampling programmes on areas that have registered gold signatures and have never been drill tested.

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MINING | M3 Metals Corp

“Once we compile the data it will give us a

of mining majors including Rio Tinto, Arcelor

better idea of where to plot our upcoming

Mittal and Cliffs Natural Resources.

drill campaign. We’re going to apply for at least 200 RAB and core drill holes coming

Block 103 is the world’s largest 100%-owned

up, and we plan to apply for drilling and

magnetite NI 43-101 compliant resource,

production permits at the same time.”

after M3 spent $33 million on drilling and

A colossal iron ore project The Block 103 project is located in the

came out with an inferred resource of 7.2 billion tonnes at 29.2% total iron. What’s more, only 4 km of a 12 km strike was included in this inaugural resource.

heart of Labrador Trough, a 1,600 km long and 160 km wide geologic belt in Canada

But in an ironic twist, M3 soon found that the

that runs through the politically stable and

resource was too big and the initial capital

mining-friendly provinces of Québec and

costs estimation of $6.5 billion in the 2013

Newfoundland and Labrador.

preliminary economic assessment proved too high for a company of its size.

Labrador Trough is Canada’s premier iron ore district with 80 billion tonnes of known

“It was all well and good having one of the

iron ore resources being exploited by a host

biggest iron ore projects on the planet, but

ResourceGlobal GlobalNetwork Network 117 Resource

we were stuck with a capex of nearly $7

highest quality iron ore in the world.

billion,” says Tsoutsis. “To rectify this, we have recently hired Hatch Engineering to do a re-

According to the company, the Block 103

scoping study in order to bring that capex

project is one of strategic global importance

down.”

due to the widespread drive towards lower emissions across all industries. This trend is

In a November update to the markets, M3

no more evident than in China, which has put

confirmed that it is continuing to work closely up regulations for cleaner iron ore feeding its with Hatch on the near-term completion of

steel industry.

the engineering study, which aims to bring the capex down to below $1 billion. This

Therefore, M3’s high quality product will be

lowered figure would provide a much clearer highly attractive to China as well as to other pathway to production at Block 103.

countries with ambitions to bring emissions down as the world becomes acutely more

Aside from the vast scale of the project, the

conscious of its role in the climate change

fundamentals at Block 103 remain highly

phenomenon.

attractive. For example, the magnetite iron ore is one of the cleanest in the region, which itself is considered to host some of the

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MINING | M3 Metals Corp

Stars shining bright

Huckleberry Copper-Gold-Silver mine.

After a successful exploration campaign in

Drilling to date at Stars has been successful

British Columbia, M3 discovered a copper-

in continuously expanding the known

gold-silver-molybdenum porphyry system

mineralisation along strike and at depth, with

that is hosted on the Stars project. This high

many additional targets across the property

potential copper asset is ideally located for

that remain to be tested.

a low cost mine development, with gentle topography and existing infrastructure

“We’ve had some successful results from

including road, rail and port access nearby.

drill holes at Stars, but on these occasions we missed the grades by just enough so

In addition, the project is surrounded by several open pit mines such as Goldcorp’s Equity Silver Mine, Centerra Gold’s Endako mine, and Imperials Metals Corp’s

the market didn’t give us enough love for

Resource Global Network it. The potential is still there; it’s got all the

“The next 12 months will also be exciting

infrastructure and the magnetics confirm a

because after the Hatch engineering study

large system is there, but then Mohave came

comes out for Block 103 project, we’ll have

along and we are focusing on that now.”

to figure out the next steps there. I think we are going to create a lot more value for the

In the coming period, M3 will focus on

company when this report comes out, as the

securing permitting for the Mohave project,

capex is going to be a lot lower than previous

as well as compiling all the existing records

estimations.”

into a digital database, creating modelling, doing surveys, and ultimately getting crews on the ground at the property.

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IT’S IN OUR DNA TO WORK HARDER Few mining contractors know Africa like we do. For 25 years, we’ve had the mining fleet, people, safety record and know-how to mine productively anywhere in Africa.

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“It was a pleasure working with the RGN team. The entire process - from the initial interview to the layout and finished piece - was seamless and professional. ” Orlee Wertheim Head of Business Development, Global Mining, Toronto Stock Exchange TSX Venture Exchange

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APPOINTMENTS & EVENTS

APPOINTMENTS Eurasia Mining hires new non-executive director London-listed Eurasia Mining has appointed Anthony James Nieuwenhuys as non-executive director with immediate effect.

Nieuwenhuys is currently chief executive officer at South Africa’s Lesego Platinum Mining and has held several similar positions in the industry throughout his career.

The company also confirmed it is in ‘full control’ of the West Kytlim mine in Russia, after initially using a contractor in the early years of the operation.

Katanga Mining appoints third CEO of 2019 Katanga Mining has changed its CEO for the third time this year, appointing Mark Davis to the role effective from November 19.

The DRC-based Glencore subsidiary appointed Davis to replace Jeff Gerard, who had only been in the role since May. Before him, Danny Callow was CEO for less than five months.

“We are pleased to welcome Mark as CEO and look forward to working with him,” non-executive chairman Hugh Stoyell said.

Energean promotes Karen Simon to chair role FTSE 250 energy company Energean Oil & Gas has promoted current director Karen Simon to the position of chair.

Simon recently retired from JPMorgan & Co where she was vice-chair of the firm’s investment bank. Other previous roles include head of Europe, Middle East & Africa oil and gas research.

“Karen Simon has made a significant contribution to Energean since she became a non-executive director in 2017,” said outgoing Non-Executive Chair Heale.

Steve Trenholm joins board of directors at Leeward Renewable Energy US-based independent power firm Leeward Renewable Energy has announced the appointment of Steve Trenholm to the board of directors.

“Steve brings a wealth of renewable energy leadership perspective to Leeward after a 30-year career at E.ON, Airtricity and other companies,” said Leeward CEO Greg Wolf.

Leeward’s 1.7GW operational portfolio is comprised of 19 wind projects across nine US states, with an additional 415MW under construction.

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EVENTS Our pick of the top mining, oil & gas and renewable energy events happening around the world in the months to come

Investing in African Mining Indaba February 03-06 Cape Town South Africa Energy Storage Summit February 25-26 London UK Sub Saharan African International Petroleum Exhibition & Conference (SAIPEC) February 25-27 Lagos Nigeria PDAC 2020 March 01-04 Toronto Canada Future of Mining Australia 2020 March 23-24 Sydney Australia

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FEW MINING CONTRACTORS KNOW AFRICA LIKE WE DO, OR HOW TO HELP YOU MINE MORE. There are three things you want in your surface mining contractor: flexibility, efficiency and safety. With African Mining Services you get all three.

Outsource your mining operation to us and get a complete mining lifecycle service without having to finance or maintain a huge mining fleet. You get a company whose single focus is surface mining, who knows African mining conditions and how to mine productively in remote and difficult areas.

Lastly, you get a contractor who has an enviable safety record because it takes the time to care and skill its workforce.

Want more? Contact your nearest AMS office.

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