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CANADIANMINING
DECEMBER 2020 VOL. 141, NO.10
JOURNAL
FEATURES
12 Argonaut Gold plans major growth with the help of its Magino project
CMJ
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in Ontario.
16 Mexico steps up security for mining operations.
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18 An analysis by Costmine suggests mining operations should target a few select areas for the biggest cost savings.
CANADIAN MINING JOURNAL
21 REPORT ON SOFTWARE 22 The new SourceOne data platform promises to solve miners’ data
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management issues.
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inal ti obert atterson o ers advice on hat miners should consider as they contemplate the move to cloud-based software.
28 MicroMine explains the ins and out of using drill modelling software. 30 MineWare shares how its intelligent shovel monitoring technology
improved payload management at a large oilsands operation in Canada.
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DEPARTMENTS 4 EDITORIAL | Planning for a post-Covid future. 5 LAW | Simon Foxcroft and Keely Cameron of Bennett Jones on what the recent Redwater decision means for miners. 6 CSR & MINING | Carolyn Burns of the Devonshire Initiative recaps what the sector has learned during the pandemic about its approach to social performance. 8 UNEARTHING TRENDS | EY’s Antoine Mindjimba outlines how to address the key organizational culture component of digital transformation. 10 FAST NEWS | Updates from across the mining ecosystem. 32 ON THE MOVE | Tracking executive, management and board changes in Canada’s mining sector.
ABOUT THE COVER
This month’s cover image by gremlin.istockimages.com.
Coming in January 2021 Canadian Mining Journal looks at water management and mining in B.C. and the Yukon, plus a feature report on pumps.
For More Information
www.canadianminingjournal.com DECEMBER 2020
Please visit www.canadianminingjournal.com for regular updates on what’s happening with Canadian mining companies and their personnel both here and abroad. A digital version of the magazine is also available at www.digital.canadianminingjournal.com
CANADIAN MINING JOURNAL |
3
FROM THE EDITOR DECEMBER 2020 Vol. 141 – No. 10
CANADIANMINING Planning for a better, post-Covid future Alisha Hiyate
A
t press time in November, there have been several positive announcements from companies working on a vaccine for Covid-19. In fact, the two leading vaccine candidates have reported that they are over 90% effective – a much better result than most experts were anticipating. There are logistical challenges. In addition to manufacturing and distributing the vaccines to the global population at large, one of the vaccines must be stored at -70° Celsius (Pfizer and BioNTech’s of f ering) while the other must be kept at a less extreme -20° Celsius (Moderna). The leading contenders will also require two doses per person to be effective. There are also other challenges, including the possibility that many people could refuse to get innoculated – either due to concerns about taking a new vaccine without a long history of being used safely, or due to the sway of the anti-vaxx movement. Assuming those difficulties are overcome, we are still looking at a difficult winter ahead (and subdued holiday celebrations) as cases rise. However, for the first time since the lockdowns began in March, there is hope that there is an end in sight to the pandemic. We can imagine a future where in-person interaction doesn’t provoke anxiety and where the precautions of masking, staying physically apart, and choosing a well-ventilated or outdoor space to meet in are no longer as necessary. That doesn’t mean that lif e or business will go back to the way they were preCovid-19. Nor should they. Even if the virus were to magically disappear, there are some innovations and adaptations from the pandemic that are here to stay, that have enhanced efficiency, and sparked new ideas and better ways of working. While the pandemic has highlighted the opportunities of digital technologies in every sector, the adoption of these technologies in the mining sector has been selective. Miners have naturally focused on more immediate concerns during this period of disruption rather than taking a fulsome look at wholesale transformation. But the transf ormation, which began well bef ore the pandemic, is coming – and it will informed by learnings from the pandemic. With companies finding that adaptations enabled by digitalization and intended for the short-term, such as remote work of personnel (including supervisors) have worked well, their vision of what’s possible has been broadened. That’s the bit that’s really important as we envision the future of the industry. Take cloud technologies, for example – powerful technology that miners are still in the process of adopting (see page 24). In a thought-leadership panel on cloud technology at The Northern Miner’s Global Mining Symposium in November, David Lindon, general manager of OpsGuru Canada, described it as having “the power of 25,000 or 30,000 engineers building technologies f or you to build upon,” and a technology that requires “a complete mindshift change” and a “cultural evolution.” Thanks to the current crisis, miners, who have always taken a cautious approach to new technology in the past, now have a better sense than ever of the value of digitalization – and arguably, are already primed for the mindset change that will CMJ secure their future long after Covid-19.
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MINING JOURNAL
225 Duncan Mill Rd. Suite 320, Toronto, Ontario M3B 3K9 JOURNAL Tel. (416) 510-6789 Fax (416) 510-5138 www.canadianminingjournal.com Editor-in-Chief Alisha Hiyate 416-510-6742 ahiyate@canadianminingjournal.com Twitter: @Cdn_Mining_Jrnl
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News Editor Magda Gardner CANADIAN MINING JOURNAL mgardner@canadianminingjournal.com Production Manager Jessica Jubb jjubb@glacierbizinfo.com Art Director Barbara Burrows Advisory Board David Brown (Golder Associates) Michael Fox (Indigenous Community Engagement) Scott Hayne (Redpath Canada) Anthony Moreau (Iamgold) Gary Poxleitner (SRK) Manager of Product Distribution Jackie Dupuis 403-209-3507 jdupuis@glacierrig.com Publisher & Sales Robert Seagraves 416-510-6891 rseagraves@canadianminingjournal.com Sales, Western Canada George Agelopoulos 416-510-5104 gagelopoulos@northernminer.com Toll Free Canada & U.S.A.: 1-888-502-3456 ext 2 or 43734 Circulation Toll Free Canada & U.S.A.: 1-800-387-2446 ext 3505 Group Publisher Anthony Vaccaro Established 1882
Canadian Mining Journal provides articles and information of practical use to those who work in the technical, administrative
and supervisory aspects of exploration, mining and processing in the Canadian mineral exploration and mining industry. Canadian Mining Journal (ISSN 0008-4492) is published 10 times a year by Glacier Resource Innovation Group (GRIG). GRIG is located at 225 Duncan Mill Rd., Ste. 320, Toronto, ON, M3B 3K9. Phone (416) 510-6891. Legal deposit: National Library, Ottawa. Printed in Canada. All rights reserved. The contents of this magazine are protected by copyright and may be used only for your personal non-commercial purposes. All other rights are reserved and commercial use is prohibited. To make use of any of this material you must first obtain the permission of the owner of the copyright. For further information please contact Robert Seagraves at 416-510-6891. Subscriptions – Canada: $51.95 per year; $81.50 for two years. USA: US$64.95 per year. Foreign: US$77.95 per year. Single copies: Canada $10; USA and foreign: US$10. Canadian subscribers must add HST and Provincial tax where necessary. HST registration # 809744071RT001. From time to time we make our subscription list available to select companies and organizations whose product or service may interest you. If you do not wish your contact information to be made available, please contact us via one of the following methods: Phone: 1-800-387-2446 ext 3505; Fax: 403-245-8666 ; E-mail: jdupuis@jwnenergy.com Mail to: Jackie Dupuis, 2nd Flr. 816–55th Ave. N.E. Calgary, Alberta T2E 6Y4. We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada.
www.canadianminingjournal.com
LAW
Preparing for impacts of the Redwater decision By Simon Foxcroft and Keely Cameron
T
he January 2019 Supreme Court of Canada’s Redwater decision caught headlines for how it dealt with the “E” in ESG. Specif ically, it dealt with the priority to be provided to abandonment, remediation and reclamation liabilities for wells in Alberta in the event of an insolvency. The Court concluded in Redwater that the Alberta Energy Regulator’s transf er and abandonment regulatory provisions – designed to ensure environmental liabilities are addressed – were not in conflict with the federal Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act. The Court ruled that compliance with transf er and abandonment provisions should be addressed using the f unds in the estate that would have otherwise gone to secured creditors. There are material differences between mining operations and the oil and gas operations considered in Redwater, and the application of its principles to mining projects should ultimately be quite f act-specif ic. However, there are also similarities and likely impacts on the mining industry, including: increased lender scrutiny over reclamation liability and environmental practices; greater hesitance on the part of lenders to fund projects without an understanding of practiced and planned environmental compliance; the imposition of more stringent covenants associated with credit facilities; a greater focus on the adequacy of bonds and security placed with regulators; and increased public scrutiny of the environmental impacts of mining projects. Mining companies will need to consider how to navigate these increased pressures, particularly when entering into new working arrangements with third parties. This is particularly true in contexts such as joint ventures where one of the parties will have control as the operator, while other parties will have to consider how to manage their exposure from a distance. When negotiating and draf ting agreements f or entry into a new or updated working arrangement with a counterparty, the following points should be considered. Key points Timing: Set a reasonable timeframe to negotiate the term sheet and definitive documents to ensure that specific environmental and reclamation issues are properly considered and addressed. Due diligence: Undertake thorough and comprehensive diligence on the project and the counterparty to ensure a full underDECEMBER 2020
standing of potential environmental and reclamation issues, and the scope and value of indemnities on offer. Representations and warranties: Seek to obtain robust representations and warranties f rom the counterparty, coupled with detailed schedules to promote a high level of disclosure. Do all reasonably possible to avoid later surprises, while considering the true value of the representations. Contracting parties: Caref ully consider which corporate entity will be entering into the working arrangement having regard to the potential of risk to other corporate assets. The creditworthiness of your counterparties is of rising importance. Consider assignment rights and the expanding interests you may have in the nature of assignees and trailing rights of parties. Parental guarantees/security: Consider the appropriateness of parent guarantees or specif ic security if there is any concern about the financial wherewithal of the counterparty. Operator standards: Define comprehensive project provisions to be employed by the operator knowing that these terms may be closely scrutinized by counterparties, including project lenders. Ensure that the operator has prompt and f ulsome reporting obligations. Clearly delineate what the consequences will be for any non-compliance on the part of the operator. Be prepared to exercise rights to address non-compliance. Oversight: Include provisions guaranteeing meaningf ul representation and involvement at the management committee level. Include robust rights of audit and inspection. Have a plan to ensure these rights are exercised with meaningf ul review of operations and understanding of conduct at the project. Contractual allocation of risk: Ensure that the assumption of any liability or risk for environmental or reclamation matters is proportionate to the percentage of ownership being acquired. Sufficiency of reclamation/remediation funds: If a working fund is to be established for future environmental liability and reclamation, ensure that it is sufficient to fund all required remediation, reclamation including any post-reclamation monitoring. Ripples from the Redwater decision are likely to reach mining projects in Canada. Miners and their advisors should embrace this opportunity to give f resh consideration to their working arrangements – as it is entirely f oreseeable that a heightened focus on understanding and funding environmental and reclaCMJ mation liabilities is headed their direction. SIMON FOXCROFT is a partner at Bennett Jones, Edmonton, and KEELY CAMERON is an associate at Bennett Jones, Calgary. CANADIAN MINING JOURNAL |
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CSR & MINING
One year later, what has Covid-19 taught us about social performance in the mining sector? By Carolyn Burns
C
ovid-19 has af f ected every person around the world, including those communities who are impacted by mining. Over the past year, the Devonshire Initiative has hosted several discussions about the challenges and opportunities related to Covid-19 and social performance in the mining sector. These lessons learned have the potential to change how the industry approaches social perf ormance f or many years to come. December marks one year since Covid-19 emerged – an opportune time to look back at what we have learned so far.
Collaboration and co-ordination are key. In the early days of the pandemic, mining companies f ocused their attention on employee health and saf ety. However, by May, companies were navigating new relationships and co-ordinating with organizations f rom other sectors in new and dif f erent ways. Around the world, mining companies were working with government bodies, specifically health ministries. Companies were working together regionally in their response to testing and supporting health services. Internally in mining companies, the pandemic has encouraged collaboration between departments at an unprecedented scale – f ostered by regular virtual meetings, to understand risks and align responses. Companies are also collaborating with non-profit organizations to adapt social investment programs and co-ordinate responses in the community. Working in a silo (either internally or when it comes to external initiatives) will never be the go-to approach again. The pandemic shines a light on the vulnerabilities of our current systems. The nature of the pandemic has highlighted how precarious many economic and social systems are and how certain communities are disproportionately impacted by major shocks. In the short term, this has led to an increase in needs-based programming such as f ood parcels, providing access to PPE and water and sanitation and supporting enhanced health services. The clear precarity of these economic and social systems will inf orm social investment programs as we move through the next phase of Covid-19 and beyond. We don’t have to be together to build relationships, but there is a difference between maintaining a relationship and beginning one over the phone. Physical distancing has quickly brought in-person engagement activities to an end and highlighted the health of 6 | CANADIAN
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Where relationships were strong, the move to virtual engagement was much easier. But where the relationships were not strong (or were nonexistent), companies and communities struggled to engage virtually. The experience of physical distancing and the need to engage with stakeholders will underpin the business case for better engagement for years to come.
relationships between stakeholders. Where relationships were strong, the move to virtual engagement was much easier. But where the relationships were not strong (or were nonexistent), companies and communities struggled to engage virtually. The experience of physical distancing and the need to engage with stakeholders will underpin the business case for better engagement for years to come. The experience of physically distant engagement has also highlighted the potential of virtual tools and platforms to have discussions and share information with a broader set of community members. The pandemic has highlighted the potential of using radio shows, posters and flyers, online hubs and social media to share information about not only the pandemic, but also about mining activity and community programming in general. Mining companies and NGOs play an important role disseminating credible and accessible information. Particularly where there is a lack of trust between communities and governments or health agencies, mining companies and NGOs are well placed to ensure communities are able to access credible inf ormation about Covid-19. When access to inf ormation is limited, it becomes easier for false information to spread. Companies and NGOs need to work collaboratively to provide credible information about the virus as well as mining activity and community programming well past Covid-19. www.canadianminingjournal.com
It’s about more than a social licence to operate. A company’s reaction to Covid-19 can contribute to long term trust and strong relationships. A number of companies have noted that the experience with Covid-19 will be a proof point to illustrate if a company was ‘there’ for the community. However, many company representatives have also noted that their response is about more than a social licence to operate. We have a moral duty to support each other during this time and all companies should use their supply chains, convening power, and resources to limit the impact of Covid-19 on their host communities. We can rewrite the social investment playbook. Social Investment programs have been a major part of mining companies’ initial response to Covid-19. However, the urgency of Covid-19 shook up the established processes and systems for administering and managing social investment programs. Many companies have had to re-establish the rules and thresholds f or donations and approvals, which will have long-term impacts on how companies manage social investments.
Around the world, long-term training programs and economic diversif ication initiatives ground to a halt, and were quickly adapted to meet the immediate needs of the community like access to food, PPE and health services. At a strategic level, this shift can also be a catalyst to move past short-term social investment programs and support long-term sustainable development. The traditional way of doing social investment is often entrenched in the thinking of companies, NGOs, communities and governments. The pandemic presents an opportunity to shift that. Mining activity can be a catalyst for, not a leader of development. We can learn a lot from community-led responses to Covid-19, and the pandemic presents an opportunity for communities to be at the centre of their development CMJ planning and programming. CAROLYN BURNS is executive director of the Devonshire Initiative, a multi-stakeholder forum that supports cross-sector collaboration to support sustained positive outcomes for miningimpacted communities.
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DECEMBER 2020
CANADIAN MINING JOURNAL |
7
UNEARTHING TRENDS
How to build a culture that will advance your digital agenda By Antoine Mindjimba
D
igital transformation was a key lever for mining and metals companies in gaining a competitive advantage. Now, it’s necessary to keep the lights on. While this was on executive and boardroom agendas long before the pandemic, the current landscape has presented new opportunities to f oster an ef f ective culture and advance digital transformation strategies. Companies continue to make headway in the digital transformation of their businesses, with automation and analytics becoming a standard. More recently, we’ve started to see the use of digital twins to help unlock productivity across the value chain, and many companies are now even using the term “integrated operations centre” rather than “remote operations centre.” A small shift, but one that embodies how companies are adopting more streamlined end-to-end solutions. Digital transformations are iterative, fast-paced and require the right people and culture to make them successf ul. While many understand that digital transf ormation is critical to sustainable productivity and margin improvements – and that getting it right will be a key differentiator – they’re strapped with the challenge of getting employees to understand the upside of digital ways of working. Right now, there are many culture gaps that companies face to successfully implement a digital transformation: Employees are not educated on digital transformation priorities and behaviours that will enable digitization. Leaders are not f amiliar with new ways of working and are not equipped with the right tools to lead their teams in times of constant changes and could be lacking digital fluency. The organizational structure is of ten complex, with unclear accountability and a disconnect from current operating models. The workforce is often fragmented by geography, operations, language and knowledge, resulting in non-standard and siloed policies, processes and systems. Companies cannot dismiss the importance of having a strong culture to build sustainable performance. Without it, they risk eroding the benefits of transformation. Companies need to identify what digital looks like for mining and metals organizations, align on the behaviours necessary for embracing digitalization in the future, map out the barriers to transforming behaviours and ways of working, and clearly delineate possible solutions. There are three steps to start weaving digitalization into organizational culture and begin unleashing the potential of your organization. 1. Define your digital-centric culture: Digitalization is about more than just technology; it’s about evolving culture to
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MINING JOURNAL
While many understand that digital transformation is critical to sustainable productivity and margin improvements – and that getting it right will be a key differentiator – they’re strapped with the challenge of getting employees to understand the upside of digital ways of working. enable new ways of working that will serve the overall business imperatives. Employees need to understand the upside of digital ways of working and what they and their stakeholders will gain from the change. This will enable them to adapt their mindsets and produce different outcomes. 2. Enable transformative leadership: Leaders must own the digital transf ormation by aligning on and communicating the purpose of the transformation. This may include developing new leadership capabilities for a digitally disrupted world. It’s imperative for the leadership team to work with the internal digital ambassadors who exist down and through the organization to create buy-in, champion the right behaviours and support employees to become digital. 3. Drive the value of change activation: Change management is a critical component of your roadmap to be sure that, as you execute your initiatives, you’re truly transforming. Connecting clear communications strategies, tactics and initiatives alongside every stage ofyour digital transformation is critical. Organizations must also establish a f ew critical metrics that track behaviour adoption and the impact on customers, employees and financial performance. Without clear metrics, there’s no way of knowing whether people are changing their behaviours. Just as the pandemic is speeding up the need f or digital advancement, as more employees work remotely and use digital tools to access inf ormation, companies need to continue that momentum forward to drive a digital-centric culture. Internalizing and adopting new behaviours and capabilities will be necessary to not only deploy end-to-end digital transformation, but to sustain transformative changes after implementation happens. CMJ ANTOINE MINDJIMBA is the EY Canada Mining and Metals Culture and Diversity & Inclusion Leader. For more insights on building a culture fit for the digital age, please visit www.ey.com/en_ca/mining-metals.
www.canadianminingjournal.com
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FAST NEWS • EQUIPMENT |
Updates from across the mining ecosytem
Komatsu unveils common platform for jumbos, bolters
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n what it’s describing as an industry f irst in bolting and drilling products, Komatsu has unveiled three new jumbos and one new bolter that share a common platf orm. The company says that the line of products that use the platf orm will be expanded to 14 in 2021. The new products, introduced at a virtual event, include a small-class bolter (ZB21), a small-class jumbo (ZJ21) and a medium-class jumbo that of f ers reduced hose or hoseless boom options (ZJ32i and ZJ32Bi). The common drilling and bolting platform allows for seamless conversion between the ZB21 bolter and the ZJ21 jumbo, small-class machines designed f or narrow-vein, cut-and-f ill mining scenarios. The common platf orm has a host of advantages, including a reduction of spare parts inventory; improved service maintainability; and since the machines f eature universal operator controls, ease of operator training and adoption. Komatsu’s new offering also includes a medium-class jumbo (ZJ32i and ZJ32Bi) with the option to reduce the number of hoses to six per boom – or eliminate them completely. Eamer said reduced hose boom innovation leverages the use of smart hydraulics to reduce hoses – and can improve visibility while controlling downtime
• COMMUNICATIONS |
Komatsu’s new ZB21 bolter and ZJ21 jumbo.
and costs. The new jumbo is also available with a hoseless boom option, an innovation that eliminates the need to account f or hoses in Komatsu’s automation algorithms, eliminates wear between the inner and outer boom tubes to improve drilling accuracy over time, and reduces downtime associated with damaged hoses. Even without the reduced hose option, the jumbo of f ers other signif icant advantages. Although it is 1 metre longer on average than competitors’
machines, the jumbo can be ef f iciently used in small headings, with the ability to effectively navigate a 90-degree intersection in a 3-metre by 3-metre heading. It also features a 16-ft. drill steel, which allows for the longest round and highest productivity in its class. In addition, the jumbo f eatures new bolting head technology that allows the operator to perform 100% of the bolting cycle from the operators’ enclosure. Both the diesel (ZJ32i) and battery powered ZJ32Bi versions of the jumbo CMJ will be available in spring 2021.
Nokia launches first 5G-ready network with Teck, Shaw Business at Elkview
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okia has announced a partnership with Shaw Business to deploy Western Canada’s first dedicated 5G-ready private LTE mining network for Teck Resources at the company’s Elkview coal operations in B.C. The industrial-grade network is expected to deliver greater coverage, mobility, security and reliability for Teck. This deployment will support Teck’s RACE21 program, which aims to transform its mining operations by harnessing innovative technology, generating new value, reducing operating costs, and improving safety, sustainability and productivity at its operations.
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CREDIT: KOMATSU
MINING JOURNAL
Developed by Shaw in partnership with Nokia, the network will provide greater coverage and reliability compared to traditional, non-dedicated wireless networks. Additionally, the network is expected to help Teck achieve significant value and efficiencies at Elkview. The miner is also looking at opportunities for using 5G-ready technology at other operations. Shaw Business leveraged its licenced spectrum portfolio and technical staff to build the 5G-ready private LTE network, which is based upon Nokia’s industrial-grade Private Wireless solution. CMJ www.canadianminingjournal.com
• CLOUD TECHNOLOGY |
TOMRA Insight data platform now available for mining
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orting technology company TOMRA is rolling out its TOMRA Insight cloud-based data platf orm, to more industries, including mining. TOMRA Insight, which enables sorting machine users to improve operational ef f iciencies, was originally launched to recycling users in March 2019. The latest version includes new f eatures and functionalities. The subscription-based service turns sorting machines into connected devices that generate valuable process data. The data is gathered in near real time, stored securely in the cloud, and can be accessed f rom anywhere and across plants via a web portal available f or desktop and mobile devices. “By capturing and using valuable data, TOMRA Insight is transforming sorting from an operational process into a strategic management tool,” Felix Flemming, VP and head of digital at TOMRA Sorting, said in a release. “This tool is constantly becoming more powerful as we continuously develop it in response to
DECEMBER 2020
TOMRA Sorting Mining at the Black Chrome mine in South Africa. CREDIT: TOMRA
customers’ needs and priorities. New f unctionalities and f eatures are released every three weeks – a routine during which TOMRA works closely with customers in pursuit of shared objectives.” Data captured by TOMRA Insight provides valuable perf ormance metrics that help businesses optimize machine performance. Operating costs are reduced by simplifying spare part ordering through flexible access to data and documentation. Downtime is reduced by monitoring machine health and performance in near
real time, identif ying gaps in production and analyzing potential root causes, by supporting management in moving to predictive and condition-based maintenance, and by preventing unscheduled machine shutdowns. Throughput is maximized by evaluating variations and optimizing sorting equipment accordingly. Sorting to target quality is enhanced by having accurate material composition data, which enables decisions to be based on more detailed information. Data captured by TOMRA Insight is analyzed for customers by TOMRA mining engineers, and key findings are shared in confidential reports. The technology empowers machine operators to take prompt action in response to changes in material composition on the line while managers are empowered to make operational and business decisions based on more complete inf ormation. Comparisons between multiple sites or lines can now be made more accurately and dif f icult-to-reach processing operations can be remotely monitored. CMJ
CANADIAN MINING JOURNAL |
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CANADA-US-MEXICO
Argonaut Gold LOOKS TO LEVEL UP
Junior believes Magino project in Ontario has Tier 1 potential By Alisha Hiyate
A
rgonaut Gold may be known as an open pit, heap-leach gold miner, based on its decade-long history successf ully operating several such mines in Mexico. But the junior miner has been carefully putting in place a strategy to take it to the next level. Eyeing a transf ormation f rom a junior miner with higher-cost, shorter-life assets to an intermediate producer with lower-cost, longer-lif e, diversif ied gold operations, Argonaut greenlit construction of its Magino project in Ontario in October. The project located 40 km northwest of Wawa, Ont., is expected to produce 115,000 oz. of gold per year over a 17year mine life, and Argonaut believes it has potential for much more. As it is, Magino will become the junior’s cornerstone asset. For comparison, Argonaut produced more than 186,600 gold-equivalent oz. at its three openpit heap leach operations in Mexico last year. While Magino has long been seen as a core asset in Argonaut’s portfolio, the US$360-380 million price tag was a bit too hefty for the junior – until recently. “A year ago, the biggest question was: ‘How do you move Magino f orward?’” said Dan Symons, Argonaut’s vice-president of corporate development and investor relations, in a recent presentation. “Everyone recognized it’s the most strategic asset in our portf olio – it’s in Canada, it’s right next to Alamos 12 | CANADIAN
MINING JOURNAL
Gold’s Island gold mine, it has great inf rastructure in place – but the capital commitment of between US$360 and US$380 million – how is a company like Argonaut going to fund that?” The company provided a partial answer to that question with an at-market acquisition of Alio Gold that was announced in March and closed in July. The merger brings a new open pit, heap-leach mine into Argonaut’s portf olio, but one that’s located in Nevada and has a longer lif e than its assets in Mexico. Themine, Florida Canyon, will also replace production from Argonaut’s El Castillo mine, slated to close in 2022. Florida Canyon and Argonaut’s other operations are expected to generate cash flow of at least US$142 million through 2022, assuming gold stays at or above US$1,600 per oz. Combined with the company’s existing cash balance of US$172 million (including a boughtdeal equity raise of $126.5 million that closed in July), that will go a long way to paying the tab for Magino. To f ill the gaps, Argonaut closed a US$57.5-million of f ering of senior unsecured convertible debentures in October. And bef ore the end of the year, it expects to close a US$30-million sale of a non-core asset – Ana Paula, in Guerrero, Mexico, which was part of the Alio portfolio. In total, that’s more than US$400 million available for Magino. Lastly, as a saf ety net, Argonaut recently expanded its revolving credit facility
to US$125 million from US$75 million. In addition to the f inancing, other critical elements of the project have also come together in the past year – permitting (including its Schedule 2 f ederal permit this year), First Nations agreements (the company signed impact benef it agreements with f ive groups in March) and detailed engineering. www.canadianminingjournal.com
“Where we were a year ago to where we are today – it’s night and day,” said president and CEO Peter Dougherty in an interview in late October. “It’s amazing what a year can do.” Ambitious plans With a global pandemic raging, it’s undoubtedly a tricky time to execute on an DECEMBER 2020
amibitous transf ormation plan. The biggest damper Covid-19 has placed on the mining sector is a drag on M&A – despite a strong gold price and the recognition that more consolidation is necessary. Pre-pandemic consolidations of big players such as Barrick Gold and Randgold and Newmont and Goldcorp were signs
ABOVE: The San Agustin mine at Argonaut Gold’s El Castillo complex in Mexico. LEFT: Florida Canyon in Nevada. MIDDLE AND RIGHT: Magino, 40 km northwest of Wawa, Ont. CREDIT: ARGONAUT GOLD
CONTINUED ON PAGE 14
CANADIAN MINING JOURNAL |
13
CANADA-US-MEXICO that, as Dougherty puts it, gold investors had “too many items to order off the menu.” With the same pressures on smaller gold miners, Argonaut struck a f riendly deal with cash-strapped Alio. “For us, this is great,” said Dougherty. “It’s diversification into the U.S., Florida Canyon will be the longest lif e of our current projects – and it probably also has greatest exploration upside of our currrent operations, too.” Florida Canyon is currently a highcost mine, but with a modest capital investment, the company believes it can lower operating costs at the project by 50-60¢ per ton (they were $1.41 in the f irst quarter of 2020). In addition to new leach pad construction at Florida Canyon, Argonaut is investing $10 million on a modif ications to the crushing and stacking circuit to reduce ore handling at the operation. Those modif ic tions should be in place in the first quarter of next year.
Is your mine design based on sound geology? .com
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Canyon and Standard have been underexplored, Dougherty says, with no real systematic drilling since the 1990s. To remedy that, Argonaut is conducting a 10,000 f t. drill program this year, with 75,000 ft. planned in 2021. With Florida Canyon in the mix, Argonaut has updated its 2020 guidance to 210,000 to 230,000 gold-equivalent oz. at all-in sustaining costs (AISC) of US$1,225 to US$1,350 per oz.
Peter Dougherty, Argonaut Gold president and CEO. CREDIT: ARGONAUT GOLD
An updated lif e of mine plan f or Florida Canyon that Argonaut released in July outlined a 9.5-year mine life with average annual production of 77,000 oz. gold at all-in sustaining costs of US$1,040 per oz. Theproject also contains the past-producing Standard mine. Both Florida
Tier 1 potential Meanwhile, construction at Magino, is slated to begin in January, with first gold expected in the first half of 2023 While the open pit mine will initially be built as a 10,000 t/d operation, Argonaut is permitting it for 35,000 t/d. As it is, the mine, which is expected to produce 150,000 oz. gold per year in its first five years at an AISC of US$711 per oz., according to a 2017 feasibility study, will be transformational for a company of Argonaut’s size. But based on encouraging drilling results at depth under the planned pit, and the fact that similar Archean gold projects – including Alamos Gold’s Island mine next door – tend to increase in grade at depth and host very long lif e mines, the company believes the project has potential to become a Tier 1 asset producing 300,000 oz. gold per year. “We think that there’s a 20,000-tonneper-day case f or 20 years, producing 300,000 oz. a year. That’sreally where our hopes and dreams lie,” Dougherty says. “Then you don’t have an asset that is just cornerstone meaningf ul to us – I don’t care who you are in this business, that’s an asset you want to have in your portfolio.” Studies are underway looking at the potential to add an underground mining component to Magino and to double throughput to 20,000 t/d. A maiden underground resource is expected by the end of the year and drilling is ongoing to upgrade existing resources. At a gold price of US$1,200 per oz., Magino holds proven and probable reserves of 2.1 million oz. gold in 58.9 million tonnes grading 1.13 g/t gold. Current measured and indicated resources (inclusive of reserves) stand at 4.2 million oz. gold in 144 million tonnes grading 0.91 g/t gold. Inferred resources add 886,000 oz. in 33.2 million tonnes at 0.83 g/t. www.canadianminingjournal.com
Flexibility While Magino would most certainly be Argonaut’s f lagship operation, it’s not the only development project the junior is advancing. The company’s Cerro del Gallo project, in Guanajuato, Mexico, is currently in the permitting stage. Although it’s another open pit heap-leach mine, the US$134-million project boasts a long life of 15.5 years with production of 1.2 million gold-equivalent oz. per year at an AISC of US$677 per oz. With permits expected sometime between late 2020 and mid-2021, Dougherty says Argonaut realized it wouldn’t have the bandwidth to build both it and Magino at the same time while also conducting a large drill program at Florida Canyon. For that reason, Argonaut has opted for an EPC contract for development of Magino – a type of agreement where the contractor takes responsibility f or more of the project, f rom design to procurement and construction – rather than an EPCM (engineering, procurement and
construction management) contract. “We realized if we’re going to have success in all of those regions, we need to have greater potential f lexibility, Dougherty said. “So we went out and partnered with Ausensco Group – they’re the ones who built the Moose River project (now owned by St Barbara) – and they will be helping us adminster and build the Magino project. They will be doing the heavy lifting, 80% of it is going to be on their shoulders.” While Dougherty concedes EPC contracts tend to be more expensive, he says they also take some of the uncertainty out of the process as the contractor comes up with a f ixed price f or the client to pay. Not only does it ensure the project is in the hands of experts in project deliverywho have the necessary teams and contacts to get it done efficiently but the fact that the contractor shares the risk is attractive. “They put their balance sheet at risk with an EPC-type contract, it’s not your balance sheet at risk,” he says. Dougherty says the company began working with Ausenco last September
on the details. “We spent well over a year working on this contract, defining I want this motor, I want this type of lining in the pipe, and def ining how this is going to look,” he says. “Thisis the kind of level you need to go to and time you need to spend (with an EPC contract) – otherwise you could get caught by surprise later on.” So f ar, the company has received a f ixed-bid pricing proposal that covers 50% of Magino’s expected initial capital cost of US$360-380 million. As it stands, because Magino will be one of the f irst projects built early in this new cycle of rising gold prices, Dougherty says it will enjoy the “f irst mover advantage” of better pricing and access to the best teams. “I’m really pleased with where we are today,” Dougherty concludes. “It’s very f ortuitous that we’re in the timing that we are. The gold market is starting to heat up, people are talking about production and growth within this business, and we happen to be one of the lucky ones.” CMJ
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CANADIAN MINING JOURNAL |
15
CANADA-US-MEXICO
Mexico STEPS UP SECURITY
New mining police force launched in light of recent attacks By Alisha Hiyate
M
exico has long been a top mining jurisdiction, but with the country’s mineral bounty comes heightened security risk f rom organized crime. That risk was underlined with a string of robberies that took place between last November and April of this year. Thos attacks included the theft of gold and silver doré bars in transit f rom Fresnillo’s Noche Buena mine in November and its Penmont mine in March, and an audacious robbery of Alamos Gold’s Mulatos mine in March that reportedly took less than 10 minutes. In the wake of these incidents, the federal government has responded to pressure to step up security, putting in place a new police force specially trained to protect mining operations.
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In September, Mexico’s Federal Protection Service (SPF), part of the federal public security ministry, graduated the f irst class of 118 of f icer specializing in the security of mining operations. “TheSPF has highly trained police officers who will now also join the care of the mining sector,” said Alfonso Durazo Montano, Mexico’s then-minister of security, at the graduation ceremony in late September. “We know that the security of these facilities is delicate and requires high specialization.” At the ceremony, Durazo (who resigned in October to run for governor of Sonora) added that the Security Ministry, the Ministry of the Economy and the Above: Officers from Mexico’s Federal Protection Service in training. CREDIT: FEDERAL PROTECTION SERVICE
Mining Chamber of Mexico (Camimex) had worked together to create specialized security strategies for the country’s mining regions. Many mining operations are located in remote regions and isolated communities, and the private security f orces they employ lack the weaponry and logistical, intelligence and operational capacity of organized crime – read drug cartels – in these regions. Rather than a brand new f orce, the SPF has added the option of mining-focused training to its regular training program. Thebulk of SPF officer are tasked with protecting ministry buildings and facilities, as well as some government off icials, says Alan Zamayoa, an associate analyst with consultancy Control Risks who’s based in Mexico City. www.canadianminingjournal.com
Thefirst class of officer that graduated from the program were initially deployed in mid-October in Sonora state around the organized crime hot spot of Caborca, at Fresnillo’s La Herradura mine, with plans to train and deploy more officer to other regions in the future. Alamos Gold, which was the victim of a well-organized and co-ordinated robbery in April – where thieves targeted doré bars that were being loaded f or transport and then escaped in a light plane that landed on the mine’s airstrip – says the mining police are not currently being deployed at its Mulatos mine. In an emailed response to questions, the company’s vice-president of public af fairs, Rebecca Thompson,says Alamos has “security procedures and protocols in place that allow us to remain vigilant to maintain our operation as saf ely as possible, and we are using experienced, private security personnel with the support of Mexico’s military and state police institutions.” Asked whether the company believes the mining squad could make a differenc f or security at the operation, Thompson responded: “As with many companies in the sector, our team in Mexico is in touch with the leadership of this new institution to discuss the scope of this initiative and implementation plan.” The company was aware of the initiative before it was launched. “The issue of security was a subject increasingly raised by the mining sector to the f ormer Undersecretary of Mines, Francisco Quiroga, and this was an initiative that he supported and promoted to our sector, in partnership with the public security institutions,” Thompson said (CMJ also approached Fresnillo f or comment but did not receive a response.) Notably, the introduction of a specialized police f orce f or the mining sector comes under Mexico’s lef t-of -centre President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who hasn’t been f riendly to DECEMBER 2020
mining companies and has gone so far as to prohibit the issuing of any new mining concessions. “His relationship with the sector is not great, but with all this pressure from these incidents, his administration decided to create this mining police corps.” Zamayoa said. Still, Zamayoa added the size of the force is unlikely to make much of a diffe ence for mining companies and the 270
plus mining operations in Mexico. In addition, it’s not clear what their strategy will be to tackle crime targeting mining enterprises, Zamayoa said. In line with overall security policy in Mexico, however, he said it’s likely that the force will be deployed as incidents happen, going from hot spot to hot spot. Of course, security risk is not equal Top: Alamos Gold’s Mulatos mine, in Sonora state. CREDIT: ALAMOS GOLD
Bottom: Fresnillo’s La Herradura mine, in Sonora. CREDIT: FRESNILLO
across Mexico. The priority areas f or the deployment of the mining police are Guerrero, Jalisco, Chihuahua, Sonora, Durango, San Luis Potosi and Coahuila, according to the newspaper El Pais. While no detailed plan f or the rollout of the specialized squad has been announced, the f ormer Security Minister Durazo said in October that in addition to expanding the force to provide security at more operations, the goverment also plans to extend the program to cover ports and airports – targeting recruitment of up to 50,000 of f icer over six years. According to Mexico Business, Durazo said the expansion that would be funded through service fees paid by companies. However, Durazo’s resignation, as well as the transf er of a newly created police agency called the National Guard to military control from the Security Ministry in October, casts uncertainty on the f uture of the mining police, Zamayoa says. “With these two changes, it is unclear whether the mining police will continue to increase in number or will still be operating because several mining companies have a good relationship with the army,” he says. “So it will be interesting to see – their relationship with mining companies may overlap or there could be competition between them to provide services.” The good news is that despite the high-profile nature of the recent robberies, Zamayoa says it doesn’t appear that mining companies are being targeted more. Rather, the attacks are more of a function of the overall criminal activity in any local region. “Attacking a mining site might be attractive for organized crime groups, but it is highly likely that such an attack would be translated into a reaction f rom the government, particularly f rom the central government – either the military or the National Guard, or now these mining police,” something that criminal groups would rather avoid, Zamayoa said. CMJ CANADIAN MINING JOURNAL |
17
COSTING
KEEPING COSTS IN CHECK Costmine analysis suggests mining operations should target a few key areas for the biggest cost savings By Brad Terhune
U
nderstanding your operating costs is crucial to your ability to manage them. Managers should routinely ask themselves questions such as: What are my costs? Which costs have the greatest impact? and Where can I make the biggest difference for my operation’s bottom line? Thisarticle is intended to provide the reader with some context regarding the impact of supply costs on the overall costs of an operation. When we examine operating costs, we see that they can broadly be categorized into supplies, hourly labour, salaried labour, equipment operation, and miscellaneous. Hourly labour is commonly the largest of these categories, often comprising one-third or more of the total operating cost on a per ton of ore basis. Labour costs, however, are relatively f ixed when compared to supply costs and the supplies component of equipment operation. Supply costs can also easily exceed one-third of the total operating cost on a per ton of ore basis, however these costs provide managers with more opportunities to improve their cost structure. To highlight these relationships, we have studied five surface mine models that were compiled using CostMine’s Sherpa for Surf ace sof tware application. The models ref lect f ive production rates between 2,000 t/d and 32,000 t/d, and the underlying
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cost inputs for each of the models are consistent – i.e. for fuel, lube, sundry items, explosives, etc. All models were developed using a 4 to 1 stripping ratio. Cost Observations Perhaps the most effective way to illustrate cost relationships is to first consider the broad cost categories outlined in the introduction, followed by more detailed breakdowns of the supply and equipment operation categories. Consider the cost proportions shown in Figure 1. As one might expect when considering cost line items, Figure 1 shows us that the proportion of equipment operating costs increases with the production level, and the proportion of labour costs diminish with the production level, on a per ton of ore basis. Moreover, we see that miscellaneous cost items remain consistent (these are a f ixed percentage of the total operating cost, as per the modelling sof tware used f or this study), and supply costs at this high level vary only slightly across the five production levels Although informative, the granularity of the cost categories illustrated in Figure 1 is not suf f icien to provide a f ull picture of costs, specifically those related to supplies. For example, equipment operating costs include machine parts, ground www.canadianminingjournal.com
Operating cost proportions by production level (% of total operating cost) 2,000 tpd 4,000 tpd 8,000 tpd 16,000 tpd 32,000 tpd
S u p p lie s
1 4 .1 %
1 5 .5 %
1 5 .0 %
1 4 .9 %
1 6 .2 %
H o u r ly L a b o r
3 9 .4 %
3 6 .5 %
3 4 .8 %
3 3 .2 %
2 7 .8 %
S a la r ie d L a b o r
1 4 .6 %
1 3 .6 %
9 .9 %
8 .5 %
7 .8 %
E q u ip m e n t O p e r a t io n
2 2 .9 %
2 5 .3 %
3 1 .2 %
3 4 .3 %
3 9 .1 %
9 .1 %
9 .1 %
9 .1 %
9 .1 %
9 .1 %
1 0 0 .0 %
1 0 0 .0 %
1 0 0 .0 %
1 0 0 .0 %
1 0 0 .0 %
M is c e lla n e o u s
Figure 1: Operating cost proportions by production level. The equipment operation category is inclusive of its supply component.
Detailed operating cost proportions by mine size (% of total operating cost) 2,000 tpd 4,000 tpd 8,000 tpd 16,000 tpd 32,000 tpd
S u p p lie s
1 4 .1 %
1 5 .5 %
1 5 .0 %
1 4 .9 %
1 6 .2 %
H o u r ly L a b o r
3 9 .4 %
3 6 .6 %
3 4 .8 %
3 3 .2 %
2 7 .8 %
S a la r ie d L a b o r
1 4 .6 %
1 3 .6 %
9 .9 %
8 .5 %
7 .8 %
7 .3 %
7 .6 %
9 .0 %
8 .1 %
1 1 .2 %
F u e l
1 0 .1 %
1 1 .6 %
1 4 .3 %
1 6 .7 %
1 3 .5 %
T ir e s
2 .5 %
2 .7 %
3 .7 %
4 .9 %
9 .3 %
L u b e
3 .0 %
3 .3 %
4 .2 %
4 .6 %
5 .2 %
M is c e lla n e o u s
9 .1 %
9 .1 %
9 .1 %
9 .1 %
9 .1 %
1 0 0 .0 %
1 0 0 .0 %
1 0 0 .0 %
1 0 0 .0 %
1 0 0 .0 %
E q u ip m e n t O p e r a t io n
Figure 2: Detailed operating cost proportions by production level. The equipment operation category is exclusive of its supply components: i.e. fuel, lube and tires.
engaging tools, fuel, tires, and lube. We see that three of these categories – fuel, tires, and lube – are supply items. As such, we have extracted these to provide the next level of granularity needed to fully understand supply costs (Figure 2). Please note that equipment maintenance labour is considered under the labour category. Fuel, by a significant margin, carries the largest equipment operating cost for all models, although the observed non-linear cost trend highlights that fleet configurations may also have a significant effect on fuel costs, i.e. equipment types and capacities. Fleet configurations may also be a noteworthy factor with regards to tires, as the proportion of costs allocated to tires increases with fleet capacities Figures 1 and 2 tell us that the proportion of operating costs attributable to supplies remains relatively steady across the full spectrum of modelled production rates, however it is important to examine the supply cost breakdown to see where managers may have their greatest impact, regardless of the mine size. Figure 3 shows this final level of granularity for each of the modelled production levels. Thefigure highlights that the largest contribution to supply costs is the combined ore and waste bulk explosives cost (blasting agents), which contributes between 62% and 77.5% of the total supply cost for the modelled operations. DECEMBER 2020
Conversely, we see that blasting accessories (detonating cord, boosters, etc.), drill bits, and drill steel have minimal impact on supply costs, particularly for larger operations. Discussion Managers are always looking for inventive ways to cut operating costs. In our view, there are a limited number of approaches that may be of value to an operation: 1. Fleet or plant reconfigurations 2. Personnel reductions 3. Supply cost reductions Fleet reconf igurations require a signif icant initial expense and are time consuming. The additional capital outlay requires a life of mine that ensures potential operating cost savings that will eventually surpass capital outlay. While these hurdles may truly be appropriate f or some operations, it is generally best that engineers and cost estimators determine the best f leet option prior to mine commissioning. As discussed above, personnel requirements are usually fixed, both in size and cost. Thatis, a minimum number of people are required to operate a mine and their wages must conform to that of the region of operation. In our view, personnel reduc-
CONTINUED ON PAGE 20
CANADIAN MINING JOURNAL |
19
Re-c
COSTING Supply cost detail 2,000 tpd 0.5% 3.9%
9.1%
4,000 tpd
13.5%
1.6% 1.5% 2.6% 1.1% 0.2%
9.4%
0.5% 3.9%
9.1%
8,000 tpd
13.4%
1.5% 1.5% 2.6% 1.1% 0.2%
9.4%
4.2%
4.3%
3.9%
3.9%
48.5%
0.6% 4.3%
9.1%
16,000 tpd
14.8%
1.0% 1.1% 1.8% 1.2% 0.2%
6.6% 3.0%
0.8% 3.0% 4.7% 2.1% 1.9%
9.1%
16.1%
0.7% 0.8% 1.3% 0.8% 0.2%
2.7%
48.6%
53.7%
58.5%
32,000 tpd 0.9% 3.4% 3.2% 1.5% 1.3%
9.1%
16.7%
0.5% 0.5% 0.9% 0.9% 0.3%
n Explosives – Ore
n Drill Steel – Ore
n Drill Bits – Waste
n Caps – Ore
n Explosives – Waste
n Drill Steel – Waste
n Primers – Ore
n Caps – Waste
n Sundry items
n Detonation Cord – Ore
n Primers – Waste
n Drill Bits – Ore
n Detonation Cord – Waste
60.7%
ACCURATE REAL TIME MEASUREMENT OF PRODUCTION & INVENTORY
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MINING JOURNAL
tions are a last-ditch effort to reduce costs in severely struggling mines. One exception would be a personnel reduction due to fleet or plant reconfiguration as per item one abov Supply cost reductions provide managers with their best opportunity f or improving the economics of an operation. Reductions may generally be realized by a) rethinking and reworking mine processes to minimize supply consumption and/or b) direct price negotiations with vendors centred around longer-term contracts and volume discounts. Multiple line item cost reductions may be pursued in tandem, however this article demonstrates that only a handful of supply items generate the bulk of the cost outlay: fuel, tires, and blasting agents. We suggest that it would be beneficial to direct special focus to these. While costs for other items such as drill bits or blasting accessories may be improved upon, their impact on the bottom line will be somewhat marginal. As an example, let us consider fuel and drill bits for the 16,000 t/d production level in this study of surface mines. If we reduced the fuel cost per ton of ore by 10% (initially US$2.16 per ton), the operation sees the benefit of US22¢ per ton of ore, but if we reduce the drill bit cost per ton by 10% (initially US8¢ per ton of ore), the mine would see a benefit of only US0.8¢ per ton of ore Without a doubt, controlling supply costs at the mine level can have a significant impact on the profitability of a project and its success. As supported by the example above, each cost centre should be examined for cost savings, recognizing some of these will have a bigger impact on the bottom line than others. CMJ Brad Terhune is a cost analyst and senior geologist with Costmine (www.costmine.com), part of the Glacier Resource Innovation Group, based in Spokane, Wash. He can be reached at bterhune@glacierrig.com or 509-328-8023.
n
www.canadianminingjournal.com
SOFTWARE
REPORT
DECEMBER 2020
p22
Eclipse launches SourceOne
p24
Making the move to the cloud
p28
Simplifying drillhole planning
p30
MineWare’s intelligent shovel monitoring technology
CANADIAN MINING JOURNAL |
21
SOFTWARE
SourceOne promises solution to miners’
DATA DILEMMA By Alisha Hiyate
T
he amount of data that is produced at mine sites has prolif erated in recent years, but the question of how to manage that information still looms large. The problem is that as sof tware applications and connected equipment have multiplied – as essential as they are to eff iciency and productivity – they tend to work in isolation f rom each other. In order to integrate data from differen applications so they can use it more effe tively, many of the larger mining companies have resorted to developing their own internal solutions, says Rudy Moctezuma, chief business development office of software developer Eclipse Mining. 22 | CANADIAN
MINING JOURNAL
“There hasn’t been a platform that can solve what they’re trying to do, which is integrating data from all these sources so they can use it – they have had to do it themselves,” he explained in an interview with CMJ in November. “However, mining organizations are not technology companies, so while they can develop some of these solutions to solve a specific problem, it’s really difficu for them to maintain.” Eclipse Mining was started in 2018 to addresss this issue. In February, the startup launched SourceOne – a vendor-neutral, open platf orm f or the mining industry that integrates, centralizes and organizes data in one location, where
it is ready to be consumed and used in analytic solutions like Microsoft PowerBI or Tableau. “It’s an industry platf orm which integrates data f rom dif f erent sources of the mine, it organizes and manages the data so the mining organizations can use all the inf ormation to make decisions,” Moctezuma says. Storing and linking data from all areas of the mine – from mine planning to operations, the processing plant, stockpile management and geotechnical data – makes new insights possible. By having data in near real time, the upper management of the mine can make sure goals are met and, ultimately, imwww.canadianminingjournal.com
prove production. “SourceOne standardizes business process workf lows to help them gain better understanding in making these decisions,” Moctezuma says. The solution, he adds, is a “gamechanger” f or the industry, in part, because the f unctionality enabled by SourceOne is also a pathway to advanced analytics, machine learning and artif icia intelligence applications. “In order to use those advanced analytics, you f irst need to gather inf ormation and clean it to understand it. This is not just data storage, it’s context as well that you need. SourceOne was built with analytics and future technology in mind.” (The platf orm itself also has analytic capabilities.) In addition, he says SourceOne would be useful in facilitating the centralization of data needed for the remote operations centres that are becoming more common in the industry. Importantly, there’s a built-in data validation f unction to ensure data that’s being transferred is reliable. “As data’s coming in, we validate it automatically through some workflows that we construct for the client. So they automatically get warnings to check the data (if something is off),” Moctezuma explains Roll-out Eclipse was cofounded in 2018 by chairman Fred Banfield, a mining software pioneer that cofounded Mintec in the 1970s. The creator of the popular MineSight mine planning software, Mintec was acquired by Stockholm-based technology group Hexagon in 2014. Eclipse’s entire leadership team is from Mintec and spent three years researching and developing SourceOne, including looking at solutions that have worked in other industries, Moctezuma says. “Even though Eclipse is new, we understand mining and the complex technology that helps drive this industry and the complex processes that are involved in operating a mine.” One of the biggest f eatures of the SourceOne platf orm is the ability to f acilitate remote work and access to data in a multi-user environment that makes collaboration easier. “As you can imagine it’s not surprising there’s been a lot of interest of DECEMBER 2020
Rudy Moctezuma
As you can imagine it’s not surprising there’s been a lot of interest of SourceOne during the pandemic – the need to have access to data from any location, be it at home, at t e airport at t e o ce is critical.” – RUDY MOCTEZUMA, CHIEF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT OFFICER, ECLIPSE MINING
SourceOne during the pandemic – the need to have access to data f rom any location, be it at home, at the airport, at the office, is critical Ironically, although the solution is exactly what miners need during the pandemic – enabling remote access to all data in real time or near real time – the travel and site access restrictions that are in place because of Covid-19 have slowed down its roll-out since it was launched just before the pandemic in February. While there will still has to be an onsite presence to implement the technology so Eclipse can understand the business process and the problems the client is trying to solve, the company says it has figure out ways to complete the majority of the process remotely. Moctezuma says Eclipse has scheduled deployments of the platf orm, starting in the new year, with a range of major and intermediate companies. The scoping and implementation process takes f our to eight weeks on average, depending on how widely the client wants to implement the platf orm across their operation. Each subsequent area the company wants to integrate (technical services, the processing plant, etc.), would take another two to four weeks.
Other features At this point, Eclipse is confident its solution is unique in the mining market place. “Other vendors also promote platforms, but what they are what is called product platforms. Thedifference is a product platform usually integrates their own products and sometimes some third-party data in a limited way,” Moctezuma says. “Thes solutions do not share all the data either – inputs, history, etc. – which truly belong to the mining organization and which they also need.” In contrast, as an industry platf orm, SourceOne integrates data regardless of the product, vendor or data format, and the client isn’t forced to go all-in with one vendor’s applications. “We don’t require them to change products – our intent is to work with their existing solutions, minimizing the change management. We’re trying to make it as easy as possible.” Other commercial databases that weren’t specifically built for mining can’t handle the vast amount of data and data formats generated in mining. At a basic level, the platform can work with data in any f ormat by importing f iles directly, whether they are text f iles ASCII files, Excel files or something else. At the highest level, it can enable more advanced, two-way communication between the platform and software applications. At this level, in addition to the data itself, the history, context and process that went into creating that data, including the user version of the software that created it, is also captured. For higher level integration, Moctezuma says Eclipse needs to have an agreement with the software vendor. Th company has a number of non-disclosure agreements in place with vendors who are interested in integrating with SourceOne, a partnership that would give them more information and better intelligence to build their business. “They may have APIs currently, but not all the inf ormation they need – maybe just tonnes and grade – and not all the context,” Moctezuma notes. “Instead of updating all their development with their APIs (application programming interface) they can just link to CMJ SourceOne.” CANADIAN MINING JOURNAL |
23
SOFTWARE
MAKING THE MOVE TO
cloud-based software By Robert Patterson
Johanna Shikomba, a geologist at B2Gold’s Otjikoto project in Namibia, logs chips using the MX Deposit android application on a Samsung tablet. CREDIT: B2GOLD
A
s mining and exploration companies become more dependent on software to run their business, there is a push to move towards cloudbased platf orms as opposed to managing sof tware systems on-premise. This article explores the benefits and drawbacks around moving your software systems to the cloud and presents some of the key considerations and approach options around integrating these platforms into your organization and day-to-day operations. In my former career, my colleagues and I spent years travelling the world installing on-premise drillhole data management sof tware f or mining and exploration companies. Through that experience we gained a good understanding of the challenges that companies f aced with 24 | CANADIAN
MINING JOURNAL
the technology that was available at the time. Those experiences motivated us to start Minalytix and build a Software-asa-Service platf orm named MX Deposit to help companies better manage their drillhole and sample data using modern technology. What is cloud-based software? Simply put, cloud-based software means that the sof tware that you are using is hosted online, usually on an established cloud platform like Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsof t Azure, or Google Cloud. Also referred to as Software as a Service (SaaS), you are effectively renting the use of the software through a subscription as opposed to buying it outright and paying
an annual maintenance f ee f or bug f ixe and support. Cloud sof tware is typically accessed through a web browser and often offers mobile apps so that you can work with your data offlin When we founded Minalytix in 2013, the majority of mining and exploration companies that we worked with were cloud-averse. The main reason f or this was concern around data security; companies were af raid of being hacked and having their data stolen. Over the past f ew years, mining and exploration companies have become more open to the idea of using these solutions and storing their data on the cloud, due to the key benefits that they offer over their on-premise competition, including: n Accessibility: You can access your cloud-based sof tware f rom anywhere in the world using any device that has a web browser. n Af f ordability and f lexibility Cloud software does not require an up-front capital investment and instead offers diffe ent subscription options which allow you to easily predict and manage your costs. This is beneficial to exploration and mining companies that need to throttle usage to support their business activities (e.g. drilling season). Also, if a given solution is not working well for your team, you can take your data and cancel your subscription without having to worry about walking away from a heavy investment. n Less overhead: You do not need a server to host your application, nor do you need a resource to manage the server, install updates, or take backups. All these aspects are covered by the vendor. Thisallows you to f ocus on your core business www.canadianminingjournal.com
strategies without having to worry about also being an IT expert. n Staying current: Since there is nothing f or you to install on your local device, when you login to your sof tware you will have access to any of the new f eatures or f ixes that have been introduced by the vendor. A great example of this occurred recently when Intuit’s Quickbooks Online platform introduced their COVID-19 Relief resources, allowing subscribers to easily learn about relief opportunities being of f ered through the government and how these things impacted their business. n Security: Despite companies having concerns around hosting their data on a cloud platf orm, most cloud providers employ security measures that are of ten beyond the capacity and af f ordability of most businesses, including enterprise level companies. While there are several benef its to using cloud-based software, there are also some potential drawbacks (outside of security concerns), which can prevent some companies from making the move. Thes include:
n Connectivity: Cloud software requires an internet connection. If your device goes offline then you will need to use a locally installed app to collect and manage your data until you get connected to a network. Offlin apps are usually built for Android and iOS devices (phones and tablets) and may not be available for your laptop or desktop computer. n Customization: Most cloud-based sof tware is conf igurable, allowing you some degree of flexibility when using the software. However, since these solutions are often used by a large and diverse client base, company-specific requirements and intricacies can be challenging to have incorporated into the solution. n Higher costs over time: Much like leasing a vehicle instead of buying outright, subscription-based sof tware will cost more over time. Subscription costs can also increase over time to account for inflation or new features
Approach Options and Key Considerations Organizations may use diff erent approaches when moving towards cloud-
based solutions. While some are willing to go all-in, others may elect to take a slower phase-based approach, moving only certain functions or datasets to the cloud, or transitioning selected departments to use cloud-based apps. In our experience, enterprise-level companies have more comprehensive policies in place that dictate how software systems and data are managed, especially when it comes to system access and data security. In these cases, moving apps or data to the cloud requires a lot of planning and co-ordination. On the f lip side, junior explorers and mid-tier mining companies typically have much less existing IT inf rastructure and policy around how software and data are managed, allowing them to adopt and start using cloud-based solutions more quickly. We have had several clients sign-up and start using MX Deposit the very next day. When thinking about migrating your software and data to the cloud, there are several things that need to be considered including: CONTINUED ON PAGE 26
Accelerating Digital Transformation in the Mining Industry for Process Optimization Achieve higher production goals with our mining software solutions for better engineering data management and improved fixed asset performance, from initial design to mining operation.
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DECEMBER 2020
CANADIAN MINING JOURNAL |
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SOFTWARE
Orix Geoscience’s Michaela Kuuskman logging drill core at a project site in Quebec using MX Deposit. CREDIT: ORIX GEOSCIENCE
The reason(s) f or moving to the cloud: While there are several benef its, companies that already have an established IT infrastructure, resources and strict policies around security and change management typically have a more difficul time transitioning to cloud solutions. It is important to be able to quantify/qualify the benefit that your organization will receive if you decide to make the move. n Integration with existing on-premise systems and data: Organizations that run several different systems often need to be able to integrate the individual data sets. When considering the move to a cloud solution, you need to understand how you can access your data. Some cloud solutions allow direct integration through an application programming interface (API) while others may only allow you to export your data to a set of files. Thisis important since you do not want to introduce new process or work for your team to achieve the same results that they are already achieving today. n
n Change management: Depending on the size of your organization, this is an especially important consideration. Companies with larger employee groups will need more time and resources to ensure a smooth and successf ul transition. Even in the case of simple applications, small changes to the look, feel, or flow can result in frustration and negative user experiences. Depending on the size of your team, a phased roll-out approach may yield more positive results since you will have an opportunity to review feedback from your pilot group and introduce the appropriate corrections before introducing the change to the entire user base.
n Disaster recovery: Ensuring that your data is secure and backed up on a regular basis is important. Work with your vendor to understand how this is being managed within your subscription and incorporate this into your disaster recovery plans. Cloud solutions are becoming more popular in mining and exploration, and in some cases are becoming vital to the success of these businesses since they allow them to get up and running quickly and cost-ef f ectively, and provide f lexibility as projects change. As the technology and solution offerings continue to evolve, organizations will be able to leverage more and more value out of their subscriptions. CMJ
Rob Patterson is the COO & Co-Founder of Minalytix Inc, a Sudbury, Ont.-based software company that focuses on delivering data management solutions to the mining and exploration industries. He can be reached at robert.patterson@ minalytix.net.
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CANADIAN MINING JOURNAL |
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2020-04-08 4:07 PM
SOFTWARE
SIMPLIFYING DRILLHOLE PLANNING Micromine explains the ins and outs of using drill modelling software By Holly McKague
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MINING JOURNAL
exploration; shallow programs are a good first pass, giving an overall picture of the property (f or example, grade trends and general orientations) with little detail, while deep programs allow the exploration team to collect detailed information that is depth and orientation specific Using an exploration modelling sof tware such as Micromine, shallow reconnaissance programs can be planned with ease. A pattern of regularly spaced holes is defined and can be automatically generated in a modelling product, with control over their orientation and spacing. Input data is as simple as deciding on your hole and line spacing (considering budgetary constraints and size of the area of interest), extents of the project boundary and hole depths. The last thing to consider is where the collar of each hole is located. If your topography is known, Micromine can simply assign a Z value to each collar
based on where it would intersect with the topography. Otherwise, you can set a constant value for elevation. Using a 3-D product allows you to adjust the pattern using visual cues, such as interactively shif ting the origin and adding or subtracting holes as needed. With the right parameters ready to go, this process only takes a matter of minutes! Planning deep hole campaigns While planning deep hole programs is more intensive than shallow programs, the process is still straightforward. Ther are two main types of prospective holes to plan – holes that originate at the collar and extend at some orientation (from collar) and holes that start at a target and project to the collar (f rom target). Both types can be planned with a f ew simple steps in Micromine, using digital strings to represent the hole trajectory. Definin these strings to intersect orebodies or relwww.canadianminingjournal.com
I m a g e : i S t o c k i m g e s .c o m
P
lanning drillholes for a project was once a tedious process. However, with modern technology, planning drillholes – be it a shallow reconnaissance program or a series of deep drillholes – can be accomplished with ease. Drilling in widely spaced projects that doesn’t require extensive targeting can be planned using an approach appropriate f or wide, shallow drillholes in a classic grid pattern (known as a reconnaissance program). In an advanced project where targeted drilling is required, a deeper drillholes may be more suitable or required. Thes drillholes are generally closely spaced and cover a smaller area compared to reconnaissance drilling programs. Targeted drilling is generally geared towards targeting a certain structure at some depth and deviation in the drill path with increasing depth must be accounted for. Both targeted and shallow drillhole programs concentrate on dif f erent stages of
I m a g e : i S t o c k i m g e s .c o m
1. Topographic digital terrain model (DTM) with orebodies and deep drillholes. 2. Planned (strings in blue) and drilled holes in section with silhouettes of orebodies and topography. 3. Planned shallow reconnaissance drilling pattern with overlain polygons representing property boundaries. CREDIT: MICROMINE
1
3
2
evant f eatures is as easy as a point-andclick action by working through easily def ined cross sections in your project. It is common to start at one end of the project and move through the deposit in predefined section increments The natural way to plan a hole when the collar location is fixed, is to start the hole at the collar and extend the string for the defined length, initial orientation and optionally, deviation. Alternatively, if the target location is fixed and the collar is variable, the hole is effectively planned in reverse. Thetrick to keep in mind while planning from the target holes is to flip the string direction once it has been planned, as you won’t actually be drilling from the target, but f rom the collar location you def ined via the string. Micromine also provides the option to extend the string beyond the target to appropriately defin the waste boundary. Af ter you have stepped through your sections, def ined your representative strings, and are satisf ied with the locaDECEMBER 2020
The planned drillhole database can be easily packaged for delivery to drilling contractors, ensuring a seamless and successful drilling program. Any project can also easily be shared with colleagues or relevant parties and viewed using Micromine MFX. tions and orientations of your proposed drillholes, the next step is to annotate the strings with relevant drillhole data. Such data can include labels f or collar name, length of hole, azimuth, and inclination. Theseannotations give a concise snapshot of the area that any user can quickly get information from. The f inal step af ter annotating the string layer is to convert the representa-
tive strings into collar and survey drillhole files. Thismay seem daunting, but is quite straightf orward. Simply input the string f ile you just created while planning your drillholes and def ine the names of your output collar and survey files. Micromine internally def ines each hole by linking successive downhole surveys with a series of 3-D spherical arcs (also known as the minimum curvature method). Thes arcs are then approximated to produce straight-line segments. All planned holes will then appear as regular drillholes in your project, including collar names, azimuth and inclination data and can be separated into its own “planned� drillhole database. This data can be easily packaged f or delivery to drilling contractors ensuring a seamless and successful drilling program. Any project can also easily be shared with colleagues or relevant parties and viewed using Micromine MFX. CMJ Holly McKague is a technical consultant and product specialist with Micromine. CANADIAN MINING JOURNAL |
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SOFTWARE
Argus payload technology IMPROVES
oilsands production efficiency By Clare Masters
S
upporting more than 100 mine sites worldwide, including both hard rock and soft rock applications copper, iron ore, diamonds, gold, bauxite, platinum, and coal, the Argus monitoring system is designed to manage payload, mine compliance and machine health for electric and hydraulic loaders across all makes and models. A MineWare solution, Argus is improving payload perf ormance at one of Canada’s largest oilsands mining sites, with trials also under way at another oilsands site of a similar size. Justin Johnson, MineWare’s manager of customer value, says the f irst oilsands installation of Argus on six P&H shovels is helping site teams to reduce costs and move material and waste more efficientl Machine operators, supervisors and other personnel, onsite and remotely, are embracing the intuitive, real-time monitoring technology, Johnson said, and another three systems will be delivered onsite and installed on CAT shovels by the end of 2020. “In under twelve months, it’s promising to see how quickly the team has adopted Argus and its ability to provide instant feedback to machine operators inside the cab while supporting
30 | CANADIAN
MINING JOURNAL
the customer’s growing remote teams,” Johnson said. “Before Argus, operators relied on manual processes and truck weights only, which were unreliable and inaccurate, resulting in poor payload management, more truck overloads and underloads, and significant variations in operator performance. He adds: “From day one, shovel operators were incredibly interested in how our system worked as well as how easily it could improve their performance on every pass and every shift.” Argus supports continual improvement and benchmarking for supervisors and management with KPI scorecards and reporting. Sustained results In less than 12 months, the site has maintained over 90% of their loads within desired target payload ranges. Making more accurate decisions, faster Minimizing or eliminating operator variation and human error is a key driver in the continued digitization and automation of mining. “Smart monitoring systems such as Argus allow mine sites to make more accurate decisions faster, boost efficienc and reduce human error,” said Johnson. In addition, connected solutions demand integration and interoperability, and the interoperable nature of the Argus system allows mines to use and share the data collected to make better decisions across the entire value chain. “By leveraging open and interoperable platforms, we can now share real-time, actionable information between systems, people and processes,” he said. www.canadianminingjournal.com
I m a g e : i S t o c k i m g e s .c o m
As digitization and automation continue to transform mining, Canada’s oilsands industry is one of the latest to adopt intelligent shovel monitoring technology to improve their payload management.
1
3
Figure 3 While a truck load is in progress, Argus’ truck fill bar alerts the operator to any minor (orange)or major (red) overloads while a truck load is in progress. This reduces truck overloads and underloads, improves cycle and load time, payload accuracy and overall shovel output.
Figure 1 Argus’ colour-coded, in-cab software display provides actionable information to the operator. The dynamic truck fill bar to the far right of the display helps the operator hit precise loading targets first time, every time. Figure 2 The fill bar shows the operator the payload of each fill in real time, together with the total amount loaded. Each truck’s name and capacity is clearly shown below the fill bar.
2
4
Before Argus, operators relied on manual processes and truck weights only, which were unreliable and inaccurate, resulting in poor payload management, more truck overloads and underloads, and significant variations in operator performance.”
5
– JUSTIN JOHNSON, MANAGER OF CUSTOMER VALUE, MINEWARE
I m a g e : i S t o c k i m g e s .c o m
Figures 4 and 5 show the reduction in overloading or underloading shovels after using Argus.
“Most mines run mixed f leets of equipment, with multiple mining technology solutions monitoring dif f erent aspects of their operations up and down the mining value chain. For a mine to truly optimize and take the next step towards automation, the data needs to be shared up, down and across for it to deliver the most value.” Argus can connect and integrate with any third-party system via a standard API, including leading global solutions such as Modular DISPATCH, Caterpillar MineStar, Wenco Fleet DECEMBER 2020
Management System, RPM Xecute, Leica Jigsaw and Maptek Vulcan. “We’re looking forward to continuing our work in the oilsands mining space and helping more sites improve their payload management, reduce costs and drive whole-of -mine efficiencies,” Johnson said In North America alone, MineWare’s intelligent monitoring systems Argus and Pegasys, together with our artificial intelligence-based drill automation platform Phoenix AI, now support 17 major mining companies across 35 unique mining operations including coal, iron ore, oilsands, diamonds, gold, aggregates and copper. CMJ Clare Masters is the marketing director for MineWare. She can be reached at +61 424 261 947 or c.masters@mineware.com. CANADIAN MINING JOURNAL |
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DECEMBER 2020 | VOLUME 1 | ISSUE 11
ON THE MOVE
S P O N S O R E D
B Y
ERIK BUCKLAND Senior Client Director Global Mining Recruitment
+1 416.854.8468 erik.buckland@lincolnstrategic.com W: www.lincolnstrategic.com M: E:
Executive, Management and Board Changes in Canada’s Mining Sector
TOP MOVES
MANAGEMENT CHANGES
–pg 1 –
–pg 1 –
» Simon Houle is now the
chief geologist for Azimut Exploration; Francois Gagnon has been promoted to the role of project manager.
» Trevor Perkins is now
exploration manager for Azincourt Energy.
» Ian Harris has been named VP
Daniel Chandler
Michael Carew
of engineering with Benchmark Metals.
» Eugene Flood is now a technical
Jaimie Donovan has been named a director of Dundee Precious Metals. Donovan has over 20 years of experience as a mining engineer, and has held roles in operations, technical services and corporate development. She previously served as the head of growth and evaluations for Barrick Gold in North America and held the role of VP of evaluations for the gold major. She also served as a principal and head of evaluations for Waterton Global Resource Management.
32 | CANADIAN
The board of the Nickel Institute has elected Daniel Chandler, commodity manager for diversified miner South32 Marketing, as chairperson. Chandler has been working with the Nickel Institute for almost 10 years. The institute is a global association of the leading primary nickel producers and aims to promote and support the use of nickel. Prior to South32, Chandler held various roles with BHP Billiton.
MINING JOURNAL
–pg 2 –
MANAGEMENT MOVES
TOP MOVES IN THIS ISSUE
Jaimie Donovan
BOARD ANNOUNCEMENTS
Michael (Mick) Carew has been appointed VP of corporate and strategic development with Talisker Resources. Carew joins Talisker following seven years as a senior mining analyst with Haywood Securities. Carew holds a PhD in economic geology and has held exploration roles with BHP, Ivanhoe and Mount Isa Mines, among others.
advisor to Blue Star Gold.
» Canada Nickel has named
Pierre-Philippe Dupont VP of sustainability and Wendy Kaufman as CFO. The company has also nominated three independent, non-executive directors: Kulvir Gill, Jen Morais and Francisca Quinn.
» Tom Devlin, the CFO of
Canada Silver Cobalt Works and Granada Gold, has passed away.
» The board of California
Gold Mining has terminated Vishal Gupta as the company’s president and CEO. Larry Phillips, a director of the company, has appointed interim president and CEO. The board has also appointed Scott Rasenberg as chair, replacing Pat Cronin. Gupta and Cronin remain directors of the company.
» Wesley Keats has joined
Canadian GoldCamps as a technical advisor.
» As part of its acqusition of the
interests of Empire Metals, Candelaria Mining plans to appoint Mike Struthers as CEO and director once the transaction closes in December. Neil O’Brien will also join the board.
» Christopher Huggins has
joined Crest Resources as VP of capital markets.
» Munish Sharma has been
named senior engineer, lithium process, with E3 Metals.
» Paul Keller has joined
Excellon Resources as COO. Alfred Colas is now CFO, following Anna Ladd-Kruger’s resignation. Ladd-Kruger has joined the company’s board.
» William Sheriff and Larry
Short have joined the board of Exploits Discovery, with Gary Lewis joining the advisory board. Ian Herbranson has been named VP of exploration. Justin Bourassa has stepped down from the board but remains CFO.
» David Smalley has succeeded
John Harper as chairman of Fabled Silver (previously Fabled Copper). Alnesh Mohan is now the company’s CFO, following Rodney Reum’s resignation. John Kowalchuk, previously VP of exploration, has also left the company.
See canadianminingjournal.com for full listings
om
TS
BOARD ANNOUNCEMENTS » Bradley Dixon has joined the
board of Bam Bam Resources. » Jeffrey Couc has joined the
board of Caldas Gold.
» Patrick Moryoussef and Yves
Rougerie have been appointed to the board of Canadian Metals. » John McGloin is now a director of Cornish Metals. » David McCue has stepped
down from the board of Cyon Exploration. » Jonathan Challis has joined
the board of District Metals, replacing Anna Ladd-Kruger, who will continue as a strategic advisor.
» Ciro Cucciniello and Marc-
André Lavoie have joined the board of Fokus Mining. Pascal Germain has stepped down as a director. » Melinda Lee and Robert Shaw
have joined the board of Fortune Bay. » Monica De Greiff has stepped down from the board of Gran Colombia Gold. » Ernie Eves a former Premier
of Ontario, is now a director of Hemlo Explorers.
» Steve Higgins has been elected
» Melinda Hsu is now on the board of Jaxon Mining. » Carolyn Clark Loder is now a director of K2 Gold. » Mark Saxon, Don Lay, Rod McKeen, David Shaw and Andrew Morden have been elected as directors of Medallion Resources. Former chairman David Haber did not stand for re-election. The directors elected Rod McKeen as chairman. » Dana Prince has resigned from the board of Mirasol Resources. » Jean Des Rivières has been appointed to the board of Montero Mining and Exploration.
» Laurent Mathiot has stepped
down from the board of Orea Mining.
» Nick Rowley is now a director of Oro X Mining, replacing Jeff Dare. Paul Matysek is now lead advisor to the company. » Chris Grainger has joined the
board of Outcrop Gold.
» Joseph Mullin has been named to the board of Pure Energy Minerals. » Peter Hardie is now a director of Ridgeline Minerals. » Bryan Slusarchuk has resigned as a director of Southern Empire Resources. » Craig Parry and Christian Kargl-Simard are now on the board of Surge Copper.
» Marc Enright-Morin has joined the board of New Energy Metals, following Kelly Earle’s resignation. » Jeet Basi has been named a director of Norra Metals. Doug Flegg has joined the company’s advisory board.
» Rory Kutluoglu has joined the board of Temas Resources.
a director of Fancamp Exploration.
chairman of the International Copper Association (ICA) for a two-year term. Higgins is also a senior VP and chief administrative officer f Freeport-McMoRan; he replaces Ivan Arriagada, group CEO of Antofagasta, as chair.
» Patrick Soares, Foran
» Stuart Ross has been named
Greg Liller who has stepped down as COO but remains a technical advisor. Bruce Kienlen has also stepped down as VP of exploration, but will continue as manager of data and other technical areas. Mario Castellanos has been appointed project manager.
» Ray Mah has been appointed
» Warner Uhl is now on the
advisory board of Engold Mines. » Rajesh Sharma is now
Mining’s president, CEO and director has retired. Executive chairman Darren Morcombe has assumed the role of interim CEO. Soares will remain on Foran’s technical committee.
» Bassam Moubarak is now the
CFO of Freeman Gold and has been appointed to board. Paul Matysek has been named a strategic advisor.
» Lindsay Craig has been
appointed exploration manager for Gold Bull Resources.
» Bent Olsvig Jensen has been
appointed managing director of Hudson Greenland, which is part of Hudson Resources.
» Stanton Rideout is now the
CFO and executive VP of Hycroft Mining. Mike Eiselein has been appointed VP and general manager of the Hycroft mine.
» Matthieu Lapointe is now the
VP of exploration with Labrador Gold.
» Norm Pitcher, the CEO
of Mirasol Resources, has resigned. Pitcher will remain CEO until a successor is appointed, or Feb. 1. Mirasol’s chair, Patrick Evans, will act as interim CEO following Pitcher’s departure, until a successor is found. DECEMBER 2020
CEO and a director of New Energy Metals. Ross replaces Cesar Lopez, who previously served as the company’s president, CEO and a director.
» Stuart Harshaw is now the
president, CEO and a director of Nickel Creek Platinum.
» Sam Lee has been named
president and CEO of Northisle Copper and Gold, following John McClintock’s resignation. McClintock will continue with the company as VP exploration.
» Cheryl Stein has joined
Oberon Capital as VP of business development.
» John Sanders is now the COO
and a director of Pasofino Gol . Ian Stalker has been named president and CEO for Africa and Steven Dunn is now CEO of North America. Christian Scovenna has resigned as a director.
» Tom Yip, executive VP and
CFO of Pretium Resources, has stepped down as CFO. Matthew Quinlan, previously VP of finance, is now CFO. Kenneth McNaughton, Pretium’s VP and chief exploration officer, ha retired.
» Kerry Sparkes is now the
executive VP of exploration with Prime Mining, replacing
» Kenneth Balleweg is now the
VP exploration for Pucara Gold.
» Aaron Stone has been named
VP of exploration with QcX Gold.
» Richard Penn has resigned
from his post as CEO and a director of Rain City Resources. Christopher Reynolds has been appointed CEO and president.
» Cesar Gonzalez has been
named CEO and Bryan McKenzie CFO of Sailfish Royalty. Akiba Leisman is now director and executive chairman.
» Peter Pollard is now a director
and chief geologist with Sentinel Resources. Danny Marcos has been named exploration manager.
» Maria Jose Salum is now chief
sustainability officer wit Sigma Lithium. Maryse Belanger has resigned as vice-chairman. Ana Cabral Gardner was appointed as co-chairman of the board, joining Calvyn Gardner, who has also become co-chairman.
» Andrew Cheatle has joined the board of Tanzanian Gold.
» Neil Gregson has been named a director of Uranium Royalty.
project director for Spanish Mountain Gold.
» Laurie Thomas has joined
Standard Uranium as VP of investor relations.
» Following the announcement
of a reverse takeover with Grafoid, Gary Economo has resigned as president and CEO of Stria Lithium. Jeffrey Yor , chairman of Stria, will act as interim CEO and president until the transaction closes. Economo and Lindsay Weatherdon have also stepped down as directors.
» Carsten Ringler is now
head of investor relations and communications for Tudor Gold. Catalin Kiloflisk has resigned as director corporate development and communication.
» Vizsla Resources has
appointed Veljko Brcic to the role of VP of corporate development.
» Barry Hartley has resigned
as director and CFO of Zenith Exploration and Brent Hahn has stepped as CEO. Mohammad Shaygan has been appointed to the board and as CEO, and Jesse Hahn has been appointed interim CFO.
CANADIAN MINING JOURNAL |
33
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Robert Seagraves 416-510-6891 or 1-888-502-3456 ext. 2 rseagraves@canadianminingjournal.com
Newly Shipped Heavy Duty Isolation Gates in 2020 Email: sales@luvan-group.com Mobile: +86 137 5825 8328 www.luvan-group.com
Canadian Mining Journal’s 2021 Editorial Calendar and media kit is now available. It can be found on our website via this link: canadianminingjournal.com/mediakit or by contacting Robert Seagraves at rseagraves@canadianminingjournal.com or 416-510-6891.
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S S
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ADVERTISERS INDEX Accutron Instruments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
.................................
accutroninstruments.com
Argonaut Gold
..........................................
11
.........................................
Hexagon PPM
..........................................
25
.........
ifm Canada
..............................................
7
Iron Spear Information Security. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Luvan Technology
......................................
34
Maestro Digital Mine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Midwest Industrial Supply Provix Inc.
...............................
..............................................
Sandvik Mining
.........................................
9
argonautgold.com
hexagonppm.com/industries/metals-and-mining
................................................... ............................................... .............................................. ...................................
ifm.com
ironspear.ca
luvan.com.cn
maestrodigitalmine.com
............................................
minekleen.com
26
.................................................
36
...................................
provix.net
rocktechnology.sandvik
SRK Consulting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . srk.com
T.D. Micronic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
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TopVu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
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34 | CANADIAN
MINING JOURNAL
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