Issue 105 April/May 2022 Edition
Impossible is Nothing adidas Kasper Rørsted
MEDIA
EDITORS & JOURNALISTS
Jamie Waite
Carol Gibson
Partner & Creative Director jamie.waite@busenq.com
Malvern Kandemwa
Partner & Chief Operations Officer malvern.kandemwa@busenq.com
Connor Love
Director of Strategic Partnerships connor.love@busenq.com
Glen Newton
Senior Project Director glen.newton@busenq.com
Gary Smith
Senior Project Director gary.smith@busenq.com
Liv Culling
Senior Project Director liv.culling@busenq.com
Chiara Salter
Senior Project Director chiara.salter@busenq.com
Lee Phoenix
Lead Editor carol.gibson@busenq.com
Frew Murdoch
Senior Editor frew.murdoch@busenq.com
Romana Moares
Senior Editor romana.moares@busenq.com
Niamh Spence
Senior Editor niamh.spence@busenq.com
Rebecca Matthews
Senior Journalist rebecca.matthews@busenq.com
Laura Watling
Senior Journalist laura.watling@busenq.com
Tom Fogden
Senior Journalist tom.fogden@busenq.com
Senior Project Director lee.phoenix@busenq.com
PRODUCTION
Jordan Boswell
Head of Production sandra.trzepacz@busenq.com
Project Director jordan.boswell@busenq.com
Hugh Hewitt
Project Director hugh.hewitt@busenq.com
Ben Youngman
Project Director ben.youngman@busenq.com
Mitch Bond
Project Director mitch.bond@busenq.com
Heavenli Hewitt
Project Director heavenli.hewitt@busenq.com
Megan Bradfield
Sandra Trzepacz
Cheraleigh Van Zanten
Production Manager cheraleigh.vanzanten@busenq.com
DESIGN Tom Jenkins
Lead Designer tom.jenkins@busenq.com
Hannah Watkins
Junior Designer hannah.watkins@busenq.com
Adam Fulwood
Head of Video & Content Creation adam.fulwood@busenq.com
Project Director megan.bradfield@busenq.com
WEBSITE
Stephen Owen
Matt Hardwick
Project Director stephen.owen@busenq.com
Online Website Manager matt.hardwick@busenq.com
FINANCE Bethany Waite
Accounts Manager bethany.waite@busenq.com
A note from our Creative Director
Tanya Rudd
Head of Finance tanya.rudd@busenq.com
DATA ANALYSIS Kumar Nil-Khan
Senior Data Strategy kumar.nilkhan@busenq.com
Simon Ferrening
Commercial Performance Analysis simon.ferrening@busenq.com
SOCIAL MEDIA TEAM Anita Terrell
Social Media Manager anita.terrell@busenq.com
Lee Dixon
Social Media Manager lee.dixon@busenq.com
HR Susan Tumelty
HR Partnered Company info@hrdept.co.uk
LEGAL Chloe Bird
Birketts LLP Norwich
According to our reader surveys, nearly half of you reading this article sit on the board of directors of a for-profit or nonprofit organization, a role that carries a great deal of responsibility and influence. In concert with senior leadership, you help set the mission and strategy for the organization and ensure that it, and in particular its senior leadership, stays on track to achieve those goals. Much has been written about how to create a more effective board of directors. These articles often look at the subject from a technical perspective, examining issues such as how long board members should serve, what kinds of committees should be created, and what the legal responsibilities of board members are. We recently published an article that falls into this category, titled “Boards in a Virtual World.” This is a subject of immediate concern for all those organizations that are now having to operate virtually rather than in person. So, unsurprisingly, it is currently one of the most popular articles on our website. These types of articles are important, but they don’t get at some of the larger issues that impact boards and the organizations they serve, such as the personal dynamics and culture that exist on the board and between the board and other important stakeholders, such as senior leadership, staff, and partners. I am happy to say that the cover story for the Q2 2022 issue adds to our growing body of articles about major sports manufacturers. This article advocates for a vision of sport that actively disrupts oppressive mindsets and behaviors, using the concepts of colonization and liberation to improve board culture so that the companies they serve can achieve their missions. I hope you enjoy issue 105. Jamie Waite Creative Director
Issue 105 · Business Enquirer Magazine
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Contents
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01 Sustainability
02 DeFi
Green is the Word!
Decrypting Crypto
03 Gucci
04 adidas
50th Anniversary Watches
Impossible is Nothing
24 Alacer Gold
32 Altilium Group
The Çöpler Mine: SSR Mining’s Profitable Gem in Turkey
Fuelling the Future
40 Aqualution
46 Atlantic Lithium
Enhancing Health Protection
Charging the Change
54 AudioMob
64 Aura Energy
The Game Changer
The Higher Grade of Resources
70 Adelaide Control Engineering
74 CMC Networks
Expert Consultants in the Uranium Industry
Connecting the Dots
82 Control Union
92 DESFA
Certified Sustainability
Powering Greece’s Future
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Contents 100 Galiano Gold
106 Gatling Exploration
Investing in Ghana Through the Asanko Gold Mine
Promising Prospects
112 Grinding Solutions
120 iKhokha
Rock-steady Testing
Raising South Africa’s Potential
128 Johnson Controls
138 Mincore
Learning From the Past with Gopal Paripally
Success Breeds Success
144 NSS Canada
152 Ok Tedi
Advancing the Future of Mining
Developing Communities, Generating Wealth
160 Paralloy & FVC
168 Rocsole
Driving the Modern World
Innovation Leadership
174 Saudi Arabia Grand Prix
180 SilverCrest Metals
On the Right Track
Bucking the Trend for Extractive Industries
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Sustainability
Green is the Word!
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Sustainability The UK Government has set out some hefty targets as part of its strategy to achieve Net Zero. For example, in 2021 it was announced that the UK would aim for a 68% reduction in emissions by 2030. However, there is opportunity to be sought here. At the Global Investment Summit in October 2021 Prime Minister Boris Johnson introduced a package of 18 deals worth £9.7 billion. The aim to support green growth whilst creating around 30,000 UK jobs.
Calling Green Entrepreneurs! The 22nd April 2022 marked Earth Day - one of the most relevant “Days” in what seems to be an increasing calendar of marketable events. Earth Day was first recognised in 1970 and now has over 150,000 partners across the world, working to drive positive action in the protection of our planet. “This is the moment to change it all,” said this year’s call to action on earthday.org, “the business climate, the political climate, and how we take action on our climate”. Earth Day 2022’s initiatives included a live stream, which is available to catch up on on its website.The live stream seminar included topics on “Environment in Time of War” and “Regenerative Agriculture’s Role in Restoring Our Earth”. It was joined by speakers such as John Piotti, the CEO of the American Farmland Trust and Iryna Stavchuk, Deputy Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine for European Integration. Despite the UK’s carbon neutral goals being overshadowed in the press by the likes of post-Brexit battles, the increasing cost of living and the conflict in Ukraine, it’s still very much on the agenda.
£10 million worth of funding is currently being offered as part of the ninth round of the Energy Entrepreneurs Fund (EEF). The funding supports the UK government’s commitment to cheap and reliable low-carbon energy, and reducing the UK’s reliance on not only expensive fossil fuels, but volatile global prices. Given the current cost of living crisis in the UK, this initiative seems prudent. The EEF is seeking to award funding to projects which will improve energy efficiency in people’s homes, develop geen transport, and source cleaner ways to generate power and heat in the UK. “The Energy Entrepreneurs Fund is backing the next generation of inventors and innovators to drive forward cheap and reliable low-carbon technologies, create jobs and reduce our reliance on expensive fossil fuels,” said UK Energy Minister, Greg Hands. It is estimated that the funding will support 15 to 20 projects across the UK, creating 100’s of green jobs. Winners of previous rounds of the EEF include Nova Innovation, Woodrow Scientific, Energy Transitions and Senergy Innovations. More information about phase 9 of the EEF can be found on the government website. Applications close on 11th May 2022 at 2pm.
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Sustainability Eat your greens In the plight to be more sustainable, as well as attract the increasingly planet-conscious millennial market, there are a growing number of businesses tapping into the green economy. “Reducing food waste is one of the most important things we can do to reverse global warming.” said Climate Change Expert, Chad Frischmann. Between 33-50% of food produced globally is never consumed. Shockingly, that amounts to around $1 trillion of food waste. Not only is food waste tasteless for those unable to afford surplus food, it’s a bigger villain to the environment than you may expect. Amongst the deforested land, degraded soil and water consumption which can be used in food production, the decomposition of the waste creates high amounts of methane 23x more deadly than carbon dioxide. Established in 2015, Olio is a well established app-based business making use of unwanted household food items. Users simply upload their unwanted food items to the Olio app, which other users in the local vicinity can then arrange to pick up. Similarly, Too Good To Go not only enables consumers to source reduced cost surplus food from their favourite restaurants, it also helps UK food and drink businesses to turn what would be a financial loss into income. Businesses using Too Good To Go include Costa, Morrisons, Yo Sushi and Greene King. Want to raise a glass to going green? Then you might be interested in Toast Ale, the brewers turning unwanted loaves into quality beer. “By using surplus bread to replace barley, we use less land, water and energy, and avoid carbon emission,” Toast Ale explains on its website. In fact, in its time, Toast Ale has saved 48 tonnes of C02 and over 300,000 litres of water.
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Not only that, Toast Ale has established its Companion Series, working with 25 breweries - including Adnams and Guinness - to raise £65,000 to support conservation and regenerative agriculture.
Sustainability The big names taking action As well as a host of businesses offering a clear, sustainable product or initiative, big business players are also taking action and setting substantial sustainability goals for 2022. Netflix, the global TV and film streaming behemoth, has set its sights on hitting net zero by the end of 2022. One of Netflix largest carbon outputs is the creation of its productions, accounting for around 50% of the estimated 1.13 million metric tonnes of carbon produced by Netflix in 2020.
If you thought carbon neutrality was a challenge, fashion giant Burberry has set its sights higher. It plans to reach carbon positivity by 2040. Burberry’s action plan includes reducing its supply chain emissions by 46% by 2030 as well as signing up to the Science Based Targets initiative. Fellow signatories include Levi’s and Kering. Is your business implementing initiatives to achieve carbon neutrality? We’d love to hear your story! Contact our Editorial team at info@busenq.com
To combat its impact, in 2021 Netflix announced its Net Zero + Nature initiative. Its strategy includes using local film crews, utilising electric vehicles, implementing LED lighting on set and reducing its use of diesel generators.
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Gucci
Gucci marks 50th Anniversary as a Watchmaker with Wonderland Fair on the Banks of Lake Geneva Gucci has built a fairground on the banks of Lake Geneva for the duration of Watches & Wonders to celebrate its 50th anniversary as a watchmaker. Gucci Wonderland is more than just a joyous amusement park filled with wonders and lights, it will also host the launch of Gucci’s high watchmaking collection for 2022. “In this wonderland, the new high watchmaking creations brim with a carnival spirit, where moments last forever and imagination runs free; where
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colourful machines appear to make time stand still but, in a moment, spin us brilliantly into the skies,” Gucci promises. Ahead of the Geneva fair, Gucci has revealed three additions to its high watchmaking collection that demonstrate the advanced capabilities of its La Chaux-de-Fonds manufacture.
Timepieces First is a pair of gold Gucci 25H Skeleton Tourbillon watches that stand just 8mm tall thanks to the slimness of the GG727.25.TS movement, which appears to float above brushed and polished titanium bridges that form the caseback.
Next is Gucci’s G-Timeless Planetarium, which will be right at home in the Wonderland fairground thanks to a carousel of coloured gemstones that circles the dial. And, when I say circles, I mean the gem-set bezel actually spins at the touch of a button thanks to a mechanism that is part of the Dancing Hours Flying Tourbillon GGC.1976.DS movement.
Finally, there is the G-Timeless Moonlight, a pink or white gold timepiece decorated as the night sky with a double moonphase on a meteorite dial gleaming from a sliver crescent to pearlescent whole, before beginning its celestial journey again.
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Cryptocurrency
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Cryptocurrency
Decrypting Crypto Could it be a Benefit to Your Business? In 2022, we couldn’t imagine life without a smart device. In fact, some modern day businesses can be run purely through the latest mobile technology. Would we have said the same in 1983 when the now iconic “brick” phone (a Motorola DynaTAC 8000x) hit the market? Perhaps the same will be said of cryptocurrency in years to come. Cryptocurrency, or crypto for short, is a digital form of currency and payment system which doesn’t rely on banks to verify transactions. In fact, it’s decentralised, meaning there is no central distributor and every member has a copy of the same data. As a digital currency, there is no physical value. Instead, to withdraw crypto into a physical entity, one would have to exchange the crypto into
a currency with paper physicality. The question here is, in a post-pandemic world, where more and more businesses are opting to go cashless, is crypto a viable way forward? Bitcoin, the first established cryptocurrency, was made available to the public in 2009. Now, as of April 2022, there are a total of 19 million Bitcoins in circulation worldwide, with a cap at 21 million. Since Bitcoin’s introduction, thousands of cryptocurrencies have been launched - including Ethereum, Ripple and Litecoin. In November 2021, the aggregated value of cryptocurrency reached $2.1 trillion, with Bitcoin contributing 41% of the total.
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Cryptocurrency In the mainstream
Legal Tender
Not only did the Covid-19 pandemic encourage a cashless society, it also spurred an uptick in online business. According to Oberlo, 2021 witnessed an increase of 900 million online shoppers - a 4.4% increase on the previous year. Furthermore, 2.14 billion people are said to shop online - over 27% of the global population .
It’s not just businesses that are introducing crypto. We are now seeing entire nations adopting Bitcoin as a form of legal tender.
With these statistics in mind, plenty of wellknown, successful businesses, across a range of industries, have seen the opportunity in accepting crypto payments. Financial services Mastercard, Visa and PayPal all now have a crypto offering for consumers. At the end of 2021, not only did Mastercard announce that it would enable partner consumers to buy, sell and hold cryptocurrency in a digital wallet, it also made plans to include the digital currency as a reward as part of their loyalty programmes. Co-founded by Space-X and Tesla entrepreneur Elon Musk, it’s unsurprising that Paypal is offering cryptocurrency functionality. In August 2021, the fintech company announced that UK users would be able to use Bitcoin, Ether and Litecoin, as well as introducing a functionality to track cryptocurrencies on the PayPal app. The travel industry, too, has introduced crypto. Well known travel agent Expedia accepts Bitcoin as a form of payment, through its relationship with Travala. Eastern European airlines airBaltic and LOT Polish Airlines also accept Bitcoin as payment. British cosmetics retailer, Lush, was one of the first global companies to adopt crypto payment, when in 2017 it introduced Bitcoin payments using Bitpay.com. Cryptocurrency payments may become yet more mainstream with the introduction of apps such as Bakkt. Working with high street coffee vendor Starbucks, the businesses are launching a trial of the digital wallet as a form of payment.
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In September 2021, El Salvador introduced Bitcoin as a legal tender alongside the US Dollar. It’s accepted everywhere for goods and services. The intention of this currency introduction was to boost economic development and jobs. However, the implementation has divided opinion, due to Bitcoin’s volatile fluctuating value - causing the International Monetary Fund to urge El Salvador to reverse its decision. Despite this, Argentina, too is seeing positive uptake of the alternative currency. The BBC recently reported that “even a relatively young and unpredictable currency is preferable to the extremely changeable peso”. Some believe that a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin, which has a finite number of availability, will help to buffer Argentina’s high inflation rate - which currently has a year-on-year rate of 50%. Much like El Salvador, however, some experts are expressing concerns of the currency’s use in Argentina. Intellectual Property Lawyer and establisher of Cryptogirls, María Mercedes Etchegoyen, explained to the BBC that access to cryptocurrency is still biassed towards the tech-savvy, and largely younger, population.
Cryptocurrency Balancing the scales Like everything in both business and life, there are pros and cons to implementing cryptocurrency. Due to the nature of crypto being decentralised, and therefore not needing third-party verification, cryptocurrency is actually considered a safer payment method than traditional online card payments. Once again, because of the decentralisation of digital currency, transaction fees are markedly reduced. If your business has an international customer, you also won’t have to wait for payments to clear a foreign bank - and you can avoid the international currency payment fees. On the flip side, the value of cryptocurrency is volatile, and in recent months has been severely impacted by the conflict in Ukraine and monetary policy in the US. This volatility can therefore be a risk to your business. Crypto payments are also permanent - irreversible. Although this may sound beneficial for a business, this of course doesn’t mean a customer can’t request a refund. Businesses will need to keep a very clear record of what a customer has paid and what they will be owed in return. Although it may be some years until we see the phase-out of physical cash, April 2022 saw the UK government announce that stablecoins (cryptocurrency with a pegged market value) will be brought within regulation to enable their use in the UK as a recognised form of payment. Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak highlighted cryptoassets as the “business of tomorrow” stating “It’s my ambition to make the UK a global hub for cryptoasset technology”.
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Global Headline
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Adidas
Impossible is Nothing Adidas sees €1 billion as a result of focus on digital transformation and heavy brand investment in FY21.
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ynonymous with sport, athleticism as well as fashion, e-commerce and dominating within retail, adidas is a worldwide recognised brand. As a powerhouse, the company has enjoyed successful growth with their 2021 results setting them up for a strong 2022; especially given the difficulties in the past 12 months worldwide. As CEO of the German sportswear firm since 2016,
Kasper Rørsted has seen the brand transform and grow with the results for 2021 making it another notable year. Kasper Rørsted, CEO of adidas, said: “In 2021, we delivered a strong set of results despite several external factors weighing on both demand and supply throughout the year”, The brand heavily focused on growth and maintaining ‘top-line momentum’, as Rørsted explains: “Wherever markets operated without major disruptions we have been experiencing strong topline momentum. This is reflected in double-digit revenue growth in EMEA, North America and Latin America.”
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Adidas Adidas handles industry-wide challenges but still sees sales increase
action plan aimed at stabilising the business and re-igniting growth.
Not only did the brand see sales increase in all market segments in 2021, despite all markets being hit by industry-wide supply chain challenges and the aftermath of COVID-19 disruptions. Comparing regions saw differences yet currency-neutral sales in EMEA, North America, and Latin America increased by 24%, 17%, and 47%, respectively.
In 2021, Adidas was able to increase its currency-neutral revenues by 16% despite several external factors weighing on both demand and supply throughout the year. In total, the challenging market environment remains Greater China, extensive covid-19-related lockdowns in Asia-Pacific as well as industry-wide supply chain disruptions reduced revenue growth by more than € 1.5 billion during the year.
At the same time, the challenging market environment in Greater China (+3%) and the extensive covid-19-related restrictions in Asia-Pacific (+8%) did weigh in on adidas’ results in these markets. The outlook for 2022 appears strong with currency-neutral revenues expected to increase in all markets. While currency-neutral sales in North America and Latin America are projected to grow at a mid- to high-teens rate, currency-neutral revenues are expected to grow at a more standardised rate in the mid-teens in EMEA and Asia-Pacific. Contrasting to the trickier 2021, Greater China is expected to record a sales increase in the mid-single digits as the company continues to make progress with its
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From a channel perspective, the company’s topline increase was characterised by a strong recovery from the material revenue decline in its physical distribution channels during 2020, when the global coronavirus pandemic had caused a large number of temporary store closures. As a result, wholesale revenues as well as sales in adidas’ own-retail stores grew at strong double-digit rates in 2021. E-commerce revenues increased 4% during the year, on top of the exceptionally high growth in 2020 when e-commerce revenues had grown by more than 50%. In euro terms, the company’s revenues increased 15% in 2021 to € 21.234 billion (2020: € 18.435 billion).
Global Headline Feature Investment into digital transformation has paid off for Adidas Like many businesses, the need to rely on digital channels was accelerated due to the pandemic and a customer focus on e-commerce over physical retail sales.
Expenditure for Adidas increased in 2021 to 51% to € 667 million, which was an increase from 2020’s figure of € 442 million). Investments in new or remodelled own-retail stores, the company’s e-commerce business as well as the broader IT infrastructure represented once again the majority of the expenditure.
Rørsted shared: “While we continued to invest heavily into our brand, our direct-to-consumer business, and our digital transformation, we improved our bottom-line by more than € 1 billion. Taking it all together, 2021 was a successful first year within our new strategic cycle.” He added: “In 2022, we will build on this momentum and continue to grow both our top- and bottom-line at double-digit rates amid heightened uncertainty.”
2700+ Lonati Knitting Machines.
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Licensing & Brand Development.
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Global Headline Feature Executive and Supervisory Boards to expect an increased dividend payment compared to 2021 As a result of the strong operational and financial performance in 2021, Adidas’ financial position as well as Management’s confidence in its long-term growth aspirations, the Adidas Executive and Supervisory Boards will recommend paying a dividend of € 3.30 per dividend-entitled share to shareholders at the Annual General Meeting on May 12, 2022. This represents an increase of 10% compared to the prior year dividend released in 2021 of €3.00. 2022 to bring further double digit growth for Adidas’ topline After the recovery from the coronavirus pandemic in 2021, Adidas expects double-digit topline growth to continue in 2022 amid heightened uncertainty. Driven by the execution of the company’s strategy ‘Own the Game’ as well as its strong product pipeline, currency-neutral revenues are projected to increase at a rate between 11% and 13%. Not only this but adidas’ gross margin is expected to continue to increase and reach a level of between 51.5% and 52.0%. A positive channel mix effect, significant price increases as well as the positive impact from favourable currency developments will drive the gross margin improvement and are expected to outweigh significantly higher supply chain costs. www.adidas.com
Infiiloom Infiiloom is a vertically driven sales, marketing & manufacturing enterprise based out of India. We have grown close to 2000 knitting machines manufacturing over 140 Million pairs of socks annually across 3 manufacturing facilities in India. As we look ahead, we continue to strengthen our manufacturing and distribution footprint in India with our 4th and single standing largest facility of 1100 knitting machines, which will commence operations in July 2022. This state-of-the-art vertical facility will provide a solid base to drive Infiiloom’s growth & will help increase our annual manufacturing capacity in excess of 250 Million pairs. While growing in India, we continue to look at expanding our manufacturing presence globally with strategic in-country advantages to service other key global markets. Infiiloom is a strategic business partner to Adidas & it has been pivotal to our growth story. In the US, we are manufacturing partners to their licensee. While in India, we are the largest manufacturer of socks for their B2C business & the licensee for their distribution business across channels. We have been associated with Adidas for several years and have invested in building our partnership across business formats both at home in India and across the globe. We are excited about future possibilities and look forward to further strengthen this relationship. - Mr. Rohit Pal Global CEO, Infiiloom www.infiiloom.com
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Adidas
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PROJECT DIRECTED BY
WRITTEN BY
Malvern Kandemwa
Marie Soukup
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Issue 105 · Business Enquirer Magazine
Alacer Gold
The Çöpler Mine: SSR Mining’s Profitable Gem in Turkey
The Çöpler Mine is one of the largest gold mines in Turkey, and in the world. Business Enquirer lifts the veil on SSR Mining’s unique asset.
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or several years, SSR Mining, Inc. has been one of the leaders within its industry. As a company, they have amassed great success in acquiring good, long-lasting sources of gold and other minerals to sell within the market. The company itself continues to leverage a solid financial report, and their free cash flow generation has allowed for profitable organic success. Using their district-scale land packages and reserves, they pride themselves on their superior returns to their shareholders in the stock market. SSR Mining is known for its diversified efforts and portfolio, which spans the globe. With their home offices in Vancouver and Denver, this
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Alacer Gold firm produces silver, gold, zinc, and tin and is currently one of the largest producers of these products. Furthermore, they also have the largest silver mine in Argentina. Since 1946, SSRM has had continual success, expanding its success to 14 different properties across the world. Their total assets are nearly $828 million, but they are likely only to grow further if they successfully explore their new mine in the Çöpler District of Turkey.
SSRM, as a leading, free cash flow focused intermediate gold company, has four producing assets that are spread out throughout the world between the USA, Turkey, Canada, and Argentina. In combination with their global pipeline of high-quality development and exploration assets, they have a stake and profitable investments worldwide, spreading from North America to South America to Europe and Asia.
From Turkey to the US to Canada, SSRM boasts solid returns and strong leadership focused on value creation for their stakeholders. With expertise in project construction mining processing, the company commits itself to great success, health, safety, and even environmental management. With their latest addition—the Çöpler Mine—SSRM continues to impress their shareholders and grow their company in exciting ways. For shareholders, their latest investment of time and exploration into the undiscovered regions of Çöpler District should be compelling and a sign of further profitability. Owned by SSR Mining Inc., the Çöpler Mine is part of the Çöpler District, located in east-central Turkey in the Erzincan Province. The Çöpler Mine is only 1,100 km southeast of Istanbul and 550 km east of Ankara, the country’s capital city. The mine itself is only 80% owned by SSRM, and it has been in operation since 2010. As one of the largest gold mines in Turkey and the world, their success and operations are noteworthy and imperative for the mining industry. The Çöpler District is a prosperous region within Turkey with plenty of mineral resources and available areas for mining. Thus far, there are specific licensing areas that SSRM has purchased a stake in for their uses as a company. These same licenses areas will also be reserved to extract several minerals they produce as a company. At this time, SSRM has access to the Çöpler Mine, Demirmagara, Çakmaktepe, and the Mavialtin Porphyry Belt. SSRM currently licenses these areas alongside Kartaltepe JV.
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Their profit-producing assets have allowed them to become an industry leader as a company. Currently, their four operating assets have produced over 711,000 gold-equivalent ounces up until now. However, with the further exploration of the Çöpler Mine through their operations and future goals, it is only a matter of time before that number doubles in coming years. Much of the current operations that have been the most profitable for SSRM in this specific Çöpler District have been from Çöpler Mine. In this district portion, SSRM has acquired millions of tonnes of gold. Another important mine that has become a promising gem in Turkey for SSRM has been the Çakmaktepe Mine. This mine is only 50% owned by SSRM at this time. Regardless, the mine itself is located 5 km away from the Çöpler Mine infrastructure. These mining
Resources Feature
Mogas Industries Inc Proudly supplying Alacer Gold MOGAS Industries, Inc. is a proud supplier of the Alacer Gold Corporation. Our partnership with Alacer Gold has allowed for continuous improvements through technological innovations which have positioned MOGAS to offer comprehensive solutions for the mining and autoclave industries at large. Through extensive service support both in-person and remote, repeated trials in R&D, on-site testing, as well as extensive product and operational knowledge, MOGAS continues to set the standard for partnership excellence. For nearly 50 years MOGAS has been responsible for rapid optimization and streamlining several processes from refining and power to the mining and autoclave industry. As a leader in severe service technology, MOGAS provides a range of products to resolve common issues in autoclave processes, like pressure oxidation (POX) and high-pressure acid leaching (HPAL). In addition to providing the world’s highest quality severe service valves for isolation, MOGAS also offers several surface technology solutions including our patented ML-381TM metallurgically bonded weld overlay, which extends the life of ball valves, agitator blades, strainers, and other equipment exposed to abrasive media. Any number of custom designs are possible in order to suit the needs of our customers.
Technological advancements in acoustic emissions measurement, as well as sparge applications and feed pump non-return valves illustrate how MOGAS continues to look for innovative ways to not only monitor the performance of our products, but also provide cost-effective solutions to challenging applications, whilst enhancing their efficiency. Further, recent acquisitions include the MOGAS Watson Series valve, which is suitable for oxygen service and has a proven reputation for safety and reliability. With a global customer base and several offices and service technicians located strategically around the world, MOGAS has the resources to ensure that repairs are handled quickly and efficiently, avoiding downtime and unplanned shutdowns. To sustainably compete in today’s production environment, producers need to avoid supply chain delays and disruptive slowdowns that limit profitability. MOGAS is working with Alacer Gold and various global customers individually to optimize the scope of supplies - focused on ensuring minimal impact to customers while sustaining, if not improving, product performance. We look forward to continuing to ensure that each new opportunity is a value-added experience for all of our customers and wish Alacer Gold continued success as it grows its operations around the world.
Find out more: www.mogas.com
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Alacer Gold operations began in 2018, and the first phase was completed by 2019. Given that Çöpler Mine was first explored and extracted in 2010 and Çakmaktepe Mine was first entered in 2018, there’s still much exploration to be conducted for the future. However, SSRM has concluded that with more geological understanding, more appropriate resources and reserves will be collected, much that people assume to be of the same caliber and the same expectation as that of their first primary extraction mine in the Çöpler District. Still, even despite the need for further research, the Çöpler Mine has seen great success thus far in its operations. To date, people estimate that the reserves contain about 6 million oz of gold, making this a profitable investment for SSR Mining and other firms within the industry. There are several assets and benefits to having a stake in this mine and its current operations. The mineral reserves recently totaled in December 2021 reached 4.3 million ounces of contained gold. This excluded their stockpiles, which were left separate from this end-of-the-year report. Even beyond the millions of ounces of gold producing notable profitability for SSRM, this site demonstrates good numbers of gold mining production. SRM Mining reported that they could make 329,276 ounces of gold in 2021 at the mine site. In addition, each ounce of gold sold retailed for an average of $713 in 2021, demonstrating the beneficial investment SSRM created more than a decade ago that continues to pay off even in 2022. With the presence of gold and copper-gold deposits at this important mining site, SSRM has a vision for the future that would involve extending its mine operations. However, as profitable as their efforts have been thus far, this is only the start of their future successes. Their recent report from the first quarter of 2022 revealed that their development strategy would be future-focused and targeted explicitly for longevity.
Specifically, SSRM is targeting efforts beyond this first quarter towards their Mineral Reserve Case, which will incorporate maiden mineral reserves from another of their partially owned mines, Çakmaktepe Extension. In addition, SSRM has also announced that they are contemplating the construction of a copper concentrator to help process their Çöpler Copper-Gold sulfide ore at the site. The focus on a mine-life extension will be conducted in the future through exploration, hoping to identify other potential ore that could complement their existing plans for extraction and profitability. In addition, drilling regionally will be undertaken to identify other sites that could be of benefit for SSRM’s goals and their vision for total access to every aspect of the Çöpler District. One of the most critical projects that SSRM has conducted over the years has been the extraction of their Copper-Gold minerals. This project consists of their sulfide mineralization and the specific resource pits found in the Çöpler Mine. The Initial Assessment Case that was conducted demonstrated an estimate of close to one million ounces of gold from this project, and it would produce $218 million in capital expenditures. With an internal revenue rate of 60%, SSRM’s operations in the Çöpler District have certainly ensured significant profitability within this oasis of gold reserves. Concerning their current operations and exploration of the region at large, the Çöpler District has plenty of available space that SSRM is planning to investigate further. These investigations will not only be necessary for discovering more mines to extract from, but they will also ensure that they maintain the profitability of their more recent operations and discovered gold deposits. As producers of silver, gold, tin, and zinc, it is only expected that SSRM will achieve its goals of finding further deposits and securing more success in this new region.
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Alacer Gold SSRM’s exploration licenses cover an area of about 17 to 25 km in size. With 80% of the claims being owned for Çöpler Mine for specific regions, SSRM will continue to uncover and investigate these crucial regions of this gold mine region. SSRM has a highly diversified portfolio that has continued to give them long-life assets with high-profit margins, so it is expected that SSRM will maintain, if not grow, their current profitability substantially upon their further exploration. The Çöpler Mine is one of SSRM’s most recent investments, but it can quickly become one of the most profitable within its portfolio. Given the returns, they have found from the few mines that they currently operate and oversee, industry experts all nod to the continued organic and promising success of SSRM in the industry. If they find other mines to explore and extract from for gold and other resources, the Çöpler Mine will only add to their long list of good choices that has driven their continued success in the 21st century. With the help of their future endeavors and continued operations in the Çöpler District, SSR Mining can expect to see great success in their future and more promising productions regarding their gold supply. As for their stakeholders, news of the operations will only ensure that their investment returns grow strong. At the same time, SSRM has continued to dominate the industry for almost a century. Thus, even experts beyond the mining industry would likely conclude that SSRM is at the dawn of another significant successful investment. www.ssrmining.com
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Resources Feature
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PROJECT DIRECTED BY
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Jamie Waite
Romana Moares
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Altilium Group swer to this increased demand with its unique metal extraction process. Although the company was established in the UK in 2019, its operating business has a much longer heritage, dating back to 2008 when it initially acquired the rights to the ground-breaking DNi Process™ - a revolutionary and patented technology that extracts valuable metals and co-products without leaving a harmful legacy, to help realise the sustainable, responsible and efficient use of the world’s resources. Sharing a vision Chris Gower, Chief Executive of Altilium Group Ltd., explains that the original patent was developed in the US by a talented chemical engineer who cracked the one problem that the industry had not resolved – how to recycle nitric acid, the most efficient acid for dissolving metals in ore. Christopher Gower, CEO, Altilium Group
Fuelling the Future UK-headquartered Altilium Group is set to take an active part in the global transition to electric vehicles, providing several of the key metals needed by the industry, generated in an environmentally friendly manner that will help local communities.
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s demand for electric vehicles (EVs) increases, so will demand for the metals needed to manufacture lithium-ion batteries, especially nickel. UK-headquartered Altilium Group may provide an an-
In the early stages of development, the company worked closely with Australia’s respected Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), testing the process at a pilot plant in Perth, Australia. The testing, completed in 2014, delivered highly successful and encouraging results. In 2016 the ownership of the company with the rights to the process changed, which is when Chris Gower came in as CEO. He himself has had ample experience of international undertakings, and, amongst others, led a team to implement one of the world’s largest environmental remediation projects. Today, Altilium Group has several offices and facilities around the world, employing a mixture of nationalities and talents. Chris says: “I have been very lucky in terms of having the right team of people with a range of skills, dedicated to our common goal. We are a small team of people that get on very well. We share the same vision which is to fuel the future of greener motoring in a commercially viable way. With a shared vision, management is easy,” he affirms.
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Altilium Group Chris explains that the DNi Process™ is a novel, patent-protected method for extracting nickel, cobalt and the other constituent metals contained in laterite ore. “The DNi Process™ utilises a nitric acid leach under atmospheric conditions. Ensuring the sustainability of natural resources, our process maximises extraction, minimises cost, minimises residue and realises the full polymetallic value in earth’s lateritic resources.” “The DNi Process™ can process even low-grade ore. We can do this profitably because our technology extracts all the available metals in the ore. This could at least double the world’s estimated nickel reserves. And, with more saleable products, the process will generate more revenue. Technically efficient and environmentally sensitive, our game-changing technology will revolutionise the way that MHP is produced for the EV battery industry.” He further points out that the DNi Process™ is the only method of generating battery-grade MHP while minimising the environmental impact. “Its unique feature is the ability to process
Altilium Group’s revolutionary DNi Process Flowchart
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the entire laterite profile. This is a zero-waste operation – the residue that we do produce contains trace amounts of magnesium nitrate which acts as a fertiliser. This means that residue can be returned to the mine to help with revegetation. Replenishing the earth, restoring the natural balance.”
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Technically efficient and environmentally sensitive, our game-changing technology will revolutionise the way that MHP is produced for the EV battery industry
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A unique process
Research is also under way to discover how the residue can be used to create other beneficial products, creating yet more value and supporting the circular economy. To this end, last year Altilium entered into a partnership with the Spanish company RUMBO 5 CERO SL with the aim of converting 300 million metric tonnes of toxic mine waste into a zero-residue mint.
Technology Feature
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Technology Feature
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Altilium Group While the company’s activities are spread globally, Chris is firmly set in Indonesia. “My personal goal is to develop the operation here in Indonesia. Indonesia holds the world’s largest nickel reserves and the country will be a major exporter of nickel because of both the sheer volume and the high grades of ore.” “Production targets for the vehicles have been set for 2025 and the relevant stakeholders are aware that securing the necessary metals is now a priority. China controls much of the world’s supply but I personally believe that there is a real opportunity for countries like Indonesia to develop direct relationships with British, European and North American entities - be it giga factories or electric vehicle manufacturers - and supply them directly,” he says. “Full commercialisation of the process will bring real benefits to Indonesia in terms of developing the local economy, and I really want to see this in each country we work in – the country should benefit from the value of its resources, and this is something I’m very passionate about.”
And the development of local benefit has already started. Altilium Group has recently signed an agreement with PT Indo Mineral Research, a member of the Sebuku Group, one of Indonesia’s largest mining groups, to co-operate in the development and promotion of the DNi Process™ in Indonesia. The two companies have agreed to commit financial, technical and logistical resources to accelerating the adoption of the DNi Process™ and to play a key role in the EV battery supply chain.
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My personal goal is to develop the operation here in Indonesia...
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Local benefit
Chris Gower comments: “We are very excited to take this first major step forward with the Sebuku Group. Together, we will help make Indonesia the premier producer of cleaner nickel and other metals which are needed to enable the mass adoption of EVs. There is a premium to be had for people involved in this industry. My personal target is to have at least one plant operating here in Indonesia, a commercial plant by 2024.”
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Altilium Group Sustainable value Altilium Group is now licensing the process, with the first success already achieved: Queensland Pacific Metals (QPM) was the first company to sign a licence in 2021 for the DNi Process™ to be used in its plant designed in Australia that is set to deliver at least 16,000 tonnes of nickel in MHP. The plant, called the ‘TECH Project’ and fully owned by QPM, will be an advanced, modern and sustainable producer of critical chemicals for the emerging lithium-ion battery and electric vehicle sector. In December 2021 QPM raised additional substantial funding and expect to complete their feasibility study by early 2022. Construction is expected to commence in April 2022, with a plan to start operations in 2024. While current focus is on nickel production, the process has a much wider potential application, offering significant opportunities for other industries as well. “It is simple chemistry but it is elegant chemistry. As a result of that, we have recently completed test work, focusing on re-processing tailings from previous processes to extract the metals,” says Chris. “We are also looking at other ores. Testing on Spanish mining samples confirmed our DNi Process™ achieved good recoveries for gold, silver, copper, and iron along with an inert reusable residue. The key point is that our innovative, patented technology delivers valuable metals without costing the earth.” www.altiliumgroup.com
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Technology Feature
It is simple chemistry but it is elegant chemistry.
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PROJECT DIRECTED BY
WRITTEN BY
Glen Newton
Romana Moares
Nick Meakin, CEO, Aqualution
Enhancing Health Protection Aqualution, based in Duns in the Scottish Borders, is the global leader in the science, production and application of hypochlorous acid – a biocide used extensively to fight infection and cross contamination. Not only is the product completely safe, it is also environmentally friendly.
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qualution Systems Ltd started its operations within a pharmaceutical company with a team of scientists researching the biocide molecule for pharmaceutical applications. They found a way to stabilise the biocide during the electrolysis process, producing the purest hypochlorous acid with a minimum 12-months shelf life enabling it to be bottled and sold commercially. They also filed the regulatory authorisations for biocide use in Europe and the UK. In 2009, this group of scientists moved away from the original company by means of a management buyout, which also meant moving away from solely pharmaceutical applications, explains Nick Meakin, Aqualution’s Chief Executive.
Aqualution “That’s where it really started. Since then we have diversified into agriculture and later on into food safety. But the ethos remained the same – our team are the leaders in the science, production and application of hypochlorous acid, manufacturing for global brands as well as our branded products.”
Aqualution have diversified into the agricultural sphere
Today, the company’s products are used in many sectors, including healthcare, agriculture, food and drink processing, pet care and pharmaceuticals. They have been used by a major retailer for several years to disinfect fresh produce prior to packing. Care homes throughout the UK use them as both a surface disinfectant and fogging solution whilst Aqualution’s products have also been recommended for use throughout the UK in dental surgeries and are a leading the way in animal first aid applications. Safe, quick, effective Nick himself is a qualified chemist who has worked with Aqualution technology since 2002. In his past career, he has worked in the automotive, food, airline and aquaculture industries in senior management and main board roles, and brings that experience to understanding how the company’s products can best be applied to new sectors. So, what is hypochlorous acid exactly? According to the company’s explanation, hypochlorous acid is one of the most effective known biocides. This weak acid is the same as a chemical produced by the mammalian immune system to kill invasive organisms and fight infection. Hypochlorous acid is a gentle but powerful biocide, and its production in a stable form represented a monumental step forward in healthcare and hygiene. “Our hypochlorous acid spray, products and solutions provide complete infection control and a reduction in cross-contamination effectively,” says Nick Meakin. “With our ground-breaking technology, we’re the only company to manufacture packaged hypochlorous acid which remains stable once
HAULAGE + WAREHOUSING PALLET DISTRIBUTION Providing flexible logistics solutions 365 days a year
www.olivers-ltd.com enquiries@olivers-ltd.com
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Aqualution the bottle is opened. Therefore, we have quickly become the leading hypochlorous acid supplier in the UK, Europe and across the world.” Aqualution’s biocides have been tested in independent UK laboratories and leading academic and commercial research facilities, and the company is fully compliant with the rigorous European Biocide Regulations (EU 528/2012), owning the approved active substance dossiers. It is not too surprising that Aqualution has been much in demand over the past two years in the health sector where the biocide meets the demands of environmental cleaning in the most demanding healthcare environments. For the past 12 months, the company has been working with one NHS Trust to implement its technique to replace their environmental decontamination process. “Our technique was chosen for two reasons: first, it is much safer than the one they were previously using, and second, decontamination is achieved much faster, in 15 minutes as opposed to the usual 3 to 4 hours.” “So, in terms of availability of operating theatres and high dependency areas, this makes a major difference. To summarise, our products are more effective, safer and nearly always faster than the current decontamination techniques.” The safest fresh produce Nick points out that professional infection control still represents the biggest product application, although food safety has been rapidly catching up. “Food is our best market, because everything we do is bespoke – our solutions are heavily integrated into the packing plants at the processing factories and are set to remain part of the operation on a long-term basis.”
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Food is our best market, because everything we do is bespoke.
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Hypochlorous acid for food disinfection and processing is marketed as Agripure. Aqualution’s on-site, on-demand technology can be applied in bespoke ways to suit any produce and significantly improve efficiency and reduce costs while doing no damage to the environment. Customer base includes Marks and Spencer that have been using Aqualution’s solutions for their un-cooked food such as soft fruits and salads, as well as for flowers, all the way down the supply chain. Nick explains that as fruits, such as raspberries, are picked on small farms, and may be touched by literally thousands of hands, it is in practice impossible to ensure good hand hygiene. “We came up with a new application technology which has been validated at Camden BRI, the primary food research organization in Europe.” “From a commercial point of view, that’s one of our highly successful applications. Every now and then we are contacted by a new company that wishes to get into the M&S supply chain. For their products to be allowed on the shelves, they are required to use an M&S approved technology which ours is.” Realising the potential In addition to pathogen control, Aqualution products offer other benefits as well. Since hypochlorous acid does not generate harmful disinfection by-products, the wash water can be recycled, enabling a reduction in water usage of up to 80%. This also significantly reduces electricity usage, creating significant cost and labour savings, as well as improved environmental impact. “That is something you can’t do with just about any other chemical that is currently commercially used in this area. In a typical installation, we’ll be saving nearly half a million litres of water a week. In areas like Africa, or central South America, this is a major achievement, and the impact of using our product on the processors’ global environmental footprint and as well as on their cost savings is significant.”
Industry Feature
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half a million litres of water a week. In areas like Africa, or South America, this is a major achievement.
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Industry Feature
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Aqualution Agripure hypochlorous acid technology for washing and disinfection of fruits, salads and vegetables is now being used around the world. For its solution, the company won the VIBES Hydro Nation Water Innovation Award in 2018 and were in the top 10 for the Best of VIBES in 2019. Speaking of the future, Nick reflects that given current market developments, Aqualution will be busy in the coming months and years. Production capacity was already scaled up during the pandemic, and further expansion is planned. “We have designed a new factory on a greenfield site, a significant project that is now waiting to be implemented once the global market situation settles down. The factory will be built on our site at the Scottish borders, south-facing, and as such is designed to be completely energy self-sufficient, green and zero-carbon. Potentially, in summer we may even be selling electricity to other companies on the estate.” From the business point of view, the company is again looking at medical device marketing authorisation, the process of which was stopped by the global pandemic. “We already have two medical device marketing authorizations, so we are coming back to where we started – to realising the pharmaceutical potential for our products.” www.aqualution.co.uk
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PROJECT DIRECTED BY
Gary Smith
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WRITTEN BY
Romana Moares
Atlantic Lithium
Ewoyaa Project Mining Site
Charging the Change
The demand for lithium has been increasing over the past few years and is expected to significantly grow in the next decade, as the global transition to a green economy accelerates. At the heart of it, lays the electric vehicle market, which accounts for almost 80% of lithium-ion battery demand.
Atlantic Lithium (formerly IronRidge Resources) is an AIM-listed lithium company advancing a portfolio of projects in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire through to production. The company’s flagship project, the Ewoyaa Project, based in Ghana, is a significant lithium spodumene discovery targeting to become West Africa’s first lithiumproducing mine.
With carbon limit regulations coming into play - for example the European Union has said that from 1 January 2026, lithium-ion batteries will have to bear a carbon-intensity performance class label and, from 1 July 2027, must comply with maximum carbon footprint thresholds – mining companies like Atlantic Lithium, a lithium exploration and development company with projects in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire, are poised to expand exponentially.
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Atlantic Lithium A driver for growth Atlantic Lithium is set to play a major part in the supply chain. The company was originally founded by Vincent Mascolo as IronRidge Resources back in 2011. In November 2021, following a demerger of IronRidge Resources’ gold assets, Atlantic Lithium was created and is now led by Len Kolff.
Len Kolff, COO, Atlantic Lithium
In 2021, the company secured the fully funded status of its flagship project, the Ewoyaa Lithium Project, located in Ghana, thanks to an agreement with Piedmont Lithium - a US integrated supplier of raw materials and minerals, which has established relationships with Tesla and other US-based auto makers - to fast-track development of the project for $102m. In Ghana, the company holds 560 km2 of granted and under application tenure where a 30.1 Mt at 1.26% Li2O mineral resource estimate in Indicated and Inferred status at the Ewoyaa Project has been defined. The company’s lithium assets have significant exploration upside - only 13 km2 have so far been drilled out of the total tenure package.
Drilling underway at IRR Ewoyaa
Vincent Masolo, CEO, Atlantic Lithium
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Resources Feature The premium asset The Ewoyaa Lithium Project, Atlantic Lithium’s flagship project, remains the current focus within the company activities. “Ewoyaa is an industry-leading asset and is transformational for Atlantic Lithium” said Len Kolff. A robust Scoping Study completed in December 2021 indicated life of mine revenues exceeding US$3.4bn. The plan is to produce a premium product suitable for conversion for use in batteries. The project has the advantage of low capital and operational costs due to the outstanding asset fundamentals with simple mineralogy requiring a gravity-only process flow-sheet and close proximity to excellent logistics and infrastructure, being only 110 km by road from the deepsea port of Takoradi, adjacent to highway and high-voltage power lines, including hydroelectric sources providing for a low carbon footprint. “We have simple metallurgy, unique geology, proximity to operation and we are now fully funded for development. We have no debt, and we have a cash
treasury of just over $20 million. The project is extremely exciting, and we are advancing rapidly to becoming West Africa’s first lithium-producing mine,” said Len. Commenting on the results of the Scoping Study, he noted: “Our resource continues to grow, and the upside of the project is clear; not only do we believe that project metrics will improve significantly beyond the current defined mine life, we also see further potential for substantial economic improvement due to the recent increases in spodumene concentrate pricing which have far exceeded our initial SC6 price modelling parameters.” “Given these fundamentals, we are very excited by the resurgence and exponential growth potential across the lithium supply chain and reaffirm to the market that Atlantic is ideally poised to capture the lithium market going forward.” With potential life of mine revenues exceeding $3.4bn, a post-tax NPV8 of $789 million, and an IRR of 194% over an initial life of mine of just 11.4 years, the project is one of the most exciting in the lithium industry today.
Atlantic Lithium’s workforce on site in Ghana
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Resources Feature IRR Ewoyaa drilling site
Supporting local development The project is progressing in line with the company’s ESG initiatives and a strong environmental focus. “Sustainability as well as social corporate responsibility have always been very high on our agenda. We have strong relations with local communities and support their development, which is important for us as a company. It is essential that we contribute to the development of the local communities as they support us in ensuring the success of the project,” acknowledged Len. The company, promoting strong national employment, has had no major problem with find-
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ing the right skills – 98% of the workforce are Ghanaian nationals and 85% of the company’s staff comes from the district where the project is located. Training from bottom up as well as career progression are part of the programme. Atlantic Lithium’s external initiatives include establishing regenerative nurseries, educational support as well as donations to various causes as part of Ghana’s overall initiatives. As the mine develops, the intention is to assess the potential of ongoing developments in energy efficiencies and sustainable practices including solar power and stored energy options.
Atlantic Lithium
Sustainability as well as social corporate responsibility have always been very high on our agenda.
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Atlantic Lithium
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We are very proud of our Ghanaian team; they worked tirelessly through the pandemic and have come out stronger.
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Spodumene contrentrate at the Aboko Quarry
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Resources Feature Significant player As of early 2022, the company is fully on track with its plans. In March, Atlantic Lithium announced the start of drilling at Ewoyaa with about 20,000m of exploration, resource and mine study drilling planned. This includes 960 m of geotechnical diamond core drilling to test the proposed mine pit wall ground conditions for a detailed engineering design. The drilling followed the Company’s recent success in upgrading the mineral resource by a further 42% to 30.1 million metric tonnes for Ewoyaa, grading an average of 1.26% lithium oxide. “Ghana is a very friendly jurisdiction; mining has a long tradition here, especially in gold but now with lithium too and we get a lot of support from the government as well as the local communities across the board.” “We are very proud of our Ghanaian team; they worked tirelessly through the pandemic and have come out stronger. We see a great future ahead for the company – we are ideally positioned to benefit from the growing lithium market, and we look forward to progressing the project towards production, establishing Atlantic Lithium as a new player in the lithium supply chain,” concludes Len Kolff. www.atlanticlithium.com.au
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PROJECT DIRECTED BY
Sam Patrick
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Issue 104 · Business Enquirer Magazine
WRITTEN BY
Romana Moares
AudioMob
Christian Facey, CEO, AudioMob
The Game Changer AudioMob was founded to help developers monetise their games through non-interrupting audio ads. Today, with $14 million in funding recently secured from investors such as Google and others, the company is one of the fastest growing in-game audio companies globally.
Wilfrid Obeng, CTO, AudioMob
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udioMob is a completely new way to monetise mobile games – it offers non-intrusive audio ads that can be listened to in-game and can greatly increase player retention, generate better reviews, all while providing developers with monetisation. Built from the ground up by developers, for developers, AudioMob strives to offer a simple, elegant alternative to standard adverts. This is the company’s own description of its core business. Over the two years of AudioMob’s existence, its skyrocketing growth has shown that the original proposition was exactly what the market was looking for.
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AudioMob The perfect combination The business was established as a start-up in 2020 by Christian Facey, CEO, and Wilfrid Obeng, CTO, who – both having extensive personal experience and knowledge of advertisement and gaming – clearly saw a market gap for non-intrusive audio ads within mobile games. Christian used to work for Google and Facebook and learned first-hand about measuring the true value of ads and how they influence people along a kind of a funnel, the conversion funnel. Outside work, as a keen gamer himself, he had been used to developing his own mobile video games and has been producing music since the age of 14. When he met Wilfrid Obeng, a skilled engineer with an impressive career at Google, JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs, the future was clear. “My work for Google and then for Facebook gave me a very good understanding of some of the most advanced methodologies behind measurement, the true value of an advertising format and how it benefits the advertiser and how it distracts the player,” says Christian. “And then outside of work, I taught myself how to play games, to code, about game design, sound design, animation and graphic design. So basically, and honestly by chance, I had the perfect combination of skills to launch this company with Wilfrid.” He explains that the two of them started looking at audio ads as a less intrusive form of monetisation, then decided to leave their companies, and invested their savings into minimum viable product streaming, the first audio ads in a game. The pandemic did not impact AudioMob’s development as more people went into gaming. While new games that were due to release were delayed, Christian and Wilfrid decided to invest a seven figure sum into R&D, bringing forward its advertising platform by two years. That investment enabled the company to scale up exponentially in 2021.
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Mixtape Madness first began as a passion project between friends; over the years, as the music scene has grown, so did we, eventually growing into a music discovery platform that has become a paramount infrastructure for empowering emerging artists within British rap and the surrounding sub-genres.
www.mixtapemadness.com info@mixtapemadness.com @mixtapemadness
Christian and Wilfrid at work
@mixtapemadness
@MixtapeMadnessOfficial
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Technology Feature Power of the game Why gaming and audio? Gaming is the fastest growing area of entertainment, and audio is having a resurgence amongst consumers globally. “AudioMob was founded on the core principle that there is a better way to monetise games. Using audio ads, we allow advertisers to reach their consumers and game developers to monetise their games without interrupting gameplay,” says Christian. He explains that AudioMob are innovators in the mobile audio space. The aim is to build products which are simple, intuitive and help customers meet their goals. It turns out that gamers don’t seem to mind little ads like this popping up, and somehow AudioMob seems to have cracked the mechanics.
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In November 2021, the company raised a $14 million Series A round led by Makers Fund and Lightspeed Venture Partners. Also participating are the Sequoia Scout Program and Google. Total investment to date is now $16 million, with business valuation at $110 million. AudioMob has seen impressive client successes with artists including Ed Sheeran and Nas alongside brands like Intel, Jeep and KitKat, who all saw relative metric achievements of more than 1000%. The company is now positioned and tech-enabled in all countries outside of China with notable rising stars being the UAE, Latin America, Germany and Canada accessing over 40,000 games through its Audio Ad Platform.
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Using audio ads, we allow advertisers to reach their consumers and game developers to monetise their games without disrupting gameplay
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AudioMob
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Technology Feature Breaking the trail Christian explains what makes the company stand out: “For one, we actually pioneered and created this whole medium. So we are two and a half years ahead of any incumbent that would want to enter this space. And we do encourage people to enter the space because the overall value of the industry grows and investment in the space grows as well.” “In addition, we are paving the way in terms of audio ad verification. We are the only in-game audio ad company that can analyse the audio state of a phone. We have a lot of competitive advantages when it comes to brand safety, verifying that the audio is playing from an operational standpoint. And, importantly, Wilfrid and myself are a great team with complementary skills and experience, which has enabled us to structure the company in a way that allows for this growth.” The company can boast many success stories, first in the music industry and now in other sectors. When Nas, one of the world’s most popular rappers, was looking to reach even larger audiences, he turned to AudioMob’s non-interrupting in-game ad format to connect with the immense mobile gaming audience. The outcome? Mass Appeal Records used AudioMob’s in-game audio ads for mobile games and apps to advertise a new Nas album. Performance data shows relative CTR improved over 1200%. The album, King’s Disease II, reached the number one spot in Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. Christian comments: “Nas is a great example of our success story. We were seen as a silver bullet in 2021 in the music space but now we work with most major labels, and many of the label’s subsidiaries as well as independent artists. We also have automotive advertisers such as Jeep. We have social media networks, such as Meta. We’ve done work with governments, as well as the largest music streaming company in the world, and many large retailers.”
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AudioMob A powerful medium Christian admits that the company would have never made such astonishing progress alone, without partnerships. “We had some really great early-stage partners, such as Social Point, a world-renowned game developer and publisher, as well as others, who were giving us a great feedback as we developed the product.” “And then on the direct advertiser side, it’s been so helpful working with the likes of BMG, Universal, Warner, Sony, Ministry of Sound, Epic Records, Microsoft Xbox, Intel and many more brands. We have also worked with the largest independent media entertainment agencies in the UK, and one of the largest independent audio ad agencies in Germany, as well as in Canada and the US. So from a very small sphere within the music space, we’ve now expanded to have key partners in many major advertising spheres around the world.” And it does not stop there. The company has just opened an office in Abu Dhabi, and is looking to aggressively expand globally, now eyeing the US, and making a major investment in an R&D Lab to be launched later this year in the Middle East. “We need to double the size of our company in the next six months, and at the moment are on a massive hiring spree, hiring directors across every conceivable division, hiring the teams as well. So this is going to be an exciting year,” muses Christian. In concluding, he points out that the importance of gaming will further increase, a fact to be included in advertisers’ overall strategies. “Netflix is moving into gaming, Amazon has moved into gaming... there’s billions of dollars oriented around gaming, because that’s where the eyes and ears are. Gaming is now a more powerful and more populated medium than TV and social media. This needs to be taken into account if you want to maintain brand, and share a voice for the foreseeable future.” www.audiomob.com
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Technology Feature
Netflix is moving into gaming, Amazon has moved into gaming... there’s billions of dollars oriented around gaming, because that’s where the eyes and ears are
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Niamh Spence
Dr Will Goodall, Acting CEO, Aura Energy
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Aura Energy
The Higher Grade of Resources Australia’s Aura Energy strengthens capacity and resource further in Africa and Europe.
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ased in Melbourne’s Carlton South, Aura Energy is an Australia-based mineral company that is focused on developing a low capex, high-grade uranium project. The Company is engaged in the exploration and evaluation of its projects in both Sweden and Mauritania. Its projects include the Tiris Uranium project in Mauritania and the Haggan Vandi project.
As a business, it focuses on the mining of uranium and polymetallic projects. Currently, the Company is focused on uranium production the Tiris Project, which is a major greenfields uranium discovery in Mauritania. Last year, Aura announced a Resource Upgrade in August of 10% or 5.0 million lb U3O8 bringing the total JORC Resource to 56 Mlbs (at a 100 ppm U3O8 lower cut-off grade). Additionally, Aura also completed a capital estimate update for the Tiris Definitive Feasibility Study. This estimate update brings it in line with current global pricing, with the 2021 figures reconfirming Tiris as not only one of the lowest capex but also one of the lowest operating cost uranium projects. In October 2021, Aura entered a US$10m Offtake Financing Agreement with Curzon. The agreement includes an additional up to US$10m facility, bringing the maximum available under the agreement to US$20m. This year, Aura is expected to continue to transition from a uranium explorer to uranium producer, as well as capitalising on the rapidly growing demand for nuclear power as the world continues to shift towards a decarbonised energy system.
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Resources Feature The shift towards uranium Last year saw uranium to be in demand in line with the demand for carbon free energy rapidly increasing, driven by a shift towards a greener economy. Uranium as a resource is expected to play a hugely critical part in providing cost-effective, emission-free power for the future, with both the commodity and uranium projects globally now gaining significant momentum. Uranium has transitioned in recent years to become a significantly strategic metal, and its value has increased to suit. As carbon becomes harder to obtain, and the supply chain for uranium becomes ever more fragile this demand and value is expected to increase. In addition, macro policy changes are providing a strong tailwind for uranium and paving the way for it to become the most viable energy resource.
The demand coupled with the move towards being greener in our energy use, sees significant upgrades for uranium price forecasts bringing it to approximately US$60 per pound. With several factors at play, uranium has now entered a bear market as sentiment towards uranium and nuclear power shifts rapidly amongst investors, with the Global X Uranium ETF increasing by over 22% year to date. The implications of a potential doubling in electricity demand over the next two decades, along with pressure to decarbonise our power sector could prove huge for the uranium industry. Aura Energy is well placed for the rebound of uranium thanks to its expertise and years of investment into the sector.
Chemical and Process Engineering Electrical and Instrumentation Engineering Project Management Process and Control Systems Engineering Mechanical Engineering Operations and Maintenance Management
www.adelaidecontrolengineering.com
ace@adlcontrol.com.au
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Resources Feature Dr Will Goodall as acting CEO will rapidly build momentum for Aura Energy In early 2022, Dr Will Goodall took the reins as the acting CEO at Aura Energy. With Dr Goodall at the helm of the company, the expansion of the Tiris Resource and preparation for uranium production is expected to rapidly move forward. Dr Goodall has spent over a decade working at Aura, and previously held the role of Aura’s Principal Metallurgist since 2018. In that position he was responsible for delivering the Tiris Uranium Scoping and Definitive Feasibility Studies, and the Häggån Uranium Scoping Study. In his new position as acting CEO, he contributes over 20 years of experience in geometallurgy, mineral processing and hydrometallurgy across a wide range of commodities. He also brings his expertise and knowledge of Aura and its operations alongside contributing a strong mix of technical expertise and corporate experience. Tiris Uranium project One of Aura’s main projects, based in Mauritania, is the Tirus Uranium Project. This project is considered one of the world class projects for energy transition, with low-capex, low-opex uranium. The project had a recent resource upgrade of 10% or 5.0 million lb U3O8 bringing the total JORC Resources to 56 Mlbs U3O8. As a result, Tiris is considered to be a robust uranium project, which is viable at current pricing with estimated cash costs of just $25.43/lb of U3O8 (excluding any contribution from vanadium). The project is considered a ‘shovel ready’ project and potentially the first uranium to come onto market in a new bull market. 2022 sees Aura focusing on the targeted expansion of the Measured and Indicated Resource Upgrade at Tiris. Additionally, Aura will push forward with a drilling programme that will fo-
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cus on portions of the current Inferred Resource within the catchment area of the proposed plant site at Tiris East, allowing to reduce drillhole spacing sufficiently. Häggån Vanadium-Uranium Project Based in Sweden, the Häggån vanadium-uranium project is a 100% owned Vanadium Resource. Currently, the Indicated Resource is defined at a 0.2% V2O5 cut-off grade, of 42 million tonnes at 0.35% V2O5 which is within a coherent zone of high-grade vanadium (HGV) mineralisation. Operating out of a shallow mine of less than 100m, the High-Grade Vanadium Resource (HGV) has been defined. The HGV Zone is 124 million tonnes at 0.43% V2O5 and the HGV is considered to be within 20 metres of surface and to 100m depth. The project involves an in-depth program of work planned to develop on metallurgical testing of the flowsheet so it can be examined at a scoping level. The work will include a definition of test work requirements, assessment of available drill samples for metallurgical testing and a selection of technically capable laboratory specialists to undertake the work. As the project evolves, Aura have partnered with leading consultancy group, Diplomat Communications to keep the Swedish Government and stakeholders engaged throughout. www.auraenergy.com.au
Aura Energy Adelaide Control Engineering Glen Jobbling, CEO of A.C.E, discusses partnership with Aura Energy ”I first met the guys from Aura Energy at an ALTA uranium conference in 2014 where I presented a paper on the benefits of the Orano fluid bed precipitation tecnology. We subsequently caught up once or twice a year at uranium conferences. I sat in on an Aura Energy presentation about their Tiris deposit in Mauritania and later suggested that the Adelaide Control Engineering (ACE) modular technology would be a perfect fit given the issues that confronted them with the location of the deposit. ACE modules are designed and constructed in Australia, and then fully tested before shipping to site as container modules. On site the modules are then arranged and connected in a very short time by a site supervisor and a small labour force. As the modules have already been fully tested the commissioning of the plant is not an onerous task and the plant can be up and running very quickly. The Aura Energy Study Manager took the time to visit ACE in Adelaide after this conference and we discussed the ACE modular plant in more detail and worked through some of the technical issues of establishing the mine in Mauritania. Since this first meeting we have continued to refine and update proposals for the modular plant as more information from studies became available. Aura have a great uranium deposit here and we look forward to assisting them to get the Tiris project up and running.” www.adelaidecontrolengineering.com
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A.C.E
A 3D render of ACE’s Complete Modular Process Plant
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Resources Feature
Expert Consultants in the Uranium Industry Adelaide Control Engineering (ACE) was born in 1999 with a simple goal: making uranium mining safer and more cost effective. However, since its inception the company has grown from its base in southern Australia to help companies in Europe, the US, Canada, Africa, and even Kazakhstan with equipment and engineering services. Now working as a multidisciplinary consultancy offering everything from design to project management and construction, ACE is continuing to help clients get uranium out of the ground for a lower cost. But success was far from guaranteed for ACE. At the turn of the 21st century, ACE was working with Heathgate Resources to build the Beverly Uranium Mine in South Australia. ACE took care of the drying and drum packaging plant, as well as assisting with commissioning and start-up of the operation. “In 1999 the, uranium price was only $15 per pound,” explains CEO Glenn Jobling. “That’s why no new uranium mines had been built in a long time. Unfortunately, the price didn’t increase due to stockpiled Russian uranium coming onto the market following the end of the Soviet Union.” As a result, ACE didn’t work on another uranium mine until 2007. But, thanks to its previous experience building drying and drum packaging plants, ACE had an ace up its sleeve – it had the know-how that very few companies could match allowing it to win the contract for the Langer Heinrich Mine in Namibia for Paladin Energy. Since then, under Jobling’s leadership, ACE has
grown and expanded its operations to encompass a range of different services and products to help companies mine uranium. Perhaps the jewel in the crown is ACE’s Modular System, a proprietary technology that ensures the safe and efficient extraction of uranium. ACE built its first modular plant in 2010 when it teamed up with Urtek LLC to design a process to extract uranium from phosphate. Phosphate deposits are often associated with large concentrations of uranium and this process was to decontaminate the phosphate ore used in fertiliser production and to also provide a saleable uranium by-product. The plant was constructed in a modular form allowing it to be easily transported and allowing the technology to be tested on different phosphate deposits around the world to ensure the process was robust. “That’s how we got into building modular plants,” explains Jobling. “We realised that building modular plants could significantly lower our capital costs.” “Most uranium mines are found in developing countries in very remote locations where component availability is limited and technical skill level is often low,” says Jobling. “This makes building the technically specialised plants on the ground very expensive and time consuming. Our modular plants, however, can be built and fully tested in our workshop, then transported to the mine with only minimal work required on-site to install and commission. Our engineering and manufacturing times are significantly reduced thereby lowering costs and allowing us to bring more advanced engineering to the mines.”
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Resources Feature “Some other important advantages are that it gives us the ability to quote firm price, delivery and startup dates to the client, which comes with some risk for site constructed plants,” says Jobling.
nicating the benefits of informed decision making. We always aim to provide our clients with the best, most cost-effective solution in the shortest timeframe possible.”
The modular system are designed with Category 4 safety systems that feature a single, all-encompassing kill switch designed to maximise plant utilisation through equipment availability. “Instead of an operator having to find an electrician to isolate the motors, turn off the valves, and lock all the machinery before doing routine task inside the module, they can simply flip the kill switch and have it all happen automatically,” Jobling says. “This makes the process faster and easier – as well as removing the risk of human error.”
ACE is also the only company in the world licensed to use fluid bed precipitation technology originally developed by Areva and now owned by Orano. “The fluid bed technology produces larger crystals which makes the dewatering, calcining, drying and drum packing more efficient, so putting Orano’s fluid bed precipitation technology in front of our modular technology made every other module perform better and deliver a higher throughput and lower operating costs,” he explains.
The current issues with the Covid-19 virus and the conflict in Europe are posing many hurdles for manufacturers to overcome in order to meet contractual arrangements and expected delivery. Delays due to extended lead times for overseas components means that detailed engineering needs to be completed so that orders can be placed early, and the same applies to materials with prices increasing sharply. These issues favour delivery of ACE modular plants ahead of other options. Despite being one of the most established and longstanding businesses in the uranium sector, ACE is not standing still, nor resting on its laurels. Constant improvement, according to Jobling, was, and remains, integral to the business’ success. “Throughout our involvement in uranium projects, we have been astounded by the lack of innovation – particularly in those processes undertaken by the larger engineering houses,” he says. “Sometimes the process flowsheets, for example, are simply copied from one project to another with very little effort put into refinement and innovation, despite the chance to save significant amounts in operating costs over the course of the mine’s life – it’s perplexing.” “It’s essential to advise your clients about better technologies, as well as quantifying and commu-
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So, with an enduring spirit for innovation and improvement, ACE is already eyeing the next opportunities in the uranium market. “Right now, we have modules at the front end for in-situ mine leaching, as well as the modules at the back for precipitation, drying and drum packaging,” says Jobling. “We’re building more modules in the middle, including one for ion exchange, so we can further simplify our plants and minimise costs for our clients.” “We are also working on pilot plant modular designs for other minerals including graphite and lithium where we can assist our clients by de-risking new mines – and there’s some innovation that I can’t yet talk about! We’re very busy working in the background and moving the business forward.” It might have been in operation for almost half a century but, with nuclear power likely to play a larger role in power generation around the world, as well as potential trade embargoes on Russian-produced uranium, the coming years could be the company’s most fruitful yet. www.adelaidecontrolengineering.com
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We always aim to provide our clients with the best, most cost-effective solution in the shortest time-frame possible...
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Plant testing using ACE’s new precipitation technology
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Frew Murdoch
CMC Networks
Connecting the Dots
Marisa Trisonlino, CEO, CMC Networks
CMC Networks future-proofs networking and connectivity against industry challenges.
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nce arbitrary terms such as “remote work”, “unmute”, and “Zooming” have become par for the course in the new normal landscape. With the rise of concepts such as these, it comes as no surprise the telecommunications industry fared better during the COVID-19 pandemic than many other sectors, even withstanding the global supply disturbances. Gone are the days when networking was merely a ticket logged with a specialist hidden away behind the doors of the IT department. It has become a critical part of everyday life in the family, social, and work domains. Early in 2020, Marisa Trisolino, CEO at CMC Networks, was quoted as saying that the growth of the Internet of Things would lead to increasing demand for connectivity. Marisa asserted that this, coupled with the drive for 5G and the rapid evolution of the industry, would present connectivity providers with three critical challenges: data security and integrity; research and development investment; and skills development. Looking to the year 2022, the 5G rollout remains a focal point in the industry, as do widespread changes in cybersecurity regulations and the relationship between technology and geopolitics. In this ever-changing environment, data security, skills, and research and development are more pertinent than ever, and global service providers need to jump through higher and higher hoops in order to stay relevant.
Keeping an eye on the future CMC Networks is a global service provider affording customized data connectivity services for tomorrow’s business needs. The organization has become Africa and the Middle East’s premier data network, servicing 51 countries in the former region, and 12 in the latter. CMC’s global partner network includes over 180 suppliers and vendors, with a majority of the top global telecommunications companies utilizing the organization’s vast African and Middle Eastern footprint. With Marisa’s forecasts for the industry’s challenges in mind, CMC Networks has taken steps to safeguard its future, as well as that of its suppliers and end-users, through the development of advanced security protocols, talent, skills, and innovative technologies. As an illustration, CMC became the first service provider to offer an
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CMC Networks Artificial Intelligence (AI) enabled core in Africa, enriched with several software-defined options. A worthy example of an organization demonstrating adaptability and forward-thinking in the face of a fast-coming future.
of telecommunications and with talent and skills becoming a major point of contention in the industry, Marisa recognizes the importance of knowing her team, their capabilities, and creating a collaborative company culture.
Or, in Marisa’s words: “We need to demonstrate how relevant we are. We have a network that is by far the most superior and metrics that are better than other companies. I would love to see CMC earmarked as one of the tier one operators for Africa and the Middle East.”
“I like to work with cooperation and a common purpose. Everybody has to understand why we are taking this sort of decision. If we understand the why, then the how is a whole lot easier,” explained Marisa. “Bring the team common focus, common understanding, and make sure everyone is appreciated.”
Talent and skills for organizational success
Beyond this, Marisa also leads through example. As she shared with us: “Whatever you want in life, you have got to work hard. Whatever you need to do, you have to say yes to every opportunity that comes across your table. There should be no ego involved. You roll up your sleeves and you show your value.”
Marisa joined CMC Networks after a 21-year successful career at AT&T, across various roles in sales, supplier management, and strategic planning. Having touched many different parts
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Certified Optics offer an extensive range of compatible optical and copper transceivers to fit your requirements. The transceivers range from 100BASE-FX to 100Gb and cover optical and copper transceivers such as GBIC, SFP, Xenpak, X2, XFP, SFP+, QSFP+, CFP and QSFP28.
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Telecomms Feature
Whatever you want in live, you’ve got to work hard ... you have to say yes to every opportunity that comes across your table.
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CMC Networks Walking the talk, CMC Networks recruited more than forty professionals over the pandemic period and created an open environment for skills sharing. The organization understood the power of a shared vision and promoted synergy by encouraging employees from top to entry-level positions to contribute to their company objectives and goals. In addition, CMC Networks received their ISO 27001, ISO 27701, and MEF 3.0 CE Certifications between 2020 and 2022, showcasing a commitment to skills and security development even in the most trying of times. Marisa Trisolino with her CMC Networks team
Micro-D Micro-D Ltd is a leading provider of IT hardware and sourcing services. Our warehouse and our strategic partners’ facilities in the UK hold over £35M in networking products, IT systems and components, ranging from individual spares and upgrades through to fully configurable server units, storage arrays and networking equipment. If you or your customers are in need of specific parts, it’s likely we’ll already have them in stock. If we happen not to, our international sourcing team (operating from multiple locations across the world) will work hard to find exact or compatible parts to suit your requirements. We have well established satellite sales offices in South Africa, Botswana and Australia, with our HQ being in the UK.
Real-world threats to security With ongoing fears of an Internet war between Russia and Ukraine as well as the online exploits of hacktivist group Anonymous, cybersecurity is a huge concern worldwide. Add to this global governments’ tightening of cybersecurity regulations and it is plain to see that the online security landscape is not designed for easy navigation. In short, a rat’s nest might be preferable. Although the idea of a cyberwar is more macro in nature, identity theft, fraud, and malware are major threats that occur on a day-to-day basis across persons and entities. CMC Networks actively guards against such occurrences through network and end-to-end security that encompasses the latest technologies while complying with international standards. Next-Gen Firewalls, web content filtering, real-time threat intelligence, and ZERO Trust access are a few
With over 15 years of relationships and experience in the sourcing and supply of new, recertified and refurbished IT hardware, Micro-D Ltd is uniquely equipped to locate and supply exactly what you need to stay up and running. Micro-D Ltd has been working with CMC Networks for well over 8 years, this is testament to our ability to deliver product at the right price when they need it, wherever in the world. Micro-D Ltd is also an Official Distributor for KEMP & Progress, as well as the Global Distribution partner for Certified Optics. Certified Optics offer an extensive range of compatible SFP’s / GBIC’s for almost all vendors. CMC have now standardised on using Certified Optics within their global operation. If you require any networking products, systems or components, send details of your requirements to the Micro-D Ltd sales team and they’ll be only too glad to assist. They can be reached at: sales@microd.co.uk www.microd.co.uk
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CMC Networks appropriate examples of what this looks like on the ground. CMC Networks’ emphasis on data security, research and development, and talent effectively secures the company’s relevance for 2022 and thereafter. With over thirty years of growth in telecommunications and connectivity within Africa and the Middle East and an exemplary grasp of the expectations of tomorrow’s hybrid business environment, CMC Networks is the global service provider to watch for the future and likely the soon-to-be top choice for connectivity within the African continent. www.cmcnetworks.net
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Romana Moares
Control Union UK
Certified Sustainability With sustainability becoming one of the key topics across all industries, companies need an experienced and reputable body to help them achieve their sustainability goals. This is where Control Union UK comes into the picture: offering a wide spectrum of independent services including certification, auditing, inspections, and others, the company plays an irreplaceable role in today’s world.
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ontrol Union UK is part of the Peterson Control Union group, which has been operating in logistics, quality, certification and risk management for over 100 years. Its in-depth knowledge and experience
cover all aspects of the supply chain in many industries, including agriculture, plastics, biofuels, fisheries, textiles, and many other sectors. The company has a strong footing in the UK Control Union UK has a presence across the whole of country, with offices in London, Lymington and Aberdeen, and other staff based throughout the UK. “We work with companies of all sizes to support them in achieving their sustainability goals. We assist them in implementing the sustainable sourcing approach which best suits them, through certifications as well as tailored sustainability programmes,” says Managing Director Franco Costantini.
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Control Union UK Trusted partner He explains that the group of which Control Union UK is a part operates around the world, drawing on its century-long experience and expertise. “In 2020, we celebrated our 100th anniversary.” “Over the years, the company has been expanding the range of services it provides as well as the sectors in which it operates. Today, we provide certifications, inspections and advisory to our customers from a range of industries from food to bio energy and, increasingly, across their whole supply chains.” Certification services range from fisheries to sustainable palm oil, fair trade to plastic-free, and the company continues to develop its already wide offering. “At the moment, we offer over 100 certification programmes, all of them related to sustainability, with a view to offering support to organisations in achieving their sustainability goals; assistance with defining sustainability policies and reducing their environmental footprint,” says Federica Cionci,
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Project Manager for Plastics, Textiles and Recycling certifications. “We take time to understand our customers’ needs, to ensure that our carefully considered solution is the most appropriate for their business. The aim is to move them to a more sustainable operation, and of course, we also help them to set their measurement systems so that they can see how their sustainability goals are being achieved.” The group employs some 5,000 people in its office in 80 countries. Mr Costantini points out that the standards and requirements are constantly evolving, so it is key to keep pace with environmental regulations and developments across industries, as more data and more scientific proofs are available to develop innovative solutions. Teams from across all 80 countries collaborate to ensure that they remain at the forefront of these developments, and the company offers regular webinars and training to keep their clients equally informed.
Sustainability Feature One of a kind Control Union stands out as a dynamic, energetic organisation with a structure which allows for fast development, to implement and to scale up services very effectively and efficiently across the board. “Innovation is another important characteristic of Control Union. We are always on the lookout for innovative services as industries increasingly need enhanced ways of tackling sustainability. We try always to be a step ahead in order to develop and offer an innovative approach,” affirms Mr Costantini. “So many organisations source products or services locally and internationally, so in order to meet their own goals, they need to make sure that their suppliers meet their expectations in terms of the en-
vironmental impact of products. This can mean for example eliminating sources related to deforestation and making sure farming is done according to environmental requirements, or that recyclable materials are used. For example, we have a range of plastics certifications to help businesses reduce their plastics impact,” says Federica Cionci. The company uses a wide pool of knowledge acquired over more than a century, and its expertise is one of its clear differentiators. “To find the right people with the right type of knowledge, especially in sectors that are continuously developing, is naturally a challenge,” says Mr Costantini. “We always try to cross-train colleagues, so that they gain experience in different perspectives. For me personally, this is one of the most exciting aspects of Control Union.”
Control Union UK’s plastics certifications help businesses reduce their plastics impact
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Control Union UK
Innovation is another important characteristic of Control Union. We are always on the lookout for innovative services as industries increasingly need enhanced ways of tackling sustainability.
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Control Union UK
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Franco Costantini
Frederica Cionci
Franco joined Control Union (UK) in 2016 as Managing Director. He has worked for some 15 years in the Testing, Inspections and Certifications sector, across a range of industries including agri-food, consumer products, industrial. Franco holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA), a post-grad Research Masters (M.Res) in Fluid Dynamics and a Master of Engineering (M.Eng) in Mechanical Engineering.
Federica has a background in marine research, obtaining her BSc degree in environmental science and MSc in marine biology from the University of Pisa. She joined Control Union UK in 2018 and progressed to project coordinator in 2019 managing the administrative aspects of a number of certification programmes, developing and promoting new certification schemes focused on different aspects of sustainability, and also coordinating new projects such as training courses and webinars.
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Sustainability Feature Meeting the market challenges As any other company from any sector, Control Union has had to deal with the restrictions and impact of the global pandemic over the last two years. Uncertainty has been the biggest challenge. “Anything that brings obstacles to trade, obstacles to movement, is not good for business. On the other hand, the pandemic has also brought about some opportunities, specifically in terms of digitisation and the need to develop new ways of working,” notes Mr Costantini. “Before Covid-19, our services were mostly provided in person at the client’s facilities. Now, we combine the remote approach with a physical presence, saving time and money for all. The crisis gave us a push to look internally and see what can be improved.” But the pandemic has not been the only game changer. Brexit has also brought challenges around the uncertainty in UK trade and commerce, specifically in agriculture, but also cargo inspections. He acknowledges that in the UK, a lot of agricultural organisations are waiting at the moment to decide exactly what their strategy is going to be and how they’re going to run their operations in the next 10–20 years. “Companies are waiting to see what the government does exactly around subsidies and policies for supporting environmentally friendly agriculture in the UK. As a result, we are actually seeing some of our agricultural schemes growing more quickly outside of the UK at the moment, but hoping that a real opportunity will come in the UK as that settles down, and policies become clearer, enabling more rapid growth for agricultural initiatives on home soil.” However, Control Union has not stood still. In February, the company was accredited as an approved body for UKCA marking, a product marking used for certain goods being placed on the market in Great Britain, often termed ‘New Approach’ goods, to replace the CE marking.
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Sustainability Feature Regenerative agriculture Agriculture is another area where impressive progress has been achieved on a global scale. At the end of last year, the regenagri team from Control Union UK were invited to contribute to a meeting with the United Nations Environmental Program’s (UNEP) internal task force on Sustainable Food Systems and Resilient Agriculture. Control Union presented the regenagri programme to the UNEP team, focusing on how regenerative practices and outcomes can be measured and monitored through the regenagri programme. “Regenagri is our regenerative agriculture initiative, and one of our key areas for growth in 2022. Through the scheme we certify that food or fibre is being produced on a farm that is managed in a way that actively regenerates the land – increasing soil health and biodiversity, improving water management and sequestering carbon from the atmosphere back into the soil,” says Mr Costantini. “Regenerative farming has become crucial around the world to reverse the environmental impact of agriculture and to enhance ecosystems. We’re seeing a significant rise in demand for regeneratively farmed produce from both the food and textiles industries.”
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Control Union has worked with many companies across the globe under the regenagri programme. A good example is the grain production company Scheffer. The partnership between Scheffer and Control union began in 2020 when Scheffer were the first Brazilian company to be certified by Control Union for their regenerative farming practices. The partnership will continue as a joint effort to create more awareness globally of regenerative farming practices and will enforce and straighten supply chains to align with the regenerative strategy. “The key point is we are trying to make is for brands to care for their supply chains and how they can be more sustainable,” says Mr Costantini. “With COP26 still fresh in our minds, it is vital to remember that climate change and biodiversity are intrinsically interlinked, and both are vital to the future health of our planet. In this respect, we will be working with our clients to scale up the implementation of regenerative programmes,” he concludes. uk.controlunion.com
Control Union UK Candiani Candiani x regenagri® Content Standard Italian mill Candiani SpA is at the forefront of innovation and sustainability in the denim industry. Candiani is recognized as among the first to utilize responsibly sourced cotton fibers, dyes, and clean technologies. It is also working to reduce water and energy consumption in the manufacturing process while replacing harmful chemicals, a widespread issue in denim production. In November 2019, the company revealed its revolutionary COREVA™technology, the world’s first fully biodegradable stretch denim, created with R&D partner DENHAM and now being used by global brands. Now, Candiani is reaching back through the value chain to focus on regenerative agriculture, particularly regenerative cotton. Candiani has become the first company to be certified with regenagri’s® chain of custody Content Standard. The Content Standard certification was launched in June 2020 by Control Union, an independent inspection body, helping businesses define, measure, and achieve their sustainability goals. Control Union aims to establish the regenagri® chain of custody Content Standard as the global industry standard for regeneratively grown fibers. It monitors and ensures identification, traceability and segregation of elements to ensure no cross contamination between regenerative materials and conventional. Regenerative agriculture is considered the new frontier and a fundamental transition for the fashion industry. Regenerative agriculture has yet to be universally defined. Surprisingly, many stress that this is probably a good thing. The very foundation of regenerative agriculture is extremely site and context specific. While outcomes may vary from farm to farm, many benefits associated with regenerative practices have been documented. A strong focus on soil health leads to such benefits as an increase in biodiversity above and below ground, an increase in nutrient and water efficiency, and the capability to store more carbon in the soil, offering a potential solution to climate change.
regenagri® is a regenerative agriculture initiative which aims at securing the health of the land and the wealth of those who live on it by offering a holistic approach that looks at the entire farming operation. It seeks to maximize the positive benefits of regenerative agriculture in a measurable way. Farms and the companies in their supply chain can benefit from support to transition to a regenerative approach, measurement, analysis and sharing of on farm data through the digital hub, certification against the regenagri® standard criteria and carbon verification. The regenagri® Content Standard focuses on continuous improvement of ecological outcomes rather than maintaining a status quo. This strive for continuous improvement is partly why Candiani has chosen to partner with regenagri®. Candiani believes it gets to the heart of regenerative agriculture and makes the standard very farmer friendly. Most importantly for Candiani it also supports farms and organizations with a complete solution to facilitate the continued adoption of regenerative farming methods. “We believe in a future where regeneratively grown cotton is the industry standard’ says Alberto Candiani, Global Manager of Candiani, about this significant partnership, “We are happy to be the first to partner with regenagri® to support this transition and consider them to be the best positioned to advance the widespread adoption and comprehensive verification of regenerative practices.” candianidenim.it regenagri.org
PROJECT DIRECTED BY
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Sandra Trzepacz
Romana Moares
Maria Rita Galli, CEO, DESFA
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DESFA DESFA vessels entering port
Powering Greece’s Future Natural gas has been and will remain one of the core energy sources. It is Earth’s cleanest hydrocarbon, and will continue to play an important role to support Europe’s energy transition in the years to come. In Greece, the company responsible for securing liquefied natural gas regassification and transmission toward millions of homes and businesses, as well as ensuring the country’s security of supply, is DESFA, a company with strong roots in Europe’s energy landscape.
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he Hellenic Gas Transmission System Operator (DESFA) S.A. was established in 2007 and is responsible for the operation, management, utilisation and development of the Greek Natural Gas System and its interconnections, in a technically sound and economically efficient way, in order to best serve its users with safety, reliability and adequacy. In addition to the transmission system, measuring approximately 1,500 km of high-pressure pipelines in operation, connecting the grid to four different entry points (Kipi, Sidirokastro, Nea Mesimvria, Agia Triada), the company also operates the Revithoussa LNG Terminal, which is located on the islet of Revithoussa, 45 km west of Athens. Revithoussa is the only terminal in Greece that receives LNG cargoes, temporarily stores and regasifies LNG, supplying the NNGT system with natural gas from diversified supply sources. DESFA’s CEO, Maria Rita Galli, explains that in 2018, a consortium of European investors, consisting of the three TSOs of Italy, Spain and Belgium (Snam, Enagas and Fluxys) acquired 66%
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DESFA of the company’s capital, with the 34% remaining to the Hellenic Republic. “This means that the company, apart from the regulated services it provides, is increasingly active in the provision of services to third parties, offering its know-how and competence to companies, especially when it comes to the operation and maintenance of third-party infrastructure.” Specifically in Greece, DESFA has been assigned with the maintenance of the Greek section of the TAP pipeline, the high-pressure pipeline that connects Azerbaijan via Turkey to Greece, Albania and Italy. Services expansion has been not only domestic. In the course of the last two years, DESFA was awarded a major contact for the operation of one of the largest regasification terminals in the world, the newly commissioned KIPIC LNG Import terminal in Kuwait, with eight liquefied gas storage tanks, each with a capacity of 225,000m3. Despite the challenges of the Covid-19 restrictions, DESFA has already a team of 100 people working on the operation and maintenance of the terminal in Kuwait.
Expanding to serve DESFA has a large-scale investment plan in place, to further expand the natural gas network in Greece, in particular to cover the western part of the country where lignite power plants traditionally covered the electricity and heat demands of the region. “We are making a huge investment to expand our reach and to deliver natural gas to the western parts of the market, as well as to increase the capacity of the system to meet growing demand, and accommodate large flows of gas, coming from different directions,” says Ms Galli. DEWSFA gas grid will expand by 20% by 2026, connecting new entry points and new neighbouring countries such as North Macedonia and will further enable the transit of LNG imported in the Revithoussa terminal to the northern Balkan countries, thus supporting also these countries’ diversification of sources and security of supply.
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We are making a huge investment to expand our reach and to deliver natural gas to the western parts of the market.
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Ms Galli points out that the company has also started to invest in natural gas infrastructure through partnerships. “In December 2021, we concluded the acquisition of an equity participation of 20% as one of five shareholders with equal stakes in an important project, the Alexandroupolis floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU), which is located in the northeast part of the country.” The construction and operation of the Alexandroupolis FSRU, to be operational by the end of 2023, will further contribute to the energy security, liquidity and diversification of the country and the entire south-eastern Europe region, strengthening the strategic role of Greece and offering alternative sources and routes for the supply of natural gas in the area.
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Energy Feature
About the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) TAP transports natural gas from the giant Shah Deniz field in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea to Europe. The 878 km long pipeline connects with the Trans Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) at the Turkish-Greek border in Kipoi, crosses Greece and Albania and the Adriatic Sea, before coming ashore in Southern Italy. TAP will facilitate gas supplies to South Eastern European countries through prospective interconnectors. In particular, Bulgaria will be able to cover up to 33% of its total gas demand through TAP after the completion of the Interconnector Greece Bulgaria (IGB). TAP’s exits in Greece and Albania, together with the landfall in Italy provide multiple opportunities for further transport of gas from Azerbaijan to the wider European markets. As a key part of the Southern Gas Corridor, TAP is strategically and economically important to Europe andessential in providing reliable access to a new source of natural gas. TAP plays a significant role in boosting Europe’s energy security, supply diversification, as well as its decarbonisation objectives. Since the start of commercial operations at the end of 2020, TAP has transported more than 10 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas to Europe. TAP’s shareholding is comprised of BP (20%), SOCAR (20%), Snam (20%), Fluxys (19%), Enagás (16%) and Axpo (5%). www.tap-ag.com www.twitter.com/tap_pipeline
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DESFA Hydrogen ready The company is actively participating in the debates on how natural gas, specifically in Greece, can contribute to the achievement of the decarbonisation targets. Recently, DESFA has submitted a proposal in the context of Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEI) for the development of a European “Hydrogen Technologies and Systems” value chain, relating to Greece’s readiness to accept and transport increasing percentages of hydrogen blended into natural gas. “We participate in many European associations and initiatives including the European Hydrogen Backbone, Europe’s hydrogen infrastructure needed to achieve its climate and energy objectives. Last year, we developed a detailed strategy for the gradual introduction of green gases, assessing how our network can progressively accommodate new gases
being first blended with natural gas and progressively moving to the future of pure hydrogen or other renewable gases,” says Ms Galli. DESFA has already taken significant steps in this direction, as all new pipelines that are under development have been designed to transport hydrogen as well. One specific project is of major importance - the 163 km West Macedonia pipeline, which will be the first high-pressure transmission gas pipeline in Greece and one of the first in Europe certified to transport up to 100% hydrogen. Looking ahead, Ms Galli affirmed that the company will continue to promote the key role of natural gas infrastructure in the energy transition, the strengthening of Greece’s role as an energy hub, as well as focusing on implementing technologies that move towards climate neutrality.
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DESFA Under sound leadership A nuclear engineer by background, Ms Galli is a recognised expert in her field, having assumed various roles within international business development for major energy companies over the course of her professional life. She was Executive Vice President Business Development & Asset Management at Snam, one of the world’s leading energy infrastructure operators and one of Italy’s largest listed companies. Working for almost 20 years in Eni, the Italian Oil & Gas company, she participated from the very beginning in the process of liberalisation of the European gas market, and its transformation from the national monopolistic systems to a fully integrated single pan-European platform for commercial operation. Last but not least, she also led the acquisition process of DESFA that was concluded in 2018 and was the Chairman of SENFLUGA Energy Holdings S.A., DESFA’s majority shareholder. Speaking about the value of responsibility in corporate governance, Ms Galli stressed the importance of incorporating ESG principles in DESFA’s strategy. She herself is very active in matters of diversity and inclusion, and highlighted the power that diversity generates in every organization: “Encouraging young women to pursue fields such as science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) is important in order to break some biases and promote their participation in traditionally male-dominated fields such as energy. Being an engineer myself, I only hope to be able to represent a role model for young women who wish to pursue a career in engineering and energy and as a company to be able to contribute proactively in promoting the role of young engineers and scientists in our organisation.” www.desfa.gr
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PROJECT DIRECTED BY
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Malvern Kandemwa
Niamh Spence
Aerial view of the Asanko gold mine, Ghana
Investing in Ghana Through the Asanko Gold Mine 100
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Business Enquirer’s Niamh Spence takes a closer look at one of Ghana’s most profitable gold assets; Galiano Gold and Gold Fields’ multi-deposit Asanko mine.
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s a joint venture with Galiano Gold, Inc. and Gold Fields, Ltd., the Asanko Gold Mine is located in Ghana and boasts significant profitability due to its resources. The Asanko Gold mine is a multi-deposit complex with two primary resources: Nkran and Esaase. In addition, there are also multiple satellite deposits, as the location is situated along the Asankrangwa Gold Belt. As a wealthy region of Ghana known for its precious metal deposits, Galiano’s investment has proved to be promising since its inception.
Galiano Gold In January of 2016, the gold production commenced at this vital site in Ghana. However, it wouldn’t be until April of that same year that commercial production would be declared on the site. Over the years, the mine has produced massive profits and extracted resources, proving the benefit of investing in this critical investment project. For Galiano Gold, their joint venture has proved to be a fantastic addition to their robust portfolio of key mining sites around the globe. Currently, the Asanko Gold Mine employs 2,600 people. Most of the workforce is the local Ghanaians, of which about 53% of them reside in the local communities nearby. For the local communities and the companies that have invested in this venture, the benefits are considerably growing and only showing further promise. In 2019 alone, the mine exceeded the upper-end of guidance with record gold production that amassed 251,044 gold ounces. In 2020, the mine was targeted to retain about 245,000 ounces of gold production at all-in sustaining costs of $1,150 per ounce. For both Galiano Gold and Gold Fields, these metrics are promising for their future endeavors, mainly as they are situated on vital land known as the “Asankrangwa Gold Belt.”
Matt Badylak, President & CEO, Galiano Gold
The Nkran deposit is precisely located on the Kumasi Basin on this gold belt within the country of Ghana. The Asankrangwa Gold Belt has complex northeast-trending shear zones situated among the central axis of the Kumasi Basin. As one of the significant northeast-trending shears or structures, this is a crucial part of Ghana’s gold-mining region and will only be discovered and adopted more as more investigation continues in this important gold mining region of the world. As the most extensive land package, the Galiano team is ecstatic about the opportunity to investigate further and find out what other regions will also become profitable in their gold mining operations. Both Galiano and Gold Fields have 45% economic interest in the mine, with the Government of Ghana retaining 10% of the fi-
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Galiano Gold nancial interest. Galiano is the manager and the operator of this mine. Still, by working with the Government of Ghana and Gold Fields, Galiano can ensure tremendous success and opportunity to multiple stakeholders. Galiano Gold, Inc. has a long track record of success in gold mining, especially within the African continent. Ensuring further mine development and the management of these mines, Galiano has delivered excellent results thus far to ensure shareholder returns consistently. Their current reports regarding their Asanko Gold Mine demonstrate even further success than their recent years. For the last year, Galiano reported another exceeded record level for their gold production. However, the firm knew its great potential when it first invested in this project. In 2015, Galiano and Gold Fields entered into a joint venture 2015. Ahead of schedule, they would build the multi-pit asset and have the first gold poured in 2016 after completing the structure to perform their operations. Since then, it has been nothing but profits and returns from this binding site, with the promise of giving back to Ghana’s Government. Every day of operation also contributes to the prosperity and longevity of
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the Ghanaian people. It is a beneficial situation across the board for each entity involved. Even the Ghanaian people are working at the site benefit their family members and their community. Ghana is the largest producer of gold on the African continent. So it is no surprise that precious metals producers such as Galiano have invested in sites within this country. Many of these gold belts, including the same one that Galiano invested in alongside Gold Fields, are some of the most sought-after gold belts globally. Part of the reason is the geological framework that helps make up this portion of the country. The Asankranga Gold Belt is comprised of Palaeoproterozoic metasedimentary and metavolcanic rocks. This specific gold belt measures 200 kilometers long to 20 kilometers wide, and it is known for the significant mineral and precious metal deposits found within this region of Ghana. The Asanko Gold Mine, as owned by Galiano and Gold Fields, is among the largest and located right in the middle of this precious region for gold mining. It could not have been a better investment for Galiano and their shareholders, as the returns have already proven significant for all invested parties.
Resources Feature More so than the precious metals found on the Asankranga Gold Belt, this region is also known for being extremely under-explored. Galiano and Gold Fields invested in this region as newcomers to the area and expected to find more value and the other sites where gold mining could be conducted. With the promise of exploration, there’s likely going to be even further discovery of new areas of profitability. These are all backed by their policies and pledge to commit to sustainability and corporate social responsibility. As a firm, Galiano’s gold mine successes are also backed by their promise for sustainability and further development for the future. The firm’s goal is to deliver value in a safe but secure manner, contributing to the global sustainable development of the host communities. Thus, this would be their decision to give 10% of their investment back to the people of Ghana to ensure that their host communities also benefit from their business ventures, acquisitions, and operations. Within the industry, this sets them apart and makes their intentions clear: every business venture will be beneficial for all. Galiano prides itself on being honest, transparent, and upfront with its shareholders and stakeholders. Their business is run responsibly and ethically, from start to finish. With a focus on minimizing the effect on the environment, Galiano still produces solid financial returns to each investor of their company while also performing their tasks responsibly. As a company, they continue to deliver above expectations, and their continued efforts in the gold belt of Ghana will yield even further promise and return on their investment. Over the course of their history as a company, Galiano Gold has delivered over $65 million in dividends to their shareholders, most of this due to their most recent investment into the mine in Ghana. More so than that, they will only continue to provide their shareholders with the promise of success and return on their business operations. As said, they are in the untapped region of Ghana
Knight Piesold Global Mining Consultants Knight Piésold Ghana Limited was Incorporated in 1996 and since that time has provided specialist Engineering, Environmental and Materials Testing services to the Mining sector within Ghana and neighboring West Africa countries. The Knight Piésold group, of which Knight Piésold Ghana is part, is an international company of consulting Engineers and Environmental scientists providing services to public and private sector clients in the Water, Power, Mining and Environmental fields. OUR EXPERTISE Engineering: Geotechnical Engineering; Water Resources Engineering; Structural Engineering. Environmental: Baseline Studies; Water Quality Studies; Environmental Management Plans and Monitoring; Environmental and Social Impact Studies; Closure and reclamation; Environmental Auditing; Water Quality Studies: Social Studies and Community Engagement. Geosciences: Hydrology, Hydrogeology; Geochemistry Management and Testing: Construction Supervision and QA/QC; Soils and Materials Testing; Geographic Information System; Data Management; Project Management. CONTACT DETAILS Knight Piésold Ghana Ltd. House No.20 2nd Close Airport Residential Area P.O Box C4122 Cantonments Accra Tel: +233 30 702 1155 accra@knightpiesold.com anketiah@knightpiesold.com www.knightpiesold.com
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Resources Feature in these gold mines, which means that they are likely to discover further deposits and mining areas that might even yield more significant returns than people have been seeing thus far. Looking forward to the future, it is clear that Galiano Gold will only further commit to good yields and more exceeded totals for their yearly gold returns. As of recently this year, Galiano was proceeding with exploratory drilling to see what other areas could be procured for further gold mining in the Asanko region. In the first half of 2021, they reported that they primarily focused on Miradini North, but their focus changed in the second half of the year. Then, they began to focus their efforts more on Dynamite Hill, Kaniago West, and Midras South. At Dynamite Hill, they drilled 30 different holes to find four central gold reserves awaiting extraction. Kaniago West boasted another 27 drilled holes and three central gold mining locations that they could pursue in the future. Finally, Madras South totaled 19 major holes drilled and three central gold mining locations identified from their efforts. Fortunately, further discoveries have yet to be reported to the public, as some of these are currently in production for further investigation of the site. Still, likely, these exploratory efforts will further ensure that Galiano Gold will continue its strong history of profitability and strong return for its shareholders. In the Asanko Gold Mine, Galiano and Gold Fields have committed to their continued discovery, investment, and work to help provide not only their shareholders the value promised but also the opportunity to develop their host communities and contribute to the creation of jobs. This in itself sets Galiano apart from others and gives them a strong reputation in the industry, unlike other competitors. As a company, Galiano is one of the leaders in the gold mining industry. Due to their work in Ghana, they will continue to carry a reputation of strength, development, and further interest
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in creating more beneficial situations for every stakeholder involved in their operations. In the future, Galiano will likely only produce more good stories and profits that will continue to reflect their outstanding commitments and their promise to the regions they have invested in. www.asankogold.com
Galiano Gold
Galiano prides itself on being honest, transparent and upfront with its shareholders and stakeholders.
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PROJECT DIRECTED BY
WRITTEN BY
Gary Smith
Romana Moares
Jason Billan, Preisdent & CEO, Gatling Exploration
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Gatling Exploration
Promising Prospects Gatling Exploration is a junior Canadian gold exploration company focused on advancing its flagship Larder gold project, located in the prolific Abitibi greenstone belt in Northern Ontario. March 2022 marked a new era for the business as the company announced it had been acquired by MAG Silver, a primary precious metals mining company.
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atling Exploration is facing a new future as the business was acquired by MAG Silver in an all-share deal, an event that will positive impact the future of both companies. MAG Silver Corp is a Canadian development and exploration company focused on becoming a top-tier primary precious metals mining company by exploring and advancing high-grade, district-scale, silver-gold dominant projects in the Americas. MAG Silver is run by an exceptional, technically-inclined team, with a strong balance sheet and access to capital, providing shareholders with increased liquidity and asset diversification. The transaction provides certainty of value to Gatling’s shareholders while limiting future dilution risk.
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Gatling Exploration Jason Billan, President and CEO for Gatling, said: “This important event marks the culmination of several months’ effort to evaluate financing alternatives at Gatling, which has led to an all-share acquisition by leading mid-tier miner, MAG Silver, at a highly robust premium. In combination with the premium delivered, this transaction offers our shareholders compelling upside potential in our acquirer, which is well-positioned to re-rate as its world-class Juanicipio silver project in Mexico advances towards commercial production.” “MAG Silver is also bolstered by a strong balance sheet and access to capital, mitigating risk of further dilution. Furthermore, Gatling’s shareholders will continue to be exposed to further upside at Larder as well as MAG’s highly prospective Deer Trail project in Utah.
MAG Silver is also bolstered by a strong balance sheet and access to capital.
The project is 100% owned by Gatling and is comprised of patented and unpatented claims, leases and mining licenses of occupation within the McVittie and McGarry Townships. The 3,370 ha project area is positioned 7 km west of the Kerr Addison Mine, which has produced 11 million ounces of gold. All parts of the Larder property are accessible by truck or all-terrain vehicles on non-serviced roads and trails.
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In 2020, an aggressive but also highly targeted exploration programme proved that the three deposits are part of a single mineralised system stretching for over 4.5 kilometres. The mineralised footprint for all three deposits has been expanded in every direction and the company is now sitting on more than 150 kilometres of successful drill results outside of the historical estimate.
He continued: “Attracting a group with the technical capability and industry reputation of MAG both validates several years of quality technical work at the Larder project by our team and underscores the growth potential of the project. We would like to thank all key stakeholders, including the Matachewan and Wahgoshig First Nations, for their ongoing support and look forward to introducing these parties to their new partner shortly.”
SURFACE DIAMOND DRILLING
Unique position in prime jurisdiction The Larder property hosts three high-grade gold deposits, Cheminis, Bear and Fernland, on the Cadillac-Larder fault, in the heart of Canada’s Abitibi greenstone belt, just 35 kilometres east of Kirkland Lake, and is adjacent to Agnico Eagle’s top-ranked growth project in Upper Beaver (targeted to be in production by 2027, producing 180 – 240k ozs per annum). The Larder property has a global Mineral Resource Estimate (2021) of 388,000 Au Indicated and 933,000 Au Inferred gold ounces from both open pit and underground resources.
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22 drills in Quebec and Ontario 175 specialist employees
www.nordikdrilling.com
Resources Feature Collaboration with First Nations Gatling commenced drilling within its Larder project in 2019 with an initial 10,000 m programme that was successful in connecting all of the project’s 3 deposits and has continued into 2021. The 25,000 m drill programme planned for 2021 was completed and its programme expanded in scope beyond the original programme. Also last year, Gatling Exploration entered into a new exploration agreement with the Matachewan and Wahgoshig First Nations. The aim was to establish a cooperative and collaborative working arrangement between Gatling and the First Nations communities, promoting timely dialogue and communication to foster an open, direct and respectful relationship among the parties. The focus has been on building a relationship
through which the First Nations communities can identify opportunities for their businesses and citizens to participate in Gatling’s activities, as well as enhancing the First Nations communities’ capacity to participate in opportunities related to the exploration activities, which may include training during the life of the project. Jason Billan commented: “The agreement was a major milestone for Gatling that marked the culmination of more than two years of relationship building and discussions between the company and the Matachewan and Wahgoshig First Nations, and lays down a solid foundation for continued cooperation as the Larder project advances further along the value chain.” “We are pleased to have the Matachewan and Wahgoshig First Nations groups as positive supporters and key stakeholders of the Larder gold project, with strong alignment to our shareholders.”
Gatling Exploration’s Larder Lake gold project
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Resources Feature Going for gold In December 2021, Gatling Exploration announced the completion of Phase II drilling at the Kir Vit prospect which totalled 5,330 m and identification of significant gold intersections within new host target at the Kir Vit prospect of the Larder Gold Project. Three mineralisation styles have been identified at Kir Vit, indicating a large gold system is present in the area with multiple structural controls. Intersecting new mineralised horizons within the brecciated conglomerate also merit a follow-up programme, since they are the largest geological unit at Kir Vit striking over 1 km, with widths up to 600 m. Gatling expects to expand all mineralized envelopes with Phase III exploration and drilling in 2022. “The results of the recently completed 5,000 m drill programme have completely redefined the gold potential of the Kir Vit prospect at the Larder Gold Project,” said Jason Billan. “Initial drilling at Kir Vit outlined promising near-surface gold intercepts near syenitic intrusions and shear-hosted structures in mafic volcanic rocks. The Phase II drilling was partially designed to probe a large, 1 km long by 600 m wide, package of Timiskaming Conglomerates containing hydrothermal breccia structures. The drill intersections in the shear structures yielded high-grade over shorter intervals, while hole KV-21-30 in the conglomerate zone suggests that Kir Vit has more to offer by exhibiting much larger widespread zones than recently discovered.” “This new mineralised unit, still heavily unexplored, is volumetrically large and will be the focus of our Phase III 2022 drilling at the Kir Vit prospect,” he added. The Larder Project is to transition into MAG’s capable hands in the coming months, with work to continue as planned. www.gatlingexploration.com
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Gatling Exploration
results of the recently “ The completed 5,000m drill
programme have completely redefined the gold potential of the Kir Vit prospect.
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PROJECT DIRECTED BY
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Liv Culling
Romana Moares
Nick Wilshaw, Founder & MD, Grinding Solutions
Rock-steady B Testing Grinding Solutions, the international mineral processing consultancy and laboratory testing facility, stands stronger than ever before in the wake of the global pandemic, and boosted by a recent investment in enhanced capability, is ready to meet new market requirements.
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ased in Cornwall in the UK, Grinding Solutions Ltd (GSL) has a global presence, working with clients of all sizes in many regions of the world offering innovative solutions across the whole mine value chain. The company started up as a consultancy in 2002, centred around comminution, and now offers the full range of mineral processing solutions, whilst developing a reputation for being world leaders in fine and ultra-fine grinding as well as ceramic grinding media evaluation. Over the last decade, the business has expanded greatly and now offers a wide range of services from metallurgical and mineral processing
Grinding Solutions testing, on-site support and troubleshooting, to product development and market evaluations. Managing Director and company founder Nick Wilshaw summarises the business: “GSL is a mineral testing company with a global client base. Our ethos is to help our clients maximise their values and opportunities in order to meet the ever increasing global challenges that the mining industry faces. It is very important to us as a company to see more sustainable mining and to help our clients reduce their mining and processing costs, their environmental impact and help them work towards net zero status.”
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Our ethos is to help our clients maximise their values and opportunities in order to meet the ever increasing global challenges that the mining industry faces.
Grinding Solutions employee processing mineral samples
“Primarily GSL’s focus is to add value to our clients through our technical expertise. For a project to progress and reach its ultimate goal GSL can offer a full range of technical services as well as due diligence and competent persons sign back.” The full scope GSL has a wide portfolio of mineral processing project experience covering the metalliferous, industrial mineral, oilfield and green energy sectors. “We work from Coal to Gold and everything in between, from bench scale through to pilot scale,” says Nick.
KEEPING FLUID IN MOTION
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“The mining industry is facing far greater environmental regulations and socio economic requirements before projects can even be considered. These often lead to increased CAPEX and OPEX which then reflect on the viability of a project, these are a necessary part of modern mining. Our aim is to add value to the industry by working closely with mining companies and suppliers to help overcome these challenges.”
Specialist manufacturer of Agitators and Peristaltic Hose Pumps • Extensive global experience • Over 30 years industry experience
• Measurable energy saving solutions • Units from 0.18kW to 750kW
A DIVISION OF AFX HOLDINGS ● www.afxmixing.co.uk ● contact@afxmixing.co.uk
Tel: + 44 (0)1202 798452
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Grinding Solutions “With our broad knowledge base and wide capabilities, we are able to offer our clients benefits through the whole mine value chain, assisting and advising appropriately at each stage of the process to maximise their return from their investments.” Early stage mineralogical studies linked to geometallurgy will add costs initially but will reap rewards as the project progresses, producing more focussed test programs at lower costs and compressing project timelines. “We work closely with clients on routine test work and often look at process innovation to help make substantial gains in process efficiency,” says Nick. “So we talk to our customers before we start to look at any projects, in order to understand what their issues are. Then we will jointly develop a programme to ensure that the customer gets what they want in the time they want it.” In its 1500 m2 facility a variety of standard and innovative testing programmes are performed for clients from across a range of industries. “We perform the full range of testing from comminution and flotation to leaching and gravity, as well as providing consultative test work across a range of commodities.” “We are not minerals material specific but apply our knowledge and techniques to whichever minerals we are working with. Recently we have applied our knowledge to battery metals and have worked with graphite and lithium producers to help develop process routes in this sector. This thought process allows us to transfer knowledge from our precious and base metal work into new and emerging markets.” “When assessing a project, we consider everything including waste management, energy and water consumption and work actively with environmental consultants to ensure the environmental and social governance criteria are met. Many finance houses require ESG criteria to be met at an early stage before they will consider any investment. With the assistance of our environmental partners we are able to advise clients on how they can meet these strict requirements.”
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Minviro Minviro is an award-winning, UK-based consultancy and technology company that uses life cycle assessment (LCA) to quantify and reduce environmental impacts associated with raw material projects, from mines to processing facilities to gigafactories. Beginning as a spin-out from the University of Exeter’s Camborne School of Mines in 2019, the company has expanded rapidly to become a prominent and forward-thinking force in the sustainability, mining and battery sectors. Since then, they have worked with a host of raw materials and products including, but not limited to lithium, graphite, nickel, cobalt, manganese, rare earth elements, copper, titanium, batteries, photovoltaics and electric motors. Consultancy outputs generally combine deep analysis of impacts related to material and energy streams for a given product with an exploration of opportunities for impact reduction using our team’s commodity-specific expertise, and presenting all findings in an accessible, easily communicable format. In 2021, Minviro launched a software service, MineLCA, that allows users to conduct LCAs in their own time using their own data in unison with the company’s extensive mining-focused impact database. The flexibility of consultancy and technology solutions means that LCA can be utilised by businesses at all levels of the raw material value chain and at all development stages. By gaining robust, quantitative environmental insights into your project whilst planning its implementation, you have maximum control over impact mitigation. Minviro are collaborating with Grinding Solutions on minimising impacts and optimising supply streams related to a range of mining and processing projects. To get in contact with the team and find out more about LCA, send an email to info@minviro.com.
Integrity | Competence | Independence
Supporting mineral exploration and mining projects around the world
Mineral Resource and Mineral Reserve Estimation | Metallurgical Studies and Process Design | Project Management | Preliminary Economic Assessments | Pre-feasibility and Feasibility Studies | Environmental and Social Studies | NI 43-101 Technical Reports | JORC Code 2012 Reports | Competent Persons Reports | Mine Design and Planning | Due Diligence
www.micon-international.com | +44 1603 501 501 | office@micon-international.co.uk
A deeper level to sustainable mining. Life Cycle Assessment services for the raw material sector to help you measure, mitigate and communicate your project’s environmental impacts. Email: info@minviro.com
Learn more at www.minviro.com
Resources Feature
Micon International Mining Consultants Micon International Limited has provided independent consulting services to the world’s mining industry since 1988. The firm comprises highly qualified and experienced professionals who are guided by the Company principles of Integrity, Competence and Independence. Consisting of experienced full-time consultants, supported by a team of highly skilled independent associates located worldwide, the Micon group offers bespoke teams of professionals to support its clients in a range of commodities, skills and languages. Micon’s expert staff have the experience, education and professional credentials to act as Qualified Persons and/or Competent Persons, as required by worldwide regulatory agencies. Clients who choose to use Micon International Limited do so knowing that the team working on their project is dominated by senior staff who offer years of consulting and operational experience providing the highest level of service, quality and value.
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Projects are implemented through combined skills in exploration and resource geology, mine design and scheduling, mineral economics, metallurgical testwork and processing flow design. The firm has a strong emphasis on environmental and social governance laws and encourages its clients to adopt responsible and compliant environmental and social platforms from the outset. Particular expertise has been developed in the economic evaluation of mining properties, including studies in support of debt and equity financing combined with the evaluation of environmental, social and governance risks. Micon manages techno-economic feasibility studies from the first stages of project development through to basic engineering delivered by our professional project management team. Micon’s clients include mining and mineral exploration companies, junior mining companies, financial institutions and government agencies from around the world. Assignments have been carried out in almost every country for such commodities as precious and base metals, industrial minerals, diamonds, battery metals, potash, coal and iron ore, to name a few.
Grinding Solutions Customer-centric approach “What distinguishes us from others is our focus on innovation, and thinking outside the box, looking for new solutions. By taking this approach we can, nine times out of 10, come up with much better results. Upfront mineralogy and grade and recovery data from test work can assist client’s decision making processes. Development of good early stage geomet models can assist with future financing. If a project does not look financially or technically feasible it is more beneficial to find this out at an early stage avoiding unnecessary further investment,” affirms Nick. He points out that this innovative approach has been one of the drivers behind the company’s growth, as well as its flexibility and ability to react quickly. The directors are able to make fast decisions regarding investment and have been quick to follow market trends. Considerable sums of money are being invested every year in new equipment and capabilities, in order to promote further business growth. GSL works with a large variety of partners from major global equipment suppliers to engineering and consulting houses to environmental consultants. The company has seen huge changes in the last year or two with more growth in services planned so there are some really exciting times ahead for GSL.
What distinguishes us from others is our focus on innovation, and thinking outside the box, looking for new solutions...
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The last two years of the global pandemic have not significantly changed this pattern. “While not being able to travel and to deal with clients face-to-face was a challenge, we were able to continue under the restrictions more or less as normal,” says Nick, pointing out that last year was the best year ever in terms of financial performance, with the company doubling its revenue as new opportunities emerged.
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Grinding Solutions Facing a new future Market developments will mean a very busy time ahead for GSL with the increase in metal prices to record highs for some and the push towards electrification and renewable energy sources; companies, countries and regions are looking for sources of lithium and other battery metals to sustain the demand. “One of the factors behind increased demand for minerals testing is vehicle electrification. This is set to continue as a result of governmental and political pressures, so GSL is still upscaling and recruiting.” GSL has worked closely with UK-based Cornish Lithium helping them with the extraction of lithium from brines and hard rock and following successful bench and pilot testing has produced a lithium mica concentrate for pilot leaching test work in Australia. “Despite the obvious demand for lithium, there is also a significant demand for copper, cobalt and nickel as well as for rare earths – all key elements in battery and vehicle production. We are at the forefront of the development working with several battery metals companies at the moment in the UK and nearby countries. We are taking our core strengths, expanding on them, and then pushing that out into the market.” To meet this increased demand, the company is still increasing its services and investing in further equipment and are also currently building an analytical laboratory in order to carry out chemical analyses in-house, thus significantly shortening the timeline for projects. Nick says: “I am immensely proud to be part of an industry that contributes so much to the world and those in it and consider myself very lucky to have the opportunity to meet so many interesting colleagues and friends and I look forward to being part of a more sustainable mining industry as it moves forward.” www.grindingsolutions.com
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Resources Feature
“ I am immensely proud to
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be part of an industry that contributes so much to the world and those in it.
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Malvern Kandemwa
Kerry Ho-Van Rensburg, Head of Marketing, iKhoka
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Romana Moares
iKhokha
Raising South Africa’s Potential South African iKhokha is a fintech company that develops digital tools to help entrepreneurs start, run and grow their businesses. The aim of the company is ambitious yet simple: to accelerate entrepreneurship in South Africa by making it easier for anyone to run their business.
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eadquartered in Umhlanga, the fastest growing wealth market in South Africa, iKhokha was co-founded by Matt Putman, Ramsay Daly, and Clive Putman in 2012 with a view to redefining the way SMEs do business through mobile innovation. The mission was to develop and deliver business tools that anyone can use to thrive in business. “We have just celebrated our 10th anniversary and are growing fast,” says Kerry Ho-Van Rensburg, Head of Marketing at iKhokha, pointing out that iKhokha doesn’t play in the corporate space, its aim is to assist small businesses in South Africa, the small entrepreneurs that are the backbone of the country’s economy. Today, iKhokha – meaning “to pay” in isiZulu – is one of the fastest-growing fintech companies in Africa with 260 employees and scaling up fast. Kerry, who joined the company last year, says: “This year, we expect to double the size of the business. Within the next five years, we want to expand within Africa, and then overseas to Europe.”
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iKhokha Unique of its kind iKhokha believes that everyone should have access to the digital economy. That is the very purpose of the company’s existence. From card machines to complete POS solutions, a free app packed with digital business tools, e-commerce products, business funding and education, the company has been striving to finding new ways to accelerate entrepreneurship in South Africa. “We are born and bred South Africans, but we operate to global standards. We are a purpose-driven business that believes in making forward-thinking technology available and accessible to all South African business owners, whether their business is just starting out or already on the highway to growth,” says Kerry. “We’re not like other tech companies. We’re proud to say that our team of product owners, designers, developers, and engineers has built all our digital products in-house. This makes us a bona fide African tech company which isn’t just outsourcing projects to global tech talent, but which is investing in home-grown South African skills.”
the most advanced of its kind, and even features VAT and tip functionality. It is a standalone device, so no smartphone is needed. Another outstanding product is Mover Pro: the perfect card machine for a business starting out and for businesses already on the go, and the company’s most sold card machine. It fits in a pocket so the owner can accept card payments anywhere anytime. All they have to do to start making sales is connect the device to their smartphone via Bluetooth. The company has recently launched a series of e-commerce products, starting with the iKhokha Payment Gateway. It’s the first in the iK Pay Online product stable, with more easy-touse e-commerce products to follow soon.
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From the variety of novel products, she highlights iKhokha’s flagship - the Shaker Solo, suitable for those looking for a card machine that will keep up with high-volume business. Thanks to its dual connectivity of a 4G SIM and Wi-Fi, the Shaker Solo keeps businesses running even during load shedding. The Shaker Solo is
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Social Influencer Marketing
Social Media Engagement
Learn more: www.meltwater.com
FinTech Feature
iKhokha’s card payment device
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FinTech Feature
Moving with the times Accentuated by Covid-19, the focus is on moving from cash to digital payments. And iKhokha provides the tools to do just that. Kerry points out that many South African businesses, especially in the informal sector, are still cashbased, but in the wake of the global pandemic that has made cash ‘dirty’, people are welcoming card machines. “The one area that we really want to concentrate on with this massive opportunity is the informal markets in South Africa. The township market is predominantly cash-driven, but we are starting to see movement towards the digital influx. In combination with another of our products, iK Vend, merchants can offer their customers the option to buy
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electricity, water and gas online, which is a very big thing for the informal market in South Africa.” What makes iKhokha special is that the products and services they provide are very different from those provided by a bank. Traditionally, small businesses in South Africa simply couldn’t afford a card machine. Monthly rental fees and high transaction rates made it nearly impossible for these businesses to take part in the digital economy. “With us, SMEs buy the card machine outright, then it is theirs for life. That means no monthly rental fees – ever. iKhokha card machines accept Visa and MasterCard debit and credit cards, along with Apple Pay and Samsung Pay. We also have minimal transaction rates. Simple and affordable,” Kerry points out.
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iKhokha The human factor Penetrating the South African informal market as a relatively new brand has not been easy, yet the company has been reaping great success. However, the steep business growth has been a challenge in its own right, Kerry admits. “We are scaling at such a pace that it is obviously not easy to manage the process, in terms of both human resources and new processes, new ways of working. And top talent needs to be persuaded to accept an offer from someone they don’t really know.” For Kerry herself, this was obviously not the case. With a long track record in the digital industry, she clearly saw iKhokha’s promising potential. “I knew the future was going to be digital at a time when most people didn’t really know what digital was,” she muses. She explains that by starting in digital agencies, she got a comprehensive understanding of the industry from development and analytics to data and performance media. Later on, she took this knowledge to the corporate world and worked for several listed companies, moving to Makro South Africa and later on to Massmart as Head of Digital Marketing, before finally accepting the role of Head of Marketing at iKhokha. “Our business really is about people. Every business talks about ROI and how more money can be made for its stakeholders but our goal is really to help the SMEs out there. South Africa’s leadership is poor, and small businesses suffer as there isn’t anyone to support them. At iKhokha, we don’t just talk about support, it is what we really do. It is great to be part of a business that prides itself on living up to its promises.” She affirms that the company is set to continue its growth trajectory, preparing new products, investing in resources as well as technology, scaling and planning big for the next five years, in line with its mission. “While we’re different, we all believe in our collective ability to positively influence South Africa by uplifting the powerhouse of our economy: small businesses.”
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FinTech Feature
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WRITTEN BY
Tom Fogden
Johnson Controls
Learning From the Past with Gopal Paripally Business Enquirer’s Tom Fogden speaks to Johnson Controls’ Global VP of Engineering and Technology Gopal Paripally about leading a global research and development operation.
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Yes, it was a shock in many directions and on many levels,” says Gopal Paripally, Global VP of Engineering and Technology at Johnson Controls over a Zoom call about his relocation to the United States from India when he was in his twenties and his experiences since. Paripally is smartly dressed in a light blue shirt, one button undone. His office in Boston, on America’s east coast, is clean and organized but sparsely decorated. “Obviously, my social and work life were all disrupted,” he continues, “because the culture here is quite different. My family members moved here shortly after but, without my extended family, it was hard initially though I quickly adapted to the change.” Gopal, now in his late forties, grew up in rural southern India before heading to the Osmania University in Hyderabad to study engineering in Electronics and Communications.
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Johnson Controls “Growing up in South India, life was vastly different compared to the United States,” Paripally explains. This experience as a child shaped Paripally into the leader at Johnson Controls we see today. “You always think ‘What can go wrong?’ It might be the power goes out, or the bus that you need to catch might not turn up. Whatever you do, whether you are studying for a test or cleaning the yard, we had to make sure it was done well and with heart and soul put in it. But when you were studying for tomorrow’s test, your house might lose power, and the next day the bus you need to ride to take you to that test might not show up. You should have at least two to three backups. How do you build that risk mitigation, like in a war-game?
“You have a major exam that you need to write – such as an entrance exam to study engineering– there are 1,000 seats and you have to compete with half a million kids. So, you must build detailed study plans, work hard, prepare, and do practice tests like playing war-games to compete to be the best and build risk mitigation plans. Those are some of the challenges that helped me build the war-games in whatever I do.” However, while learning to prepare for, and overcome, adversity in his childhood, Paripally was also able to learn some important lessons from the people around him – lessons that he carries forward into his leadership today. “We used to live in a town – like a municipality – and a lot of people used to come from the villag-
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Manufacturing Feature es. So, my mother Ganga used to help them, taking them to hospitals or to the market to sell their stuff or give them a hot meal to provide the support. “My mother taught me about building a social network and the importance of long-lasting relationships.” In his role at Johnson Controls, Paripally, as Global Vice President of Engineering and Technology is responsible for research and development. “We have teams distributed between Belfast, UK; Montreal, Canada, here in Boston, Indianapolis, and then a few sites in India – Hyderabad, Delhi, and Bangalore,” he explains. “We work on building innovative security solutions with AI in cameras, Edge HW and Software & cloud, making the people, facilities, and assets safe. We look at everything, from protecting someone in the workplace to somebody on the pavement at an airport.” “For example, how do we detect that you’re physically, emotionally, and mentally healthy? Are you carrying a gun or a harmful chemical? We need to look at all those aspects as we research and start building the product. We connect the dots using various sensors and bring them together using AI solutions to facilitate actions and decisions through predictive, preventive, real-time and forensic knowledge to human operators.” That wide-ranging and all-encompassing attitude is part of what makes Johnson Controls a world leader in the world of building management and workplace safety. “If you look at any building management solution,” explains Paripally, “you will have something that controls the humidity, the vibration, from HVAC solution. Then, there are things to look at such as having fire detection or fire suppression. How do you look at the people in the building? How do you control the airflow?”
IST & Unlimited Technology Integrated Security Technologies (IST), a trusted, leading provider of advanced security and safety systems, continues to advance its geographic footprint, exceptional expertise, and best-in-class service offerings through a strategic partnership with Unlimited Technology, one of the nation’s fastest growing security systems integrators and a DotCom Magazine 2022 Impact Company of The Year. This partnership further strengthens IST’s unique full lifecycle approach in designing and implementing fully-integrated security systems that ensure absolute security of data, property, and people from every angle. With Unlimited Technology, IST offers superior value to customers facing today’s toughest IT, electronic, physical, and cyber security challenges in the critical infrastructure, transportation, commercial real estate, financial, municipal, education and government end-markets. The transformative combination of IST and Unlimited Technology takes advantage of the size, technology alliances, and stellar customer service of each to make the combined entity a powerful physical asset protection and cybersecurity integrator. Leveraging the benefits of the partnership present a significant opportunity to increase efficiency, innovation, scale, and reach to ensure reliable, flexible and total end-to-end security outcomes are achieved for every customer. IST has successfully managed hundreds of complex, large-scale integrated security and IT projects throughout the US and carefully selects the right hardware, software, and infrastructure components to develop a fully customized solution tailored to each customer’s unique needs. Working together, IST and United Technology excel in integrating and streamlining physical and IT security services into one resilient, maintainable solution to ensure consistent protection and the opportunity to achieve a competitive advantage no matter the customer’s location and size. www.istonline.com
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Manufacturing Feature
Johnson Controls staff member at work
“There are four pillars,” he continues. “HVAC is the first pillar, the second is fire detection and prevention systems, number three includes controls such as occupancy, air quality, and air velocity. The final pillar, which our security products organization is responsible, is to provide safety through access control and video solutions”. “Then we build applications including energy management, threat identification, and then predictive maintenance. We build digital solutions to make the buildings smarter, safer, and more comfortable and, most importantly, sustainable.” Sustainability, while commonplace in today’s business parlance, has been at the heart of Johnson Controls since the business’s very beginning. In 1883, founder Warren Johnson patented
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the electric thermostat to help preserve fuel for heating buildings and, in the process, change the way billions of people live to this day. “Sustainability is part of what we do,” say Paripally, “it’s in our vision and our values. As global leaders in healthy and sustainable buildings, we have ambitious goals for environmental, social, and governance committees.” “Sustainability is a critical pillar of building managed solutions that will support our mission in driving safe and secure buildings,” he continues. “You might wonder, for example, how it relates to security? Security solutions can deliver spatial insights in relation to people, spaces, and assets so airflow and lighting can be adjusted accordingly to cleaning schedules.”
Johnson Controls
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Sustainability is part of what we do... it’s in our vision and our values.
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Johnson Controls
Johnson Controls’ Building Efficiency headquarters in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
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Manufacturing Feature Of course, for a company in the building safety space, you’d be forgiven for thinking that Johnson Controls has had a hard time during the pandemic. However, according to Paripally, that wasn’t quite the case. “COVID did not directly impact us in terms of our deliverables because we are a digital solutions organization and people work from anywhere at any time,” he explains. “If they do need to use office space, they will come in and use it.” “As far as the actual business is going, things are looking great. There are some challenges with supply chains and what not, but we are working to deliver NEW innovative solutions that solve customer problems.” However, one thing that has changed is the working environment.
“People used to work eight to five in a cubicle,” says Paripally. “Those things are changing to Hybrid” Those changes have spurred on Paripally to become an even better leader in the business. “It [the pandemic] helped me become more empathetic because it’s no longer eight to five. You need to have empathy for people – whether it’s reduced hours, their physical location, health concerns, childcare. So, we need to have empathy as leaders and let employees figure out a way to integrate work and life.”
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Manufacturing Feature For Paripally, however, these changes come naturally thanks to his adherence to the servant leadership style.
I believe in methodical planning and making datadriven decisions to build a strategic plan.
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“There are five ways that I like to lead. The first is with radical candour – I care deeply but challenge directly. The second is planning. I believe in methodical planning and making data-driven decisions to build a strategic plan.” “The third,” continues Paripally, “is energy. You need to show energy and passion in what you do. The fourth is learning and listening. If you cannot learn and adapt, it will be hard to succeed. You need to listen to understand and make sure you are available on a one-on-one level. The last is relationships – they have to be 360-degrees so that people at all levels build trust and transparency.” Paripally might have seen a lot of change in his career and move from India to the United States, but it’s clear that the lessons he learned from his past life including the ones from Johnson Controls are driving both him and Johnson Controls forward. www.johnsoncontrols.com
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Johnson Controls Johnson Controls’ corporate headquarters in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
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PROJECT DIRECTED BY
Liv Culling
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WRITTEN BY
Frew Murdoch
Mincore
T
he hallmark of a great organization can be found in its adaptability during adversity. It’s a subtle skill to be able to build and develop core competencies in the aftermath and uncertainty of a black swan event. You will find that the businesses that do this are the very same that end up being best placed to capitalize on the opportunities that emerge in the broader markets. The relief of restrictions in 2021 and a renewed hunger for resources internationally coupled with the recent rise of commodity prices being prime examples of the case in point.
Success Breeds Success Mincore Pty Ltd’s resilience and forwardthinking brings life to the old adage.
It is hard to believe, but we increased our business [during the COVID-19 pandemic]. We mastered the art of Zoom, Teams, and Google Video calls world-wide.
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The pandemic presented its own unique set of challenges that pushed businesses across the board to their limits. None more so than with the mining sector, which was already grappling with an almost decade-long slump before the onset of the virus. However, for those with a keen eye, business mind, and a firm grasp on the latest developments and technologies, the pandemic itself was an enabler of innovation that led to accelerated growth and rapid expansion. “It is hard to believe, but we increased our business [during the COVID-19 pandemic]. We mastered the art of Zoom, Teams, and Google video calls worldwide. As a result, we won a project in South Africa and Saudi Arabia. We wouldn’t have won these projects otherwise. Due to the lockdowns, many were working from home, meaning many of our clients were more available,” explained Mincore’s General Manager John Tusa. John attributes some of his prowess as a leader to the delightful satirical guide How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying; one of his all-time favorite books.
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Mincore Humble beginnings to unexpected winnings
Referrals trump advertising
From a modest beginning six years prior with a team of about four people, Mincore has expanded and forged a reputation as Australia’s leading Engineering, Purchasing, and Construction Contractor in the Cement Lime Materials and Minerals Processing industries. Based in Melbourne, Mincore has accumulated an impressive set of projects under its name, spanning countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Papua New Guinea, and Uganda; with the coronavirus providing an unexpected springboard to further projects in Africa and the Middle East.
Mincore has seen especial accomplishments in the form of a large, lucrative project in the DRC as well as a gold processing system in Victoria, Australia, for one of the richest gold mines in the world. Mincore executed this project within six months; a notable feat as every other company competing for the tender offered a 12-month time frame. “The client had no option but to buy from us. Every day is big money in the gold business and we kept that promise. As a result, that company became one of our best references,” stated John.
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The client had no option but to buy from us. Every day is big money in the gold business and we kept that promise. As a result, that company became one of our best references.
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Mincore has executed design and construction projects for a variety of clients, proffering firsthand exposure and experience in commodities and mineral processing industries such as Alumina, Bauxite, Cement, Coal, Cobalt, Copper, Lime, Gold, Iron ore, Lead, Phosphate, Magnesium, Oil and Gas, Specialty chemicals, Tin, and Zinc.
Mincore’s core businesses are Feasibility Studies (FS) Engineering Design (ED), Engineering Design Procurement (EP), Engineering Design Procurement and Construction (EPC), Engineering Procurement and Construction Management (EPCM.) Owners Engineer (OE) Mincore maintains a team of approximately 80 experienced design, process, civil, mechanical electrical engineers, and construction managers for the above services, in process-related industrial plants, and manufacturing facilities. The firm provides specialist consulting engineering and construction services for modifying and upgrading existing production facilities. Mincore’s services include design and construction, estimating,feasibility, business optimization, project development support, procurement, and implementation. The fast-growing firm has made an impression with its capabilities and team, with great credit to its process specialists, project managers, and client-centric services that ultimately deliver value to the life cycles of clients’ projects.
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Resources Feature Sustainability - a win-win for the client and environment Aside from a client-centric approach and specialized personnel, Mincore provides value in terms of sustainability efforts. Through the use of effective, cutting-edge technology, Mincore reduces the energy consumption of its projects and not just by a fraction. John put forward this example: “We’re talking about big, big kilowatt (KW) savings. Some machines will produce 5000 tons per hour of copper or other minerals, but there are other machines that will produce 5000 tons per hour that are more compact and energy-efficient. The first machine, the older one, may use approximately 20 000 KW - enough energy to light up a suburb. But, there are other technologies, which will only use 10
000 KW overall. In the end, it means that there is a significant reduction of CO2 emissions from the power station, but also means the client doesn’t use as much energy therefore his production costs are reduced and profits increased “Another important factor is providing the lowest material consumption - in other words, the wearing elements of a machine system. If you replace them every year, then good. But, if you have to replace them every six months due to poor quality or old design, on these large machines there is a huge cost to the company. Furthermore those parts need to be produced back in the workshops. This adds up and impacts the amount of energy used to manufacture the items. All need to be taken into account for good engineering,which ends up maximising financial returns and reducing the CO2 emissions ”
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Resources Feature
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There are a lot of innovations coming in every day...
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Mincore Vision for the future John joined Mincore three years ago and has played a significant part in its expansion. He has acted in the role of an innovator, drawing from valuable experience across several past company roles, and specialties, including originally as a mechanical engineer, project design, project engineer, project management, and equipment supply. His leadership paired with Mincore’s capabilities, team, and client-oriented approach, ensures a bright future for the firm. Elaborating on the way forward for Mincore and similar businesses, John ended with these astute words: “Hard work, dedication, persistence,understanding commercial issues , caring for people who work with you and being up to date with your knowledge of the technologies in the industries you operate in, is so important .There are a lot of innovations coming in every day and everyone who follows this advice will be one step ahead of the competition and will succeed” www.mincore.com.au
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PROJECT DIRECTED BY
Malvern Kandemwa
Bruno Lalonde, President, NSS Canada
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WRITTEN BY
Romana Moares
NSS Canada
Advancing the Future of Mining Ontario-based NSS Canada, a provider of reliable, accurate and innovative survey equipment solutions for the mining and other sectors, is set to expand its business, offering smart technologies that improve safety and efficiency.
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hile mining companies have been slow to consider how digital transformation might alter the future of work, Covid-19 has pushed them to evolve their way of thinking. As the light at the end of the pandemic tunnel seems to appear in the distance, mining leaders have an opportunity to avoid falling back into conventional ways of working. Instead, they can chart a new path and embed recent changes in their work processes, adapting the mining workplace culture, and creating an enhanced workforce experience. This is a time when companies like NSS Canada come to the forefront to accelerate the process, offering technologies that increase safety, accuracy, and efficiency. As an authorized Leica Geosystems reseller, NSS Canada offers a wide range including Global Satellite Navigation Systems (GNSS), Global Positioning Systems (GPS), Total Stations, GeoMos Automatic Deformation Monitoring Systems, High Definition (HDS) Laser Scanners, SmartNet RTK Corrections, and a full line of Machine Control construction positioning products for excavating, grading, and paving applications.
Some of NSS Canada’s technology in use
The company is also a proud Authorized Reseller of the Hexagon Mining Portfolio, offering a wide range of mining solutions of this global leader in sensor, software, and autonomous solutions. More recently, NSS partnered with Exyn Technologies, a pioneer in autonomous aerial robot systems for complex, GPS-denied environments, setting the industry standard for highspeed map post-processing.
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NSS Canada Three decades of growth Expertise and experience form the basis of the company’s success. The company founder, Marty Warkentin, who set up the business in 1989, has been directly involved in the world of surveying for over 30 years. Starting from scratch, he established the company as a Leica reseller, gradually growing the business, focussing on cutting-edge technology, and forging lasting partnerships with industry leaders.
One of NSS Canada’s Leica MS60s in use
Last year, the founder decided to step down, passing the role of company president to Bruno Lalonde to further build and develop his legacy and intensify the push into new sectors, while looking at new strategic partnerships. A task that Bruno, who joined the company a few years ago with the aspiration to take the business to the next level, has taken up with all seriousness – under this management, the company has expanded and reinforced its position in the construction sector, looking at different ways to diversify its offering. Bruno Lalonde says: “Marty established the business as we are today. It was his hard work, efforts and dedication that has made NSS a familiar name in any mining operation across Canada. He has set me up for success. We have expanded the business and it is fair to say that I would have never been able to do it by myself, without our great people.”
Miner operating Exyn industrial drone
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Exyn industrial drone, available from NSS Canada
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Resources Feature Leica MS60, available from NSS Canada
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NSS Canada Solid partners
Employer of choice
Partnerships have been key for the company’s development and exposure in the market. Following the partnership with Leica and Hexagon Mining, specialists in integrated accurate measurement solutions with proven technologies for planning, operations, and safety, came along to open new horizons and enable the company to offer new mining package solutions.
With MOSS proven to save mining companies millions of dollars with a very quick return on investment, as well as improve worker satisfaction, the system is an obvious choice for surveying technology.
Next came the push to augmented and virtual reality, the one last piece that was missing in moving the company forward. “Doing underground surveys, the traditional way is extremely risky. So, it would make sense that our next partnership would focus on autonomous operation. That’s how we started with Exyn. Our mutual dedication to safety and innovation through technology is why we believe this is the perfect partnership, ” says Bruno Lalonde. He further explains that today, NSS Canada’s best solution for underground mining is their in-house developed software, MOSS (Miner Operated Survey System). “We’ve been assisting underground mining operations to achieve safety and productivity gains by adapting and embracing this new technology. Together with the Hexagon Mining Portfolio, MOSS is a complete underground solution, providing accuracy and efficiency for the operations, engineering, and geology departments at a mine, providing real-time feedback to all departments.”
However, it is not just the technology that carries the company forward but, above all, its human resources. NSS today employs around 30 individuals, 20 of whom work in the engineering department. While recruiting young talent is not easy, Bruno Lalonde affirms that NSS has no problem in attracting the right calibre, as the company makes an effort to enable them to grow. “It might sound like a cliché, but when I say someone becomes part of the NSS family, I mean it. My goal is to build the business and the people around me. To get the best out of an individual you want to help them be the best version of themselves.” “Ultimately, NSS Canada wants to be an employer of choice. I want a line-up of people hoping to get a job here, and professionals going out into the world after their time with us who are proud to say they worked here, and who are sought after because they demonstrate the personal and professional development we helped foster.”
The MOSS software that is now used by most of NSS’s clients supports a wide range of Leica robotic total stations, including the state-of-theart MS60 Multi Station. Rather than have a surveyor go underground after each freshly blasted round, MOSS completes the survey pick-up during the mark-up process performed by the miner. Hexagon’s Operator Alertness System, available from NSS Canada
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NSS Canada The way forward Speaking about the future, Bruno reveals that the company is now working on new partnerships that will allow NSS to drive into new sectors. “The technology that we have been promoting for the last 30 years can meet the needs of other specialists, for example, architects. This is one of the directions I want to push for the business.” Geographical expansion is also planned, with MOSS being a truly global product. NSS has just broken into Brazil, already has a footprint in Mexico and is looking to approach Australia next year. Pre-Covid, the company defined aggressive plans for new market penetrations, and right now is in the process of creating some new partnerships that would facilitate the next stage of business development. “One perk of Covid-19, if one may say so, is that it has allowed the mining industry to understand that it needs to adapt the technology, especially for underground mining. The pandemic has pushed the sector to accept these new technologies that bring better efficiency, improve communications across the board, to get the information that is essential for decision-making.” In line with this development, NSS has been on a great trajectory over the last two years, growing faster than ever before. “Any type of a pandemic or any difficult situation in the world is always the best time to look inward, to improve and re-focus. A time for business transformation for the better. With our technologies, we want to facilitate that process,” concludes Bruno Lalonde. www.nsscanada.com
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PROJECT DIRECTED BY
WRITTEN BY
Malvern Kandemwa
Jay Benmehidi
Mr Musje M Werror, Independent Non-Executive Director
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Ok Tedi Mining
Developing Communities Generating Wealth For over 30 years, Ok Tedi Mining Limited has contributed to the Papua New Guinea economy through mining copper, gold and silver at Mt. Fubilan in the Western Province. Business Enquirer investigates the impact.
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s the key pillar of Papua New Guinea’s economic growth, mining accounts for around 26% of the national GDP and almost 90% of all export revenue, the vast majority of which comes from gold and copper exports to the tune of over US$3billion annually. Alongside gold and copper, Papua New Guinea is also known for its extraction of silver, nickel and cobalt, and an increasing number of large-scale mining operations have spread around the country to tap PNGs mineral riches. Of these, the largest and wealthiest of these operations is the Ok Tedi mine. Located near the source of the Ok Tedi river in the Star Mountains of Papua New Guinea’s Western province, the Ok Tedi mine is a large-scale open pit operation focused on the extraction of both gold and copper. Under the astute ownership
Aerial view of Ok Tedi mining site
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Ok Tedi Mining The mining operation at Ok Tedi
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Resources Feature of Ok Tedi Mining Limited, (OTML) which has overseen operations and the continual development of the project since it was nationalised in 1981, the mine has become an engine of wealth creation for Papua New Guinea and a catalyst for social development for the thousands of people who live in neighbouring communities surrounding the site. Much as is to be expected of an asset of such vast strategic national importance, Ok Tedi – which is majority owned by the PNG Sustainable Development Program Limited (PNGSDP) out of its headquarters in Tabubil, a town constructed in order to serve the mining operations in the area - remains a proudly 100% PNG-owned venture to this day. Mine Details The Ok Tedi mine is located 18km from the border of the Indonesian province of Irian Jaya, adjacent to the southern tip of the heavily forested Star Mountains and Tabubil - a town of 10,000 founded to serve the mine, which has grown to become the largest town by population in Papua New Guinea’s Western province. As a result of the construction of both the mine and Tabubil, the local population has benefitted greatly, owing to an increase in employment and education opportunities, significant falls in infant mortality, and improved access to medical care and medicines. The mine itself sits 2000m above sea level on the slopes of Mt Fubilan, with its associated processing plant (Folomian) less than 2km away. The vast majority of access to the mining operation is heavily reliant on river transport, with the port of Kiunga serving as a hub for the transport of supplies and key equipment to the mine. The only roads in the area came as a direct result of the mine’s construction, and serve as transport routes to areas inaccessible by river. The foundation for the Ok Tedi Mine was laid in 1970 following extensive exploratory drilling
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Resources Feature into Mount Fubilan by Kennecott Copper Corporation, which resulted in the discovery of a gold rich cap sitting above a copper and gold deposit estimated at around 113 million tonnes and graded at 0.8% Cu and 1.1g/t Au. Following a US$2 billion, three step development programme, the mine commenced operations, using cyanide extraction procedures to mine only the copper poor, gold rich oxidised cap in 1984 while under the management of BHP, who entered into a partnership with the Papua New Guinea government, Amoco Corporation and Inmet Mining Corporation. Between its start date in 1984 and 1990 the mine was responsible for the production of approximately 50 tonnes of gold bullion. Per annum, the mine extracts roughly 60 million tonnes of rock of which half is associated waste. The mineral concentrate output is close to 600,000 tonnes. The concentrate is piped the 137km to the Fly River port of Kiunga where it is dried in preparation for export to markets in Europe and Asia, where it is sold primarily to smelting operators in Germany, India, The Philippines and Japan. Local Impact From the mines inception in 1970, local interests were regarded as the highest priority by all involved parties. In-line with this strategy to invest in local communities, the Kennecott mining company built schools and training facilities where aspiring talent could train through programs and scholarships to gain the skills needed to work at Ok Tedi. Following on from the change in mine ownership in 1976, the government of Papua New Guinea signed the ‘PNG Mining (Ok Tedi Agreement)’ which required preference of employment to be given to local people, and to provide development initiatives to local businesses involved in infrastructure construction, local services and supply of food to the area. In addition to the positive economic impacts, there have been many social benefits as a result of the mines construction. OTML established numerous medical centres where they treat over
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OK Tedi Mining employee surveys the mine from above
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Ok Tedi Mining 10,000 patients monthly and test for common respiratory diseases such as tuberculosis. This initiative has had a transformational effect on quality of life to the extent that life expectancy in the area has risen significantly whilst infant mortality rates have dropped from 33% to less than 3%.
This initiative has had a transformational effect on quality of life ... whilst infant mortality rates have dropped from 33% to less than 3%
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Despite these clear positive impacts, the mine faced many challenges in its initial phase of construction, not least of which saw the collapse of the US$70 million tailings dam due to heavy seismic activity in the area of operation. Extremely heavy rainfall of more than 10,000mm annually, making it one of the world’s wettest areas, combined with the threat of earthquakes makes it a difficult area in which to operate, and has meant that OTML have had to dedicate extensive time and resources into ensuring the safety of employees as well as mitigating the environmental impacts associated with open cut mining. The Future of Ok Tedi Whilst closure was initially scheduled to take place in 2010, further exploratory study of the area resulted in the discovery of vast deposits of additional mineral resource that has given Ok Tedi a new lease of life. With the support of a business-friendly government that is committed to improving prosperity in PNG, and of course their motivated and committed workforce, the company has the right people, the right skills and the right backing to respond to the challenges of today and continue building the future. www.oktedi.com
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SMARTER COASTAL SOLUTIONS
MARKHAM CULVERTS SOLE DISTRIBUTOR IN PAPUA NEW GUINEA
The ELCOROCK shoreline protection system has been proven through over 20 years of use in harsh coastal environments. These structures has withstood coastal abrasion, vandalism, UV damage and even category five cyclones. ELCOROCK increases public amenity and safety of foreshore areas and is cost-effective alternative to traditional coastal protection systems made from concrete, rock, armour or timber.
WWW.MARKHAM.COM.PG mculverts@markham.com.pg 472 2666 / 761 80301
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Paralloy & FVC
Driving the Modern World With origins rooted in the UK’s steel industry, Paralloy & FVC take pride in serving many of the world’s most demanding industries. From power generation and transport to manufacturing and critical chemical industries, their high-precision alloy components are used to drive the modern world.
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ince its Billingham site opened in 1967, Paralloy has specialised in transforming raw elements into world-class products that power the petrochemical, ethylene, and syngas industries. From initial concepting to dispatch and delivery, the company provides a comprehensive end-toend service. Combining multiple foundries on one site gives Paralloy a high degree of control over the manufacturing process, and enables it to provide fully-finished precision-machined tubes, components, sub-assemblies and full fabrication leading to quicker turnarounds for its clients. Over the last few years, the company has gone through a number of organisational and business changes. At the start of 2020, the private equity company Nimbus acquired the Centrifu-
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Paralloy & FVC gal Castings Division of the Doncasters Group, which consisted of Teesside-based Paralloy and South Yorkshire-based FVC, as part of a management buy-out. In June of the same year, the company, now operating as Paralloy Ltd., acquired Express Engineering’s aerospace division and created a new company, Firth Vickers Engineering (FVE). The sister companies complement one another with their individual capabilities – while Paralloy specialises in high-alloy steels for the petrochemical, syngas and iron DRI industries, FVC makes proof machine components for the industrial gas turbine, aerospace and industrial markets. The third business, FVE, which last year re-located to the Tees Advanced Manufacturing Park (TeesAMP) in Middlesbrough, offers fully integrated engineering solutions, including finish machining and sub assembly, quality control and testing.
cal configurations in high-steel alloy materials along with static castings, for use in high-temperature furnace applications at the very heart of major petrochemical plants. The company’s products include steam reformer tubes manufactured in a broad array of materials, including H39WM, H39WMR, including the latest innovation - H39WM+. This material offers superior heat-resistant properties and meets the stringent criteria for steam reforming furnaces with exceptional creep rupture strength and enhanced carburisation resistance. The ethylene tubes are produced in a range of materials, including OPTIM-AL, which features exceptional oxidation and carburisation resistance properties. Meanwhile, PEP increases plant throughput without compromising reliability and is available in bespoke internal profiles that suit most available ethylene technologies. H46M and H39WM both feature outstanding creep strength and carburisation resistance. Paralloy also develops and patents its own market-leading alloys for specialist applications including blue hydrogen and low-coking ethylene. The company is one of only a handful of companies worldwide to produce these products and is a key supplier to the blue hydrogen market, which produces virtually no greenhouse gas emissions and is much in demand as firms across the world transition away from polluting fossil fuels.
Unique capabilities Paralloy primarily serves the synthetic natural gas and ethylene cracker petrochemical markets, manufacturing and supplying specialist centrifugal castings in horizontal and verti-
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The sister company FVC is a leading manufacturer of high-quality compressor and exhaust casings for the global aerospace industry, and also manufactures critical centrifugal cast components for civil aerospace, offering high-quality, low-cost, and reliable solutions to the world’s most popular engine platforms. Its specialist expertise in centrispun casting, heat resistant materials, and shaped split casings makes the company the first choice for clients across the globe.
GET IN TOUCH
0116 269 5999 sales@glendower.co.uk
Glendower Cutting Tools have been a cutting tools specialist in Leicester since 1972. We supply all the standard inserts and tooling, but uniquely also manufacture special inserts in our own facility in Leicester.
CAPACITY | Hydramet 12.5 Tonne Insert Press | Vacuum Furnace | | Agathon 250 Plus, 3-Axis Insert grinder | Agathon 250 Ultra, 3-Axis Insert grinder | | Agathon Combi 400, Plus 4-Axis Insert grinder with K-Land & Chipbreaker | | Lapmaster AC400F, dual wheel Insert thickness grinder | | Carbide Saw thickness grinder | Carbide bore grinder | 3 Cutter grinders | | 3 CNC controller creep feed grinders | Brazing and Shotblast facilities | | Solidworks 3D modelling and drawing | CNC Router | Milling Machine |
glendower.co.uk Glendower Cutting Tools Lakeside Business Park Pinfold Road Thurmaston Leicester, LE4 8AS
Manufacturing Feature
Established in 1974 as Alkron Packing, our name changed 17 years ago to Vanguard Packing Limited. 47 years experience of all export packing requirements. 5 sites in the UK, with over 70 employees. Extensive lean manufacturing C. I. program implemented with and ongoing available Capex of £600,000.
Find your local site
SLA’s established with leading major corporate clients, across the UK. Renewed ISO 9001:2015 accreditation. We offer high quality and competitive prices along with flexible lead times and tailored export packing to suit your needs. We are a financially astute company with an excellent credit rating.
www.vanguardpacking.co.uk 01254 668727
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Vanguard Packing Limited Manner Sutton Street Blackburn Lancashire BB1 5DT
Paralloy & FVC World-class operation Paralloy & FVC have developed and implemented world-class design and engineering processes that are both time-saving and cost-effective. All of the processes are in-house, including casting, chemical analysis, shot blasting, prepping, sawing, as well as horizontal and vertical boring. The demand placed on the components in extreme environments necessitates a rigorous approach to manufacturing and testing processes. Each of the alloys are taken through an intensive testing process before they are made available, ensuring only the best, safest products are sold under the Paralloy & FVC name. “As a solution-focused organisation, we have developed a truly adaptable process that accommodates bespoke requirements, such as tailored castings for unique applications as well as a range of products, typically required in bulk volumes. Our methods ensure project delivery that is significantly higher in value and lower in cost compared to other industry providers.” The company’s production processes are efficient, allowing Paralloy to fulfil orders within incredibly short industry lead-times. Innovation and continuous improvement are key – by working with metallurgical specialists, and furnace designers, the company has developed ground-breaking new materials with wide-ranging capabilities suitable for a broad number of applications.
Glendower Cutting Tools Ltd We are a family-owned business based in Leicester we celebrated our 50 year anniversary in March 2022, specialising in the manufacture of carbide cutting tools, we are unique in that we press, sinter & grind all our own inserts at our manufacturing plant in Thurmaston, Leicester. Producing standard ISO inserts along with bespoke inserts of all shapes & sizes to customers needs, from the best quality powder and ground on the latest state of the art machinery. We also design Toolholders, cutters & inserts to suit your needs from customer component drawings via our Cad Cam 3D Solidworks system. We are also main distributors for many cutting tool companies including ZCC.CT, Kennametal, Iscar, Taegutec Dormer / Pramet, Mitsubishi etc. So for all your cutting tool needs contact our sales team and see what we can offer you. sales@glendower.co.uk www.glendower.co.uk
The research and development efforts drive innovation forward, producing world class products and patents. “Serving both the syngas and ethylene petrochemical markets, our innovative engineers rise to the challenge of providing world-class materials such as Optim-Al, our new anti-coking alloy, and other market-leading innovations designed to provide high operating performance and reliability in the most demanding of conditions.”
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Paralloy & FVC Forging ahead Paralloy Chief Executive Robert McGowan affirms that becoming part of the Nimbus Group was good news for the business. “Nimbus’s background and expertise complements our strong management team and we have a partner that understands us, our business and is excited about our future. While we will continue to focus our efforts on building on the great British brands of Paralloy and Firth Vickers Centrispinning (FVC) this transaction has enabled us to uniquely position Paralloy and FVC for more growth, thereby expanding our portfolio, capabilities and market reach.” Robert McGowan himself led a management buyout two years ago. Since then, then sales have more than doubled and the business has expanded. This success has been recognized by the UK government which has provided a General Export Facility which supports a £15m funding package from Santander UK, with an 80% guarantee from UKEF to support its export-led growth. The funding is enabling Paralloy to fulfil the most exports in its 90-year history, with shipments to North America, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific, as well as to take on higher value export contracts, to open two new sites on Teesside, and create new jobs locally. The business currently exports 95% of its output to 70 overseas markets. Its customer base includes major companies, including Air Products, Air Liquide, Siemens, Rolls Royce, Exxon, Sabic, DOW and GE, amongst many others. Robert McGowan affirmed that the UKEFbacked funding package from Santander UK has enabled the company to future-proof the business, and provided the working capital to fulfil bigger export contracts. ”It’s truly been a game-changer, helping us focus on building out our order book even more and hiring the right team to support that.” www.paralloy.co.uk
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PROJECT DIRECTED BY
WRITTEN BY
Connor Love
Jay Benmehidi
Mika Tienhaara, CEO, Rocsole
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Rocsole
Innovation Leadership Business Enquirer takes a closer look at cleantech industry leaders Rocsole as they help innovate the resources sector.
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he oil and gas industry is undergoing a wave of disruptive change that is changing the rules of the game. Not that this should come as any surprise: from price volatility to COVID-19, and of course the global drive to go green, oil and gas operators are facing threats and scrutiny from all sides. To survive let alone thrive, it is clear that they
must evolve and innovate – a requirement that is easier said than done, bearing in mind the traditional nature of the sector. Whilst it has taken time for some oil and gas executives to come round to the idea, owing to the industry’s ingrained ‘if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it’ mindset, disruptive new tech startups are bringing new solutions to market that are simply too promising to overlook. In particular, leaders that are seeking to gain or maintain a competitive edge are focusing on finding pioneering new solutions to improve operational process efficiencies – an area of expertise for which Rocsole’s pioneering range of products and services have proven to be well-suited. “The market for industrial automation is enormous and growing, the same goes for digitalisation and AI/machine learning area to create actionable in-
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Smart Processes Feature
He continued: “These are exciting times. If we look at the oil and gas sector, we see a strong push for ESG measures and need for higher efficiency and decarbonisation, so the timing with our scaling up couldn’t be better. We will still need hydrocarbon production and products for a number of years, what I think needs to be a top priority is to make it as efficient and clean as possible in the processing. This is an area that has been lagging behind, but with the technology and tools we are utilising, it is now possible to go to the next level. So I believe the status quo “monster” doing nothing, is not applicable. We will see big changes in the next years.” Since the company first opened its doors for business in 2012, Rocsole - with the backing and support of industry giants like Shell and Repsol - has succeeded in creating a portfolio of agile solutions which utilise its award-winning Deposition In-Line Inspection (DILI) systems –
technology that allows clients to inspect pipelines for deposition build-up thickness, type, and location though the use of tomographic technology.
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The market for industrial automation is enormous and growing, the same goes for digitalisation and AI/machine learning.
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sights. Incumbent solution and service providers have a different technology level lacking the capabilities we are providing,” explained Rocsole’s charismatic CEO, Mika Tienhaara.
Through its success in utilising electrical tomography, Rocsole is able to forensically analyse what is happening inside equipment such as subsea pipelines and detect potential deposit build up that could disrupt flows of oil and gas. Furthermore, upon discovering any such deposits, the Rocsole team is then able to make the necessary adjustments needed to solve the issue. “What we have detected, and based on our years of field operations experience, is that the most common cause for critical processing equipment failures is faulty instrumentation. This in turn results
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Smart Processes Feature in frequent unplanned shutdowns, excess carbon emissions and highly inefficient plants. What we have done is to implement and make electrical tomography industrially tough, to work in real-time continuously without the need of the typical maintenance activities that support the true digital transformation, eliminating unnecessary manual work processes that are creating bottlenecks. Basically we provide our solutions with own proprietary sensors and software. We work internationally with some 20 active markets.”
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Based on our years of field operations experience the most common cause of critical processing equipment failure is faulty instrumentation.
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Let’s look into the science of this in a little more detail: DILI technology is reliant on tomographic measurements to analyse deposit conditions inside pipelines. A DILI sensor will travel through a pipeline, during which it will collect detailed information on deposit build-up thickness, type, and location. Unlike traditional methods that have been used by the industry, tomography is non-invasive, and it works in virtually all process environments, minus the need for production shutdowns, and the reporting of results can be completed quickly via AI/ML-based data processing. How quickly you might ask? Well according to Rocsole, results are also available by up to three hundred-times faster when compared to traditional incumbent reporting methods – so minutes, rather than weeks. From a maintenance reduction standpoint, this is invaluable because, for pipeline operators, fast results turn-around mean drastically less production downtime. Naturally the return on investment that such efficiency improvements can yield are vast indeed. In terms of what the future holds for Rocsole and the wider industry, it would be safe to say the genie has been let out of the proverbial bottle.
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Going forwards, embracing continuous technological innovation and augmenting new ways of doing things to operations will be essential for the oil and gas industry as the energy transition and Industry 4.0 increasingly changes the world around us. Granted, there is much talk of the rise of renewables and the green energy revolution that is underway, however as Mika and many others in academia and the business world acknowledge, oil and gas isn’t going anywhere for the foreseeable future. It’s still going to be here tomorrow. So with this in mind Mika and the Rocsole team plan to carry on working toward their primary strategic goal: to ensure that where oil and gas operations take place, IOCs can go about their business to the highest levels of operational excellence and efficiency, and ensure that the release of pollutants and emissions are kept to an absolute minimum. Mika concluded: “Our plan is to grow with a clear strategy, we have a strong focus and know what applications provides unrivalled customer value. We are growing in the oil and gas upstream sector, where we have an expansive road map, in parallel we are in piloting and concept phase for various manufacturing industries. The coming year will start to show on the impact we can make in industries and speaking for the whole team, I think we are very excited about this. I think in general that we have an exciting journey ahead – it is very much about building cooperations to enable game changing innovative solutions to make a big impact in industry. We look at further collaborations on the commercial side.” www.rocsole.com
Rocsole
Our plan is to grow with a clear strategy, we have a strong focus and know what applications provide unrivalled customer value
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PROJECT DIRECTED BY
WRITTEN BY
Malvern Kandemwa
Romana Moares
On the Right Track The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix is a Formula 1 motor racing event that took place for the first time in 2021. A large part of the credit for its success goes to the Saudi Motorsport Company that implemented the project in record time, with passion, enthusiasm and determination. Business Enquirer spoke to Ammar Shaker, the company’s Chief Information Officer, about the challenges and highlights.
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n 2021, Saudi Arabian hosted its first Grand Prix at the new Jeddah Corniche Circuit – set to become the longest and fastest street circuit in the world. It was the fifth full-night race title on the Formula One calendar, following the Singapore, Bahrain, Abu Dhabi, and Qatar Grand Prix. Needless to say, a lot of hard work and intense efforts preceded the event. The time scale itself represented a considerable challenge – the track and the facilities had to be prepared in less than nine months. This formidable task was given to the Saudi Automobile & Motorsport Company, a new state company founded by the Saudi Arabia Automobile & Motorcycle Federation (SAMF). Ammar Shaker, Chief Information Officer, de-
Saudi Arabian GP scribed the challenge: “When I first joined the company, I took a look around at the site and asked myself: how are we going to finish this at such short notice? It was a tremendous challenge, a 6.2 km track, dozens and dozens of buildings, logistics, fan zones, the famous F1 Paddock Club, several bridges, transportation plans and huge parking lots.” However, all has ultimately been achieved to the utmost satisfaction of all stakeholders, surpassing the expectations not only of outsiders but of the implementation team members themselves. What was the driving force that ensured the project was completed so successfully?
Redbull Racing and Aston Martin exhibits
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Saudi Arabian GP Facing the challenge Ammar affirms that it was the challenging spirit within the Saudi younger generation who managed to build this track and deliver the events in just under 8 months, in combination with the experience of Formula 1 masterminds who have worked on other tracks. “Passion is key, and the team achieved success because they saw this as a national project that needed their dedication and commitment, The teams worked passionately around the clock, 24/7 of their own free will, without our having to enforce these hours. That is actually the real unique point of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.” Creating the right teams with the right mix of skills is never easy, but Ammar explains that qualifications were not the key criteria for him when hiring staff. “I did not always choose employees who had the highest scores in their hiring exam. Yes, skills are important but what is more important is seeing ambitious young Saudi people willing to work day and night for a common cause.” Needless to say, technology also played a major part – a backbone of both the event and the customer experience – and the company made sure that they got the best that was available. For example, the 6.2 km long track, with marshal & race control units spreading all over it, needed extremely reliable communications. As the event’s main sponsor was a leading telecommunication and IT company, the team managed to install the network, communication systems, accreditation systems and security cameras so that all worked perfectly. A huge investment was also made in cloud computing. The combination of first-class technology and dedicated staff contributed to an excellent outcome surpassing all expectations, says Ammar. “I do read every single comment in our Google Map Track page. Given the interest, I can see a very bright future for tourism and sport in Saudi Arabia.”
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Sports Feature Vision 2030 And the real challenge has only just begun, he adds, with the actual establishment of the Saudi Motorsport Company (SMC), an entity that was set up to promote automobile sport events in Saudi Arabia. SMC will deliver not only F1 races, but also the Dakar Rally, together with Formula E, F2, Porsche Sprint, Extreme E, E-Karting races, and other regional rallies. He points out that the company is going to be busy in years to come. “The F1 contract alone runs for 10 years and it is very likely to extend beyond this. We will be building our main F1 track in Qiddiya, one of the nation’s mega projects just outside the Capital, Riyadh. That, when finished in 2023, should be one of the world’s top tourist attraction sites.”
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We will be building our main F1 track in Qiddiya, one of the nation’s mega projects just outside the Capital, Riyadh. That, when finished in 2023, should be one of the world’s top tourist attraction sites
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Aramco Formula 1 display at King Abdula Aziz Airport
The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix was part of a larger context, and only one of the events that are destined to support the country’s new direction. Its success comes in the light of the unlimited support that the sports sector enjoys from the Crown Prince in line with the plans and goals of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 – a huge transformation programme and a unique economic and social reform blueprint that is opening Saudi Arabia up to the world. The aim is to enhance the value and position of the Kingdom regionally and globally, and its ability to host such major global events to create a vibrant society with the highest quality of life standards. Another objective is to create new sources of income, to lessen the economy’s dependence on oil.
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Sports Feature Expanding the operation One of the key elements of the country’s strategy is investing in tourism, explains Ammar. “Formula1 and other motorsport events can play a major role in attracting tourists and I can say that hosting Formula 1 in Jeddah was one of the best possible investments.” Speaking of the future, he admits that the Saudi Motorsport Company is planning to expand its operation. The company was established by SAMF to bring all Saudi activity in the sector under a single entity and is the first public body designed to commercialise motorsport at a national level. These plans remain unhindered by the pandemic. “Covid-19 is very much contained in Saudi Arabia. The situation has been perfectly managed by our Ministry of Health and our operation goes on as usual,” claims Ammar. “We are launching the Dakar Rally late this January. Everything is going smoothly and as planned. We will also be preparing for the 2022 Formula1 season, and the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix will take place early this year, on 25 March. Time is moving on and we have a lot to enhance and a number of new technology projects.” He affirms that in the coming years the company plans to further increase the focus on these sports events as they represent a good source of revenue for the country, and is in close discussion with the Ministry of Sports to increase the quantity of deliverables. www.saudiarabiangp.com
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Saudi Arabian GP
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Formula 1 and other motorsport events can play a major role in attracting tourists and I can say that hosting Formula 1 in Jeddah was one of the best possible investments.
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PROJECT DIRECTED BY
Gary Smith
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WRITTEN BY
Tom Fogden
SilverCrest Metals
Bucking the Trend for Extractive Industries Canadian firm SilverCrest Metals defied industry-wide trends by developing new mining sites during the pandemic. Business Enquirer speaks to SilverCrest’s COO Pierre Beaudoin to find out how they managed it.
A sample of the deposits extracted from Las Chispas
The SilverCrest team outside the mine
The extractive industries are typified by periods of boom and bust. For every gold rush, there comes a period when the mines dry up and the prospectors leave town. However, the past few years have been far more challenging for businesses around the world – not just those involved with getting shiny rocks out of the ground – than could ever have been imagined. But one mining company has been managing to buck the trend.
Entrance to the mine at Las Chispas
SilverCrest Metals, based in Vancouver, British Columbia, has not only managed to develop new mining sites in Mexico during a global pandemic and with supply chain issues, but it has also managed to keep the project on track and – most importantly – on budget. SilverCrest is focused on finding new, untapped gold and silver resources in Mexico, as well as targeting value-adding acquisitions. Currently, the company is concentrating on the highgrade, historic Las Chispas mining district in the north-western state of Sonora.
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SilverCrest Metals The Las Chispas mine is some 90 miles northeast of state capital Hermosillo but, despite the remarkable speed and success of SilverCrest’s new mine, the area is no stranger to prospecting. Silver and gold mining has been happening at the site since as early as 1640 – though most of the mining happened between 1880 and 1930.
67 muck samples. 301 of the chip samples are graded in excess of 150 grams per tonne of gold equivalent, meaning the overall average is is 4.3 grams per tonne of gold and 332 grams per tonne of silver.
In 1910, annual production reached as high as 3,540 tonnes, with grades on average reaching 1.29 ounces per tonne gold and 173 ounces per tonne silver – exceptionally high thanks to the concentration and formation of numerous secondary sulphides and antimonide minerals.
In 2018, the company appointed Pierre Beaudoin as COO. With more than 30 years’ experience in the mining industry, Beaudoin has been instrumental in driving the development of the Las Chispas mine forward.
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“Our progress to date has been solid on all three main project development fronts,” said Beaudoin.
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Our progress to date has been solid on all three main project development fronts.
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Fast forward to 2016 and SilverCrest is conducting an exploration program. Amassing more than 5,000 underground chip samples, 44 underground channel samples, and 67 historical muck samples. Of this collection, results are available for less than half the chips but all
Those numbers might not be as high as 1910 levels, but they certainly held promise.
Resources Feature “Ausenco’s [one of SilverCrest’s partners] progress on the processing plant construction continued to impress in Q4, 2021 and now stands approximately one month ahead of schedule. The infrastructure construction managed directly by SilverCrest adjusted well to the pace of progress imposed by the process plant construction, and with contingency measures for power, will be capable of supporting the projected earlier plant start-up.
Inside the mine at Las Chispas
“Finally, our mining team reported a record year of underground development, exceeding both the expectations set in the 2021 budget and the Feasibility Study. The combined efforts of our employees and contractors in 2021 have de-risked the Project construction and paved the way for a successful production start-up in Q2, 2022.”
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2021 marked an extraordinary year of efforts from our team and contractors in Mexico and Canada. The progress made throughout the year has positioned us well for Las Chispas start-up in Q2, 2022.
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This remarkable development against the most challenging of economic and societal backgrounds was reflected in exceptional market performance, as well. SilverCrest significantly outperformed its competitors on the New York Stock Exhange’s Silver Miners Index between Q4 2018 and Q4 2020. While the Index averaged a 100% gain, SilverCrest managed 450% growth. 2021, however, did see some slight underperformance but, with the company set to become one of the sector’s highest-grade producers in the coming months, 2022 and 2023 should see the company rebound quickly. “2021 marked an extraordinary year of efforts from our team and contractors in Mexico and Canada. The progress made throughout the year has
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engineering / Development / mining fortification / material movement
www.cominvi.com.mx
SilverCrest Metals positioned us well for Las Chispas start-up in Q2, 2022,” said Eric Fier, SilverCrest’s CEO. Much of the company’s continued success despite the adverse conditions can be attributed to its COVID-19 prevention measures. At its Las Chispas site, the company completed more than 4,800 rRt-PCR tests. No serious outbreaks of the virus were recorded at the site and, although a small outbreak was recorded at SilverCrest’s satellite offsite camp, the company took swift measures to ensure all employees and contractors were tested and closed the camp temporarily. In fact, the main construction camp remained fully operational the entire time and there was no impact on mine construction. SilverCrest even participated in a local vaccination program to complement Mexico’s federal program. This led to 220 employees and contractors receiving their full vaccination and another 110 receiving their first dose. Start-up of production is due to begin in the middle of this year and, based on the company’s feasibility study, the company should be able to mine 1,250 tonnes per day for around eight and a half years. This means that the mine could generate an expected at least $486.3 million and could pay itself off in as little as nine months.
Cominvi We are a contractor company in the mining sector, specialized in the construction of underground mining works and exploitation of mineral deposits based in Guanajuato, Mexico. We are committed to safety, ecology, the development of its staff with total social responsibility. With more than 18 years of experience and business solidity, CoMinVi has managed to position itself as the leading contractor company in the field of underground mining in the Mexican Republic, also making its way abroad. Our main mining activity is the development of tunnels and production of deposits for national and foreign companies. During our trajectory we have collaborated in more than 36 projects with leading companies in the mining sector dedicated to the exploitation of minerals. We have the vision of being a nationally and internationally recognized company with high standards of quality and innovation that contribute to the achievement of the goals established by our clients. We are currently operating in 9 projects in different regions, obtaining a monthly development average of 6,000 linear m and around 192,000 tons of mineral. Our specialized mining services range from engineering, development, mining, fortification and material movement. www.cominvi.com.mx
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SilverCrest Metals Of course, SilverCrest hasn’t put all of its eggs into a single basket. The company has other projects across Mexico. Its El Picacho site is 85 kilometres northeast of Las Chipas and covers more than 7,000 hectares and the company has three drill rigs operational at the site. It also has properties at Cruz de Mayo, Angel de Plata, and Estacion Llano, though the rights to mine these concessions are not completely in the company’s hands yet. The extractive industries – whether mining gold, silver, copper, lithium, or oil – are built on the promise of hidden treasures and potential returns. And, with this, there is plenty of scope for things to go awry – whether in production, management, or even in the face of a global pandemic and supply chain issues. However, based on the way that SilverCrest has been expanding and conducting its business since 2017, it certainly seems as though the company might be able to buck the trends and prove an exception to the rule. Perhaps, the company’s future is as bright as the minerals it is mining. www.silvercrestmetals.com
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Resources Feature
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2 SERIES ACTIVE TOURER BORN ELECTRIC
