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• Message from the MD
• Uruguay goes for Gold
• Exploring the Latin Lure (cont’)
Page 3
• Adrian Nurcahyo - CSA Global’s New Director
Page 4
• Dia Duit! From the Guatemalan Highlands
• Twenty Years in Latin America
Page 5
• Brazilian Copper - Gold
Page 6
• Bali 2013
• Optimise Your Mining Enterprise
Page 7
• CSA Global’s Russian Reach
• A Donkey’s Tale
Page 8
• Last Word
• CSA Staff Stuff
• Meet us at
CSa global Resource Industry Consultants
ISSue 27 - May 2013
In the face of sovereign risk threats, security issues, remoteness, and lack of infrastructure, which in many cases seems to be on the increase rather than decreasing, Latin America has lost none of its charm in recent times to investors and explorers.
As has been well documented in recent industry news, 25% of global exploration dollar was spent in Latin America in the last financial year. Much of this is being spent by foreign exploration companies.
Latin America is a vast and diverse region with many different policy borders, not just from country to country but within countries as well.
CSA Global has been active in Latin America for almost 20 years. As the Latin exploration boom has increased, so has our involvement. Assisting foreign investors in valuing potential investments, assisting local miners to develop resources to take to the market through our skills in reporting codes such as JORC and NI43 101.
We have worked on mineral projects in Brazil, Colombia, Chile, French Guiana, Guyana, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru, Suriname and Uruguay.
Argentina is a good example of how mining
So with the economy in its third quarter of slowing and many commodities behaving as erratically as ever, is there a silver lining?
Well, I believe there is. The current global resources and financial sector are experiencing the prolonged effects of not facing a problem head on when presented with it. The positive in this is that we may now be in the process of wiping the slate clean as we should have done in 2008. And from this point onwards we will be
based on a solid foundation of true value.
So we should consider at this time as a good time to clear out the cupboard. Tune up your operation to provide you with a much better return when things do eventually come good. And they will... they always do.
So buckle up, optimise that project and wait for the return to better times... coming soon.
Scan here to download Picks n Bits to your smart phone
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exploring the Latin Lure
Continued on page 2
Letter from the editor...
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Message from the MD
It has not gone un-noticed that many of the world’s economies are going through a protracted slump as the whole financial system continues to restructure post the global financial crisis.
The media continues to churn out stories of strong commodity price fluctuations, uncertainty in the finance industry, company management restructuring, projects being put on hold and general volatile business conditions.
Volatility is something we have to live with in our industry and CSA Global has witnessed several difficult periods since the company was formed in 1984. Our strong core values and unique and caring company culture are very important to us, they are non-negotiable parts of our business which guide our planning and decision making in both good times and bad.
During economic downturns it is essential for companies to have clear contingencies and paths to navigate in response to industry performance.
Over the past five years CSA Global have successfully diversified our service lines to encompass all stages of the mining cycle. This diversification has allowed us the safely weather the recent sharp drop off in exploration work.
At the same time as miners tighten their belts to keep their mines viable they are looking at ways to optimise their operations to help cut costs and restructure their processes.
Resource geologists, contract mine geologists, operational analysts and database experts all play a big role in this stage of the cycle and CSA Global’s track record in optimisation and mine operations has allowed us keep our clients on track to weather the storm.
Jeff elliott
Aaron Meakin - Principal Resource Geologist and Manager for our South Australian office, recently travelled to Uruguay on a gold exploration project. He discusses the project and his thoughts on Uruguay and the potential that Latin America has to offer:
The San Gregorio gold mining project is located approximately 450 km north of Montevideo, Uruguay. The principal towns in the region are Minas de Corrales, Tacuarembó and Rivera. San Gregorio is the only producing gold mine
uruguay goes for gold
in Uruguay, and as such, mining regulations have not yet been developed.
CSA Global were requested to complete a site visit to the Sobresaliente, Zapucay and Crucera gold mining operations to review existing grade control systems for Orosur mining. Orosur currently have one underground mine (Arenal Deeps) and three open pit mining operations (Sobresaliente, Zapucay and Crucera).
Six days were spent with the open pit team and six with the underground team. Existing systems were compared with industry best practice and recommendations for improvement were made for each of their operations.
As is usual with remote work language was a bit of an obstacle (like most of
exploring Latin Lure (cont’)policy varies from one province to another, even at a local level. In Argentina it is necessary to engage at all levels of bureaucracy from local council to province and federal levels on most projects. This has given the mineral rich nation a bad reputation next to its more pro-resource industry neighbours such as Chile, Peru and even Uruguay.
This, along with increasingly populist nationalistic policies being brought about at a federal level in relation to mineral assets, not to mention a monetary policy which makes it almost impossible to expatriate any profit mining companies
extract from their investments, create a frustrating mix of complicated red tape and unstable foundations for investment.
Chile has pioneered foreign resource investment to the region. Their minerals industry has been attracting foreign investment for more than three decades. This proactive approach to foreign investment and involvement in the economy has had a very positive impact on the country’s overall economy and subsequently security and standard of living.
Chile now boasts one of the most resilient and stable economies of the region and continues to hold the title of first port of call for the majority of international interests.
On-site at Uruguay.
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PT CSa global’s New Director
CSA Global is pleased to announce the appointment of Adrian Nurcahyo to the Board of PT CSA Global Indonesia.
The Board’s decision to appoint Adrian to this key position is in recognition of his valuable contributions to the development of our Indonesia business as well as our expansion internationally in coal consulting.
John Bishop, President Director of PT CSA Global Indonesia, said “I congratulate Adrian on his promotion. It is pleasing to see new generation leaders and consultants coming forward to guide and sustain our future”.
Adrian commenced at CSA Global in 2009 prior to the opening of our sixth office in Jakarta, Indonesia. In 2010 Adrian was promoted to Senior Resource Geologist with the additional responsibility for business development.
With over twelve years’ experience in project generation, project management, exploration, resource development and mining of coal, Adrian’s experience and expertise has played a prominent role in establishing CSA Global’s presence in Indonesia, the world’s largest thermal coal exporting nation.
Adrian has worked in Indonesia, Mongolia, Hungary and Australia. He is a Member of the Australasian Institute of Mining & Metallurgy (MAusIMM), a Member of the Australian Institute of Geoscientists (MAIG) and a Competent Person (CP) for JORC Coal Resource Estimate reporting. Adrian has high level skills as a user and trainer in Minescape coal software, the most common coal software package used in Indonesia.
Mexico and Brazil are also well known in global investment circles for marketing themselves as very open to foreign investment. Both countries have healthy foreign investment schemes in place and are represented at a governmental level at most major conferences related to the region.
Peru tries to shrug off its reputation for investment conservatism and present itself as a favourable destination for exploration and mining.
This effort has been successful to a point, however internal difficulties between local administrations and indigenous and artisanal miners have left their mark on the government’s
attempts at competing with neighbouring Chile in this market.
Other countries in the region that currently fly under the radar for foreign investment and exploration are Uruguay, Paraguay and Bolivia.Historically all have had strong mining industries but due to foreign policy and in relation to Bolivia and Paraguay internal political stability issues are largely over looked by investors.
At the end of the day, while headlines are discussing the Asian century and the growing middle classes of China, India and Indonesia, it is very easy to see that another boiler room for world industry over the next century will be in Latin America.
Latin America, Uruguayans speak Spanish). It was often difficult to communicate with technical personnel; this caused some confusion resulting in receiving unanticipated data sets. I was lucky enough to find an English speaking Chilean geologist and an Australian mining engineer to help me through.
The drink of choice in Uruguay is called mate (pronounced Mah-teh). This is prepared from steeping dried leaves of yerba mate (llex paraguariensis) in hot water and drinking through a metal straw from a dried gourd or other similar shaped cup.
It is ubiquitous to many countries in the region and the practice takes place everywhere from home to the office, on street corners, anywhere you might stop and chat with a friend and looks remarkably suspicious to the uninitiated.
When I first arrived at the Montevideo bus terminal, I noticed numerous people sipping from bulb shaped tea cups filled with a strange green leafy substance. When I arrived at the mine site, I was relieved to find out that it was all entirely legal.
Like its neighbouring countries Brazil and Argentina, a lot of meat is consumed in Uruguay and huge BBQ’s (known as parillas) are very popular. I was lucky enough to be invited to the Orosur Christmas party a few days after I arrived and I can safely say I have never seen such a large BBQ.
It is on trips such as this one that you can reflect on what a great industry we work in. It is not everyone who can say their job will take them from sitting in Adelaide one day (working on an iron ore project in the Northern Territory) and then two days later be immersed in a completely different culture. Being invited to a clients Christmas BBQ and learning what each part of the anatomy each morsel is from (sometimes it is better not to know!) that is being forcably offered to you by your well meaning new found friends.
If you would like to know how we can assist you with your next Latin American project contact us at [email protected].
Barbecue Uruguayan style.
Dia Duit! From the Guatemalan Highlands
Whilst on site in Guatemala Neal Reynolds (Director, Principal Geologist - CSA Global) got a little nostalgic for his homeland of Ireland.
Rising to an elevation of 3837 m and with an area of 1500 sq km, 500 sq km above 3000 m, the Sierra de los Cuchumatanes is a unique environment in Central America, and the roof of Guatemala.
The uplifted plateau presents a terrain that would look familiar in the west of Ireland or Scotland, craggy hills with drifts of pine trees, thatched cabins, stone walls, and black peaty soils raised into lazy beds for potato cultivation.
This is quite a surprise for an Irish geologist visiting to bring CSA Global’s experience in carbonate-hosted zinc-lead and specialist expertise in oxidised zinc deposits to the region.
CSA Global’s work has highlighted the potential of this frontier region,
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With a new office in Vancouver, Latin American and Spanish-speaking staff and associates, CSA Global is in a strong position to build business in the region.
CSA Global’s Latin American experience dates back to the mid 1990’s, when one of our first assignments was a targeting review in the Neoproterozoic Bambui Basin in Brazil, host to the uniquely world class Vazante willemite (zinc silicate) deposit.
Twenty years in Latin America
This built on in-house expertise in sediment-hosted zinc-lead mineral systems and contributed to CSA Global’s international expertise in ‘non-sulphide’ zinc and lead systems.
In the last ten years, CSA Global has worked on a variety of epithermal and porphyry gold and copper projects in the Cordilleran belt from Mexico through Columbia and Peru to Chile, on orogenic gold and nickel in the Amazonian and Sao Francisco cratons and Guiana Shield, and on base-metal
projects in Mexico and Guatemala.
The company has also undertaken regional targeting and project generation studies in the Cordilleran belt, Argentina, and the Guiana Shield.
CSA Global’s expansion in Latin America is building on a strong foundation of experience and knowledge in the region.
If you would like to know how we can assist you with your next Latin American project contact us at [email protected].
Streetscape in Antigua - Guatemala
and will hopefully contribute to its exploration and ultimate economic development.
This region is a heartland to Mayan people who suffered terribly during the 36 year civil war that finally ended in 1996.
The highlands are underlain by Palaeozoic to Mesozoic basement limestone and clastic rocks on the Maya block, north of the Motagua suture.
Mississippi Valley Type zinc-lead-silver deposits occur widely in the platform limestones of the sierra, and many have been worked on a small scale for both sulphide and oxide ores, though the region has had no modern exploration.
Deep weathering and karst formation following a major uplift event in the Late Miocene present a perfect environment for formation of high-grade zinc-oxide deposits such as Torlon, which are under evaluation by Canadian company Firestone Ventures.
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Gerry Fahey, Director and Dr. Bielin Shi, Principal Resource Geologist, of CSA Global recently visited Avanco Resources Ltd’s exploration property in Brazil.
Avanco (ASX code AVB) is a Brazilian focused exploration and development company. The company is targeting near term copper production through developing the high grade Rio Verde and Pedra Branca copper projects in Carajás Mineral Province, northern Brazil.
The Carajás region is regarded as one of the most prospective regions in the world for the discovery of copper-gold, nickel and iron ore deposits. It is host to numerous world class IOCG deposits including the Sossego, Salobo and Igarape-Bahai deposits.
The Company has five Carajás exploration properties and is actively seeking to increase its presence in the region. Avanco also has a 75% interest in the Conceição nickel platinum project.
CSA Global was engaged by Avanco to complete a Mineral Resource estimate and update for the Antas North, Antas South and Pedra Branca copper- gold deposit.
Since 2011 the Mineral Resources of Antas North, Antas South and Pedra Branca deposits have been updated four times. The Antas North copper- gold project is one of Avanco’s highly prospective Rio Verde Projects, located in Para Province, North Brazil (Figure 1). The typical iron-oxide-copper-gold (IOCG) style of mineralisation remains open at depth and along strike.
The purpose of this visit was to conduct an independent review on the geological controls and likely mining conditions. As well as an
Brazilian Copper - Gold
assessment of field data collection and established QA/QC procedures that were employed.
CSA were satisfied with the work completed and this allowed an increase in reported resources to 14.4 Mt @ 1.15% Cu.
If you would like to know how we can assist you with your next Latin American project contact us at [email protected].
A traffic jam en-route to site
Figure 1 : Sessego, Salobo and Igarape-Bahai deposits
Gerry and Bielin enjoying a view from the top
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Bali 2013
Geoscientists Symposia (GS) and the Australian Institute of Geolscientists (AIG) will be presenting Bali 2013 - East Asia: Geology, Exploration Technologies and Mines, 27 - 29 May at the Sanur Plaza Hotel in Bali, Indonesia.
CSA Global is proud to be the official gold sponsor for the event.
CSA Global’s Mick Elias (Principal Geologist - Nickel) will be keynote speaker at the event, looking at nickel laterites in Southeast Asia with his talk “Geology, Technology and Economics: Finding the Balance”. Neal Reynolds (Director and Principal Geologist) will also be presenting at the conference. Neal will be discussing tectonics and metallogeny of mainland Southeast Asia.
Gerry Fahey (Director and Principal Geologist) and Graham Jeffress (Manager - Exploration & Evaluation) will be presenting a workshop on The Do’s and Don’ts of Public Reporting of Exploration Results and Mineral Resources in relation to the JORC Code.
If you are interested in attending the conference and workshop, please contact Jocelyn Thomson at [email protected]. For further information on the conference visit www.aig.org.au.
The significant drop in the price of gold recently is something some commentators have been concerned about for some time. However given the global economic state and forecast decline in gold production most indicators were that the precious metal would remain fairly stable in the short term and then possibly rise as investors sought shelter from weaker currency markets.
Mining costs have been on the increase globally for the last few years (17% P/A) to the point where analysts currently estimate the average “all in” cost of extracting the precious metal out of the ground at about $1100 to $1250/ounce. This cost was sustainable when gold prices were sitting around $1700, however once the price falls below $1550 profitability comes under threat.
Investors don’t mind an outlay of $1100 if they are expecting a return on 50% or higher during the peaks. This is evident by the resurrection of numerous old projects that were considered unviable until the gold boom of recent times. These same
Optimise your Mining Enterprise
projects now face very uncertain futures as the margin of profitability shrinks or in some cases disappears altogether.
In volatile market conditions like these miners look for ways to make their mines more profitable, combatting rising mining costs through improving measures of efficiency.
CSA Global’s Mining & Projects and Resource & Mine Geology divisions work hand in hand to asses, analyse and deliver solutions in operational efficiency.
CSA can assist clients with improving project economics by optimisation of ore feed grades through cut off grade analysis, reducing mining dilution and adopting deferred waste mining strategies
Our key services in this area include; mine optimisation and pit design, mine scheduling, operation and productivity improvement, grade control and dilution management, strategic planning, project risk analysis, gap and risk analyses, mine fleet optimisation, maintenance effectiveness, productivity and cost improvements and long term planning and scheduling. We can also offer highly qualified boots on the ground as contract resource and mine geologists mitigating the risk of over staffing.
If you need some advice regarding optimisation on your project please contact R&[email protected].
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a Donkey’s Tale
Mick Elias grabs a lift to site
CSA Global is pleased to announce the commencement of Alexey Tsoy, our Regional Manager for Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).
Alexey’s extensive knowledge of the mining industry in Russia and the CIS as well as his proven record as
CSa global’s Russian Reach
an effective business development practitioner provide CSA Global with the perfect combination of skills to take our already successful involvement in this region and grow it to its full potential.
Alexey has been tasked with setting up and managing a new office for CSA Global in Moscow to consolidate our growing business in the Russian and CIS markets. We wish to have a local presence in Russia so we can better deliver our tailor-made solutions to existing (and potential) clients who operate from, or have projects in the region.
This will also facilitate activities with those clients who are wishing to access equity markets e.g. AIM and LSE in the United Kingdom, TSX and TSX-V in Canada or the HKEX in Hong Kong.
Alexey will have access to our global team of experts with hands-on experience in all aspects of the mining cycle from exploration through data management, resource modeling,
mining and operational optimization; as well as highly qualified senior staff with experience in the development and the use of reporting codes such as JORC and NI43-101.
Alexey will also have access to our extensive networks within the resource finance industry where CSA Global has strong relationships from nearly 30 years operational experience providing independent technical advice.
CSA Global first worked in Russia in 1987 and our involvement in mineral projects within the region has become increasingly important to our global business since that time, making it a key strategic target for expansion.
We are very pleased to be establishing a permanent presence in Russia, and look forward to working with our existing and prospective clients throughout the region.
For help with your next Russian or CIS project please contact [email protected]
Mick Elias, Principal Geologist - nickel, was recently in Piaui, north-eastern Brazil, reviewing a nickel laterite deposit for a client.
To cover the hilly, rocky terrain an appropriate form of transportation was required, which was provided by a friendly local farmer. As CSA Global prides itself on its stringent travel risk practices, Mick’s immediate concern was that there was no seatbelt on the donkey.
However upon seeing the donkey he conceded he didn’t have far to fall in the event of a mishap, and what’s more, by their stubborn nature the biggest risk with a donkey is not going anywhere at all. Plane, train, automobile, dokney or by foot - we go by any means to work on your project!
For help with your next Latin American project please contact [email protected]
Mining INDABA 2013This year’s Mining INDABA was a special one for CSA Global. It was the first conference manned by our new South African team along with Jeff Elliott - Managing Director, and Malcolm Titley - Director. The four day event once again proved to be highly worthwhile.
PDAC 2013As with INDABA, PDAC was a good chance for CSA Global to show a new regional team, this time from our Vancouver office. As the largest resource industry conference in the world with over 30,000 attendees from 125 countries with 1,000 exhibitors, PDAC didn’t disappoint. On this occasion Dennis Arne, Kevin Wells and Gerry Fahey flew the flag.
Mines & Money Hong Kong 2013Another successful event for 2013, Mines & Money Hong Kong lived up to it’s reputation as another well-attended conference for the mining industry in the Asia/Pacific region. Stan Wholley from Perth, John Bishop from Jakarta and Kevin Wells from Vancouver represented CSA Global at our booth.
Last Word
• Bali 2013, 27 - 29 May. Bali, Indonesia. Booth 1. Mick Elias, Neal Reynolds, Gerry Fahey and Graham Jeffress presenting.
• Latin america Downunder, 29 - 30 May. Sydney, New South Wales
• geomin 2013, 24 - 26 July. Santiago, Chile. Steve Rose presenting.
Meet us at...
Staff Stuff
• alexey Tsoy, Regional Manager - Russia & CIS (RUSSIA)• andria Preiss, Office Administrator (CAN) • Diarmaid MagLochlainn, Graduate Geologist (QLD)• Helen Manton, Administration Assistant (UK)• Ian Wollff, Principal Geologist (INDO)• Lyana Nolan, Graduate Geologist (QLD)• Oleg Nesterov, Mining Engineer (WA)
CSA welcomes:
Steve Rose - AusIMM Consultants SocietyCongratulations goes to Steve Rose, CSA Global’s Principal Resource Geologist, on his appointment to the AusIMM Consultant Society.
Steve’s application for the position was one of 17 submissions received for consideration by the CEO of the AusIMM.
The AusIMM Consultants Society was formed to establish and maintain a mechanism for representing
the interests of those professionals employed, operating or are interested in the area of mineral industry consulting. The committee is responsible for promoting the profile of professionals in the community.
Steve will be required to meet twice monthly with the committee to discuss the current business plan in place, provide guidance and contribute to areas of activity such as conferences, publications, the Consultants Register and other initiatives.
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