6 DECEMBER 2013 Over 100 delegates from Russia, Central Asia
CONFERENCE POST RELEASE – 6 DECEMBER 2013 Over 100 delegates from Russia, Central Asia, China, Canada and the UK have attended MINEX Russia and Central Asia Mining conference in London on 2 December 2013. Organised alongside the Mines and Money week in London MINEX conference offered international investors a snapshot of the latest trends and developments in the mining industries in Russia and Central Asia. Forthcoming changes in the Russian mining regulations planned for 2014 were presented by Alan Kartashkin, Partner and Co-‐Head of the Global Mining Practice at Debevoise & Plimpton LLP. Next year the Russian Government is planning to introduce amendments which will create new opportunities for potential expansion of deposits and “occurrences” that are not subject to the SIL (the Strategic Investments Law) and accelerate prospecting and deposit evaluation by subsoil users; contribute to transparent, efficient and impartial provision of Strategic Plots; assist with harmonization of Russian law provisions on foreign control over Strategic Subsoil Users; encourage geological surveys in the regions with extreme climatic and environmental conditions and lack of infrastructure. Partnership structures could play more significant role in the development of large-‐scale mining projects in Russia and CIS according to Ralph Novak, Managing Director at Moscow based Swiss investment company Bryanston CIS. Even large international corporates failed in managing project risks and were forced to take large write-‐offs in 2012. Strategic partnerships in the oil & gas industry yielded mutual advantages and reduced partnership risks. These experiences could be successfully implemented in the mining industry. A broader discussion on current challenges, trends and opportunities in the Russian and Central Asia’s mining sector were addressed during the panel discussion with the contributions from Alexander Lopatnikov, Managing Director, American Appraisal (Russia); Dr Geoffrey Cowley, Chairman, The Energy Mining Advisory Partnership; Julia Boiko, General Director, Wardell Armstrong Russia; Rod Cave, Regional Director, Russia, Eastern Europe and Central Asia, CRU and Nick Clarke, Chief Executive Officer, Central Asia Metals Plc. Development of Gold and Silver mining and exploration projects in Russia were showcased at the next session chaired by David Pearce, General Director, SRK Consulting (Russia) Ltd. Robin Birchall, Executive Chair and Member of Board of Directors, Silver Bear Resources Inc.; Max Yacoub, Chief Investment Officer, Auriant Mining and Mikhail Damrin, Chief Executive Officer, Kopy Goldfields AB presented their company strategies and shared views on Russia’s untapped growth potential for developing world class gold and silver high-‐grade projects. According to presenters in 2013 Russia was the 3rd largest gold producer -‐ 240 tons and contributes to approximately 5% of world’s silver production. Since 2009 there were active M&As in the gold sector in Russia as market majors were hunting for new deposits on the back of rising prices and strong cash flows. In spite of stereotypes, regulatory regime for precious metals producers has been stable for decades. Russia has moderate statutory corporate tax of 20%, well-‐ educated local professionals – engineers, geologists, miners and has no labour issues, strikes or conflicts with unions. With the territory of 1.8x Canada; 1.7x USA and 2.2x Australia Russia offers huge exploration potential.
MINEX RUSSIA & CENTRAL ASIA CONFERENCE – 2 December 2013 Compared to the other major mining jurisdictions Russia’s Gold mining industry is still relatively small: “Major” gold producers (> 100 Koz) -‐ some 10 companies, Minor producers (30 < and < 100 Koz) – some 15 companies (including 10 alluvial producers); 10-‐15 foreign companies, including juniors; 20-‐30 financial investors “interested” in gold projects. Russia has very few public junior miners (only 3 producers) and offers many opportunities for consolidation among non-‐listed companies. Challenges and rewards of introducing new technologies and developing projects in Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan were presented at the next session by Nick Clarke, Chief Executive Officer, Central Asia Metals Plc., John Monhemius, Emeritus Professor, Non-‐executive Director, Anglo-‐Asian Mining plc and Elena Amirkhanova, Partner, ERM Eruasia (UK). The session was chaired by Julia Boiko, General Director, Wardell Armstrong Russia. Introduction of SX-‐EW technology at Central Asia Metals’s Kounrad projects helps the company to maintain pre-‐eminent position as a low-‐cost copper producer in Kazakhstan. Kounrad dumps accumulated during 70 years of open-‐pit operations at Kounrad copper mine, and contain over 600,000 tonnes of copper (JORC-‐compliant resource). Azerbaijan focused gold, copper and silver production and development company Anglo-‐Asian Mining presented extensive portfolio of highly prospective projects across Azerbaijan with value upside through the resource to production cycle. Requirements of international investors as an EHSS management tool were presented by ERM Eruasia (UK) which showcased impact of non-‐technical risks on mining operations in Russia and Mongolia. Challenges of funding mining and exploration companies in Russia and Central Asia were discussed at the final panel chaired by James Scoville, Managing Partner (London office) from Debevoise & Plimpton LLP and with the contributions from Jeremy Wrathall, Head Global Natural Resources – London, Investec; Robin Birchall, Executive Chair and Member of Board of Directors, Silver Bear Resources Inc.; Tom Attenborough, Head of UK Large Caps, Primary Markets, London Exchange; Paulina McGroarty, Head of EMEA, Listings, Singapore Exchange; Orlee Wertheim, Head of the Global Mining Business Development, Toronto Stock Exchange and TSX Venture Exchange; Rustem Ospanov, Partner, RCG Investment Advisor LLC and Georges Lequime, Advisor to the Earth Gold Fund UI and the Earth Exploration Fund UI, Earth Resource Investment Group. The panel discussed outlook for 2014 for mining companies seeking to access the debt and equity markets and debated on most attractive avenues for raising capital amongst various funding alternatives – debt financing/public equities/private placement. They provided views on the key investment drivers in the mining sector and fundamental indicators that investors are looking for and which companies they need to focus on. They also pointed out the key factors affecting company’s valuation when seeking an IPO and reviewed the importance of company’s corporate governance profile. The panel also discussed outlook for mining listings in 2014 and debated the role of private equity in the mix of capital raising alternatives available to companies. The networking and exchanges of opinions continued at the lunch as well as at the Mining Week Ice Breaker Drinks hosted by Objective Capital in the evening. For a free access to the conference presentation materials and videos, please subscribe to MINEX Forum news by completing this form. The next Conference will be held in London on Monday 1 December 2014. Companies interested in presenting, exhibiting and sponsoring the conference are kindly invited to send enquiries to [email protected]
MINEX RUSSIA & CENTRAL ASIA CONFERENCE – 2 December 2013 Compared to the other major mining jurisdictions Russia’s Gold mining industry is still relatively small: “Major” gold producers (> 100 Koz) -‐ some 10 companies, Minor producers (30 < and < 100 Koz) – some 15 companies (including 10 alluvial producers); 10-‐15 foreign companies, including juniors; 20-‐30 financial investors “interested” in gold projects. Russia has very few public junior miners (only 3 producers) and offers many opportunities for consolidation among non-‐listed companies. Challenges and rewards of introducing new technologies and developing projects in Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan were presented at the next session by Nick Clarke, Chief Executive Officer, Central Asia Metals Plc., John Monhemius, Emeritus Professor, Non-‐executive Director, Anglo-‐Asian Mining plc and Elena Amirkhanova, Partner, ERM Eruasia (UK). The session was chaired by Julia Boiko, General Director, Wardell Armstrong Russia. Introduction of SX-‐EW technology at Central Asia Metals’s Kounrad projects helps the company to maintain pre-‐eminent position as a low-‐cost copper producer in Kazakhstan. Kounrad dumps accumulated during 70 years of open-‐pit operations at Kounrad copper mine, and contain over 600,000 tonnes of copper (JORC-‐compliant resource). Azerbaijan focused gold, copper and silver production and development company Anglo-‐Asian Mining presented extensive portfolio of highly prospective projects across Azerbaijan with value upside through the resource to production cycle. Requirements of international investors as an EHSS management tool were presented by ERM Eruasia (UK) which showcased impact of non-‐technical risks on mining operations in Russia and Mongolia. Challenges of funding mining and exploration companies in Russia and Central Asia were discussed at the final panel chaired by James Scoville, Managing Partner (London office) from Debevoise & Plimpton LLP and with the contributions from Jeremy Wrathall, Head Global Natural Resources – London, Investec; Robin Birchall, Executive Chair and Member of Board of Directors, Silver Bear Resources Inc.; Tom Attenborough, Head of UK Large Caps, Primary Markets, London Exchange; Paulina McGroarty, Head of EMEA, Listings, Singapore Exchange; Orlee Wertheim, Head of the Global Mining Business Development, Toronto Stock Exchange and TSX Venture Exchange; Rustem Ospanov, Partner, RCG Investment Advisor LLC and Georges Lequime, Advisor to the Earth Gold Fund UI and the Earth Exploration Fund UI, Earth Resource Investment Group. The panel discussed outlook for 2014 for mining companies seeking to access the debt and equity markets and debated on most attractive avenues for raising capital amongst various funding alternatives – debt financing/public equities/private placement. They provided views on the key investment drivers in the mining sector and fundamental indicators that investors are looking for and which companies they need to focus on. They also pointed out the key factors affecting company’s valuation when seeking an IPO and reviewed the importance of company’s corporate governance profile. The panel also discussed outlook for mining listings in 2014 and debated the role of private equity in the mix of capital raising alternatives available to companies. The networking and exchanges of opinions continued at the lunch as well as at the Mining Week Ice Breaker Drinks hosted by Objective Capital in the evening. For a free access to the conference presentation materials and videos, please subscribe to MINEX Forum news by completing this form. The next Conference will be held in London on Monday 1 December 2014. Companies interested in presenting, exhibiting and sponsoring the conference are kindly invited to send enquiries to [email protected]
