Speakers' Abstracts & Bios

CTMF 2019 Agenda and Speakers' Bios are Below

Submit your suggestions to speak, topics and speakers for CTMF 2020 as soon as possible. 
Be sure to revisit this site for updates about the 2020 conference

Save the dates Sunday, May 10 - Wednesday, May 13, 2020. 

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 CTMF 2020 Call for Papers 

Thank you, sponsors, of CTMF 2019 and special thanks to the Diamond Sponsors BNP ParibasRoscoe Postle AssociatesRPM GlobalShearman & Sterling, and SME We invite all to be a sponsor. 

Soon we'll announce details about these engaging, excellent CTMF 2020 workshops:
• Lessons learned from megaprojects and mining projects - Key success factors
• An update about U.S. SEC SK - 1300: Potential impact on raising capital – Get ready before 2021
• Mining asset valuation and its uses
• Digital transformations, Technology implementation - How to get started, what to expect, how to benefit and lessons learned
• The value of cost estimating of mining projects at the scoping stage
• Measuring, quantifying and monetizing risk exposure in a mining organization
Members of the New York business community are welcome to register to attend any workshop. The workshops include plenty of time for delegates' Q&A and interaction. Join us at CTMF 2020 to meet all at the conference, breakfasts, morning and afternoon refreshment breaks, lunches, evening receptions and workshops.  


In recent years CTMF hosted these outstanding keynote speakers: 

  • Ross Bhappu, Partner, Head of Private Equity Funds at Resource Capital Funds
  • Government of Quebec's Mr. Pierre Fitzgibbon, Minister of Economy and Innovation and Minister Responsible for the Lanaudière Region
  • Casey Hammond, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management, U.S. Department of the Interior
  • Anthony O'Neill, Group Director, Technical & Sustainability, Anglo American Plc
  • Phillips S. Baker, Jr., President and CEO, Hecla Mining Company
  • Mario Alfonso Cantu Suarez, Under Secretary of Mining, Ministry of Economy, Mexico
  • Dr. Israel Gutierrez Guerrero, Chief Executive Officer, Mining Development Bank of Mexico

As the industry continues to see some consolidation within a challenging environment to raise capital, consider joining us at CTMF 2020 where you can hear the latest and meet many leading experts who will address the outlook, latest key trends and issues impacting raising capital in global mining today - as well as highlight solutions, risks and opportunities.

The speakers will discuss in engaging round table discussions with audience Q&A, case studies about best practices and technology to anticipate, track, manage and reduce technical and non-technical risk, including environmental, political and financial risk. Meet leaders driving down cost, using innovative means to manage and reduce risks and add value. 

There will be multiple panel discussions about market trends and issues impacting deals being done and panels addressing rapid, pivotal changes impacting financing projects and opportunities today. The dual track agenda provides all attending a choice of which experts you want to meet.

Attending s
peakers and the delegates reflect the level and experience of the esteemed panelists. All face the challenges each day, working around the world with their colleagues, project partners and clients. 


Throughout CTMF 2020 there will be time to meet and talk with one-on-one with many key influential banking, finance and industry executives and advisers working world wide. Visit Why Attend where there is a list of many companies that attend CTMF in three categories: banking, finance, investor, private equity firms; and mining and exploration firms and professional advisory firms.

Look below at the speakers' bios and CTMF 2019 agenda

New York SME thanks the 2019 Diamond Sponsors and all sponsors and supporters. They all make this event possible.

Thank you Shearman & Sterling, the host of CTMF 2019 and all Sponsors

The New York Section of SME, the Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration, is the organizer of the annual Current Trends in Mining Finance (CTMF) Conferences. NY SME welcomes your firm to be a sponsor please contact Tim Alch, Co Chair timalch@gmail.com

Below is the CTMF 2019 agenda. Please check back for updates and changes. For a one page schedule of events click here 

Sunday April 28, 2019 - Two Workshops  
at New York Marriott East Side Hotel at 525 Lexington Avenue, at corner of 49th Street

Noon for lunch; Start at 12:30 PM; Refreshment break at ~2:45 PM; Workshop ends at 4:30 PM
For more information about the workshops including descriptions and instructors' bios visit here 

I. Mine to Mill Reconciliation and Assessment of Productivity of a Mining Project over its Life: Importance of Post Investment Reviews – led by Abani Samal, PhD, CPG, Principal, GeoGlobal, LLC and Peter Christensen, Principal, RESPEC

II. Political Risk - Recognizing Its Impact on Mining Operations, Corporate Strategy and Investment Decision-Making – led by Michael Samis, PhD, P.Eng, Principal, SCM Decisions and team

Welcome Reception Sunday April 28 from 5 to 7 PM: All are welcome to register to attend a reception at the New York Marriott East Side Hotel at 525 Lexington Ave., at 49th St. All must register in advance. Space is limited for the Sunday reception to the first 100 registered. The Monday and Tuesday reception venues are larger. The registration fee to attend either of the Sunday Workshops includes registration for the Sunday, April 28th evening reception. Conference registration includes the Monday and Tuesday receptions.

Sponsored by Golder Associates and Blake, Cassels & Graydon and Cementation

Monday April 29, 2019 - Day One of the Conference from 7:30 AM to 5:30 PM
at Shearman & Sterling LLP at 599 Lexington Avenue, at corner of 53rd Street
Check back for updates. Content, order and times are subject to change

7:30 AM Registration and Breakfast
Sponsored by Behre Dolbear 

8:20 AM Welcome and Opening Remarks by Conference Chair and Host

NY SME, Program Chair & Executive Director and TAA Advisory, LLC: Tim Alch, Managing Partner
NY SME, Chair, Abernathy MacGregor: Alan Oshiki, Executive Vice President
Shearman & Sterling LLP: Cynthia Urda Kassis, Co - Head of Mining & Metals Group, Partner, Project Development & Finance

Cynthia Urda Kassis is a Senior Partner in the Project Development & Finance practice of the international law firm of Shearman & Sterling LLP and co-Head of their Mining & Metals Group. She represents sponsors/ borrowers/ lenders/ alternative financiers in project development and finance transactions worldwide, with extensive experience in the mining, energy and infrastructure industries. She consistently ranks as one of the leading project finance lawyers by Chambers & Partners, IFLR 1000 and Legal 500. Who’s Who named her “Project Finance Lawyer of the Year” for the second consecutive years and has also named her among the “most highly regarded individuals in the world” in the fields of project finance and mining. Her most recent work in the mining sector includes representing Mantos Copper on the financing for its proposed brownfield expansion and Orion and Blackstone on their financing for Lundin Gold’s Fruta del Norte project in Ecuador, awarded “Latin America Mining & Metals Deal of the Year” by IJ Global.

8:30 AM I.1 Capital Markets Review and Key Trends in Mining

Citibank Corporate & Investment Bank: Michael Cramer, P.Eng., Managing & Technical Director, Global Industrials, Metals & Mining
BNP Paribas: Carlos A. Urquiaga, Managing Director, Head of the Americas, Structured Debt Metals & Mining

  • What is the current environment and outlook? What sources of capital are helping miners to survive?
  • What are the key drivers? How much capital has been raised in private, public markets, stock exchanges, etc.?
  • What are debt, credit and investor trends in mining telling us about performance and risk today?
  • Are junior, medium & large companies, brown and green field projects getting funded? How? Where?

Michael Cramer, P.E., is Managing and Technical Director in the Global Metals and Mining Group at Citi. Mike has been a senior industry specialist for metals, mining, energy and industrial minerals for 30+ years, including more than 20 years at Citi, where he has been involved in numerous corporate, project, commodity and acquisition financings, public and private underwritings, equity, leveraged and asset-backed financings and M&A for mines, smelters and refineries worldwide. Mike received a B.S. in geochemical engineering from the NJ Institute of Technology/Rutgers, a M.S. in mining engineering from the Krumb School of Mines and an ABD professional degree in mineral finance from Columbia University. He is registered as a P.E. in NJ and PA; CP in mining with the AusIMM; RM in mining with SME; QP in mining and ore reserves with MMSA; and a Senior Credit Officer at Citibank.

Carlos A. Urquiaga is Managing Director and Head of BNP Paribas’ mine financing team for the Americas. He is based in New York. Carlos has been a financier of metals and mining, energy and infrastructure assets for over 20 years and was involved in strategic corporate finance activities before transitioning to his banking career in New York. Prior to joining BNP Paribas in 2008, Carlos was a Director in Citigroup’s Global Project Finance team, where he held different positions, including origination, execution and portfolio management. He has advised on and / or financed the acquisition, development and expansion of mining and metal assets, infrastructure transportation assets, natural gas pipelines, refineries and electric generation projects throughout the Americas.

9:15 AM I.2 Disruption in Mining Finance – Show me the money!

Commonwealth Bank of Australia: Alan Halimi, Managing Director, Metals & Mining (Ch)
Ernst & Young Canada: Jeff Swinoga, Canadian Metals and Mining Leader
White & Case LLP: Rebecca Campbell, Head,Global Mining & Metals Industry Group

  • How are deals and financings being structured right now? How are terms and conditions changing?
  • What are debt and credit trends in mining telling us about performance and risk today?
  • Which types of projects are attracting bankers, lenders, investors and alternative sources of capital?
  • What is the outlook? What or who are the potential near-term disruptive providers of mining finance?
  • What factors will make or break the adoption of these disruptive financing sources by the sector
  • What can we learn from other sectors – are they too evolving their financing sources and structures?

Alain Halimi is Head of Metals & Mining, Americas, for Commonwealth Bank of Australia. Alain leads Commonwealth Bank of Australia’s mining and metals debt platform for base, precious and specialty metals and bulk commodities in the Americas and EMEA. Alain has been a financier in natural resources, energy and infrastructure for 10+ years, originating secured and unsecured debt financing, project financing, acquisition financing, capital markets, mezzanine and holdco PIK financings and advising clients on a range of project financings, acquisitions and divestitures transactions. He has completed 100+ transactions with combined value of US$30+ billion in the Americas, EMEA and Asia Pacific. Earlier, Mr. Halimi was a VP at BNP Paribas New York in the Metals & Mining Structured Debt Group advising or arranging transactions for international mining and metals clients including origination, structuring, negotiation and closing of numerous limited and non‐recourse project & structured financings, in the capacity of agent/underwriter.

Rebecca Campbell is the Head of White & Case's Global Mining & Metals Industry Group. Under her leadership, the M&M team has delivered on a series of highly complex cross border deals. In 2018, Rebecca co-founded the W&C Battery Supply Chain Working Group, a global cross-practice, cross-industry working group that seeks to capitalise on the fast-evolving opportunities and innovative transactions across the battery supply chain. She also led a campaign on the Digitalisation of the Mining and Metals Global Supply Chain, where she co-authored and published three articles. An emerging area of focus for Rebecca and the team is the potential for digital capital raising in the M&M sector.

Jeff Swinoga as EY’s Canadian Mining & Metals Leader and a leader in the capital markets with an extensive network brings a strategic perspective to clients focused on business objectives driving growth, efficiencies, implementing systems and raising capital. Jeff has over 25 years of international experience in the mining and finance industries. He has proven leadership and strategic capabilities, recently as CEO of an international gold development company and over 12 years of CFO experience leading teams to finance and develop numerous international mining projects. He has served on Boards of publicly traded companies and was Audit Committee Chairman of First Cobalt and Tonbridge Power. He was a board member of the Silver Institute. He is experienced with mining companies at operating and development stages, including gold, silver, copper, zinc, potash, platinum and palladium, in North and South America and Africa. Jeff has led numerous project financings totaling over $2 billion, raised over $400 million in equity as well as led other innovative capital raising transactions.

10:00 AM Key Note Speaker: Resource Capital Funds: Ross Bhappu, Partner, Head Partner of Private Equity Funds

"Where are the Public Markets for Mining? And how do we get them back?"

Ross Bhappu will present his view of the mining sector that in recent years has not been of interest to 'generalist' investors because the industry recently has been poor at generating good returns for investors. Ross will discuss recent trends and data about money leaving the sector and investor sentiment about the sector being anemic, at best. He will also explain what
needs to be done to turn the ship and demonstrate that the mining industry can be a good sector in which to invest.

Ross Bhappu has been with RCF since the beginning of its second fund in 2001. His experience in the mining industry includes working for both major and junior mining companies in operational, business development and management roles. Prior to joining RCF, Ross served as the CEO of a development stage mining company. Additional experience includes serving as Director of Business Development for Newmont Mining Corp. and various technical and commercial roles for Cyprus Minerals Co. (now part of Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold) where was involved in the construction and operation of the rebuilt Miami Copper Smelter in Arizona.

Ross currently serves on the boards of directors of portfolio company Lighthouse Resources Inc. and the Lowell Institute for Mineral Resources. He previously held Director roles with a number of mining companies including Traxys S.A., Molycorp, Constellation Copper, EMED Mining and Anglo Asian Mining. Ross recently concluded his three-year term on the board of directors of the Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration (SME). He holds a Ph.D. in Mineral Economics from the Colorado School of Mines and B.S. and M.S. degrees in Metallurgical Engineering from the University of Arizona.

Established in 1998, Resource Capital Funds (RCF) pioneered the concept of a mining-focused private equity fund. RCF is a specialist in mining and partners with companies to build strong, successful and sustainable businesses that strive to produce superior returns for all stakeholders. RCF’s management team consists of individuals with extensive commercial and technical experience in the mining industry. www.resourcecapitalfunds.com

10:30 AM Refreshment Break
Sponsored by Hatch Advisory

10:50 AM I.3 Mining M&A and Consolidation Trends – Shearman Room

Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP: Geoffrey Belsher, New York Office, Managing Partner (Ch)
Ernst & Young LLP: Robert Stall, MRICS, ASA, U.S. Mining & Metals Leader, Americas Director of the Capital Equipment Group, Transaction Advisory Services
Shearman & Sterling, LLP: Anthony Lepere, Partner, Project Development & Finance group
Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP: Andrew J. McLeod, Partner

What are the implications of the recent mergers, acquisitions in the gold mining industry? Is this the start of a larger consolidation trend? What other mining sectors may be next? Will this result in better returns for shareholders? Or lead to jettisoning of non-material, non-core assets and write-downs? Is consolidation healthy? What issues and metrics impact valuations, M&A, impairments, write-offs and deals getting done? Are more cross-border transactions coming? How are changing ESG regulations, best practices and related issues being handled? Where is M&A activity greatest?

Geoffrey S. Belsher is Managing Partner of Blake’s New York office. He specializes in cross-border M&A and corporate finance with a focus on the mining sector. Geoff advises Canadian, U.S. and international public and private companies, investment dealers, private equity, venture capital and alternative investment funds with respect to Canadian law matters. He frequently acts as lead special counsel to boards of directors and special committees in M&A and has been special counsel in a number of high-profile Canadian hostile takeover bids in the mining sector. Geoff is one of only a few lawyers in New York City ranked as a leading lawyer by The International Who’s Who of Business Lawyers: Mining 2018. He taught advanced M&A at the University of British Columbia Law School for 10 years before relocating to New York.

Robert Stall is a Principal in EY’s Transaction Advisory Services group. He is U.S. Mining & Metals Leader, the Americas Director of the Capital Equipment Group and leads EY’s southeast area Valuation Advisors practices. Bob will discuss the current state and outlook for coal mining and power sectors. Mr. Stall represents the Capital Equipment team on EY’s Global Valuation and Business Modeling Steering Committee. He has been active in the appraisal industry since 1987. Mr. Stall specializes in valuing machinery and equipment in numerous industries. These studies have addressed a variety of value premises, including fair market value, fair value, investment value, liquidation value and forced liquidation value. These studies have been conducted for the purpose of financial and tax allocations, residual forecasting, sale-leaseback financing, asset-based financing, bankruptcy proceedings, interest expense apportionment, ad valorem tax and litigation.

Anthony Lepere is part of Shearman & Sterling’s Project Development & Finance group, based in London. Anthony’s practice focuses upon corporate and project development work in the mining sector. He advises sponsors, lenders and governments in relation to structural, financial and operational issues in both mature and emerging markets. Anthony trained as a mining lawyer in Perth, Western Australia during the period now referred to as the commodities super-cycle and has spent much of the past decade helping mining industry participants to engage with political and economic regulators around the world.

Andrew McLeod, a partner of Blakes, practices in the area of corporate law with a focus on Canadian, cross-border and international mergers and acquisitions and corporate finance. He represents a number of publicly traded and private companies in financings, M&A, negotiation of commercial agreements, and ongoing governance and disclosure matters. He has advised boards of directors, special committees, investment bankers; private equity, venture capital and alternative investment funds. Andrew has extensive experience advising clients in a number of industries, with a particular focus on the natural resources and technology sectors. He is one of the partners responsible for the Firm’s U.S. and Emerging Companies initiatives.

10:50 AM I.3A Metals Pricing Trends & Outlook: What’s Different? - Conference Room G/H

Bloomberg Intelligence: Mike McGlone, Senior Commodity Analyst (Ch)
CPM Group: 
Jeffrey Christian, Managing Director (Ch)
Raw Materials & Ironmaking Global Consulting: Dr. Joseph J. Poveromo, President
The World Bank: John Baffes, Senior Economist, Macroeconomics, Trade & Investment

This panel will focus on discussion of key drivers and the outlook for the metals markets. What is China’s impact? How is the mining industry managing the price volatility seen and the cycle in recent years? Which sectors and trends are favorable? What technical and regional issues impact pricing and margins realized by miners? How will economic growth worldwide and locally impact pricing, supply and demand? What is the outlook near term?

Mike McGlone is a Senior Commodity Analyst for Bloomberg Intelligence. Mike specializes in the broad investible commodity markets. Mike joined Bloomberg in 2016 with over 25 years of futures and commodity trading and investing experience, beginning at the Chicago Board of Trade. Prior to joining Bloomberg, he was a head of U.S. research at ETF Securities. Prior to ETF Securities, Mike headed the commodity business at S&P Indices. His previous roles included head of futures research at ABN Amro and VP research, analyst, trader and sales at Aubrey G. Lanston / IBJ Futures. He is a CFA Charter holder and has earned a Financial Risk Manager (FRM) designation.

Jeffrey Christian
is Managing Partner of CPM Group. Jeffrey has been a prominent analyst and advisor on precious metals and commodities markets since the 1970’s, with work spanning precious metals, energy markets, base metals, agricultural markets, and economic analysis in general. Jeffrey is considered one of the most knowledgeable experts on precious metals markets, commodities in general, and financial engineering using options for hedging and investing purposes. He is the author of Commodities Rising, 2006. He founded the company in 1986, spinning off the Commodities Research Group from Goldman, Sachs & Co. and its commodities trading arm, J. Aron & Company. He has advised many of the world’s largest corporations and institutional investors on managing their commodities price and market exposures, as well as providing advisory services to the World Bank, United Nations, International Monetary Fund, and numerous governments.

Joseph J. Poveromo received his Ph.D. in 1974 at the Center for Process Metallurgy, State U. of New York/Buffalo after receiving a BS Chem. Eng. from Rensselaer Poly. He then joined Bethlehem Steel’s Homer Research Laboratories. In 1993 he established his consultancy, Raw Materials & Ironmaking Global Consulting. From 1993 through 2008 his principal client was the Quebec Cartier Mining Company, for whom he served as Director Technology-International. Currently, he consults for steel, iron ore, other natural resource, technology provider, financial and consultancy companies on a global basis. Dr. Poveromo is a Distinguished Member of AIST (Assoc. of Iron & Steel Technology); his awards include the T. L. Joseph Award for long-standing contributions to ironmaking technology. He is also a Special Member of the IIMA (International Iron Metallics Association).

John Baffes is a Senior Economist with the World Bank’s Prospects Group where he is currently managing the Commodity Markets Outlook, a World Bank publication focusing on commodity market analysis and price forecasts. John has worked in several Units within the World Bank, including Latin America, South Asia, East Africa, Evaluation, Research. He has written extensively in the areas of economic development, agricultural economics, resource economics, and applied econometrics. John is also teaching an executive training course on Applied Econometrics for Commodity Markets. John has studied Economics (BS, University of Athens, Greece), Agricultural Economics (MS, University of Georgia, U.S.), and Agricultural and Resource Economics (Ph.D., University of Maryland, U.S.)

11:35 AM I.4 Investment Implications of U.S. SEC’s Rule S-K 1300 - Shearman Room

SRK Consulting (U.S.), Inc.: Ben Parsons BSc, MSc, MAusIMM (CP), Principal Consultant (Resource Geology) (Ch)
SRK Consulting: Matthew Sullivan, 
Consultant, Mining Economics
Shearman & Sterling, LLP: Jason Lehner, Partner, Co - Head Metals and Mining
Roscoe Postle Associates: Deborah McCombe, P.Geo, President & CEO, Principal Geologist

This panel will focus on the investment implications of the U.S. SEC’s Rule S-K 1300 and what it may mean for existing or new potential listings, and what mining companies may need to do to get their projects ready.

Ben Parsons, MSc, MAusIMM (CP), Principal Consultant (Resource Geologist), Mr. Ben Parsons has over 18 years of broad geological experience, specializing in gold mining. Since joining SRK, Ben’s responsibilities have included the generating of geological modelling, the production of independent mineral resource and ore reserve estimates, due diligence, planning managing/ supervising and auditing of exploration/mining projects, project evaluation as part of Competent Person’s/Mineral Expert Reports and stock exchange listings, technical reviews, and project managing of technical studies such as exploration programs, mineral resource and ore reserve studies, scoping/conceptual studies, pre/definitive feasibility study projects and Competent Persons Reports. International projects include gold, silver, base metals, copper, molybdenum, niobium and phosphate.

Jason Lehner is a Partner in the Capital Markets practice and Head of the Mining & Metals Group. He is the Toronto office Managing Partner. He focuses on advising issuers and investment banks in a broad range of public and private capital markets transactions, including high yield debt issuances, leveraged buyouts and acquisition financings, cross-border securities offerings and liability management transactions. He also advises U.S. and Canadian corporations with respect to corporate governance spin offs and other general corporate matters. He has worked on transactions involving companies in a broad range of industries, including mining and metals, media and telecommunications, power and energy, general industrials, consumer retail and forest products.

Deborah McCombe, P.Geo., President and CEO of RPA, has over 30 years’ experience in project management, feasibility studies, reserve estimation, due diligence studies and valuation studies. Deborah has worked in North and South America, Asia and Africa. Prior to joining RPA, Ms. McCombe was Chief Mining Consultant for the Ontario Securities Commission. Ms. McCombe is the author of numerous articles and presentations prepared to assist mining companies, lawyers and engineering professionals to better understand the Canadian disclosure rules for mineral projects (NI43-101). She was awarded the Robert Elver Mineral Economics Award by the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM) for her contributions to the establishment of NI 43-101 and her efforts as head of the Committee for Mineral Reserves International Reporting Standards (CRIRSCO) in the coordination of worldwide standards for resource/reserve reporting. She is also the recipient of the Canadian Professional Geoscientist Award and is chair of the CIM Mineral Resource and Mineral Reserve Committee.

Matthew Sullivan has a metallurgical engineering and economics background with ten years of experience analyzing, optimizing and valuing mining operations from internal and external positions. Mr. Sullivan has extensive experience designing and leading diligence processes for mining assets ranging from early stage exploration through to operating mines. He has priced, negotiated and closed mining deals across the globe in a wide variety of commodities via structures ranging from royalty and equity investment to term and convertible debt facilities. His experience as a mining sector professional funding the development and operation of mining assets provides a unique perspective on what it takes to study, build, operate and invest in the mining sector.

11:35 AM I.4A Critical Battery Trends’ Impact on Raw Materials Supply Chains - Conference Room G/H

Hatch Advisory: Robert Doyle, Regional Director, Investment & Business Planning (Ch)
Technology Metals Research, LLC: Jack Lifton, Co-Founder
Controlled Thermal Resources: Rod Colwell, CEO and Founding Director
House Mountain Partners: Chris Berry, President

In recent years there is growing interest and technology developments and investment trends impacting critical mineral supply chains, including lithium, cobalt and nickel for example. This panel will highlight key challenges, end product and mining trends that impact financing mining, battery, energy storage and power generation: What are the challenges and constraints the financial and investment community face and opportunities to bring a new project to market in the battery metals space and difficulties associated with attracting capital to bring projects from concept to reality?

Robert (Bob) Doyle brings over 15 years of experience in structuring and arranging financing for natural resource projects around the globe. Bob spent the first nine years of his banking career working in Washington, DC for the Export-Import Bank of the U.S. where he managed a portfolio of over $10 billion in projects around the globe. From 2011, Bob worked in New York for Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and ABN AMRO Bank in export, project and natural resources finance. Bob currently serves as the New York Regional Director for Hatch’s Investment & Business Planning group, where he oversees engagements with financial stakeholders to conduct due diligence on their planned investments.

Jack Lifton was a co-founder of Technology Metals Research, LLC. He is also a consultant, author, and lecturer on the market fundamentals of the technology metals, the term that he coined to describe those strategic rare metals whose electronic properties make our technological society possible. These include the rare earths, the battery metals, such as lithium and cobalt, and most of the rare metals. Educated as a physical chemist, specializing in high-temperature metallurgy, Jack was first a researcher before becoming both a marketing and manufacturing executive. Finally, he became a metal trader specializing in the field of technology metals and of rare metals.

Rod Colwell is a seasoned corporate executive specializing in property, geothermal and minerals commercial development. Rod combines his 25 years’ experience in the property and energy sectors to lead the commercialization of new projects with an emphasis on value realization and capital management. Rod currently leads the development of CTR’s rapid lithium extraction and geothermal project Hell’s Kitchen Lithium; located in California, USA. The project is in the advanced stages of development and is driven by a clean energy mandate. From concept and feasibility through to design and production, Rod’s leadership and vision is focused on ensuring secure, viable and competitive minerals and energy solutions for the future.

Chris Berry, President, House Mountain Partners is an independent commodity analyst with a focus on how disruptive trends in energy, strategic metals, and technology create opportunities. He provides strategic insights to clients in the academic and corporate worlds on the above topics and has a specific focus on Energy Metals including lithium, cobalt, graphite, vanadium, and rare earths. He speaks at conferences around the world and is frequently quoted in the press providing a vision on these topics. Chris has additional experience as the co-founder of a start-up for investors which dealt with ‘computing with words’ and also occasionally writes a blog titled The Disruptive Discoveries Journal. Chris holds a Master of Business Administration in finance with an international focus from Fordham University, and a Bachelor of Arts in international studies from The Virginia Military Institute.

12:20 PM Key Note Speaker Lunch

12:35 PM Key Note Speaker - Government of Quebec's Mr. Pierre Fitzgibbon Minister of Economy and Innovation and Minister Responsible for the Lanaudière Region

"What makes operating and investing in Quebec's mineral rich province attractive"

Sponsored by Government of Quebec

Pierre Fitzgibbon was born in Montréal. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management from École des Hautes Études Commerciales de Montréal (HEC) and is a Quebec Chartered Professional Accountant. Before becoming involved in politics, Mr. Fitzgibbon served as managing partner at Walter Capital Partners, a private Equity Firm, between 2015 and 2018.

From 2007 to 2014, Mr. Fitzgibbon assumed the role of president and chief executive officer at Atrium Innovations, a company that develops, manufactures and markets value added products for the health and nutrition industry. From 2002 to 2007, he put his skills to work at National Bank Group, where he occupied the position of vice-chairman of National Bank Financial, where he mainly acted as head of investment banking and corporate finance services. He was also senior vice president of finance, technology and corporate affairs at National Bank of Canada. Previously, Mr. Fitzgibbon also held executive positions in finance, as well as in company and business development at Télésystème Mobiles International, Chase Capital Partners Hong Kong, Domtar and Peerless Carpet Corporation. 

He began his career at PricewaterhouseCoopers in auditing and consulting services. Over the last few years, Mr. Fitzgibbon has served on several boards of directors, including that of Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, WSP, Héroux-Devtek, TC Transcontinental, Cycle Capital Management, Neptune Technologies, Lumenpulse and Arianne Phosphate. This committed businessman is involved in his community
and in several organizations, including until recently, the Fondation du Dr Julien.

1:30 PM I.5 Important Local, Federal, Government Tax Law Changes – Shearman Room

KPMG Canada: Penelope Woolford, Partner, International Corporate Tax Leader (Ch)
First Quantum Minerals Limited: David Silvestro, Head of Tax
KPMG LLP Canada: Keno Chan, Partner, U.S. Corporate Tax 
Lundin Mining Corporation: Theresa Murakami, CA, Director, Tax

Join this panel discussion about tax uncertainties faced by mining companies operating in various jurisdictions. How do leading companies manage the tax function in light of legislative changes? This panel will address ways in which mining companies mitigate their tax risk in an environment of change and uncertainty and will focus on the potential impact on the mining industry in light of several new recent tax law changes as well as discussion of pending and discussed complex prospective tax changes around the world.

Penny Woolford (FCPA, FCA) is the current National Leader of the International Corporate Tax practice of KPMG LLP (Canada). Penny has over 31 years tax experience specializing in corporate tax with an emphasis on International Tax, corporate reorganizations, financings and mergers and acquisitions. She belongs to a number of professional organizations including The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario, The Canadian Tax Foundation, and the Canadian branch of the International Fiscal Association. Penny is a frequent speaker at tax conferences and has authored numerous articles on international tax matters. She has been recognized as a top leader in tax for the past 4 years in International Tax Review’s Women in Tax Leaders guide.

David Silvestro is Head of Tax at First Quantum Minerals Ltd, a major copper producing company with mining operations throughout Africa, Europe and South America. Prior to this he was Group Tax Manager at Tullow Oil Plc, a leading oil and gas independent. Mr. Silvestro has over 20 years of experience in leading tax teams in the energy and natural resources industries with a particular focus on emerging markets. He has been responsible for tax issues associated with major resource development projects including break through oil projects in Ghana, Uganda and large scale mine projects such as in Zambia and Panama, collectively investments worth over $20 billion. He has experience in government fiscal negotiation and dispute resolution and broad experience in working through a broad range of tax matters from tax and investment policy through to managing operational tax risks in uncertain fiscal environments. Mr Silvestro has lead and managed a range of direct and indirect tax issues through the whole natural resource project live cycle from exploration to rehabilitation and asset closures. He has enjoyed working on large scale energy and mining projects which have had transformational change in local communities. Mr Silvestro is a Chartered Accountant who holds a finance degree from Curtin University in Western Australia.

Keno Chan is a partner in KPMG Canada’s U.S. Corporate Tax practice and has over 17 years of experience in providing tax consulting, planning and compliance services to multinational clients in various industries, including mining, on a variety of U.S. federal and state income tax matters. Keno has advised corporate and pass-through clients on numerous cross-border transactions, including mergers, reorganizations, acquisitions, divestitures, restructurings, public and private offerings and financings.

Theresa Murakami, CPA, CA is the Director of Tax at Lundin Mining Corporation. Theresa began her tax career at PwC 14 years ago in corporate tax and joined Lundin in January 2012. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Toronto and is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CA).

1:30 PM I.5A Extraterrestrial (Space) Mining, Challenges and Opportunities - Conference Room G/H

Colorado School of Mines: Jamal Rostami, PhD, Hadden/Alacer Gold Endowed Chair, Director of the Excavation Engineering and Earth Mechanics Institute (EMI), Department of Mining Engineering (Ch)
New Space Analytics LLC, Brad Blair, Managing General Partner
Penguin Automated Systems Inc.: Greg Baiden, PhD, Chairman and Chief Technology Officer
Near Earth LLC: Hoyt Davidson, Founder and Managing Partner

This panel will discuss the current technical, market and business case for Lunar Mining. The dialogue will focus on identifying primary and byproduct ores, markets and customers for lunar resources, the current state of technology readiness, primary risks, lunar exploration & excavation, requirements for mechanization and automation, financing options and investment opportunities.

Dr. Jamal Rostami is the Haddon/Alacer Gold Endowed Chair and Director of the Excavation Engineering and Earth Mechanics Institute (EMI) of the Dept. of Mining Engineering at Colorado School of Mines (CSM). He has a BSc, MSc and PhD in mining engineering and has been a faculty at CSM, Univ. of Tehran and PennState, also few years as full time consultant. He has over 26 years of experience in the field of mining, tunneling, underground construction, and space resources. Dr. Rostami is a registered Professional Engineering (PE) in Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. He has published over 80 peer reviewed journal publication and 150 conference papers and many technical reports.

Brad Blair holds degrees in geology, mining engineering and mineral economics from Colorado School of Mines. In over 25 years of commercial mining and space resource related work, he has participated in several startup companies such as NewSpace Analytics, created the first commercial lunar resource business model for the NASA Exploration Team in 2002, developed models for commercial lunar mining for Raytheon and Bechtel, served as a consultant for the Canadian Space Agency to develop a plan for underground lunar mining, served as a Guest Lecturer on lunar and asteroid mining at Singularity University and has served on the Board of Directors for the National Space Society. He is a trained and experienced cost estimator using the NASA and Air Force Cost Model (NAFCOM) and has competed in two NASA Centennial Challenges. Blair is also the lead author of a book about Space Mineral Resources and has recently helped design a boulder grabbing and retrieval concept and prototype for the NASA Asteroid Return Mission (ARM) program.

Greg Baiden is Chairman and Chief Technology Officer of Penguin Automated Systems Inc., a leading private research and development company that provides mobile robotic technology solutions for numerous clients in various industries around the world. Dr. Baiden holds a Ph.D. in Mining Engineering with a speciality in technology and economics. In 2001, he was awarded the prestigious Canadian Research Chair in Robotics and Mine Automation at Laurentian. Dr. Baiden was a professor at Laurentian University for 14 years before leaving to grow Penguin Automated Systems Inc. in Naughton. Prior to this work he was a member of Inco Limited’s Senior Management Team from 1986-2001, Dr. Baiden was responsible for all corporate mining research including the development of the first pilot scale “Intelligent Mine”. Dr. Baiden served on the Board of Directors for several national and international boards.

Hoyt Davidson is founder and Managing Partner of Near Earth LLC, an investment bank focused on the space industry and providing M&A, strategic and financial advisory services and equity private placements. Formerly, Hoyt was a Managing Director at CSFB and DLJ where he co-founded Wall Street’s first dedicated coverage group for the commercial satellite industry. While there, he participated in financings totaling over $15 billion. Additionally: Board of XO Markets Holding, parent of NanoRacks; Space Foundation (Treasurer); NSS (VP-Development); MBA - MIT’s Sloan School (1987), Henry B. duPont III Scholarship for academic excellence; Senior Research Engineer at Lockheed Missiles and Space Company (1979 to 1985) and BS Physics - MIT (1979).

2:20 PM I.6 Navigating Financial Assurance Requirements for Mines – Shearman Room

McGriff, Siebels & Williams, Inc.: W. Cliff Yeckes, P.G., Sr. Vice President & Environmental Services Practice Leader (Ch)
Colorado School of Mines, Graham A. Davis, PhD, Professor Emeritus
PolyMet Mining, Inc.: Patrick Keenan, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
AXA XL: Patrick Dougherty, Vice President, Regional Director, Commercial Bonds

Mines must provide financial assurance (FA) to satisfy environmental compliance, reclamation, closure and post closure obligations. While jurisdictional requirements differ; cash, letters of credit, surety bonds and combinations thereof are most often utilized. How these instruments are secured, their cost and collateralization is based on the quality of the miner’s financials. Understanding each instrument is the first step. However, balancing the ratios of these instruments is key to a successful financial assurance package that will satisfy all participating parties. This panel will discuss the regulatory basis for the FA, the types of products which will satisfy the FA, securing those products, optimal FA structures, collateralization, attracting investors and recent examples.

Cliff Yeckes
is a SVP and Environmental Practice Leader with McGriff, Seibel & Williams, Inc. For over 30 years, Cliff has been providing technical consultation and insurance brokerage to energy, mining, utility and commercial sector clients to reduce their geo-environmental risk and financial assurance obligations. These matters impact their current operations and legacy portfolios. He then assists in the development and implementation of approaches for prudently managing or transferring those risks, often utilizing insurance and surety products. Cliff earned an MBA from the University of Utah and a B.Sc. in Geosciences from the University of Arizona. He is a Registered Professional Geologist and licensed insurance professional in several states.

Graham A. Davis is William J. Coulter Professor of Mineral Economics at the Colorado School of Mines, where he has taught and researched mineral economics for 23 years. He holds a B.S. in Metallurgical Engineering from Queen’s University, an MBA from the University of Cape Town, and a Ph.D. in Mineral Economics from the Pennsylvania State University. Prior to joining academia Graham worked as a metallurgical engineer at mines in Canada and Namibia. His research focuses on the valuation of mineral and energy assets under uncertainty, and on the impacts of mining on economic and human development. He serves on the editorial board of Resources Policy, an international journal devoted to minerals policy and economics. Graham is a Registered member of the Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration. He is also a Fellow of the Australasian Institute of Mining & Metallurgy. In 2014 he received the Mineral Economics Award from SME/AIME.

Patrick Keenan joined PolyMet Mining in June 2017 as chief financial officer, bringing more than 25 years of finance and mining industry experience to the executive team. He is a member of the senior executive leadership team, contributing to the overall strategic direction of the company.  Mr. Keenan previously served as senior vice president, finance and treasurer at Newmont Mining, which he joined after more than 20 years at Rio Tinto, where he served in a variety of leadership roles including chief financial officer for Rio Tinto’s Energy Group based in Brisbane, Australia, chief financial officer for Kennecott Utah Copper in Salt Lake City, and Rio Tinto Diamonds based in London. In these roles he had financial oversight of major open pit and underground mining operations and projects globally including diamond, uranium and coal mines, and the Bingham Canyon copper mine in Utah, one of the larger open pit copper mines in the world.  Mr. Keenan holds a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from the University of Utah. He resides in Minnesota.

Patrick Dougherty has been VP/Regional Director for Commercial Bonds at AXA XL and handles the Northeast/Mid-Atlantic US territories as well as Canada. Mr. Dougherty oversaw the field underwriting and marketing in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast territories for Nationwide Commercial Surety. Prior to that, Pat began his surety career with Safeco Insurance, which in 2008 was acquired by Liberty Mutual and served Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Mid-Atlantic regions where he handled a large commercial surety book of Fortune 500/1000 and large private/non-profit organizations. Pat obtained a BS in Finance from the University of Pittsburgh and holds an AFSB designation.

2:20 PM I.6A Ocean Minerals: A New Frontier to Recover Minerals - Conference Room G/H

Behre Dolbear Group: Chris Wyatt, Director (Ch)
Ocean Minerals, LLC: John Halkyard Sc. D., P.E., Chairman and President (Ch)
University of Delaware: Saleem H. Ali, Ph.D., Energy and Environment Professor
Blue Globe Solutions, Director and Global Sea Mineral Resources, Head of Sustainability & External Relations: Dr. Samantha Smith

This panel of experts will discuss the latest trends and developments impacting the economic recovery of mineral resources, including critical metals from the ocean floors. Topics to be covered include: where is the first commercial scale operation going to be? what has changed in recent years making ocean mining economic? how are operators managing and navigating the regulatory environment? what equipment and technology makes it possible? what is the significance of these developments and where will the impact be felt in the global supply chain of minerals today?

Chris Wyatt has over 25 years of experience in the minerals industry including executive level operational and consulting management positions. He on the Board of Directors of Behre Dolbear and the President of WYCO a mineral advisory firm. He is actively working with multiple Contractors in the evaluation of their contract areas in the Clarion Clipperton Zone (CCZ) and has participated in several evaluation sampling cruises. He is a Registered Member, Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration as well as a Qualified Person with the Mining and Metallurgical Society of America. He is a Certified Mineral Appraiser with the International Institute of Minerals Appraisers and a member of the Society of Economic Geologists, International Marine Minerals Society and the Deep-Sea Biology Society.

Dr. John Halkyard is an ocean engineer with over 40 years’ experience in deep ocean system development, including deep ocean mining and floating production systems (FPS). Between 1971 - 1980 he was Chief Ocean Engineer for a consortium pursuing manganese nodules led by Kennecott Copper Company. He also served as Secretary of the Consortium and was responsible for a detailed feasibility study compiled by Bechtel Corporation. After the mining consortium closed in 1980 Dr. Halkyard engaged in a highly successful career in the offshore oil & gas industry. He returned to ocean mining in 2010 founding Deep Reach Technology, Inc. to provide consulting services, and in 2015 he founded Ocean Minerals, LLC to pursue a venture to extract rare earth elements from the seabed in the Cook Islands exclusive economic zone. Dr. Halkyard received his Sc. D. from MIT and is a registered professional engineer in California. He has served on the Marine Board of the NAE, is a Life Fellow of ASME, SNAME and a Member of SME.

Professor Saleem H. Ali is an environmental planner whose research and practice focuses on ways of resolving ecological conflicts. Professor Saleem holds the Blue and Gold Distinguished Professorship in Energy and the Environment with tenure in Department of Geography at the University of Delaware. He is also a Senior Fellow at Columbia University’s Center on Sustainable Investment. Professor Saleem has held the Chair in Sustainable Resources Development at the University of Queensland’s Sustainable Minerals Institute in Brisbane, Australia (where he retains professorial affiliation). His books include “Treasures of the Earth” (Yale University Press). He received his doctorate in environmental planning from MIT.

Dr. Samantha Smith has 20 years’ experience conducting environmental assessments in a number of countries, covering four continents, and has 13 years’ experience working with the deep seafloor minerals sector. Samantha has a PhD in Environmental Biology/Biogeochemistry from the University of Bristol (UK) and is a Director of the International Marine Minerals Society and a Fellow of AusIMM.  Samantha is the former VP Corporate Social Responsibility for Nautilus Minerals and she now runs the environmental consultancy Blue Globe Solutions, and is Head of Sustainability and External Relations at Global Sea Mineral Resources, a company focused on the recovery of polymetallic nodules from the seafloor to help meet sustainable development goals.

3:10 PM Refreshment Break
Sponsored by Hatch Advisory

3:30 PM I.7 Post Investment Technical Reviews to Avoid Risks of Loss of Value – Shearman Room

GeoGlobal LLC: Abani R. Samal, PhD, Principal (Ch)
RESPEC: Peter Christensen, Principal Consultant
Dundee Precious Metals: Ian Lipchak, P.Eng. Manager, Project Evaluation

Investments of exploration and mining projects are made with an expectation of return on investment that is dependent on the performance of the execution of the exploration or mining project. In case of the exploration project, the success of exploration may result in growth of share value due to increased quantity and measurable confidence on mineral resources. For an operating mining project, the measure of success may be increased production of the metal or, consistent improvements in achieving targets (defined through a long term mine plan), which in turn contributes to the cash flow of the project. It is very important to review and monitor the performance of the project on a regular basis to ensure the return on investment and avoid risk of loss.

Abani R. Samal has been in the mining industry since 1996. He has worked worldwide in various projects. D.r Samal is well-recognized in industry for his expertise in advanced geostatistics, mineral resource estimation and strategic advice for mineral resource development. Currently, he is providing consulting services to exploration and mining firms worldwide. Most recently, he advised Anglo American, Nevada Copper, World Bank, and Government of Nigeria.

Peter Christensen has extensive international mining experience. He has held senior positions with major mining companies, contractors, and service providers. Mr. Christensen has experience in managing feasibility studies, mine development, mining method and equipment selection, mine planning, cost estimation, and reserves estimation. He has conducted due diligence on mining assets on all continents; economic and financial evaluations of mining operations; reserve audits; operational and HSE audits; provided litigation support; and undertaken reviews of mining practices, cost structures, and operating performance. His commodity experience includes coal, lignite, potash, trona, oil sands, oil shale, gold, silver, copper, beryllium, tin, nickel, bauxite, mineral sands, limestone, aggregates, and clays.

Ian Lipchak, P.Eng. Manager, Project Evaluations Dundee Precious Metals, is a Mining Engineer with 16 years of experience in operations, consulting and technology. He holds a B.Sc. in Mining Engineering from Queen’s University at Kingston, Ontario, where he also teaches an online course on Underground Mine Planning, and is a licensed Professional Engineer in the province of British Columbia. Ian has worked at mines in Canada and the USA for Newmont, Barrick, Placer Dome and Goldcorp. He has worked as a consultant with SRK Consulting and AMC Consultants in Vancouver, and also Datamine, where he managed their underground mine planning solution, and Maptek. Dundee Precious Metals, along with MineRP and its other technology partners, has pioneered the integration of technology into the mine planning and operations process, enabling better decision-making and on-target results.

3:30 I.7A Energy Prices, Trends and Opportunities - Conference Room G/H

Northcott Capital: Richard Reeves, Managing Director (Ch)
PMV Research LLC: Michael Spohn, Independent Investment Analyst, Natural Resources
Capstone Headwaters: Ray M. McCormick, Managing Director, Energy & Natural Resources
Golder Associates Inc.: Mathew Oommen, Ph.D, Mining Practice Leader, Associate

This panel will focus on discussion of key drivers and the outlook for the coal, uranium and energy markets focused on North America and where the opportunities are. What is China’s impact? How is the industry managing the price volatility and changing regulatory environment in recent years? What technical and technology issues are impacting the sector the most? Margins realized by miners? How is global economic growth and locally impacting the outlook?

Rick Reeves is a Managing Director at Northcott Capital, providing independent financial advisory services focusing on clients in the Americas, but including projects on a global basis, as required. He has 24 years of experience in: marketing, structuring and executing mining finance transactions and advisory; valuation; and mine feasibility and mineral development projects. Previously, Mr. Reeves worked as an investment banker at MUFG, Deutsche Bank and Barclays BZW. He has led or played integral roles in many transactions, e.g.: privatizations of British Coal and Siderúrgica del Orinoco, project financings of the Antamina mine and expansion of Cerro Matoso, valuation of Carbones del Caribe in advance of its sale by Cementos del Caribe, Walter Energy’s acquisition of Western Coal, refinancing of the Esperanza mine and design and structuring of the financing for NTEC’s acquisition of the Navajo mine. Mr. Reeves has a B.Sc. in Mining Engineering from the Colorado School of Mines and an MBA from the University of Chicago. He is a registered P.E. in Colorado, and holds Mine Manager/Foreman and Shotfirer certification in Colorado and Illinois.

Michael Spohn is an independent natural resources analyst with a focus on the oil & gas sector. He began his career as credit analyst including positions in the mining & metals team at Barclays Bank and natural resources group at NMB Bank (now ING). Later he was Vice President of consulting and research director at oil & gas boutique John S. Herold (now part of IHS Markit), followed by co-founding an independent research service with major institutional clientele. Michael was also a sell-side analyst with a New York based broker-dealer and a principal at a value-oriented hedge fund. He is a member of the Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration and Society of Petroleum Engineers. Michael holds a BA in geology from Colgate University and an MS in Mineral Economics from the University of Arizona.

Raymond M. McCormick is the Managing Director of Energy and Natural Resources at Capstone Headwaters. He has 35 years of experience in mining, banking and advisory. Earlier, he founded a private investment banking firm that focused on the mining sector, which he managed for over 20 years, worked in the Global Corporate Banking Department of Mellon Bank and served as VP and Manager of the mining section for 10 years and was a consulting mining and geological engineer with the John T. Boyd Co. and Consol Energy. Ray’s background combines financial, marketing and technical skills, with expertise in project financings, gold loans, equipment leasing, private placements and acquisition financings. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in mineral economics, with a geology minor from the Pennsylvania State University and a Master’s Degree from the Department of Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh. In addition to sitting on half a dozen private company boards, Ray has served on the Board of Directors for the Engineers Society of Western Pennsylvania, the Society of Mining Engineers and the Pittsburgh Coal Conference.

Mathew Oommen, Ph.D. has over 20 years of experience in the global mining industry, having worked on projects in Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Canada, Australia, Colombia, Venezuela, Myanmar and the United States. He is the Mining Practice leader at Golder Associates. Mathew manages multi-disciplinary, global teams providing consulting services on mining projects with topics including geology, mining, transportation, economic analyses and NI 43-101 & JORC reports. Mathew has significant experience with due diligence of coal mines for acquisitions and is experienced with coal supply strategies & plans and coal supply contracts & negotiations in support of coal-fired Independent Power Projects.

4:20 I.8 Why Some Mining Projects Succeed and Some Fail - Shearman Room

RPM Global: John Uhrie, P.E., Ph.D., QP, President Consulting Services, Americas (Ch)
Kappes Cassidy & Associates: Tom Rauch, Project Manager & Senior Engineer (Ch)
Cementation USA Inc.: Gregory F. Sutton, MBA, QP, Project Manager
Doré Copper Mining Corporation: Ernest Mast, President and COO 

Developing a mine is difficult at the best of times and is becoming more difficult as projects get more complex, lower grade and are in more remote locations. Besides properly defining technical issues such as resources, ground conditions, and metallurgy, capital and operating cost estimation and project execution has become challenging reflecting local and jurisdictional and non-technical issues. This panel will highlight common threads in successful and unsuccessful projects and speak to other issues to be addressed in other panels including resource estimation, water, power and societal issues and assessing risks and opportunities that contribute to project success.

John Uhrie is President Consulting Services – Americas for RPM Global. He has 20 years of experience with major mining companies, including Phelps Dodge, Freeport McMoRan and Newmont, has operated mines on three continents and is highly experienced in operations, operations management, project development, engineering and startups of copper and gold projects. Dr. Uhrie is highly experienced in all aspects of owner’s side project engineering as both the process manager and project manager for prefeasibility through detailed engineering activities and is a recognized technical expert in sulfide processing of copper, heap bio-leaching, pressure oxidation and SXEW. Dr. Uhrie has authored 21 technical publications and one book, holds 2 U.S. Patents, is a Registered PE (Mining and Minerals Processing) and is a Qualified Professional through the MMSA. Dr. Uhrie is fluent in English and Spanish.

Tom Rauch is a Project Manager with Kappes, Cassiday & Associates, based in Reno, NV. Tom holds a BS degree in Mining Engineering (focused in Mineral Processing) and a second BS degree in Energy Business and Finance (focused in Commodity Finance) both from Penn State. Prior to joining KCA in 2017 he was with Jacobs Engineering and Taggart Global (now DRA Minerals). Tom has strong project experience in process engineering and EPC/EPCM project delivery specifically taking projects from engineering through construction and startup/handover. Tom continues to focused on high-risk project delivery and project management.

Greg Sutton is a Project Manager for Cementation USA. He oversees underground mine development and construction projects in the eastern United States. In 1988, Greg earned a Bachelors of Science Degree in Mining Engineering from the University of Missouri – Rolla, now Missouri University of Science and Technology. Greg also completed his MBA degree from Missouri University of Science and Technology in 2018. He started his career with the Homestake Mining Company’s historic Lead Gold Mine as a mine planning engineer and supervisor. He later held various positions of responsibility with the Doe Run Company including Mine Engineer, Mine General Supervisor, Mine Superintendent, and General Mine Manager. He started his current role with Cementation in 2015. 

Ernest Mast is currently President and COO of Doré Copper Mining Corporation. He has experience in the copper, precious metals, nickel, and lithium industries. He has held many roles from process engineer to CEO. He has worked and lived in Quebec, BC, Ontario, Chile, Dominican Republic and Panama and had responsibilities for businesses in Mexico, USA and Australia working for Noranda/ Falconbridge/ Xstrata, Inmet, New Gold, Copper Mountain and Primero Mining. He is a graduate of McGill University, with Bachelors and Masters degrees in Metallurgical Engineering, and with Executive MBAs from Henley Management School (U.K.) and Universidad Catolica de Chile.

4:20 I.8A Dealing with Political Risk in the Mining Industry - Conference Room G/H

SCM Decisions, LLC: Michael Samis, Ph.D., P. Eng., Principal (Ch)
Agnico Eagle Mines Limited: David Smith, Senior Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer
Control Risks: Daniel Linsker, Senior Partner, Global Risk Analysis
Triple Flag Mining Finance Limited: Jaco Crouse, Chief Financial Officer and Vice President of Finance
White & Case LLP: Oliver Wright, Counsel, Global Mining & Metals Group

Political risk management has shifted its focus from the possibility of nationalization to a wider range of risks such as taxation changes, geopolitical events, internal conflicts, regulatory framework alternations, ad social activism. Forward-thinking mining companies have begun to manage political risk through a formal program that both actively monitors and responds to political risk events and assesses the combined effect of multiple political risk exposures on a company’s project portfolio and long-term strategy. Experts from across the industry will provide a range of perspectives in this session about how political risk management has changed over the last 20 years and what company’s should be doing now to manage this risk exposure effectively.

Michael Samis is a principal with SCM Decisions where he assists mining clients align capital management decisions with corporate strategy. He is a mining engineer with more than 25 years of industry experience and his work ranges from analysing investments in individual projects and involving complex forms of flexibility, financing, and risk exposure through to corporate portfolio analysis. He is a registered Professional Engineer in Ontario, Canada and he holds a Ph.D. from the University of British Columbia. Dr Samis was previously an Associate Partner at the Toronto office of EY’s Transaction Advisory Services where he valued complex financial securities such as financial derivatives, employee stock options and contingent contracts.

David Smith is the Senior Vice-President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer of Agnico Mines Limited and has held this position since 2012. Previously, he held the position of Senior Vice-President, Strategic Planning and Investor Relations. Prior to joining the company’s investor relations team in 2005, Mr. Smith was a mining analyst and also held a variety of mining engineering positions, both in Canada and abroad. Mr. Smith is a Chartered Director, and an alternate Director of the World Gold Council. He has a B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Mining Engineering from Queen’s University in Kingston and the University of Arizona, respectively. Mr. Smith is also a Professional Engineer.

Daniel Linsker is a Senior Partner at Control Risks and currently manages Control Risks Mexico City office, overseeing the delivery of solutions and services to clients in Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. Before moving to Mexico, Daniel led the Security and Crisis Consulting practice for Control Risks’ in Latin America and also headed the Americas region extractives consulting practice. Daniel specializes in developing, leading and implementing tailored and integral solutions for clients to manage complex issues across the Americas, with a special emphasis on risk management for large projects in the extractives, energy and infrastructure, and those that require in-depth regional expertise of Latin America.

Jaco Crouse is the Chief Financial Officer and Vice President of Finance for Triple Flag Mining Finance Limited. He is a seasoned financial professional with extensive experience in financial management and reporting, mine financial planning, business optimization and strategy development. Prior to joining Triple Flag, he was a partner and Vice President Business Planning and Optimization at Barrick. Mr. Crouse started his career with Xstrata Alloys in 2002 as a financial manager and worked progressively in more senior roles at Xstrata and Glencore as Group Controller, General Manager of Business Optimization, and Asset Manager. Mr. Crouse is a Chartered Accountant and holds a Bachelors of Commerce degree from the University of South Africa.

Oliver Wright is a specialist lawyer in White & Case's Global Mining & Metals Industry Group, focused on the Americas. Prior to joining White & Case, Oliver spent a number of years in-house with Mubadala Investment Company, an investment fund with over USD$225bn in assets, where he was part of a core team actively managing a global mining and metals portfolio. During this time, Oliver was instrumental in executing Mubadala’s growth in the mining sector by facilitating the acquisition of top tier assets in South America, Europe and Africa. Oliver’s expertise in the mining, metals and utilities sectors spans projects in a host of challenging jurisdictions, on nearly every continent, resulting in a bespoke yet resilient approach to environmental and geopolitical challenges

5:10 I.9 What is Different Today for Miners Looking to Raise Capital? - Shearman Room

Roscoe Postle Associates, Inc.: Richard Lambert, P.E., P.Eng., Chief Operating Officer (Ch)
ING Capital, LLC: Remko Van De Water, Head of Metals & Mining, Americas
Rothschild & Co.: Nicholas Hooper, Managing Director
Maverix Metals Inc.: Douglas Ward, Vice President, Technical Services
Orion Mine Finance: Jonathon Lamb, Portfolio Manager
Teck Resources Limited: Scott R. Wilson, Vice President and Treasurer

  • How is today different than in years past for operators, lenders and investors agreeing on terms
  • Is the outlook more favorable for miners than one year ago? Why? Where? How good is it? Is it real?
  • What are key issues, costs and terms that mining company management need to be aware of?
  • Where are the opportunities? What types of deals technically and structurally are finding capital?

Richard Lambert, P.E., is Executive Vice President and COO of RPA. Mr. Lambert has 38 years of domestic and international experience in mine operations and management, mine engineering, project evaluation and financial analysis. He has been project manager and lead technical advisor for many mine financings, mergers, acquisitions and privatizations. Mr. Lambert has extensive experience in mine cost estimating and is skilled in management from project start-up to production, maintenance and mine planning, and has been involved in base metal, precious metal, coal and industrial mineral mining projects around the world. He is a recognized technical expert in mining arbitration cases. Richard Lambert is Past Vice President of Finance for the Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration (SME). He currently serves as member of the SME Resources/ Reserves Committee.

Remko van de Water is Managing Director at ING, Head of Metals & Mining, Americas and responsible for origination and execution of metals & mining structured financings in the region, including working capital, project financing, pre-export and M&A. He has experience in financing transactions in all major commodities and throughout the value chain. He has over 16 years of experience in leading and advising on financings in the resources sector globally, having closed many landmark transactions including for Guyana Goldfields’ Aurora project in Guyana, Torex Gold’s Minera Media Luna project in Mexico, Romarco Minerals’ Haile project in the U.S., Mountain Province’s Gacho Kue diamond project in Canada, Hudbay’s Constancia project in Peru and Antofagasta’s Esperanza and Antucoya projects in Chile. Remko holds a M.Sc. degree in Chemical Engineering from the Delft Technical University and an M.B.A. from NYU Stern School of Business, NY.

Nicholas Hooper is a Managing Director at Rothschild & Co and head of their Toronto office; prior to this, he worked in Rothschild & Co’s Washington, DC and London offices. Nic has more than 20 years’ experience in the mining sector advising established and aspiring companies on a range of transactions including debt and equity financings, joint ventures, M&A, restructurings and privatizations in a number of commodities and countries.

Doug Ward has over 25 years of mining experience with a focus on financial and strategic planning. He was the former Director of Business Development at Pan American Silver Corp. and previously the VP Corporate Development of Revett Minerals as well as Manager of Business Development and Senior Financial Analysis of Coeur d’Alene Mines and Technical Analyst for N.M. Rothschild & Sons. He earned his BSc. in Mining Engineering from the Colorado School of Mines and an MBA from the University of Denver.

Jonathon Lamb is a Portfolio Manager at Orion Resources. Prior to Orion, Jon was an Investment Manager for the Red Kite Group's Mine Finance business. Before joining Red Kite in 2012, Mr. Lamb worked for five years in Deutsche Bank's Metals & Mining Investment Banking group. He was one of the founding members of that team in New York. He has worked on a variety of debt and equity financing as well as M&A transactions for clients across the base metals, precious metals, coal and steel sectors. Mr. Lamb graduated with a BA from the College of William and Mary majoring in Government and Finance.

Scott Wilson is Vice President and Treasurer of Teck Resources since 2009.  His responsibilities include cash management and banking, corporate finance, financial risk management, customer credit, and pension fund investment.  Teck is Canada’s largest diversified miner with operations in Canada, United States, Chile, and Peru.  Prior to joining Teck, Scott was VP Finance & CFO of Canfor Corporation and before that Senior VP & Controller of Enbridge Inc.  Scott has an Honours Business Administration degree from Western University.

6:00 PM Conclusion of Conference

6:00 - 8:00 Reception - Register in advance. You can register more than one person. Visit receptions
Sponsored by SRK Consulting and Blake, Cassels & Graydon and Hecla Mining Company

8:00 PM End of the Reception

Scroll down beneath photo for Day Two Agenda of the Conference. We hope you join the discussion. Get your questions answered!

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Tuesday April 30, 2019 - Day Two of the Conference from 7:30 AM to 5:30 PM
Shearman & Sterling LLP at 599 Lexington Avenue, at corner of 53rd Street
Check back for updates. Content, order and times are subject to change 
Register today* 
For a one page schedule of events click here 

7:30 AM Registration and Breakfast
Sponsored by Behre Dolbear 

8:40 AM II.1 Alternatives: Royalties, Streaming, Pre-Payments: Part One - Shearman Room

KPMG LLP Canada: Ronald Maiorano, Partner, US Corporate Tax Services (Ch)
Franco-Nevada Corporation: Adrian Wong, CPA, CA, Director, Taxation
Shearman & Sterling LLP: Alexandro M. Padrés,  Partner, Project Development & Finance
Hudbay Minerals Inc.: Travis Temple, Director, Tax

This panel will discuss alternative and traditional sources of Capital for Miners to consider as well as the legal and tax attributes and considerations associated with these different ways of employing capital in the Mining World.

Ronald C. Maiorano is the current Leader of the GTA U.S. Corporate tax practice at KPMG and the historic original leader of the National U.S. Corporate tax practice in Canada. Ron has over 30 years of cross border taxation experience assisting multinational companies with minimizing their worldwide effective tax rates through comprehensive planning strategies. Such planning strategies include: restructuring existing multinational corporate groups, structuring acquisitions, dispositions and reorganizations, structuring financing arrangements, implementing hybrid entities to take advantage of anomalies that frequently exist between taxing jurisdictions, etc.

Adrian Wong joined Franco-Nevada Corporation in January 2012 and serves as the company’s head of taxation. In his role, Adrian leads global tax planning initiatives, tax compliance and financial reporting of income taxes for the company. Previously, Adrian served as Manager, Tax at TD Bank from 2010 to 2011 and Tax Manager at KPMG LLP (Canada) from 2003 to 2010. Adrian holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the Smith School of Business at Queen’s University and is a Chartered Professional Accountant.

Alexandro M. Padrés is a partner in the Project Development and Finance Group at Shearman & Sterling LLP where he focuses on infrastructure projects as they relate to the mining, electricity, and oil and gas telecommunications sectors, with a particular emphasis on Mexico and Latin America. Most recently, Alexandro’s practice has consisted of portfolio financings in several jurisdictions in Latin America (in various modalities and levels of complexity), including advising sponsors and lenders on the financing of renewables projects in Mexico and transmission lines in Chile. In mining, Alexandro has represented traditional and alternative lenders in the financing of brownfield and greenfield mining projects, including through metal streaming arrangements.

Travis Temple is the Director, Tax at Hudbay, a Canadian integrated mining company with operations, development properties and exploration activities across the Americas. Travis is responsible for leading the tax function at Hudbay. Travis has significant experience with alternative financing arrangements in the mining industry including metal streams. Prior to joining HudBay, Travis worked for Ernst & Young LLP in both the Assurance and Tax practices. Travis holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Queen’s University and a CPA designation.

8:40 AM II.1A Importance & Use of Geo-Metallurgy in Scoping & Feasibility Studies - Conference Room G/H

Wood Plc: Chris Wright Technical Director Resource Estimation and Geometallurgy (Ch)
Independent Mining Consultants, Inc.: John Marek, P.E., President (Ch)
Cornell University: Karin E. Olson Hoal, Wold Family Professor
Samuel Engineering: Al Kuestermeyer, Senior Process Engineer /Expert

Geometallurgy involves the integration of geological and metallurgical or mineral processing information. Laboratory, field and plant data can be used to predict future metallurgical performance and understand current processing issues based on feed characteristics throughout the asset life cycle including process design at project stage, tactical response in operation and geochemical release for closure. The understanding of geometallurgical relationships allows for design optimization, asset performance improvement and risk mitigation. The panel will discuss approaches for: (1) Ore characterization; (2) Process design; (3) Plant sampling and (4) Geomet reconciliation

Chris Wright is Technical Director of Resource Estimation and Geometallurgy at Wood Plc. (formerly Amec Foster Wheeler) based in its Salt Lake City office. Chris has worked in operations, corporate and consulting roles in North and South America over the last 20 years with a focus on the application of geometallurgy for strategic production planning, asset risk management and process technology development. He contributed to the advancement of geometallurgical models at the Antamina operation in Peru, Bingham Canyon at Kennecott Utah Copper and the Oyut mine and Hugo North development project at Oyu Tolgoi in Mongolia and over 20 base and precious metal projects in the Americas.

John M. Marek, P.E., President of Independent Mining Consultants, graduated with an M.S. in Mining Engineering and B.S. in Physics from the Colorado School of Mines. He has 40 years of experience in the minerals industry and shares responsibility of all aspects of project engineering and management of this multi-disciplined mining consulting firm. Financial analysis, mine planning, reserve verification and review are some of the areas of his expertise. Project specialties include determination of mine operating policy integrating all disciplines and constraints.

Karin Olson Hoal works with project teams to identify challenges impacting potential value, understanding the uncertainty in the subsurface for more effective above-surface activities. At Cornell University she is the Wold Family Professor in Environmental Balance for Human Sustainability, building a program for transforming the industry in partnership with investors, mineral companies, data analysts and stakeholders. Karin was Director of the Advanced Mineralogy Research Center and a research professor at Colorado School of Mines and she has previously worked with JKTech at the University of Queensland Sustainable Minerals Institute, Hazen Research, Rio Tinto, Royal Gold and consultants in southern Africa, Australia, Canada, Chile and the US.

Alva Kuestermeyer, Senior Process Engineer at Samuel Engineering, is a metallurgical engineer and mineral economist with over 40 years of engineering, operating and consulting experience in the mining industry. Alva has a B.S. degree in Metallurgical Engineering from South Dakota School of Mines and a M.S. in Mineral Economics from Colorado School of Mines. He has performed costing and engineering studies and presented at NYC CTMF for the last four years. Alva joined Samuel Engineering in Denver in December 2017. Prior to Samuel Engineering, he worked at ASARCO, Tetra Tech, SRK, PAH, Behre Dolbear, Golder Associates and European Resources. Alva is a Registered Member of the Society of Mining Engineers and a Fellow Member of AusIMM

9:30 AM II.2 Alternative Sources of Capital in Mining: Part Two - Shearman Room

Duff & Phelps Canada Ltd: Alan Lee CA, CFA, CBV, Managing Director, Valuation Advisory Services (Ch)
BNP Paribas Securities Corp.: Antonio Pichardo, Director Structured Debt Metals & Mining
Sandstorm Gold Ltd.: David Awram, Senior Executive Vice President and Co-Founder
Maverix Metals Inc.: Douglas Ward, Vice President Technical Services 

Amidst increased attention to mining royalty and streaming companies as a more traditional financing source comes less understanding on how and when royalties and streaming arrangements are practically used. When is a stream more suitable than a royalty (or vice versa)? What makes certain mines or projects more amenable to a royalty or a stream? This panel will discuss case studies where royalties and streams have been successful, and what the trends have been like for royalties and streams in recent years (relative to capital markets).

Alan Lee, CA, CPA, CFA, CBV, joined Duff & Phelps in 2010. He is a managing director in the Toronto office and part of the firm’s Valuation Advisory Services and Dispute Consulting practices. Alan has more than 15 years of valuations, disputes and transaction experience. Alan’s focus is in the mining and natural resource sectors. His clients include many of the world’s largest mining companies, as well as many development stage companies, pension, private equity and hedge funds. He is a contributing author to various topics related to valuations featured in CA Magazine and Canadian Tax Journal and is a  speaker at various conferences by CPA Canada, the Ontario Securities Commission and the SME.

Antonio Pichardo is a Director of BNP Paribas’ mining finance team in the Americas. Antonio has been a mining executive and financier of metals and mining, commodities, energy and infrastructure for 20 years, with tenures in New York, Sao Paulo, Lima and Madrid. His mining corporate experience includes founding director and CFO roles for copper and gold development companies, operating in the Andean Region. As a financier, he has advised and financed green field developments and expansions of mining assets in the Americas. He holds a BBA and MBA from Universidad de Sevilla and ICADE in Madrid, respectively. Antonio is fluent in English and Portuguese and is a native speaker of Spanish.

David Awram is the co-founder of Sandstorm and oversees the corporate development team and due diligence process. Mr. Awram has evaluated hundreds of resource projects and has completed on-site due diligence on dozens of mines across the globe. Prior to Sandstorm, Mr. Awram was the Director of Investor Relations for Silver Wheaton Corp., where he was responsible for investor relations and corporate development. Mr. Awram graduated from the University of British Columbia with a Bachelor of Science degree in Geology.

Doug Ward has over 25 years of mining experience with a focus on financial and strategic planning. He was the former Director of Business Development at Pan American Silver Corp. and previously the VP Corporate Development of Revett Minerals as well as Manager of Business Development and Senior Financial Analysis of Coeur d’Alene Mines and Technical Analyst for N.M. Rothschild & Sons. He earned his BSc. in Mining Engineering from the Colorado School of Mines and an MBA from the University of Denver.

9:30 AM II.2A SEC Rule S-K 1300: Modernization of Property Disclosure for Mining Registrants - Conference Room G/H 

Wood Plc: Harry M. Parker, Consulting Mining Geologist & Geostatistician (Ch)
Behre Dolbear Group: Bernard Guarnera, Director
Roscoe Postle Associates: Deborah McCombe, P.Geo, President & CEO, Principal Geologist
Groff Engineering & Consulting LLC: Brian Groff, Principal

Since the October 2018 announcement by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission about replacing Industry Guide 7, (IG7) there has been allot of interest about the impact of the changes on mineral property disclosure, valuation and due diligence. This panel will compare old Industry Guide IG7, with SME’s Guide for Reporting Exploration Information, Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves and other CRIRSCO codes, guides, and standards; discuss the impact on Qualified Persons (QPs), Qualified Person Firms, Reliance on Third Parties, Independence of Qualified Persons; Reporting under S-K 1300 for Canadian registrants including MJDS and non MJDS filers, differences in the format of technical reports under NI 43-101 and S-K 1300 and Materiality, Confidentiality, Aggregation of properties in applying S-K 1300.

Harry Parker has been a consulting mining geologist and geostatistician for over 50 years and has been active in resource and reserve estimation for over 200 projects on six continents. He has used conditional simulation to evaluate the effects of uncertainty on tonnage and grade, and has used these to develop financial scenarios reflecting the uncertainty in common metrics, such as NPV. He has also studied and optimized the effect of selectivity on financial outcomes for mineral projects. Harry is past chairperson of CRIRSCO, the Committee for Mineral Reserves International Reporting Standards, and is past Co-Chairman of the SME’s Mineral Resources and Reserves committee.

Bernard Guarnera, Director and Chairman of Behre Dolbear (1991-2011) has over 45 years of experience in the international mining industry encompassing six continents and ferrous, non‐ferrous, base metal, industrial and energy minerals. Barney is a Certified Mineral Appraiser with the IIMA, Chartered Professional with AusIMM, Qualified Professional with MMSA, a Registered Professional Engineer (Texas) and a Registered Geologist (Idaho and Oregon). Barney specializes in assessing the technical and economic viability of mineral projects and properties and the valuation of mineral properties and mining companies. He has participated in billions of dollars of transactions related to the mining industry and acted as principal advisor to the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong, and its acquisition of the London Metal Exchange.

Deborah McCombe, P.Geo., President and CEO of RPA, has over 30 years’ experience in project management, feasibility studies, reserve estimation, due diligence studies and valuation studies. Deborah has worked in North and South America, Asia and Africa. Prior to joining RPA, Ms. McCombe was Chief Mining Consultant for the Ontario Securities Commission. Ms. McCombe is the author of numerous articles and presentations prepared to assist mining companies, lawyers and engineering professionals to better understand the Canadian disclosure rules for mineral projects (NI43-101). She was awarded the Robert Elver Mineral Economics Award by the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM) for her contributions to the establishment of NI 43-101 and her efforts as head of the Committee for Mineral Reserves International Reporting Standards (CRIRSCO) in the coordination of worldwide standards for resource/reserve reporting. She is also the recipient of the Canadian Professional Geoscientist Award and is chair of the CIM Mineral Resource and Mineral Reserve Committee.

Brian Groff earned his B.S. in Mining Engineering from Missouri-Rolla and has served various roles over the past 20 years. He mined salt for Cargill before moving to Kentucky to work for Bucyrus, improving reliability of draglines and shovels operating in Eastern U.S. coal and industrial minerals mines. He began consulting in 2009 and earned his Professional Engineering license. Brian has viewed more than 120 coal and industrial minerals mines in his career, is a Competent Person having provided JORC-compliant reserve statements for coal and cement deposits, and is certified by the International Institute of Minerals Appraisers. Brian is Co-Chair of the SME Resources and Reserves Committee.

10:20 AM Refreshment Break 
Sponsored by Hatch Advisory

10:40 AM II.3 Getting the Attention of Investors for Exploration Finance: What Has Changed? - Shearman Room

Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP: Frank Mariage, BSc, LLB, Partner, Global Mining Group (Ch)
Quebec Precious Metals Corporation: Normand Champigny, Chief Executive Officer
Monarques Gold Corporation: Jean-Marc Lacoste, President and Chief Executive Officer
Desjardins Securities: Bruno Kaiser, Managing Director and Head of Metals & Mining
Clear Creek Digital: Trevor Hall, President

During the first quarter of 2018 and for the first time ever, the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) surpassed the TSX and TSX Venture Exchange in mining financing. When considering all other investment opportunities present within the Canadian market over the last 18 to 24 months, notably those related to cannabis and crypto-currency, can one be really surprised about the attention and capital these “new” investments received? The panel, comprised of seasoned mining executives, communications specialist and investment analyst, will aim to explore the reasons behind this shift and what exploration / development companies can and should do in this evolving environment.

Frank Mariage is a Partner at Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP. He practices in the areas of securities, corporate law and mining law. Over the course of his career, he has developed legal expertise on mining issues. Frank represents mining companies and guides them during the discovery, sale and processing of mineral deposits, in Canada and elsewhere. He specializes in the legal issues and challenges faced by mining companies. Frank’s expertise is recognized in Canada, and he continues to be listed as a leading mining lawyer by a number of legal directories that rank the country’s best firms and lawyers, notably Lexpert, Chambers and Who’s Who Legal. He just finished a 4 year mandate as Chairman of the Board of the Quebec Mineral Exploration Association and also delivers seminars on behalf of the TSX Venture Exchange on how to manage a publicly traded company. In August 2017 and 2018, Frank was named Lawyer of the Year in Natural Resources Law and Mining Law, respectively, by Best Lawyers in Canada.

Normand Champigny is a geological engineer. He has extensive experience with both public and private companies, both domestically and internationally. He has been involved in many facets of the mining industry, including engineering, project evaluation, and project management. Mr. Champigny is a member of the Ordre des Ingénieurs du Québec. Until recently, Mr. Champigny was an Executive Committee Member of the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC). He was Chair of the Board of Directors of Minalliance, an organization raising awareness about the mining industry in Quebec and highlighting its positive contribution to Quebec’s social, economic, and environmental development. Mr. Champigny is a graduate from École Polytechnique in Montreal (B.A.Sc), University of British Columbia (M.A.Sc), and Paris School of Mines (Specialized Diploma in Geostatistics).

Jean-Marc Lacoste earned his bachelor’s degree in Economics from McGill University in Montreal. In 1993 Mr. Lacoste started a career in finance at the Montreal Stock Exchange where he worked for National Bank Financial and, subsequently, Merrill Lynch Canada. In 2000 he left Montreal for Toronto to join Northland Power, a wind power energy corporation, as Vice President of Acquisitions. He returned to Montreal in 2002 where he joined the boards of a few public and private companies. From 2004 to 2010, he took a major role in Golden Goose Resources Inc. where he became President and CEO and COB. Mr. Lacoste has great leadership skills and will be a tremendous asset for Monarch Gold Corporation.

Bruno Kaiser is a Managing Director and Head of Metals & Mining at Desjardins Securities. He began his career as a Mining Equity Research Analyst with CIBC World Markets in 1992. Bruno was a VP, Investment Banking at Morgan Stanley, UK, where he held several roles, including a Head of German and Russia Global Capital Markets. In Canada, he was instrumental in building the mining lending initiative at National Bank Financial and also led the Mining Group at Paradigm Capital. Bruno has a B. Com (Hon) from McGill University, MBA from INSEAD and holds a CFA designation. He has led M&A transactions and financings across the spectrum of assets and capital structure.

Trevor Hall is the President of Clear Creek Digital where he helps mining, mineral exploration and technology companies effectively communicate and market their projects within the ever-shifting communication paradigm of connected technologies and media. He is also the host and producer of Mining Stock Daily, a daily podcast of junior mining and exploration news distributed globally through 12 different networks, including voice-activated smart speakers such as Amazon Alexa. He is a proud graduate of the University of Nebraska - Lincoln with a Master's Degree in Journalism.

10:40 AM II.3A Minerals and Mining Project Appraisal and Valuation - Conference Room G/H

Stagg Resource Consultants, Inc.: Alan Stagg, PG, CMA, President (Ch)
Deutsche Bank Securities, Inc.: Jonathan Rose, Managing Director, Head, Metals & Mining Americas
Sirios Resources Inc.: Dominique Doucet. P.Eng.,President and CEO
Red Cloud Klondike Strike Inc.: Paolo Lostritto, P.Eng, President
Minera Gold Fields Chile: Cristian Alvarez, Finance and Administration Manager

Value is a perception, which typically varies widely among individual investors. Additionally, what drives value can vary for any given investor over time, depending on global and domestic economic conditions, global and domestic markets, political and cultural factors, and investor-specific circumstances, among other issues. This session’s panelists, which represent differing segments of the investment community, will provide their perceptions regarding current drivers of value in the mining sector, their perceptions of how these have changed over the recent past, and thoughts on value issues going forward. Additionally, the relationship between valuation—in this discussion considered to be a less formal and more investor-specific approach, and appraisals - considered to be a more structured and formal overall market approach, will be explored.

Alan K. Stagg, PG, CMA – President & CEO, Stagg Resource Consultants, Inc., is an economic geologist with 55 years’ experience in the mining, minerals, and energy industries and 40 years’ experience in natural resource-related appraisals, including the appraisal of mineral estates and leasehold interests; the appraisal of plant, machinery, and equipment; the appraisal of intangible assets such as sales contracts, storage field easements, and interests in oil and natural gas enterprises; and the appraisal of business enterprises and equity interests. Natural resources appraised include coal, oil and natural gas, coalbed methane, a variety of precious and base metals, fluorspar, phosphate, potash, uranium, trona, gypsum, hectorite, kaolin, salt, crushed and dimension stone of various types; and sand and gravel. Appraisals have been conducted in 40 states; several Canadian provinces; and in Brazil, Mongolia, and Russia. Alan is a registered professional geologist in 15 states, a Certified Mineral Appraiser by the International Institute of Minerals Appraisers, and an SME Registered Member.

Jonathan Rose is Managing Director, Head of Metals & Mining Americas at Deutsche Bank, based in New York. Jonathan has been an investment banker to the metals, mining and coal sectors for over 20 years. He has worked on numerous M&A, debt and equity transactions. Jonathan holds a Master’s degree in International Affairs from Columbia University, a Certificate from the Institute of East Central Europe at Columbia University, and an undergraduate degree in Economics from the University of Virginia.

Dominique Doucet is President and CEO of Sirios Resources Inc. Dominique has been active in the mineral exploration industry for close to 45 years. He holds a degree in geological engineering with a specialization in mineral exploration from the École Polytechnique de Montréal in Quebec, Canada. Actively involved in the industry, Mr. Doucet is a member of the Ordre des Ingénieurs du Québec, Quebec Mineral Exploration Association, Prospector and Developers Association of Canada and Society of Economic Geologists. Mr. Doucet, and his team were awarded the Discovery of the Year Award in 2001 and 2016 by the Québec Mineral Exploration Association.

Mr. Paolo Lostritto, President of Red Cloud Klondike Strike, is a former Director in the Mining Equity Research Group for National Bank Financial. Over the past 20 years he has worked in mining equity research at Wellington West, Scotia Capital and TD Securities. Mr. Lostritto holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in Geological and Mineral Engineering from the University of Toronto and is a registered Professional Engineer in the Province of Ontario. He currently is the President of Red Cloud Mining Capital Inc and serves on the Board of Directors for both Savary Gold Corp. and Blue Thunder Mining Corporation. Both focused on gold exploration in West Africa and Quebec, respectively.

Cristian Alvarez is the Finance and Administration Manager at Minera Gold Fields Chile. Cristian studied in the Industrial Engineering and Power System Master degree at Pontificia Universidad Catolica of Chile in Santiago. Completed his MBA at University of Rochester in New York in Finance. Worked as a valuation analyst at Countour Global in New York City. He returned to Chile to power industry (Enersis) in valuation. In 2011, Cristian started in BHP Billiton as senior valuation analyst reviewing mining expansions project in Escondida (Chile), Cannington (Australia) and Antamina in Perú and its long term copper price model. In 2011, he was promoted to Reporting Superintendent in Cannington (Australia) in the Finance area and in 2013 transferred to Pampa Norte (Chile) after his managing financial reporting of the Spence and Cerro Colorado mines where he focused on budgeting, forecasting and productivity initiatives.

11:30 AM II.4 China Driving Demand, Prices and Opportunities – Shearman Room

Baker McKenzie LLP: Greg McNab, Partner, Corporate & Securities Practice Group, Global Head of Mining (Ch)
CRU:
Alex Laugharne, Principal
Wiley Rein LLP: Robert E. DeFrancesco III, Partner, International Trade
Bradford Consulting: Charles Bradford, Principal

This panel of experts will discuss: the importance China’s evolving policies towards raw materials and manufacturing has on current global trends in the mining industry, including commodity demand, investment and supply; How China is investing capital in other markets and the impact its investment is having on global costs and material availability. The panelists will also discuss China's demand for key commodities, including critical minerals and its potential economic growth and influence on the global commodity markets over the next several years.

Greg McNab is a member of Baker & McKenzie’s Corporate & Securities Practice Group in Toronto and is the Firm’s Global Head of Mining. As a strategic legal adviser, Greg works on assisting resource companies with respect to penetrating new markets globally and expanding abroad, as well as operating their domestic businesses. He has acted for a number of Asian, Latin American, European and Australian resource companies. Greg is actively involved in private equity/venture capital transactions and public markets transactions and has substantial experience in public and private fund investments, domestically and internationally. He also advises on corporate governance, regulatory compliance, continuous disclosure and stock exchange matters for public issuers. Greg is the Canadian Chair of the Canadian Australian Chamber of Commerce and also practiced as a mechanical engineer in the steel industry.

Alex Laugharne
is a Principal Consultant based in CRU’s New York office, having relocated in 2015 after eight years with CRU Consulting in London. Over this period, Alex has been involved in a wide variety of consulting projects across numerous commodities, building up particular experience in the lithium, iron ore, stainless steel, nickel and ferroalloy sectors. Alex now works across a broad range of commodities supporting predominately North American clients, whilst also providing important contributions to consulting projects related to his various commodity specialties, most frequently battery metals.

Charles Bradford has been a metals analyst for more than 50 years. Formerly partner and metals analyst with Affiliated Research Group and Metals Industries Advisory Group. He was the senior steel analyst at Smith Barney, and prior to that, with UBS Securities, a subsidiary of the Union Bank of Switzerland (6 years). He had been the senior metals analyst with Merrill Lynch for 14 years. Chuck is president of Bradford Research, Inc., an international investment consulting firm. Chuck has been placed on the Institutional Investor magazine “All American” Research Team 26 times, covering (at various times) nonferrous metals, coal and steel. Chuck was named the #1 independent metals analyst for 2007 and #2 in 2005 by the Institutional Investor Magazine.

Robert DeFrancesco is a Partner at Wiley Rein LLP. Robert’s practice involves all aspects of international trade and trade remedy proceedings. He has particular expertise in both U.S. anti-dumping and countervailing duty proceedings and dispute settlement proceedings before the World Trade Organization. Robert has actively assisted in WTO matters, providing advice regarding WTO obligations and dispute settlement proceedings for various clients and governments. Clients represented in these proceedings come from industries such as primary aluminum, aluminum extrusions, steel, semiconductors, and consumer goods, involving products from diverse economies such as China, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, and Turkey. Robert received his J.D., cum laude, from American University Washington College of Law and his B.A. from the University of Georgia.

11:30 AM II.4A Mining Cost and Operating Issues and Trends - Conference Room G/H

InfoMine USA: Jennifer Leinart, Director, President (Ch)
Roscoe Postle Associates: Grant Malensek, M.Eng., P.Eng./P.Geo., Principal Engineer (Ch)
Coeur Mining, Inc.: Thomas S. Whelan, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Black & Veatach Corporation: Jim Spenceley, P.Eng., Senior Vice President, Mining

Two industry trends are reported declines in productivity and challenging returns on investment in the mining industry, on average. What are mining companies doing to reverse these trends? What are examples of best practices and methods and tools used to overcome the challenges management and miners face declining ore grades, the need to go deeper, and comply with more regulations.

Jennifer Leinart is a Registered Member of SME and a licensed professional geologist based in Spokane, Washington. She holds a BS degree in Geology from Colorado State University. Jennifer has over 40 years of experience in the mining industry, from exploration through development and mine operation. She began specializing in resource estimating and economic analysis during the development of the Red Dog mine in Alaska. In 1987, she joined Western Mine Engineering, the predecessor to InfoMine’s CostMine division, where she was responsible for mineral property evaluation, consulting, data and cost estimating. Jennifer is currently President of InfoMine USA, Inc. and manages the Mining Intelligence Costs division.

Grant Malensek is a Principal Engineer – Valuations for Roscoe Postles Associates, and has 25 years’ experience in the mining industry. His experience includes project reviews for fatal flaw, due diligence and as Independent Engineer for equity and project financing. He also prepared technical-economic and project finance models and carried out mineral property valuations for mining companies and arbitration cases. Mr. Malensek’s consulting experience includes Feasibility and Prefeasibility Studies, Preliminary Economic Assessments, capital cost estimates and reviews, mine strategy and options analysis in connection with mergers and acquisitions. Prior to his work as a consultant, Grant Malensek was a Senior Business Analyst: Project Planning/Evaluation for Newmont Mining Corporation and in project exploration and development with a number of companies, in particular Freeport McMoRan and Rio Tinto.

Tom Whelan, CFO of Coeur Mining. Prior to joining Coeur, Mr. Whelan served as CFO of Arizona Mining Inc. from September 2017 to August 2018, when the company was acquired from South32 Limited. Previously, Mr. Whelan served as CFO for Nevsun Resources Ltd. from January 2014 to August 2017. He is a chartered professional accountant and was previously a partner with the international accounting firm Ernst & Young (“EY”) LLP where he was the EY Global Mining & Metals Assurance sector leader, the leader of the EY Assurance practice in Vancouver and previously EY’s Canadian Mining & Metals sector leader. Mr. Whelan graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce from Queen’s University.

Jim Spenceley is Senior Vice President of Black & Veatch’s Mining business focused on Energy and Water infrastructure solutions. Jim has 25 years of international project development experience in the Mining and Oil & Gas industries. He has lived and worked in Chile, Ghana, Canada, Australia, Indonesia, and the USA. His experience includes mega project execution, extensive commissioning, high altitude, tropical, marine, desert and arctic environments. He was an international project director and group executive responsible for global project services for Newmont Mining Corp prior to joining Black & Veatch in 2015. Jim’s mining experience on both the Owners and Contractors sides of business includes mega greenfield project development, brownfield expansions, open pit and underground mines, for copper and gold commodities. 

12:20 PM Key Note Speaker Lunch

12:35 PM Key Note SpeakerCasey Hammond, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management, U.S. Department of the Interior will speak about: 

Latest developments impacting mining in the U.S. and Navigating the U.S. Permitting System and Operating Environment

Casey Hammond currently serves as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management overseeing the Bureau of Land Management, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, and the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement within the U.S. Department of the Interior. Casey started with the Department in January 2017 as part of the administration’s “Beachhead Team” that led the agency immediately following the President's inauguration. Prior to joining the administration, he worked in various capacities within the House of Representatives, including as Legislative Staff for the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands, Professional Staff for the Subcommittee on Public Lands and Environmental Regulation, and Senior Advisor for the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. 

1:30 PM II.5 Managing Social Issues in a Changing World - Shearman Room

Ramboll: Sharon Maharg, Senior Managing Consultant, International Finance & ESIA Services (Ch)
Social Capital Group s.a.c.: Walter Arensberg, Managing Director
ING Capital: Melisa Simic, Vice President, Sustainable Finance
Miller Thomson, LLP: Sandra Gogal, Partner, Co-Leader of National Aboriginal Law Group
S&P Global Ratings: Michael Ferguson, Director U.S. Energy Infrastructure Group

In today’s changing world, getting mining projects up and running successfully must take stakeholder engagement to another level in order to ensure project acceptance from local communities early in the project and manage expectations throughout the project cycle. Management strategies must aim to ensure that a reasonable number of jobs are made available during both the construction and operations phases to local workers (both male and female); establish skills training programs for the local communities and early enough in the project schedule so local unskilled workers can be trained and eligible for jobs when they become available; procure as many goods and services from the local communities as possible; and create local benefits for communities by understanding and responding to their needs. Such strategies are especially important as organized opposition from environmental NGOs, indigenous groups, and others has grown more sophisticated and widespread and the risks to mining projects has increased accordingly. Panelists will examine the roots of these challenges and assess the effectiveness of corporate strategies and methods for addressing them.

Sharon Maharg is a Senior Managing Consultant at Ramboll and the US East Coast Team Leader for International Finance & ESIA Services, specializing in social and reputational risk consulting. She has more than 15 years’ experience in sustainable finance and consulting, and more than 20 years’ experience in multiple areas of emerging markets finance. She is expert at identifying and assessing potential social impacts from projects, and performing due diligence and project monitoring for compliance with the Equator Principles, IFC Performance Standards and other international standards. Sharon has been involved in projects in mining, energy and transportation in Latin America and the Caribbean, Middle East and Africa, Southeast Asia and the FSU. Prior to Ramboll, Sharon was Regional Head of Sustainability Management for Latin America at WestLB AG New York and a leader among the Equator Principle Financial Institutions (EPFIs), representing one of four founding EPFIs.

Walter Arensberg is a Managing Director of the Social Capital Group s.a.c., which specializes in the assessment and management of social risk in large scale development projects in mining, oil and gas, hydro-power, transportation infrastructure, agriculture. Headquartered in Lima, Peru, and with offices in Bogotá. Colombia and Washington D.C., the Social Capital Group (SCG) works for private sector clients and international financial institutions, on project, social impact assessment, social due diligence; corporate strategy and training, and the implementation of community engagement, resettlement, local employment and procurement, communications and other risk mitigation programs. Mr. Arensberg represents SCG in Washington D.C. and has led social due diligence work for lenders examining major mining investments in the context of IFC, Equator Principles and other international performance standards. Prior to joining SCG, Mr. Arensberg headed the Environment Division of the Inter-American Development Bank.

Melisa Simic is Vice President, Environmental and Social Specialist at ING in the Sustainable Finance team. Melisa covers transaction assessments at the origination phase providing social and environmental expertise in order to comply with ING internal policies as well as Equator Principles and IFC standards when applicable. She is currently involved in a mining transaction where ING is participating in the financing and also acting as the ESR agent providing environmental and social consulting support. Before joining ING in May 2018, Melisa was a Senior Consultant at Ramboll where she was primarily focused on energy projects in Latin America. Previously, Melisa worked as a Senior Project Engineer at ERM where she was involved in performing environmental audits for Mining clients in Canada. Melisa started her career as a civil/tunnel engineer for Parsons Brinckerhoff and holds a MSc degree in Tunneling Engineering from Politecnico di Torino in Italy.

Sandra Gogal is co-leader of Miller Thomson’s National Aboriginal Law Group. Sandra’s practice focuses on project development in the natural resource sector, with specific expertise in dealing with Aboriginal and environmental issues. Sandra has worked in both private and public sectors, acting primarily for national and international clients in the energy, mining and pipeline sectors on regulatory requirements, including advising with respect to aboriginal consultation, assessment of Aboriginal and treaty rights, and the negotiation of impact and benefit agreements and other commercial agreements with First Nations and Métis people. Recognized as a leading practitioner among her peers, Sandra has achieved status as a Chambers Global ranked lawyer in Aboriginal Law.

Michael Ferguson is Director of S&P Global Ratings’ U.S. Energy Infrastructure Group. Michael has a portfolio of project financed power plants, infrastructure assets, and independent power producers. Much of his thought leadership research revolves around environmental regulation and energy policy. Michael’s experience includes an array of cases, ranging from stock option backdating and revenue recognition to embezzlement and ponzi schemes. Michael is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the Certified Financial Analyst Institute, and the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners. Michael is a Chartered Financial Analyst, a Certified Public Accountant (DC and VA), a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst, and a Certified Fraud Examiner.

1:30 II.5A  Tailings Facilities: A Primer for Potential Financiers - Conference Room G/H

Shearman & Sterling LLP: Cynthia Urda Kassis, Co - Head of Mining & Metals Group, Partner, Project Development & Finance (Ch)
International Finance Corp/World Bank Group: Rosa Orellana, Chief Environmental Specialist & Global Sector Lead for Oil, Gas & Mining 
Atlantic Gold Corporation: Maryse Belanger ICD.D, President, COO and Director 
Stantec: Paul Deering P. Geo, P. Eng., Senior Principal, Regional Technical Leader, Geotechnical Engineering practice in Eastern Canada

This panel will look at the following questions, among others: What are tailings facilities? Are they all the same? How do the different regulators around the globe approach such facilities? How should mining companies approach managing these facilities and communicating to the public about them? What are potential best practices in that regard? How can debt and equity investors approach their analysis of investment opportunities in companies/projects with such facilities? What are the most effective diligence techniques? What standards are DFIs and other major financial institutions applying and how have they changed as a result of recent events?

Cynthia Urda Kassis is a Senior Partner in the Project Development & Finance practice of the international law firm of Shearman & Sterling LLP and co-Head of their Mining & Metals Group. She represents sponsors/ borrowers/ lenders/ alternative financiers in project development and finance transactions worldwide, with extensive experience in the mining, energy and infrastructure industries. She consistently ranks as one of the leading project finance lawyers by Chambers & Partners, IFLR 1000 and Legal 500. Who’s Who named her “Project Finance Lawyer of the Year” for the second consecutive years and has also named her among the “most highly regarded individuals in the world” in the fields of project finance and mining. Her most recent work in the mining sector includes representing Mantos Copper on the financing for its proposed brownfield expansion and Orion and Blackstone on their financing for Lundin Gold’s Fruta del Norte project in Ecuador, awarded “Latin America Mining & Metals Deal of the Year” by IJ Global.

Rosa I. Orellana is a Chief Environmental Specialist at the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Sector Lead for Oil, Gas and Mining with 21 years of experience working across Latin America, Africa and Asia. She ensures that the requirements of project investments are aligned with the IFC’s Performance Standards, promotes environmental and social Good International Industry Practices and helps clients maintain their social license to operate. Additionally, she promotes and guarantees the wise use of natural resources through integrated conservation and development initiatives. She has been the lead E&S Specialist in a number of large and complex projects including: the Chad-Cameroon - export oil pipeline, Guinea -Simandou, Peru - LNG, India - Cairn Energy Oil Pipeline, Ghana - Tullow and Kosmos Energy, Kazaksthan- Karachaganak oil development, Kenya/Ethiopia- Africa Oil, and Uganda oil development and export pipeline. She has expertise in all areas of environmental and social risk management issues with particular focus on air and water pollution control, water and wastewater treatment, hazardous waste management, pollution prevention, and occupational health and safety, and in-depth working knowledge on social issues related to stakeholder engagement, resettlement and security forces. She holds a Doctor of Science, Civil and Environmental Engineering, and a Master of Science in Environmental Engineering from The George Washington University, Washington, DC and a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from the State University of New York at Buffalo.

Paul Deering P. Geo, P. Eng. is Engineer of Record for Tailings Facilities and the regional technical leader for Stantec's Geotechnical Engineering practice in Eastern Canada. Paul has 32 years of experience in consulting engineering and the geoscience profession of which the past 23 years has been with Stantec Consulting Limited where he has held several senior positions in operations, business development, and technical leadership. In his current role as Stantec’s regional technical leader, he is responsible for leading and providing direction for the technical growth, professional innovation, and quality of the practice in provinces of Ontario, Quebec, and the Atlantic Canada region. During his career Paul has been involved with various multi-disciplinary projects in the mining sector ranging from grass roots exploration through to development, operations, and mine closure. Currently Paul serves as Engineer of Record, as defined by the Mining Association of Canada, for Atlantic Gold’s Touquoy Mine Tailings Storage Facility in Nova Scotia, and other facilities for Vale in Newfoundland and Labrador and Trevali in New Brunswick. Paul is a Professional Engineer and a Professional Geoscientist in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador and a professional engineer in the provinces of Nova Scotia and British Columbia.

Maryse Belanger ICD.D, President, COO and Director Atlantic Gold Corporation. Maryse is a Mining Professional focused on building organizations, projects, teams and driving operations performance. In her role at Atlantic Gold she is responsible for the overall operational and technical management of the Company's assets as well as taking a lead role in executing the Company’s business plan and strategy, including the identification of new strategic opportunities for Atlantic Gold, interaction with federal and provincial Government and related entities, as well as stakeholder and investor relations. In her previous roles as CEO of Mirabela Nickel and Senior Vice President Technical Services at Goldcorp she has built, managed and also performed due diligence on a number of tailings dams around the world including in Brazil.

2:20 II.6 Measuring Climate Risk to Mining and Infrastructure Projects - Shearman Room

The Climate Service: James McMahon, CEO
Panattoni Development Company: Guillermo (Willy) Accame, Director of Risk Management
S&P Global Ratings:
Don Marleau, Natural Resources Sector Lead
Hatch: Susan McGeachie, Global Director, Climate Change and Sustainable Development
Watson Environmental: Leslie M. Watson, Principal (Ch)

Aligning climate science and seasonal forecasts with industry needs presents opportunities for addressing risks. The panel will present information on tools to measure the cost of climate related risks and seasonal forecasts in relation to key performance metrics, assessing resilience benefits and ratings.

James McMahon is co-founder and CEO of The Climate Service, a technology company that helps corporations measure, monitor, and manage their climate risk using big data and world-class expertise. The Climate Service’s risk analytics software gives investors and corporate managers the financial information they need to incorporate climate-related risk into their decisions. James began his career in global change by studying physics at Harvard University, and atmospheric chemistry at MIT under the guidance of Nobel Laureate Mario Molina. After leading several technology companies, James served as Senior Advisor to the Director of NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information, who is now a senior advisor to The Climate Service.

Guillermo (Willy) Accame manages risk throughout Panattoni’s global operations and advises in the acquisition and development of properties throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe. Willy also serves as a National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) Industry Adviser and as part of the Capacity Center for Climate and Weather Extremes (C3WE) leads the Climate-i Construction workgroup. Willy provides a strong industry perspective along with expertise on some of the leading extreme weather- and climate-related questions and his work helps bridge communication between private industry and climate scientists in the United States and Europe. Willy holds an M.S. in Geochemistry and Remote Sensing from Purdue University.

Don Marleau is Natural Resources Lead at S&P Global Ratings. Don has analytical oversight for the metals and mining, building materials, forest products and building sectors. Don also covers industry-leading credits in each industry, including Newmont, Alcoa and Lennar. As Sector Lead, Don is responsible for ratings quality, industry-level credit themes and commentary and outreach to investors. Don has covered issuers in various materials industries since 2000, serving as a global coordinator for metals and mining since 2008. Don also covered asset-backed securities in the early 2000's. Don holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and a Bachelor of Commerce with Honours from Laurentian University in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada.

Susan McGeachie leads Hatch’s global climate change and sustainable development practice with 20 years of experience in this field. She supports clients in addressing the impact of a changing business environment, including climate change-related factors, on projects. Susan develops strategies to manage shifts in laws and regulations, societal expectations and weather patterns through environmental, social and governance (ESG)-focused program reviews and evaluations, climate change-related risk and investment cost-benefit assessments, stakeholder consultations, internal audit and risk management, and sustainability reporting strategy and guidance. Susan holds an MBA from the Schulich School of Business with a specialization in Finance and Sustainability, and is an Adjunct Professor with the University of Toronto and Clean 16 award recipient.

Leslie Watson is a senior regulatory specialist and project manager with over 25 years of experience evaluating natural resources development projects and land management planning. Leslie has managed and provided technical expertise for projects in the western U.S., and Alaska. These projects include oil and gas pipelines, coal and hard rock mines, reservoirs, forest fuel reduction, and water supplies. Leslie has experience conducting numerous field surveys and assessing impacts on biological resources and ecosystem services.

2:20 II.6A Transforming Mines with Integrated Digital Operational Platforms - Conference Room G/H

RPM Global: Anthony Fraser, Customer Engagement Diector (Ch)
IDS GeoRadar: John Metzger, Geomatics Services Projects Coordinator
Proudfoot Consulting: Jon Wylie, President, Global Natural Resources
GE Transportation - Wabtec: Debra Johnson, Principle of Digital Mine
RPM Global: Sandeep Sandhu, General Manager North America
Glencore: Owain Morton, Digital Transformation Lead

The Digital Mine: Amplifying Decision Making Capability. This panel will speak to the 'Future of Mining' in the digital age; What is possible and what may be ahead for mines with declining ore grades, use of autonomous equipment, and how work forces can best adapt to their use and optimally operate the ever-increasingly sophisticated, diverse and readily available technology in the life of mine and supply chains. How can management best unlock value that is hidden in value chains. Innovation has ripple effects, business decisions made today enable miners to seamlessly create and compare scenarios across every activity required to bring commodities from mine plan to port to increase profitability.

Anthony Fraser is RPMGlobal’s Customer Engagement Director and has spent the past 15 years in software and hardware technology businesses in the mining and oil and gas industries. Anthony is responsible for marketing and managing relationships with both internal and external stakeholders of the RPMGlobal business ensuring all have a positive experience with the brand. He has substantial international, operational experience in the mining sector across many commodities and methods. He has previously held management roles in sales, marketing and product management in the mining technology and services market and has a Bachelors Degree from Griffith University in Australia.

John Metzger is a Business Development Technologist and the Geomatics Services Group Project Coordinator for IDS GeoRadar in Golden, CO. with over 12 years’ experience in the mining industry. Previously John supported international development projects and was an IT entrepreneur for over 13 years in Africa. He is responsible for Mining and Geomatics Services projects and instrumentation realization across North America. During his international tenure, John explored and implemented new technologies, data analysis, and delivery systems. He has worked extensively on mine sites during live Pit Asset “events” successfully ensuring the data realized allows for the continuation of safety, operations, and production. This unique opportunity, at the nexus of operating sites’ Pit Asset Management, has provided significant lessons and realizations involving live data collection, analysis, and operational and management value provision. John holds AAS, BS, and MA degrees from Rochester Institute of Technology, and Ball State University.

Jon Wylie, is President Global Natural Resources practice, joining Proudfoot as a Consultant in 1987, with over 30 years experience in the sector Natural Resources industry. Jon leads the Proudfoot Global Natural Resources practice, combining Industry knowledge and capability with Proudfoot transformation solutions and unique “boots on the ground” engagement to implement sustainable, measurable improvements.
Jon’s functional knowledge spans delivery of productivity improvement projects across diverse cultures, with solutions focused on safe operations, organisational engagement and management capability development. Global Natural Resources Practice at Proudfoot was recently recognised by the Management Consulting Association for Outstanding International project for work with our client Partner in Rio Tinto’s Oyu Tolgoi mine.

Debra Johnson is a Principal of Digital Mine within GE Transportation, a Wabtec Company. Debra is a senior leader, experienced with helping mining companies successfully navigate their digital transformation and operational optimization journeys. Driving innovation, along with a goal of seamless execution, Debra leads Digital Mine’s Center of Excellence initiative. Her mission is to help mining companies rapidly achieve new heights of productivity, profitability, safety, and sustainability by harnessing the power of technology, connectivity, and innovation, while collaboratively executing cultural transformation. Prior to joining GE, Debra was founder and CEO of two award-winning companies. Her hallmark is functioning as a visionary team leader who tenaciously tackles and achieves goals, solving client problems with a focus on sustainable solutions.

Sandeep Sandhu is General Manager, North America of RPM Global. Sandeep brings over 20 years of technology sales and marketing experience to the management team at RPMGLOBAL. He joined RPMGLOBAL in 2019 to lead the North American sales organization with strategic sales, planning, business development and support initiatives across North America. Mr. Sandhu is currently the Senior Executive. Prior to joining RPMGLOBAL, Sandeep spent four years with Dassault Systèmes as a senior executive responsible for North America, and over a decade with IBM Canada with his last role as Sales and Territory Executive for Enterprise Clients. Responsible for developing integrated sales and business strategies, Mr. Sandhu led a cross-functional sales and marketing team and leveraged distribution channels all designed to meet client business objectives with significant revenue streams for IBM. Prior to IBM, Mr. Sandhu held several other Sales and Project Management roles. Mr. Sandhu holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Electrical Engineering from the University of Victoria, in British Columbia. He currently sits on the Board of the Burnaby Association for Community Inclusion.

3:10 Refreshment Break
Sponsored by Hatch Advisory

3:30 II.7 Navigating the U.S. Permitting System and Operating Environment - Shearman Room

BHP: Jason Buckner, Head of Corporate Affairs
Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck: Jon Hrobsky, Policy Director
Mining Development Services LLC: Dr. John R. Craynon, P.E., President (Ch)
SynTerra Corp.: Steve Gardner PE, SME-RM, Vice President, Special Projects, Energy & Mining (Ch)
U.S. Department of the Interior: Casey Hammond, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management

The greatest barrier to a successful project in the United States is the byzantine permitting system that makes getting a mine operational a very difficult process. This panel of former and current U.S. decision-making officials will discuss:

  • The growing difficulty in getting mines from exploration to production in the U.S
  • How to work with federal and state agencies in a collaborative manner
  • How to use the political system and congressional relationships to minimize delays
  • Changes in law and regulation that have simplified the process
  • The importance of pre-investment political due diligence in choosing a project

Jason Buckner is the recent former Head of Corporate Affairs – Washington for BHP, the world’s largest diversified natural resources company. Jason joined BHP in 2013 where he opened the company’s Washington, DC office and focused on engagement with the US federal government. Prior to BHP, Jason served as the Director of Congressional and Legislative Affairs at the U.S. Department of the Interior. At the Department of the Interior, Jason provided direct advice to the Secretary of the Interior on crafting and advancing the agency’s legislative agenda through the Administration and Congress. Before joining the Obama administration, Jason served for 8 years in senior congressional positions including Chief of Staff to a member of Congress who represented a natural resources producing state.

Jon Hrobsky
is Co-Chairman of Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck’s Energy, Environment & Resource Strategies (EERS) Group. Jon has played a key role in crafting policy and shaping legislation for some of the major issues affecting energy production and natural resources in the United States. He works on matters across the energy, environment and natural resources spectrum—from oil and gas, renewables, utilities, water and mining, to clean air, public lands and the Endangered Species Act. Jon has extensive experience at the Department of the Interior in the Office of the Secretary and as the deputy director of the U.S. Minerals Management Service.

Dr. John R. Craynon,
P.E., President of Mining Development Services LLC, is providing advice and support to the mining and energy sectors. His 30-year federal career, from which he retired at the end of 2018, includes Senior Mining Engineering at the Export-Import Bank of the United States and the U.S. Department of the Interior, most notably at the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement. He has also served as Director of Environmental Programs at the Virginia Center for Coal and Energy Research at Virginia Tech. John has bachelor, masters and doctorate degrees in Mining and Minerals Engineering from Virginia Tech. He is an active member of several professional organizations and societies, including the Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration and the National Society of Professional Engineers.

Steve Gardner served as President, CEO of ECSI, LLC for 35 years. In January 2019 ECSI merged with SynTerra Corp. where he now serves as VP Special Projects, Mining & Energy. Mr. Gardner has an MS Mining Engineering, Graduate Certification in Environmental Systems and BS Agricultural Engineering from the University of Kentucky. In 2011, he was inducted into the UK Engineering Hall of Distinction. As a Prof. Eng. he has worked on projects throughout the US and internationally. Steve was 2015 President of SME and recognized as a Distinguished Member and Registered Member. He served on the UK Mining Engineering Foundation, Kentucky Geological Survey, Biosystems & Agricultural Engineering Advisory Boards and was a member of the Kentucky Board of Licensure for Professional Engineers and Surveyors.

Casey Hammond currently serves as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management overseeing the Bureau of Land Management, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, and the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement within the U.S. Department of the Interior. Casey started with the Department in January 2017 as part of the administration’s “Beachhead Team” that led the agency immediately following the President's inauguration. Prior to joining the administration, he worked in various capacities within the House of Representatives, including as Legislative Staff for the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands, Professional Staff for the Subcommittee on Public Lands and Environmental Regulation, and Senior Advisor for the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. 

3:30 II.7A Water Risks: Approaches to Avoid Problems and Failure - Conference Room G/H

Intera, Inc: Peter Castiglia, P.G., Senior Hydrogeologist (Ch)
Westech Engineering, Inc.: Mick L. McCaslin, P.E., International Sales Manager (Ch)
Columbia University Water Center: Paulina Concha, Researcher
Kinross Gold Company: John K. Mudge, Director, Environmental Affairs

This panel will identify the water risks common to most mineral development projects, illustrate common approaches for characterizing and controlling water risks, and share examples of how disruptions from water problems can have severe impacts on the financial performance of a development or operating company.

Peter Castiglia, P.G. is a Senior Hydrogeologist at INTERA, a geosciences consulting firm, where he serves as a member of the Executive Team and Vice President of the Mining and Water Resources Group. As a hydrogeologist, he leads multi-disciplinary teams that develop water-supply strategies for mineral processing and mining operations, approaches for dewatering underground operations, and predictive tools to evaluate potential impacts of proposed operations on water resources. He is proficient in Spanish, a licensed professional geologist, an SME Registered Member, and a Qualified Person, as defined by Canadian National Instrument 43-101.

Mick L. McCaslin. P.E. is the International Sales Manager for WesTech Engineering, Inc. in Salt Lake City. He has more than 30 years’ experience in plant operations, maintenance, equipment supply, and systems design. Previously he worked in copper milling, smelting and refining; vacuum and pressure filtration; industrial centrifugal pumps, and a global mineral processing and metallurgical support laboratory. Currently he is privileged to lead a team of regional managers supporting customers throughout the world in resolving their liquid-solid separation challenges.

Paulina Concha is a researcher at the Columbia Water Center at Columbia University in New York, where she has worked under the direction of Prof. Upmanu Lall for the past five years. She obtained a B.S. in Chemistry from the ITESM in Monterrey, Mexico, and a M.S. degree in Environmental Engineering from Columbia University. She worked in engineering at Procter and Gamble for five years prior to starting a career in water research. She has worked on projects related to urban and rural water supply, water management and climate risk in agricultural supply chains, water related risks in the mining sector, and the valuation of water.

John Mudge is the Director of Environmental Affairs for Kinross Gold Company. He provides guidance and advice to all Kinross operations, globally. Prior to Kinross he worked for Newmont in process operations, environment and social responsibility. He finished his career at Newmont in an acting role with oversight of sustainability reporting to the CEO. John obtained a Bachelors degree in Metallurgical Engineering from University of Idaho in 1979. He also completed a MBA at the University of Nevada in 1994. He has been a member of SME for nearly 40 years and actively involved in the Nevada Mining Association including completion of two terms as Chairman of the Board. He is on the advisory boards at the Mackay School of Mines, University of Nevada and American Exploration and Mining Association. He completed three terms as a Governor appointee to the Nevada Commission on Mineral Resources and was selected twice by the Secretary of Interior to advise the Bureau of Land Management on resource management. He participates with the Industry Advisory Group for the International Cyanide Code, a Group he chaired for over two years. 

4:20 II.8 Favorable Investment Jurisdictions in Mining and the Minerals Sector in the Americas - Shearman Room

Are miners and mining investment experiencing a return to perennial jurisdictions such as Canada and the US? How are emerging market jurisdictions in the Americas looking to stay relevant? Do great projects win out? What about everyone else? What about governments as mediators between communities and miners? Are miners in risk-on or risk-off mode?  Which governments in the hemisphere are doing things to attract investment? What regulatory adjustments works? What is the outlook?
 
Accendo Banco: Javier Reyes de la Campa, Chairman
Gustavson Associates: Donald E. Hulse PE, Vice President of Mining (Ch)
Mining Journal: Paul Harris, Editor of Latin America (Ch)
German Mineral Resources Agency (DERA), Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR): Dr. Ing. Sven-Uwe Schulz, Head of Unit Evaluation of Mineral Resources
Sandspring Resources Ltd: Richard A. Munson B.A.,J.D., L.L.M. Chief Executive Officer, Director, Corporate Secretary
Ressources Quebec, a subsidiary of Investissement Quebec: Amyot Choquette,Senior Manager, Mines Québec  
Société Générale: Alvaro Belevan, Director, Metals & Mining Finance

Donald E. Hulse is the Vice President of Mining at Gustavson Associates. He is a Mining Engineer with over 30 years of experience in the mining industry, including technical and general management, permitting coordination, short and long term operational planning, economic pit limit analysis, pit and phase design, cost estimation and analysis, resource estimation, geostatistics, feasibility studies and reserve audits. Project experience includes involvement with gold, silver, base metals and industrial metals in design, analysis, planning and operational control. He has been responsible for coordinating the efforts of a management team through permitting, construction and initiation of mine operation. Mr. Hulse is also a Qualified Person as defined by the NI 43-101.

Paul Harris is a mining sector researcher, analyst and reporter with over 16 years experience in the mining sector and 13 years experience in Latin America. Paul has eight years experience in the Colombia gold sector working with junior explorers in an investor relations and business development. Since 2015 he has been Latin America Editor for Mining Journal covering the Latin America region. Paul founded and edits Colombia Gold Letter in 2011 that focuses on the gold and copper sectors in the northern Andes, and began the successful Colombia Gold Symposium in 2017. Previously he spent five years in Chile researching and reporting on the copper sector for Metal Bulletin and CRU. Paul received a BA in business administration from the University of the West of England, UK; and a MA in international relations from the University of Chile, Santiago Chile.

Sven-Uwe Schulz serves as Head of the unit Evaluation of Mineral Resources for the German Mineral Resources Agency (DERA) in the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR), the federal geological survey of Germany. That is a subsidiary organization of the German Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy. He has more than 15 years of experience in the fields of mining engineering, consulting, project management and project evaluation. Schulz worked for two engineering consultants and a university before he joined DERA in 2013. He holds a doctoral degree from Technical University of Berlin, Germany (2008) as well as a master’s degree in mining engineering (2001) from the same university.

Javier Reyes de la Campa is Founding partner and President of Private Equity CP. Currently Chairman of Accendo Banco. With more than 20 year experience in the natural resource sector, he began his career in the financial sector in 1996 at Casa de Bolsa Estrategia Bursátil, based in Mexico City. In 2001, he founded Mex E Trade Asesores, a firm that specialized in consulting related to the mining and energy sector. He actively participates in the decision making of three funds: Antares Oil & Gas, Accendo Natural Resources and Cygnus Real Estate Opportunity Fund.

Richard A. Munson is CEO/Director Sandspring Resources Ltd. Rich has been active in the natural resources business for 30+ years, starting as a natural resources lawyer specializing in taxation. Rich moved to the private sector in the mid-1980’s joining the Energy Fuels companies which became the largest U.S. uranium producer in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s. Rich has been active in multiple jurisdictions and was a co-founder of Sandspring, owner of the Toroparu project in Guyana, S.A. and the Chicharron project in Colombia S.A. The Toroparu gold project, with a resource of 10.5 million ounces, is now the largest undeveloped project in South America owned by a junior developer.

Amyot Choquette is Senior Manager, Mines Québec at Ressources Quebec, a subsidiary of Investissement Quebec that is an economic development agency owned by the government of Quebec that provides financing solutions to companies who have projects in Quebec. He has more than 17 years of experience in mining finance and has successfully provided financing solutions to mining companies using public equity, private equity, senior debt, subordinated debt, convertible debentures and other financial instruments. Previously he worked at a private equity fund and in an accounting firm. He earned a B.A. in business management with honors and holds a CPA-CA designation.

Alvaro Belevan heads Société Générale’s business development in Latin America, extending the bank’s global platform in metals and mining finance and advisory. Alvaro is responsible for originating and structuring corporate, project, trade and acquisition financing transactions as well as leading debt advisory mandates in support of mine development and operating companies in Latin America. Alvaro has been a financier to the mining sector since 1997 in a number of roles including corporate finance, merchant banking and principal investing at Citigroup, Macquarie Bank and RMB Resources (a division of First Rand Bank) and now SG. He also managed business development projects at Meridian Gold, a North American gold mining company. Alvaro holds a BBA from EU Business School and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

5:10 Closing Remarks by Conference Chair

5:15-8:00 Reception at Shearman & Sterling. Register. Join us for a raffle of wonderful photos by photographer Laszlo Bencze again. .
Sponsored by Shearman & Sterling and SRK Consulting and Hecla Mining Company

8:00 Conclusion of Day Two of the Conference

Wednesday May 1, 2019 - Three Workshops
at Shearman & Sterling LLP at 599 Lexington Avenue, at corner of 53rd Street

Select one of two morning workshops: Breakfast 7:45 AM, Start 8:30 AM, End 11:30 AM, Lunch Ends 1 PM and or
Join us for an afternoon workshop: Lunch at Noon, Start at 12:30, Ends at 4 PM.

Wednesday May 1, 2019 from 8 to 11:30 AM prior to lunch at Shearman & Sterling
Breakfast Sponsored by Behre Dolbear

III. Valuing Mineral Assets and Operations – Understanding Valuation Issues - led by Alan Stagg, PG, CMA, President, Principal Economic Geologist, Stagg Resource Consultants

IV. Are you ready? A Comprehensive Approach to Navigate the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s New Mining Property Disclosure Requirements – led by Ben Parsons, Principal Geologist, SRK Consulting (U.S.), Inc., Matthew Sullivan, Consultant, Mining Economics, SRK Consulting (U.S.) and Jason Lehner, Partner, Shearman & Sterling, LLP

Wednesday May 1, 2019 lunch from Noon to 1 PM at Shearman & Sterling
All Wednesday workshop attendees are welcome to join us for lunch to continue your conversations and or unwind, relax and recharge before the start of the afternoon workshop and official end of the Conference.
Lunch Sponsored by Shearman & Sterling

Wednesday May 1, 2019 from Noon to 4 PM - Starting after lunch at Shearman & Sterling
The fifth workshop may start at 12:30 PM. If registering to attend this workshop, please join us for lunch, promptly before Noon

V. Measuring Climate Risk: An Interactive Workshop on Meaningful Measures of Climate Risks in Relation to Financing Mining and Infrastructure Projects led by Leslie Watson, Watson Environmental; James McMahon, CEO of The Climate Service; Don Marleau, Natural Resources Sector Lead, S&P Global Ratings; Michael Ferguson, Director U.S. Energy Infrastructure Group, S&P Global Ratings and Susan McGeachie, Global Director, Climate Change and Sustainable Development at Hatch.

Wednesday May 1, 2019 the Conference ends at 4 PM

Read about the workshops

Shown below is a photo from a reception where all can meet. We welcome you to join us. Register in advance.
SSSMEMay2017b-052_Quebec_Government_-_Part_of_the_Delegation_Mon_1_May_2017_CTMF.jpg

You do not have to attend the conference to attend the workshops and receptions. On Sunday May 10 there will be two workshops followed by a networking welcome reception before the conference begins on Monday May 11th 2020 with breakfast, starting at 7:30 AM. There will be receptions on Sunday May 10, Monday May 11 and Tuesday May 12. On Wednesday May 13 there will be two morning workshops and two afternoon workshops with lunch. If you will like to join the sponsors please contact Tim Alch, Conference Co Chair at timalch@gmail.com

Attending CTMF 2019 were more than 270 experts and senior executives including officers from more than 50 mining and exploration companies and bankers, investors, private equity, analysts, advisers, engineers, and officials from more than 21 countries including Argentina, Australia, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Germany, India, Japan, Kosovo, Mexico, Peru, Portugal, South Africa, Turkey, the United Kingdom and Uruguay. 

Throughout CTMF there is time to meet one-on-one with influential banking, finance industry executives and leading advisers interpreting and presenting technical and non-technical data supporting analysis and financing of all types of mining projects, ranging from sand and gravel, industrial minerals to base, precious and critical minerals and bulk mineral commodities. 

Meet senior officers from these banking, investing, private equity, and engineering and professional advisory firms, and executives from more than 50 mining and exploration companies and many officials from government agencies operating in and representing many countries.  

Senior representatives from these and other banking, finance, accounting, royalty, streaming, private equity and investment firms will be attending CTMF 2019: Accendo Banco; AXA XL; BMO Capital Markets; BNP Paribas Securities; BNP Paribas; Canada, Government of; Capstone Headwaters; Citibank Corporate & Investment Bank; Commonwealth Bank of Australia; Consulate General of Canada in New York; Desjardins Securities; Deutsche Bank Securities, Inc.; Duff & Phelps Ltd; Erdenes Mongol; Ernst & Young Canada; E&Y; Export Development Canada; FTI Consulting; Franco-Nevada Corporation; German Mineral Resources Agency (DERA), Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR); Government of Quebec; IBK Capital Corp.; ING Capital; ING; International Finance Corporation/ World Bank Group; Investissment Quebec; KPMG Canada; Macquarie; Maverix Metals Inc.; Moelis & Company; Murdock Capital; Northcott Capital; Orion Mine Finance; Quebec Government Office in New York; Red Cloud Klondike Strike; Resource Capital Fund; Ressources Quebec; ROC Global; Rothschild; S&P Global Ratings; Sandstorm Gold Ltd.; Societe Generale; Societe du Plan Nord, Quebec; The World Bank; Triple Flag Mining Finance Ltd; U.S. Department of Interior, Bureau of Land Management; USG; Zurich NA and others

Executives from these exploration and mining companies and officials from various government agencies supporting mineral and mining investment operating in and from around the world are expected to be at CTMF 2019: Agnico Eagle Mines; AmAuCu Mining Corp.; Ammonite Resources; Andex Minerals; ArcelorMittal Mining Canada; Atlantic Gold Corporation; Aura Minerals; BHP; BlackRock Metals; Canada, Government of; Coeur Mining, Inc.; Consulate General of Canada in New York; Controlled Thermal Resources; CSN Minerals, Brazil; Doré Copper Mining Corporation; Dundee Precious Metals; Emergent Technology; Erdenes Mongol; Export Development Canada; First Quantum Minerals Limited; Franco-Nevada Corporation; Galway Metals; GAME, Inc.; German Mineral Resources Agency (DERA), Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR); Glencore; Global Sea Mineral Resources; Hecla Mining; Hudbay Minerals Inc.; International Finance Corporation/ World Bank Group; Investissement Québec; Jaxon Mining Inc.: KGHM International; Kinross Gold Co.; Leagold Mining Corporation; Lundin Mining Corp.; Mason Graphite; Maverix Metals; MERN: Quebec's  Ministère de l’Énergie et des Ressources naturelles/ Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources; Minera Gold Fields Chile; Mines Royales Quebec; Monarques Gold Corp.; Nemaska Lithium; Newmont Mining Corp.; Nouveau Monde Graphite; Novagold Resources; Ocean Minerals LLC; Orvana Minerals Corp.; PolyMet Mining; Quebec Government Office in New York; Quebec Precious Metals Corp; Ressources Quebec; Royal Gold; Sandspring Resources Ltd; Sandstorm Gold Ltd.; Sirios Resources; Societe du Plan Nord, Quebec; Sphinx Resources; Teck Resources; Texas Mineral Resources; Torex Gold Resources; Twin Pines Resources; U.S. Department of Interior, Bureau of Land Management; Volcan Compañía Minera; Zhong Guo Mining and others

Senior officers of these engineering, construction, equipment, legal, accounting, technology and other advisory companies will be there: Abernathy MacGregor; Agapito Associates; Baker McKenzie; Behre Dolbear; Black & Veatach; Blake, Cassels & Graydon; Bloomberg Intelligence; Bradford Consulting; The Brattle Group; Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck; Cementation USA; Clear Creek Digital; Colorado School of Mines; Columbia University Water Center; Control Risks; Cornell University; CPM Group; CRU; DLG Consultants; EARTHRES Group; ESG Consulting; Fasken Martineau DuMoulin; Fastmarkets; GeoGlobal; GE-Wabtec; Golder; Groff Engineering & Consulting LLC; Gustavson Associates; Hatch Advisory; Hatch; Hoal Consulting; House Mountain Partners; IDS GeoRadar; Independent Mining Consultants; InfoMine USA; Intera, Inc.; Kappes Cassidy & Associates; Lauras Liasons; LaszloPhoto; Lincoln Metallurgical; Lulea University of Technology; McGriff, Siebels & Williams; Millcreek Engineering; Miller Thomson; Mining Development Services, LLC; Mining Journal; Near Earth LLC; New Space Analytics LLC; NY SME; Panattoni Development Co.; Penguin Automated Systems.; PMV Research; Proudfoot Consulting; Ramboll; Raw Materials & Ironmaking Global Consulting; RESPEC; Riivos; Roscoe Postle Associates; RPM Global; Samuel Engineering; Sanford Rose Associates; SCM Decisions, LLC; Sepor Services LLC; Shearman & Sterling LLP; SME; Social Capital Group s.a.c.; SRK Consulting; Stagg Resource Consultants; Stantec; SynTerra Corp.; TAA Advisory; Technology Metals Research; The Climate Service; Tierra Group International; University of Delaware; University of Utah; U.S. Department of Energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory; Watson Environmental; Weir International, Inc.; Westech Engineering; White & Case LLP; Wiley Rein LLP; Wood Plc; and others. We hope you can join us! Get your questions answered

Registration will open soon for CTMF 2020. Join all to hear and meet many leading, influential experts who work with, advise and fund large, medium and small mining and exploration companies world wide. They and colleagues are typically involved with evaluating and funding the core aspects of mining projects, often including related equipment and infrastructure requirements. 

Titles of attendees include: CEO, President, Partner, Executive Director, Project Manager, Banker, VP, Engineering & Development, Corporate Finance Specialist, CFO, Treasurer, Consultant, Managing Director, Geologist, Project Geologist, Corporate Strategist, Investor, Environmental Specialist, Engineer, Mining Engineer, Lawyer, Financial and Equity Analyst, Accountant, Portfolio Manager, Controller, CTO - Chief Technology Officer, Global Leaders of Mining and Natural Resources, Founder, Economic Geologist and Community Engagement, Investor Relations Officer, Auditor, VP of Underwriting, Credit Research, Environmental Services Practice Leader and Appraiser.

Round table discussions are led by industry experts with audience participation. We hope you join us.
Francois_Bouffard_Industry_Affairs_Director_Dassault_Systemes_leading_a_Panel_Discussion_about_Successful_Use_of_Technology_in_Mining_20170502_153650.jpg

Registration will open soon for CTMF 2020 
We hope you join us at 

SME's 8th annual Current Trends in Mining Finance Conference
Connecting Mining, Finance and Engineering Executives
Sunday May 10, 2020 - Wednesday May 13, 2020

Return to this website for updates. Agenda is subject to change. CTMF 2020 will be in the same venues shown in this site. The organizers may need to close registration early*.






* Space is limited. The organizers monitor registrations and may need to close registration. Some registered delegates may be asked to be present in a second board conference room that will have live video and audio feed to the main conference or conference room G/H and or attend in a third board room to watch and hear Track 1 and or Track 2 via live audio/video feed. Additional rooms and space adjacent to the main conference room are places to relax, network, meet one on one, for quiet phone conversations, or work. 

NY SME is organizer of the 7th annual CTMF conference and is a section of Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration (SME), an association of 14,000+ geo-scientists and mining, mineral professionals in 100+ countries. SME members include mining executives, engineers, geologists, metallurgists, educators, students and researchers. SME advances the worldwide mining and underground construction community through information exchange and professional development. SME is a member society of the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical and Petroleum Engineers. The New York Section of SME encompasses the Tri-State area. Its members are given the opportunity to network with peers and hear valuable presentations through its activities. NY SME dates back to 1871 when a handful of mining engineers in New York City founded the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical and Petroleum Engineers (AIME). We invite you to join SME and visit the SME's Bookstore Catalog with a selection of economic and business texts about mining. 

CTMF 2019 Agenda and Speakers' Bios are Below

We invite you to submit eois to speak, topics, suggest speakers and be a sponsor of CTMF 2020 as soon as possible. Check back to this site for updates. Save the dates Sunday May 10 - Wednesday May 13, 2020. The 2020 agenda will be similar to the format of 2019 CTMF as is shown here Thank you sponsors of CTMF 2019 and special thanks to the Diamond Sponsors BNP ParibasRoscoe Postle AssociatesRPM GlobalShearman & Sterling, and SME We invite all to be a sponsor of CTMF 2020.  We will soon announce details about these five engaging, excellent CTMF 2020 workshops:
• An Update about U.S. SEC S-K 1300: Potential Impact on Raising Capital - Get Ready Before 2021
• Mining asset valuation and its uses

• Lessons learned from mega projects and mining projects - Key success factors
• The value of cost estimating of mining projects at the scoping stage
• Digital transformations, Technology implementation - How to get started, what to expect, how to benefit and lessons learned
• Measuring, quantifying and monetizing risk exposure in a mining organization

Join us at CTMF 2020 to meet all at the conference, breakfasts, morning and afternoon refreshment breaks, lunches, evening receptions and workshops. Share this CTMF 2020 Call for Papers Soon we will be updating this page with a preliminary agenda. In recent years CTMF hosted these outstanding key note speakers: 

  • Ross Bhappu, Partner, Head of Private Equity Funds at Resource Capital Funds
  • Government of Quebec's Mr. Pierre Fitzgibbon, Minister of Economy and Innovation and Minister Responsible for the Lanaudière Region
  • Casey Hammond, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management, U.S. Department of the Interior
  • Anthony O'Neill, Group Director, Technical & Sustainability, Anglo American Plc
  • Phillips S. Baker, Jr., President and CEO, Hecla Mining Company
  • Mario Alfonso Cantu Suarez, Under Secretary of Mining, Ministry of Economy, Mexico
  • Dr. Israel Gutierrez Guerrero, Chief Executive Officer, Mining Development Bank of Mexico

Send us your abstracts as soon as possible. Thank you in advance. We welcome you to submit your eoi to speak and your suggestions. We look forward to seeing you at CTMF 2020. 

Look below at the speakers' bios and CTMF 2019 agenda

As the industry continues to see some consolidation within a challenging environment to raise capital, consider joining us at CTMF 2020 where you can hear the latest and meet many leading experts who will address the outlook, latest key trends and issues impacting raising capital in global mining today - as well as highlight solutions, risks and opportunities.

The speakers will discuss in engaging round table discussions with audience Q&A, case studies about best practices and technology to anticipate, track, manage and reduce technical and non-technical risk, including environmental, political and financial risk. Meet leaders driving down cost, using innovative means to manage and reduce risks and add value. 

There will also be multiple panel discussions about market trends and issues impacting deals being done and panels addressing rapid, pivotal changes impacting financing projects and opportunities today. The speakers and the delegates largely reflect the level and experience of the roster of esteemed panelists. All face the challenges each day, working around the world with their colleagues, project partners and clients. 
The dual track agenda provides all attending a choice of which experts you want to meet.

At CTMF 2019 were these key note speakers.  

Government of Quebec's Mr. Pierre Fitzgibbon, Minister of Economy and Innovation and Minister responsible for the Lanaudière Region spoke about "What makes operating and investing in Quebec's mineral rich province attractive".  

Ross Bhappu, Partner, Head of Private Equity Funds at Resource Capital Funds in his key note address discussed "Where are the Public Markets for Mining? And how do we get them back?"  

Casey Hammond, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management, U.S. Department of the Interior discussed the "Latest developments impacting mining in the U.S. and Navigating the U.S. Permitting System and Operating Environment".

Members of the New York business community are welcome to 
register to attend any workshop. We will soon announce details about these five engaging, excellent CTMF 2020 workshops:

• Mining asset valuation and its uses
• Lessons learned from mega projects and mining projects - Key success factors
• The value of cost estimating of mining projects at the scoping stage
• Digital transformations, Technology implementation - How to get started, what to expect, how to benefit and lessons learned
• Measuring, quantifying and monetizing risk exposure in a mining organization

The workshops include plenty of time for delegates' Q&A and interaction. We hope you join us! 

Throughout CTMF 2020 there will be time to meet and talk with one-on-one with many key influential banking, finance and industry executives and advisers working world wide. Visit Why Attend where there is a list of many companies that attend CTMF in three categories: banking, finance, investor, private equity firms; and mining and exploration firms and professional advisory firms.

Below is the agenda and speakers at CTMF 2019. We will update this soon with the 2020 agenda.

New York SME thanks the 2019 Diamond Sponsors and all sponsors and supporters. They all make this event possible.

Thank you Shearman & Sterling, the host of CTMF 2019 and all Sponsors

The New York Section of SME, the Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration, is the organizer of the annual Current Trends in Mining Finance (CTMF) Conferences. NY SME welcomes your firm to be a sponsor please contact Tim Alch, Co Chair timalch@gmail.com

Below is the CTMF 2019 agenda. Please check back for updates and changes. For a one page schedule of events click here 

Sunday April 28, 2019 - Two Workshops  
at New York Marriott East Side Hotel at 525 Lexington Avenue, at corner of 49th Street

Noon for lunch; Start at 12:30 PM; Refreshment break at ~2:45 PM; Workshop ends at 4:30 PM
For more information about the workshops including descriptions and instructors' bios visit here 

I. Mine to Mill Reconciliation and Assessment of Productivity of a Mining Project over its Life: Importance of Post Investment Reviews – led by Abani Samal, PhD, CPG, Principal, GeoGlobal, LLC and Peter Christensen, Principal, RESPEC

II. Political Risk - Recognizing Its Impact on Mining Operations, Corporate Strategy and Investment Decision-Making – led by Michael Samis, PhD, P.Eng, Principal, SCM Decisions and team

Welcome Reception Sunday April 28 from 5 to 7 PM: All are welcome to register to attend a reception at the New York Marriott East Side Hotel at 525 Lexington Ave., at 49th St. All must register in advance. Space is limited for the Sunday reception to the first 100 registered. The Monday and Tuesday reception venues are larger. The registration fee to attend either of the Sunday Workshops includes registration for the Sunday, April 28th evening reception. Conference registration includes the Monday and Tuesday receptions.

Sponsored by Golder Associates and Blake, Cassels & Graydon and Cementation

Monday April 29, 2019 - Day One of the Conference from 7:30 AM to 5:30 PM
at Shearman & Sterling LLP at 599 Lexington Avenue, at corner of 53rd Street
Check back for updates. Content, order and times are subject to change

7:30 AM Registration and Breakfast
Sponsored by Behre Dolbear 

8:20 AM Welcome and Opening Remarks by Conference Chair and Host

NY SME, Program Chair & Executive Director and TAA Advisory, LLC: Tim Alch, Managing Partner
NY SME, Chair, Abernathy MacGregor: Alan Oshiki, Executive Vice President
Shearman & Sterling LLP: Cynthia Urda Kassis, Co - Head of Mining & Metals Group, Partner, Project Development & Finance

Cynthia Urda Kassis is a Senior Partner in the Project Development & Finance practice of the international law firm of Shearman & Sterling LLP and co-Head of their Mining & Metals Group. She represents sponsors/ borrowers/ lenders/ alternative financiers in project development and finance transactions worldwide, with extensive experience in the mining, energy and infrastructure industries. She consistently ranks as one of the leading project finance lawyers by Chambers & Partners, IFLR 1000 and Legal 500. Who’s Who named her “Project Finance Lawyer of the Year” for the second consecutive years and has also named her among the “most highly regarded individuals in the world” in the fields of project finance and mining. Her most recent work in the mining sector includes representing Mantos Copper on the financing for its proposed brownfield expansion and Orion and Blackstone on their financing for Lundin Gold’s Fruta del Norte project in Ecuador, awarded “Latin America Mining & Metals Deal of the Year” by IJ Global.

8:30 AM I.1 Capital Markets Review and Key Trends in Mining

Citibank Corporate & Investment Bank: Michael Cramer, P.Eng., Managing & Technical Director, Global Industrials, Metals & Mining
BNP Paribas: Carlos A. Urquiaga, Managing Director, Head of the Americas, Structured Debt Metals & Mining

  • What is the current environment and outlook? What sources of capital are helping miners to survive?
  • What are the key drivers? How much capital has been raised in private, public markets, stock exchanges, etc.?
  • What are debt, credit and investor trends in mining telling us about performance and risk today?
  • Are junior, medium & large companies, brown and green field projects getting funded? How? Where?

Michael Cramer, P.E., is Managing and Technical Director in the Global Metals and Mining Group at Citi. Mike has been a senior industry specialist for metals, mining, energy and industrial minerals for 30+ years, including more than 20 years at Citi, where he has been involved in numerous corporate, project, commodity and acquisition financings, public and private underwritings, equity, leveraged and asset-backed financings and M&A for mines, smelters and refineries worldwide. Mike received a B.S. in geochemical engineering from the NJ Institute of Technology/Rutgers, a M.S. in mining engineering from the Krumb School of Mines and an ABD professional degree in mineral finance from Columbia University. He is registered as a P.E. in NJ and PA; CP in mining with the AusIMM; RM in mining with SME; QP in mining and ore reserves with MMSA; and a Senior Credit Officer at Citibank.

Carlos A. Urquiaga is Managing Director and Head of BNP Paribas’ mine financing team for the Americas. He is based in New York. Carlos has been a financier of metals and mining, energy and infrastructure assets for over 20 years and was involved in strategic corporate finance activities before transitioning to his banking career in New York. Prior to joining BNP Paribas in 2008, Carlos was a Director in Citigroup’s Global Project Finance team, where he held different positions, including origination, execution and portfolio management. He has advised on and / or financed the acquisition, development and expansion of mining and metal assets, infrastructure transportation assets, natural gas pipelines, refineries and electric generation projects throughout the Americas.

9:15 AM I.2 Disruption in Mining Finance – Show me the money!

Commonwealth Bank of Australia: Alan Halimi, Managing Director, Metals & Mining (Ch)
Ernst & Young Canada: Jeff Swinoga, Canadian Metals and Mining Leader
White & Case LLP: Rebecca Campbell, Head,Global Mining & Metals Industry Group

  • How are deals and financings being structured right now? How are terms and conditions changing?
  • What are debt and credit trends in mining telling us about performance and risk today?
  • Which types of projects are attracting bankers, lenders, investors and alternative sources of capital?
  • What is the outlook? What or who are the potential near-term disruptive providers of mining finance?
  • What factors will make or break the adoption of these disruptive financing sources by the sector
  • What can we learn from other sectors – are they too evolving their financing sources and structures?

Alain Halimi is Head of Metals & Mining, Americas, for Commonwealth Bank of Australia. Alain leads Commonwealth Bank of Australia’s mining and metals debt platform for base, precious and specialty metals and bulk commodities in the Americas and EMEA. Alain has been a financier in natural resources, energy and infrastructure for 10+ years, originating secured and unsecured debt financing, project financing, acquisition financing, capital markets, mezzanine and holdco PIK financings and advising clients on a range of project financings, acquisitions and divestitures transactions. He has completed 100+ transactions with combined value of US$30+ billion in the Americas, EMEA and Asia Pacific. Earlier, Mr. Halimi was a VP at BNP Paribas New York in the Metals & Mining Structured Debt Group advising or arranging transactions for international mining and metals clients including origination, structuring, negotiation and closing of numerous limited and non‐recourse project & structured financings, in the capacity of agent/underwriter.

Rebecca Campbell is the Head of White & Case's Global Mining & Metals Industry Group. Under her leadership, the M&M team has delivered on a series of highly complex cross border deals. In 2018, Rebecca co-founded the W&C Battery Supply Chain Working Group, a global cross-practice, cross-industry working group that seeks to capitalise on the fast-evolving opportunities and innovative transactions across the battery supply chain. She also led a campaign on the Digitalisation of the Mining and Metals Global Supply Chain, where she co-authored and published three articles. An emerging area of focus for Rebecca and the team is the potential for digital capital raising in the M&M sector.

Jeff Swinoga as EY’s Canadian Mining & Metals Leader and a leader in the capital markets with an extensive network brings a strategic perspective to clients focused on business objectives driving growth, efficiencies, implementing systems and raising capital. Jeff has over 25 years of international experience in the mining and finance industries. He has proven leadership and strategic capabilities, recently as CEO of an international gold development company and over 12 years of CFO experience leading teams to finance and develop numerous international mining projects. He has served on Boards of publicly traded companies and was Audit Committee Chairman of First Cobalt and Tonbridge Power. He was a board member of the Silver Institute. He is experienced with mining companies at operating and development stages, including gold, silver, copper, zinc, potash, platinum and palladium, in North and South America and Africa. Jeff has led numerous project financings totaling over $2 billion, raised over $400 million in equity as well as led other innovative capital raising transactions.

10:00 AM Key Note Speaker: Resource Capital Funds: Ross Bhappu, Partner, Head Partner of Private Equity Funds

"Where are the Public Markets for Mining? And how do we get them back?"

Ross Bhappu will present his view of the mining sector that in recent years has not been of interest to 'generalist' investors because the industry recently has been poor at generating good returns for investors. Ross will discuss recent trends and data about money leaving the sector and investor sentiment about the sector being anemic, at best. He will also explain what
needs to be done to turn the ship and demonstrate that the mining industry can be a good sector in which to invest.

Ross Bhappu has been with RCF since the beginning of its second fund in 2001. His experience in the mining industry includes working for both major and junior mining companies in operational, business development and management roles. Prior to joining RCF, Ross served as the CEO of a development stage mining company. Additional experience includes serving as Director of Business Development for Newmont Mining Corp. and various technical and commercial roles for Cyprus Minerals Co. (now part of Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold) where was involved in the construction and operation of the rebuilt Miami Copper Smelter in Arizona.

Ross currently serves on the boards of directors of portfolio company Lighthouse Resources Inc. and the Lowell Institute for Mineral Resources. He previously held Director roles with a number of mining companies including Traxys S.A., Molycorp, Constellation Copper, EMED Mining and Anglo Asian Mining. Ross recently concluded his three-year term on the board of directors of the Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration (SME). He holds a Ph.D. in Mineral Economics from the Colorado School of Mines and B.S. and M.S. degrees in Metallurgical Engineering from the University of Arizona.

Established in 1998, Resource Capital Funds (RCF) pioneered the concept of a mining-focused private equity fund. RCF is a specialist in mining and partners with companies to build strong, successful and sustainable businesses that strive to produce superior returns for all stakeholders. RCF’s management team consists of individuals with extensive commercial and technical experience in the mining industry. www.resourcecapitalfunds.com

10:30 AM Refreshment Break
Sponsored by Hatch Advisory

10:50 AM I.3 Mining M&A and Consolidation Trends – Shearman Room

Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP: Geoffrey Belsher, New York Office, Managing Partner (Ch)
Ernst & Young LLP: Robert Stall, MRICS, ASA, U.S. Mining & Metals Leader, Americas Director of the Capital Equipment Group, Transaction Advisory Services
Shearman & Sterling, LLP: Anthony Lepere, Partner, Project Development & Finance group
Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP: Andrew J. McLeod, Partner

What are the implications of the recent mergers, acquisitions in the gold mining industry? Is this the start of a larger consolidation trend? What other mining sectors may be next? Will this result in better returns for shareholders? Or lead to jettisoning of non-material, non-core assets and write-downs? Is consolidation healthy? What issues and metrics impact valuations, M&A, impairments, write-offs and deals getting done? Are more cross-border transactions coming? How are changing ESG regulations, best practices and related issues being handled? Where is M&A activity greatest?

Geoffrey S. Belsher is Managing Partner of Blake’s New York office. He specializes in cross-border M&A and corporate finance with a focus on the mining sector. Geoff advises Canadian, U.S. and international public and private companies, investment dealers, private equity, venture capital and alternative investment funds with respect to Canadian law matters. He frequently acts as lead special counsel to boards of directors and special committees in M&A and has been special counsel in a number of high-profile Canadian hostile takeover bids in the mining sector. Geoff is one of only a few lawyers in New York City ranked as a leading lawyer by The International Who’s Who of Business Lawyers: Mining 2018. He taught advanced M&A at the University of British Columbia Law School for 10 years before relocating to New York.

Robert Stall is a Principal in EY’s Transaction Advisory Services group. He is U.S. Mining & Metals Leader, the Americas Director of the Capital Equipment Group and leads EY’s southeast area Valuation Advisors practices. Bob will discuss the current state and outlook for coal mining and power sectors. Mr. Stall represents the Capital Equipment team on EY’s Global Valuation and Business Modeling Steering Committee. He has been active in the appraisal industry since 1987. Mr. Stall specializes in valuing machinery and equipment in numerous industries. These studies have addressed a variety of value premises, including fair market value, fair value, investment value, liquidation value and forced liquidation value. These studies have been conducted for the purpose of financial and tax allocations, residual forecasting, sale-leaseback financing, asset-based financing, bankruptcy proceedings, interest expense apportionment, ad valorem tax and litigation.

Anthony Lepere is part of Shearman & Sterling’s Project Development & Finance group, based in London. Anthony’s practice focuses upon corporate and project development work in the mining sector. He advises sponsors, lenders and governments in relation to structural, financial and operational issues in both mature and emerging markets. Anthony trained as a mining lawyer in Perth, Western Australia during the period now referred to as the commodities super-cycle and has spent much of the past decade helping mining industry participants to engage with political and economic regulators around the world.

Andrew McLeod, a partner of Blakes, practices in the area of corporate law with a focus on Canadian, cross-border and international mergers and acquisitions and corporate finance. He represents a number of publicly traded and private companies in financings, M&A, negotiation of commercial agreements, and ongoing governance and disclosure matters. He has advised boards of directors, special committees, investment bankers; private equity, venture capital and alternative investment funds. Andrew has extensive experience advising clients in a number of industries, with a particular focus on the natural resources and technology sectors. He is one of the partners responsible for the Firm’s U.S. and Emerging Companies initiatives.

10:50 AM I.3A Metals Pricing Trends & Outlook: What’s Different? - Conference Room G/H

Bloomberg Intelligence: Mike McGlone, Senior Commodity Analyst (Ch)
CPM Group: 
Jeffrey Christian, Managing Director (Ch)
Raw Materials & Ironmaking Global Consulting: Dr. Joseph J. Poveromo, President
The World Bank: John Baffes, Senior Economist, Macroeconomics, Trade & Investment

This panel will focus on discussion of key drivers and the outlook for the metals markets. What is China’s impact? How is the mining industry managing the price volatility seen and the cycle in recent years? Which sectors and trends are favorable? What technical and regional issues impact pricing and margins realized by miners? How will economic growth worldwide and locally impact pricing, supply and demand? What is the outlook near term?

Mike McGlone is a Senior Commodity Analyst for Bloomberg Intelligence. Mike specializes in the broad investible commodity markets. Mike joined Bloomberg in 2016 with over 25 years of futures and commodity trading and investing experience, beginning at the Chicago Board of Trade. Prior to joining Bloomberg, he was a head of U.S. research at ETF Securities. Prior to ETF Securities, Mike headed the commodity business at S&P Indices. His previous roles included head of futures research at ABN Amro and VP research, analyst, trader and sales at Aubrey G. Lanston / IBJ Futures. He is a CFA Charter holder and has earned a Financial Risk Manager (FRM) designation.

Jeffrey Christian
is Managing Partner of CPM Group. Jeffrey has been a prominent analyst and advisor on precious metals and commodities markets since the 1970’s, with work spanning precious metals, energy markets, base metals, agricultural markets, and economic analysis in general. Jeffrey is considered one of the most knowledgeable experts on precious metals markets, commodities in general, and financial engineering using options for hedging and investing purposes. He is the author of Commodities Rising, 2006. He founded the company in 1986, spinning off the Commodities Research Group from Goldman, Sachs & Co. and its commodities trading arm, J. Aron & Company. He has advised many of the world’s largest corporations and institutional investors on managing their commodities price and market exposures, as well as providing advisory services to the World Bank, United Nations, International Monetary Fund, and numerous governments.

Joseph J. Poveromo received his Ph.D. in 1974 at the Center for Process Metallurgy, State U. of New York/Buffalo after receiving a BS Chem. Eng. from Rensselaer Poly. He then joined Bethlehem Steel’s Homer Research Laboratories. In 1993 he established his consultancy, Raw Materials & Ironmaking Global Consulting. From 1993 through 2008 his principal client was the Quebec Cartier Mining Company, for whom he served as Director Technology-International. Currently, he consults for steel, iron ore, other natural resource, technology provider, financial and consultancy companies on a global basis. Dr. Poveromo is a Distinguished Member of AIST (Assoc. of Iron & Steel Technology); his awards include the T. L. Joseph Award for long-standing contributions to ironmaking technology. He is also a Special Member of the IIMA (International Iron Metallics Association).

John Baffes is a Senior Economist with the World Bank’s Prospects Group where he is currently managing the Commodity Markets Outlook, a World Bank publication focusing on commodity market analysis and price forecasts. John has worked in several Units within the World Bank, including Latin America, South Asia, East Africa, Evaluation, Research. He has written extensively in the areas of economic development, agricultural economics, resource economics, and applied econometrics. John is also teaching an executive training course on Applied Econometrics for Commodity Markets. John has studied Economics (BS, University of Athens, Greece), Agricultural Economics (MS, University of Georgia, U.S.), and Agricultural and Resource Economics (Ph.D., University of Maryland, U.S.)

11:35 AM I.4 Investment Implications of U.S. SEC’s Rule S-K 1300 - Shearman Room

SRK Consulting (U.S.), Inc.: Ben Parsons BSc, MSc, MAusIMM (CP), Principal Consultant (Resource Geology) (Ch)
SRK Consulting: Matthew Sullivan, 
Consultant, Mining Economics
Shearman & Sterling, LLP: Jason Lehner, Partner, Co - Head Metals and Mining
Roscoe Postle Associates: Deborah McCombe, P.Geo, President & CEO, Principal Geologist

This panel will focus on the investment implications of the U.S. SEC’s Rule S-K 1300 and what it may mean for existing or new potential listings, and what mining companies may need to do to get their projects ready.

Ben Parsons, MSc, MAusIMM (CP), Principal Consultant (Resource Geologist), Mr. Ben Parsons has over 18 years of broad geological experience, specializing in gold mining. Since joining SRK, Ben’s responsibilities have included the generating of geological modelling, the production of independent mineral resource and ore reserve estimates, due diligence, planning managing/ supervising and auditing of exploration/mining projects, project evaluation as part of Competent Person’s/Mineral Expert Reports and stock exchange listings, technical reviews, and project managing of technical studies such as exploration programs, mineral resource and ore reserve studies, scoping/conceptual studies, pre/definitive feasibility study projects and Competent Persons Reports. International projects include gold, silver, base metals, copper, molybdenum, niobium and phosphate.

Jason Lehner is a Partner in the Capital Markets practice and Head of the Mining & Metals Group. He is the Toronto office Managing Partner. He focuses on advising issuers and investment banks in a broad range of public and private capital markets transactions, including high yield debt issuances, leveraged buyouts and acquisition financings, cross-border securities offerings and liability management transactions. He also advises U.S. and Canadian corporations with respect to corporate governance spin offs and other general corporate matters. He has worked on transactions involving companies in a broad range of industries, including mining and metals, media and telecommunications, power and energy, general industrials, consumer retail and forest products.

Deborah McCombe, P.Geo., President and CEO of RPA, has over 30 years’ experience in project management, feasibility studies, reserve estimation, due diligence studies and valuation studies. Deborah has worked in North and South America, Asia and Africa. Prior to joining RPA, Ms. McCombe was Chief Mining Consultant for the Ontario Securities Commission. Ms. McCombe is the author of numerous articles and presentations prepared to assist mining companies, lawyers and engineering professionals to better understand the Canadian disclosure rules for mineral projects (NI43-101). She was awarded the Robert Elver Mineral Economics Award by the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM) for her contributions to the establishment of NI 43-101 and her efforts as head of the Committee for Mineral Reserves International Reporting Standards (CRIRSCO) in the coordination of worldwide standards for resource/reserve reporting. She is also the recipient of the Canadian Professional Geoscientist Award and is chair of the CIM Mineral Resource and Mineral Reserve Committee.

Matthew Sullivan has a metallurgical engineering and economics background with ten years of experience analyzing, optimizing and valuing mining operations from internal and external positions. Mr. Sullivan has extensive experience designing and leading diligence processes for mining assets ranging from early stage exploration through to operating mines. He has priced, negotiated and closed mining deals across the globe in a wide variety of commodities via structures ranging from royalty and equity investment to term and convertible debt facilities. His experience as a mining sector professional funding the development and operation of mining assets provides a unique perspective on what it takes to study, build, operate and invest in the mining sector.

11:35 AM I.4A Critical Battery Trends’ Impact on Raw Materials Supply Chains - Conference Room G/H

Hatch Advisory: Robert Doyle, Regional Director, Investment & Business Planning (Ch)
Technology Metals Research, LLC: Jack Lifton, Co-Founder
Controlled Thermal Resources: Rod Colwell, CEO and Founding Director
House Mountain Partners: Chris Berry, President

In recent years there is growing interest and technology developments and investment trends impacting critical mineral supply chains, including lithium, cobalt and nickel for example. This panel will highlight key challenges, end product and mining trends that impact financing mining, battery, energy storage and power generation: What are the challenges and constraints the financial and investment community face and opportunities to bring a new project to market in the battery metals space and difficulties associated with attracting capital to bring projects from concept to reality?

Robert (Bob) Doyle brings over 15 years of experience in structuring and arranging financing for natural resource projects around the globe. Bob spent the first nine years of his banking career working in Washington, DC for the Export-Import Bank of the U.S. where he managed a portfolio of over $10 billion in projects around the globe. From 2011, Bob worked in New York for Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and ABN AMRO Bank in export, project and natural resources finance. Bob currently serves as the New York Regional Director for Hatch’s Investment & Business Planning group, where he oversees engagements with financial stakeholders to conduct due diligence on their planned investments.

Jack Lifton was a co-founder of Technology Metals Research, LLC. He is also a consultant, author, and lecturer on the market fundamentals of the technology metals, the term that he coined to describe those strategic rare metals whose electronic properties make our technological society possible. These include the rare earths, the battery metals, such as lithium and cobalt, and most of the rare metals. Educated as a physical chemist, specializing in high-temperature metallurgy, Jack was first a researcher before becoming both a marketing and manufacturing executive. Finally, he became a metal trader specializing in the field of technology metals and of rare metals.

Rod Colwell is a seasoned corporate executive specializing in property, geothermal and minerals commercial development. Rod combines his 25 years’ experience in the property and energy sectors to lead the commercialization of new projects with an emphasis on value realization and capital management. Rod currently leads the development of CTR’s rapid lithium extraction and geothermal project Hell’s Kitchen Lithium; located in California, USA. The project is in the advanced stages of development and is driven by a clean energy mandate. From concept and feasibility through to design and production, Rod’s leadership and vision is focused on ensuring secure, viable and competitive minerals and energy solutions for the future.

Chris Berry, President, House Mountain Partners is an independent commodity analyst with a focus on how disruptive trends in energy, strategic metals, and technology create opportunities. He provides strategic insights to clients in the academic and corporate worlds on the above topics and has a specific focus on Energy Metals including lithium, cobalt, graphite, vanadium, and rare earths. He speaks at conferences around the world and is frequently quoted in the press providing a vision on these topics. Chris has additional experience as the co-founder of a start-up for investors which dealt with ‘computing with words’ and also occasionally writes a blog titled The Disruptive Discoveries Journal. Chris holds a Master of Business Administration in finance with an international focus from Fordham University, and a Bachelor of Arts in international studies from The Virginia Military Institute.

12:20 PM Key Note Speaker Lunch

12:35 PM Key Note Speaker - Government of Quebec's Mr. Pierre Fitzgibbon Minister of Economy and Innovation and Minister Responsible for the Lanaudière Region

"What makes operating and investing in Quebec's mineral rich province attractive"

Sponsored by Government of Quebec

Pierre Fitzgibbon was born in Montréal. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management from École des Hautes Études Commerciales de Montréal (HEC) and is a Quebec Chartered Professional Accountant. Before becoming involved in politics, Mr. Fitzgibbon served as managing partner at Walter Capital Partners, a private Equity Firm, between 2015 and 2018.

From 2007 to 2014, Mr. Fitzgibbon assumed the role of president and chief executive officer at Atrium Innovations, a company that develops, manufactures and markets value added products for the health and nutrition industry. From 2002 to 2007, he put his skills to work at National Bank Group, where he occupied the position of vice-chairman of National Bank Financial, where he mainly acted as head of investment banking and corporate finance services. He was also senior vice president of finance, technology and corporate affairs at National Bank of Canada. Previously, Mr. Fitzgibbon also held executive positions in finance, as well as in company and business development at Télésystème Mobiles International, Chase Capital Partners Hong Kong, Domtar and Peerless Carpet Corporation. 

He began his career at PricewaterhouseCoopers in auditing and consulting services. Over the last few years, Mr. Fitzgibbon has served on several boards of directors, including that of Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, WSP, Héroux-Devtek, TC Transcontinental, Cycle Capital Management, Neptune Technologies, Lumenpulse and Arianne Phosphate. This committed businessman is involved in his community
and in several organizations, including until recently, the Fondation du Dr Julien.

1:30 PM I.5 Important Local, Federal, Government Tax Law Changes – Shearman Room

KPMG Canada: Penelope Woolford, Partner, International Corporate Tax Leader (Ch)
First Quantum Minerals Limited: David Silvestro, Head of Tax
KPMG LLP Canada: Keno Chan, Partner, U.S. Corporate Tax 
Lundin Mining Corporation: Theresa Murakami, CA, Director, Tax

Join this panel discussion about tax uncertainties faced by mining companies operating in various jurisdictions. How do leading companies manage the tax function in light of legislative changes? This panel will address ways in which mining companies mitigate their tax risk in an environment of change and uncertainty and will focus on the potential impact on the mining industry in light of several new recent tax law changes as well as discussion of pending and discussed complex prospective tax changes around the world.

Penny Woolford (FCPA, FCA) is the current National Leader of the International Corporate Tax practice of KPMG LLP (Canada). Penny has over 31 years tax experience specializing in corporate tax with an emphasis on International Tax, corporate reorganizations, financings and mergers and acquisitions. She belongs to a number of professional organizations including The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario, The Canadian Tax Foundation, and the Canadian branch of the International Fiscal Association. Penny is a frequent speaker at tax conferences and has authored numerous articles on international tax matters. She has been recognized as a top leader in tax for the past 4 years in International Tax Review’s Women in Tax Leaders guide.

David Silvestro is Head of Tax at First Quantum Minerals Ltd, a major copper producing company with mining operations throughout Africa, Europe and South America. Prior to this he was Group Tax Manager at Tullow Oil Plc, a leading oil and gas independent. Mr. Silvestro has over 20 years of experience in leading tax teams in the energy and natural resources industries with a particular focus on emerging markets. He has been responsible for tax issues associated with major resource development projects including break through oil projects in Ghana, Uganda and large scale mine projects such as in Zambia and Panama, collectively investments worth over $20 billion. He has experience in government fiscal negotiation and dispute resolution and broad experience in working through a broad range of tax matters from tax and investment policy through to managing operational tax risks in uncertain fiscal environments. Mr Silvestro has lead and managed a range of direct and indirect tax issues through the whole natural resource project live cycle from exploration to rehabilitation and asset closures. He has enjoyed working on large scale energy and mining projects which have had transformational change in local communities. Mr Silvestro is a Chartered Accountant who holds a finance degree from Curtin University in Western Australia.

Keno Chan is a partner in KPMG Canada’s U.S. Corporate Tax practice and has over 17 years of experience in providing tax consulting, planning and compliance services to multinational clients in various industries, including mining, on a variety of U.S. federal and state income tax matters. Keno has advised corporate and pass-through clients on numerous cross-border transactions, including mergers, reorganizations, acquisitions, divestitures, restructurings, public and private offerings and financings.

Theresa Murakami, CPA, CA is the Director of Tax at Lundin Mining Corporation. Theresa began her tax career at PwC 14 years ago in corporate tax and joined Lundin in January 2012. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Toronto and is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CA).

1:30 PM I.5A Extraterrestrial (Space) Mining, Challenges and Opportunities - Conference Room G/H

Colorado School of Mines: Jamal Rostami, PhD, Hadden/Alacer Gold Endowed Chair, Director of the Excavation Engineering and Earth Mechanics Institute (EMI), Department of Mining Engineering (Ch)
New Space Analytics LLC, Brad Blair, Managing General Partner
Penguin Automated Systems Inc.: Greg Baiden, PhD, Chairman and Chief Technology Officer
Near Earth LLC: Hoyt Davidson, Founder and Managing Partner

This panel will discuss the current technical, market and business case for Lunar Mining. The dialogue will focus on identifying primary and byproduct ores, markets and customers for lunar resources, the current state of technology readiness, primary risks, lunar exploration & excavation, requirements for mechanization and automation, financing options and investment opportunities.

Dr. Jamal Rostami is the Haddon/Alacer Gold Endowed Chair and Director of the Excavation Engineering and Earth Mechanics Institute (EMI) of the Dept. of Mining Engineering at Colorado School of Mines (CSM). He has a BSc, MSc and PhD in mining engineering and has been a faculty at CSM, Univ. of Tehran and PennState, also few years as full time consultant. He has over 26 years of experience in the field of mining, tunneling, underground construction, and space resources. Dr. Rostami is a registered Professional Engineering (PE) in Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. He has published over 80 peer reviewed journal publication and 150 conference papers and many technical reports.

Brad Blair holds degrees in geology, mining engineering and mineral economics from Colorado School of Mines. In over 25 years of commercial mining and space resource related work, he has participated in several startup companies such as NewSpace Analytics, created the first commercial lunar resource business model for the NASA Exploration Team in 2002, developed models for commercial lunar mining for Raytheon and Bechtel, served as a consultant for the Canadian Space Agency to develop a plan for underground lunar mining, served as a Guest Lecturer on lunar and asteroid mining at Singularity University and has served on the Board of Directors for the National Space Society. He is a trained and experienced cost estimator using the NASA and Air Force Cost Model (NAFCOM) and has competed in two NASA Centennial Challenges. Blair is also the lead author of a book about Space Mineral Resources and has recently helped design a boulder grabbing and retrieval concept and prototype for the NASA Asteroid Return Mission (ARM) program.

Greg Baiden is Chairman and Chief Technology Officer of Penguin Automated Systems Inc., a leading private research and development company that provides mobile robotic technology solutions for numerous clients in various industries around the world. Dr. Baiden holds a Ph.D. in Mining Engineering with a speciality in technology and economics. In 2001, he was awarded the prestigious Canadian Research Chair in Robotics and Mine Automation at Laurentian. Dr. Baiden was a professor at Laurentian University for 14 years before leaving to grow Penguin Automated Systems Inc. in Naughton. Prior to this work he was a member of Inco Limited’s Senior Management Team from 1986-2001, Dr. Baiden was responsible for all corporate mining research including the development of the first pilot scale “Intelligent Mine”. Dr. Baiden served on the Board of Directors for several national and international boards.

Hoyt Davidson is founder and Managing Partner of Near Earth LLC, an investment bank focused on the space industry and providing M&A, strategic and financial advisory services and equity private placements. Formerly, Hoyt was a Managing Director at CSFB and DLJ where he co-founded Wall Street’s first dedicated coverage group for the commercial satellite industry. While there, he participated in financings totaling over $15 billion. Additionally: Board of XO Markets Holding, parent of NanoRacks; Space Foundation (Treasurer); NSS (VP-Development); MBA - MIT’s Sloan School (1987), Henry B. duPont III Scholarship for academic excellence; Senior Research Engineer at Lockheed Missiles and Space Company (1979 to 1985) and BS Physics - MIT (1979).

2:20 PM I.6 Navigating Financial Assurance Requirements for Mines – Shearman Room

McGriff, Siebels & Williams, Inc.: W. Cliff Yeckes, P.G., Sr. Vice President & Environmental Services Practice Leader (Ch)
Colorado School of Mines, Graham A. Davis, PhD, Professor Emeritus
PolyMet Mining, Inc.: Patrick Keenan, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
AXA XL: Patrick Dougherty, Vice President, Regional Director, Commercial Bonds

Mines must provide financial assurance (FA) to satisfy environmental compliance, reclamation, closure and post closure obligations. While jurisdictional requirements differ; cash, letters of credit, surety bonds and combinations thereof are most often utilized. How these instruments are secured, their cost and collateralization is based on the quality of the miner’s financials. Understanding each instrument is the first step. However, balancing the ratios of these instruments is key to a successful financial assurance package that will satisfy all participating parties. This panel will discuss the regulatory basis for the FA, the types of products which will satisfy the FA, securing those products, optimal FA structures, collateralization, attracting investors and recent examples.

Cliff Yeckes
is a SVP and Environmental Practice Leader with McGriff, Seibel & Williams, Inc. For over 30 years, Cliff has been providing technical consultation and insurance brokerage to energy, mining, utility and commercial sector clients to reduce their geo-environmental risk and financial assurance obligations. These matters impact their current operations and legacy portfolios. He then assists in the development and implementation of approaches for prudently managing or transferring those risks, often utilizing insurance and surety products. Cliff earned an MBA from the University of Utah and a B.Sc. in Geosciences from the University of Arizona. He is a Registered Professional Geologist and licensed insurance professional in several states.

Graham A. Davis is William J. Coulter Professor of Mineral Economics at the Colorado School of Mines, where he has taught and researched mineral economics for 23 years. He holds a B.S. in Metallurgical Engineering from Queen’s University, an MBA from the University of Cape Town, and a Ph.D. in Mineral Economics from the Pennsylvania State University. Prior to joining academia Graham worked as a metallurgical engineer at mines in Canada and Namibia. His research focuses on the valuation of mineral and energy assets under uncertainty, and on the impacts of mining on economic and human development. He serves on the editorial board of Resources Policy, an international journal devoted to minerals policy and economics. Graham is a Registered member of the Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration. He is also a Fellow of the Australasian Institute of Mining & Metallurgy. In 2014 he received the Mineral Economics Award from SME/AIME.

Patrick Keenan joined PolyMet Mining in June 2017 as chief financial officer, bringing more than 25 years of finance and mining industry experience to the executive team. He is a member of the senior executive leadership team, contributing to the overall strategic direction of the company.  Mr. Keenan previously served as senior vice president, finance and treasurer at Newmont Mining, which he joined after more than 20 years at Rio Tinto, where he served in a variety of leadership roles including chief financial officer for Rio Tinto’s Energy Group based in Brisbane, Australia, chief financial officer for Kennecott Utah Copper in Salt Lake City, and Rio Tinto Diamonds based in London. In these roles he had financial oversight of major open pit and underground mining operations and projects globally including diamond, uranium and coal mines, and the Bingham Canyon copper mine in Utah, one of the larger open pit copper mines in the world.  Mr. Keenan holds a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from the University of Utah. He resides in Minnesota.

Patrick Dougherty has been VP/Regional Director for Commercial Bonds at AXA XL and handles the Northeast/Mid-Atlantic US territories as well as Canada. Mr. Dougherty oversaw the field underwriting and marketing in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast territories for Nationwide Commercial Surety. Prior to that, Pat began his surety career with Safeco Insurance, which in 2008 was acquired by Liberty Mutual and served Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Mid-Atlantic regions where he handled a large commercial surety book of Fortune 500/1000 and large private/non-profit organizations. Pat obtained a BS in Finance from the University of Pittsburgh and holds an AFSB designation.

2:20 PM I.6A Ocean Minerals: A New Frontier to Recover Minerals - Conference Room G/H

Behre Dolbear Group: Chris Wyatt, Director (Ch)
Ocean Minerals, LLC: John Halkyard Sc. D., P.E., Chairman and President (Ch)
University of Delaware: Saleem H. Ali, Ph.D., Energy and Environment Professor
Blue Globe Solutions, Director and Global Sea Mineral Resources, Head of Sustainability & External Relations: Dr. Samantha Smith

This panel of experts will discuss the latest trends and developments impacting the economic recovery of mineral resources, including critical metals from the ocean floors. Topics to be covered include: where is the first commercial scale operation going to be? what has changed in recent years making ocean mining economic? how are operators managing and navigating the regulatory environment? what equipment and technology makes it possible? what is the significance of these developments and where will the impact be felt in the global supply chain of minerals today?

Chris Wyatt has over 25 years of experience in the minerals industry including executive level operational and consulting management positions. He on the Board of Directors of Behre Dolbear and the President of WYCO a mineral advisory firm. He is actively working with multiple Contractors in the evaluation of their contract areas in the Clarion Clipperton Zone (CCZ) and has participated in several evaluation sampling cruises. He is a Registered Member, Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration as well as a Qualified Person with the Mining and Metallurgical Society of America. He is a Certified Mineral Appraiser with the International Institute of Minerals Appraisers and a member of the Society of Economic Geologists, International Marine Minerals Society and the Deep-Sea Biology Society.

Dr. John Halkyard is an ocean engineer with over 40 years’ experience in deep ocean system development, including deep ocean mining and floating production systems (FPS). Between 1971 - 1980 he was Chief Ocean Engineer for a consortium pursuing manganese nodules led by Kennecott Copper Company. He also served as Secretary of the Consortium and was responsible for a detailed feasibility study compiled by Bechtel Corporation. After the mining consortium closed in 1980 Dr. Halkyard engaged in a highly successful career in the offshore oil & gas industry. He returned to ocean mining in 2010 founding Deep Reach Technology, Inc. to provide consulting services, and in 2015 he founded Ocean Minerals, LLC to pursue a venture to extract rare earth elements from the seabed in the Cook Islands exclusive economic zone. Dr. Halkyard received his Sc. D. from MIT and is a registered professional engineer in California. He has served on the Marine Board of the NAE, is a Life Fellow of ASME, SNAME and a Member of SME.

Professor Saleem H. Ali is an environmental planner whose research and practice focuses on ways of resolving ecological conflicts. Professor Saleem holds the Blue and Gold Distinguished Professorship in Energy and the Environment with tenure in Department of Geography at the University of Delaware. He is also a Senior Fellow at Columbia University’s Center on Sustainable Investment. Professor Saleem has held the Chair in Sustainable Resources Development at the University of Queensland’s Sustainable Minerals Institute in Brisbane, Australia (where he retains professorial affiliation). His books include “Treasures of the Earth” (Yale University Press). He received his doctorate in environmental planning from MIT.

Dr. Samantha Smith has 20 years’ experience conducting environmental assessments in a number of countries, covering four continents, and has 13 years’ experience working with the deep seafloor minerals sector. Samantha has a PhD in Environmental Biology/Biogeochemistry from the University of Bristol (UK) and is a Director of the International Marine Minerals Society and a Fellow of AusIMM.  Samantha is the former VP Corporate Social Responsibility for Nautilus Minerals and she now runs the environmental consultancy Blue Globe Solutions, and is Head of Sustainability and External Relations at Global Sea Mineral Resources, a company focused on the recovery of polymetallic nodules from the seafloor to help meet sustainable development goals.

3:10 PM Refreshment Break
Sponsored by Hatch Advisory

3:30 PM I.7 Post Investment Technical Reviews to Avoid Risks of Loss of Value – Shearman Room

GeoGlobal LLC: Abani R. Samal, PhD, Principal (Ch)
RESPEC: Peter Christensen, Principal Consultant
Dundee Precious Metals: Ian Lipchak, P.Eng. Manager, Project Evaluation

Investments of exploration and mining projects are made with an expectation of return on investment that is dependent on the performance of the execution of the exploration or mining project. In case of the exploration project, the success of exploration may result in growth of share value due to increased quantity and measurable confidence on mineral resources. For an operating mining project, the measure of success may be increased production of the metal or, consistent improvements in achieving targets (defined through a long term mine plan), which in turn contributes to the cash flow of the project. It is very important to review and monitor the performance of the project on a regular basis to ensure the return on investment and avoid risk of loss.

Abani R. Samal has been in the mining industry since 1996. He has worked worldwide in various projects. D.r Samal is well-recognized in industry for his expertise in advanced geostatistics, mineral resource estimation and strategic advice for mineral resource development. Currently, he is providing consulting services to exploration and mining firms worldwide. Most recently, he advised Anglo American, Nevada Copper, World Bank, and Government of Nigeria.

Peter Christensen has extensive international mining experience. He has held senior positions with major mining companies, contractors, and service providers. Mr. Christensen has experience in managing feasibility studies, mine development, mining method and equipment selection, mine planning, cost estimation, and reserves estimation. He has conducted due diligence on mining assets on all continents; economic and financial evaluations of mining operations; reserve audits; operational and HSE audits; provided litigation support; and undertaken reviews of mining practices, cost structures, and operating performance. His commodity experience includes coal, lignite, potash, trona, oil sands, oil shale, gold, silver, copper, beryllium, tin, nickel, bauxite, mineral sands, limestone, aggregates, and clays.

Ian Lipchak, P.Eng. Manager, Project Evaluations Dundee Precious Metals, is a Mining Engineer with 16 years of experience in operations, consulting and technology. He holds a B.Sc. in Mining Engineering from Queen’s University at Kingston, Ontario, where he also teaches an online course on Underground Mine Planning, and is a licensed Professional Engineer in the province of British Columbia. Ian has worked at mines in Canada and the USA for Newmont, Barrick, Placer Dome and Goldcorp. He has worked as a consultant with SRK Consulting and AMC Consultants in Vancouver, and also Datamine, where he managed their underground mine planning solution, and Maptek. Dundee Precious Metals, along with MineRP and its other technology partners, has pioneered the integration of technology into the mine planning and operations process, enabling better decision-making and on-target results.

3:30 I.7A Energy Prices, Trends and Opportunities - Conference Room G/H

Northcott Capital: Richard Reeves, Managing Director (Ch)
PMV Research LLC: Michael Spohn, Independent Investment Analyst, Natural Resources
Capstone Headwaters: Ray M. McCormick, Managing Director, Energy & Natural Resources
Golder Associates Inc.: Mathew Oommen, Ph.D, Mining Practice Leader, Associate

This panel will focus on discussion of key drivers and the outlook for the coal, uranium and energy markets focused on North America and where the opportunities are. What is China’s impact? How is the industry managing the price volatility and changing regulatory environment in recent years? What technical and technology issues are impacting the sector the most? Margins realized by miners? How is global economic growth and locally impacting the outlook?

Rick Reeves is a Managing Director at Northcott Capital, providing independent financial advisory services focusing on clients in the Americas, but including projects on a global basis, as required. He has 24 years of experience in: marketing, structuring and executing mining finance transactions and advisory; valuation; and mine feasibility and mineral development projects. Previously, Mr. Reeves worked as an investment banker at MUFG, Deutsche Bank and Barclays BZW. He has led or played integral roles in many transactions, e.g.: privatizations of British Coal and Siderúrgica del Orinoco, project financings of the Antamina mine and expansion of Cerro Matoso, valuation of Carbones del Caribe in advance of its sale by Cementos del Caribe, Walter Energy’s acquisition of Western Coal, refinancing of the Esperanza mine and design and structuring of the financing for NTEC’s acquisition of the Navajo mine. Mr. Reeves has a B.Sc. in Mining Engineering from the Colorado School of Mines and an MBA from the University of Chicago. He is a registered P.E. in Colorado, and holds Mine Manager/Foreman and Shotfirer certification in Colorado and Illinois.

Michael Spohn is an independent natural resources analyst with a focus on the oil & gas sector. He began his career as credit analyst including positions in the mining & metals team at Barclays Bank and natural resources group at NMB Bank (now ING). Later he was Vice President of consulting and research director at oil & gas boutique John S. Herold (now part of IHS Markit), followed by co-founding an independent research service with major institutional clientele. Michael was also a sell-side analyst with a New York based broker-dealer and a principal at a value-oriented hedge fund. He is a member of the Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration and Society of Petroleum Engineers. Michael holds a BA in geology from Colgate University and an MS in Mineral Economics from the University of Arizona.

Raymond M. McCormick is the Managing Director of Energy and Natural Resources at Capstone Headwaters. He has 35 years of experience in mining, banking and advisory. Earlier, he founded a private investment banking firm that focused on the mining sector, which he managed for over 20 years, worked in the Global Corporate Banking Department of Mellon Bank and served as VP and Manager of the mining section for 10 years and was a consulting mining and geological engineer with the John T. Boyd Co. and Consol Energy. Ray’s background combines financial, marketing and technical skills, with expertise in project financings, gold loans, equipment leasing, private placements and acquisition financings. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in mineral economics, with a geology minor from the Pennsylvania State University and a Master’s Degree from the Department of Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh. In addition to sitting on half a dozen private company boards, Ray has served on the Board of Directors for the Engineers Society of Western Pennsylvania, the Society of Mining Engineers and the Pittsburgh Coal Conference.

Mathew Oommen, Ph.D. has over 20 years of experience in the global mining industry, having worked on projects in Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Canada, Australia, Colombia, Venezuela, Myanmar and the United States. He is the Mining Practice leader at Golder Associates. Mathew manages multi-disciplinary, global teams providing consulting services on mining projects with topics including geology, mining, transportation, economic analyses and NI 43-101 & JORC reports. Mathew has significant experience with due diligence of coal mines for acquisitions and is experienced with coal supply strategies & plans and coal supply contracts & negotiations in support of coal-fired Independent Power Projects.

4:20 I.8 Why Some Mining Projects Succeed and Some Fail - Shearman Room

RPM Global: John Uhrie, P.E., Ph.D., QP, President Consulting Services, Americas (Ch)
Kappes Cassidy & Associates: Tom Rauch, Project Manager & Senior Engineer (Ch)
Cementation USA Inc.: Gregory F. Sutton, MBA, QP, Project Manager
Doré Copper Mining Corporation: Ernest Mast, President and COO 

Developing a mine is difficult at the best of times and is becoming more difficult as projects get more complex, lower grade and are in more remote locations. Besides properly defining technical issues such as resources, ground conditions, and metallurgy, capital and operating cost estimation and project execution has become challenging reflecting local and jurisdictional and non-technical issues. This panel will highlight common threads in successful and unsuccessful projects and speak to other issues to be addressed in other panels including resource estimation, water, power and societal issues and assessing risks and opportunities that contribute to project success.

John Uhrie is President Consulting Services – Americas for RPM Global. He has 20 years of experience with major mining companies, including Phelps Dodge, Freeport McMoRan and Newmont, has operated mines on three continents and is highly experienced in operations, operations management, project development, engineering and startups of copper and gold projects. Dr. Uhrie is highly experienced in all aspects of owner’s side project engineering as both the process manager and project manager for prefeasibility through detailed engineering activities and is a recognized technical expert in sulfide processing of copper, heap bio-leaching, pressure oxidation and SXEW. Dr. Uhrie has authored 21 technical publications and one book, holds 2 U.S. Patents, is a Registered PE (Mining and Minerals Processing) and is a Qualified Professional through the MMSA. Dr. Uhrie is fluent in English and Spanish.

Tom Rauch is a Project Manager with Kappes, Cassiday & Associates, based in Reno, NV. Tom holds a BS degree in Mining Engineering (focused in Mineral Processing) and a second BS degree in Energy Business and Finance (focused in Commodity Finance) both from Penn State. Prior to joining KCA in 2017 he was with Jacobs Engineering and Taggart Global (now DRA Minerals). Tom has strong project experience in process engineering and EPC/EPCM project delivery specifically taking projects from engineering through construction and startup/handover. Tom continues to focused on high-risk project delivery and project management.

Greg Sutton is a Project Manager for Cementation USA. He oversees underground mine development and construction projects in the eastern United States. In 1988, Greg earned a Bachelors of Science Degree in Mining Engineering from the University of Missouri – Rolla, now Missouri University of Science and Technology. Greg also completed his MBA degree from Missouri University of Science and Technology in 2018. He started his career with the Homestake Mining Company’s historic Lead Gold Mine as a mine planning engineer and supervisor. He later held various positions of responsibility with the Doe Run Company including Mine Engineer, Mine General Supervisor, Mine Superintendent, and General Mine Manager. He started his current role with Cementation in 2015. 

Ernest Mast is currently President and COO of Doré Copper Mining Corporation. He has experience in the copper, precious metals, nickel, and lithium industries. He has held many roles from process engineer to CEO. He has worked and lived in Quebec, BC, Ontario, Chile, Dominican Republic and Panama and had responsibilities for businesses in Mexico, USA and Australia working for Noranda/ Falconbridge/ Xstrata, Inmet, New Gold, Copper Mountain and Primero Mining. He is a graduate of McGill University, with Bachelors and Masters degrees in Metallurgical Engineering, and with Executive MBAs from Henley Management School (U.K.) and Universidad Catolica de Chile.

4:20 I.8A Dealing with Political Risk in the Mining Industry - Conference Room G/H

SCM Decisions, LLC: Michael Samis, Ph.D., P. Eng., Principal (Ch)
Agnico Eagle Mines Limited: David Smith, Senior Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer
Control Risks: Daniel Linsker, Senior Partner, Global Risk Analysis
Triple Flag Mining Finance Limited: Jaco Crouse, Chief Financial Officer and Vice President of Finance
White & Case LLP: Oliver Wright, Counsel, Global Mining & Metals Group

Political risk management has shifted its focus from the possibility of nationalization to a wider range of risks such as taxation changes, geopolitical events, internal conflicts, regulatory framework alternations, ad social activism. Forward-thinking mining companies have begun to manage political risk through a formal program that both actively monitors and responds to political risk events and assesses the combined effect of multiple political risk exposures on a company’s project portfolio and long-term strategy. Experts from across the industry will provide a range of perspectives in this session about how political risk management has changed over the last 20 years and what company’s should be doing now to manage this risk exposure effectively.

Michael Samis is a principal with SCM Decisions where he assists mining clients align capital management decisions with corporate strategy. He is a mining engineer with more than 25 years of industry experience and his work ranges from analysing investments in individual projects and involving complex forms of flexibility, financing, and risk exposure through to corporate portfolio analysis. He is a registered Professional Engineer in Ontario, Canada and he holds a Ph.D. from the University of British Columbia. Dr Samis was previously an Associate Partner at the Toronto office of EY’s Transaction Advisory Services where he valued complex financial securities such as financial derivatives, employee stock options and contingent contracts.

David Smith is the Senior Vice-President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer of Agnico Mines Limited and has held this position since 2012. Previously, he held the position of Senior Vice-President, Strategic Planning and Investor Relations. Prior to joining the company’s investor relations team in 2005, Mr. Smith was a mining analyst and also held a variety of mining engineering positions, both in Canada and abroad. Mr. Smith is a Chartered Director, and an alternate Director of the World Gold Council. He has a B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Mining Engineering from Queen’s University in Kingston and the University of Arizona, respectively. Mr. Smith is also a Professional Engineer.

Daniel Linsker is a Senior Partner at Control Risks and currently manages Control Risks Mexico City office, overseeing the delivery of solutions and services to clients in Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. Before moving to Mexico, Daniel led the Security and Crisis Consulting practice for Control Risks’ in Latin America and also headed the Americas region extractives consulting practice. Daniel specializes in developing, leading and implementing tailored and integral solutions for clients to manage complex issues across the Americas, with a special emphasis on risk management for large projects in the extractives, energy and infrastructure, and those that require in-depth regional expertise of Latin America.

Jaco Crouse is the Chief Financial Officer and Vice President of Finance for Triple Flag Mining Finance Limited. He is a seasoned financial professional with extensive experience in financial management and reporting, mine financial planning, business optimization and strategy development. Prior to joining Triple Flag, he was a partner and Vice President Business Planning and Optimization at Barrick. Mr. Crouse started his career with Xstrata Alloys in 2002 as a financial manager and worked progressively in more senior roles at Xstrata and Glencore as Group Controller, General Manager of Business Optimization, and Asset Manager. Mr. Crouse is a Chartered Accountant and holds a Bachelors of Commerce degree from the University of South Africa.

Oliver Wright is a specialist lawyer in White & Case's Global Mining & Metals Industry Group, focused on the Americas. Prior to joining White & Case, Oliver spent a number of years in-house with Mubadala Investment Company, an investment fund with over USD$225bn in assets, where he was part of a core team actively managing a global mining and metals portfolio. During this time, Oliver was instrumental in executing Mubadala’s growth in the mining sector by facilitating the acquisition of top tier assets in South America, Europe and Africa. Oliver’s expertise in the mining, metals and utilities sectors spans projects in a host of challenging jurisdictions, on nearly every continent, resulting in a bespoke yet resilient approach to environmental and geopolitical challenges

5:10 I.9 What is Different Today for Miners Looking to Raise Capital? - Shearman Room

Roscoe Postle Associates, Inc.: Richard Lambert, P.E., P.Eng., Chief Operating Officer (Ch)
ING Capital, LLC: Remko Van De Water, Head of Metals & Mining, Americas
Rothschild & Co.: Nicholas Hooper, Managing Director
Maverix Metals Inc.: Douglas Ward, Vice President, Technical Services
Orion Mine Finance: Jonathon Lamb, Portfolio Manager
Teck Resources Limited: Scott R. Wilson, Vice President and Treasurer

  • How is today different than in years past for operators, lenders and investors agreeing on terms
  • Is the outlook more favorable for miners than one year ago? Why? Where? How good is it? Is it real?
  • What are key issues, costs and terms that mining company management need to be aware of?
  • Where are the opportunities? What types of deals technically and structurally are finding capital?

Richard Lambert, P.E., is Executive Vice President and COO of RPA. Mr. Lambert has 38 years of domestic and international experience in mine operations and management, mine engineering, project evaluation and financial analysis. He has been project manager and lead technical advisor for many mine financings, mergers, acquisitions and privatizations. Mr. Lambert has extensive experience in mine cost estimating and is skilled in management from project start-up to production, maintenance and mine planning, and has been involved in base metal, precious metal, coal and industrial mineral mining projects around the world. He is a recognized technical expert in mining arbitration cases. Richard Lambert is Past Vice President of Finance for the Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration (SME). He currently serves as member of the SME Resources/ Reserves Committee.

Remko van de Water is Managing Director at ING, Head of Metals & Mining, Americas and responsible for origination and execution of metals & mining structured financings in the region, including working capital, project financing, pre-export and M&A. He has experience in financing transactions in all major commodities and throughout the value chain. He has over 16 years of experience in leading and advising on financings in the resources sector globally, having closed many landmark transactions including for Guyana Goldfields’ Aurora project in Guyana, Torex Gold’s Minera Media Luna project in Mexico, Romarco Minerals’ Haile project in the U.S., Mountain Province’s Gacho Kue diamond project in Canada, Hudbay’s Constancia project in Peru and Antofagasta’s Esperanza and Antucoya projects in Chile. Remko holds a M.Sc. degree in Chemical Engineering from the Delft Technical University and an M.B.A. from NYU Stern School of Business, NY.

Nicholas Hooper is a Managing Director at Rothschild & Co and head of their Toronto office; prior to this, he worked in Rothschild & Co’s Washington, DC and London offices. Nic has more than 20 years’ experience in the mining sector advising established and aspiring companies on a range of transactions including debt and equity financings, joint ventures, M&A, restructurings and privatizations in a number of commodities and countries.

Doug Ward has over 25 years of mining experience with a focus on financial and strategic planning. He was the former Director of Business Development at Pan American Silver Corp. and previously the VP Corporate Development of Revett Minerals as well as Manager of Business Development and Senior Financial Analysis of Coeur d’Alene Mines and Technical Analyst for N.M. Rothschild & Sons. He earned his BSc. in Mining Engineering from the Colorado School of Mines and an MBA from the University of Denver.

Jonathon Lamb is a Portfolio Manager at Orion Resources. Prior to Orion, Jon was an Investment Manager for the Red Kite Group's Mine Finance business. Before joining Red Kite in 2012, Mr. Lamb worked for five years in Deutsche Bank's Metals & Mining Investment Banking group. He was one of the founding members of that team in New York. He has worked on a variety of debt and equity financing as well as M&A transactions for clients across the base metals, precious metals, coal and steel sectors. Mr. Lamb graduated with a BA from the College of William and Mary majoring in Government and Finance.

Scott Wilson is Vice President and Treasurer of Teck Resources since 2009.  His responsibilities include cash management and banking, corporate finance, financial risk management, customer credit, and pension fund investment.  Teck is Canada’s largest diversified miner with operations in Canada, United States, Chile, and Peru.  Prior to joining Teck, Scott was VP Finance & CFO of Canfor Corporation and before that Senior VP & Controller of Enbridge Inc.  Scott has an Honours Business Administration degree from Western University.

6:00 PM Conclusion of Conference

6:00 - 8:00 Reception - Register in advance. You can register more than one person. Visit receptions
Sponsored by SRK Consulting and Blake, Cassels & Graydon and Hecla Mining Company

8:00 PM End of the Reception

Scroll down beneath photo for Day Two Agenda of the Conference. We hope you join the discussion. Get your questions answered!

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Tuesday April 30, 2019 - Day Two of the Conference from 7:30 AM to 5:30 PM
Shearman & Sterling LLP at 599 Lexington Avenue, at corner of 53rd Street
Check back for updates. Content, order and times are subject to change 
Register today* 
For a one page schedule of events click here 

7:30 AM Registration and Breakfast
Sponsored by Behre Dolbear 

8:40 AM II.1 Alternatives: Royalties, Streaming, Pre-Payments: Part One - Shearman Room

KPMG LLP Canada: Ronald Maiorano, Partner, US Corporate Tax Services (Ch)
Franco-Nevada Corporation: Adrian Wong, CPA, CA, Director, Taxation
Shearman & Sterling LLP: Alexandro M. Padrés,  Partner, Project Development & Finance
Hudbay Minerals Inc.: Travis Temple, Director, Tax

This panel will discuss alternative and traditional sources of Capital for Miners to consider as well as the legal and tax attributes and considerations associated with these different ways of employing capital in the Mining World.

Ronald C. Maiorano is the current Leader of the GTA U.S. Corporate tax practice at KPMG and the historic original leader of the National U.S. Corporate tax practice in Canada. Ron has over 30 years of cross border taxation experience assisting multinational companies with minimizing their worldwide effective tax rates through comprehensive planning strategies. Such planning strategies include: restructuring existing multinational corporate groups, structuring acquisitions, dispositions and reorganizations, structuring financing arrangements, implementing hybrid entities to take advantage of anomalies that frequently exist between taxing jurisdictions, etc.

Adrian Wong joined Franco-Nevada Corporation in January 2012 and serves as the company’s head of taxation. In his role, Adrian leads global tax planning initiatives, tax compliance and financial reporting of income taxes for the company. Previously, Adrian served as Manager, Tax at TD Bank from 2010 to 2011 and Tax Manager at KPMG LLP (Canada) from 2003 to 2010. Adrian holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the Smith School of Business at Queen’s University and is a Chartered Professional Accountant.

Alexandro M. Padrés is a partner in the Project Development and Finance Group at Shearman & Sterling LLP where he focuses on infrastructure projects as they relate to the mining, electricity, and oil and gas telecommunications sectors, with a particular emphasis on Mexico and Latin America. Most recently, Alexandro’s practice has consisted of portfolio financings in several jurisdictions in Latin America (in various modalities and levels of complexity), including advising sponsors and lenders on the financing of renewables projects in Mexico and transmission lines in Chile. In mining, Alexandro has represented traditional and alternative lenders in the financing of brownfield and greenfield mining projects, including through metal streaming arrangements.

Travis Temple is the Director, Tax at Hudbay, a Canadian integrated mining company with operations, development properties and exploration activities across the Americas. Travis is responsible for leading the tax function at Hudbay. Travis has significant experience with alternative financing arrangements in the mining industry including metal streams. Prior to joining HudBay, Travis worked for Ernst & Young LLP in both the Assurance and Tax practices. Travis holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Queen’s University and a CPA designation.

8:40 AM II.1A Importance & Use of Geo-Metallurgy in Scoping & Feasibility Studies - Conference Room G/H

Wood Plc: Chris Wright Technical Director Resource Estimation and Geometallurgy (Ch)
Independent Mining Consultants, Inc.: John Marek, P.E., President (Ch)
Cornell University: Karin E. Olson Hoal, Wold Family Professor
Samuel Engineering: Al Kuestermeyer, Senior Process Engineer /Expert

Geometallurgy involves the integration of geological and metallurgical or mineral processing information. Laboratory, field and plant data can be used to predict future metallurgical performance and understand current processing issues based on feed characteristics throughout the asset life cycle including process design at project stage, tactical response in operation and geochemical release for closure. The understanding of geometallurgical relationships allows for design optimization, asset performance improvement and risk mitigation. The panel will discuss approaches for: (1) Ore characterization; (2) Process design; (3) Plant sampling and (4) Geomet reconciliation

Chris Wright is Technical Director of Resource Estimation and Geometallurgy at Wood Plc. (formerly Amec Foster Wheeler) based in its Salt Lake City office. Chris has worked in operations, corporate and consulting roles in North and South America over the last 20 years with a focus on the application of geometallurgy for strategic production planning, asset risk management and process technology development. He contributed to the advancement of geometallurgical models at the Antamina operation in Peru, Bingham Canyon at Kennecott Utah Copper and the Oyut mine and Hugo North development project at Oyu Tolgoi in Mongolia and over 20 base and precious metal projects in the Americas.

John M. Marek, P.E., President of Independent Mining Consultants, graduated with an M.S. in Mining Engineering and B.S. in Physics from the Colorado School of Mines. He has 40 years of experience in the minerals industry and shares responsibility of all aspects of project engineering and management of this multi-disciplined mining consulting firm. Financial analysis, mine planning, reserve verification and review are some of the areas of his expertise. Project specialties include determination of mine operating policy integrating all disciplines and constraints.

Karin Olson Hoal works with project teams to identify challenges impacting potential value, understanding the uncertainty in the subsurface for more effective above-surface activities. At Cornell University she is the Wold Family Professor in Environmental Balance for Human Sustainability, building a program for transforming the industry in partnership with investors, mineral companies, data analysts and stakeholders. Karin was Director of the Advanced Mineralogy Research Center and a research professor at Colorado School of Mines and she has previously worked with JKTech at the University of Queensland Sustainable Minerals Institute, Hazen Research, Rio Tinto, Royal Gold and consultants in southern Africa, Australia, Canada, Chile and the US.

Alva Kuestermeyer, Senior Process Engineer at Samuel Engineering, is a metallurgical engineer and mineral economist with over 40 years of engineering, operating and consulting experience in the mining industry. Alva has a B.S. degree in Metallurgical Engineering from South Dakota School of Mines and a M.S. in Mineral Economics from Colorado School of Mines. He has performed costing and engineering studies and presented at NYC CTMF for the last four years. Alva joined Samuel Engineering in Denver in December 2017. Prior to Samuel Engineering, he worked at ASARCO, Tetra Tech, SRK, PAH, Behre Dolbear, Golder Associates and European Resources. Alva is a Registered Member of the Society of Mining Engineers and a Fellow Member of AusIMM

9:30 AM II.2 Alternative Sources of Capital in Mining: Part Two - Shearman Room

Duff & Phelps Canada Ltd: Alan Lee CA, CFA, CBV, Managing Director, Valuation Advisory Services (Ch)
BNP Paribas Securities Corp.: Antonio Pichardo, Director Structured Debt Metals & Mining
Sandstorm Gold Ltd.: David Awram, Senior Executive Vice President and Co-Founder
Maverix Metals Inc.: Douglas Ward, Vice President Technical Services 

Amidst increased attention to mining royalty and streaming companies as a more traditional financing source comes less understanding on how and when royalties and streaming arrangements are practically used. When is a stream more suitable than a royalty (or vice versa)? What makes certain mines or projects more amenable to a royalty or a stream? This panel will discuss case studies where royalties and streams have been successful, and what the trends have been like for royalties and streams in recent years (relative to capital markets).

Alan Lee, CA, CPA, CFA, CBV, joined Duff & Phelps in 2010. He is a managing director in the Toronto office and part of the firm’s Valuation Advisory Services and Dispute Consulting practices. Alan has more than 15 years of valuations, disputes and transaction experience. Alan’s focus is in the mining and natural resource sectors. His clients include many of the world’s largest mining companies, as well as many development stage companies, pension, private equity and hedge funds. He is a contributing author to various topics related to valuations featured in CA Magazine and Canadian Tax Journal and is a  speaker at various conferences by CPA Canada, the Ontario Securities Commission and the SME.

Antonio Pichardo is a Director of BNP Paribas’ mining finance team in the Americas. Antonio has been a mining executive and financier of metals and mining, commodities, energy and infrastructure for 20 years, with tenures in New York, Sao Paulo, Lima and Madrid. His mining corporate experience includes founding director and CFO roles for copper and gold development companies, operating in the Andean Region. As a financier, he has advised and financed green field developments and expansions of mining assets in the Americas. He holds a BBA and MBA from Universidad de Sevilla and ICADE in Madrid, respectively. Antonio is fluent in English and Portuguese and is a native speaker of Spanish.

David Awram is the co-founder of Sandstorm and oversees the corporate development team and due diligence process. Mr. Awram has evaluated hundreds of resource projects and has completed on-site due diligence on dozens of mines across the globe. Prior to Sandstorm, Mr. Awram was the Director of Investor Relations for Silver Wheaton Corp., where he was responsible for investor relations and corporate development. Mr. Awram graduated from the University of British Columbia with a Bachelor of Science degree in Geology.

Doug Ward has over 25 years of mining experience with a focus on financial and strategic planning. He was the former Director of Business Development at Pan American Silver Corp. and previously the VP Corporate Development of Revett Minerals as well as Manager of Business Development and Senior Financial Analysis of Coeur d’Alene Mines and Technical Analyst for N.M. Rothschild & Sons. He earned his BSc. in Mining Engineering from the Colorado School of Mines and an MBA from the University of Denver.

9:30 AM II.2A SEC Rule S-K 1300: Modernization of Property Disclosure for Mining Registrants - Conference Room G/H 

Wood Plc: Harry M. Parker, Consulting Mining Geologist & Geostatistician (Ch)
Behre Dolbear Group: Bernard Guarnera, Director
Roscoe Postle Associates: Deborah McCombe, P.Geo, President & CEO, Principal Geologist
Groff Engineering & Consulting LLC: Brian Groff, Principal

Since the October 2018 announcement by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission about replacing Industry Guide 7, (IG7) there has been allot of interest about the impact of the changes on mineral property disclosure, valuation and due diligence. This panel will compare old Industry Guide IG7, with SME’s Guide for Reporting Exploration Information, Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves and other CRIRSCO codes, guides, and standards; discuss the impact on Qualified Persons (QPs), Qualified Person Firms, Reliance on Third Parties, Independence of Qualified Persons; Reporting under S-K 1300 for Canadian registrants including MJDS and non MJDS filers, differences in the format of technical reports under NI 43-101 and S-K 1300 and Materiality, Confidentiality, Aggregation of properties in applying S-K 1300.

Harry Parker has been a consulting mining geologist and geostatistician for over 50 years and has been active in resource and reserve estimation for over 200 projects on six continents. He has used conditional simulation to evaluate the effects of uncertainty on tonnage and grade, and has used these to develop financial scenarios reflecting the uncertainty in common metrics, such as NPV. He has also studied and optimized the effect of selectivity on financial outcomes for mineral projects. Harry is past chairperson of CRIRSCO, the Committee for Mineral Reserves International Reporting Standards, and is past Co-Chairman of the SME’s Mineral Resources and Reserves committee.

Bernard Guarnera, Director and Chairman of Behre Dolbear (1991-2011) has over 45 years of experience in the international mining industry encompassing six continents and ferrous, non‐ferrous, base metal, industrial and energy minerals. Barney is a Certified Mineral Appraiser with the IIMA, Chartered Professional with AusIMM, Qualified Professional with MMSA, a Registered Professional Engineer (Texas) and a Registered Geologist (Idaho and Oregon). Barney specializes in assessing the technical and economic viability of mineral projects and properties and the valuation of mineral properties and mining companies. He has participated in billions of dollars of transactions related to the mining industry and acted as principal advisor to the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong, and its acquisition of the London Metal Exchange.

Deborah McCombe, P.Geo., President and CEO of RPA, has over 30 years’ experience in project management, feasibility studies, reserve estimation, due diligence studies and valuation studies. Deborah has worked in North and South America, Asia and Africa. Prior to joining RPA, Ms. McCombe was Chief Mining Consultant for the Ontario Securities Commission. Ms. McCombe is the author of numerous articles and presentations prepared to assist mining companies, lawyers and engineering professionals to better understand the Canadian disclosure rules for mineral projects (NI43-101). She was awarded the Robert Elver Mineral Economics Award by the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM) for her contributions to the establishment of NI 43-101 and her efforts as head of the Committee for Mineral Reserves International Reporting Standards (CRIRSCO) in the coordination of worldwide standards for resource/reserve reporting. She is also the recipient of the Canadian Professional Geoscientist Award and is chair of the CIM Mineral Resource and Mineral Reserve Committee.

Brian Groff earned his B.S. in Mining Engineering from Missouri-Rolla and has served various roles over the past 20 years. He mined salt for Cargill before moving to Kentucky to work for Bucyrus, improving reliability of draglines and shovels operating in Eastern U.S. coal and industrial minerals mines. He began consulting in 2009 and earned his Professional Engineering license. Brian has viewed more than 120 coal and industrial minerals mines in his career, is a Competent Person having provided JORC-compliant reserve statements for coal and cement deposits, and is certified by the International Institute of Minerals Appraisers. Brian is Co-Chair of the SME Resources and Reserves Committee.

10:20 AM Refreshment Break 
Sponsored by Hatch Advisory

10:40 AM II.3 Getting the Attention of Investors for Exploration Finance: What Has Changed? - Shearman Room

Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP: Frank Mariage, BSc, LLB, Partner, Global Mining Group (Ch)
Quebec Precious Metals Corporation: Normand Champigny, Chief Executive Officer
Monarques Gold Corporation: Jean-Marc Lacoste, President and Chief Executive Officer
Desjardins Securities: Bruno Kaiser, Managing Director and Head of Metals & Mining
Clear Creek Digital: Trevor Hall, President

During the first quarter of 2018 and for the first time ever, the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) surpassed the TSX and TSX Venture Exchange in mining financing. When considering all other investment opportunities present within the Canadian market over the last 18 to 24 months, notably those related to cannabis and crypto-currency, can one be really surprised about the attention and capital these “new” investments received? The panel, comprised of seasoned mining executives, communications specialist and investment analyst, will aim to explore the reasons behind this shift and what exploration / development companies can and should do in this evolving environment.

Frank Mariage is a Partner at Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP. He practices in the areas of securities, corporate law and mining law. Over the course of his career, he has developed legal expertise on mining issues. Frank represents mining companies and guides them during the discovery, sale and processing of mineral deposits, in Canada and elsewhere. He specializes in the legal issues and challenges faced by mining companies. Frank’s expertise is recognized in Canada, and he continues to be listed as a leading mining lawyer by a number of legal directories that rank the country’s best firms and lawyers, notably Lexpert, Chambers and Who’s Who Legal. He just finished a 4 year mandate as Chairman of the Board of the Quebec Mineral Exploration Association and also delivers seminars on behalf of the TSX Venture Exchange on how to manage a publicly traded company. In August 2017 and 2018, Frank was named Lawyer of the Year in Natural Resources Law and Mining Law, respectively, by Best Lawyers in Canada.

Normand Champigny is a geological engineer. He has extensive experience with both public and private companies, both domestically and internationally. He has been involved in many facets of the mining industry, including engineering, project evaluation, and project management. Mr. Champigny is a member of the Ordre des Ingénieurs du Québec. Until recently, Mr. Champigny was an Executive Committee Member of the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC). He was Chair of the Board of Directors of Minalliance, an organization raising awareness about the mining industry in Quebec and highlighting its positive contribution to Quebec’s social, economic, and environmental development. Mr. Champigny is a graduate from École Polytechnique in Montreal (B.A.Sc), University of British Columbia (M.A.Sc), and Paris School of Mines (Specialized Diploma in Geostatistics).

Jean-Marc Lacoste earned his bachelor’s degree in Economics from McGill University in Montreal. In 1993 Mr. Lacoste started a career in finance at the Montreal Stock Exchange where he worked for National Bank Financial and, subsequently, Merrill Lynch Canada. In 2000 he left Montreal for Toronto to join Northland Power, a wind power energy corporation, as Vice President of Acquisitions. He returned to Montreal in 2002 where he joined the boards of a few public and private companies. From 2004 to 2010, he took a major role in Golden Goose Resources Inc. where he became President and CEO and COB. Mr. Lacoste has great leadership skills and will be a tremendous asset for Monarch Gold Corporation.

Bruno Kaiser is a Managing Director and Head of Metals & Mining at Desjardins Securities. He began his career as a Mining Equity Research Analyst with CIBC World Markets in 1992. Bruno was a VP, Investment Banking at Morgan Stanley, UK, where he held several roles, including a Head of German and Russia Global Capital Markets. In Canada, he was instrumental in building the mining lending initiative at National Bank Financial and also led the Mining Group at Paradigm Capital. Bruno has a B. Com (Hon) from McGill University, MBA from INSEAD and holds a CFA designation. He has led M&A transactions and financings across the spectrum of assets and capital structure.

Trevor Hall is the President of Clear Creek Digital where he helps mining, mineral exploration and technology companies effectively communicate and market their projects within the ever-shifting communication paradigm of connected technologies and media. He is also the host and producer of Mining Stock Daily, a daily podcast of junior mining and exploration news distributed globally through 12 different networks, including voice-activated smart speakers such as Amazon Alexa. He is a proud graduate of the University of Nebraska - Lincoln with a Master's Degree in Journalism.

10:40 AM II.3A Minerals and Mining Project Appraisal and Valuation - Conference Room G/H

Stagg Resource Consultants, Inc.: Alan Stagg, PG, CMA, President (Ch)
Deutsche Bank Securities, Inc.: Jonathan Rose, Managing Director, Head, Metals & Mining Americas
Sirios Resources Inc.: Dominique Doucet. P.Eng.,President and CEO
Red Cloud Klondike Strike Inc.: Paolo Lostritto, P.Eng, President
Minera Gold Fields Chile: Cristian Alvarez, Finance and Administration Manager

Value is a perception, which typically varies widely among individual investors. Additionally, what drives value can vary for any given investor over time, depending on global and domestic economic conditions, global and domestic markets, political and cultural factors, and investor-specific circumstances, among other issues. This session’s panelists, which represent differing segments of the investment community, will provide their perceptions regarding current drivers of value in the mining sector, their perceptions of how these have changed over the recent past, and thoughts on value issues going forward. Additionally, the relationship between valuation—in this discussion considered to be a less formal and more investor-specific approach, and appraisals - considered to be a more structured and formal overall market approach, will be explored.

Alan K. Stagg, PG, CMA – President & CEO, Stagg Resource Consultants, Inc., is an economic geologist with 55 years’ experience in the mining, minerals, and energy industries and 40 years’ experience in natural resource-related appraisals, including the appraisal of mineral estates and leasehold interests; the appraisal of plant, machinery, and equipment; the appraisal of intangible assets such as sales contracts, storage field easements, and interests in oil and natural gas enterprises; and the appraisal of business enterprises and equity interests. Natural resources appraised include coal, oil and natural gas, coalbed methane, a variety of precious and base metals, fluorspar, phosphate, potash, uranium, trona, gypsum, hectorite, kaolin, salt, crushed and dimension stone of various types; and sand and gravel. Appraisals have been conducted in 40 states; several Canadian provinces; and in Brazil, Mongolia, and Russia. Alan is a registered professional geologist in 15 states, a Certified Mineral Appraiser by the International Institute of Minerals Appraisers, and an SME Registered Member.

Jonathan Rose is Managing Director, Head of Metals & Mining Americas at Deutsche Bank, based in New York. Jonathan has been an investment banker to the metals, mining and coal sectors for over 20 years. He has worked on numerous M&A, debt and equity transactions. Jonathan holds a Master’s degree in International Affairs from Columbia University, a Certificate from the Institute of East Central Europe at Columbia University, and an undergraduate degree in Economics from the University of Virginia.

Dominique Doucet is President and CEO of Sirios Resources Inc. Dominique has been active in the mineral exploration industry for close to 45 years. He holds a degree in geological engineering with a specialization in mineral exploration from the École Polytechnique de Montréal in Quebec, Canada. Actively involved in the industry, Mr. Doucet is a member of the Ordre des Ingénieurs du Québec, Quebec Mineral Exploration Association, Prospector and Developers Association of Canada and Society of Economic Geologists. Mr. Doucet, and his team were awarded the Discovery of the Year Award in 2001 and 2016 by the Québec Mineral Exploration Association.

Mr. Paolo Lostritto, President of Red Cloud Klondike Strike, is a former Director in the Mining Equity Research Group for National Bank Financial. Over the past 20 years he has worked in mining equity research at Wellington West, Scotia Capital and TD Securities. Mr. Lostritto holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in Geological and Mineral Engineering from the University of Toronto and is a registered Professional Engineer in the Province of Ontario. He currently is the President of Red Cloud Mining Capital Inc and serves on the Board of Directors for both Savary Gold Corp. and Blue Thunder Mining Corporation. Both focused on gold exploration in West Africa and Quebec, respectively.

Cristian Alvarez is the Finance and Administration Manager at Minera Gold Fields Chile. Cristian studied in the Industrial Engineering and Power System Master degree at Pontificia Universidad Catolica of Chile in Santiago. Completed his MBA at University of Rochester in New York in Finance. Worked as a valuation analyst at Countour Global in New York City. He returned to Chile to power industry (Enersis) in valuation. In 2011, Cristian started in BHP Billiton as senior valuation analyst reviewing mining expansions project in Escondida (Chile), Cannington (Australia) and Antamina in Perú and its long term copper price model. In 2011, he was promoted to Reporting Superintendent in Cannington (Australia) in the Finance area and in 2013 transferred to Pampa Norte (Chile) after his managing financial reporting of the Spence and Cerro Colorado mines where he focused on budgeting, forecasting and productivity initiatives.

11:30 AM II.4 China Driving Demand, Prices and Opportunities – Shearman Room

Baker McKenzie LLP: Greg McNab, Partner, Corporate & Securities Practice Group, Global Head of Mining (Ch)
CRU:
Alex Laugharne, Principal
Wiley Rein LLP: Robert E. DeFrancesco III, Partner, International Trade
Bradford Consulting: Charles Bradford, Principal

This panel of experts will discuss: the importance China’s evolving policies towards raw materials and manufacturing has on current global trends in the mining industry, including commodity demand, investment and supply; How China is investing capital in other markets and the impact its investment is having on global costs and material availability. The panelists will also discuss China's demand for key commodities, including critical minerals and its potential economic growth and influence on the global commodity markets over the next several years.

Greg McNab is a member of Baker & McKenzie’s Corporate & Securities Practice Group in Toronto and is the Firm’s Global Head of Mining. As a strategic legal adviser, Greg works on assisting resource companies with respect to penetrating new markets globally and expanding abroad, as well as operating their domestic businesses. He has acted for a number of Asian, Latin American, European and Australian resource companies. Greg is actively involved in private equity/venture capital transactions and public markets transactions and has substantial experience in public and private fund investments, domestically and internationally. He also advises on corporate governance, regulatory compliance, continuous disclosure and stock exchange matters for public issuers. Greg is the Canadian Chair of the Canadian Australian Chamber of Commerce and also practiced as a mechanical engineer in the steel industry.

Alex Laugharne
is a Principal Consultant based in CRU’s New York office, having relocated in 2015 after eight years with CRU Consulting in London. Over this period, Alex has been involved in a wide variety of consulting projects across numerous commodities, building up particular experience in the lithium, iron ore, stainless steel, nickel and ferroalloy sectors. Alex now works across a broad range of commodities supporting predominately North American clients, whilst also providing important contributions to consulting projects related to his various commodity specialties, most frequently battery metals.

Charles Bradford has been a metals analyst for more than 50 years. Formerly partner and metals analyst with Affiliated Research Group and Metals Industries Advisory Group. He was the senior steel analyst at Smith Barney, and prior to that, with UBS Securities, a subsidiary of the Union Bank of Switzerland (6 years). He had been the senior metals analyst with Merrill Lynch for 14 years. Chuck is president of Bradford Research, Inc., an international investment consulting firm. Chuck has been placed on the Institutional Investor magazine “All American” Research Team 26 times, covering (at various times) nonferrous metals, coal and steel. Chuck was named the #1 independent metals analyst for 2007 and #2 in 2005 by the Institutional Investor Magazine.

Robert DeFrancesco is a Partner at Wiley Rein LLP. Robert’s practice involves all aspects of international trade and trade remedy proceedings. He has particular expertise in both U.S. anti-dumping and countervailing duty proceedings and dispute settlement proceedings before the World Trade Organization. Robert has actively assisted in WTO matters, providing advice regarding WTO obligations and dispute settlement proceedings for various clients and governments. Clients represented in these proceedings come from industries such as primary aluminum, aluminum extrusions, steel, semiconductors, and consumer goods, involving products from diverse economies such as China, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, and Turkey. Robert received his J.D., cum laude, from American University Washington College of Law and his B.A. from the University of Georgia.

11:30 AM II.4A Mining Cost and Operating Issues and Trends - Conference Room G/H

InfoMine USA: Jennifer Leinart, Director, President (Ch)
Roscoe Postle Associates: Grant Malensek, M.Eng., P.Eng./P.Geo., Principal Engineer (Ch)
Coeur Mining, Inc.: Thomas S. Whelan, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Black & Veatach Corporation: Jim Spenceley, P.Eng., Senior Vice President, Mining

Two industry trends are reported declines in productivity and challenging returns on investment in the mining industry, on average. What are mining companies doing to reverse these trends? What are examples of best practices and methods and tools used to overcome the challenges management and miners face declining ore grades, the need to go deeper, and comply with more regulations.

Jennifer Leinart is a Registered Member of SME and a licensed professional geologist based in Spokane, Washington. She holds a BS degree in Geology from Colorado State University. Jennifer has over 40 years of experience in the mining industry, from exploration through development and mine operation. She began specializing in resource estimating and economic analysis during the development of the Red Dog mine in Alaska. In 1987, she joined Western Mine Engineering, the predecessor to InfoMine’s CostMine division, where she was responsible for mineral property evaluation, consulting, data and cost estimating. Jennifer is currently President of InfoMine USA, Inc. and manages the Mining Intelligence Costs division.

Grant Malensek is a Principal Engineer – Valuations for Roscoe Postles Associates, and has 25 years’ experience in the mining industry. His experience includes project reviews for fatal flaw, due diligence and as Independent Engineer for equity and project financing. He also prepared technical-economic and project finance models and carried out mineral property valuations for mining companies and arbitration cases. Mr. Malensek’s consulting experience includes Feasibility and Prefeasibility Studies, Preliminary Economic Assessments, capital cost estimates and reviews, mine strategy and options analysis in connection with mergers and acquisitions. Prior to his work as a consultant, Grant Malensek was a Senior Business Analyst: Project Planning/Evaluation for Newmont Mining Corporation and in project exploration and development with a number of companies, in particular Freeport McMoRan and Rio Tinto.

Tom Whelan, CFO of Coeur Mining. Prior to joining Coeur, Mr. Whelan served as CFO of Arizona Mining Inc. from September 2017 to August 2018, when the company was acquired from South32 Limited. Previously, Mr. Whelan served as CFO for Nevsun Resources Ltd. from January 2014 to August 2017. He is a chartered professional accountant and was previously a partner with the international accounting firm Ernst & Young (“EY”) LLP where he was the EY Global Mining & Metals Assurance sector leader, the leader of the EY Assurance practice in Vancouver and previously EY’s Canadian Mining & Metals sector leader. Mr. Whelan graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce from Queen’s University.

Jim Spenceley is Senior Vice President of Black & Veatch’s Mining business focused on Energy and Water infrastructure solutions. Jim has 25 years of international project development experience in the Mining and Oil & Gas industries. He has lived and worked in Chile, Ghana, Canada, Australia, Indonesia, and the USA. His experience includes mega project execution, extensive commissioning, high altitude, tropical, marine, desert and arctic environments. He was an international project director and group executive responsible for global project services for Newmont Mining Corp prior to joining Black & Veatch in 2015. Jim’s mining experience on both the Owners and Contractors sides of business includes mega greenfield project development, brownfield expansions, open pit and underground mines, for copper and gold commodities. 

12:20 PM Key Note Speaker Lunch

12:35 PM Key Note SpeakerCasey Hammond, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management, U.S. Department of the Interior will speak about: 

Latest developments impacting mining in the U.S. and Navigating the U.S. Permitting System and Operating Environment

Casey Hammond currently serves as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management overseeing the Bureau of Land Management, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, and the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement within the U.S. Department of the Interior. Casey started with the Department in January 2017 as part of the administration’s “Beachhead Team” that led the agency immediately following the President's inauguration. Prior to joining the administration, he worked in various capacities within the House of Representatives, including as Legislative Staff for the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands, Professional Staff for the Subcommittee on Public Lands and Environmental Regulation, and Senior Advisor for the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. 

1:30 PM II.5 Managing Social Issues in a Changing World - Shearman Room

Ramboll: Sharon Maharg, Senior Managing Consultant, International Finance & ESIA Services (Ch)
Social Capital Group s.a.c.: Walter Arensberg, Managing Director
ING Capital: Melisa Simic, Vice President, Sustainable Finance
Miller Thomson, LLP: Sandra Gogal, Partner, Co-Leader of National Aboriginal Law Group
S&P Global Ratings: Michael Ferguson, Director U.S. Energy Infrastructure Group

In today’s changing world, getting mining projects up and running successfully must take stakeholder engagement to another level in order to ensure project acceptance from local communities early in the project and manage expectations throughout the project cycle. Management strategies must aim to ensure that a reasonable number of jobs are made available during both the construction and operations phases to local workers (both male and female); establish skills training programs for the local communities and early enough in the project schedule so local unskilled workers can be trained and eligible for jobs when they become available; procure as many goods and services from the local communities as possible; and create local benefits for communities by understanding and responding to their needs. Such strategies are especially important as organized opposition from environmental NGOs, indigenous groups, and others has grown more sophisticated and widespread and the risks to mining projects has increased accordingly. Panelists will examine the roots of these challenges and assess the effectiveness of corporate strategies and methods for addressing them.

Sharon Maharg is a Senior Managing Consultant at Ramboll and the US East Coast Team Leader for International Finance & ESIA Services, specializing in social and reputational risk consulting. She has more than 15 years’ experience in sustainable finance and consulting, and more than 20 years’ experience in multiple areas of emerging markets finance. She is expert at identifying and assessing potential social impacts from projects, and performing due diligence and project monitoring for compliance with the Equator Principles, IFC Performance Standards and other international standards. Sharon has been involved in projects in mining, energy and transportation in Latin America and the Caribbean, Middle East and Africa, Southeast Asia and the FSU. Prior to Ramboll, Sharon was Regional Head of Sustainability Management for Latin America at WestLB AG New York and a leader among the Equator Principle Financial Institutions (EPFIs), representing one of four founding EPFIs.

Walter Arensberg is a Managing Director of the Social Capital Group s.a.c., which specializes in the assessment and management of social risk in large scale development projects in mining, oil and gas, hydro-power, transportation infrastructure, agriculture. Headquartered in Lima, Peru, and with offices in Bogotá. Colombia and Washington D.C., the Social Capital Group (SCG) works for private sector clients and international financial institutions, on project, social impact assessment, social due diligence; corporate strategy and training, and the implementation of community engagement, resettlement, local employment and procurement, communications and other risk mitigation programs. Mr. Arensberg represents SCG in Washington D.C. and has led social due diligence work for lenders examining major mining investments in the context of IFC, Equator Principles and other international performance standards. Prior to joining SCG, Mr. Arensberg headed the Environment Division of the Inter-American Development Bank.

Melisa Simic is Vice President, Environmental and Social Specialist at ING in the Sustainable Finance team. Melisa covers transaction assessments at the origination phase providing social and environmental expertise in order to comply with ING internal policies as well as Equator Principles and IFC standards when applicable. She is currently involved in a mining transaction where ING is participating in the financing and also acting as the ESR agent providing environmental and social consulting support. Before joining ING in May 2018, Melisa was a Senior Consultant at Ramboll where she was primarily focused on energy projects in Latin America. Previously, Melisa worked as a Senior Project Engineer at ERM where she was involved in performing environmental audits for Mining clients in Canada. Melisa started her career as a civil/tunnel engineer for Parsons Brinckerhoff and holds a MSc degree in Tunneling Engineering from Politecnico di Torino in Italy.

Sandra Gogal is co-leader of Miller Thomson’s National Aboriginal Law Group. Sandra’s practice focuses on project development in the natural resource sector, with specific expertise in dealing with Aboriginal and environmental issues. Sandra has worked in both private and public sectors, acting primarily for national and international clients in the energy, mining and pipeline sectors on regulatory requirements, including advising with respect to aboriginal consultation, assessment of Aboriginal and treaty rights, and the negotiation of impact and benefit agreements and other commercial agreements with First Nations and Métis people. Recognized as a leading practitioner among her peers, Sandra has achieved status as a Chambers Global ranked lawyer in Aboriginal Law.

Michael Ferguson is Director of S&P Global Ratings’ U.S. Energy Infrastructure Group. Michael has a portfolio of project financed power plants, infrastructure assets, and independent power producers. Much of his thought leadership research revolves around environmental regulation and energy policy. Michael’s experience includes an array of cases, ranging from stock option backdating and revenue recognition to embezzlement and ponzi schemes. Michael is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the Certified Financial Analyst Institute, and the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners. Michael is a Chartered Financial Analyst, a Certified Public Accountant (DC and VA), a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst, and a Certified Fraud Examiner.

1:30 II.5A  Tailings Facilities: A Primer for Potential Financiers - Conference Room G/H

Shearman & Sterling LLP: Cynthia Urda Kassis, Co - Head of Mining & Metals Group, Partner, Project Development & Finance (Ch)
International Finance Corp/World Bank Group: Rosa Orellana, Chief Environmental Specialist & Global Sector Lead for Oil, Gas & Mining 
Atlantic Gold Corporation: Maryse Belanger ICD.D, President, COO and Director 
Stantec: Paul Deering P. Geo, P. Eng., Senior Principal, Regional Technical Leader, Geotechnical Engineering practice in Eastern Canada

This panel will look at the following questions, among others: What are tailings facilities? Are they all the same? How do the different regulators around the globe approach such facilities? How should mining companies approach managing these facilities and communicating to the public about them? What are potential best practices in that regard? How can debt and equity investors approach their analysis of investment opportunities in companies/projects with such facilities? What are the most effective diligence techniques? What standards are DFIs and other major financial institutions applying and how have they changed as a result of recent events?

Cynthia Urda Kassis is a Senior Partner in the Project Development & Finance practice of the international law firm of Shearman & Sterling LLP and co-Head of their Mining & Metals Group. She represents sponsors/ borrowers/ lenders/ alternative financiers in project development and finance transactions worldwide, with extensive experience in the mining, energy and infrastructure industries. She consistently ranks as one of the leading project finance lawyers by Chambers & Partners, IFLR 1000 and Legal 500. Who’s Who named her “Project Finance Lawyer of the Year” for the second consecutive years and has also named her among the “most highly regarded individuals in the world” in the fields of project finance and mining. Her most recent work in the mining sector includes representing Mantos Copper on the financing for its proposed brownfield expansion and Orion and Blackstone on their financing for Lundin Gold’s Fruta del Norte project in Ecuador, awarded “Latin America Mining & Metals Deal of the Year” by IJ Global.

Rosa I. Orellana is a Chief Environmental Specialist at the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Sector Lead for Oil, Gas and Mining with 21 years of experience working across Latin America, Africa and Asia. She ensures that the requirements of project investments are aligned with the IFC’s Performance Standards, promotes environmental and social Good International Industry Practices and helps clients maintain their social license to operate. Additionally, she promotes and guarantees the wise use of natural resources through integrated conservation and development initiatives. She has been the lead E&S Specialist in a number of large and complex projects including: the Chad-Cameroon - export oil pipeline, Guinea -Simandou, Peru - LNG, India - Cairn Energy Oil Pipeline, Ghana - Tullow and Kosmos Energy, Kazaksthan- Karachaganak oil development, Kenya/Ethiopia- Africa Oil, and Uganda oil development and export pipeline. She has expertise in all areas of environmental and social risk management issues with particular focus on air and water pollution control, water and wastewater treatment, hazardous waste management, pollution prevention, and occupational health and safety, and in-depth working knowledge on social issues related to stakeholder engagement, resettlement and security forces. She holds a Doctor of Science, Civil and Environmental Engineering, and a Master of Science in Environmental Engineering from The George Washington University, Washington, DC and a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from the State University of New York at Buffalo.

Paul Deering P. Geo, P. Eng. is Engineer of Record for Tailings Facilities and the regional technical leader for Stantec's Geotechnical Engineering practice in Eastern Canada. Paul has 32 years of experience in consulting engineering and the geoscience profession of which the past 23 years has been with Stantec Consulting Limited where he has held several senior positions in operations, business development, and technical leadership. In his current role as Stantec’s regional technical leader, he is responsible for leading and providing direction for the technical growth, professional innovation, and quality of the practice in provinces of Ontario, Quebec, and the Atlantic Canada region. During his career Paul has been involved with various multi-disciplinary projects in the mining sector ranging from grass roots exploration through to development, operations, and mine closure. Currently Paul serves as Engineer of Record, as defined by the Mining Association of Canada, for Atlantic Gold’s Touquoy Mine Tailings Storage Facility in Nova Scotia, and other facilities for Vale in Newfoundland and Labrador and Trevali in New Brunswick. Paul is a Professional Engineer and a Professional Geoscientist in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador and a professional engineer in the provinces of Nova Scotia and British Columbia.

Maryse Belanger ICD.D, President, COO and Director Atlantic Gold Corporation. Maryse is a Mining Professional focused on building organizations, projects, teams and driving operations performance. In her role at Atlantic Gold she is responsible for the overall operational and technical management of the Company's assets as well as taking a lead role in executing the Company’s business plan and strategy, including the identification of new strategic opportunities for Atlantic Gold, interaction with federal and provincial Government and related entities, as well as stakeholder and investor relations. In her previous roles as CEO of Mirabela Nickel and Senior Vice President Technical Services at Goldcorp she has built, managed and also performed due diligence on a number of tailings dams around the world including in Brazil.

2:20 II.6 Measuring Climate Risk to Mining and Infrastructure Projects - Shearman Room

The Climate Service: James McMahon, CEO
Panattoni Development Company: Guillermo (Willy) Accame, Director of Risk Management
S&P Global Ratings:
Don Marleau, Natural Resources Sector Lead
Hatch: Susan McGeachie, Global Director, Climate Change and Sustainable Development
Watson Environmental: Leslie M. Watson, Principal (Ch)

Aligning climate science and seasonal forecasts with industry needs presents opportunities for addressing risks. The panel will present information on tools to measure the cost of climate related risks and seasonal forecasts in relation to key performance metrics, assessing resilience benefits and ratings.

James McMahon is co-founder and CEO of The Climate Service, a technology company that helps corporations measure, monitor, and manage their climate risk using big data and world-class expertise. The Climate Service’s risk analytics software gives investors and corporate managers the financial information they need to incorporate climate-related risk into their decisions. James began his career in global change by studying physics at Harvard University, and atmospheric chemistry at MIT under the guidance of Nobel Laureate Mario Molina. After leading several technology companies, James served as Senior Advisor to the Director of NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information, who is now a senior advisor to The Climate Service.

Guillermo (Willy) Accame manages risk throughout Panattoni’s global operations and advises in the acquisition and development of properties throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe. Willy also serves as a National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) Industry Adviser and as part of the Capacity Center for Climate and Weather Extremes (C3WE) leads the Climate-i Construction workgroup. Willy provides a strong industry perspective along with expertise on some of the leading extreme weather- and climate-related questions and his work helps bridge communication between private industry and climate scientists in the United States and Europe. Willy holds an M.S. in Geochemistry and Remote Sensing from Purdue University.

Don Marleau is Natural Resources Lead at S&P Global Ratings. Don has analytical oversight for the metals and mining, building materials, forest products and building sectors. Don also covers industry-leading credits in each industry, including Newmont, Alcoa and Lennar. As Sector Lead, Don is responsible for ratings quality, industry-level credit themes and commentary and outreach to investors. Don has covered issuers in various materials industries since 2000, serving as a global coordinator for metals and mining since 2008. Don also covered asset-backed securities in the early 2000's. Don holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and a Bachelor of Commerce with Honours from Laurentian University in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada.

Susan McGeachie leads Hatch’s global climate change and sustainable development practice with 20 years of experience in this field. She supports clients in addressing the impact of a changing business environment, including climate change-related factors, on projects. Susan develops strategies to manage shifts in laws and regulations, societal expectations and weather patterns through environmental, social and governance (ESG)-focused program reviews and evaluations, climate change-related risk and investment cost-benefit assessments, stakeholder consultations, internal audit and risk management, and sustainability reporting strategy and guidance. Susan holds an MBA from the Schulich School of Business with a specialization in Finance and Sustainability, and is an Adjunct Professor with the University of Toronto and Clean 16 award recipient.

Leslie Watson is a senior regulatory specialist and project manager with over 25 years of experience evaluating natural resources development projects and land management planning. Leslie has managed and provided technical expertise for projects in the western U.S., and Alaska. These projects include oil and gas pipelines, coal and hard rock mines, reservoirs, forest fuel reduction, and water supplies. Leslie has experience conducting numerous field surveys and assessing impacts on biological resources and ecosystem services.

2:20 II.6A Transforming Mines with Integrated Digital Operational Platforms - Conference Room G/H

RPM Global: Anthony Fraser, Customer Engagement Diector (Ch)
IDS GeoRadar: John Metzger, Geomatics Services Projects Coordinator
Proudfoot Consulting: Jon Wylie, President, Global Natural Resources
GE Transportation - Wabtec: Debra Johnson, Principle of Digital Mine
RPM Global: Sandeep Sandhu, General Manager North America
Glencore: Owain Morton, Digital Transformation Lead

The Digital Mine: Amplifying Decision Making Capability. This panel will speak to the 'Future of Mining' in the digital age; What is possible and what may be ahead for mines with declining ore grades, use of autonomous equipment, and how work forces can best adapt to their use and optimally operate the ever-increasingly sophisticated, diverse and readily available technology in the life of mine and supply chains. How can management best unlock value that is hidden in value chains. Innovation has ripple effects, business decisions made today enable miners to seamlessly create and compare scenarios across every activity required to bring commodities from mine plan to port to increase profitability.

Anthony Fraser is RPMGlobal’s Customer Engagement Director and has spent the past 15 years in software and hardware technology businesses in the mining and oil and gas industries. Anthony is responsible for marketing and managing relationships with both internal and external stakeholders of the RPMGlobal business ensuring all have a positive experience with the brand. He has substantial international, operational experience in the mining sector across many commodities and methods. He has previously held management roles in sales, marketing and product management in the mining technology and services market and has a Bachelors Degree from Griffith University in Australia.

John Metzger is a Business Development Technologist and the Geomatics Services Group Project Coordinator for IDS GeoRadar in Golden, CO. with over 12 years’ experience in the mining industry. Previously John supported international development projects and was an IT entrepreneur for over 13 years in Africa. He is responsible for Mining and Geomatics Services projects and instrumentation realization across North America. During his international tenure, John explored and implemented new technologies, data analysis, and delivery systems. He has worked extensively on mine sites during live Pit Asset “events” successfully ensuring the data realized allows for the continuation of safety, operations, and production. This unique opportunity, at the nexus of operating sites’ Pit Asset Management, has provided significant lessons and realizations involving live data collection, analysis, and operational and management value provision. John holds AAS, BS, and MA degrees from Rochester Institute of Technology, and Ball State University.

Jon Wylie, is President Global Natural Resources practice, joining Proudfoot as a Consultant in 1987, with over 30 years experience in the sector Natural Resources industry. Jon leads the Proudfoot Global Natural Resources practice, combining Industry knowledge and capability with Proudfoot transformation solutions and unique “boots on the ground” engagement to implement sustainable, measurable improvements.
Jon’s functional knowledge spans delivery of productivity improvement projects across diverse cultures, with solutions focused on safe operations, organisational engagement and management capability development. Global Natural Resources Practice at Proudfoot was recently recognised by the Management Consulting Association for Outstanding International project for work with our client Partner in Rio Tinto’s Oyu Tolgoi mine.

Debra Johnson is a Principal of Digital Mine within GE Transportation, a Wabtec Company. Debra is a senior leader, experienced with helping mining companies successfully navigate their digital transformation and operational optimization journeys. Driving innovation, along with a goal of seamless execution, Debra leads Digital Mine’s Center of Excellence initiative. Her mission is to help mining companies rapidly achieve new heights of productivity, profitability, safety, and sustainability by harnessing the power of technology, connectivity, and innovation, while collaboratively executing cultural transformation. Prior to joining GE, Debra was founder and CEO of two award-winning companies. Her hallmark is functioning as a visionary team leader who tenaciously tackles and achieves goals, solving client problems with a focus on sustainable solutions.

Sandeep Sandhu is General Manager, North America of RPM Global. Sandeep brings over 20 years of technology sales and marketing experience to the management team at RPMGLOBAL. He joined RPMGLOBAL in 2019 to lead the North American sales organization with strategic sales, planning, business development and support initiatives across North America. Mr. Sandhu is currently the Senior Executive. Prior to joining RPMGLOBAL, Sandeep spent four years with Dassault Systèmes as a senior executive responsible for North America, and over a decade with IBM Canada with his last role as Sales and Territory Executive for Enterprise Clients. Responsible for developing integrated sales and business strategies, Mr. Sandhu led a cross-functional sales and marketing team and leveraged distribution channels all designed to meet client business objectives with significant revenue streams for IBM. Prior to IBM, Mr. Sandhu held several other Sales and Project Management roles. Mr. Sandhu holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Electrical Engineering from the University of Victoria, in British Columbia. He currently sits on the Board of the Burnaby Association for Community Inclusion.

3:10 Refreshment Break
Sponsored by Hatch Advisory

3:30 II.7 Navigating the U.S. Permitting System and Operating Environment - Shearman Room

BHP: Jason Buckner, Head of Corporate Affairs
Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck: Jon Hrobsky, Policy Director
Mining Development Services LLC: Dr. John R. Craynon, P.E., President (Ch)
SynTerra Corp.: Steve Gardner PE, SME-RM, Vice President, Special Projects, Energy & Mining (Ch)
U.S. Department of the Interior: Casey Hammond, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management

The greatest barrier to a successful project in the United States is the byzantine permitting system that makes getting a mine operational a very difficult process. This panel of former and current U.S. decision-making officials will discuss:

  • The growing difficulty in getting mines from exploration to production in the U.S
  • How to work with federal and state agencies in a collaborative manner
  • How to use the political system and congressional relationships to minimize delays
  • Changes in law and regulation that have simplified the process
  • The importance of pre-investment political due diligence in choosing a project

Jason Buckner is the recent former Head of Corporate Affairs – Washington for BHP, the world’s largest diversified natural resources company. Jason joined BHP in 2013 where he opened the company’s Washington, DC office and focused on engagement with the US federal government. Prior to BHP, Jason served as the Director of Congressional and Legislative Affairs at the U.S. Department of the Interior. At the Department of the Interior, Jason provided direct advice to the Secretary of the Interior on crafting and advancing the agency’s legislative agenda through the Administration and Congress. Before joining the Obama administration, Jason served for 8 years in senior congressional positions including Chief of Staff to a member of Congress who represented a natural resources producing state.

Jon Hrobsky
is Co-Chairman of Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck’s Energy, Environment & Resource Strategies (EERS) Group. Jon has played a key role in crafting policy and shaping legislation for some of the major issues affecting energy production and natural resources in the United States. He works on matters across the energy, environment and natural resources spectrum—from oil and gas, renewables, utilities, water and mining, to clean air, public lands and the Endangered Species Act. Jon has extensive experience at the Department of the Interior in the Office of the Secretary and as the deputy director of the U.S. Minerals Management Service.

Dr. John R. Craynon,
P.E., President of Mining Development Services LLC, is providing advice and support to the mining and energy sectors. His 30-year federal career, from which he retired at the end of 2018, includes Senior Mining Engineering at the Export-Import Bank of the United States and the U.S. Department of the Interior, most notably at the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement. He has also served as Director of Environmental Programs at the Virginia Center for Coal and Energy Research at Virginia Tech. John has bachelor, masters and doctorate degrees in Mining and Minerals Engineering from Virginia Tech. He is an active member of several professional organizations and societies, including the Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration and the National Society of Professional Engineers.

Steve Gardner served as President, CEO of ECSI, LLC for 35 years. In January 2019 ECSI merged with SynTerra Corp. where he now serves as VP Special Projects, Mining & Energy. Mr. Gardner has an MS Mining Engineering, Graduate Certification in Environmental Systems and BS Agricultural Engineering from the University of Kentucky. In 2011, he was inducted into the UK Engineering Hall of Distinction. As a Prof. Eng. he has worked on projects throughout the US and internationally. Steve was 2015 President of SME and recognized as a Distinguished Member and Registered Member. He served on the UK Mining Engineering Foundation, Kentucky Geological Survey, Biosystems & Agricultural Engineering Advisory Boards and was a member of the Kentucky Board of Licensure for Professional Engineers and Surveyors.

Casey Hammond currently serves as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management overseeing the Bureau of Land Management, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, and the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement within the U.S. Department of the Interior. Casey started with the Department in January 2017 as part of the administration’s “Beachhead Team” that led the agency immediately following the President's inauguration. Prior to joining the administration, he worked in various capacities within the House of Representatives, including as Legislative Staff for the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands, Professional Staff for the Subcommittee on Public Lands and Environmental Regulation, and Senior Advisor for the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. 

3:30 II.7A Water Risks: Approaches to Avoid Problems and Failure - Conference Room G/H

Intera, Inc: Peter Castiglia, P.G., Senior Hydrogeologist (Ch)
Westech Engineering, Inc.: Mick L. McCaslin, P.E., International Sales Manager (Ch)
Columbia University Water Center: Paulina Concha, Researcher
Kinross Gold Company: John K. Mudge, Director, Environmental Affairs

This panel will identify the water risks common to most mineral development projects, illustrate common approaches for characterizing and controlling water risks, and share examples of how disruptions from water problems can have severe impacts on the financial performance of a development or operating company.

Peter Castiglia, P.G. is a Senior Hydrogeologist at INTERA, a geosciences consulting firm, where he serves as a member of the Executive Team and Vice President of the Mining and Water Resources Group. As a hydrogeologist, he leads multi-disciplinary teams that develop water-supply strategies for mineral processing and mining operations, approaches for dewatering underground operations, and predictive tools to evaluate potential impacts of proposed operations on water resources. He is proficient in Spanish, a licensed professional geologist, an SME Registered Member, and a Qualified Person, as defined by Canadian National Instrument 43-101.

Mick L. McCaslin. P.E. is the International Sales Manager for WesTech Engineering, Inc. in Salt Lake City. He has more than 30 years’ experience in plant operations, maintenance, equipment supply, and systems design. Previously he worked in copper milling, smelting and refining; vacuum and pressure filtration; industrial centrifugal pumps, and a global mineral processing and metallurgical support laboratory. Currently he is privileged to lead a team of regional managers supporting customers throughout the world in resolving their liquid-solid separation challenges.

Paulina Concha is a researcher at the Columbia Water Center at Columbia University in New York, where she has worked under the direction of Prof. Upmanu Lall for the past five years. She obtained a B.S. in Chemistry from the ITESM in Monterrey, Mexico, and a M.S. degree in Environmental Engineering from Columbia University. She worked in engineering at Procter and Gamble for five years prior to starting a career in water research. She has worked on projects related to urban and rural water supply, water management and climate risk in agricultural supply chains, water related risks in the mining sector, and the valuation of water.

John Mudge is the Director of Environmental Affairs for Kinross Gold Company. He provides guidance and advice to all Kinross operations, globally. Prior to Kinross he worked for Newmont in process operations, environment and social responsibility. He finished his career at Newmont in an acting role with oversight of sustainability reporting to the CEO. John obtained a Bachelors degree in Metallurgical Engineering from University of Idaho in 1979. He also completed a MBA at the University of Nevada in 1994. He has been a member of SME for nearly 40 years and actively involved in the Nevada Mining Association including completion of two terms as Chairman of the Board. He is on the advisory boards at the Mackay School of Mines, University of Nevada and American Exploration and Mining Association. He completed three terms as a Governor appointee to the Nevada Commission on Mineral Resources and was selected twice by the Secretary of Interior to advise the Bureau of Land Management on resource management. He participates with the Industry Advisory Group for the International Cyanide Code, a Group he chaired for over two years. 

4:20 II.8 Favorable Investment Jurisdictions in Mining and the Minerals Sector in the Americas - Shearman Room

Are miners and mining investment experiencing a return to perennial jurisdictions such as Canada and the US? How are emerging market jurisdictions in the Americas looking to stay relevant? Do great projects win out? What about everyone else? What about governments as mediators between communities and miners? Are miners in risk-on or risk-off mode?  Which governments in the hemisphere are doing things to attract investment? What regulatory adjustments works? What is the outlook?
 
Accendo Banco: Javier Reyes de la Campa, Chairman
Gustavson Associates: Donald E. Hulse PE, Vice President of Mining (Ch)
Mining Journal: Paul Harris, Editor of Latin America (Ch)
German Mineral Resources Agency (DERA), Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR): Dr. Ing. Sven-Uwe Schulz, Head of Unit Evaluation of Mineral Resources
Sandspring Resources Ltd: Richard A. Munson B.A.,J.D., L.L.M. Chief Executive Officer, Director, Corporate Secretary
Ressources Quebec, a subsidiary of Investissement Quebec: Amyot Choquette,Senior Manager, Mines Québec  
Société Générale: Alvaro Belevan, Director, Metals & Mining Finance

Donald E. Hulse is the Vice President of Mining at Gustavson Associates. He is a Mining Engineer with over 30 years of experience in the mining industry, including technical and general management, permitting coordination, short and long term operational planning, economic pit limit analysis, pit and phase design, cost estimation and analysis, resource estimation, geostatistics, feasibility studies and reserve audits. Project experience includes involvement with gold, silver, base metals and industrial metals in design, analysis, planning and operational control. He has been responsible for coordinating the efforts of a management team through permitting, construction and initiation of mine operation. Mr. Hulse is also a Qualified Person as defined by the NI 43-101.

Paul Harris is a mining sector researcher, analyst and reporter with over 16 years experience in the mining sector and 13 years experience in Latin America. Paul has eight years experience in the Colombia gold sector working with junior explorers in an investor relations and business development. Since 2015 he has been Latin America Editor for Mining Journal covering the Latin America region. Paul founded and edits Colombia Gold Letter in 2011 that focuses on the gold and copper sectors in the northern Andes, and began the successful Colombia Gold Symposium in 2017. Previously he spent five years in Chile researching and reporting on the copper sector for Metal Bulletin and CRU. Paul received a BA in business administration from the University of the West of England, UK; and a MA in international relations from the University of Chile, Santiago Chile.

Sven-Uwe Schulz serves as Head of the unit Evaluation of Mineral Resources for the German Mineral Resources Agency (DERA) in the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR), the federal geological survey of Germany. That is a subsidiary organization of the German Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy. He has more than 15 years of experience in the fields of mining engineering, consulting, project management and project evaluation. Schulz worked for two engineering consultants and a university before he joined DERA in 2013. He holds a doctoral degree from Technical University of Berlin, Germany (2008) as well as a master’s degree in mining engineering (2001) from the same university.

Javier Reyes de la Campa is Founding partner and President of Private Equity CP. Currently Chairman of Accendo Banco. With more than 20 year experience in the natural resource sector, he began his career in the financial sector in 1996 at Casa de Bolsa Estrategia Bursátil, based in Mexico City. In 2001, he founded Mex E Trade Asesores, a firm that specialized in consulting related to the mining and energy sector. He actively participates in the decision making of three funds: Antares Oil & Gas, Accendo Natural Resources and Cygnus Real Estate Opportunity Fund.

Richard A. Munson is CEO/Director Sandspring Resources Ltd. Rich has been active in the natural resources business for 30+ years, starting as a natural resources lawyer specializing in taxation. Rich moved to the private sector in the mid-1980’s joining the Energy Fuels companies which became the largest U.S. uranium producer in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s. Rich has been active in multiple jurisdictions and was a co-founder of Sandspring, owner of the Toroparu project in Guyana, S.A. and the Chicharron project in Colombia S.A. The Toroparu gold project, with a resource of 10.5 million ounces, is now the largest undeveloped project in South America owned by a junior developer.

Amyot Choquette is Senior Manager, Mines Québec at Ressources Quebec, a subsidiary of Investissement Quebec that is an economic development agency owned by the government of Quebec that provides financing solutions to companies who have projects in Quebec. He has more than 17 years of experience in mining finance and has successfully provided financing solutions to mining companies using public equity, private equity, senior debt, subordinated debt, convertible debentures and other financial instruments. Previously he worked at a private equity fund and in an accounting firm. He earned a B.A. in business management with honors and holds a CPA-CA designation.

Alvaro Belevan heads Société Générale’s business development in Latin America, extending the bank’s global platform in metals and mining finance and advisory. Alvaro is responsible for originating and structuring corporate, project, trade and acquisition financing transactions as well as leading debt advisory mandates in support of mine development and operating companies in Latin America. Alvaro has been a financier to the mining sector since 1997 in a number of roles including corporate finance, merchant banking and principal investing at Citigroup, Macquarie Bank and RMB Resources (a division of First Rand Bank) and now SG. He also managed business development projects at Meridian Gold, a North American gold mining company. Alvaro holds a BBA from EU Business School and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

5:10 Closing Remarks by Conference Chair

5:15-8:00 Reception at Shearman & Sterling. Register. Join us for a raffle of wonderful photos by photographer Laszlo Bencze again. .
Sponsored by Shearman & Sterling and SRK Consulting and Hecla Mining Company

8:00 Conclusion of Day Two of the Conference

Wednesday May 1, 2019 - Three Workshops
at Shearman & Sterling LLP at 599 Lexington Avenue, at corner of 53rd Street

Select one of two morning workshops: Breakfast 7:45 AM, Start 8:30 AM, End 11:30 AM, Lunch Ends 1 PM and or
Join us for an afternoon workshop: Lunch at Noon, Start at 12:30, Ends at 4 PM.

Wednesday May 1, 2019 from 8 to 11:30 AM prior to lunch at Shearman & Sterling
Breakfast Sponsored by Behre Dolbear

III. Valuing Mineral Assets and Operations – Understanding Valuation Issues - led by Alan Stagg, PG, CMA, President, Principal Economic Geologist, Stagg Resource Consultants

IV. Are you ready? A Comprehensive Approach to Navigate the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s New Mining Property Disclosure Requirements – led by Ben Parsons, Principal Geologist, SRK Consulting (U.S.), Inc., Matthew Sullivan, Consultant, Mining Economics, SRK Consulting (U.S.) and Jason Lehner, Partner, Shearman & Sterling, LLP

Wednesday May 1, 2019 lunch from Noon to 1 PM at Shearman & Sterling
All Wednesday workshop attendees are welcome to join us for lunch to continue your conversations and or unwind, relax and recharge before the start of the afternoon workshop and official end of the Conference.
Lunch Sponsored by Shearman & Sterling

Wednesday May 1, 2019 from Noon to 4 PM - Starting after lunch at Shearman & Sterling
The fifth workshop may start at 12:30 PM. If registering to attend this workshop, please join us for lunch, promptly before Noon

V. Measuring Climate Risk: An Interactive Workshop on Meaningful Measures of Climate Risks in Relation to Financing Mining and Infrastructure Projects led by Leslie Watson, Watson Environmental; James McMahon, CEO of The Climate Service; Don Marleau, Natural Resources Sector Lead, S&P Global Ratings; Michael Ferguson, Director U.S. Energy Infrastructure Group, S&P Global Ratings and Susan McGeachie, Global Director, Climate Change and Sustainable Development at Hatch.

Wednesday May 1, 2019 the Conference ends at 4 PM

Read about the workshops

Shown below is a photo from a reception where all can meet. We welcome you to join us. Register in advance.
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You do not have to attend the conference to attend the workshops and receptions. On Sunday April 28 there will be two workshops followed by a networking reception before the conference begins on Monday April 29 with breakfast, starting at 7:30 AM. There will be receptions on Sunday April 28, Monday April 29 and Tuesday April 30. On Wednesday May 1 there will be two morning workshops and an afternoon workshop, with lunch. If you will like to join the sponsors please contact Tim Alch, Conference Co Chair at timalch@gmail.com

Attending CTMF 2018 were more than 290 experts and senior executives including officers from more than 40 mining and exploration companies and bankers, investors, private equity, analysts, advisers, engineers, and officials from more than 21 countries including Argentina, Australia, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Germany, India, Japan, Kosovo, Mexico, Peru, Portugal, South Africa, Turkey, the United Kingdom and Uruguay. Register to meet and hear technical and non-technical experts discuss solutions, risks and opportunities.

Throughout CTMF 2019 there will be time to meet one-on-one with influential banking, finance industry executives and many leading advisers interpreting and presenting technical and non-technical data supporting analysis and financing of all types of mining projects, ranging from sand and gravel, industrial minerals to base, precious and critical minerals and bulk mineral commodities, working all around the world. 

Meet senior officers from these banking, investing, private equity, and engineering and professional advisory firms, that as of early April include executives from more than 40 mining and exploration companies as well as officials from numerous government agencies operating in and representing many countries from around the world. 

Senior representatives from these and other banking, finance, accounting, royalty, streaming, private equity and investment firms will be attending CTMF 2019: Accendo Banco; AXA XL; BMO Capital Markets; BNP Paribas Securities; BNP Paribas; Canada, Government of; Capstone Headwaters; Citibank Corporate & Investment Bank; Commonwealth Bank of Australia; Consulate General of Canada in New York; Desjardins Securities; Deutsche Bank Securities, Inc.; Duff & Phelps Ltd; Erdenes Mongol; Ernst & Young Canada; E&Y; Export Development Canada; FTI Consulting; Franco-Nevada Corporation; German Mineral Resources Agency (DERA), Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR); Government of Quebec; IBK Capital Corp.; ING Capital; ING; International Finance Corporation/ World Bank Group; Investissment Quebec; KPMG Canada; Macquarie; Maverix Metals Inc.; Moelis & Company; Murdock Capital; Northcott Capital; Orion Mine Finance; Quebec Government Office in New York; Red Cloud Klondike Strike; Resource Capital Fund; Ressources Quebec; ROC Global; Rothschild; S&P Global Ratings; Sandstorm Gold Ltd.; Societe Generale; Societe du Plan Nord, Quebec; The World Bank; Triple Flag Mining Finance Ltd; U.S. Department of Interior, Bureau of Land Management; USG; Zurich NA and others

Executives from these exploration and mining companies and officials from various government agencies supporting mineral and mining investment operating in and from around the world are expected to be at CTMF 2019: Agnico Eagle Mines; AmAuCu Mining Corp.; Ammonite Resources; Andex Minerals; ArcelorMittal Mining Canada; Atlantic Gold Corporation; Aura Minerals; BHP; BlackRock Metals; Canada, Government of; Coeur Mining, Inc.; Consulate General of Canada in New York; Controlled Thermal Resources; CSN Minerals, Brazil; Doré Copper Mining Corporation; Dundee Precious Metals; Emergent Technology; Erdenes Mongol; Export Development Canada; First Quantum Minerals Limited; Franco-Nevada Corporation; Galway Metals; GAME, Inc.; German Mineral Resources Agency (DERA), Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR); Glencore; Global Sea Mineral Resources; Hecla Mining; Hudbay Minerals Inc.; International Finance Corporation/ World Bank Group; Investissement Québec; Jaxon Mining Inc.: KGHM International; Kinross Gold Co.; Leagold Mining Corporation; Lundin Mining Corp.; Mason Graphite; Maverix Metals; MERN: Quebec's  Ministère de l’Énergie et des Ressources naturelles/ Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources; Minera Gold Fields Chile; Mines Royales Quebec; Monarques Gold Corp.; Nemaska Lithium; Newmont Mining Corp.; Nouveau Monde Graphite; Novagold Resources; Ocean Minerals LLC; Orvana Minerals Corp.; PolyMet Mining; Quebec Government Office in New York; Quebec Precious Metals Corp; Ressources Quebec; Royal Gold; Sandspring Resources Ltd; Sandstorm Gold Ltd.; Sirios Resources; Societe du Plan Nord, Quebec; Sphinx Resources; Teck Resources; Texas Mineral Resources; Torex Gold Resources; Twin Pines Resources; U.S. Department of Interior, Bureau of Land Management; Volcan Compañía Minera; Zhong Guo Mining and others

Senior officers of these engineering, construction, equipment, legal, accounting, technology and other advisory companies will be there: Abernathy MacGregor; Agapito Associates; Baker McKenzie; Behre Dolbear; Black & Veatach; Blake, Cassels & Graydon; Bloomberg Intelligence; Bradford Consulting; The Brattle Group; Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck; Cementation USA; Clear Creek Digital; Colorado School of Mines; Columbia University Water Center; Control Risks; Cornell University; CPM Group; CRU; DLG Consultants; EARTHRES Group; ESG Consulting; Fasken Martineau DuMoulin; Fastmarkets; GeoGlobal; GE-Wabtec; Golder; Groff Engineering & Consulting LLC; Gustavson Associates; Hatch Advisory; Hatch; Hoal Consulting; House Mountain Partners; IDS GeoRadar; Independent Mining Consultants; InfoMine USA; Intera, Inc.; Kappes Cassidy & Associates; Lauras Liasons; LaszloPhoto; Lincoln Metallurgical; Lulea University of Technology; McGriff, Siebels & Williams; Millcreek Engineering; Miller Thomson; Mining Development Services, LLC; Mining Journal; Near Earth LLC; New Space Analytics LLC; NY SME; Panattoni Development Co.; Penguin Automated Systems.; PMV Research; Proudfoot Consulting; Ramboll; Raw Materials & Ironmaking Global Consulting; RESPEC; Riivos; Roscoe Postle Associates; RPM Global; Samuel Engineering; Sanford Rose Associates; SCM Decisions, LLC; Sepor Services LLC; Shearman & Sterling LLP; SME; Social Capital Group s.a.c.; SRK Consulting; Stagg Resource Consultants; Stantec; SynTerra Corp.; TAA Advisory; Technology Metals Research; The Climate Service; Tierra Group International; University of Delaware; University of Utah; U.S. Department of Energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory; Watson Environmental; Weir International, Inc.; Westech Engineering; White & Case LLP; Wiley Rein LLP; Wood Plc; and others. We hope you can join us! Get your questions answered

Register here to attend any part of CTMF 2019 to hear and meet with many leading, influential experts who work with, advise and fund large, medium and small mining and exploration companies world wide. They and colleagues are typically involved with evaluating and funding the core aspects of mining projects, often including related equipment and infrastructure requirements. 

Titles of attendees include: CEO, President, Partner, Executive Director, Project Manager, Banker, VP, Engineering & Development, Corporate Finance Specialist, CFO, Treasurer, Consultant, Managing Director, Geologist, Corporate Strategist, Investor, Environmental Specialist, Engineer, Mining Engineer, Lawyer, Financial and Equity Analyst, Accountant, Portfolio Manager, Controller, CTO - Chief Technology Officer, Global Leaders of Mining and Natural Resources, Founder, Economic Geologist and Community Engagement, Investor Relations Officer and Appraiser.

The round table discussions are led by industry experts. All encourage audience participation. We hope you join us. Register today space is limited*.
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Registration will open soon for CTMF 2020 
We hope you join us at 

SME's 8th annual Current Trends in Mining Finance Conference
Connecting Mining, Finance and Engineering Executives
Sunday May 10, 2020 - Wednesday May 13, 2020

Return to this website for updates. Agenda is subject to change. CTMF 2020 will be in the same venues shown in this site. The organizers may need to close registration early*.






* Space is limited. The organizers monitor registrations and may need to close registration. Some registered delegates may be asked to be present in a second board conference room that will have live video and audio feed to the main conference or conference room G/H and or attend in a third board room to watch and hear Track 1 and or Track 2 via live audio/video feed. Additional rooms and space adjacent to the main conference room are places to relax, network, meet one on one, for quiet phone conversations, or work. 

NY SME is organizer of the 7th annual CTMF conference and is a section of Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration (SME), an association of 14,000+ geo-scientists and mining, mineral professionals in 100+ countries. SME members include mining executives, engineers, geologists, metallurgists, educators, students and researchers. SME advances the worldwide mining and underground construction community through information exchange and professional development. SME is a member society of the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical and Petroleum Engineers. The New York Section of SME encompasses the Tri-State area. Its members are given the opportunity to network with peers and hear valuable presentations through its activities. NY SME dates back to 1871 when a handful of mining engineers in New York City founded the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical and Petroleum Engineers (AIME). We invite you to join SME and visit the SME's Bookstore Catalog with a selection of economic and business texts about mining.