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BusinessExcellence Weekly

ISSUE No. 72 | www.bus-ex.com

range resources:

Wide-ranging potential Range Resources has made incredible progress in the two years that it has been present in the Caribbean

Industrias Correagua:

element power:

alpha minerals:

HERE’S WHY ONTARIO, CANADA

IS YOUR NEXT

BIG IDEA Opportunities for mineral exploration in Ontario abound. Powered by global leaders in innovation and safety standards, our mining practices are among the safest and most sustainable in the world.

With business costs lower here than in most G7 countries, Ontario suppliers are more competitive – so you can depend on quality goods and services, delivered on time, on spec and on budget. Innovation is at our core. Make Ontario your next big idea.

YourNextBigIdea.ca/Mining

$2.9B

in non-metallic minerals, including diamonds, was produced in Ontario in 2012

$2.6B in gold

$1.5B in copper

$1.4B in nickel

$787M

in other metals such as platinum and silver

Paid for by the Government of Ontario.

business excellence

Business John O’Hanlon Editor johanlon@bus-ex.com Will Daynes Editor wdaynes@bus-ex.com Matt Johnson Art Director mjohnson@bus-ex.com Louise Culling Production Designer lculling@bus-ex.com Richard Turner Director of Sales rturner@bus-ex.com

Business Excellence brings you content from leading business influencers and strategic thinkers providing inspiration and guidance to help you and your business grow.

We showcase some of the best examples of successful organisations from around the world giving you a unique insight into how they operate.

Vince Kielty Director of Editorial Research vkielty@bus-ex.com Sharon Rooke Administration & Operations srooke@bus-ex.com Matt Day Head of Technology mday@bus-ex.com Andy Turner Chief Executive aturner@bus-ex.com

Contributors HINT: For the best experience, click the fullscreen icon

Juan-Jose Juan Global Leader of Enterprise Innovation, Vodafone

Subscriptions & Enquires info@bus-ex.com

Jacquard House, Queen Street, Norwich, NR2 4SX. England

Infinity Business Media Ltd

The content of this magazine is copyright of Infinity Business Media Ltd. Redistribution or reproduction of any content is prohibited. Š Copyright 2013 Infinity Business Media Ltd.

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issue No.72

6 6 top ten

automobile companies by market value

14

2013 has seen the automotive industry continue its recovery from the dark days following the global economic crisis. Here we identify the ten companies leading the way in terms of market value.

14 operations

Why reflection is key to innovation in the enterprise

Why businesses that are able to understand their past, are best placed for the future.

18

18 Range Resources

Wide-ranging potential

Trinidad Chief Operations Officer, Walter Cukavac discusses the incredible progress made by Range Resources in the little over two years that it has been present on the Caribbean island.

4 | BE Weekly

contents

28 Element Power

An elementary approach to renewable energy

It is in Ireland where global renewable energy developer Element Power is bringing to fruition several vital wind energy developments, including the ground-breaking Greenwire Project.

28

36 Potash Ridge Growing green

56

Potash Ridge’s Blawn Mountain deposit in Utah has got everything going for it, pulled forward by the market and pushed forward by an enthusiastic team in a supportive jurisdiction.

46 Base Resources

The path to production

Base Resources’ Kwale mineral sands operation is a game changer for both the company and the Republic of Kenya.

56 Industrias Correagua

A proud Panamanian business

Industrias Correagua’s quality products and passionate approach to each project has made it one of Panama’s most important companies.

62 Alpha Minerals

Achieving high grades

62

Alpha Minerals’ strategically selected uranium and gold properties are producing the results required to take this junior exploration company to the next level.

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top ten automobile companies by market value

2013 has seen the automotive industry continue its recovery from the dark days following the global economic crisis. Here we identify the ten companies leading the way in terms of market value Edited by: Will Daynes

Top Ten

10 nikshor / Shutterstock.com

SAIC Motors $26.7 billion

Headquartered in Shanghai, SAIC Motor Corporation Limited is a Chinese state-owned automotive manufacturing company, with origins dating back to the 1940s. One of China’s socalled “Big Four” automakers, the company boasted the largest production volume of any of its rivals in 2012, producing more than 4.5 million units, 76 percent of which were passenger vehicles. Today, SAIC sells vehicles under a variety of brand names such as MG and Roewe, and share joint venture partnerships with Volkswagen and General Motors.

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9 General Motors $38.5 billion

For 77 consecutive years, from 1931 to 2007, General Motors led the way in global vehicle sales and remains to this day one of the world’s largest automakers by vehicle unit sales. Headquartered in Motor City itself, Detroit, Michigan, the company employs some 212,000 people and does business in approximately 157 countries worldwide. In 37 of these countries it produces vehicles under twelve distinct brands, including Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, Cadillac, Baojun, Holden, HSV, Jie Fang, Opel, Vauxhall, UzDaewoo, and Wuling.

auto companies

8 Hyundai Motor Company $41.5 billion

Founded in 1967, the Hyundai Motor Company is a South Korean multinational automaker, which, along with its 32.8 percent owned subsidiary, Kia Motors, together comprises the Hyundai Motor Group, the world’s fifth largest automaker based on annual vehicle sales in 2012. Hyundai operates the world’s largest integrated automobile manufacturing facility, located in Ulsan, South Korea, which boasts an annual production capacity of some 1.6 billion units.

Hyundai’s vehicles are today sold in 193 countries through a network of more than 6,000 dealerships and showrooms.

7 Nissan Motors $43.4 billion

While the Nissan name has been in use since the 1930s its origins can be traced back several decades further giving the Japanese automaker a legacy that dates back more the a century. Today the company’s headquarters are situated in Nishi-ku, Yokohama and it is from here that its directors steer a business responsible for selling over 4.9 million vehicles in 2012 alone. In July 2013, the company announced the relaunch of its Datsun brand in an effort to target emerging markets, with initial results suggesting that its position on this list could well rise come next year.

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Top Ten

5 BMW Group $60 billion

6 Ford Motor Company $51.8 billion

Very much a part of American automotive history, the Ford Motor Company was of course founded by Henry Ford in 1903. Described

by Forbes Magazine as “the most important industrial company in the history of the United States”, Ford was responsible for introducing to the world methods for large-scale manufacturing of cars and large-scale management of an industrial workforce using elaborately engineered manufacturing sequences typified by moving assembly lines. In 2012, the company sold 2.25 million vehicles in the US alone, and today has manufacturing operations throughout the world, from the UK and Germany, to China, Brazil, Australia and South Africa.

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Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, or BMW to you and me, was founded in 1916 and makes its home in Munich, Germany. BMW is part of the so called “German Big Three” luxury automakers, together with Audi and Mercedes-Benz, which make up the three bestselling luxury automakers in the world. The parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, BMW also owns and produces Mini cars, while its global operations are supplemented by overseas subsidiaries in the US, Canada, China, Japan, India, Egypt and South Africa.

In June 2002, Forbes.com placed BMW at number one in its list of the most reputable companies in the world.

auto companies

3 Honda Motor Company $72.4 billion

4 Daimler AG $61.4 billion

Like BMW, Daimler calls Germany its home, specifically Stuttgart where its headquarters are based, and remains one of the most covered status symbol brands for the rich and powerful. By unit sales the company is the thirteenth largest car manufacturer and second largest truck manufacturer in the world. As of the beginning of 2013, the company provided employment for some 275,000 people and today owns or has shares in a number of marques including Mercedes-Benz, Smart, Beijing Automotive Group, Tesla Motors and Renault-Nissan Alliance.

With a global line-up of models that include the Civic, Accord, Insight, CR-V, CR-Z and two versions of the Odyssey, Honda’s automotive manufacturing legacy can be traced back to the early 1960s. In the decades since it has grown into Japan’s second largest manufacturer by volume, and the eight largest globally. Today its line-up varies from country to country, while its efforts in the field of producing hybrid electric vehicles has seen it emerge as a direct competitor to the Toyota Prius. As of this year the company continues to invest billions of dollars of its own revenues into research and development.

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Top Ten

2

Volkswagen Group $94.4 billion

In German, Volkswagen literally means “people’s car”, and the people of Germany have every right to be proud of a home grown enterprise that has become the largest automotive company in the world by revenue alone. For over two decades the company has maintained the largest market share in Europe and in 2012 it produced the third latest number of vehicles of any company in the world. Volkswagen Group sells passenger cars under the Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, Porsche, SEAT, Škoda and Volkswagen marques, and commercial vehicles under the MAN, Scania and Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles marques. While the company remains fiercely proud of its European heritage, its operations in China have grown incredibly over the last decade making this its largest market.

12 | BE Weekly

auto companies

1 Toyota Motor Corporation $167.2 billion

Founded in 1937 by Kiichiro Toyoda and headquartered in Toyota, Aichi, Japan, Toyota Motor Corporation was the largest automobile manufacturer by production in 2012, with the 200-millionth vehicle rolling off its production line in July of that year. The company, which today employs over 333,000 people, has factories across the globe from which it manufactures and assembles a range of vehicles, from a list of over 70 different models sold under its namesake brand, for local markets. Among the best known of Toyota’s brands one will today find Lexus, Scion, Daihatsu and Hino Motors. From hatchbacks and SUVs to sedans and hybrids, Toyota reach continues to expand making it every bit the definition of a multinational corporation.

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Why reflection is key to innovation in the enterprise Why businesses that are able to understand their past, are best placed for the future Words by

Juan-Jose Juan

Operations

I

n business - new isn’t always better. New technologies might appear attractive, but they require time and imagination before they realise their full potential.

The best business innovations don’t come from innovating for innovation’s sake nor are they always borne out of wild or prolific ideas – they come from strategic thinking and applied process.

They come from assessing existing technologies and information across industries and business functions and matching them with core competencies.

Today, many organisations look to new technologies and practices to innovate and future proof themselves to ensure the best chance for success, but little do they realise that the key to innovation is about understanding what they have and using it in news ways. In this way, enterprises can create the right tools to help them better prepare for the future.

Future proofing the enterprise The sheer size and scale of Multi-National Corporations can make future-proofing a complex task for companies seeking to enhance flexibility, connectivity and stay relevant in an increasingly competitive market.

More and more enterprises are turning to the cloud, machine-to-machine and

mobile technologies, as well as reviewing global communications strategies, to drive innovation and keep pace with the everchanging business environment. Using these technologies businesses are better placed to capture, access and analyse information to develop meaningful insights and identify opportunities that can drive creativity and profitability throughout the business.

True innovation, however, goes beyond simply being able to access greater volumes of information. It’s about how this information is disseminated and consumed throughout the business.

Making sure the right information is accessed by the right people at the right levels is crucial to ensuring the right business decisions can be made based on meaningful and accurate insight.

Something as straight forward as having the right dashboards in place is a simple but effective way of doing this. Although it sounds obvious, many dashboards reflect the complexity of the technologies and information they portray. By refining them and making them more user-friendly, they are able to provide executives with greater and more accurate visibility over a multitude of company activities and costs, such as global device deployment, enterprise wide comms or the latest sales or procurement

“True innovation goes beyond simply being able to access greater volumes of information. It’s about how this information is disseminated and consumed throughout the business” BE Weekly

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costs at any time and on any device.

All of which makes them better able to understand them and make decisions to drive change within the business.

Angry birds for the enterprise Enterprises are also looking to innovate by developing programs and applications that people want to – rather than have to – use. Everyone is familiar with the angry bird craze that swept the nation a few years ago. What if we could develop something similarly engaging that people could use in the enterprise?

16 |

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“Many businesses have already introduced BYOD strategies and have seen the potential it has to increase mobility among employees” Many businesses have already introduced BYOD strategies and have seen the potential it has to increase mobility among employees. The missing piece of the puzzle for many however, is turning this increased mobility into increased collaboration.

The more forward thinking enterprises have already taken steps to address this.

For example, some HR departments are currently working on ways to unlock the potential of technologies already used in other industries – working with game developers to create a culture that appeals to and motivates Generation Y end-users.

They are keen to develop something that’s attractive to end-users and prospective new talent to access and use by encouraging them to interact with each other – be it sharing content or discussing problems.

Angry birds for the enterprise might be slightly overreaching because at the end of the day work and play are two very different things. However – it is achievable. Be it a central resource for sharing ideas or collaborating on issues fostering a community of help and camaraderie then it just might work – it just needs to dangle the right carrot for people to engage with it.

Operations

Big Data - obviously Of course no article is complete without the obligatory hat tip to Big Data. Many in the industry are bored to tears at the mere mention, but the fact of the matter is – it’s a very big deal, and one that’s slowly creeping across all facets of the enterprise.

Marketers are among the latest departments to innovate by aggregating the information within their mobile networks to extract customer patterns that can fundamentally change how their businesses operate. And again this goes back to having easily consumable dashboards.

Utilising this information they are able to use the network information to identify real-time patterns in people’s movements providing better visibility into how busy a shopping center is and if more staff are required to service customers, or identify how full a car park is to alert people when it is full or if there are spaces available.

Pre-dashboard era, they wouldn’t have known what they were looking at without a data scientist sat over their shoulder explaining it to them. Now however, anyone can look at their computer screen and make sense of what used to be nothing but a series of inexplicable numbers, lines and code configuration requests. Thus it’s providing the means to simply access and understand this information that is where true innovation lies in this era of hyper consumption.

Think inside the box Ultimately, everyone has access to the same technology and uses the same equipment so this in itself won’t be enough to differentiate one enterprise from another. The difference is in what you do with it.

“Pre-dashboard era, they wouldn’t have known what they were looking at without a data scientist sat over their shoulder explaining it to them” M2M technology for example has existed for years, only recently have business started to apply it existing technologies – connecting everything up to take real-time readings. In India, one soft drink vendor found that 20 percent of its drink dispensers were going missing. M2M was used to identify that as people there didn’t have fridges in their house, they were taking the dispensers so they could keep their milk chilled. By working this out they were able to reduce the number of fridges stolen from 20 percent to 3 percent.

In an era where pressures faced by businesses are extreme people often get caught up in trying to find out what new solution will make their lives easier.

STOP. Look around and assess your tools to see what’s right under your nose before you start laying out huge costs for newfangled untried technologies.

Those businesses that are able to look back and understand their past will be much more successful at innovating in the future.

About the author Juan-Jose Juan, Global Leader of Enterprise Innovation, Vodafone. www.vodafone.com

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Wide-ranging

potential

18 | be weekly

Range Resources

Trinidad Chief Operations Officer, Walter Cukavac discusses the incredible progress made by Range Resources in the little over two years that it has been present on the Caribbean island

written by: Will Daynes research by: Robert Hodgson

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Range Resources

I

t was in 2011 that Range Resources entered into the oil market of Trinidad. A listed oil and gas exploration, development and production company already boasting interests in Puntland, Somalia, Texas, USA and the Republic of Georgia, Range’s arrival on the Caribbean’s southernmost island nation was instigated through the acquisition of 100 percent interest in three production licences, Morne Diablo, South Quarry and Beach Marcelle.

Each located within producing onshore oilfields, Range’s newly acquired assets were complemented by the acquisition of a local, fully operational drilling company possessing six drilling rigs and further completion and workover rigs, and operational personnel.

The Morne Diablo onshore licence comprises 9,300 acres along the south coast of the island and is subject to a farm-in agreement with Trinidad’s national oil company, Petrotrin. Range has extended its existing FOA until 31 December 2021.

The licence has 2D and 3D seismic coverage and features multi-productive horizons, all of which are currently being targeted. Of its 300 plus wells, 165 are currently producing with 33 new development wells having been added since its acquisition in 2011 and potential for a further 100 wells to be drilled over the coming years.

Comprising of 3,700 acres of land, the South Quarry onshore licence is another of Range Resources’ three original acquisitions.

Subject to the same type of farm-in agreement with Petrotrin as Morne Diablo, the licence also shares characteristics such as the fact that it been subject to 2D and 3D seismic and

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Gulf Engineering Services Limited

Gulf Group of Companies have been servicing the Oil and Gas Industry in our Twin Island Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, South America and the Caribbean for the past Thirty-Seven years on a twenty-four hour basis

with a combined working knowledge of over three hundred years. Our facility is API and ISO 9001 certified. The principal area of business includes Machine Shop Services, Sales and Supply and Rental of drilling and cleanout tools and associated equipment. We are pleased to be associated with Range Resources and welcome them to our shores and wish them every success in their future undertakings as we continue to provide our services to meet their specific needs.

E. rgopeesingh@gulfengtt.com

SERVICING THE OIL & GAS INDUSTRY

GROUP OF COMPANIES

Email: rgopeesingh@gulfengtt.com | Telephone: 1 868 652 8447/8

Range Resources

is home to multiple horizons that are being Production Sharing Contract with Petrotrin, actively explored. The field was discovered which extends in ten year periods. The in 1938 and resulted in over 90 wells drilled licence contains four individual fault blocks to date, 14 of which are currently producing. that will be targeted using a waterflood EOR What makes South Quarry stand out however programme, while a technical study carried is the fact that there are numerous oil seeps out in 2012 also identified more than 50 infill present in areas yet to experience any well locations. In total, there are currently 230 significant appraisal work. This has led Range wells found on the Beach Marcelle licence. to mobilise one of it shallower rigs from “It was the availability of these licences Morne Diablo programme and the drilling company that really presented us with across to South Quarry to undertake appraisal of some the opportunity to come of the oil seeps along with the in and establish ourselves development of an inventory as a significant player in Trinidad,” explains Trinidad of up to 20 wells.

Of Range Resources’ Beach Marcelle on the other Chief Operations Officer, wells are currently hand is a 3,900 acre licence Walter Cukavac. “In the producing oil in Trinidad subject to an Incremental time since we have made

142

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considerable strides, doubling our employee count to 240 people, adding a new technical administrative office which allows us to do more in house engineering and evaluation of projects, and increasing the operational capability of our drilling company.”

This latter development has seen the company bring a further two drilling rigs online and complete the drilling of more than 30 wells. “There are very few independent operators in this market that possess the infrastructure that Range has to offer,” Cukavac continues. “Trinidad is a small market in relative terms and this naturally presents some limitations for companies when it comes to things like gaining access to rigs and equipment at short notice. Our capabilities allow us to execute our projects with our own equipment and better control the timing of our activities.”

Boasting a stable economic and political climate, a judicial system based on English common law and solid infrastructure in the form of roads and transportation networks, Trinidad is clearly a great place to be for a business like Range Resources.

“What we have established in the country is an experienced management team dedicated to the longer term outlook in Trinidad,” Cukavac says. “I think historically

the smaller operators in Trinidad have shared certain characteristics that have seen them collectively play a low risk game based on short term goals. What makes Range different is the fact that we are undertaking field development plans that are setting us up for years to come. We know it will take more than drilling one or two new wells to make a telling difference and we have a huge inventory of close to 200 wells to drill.

“What we have established in the country is an experienced management team dedicated to the longer term outlook in Trinidad” 24 | be weekly

Range Resources

This is what will make a real as often as possible has also had a positive impact on difference over time.”

The difference Cukavac Trinidad’s environment. speaks of doesn’t just come W hen it comes in the form of benefits for to suppor t i ng loc a l Trinidadians, it is important Range Resources. It also means positive developments to first consider the fact that for the areas around which some 98 percent of Range’s Range’s production the company operates and workforce are nationals target for the end of 2014 the communities who live of the island. “Almost all there. Aware of the sensitive of our technical staff call nature of Trinidad’s ecology, Trinidad home, while we it has always been the aim of the company to have also made great strides to bring optimise its operations in order to minimise in young engineering talent from local the footprint it leaves behind. Part of its schools that we train, mentor and help to efforts have seen Range focus on the drilling absorb the right culture that we line our of slimmer, six inch holes which utilise less business with from top to bottom,” Cukavac drilling fluids, while the reusing of water enthuses. “In addition to the work we do

4,000 barrels of oil per day

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onsite we also continue to support local businesses, endeavouring to maximise our local content of supporting items, and also provide capital and sponsorship of several local schools and charities.”

As we speak, Range is in the process of ramping up its drilling activity in Trinidad, with the next ten wells scheduled to be

accessed by its production and work over rigs in the coming weeks. This is all part of its plans to lift and maintain the oil production to 4,000 barrels of oil per day by the end of 2014, before increasing this again to 9,000 by the end of 2015 through conventional and unconventional work programmes.

Equally if not more significant is the fact

“To date we have ramped up our personnel levels and our internal infrastructure, now it is time to put that to use in order to increase our oil production levels and revenues”

26 | be weekly

Range Resources

that Range now finds itself close to finalising a partnership with Niko Resources, a deal that will give it access to 280,000 acres of onshore and offshore acreage. “Access to this acreage, which itself has a huge upside in terms of reserve potential, will allow us to consolidate an even larger presence in Trinidad,” Cukavac says. “It also follows on from our participation in the recent onshore bidding round for the St. Mary’s Block. This is a 35,000 acre block, again with massive reserve potential, that really typifies the kind of long term projects that we want to target in Trinidad.”

Consolidating acreage that will bring the long term opportunities it desires is clearly high on the list of the company’s priorities moving forward. Nevertheless, as Cukavac

concludes, Range remains conscious of its own need to press forward with the progress it has made across the business. “To date we have ramped up our personnel levels and our internal infrastructure, now it is time to put that to use in order to increase our oil production levels and revenues. As our work force matures technically and gains greater capabilities we will be able to take on increasingly complex types of drilling and production work that will ultimately allow us to further reduce costs and increase profitability.”

For more information about Range Resources visit: www.rangeresources.com.au

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An elementary approac

to renewable ener

It is in Ireland where global renewable energy developer Element Power is bringing to fruition several vital wind developments, including the ground-breaking Greenwir

written by: Will Daynes research by: David Brogan 28 | be weekly

Element Power

ch

rgy

r d energy re Project

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Mike O’Neill, President and COO, Element Power Group

Element Power

I

n more than two decades since the three people to one employing between first wind farm project was realised 60 and 70 in a matter of years.” in 1992 at Bellacorrick, County Mayo, At the time that O’Neill, Harte and his wind energy’s contribution to Ireland’s former colleagues at SWS Energy, Tim electricity supply has steadily risen to Cowhig and Kevin O’Donovan set up Element the point where it had installed 1.7GW of Power’s operations in Ireland, the country’s capacity by the end of 2012. domestic wind business was in many ways With the country now tasked with a struggling sector, one facing problems achieving its national targets for renewable with curtailment, refit schemes and with energy by 2020, which calls for 40 percent establishing greenfield developments due to of its electricity to come from renewable a lack of good grid connections. The answer sources, an estimated 5,500 to 6,000MW of to these challenges was for the company wind generation is required. to buy into two existing projects, the One of the companyies contributing Garranereagh Wind Farm Project and the towards Ireland’s long term Monaincha Project, which it energy plans is Element has since gone on to develop Power. Owned by Hudson and improve upon further. “ T he Ga r r a ne r eag h Clean Energy Partners, Wind Farm Project is a Element Power is a global renewable energy developer 9MW project that was The generation capacity that develops, acquires, officially commissioned in of the Greenwire export August of this year, while builds, owns and operates project to the UK the Monaincha Project is a portfolio of wind and a 36MW undertaking that solar power generation facilities worldwide. The company is active is currently under construction, with in 16 countries, with more than 9,280MW the turbines due to arrive on site at the of projects in development and a number of beginning of December, with the aim operating assets already sold. being for it to be commissioned come “Element Power itself is not an old the Spring of 2014,” Harte continues. “In company, having only been set up in 2008 addition to these we have a further two

by President and COO, Mike O’Neill,” projects, the 17MW Acres Project Donegal states Peter Harte, Chief Technical Officer and the 32 MW Barranafaddock Project for Ireland. “What it does possess however in Cork, where construction is also set to is a management team with a great deal begin during 2014.” of experience having previously been a A quick glance at Element Power’s busy part of SWS Energy, a very successful calendar of activities over the coming months independent wind business that we highlights the fact that the wind power collectively built from having a staff of industry has undergone a notable change in

3gw

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Fehily Timoney & Company (FTC)

Fehily Timoney & Company (FTC) is a leading consultancy in the wind energy sector, providing specialist services throughout the project lifecyle. We are market leaders in this sector, working with key industry players, to deliver projects of exceptional quality. Our in-house capability extends across full EIA & planning services, technical due diligence, design, construction and

operational monitoring. Our engineers and scientists are of the highest calibre, with significant experience in specialist areas such as ecology, geology, peat stability, water quality, noise and shadow flicker, turbine base & civil infrastructure design and construction management.

E. info@ftco.ie

IDEAS SET IN MOTION For a successful project contact our dedicated

Renewable Team for expert advice and a

comprehensive consultancy service.

FEASIBILITY SITE SCOPING PLANNING/EIA DETAILED DESIGN

email: info@ftco.ie www.fehilytimoney.com Head of Environment and Energy | Clodagh O’Donovan email: clodagh.odonovan@ftco.ie

DUE DILIGENCE CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT OPERATIONAL MONITORING

A leading Consultancy in Renewable Energy

Element Power

only the five years since the company was planning, grid allocation and pricing, making established. The driving force behind this it more favourable to build wind projects change is without doubt the aforementioned in the country. I think in many ways this Irish national policy to meet its target of was a relatively easy policy decision for the ensuring that 40 percent of its electricity is government to make because, while it could derived from renewable sources by 2020. meet its renewable targets using a variety This itself is the result of European Union of technologies, Ireland already boasts demands that 16 percent of exceptional wind resources the country’s total energy and the type of favourable mix should originate from conditions that have allowed it to become a most renewable methods by the turn of the next decade. mature and competitive “In response to being renewable source for a percentage of our electricity.” set these targets,” Harte Ireland’s installed In addition to the various explains, “the Irish wind energy capacity projects detailed previously, government introduced a as of the end of 2012 Element Power has also spent raft of policies centred on

1.7gw

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the better part of the last three years laying the groundwork for one of the largest and most ambitious wind power related undertakings ever seen anywhere in the British Isles. I am referring to the Greenwire Project, a 3GW export project to the UK. “To date, we have secured private land for approximately two of the three gigawatts for the Greenwire Project, have secured a good connection in the UK for a 2017 connection date and will be looking to submit a complete planning application in 2014,” Harte says. “Powered by a fleet of approximately 40 projects in the midlands of Ireland, the objective for the Greenwire Project is to have it providing green power to the UK by 2020 for an estimated operating lifetime of 25 years.”

The sheer scale of the Greenwire Project can be highlighted in several ways. In megawatt terms the project alone will deliver more than twice the amount generated across Ireland at present, while in terms of wind farm sites it will see Element Power building a further 40 on top of the 160 that already exist.

Meanwhile the scale of the grid connection alone is huge, with over 1,000 kilometres of underground cable being required to connect up all the turbines and export the power to the UK. “As you can imagine, this is a very

specific engineering task in itself,” Harte says.

“Nevertheless, the feasibility and costs have been demonstrated pretty well by the recent 500MW East-West Interconnection, which was commissioned last year.”

The significance of Harte’s reference to the East-West Interconnection also stems from the fact that this was a project overseen by

“The Irish government introduced a raft of policies making it more favourable to build wind projects in the country” 34 | be weekly

Element Power

British Energy Secretary, Edward Davey with President and COO of Element Power, Mike O’Neill at the Liberal Democrats party conference in 2012

Dermot Byrne, a highly respected figure in the Irish energy business who was officially unveiled as non-executive director of Element Power’s Irish subsidiary at the end of October.

“Dermot joins us having successfully led EirGrid, the transmission system operator for Ireland, through a substantial period of change to become a world leader in the integration of wind power into the power network,” Harte enthuses. “Element Power will be able to call upon his experience to guide it, particularly throughout the Greenwire Project which will break a lot of new ground in the years to come.”

Other plans for the months and years ahead for Element Power look set to revolve

around continuing to acquire projects that are not yet fully developed, before improving them through the use of its own development expertise and construction skills. “We have good access to both bank and equity finance and this will allow us to continue to replicate the business model which has proven so successful to date, and place us in a position to have two or three projects running through the system at any one time,” Harte concludes.

For more information about Element Power visit: www.elpower.com

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potash ridge

Growing green

Potash Ridge’s Blawn Mountain deposit in Utah has got everything going for it, pulled forward by the market and pushed forward by an enthusiastic team in a supportive jurisdiction

written by: John O’Hanlon research by: Richard Halfhide

BE Weekly | 37

potash ridge Ross Phillips, COO and Jeff Hillis, CFO at the Blawn Mountain Project

T

here’s a sense of purpose at Canadian junior Potash Ridge – and the tone is set by its President and CEO Guy Bentinck a Chartered Accountant who has devoted the 20 years he has spent in the mining sector to finding smart ways of securing finance. He is not a man whose head can be turned by specious arguments: every step in the development of a project has to be considered, and realistic contingency planning built in.

Still, it’s impossible to miss the excitement and real passion behind his proposals for the company’s Blawn Mountain potash deposit. At first glance the pace seems to have been a breakneck one since he joined the company two years ago, at a point where Potash Ridge had done no more than acquire the rights to the property, in which it has a 100 percent interest.

There’s a good explanation for this fast track development. In two years the project has come from virtually nothing to being a project with 40 years’ worth of reserves and a pre-feasibility study (PFS), completed November 7, that demonstrates its technical and economic viability. It has a lot to do with the fact that this is a well-understood resource, explains Bentinck: “This deposit was extensively evaluated in the 1970s, not for the potash but for alumina.” At the time, potash was of little interest compared to the alumina that the alunite ore also contains.

The equivalent of $100 million at today’s values was spent in proving the resource and getting it ‘shovel ready’, and a pilot plant based on well understood technology

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Potash Ridge has offices in Milford and Salt Lake City, UT and in Toronto, Ontario

ran satisfactorily for three years before the market for alumina collapsed, and with it the prospects for financing Blawn Mountain.

In April 2011, Potash Ridge gained ownership of all the historical data that had been amassed: “Boxes and boxes of drilling results, engineering reports, test work, permitting applications and the like fell into our lap and allowed us to develop the project very quickly,” he says. “And we expect to be able to continue to use the historical data from the remaining part of the resource,

which does not, however, form part of the basis for the PFS.” Development has been helped by other factors too. For one thing, all of the property is on land owned by the State of Utah. It is a lot harder to get a project permitted if it is on federal land and has to go through agencies like the Bureau of Land Management, the Corps of Engineers or the EPA, which are notoriously restrained where resource developments are concerned and very slow to take decisions. Utah, whose resources

“Drilling results, engineering reports, test work, permitting applications and the like fell into our lap and allowed us to develop the project very quickly” 40 | BE Weekly

potash ridge

645,000 tons

Annual SOP production play a major part in the State economy, on the other hand takes a very ‘can do’ approach to mining.

It is not hard to see why the state would want to support Potash Ridge. The land that hosts the deposit is owned by the School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration (SITLA), whose land holdings are all designated for development in one form or another. “The basic business proposition is that the revenue derived is earmarked for education in Utah. We are going to be paying the School Fund around $30 million a year in royalties when we are up and running,” says Bentinck. Add to that more than a billion of capital investment in this remote part of the state, and the creation of around 500 full time jobs and the case for development is unassailable.

As long as it does not go the same way it went in 1980, that is. Well that is where Guy Bentinck shows his crusading side. He is looking for every opportunity to make understood the distinction between MOP and SOP. Let us get it straight from the start: Potash Ridge is focused on sulphate of potash (SOP), a premium potassium source that is used in crops that are sensitive to chloride

Guy Bentinck, CEO of Potash Ridge

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or fertiliser burn. Tobacco, pineapple, soft chloride in many cases will reduce yields. fruits, salad crops, apples oranges and If the chloride content isn’t managed, it can avocado are all examples and there are lead to low quality crops and inhibit plant plenty more. Growers of these crops have growth in dry soils and saline areas. two choices – SOP or nothing.

That SOP is a separate product, not a niche Muriate of potash (MOP) is the most subset of regular potash has been graphically common potassium source used in demonstrated over the course of 2013. MOP prices slumped from over agriculture, accounting $400 a tonne to close to $300 for about 90 percent of following the collapse of a all potash fertilisers used Russia/Belarus cartel, but worldwide. A few plants like sugar beet actually like over the same period SOP chloride; many tolerate it prices in North America rose.

“The tenuous link between including leaf crops and Full time jobs created MOP and SOP in people’s soya, but the presence of

500

Drilling was completed in 2013 in support of Potash Ridge’s Prefeasibility Study, which was released in November

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potash ridge

“We are going to be paying the School Fund around $30 million a year in royalties when we are up and running” minds really does not seem to be there any more. The supply dynamics of regular potash don’t exist with SOP and the market impact on regular potash has not affected SOP one iota: that is the competitive advantage of our project as against many other regular potash development companies.”

2013

The PFS that is currently giving Potash Ridge a warm glow is in fact a very conservative document. It does not take into account any potential alumina by product credits, and the closer one looks at it the lower the risk appears. Contingency elements of around 15 percent have been built into capex and opex estimates; the jurisdiction is friendly, the infrastructure available and the deposit is a surface one, unlike so many potash resources.

The fundamentals of potash are sound, as the world strains to get more productivity from less agricultural land, and the product gets an additional fair wind from the growing recognition of sulphur as a plant nutrient.

“When legislation was enacted to require scrubbers to remove SO2 emissions, crop yields started declining!”

When the alunite ore is roasted as part of the SOP process, SO2 is driven off, captured, and converted into sulphuric acid. That will provide an additional revenue stream, as will the alumina, which was after all what the deposit set out to produce 40 years ago, so there’s quite a bit of it. The residue from the leaching process is alumina rich, and though it does not form part of the current business case for the mine this could yield significant tonnage of material suitable for sale as a substitute for bauxite in smelting

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“Too many projects today get stalled because management did not think through the financing arrangements early enough�

Areas 3 & 4 seen in the distance have had little exploration work to date

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potash ridge plants – there is a strong demand for this material, he says, especially from China.

Another potential market is to sell the material as an ingredient in manufacturing ceramic proppants used to keep hydraulic fractures open. With shale gas deposits taking a front seat in global energy markets, this is a growing procedure, and these proppants are an essential part of it because they perform much better than sand.

Potash Ridge is expecting to produce 645,000 tons of SOP each year, and 1.4 million tons of concentrated sulphuric acid. The company now plans to embark on a full feasibility study (FFS) early in 2014, permitting activities are already underway and offtake arrangements for sulphuric acid production are going well, with an agreement already signed with a purchaser to take 20 percent of acid production. “We are currently negotiating with third parties on build, own and operate contracts to provide gas, power and water assets at the site.”

He is confident he will be able to start construction in 2015, to start commissioning the process plant in 2017 and reach full production in 2019. “My primary focus here is on expediting the project. Too many projects today get stalled because management did not think through the

Core sample

financing arrangements early enough.” This is not a trap that Guy Bentinck will allow Potash Ridge to fall into: however he does have one big remaining challenge, and that is to bring on board a joint venture partner to take a good proportion of SOP production, to share the capital cost of development and maybe also smooth the way to borrowing such sums as may be required along the road to sustainability and profitability in the future. Discussions are already under way, and with the PFS out of the way, these will gain momentum in the new year.

For more information about Potash Ridge visit: www.potashridge.com

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Charting a path to production Base Resources’ Kwale mineral sands operation is a game changer for both the company and the Republic of Kenya

written by: John O’Hanlon research by: Richard Halfhide

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Base Resources

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Tim Carstens

Base Resources

I

n 2008, after a career spent “being dropped into things that had to be turned round and fixed”, Tim Carstens founded Base Resources. The MD’s intent was clear - to build from scratch a meaningful resource company - and he has accomplished precisely that.

Base listed on the ASX in October, 2008, with a portfolio of Australian iron ore projects. Carstens and his team, recognising that these assets would not produce any company-makers, “set sail round the world looking for the right opportunity we could build the company around”. In July, 2010, Base acquired its 100 per cent interest in the Kwale minerals sands project in Kenya.

By the time the company dual-listed on London’s AIM bourse in January, 2013, it was clear that this project was rapidly emerging as the company-maker Carstens had set his sights on.

Situated just 10 kilometres inland and 50 kilometres south of Kenya’s principal port of Mombasa, Kwale had already undergone investment surpassing $60 million to progress the project through resource definition, government approvals and Definitive Feasibility Studies (DFS) when Base took the reins. This meant the project was well advanced, allowing its new owner to fast track financing and development. “It was the ideal project to build our business model round, get our team in place, the capital base, the reputation to move to the next project and beyond,” Carstens says.

His is a sentiment encapsulated by Base’s development model for Kwale. Instead of delegating project execution to a single

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ECPM contractor, Base engaged best-in-class specialists in port construction, dam building, process plant design and construction, and power land access infrastructure. “We have our own integrated management team that knits the whole thing together,” Carstens explains. “That model has worked well. It enables us to anticipate issues before they become reality and get engaged with the contractors very early, while we have plenty of options for dealing with those issues, supplementing the horsepower when we need to and keeping the project ‘on the rails’.”

Kwale is of genuinely strategic importance to Kenya’s future mineral production and the sector’s role within the nation’s economic wellbeing. As well as proving up Base’s company mettle as an explorer, developer, and producer, the project heralds the dawn of a significantly enhanced mineral sector in Kenya. Kwale is Kenya’s first large scale modern mining operation and is poised to have a huge impact on GDP: income from titanium mining at Kwale will see mineral exports displace coffee as the fourth highest foreign exchange earner and contribute an estimated $225 million in royalties and taxes over the 13-year life of the mine.

Beyond the numbers underpinning Kwale’s medium-term beneficial impact, the project is seen as a poster child for future large-scale resource development in Kenya. According

to Kenya’s Vision 2030 framework, Kwale is a long-term development blueprint to create a globally competitive and prosperous nation and transform Kenya into ‘a newly industrialising, middle-income country providing a high quality of life to all its citizens by 2030 in a clean and secure environment.’

There is collateral benefit for the government, Carstens emphasises, in terms of Kwale being a catalyst for future inward investment and development of the mining industry. “The government has been enormously supportive

“Kwale was the ideal project to build our business model round” 50 | BE Weekly

Base Resources

Pushing first ore to DMU

and has played its role.” company does business.” The So it’s important for ‘establishment’ phase of the Kenya, but it’s a blueprint to project involved the relocation of some 500 households. the future of Base Resources too, wherever it goes next.

While most of these Workers on site at peak Reaching this point has taken households were squatting more than paying lip service on the land, Base treated all to CSR, Carstens says. He as if they were landowners in sees CSR more as the language of obligation the relocation and compensation process. This whereas, Base engages with the community on relocation was completed in compliance with a more transactional basis as a core function The World Bank’s Equator Principles. Roads of its business. “We give them what they need were re-routed, all infrastructure replaced so we get what we need” he says. Base wants and enhanced. Mosques, churches, schools, the communities to be satisfied with the value community hall and a new regional health and benefit the Company’s activities deliver centre have been built. to them. “In exchange, we have a proud “Employment is obviously very important workforce and a supportive community that is in a situation like this,” Carstens explains. an active and positive referee for the way the “During our peak construction phase, we

2,400

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had 2,400 people working on site, of whom 1,000 were from the local community – many had never had a job before.”

Currently, 1,600 Kenyans are working onsite at Kwale and, for a country that has a very underdeveloped mining sector, Kenya has a good skills base, Carstens confirms.

“71 percent of our operational workforce comes from the coastal province. There’s a good general level of education. And at a more advanced level, we have three or four comparatively young geology graduates working in the business; according to our exploration manager the guys coming out of Kenyan universities are as good as the guys coming out of Australia!”

On the ground, Kwale has progressed with amazing efficiency and speed for a

DMU & process plant

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country new to mining. An eight kilometre access road, a 700 bed camp, a 16 kilometre 132 kVA power line and substation and the tailings facility have all been completed as well as the eight million cubic metre Mukurumudzi Dam that will provide water for the project while giving reliable year-round supply to the communities downstream. And the finishing touches have been put to Base’s dedicated Likoni Port facility, just across the channel from Mombasa itself, complete with a 65,000 tonne storage shed from which ilmenite and rutile is loaded onto ships via a conveyor system and a 1,000 tph shiploader on the wharf.

Kwale’s infrastructure is in place. Its mining unit and concentrator are running well in the ramp up process ahead of commissioning of the ilmenite and rutile separation circuits at

Base Resources

“Zircon has very similar physical Properties to the remaining minerals in the concentrate and requires as much art as science in the separation process” the end of November. Commissioning of the zircon circuit will follow in January. “The key milestone for me is going to be in January, when we wave goodbye to our first bulk shipments,” Carstens says. “We will ramp up the ilmenite and rutile fairly quickly, so by May both will be producing at the full run rate. Zircon always takes a little longer. We will be most of the way to our target run-rate for zircon by mid-2014 but achieving the full

30,000 tonne per annum rate will most likely take all of 2014.”

Mineral sands concentrate production is largely straightforward from a technical standpoint, Carstens explains. Ilmenite’s magnetic qualities, courtesy of its iron content, mean it can be extracted using powerful rare-earth magnets, while rutile, as a conductor, is amenable to electrostatic separation. “Zircon is different. It has very similar physical properties to the remaining minerals in the concentrate and requires as much art as science in the separation process.

It is always the hardest part of a mineral sands plant to get your arms around.”

Base has offtake agreements in place for all of Kwale’s production of rutile, ilmenite and zircon for the first year and most of the first 5 years of production. Ilmenite and rutile are predominately used as inputs in the production of titanium dioxide (TiO2) pigments used in paints, papers, ink, plastic and a huge array of other applications. Zircon is mostly used in ceramics and has many high-tech applications. China is the world’s largest consumer of all these chemicals: its demand for them has grown steadily and will certainly continue.

As Kwale’s production profile is established, Base is also mindful of leaving a beneficial

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Process plant

Base Resources legacy in Kenya beyond Kwale’s 13-year mine life. Base Titanium, the parent company’s wholly-owned operating subsidiary in the country, is not just getting behind its in-house training programmes but also a scholarship programme for talented youngsters. It is also exploring a partnership with Business for Millennium Development (B4MD), an Australian not-for-profit organisation founded to build awareness and provide market insights on inclusive business opportunities in developing countries, to establish a agricultural development programme to get people efficiently growing selected crops that can be marketed globally to B4MD’s programme partners, among them the world’s largest food groups.

In the near-term, Base remains fully supportive of its partner, the Government of Kenya, and continues to discuss ways in which changes to the nation’s mineral legislative frameworks can drive national economic prosperity and build a globally competitive destination for mining investment.

“The real challenge at the moment that the Kenyan government is wrestling with – like many others in Africa and elsewhere – is getting in place the right fiscal and regulatory settings to balance the need to attract investment and at the same time maximise local benefit and participation,” Carstens says. “That’s something we really want to contribute to.”

For more information about Base Resources visit: www.baseresources.com.au

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Industrias Correagua

A proud Panamanian business Industrias Correagua’s quality products and passionate approach to each project has made it one of Panama’s most important companies

written by: Will Daynes research by: Vincent Kielty

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A

family owned and run business, Industrias Correagua was founded almost 60 years ago by one Juan Amado. From its inception the main activities of the company included the fabrication of steel products such as roofing material, gas tanks, and speciality projects such as silos, large tanks, flagpoles and bridges, as well as construction. What has remained consistent over the last six decades is the company’s on-going desire to be innovative, utilise new technologies,

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and identify and harness the potential of new and emerging products.

Today the company is run by the second and third generations of the Zanetti and Amado family and under their leadership Industrias Correagua has branched out and diversified into new production lines such as steel structures, double wall underground tanks and storage racks. In keeping with the company’s heritage it continues to put the newest techniques available to use, particularly in the design and fabrication of speciality steel structure projects. These

Industrias Correagua

range from airports and hangars to large capacity tanks and high rise buildings.

Industrias Correagua’s products and services include, but are not limited to, the fabrication and commercialisation of steel products such as roofing materials and steel products such as rebar and wide flanch beans, water storage tanks ranging from 500 to 1,000,000 gallons in capacity, above and below ground fuel tanks, and the exporting of double jacket underground tanks. Further to this, the company specialises in the design, fabrication and commercialisation of

storage rack systems, and possesses a range of additional products such as 25 pound residential gas tanks, 50 gallon drums, guard rails and wire mesh.

Being a family owned and operated business, Industrias Correagua’s approach to each and every task is considered highly personal with special care taken with all of its clients, regardless of their size. These clients soon discover that their projects are safe in the hands of highly qualified design and construction engineers, working for a company that strives, wherever possible,

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“Industrias Correagua’s approach to each and every task is considered highly personal with special care taken with all of its clients, regardless of their size”

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Industrias Correagua to use environmentally conscious procedures.

Without question one of the primary drivers of growth for the company today is the volume of projects currently underway across Panama. These include the well documented expansion of the Panama Canal, the introduction of a Metro line and the continued expansion of the mining sector. What links these vastly different areas of development is that each requires the support of qualified, reliable suppliers, and Industrias Correagua is working hard all the time to meet all the necessary qualifications needed to participate in such projects.

With these projects in development, and many other in the pipeline, it is understandable why the company foresees considerable growth to come in the years ahead. Panama is currently in an enviable position whereby the construction industry is growing, major cities are expanding and there are large numbers of immigrants arriving in the country, bringing with them new skill sets and experiences.

This latter trend is particularly important for Industrias Correagua, which believes that human resource is a vital component to its success, and as such is constantly looking to strengthen that aspect of the business.

Meanwhile the company is continuing

to expand its sales reach and increasing its exportation capacity, all while providing a healthy working environment for all of its employees.

A proud family business with a rich legacy, Industrias Correagua is similarly proud for being recognised as a leading company in what is a service orientated country, one that is committed to not only its own sustained growth and development, but also the wellbeing of its partners and clients.

For more information about Industrias Correagua visit: www.correagua.com

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Alpha Minerals

Achieving high grades Alpha Minerals’ strategically selected uranium and gold properties are producing the results required to take this junior exploration company to the next level

written by: Will Daynes research by: Peter Rowlston

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ocated in the Canadian Shield of northern Saskatchewan and Alberta, Canada, the Athabasca Basin is the world’s leading source of high grade uranium and currently supplies approximately 20 percent of all that used across the planet. Covering some 100,000 square kilometres of Saskatchewan, and a small portion of Alberta, the surface of the basin consists of sandstone sediment varying from 100 to 1,000 metres in depth. It is at the base of this sandstone that uranium ore has been mostly found since it was first discovered in the region in the 1940s.

Today a number of high-grade uranium mines are scattered across the basin. One company whose own activities are primarily focused on the discovery and delineation of deposits in the region is Alpha Minerals. A junior mineral exploration company with strategically selected uranium and gold properties in North America, it has a proven record for making high-grade discoveries, including the recent near-surface discovery at Patterson Lake South.

The Patterson Lake South (PLS) property is the most advanced of Alpha Minerals’ projects in the Athabasca Basin, which collectively cover an area of over 170,000 acres. The project, which includes 17 claims that straddle the south-western margin of the basin, is a 50/50 joint venture between Alpha Minerals and Fisson Uranium Corporation.

To date, a total of 156 boulders and 32 soil samples from the property have been submitted for assay. Of the 188 geochem samples, 33.5 percent were found to contain less than one percent of triuranium octoxide

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Alpha Minerals

Geovector Management GeoVector Management Inc. provides mineral exploration consulting and project management services worldwide.

We provide comprehensive project evaluations that integrate the practical application of resource and reserve estimations with economic analyses, incorporating all disciplines, including environmental, community and aboriginal impacts.

We manage all aspects of programs in all phases of the mineral exploration cycle, for a wide variety of deposit types.

We manage multidisciplinary studies from metallurgy to environmental issues first hand. GeoVector implements

quality control programs to ensure your data is accurate and verifiable.

We carry out work under the most stringent environmental, health and safety guidelines and within budget constraints. Work sites managed by GeoVector are safe, clean and cost efficient. www.geovector.ca

G E OV E C TOR M A NAG E M E N T I NC . P ROV I DE S M I N E R A L E X P L OR AT ION C ON SU LT I NG A N D P ROJ E C T M A NAG E M E N T SE RV IC E S WOR L DW I DE .

With over 115 years of cumulative industry experience ranging from grass-roots exploration to advanced pre-development programs, we seamlessly integrate geological, geophysical and geochemical project databases for a complete multidisciplinary approach in the search for economic ore deposits. www.geovector.ca

Alpha Minerals

“The Patterson Lake South (PLS) property is the most advanced of Alpha Minerals’ projects” (U3O8), 26.6 percent contained between one and ten percent and 39.9 percent had over ten percent. The highest grade assayed at 40 percent U3O8. Since the autumn of 2012, the company has carried out regular drill assays, the latest of which were released in August 2013. This event involved the drilling of an additional five holes on the Properties R39OE zone, which returned 54 metres of 9.08 percent U3O8, which included 21.5 metres of 21.76 percent U3O8 and assays of up to 52.2 percent.

In addition to the PLS property, Alpha Minerals can also lay claim to both the Cluff Lake and Hook Lake assets within the Athabasca Basin. The former covers a collective area of 41,380 acres, within which the company operates under a joint venture with Rio Tinto.

The project itself adjoins the former Cluff Lake open pit mine, which was responsible for producing 63 million pounds of U3O8 at a grade of 0.93 percent during its lifetime.

Meanwhile, located northeast of the company’s PLS discoveries, Hook Lake

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covers some 32,000 acres of land within the basin. The area, known to be prospective for unconformity hosted uranium deposits, has been subject to comprehensive exploration in the past by the likes of UEM Inc., Cameco Corporation and Imperial Oil Limited. This has seen it subjected to airborne ground geophysical surveying, geochemical sampling and diamond drilling totalling over 2,400 metres. These tests have helped identify 17 electromagnetic conductors with a total strike length of 80 kilometres. Three of these conductors have been drill tested, with one intersecting 0.24 percent U3O8 over 2.5 metres.

In addition to its uranium activities, the company holds two gold assets, the Donna Gold Property in British Columbia and the Mikwam Gold Property in Ontario. The former lies within one of the largest clusters of anomalous values in stream sediments for gold and its typical pathfinders found anywhere else.

Alpha Minerals obtained and reviewed various reports concerning past exploration work conducted on the Donna property.

These indicated a strong linear zone of gold values intersected by four trenches over a distance of 250 metres and open on both ends, to the North West and South East.

Corresponding soil samples ranging from trace to 4,200 parts per billion of gold were found covering and surrounding this area.

Initial drilling of targets related to the known gold zones was completed by the company in 2010. The results indicate a strongly anomalous zone that extends west from the trenching and is as yet undrilled further to the west along the soils anomaly.

“There is much for Alpha Minerals to be positive about as we approach the New Year�

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Alpha Minerals

Understandably the company was and is very encouraged by this initial drill programme as it further identified the targets on the western side of earlier trenching and a gold anomaly in soils that extends more than 1,600 metres along the height of land between the Kettle River and Yeoward Creek, which are both historical gold placer producers.

The Mikwam Gold property on the other hand lays North East of Timmins, on the Casa Berardi Deformation Zone. An area of historical gold and other precious metals mineralization, the zone has in the past played host to exploration work costing in excess of $12 million, carried out by companies such as Newmont. The property remains on trend with the nearby Casa Berardi gold mine,

operated by Hecla Mining, while recent drill programme highlights include identifying 4.10 g/t gold over 19.0 metres, 4.99 g/t gold over 13.0 metres and 6.32 g/t gold over 5.6 metres.

With both its uranium and gold assets now producing sustained results, an event that at one point this year saw its shares hit a peak of $5 dollars per share, having previously been at a low of $0.20, there is much for Alpha Minerals to be positive about as we approach the New Year.

For more information about Alpha Minerals visit: www.alphaminerals.ca

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