Organised for the sixth time in London, MINEX Eurasia Conference offered a diversified platform where mining companies and international experts address the questions concerning risks, rewards and opportunities arising in Mining Industry across the countries of the Eurasian region.
The conference was held in partnership with the Mining & Infrastructure team of the Department for International Trade and sponsored by Norton Rose Fulbright LLP and SRK Consulting (UK) Ltd.
Over 30 speakers and panelists provided a snapshot on key mining developments and introduce exciting projects evolving across the Eurasian Region.
The conference brought together over 180 delegates from the UK and overseas. Mining companies operating in Azerbaijan, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Russia, Serbia, Ukraine and Tajikistan took part in the event. General Managers, Operational Directors, Finance Directors and Procurement leads from gold, coal, copper and other metal and mineral mines and processing plants were attending. One-to-one meetings between buy-side and sell-side companies were organised alongside the conference to discuss potential trade and investment opportunities.
BRIEF CONFERENCE AGENDA
» 09:30 – 10:25 MARKETS OVERVIEW
The first session moderated by Richard Oldcorn, Managing Director and Corporate Consultant (Due Diligence), SRK Consulting (UK) Limited, will offer outlook on commodity and capital markets. Ulmas Musaliev, Principal Banker, Natural Resources Team, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development will talk about the Bank’s role in the development of mining projects in the Balkans and Central Asia. Maximilian Court, Senior Commodity Analyst, S&P Global Market Intelligence will talk about the key mining industry themes to look for in 2018. Eily Ong, Global Metals & Mining Industry Analyst, Bloomberg Intelligence will give an overview on the trends in the Global metal markets. Ksenia von Gernet, Senior Consultant, CRU will analyse the latest metals demand coming from New Energy Vehicles and infrastructure segments.
» 10:30 – 11:15 RUSSIA MINING PANEL
The second session moderated by Rod Cave, Regional Director, Russia, Eastern Europe and Central Asia, CRU will be dedicated to Gold, Silver and PGM investment projects in Russia. Graham Hill, President & CEO, Silver Bear Resources Plc will talk about finalising the completion of Mangazeisky Silver Project in Yakutia. The Company is confident that it will start Silver production in early 2018 as planned. Alexander Yakubchuk, Director of Exploration, Orsu Metals Corporation will present the Sergeevskoe Gold Project in Transbaikalia. Christian Schaffalitzky, Executive Chairman, Eurasia Mining PLC will speak about developing Platinum and PGM assets in Russia.
» 11:45 – 13:00 CENTRAL ASIA MINING PANEL
The third session moderated by Simon Cox, Partner, Norton Rose Fulbright LLP will focus on Mining in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. Alex Neovius, Of Counsel, Norton Rose Fulbright LLP will open the session with the update on draft Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan “On Subsoil and Subsoil Use” expected to come into force on 1 January 2018. The Kazakhstan Business spotlight will feature presentation by Nick Clarke, Executive Chairman, Central Asia Metals who will speak about the importance of creating a new diversified Base Metals producer in the region. Sam Bose, CEO, IntelliSense.io will talk about Kazakhstan’s mining industry technological needs.
H.E. Alisher Shaykhov, Ambassador, Embassy of the Republic of Uzbekistan to the UK will present the Government’s initiatives to stimulate Economic Growth and attract Foreign investment in Uzbekistan’s mining and metals sector. Avazbek Daminov, Head of Foreign Investment Department, State Committee of Republic of Uzbekistan on Geology and Mineral Resources will be providing information on adopted reforms and privileges offered to international investors in the mining sector.
The Tajikistan Business spotlight will feature presentation by Zokir Hayoev, Investments Manager, Talco Management Ltd. who will give brief introduction to mining in Tajikistan and present key projects developed by Talco – the country’s largest aluminium producer.
» 14:00 – 14:45 MINING FINANCE AND INVESTMENT ROUND-UP
The fourth session moderated by Phil Newall, Managing Director, Wardell Armstrong International Ltd will offer an outlook on mining finance and investments in Eurasia. The panel discussion will include contributions from Vomic Nur Shah, Head – Europe, CIS, Middle East, Asia, UK Export Finance; Ayuna Nechaeva, Head of Russia, CIS & Mongolia, Primary Markets, London Stock Exchange; Rama Ayman, CEO, MMG Capital; Louis Skyner, Advisor, Lydus Partners; Nilesh Patel, Vice President, Mining M&A, Hannam & Partners and Sergey Donskoy, Senior analyst, Director, Societe Generale CIB.
» 14:50 – 15:45 THE BALKANS MINING PANEL
The fifth session moderated by Iain Duncan, Partner, Simmons & Simmons will focus on the Balkans mining. Zlatan Milosevic, Director of Trade, British Embassy Belgrade will speak about minerals and coal opportunities in Serbia. He will be followed by Mark Fellows, Director, Skarn Associates Limited who will present the example case study of the potential market growth in Serbia over the period to 2025. The Balkans Business spotlight will feature presentation of two major companies operating in the region. Peter Robinson, Chief Advisor for Mining Operations, Metalfer will talk about Metalfer Group’s steel production, trading, mining and energy. In the last 4 years Metalfer Mining invested in mining and geological exploration works and opening of iron, lead, zinc, copper and building stone mines in Serbia and Montenegro. Dominic Roberts, Operations Director, Mineco Limited will take part in the panel discussion on operating base metal mines in Serbia.
» 16:00 – 16:40 THE DEPARTMENT FOR INTERNATIONAL TRADE PANEL
The sixth session organised by Department for International Trade will be moderated by Ros Lund, Specialist Mining & Infrastructure, DIT. During this panel trade representatives of the British Embassies will give overview of mining sectors in Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Bosnia & Herzegovina and Ukraine. The panel will feature presentations by Cathy Cottrell, First Secretary Energy Policy and Head of Commercial Section, British Embassy Kyiv; Rena Zeynalova, Commercial Officer, British Embassy Baku; Tim Buisseret, Head of Trade and Investment, British Embassy Sofia and Emir Sabic, Senior Trade Development Advisor, British Embassy Sarajevo.
» 16:45 – 17:45 MINING OPTIMISATION – INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS AND TECHNOLOGIES
The seventh session moderated by Martin Pittuck, Corporate Consultant (Mining Geology), SRK Consulting (UK) Limited will focus on mining optimisation, innovative solutions and technologies. Jane Shaw, Principal Consultant – Hydrogeologist, ERM will speak about a catchment approach to water risk management and stewardship. Dr. Chris Broadbent, Research Director, Wardell Armstrong International will present on Europe’s contribution to Lithium Production and The FAME Project. Donald Bray, Founder of Chalkstone Ltd (UK) will talk about digital transformation and community risks in mining. The session will be concluded by Dmitry Sudas, Senior Counsellor, Embassy of the Republic of Belarus in the UK with an overview on resource base, logistics and mining technologies in the Republic of Belarus.
The conference will conclude with the networking drinks sponsored by Norton Rose Fulbright LLP
About MINEX Forum
MINEX Forum TM Eurasian mining trade and investment events platform was established in 2005 by Advantix Ltd. Currently MINEX Forum – www.minexforum.com – has over 30,000 followers globally. MINEX Forum holds mining conferences, seminars, exhibitions, road-shows and investor meetings in the UK, Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, China and the Continental Europe. MINEX Forum works closely with the National Governments and key industry players and frequently offers its platform for discussing changes in the national mining policies, highlighting investment opportunities and stimulating the exchange of best mining practices and technologies.
