Meeting Overview The panel discussion focused on the future of copper mining in the Americas, addressing the current high demand for copper contrasted with low prices, the impact of geopolitical factors, and the unique challenges and opportunities presented by different jurisdictions in copper production. Key Discussion Points - Current high demand for copper versus low market prices. - The cyclical nature of the copper market and its historical price swings. - Economic downturns and their impact on copper prices and investor sentiment. - The projected supply-demand imbalance for copper, especially in the context of green energy and electrification. - The geopolitical implications of copper mining, particularly regarding U.S. resource independence and China's import activities. - The unique challenges and opportunities presented by various jurisdictions, including Arizona, Michigan, Peru, and Argentina. Decisions Made - No explicit decisions recorded. Action Items & Next Steps - [Un...
President, CEO & Director at Arizona Sonoran Copper Company
George Ogilvie, has over 32 years of management, operating and technical experience in the mining industry. Mr. Ogilvie was until most recently the President & CEO of Battle North, a position he was appointed to, in 2016 whilst the company was under financial insolvency & restructuring proceedings. During his 5 year tenure at Battle North, Mr. Ogilvie and his team successfully completed a turnaround of the company resulting in an increase in the resource base from 400 k ounces Au to approximately 1.3 million oz Au, completion of a positive bulk mining reconciliation program resulting in de-risking of the project, delivery of a preliminary economic assessment and follow on feasibility study in relation to the project with a post-tax IRR of 50% and completion debt and equity financing of over C$100m associated with project construction. Battle North was acquired by Evolution Mining Limited in May 2021 at a 45% premium to the prevailing spot price. Prior to this, Mr. Ogilvie was the CEO of Kirkland Lake Gold Inc. where he and his team implemented a turnaround strategy which included, amongst other items, improving operations at the Macassa Mine and the acquisition of St. Andrew Goldfields, resulting in significant returns for shareholders. Previously, Mr. Ogilvie was the CEO of Rambler Metals and Mining PLC, where he and his team guided the evolution of the company from grassroots exploration to a profitable junior producer. Mr. Ogilvie began his mining career in 1989 with AngloGold in South Africa and he subsequently held other roles at the Ruttan Mine in Northern Manitoba for HudBay Minerals Inc., the McCreedy West Mine and also as Area Manager for Dynatec Corporation. Currently, Mr. Ogilvie also serves on the board of Rupert Resources Ltd.
Mr. Ogilvie received his B.Sc. (Hons.) in Mining and Petroleum Engineering from Strathclyde University in Glasgow, Scotland. He is a Professional Engineer and also holds his Mine Managers Certificate (South Africa).
Mr. O’Shea has over 20 years of finance experience across diverse industries and countries. Mr. O’Shea was CFO of Fiore Gold Ltd. from May 2018 until its recent acquisition by Calibre Mining Corp. Prior to that, he spent eight years with New Gold Inc., initially as Vice President of Finance where he oversaw financial reporting, financial planning, internal audit, and tax and then as Vice President, Business Development, responsible for corporate development, investor relations, and strategic capital allocation. Mr. OShea is a Chartered Professional Accountant and has an Honours Business Administration degree from the Ivey Business School.
Replay transcript excerpt
Speaker 1: Hello, everyone, and welcome to today's panel as hosted by 6, the future of copper mining in the Americas. I'm joined today by 3 speakers representing companies, each of which has a stake in that future and who are hopefully going to share their insights and thoughts on what it could look like with us today. As a reminder, today's panel is being recorded and is going to be available on demand on six.com in the coming days. And if you'd like to participate today, please ask questions in the Q&A chat found on the right-hand side of your screen at any time. And as I mentioned, I'm pleased to be joined today by George Ogilvie, President and CEO of Arizona Sonoran Copper Company, Barry O'Shea, CFO of Highland Copper Company, And John Black, CEO and director of both Aldebaran Resources and Regulus Resources. Speaker 1: We want to start off today with the obvious, though, gentlemen. Copper demand remains and is projected to remain high. Speaker 1: Supply comes nowhere near meeting it. Copper prices, however, are in a slump. So I'd love to hear from all of you on why you think that this is happening and what your outlook for copper prices into 2023 are and how that's going to affect junior miners. Speaker 1: Maybe John, I'll pass things off to you to get us started. Speaker 2: Okay, well, thanks, Cam. And thanks for setting up this forum. I look forward to the conversation today and it's nice to do something that's a little bit less direct to our projects only and more about what's going on in the industry and where we're at. So I think this could be an interesting conversation for all of us. Speaker 2: We're in a business that's notoriously Speaker 2: noted Speaker 2: for the extreme swings we can get in price. So we oftentimes get prices that are quite disconnec...
