Mining companies need to prepare for the upturn

“They should be preparing for the next upturn because there will be one. There always is,” says Stephenson, a director and principal geologist at AMC Consultants.

“That’ll bring increased commodity prices and increased acquisitions. That brings challenges since shareholders expect greater returns. Companies should also fully understand their strategic goals and directions so when things do improve, they are able act on them consistent with they way they set their business up.”

MINING.com spoke to Pat Stephenson in October.

MINING.com: What is AMC Mining Consultants ?

Pat Stephenson: It’s a mining consulting company that originated in Australia some thirty-odd years ago. We opened up our office in Vancouver eight years ago.

MINING.com: Who are some clients and what are some projects?

Pat Stephenson: We work for the full range of clients, from the majors like Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton and Anglo American through to the juniors who have a piece of exploration ground, and also the mid-caps, such as Eldorado, Teck, Hecla and others.

MINING.com: What is the origin of the Vancouver office?

Pat Stephenson: We opened the Vancouver office eight years ago because we were doing quite a bit of work in Vancouver anyway, but we weren’t servicing the office very well from Australia. So we decided that we really needed a local presence here. At the time we had a major project that we were servicing in British Columbia, that was the New Afton project near Kamloops, which was able to underpin our office in Vancouver.

MINING.com: What are some of your guiding principles when you take on a client?

Pat Stephenson: The first thing is to really understand the client and the client’s needs. We do that through a detailed discussion. The initial request is not always what the client really needs once we have a full discussion with them of their project and how it fits into their strategic plans.

MINING.com: There is a thicket of productivity tools, or new technology. How do you help a client navigate adopting new technology?

Pat Stephenson: We will seek to fully understand their project and what they are trying to achieve. From fairly high level health checks of their projects to make sure they are running it in the best possible way through to full analysis and optimization of their project. So it is really a matter of sitting down there with them, discussing just what are they trying to achieve and then working through the various tools with them to select those that are best suited.

MINING.com: There is a downturn right now. What are miners asking for?

Pat Stephenson: A lot of focus right now, not surprisingly, is on project optimization and improvement services, cost reduction, value improvement, and low level studies to keep things ticking along at a time when it is difficult to justifya great deal of expenditure of money.

MINING.com: There is a lot of data that a client can receive while running a mine. How do you make the data actionable?

Pat Stephenson: There are a whole wealth of packages available. It’s really a matter of deciding on a package that meets your particular circumstance. It’s fairly easy to find one that works for a particular mining operation or a colleague of yours in the industry. But it maybe not suited to your particular circumstance. It’s really a matter of focusing on the required outputs are and then looking at what’s best to handle the data storage and input.

MINING.com: What are the trends you see over the next 5-10 years? How should miners be preparing themselves?

Pat Stephenson: Looking positively, they should be preparing for the next upturn because there will be one. There always is. That’ll bring increased commodity prices and increased acquisitions. That brings challenges since shareholders expect greater returns. Companies should also fully understand their strategic goals and directions so when things do improve, they are able act on them consistent with they way they set their business up.