The final morning of the 10th Annual Mines and Money Asia conference focused on 4 themes: Battery and Energy Metals, Technology, Gold & Precious Metals, and the Future for Mining and Energy.
The battery and energy metals sessions kicked off with a discussion on uranium. “We are a believer in the long-term uptrend for uranium”, said Warren Gilman, CEO and Chairman, CEF Holdings.
Gilman and his fellow panelists were broadly optimistic on the potential for uranium, especially after its poor price performance in 2016.
This was followed by a discussion on battery metals. There was a consensus that there were now too many lithium explorer plays and that the next 12 months would see a period of consolidation. Despite
some of the risk involved, such as many mines being based in the DRC, delegates were advised to focus on cobalt if they were looking at investment opportunities.
How well mining companies embrace technology is becoming increasingly important to investors when assessing which companies to invest in” said Anita Richards, General Manager Asia Pacific for Mines and Money. “Five years ago,mining executives didn’t talk about technology. Now they realise that smart investors are keen to know who is using technology to maintain a competitive edge on their rivals, whether in automation, big data or innovative exploration techniques”.
This was borne out by a fireside chat between Michelle Ash, COO, Barrick Gold, who was interviewed by Ellis Martin, Host and Editor of the Martin Ellis Report. Barrick Gold have been at the forefront of
technology innovation to the extent that they now see themselves as a technology company that do mining, rather than a mining company that do technology, Ash explained.
The gold and precious metals sessions featured some lively discussions. Garry Stein, CEO, CAF Ltd, challenged the audience on the myth of leverage, whilst Chris Powell, Secretary of GATA (the Gold Anti-Trust Committee), produced new evidence supporting his belief in gold price manipulation.
The conference finished off with some presentations on the future of mining. Geoff Raby, Former Australian Ambassador to China, predicted that BREXIT would have a long term impact beyond Europe, whilst the closing panel on China emphasized how essential China was to not just the health of the Asia Pacific mining industry, but to the mining industry globally.
Today concludes the 10th annual Mines and Money Asia conference and exhibition, the event will return to the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in 2018 for its 11th year, March 20-22.