Kalgoorlie offered far more speculation than news

Who’s going to take over Newcrest Mining? Is Consolidated Minerals going to absorb Portman?

These were the liveliest discussion points at this year’s Diggers & Dealers forum in the gold mining city of Kalgoorlie in late July. But discussion points they simply remained, as none of the parties was likely to talk publicly about their intentions — especially not with more than 35 journalists milling about at the 3-day talkfest.

And if the media contingent had hoped to walk away from this year’s Diggers with a bagful of scoops underarm, that didn’t happen either. Perhaps all the action will spin out in the wash in a month or two’s time, as the results of private networking among the cream of Australian and international miners comes to fruition.

If there were any momentous announcements, it was that Kalgoorlie’s historic Palace Hotel was changing hands. The grand old hotel, completed in 1897, has been bought by Kalgoorlie businessman Ashok Parekh from Kate Stokes, widow of late Diggers & Dealers founder Geoff Stokes.

Undoubtedly the relationship the Palace shares with the conference will continue to work for the financial benefit of both.

Perhaps Parekh might want to survey delegates’ opinion on the appropriateness of allowing naked women to wander around during the post-conference “happy hours” in his pub. He should be aware that many delegates aren’t easy about ordering, or accepting, drinks from such people. Maybe we’re in the minority — but maybe not.

Event organizer Agrekko once again pulled of an unflawed performance, along with the masses of other organizers and workers which make the event as sensational as it is.

With a record number of more than 1,300 delegates and 35 presenters from around the world, Agrekko made it seem all too easy — even though their cappuccino machines had to go into overdrive.

But while Diggers & Dealers is dwarfed by Cape Town’s Indaba and Toronto’s PDAC, one has to remember that Kalgoorlie offers no flash convention centre: the action, basically, has to take place in a tent, albeit the mother of all tents. The logistics are pretty horrendous.

Down in the media room, Ward Holt Corporate Communications consultants Max Nind and Tony Dawe did a brilliant job of collaring the tycoons and junior speakers for post-presentation question-and-answer sessions with reporters.

There were creative touches also to many of the corporate exhibition booths. Intierra offered pia colada slushies, while Placer Dome (pdg-t), on the other side of the tent, offered anti-hangover health drinks. Western Australia nickel producer Jubilee Mines led the creativity with a mining portal cut into the back of its stand.

For the greater part, presentations were matter-of-fact annual updates on what companies said they’d do, what they did do, and what we can expect from them.

Some of the most impressive presentations were as follows:

— Gold Fields‘s (GFI-N) Craig Nelsen said the South African giant is on the expansion trail;

— Ghanaian miner Adamus Resources is continuing to expand its resources at the Salman and Anwia gold projects;

— Equigold presented on its Ivory Coast exploration, as well as its Queensland and Western Australian operations;

— Independence Group‘s Chris Bonwick spoke about the company’s successful Kambalda nickel operations and high-tech methods being employed in both exploration and safety;

— Thailand explorer/miner Kingsgate Consolidated dealt with its upcoming big drill program at the Chatree project for “short-term immediate contributions, medium-term reserve replacement and long-term company growth”;

— Mike Ivey elaborated on the Croesus Mining success story; and

— Kerry Harmanis expanded the Cosmos nickel mine vision for Jubilee.

Then there was the newly merged AngloGold Ashanti (AU-N) which stressed its intent to form flexible arrangements with juniors, or deals similar to the one done with Trans Siberian Gold in July, where it took an equity stake in the company in a staged agreement.

But AngloGold Ashanti is also not scared to go it alone in the more risky spots on the globe. It is stated policy that while traditional exploration areas mature and the acquisition and discovery of orebodies have become more difficult, AngloGold Ashanti is focusing on prospective areas in countries which have a higher risk profile.

Part of this “new frontiers” strategy includes China and Mongolia. Most of the Mongolian fieldwork has focused on the Ikh Shankh property in the Southern Gobi Desert, about 100 km from Ivanhoe Mining‘s (IVN-T) Turquoise Hill project.

Ivanhoe chairman Robert Friedland gave, without doubt, the liveliest presentation of the conference. He did not, however, join other mining executives in the media room afterwards for a question-and-answer session. Reporters caught up with him leaving the conference venue, mid-stride, for a few over-the-shoulder questions and replies.

Friedland is the mining exec it is fashionable to love and hate. While Friedland had delegates and journos hang on his every word at Diggers, no sooner had the man left town than everyone, it seemed, wanted to cut the poppy down.

But is it all smoke and mirrors, as some critics contend? Perhaps it is just plain envy that Friedland’s flagship Mongolian Turquoise Hill project, based on current estimates, contains inferred resources totalling 41.2 billion pounds of copper and 15.7 million oz gold, plus indicated resources of 4.6 billion pounds of copper and 9.7 million oz gold.

However, joint venture partners are not lining up to give it a go. Maybe it is the fact that this awesome project is in unpredictable, inscrutable China that puts off potential joint-venture partners.

— This article originally appeared in Australia’s Paydirt magazine.