Company Announcement - 4, 5 and 6 November 2014, to be hosted at The Forum, The Campus, Bryanston, Johannesburg
With less than two weeks to go ~ junior miners are gathering for one of the primary industry events on the South African calendar. The 3rd Annual Junior Mining & Exploration Conference & Exhibition’s programme has been carefully developed in consultation with the members of the 2014 Junior Mining Advisory Board ~ a process which has ensured relevance of the topics, as well as presenters alike. Ted Blom, Partner at Mining & Energy Advisors, is one of the key industry speakers, not-to-be-missed. A well-respected advisor, consultant and lecturer in Mining & Energy worldwide, Blom consults to governments, investors, banks and other Stakeholders from North America to Japan. 

In his pre-conference workshop, Blom will be examining and addressing the appetite of investors for assets in Africa and the future availability of capital. He will share his ‘Lessons for South Africa,’ which also hold relevance to all African projects and investments. States Blom, “It is never too late to restructure!”
Blom’s collective and shared expertise is sure to be of interest to: Miners, investors, bankers, politicians, government officials, tax practitioners, and other stakeholders.

He will be unpacking ‘Best Practice’ ~ including:
• What professional investors and their banks look for in African Projects? How ranking affects cost and availability of capital and borrower funding
• Ranking of African Countries based on policies that encourage mining ~ a discussion of the Fraser Framework and its application and implications for African Mining Ministries. Top African listings and how they compare to other continents
• How Mining Ministries could improve their country’s investment rating
• How to protect mining assets against nationalisation in African jurisdictions
• How to protect repatriation of profits in African jurisdictions
• Best practices in structuring / phasing African investments
• How to maximise tax benefits when investing in African mining/infrastructure projects

Furthermore, Blom will touch on five practical tips to apply in the investment process. He expounds on two of these tips, as follows:
Tip no. 1:

“Ensure that you have a substantive local partner who can and must add local knowledge and contacts. This safeguards you against wasting hundreds of man-hours hitting your head against the wall of the impossible ~ especially in matters relating to culture, protocol and expected behaviour.”
Tip no. 2:

“Ensure that ALL stakeholders have proportionately equal ‘skin in the game.’ There is a long list of failed investments where the investor has been skinned because he was the only stakeholder with said ‘skin in the game.’”

The Junior Mining & Exploration Conference & Exhibition endeavours to assist with supporting the future stability and profitability of the industry by:

• Bringing together key stakeholders and experts to discuss emerging issues and trends
• Creating a forum to discuss the strategies necessary to move the industry forward
• Providing an independent platform to ask questions, hear insights and keep up-to-date with the latest investor information, regulatory requirements and innovations within the sector