All The Gongs For 2017
CONFERENCE CALLER: The Diggers and Dealers Mining Forum Awards were presented at the closing night gala dinner.
DIGGER OF THE YEAR
This year’s Digger of the Year award went to St Barbara Mines (ASX: SBM).
Diggers and Dealers said the award this year did not recognise the largest producer or the most aggressive corporate developer, however it did recognise the company’s consistent performance over a number of years, exceptional management and a company that has rewarded shareholders with strong equity growth.
St Barbara’s production for the 2017 financial year was more than 380,000 ounces of gold at an all in sustaining cost of less than $900 per ounce.
Since September 2015, the company has fully repaid its debt 0f $360 million and now has a strong balance sheet, with 161 million in cash at the 30th of June.
DEALER OF THE YEAR
The Dealer of the Year award went to Gold Road Resources (ASX: GOR) for its deal to sell 50 per cent of the Gruyere gold project to Gold Fields.
The deal transferred substantial equity to Gold Fields, but most importantly provided a considerable cash injection to Gold Road – sufficient to fully-fund the project development as well as leaving surplus funds for working capital and exploration on other Gold Road targets.
The deal leaves Gold Road with a strong balance sheet and a low-risk profile for investors. It allows the company to work alongside the experienced Gold Fields team, while also using its own expertise to explore the resource potential of other assets.
Gold Road was named as the Best Emerging Company in 2011.
G J STOKES AWARD
The G J Stokes Memorial Award is presented annually to people who have contributed on a sustainable basis through their careers to the advancement of the resources industry and in many cases to the broader society through their leadership.
This year the gong went to Jim Askew.
Over a 35-year period, Jim has been a director of over 30 companies listed on all the major global stock exchanges, covering exploration, construction and operations on all major continents. Interspersed with all this has been involvement with private equity and venture capital.
Today he continues a highly successful career in the mining industry as chairman of OceanaGold, Syrah Resources and as a non-executive director of Evolution Mining and most recently Endeavour Mining Corporation.
EMERGING COMPANY
The Emerging Company Award was presented to Kin Mining (ASX: KIN)
MEDIA AWARD
The Media Award was won by Tess Ingram of The Financial Review.