Diggers and Dealers Awards 2016

/in /by

THE CONFERENCE CALLER: The highlight of the closing dinner each year at the Diggers and Dealers conference in Kalgoorlie is the forum’s awards.

MEDIA AWARD

Paul Garvey: The Australian newspaper.

The media award that is presented at Diggers and Dealers each year is voted on by companies operating in the resources industry and peers within the media industry and recognises a journalist who has demonstrated a passion for the resources industry and who has been proactive in ensuring that the resources industry retains a strong external profile.

Paul Garvey (Garvs to his mates) is a worthy and popular winner of this year’s gong.

He has been covering the resources industry in a number of incarnations over the past 14 years.

The successes and spectacular lack of success experienced by his beloved Fremantle Dockers has steeled Garvs’ resolve and provided him with the empathy to report on the highs and lows the industry has endured throughout this period.

Announcing the win, Diggers and Dealers said he has ensured that resources are given excellent exposure in the national media and over an extended period has been a positive and enthusiastic supporter of the mining and exploration industry.

Congratulations, Garvs.

DEALER AWARD

Evolution Mining (ASX: EVN)

This year the winner of the Dealer of the Year Award ticked all the boxes the judges deemed to be required for driving successful corporate growth.

In qualifying for this years’ award, the panel decided Evolution Mining has managed existing assets efficiently, identified, negotiated and integrated new mines and identified potential new exploration projects via strategic acquisitions.

“The measure of this success can be evaluated by corporate production having increased from 438,000 ounces to 803,476 ounces and corporate cash flow increasing from $285 million to $428 million while maintaining efficient project operating costs,” Diggers and Dealers said.

“Shareholders have benefited from this corporate activity through the company market capitalisation increasing from $1.4 billion to $3.9 billion.”

The judges noted that during the acquisition period Evolution Mining acquired the La Mancha and Cowal mining operations and through its takeover of Phoenix developed a significant bank of excellent exploration and near term production opportunities.

DIGGER AWARD

Fortescue Metals Group (ASX: FMG)

Fortescue Metals Group emerged from one of the toughest industry transitions to reap the benefit of its disciplined focus on operating cost reductions, an unwavering approach to delivering production targets while using emerging cash flows to both provide an appropriate return to shareholders through dividends, reducing corporate debt from what many questioned as excessive to one where the balance sheet is now recognised as efficient and has retained strong cash on its balance sheet for future opportunities.

“The company has emerged from a history where many have questioned strategies and the corporate sustainability to being one of the respected companies in the Australian resources sector,” Diggers and Dealers said.

The award was accepted on behalf of the company by CEO Nev Power.

GJ STOKES AWARD

Chris Bonwick

The G J Stokes Memorial Award recognises industry leaders who have delivered sustainable benefit to the companies with which they have been associated and to the industry in general.

This year the award went to Chris Bonwick, who Diggers and Dealers said had made a great contribution technically through his profession as well as having shown disciplined, mature management and vision through his leadership of what is one of the industry’s great success stories.

Bonwick floated Independence Group and managed the company’s transition to production and cash flow while maintaining a commitment to exploration.

Under his management, Independence purchased the first nickel mine that WMC sold off and turned it into a highly profitable production asset, which paved the way for numerous others to follow in the mid-tier nickel mining industry in Australia.

Under Bonwick’s guidance, Independence discovered the famed Tropicana deposit, where it had to manage the process of how to develop or deliver success from a major discovery in a remote region.

While Bonwick is no longer involved in the management of Independence, the company continues to benefit from these early strategies and will do so for many years we expect.