On Wednesday, May 29, 2015 the Discussion Group of CIM’s Management and Economics Society, in Toronto, hosted:

Lawrence Devon Smith

Principal Consultant at Lawrence, Devon, Smith and Associates

who delivered a presentation on:

Where Are We Going in This Hand-Basket?

The presentation examined things that can go wrong with mining projects from the study phase to full operation. Issues relating to studies, evaluations, capital cost estimates, scheduling, execution and ramp-up are examined. The impacts of corporate strategies and market pressures on project decisions are discussed. Many of these factors have pressured the industry to act too quickly and often result in projects that are less than economic. The presentation discussed how present decisions and pressures will shape mining going forward.

BIO: Larry Smith is a consultant and educator in Mineral Project Evaluations & Strategic Analysis who has held senior positions with Barrick Gold, Vale, Inco, BHP-Billiton, Rio Algom and SNC-Lavalin. His career has involved him in over 35 years of economic evaluations and project engineering for mining, metallurgical, and industrial projects. His experience includes scoping studies, optimization studies, pre-feasibility and feasibility studies, risk assessment, and due diligence work for banks and mining companies. Larry teaches Mineral Economics as an adjunct professor at the University of Toronto, the Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Valparaiso in Chile, and Schulich Mining MBA program at York University, and in-house courses, seminars and workshops for explorationists, management, finance personnel, lawyers, and for First Nations organizations.

He is the recipient of the 2003 CIM MES Robert Elver Award for Mineral Economics, is on the executive of the CIM Management and Economics Society (MES) and is past Chair of the CIM Toronto Branch.

For a copy of the presentation, please click HERE.