By: Abdulsalam Lukeman O. (editor@rockpostnews.com)
AG Vision Mining Ltd. (AGVM), provides tailor-made consulting services across the full geological spectrum in accordance with international best practices. Headed by Dr. Warwick Crowe, AGVM has an experienced team of renowned geologists and geoscientists. They currently operate the largest, most experienced Nigerian based mineral exploration team and are currently exploring on several fronts in Nigeria.
Their team has a broad background in conceptual and systematic targeting of mineralization, from regional scale projects to the planning and implementation of more focused prospect scale targeting projects. In short, they support you all the way from deposit definition to resource drilling.
The company recently acquired the Comacchio GEO 602 EX Multipurpose drill rig. With this proven model, they seek to deliver high end drilling services with both capabilities –Reverse Circulation (RC) and Diamond Drilling (DD). Their crew of senior drill managers, geologists, geo-technicians, and mechanical technicians will take care of all aspects of the geological programme. They handle Laboratories and ensure that core and/or chips get sampled, logged and modelled to perfection. They use their own standard operating procedures, based on the industry’s highest standards. The Rock Post team sat with the Managing Director, FADI A. GHAZALE in this scintillating exclusive interview. Excerpts:
Q. Do you undertake a kind of project audit/verification by another independent party like the consultants?
R. This is one of the most prominent features of the NIMEP initiative. The client designed the project in line with international best practices with solid QA/QC (Quality assurance/quality control) processes that would provide the best possible confidence in the results.
In our view, the quality of an estimate is dependent on the quality of the data used. Internally at AGVM, we follow strict QA/QC protocols with a verification check on all chain of custody protocols.
Apart from the client supervising the whole NIMEP project, Geoexploration Nigeria Ltd that is in association with Geowitch form the Netherlands have been engaged as independent QA/QC consultants. Their role is to independently and objectively review and provide practical advice for the client and the contractor, on the various exploration techniques and protocols being adopted for the work program and whether the data quality is preserved along the whole cycle. Further, they review all sampling, drilling, assaying, and most importantly data management procedures. Their independent review must ensure that AGVM is in compliance with international reporting codes such as JORC or NI43-101
Q. Take us through the project’s anticipated deliverables. What is the anticipated impact of your explored mineral on the Nigerian economy, should it become successful?
R. The primary deliverables will include a number of defined high-level exploration targets with the supporting results from the field and interpretation studies detailed in a summary report. The extensive geochemical exploration data will be delivered in a standardized database format which will allow end user importation into most mining software suites. In addition, we will be aiming to advance a number of deposit targets to at least a preliminary resource stage. How far we can go down this path will be dependent on the size and complexity of the target deposits. Full QA/QC procedures will be implemented to international standards (JORC) during all stages of trenching and drilling programs.
Beyond doubt, the benefits and deliverables of the project are open-ended. Apart from the known fact of developing Nigeria’s economy, NIMEP will lay the foundations of a sustainable employment stream that would act as a magnet for youth development.
NIMEP is not a one-off programme, rather it is a continuous journey in which government funding will form a core role in actualizing Nigeria’s mineral potential. By mobilizing more resources, NIMEP will form a platform to attract local and foreign investment into the Nigerian economy. It will help to create new markets, thrilling opportunities, and a solid and consistent inflow of hard currency stream that is key for Nigeria’s future and diversification vision.
Additionally, NIMEP deliverables will be utilized for research and academic purposes. For instance, the most efficient approach for mineral exploration in the unique geological terrain of Nigeria would form part of the final report of the project.
Q. What are some of the challenges confronting your company in the course of this project?
R. Exploration is full of challenges and uncertainties. In my view, firms aiming at success must develop the ability to continuously adapt to the constant change in Nigeria’s environment. The last 7-8 years have proven exhausting for most businesses, and mining is no exception. At AGVM challenges will only add to our determination in getting the job done. We know that the Nigerian mining sector is still developing. If the steps taken by the government are sustained, the sector will certainly grow into a greater one, and Nigeria will gradually become a global destination for mining investment.
Yes, there are security challenges, but it is not as bad as we hear and read in the news. Moreover, it is not limited to us, it is a global crisis and the Nigerian government proved high competency in controlling and putting a closure to these unforeseen challenges. The improvement experienced in the last 3 months has been remarkable.
We are very excited and supportive to the bold step made by the government which has promised to make Nigeria more conducive for investment. It is a well-known fact that lives and properties must be secured before investors would invest their monies in the country.
Q. Tell us about the exploration machineries / equipment that you are deploying to achieve this project’s target.
R. In the last two years AGVM has been expanding its resource base. Driven by the industry’s positive outlook and the Federal Government’s bold step in actualizing the sector, our company has acquired some advanced and exclusive exploration gear, including, software and geophysical equipment, heavy equipment and machinery. To name a few, the first Electro Magnetic time domain system in Nigeria, a multi-purpose drill rig (Reverse Circulation and Diamond Drilling), mobile camps, down the hole survey tools, several magnetometers, Laboratory equipped with preparation and XRF facilities.
For over three years now, we have turned our acquired data into a hub of information on Nigeria’s geology, mineral systems and their controls, geological maps and a wide set of data about artisanal workings, the environment, road networks and communities, etc. We are proud of this unique feature, in which AGVM is able to position itself at the forefront of the development of Nigeria’s mineral industry and offer the industry some rare resources.
Q. With this being a sort of turnkey project, the government has entrusted so much confidence in you. How confident are you to deliver?
R. We have high confidence in our team and their capacity to make the job done according to the parameters stipulated by the client. AG Vision Mining entails one of the most trained and most experienced mineral exploration team on Nigerian soil.
Our team of Geoscientists, Exploration geologists, geochemists, drill engineers, mechanical supervisors, boast extensive experience in the development and management of complex projects of all sizes from conception through planning, design and implementation, to final interpretation, reporting and analysis.
Currently, the NIMEP project has gone beyond 96% completion and we are getting closer by the day to the advanced stages of our agenda that require drilling. In the last few weeks, the intensity of the rainy season have slowed down our progress; however, our equipment are available in the country and we perceive the commencement of this final juncture by the early days of the dry season, which will mark the commencement of the final stages of the NIMEP 1 project.
Q. How would you rate the performance of Local Geosientists’ embedded in your technical team? Can you justify they have benefitted technically from this project?
R. People tend to have a misperception about the quality of human resources in Nigeria and the capacity of the local workforce to implement projects of these magnitudes. While we are much aware about such discrepancies, the problem doesn’t stem from a capacity perspective, rather for us it solely relate to a lack of exposure. By looking at some neighboring mining destinations like Ghana and Burkina, we discover mature mining industries with decades of human capital development. Exposure to exploration and mining projects is still lacking in Nigeria, and we have no reason to believe that our local workforce will not be able to reach new heights in the mining industry. It is only about time.
Perhaps one of the most strategic decisions undertaken by the client at the time of designing the project was to embed staff from the ministry, from MCO and NGSA under different lots and with various mineralization styles. I must commend the highly experienced team embedded with our company, whether in terms of geology or geophysics the personnel have a wide theoretical and practical knowledge in the various aspects of mineral exploration. NIMEP is acting as a catalyst for these teams to become more exposed, to work with a world-renowned competent person and a local experienced team, and to learn modern western exploration techniques.
We have been working in conjunction with the embedded for more than 10 months, and this trend will continue till the end of the project. We noticed tremendous technical progress. Apart from the field work, several training programs have been concluded on site and in Abuja.
Q. So far, share some of your key findings with us.
R. The NIMEP project is a very bold and resourceful step. Although the project will build a very solid foundation for the nation, a lot more needs to be done.
We should look at mining development as an incremental process. It is a long chain of several artifacts including getting the right teams, developing the country’s human resource base, efficient exploration, world class mineral discoveries, development of infrastructure, conducive environment for investors, funding provision, boosting confidence in Nigeria as a mining nation, among others.
So far, the preliminary indications from our target zones are yielding encouraging results. We have ongoing exploration project areas in Abuja, Niger, Zamfara, Kebbi, and Osun state. In every state we are working on several blocks. For instance, in Zamfara, two PGE blocks and two gold blocks are being explored simultaneously, while in kebbi works on three gold blocks are currently ongoing. Basically, our activities relate to mineral exploration, i.e. geological mapping, pitting and sampling, trenching, ground magnetics, ground EM surveys, drilling and sampling, etc.
We can ascertain at this stage, that we are on the right course of uncovering some of Nigeria’s hidden resources. Highly anomalous zones of Nickel, Lead, Chrome, Cobalt, Scandium, Vanadium, Copper, Palladium, Platinum, and Gold have been identified in various locations.
Q. If this project becomes successful, do you see Nigeria on track to become a world class mining destination?
R. No reason why it shouldn’t be. Once it is seen that projects can work in Nigeria then international interest will be focused. One of the major points of attraction is that Nigerian mineral resources by any global measure have not been well explored to date which, provides significant opportunities for international exploration companies.
The objective of the NIMEP project is to take the Nigerian mining sector to the next stage. To achieve this, Nigeria must gather sound geoscientific data according to international reporting codes, and that is what we are doing. We trust that unless reputable exploration companies can provide accurate and credible geoscientific data, investors will not be willing to invest in Nigeria.
In other words, and through the generation of credible data, the companies executing the NIMEP program will boost the confidence in Nigeria’s mining industry, driving the sector to the next level. We believe that Nigeria has all it takes to develop its mining sector and we are committed to giving our best. If efforts are sustained, the Nigerian flag will be placed on the international mining map.
So, we are happy to be the agents of positive change for the Nigerian mining sector.
Q. Itemize for us your operational procedures / stages in the course of this project.
R. The initial phase of the program was to delineate a number of target zones for follow-up work programs within the allocated project area. This area at 300,500km2 covers about a third of Nigeria. Both the gold mineralisation and the Ni-Cr-Cu intrusive systems are intimately associated with late Pan-African structural development. As a basis for delineating first phase prospective zones we developed a regional structural framework for the late tectonic development of the Pan-African basement. Ground follow up programs followed which included extensive field mapping and acquisition of ground magnetic data. A detailed litho-structural interpretation of the prospective zones was developed and provided the initial target zones for a first phase soil geochemistry program. Follow up second phase soil programs were employed on a tight sample spacing to define a number of prospect scale targets. These targets will be prioritized and followed up with trenching and drilling programs to be implemented on the highest ranked projects.
Q. Let’s talk about your technical team, with the significance of the project, what is the internationally recognized certification of your competent person such as JORC etc?
R. We have a strong team of geologists and geophysicists and technical support personnel whom drive the project with the day to day operations overseen by a senior geologist, all exclusively Nigerian. In addition, our field programs including soil sampling, geological mapping and geophysical data acquisition programs are run in conjunction with embedded NGSA staff.
The Competent Person for AGV Mining is a member of the professional organization; the Australian Institute of Geoscientists and as defined in the 2012 JORC Code, having at least five years’ experience which is relevant to the style of mineralization and type of deposit being reported.
Q. Any word of advice to the government, going forward.
R. If subsequent governments in Nigeria sustain the efforts and determination of President Buhari’s administration, the Nigerian mining sector has all it takes to rival and even overtake the best-known mining nations in Africa. Nigeria needs sustained commitment of leadership to achieve long term goals in the mining sector.
Brief Profile of MD/CEO
FADI A. GHAZALE is the Founder and the Managing Director of AGVM. He holds an MBA in Business in Emerging Markets from the University of Liverpool and a BA in Business Administration from Notre Dame University.
An assiduous Entrepreneur, Mr. A. Ghazale moved to Nigeria over 10 years ago to be the fourth generation of the Abou Ghazale family to manage AG Vision Construction, the family’s substantial civil construction business, operating in Nigeria and across East Africa and the MENA region.
Much of the business AG Vision Construction involved major construction projects across remote areas of Northern Nigeria and it was during these years that Fadi recognized the huge, but yet untouched potential of Nigeria’s mineral sector, and identified the factors holding the sector back, such as political complexity, lack of funds and lack of high level geo-scientific knowledge.
Mr. Abu Ghazale then single handedly set about assembling a team of global experts, which when coupled with his extensive Nigerian experience, intimate knowledge of the political environment, and the vast logistical and remote operational capacity of the construction business has transformed AG Vision Mining into the pre-eminent mineral exploration company in Nigeria.
Designation: Competent Person
Dr. Warwick Crowe is an Australian geologist whom has spent a significant part of his career working through West Africa and in particular, in Nigeria. He has over 25 years of experience in the geosciences field specializing in structural geology and tectonics. Much of the work focus through these years has been on project generation and Greenfields and brownfields targeting and resource definition for a range of commodities including, gold, base metals (copper, lead, zinc, nickel), and Iron Ore.
He is technically in charge of AGVision’s Lot 1 two target programs: vein gold, base metal associations and PGE-Ni-Cr-Co mineralization.
Given the broad scope of the NIMEP project and the status of understanding of the local geological and mining environment in Nigeria, the background and skill – set of Dr. Warwick Crowe make him eminently qualified to drive this project to a successful conclusion. He has a broad background in conceptual and systematic targeting of mineralisation from regional scale to the planning and implementation of more focused prospect scale targeting projects from deposit definition to resource drilling. His experience from working at multiple scales allows for an integrated approach to understanding the mineral systems of Nigeria which will promote a more efficient targeting approach to exploration. Much of his background experience has been gained from working throughout many regions in West Africa. Specifically, to Nigeria, he was the Principal geologist with Fugro overseeing the interpretation of the nationally acquired airborne geophysical data and was also the competent person for Kogi Iron in the delineation and resource definition of the Lokoja Iron Ore deposit. In addition, He has worked extensively across Nigeria exploring for gold mineralization, most recently with AGVision Mining.
