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By K. Böde

Hochtief AG Germany has developed a comprehensive management and information system for the construction industry named Aristoteles. This system is an efficient supporting tool to manage a variety of construction sites as well as operating business units with required economic targets. As such, Aristoteles offers wide-ranging control of complex economic processes in construction in a consistent manner. In this paper the process oriented functions of the system will be described with special emphasis on finance accounting and cost control. The basic elements in this respect are tender estimation, creation of initial project budgets and running budgets, regular determination of work done and result forecast to the end of the project. Further, cost accounting, monthly reporting, and all balance-related postings are included. On the basis of the extensive reporting (targeted/actual cost comparison, cost manager, project report, actual/targeted hours worked comparison, overhead cost report, amendment report or project (result) lists of all projects realized by one business unit), the responsible managers can make justified project evaluations, project controls and variance analyses during the project period and derive appropriate management measures. Thus, Aristoteles includes all substantial elements for the risk management of the operational business. In big construction joint-stock companies it is of crucial importance to satisfy the information requirements of the investors. In this respect the system provides a transparent presentation of the financial, investment and profitability situation of the company. In the international construction industry the balancing rules according to IAS (International Accounting Standards) have already been used to a larger extent. In accordance with these rules the partial profits of the work during execution can be shown as realized even before completion of a long-term contract. The validity of Aristoteles will be outlined briefly. Major advantages using the system are highly enhanced accuracy of project controlling, systematic overhead allocation to projects, change of attitude of the project personnel due to increased cost consciousness and improved flow of information within the company.

Jan 1, 2003

By Daniel T. Brian, O&apos

Exploration targets and results in the mining industry are commonly summarized in terms of tonnage and grade. Business appraisals require, as additional information, the expected profit or loss implied by the physical summary. The early incorporation of knowledge gained through financial analysis computations can provide a means for economically resolving many common exploration and development problems. Examples of such applications from the activities of exploration planning, reconnaissance, land acquisition, and development planning are presented in this paper.

Jan 1, 1969

"This paper challenges the traditional notion that mine planners need to plan production so as to incur the lowest mining cost. For a given mine configuration, a mine that increases its mining rate will incur increased mining costs. In an environment in which operations are fixated on cost reduction, a proposal that increases costs will not be readily accepted. Such a proposal requires financial justification—the increase in costs might be recuperated by the additional production. This paper evaluates the net present value (NPV) across a range of copper prices for two underground orebodies located at different depths, using a production rate of 300 kt per quarter and a scenario that introduces additional equipment and costs for 450 kt per quarter. The evaluation was based on the changes of NPV for the orebody located at a shallow depth compared with the orebody at a greater depth. Discrete event simulation combined with mixed integer programming was used for analysis. Unlike traditional sensitivity analysis, this study re-optimizes the mine plan for each commodity price at each production rate. The results show that, for the low mining rate at the final copper price, an NPV of A$1530.64 million is achieved, whereas an NPV of A$1537.59 million is achieved at a higher mining rate. Even though pushing mining rates beyond traditional limits may increase mining costs, this option may be beneficial at certain commodity prices, particularly when prices are elevated. IntroductionA traditional notion among mine planners is that mining rates should be planned in such a way as to reduce production costs. This concept generally relates to the mining rate that results in the highest machine utilization for the selected equipment. Although an existing mine may consider increasing its mining rate by adding equipment to a given mine configuration, this typically increases mining costs. In an environment in which operations are fixated on cost reduction, a proposal to increase costs may be very difficult to argue for. The value of the mine plan is well recognized as varying with the mining rate for a given orebody (Smith, 1997)"

Jan 1, 2017

By M. Grenon

OBJECTIVE ?To link slope stability and financial assessment algorithms into a commercially available mine design software packages to provide integrated global pit optimization.

May 1, 2013

By C. M. Jones

Cyprus Sierrita Corp. has developed a training program that has led to several significant improvements in safety performance and productivity. Truck productivity has increased 6% as measured by truck cycle times. Increased skill levels and awareness on the part of the mine's operators are due to the new training effort. Costs associated with productivity training have been about $185,300. This includes program development and execution costs, as well as lost productivity during the training itself. These costs are offset by $1.9 million in savings attributable to the increased skill levels of technicians due to the training effort. Cyprus Sierrita is a subsidiary of Cyprus Amax of Englewood, CO. The company operates a copper and molybdenum mining and processing facility south of Tucson, AZ, near the town of Green Valley. The Cyprus Sierrita operation produces about 109 kt/a (240 million lbs/ year) of copper, 11.3 kt/a (25 million lbs/year) of molybdenum, 31.1 t/a (1 million oz/year) of silver and 1.8 t/a (4,000 lbs/year) of rhenium. The opera¬tion employs 770 people at the site. About 200 of these employees work in the mine operations. Mining at Sierrita uses standard open-pit techniques. Crews of 43 people rotate on 12-hour shifts. Hourly technicians are nonunion and do not use rigid job classifications to define pay. Rather, the system is designed to pay employees for what they are able to do. Administering this effort requires that training opportunities are provided to those people who desire them. Successful training opportunities al¬low people to gain skills. The more skills an employee can demonstrate, the higher his or her "tech level." A technician's pay is commensurate with his or her tech level. Much of Sierrita's training in past years concentrated on building basic

Jan 1, 1998

By C. M. Jones

The training program developed at Sierrita over the last twelve months has led to several significant improvements in both safety performance and productivity. Our most easily quantified results have been in truck productivity, where we have also experienced a 6% decrease in truck cycle times. We feel this is due to increased skill levels and awareness on the part of our operators due to our new training effort. The cycle time improvement has resulted in an increase in Truck productivity of 6%. Costs associated with productivity training have been $160,300. This includes program development and execution costs, as well as lost productivity during the training itself. These costs are offset by $1,400,000 in savings directly attributable to the increased skill levels of our technicians due to our training effort. As such, this represents a solid, high return investment at Sierrita.

Jan 1, 1998

By John L. Halls

INTRODUCTION In this section, it is assumed that the reader is an engineer with sufficient training in underground mining work, preferably with budgetary control, to understand the mining methods outlined in other sections of this handbook. The mining-method descriptions are not repeated herein; only sufficient information is provided to enable the reader to comprehend the development of the costs presented. All costs are in 1977 US dollars, except where explicitly stated otherwise. CAPITAL INVESTMENT The capital investment in the underground mining portion of any mining property includes the following: 1) The development of original access involving adits, shafts, declines, etc. It includes the necessary equipment for transporting men, materials, and rock. 2) The purchase of mine equipment including loaders, underground haulage equipment, fans, pumps, electrical distribution, surface facilities associated with the underground mine, etc. 3) Sufficient preproduction mine development to assure steadily increasing production after startup. De- pending upon the mining method used, the preproduction development should provide a supply of three months to one year of ore that is developed and is ready to be stoped. Underground development also includes excavations other than shaft stations, loading pockets, sumps, etc., which usually are associated with the means of access and are excavated by the contractor. These excavations could include a crusher cavern, an ore- storage pocket, and underground workshops that may or may not be included by the shaft-sinking contractor. Portions of these could be delayed until after production begins, but it is preferable to complete them during the development phase, so there is no interference with the production buildup. 4) The staff and labor costs for all phases from inception through final production. 5) The provision of mine-surface equipment and facilities strictly applicable to the underground portion of the operation. The required facilities include a changehouse with a lamp room, a first-aid station, compressors, an electrical substation, workshops, a ware- house, water pipelines to the concentrator, water storage tanks, explosive storage, etc. A concrete-batch plant, a sand-fill plant, and boilers for heating may be required. 6) Other direct and indirect costs. 7) Engineering, design, and procurement costs. 8) Contingency allocations. 9) Contractor's fees, startup costs, and owner's costs. Original Access As part of a study for the US Bureau of Mines, Dravo Corp. conducted an extensive literature research survey covering underground operations in the United States between 1963 and 1973. Table 1 is compiled from the section of that study pertaining to the types of access to underground mines. Table 1 does not include distances attributable to the deepening of existing shafts, nor does it include shafts bored by raise drills or downhole machines that need existing underground workings for the disposal of the cuttings. During the period under review in the report ( 1963 through 1973). concrete-lined circular vertical shafts were the predominant means of providing the first access to a new underground mine; these shafts accounted for 80% of the original access in terms of the number of accesses completed, and 75% in terms of the total verti- cal linear distances. The inside diameters of the conventional circular shafts ranged from 3.7 to 7.0 m (12 to 23 ft). Most (72% ) of these conventional shafts were for production,

Jan 1, 1982

By D. Drymonitis, G. Gialoglou

"Placer gold mineralizations have been observed in the north-eastern parts of Greece. Some of them have been at first evaluated to be of special interest so, exploration campaigns have been designed and carried out. Among the other exploration techniques applied on the sites of interest, drilling was the one to give the detailed information and data for the evaluation of the deposits. Having collected the data from trenching and two consecutive drilling campaigns, they were processed geostatistically to estimate the ore reserves and therefore the economic interest of the deposits. The latter was done by using exploitability indices, which would give a rough idea whether the deposits were economically feasible. A small number of such deposits have been spotted in the area and have been explored and evaluated as above. The present paper deals with the most important of them, giving all the process followed and the results derived from the exploration carried out."

Jan 1, 2005

By Lynton B. Manssen

Introduction Net Present Value (NPV) techniques are becoming widely used in industry as a standard analytical tool in making capital budgeting decisions. However, NPV techniques are often misused in "common practice." A comparison was made between the use of NPV techniques in common practice and an Adjusted Net Present Value (ANPV) approach to capital budgeting in the financial analysis of a mining project. The comparison was made by applying both methods to a hypothetical copper project. The intent of the analysis is to provide an example for practitioners to follow when financially analyzing mining (or other) projects. To maintain the thrust of the analysis, the project has been evaluated as a stand alone, total project. No consideration has been made of the division of cash flows accruing to various owners over the life of the project. This omission will not affect the comparative nature of the analysis. This discussion assumes that the reader is familiar with present value as a concept and as a tool in capital budgeting. Finance theory has embraced NPV analysis as the correct way to evaluate capital budgeting alternatives. Many articles have been written expounding the virtues of NPV over other capital budgeting methods, such as Internal Rate of Return (IRR), Payback, Accounting Rate of Return, and others. It is not the purpose of this article to review all of the literature in this area; suffice it to say that in academic circles NPV concepts are accepted as the norm. A survey by Schall, Sundem, and Geijsbeck (1978) indicates that major US companies are finally following in academia's footsteps. Fifty-six percent of the companies responding to the survey use NPV techniques in their capital budgeting process. Further, some 86% of the companies surveyed use discounted cash flow methods (NPV or IRR) for capital budgeting decisions. This compares with a survey by Klammer (1972) that showed 57% of companies using both techniques, a considerable increase in seven years. With the increasing use of NPV techniques in industry, there are certain uses in common practice that can give misleading results. Five common errors in NPV analysis of large projects are: • No distinction is made between real and nominal cashflows. • The discount rate(s) used in the NPV analysis is not formally adjusted for risk. • There is no distinction of possible differences in the riskiness of different project cash flows; i.e., revenue vs. depreciation. • There is no recognition of the cash benefits to the project from interest tax shields (interest payments on the project's debt that are tax deductible). • There is no clear recognition of subsidies to the project from concessionary debt financing. No Distinction Between Real and Nominal Cash Flows Often, expected cash flows for a project are stated as a mixture of real (in constant dollars) and nominal (in current dollars) cash flows. For example, expected revenue cash flows may be stated in real terms and depreciation may be stated in nominal terms. If cash flows are added together to give an after tax cash flow, and this single cash stream is discounted, care must be taken to ensure that cash flows are consistently stated. All cash flows should either be stated in nominal terms or in real terms. In addition, the discount rate used must be stated in the same terms as the cash flows being discounted. Real cash flows must be discounted using real discount rates and nominal cash flows using nominal discount rates. Discount Rate Not Adjusted Numerous methods for obtaining discount rates are used in common practice. Schall and others

Jan 6, 1983

By Hugh Douglas

This paper discusses the financial health of the U.S. mining industry and its ability to meet the future raw material requirements of this country in the context of resource independence. The title of this paper begs several questions, and three will be raised here. The answers to them will form the basis for discussion. The three questions are: What does one mean by resource independence. How is the U.S. mining industry defined. How is financial health measured.

Jan 1, 1977

By Peter J. Maxworthy

INTRODUCTION There is no hard and fast rule on whether functions within a company, diversified or otherwise, should be strongly centralized or decentralized. In all diverse organizations, there are certain basic functions which remain common (or central) to each element of the business, viz: Personnel Management Cash Management Taxation Management Legal Planning Accounting Standards It would follow that each of these common factors requires some supervision at a central level to ensure that overall group objectives are met. It is true that other functions including: Industrial Relations Marketing and Distribution Production Research and Development Purchasing Management Accounting may also be common to each element of the organization. However, there is far less commonality in the degree to which these functions are central to the efficient performance and financial well-being of the business. Role of Operating Units The resources of operating centers may be viewed as a bank of funds, the nature of which can be changed from time to time, but the employment of which must provide for ongoing increases in the net worth of the total enterprise expressed in terms of market values. Operating units are required to continually review products, methods, and opportunities and to monitor avenues for incremental investment--all with a view to attaining the necessary additive net present value of future cash flows of the enterprise. Operating units should be permitted sufficient autonomy to enable the best use to be made of the skills and experience of the people it employs in order to produce a return appropriate to the value of assets employed. Role of Head Office The head office will typically comprise a specialist group--the leaner the better if one strongly adopts the decentralist approach--often acting as Service Centers but also performing a control function in the corporate sense. The head office function is a cost center. It may be instrumental in developing strategies for increasing revenues or reducing costs on a group scale, but it does not generate revenue. Every dollar spent on this function is an extra dollar to be generated by the operating centers in order to achieve an increase in corporate wealth. TREASURY MANAGEMENT Treasury management is concerned with the provision of finance, cash-flow management, and risk analysis. Each decision taken within the enterprise has a cash implication. It follows that a well-integrated central Treasury function can, in all likelihood, produce economic benefits. The degree to which the function should be centralized depends largely upon the unique nature of the operating units it is servicing. Levels of ownership, the calibre of unit operating managers, and the nature and geographic distribution of the business are all factors determining the degree to which the Treasury function is centralized. In the case of Peko-Wallsend, the Treasury Department is small, comprising four people. While divisional cash-flow management is largely decentralized, Treasury is responsible for the daily management of funds surplus to the immediate needs of operating units. Treasury also operates as central banker and provides funds to

Jan 1, 1985

By S G. Gemell

"The financial model is an integral component of any project evaluation based on mineral resources, ore reserves and (at least internally) exploration targets. Given the unity of purpose for preparing financial models for project evaluation purposes, the diversity of both format and content of the finalised models is surprising. Many models are prepared by staff or consultants who are comfortable with a particular format that may be used for other purposes, such as budget preparation or financial reporting. It is natural in these situations that the practitioner will take these models and adapt them to the purpose. The end result may or may not succeed in providing a clear, accurate and sufficiently detailed view of the project’s economic viability.When preparing a model, the practitioner should be cognisant of the interpretation and review, or audit, process. The auditor may be a consultant or employee of a bank, potential equity provider or of the project sponsor itself. Depending upon the scale of the project and the level of participation of the entity that the auditor represents, the financial model will be interrogated more or less rigorously. In any event, the end user will require the model to permit easy change of inputs and will wish to confirm that such change is appropriately and thoroughly transmitted throughout.Accordingly, there are some ‘dos and don’ts’ that can be readily applied in the creation of the financial model that will greatly assist the end user, not just in the change of inputs, but also in reviewing the model’s integrity. The less time and effort required by an auditor in this regard is reflected directly in the cost of the review process.CITATION:Gemell, S G, 2016. Financial modelling with the auditor in mind, in Proceedings Project Evaluation 2016, pp 172–180 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne)."

Mar 8, 2016

By E. Kendall Cork

The traditional financial objective for a single mine company has been to operate as frugally as possible and to pay out most of the earnings as dividends. If the business is cyclical (as it is for most metals) the dividends might fluctuate quite widely. When the mine is exhausted the company disappears. This is still quite a viable strategy for a single mine company. It is not however a viable strategy for the world as a whole. The mining industry is built by mine development companies who can mobilize the people and capital to bring new mines into production. Their skills must include marketing, engineering, finance and other politics. It is very rare for a property to be brought in without the support of a major company that can provide all these services. The exceptions will usually have some other form of big brother support, for example the U.S. government uranium contracts at guaranteed generous prices. The mine development company will seek as a minimum to perpetuate itself by developing new mines in order to replace those which are running out. The more common and more ambitious objective is to grow -- that is to add to its ore reserves and current production by developing more new mines. The financial objectives for that company are very different. Obviously if all the earnings were paid out in dividends there would be nothing left to work with. The first financial policy then is to spend an appropriate amount on exploration for new properties. The next is to retain enough of the earnings to provide the capital for new projects at least sufficient for the equity. There is no magic formula as to what proportion of earnings should properly be distributed as dividends by a growth-oriented mine development company. As a rough rule of thumb distributing half or more will probably leave too little to work on and 30% or so is probably a good balance. However the circumstances differ widely from company to company. It may be useful to set an objective for the rate of growth of a company's earnings. Some have picked rates such as 15% per annum compounded. Others have set a target in real terms which might appear as 10 or 11% plus inflation. Obviously the arithmetic of compound interest is very attractive; however in practice there is much variation. Indeed current returns from existing operations swing widely with the business cycle and there is no assurance that economic new properties will be found according to someone's arbitrary time schedule. For example, Western Mining Corporation Limited in Australia explored for 30 years with little to show for it, but then found the great Australian nickel deposits and more recently the huge Roxby Downs copper. That long dry spell could not have fitted anyone's arbitrary calendar of growth and yet they would not have found such orebodies without that long period of effort. Should they have abandoned the search? Once a new property has been found or acquired there has to be a threshold rate of return on the new capital to be invested against which to evaluate the property's economics. Conventionally this seems to be 15% after tax, a number common in other heavy industries as well. In some cases it is expressed as a lower number plus allowance for inflation. Discounted cash flow analysis is a very useful tool but it does not make the decision. In the end a "go" decision depends on judgment of many factors some of which are numbers used in the DCF calculation whose credibility must be examined. It is curious how frequently investment proposals come in with the rates of return very close to 15%. The project advocates know that a number much less than 15% will not fly and that a number much more is not necessary. With much higher nominal and real interest rates of recent years, even though before tax, logic suggests that the hurdle rate should also rise. The power of compound interest is so great that 20% is very hard to achieve in any cash flow projection but 18% may be a sensible yard - stick. Once again it is remarkable how many project proposals come in with an 18% return. On the record the mining industry as a whole has not been overly restrictive in choosing its hurdle rates of return. This is shown by the abundance of metals in recent years and the failure of metal prices to keep up with inflation. All of the foregoing is standard text book stuff.

Jan 1, 1985

By Jr. Winters

The United States continues to be the largest producer and consumer of copper in the world. Table 1 on the following page shows several production statistics for 1974, the most recent year which the non-communist world copper industry might consider a good year, and for 1976 and 1977. In 1974 an estimated 24 percent of the non-communist world's newly mined copper was mined in the United States, and. 87 to 89 percent of that was from the western porphyry coppers. In 1976 U. S. new mine production was down to 22 percent of the non-communist world's newly mined copper, and the percentage of U. S. new mine production supplied by the porphyry coppers had risen to 89 to 91 percent. In 1977 the statistics remained the same as in 1976. U. S. porphyry copper production represented about 65 percent of U. S. refined copper consumption in 1974, rose to 75 percent in 1976, and dropped back to 61 percent in 1977 as imports of foreign copper into the United States began to swell.

Jan 1, 1978

The visible portion of accounting-record keeping and preparation of financial statements-suggests a lack of sophistication and imagination. In reality, accounting is based on a large body of theory. Accountants philosophize, theorize, judge, create, and deliberate as a significant part of their professional practice. The subjective aspects that are so critical to current accounting practice, such as searching for truth and fact, judging what is fair presentation, and considering the behavior induced by presentations, are often overshadowed by the appearance of exactitude, precision, and objectivity that accompanies the use of numbers to express the financial results of the enterprise. * Fundamental accounting principles are hypothesized in the same manner as mathematical principles. These principles are justified by acceptability and intuition. Accounting theory is built upon these hypotheses, resulting in a coherent set of standards and rules. Although it does not specifically address every situation that may be encountered, this conceptual frame- work enables the manager or analyst to resolve specific situations. This framework also aids in the understanding and confidence in financial statements and ensures comparability between statements from different companies. This framework is referred to as "generally accepted accounting principles," or GAAP.

Jan 1, 1999

By M. Somppi, D. Weirmeir, Z. Yamak

"Milling operations commonly employ activated carbon to capture complexed gold from lixiviants in leaching processes. As the carbon moves through pipes, pumps, vessels, kilns and other processes in the gold leaching circuit, this consumable may experience losses by various mechanisms like attrition, breakage, and rupturing. Whenever possible, capturing the fine gold-bearing carbon portion of this stream could provide value to milling operations at low capital cost and manageable financial risk. Identifying, testing, and validating the successful payback of a low-tech flocculant system is described. However, the work more closely explores a Monte Carlo risk-based methodology for understanding the potential payback of this project at various confidence levels – an approach that many improvement projects can follow where some level of uncertainty exists.INTRODUCTION Gold milling operations commonly employ activated carbon to adsorb gold from solutions. Normal handling causes the carbon particles from this material to abrade, break, rupture to a size that becomes too small for further use in the process. Operations often concentrate on capturing the fine particles because gold is associated with the carbon and this metal content can be a valuable revenue stream for toll processing. However, the small particle sizes become difficult to separate from the process and can ultimately leave the facility in the waste stream. Hence, operations often place a great deal of care in capturing as much fine carbon as possible by a variety of methods including using screens, settling tanks, and chemical methods. Retrofitting a circuit to capture more carbon fines is common but can expose the operation to financial risk. Approaching this potential improvement by leveraging a Monte Carlo methodology can be effective in understanding the risk and the associated payback of a project at various confidence levels. This method provides a strong framework for capital go-no-go decisions and the structure to validate the potential project success before implementation."

Jan 1, 2019

By Robert Halupka

The industrial minerals sector represents a broad range of products involving a variety of technologies serving a diversity of markets and end uses. Unit values of products vary widely, reflecting the peculiarities of each product/market sector. Generalizations are therefore understandably difficult to make and borrowers may need to take extra time to "educate" lenders on the key aspects of their business and industry sub-sector. This paper will examine the factors and the thinking that lenders apply when considering financing proposals to companies in the industrial minerals sector. If you understand the lender's perspective and their concerns, then you can make better use of your own time and resources when arranging financing for your company or project.

Jan 1, 2001

"Investment in diamond exploration has been declining over the past decade, in spite of positive long-term industry fundamentals and a growing interest in diamonds as an investment category. The lack of new significant discoveries in recent years has eroded investor confidence, yet no new discoveries are possible without investment in exploration. Junior ‘mine finders’ have been the hardest hit. Their agility, tenacity, and appetite for risk are not sufficient to attract the funding required, even at the greenfield stage. Developing new discoveries into mineral resources can be crippling without solid financial support. Junior incubators could play a crucial role, especially at the project evaluation stage – but where are they? Alternatives to traditional funding mechanisms have become available, many still untested in the junior diamond exploration space. Valuable lessons can be drawn from the past and used to inform emerging new strategies. IntroductionDiamonds are the ultimate expression of love. Their ancient and timeless allure continues to influence consumer emotions and behaviours across continents, cultures and age groups. Analysts are predicting a sustained supplydemand shortfall in the years ahead which will trend diamond prices generally upwards. With positive long-term industry fundamentals, one cannot help but wonder why funding for diamond exploration and development projects is so scarce.Investment in exploration across commodities – including diamonds – has been declining for a number of years, reaching a historic eleven-year low early in 2017. The lack of major diamond discoveries in recent years has done little to strengthen the case for investing in diamond projects, yet no new discoveries can be made without investment in exploration.Global estimates of known carats in the ground stand currently at 2.5 billion carats, which equates to around 18 years of production at current levels of 140 million carats (mct) per annum. Sustainable replenishment of depleting diamond resources is possible only through the development of new discoveries. This is what junior explorers are best at – but they need investors to fund their evaluation activities from early in the project development continuum."

Feb 1, 2019

By James Mackie

The Vancouver Stock Exchange (VSE) has been providing venture capital for start-up companies since 1907. Ninety years' experience in the junior mining industry has enabled the VSE to develop policies and procedures tailored to the unique needs of start-up companies. Policies and procedures applicable to listed companies are documented in the Corporate Finance Services Department "Policy and Procedures Manual." Approximately 50% of the companies listed on the VSE are in the mineral exploration and development business. The largest number are exploring base metal, precious metal or diamond properties. A recent count shows that about 20 companies are exploring industrial mineral or non-metallic deposits. The minerals sought by these companies include limestone, decorative stone, building stone, lava rock, wollastonite, zeolite, garnet and graphite. There are two basic routes to obtaining VSE financing for an industrial mineral property. The owner can either sell an interest in the property to a listed company or form a company and have it listed on the VSE. In each instance, the listed company is responsible for raising funds to develop the property. A typical financing consists of the sale of company securities byway ofeitherprivate placement or prospectus offering.

Jan 1, 2001

By P. Klaus

"KfW IPEX-Bank is the commercial arm of KfW Bankengruppe, responsible for international project and export finance.KfW was one of the first banks in Germany to promulgate environmental guidelines for its commercial business activities. These guidelines were first made public in 2000 and updated for the second time in 2004. They now include specific reference not only to environmental but also to social concerns. The guidelines specify the procedures to be followed in assessing credit risks related to environmental or social hazards.The bank considers sustainability as an interdependent framework of economic, ecological and social factors. In its efforts to contribute to sustainable development worldwide the bank uses its influence as far as possible to improve a project’s performance if such improvement is deemed necessary."

Jan 1, 2005