New laboratory at AGS officially opened
H.E. Ambassador to Afghanistan, Dominic Jermey, and Deputy Minister Sadaat from the MoMP about to cut a ribbon to inaugurate the laboratory.
The Ambassador being interviewed by journalists at the lab inauguration.
In April 2017, a new Construction Materials Testing Laboratory was officially opened during an inauguration ceremony at the Afghan Geological Survey (AGS) attended by the UK’s Ambassador to Afghanistan, H.E. Dominic Jermey, and Deputy Minister Sadaat from the Afghan Ministry of Mines and Petroleum (MoMP).
The opening the laboratory, together with training AGS staff, is the culmination of one of three projects undertaken by BGSI (IGS) as part of the DFID-funded Extractive Sector Support Programme (ESSP).
The laboratory has been supplied with the very latest equipment capable of undertaking more than 30 different tests on different types of construction material, making this facility the most modern and most capable raw material testing laboratory in Afghanistan.
The equipment in this laboratory will enable the AGS and the MoMP to undertake qualitative testing on a range of different construction materials, e.g. limestone, granite, and marble, to understand their properties, including strength, porosity, and resistance to abrasion.
Project Leader Dr Waqas Ahmed with the group of five AGS counterparts trained to use the laboratory equipment
One of the AGS staff members demonstrating use of equipment in the laboratory during the inauguration.
The laboratory will also help the Afghan small-scale mining industry, since it will be able to assist quarry operators to assess the quality of their resources. For example, marble quarry operators will be able to bring in samples of their products for testing and use the test results to attract higher fees for their products, whilst ensuring they are used for the most appropriate specifications. If Afghan marble producers are better able to understand the potential value of their product, they are less likely to want to sell their quarry material at a lower price and can demand higher prices for their product.
Additionally, this laboratory will enable the Afghan government, through the MoMP, to make informed decisions regarding the choice of materials used in infrastructure and construction projects. This will help to ensure the longevity of buildings and roads, and will ultimately save the Afghan government time and resources.
After the inauguration, the Ambassador and Deputy Minister were interviewed by journalists from national and international organisations, including the BBC.
New IGS Xplore Data Products Released
IGS Xplore is excited to launch a collection of our latest GIS data pack’s including potential mapping results using the Xplore Prospectivity Analysis system.
These analysis cover the Guiana Shield in South America, Thailand and Myanmar for Orogenic Gold, Ni-Cu-PGE, REE, Pb-Zn and Cu-Au Porphyry styles of mineralisation. Both Permissive and Favourable areas have been identified, with target areas down to <25 km².
Each product includes a prospectivity layer for the target mineral deposit type, the enriched geological/geochemical source data and country boundaries, (in ArcGIS format, shape files and map package – other formats available on request), also includes a detailed report on the regional geology, metallogeny, input data and prospectivity analysis methods applied. Prices range from £1,000 to £5,000.
To order or for more information please contact us – enquiries@igsint.com
Example outputs from Guiana Shield shown below:
IGS exhibits at PDAC 2017
IGS and IGS Xplore successfully exhibited at the PDAC event in Toronto from 5th – 8th March. IGS staff were also exhibiting on the Afghan Ministry of Mines and Petroleum (MoMP) stand, where Kathy Kavanagh, Project Leader for the Investment Promotion Project, represented the MoMP.
The Honourable Ms Nazifa Langaryan, Consul General, Toronto, (2nd right) with Kathy Kavanagh and other Afghan representatives on the Afghan stand at PDAC
The event was another opportunity to discuss Xplore, our mineral prospectivity tool, and to demonstrate its capabilities to potential clients. IGS gave a presentation on Xplore at a well attended Geosoft-hosted event aimed at governmental organisations, and we held meetings with many junior exploration companies, state geological surveys, and consulting groups during the event.
IGS exhibits at Mining Indaba 2017
Standing room only at the World Bank-hosted session on Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining
The IGS and IGS Xplore stand at Indaba
IGS and IGS Xplore successfully exhibited at the Mining Indaba event in Cape Town from 6-9th February. Our booth was part of the larger UK Department for International Trade’s (DIT) pavilion, and IGS is proud to have been associated with the DIT stand for the third consecutive year. Our booth, and the larger DIT stand, attracted considerable interest, especially during a whisky tasting event on one of the afternoons! We met many existing and potential future clients and collaborative partners, and are now following up these contacts over the next few weeks.
Visit by Sudanese delegation to the IGS stand
Piper and whisky tasting at the DIT pavillion
Our next event is at PDAC in Canada in March, we hope this event will be just as successful.
IGS attends MINEX Eurasia 2016 and hosts Mongolian visit
IGS attended the MINEX Eurasia conference in London on November 28th and gave a joint presentation with the Natural History Museum titled ‘Metallogenic analysis to unlock Central Eurasia’s hidden mineral resource potential’.
The event was focused predominantly on Russia, Kazakhstan and Mongolia, and was attended by senior representatives from several governments, including the Mongolian Ambassador to the UK, Tulga Narkhuu, and the British Ambassador to Mongolia, Catherine Arnold.
Following this event, IGS also attended an event celebrating 25 years of Kazakhstan’s independence, and then on 30th November IGS hosted a visit by representatives of the Mongolian Government, Mongolian mining companies, and the Department for International Trade.
Kazakhstan news updates
IGS attended the 3rd UK-Kazakh Inter-Governmental Commission (IGC) held in London on 22nd November and gave a joint presentation at the Mining Subgroup with the Natural History Museum (NHM) on a proposal to develop a Geocluster within Kazakhstan.
Several Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) were also signed at the IGC, including an MoU between KazGeology, the state-owned National Exploration Company in Kazakhstan, and the Department of International Trade (DIT), which included details of the proposal to KazGeology from IGS, The University of Exeter’s Camborne School of Mines (CSM), and NHM, with whom IGS has been working closely over the past few months.
The IGC was opened by an address from the Rt Hon Greg Hands, Minister of State for International Trade, and was also attended by senior Kazakh Government and industry representatives.
Representatives from KazGeology, the NHM and DIT visited IGS on 23rd November to further discuss these proposals and also have a tour of the National Geoscience Repository at the British Geological Survey.
We thank KazGeology for their time and look forward to continuing our discussions with them over the coming months.
New starters/departures from IGS
We are pleased to welcome Edd Lewis to IGS as a Senior Mineral Resource Geologist. Edd joins us from his most recent position at Geological Survey Ireland (GSI), but has extensive previous international exploration experience in many countries including Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Greenland, Gabon, Indonesia, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia, Namibia, Jordan, and Australia.
Edd has a MGeol in Applied and Environmental Geology from the University of Leicester and has previously worked for Rio Tinto and SRK Consulting, most recently in their Brisbane office.
In addition to adding experience to our core business, Edd will also be involved in helping further develop and promote IGS Xplore, our proprietary-developed software service which highlights prospective areas for mineralisation.
On joining IGS, Edd said “I am very much looking forward to working with the team at IGS and applying my experience to assist development of the IGS Xplore Prospectivity Mapping platform”
We also bid a fond farewell to Aoife Brady who takes up a new position, co-incidentally also at GSI. Aoife has been a valued member of IGS who helped to develop and promote Xplore throughout her time here, and we wish her well for the future.
Of these staff changes, Dr Peter Zawada, Managing Director of IGS, said “We welcome Edd to our team and look forward to him to continue to develop and promote Xplore, as well as contributing to the success of our core business. Aoife has been an important and hard-working member of IGS, and whilst we will miss her from the team, we hope that she finds her new position equally as rewarding”.
IGS chairs sessions at The Mining Show
Antony Benham from IGS recently attended the Mining Show in Dubai, chairing many of the sessions and panel discussions over the two-day event.
The Mining Show, previously known as MENA Mining, is one of the largest mining-related events in the Middle East and brings together Ministers and other senior governmental advisors with key figures from industry to discuss and debate issues in exploration and mining. This year topics ranged from challenges facing the mining industry in the next few years to technological advances in the exploration industry, and even one talk on the potential for mining asteroids.
As well as meeting with geological surveys and advisors, the event was a successful opportunity to publicise IGS to a wider audience, and IGS is grateful to the organisers of the Mining Show, Terrapinn, for the invitation to chair at this event.
New starter at IGS
We are pleased to welcome Dr Christoph Dobmeier to IGS. Christoph is a highly experienced structural mapping geologist with extensive overseas experience including Papua New Guinea, Afghanistan, Russia, Southern Africa, India and Switzerland. Christoph has a Diplom Geology (equivalent to a MSc) from Freidrich-Alexander University Erlangen in Germany, and a Doctorate from the University of Fribourg, Switzerland.
Christoph was involved in creating the first comprehensive 3D structural model of the Mt Fubilan Cu-Au-Ag porphyry deposit at OK Tedi in Papua New Guinea, and more recently has been involved in training and capacity building at the Afghan Geological Survey in Kabul.
Dr Peter Zawada, Managing Director of IGS, welcomed Christoph to the team, commenting “Christoph’s considerable mapping experience further adds strength to IGS and we very much welcome him to the team”.
Christoph added “I’m looking forward to working with my new colleagues at IGS and applying my experience to different challenges”.
IGS wins major contract in Kenya
IGS is pleased to announce the winning of a major new contract in Kenya. This work, titled ‘Provision of Consultancy Services for Development of Specifications, Terms of Reference and Supervision of a Countrywide Integrated Airborne Geophysical Survey for Mineral Resources of the Republic of Kenya’ is funded by the Government of Kenya and led by IGS in partnership with PGW of Canada, with whom IGS have already won several other recent contracts elsewhere.
Dr Peter Zawada, Managing Director of IGS, said “I am very pleased that IGS has won this very important contract which demonstrates our competitiveness and further establishes our reputation in international geoscience consultancy”.
