Author Archives: Paul Turner

IGS Xplore is an innovative new mineral prospectivity tool designed to de-risk early-stage mineral exploration. This tool, developed by IGS Ltd, is unique as it is a semantically-driven analytical tool, rather than a purely GIS-based methodology.  IGS Xplore uses expert knowledge to identify potentially prospective areas based on non-statistical geological rules governing up to 50 known mineralisation models. It generates prospectivity maps for regions or countries using base geodata quickly and efficiently.  IGS Xplore will be formally launched in early 2016.

Our three DFID-funded projects at the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum and Afghan Geological Survey (AGS) continue to make progress and several new associates have recently been recruited to the team. These have been employed to deliver specialist elements of our training programme agreed with the Ministry and to ensure continuity of our presence in Kabul whenever possible.

Several of our counterparts will be attending the 5th International Hindu Kush Geological Conference in Kabul from 29th-30th September where some will be delivering presentations at their first conference.

New I.T. equipment has also been provided for the AGS, and laboratory equipment will soon be ordered to equip a new construction materials testing laboratory. This will enable AGS staff to undertake routine tests on a variety of materials such as marble, brick, and other building materials. In the meantime, counterparts continue to be trained at commercial laboratories in Kabul to gain familiarity with procedures and equipment.

IGS is pleased to welcome Dr Aoife Brady to the team. Aoife has been appointed as the new Product and Commercialisation Manager at IGS and will help to develop new markets for the geodata side of our business. Aoife has a strong background in mineral exploration, having worked in Greenland and more recently in Malawi as a Principal Geologist helping to develop and market a rare-earth minerals prospect for a Canadian-based junior exploration company.

Aoife obtained a 1st Class Degree in Earth Sciences from the National University of Ireland in Galway, and then continued her studies here to obtain her PhD on ‘The role of carbonate in diatreme-related magmatism’.

On joining IGS Aoife said “I’m very pleased to join IGS and I look forward to the challenge of managing and developing geodata opportunities”.

Dr Peter Zawada, Managing Director of IGS said “I would like to welcome Aoife to IGS and I am confident that with her strong background Aoife will be able to significantly help develop our growing geodata business”.

IGS is pleased to announce the full-time appointment of Alex Fuentes to the team. Alex is a Geologist and obtained his MGeol from the University of Leicester in 2013. He has been already been working with IGS as an Associate since May 2014, but was recently been appointed to IGS to complement our full-time staff. Alex has been working to develop our geodata and GIS activities, but he has also travelled to Malawi earlier this year to work on another IGS project.

Alex said “I look forward to future work with IGS in both familiar and innovative projects whatever and wherever they may be.”

As work on our Afghan project continues, we were pleased to be informed that the Extractive Sector Support Programme (ESSP), the DFID-funded programme where our work resides, has recently been graded A+ following a review of the programme. Details of this assessment will be published on the DFID Development Tracker website in due course.

Training in commercial laboratories in Kabul is continuing as planned prior to the arrival of new laboratory equipment, and several meetings are ongoing with the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum to agree revisions to our work plan to meet the needs of the MoMP.

Our work aims to build capacity at the MoMP and the Afghan Geological Survey (AGS) through the training and mentoring of staff in using specific equipment at the AGS and working with local staff to develop skills relating to mineral promotion at the MoMP.

Whilst working in Afghanistan does still have challenges, we are confident that our work will add real value to the Afghan government by improving some of the essential skills necessary for the sustainable development of Afghanistan’s mineral resources.

IGS recently delivered a presentation titled “Post-conflict reconstruction and capacity building at the Afghan Geological Survey and Ministry of Mines and Petroleum” at the Manajim Mining Conference in London.

The conference brought together senior figures from governments and industries in the MENA region (Middle East and North Africa) to discuss opportunities for exploration and mining in the region, as well as providing plenty of time for networking and discussion.

IGS has an ongoing project in Afghanistan and interests in other parts of the MENA region, and it was a good chance to develop new contacts and update delegates on our current projects.

IGS is pleased to announce the securing of a new World Bank-funded project in Cameroon. The work is part of the PRECASEM project which has the overall objective of improving efficiency, transparency and contributing to the sustainable development of the mining sector.

IGS are leading this project in partnership with the Council for Geoscience (CGS) of South Africa. The work will involve supervising the geological and geochemical mapping component of this project which is scheduled to be completed over two years.

Dr Peter Zawada, Managing Director of IGS, said “This contract is a welcome addition to IGS’s growing portfolio of projects in Africa and emphasises our strengths as a company in being able to win projects of this nature. We look forward to helping Cameroon increase its geological knowledge which will help attract new investment into the country.”

Our work in Afghanistan is part of a DFID-funded programme titled ‘Extractive Sector Support Programme’ (ESSP) which aims to improve Afghanistan’s ability to manage its natural resources for the benefit of all Afghans.

We have three projects operating in Kabul in the following areas:

1) Developing capacity in the environmental geology section of the Afghan Geological Survey (AGS) to support environmental management at the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum (MoMP) in the mining sector

2) Establishment of a construction materials testing laboratory at the AGS to support the small-scale mining sector

3) Development of mineral promotion services at the MoMP

Work on all three projects is progressing well. We have already started training our counterparts at commercial laboratories in Kabul to familiarise staff on techniques and equipment prior to installing new equipment and repairing older equipment already in place.

As the project continues we will be spending more time involved in hands-on training and mentoring of our counterparts to enable them to work more effectively on their own. In future years, it is hoped that staff will be able to undertake much of the tasks that other geological surveys and ministries carry out.

IGS, in partnership with CGS (South Africa) has recently completed a DFID-funded project titled “Institutional strengthening of the Department of Geological Survey of Malawi, in support of the mineral exploration and environmental sectors”.

The project’s objective was a scoping study of the Malawian Geological Survey and the Earth School Sciences of the University of Malawi (Chancellor College). The study was conducted by means of two visits to Malawi during which the task team interacted with the personnel of the two institutions and other stakeholders such as the Ministry of Natural Resources, Energy and Environment, the Chamber of Mines and the World Bank.

A comprehensive report was written in which the task team describe the current state of the Geological Survey and the Earth Science Department, and make recommendations regarding institutional strengthening. The implementation of the recommendations will form part of a second project which will commence later in 2015.

IGS recently exhibited at the Mining INDABA event in Cape Town from 9-12th February as part of the larger UKTI pavilion showcased as “Business is Great Britain”.

This is a very important event in the mining calendar which is attended by thousands of visitors including senior government representatives, development banks, and private investors, as well as hundreds of stands from service companies, equipment providers and major mining companies.

IGS also attended a meeting to discuss the African Minerals Geoscience Initiative (AMGI), sometimes known as the “billion dollar map”, together with the World Bank, African Union, DFID, and African Geological Surveys. IGS is committed to the AMGI and to working to help implement this ambitious and important programme for Africa.

This is the first exhibition attended by IGS since we rebranded from BGS International at the beginning of February. IGS will continue to attend Mining INDABA and many other similar events in the future to promote our brand and to engage with existing and new clients.