News

Staff from BGSI recently returned from a short visit to Kabul which marked the start of our DFID-funded Afghan project designed to help the Afghan Geological Survey (AGS) and the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum (MoMP). This visit was used to determine the current status of the AGS and MoMP and also, in discussion with both organisations, agree the strategy for the project over the next 3 years. The work plan for this project is currently being written and will be submitted to DFID for approval shortly. Once accepted, the implementation of the work will begin early in 2015.

BGSI is pleased to announce the securing of a major 3 year project in Afghanistan. The project, funded by the UK’s DFID (Department for International Development), will help improve the capabilities and resources of the Afghan Geological Survey (AGS) and the Afghan Ministry of Mines and Petroleum by providing equipment and training for AGS staff as well as promotional activities to advertise Afghanistan’s mineral resources to the wider world.

Dr Peter Zawada, Managing Director of BGSI said “We are thrilled to be awarded this contract from DFID which represents a significant investment by the UK government in Afghanistan. BGSI looks forward to starting this work soon and to help the Afghan nation realise the economic and social benefits of their mineral resources through managed sustainable development”.

BGSI is to commence work on a new project in Zambia titled ‘Institutional Strengthening of the Geological Survey Department of Zambia in support of mineral exploration and environmental sectors’. This project, which is funded by DFID and managed by the Council for Geoscience (CGS) in South Africa, will be led from the BGSI side by Dr. Frik Hartzer who joined BGSI at the beginning of September. Frik will initially travel to Zambia with other CGS personnel to understand the requirements of the Geological Survey before undertaking the capability strengthening work itself at a later date.

Dr. Frik Harzer joins us as a Senior Project Manager and will be working on some of our new projects in Africa. Frik has over 35 years of experience in all aspects of geological mapping in Africa, specialising in the execution and supervision of international geological programmes. He previously worked at the Council for Geoscience in South Africa, and has also worked as an independent consultant to the minerals and mining community.

On his appointment to BGSI Frik said “I am very excited about the opportunity to work for a dynamic company such as BGSI on its various endeavours worldwide”.

BGS International has recently recruited Alex Fuentes to work with us in developing a geodata information management system. Alex graduated with a BSc (Hons) in Geology from the University of Leicester in 2013 and started with BGSI in May 2014. Alex has been using a variety of software packages to help manipulate and manage different datasets and has been an important part of the team in helping collate geodata and understand its limitations.

Alex said “Working with a company like BGSI is a great experience for me, allowing me to strengthen old skills and develop new ones. The challenge of being part of pioneering new projects is both rewarding and exciting.”

BGS International is delighted to welcome our KTP Associate, Sławomir (Sławek) Wójcik. Sławek joined BGS International as part of a knowledge transfer partnership agreement of the The Technology Strategy Board with the Department of Computing and Technology, Nottingham Trent University.

He will be responsible for developing a series of innovative geodata solutions for BGSi.

Having experience in academic projects at Warsaw University of Technology as well as commercial background in Samsung Research & Development, Sławek is an engineer of very diverse background, whose interests range from photonics and metrology to desktop and mobile software development. As a KTP Associate, Sławek joins BGSI team aiming to promote innovation with a joint project between BGSI and Nottingham Trent University.

Sławek said: “Joining such an experienced team and going into the world of geology is really exciting, and I am really looking forward to see us make a difference by providing innovation to the world.”

BGS International (BGSi) has been contracted by the Ministry of Mining of Malawi to provide technical supervision and quality control of a high-resolution nation-wide airborne geophysical survey of Malawi.

The survey will involve joint magnetic and gamma-ray spectrometer data acquisition over the entire country, in excess of 477,000 line-kms at 250m line-spacing, and localised gravity surveys over pre-determined blocks in the north and south of the country at 500m line separations.

The airborne survey is an integral part of the Mining Governance and Growth Support programme (MGGSP) being implemented by the Government of Malawi through the Ministry of Mining with support from the World Bank and European Union, with the aim of supporting the development of the mineral and mining sector in Malawi through the acquisition and dissemination of modern digital geodata. The primary objective of the BGSi assignment is to ensure that the airborne geophysical survey is undertaken according to strict specifications and the satisfaction of the Geological Survey Department in representation of the Ministry of Mining.

Additionally a cadre of young geoscientists from the GSD will be trained in the fundamental techniques of airborne geophysical surveys and data interpretation, hence enhancing the technical capacity of the organisation to the benefit of Malawi.

BGS International is contracted to support the Geological Survey of Tanzania in carrying out various components of the US$55M Sustainable Management of Minerals Resources Project, funded in part through a loan from the World Bank.

BGSi is responsible for the technical supervision and quality control of a major, high-resolution, airborne geophysical survey totalling some 612,000 line-km over a large portion of northern Tanzania incorporating MAG-SPEC, EM and GRAV surveys. In addition a BGSi-led international consortium is responsible for the supervision and training of geoscientists from the Geological Survey of Tanzania (GST) as part of a multi-disciplinary geothematic mapping programme being carried out by GST involving geological mapping, geochemical surveys, interpretation of airborne data and laboratory upgrade.

The geothematic mapping project was initiated in April 2013 and is managed by Dr Bob Thomas and is designed to run for two years. The BGSi-led consortium involves staff from the Council for Geoscience (RSA), University of Dar Es Salaam (Tanzania), the University of Bergen (Norway) and MINTEK SA (RSA) as well as staff from GST and students from the universities of Dar Es Salaam and Dodoma. Overall responsibility and coordination of the SMMRP-GST programme lies with the CEO GST Prof. Abdul H. Mruma.

BGSi’s ongoing project working with the Ministry of Minerals and the Geological Research Authority of the Sudan (GRAS) continues to progress following another recent visit to Khartoum. BGSi have begun to assess the IT and geodata facilities at GRAS and will make recommendations based on these observations as part of their work. Future visits will be regularly taken by BGSi to continue to work with GRAS personnel and ensure effective communication of recommendations.

The Afghan Minister of Mines and Petroleum, Mohammed Barekzai, and the Director General of the Petroleum Department, Jalil Jumriany, discussed a forthcoming project in Afghanistan during their visit to BGSi’s offices recently. This three year project, to be funded by DfID, will provide training and equipment for the Afghan Geological Survey and will help promote the mineral resources of Afghanistan to exploration companies.