african downunder conference, page-2

Quite a good analogy actually

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Carr provides the waves, Borshoff the icebergs
Thomas Smith
Thursday, 30 August 2012

ICEBERGS, adaptability and dogged persistence. Paladin Energy managing director John Borshoff adopted a slightly different approach in his address to the Africa Down Under conference in Perth yesterday.

The audience listened to Foreign Minister Bob Carr deliver wave after wave of statistics and facts surrounding Australia’s involvement in African mining, and then up stepped Borshoff to tell the room that mining is no different to the physics of an iceberg.

Confused? Well, here’s his theory.

Icebergs, like mining, exist in three different states.

The natural state – 90% below water. Unnatural states ─ 90% above water or 100% below water.

Borshoff said all you have to do is swap icebergs for minerals and water for earth and you get the link with mining.

“The unnatural state represents boom time,” he explained.

“Governments assume that boom time is the natural state and make decisions that reward this.

“I wish it stayed like that, but to do so Newton and Einstein would need to change the laws of physics.”

Based in Western Australia, Paladin Energy describes itself as a modern uranium company.

Employing 2000 staff, it is listed among the top 10 producers in the world, with projects in Namibia and Malawi.

Further operations are in the pipeline in Australia, Canada and Niger.

In 2012, Paladin delivered record production, up 21% on 2011.

Borshoff told delegates how the Langer Heinrich mine in Namibia had seen production double to 5.2 million pounds of uranium oxide since 2008.

The Kayelekera mine in Malawi has seen an annual production record of 2.48Mlb for 2012, up 14%.

He told delegates: “We never stop learning. It’s a complex, demanding process, requiring adaptability and dogged persistence. I am very proud of the industry I’m working in.

“Africa offers a much higher opportunity for success. It’s a highly attractive destination for discovery.

“When we say something , it happens. Paladin continues to build togetherness and integrity.”

It’s unclear how much of the iceberg analogy he managed to convey to his audience, but record production, established relationships in the communities where the company operates and with several projects in the pipeline, Paladin is prepared to weather the current dip in the price of uranium.