“They have performed so well when given the opportunity that we are also seeing demand for our West African staff all over Africa,” he said. “This process began over 10 years ago but the unprecedented worldwide demand for geological services has seen our team asked to take on increasing levels of technical and managerial responsibility.
“We are actively hiring to meet the demand for our services. At last count we had 33 geologists and 10 other technical staff, such as surveyors and database managers, on active projects in seven West African countries. We have another 27 administration and support staff. We also have two Ghanaian geologists on secondments to other parts of Africa and two Ghanaian engineering geologists on Temporary Business (457) visas in Australia.”
He said building the expertise of his staff in West Africa would have flow-on effects for the entire region.
“The demand for experienced geologists in the southern half of the continent has far out-stripped the supply and we can assist to bridge that gap,” he said. “We will work closely with our colleagues in South Africa and our newer Zambia office to achieve this. The relationship will be mutually beneficial as the South Africa office also has a broader technical capability, including engineering services that our clients will find useful.”
Building the African mining industry
Mr Love said another major focus of his work would be to grow the Coffey Mining business in the region.
“We are seeing very strong activity in West Africa and indeed all of Africa,” he said. “The boom in bulk commodity prices has seen demand for our staff on Iron Ore and Bauxite projects in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Cameroon. Gold exploration activity is also increasing. The traditional gold mining areas in Ghana and surrounding countries are still being intensively explored.
Exploration companies are now also testing prospective but less explored parts of Africa such as Ethiopia, Nigeria and Togo for their base metal and gold potential. We have carried out assignments on Uranium projects in Niger and we are seeing increasing requests for our staff to be seconded to copperbelt and gold projects in the DRC and Zambia.”
Creating investment opportunities in Africa
Mr Love’s extensive experience in due diligence processes and the financing of projects will give him added capacity to assist companies and investors seeking to move into the African market.
“In addition to the AIM, ASX and TSX listed companies, there are increasing numbers of Asian and Middle Eastern investors looking to enter Africa,” he said. “There are also many new specialist resource funds. We believe Coffey Mining is ideally placed to service all of these companies and investors.”
Mr Love has 15 years of geological and mining related experience, from open pit and underground mine production and resource definition to grass roots exploration. Prior to joining Coffey Mining, he worked as an internal technical specialist for investment banks in Australia and South Africa. His most recent position for Investec Bank Ltd in Johannesburg has exposed him to companies all over Africa and around the world.
Mr Love has a Bachelor of Science in Geology (Honours) from the Australian National University and has worked in Australia, Indonesia, South Africa and has been involved in projects in numerous other countries all over Asia and Africa.
He is based in Coffey Mining’s Accra office in Ghana.
-ends-
Media contacts
Diana Krause, Global Manager External Communication
T: +61 3 9473 1300; M: +61 420 959 942; E: diana_krause@coffey.com
