CERBA Mining Conference 2020 sets forth ideas for more Cooperation and Investments Across Eurasia

On the 3rd of March 2020, more than 120 distinguished delegates assembled in Toronto to participate in the 20th Anniversary CERBA Eurasia Mining Conference as a part of the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) Convention 2020. The Conference brought together experts from business, purchasing, government, diplomatic, consulting, academic and non-profit backgrounds. The public sector was represented by the line-up of the foremost experts in geology, infrastructure development, ecology, and senior state officials from Canada, Russian Federation, Republic of Kazakhstan, Republic of Belarus, Republic of Uzbekistan and Mongolia. Private sector participants included top representatives of leading mining companies – Kinross Gold Corporation, Cameco, Seequent, B2Gold, GV-Gold, Macro-Advisory, RosGeolExpertisa, Metalloinvest, Kazakh Invest and others. 

The 2020 CERBA Eurasia Mining Conference continued the dialogue on the major trends in the industry, as well as occurring macro shifts throughout member-states of the association that facilitate better economic exchange and greater investments. The program included sessions focusing on the first-hand analysis of the latest development in geology and mining, evolving legal and regulatory frameworks, denationalization programs, protection of property rights, deepening international cooperation and potential investment opportunities. Fruitful discussions and diverse cohorts of speakers shaped a better understanding of significant reforms taking place across Eurasian nations that transform existing long-term patterns by implementing the best global practices, enhance openness to international exchange and investments, reveal diversity and volumes of natural resources.

CERBA Eurasia Mining Conference 2020 started with welcome remarks from distinguished speakers, including H.E. Alexander Darchiev, Ambassador of the Russian Federation to Canada; H.E. Ariunbold Yadmaa, Ambassador of Mongolia to Canada; H.E. Nicholas Brousseau, Ambassador of Canada to the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic and Tajikistan; Mr. Stephane Jobin, Deputy Ambassador of Canada to Russian Federation, Republic of Uzbekistan and Armenia; Mr. Evgeny Russak, Charge d’Affairs, Minister-Counsellor of the Republic of Belarus to Canada and Mr. Murat Rustemov, Counsellor, Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan to Canada. 

Both sessions were moderated by Mr. Lou Naumovski, Non-Executive Director of Trans-Siberian Gold and Amur Minerals Corporation and Senior Advisor to Seequent LLC. 

The first session of the Conference featured five speakers. 

Mr. Ruslan Baimishev, Vise-Minister of Industry and Infrastructure Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan, talked about current state subsoil use regulations and the latest mining code updates. Mr. Baimishev had also presented the adoption of western practices, including the mining laws of Western Australia and country’s registration under the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), both of which give confidence to potential investors.

Mr. Alexey Rudnev, Head of Geology Department in Ministry of Natural Resources and Ecology of the Russian Federation and ROSNEDRA, raised a topic on development prospects of subsoil use in the Russian Federation, as well as the positive tendency in subsoil license obtention based on the newly introduced declarative principle.

Mr. Azam Kadirhodjaev, Deputy Chairman of GosComGeology in the Republic of Uzbekistan, discussed the maintenance of a favourable investment climate in the mining sector and opportunities for project development for foreign companies. 

Mr. J.P. Natkin, Partner of Macro-Advisory LTD, gave a macro-economic and politics update in the Eurasian region.

And last but not least, Ms. Dilyara Tektigulova, Project Director of Kazakh Invest JSC, talked about prospects and investment opportunities in the mining and metallurgical industry of Kazakhstan.

The second session was opened by Mr. Claude Schimper, Senior Vice-President of Russia Operations at Kinross Gold Corporation, presenting Kinross Gold’s investor experience in Russia. Mr. Schimper spoke about the latest developments in the “Kupol-Dvoinoye” project and the newly introduced “Chulbatkan” exploration program.

Mr. Vladislav Barshinov, CEO of GV-Gold, talked about operational efficiency improvement and processes improvement on the example of “Ugahan” GOK. 

Mr. Sean Quinn, Senior Vice-President, Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary at Cameco took a look at the strong partnership that was developed between Cameco and Kazatomprom since 1992 on an example of the “Inkai” Uranium deposit in Kazakhstan. 

Ms. Inna Shalovenkova, Country Manager of Russia and CIS at Seequent LLC, raised a topic of digitalization of hard rock mineral and metals exploration and its influence on the wealth of economies from mining.

The official part of the Conference was followed by a 2-hour Cocktail Reception that gave participants a chance to network with industry leaders and further discuss goals and opportunities in the mining sector. Attendees strengthened old connections and found new ones.

Mr. Gilles Breton, National Chairman of the Board of CERBA, said: “This year’s Conference underlined the deepening interest across North America in learning about major mining trends throughout Eurasia and exploring investment opportunities. I am confident that consistent improvements in institutional frameworks and evolving patterns of international cooperation will only continue to enhance attention to our events and ways of bringing together key representatives of the industry.”

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For more information, please visit www.cerbamining.com

Conference Brochure can be found here>>

Please, review the Session Presentations here>>

All the Conference Photography can be found here>>

Conference Post-Release can be found here >>

Video Streaming can be found here >>