Global mining consultancy AMC Consultants is further entrenching its technical expertise in the Canadian market with its involvement in minerals projects across the country.

AMC Consultants Vancouver office GM Pat Stephenson tells Mining Weekly that the company has been involved in the Canadian market for much of its 30-year history, but that its presence has grown particularly in the last five years since its Vancouver office was established in 2007.

“Our first major contract in Canada, and one which helped to underpin the Vancouver office, was with New Gold at its New Afton underground development project in British Columbia, where AMC’s international block caving expertise was an integral part of the feasibility study and sub- sequent mine development,” says Stephenson.
Since then, the Vancouver office has grown to 31 staff. In 2011 AMC established a Toronto office, which has since grown to 14 staff in one year of operation.

The consultancy is headquartered in Melbourne and has global offices in Adelaide, Brisbane, Perth, Toronto, Vancouver and the UK.

Stephenson reports that AMC Canada has established a client list of more than 100 companies, encompassing majors, midcaps and juniors, and continues to obtain repeat business from many of them. It has expertise in a range of commodities, including gold, silver, lead, zinc, copper, nickel, molybdenum, tungsten, tin, iron-ore, uranium, potash, diamonds, mineral sands, lithium and cobalt.

“Some of our larger and long-standing clients include Barrick, Rio Tinto, Kinross Gold, Goldcorp, Cameco, Fresnillo, Eldorado, Newcrest, Newmont, New Gold, Nyrstar, Teranga, Silvercorp, IOC, African Barrick Gold, Primero and Endeavour,” reports Stephenson. “The majority of our work is under- taken in Canada and Mexico, but we have also worked in the US, South America, West Africa and China.”

AMC Canada is at present involved in the prefeasibility study for Sabina Gold & Silver Corp at its Back River gold project, which comprises a series of deposits located in south-western Nunavut, around 520 km north-east of Yellowknife.

AMC’s work comprises mineral resource and mineral reserve estimation, geotechnical assessment, mining method determination and mine design for openpit and underground mines, ventilation, mine services, mine infrastructure and associated scheduling and cost estimation. The work is scheduled for completion in the second quarter of 2013, with the main challenges relating to the multiple deposits and combination of underground and openpit mines.

In north-west British Columbia, it is involved in the feasibility study for Pretium Resources’ Brucejack underground gold/silver project. AMC’s scope covers the mining component of the feasibility study, including mine design, mine infrastructure, surface portal, pastefill, ventilation, heating, compressed air, mine equipment, labour and cost estimation, with its work scheduled for completion in the second quarter of 2013. AMC reports that the main challenges associated with the contract include the minimisation of surface activities in this high- snowfall environment and opti- mising the extraction of many independent lenses that form this complex orebody.

AMC Canada has recently completed activity at MMG’s Izok Corridor feasibility study for a proposed openpit and underground operation in Nunavut, with its work comprising a geotech- nical drilling programme set-up, field supervision and data collection, laboratory testing, data analysis and input into design.

In 2012, AMC completed five Canadian National Instrument (NI) 43-101 technical reports for Newcrest Mining’s successful listing on the TSX, with Newcrest the fourth-largest mining com- pany on the TSX by market capitalisation as at January 3, 2013.

AMC Consultants Toronto office GM Julia Martin tells Mining Weekly that AMC is unusual in that it is a large mining consulting group, with around 200 consultants worldwide, that has remained focused on its core strengths of mining engineering (and related activities such as geotechnical, ventilation and backfill), geology and, more recently, metallurgy.

“Most consulting companies that reach AMC’s size tend to branch out into other areas, such as environment, electrical/ mechanical engineering and EPCM. Our focus on our core strengths means that we can draw on a large and experienced group of industry-recognised professionals, and undertake projects with no vested interest in the construction stage,” explains Martin.

She adds that, in Canada, AMC has particular strengths in underground mining engineering, with 15 of its mining engineers primarily underground. It covers the full range of methods from narrow-vein to large-scale bulk mining, as well as featuring skills in the preparation of NI 43-101 technical reports.

“We also have specialised expertise in geology (as it affects mining), openpit engineering, potash mining, metallurgical process studies, certain mining software packages, and national and international mineral resource/ mineral reserve reporting standards. Our consultants are drawn from the mining industry and have extensive practical operating backgrounds and experience. Languages include Russian, Mandarin, Cantonese, Persian, Kazakh, Korean, French, Afrikaans and Spanish,” says Martin.

The Canadian subsidiary is able to draw on AMC’s unique operational benchmarking database to support estimates of operating costs and efficiencies.

“Our depth and experience in the area of operational benchmarking, and the interpretation and use of that data, is being increasingly recognised by Canadian mining companies that are seeking to optimise their operations,” says Martin.

Martin adds that AMC Canada is now well established in North America as a consultancy of choice for the geology, mining and metallurgy aspects of feasibility studies, mineral resource/mineral reserve estimates and audits, the preparation of NI 43-101 technical reports, and the preparation of independent technical review/due diligence reports.

“Because of our focus on quality and our comprehensive understanding of NI 43-101, including how regulators tend to interpret the instrument, we have become a go-to company for NI 43-101 technical reports for companies based in both Canada and overseas,” says Martin. “AMC also carries out technical due diligence reviews in respect of corporate transactions, often for nonmining company clients, as part of the expert reports already mentioned. This is a significant part of AMC’s business in Australia, and one which we are actively developing in the Americas.”

The geographic areas presenting the greatest opportunities for further growth of the company include western, central and eastern Canada, northern Canada (Yukon, Nunavut), the US, Mexico and South America.

AMC intends to continue its growth in the Americas and will look at establishing additional offices as and when the business case warrants.

“All the major regions are on our radar, including Canada, the US, Mexico, Central America and South America. AMC sees these parts of the world as its greatest opportunity for substantial growth,” explains Stephenson.

He reports that one of the most challenging aspects within the Canadian mining and exploration sector continues to be recruiting high-quality consultants in today’s competitive environment.

“AMC deals with this by offering attractive employment conditions, challenging and rewarding career opportunities and a culture that puts a high priority on staff and their families while maintaining a prime focus on clients,” says Stephenson.

“There is a short-term issue with reduced industry activity over the last six months, but we expect that to change in the near future. AMC has a long-term focus and is not deterred by short-term variations in market conditions. Over 80% of our work is repeat business, demonstrating that nothing succeeds like doing really high-quality work.”

Visit AMC Consultants at PDAC 2013 at booth #448.