2011 Mining Indaba – Speakers

Stephen Forrest
Director, Principal Consultant,
SFA (OXFORD), Ltd.
Eur Ing Stephen Forrest, Pr Eng, C Eng, BSc (Hons), FIMM, FIMinE

Stephen is the founder and principal consultant of a specialist platinum-group metals (PGM) consultancy based in Oxford (UK). From its inception in 2001, Stephen has led SFA (Oxford) in numerous international assignments offering a specialist insight into the PGM industry, providing market intelligence, microeconomic analysis, supply and demand scenarios, in-depth cost analysis, strategic consultancy and derivative research. The company also provides in-depth market research, supply-demand and pricing forecasts for several base metal and energy markets.

SFA (Oxford)'s broad portfolio includes clients from across the PGM food chain: prominent producers and refiners, global car manufacturers and major funds.

From 1998 to 2001, Stephen reported to the Chairman of MRH Gruppe AG, as their commodities strategist covering metals concentrate, LME metals, precious metals and crude oil. He also advised on-site studies of projects around the world as a fund manager. From 1995-1998 he worked as Senior Analyst and Director at the Union Bank of Switzerland Securities (SA) where he was rated top analyst covering platinum, coal and other mining sectors on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. Prior to his work in the investment sector he worked for 12 years as Mining Manager for Impala Platinum in South Africa.

Recognised as a world authority on PGMs and their markets, Stephen's wealth of experience provides a credible expert outlook for the platinum, palladium and rhodium markets.

Tom Kendall
Vice President, Commodities Research
Credit Suisse

Tom has been the precious metals analyst at Credit Suisse since April 2010, where he is responsible for fundamental market analysis, generating tactical and strategic trade ideas, and advising clients on purchasing, trading and hedging strategies for gold, silver and platinum group metals.

Prior to joining Credit Suisse he spent 3 years as global precious metals strategist for Mitsubishi Corporation and before that was manager of market research for the leading precious metals refining group Johnson Matthey PLC. Tom previously gained extensive experience as a business journalist with Metal Bulletin PLC and began his career with Roskill Consulting group in London as an analyst researching the minor metals markets.Tom holds a BSc in Geology from Southampton University, UK.

Gerard McCloskey
Chairman and Founder
The McCloskey Group

Gerard McCloskey is the chairman and founder of The McCloskey Group, which specialises in news, data and analysis on the international coal markets. The group has an extensive publication and consultancy divisions and organises conferences throughout the world. McCloskey has been accepted for two decades as a world authority on his subject area and has advised numerous banks, power, steel and coal companies globally as well as addressing European and British parliamentary assemblies and specialist committees.

McCloskey studied economics at the London School of Economics in its distant disruptive period of the 1960s before working as a journalist - initially in the UK’s Midlands and West Country before joining the department of energy as press advisor to a series of ministers in the late Jim Callaghan government (Tony Benn) or early Margaret Thatcher governments (David Howell). He then decided to return to journalism and was recruited to the Financial Times to run their growing number of newsletters.

In 1987 the first of the McCloskey Group Companies – McCloskey Coal Information Services Ltd - was established, initially working with the Financial Times before breaking with them at the end of December 2000, having by that time been editor of International Coal Report for 20 years.

The McCloskey Group now publishes five regular coal newsletters, including the industry leader McCloskey Coal Report, and stages 14 annual conferences around the world and is planning extension in both these and all the company’s other activities.

Don Smale
Secretary General
International Nickel Study Group; International Zinc Study Group

Don Smale has been Secretary-General of the three Lisbon-based intergovernmental metals Study Groups, the International Nickel Study Group, the International Lead and Zinc Study Group, and the International Copper Study Group, since January 2006 leading their work in providing definitive and wide-ranging monthly statistical data, directories of non-ferrous mines and plants, and economic analyses and environmental reports.

Born and raised in South Australia, Don obtained a Bachelor of Science at Adelaide University, a Bachelor of Economics at the Australian National University in Canberra, and an MBA from the Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland. He worked for two decades in the Australian Government focusing on industry policy development and program management in a range of sectors, including metals, automotive, chemicals and information technology, culminating in responsibility for Australian Federal Government policy in relation to mining and metals including non-ferrous metals, iron and steel, and coal. His career has had a strong international dimension, with detailed involvement in the industry and resource policy aspects of Australia's international trade policy, a three year posting from 1988 to 1991 at the OECD's Directorate for Science, Technology and Industry in Paris, and a further three year posting from 1993 to 1996 as a diplomat in the Australian Embassy in Tokyo focussing on industry and technology issues.

Lara Smith
Managing Director
Core Consultant

Lara is Core Consultant’s Managing Director and founder. Lara began her career as an analyst for an asset management company in Cape Town, Foord Asset Management, where she gained experience in analyzing the South African platinum, gold and oil and soft commodity sectors. During this time she also edited a financial text book for Rhodes University as well as started a Mathematics Tuition project for 300 disadvantaged matric learners, through Mark Shuttle worth’s LEAP Science and Maths School.

She was then head hunted by the Steinmetz Group as the lead analyst, where she was responsible for sourcing, analysing and valuing potential mining acquisitions in Africa and the Baltic regions. The Steinmetz resource portfolio principally included diamonds and ferrous metals, but they did also have a small portfolio of base and minor metals including nickel, cobalt, copper and lithium.

Lara also contracted to Ernst & Young where she produced a consolidation template for the National Treasury and reviewed excel models for African Rainbow Minerals, Eskom and South African Government Infrastructure Projects. She also contracted to Metal Bulletin and produced the Metal Bulletin Lithium Markets Outlook report. This contract work formed the inception of Core Consultants.

Since this time, Lara has engaged in a number of projects, including authoring the Metal Bulletin Coking Coal Study as well as market entry studies in coke, ferroalloys, manganese and lithium markets. She is presently co-authoring a quarterly publication on Lithium and Rare Earth Metals with Peter Harben, which will be available in April 2011.

Lara holds an Honors Degree in Financial Analysis and Portfolio Management and a BSc-Ed in Chemistry, Statistics, Economics and Science and Mathematics Education both from the University of Cape Town (UCT). She is currently a CFA level 2 candidate.

Walter de Wet
Head of Commodities Research
Standard Bank

Walter de Wet is Head of Commodities Research at Standard Corporate and Investment Bank. The main focus of their research is base metals, precious metals and energy. As part of his current duties he interacts with clients and investors across the globe, and provides frequent research updates on the global commodities markets.

Before joining Standard Bank in January 2007, Walter was Head of Economic Research and Risk at Pan-African Capital Holdings. He holds a PhD in Econometrics (UP) and MA Economics from University of Toronto. He is also a Chartered Financial Analyst.

Chaim Even-Zohar
President
Tacy Ltd.

Even-Zohar was recognized by the Israel Diamond Manufacturing Association (IsDMA) for his many years of work in the industry, starting with a major purchase of stockpiled diamonds held by the U.S. government.

Born in Holland, Even-Zohar immigrated to Israel, served as a paratrooper in the Israel Defense Forces, relocating to the U.S. for his studies. Upon his return to Israel, he formed the monthly magazine Mazal U’Bracha and sold it a few years later to National Jeweler. He bought back the magazine and later sold it to IDEX Online in 2003, later to become IDEX Magazine.

He consults governments, mining firms, banks, diamond traders and industry organizations as well as writing an influential weekly column. Over the years, Even-Zohar wrote a number of books, the best known of which is From Mine to Mistress.