This period of life was somewhat tumultuous! When I elected to leave Penjom in early 2012, I thought I had it all under control. I knew the writing was on the wall for Penjom, mainly as the new owners had their own plans and people to execute them. Bob and I had prepared a fleet replacement plan just as the sale was occurring, and that was accepted, which was great. However, Stu, Brian and I had also spent YEARS studying the orebody and coming up with a life of mine plan that would maximise the profitable extraction of the resource. The cornerstone of this was a major west wall cutback. It would mean two years of negative cashflow, but would realise well over 500,000 ounces of gold in the longer term. Alas, the new owners either didn't trust our plan, or didn't want that cashflow strategy, so they elected to abandon it. I believe in the fullness of time - years after I left - they attempted a half-arsed west wall cutback, but ultimately abandoned it. Anyway, that's a story for another post (probably the Penjom one!) But this, as well as the general cultural shift we were experiencing, led me to call time at Penjom.
The ultimate catalyst was that Dean, my friend and old GM at Penjom, had recently become COO for a nickel company called ENK in the Philippines, and needed someone to lead the charge in development of the mining operation. My wife was due to give birth in two months, but hey, it was exactly the opportunity I had been hoping for, and despite the 2:1 roster, off I went...
ENK (European Nickel PLC) - The Philippines
The Philippines. What a place. The ENK office was in Makati, which is kind of an expat/business central suburb in Manila that is essentially restricted access for the safety of those within. I guess it did do that job, although I am sure anyone who really did want to get into Makati, could do so. I started after a three day interview/visit, towards the end of Feb 2012. The ENK project was about a half-day drive away from Manila, past Subic (and old American WW2 naval base) and then up into the hills. There was a small plant up there, mainly doing trials, as this was a nickel laterite - the kind that Murrin used concentrated acid and high-pressure autoclaves to extract. In all honesty, I can't remember how ENK planned to extract the nickel, but they did have a process, and a proprietary one at that I believe.
The photo above shows a road being cut to access part of the mine. The deposit was up in the hills / mountains, and because of the shitty road, a good hours drive uphill. When one went to site, one generally stayed up there, which I did during my brief stint. I didn't really ever get stuck into the mining side of things, because here's the kicker - I only lasted two weeks. After one stint I knew it wasn't going to work. On the one hand, it was some of the stories Dean told of mining contractors coming to meetings carrying handguns (yes they have an American-style gun culture there), and on the other it was the sheer scale of what needed to be done. Forget the mining - the big issue was dealing with drainage and making sure sulphide-laden mud didn't wash into the streams at the foot of these hills that several villages relied on. It was a huge task, and frankly not really my forte. There was a surveyor on site who could help, and I did put together an initial earthworks plan to get started. But my assessment was that it was not really going to work, if we wanted to do it to western standards. After a stint up there, my confidence was quite shaken, and I was really not sure if I could deliver what was needed. I had simply not even had a chance to consider the mining, which was quite a simple aspect of the project, so I was already wavering at this time. I guess this was the first time I was faced with a challenge I wasn't really up for. I mean I was very grateful to Dean for the opportunity, and I am sure it would have eventually led to some interesting work. But I just wasn't the right guy for the job.
Mid-note: I'd call this a footnote, but I am not done yet, so mid-note it is. Interestingly, within six months of me pulling the pin, the project was bought out by local partners and turned into an "Asian mining" project. No offense to my Asian family, friends and colleagues, but you all know what I mean. Rip, tear and bust mining. And NO need for expats. So whilst I missed out on the redundancy payout, I made the right call. I did disappoint Dean in my first-yes-then-no performance, but we got over that quickly enough.
Subic was a place we stopped at on the way to site, and a place I really found very interesting. It had been a US Navy base since WW2 days, although when I was there, the US were not present (I believe they have since gone back). It was coastal, laid back, and a party town. I only visited twice, but enjoyed it. Photo below.
The second visit to Subic was one of the things that made my mind up about the Philippines. The bar/resto/hotel we had breakfast at on our road trips had a recent terrible story. A disgruntled sacked former employee returned to the place one morning, pulled a gun and shot dead the Australian owner for wronging him. This stuff happens here. Not. For. Me.
ASN Round #1 - Malaysia
So after a meeting with John at the Ritz Carlton in KL (which I remember because the lunch buffet probably cost $100, but being vegan, John ate only sliced carrots and nuts, which to me was nuts!), he offered me a contract to help with the quarry side of his new venture. ASN Cement was a privately-owned Singaporean company, but owned by Aussies, with a view to building what would have been the largest cement plant in the world at that time. John knew me initially from my Cement Australia days (so he knew I knew limestone quarrying) and then JMS, where he was the CEO when I joined them (he actually contacted me to get me there too, so despite some issues which we will cover in due course, John actually did pretty well for me overall throughout my career).
The plan was to build the plant at a site near Gua Musang, in Kelantan, not all that far from my old haunt of Penjom at Kuala Lipis. Although the site itself was actually at a locality called Merapoh, which was in Pahang (same as Penjom). So I was familiar with the area, and happy to do the drives up to site to direct drilling, sampling and site planning activities.
This went on for a good few months, including a visit by a China-based company called Sinoma, who were interested in both part-ownership and designing the plant. That was an interesting day, with a whole lot of kow-towing to the China exec's, who didn't really bring much to the table IMHO, but certainly acted like they did.
Anyway, it all didn't matter, because late in 2012, the following happened:
Dear all,
Kindly find below article on Star Newspaper for your reading.
Published: Saturday November 16, 2012 MYT 12:00:00 AM
PETALING JAYA: The Pahang state government has promised that there will be no cement production plant at Merapoh.
Instead it is planning to convert the area to an ecotourism destination.
Pahang Tourism and Culture Committee chairman Datuk Mohd Sharkar Shamsuddin said they were now surveying the size of the area to be gazetted for ecotourism purposes.
“The state exco has opposed the cement plant project. We will come up with a master plan for sustainable development in Merapoh.
“So people don’t have to worry anymore and can sleep well,” he told The Star, referring to the concerns raised by environmentalists over the proposed cement plant project.
The land was held by Bintang Tower, while the cement manufacturing license was held by Lipis Cement since 1997 although the project never took off.
Concerns over the project’s revival arose when Singapore-based company, ASN Cement, expressed interest in restarting the project in late 2011.
Mohd Sharkar said he would enlist the expertise of the Malaysian Nature Society (MNS) as well as other relevant organisations to help with the master plan.
He said their input was important as the state government wanted to ensure that development there was carried out properly.
“It is also important for me to know the dos and don’ts regarding the environment. I will ask experts to look into cave and orchid conservation at Merapoh as well,” he said.
Mohd Sharkar said the state government would also propose to Keretapi Tanah Melayu Bhd that it upgrade its train station there, as it planned for tourists to travel by rail to Merapoh.
“We are not just doing this for ecotourism, but to preserve the ecosystem of Malaysia itself. We want to ensure our water catchment areas are not harmed,” he said.
MNS president Prof Dr Maketab Mohamed praised the state government’s rejection of the cement plant project.
“We are very happy. This shows the state government is serious about conservation and using ecotourism as a means of generating income,” he said, adding that Sabah was a good example to follow.
Maketab said MNS would be glad to lend its help in developing the master plan before any work began.
So fortunately, ASN had a Plan B, at a locality called Chiku, further to the north. But it meant going back to the drawing board, limiting spending in the meantime, and no work for me for at least a while. So I had to find more work. Next stop, Queensland!
Alcyone - Texas, Queensland
What a clusterfuck this was. Look, the deposit was probably workable, but when under the charge of a megalomaniac, table-thumping narcissist, it had no chance. There was NO mining engineering, and no exploration geology done. Yes a little grade control was carried out and yes someone had put a pit shell around it and done a life-of-mine schedule, but neither of those things were going to save this place. I should have picked it. Alas this was the first of a couple of decisions where I let my circumstances override my logical brain. We needed a job - I got a job, paying decent money, and promising the world - so I signed up, and lo-and-behold, it was a fuck-up.
I lasted six months, and left under cover of darkness. I did give sufficient notice, but wanted to leave on my terms. Seriously, if you knew the guy who was my boss there, you would understand why. Within a few months of me leaving, the site went into care and maintenance, and shortly after the company folded. I made the right call again, although this time did a fair bit of cash on foolishly bought shares. Foolish because I believe the CEO-hype, who was delusion, and frankly a liar to the market. That wouldn't be the last time in my career I was faced with such a situation...
ASN Round #2 - Malaysia
So I got my get out of jail free card when John rang me and said they'd secured new ground to explore and a couple of million to keep the project going. We also had a new local partner, as sadly our Dato had passed away in the short time I had been in Australia. So the initial work was to figure out which hills were best to mine. We had a plot to build the plant on, and were literally surrounded by limestone hills. And I'm talking the James Bond whatever that movie was called kind - vertical cliffs. Amazing to look at, but also equally amazing to try and figure out how to develop.
Check out the photo above. Amazing really, and a pity to quarry, but despite what the media say, these things are plentiful. Plus look at what they do to the rest of the landscape. They bulk strip forest everywhere in this country, and no fucker blinks an eye. They even log in protected forest and national parks because they are so corrupt, yet when a foreign company wants to quarry one hill, they suddenly become environmentally conscious. Utter hypocritical bullshit. Anyway, fortunately for me I didn't have to worry too much about that. My job was to figure out how much and how good the resource was, come up with a way to develop it, and put all this together in a plan. I got this kicked off, but as normal, things were going slow. Luckily for me, old mate Dean rang up asking if I could help him for a few months. ASN didn't need a lot in the meantime, and this was super coin, so why not. Off to Wetar Island for me for a few months...
Finders - Indonesia
Now, this was one to remember. Not long after coming back from the Texas debacle, Dean asked me if I wanted some consulting work. I had come back for ASN, but it was taking them time to gain traction, and the timing for this job was perfect. The only drawback? It was a 4:2 roster, FIFO from Wetar Island, in the Maluku Province of Eastern Indonesia. Dean was GM for the project for Finders Resources. They were re-starting the demonstration plant that had been mothballed, and bringing the mine out of care and maintenance, back into production. The problem was that the mine management team had also been in C&M for a number of years, and getting them re-motivated proved to be a major challenge. One of the expats - who shall remain unnamed - had also been there through much of this period, and had kind of gone "native". I think Dean ended up moving him on as he was being more nonconstructive than anything else.
Wetar was a true hardship posting. The photo is outside Dean's little hut, right on the beach. It was idyllic, laid back and ok. Getting there and back however, was something else. Kupang, as I'll write about elsewhere (who would have thought I would end up living there for God's sake!) was really an outpost in the far east of Indo, and very under-developed compared to elsewhere. Highly unreliable electricity, internet, phone signal, food and drink, wow it was tough sometimes. But getting to Kupang was only the beginning. Either the same day or the next morning, I'd jump in a car and drive eight hours to the east of West Timor, to then jump in a fishing boat and chug along for 8-12 hours to get to Wetar. The longest boat trip I had was 28 hours. Yes you read that right. Towards the end of my stay they got a better boat, which then left from Kupang directly. But it was still a 10 hour ride and the worst part of the whole thing.
Then there was the connectivity. It was ok during the day when I was in the office. But at night, internet was next to non-existent, and there was no mobile signal on Wetar at all. Only one shop, so I subsisted on IndoMee and a few snacks for weeks at a time. The food was ok, but only ok, so it was a tough posting for me. I would never have taken it on full-time. Of course that was never on the cards anyway, because B-doi had only just been born, so wifey was back in KL with 2 under 2 in her care. Her parents were around, as was Jassie, but I needed to be home.
The work on Wetar was doing some scheduling, helping them develop some basic mine planning, and coming up with initial drill & blast designs. The only software was Surpac, which I am familiar with, but it had been a long time since I had used it. I was able to throw together some reasonable work for the board, and develop a weekly planning system, together with getting some blasts on the ground. Frankly though, in these kinds of environments, one needs to be somewhere 3-6 months to get truly established. I was there only 3, so my impact was limited. Still, I think I did help, and it was good experience for me, as well as good remuneration.
ASN Round #3 - Malaysia
This is where I did the lion's share of my work for these guys. It went from pretty much April 2014 (after I left Wetae) to early 2016. I did do a little more work in 2016 before we left Malaysia in June, but not much - and I never got paid for it either.
That was the real downside to ASN. I mean, the rate JR put me on was very cool, $1,300 per day, pro-rated. So some very busy months I made good coin. Yes the flip side of that was that we were living in an expensive place in KL, and renting a car, etc, etc. But we had some wonderful holidays, a great lifestyle, and I regret none of it.
So from when I finished with Finders in Q2 2014, to when things dried up, I was a busy boy. After our initial hiatus, we had found a new location to build the plant, at Chiku, just a bit further up the road than before, and this time into Kelantan, a more Malay and conservative place than either KL or Pahang. It was interesting. We did some good drilling, I got Brian to do a block model for me, I put together a fleet purchase plan, and a life of mine schedule and cashflow. What really killed ASN though, was Najib. Najib the Prime Minister, I hear you ask? Yes, him. He, and his stupid corrupt ham-fisted handling of the 1MDB investment group, that saw him siphon off over $1 billion to his personal accounts (how fucking stupid can you get?). Anyway, I write this as my own opinion, but I believe it is close to the truth. In any event, our western investors got cold feet about a $500 million project in such a place, and pulled out. Panic stations. We then started more heavy negotiations with Chinese mobs, but of course, smelling blood, they wanted control and a lion's share of the business. JR wasn't having that, so we hit a stalemate, suddenly had no cash, and ground to a halt.
So, this was early 2016 by this stage. I was compelled to help with site visits, interviews, and preparing more technical information, but started to get the shits after not being paid for a few months. By the time we eventually left Malaysia in June, ASN owed me $60k. They still owe me $60k. JR still claims he is on the verge of signing term sheets with new investors, but frankly I think he is a lying, self-deluding fuck now. Hey if it ever happens, then sweet, I would likely go back as Manager. However I think it is now very unlikely. A pity, as it is a world-class deposit and project.
Barooga - NSW
This is an interesting part of the post to write. Far out. Look, I am grateful that this opportunity was there, at this time. Frankly, without it we might have been in a bit of trouble. But then again, perhaps I would have just had to do some hard yards doing FIFO or something.
No. Screw that. Regardless of how things ended up, I am grateful for this period of my life for a number of reasons. One, I needed a job, and without one in Malaysia, we needed to move back to Australia. Two, this gave us the best part of two years close to my family, and gave us all an opportunity to be close to Mum and V. Great for all of us, but especially for my kids. Lastly, Three, spending that time in the shop was good for my fitness - both mental and physical. I ended up hating it, and my initial evaluation of the business ended up being correct - too big a risk. V&P did well for a while, but small business in rural areas, when competing with the likes of Woolies, is almost completely destined to fail. And fail we did, eventually. We're still paying it off too, but not for much longer.
Fuck a duck, that's one heck of a post. I possibly should have broken it up into component parts, but it does fit the bill, as in all this together represented a key chapter in my career - one where I was making good money, then making no money, having plenty of work, then none, and all the while being stressed and wondering where my next stable job was going to come from. It was not for lack of trying, as I had hoped first ENK, then ASN, then Alcyone, then ASN again would provide that longevity. Hey, I was even willing to commit to the shop long-term, as long as we could survive. But ultimately, either they didn't work for me, or I didn't work for them. Whichever way you look at it (generally the former I feel), this nomadic lifestyle had a use-by date, and frankly I was glad when it came to an end. If you look at my LinkedIn profile, you'll notice my "consultancy" days go until late 2019, but that's only because post-Gulf, while we were in Malaysia, I was open to such opportunities, and even courted a few potential contract options, but to no avail. Where I am now fits the bill better than anything has for a long, long time.
So, Feb 2012 until Mar 2018 comprised my consulting / contracting years. Interesting that for such an unpredictable and difficult period, it actually comprised the longest part of my career to date. Maybe that says something about me, I don't know. Probably not really, as you can see by the post that a whole lot of different stuff, in different places, was going on during this time. Plus we were really hoping that at least a couple of these period were going to evolve into something more permanent. It just never happened. But I don't regret it. Some great memories, some great parts of my life in terms of lifestyle and moments with my family. Frankly, I was damn lucky during these years, and I am glad for these experiences.
