2019 Speakers

Contrary to popular belief, Lorem Ipsum is not simply random text. It has roots in a piece of classical Latin literature from 45 BC, making it over 2000 years old. Richard McClintock, a Latin professor at Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia, looked up one of the more obscure Latin words, consectetur, from a Lorem Ipsum passage, and going through the cites of the word in classical literature, discovered the undoubtable source. Lorem Ipsum comes from sections 1.10.32 and 1.10.33 of "de Finibus Bonorum et Malorum" (The Extremes of Good and Evil) by Cicero, written in 45 BC. This book is a treatise on the theory of ethics, very popular during the Renaissance. The first line of Lorem Ipsum, "Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet..", comes from a line in section 1.10.32.

The standard chunk of Lorem Ipsum used since the 1500s is reproduced below for those interested. Sections 1.10.32 and 1.10.33 from "de Finibus Bonorum et Malorum" by Cicero are also reproduced in their exact original form, accompanied by English versions from the 1914 translation by H. Rackham.

Contrary to popular belief, Lorem Ipsum is not simply random text. It has roots in a piece of classical Latin literature from 45 BC, making it over 2000 years old. Richard McClintock, a Latin professor at Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia, looked up one of the more obscure Latin words, consectetur, from a Lorem Ipsum passage, and going through the cites of the word in classical literature, discovered the undoubtable source. Lorem Ipsum comes from sections 1.10.32 and 1.10.33 of "de Finibus Bonorum et Malorum" (The Extremes of Good and Evil) by Cicero, written in 45 BC. This book is a treatise on the theory of ethics, very popular during the Renaissance. The first line of Lorem Ipsum, "Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet..", comes from a line in section 1.10.32.

The standard chunk of Lorem Ipsum used since the 1500s is reproduced below for those interested. Sections 1.10.32 and 1.10.33 from "de Finibus Bonorum et Malorum" by Cicero are also reproduced in their exact original form, accompanied by English versions from the 1914 translation by H. Rackham.

Roger Dixon – Roger has spent more than 47 years in the South African mining sector, and today specialises in reserve and resource reporting to stock exchanges. With his principal qualification in mining engineering, his career has included over 30 years in senior management roles at both operations and head offices of large gold mining companies. As a consulting engineer from 2002 mainly with SRK Consulting South Africa, he has worked extensively in mine valuation, due diligence studies and engineering studies. He also played a leading role in developing reporting standards through the South African Mineral Resource Committee (SAMREC) and the global Committee for Mineral Reserves International Reporting Standards (CRIRSCO) two committees on which he still  serves. 

He has represented CRIRSCO since 2007 on the Expert Group on Resource Classification (EGRC) and its

Technical Advisory Group (TAG), which is a sub- committee of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Sustainable Energy Division that meets annually in Geneva. He has presented widely on the relationship between the United Nations Framework Classification (UNFC) and the CRIRSCO International Reporting Template.

Roger was the main intermediary between CRIRSCO and mineral industry professionals in Kazakhstan who developed the structures and the reporting code that met CRIRSCO requirements and resulted in Kazakhstan becoming the 10^th member of CRIRSCO in June 2016.  The joining of CRIRSCO was part of the 100 steps plan to modernize the Kazakhstan economy; a joint initiative between the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the Ministry of Investment and Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Now semi-retired he acts as an Independent Mining Consultant.

Eunomix is led by Claude Baissac, a recognised specialist in strategy, risk management and economic policy with over 20 years of executive and consulting work with corporates, governments and international organisations. He is a consumed multidisciplinarist with a wide combination of skills and experiences serving investment, operation and growth in emergent societies. Claude has worked as an economist for the African Development Bank, the World Bank and the United Nations; served as Deputy Managing Director of Air Afrique; and consulted with leading advisory firms like Deloitte, Kroll, K2 Intelligence and a number of economic development firms. He has secured, led or managed several hundred projects, in addition to launching and running businesses.

He has a distinct understanding of the strategic and operational realities of investing and managing businesses in emergent societies, and of running and reforming these societies. He has a rare capacity to work effectively with senior government officials in both political and administrative functions, C-suite executives and boards, and members of civil society. For this reason, he is increasingly sought after as a corporate coach on corporate resilience, risk management and stakeholder engagement.

As a trained policy analyst and political scientist, he brings in-depth understanding of politics and the policy process. As an economist, he has a robust comprehension of the mechanism of growth and development. He is a recognised expert on special economic zones, and was President of the World Economic Zones Association between 2011 and 2014. He has a strong track record on the relationship between natural resources and sustainable growth, given the central role these play many emergent societies. For several years he was involved in corporate integrity management, conducting investigations, crisis management and corporate security projects throughout Africa.

These complementary skills have led him to apply a solid political economy perspective on the respective roles of the state, business and society toward sustainable growth. They also provide him with skills that are key to effectiveness – scenario analysis, strategic planning, policy and regulatory design, economic modelling and impact assessment, financial forecasting, and market research.

He has worked across Africa, the Americas, Central Asia, Europe and the Middle East. Claude is fluent in English and French, in the French creoles of the Indian Ocean and is conversant in Spanish.

He is regularly consulted by leading international media on politics, policy, extractive industries, special economic zones and related topics. He has spoken at numerous conferences, including the Free Zone Convention, Joburg Indaba, the Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Mine Africa and the Mining Indaba.

Claude has advanced degrees in economic geography from France, and was a doctoral scholar in political science in the United States.

Skills: political and country risk; policy and public affairs; strategy; enterprise risk management; strategic communications and stakeholder engagement; economic and infrastructure development; corporate sustainability; project structuring; project and bankable feasibility development

Errol is a geologist, registered with the South African Council of Natural Scientific Professionals, a Recognised Overseas Professional Organisation for JORC purposes. Errol has more than 24 years of industry experience across all aspects of exploration, mine development and operation, with a key focus on gold and base metals. Errol has a wealth of public and private company corporate experience and has been on the founding teams and managed a number of exploration and mining companies throughout Africa and has had strong exposure to Australian projects. Errol has held positions in Anglogold, Cluff Mining, Metallon Gold, Clarity Minerals, African Stellar Group and LionGold Corporation. Errol is Chairman of the Junior Leadership Forum of the Minerals Council South Africa and is a board member of the Minerals Council.

Errol is a geologist, registered with the South African Council of Natural Scientific Professionals, a Recognised Overseas Professional Organisation for JORC purposes. Errol has more than 24 years of industry experience across all aspects of exploration, mine development and operation, with a key focus on gold and base metals. Errol has a wealth of public and private company corporate experience and has been on the founding teams and managed a number of exploration and mining companies throughout Africa and has had strong exposure to Australian projects. Errol has held positions in Anglogold, Cluff Mining, Metallon Gold, Clarity Minerals, African Stellar Group and LionGold Corporation. Errol is Chairman of the Junior Leadership Forum of the Minerals Council South Africa and is a board member of the Minerals Council.

Deshnee Naidoo was appointed as Chief Executive Officer of Zinc International and Copper Mines of Tasmania in February 2015. Deshnee has over 22 years of experience in the resources industry across multiple commodities including platinum, thermal coal, manganese and base metals. Her tenure at VZI includes the approval, project execution and construction, commissioning and current ramp-up of the Gamsberg Project, the life extension of Black Mountain Mining and Skorpion Zinc and the safe closure of Lisheen. In addition, Deshnee was appointed Africa Base Metals CEO from May 2018 to November 2018 where her portfolio included Konkola Copper Mines.

Deshnee was awarded the JCI/Anglo Platinum bursary in 1994 to study for a BSc (Chemical Engineering) degree at the University of Natal (Durban). In addition, she holds Certification in Finance and Accounting from University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.

Her career began at Anglo American in 1998 where she joined as a trainee metallurgist at the Precious Metals Refinery. She held various roles over a 15 year span at the company up to Chief Financial Officer - Thermal Coal in which her responsibilities entailed management of two commodities (thermal coal and manganese) across three regions (South Africa, South America and Australia). 

Deshnee is a Board member on the Minerals Council of South Africa where she plays a role to resolve pertinent issues to the mining, business and social sectors.

Ms Naidoo is married to Veerendren and they have three daughters.