50 years in mining: The Legend of 'Jan King' Part IV

Digging Deep caps the 4-part series, 50 Years in Mining: The Legend of 'Jan King' with a focus on how to maintain sustainable profits in gold mining and Jan King 's future endeavors.

Digging Deep: As an investor and advisor of a gold mining venture, what questions should one be asking to ensure sustainable profits and where the next dollar can be saved or produced?

Jan King: Before I invest in any project, I would like to study the 2-year, 5-year, and Life of Mine plans. I would also study the test results of all the test work done for the processing and extraction of the mineral/metal. I liken the investment of a mine like getting married to the orebody. You will not marry any woman willy-nilly, why do you want to spend your children’s inheritance on an orebody nobody knows? Every test report I read in recent years contains 30 to 40 pages of information, and on the last page under conclusions/recommendations, there is a list of further testing required. I could not find records of those additional test works.

I get the impression that planning is done through preconceived ideas and test work is just to rubber stamp things. How do you choose the ideal suit for mining equipment? Just another software package where you include information and the program spits out the answer. Do you question this answer? Do you actually do a risk assessment to determine if this equipment fits the skill level of your workforce??

What is the true advantage of purchasing a 20-ton, 60-ton, or 100-ton dump truck for your operation? The real cost of everything that can go wrong 500 km away from the nearest town in the bush??

I got my own ideas, but to get them you will have to pay me. Experience doesn’t come for free.

Digging Deep: In closing, what future do you envisage for NetZero Minerals? Ideally, what sort of collaborations are you looking to foster in the present and future to achieve your sustainable growth?

Jan King: We are currently looking to invest in a small gold mine in the DRC, it is off the beaten track away from the perceived dangerous North-East. The deposit is small at 678Koz, but there is a huge potential upside not just within the confines of the currently known orebody but it must be stated that 92% of the almost 15?000Ha remains unexplored. I think we could expand this beyond 1Moz. We will focus our efforts on building a low-cost, highly efficient mine, that can be expanded upon, to build ourselves a nice war chest to develop our other pet projects. The Life of Mine is 10 years based on current knowledge, with an AISC of less than $1000/oz.

We will do an aerial geophysics survey of the area, to determine the hotspots where we will focus our exploration efforts. As mentioned, our focus will be on cash flow and profit generation which will be spent on R & D to achieve some of the goals mentioned above. The planned modular approach will enable us to micromanage the operation and attend to any anomalies immediately (not 3 years without success). A fairly large portion will go towards the plight of the small-scale mining community, both in gold and copper. We do have our eyes on one or two specific areas of interest and hope to develop at least the pilot project for the first footprint-free mine within the next 5 years.

?All I can say more is watch this space. I have been successful in implementing new technology in the industry despite the odds of opposing forces mentioned above. I guess my biggest assets are I don’t give up and I know what I want. ?The secret is to follow the doors that open to you, but never take your eye off the goal.

?If you do not have any more questions, I would like to thank you for the opportunity to share my views and experiences with you and your audience.

This marks the conclusion of a 4-part series titled: 50 Years in Mining: The Legend of 'Jan King' it was a privilege and honor unpacking the veteran miner and entrepreneur's wealth of knowledge. You are a true legend and gift to Africa and the world Jan King .

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