Drill, Deal, or Drop: Exploration Decision-Making

Drill, Deal, or Drop: Exploration Decision-Making

through Commodity and Project Cycles

Presenters: Michael Doggett and Ken Leigh

Date: February 11-12, 2025

Time: 8:00am - 3:30pm MST (UTC-7)

Location: Online using Zoom

Core sample

Course Overview

This 2-day virtual course, Drill, Deal, or Drop: Exploration Decision-Making through Commodity and Project Cycles, will examine exploration decision-making with a focus on junior exploration companies and their evolution through commodity and project cycles. The life cycle of a junior company is driven by a constant flow of technical and corporate decisions made by management teams and boards – each step of which can make or break a company's future. Companies are constantly reviewing their mineral properties/assets to determine if they should "drill, deal, or drop" to maximize the value of the assets to the company and its shareholders.

Emphasis will be placed on the main drivers of the decision-making process, the role of property and corporate valuations in driving business decisions, and exit strategies for both projects and companies. Process and strategy will be discussed in relation to four stages of project and corporate development:

  • Exploration overview and role of junior companies - a historical TSX-V Perspective
  • Creation of a public company – pathways to going public and factors considered in choosing the proper method; understanding regulatory requirements, market cycle and structure.
  • Execution, growth and decision-making through the exploration process – consideration of strategic framework, project financing availability and structure, technical results, marketing, and project/corporate risk factors.
  • Advance or sell – decision to advance projects with additional financing towards resources and economic studies or farm-out through option-joint venture deals or other transactions; how mineral properties and companies are valued in the marketplace and the importance of this valuation when considering exploration funding decisions as well as asset and corporate disposition strategies.
  • Exit strategy – Option and JV Agreements - review key aspects, business terms and negotiating points of option and joint venture agreements.

The course is designed for geologists and other mineral industry professionals who wish to gain an understanding of the market and corporate aspects of exploration decision-making. Lecture materials will be augmented by current case studies reviewed and discussed using small group exercises. While the focus is on junior companies, the integrated nature of the mineral exploration business makes the course materials relevant to those working with larger companies and government agencies as well.

Course Agenda

This virtual course will contain a total of 14-hours of study, with approximately 7-hours of course work each day. Daily course work will be split into morning and afternoon sessions.

Course content will consist of dynamic lectures, interactive Q&A sessions, small group exercises, and critical-thinking problem solving. All materials will be presented live.

A detailed syllabus and course agenda will be sent to all participants a few days prior to the beginning of the course. For the initial agenda, click the dates below.

Morning Session

8:00am - 11:00am MST (UTC-7)

Exploration overview and role of junior companies - a historical TSX-V Perspective

Creation of a public company – pathways to going public and factors considered in choosing the proper method; understanding regulatory requirements, market cycle and structure.

Lunch Break

11:00am - 11:30am MST (UTC-7)

Afternoon Session

11:30am - 3:30pm MST (UTC-7)

Execution, growth and decision-making through the exploration process – consideration of strategic framework, project financing availability and structure, technical results, marketing, and project/corporate risk factors.

Morning Session

8:00am - 11:00am MST (UTC-7)

Advance or sell – decision to advance projects with additional financing towards resources and economic studies or farm-out through option-joint venture deals or other transactions; how mineral properties and companies are valued in the marketplace and the importance of this valuation when considering exploration funding decisions as well as asset and corporate disposition strategies.

Lunch Break

11:00am - 11:30am MST (UTC-7)

Afternoon Session

11:30am - 3:30pm MST (UTC-7)

Exit strategy – Option and JV Agreements - review key aspects, business terms and negotiating points of option and joint venture agreements.

Presenters

Headshot

Michael Doggett

Michael is a Vancouver-based mineral economist with 35 years of experience working with clients in some 20 countries on issues related to project evaluation, mineral taxation, private and government royalties, and industry exploration trends. From 1997 to 2007, Doggett served as Director of the Mineral Exploration Program at Queen's University, Canada where he continues to serve as an adjunct professor. He has authored or co-authored more than 20 publications and provided training to more than 2500 industry professionals in 20 countries.

He has served on the board of several public companies as well as PDAC, MDRU, and the Committee on Earth Resources at the U.S. National Academy of Sciences. In addition, he is a founder of El Olivar Imperial, a private Peruvian mineral processing company with initial production scheduled for Q4 2021.

The Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum presented him with their Robert Elver Mineral Economics Award in 2002 and named him Distinguished Lecturer in 2010. The Society of Economic Geologists named him as their International Exchange Lecturer for the year 2005 and the Society of Mining Metallurgy and Exploration presented him with their Mineral Economics award in 2019.


Headshot

Ken Leigh

Ken has more than 30 years' experience in the mining and mineral exploration industry including three years as President of Minco Capital Corp., a Mining investment company, seven years as President & CEO of Commander Resources, a junior mineral exploration company, 14 years working in exploration project management and business development with Teck Resources, and seven years working as a corporate development consultant.

Mr. Leigh is currently the Principal of ExMin Consulting Services, which provides corporate/business development advisory services to companies in the mining sector, primarily involving non-core asset dispositions, exploration agreement structures, deal negotiations, mineral property valuation benchmarking, marketing, and corporate growth-related strategies.

Mr. Leigh received a B.Sc. in Geology from University of Toronto and a M.Sc. in Geology from Western University.


Registration

Early deadline: January 24, 2025
Regular deadline: February 7, 2025

Maximum participants: 50 (Student spaces are limited and first come, first served.)

  Early Regular
SEG Member US$795 US$895
SEG Student Member US$145 US$195
Non-member US$895 US$995
All prices are in United States dollars (USD). SEG reserves the right to cancel this event should minimum attendance numbers not be met by January 24, 2025. All registrants will be given a full refund should SEG cancel the course. Cancellation policy, event photography, dietary restrictions, and more are detailed in the SEG Terms and Conditions.
When
2/11/2025 8:00 AM - 2/12/2025 3:30 PM
Where
Virtual Course
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