So, WA Mining Clubbers, recently at the Optus Stadium River Room, we were indeed Barnestormed. Feedback in the room from the 520 strong crowd and afterwards at the Camfield (I call it ‘post event research’) was extremely positive, following Bronwyn Barnes’ tour de force. Many suggested it was amongst their favourite ever WA Mining Club lunches – high praise indeed !
Thank you so much Bronwyn for taking time out of your busy schedule and travelling half way around the world to speak to us about life as the Ivanhoe Atlantic CEO and the amazing work you’re undertaking in Guinea and Liberia to bring the Guinean Kon Kweni project to fruition, co-developing the Liberty Corridor through Liberia to transport the high grade iron ore to port. What an incredible journey since completing French and Medieval studies at uni, to a successful career garnering government approvals that ultimately caught the eye of Twiggy Forrest, providing the entry point into what has become a remarkable career arc in the resources industry. Among many other highlights, this has included standing up for Indiana Resources shareholders in an international court of arbitration to win a $70m compensation payout against the Tanzanian Government, unwittingly becoming the poster child for gaining compensation from poorly behaving governments.
Thank you also for providing a fascinating and thought provoking insight into the Ivanhoe Atlantic view of the resources industry – ‘it’s not so much a mining game as a geopolitical game’, seeking out projects aligned with the USA’s strategic interests (often defence related) and in jurisdictions that are friendly to the USA, to facilitate financing and project development support from interested and aligned parties. We look forward to the much anticipated Australian Stock Exchange listing of Ivanhoe Atlantic at some point in the not too distant future – as you say ‘we’re private, we can list when we like’ ! Brilliant – thanks Bronwyn!!
And a final thank you for your tip in the last race at Belmont on the Saturday following the lunch, with On Patrol finishing third and rewarding place and each way punters with a modest profit. Looked like a win was on the cards with 100m to go but he unfortunately couldn’t maintain the momentum and was narrowly beaten into third place.
Rob Humphryson
Speaker Engagement Lead
