Interview
“Mining will rebound it’s a matter of time”
2016-05-23
The Mongolian Mining Journal /apr 2016, 004/089
Ian McNeil, Chief Operating Officer at Khishig Arvin Industrial LLC, has been in Mongolia since 2006 and tells MMJ he remains an optimist.
Could you please briefly introduce yourself to our readers?
Sure. I hold a Bachelor of Science degree in Mining Engineering, which I attained in Australia, back in the late 1970’s. Following my graduation I worked in iron ore and mineral sands but predominantly in the gold mining industry in and around Western Australia. I have been working in Mongolia since 2006 when I came here for the first time.
Your first job here was with Boroo Gold, right?
Yes. I received a work offer from and joined Boroo Gold late in 2006 as Mine Manager and later as Senior Operations Manager, a position I held for six years.
Boroo Gold was one of first companies that introduced Western mining culture to Mongolia. You must have made a significant contribution to this?
The people that were initially employed by Boroo Gold all came from highly experienced backgrounds in mining. So I think that initially Boroo did start with very high standards in terms of expertise in mining operations, particularly in the areas of safety, environment, rehabilitation and productivity. This is something we certainly did develop during my time with Boroo, and these standards were the basis of the beginning of operations at Boroo Gold. The most significant development that I did see over my time with Boroo Gold was the development of a safety and behavioral culture that was developed and instilled with all employees who we were working with. And certainly, after those six years, it was obvious that the safety culture that we developed there became second nature to all employees, expat and national alike, working on the site. And you know, I go to many different mine sites all over Mongolia, and without exception, I see people in safety and production departments that have come from the Boroo operations and are working with same cultural mindset that we developed at Boroo Gold. I’m proud to see it.
How did you join the Mongolian national mining contractor Khishig Arvin?
My first association with Khishig Arvin was established when I worked for Boroo Gold. Khishig Arvin was operating as a contractor while I was working with Boroo.
In August 2015, I joined Khishig Arvin as their Operations Manager and subsequently was appointed as a Chief Operating Officer.
One of the reasons I joined Khishig Arvin was that after about eight or so years working in Mongolia, I decided that I wanted to continue working in country. I respect the Mongolian culture and enjoy working with Mongolians.
Khishig Arvin is the gest national mining contractor in Mongolia and so by joining Khishig Arvin I had the opportunity to work with one of gest and best contract mining companies in Mongolia.
The company has around 500 employees, all of them Mongolian nationals, and I have been pleasantly surprised at the level of their expertise in respect of safety, environment, productivity and the way they run their business. You should understand that Khishig Arvin started its operation in 1997 with about five pieces of equipment and as many employees. Over nearly two decades they have grown into a company that employs around 500 people and uses 400 units of equipment in the major mining contracts that they undertake. If you have that sort of rapid growth, however, you have to be extra careful not to take your eyes off some important things like safety and how you manage your business.
What do you mainly emphasize in the policy and management of Khishig Arvin Industrial?
I saw joining Khishig Arvin as an opportunity to bring my experience to the company and to assist them in maintaining international standards in terms of how they conduct their business. Certainly our company is implementing well proven mining standards, but I think there is always a process of continuously improving the way one operates. We have a policy of Zero Harm to all our employees and workforce and we are continuously working towards that goal.
For example, we received OHSAS 18001 accreditation last year. One reason we sought accreditation was that on an ongoing basis we will be assessed in respect of an international standard on how we are managing those risks and where we can work to improve our performance in those areas.
The Mongolian mining industry has been down in recent years, but you were here during the boom times earlier. So how do you see the future?
Of course the whole mining Industry at the moment is suffering because of fairly low commodity prices and it is fair to say that the industry is in a bit of a slump at the moment, but that is true all over the world. However, commodity prices will come back and there will be revival in the mining industry. It is just a matter of time as to when that happens.
In these difficult times, what type of opportunities is your company looking for?
I consider that there are a lot of opportunities out there. For example, the OT project is about to enter into stage 2 development. Khishig Arvin could participate in that development in conjunction with an international mining company. So I see that development as a very important step in Khishig Arvin’s future development in respect to working with a substantial international contract mining company.
And even in today’s tough economic times I could probably rattle off 3 or 4 projects that are just about to get going and could present opportunities for Khishig Arvin or for other mining contractors.
What type of projects are these?
There are iron ore projects, coal projects and gold projects amongst others that are waiting to get going. And there is a number of infrastructure projects that will be developed over the next few years. I have always been an optimist about the robustness of the mining industry. I worked for some time in Kalgoorlie in Western Australia. Back in 1970’s the whole ‘golden mile’ closed down with the exception of one particular operation. The whole Kalgoorlie mining industry then came back to its former glory when gold price came up and everything got going again. I believe that the Mongolian mining industry will recover even if it is down at the moment.
The resources that we have in Mongolia are absolutely world class. But we in Mongolia need to attract and accept foreign investment to develop these resources for the benefit and sustainability of the mining industry in Mongolia. Khishig Arvin, by developing relationships and joint ventures with international mining companies, will stand the country in very good stead in its future development.
Khishig Arvin works with local governments on social responsibility programmes. Just what types of work are these?
I guess my attitude towards social responsibility was developed during my time with Boroo Gold. Any mining company, whether it is Mongolian or foreign, has a responsibility to maintain and enhance the social aspects of the community where they are working. We need to remember that the community has been there for some time and any mining company that plans to work among them must integrate into the community with a minimum of disruption and enhance where possible the benefits of this integration. You are never ever going to have a successful project unless you respect and fit in with the community and the culture in which you are working. We did this very well at Boroo Gold.
As for Khishig Arvin, in our projects here we adopt and express the same philosophy in terms of community relationships. There are a few things that come immediately to mind when you start mining within a community and they are projects like schools, medical facilities and sustainable business projects. Another important aspect of working within a community is that it gives us an opportunity to make every attempt to employ local people to work at our projects. And it is one of our aims to employ locally as much as we can.