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Breaking Ground: Sally Cox

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​MINING JOURNAL:  Op-ed: Breaking Ground: Sally Cox
Sally Cox has been appointed as the first female Melbourne Mining Club Chair
by Robert Kennedy

10 October 2024
​
Breaking ground, a universal expression applied to precious metals extraction going back to the global gold rushes of the mid 19th Century, has taken on a new meaning.

It is epitomised by the appointment of mining sector pioneer Sally Cox as the first female Melbourne Mining Club Chair in its 23-year history.

Cox is not a stranger to breaking ground in an industry with a reputation of being a late developer in embracing a more inclusionary profile.

It harks back to her early days when not only was she the single woman in the room but also the youngest.

That encouraged her to build the confidence to share opinions in an intimidating environment and inspired her to promote young women to pursue opportunities in the mining industry.

Cox has played a long-standing role with the MMC since returning to Australia from China and joining the Club's steering committee in 2018.

"For over 23 years, the MMC has promoted the resources sector offering unparalleled networking opportunities with senior leaders in global mining and mining services companies.

"We offer a forum to discuss the most important topics facing the global resources industry and hear from those at the very centre of these developments."

Going forward it is a priority for Cox to address the rapidly changing demographics, diversity and issues and challenges that the industry faces.

"We can do this through the speakers and companies we invite to participate at our events, the industry topics we choose to profile and the audience we attract."


The Melbourne Mining Club

The Melbourne Mining Club was instigated by former financial journalist Gavan Collery with the encouragement of his boss Western Mining Corporation chief executive officer, Hugh Morgan (now a MMC co-patron, with ex Rio Tinto CEO, Leigh Clifford).

WMC executive chairman and former BHP chair Sir Arvi Parbo became founding patron of the MMC and was the inaugural keynote speaker in August 2001.

A joint venture was formed with the Minerals Council of Australia and AusIMM and Collery formed a steering committee of the MMC with fellow journalist Ian Howarth and respected gold analyst Peter Rudd who became the first chairman.

Richard Morrow assumed the role of chair just before Rudd's passing in 2012 and has filled the position since then before passing the reins to Cox.

At inception, Collery's initial proposal to establish a body to promote the minerals industry and support responsible mining bore fruit in a discussion between a group of fellow working and former mining journalists at a local Melbourne pub, The Mitre Tavern. It is one of the oldest buildings in the city and traces its history to the Victorian Gold Rush, an event that put Australia on the global map.

The gold exported from Victoria to Britain in the 1850's paid off the Empire's foreign debts and helped lay the foundations for its enormous commercial expansion in the latter half of the 19th  Century.

During this period two tonnes of gold per week flowed through the Melbourne Treasury Building. 

Today the MMC runs its six core luncheon events and Cutting Edge series for small and medium cap companies at the iconic Melbourne Town Hall which was built mainly with the proceeds of the Gold Rush.

Cox became acquainted with the MMC and built on the relationship after returning to Australia from a three year stint working in China with German-based chemicals conglomerate BASF.

She was a regular participant at the club's events and took a support role in working with presenting CEO's to assist them to prepare their keynote speeches. It led to her becoming a member of the MMC steering committee.

Earlier this year a changing of the guard at the MMC was at hand when Richard Morrow advised that he intended to step down as chair and founder Collery indicated that he was looking to reduce his active role. 

It became apparent that a new appointment should be made at the top.

Because Cox had demonstrated commitment to the MMC's legacy and indicated a vision as to how the club should go forward in delivering for members, guests and the industry she received overwhelming support to take over the chair.

As Cox explains: "Our events and activities are organised by our voluntary steering committee of people like me who have full time day jobs on top of the work we do for the Club."

Her day job is Vice President of Global Business Services and Operational Effectiveness for leading global mining and infrastructure solutions provider, Orica.

Cox is a business and public relations graduate who started as a consultant before moving to an in-house role with the mining company that became MMG and subsequently joining BASF.

It was during this career phase that Cox was encouraged by mentors including Troy Hey (MMG) and David Hawkins (BASF) to broaden her skills and try new roles that she had never before  considered.

"Troy helped me broaden my skills and capabilities across the full spectrum of corporate and public affairs and David supported me to transition into Human Resources, change and transformation.

"Both helped me to see how career progression is not always linear but can be achieved through building a broader portfolio of skills and experiences, organisational understanding and corporate context."


Hong Kong

Something that she identified as an important issue was Environmental, Social and Governance which was then in its infancy. She describes her time with BASF in China based in Hong Kong as a major career milestone.

Cox witnessed first hand the collision of the 2019 protests against the Chinese Government's National Security Bill with the outbreak of the global Covid-19 pandemic. It was a time of mass emigration from Hong Kong and resulted in a crackdown on pro-democracy news media.

The bill was subsequently withdrawn and a victory by pro-democracy forces in a consequent election resulted in the resignation of Hong Kong chief executive Carrie Lam, the first female to be appointed to that position since the British handover of the colony in 1997.

"Working for a large European multinational at the time was a good example of the need to balance the global and local perceptions of such a complex situation.

"Locally our priority was for the safety and well being of our employees, maintaining our supply and relationships with our customers and licence to operate with local authorities.

"We had to find a way to balance these local needs with the views of our headquarters who were seeing the situation from a distance and through a different lens.

"Ultimately we were able to find that compromise within the organisation and manage through that difficult period."

Cox is a supporter of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and realises that it is a subject that, while attracting increasing notice in the mining industry globally, is still in the early stages of its evolution.

In the US where there is an active focus on the issue, the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that women employed across the mining sector, including oil and gas extraction, account for 16% of the workforce compared with a 46.8% share of the total American labour pool.

A lot of the new opportunities have come from the US sector's support of education programmes, an issue that is also a focus for the MMC. Since foundation almost $A1 million has been donated to mining education programs overseen by AusIMM and the MCA.

This raises the question of how to have a career in the industry and the flexibility to provide a successful work/family life balance. Cox says: "It is definitely not easy and I don't have all the answers. I've worked for organisations with good policies in place and supportive managers who have provided me with flexible work solutions while providing me with rewarding and challenging work.

"I've learned to lean in and maximise that flexibility while remaining focused on delivering results in my jobs.
​

"My husband and I both have professional careers and in order to build and keep developing our careers we've each had to make compromises at different times. These choices are hard but have ultimately led to a rewarding and diverse career and one which I hope provides a role model for my two daughters as they think about their futures."
​



Rick Rules of the Road

3/11/2019

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“Quality tends to fan out like waves.” ​ Robert M. Pirsig
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#Sprott U.S. Holdings guru, Rick Rule, believes that the mergers and acquisitions cycle that the #mining sector is experiencing will accelerate and create a zen moment for investors.

American writer/philosopher, Robert M. Pirsig introduced his Metaphysics of Quality (MoQ) concept in his 1974 classic “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values”.

Pirsig’s oft-quoted principle that “Quality tends to fan out like waves” sits comfortably with Rick’s current investment philosophy.

“The environment is going to be ripe for identifying quality people and quality assets that shake out when these cycles occur.  This should provide a banquet for smaller market cap companies.”

It could be the MoQ moment. Rick identifies the next two years to be a prime opportunity for the junior players to be capitalizing from a superior vantage point.

“The quality of people that will be made redundant will be a huge resource for smaller companies.  Added to this will be the projects and properties that will be ignored and/or discarded by the majors that could provide huge returns to those in a position to exploit this advantage.”

Rick believes that the best positioned junior players should be able to move quickly to snap up the high calibre personnel who will emerge from the restructuring.

This will in turn put them into the position to be able to identify or develop assets that might be peripheral or of little interest to the larger companies.
“We’re talking about the potential for hyper performance.”

Rick believes that the mega merger trend underlined by the talks between #Barrick Gold and #Newmont, the dominant talking point at last week’s #PDAC Conference in Toronto, is in its infancy.

The proposal of the Nevada joint venture provided little surprise for Rick who spent a good part of 2018 predicting a broadbrush rationalisation within the mining sector, starting with the gold companies.

“I think it’s the start of a healthy development and have no doubt that there will be more to come.  To get the large investors back into the sector the subject of administration expense has to be addressed.

“There are too many management teams and the duplication of overheads is obvious.  Saving a dollar is as good as making a dollar.”

Rick believes it is going to be an exciting time for the smaller groups who will be able to capitalize from the fall-out to pick up quality individuals across a broad spectrum of capabilities.

​“It is going to be a time to back teams and identify and fill in gaps in technical skills.  The renewed market cachet among the smaller companies should also result in easier access to capital which will allow them to pursue new opportunities.”

That the gold sector would be singled out for particular early attention is for good reason, according to Rick.

“The gold mining industry stands out because the cost of capital for the gold miner is lower than for their base metals mining counterparts and they have access to far broader development financing options.”

​He feels the lowest hanging fruit will be the more recognized producing mines although they might not offer the optimal upside potential because of the extent of the research coverage they attract and the resultant attention.

“Of more interest to me are the companies that are less well followed and which might have certain elements of perceived risk that I have assessed and am prepared to tolerate.  This is where we will get the 10-fold returns.”

He offers the example of Mariana Resources, taken out at a huge premium by Sandstorm Gold for its part-ownership of the Hot Maden copper gold project in Turkey, one of the highest grade deposits in the world.

After the initial attention on the gold companies he expects the trend to spread across all sectors of the industry as, per the MoQ concept, the flight to quality fans out like waves.

“Any top quality asset, irrespective of commodity will be up for grabs in this environment, even uranium.  I am agnostic on this issue.  Anything that has a tier one asset will get attention. 

​“I have been sceptical about #lithium for a couple of years as the market is awash with it but first class assets will get the attention of speculators and investors as they chase the moment.

“#Cobalt is an area that intrigues me because it has fallen so far although that will require a strong will politically given the involvement among opportunities of players like Congo and Russia.”

On the subject of the #gold price, Rick is ebullient about the outlook.

“The bull market is just beginning.  I think the gold price is most likely to surprise on the upside.”

A key factor behind the view is the extent of underinvestment in precious metals.
“In 1981 there was 8.5% of investable savings in precious metals.  It is currently running at somewhere between one-third to one-half of 1% and compares with a 3-decade mean of 1.5-2%.  I think its easy to make a case for demand for precious metals to triple.”

Added to that is his view that the bull market in 10 year U.S. Treasury bonds is nearing an end and that the strength of the U.S. dollar will continue.

“I don’t believe the 30-year bull market in the 10 year Treasury is sustainable.  It is over or almost over.”

His believes the U.S. currency will retain its position as the main measure of global purchasing power.

​“I think the strength of the U.S. dollar will remain, less because of fundamental reasons but more because of other factors like global geo politics and a lack of faith in the other currencies.”

Robert Kennedy

Rob moved into the corporate relations sphere after 30 years in financial markets in Sydney, London and New York.  He ran the Australian, Japanese and Asian equity sales operations in the US for Barclays Capital andis on the international advisory board of the Melbourne Mining Club.

Before entering the securities industry, he worked in financial journalism with the Sydney Morning Herald, the Financial Times of London and the South China Morning Post of Hong Kong. He is a weekly contributor to the #Mining Journal.

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