Richard Siddle
Technical Director
Addison Mining Services
Richard is the Technical Director at Addison Mining Services and possesses over 12 years’ experience in the minerals industry covering exploration, resource estimation, project management, data management, quality assurance and quality control and reporting for a variety of commodities and mineralization styles.
Richard's main role within the company is directing and completing resource estimation studies and as such he understands the importance of good quality data as the foundations to successful projects and the power of technology in maximizing potential.
Consulting in the COVID pandemic, the importance of good data and technology for desk studies.
The COVID-19 Pandemic has clearly forced significant changes to the way many industries work and the mineral extraction and exploration sector is no exception to this. With lockdown starting in the UK in late March and travel restrictions coming into place globally the outlook for the 2nd and 3rd quarters began to look questionable for many exploration and resource focused consulting firms, including Addison Mining Services. Within one week all site visits had been cancelled or postponed and a number of studies put on hold. The prospect of a lost field season in some regions across the northern hemisphere also loomed, concern began to mount around the long-term project pipeline.
Fortunately, those concerns were short lived, spurred on by high gold prices and a drive to make the most of the down time when restrictions were lifted, many of our clients returned to their data.
During this short talk we will discuss the importance of high quality data collection and management, organized data rooms, the cloud and using industry specific software alongside video conferencing to keep momentum during COVID-19. We will also discuss virtual Competent Persons’ site visits and the risks associated with not stepping foot on the project.
While there is no substitute for boots on the ground, taking the time to analyse and review good quality data during the lockdown will help many explorers and resource developers hit the field running when the time comes.