Welcome to the Fear and Greed Daily Interview. I'm Sean Aylmer. We've spoken a lot about how seriously companies are taking their ESG commitments. After all, their shareholders expect it from them and it's particularly interesting in the resources sector where miners are required to minimize their impact on the environment while still running efficient operations. ASX listed copper and gold explorer QMines is trying to differentiate itself by becoming Australia's first zero carbon, copper and gold developer. Andrew Sparke is the Executive Chairman of QMines and my guest this morning. Andrew, welcome to Fear and Greed.

Welcome to the Fear and Greed Daily Interview. I'm Sean Aylmer. We've spoken a lot about how seriously companies are taking their ESG commitments. After all, their shareholders expect it from them and it's particularly interesting in the resources sector where miners are required to minimize their impact on the environment while still running efficient operations. ASX listed copper and gold explorer QMines is trying to differentiate itself by becoming Australia's first zero carbon, copper and gold developer. Andrew Sparke is the Executive Chairman of QMines and my guest this morning. Andrew, welcome to Fear and Greed.

Hi, Sean. Thanks for having me.

Hi, Sean. Thanks for having me.

Firstly, tell me about QMines. You listed what must be almost 18 months ago and you've got four projects in Queensland, is that right?

Firstly, tell me about QMines. You listed what must be almost 18 months ago and you've got four projects in Queensland, is that right?

We do, yeah. So we're a Queensland- focused copper and gold exploration and development company. We listed in May of last year, raising I think it was about $ 11. 5 million, and of the four projects, we've got two historic producing mines. So one's called Warroo copper and gold mine, which is our Southwestern Queensland around Stanthorpe, about three hours out of Brisbane. But our main project is called Mount Chalmers, which is only 17Ks from a town called Rockhampton, which is on the coast of Queensland, and that's really where most of the focus has been sits listing middle of last year.

We do, yeah. So we're a Queensland- focused copper and gold exploration and development company. We listed in May of last year, raising I think it was about $ 11. 5 million, and of the four projects, we've got two historic producing mines. So one's called Warroo copper and gold mine, which is our Southwestern Queensland around Stanthorpe, about three hours out of Brisbane. But our main project is called Mount Chalmers, which is only 17Ks from a town called Rockhampton, which is on the coast of Queensland, and that's really where most of the focus has been sits listing middle of last year.

Okay. I'll get on Mount Chalmers in a moment, but just a quick 101 on gold mining. Presumably gold and copper, they come together when you're exploring, is that right?

Okay. I'll get on Mount Chalmers in a moment, but just a quick 101 on gold mining. Presumably gold and copper, they come together when you're exploring, is that right?

We've got a slightly different mineral style up here which is called a VHMS deposit and VHMS deposits, for those of your listers who aren't technical are intrusion- related deposits, and they're basically volcanoes under oceans and they generally bear multiple minerals. So at Mount Chalmers, we've got copper gold, silver, and a silver lead and zinc byproduct. But one of the great things about VHMS deposits from our perspective as an expiration company is the fact that they actually occur in multiple deposits within a cluster. So up at Mount Chalmers, we're actually seeing multiple of these sort of intrusions that have come up from lower in the ground bearing these minerals. And so it's quite an exciting region for us from an exploration perspective because we think that we'll be able to grow that resource quite strongly over time.

We've got a slightly different mineral style up here which is called a VHMS deposit and VHMS deposits, for those of your listers who aren't technical are intrusion- related deposits, and they're basically volcanoes under oceans and they generally bear multiple minerals. So at Mount Chalmers, we've got copper gold, silver, and a silver lead and zinc byproduct. But one of the great things about VHMS deposits from our perspective as an expiration company is the fact that they actually occur in multiple deposits within a cluster. So up at Mount Chalmers, we're actually seeing multiple of these sort of intrusions that have come up from lower in the ground bearing these minerals. And so it's quite an exciting region for us from an exploration perspective because we think that we'll be able to grow that resource quite strongly over time.

It isn't a new site, in fact, it's been mined on and off since the late 1800s. Take me through the process of QMines and why you decided to redevelop it.

It isn't a new site, in fact, it's been mined on and off since the late 1800s. Take me through the process of QMines and why you decided to redevelop it.

Look, I suppose we've got a track record as a team of finding existing mines and trying to take them back towards production. So a lot of mines start up when mineral prices are really strong. They generally go through a cycle and then they close down when the economics aren't as strong, when the prices come off. So saw a similar situation here at Mount Chalmers. Or the other situation is they may have depleted the resource. So the great thing about the Mount Chalmers deposit is there's still a lot more copper and gold under the old two open pits out of Rockhampton there. So really what we're trying to do is we're trying to grow that resource by doing exploration drilling to try and improve the asset value and improve the economics for our shareholders and hopefully if we find enough, to take it back towards production. But you're right, it was a historic site and that is quite beneficial from our perspective because there's lots of infrastructure there. There's already a lot of historic drilling there that tells us a lot about where to try and discover more tons and more ounces of gold and whatnot. So it gives us a lot of... a big headstart or what we call a low capital advantage in trying grow the mine site and grow the value of the asset.

Look, I suppose we've got a track record as a team of finding existing mines and trying to take them back towards production. So a lot of mines start up when mineral prices are really strong. They generally go through a cycle and then they close down when the economics aren't as strong, when the prices come off. So saw a similar situation here at Mount Chalmers. Or the other situation is they may have depleted the resource. So the great thing about the Mount Chalmers deposit is there's still a lot more copper and gold under the old two open pits out of Rockhampton there. So really what we're trying to do is we're trying to grow that resource by doing exploration drilling to try and improve the asset value and improve the economics for our shareholders and hopefully if we find enough, to take it back towards production. But you're right, it was a historic site and that is quite beneficial from our perspective because there's lots of infrastructure there. There's already a lot of historic drilling there that tells us a lot about where to try and discover more tons and more ounces of gold and whatnot. So it gives us a lot of... a big headstart or what we call a low capital advantage in trying grow the mine site and grow the value of the asset.

How much does technology play a role in this? Surely discovering deposits is easy now than 20 years ago.

How much does technology play a role in this? Surely discovering deposits is easy now than 20 years ago.

Oh, look at you. You're absolutely right. This particular mine was mined about 40 years ago. So even since we've come in, we're now using, it sounds silly but back in the day they largely drafted a lot of the sections and plans and the resources and things using paper and protractors and pencils. So it's really come a long way, everything's digital now. We've got all our drill results are in what we call a 3D digital database, so it gives us a lot more visibility on where to go to try and discover more tons. But also these days, to simplify it, we can fly drones and planes and helicopters over these areas and look at things like the density of rock, the magnetism of rock, the chargeability of rock and that can give us a lot of clues as to how we can discover more ore. So it's really come a long way and it's improving every single day.

Oh, look at you. You're absolutely right. This particular mine was mined about 40 years ago. So even since we've come in, we're now using, it sounds silly but back in the day they largely drafted a lot of the sections and plans and the resources and things using paper and protractors and pencils. So it's really come a long way, everything's digital now. We've got all our drill results are in what we call a 3D digital database, so it gives us a lot more visibility on where to go to try and discover more tons. But also these days, to simplify it, we can fly drones and planes and helicopters over these areas and look at things like the density of rock, the magnetism of rock, the chargeability of rock and that can give us a lot of clues as to how we can discover more ore. So it's really come a long way and it's improving every single day.

Okay, now I'm going into areas I know nothing about here. Surely then you should be more successful as an Explorer than those 40 years ago with all that data.

Okay, now I'm going into areas I know nothing about here. Surely then you should be more successful as an Explorer than those 40 years ago with all that data.

Absolutely, and I'm glad you mentioned that word data because it really is a data driven business and you're 100% right. Since acquiring the Mount Chalmers project, we've already identified another seven deposits around the mine site which we're planning to drill, obviously kicking off this year. So the benefit of technology is we can find things quicker. We can hopefully spend less money. We can be more efficient, I suppose, in our discovery efforts. There's a lot of talk in the industry about a lot of the shallow deposits have already been found. That's certainly not the case. Up here at Mount Chalmers, the historic mine was only mined to about 40 meters and there's a lot more ore under those pits. And as I say, we've identified, using a lot of technology, about seven more deposits around on this mine site. So we're really excited about this year as an exploration business and how big we can actually grow this deposit and how much value we can have for our shareholders.

Absolutely, and I'm glad you mentioned that word data because it really is a data driven business and you're 100% right. Since acquiring the Mount Chalmers project, we've already identified another seven deposits around the mine site which we're planning to drill, obviously kicking off this year. So the benefit of technology is we can find things quicker. We can hopefully spend less money. We can be more efficient, I suppose, in our discovery efforts. There's a lot of talk in the industry about a lot of the shallow deposits have already been found. That's certainly not the case. Up here at Mount Chalmers, the historic mine was only mined to about 40 meters and there's a lot more ore under those pits. And as I say, we've identified, using a lot of technology, about seven more deposits around on this mine site. So we're really excited about this year as an exploration business and how big we can actually grow this deposit and how much value we can have for our shareholders.

I'll get onto the zero carbon aspect in a moment but this is just continuing on the lines of me being quite ignorant about the whole area. Would you prefer copper or gold or it doesn't matter so long as you get ounces or tons of one or the other?

I'll get onto the zero carbon aspect in a moment but this is just continuing on the lines of me being quite ignorant about the whole area. Would you prefer copper or gold or it doesn't matter so long as you get ounces or tons of one or the other?

Look, it's a really good question and this is one of the benefits of having, as I've said before, these VHMS deposits is that they're multi commodity. So what it does as a business is it gives us this diversification of commodities and if one commodity price is off, well, we've got five other commodities there that hopefully are higher at that time. But one of the great things at the moment, we're heading into a period where we think we've got a very strong decade ahead as we transition to a low carbon world and that's driving an immense amount of interest in the discovery or the production of what we call battery metals. And so obviously copper's a really big focus for us because it's used in just about every technology, every sustainable energy source. Electric cars, wind turbines, solar panels, all need copper. It's really one of the building blocks of this energy transition. But as you say, we've got a reasonable component of our resource, it's just over 30% of the economic value at the moment, is in precious metals. So we've got quite a large component gold and silver. And so that with the challenges we're seeing at the moment with stock markets under a bit of pressure and really strong equity valuations and talk of interest rate rises and cost pressures, gold and silver are really nice hedge against, hopefully not but maybe a tough economic period ahead. So we've got that fantastic diversification of commodities here and that's something that we've deliberately sought because being in one commodity can be quite a challenging thing in the mining business.

Look, it's a really good question and this is one of the benefits of having, as I've said before, these VHMS deposits is that they're multi commodity. So what it does as a business is it gives us this diversification of commodities and if one commodity price is off, well, we've got five other commodities there that hopefully are higher at that time. But one of the great things at the moment, we're heading into a period where we think we've got a very strong decade ahead as we transition to a low carbon world and that's driving an immense amount of interest in the discovery or the production of what we call battery metals. And so obviously copper's a really big focus for us because it's used in just about every technology, every sustainable energy source. Electric cars, wind turbines, solar panels, all need copper. It's really one of the building blocks of this energy transition. But as you say, we've got a reasonable component of our resource, it's just over 30% of the economic value at the moment, is in precious metals. So we've got quite a large component gold and silver. And so that with the challenges we're seeing at the moment with stock markets under a bit of pressure and really strong equity valuations and talk of interest rate rises and cost pressures, gold and silver are really nice hedge against, hopefully not but maybe a tough economic period ahead. So we've got that fantastic diversification of commodities here and that's something that we've deliberately sought because being in one commodity can be quite a challenging thing in the mining business.

Stay with me, Andrew, we'll be back in the moment. My guest this morning is Andrew Sparke. Executive chairman of QMines. So zero carbon, what you do must be very energy intensive. Why are you going zero carbon? And how do you do it?

Stay with me, Andrew, we'll be back in the moment. My guest this morning is Andrew Sparke. Executive chairman of QMines. So zero carbon, what you do must be very energy intensive. Why are you going zero carbon? And how do you do it?

Very good question. So mining is historically seen as quite a dirty bit business and since we listed in May last year, we've come at it from a different angle because as I alluded to before, because there's this fantastic energy transition going on throughout the world and we need more copper and zinc and lead and other metals to really fuel that transition. There's a nice synergy between what we're doing as an exploration and development company, trying to find enough minerals to support that transition. And so we're sort of trying to flip the whole mining and exploration business on its head and say, " Well, we can do this in a more sustainable way. We can do this in a cleaner, greener way." So it's funny but I'm a young chairman and I've got two young kids and we're really quite keen to make sure that they have a really clean world to grow up in and to enjoy it as we've had. So the question was, how do we do it? And we've rolled out a number of initiatives recently and where we're finding most companies are in the strategy phase, we're really well and truly past it. We're in the implementation phase. We've actually just signed a long term agreement with a renewable fuel supplier. We're actually using a fuel which is partly diesel, partly actual vegetable oil and animal fats, would you believe? And so there's this thing in our space that we're talking about, the circular economy. Not wasting things. Trying to use things and reuse things and reduce our carbon emissions. So we're also, we've installed a number of solar systems on our main side at Rockhampton and Mount Chalmers. We've got a wind turbine up there. We've got rainwater capture and usage on site. So we've actually got that whole Mount Chalmers site completely off grid at the moment. So it does bring more challenges and a little more cost, but it is very achievable and there are very simple and well known technologies out there that you can use to really reduce your carbon footprint.

Very good question. So mining is historically seen as quite a dirty bit business and since we listed in May last year, we've come at it from a different angle because as I alluded to before, because there's this fantastic energy transition going on throughout the world and we need more copper and zinc and lead and other metals to really fuel that transition. There's a nice synergy between what we're doing as an exploration and development company, trying to find enough minerals to support that transition. And so we're sort of trying to flip the whole mining and exploration business on its head and say, " Well, we can do this in a more sustainable way. We can do this in a cleaner, greener way." So it's funny but I'm a young chairman and I've got two young kids and we're really quite keen to make sure that they have a really clean world to grow up in and to enjoy it as we've had. So the question was, how do we do it? And we've rolled out a number of initiatives recently and where we're finding most companies are in the strategy phase, we're really well and truly past it. We're in the implementation phase. We've actually just signed a long term agreement with a renewable fuel supplier. We're actually using a fuel which is partly diesel, partly actual vegetable oil and animal fats, would you believe? And so there's this thing in our space that we're talking about, the circular economy. Not wasting things. Trying to use things and reuse things and reduce our carbon emissions. So we're also, we've installed a number of solar systems on our main side at Rockhampton and Mount Chalmers. We've got a wind turbine up there. We've got rainwater capture and usage on site. So we've actually got that whole Mount Chalmers site completely off grid at the moment. So it does bring more challenges and a little more cost, but it is very achievable and there are very simple and well known technologies out there that you can use to really reduce your carbon footprint.

Is that a trend in the industry? Australia has some very efficient gold miners and I think Newcrest is world class when it comes to efficiency, but investors are demanding greener electricity. Is it a trend that going forward, we will see the explorers and developers and miners actually becoming greener?

Is that a trend in the industry? Australia has some very efficient gold miners and I think Newcrest is world class when it comes to efficiency, but investors are demanding greener electricity. Is it a trend that going forward, we will see the explorers and developers and miners actually becoming greener?

Yeah, I think you're right. I think it's definitely heading in that direction. We're seeing most of the uptake by the actual producers that have got stronger balance sheets to transition their businesses. But they're also finding challenges in that a lot of their plant and equipment's already installed, already been built, so they're having to reconstruct a lot of that plant and equipment for the transition. I suppose there's a lag effect down through the smaller companies and through to the explorers and that's where I think we're really trying to take the lead and show that you can do this cost effectively. You can actually do this in a way that actually adds value for your shareholders, not to detracts value. So there is certainly a trend there and it's going to continue to progress as I think we come into those key milestones set by some of the regulators around the world of 2030 and 2050. But we think there's an opportunity to do it sooner and do it now and that's what I think really differentiates us from a lot of our peers.

Yeah, I think you're right. I think it's definitely heading in that direction. We're seeing most of the uptake by the actual producers that have got stronger balance sheets to transition their businesses. But they're also finding challenges in that a lot of their plant and equipment's already installed, already been built, so they're having to reconstruct a lot of that plant and equipment for the transition. I suppose there's a lag effect down through the smaller companies and through to the explorers and that's where I think we're really trying to take the lead and show that you can do this cost effectively. You can actually do this in a way that actually adds value for your shareholders, not to detracts value. So there is certainly a trend there and it's going to continue to progress as I think we come into those key milestones set by some of the regulators around the world of 2030 and 2050. But we think there's an opportunity to do it sooner and do it now and that's what I think really differentiates us from a lot of our peers.

How are you enjoying being listed, Andrew?

How are you enjoying being listed, Andrew?

Look, it's great. It was a big process to actually get listed and I'm sure a lot of your listeners who have been around pre- IPO companies, it takes a lot of work. So it was a nine month to 12 month process to get listed for QMines. So it's great to be up and running now and our company's performed very well since listing. We've increased our resource twice last year at our Mount Chalmers deposit, so it's growing really nicely. And I think our shareholders are really quite happy with the progress of how it's gone. So whilst it's been a lot of work, we're really enjoying the ride and we've got a great team that really helped us to get there. So yeah, enjoying it.

Look, it's great. It was a big process to actually get listed and I'm sure a lot of your listeners who have been around pre- IPO companies, it takes a lot of work. So it was a nine month to 12 month process to get listed for QMines. So it's great to be up and running now and our company's performed very well since listing. We've increased our resource twice last year at our Mount Chalmers deposit, so it's growing really nicely. And I think our shareholders are really quite happy with the progress of how it's gone. So whilst it's been a lot of work, we're really enjoying the ride and we've got a great team that really helped us to get there. So yeah, enjoying it.

That's good. Andrew, thank you for talking to Fear and Greed.

That's good. Andrew, thank you for talking to Fear and Greed.

Thanks, Sean. Nice to chat.

Thanks, Sean. Nice to chat.

That was Andrew Sparke. Executive chairman of Qmines. This is the Fear and Greed Daily Interview. Join me every morning for the full Fear and Greed podcast with all the business news you need to know. I'm Sean Aylmer. Enjoy your day.

That was Andrew Sparke. Executive chairman of Qmines. This is the Fear and Greed Daily Interview. Join me every morning for the full Fear and Greed podcast with all the business news you need to know. I'm Sean Aylmer. Enjoy your day.