Can you briefly introduce GeoQuest and the sort of work the company has been seeing across its various locations for the past few months as commodity prices pick up?

GeoQuest is a consultancy and contracting business focused on exploration, environmental services, hydrogeology, geo-technical services, GIS and related services. We are maintaining two offices at the moment in Lubumbashi and Lusaka, with plans to reactivate our Harare office. In Zambia currently, there is not much going on in terms of mineral exploration, so our work is concentrated in environmental, hydrogeological, and geotechnical services, as well as assisting people with applications for licenses. In DRC, we are kept busy with exploration tasks including reconnaissance site visits, sampling, drilling, sample analysis, consulting assistance in facilitating deals, assessing properties and license applications. This year we are seeing many new faces, especially out of Australia and Canada, looking for exploration prospects in copper and especially cobalt, as well as other battery minerals such as lithium and nickel. The demand began last November and picked up through the festive seasons, when it was possible to visit sites, draft reports, verify projects and propose the deals to new clients. Geographically, new greenfield explorations and advanced exploration brownfield projects are in progress in the old Katanga province.

Have you seen the new mining code and perceived political instability in DRC impact investor attitude towards exploration projects?

The positive vibes are stronger than any negative sentiment, with companies out of Perth and Toronto visiting with increased frequency that previously would not have ventured into the DRC. The decentralization in the southern part of the country has concentrated power in places like Kolwezi, making it possible to do deals outside of Kinshasa, which has helped investors swallow the expenses of operating in the country and to hit the ground running.

What sort of untapped geological opportunities have investors missed?

Investors are often overlooking known opportunities in lead and zinc. Ivanhoe holds Kamoa and Kipushi, but does not have the money to develop both. They have chosen to put all their efforts into Kamoa, which is a pure copper project as opposed to the Kipushi zinc option. Diamonds can be found further north in Kasai and gold is everywhere, but the known gold deposits are present in Kivu where there are security concerns. In the Orientale Province there are projects operated out of Rwanda and Uganda logistically speaking, so we do not have much to do with this part of the country. There are some prospects in limestone, uranium, iron ore and coal, but these are not as attractive to investors as cobalt and copper because they can be found outside the country where the risk is not as high. Investors are careful of uranium because in the legislation it is regarded as a strategic metal, and license applications are generally overruled by the President. There is a geological trend containing uranium that runs south of Kolwezi up to Shinkolobwe, but the restrictions mean that few receive approval to exploit this resource.

What are the prospects and plans for GeoQuest in Zimbabwe?

Zimbabwe is a well-explored country and there is a lot of information about its known resources. Due to recent political changes there has been a reactivation of the cadastre approval process, which has been very positive for people applying for licenses and newly forming companies. There are several experienced operators for commodities like gold, platinum, chromium, copper, lithium and diamonds, and the outlook for Zimbabwe is very positive under this new regime. We had a dormant company in Zimbabwe and have maintained a presence there, but the cadastre process had been frozen and it was difficult to obtain security of tenure putting the whole country on hold. New and old faces have appeared, and we now expect our company theer to become operational and as active as in Zambia or DRC.

Zambia has seen very little exploration in recent years. What potential do you see for the country that has been undervalued by investors?

Zambia has a focus on copper and other projects that are known include coal, and there is some interest in tin and lithium potential. There is good potential for IOCGs-iron oxide copper gold deposits in the Mumba area, and there are large tracts in the north and north western part of the country that host very under-explored Copperbelt type deposits, gold and other minerals. All the projects that have gone into production in the past five years have been in the Northwestern Province known as the “New Copperbelt”. Although exploration is a bit sluggish, there are small-scale mining opportunities for development in Zambia, which is well-known as a peaceful and well-regulated environment.

What is the outlook on the power sector and its implications in the DRC?

2014 saw the liberalization of the power sector, ending the monopoly of the state run power distributing company SNEL, theoretically inviting foreign power companies to participate in power distribution and generation and improving the existing infrastructure. However, over the past four years SNEL has improved virtually nothing. Other companies, like Kipay and Congo Energy, have tackled smaller projects like the rehabilitation of defunct hydro-stations which are not connected to the grid. Others, like Copperbelt Energy Corporation, have leased power lines from SNEL to sell power through the interconnector to various clients like Ruashi Mining and MMG. Zambia may not be able to sell power, but its infrastructure allows it to route power through and charge a commission. The DRC could supply the whole continent with green energy if its potential was developed. The biggest potential site is at Inga, which is about 1,500 km away from Lubumbashi connected by only one old transmission line with limited capacity. There is no proper planning to bring the power down to the mines if Inga does come online.

What strategy do you think the mining industry will adopt as production ramps up?

Some parties, like TFM, will need huge amounts of power to take advantage of the rising copper price — the company will need 400 MW to produce their desired 300,000 to 400,000 tonnes of copper per year. They have the resources but not the power, so they were looking at the Luapula valley at the Zambian border to the east where there is potential for hydro-stations on the DRC side of the valley. They are also examining a greenfield site at the north of Nseke and Busanga for about 125 MW that would need to be built and connected. They are also considering building a line from TFM to the ZESCO grid connecting in the COMESA pool. The mining industry needs to adopt the same strategy that they do for infrastructure, schooling, health -- they will have to do it themselves because the state is doing it at a slow pace. They need to set up a plan both in-country and cross-border. For example Kamoa could look to Angola as an option, and TFM could look to Zambia. For projects in the east, Rwanda and Uganda may be options, but SNEL is not an option because it is virtually non-existent.

What are GeoQuest’s objectives for the next few years and which opportunities on the horizon do you hope to take advantage of?

We are looking for more opportunities in the area of our core business, which is exploration, as well as companies to commit for more long-term contracts. GeoQuest would like to get involved in the very early stages, helping companies to identify good projects and licenses and taking them up to feasibility studies because we have the project management capability. We have looked at playing a role in other sectors such as environmental, logistics, hydro, and power, but for the next few years we will ride the wave that's coming while endeavoring to maintain our reputation for quality. Zimbabwe is the largest growth market if things swing the right way, DRC is always a lottery, and Zambia is quite steady so for us. It is all about diversifying the business risk.