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CIM Distinguished Lecturers
2003CIM Fellowship
2001Selwyn Blaylock Canadian Mining Excellence Award
Past President of CIM (2017-2018)
Dr. Kenneth (Ken) G. Thomas is president, project development & metallurgy, Ken Thomas & Associates Inc., consulting to the mining industry. Until July 2012 he was senior vice-president, projects at Kinross Gold Corporation. He also spent six years as the global managing director and board director at Hatch, a leading international engineering and construction firm headquartered in Ontario, Canada. From 1987 to 2001 he progressively served in senior roles at Barrick Gold Corporation, from vice-president, metallurgy to senior vice-president, technical services. In addition he served two years as chief operating officer for Crystallex International Corporation, with operations and projects in Venezuela and Uruguay. He also worked for 10 years (1970 to 1980) in Zambia and South Africa with Anglo American Corporation, gaining experience in copper, cobalt, gold and uranium. In the 1960s he worked in the British steel industry.
He has a doctorate in technical sciences (project implementation) from Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands and a MSc Management from Imperial College, U.K. In 2001 he was awarded the Selwyn G. Blaylock Medal and in 1999 the Airey Award, both by CIM for advancements in mining internationally. Ken is a Fellow of CIM, the Canadian Academy of Engineering and the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining, UK.
He is presently company board director with Continental Gold, Candente Gold and Avalon Advanced Materials.
Distinguished Lecturer 2014-15
Lecture Abstract
Project execution & cost escalation in the mining industry
Since about 2002 there has been significant capital cost escalation, not inflation, in the mining industry causing turmoil for successful project completion. Project capital costs have more than doubled and some cases tripled in this time period. This has rendered many projects to be economically challenged and in some cases not viable. In addition higher than expected operating costs have further adversely affected project metrics such as NPV and IRR. Capital cost increases for projects have been widely reported globally. This lecture reviews three items. Firstly, why such capital increases and the various components that make up capital estimates. Secondly, it looks at reasons why preliminary estimates, for example at scoping and pre-feasibility level, have been lower than the ultimate constructed costs. Such increases and differences in estimates have caused major problems for mine builders and have led to a general nervousness on the part of those providing project finance. Thirdly, what discipline is needed in project execution in an attempt to mitigate such capital increases. The lecture will hopefully give a better understanding of the various issues and factors involved for those in the mining industry.
