The SFA (Oxford) team - consultants and associates

In addition to its permanent staff, SFA Oxford draws on members of the University of Oxford, and Associates from SRK Consulting and Brook Hunt for further expertise on bespoke projects when required.

Stephen Forrest - Principal Consulting Analyst, Director
Beresford Clarke - Senior Consulting Analyst, Head of Research
Alex Ryan - Consulting Projects Analyst
Dr Jenny Watts - Consulting Technology and Development Analyst
Jen Spencer - Commodities Analyst and Economist
Oksan Atilan - Modelling Analyst and Mathematician
Samantha Trickey - Mining Analyst and Geologist
Nic Billane - Marketing Manager
Elaine Forrest - Company Secretary
Heriberto Cuanalo - Associate Financial Modelling Consultant
John Miles - Associate Principal Consultant

Principal Consulting Analyst, Director, Eur Ing Stephen Forrest, Pr Eng, C Eng, BSc (Hons), FIMM, FIMinE

Prior to establishing SFA Oxford, Stephen was rated in the City as a top analyst in platinum-group metals research.

After graduation, Stephen progressed to Senior Operational Management within the Impala Platinum Group and negotiated (on behalf of the Association of Mine Managers of South Africa) with the South African Government and the National Unions on the restructuring of employment levels in the industry and their corresponding competencies.

He was selected by the Board of Impala as a technical representative to carry out a three-month, on-site study of Russia’s nickel giant, Norilsk Nickel.

Stephen was Senior Analyst and Director at the Union Bank of Switzerland Securities (SA), where he was rated top analyst covering platinum, coal and other mining sectors on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.

From 1998 to 2001 Stephen reported to the Chairman of MRH Gruppe AG, as the commodities strategist (covering metals concentrate, LME metals, precious metals and crude oil) and as a fund manager, advising on site studies of a vanadium project in Australia and a copper company in China.

Qualifications

Registered as a Chartered Engineer with the Engineering Council (UK) and the Engineering Council of South Africa, and listed as a Euro Engineer with the European Federation of National Engineering Institutions
Fellow of the Institution of Mining and Metallurgy (UK), the Institute of Mining Engineers (UK) and the Securities Institute, London
University of the Witwatersrand (SA), Business Administration Graduate School’s Management Development Programme and the Negotiation Skills Programme
BSc (Hons) in Mining Engineering from the University of Wales

Senior Consulting Analyst, Head of Research Beresford Clarke, MSc (DIC), BSc (Hons), FGS, MSAIMM

Since 2003, Beresford has specialised in all aspects of PGM supply, demand and price forecasting for strategic business planning purposes. He has led numerous bespoke consultancy assignments for major industry stakeholders, new market entrants and financial institutions and provides immediate solutions for regular clients who require PGM market intelligence for decision making purposes.
After spending two years working for an exploration company in Africa and completing his postgraduate studies in mineral economics, Beresford worked for VM Group as a Precious Metals Analyst, specialising in the global supply, economics, exploration and mining of PGMs and gold. Since joining SFA he has produced research on all facets of the PGM market including end uses, price forecasting methodologies, producer economic modeling and has conducted a ground up valuation of every junior PGM project on the Bushveld. Beresford also spent time producing commodity market briefings and price forecasts for hedge funds.

Qualifications

MSc Mineral Deposit Evaluation, University of London and Diploma, Royal School of Mines, Imperial College, London
BSc (Hons) Applied Geology from Oxford Brookes University
Member of the South African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy
Fellow of the Geological Society of London
Graduate Member of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (UK)

Consulting Projects Analyst, Alex Ryan, MBA, BSc Metallurgical Engineering, MDP

Alex has several years’ operational and management experience at a senior level in the minerals processing environment. He is familiar with project finance and evaluation methods for process improvements and expansions, and has a detailed understanding of the potential implications of climate change on platinum mining operations

Recent key assignments have included modeling of PGM junior projects to determine break-even PGM prices to derive a PGM project incentive price, analysis of cost and margin profiles of operations across the Bushveld Igneous Complex, and the creation of financial models for mining projects and processing operations to determine project viability, NPV and IRR.

Qualifications

MBA, University of Cape Town (Graduate School of Business)
BSc Metallurgical Engineering, University of the Witwatersrand
MDP, University of Stellenbosch (Business School)

Consulting Technology and Development Analyst, Dr Jenny Watts, PhD Chemistry, MSc, BSc, CChem, MRSC

Jenny is a versatile, innovative scientist with extensive business/academia/research liaison experience.

She has unique expertise, enabling her to specialise in the autocatalysis sector, providing full evaluation of historical and forecast PGM use in this sector, assessing impact of future environmental legislation and future transport technology trends.

Jenny spent several years working for the Cookson Group plc and Cookson Matthey plc on analytical projects in the industrial minerals sector and developing new materials for the ceramics, steel and telecoms market, with several patents granted.

Qualifications

PhD and BSc Chemistry, University of Reading
MSc, University of Bristol
Chartered Chemist, Member of the Royal Society of Chemistry

Commodities Analyst and Economist, Jen Spencer, BA (Hons)

Jen is a researcher with excellent analytical skills. She has a background in politics and economics from the University of Oxford, and her work to date has included forming detailed SWOT and PEST analyses and in-depth geopolitical evaluation of politically unstable regions.

She also regularly researches and compiles monthly data on region-specific and global macroeconomic climates, as well as charting the movements of several commodity markets (including grains, energy, base and precious metals).

Recent key assignments have included conducting a detailed analysis of the Bolivian geopolitical climate. Jen authors monthly commodity market reports, providing in-depth commentary on the market movements of crude oil and several base and precious metals.

Qualifications

BA (Hons) Philosophy, Politics & Economics, St Hilda’s College, University of Oxford

Modelling Analyst and Mathematician, Oksan Atilan, MSc, BSc (Hons)

Oksan is responsible for statistical analysis and presentation of monthly metals market data and forecasts.

Recent key assignments have included collating data for key client presentations, modelling demand trends and forecasts, and applying mathematical techniques to estimate price forecasts.

Qualifications

BSc Mathematics & International Studies (double major), Centre College, KY, USA
MSc International Politics, University of Wales, Aberystwyth

Mining Analyst and Geologist, Samantha Trickey, MSc, BSc (Hons)

Samantha has a background in geology. She holds a Masters degree from the Camborne School of Mines where she specialised in mining geology and worked in association with the British Geological Survey to produce a thesis on the global copper industry.
After postgraduate studies, Samantha worked for CRU International as a commodity analyst, assisting with base metal market research then primarily compiling market reports on the platinum group metals.

Qualifications

BSc (Hons) Geology, Royal Holloway, University of London
MSc Mining Geology, Camborne School of Mines, University of Exeter
Fellow of the Geological Society of London

Marketing Manager, Nic Billane, BSc (Hons)

Nic is the first point of contact for information regarding SFA Oxford's research programme. He also guides enquiries from the fund and investment community regarding details of SFA Oxford’s bespoke and confidential market insight briefings and reports covering the energy, base metal and precious metal sectors.

After graduating, Nic joined Alcan Aluminium and over the course of a successful 29-year career worked in a broad range of commercial areas, embracing sales and marketing, public relations, product development and purchasing for divisions in the UK and for Alcan’s Europe Rolled Products Division.

Company Secretary, Elaine F Forrest, Dip Secretarial (SA)

Elaine worked in a modernising data processing role for the metallurgical engineering team (for both concentrator and smelting facilities) at Impala Platinum’s Mineral Processes facility before transferring to Impala’s Wildebeestfontein South Mine as the Resident Engineer’s office administrator and data processor. In 1990 Elaine joined Knox D’Arcy (which specialises in achieving significant financial and operational improvements) as Time Analysis computer consultant, and since 2005, after assisting in the start-up of SFA (Oxford), Elaine now works as Executive Company Secretary where she controls Corporate Financial Accounting and liaises with SFA (Oxford)’s Accountants, Shaw Gibbs LLP.

Qualifications

Dip Secretarial- Kelly-Greenoaks Secretarial & Business College, Johannesburg
Advanced Certification in Computing (Critical Path Analysis and Timeline, Programming in Fortran and Advanced DBASE III) - General Engineering Services, Johannesburg

Associate Financial Modelling Consultant , Heriberto Cuanalo

MBA, Diploma in Executive Finance (ACEA), Postgraduate Diploma in Marketing (CIM), HCIMA Professional Management Diploma

As well as working with SFA, Heriberto is Chairman of Innovateur, a voluntary initiative assisting emerging science and technology ventures to finance and commercialise their projects, collaborating with universities such as Oxford.

Heriberto was top MBA student and received two major scholarships from British Airways and the Savoy Group. In addition to senior management experience in consumer goods operations, he has lectured on management at degree level, and provided strategic consultancy to senior management teams. Heriberto has carried out a number of financial assignments for senior management in property and service companies, and for the past two years has focused on PGM mining operations.

Associate Principal Consultant, John Miles

MSc, C. Eng., MIMMM

John has over twenty years of mining experience gained from working in industry and consulting. During this time, thirteen years were spent with direct operational experience encompassing underground and surface mining operations. During the course of his career John has visited some 120 operations worldwide both underground and open pit across a range of commodities.

John has gained an expertise in technical and economic reviews of projects and mining operations including mine design, life of mine plans, technical-economic models and economic valuation. John has full experience of using mining software packages. He is highly experienced in quantitative & qualitative assessments, report writing, and project presentation to industry executives, finance professionals and technical specialists.

In addition, SFA is able to draw on well-established relationships with associate consultants covering a wide range of expertise such as:

Gold market specialist with over twenty years experience in the mining industry from resource assessment and operational benchmarking to operating and capital cost analysis; from project evaluation to mining finance. An acknowledged global authority on gold mine production economics, mine supply and the gold market.

PGM geologist with extensive experience in exploration of gold and platinum mining geology in Southern Africa, exploration project budgeting & management and geological database design and management.

Pyro-metallurgist projects and operational manager with extensive experience in strategic and capacity planning of smelter complexes, as well as the running and maintenance of production plants.

Oil market specialist with over 20 years consulting experience of the oil market at macro, company and project levels. A regular presenter at international oil conferences and in the media, and provision of energy market advice to support client’s marketing activities in the financial or hedging sectors.

Consultant in minerals processing - a professional engineer providing metallurgical consulting and acting as an effective link between mine management and metallurgical plant operation. Experienced in carrying out due diligence studies and managing operations on a contract basis.