About Us
Benedikt Steiner
PhD | CGeol | EurGeol | FHEA
Director
Benedikt is a chartered geologist with 15 years of global experience in project generation, testing and evaluation, principally with Rio Tinto Exploration and as a consultant. He is a qualified person for JORC, NI 43-101 and PERC compliant reporting. Recently, Benedikt has been running field and consulting work in Argentina, Canada, Finland, Ireland, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nigeria, Norway, Rwanda and Sierra Leone.
He was involved in the Rössing Z20 discovery (Namibia) in 2011-12 and was the driving force behind the discovery of a granite-hosted mineralisation system in the Vosges Mountains (France). Benedikt is a published expert in geochemical exploration and targeting.
Benedikt obtained a Master of Science degree in Geology from the Royal School of Mines, Imperial College London, and a PhD in Geochemical Exploration from the Camborne School of Mines, University of Exeter. He is currently the MSc Programme Director in Exploration and Mining Geology at the Camborne School of Mines, where he spearheads the development of postgraduate and professional training for the mining industry.
James Barnet
PhD | MCSM | FGS | Scientific proof reading
Associate Senior Geologist
James graduated from the University of Southampton in June 2008 with a First Class MSci degree in Geology, and has subsequently gained over 6 years’ experience in the oil and gas industry in the Consultancy division of Neftex Petroleum Consultants Ltd. His work there involved licence block-specific petroleum evaluations within prospective basins of Papua New Guinea and the eastern Mediterranean. James developed a particular interest in interpreting a diverse suite of wireline log, organic geochemical and reservoir petrophysical data; becoming proficient at manipulating large datasets to map out the potential distributions of oil- and gas-mature source rocks, effective reservoirs and cap rocks at block scale.
James published his first book, a geologically themed walking guidebook to the Scottish Highlands in August 2014, before leaving Neftex to commence a PhD in Geology at the University of Exeter in September 2014. James graduated with his PhD in December 2018 and has since published three first author papers within high-impact journals such as Geology and Earth and Planetary Science Letters, and is a co-author on a recent Science paper. James’ second book, a complete guide to the geology and fossils of the New Forest, will be published in February 2021. James is currently based in St Andrews (Scotland), where he is a post-doctoral research fellow.
GLOBAL EXPERIENCE
India
Duration: 2024
Deliverables: Integrated geological-mining and minerals engineering-hydrometallurgy study and review of Li-Cs pegmatite deposit in the Bengal area. Suggestions for further exploration work, resource drilling and metallurgical testwork.
India
Duration: 2024
Deliverables: Integrated geological-mining and minerals engineering-hydrometallurgy study and review of Li-Cs pegmatite deposit in the Bengal area. Suggestions for further exploration work, resource drilling and metallurgical testwork.
Brazil
Duration: 2023-date
Deliverables: Field visit and review of various properties prospective for Ni-Cu (orthomagmatic/ laterite) and Au (orogenic) deposits in Goiás State. Continuous support for projects incl. ongoing data reviews and interpretation.
Mongolia
Duration: 2022-date
Deliverables: CP and technical advisor for junior exploration company focusing on battery metals. Review of pegmatite exploration data of the Central Gobi Desert, training of geology team.
Ethiopia
Duration: 2022-23
Deliverables: Technical advisor and Qualified Person for greenfields and brownfields exploration in the Kenticha LCT pegmatite district. Canadian junior exploration company.
Nigeria
Duration: 2022-2023
Deliverables: Review of exploration and mining opportunities for two separate international investor groups in the FCT and Kwara Districts. Commodities: Sn-W deposits (Cornish-style mineralisation), Li-Cs-Ta pegmatites. Compilation of NI43-101 QPR for properties east of Abuja.
Western Australia
Duration: 2022
Deliverables: Strategic review of exploration licenses in the Pilgangoora LCT Pegmatite District. Provision of advice about follow-up exploration priorities.
New South Wales
Duration: 2022
Deliverables: Strategic review of exploration licenses in the Kantappa Sn-Ta Pegmatite District. Provision of advice about follow-up exploration priorities.
Finland
Duration: 2016 – 2022
Deliverables: Prospectivity map for orogenic Au deposits in the Central Lapland Greenstone Belt, regional exploration targeting. Delivery of annual field courses with focus on exploration techniques for greenstone-hosted gold deposits. Conceptualisation and delivery of the Society of Economic Geologists “European Exploration Targeting Boot Camp”.
Wyoming (USA)
Duration: 2008-2009
Deliverables: Wireline log analysis and correlation, basin study and petroleum prospectivty
France
Duration: 2017 – 2019
Deliverables: Regional reconnaissance sampling and mapping in the Vosges Mountains for polymetallic and W-Sn and LCT targets
Sierra Leone
Duration: 2017
Deliverables: Interpretation of proprietary geochemical and geophysical datasets to aid private exploration company in targeting orogenic gold and REE pegmatite deposits. Field visit, training, and follow-up target generation.
Namibia
Duration: 2010-2013
Deliverables: Resource drilling campaigns for Rossing Uranium Z20 expansion project and upgrade of overall resource.
Zambia
Duration: 2013-2016, 2024
Deliverables: Greenfields copper target generation and testing in underexplored areas of NW Zambia, logistics, HSEC (2013-2016). Review of LCT pegmatite targets in the Choma-Kalomo Block and design of first-pass exploration programme (2024).
Rwanda
Duration: 2018
Deliverables: field visit, sampling and prioritization of Sn-W-LCT and coltan pegmatite target areas. Production of technical summary report for AIM-listed company
Rwanda
Duration: 2019 – 2020
Deliverables: Several visits to the Nyamasheke area. Investigated a number of REE granite occs using geological, geochemical, geophysical and drilling techniques. Also followed up on suspected “fossil fuel” occurrence. Compilation of high profile investor reports.
Eastern Former Soviet Union (Russia)
Duration: 2008-2014
Deliverables: Desktop studies, exploration targeting reports for hydrocarbons and industrial minerals, production of depositional environment/ tectonic, chronostratigraphic maps and charts.
Myanmar
Duration: 2016 – date
Deliverables: Multi-disciplinary exploration desktop study and review of regional mineralization potential. Planning of regional geochemical survey with focus on skarn-related and epithermal gold and base-metal deposits
Papua New Guinea
Duration: 2011-2013
Deliverables: Desktop study, Common Risk Segment mapping onshore/ offshore, production of play schematics and cross-sections
Ireland
Duration: 2016
Deliverables: Target generation using GSI datasets. Published paper.
United Kingdom
Duration: 2016 – date
Deliverables: Current base, regional geology, field trips and exploration targeting with local junior exploration companies.
Tanzania
Duration: 2008
Deliverables: Coal exploration in the Songea area.
Mozambique
Duration: 2018 – date
Deliverables: Advising junior exploration company on new discovery of gold mineralisation along the Lurío Shear Zone. Compilation of technical reports and field visit.
Québec
Duration: 2022
Deliverables: Technical review of tenure around the Walbouchi LCT Pegmatite Deposit, including interpretation of till geochemistry, magnetic surveys, and reporting writing.
Australia
Duration: 2016 -2018
Deliverables: Provision of training for orogenic gold exploration in Western Australia.
Canada (Ontario)
Duration: 2017
Deliverables: Delivery of annual field training with focus on greenstone belt-hosted orogenic gold deposits.
Guyana
Duration: 2019
Deliverables: Provision of technical orogenic gold training course to major and junior exploration and mining companies.
Argentina
Duration: 2019 – 2023
Deliverables: Advising on porphyry copper and epithermal copper-gold-silver projects in the Salta Region, Argentina. Acting as technical director for junior exploration company. Target generation and license area acquisition. Compilation of NI43-101 QPR.
Norway
Duration: 2021-date
Deliverables: VMS exploration in the Trøndelag region. Provision of expert consulting services to Canadian-listed junior exploration company, including the interpretation of magnetic survey datasets and Ionic Leach soil geochemistry. This supported the definition of new exploration targets and improved the overall exploration strategy.
Further involvement with other ASX-listed junior exploration company as senior technical advisor. Starting up greenfields exploration from scratch in 2021, then handing over to permanent local team. Conducted first-ever large scale reconnaissance exploration for rare-element pegmatites in the Nord Helgeland area (2022) as project leader.
Estonia
Duration: 2020
Deliverables: Advising on geotechnical logging procedures and workflows for Paldiski hydropower station. Training of local geological team.