From Challenges to Triumphs: How Martin Horgan Revitalised the Sukari Mine

In this episode, we have a returning guest who appeared back in December 2019 (Episode 55). Martin Horgan, formally the CEO of Centamin, a gold producer with an operation in Egypt who have recently been acquired by Anglo Gold Ashanti as of 22nd November. A mine engineer by background, Martin has 30 years of experience in the industry working in the field, consultancy, and on the banking side before starting his own mining company, Toro Gold before selling this to Resolute. For the last 4 years, he has been at the helm of Centamin, transforming the company and its flagship operation Sukari into what it is today. Martin takes us through his career and journey and talks about his more recent success with Centamin and what he did to change the fortunes of the business. KEY TAKEAWAYS Martin has a diverse background in mining, spanning over 30 years, including roles in operations, consultancy, and investment banking. His experience has equipped him with a broad understanding of the mining sector, which he leveraged to transform Centamin. Upon joining Centamin, Martin focused on improving geological understanding, which led to a significant increase in the underground reserve from 400,000 ounces to 1 million ounces. This foundational change allowed for better mine planning and execution, ultimately enhancing production capacity. It's vital to build strong relationships with local communities, regional authorities, and national governments. Effective stakeholder engagement is crucial for navigating the complexities of operating in riskier jurisdictions, particularly in West Africa. The launch of Centamin's decarbonisation roadmap was driven by both a moral imperative to mine responsibly and investor expectations for transparency and sustainability. Martin believes that mining must demonstrate its role in decarbonisation and societal benefit to maintain its social license to operate. BEST MOMENTS "I think the thing that sort of surprised me within the West African sphere is that it was the rate of change... it's how quickly they changed as well." "If you get the right people in place... that's what drives success to my mind, you know, ore bodies are ore bodies." "We went from zero to in excess of 50 female professional employees at Sukari in a couple of years." "If you're focused on that, if that's your primary driver, then that does a couple of things for you if you end up in a transaction phase." VALUABLE RESOURCES Mail:        rob@mining-international.org LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-tyson-3a26a68/ X:              https://twitter.com/MiningRobTyson  YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/DigDeepTheMiningPodcast  Web:        http://www.mining-international.org GUEST SOCIALS https://www.linkedin.com/in/martin-horgan-038b298/ ABOUT THE HOST Rob Tyson is the Founder and Director of Mining International Ltd, a leading global recruitment and headhunting consultancy based in the UK specialising in all areas of mining across the globe from first-world to third-world countries from Africa, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Australia. We source, headhunt, and discover new and top talent through a targeted approach and search methodology and have a proven track record in sourcing and positioning exceptional candidates into our clients' organisations in any mining discipline or level. Mining International provides a transparent, informative, and trusted consultancy service to our candidates and clients to help them develop their careers and business goals and objectives in this ever-changing marketplace. CONTACT METHOD rob@mining-international.org https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-tyson-3a26a68/ Podcast Description Rob Tyson is an established recruiter in the mining and quarrying sector and decided to produce the “Dig Deep” The Mining Podcast to provide valuable and informative content around the mining industry. He has a passion and desire to promote the industry and the podcast aims to offer the mining community an insight into people’s experiences and careers covering any mining discipline, giving the listeners helpful advice and guidance on industry topics.