Mining | Junior producers

As production begins, the right advice will help keep you on the path to success

With the appropriate financing in place, permits obtained, production decisions made and feasibility studies performed, it's time to move ahead with production.

We know that many junior producers go through growing pains as new productive processes get up and running and often, internal resources to deal with such growth can be strained. Growth issues often start with the production side of the business, and they can impact your ability to deal with other areas such as legal compliance, internal control efficacy and tax efficiencies. On top of all these challenges, your company may be running at a loss due to the high operational costs common in this stage.

We can help you navigate this unfamiliar terrain and assist you in making sure your operational and back-house systems and processes are set up for success. Our experts can streamline your operations to help ensure your path to profitability is as short as possible. Conversely, if your goal is to sell, we can help set it up to be an attractive target for a mid-tier or senior company. Here are just a few of the areas where we can assist:

Productivity improvement
As your company begins production, it's time to make sure that the appropriate resources are brought to bear on your mining processes—helping to ensure they're set up in the most effective and efficient manner possible. Our productivity improvement specialists have experience improving mining performance that spans over 25 years, from the 76th parallel in Canada’s far north to 4,000 metres above sea level in the Chilean Andes.

Tax compliance matters
When your company begins generating revenues and taxable income, compliance measures can become much more complex. Our experts span a plethora of jurisdictions, allowing us to provide you with accurate tax compliance advice.

Assurance services
At this point, the amount of information you have to report has likely become much more complicated and your auditor or adviser has to be ahead of the game. We have built specialist teams of mining audit professionals who are experienced in your industry, multilingual and who will work seamlessly with Grant Thornton member firms internationally. We have a global audit methodology that enables us to pull together international audit work efficiently.

In addition to our strong audit capabilities, we have considerable experience dealing with the accounting and disclosure issues facing junior producers and can work as management’s advisers to help improve your financial reporting capabilities and lessen your stress around reporting deadlines.

Internal control structures
With plenty of best practices to pull from, we can help you establish solid internal control structures that will serve as a foundation of your commercial operations—addressing the production process, as well as the management of capital assets.

Fraud controls
When you're dealing with high-value commodities, you're likely a target for fraud. Our local Grant Thornton member firms can introduce you to best practices and offer pertinent advice in these key areas.

Complex accounting matters
Whether you're facing commodity sales contracts or other derivative instruments, at this stage in the game you're increasingly likely to be dealing with complex financial arrangements. With our in-house specialists and access to Grant Thornton advisers from around the globe, we can help your financial management team determine the appropriate accounting practices, as well as provide the necessary valuation assistance.