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EXPERIENCE
Mr. Ellis is a minerals property appraiser (valuer, valuator),
geologist, and minerals economist. He specializes in conducting
independent market value appraisals (valuations) of mineral lands,
mine and quarry properties, particularly for litigation support as
an expert witness. Mr. Ellis develops his valuations in accordance
with the USA's national valuation standards, the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal
Practice (USPAP), the International Valuation Standards (IVS) and
other applicable standards. He often supplements the valuations by
conducting supporting geological and economic evaluations or market
studies for the relevant mineral commodities.
His 35 years of professional experience include:
- Appraisal/valuation of mineral properties, mines, quarries, and
royalty interests
- Mineral property takings and business damage assessment
- Expert witness testimony on mineral property and business
valuation issues, and related topics
- Bid determination
- Investment and acquisition analysis
- Economic risk assessment and decision analysis
- Reserve and Resource delineation and estimation
- Mine planning and feasibility studies
- Transportation and market studies
- Geological and economic evaluations
- Grass roots exploration
- Environmental reviews and hazardous waste remediation
- Computer systems management, programing and database
development
Mr. Ellis has held important professional posts and has received
a number of professional awards. In January 2001 he formed the
Extractive Industries Expert Group (then called the Extractive
Industries Task Force) of the International Valuation Standards
Committee, now the International Valuation Standards Council (IVSC),
London, where he remained as Chairman until 2008. Under his
leadership, the Expert Group developed the international standards
for valuations (appraisals) in the minerals and petroleum
industries. The finalized standards were first published in the
Seventh Edition (2005 edition) of the International Valuation Standards (IVS),
released on 9 February 2005 (view February
2005 IVSC News Release). The Expert Group has since drafted a
best practice Technical Paper designed to supplement the standards.
This was approved by the Standards Board of the IVSC for exposure
for public comment at its November 2007 meeting. Proposed revisions
and the exposure were later postponed indefinately for
consideration by the incoming 2008 Standards Board and formation of
a new Expert Group under the new IVSC.
The Expert Group has written influential submissions on minerals
and petroleum valuation policy matters to major international
financial insitutions, such as the International Accounting
Standards Board and the International Monetary Fund, and to
securities regulators. It has also written influential submissions
to other mining and petroleum standards setting bodies. During his
Chairmanship, Mr. Ellis has provided extensive input on valuation
and related matters to the Extractive Industries Project Team of
the International Accounting Standards Board. He has also provided
written and verbal submissions to other standards setting and
regulatory bodies internationally.
Mr. Ellis was the 2000-2002 President of the American
Institute of Minerals Appraisers. He is an adjunct faculty
member of the Round Table Group, the largest international think
tank for academic experts.
He has written or presented 60 professional papers, of which 40
have been published, more than a third of those being in peer
reviewed journals. (View
Publications). He is a frequently invited speaker at
professional meetings, universities, and national and international
conferences. He has taught economic evaluation techniques to more
than 40 groups of industry professionals.
As an independent consultant since 1983, Mr. Ellis has developed
a solid reputation for providing quality and timely consulting
services. He has given expert witness testimony as a minerals
appraiser, geologist and minerals economist, for private and
government litigations, for and against mining companies. In recent
years, Mr. Ellis has specialized in providing expert testimony on
market value appraisal of mines and quarries.
Mr. Ellis has many years of experience working in the minerals
industry outside the USA. He has substantial field experience
working in:
- Australia
- Ecuador
- Indonesia
- Papua New Guinea
Ellis International Services' commitment to excellence can
involve drawing upon a select team of consultants to meet
specialized project demands. Meeting the client's needs is given
the highest priority.
Minerals Valuation, Geology, and Mineral Economics
Experience
Specific projects conducted by Mr. Ellis include:
Valuation/Appraisal
Projects
- Bauxite, Australia: Advised on tax matters valuation for a
bauxite mine and alumina refinery.
- Coal, Colorado: Provided expert geologist and minerals
appraiser testimony to Arapahoe County Commissioners on the
geology, economics and valuation of certain coal resources.
- Coal, USA: Valued coal mines and coal resources throughout the
USA for acquisition and corporate reporting purposes.
- Coal and Petroleum, Colorado: Reviewed ownership and mining
history of coal resources to determine present ownership and
surface development implications. Estimated value of oil and gas
reserves, advised on acquisition and compatible development.
- Copper-Zinc, Wisconsin: Advised company and State officials on
the appropriate appraisal standards and methods for determination
of the value of the Crandon zinc and copper deposit for potential
acquisition by the State of Wisconsin.
- Gold: Fairness opinion analyses for mergers of Canadian and USA
listed and unlisted companies.
- Gold, Nevada: Annual market value appraisals of mineral lands
and royalty interest in the Marigold gold mine.
- Gold, Venezuela: Market value appraisals of Las Brisas, an
undeveloped 10 million oz reserve gold property.
- Gravel, Colorado: Market value eminent domain (condemnation)
appraisals of a gravel quarry and adjoining gravel property,
southern Colorado. Conducted the appraisals of the surface real
estate as a Certified General Appraiser and the appraisals of the
minerals estates as a Certified Minerals Appraiser.
- Hard Rock Aggregates, Connecticut: Rock Acquisition v. State of
Connecticut. Market value appraisal for compensation for
condemnation of an operating quarry property for a highway project.
The appaisal included market valuation of backfilling reclamation
of the quarry with clean fill disposal from the greater New York
City region. Testified in court. Rock Acquisition received compensation
many-fold that argued for by the State.
- Iron Ore (Magnetite), Minnesota: Essar. Market value appraisal
of the mining rights held in a taconite iron ore property under
development for blast furnace pellet production, for financial
reporting under IFRS3.
- Limestone/Dolomite Aggregates, Kentucky: Market value appraisal of an underground limestone/dolomite
mine for foreclosure dissolution by the mortgage holder.
- Manganese, Arizona: Market value appraisal of a manganese ore
stockpile and processing operation.
- Oil and Gas, California: Valued the environmental liability
associated with the acquisition of Santa Barbara area petroleum
fields by a present value method. This was based on using decision
trees and Monte Carlo simulation to estimate the long term
liability for more than 5,000 petroleum wells and 7,000 associated
facilities.
- Oil Shale, Colorado and Utah: Market value appraisals of oil
shale properties.
- Onyx, Arizona: Wrote a critique report of valuations of an onyx
quarry property, for mortgage loan financing.
- Phosphate and Sulfur, south-east USA: Conducted supply-demand
studies and developed long range market forecasts for the
international phosphate rock industry and the sulfur industry.
Assisted with discount rate selection and other aspects of market
value appraisals.
- Platinum, USA: Valuation of platinum exploration properties and
exploration business, for litigation support.
- Sand, Colorado: Takings valuation for highway project, Weld
County.
- Sand and Gravel, Colorado: Animas Valley Sand and Gravel v.
Board of County Commissioners of La Plata County. Appraised the
value of a sand and gravel mining property in La Plata County for
an inverse condemnation litigation, abiding by specific Colorado
Supreme Court appraisal instructions for a regulatory takings value
determination. Testified in Colorado District Court as an expert
witness geologist, minerals economist and minerals appraiser.
- Sand and Gravel, southwest Colorado: Market value appraisal of
a sand and gravel quarry property for acquisition. The appraised
property included two operating quarries, irrigated crop land with
farm buildings, and a planned residential subdivision.
- Sand and Gravel, Colorado: Eiberger v. Baurer. Conducted formal
review of two appraisals of sand and gravel mining and water
storage in Weld County, Colorado. Testified in County Court.
- Sand and Gravel, Colorado: Independent critique of two
appraisals of compensation for taking of sand and gravel property,
Adams County.
- Sand and Gravel, Colorado: Takings compensation valuation for
an operating quarry, Empire, western Colorado.
- Sand and Gravel, Colorado: Varra Companies v. Nelson. Provided
written expert opinion on the market royalty rate for mining of a
sand and gravel property near Denver, Colorado.
- Sand and Top Soil, Colorado: Nichols v. La Plata County.
Appraisal of the value of lost profits from excavation of sand and
top soil.
- Silica Sand, Colorado: CSSI v. Briargate. Provided expert
witness testimony as a geologist, minerals economist and minerals
appraiser, on valuation of damages to a specialty industrial silica
sand mining and processing operation.
- Silver, Idaho: Independence Lead Mines v. Hecla. Appraised the
market value of a major silver deposit in Idaho before and after
mining. Testified as an expert witness in an Idaho District Court
on the value of damages related to a net profits interest royalty
lease.
- Silver, Nevada: Kogan v. Silver King Mines. For a major Nevada
silver mine, estimated mined and unmined resources by claim using
geostatistics on drilling data and aerial photo interpretation.
Provided expert witness testimony on geology, economics,
geostatistics and valuation.
- Tripoli Silica, Arkansas: Market and use value appraisal of an
operating tripoli silica mine property.
- Uranium, Western USA: Market valuation of ownership interest in
a major underdeveloped uranium deposit.
Economic Evaluation and
Market Studies
- Coal Gasification remediation, Eastern USA: Evaluation of
environmental remediation options for mild coal gasification plant
sites, using Monte Carlo simulation and decision trees with NPV
analysis.
- Coal, International: U.S. and international coal market
studies.
- Coal, New Mexico: Economic evaluation of alternatives for
development of San Juan Basin coal resources.
- Coal, Pennsylvania: Evaluated two underground coal mines from
geological and economic perspectives for potential
acquisition.
- Coal power plant, Arizona: For a feasibility study of a
coal-fired power plant in an arid portion of Arizona, simulated
stream and groundwater supplies over the life of the project
together with the resultant economic risks to the project.
- Coal, USA: Conducted domestic and international coal market
studies to evaluate future opportunities and impacts for railroad
transportation of coal.
- Coal, Wyoming: All phases of feasibility study economics for
Caballos Rojo coal mine, Wyoming. Conducted coal market studies and
economically analyzed sales contract proposals.
- Diesel, Gasoline and LNG fuels, Mexico: Economic evaluation
assistance for proposed conversion of the Mexico City bus system
from diesel and gasoline fuels to LNG.
- Economic evaluation program, Colorado: Wrote a computer program
for economic evaluation of mineral and energy projects, including
sensitivity analysis and Monte Carlo simulation.
- Gold, Nevada: Economic evaluation of the Getchell gold mine in
Nevada for possible redevelopment.
- Gold and Copper, Kyrgyzstan: Economic evaluation of eight gold
and gold-copper deposits.
- Lignite, North Dakota: Comparison of the future competitiveness
of North Dakota lignite production against the potential intrusion
of coal from adjacent states. Evaluated potential products and
possible government assistance schemes for mines and power
stations.
- Magnetite-Ilmenite, Canada: Economic evaluation of a
magnetite-ilmenite deposit, Ontario.
- Methanol and Natural Gas, International: Evaluated the
economics of methanol production from natural gas worldwide.
- Mine closure, USA: Economic evaluation of closure options for
mines, including use for municipal and hazardous waste
disposal.
- Natural Gas plant remediation, Texas: Economic evaluation and
decision analysis, including Monte Carlo simulation, for
remediation of a contaminated natural gas processing plant
site.
- Oil Shale, Colorado: Feasibility study economics for Colorado
oil shale properties.
- Oil Shale, Colorado: For Chevron v. Occidental, conducted an
economic risk assessment of oil shale property development.
- Oil Shale, International: Summarized data on oil shale
properties worldwide and developed a mining cost algorithm used in
acquisition evaluations.
- Sand and Gravel, Weld County, Colorado: Evaluated the
geological and economic viability of mining a sand and gravel
deposit to supply the Denver region market.
- Silica Sand, Colorado: Conducted a market study for silica sand
from a Colorado Springs mine. Recommended target markets and
pricing strategies.
- Synthetic Jet Fuel, USA: Evaluated the economics of jet fuel
production technologies from synthetic natural gas.
- Zinc, Alaska: Advised on royalty management matters associated
with a major zinc mine.
- Uranium, Texas: Feasibility study economics for Texas uranium
mines.
Geological Exploration and
Evaluation Projects
- Base Metals, Australia: Geological mapping and exploration for
base metals, Victoria.
- Base Metals, Australia: Geological mapping, sampling and
drilling of Australian silver-lead-zinc and copper properties in
South Australia and Tasmania.
- Base Metals, Tin, Nickel and Platinum, Australia: Exploration
mapping and sampling of base metals, tin, nickel and platinum group
metals properties in Tasmania.
- Coal, Australia: Development drilling and surveying for coal
mines and new power station construction, Latrobe Valley,
Victoria.
- Coal, Indonesia: Exploration and reserve development drilling
for operating South Sumatra coal mines.
- Coal, USA: Coal exploration drilling and evaluation, Illinois
Basin and Northern Great Plains. Statistically evaluated core
analysis procedures.
- Coal, Western USA: Developed reserve estimates and provided
other technical support for two coal property litigation
cases.
- Copper, Papua New Guinea: Conducted regional copper exploration
throughout western Papua New Guinea.
- Copper and Diamond, NW Australia: Regional copper and diamond
exploration, NW Australia.
- Gold, Australia: Exploration and development drilling, reserve
delineation and interpretation, for development of the Telfer gold
mine, one of Australia's largest gold producers.
- Gold, Colorado and Utah : Geological evaluation of Colorado and
Utah placer and hard rock gold properties.
- Gold, Ecuador: Independent geological reports for the Canadian
stock markets on gold exploration and mining properties in
Ecuador.
- Gold, Papua New Guinea: Advised on exploration and development
strategies for a large, placer gold deposit in Papua New Guinea.
Also advised on a proposed buy-in.
- Gold and Silver, Australia and South Pacific: Survey of gold
and silver properties in Australia and South Pacific with an
emphasis on metallurgy.
- Iron, Australia: Iron ore prospect evaluation in ultramafics,
Tasmania.
- Magnesia, Australia: Brine water magnesia survey.
- Minerals, International: Researched minerals availability for
Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and South American countries.
- Minerals, Nevada and Arizona: Mapped mineral resources and land
ownership within and surrounding the Lake Mead National Recreation
Area of Nevada and Arizona.
- Nahcolite, Colorado: Evaluated Colorado nahcolite prospects.
Managed land applications and appeal. Wrote geological testimony
for Interior Board of Land Appeals.
- Natural Gas, New Mexico: Geological evaluation of a New Mexico
natural gas field for production expansion potential.
- Nickel, Western Australia: Geological mapping and drilling of
nickel prospects.
- Nickel and Gold, Australia: Regional exploration for nickel in
Western Australian greenstone belts, delineation of targets through
geochemical sampling, magnetics, and geological mapping, and
diamond drilling of mineralization. Underground geological mapping
in gold mine.
- Petroleum, Indonesia: Stratigraphic exploration drilling for
petroleum in Kalimantan, Indonesia.
- Rutile, Western Australia: Exploration drilling of Western
Australian mineral sands property for titanium minerals.
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