From Dirt to Dollars: Turning Discoveries into Shareholder Value

An open discussion exploring gold chain management and the capabilities required to unlock value beyond discovery.

From Dirt to Dollars, the session moderated by mining journalist Kristie Batten brought together Luke Creagh (Managing Director & CEO, Ora Banda Mining), Simon Lawson (Deputy Chair, Ramelius Resources), and Tim McCormack (Mining Analyst, Canaccord Genuity) for a practical, experience-led conversation spanning geology, operations, capital markets and leadership.

While exploration success remains fundamental, the panel was united in one key message: discovery alone does not create value.

Simon Lawson reflected on Spartan’s journey from operational struggle to major discovery, highlighting the importance of empowering technical teams, making decisive calls, and carefully stewarding capital during volatile periods.

Luke Creagh shared insights from Ora Banda’s transformation, emphasising clarity of strategy and prioritisation of value drivers. In his words, every dollar must be aligned to the highest-impact activity — even when that requires bold and unconventional decisions.

From a capital markets perspective, Tim McCormack reinforced that management quality remains central to valuation. Investors look for disciplined leadership teams who control costs, communicate clearly and build long-term relationships with capital providers.

Across the discussion, several recurring themes emerged:

• Back people and incentivise them properly.
• Make decisions — hesitation can be more damaging than failure.
• Stay disciplined through cycles — today’s gold price environment will not last forever.
• Align strategy, capital and communication from day one.

The session was energetic, practical and at times humorous — a reflection of leaders who have experienced both success and adversity firsthand.

As gold continues to attract heightened attention, events such as this highlight the importance of industry collaboration and collective leadership.

Thank you to our speakers and to RIU Explorers for partnering with GIG to bring this important discussion to life.

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