SEBBAG GROUP
Independent Mining and Management Consultancy
Strategic review and operational oversight for complex mining projects
[ SINCE 2011 ]
Independent technical, operational, and strategic advice for mining companies, boards, and financial sponsors. Founded in 2011 by Michael Sebbag, FAusIMM CP, GAICD. Sebbag Group (SG) has supported more than 50 projects across 25 countries. Clients include Barrick, Newmont, Gold Fields, KCGM, Kingsgate, Cardinal Resources, and other ASX-, TSX-, and NYSE-listed producers, as well as private capital.
Senior advisory experience across boards, corporate offices, and operating sites in Australia, Asia, the Americas, and Africa.
Senior advisory experience across boards, corporate offices, and operating sites in Australia, Asia, the Americas, and Africa.
[ COMPANY OVERVIEW ]
About
SG works with companies and their boards when projects are complex, contested, or in transition. Engagements typically include mining studies under board scrutiny, open pit operations transitioning underground, mining services agreements, peer reviews supporting investment decisions, and independent technical counsel during corporate transactions.
The practice is principal-led, with engagements scaled up through a curated network of specialist consultants when the work requires it.
The practice is principal-led, with engagements scaled up through a curated network of specialist consultants when the work requires it.
+50
[ PROJECTS ]
+25yrs
[ INDUSTRY EXPERIENCE]
$5b
[TOTAL VALUE OF MINING SERVICES AGREEMENTS TENDERED & PROJECT MANAGED ]
+25
[ COUNTRIES ]
Michael Sebbag
[ DIRECTOR & PRINCIPAL ]
Consultancy Experience
SG was established in 2011 with two foundational client relationships from day one: Barrick Gold Corporation, which re-engaged Michael to continue Prefeasibility Study work on the Granny Deep Open Pit Expansion, and Promesa Limited (ASX:PRA), which appointed him Executive Technical Director for operational and commercial activities in Peru and Latin America.
SG engagements typically operate at the executive layer, reporting to chief technical officers, chief operating officers, regional heads, and corporate heads on complex technical and project issues. Project-bound formats include study management, Owner's Representative for Studies on behalf of the project owner, peer review, technical and commercial due diligence in support of M&A activity, and interim corporate technical cover. SG also provides coaching and mentoring for senior site management teams, regional and corporate technical teams.
Michael has held multiple engagements with Gold Fields as both consultant and backfill across a range of projects, reporting to the Chief Technical Officer or his representatives. These have included appointments as Acting Vice President Mining at Gold Fields Corporate Technical Services, the Group's senior mining technical role.
Other senior engagements have included Owner's Representative for Studies at the Nullagine gold operation for Millennium Minerals, Life of Mine and Board Production Guidance at Lumwana (Zambia) and an Operational Review at the Porgera Joint Venture (Papua New Guinea) for Barrick, project reviews at the Chatree gold-silver mine in Thailand and the Nueva Esperanza project in Chile, both for Kingsgate Consolidated, Newmont-led KCGM Super Pit expansion and equipment life extension work, and Mining Lead through DFS and FEED for Cardinal Resources Limited's Namdini gold project in Ghana. SG has also supported listed producers, mid-tier developers, and private capital investors with technical and commercial due diligence on M&A transactions, alongside confidential project and study work.
SG engagements typically operate at the executive layer, reporting to chief technical officers, chief operating officers, regional heads, and corporate heads on complex technical and project issues. Project-bound formats include study management, Owner's Representative for Studies on behalf of the project owner, peer review, technical and commercial due diligence in support of M&A activity, and interim corporate technical cover. SG also provides coaching and mentoring for senior site management teams, regional and corporate technical teams.
Michael has held multiple engagements with Gold Fields as both consultant and backfill across a range of projects, reporting to the Chief Technical Officer or his representatives. These have included appointments as Acting Vice President Mining at Gold Fields Corporate Technical Services, the Group's senior mining technical role.
Other senior engagements have included Owner's Representative for Studies at the Nullagine gold operation for Millennium Minerals, Life of Mine and Board Production Guidance at Lumwana (Zambia) and an Operational Review at the Porgera Joint Venture (Papua New Guinea) for Barrick, project reviews at the Chatree gold-silver mine in Thailand and the Nueva Esperanza project in Chile, both for Kingsgate Consolidated, Newmont-led KCGM Super Pit expansion and equipment life extension work, and Mining Lead through DFS and FEED for Cardinal Resources Limited's Namdini gold project in Ghana. SG has also supported listed producers, mid-tier developers, and private capital investors with technical and commercial due diligence on M&A transactions, alongside confidential project and study work.
Professional Experience
Michael Sebbag founded SG in 2011 after eleven years at Barrick Gold Corporation, with earlier roles at Cyprus Amax and Sons of Gwalia. He spent five years at the Plutonic Gold Mine in Western Australia, rising from Mining Engineer to Mining Manager and Alternate General Manager for both surface and underground operations, first under Homestake Mining Company and then under Barrick following its 2001 acquisition of Homestake. He was promoted to the Regional Business Unit in 2005 as Manager of Strategic Planning, covering Australia, Africa, and the Pacific, with both an operational regional role and leadership of the Strategic Mine Planning Group. The group's remit covered brownfield growth at operating mines, reassessment of legacy assets, operational improvement at producing operations, and evaluation of investments and divestments across the regional portfolio
From the Regional Business Unit, he was Mining Lead on the Buzwagi gold project in Tanzania (US$460m), the Tulawaka Gold Project in Tanzania, the Granny Deep Open Pit Expansion at Granny Smith (US$330m), and the Cowal Gold Mine Expansion. He was also JV Mining Lead for the technical peer review of the Golden Pike Cutback at the KCGM Super Pit, on behalf of the Barrick-Newmont JV. From 2007, a corporate head office assignment with Barrick's Toronto office had him as Mining Lead for the US$7b Reko Diq copper-gold Scoping Study in Pakistan, working across Australia, Canada, Chile, Peru and Pakistan.
FAusIMM CP. GAICD. WA Quarry Manager of Competency. BE Mining (UNSW). MSc Mineral Economics (Curtin). Dip FM (ETAS).
EXPERIENCE
Twenty-five years of progressive experience in mining engineering, from operations through to senior corporate leadership. Roles across site, regional, and corporate offices in the Americas, Africa, Asia, and the Pacific.
[01]
LEADERSHIP
International experience leading multi-disciplinary teams across complex jurisdictions. Comfortable in operational, regional, corporate, and board settings, with the maturity to lead and the technical depth to deliver.
[02]
INDEPENDENCE
[03]
No allegiances to contractors, OEMs, or service providers. Recommendations are made on project merit, not commercial relationships. Particularly relevant for tendering, peer review, and due diligence.
ACCESS
A boutique practice led by a single principal, supported by a curated network of specialist consultants. The person you brief is the one doing the work and can scale up where the engagement requires it.
[04]
WHY
SG?
SG?
Independent advisory built on twenty-five years of senior mining experience, listed-company directorship, and board-level governance discipline.
[ LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT ]
strategic Counsel
Independent technical and strategic counsel to company boards, audit committees, and senior executives. An interim corporate executive cover where senior technical leadership is required. Mentoring of mine managers, study managers, and technical teams at site and corporate level. Available on retainer or engagement basis. Clients typically include listed mining companies, mid-tier developers, and private capital investors.
[ STUDIES, PROJECT DEVELOPMENT, & OPERATIONAL REVIEWS ]
Studies & Operations
Management or peer review of scoping, prefeasibility, and feasibility studies. Project evaluation, optimisation, and trade-off studies. Open pit life-of-mine planning, equipment selection, and the strategic transition from open pit to underground. Mine development planning, owner team oversight, operational benchmarking, and business planning support.
[ DUE DILIGENCE, PEER REVIEW, AND M&A SUPPORT ]
Independent Review
Independent technical due diligence for acquirers, divestors, and joint venture partners. Peer review of feasibility-stage projects for boards, investors, and lenders. Reserve and resource auditing, dilution and reconciliation reviews, and operational risk reviews. Public reporting guidance under JORC, NI 43-101, and SK1300. Support of capital raising activities, technical disclosures, and investor engagement.
[ MINING SERVICE AGREEMENTS, AND COMMERCIAL TENDERING ]
Tendering & Negotiations
End-to-end management of mining services tenders, equipment supply and maintenance agreements, and Mining & Reclamation Contracts. More than US$5 billion in mining services agreements tendered, awarded, and project-managed across multiple jurisdictions.
KEY SERVICES
[ REACHOUT ]
CONTACT
