Francisco Acuña Email & Phone Number

Chile

Chile

Santiago Metropolitan Area

Principal Consultant at the Santiago office, acting as practice lead in the South America region and leading a team of 7 consultants with a primary focus in copper and battery metals. CRU Consulting is the specialist consultancy arm of CRU providing independent, data-driven and proprietary advice to the world’s leading metals and mining companies, financial institutions and governments. Responsibilities and key areas of development have included: · Build relations across stakeholders in the mining sector for the Americas, as focal point for regional expertise within the copper and battery metals sectors. This accounts for mining companies, financial institutions such as banks, funds and IFIs, and government institutions. · Construct and grow the business pipeline in South America, with a special focus in Andean countries. · Lead a team of six consultants in the region, and collaborative coordinate across functions in the organization (including analysists, sales, events and other stakeholders). · Direct multiple complex consulting projects in strategy development, market entry, competitiveness and marketing. Ensured overall quality of the work, managed client relationships and coordinated global teams of cross-functional and multi-cultural consultants. · Media relationship and regular speaker at international mining & metals conferences in Latin America delivering expert insights on the mining industry.

Santiago, Santiago Metropolitan Region, Chile

Francisco joined the Santiago office as Senior Consultant in 2019. Relevant projects include: · Support major copper projects financing, lenders report and M&A due diligence processes. This includes mining-related infrastructure due diligence for private equity funds. · Strategy and market intelligence assessments, including: advisory on tax and royalties policies impact in the copper industry; complex concentrates commercialization; copper blister market; and novel processing technology total addressable market in the copper sector. · Concentrate products marketability strategy, including complex concentrates, molybdenum and nickel by-products. · Valuation and risk assessment for downstream roasting capacity for major mining company, as well as implementation of new leaching technology/infrastructure advisory. · Regional advisor for lithium batteries value chain policy and development strategies in Latam for leading international financial institutions.

Santiago Province, Chile

Independent advisor for private & publicly-listed mining companies, structuring transactions and new business opportunities for both buy- and sell-side. • M&A: Deal terms negotiation for exploration project option agreement and royalty transaction. • Financing: Evaluation of private equity financing, project financing and royalty financing.

Baton Rouge, La (Usa) - Santiago (Chile)

Founder of Kura Minerals, a vehicle for mining companies and equity investment firms looking to develop exploration and mining projects within the Latin America region. An established brand, and an innovative consulting firm that increased sales 10x on it first year of full-scale operation in Chile (2018).Milestones:• Incubated while based in United States in 2016, and expanded towards full scale operation in Chile starting 2018. • Design, implementation and development of the business model and marketing strategy; building relationships within major and junior mining companies, commodities traders, governmental bodies and financial institutions internationally• Negotiate several exploration and feasibility stage projects acquisition transactions (M&A), and alternative financing (royalties and private equity) for mining projects. Completed agreements valued over US$ 20 Millions.• Representation and in-country management of TSX-V and ASX mining companies operating in Chile• Develop in-house back office tool to manage clients, expenses, accounting and projects• Develop multi-commodities portfolio of projects in Chile, including grassroots to near production, GIS database and online platform. The platform was awarded Corfo’s Startup Chile and finalist at Fundación Chile’s Think Big Mining

Antofagasta Province, Chile

Development, Infrastructure and Strategic ResourcesMinera Escondida Role description and achievements:• Support the asset’s strategic long term planning and growth, providing processing feasibility for new ore deposits in the Escondida site. • Responsible for Process chapters in selection phase study in a > 250 MMUSD capital project. • Metallurgical (mineral processing) testworking budgeting, design and execution with local and international specialists. • Mineral processing design and geometallurgical block modeling.• Review and control the Superintendence budget (approx. 3 MMUSD p.a.).• Successful completion of the BHP Billiton Graduate Foundation Program.

Antofagasta Province, Chile

Base Metals Technology - Cpy ProjectBHP Billiton Graduate ProgramRole description and achievements:• Researcher in novel leaching process technologies for the Copper Group.• Support R&D Project from conceptual framework up to industrial piloting.• Supervise pilot plant operation.• Support Spence and Escondida assets for heap leaching process optimization.• Coordinate technical feasibility study for solar energy powered heap leaching heatingsystem.• Managing 30 people during weekend Pilot Plant emergency shutdown.

Concepción Province, Chile

PetroDow Polyethylene Plant - The Dow Chemical CompanyInternship Talcahuano, ChileProcess Engineer Student Intern Overview:• Support the Projects Team by delivering a conceptual level feasibility study for the construction of a cooling tower system.

Master’S Degree, Msc. Industry, Trade And Development, 70 (0-100)

• Graduated with Distinction Outline: • To convey a variety of analytic perspectives with the managerial skills needed in the design.

Engineer’S Degree, Chemical Engineering, 6.0 (1.0 - 7.0)

Activities and Societies: Tennis Society, Chemical Engineering Department Student Union Achievements: • Graduated with Maximum Distinction.