Missouri S&T mining professor to work with the SEC

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On February 12, 2015

Kwame Awuah-Offeei

Dr. Kwame Awuah-Offei will help the Securities and Exchange Commission find ways to improve the regulations for mining companies and their investors.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has appointed a Missouri University of Science and Technology mining engineering professor to an academic fellowship in the Division of Corporation Finance in Washington, D.C.

Dr. Kwame Awuah-Offei, a professor of mining engineering at Missouri S&T, will work with the SEC during his 12-month Intergovernmental Personnel Agreement (IPA) appointment to review publicly traded mining company disclosure requirements and help the SEC find ways to improve the regulations for mining companies and their investors.

Reviewing and revising these regulations is a big job – the specific mining industry guidance was written in 1981 – and a big opportunity, he says.

“Someone from Missouri S&T gets to help shape how mining companies do business for the next 20 or 30 years,” Awuah-Offei says. “That’s an important endeavor. It reflects how strong Rolla mining engineering is and that good things are happening in Rolla. Missouri S&T has a long history of mining excellence.”

“Publicly traded mining companies issue reports that have to disclose many things including reserves,” Awuah-Offei says. Their information has to be correct to protect investors.

When he returns from his appointment, Awuah-Offei will be the nation’s leading expert on the new regulations and how they affect mining operations. And that, he says, reflects well on S&T.

“The government has lots of lawyers, but it needs a mining engineer’s perspective on this issue,” Awuah-Offei says.

He learned in October that he was the SEC’s choice, but before he could take the assignment he had to undergo a Department of Homeland Security background check. His appointment officially began Feb. 9.

His IPA, which could be extended to 18 months, allows him to remain on the S&T payroll and benefits while providing service to a governmental agency. The government pays Missouri S&T, which then pays Awuah-Offei.

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