Ammonite’s Betsy Suppes has been named a Certified Mineral Appraiser by the International Institute of Mineral Appraisers. Betsy has been working towards this for several years, including taking the requisite appraiser course – the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP), and passing the examination.

This new professional certification is opening many new business doors for Betsy as mineral owners and their legal and tax advisors seek independent valuations for mineral interests. One of Ammonite’s major consulting projects in 2019 was the appraisal of the producing and non-producing Bakken oil and gas interests of Missouri River Resources, an operating company owned by the Affiliated Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Indian Nations in North Dakota. Betsy was the lead consultant in establishing an appraised value for the MRR assets. This involved researching all sales of production and undeveloped leasehold in the Bakken Play over the past several years, and establishing a “comparable” at a time of volatile commodity prices.

In February 2020, Betsy presented a paper titled “Appraisals: Norming the Data for Comparable Sales of Unconventional Resources” in Phoenix, Arizona at the annual meeting of The Society of Mining Engineers. Suppes talked about how an appraiser must evaluate the differences in published sale values between properties that are not similar. For example, do large tracts get a premium; and how will short-term pipeline capacity affect sales price? A short Q&A followed the talk. The technical session at the SME meeting was organized by The International Institute of Minerals Appraisers.

Ammonite’s Managing Partner Skip Hobbs said that “Betsy’s new certification is an important addition to the company “tool box” as Certified Appraisals are sometimes needed for financial institutions and legal instruments.” Betsy said that “she is glad to be able to bring her new credentials to Ammonite projects.”