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Simplify asset management

Simplify asset management

REAL time asset management is vital on site when the downtime that comes with unplanned and unexpected maintenance can cost millions. Accurate asset management and condition reporting can mean the difference between unplanned downtime impacting productivity and profitability – so why wouldn’t you want to simply the process? PDS Asset Management Software can be used for web, android and iOS and eliminates the need for complicated spreadsheets and inefficient hand-written reports. PDS connects multiple work groups, captures valuable inspection data and reports all the relevant information you need in a simple, easy to read format and can easily expand as your business needs evolve. Idler One of the most consistent causes of conveyor downtime and lost productivity in mine sites…

Thick-skinned

Thick-skinned

DICEROS bicornis might sound like a chemical compound found in a polyurethane formulation but it is, in fact, the Latin name for a Black Rhino – the beast with an incredibly tough hide. Rhino Linings were named after these thick-skinned juggernauts and the name aptly describes their range of protective coatings. Two-part, spray-applied, high build polyurethane was developed in the US in the early 80s to protect the beds of pickup trucks – the highest selling vehicles in America for many years. Russell Lewis, the founder of Rhino Linings Corporation in the US, was a pioneer in this process and perfected the technology and spray equipment for the application of two-part high build polyurethane. He recognised the benefit of the…

Thermoshield has you covered

Thermoshield has you covered

MOST people, when they think about the longevity of their building, the efficiency of their air conditioning and solar PV performance, overlook roofs and roof coatings, but they shouldn’t. Forged from the desert furnaces of the Aussie outback, Australia’s coating industry is world class by necessity, because few places in the world need to cope with such extreme conditions. Thermoshield has the capabilities to repair, seal, improve the insulating resistance values (R-values) and future-proof solar PV and other expensive investments. In fact, Thermoshield is an effective solution for any commercial or private application where there is a need to reduce radiant heat, or where there is a need to preserve structures susceptible to thermal shock and corrosion. Breaking it down:…

Gold price soars past $1900 mark

Gold price soars past $1900 mark

GOLD has reached an all-time Australian dollar high, after soaring past $1900poz to reach a peak of $1906 on June 4. It marks an increase of more than $50 within a seven-day period in reaction to China-US tension and a weak Australian dollar. Since 2015, industry has been coming to terms with the global depletion of gold deposits. This has seen a steady rise in international gold prices, with the increased scarcity of the resource driving demand and creating new giants in the industry, like the Newmont Gold Corp merger at the beginning of the year. This scarcity has been coupled with fears that the China-US trade war will spill over into the wider investment market. Historically, gold has rallied…

BHP South Flank: forging ahead

BHP South Flank: forging ahead

BHP’S US$3.6 billion South Flank project is expected to replace the Yandi mine as it reaches the end of its economic life in the early to mid-2020s. The project would provide sufficient feed to sustain the current level of iron ore production from the company’s Pilbara mines, and with an 80mtpa output by 2021, it will be the single largest annual production iron ore mine that BHP has even developed. BHP South Flank project manager Simon Thomas said South Flank would provide an increase in BHP’s West Australian Iron Ore (WAIO) operations average iron ore grade, and subsequently result in higher-quality lump and fines products. “South Flank will allow us to increase the quality of our products, satisfying rising demand…

Government seizes golden opportunity

Government seizes golden opportunity

VICTORIAN treasurer Tim Pallas has taken Victorian gold miners by surprise after imposing a 2.75pc gold royalty on the sector. Miners say they were not consulted about the increase from zero to 2.75pc, and that it appeared to be a reaction to the renaissance of Victoria’s all but washed out gold industry. The Kirkland Gold Eagle zone discovery at its Fosterville mine in 2015 kickstarted a wave of investment that had not been seen for decades. Arete Capital followed Fosterville’s lead and doled out $50m to restart the Stawell goldmine which employed about 200 people, up from only 10 people when Arete acquired it in 2017. AuStar Gold resumed mining at the Morning Star mine in January, 2019, and recorded…

Queensland gives Adani the bird

Queensland gives Adani the bird

EMBATTLED Indian miner Adani is vowing to press on to get the earth moved at its Queensland mine operations. The company said while it was ready to begin building the mine in the Galilee Basin in central Queensland, approval processes were continuing to hinder progress. The miner met with the state’s Environment Department in early May, where it was told a number of new commitments need to be met before the plan is approved, including its management plan for an endangered finch, further delaying the controversial multi-billion-dollar project. Adani Australia chief executive Lucas Dow said the Government was trying to stall, but the company would work “feverishly” to meet the new demands. “After more than 18 months and seven revisions,…

Collective way to help farmers, miners co-exist

Collective way to help farmers, miners co-exist

A SYDNEY Law School energy and natural resources expert says a collective bargaining agreement for farmers will help them co-exist with miners and their operations. In her new book, Agricultural land use and natural gas extraction conflicts, Dr Madeline Taylor said the move towards renewables, in particular the expansion of the Liquified Natural Gas market, has brought about tensions between miners and producers whose land and livelihoods can be irreparably damaged by such activities. Dr Taylor posits a State-centric model, rather than the somewhat ad hoc adaptive management approach, as a way to level the playing field and ensure the best interest of all parties involved. “Instead of having this linear relationship between State, landholder and unconventional gas licence holder,…

Nickel: China syndrome

Nickel: China syndrome

WHILE 68pc of global nickel is still used for the production of stainless steel, and only 3pc for battery metals, an announcement by the Chinese government may have changed the fortune of the metal, along with the future of the automotive industry forever. In 2018, China sent ripples throughout the car manufacturing and mining worlds when it announced its New Energy Vehicle (NEV) deal. The deal set a quota for the number of zero-emissions vehicles that carmakers must sell, with companies each receiving a certain number of credits, depending on certain characteristics of the vehicles. From 2019, major Chinese manufacturers would be punished unless they met quotas for zero and low-emission cars, or bought credits from companies that did not…

In the spotlight: Havilah Resources chief executive Walter Richards

In the spotlight: Havilah Resources chief executive Walter Richards

Q. Can you please tell me how the capital injection of up to $100m from OneSteel Manufacturing will impact Havilah’s iron ore assets and copper prospects? This proposed investment in Havilah by GFG Alliance will see Havilah’s work programs for its iron ore assets and its copper prospects in the Mutooroo Copper- Cobalt District, including the Mutooroo deposit, being fully funded through the completion of definitive feasibility studies. This will allow Havilah to make decisions about investing in the development of the projects and potentially transforming them into actual mining operations. Funding is an ongoing challenge for many junior explorers but this strategic alliance with GFG presents an opportunity for Havilah to advance its work programs to the benefit of…

Aerial view of an excavator at a mine.

When the dust settles

IN 2017, Scott Morrison famously entered parliament with a lump of coal stating “don’t be scared, it won’t hurt you, it’s coal”. But as it turns out, he was wrong. The incurable Black Lung or coal workers’ pneumoconiosis has hit Queensland coal mines with a vengeance, leading to new dust control standards on mine sites. Exposure to dust can cause irritation to the eyes, skin and respiratory tract, and prolonged exposure, breathing in coal dust, silica dust and other finely powdered materials, can lead to a range of serious lung diseases. Workers who are exposed to respirable dust at levels that exceed the occupational exposure limit (OEL) are at risk of developing diseases including silicosis, coal workers’ pneumoconiosis (CWP), chronic…