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State-wide blackouts have wreaked havoc on South Australia’s mining industry. By Reuben Adams WILD weather has forced South Australia’s biggest miners to shut down operations following the state-wide blackout on Wednesday, 28 September. BHP Billiton announced that Olympic Dam was able to safely shut down operations and the site de-mobilised, with backup generators providing power to critical infrastructure to allow a restart of operations when power is restored. “Our primary focus is the safety and welfare of our people,” BHP said in a statement. “We are liaising closely with Electranet and the State Government to ensure power is restored to Roxby Downs town and Olympic Dam as soon as possible.” As of 3 October Olympic Dam was receiving some power…

The New Acland open cut thermal coal mine. By Cameron Drummond NEW Hope Group has acquired an $865m stake in the Bengalla coal mining operation in NSW, as 2016 sees a glimmer of life return to the coal industry. New Hope Group is an energy company with coal mining business interests and operations at New Acland in QLD and Bengalla in NSW. The company is ranked as one of the 100 largest ASX-listed companies by its market capitalisation of $1.3 billion, and is amongst the top 10 listed companies based in QLD. New Hope is a major employer in the state, contributing $300 million per annum to the South East Queensland economy. Although the coal industry has been challenged through lower prices…

Metals X’s processing plant at its Higginsville Gold Operations. By Elizabeth Fabri THE new financial year is set to be a game changer for diversified resources company Metals X, as it moves towards a spinoff of its gold division and production at its newly acquired Nifty asset. In August Metals X announced its intent to undertake a $115.6 million capital raising and demerge its gold division; a move that would strengthen the company’s position as one of Australia’s top gold miners. With Metals X’s metals division bolstered by its recent takeover of Aditya Birla, the company stated that its base metals division could now stand alone “as a formidable diversified base metals company”. As it stands, Metals X has three operating…

Image: Gez Xavier Mansfield Photography By Elizabeth Fabri HUNDREDS of kilometres from home, far away from the comforts of family and friends lies Australia’s fly-in, fly-out workforce; a high-risk pocket of the population which often suffers through mental health issues in silence. While mining giants drive down injury rates, silent killers such as mental illness are sweeping across the sector affecting more than 30 per cent of the fly-in, fly-out workforce. Fatigue, isolation, alcohol, and unpleasant workplace cultures all contribute, coupled with unavoidable struggles experienced on the home front. But what remains unclear are the pathways miners can take to irrevocably tackle the issue. Each year, more than 2500 people die from suicide in Australia, with three quarters committed by men;…

FMG’s cost reduction measures have realised a turnaround in annual finance results. By Cameron Drummond IRON ore producer Fortescue Metals Group (Fortescue) announced a 12c per share dividend on the release of its full year financial results on 22 August. The company posted an after tax profit of $US985 million for FY16, a 212 per cent rise from $US316m in FY15. Fortescue’s underlying earnings before interest, tax depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increased 48 per cent from $US2 billion the year before to $US3.2bn. A 29 per cent year-on-year drop in revenue of $US7.1bn was countered by improved C1 operating costs averaging $US15.43 per wet metric tonne (wmt); a 43 per cent reduction from FY15. The company said the numbers reflected…