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BHP posts multi-billion dollar loss

BHP posts multi-billion dollar loss

By Samantha James BHP Billiton has been forced to cut dividends by more than half and rearrange executive ranks after its underlying profits slumped to their lowest in decades in the second half of 2015. The company reported a net loss of US$5.7 billion and its underlying profit slumped to US$412 million for the reporting period ending December 2015 – well below market expectations of US$720 million profit. It also slashed its dividend to US$0.16 under a new policy that would pay out 50 per cent of underlying attributable profits each half. At this time last year the company’s dividend was US$0.62; it is the first time BHP has cut its dividend since 1988 and the lowest payout it has…

Trapped Gosowong miner rescued

Trapped Gosowong miner rescued

By Rachel Seeley A miner trapped 300m underground at Newcrest Mining’s Gosowong gold mine in Indonesia has been freed, eight nights after a “geotechnical event” caused damage to the site. Pak Mursalim Sahman was rescued via a 38m bore hole drilled from an existing tunnel above where he was trapped. He was taken to the Gosowong medical centre and would be reunited with his wife and children. Newcrest managing director and chief executive Sandeep Biswas said the company was tremendously relived by the outcome. “I offer my heartfelt thanks to the onsite rescue teams who have worked tirelessly 24 hours a day since the geotechnical event on 8 February 2016 that blocked the development drive behind where Pak Mursalim was…

Aussie discovers largest Angolian diamond

Aussie discovers largest Angolian diamond

By Rachel Seeley ASX-listed Lucapa Diamond Company made history with the discovery of the biggest diamond ever found in Angola – one of the world’s top four producing nations. The 404.2 carat, Type IIa D-colour diamond was found at the Perth-based company’s Lulo diamond project in the Lunda Norte province. It is the twenty-seventh biggest recorded diamond in the world and the largest discovered by an Australian company. Lucapa had not valued the diamond yet, but initial estimates indicated it could be worth about $20 million. The Lulo project has a solid track record for producing large diamonds, with more than 100 large special diamonds – of more than 10.8 carats – recovered to date. The latest discovery was also…

UK research to benefit Australian copper

UK research to benefit Australian copper

By Samantha James RESEARCHERS in the UK have discovered a new way to find large copper deposits by identifying chemical markers in porphyry rock. A study co-authored by University of Exeter geologist Dr Ben Williamson detailed a new chemical exploration tool that could be used to find porphyry-type copper deposits. These low quality but high quantity deposits are the most common copper deposits in the world, delivering about three quarters of global copper. Dr Williamson said the new technique would be the least expensive method of retesting core samples for copper and reassessing explored land. “We’ve compared the composition of that mineral between magmatic rocks that do form these deposits and those that don’t, and we’ve found there’s a chemical…

Mine worker trapped underground

Mine worker trapped underground

UPDATE 12/02: Newcrest managing director and chief executive officer Sandeep Biswas said a second drill hole had been established following initial contact with trapped worker Pak Mursalim Sahman on Wednesday. “A second drill hole is now serving as a dedicated communication link with Pak Mursalim Sahman, the employee trapped underground at the Kencana underground mine,” he said. “All efforts remain focused on the rescue operation. We now have two viable extraction options. The first of which is to bore a large diameter hole down into the chamber where Pak Mursalim is located. “The pilot hole broke through at approximately midnight local time and we are now progressively expanding the size of the hole. The second option is being progressed in…

Golden Gecko nominations open

Golden Gecko nominations open

Chevron Australia was awarded the 2015 Golden Gecko Award for Environmental Excellence for its Wheatstone Project micro-tunnel. NOMINATIONS are open for WA’s annual Golden Gecko Awards, which showcase and celebrate innovative environmental practices in the resources industry. Department of Mines and Petroleum environment division executive director Dr Phil Gorey said the Golden Gecko Awards recognised leading practice and innovation in environmental management. “Every year the entrants we receive continue to showcase an inspirational determination to proactively advance and promote environmental excellence in the resources sector and I’m sure 2016 will be no different,” he said. Chevron Australia scooped the Golden Gecko Award for Environmental Excellence in 2015 for its innovative shoreline crossing solution at the Wheatstone Project, which protected the…

Thor drops the hammer on Spring Hill

Thor drops the hammer on Spring Hill

By Samantha James DUAL-listed Thor Mining has entered into an option agreement to sell the advanced Spring Hill gold project in the Northern Territory for $3.5 million, just two months after it acquired the remaining 49 per cent interest. In October 2015, Thor acquired Western Desert Resources’ interest in Spring Hill for $310,000, before agreeing to sell the asset to private company PC Gold for $3.5 million in December. As part of the agreement, PC Gold would pay Thor royalties on any gold produced from Spring Hill. Thor has struggled to finance development of its flagship Molyhil tungsten and molybdenum project in the Northern Territory since the January 2015 completion of an updated feasibility study that estimated a $64 million…

Riding the weak dollar

Riding the weak dollar

By Samantha James DIATREME Resources is relying on a forecast increase in mineral sands demand and the weak Australian dollar to aid its flagship Cyclone project, in WA’s Eucla Basin, on the road to production. According to UK-based industry forecaster Artikol, mineral sands demand is expected to expand by up to 4.1 per cent per annum through 2020, with the weak Australian dollar set to aid Australian producers. At the 2015 Informa Mineral Sands Conference, Artikol predicted estimated mineral sands demand growth based on growing demand from Asia, Latin America and Southeast Asia. Iluka Resources – the world’s largest mineral sands producer and Diatreme’s main competitor in the Eucla Basin – also indicated that positive demand fundamentals included urbanisation trends, increasing consumption…

FIFO makes no sense for WA

FIFO makes no sense for WA

By Samantha James WA’s Pilbara region has long been a major resources hub for the state; a jump in fly in, fly out (FIFO) residents from 40,000 in 2006 to more than 73,000 in 2011 made it WA’s largest FIFO region. Despite the current mining downturn that number has remained steady, with the Pilbara still containing more than half of the energy and minerals workforce in WA. However, Pilbara MP and former WA National Party leader Brendon Grylls has called for a change to FIFO policies, saying it no longer made economic sense for companies faced with decade-low prices to foot the bill for large FIFO workforces. Mr Grylls said although FIFO remained the only option for some remote sites,…

Tech overhaul to prevent theft

Tech overhaul to prevent theft

By Samantha James GOVERNMENT-run Coal India is gearing up for a technology overhaul to prevent theft as it prepares for an increase in output to 1 billion tonnes of coal by 2020. The move would bring the largest coal company in the world in line with global mining practices implemented in countries such as the US and Australia. Expected to cost around $52 million (3.5 billion rupees) initially, the upgrade would include GPS tracking of vehicles to check coal theft, as well as electronic fencing of mines, introduction of ICT compliant machinery and enterprise resource planning to collate data from various business units. “This is Coal India’s biggest technological overhaul, and its impact would be in billions of dollars,” coal…

Coal export woes

Coal export woes

By Samantha James A new report claims that a 5 per cent drop in Chinese coal consumption year on year, slow electricity demand growth of 0.5 per cent and an increase in non-thermal electricity generation has resulted in the ‘snuffing out’ of the seaborne thermal coal market. The Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) report stated Chinese coal imports in calendar 2015 had dropped by 30 per cent and predicted another 30 per cent decline in global traded thermal coal demand by 2021. “With the collapse in both Indian (down 34 per cent year on year) and Chinese (down 35 per cent year on year) coal imports in December 2015, the seaborne thermal coal industry is entirely beleaguered,”…