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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...

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...

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...

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...

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...