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By Courtney Pearson AUSTRALIAN mining companies should focus on the ongoing productivity challenge; innovation, mergers and acquisitions; and safety issues in a commodity price downturn that has no clear cycle, according to Deloitte. The Tracking the trends 2016 report stated that miners would need to ask the tough questions, show initiative in innovation and take a new approach to traditional operating assumptions, in order to pioneer the future of mining. Furthermore, the report showed China’s influence on the global economy was likely to spur miners to form a greater understanding of the country’s market trends and develop plans relative to its offshore investment initiatives. “The operating environment remains volatile and complex and the imperative remains to innovate, adapt, manage costs...

By Samantha James FOLLOWING first heavy mineral concentrate production at Keysbrook, MZI Resources is ramping up with the aim of becoming the world’s largest primary producer of leucoxene. WA has a long history of mineral sands mining and processing, providing MZI and the Keysbrook project with experienced employees and established community and regulatory operating models. Smooth construction and commissioning assisted production to begin three weeks ahead of schedule in October 2015, with first concentrate from the nearby Picton mineral separation plant – owned by Doral Mineral Sands – achieved in early November. MZI is targeting full capacity of 95,000 tonnes per annum of leucoxene and zircon by the end of the calendar year, to coincide with its first sales. Keysbrook...

By Samantha James DESPITE a fluctuating price in 2015, Australia’s iron ore sector is remaining competitive within a global market. Australia's iron ore industry has been one of the country’s great economic success stories for the past 50 years, growing in revenue to more than $70 billion in 2014 following a jump in prices and subsequent increases in production. Prices peaked at more than US$190 per tonne in 2011 however proved unsustainable and steadily decreased throughout 2015, to the lowest level in almost a decade at US$43.89/t in late November. From 2000 to 2014, Australia’s annual iron...

By Samantha James A report by leading independent economic forecaster and industry analyst BIS Shrapnel predicts further mining job losses until 2018 led by the coal, iron ore and gold industries. The Mining in Australia 2015 to 2030 report stated that investment would fall a further 58 per cent despite an expected 6 per cent annual rise in mining production. This would drive a corresponding increase in mining operations activities and export volumes but would not be enough to support job growth. “We haven’t hit bottom yet on commodity prices or investment, which will continue to be a key drag on Australian economic growth from here,” BIS infrastructure and mining unit senior manager Adrian Hart said. “While mining production will...

By Courtney Pearson ALL necessary fossil fuel projects have already been developed, and companies risk wasting US$2.2 trillion in the next decade on ”stranded assets”, according to thinktank Carbon Tracker. The $2 trillion stranded assets danger zone: How fossil fuel firms risk destroying investor returns report by Carbon Tracker also predicted that  oil demand would peak about 2020 and growth in gas would disappoint industry expectations. The demand for energy could already be met through existing coal mines; future capital expenditure of US$177 billion on new projects and $42 billion on existing ones was unnecessary, according to the report. Australia, the US and China accounted for 90 per cent of this unnecessary investment. “Our work shows thermal coal has the...

By Courtney Pearson IN the wake of tough market conditions, few other countries have experienced such a roller coaster in minerals exploration as Papua New Guinea (PNG). Mining is an integral part of PNG’s economy, driving growth and services through mineral export revenues. Reflecting the worldwide downturn in mining, the PNG Government’s latest budget figures revealed that revenue from the country’s mining and petroleum tax fell from about PGK1.7 billion to PGK300 million. The 2015 supplementary budget included a 12 per cent fall in revenue. PNG Treasury minister Patrick Pruaitch said that “sharply lower commodity prices” had forced the government to adopt prudent fiscal policies to safeguard the country’s growth record and prospects. The PNG Government’s 2016 national budget theme...

By Courtney Pearson THE sheer size and cost of the Roy Hill project in WA’s Pilbara region is a testament to risk-taking. The tenements comprising the Roy Hill project, 115km north of Newman in WA, were originally owned by BHP Billiton. When the company dropped them,   mining magnate Gina Rinehart took a risk and picked them up in 1993 – just a year after taking on the executive chair role with Hancock Prospecting.  At the time, it was seen as a risky decision. “When , the most knowledgeable company in iron ore in the Pilbara ... decided that the Roy hill area was not of value, you can understand why people thought this was not a viable opportunity,...

TO provide a behind-the-scenes understanding of the work required, Liebherr-Australia has released a 7 minute time lapse video featuring the manufacture of its T 282 C haul truck fleet. The video follows the journey from the Port of Brisbane to the build-site in North Queensland and culminates in footage of some of the fleet in action. This large-scale, three-month project required 25 hours of road-travel from the Brisbane port to the build-site. The project also featured two cameras on two build pads taking 12,096 photographs each; 22,000 individual frames taken for the tray build; and 62 individual timelapse sequences.  More than 150,000 individual frames of video were sequenced, compressed and edited. The trucks shown on the video, which can be viewed on the...

By Samantha James THE collapse of a tailings dam at the Vale-BHP Billiton owned Samarco operation in Brazil has resulted in flooding across more than 600km in one of the worst environmental disasters in the country’s mining history. On November 5 2015, one of the three dams at the Samarco iron ore mine in Minas Gerais failed, affecting the downstream Santarem dam and causing a “significant release” of mine tailings to flood the nearby community of Bento Rodrigues and others downstream, according to BHP. Four days later BHP advised that although it did not know the causes of the tailings release, it was assisting rescue efforts at the nearby communities where at least one fatality and 13 people had been...

South32 chief executive Graham Kerr at the company’s first AGM in Perth. By Courtney Pearson AT its first annual general meeting, held in Perth, South32 has assured shareholders that their loyalty will pay off after a long period of uninspiring share prices. “Looking ahead, despite the challenging market conditions, I can assure you that we have the right strategy, the right balance sheet strength and management commitment to deliver sector-leading returns,” South32 chief executive Graham Kerr said at the meeting. The company officially demerged from major player BHP Billiton in May this year and has been fairly quiet since, focusing on optimising its existing assets rather than pushing for new projects. South32 has been plagued by lower than expected share...

By Courtney Pearson RESOURCES companies need to collaborate to push through the lower commodity prices and create a more productive and innovative industry, according to Anglo American group director of technical and sustainability Tony O’Neill. Speaking at the International Mining and Resources Conference (IMARC) in Melbourne, Mr O’Neill said that the rise in costs and declining grades meant that the industry needed to resolve the conflict between long-term investment and short-term market cycles. “We are on the brink of a new machine age, our challenge is how to harness this opportunity when our industry is lagging behind others,” he said. “We won't be able to catch up by going it alone – we need collaboration, partnerships and sharing of ideas...