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THE Papua New Guinea Government has seized ownership of the giant Ok Tedi copper and gold mine, resulting in the closure of an associated charitable trust worth about $96 million in projects for the local community. In September, PNG Prime Minister Peter O’Neill forced through a bill giving the state complete ownership of Ok Tedi, on the Fly River in Western Province, replacing shares owned by the PNG Sustainable Development Program (PNGSDP) – which supported local programs with profits from the mine – with shares owned by the government. PNGSDP reported that 100 development projects worth about $96 million had been closed down by late October, including support for schools, hospitals and aid posts across the country, as well as...

PERTH-based miner Sundance Resources has raised $40 million from Noble Resources and an investor consortium to proceed with its Mbalam-Nabeba iron ore project in Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. As part of the deal, Noble will invest $20 million though unsecured convertible notes, at a 10 per cent interest rate, which can be converted into a 30 per cent stake for a future marketing firm for the project. Noble will also receive 200 million options, excisable at 12 cents a share if the marketing firm does not proceed. The investor consortium – comprising Blackstone, the DE Shaw Group and Senrigan – would invest the other $20 million through a convertible note issue, which could later be used...

SIGNIFICANT progress is being made at Cradle Resources’ Panda Hill niobium project in Tanzania, with test work and preliminary economic assessment programs ahead of schedule. The company reported that metallurgical test work and environmental and social impact assessments were at an advanced stage. Cradle managing director Grant Davey said the company was on track to complete all preliminary work by early 2014. “The study is progressing well, on time and on budget, with excellent results to date,” he said. “It is worth noting that a lot of the work being done on this study is at a pre-feasibility study level and we are working with world-class consultants. “We will have a clear, credible picture of this exciting project when the...

ONE of NSW’s largest underground coal producers has announced it will cut up to 120 positions from its seven mine sites across the state, due to ongoing tough market conditions. In late October, Centennial Coal stated the decision was based on record-high production costs, a weak US dollar export thermal coal price and a “stubbornly high” Australian dollar. Centennial has placed two of its mines on care and maintenance in the past 12 months, in an attempt to stem its production costs and to raise productivity. While some improvements had been achieved, gloomy market conditions were proving too strong against business profitability, the company stated. “Unfortunately, as there are few signs of an immediate improvement, and following the conclusion of...

NEW statistics show WA’s resources sector improved last financial year on the back of iron ore and gold sales, despite widespread market volatility. The Mineral and Petroleum Industry 2012-13 Review by the WA Mines and Petroleum (DMP) department found iron ore and gold accounted for 84 per cent or $65.3 billion of all mineral sales in 2012-2013. Fuelled by a strong international demand, particularly from China, iron ore was the state’s strongest seller for the period, with 73 per cent of total sales at $56.4 billion. According to the report, the falling Australian dollar helped the sector cope with falling commodity prices, which resulted in 513 million tonnes of iron ore exports; a 13 per cent increase on the previous...

RESOURCES giant BHP Billiton and subcontractor HWE Newman Services have been fined more than $200,000 for a fatal incident in August 2008. Mobile maintenance supervisor Paul Sparkes, 29, was killed while working at BHP’s Yandi iron ore mine, (then operated by HWE) near Newman in the Pilbara. Mr Sparkes was hit in the arm by a tyre-handling device, which had broken off the machine body after the tyre of a heavy earth mover overinflated. Five years after the incident, the Perth Magistrates Court found BHP and HWE guilty of failing to provide sufficient training for Mr Sparkes’ position, and for failing to provide the necessary equipment for safe tyre assembly. BHP was fined $102,000 and HWE $136,000. Both companies will...

AUSTRALIAN prospector and mining entrepreneur Mark Creasy has spoken out about government regulations making it hard for explorers and prospectors to break new ground in WA. Speaking at the launch of The Miners — Stories from the Industry that Drives Modern Australia by veteran mining journalist Barry Avery, Mr Creasy expressed candid opinions on the future of mineral exploration and development in Australia, and the evolution of the resources sector in recent decades. “Exploration prospecting is, on the average, a losing business,” Mr Creasy said. “But if you’re going to encourage people to invest – whether it’s their labour or their capital – you need to try and keep the costs of entry as low as possible. “Our governments compete...

CSIRO geoscientists in Perth have discovered trace gold particles in eucalyptus trees in WA’s Yilgarn Craton, signalling major progress for environmentally friendly means of finding new gold. With gold discoveries decreasing by 45 per cent during the past decade, the finding could be a key factor to uncovering new, quality gold supplies. The researchers hypothesised that the trees absorbed gold through their root systems, while scouring for ground water in times of drought. After transversing the trunk, the gold particles are concentrated into the trees’ leaves, where their presence can be detected using the CSIRO’s patented Maia detector for x-ray elemental imaging. “Gold is probably toxic to plants and is moved to extremities, such as leaves, or to preferential zones...

THE Newman Government continues to introduce reforms and incentives designed to inject new life into Queensland’s struggling mineral exploration sector, which plummeted 31 per cent for the 2012-2013 financial year. The Queensland Exploration Council (QEC) scorecard, released late October, reported that about one third had been wiped off the market capitalisation of Queensland-based junior miners in the past 12 months, and 81 per cent across the past two years. The QEC’s explorer sentiment survey also indicated that Queensland had a negative rating compared with other states, on key factors such as government/departmental assistance, exploration permit processes, environmental regulations and policy uncertainty. “These findings are despite a raft of proposed, in-train and recently completed government initiatives to reduce red tape and...

INNOVATION and teamwork are key ingredients to achieving the lowest unit cost in underground diamond drilling; something that Swick Mining Services and Sandfire Resources have proven at the De Grussa copper mine project. As a recognised leader in mineral drilling, WA-based Swick provides underground diamond, reverse circulation and underground production drilling to leading mining companies. The company specialises in underground diamond drilling in hard-rock, brownfield operations in Australia, the Americas, Asia and Europe, producing high quality geological core samples for its clients, at the lowest unit cost, while maintaining high safety standards. Innovation is a key ingredient to Swick’s success. A fully mobile and integrated rig unit, the Swick Mobile Underground Diamond Rig is easy to pack and move. It...