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AFTER leading Rio Tinto’s record-breaking Pilbara-based iron ore division for nine years, new chief executive Sam Walsh found his January appointment to be an exciting but challenging proposition. One month after his appointment – when the company posted its first ever full year loss – Mr Walsh announced that it would pursue a hard line cost-cutting regime comprising decreased exploration expenditure, the sale of non-core assets, and smarter capital allocation. “The dynamics of the global economy are changing,” Mr Walsh told Rio Tinto’s M2M magazine. “The world is more volatile than it has been and we need to be certain that our projects will deliver the value we – and our shareholders – expect. “That’s why it’s important to get...

SPANNING more than 7 million square kilometres, Australia is famous for its remoteness: 18 per cent of the country is classified as arid desert, and a further 44 per cent is classified as dry grassland. Australia is highly urbanised, with the majority of the population settled within the more temperate climates of the southeast and southwest coasts. In recent years however, Australia’s populace has become more rural, with people moving to the previously less-inhabited areas of the red centre and far north to live and work. This interesting migration pattern is thought to owe particularly – perhaps exclusively – to the rise of the resources industry. Resources and regional Australia The resources industry is recognised for its intrinsically hazardous nature:...

ENVIRONMENT, Heritage and Water minister Mark Butler has deferred a decision on the controversial Abbot Point expansion for another three months, just weeks after telling media the Federal election would not delay the issue. If approved, 3 million cubic metres of dredged material from the Abbot Point Coal Terminal, near Bowen Basin in Queensland, would be disposed of in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park area. Mr Butler was due to decide by 9 July, however he “stopped the clock on department’s assessment of the Abbot Point Capital Dredging proposal for a period of three months”. “A number of reports have only just been delivered to me, which potentially impact on the Abbot Point assessment,” Mt Butler said. “Given...

THE Kenyan Government has revoked all mining licences issued in the months before and after the country’s March elections and announced it would increase royalties paid by companies undertaking mining operations. “I have today revoked all licences (Prospecting, Exploration and Mining), issued between 14 January, 2013 and 15 May, 2013,” Mining minister Najib Balala said in early August. The decision was made following a number of complaints about the issuing process. Following his election, President Uhuru Kenyatta set up a mining ministry to overhaul the country’s mining regulations and broaden its economy. “Though Kenya is not generally known as a mining investment destination, recent developments have proven that the country actually holds a significant potential for mineral development, and is...

WORKERS at Northparkes gold and copper mine have been reassured of their jobs by new owner China Molybdenum, after it purchased Rio Tinto’s 80 per cent stake in the operation for US$820 million. The deal – which still has to be ratified by shareholders and regulators – is the company’s first foray into copper, however Rio Tinto chief financial officer Chris Lynch said it would give the NSW mine a strong future. “The sale of Northparkes represents great value for our shareholders and demonstrates our continued focus and discipline in the way we allocate capital across the group,” Mr Lynch said. “Northparkes is a successful business but is not of sufficient size to be a good fit with our strategy....

FORTY years after its closure, the Rum Jungle uranium mine continues to plague the Northern Territory with disagreements about responsibility causing cleanup delays. The Commonwealth Government has taken over the site’s rehabilitation and allocated $14 million to speed up the process – on top of the initial $8.3 million spent since 2009 – to be spent across the next three years. “The work undertaken over the past four years to develop a conceptual rehabilitation plan for Rum Jungle is detailed in the Northern Territory Government report, Former Rum Jungle Mine Site Conceptual Rehabilitation Plan,” Federal Resources and Energy minister Gary Gray said. “It is our intention to create a landscape that is safe for people and wildlife and significantly reduces...