Author: admin

Poor mining productivity needs attention

Poor mining productivity needs attention

ADELAIDE-based Resources and Engineering Skills Alliance (RESA) has warned of continued productivity deterioration unless Australia’s mining industry lifts performance and skill levels. A review of the mining labour productivity index has shown severe decline since its peak between 1995 and 2002, while other market sectors have continued to climb. RESA chief executive Phil de Courcey said there had been little analysis of why the mining sector was behind in the productivity game compared to other industries, and that “more critical research into the underlying causes” was required. Current skills in the sector, as well as those skills which were lacking or in short supply, remained the biggest impediment to lifting productivity, Mr de Courcey said. “This lack of required skills...

Trade talks strengthen ties with China

Trade talks strengthen ties with China

GROUNDBREAKING April meetings between the Chinese and Australian business and government sectors have taken on a new significance as a study finds Australia is facing increased competition for Chinese investment. The report Demystifying Chinese Investment in Australia: Update March 2013 by KPMG and the University of Sydney’s China Studies Centre, stated that while Australia had maintained its position as the principal beneficiary of Chinese overseas direct investment (ODI), its dominance was slipping as the Asian giant continued to diversify investment. “While Australia’s accumulated Chinese direct investment is still ahead of its main international competitors, there is no denying that the rest of the world is hot on our heels and aggressively competing for Chinese capital,” University of Sydney Chinese Studies...

Drilling hardens metals estimate

Drilling hardens metals estimate

AUSTRALIAN resources company TNG Limited has increased its reserve estimate at the Mount Peake vanadium, titanium and iron project, following an earlier announcement of a successful JORC-compliant resource estimate. The revised estimate is based on new drilling results, which concluded at the end of 2012 and added more than 100 million tonnes into the JORC measured category. The drilling also collected material for metallurgical test work. Of the 120mt of measured resource, 0.29 per cent is vanadium, 5.5 per cent is titanium and 24 per cent iron. The resource upgrade is another boost for the project which is close to existing infrastructure, including the Alice Springs-Darwin Railway, the Stuart Highway and a new LNG pipeline. TNG managing director Paul Burton...

Exploration begins in Mozambique

Exploration begins in Mozambique

THE first stage of the exploration program at Triton Minerals’ graphite project in Mozambique has begun, with equipment on the way and staff on the ground at the Balama North prospect in the Cabo Delgado province. The Balama North licence is expected to be highly prospective because of its proximity to known graphite mineralisation, such as that of Syrah Resources’ Balama East deposit, which lies about 3km southeast of the licence boundary. In March, Triton and joint venture partner Grafex Limited appointed Jigsaw Geoscience to assist with the initial mapping, soil sampling and trenching program, with an emphasis on the Balama North licence and high priority zones. The information collected during the first phase will allow the joint venture partners...

Cashed up explorer acquires private gold company

Cashed up explorer acquires private gold company

WELL-funded explorer Sovereign Gold will aquire unlisted company Gossan Hill and its several advanced gold prospects in NSW for $700,000. The three project areas within eight exploration licenses would provide Sovereign with an expanded exploration footprint in the state. Sovereign said the Gossan Hill prospects were centred on known gold occurrences – some with historic production – and contained more than 20 quality, untested targets. The acquisition price comprised $200,000 in cash and $500,000 in scrip (two million ordinary shares at $0.25 per share) which the company said “compares very favourably to recent peer transactions”. The newly acquired Hobbs deposit at Mt Adrah – which contains a JORC resource of 239,000oz grading 1.13 grams per tonne gold to a depth...

A new kind of mobile communication

A new kind of mobile communication

A new solar-powered Cisco wireless mesh network is being used to run the mine fleet automation system at Barrick’s Cowal gold mine in NSW. Barrick commissioned Brisbane-based CBO Telecommunications to design and implement the system, which comprises Cisco aironet 1524SB outdoor mesh access points managed by the Cisco prime network control system. The network has self-healing capabilities to suit the harsh mine site environment, and can also be mounted on CBO solar mobility trailers, providing the capacity for consistent connectivity anywhere within the mine, regardless of pit depth or geographical distance. The Cowal mine uses the Caterpillar MineStar software to manage its mining dispatch operations, with operators using screens in their vehicles to enter information into the system. This and...

Golden prospects increase mine life

Golden prospects increase mine life

THE Paulsens Gold project near Paraburdoo in WA will now have a mine life of more than five years, thanks to a major resource and reserve upgrade announced by operator Northern Star Resources. The JORC reserves at Paulsens increased by 81 per cent, to 204,000 ounces at 5.3 grams per tonne, with a grade increase of 23 per cent. Northern Star’s total JORC resource increased by 38 per cent to 555,000oz at 5.7g/t, and the grade increased by 14 per cent. This revised resource will give Paulsens a minimum five-year mine life, based on a strong historical conversion of resources into mineral inventory. The result included the company’s 13,000oz at 3.2gpt maiden open pit ore reserve from the nearby Belvedere...

Apprentice program a strong foundation for Hunter Valley workers

Apprentice program a strong foundation for Hunter Valley workers

DESPITE cutting jobs in late 2012, Rio Tinto subsidiary Coal and Allied has hired 13 new apprentices for two of its NSW mine sites. The new electrical and mechanical apprentices were selected from a large group of applicants and will join 32 existing trainees at the company’s Hunter Valley and Mount Thorley Warkworth sites near Singleton. Apprentice committee chair Steve Jackson said the move was proof of the company’s commitment to training local workers. “Since 2002, we have started 115 apprentices who have gained experience in their chosen fields across our three operations in the Hunter Valley,” he said. “Last year we took a new step to promote our apprenticeship program by hosting a workshop in Singleton specifically for interested...

Recent drilling reveals high grades for gold-focussed company

Recent drilling reveals high grades for gold-focussed company

EMERGING WA-focussed explorer Phoenix Gold has announced significant high grade intersections from a recent drill program at its Red Dam project near Kalgoorlie. Red Dam, which is part of the Broads Dam project area less than 40km from Kalgoorlie and 12km from Phoenix’s Castle Hill project, has a resource of 3.4 million tonnes at 2.1 grams per tonne of gold for 229,000oz. The company reported that significant mineralisation was found during the program, including 6m at 97.5g/t from 256m; 3m at 17.3g/t from 42m; and 7m at 12.7g/t from 42m. The Red Dam project is close to the highly prospective Zuleika shear zone in the WA goldfields, and Phoenix reported that there was significant potential for the project to be...

Promising targets emerge at West African prospect

Promising targets emerge at West African prospect

AN Australian explorer has confirmed “excellent” gold recoveries from an exploration prospect in West Africa, one of two advanced standalone gold resource targets in Burkina Faso. Comprising a 2.5km-long zone of continuous gold mineralisation, average gold recoveries from the K4/ K5 prospect at the Reo gold project have left Middle Island Resources with arguably the most promising of its suite of maturing targets across the West African landscape. After procuring 17 individual samples from diamond core holes across the mineralisation zone, representative of all states of oxidisation, rock type and gold grade, the company employed gold cyanisation – a commonly-used metallurgical technique for extracting gold from ore – to establish the gold potential of the prospect. From this, the company...

New holes indicate Bollinger extension

New holes indicate Bollinger extension

THE first two holes drilled at Sirius Resources’ conductor 6 drilling target have intersected thick zones of massive sulphide; confirming the area is an extension of the existing Bollinger deposit, part of the Fraser Range joint venture in WA. The two holes indicate that conductor 6 is the southerly extension of Bollinger and that the thick massive sulphide extends more than 100m southwards from the original discovery holes. The sulphides are similar to those seen at the company’s nearby Nova deposit, with coarse grained pentlandite (nickel sulphide) and chalcopyrite (copper sulphide) crystals visible in the core. According to Sirius, the zone remains open in all directions and drilling continues to assess the boundaries of the area. Holes are underway in...