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SINCE listing on the ASX in 2005, Australian metallurgic coal producer Cockatoo Coal has made the transformation from a junior explorer to an emerging coal producer and is pushing ahead with plans to further establish itself as a significant, independent coal company in coming years. Despite widespread flooding affecting operational performance in 2011, Cockatoo achieved record production levels at its flagship Baralaba coal mine in Queensland. For the year ending June 30, 2012, 600,171t of coal was produced at the Bowen Basin pulverised coal injection (PCI) mine: a significant increase from the same period a year earlier, when coal production was just 181,081t. Achieving a record profit before tax of $22.1 million including a $13.3 million gross profit from coal...

“This was a world where no human could live, hotter than the planet Mercury, its atmosphere as poisonous as Saturn’s. At the heart of the fire, temperatures easily exceeded 1000 degrees Fahrenheit. Lethal clouds of carbon monoxide and other gases swirled through the rock chambers.” David DeKok, Unseen Danger: A Tragedy of People, Government, and the Centralia Mine Fire (1986) Once a small industrial centre in the US state of Pennsylvania, Centralia owed its prosperity to the anthracite-rich coal mines running beneath it. At its peak the town was home to 2761 people and boasted five hotels, seven churches, 19 general stores, two jewellery shops and about 26 saloons. Then, 50 years ago, a seemingly innocuous landfill fire ignited an...

BEGINNING as a small-scale concept in 2003, the annual Africa Down Under Conference has become the biggest African resources event held outside of the continent, and mirrors the remarkable rise in Australian mining interests on African soil. Between August 29 and 31 this year, an estimated 2500 delegates visited the Pan Pacific and Novotel Langley hotels in Perth for the conference’s 10th instalment, which featured more than 70 delegate presentations, 170 exhibitors and a number of side events. The Australian Government was represented by four senior Cabinet members including Foreign Affairs minister Bob Carr and former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, while the African ministerial delegation included South African Mineral Resources minister Susan Shabangu plus ministers and delegations from 16 other...

ESTABLISHED to manage one of China’s largest investments in Australian resources, CITIC Pacific Mining (CPM) is headquartered in Perth. A subsidiary of Hong Kong-listed CITIC Pacific Limited, the largest special steelmaker in China, the company is developing the Sino Iron project in WA: the largest magnetite mining and processing operation under construction in Australia. The CPM website stated that the project at Cape Preston, 100km southwest of Karratha, would add value WA’s economy through significant downstream processing, employment, community benefits and international technology transfer, while balancing social and environmental considerations. Once the project is completed, CPM will become the first Chinese-owned mining company to ship iron ore products from WA to China. “The Sino Iron project is a result of...

EVEN though implementing safety solutions throughout the workplace can be costly, it is important that all business owners take responsibility for the health and safety of their employees and customers to avoid detrimental consequences. The 10th annual Safety Show Sydney, in conjunction with the Sydney Materials Handling Show, will be held from October 23 to 25 at Sydney Showground. Showcasing the latest in occupational health and safety products along with thousands of new and innovative ways to improve workplace performance, the event is expected to attract thousands of visitors. Exhibition director Tony Francis said he anticipated the three-day event would once again be a success. “The Materials Handling Show has grown to such a stage that we were able to...

ACCORDING to the Australasian Centre for Rural and Remote Mental Health (ACRRMH), mental health problems in the mining and resource sector cost Australia $221 million annually in lost productivity and workforce participation. That figure is based on a current direct workforce of about 250,000 people, but if it were to include indirect employees within the sector – which brings the workforce to about 1 million – the annual cost of mental illness rises to $885 million. ACRRMH chief executive Dr Jennifer Bowers said she believed the resources sector had failed to recognise mental health as a serious issue and the magnitude of associated costs. She said policies associated with the physical health and safety of employees working on remote mine...

WHEN a major gold mine in WA experienced problems with its conveyor belt system, which was in danger of becoming unstable due to weak ground, Uretek Ground Engineering’s senior engineer Tom Bailey was called by the mine’s engineers to deliver a solution to the problem. With previous experience dealing with many similar problems at mines such as the Glennies Creek Hunter Valley coal mine, Mr Bailey knew how to achieve the best solution. The Uretek team first logged the precise depths and dimensions of the underground footings of the affected construction elements. The footings were massive: the slab holding the motor drive for the belt pulley system measured 25 metres by 12m and 1.5m deep, built onto 12m deep spoil...

ICONIC Australian mine site equipment manufacturer Jaws designs haul truck bodies and excavator and shovel buckets for optimum productivity. “Three points guide us with the design of our Volumax truck bodies,” Jaws Mining Products sales and marketing director Lindsay Neven said. “We place much importance on loose material density, angle of repose and capability of the loading equipment…not just working to a standard formula. “Typically, with truck bodies, capacities are quoted using formulas covered in the SAE 2:1 method. Unfortunately, this measurement will vary considerably to actual Real Field Capacity. “Thus, if a capacity is quoted at, say, 100 cubic metres using SAE 2:1, the actual carrying capacity in the real world may only be 88 cubic metres. “These payloads...

FORMERLY known as NQX Freight System, Toll NQX is a leading provider of road freight transport solutions within Australia. Toll NQX’s Straightline and Project Services team has extensive experience in providing transport services to the resources and heavy industrial sectors; its team members pride themselves on maintaining a strong customer focus and attention to detail. Highly regarded for its breadth of service, especially to and from regional areas, Toll NQX’s Straightline and Project Services include full and over-dimensional loads and specific project-related transport services. Toll NQX’s straightline experts deliver highly personalised and customised transport solutions for heavy, wide, awkward, time-sensitive or high priority freight. “We provide a one-stop-shop in the management and coordination of site-specific projects such as shutdowns and...

SPECIALIST engineering services firm Aztec Analysis believes mining sector demand for its heavy lift expertise will spearhead a period of sustained future growth. Aztec, five-time winner of the Crane Industry Council of Australia’s Lift of the Year award, reported that new mines in Australia were installing bigger processing plants and using larger cranes, compelling them to seek specialist heavy lift advice as part of their risk management strategy. Aztec managing director Mark Gilbert said crane lifts were complicated, and numerous factors had to be taken into account to ensure a lift would be completed safely and successfully. “These factors include the weight of the lift, available equipment, ground strength and wind factor, to mention just a few,” Mr Gilbert said....