Category: Features

Southern Ports services a 400,000km2 area in WA – bigger than the land size of Germany. Created in 2014 through the amalgamation of the three WA ports of Albany, Bunbury and Esperance, Southern Ports looks after all sea trade in the southern and southwest regions of WA. Main goods traded through the three ports include minerals, grains and wood products. The commencement of the new Executive Leadership Team (ELT) in 2020 saw Southern Ports achieve a very successful FY20, reaching a total trade of 32.2mt, which is a 13% increase from the year before. Southern Ports chief executive Steve Lewis says the resilience of its customers through COVID-19 played a significant part in the positive outcome for the organisation. “Trade...

The Queensland Government has given the green light to what will become one of the world’s largest steelmaking coal mines. The granting of mining leases for the Olive Downs Coking Coal Project on September 29 was the last of the major approvals required to allow construction to start at the Bowen Basin mine. The Pembroke Resources project will create up to 500 jobs during construction and more than 1000 new jobs in the region as it is developed to produce about 15mtpa of saleable coal over its 79-year mine life. Pembroke CEO Barry Tudor told The Australian Mining Review the mine would provide a much-needed stimulus during the COVID-19 recovery, while generating about $5.5b in royalties for the  Queensland Government....

A start-up mining company that achieves nameplate capacity in just the second month of operation is something the industry doesn’t hear of too often. Nestled in the Perth Basin in WA, amongst key players such as Iluka Resources and Tronox, is a newcomer to the mineral sands mining operations, Image Resources. In December 2018, Image Resources moved from advanced explorer to active mining company, becoming profitable within three months of operations and, subsequently, cashflow positive in the second quarter of 2019. Two years on, Image Resources is now an established, profitable mining company producing heavy mineral concentrate (HMC), with 270,000t achieved in 2019. It completed the sale of 12 bulk shipments of HMC during the year, for a total of...

Ramelius Resources (ASX: RMS) continues to top itself with two new projects coming online in 2021 and record-breaking results in FY20. This comes off the back of two successful operational start-ups in FY20 at the Marda gold project, where a total of 449kt was mined at a grade of 1.78g/t for 25,656oz of contained gold, and the Greenfinch open pit at the Edna May gold mine, with a total of 117kt mined at a grade of 0.89g/t for 3380oz of contained gold. Wrapping up FY20, the company produced 230,426oz of gold, spent $19.8m on exploration and delivered a $113.4m profit after tax, a 420% improvement on the year before. Ramelius exceeded production guidance in the June and September 2020 quarters...

Tomago Aluminium is one of Australasia’s largest aluminium smelters, contributing a total $1.5b to the nation’s economy and its local community every year. Located in north-west Newcastle in the industrial suburb of Tomago, the smelter sits on 500ha surrounded by bush and has been an important feature of the Hunter region for over 35 years. Tomago Aluminium is an independently-managed joint venture between Rio Tinto (51.55%), Gove Aluminium Finance Limited (36.05%) and Hydro Aluminium (12.40%). The owners provide raw materials to Tomago Aluminium that are converted to aluminium at the Tomago plant, after which the product is supplied back to the owners, who take it to market. A total of 90% of the product made at Tomago Aluminium is exported...

It has been a year since the $621m Gruyere gold mine was opened by the WA Mines and Petroleum Minister Bill Johnston. The Gruyere deposit in the Yamarna greenstone belt was the single largest gold discovery in WA in more than a decade. The Tier One operation was set to produce 300,000oz of gold annually and employ 250 people over its 12-year mine life. As the mine moves towards nameplate production in 2020, Gruyere is establishing itself as one of Australia’s largest and lowest-cost gold mining operations. Commercial production began on October 1, 2019, with Mr Johnston officially opening the mine on December 3, 2019. Within 12 months of operations, the site produced 230,590oz of gold at an operating cost...

Just six years ago BHP was looking to offload its Western Australian nickel business amid plummeting prices and escalating costs. In 2014 the mining giant announced plans to sell Nickel West so it could focus on its key iron ore, copper, coal and petroleum assets. In the end it decided to keep the operation in its portfolio as a “non-core” asset, but only because it failed to find a buyer at a suitable price. How times have changed. BHP is now rapidly gearing up to become one of the world’s leading nickel suppliers in the batteries sector as it positions Nickel West to feed the electric vehicle “revolution”. There have been several reports of BHP being in talks with electric...

It has been a bumper year for the Pilbara Ports Authority (PPA). which has served as an engine room for the WA economy, achieving a record annual throughput of 717.2mt despite the pandemic. The record volume of imports and exports through the PPA ports of Port Hedland, Ashburton and Dampier was an increase of 3% on the previous year and equivalent to 13,583 Sydney Harbour Bridges. This was largely driven by an increase in iron ore exports off the back of robust demand from China, where about 80% of Australia’s iron ore is sent. Supply disruptions in Brazil, the world’s second biggest iron ore exporter after Australia, also helped to drive the price of the commodity to a six-year high...

The Perth Mint, a subsidiary of Gold Corporation, is Australia’s largest fully integrated precious metals enterprise, providing premium gold, silver and platinum products. It registered a record profit before tax of $47.55m and an annual turnover of $23.87b in FY20.   The Perth Mint has experienced the highest demand for its gold and silver products in its 120-year history. The spike in demand for gold, coupled with the relatively weaker Australian dollar, saw a flood of revenue earned as foreign currencies at The Perth Mint. By June 30 2020, the depository at the Perth Mint was safeguarding more than $5.73b worth of precious metals for more than 60,000 clients from over 130 countries, with allocated gold ounces increasing 96% during...

The development of Queensland’s biggest gold mine and a new wave of investment is set to put the historic gold mining towns of Ravenswood and Charters Towers back on the map. Ravenswood Gold is pushing full steam ahead with its recommencement of open pit mining next month (December) in the historic Ravenswood mining district, about 130km south of Townsville. The upgraded and expanded Ravenswood Gold Mine will rejuvenate the old mining town through the creation of 400 new jobs: 250 permanent staff and another 150 workers through the construction phase. It will involve an initial investment of at least $300m with $200m in capital expenditure, to be spent on upgrading the processing plant and development of a tailings dam, as...

The price of gold has climbed steadily since the COVID-19 pandemic began about six months ago, rising by about 40% from the bottom of US$1474 on March 19. Historically, the price of gold has been on the upward trend over the last 50 years. More recently, the impact of COVID-19 has driven investors to park their money in this metal as a safe haven. Gold outperformed all major assets in the first half of 2020, providing an almost 17% return, according to the World Gold Council. Federal Government The September Resources and Energy Quarterly shows Australia’s gold exports are forecast to reach a high of $31b in FY21, making gold the country’s third largest commodity export behind iron ore and...