Category: Features

Olympic Dam’s copper smelter is getting a $350 million upgrade. All images: BHP. BY CAMERON DRUMMOND AS it prepares to mine the “body of the guitar” at Olympic Dam – representing an incredible 70 per cent of the resource footprint – BHP is forging ahead with $600 million of expansions and upgrades. Undeterred by an 18 per cent decrease in annual copper output due to state-wide power outages during September and October last year, BHP’s Olympic Dam is undergoing its biggest expansion and maintenance program since the Big Aussie purchased the mine from Western Mining Corporation in 2005. In 2011, BHP released a supplementary Environmental Impact Statement into a gigantic open pit expansion at Olympic Dam. Operating simultaneously with the...

All images: Evolution Mining.   BY ELIZABETH FABRI   AUSTRALIA'S second largest gold miner Evolution Mining’s rise through the ranks over the last seven years has been no fluke. The mid-tier miner’s core strategy -- or ‘religion’ as it puts it -- is to incessantly improve its portfolio by strategically buying and selling assets, building a business that can prosper through all stages of the cycle.   Since its founding in 2011 through the merger of Catalpa Resources and Conquest Mining, Evolution Mining has grown a $50 million business into a $3.7 billion heavyweight. “We started the journey some seven years ago – at that time we were a six-person company with no production,” Evolution Mining executive chairman Jake Klein...

  BY REUBEN ADAMS   IN February, AngloGold chief executive Srinivasan Venkatakrishnan told Mining Indaba delegates that the company would look inwards to expand its operations, rather than growth through mergers and acquisitions. In Australia, the third-largest gold miner in the world is focused on increasing production and extending the life of its optimised Tropicana and Sunrise dam assets.   AngloGold's embattled South African assets dragged half year results into the red to the tune of $93 million, compared with a $93 million profit for in the respective period in 2016. AngloGold set aside $47 million for massive job cuts as it restructures its loss-making South African operations, and also included $46 million for the possible settlement of a lung...

Construction activities underway at the Pilgangoora project in early August. All images: Pilbara Minerals. BY ELIZABETH FABRI THE western world “grossly underestimated” the speed at which the lithium ion supply chain has to grow to meet demand, Pilbara Minerals chief executive Ken Brinsden has said. Addressing delegates at last month’s Diggers and Dealers Mining Forum, the man behind the world-class Pilgangoora project has made it his mission to convert those still on the fence about lithium’s long-term future. Lithium ion is set to become the battery of choice as new technologies such as electric vehicles hit the mainstream market. “Lithium ion in essence is the ‘go to’ rechargeable battery,” Mr Brinsden said. “The technology has been developed over 30 years...

BY REUBEN ADAMS SECURING a buyer for the Whyalla-headquartered steel manufacturer is a victory for the 5500 jobs related to Arrium’s operations, the Whyalla business community, and the State of South Australia. In early April 2016 Arrium pleaded for a $US927 million lifeline from its lenders. Australia’s four banks, several global banks and US bondholders rejected the proposal, pushing the struggling Group into voluntary administration, owing its creditors more than $2.8 billion. Arrium employed about 5500 workers across its mining, steel and mining consumables business units, which included a 1.2 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) steel plant at Whyalla on South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula, smaller plants in Melbourne and Sydney, and a 12mtpa iron ore mining operation in South Australia’s...

All images BHP.   BY ELIZABETH FABRI   THE 2017 financial year was a game changer for BHP and its iron ore division. On top of a corporate rebrand and record production at West Australian Iron Ore (WAIO), plans for BHP’s proposed South Flank project were advancing, with initial funding locked in for early construction.   BHP recently dumped the ‘Billiton’ name in a rebrand aimed at highlighting the company’s Australian roots and rebuilding a dialogue with its stakeholders. Iron ore has been a key pillar of BHP’s operations for more than 67 years, with WA Iron Ore (WAIO) one of the company’s largest and most successful assets.   “You’re only as good as your last game. Notwithstanding this prosperous...

 All Images: CITIC Pacific Mining. BY CAMERON DRUMMOND A LEGAL stoush between Mineralogy and CITIC over royalty payments from the Sino Iron project is awaiting decision by the WA Supreme Court, and could affect up to 2600 workers currently involved with the operation. Although beleaguered by mounting costs, court battles and a volatile iron ore price, CITIC Pacific Mining remains confident its Sino Iron project in the Pilbara will become a stalwart of the WA mining scene, contributing 24 million tonnes per year (mtpa) of magnetite ore to its steelwork counterparts in China. Headquartered in Perth, CITIC Pacific Mining (CPM) was established to manage the construction and operation of the Sino Iron project, an integrated mining, processing and port operation...

Coal trucks at the Newlands coal mine, QLD. All images: Glencore.   BY CAMERON DRUMMOND   ON the back of resurgent coal prices, mining giant Glencore has boosted output and looked at expanding its Australian portfolio.   One of the world’s largest global diversified natural resource companies, Glencore is a major producer of Australian coal, with 12 active mining operations across NSW and QLD employing about 7000 personnel. Its QLD operations employ more than 2900 personnel across five projects in the Bowen Basin – Clermont, Rolleston, Oaky Creek, Newlands and Collinsville. In NSW, 4750 personnel are employed across four coalfields – Hunter Valley, Newcastle, Western Districts and Southern Districts. During 2016, the Swiss-based miner produced 67.6 million tonnes (mt) of...

BY ELIZABETH FABRI MOMENTUM is building for this year’s Diggers and Dealers Mining Forum, with more than 2000 mining professionals expected to set foot on Kalgoorlie’s iconic red soil this August for another action-packed event. The Kalgoorlie and Goldfields province has a rich mining history that dates back to September 1892, when prospectors Arthur Bayley and William Ford first discovered gold in Coolgardie. Gold and nickel mining dominated the first half of the 20th century, and the region’s portfolio has since evolved to encompass a number of iron ore, copper, zinc, silver, and lithium projects. “This year, gold mining in Kalgoorlie celebrated its 60th million ounce of action, which is a remarkable achievement,” Diggers and Dealer’s Forum chairman Nick Giorgetta...

All images: WPG Resources   BY ELIZABETH FABRI   SOUTH Australian mine Challenger has been operating for 15 years, but it still has a long and promising future ahead. Under the fresh ownership of WPG Resources, mine life continues to grow through an aggressive exploration campaign which is returning high-grade results, and a two pronged expansion due for completion in early 2018.   Discovered by Dominion Mining in 1995, the Challenger gold find was a huge win for the South Australian resources sector; generating thousands of construction jobs and ongoing jobs for the State. Dominion Mining began construction in September 2001, open pit mining in 2002, and underground production in 2005. The mine was later operated under a 50/50 joint venture between...

An aerial shot of the Spotted Quoll mine. BY CAMERON DRUMMOND AUSTRALIA'S only pure-play nickel producer Western Areas has been increasing its reputation as one of the world’s best low cost, high grade operators with its own innovate BioHeap technology. Volatile nickel prices have been fair-weathered by Western Areas. The company has utilised its position as a low cost, high grade nickel producer to increase cash in the bank and explore organic growth opportunities in WA. Located 400km east of Perth, Western Areas’ flagship project is Forrestania which comprises two producing nickel mines, Spotted Quoll and Flying Fox, as well as the Cosmic Boy concentrator which treats the high grade ore to produce about 25,000 tonnes (t) of nickel concentrate per annum....