Category: Features

 All Images: Whitehaven Coal.   BY CAMERON DRUMMOND   ON the back of increased seaborne coal prices, Whitehaven banked record revenue during the first half of the 2017 financial year which enabled the company to pay down more than $300 million of debt.   Whitehaven Coal is Australia’s largest independent coal producer, with five operating mines in North West NSW. The operations have a combined annual output of 20.1 million tonnes per annum (mtpa); however Whitehaven is undertaking expansion works at its flagship Maules Creek operation to increase its saleable coal output to 23mtpa by the 2019 financial year. Thermal and metallurgical coal is produced from one underground mine, Narrabri, and four open cut mines at Maules Creek, Tarrawonga, Werris...

All images: Aurizon.   BY ELIZABETH FABRI   AURIZON is experiencing a difficult few months as it deals with the structural and financial damages experienced following Cyclone Debbie, but under the new leadership of ex-Rio Tinto executive Andrew Harding, the company’s strength cannot be questioned.   Former Rio Tinto Iron Ore chief executive Andrew Harding took over the Aurizon reins in December; and has since made a wave of advancements. With close to 25 years experience as an executive in the resources industry, Mr Harding also brings a fresh and progressive approach to the role to further Aurizon’s Australian presence. “I joined Aurizon in December, moving from a wintery London to sub-tropical Brisbane,” Mr Harding told Melbourne Mining Club delegates in...

Prominent Hill mine. Image: OZ Minerals.   BY ELIZABETH FABRI   WITH a history dating back to the 1800s, the South Australian resources sector is a continued force in Australian mining, boasting a portfolio of world-class projects and new exploration prospects for the next generation of mining.   South Australia is a proud mining region, with many noteworthy accolades to its name. To begin, the State is home to the world’s largest known uranium deposit and Australia’s largest underground mine, Olympic Dam. It also hosts 68 per cent of the country’s copper resources, 80 per cent of its uranium resources, 28 per cent of the economic gold resources, and more than 14 billion tonnes of iron ore. In 2016, the region...

All images: BHP Billiton BY ELIZABETH FABRI AS the hangover from Cyclone Debbie subsides, BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA) continues to push forward with investments across its Bowen Basins operations, including $US204 million towards the Caval Ridge Southern Circuit (CRSC) capital growth project. A joint venture between BHP Billiton and Mitsubishi Development, the BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA) is Australia’s largest coal producer and supplier of seaborne metallurgical coal, accounting for about 28 per cent of the world’s seaborne met coal trade. The coal giant owns nine mines covering a combined area of 75,000sqkm in the resource rich Bowen Basin in Central Queensland; seven of which are operational. Its current portfolio of operating mines comprises Goonyella Riverside, Broadmeadow, Daunia, Peak...

Water dust suppression at Dampier port. Image: Department of Water WA.   BY ELIZABETH FABRI   AUSTRALIA is one of the driest continents in the world, and mining is thirsty business. In remote areas of the country water can be both scarce and overabundant, forcing mining operations to continually advance water management strategies and technologies to secure supply, minimise environmental footprint, and ride through extreme weather events such as cyclones, flooding, and droughts.   Water management in mining is a hot topic in all mining jurisdictions across the country. During 2014-15, an estimated 76,140 gigalitres (GL) of water was extracted to support the Australian economy, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). Of this amount, 768GL or 4.4 per...

DESPITE a long history digging up gold and coal across its major mining hubs – Bendigo, Stawell, the Gippsland Basin and Latrobe Valley – Victoria currently ranks the least or second least attractive destination for minerals investment. Yet the State is the METS capital of the country; and through Government backing more investment is expected to flow into the region. A proud advocate of mining in the State, Victorian Resources minister Wade Noonan spoke to Elizabeth Fabri about the importance of mining and the programs in place to promote growth.   Q. While Victoria doesn't top the list for mining investment in Australia it does have a proud history. How important is mining to the State economy?   The mining...

All images: Newcrest.   BY ELIZABETH FABRI   ON the back of one of its most eventful years to date, including an earthquake at its Cadia operation in April, Newcrest Mining remains in a comfortable position – on track to achieve its annual production guidance for the fourth consecutive year while advancing greenfields exploration overseas.   The Newcrest executive team made some big decisions in 2016. The global gold miner signed an agreement to sell its 50 per cent stake in its PNG Hidden Valley facility at a $10m loss, let go of its Marsden copper gold project in NSW, put its Ridgeway underground mine at Cadia into care and maintenance, and welcomed a new investment to its portfolio --...

By Reuben Adams YANCOAL Australia will become one of Australia’s largest pure-play coal producers if its $US2.45 billion purchase of Rio Tinto’s Coal & Allied goes forward. 78 per cent-owned by Chinese State-owned Yanzhou Coal Mining Co, Yancoal Australia currently produces thermal and metallurgical coal each year for export, operating four sites and managing five others across NSW, Queensland and WA. After a healthy 2012, when it posted profits of $404.6m, Yancoal has struggled along with the rest of its coal industry peers – posting annual losses of $832m (2013), $353.5m (2014), $291.2m (2015), and most recently $227.1m (2016). Yet there could be light at the end of the tunnel; Yancoal is looking to snap its losing streak on the...

All images: Galaxy Resources. By Elizabeth Fabri IF there was one company that best exemplified the lithium boom of the last 12 months, Galaxy Resources would be it. In 2016, its share price rose 330 per cent, making it the highest performing stock of the ASX-200. This year, Galaxy maintains its position in the spotlight as production ramps up at its newly commissioned Mt Cattlin project. The Mt Cattlin mine has been operated by Galaxy Resources since 2009, but was put on care and maintenance in 2013; a huge blow for the nearby Ravensthorpe community with 37 staff and 65 contract redundancies. But after more than three years, times were looking up for the WA mining town with the revival...

All Images: Atlas Iron. By Cameron Drummond ATLAS Iron has crawled itself back from near extinction after the price of iron ore plummeted in 2015, which subsequently forced the company to suspend its mining operations and restructure company debt after heavy financial losses. Perth-based Atlas Iron listed on the ASX in 2004, and has since grown into a mid-sized iron ore mining and exploration company. It currently operates three projects: Wodgina, Abydos and Mt Webber – all in the northern Pilbara region of WA – shipping at a run rate of about 15 million tonnes per annum (mtpa). After a rocky 2015 when the company nearly went bust, Atlas is looking to be debt free by the end of the...

All images: Southern Ports Authority. By Elizabeth Fabri WHEN multiple entities join forces to combine their expertise and knowledge great things can happen. The Southern Ports Authority, an amalgamation of the Port Authorities at Albany, Bunbury and Esperance, has propelled further production efficiencies, safety measures and annual trade of more than $15.6 billion since its formation. The merger between the three ports kicked off in October 2014 after much deliberation by the WA Government following a comprehensive review. The 2010 review delved into all matters concerning port operations, performance and governance to ensure all of the State’s ports were able to keep up with the demands of the rapidly growing economy. It was decided that port infrastructure would be optimised by...