Category: Features

THE last two years have been largely favourable for Perth-based Grange Resources, with the miner going from strength to strength in terms of production and revenue. Grange’s business centres on the extraction of magnetite iron ore from its Savage River mine in Tasmania and the production of pelletised iron ore at its associated plant. However, the company is now in the process of developing a second iron ore mine – Southdown, near Albany in WA – which is anticipated to be about four times the size of the Savage River operation. On top of its recent successes Grange has also acquired a new chief executive and managing director, Richard Mehan, who has worked in the industry for more than 30...

DESPITE potential softening in the resources market, Centennial Coal has been on a buying spree of rolling stock during the past year. The NSW-based company, acquired by Thailand’s Banpu two years ago, is also continuing with expansion at a number of its mine sites. Centennial, which supplies domestic and overseas markets, has grown to fuel about 40 per cent of NSW’s coal-fired electricity generating capacity, according to the company. It owns seven underground and open-pit mines outright, and operates four others under joint venture agreements in the north and west of NSW. The miner has a total annual production capacity of more than 19 million tonnes of thermal and coking coal. In the past 13 months, Centennial has bought a...

As part of the Aditya Birla Group and backed by Indian metals powerhouse Hindalco, Aditya Birla Minerals enjoys a strong position in the Australian copper market. Established in 2003, Aditya Birla swiftly acquired the Nifty operation in WA and the Mt Gordon operation in Queensland. Since then, the company has turned around the fortunes of these projects, resulting in improved operational efficiency and increased production. This year, both Nifty and Mt Gordon continue to enjoy average month-on-month increases in ore production and operational performance. As for many miners, the 2011 to 2012 financial year was a combination of high points and challenges for Aditya Birla. Even though the company enjoyed slightly higher average copper prices in US dollar terms than...

SUPPLYING a large proportion of the world’s metallurgical coal demand, Dalrymple Bay Coal Terminal (DBCT), 38km south of Mackay in Central Queensland, is Australia’s second-largest bulk export coal terminal. Following the completion in 2009 of the terminal’s 7X expansion, DBCT has a nameplate capacity of 85 million tonnes per annum. It exports primarily hard coking coal from Queensland’s Bowen Basin, in addition to smaller amounts of pulverised coal injection (PCI) and thermal coal. The terminal’s key international markets are Asia, Europe and Brazil, with a significant amount of coal destined for Japan, Korea, China and India. DBCT has the capacity to accommodate about 770 ships every year, each carrying an average of 110,000t of cargo. The terminal is owned by...

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...

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...

FOR 25 years, NQ Cranes has been at the forefront of the Australian crane industry. The company is Queensland’s largest overhead crane manufacturer and service provider. It offers services such as crane and hoist supply, and crane design, manufacture, servicing, maintenance and compliance inspections. Whether a client requires a single or double-girder overhead travelling crane, custom-built jib or portal cranes, or crane rail systems, NQ Cranes has the expertise and knowledge to deliver first-class solutions. Products manufactured by NQ Cranes conform to all Australian standards, ensuring customers receive a safe, reliable and cost-effective lifting system, delivered on time and on budget. With safety as its top priority, the company offers after-sales support including emergency servicing performed by its qualified staff...

EFFECTIVE dust control using water at mines requires uniform wetting, and monitoring of weather conditions such as wind direction and speed. Dust can cause major problems for mining operations, such as low-visibility issues and equipment failure, and can be linked to health problems such as asthma, lung cancer and heart disease. A fixed sprinkler system with weather monitoring, centralised control and proper water distribution components can be an effective and operationally efficient solution for dust issues at material handling points and on stockpiles and roads. The Rain Bird central control system utilises a single computer linked to field controllers to monitor watering schedules and system performance, allowing a small number of people to easily operate and monitor site-wide system activities...

MINING software company Chasm Consulting recently announced the release of its mine ventilation software Ventsim Visual 3.0, a major upgrade to the existing Ventsim Visual 2. Version 3 of the software was in development for more than 12 months, and incorporates hundreds of improvements on the previous version, largely based on feedback by users and developing trends in mine ventilation design. Ventsim Visual 3.0 includes new features such as multiple 3D windows and full dynamic time-based simulation for heat, gas and diesel fumes. The software also includes a new staging feature that enables a mine to incorporate a series of incremental ventilation changes in a model to represent different stages of mine development. Multiple versions or options of the same...