Category: Regional Focus

The NT Environmental Protection Agency recommended an expansion of Glencore’s McArthur River mine proceed. Image: Glencore. BY AMY BLOM THE Northern Territory’s mining sector is looking stronger, with a string of new mine openings, rising exploration and improved commodity prices signalling renewed confidence. Mining in the Northern Territory is experiencing a revival, but as the State Government spruiks the sector, industry figures are offering more cautious optimism. In the past month, the Government has announced a surge in mineral exploration expenditure and record-breaking mineral production for the Territory. In September, Northern Territory Primary Industry and Resources minister Ken Vowles told the Mining in the Territory conference that there were a number of new mining projects across the Territory actively and successfully…

 The Pilbara Ports Authoriy remains on track to complete all construction projects this year.  BY: JESSICA CUMMINS  Representing the world’s largest bulk export ports, Port Hedland and Port of Dampier, Pilbara Port Authority continues to lead with a pipeline of projects nearing completion.   THE Pilbara Ports Authority (PPA) ended last financial year with a record breaking annual throughput of 699.3 million tonnes. Iron ore exports for the year totalled 508.9 million tonnes; up 14.3 million or 3 per cent from the year before. Iron ore exports in June were 47.2 million tonnes, showing growth of 4.2 million tonnes or 10 per cent from the previous year. The PPA currently accounts for about 50 per cent of the world’s seaborne…

The Carrapateena mine will enter production in 2019. Image: OZ Minerals. BY ELIZABETH FABRI THE South Australian resources sector has had a strong year. But dwindling exploration points to a far greater issue for the State, as it looks to ramp up production and continue the search for the next Olympic Dam-style deposit. More exploration is needed in South Australia: that is the message Association of Mining and Exploration Companies (AMEC) chief executive Warren Pearce had for delegates at the recent South Australia Resources and Energy Investment conference (SAREIC) in Adelaide. “Greenfields mineral exploration, the heartbeat of mining, is flat lining in South Australia,” Mr Pearce said. “Nationally mineral exploration has been rebounding since 2016, but the numbers out of…

Image: Jorunn Lorenzen. BY ELIZABETH FABRI THE regional centre of Emerald is back on its feet, with a fresh round of coal projects crying out for workers and creating economic impetus for the Central Highlands. New infrastructure investments are also cementing the town’s future as a long-term services hub. Japanese-owned Sojitz Corporation has been instrumental in Emerald’s revival as a mining services town. Sojitz, which has operated Minerva coal mine since 2010, began first production at its Meteor Downs project (jointly owned with U&D Mining) earlier this year, which required an additional 40 employees. Then in June Sojitz made the big announcement it would purchase BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance’s (BMA) shuttered Gregory Crinum metallurgical coal mine for $100 million, with…

All images: City of Karratha BY: JESSICA CUMMINS The Pilbara support service hubs of Port Hedland and Karratha are preparing for a new wave of growth, as the region’s revitalised resources sector changes gear. The mining centres of Port Hedland and Karratha will be the centre of a new wave of mining and resources activity. Last month, Fortescue Metals Group approved its new $US1.3 billion Eliwana project, which is set to create 1900 jobs during construction. BHP’s $4.7 billion South Flank will replace its Yandi mine, creating about 3000 construction and operational positions, while Rio Tinto expects to make a final investment decision on its massive Kooldaideri project by the end of the year. In a statement last month, Woodside…

Kwinana Industries Council director Chris Oughton. Image: KIC. BY REUBEN ADAMS TIANQI’S decision to establish a lithium downstream processing facility at the Kwinana Industrial Area (KIA) was a watershed moment. It not only flagged a new wave of growth for the KIA, it was synonymous with a broader step change for WA’s resources sector – from ‘dig and deliver’ into value-added processing. The Kwinana Industrial Area  is the heart of the Western Trade Coast (WTC), WA’s premier industrial area which pumps about $15 billion into the State economy each year.  The KIA could see its current $11 billion per annum contribution to the WA economy skyrocket as this push toward secondary processing and battery manufacturing gains momentum. In August 2017,…

Image: Chalice Gold. BY ELIZABETH FABRI RECENT success at Kirkland Lake’s Fosterville gold mine has sparked a new wave of activity in regional Victoria. But it’s not just gold; zinc-copper, battery metals, and mineral sands projects are also accelerating toward development. Victoria’s mining sector, which has flown under the radar for years, has been reinvigorated. News the Fosterville gold project will be ramping up production to 400,000 ounces per annum by 2020, after mine resources were upgraded from 1moz to 1.7moz earlier this year has caused a buzz. Just ask Melbourne Mining Club chairman Richard Morrow. The industry advocate told The Australian Mining Review the Fosterville update had opened up new opportunities for Victorian miners, and the buzz around the…

BY ELIZABETH FABRI GOLD and nickel have been the lifeblood of WA’s Goldfields region for 125 years. But this is about to change – newcomer lithium is taking a seat at the table as demand for battery metals signals new opportunities in downstream processing. Neometals’ plan to build a 10,000 tonnes per annum lithium hydroxide production facility moved a step closer after it inked a deal to sub-lease a site in West Kalgoorlie for the refinery in early June. The proposed 40 hectare property is 5km from Kalgoorlie, and only 70km from its Mt Marion lithium operation, which is jointly owned with majority partner Mineral Resources. The site’s proximity is a huge shot in the arm for Kalgoorlie and its…

Image: Grange Resources. BY CAMERON DRUMMOND GROWTH projects are underway across many of Tasmania’s larger operations, but greenfields exploration has remained stagnant. Now, the State Growth Department is investing $2m over four years in a drilling grant initiative, a move it hopes will help encourage a new minerals exploration boom. Tasmania’s mining industry is starting to rebound, with several potential projects now in the pipeline. Mining is the Island State’s largest export industry, accounting for more than 50 per cent of earnings, or nearly $2 billion in the 2017 financial year. Tasmania’s three large operating mines include Rosebery (zinc, lead, gold, copper and silver), Savage River (magnetite, which is converted into iron ore pellets at Port Latta) and the Renison…

Vitrinite team members with a core sample taken from their Karin deposit. Image: Vitrinite. BY ELIZABETH FABRI BOWEN Basin locals may be quick to talk down another coal boom, but there is no question confidence is returning to the region. An upturn in coal prices is boosting new exploration and development, M&A activity, mine expansions, and prompting companies to reopen shuttered operations. But can recent momentum be sustained? Optimism has returned to the coal-rich Bowen Basin in central Queensland. In late 2016 recovering coal prices signalled hope – dampened only slightly when Cyclone Debbie rocked the region in 2017. And by early this year many Bowen Basin miners were wearing a smile again. Take Anglo American; the miner made a decision…

An operator stands next to plant machinery on a bauxite plateau at Rio’s Amrun project, Far North QLD. Image: Rio Tinto. BY CAMERON DRUMMOND GROWING Chinese demand is driving big investment into the bauxite-rich northwest tip of the Cape York Peninsula, with almost 30mtpa of extra supply due to come online by the end of 2019. An estimated 53 per cent of Australia’s vast bauxite resources come from the Cape York Peninsula in Far North QLD. The region’s operating bauxite mines are known for their high quality ore; determined not just by the aluminium content, but also by minerals such as iron oxides and titanium oxides, as well as the low amount of reactive silica which reduces processing costs. The…