Category: Headline

QUEENSLAND’S coal miners look set to shed more than 1000 jobs as tough market conditions continue to take their toll on Australia’s second biggest export. Last month BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA) announced it was cutting about 700 jobs from its Bowen Basin metallurgical coal mines, blaming challenging market conditions. The price of Queensland metallurgical coal dropped below US$115 per tonne in September, a long way short of the US$300/t records reached in 2011. BMA asset president Lucas Dow said the joint venture had to act to guarantee the long-term viability of the business. “BMA will continue to work with employees and contractors throughout the process and ensure everyone is treated fairly and with respect,” he said. “We will also…

WA’s mineral and petroleum industries set a new income record in financial year 2014 in the face of soft global demand for commodities. According to statistics released by the Department of Mines and Petroleum (DMP) in mid September, WA’s resources sector raked $121.6 billion into the state and national economies in FY2014; a near 20 per cent increase on the previous financial year. DMP pointed to Australia’s weakening dollar, which averaged US$0.92 for the period, as the primary ground for the results, with a 10.5 per cent drop against the greenback working to offset falling commodity prices. “Traditionally perceived as a commodity currency, the Australian dollar decreased inline with falling commodity prices and therefore shielded producers to some extent from…

A second acquisition deal with Norilsk Nickel will see Poseidon Nickel acquire the Lake Johnston nickel project, which has been on care and maintenance since April 2013. In July, Poseidon entered an agreement to acquire the Black Swan project, including an open cut mine and nickel sulphide plant. The latest deal, the cost of which has not been disclosed, is for the Lake Johnston tenements, resources and infrastructure, 440km east of Perth and 117km west of Norseman. Together with its existing Windarra project, Poseidon now has near term production potential at three mineral provinces in WA. The new project comprises 11 mining leases, 10 exploration licences and one prospecting licence hosting the Emily Ann and Maggie Hays deposits. Maggie Hays…

WITH a mineral inventory increase of more than 100 per cent and the identification of three new drilling targets, Rox Resources has demonstrated the continued prospectivity of the Fisher East nickel sulphide belt. The company announced a maiden resource estimate for the Musket deposit, within its Mt Fisher project in the North Eastern Goldfields, of 2.1 million tonnes grading 1.8 per cent nickel for 37,500t of contained nickel. Using a 1 per cent cut-off grade, about 64 per cent of this resource is within the higher confidence indicated category. Together with the existing resources from the Camelwood deposit, the project’s resources now stand at 3.6mt grading 2 per cent nickel for 72,100t of contained nickel. About 52 per cent of…

DREDGING material from the Abbot Point coal port expansion in Queensland will be dumped on land rather than in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park under a state government plan designed to ease environmental concerns. North Queensland Bulk Ports (NQBP) already has Federal Government approval to dump 3 million cubic metres of spoil from the controversial expansion project at sea, however the Queensland Government will push the company towards taking the new land dumping option. The Adani Group and GVK Hancock-led port expansion is a vital stage in development of coal in Queensland’s Galilee Basin. Queensland Premier Campbell Newman said the onshore dumping strategy, approved by State Cabinet earlier this month, was a win-win situation. “It will protect the unique…

THE much-maligned mining tax has finally been axed after the Coalition Government cut a deal with Clive Palmer to fulfil its remaining major election promise. Repeal of Labor’s Mineral Resources Rent Tax (MRRT) passed the Senate this month after it was knocked down in July over Palmer United Party (PUP) amendments to save associated spending measures. Under the deal with the PUP, the Government agreed to delay the abolition date on key measures in the legislation until after the next election. The Low Income Superannuation Contribution will be abolished from 1 July 2017, while the Income Support Bonus and Schoolkids Bonus will be axed from the end of 2016. The Schoolkids Bonus will be means-tested until its abolition. To cover…

FOLLOWING decades of experience in the design and manufacture of electric drive haulage solutions, Liebherr introduced its T 282 Series haul truck to serial production in 2000. Fourteen years on and with more than 350 units globally, the Liebherr T 282 Series haul truck represents the accumulation of more than six million operational hours of knowledge and ultra-class haulage experience. Through strategic investment in product evolution, Liebherr ensures the T 282 Series haul truck continues to provide business partners with the latest in technology. The highly efficient IGBT drive system and its class leading payload-to-weight ratio ensure maximum productivity and performance. In the next exciting evolution for the T 282 Series haul truck, Liebherr proudly launched the T 282 C…

LEADING waste and recycling provider SITA Australia has expanded its service offering for miners in NSW’s Hunter region and across Australia. SITA’s mining and resources offering includes a diverse range of onsite and offsite waste management services, from transfer station management through to collection services, waste segregation, hazardous waste management, industrial services and mine site rehabilitation. With a dedicated account management team providing comprehensive environmental and waste management audits, SITA helps mining operators identify the sources of waste generated at mine sites as well as opportunities for waste and cost reduction. SITA business development manager for mining and resources Todd Armstrong said the company had built a strong reputation in Australia for implementing innovative and diversified solutions for the mining…

THE minerals industry – including exploration, extraction and processing – is a major contributor to Australia’s income, investment, high-wage jobs, exports and government revenues. The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (the AusIMM) was formed in recognition of this, to promote and protect industry health while providing support services to Australia’s minerals professionals. It was founded in 1893 and has since grown to represent more than 13,500 minerals industry members. In the first week of September, AusIMM will present its 12th Mill Operators’ Conference. Hosted in Townsville, Queensland, Mill Operators 2014 will focus on developments and rising issues for mineral processing in Australia. Since the inaugural event in Mt Isa in 1982, the Mill Operators’ Conference has run every two…

WITH $10 million in the bank, Rum Jungle Resources is poised to transition from an explorer to a fertiliser mineral producer, with a focus on the Northern Territory. The transition is being led by newly appointed managing director Chris Tziolis, and is the second major transition for the company, which listed on the ASX in 2007 as Rum Jungle Uranium. Although the company was originally focused on uranium exploration, it now has a portfolio of phosphate projects and potash projects (with one also prospective for lithium). According to Mr Tziolis, the defining moment that led the company to shift its focus from uranium was the discovery of the Barrow Creek phosphate resource. This deposit, together with the Arganara deposit, forms…

WA’s Curtin University is creating a digital mineralogy hub facility incorporating cutting-edge scanning electron microscope technology that will be used to construct a mineralogical and geodata library for the Australian continent. To be based at Curtin’s John de Laeter Centre (JDLC), the hub will comprise two TESCAN electron microscopes and Schottky field emission gun, installed earlier this year, and a TESCAN integrated minerals analyser (TIMA), to be installed this November. The TIMA is an automated instrument capable of characterising the mineralogy of up to 15 samples at a time and will enable researchers to more rapidly determine the chemical and physical properties of natural samples. It will also incorporate TESCAN’s unique compact Rainbow cathodoluminescence (CL) detector, which is ideally suited…