Category: Headline

THE on-site construction workforce has doubled at Gina Rinehart’s $10 billion integrated iron ore mining operation Roy Hill, after substantial funding from global and national sources consolidated confidence in the project’s future. Australia’s richest person contributed the latest $251.6 million lump sum payment in mid January via a subsidiary of her company Hancock Prospecting, Hanrine Holdings. The payment followed several significant loans secured in December: particularly a US$694.4 million loan approved by the Export-Import Bank of the US, to Roy Hill Holdings, on the condition that equipment would be purchased from US companies such as Caterpillar, Atlas Copco and GE. Joint venture partners, Japanese company Marubeni and China Steel Corporation – whose ownership at Roy Hill totals 30 per cent…

AN acquisition deal with Barrick Gold Corporation has set Northern Star Resources on the fast track to doubling its annual gold production. The deal, expected to be finalised this month, will see Northern Star acquire the Plutonic gold mine for $25 million – equal to $14 per ounce of resources. The acquisition will be funded from Northern Star’s existing cash reserves, which stood at $45 million at the end of September 2013. The mine, 180km northeast of Meekatharra in WA, produced 86,000oz of gold during the first nine months of 2013, at an all-in sustaining cost of $1110/oz. As of the end of 2012, it had proven and probable reserves of 206,000oz of gold and resources of 1.75 million ounces…

COLOMBIA has fined Alabama-based coal company Drummond Company US$3.6 million after it allegedly dumped up to 1900t of coal into the Caribbean Sea, and failed to report the incident to authorities. A week after the announcement, the Colombian Government stated Drummond would be forced to close its Colombian mines within two weeks, following a five-day suspension of its port operations. Drummond – Colombia’s second largest coal producer – received the fine in late December after one of its barges on the Santa Marta coastline took on water due to high wind and wave conditions experienced earlier in the year. According to a Drummond statement, the incident occurred at night and was not discovered until early the next morning. The company’s…

THE NSW Government is set to cancel lucrative exploration licences in the Hunter Valley and refuse compensation to owners NuCoal Resources and Cascade Coal, following corruption findings by the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC). Late in 2013, the ICAC found former Primary Industries and Mineral Resources minister Ian Macdonald corrupt for granting a licence to Doyles Creek Mining, chaired by friend and former union boss John Maitland, for coal exploration in the Hunter Valley. Mr Macdonald was also found corrupt for creating a mining tenement at Mount Penny in the Bylong Valley on land owned by the family of former Labor minister Eddie Obeid. In its report released on December 18, the ICAC stated that the granting of the licences…

VICTORIAN gold miner Newcrest has announced the third round of job cuts since July at its Telfer gold mine in East Pilbara. Newcrest did not release formal figures for the redundancies, stating it would first inform affected employees, but referenced the ongoing depressed gold market, high Australian dollar and costly production as primary factors behind the decision. “ is a challenging environment for gold miners at the moment,” a Newcrest representative told The West Australian. “Obviously with the reduced level of mining, it means some workforce reduction.” Newcrest employed more than 1800 people at Telfer before the gold price’s midyear crash. The company’s current 1200-strong workforce, including both employees and contractors, was expected to take a significant hit in the…

WITH declining commodity prices and rising costs creating a challenging investment environment, the Bureau of Resources and Energy Economics (BREE) has predicted Australia is unlikely to see a repeat in the high levels of investment experienced in the last five years. Instead it suggested that production would boom, with investment likely to decline in the medium-term. Even accounting for the cyclical nature of commodity prices, BREE stated it was unlikely that prices would rebound to the very high levels experienced at the peak of the most recent mining boom. The Resources and Energy Major Projects report, a biannual snapshot of the stock of investment in Australia’s resources and energy sectors, provided a projection of the capital stock of expenditure over…

With ongoing concerns over the toxic effects of mercury, a global commitment consisting of some 139 territories and nations have dedicated themselves to making the UN’s Minamata Convention on Mercury an international law. According to a recent news report*, the treaty gives these governments 15 years to put a stop to mercury mining. It has been signed by 92 governments, and shows their intention to follow the treaty, adjusting national law if and where necessary. The document is unlikely to be ratified until 2016 at the earliest – 50 governments will need to signatories in order for the law to be passed – and will not affect mining engineering processes that use mercury in small-scale gold mining. Bloomberg news** reported…

CHINESE iron ore imports surged in September despite widespread predictions of weakening demand and a looming supply glut. Chinese customs data, released mid-October, revealed imports of 74.6 million tonnes were an all-time high, up 8 per cent on August figures and 15 per cent on the same period last year. The country continued to produce steel at record levels of about 2.14mt each day – almost as much as the rest of the world combined – which was a boon for the reinvigorated Australian iron ore sector. While the solid reports and record-breaking production volumes of iron ore heavyweights Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton and Fortescue Metals Group received much of the spotlight, Perth-based Mount Gibson Iron quietly reported one of…

SWIMMING against the current of Queensland’s weakened coal industry, BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA) celebrated a significant success story when its $1.5 billion, 4.5 million tonne per annum Daunia mine was official opened in September. Daunia, 150km southwest of Mackay, was approved for development in 2011; it began operating in March 2013 and celebrated its official opening in September — ahead of schedule and $250 million under budget. Construction took about 4.3 million man hours and was achieved without any lost time injuries, according to BMA. Importantly, the open cut mine would be capital and cost efficient, with BMA planning to use existing rail and port infrastructure. A low stripping volume would also contribute to its cost competitiveness. BMA’s 5.5mtpa…

TECHNOLOGY has undergone exponential growth in the past decade; technology such as smart phones, iPods and LED televisions have integrated seamlessly into daily life, and with new developments continuing, this ingenuity shows no signs of slowing. At the core of many of these new technologies is a group of lesser known elements: millions of years old, the rare earth elements (REEs) are tiny, magnetised particles that provide the essential functional component of manyof today’s most revolutionary compact electronics and energy sources. Composed of 17 chemical elements — including 15 lanthanides elements, plus yttrium and scandium — most REEs were discovered in Scandinavia, and were often named in accordance with their place of discovery. Despite their ‘rare’ title, REEs are not…

THE vast African continent boasts resources of more than 60 metal and mineral products and about 30 per cent of the planet’s mineral reserves – including a wealth of gold, platinum group elements, diamond, uranium, manganese, chromium, nickel, bauxite and cobalt deposits – and has become an increasingly popular target for exploration and development by Australian mining companies. South Africa, Ghana, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Zambia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo have typically dominated the industry, however Gabon, Namibia, Botswana, Angola and Sierra Leone have all entered the field, becoming increasingly reliant on mining as a major area of foreign currency income. Mozambique, Nigeria and Madagascar have also shown great potential for base metal and industrial mineral deposits, with the…