Category: Legacy

GLENCORE will shut down its Australian coal operations for three weeks across Christmas in response to continued weak global demand. The move, which will cut the Swiss giant’s coal output by about 5 million tonnes, came as thermal coal prices hit the low US$60s last month, more than half the heights reached three years ago. In a statement, Glencore said the decision was made given the current oversupply situation and would reduce the need to push sales into an already weak pricing environment. However the company said it believed the market would strengthen in time. “We remain confident in demand growth for our products and believe that the supply and demand balance will be restored in the medium term,” it…

SOUTH Australia’s next major mining project moved closer to development in mid November after getting the go-ahead for a vital application. The South Australian Government advised Iron Road it could prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) for its proposed US$4.5 billion Central Eyre iron project (CEIP) on the Eyre Peninsula, which would export 21.5 million tonnes per annum of high grade concentrate (magnetite). CEIP holds ‘major development’ status in South Australia as well as Commonwealth ‘major project facilitation’ (MPF) status – the only project in the state to do so. The EIS is expected to detail a 148km rail project, with the potential to be linked to the national rail network; a deep sea port and export facility at Cape…

WA-based producer Mount Gibson Iron has stood down more than 200 staff at its Koolan Island operations in the Kimberley after aseawall slumped and flooded the main pit. Mount Gibson announced it was suspending main pit operations at the 3 million tonne per annum mine in October after a portion of the pit’s southern seawall slumped. Employees were redeployed to other parts of the project. However a further slump occurred on 25 November, a month after the initial incident, flooding the pit. The company was forced to suspend all non-essential operations on the island, standing down the majority of its on-site workforce. “Mount Gibson is evaluating the situation, but it is not yet possible to determine the extent of the…

RECENTLY introduced tariffs on coal exports to China will be scrapped under a free trade agreement (FTA) to be signed this year. Under the long-awaited China-Australia FTA, announced by Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Chinese President Xi Jinping in November, the 3 per cent tariff on coking coal will be removed on signing the agreement, while the 6 per cent tariff on thermal coal will be gone within two years. The tariffs were introduced last year in a surprise blow to Australia’s beleaguered coal exporters, which send about $6 billion of product to China each year and were already feeling the strain of low coal prices. The FTA will remove tariffs on 99.9 per cent of Australia’s current resources exports…

PRIME Minister Tony Abbott defended coal to world leaders at the G20 summit in Brisbane last month despite increasing pressure for further action on climate change. The G20 Leaders’ Communiqué included a lengthy section on climate change, including a pledge to phase out fossil fuel subsidies. However, major media outlets reported Mr Abbott had argued against focusing on climate change in the communiqué in private leaders’ sessions. According to Fairfax Media, Mr Abbott launched an “impassioned defence” of coal to other G20 leaders, however was opposed by European leaders and US President Barack Obama. Mr Abbott, who earlier this year described coal as “good for humanity”, emphasised the role coal had to play in the developing world in remarks at…

THE world’s largest iron ore producer has blamed its Australian counterparts for the market’s oversupply issues after posting a surprise US$1.44 billion net loss in the last quarter. Despite producing a record 85.7 million tonnes Brazil-based Vale was slugged by a global drop in iron ore prices, which cost the company US$1.031 billion in the September quarter. An 11 per cent depreciation in the value of the Brazilian real also knocked almost US$3 billion from the company’s coffers. Despite its own production increases, Vale ferrous and strategy executive director José Carlos Martins said Australian producers were having the biggest impact on iron ore prices. “In the iron market we are experiencing a market of oversupply; demand did not increase as…

FOR almost 30 years Rio Tinto’s Argyle diamond mine has been the world’s only reliable source of pink diamonds, and a new expansion project will see it hold that title for years to come. Argyle, in WA’s remote East Kimberley, has produced more than 800 million carats of rough diamonds since it was commissioned in 1985. The mine is one of the largest suppliers of diamonds in the world; the majority of gems from Argyle are cheaper white or champagne diamonds that are sold rough to customers in India, the US and China. While pink and red diamonds only make up a tiny percentage of the mine’s production, Argyle has become synonymous with the rare and illustrious gems – producing…

THE BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA) hopes to defy the coal market’s gloomy outlook after officially opening its US$3.4 billion project, Caval Ridge. BHP Billiton Coal president Dean Dalla Valle said the mine’s opening – attended by Prime Minister Tony Abbott – was an opportunity for BHP Billiton and Mitsubishi to “showcase a world class new mine in Queensland, which will contribute to Australia’s coal export industry”. “Today’s opening of the Caval Ridge Mine is a significant milestone for BHP Billiton,” he said at the October ceremony. “The operation will produce metallurgical coal for the steel industry and has been constructed with the latest technology to be one of the most productive, sustainable and highly performing metallurgical coal mines in…

WA Premier Colin Barnett has accused state’s major iron ore producers of flooding the market, forcing prices down and squeezing out higher-cost producers. In a focused attack on BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto, Mr Barnett warned he would “hate” to raise the state royalty rates, telling the companies to “remember who your landlord is”. WA’s financial stability, which is highly dependent on the iron ore industry, has become increasingly troubled across 2014 as the commodity’s price dropped nearly 40 per cent since January. “The iron ore industry and iron ore royalties have become critical to the state’s finances,” Mr Barnett said. “Normal business logic… would suggest that if we are selling a product into a market and the price is…

SYDNEY-based Igloo Shelters has supplied complete container and shelter packages around Australia and overseas for more than 10 years. The Igloo shelter design not only allows for an efficient and inexpensive alternative to a standard fixed building but also enables easy set up, dismantle and relocation – ideal for anyone looking for portable shelters, roofing or temporary cover solutions. Igloo Shelters operations manager Joe Caruana said being a subdivision of Price and Speed Containers enabled the company to deliver modified shipping containers to act as workshops, site offices and lunch rooms, combined with a high quality, multi-purpose shelter structures. “The shelters are made from a curved structural steel framework covered by a unique PVC coated fabric, rather than the traditional…

EXPLORATION in WA has been hampered by access difficulties. In brownfields areas, issues often include the positioning of flooded open pits, waste dumps, tailings dams or even roads preventing access. In greenfields areas, awareness of environmental impacts in previously undisturbed or sensitive areas has seen a substantial reduction in the amount of clearing allowed for access. WA-based diamond drilling company West Core Drilling – the quality coring company, is assisting exploration and mining companies to overcome these obstacles by providing access solutions. Its modified LF90 core drilling rigs allow them to drill at much shallower angles than most conventional surface coring rigs (-30 degrees compared to the standard of -50 degrees).  This has allowed clients to test otherwise inaccessible areas,…