Category: Legacy

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…

PERTH-based uranium company Paladin Energy has sold a minority stake in itsNamibian project Langer Heinrich to refinance the project’s finance facility. In a deal worth US$190 million, Paladin sold a 25 per cent joint venture equity stake in the project for US$190 million to state-owned China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) subsidiary CNNC Overseas Uranium Holding. Paladin refinanced the existing US$110 million project finance facility and US$20 million working capital facility into a new US$70 million syndicated loan facility. It was also able to make a US$30.38 million prepayment on the existing facility due to the sale, bringing the balance to US$70 million. Paladin chief executive John Borshoff said the new facility would provide significant cash flow benefits and further strengthen…

A new high grade zone of mineralisation at the Morley prospect will add value to KGL Resources wider Jevois project in the Northern Territory. The mineralisation at Morley – including 14m grading 2.01 per cent copper and 7.7g per tonne silver from 17m – is parallel to areas of known mineralisation at the Marshall and Reward prospects. The Morley trend is the latest discovery by KGL at Jevois, which also includes the Skies, Green Parrot, Marshall and Reward prospects. Recent reconnaissance reverse circulation drilling and geological mapping at East Reward confirmed mineralisation extended at depth. Results included 4m grading 3.09 per cent copper, 0.54 per cent zinc, 28.2g/t silver and 0.08g/t gold from 485m; and 6m grading 1.71 per cent…

A defunct salt mine in Romania has been transformed into a booming tourist attraction, with an underground theme park and history museum. The historic Salina Turda salt mines in northern-central Transylvania were mined from the seventeenth century, and provided an integral source of wealth for the country’s Roman occupiers. The mine’s transformation into a theme park incorporated three former mining shafts, including Terezia mine, which reaches 120m below ground; Anton which reaches 108m; and the Rudolf, which extends down 42m. Features include a 180-seat amphitheatre, a sports arena with mini soccer stadium, a Ferris wheel, billiard and ping pong facilities, a mini-golf course and a bowling alley. Visitors descend the cavernous mine shafts in glass elevators, and into the Tereza…

THE birthplace of Michelangelo, da Vinci and the Renaissance, UNESCO-listed Florence is the cultural hub of central Italy. Framed by Italy’s major mountain chains, “the cradle of the Renaissance” is the capital of Tuscany and ticks the boxes as an international tourist hotspot. Visitors are widely attracted to Florence’s numerous art museums, monuments and galleries, its stylish fashions, and extensive menu of Italian cuisine. The city is within comfortable travel distance of some of Italy’s most dramatic countryside, with the province spanning across the Italian Alps and Tuscany’s famed vineyards. Florence has an artistic and architectural heritage envied across the globe. Combined with its subtropical Mediterranean climate, it is easy to see why Forbes named it one of the world’s…

AUSTRALIA’S mining industry plays a vital role in the national economy, attracting billions of dollars in export income, employing more than 750,000 Australians and supporting communities across the country. Its enviable safety record is recognised globally and Moddex has played an important role in that achievement. Moddex supplies Australasian mining companies with quality handrails, guardrails and other barrier products, offering vital protection for workers, machine operators and mining equipment. Moddex is a recognised pioneer and innovator of protective barriers in today’s mining, workplace and construction sectors. The company’s barrier systems have been installed across mining accommodation and construction camps throughout WA, Northern Territory, South Australia and both islands of New Zealand. Recently, Moddex barrier systems were installed at one of…

EXTREME negligence was blamed for the Aberfan disaster of 1966, which saw 166 children and 28 adults lose their lives after a colliery spoil tip collapsed in the tiny Welsh village. The coal tip reportedly took just five minutes to slide down the mountain and engulf a school, several houses and a farm in its path. It was an incident that devastated the coal mining village near Merthry Tydfil in South Wales and changed the face of mining regulations – prompting new legislation to resolve the absence of laws and regulations for mine and quarry waste tips and spoil heaps. The incident took place early on 21 October, shortly after the school day had commenced. The mudslide, consisting of excavated…

THE Esplanade Hotel Fremantle – by Rydges is one of WA’s top destinations for accommodation, conferences and events. In the heart of Fremantle, the hotel is a popular choice among mining companies for corporate events and to accommodate clients. The four-and-a-half star hotel has the third largest convention and exhibition facility in WA and can cater to a range of corporate events – from as little as 10 people through to 1000. The venues are ideal for conferences, workshops, meetings, exhibitions, banquets and more. There are 12 conference and event rooms to choose from – all equipped with state-of-the-art visual equipment and fast, reliable complimentary Wi-Fi – and their onsite audio visual technicians ensure that everything runs smoothly on the…