Category: Legacy

A worldfirst, state-of-the-art facility in Brisbane will examine real time processing data from seven Rio Tinto mines across the globe as part of an effort to optimise operational performance. The Processing Excellence Centre (PEC) was launched in March by Rio Tinto as part of its Mine of the Future technology and innovation program. A mineral processing team based out of the PEC will share technical initiatives and solutions with the Oyu Tolgoi mine in Mongolia and Rio Tinto Kennecott in the US, as well as five coal sites in Australia. With the aid of a giant interactive screen, technical data will be monitored and analysed in real time, allowing processing improvements to be immediately introduced. The trial phase of the…

DEBATE regarding Queensland’s controversial Abbot Point Port expansion has escalated, with the Labor and the Greens jointly acting on claims environmental protection laws were misused during the port’s approvals process. In early March, the Senate passed a non-binding motion calling for Federal Environmental minister Greg Hunt to withdraw his approval for the project. The port expansion project, which would see the addition of a second wharf and ship loader as well as an additional onshore stockyard and machines, requires the dredging of 3 million tonnes of material at the deepwater port, south of Bowen on Queensland’s northern coast. Under the approved plans, the dredged would be dumped 25km off Abbot Point within the World Heritage listed Great Barrier Reef Marine…

AS nickel prices rise in response to Indonesia’s export ban, BHP Billiton is considering the sale of its WA nickel business. The Indonesian ban came into play in January, in an attempt by the country’s government to induce more value-adding to its mineral exports through the development of onshore processing operations. These restrictions – from the world’s largest nickel exporter and the main supplier of low-grade nickel laterite to China’s nickel pig iron industry – have already caused a surge in commodity prices, which BHP is now reportedly trying to cash in on. BHP’s Nickel West operation, worth $1 billion, comprises the Mt Keith open cut mine and concentrator; two underground mines and a concentrator at Leinster; a nickel concentrator…

MORE than a month after a fire spread from bushland to the Hazelwood coal mine in the Latrobe Valley, the Victorian Government announced that an independent enquiry would be established to investigate the blaze. Headed by former Supreme Court Justice Bernard Teague, who led the Black Saturday Royal Commission, the Board of Inquiry will investigate the suspected arson that led to the fire reaching the mine and the emergency response undertaken for the incident, as well examining the bigger picture issue of whether regulatory requirements for the Hazelwood mine were stringent enough. The investigation would also assess the health and environmental responses to the fire and whether communities had received adequate information. “Our government wants this inquiry to fully and…

WA gold company Silver Lake Resources has tagged its Murchison project in WA for imminent closure, in a move that will cut 127 jobs. Silver Lake referenced a $47 million loss for the half years to 31 December 2013 as the reason for the closure, stating its priority was now the low risk Mount Monger project. After a trading halt in early March, the company issued 65.6 million new shares valued at $0.60 per share in an attempt to garner working capital; the effort was expected to bring in $39 million. In the next two years, about $12 million will reportedly go towards Murchison’s June closure, including redundancy payments and site contract restructuring expenses, with ongoing care and maintenance costs…

WESTERN Australia rocketed up global rankings to secure the world’s top resources investment destination for 2013, nudging out the US state of Nevada for the number one spot.WA burst into the top-ten overall rankings from 15th in 2012, despite the slowdown in mining investment. All ranked jurisdictions in 2013 were top ten in 2012, except for Canada’s Newfoundland and Labrador, and WA. The Fraser Institute Survey of Mining Companies 2013 assessed how mineral endowments and public policy factors – such as taxation and regulatory uncertainty – affected exploration investment. About 700 survey responses providing sufficient data to evaluate 112 jurisdictions around the world. WA ranked second in the world in the Best Practices Mineral Potential index and sixth in the…

FAMILY-owned and operated company Win United manufactures, imports and distributes industrial hoses and hose fittings to a variety of sectors including mining and resources, civil, construction and utilities, as well as government utilities and departments across the country. A specialist in complete hose solutions, Win United manufactures a range of hose assemblies in-house for immediate use – saving companies on downtime and labour, while ensuring all safety requirements are met. Win United provides a wide range of valves and gauges, pipe fittings, hydraulic hoses and fittings and hand-build hoses, and offers services applicable to these components. Beyond manufacturing, the company imports and distributes hoses and hose fittings from sources across the globe, prominently including Italy, Turkey and Malaysia. Imported items…

The first ever Safety in Action Darwin has finally arrived! Part of the well-respected Safety in Action Event Series, Safety in Action Darwin will take place from the 19 – 20 March 2014 at the Darwin Convention Centre. Attracting thousands of safety professionals together under one roof and 75+ exhibitors, the show is the only place to keep up to date with the latest industry news, network, source new products and services in our interactive exhibition and learn from industry experts in our seminar sessions. The show caters for a number of different sectors so whatever industry you are involved in, if your job involves safety, then Safety in Action Darwin is the event for you! Registration is FREE so…

PERTH-based gold miner Northern Star Resources has purchased two major Goldfields assets from Canadian giant Barrick Gold, leveraging its rank as the fifth largest gold producer on the ASX. Northern Star purchased Barrick’s Kanowna Belle mine and a 52 per cent stake in the East Kundana joint venture for $75 million in late January, following the completion of a $100 million share placement. The remaining $25 million will be used as working capital. The purchases are Northern Star’s second major acquisition from the world’s largest gold producer in less than a month; it purchased Barrick’s Plutonic mine, near Meekatharra, for $25 million in late December. Northern Star’s fundraising placement was completed in January at $0.86 per share, representing a 9.7…

THE WA Department of Mines and Petroleum mining warden has recommended the refusal of three uranium exploration licences sought by Cauldron Energy, based on inadequate funding. The licences, adjacent to pastoral leases on the Minderoo pastoral station in the Pilbara, would extend Cauldron’s ground around its flagship Yanrey project. Following a December hearing, the mining warden concluded that Cauldron did not have adequate funding in place to carry out the proposed exploration. Cash available to the company at the end of the December 2013 quarter was about $487,000, while listed investments readily convertible to cash for exploration purposes totalled $580,000. Cauldron executive chairman Tony Sage said he was disappointed by the decision and would urge Mines and Petroleum minister Bill…

AN electro-magnetic survey on tenements in the Northern Territory has returned positive results for Australian explorer Rox Resources, showing signs of possible copper sulphide mineralisation accumulations. The versatile time domain electro-magnetic (VTEM) survey conducted on the Bonya project tenements, 350km east of Alice Springs, aimed to find signatures similar to those seen in the adjacent Jervois deposits. KGL Resources’ neighbouring Jervois base metal project has an estimated mineral resource of 13.5 million tonnes grading 1.3 per cent copper and 25 grams per tonne silver. The VTEM survey identified 10 anomalies, including three considered ‘high priority’. According to a company statement, the B10 target had a similar electro-magnetic signature to that seen at Jervois, while B01 and B03 were “strong, well-defined…