Category: Legacy

MINERALS powerhouse Rio Tinto is reportedly planning to sell off billions of dollars in thermal coal mine assets from two of its central Queensland sites, as well as its NSW-based Coal and Allied, via global finance company Deutsche Bank. Sales are speculated to fetch about $2.8 billion for the British-Australian metals and mining corporation, with the company seeking a buyer for up to 29 per cent of its Coal and Allied unit, to cut costs and boost shareholder returns. Deutsche Bank is also reportedly selling Rio Tinto’s interests in the Clermont and Blair Athol thermal coal mines in Queensland, which could fetch more than $1billion. News of the sale broke via an unnamed executive reporting to the Wall Street Journal,…

AUSTRALIA’s second largest magnetite project has opened in WA’s Mid West, marked by an official ceremony at the Karara project site on 9 April. With more than 150 dignitaries in attendance including WA Premier Colin Barnett and Federal Resources minister Gary Gray, the launch signalled a milestone for the region. A 50/50 joint venture between Gindalbie Metals and Chinese miner Ansteel Group, the Karara project’s main focus is the production of high-grade magnetite concentrate, with a current ramp-up aiming to reach nameplate capacity of 8 million tonnes per annum by the end of the month. Gindalbie chairman George Jones said the project would generate value from the Mid West’s magnetite ore resource, which would have otherwise been of limited worth.…

GROUNDBREAKING April meetings between the Chinese and Australian business and government sectors have taken on a new significance as a study finds Australia is facing increased competition for Chinese investment. The report Demystifying Chinese Investment in Australia: Update March 2013 by KPMG and the University of Sydney’s China Studies Centre, stated that while Australia had maintained its position as the principal beneficiary of Chinese overseas direct investment (ODI), its dominance was slipping as the Asian giant continued to diversify investment. “While Australia’s accumulated Chinese direct investment is still ahead of its main international competitors, there is no denying that the rest of the world is hot on our heels and aggressively competing for Chinese capital,” University of Sydney Chinese Studies…

A new solar-powered Cisco wireless mesh network is being used to run the mine fleet automation system at Barrick’s Cowal gold mine in NSW. Barrick commissioned Brisbane-based CBO Telecommunications to design and implement the system, which comprises Cisco aironet 1524SB outdoor mesh access points managed by the Cisco prime network control system. The network has self-healing capabilities to suit the harsh mine site environment, and can also be mounted on CBO solar mobility trailers, providing the capacity for consistent connectivity anywhere within the mine, regardless of pit depth or geographical distance. The Cowal mine uses the Caterpillar MineStar software to manage its mining dispatch operations, with operators using screens in their vehicles to enter information into the system. This and…

DESPITE cutting jobs in late 2012, Rio Tinto subsidiary Coal and Allied has hired 13 new apprentices for two of its NSW mine sites. The new electrical and mechanical apprentices were selected from a large group of applicants and will join 32 existing trainees at the company’s Hunter Valley and Mount Thorley Warkworth sites near Singleton. Apprentice committee chair Steve Jackson said the move was proof of the company’s commitment to training local workers. “Since 2002, we have started 115 apprentices who have gained experience in their chosen fields across our three operations in the Hunter Valley,” he said. “Last year we took a new step to promote our apprenticeship program by hosting a workshop in Singleton specifically for interested…

NEW South Wales miner Sovereign Gold has announced a strategic, rapid resource expansion plan for its Mt Adrah Hobbs deposit following confirmation of a multimillion ounce gold target at the project in the state’s south. Surrounded by some of the world’s most highly profitable porphyry gold mines along the Gilmore Suture, the Mt Adrah Hobbs gold deposit was always a promising prospect. Sovereign’s principle geologists conducted extensive initial technical reviews of gold concentrations at the site, producing a highly conservative initial exploration target of between 1.5 million ounces of gold and 2.5moz of gold. Sovereign speculated that further geophysical and geochemical anomalies and several deep tapping pipe-like intrusives found in very close proximity to the area indicated the potential for…

ASX-listed Adelaide Resources’ exploration efforts at the Moonta copper-gold project in South Australia have received a significant boost through the digitation of massive volumes of more than 50 years of exploration data collected by major miners. Adelaide Resources reported that it had begun the process of digitally capturing past records with the goal of identifying prospects that could contribute to the Moonta project’s growing mineral inventory. It estimated that the cost of repeating diamond and reverse circulation drilling completed by one past explorer alone would be more than $20 million – illustrating the importance of the existing data. The company stated that significant modern exploration of the broader Moonta project began in 1959, dominated by major mining houses including Western…

AUSTRALIA’s largest rail freight company Aurizon is teaming up with Gina Rinehart’s joint venture business GVK Hancock to develop a 60 million tonne per annum port and rail project to unlock coal reserves in Queensland’s Galilee Basin. The two companies have signed a non-binding term sheet for the development, which could represent a $6 billion investment. Under the proposed framework, Aurizon would acquire a majority 51 per cent interest in Hancock Coal Infrastructure, which owns GVK’s rail and port projects. GVK received Commonwealth environmental approvals for a greenfield rail operation and a coal terminal at Abbot Point last year. GVK chairman Dr G V Krishna Reddy said in a statement that the deal with Aurizon represented one of the most…

EMERGING gold explorer Dacian Gold is one step closer to defining economic ore reserves at its flagship Mt Morgans project after unveiling new high-grade drill results mid-March. A broad-spaced diamond drilling program has been testing for extensions at the south end of the Westralia gold deposit – part of the company’s wholly owned Mt Morgans gold project – 40km west of Laverton in the Goldfields region of WA. The drilling confirmed the existence of high-grade gold 450m below the existing resource boundary at Westralia, with the mineralisation remaining open at depth. Significant intersections included 17.08m grading 7.5 grams per tonne gold from 218.7m, and 0.63m grading 32.7g/t gold from 375.6m. “These very broad-spaced diamond drill intersections confirm our view that…

THE South Australian branch of the Civil Contractors Federation of Australia is calling on the state’s government to upgrade a central road transport route through and around Port Augusta to assist the growth of the resources sector. The lobby group warned that a lack of vital transport infrastructure in the state’s northern region was severely hindering its economic development. “The important transport gateway – known as Yorkeys Crossing – is in major need of redevelopment as it currently falls far short of what is required to promote an expansion of the mining, oil and gas, and other important industry sectors in the state,” the Civil Contractors Federation said in a statement. Over-size vehicles are currently not permitted to use Port…

AUSTRALIAN miners are fending off hits from all sides, with plunging iron ore prices and concerns about declining productivity coming to the fore in recent weeks. In late March, iron ore miners led a downward turn in the Australian sharemarket spurred by fears of declining steel production in China and a bleak outlook for iron ore prices from Goldman Sachs. The global investment bank predicted that iron ore prices would fall from US$139 per tonne in 2013 to US$80 per tonne by 2015; it also downgraded the London listings of global miners BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto, a move that had flow-on effects in Australia. The Goldman Sachs forecast saw the S&P/ASX200 close at its lowest level since early February;…