Category: Legacy

AQUILA Resources has agreed to offtake contract sell its 50 per cent share in the Isaac Plains coal mine in the Bowen Basin to Ocean Coal Mining, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Japan’s Sumitomo Corporation, for $430 million. The Japanese company, which operates in 65 countries, has also secured a 50 per cent interest in Aquila’s Queensland coal exploration tenements through a memorandum of understanding (MOU) joint venture agreement. In a statement released by Aquila last month, executive chairman Tony Poli said the sale, through its wholly-owned subsidiary IP Coal, and the proposed exploration JV with Sumitomo generated the funds needed for the construction of its West Pilbara iron ore project. The Sumitomo sale is subject to Brazilian miner Vale, owner…

THE South Australian mining industry may face another round of hits as the Federal Government explores opportunities for savings in the lead up to the release of its budget in May. The South Australian Chamber of Mines and Energy (SACOME) has called on the State Government to lobby against proposals to strip fuel tax credits, reduce research and development concessions, end immediate deductibility of exploration expenditure and cut accelerated depreciation in the oil and gas industry, describing the actions as an “ongoing onslaught” against the state’s largest export industry. According to a report by The Australia Institute, funded by Australian activist group GetUp, the Federal Government provides more than $4 billion in direct subsidies to mining companies each year, largely…

IN the summer of 2010-2011, Queensland experienced devastating flooding in about 70 towns, forcing the evacuation of thousands of residents. Three quarters of the state was declared a disaster zone, many lives were lost and damage was estimated at about $1 billion. Coal mining operations in the state’s Bowen Basin region were brought to a virtual standstill and the majority of coal railway lines closed; a number of coalplayers declared force majeure, causing coal production to fall six months behind schedule. The state is now once again experiencing rising waters and records show that this is not a new phenomenon: since 1824, the Australian Government’s Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) has documented close to 200 flood events in the Brisbane and…

IN 1945, the Soviet Union, despite its status as a recognised global super power, desperately needed to rebuild its war-ravaged economy. In light of this, Joseph Stalin decreed that the discovery of industrial diamonds (or kimberlite) – used in oil and gas exploration, the creation of precision mechanical parts and various other industrial applications – within Russia’s vast borders was of the highest priority. The Soviet Union had been totally dependent on the worldwide diamond monopoly of De Beers for its industrial diamonds, but a looming international embargo threatened the region’s supply. Stalin knew the situation required urgent action, and the Soviets embarked on a bullish and widespread exploration program: sending out numerous geological teams to locate a local, more…

DESPITE a somewhat troubled early existence, Queensland’s Lady Annie copper project is headed toward a bright future. Lady Annie is owned by CST Mining Group, an international copper mining company listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, and the project has moved from strength to strength since CST took ownership in 2010. The Lady Annie operation comprises a mining area of the same name, a second mining area known as Mount Kelly, and the Mount Kelly processing plant and tenements. In addition to owning and operating Lady Annie, CST is developing the Marcona Mina Justa copper project in southern Peru. CST also owns a 9.9 per cent stake in Hong Kong-listed G-Resources Group, whose primary asset is a 95 per…

CHINA accounts for more than 95 per cent of the world’s output of rare earths, but its increasingly strict controls on output and exports have caused international apprehension as demand for the 17 elements that comprise the rare earth spectrum increases in the face of diminishing supply. Continuing its mining reputation as ‘the lucky country’, Australia is one of the few areas outside China that has large supplies of rare earth elements. A number of ASX-listed companies have sizable, world-class rare earths deposits, including Lynas Corporation, which is set to commence production from its Mt Weld project in WA this year, and Northern Minerals. Rare earths are broken down into three categories – light, medium and heavy – and play…

THE world’s largest and lowest-cost manganese mine is about to get bigger with the recent approval of the US$279 million Groote Eylandt expansion phase two (GEEP2) project in the Northern Territory, which is expected to boost output about 14 per cent. Named after the island on which it is located, Groote Eylandt mine has been operating since 1965 and is 60 per cent owned by BHP Billiton, with Anglo American retaining the remaining 40 per cent. BHP and Anglo own several manganese mines and alloy smelters through a joint venture subsidiary company Samancor Manganese, which, in turn, operates the Groote Eylandt mine through Groote Eylandt Mining Company (GEMCO). Alone, GEMCO contributes more than 15 per cent of global high-grade manganese…

AS dawn approached on the Ballarat goldfields on Sunday December 3, 1854, a makeshift stockade, hastily built by diggers at Eureka, was overrun by government troops. The Battle of Eureka Stockade was brutally short, but defeat would rapidly turn into victory for the diggers and, many believe, democracy for a young Australia. Mining has been a central figure in the fight for national identity and political equality in Australia’s history. The Eureka Rebellion, a revolt by Victorian diggers against heavy taxation and regulation by the colonial authorities, remains a powerful political symbol even today. As one of the only armed insurrections in Australia’s short history post-European settlement, it has taken on a mythology far greater, and longer lasting, than the…

THE Lachlan Fold Belt (LFB) is a geological subdivision in eastern Australia. Most prominent throughout NSW and Victoria, it extends into Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and Queensland, covering an area of about 200,000sqkm. A long-standing proven mineralised region, the LFB has several world-class mines already operating within it, including Endeavour, Peak Mines and Mineral Hill, and recent discoveries at Tottenham, Mount Boppy, Hera, Nymagee and Wonawinta. Argent Minerals holds a 100 per cent interest in a pre-development project at Kempfield in Evans Shire, NSW. The project area lies within the LFB, and hosts a resource of more than 31 million ounces of silver, 260,000 tonnes of lead and zinc, 65,000oz of  gold and more than 2 million tonnes of…