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ONE of WA’s first female geologists, Dr Erica Smyth, was named the winner of the Business category for this year’s WA Australian of the Year Awards, which honour outstanding Western Australians who have made a positive impact on the lives of others. Dr Smyth – who was made a Companion of the Order of Australia last year – is renowned for her contribution to WA’s resources sector over the past 45 years, and long-standing commitment to the community, which extends from charitable organisations to medical research, high education, science, technology, aged care, women’s interests and the arts. Ray Chan spoke to Dr Forsyth about her brilliant career, and how, as a trail-blazer for gender equality within her field, she has...

ZOMBIELAND: DOUBLE TAP Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Abigail Breslin, Emma Stone IT’S hard to believe that it’s been 10 years since the original Zombieland broke new ground with a hilarious jaunt through the undead apocalypse. Remarkably, the four principal cast members return for the sequel looking hardly worse for wear, but they’re certainly wiser, having accrued either Oscar nominations or, in Stone's case, winning the coveted award itself in the intervening decade. Thankfully, you don’t need to have seen the first chapter – or if you’ve forgotten what transpired – to understand the basic premise of Eisenberg’s nerdy Columbus, Harrelson’s redneck Tallahasee and Stone (Wichita) and Breslin (Little Rock)’s sister act banding together in a world infected with zombies. The...

NEWMONT Goldcorp’s board of directors have unanimously approved the execution phase of the Tanami Expansion 2 project. The expansion will allow the miner to access the Auron deposit, first discovered in 2008, below the Callie orebody and could extend the mine life beyond 2040. Tanami Expansion 2 includes the construction of a 1460m shaft, additional capacity in the processing plant and supporting infrastructure that would allow the project to remain profitable as the mine heads 2140m below surface. Newmont Goldcorp began commercial production at the expansion project in 2017, and announced in March 2019 that the $245m power station project was complete. The execution phase of Tanami Expansion 2 represents a significant milestone for the operation. Newmont Goldcorp chief executive,...

THE Samarco joint venture between Vale SA and BHP Group has been given approval to resume operations at the Germano iron ore plant in Brazil, four years after a fatal dam collapse there. It is understood that 10 of the 12 members of Minas Gerais state environmental council, known as Copam, voted in favour of an operational corrective licence for the mine. Samarco has had its operations halted since the 2015 Fundão waste dam collapse that killed 19 people and resulted in flooding across more than 600km in one of the worst environmental disasters in the country’s mining history. The mining dam failure had affected the downstream Santarem dam, causing a “significant release” of mine tailings to flood the nearby...

TO mark BP’s centenary this year, the company has commissioned five established and emerging artists from around the country whose inspired artworks will form an exhibition that represents BP’s contribution to Australia through the decades. BP Australia president Andy Holmes from beginnings as a single fuel depot in Western Australia in 1919, BP now touches the lives of millions of Australians every day. “Through the centenary artists program, we’ve represented the far and wide regions of the country, offering a glimpse of the role BP has played – and continues to play – in advancing energy in Australia,” he said. “For 100 years BP has delivered energy for heat, power and transportation. A lot has changed during this time, but...

BEFORE deciding on becoming an apprentice with Hastings Deering – a Caterpillar dealership based in Brisbane – Jim Walker was all set to become a teacher. “My passion and heart were with my dad in the earthmoving industry,” Mr Walker said in a speech at a recent WA Mining Club industry luncheon. “I loved every day. I’d get some jobs that weren’t great, but I’d quickly forget about those when the next exciting one came along,” he said. Jobs have been a hot topic in the mining industry for some time and while the lack of university graduates may have garnered the most headlines, only 20 per cent of mining jobs today require a university degree. For Mr Walker, as...

WITH nickel recently posting its best quarter in almost a decade and the recent Paydirt 2019 Australian Nickel Conference in Perth, it’s no surprise that the future of the metal has been the talk of the town. The London Metal Exchange (LME) nickel price hit $US18,620/t early last month, having opened the year at $US10,435/t.  This has been partially fuelled by concerns around the impact of Indonesia’s decision to bring forward a ban on exports of raw nickel ore by two years. The ban will take effect from January 1, removing an estimated 350,000t out of the global sea trade.  Another geopolitical wobble impacting prices was the Government of Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), an autonomous region within...

DOWNER has managed to nab contracts worth around $165m to build FMG’s 60MW Chichester Solar Farm. Awarded by Alinta Energy, the contracts cover construction of a new solar photovoltaic generation facility and supporting power infrastructure as part of the solar gas hybrid project. Work includes the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) of the Chichester Solar Farm, approximately 60 kilometres of transmission line (linking Fortescue’s Christmas Creek and Cloudbreak mining operations with Alinta Energy’s Newman gas-fired power station and 35MW battery facility), as well as two new substations and the upgrade of another. Downer chief executive officer Grant Fenn said the award is another endorsement of the company’s experience and leadership in delivering renewable energy projects. “We are looking forward to...

BHP (ASX: BHP) has signed four new clean energy contracts for power at its Escondida and Spence copper mines in Chile as it continues its push toward 100pc renewable power in the mid 2020’s. While the company will cop US$780m in cancellation fees for dropping coal contracts, it said that it would be value-accretive in the long term. The transition came as the result of separate tenders for both Escondida and Spence, with BHP signing on for two separate 15-year contracts for 3TW hours per year, and 10-year contracts for 3TW hours per year with ENEL Generacion Chile and Colbun respectively. BHP said that the contracts would reduce energy prices at the mines by about 20pc, provide operations flexibility and...

ROCKHAMPTON has won the recruitment jackpot with giant Adani announcing both a new rail contract and regional employment hub for the town on the same day. The new Rockhampton Business Centre will provide a base for the recruitment and contracting of local businesses for the company’s Carmichael Project mine, rail construction and operations. To date, more than $450m worth of contracts have already been awarded for the project, with much of the work under undertaken by companies based in regional Queensland areas, according to Adani Mining chief executive officer Lucas Dow - who said that the business centre would help Adani deliver on its commitment to ensuring Rockhampton, along with Townsville, were the primary employment hubs for the project. “This...

IN a landmark agreement with Alinta Energy, Fortescue Metals Group (FMG) has announced that up to 100pc of daytime stationary energy requirements at Chichester Hub iron ore operations will be powered by renewable energy. Remaining power requirements will be met through integrated battery storage and gas power station facilities. The Chichester Solar Gas Hybrid project will see the construction of a 60MW solar photovoltaic generation facility at the Chichester Hub (comprising FMG’s Christmas Creek and Cloudbreak mining operations), along with a 60km transmission line linking the mining operations with Alinta Energy’s Newman gas-fired power station plus a 35MW battery facility. Fortescue chief executive officer Elizabeth Gaines said that reliable and competitive energy generation remained an important consideration for the mining...