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By Courtney Pearson October 7, 2015 THE coal industry is losing in the public perception stakes because it lacks a unified message, according to BHP Billiton coal president Mike Henry. “It would be fair to say that as we stand here today, in the court of public opinion, the ‘no coal’ camp has been more effective,” Mr Henry told the American Chamber of Commerce. “Anti-coal activism has been building momentum over many years.” Groups determined to shut down coal completely were influencing public perception, he said. Greenpeace report The Energy evolution claimed that fossil fuels could be phased out by 2050, and according to Mr Henry recent research conducted for the industry indicated there was a widespread public view that…

By Rachel Dally-Watkins September 11, 2015 FEDERAL MP and Mineralogy founder Clive Palmer is suing Chinese-owned CITIC Limited for $10 billion, in the latest of a slew of lawsuits related to the Sino Iron project. Mr Palmer is seeking damages for what he alleges is a breach of commercial arrangement between CITIC and Mineralogy, resulting in a lack of royalty payments on the $500 million of iron ore concentrate already shipped to China. Mr Palmer was also suing for royalties covering the life of the project. In 2006 the companies signed an agreement which relied on the annual benchmark iron ore price struck by BHP Billiton and Vale to calculate the ‘Royalty B’ payments to Mineralogy. With iron ore now…

By Courtney Pearson September 11, 2015 FOUR out of five Queensland fly in, fly out (FIFO) and residential resources industry workers were happy with where they live and rated their physical and mental health highly, according to the Queensland Resources Council (QRC). The QRC found that the majority of  1832 workers surveyed were happy with their current arrangements as drive in, drive out (DIDO) or FIFO employees; 85 per cent of the state’s resources industry workers rated their physical and mental health and quality of life as excellent, very good or good. “What we see from this survey conducted by URS Australia is that the majority of Queensland resource sector workers are happy with their current arrangement to live either…

By Courtney Pearson September 11, 2015 MINING companies need to do more than work on productivity and cost-cutting to ride out the mining slump, according to a new report by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG). The Value creation in mining 2015: Beyond basic productivity report found that existing productivity programs were “running out of steam” as mining companies continued to tighten margins without returning any value. “As the supply of ‘low hanging fruit’ is exhausted…it has become increasingly necessary to go beyond traditional approaches to productivity improvement,” the report stated. The report examined total shareholder returns for 101 mining companies between 2010 and 2014, including AngloGold Ashanti, Newcrest Mining and OZ Minerals. The median total shareholder return was minus 18…

By Courtney Pearson September 8, 2015 LOCAL Borroloola residents and the Northern Territory Government have criticised the environmental record at Glencore’s McArthur River zinc mine in the wake of the contamination of waterways with heavy metals. Residents raised health concerns about reactive waste rock from the mine and leaking tailings dams, while NT Planning minister David Tollner and Chief Minister Adam Giles threatened to close the mine if environmental practices were not improved. They also wanted the project’s bond increased. “We have been adamant that unless Glencore fixes its environmental procedures and practices we will close the mine,” Mr Giles told the ABC. “We will not stand for an environmental bond that does not support rehabilitation at the end of…

By Samantha James September 1, 2015 AUSTRAL Gold is poised to become a “leading regional player” in South America by securing 37 precious metal tenements in Argentina. The company planned to acquire 100 per cent of TSX Venture Exchange (TSX-V) listed explorer Argentex Mining Corporation. Austral, a former diamond-turned-metals producer, already holds a 19.9 per cent interest in Argentex, which owns more than 107,000 hectares of land in the Santa Cruz and Rio Negro provinces. Argentex’s flagship Pinguino silver-gold project is located in the south and has a non-JORC indicated resource estimate of 26.7 million ounces of silver equivalent at grades of 103.4 grams per tonne of silver and 0.58g/t of gold. Austral’s Guanaco underground mine in Chile produced 51,535…

By Samantha James September 3, 2015 PREMIER Colin Barnett told more than 1000 delegates at the thirteenth annual Africa Down Under conference in Perth that he believed markets had bottomed and a recovery could be expected next year. Opening the conference, which hosted ministers and delegates from across Africa, Mr Barnett told delegates to keep faith in the next round of development. He called commentators predicting the end of the mining boom “naive and wrong.” “If China has slowed from 12 per cent growth to 7 per cent, that will do me and I think that will do you too,” he said. “As soon as prices dip back to more normal levels … suddenly the industry seems to be discarded…

By Rachel Dally-Watkins September 1, 2015 FEDERAL MP and Mineralogy founder Clive Palmer is suing Chinese-owned CITIC Limited for $10 billion, in the latest of a slew of lawsuits related to the Sino Iron project. Mr Palmer is seeking damages for what he alleges is a breach of commercial arrangement between CITIC and Mineralogy, resulting in a lack of royalty payments on the $500 million of iron ore concentrate already shipped to China. Mr Palmer was also suing for royalties covering the life of the project. In 2006 the companies signed an agreement which relied on the annual benchmark iron ore price struck by BHP Billiton and Vale to calculate the ‘Royalty B’ payments to Mineralogy. With iron ore now traded…

By Emma Brown August 13, 2015 TWO vulnerable species have brought the development of the controversial Carmichael coal mine to a halt. The Federal Court set aside approval of Adani’s $16 billion Queensland mine after a legal loophole found Environment minister Greg Hunt had not fully considered the environment advice for the project. Environmental Defenders Office NSW principal solicitor and Mackay Conservation Group representative Sue Higginson said the court’s decision was based on the minister’s failing to consider conservation advice related to two Federally-listed vulnerable species – the yakka skink and ornamental snake. “This kind of error in the decision making process is legally fatal to the minister’s decision,” she said. “The conservation advices were approved by the minister in…

By Courtney Pearson August 13, 2015 DRY weather and poor copper prices have forced the Ok Tedi mine in Papua New Guinea to suspend production. Low water levels in the Fly River have hindered the transport of copper ore from the operation’s port in Kiunga to customers at the mouth of the river. The permanent workforce of expatriates and locals will also be reduced by 30 per cent and 15 per cent respectively to “better cope with a low commodity price environment”, Ok Tedi Mining Limited reported. A skeleton crew would remain at the site for maintenance and security. Operations at the mine will continue as long as critical supplies allow. “River traffic on the Fly River into and out…