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Mine worker trapped underground

Mine worker trapped underground

UPDATE 12/02: Newcrest managing director and chief executive officer Sandeep Biswas said a second drill hole had been established following initial contact with trapped worker Pak Mursalim Sahman on Wednesday. “A second drill hole is now serving as a dedicated communication link with Pak Mursalim Sahman, the employee trapped underground at the Kencana underground mine,” he said. “All efforts remain focused on the rescue operation. We now have two viable extraction options. The first of which is to bore a large diameter hole down into the chamber where Pak Mursalim is located. “The pilot hole broke through at approximately midnight local time and we are now progressively expanding the size of the hole. The second option is being progressed in...

Golden Gecko nominations open

Golden Gecko nominations open

Chevron Australia was awarded the 2015 Golden Gecko Award for Environmental Excellence for its Wheatstone Project micro-tunnel. NOMINATIONS are open for WA’s annual Golden Gecko Awards, which showcase and celebrate innovative environmental practices in the resources industry. Department of Mines and Petroleum environment division executive director Dr Phil Gorey said the Golden Gecko Awards recognised leading practice and innovation in environmental management. “Every year the entrants we receive continue to showcase an inspirational determination to proactively advance and promote environmental excellence in the resources sector and I’m sure 2016 will be no different,” he said. Chevron Australia scooped the Golden Gecko Award for Environmental Excellence in 2015 for its innovative shoreline crossing solution at the Wheatstone Project, which protected...

Thor drops the hammer on Spring Hill

Thor drops the hammer on Spring Hill

By Samantha James DUAL-listed Thor Mining has entered into an option agreement to sell the advanced Spring Hill gold project in the Northern Territory for $3.5 million, just two months after it acquired the remaining 49 per cent interest. In October 2015, Thor acquired Western Desert Resources’ interest in Spring Hill for $310,000, before agreeing to sell the asset to private company PC Gold for $3.5 million in December. As part of the agreement, PC Gold would pay Thor royalties on any gold produced from Spring Hill. Thor has struggled to finance development of its flagship Molyhil tungsten and molybdenum project in the Northern Territory since the January 2015 completion of an updated feasibility study that estimated a $64 million...

FIFO makes no sense for WA

FIFO makes no sense for WA

By Samantha James WA’s Pilbara region has long been a major resources hub for the state; a jump in fly in, fly out (FIFO) residents from 40,000 in 2006 to more than 73,000 in 2011 made it WA’s largest FIFO region. Despite the current mining downturn that number has remained steady, with the Pilbara still containing more than half of the energy and minerals workforce in WA. However, Pilbara MP and former WA National Party leader Brendon Grylls has called for a change to FIFO policies, saying it no longer made economic sense for companies faced with decade-low prices to foot the bill for large FIFO workforces. Mr Grylls said although FIFO remained the only option for some remote sites,...

Tech overhaul to prevent theft

Tech overhaul to prevent theft

By Samantha James GOVERNMENT-run Coal India is gearing up for a technology overhaul to prevent theft as it prepares for an increase in output to 1 billion tonnes of coal by 2020. The move would bring the largest coal company in the world in line with global mining practices implemented in countries such as the US and Australia. Expected to cost around $52 million (3.5 billion rupees) initially, the upgrade would include GPS tracking of vehicles to check coal theft, as well as electronic fencing of mines, introduction of ICT compliant machinery and enterprise resource planning to collate data from various business units. "This is Coal India's biggest technological overhaul, and its impact would be in billions of dollars,” coal...

Coal export woes

Coal export woes

By Samantha James A new report claims that a 5 per cent drop in Chinese coal consumption year on year, slow electricity demand growth of 0.5 per cent and an increase in non-thermal electricity generation has resulted in the ‘snuffing out’ of the seaborne thermal coal market. The Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) report stated Chinese coal imports in calendar 2015 had dropped by 30 per cent and predicted another 30 per cent decline in global traded thermal coal demand by 2021. “With the collapse in both Indian (down 34 per cent year on year) and Chinese (down 35 per cent year on year) coal imports in December 2015, the seaborne thermal coal industry is entirely beleaguered,”...

Iron ore slump casts uncertainty on Gindalbie

Iron ore slump casts uncertainty on Gindalbie

By Rachel Seeley SHARES in WA iron ore company Gindalbie Metals plummeted by close to 60 per cent following a mid-January announcement casting doubt on the company’s ability to continue operating. The uncertainty arose from an alleged staff announcement by Karara Mining, in which Gindalbie holds a minor interest, relating to the $2.5 billion Karara iron ore project. The WA project is held in joint venture between Gindalbie and Chinese steel producer Ansteel, and managed by Karara Mining. Gindalbie chairman Keith Jones responded to a memorandum allegedly circulated by Karara Mining chief executive Zhang Zhao Yuan advising that Ansteel would be unable to continue providing funding support to the Karara project. “As part of efficiency and cost reduction measures, Ansteel...

Miner obesity a growing problem

Miner obesity a growing problem

By Samantha James RESEARCH by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) claims that almost 80 per cent of miners are overweight or obese. The statistics, commissioned by Jenny Craig, ranked mining as the most overweight industry in the country at 78.2 per cent, with transport, postal and warehousing (74.8 per cent) and wholesale trading (69.7 per cent) coming a close second and third. An obese employee was terminated by BHP Coal at a site in Queensland in 2014 on the basis that his weight was a safety risk. This decision was upheld by the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission, which ruled that employers’ rights and obligations to ensure the safety of employees extend to the impact of overweight workers. Commercial law...

Stone Resources gains gold partner

Stone Resources gains gold partner

By Samantha James A new binding heads of agreement will see Stone Resources Australia and MHM Metals jointly develop Stone Resources’ Brightstar gold project near Laverton, WA. The Brightstar projects covers about 300 square kilometres and includes the previously mined Alpha gold deposit, as well as the Beta, Gamma, Ben Hur, King of Creation and Cork Tree Well gold prospects and the 350,000 tonne per annum Brightstar gold treatment plant, which is currently on care and maintenance. Stone Resources released an updated resource estimate for the project in June 2015 totalling 13.36 million tonnes grading 1.7 grams per tonne of gold to contain 739,000oz of gold. Under the agreement, MHM could earn up to 80 per cent in the Brightstar project,...

Magnetite miner prepares for cuts

Magnetite miner prepares for cuts

By Courtney Pearson TASMANIAN miner Grange Resources has warned it may begin making redundancies due to low iron ore prices. Grange employs between 550 and 600 workers at its Savage River magnetite mine and concentration plant 100km south west of Burnie. Despite record production of magnetite pellets during 2015, Grange stated it was looking to cut costs. “An optimisation strategy, which is expected to be completed early in 2016, is part of Grange’s overarching strategy to continue reducing costs, maximising margins and retaining free cash flow,” the company stated. “Due to the continued weakness in the iron ore price and subdued pellet demand combined with the optimisation strategy, redundancies may be made.” In its June 2015 half-year report the company...

Evolution secures WA strategy

Evolution secures WA strategy

By Samantha James EVOLUTION Mining has completed its takeover of Phoenix Gold after months of negotiations. The company made an initial bid for Phoenix in mid-August 2015 as a counter-offer to an unsolicited, conditional off-market offer made by Zijin Mining Group in late June. By this time Evolution had purchased 19.8 per cent of Phoenix’s shares, making it the company’s largest shareholder. Both Zijin and Evolution’s offers were rejected as inadequate, despite Evolution’s 20 per cent premium on Zijin’s offer price of $0.10 per Phoenix share. Negotiations with Evolution continued and in November Phoenix announced a recommended transaction “acknowledging the likelihood that Evolution imminently gain control of Phoenix”. The revised offer comprised cash and shares, with total consideration increased...