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FOR more than three years Kennards Hire has provided the tradespeople and general public of Darwin with a large range of equipment for an array of jobs. From June 2014, Kennards Hire Lift & Shift began stocking its products at the existing store in the Darwin suburb of Winnellie. The extensive range includes large scale spreader bars, air skates, cable hauling equipment, hydraulic bolting and tensioning, and – in an Australian first – more cutting edge technologies such as the JDN cordless pendant hoist. As well as providing clients with top shelf equipment, Kennards Hire Lift & Shift offers expert advice, and package solutions for any lifting job. The addition of Kennards Hire Lift & Shift equipment to the Kennards...

DIVERSE contracting company Brierty operates in WA and the Northern Territory. Brierty’s urban infrastructure services span residential subdivisions, development works at airports and ports, car parks and service utility installation. Brierty also delivers major civil engineering projects like railways, roads and bridges. In the mining sector Brierty performs drill and blast, mining, road haulage, and ore processing and handling. Being geographically diverse and offering a range of services has helped Brierty maintain a strong level of performance for clients and shareholders in the past few years in generally difficult conditions for contractors. Brierty’s operational strength is the result of strong project, safety, quality and environmental management combined with a dedicated focus on Aboriginal engagement. Brierty enters the 2015 financial year...

Andrew Forrest has expanded his extensive commodities portfolio, investing millions into a developing uranium company just days after purchasing WA beef exporter Harvey Beef. In a $12 million deal signed in early May, Mr Forrest made his first foray into uranium, becoming a majority shareholder in junior developer Energy and Minerals Australia (EMA). Mr Forrest’s holding company Forrest Family Investments reportedly bought 400 million EMA shares at $0.03 per share, with the funds to go towards the development of Mulga Rock uranium and base metal deposits Ambassador, Emperor, Shogun and Princess, 240km northeast of Kalgoorlie-Boulder. The pending sale included one unlisted option for each share a an exercise price of $0.05, with an expiry date of 30 June 2016. When...

MELBOURNE-based Minmetals Group (MMG) has made a major deal with Glencore Xstrata, acquiring the Las Bambas copper project in a US$5.85 billion all-cash transaction. Through a joint venture agreement, Chinese state-owned MMG has gained a controlling interest of 62.5 per cent in the copper project. Partners include Hong Kong-based financial investment company Guoxin International Investment (22.5 per cent), and Chinese natural resources company CITIC Metal (15 per cent). Las Bambas, in the Apurímac region of southern-central Peru, is set to become one of the world’s top three copper mines once in full production. The project has a 6.9 million tonne copper ore reserve and a 10.5mt copper mineral resource, and is expected to produce more than 2mt of copper concentrate...

PRIMARY global platinum producer Anglo American is considering divesting its South African-based platinum group metals (PGM) assets to focus attention on its other, open pit extraction projects. Formerly a fundamental division of the giant’s global asset portfolio, Anglo American’s PGM tenements have remained unproductive for nearly three months due to ongoing worker strikes and industrial unrest. About 80,000 miners from around the Rustenburg platinum belt are on strike and have given an ultimatum not to return to the shafts until their minimum monthly wage is doubled to 12,500 rand (US$1189). However, Anglo has repeatedly stated the demand would devastate its platinum subsidiary, if met. Anglo chief executive Mark Cutifani told Reuters that while the company “liked” PGM, the division was...

THE Japanese Government has signed off on a new Basic Energy Plan that pledges to restart the nuclear reactors mothballed following the 2011 Fukushima meltdowns. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has moved away from the previous government’s zero-nuclear policy, which pledged to abolish all nuclear power plants by the 2030s. The new Basic Energy Plan, which is revised every three years, said Japan would “reduce” the use of nuclear power to a level “as low as possible” by increasing the percentage of renewable energy. However, no specific targets were given. The plan also described nuclear power as one of the key “base-load electricity sources”, and stated that the government would “promote reactivation of nuclear reactors” if they cleared safety tests prepared...

ALMOST 300 workers will be made redundant by Glencore Xstrata, as the global diversified miner finishes works at its Mount Margaret copper project. Closure of the mine in Cloncurry, Queensland will affect 150 employees and 140 contractors, although 30 per cent of the original workforce will remain on site until June, while shut-down operations are completed. Ernest Henry Mining, the division of Glencore Xstrata which runs the Mount Margaret operations, said the pending closure marked the end of a process that began in September last year. “In September 2013 we suspended work on four of the five open pits to further investigate ways to reduce mining costs and improve processing outcomes,” an Ernest Henry Mining representative told Australian Mining. “Ultimately...

RUSSIAN gold miner RMG Gold has been given the green light to develop a nine hectare site in south-eastern Georgia which may contain the remnants of one of the world’s oldest gold mines. A joint archaeological dig by the National Museum of Georgia and German Mining Museum in 2004 unearthed caves and mining tools at Sakdrisi-Kachagiani, believed by some to be 5400 years old. The site was granted cultural heritage status in 2006. In March, a Georgian National Agency for Cultural Heritage Preservation investigation concluded that “the ancient gold mine or the monument of universal significance was not proved to exist” and withdrew Sakdrisi’s cultural heritage status. “The Government of Georgia considers it impracticable to impede employment of thousands of...

AS countries across Africa reassess their mining policies with the aim of extracting greater value from their natural resources, Cote d’Ivoire lawmakers have instated a new mining code designed to attract investors and increase gold production. While mining currently accounts for just 1 per cent of gross domestic product from the country’s agriculture-dominated economy, its government has announced intentions to increase gold production from 12t (about 423,287oz) in 2013 to 25t (about 881,849oz) by 2015. The changes to the Cote d’Ivoire mining code are just one element of a range of efforts to rebuild the country’s economy following a decade of political turmoil. Under the new code, holding permits were extended from seven years to 10 years, with the possibility...

EMERGING West African gold developer Papillon Resources will proceed with its flagship Fekola project in Mali, after securing a mining permit from the Malian Government. The mining licence is valid for 30 years and covers the complete 75 square kilometre area of the Fekola exploration permit, on the border of south-western Mali. The mining permit, in conjunction with the company’s existing environmental permit (awarded in April 2013), is the final milestone permit required for the mine development. The document was granted following a recommendation to the government by the Malian Ministry of Industry and Mines. In early February the company announced its latest drilling results from the Fekola tenements, including 9m grading 2.34 grams per tonne of gold, and 4m...

IN a dramatic turnaround from its $96.2 million loss in the second half of 2013, Australian nickel miner Western Areas has posted a 29 per cent rise in first half-year profit to $2.7 million. Western Areas managing director Dan Lougher said it was satisfying to be one of the few nickel mining companies in the world to return a profit. “The standout financial measure for the half was the $19.2 million in free cash flow we generated, which was a $24.2 million turnaround from the previous half,” he said. In light of continued strong project performance, Western Areas has upgraded its production guidance for 2014, while simultaneously predicting a slight drop in production costs. The company’s original forecast of between...