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EVERY now and then, a product will emerge on the market yielding a far better result than any other available substitute. The Xcentric Ripper, a machine attachment which uses a different approach to breaking rock, shale, asphalt and concrete, is one such product. Its success lies in the way the tooth innovatively attacks the rock in a vibrating circular motion as opposed to traditional hydraulic hammers that just repeatedly belt into the rock. The Xcentric Ripper is driven by a high-speed hydraulic mechanism that transfers force to the tine via sturdy mechanical arms. It is a machine of elegant simplicity and high effi ciency; allowing much higher productivity, minimum downtime and maintenance, and reduced noise levels. The Xcentric Ripper won...

THE southern hemisphere’s largest annual construction and infrastructure exhibition, CIVENEX will be held on May 16 and 17 this year at Sydney Dragway, Eastern Creek. The annual event was established more than 50 years ago by the NSW division of the Institute of Public Works Engineering Australia (IPWEA) to provide an industry exhibition and forum for public and private sector engineers and contractors. Known then as Engineers Field Days, CIVENEX began with eight companies displaying their equipment on the grounds of The Spastic Centre in Allambie Heights. For the duration of the initial CIVENEX, the exhibitors volunteered their equipment and services to assist in the facility’s expansion, at no charge to The Spastic Centre. Since then, CIVENEX has been held...

SINCE its establishment in 1989, Centennial Coal has grown to become Australia’s largest independent coal company, supplying thermal and coking coal to domestic and export markets. A subsidiary of Banpu Public Company, Asia’s largest independent coal group, Centennial is one of the largest underground coal producers in NSW. It is a major supplier to the state’s energy industry, fuelling about 46 per cent of NSW’s coal-fired electricity from 12 mines: Springvale, Angus Place, Lamberts Gully, Charbon, Ivanhoe North, Clarence, Mandalong, Awaba, Newstan, Myuna, Mannering and Airly. Springvale and Angus Place The Springvale colliery is managed by Springvale Coal on behalf of its owners: joint venture (JV) partners Centennial Springvale (a Centennial Coal subsidiary) and Springvale SK Kores. Underground longwall mining...

AFTER a tough couple of years, Navigator Resources is anticipating positive cash flow from June onwards as it hits higher-grade ore at its flagship Bronzewing gold mine in WA’s Eastern Goldfields. The ore at the Cockburn pit, which Navigator has focussed on for the past year, lies beneath about 60m of mostly waste cover so until recently, mining entailed stripping the waste to expose the ore body, which improves in grade with increasing depth. Navigator progressed down to higher-grade ore during the March 2012 quarter, and is expecting to be reaping profits for the next few years. The company has evolved several times since it started out. Looking back to its debut on the ASX in September 2003, Navigator was...

DESPITE spending the best part of a decade on care and maintenance, Boddington gold mine is now a contender for the title of Australia’s largest producing gold mine, having produced its 1 millionth ounce of gold. Wholly-owned by US gold miner Newmont Mining, the large open cut mining operation recommenced operations in 2009, following a multi-million dollar construction and expansion project. Within the Saddleback Greenstone Belt, in an Archaean structure it the southwestern Yilgarn Craton in WA, 130km southeast of Perth, the mine is estimated to have a mine life of 20 years from re-opening, with a production target of 1 million tonnes per annum. When the Boddington mine began operations in 1987, it was held in joint venture by...

HEAVY rare earth element (HREE) explorer and developer Northern Minerals has announced a completed share placement that raised $10 million to fund exploration and the further development of its projects in northern Australia. The placement incorporated 22.727 million fully-paid shares at an issue price of $0.44 each, which ranks equally with existing Northern Minerals ordinary shares quoted on the ASX. Northern Minerals managing director George Bauk said the funds raised would be used to continue work at the Browns Range and John Galt HREE projects, as well as for working capital. “A priority will be the diamond drilling for targets at the Wolverine and Gambit prospects , which we expect to commence in May, as well as the...

  WA resource companies have lifted Deloitte’s WA Index, with the total market capitalisation (cap) of all stocks growing by 2 per cent to $128 billion despite a short-term downward slide. Deloitte’s latest report on WA stocks revealed coal-focussed Aquila Resource was the biggest mover of all the miners, with its market cap up 30 per cent to $177 million for the month of February. Mining service companies such as Imdex and Tutt Bryant also posted gains to their market caps, with Imdex up 33 per cent to $42.4 million and Tutt Bryant up 30.2 per cent to $43 million. “In February, commodity market prices rose across the board, with uranium prices leading the way with an 18 per cent...

DIVERSE metals explorer Phosphate Australia has reported strong results from the second phase of drilling at its Tuckanarra gold project. The Tuckanarra mine lies within WA’s Murchison goldfield, and has historic production of about 125,000 ounces. The Phase 2 aircore (AC) drilling program at Tuckanarra comprised 215 holes for a total of 5070m of drilling, primarily targeting shallow laterite mineralisation at the project’s Cable East, Cable West, Drogue, Bollard and Anchor deposits. Drilling was completed in February, and identified mineralisation in all of the targeted deposit areas. Drilling at Cable East upgraded the strike length of the deposit to about500m, open at depth, with drilling returning results including 12m at 3.28 grams per tonne gold from 16m to end-of-hole. The...

PERTH-based gold exploration and development company Manas Resources has received wide, high-grade results at its 100 per cent-owned Shambesai gold project in the Kyrgyz Republic – formerly Kyrgyzstan – in Central Asia. Drilling highlights at the project, which is being fast-tracked toward production in 2013, included a number of continuous wide, high-grade intersections along the main Shambesai shear zone. Manas reported that it expected the results would have a positive effect on the project’s overall mineral resource. A number of drilling hits occurred outside the established Shambesai mineral resource and scoping study pit boundary, including 22m at 3.16 grams per tonne of gold from 97m and 8m at 8.45g/t of gold from 103m. Manas reported that all drilling and exploration...

THE proposed $8 billion merger between Gloucester Coal and Chinese-owned Yancoal Australia has reached another milestone after receiving approval from the Australian Federal Government. Deputy Prime Minister Wayne Swan issued a statement in early March stating that the merger had been given the go-ahead subject to certain conditions. Firstly, the merged entity, Yancoal, must remain headquartered in Australia, and continue production and supply arrangements on a commercial basis. Secondly, Yancoal is required to list on the ASX by the end of this year. In late December 2011, Gloucester announced the proposal to the ASX. Both parties carried out due diligence regarding the merger and it was completed by early March, with some amendments. The primary modification was that Yancoal must...

MINERAL development company ERO Mining plans to raise $1.8 million through a rights issue to fund exploration and development at its Peeweena Dam prospect in South Australia’s Billa Kalina area. The pro rata one-for-one non-renounceable rights issue will attempt to raise the funds through the issue of about 360 million new fully paid ordinary shares in ERO, issued at a cost of $0.05 per share. Acting ERO chief executive officer Kevin Lines said the initial market reaction to the rights issue had been positive. Exploration will include geophysical surveys and subsequent drilling programs at Peeweena Dam – a joint venture between ERO and Maximus Resources 70km north-north-west of the Olympic Dam copper-gold-uranium mine and 45km east of the Prominent Hill...