McLanahan – Maximum production, unwavering support

MINING companies can more accurately pinpoint reserves of valuable minerals using a new water-tasting approach developed by  CSIRO. In work supported by the Minerals Research Institute of WA, CSIRO researcher Nathan Reid led a team of scientists analysing samples of groundwater from the Capricorn region in WA, where layers of sediment and weathering are believed to hide potential ore deposits from view. They discovered broad ‘haloes’ of altered water chemistry around known deposits of gold, uranium, and other minerals where interaction with the ore systems had left distinctive traces in the water. “Groundwater penetrates through covering sediments and interacts directly with the bedrock, dissolving trace amounts of the minerals present into solution,” Dr Reid said. “By sampling those waters, our…

Liebherr has signed an agreement with BHP to integrate Liebherr engines into the global miner’s existing R 9600 600-tonne excavator fleet at South Flank mine in Western Australia. Liebherr-Australia executive general manager customer service Tony Johnstone and BHP general manager South Flank Steve Campbell recently met in Perth to mark the signing of a deal to repower the South Flank R 9600 fleet with D9812 Liebherr engines and the strong ongoing partnership between the OEM and the miner. Repowering the R 9600 fleet enables reduced maintenance and standardised parts capability. The integration will mark an important step in the partnership, while helping the customer to reduce maintenance and standardise parts capability. The integration follows intensive factory and field validations on…

INNOVATION and teamwork are key ingredients to achieving the lowest unit cost in underground diamond drilling; something that Swick Mining Services and Sandfire Resources have proven at the De Grussa copper mine project. As a recognised leader in mineral drilling, WA-based Swick provides underground diamond, reverse circulation and underground production drilling to leading mining companies. The company specialises in underground diamond drilling in hard-rock, brownfield operations in Australia, the Americas, Asia and Europe, producing high quality geological core samples for its clients, at the lowest unit cost, while maintaining high safety standards. Innovation is a key ingredient to Swick’s success. A fully mobile and integrated rig unit, the Swick Mobile Underground Diamond Rig is easy to pack and move. It…

A review of Rex Minerals’ Hillside copper project on the Yorke Peninsula has resulted in an optimised mine plan that will deliver a higher production profile and lower start-up capital costs. The mine plan will form the basis for the Hillside bankable feasibility study (BFS) later in 2013; it suggested the combination of a new interim open pit design and multiple ore stockpiles, to allow for higher grade material to be delivered to the processing plant. Based on this model, Rex reported that the average grade delivered to the processing plant between its third year and tenth year would be about 0.6 per cent, plus gold and iron by-product credits. During this period, annual copper production would be about 80,000t…