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FAMILY-owned Tradecorp International is one of the world’s largest wholesalers of shipping containers. From its Mackay base in north Queensland, Tradecorp sells intermodal shipping containers throughout Australia, Asia, the South Pacific and Europe. The company has been operating for almost 20 years, supplying general purpose, high cube, flat rack open top, ISO-certified tank, half-height and refrigerated shipping containers. Tradecorp produces new containers, procures and modifies second-hand units for sale, and provides short and long-term lease arrangements for all product types. The company’s fleet of ISO-certified tank containers carry everything from fuel to acid and liquefied petroleum gas, while its pneumatic tanks carry a range of products including cement, sugar and nickel concentrate. Tradecorp has also developed a range of half-height…

THE past year has been one of significant change for Wesfarmers Resources’ Curragh mine. The company saw production soar nearly 18 per cent in three months at its primary after completing a $286 million plant expansion — part of its strategy to respond to volatility in the world coal market. Wesfarmers hoped to increase production at Curragh, which covers about 12,600 hectares in the coal-rich Bowen Basin in Central Queensland. The company predicted the improvements would increase its export capacity to between 8 million tonnes per 8.5mtpa from the previous 6.5mtpa. During the June quarte   new facilities online, Curragh set a company record, producing metallurgical coal at a rate of 780,000t per month. The mine’s output for the period totalled…

BY ELIZABETH FABRI ASK any analyst for their best performing commodities of the year, and nickel will be on the list. The base metal is enjoying a stellar year – its price has increased 75 per cent in the last 12 months – as it reinvents itself as a commodity of the future. A new cohort of nickel juniors are advancing exploration in Australia to capitalise on rising prices. At the end of June, nickel was hovering around the $US15,000 per tonne mark; a sizable increase from the $US8931 it was fetching a year prior. And if forecasts are anything to go by, demand for the metal is expected to increase by a further 50 per cent to 3 million…

DESPITE record rainfall at two of its three mine sites last year, Rio Tinto subsidiary Dampier Salt has beaten the odds, reporting record rates of production, sales and exports for 2011. Dampier Salt managing director Denise Goldsworthy said the company exported more than 10 million tonnes of solar salt in 2011, just a year after it was honoured as one of the state’s most successful exporters at the WA Industry and Export Awards. Meanwhile, the company has moved forward with its plan to refurbish its long-standing Dampier Ship Loading Jetty. Savcor Group, through its subsidiary Savcor Finn, was awarded the $12.8 million project, which involves the removal of an existing timber decking system, refurbishment and painting of a steel superstructure,…