JULY2020australianminingreview.com.au A product of Publications & Exhibitions Australia Pty Ltd FYI HIGH PURITY ALUMINA IN DEMAND P07 SUCCESS THROUGH PARTNERSHIP P60 BENGALLA OFFERS NEW HOPE P42 RRP $10.00 incl GST FOR HYDRAULIC SOLUTIONS CALL HYDRATRANS: 1300 194 442 hydratrans.com THE NEW FRONTIER Australian mining companies join the nation’s space industry in the quest for more minerals beyond Earth. FEATURE P22Email: admin@manyfabrication.com.au Mobile: 0447 733 503Ph: (02) 6742 2393 manyfabrication.com.au At Many Fabrication & Engineering, we pride ourselves on delivering reliable cost effective steel fabrication and engineering solutions to a range of industries servicing the New England, Western Plains & Upper Hunter Regions. Many Fabrication & Engineering is a Registered Business with Supply Nation. We strive to provide local people with opportunities and mentoring to succeed in industry. • Structural steel fabrication • Mechanical platework & material handling component fabrication & installation • Piping fabrication & installation • Site plant & equipment welding, maintenance & repair • Refurbishment of crushers & feeder breakers • Fixed plant online & offline inspections & maintenance • Machining & milling • Trailer & sheet metal fabrication Established in 2013, based in Gunnedah NSW, Glenn Many and the team can assist with a wide range of services including: GENERAL MANAGER Trevor Pickett 0429 916 282 trevor@australianminingreview.com.au HEAD OF PRODUCTION Nikki Weaver nikki@australianminingreview.com.au EDITOR Ray Chan ray@australianminingreview.com.au ACCOUNTS MANAGER Teresa Sabatino accounts@australianminingreview.com.au CONTENTS 06 20 NEWS COMMODITY FOCUS: COBALT 04 NEWS 26 30 36 38 42 FEATURES INDUSTRY FOCUS MINING LIFESTYLE TECHNICAL TALK COMMODITIES SNAPSHOT BULGA COAL PEABODY METROPOLITAN ALKANE RESOURCES FOSTERVILLE MINE NEW HOPE BENGALLA COAL 52 58 66 24 25 COMPANIES GEARING UP EQUIP HIRE & RENTAL WORKSHOP SAFETY HOGG BATS FOR MENTAL HEALTH QUEEN’S HONOURS MIND MANNERS 68 74 84 96 88 104 92 108 110 NEW TECHNOLOGY GVM & SUSPENSION UPGRADES MINING MAINTENANCE MINE TYRE SOLUTIONS MINE SITE LUBRICATION SOLUTIONS CONDITION MONITORING TRENCHING EQUIPMENT WEAR MONITORING SYSTEMS IN THE SPOTLIGHT SKILLED CREW, RAPID RESPONSE P86 REMARKABLE MINING WOMEN CELEBRATED IN NSW AWARDS P 17 SAFETY AWARD FOR WESTRAC P24 JOURNALISTS Kathleen Southway Linda Smith RESEARCH Jason Strydom, Wayne Dyson SALES EXECUTIVES Biliana Harman, Cal Christelow, Chrissy Nurthen, Donna Orton DIGITAL MARKETING MANAGER Matthew Pickett matt@australianminingreview.com.au DESIGNER Jeremy Pickett jeremy@australianminingreview.com.au PRINTER Australian Community Media The Australian Mining Review is a free publication to all mine sites and mining companies in Australia. 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PO Box 8023, Perth BC, WA 6849 E-mail the editor at editorial@australianminingreview.com.auAMR JULY2020 4COMMODITIES SNAPSHOTJULY2020 AMR NEWS5 Contact for FREE Mining Solutions pump & blaster guide Australian Pump Industries aussiepumps.com.au info@aussiepumps.com.au 02 8865 3500 Ÿ Slow speed, gearbox driven Ÿ ’Big Berty’ Pump with ceramic pistons Ÿ Powerful 23HP Kohler diesel engine Ÿ Emergency stop & battery isolation Ÿ 5,000 psi Class A blaster ŸŸ FFRREEEE CCllaassss AA OOppeerraattoorr SSaaffeettyy TTrraaiinniinngg Ÿ Fire extinguisher Ÿ Super robust, mobile stainless steel frame Aussie Mine Boss Predator A 5,000 psi ... NO operator cert Aussie PumpsNEWS6 AMR JULY2020 MCA RELEASES CLIMATE PLAN T he Minerals Council of Australia has released its Climate Action Plan, which demonstrates the ongoing commitment by the Australian minerals industry to decarbonising the economy and addressing climate change. The plan outlines how the MCA and its members are taking action on climate change as part of the minerals sector’s collective commitment to the Paris Agreement and its goal of net zero emissions globally and in Australia. MCA chief executive officer Tania Constable said sustained climate action across all nations was required to reduce the risks of human-induced climate change, and to support world-wide decarbonisation as B HP has agreed to acquire the Honeymoon Well Nickel Project from MPI Nickel, a wholly owned subsidiary of Norilsk Nickel Australian Holdings BV. The deal gives BHP control of Honeymoon Well as well as the Albion Downs North and Jericho exploration projects, where it previously had a 50% stake alongside MPI Nickel. The tenement package is in WA’s northern Goldfields and about 50km from BHP Nickel West’s Mt Keith nickel mine, and 100km from its Leinster concentrator. The package includes: • The Wedgetail deposit, which contains a high-grade nickel sulphide resource • A high quality disseminated sulphide resource in the style of the Mt Keith and Yakabindie ore bodies Completion of the agreement is subject to a number of conditions including government and third party approvals. A lbemarle plans to take control of Greenbushes, the world’s largest lithium mine, signalling it intends to block any rival from buying Tianqi Lithium Corp’s controlling stake. Greenbushes is a hard rock mine in WA, producing lithium since 1983, and is recognised as the longest continuously operated mining area in the state. Tianqi, which owns 51% of Greenbushes to Albemarle’s 49%, is selling some of its prized assets, including Greenbushes, to pay down debt. Head of Albemarle’s lithium division, Eric Norris, said the company intended to exercise its right of first refusal to supersede other potential buyers. “We would be interested in taking a controlling stake in that venture,” he said. “We will keep our position and would like to increase it.” Albemarle already operates in Chile’s Atacama desert, the world’s largest source of lithium from brine. By taking over Greenbushes, Albemarle would gain control over another cheap source of the white metal, which Mr Norris described as the “world’s best resource”. Tianqi’s financial troubles come amid a rough patch for the lithium industry, which is contending with oversupply and the coronavirus pandemic, factors that have paused the push towards vehicle electrification. Tianqi plans to sell around a sixth of its holding, which could raise more than $200m. Meanwhile, Metso has been awarded a major contract to supply pyro-processing and comminution equipment for a new lithium hydroxide processing plant at Albemarle’s Kemerton site near Bunbury in WA, which the Greenbushes mine feeds to. The construction of this greenfield project started in January 2019 and production is scheduled to commence in 2021. The plant will initially consist of three production trains, each producing 20,000tpa of lithium hydroxide, with a potential expansion to five trains which will see production increase to 100,000tpa by around 2025. Metso’s scope of supply includes state-of- the-art calciner and acid roaster systems, ball mills, off-gas handling systems as well as other auxiliaries. AMR BHP’s Nickel West asset president Eddy Haegel said the opportunity enabled the company to enhance its world-class nickel resource base in WA. “Proximity to our existing facilities makes us the natural owners of these deposits, and provides potential options to bring the undeveloped resources to market,” he said. “Nickel continues to be an essential input into new technologies that will improve the battery storage needed for renewables and electric vehicle manufacturing. “Consistent with our strategy to invest in future facing commodities, this transaction gives us access to explore and develop these prospective nickel sulphide tenements.” Nickel West is a fully integrated mine- to-market nickel business. All nickel operations (open-cut and underground mines, concentrators, a smelter and refinery) are located in WA, with the majority of production sold as high quality nickel metal to overseas markets. AMR the world transforms to a lower emissions future. “This is a global undertaking of major technological, economic and social challenge in which Australia and the minerals sector will play their part,” she said. “With this plan, the sector acknowledges the critical importance of technology in reducing emissions. “The minerals industry works with manufacturing and innovation partners to invent, develop and deploy new techniques and technologies. “It is clear that the scale of the technology- led transformation required will not occur without the minerals and raw materials provided by the Australian mining sector. “The industry sees great opportunities for minerals such as lithium, cobalt and copper in all forms of transport infrastructure, communications and energy systems.” The Climate Action Plan is made up of two components: an enduring 10-point framework to support three core objectives and a comprehensive three- year rolling workplan with 30 activities. The plan’s three core objectives are: • Enabling the potential of technology to decarbonise the minerals sector • Increasing transparency in reporting • Sharing of practical knowledge on climate responses. The Climate Action Plan will be reviewed annually and publicly reported on to ensure it remains consistent with Australia’s climate policy ambitions in support of the Paris Agreement. “The plan demonstrates that the minerals sector not only has the ambition to decarbonise the sector – it also has an action plan to get there,” Ms Constable said. You can read the full Plan here: https://minerals.org.au/sites/default/files/ MCA%20Climate%20Action%20Plan_22_ June_20.pdf AMR The MCA supports sustained climate action across all nations to reduce the risks of human-induced climate change. HONEYMOON PERIOD FOR BHP ALBERMARLE PLANS GREENBUSHES CONTROL BHP’s Nickel West mine in Kalgoorlie, WA.JULY2020 AMR NEWS7 INDIAN M.O.U. ON RARE EARTHS FYI: HIGH PURITY ALUMINA IN DEMAND A ustralia and India have declared a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on critical minerals. The announcement was a key outcome of the virtual meeting between Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to elevate the relationship between the two nations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. It’s a further step forward towards Australia establishing itself as a reliable supplier of the critical minerals needed to grow India’s manufacturing sector and its defence and space capabilities. Critical minerals are metals and non-metals used in the manufacture of mobile phones, flat screen monitors, wind turbines, electric cars, solar panels, and other high-tech applications. These minerals are vulnerable to disruptions in global supply due to geological scarcity, geopolitical issues and trade policy. Australia has an abundance of critical minerals, which are essential to advanced technology applications for digital communication, clean energy, transport and defence industries. Resources Minister Keith Pitt said India was F YI Resources has gone into second stage production of its high-purity alumina (HPA) following strong demand for the commodity. Initial samples were sent to prospective customers in February, with the company receiving requests for larger quantities of HPA material for further product qualification. The additional sample material is targeted at meeting the specific requirements of each interested party for their second stage qualification trials. FYI expects to deliver these larger samples in July 2020. The requested HPA will be generated from FYI’s bespoke designed and constructed pilot plant facility, in Welshpool, WA. Material will be similar in nature and consistent with the previous trial samples delivered in stage one. HPA is a processed premium non- metallurgical alumina product characterised by its purity level – 99.99% (4N), 99.999% (5N). The market price, application and performance of HPA varies widely according to its degree of purity. a key potential market for Australia’s critical minerals. “My department has worked closely with the Ministry of Mines to develop the MoU, which focuses on avenues to increase trade, investment and R&D in critical minerals between our two countries,” Mr Pitt said. “The MoU identifies specific areas where Australia and India will work together to meet the raw material demands of the future economy, particularly the increased global demand for critical minerals. “India presents growing opportunities for Australia’s critical minerals, especially as the nation looks to build its manufacturing sector, defence and space capabilities.” Australia has the potential to be one of the top suppliers of cobalt and zircon to India, being in the top three for global production of these minerals. Australia also has reserves to supply many other critical minerals to India, including antimony, lithium, rare earth elements and tantalum. “Indian Government policies such as the Make in India program, and its goal of moving to full electric mobility by 2030, are expected to increase Indian demand for critical minerals,” Mr Pitt said. The Government has begun to develop an online portal for assessing the economic and geological potential of a selection of critical minerals. The Critical Minerals Facilitation Office and Geoscience Australia have partnered to develop the web-based Critical Minerals Portal. Mr Pitt said this latest collaboration was especially important in the challenging environment COVID-19 has presented to the world. “Australia has one of the world’s most technically advanced, innovative and efficient resources industries, a skilled workforce, stable investment climate and government incentives,” he said. “The portal will increase the visibility of our high quality critical mineral resources to international partners around the globe.” The Critical Minerals Facilitation Office was created in January as a central coordination point to grow Australia’s critical minerals sector and position Australia as a reliable, global supplier of critical minerals. “The [Office] continues to work across government to deliver on its mission, identifying investment, infrastructure and innovation opportunities to grow Australia’s critical minerals sector,” Mr Pitt said. “The portal will provide a tool for many users from around the world to assess the economic and geological potential of critical mineral resources, highlighting Australia’s significant potential as an investment destination.” The minerals ranked as most critical by the US, Japan, Korea and the European Union, including the United Kingdom, are as follows (ranked by Geoscience Australia based on synthesis of individual country rankings): • rare-earth elements (REE) • gallium (Ga) • indium (In) • tungsten (W) • platinum-group elements (PGE) including platinum (Pt) and palladium (Pd) • cobalt (Co) • niobium (Nb) • magnesium (Mg) • molybdenum (Mo) • antimony (Sb) • lithium (Li) • vanadium (V) • nickel (Ni) • tantalum (Ta) • tellurium (Te) • chromium (Cr) • manganese (Mn) AMR Australia has the potential to be one of the top suppliers of cobalt and zircon to India, being in the top three for global production of these minerals. HPA is mainly used for its superior properties, such as corrosion and scratch resistance, high brightness, and its ability to withstand extreme temperatures. It is used as a base material in the manufacture of sapphire substrates for applications such as light emitting diodes (LEDs), in the manufacture of artificial sapphire glass (eg. mobile phone and television screens) and in certain battery and power storage components; artificial gemstones; and special space, aeronautical and medical applications. Increasing adoption of LED bulbs over traditional bulbs coupled with technological advancements drives the world HPA market. These product sectors are all high-end markets that are expected to show continued strong year on year growth. FYI managing director Roland Hill said feedback had been positive and the requests for larger quantities further validated the quality of FYI’s product. “The requests are really encouraging as the larger samples will allow these potential customers to finalise their qualification assessments,” he said. “We have developed a product with high purity, high grade to a “4N” level and low deleterious quality, and we expect this additional testing by customers will lead to long-term supply agreements for our product.” “The demand is strong from interested parties, particularly in Europe and South East Asia, so we are now busy preparing these larger quantity samples for their assessment and will continue to liaise with these companies as they undertake more detailed analysis.” FYI is developing a compelling critical mineral project with the integrated mining of its Cadoux kaolin (aluminous clay) deposit north-east of Perth, and refining of high purity alumina (HPA) at a site in Kwinana, in Perth’s south. HPA is demonstrated to be crucial in the production of premium lithium-ion batteries for heavy duty, high safety requirement batteries as well as in broader applications such as LED substrates, phosphors and scratch resistant glass for use in smartphones and computer screens. In March this year, FYI published its definitive feasibility study (DFS) which outlined not only outstanding economic metrics for the HPA project but also highlighted the detailed and robust technical development of the process design and engineering required to achieve and produce the high purity product. The DFS included hard data generated from the successful HPA pilot plant production trials. This internally produced HPA material was also generated for product qualification purposes in the assessment by potential off- take parties and customers. AMR A drill test vehicle at the Cadoux kaolin site.8NEWS AMR JULY2020 IRON, COPPER PRICES ON THE RISE G lobal iron ore prices topped the US$100/t level for the first time in 10 months last month on concerns over supplies from Brazil, as the COVID-19 pandemic grows in the iron ore producing regions in the north and south of the country. The price of 62% Fe fines delivered to northern China rose 5.4% to US$102.39 in late May, the highest price since last August. Reuters reports that Brazilian giant Vale managed to reverse a court decision closing mines in the south (where the January 2019 mine wall tragedy happened) because of rising numbers of COVID-19 infections, and in the north where infections are also rising. Sources also claim there were hundreds of COVID-19 infections at Vale’s mines in Itabira, in the southern state of Minas Gerais. Separately, an outbreak in the north in Para state, where three Vale mines – S11D, Serra Norte, and Serra Leste – are located, has claimed 64 lives in the nearby town of Parauapebas alone, Reuters reported. These mines produce much of Vale’s high quality 65% fines bound for the Chinese and European markets. In a filing with corporate regulators, Vale SA said that its Itabira iron ore mining site was ordered shut under an order from labour authorities, but that it was able to immediately reverse that order after obtaining a favourable court injunction. Vale said the injunction determined maintenance of all activities on the site, adding since the start of the COVID-19 outbreak, its priority was to guarantee the safety of its workers. Fears about the security of Brazilian exports has been rising for the past three weeks, helping push global prices higher and adding to fears of a shortfall in global supplies after heavy rain and floods in January and February slowed shipments. Chinese steel mills have also been forced to run down their stocks which are down more than 20% from a year ago, to around 110Mt, the lowest since 2016. The iron oxide content of Chinese iron ore has fallen sharply in the past decade, forcing steel mills to import more and more higher quality ores from Australian and Brazilian mines operated by the big four – Rio Tinto, BHP and Fortescue metals in Australia, and Vale in Brazil. Meanwhile, copper also bounced back, rising to US$5700/t in mid-June, the highest in three months, due to robust demand from China, the world’s top consumer of copper. It’s a welcome spike for the base metal, which dropped to $4300 in March. Copper production is expected to climb by 3.1% between 2020 and 2029 as global output increases by more than 6Mt. BHP is currently awaiting approval from the South Australian Government for a copper production increase from 200,000 to 350,000tpa at its Olympic Dam mine. South Australia is the country’s main copper explorer, with national exploration budgets for the commodity reaching $272m last year. AMR Copper and iron ore both hit encouraging highs. Adam Bath logging and sampling historical diamond drill core from the Mount Magnet core farm. CSIRO researchers Katie Woodall, John Walshe, Adam Bath and Tina Shelton. INNOVATIVE APPROACH TO GOLD EXPLORATION N ew studies have produced fresh understanding of mineralisation in the Yilgarn Province in WA. Supported by the WA government through the Minerals Research Institute of Western Australia (MRIWA), CSIRO researchers found that the formation of ancient gold deposits during the Archean period more than 2500M years ago also produced distinctive patterns of chemical alteration in the surrounding rocks. Looking for these distinctive patterns will make it faster and more efficient for exploration companies to identify potential new deposits. This could greatly assist exploration in the Eastern Yilgarn region which, despite sharing its Archean geology with the richly-endowed Eastern Goldfields, has produced fewer gold discoveries to date than expected. Conventional exploration is focused on finding the gold deposit and relies on geological and geophysical mapping, coupled with whole-rock geochemistry, to identify potentially suitable host rocks and structures that might host the deposit. This research instead studied the chemical system that deposited the gold. The history of the area is recorded in minerals and mineral reactions in the rocks, for example the reaction of magnetite to anhydrite provides evidence of redox reactions. With potential for global application, this research reinforces CSIRO’s position as a leader in the development of mineral exploration technologies. CSIRO mineral resources director Rob Hough said their work assists Australian industry by translating science to mineral exploration and supporting the role of Australia’s resources in sustainable global development. “We have world leading research capabilities in Perth and welcome opportunities to develop minerals sector innovation in partnership with the industry and government,” he said. The project was co-sponsored by Northern Star Resources, with exploration general manager Jamie Rogers saying the new approaches developed from the project have challenged conventional wisdom, established new models for the genesis of mineral systems and provided insights into how they might be navigated. “Northern Star sponsored the project to help fast track and ultimately benefit from the development of new mineral exploration tools and technologies,” he said. Other industry project sponsors included Gold Road Resources, Ramelius Resources, Evolution Mining, Blackham Resources, Echo Resources and Saracen Mineral Holdings. AMRJULY2020 AMR NEWS9Next >