Tag: Australian mining

Improvements in efficiency and bypass demonstrated by the latest addition to the Cavex® 2 hydrocyclone range translate to operational savings for brownfield sites and reduced capital expense for greenfield projects. Melbourne, Australia – When the Cavex® hydrocyclone was introduced to the industry over 20 years ago, it set the benchmark for the rest of the market. As the first commercial high-efficiency hydrocyclone, it has been providing mining customers across the globe with guaranteed performance and a name that they can trust. The recently launched Cavex® 2 took this product range a step further with enhanced performance and design. The Cavex® 2 hydrocyclone marked a new era in separation technology, with its LIG+™ advanced laminar spiral inlet and size of the…

Acacia Coal Ltd has ditched its coal assets and relisted on the ASX today as an “environmentally- focused” company after acquiring Graphene Technology Solutions. The former coal developer has been rebranded and renamed Sparc Technologies Limited (ASX:SPN) in a reverse takeover deal, which will see Acacia’s core business transition from coal and mineral exploration to the development and commercialisation of “new-world” products. Sparc will initially harness graphene to develop technologies that could revolutionise the mining industry such as improved metals recovery from tailings and environmental remediation. Graphene is a 2D material made of carbon atoms with a unique hexagonal lattice structure that makes it lightweight, thin, strong, super conductive, elastic, anti-microbial, anti-corrosive and hydrophobic, meaning it can separate toxins from…

PALADIN Energy has completed the first of a two-part prefeasibility study (PFS1) to assess the restart of its Namibian uranium mine, Langer Heinrich. The company said that it can return to production after a rapid 12-month ramp-up and would require about US$80m to return to production levels of about 5.2mlb pa. The capital would be divided into US$38m needed for plant repair and US$42 needed for working capital. Production could increase to about 6.5mlb pa through expansion of the mine during the ramp-up period, which the company said would target the processing of high and medium-grade ore over a six-year period at an additional cost of $US30m. PFS1 put the mine potentially back in production within 12 months of securing…

BY REUBEN ADAMS Koppar Resources (KRX) NORWAY-focussed junior explorer Koppar Resources (KRX) has performed strongly since its IPO in late May, when it raised $4.5 million at $0.20 per share. KRX has a conditional right to acquire a number of high value copper-zinc projects in the Trøndelag region of Norway – Løkken, Tverrfjellet, Grimsdal, Illingdal, and Storwartz – through the acquisition of company Koppar Resources Europe. The KRX ground includes a number of historical mines, some going back to the 1600s, with a combined recorded historical production of 85 million tonnes grading between 1 per cent and 2 per cent copper. The company is compiling historical data to generate targets for a drilling campaign in Q3 2018.   Bounty Mining…

Image: IGO. BY REUBEN ADAMS INDEPENDENCE Group (IGO) has confirmed an evolving focus on assets “aligned to the emerging super-cycle for energy storage minerals” after announcing the sale of its Jaguar zinc-copper operation in WA to CopperChem for just $73.2m. In June last year CopperChem, a subsidiary of diversified investment house Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Company, also acquired  IGO’s Stockman copper-zinc project in north east Victoria for $47.5m. IGO acquired both the Jaguar/Bentley and Stockman assets in a $531m takeover of Jabiru Metals in 2011. $25 million will be paid on completion of the Jaguar transaction – scheduled for 31 May — and an additional $48.2 million in deferred cash payments. The transition of ownership will be rapid, with…

The undeveloped Cloncurry project – including the proposed Eva copper mine – could give CMMC a global production footprint. Image: Altona Mining. COPPER MOUNTAIN MINING (ASX:C6C) Canada-based Copper Mountain Mining (TSX: CMMC) is now trading on the ASX following a $93m acquisition of QLD-based Altona Mining and its world-class Eva copper project. In the transaction Copper Mountain acquired $30m in cash, the development-ready, permitted 73,000tpa Eva project, and a 379,000 hectare mineral land package in the prolific Mt. Isa area of QLD. JUPITER MINES (ASX:JMS) Jupiter is back in the ASX, with its $240m initial public offering (IPO) reportedly the largest in the Australian metals and mining industry over the last decade. Jupiter’s main asset a 49.9 per cent interest…

BY ELIZABETH FABRI AUSTRALIA is no longer ranked the most attractive region for mining investment in the world after falling to second place in the 2017 Fraser Institute’s survey of mining and exploration companies. According to the Fraser Institute, Canada was now ranked the most attractive region in the world for mining investment, with Finland rated the top jurisdiction. WA was the only Australian jurisdiction to appear in the global top 10, however it fell for the third consecutive year, dropping from first place in 2015, to third in 2016 and now fifth place in 2017 out of the 91 jurisdictions. QLD fell from 10th to 12th place, South Australia from 13th to 14th place, the Northern Territory dropped seven…

Areas of technology investment in Australian mining. Image: Newport Consulting. BY ELIZABETH FABRI MINING companies are embracing the transition to the ‘digital mine’ by investing in new technologies, but falling short when it comes to preparing future workforces, Newport Consulting has found. In its 2018 Mining Business Outlook, the operational management consultancy firm revealed strong signs of revival for the sector following a series of in-depth interviews with more than 50 mining leaders. However it flagged an emerging skills gap confronting the industry as a result of the rise of automation and a ‘gig economy’ set to redefine roles and disrupt job security. “We spoke to many companies of all sizes that voiced concern over a widening skills gap, giving…

Image: Hitachi. BY ELIZABETH FABRI WITHIN a decade Australian mines will be operated almost entirely by autonomous machines, according to global group Hitachi. Game-changing technologies such as remote and integrated operation centres, driverless vehicles, and advanced analytics are set to be “commonplace” across the entire industry by 2030. “Such advances in technology are predicted to increase productivity and reduce costs by up to 25 per cent, which will have a significant impact on retaining Australia’s competitiveness in the Asia Pacific region, in addition to major positive social impacts such as the ability for mining employees to work in metropolitan areas,” Hitachi stated. “Hitachi also predicts that by 2030 most mines will have fully integrated IoT systems that will connect all…

 Image: Mining3. BY ELIZABETH FABRI AUSTRALIAN research body Mining3 has developed a new ‘uncrushables’ detection technology for real time identification of tramp metal in payloads. Led by Mining3 principal research engineer Dihon Tadic, the system uses both hardware and software with a unique detector embedded in the bucket of digging and loading machines that alerts an operator before the tramp metal enters the crushing circuit. The technology was trialled in WA and South Africa on load-haul dump and front-end loader buckets, and a prototype has been deployed in South Africa for extended mine trials. Mr Tadic said the completed site trials confirmed the technology’s ability to improve safety, and prevent costly equipment damage and downtime. “Mining3 has been developing this…