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P18
P10
CONTENTS
INDUSTRY INSIGHT 4
COVER STORY6
DR ERICA SMYTH
ABN 98 008 667 632
GPO Box D162 Perth WA 6840
Phone +61 8 9482 3938
Contact us [email protected]
www.myresources.com.au
BUSINESS MODEL
10
STATE VS STATE
14
CASE STUDY
18
COAL MINING
22
MAKING NEWS
24
SPOTLIGHT ON MAGNETITE ORE
26
LOOKING BACK: BROKEN HILL
28
MAKING NEWS
30
CRUSHING AND SCREENING
32
MINE SAFETY
34
Printed by Vanguard Press
INDIGENOUS EMPLOYMENT
36
Next issue November/December 2015
TRAINING AND EDUCATION
38
PEOPLE AND PROJECTS
42
BUSINESS DIARY
44
OUT AND ABOUT
46
Editor Louise Allan
[email protected]
National Sales Manager Dane Chandler
Sales Executive Andrew Bowyer +61 8 9482 3933
[email protected]
Studio Manager Jodie Palmer
Journalists Bianca Bartucciotto, Laura Galic, Kaitlin Shawcross
Subeditor Kirsten Hyam
Designer Gemma Medforth
Advertising Coordinator Kristina Paternoster
Cover Photo Dr Erica Smyth. Image: AMEC
The copyright is vested in the Proprietors of The Mining Chronicle; neither
whole nor any part of this issue may be reproduced without permission.
P26
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4
A capital (raising) idea
BY LAURA GALIC
Tough would be the most appropriate word to describe the
current climate for capital raising within the junior resources
sector. With investors weary of market conditions it has
never been more difficult for juniors to raise substantial
capital to explore, identify, construct and operate mines.
According to Australian Mines and Metals Association
Senior Industry Policy Advisor Tristan Menalda, during
the first seven months of 2015 there was not one junior
mining company that floated on the ASX.
“However, if you go back to 2009, investors have
championed over 270 new junior resources floats on
the ASX,” he said.
Hartleys Director for Corporate Finance Dale Bryan said
it was never possible to pick the bottom of a market,
but there was encouragement the tide may be turning
for resources stocks, given the strong M&A activity that
had emerged in the space, the increasing private equity
investment into resources companies, the tightening
of supply across a number of commodities and the
compelling valuation metrics across the sector.
“The falling Australian dollar is also helping companies with
assets in Australia, given revenue is USD denominated,”
he said. “Market sentiment and activity are best in a rising
market, even better than at the top of the market.
Tristan Menalda
believed macro and
micro economic
reforms were
essential to boost
investment.
“One thing is for certain, with the weakness in the resources
sector over the last few years, plenty of headroom has been
created for a rising market. This is often the time in the cycle
of maximum financial opportunity.”
Mr Bryan said there were ways juniors could overcome the
challenges of raising capital in a difficult market and it came
down to implementing key essentials that could attract
potential investors.
“Obviously a quality project and quality management is
essential,” he said.
“To most effectively tap into that funding and to maximise
a company’s longer term funding certainty, a clearly defined
and executed capital markets strategy is a must.
“Key elements of this capital markets strategy include
the involvement of a well-regarded corporate advisor
and broker and equity research that can assist in
communicating the investment proposition.
“Maintaining market profile through targetted marketing
to investors is also critical, as well as building relationships
with key investors who can support your company over
the longer term.”
Deloitte National Mining Leader (West) Nicki Ivory agreed
and said although the current climate for capital raising
was tough, it was not impossible.
“There is money available for good projects, even in the
junior sector, but what funders are looking for is the quality
of the projects and the quality of the management/board,”
she said.
“There is no space for marginal projects and management
need to have a realistic view of the project’s value, its
bankability and balancing different stakeholders’ outcomes.”
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debt against the company’s assets, offering convertible notes
or raise equity with a follow-on offering,” Mr Menalda said.
Dale Bryan said
quality projects and
management were
key to attracting
potential funding.
In many circumstances traditional sources of capital
raising might not be available to juniors, therefore they
would have to turn towards alternative investments such
as sovereign funds, private equity, hedge funds and other
sophisticated investors.
“The days of doing a big capital raising on the stock
exchange and almost blindly taking people’s money are
sort of limited,” Ms Ivory said.
“There will still be some capital raised obviously on the
stock exchange, but companies are having to cast their net
a bit wider.”
With this in mind, the industry is seeing cashconstrained juniors implementing various alternative
capital raising strategies.
“With access to international debt capital markets being
restricted to borrowers with strong equity valuations and
balance sheets (thereby bypassing many junior and some
mid-tier miners), emerging trends are for juniors to offer
bonds with higher coupon rates with some that secure the
“Alternatively, miners have enacted strategies of engaging
into profit-sharing agreements with major construction
and logistic companies, where they receive a percentage
entitlement of applicable positive net operating cash flows
in exchange for investment (shares/cash/lower contracting
rates) in the company.
“With depressed commodity prices likely to remain for the
near term, we expect to see an increase in joint ventures as
mining companies, including juniors, realise synergies and
cost savings.
“In addition we expect there to be more acquisitions as
Asian buyers and major mining houses acquire quality
assets at bargain basement prices to secure supply in
response to projected greater demand for commodities
as a result of a rising middle-class in Asia, higher rates of
urbanisation and comparatively strong GDP growth in our
major trading partners.”
5
“The right funding mix is different for all companies,
depending on their unique circumstances, and we enjoy
working with companies in assisting them to identify the right
funding mix and successfully execute their capital raisings.”
Apart from mining companies doing all they could
to attract investment (showcasing their high-quality
resource and reserves, sustainable mine optimisation
model, rightsizing their business, optimising productivity,
minimising all but essential spend and displaying strong
corporate governance), Mr Menalda said macro and micro
economic reforms were vital to boost investment.
“For example, modest changes to the workplace relations
framework which has been modelled by KPMG’s 2015
report Workplace Relations and the Competitiveness of the
Australian Resources Sector, suggests that minor reforms
could result in increased investment in the resources
sector of up to eight per cent,” he said.
“This could be the difference between a mine in Australia or
a mine in Canada receiving foreign investment capital.”
Even in poor market conditions over the past two years,
Hartleys has undertaken over 50 equity raisings for its
resources and energy clients, raising in the order of $750
million to finance exploration, development and production.
Companies range in size and every stage of the
development cycle, from Sirius Resources and Ironbark
Zinc to Emmerson Resources.
“In our experience, given the cyclical nature of commodity
prices, particularly in the current volatile commodity price
environment, the preferred capital raising methodology
is typically by way of equity issue, whether through
placement, SPP, right issue or a combination of these,” Mr
Bryan said.
Nicki Ivory
assured money was
still available for
worthy projects.
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One of the many feathers in her cap, Dr Erica Smyth
has served as chairwoman of Toro Energy, which is
looking to develop the Wiluna uranium project.
COVER STORY
7
Walking through the Association of Mining and
Exploration Companies Convention in Perth with
prominent mining figure Dr Erica Smyth, it is impossible to
ignore her significance to the industry.
Investors, industry leaders and fellow stalwarts stop her in
the halls to pick her brain and remind her of the time they
spoke at a conference back in the day.
Straight from giving the Sir Arvi Parbo Oration at the
conference, Dr Smyth agreed to discuss the industry further
with the National Mining Chronicle.
Her take on the current state of play in the Australian
mining sector? Just another downturn, of which she has
seen many during her four decades in the industry.
“I’ve seen it happen about three times before,” Dr Smyth
said. “The market will turn; I’m not sure at what, it might be
slower than what we expect, but it will turn.
“Demand will catch up with supply.”
Dr Smyth began her resources journey in 1974 as a
geologist at BHP Billiton at Newman in the Pilbara.
As well as a tenure at BHP, Ms Smyth spent time at Woodside
Petroleum, Toro Energy and has held positions on a number
of boards, including ScreenWest and Scitech.
Dr Smyth said it was important for companies to use this
time to ready themselves for when the market did pick up.
Smart leadership and fiscal responsibility were of utmost
importance.
Dr Smyth’s former company where she served as
chairwoman, Toro Energy, is currently readying itself for an
uptick in the demand for uranium.
The company’s female leadership duo includes
Chairwoman Fiona Harris and Managing Director Vanessa
Guthrie.
Toro is currently in investment talks with different parties
in regards to a deal that would see an equity stake of the
Wiluna uranium project being sliced off for funding for the
$315 million project.
“Toro is a good example because it is ready to go as soon
as the market turns. The company is using this time quite
effectively and there are others in the uranium space like
Camico that have continued to invest,” she said.
Dr Smyth said companies needed to look at how
technology could revolutionise the industry.
“Companies have to keep changing,” she said.
8
Some 100 Global Inspirational Women in Mining WA members (L-R) Alison Morley of Brumby Resources, Sabina Shugg of Momentum Partners, Meredith Campion of Allen and Overy,
Sinead Kaufman of Rio Tinto, Marnie Finlayson of Rio Tinto, Donna Weston of Rio Tinto, Dr Erica Smyth and Kalpana Maharage of Rio Tinto. Image: The West Australian.
“In 1988 we had a new building at BHP in Melbourne that
had a whole air-conditioned room for the data room full
of computers and nowadays that whole computing grunt
could fit on a normal laptop.”
Dr Smyth added that collaboration was essential in an
industry that was too reliant on “silo work” (when certain
departments or sectors do not share information with
others in the same company, a type of mentality which
may reduce efficiency in the overall operation, reduce
morale and contribute to the demise of a productive
company culture).
“What Woodside is doing with its innovation and
technology part is a great example,” she said. “It is bringing
people from across departments; they are not technical but
they are people who are in finance and accounting who are
brought in to make the data into a usable form to sort out
issues that may be there.”
In her oration Dr Smyth gave a run-down of the
technological advances that had propelled the industry.
She added that companies should look for what was
coming next and how that could help productivity,
particularly where the workforce was concerned.
“What are the next things and how do you keep changing
and how do you make use of that? There should be crossfunctional teams that are working in the data space,” Dr
Smyth said.
Dr Erica Smyth delivered the Sir Arvi Parbo Oration at the
AMEC Convention in Perth in June this year.
Image: The West Australian.
“A lot of the companies are backing away from spending
only because they haven’t got the money and this is the
trouble in the downturn.
“I think we could get a lot cleverer about looking at the
waste streams. There might be different ways of looking at
a waste resource – can we use it for roads or construction
material rather than thinking of it as waste?”
Dr Smyth said the workforce needed to join with
companies on the journey; the days of paying any price
just to get people up to the site were a thing of the past.
“The workforce has to be part of the solution,” she said.
“They’re going to be the smart people driving the trucks
and responding to the productivity increase.
“In every level of organisations we’ve got to bring the
experienced workforce with us and that means the
workforce has got to be retrained.
“We’ve moved from old styles of how we move dirt, to new
styles of how we use dirt. You can simulate the lot now and
it means you can get really experienced, really quickly.”
Dr Smyth called on the industry to remember that it was
still possible to make money in the current market and that
many people were.
“We’re mining an enormous amount of iron ore, coal and oil
and gas, we’ve just got to get cleverer at doing that.
“We have suffered from very high costs and when you have
very high costs it gets inefficient.
“I think in mining itself we will see much greater
productivity as we start using the smarts embedded in
vehicles and excavators and those smarts may be fully
automated or it might be the vehicles giving the operator
information about its usage.
“It’s about getting more tonnes out of a haul and that means
least wear on tyres and brakes and highest fuel efficiency.
“The productivity gain has to be made first. There are
always the true believers and those people will hang in
there for as long as they possibly can.”
Erica’s achievements
• Bachelor of Science The University of
Western Australia (UWA)
• Applied Master of Science McGill
University, Canada
• Honorary Doctor of Letters UWA
• Elected Fellow of the Australian Academy of
Technological Sciences and Engineering
• Australian Nuclear Science and Technology
Organisation Deputy Chairwoman
• Toro Energy former Chairwoman
• Diabetes Research Foundation of WA
Chairwoman
• Royal Flying Doctor Service Non-Executive
Director
• Emeco Holdings Non-Executive Director
• Deep Exploration Technologies CRC
Non-Executive Director
• Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research
Director
• Chamber of Mines and Energy WA Women
in Resources Lifetime Achievement Award
Winner (2010)
• Women in Mining UK 100 Inspirational
Women in Mining (2013)
• Member of Chief Executive Women
10
BUSINESS MODEL
Gaining ground through
a collaborative approach
BY KAITLIN SHAWCROSS
No-one is feeling the pressure of the recent struggles of the
iron ore price more than the mining juniors.
For Western Australian junior Atlas Iron, it was becoming
abundantly clear an innovative approach to the company’s
business model was needed if it was to emerge on the
other side of the iron ore price slump in one piece.
Speaking at the Association of Mining and Exploration
Companies Convention in June, attended by National
Mining Chronicle, Atlas Iron Managing Director David
Flanagan said earlier this year the company looked to cut
costs everywhere it could, including cutting its workforce
by 65 per cent.
“When we got our cost down to about $61 come Eastertime,
the iron ore price took that big jump down to $46 and it was
not business as usual,” he said.
“Just from operations we were looking at losing $15 million
that month and from the price impact of the previous
months we were looking at another $10 million.
Atlas Iron Chairman David Flanagan (front)
at the Mt Webber mine opening in April.
Image: Atlas Iron.
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“So we were looking down the barrel of a $25 million cash
loss for the month of April and that’s just unacceptable.”
Struggling to compete with the low operating costs of
mining giants such as Roy Hill, Atlas decided to suspend
stock during April to review operations.
Another cut to the company’s workforce was made but it
was clear this was no long-term solution.
It was by establishing a new way of doing business with its
contractors that Atlas Iron was able to successfully bring its
costs down to US$50 ($68.12) a tonne, bringing the junior in
line with the mining giants.
A number of Atlas contractors have signed a two-year
contract with the company to provide discounted services
in exchange for 25 per cent of Atlas’ cash margin after all
costs for the next two years under what the company called
its contractor collaboration model.
Mr Flanagan said through the agreements the company
had reduced costs by a further $150 million a year.
and you get everyone to work together it’s transformative
and that’s what’s happened,” Mr Flanagan said.
protecting it against sudden price drops and securing
future cash flow for the company.
“McAleese essentially cut its road haulage costs for our
business from $16 a tonne to $10 a tonne,” he said. “MACA
gave us $1.50 in savings, Qube gave us 30 to 40 cents and
we had the Port Hedland Port Authority give us just under
$2 a tonne.”
Atlas’ contractors McAleese and MACA are feeling the
pressure of the iron ore price slump as much as the
juniors with McAleese relying on its monthly payments
of around $20 million from Atlas Iron – which accounts
for more than half the transport group’s earnings – to help
service its debt.
Mr Flanagan admitted Atlas would end up sacrificing some
of the upside under the new model should the iron ore price
improve, but could easily sustain operations for several
months should the iron ore price remain over $45 a tonne.
The Department of Transport allowed Atlas to operate a
number of trials that would see the company add an extra
three to four tonnes in each road truck in an effort to use
fewer trucks, increasing efficiency.
The contractor has invested around $90 million in
assets to support transport services for Atlas as well as
contributed $14 million to Atlas’ Share Issue despite its
$175 million debt.
“None of those things in isolation is going to make a
difference for the business, but if you bring them all together
Under the contractor collaboration model Atlas is preselling its iron ore for up to three to six months in advance,
“If the price tomorrow goes to $100 and it stays there for
a month, will we get the full benefit? No, we won’t, but
what we will have if the price goes up to $100 tomorrow
is the forward curve will react and we will see the benefit
of getting that price in January and February,” he said.
“So in return for giving away some of that upside, we
know that our downside is capped and we know we’ll be
making money.”
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13
Mr Flanagan said other mining companies had taken an
interest in the new business model and had been in touch
with Atlas’ contractors.
At the start of the 2015/16 financial year Mr Flanagan
embarked on a global roadshow to raise capital to secure the
company’s balance sheet to withstand further iron ore price
volatility.
The company aimed to raise $180 million but fell well
short with only $86 million from existing shareholders,
contractors and new investors.
None of those things in
isolation is going to make a
difference for the business,
but if you bring them all
together it’s transformative.
However, the company said it needed only the $40 million
already committed from existing shareholders before the
roadshow to secure the miner’s immediate future and
anything raised above that was a bonus.
“This is an outstanding result for Atlas shareholders, for
the 700 people who rely on Atlas for work and for the state
and federal governments that use our royalties and taxes to
provide essential services,” Mr Flanagan said.
“When this is combined with our new, lower cost base,
which we are continuing to optimise, I am confident Atlas
has a bright future.”
Atlas Iron MD David Flanagan said he was confident the company had a “bright future”. Image: The West Australian.
14
STATE VS STATE
Go the distance
“Queensland is recognised globally as a world-class
producer and leading destination for mining and
petroleum and gas resources investment and Australia’s
gateway to Asian markets,” he said.
BY BIANCA BARTUCCIOTTO
On the speaking circuit in 2015 a new rhetoric has emerged.
Combinations of overcapacity, slowing consumption
growth and a stronger US dollar have forced most mineral
and energy prices into a rapid decline over the past year.
Mr Purtill said the government was working to streamline
the assessment processes.
As a result there has emerged a frantic state of affairs across
the country.
“Industry in Queensland is already benefitting from
one of the most advanced natural resources permit
lodgement, management and assessment systems in the
world,” he said.
Exploration spending dropped nine per cent year-on-year
to $1.3 billion in the March quarter as the commodities
freefall disincentivised investment.
Bill Marmion
said the WA
government
offered investors
certainty.
The expansionist directions of companies in the past few
years have dramatically stopped as companies look to
tighten their budgets.
While there are still more projects in the pipeline, the
potential of any further investment beyond that is closely
linked to commodity prices.
As the investment dollars begin to dry up, resources
ministers, representatives and leaders are taking to the
stage to lure potential investors into their respective states.
The hard task of attracting greenfield projects is only set
to get harder and the stage is set for an all-out battle royale
between the states.
WESTERN AUSTRALIA
The ‘lucky state’ has long been associated with mining
projects from Roy Hill to Yandi to Hope Downs. The
State Government has been fortunate enough to find a
steady stream of investment dollars into WA. The current
downturn, however, has dampened Premier Colin Barnett’s
glory days.
His Minister for Mines and Petroleum Bill Marmion has
been talking up the future potential of the state as much as
possible. The minister is sure of WA’s strong mining future.
“The State Government provides prospective investors
with a number of unique offerings that have assisted
Western Australia to become one of the world’s leading
minerals and energy producers,” he said.
“One of the most important positives the WA government
offers investors is certainty. Our mining and petroleum
legislation and regulations are based on the principles of
transparency, predictability and fairness.
“The WA government is committed to minimising red tape
while ensuring the state’s resources are developed in a
responsible manner.
“Reforming processes and introducing online approvals
services have enabled end-to-end tracking of mining and
“Coal, mineral, petroleum and gas companies operating in
Queensland can now lodge applications for their resources
permits electronically through the MyMinesOnline system.
“This online service is making a big difference to industry
and giving companies greater certainty, helping them to
attract investment and get projects up and running faster.
petroleum applications across the Department of Mines
and Petroleum, while reducing duplication and improving
timelines.
“Exploration permit application timeframes, for example,
have been slashed by over 70 per cent compared to the old
over-the-counter paper lodgement system.”
“The government recently completed the streamlining of
key processes under the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972 and is
working to expand this system to other government agencies.
Mr Purtill added that exploration was the most important
thing for the state.
“To further improve certainty of approvals processes and
reduce assessment timelines for industry, the Department
of Mines and Petroleum aims to conduct all its transactions
online, including applications, fees, submissions and
correspondence, by July 2016.”
Of course, the benefit of having Liberal Premier Colin
Barnett opening the doors for any investment that will
boost his coffers is paramount, but does that mean WA
will continue to enjoy the sort of investment that has been
steadily raising living standards in the state for years?
QUEENSLAND
According to figures from the Australian Bureau of
Statistics, Queensland remained an attraction exploration
destination.
“But we can do better,” Mr Purtill said.
“That is why the Queensland government continues to
deliver initiatives that support exploration investment and
activity.
“Innovative programs like the Collaborative Drilling
Initiative and Industry Priorities Initiative will continue
to help industry better target exploration opportunities,
reduce risk by providing high-quality, pre-competitive data
and attract investment.”
The new State Government on the block, Queensland
Labor led by Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, started by
shooting down the uranium industry in the state, despite
supporting the liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry.
Despite the fact the state has established itself as a
powerhouse for LNG development, it remains to be seen
whether Queensland will be able to continue to attract
further investment that will allow it to knock rival WA off
the podium.
Premier Palaszczuk only recently appointed James Purtill
as the Director-General of the Department of Natural
Resources and Mines. He kicked off his tenure by saying the
Queensland government had faith in the state’s resources
industry.
James Purtill
believed exploration
was vital for
Queensland.
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16
SOUTH AUSTRALIA
With the recent jobs cuts at BHP projects, South Australia
is working hard to ensure the next round of investors looks
favourably on the state.
In its recent budget SA abolished a number of inefficient
taxes that impeded investment including share duty,
stamp duty on non-real property transfers, nonresidential property transfers and genuine corporate
reconstructions.
South Australian Treasurer Tom Koutsantonis said tax
would save businesses $670 million per year.
“By July 2018 all business property transactions in South
Australia will be tax free – the only jurisdiction in the
country to implement such reform,” he said.
“In addition, the State Government recently announced a
new $15 million investment fund aimed at bringing new
jobs to South Australia.
“Modelled on similar successful funds in Ireland and
Singapore, it will be the leading body within government
for all major investment attraction activity from both
overseas and interstate companies.
“This new investment arm will lead all major investment
attraction activity by proactively identifying and facilitating
potential investment.
“These funds will be available to companies planning to
expand or move that could create jobs in South Australia.
While the bid was overturned, these continuous anti-coal
campaigns slow down development in the state.
A spokesperson at the Department of Industry, Resources
and Energy said the state had some of the toughest
regulations in the country, but was committed to
providing companies with stable framework.
“Mineral resources and mining are important to NSW
but must be conducted in a safe and environmentallysustainable manner,” the spokesperson said.
“That is why NSW has some of the toughest regulations in
Australia around rehabilitation and especially coal seam
gas activities.
“NSW provides a safe and reliable market in which
companies can operate.
Tom
Koutsantonis
said SA was open
for business.
“The State Government will be working to attract
capital to growth sectors and establish new operations
of international firms and facilitate the start-up of new
industries.”
As well as an open for business government mantra, the
state holds some attractive resources.
“With more than two-thirds of Australia’s total copper
resource in South Australia, we are ideally placed to
boost the state’s annual production to rival our global
competitors,” Mr Koutsantonis said.
“We will be looking beyond the current cycle to where
South Australia should be in the next 10 to 15 years.”
Mr Koutsantonis said he was confident South Australia was
the right environment to foster growth.
“South Australia is a low-cost business location, with
full-time labour costs nine per cent below the Australian
average and below all mainland capital cities,” he said.
“South Australia has unique and natural advantages in
the mineral resources and energy sector along with other
advantages, including our affordability, our liveability and
our open for business government.”
NEW SOUTH WALES
While New South Wales state leaders encourage
development, activists and environmentalists in the state
tie their hands.
Recently residents in the New South Wales Highlands
launched a bid to stop exploratory coal drilling in the
Southern Highlands.
“The NSW government funds exploration initiatives
designed to stimulate private mineral exploration and
investment across the state which is largely unexplored.”
“The government is doing exactly that by embracing new
technology and innovation, sending a message to investors
that Tasmania is open for business in mining and working
with industry to cut through the barriers and get new
projects off the ground.
“We are already seeing a number of positive signs,
including a new bauxite mine at Bald Hill, which is
Australia’s first bauxite mine in more than 30 years, a
mining lease issued to Forward Mining for the proposed
magnetite iron ore mine at Rogetta and Unity announcing
$5 million in new exploration work.”
NORTHERN TERRITORY
The Northern Territory, the final competitor in the race for
resources dominance, is banking on its proximity to Asia to
take it over the edge.
VICTORIA
In 2007 the Northern Territory government launched a
four-year China Minerals Investment Attraction Strategy
to position the territory as China’s preferred source of
minerals and metals.
A relative darling on the Australian mining scene, Victoria
has worked with coal and iron ore as well as oil offshore.
This has now been expanded and includes Japan and the
Republic of Korea.
Recently the Andrews Labor government affirmed its support
for the resources sector, in the hope of cementing Melbourne
as a global mining hub – a major aspiration of Perth.
Minister for Mines and Energy David Tollner said the
Northern Territory was ready to drive its economic growth
through unlocking its resources deposits.
In July Minister for Energy and Resources Lily D’Ambrosio
hosted a resources roundtable advising on the International
Mining and Resources conference. The roundtable featured
industry heavyweights and mining identities.
“We’re spreading the message about what the NT has to
offer across Australia and the Asia-Pacific region,” he said.
Ms D’Ambrosio said the resources industry was key to the
state’s future.
“Melbourne already has competitive strengths globally in
the resources sector through its mining businesses and
professional services,” she said.
TASMANIA
The Tasmanian government says mineral processing is
going to be one of the biggest growth sectors in the state.
The government is also undertaking an extensive
exploration initiative to stimulate exploration spend in
the territory.
This includes $2 million per year over four years on an
accelerated collaborative program to assess the NT’s shale
gas resources and potential, $1.65 million for enhanced
management and delivery of geoscience and exploration
data to industry and $1.25 million for regional geoscientific
studies to assess mineral potential in key areas of the NT
amongst other measures.
Mining and minerals processing employs more than 4000
people and represents about 50 per cent of the state’s net
export value.
“The eyes of the world are now on us and under this
government Tasmania is open for business,” Tasmanian
Minister for Resources Paul Harriss said.
“There’s no doubt mining across Australia has been going
through a tough period.
“But with forecasts that most commodity prices will have
recovered by 2017 and with our rich diversity of resources,
we need to lay the groundwork now to fully capitalise on
the upswing.
David Tollner
said the NT was
looking to stimulate
exploration.
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Carbon granules are rinsed and dewatered before they
are transported to the carbon regeneration kilns.
18
Major win for community
and the environment
Kalgoorlie Consolidated Gold Mines (KCGM) is one of
Australia’s largest gold producers. It is also the managing
company of the world-famous Super Pit in the Goldfields
of Kalgoorlie, Western Australia.
This led to the development of the Fimiston Open Pit,
when many existing leases and mines on the Golden Mile
were consolidated. In 1989 a single management entity was
formed – Kalgoorlie Consolidated Gold Mines.
As part of its Air Quality Management Plan the company
would stop the roasting process whenever prevailing
winds could blow roasting emissions towards the town and
residential areas.
KCGM recently commissioned a new Metso carbon
regeneration kiln as part of its $98 million Emissions
Reduction Project, which has eliminated sulphur dioxide and
significantly reduced mercury emissions from its Gidji and
Fimiston Processing Facilities. The project was supported by
KCGM’s joint venture owners Barrick and Newmont.
Today KCGM’s Fimiston Open Pit is a massive operation,
popularly known as the Super Pit. At 3.5km long, 1.5km
wide and more than 600m deep, it is so large it can
be seen from space and, despite its remote location,
is a popular tourist attraction. The City of KalgoorlieBoulder has developed into a dynamic and sophisticated
regional centre. It is Australia’s largest outback city with a
population of more than 30,000 people.
This resulted in unplanned stoppages and the sacrifice of
up to one-third of available production time. Improving
air quality for the community and avoiding disruptions
to production were the key drivers for research into
alternatives to the roasting process.
In 1893 three Irishmen Patrick Hannan, Tom Flanagan and
Daniel Shea stumbled across 100 ounces of alluvial gold
when they stopped to replace a horseshoe in the course of
their travels. Mr Hannan registered a claim on June 17, 1893
in Coolgardie and so started the Yilgarn-Goldfields goldrush.
The town of Kalgoorlie was founded in the same year.
Many early prospectors who came to the region were
unprepared for the harsh living conditions they would face.
Living only in makeshift shacks, thousands died from the
lack of food, water, medical supplies and sanitation.
But these conditions didn’t deter the influx of thousands
more prospectors from all over the world, who often arrived
with only a shovel and pan to seek out their fortune. It was
the passion and spirit of these early pioneers that drove
the success of the region, which has grown into Australia’s
largest producer of gold. On the back of this success,
infrastructure was established, allowing the community to
grow and prosper.
Dwindling alluvial gold deposits gave rise to underground
mines, but by the 1980s they faced falling financial viability.
Annually KCGM processes more than 12 million tonnes of
rock to produce up to 800,000 ounces of gold.
The Fimiston Open Pit is mined using the drill and blast
method, with the ore transported by 6m-high haul trucks.
It is crushed down to nominal 300mm sized rocks and
then ground down to 0.2mm sized particles before it is
mixed with flotation reagents.
This produces a gold-rich froth, which is dewatered in filters
to produce a sulphide gold concentrate. A common practice
is to roast this concentrate at 650C, which vaporises sulphur
dioxide and other impurities such as mercury.
Most of the gold ore found along the Golden Mile is
intricately bound in various sulphide minerals such as pyrite.
The roasting process is the most efficient and cost-effective
way to maximise the recovery of gold from the ore.
The downside of roasting is the presence of sulphur
dioxide and mercury in the off-gas emissions. Up until early
2015 KCGM used roasting at its Gidji Processing Plant.
This year, as part of KCGM’s Emissions Reduction Project,
a new larger ultra-fine grinding (UFG) mill was installed at
Gidji to replace roasting.
UFG reduces ore down to 12 micron particles, it is then
subjected to a cyanidation process followed by adsorption
on to activated carbon in a process called Carbon-inLeach (CIL).
Next the carbon is recovered from the CIL process and
transferred to the elution circuit.
The elution process uses caustic soda and cyanide in a
pressurised column at 110C to strip the gold off the carbon.
Once this step is complete, only the spent carbon is left
behind. The carbon is then rinsed in water and sent for
regeneration via the carbon regeneration kilns.
The gold continues on to another process called
electrowinning, where it is converted into a solid, which
is deposited on to large plates using an electric current
(approximately 3000 amps at 12 volts). The gold is then
washed off the plates, dried, melted at more than 1000C
and poured into gold bars.
CASE STUDY
19
Downstream from ultra-fine grinding
The implementation of UFG had a significant impact on
KCGM’s downstream processes. KCGM Metallurgist Mark
Roberts said the new process eliminated one step in the
previous method.
“The UFG process does not remove the sulphur or mercury
as the roaster did,” he said. “As a result the mercury carries
over into the CIL process, where it adsorbs on to the
activated carbon, reducing its capacity for gold adsorption.
“This means carbon is required to be eluted more frequently
to achieve the same result in the CIL process.”
Carbon can be ‘reactivated’ for reuse by treating it in carbon
regeneration kilns which heat it up to 700C, vaporising
the impurities still present following the elution process.
Because the increased frequency of elution strips the
capacity to regenerate the carbon, an additional carbon
regeneration kiln had to be installed.
“The mercury, which had previously been removed by
roasting, is now present in the kiln,” Mr Roberts said. “The
existing gas scrubbers downstream of the kiln could not
effectively handle the increased load and so a new scrubber
and off-gas cleaning plant had to be designed and installed.”
Tapping into knowledge
KCGM installed two Metso carbon regeneration kilns in
1994 and 1997. Since then it has relied on the company’s
maintenance services and engineering knowledge to ensure
the kilns continued to perform efficiently.
Metso’s National Product Manager Pyro Systems Hratch
Loussikian played a key role in the supply of the original
MT293a Mining Chronicle Half Page Screens Advertisement June 2013.indd 1
Commissioning the new Metso carbon regeneration kiln which combines cutting-edge burner technology with a
sophisticated control system that is integrated into the plant’s distributed control system.
kilns and has been directly involved in KCGM’s carbon
regeneration process for more than 10 years.
“When we tendered for the new kiln, our long-term
involvement with KCGM along with our intimate knowledge
of its process and requirements led us to produce a design that
met the unique requirements of this project, while delivering a
high degree of energy efficiency,” Mr Loussikian said.
Supply of the new kiln was a team effort between Metso
and a number of its long-term business partners: Electrical
Board Manufacturers for control and automation, Mining
Combustion Services for kiln heating, and NEPEAN
Engineering and Innovation for kiln fabrication.
Once the design was completed by Metso’s Pyro division,
the kiln was fabricated and fully assembled at NEPEAN’s
production facilities in Narellan, south-west of Sydney.
Electrical Board Manufacturers, assisted by Metso engineers,
then installed and tested the control system before the kiln
was disassembled and transported to the minesite, where it
was reassembled in its final position.
Automation and operational safety
With the carbon at 700C, great care has to be taken to ensure
safe interactions between the kiln and the upstream and
downstream processes, particularly in the event of any
process malfunction.
3/05/13 1:36 PM
A bird’s eye view of the structure
containing the new carbon regeneration
kiln andscrubber at KCGM’s Fimiston
Processing Plant in Kalgoorlie.
20
This means the kiln needs a safety shutdown system,
which operates independently of any external
systems or power. A momentary loss of control by the
distributed control system or a power outage could have
catastrophic results.
The drum which carries the carbon runs at temperatures
of between 850C and 1000C. Stopping the kiln drum from
rotating, even for a short period of time, will cause the drum
to sag under its own weight.
Mr Loussikian said even the smallest change could have
dramatic effects on the kiln’s ability to operate correctly
or at all.
“With no easy way to rectify damage, it is likely the kiln
would be offline for up to six months, whilst a new one is
constructed and installed,” he said.
“Our design takes care of this problem with a special
shutdown operation that is driven by a battery back-up
system in case of power failure.
“It keeps the kiln rotating until all the carbon is safely out
of the kiln and the drum has cooled down sufficiently to
safely stop.”
Once the kiln had been assembled and tied in with the
mechanical and electrical components of the upstream and
downstream processes, testing and cold commissioning
started. Although the kiln will be controlled by the site’s
Yokogawa Distributed Control System (DCS), the kiln’s
operation and control needed to be tested and proven
independent of the DCS. Metso and Electrical Board
Manufacturers designed a complete system that was only
required to control the kiln’s operation during testing and
commissioning.
“Once testing was complete, control of the kiln was
transferred to the Yokogawa DCS,” Electrical Board
Manufacturers’ Automation and Control Engineer David
Merrick said. “To ensure that control is exactly the same,
our programming and our control interface hardware were
integrated into the DCS.”
Small D&B investment paying big dividends
Kalgoorlie Consolidated Gold Mines (KCGM) has always
faced significant challenges around void management
as it mines down through old workings at its Kalgoorlie
Fimiston Open Pit – better known as the Superpit.
Therefore, it is critical for its drilling and blasting (D&B)
department to get timely information to reassess blasting
techniques.
With the voids being a safety factor during drilling,
QAQC and loading of the pattern, data interpretation
and logging is crucial. The time delays in the paperbased solution being used were causing delays in
bench progression due to the delays in processing the
information. In these challenging economic times, to
justify employing an additional person to help manually
enter all the necessary data becomes difficult.
It purchased MiPlan’s MiD&B App, one of several
developed, produced and distributed by the Perthbased real-time software solutions firm.
As such, KCGM chose to use technology to optimise key
areas of the operation and went looking for a solution
that might help solve its in-field data collection problem.
It makes paper-based data collection redundant as it
enables real-time onsite record keeping and data entry
via tablets with a seamless back-end data integration,
validation and reporting functionality.
The aim was to increase QAQC efficiency and to get more
accurate data on explosives used out in the field without
additional personnel or a high cost.
The company discovered a ready-made solution existed
which would only take a few days to install and was
relatively inexpensive.
MiPlan implemented the MiD&B solution in three
days at the Kalgoorlie site by deploying the server site
solution – a web-based solution that can be hosted
locally or in the cloud. It then configured and connected
the tablets to the existing wireless mesh onsite.
Training was conducted through the implementation
of how to use the tablets and how to import patterns
to the system and report the information in the best
way possible for the organisation.
According to KCGM Senior Drill and Blast Engineer
Dan Kavanagh, the total cost of the MiPlan solution is
less than half of what it would have cost to employ a
data entry clerk for just one year.
“There has been a significant reduction in the time
taken for the QAQC process to occur,” he said.
“Our previous processes took two to four days to dip
holes, enter data and redesign a blast.
“This solution enables real-time data collection,
empowering engineers to redesign a blast
immediately, which actually saves us even more.
Better explosives and consumable tracking is one of several features that have resulted in significant improvements
and cost reductions for KCMG’s onsite D&B activities.
“We get better blasting because the real-time data
feeds allow the engineers to revise blast plans and
tie-ins using up-to-date hole depth, cavity and water
level information, all of which leads to improved blast
performance.”
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22
COAL MINING
Underground mines on the table
The deepening downturn in the Australian coal industry
has not deterred another new megamine being planned for
Queensland’s Galilee Basin.
The latest is a $6.7 billion thermal coal mine, proposed by
MacMines Austasia, part of the Meijin Energy Group.
Minister for State Development Dr Anthony Lynham said
the China Stone Coal project would provide up to 3900
jobs during the proposed two-year construction phase and
up to 3400 operational positions.
“This is a significant milestone for this project, which is an
important contributor to the ongoing development of the
Galilee Basin and sustainable development of business and
industry in this state,” he said.
“The site is located approximately 300km west of Mackay,
north of and adjacent to the proposed Carmichael Coal
mine in Central Queensland.
“The China Stone Coal project involves the construction and
operation of a greenfield open pit and underground thermal
coal mine within a 20,000-hectare mining lease area.
“The project could realise significant economic and social
benefits on a regional, state and national scale with the
capacity to produce up to 38 million tonnes per annum of
product coal.
“Once operational the mine is estimated to contribute $5.9
billion to Queensland and Australian revenue through coal
royalties over the 50-year life of the mine.”
The Coordinator-General has since released the draft
Environmental Impact Statement for public comment.
Meanwhile in New South Wales, Hume Coal has
announced plans to build a low-impact, environmentallysensitive underground coal mine in the Southern
Highlands.
The innovative mining system is an Australian first and is
designed to extract valuable coal for steel making from the
Wongawilli coal seam in the Sutton Forest region, while
protecting the groundwater and the environment.
The project will mine only 35 per cent of coal from the
available reserves, leaving the majority of the coal in the
ground to provide long-term ground stability and minimise
impacts on groundwater.
Project Director Greig Duncan said Hume Coal had
undertaken detailed environmental and geological studies
and exhaustive engineering design analysis to ensure the
best possible outcome for the local community.
“We’re delighted to be able to deliver a plan that offers
significant economic and social benefits to the region while
preserving and protecting the things that make this place
special,” he said.
Once operational the mine is
estimated to contribute $5.9
billion to Queensland and
Australian revenue.
Mr Duncan said the project plan was focused on addressing
the potential concerns of local residents including water,
subsidence (land movement) and visual amenity.
“The project will not involve coal seam gas, open-cut or
longwall mining. It will have no impact on town water or
surface water such as dams,” he said.
“Furthermore, we’ve taken great care to design a mining
system that will have no long-term impact on the
groundwater system, ensuring it remains intact and
undamaged for future generations.
“There will be no damage to surface infrastructure from
ground movements due to subsidence, as can be the case
with other underground mining projects.”
In July Hume Coal submitted a Preliminary
Environmental Assessment and application to the
NSW Department of Planning and Environment, which
is the first step in the development proposal for the
underground mine.
Creating greener plants
In August the Minerals Council of Australia
released a new publication, Delivering a
low emissions coal future, that detailed the
technological transformation underway to
sharply reduce the emissions associated with
the coal-fired power generation.
“Hundreds of new high-efficiency, lowemissions coal-fired plants are in operation,
under construction or planned in Japan,
China, Europe and elsewhere in East Asia,”
Minerals Council of Australia Executive
Director – Coal Greg Evans said in a
statement.
“These plants operate at much higher
temperatures and greater pressures
producing reliable, baseload energy while
slashing carbon dioxide emissions by up to
40 per cent.
“In addition to sharply-reduced carbon
emissions, these plants reduce all other
emissions including particulates to negligible
levels. These plants continue to deliver
baseload electricity at a much lower cost than
all other energy sources.
“These plants will ensure coal has a
fundamental role to play in the provision of
low-cost, reliable energy for decades.”
Mr Evans said the publication also
noted carbon capture and storage (CCS)
technologies continued to be rolled out around
the world, pointing to the recent launch of the
world’s first commercial CCS plant at Boundary
Dam in Saskatchewan, Canada.
“The Boundary Dam plant has slashed carbon
dioxide emissions by 90 per cent,” he said.
“Coal accounts for 41 per cent of the world’s
electricity generation and in the past decade
the use of coal grew four times faster than
renewable energy sources and 50 per cent
faster than gas.”
The main surface infrastructure areas and underground parts of the proposed mine are shown above in relation to Hume
Coal’s current exploration authorisation A349. Image: Hume Coal.
Australia is the world’s largest exporter of
metallurgical (steel-making) coal and second
biggest exporter of coal overall. Australia is
forecast to become the world’s largest coal
exporter by 2017.
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24
In the rural areas of India many remote villages
are beyond the reach of electricity.
MAKING NEWS
Lizard and snake
bring $16.5b coal
mine to a grind
Australia’s largest coal mine has been brought to a
screeching halt after the Federal Court overturned the
Abbott government’s environmental approval for Adani’s
Carmichael mine in Central Queensland.
The approval was revoked in August after the court found
it had not properly considered advice over two threatened
species in the area – the yakka skink and the ornamental snake.
The Mackay Conservation Group launched its legal
challenge earlier in the year alleging Environmental Minister
Greg Hunt failed to consider global greenhouse emissions,
Adani’s environment history and the threatened species.
“Adani’s Carmichael coal mine plan would have been a
climate disaster and reef destroyer,” Australian Greens
Deputy Leader and climate spokesperson Senator Larissa
Waters said.
Foreign investors do not
have limitless patience as
their projects are mired in a
seemingly unending process
of legal challenges.
“This white elephant of a project threatened our tourism
and agricultural industries and would have slowed down
our transition to a clean energy economy.”
While environmentalists celebrated the win, the state’s
resources sector feared it could mean the loss of thousands
of Australian jobs, scare off potential foreign investors and
lose billions for the Australian economy.
The industry said a ‘legal loophole’ was to blame.
“It is preposterous that a technical administrative hitch
could hold up billions of dollars in investment and
thousands of desperately-needed jobs,” Queensland
Resources Council CEO Michael Roche said.
“It’s time for our governments to step up and close the
loopholes that enable these actions and the resulting
negative impacts on our industry, not only in Queensland,
but right across the country. Foreign investors do not have
limitless patience as their projects are mired in a seemingly
unending process of legal challenges.”
countries where large populations remain without access
to electricity”.
Minerals Council of Australia Executive Director - Coal
Division Greg Evans said it was important to understand
this legal bump did not mean the end of the Carmichael
$16 billion coal and 189km rail project.
Mr Abbott said it was “tragic for the wider world” if legal
safeguards were allowed to stall large mining projects,
adding people had grounds to be “angry” that a court
overturned approval for Australia’s biggest coal mine.
“The delay to the project will be temporary. Claims by
opponents of the mine that the project has been stopped
permanently are arrant nonsense,” Mr Evans said.
Mr Abbott said Adani had already invested about $3 billion
in Australia and coal from the project would “power up the
lives of 100 million people in India”.
“The Federal Parliament should move quickly to close the
loophole which provides no additional environmental
protections but simply provides an opportunity for radical
environmental groups to lodge vexatious legal actions
designed to inflict costly delays on the project.”
“It is absolutely vital that we get these projects right. But
once they are fully complying with high environmental
standards, let them go ahead,” he said.
It is expected to take six to eight weeks from the date
of the court’s decision in early August for the Federal
Environment Department to draft new advice for the
minister’s consideration.
Adani faces another hurdle after the Commonwealth Bank
pulled out of its role as financial advisor to the project once
it learned the mine’s approval had been declared invalid.
Era of Australian coal exports
is coming to an end
A former official for the Government of India has berated
comments made by Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott
following the ruling.
Government of India Ministry of Power Former Secretary
Eas Sarma said Mr Abbott’s response revealed a “deep lack
of understanding for the real situation in India and in other
Prime Minister
Tony Abbott said
he was “frustrated”
by the ruling
on Adani’s
Carmichael mine.
However Mr Sarma said the claim that more coal would
lift 100 million out of energy poverty revealed a lack
of knowledge around the situation in India and other
countries.
“India’s population of 1.24 billion comprises 247 million
households, 68 per cent of which live in rural villages,” he said.
“According to the 2011 Census, 45 per cent of these rural
households – 75 million – have no electricity. Of urban
households, six million remain without electricity, or about
eight per cent of the total.
Australian coal, like any other
coal, is not good for Indian
people’s health and will not
deliver electricity to those
living in energy poverty.
“These figures have not changed appreciably since 2001,
though around 95,000 MW of new largely coal-based
electricity generation capacity was added during the
intervening decade. In other words, the benefits of adding
new generation capacity accrued largely to the existing,
affluent consumers.”
Mr Sarma said to address energy poverty and energy
security, India’s focus must be on encouraging locallygenerated and indigenous renewable energy systems and
moving towards decentralised electricity generation based
on renewables.
“Even if one per cent of the country’s land area were to be
used to harness the abundantly available solar insolation at
an efficiency of 10 per cent, the country could generate 570
times India’s current electricity demand,” he said.
“Australian coal, like any other coal, is not good for Indian
people’s health and it will not deliver electricity to those
who are currently living in energy poverty.”
25
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26
Commodity’s cousin
is no poor relation
Barge loading at CITIC Pacific
Mining’s Port Preston.
BY KAITLIN SHAWCROSS
The Australian iron ore industry is mostly built upon the
mining, production and export of high-grade hematite ore, but
a small percentage of production is made up of magnetite ore.
Why the interest in magnetite ore?
When mined, magnetite ore has a lower iron content than
hematite, but after processing, the magnetite ore has much
higher iron grades and lower costly impurities than hematite.
The iron fines of the ore are recombined with bentonite and
heated to produce iron ore pellets used for steel making.
Carpentaria Exploration Managing Director Quentin
Hill said the high-quality pellets were a preferred
product of steel makers in blast furnaces as they
increased the efficiency of the furnace and reduced
costs and pollution.For this reason, magnetite ore attracts a
higher price over hematite.
traditional hematite direct shipping ore. At the end of
the day, this results in lower carbon emissions,” a CPM
spokesperson said.
Earlier this year Fortescue Metals Group announced it had
been working on a pilot two million tonne magnetite plant
that it hoped to build into a 20 million tonne plant as a joint
venture with Chinese company Baosteel and Taiwanese
steel group Formosa.
to produce the ore. As a result, the high-quality premiums it
receives have been less affected by the iron ore price slump.
“The conventional wisdom in WA is that magnetite costs
US$80 ($109) or more per tonne in operating costs or they
need base prices of US$80 to $90/t ($122.62) to make them
work,” he said.
However, magnetite ore receives a premium, making it
more attractive and profitable for producers.
When concern was raised over FMG’s new project possibly
saturating the already volatile iron ore market, the company
highlighted the fact that magnetite ore was a completely
different product to most of Australia’s iron ore production
and was a high-quality product currently in short supply.
“The premiums for pellets are US$30 ($40.87) to $40
($54.50) a tonne over the base price but if the base price
falls, the pellet price falls too. What it means is that for
projects like ours with a low cost base and a high premium,
it‘s always a good business,” Mr Hill said.
Mr Hill said there weren’t many magnetite producers
in the market because of the typically high operating costs
Carpentaria’s Hawsons project near Broken Hill is currently
ready for its feasibility study, having demonstrated high-
“The demand for iron ore from the steel mills in Asia is
moving such that high-grade products are now more
favoured,” he said.
“That doesn’t mean the Pilbara is not relevant; what
it means is the market requires more higher-grade
concentrates and pellets to balance falling hematite grades
and it is prepared to pay for it.”
CITIC Pacific Mining (CPM), which operates the Sino Iron
project in Western Australia’s Pilbara region, the largest
magnetite mining and processing operation in Australia,
said magnetite ore was more environmentally friendly than
its hematite cousin.
“Apart from providing Asian steel mills with security
of supply and a high-quality feedstock, magnetite’s
exothermic qualities mean the amount of energy used
across the steel production cycle is lower than that of
CITIC Pacific Mining’s in-pit primary crusher and conveyor leading to processing area.
SPOTLIGHT ON MAGNETITE ORE
quality magnetite results of over 70 per cent iron from
its soft ore.
“A lot of this steel production has been in construction and
it’s been low quality,” he said.
Mr Hill said under the current market scenario, the project
was profitable but he expected the market to grow stronger
within the next two years, giving the Hawsons project’s
25-year predicted minelife a promising future.
“This other infrastructure may well require high-quality
steel and there’s also domestic demand for high-quality
raw material for cars, washing machines and other
products as China continues to industrialise.”
What China is telling us
Who are our producers?
Announced in 2013 China’s One Belt One Road strategy
aims to see growth within China through relationships
with the outside world.
Australia has a handful of magnetite operations currently
producing and exporting including the Sino Iron magnetite
project owned by CPM, the Karara magnetite project
owned by Ansteel and Gindalbie and the Savage River
magnetite project run by Grange Resources in Tasmania.
As part of the One Belt One Road strategy, China is looking
to reorient its domestic infrastructure industry investment
into foreign markets.
It can do this through the Chinese government’s $40
million Silk Road Fund, $100 billion Asia Infrastructure
Investment Bank and $100 billion New Development bank.
Mr Hill said China’s One Belt One Road policy was a
significant step to increase demand and would see the
country shift its steel capacity utilisation from 60 to 80
per cent, leading to more export opportunities for the
Australian industry.
“There’s an argument whether China is at peak steel now or
it will be at peak steel in 10 years’ time. We believe it’s closer
to the latter,” he said.
Mr Hill said he believed Chinese companies would build
this infrastructure using Chinese steel from high-quality
Australian iron ore, which would see a greater demand for
magnetite ore than in the past.
Carpentaria Managing Director Quentin Hill (left) and
Chairman Dr Neil Williams at the Hawsons project.
CPM’s Sino Iron is set to become Australia’s largest
magnetite mining, processing and export operation with a
project life of more than 30 years and a design capacity of
24 million tonnes per annum.
The project is producing magnetite concentrate at 68
per cent iron with the first two of six processing lines in
production and transhipping having commenced.
A company spokesperson said CPM was helping create
a new downstream processing industry by transforming
low-value magnetite ore into a premium export product
within Australia.
“As China’s largest ever overseas investment in the
resources sector, the project has resulted in stronger
economic and cultural links and technical exchange
between our two countries – combining Chinese magnetite
processing and smelting experience with local mining and
construction know-how,” the CPM spokesperson said.
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28
Broken Hill post office and town hall facade.
Broken Hill
BIRTHPLACE OF BHP
Australia’s longest-lived mining city has an illustrious narrative
marked by its mineral wealth as home to one of the world’s largest
silver-lead-zinc deposits and its often fierce industrial battles.
EARLY 1880S –
A LEGENDARY BEGINNING
Exposed by
erosion, the Broken
Hill mineral outcrop
was discovered in
1883 by boundary
rider Charles Rasp.
The Broken Hill ore
is contained in a
boomerang-shape
line of lode up to
250m wide and
7.3km long, with
each end dropping
more than 1.6km
into the earth.
Mr Rasp took what
he thought were tin
samples from the
large orebody. The
samples proved to be
silver and lead from
one of the largest
orebodies of its kind.
The Broken Hill Line of Lode.
Did you know?
Broken Hill lies in the
far north-west of NSW
but is closer to Adelaide
and operates on South
Australian time.
The city was named in 1884
by explorer Charles Sturt who
noted that there was a broken
hill in the middle of the Barrier
Ranges, which the town sits
on. The ‘broken hill’ that gave
the city its name actually
comprised a number of hills
that appeared to have a break
in them. The original broken
hill has since been mined away.
Mr Rasp pegged
out the original
lease in September
1883 with his fellow
stationhands David
James and James
Poole.
LATE 1880S
BHP was established by
a group of men from Mt
Gipps Station from various
working backgrounds who
came to be known as the
Syndicate of Seven. Each
member contributed £70
to start BHP.
The town lends its name
to one of the world’s largest
mining companies BHP
(Broken Hill Propriety),
which began mining the
large orebody for silver and
lead in 1885 and set BHP
on the path to becoming
Australia’s richest company.
A stock market boom
in 1888 turned Argent
Street in Broken Hill
into the equivalent of
Wall Street in the US and
BHP shares reached an
impressive £400.
Despite George
McCulloch instigating
the syndicate it was
Charles Rasp who
easily became the most
famous of the seven.
The population
of Broken Hill
continued to grow
throughout the
late 1880s from
a few hundred in
1885 to more than
27,000 by 1901.
Defending workers’ rights
Strikes marred the history of Broken Hill from 1889 to 1920.
In 1892 local miners and the Women’s Brigade went on strike
for 16 weeks, defending the mines from imported labour.
The strike was defeated and resulted in a 10 per cent
decrease in wages as well as the restoration of the 48-hour
working week.
The city’s largest strike lasted from May 1919 to November
1920 and involved thousands of mine workers and their
families, who struggled to survive on rations of mainly
potatoes, onions and jam.
When the ‘Big Strike’ was finally called off, miners were
awarded improved safety conditions, better health monitoring
and – for the first time in Australia – a 35-hour working week.
LOOKING BACK
Mining memorials
Broken Hill has kept its history alive through a number of
attractions and memorials to its mining past and present.
29
One of the original shafts constructed in
Broken Hill, Brown’s Shaft at Junction Mine.
As well as displaying information on how the world’s
largest silver-lead-zinc deposit was formed, The Albert
Kersten Mining & Minerals Museum houses a renowned
collection of Broken Hill minerals and the iconic piece of
art, the Silver Tree, once owned by Charles Rasp.
The city’s Line of Lode Miner’s Memorial and Visitor
Centre on the edge of the mullock heap that divides
Broken Hill serves as a tribute to the more than 800
miners who lost their lives on the job.
Floral tributes sit beside the hundreds of names on
the memorial, which has been specifically designed
to help visitors understand the dark, claustrophobic
underground environment.
Two small dump trucks sit nearby as memorials to the
two miners still entombed.
In 1886 the Broken Hill Junction Silver Mining Company
was formed and in the 1890s the wooden headframe was
erected over the Browne Shaft.
Today the frame is the oldest remaining on the Line of
Lode and the lookout has become a popular tourist spot
as a place to understand the mine’s history.
Broken Hill’s first
mining strike
occurred in 1889 as
a result of a trade
union ultimatum
that members not
be made to work
with non-unionised
workers. The strike
lasted a week.
1900S
The city’s
population
peaked in 1915
with around
35,000 residents.
In 1905 the town
had a population
of more than
30,000 people and
by 1907 more than
8000 men worked
at The Hill’s mines.
Like BHP, the early
history of Rio
Tinto is also linked
to Broken Hill.
Production peaked
again in the city in
the 1950s when the
mining workforce
reached 6500, but it
has been declining
ever since.
The metals at Broken Hill
occurred together in the form of
sulphides, which were difficult to
process. While it was possible to
extract the silver and lead from
these sulphides, metallurgists
originally were unable to find a
commercially viable method of
recovering the zinc.
Broken Hill today
Despite being home to only a fraction of the miners that
used to operate under Broken Hill, the city still produces
as much ore as ever.
This is largely due to increased efficiency through
modern technology with miners working 600m to
1000m underground and able to scavenge remnants in
old tunnels.
Mining still provides about one-third of the city’s income.
Australian and Chinese-owned Perilya continues to work
the southern end of the ore deposit after acquiring the
mine in 2002, producing lead and zinc concentrate.
Trades Hall.
US mining engineer, and later
American President, Herbert Hoover
saw an opportunity to establish a zinc
specific company. In 1905 he formed
the Zinc Corporation in Melbourne to
buy up tailings dumps and extract the
zinc from the Broken Hill ore deposit.
Zinc was successfully produced from
these residues and revolutionised the
metallurgy of Broken Hill.
In its first eight years Perilya mined around 15 million
tonnes of ore and shipped more than 800,000 tonnes of
zinc metal and 450,000
tonnes of lead.
Earlier this year
Perilya said it would
talk with its board
about reopening its
northern operations
after being closed for
more than 20 years.
The Zinc Corporation
later became
Consolidated Zinc
and merged with Rio
Tinto in 1962.
Did you know?
In 2015 Broken Hill
became the first
Australian city to be
included on the National
Heritage List.
The operation is now thought to
be viable through the use of new mining technology
that would allow for lower grades of ore to be mined at
higher tonnages.
Perilya said the North Mine Deeps resource held 3.7
million tonnes at 11.3 per cent zinc, 13.5 per cent lead and
219 gram per tonne of silver.
30
MAKING NEWS
Call for “cool heads and open
minds” in blueprint dialogue
The Productivity Commission has laid the blueprint for
getting new major resources sector projects approved
in Australia faster and more competitively by proposing
a more efficient and modernised system for new
project industrial negotiations in its draft workplace
relations report.
In its proposed system for new project agreement making,
known as ‘greenfields’, the Productivity Commission
has taken onboard a number of recommendations from
resources industry employer group AMMA’s ‘roadmap for
reform’, which provided extensive independent analysis of
the problems created by the current provisions within the
Fair Work Act 2009.
“Resources employers will be very pleased to see the
Productivity Commission acknowledge and act on the
well-documented problems with the current new project
agreement framework,” AMMA Chief Executive Steve
Knott said.
“We need a system for new projects that will reverse
some of the excessive delays and cost blow-outs on major
resources sector developments that has seen our sector
become globally uncompetitive.”
Specifically the Productivity Commission has recommended:
• Greater industrial certainty be achieved by allowing
agreements to have a nominal expiry date of up to five
Key to unlocking $35 billion
in potential metal assets
years (up from the current four years) or the life of a
greenfields project, subject to approval by the commission.
• If an agreement has not been reached after three months,
the employer may either request the commission to
choose between the ‘last offers’ made by the employer
and the union or submit the employer’s proposed
greenfields arrangement for approval with a 12-month
nominal expiry date.
• Greenfields agreements should be subject to good faith
bargaining requirements and, importantly, subject to a no
disadvantage test.
AMMA chief Steve Knott said the proposed model would
be a positive first step towards a competitive system.
“The Productivity Commission’s proposed model for
greenfields projects would be a positive first step towards
putting in place a competitive system that gets Australia
back on track to securing more projects and the jobs they
bring to the nation,” Mr Knott said.
“It has been blatantly clear for too long that our workplace
relations system is not fit for a modern Australia. We call
on all parties to examine the recommendations with
cool heads and open minds. This report must not be
overshadowed by scare campaigns or misinformation,”
Mr Knott said.
“It’s also pleasing to see a number of other
recommendations that will begin to address problems
in the workplace relations system including better Fair
Work Commission appointment processes and reviews of
members’ performance, as well as making strike action a
genuine last resort.”
More broadly AMMA is urging the report, released in
August, be met with mature national debate, not marred
by union scare campaigns or political point-scoring already
playing out in the public space.
“AMMA looks forward to analysing the draft
recommendations in greater detail and providing the
Productivity Commission with the resources industry’s
feedback during further consultation.”
AMMA has been heavily involved in the Productivity
Commission review consultation process and lodged a
comprehensive submission backed by KPMG analysis
detailing the economic benefits that reforms could
deliver.
Thiess will provide turnkey mining services at the
Rocky’s Reward mine near Kalgoorlie.
Interest has grown in a previously ‘off limits’ area of the
Australian outback with potential gold, uranium and
copper assets. A total of 59 exploration licenses have been
granted to explore the Woomera area in South Australia
since restrictions on the land were relaxed.
Located in the Far North of South Australia, the Woomera
Prohibited Area has been used as a rocket testing range and
was declared a prohibited area under Australian Federal
Legislation. An amendment to the Federal Bill in July 2014
has now opened up parts of the land to mining exploration.
South Australian Mineral Resources and Energy Minister
Tom Koutsantonis acknowledged the work of former
South Australian Senator Don Farrell who had pushed
for access to the area that might unlock an estimated $35
billion in potential gold, uranium and copper assets.
“The level of interest shown by explorers since the legislation
passed is extremely promising with 59 exploration licences
submitted since last August, covering about 18,460 square
kilometres,’’ he said. “As a result of the downturn in global
commodity prices, the industry is facing significant
challenges. But we also know the resources industry is a
cyclical one.
“For that reason it is crucial that we provide explorers with
a regulatory framework that gives them the confidence
to go out to find the next major discoveries, so when the
inevitable upswing occurs they are ready to invest and
create jobs for South Australians.”
Stretching more than 127,000sq km, roughly the size of
England, Woomera potentially contains some of the world’s
richest mineral and petroleum resources. Geoscience
Australia estimates 62 per cent of Australia’s known copper
resources and 78 per cent of the nation’s known uranium
resources are located in the area and its immediate
surrounds.
$160 million contract marks re-entry
into Goldfields region for global company
CIMIC Group’s global mining contractor Thiess has been
awarded a $160 million contract with BHP Billiton Nickel
West to undertake operations at the Rocky’s Reward
nickel mine at Leinster, about 400km north of Kalgoorlie.
The Rocky’s Reward mine is an open-pit operation within
Nickel West’s Leinster mine complex.
Thiess commenced the 30-month contract at the
brownfields operation in August 2015. Thiess will provide
turnkey mining services including mine planning,
explosives, drill and blast services, overburden and ore
mining and overarching technical support.
CIMIC Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Marcelino Fernández Verdes said: “We are continuing
to tender for more mining work and expect further
contracts to be awarded to the group in the near future.
Following on from Thiess’ recent entry into Chile’s
copper market, the Rocky’s Reward nickel project
provides further diversification by both commodity
and geography”.
Thiess Managing Director Michael Wright said the
Rocky’s Reward contract, which marked the company’s
re-entry into the Goldfields region of Western Australia,
built on the partnership first established with BHP
Billiton Nickel West at the nearby Mt Keith operations
in 2003.
A member of the BHP Billiton group, Nickel West is a
fully-integrated nickel business comprising the Mt Keith,
Cliffs and Leinster mines, the Kalgoorlie smelter, the
Kambalda concentrator and the Kwinana refinery.
SE
A
BO T E Y
O AIM OU
TH E
60 X,
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32
CRUSHING AND SCREENING
Cashing in on expansion
As Newmont Mining looks to extend the life of the
Boddington gold mine, one of the company’s star
performers, Crushing and Mining Equipment (CME),
was awarded a contract for full supply of crush liners.
The five-year contract will see CME supplying MP1000
crusher liners, with the first installed earlier this year.
CME said the contract was subject to increased
performance parameters on improved production
targets, which was achieved with the first installation
of CME’s LinerSafe liners.
The contract incorporates the supply of CME’s
trademark LinerSafe liners, which includes the
patented LockLift device, eliminating the need for
dangerous lifting practices. LockLift allows for a fullycontrolled lift, while negating the need for cutting or
welding to occur.
CME’s engineering division will undertake the work.
CME Chief Executive Officer Gordon Fogwill said the
company’s technology had positioned it ahead of the
industry.
“Continuous improvement, technology and
competencies, coupled with an industry-leading
range of wear products and parts has positioned CME
at the forefront of this field in materials processing
advancements and enabled CME to tailor solutions to
Newmont Boddington’s specific requirements,” he said.
Newmont is pushing ahead with further capital works
to extend the life of the project.
The mine requires a major pit wall cutback that will
extend the life of the project beyond the current
timeframe of about six years.
Image: Newmont Mining Corporation.
Contract win
NRW Holdings has secured a $140 million
contract with Rio Tinto at the Nammuldi
mine that will have the contractor supplying,
installing and operating two crushing plants.
The two five megatonne per annum crushing
plants are just part of the award that will
have NRW constructing mine haul roads, ore
stockpiles, waste dumps and other mine
infrastructure.
NRW will also carry out production mining,
including drill and blast and haulage of
high-grade ore from the mine to the existing
Nammuldi plant site.
Sedgman Managing Director
Peter Watson.
Image: The West Australian.
The contract will utilise a significant amount of
existing NRW equipment, including two Hitachi
250-tonne excavators and up to 14 Caterpillar
785 dump trucks.
Work extension at Agnew site
It will run for 24 months and will have a peak
of 135 personnel onsite, including a proportion
of local indigenous participation.
Sedgman secured a three-year renewal of its crushing and
screening contract for Gold Fields’ Agnew Gold Mine up to
September 2017.
Mobilisation and start of preliminary site
works began in August.
The work is worth $23 million over the term of the contract.
Sedgman Chief Executive Officer Peter Watson said
the working relationship between the companies first
commenced in 1997.
NRW Chief Executive Officer Jules Pemberton
said it was pleasing to be awarded such a
significant contract during a difficult time for
the industry.
“This contract award follows completion of the
Nammuldi BWT works for Rio Tinto earlier this
month,” he said.
“Sedgman has been delivering crushing and screening
services at Agnew for more than 18 years,” he said.
“We are seeing an increasing number of operations and
operations consulting opportunities emerge as clients
look for ways to further optimise their operations and
increase the value in use of their existing assets.”
The crushing and screening facility is scheduled to crush
around 1.2 million tonnes of ore per annum from the
Agnew underground mines, located near Leinster in
Western Australia.
The Agnew Gold Mine, formerly the Emu Gold Mine,
north of Kalgoorlie, has been producing gold for Gold
Fields since 2001.
The mine averages more than 250,000 ounces of gold
per annum from the Waroonga underground complex,
comprising the Kim, Main and Rajah lodes.
Mr Watson said the successful renewal of the operations
contract with Gold Fields in a highly competitive market
was very pleasing.
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34
Setting the coal scene
The Coal Services team in New South Wales has been
pioneering the use of virtual reality (VR) to train coal
miners in underground safety. The company uses four
stations around the state to service the southern, northern,
Newcastle and Hunter Valley coalfields.
Coal Services VR Technical Manager Matthew Farrelly said
while it was one thing for miners to be trained in emergency
procedures in theory, it was a whole other ball game learning
to apply those principles in real-life situations.
To overcome this Coal Services has developed three
different VR platforms to simulate real-life underground
scenarios in a controlled learning environment.
Each site has three hemispherical fibre glass domes, which
are 4m in diameter and allow individuals to walk within a
virtual environment.
Coal Services State Operations Manager (NSW)
Stephen Tonegato with University of Wollongong
student Shiva Pedram.
Image: Paul Jones/University of Wollongong.
such as debris, actors, CPR dummies and stretchers, ” Mr
Farrelly said.
how well VR technology bridges the gap between classroom
and coalmine.
“When we go in there people are fully dressed in their
breathing apparatus and the screen acts like a backdrop in
a stage play.
“This matters because these industries are a huge part of
Australia’s economy and we want to find the best way of
training our workers for this high-risk environment so we
are ensuring workers go home safe at the end of the day,” Ms
Pedram said.
“When they walk in they might see an emergency or they
might be doing an inspection and suddenly there might be
fire and smoke or any other potential incidents including
vehicle interaction.
“They can respond and do physical things. For example,
if they see a person get injured in some way, we can then
make the digital avatar, who has been injured, disappear
and then reappear as a real person who takes over the roleplaying role.”
There is also a curved screen theatre that sits 25 to 30 people
in lecture-style tiered seating where learners sit with books
or worksheets while using the VR as a training platform.
Mr Farrelly said an important part of the VR experience was
giving miners the opportunity to train muscle memory and
reflexes by getting them to perform tasks such as first aid on
a real person.
However, the most impressive VR platform is the
organisation’s virtual reality theatre, which features a
360-degree screen, 10m in diameter, 4m high and uses 12
cameras to project 3D images.
A recent partnership between Coal Services and the
University of Wollongong (UOW) will measure the
effectiveness of the VR programs in equipping coal miners
for emergency situations.
“There’s a reasonable amount of floor space in the centre of
that cylinder so we’re able to fill that with different things
UOW and SMART Infrastructure Facility PhD student Shiva
Pedram has been conducting research in order to assess
“It’s a particularly acute problem for highly-skilled rescue
brigades whose individual and collective proficiency relies
upon the ability of their training program to deliver scenarios
that are as realistic as possible.”
Ms Pedram has worked with up to 400 miners who utilise
Coal Services’ training facilities and concluded that the
training technology had a significant impact on the drop in
NSW safety incidents between 2009 and 2014.
“The training system gives employees the confidence to
do their job well and the confidence to be able to handle
situations when things go wrong,” she said.
Mr Farrelly said it was a matter of time before other
companies made use of VR technology to prepare miners for
onsite work.
“There’s no doubt that VR is the buzzword at moment,”
he said. “We’re just about to have breakthroughs on key
technologies that allow this to happen.“
Bore acquisition adds to capabilities
Underground mining operations now have
access to one of the fastest, safest and most
technologically-advanced large capacity raise bore
rigs on the market, according to underground
mining contractor PYBAR Mining Services.
The Herrenknecht RBR600-VF arrived at PYBAR’s
headquarters in Orange, New South Wales earlier
this year, significantly increasing the company’s
raise bore capability.
It is currently the second largest raise bore rig in
the Australian market and has proven efficiency in
drilling both production and ventilation shafts.
The majority of raise bore rigs in Australia have a
maximum diameter potential of 6m or less.
The RBR600-VF, developed by German rig
manufacturer Herrenknecht, has the capacity to
construct shafts up to 8m in diameter, making it
one of only two raise bore rigs in Australia with
greater than 6m capacity and to a depth of 1200m.
Drilling shafts over 1000m with large diameters of
up to 8m requires rigs with high torque and high
thrust forces.
The RBR600-VF delivers this with a thrust force of
10,000 kN sufficient to lift a 1000-tonne weight under
the rig. It is also the only rig of its size in Australia
which can be easily deployed underground.
With the industry increasingly seeking non-entry
mining solutions, reaming shafts with the RBR600-VF
is safer, less labour intensive and, depending on the
application, more cost-effective than conventional
shaft sinking.
Furthermore, the rig is one of the most efficient on
the market due to its variable frequency drive.
Whether utilising mains power or generators, its
power consumption will be half that of an equivalent
capacity machine with hydraulic drive, potentially
saving clients thousands of dollars on power bills.
PYBAR Chief Executive Officer Paul Rouse said as
a major contractor in the Australian underground
mining industry the acquisition of the rig ensured
PYBAR had the capability and capacity to handle
projects of any scale.
“There are very few contractors with this level of
rig capability. It enables us to service the largest
underground mining projects in Australia with a full
suite of services,” he said.
“We’re building a solid reputation in the market
for exceeding productivity targets and this latest
investment will ensure we have the fleet and
equipment to back our ability to add value to
projects and out-perform on project targets.”
ADVERTISING
MINE SAFETY
Walking billboards
drive home key
safety messages
35
High-visibility site shirts are worn by workers
to reinforce the safety message.
Perth-based Crushing and Mining Equipment (CME)
celebrated a milestone achievement of four years lost
time injury (LTI) free in July.
According to the latest available data from the Western
Australian Department of Mines and Petroleum (2013-14),
the average mining industry LTI frequency rate sits at 2.4.
CME CEO Gordon Fogwill said while the company had
seen an increase in demand for its onsite maintenance
and engineering services over the last four years, it had
sustained a high level of safety with a nil balance LTI.
“It is through the company continually striving for
improvements in all areas of the business that has
aided us to position our safety record as best in practice,”
he said.
“What makes this even more exceptional is the fact our
business has grown over these four years to be more and
more associated with higher risk service work onsite.”
The company has launched a number of internal
programs to promote safety including patented LockLift
and Safe-T Lift crusher liner safety lifting devices, a Think
Safety, Think CME safety training program and uniforms
displaying safety slogans to promote safety awareness
while onsite.
“We are backing up all our strategic objectives with a multilayered approach of initiatives that target as many sources
of influence that we can muster,” CME Occupational Health
and Safety Manager Mark Hill said.
“One of the latest programs we are currently utilising is the
‘walking billboards’ high-visibility site shirts being worn by
all our service staff.”
Mr Hill said CME had also implemented sharing in-depth
personal safety stories at toolbox meetings.
“This vicarious experience through story telling is
a great way of influencing people to behave safely,”
he said. ”We will continue to deliver these types of
initiatives throughout our journey to excellence in safety
performance.”
36
Former Myuma program
participant Hayley Dodd.
Driving indigenous policy agenda
BY KAITLIN SHAWCROSS
BHP Billiton has recently taken out a series of awards at
the Queensland Resources Council’s (QRC) Indigenous
Awards night for its commitment to training and
employing indigenous people.
BHP Coal Indigenous Relations Manager Paul Travers was
awarded Indigenous Advocacy Champion for his work with
the company on its traineeship and Myuma program.
“It’s very nice to be recognised by industry as someone
who is helping drive the indigenous policy agenda within
the resources sector, but really the award for me is more
a company award. I think it reflects more the values BHP
Billiton Coal brings to the area of indigenous relations,”
he said.
BHP Coal has been operating an 18-month indigenous
training program since 2011 as well as the six-week
Myuma program, which provides trainees with an
immersive site experience prior to commencing
their traineeship.
“We recognise as a company that diversity drives
performance across all our operations, so we are
committed to increasing the numbers of our Aboriginal
and Torres Straight Islander employees,” Mr Travers said.
BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA) was also
recognised by the QRC for its efforts to recruit more
indigenous people to its Queensland operations.
The company’s Indigenous Recruitment Strategy
has a target to see at least five per cent of indigenous
employees across its operations, with indigenous people
now making up 44 per cent of BMA’s trainee intake.
BMA Head of Human Resources Sonia Lewis said
indigenous employment at the company’s Daunia Mine
had already reached 4.75 per cent and she was confident
other operations would soon come close to the target.
“A key aspect of the strategy was direct engagement
by the BMA recruitment team with indigenous people,
including traditional owner groups across south-east
Queensland and the Cairns region as well as other
stakeholders, most importantly Queensland’s Department
of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships,” Ms
Lewis said at the awards night.
“It’s very much run as a minesite facility. People live in
minesite-style accommodation, they work to rosters,
they’re up at six in the morning, they get rostered days
off, safety is critical and they familiarise themselves with
machinery,” Mr Travers said.
“It’s also quite remote, so it gets people used to living
away from home in a minesite-style environment.”
BHP’s indigenous recruitment strategy will go up for
review in 2016 when the company examines how it can
improve its current Queensland programs as well as
expand its capacity to New South Wales.
We recognise as a company
that diversity drives
performance across all
our operations.
“There has been a quantum shift in how indigenous
recruitment is viewed. Supervisors and managers who
have come into contact and worked with indigenous
recruits are keen to recruit more.
“The impact has been immediate and bodes well for
the continued development and expansion of BMA’s
indigenous workforce.”
BHP’s Myuma program, overseen by Colin Saltmere, also
took out the Exceptional Indigenous Business award.
Myuma is a work readiness program owned and operated
by indigenous people and aims to prepare trainees for the
realities of working on a minesite.
BHP Coal Indigenous Relations Manager Paul Travers
(left) with Treasurer and Minister for Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander Partnerships Curtis Pitt.
INDIGENOUS EMPLOYMENT
37
Downturn impacts job programs
Off the back of a successful inaugural event last year, the
Indigenous Australians in the Resources Sector Forum
took a different approach this year, having lost many of its
participants to the mining downturn.
With less than half the number of participants as in 2014,
the forum, chaired by Christine Ross of Christine Ross
Consultancy in collaboration with the Chamber of Minerals
and Energy of Western Australia (CME), addressed
communication, resilience, how to survive redundancy,
employment alternatives and leadership skills.
Ms Ross said despite the uncertainty about whether the
forum would go ahead this year, due to increased pressure
in the mining downturn, she felt it was important to remind
participants there were still positive things happening
for indigenous Australians in the sector with successful
Aboriginal businesses on show.
Ms Ross said employment opportunities for indigenous
Australians in the resources sector had deteriorated
significantly within the past year and for many mining
companies, cost-cutting measures saw the end of most
indigenous employment programs.
“A few years ago employment opportunities for indigenous
Australians were fantastic because just about every
company had a reconciliation action plan and had
Aboriginal employment strategies,” she said.
“We had about 4000 Aboriginal people working in the
resources sector alone in WA. Now numbers have dropped
considerably.
“We need to be reminding companies out there, whether
they be in mining, construction or oil and gas, that there is a
commitment to maintain, where possible, their Aboriginal
employment programs.
Christine Ross champions indigenous programs.
“Sadly, when cuts are made one of the first things to go is the
Aboriginal employment program.”
Ms Ross, who organised the first Aboriginal Women in
Mining Conference in 2012, founded the forum after being
approached to host something Aboriginal men could be
involved in.
“Often there isn’t an opportunity for indigenous Australians
to come together and discuss issues that are applicable to us
that aren’t always applicable to non-indigenous people so we
wanted to have our own forum,” she said.
“We deliberately have it during NAIDOC Week because it’s
a celebration of Aboriginal culture and Aboriginal people
working in the resources sector.”
Attendees at the 2015 Indigenous Australians in the Resources Sector Forum.
Secure future for
effective strategy
Despite a challenging period in the resources sector, CME’s
Resource Sector Outlook forecasts the percentage of
indigenous participation to grow to 8.1 per cent by 2020.
BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance Head
of Human Resources Sonia Lewis.
A successful Queensland indigenous employment program
now has a more secure future after it was awarded $200,000
in industry and government funding for the next 12 months
at the Queensland Resources Council’s (QRC) Indigenous
Awards night earlier this year.
Treasurer and Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander Partnerships Curtis Pitt announced funding of
$100,000 from the Queensland government, which was
matched by an additional $100,000 from the QRC.
The program has been operating since 2007 and began
with the signing by the then Premier Peter Beattie of a
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the QRC
and the government.
The MoU program aims to increase indigenous employment
in the resources sector both directly and through
engagement of indigenous businesses.
QRC Chief Executive Michael Roche said the results of the
programs spoke for themselves.
“Our second annual survey of members confirmed a total of
995 full-time indigenous employees in the resources sector
at the end of 2014, compared with 802 the previous year,”
he said.
“Almost 90 per cent of those surveyed reported the MoU
had increased the likelihood their company would invest
more effort and resources into indigenous participation
strategies, while just over 70 per cent of companies told us
they had employed more indigenous people and businesses
because of the MoU.”
The QRC Indigenous Awards winners included Lisa
Peckham from Glencore who took out the Exceptional
Indigenous Person award, Paul Travers from BHP Coal and
Matthew Ralph from Origin who were equal winners in the
Indigenous Advocacy Champion category, while BMA won
Best Company Indigenous Initiative.
Mr Roche said the Indigenous Awards both promoted
and celebrated indigenous employment and training
achievements in the resources sector.
“These awards acknowledge the importance of increasing the
diversity of our resources sector workforce and recognise and
encourage participation by indigenous people,” he said.
38
Shae Pemberton, a first-year
electrical apprentice, recently won an
Outstanding Achievement award.
Apprenticeship program
aims to build talent pool
Bengalla mine and training partner MIGAS kicked off its
annual apprenticeship drive in July with electrical and
mechanical trades on offer for 2016.
The four-year program includes hands-on experience at the
open-cut coal mine and a technical study period at Hunter
Institute Muswellbrook Mining Industry Skills Centre.
First-year electrical apprentice Shae Pemberton recently
won an Outstanding Achievement award at the NSW TAFE
Mining Skills presentation and encouraged others to apply
for the opportunities on offer.
I hope I can continue to work
hard to achieve a full-time
role as a tradesperson after
finishing my apprenticeship.
“For people thinking about applying for an apprenticeship
I say go for it. If you’re interested and willing to work hard,
it’s a great opportunity for anyone,” she said.
apprenticeship is being able to meet new people with
the same interests as me.
“I hope I can continue to work hard and achieve a
full-time role as a tradesperson after finishing my
apprenticeship.”
Bengalla General Manager Operations Jo-Anne Scarini
said the program offered apprentices the opportunity
to work in a safe environment with experienced
tradespeople across a broad range of electrical and plant
mechanic functions.
“We provide ongoing coaching, mentoring and support
from both MIGAS and Bengalla as the apprentices work
to obtain a nationally-recognised qualification,” she said.
“The program gives apprentices a great start in the
mining industry and allows Bengalla to tap into a pool
of talented workers and help build capacity in the
Hunter Valley.”
The apprentices will be employed through group
training employer MIGAS and will join 12 other
apprentices at Bengalla.
“I wanted to pursue a career in trades because it could
teach me skills that would stay with me for a lifetime.
MIGAS Field Officer and Apprenticeship Coordinator
Angela Gardner said MIGAS was proud to continue its
support of Bengalla in the training and development of
apprentices in regional areas of New South Wales.
“I’m in my first year of my apprenticeship and learn a new
thing every day. I’ve already been taught many different
trades, not just my own, and one of the best aspects of the
“We share the common goal of creating a skilled
workforce for the future and are committed in providing
a safe working environment,” she said.
Students gain a
focus on mining
Year 11 and 12 students gained first-hand
experience in geosciences and mining during
Curtin University’s Western Australian School
of Mines’ Focus on Mining camp in July.
The annual camp aims to motivate youth to
pursue careers in the mining sector, with 27
students from across WA spending a week
travelling across the state’s South West.
The camp included hands-on workshops,
tours of operational minesites and two
networking evenings that provided an
opportunity to meet lecturers, students and
mining industry leaders.
Curtin Science Outreach Manager Emma
Donnelly said the camp often reaffirmed
the students’ desire to study science or
engineering.
“Students are exposed to career
opportunities they wouldn’t have previously
considered and often find out what they like
and dislike about mining before starting
university,” Ms Donnelly said.
“We find the camp encourages students to
take control of their future careers and almost
50 per cent of the participants take up a
degree in mining when they start university.”
Funded by Curtin, the camp is supported
through various partnerships.
TRAINING AND EDUCATION
39
Course creates breadth of understanding
Coal & Allied is celebrating the success of its
apprenticeship program with one of its apprentices
picking up two awards this year.
Simone Marskell won Apprentice of the Year in the
Hunter Region Apprenticeship and Traineeship Advisory
Committee awards in June and the SKILLED Group
awards in April.
“The apprenticeship program sets you up for wherever
you want to go in your career,” Ms Marskell said.
“The six-month mining skills course builds your safety
awareness and provides hands-on experience before you
go to site.
“Once you’re at site one of the best things about the
apprenticeship is that they rotate you not just through
different fields but across two Coal & Allied mines.
“You get a taste of everything and I think that breadth
of understanding you gain in each rotation makes you a
better apprentice.
“My apprenticeship gave me the chance to do what I love,
to study and earn money at the same time and pursue my
passion to advocate for women in trades.
Mount Thorley Warkworth General Manager Operations
Mark Rodgers said it was encouraging to see young people
such as Ms Marskell launch successful careers off the back
of the apprenticeship program.
My apprenticeship gave me
the chance to do what I love,
to study and earn money,
and pursue my passion to
advocate for women in trades.
“Coal & Allied works closely with SKILLED to foster a
safe and supportive environment where apprentices can
develop the best skillset and mindset for their pathway to
full-time employment,” he said.
“I encourage anyone thinking of applying for a Coal &
Allied apprenticeship to give it a go.”
Applications are open for electrical and mechanical
apprenticeships, with the four-year program starting at
Mount Thorley Warkworth and Hunter Valley operations
in 2016.
Ms Marskell completed her apprenticeship with a
Certificate III in Electrotechnology in September last
year and secured a full-time position at Mount Thorley
Warkworth shortly afterwards.
Award-winning apprentice Simone Marskell completed
the Coal & Allied apprenticeship program in September
2014, before securing a full-time position with Mount
Thorley Warkworth mine.
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Preparing the business leaders of tomorrow
As commodities markets ebb and flow, so too do the skills
and talent in the industry.
The provider also does bespoke training packages for
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Markets boom and talent flows in; markets crash and
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Fifteen Ok Tedi high potential leaders received tailor-made,
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The program focused on the transition from technical
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effectiveness today, management and leadership of self,
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According to a number of global industry leaders, many
mining companies are facing a succession crisis and poor
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Since announcing the 10-year minelife extension in
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Latest cohort of students will be in
demand as resources market recovers
In the 65-year history of the University of Queensland’s
(UQ) mining engineering program, its first female
indigenous student graduated in a ceremony this July.
Ms Kelly’s graduation bolsters UQ’s Women in
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Courtney Kelly – the first in her family to attend university
– received her Bachelor of Engineering (Mining) before
swapping the sandstone of UQ’s St Lucia campus for a
position at Woodside Petroleum in Perth.
UQ’s Head of the Division of Mining Professor Peter
Knights said Miss Kelly entered the Australian mining
employment market at a challenging time due to lower
minerals commodity prices.
“I feel like I’ve come full circle,” Miss Kelly, who studied on
a three-year scholarship from natural resources company
Glencore, said.
“I always aspired to study at UQ while at high school
and relocated from my hometown of Innisfail to follow
that dream.
However, the cyclical nature of prices means students
entering the mining engineering program this year will
most likely graduate into a rising market scenario.
“Australia is the world’s largest exporter of iron ore and
coking coal,” Professor Knights said.
“Now I have the opportunity to follow my next dream.
“Any upswing in global economic activity will drive
demand for qualified graduates from our engineering
programs.
“Throughout my studies at UQ, I became extremely
interested in the natural gas industry, so I am incredibly
grateful to have been given the opportunity to work with
industry leader Woodside.”
“With a significant increase in the amount of students
graduating from mining engineering compared to midsemester 2014, the latest cohort of students will be in
demand as the resources market recovers.”
“It has equipped me with better knowledge and skills to
navigate my way through the ever-evolving business world
with confidence,” he said.
“My strategic opportunity has allowed me to lead a multidisciplinary team in this challenging commodity cycle to
drive a positive cashflow outcome for our business.
“Having access to the JKTech Portal allows me to
collaborate with my new peers into the future – beyond the
classroom.”
GAS TESTING ATMOSPHERES
CONFINED SPACE RESCUE PLANS
CONFINED SPACE SENTRIES
EQUIPMENT HIRE
42
Movers and shakers
Peter Lester joined Doray Minerals as Non-Executive
Chairman. Mr Lester has more than 35 years’ experience
in the mining industry and has held roles in operations,
project management, corporate and financial advisory
services and business development, with more recent
responsibilities including feasibility studies, acquisitions,
capital raising and takeovers. He previously held senior
executive positions with North, Newcrest Mining, Oxiana
and Citadel Resource Group. Mr Lester is currently NonExecutive Director of Nord Gold NV and White Rock
Minerals. He replaces former Non-Executive Chairman
Peter Alexander, who will remain on the board as a NonExecutive Director.
Mark Zeptner.
Peter Lester.
Metallica Minerals has appointed Barry Casson as
chairman, while David Barwick retired as chairman
and as a director of the company. The company also
appointed Simon Slesarewich as the new Chief
Executive Officer. The board move coincides with
the planned succession and retirement of founding
Metallica Managing Director Andrew Gillies, who will
continue as a Non-Executive Director. Mr Slesarewich, a
mining engineer and registered senior site executive in
Queensland, has more than 18 years’ experience across
Queensland’s resources commodities sector, including
a strong background in operational and executive roles
within both mining and contracting entities.
Ramelius Resources announced the appointment of
Mark Zeptner as Managing Director. Mr Zeptner joined
Ramelius in March 2012 as Chief Operating Officer
and succeeded Ian Gordon as Chief Executive Officer
in June 2014. Mr Zeptner is a mining engineer with
extensive experience in gold and nickel and has held
senior management positions including roles with WMC
and Gold Fields. The move follows recent approval for
the commencement of two new high-grade gold mining
operations at Kathleen Valley and Vivien located near
Leinster in Western Australia.
In August Paladin Energy Managing Director and CEO
John Borshoff stepped down from his role with the
company, which he founded more than 21 years ago. Under
Mr Borshoff’s stewardship, Paladin built a unique position
in the uranium mining industry and he is recognised as a
world authority in this realm.
Alexander Molyneux was appointed Interim CEO. His
core mandate will be to: (1) continue the optimisation of
Paladin’s overall cash flow break-even level with the aim to
become cash flow generative in the current uranium price
environment; (2) focus on accelerating strategic initiatives
that deliver value; and (3) assist the board in its search for a
permanent CEO.
Ausdrill has appointed Andrew Broad as Chief Operating
Officer – Australian Operations. Mr Broad has more than
20 years’ experience in contracting businesses in the
resources and industrial sectors where he has held senior
executive positions, most recently as Chief Executive
Officer of Enerdrill, as well as Chief Operating Officer and
then Chief Executive Officer of VDM Group.
Barry Casson.
Andrew Marsh has been appointed Enerpac’s National
Bolting Manager. He will work with Enerpac state and
territory managers, seeking to optimise communication
and efficiency in the Enerpac service centre and
distributor network.
“Mr Marsh’s strong combination of engineering expertise,
sales and service skills and extensive knowledge of
Enerpac technologies make him the ideal candidate
to assist customers with the technical and practical
knowledge required for efficiency and safety in the
industry,” Enerpac Regional Manager, Australia and New
Zealand Denis Matulin said.
In addition, Roy Coates was appointed Executive General
Manager – Australian Mining Operations. Mr Coates is a
qualified mining engineer with 21 years’ experience in
mining contracting businesses.
Ausdrill Managing Director Ron Sayers said the
combination of appointments was an important step in
providing strong leadership and strategic direction for the
company going forward.
Sandvik has appointed Graeme Wolfenden to the new
position of Australian Drill Master for the company’s
mining and construction arm. Mr Wolfenden, who has
30 years’ experience in the underground coal industry
under his belt and a solid background as a fitter and
turner, has been an employee of Sandvik Mining for
more than 10 years.
John Borshoff.
Image: The West Australian.
PEOPLE AND PROJECTS
Tychean Resources Managing Director Joe Houldsworth
retired from the position in September. Mr Houldsworth
is expected to retain a non-executive position on the
Tychean board for the foreseeable future. Tychean will
assess its options for a replacement and advise the market
when appropriate. Company Chairman Robert Kennedy
thanked Mr Houldsworth for his “tenacity in achieving the
results he has since his appointment”.
43
Mergers and acquisitions
Joe Houldsworth.
Greg Heylen.
Sims Metal Management appointed Alistair Field as
Managing Director of Australia and New Zealand Metals.
Mr Field has more than 25 years’ experience in the mining
and manufacturing industries and has worked in South
Africa, Saudi Arabia and Canada. He was previously
Chief Operating Officer for Rio Tinto Alcan’s Bauxite and
Alumina Division.
Rox Resources announced Stephen Dennis as NonExecutive Director of the company. Until recently Mr
Dennis was Managing Director and CEO of CBH Resources,
a zinc-lead producer owned by Toho Zinc of Japan, which
has operating mines at Broken Hill and Cobar in New
South Wales. Mr Dennis is also Non-Executive Chairman of
copper-zinc-lead developer Heron Resources.
Ric Buratto joined Decmil as a Senior Executive in its
construction and engineering division. Mr Buratto most
recently held the position of Executive General Manager at
Thiess. He will assume the newly created position of CEO
– Construction and Engineering. Scott Criddle will remain
as Group CEO and Managing Director.
DRA Pacific and BGC Contracting announced the
formation of a joint venture. The new entity, DRA
BGC JV, will deliver a suite of services, including
engineering, procurement, construction, operations
and maintenance.
The JV has combined access to more than 6000
employees globally. DRA Pacific is the Australian
branch of the global engineering and project delivery
organisation DRA, headquartered in Johannesburg,
South Africa. DRA’s experience includes iron ore, gold,
Perth-based iron ore miner NSL Consolidated
has entered into a conventional secured funding
loan agreement totalling $5 million to allow the
construction, commissioning and operation of
its Phase Two wet beneficiation plant, while also
availing the recommencement of the existing Phase
One dry beneficiation plant at its wholly-owned
Kurnool iron ore processing stockyard in the Indian
state of Andhra Pradesh.
base metals, coal, diamonds, PGMs, mineral sands, rare
earths and fertiliser minerals.
DRA Pacific CEO Clive Hart said the company was
excited by the potential benefits of combining the skills
of both firms.
“Key benefits for DRA will be the enhancement of our
ability to offer engineering procurement construction
(EPC) and lump sum turnkey (LSTK) contract packages
and other contract models such as build own operate
transfer (BOOT), assisted by the strong balance sheet of
our two organisations,” he said.
beneficiation process, allowing NSL to produce a highgrade premium price iron ore product grading between
58-62 per cent iron at around 200,000 tonnes per annum.
The agreement has been signed with NSL’s current
funding partner and investor, New York-based
investment firm Magna. Phase Two will be a wet
Metallica Minerals advised it executed a conditional
Sale and Purchase Agreement for the sale of its non-core
Star Limestone Project to a private group. The project
consists of a single granted mining lease and is held
by Metallica’s 100 per cent owned subsidiary Phoenix
Lime. This is the second limestone project sale after the
sale of the Ootann Limestone operation for $500,000
on July 8.
Regis Resources advised it has completed a
transaction to acquire prospecting licenses for the
Gloster deposit. The licenses are 26km from Regis’
Moolar Well processing plant. The company believes
there is “very good potential of the Gloster project to
profitably extend the operational life at Moolart Well
through the trucking of mined ore to that plant for
treatment”.
CEO Simon Slesarewich said the sale agreements
continued Metallica’s strategy of delivering value for
non-core assets,
allowing the
company to focus
on its Cape York
portfolio without
diluting existing
shareholders.
“The acquisition of the Gloster deposit is important
to Regis as it should provide further longevity and
profitability to the very successful Moolart Well
operations and confirms the potential to add to the
Regis resource base in the Duketon area,” Managing
Director Mark Clark said.
Simon
Slesarewich.
Evolution Mining increased its stake in Phoenix
Gold to become the company’s largest shareholder
(around 19.8 per cent). The increased stake follows the
announcement by Zijin Mining Group of its intention
to make an unsolicited, conditional off-market
takeover offer for Phoenix.
44
BUSINESS DIARY
SEPTEMBER 1-4
AIMEX is the leading international mining exhibition for
the Asia Pacific region.
Over more than 35 years, the biennial event has brought
together industry from across the world. National and
international suppliers of mining technology, equipment
and services mix with buyers to explore opportunities,
exchange information and network at the various business
events, such as the industry dinner.
Seminars and panel discussions are presented across the
four-day event. The 2015 exhibition will see more than 400
exhibitors and 10,000 mining professionals attend.
Key areas of focus at this year’s AIMEX include innovation,
technology, automation and collaboration.
More information: www.aimex.com.au.
SEPTEMBER 15-17
Safety in Action is the largest conference and exhibition
on workplace safety nationwide. The focus of this year’s
event, Putting safety systems to action to drive change,
will be discussed by leading authorities in health, research
and industry.
Held at the Melbourne Exhibition and Convention
Centre, the event includes a free seminar program
with presentations from the National Safety Council of
Australia’s Ennio Bianchi, beyondblue’s Nick Arvanitis and
Dr Paula Mitchell from Fatigue Management International.
Sessions include how to combat mental health in the
workplace, managing fatigue and improving safety systems.
More than 200 exhibitors are taking part and about 4000
people are expected to attend the three-day event.
More information: www.safetyinaction.net.au/melbourne.
OCTOBER 8
OCTOBER 26-27
Nickel producers and explorers are invited to the country’s
only dedicated event for the commodity, the Australian
Nickel Conference.
The Hunter Valley Longwall Conference is Australia’s
premier event for the underground coal industry.
The event attracts a range of personnel from mining
executives, analysts, government officials and
representatives to investors, consultants and suppliers.
The conference brings industry together to present new
stories and provide a comprehensive update of the sector,
allowing companies the opportunity to meet other industry
players and network between informative sessions. This
year’s event will be held at the Pan Pacific Perth.
More information: www.paydirt.com.au.
OCTOBER 20-23
The China Mining Conference continues to attract
international policy makers and is an industry voice
providing insights on current resources topics of interest
such as mining trends, the global mineral commodity
market, domestic and international investment
opportunities, sustainable mining development,
geological surveys and mining technologies and
equipment.
The Tianjin event sees Red River Group take on
administration and onsite support, alongside a joint
venture with Australia’s Vertical Events that will mean the
combined marketing and sales of the Australian pavilion.
The 2015 conference will be held at the Tianjin Meijiang
Conference and Exhibition Centre.
SEPTEMBER 30 TO OCTOBER 1
The RIU Melbourne Resources Round-up has grown
into one of Australia’s premier conferences for junior
and mid-cap resources companies to present to the
stockbroking, institutional and investor world.
The two-day forum connects the burgeoning base
of Australian resources companies with Melbourne’s
investment community.
National brokers and investors will hear from chief
executives and managing directors on some of the nation’s
most exciting minerals developments and what can be
expected over the next year. The RIU Melbourne Resources
Round-up is held at the Sofitel Melbourne On Collins.
More information: www.verticalevents.com.au.
Building on 13 years of excellence, this annual meeting point
is the optimal place for the industry to come together to
discuss the latest advances in the industry, swap experiences
and learn from the best operators in the business.
The keynote address will be given by Centennial Coal
Executive General Manager Operations Mick Cairney.
More information: www.longwallconference.com.au.
NOVEMBER 4-6
The third Future Mining Conference 2015 takes place in
Sydney. The event will address innovations and opportunities
to transfer scientific and technological developments from
other disciplines into the minerals industry.
The conference provides a platform for communication
from industry leaders, partners, engineers, executives,
investors, government representatives, academics and
other stakeholders.
It looks to examine the human factors and skill needs for
the future operations and identify blue sky scenarios of
mining in the future, strategies of mining education and
research, novel mining systems and future commodities
and directions.
The Second Off-Earth Mining Forum will be held as a
post-conference event on November 5-6, 2015.
More information:
www.futuremining2015.ausimm.com.au.
MINERS CAN’T AFFORD MACHINERY
THAT LETS THEM DOWN
That’s why Maytag is Built ‘Mine Spec’ Tough
• Single 30AMP line
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• Turbo Vented Dryer
• WA Outback Heat
Resistant Idler Wheels
• Stainless Steel Braided
inlet Hose (optional)
• Magnetic Ferrites
to combat Power
Fluctuations
• Quick 35 Minute Wash
• Reinforced Door Hinges
• Only 47 Litres of Water
per wash
• chemical injection
compatible
In an environment where pindan dirt, oil, grease and wear
and tear are part of the working day, reliable equipment is important
in order to protect and clean resources workers’ uniforms. That’s why
Dependable Laundry Solutions in Welshpool take the Maytag Stack Washer Dryer
and ‘Mine Spec’ it ready for harsh Western Australian outback conditions.
Contact Dependable Laundry Solutions (08) 9470 6868
46
OUT AND ABOUT
Smit Lamnalco was a joint winner of AMMA’s Australian Women in Resources Alliance
Award. (L-R) North Operations Manager Nikki Carter, Managing Director Tony Cousins and
HR Advisor Adele Cunningham.
Signing of the Mineral System Drilling Program Collaboration Agreement, showing
(seated L-R) Minotaur Directors Andrew Woskett and Tony Belperio, (standing L-R) Deep
Exploration Technologies CRC CEO Richard Hillis, Geological Survey of South Australia
Director Steve Hill and Kingston Resources Director Stuart Rechner.
Bechtel’s LNG construction teams from Western Australia and
Queensland scooped the pools at the recent World’s Greatest
Shave awards in Perth. (L-R) Bechtel’s Brittany Lomas, Peter
McCormack (top individual fundraiser) and Sarah Why proudly
display the WA and national top team and individual fundraiser
awards and the Mining and Energy Challenge award.
(L-R) Director of Australian Prospectors and Miners’ Hall of Fame
Russell Cole, Jennifer Boulton, great-granddaughter of Francis
Herbert Hughes and Keith Boulton at the AMEC Awards.
Attendees at AusIMM’s Iron Ore 2015 Maximising Productivity event in Perth in July.
Walkabout Resources Managing Director Allan
Mulligan and Director Tom Murrell presenting
the Lindi Jumbo Flake Graphite project to
stockbrokers and investors in Perth.
Image: Billy Fairclough, AMEC.
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