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The Mining Advocate | February 2009
1
February 2009
3 Where the resource jobs are now Resource industry recruitment specialists say gas, oil, thermal coal and other energy-related areas are among the hot spots for job opportunities. Vacancies are still out there in traditional mining roles, but jobseekers will find themselves competing against a greater number of candidates.
4 Tough times – but for how long? Queensland Resources Council chief executive Michael Roche believes the state’s mining sector will see light at the end of the tunnel towards the end of 2009 after a bumpy start to the year. More than 3000 industry jobs have been slashed across Queensland over two months, however the QRC stresses that this is a step down from a dizzy peak rather than a total reversal of the gains of the past five years. This Ensham coal mine dragline is back at work after being rescued from floodwaters and refurbished. (Story - Page 11)
5 Career nipped in the bud (COVER STORY) High achiever Adam Neilly expected that landing a position on OZ Minerals Century Mine’s graduate program would set him on the road to a fulfilling engineering career in the resources industry. Instead, the Townsville resident has joined the growing list of cutback casualties.
FEATURES 13 People
7 Future bright in phosphate
14 Coal and Gas Update News in brief across the coal and gas industries.
As Minemakers powers toward a 2010 start to production at the Wonarah phosphate project in the Northern Territory, Joseph Gutnick’s Legend International Holdings says its drilling program in northwest Queensland is set to establish a resource of more than a billion tonnes.
15 Industry Update A comprehensive wrap of exploration and operations in Queensland and the Northern Territory.
11 Full steam ahead for Cockatoo Coal
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26 Live, Work, Play - Cloncurry
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February 2009 |
The Mining Advocate
Help for laid-off mining workers The State Government is using Rapid Response Teams and an assistance hotline to aid local communities dealing with job losses. A government assistance hotline for laid-off mining workers in Queensland had received calls from 329 people by January 30, with 169 of those callers going on to register for further help. Queensland Regional Development executive director Mark Bermingham said three streams of services were made available for those who registered. These included assistance with qualifications and training through the Department of Education, Training and the Arts and assistance through the Department of Employment and Industrial Relations in finding alternative employment. Mr Bermingham said that department could also inform workers of their entitlements. The third stream of services is offered through the Department of Communities. “A lot of these workers have been on good money and have a lifestyle – and sometimes a debt level – that reflects that,” Mr Bermingham said “Some may be out of work or going into jobs that don’t pay that highly, so there are social issues.” He said workers were being offered services including financial planning and relief funding as well as referrals to a range of agencies that could help them through any emotional issues.
Mr Bermingham led the Queensland Government’s Rapid Response Flying Squad in its deployment to centres throughout the State last month as a string of companies announced major workforce cuts. He said local Rapid Response Teams had now been established in Mount Isa, Cairns, Townsville, Mackay, Rockhampton and
Gladstone to assist laid-off workers. They have been working with major employers to build a picture of the alternative work opportunities available and passing on jobseekers’ details. Mr Bermingham said regional councils in particular had been starved for workers since the mining boom started. The Mackay Regional Council indicated it had 70 to 80 vacancies, including positions for plant operators, draftspeople and engineers, for example. Mr Bermingham said there
IPL puts Moranbah plant on back burner Incitec Pivot Limited (IPL) has put the brakes on construction of its $935 million ammonium nitrate plant at Moranbah. The new timeline puts full completion of the plant back 12 months and IPL managing director and chief executive officer Julian Segal said the plant was now expected to start processing in the last quarter of 2011 - six months later than previously planned. The move was sparked by a revised forecast of ammonium nitrate demand from Queensland coal operations. IPL has started discussions on the decision with its alliance partners for the project - United Group Resources, Bilfinger Berger Services (Australia) and BGC Contracting. “It is regrettable that there will be temporary job losses in the Moranbah community as a result of this decision,” Mr Segal said.
Mark Bermingham in Mount Isa with the rapid response team.
were signs that many laidoff mineworkers were finding employment elsewhere quite quickly. The Rapid Response Flying Squad was among a raft of measures the Bligh Government set in train in December in response to the first major wave of mining cutbacks in Queensland.
It has also brought forward $25 million from the Sustainable Resource Communities support package to invest in regional capital projects to provide maximum employment in areas affected by the downturn. • The workers’ assistance line number is 1800 035 749.
Cape Alumina lists Cape Alumina has defied the doom and gloom in the global economy, listing on the Australian Securities Exchange after an initial public offer that closed fully subscribed to raise $15 million. The Queensland company’s proposed Pisolite Hills bauxite project on western Cape York is expected to create more than 500 construction jobs and about 350 permanent full-time jobs. “To raise capital and list a company is a great result in a very difficult financial market and enables Cape Alumina to confidently progress the feasibility study into the development of a significant new Australian resource project in Cape York,” chairman George Lloyd said. Construction is expected to begin in early 2011 and the project is planned to come on stream in 2012/13 with a production rate of 7 million tonnes of bauxite product per annum. Cape Alumina attracted 500 new shareholders in the initial public offer,
which closed on January 20 and resulted in the issuing of 30 million shares at $0.50 per share. Chief executive officer Paul Messenger said Cape Alumina was now in the fortunate position of starting life as an ASX-listed company with cash in the bank, no debt and an advanced resource project which, subject to feasibility, would position the company to play a major role in the supply of bauxite to the Chinese alumina-aluminium market. “It is vital for this industry that we maintain momentum on important projects like Pisolite Hills,” Dr Messenger said. “This must be done to place Queensland and Australia in the best position for the inevitable recovery in commodity demand. “We don’t want to be left flat footed and struggling to catch up to other mineralproducing countries around the world like many companies were following the commodities slump from 1997 to 2003.”
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NEWS
The Mining Advocate | February 2009
3
Generating jobs Sectors associated with energy remain an employment powerhouse amid an onslaught of resource industry workforce cuts. Retrenched mining workers should look to the gas, oil and thermal coal sectors for new resource industry job opportunities, recruitment specialists say. TP Human Capital recruitment manager for North Queensland Jaret Grant said demand remained in those areas of the industry amid widespread cutbacks and a marked reduction in positions being advertised. And he said skills shortages remained in fields such as engineering. Oil and gas company Santos is among those looking to boost their Queensland workforce this year as it gears up to deliver the world’s first major coal seam gas to liquefied natural gas (LNG) operation in Gladstone. The company last month announced it was setting up a new Brisbane office for up to 600 employees and expected to hire 120 new employees for the Gladstone LNG project alone this year. “Right now we have an
ambitious recruiting target of one person per day to sustain our overall growth plans here,” Santos vice president Rick Wilkinson said. Construction on the $7.7 billion Gladstone LNG project is expected to start in 2010. The company says coal industry workers’ skills will be in demand for some of its coal seam gas projects – particularly in field development work such as drilling and pipeline installation. Access Economics, in its latest Investment Monitor, reported a notable decline in the value of projects in the investment database generally and a fall in the value of definite mining and metals projects. Gold and LNG were among the brighter spots, with investment in those areas holding up well, according to Access Economics director David Rumbens. “Another area is iron ore. Although BHP Billiton is cutting back across a number of areas they are still investing
heavily in iron ore operations across the Pilbara,” he said. Hays national director for resources, energy, oil and gas, Simon Winfield, said that recruitment firm’s oil and gas division was still very busy, as was its traditional and renewable energy business. Mr Winfield said while Hays was seeing a reduction in the volume of vacancies in more traditional mining operations, a “decent pool” remained. “The difference now is the clients have more choice when it comes to candidates and are probably being, rightly, more fussy about who they take on,” he said. Christies People manager for North Queensland Sam Albert said that agency still had mining jobs available, in the coalfields in particular, but they were filling up fast. He said many mining clients had indicated they were only hiring through agencies at the moment, rather than taking on permanent staff, due to the uncertainty in the industry. TP Human Capital is encouraging laid-off mining workers to take advantage of its free online retrenchment and redundancy guide.
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NEWS
February 2009 |
The Mining Advocate
Roche tips relief by year’s end An industry leader discusses the factors behind the sharp mining downturn, the casualties, the bright spots and when the tide is likely to turn. Expect more tough times until mid-year, then watch for the light at the end of the tunnel towards 2009’s end. That is Queensland Resources Council chief executive Michael Roche’s prediction for the state’s mining sector after a torrid two months that has seen more than 3000 industry jobs slashed in Queensland alone. Mr Roche said the timing of the turnaround hung on stimulus packages from major governments globally turning into real activity and customers running down excess stockpiles of metals and coal. “I think we can hope for light at the end of the tunnel towards the end of 2009,” he said. “But the first half of 2009 is not going to be pretty – it’s going to be tough.”
BHP Billiton last month announced plans to slash about 3300 jobs across Australia by July including 1100 from its metallurgical coal operations most from Queensland sites - and 350 from the Yabulu refinery at Townsville. Xstrata was also among the companies making cutbacks – mothballing its $79 million Handlebar Hill zinc-lead mine at Mount Isa and suspending longwall operations at the Oaky Creek No. 1 mine. Aditya Birla Minerals has placed its Mount Gordon underground mine in north-west Queensland under care and maintenance and FMR Investments did the same with Eloise copper mine. MacArthur Coal got the razor out in mid-December – cutting 180 employees and contractors – and other operators have followed
Big blow for workers Morale is low among workers left reeling after cuts across the central Queensland coalfields, according to Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union mining vice-president Stuart Vaccaneo. “Obviously it impacts on people’s personal lives, the uncertainty, and their families,” he said. Mr Vaccaneo said also many laid-off workers in centres where housing had been at a premium now faced a financial dilemma. “With the retrenchments going on all over the place, if you are paying off an overpriced house out in a mining town you will have an issue where you’re trying to do something to get out of it without doing your arse basically,” he said. Mr Vaccaneo said the recent round of workforce cuts had highlighted the need for
the Senate inquiry into the government’s proposed Fair Work Bill, designed to replace Work Choices, to make changes to increase the protection for people facing redundancy. Australian Workers Union northern district organiser Rod “Cowboy” Stockham said contractors and people involved in labour hire work had taken the brunt of industry cutbacks in North and north-west Queensland to date. “But it has, and will continue to have, negative effects on our workforce. It’s going to get worse before it gets better,” he said. Mr Stockham shared Mr Vaccaneo’s concerns about the difficulties facing retrenched workers who bought homes and investment properties in boom times and were now being forced to sell in a deflated market.
Michael Roche QRC chief executive
suit across the central Queensland coalfields. “Just about every company has been implementing economies and cost savings - putting some projects on hold to save on capital expenditure, cutting exploration and looking at production levels,” Mr Roche said. Metals prices had fallen around 60 to 70 per cent across the board,
excluding silver and gold, he said. And anyone carrying debt was trying to reduce it, rather than having decisions on their operation’s future placed in the hands of bankers in a skittish lending environment. Mr Roche said the coal industry’s woes stemmed not so much from price issues but lack of demand tied to a massive decline in steel production. “What’s playing out for the coking coal producers now is their customers already had big stockpiles and suddenly they’re cutting back production as well. With a company like Macarthur Coal it moved so quickly that at one stage the CEO thought they could get by on the basis of an extended Christmas shutdown then the cancellation orders kept coming,” he said. Mr Roche stressed that bright spots remained in resources – including in gold, silver and coal seam gas – and that a number of companies were proceeding with
Back on the job market Rob Wallis wasn’t too worried when he was laid off from a workshop servicing the mining industry in Western Australia. The 33-year-old boilermaker had already lined up a new job at Xstrata’s Mount Isa lead smelter. But the week before Christmas brought some bad news. “I was speaking with the HR (human resources) department and organising the removalist and flights for myself and my family,” Mr Wallis said. “I got home from my job
Rob Wallis at Boddington (WA) and the next day we had the head HR bloke from Xstrata ring up and inform us the job had been canned. It was gut wrenching.” Mr Wallis has returned to his childhood home town of Charters Towers - along with wife Amanda and two
new investments. He said the resources industry in Queensland employed about 50,000 – so there was still a very large workforce being kept occupied. “Industry hasn’t suddenly come to a halt - it has been a step down in employment...a step down from a huge peak level of employment in an industry still well above where it was four or five years ago,” Mr Roche said. “Metals prices are still above what they were four or five years ago – but costs have probably gone up 60 per cent.” Mr Roche said all players needed to be contributing to reduced costs, including the Queensland Government – which last year introduced a new 10 per cent royalty rate for coal sold at prices above $100 per tonne. He also noted the need to focus on rail, port, water and energy infrastructure projects that would see Queensland much better placed than it was five years ago to take advantage of the next upswing.
daughters aged 12 years and 19 months – while he looks for work. He recently applied for local positions as a fencer and a labourer. Mr Wallis said he would be happy to take on such roles “just to have some income coming in” until something came up in his field. “I keep going on the net and putting in for jobs – eventually one of them has to come up,” he said. “In the meantime we have to scrimp and save where we can.” Mr Wallis’s career has included a stint at Thalanga, south-west of Charters Towers, and he worked at Equigold’s Kirkalocka operation in WA for more than three years before the gold mine reached the end of its life in September.
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NEWS
The Mining Advocate | February 2009
5
Shattered dreams A graduate engineer is battling for a new start after finding himself among the casualties of the recent wave of mining sector cutbacks. With a ďŹ ve-year degree under his belt and acceptance into a top resource company’s graduate program, Adam Neilly thought he was well on the way to achieving his dream career in mining. But a phone call before Christmas dumped the 22-yearold engineering graduate back on the job market and he has been ďŹ nding it hard to get a start anywhere, let alone in his chosen ďŹ eld. Mr Neilly had been due to start work at OZ Minerals Century Mine this month as one of seven in the mine’s graduate program. The mine’s management team announced in December that they had shed 135 contractor sta from the operation – a 12 per cent reduction in the workforce.
An Oz Minerals spokeswoman conďŹ rmed the company had also retrenched ďŹ ve of the people due to start in Century Mine’s graduate program this year and cancelled student vacation work planned for that site. Mr Neilly – who has completed a joint degree in environmental engineering and science (majoring in mathematics) with ďŹ rstclass honours at James Cook University – said he had not imagined having any diďŹƒculty ďŹ nding a job. “We were told ‘there’s a shortage of engineers, you will easily get a job’,â€? the Townsville resident said. “And I did easily get a job – I applied to ďŹ ve or six mining companies for their graduate programs and got oers for all. “I chose OZ Century because
Graduate environmental engineer Adam Neilly has lost his Century mine position.
I did vacation work with them for two years. Now that I’ve lost that position, I can’t get a job.� Engineering is in the blood for Mr Neilly, whose brother is employed as a chemical engineer at BHP Billiton’s Olympic Dam project while his father is a mechanical engineer with CSR Sugar. Mr Neilly said he had been answering online advertisements
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and circulating his resume since losing his Oz Century opportunity. “The feedback from the mining sector is that they are not hiring people like they normally would and that is aecting the consulting sector as well,â€? he said. “I put in ďŹ ve years of study and worked hard enough to get ďŹ rst-class honours and now I
Photo: Stewart McLean
can’t get a job. I feel a bit gutted over that.â€? OZ Minerals is working to reďŹ nance about $1 billion in debt by February 27 through asset sales and other initiatives. It won some breathing space on January 22, when the company announced that it had secured bridging ďŹ nance to take it through to the end of this month.
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NEWS
February 2009 |
The Mining Advocate
Major projects act as a buffer Territory business leaders believe a raft of infrastructure works will help counter the effects of the mining downturn. In addition to progress on the Inpex project he highlighted works including the $657 million Strategic Indigenous Housing Infrastructure Project due to start this year, about $245 million worth of Defence projects and the continuation of the Darwin City Waterfront project. “There will undoubtedly be some more negative stories around given the world environment, but in the NT there is a diversity of sectors driving our economy which should enable us to go forward with a reasonably positive outlook,” Mr Peters said. Mr Perkins said the NT resources industry was going through the same upheaval as elsewhere – with low commodity prices forcing major reviews of operations, production and staff cuts, and – in some cases – the decision to place mines into care and maintenance. Gold, uranium and phosphate were proving to be the bright spots against this background. Mr Perkins estimated about 1000 mining jobs had been lost across the Territory, however attempting to quantify the impact was complicated by the fact that some retrenched workers would be fly in-fly out employees from interstate. The fortunes of interstate projects also impact on the NT, with about 80 Territorians among those to lose their jobs when Rio Tinto cut production at its Argyle diamond mine in Western Australia. The speed of the downturn had caught many people off guard, Mr Perkins said
through a four-pronged attack. This included a range of housing initiatives, record spending on
Photo: Christopher Knight
capital works, maintaining a competitive taxation environment and attracting investment.
Mining on hold at MRM Xstrata Zinc suspended operations at its McArthur River Mine last month despite indications from the Federal Government that its stalled $110 million open-pit expansion would be allowed to proceed. Environment Minister Peter Garrett announced on January 22 that he planned to approve the expansion, with conditions, but would provide stakeholders with a window of 10 business days to make comment. An official decision was expected on February 6. In another blow for Territory mining, Compass Resources – the company behind the Browns Oxide Project - went into voluntary administration last month. Meanwhile Bootu Creek mine operator OM Holdings plans to reduce production for 2009 and Redbank Mines has placed its NT mining and treatment operations on care and maintenance. All mining and rehabilitation work at McArthur River Mine ceased on December 17
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The Northern Territory is better placed than most regions to absorb the current wave of mining job cuts through opportunities in other sectors, an industry head says. But it will not be a complete fix, nor a quick one. “We have a huge construction program in the NT that is essentially based on the Inpex plant construction, port infrastructure and other infrastructure allied to that,” Northern Territory Resources Council chief executive officer Scott Perkins said. “The trouble we have is twofold – firstly not all the trades (affected by mining cutbacks) transition directly across to construction. The second problem is that it’s very difficult to bring these infrastructure projects on very quickly. “There will be a lag between what we see happening now and when the jobs kick in - and that is probably 18 months to two years. We have a period of time at the moment where there is no real solution to absorb those jobs.” The Inpex plant – a $US20 billion liquefied natural gas processing facility planned for Darwin – passed another milestone last month with Inpex Corporation awarding the onshore front-end engineering and design contract for the project to the JKC Joint Venture. NT Industry Capability Network general manager Kevin Peters said there were plenty of positive stories to match the “disappointing stories associated with some areas of the mining industry”.
“Within a period of six to eight weeks it went from flat out to stop,” he said. Chief Minister Paul Henderson said that while the global financial crisis would impact on the NT’s energy and resources sector, the industry continued to invest for the long term and plan for the upturn in the global economy. “The Inpex project – along with the LNG industry as a whole - will play an important role in underpinning economic activity in the Territory over coming years,” he said. Mr Henderson told members of the business community at an address in Darwin late last month that the government was committed to maintaining the NT’s economic strength
27/1/09 1:28:54 PM
NEWS
The Mining Advocate | February 2009
7
Minemakers on the march Boosted by recent drilling results, the company behind the Wonarah phosphate project has its focus firmly set on production. Minemakers is steaming towards a 2010 start to production at its Wonarah phosphate project - an operation expected to generate 250 new Northern Territory jobs. The company announced in December that it had quadrupled the resources at its Main Zone deposit to take the overall resource estimate for the project to 461 million tonnes of phosphate rock, making it the largest of its kind in Australia. Managing director Andrew Drummond said the latest drilling results had given Minemakers great confidence with its project development over the next year. The company will focus on developing a direct shipping ore operation initially, allowing it to generate cash flow, before constructing a beneficiation plant down the track. “We’re aiming for first production in the first quarter of next year,” Mr Drummond said. “The aim is to start at about 1 million tonnes per year export capacity – that’s about the limit for export availability from the
wharves at Darwin until port capacity is expanded around 2010; after that we would look to ramp it up to 3 million tonnes per year.” Mr Drummond said the phosphate market remained strong despite the global downturn. While people could cut back on other goods, they would continue to require food and its production depended on fertiliser. Prices had dropped back from the highs phosphate was attracting in June to December last year, but the decline had been nowhere near as bad as that suffered by other commodities, he said. Phosphate miner Incitec Pivot recently announced it would spend up to $26 million to expand its northern Australian facilities and ramp up fertiliser production. Meanwhile Legend International Holdings, led by entrepreneur Joseph Gutnick, has what it describes as an aggressive drilling program under way at its phosphate tenements in northwest Queensland. “Over the next 12 months we
Andrew Drummond Minemakers managing director
will be having a large amount of results coming forward which will establish that there’s well over a billion tonnes on our tenements in the Georgina Basin,” Mr Gutnick said in an announcement on January 23. That company aims to be producing 5 million tonnes of phosphate rock concentrate annually by 2012. Mr Drummond said Minemakers planned to start an infill drilling program this month to determine where the first high-grade pits for the Wonarah
operation would be developed. “We’ll do some extensive drilling for pit design and to gain material to take to potential offtake consumers and they can do the tests on it to ensure it’s relevant to the sort of fertiliser they manufacture,” he said. The capital cost of establishing the project is expected to be about $107 million. Mr Drummond said the operation would employ 100 people on site and another 150 for trucking ore to Tennant Creek and handling the freight to Darwin “That is very significant for the NT as it would mean jobs in an
area where there aren’t too many jobs at present,” he said. “We are in some talks with the NT Government about training opportunities for local people, particularly indigenous people.” Wonarah ore would be trucked 270km to Tennant Creek under current plans, however Minemakers has signed a memorandum of understanding with rail infrastructure and investment company Australian Transport and Energy Corridor to conduct a feasibility study for a rail link to the mine.
Drilling at the Wonarah phosphate project.
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8
NEWS
February 2009 |
The Mining Advocate
Coalfields retrenchment row A mining union has challenged the process used to determine redundancies in the wake of a mass lay-off at Oaky Creek, writes Robert Dark. The coal miners’ union wants to ensure the process of future retrenchments is transparent. Xstrata Coal Queensland suspended operations at the Oaky Creek No.1 underground coal mine late last year. It resulted in the retrenchment of the majority of the 190 contractors and 40 fulltime staff at the mine. The Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) pursued Xstrata in the arbitration commission for the terms of reference for the selection of retrenchments. The parties reached agreement, after protracted negotiations, on which workers would be offered redundancies. CFMEU mining and energy division Queensland president, Greg Betts, said future agreements would be on a siteby-site basis. The process of redundancy arrangements with the workforce needed to be clear and above board, Mr Betts said.
“First of all, any redundancies need to be voluntary,” Mr Betts said. “We would also need to be satisfied that the package is adequate. “If there were more layoffs we would need to be comfortable that the process is open and above board. “We are concerned that older workers and others with a history of injury will be targeted.” The Oaky Creek operation, including the No. 1 and Oaky North underground operations and the Oaky Creek open cut mine, are located about 200km west-north-west of Rockhampton. The service centre is Tieri, a town of about 1800 people. Xstrata Coal communications manager James Rickards said the company had not been pursuing voluntary redundancies and stressed the CFMEU had been briefed. The process was fair and
CFMEU mining and energy division Queensland president Greg Betts says redundancy processes must be made clear.
appropriate for all concerned, he said. “Our decisions are made in the best interest of the town and the long-term viability of the mine,” Mr Rickards said. “As few full-time employees as possible were affected to mitigate the impact on the
social network of Tieri. We have a very significant stockpile at Oaky Creek and made the decision to suspend operations at the No.1 longwall and move as many workers as possible to the Oaky Creek North longwall. “We will be putting in a development crew of around
100 people at No. 1 so we can respond as quickly as possible once the market picks up. That will include current employees. “For those retrenched we are offering fair and appropriate treatment including relocation, employment and housing assistance.”
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NEWS
The Mining Advocate | February 2009
9
Operating in a time of change While the financial ramifications of mining cutbacks are still unfolding for local business communities, many hope for a skills windfall. The mining downturn was unlikely to prove a panacea for the skills shortage, but would force adjustments in an overheated marketplace where some businesses had been able to “charge what they like”, a Mackay business leader said. Mackay Area Industry Network acting chairman Allan Ruming, who is also managing director of GROUP Engineering, said it was too early to predict the effect the cutbacks being announced at Bowen Basin coal mines would have on the local business sector. “There are certainly a lot of nervous people around, worried about the future, but still a reasonable level of optimism that it’s just a short to mediumterm wind-back. Where we were before was ridiculous,” Mr Ruming said. Meanwhile Rockhampton Regional Development says a recent survey has shown the impacts of the mining downturn across the local economy may not be as significant as first
feared and that many businesses believe it will help them fill skills gaps. Mr Ruming noted that coal companies were still going ahead with development projects in central Queensland, such as BMA’s Daunia and Caval Ridge mines near Moranbah, which are due to come into production in 2010 and 2011. The present slowdown was likely to weed out a few businesses that had been able to “do what they like” in an overheated marketplace, Mr Ruming said. But he also said that it was likely mining companies would be looking to screw down suppliers’ prices to maintain profit levels against a backdrop of lower commodities prices – placing pressure on many small businesses with little ability to cut their overheads. “I hope there is, to some degree, a glut in the labour pool for a while to take pressure off the skills shortage and cost of skills, otherwise we’re not going
Allan Ruming
Gary Kerr
Mackay Area Industry Network acting chairman
Rockhampton Regional Development chief executive
to have the means to cut costs and small businesses will die a death of a thousand cuts because they can’t afford to operate in the new environment,” Mr Ruming said. While the cutbacks in the resources sector would “loosen up” the skills situation a bit, he said it was no fast fix to the skills shortage.
Those workers in demand elsewhere – such as high-level tradespeople and engineers – were unlikely to be among the first to go from the mines, Mr Ruming said. Rockhampton Regional Development says a quick survey in that region last month showed about a third of businesses were feeling some impact from the
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slowdown from the mining sector and half were expecting a reduction in their turnover in the coming 12 months. Twelve per cent expected to reduce staff, while three quarters believed the mining slowdown would help them attract the skilled employees they had been having trouble recruiting. Rockhampton Regional Development chief executive Gary Kerr said the findings, drawn from consultations across various industry sectors, indicated that the impacts of the mining downturn may not be as significant as first predicted in that region. “I still believe that a number of local businesses in the region see this (the mine workforce cuts) as an advantage in them attracting skilled workers,” Mr Kerr said. “There’s evidence that there’s still a significant amount of work out there. Even last week (late January) the local Hastings Deering business said they wouldn’t have any problems, with their contracts terminating at the Moura mine, in deploying those people elsewhere.” He believed the Rockhampton economy generally would prove quite resilient throughout the downturn.
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NEWS
February 2009 |
The Mining Advocate
Sellheim shines for Maximus The company is upgrading its plant during the wet season, ready to ramp up gold production after successful trial mining late last year.
Kevin Wills Maximus Resources managing director
Gold nuggets, in abundance, are making the Sellheim alluvial mining project in North Queensland shine brightly for Maximus Resources. The company is preparing to ramp up production at the site this year and managing director Kevin Wills believes further testing on nearby exploration targets should see the Sellheim resource increase more than tenfold. About 30 per cent of the gold produced at the site - about 150km south-east of Charters Towers - is being recovered as nuggets, which Maximus has been selling over the internet. “I think we’re the only company in Australia currently marketing nuggets like that,” Dr Wills said. “The deposit itself is exceptionally rich in nuggets and they are also beautiful nuggets.” Maximus was looking at further avenues to exploit this, including jewellery production options, he said. In trial mining from October
1 to December 21 last year, the Sellheim operation treated 5716bcm (bank cubic metres) of alluvial ore to produce 202 ounces (6312g) of gold concentrate. This included 217 nuggets, totalling 70 ounces (2177g) of gold. Of these, 27 have been sold to the public via the internet at a premium price. Dr Wills said the average ore grade had been 1.1g/bcm – which was a high grade for an alluvial gold deposit. He said Maximus was upgrading the Sellheim operation during the wet season to boost throughput from about 144bcm a day to about 1920bcm later this year. The upgrade – expected to cost $1-$2 million – will include building a larger scrubbertrommel plant and bringing in a second front-end loader and second excavator to the site. A final feasibility study for the new operation was under way, Dr Wills said. The company recently received approval from the Queensland Environmental Protection Agency for three years of operations on the granted mining lease it holds at Sellheim. The inferred resource within the mining lease is 16,000 ounces of gold in 1 million bcm of alluvials. Dr Wills said consultant geomorphologist Richard Russell had recognised an exploration target just south of the current production area with a resource expected to be similar in size. Maximus also has further gold-bearing areas in its sights with an estimated nine to 12 million bcm of alluvials at 0.3 to 0.5g gold per bcm. “That’s basically 10 times as much as we have already,” Dr Wills said. Maximus plans to start
Maximus Resources has been marketing individual nuggets from its Sellheim alluvial project online.
outlining this additional gold after completing the Sellheim plant upgrade. “After increasing resources we will look at building a second plant to increase production,” Dr Wills said. He said the global financial crisis had seen Maximus put on hold all projects bar Sellheim, with the intention of using the cash flow it generated to recommence others down the track - particularly the Bird in Hand gold mine in the Adelaide Hills. As a measure of the Sellheim operation’s outlook, he cited the comments of others. “We’ve had a lot of experts go there and virtually all of them have said ‘if you don’t want this, I’d like to buy it’,” Dr Wills said. “Because it’s high grade it should make a lot of money. “If we do it right – and we’re trying to do it the right way, with all these studies rather than racing to do a big development it could basically be the salvation of Maximus, because in the current climate Maximus needs this income.”
MINING AROUND THE WORLD
Richard Bell’s Doing it the hard way, Terrace Mine, New Zealand. Photo: courtesy of Snowden.
The Terrace underground mine, located on the edge of Reefton township, is among a raft of New Zealand coal operations run by Solid Energy. Solid Energy says coal from the mine generally supplies industrial customers on New Zealand’s south island.
Richard Bell’s photograph (above) won the equipment/ machinery category of the 2008 Snowden Photography Competition. For more information on the annual competition, visit www. snowdengroup.com.
NEWS
The Mining Advocate | February 2009
11
Cockatoo flying high The pieces are falling into place as an emerging Queensland coal player works towards some lofty goals, writes Belinda Humphries.
Greg Germon Cockatoo Coal general manager - investor relations
Cockatoo Coal has landed firmly on the fast track towards its goal of becoming a 10 million tonnes-plus annual producer thanks to key developments in the past three months. The emerging coal player recently announced a doubling of its Surat Basin coal resource to 208 million tonnes across the Woori and Kruger deposits. This came hot on the heels of Cockatoo’s $52.5 million purchase of the Baralaba mine from global mining giant Peabody, complementing its existing Bowen Basin tenement package. The company also announced a move late last year that places it in a front-row seat to secure vital export terminal port capacity at Gladstone from 2012. It has entered an agreement, with other industry parties, to underwrite the cost of a full feasibility study and detailed engineering design for the planned Wiggins Island Coal Export Terminal – assuring its place as a preferred potential customer. The pieces are falling into place for Cockatoo Coal to achieve its aim of producing more than 10 million tonnes of coal a year by 2015-16, according to the company’s general manager for investor relations Greg Germon. “There are still a lot of things we have to achieve to reach that coal production goal, but that’s true of every company that ever wanted to achieve anything,” he said. Cockatoo listed on the ASX in December 2005 as an explorer
with four tenements totalling 497sq km in the Bowen and Surat basins. Mr Germon said the fledgling company had taken a long-term view from the outset, planning to feed the coal demand expected to come out of Asia in the next 20 years. It now has more than 4000sq km of exploration tenements, with plans to target PCI (pulverised coal injection) and thermal coals. Obtaining a producing Bowen Basin mine had probably fasttracked Cockatoo’s game-plan three years, Mr Germon said. “It has taken us from a junior, blue-sky coal explorer with resources, but still a few years off production, to a company producing 300,000 tonnes per year in 2009 and planning to go up to 10 million tonnes plus in 2015/16 - that’s an attractive growth profile,” he said. The Baralaba mine acquisition has given Cockatoo immediate access to transport infrastructure and an experienced workforce, not to mention providing cash flow and placing it in discussions with key parties including coal buyers. The company plans to improve production on the Baralaba mining lease – taking it to 420,000 tonnes per annum in 2009/10 and 500,000 tonnes beyond that – before exploiting resources in nearby tenements. Cockatoo’s 35-million-tonne Wonbindi coal reserve lies 15km south of the mining lease and it is focusing intense drilling efforts on an attractive area to the north, where it had five rigs working at time of publication. While the Baralaba mine is an important stepping stone for the company in the Bowen Basin, it expects two-thirds of its eventual production to come out of the Surat Basin. The company in December lodged a mining lease application for its cornerstone Surat Basin development – the Woori coal project. It is undertaking a detailed washability study and prefeasibility study for a thermal coal operation, proposed to kick off in 2012 with a capacity of 3 million tonnes per annum and ramp up to 6 million from 2013.
The dragline as it stood in January 2008, when floodwaters swamped the Ensham mine in central Queensland.
Drowned dragline back on deck A 3000-tonne Bucyrus 8050 dragline stranded after severe flooding at Ensham coal mine, near Emerald, has returned to work. Ensham chief executive officer Peter Westerhuis said last month the company was focusing on returning to normal operating capacity now that the dragline had been refurbished and most of the floodwaters removed. The company is anticipating an output of about 8 million tonnes of thermal coal during
2009 – up from about 5 million tonnes in 2008. In the early hours of January 19, 2008, Ensham mine was struck by a massive torrent, which left some 150 billion litres of water in the mine’s largest and most productive pits. Mr Westerhuis said the rapid dragline recovery operation was a remarkable achievement by a dedicated team of about 100 Ensham employees and contractors. In what is believed to be a
world first, engineers attached high-voltage cables from another dragline to help the stricken machine “walk” out of the pit in May. Steering was provided with the help of bulldozers. The dragline was completely dismantled on a nearby overhaul site, then refurbished and rebuilt. “The repair of the dragline is a job well done and an important final step in Ensham’s recovery,” Mr Westerhuis said.
State approves nickel plant The company behind a $3.8 billion nickel refinery proposed for Gladstone hopes to give the project the financial green light by the end of the year. Gladstone Pacific Nickel has received State Government approval for its plans, with acting Premier Paul Lucas last month lauding the project’s potential to create jobs and add $500 million annually to Queensland’s economy. And the company expects to receive federal approval within weeks, believing it has addressed all relevant environmental issues, according to general manager Gavin Becker. The project’s future now hinges on Gladstone Pacific Nickel’s ability to raise the required capital. “We have all the building blocks in place now for the project, subject to funding – which is a big hurdle at the moment,” Mr Becker said. “We have our ore supply organised through our Marlborough mine in central Queensland, which will be supplying about 30 per cent, and the balance coming from offshore from New Caledonia. “We have agreements in place with the State Government for the land and now we have the
Gavin Becker Gladstone Pacific Nickel general manager
environmental approvals – so things are really ship shape.” While he conceded the global financial crisis would affect the company’s ability to raise capital, Mr Becker said it was important to look beyond today’s market conditions. “The plant won’t be built for four years and it will be around for 50-odd years,” he said. “...We’re optimistic markets will be strong by the time we are in a position to start producing and selling.” With construction planned to start by early next year, Gladstone Pacific Nickel expected to be in a
position to announce funding in coming months, Mr Becker said. The proposed plant would be Australia’s largest nickel refinery. Stage 1, likely to start production in 2012, would have an annual output of up to 63,000 tonnes of nickel, 6000 tonnes of cobalt and 175,000 tonnes of ammonium sulphate. Construction is expected to create 2600 jobs during Stage 1 and a further 1750 if the project expands to a second stage. The refinery would employ about 530 people, while the planned mine outside Marlborough (about 100km north of Rockhampton) is expected to generate 600 construction jobs and 150 ongoing positions. Mr Becker said the highpressure acid leaching plant at Gladstone would be consistent with world’s best practice environmentally. Rather than pouring in money to make very small reductions in emissions against that starting point, the company was offering up to $10 million to help other industries in Gladstone reduce their sulphur dioxide emissions. Queensland Co-ordinatorGeneral Colin Jensen said the project had been subjected to a rigorous and technically complex Environmental Impact Statement.
12
NEWS
February 2009 |
The Mining Advocate
Cairns bid for $300m contract A Defence project has the potential to create hundreds of jobs in far north Queensland as the global economic crisis bites. Cairns-based engineering firm NQEA is in the running for a $300-million Defence contract offering a host of opportunities for workers and local businesses affected by the mining downturn. The shipbuilding specialist expects to learn this month whether its bid to construct portions of three air warfare destroyers for the Royal Australian Navy has been successful. The RAN work sits high among a pack of projects that the Cairns Chamber of Commerce hopes to take advantage of to keep the region’s industrial sector riding high, including two major LNG (liquefied natural gas) developments in Papua New Guinea. NQEA executive director Mark Fry said the five-year destroyer project would create 250 full-time positions in Cairns and another 50 to 100 subcontracting roles, with many of the jobs suitable for mining
industry workers seeking new opportunities. “Many of the guys who have gone to the mines over the last five years (from Cairns) would have done their time in the NQEA shipyard to start with,” he said. “Shipbuilding is full of peaks and troughs and many guys have taken the opportunity to join the good times in the mining industry in recent years. “We hope this will be a moderate-sized stimulus package for the region and it should provide opportunities for many guys to return to the coast.” The project would involve the construction of large blocks, weighing up to 200 tonnes each, which would be transported to Adelaide for final assembly. The Cairns Chamber of Commerce’s Resources and Industry Taskforce is still focused on maintaining close relationships with the mining industry during the downturn,
according to taskforce chair Sharon Dawson. “There are still excellent opportunities for Cairns to service the gold mining and LNG industries of PNG, and 2009 will present opportunities to clarify the requirements of those projects,” she said. “Cairns workers also have a great opportunity to continue
in their trades if (NQEA) is successful with their bid to win the block construction work for the air warfare destroyers.” ExxonMobil, Oil Search and other key PNG gas and oilfields owners are considering developing a $US10 billion LNG project. Meanwhile Liquid Niugini Gas plans to build an LNG liquefaction plant with a
capacity of 5 million tonnes per annum as a single processing train and the option to add a second. Ms Dawson said the Cairns chamber was working closely with the Port Moresby Chamber of Commerce to strengthen links and provide a clear pathway for far north Queensland businesses to access the opportunities those projects would offer.
Mount Isa helicopter service appeals for funds The Mount Isa-based community helicopter has reached a crossroad, with increased pressure on the service to find enough funds to step up to a twin-engine aircraft. It would cost about $1.5 million a year – almost double the present running costs - to lease the larger aircraft the operation requires to operate at night and meet State Government standards for aeromedical rescue services. Chief executive officer Alex
The NQ Rescue helcopter carries out a medical evacuation from Mt Cuthbert mine.
Dorr said the government made it clear in December that it would give the Mount Isa operation no leeway on its requirements, refusing approval for Queensland Ambulance Service paramedics to travel with the service while it has a singleengine helicopter as its primary aircraft. The service – which changed its name in January from Mount Isa Community Helicopter to NQ Rescue - will be turning to the region’s mining operations in a bid to fund the upgrade, including through increased participation in payroll deduction schemes. “We need that additional cash to survive,” Mr Dorr said. “The State Government has set the bar on what we need to have and we need a twin-engine aircraft. If we can’t meet those requirements it will be hard to keep the service going because we can’t assist the ambulance and do the work we should be doing.” The development comes after a full year of NQ Rescue operations in the north-west, including 13 missions within three weeks in January to assist more than 25 people in floodravaged areas. These missions included search and rescue flights with police to locate stranded 4WDs, medical evacuations –including a Mt Cuthbert mine worker suffering suspected spinal injuries,
airlifts from flooded areas, and providing supplies and other aid to isolated residents. Mr Dorr said the flood missions had re-inforced the need for such an operation to be based in Mount Isa. “I think it’s crucial that the service not only remains in the region but grows to provide the same level of service that people expect to have on the east coast,” he said. NQ Rescue upgraded from having a Bell JetRanger as its primary aircraft to a Bell LongRanger 206L, leased from Energex on the Sunshine Coast, in the latter half of last year. About 80 per cent of NQ Rescue’s funding to date has come from mining companies, with CopperCo alone accounting for about half of its sponsorship. CopperCo went into administration in November, but Mr Dorr said the sponsorship was continuing at this stage and he was confident the company would trade its way out of trouble. “But what it has highlighted is that we need more commitment from other mining companies as well,” he said. “..This year for us is a significant year for building and finding new sponsorship - it’s fairly critical that we bring some new sponsors on board and increase our cash flow.”
Handover handshake Brisbane-based civil engineer Andrew Chapman has taken up the leadership of the Queensland Division of Engineers Australia, succeeding Michael Ganza as president. Mr Chapman has more than a decade of experience in the engineering industry across the areas of transport planning, design and construction in projects throughout Australia, as well as the iconic Palms projects in Dubai. Mr Chapman’s presidency comes as Engineers Australia launches its biggest national campaign ever to raise the profile of engineering in the community and promote the profession as a career choice. “From early 2009 Engineers Australia will undertake a national campaign to increase attention on the engineering profession that will include
celebrating the achievements of the past and generating recognition of the value of being part of the engineering team of the future,” he said. “The celebrations for 150th anniversary of Queensland will be an excellent opportunity to draw sharp focus on the direct links between engineering and the innovation and achievements of our state and for the future.” The Northern Territory’s divisional president for 2009 is Peter Hagan, with Steve Sawyer and Cameron MacDiarmid appointed as Alice Springs and Nhulunbuy region representatives. The Engineers Australia Cairns local group’s new chair for 2009 is Craig Kazakoff, Govinda Pandey chairs the Townsville group, Kris Zahn the Gladstone group, Peter Rosier the Mackay group and Blake Harvey the Rockhampton group.
New Queensland Division president Andrew Chapman with his predecessor, Michael Ganza.
PEOPLE
The Mining Advocate | February 2009
13
Well-rounded representative Bridgestone Earthmover Tyres’ Queensland manager for engineering services, Denis Clark.
Denis Clark is a man who knows his way around a radial tyre – not to mention a mine site or two. As Bridgestone Earthmover Tyres’ Queensland manager for engineering services, Mr Clark spends an average of two weeks a month visiting mines everywhere
Advocate recently. Q: Tell us a bit about your background. DC: I grew up in Mackay and am a mechanical fitter by trade. I did my time (in apprenticeship) at a sugar mill before working on a number of BMA mine sites in central Queensland. I became a senior foreman – or, in today’s terms, a superintendent – at Peak Downs. While there I was involved in outsourcing tyres, oils, re-agents and vehicles. That helped lay the path for the shift to the tyre business in 1998.
from Century in the Lower Gulf to the Bowen Basin coal operations to ensure Bridgestone customers get the most out of their tyres. The company sells about 8000 off-the-road tyres, worth almost $70 million, in Queensland each year – with mines accounting for a large chunk of those sales. Mr Clark, 54, is based
in Mackay – where he enjoys the proximity to the fishing haven of St Helen’s Beach and his cane farm at Marian, which has been in the family since the turn of the last century.He is also a keen Texas Holdem poker player. Mr Clark and wife Valerie have two adult children - Amanda, 25, and Glen, 21. He spoke to The Mining
Q: How difficult did you find making the jump to Bridgestone after two decades in mining? DC: It was quite easy. We left Moranbah when Amanda reached Grade 11. We wanted to get our kids out of a situation where we were in a mining environment, a closed environment. Basically we wanted to get them to mix with other kids in other schools and this (opportunity with
Bridgestone) brought them to town in Mackay. I had great intentions of going back to mining... But now I can live on the coast and still have contact with people in the mining industry. It’s a very small industry and people move around,
through checking TKPH (tonnes/km per hour) on site and analysing performance data of the tyres through specialised software programs. We communicate to mine sites about how to improve the value of the product and ensure that if there are
“Now I can live on the coast and still have contact with people in the mining industry.” so you keep running into people you’ve met on previous jobs. Q: What does your job with Bridgestone involve? DC: I manage the engineering activities in the Queensland region which ensure that the most suitable product goes into each of the mine sites. This is achieved by conducting a number of studies on site including heat, weight, and GPS studies (analysing the stress put on the tyre through operation). We also monitor the performance of the tyres
any problems we rectify them as soon as possible. We also work closely with original equipment suppliers and government bodies in providing technical tyre information. Specialised training is one of the company’s main tools to educate mine sites and personnel about the use of tyres. Two-, three- and five-day courses in different types of training for tyre fitters and supervisors are conducted regularly by engineering staff - generally me - at our offices in Mackay and training for operators is provided on site.
Engineer off to a flying start James Davey receives his ConocoPhillips Spirit Scholarship in Engineering from ConocoPhilips representative Suzanne Milford.
James Davey’s career appears to be heading into the stratosphere, with a string of accomplishments already behind him. He is studying mechanical engineering at Charles Darwin University (CDU) in the Northern Territory and was recently awarded
visiting his girlfriend and undertaking an external project management course.
the ConocoPhillips SPIRIT Scholarship in Engineering, which aims to encourage students into the oil and gas industry. Originally from Arnhem Land, Mr Davey embarked on studies in mechanical engineering as a followup to his electrical and instrumentation apprenticeship at Rio Tinto Alcan’s Gove bauxite mine and alumina
refinery. In between he travelled to - and worked or studied in - numerous countries in Eastern and Western Europe, Asia and the Pacific Islands, and also found time to notch up a Bachelor of International Business/ Bachelor of Commerce degree. When The Mining Advocate spoke to Mr Davey he was in Vienna,
Q: Why did you decide to study mechanical engineering after your electrical and instrumentation apprenticeship? JD: Whilst electricalinstrumentation and mechanical are different fields, they are highly correlated - with one you often find the other. Having a fundamental understanding of electrical and instrumentation, I wanted to expand my knowledge of what is really happening in an entire system. I find studying mechanical engineering gives me a better understanding of how a lot of everyday things function. Q: Why has travel been important to you? JD: It really opens your eyes to different ways of thinking, working and living, and the adaptations people have made due to circumstances such
as weather, finances, demographics, geography and population density. It has exposed me to so many different foods, daily routines, technology and infrastructure that I would not otherwise ever have seen. I feel this has helped
Q: Where do you see your career heading in the longterm? JD: It’s hard to say. I hope to see a lot of new projects and to be on the cutting edge of technological advancement. I don’t really see myself
“I hope to see a lot of new projects and to be on the cutting edge of technological advancement “ me to adapt to my surroundings more quickly and to appreciate how much we take for granted and how much work and material goes into the things we pay so little for. Q: What will you do after you finish your university studies? JD: I hope to find employment as soon as possible and to start getting my career on its way. I really can’t wait to have a proper routine and to start applying - or learning how to apply - a lot of what I have learnt over the years.
just undertaking only wellestablished and routine engineering tasks that have been done millions of times around the world before. I know that a lot of my work will involve this and you have to build understanding, experience and confidence in these tasks first, but I also hope to undertake some one-off tasks where I would be part of a team that is exploring new ways of doing things and developing new technologies.
14
INDUSTRY UPDATE - COAL AND GAS
Port expansion on target
X50 onshore expansion works at the Abbot Point coal terminal.
The Abbot Point X25 Port Expansion Project in North Queensland is on target for completion by the end of June, increasing export capacity from 21 million tonnes per annum to 25. Ports Corporation of Queensland is also well under way with the second phase of expansion at Abbot Point (X50) to increase capacity to 50 million tonnes per annum by 2011. The coal export facility’s $1 billion overhaul includes construction of a second berth 2.9km off-shore - involving the installation of about 9500 tonnes of structural steel and a 2.9km conveyor – as well as a new ship loader. Queensland Transport Minister John Mickel said more than 120 workers would be employed during X25 construction and up to 500 during the X50 expansion project.
Progress for MetroCoal Underground coal gasification (UCG) proponent MetroCoal, a Metallica Minerals subsidiary, has secured exclusive exploration rights over a strategic tenement in the Surat Basin. The company describes the move as a significant boost to the emerging UCG sector – which is estimated to be worth billions of dollars to the Queensland economy – because it avoids the stillto-be-resolved issue of overlapping exploration rights on tenements by UCG and coal seam gas proponents. MetroCoal chief executive officer Mike O’Brien said the rights covered a 60km sq portion of one of its Surat Basin tenements, where an overlapping petroleum and gas tenement had been relinquished. “MetroCoal now has a Mineral Development Licence application over the area and moved quickly to raise the exploration funds required to begin a drilling program in the tenement in the Wandoan area,” Mr O’Brien said. Mr O’Brien said that an exploration target of 220 to 260 million tonnes of coal had been identified.
Boost for Wandoan resource Xstrata Coal has reported a substantial increase in the coal resource at its Wandoan project in the Surat Basin to more than 2.5 billion tonnes, an increase of about 1.4 billion tonnes, together with the declaration, for the first time, of a coal reserve of 540 million tonnes. “The Wandoan sample pit generated washed coal for market testing and trial burns with favourable results in mid 2008 and we continue to make good progress,” Xstrata Coal chief executive Peter Freyberg said. The Wandoan project – with a potential start date of 2010/2011- is expected to deliver more than 20 million tonnes of thermal coal annually on a managed basis.
Xstrata Coal’s total coal resources as at June 30, 2008, were 18.7 billion tonnes including total coal reserves of 3.6 billion tonnes.
Blackwater work shows promise Bowen Energy has reported on the company’s exploration activities for 2008, pinpointing a promising area for follow-up work outside Blackwater. Open-hole drilling results from the company’s South Blackwater project have demonstrated a number of coal seams exist at depths ranging from 300m below the surface to more than 600m. “An in-house review of results currently to hand and forward planning study has recently highlighted an area of approximately 68km sq within EPC1045 that contains the most promising results for the presence of coking coal,” the company stated. Bowen Energy is preparing a program to determine if there is a coal seam of sufficient thickness for a longwall operation, continuity of coal in a large mass, coal quality and to gather geotechnical information relating to roof and floor conditions for mining and seam gas control.
Caledon Resources cuts back Caledon Resources has reduced its forecast saleable production for 2008 and 2009 as well as announcing the closure of its London office. The company, which owns the Cook mine and Minyango coal project in the Bowen Basin, late last year revised its 2008 sales forecast from 500,000 tonnes to 460,000 tonnes. “In addition, due to the very significant deterioration in the market outlook for coking coal ...the company now believes it prudent to forecast a minimum of 400,000 tonnes of saleable production for 2009, with greater sales possible if market conditions improve,” the
February 2009 |
company stated. “The company’s immediate focus is on cost reduction and cash conservation.” Caledon had previously forecast saleable production of 900,000 tonnes for 2009. It has transferred functions performed in its London office to existing finance staff in Brisbane.
The Mining Advocate
German Creek contract ends
Thin seam specialist Bounty Mining’s contract at the Aquila Colliery at German Creek has not been extended past March. The company said Aquila Colliery operator Capcoal, a subsidiary of Anglo Coal Australia, had advised that the downturn in the metallurgical coal Cash injection for coal research market had caused it to reduce its coal Work on a new underground continuous production requirements for 2009/10. miner is among Bounty has been nine key CSIRO Service providing coal Trucks Exploration and mining services to Mining projects Aquila Colliery to gain support since December through a $3 2005 and currently million Australian has 50 employees Coal Association and 46 contractors Research Program working at the site. (ACARP) funding The company said package. it would finish www.equipmentplacement.com.au “This new mining out the funding extends current panel in a long and successful history of March and would dismantle and remove equipment and infrastructure before collaboration between the industry leaving the site at the end of April. and CSIRO to develop safer and more efficient technologies, such as the Bounty’s contract at the adjoining longwall automation project that has Bundoora colliery currently extends now moved from demonstration to to May 2009 and the company is in commercialisation,” ACARP executive discussion with Capcoal to extend this contract to May 2010. director Mark Bennetts said. Leader of CSIRO’s “Maximising the Value of Mining” research theme, Dr Hua Guo, said the new projects covered a wide range of issues that the industry had identified as of current concern. “One major project will develop navigation and automation systems for an underground ‘continuous miner’, a type of new, self-steering, remotely supervised mining equipment that will improve both safety and efficiency,” Dr Guo said.
University responds to job cuts CQ University has announced a higher education program designed for employees and contractors in mining and other sectors affected by the job cuts being experienced as a result of the global economic crisis Redundant and retrenched workers are being offered a free assessment of their qualifications and will receive careers advice, followed by placement in one of the university’s access programs and/ or enrolment in their choice of one of CQUniversity’s degree programs in Term 1, 2009. “CQUniversity is responding to the local impact of a global crisis. Our aim here is to get retrenched workers in Central Queensland re-skilled and prepared for the future,” deputy Vice Chancellor Angela Delves said. Workers could enrol part-time or fulltime and study by distance education or at campuses in Mackay, Emerald, Bundaberg, Rockhampton or Gladstone.
New Acland upgrade Sedgman has secured a $13.6 million contract to design and construct an upgrade of the New Acland Coal Mine No.2 coal handling and processing plant. The mine, owned by New Hope Corporation, is located about 35km north-west of Toowoomba, Queensland. The plant upgrade will support mine expansion up to a capacity of 4.8 million tonnes per year.
Mineralogy takes control Queensland billionaire Clive Palmer’s Mineralogy has taken control of Waratah Coal. Mineralogy announced last month that it had gained ownership of 92.8 per cent of issued and outstanding Waratah shares. It has mailed a notice of compulsory acquisition to all remaining holders of the common shares of Waratah Coal. Waratah Coal’s tenements, near Alpha in central Queensland, hold more than 4 billion tonnes of inferred resources of thermal coal.
Extra permits for Bandanna Bandanna Energy has been awarded two new exploration permits in the eastern Galilee Basin alongside two existing Bandanna tenements. The four tenements cover an area of 295km sq south of Alpha and comprise the Alpha Coal Project, which is subject to a farm-in agreement with AMCI. Bandanna managing director Dr Ray Shaw said the Alpha joint venture had completed some 17,947m of drilling to date. A JORC-compliant resource for one of the tenements would be delineated by the end of March, he said.
Profitable quarter for Felix Felix Resources has reported a forecast net profit after tax of $160 million to $170 million for the half year ending December 31. The company – which operates mines in central Queensland and New South Wales - said the downturn in the steel market led to a reduction of PCI and semi-soft coal sales in December, however Felix replaced this with thermal coal sales. “This is expected to continue in the March quarter,” the company stated in its quarterly report. “Discussions are continuing with our customers to ship the contracted tonnes that are likely to remain at the end of March.”
INDUSTRY UPDATE
The Mining Advocate | February 2009
Major boost for NORNICO Metallica Minerals has announced a maiden resource of 12.2 million tonnes for a key deposit within its NORNICO nickel and cobalt project in North Queensland. The JORC estimate for the Kokomo nickel–cobalt deposit has lifted NORNICO’s total resource estimate by 30 per cent to 50.8 million tonnes. The project also includes the Bell Creek and Minnamoolka deposits.
Gold companies unite The shareholders of BMA Gold and Aflease Gold have voted in favour of a deal to combine the two companies to create a new business known as Gold One International. BMA Gold holds exploration permits and a mining lease at Twin Hills in central Queensland, where it operated the 309 mine – which ceased production in 2007. The new company, which will be listed on the Australian and Johannesburg stock exchanges, has assets including Aflease Gold’s new Modder East mine near Johannesburg, a gold resource of more than 15 million ounces, and various African and Australian gold exploration and development projects.
Tin leases change hands North Queensland Metals (NQM) has purchased a suite of tin mining leases north of its existing exploration tenement at Herberton in far north Queensland. The company acquired the mining leases - including Stannary Hills - from Nickelseekers for $200,000 plus one million shares in NQM. Chief executive officer John McKinstry said the acquisition completed a strategy commenced in 2007 to secure the most prospective tin exploration properties in the Herberton mineral field. “While NQM’s main goal for 2009 is to bolster its gold assets, tin remains an important element in NQM’s portfolio,” he said. “The fundamentals for tin remain strong even in the current economic climate.”
Encouraging results at Pentland China Yunnan Copper Australia has announced encouraging results from its first pass reverse circulation drilling program at the Toomba prospect, within its Pentland project in North Queensland. The drilling program, undertaken in late 2008, consisted of 16 holes for a total of 1887m. Drillhole results included 4m at 13.9g per tonne gold from 43m (including 1m at 50.59g per tonne) and 4m at 0.6g per tonne gold from 82m (including 1m at 1.6g per tonne). The company said further drilling was being planned to generate sufficient understanding and extent in mineralisation for preparation of a maiden gold resource estimate during 2009.
Watershed resources update Vital Metals has revised its resource estimate for the Watershed tungsten project in North Queensland after consultant McDonald Speijers completed resource modelling work using the Recovered Fraction (RF) technique. Vital said that within an area limited to the zone of regularly spaced drilling, with a maximum external projection distance of about 25m, McDonald Speijers estimated that the Watershed deposit contained 15.1 million tonnes grading 0.46 per cent tungsten oxide for 69,300 tonnes of contained tungsten oxide, at a cut-off grade of 0.1 per cent tungsten oxide. Pit optimisation and mining studies were scheduled for completion by the end of January.
Roper Bar project expands Western Desert Resources is forking out $550,000 for three additional iron ore tenements at Roper Bar in the Northern Territory.
It has reached an agreement with the administrator for Terra Gold Mining for one tenement, while the other two are being acquired from a private consortium, which has also negotiated to receive a royalty of 60 cents per tonne of iron ore. Western Desert Resources said assays of surface samples collected in the areas had returned iron values of up to 68 per cent. The acquisitions take the Roper Bar project’s total area to 2276sq km. They will form part of the farm-in and joint venture arrangements cemented with Itochu Minerals and Energy of Australia late last year.
area of 16,750sq km, including blocks from the Mount Isa, Georgetown, Hodgkinson and Charters Towers areas.
ERA receives $188 million payout ERA (Energy Resources of Australia) has received $188 million (pre-tax) from the settlement of three insurance claims. The claims were filed for property damage and business interruption losses caused by flooding in February 2007, wind damage and flooding associated with Cyclone Monica in April 2006 and losses arising from a failure in the acid plant in May 2006.
Pegmont project dropped Cloncurry Metals has decided against exercising its option over the Pegmont project. The decision followed BHP Billiton’s withdrawal from negotiations over the development of the project - a lead-zinc deposit 125km south of Cloncurry, near Cannington Mine. Cloncurry Metals had until December 31 to decide whether to extend its option over the project. “In the current circumstances, neither alternative (ie to extend or exercise) is a viable option for the company,” Cloncurry Metals company secretary/ finance director Barry Casson said.
Axiom says ‘no’ to Nightflower Axiom Mining advised the Australian Securities Exchange last month that it wished to withdraw from the option to acquire the Nightflower project, 35km north of Chillagoe in North Queensland. The company said the decision was sparked by the continued weakness in lead and zinc prices and the depressed investment climate for base metals projects.
Barr Creek tenements sold
New data for explorers CSIRO’s Minerals Down Under Flagship and the Geological Survey of Queensland (GSQ) have released Stage 2 of the Next Generation Mineral Mapping project. New algorithms developed for this product enabled geological patterns to be seen in areas with up to 70 per cent vegetation cover, CSIRO geoscientist Dr Tom Cudahy said. Access to the original Stage 1 digital mineral maps via the CSIRO webpage at www.em.csiro.au/NGMM resulted in more than a hundred Gigabytes of data being downloaded by potential explorers. Stage 2 survey data is expected to be even more popular, with a mapped
MOVING FORWARD.
Darwin
A parcel of Uramet Minerals tenements north of Mount Isa is changing hands for $750,000 in an agreement with Legend International Holdings. The Barr Creek tenements are considered highly prospective for phosphate, base metals and diamonds. Uramet said the sale was consistent with its strategy to scale back exploration spending and maximise cash reserves in light of the global financial crisis. Legend already controls substantial phosphate interests in the Mount Isa region, including the Lady Jane and Lady Annie deposits adjacent to the Barr Creek project area. The sale agreement is conditional on approvals under the Queensland Mining Act and Foreign Investment Review Board.
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INDUSTRY UPDATE
February 2009 |
Kaiser Bill on the rise
State Mines and Energy Minister Geoff developers, as a number of projects have Wilson said the report would help been impacted by technical challenges explorers narrow down their search for and production issues,” he said. deposits. Mr Wilson said more than 40 Rover 1 fetches exploration award exploration companies had been Westgold Resources capped off a exploring for diamonds in more than 20 productive year at its Rover 1 prospect areas of the state since 1960. in the Northern Territory by being “Much of the exploration has been named 2008 Explorer of the Year in the patchy, often a sideline, while explorers Gold Mining Journal’s annual industry were searching for other minerals,” he awards. said. Drilling at Rover “If diamond 1 commenced late indicator minerals in the 2008 March CAIRNS were found, the quarter, with the TOWNSVILLE results might first bonanza grade THURSDAY ISLAND not have been gold mineralisation promising enough returning an to warrant further intercept of 65m money being spent at 11g per tonne of on the project.” gold (17.7 g/t gold The report, on equivalent). DVD, costs Without a travel agent you’re on your own Subsequent drilling $13.45 and is throughout 2008 available from the continued to Department of Mines and Energy sales produce signifi cant high-grade gold centre – phone (07) 3237 1434. results within an extensive envelope of strong copper-cobalt-bismuth Four Mile find attracts honour mineralisation. David Brunt, Geoff rey McConachy Westgold chairman Michael Atkins and Andrea Marsland-Smith have said the company was very proud to been recognised with an Association of receive the industry award, saying it Mining and Exploration Companies was testament to the technical skill and (AMEC) Prospector of the Year Award tenacity of the exploration team, lead by for their work in discovering the managing director Andy Beckwith. Four Mile uranium deposit in South Australia. Thundelarra’s exceptional assays AMEC chief executive officer Simon Bennison said the award recognised a Thundelarra Exploration has reported special mix of technical and scientific very high grade assay results from its excellence, innovation, persistence and Pandanus uranium prospect and The outstanding leadership. Bluff silver prospect within the Gregory Range Project in North Queensland. Mr Brunt and Dr Marsland-Smith are currently employed by Uranium Rock chip sampling at Pandanus has Equities as executive director and returned assays of up to 11.2 per cent geology manager-exploration, while triuranium octoxide and microgranitic Mr McConachy works for Heathgate dykes have also been identified at a new Resources. prospect nearby called Braden’s Gap. Thundelarra said airborne radiometric Uranium at Daly River data indicated Pandanus and Braden’s Gap may form part of a mineralised Geochemical results from follow-up soil corridor that extended about 5km. sampling at a prime target at Territory Uranium’s Daly River project have At The Bluff, a recently completed confirmed the presence of uranium geological mapping and rock chip mineralisation over an 8km strike. sampling program returned bonanzaThe company said the anomaly cograde silver mineralisation of up to incided with a major north-south fault. 2280g per tonne with elevated levels of gold and base metals. Uranium mineralisation identified in soil samples was thought to be the Thundelarra’s work programs this surface expression of unconformity year are proposed to include detailed related uranium mineralisation beneath geophysical surveys followed up by drill cover sediments, at drillable depth. testing of both The Bluff Prospect and the Pandanus/Braden’s Gap trend. Territory Uranium expected ongoing investigation under this cover sequence to yield promising results, according to a New tool promotes NT to China statement to the ASX. The Northern Territory Government is It plans to continue work in 2009 developing a dedicated Chinese mining towards the definition of drill targets. website portal to service the industry and promote further investment in the Confidence for Westmoreland Territory. Laramide Resources expects to publish Chief Minister Paul Henderson told the an updated resource estimate for its China Mining Association in Beijing Westmoreland uranium project in last month that the portal would be North Queensland in the first quarter of part of a one-stop shop within the 2009 after encouraging results from its Department of Primary Industries, 2008 drill program. Fisheries and Mines to handle all “The results continue to confirm our enquiries from the Chinese mining belief in the technical merits of the sector. project,” vice-president exploration “The new services will be part our Peter Mullens said. China Investment Attraction Strategy Laramide strongly believed which already includes a registry of 46 Westmoreland was one of the more Territory projects that may be seeking robust economic uranium projects held to attract further investment,” he said. by a junior company, Mr Mullens said. “There have also been 50 visits to the “This is especially important during NT by 29 Chinese companies as part of these challenging times with uranium the strategy.”
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Recent drilling results have increased Copper Strike’s Kaiser Bill resource.
The latest drill results at Copper Strike’s Kaiser Bill deposit have led to a resource upgrade - with a 22 per cent increase in tonnes, 11 per cent in grade and a 32 per cent increase in contained copper compared to the previous published figure. New resource estimates place the total mineral resource for Kaiser Bill at 15.6 million tonnes. Kaiser Bill is part of the Einasleigh Project in North Queensland, which also includes the Einasleigh, Chloe, Jackson, Stella and Railway Flat resources. Copper Strike managing director Tom Eadie said the new resource would be the basis of a refinement of the feasibility study on the Einasleigh project.
Encouraging greenfields growth The Northern Territory Government has committed $2.4 million over three years to increase the intensity of exploration drilling and geophysics in greenfields areas. This brings the government’s investment in the “Bringing Forward Discovery” initiative to $14.4 million over four years. Applications for the second round of funding for 2009/10 open on February 16 and all applications must be received by close of business on April 17.
More women on mine sites The Queensland Resources Council’s (QRC’s) latest survey of member companies shows that the proportion of women in non-traditional roles has grown from 7 per cent in 2006-07 to almost 10 per cent in 2007-08. “While women are still under represented in the sector, the upward trend is a pleasing result,” QRC chief executive Michael Roche said. “When we launched our Women in Resources Action Plan (WRAP) in 2006 we set a target of doubling the proportion of women in non-traditional roles (such as operators, trades and engineers) from 6 per cent to 12 per cent by 2020. We are well on track to meeting and exceeding that target.” The survey results are contained in the latest edition of the QRC’s leading practice principles for the attraction and retention of women in the minerals and energy sector. It is available on the QRC’s website, or by contacting the QRC for a hard copy.
Murphy project joint venture Bondi Mining has entered into a joint venture with Japanese government resource entity JOGMEC ( Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation) to invest up to $3 million in exploration
over Bondi’s Murphy project in the Northern Territory. “This agreement is a strong vote of confidence in the uranium prospectivity of the Murphy Project,” managing director Rick Valenta said. “It ensures continuing exploration progress in this new developing uranium district, and provides dilutionfree funding to the company at a challenging time in the mining and exploration cycle, whilst topping up our cash reserves.”
Rhenium results for Kalman Kings Minerals has released details of the final rhenium assay results for molybdenum rich intercepts within its Kalman deposit outside Mount Isa. The results showed potential to expand the mineral resource, the company said. The average grade of 5590 rhenium samples received was 1.4g per tonne, while the average grade of the 926 samples with values in excess of 1g per tonne was 7.8g per tonne rhenium.
Paydirt at Plain Creek PepinNini Minerals says sampling at one of its Plain Creek tenements, about 190km south of Charters Towers, has confirmed high-grade uranium (up to 2288 parts per million triuranium octoxide) and phosphate (up to 22.9 per cent). Chairman Norman Kennedy described the results as very encouraging and said the company planned more detailed field investigation early this year, including costeaning and drilling.
Diamond data released Diamond explorers in Queensland have a new aid in their quest, with the release of a report that brings together all data from diamond exploration reports dating back to the 1960s.
The Mining Advocate
INDUSTRY UPDATE
The Mining Advocate | February 2009
MacAir in receivership The Queensland Government stepped in to provide charter flights in place of cancelled MacAir services on subsidised routes after the airline was placed into receivership late last month. “It may be some weeks before we get a temporary contract in place to provide the services on the routes which MacAir operated under a subsidy-based contract with the government,” Queensland Transport Minister John Mickel said. MacAir secured a five-year contract with Queensland Transport in April last year to operate regulated air services to communities across the northern, western and Gulf regions, but Mr Mickel said the operator had experienced difficulties in providing the contracted services. Mr Mickel said Queensland Transport had issued the receivers for MacAir with a show-cause notice asking why the Queensland Government’s contract with MacAir should not be cancelled. Meanwhile QantasLink has announced that it will commence services between Townsville and Mount Isa on March 2. Qantas group general manager for regional airlines, Narendra Kumar, said the airline would offer 11 return services between the two regional destinations each week. “This flight schedule will offer more than 80,000 seats on the route each year, and will enable business travellers to commute between the two regional hubs during peak-demand times,” Mr Kumar said.
QRC supports scholarships The Queensland Resources Council (QRC) will invest in a record number of engineering scholarships at Queensland universities in 2009, despite the current economic downturn. The peak body will invest in up to six joint University of Queensland (UQ) Academic Excellence/QRC Scholarships, which support students for the duration of their four-year engineering degree. It will also sponsor the Queensland University of Technology’s (QUT) Dean’s Scholars Program, which
supports 30 outstanding first-year engineering students as they progress through their degrees.
ISASMELT and ISACONVERT smelting processes, ISA PROCESS and Kidd Process copper refining technology, Jameson Cell flotation technology, IsaMill grinding mills and Albion Process leaching technology.
Geology Research Unit (EGRU) at James Cook University are organising the conference in association with the Society of Economic Geologists. Visit http://sga2009.jcu.edu.au for further information.
In addition, QRC will invest in up to three individual QUT students from that program who demonstrate a particular passion for the resources sector.
ERA took out the minerals and energy category of the awards, while Toowoomba-based Russell Mineral Equipment claimed the large advanced manufacturer award.
Equipment sales sliding
Education innovation recognised
The Australian construction and mining equipment market fell by 6.5 per cent in Kirwan State High School teacher 2008, according to new figures from the Andrew Carter has Construction and won a “Platinum Water Mining Equipment Award” for Trucks Industry Group developing new (CMEIG) and teaching materials ERG International. for minerals and This decline follows energy topics. rises of 15.7 per cent in 2007 and The Queensland 8.7 per cent in Resources 2006. Council (QRC) Teacher and PreSales are expected www.equipmentplacement.com.au Service Teacher to further decline Awards recognise during the first excellence in half of 2009, developing minerals and energy-related before stabilising as the world economy teaching materials. recovers, according to ERG. The QRC said Mr Carter’s work “Market results were mixed with most consisted of a fully-resourced teaching construction and mining markets falling unit that provided students with an during 2008,” CMEIG chief executive opportunity to investigate geophysics. officer John Reid said. Teachers received acknowledgement “However there were some exceptions for their design of an original and to this overall decline, with dozers and exemplary unit of work or sequence motor graders recording small rises.” of teaching ideas related to furthering Mr Reid said the decline in the overall students’ exploration of minerals and market followed an unprecedented energy issues. period of market increases over the past seven years, brought about by growth Napperby scoping study in both the construction and mining markets. Toro Energy has commissioned URS Australia to undertake a scoping study to determine viable development options for the Napperby uranium project, 175km north-west of Alice Springs. The study is expected to be completed during the first quarter of 2009.
Call for geology papers The convenors of SGA2009, to be held in Townsville from August 17 to 20, are calling for abstract submissions for the event. The Society for Geology Applied to Mineral Deposits and the Economic
Export awards for resource sector
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Virtual processing experience A University of Queensland-led project that allows undergraduate engineering students to gain valuable industry exposure, without donning a hard hat, has been recognised internationally. The collaborative software project between UQ, Curtin, Melbourne, Monash and Sydney Universities, brings a real processing plant to the user through a set of Virtual Reality (VR) Immersive Environments. The project received the “Best Paper” prize at the 18th European Symposium on Computer Aided Process Engineering in France, and runner-up in the UK Institution of Chemical Engineers Global Awards for Excellence in Innovation and Education and Training. UQ Professor of Chemical Engineering Ian Cameron said engineering students at five Australian universities had started to use the VR System throughout their programs.
AMEC appoints new CEO
Xstrata Technology, Russell Mineral Equipment and Energy Resources of Australia (ERA) were named among the winners at the recent 2008 Australian Export Awards in Melbourne. Xstrata Technology chief executive Joe Pease said that firm’s win, in the large services category of the awards, recognised its commitment to providing high-quality technology and services to minerals processing operations around the world. Its key technologies include the
The Association of Mining and Exploration Companies has appointed Simon Bennison as chief executive officer. Mr Bennison’s mining industry experience has included environmental management in open pit and underground mining operations prior to him moving into policy development and lobbying roles on behalf of the Australian aquaculture industry. He was most recently employed as the National Aquaculture Council’s chief executive officer.
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Chemtrans profile
February 2009 |
The Mining Advocate
Keep on truckin’ The expanded Chemtrans North Queensland fleet is helping to meet key industries’ needs for sulphuric acid and other dangerous goods. They deliver four B-double loads of sulphuric acid daily between Townsville and Gladstone, run a steady stream of road trains to the North-West Minerals Province and keep caustic soda supplies up to the sugar mills on the coast. The big rigs in Chemtrans’ North Queensland fleet operate around the clock to meet growing demand for their service. North Queensland operations manager Mark Pope said the Townsville-based fleet had increased four-fold in the past year as the business took on new work throughout the state. It now included 20 prime movers - eight for road trains and 12 B-double combination trucks – as well as about 30 stainless and mild-steel tanks. “The focus has swapped from local cartage to long-haul cartage in the last six months,” Mr Pope said. “Demand for the road-trains out west is such that we have
gone from running one out there to eight in that time.” The business transports a range of dangerous goods for regional industry via road and rail including cyanide, lead nitrate, caustic soda and liquid alum. Their sulphuric acid workload has recently increased to about 150,000 tonnes per year. Mr Pope said Chemtrans’ Townsville depot regularly serviced the Northern Territory as well as centres throughout Queensland. The longest single journey in 2008 was a 7860km round trip by a double road train from Townsville to Port Hedland in Western Australia, he said. The Chemtrans North Queensland depot, based in Garbutt at the former Incitec transport facility, includes undercover storage for up to 2500 tonnes of bulk fertiliser in re-inforced bays and a 2500sq m pallet storage area. Chemtrans also has a
Chemtrans tankers are operating around the clock to keep up with growing demand.
5000-tonne storage tank and gantry facility at the Port of Townsville. The company offers a shipto-shore dispatching service for fertiliser and a number of
Forget the tuxedo, the tweed jacket or pinstripes and tie when Chemtrans operators get
Part of a mighty transport network including coal, minerals, construction supplies, grain, fertiliser and agricultural products. Scott Corporation has its origins in three of Australia’s most successful transport businesses. The story began with Heggies Transport - a family company created in Port Kembla, New South Wales, in the 1950s. Responsible for transporting coal in the Illawarra fields for more than 25 years, the company earned a strong reputation for integrity and reliability.
it knew how to keep its clients satisfied. “The company strives to put the customer first; we stick to the credo that we do what we say we will do,” Mr Pope said.
Chemtrans workers best dressed for protection
Chemtrans workers are issued with GSSM chemical splash-resistant suits.
Chemtrans is part of the Scott Corporation, which operates from 20 locations across Australia. Other divisions include Gastrans (offering specialised transport for gas products), Flowtrans (providing haulage for cement, lime, sand and other materials which require a pneumatic tanker), and Foodtrans (delivering bulk liquid food supplies using specialised road tankers and shipping tanks). The corporation’s Bulktrans division offers transport and handling for dry bulk products
other commodities. Mr Pope said Chemtrans also offered bulk tipping through its sister company Bulktrans. He said the company was growing enormously because
In 1993 Heggies Transport merged with Bulkhaul. Heggies Bulkhaul became a public company and was floated on the Australian Stock Exchange in 1994. In 1998, Heggies Bulkhaul purchased Chemtrans, a leading Australian provider of transport for dangerous and hazardous goods. The result was a new, nationally-focused company with a wealth of specialist expertise and a shared commitment to safety, which has been known as Scott Corporation since 2005.
suited up they go for a little red number tailor-made for their needs through safety wear specialists GSSM. Every Chemtrans driver engaged to transport corrosive substances is supplied with one of the chemical splash-resistant suits, worth more than $400 a piece, according to safety, health and environment manager Mark Wintle. “The particular suit we are now distributing is the result of continual improvements and consultation between Chemtrans and the manufacturers, GSSM,” Mr Wintle said. That partnership had resulted in improvements that were now benefiting all users of the GSSM product, he said. “These suits are quite expensive but they are a cooler option than the alternative and offer a superior level of splash protection,” Mr Wintle said. “They’re a huge investment and I don’t know of any other transport operation on a large scale where their drivers are being supplied en masse with this type of suit as just standard protective equipment.” Mr Wintle said Chemtrans had formed partnerships with personal protective equipment providers such as PMA Solutions to ensure that all operations were issued with the same gear in areas including respiratory protection, eye wear and face protection. As well as using the highest quality protective equipment, North Queensland operations manager Mark Pope said Chemtrans operated only the
best vehicles and replaced its fleet regularly to ensure optimal performance. “We are arguably the leaders in the bulk transport industry in the equipment we use and its maintenance,” Mr Pope said. “With the nature of the products we carry, safety is our licence to operate.” Mr Pope said Chemtrans - which holds Plastics and Chemicals Industries Association (PACIA) accreditation - performed regular compliance checks and risk assessments, and used its own cleaning facilities to ensure that tanks were contamination-free. Company procedures were also constantly updated when new solutions were developed to make transport safer, from fatigue management training systems to automatic load covers on the bulk tipping fleet that helped reduce injuries from falls. Mr Wintle said Chemtrans equipment was purpose built for specific tasks, in accordance with Australian Standards and dangerous goods regulations, and was tested regularly. Hoses, for example, were monitored via an electronic register which alerted the local branch when testing was due. “We test twice as frequently as the standard requires on our delivery and loading hoses to increase the safety factor,” he said. Mr Wintle said all equipment was accredited under the National Heavy Vehicle Accreditation Scheme for maintenance management.
Dwyer Aviation profile
The Mining Advocate | February 2009
19
Business takes off Dwyer Aviation Services has grown to become one of the largest providers of aerial services in northern Australia. Dwyer Aviation Services owner Don Tudehope was awarded a pilot’s licence before he was able to drive. At 21 years old in 1996 he bought Dwyer Aviation Services from Eric Dwyer, who had started the business on the Gold Coast in 1980. At that stage, the work was mainly aerial spraying and mustering. Mr Tudehope has built the business up to become one of the largest providers of aerial
services in northern Australia, now mainly contracting to industry and government. The company moved premises to a block near Giru, south of Townsville, four years ago. Two specialised hangars and administration facilities were built to house the fleet, six full-time staff (including a qualified agronomist and a fulltime helicopter engineer for maintenance) and contracted pilots. The company now has five
helicopters - including two Bell 206 JetRangers, one Bell LongRanger and two Bell UH1B “Huey” helicopters - available for specialist aerial work services and corporate charter. The company also owns a small fixed-wing aircraft. Mr Tudehope saw the writing on the wall early in the piece and realised he had to expand his capacity and his client base to meet challenges then facing the economy. “The downturn in sugar came along and at the same time we had the biggest drought this country had ever seen. The fact that we’re still here is because we’re prepared to go anywhere in
Dwyer Aviation Services owner Don Tudehope.
the country for work,” he said. Each helicopter had a different function that suited the demands of a range of work, Mr Tudehope said. “We use the JetRanger helicopters, which are the smallest in our fleet, for all sorts of work from photography to powerline inspection to crop spraying and spreading seed.
Photo: Stewart McLean
They are also used for dust suppression, among others,” he said. “The LongRangers are as versatile and also suited to operations requiring a bigger and more powerful helicopter. They are also used for corporate or executive transport and then our larger helicopters, the Hueys, are specifically for heavy lifting.”
Dwyer Aviation Services pilot Trevor Humphery with Dwyer’s existing Huey (at rear). Photo: Stewart McLean
‘60s Huey joins the fleet Dwyer Aviation’s full-time engineer Nathan Bone. Photo: Stewart McLean
Engineered for safety A strict schedule of safety compliance and the latest technology ensures aircraft provided by Dwyer Aviation Services can both meet obligations and exceed customer expectations. “Aviation is spot-on, you have to get it right,” Dwyer’s full-time engineer Nathan Bone said. “You don’t get a second chance with helicopters. “The challenge of maintaining these machines is keeping them at optimum performance and meeting operational demands. “Everything is maintained to a schedule and each component basically runs its own component lifetime.” Dwyer Aviation operations manager Trevor Humphery said technology and attention to detail aided in machine safety and efficiency and also enhanced clients’ options .
The newest addition to the Dwyer Aviation Services fleet has been there and done that. Along with the training teams, the Huey was one of the first machines enlisted by the United States military during the war in Vietnam. As the company prepares to take the helicopter, which is en route from the States, it is still in the army green colour with the medivac cross on the front. Not that there is much left of the original configuration. Much like your father’s “old axe” with its two new heads and four new handles, it has had nearly every engine and frame component replaced since being commissioned in 1960. The ‘B’ model Huey, one of only two in the country, has become “super-sized” after the addition of a bigger engine, lengthened tail boom and strengthened running gear to handle more heavy-lift work. The helicopter will act as a backup to the company’s existing Bell Huey heavy-lift machine.
NORTHERN AUSTRALIA’S LEADING HELICOPTER AERIAL WORK SPECIALISTS
Dwyer Aviation Services continues to innovate and boasts Australia’s first aerial saw. The Cisco Saw hangs underneath Dwyer Aviation Services helicopters and is used for trimming trees which encroach on powerlines, roads, rail corridors and other infrastructure. Dwyer Aviation Services partnered with Heli-Saws Australia to develop the Cisco Saw, which is the first saw specifically designed in Australia for Australian conditions. The Cisco Saw has undergone rigorous testing in varying conditions and has recently been granted certification by the Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority.
• Mining and Exploration Support • Heavy Lifting • Corporate Charter • Fire Management • Agricultural Application • Photography and filming
• Aerial Surveying • Revegetation Projects • Dust Suppression • Powerline and Gas Operations • Feral Animal Control
Our fleet Includes: Bell 206 Jetranger (2 available) • Bell 206L Longranger • Bell UH-1B ‘Huey’ (Heavy Lifting Helicopter)
PHONE: 07 4782 9015 WEB: www.dwyeraviation.com.au
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BETWEEN SHIFTS
February 2009 |
Cloncurry Australia Day celebrations
The Mining Advocate
PHOTOS: Roslyn Budd
Cloncurry Robert Burke, Mark (9), Whitney (6), Mahala (9) and Tanya McLennan.
Caroline and Kevin Donaghue.
Mary Macnamara and Jill McGee.
Allan and Mavryn Remfrey.
Shane Laffey, Nicole Laffey, Kellie Walduck and Bronwyn Smith.
TRAINING SERVICES • Short courses • Certificate courses • Indigenous Training SAFETY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS • Develop, Implement & Training for Safety Management Systems
Don Govan and Bill Hurle (both from the Cloncurry Lions Club).
Specialist Recruitment and Placement • Indigenous – Site specific • Short and Long term Labour Hire • Trainee placements in the Exploration Sectors • Skilled professional placements
ADI Affiliate Trainer & Assessor • Train your staff when you want • Training materials @ WHOLESALE prices
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Brendon Wylie – Group Training Manager
Matt Steblina – Group Recruitment Manager
Web: www.ADI1.com.au P: 07 4032 2175
Daniel Mahar and Pamela Scott.
F: 07 4032 2147
BETWEEN SHIFTS
The Mining Advocate | February 2009
21
NQ Rescue sportsman’s dinner Overlander Hotel, Mount Isa
Melissa Cox and Alex Dorr (both from NQ Rescue).
Blair Martin and Damien Ahearn.
Bille Jo McGregor and Snapper McGregor (Xstrata).
Engineers Australia Cairns local group AGM
PHOTOS: Romy Siegmann
Blue Sky Brewery, Cairns
Bashir Gabriel (Ergon) and Andrew Kerr (retired).
Peter Agar (Main Roads) and Geoff Hatwell (Cairns Regional Council).
Dan Martin (Douglas Partners), Victor Adamczyk (ARUP) and Keith Roberts (Douglas Partners).
Lee Ticehurst and Daniel Kennett (ARUP).
Graeme Standfield and Joe Catalano (both from MGF).
Sean McGuinness (Ergon Energy), Roy Sumathipala (BMB Construction) and Scott Ivory (ARUP).
Danette McLean (Connell Wagner) and Mick McLean.
John Breen and Deng Keomoungkhoune (both Main Roads).
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Hazardous Substances Management Systems Dangerous Goods Management Systems Safety Audits and Compliance Reviews Safety Management Systems Development Hazard Identification and Risk Management Confined Space Entry Systems and Support Locum Safety Advisors Safety Coaching and Mentoring Phone 07 4723 7652 Safety Training and Education Chemical Spill Control Solutions www.csmsafety.com.au
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BETWEEN SHIFTS
February 2009 |
Goldfield Ashes
The Mining Advocate
PHOTOS: Stewart McLean
Charters Towers Tony Jeppesen (Bloomsberg) with Tom Birt and Adrian Eales (both from Minelec) playing for Townsville Half Carton.
Gavin Brock and Murray Christensen (Woodfields Engineering) playing for Hornets.
Nathan McLachlan (Carpenteria Gold) and Rod Platz (SunMetals) playing for Hornets Gold.
Andrew Cole (Blair Athol Mine) and Malcom Pidgen (Clermont Coal) playing for McCallum’s Renegades.
Brett Mann (Dawsons Engineering) with his teammates Matty Mann and Dan Jarred.
Aaron Jurgens (Xstrata) and Cassie Bartlett.
Stephen Toomey (Sedgman) with Keiron Taylor and Adam Attreed (Blair Athol Mine).
...MINING...MARINE...POWER...SUGAR... Serving the mining industry of North Queensland for over 20 years. • Heavy Engineering • Cairns • Maintenance
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www.dawsonseng.com.au Cairns 07 4055 1900 Townsville 07 4759 0100
BETWEEN SHIFTS
The Mining Advocate | February 2009
Goldfield Ashes
23
PHOTOS: Stewart McLean
Charters Towers Cathryn McIntosh and her daughter Casandra, 4, with Cathryn’s brother Trevor Brown (Department of Mines and Energy).
Mick French and Col Stepanoff (Camino Management Services) playing for Jungle Patrol 1.
Rob Wallis (Charters Towers) takes a break while waiting to bat for ‘Hornets’.
Mount Isa Mines boys Jamie Clarke and Tim Ward playing for Light Brigade.
Brendon Lewis and Kristy Reid (both from Macarthur Coal, Coppabella) playing for The Weekenders.
Wade Wakeley with Andrew Wright and Chris Anderson (both from SunMetals).
Paul Marano (BHP Billiton Yabulu) bowling for Outcasts.
Max Payne, Joseph Young and Paul Malone (all from Ergon Energy) playing for Light Brigade.
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LIFESTYLE
February 2009 |
The Mining Advocate
Going all out for the Ashes An annual cricket carnival outranks Christmas on the family calendar for Charters Towers resident Craig West. It’s the final over on the final day of the series. The opposition needs three runs to win as the young paceman runs in from the boot-sucking-bog end to bowl. His teammates, battling the steamy January heat and the slight sluggishness that remains after the previous night’s Waverley Hotel beer garden revelries, get into position – maybe take another mouthful of scotch, maybe rum, maybe Jim Beam. Welcome to the Goldfield Ashes, Australia Day 2009, as Dot’s Lot battle it out with Liquor’s 11 in a muddy field off Black Jack Rd, Charters Towers. Craig West, a senior co-ordinator at the Pajingo mine, acts as captain for Dot’s Lot – a team named in honour of his mum and comprised of an assortment of family members and friends. The team’s 2009 campaign began with losses in matches against two other B2 level teams - 12 Good Men and the Lager Louts, both from Townsville – despite some good individual performances. But the highlight came on day three and the chance to take on another Charters Towers team, with many of opponents familiar to each other. “That means a bit more personalised sledging,” Mr West said. He said the two teams were quite evenly matched and had decided to play a shortened game. “They are generally 35-over games (in the Ashes competition),” Mr West said. n “But Sunday was my nephew’s 18th birthday, so we had a very big night on the town and a lot of them (Liquor’s 11) were with us as well. “We decided at the start to make it a 20/20 game – because none of us wanted to bee in the sun that long. “We went out to bat and I put all the young fellows in first so we didn’t have to run around too much. They managed 95 runs.” Mr West said it had rained the previous night leaving the field, which had a slope off about 15 degrees, somewhat on the heavy side. “The water was over your boots on the bottom side of it,” he said. “Up on the higher end, it was a bit like a cartoon - I have some video footage from when my brother hit the ball up in the air and the one who took off to catch it, it was like he was just running on the spot – he couldn’t get anywhere.” Mr West said the opposition reached the final over of their innings with just three runs required to win the game. “My son came up to bowl. He put a few balls up to their rib cages – much to everyone’s delight,” he said. “They managed to score two runs – so they ended up at 95 as well. n “We all congratulated each other and walked over and were almost off the field when the lady scoring said ‘no, there’s supposed to be one more ball, you called it too early’. We just said ‘no, it’s too late, it’s all over’.” Mr West said his family enjoyed the Goldfield Ashes so much that it had replaced Christmass as the occasion of their annual get-together. wers Family members converged on Charters Towers from the Sunshine Coast, Townsville, Cairns and the Atherton Tableland to join the fun. “They all come for the Ashes. We had 35 people camped in our house for the weekend (this year). It’s a massive weekend,” Mr West said. And he has a plan to make 2010 bigger and better for Dot’s Lot and their family fan base, especially those who share designated driver ld duties to ferry the group to and from Goldfield Ashes playing fields. “I’m hoping by next year to have a field heree (at his Ruby’s Ridge property on Charters Towers’ outskirts) so there’s no driving,” Mr West said. Dot’s Lot team members for 2009 included Craig West’s son Russell, 16, his brothers Dan and Grant Newman, nephews Josh West, 19, Ben West, 16, and Brendan Spanner, 18, brother-in-law Matt Keeffe and Matt’s cousin Trevor Brown as well as family friends Jimmy Blacklock, 16, and Eddie, 16, Dan, 14, and James Buck, 12.
Dot’s Lot teammates Brendan Spanner (batting) and Craig West (umpiring) look on as Peter Goodwin hurls one down the pitch for 12 Good Men. Photo by: Stewart McLean
Ashes devotee Craig West wields the willow for Dot’s Lot. Photo: Stewart McLean
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The Mining Advocate | February 2009
25
CENTRELINK READY TO HELP MINE WORKERS Senator Ludwig said the teams, comprising key Government, industry and union representatives have set up in Emerald, Mackay, Townsville, Cairns, Mount Isa and Rockhampton. “The mining and resource sector is a major economic driver in Queensland, employing thousands of people throughout the State,” Senator Ludwig said
Senator Joe Ludwig
“The Rudd Government will continue to do everything it can to minimise the impact of the global economic downturn and Centrelink’s partnering role with the Rapid Response Teams is part of that strategy.”
The Minister for Human Services, Senator Joe Ludwig, says Centrelink stands ready to assist Queensland mine workers displaced due to the global economic downturn.
“Displaced workers who can’t secure immediate alternative employment are strongly encouraged to speak with Centrelink about their income support options.”
Senator Ludwig said Centrelink has joined the State Government’s Rapid Response Teams offering support and assistance to workers affected by recent retrenchments in the mining and resource industries.
“I urge workers to contact Centrelink’s Financial Information Service, which is a free and independent service available to help people make more informed financial decisions.’
“Centrelink social workers are also ready to help those in need of emotional support.” Senator Ludwig said separated parents affected by the global economic down turn should also contact the Child Support Agency. “Separated parents should phone the Child Support Agency on 131 272 or visit their local regional service centre so they can find out about their options and how
child support may be able to be adjusted.” For more information on Centrelink assistance go to www.centrelink. gov.au, call 13 2850, or drop in and see the staff at your local Centrelink Customer Service Centre. Information is also available by calling the Queensland Workers Assistance Line on 1800 035 749.
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Live, Work, Play - Cloncurry
February 2009 |
The Mining Advocate
A career in the ‘fast lane’ Main Roads is highlighting the lifestyle advantages of working in Cloncurry as it seeks new staff for the district. Main Roads Cloncurry has positions open for people who are seeking a career change, not to mention the lifestyle advantages the region has to offer. The Cloncurry district office says it is looking for people to join the organisation in roles that offer exposure to a variety
of projects and the opportunity to gain a wide range of handson experience. Staff benefits include modern air-conditioned housing, subsidised energy costs, guaranteed transfer to a metro/ coastal location after three years (for eligible positions), study assistance and specialist
medical/dental assistance. Cloncurry offers a friendly community setting and a chance to explore the beauty of the Outback. The town has a good medical centre, hospital and pharmacy, State and private schools, as well as a number of supermarkets, restaurants and sporting facilities. It also boasts an outdoor cinema. The newly renovated Cloncurry airport offers access to flights to Brisbane and Cairns.
Premier horse skills event One of Australia’s great horse competitions, the Cloncurry Stockman’s Challenge, celebrates 25 years of events in 2009. The event is expected to attract about 100 competitors from all over Australia to test their skills and those of their horses in what Cloncurry Stockman’s Challenge Association president Vince Wall describes as the Melbourne
Cup of its field. Mr Wall said the challenge included a “dry” pattern, which he described as “very much like a dressage for the bush”, as well as “wet” work incorporating a beast. There is a heavy focus on the mustering skills horsemen and their mounts use in the bush. Mr Wall said the challenge was started in honour of local horseman and
Melbourne Cup winner, Reg Brown, by his daughter Heather. Visiting the event has been nominated among 150 Must-Dos in Queensland in a campaign run by motoring body RACQ to mark the state’s 150th birthday. The 2009 Cloncurry Stockman’s Challenge will be held over four days from July 16 at the Cloncurry rodeo grounds.
Brian Webb and Maren Umbach show their thanks to Adam Garvin for the community spirit displayed by the Main Roads staff who volunteered their time for a recent cycling event.
There is no job too big or too small... We cover all types of buildings from residential to commercial and industrial. And all sizes, from pergolas to multi-story high GMA rise, garden sheds to CERTIFICATION large industrial HAS BEEN INVOLVED buildings IN AN EXTENSIVE RANGE OF PROJECTS INCLUDING: • Patios • Sheds • Extensions to Dwellings • Swimming Pools and Pool Fencing • Dwellings • Multi-story Unit Developments • Shopping Centres • Factories • Childcare Centres • Warehouses • Mining Accommodation Camps
WE HAVE STRATEGIC BUSINESS ALLIANCES WITH : • Building Designers • Architects • Town Planners • Structural Engineers • Hydraulics Engineers • Landscape Architects • Site and Soil Evaluation for on-site Facilities
OUR SERVICES COVER ALL ASPECTS OF BUILDING SURVEYING INCLUDING: • Building Approvals & Plan Certification • Fire & Building Regulation Advice • Building Inspections • Fire Safety Audits • Energy Efficiency Assessments • Performance-based Assessment • Aged Care Assessments • Plumbing Regulation Advice
Now with two locations: Cloncurry Oce 42B Ramsay St, Cloncurry Qld 4824 P: 4742 2022 F: 4742 2022 Mount Isa Oce 3 West St Lane, Mount Isa Qld 4825 P: 4743 1511 F: 4743 1611 E: adminwr@geomitchell.com.au W: www.geomitchell.com.au
Live, Work, Play - Cloncurry
The Mining Advocate | February 2009
Taking time out in the ‘Curry Ernest Henry Mining employee Jules Blunt makes the most of her fly in-fly out lifestyle by getting involved in the local community. Most weekends you’ll find Jules Blunt mountain-biking in the hills around Brisbane, but on most Tuesday nights you’ll find her 1500km from home trying to score goals at Cloncurry’s Police Citizens Youth Club. Ms Blunt is environmental superintendent at Xstrata Copper’s Ernest Henry Mine and she works a 5-2, 4-3, 8-6 roster (five days on, two days off, four days on, three days off, eight days on, six days off ), flying in and out of Brisbane for each swing. She works 12-hour days at the mine and stays at the mine’s
village, but after work she likes to enjoy what Cloncurry has to offer. Ms Blunt plays indoor soccer in Cloncurry every week with some other fly in-fly out (FIFO) people from work and she also tries to make it into town every week for yoga lessons at the local gym. “I just love meeting new people and I really enjoy getting involved in the community,” she said. “Cloncurry’s a small town, but everyone’s really friendly and there seems to be a fair bit to do considering its remoteness.”
Jules Blunt, environmental superintendent at Ernest Henry Mining, takes part in the tug-of-war at Cloncurry’s Australia Day celebrations.
The Ernest Henry Mining (EHM) operation is about 40km north-east of Cloncurry and it takes around half an hour to drive there from town.
“When you add the trip to town and back to a 12-hour shift, it can sometimes be hard to fit things in. I’ve been fortunate though because I’ve been able to
27
start a bit earlier some days so that I can get away earlier in the afternoon in time for events in Cloncurry,” Ms Blunt said. EHM employs about 400 people and around 35 per cent of these employees live in Cloncurry. The remaining 65 per cent of EHM’s workforce flies in and out from Townsville, Cairns, or Brisbane. EHM general manager Mike Westerman said the mine encouraged all of its employees to get involved in the Cloncurry community. “We believe we have an obligation to support our local community as part of our social licence to operate,” he said. “In 2008 we invested more than $650,000 in Cloncurry through our Corporate Social Involvement programs such as the Xstrata Community Partnership Program North Queensland and our sponsorships and donations schemes. “We also help with in-kind work wherever we can and we encourage all of our employees, whether they’re locally-based or FIFO, to participate in events and activities in town.” EHM ran a bus into Cloncurry on Australia Day so that its FIFO employees could take part in the town’s festivities after work. The mine entered two teams in the tug-of-war and Ms Blunt was one of seven FIFO employees to compete.
Are you wanting job security? Permanent Main Roads positions available in Cloncurry now! A permanent job in Main Roads can give you:
» Job security » Exciting opportunities to expand your skills and knowledge » A variety of projects like bridge construction, highway maintenance, planning and design
» Great vocational prospects through career progression for motivated staff
» A guaranteed* transfer at level to a coastal / metropolitan area after three years of service. *Applies to most positions
The Location Cloncurry - ‘The Curry’ - is 120km East of Mount Isa. It has a population of around 4,000 and offers:
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4 jet flights every week to Brisbane and Cairns plus other regular air services State schools, private school and TAFE A medical centre, hospital and chemist A friendly community and active social scene A choice of supermarkets, cafes and restaurants Sporting facilities and an outdoor cinema The opportunity to explore the ‘real’ Australia in all it’s rugged outback beauty
In addition, Cloncurry residents are only one or two hours from a major centre. A position with Main Roads Cloncurry can offer you:
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Generous salary incentives Free housing and subsidised power Medical and dental travel assistance Study and family education assistance
So what are you waiting for? Join Main Roads in Cloncurry and make 2009 the year that you made the best career choice ever! Contact the strategic Recruitment Unit on 1300 306 820 or visit www.thinkdifferent.qld.gov.au
Ernest Henry Mining proudly supporting the Cloncurry community
Main Roads – Connecting Queensland www.mainroads.qld.gov.au
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Live, Work, Play - Cloncurry
Cloncurry calendar of events 2009 March 15: ‘Curry Day at Mary Kathleen Memorial Park. April 25: Anzac Day service and march. May 16: Cloncurry Sports Expo, recreation grounds. May 16: Cloncurry and district race meeting, Cloncurry racecourse. May 23: Diamonds and Pearl Ball at the Cloncurry Shire Hall. Celebrating 30 years of the Cloncurry Show. June 4 and 8: Q150 steam train stops in Cloncurry: Celebrations at Cloncurry railway station and various activities around Cloncurry. June 12-14: Cloncurry and District Annual Show. July 3-5: Annual Rockhana (Gem and Mineral Festival) at Mary Kathleen Memorial Park. July 4 and 5: Inaugural Western Games sporting competitions. July 16-19: Stockman’s Challenge and Cloncurry Campdraft. July 25: Quamby Rodeo, Quamby. July 31 – August 1: Cloncurry Merry Muster Rotary Rodeo and Mardi Gras. August 1: Cloncurry Air Show at the Cloncurry Airport. August 1: Cloncurry and district race meeting at Cloncurry racecourse. September 12-15: Ernest Henry Memorial Art Show. September 12: Cloncurry races at Cloncurry racecourse.
February 2009 |
The Mining Advocate
Town fun day provides taste of what’s on oer It may not boast the “bright lights, big cityâ€? buzz, but there is always something to do in Cloncurry, according to Gail Wipaki. And – as co-ordinator of the annual ‘Curry Day celebration - she should know. Mrs Wipaki said the family fun day, to be held on March 15, gave newcomers a good opportunity to check out sporting groups, clubs and services available in the north-west Queensland town. “It also gives the groups an opportunity to do a membership drive or fundraise,â€? she said. The event includes stalls, games and food. Children are encouraged to dress in a green St Patrick’s Day theme. Mrs Wipaki said the organisers were hoping the 2009 ‘Curry Day would also feature a multicultural display showcasing the various cultural backgrounds of Cloncurry residents. The Cloncurry/Mary Kathleen Memorial Park Museum – a favourite among “rock houndsâ€? - will also be open for the event. “We have a comprehensive mineral and gem display, indigenous artefacts, photos and history of Cloncurry, Mary Kathleen and the surrounding areas,â€? Mrs Wipaki said. Mrs Wipaki is manager of the museum and local information centre. Born and bred in Cloncurry, she described the town as a good place to bring up a family.
Gail Wipaki ‘Curry Day co-ordinator
“We’ve got everything you need here. You mightn’t have the ‘bright lights’ but there’s always something to do. I’ve never been bored here,� she said. ‘Curry Day will be held at Mary Kathleen Memorial Park, McIlwraith St, Cloncurry, 3pm to 7pm on March 15.
CLONCURRY ]T bVS FRIENDLY HEART
GREAT NORTH-WEST
John Flynn Place
September 10-12: Cloncurry Mining Expo, Cloncurry racecourse. October 10: (to be confirmed) Cloncurry and District Turf Club, Cloncurry Cup Race Meeting at Cloncurry racecourse. October 17: Battle of the Mines rugby league carnival for mines in the north-west. December (TBA):
Things to do & see in ‘The Curry’ • Historic walk through town • Ernest Henry Mine Tours • Chinamen Creek Dam and Recreation area • Qantas Hanger • Bird watching and bushwalking • Historic Cemeteries • and lots more!
Mary Kathleen Park & Museum • Local and surrounding town information • Gem and Mineral Collection • Burke’s Water Bottle • Outdoor Machinery Museum • Picnic/BBQ area and Playground
John Flynn Place Museum • Dedicated to John Flynn • Cloncurry Gardens • Royal Flying Doctor history • Fred McKay Art Gallery
EVENTS
• June – Cloncurry Show • July – Rockhana • July – Stockman’s Challenge • August – Merry Muster
The Cloncurry Christmas Festival.
For more information on these events contact Gail Wipaki by phone on (07) 4742 1361 or email gail_mkparkcloncurry@bigpond.com.
;dg bdgZ ^c[dgbVi^dc/ MARY KATHLEEN PARK & MUSEUM M McIlwraith Street, Cloncurry Qld 4824 Tel: 07 4742 1361 www.cloncurry.qld.gov.au ov auu
For charter enquiries visit www.skyairworld.com or call 1300 SKY AIR
LABOUR HIRE • HEAVY ENGINEERING CONSTRUCTION • MAINTENANCE 20 years servicing the Mining, Marine, Power and Sugar Industries of North Queensland BOILERMAKERS • BRICKIES • CRANE DRIVERS CARPENTERS • DIESEL FITTERS • DOGMEN DRAFTSMEN • ELECTRICIANS • ENGINEERS ESTIMATORS • FITTERS • FRIDGIES • GEOLOGISTS LAB TECHS • MECHANICS • PLANNERS PLANT OPERATORS • PAINTERS • PLUMBERS PROJECT MANAGERS • RIGGERS • SAFETY OFFICERS SCAFFOLDERS STOREMEN • SURVEYORS
Cairns 07 4055 1900 • Townsville 07 4759 0100 www.dawsonseng.com.au
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986 ENGINE ROOM CREATIVE
TRADES ASSISTANTS • WELDERS
North West Crane Hire has the following equipment and cranes on offer: 18-220t Cranes 34ft – 85ft EWP’s 3 x 10m Tippers Semi’s, Flat top and Step Deck Trailers IT Loader 3t-7t Forklifts Tilt Trays Crane Operators, Riggers, Labourers, Tradespeople and Supervisors available The company, directed by Mark and Leanne Bellamy, commenced in 2004 with one 50t Crane and now the fleet has expanded to 78 various units with more cranes, semi’s and equipment on order and due to arrive in 2008. Mark Bellamy: 0407 620 868 Kelvin Ryan: 0422 124 083