January 2011

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THIS EDITION • The big wet – where to now? • Miners line up for new sporting battle • Energy-hungry India eyes Queensland coal • Townsville firm taps gas field opportunities

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NEWS

The Mining Advocate | January 2011

January 2011

FEATURES 7 Mackay Regional Capacity

3 Big wet hits hard

8 Townsville Regional Capacity

The early and severe wet season has cost central Queensland coal mines about $2 billion in lost production but it could easily have been much worse, according to resource economist John Rolfe.

9 Mount Isa Regional Capacity

The Central Queensland University professor believes there has been a large improvement in water management by the mines since the “wake-up call” of 2008 and that they will strive to further adapt to operating in the wet in future.

10 Coal and Gas Update

Meanwhile many regional mining supply businesses are struggling with the impact of lost business.

13 Industry Update - Hardrock

News in brief across the coal and gas industries. A comprehensive wrap of exploration and operations in Queensland and the Northern Territory.

4 Battle of the greens

14 Between Shifts

Keen golfer Rehne Andersen, who works at Phosphate Hill in north-west Queensland, says he is receiving a good response to attempts to launch a charity golf challenge between mining operations throughout the North.

16 Lady Annie feature 19 Major Projects

6 Red metal rising

20 Wet Season

High copper prices are adding a rosy glow to the North’s economic outlook heading into 2011.

21 Processing

A string of acquisitions, consolidations, new starts and restarts is on the cards according to Brian Wyatt, general manager for the CST Minerals Lady Annie operation - which recommenced copper cathode production late last year.

22 Exploration and Drilling

25 Leading the way

24 Maintenance 26 Shutdowns

MMG Century mine maintenance manager Rod Dugmore explains how the zinc operation’s heavy vehicle workshop is setting a new industry standard with its approach to hydraulic hose safety and maintenance.

27 Living Remotely 28 Training 29 Emergency Response and Rescue

32 Heliwest to the rescue

30 Materials Handling

A major Australian helicopter company is establishing a new base in Mount Isa under an arrangement that will guarantee the local NQ Rescue service access to an aircraft as it continues its battle for State Government backing.

31 Building Mining Communities

CONTACTS p. (07) 4755 0336 f. (07) 4755 0338

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Advertising booking deadline March edition: February 18 All material is copyright and cannot be reproduced in part or in full by any means without written permission of the managing editor. The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the publisher.


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NEWS

The Mining Advocate | January 2011

3

Learning to live with the big wet The resources sector was better prepared for the recent flood crisis after the ‘wake-up call’ of 2008 according to a regional economist. The costs of Queensland’s worst floods in decades to the mining industry would have been greater if coal companies had not improved water management practices in the past few years, a resource economist says. The 2008 floods in central Queensland were a “wake-up call” to the resources sector that they had to be prepared for major rainfall events, Central Queensland University professor John Rolfe said. He believed also the latest run of rainy weather would cause companies to rethink the risk level involved in developing open-cut mines in Queensland and look at design changes to handle the wet. Professor Rolfe estimates this early and severe wet season has cost central Queensland mines

about $2 billion in lost production. “But in some ways it’s not as bad as it sounds because some mines were ahead of (forecast) production before and the slowdown will be compensated a bit by higher spot prices that are out there now,” he said. The Macquarie Group has stated that spot prices for premium hard coking coal are very likely to rise toward $US300 a tonne, from $US246 per tonne in late December, due to the disruptions in supply from Queensland. Rises in the next quarterly contract also seemed inevitable, the group said. Professor Rolfe said although coal operations had suffered greater wet weather interruption this time than during the floods of 2008, they hadn’t suffered the

Aquila Resources’ Isaac Plains mine outside Moranbah suffered closures.

A damaged section of the Moranbah-Goonyella rail line about 5km north of Coppabella.

same level of equipment loss and the clean-up bill should be less. A 3000-tonne dragline was stranded for months after severe flooding at the Ensham mine near Emerald in January 2008. Professor Rolfe said many of the affected open-cut mines

Photo: Erica Smith

Rocky road for business “We’re having a bit of pain,” Rocky’s Own Transport Company chief financial officer John Bryant says of the business impact of recent flooding. “That’s just life – we’re pretty philosophical about it.” Mining support services account for about 60 per cent of the transport company’s business, including the distribution of Orica products to operations throughout Australia. Mr Bryant said Rocky’s Own Transport and its subcontractors

would usually deliver at least 20 B-Double loads of ammonium nitrate a day from Orica’s Yarwun facility outside Gladstone to mines throughout central Queensland. “That has just stopped – you can’t go anywhere, the roads are blocked,” Mr Bryant said. “The mines are in force majeure, so they don’t want the product. We have resigned ourselves to the fact it will probably hurt another three, four or five weeks.”

Rocky’s Own Transport Company chief financial officer John Bryant.

Speaking in the first week of January as Rockhampton’s Fitzroy River hit the 9.2m mark, Mr Bryant said the flooding was probably costing about 70-75 per cent of the company’s usual weekly revenue. This followed three bad months in the previous wet season, a loss he said the business had never recovered. “For anyone like us, a major supplier of services (to the mining industry), it’s time just to pull in the belt,” Mr Bryant said. Capricorn Tourism and Economic Development has been ringing each of its 500 members with a survey to gauge the impact of flood. “Businesses that contract to the mines or consult to the mining industry have been affected quite severely,” chief executive officer Mary Carroll said. Ms Carroll said small businesses were crying out for relief funds or tax breaks to help them get back on their feet. The Federal Government has announced a Disaster Income Recovery Subsidy to assist employees, small businesses and farmers who have lost income as a direct result of the floods crisis.

seemed to be well organised, so that most were returning to production relatively quickly even though there had been a lot of water in the pits. “There’s almost been 20 years of open-cut coal mining in drought conditions in Queensland and that’s not always going to be the conditions in the future,” he said. “I think the companies are learning how to manage with potential wet years.” Professor Rolfe said also the damage had been limited by the fact the most severely flooded mines were relatively small operations, such as Cockatoo Coal’s Baralaba mine. About 40 mines throughout the Bowen Basin had experienced a major slow down, he said. Flooded and damaged rail links

Photo: Erica Smith

have hampered exports, with the Blackwater coal system remaining closed in the first week of January. The Goonyella rail system was back online after a derailment. Professor Rolfe said some mines had been contending with poor conditions for months in what had been the wettest year on record for many areas of central Queensland. “Owners are probably struggling to work out how to keep those open-cut mines operating in long extended periods of wet weather dealing with slippery ground and trying to work machinery in wet periods,” he said. “So it will be interesting to see in future if they go to more things like conveyor belts and mechanisation to try to design their way out of wet weather problems.”

Investment delays may heighten skills crunch The resources sector is likely to suffer extra strain on already tight labour supplies in a knock-on effect from the recent flooding, a regional economic development group warns. Chief executive officer for Mackay-Whitsunday’s Regional Economic Development Corporation, Narelle Pearse, said it was still too early to gauge the full flow-on effects to the region’s economy, including mining supply businesses. “I think the main thing we will see is there will be delays in projects starting and major works at the mining companies,” Ms Pearse said. “Obviously they will want to wait until things dry up and they get things back into production and on schedule. “What that means is increased risk of strained labour capacity later in the year.” Even as production resumed at various sodden coal mines, Ms Pearse said there was likely to be difficulty in getting input products such as fuel and machinery components out to operations for some time due to damaged roads. Managing director for mining contractors Mastermyne, Tony Caruso, said the major impact of flooding for that business had been the logistical problem of trying to get labour to mine sites. “If there was a small saving grace it was that a lot of the guys were on annual leave for Christmas – which minimised the impact,” Mr Caruso said. Mr Caruso said the biggest issue now was the weather outlook in the near future. “The area is now so waterlogged it won’t take much further rain to block roads and the like again,” he said. State Main Roads Minister Craig Wallace said Queensland’s worst floods in 50 years had had a devastating effect on the road network. The bill in early January stood around $1.5 billion. • More wet weather stories - Page 20


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NEWS

January 2011 |

The Mining Advocate

Work camp windfall North Queensland firm Qantac is among the supply companies picking up big business as gas pipeline plans evolve into reality. A Townsville-based business is delivering a total of 1500 rooms to accommodate workers on the Queensland Curtis LNG project in a contract worth around $50 million. Qantac is setting up six work camps for construction of the pipeline from gasfields near Chinchilla to the planned Gladstone LNG plant. “The first 600 rooms have been built,” Qantac managing director Graham Cleary said. “They’re just waiting for the rain to stop to start to install them.” The units were in Brisbane awaiting transport in December, with wet conditions throughout much of Queensland prompting Main Roads to restrict the transport of wide loads. British energy giant BG Group in October gave the green light to the $15 billion Queensland Curtis LNG (QCLNG) project, with plans to commence exports from 2014. The camps will be relocated along the pipeline route as work crews progress. Mr Cleary’s business sources buildings from ATCO, then supplies room fit-out and erects the villages. Mr Cleary said Qantac had its own transport and machinery for erection, providing a degree of independence that saved money and reduced risk. “We have our own machinery, so we don’t have to rely on anybody else – I’ve learnt that over the years,” he said. “It’s all about being there and getting going and getting the job done, you can’t afford to be waiting around for anybody.” Qantac has a workforce of about 80, including contractors and transport operators as well as the staff running and servicing existing accommodation villages. The company is also developing a new 500-person village at Curragh mine outside Blackwater and already operates seven other accommodation villages. The locations include Julia Creek, Greenvale, Redbank in Brisbane, two further Blackwater sites, Chinchilla and a camp for Waratah Coal’s China First project near Alpha. Mr Cleary said Qantac - a small, family-owned business - had built that portfolio

since going into the buildown-operate side of camp accommodation in 2001. Before then the family business had hired out accommodation for mining projects, he said. “We’ve gradually built up over the past four or five years,” Mr Cleary said. “We took advantage of the resources boom and just kept going from there.”

Rehne Andersen from IPL and Graeme Nielsen from BHP Billiton Cannington prepare to face off in a mines golf challenge under the watchful eye of Willows Golf Resort general manager Adrian Lawson. Photo: Stewart McLean

Full steam ahead for LNG line-up Santos is poised to make a final investment decision on its Gladstone Liquefied Natural Gas (GLNG) project after announcing a $16 billion agreement with KOGAS and Total. “With 7mtpa (million tonnes per annum) of LNG off-take now secured by binding agreements, GLNG is well and truly ready to go and the partners are working through the logistics for a final investment decision to be taken before the end of January,” Santos chief executive officer David Knox said. The project includes the development of coal-seam gas resources in the Bowen and Surat basins, construction of a 420km transmission pipeline to Gladstone and two LNG processing trains producing 7.8mtpa. The combined output from BG Group’s already committed QCLNG project and the GLNG project, would be greater than that from the much-vaunted Gorgon project in Western Australia, Queensland Resources Council chief executive Michael Roche said Australia Pacific LNG – a joint venture between Origin and ConocoPhillips - has also received State approval for its project, comprised of a gas field development over a 30-year period, a 450km transmission pipeline and an LNG facility on Curtis Island, Gladstone. The project is now before the Federal Government for assessment under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.

The joint venture announced recently that federal Environment Minister Tony Burke had advised that he would extend the time for his determination from December 21, 2010 to February 22 this year. Meanwhile, Arrow Energy has issued an invitation to four Australian and international consortia to tender for the front end engineering design (FEED) contract for its planned LNG plant on Curtis Island. The Arrow LNG Project includes gas field development in the Bowen and Surat basins, with two major pipelines proposed to take the gas to Gladstone.

Mines set for new sporting battle The spirit and sporting rivalry of the north’s traditional Battle of the Mines rugby league clash is set to emerge in a new arena. Support is building for a proposed Battle of the Mines of the fairway, with plans to hold the event at Willows Golf Resort in Townsville around June. Keen golfer Rehne Andersen – an instrumentation officer at the Incitec Pivot (IPL) Phosphate Hill operation in north-west Queensland – is behind the initiative, along with golf operations manager Matthew Duke from Willows Golf Resort. Mr Andersen was inspired by the Battle of the Mines rugby league tournament in Cloncurry along with the success of IPL’s annual corporate golf day in Townsville, which last year raised $1500 for the NQ Rescue helicopter service. “I thought we might be able to do this a bit better,” he said.

“I thought, why don’t we select a charity and have our own Battle of the Mines and get all of the mines involved in a golf challenge.” On the first day he began approaching people in the industry to gauge support, Mr Andersen said half a dozen mines had indicated they would be interested in joining. “I called Matthew (Duke) and said ‘this could get bigger than Ben Hur’,” Mr Andersen said. The competition is expected to be run over two days and take the form of an Ambrose two-ball best-ball event, with all funds raised to go to a nominated charity or community group. Any mining or processing operations who are interested in participating, or any potential sponsors, should contact Mr Andersen by phoning 0407 171353 or by emailing rehne. andersen@incitecpivot.com.au.

Green light for Mt Carlton Conquest Mining has approved the development of its Mt Carlton gold-silver-copper project in North Queensland, with first production expected in mid-2012. The company says the project will provide significant benefit to the local economy through the direct creation of about 150 new jobs during construction and 150 permanent operational positions. It recently launched a recruitment drive for that project, north-east of Collinsville, as well as operations acquired as a result of its takeover of North Queensland Metals last year. “We are recruiting about 80 positions for operations at Pajingo, Twin Hills and Mt Carlton,” Conquest executive chairman Jake Klein said. The capital cost to develop the

Jake Klein Conquest executive chairman

Mt Carlton project is expected to reach $126.9 million. Mr Klein described Mt Carlton as “a very substantial project”.

“It will produce some 735,000oz of gold over its life, 8 million ounces of silver from the V2 pit and 7 million ounces from Area 39 and about 32,000 tonnes of copper,” he said. The project is expected to have a mine life of at least 12 years. The decision to go into production followed an optimisation study launched after the proposed Mt Carlton operation failed to stack up economically in a definitive feasibility study completed in February 2010. Improvements to the engineering design, metallurgical process and commercial offtake arrangements for Mt Carlton have enhanced the project’s economics.

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NEWS

The Mining Advocate | January 2011

5

India’s thermal coal quest India’s Adani Group expects its $10 billion Carmichael mine and rail project to beat a raft of other major proposed coal operations out of the starting blocks in Queensland’s Galilee Basin. The massive thermal coal venture is also tipped to lead a wave of Indian investment in the state’s coal regions in the face of spiralling demand for power generation. Adani Group president of corporate planning Harsh Mishra, in Australia in December to recruit senior managers for the project, said Adani Mining intended to be into production at Carmichael by the end of 2014. With a total identified resource of 8.3 billion tonnes, the Carmichael operation is expected to peak at 60 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) and has a projected life span of 150 years. About 85 per cent of the coal produced at the Carmichael mine complex will go to India to feed the Adani Group’s own power stations and those of its customers. The group imported 35 million tonnes of thermal coal in 2010 - about half of the nation’s total - and expects the amount to rise to 70 million tonnes in the next two years. Mr Mishra said Indian interest in Australian coal assets had grown rapidly since Adani’s purchase of the Carmichael project tenements from Linc Energy in August in a $3 billion deal. “You’ll certainly see more deals materialising in the near future with Indian buyers,” he said. “We know prospective buyers are scouting around for mines in the Bowen Basin, Galilee Basin and Surat Basin as well. You’re

likely to see more Indian companies involved in acquisition, driven primarily by the large growth in demand for energy.” Mr Mishra said the vertical integration of the Carmichael project – with Adani mining, transporting and acting as end customer for the majority of the coal – gave it a leg up over others under development in the Galilee Basin. These include Hancock Coal’s Alpha Coal project and the China First project - both aiming to be in production within four years. “They’ve done a lot of work, they’re two years ahead of us in terms of starting the permits,” Mr Mishra said. “But one of the things in which we are significantly different is that we are our own consumers - we don’t have to go through the rigours of bankable feasibility studies and tying up customer offtake agreements, for example.” The Adani Group is still considering whether to export product through planned facilities at Dudgeon Point within Mackay’s Port of Hay Point or through Abbot Point near Bowen or a combination of both. But Mr Mishra said the company would go ahead with the planned development of a 60mtpa facility at Dudgeon Point regardless of the outcome of those assessments. It was also considering developing a terminal under the T4 Abbot Point expansion to enable about 30 mtpa in additional capacity to be rolled out there. “One option we’re looking at would be separate tonnage from two ports (to export Carmichael coal) and to also take on commercial cargo from the Bowen Basin area,” Mr Mishra said. Rail options

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NEWS

January 2011 |

The Mining Advocate

Back on deck after cancer fight A personal battle with lymphoma has left this manager eager to alert others in the transport and mining industries to critical health issues. David True’s colleagues at Scott Corporation in Brisbane have confessed they did not expect to see him again after he left work in mid-2010 for an intensive chemotherapy regime. Like him, many had looked up his condition via the internet and discovered a bleak prognosis. The 62-year-old father of three had been diagnosed with mantle cell lymphoma, a rare form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma noted for its rapid spread and, generally, little hope of a cure. But Mr True is now back in the saddle as Scott Corporation business development manager,

excited to be back at work and keen to get his teeth into some challenging projects after being declared free of cancer. “I remember when my oncologist came to me with all the results when I still had a cycle (of treatment) to go, and he said ‘I have checked these - you have no cancer in your body’,” he said. “The news was too much for me, I just broke down.” After enduring a gruelling five-month treatment program to beat the disease, Mr True hopes to make others in the transport and resources industry more aware of the signs of lymphoma

What is lymphoma? Lymphoma is the sixth most common cancer in Australia, with one person diagnosed every two hours, according to support group Lymphoma Australia. It is the most prevalent form of blood cancer. The most common signs and symptoms of lymphoma include: • Swollen lymph nodes • Fevers and night sweats • Unexplained weight loss • Itching of the skin • Nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain • Shortness of breath, cough • Headaches, seizures and problems with vision • Anaemia • Susceptibility to infections “These symptoms are also similar to those of other less serious illnesses and only a medical professional can diagnose lymphoma,” Lymphoma Australia chief executive officer Sharon Winton says. People seeking more information should visit www.lymphoma.org.au.

Copper is on the ascendancy going into 2011.

Photo: Gillianne Tedder

Scott Corporation business development manager David True.

and the need to maintain good fitness levels. Mr True, who played country rugby union well into his 30s and went on to referee 650 games – including at Test level said he had always paid attention to this area. “Fortunately I was in reasonable physical shape (when diagnosed),” he said. “I walked most mornings, did some gym and wasn’t carrying excess weight. “That enabled them to hit me with a much higher dose of chemotherapy than people my age would otherwise have received.

“There were plenty of times I cursed them for it, but it is probably what saved my life.” Mr True has also made a point of having regular check-ups over the years – a fact that helped alert him to the lymphoma. In the past three years, he said doctors had noted an elevated white blood count. They had reassured him this was likely to be the result of a recent infection. “When it came up for the third time, I was told not to worry about it - but I asked for a referral,” he said. Unbeknown to Mr True and

his doctors at the time, his cancer was spreading rapidly – although the only physical symptom he had noticed was a lack of energy, which he put down to working hard. He was at an interstate conference when he received the lymphoma diagnosis and was told to return immediately to Brisbane, where he started receiving treatment at the Wesley Hospital oncology ward within days. His body handled the treatments better than most and Mr True received the “all clear” after six cycles, with his oncologist indicating he did not expect the cancer to return.However there are no guarantees, so his medical team is continuing attempts to harvest stem cells from Mr True’s body for a potential transplant if the lymphoma recurs. Mr True described the team who had treated him as extraordinary people and said he also owed much to his employers, who had kept his position open, telling him to take as much time as he needed to get well. “I’m glad to be back at work and glad to be part of life again,” he said. Mr True’s role takes him throughout Queensland and the Northern Territory for Scott Corporation’s Chemtrans and Bulktrans operations.

Riding high on copper rise High copper prices are adding a rosy glow to the North’s economic outlook. Prices for the red metal surged more than 30 per cent in 2010, reaching record highs above $US9400 on the London Metal Exchange. DS Enterprises principal economist Colin Dwyer said copper prices were considered a leading economic indicator, with high demand bringing an expectation of buoyant times ahead. As host to mining, transport and manufacturing businesses linked to the commodity, the North Queensland economy would benefit significantly. “You then have the multiplier effect that flows on to the rest of the community from that production process and that is the spending of individual wages,” Mr Dwyer said. “It’s quite a significant impact that copper has on the regional economy.” The strong market will translate into acquisitions and consolidation of copper development projects throughout the region, according to general manager for the restarted Lady Annie copper operation, Brian Wyatt. Kagara already has a bid on the table for CopperStrike, which holds deposits around Einasleigh in North Queensland and Walford Creek in the north-west. “There will be a lot of jostling going on at the moment,” Mr Wyatt said. He expected to see a number of restarts and new starts in the north-west as companies reassessed project economics under the improved prices. “Hopefully that will be coupled with perhaps the go ahead for CopperString (the Townsville-Mount Isa electricity transmission proposal),” he said.

“Although it is a long lead time it certainly should spur on the next round of mines in the Mount Isa district.” The price surge has proved to be perfect timing for the CST Minerals Lady Annie project, which recommenced production of copper cathode in November. The Eloise and Mt Gordon mines in north-west Queensland are also resuming production. Mr Wyatt said CST Minerals parent company CST Mining had foreseen the gap in the supply market and took the opportunity to springboard into a growth cycle. “It will be some time before industry can fill that void because when the GFC (Global Financial Crisis) hit all the companies curtailed capital expenditure and mine staff,” he said. “Most of that has been restarted but it has put a wedge in the middle of the supply/demand curve.” Mount Isa Chamber of Commerce president Brett Peterson said it was definitely a case of good times for the north-west at the moment, although the expected growth was likely to stretch the mining services sector. “It puts us back to the same sort of pressures we experienced in 2006 to 2008, when everybody was pushed to the max in terms of staffing, resources and transport,” he said. Copper prices are tipped to continue to increase in 2011, with Mine Life founding director Gavin Wendt predicting a rise around the 20 per cent mark. “I think there will still be a very healthy increase,” Mr Wendt said. “It’s predicated on demand out of Asia continuing to grow, particularly China but India as well.” • Future bright for Lady Annie – Page 16

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Mackay Regional Capacity

The Mining Advocate | January 2011

7

Inventive approach bears fruit One Norwich Park dragline operator is turning his industry experience into a new business by pursuing his ideas to solve on-site problems. friendly as mine – the blokes don’t have to touch the plug at all (to move them),” Mr Gorlick said. Mr Gorlick, a qualified boilermarker, said he was still working to fill an order for 25 of the ARG Plug Boats for BMA Norwich Park. The Saraji mine was seeking six and he had interest from other operations as well, he said. Mr Gorlick has enlisted the help of Bundaberg Sandblasting to produce more of the dragline plug boats. Meanwhile, a line of wheel chocks he designed and patented is now being produced in Brisbane by SDI Plastics. The chocks, which Mr Gorlick previously manufactured from

A backyard inventor whose patented wheel chocks are being used at a number of Bowen Basin mines has developed a new device to protect dragline cable connections. Norwich Park dragline operator Aidan Gorlick said he had designed his ARG Plug Boat to float in order to keep the high-voltage line connections out of the water. The steel device also secures the connections to prevent plugs coming apart when cables are pulled, helping reduce damage. Skids assist in moving the connections, which can weigh about 300kg. “There are similar things around, but the ones I’ve seen don’t float and aren’t as user-

The new plastic model wheel chock.

steel in his backyard workshop in Dysart, are being used in half a dozen coal mines in his local area. “We only make them in plastic now,” Mr Gorlick said. “They are even easier to handle and we can keep up with demand a lot quicker than manually producing them in our shed.”

An ARG Plug Boat in operation.

Mr Gorlick said he and wife Robyn – a partner in the ARG business – had been determined to ensure the chocks remained an Australian manufactured product. Mr Gorlick said he was considering giving up his job at the mine this year to focus full time on the ARG business. He believed his devices would find a ready market among mines

further afield if he was able to devote some time to promoting them throughout the industry. The Gorlicks hope to make inroads into the New South Wales and West Australian mining sectors as well. “We are hoping to do a trip over there (Western Australia) and attend a mining expo early this year,” Mr Gorlick said.

Engineers keen to launch Moranbah branch The Engineers Australia Mackay local group will push ahead with a bid to establish a Moranbah

sub-committee this year after gauging interest during a recent visit to the coalfields community.

Coates’ CQ restructure Coates Hire North is restructuring its business to provide a greater focus on the growing Bowen Basin mining market. The company is adding three middle management roles - area operations, sales and service managers – to serve the Bowen Basin as a separate business area from the remainder of the central Queensland market. Coates Hire has existing branches in Emerald, Blackwater, Biloela, Mackay and Bowen, which will be included in the newly defined area.

Local group secretary Steve Cutting said 13 Moranbah-based engineers from organisations including BMA, Arrow Energy, Dyno Nobel and the Isaac Regional Council had attended a dinner with the visiting Mackay members in December. “I have spoken to more people since,” he said. “There is general interest, so in the new year we will try to get the sub-committee formed.” The dinner at Moranbah Bowls Club followed a field trip by 22 Mackay-based engineers

that took in a range of industrial sites in the district. Mr Cutting said this had included a look at the new Bucyrus 8750 dragline under construction at BMA’s Peak Downs mine, where visitors also heard a presentation from reliability engineer Scott Jonsson about working life on the site. The bus tour also took in stops at Arrow Energy operations, Energy Developments’ Moranbah North Power Project and the Incitec Pivot Dyno Nobel ammonium nitrate plant

under construction just outside Moranbah. The recently elected Engineers Australia Mackay local group committee for 2011 will be led by Professor Fae Martin from the Central Queensland University engineering faculty as chair. Mr Cutting is secretary, Tony Muguira treasurer and general committee members include previous past chairman Peter Rosier as well as Reg Millet, Peter Foley, Roy Roberts and Kerry Dark.

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Townsville Regional Capacity

January 2011 |

The Mining Advocate

Plan to boost online profile Newly elected Engineers Australia local chair Jeremy Tranter shares the group’s plans and priorities for the coming year. A new website highlighting the activities of the Engineers Australia Townsville local group is on the cards for 2011. It is among the priorities for new local group chair Jeremy Tranter from AECOM, who has taken over the role from Janice Ballard. Mr Tranter was vice-chair of the local group in 2010 and has been involved in Engineers Australia since joining as an undergraduate at James Cook University in 2003. “I would like to get a website happening for the group so we can promote our group more and develop connections, share contacts and information on events,” he said. It would provide a forum for distributing material such as photos, publications and presentations from events like the Northern Engineering

Conference hosted in Townsville last year, he said. It would most likely take the form of an expanded local link hosted on the Engineers Australia national website. Mr Tranter said he was also keen to see the Engineers Australia local group build closer ties with other professional organisations with shared interests, such as the Environment Institute of Australia and New Zealand and the Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (AusIMM), and work more closely with other engineering chapters such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and the local Women in Engineering group, among others. Increasing professional development opportunities for engineers in North Queensland

New Engineers Australia Townsville local group chair Jeremy Tranter. Photo: Stewart McLean

would continue to be a priority for the Townsville local group. “We miss out on some of the

Harris legacy continues in NQ

AECOM Queensland managing director Richard Barrett and North Queensland regional manager Chris Paterson with 2010 scholarship recipient Blair Hill (centre).

Third-year mechanical engineering student Blair Hill was awarded the 2010 AECOM-sponsored Dr Jonathan Harris Scholarship at a

ceremony in Townsville recently. AECOM launched the scholarship program to honour a former colleague, associate director of water and

infrastructure Jonathan Harris, who died in 2007. Dr Harris valued his strong ties with James Cook University, where he lectured between 1986 and 2007. “We feel this scholarship captures Jonathan’s contribution to AECOM, his strong links with James Cook University and the School of Engineering, and his dedication and interest in the academic development and success of undergraduate and graduate engineers,” AECOM North Queensland regional manager Chris Paterson said. The scholarship program, established in 2008, provides a benefit of $5000 as well as thesis mentoring, vacation employment and ambassadorial roles with AECOM.

more interesting or top-tier events that are available in the larger cities,” Mr Tranter said. “We’re trying to bring more of these sorts of events up here so our members can benefit.” The new vice-chair for the

Mt Moss ramps up Mt Moss Mining plans to ramp up mining efforts at its magnetite operation 105km west-north-west of Townsville within the first quarter of 2011. Mine manager Mike Barr said the Curtain Brothers-owned operation resumed mining in late 2010 to start supplementing its iron oxide lump ore stockpiles after beginning exports of lump iron to China in August. The operation exported 194,000 tonnes of lump iron product in four shipments from Townsville in 2010. Mr Barr said Mt Moss Mining aimed to export about 500,000 tonnes of lump iron product annually over the next few calendar years. There was potential to increase that to 750,000 tonnes by also exporting iron oxide fines, he said. In addition to its lump iron ore exports, the Mt Moss operation produced 18,000 tonnes of coal wash magnetite in 2010 and plans to boost that side of the business to 30,000 tonnes in 2011 to meet demand in central Queensland. “We are finalising contractual agreements at the moment,” Mr Barr said.

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Engineers Australia Townsville local group is Carson Care and Christian Jensen is secretary. The Engineers Australia Cairns local group will be chaired by Daniel Kennett from Arup’s buildings division in 2011. “Our priority, as always, will be to bring quality CPD (continuing professional development) events and presentations to the local Cairns region engineering community and we already have a potential speaker from NASA lined up for March,” Mr Kennett said. Major events for the Cairns local group this year include hosting the Northern Engineering Conference on July 28-29 and its annual Gala Awards Night on November 12. Scott Moffett is deputy chair for 2011,Victor Adamczyk secretary and Danette McLean treasurer, while Sean McGuinness from Ergon will chair a Northern Engineering Conference sub-committee.

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Mount Isa Regional Capacity

The Mining Advocate | January 2011

9

Plans for $35m crushing plant The latest development at George Fisher Mine is being hailed as another step in achieving a vision for a world-class operation. Xstrata Zinc is investing $35.5 million to develop a new facility at George Fisher Mine that will allow it to shift out about 40 per cent of the zinc-lead ore crushing currently conducted in Mount Isa. The plant will be constructed over the next year as a permanent solution to replacing three mobile crushing systems located near the processing facilities in Mount Isa. Xstrata Zinc chief operating officer Brian Hearne said the move offered significant benefits in operational efficiency and environmental performance.

“This development is another step towards achieving our vision for George Fisher Mine as a world-class operation,” Mr Hearne said. “It eliminates double handling of ore, lowers operating costs, reduces our consumption of diesel fuel and reduces emissions generated by our operations. “The associated environmental improvements are particularly important as we transition to new regulatory conditions next year.” The mobile crushing systems being replaced handle about three of the eight million tonnes

of ore feeding the zinc-lead processing facilities. These systems are coming to the end of their operating life. The establishment of the new facility at George Fisher was the preferred option the company investigated as it allows ore extracted from the underground mine to go straight to crushing and then be transported directly to the first stage of processing. Xstrata Zinc said the feasibility of this development was supported by the recent approval of the $274 million expansion of George Fisher Mine, which will increase production by 30 per cent from 3.5 million tonnes to 4.5 million tonnes per annum by 2013. The new facility will have the capacity to crush all the ore

Events to highlight humanitarian work

Monica Joseph Engineers Australia North Western local group chairman

The Engineers Australia North Western local group plans a range of events to embrace the organisation’s theme for 2011 - the Year of Humanitarian Engineering. Newly elected chair Monica Joseph said the group would focus on organising technical sessions and activities that demonstrate the role engineers play in disaster recovery and on improving the quality of life in disadvantaged countries. “Members are able to count the hours spent at the technical sessions towards their Continuing Professional Development,” she said. “For those engineers who are yet to receive chartered status and currently participating in the Professional Development Program, we hope to organise some workshops to assist with writing their career episode reports which are part of the engineering practice

report which they submit when applying for chartered status. “We also hope to organise some activities with the local schools which promote humanitarian engineering.” Ms Joseph said the local group would like to hear from members with suggestions for technical sessions or events which they felt would be beneficial. Interested members should contact Ms Joseph via email at Monica. Joseph03@gmail.com or by phoning (07) 4744 3748. The local group executive for 2011 also includes vice-chair Neill Carlsen, treasurer Karl Chen, secretary Kevin Lu and committee members Robert Blyth, Karen Oliver, Adeola Sopade, Kevin Johns, Dominic Clark, William Bevan and Bhargav Pavuluri.

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Existing crushing faciities at Mount Isa.

produced from the underground mine. Mr Hearne said the longterm, sustainable future for George Fisher Mine at a higher rate of production made it possible to build an electricitypowered crushing facility that incorporated the most advanced techniques available for dust suppression while lowering the cost of crushing by 30 per cent. “The planning and design for the new facility will meet air quality requirements on site,” he said.

Photo: Rob Parsons

“It will also contribute to continued improvements in overall air quality within the Mount Isa community as monitored by our air quality control centre.” The crushing facility will be staffed by 10 employees. As the mobile crushing systems are temporary facilities, they are staffed by short-term contract personnel. Xstrata Zinc said these contract personnel would be invited to apply for the permanent positions.

Conference added to expo week Organisers have added a half-day conference to this year’s Mount Isa Mining Expo program. The Mining the Carpentaria Conference on April 4 will provide guests with a snapshot of mining activity and development projects in the region to kick off the expo week. Mount Isa Chamber of Commerce manager Patricia O’Callaghan said the event had evolved as a result of strong interest each year in resource companies’ presentations at the expo’s traditional Mining the Carpentaria breakfast. “That event is well attended and the information that comes out of it much anticipated by exhibitors and people in

the general community,” she said. The half-day conference, sponsored by Port of Townsville Limited, would provide a broader forum for such information, she said. Organisers plan to keep attendance prices low compared to similar events and expect to fill the venue, the Mount Isa Civic Centre. “The cost of the conference is going to be $130 for non-exhibitors and $110 for exhibitors,” Ms O’Callaghan said. The 2011 Mount Isa Mining Expo will be held from April 5 to 7, with the trade exhibition located at Buchanan Park and associated networking events at various city venues.

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INDUSTRY UPDATE COAL AND GAS

January 2011 |

$350m water plan

CO2 capture technologies including Callide Oxyfuel and the Tarong Post Combustion pilot project.

Cougar committed to restart Cougar Energy remains strongly committed to achieving the recommencement of operations at its Kingaroy Underground Coal Gasification (UCG) power project, chairman Malcolm McAully says. Mr McAully told shareholders at the company’s annual meeting in Melbourne recently that Cougar had achieved significant milestones in the past financial year including the successful construction and commissioning of the UCG trial plant at Kingaroy.

A QGC employee checks a gas well near Chinchilla.

Photo: Simon Townsley

Queensland Curtis LNG Project proponents the BG Group, through QGC, are developing water treatment facilities costing more than $350 million in the Chinchilla area, about 290km west of Brisbane. A consortium of GE Betz and Laing O’Rourke Construction will build a major water treatment plant and associated facilities near Chinchilla, while SunWater will build and operate a pipeline to transport treated water from the plant to the Chinchilla Weir. “QGC will produce water as a by-product of extracting natural gas from coal seams,” QGC managing director Catherine Tanna said. “This is water that is salty and would otherwise not be used. “Our investment will make it possible to put this water to good use by treating it through leading-edge technology for use in agriculture and industry and it may supplement existing town supplies.” The project is part of QGC’s $15 billion investment, announced on October 31, 2010, following BG Group’s approval of the Queensland Curtis LNG Project.

Government dumps ZeroGen The Queensland Government has announced it will not proceed with a proposal to fund an integrated gasification combined cycle power station incorporating carbon capture and storage (CCS) as part of the ZeroGen project. Premier Anna Bligh said $192 million had been invested in this research to date, including $102 million from the Queensland Government as well as $90 million from the coal industry and the Commonwealth.

“We had hoped to have a clean coal power station up and running by 2015 but the fact is that the early research has shown us that this is not viable at this time on a commercial scale,” she said.

However these had been followed by “a most disappointing and protracted struggle” to manage the consequences of a Queensland Government decision to shut down plant operations following a BTEX contamination scare, he said. The Queensland Department of Environment and Resource Management is expected to announce a decision on the company’s environmental reports early this year. In a release to the market on December 20, Cougar reported that a total of eight samples had been tested from a monitoring bore (T5066) close to the pilot plant since early November, with only the one isolated reading detecting a trace of benzene. These results confirmed that no conclusions could or should be drawn from isolated measurements at such low levels, the company stated.

BTEX investigations update

“The Queensland Government will work with the coal industry over the next three years to prioritise suitable storage in Queensland that would support the construction of an integrated power plant with CCS.”

Australia Pacific LNG says a comprehensive investigation into traces of BTEX found in produced water from its coal seam gas exploration activities in October has confirmed there is no significant risk to the environment or human health.

She said the Queensland Government, together with other funders, remained fully committed to identifying suitable storage and developing power station

The joint venture parties said the Department of Environment and Resource Management had confirmed Australia Pacific LNG’s proposed

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monitoring and reporting guidelines to manage Hydraulic Fracture Stimulation (HFS) programs were appropriate. The investigation identified possible sources of BTEX contaminants, including small amounts of lubricants and diesel which may have been introduced inadvertently in the course of operations. Following the investigation and the implementation of additional controls and assurance processes, Australia Pacific LNG will recommence HFS operations. Meanwhile Arrow Energy in November advised authorities and relevant landholders that independent secondary tests had re-confirmed trace amounts of BTEX group chemicals (between 1 and 3 parts per billion) in three wells in the northern Bowen Basin. More detailed testing was under way to identify if the chemical was naturally occurring or introduced by another means, the company said. BTEX is an acronym for the group of chemicals benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene.

Infrastructure blueprint The State Government has unveiled a new plan to chart the course of Queensland’s coal mining infrastructure over the next two decades. Premier Anna Bligh said the release of CoalPlan 2030 marked the start of a framework to guide sustainable coalrelated infrastructure planning. “The types of investment decisions that companies are making in relation to exploration and the opening of new mines means that they need to have some knowledge of and confidence in the infrastructure capacity going forward,” she said. “CoalPlan 2030 identifies infrastructure requirements in Queensland over a 20year period. This will help drive growth over the medium to long term.”

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INDUSTRY UPDATE COAL AND GAS

The Mining Advocate | January 2011

Expanded scope for Washpool

Key Alpha coal contract awarded

Aquila Resources has expanded the scope for the definitive feasibility study for its Washpool hard coking coal project to target a 2.6 million-tonnesper-annum (mtpa) operation.

WorleyParsons and Ausenco have secured a contract to manage the delivery of Hancock Coal’s $7.5 billion Alpha Coal Project in Queensland throughout the next four years.

The project feasibility study released in July 2010 proposed an open-cut operation mining 4mtpa of run-ofmine coal to produce 1.6mtpa of highrank hard coking coal over a mine life of 25 years, with the coal to be exported through the proposed Wiggins Island Coal Terminal in Gladstone.

The first phase of work under the joint contract will be providing assistance to finalise a bankable feasibility study, due for completion during the first quarter of 2011.

But the company said a detailed review of the production and cost options had indicated that increasing the annual production to 7mtpa of ROM coal to produce 2.6mtpa of hard coking coal product had significant benefits. The Washpool project is located about 260km west of Rockhampton and 24km north-west of Blackwater. Mine construction is expected to commence in 2012.

Chinese investment deal Exoma Energy has secured a farm-in agreement that will see the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) contribute $50 million towards exploration and appraisal expenditure on projects in the Galilee Basin. CNOOC will acquire a 50 per cent participating interest in a number of Exoma gas tenements in central Queensland. Exoma chairman Brian Barker said CNOOC’s involvement would allow the company to accelerate its exploration program for Galilee Basin permits, which it believed to host very large coal seam and shale gas resources, with additional potential for conventional petroleum resources. “We are confident that these gas resources will underpin one or more large downstream gas development projects serving both export and domestic gas markets for many years,” he said

Worley Parsons said the joint venture contract was expected to have a value of about $285 million over the four years and utilise up to 250 personnel.

Argonaut said this funding, plus an additional $2 million from other investors, was being used to explore and define coal resources in the Bowen, Surat and Galilee coal basins. Blackwood has three granted coal exploration permits and nine under application. It is looking to fast-track exploration programs with a view to estimating an initial resource to JORC standards at its Moorlands porject, about 20km west of the Blair Athol coal mine, in the first quarter of 2011.

Aquila announces upgrade

Hancock Coal has submitted its environmental impact statement for the Alpha project, secured a State-declared rail corridor from mine to port and has been allocated stockpile and berths at Abbot Point for 60mtpa.

Aquila Resources has released an upgraded resource statement for its Talwood Coking Coal Project, previously known as the Red Hill Coal Project, about 35km north of Moranbah.

Federal Resources and Energy Minister Martin Ferguson officially opened the Hancock Coal test pit late last year.

The company said the total resource had increased significantly from 83.4 million tonnes (in April 2009) to 246.5 million tonnes (December 2010).

The test pit operation is expected to finish by mid-2011 and first exports from the Alpha project are scheduled from early 2014.

Tinkler in new $30m deal Norton Gold Fields has agreed to sell its Sienna and Electra coal projects near Middlemount to coal magnate Nathan Tinkler in a $30 million deal. The agreement was reached with a subsidiary of Tinkler’s Boardwalk Resources in December. “This is a great outcome for Norton and its shareholders in the sale of a non-core asset,” Norton managing director Andre Labuschagne said. The Electra project is described as being prospective for hard coking coal while Sienna is prospective for PCI and thermal coal, with an inferred resource of 57.1 million tonnes.

Argonaut invests in coal venture Argonaut Resources recently announced it had finalised matters in relation to its $4 million investment in Blackwood Coal.

Work package roll-out Invitations to tender have commenced for more than 70 major onshore construction packages for the Ichthys LNG Project, a joint venture of Inpex Browse and Total E&P Australia. Inpex Corporation president director for Australia Seiya Ito said the onshore front-end engineering and design (FEED) contractor - the JKC Joint Venture ( JGC Corporation, KBR and Chiyoda Corporation) - was undertaking the tender process for the various contracts. “This is another important milestone for the Ichthys Project as we move toward a final investment decision in quarter four 2011,” Mr Ito said. Tender packages for the gas processing facilities and associated infrastructure, planned for Blaydin Point in Darwin, Northern Territory, include fabrication and construction of the gas processing units; LNG, LPG and condensate storage tanks; product loading jetty; civil works and site preparation; construction workforce accommodation

village; supply of construction material and construction services as well as administration buildings. Mr Ito urged Australian companies wishing to benefit from the business opportunities associated with the Ichthys LNG Project to register with the Industry Capability Network in the Northern Territory.

Increase at Orion Downs Endocoal has reported a 54 per cent increase in the JORC-compliant resource at its Orion Downs project west of Rockhampton. The increase is due to the incorporation of a maiden JORC resource of 14.4 million tonnes at the Meteor Downs South site and takes the total project resource to 41.2 million tonnes. Managing director Rod Austin said drilling on the Meteor Downs South project since August 2010 had intersected the “C” and “D” seams of the Rangal Coal Measures, as identified at Endocoal’s nearby Inderi project and currently being mined at Xstrata’s adjacent Rolleston mine.

The Range forges ahead Stanmore Coal has lodged a mining lease application for The Range project, south-east of Wandoan in the Surat Basin, following a successful capital raising. The company’s renounceable entitlement offer raised about $13.2 million, with an additional $12.5 million raised by way of an institutional placement. Stanmore Coal managing director Nick Jorss said the capital raising was a positive step forward in the ongoing growth of the company, which had successfully delineated JORC inferred resources at its promising Mackenzie River and Range project areas since listing on the Australian Securities Exchange in December 2009. Stanmore Coal aims to achieve first coal production at The Range by early 2015. The Range Project contains an inferred resource of 219 million tonnes of export quality thermal coal.

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INDUSTRY UPDATE COAL AND GAS

Switched on

January 2011 |

Co-ordinator-General Graeme Newton’s conditional approval of the environmental impact statement (EIS) for the proposed rail line between Wandoan and Banana, known as the Southern Missing Link. A consortium including Australian Transport and Energy Corridor (ATEC), Xstrata Coal and Queensland Rail are behind the Surat Basin Rail proposal. ATEC chairman Everald Compton said the group was now expecting to reach financial close on the project in late 2011.

Darling Downs power launch

Workers gather for the official launch of the pilot plant.

Low emission coal technology research has reached a milestone in Queensland with the first capture of carbon dioxide from Tarong Power Station flue gases using post combustion capture (PCC) technology. The $5 million PCC demonstration project is a partnership between CSIRO and Tarong Energy Corporation. PCC uses a liquid solvent to capture carbon dioxide from flue gases and has the potential to reduce CO2 emissions from coal-fired power stations by more than 80 per cent. CSIRO Advanced Coal Technology director Dr John Carras said the technology could help strike a balance between the increasing global demand for energy and the need to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions “Collaborating with industry partners like Tarong Energy allows CSIRO to undertake rigorous technology trials, build experience and accelerate the adoption of PCC to reduce emissions from the energy sector in Australia and overseas,” he said The pilot plant is designed to capture about 1000 tonnes of CO2 per annum.

Approval for Wandoan project The Queensland Co-ordinator-General has granted conditional approval for the Wandoan Coal Project in the Surat Basin after almost three years of environmental assessment. The project is being managed by Xstrata Coal on behalf of the Wandoan Joint Venture, which also includes ICRA Wandoan and Sumisho Coal Australia. Queensland Infrastructure and Planning Minister Stirling Hinchliffe said the Wandoan project and associated infrastructure and exploration initiatives

would open up the Surat Basin as the next major new export region for Queensland. “The proponent anticipates construction of the mine and its associated facilities could commence at the end of 2011with first exports forecast to begin as early as 2014,” he said.

Green light for Surat rail The State Government has given the green light to the proposed $1 billion Surat Basin Rail project. Premier Anna Bligh has welcomed

Queensland Premier Anna Bligh has officially opened Origin Energy’s new Darling Downs Power Station, 40km west of Dalby. Built at a cost of $1 billion, the Darling Downs Power Station is one of Australia’s most efficient baseload gasfired power stations, according to Origin managing director Grant King. The plant is Australia’s largest combined cycle gas-fired power station and will emit less than half of the greenhouse gas of a typical water-cooled coal-fired power station of the same capacity. Plant construction included a 205km pipeline stretching from the Wallumbilla gas hub near Roma to the Talinga gas production facility.

Leighton wins Dawson contract Leighton Contractors has been awarded a two-year mining services contract worth $159 million at Dawson Mine, outside Moura in central Queensland. The contract includes the surface mining of the existing pit and a new greenfield operation at Dawson North. Leighton Mining general manager Greg Fokes said a team of experienced people and the necessary equipment were assembled for the project. “With a number of existing projects in the region we have been able to draw on a dedicated team of local experts and operators who know what it takes to get the job done safely,” he said.

The Mining Advocate

Dawson Mine, owned by Anglo American Metallurgical Coal, is an open-cut coal operation with more than 280 million tonnes of existing coal reserves. The mine combines three adjacent coal mining areas stretching almost 60 km, with the lease area almost twice that length.

Anglo American ditches Callide Anglo American has put its Callide coal mine, near Biloela in Central Queensland, on the market. Chief executive officer Seamus French said company’s coal strategy was focused on growing its metallurgical coal business. “Callide mine is a thermal coal operation primarily supplying domestic power stations in Biloela and Gladstone,” Mr French said. “The Callide mine does not align with our growth strategy and the divestment process will lead to the sale of the operation as a going concern. “Callide mine is a low-cost coal producer with a significant resource base of more than one billion tonnes, a stable and well run operation in an established mining area and has a strong future underpinned by long-term coal supply contracts. “Anglo American sees an exciting opportunity for investors to expand the Callide business.” Mr French said Anglo American would work closely with the government, its customers, suppliers and the local community to ensure they were consulted throughout the process.

Tin Hut Creek resources grow Cockatoo Coal has announced a 53 per cent increase in resources for its Tin Hut Creek coal project in the Surat Basin north of Miles to 181.3 million tonnes. This includes an indicated resource of 112.2 million tonnes and 69.1 million tonnes inferred.

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INDUSTRY UPDATE HARDROCK

The Mining Advocate | January 2011

Legend hires dealmaker Legend International Holdings has appointed investment bank Nomura as a financial advisor for its planned phosphate mining and refining business in the Georgina Basin in north-west Queensland.

category of the annual awards, which identify Australia’s most successful and innovative exporters. Both companies were also recognised in the Premier of Queensland’s Export Awards in late October.

Exco Resources has announced a maiden reserve for its flagship Cloncurry Copper Project in north-west Queensland.

“We are confident that the strength of Nomura’s network and unparalleled access to potential investors, particularly in the Asian region, will ensure a successful outcome for Legend and its investors,” Legend president and chief executive officer Joseph Gutnick said.

The reserve comprises 28 million tonnes at 0.83 per cent copper and 0.24 g/t gold, with 9.2 million tonnes in proved reserve and 18.9 million tonnes in probable reserve.

New NT port proposed Northern Territory iron ore companies Sherwin Iron and Western Desert Resources have launched a joint venture to develop a common-user export facility in the Gulf of Carpentaria. Operating under the proposed name of Gulf Infrastructure Services, the incorporated joint venture will be responsible for the development, funding and operation of bulk commodity stockpiling and loading facilities. Discussions are under way between Sherwin Iron, Western Desert and other potential members of Gulf Infrastructure Services regarding the terms, conditions and timetable governing development of the facility.

Export achievements recognised Xstrata Mount Isa Mines has taken out the Minerals and Energy category at the 2010 Australian Export Awards, collecting the trophy at a ceremony in Sydney in December. Resource sector services company Sedgman won the Large Services

‘Impressive’ discovery

Maiden reserve for Exco

The position will involve assessing industry partners who wish to form a strategic alliance with Legend and invest in the project.

Legend plans to build a fertiliser complex that will commence commercial production in 2013 in Mount Isa, drawing from phosphate deposits within the region.

13

A definitive feasibility study is in progress based on an operation of 3 million tonnes per annum with a concentrator facility located at the E1 Camp. At this throughput the project would produce about 25,000 tonnes of copper in concentrate per annum in addition to a range of by-products.

Altia assay results released Breakaway Resources has released assay results confirming the presence of a broad new zone of strongly anomalous zinc mineralisation at the Altia deposit in the Cloncurry district of north-west Queensland. The mineralised zone, discovered during the deep diamond drilling program undertaken by joint venture partner BHP Billiton, includes intersections of 10m at 0.65 per cent zinc. Breakaway said it understood that following its $10 million farm-in and joint venture agreement, BHP Billiton was continuing to evaluate the potential for a world-scale silver-lead-zinc deposit at Altia.

Wolfram Camp sale deal Planet Metals has entered into an agreement to sell Wolfram Camp Mining to Hazelwood Resources for $8 million, comprising $5 million cash and $3 million worth of Hazelwood shares. Wolfram Camp Mining has an 85

Core samples from recent drilling on Barnes Shaft.

Ivanhoe Australia has released details of drilling intercepts showing exceptionally high-grade copper, gold and cobalt mineralisation at the company’s Barnes Shaft prospect in the Cloncurry district. The most recent drilling has returned a result of 29m at 3.21 per cent copper, 3.37g per tonne gold and 383 parts per million cobalt from 210m. Barnes Shaft is about 50km north-east of the company’s Merlin deposit and lies within a 10km-long trend known as the Elana M Trend “These are the highest-grade results ever achieved in a regional drilling program by Ivanhoe Australia,” chief executive officer Peter Reeve said. “The Elana M trend has been an extraordinarily productive belt for Ivanhoe Australia, with three recent discoveries. “Barnes Shaft is the most impressive of these because of its extensive system size of more than 1.3km and the depth of its structure. To achieve these really very highgrade intercepts of copper, gold and cobalt in such a large system so early in the drilling program gives our team a great deal of confidence that we may have again potentially discovered another significant orebody in this remarkable mineral belt.”

per cent stake in the Wolfram Camp tungsten/molybdenum project west of Cairns in far north Queensland.

Public Offer (IPO) to exploit the gold and base metals potential of five Queensland projects.

Planet Metals chief executive officer Brett O’Donovan said the company had received strong interest for Wolfram Camp from a number of parties following the termination in November of a share sale agreement with joint venture partner Tropical Metals.

At the heart of the Invictus Gold offering is three landholdings in the Drummond Basin south of Charters Towers described as being prospective for world-class deposits of gold, goldsilver and gold-copper.

Gold-focused float Perth-based company Impact Minerals has launched a $3.5 million Initial

Invictus Gold’s assets also include the Killarney gold-silver-copper project west of Mackay and the Moly King gold-molybdenum and tin project south-west of Brisbane.

2011 Xstrata Mount Isa Mining Expo Breaking Ground in Mining Xstrata Entert ainment Centre - Buchanan Park 5, 6 and 7 April 2011 Showcasing the latest in mining tools, trade and technology in one of the richest mineral provinces in Australia

Registrations now open “Isadraulics was a new business in 2010 and taking a booth out at Expo was a marketing decision we made to create awareness of the organisation. We were however blown away at the opportunities that presented itself during the three days and the business leads that were then created. Calling this event a worthwhile investment is an absolute understatement and we will definitely be back in 2011.” Ryan Mackenzie, Owner, Isadraulics. For all registration enquiries please contact the Mount Isa Chamber of Commerce office or visit the Chamber website Phone (07) 4743 9881 Fa x (07) 4743 7266 Email miningexpo@mountisachamber.com.au Website www.mountisachamber.com.au


14

BETWEEN SHIFTS

January 2011 |

AusIMM North Queensland Sir George Fisher Lecture

The Mining Advocate

PHOTOS: Stewart McLean

Museum of Tropical Queensland, Townsville

Jennifer McCulloch (Queensland Nickel) and Dave Hunter (AusIMM).

Greg Bruce (Townsville City Council), Candia Bruce (Working On It) and Sarah Bayliss.

Lara Strohfeldt with Justin Byrne (BHP Billiton).

Rob Lyon (Queensland Nickel) with Selina Cremonini.

Wayne and Elaine Armstrong with Doug Hoey (MIM).

Drew O’Brien (BHP Billiton) with his wife Susan.

NT Resources Gala Dinner

PHOTOS: Christopher Knight

Holiday Inn Esplanade, Darwin

Dave Clark (GHD), Robyn Miller-Smith (Minter Ellison) and Louis Glassie (Australlian Credit Management).

Jennifer Xi, Linda Young and Bill Freeland (GHD).

Toni Bartlett-Sharpley, Paul Davis and Lauren Rowohlt.

Rhona Millar, Audrey Moller and Nicky Blenkinship.

John and Kerry McDonough (Hastings Deering) with Maurie Thwaite (Hastings Deering).

Kirsty Champion, Dominique Reeves (Clayton Utz) and Shauna Mounsey (Ward Kellar).


BETWEEN SHIFTS

The Mining Advocate | January 2011

Cairns Chamber of Commerce Resource and Industrial Taskforce breakfast briefing

15

PHOTOS: Romy Siegmann

PaciďŹ c International Hotel, Cairns

Nick Hemersely (Peterson Securities), Graham Maunder (Peterson Securities) and Karyn Bliesner (Ingham Drilling).

Pam Chandler and Christopher Parker (both from Jigsaw Training) with Martine Adriaansen (NRA Environmental Consultants).

Graeme Nielsen and Bob Fulker (both from BHP Billiton Cannington) and Anthony Mirotsos (Cairns Chamber of Commerce).

Ronn Todd (TAFE) and Gary Young (Irelands).

Christine Posgate (Chamber of Commerce and Industry Qld) and Ross Contarino (formerly of Advance Cairns, now Townsville Enterprise).

Steve Rutherford and Stacy Dobis (both from Rutherford Studios).

Engineers Australia Mackay local group dinner

PHOTOS: Erica Smith

Moranbah Bowls Club

Henk Swanepoel (Group Engineering), Sonia Swanepoel and Simon Frazer (Key Solutions).

Heather and Greg Mann, Tammy Riech and Scott Jonsson (BMA Peak Downs).

Steve Cutting (Aurecon Hatch), Stephen Jury (Dyno Nobel), Brant Bertrend (Dyno Nobel), Clifford Stanyon (Civil Engineering Consultants) and David Croce (Logicamms).

Moranbah North Race Day

PHOTOS: Kate Braithwaite

Moranbah race course

Natalie Storer (ABE Maintenance) and John Regan (QR).

Tammy Nitz, Aleisha Power and Rebecca Kennedy (Moranbah Earth Moving).

Tiffany Price and Nikki Murphy.


16

CST Minerals Lady Annie

January 2011 |

The Mining Advocate

Bright future for Lady Annie New owners are confident that bigger and better things lie ahead for this resurrected north-west Queensland copper operation. The future is bright for Lady Annie, according to CST Mining chief executive officer Damon Barber. A large area of prospective ground, a mining-friendly local community and great workforce are the key factors he ticks off in the copper operation’s favour. And Mr Barber said the company was committed to spending the money required to ensure Lady Annie’s ongoing success, including about $20 million earmarked for exploration this year. CST Mining - the international parent company for CST Minerals in Australia - is confident of firming up enough sulphide resources to justify the installation of a concentrator, with the potential to lift copper production at Lady Annie to about 50,000 tonnes per

annum in combination with the continued processing of oxide ores. The north-west Queensland mine site hosted a celebration on December 6, attended by CST Mining board members from Hong Kong, to mark the first production of copper cathode under new ownership. Mr Barber said CST was thrilled to get the operation up and running so quickly. “I have the pleasure of flying around the globe and meeting with investors, talking about CST,” he said “One of the questions I get is ‘how did you do it? - how did you go from an idled operation when CST sealed the (purchase) deal on May 31 and by August you were mining, September crushing and stacking and you’re producing copper cathode in November?

CST Mining chief executive officer Damon Barber, chairman Chiu Tao and vicechairman Owen Hegarty among bundles of copper plate at the Lady Annie mine, 120km north-west of Mount Isa. Photo: Gillianne Tedder

That just seems impossible’. “The only answer is we have the most amazing workforce.”

Mr Barber said the company also received a lot of support from the Mount Isa business

community to get into production so quickly. “That part, to me, was quite impressive,” he said. “Vendors were supplying us with equipment and supplies before we even had formal contracts signed, basically on a handshake, and they knew we’d be good for it and we’d work out the details later.” CST Mining, which also has a development project in Peru, is interested in further acquisitions in the region. Lady Annie general manager Brian Wyatt said the operation’s ramp-up phase would be completed by mid-year and it was then expected to produce copper cathode at a rate of about 30,000 tonnes per annum. There was a lot of excitement about the potential to exploit the site’s sulphide ores. “That would pretty much allow us to organically grow the business, if we can firm that up, to almost double the nameplate capacity – maybe towards 50 or 60,000 tonnes of metal,” he said.

Left - Deven Vandenburg, Reece Condon, Dale Jackson and Ashley Jones at the on-site celebration in December.

s and Barr y Dean Adam Moroney e od th ca e Cas Koperberg, ni k first Lady An ar m to n io at at a celebr nership. r CST Mining ow produc tion unde

Right - David Small, Laura Zhai and Ray Slater. Photos: Gillianne Tedder

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CST Minerals Lady Annie

The Mining Advocate | January 2011

17

Local ties a top priority The Lady Annie operation is working closely with traditional owners to maximise indigenous involvement, writes Belinda Humphries. A database of work-ready people from the local Kalkadoon indigenous community is CST Minerals’ first port of call when general positions open up at the Lady Annie site. Among the site’s 210 permanent employees are 12 Kalkadoon people – the traditional owners of the area – as well as 22 other indigenous workers from throughout the broader Mount Isa and Townsville region. Health, safety, environment and community manager Steve Ingham said the operation worked closely with local organisation Kalkadoon Community Pty Ltd (KCPL) to ensure potential job candidates were registered on Lady Annie’s recruitment database. Mr Ingham said the operation had recently exhausted that list of job candidates and was now working with the local Jobfind

Centre Australia service, in conjunction with KCPL, to replenish the pool through work readiness programs. The CST Minerals Lady Annie operation provides training to bring entry-level recruits’ skills up to the required level for roles such as process workers and haul truck operators. Lady Annie community and indigenous relations adviser Elaine Sarmardin – a traditional owner – said previous mine operators CopperCo had established a good relationship with the Kalkadoon community. She believed that had improved under CST Minerals. “We’re more actively involved and have a better working relationship with the Kalkadoon community,” Ms Sarmardin said. She believed the operation had increased community understanding of the opportunities available.

Elaine Sarmardin with an Aboriginal artefact from the Lady Annie tenements.

“And what we have done now is we have gone to the next step of providing support on site for traditional owner employees and

other indigenous employees,” Ms Sarmardin said. “That is more or less along the lines of mentoring support and

Photo: Gillianne Tedder

the training side of it as well. “From my point of view that’s really good and it has given the guys opportunity to upskill.”

Production team digs in Crews at Lady Annie are mining about 500,000bcm a month to produce 230,000 tonnes of ore, drawing from four separate pits. Mining manager Jim Smart said the site was operating a fleet of three Komatsu PC 1250 excavators as well as eight Caterpillar 777F dumpers, two 988H loaders, two CAT D10 dozers, two CAT 16 graders and two 773 water carts. Huddy’s Mining Services has a dry hire contract to supply the mining equipment at Lady Annie, while Rock Australia has the drill and blasting contract and BIS Industrial Logistics provides haulage from the

Lady Annie pit to the site’s processing facilities. Huddy’s Mining Services business manager Jason Laffin said the company was involved from the time CST Minerals began efforts to resume production at Lady Annie and had been committed to helping the team meet its targets. “Local businesses have been supportive of the Lady Annie project from the day CST confirmed the recommencement of the project,” he said. In addition to supplying mining equipment, Mr Laffin said Huddy’s was providing overburden prestrip services at Lady Annie.

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18

CST Minerals Lady Annie

Faithful workers return to the fold Many old faces are among the new CST Minerals team at Lady Annie, including a small cohort who have ridden out all of the ups and downs. Lab technician Jillian Welsh had to say goodbye to many colleagues and friends when the former operator of Lady Annie mine went into receivership two years ago, sparking a string of redundancies. Ms Welsh was among a dozen original employees still on site when CST Minerals took over last June, having worked there while the operation was in care and maintenance. She has since had many happy reunions as the new owners have rebuilt the Lady Annie team. Forty-six per cent of the current workforce is made up of Lady Annie’s previous employees under original operator CopperCo, according to senior human resources advisor Natalie Alden – who is herself among that number. “There are many factors, however, I believe it was the camaraderie on site that was present during the previous

Jillian Welsh CST Minerals lab technician

ownership that prompted the return of such a high percentage of the initial workforce,” Ms Alden said. CST Minerals recently completed a recruitment rampup, taking the Lady Annie workforce from a group of 14

care and maintenance staff, plus an exploration team, up to 210 full-time employees. The employees are generally based around Cairns, Townsville, Brisbane and Mount Isa. Ms Welsh began work at the mine in 2007, shortly before the Lady Annie operation went into initial production. She saw a total of 151 coworkers made redundant, after the original owner went into receivership in late 2008, leaving 23 employees. The mine was purchased by Cape Lambert Resources in June 2009 and Ms Welsh said a good deal of uncertainty had surrounded the operation’s future as it was prepared for resale. By the time CST Minerals purchased Lady Annie there were about 25 staff on site – including 12 of the original workforce. “There was a great group of people in the initial workforce, and with the return of a lot of these old faces to CST Minerals Lady Annie, I can see a lot of good days ahead for us,” Ms Welsh said.

January 2011 |

The Mining Advocate

Gordon Ross strips copper at the Lady Annie plant.

Photo: Gillianne Tedder

New stripping process CST Minerals will use one of the first robotic stripping machines in Australia to ramp up copper cathode production at Lady Annie from May 2011. The operation stripped its first copper cathodes under new ownership in November, when it produced a shipment of 100 tonnes of LME A-grade copper cathode. Processing manager Roger Boston said it was expected to continue the ramp-up in production through to the middle of 2011, increasing to 50 tonnes a day after May, when a $2 million stripping machine from Xstrata Technology was due to be installed. In addition to increasing capacity, Mr Boston said the new system would have safety benefits as it would greatly reduce manual handling - a potential source of injury for employees at the mine. “One of the restrictions last time (when operating under CopperCo) was we nearly

couldn’t strip the copper as fast as we could make it, he said. “This new machine puts capacity well in excess of our nameplate design capacity.” Lady Annie is a conventional heap leach copper project that employs solvent extraction electrowinning (SX/EW ) technology to produce copper cathode. The process requires about 100 tonnes of sulphuric acid per day, which is sourced from the Sun Metals zinc refinery in Townsville and transported by Chemtrans. The copper cathode is sold locally to MM Metals and will also be marketed overseas. In preparation for a troublefree commissioning, Mr Boston said CST Minerals had fasttracked the overhaul of the entire processing plant at Lady Annie including pumping equipment, cathode plates and other infrastructure. It plans to bring online its second cellhouse in early 2011 as the mine comes up to full production.

Aggressive exploration program for 2011 of mine further to eight years and beyond. In addition to continuing resource extension work near current mining areas, Mr Klopper said the operation would be looking for new stand-alone deposits elsewhere on the 1600sq km of exploration tenure CST Minerals holds in the area. “We’re very confident we can keep this mine going for quite some time,” Mr Klopper said. “We’d like to think we can push it out past eight years – that’s our exploration objective, to dramatically increase the

CST Minerals is planning an aggressive exploration program for 2011 at the Lady Annie site as it continues its quest to build resources and extend mine life. Two drill rigs have been working at Lady Annie in 2010, resulting in a recent announcement boosting the site’s mineral resource estimate by 34 per cent. Exploration manager Jay Klopper said that effort would increase to four to six rigs in 2011 and he was confident they would find enough copper oxides and sulphides to extend the life

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life of mine – and we’re slowly chipping away at that task.” The company in December

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announced that Lady Annie’s total resources had increased by 116,400 tonnes of contained copper. The total estimate now stands at more than 65 million tonnes of ore grading at 0.71 per cent copper for 460,000 tonnes of contained copper metal. While the operation centred on oxide ores at present, Mr Klopper said CST was also looking to capitalise on the deeper sulphide ores across the site and had planned a deep drilling program to commence in early January at Mt Kelly.

“Swick Mining Services will be doing the drilling for us,” he said. “We’ve been working with them all year and they have proved to be a great team to work with.” As well as stepping up drilling efforts, CST Minerals Lady Annie has completed a closespaced 24,000-line-km airborne magnetic survey over the majority of its ground, using the services of UTS Geophysics. “That’s quite a significant survey and will be of great assistance in our exploration (in 2011),” Mr Klopper said.


MAJOR PROJECTS

The Mining Advocate | January 2011

19

China First builds up steam Mining magnate Clive Palmer is pushing for action on the approvals front as this massive coal project draws closer to the starting block. Waratah Coal has signed the first cultural heritage management plan with traditional owners for its proposed $8 billion China First project in central Queensland. And chairman Clive Palmer is pressing the State Government to move the approvals process along, with hopes of gaining environmental clearance for the project this year. The China First project involves developing a large-scale thermal coal operation near Alpha in the Galilee Basin, to be linked to a new coal terminal at Abbot Point near Bowen by a new 495km railway line. Under the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act (2003), Waratah Coal is required to develop a Cultural Heritage Management

Plan (CHMP) with indigenous groups holding a registered native title claim over the project area. Mr Palmer said the company had signed its first CHMP with the Jangga people, who have a claim to about 150km of the rail route. “This is a major landmark for the China First project,” he said. Waratah Coal is negotiating agreements with four other indigenous groups before starting work on the project’s four underground mines, two surface mines and coal processing facilities. The mine and associated infrastructure are expected to create 6000 jobs during construction and 1500 during operation. Metallurgical Corporation of

Jangga People spokesman Colin McLennan with Waratah Coal chairman Clive Palmer in Brisbane recently.

China (MCC) will be the main contractor on the China First project. At a December news conference to announce the indigenous agreement, Mr

Palmer said he expected about 60 per cent of the subcontract work on the project to go to foreign companies. MCC is also building Mr Palmer’s $5.2 billion Sino Iron

project in Western Australia, and he said the 60-40 division of operations on that project could be replicated in Queensland. This would depend on workforce availability, especially given the number of proposed projects in the Galilee and Bowen basins possibly competing for local and regional staff. A significant proportion of materials for the China First project will be prefabricated overseas and Mr Palmer expected about 10 per cent of the workforce on the ground would be Chinese. Mr Palmer said the main hurdle to the project going ahead was the Queensland Labor Government’s approvals process. He said it was in the best interests of Premier Anna Bligh to move the approvals process along, particularly in light of her election promise to create 100,000 new jobs.

Contract to aid early start on construction Northern Energy Corporation has appointed Newcastle firm EMA Mining Solutions to design and construct the coal handling and preparation plant for its planned Colton Coal Mine at Maryborough in southeast Queensland. The announcement marks a further step towards production at Colton, expected by mid2012. NEC managing director Keith Barker said the company, which recently opened an office in Maryborough, had already received interest from about 1000 applicants for positions at the Colton mine – although it was not yet actively recruiting.

“The Wide Bay area has a very high unemployment rate, unlike most areas of southern or central Queensland, so we’re receiving a lot of interest,” he said. “There are also a lot of people who live there but are working in the mining industry, including in iron ore or the goldfields of the West, and who would prefer to work closer to their home.” NEC expects to begin construction of the new mine in late 2011, subject to receiving environmental and mining approvals. The three-stage contract it has negotiated with EMA Mining Solutions will allow the Colton coal handling and preparation

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Keith Barker NEC managing director

plant to be constructed off-site in transportable modules before that date.

“It’s a matter of trying to reduce the total lead time,” Mr Barker said. The Colton open-cut mine, about 10km from Maryborough, is planned to produce 500,000 tonnes of hard coking coal per annum at this stage. However NEC plans further exploration and evaluation within the Maryborough project area to extend the resource and increase the size of the mine development over time. Conceptual development work is targeting production of 2-3 million tonnes per annum from mid 2015. Meanwhile NEC has welcomed the recent

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announcement that the Queensland Co-ordinatorGeneral has granted conditional environmental approval for a 210km rail line between Wandoan and Banana, known as the Southern Missing Link. Access to the Surat Basin Rail is an integral element of the company’s plans to begin exports by 2015 from its proposed Ellimatta thermal coal mine, about 30km west of the township of Wandoan. NEC has been subject to a takeover bid by New Hope Corporation, with the board recommending shareholders reject the $1.50-a-share cash offer on the table in late 2010.


20

WET SEASON

January 2011 |

The Mining Advocate

Time is ripe to clear floodwater The State Government says it is acting quickly to assist mines to discharge excess water under conditions that will reduce environmental risks. Coal operations should be making the most of opportunities to safely pump out flooded pits and ponds before the accumulated water increases in salinity, says NRA Environmental Consultants director Neil Boland. “It depends on doing some test work and looking at the dilutions that can be achieved and having the infrastructure to act on that,” Mr Boland said. This may not be easy logistically as many sites were having problems with power and getting pumps into place, he said. “They will also have to go through steps to demonstrate to the Department of Environment and Resource Management

(DERM) that they can discharge safely and within their licence conditions and DERM need to have their people ready to act,” Mr Boland said DERM issued 11 Transitional Environmental Programs (TEPs) to coal mines from December 1, 2010 to January 7 - allowing controlled discharges of water from mining leases. One coal seam gas company – Australia Pacific Liquid Natural Gas – had been issued with a TEP for an operation north-east of Roma. Acting Climate Change and Sustainability Minister Andrew Fraser said the government was working closely with affected mines to ensure authorised

dewatering activities went ahead while there were high volumes of water to dilute the discharge and minimise the risk of environmental impact. “DERM has ensured that the TEPs are strictly conditioned to protect the environment and has worked fast to assist mines, taking on average less than four days to process the TEPs,” he said. Mr Boland believed the experiences of this wet season may help encourage the mining industry to move away from holding wastewater in ponds for evaporation and investigate systems to treat it for discharge. “We are slowly moving towards a time when mines will treat water rather than rely on evaporation,” he said. “But it will depend on the technology being available and being practical and affordable.”

Recovery efforts welcomed The speedy recovery of resource industries in central and southern Queensland held the key to putting the state and regional economies back on track in the wake of disastrous floods, Queensland Resources Council chief executive Michael Roche said. Welcoming the State Government’s establishment of a flood recovery taskforce under the leadership of Major-General Michael Slater, Mr Roche said the

immediate focus of resource companies would remain the safety and well-being of employees, their families and local communities. In addition to more than $4.5 million in corporate donations to the Premier’s flood relief appeal, mining companies have made significant contributions to flood relief efforts such as housing evacuated residents. Mr Roche said also mine workers from Roma

to Rockhampton had been literally up to their necks helping out their neighbours and communities. “It’s a massive effort that will not be forgotten by communities throughout central and southern Queensland,” Mr Roche said. The Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union was considering a number of options to assist flood victims among it membership as well as their communities.

Wade Follent, Derek Lee, Les Carter, Andrew Simpson and Marion Follent after cleaning up the water-damaged Alminco workshop. Photo: Sue Sands

Emerald traders back to business Alminco’s Emerald branch was among the many local businesses in clean-up mode in the first week of January after severe flooding in the central Queensland town. “We actually had about two foot (about 600mm) of water go through the workshop and office,” Alminco office manager Marion Follent said. The firm provides drilling, bolting and pumping products, maintenance service and equipment hire for the coal industry. “Hopefully from next week we’ll be back to some sort of normalcy (in business),” Ms Follent said. At PJ Berriman & Co, about 300mm of water went through the premises – leaving the office “a total disaster”, according to Queensland manager Graham Wright. “We will have to try to get in an office cabin and work out of that,” he said

“It’s quite a problem, but we’ll get by.” Mr Wright said it would take some time for local coal mines to return to normal operations given the widespread damage to the railway system. However the PJ Berriman workshop would be busy from day one, with a backlog of jobs as well as the prospect of mines bringing flood-damaged vehicles for repair. Emerald’s three major industrial estates, housing many mining supply businesses, were all inundated during the recent flooding, local Chamber of Commerce president Victor Cominos said. He said at least half the chamber’s 400 members had been impacted by flooding to some degree. Mr Cominos noted the comradeship being demonstrated in the town, with people trying to help each other get back on their feet.

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PROCESSING

The Mining Advocate | January 2011

21

Christmas loot lures recruits Word of recent workforce bonuses has helped spark a record number of applicant enquiries at North Queensland’s Yabulu refinery. Queensland Nickel’s recruitment office has been flooded with inquiries from would-be workers after owner Clive Palmer’s $10 million gift-giving spree at the refinery’s end-of-year party. A company spokeswoman said expression-of-interest applications had exceeded all previous records since the event, when the entire Yabulu Nickel Refinery workforce received Christmas bonuses including new Mercedes Benz cars and overseas holidays. “The previous record of applicant enquiries was 145 in a month in February 2010,” senior human resources advisor Justine Fisher said. “However, the month of November has seen an astounding 195 applications looking for the chance to work for ‘the world’s best boss’.” Mr Palmer - who purchased the nickel operation near Townsville from BHP Billiton in

July 2009 – announced an array of rewards for his 800-strong workforce at a massive Christmas party in November. They included 55 Mercedes Benz sedans, 700 international holidays and 50 weekends at Sheraton Mirage Port Douglas. The gesture generated considerable media coverage. At the time, Mr Palmer said the rewards matched the performance of the individuals and the business in its entirety. “This plant faced closure by BHP Billiton last year and it would have been a crushing blow to the workers and their families as well as the regional economy if it had shut down,” he said. “But since we purchased the refinery it has gone from strength to strength and production is now going through the roof.” Mr Palmer said an employee ideas program implemented at the plant had contributed around

Refinery owner Clive Palmer presents Queensland Nickel employee Tanya Godfrey with her Christmas bonus - a Mercedes Benz. Photo: Stewart McLean

$16 million in savings in the first 12 months of his ownership. Queensland Nickel recently advertised for chemical, electrical and mechanical engineering students to attend its Summer Vacation Program. Ms Fisher said 24 third and fourth-year students from James Cook University were shortlisted

Biological solution takes award Alcoa has received a national innovation award for the development of technology that uses naturally occurring micro-organisms to consume oxalate - an impurity in the alumina refining process. The company received the Engineering Innovation Award at the 2010 Australian Engineering Excellence Awards, presented in Canberra late last year. Oxalate removal is essential for high alumina quality and refinery productivity. The new process, known as continuous biological oxalate destruction, is currently in operation at Alcoa’s Kwinana refinery in Western Australia.

Alcoa Technology Delivery Group research chemist Amanda Tilbury believes it is the first time a continuous biological removal process has been implemented for this type of industrial application. She said it built on early work started by other alumina producers. “The alternative oxalate destruction technique is very expensive and energy intensive, so this new process is saving Alcoa millions of dollars while at the same time significantly reducing our energy use,” Dr Tilbury said. Alcoa has been working with the University of Western Australia and CSIRO on the project.

to attend an assessment centre before selection of successful candidates for 16 positions.

The assessment centre was facilitated by a range of employees from across Queensland Nickel who were able to share their knowledge throughout the day, she said. “The purpose of the assessment centre was to create an environment that allowed us to focus on teamwork, leadership and communication together with the students’ general determination and drive for success,” Ms Fisher said. The 16 selected students began their 12-week stint at Yabulu on December 13, working in the laboratory, maintenance and utilities areas. Ms Fisher said Queensland Nickel would monitor their progress and encourage the vacation students to continue their involvement with the company, upon completion of their studies, as part of the refinery’s graduate program.

Construction steps up Rio Tinto Alcan is accelerating the construction schedule of the Yarwun alumina refinery expansion, with a revised project completion date of August 2012. Announced in July 2007, the $1.9 billion project will more than double alumina production, to 3.4 million tonnes per year. “We will process first bauxite through the plant in the first half of 2012, and the project will be totally complete in August 2012,” Rio Tinto Alcan Bauxite and Alumina president Pat Fiore said. “Rio Tinto Alcan is confident global demand for alumina is increasing and the expanded refinery will be well placed to meet this demand.” The project was about 60 per cent complete in late 2010, with about 1000 contractors on site. Mr Fiore said this would increase to about 1200 by mid 2011. The acceleration will bring completion forward by about three months on the existing schedule. The project was originally anticipated to finish in late 2010, however it was slowed in 2009 in response to the effects of the global financial crisis.


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EXPLORATION AND DRILLING

January 2011 |

Top-level support A multi-sector council to spearhead Queensland’s push for greater exploration investment has met for the first time. A heavy hitting line-up of resources sector and service industry figures has been named on the newly formed Queensland Exploration Council. The council, convened by Queensland Resources Council chief executive Michael Roche, met in Brisbane for the first time in December. It has been formed with the aim of positioning Queensland as the Australian leader in the search for new mineral and energy resources, particularly in unexplored areas of the state, and placing Brisbane at the epicentre for the supply of new exploration investment, services and support. In addition to resource industry members, the council includes representatives from financial, legal and marketing sectors as well as government and academia.

“We share the Queensland Government’s vision for the state to rise to the top of the exploration investment tree by 2020 and I have high hopes that the Queensland Exploration Council, with its wealth of talent, will kick start this process,” Mr Roche said. Northern Energy Corporation managing director Keith Barker, a member of the new council and chair of QRC’s exploration committee, noted the mismatch between the money being spent on exploration in the field in Queensland and the money spent on supporting services. “Our intention is to look to increase Queensland’ profile as an exploration service provider as well as increasing the amount of exploration that takes place in the state,” Mr Barker said. But he saw no reason why an expanding exploration service industry would be confined to Brisbane. “We’re seeing a lot of service providers in the mining sector establishing themselves in places like Mackay and Rockhampton, and I don’t see any reason why the regional centres couldn’t play a part as well (in exploration support business),” he said. “I don’t see it as being Brisbane-centric.” Resources industry figures on the Queensland Exploration Council include Alcyone Resources managing director Andrew King,

Hetherington Exploration and Mining manager Brian Martin, Citigold chief operating officer Chris Towsey, BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance geological services manager Doug Dunn, WestSide Corporation chief executive officer Dr Julie Beeby, Vale mineral exploration director Fabio Masotti, Lodstone Energy director Greg Baynton, Conquest Mining general manager – operations John McKinstry, Macarthur Coal deputy chair Roger Marshall, Xstrata Copper North Queensland chief operating officer Steve de Kruijff, Petroleum Exploration Society senior advisor Sue Slater, Metro Coal chief operating officer Theo Psaros, Brisbane Mining Club director Robin Vigar and Australian Institute of Geologists vice-president Andrew Waltho.

The Mining Advocate

Scanner builds core knowledge For more than a year, a team from the Geological Survey of Queensland (GSQ) at Zillmere in Brisbane has been busily applying new technology to help produce a virtual library of critical drill core data. The HyLogger scanning technique enables the team to log an entire drill core for mineral composition without tedious sample preparation or removing core from its original tray. It is a semi-automatic system that uses two infrared spectrometers and a high-resolution camera to record the spectral characteristics and appearance of the core. Customised software is used to examine the spectral data from the HyLogger and to indentify minerals by their infrared absorption features. Queensland is one of six states and territories to receive a HyLogger, developed by CSIRO and funded by the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy through AuScope. Since the Queensland equipment was commissioned in September 2009, a HyLogger team at GSQ’s Exploration Data Centre has scanned more than 40,660m of core - or about 12,280 trays covering 177 drill holes. GSQ holds drill core from about 1400 holes. A spokeswoman for the Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation (DEEDI) – which oversees the GSQ – said the work was part of an AuScope project to image the top 2km of the earth’s crust under the Australian continent and develop a national virtual core library to promote exploration investment in the country. The processed data would eventually be available over the internet or on disk, she said.

HyLogger operator Phil Burrows (left) with geoscientist Gopalakrishnan Suraj.


EXPLORATION AND DRILLING

The Mining Advocate | January 2011

23

Incentives snub draws fire A tax advisory group has been accused of failing to appreciate the importance of fostering new mineral discoveries in Australia. Key industry bodies have lashed out over the failure of the Federal Government’s mining tax Policy Transition Group (PTG) to advance incentives for greenfields mineral exploration. Australia could ill afford to wait four years until 2015 before the Federal Government honored its commitment to review the issue, the Australian Institute of Geoscientists (AIG)said. The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (AusIMM) and Association of Mining & Exploration Companies (AMEC) also stressed their disappointment that exploration development incentives would not be pursued at this time. The PTG in December provided its advice to Treasurer Wayne Swan regarding the introduction of the Minerals Resource Rent Tax (MRRT) and the transition arrangements for the Petroleum Resources Rent Tax. It provided a second report dealing exclusively with exploration. “There were no recommendations by the PTG to have any initiatives for mineral exploration in the new mining tax system, despite the fact that tax rebates for exploration expenses had been included in the forerunner to the MRRT - the resource super profits tax,” AIG vice-president Andrew Waltho said. “There is an extraordinary ongoing lack of appreciation or understanding of the direct link between generating growth in mining revenues - which can then be taxed to deliver higher

government income - and the need to secure the foundations and growth in our resources inventory and associated employment by ensuring ongoing minerals discovery. The PTG and the government have been lulled into thinking that the current socalled ‘resources boom’ and flush of new resources-based floats is sustainable in the long term.” Mr Waltho said there was a significant market failure to undertake the type of exploration work needed to make greenfields discoveries in Australia’s highly prospective terrains. The AIG strongly supports an exploration tax credit model, where tax credits, dividend imputation and a flow-through shares scheme would combine to encourage increased greenfields exploration. Federal Resources and Energy Minister Martin Ferguson said the PTG had given due consideration to a broad range of stakeholder views in drafting its recommendations. “The PTG’s Minerals and Petroleum Exploration report is dedicated exclusively to promoting exploration and makes a number of important recommendations that are practical measures to remove barriers to exploration,” he said. “The PTG concluded that the issue of encouraging exploration is more complex than simply providing a complex and expensive tax incentive. Addressing regulatory barriers and ensuring detailed pre-competitive data on mineral deposits are practical measures that were raised by stakeholders and will do more to

Andrew Waltho AIG vice-president

encourage exploration and the PTG report recommends acting on these fronts.”

Mr Ferguson said the PTG had also recommended a number of design characteristics within the MRRT to encourage exploration, such as allowing deductibility of expenditure on iron ore and coal exploration against an entity’s MRRT liability. “The PTG was of the view that it is not proven that exploration levels in Australia are too low, citing the significant inventory of existing resources and commercial reasons for the shift towards shoring up existing reserves (brownfields exploration) at a time of high prices,” he said. “The PTG also failed to find compelling evidence of capital market failure with respect to raising funds for exploration in Australia. However, the PTG recommended that the provision of a refundable tax offset be

revisited should conditions change.” AusIMM chief executive Michael Catchpole said the PTG’s conclusion seemed to ignore the fact that exploration in Australia was falling in most non-bulk commodities. “While we welcome the recommendations relating to a more sustainable stream of funding for Geoscience Australia and those relating to an examination and review focused on streamlining the regulatory environment for explorers, the failure to recommend an Exploration Tax Credits scheme means the PTG has fallen short in this critical area,” he said. AMEC and The AusIMM have vowed to continue to lobby for the introduction of an exploration tax credit scheme.

Fresh round of drilling grants Companies have until April 1 to apply for exploration funds under the latest round of Queensland collaborative drilling grants, totalling $1 million. State Mines and Energy Minister Stephen Robertson said applications for grants would be assessed under the Collaborative Drilling Initiative as part of the government’s $18 million Greenfields 2020 program. Mr Robertson said companies could access grants to recover half the costs of drilling, up to a limit of $150,000 per proposal. Applicants must have granted tenure over the area to be explored to be eligible for a

drilling grant, he said. “The grants enable companies to apply new concepts or ideas in areas of the state that may never have been explored or considered a high investment risk because of the costs involved,” Mr Robertson said. This is the sixth round of Collaborative Drilling Initiative grants offered in Queensland since the scheme kicked off under the State Government’s former Smart Mining - Future Prosperity program. Mr Robertson said Queensland’s mining and petroleum industries had achieved a record $917.1 million in exploration

expenditure during 2009-10. “That is a massive 43 per cent increase on the $639.9 million invested in 2008-09,” he said. “In fact, exploration expenditure in Queensland has grown from $244 million in 2004 to the present $917.1 million.” Mr Robertson said the government was committed to making Queensland the greenfield exploration capital of Australia by 2020. “That’s why we are investing $55.8 million over four years in a comprehensive Greenfields 2020 resource industry package that encourages exploration in frontier and under-explored regions of the state,” he said.

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MAINTENANCE

January 2011 |

The Mining Advocate

Data helps to cut costs Key information on machinery performance has the potential to aid resource operations in the workshop as well as out in the field. Mining companies can make their maintenance budget go further by tapping into key equipment production data, according to Brisbane-based firm GBI Mining Intelligence. GBI Mining Intelligence has been gathering performance data from draglines, trucks, electric rope shovels, front-end loaders, hydraulic excavators, backhoes and drills since 1998. Chief operations officer Trevor Trott said miners had traditionally used such information to select the best equipment, optimise its performance, match up the right people to the right piece of equipment and assist in training. “Now the mining operators are finding additional benefits as they are seeing maintenance costs reduced as a result of tracking and benchmarking

themselves to achieve best practice,” he said. Mr Trott said operations should continually compare performance against the rest of the world if they wished to optimise equipment performance and reduce maintenance costs. “Understanding what others are achieving helps everyone improve the way they do things,” he said. “It’s like the athletics analogy of when the four-minute mile was broken. “Once one person had achieved it, then the rest of the world knew what was possible and followed. “The key here is that they were measuring the outcome, being time, and in mining we can now do the same with surprising results to the measurement of

GBI Mining Intelligence uses a 1:7 scale rig to conduct rope shovel dipper modelling to determine the optimal bucket capacity required for an operation. The rig pictured has programmable motors that can replicate a 4100XPC, XPB or A-model rope shovel.

cost reduction and profits.” Mr Trott said the data gathered by GBI Mining Intelligence was also informing mining organisations of the reality of “best practice”. “Analysis of the real data is an effective means to realise what certain makes and models of equipment actually achieve in the world and provides

information that can be utilised to make an informed decision for KPI forecasting and output identification, which ultimately de-risks the commercial decision-making,” he said. “There is now effectively thousands of years of data that mining organisations can leverage to ensure they are achieving best practice and

maximising their profits and improving shareholder value.” GBI Mining Intelligence was a finalist in the Premier of Queensland’s Export Awards in 2010 and won a Queensland Engineering Excellence Award for Innovation in 2009 for its OPTIDRAG system to optimise dragline performance.

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MAINTENANCE

The Mining Advocate | January 2011

25

Workshop focus on hose safety Century Mine is ‘pushing the boundaries’ with a program that proponents hope to see spread to other sites, writes Belinda Humphries. A training system being developed at MMG Century Mine’s heavy vehicle workshop to improve hydraulic hose safety and maintenance is set to become an industry benchmark, according to mine maintenance manager Rod Dugmore. Mr Dugmore believes there is a need for a consistent standard to be applied across industry leading to certification for all maintenance people for the construction and testing of hydraulic hoses. And he says Century is leading the way with about 70 workshop employees having received formal training in the past six months, with support from Cairns TAFE and a dedicated full-time trainer on site. That training is backed up by an identification and recording system that provides maintenance staff with the life history of each

hydraulic component. “As an industry we’re relying a lot on people being trained by hose suppliers and in-house,” Mr Dugmore said. “It’s very much hit and miss. “It is mandatory now on our site that people go through a formal training process and be certified to allow them to make hose.” Mr Dugmore said he was motivated to pursue the matter following a New South Wales safety advisory on hydraulic procedures, MDG 41, issued after the death in Scotland of a man operating “jaws of life” rescue equipment when the highpressure hose powering the device burst. “I had read that advisory note in years past and could see as an industry we had a requirement to make sure we did something about it,”Mr Dugmore said.

Maintenance manager Rod Dugmore with hose technician David Leonard.

“We’re pushing the boundaries (at Century). “Hopefully in years to come this program will be picked up

Milestone in injury prevention A safety system firmly anchored in grassroots observation and action is bearing fruit at MMG Century Mine. The heavy vehicle workshop at the lower Gulf zinc mine passed the milestone late last year of three years without any lost-time injury accidents. “Our goal is to be able to go for the mine life without any lost-time injuries,” mine maintenance manager Rod Dugmore said. Century runs more than 120 pieces of heavy mine equipment, including a fleet of 240-tonne haul trucks, and has a 168-strong multidisciplinary team devoted to their maintenance. Mr Dugmore said the mining industry had a strong focus on injury prevention in the workplace and he believed the only way to make significant

inroads was to establish a safety culture with strong ownership at grassroots level. The workshop had achieved this through its application of MMG Century’s job safety observation program, he said. “It’s a matter of co-workers looking after their mates, looking at the sort of tasks they are involved in, the way they are going about it and using that interaction for an exchange of knowledge as well,” Mr Dugmore said. “That’s where we have really seen a significant difference – it’s a grassroots-owned safety culture and one that the guys on the floor manage themselves with the assistance of the likes of myself, the leadership team and safety department to give them the necessary tools to achieve that.”

and introduced at other mine sites.” In addition to tackling the safety issues posed by hydraulic component failures in the mine’s fleet, Mr Dugmore said improved standards would have the added advantage of minimising downtime. The course at Century covered identification of potential flaws that could lead to the deterioration and failure of hydraulic hose, ensuring there was a preventative maintenance system in place, he said. But the most important element was teaching participants how to make hoses well, Mr Dugmore said. “It needs to be precise,” he said. “It needs to be carried out professionally and then after that - and this is where the MDG 41 comes in - they need to be benchtested to twice as high as their

Photo: Naveed Anwar

normal working pressure. “After that you have the contamination control aspect, plugging, bagging, sealing, tagging. “Each hose has an identification number that is entered into our software program, so - if we have a failure in a hose – there is a full component life history we can check.” Mr Dugmore said MMG Century training and development superintendent Rosa Burns had been integral to establishing the training program on site and had delivered a paper on the initiative at the 2010 Queensland Mining Industry Health and Safety Conference in Townsville. The paper was well received and generated much conversation and email traffic from other mining operations, he said.

Australia


26

SHUTDOWNS

January 2011 |

The Mining Advocate

A change out for the better The success of a recent $6.5 million shutdown has demonstrated the merits of a fresh approach at Yabulu, writes Belinda Humphries. A move to keep maintenance and project management in-house at Queensland Nickel has been credited with delivering cost and time savings in the company’s most recent refinery shutdown. The work was focused on the front end of the Yabulu nickel refinery’s processing operations and included the replacement of a 240-tonne ore dryer. Queensland Nickel major works and expansion director Kim Price said the planned duration of the shutdown was 50 days, but good planning and effective teamwork resulted in the work being completed four days early despite wet weather. Operating and capital expenditure for the project came in under budget at about $6.5 million.

This was significantly cheaper than a comparable change-out project undertaken in 2008, Mr Price said. He said the success of the project had further proved the benefits of the decision to insource maintenance and project teams since the operation – formerly held by BHP Billiton - was taken over by mining magnate Clive Palmer in mid2009. “The reduced realised capital cost when compared to the previous dryer change-out was due to using our own in-sourced maintenance labour, supervision and project management, supplemented by labour hire,” Mr Price said. A total of 25,000 man hours

The 240-tonne ore dryer shell is unloaded at Townsville port.

was worked on the shutdown, with a split of 55 per cent site labour and 45 per cent external resources. Within these total hours there were just four minor first-aid treated cases recorded, Mr Price said. “During peak labour

requirements, external labour was supplied by Dawson Engineering, Monadelphous and Universal Cranes,” he said. The shutdown work included the replacement of the ore dryer, a pan feeder, refurbishment of the coal-fired air heater and the

complete replacement of the air heater duct refractory as well as the refurbishment of a section of the 1000-tonne feed bin. As well as installing a new ore dryer – a 35m long steel shell with a diameter of 4.5m - the shutdown provided an opportunity to change out the girth gear and pinion, riding rings and support rollers. “These items were all fabricated in the United States, with the dryer shell fabricated in Canada,” Mr Price said. “All of these were then shipped to the Port of Townsville and then road freighted to site.” Queensland Nickel’s dryer refurbishment was part of a five-year planned maintenance program to ensure reliability of the site plant and equipment. The ore dryer was at its end of life and the replacement shell is expected to be serviceable for the next 20 years.

Early contractor involvement reaps rewards Operations with major shutdown projects are increasingly seeking to involve contractors early in the planning process, according to Dawsons Engineering director Sharon Dawson. Ms Dawson said two major shutdown conferences she had attended in 2010 in Brisbane and Perth reflected a strong focus on building contractor relationships. “The theme of both conferences was around getting more out of your core contract partners for shutdowns,” she said “Mine owners are definitely looking at alternative models of delivery that involve more than just body hire. “They are looking at long-term partnerships with contractors who can supply support right through from planning to the execution phase. “It’s helping them to achieve shutdown

targets in a safer and more effective way.” Ms Dawson confirmed this trend was being reflected in the northern Australian mining industry, where Dawsons Engineering has been providing maintenance services for 22 years. “We have some sites where we are responsible for the delivery of discrete packages of work in a shutdown and other sites where we are involved in the planning of the entire shutdown,” she said. “But the trend is towards greater involvement in the planning. Mine owners want to engage with their contractors a long way out.” This approach would help mining companies better tap labour resources as they became increasingly difficult to secure amid the wave of upcoming developments, she said.

Ms Dawson said the comments she was now hearing about contractor relationships were music to her ears after many years of fostering such links. Mike Crompton – an engineering manager with experience in the construction, chemical and pharmaceutical industries – was among the speakers at the 6th Annual Shutdown and Outages Best Practices Forum in Perth late last year. He said he had been disillusioned by the price-driven “rip them off before they rip you off ” approach to contractor relationships he encountered in construction. “That may be fine for a one-off job, where you may never need to work with the contractor again,” he said. But the ongoing requirements in a maintenance environment, and the absolute

necessity to find and retain reliable contractors for critical applications such as chemical and pharmaceutical, highlighted the benefits of building good long-term relationships with the right contractors, Mr Crompton said. He said there were obvious benefits in bringing maintenance contractors into the early planning phase for factory shutdowns as such work was their core business and the experience they would bring to those discussions would add value. “If we get them involved in the planning stage, they can be part of the solution,” he said. Mr Crompton said this was where having a relationship of trust was important, so that both parties could concentrate on the actual work rather than wasting time and effort avoiding exploitation.

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LIVING REMOTELY

The Mining Advocate | January 2011

Covering all bases An accommodation overhaul is under way for the expanding Curragh coal operation, including new facilities and renovations. Wesfarmers Curragh hopes a 500-person camp nearing completion outside Blackwater in central Queensland will see it overcome a local accommodation shortfall which has previously hampered shutdowns and other major works. Queensland firm Qantac is developing the complex, which is being built within the mining lease area on the junction of Bedford Weir Rd and the main Curragh access road. Wesfarmers Curragh executive general manager Rod Bridges said the project was expected to be finished in early 2011. It would help accommodate the contract workforce required for work under way to expand the metallurgical coal operation’s output from 6.5 million tonnes per annum to 8.5 million tonnes, he said. Mr Bridges said the second reason for establishing the facility was to cater for major shutdown work on the mine’s draglines and coal handling and preparation plant, which often involved bringing about 300 extra personnel on site. “We’ve found that the current facilities and infrastructure in the town (Blackwater) can’t adequately supply the accommodation for our shutdown plans,” Mr Bridges said. “So we’ve made the decision to build our own camp to cover ourselves for this type of activity.” Mr Bridges said during 2009 Curragh had been forced to fly workers daily from Mackay and

Qantac offers a build/ own/operate service to companies seeking workforce accommodation and will manage the new Curragh facility.

bus them from Emerald during major shutdown work due to the lack of accommodation options in the Blackwater area. He said the new facilities would be reserved for such temporary workforce needs, while permanent staff would continue to be housed in the mine’s single-person quarters at Blackwater as well as the Range View and Rosewood accommodation villages. Wesfarmers Curragh commissioned its new ESSrun Range View village accommodation on the outskirts of Blackwater in August. Mr Bridges said the company had demolished a 600-bed camp at that site – the old Curragh North construction camp - and replaced it with higher quality facilities to house 340 people. It is also spending $20 million to upgrade and refurbish rooms at the mine’s single-person quarters, a 230-bed facility that has been operating in Blackwater for the last 25 years. “We have already done three blocks and the other eight will be upgraded in the next 12 months,” Mr Bridges said. Qantac managing director Graham Cleary said the village being developed on the Curragh lease would include kitchen, dining and recreational facilities. The brand new living units would feature 22-inch LCD televisions with inbuilt DVD players and he was involved in discussions with internet providers to set up a Wi-Fi service for the rooms, Mr Cleary said.

Bigger is better trend in rooms The days of standard 12-squaremetre living quarters may be going the way of the dinosaurs as

Peter and Margaret Thiedeke are among the growing number of mining couples making a “home away from home” together within workers’ villages. The pair have shared quarters at The MAC’s Coppabella Village, about 150km west of Mackay, for more than 12 months after Mrs Thiedeke took up a health and safety role at Peabody Energy’s Millennium mine, where her husband works as an open-cut examiner. Mr Thiedeke said having access to a “nice-sized” room with an ensuite helped make this arrangement suitable during the couple’s rostered work days away from their home base in Mackay.

accommodation camp providers add space to give their sites an edge over the competition. “I think the trend is towards a bigger room,” The MAC Services Group chief executive officer Mark Maloney said. “A lot of rooms out there at the moment are 12sq m or a bit smaller. Our standard is 16 or 17sq m and in a lot of cases now we’re putting in 20 and 24sq m rooms and 48sq m one-bedroom cabins.” The MAC believed demand for shared accommodation for the increasing number of couples working together in the mining industry was helping drive the push for 20-24sq m rooms and cabins, Mr Maloney said. “It is also to cater for some of the executives living on site and just to offer a better product and living standards for the guys and girls living there,” he said. The trend towards rooms offering “all the mod-cons” such as flat-screen televisions, internet access and movies on demand was also strong. Whether this would soon become the norm across the industry was difficult to gauge, Mr Maloney said. “That depends on whether the mining companies want to spend the money,” he said. “To an extent, with the number of new projects on the horizon and the competition for labour that will emerge, organisations will have to go down that track to attract people. You won’t see everyone going down that road but you are certainly starting to see general improvement.” The MAC Services Group has entered into an agreement which will see it become a whollyowned subsidiary of Oil States International.

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28

TRAINING

January 2011 |

NQ firm exporting expertise

Learn in the fast lane High performance is the name of the game in a racy new program being offered in North Queensland, writes Belinda Humphries. Recruitment and training firm TP Human Capital is adding a high-octane element to corporate team-building experiences with its new Pit Crew Challenge. The firm recently launched the training program in partnership with V8 Supercars team Vodafone Racing at Townsville’s Reid Park pit lane facilities. Nine graduate engineers from Sucrogen’s North Queensland sugar mills were the first to gain a taste of what the concept has to offer. TP Human Capital training facilitator Dean Tuckey said the Pit Crew Challenge would help people learn what it took to be part of a high-performance team and to apply those lessons to their business life. “I think the product has huge potential – there’s nothing like it in Queensland,” he said. Participants become a pit crew in the exercise, aiming to make a fast and efficient stop for a racing car – in this case a Vodafone V8 Supercar. “Rather than being bored to death by power point, it is a fun

way to have people experience being part of a high-performance team,” Mr Tuckey said. “All of a sudden it goes from being an intellectual experience to being an actual experience and people feel much more able to replicate that in a working environment.” Mr Tuckey has been involved in this form of training before during work in the experiential learning field in New Zealand. Common elements in developing an efficient pit crew and high performance in a business environment included the need for a clear vision of what the team was trying to achieve, utilising strengths and role definition, he said. “The culture of the organisation or team is also very important,” Mr Tuckey said “One of the things highlighted in pit crews is a ‘no blame’ culture - we don’t sit around pointing fingers about what went wrong. It is very solution focused.” The experience also highlighted the importance of anticipating where problems may

Sucrogen graduate engineer Martin Price from Inkerman Mill (front) and other participants ready for a training session at Reid Park, Townsville. Photo: Stewart McLean

arise and being prepared, he said. Another great metaphor that carried well into business was the fact that even if team members responsible for one tyre were able to achieve a quick change the car could not leave the pit if another crew was lagging. “Unless you are all performing and helping each other perform you don’t achieve the ultimate

result,” Mr Tuckey said. Often people in business were “siloed” - focusing only on their own performance or that of their department, he said. Sucrogen Cane Products is launching a new graduate development program in 2011 and plans to incorporate the Pit Crew Challenge into its annual calendar.

Vale in geoscience venture with UQ Vale has entered a $2.5 million partnership with The University of Queensland (UQ) to design and deliver geoscience research, education and training programs. Vale global coal managing director Décio Amaral said the five-year partnership reinforced the company’s commitment to expanding its operations in Australia through the organic growth of its three existing mines

and the opening of new operations. “In order to meet our projected growth, Vale will be significantly increasing its workforce operations over the next four years,” Mr Amaral said. “The training program will help us meet our skills and capability requirements in Australia, and internationally.” Mr Amaral said the partnership would

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deliver direct benefits to Vale’s employees at Carborough Downs in central Queensland and Integra in New South Wales. The research component of the partnership includes the creation of a new role – the Vale-UQ Chair in Coal Geosciences – and the establishment of the Vale-UQ Coal Geosciences Laboratory. Mr Amaral outlined five new research projects under the scheme.

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The Mining Advocate

A Townsville firm has found strong demand for its training expertise in Asia after securing a supply agreement with corporate workshop and conference specialists UNI Strategic, based in Singapore. CSM Safety Services managing director and principal consultant Craig Stewart was initially commissioned to deliver a HAZOP workshop for the oil and gas industry in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia late last year. The workshop was attended by personnel representing various companies from India, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. Mr Stewart said the success of this work resulted in the extension of CSM Safety Services’ initial contract to include an in-house session covering Advanced HAZOP for Process Optimisation in Purwakarta, Indonesia. The firm involved – Indianowned manufacturing company Indorama –had indicated an interest in further training, in addition to the work he was continuing to receive through UNI Strategic, Mr Stewart said. He is expecting a steady stream of international work from that source in 2011, beginning with risk management training to be conducted in Thailand in February for the petrochemical industry. “This is a very exciting opportunity for a regionally based company,” Mr Stewart said. “It appears that workplace health and safety capabilities in Australia are being sought by international operators as we are seen to be practical yet compliant in our consultancy practices.”

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EMERGENCY RESPONSE AND RESCUE

The Mining Advocate | January 2011

29

Life-saving technique takes off A Cairns business is spreading the word on an efficient alternative to inserting intravenous lines into patient limbs during critical incidents. A growing number of mine sites are investing in equipment for a life-saving technique that can deliver fluid and drugs via bone marrow space in the chest, according to emergency care specialists First Response Australia. The Cairns-based company is offering training in the intraosseous vascular access procedure as an alternative to administering drugs and fluids intravenously via the arm. “Our training is rather unique we pride ourselves on bringing to

the classroom the latest advances in pre-hospital care,” First Response Australia managing director Charles Makray said. He said operations that had participated in the relevant training tended to adopt the new equipment being demonstrated to increase their emergency response crews’ preparedness – including the Pyng Medical FAST1 and FASTx devices used in this case. “To date, we know of two sites (in Queensland) where it has been used in a real-life emergency,” he said.

Pike River response Queensland Mines Rescue Service personnel are still working to help stabilise the Pike River mine site in New Zealand in the wake of November’s deadly blast. “We’ve had a crew of 17 in total, including managers, involved at Pike River with our GAG-jet inertisation unit and we’re still there - we’ve been there right through Christmas,” rescue service manager Wayne Hartley said. Mr Hartley said the investigations now under way into the Pike River coal mine tragedy would be closely followed by the Queensland Mines Rescue Service. “There will be a number of learnings that will come out of this for New Zealand and all the agencies that have been involved,” he said. “It’s an absolute tragedy for New Zealand and particularly for the families involved.” Queensland Commissioner for Mine Safety and Health Stewart Bell has been appointed by the New Zealand Governor-General to serve on a Royal Commission into the incident. State Premier Anna Bligh said it was appropriate Queensland would have a key role in helping to establish the causes of the November 2010 mine accident. “This terrible tragedy claimed the lives of 29 miners, including two Queenslanders - Joshua Adam Ufer and William John Joynson,” Ms Bligh said. “Queensland Government mine safety experts and equipment were at Pike River within 24 hours of the explosion and are still there helping New Zealand authorities with fire suppression and recovery efforts.”

Mr Makray said the intraosseous vascular access technique had been used for many years in paediatric medicine. “It is only now starting to be used in adults and there are a number of devices on the market,” he said. “This particular one (that First Response Australia demonstrates) is an infusion tube you place into a little bone that sits above the sternum, the manubrium. It is used extensively in the armed forces - particularly overseas. “It’s faster, safer and easier to get fluids and drugs into a person doing this than to try to get an intravenous line into an arm.” Finding a vein to insert an IV line could be extremely difficult in a hostile environment, particularly if the patient had lost blood pressure, he said. “This device has something like a 98 per cent success rate. The procedure takes about 30 seconds compared to a procedure that takes up to 10 minutes with an IV,” Mr Makray said. First Response Australia’s clients include many mining interests in Australia and Papua New Guinea, including major players such as Xstrata, BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals Group. Mr Makray said the

First Response Australia’s Charles Makray (centre) and Nirvana Stewart (on floor) go through the technique with Arty Sorrensen from Rolleston Coal and Matt Elford from Loish Consulting. Photo: Romy Seigmann

company offered training in the intraosseous vascular access procedure as a stand-alone module or as one component in a course, including nationally

accredited studies for Certificate IV in Emergency Medical Response. He believed it was the only registered training organisation in Australia to do so.

NSW team tops international challenge A mines rescue team from Appin Colliery in New South Wales claimed victory at the 7th International Mines Rescue Competition, held in Wollongong in November. Chinese team Zibo Mining Group were runners-up while two Queensland competitors – North Goonyella and Crinum – placed fourth and seventh respectively. The two-day competition, hosted by Coal

Services Australia, tested the skills of 16 mines rescue teams representing India, China, the United States of America, Poland, Russia, Ukraine and Australia. The competition included an underground exercise at the Gujurat NRE No. 1 Colliery at Russell Vale and virtual reality exercises at the Coal Services Australia Southern Mines Rescue Station, Woonona.

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MATERIALS HANDLING

January 2011 |

The Mining Advocate

CuDeco plans $15m complex The firm contracted to design this Cloncurry copper venture’s Townsville port facilities will draw on local bulk material handling expertise. Engineering consultants the Robert Bird Group have started preliminary planning and design work for a mineral concentrate storage and loading facility at the Port of Townsville for copper junior CuDeco. The project is expected to cost about $15 million, with construction due to commence later this year, according to CuDeco construction and

logistics manager John Green. Costings would become clearer upon the completion of the development application to the Port of Townsville, he said. While the design work was only in its preliminary stages, Mr Green said CuDeco would strive to establish the most environmentally friendly operation in the port precinct. CuDeco is proposing a facility

with a storage capacity of up to 200,000 tonnes of mineral concentrate in its first phase, later increasing to 400,000 tonnes. Copper and cobalt concentrates would be transported from the storage shed to waiting ships via a portable, fully enclosed ship loader capable of shifting 3000 tonnes per hour. The company recently signed an agreement to lease with Port of Townsville Limited for the storage and handling site, which is adjacent to the BHP Billiton Cannington export facility. The Robert Bird Group is leading the project and will

engage various sub-consultants with bulk materials handling expertise to achieve the best outcome for CuDeco. Group mining and infrastructure business development manager Robert Bird – whose father founded the international company - said all of that expertise would be drawn from the North Queensland region. The Townsville-based firms being engaged for the project include LCJ Engineers and RPS. Mr Bird said his team would be investigating and costing various options for the facility,

including a proposed rail loop. CuDeco also recently announced that it had secured an agreement in principle with Ostojic for storage, weighbridge and loading capacity at that company’s rail spur and bulk material handling facility in Cloncurry. That facility is located about 15km from CuDeco’s Rocklands group copper project. CuDeco aims to begin production from the Cloncurry site from late 2012 and expects to produce up to 300,000 tonnes of copper/gold and cobalt/pyrite concentrate annually.

Anti-dust crust a winner Callide Mine coal specialist Ed Crawford’s efforts to reduce dust from the operation’s Gladstonebound wagons have earned international recognition within the Anglo American Group. A veneering dust suppression system championed by Mr Crawford has been used for the past three years for trains leaving the Callide and Boundary Hill load-out facilities north of Biloela in central Queensland. It involves the application of a water-based polymer spray – Dusgon - which quickly dries to form a durable crust on loaded coal, preventing dust escaping from the wagons during transit. Independent environmental consultants have confirmed that the crust maintains its integrity throughout the 120km trip to Gladstone. Mr Crawford was officially recognised at the Anglo American Employee Excellence Awards in Rio, Brazil in late 2010, when he

Ed Crawford at the award ceremony.

was one of two individual finalists in the sustainability category. The veneering system had previously won an environmental excellence award for Callide Mine

and supplier DuPont Australia in the Australian Mining Prospect Awards in 2009 as well as an Australian Bulk Handling Award for dust control. DuPont worked with ESS Engineering to design the fully automated dust suppression system. Marketing specialist – fluoropolymer solutions, David Bennie, said he was in discussions with Anglo American Metallurgical Coal to roll out the DuPont dust suppression systems across the group’s entire Queensland coal network, which would involve a further five installations in 2011. An Anglo American Metallurgical Coal spokeswoman said the major beneficiaries of the technology to date had been the Gladstone community and customers including Queensland Alumina Limited, Rio Tinto Alcan, Gladstone Power Station and Gladstone Port.

A spray bar at work over a coal wagon.

She stressed that the decision to introduce the veneering system at Callide had not been forced on the mine by regulators or legislation. “The decision came from Ed Crawford’s drive to address community concerns and minimise community impacts of Anglo American’s operations,” she said.

“He presented a business case to convince management of the long-term benefits of this solution.” Under its Coal Loss Management project, QR Network aims to have veneer spray stations installed at all Central Queensland mines by 2013.

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Building Mining Communities

The Mining Advocate | January 2011

Energy firm on the ball Arrow Energy has been kicking goals for men’s health. The company recently donated $60,000 for prostate cancer research after hosting a fundraising corporate soccer sevens carnival at Ballymore Stadium in Brisbane. The 2010 soccer carnival attracted 16 teams including entries from BMA (BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance), CS Energy, AGL, QGC, Wilsons HTM, RBS Morgans, ERM Power and PricewaterhouseCoopers. An Arrow Energy team won the 2010 carnival – the second of its kind, with PricewaterhouseCoopers claiming victory at the inaugural event. All profits went towards the Mater Medical Research Institute, which is developing a therapeutic vaccine to stimulate the immune system to fight prostate cancer. “Arrow Energy shares in the vision of a vaccine for this condition, which literally affects thousands of Australian men and their families every year,” Arrow Energy chief executive officer Andrew Faulkner said.

“Prostate cancer is particularly close to the hearts of many staff at Arrow, as former CEO Andrew Purcell is currently battling the disease.” One in nine men suffer from prostate cancer and 3000 Australians die annually as a result of the condition. The Mater Medical Research Institute is in phase-one clinical trials and testing a vaccine on 12 patients, however an expanded trial is not far off, according to institute spokesman Associate Professor John Hooper. As part of its Bright Futures community program, Arrow has also organised a men’s health clinic in Moranbah, to be expanded over the next 12 months. The first initiative was a mental health session presented by Moranbah District Support Services. This was followed by a family movie night raising money for “Movember” – an initiative which raises funds and awareness for male health issues, specifically prostate cancer and depression.

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Rio rolls out cash for Clermont Clermont will benefit from nearly half a million dollars being invested into local projects in 2011 as part of Rio Tinto Coal Australia’s three-year $1.5 million Clermont Region Community Development Fund. The fund, which was set up in January 2009 and will roll out until December 2011, provides financial support to local projects that contribute to the long-term growth and sustainability of Clermont and its surrounding regions.

The organisations that will share in the $500,000 funding in 2011 include: • Clermont State High School Centre - $238,075 for a new agricultural program • Clermont Community and Business Group $120,000 to fund a fulltime project officer, set up a shopfront and cover operating costs; and $7000 to conduct a feasibility study on a not-forprofit driver training school • Clermont Kindergarten and Day Care Centre -

$50,000 to help develop a five-year business strategy • Clermont Community Housing and Other Services - $61,416 to develop a strategic plan, gain industry accreditation, and operate self-sufficiently. Clermont Region general manager operations Andrew Cole said both Blair Athol and Clermont mines were part of the region’s economic landscape and he was pleased to help get some of the local projects off the ground.

Credit union eases burden

The Arrow team wins the 2010 corporate soccer sevens carnival. Photo: Arrow Energy

Unlike Australia’s big banks, the Maritime, Mining and Power Credit Union announced late last year that it was only passing on a 0.25 per cent increase to loan rates. This rise was delayed until January this year, well behind the increases it had passed on for term deposits and a number of savings accounts. Chief executive officer Mark Genovese said the credit union carefully considered the effects such changes may have on its members and where possible would try to ease the burden of increasing loan rates.

THE AUSTRALIAN WORKERS' UNION: PUTTING MINERS SAFETY FIRST ARE YOU CONCERNED ABOUT YOUR RIGHTS AND CONDITIONS AT WORK? ARE YOU WORRIED ABOUT THE GLOBAL FINANCIAL CRISIS? ONLY THE AWU - QUEENSLAND STRONGEST UNION - IS COMMITTED TO PROTECTING MINERS' JOBS AND ENTITLEMENTS DURING THESE DIFFICULT FINANCIAL TIMES NOT AN AWU MEMBER YET? THEN JOIN THE AWU TODAY TO FIND OUT HOW TO PROTECT YOUR ENTITLEMENTS NORTH QUEENSLAND AWU MINING OFFICIALS: TOWNSVILLE-COWBOY STOCKHAM 0419 737990 MT ISA-HAG HARRISON 0428192985 FOR FURTHER QUERIES PLEASE CONTACT AWU BRANCH OFFICE TOLL FREE ON 1800671449 OR awu.org.au BY STANDING TOGETHER AS A TEAM AWU MEMBERS CAN ENSURE THAT THEIR INTERESTS ARE PROTECTED Authorised by Bill Ludwig, The Australian Workers' Union of Employees', Queensland.


32

Building Mining Communities

January 2011 |

The Mining Advocate

Mining Supporting Communities

BROUGHT TO YOU BY

Benjamin Feather-Brent, 5, with his mother Kellie.

Photo: Stewart McLean

Funds assist families dealing with autism Townsville boy Benjamin Feather-Brent is starting Grade 1 in January this year, just like thousands of other Queensland children his age. But being able to join a general class at Currajong State School will be a particularly big step for this five-year-old boy. Benjamin, who is autistic, was unable to communicate verbally less than two years ago - a situation which frustrated his family and fuelled many tantrums from him. He is now talking, playing with other children and able to use the toilet after assistance from a service supporting families with children with autism, the AEIOU Foundation. Mum Kellie Feather says there is no way Benjamin would be ready for school this year without that assistance. “It will make a world of difference to how he can fit in at school,” she said. “And we’re seeing his personality – he is starting to come out.” The not-for-profit AEIOU Foundation offers full-time early intervention programs for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) at two and a half to five years of age. It has centres in Townsville

and Emerald as well as a number throughout south-east Queensland. The foundation has been able to include an additional five autistic children in its program in Townsville thanks to sponsorship from BHP Billiton Cannington in 2010. AEIOU Foundation fundraising and communications co-ordinator Laura Daley said the organisation must raise money through such donations to meet a $10,000-a-year funding gap for each child placement at an AEIOU centre. “A $10,000 social investment leverages a further $30,000 of funding in government support plus parent fees, therefore providing a $40,000 placement,” she said. “This is our financial requirement to successfully take a child through our program for 12 months.” Benjamin’s elder brother Wesley, 7, has Asperger syndrome – an autism spectrum disorder, but was diagnosed too late to receive the same sort of early assistance. Ms Feather said her youngest son Zachery, 1, was now being assessed for autism. If he is diagnosed, she hopes he also will have the chance to join the AEIOU program.

NQ Rescue crew members Alex Dorr and Ashley Milroy.

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BMA’s support is music to their ears BMA’s Blackwater Mine has brought national youth radio station Triple J to the local community. BMA provided funding for the licence and is hosting the transmitter equipment in an agreement with Nixon Communications that has made the station available through channel FM 102.1. Blackwater Mine general manager Paul Hemburrow said the launch of Triple J in Blackwater complemented the company’s existing support of youth initiatives in the area. “As part of our ongoing commitment to the young people in our community, BMA currently funds the youth development officer role within the Central Highlands Regional Council and provides a range of apprenticeships, scholarships, training and cadetship opportunities,” he said.

CST helps helicopter take flight CST Minerals Lady Annie is backing the NQ Rescue service with funding to assist operations this wet season as well as a pledge for ongoing support. General manager Brian Wyatt said the mining operation’s board had approved $50,000 in its budget for the community helicopter service in 2011. He believed the recovery service it could offer for people requiring medical assistance was essential for remote operations throughout Mount Isa region. “We believe all the mines have an obligation to consider their employees and how quickly they can get those people back for treatment in the event of someone getting injured,” Mr Wyatt said. “We are big supporters and will be for as long as we are in the region.” Mr Wyatt said support for the service was among the first things CST Minerals, which took

over the Lady Annie operation in mid-2010, had considered in its budget. “We have allocated funds this year, in the first year, and in future years,” he said. Former Lady Annie operators CopperCo provided about 50 per cent of the community helicopter’s funding before going into administration in November 2008. NQ Rescue chief executive officer Alex Dorr said the service was very excited to have the support of new owners CST Minerals and described the recent contribution as “unbelievable”. He hopes to gain further support from the northwestern mining sector, including through employee contribution schemes. NQ Rescue’s annual Sportsmans Dinner in Mount Isa late last year raised more than $20,000 for the service.

Photo: Roslyn Budd

Lifeline from the west for NQ Rescue A major Australian helicopter company is establishing a new base in Mount Isa under an arrangement that will guarantee the NQ Rescue service access to an aircraft. Heliwest would base a Bell LongRanger in north-west Queensland from early 2011, chief pilot Ashley Williams said. “The main reason initially is to support the NQ Rescue helicopter service that Alex Dorr and his team run,” he said. “But because there is limited funding for that asset in that region – as they are trying to sort out full funding from the Queensland Government - we also need to get commercial work there.” Mr Williams said the company viewed Mount Isa as a good hub to make major inroads into the Queensland and Northern Territory resources sector. “We are hoping that the demand will outgrow this helicopter quickly, which will allow us to send a dedicated rescue helicopter - leaving this one for commercial work,” Mr Williams said. Heliwest works out of multiple bases in Western Australia – where it claims 95 per cent of the onshore mining and exploration market – as well as in Papua New Guinea and Toowoomba, Queensland. NQ Rescue is using some residual funding to offer search and rescue and counter disaster support this wet season in a move that will see the service take to the sky for the first time in more than a year. It originally hired a Bell JetRanger from North Australian Helicopters in Mount Isa, however that machine was diverted to flood assistance efforts in central Queensland. NQ Rescue chief executive officer Alex Dorr said this had left them unable to offer any assistance to police when two vehicles were swept off a flooded causeway near Burketown

resourcing g the e future 'ERRMRKXSR

recently, resulting in one death. This highlighted the need for a more secure arrangement, he said. Mr Dorr will manage the Heliwest operations in Mount Isa to ensure NQ Rescue has access to the Bell Longranger when required. He said the aircraft was a rescue model fitted with winch, stretcher and medical supplies. The fate of the service’s operations in the long term remains in a holding pattern. Mr Dorr is waiting to receive word of the outcome of a Queensland Government review to determine whether demand for NQ Rescue services in the north-west justifies a State funding commitment. He said this was the second such review by Queensland Health within four months, after the first review inexplicably failed to cover the full scope of relevant services. While NQ Rescue had received funding pledges from private firms towards the $1.5 million annual budget needed to provide a full aero-medical and search and rescue service for the region, Mr Dorr said they all hinged on the group also receiving ongoing State support. Health Minister Paul Lucas reaffirmed the Queensland Government’s preference for fixed-wing aircraft in aeromedical retrievals throughout the region at a Community Cabinet in Mount Isa at the end of October. However, he gave a commitment to commission an independent analysis of the clinical and budgetary requirements of a proposed community-based helicopter rescue service based at Mount Isa. Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young said Queensland Health expected a preliminary systems review from the consultant by April. “Any determination about funding for a rescue helicopter service in north-west Queensland will be considered in the context of the review findings and during follow-up consultation,” she said.


Building Mining Communities

The Mining Advocate | January 2011

NQ Rescue Sportsmans Dinner Mount Isa Irish Club Photos: Roslyn Budd NQ Rescue’s annual Sportsmans Dinner raised more than $20,000 for the Mount Isa-based helicopter service in 2010. More than 300 people attended the function at the Mount Isa Irish Club, which included appearances from sports stars Scott Prince, Alan Langer, Jimmy Maher and John Platten.

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We seek no power, no riches, no glory, just the basic right of equality....

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