March 2010 by The Mining Advocate

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Goodbye Cannington, hello Cannes? A mining engineer’s foray into film THH I S ED THIS EDITION DITION • Industry Indd u s t r y braces b ra ce s for fo r next n ex t skills s k i l l s crunch crunch • Shutdown Shh u t d ow n tteam e a m rrolls o l l s oout u t eengineering n g i n e e r inn g iinnovations nnoov at i o n s • Tough new w rules r u l e s tighten t i g h t e n aaccess cce s s ttoo ffarming a r m i n g lland and • Nort Northern t h ernn AAustralia’s u s t ra l i a’s ffertile e r t i l e phosphate p h o s p h at e ffuture uture

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NEWS

The Mining Advocate | March 2010

March 2010

3 Upswing sparks skills concerns A strong pipeline of coal growth projects has tipped Incitec Pivot’s $935 million ammonium nitrate plant back into construction at Moranbah. While the move is a good measure of an industry rebound, the company has also noted a desire to have work well under way before what it sees as a looming skills crunch. Meanwhile the Queensland Resources Council warns that the sector will have a battle on its hands to ﬁnd the right people for an estimated 41,000 new mining and energy jobs within the next decade.

4 Trailblazing women

Drill cores from Krucible Metals’ north-west Queensland phosphate deposit. Theirs is among a raft of potential projects in northern Australia poised to capitalise on improved prices for the commodity. Stories - Page 9.

Women making mighty inroads in the minerals and energy industry, both at the coal face and in the board room, have been recognised at the 2010 Resources Award for Women presentations.

FEATURES

5 Battlelines drawn

6 Townsville Regional Capacity 10 Mount Isa Regional Capacity 12 Mackay Regional Capacity 14 Coal and Gas Update

A State Government discussion paper released recently warns mining companies they face tough new guidelines for mining land used for food production. In this edition The Mining Advocate explores the potential conﬂict over cropping land.

News in brief across the coal and gas industries.

24 A ‘wheelie’ good idea

16 Industry Update - Hardrock A comprehensive wrap of exploration and operations in Queensland and the Northern Territory.

Dysart dragline operator Aidan Gorlick tells how a style of wheel chock he knocked up with a few bits of

18 Between Shifts 23 Emissions 24 Safety 25 Bigger Tougher Better 26 Best Tractor Parts 28 Mount Isa Property Special 30 Xstrata Mount Isa Mining Expo 36 Building Mining Communities

angle iron 10 years ago has caught on at his work site and now looks set to spread to other BMA mines.

39 Eyes on the prize Cameron Welsh has promised workmates he will lose his “mono-brow” as well as his crowning glory if he reaches a $10,000 fundraising tally for charity. His wife’s battle with cancer has prompted Mr Welsh to join the many resource industry workers supporting the 2010 World’s Greatest Shave Mine Challenge.

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MAS R E N T SIVE AL F LE ET

NEWS

The Mining Advocate | March 2010

Skills crunch on near horizon As the economy rebounds and the major project queue grows, the resource sector is bracing for new workforce woes, writes Belinda Humphries. The mining and energy sector is facing a skills crunch within the next two years as billions of dollars worth of new projects come on stream, according to the Queensland Resources Council. Mining executives in Queensland were expressing growing concern about attracting and retaining a skilled workforce as the economy rebounded, QRC deputy chief executive and director of skills policy Greg Lane said. Mr Lane said there were about $115 billion worth of mining and energy projects at various stages of consideration and development in Queensland. “Subject to ﬁnal investment decisions, many could go into construction within 12 months to two years,” he said.

Meanwhile he said the industry growth cycle had already accelerated in Western Australia, with major gas projects under way off the north-west shelf. Another competing factor in the Queensland skills picture was the construction work tied to massive State Government infrastructure investment instituted to help stave off the negative effects of the global economic downturn. Mr Lane said the competition for skills was already starting to bite and he believed Queensland’s resources sector would have a battle on its hands to find the right people for an estimated 41,000 new sector jobs within 10 years. “The development of the coal seam gas (CSG) and LNG industries in Queensland at the

Greg Lane QRC deputy chief executive and director of skills policy

levels being proposed will need to be matched by the direct and indirect employment of more than 18,000 new employees over the next decade,” he said.

$935m build back on track Stronger ammonium nitrate demand, linked to coal growth projects, has prompted Incitec Pivot to resume construction of its stalled $935 million manufacturing plant at Moranbah. The company is also conscious of an anticipated skills shortage in the construction arena and its general manager - major projects, Alan Grace, said this had played a part in the decision to press ahead. “In another year the east coast construction market will be hot and there will be more demand (for skilled labour),” he said. “So we have been quite keen to recommence the project at a time when we think that labour will be more conﬁdently available than if we left it another year.” The Moranbah project involves the construction of a 330,000 tonnes-a-year complex comprising ammonia, nitric acid and ammonium nitrate plants as well as a power plant and other

supporting infrastructure. Construction work is scheduled to resume in May, with the aim of starting production in the first quarter of 2012. With removal of overburden for coal mine extensions or new projects being a key driver for ammonium nitrate sales, Mr Grace said the level of demand for the explosive could be seen as a good barometer of the industry’s fortunes. Incitec Pivot (IPL) managing director and chief executive officer James Fazzino indicated recently that 90 per cent of the Moranbah plant’s forecast production is already committed. The Moranbah project has twice been placed on ice – first under the ownership of Dyno Nobel in 2007 and again in February last year. As the global financial crisis bit IPL decided to delay the project, just six months after announcing its resumption following the acquisition of Dyno Nobel.

The Moranbah ammonium nitrate plant construction site.

Mr Grace said the overall project was about one-third complete, with about a quarter of the construction work ﬁnalised. About $600 million of the overall budget was still to be spent and while much of that would go on labour, Mr Grace said many tender opportunities remained for equipment and services. An alliance of United Group Resources, Bilﬁnger Berger Services (Australia) and BGC Contracting will continue to act as the major project contractor. Mr Grace expected about 700 people to be directly employed in the project by the second half of the year. “That does not include people working for subcontractors and the manufacturing workshops supplying and delivering to the project,” he said. He said IPL’s construction partners had indicated that many of those workers previously involved in the project were keen to come back. He believed the project would be able to attract the skilled personnel required, but warned of a likely shortage looming in that area. At the same time, Mr Grace said demand was increasing for mining-related products such as ammonium nitrate. “What I think has pleased many is the extent to which demand for metallurgical coal from the Bowen Basin in particular has held up and even prospered over the last 12 to 18 months,” he said. “Our customers see their prospects as strong.” With an ideal position, Mr Grace said IPL could see potential for further growth at the Moranbah site.

“Alongside that, labour force outlook studies are pointing to the demand for additional operational workers in the coal, bauxite, copper, lead, zinc and gold sectors in Queensland exceeding 23,000 by 2020.” Northern Territory Industry Capability Network (ICN) general manager Kevin Peters foresaw signiﬁcant skills issues arising, with the mining industry competing with oil and gas – including the Inpex project - depending on construction timelines. “We have a situation with the Gorgon and Wheatstone gas projects in the West, Gladstone LNG developments and the Exxon Mobil project in PNG put them together with what’s happening here and it’s quite concerning really,” he said. Such resource sector growth would also be competing with other infrastructure projects for skills, including a $657 million indigenous housing project and about $245 million worth of Defence projects which were drawing heavily on the Territory’s existing construction capacity, Mr Peters said. He said local industry must prepare by developing an understanding of the programs available to bring in labour from interstate or overseas. “They also have to acquaint themselves with all the avenues at their disposal to recruit and train

on a local level,” he said “There are certainly potential pools there in the indigenous area. The number one priority is training.” While oﬀering lucrative reimbursement packages to compete for the limited pool of suitable skilled people had been an option for the Queensland resources sector in the past, Mr Lane said costs had grown signiﬁcantly over the last few years and there were limitations on just how far companies could go in that regard. He said the workers required would have to come from a range of sources including attracting people from overseas and interstate, training people who could be suitably upskilled within a limited timeframe and tapping into under-represented demographics. “We have to get more women and more indigenous people into the workforce,” he said. Queensland Premier Anna Bligh has announced a partnership with industry to develop a $10 million program to train workers for the state’s new CSG and LNG industries. Mr Lane said the QRC was advocating the establishment of a skills commission in Queensland to ensure future training investment was more strategically focused on the state’s economy and met actual industry skills demand.

Big end of town ready to pounce Local mining supply businesses are likely to become attractive takeover targets for larger corporations seeking a cut of central Queensland’s massive resource sector growth, a regional business leader says. Rockhampton Regional Development chief executive Gary Kerr believed the raft of major mining and energy projects in the pipeline, particularly in the Galilee Basin, would see more national and international supply companies establishing a local presence. He believed many would be looking to establish a foothold quickly by acquiring and expanding local businesses rather than establishing greenfield operations. Mr Kerr said also he expected a new dynamic at play in the supply market, particularly with major projects such as Clive Palmer’s China First development being strongly tied to Chinese finance and coal sales. “My feeling is that Chinese suppliers will be preferred suppliers, certainly for more of the major plant and equipment,” he said. Mr Kerr said central Queensland was seeing strong evidence of a resources industry upswing. The region centred around Rockhampton, Gladstone and Emerald on the Central Highlands had 157 major projects with a total value of $138 billion under consideration or construction, he said. “We’ve estimated about 25,000 jobs will be created in the region in the next five years – construction and operational workforces,” he said. This would clearly create some skills challenges, he said. “In the past a lot of local businesses have lost skilled workers to the mining companies,” Mr Kerr said. “It hasn’t come to that just yet - but we’re well aware that will be an issue in the not-too-distant future.”

NEWS

March 2010 |

The Mining Advocate

Industry honours female high-flyers An awards presentation has paid tribute to the achievements of a wide range of women working in Queensland’s resources sector. A trailblazing Bowen Basin mining manager and the chief operating officer for a large consultancy are joint winners of the 2010 Resources Award for Women. The top honour and various category awards are presented annually at the Queensland Resources Council’s International Women’s Day breakfast to acknowledge and promote women’s achievements in the minerals and energy sector. This year, the judges couldn’t separate Jennifer Mackenzie, a mining manager with BMA, and Susan Denk, chief operating officer for the Brisbane-based Unidel group, for the top title. Ms Mackenzie, a metallurgical engineer, recently became BMA’s first female mining manager when she accepted that position at Norwich Park Mine, Dysart. It was also the first time

a person from a processing background had been appointed as a mining manager within BMA. In 2008, Ms Mackenzie was the ﬁrst woman to be appointed to the role of coal handling and preparation plant manager by the company. She also founded BMA’s Operational Working Women’s Group, which focuses on education programs and other initiatives for girls and professional development for women. “As a woman in my current position, I have the ability to not only positively inﬂuence those coming after me, but also set the standard by which all in the industry should expect professional women to conduct themselves,” Ms Mackenzie said. Ms Denk is a petroleum engineer with more than 15

years’ experience in the energy and infrastructure sectors, working in engineering, operations, management and executive positions. Her career has included work as Schlumberger’s IT manager in the Middle East and Asia, operating in cultures where she was often required to be fully covered from head to toe in an abaya robe. Ms Denk is the newly appointed chair of the voluntary group Women in Mining and Resources Queensland, which organises networking opportunities for women in Brisbane and regional centres throughout Queensland. Highly commended awards in the overall section went to Xstrata Copper Ernest Henry Mine production engineering oﬃcer Kylie Hughes, RPS Australia/South-East Asia operations director Catherine Brosnan and Wesfarmers Curragh environment and sustainability manager Tracey Tucker.

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Award winners Jennifer Mackenzie and Susan Denk.

Kerry Brisbane, the electrical team leader at the Xstrata Skills Centre, Mount Isa won the trade category of the awards, Norwich Park open-cut examiner/assistant shotﬁrer Jan Simpson won in the operator category and Jessica Murphy from Emerald State High School won the junior category (open to girls in Queensland Minerals and Energy Academy schools). Anglo Coal’s Foxleigh Mine won the best company initiative category for its “Hot Seat Crew” roster. The company introduced the concept at the Bowen Basin coal mine last year to cover regular day-shift operator breaks. The crews work from 8am to

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4pm and the roster provides a ﬂexible career pathway into the resources industry, especially for people interested in re-entering the workforce. Of the 19 people trained for the hot seat crew within the local community of Middlemount, 14 are female. Queensland Resources Council chief executive Michael Roche said that with women making up only 14 per cent of member companies’ employees, and a skills shortage looming, the industry must continue to pull out all stops to attract and retain women in the resources sector.

NEWS

The Mining Advocate | March 2010

From metal ore to silver screen This former mine manager had to dig deep to bring a wartime tale to light through a feature film that is about to hit Australian cinemas. A passion for military history has seen North Queensland mining consultant Ross Thomas swap the grime of Cannington for the glittering lure of Cannes. Mr Thomas’s single-minded dedication to highlighting the wartime efforts of the miners of Australia’s tunnelling companies saw the Townsville resident turn his hand to film making. The resulting movie, Beneath Hill 60, is due to open throughout Australia in April and Mr Thomas is hopeful that it will receive a nomination for the Cannes Film Festival in May. “It has gone way beyond what we first envisaged,” he said. “We believe we’re on an iconic production on par with Gallipoli, Breaker Morant and The Lighthorsemen.” Mr Thomas, the executive producer of Beneath Hill 60, was the registered mine manager at BHP Billiton’s Cannington mine in north-west Queensland for 12 months before giving up mining to concentrate on the film project. He has just returned from the Berlinale Film Festival in Germany, where the film was previewed to potential

Ross Thomas Beneath Hill 60 executive producer

distributors, and has been having further meetings related to the film’s promotion while awaiting word from the Cannes selection committee. “Sometimes I’d still rather be digging holes in the ground – but I’m finding it a fantastic sidetrack in my career,” Mr Thomas said. He said he was amazed at the speed in which the film project had come together, despite serious financial hurdles. He attributed its realisation

to “the fact the Anzac spirit was behind it”. While the ﬁlm - shot in Townsville - may have come together within two years, the research eﬀort that unearthed the story of central character Oliver Woodward began 18 years ago.

Facing off over farmland Mining companies and farmers could be headed for a showdown as competition for land use in Queensland escalates. A discussion paper the State Government released recently warns mining companies they face tough new guidelines for mining land used for food production. Infrastructure and Planning Minister Stirling Hinchliffe said the proposed framework ensured mining that permanently alienated the land or reduced its productivity could not occur unless it was overwhelmingly in the public interest. “Alternately, mining development proponents will need to demonstrate that they can comply with the policy by fully restoring the land back to its previous crop production capacity,” he said. The proposed changes do not apply to grazing land, which comprises 80 per cent of the state and is more easily rehabilitated. Details of the new policy were thrashed out at a series of meetings across Queensland ahead of the March 12 deadline for comments. Mick Capelin, director of the Department of Infrastructure and Planning’s Rural Futures Strategy Group, told the Mackay meeting there was increasing conflict, especially on the Darling Downs and Central Highlands. “Competition for land use between agriculture and mining is increasing, with about 60 per cent of Queensland’s currently cropped land covered by mining exploration permits,” Mr Capelin said. And while miners have been accused of gobbling up the state’s agricultural land, the Queensland Resources Council says less than 0.1 per cent of the state is used by mining operations. A Rio Tinto Coal Australia spokeswoman said the company believed mining and farming could co-exist and planned to make a submission on the discussion paper. “The value that mining brings to local, state and federal economies is significant,” she said.

“However we believe it is our responsibility to listen and engage with our near neighbours and our local neighbours, as we respect their livelihoods and wish to work together.” According to the discussion paper less than 6 per cent of Queensland has soil and climate suitable to support permanent cropping. Of that, less than a third is used for cropping. This accounts for 30 per cent of Australia’s fruit and vegetable production and 60 per cent of Australia’s summer grain crop. Queensland Resources Council chief executive Michael Roche said it was important positive economic, environmental and social outcomes were achieved. He said members favoured development of environmental licence conditions for land rehabilitation to provide “upfront certainty”. “Mining and petroleum companies are acutely aware of their environmental and social responsibilities,” he said. “They also believe that the State Government is best equipped to make rational land use decisions in the interests of the owners of those resources – the citizens of Queensland.” Darling Downs farmer Rob McCreath said a major open-cut coal mine was planned for land that presently supported small crops and cereals at Felton, south of Toowoomba. He said projects such as Ambre Energy’s Felton clean coal project would destroy the land and cause pollution. Mr McCreath said there were dire warnings about future global food shortages and agricultural land should be maintained. “If in 30 or 40 years time if we decide we don’t need food and we need coal more, the coal will still be there,” he said. “If we mine the country now the prime cropping country’s gone.”

Woodward was the Commanding Officer of the First Australian Tunnelling Company and the film chronicles that group’s role on the frontline in Belgium in 1917, tunnelling beneath an area known as Hill 60 on Messines Ridge to set off a massive blast and capture long-contested ground from the Germans. Mr Thomas said his interest was triggered when he was

working as Inspector of Mines in Charters Towers and some records from the former School of Mines turned up during an office relocation. He found several references to Woodward, whose career had included work in gold mines around Charters Towers and tin mines in the Irvinebank area. Mr Thomas’s subsequent research led him to Woodward’s daughter Barbara, who offered him access to her father’s wartime diary in 2002. “When reading the diary I realised how important it was for our military heritage and the untold stories of the Australian mining contribution,” he said, Mr Thomas’s determination to bring greater recognition for Australia’s tunnellers has also seen him fund a $142,000 memorial to be housed in the new North Queensland Military Museum under construction at Kissing Point, Townsville. And despite his frustrations with the film industry and protestation that he’d rather still be in mining, Mr Thomas is now keenly pursuing a follow-up project to Beneath Hill 60. “I’m working on another story which has ripped my heart out about Miss (Elizabeth) Chomley, the secretary of the Prisoners Department of the Australian Red Cross in London,” he said. “Essentially, she became some kind of patron saint for the Australian POWS, giving them hope and inspiration.”

The North’s own taste of Tinseltown Search lights will sweep the sky, Hollywood style, when Townsville hosts the Queensland premiere of the World War I feature film Beneath Hill 60. Executive producer Ross Thomas said the special event would be held at Birch Carroll & Coyle cinemas in Sturt St on April 14 as a means of thanking the North Queensland community for its support during filming. “We’re closing off that portion of the street for the occasion,” Mr Thomas said. “We’ll be rolling out the red carpet literally on to the street. Some of the stars will be flying up from Sydney and the production crew.” Beneath Hill 60 was predominantly shot on a property in Kelso, Townsville, where trenches were dug to simulate the western front. The underground scenes were filmed in a Bohle warehouse belonging to property

developer Brad Webb. The eventual cost of producing the film was $9.6 million, with Screen Australia and its Queensland and New South Wales counterparts providing about one third of that total. Those government funds were secured only after the filmmakers raised a significant amount of cash from North Queensland backers to get the movie into development. Beneath Hill 60 producer Bill Leimbach said North Queensland investors had provided about a third of the film’s finance, while another third was taken as a loan. “From the very beginning the story and the money has come from North Queensland,” he said. The Australian premiere for the film will be held in Sydney on April 8 and the nationwide release is scheduled for April 15.

Part Of The Solution

March 2010 |

The Mining Advocate

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try and mix them with the more experienced geologists and field hands; this ensures mentoring is available on site and the learning process is constructive, where possible. That way we get balance, higher standards and can guarantee a continuity of work.” Ms Maguire says her ‘Gnomes’ have made a widespread contribution to helping develop the minerals industry. “We care about our staff and are truly professional about the way we conduct our business,” she says. “Some our people have been with us on and off for 20 years. Others have risen to become industry leaders. “At one stage we had ex-‘Gnomes’ working as heads of departments or project leaders for Xstrata mines copper study, exploration department and George Fisher Mine, to name but a few.” Gnomic Exploration Services has supplied contract exploration crews to most of the major developments and operations in northern Australia. The company is gearing up to full capacity to meet new contracts and in anticipation of an upswing in demand.

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Townsville Regional Capacity

The Mining Advocate | March 2010

Refinery extends helping hand A recent Townsville forum to help local firms boost performance may become the model for more events targeting industry supply chains. Bouncing back from its own “near death” experience, Queensland Nickel has sponsored an initiative to help its suppliers better prepare their businesses to survive adversity and harness growth opportunities. The Yabulu refinery sponsored an information day in Townsville recently which a key State Government arm now hopes to use as a model to help other industry supply chains. The Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation’s (DEEDI’s) Townsville-based director for regional services, Lawrie Martin, said the recent threatened closure of the refinery under former owner BHP Billiton had highlighted the region’s sensitivity to major impacts to its manufacturing industry. With the refinery now experiencing a turn-around under Clive Palmer’s ownership, Mr Martin said DEEDI

had seen an opportunity for supporting businesses to step up performance also. The supply chain information day included brieﬁngs on staterun business improvement programs such as the Jobs Assist and Mentoring for Growth initiatives as well as assistance available from Enterprise Connect, the Industry Capability Network (ICN) and QMI Solutions. It also featured economic overviews and an update on Queensland Nickel’s operations. “It’s a much more competitive market out there now,” Mr Martin said. “As a result we want to make sure regional business can maintain a competitive edge and, if any downturn or catastrophic events were to happen, these programs we have on oﬀer will help businesses be prepared for it.” About 30 per cent of businesses represented at the information session had signed

up that day for various support programs and Mr Martin said DEEDI was following up with the remainder. He expected the majority to get involved in the programs on oﬀer. While DEEDI frequently ran such workshops, Mr Martin said they did not usually involve partnering with a private organisation such as Queensland Nickel. “We’re looking at developing a model that could be used for regional centres around the state with major clients, once we measure the success of this one,” he said. “The whole idea is to generate growth for the state and I think this is a good way to do that.” Queensland Nickel human resources and external relations manager Alan Azzopardi said the company had partnered with DEEDI for the information day as part of its new community engagement approach. He said the day was primarily aimed at Queensland Nickel’s vendors, but other businesses were also represented among the 100 attendees. “The government agencies will now work through with interested vendors in the programs that suit their business,” he said. “We will be very interested to see in six months’ time how they have got on with it all, how they have travelled.”

Basil Ahyick from Queensland Nickel speaks at the supply chain information session in Townsville. Photo: Stewart McLean

AECOM picks up pace The Queensland Nickel Yabulu site.

Photo: Stewart McLean

Expansion mooted Queensland Nickel has launched a feasibility study with a view to expanding the Yabulu refinery within the next few years. Queensland Nickel chief operating officer Neil Meadows said the study would look at options to expand the refinery’s front end to better utilise the idle capacity within the plant caused by the loss of feedstock from Ravensthorpe nickel mine. Mr Meadows said the expansion could potentially

double Queensland Nickel’s current capacity. “Expanding the refinery would obviously be very advantageous to the employees at the refinery and the local Townsville economy,” Mr Meadows said. “However, we need to first weigh up the options and ensure that any potential expansion is viable and sustainable.” The study is due for completion by the end of the year.

Manager leaves TREC The Townsville Regional Engineering Cluster (TREC) has lost its general manager, David Wylie, who has taken up a new position in India. Townsville Enterprise economic development general manager Lisa McDonald said that organisation would continue to oﬀer day-to-day support services for TREC members. There were no immediate plans to replace Mr Wylie. Dr McDonald said the TREC board would reassess the situation at the end of the ﬁnancial year.

Professional technical services firm AECOM has doubled its strength in North Queensland since 2006 and is back in recruitment mode after a hiatus last year. Regional manager for North Queensland, Richard Barrett, said the business had successfully navigated a difficult period through 2009. “Pleasingly we are seeing positive signs of increased activity in parts of the market, which is allowing us to bring new people into our business with increased confidence,” he said. However, he said the firm still anticipated that “a full and broad market recovery” might take some time. Mr Barrett’s position covers AECOM offices in Cairns, Mount Isa, Rockhampton, Mackay and Townsville. With about 150 of the region’s 200 staff, Townsville has the strongest AECOM presence. Today’s AECOM is the product of the integration of 20 companies globally with expertise in a range of engineering and other professional services. These include Maunsell, Bassett, EDAW and ENSR which all previously operated independently in North Queensland. The group has recently undertaken a rebranding

Richard Barrett AECOM North Queensland manager

exercise to better unify its teams under the AECOM banner. “When I joined AECOM in 2000, at the time that Maunsell and AECOM merged, there were about 8000 people in the AECOM global suite of companies - today there are about 45,000,” Mr Barrett said. “As the company has progressed this change to a uniﬁed brand has really been about having a clearer brand in the market and a better integrated internal structure.” Mr Barrett said the group had conﬁdence in the strength of the North Queensland economy and Townsville’s development.

He said the mix of work in which AECOM was involved, across diﬀerent industry sectors, had helped the North Queensland operations “travel quite well” during the past 18 months. “I guess the downturn has been slow to impact on our business,” he said. “We had a very strong backlog of projects. Through most of last year we were continuing to undertake that work for our clients. I guess we are now starting to see - and have been since late last year - fairly strong recovery in the mining and resources sector in North Queensland and through central Queensland as well.” He cited commitments to major projects such as Rio Tinto’s Kestrel Mine Extension near Emerald and underground development at the Ernest Henry Mining operation, Cloncurry, as evidence of an upswing. As a result, AECOM was also becoming more active in the marketplace, Mr Barrett said. “We have hired a number of new people into the business and still have a few vacancies,” he said. He believed the region would start to see skills shortages again in some areas over the next 12 months as more major projects moved into the construction phase.

NEWS

March 2010 |

The Mining Advocate

NT’s golden age of discovery The mineral finds being showcased at a key geoscience event highlight the underexplored nature of the Territory, an industry expert says. Exciting discoveries driving the revitalisation of the Tennant Creek goldﬁelds will be a major focus of the Northern Territory’s Annual Geoscience Exploration Seminar (AGES) in 2010. AGES, to be held in Alice Springs on March 22 to 24, will focus on the highlights of what was a bumper year for exploration in the NT, according to Northern Territory Geological Survey director Dr Ian Scrimgeour. “We were the only state or territory to increase spending with exploration during the downturn, so there is a lot of good news we’ll be talking about,” he said. That includes what Dr Scrimgeour describes as many exciting new copper-gold discoveries in the historic

Tennant Creek mining area. “We would expect to see new mines starting up in the Tennant Creek area in the next few years,” he said. Excalibur Mining Corporation recently lodged a notice of intent to develop its Juno gold project at Tennant Creek. Meanhile, Dr Scrimgeour said Adelaide Resources and Westgold Resources had both reported major discoveries in the Rover Field, south-west of Tennant Creek. Westgold recently announced a maiden JORC mineral resource estimate comprising 5.3 million tonnes at 6.1g/t gold for 1,037,600 gold equivalent ounces for its Rover 1 deposit. Dr Scrimgeour believed there would be a number of shortterm mining operations based on

New networking club for Darwin A new Darwin Mining Club is set to be launched in April, providing suppliers and service organisations with a forum to network with key Northern Territory mining industry ﬁgures. Minerals Council of Australia NT division executive director Scott Perkins said it was anticipated that the club would host monthly gatherings including guest speaker presentations as well as running events such as the Resources Annual Dinner. It would be chaired by Wendy Oldham, a member of the MCA Northern Territory division’s management committee, he said. “It’s really aimed at all those people who aren’t necessarily members of the MCA but nonetheless are interested in mining and might provide a service to the industry,” he said. “It’s a chance to network with the mining industry through social events or to get information from guest speakers.” The move follows the amalgamation late last year of the Northern Territory Resources Council - formerly the NT Minerals Council - into the Minerals Council of Australia (MCA). While service organisations who worked with the mining industry had been among the old NT Mineral Council’s members, Mr Perkins said the costs and membership structures of the subsequent Territory resource industry bodies had made it more diﬃcult for such people to be involved. “We thought we’d create this Darwin Mining Club to help satisfy the needs of those people,” he said.

NT Geological Survey director Dr Ian Scrimgeour. Photo: Christopher Knight

small deposits kicked oﬀ in the area within the next ﬁve years and noted the potential for the discovery of larger occurrences of copper and gold. “A number of explorers are

using innovative exploration models to target these much larger copper-gold systems at depth,” he said. “They are using the latest 3D modelling utilising new

geophysics to target deeply buried mineral systems. “Although there has been a lot of past activity in the Tennant Creek area, most has been within the top 100m or so - there has been very little deeper drilling in comparison.” The discovery of a sedimentary basin believed to host leadzinc mineralisation under the Simpson Desert will also be showcased at AGES. Dr Scrimgeour said AGES would also hear about Thundelarra’s work between Adelaide River and Pine Creek, where drilling in the past year had produced some of the highest grade uranium intercepts ever reported in Australia. And he said Mithril would be making a presentation regarding a 10km outcropping of copper-cobalt mineralisation in the Hart’s Range area, never previously discovered. “It just shows how underexplored large areas of the Territory are,” Dr Scrimgeour said.

Lift-off for helium plant Australia has shifted from being a helium gas importer to exporter in one fell swoop with BOC’s new $50 million plant in Darwin. Federal Resources and Energy Minister Martin Ferguson and Northern Territory Chief Minister Paul Henderson recently marked the official opening of the Wickham Point plant – the first of its kind in the southern hemisphere. The facility extracts helium from waste trace gases from a previously unused vent stream at the nearby ConocoPhillips liquefied natural gas plant. “Sources of helium are relatively rare and this innovative project using waste trace gases will replace imports from the United States and Middle East and also provide a new export opportunity for Australia,” Mr Ferguson said. Helium has a wide range of applications in the medical, manufacturing, space and defence

BOC/Linde global head of merchant and packaged gases Steve Penn with NT Chief Minister Paul Henderson, Federal Resources and Energy Minister Martin Ferguson, BOC Darwin operations manager Ian Winton and BOC South Pacific managing director Colin Isaac at the official opening. Photo: Christopher Knight

industries as well as its best known use – in party balloons and blimps. BOC South Paciﬁc managing director Colin Isaac said the new plant would produce 150 million cubic feet of helium annually, a ﬁgure representing about 2-3 per cent of world demand. About a third of the plant’s helium output will be supplied to Australian customers, totally

satisfying domestic needs, while the remainder will be exported. BOC is part of the Linde Group of companies, whose Linde Global Helium network will use the Darwin product to supply its Asian market. Mr Henderson said the project demonstrated how the growth in the oﬀshore gas industry in the Timor Sea could lead to spin-oﬀ industry developments in the NT.

Money speaks loudest says rail lobby veteran ECONOMIC factors alone would trigger construction of a railway line to open up coal exports from the Surat Basin, a veteran lobbyist for the Northern Missing Link project says. Xstrata Coal and business groups are advocating a connection between Wandoan and the existing MouraGladstone line at Banana, as well as upgrading port facilities. Whitsunday Mayor Mike Brunker has spruiked for the

construction of the 69km Northern Missing Link between the North Goonyella and Newlands rail systems in the northern Bowen Basin coalﬁelds for 10 years. “Our lobbying kept the proposal in the spotlight but the only reason we’re in the box seat now is because there was a huge increase in coal prices and tonnages,’’ Mr Brunker said. “At the end of the day it’s a strictly commercial decision by

mining companies.” Mr Brunker said residents and local governments in the Wandoan area should fully engage with the Environmental Impact Statement process to ensure the route avoided conﬂict with communities. Xstrata has a joint venture with Australian Transport and Energy Corridor (ATEC) and Queensland Rail to probe the feasibility of the Surat Basin Rail.

Alongside the development of the Wandoan Coal Project, Xstrata Coal is proposing a series of port and rail developments to create a new coal chain. The company is also working closely with QR Network regarding upgrades to its existing connections from Moura to Gladstone and investigating potential new port developments at Wiggins and Balaclava islands. Meanwhile Aquila Resources has started legal action against

joint venture partner Bowen Central Coal (BCC), a Vale subsidiary, over infrastructure agreements for the $2.3 billion Eagle Downs coal project near Moranbah. The action centres on a dispute over whether to export from Abbot Point, via the Northern Missing Link rail project, or the Dalrymple Bay Coal Terminal in Mackay. BCC says it has not defaulted on the project’s infrastructure agreement.

NEWS

The Mining Advocate | March 2010

Fertile future in ﬁnite resource The predicted growth in fertiliser demand may pave the way for new phosphate operations to get off the ground, a prospective producer says. A global hunger for fertiliser is supporting phosphate prices which may tip a number of potential north Australian ventures into production. Minemakers investor relations manager Dean Richardson says the type of global fertiliser demand forecast by the US Geological Survey, which has predicted increases of 2.5-3 per cent each year over the next ﬁve years, underpins the current level of phosphate pricing, which is conducive to new mines getting into development. “At the moment we have one producing phosphate company in Australia – IPL (Incitec Pivot) - and there are two or three potential producers including ourselves,” he said. “With (that sort of growth) it does look like there’s opportunity for other potential producers to move into the marketplace.” Fertilizer Industry Federation of Australia executive manager Nick Drew said the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations had predicted a

Dean Richardson Minemakers investor relations manager

37 per cent increase in fertiliser use from 1995 to 2030 to help meet global cropping demands. “Phosphate is one of the ‘macro’ elements, those that plants need in relatively large amounts, so any increase in food

production will require more phosphorus,” he said. As phosphate rock was a ﬁnite resource, the world would eventually run out in a similar concept to peak oil, he said. Mr Drew said the International Fertilizer Association (IFA) and the International Fertilizer Development Centre (IFDC) were undertaking a project to update known phosphate resources around the world and to compare this with expected demand. Mr Richardson said part of the reason that Australia had not been a large phosphate producer in the past was the fact that it was a bulk commodity and deposits were located in diﬃcult areas in terms of transport and logistics. “With Wonarah (the Minemakers project), for

The Georgina Basin, stretching across a large swathe of the Northern Territory and into north-west Queensland, is a hot spot among vast areas with high

Krucible Metals managing director Tony Alston. Photo: Stewart McLean

of 30 per cent phosphorus oxide (with a 25 per cent cut oﬀ ) or 19 million tonnes at a lower cut oﬀ. Krucible plans to produce 300,000 to 700,000 tonnes of direct shipping ore annually for six to eight years. Mr Alston said there was also potential to exploit lower-grade

example, it is 1200km from the coast. The completion of the Adelaide–Darwin rail line has given us the opportunity to get into production,” Mr Richardson said. Phosphate prices until 2005 had averaged around $US50 a tonne, which didn’t leave much margin for new producers to become established, he said. “Traditional producers like Morocco, Jordan and Egypt with the infrastructure established used to be able to produce

at a much lower cost,” Mr Richardson said. Prices spiked in 2008 around $US450 a tonne before levelling out during the global ﬁnancial crisis to around $US90 a tonne. Mr Richardson said they had trended upward since to around $US115 to $US125 a tonne. Minemakers was recently granted its mining lease for the Wonarah phosphate deposit in the Northern Territory. It aims to produce three million tonnes per year at full capacity.

Hot spot for phosphate

An unexpected turn Phosphate was not even on Krucible Metals managing director Tony Alston’s radar when the company listed back in 2007. But the price spike that followed in 2008 awoke the company to the potential it was sitting on, with exploration tenements within 3km of Australia’s only producing phosphate operation. Mr Alston said the company was now planning to start mining phosphate at its PHM South deposit, about 150km south-east of Mount Isa, by late 2011. “We should be applying for our mining lease in the next month and hope to be bulk sampling in six to nine months,” he said. Krucible Metals originally acquired the ground around Incitec Pivot’s (IPL’s) Phosphate Hill operation for its uranium prospectivity, as well as gold and base metal potential. But the phosphate spike of 2008 spurred the team to take a fresh look at the area’s geology and past exploration results. “Pretty quickly we cranked ourselves up to explore for phosphate,” Mr Alston said. “Once we decided to get into it, we got into it full on.” The resource stands at about 5 million tonnes at an average grade

Overburden is removed at the Arruwurra trial pit for Minemakers’ Wonarah phosphate project in the Northern Territory.

ore on the tenements, possibly as feedstock for the IPL plant. He noted the price sensitivity of the potential operation and the need to establish a market. Project manager Ray Koenig travelled to China in early March for the FMB Fertilizer Conference to begin that process.

phosphate potential, according to NT Geological Survey (NTGS) director Ian Scrimgeour. “There is massive potential in the Northern Territory, particularly in the Georgina Basin,” Dr Scrimgeour said. “Most of that area is covered by black soil plains and remains heavily unexplored. “There is also a very prospective area in the Wiso Basin west of Tennant Creek and also in the Eromanga Basin south-west of Alice Springs.” Dr Scrimgeour said improved prices for the commodity had encouraged those companies investigating mining. In addition to Minemakers’ Wonarah project – which recently exported bulk samples of direct shipping ore, Dr Scrimgeour said Phosphate Australia and Arafura Resources each had advanced phosphate projects in the NT. Arafura’s Nolans Bore site is predominantly a rare earth project but will also produce phosphate. Phosphate Australia is investigating three potential routes for a proposed $200 million slurry pipeline to carry product from its Highland Plains project, on the Queensland-Northern Territory border. The company is sitting on a 56 million-tonne resource, graded at 16 per cent phosphate, and plans to export up to three million tonnes of high-grade rock phosphate annually. Dr Scrimgeour could not predict if NT’s untapped phosphate resources would spark the development of multiple

mines in next decade. “It’s very diﬃcult to say because it is so dependent on phosphate price,” he said. “It’s currently at a marginal level to make these deposits economic.” Queensland is home to Australia’s only phosphate producer – the Incitec Pivot operation at Phosphate Hill, where about 2.1 million tonnes of phosphate is mined annually to produce di-ammonium phosphate fertiliser (DAP) and mono-ammonium phosphate (MAP). Legend International Holdings’ Georgina Basin Phosphate Project involves the proposed mining of up to eight phosphate rock deposits in north-west Queensland – with a 1 billion-tonne resource in total. A Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation spokesman said a number of other companies were investigating potential phosphate operations. These include GBM, which is investigating phosphate mineralisation at its Bungalien project, about 70km north of the Phosphate Hill mine, while Dragon Energy has been drilling at its Big Toby prospect outside Mount Isa and PepinNini Minerals has conducted preliminary phosphate exploration south of Charters Towers. While tenements at MMG’s Century Mine in the north-west have also shown potential for phosphate, the company said zinc exploration was the current priority.

Part Of The Solution

March 2010 |

Wright’s Welding

The Mining Advocate

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Mt Isa Regional Capacity

The Mining Advocate | March 2010

Engineering innovations Two major projects being rolled out at Phosphate Hill are expected to cut plant downtime and prolong component life. Incitec Pivot is embarking on two innovative engineering projects to address problems of tank fouling and corrosion as part of its $56 million shutdown program in north-west Queensland. An 875-strong contractor workforce from more than 75 companies is assisting Incitec Pivot’s (IPL’s) own team across its Phosphate Hill and Mount Isa sites during the scheduled maintenance shutdown, which started on March 2. Sulphuric acid production at Mount Isa and the manufacture of ammonium phosphate fertilisers at Phosphate Hill is due to resume on March 31. The IPL work has been timed to co-incide with a 29-day Xstrata Copper shutdown to complete a $34 million dollar project replacing the refractory (brick) linings of vessels used to convert copper concentrate to anode in a series of smelting processes at Mount Isa. IPL northern engineering manager Mark Nash said the

IPL shut works included major projects which would apply innovative solutions developed by IPL engineers and technicians to help prolong the life of a criticalpath reactor in the phosphoric acid plant at Phosphate Hill and a mixing tank in the gypsum reslurry plant also at that site. “Our objectives were to eliminate failures, reduce

not blast off the scale built up on the inside of the final reactor tank without damaging the rubber liner and brickwork,” Mr Nash said. “If there was a break in the rubber, it took only six hours for the phosphoric acid to eat into the carbon steel of the tank, forcing costly and timeconsuming repairs.” The Reactor 2 project involves ground-breaking design and the use of an exotic stainless steel called Nicrofer 3127hMo (Alloy 31) in the liner, floor and baffles.

“We know a lot of chemical companies, both in Australia and overseas, are watching our project with interest” downtime and make the regular removal of build-up in the tanks quicker and safer,” Mr Nash said. Together the projects will cost almost $9 million. In one, shutdown crews will replace the rubber liner and brickwork for Reactor 2 at the acid plant with a special stainless steel lining and separate baﬄes. “Previously we found we could

“We know a lot of chemical companies, both in Australia and overseas, are watching our project with interest,” Mr Nash said. At the tail end of the manufacturing process at Phosphate Hill, the existing 1.5 million-litre carbon steel reslurry tank is being replaced with a stainless steel tank completely assembled on site.

Phosphate Hill’s new 1.5 million-litre stainless steel reslurry tank takes shape, with other sections of the ammonium phosphate-producing facility in the background. Photo: Roslyn Budd

This work will also elimate the need for a rubber liner, making it safer and easier to remove gypsum build-up. In each improvement project, IPL expects the new components to last up to 25 years, whereas Mr Nash said the originals failed or developed major problems before they were 10 years old. About 80 per cent of the

contractors engaged for the IPL shutdown are either based in north and north-west Queensland region, or have a local presence, according to IPL shutdown manager Dan Miller. The Xstrata shutdown involves about 330 contractors in addition to copper smelter maintenance and operational employees as well as some engineering personnel.

Report predicts $2.3 billion in mining growth A $2.3 billion surge in mining investment in the North West Minerals Province is expected by 2014/15, tripling the load to be carried on the Mount Isa-Townsville rail line, a BIS Shrapnel study shows. The study indicated that the proposed mining development would generate an estimated $3.45 billion in revenue for the State and Commonwealth governments by 2015 through taxes and royalty payments. The results will be a powerful weapon in eﬀorts to lobby for government funding to upgrade rail capacity for the Mount Isa-Townsville corridor, according to Townsville Enterprise economic

development general manager Dr Lisa McDonald. “This is a big step forward – when you can actually demonstrate the dollar value to the economy, then you start to get politicians’ attention,” she said. Dr McDonald said the planned mining projects identiﬁed by BIS Shrapnel were feasible and a positive sign for the future economic growth of the region. “An estimated $2.3 billion worth of investment in the North West Minerals Province is expected to get under way between 2009/10 and 2015/16,” she said. The BIS Shrapnel report -

commissioned by Townsville Enterprise, Queensland Rail and the Townsville Chamber of Commerce – found rail traﬃc between Mount Isa and the Port of Townsville would increase to 11.7 million tonnes in that time. The total cost of upgrading the rail line to carry more than 10 million tonnes of freight annually would be $250 million, $180 million of which is required to construct the Eastern Access Rail Corridor (EARC) in Townsville. Townsville Chamber of Commerce president John Carey said it would be unfair to expect new mining projects to

stump up the entire costs of upgrading the corridor. “The private sector is not asking for a handout here, but the expectation that they pay the entire cost of something like the EARC will essentially kill these new projects,” Mr Carey said. Queensland Rail and Townsville Enterprise will use the information contained in the report to provide a detailed submission to Infrastructure Australia. Dr McDonald said copies of the report would be sent to key State and federal ministers.

Experience and service equals quality

Wright’s Welding workshop supervisor Gary Wright, left, and boilermaker Matthew Zabel with a 2500 excavator bucket.

Doing business in Mount Isa means remaining accountable to world-class mining operations and a sophisticated supply chain. No one is more accountable than service providers. Stephen and Jennifer Wright from Wright’s Welding have earned their reputation for reliability and quality service. That reputation is built on delivering to the big names in the mining community including MMG Century Mine, Xstrata, Huddy’s Plant Hire, Hastings Deering, Komatsu and Liebherr as well as Byrnecut Mining and P and H Minepro. Wright’s Welding has also diversified to include agriculture, construction and local authorities. North Australian Pastoral Company, regional councils from Burke to Diamantina and builders including Bob Jakeman and RCM Contracting are counted as clients. The couple started Wright’s Welding in 1993, capturing fabrication work that was being turned away from the established providers.

From there, they grew the business into niche markets. That included rebuilding both floors in truck and trailer trays and worn excavator buckets. Stephen can rely on his son and shop foreman Gary, who has been working with the business for eight years and lead hand, Justin Hudson, who has been with the business for six years. Wright’s Welding offers on-site service. Stephen says his trades staff are well used to working remotely. “Wright’s Welding’s core business is fixing and maintaining heavy earthmoving equipment,” he says. “We have developed our capacity of quality workmanship and can draw on our experience in addressing the range of fabrication and refurbishment needs in the north-west.” The business is also the only one in Mount Isa credited to build, repair and maintain aluminium boats up to 10m in length. • For contact details see advertisement on previous page.

Part Of The Solution

March 2010 |

The Mining Advocate

Technofast Precision Engineered Solutions The old way of tightening nuts on bolts with a spanner is long gone when it comes to large-scale engineering and mining projects. Today’s method requires less effort and is more accurate than before. The use of hydraulic bolt tensioners has turned a difficult task with largely inaccurate results into a simple operation with predictable outcomes. Where there is highly specific design loads calculated, bolts can be secured at optimum tension using products manufactured by Technofast Industries Pty Ltd. In most general engineering applications, these powerful tools not only save time in performing the task but are vastly more accurate. This method also provides a major boost to job site safety,

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Mackay Regional Capacity

The Mining Advocate | March 2010

In the hunt for LNG action A local industry group has been keen to sell Mackay’s strengths to key contractors for major gas developments, writes Belinda Humphries. A round of high-level meetings with Tier 1 contractors in the United States has kick-started a Mackay Area Industry Network (MAIN) campaign to grab a large slice of upcoming LNG project work. MAIN managing director Narelle Pearse said Queensland Trade Commissioner Peter Beattie had negotiated good corporate connections for the Mackay delegation during its recent visit to the American oil and gas hub of Houston.

“At each meeting we probably had ﬁve to seven of the key decision-makers involved,” she said. The aim had been to give the companies that would be leading the construction of proposed Gladstone, PNG and Abbot Point LNG plants a clear understanding of the skills and capacity Mackay industry oﬀered, she said. The second element of MAIN’s initiative to win LNG project work for the region is a

pilot scheme to help local ﬁrms form engineering alliances with the assistance of consultant Rodin Genoﬀ (see story below). The recent MAIN-led

“We certainly got a very good hearing with the decision-makers from the companies.” delegation to Houston included Ms Pearse – who is also chief executive oﬃcer for the MackayWhitsunday Regional Economic Development Corporation,

Mick Crowe and Rod Grinsell from member company G&S Engineering and Enterprise Connect Mining Technology Innovation Centre director Peter Van Iersel. The group secured face-to-face talks with representatives from Bechtel, Worley Parsons, GE and CB&I. “We certainly got a very good hearing with the decisionmakers from the companies,” Ms Pearse said. “I think they learned a lot about what our expertise and capacity is here.” As the base for a large mining sector and with many skills that would be transferrable to gas infrastructure, Ms Pearse

said MAIN viewed the Mackay region as being a major source of supply for those projects. “There is a range of things the local guys can do from design and engineering to pipe welding, IT (information technology) and safety specialists,” she said. The group also promoted the potential that Abbot Point outside Bowen held as a possible LNG plant site and Ms Pearse said MAIN was keen to see the Energy World proposal for that site fast-tracked. The delegation’s visit to Houston was timed to co-incide with the city staging the USA Energy Conference.

Consultant to help build lucrative liaisons Consultant Rodin Genoff aims to help Mackay engineering firms better tap mining industry demand for innovation and cater to the need to adapt overseasmanufactured equipment for local conditions. Mr Rodin began meeting with companies recently in a project initiated by the Mackay Area Industry Network (MAIN) to build member companies’ capacity and capability. His company, Rodin Genoff and Associates, specialises in the development of businesses clusters and joint ventures to bid for large and technically complex projects. “The underlying aim, I guess, is to build the opportunities for Mackay engineering companies,” Mr Genoff said. “The reality is that they’re working in an environment determined by very large companies such as BHP Billiton, Xstrata and Rio Tinto. “User-driven innovation and demand by these large global companies means the local companies have to innovate and adapt. By pooling together complimentary activities they’ll be in a position to bid for more

areas where they could work together. What they lacked was a successful mechanism or vehicle that could be employed on a repeated basis to allow ﬁrms to work together as opportunities arose. Mr Ruming said the project involving Mr Genoﬀ would

Rodin Genoff with GROUP Engineering’s Allan Ruming.

technologically challenging and quite often larger contracts.” Mr Genoﬀ said Mackay had signiﬁcant strength in what he described as the foundation industry of engineering process and design. “The challenge moving forward is to take that core engineering and start to expand the potential to be able to work with other companies that, for example, may be doing laser and vision systems, sensing equipment and embedded technology to allow remotecontrol activity on site,” he said. This may involve collaboration

Picture-in-Picture (PiP)

Photo: Lauren Reed

with other industry sectors within Mackay or companies elsewhere in Australia or overseas that oﬀered the specialist capabilities required. Mr Genoﬀ met with 10 companies in February to kickstart the process and plans a further round of meetings in March. GROUP Engineering managing director Allan Ruming, who is also the deputy chair of MAIN, said local companies already had a good understanding of their capacity and capabilities, the market for their services and

120° lens rotation

hopefully generate such a model, to be tested in a pilot scheme, which could then be rolled out to a wider industry membership. MAIN is undertaking the project in conjunction with the Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation (DEEDI) and Enterprise Connect.

Engineers hit the road The Engineers Australia Mackay local group plans to spread its wings this year, with an initiative to better engage regional membership. Local group chair Peter Rosier said bus trips were planned from Mackay to the Bowen Basin coalﬁelds and Whitsunday region to visit sites of interest and meet engineers in the area. “The committee is based in Mackay and, as a consequence, most EA (Engineers Australia) events

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are held in Mackay,” Mr Rosier said. “We are aware that we have not been engaging well with the outlying members. We want to make eﬀorts to redress this. Of course, we are looking to the outlying members to assist in this matter too.” Mr Rosier said the local group’s planned activities for 2010 included monthly technical events and work with schools for Engineering Week, August 2-8.

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INDUSTRY UPDATE - COAL AND GAS

Arrow takes over

March 2010 |

The company recently announced that Bechtel Oil, Gas & Chemicals had been awarded the engineering, procurement and construction contract for the Queensland Curtis LNG plant. Bechtel has been issued an initial notice to proceed to order items such as compressors and storage tanks and to begin preparations for initial site construction.

The Mining Advocate

delivery of Santos’ transformational LNG growth strategy. At year end, GLNG project 2P reserves were 4003 PJ. The reserves build for the Gladstone project was ahead of target and exceeded the reserves requirement for the ﬁrst train, Santos said.

Skills boost for Surat Basin

Students at seven Surat Basin schools QGC will also begin to commit are being offered to orders for education and materials and training options CAIRNS equipment geared towards TOWNSVILLE for gasfield careers in the THURSDAY ISLAND development and expanding coal construction of seam gas industry. the collection The Queensland header pipeline Minerals and and a 340km main Energy Academy export trunk line (QMEA) is Without a travel agent you’re on your own to transport gas to extending its reach Gladstone from in 2010 to include QGC tenements state high schools at Roma, Chinchilla, in the Surat Basin. Dalby, Toowoomba, Oakey and Pittsworth as well as the independent Draft EIS lodged Downlands College at Toowoomba Australia Pacific LNG has lodged the – taking the total number of QMEA draft environmental impact statement schools statewide to 25. (EIS) for its coal seam gas to liquefied QMEA is offering the Surat Basin natural gas project.The EIS covers high school program with the support the gasfields in southern central of Energy Skills Queensland and coal Queensland, a 450km pipeline and a seam gas companies Origin Energy, four-production-train LNG plant on QGC and Santos. Curtis Island in Gladstone.

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Installation of a wick drain at the Fisherman’s Landing site.

Liquefied Natural Gas Limited (LNG Ltd) has entered an agreement to sell the entire Fisherman’s Landing project in Gladstone to Arrow Energy, which has been developing the coal seam gas supply infrastructure for the plant. Arrow will acquire LNG Ltd subsidiary Gladstone LNG for a combination of cash, royalties and Arrow options. These include an upfront purchase price of $51 million and a further $116.5 million in payments linked to project milestones. Initial site works have commenced at Fisherman’s Landing and project design and planning is well advanced, with first LNG production expected in late 2012. “Arrow is excited to be taking full control of the construction and future. operation of the world’s first coal seam gas to LNG facility,” Arrow Energy chief executive officer Nick Davies said.

First pipeline licence issued The Queensland Government has issued a pipeline licence to Arrow Energy to transport natural gas from the Surat Basin to Fisherman’s Landing. Mines and Energy Minister Stephen Robertson said this was the ﬁrst of several proposed licences for Gladstone LNG projects. “This represents one of the ﬁrst stages towards facilitating a LNG industry in

Queensland,” Mr Robertson said. The pipeline, expected to cost $550$600 million, will be about 470km long and is expected to transport around 90 petajoules of coal seam gas a year from a processing facility near Dalby.

Supply contracts flow QGC, a BG Group business, will commit to contracts for long-lead items valued at more than $3 billion in the ﬁrst half of 2010 as it advances plans for its LNG project at Gladstone.

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“The lodging of our draft EIS is another milestone in our progress towards a final investment decision,” project director Todd Creeger said. The final investment decision is due by December, with the first gas expected to be exported in late 2014.

Santos announces record reserves Santos has announced a 42 per cent increase in its year-end 2P (proven and probable) reserves, taking the company’s total 2P reserves to a record 1.44 billion barrels of oil equivalent. The company said the signiﬁcant increase outlined in the 2009 reserves report was the result of the consistent

Gladstone water project advances Gladstone industry is on track to gain a new water source following endorsement of the environmental impact statement for the GladstoneFitzroy River Pipeline project. Queensland Premier Anna Bligh recently announced that the Coordinator-General had signed oﬀ on a report recommending the $345 million project proceed subject to conditions. The Gladstone Area Water Board (GAWB) plans to build a 115km-long pipeline to transfer up to 30 gigalitres of water per annum from the southern bank of the lower Fitzroy River, near Rockhampton, to Gladstone.

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INDUSTRY UPDATE - COAL AND GAS

The Mining Advocate | March 2010

BMA projects fast-tracked The Queensland Resources Council has welcomed a funding commitment of more than half a billion dollars to accelerate development of the Caval Ridge mine, additional exports from the Peak Downs mine and the Stage 3 expansion of the Hay Point Coal Terminal, south of Mackay. QRC chief executive Michael Roche said the addition of up to 8 million tonnes per annum of coking coal production and the expansion of privately-owned port facilities were a substantial vote of conﬁdence in the industry and the Queensland economy. The operations in question are owned by the BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA) - a 50/50 joint venture between BHP Billiton and Mitsubishi Development Corporation. Announcing its $297 million share of the pre-approved capital, BHP Billiton said the feasibility studies for the projects were expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2011.

Waratah resource expands Waratah Coal has released new drilling results doubling the size of its central Queensland coal resources to more than seven billion tonnes. Waratah chairman Clive Palmer said drilling results for the company’s North Alpha Project, 40km north of its China First thermal coal project, had revealed an insitu resource of 3.48 billion tonnes. “Waratah’s coal resources now total approximately 7.4 billion tonnes if you add North Alpha to the China First project,” he said. The $7.5 billion China First project includes a proposed 495km railway line linking the proposed mine site near Alpha, west of Emerald, to an export coal terminal at Abbot Point.

The new contract will see Thiess operating at the Blackwater district mine for a further 10 years.

Long wide load

Thiess will invest a further $50 million into the project by introducing a new ﬂeet of seven 360-tonne Ultra Class trucks at the mine.

Asciano in $250m haulage deal Macarthur Coal has given the haulage contracts for Coppabella and Moorvale mines to Queensland Rail competitor Asciano, through its subsidiary Pacific National, in a deal worth $250 million. Asciano announced recently that it had executed a long-term contract with Macarthur Coal for the movement of 7 million tonnes of coal per annum from the Bowen Basin mines to the Dalrymple Bay Coal Terminal commencing in November this year. With its first 10 train sets in Queensland now contracted, Asciano managing director and chief executive officer Mark Rowsthorn said the company would proceed to purchase further sets to support its ongoing growth in the market. “The coal haulage opportunities presented by the northern and southern missing link infrastructure projects, as well as the development of the Surat and Galilee basins, are clearly next on our agenda,” Mr Rowsthorn said.

The mammoth shiploader makes its way from Brisbane, bound for Abbot Point.

John Holland reached a major project milestone recently with the completion of a $52 million shiploader for the Abbot Point terminal near Bowen. The new shiploader, weighing more than 1380 tonnes and standing more than 54m high, will boost coal loading capacity at the terminal to a peak average rate of 7200 tonnes per hour. The project was wholly completed in Brisbane utilising John Holland’s Richlands fabrication workshop. The shiploader is part of the $818 million Abbot Point X50 Expansion Project, which is the third-largest port expansion in the history of Queensland. “When this project is completed in 2011 it’ll increase Abbot Point’s coal export capacity to an incredible 50 million tonnes per annum - more than a 100 per cent increase on its current capacity of 21 million tonnes per annum,” State Transport Minister Rachel Nolan said.

Terms of reference released ZeroGen’s $4.3 billion proposal to build a clean coal power plant in the Bowen Basin has progressed to the next stage with the State Government releasing the draft terms of reference for environmental investigations. Infrastructure and Planning Minister Stirling Hinchliﬀe said the ZeroGen

Extension work in full flight Rio Tinto Coal Australia’s $1.3 billion Kestrel Mine Extension (KME) project near Emerald remains on track to meet its ﬁrst coal shipment in 2012. KME general manager Colin Farr said work in 2010 was expected to focus on

Origin executive general manager upstream oil and gas, Paul Zealand, said development of the Talinga gas plant had involved a peak of more than 300 workers on site in the past year, with a total of 56 wells drilled to date.

Thiess wins Curragh contract Thiess has secured an $800 million contract from Wesfarmers Curragh to continue overburden pre-strip at its Curragh North mine. The company began operations at the Bowen Basin mine in 2004 and was awarded a $260 million contract extension in 2008 after exceeding production and safety targets.

The project will see rapid growth in activity this year, including establishment of a 300-room temporary construction camp on site.

Queensland Treasurer Andrew Fraser will lead a trade mission to Papua New Guinea in March with a heavy focus on positioning Cairns as a business hub to support the country’s projected resources sector growth.

Talinga ramp up

Australia Paciﬁc LNG is a coal seam gas (CSG) to liqueﬁed natural gas (LNG) joint venture between Origin and ConocoPhillips.

The company said the establishment of three water management dams with a combined total capacity of 575 megalitres was also a major focus.

Cairns builds PNG links

“Both the North Alpha project and the West Alpha project will beneﬁt from the China First infrastructure,” Mr Palmer said

Australia Paciﬁc LNG has commenced commissioning of the second, high pressure stage of its Talinga coal seam gas development near Chinchilla in Queensland as part of the progressive ramp up to full production.

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project west of Gladstone could generate more than 2000 construction jobs and see Queensland become a world leader in clean coal technology. “If approved, construction of the $4.3 billion facility could begin in January 2012 - with start up and proving operations beginning in September 2015 and full operations from 2020,” Mr Hinchliﬀe said.

the start of construction of the conveyor to transport coal to Kestrel Mine’s facilities for processing and railing, an upgrade of the coal handling and preparation plant at Kestrel Mine and associated infrastructure and services. About 300 people are working on the KME site, where construction of two underground drifts, a ventilation shaft and major earthworks are under way.

Meanwhile Cairns Chamber of Commerce Resource and Industrial Taskforce chair Sharon Dawson said that group had recently completed a four-day visit to PNG. Ms Dawson said this had involved a 15-strong delegation of local business and chamber representatives. “New opportunities for business were identiﬁed by the delegates – from industries as diverse as shipping to engineering services,” she said.

New bus service for mines Greyhound Australia has introduced a new bus service between Emerald and Blackwater to cater for increased demand linked to mining operations. Greyhound chief executive oﬃcer Robert Thomas said mines in the region that could beneﬁt from the freight and shuttle services included Wesfarmers Curragh, Rio Tinto Kestrel, BMA Blackwater, Felix Resources Yarrabee, as well as contractors and small businesses who serviced mines in the region.

INDUSTRY UPDATE - HARDROCK

March 2010 |

Reﬁnery’s ship comes in

the United States in the early 1980s and occurs in long structural corridors known as trends, such as the famous Carlin and Battle Mountain trends which host more than 200 million ounces of gold. D’Aguilar subsidiary Navaho Gold has lodged a total of 14 applications along almost 200km of strike and covering some 3800sq km between Clermont and Collinsville.

The newly christened Pearl Halo enters the Port of Townsville for the first time.

Queensland Nickel recently celebrated the successful maiden voyage of the Pearl Halo, a newly built 58,100-tonne bulk carrier which will help the Townsville reﬁnery achieve an expected ore importation record of 4 million tonnes in 2010. Ore supply and business development manager Peter Harrington said the vessel’s charter owner, Daiichi Chuo Shipping, had allowed Queensland Nickel to name the ship in recognition of the importance of their business relationship. “I attended the naming ceremony in Cebu (in the Philippines) where the ship was constructed, representing Queensland Nickel as the sponsor of this particular ship,” Mr Harrington said. The ship will visit the Port of Townsville regularly from New Caledonia, Indonesia and the Philippines, helping transport some of the 90-odd vessel-loads of nickel ore due to be processed at Queensland Nickel’s Yabulu plant during the year.

Cloncurry joint venture Minotaur Exploration and Japan’s JOGMEC have announced a joint venture worth up to $4 million to explore for copper-gold in the Cloncurry district. This agreement brings to ﬁve the number of Australian joint ventures with JOGMEC ( Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation) since 2005, with two currently active. The Cloncurry joint venture covers

546sq km incorporating 14 tenements situated about 130km north-east of Mount Isa.

‘Carlin-style’ gold province D’Aguilar Gold has secured exploration licence applications over what it describes as an extensive new “Carlinstyle” gold province on the eastern edge of the northern section of Queensland’s Bowen Basin. Carlin-style mineralisation was typed near the town of Carlin in Nevada, in

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D’Aguilar Group exploration manager Neil Wilkins said recent Queensland Government-run geophysical surveys over much of the area had proved the key to recognising the potential of the north Bowen Basin.

The Mining Advocate

said establishment of the Cape Alumina Mapoon oﬃce and community information centre was a vital step prior to release of the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the company’s proposed Pisolite Hills mine and port project. Cape Alumina expects to complete the EIS by the ﬁrst half of this year and be in a position to commence construction in 2012, subject to the outcome of the bankable feasibility study and receipt of all regulatory Water approvals. Trucks

Eva excites

NuPower Resources says it has received a second batch of high-grade uranium-gold www.equipmentplacement.com.au assay results from Eva prospect in the Northern Territory, conﬁrming the Boost to Kokomo resource existence of signiﬁcant mineralisation. Metallica Minerals has released an updated independent resource estimate for the Kokomo deposit, 4km north of Greenvale in North Queensland. The combined measured, indicated and inferred mineral resource for the Kokomo nickel-cobalt-scandium laterite project now stands at 16.3 million tonnes at 0.67 per cent nickel and 0.12 per cent cobalt. The company said this was a 4.1 million-tonne increase on the 2008 estimate, which had similar grades. Metallurgical test work is ongoing and Metallica is undertaking a scoping study into trucking high-grade scandium and nickel-cobalt ore to a possible processing plant located at Greenvale as part of the company’s NORNICO project.

Far northern shopfront Bauxite hopeful Cape Alumina has set up an oﬃce in the western Cape York community of Mapoon. Managing director Dr Paul Messenger

NuPower executive chairman Mick Muir said the latest results conﬁrmed the company’s belief that Eva was an exciting deposit with exceptional grades over signiﬁcant widths at shallow depths.

Arafura fundraising Arafura Resources has launched a $35 million capital raising bid, comprised of a $17.5 million placement and associated rights issue, to help advance its Nolans rare earth project in the Northern Territory. “Arafura’s 100 per cent-owned Nolans project contains a world-class rare earths deposit capable of supporting a 20-year mine life and the company is targeting production of 20,000 tonnes of rare earth oxide per annum from 2013,” managing director Dr Steve Ward said. “The fact that Arafura is one of the few near-term rare earths producers outside China capable of supplying customers in markets throughout the world makes the company attractive to all global rare earth users.”

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INDUSTRY UPDATE - HARDROCK

The Mining Advocate | March 2010

Tanami gold rush

charged in relation to the contamination of waterways during 2009.

Q Copper off the table Cape Lambert Resources has withdrawn the initial public offering (IPO) for spin-off company Q Copper Australia, saying it will hold off until market conditions improve. The company said it intended to proceed with its planned exploration drilling program at the Lady Annie project in the meantime.

The matters are due for court mentions in Mount Isa and Cloncurry in late March and early April.

Magnetite contract awarded Ausenco has won a $9.6 million engineering, procurement and construction management contract for the planned magnetite Service extraction plant at Trucks Xstrata Copper’s Ernest Henry Mining (EHM) operation near Cloncurry.

“Whilst we are disappointed with the deterioration of the market in recent weeks, and its impact on the IPO, Lady Annie remains a very good copper project within Construction of a substantial the magnetite plant landholding in the will be undertaken world-class Mount www.equipmentplacement.com.au during 2010 with Isa Inlier,” Cape commissioning Lambert executive expected in early 2011. chairman Tony Sage said. Cape Lambert bought the Lady Annie operation, 120km north of Mount Isa, last year along with other assets linked to failed mining junior CopperCo.

Environmental charges Charges have been laid against four mining companies in northwest Queensland recently relating to environmental harm and water management. MMG Century faces two charges, each carrying a maximum penalty of $832,500, for allegedly causing serious environmental harm by discharging contaminated wastewater into Page Creek during the heavy wet season earlier in the year. The State Government said Birla Mt Gordon had also been charged over issues including continuing to store excessive amounts of contaminated water on site.

Silver Hill on hold Conquest Mining’s definitive feasibility study for the Silver Hill gold-silvercopper project in North Queensland has revealed lower than expected commercial returns. The project would still be profitable but was not sufficiently robust to develop before off take arrangements were finalised, managing director John Terpu stated in a recent ASX announcement. “In its current form, the project does not provide the board sufficient confidence to commit to a development timetable at this stage,” he said Conquest has appointed consultants to conduct a strategic review of the project, south-east of Charters Towers.

Limited mining at Handlebar Hill

Meanwhile former Lady Annie mine owner CopperCo and Great Australia Mine owner, the Australian Raw Materials Corporation, have been

Xstrata Zinc has restarted operations on a limited basis at its Handlebar Hill mine outside Mount Isa. The company said the site, placed in care and maintenance in February 2009 due to the downturn in global commodity

An aerial photograph of the Groundrush treatment plant.

Tanami Gold plans to restart mining at the former Groundrush gold project in the Northern Territory after acquiring the operation from Newmont Mining Corporation recently for $22 million. The acquisition is part of a broader transaction with Tanami Gold’s exploration alliance partner ABM Resources encompassing an extensive exploration portfolio being divested by Newmont in the Tanami-Arunta region of central Australia. Tanami Gold is now targeting an increase in production from its combined tenement holdings to more than 200,000 oz of gold per annum within two years. Managing director Graeme Sloan said this would be achieved through the new assets and increased production at Tanami’s Coyote project, about 90km west of the new tenements, which is currently producing about 50,000 oz of gold a year. The Groundrush project was mothballed by its previous owners in 2005.

markets, was now being mined opportunistically to support production throughput in the Mount Isa zinc-lead concentrator. “We have opted to share ﬂeet resources between the nearby Black Star open cut and Handlebar Hill when they are available,” Xstrata Zinc Australia chief operating oﬃcer Brian Hearne said. “For example, we will use these resources to mine Handlebar Hill when there are scheduled breaks in mining at Black Star.”

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Hunt for bauxite Monax Mining has signed a deal which will see it explore for bauxite on ﬁve highly prospective Delminco tenements west of Coen on Cape York Peninsula. The company is paying $50,000 for the rights to the tenements, covering 1358sq km, over the next year. It will have the option of then buying a tenement outright for a ﬁnal payment of $500,000. Monax has also recently submitted three exploration permit applications covering an area of about 644sq km on Cape York.

BETWEEN SHIFTS

March 2010 |

Coal to Liquids and Gas to Liquids Conference

The Mining Advocate

PHOTOS: Fiona Harding

SoďŹ tel, Brisbane

Adam Martin (Air Liquide Australia) with Steve Pearce (Solid Energy NZ).

Uwe Zwiefelhofer and Peter Downie (Lurgi) with Chris Hagan (Coalworks).

Sean Rooney and Renee Kjar (both from the Department of Primary Industries, Victoria).

Peter Sallons (Liberty Resources), Matthew Robinson (BMT WBM) and Toshihide Hiriai (Chiyoda Corporation).

Rick Penning (Rentech USD) and Merrill Gray (Syngas/GulfX).

Paul Harrison (Queensland Government) and Brian Diver (BOC).

Central Highlands Development Corporation business forum

PHOTOS: Sue Sands

Gateway Motel, Emerald

Noeleen Mazza (Mazza Industries) with Maureen McMartin (Emerald Visitor Information Centre).

Mary Carroll (Capricorn Tourism), Perry Bacon (Explorerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Inn, Emerald) and Robyn Edward (Central Highlands Development Corporation).

Jocelyn Bate (Bendee station) with Peter Maguire (Central Highlands Regional Council mayor).

Nicole Travis (Capricorn Tourism) with Maureen Tutton (Rio Tinto Kestrel Coal).

Michelle Waters (MRAEL) with Grant and Susie Craker (Sargent 4WD Hire).

Deborah Mead (AusIndustry) and Derek Bremer (Enterprise Connect).

BETWEEN SHIFTS

The Mining Advocate | March 2010

Shave for a Cure fundraising barbecue

PHOTOS: Erica Smith

Red Mountain Joint Venture CHPP, Moranbah

Pete Brooks (BMC Poitrel), Nathan Filinski (MEC Mining), Melvin Leonard (Elastomers Australia) and Mark Brenmuhl (Global Cranes).

Kieran Mitchell (Sedgman), Andrew Raguse (Sedgman), Jenni English (Reserve Group) and Daniel Jones (Peabody Energy).

Ian Gibson (Gibson Instrumentation Services) with Cameron Welsh (Sedgman).

Chris Vassallo (G & S Engineering), Vincent Malayta (Sarina Crane Hire) and Keith Green (G & S Engineering).

Mount Isa Chamber of Commerce networking function

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Andrew Dineen (Parker Travel Collection), Joh Switzer (Zinc 666) and Mike Thinee (Skytrans).

Steve Jones (Skytrans) with Alisha Nagel (Zinc 666).

Errol Culbertson and Kris Strahle (both from Pybar) with Bill Cummings (Cummings Economics).

Alan Mathieson (Airside Logistics), Gary Murray (Harvey World Travel), David Glasson (Liquip Engineering) and Robert Mathieson (Airside Logistics).

Stuart Bryans (One Steel), Yancy McDonald (Firelift Engineering) and Ron Moren (RGM Welding Services).

Tanya Burns (BlueScope), Leanne Power (BlueScope), Jade Muir (Chocoholics Anonymous) and Fiona Millican (Firelift Engineering).

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Queensland Nickel Supply Chain Initiative networking drinks

The Mining Advocate

PHOTOS: Stewart McLean

The Mercure Inn, Townsville

Clyde Evans (NQEA) and Neville Kerr (Krause Safety and Training).

Alan Azzopardi (Queensland Nickel), Trevor Goldstone (Townsville Enterprise) and Trefor Flood (Queensland Nickel).

Mick Gedling (KG Engineering) and Marcel McLeod (Total Fab Engineering Services).

David Cole (Dec- Mech) and Paul Schulten (Condition Monitoring Services).

Geoff Adams (Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation) with Mario Martini and Gary Christian (both from QMI Solutions).

Mark Williams and George Clarke (both Pacific Coast Engineering) with Basil Ahyick (Queensland Nickel).

New AECOM launch

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AECOM Tower, Townsville

Richard Barrett (AECOM NQ), Mario Zappala (Parkside Developments) and Kelly May (AECOM NQ).

Michael Arri (AECOM NQ) and Craig Bloxham (AECOM WA).

Stephen Downs (AECOM NQ), Sonya Bryce (AECOM NQ) and Andy Olsen (AECOM SQ).

Tony Craperi (AECOM NQ), John Hathaway (Department of Defence) and Dyrick Hobbs (AECOM NQ).

Jake Pienaar (AECOM NQ) and Michelle Jackson (Hays Recruitment).

Rob Kent (Townsville City Council) and Amy Cook (AECOM NQ).

BETWEEN SHIFTS

The Mining Advocate | March 2010

BOC helium plant official opening

PHOTOS: Christopher Knight

Wickham Point, Darwin

Douglas Gorry, Jeswant Brahamanandam and Neville Carrington (all from Darwin LNG) with Ian Winton (BOC).

Harry Heek , Dan Wilson and Jason Garrett (all BOC).

Bruce Currie, Emma James, and Ross Huggett (all BOC).

Allen Gower (BOC), Kirkor Kurtcuoglo (Linde Group), Steve Penn (BOC) and Brian Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Gallagher (NT Government).

Shona Faber (BOC) with Joseph Yu (Linde Group).

Peter Re (BOC), Warring Neilsen (Elgas), Stephen Sheppard (BOC) and Simon Smith (BOC).

Australian Institute of Company Directors business breakfast

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Ocean International, Mackay

Bill Frier and Yvonne Carson (both WHF Group).

Brad Fish (North Queensland Bulk Ports), Steve Payne (Commonwealth Bank) and Col Meng (Mackay Regional Council Mayor).

Scott Manley and Francis Attard (both from Key Solutions Group).

Dr Thomas Block (MADEC) with Paul Haffner and Doug Lithgow (both from Multiskilled Resources Australia).

Mark Johnson (Seawave Mining) and Peter Tait (SH Tait & Co).

Kurt Volenhoven (Drivetrain Power), Dr Pierre Viljoen (CQ University) and Kim Gebers (Dalrymple Bay Coal Terminal).

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EMMISSIONS

The Mining Advocate | March 2010

Overlooked path to carbon cuts Refining existing systems to be more efficient will make major inroads in meeting emission reduction targets, a leading engineer says. In the often heated debate on greenhouse gas emissions and carbon pricing, the potential gains offered by energy efficiency measures in homes and businesses are being overlooked, according to a prominent Australian engineer. Rolfe Hartley, a past national president of Engineers Australia and chair of the National Engineering Registration Board, said discussions on emission reductions had tended to focus on “big ticket” items such as reforming the power generation industry. “We’re ignoring those achievements that can be made by improving efficiency in existing systems such as commercial and residential building systems and transport systems,” Mr Hartley said.

“The International Energy Agency did some modelling on a whole range of scenarios and over each of those about 45 per cent of the reduction that needed to be achieved (to avoid the worst effects of climate change) can be achieved through refining existing systems.” Mr Hartley said the expertise existed in Australia right now to make many of the changes required, as was evident in some of the work being done on five or six-star energy-rated buildings. New technology and methods were emerging also to improve the situation. However Mr Hartley said there was a need for more people to generate ideas and continually expand the frontiers of engineering. “There are not enough people

Rolfe Hartley National Engineering Registration Board chairman

doing that - we are desperately short of engineers in Australia,” he said. Mr Hartley said while it was necessary to invest resources into

“big ticket” items for emission reduction such as investigating alternatives to coal-fired power generation, for example, there was also a need to look into improving efficiencies in existing processes and plants. Good design in residential buildings could also achieve great energy efficiencies, including in heating and cooling systems. The selection of materials with a manufacturing process which was relatively energy efficient would also reduce the carbon footprint of a new home. “There’s a tremendous amount of work being done in the commercial sector but not much in residential,” Mr Hartley said. “The majority of houses are designed by builders and don’t necessarily take advantage of these things we can do relatively simply to increase energy efficiency.” Mr Hartley said there was a need for better co-ordinated

awareness and rebate programs to encourage more home owners to invest in energy efficiency measures. The Federal Government should also be encouraging energy efficient design in new homes by offering rebates for upfront costs, he said. When it came to SMES (small and medium enterprises), many would like to introduce efficiencies to reduce the cost of operations for their plant or facilities, Mr Hartley said. “But it requires significant capital outlay and, while returns can often be there quickly, making that capital outlay can be difficult,” he said. While engineering expertise could help such businesses find the most cost-effective options, Mr Hartley said there was also a need for support programs to ease the financial burden of making the initial investment.

Taking a load oﬀ the environment An ideal avenue for many mining companies to reduce costs and carbon emissions lies in the power supply options adopted for portable accommodation camps, according to generator specialists WASP. The ﬂuctuating load produced by camps, including dramatic spikes at shower and meal times, provided an opportunity to truly customise generator selection to suit the load and slash fuel consumption, Brisbane-based WASP applications engineer Jerry Radsord said. “Traditionally, two generators have been used to power camps a large running machine capable

of satisfying the maximum demand and a second standby generator that runs in the event of failure of the ﬁrst generator,” Mr Radsord said. This approach meant the larger machine would use far more fuel than was necessary during shoulder and base loads, resulting in unnecessary carbon emissions. Mr Radsord said also generators were designed to operate at a minimum of 50 per cent of their maximum-rated capacity. If a unit was used on lighter loads for an extended period, severe and irreversible engine damage would result, he said.

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“The real key to maximising eﬃciency and cost beneﬁts to any accommodation camp is to develop a power plan,” Mr Radsord said. “Although there are general rules of thumb that can be used as a guide, the more accurate the information that can be obtained

about the camp’s actual load, the greater the fuel savings that can be achieved.” He believes a three-generator system should ideally be used to power camps. “This allows for a smaller machine to operate during the base load in order to maximise

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SAFETY

The Mining Advocate | March 2010

Aidan’s idea catches on

Left - Aidan Gorlick in his backyard workshop. Below - The ARG chock at work.

Wheel chocks designed by a Dysart dragline operator may soon be standard issue across a swag of Bowen Basin coal mines. Ten years ago Aidan Gorlick combined a couple of bits of angle iron with some oldfashioned ingenuity to make life easier when it came to chocking the wheels of his beaten-up old work car. Now the Dysart resident’s patented ARG chocks are being used throughout BMA’s Norwich Park coal operation and the company is considering rolling them out to other Bowen Basin sites. Mr Gorlick’s device consists of two long triangles joined by a backing plate with a folding handle, eliminating the need for people to bend down when inserting or removing wheel chocks. “It’s a lot easier than the other chocks. If it saves one bloke’s back from being hurt, I

have achieved something,” Mr Gorlick said. Mr Gorlick, a qualiﬁed boilermaker, created the device while employed with a private contractor at the Stanwell power station outside Rockhampton about a decade ago. His work vehicle, with a generator set in the back, had lacked a working handbrake. “To start the genset I had to have the car running,” Mr Gorlick said. “I got sick of leaving my work boots under the tyres to stop it running away. “I knew it wasn’t too good, so I got a couple of bits of angle iron from the workshop and made these chocks up for myself.” Mr Gorlick has since been employed as a dragline operator with BMA, which requires

workers to chock vehicle wheels when not parked in a designated parking zone. After hearing of a colleague hurting his back while taking a conventional chock out from under his tyre, Mr Gorlick said he had approached his safety officer and described his design. He was asked to make up a sample, but had been very surprised when the officer then asked if he could fill an order for 100 chocks, he said. “In one week I had to start up a business (ARG Industries). I had a little workshop made out the back and I got stuck into doing them,” Mr Gorlick said. “It has been working out really well.

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“I have had a lot of comments from the blokes at work about them – they really do like them.” Norwich Park Mine general manager Gus Gomes said one of BMA’s seven “Life Saving Rules” required employees and contractors to park equipment securely so that it could not move in an uncontrolled way. “Aidan’s invention was not only very practical, but easy to implement. It greatly assists to make a safe practice even safer and ensures correct ergonomic posture while chocking vehicles,” Mr Gomes said. “Less than two months after the chocks were designed, they were already widely embraced by our entire workforce.”

Mr Gorlick has received an engineer’s certiﬁcate setting out structural capacity guidelines for the device. He can see potential for ARG Industries to become a full-time enterprise as more mines adopt his style of wheel chocks. “I will see how it goes. It might turn out that way,” Mr Gorlick said. People seeking further information can contact ARG Industries at argindustries@ bigpond.com. or by phoning 0400 779236.

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BIGGER, TOUGHER, BETTER

The Mining Advocate | March 2010

FLIR P660 infrared camera Thermographic inspection offers an effective means of predicting and preventing failure in a range of mechanical and electrical equipment used in mine production. With a thermal sensitivity of 45mK, FLIR’s P660 boasts the ability to locate potential problems well in advance of failure. This lightweight infrared device offers cordless operation and low power consumption to assure long hours of operation in the field. It features a large 5.6” colour LCD display and includes built-in GPS technology for geo-referencing of the infrared images.

Cat 973D track loader

Ultra-Lok RSQ self-retracting lifeline fFall protection specialists DBI-SALA recently launched this “first-ofa-kind” device, which provides the user with either the traditional fall-arrest mode or rescue/descent mode. he This two-in-one operation allows the device to be optimised for the work site while providing the ultimate level of worker safety. With a 15m lifeline, the Ultra-Lok RSQ includes DBI-SALA’s i-Safe system to fast-track inspections, control inventory and manage information.

The latest model in Caterpillar’s D-Series track loader line-up boasts 10 per cent more power than its predecessor, the Cat 973C, and greater fuel efficiency. Described by the manufacturer as an all-purpose performer, the 973D features a new operator’s station with tilting cab and optional joystick controls. It is powered by a Cat C9 diesel engine and includes a loadssensing system with a variable-displacement pump.

ump ZW double-suction vertical pump KSB GIW’s ZW pump series offers an economical answer for aggressive corrosive and abrasive slurry applications including dewatering, floor clean-up and process transfer. The ZW double-suction vertical pump features top and bottom suction, allowing for high concentration pumpability and maximum clearing of sump, while its semi-open impeller design allows free passage for large solids.

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Best Tractor Parts Promotion

March 2010 |

The Mining Advocate

Component output ramps up Workshop conditions have gone ahead in “leaps and bounds” with the recent BTP shift and so too has performance, says this supervisor. Best Tractor Parts (BTP) Queensland’s new facilities will allow the workshop to enhance its throughput of vehicles and machinery being stripped for components, resulting in increased availability of parts for clients. Employee numbers are also on the rise, with two ﬁtters, a boilermaker, tool storeman and trades assistants due to come on board by the end of March, taking the total workshop strength to 18. “The new premises will allow us to put more people on and get rid of the backlog, meaning more components in stock,” workshop supervisor Aaron Poli said. The workshop operations include wrecking and stripping heavy earthmoving equipment for parts, maintaining the company’s rental ﬂeet and a service exchange business for Caterpillar, Hitachi and Komatsu components. The company’s new complex at Connors Rd, Paget, includes four full work bays with high

bay facilities, two new 10-tonne overhead gantry cranes, a fully equipped wash pad with water recycling facilities, a small boilermaker shop and an air-conditioned, dust-free component room with two three-tonne overhead gantry cranes. There is also extensive concreted workspace outdoors that can be utilised for repairs should the bays be occupied. “The speed of turning over components now is a lot quicker than it ever used to be,” Mr Poli said. “We can handle a bigger inﬂux of machinery to ﬁx at one time, whereas before we were pretty much tripping over each other.” He said the workshop crew was previously limited by having just one undercover work bay, with much of the machinery stripping occurring outside. With an internal bay now dedicated to stripping, that work could continue “come rain, hail or shine”, he said. Mr Poli said the new

BTP workshop supervisor Aaron Poli at the new premises in Paget.

workshop was a well-designed space, with designated walkways free of trip hazards and features such as retractable airlines and state-of-the-art compressors which enhanced safety and ease of use. “It honestly just doesn’t compare (with the old workshop),” he said. “Safety-wise and output-wise we have gone ahead in leaps and bounds.”

He said the new workshop could also accommodate larger vehicles than the old Ron Searle Drive premises. “We just had a Caterpillar 785 rear dump in here and we could go much bigger,” Mr Poli said. Mr Poli has been with BTP for the past 10 months, making the switch from Komatsu Mackay, where he was working as build supervisor. The fact that the Mackay BTP

Photo: Lauren Reed.

operation was part of a growing, Australian, family-owned business had been attractive, he said. “The benefits of working for a family-owned business directed by Greg (Murphy) himself means that decisions can be made locally at the branch rather than having to go through different cities to get an answer. That’s definitely a drawcard for me,” he said.

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Best Tractor Parts Promotion

The Mining Advocate | March 2010

Left - Greg Murphy with the restored Best 30 tractor, built in 1923, which is proudly displayed outside the new complex at Paget. Photo: Lauren Reed

Broader horizons

Inset - The Best 30 before its restoration in the BTP Mackay workshop.

Bigger and better premises have perfectly positioned Best Tractor Parts Queensland for a new wave of growth. Mackay-based company Best Tractor Parts Queensland is set to triple its business over the coming ﬁve years, according to managing director Greg Murphy. BTP Queensland was seeing evidence of an industry upturn and, with the recent move to bigger premises in Paget, it was well placed to meet demand, Mr Murphy said. “Being in the new premises will help us to keep expanding this business,” he said. “We have forecasts in place for the future – we’d like to triple what we are currently doing.” BTP Queensland has been

operating out of new facilities at 191 Connors Rd, Paget since December and recently celebrated the move with a launch party and open day. Mr Murphy said the six-acre site (2.4ha) included almost 5000sq m of built space. This includes 1520sq m of workshop space and a 1540sq m parts warehouse. “We’d run out of room in our old premises (at Ron Searle Drive, Mackay Harbour),” Mr Murphy said. “We had a workshop and warehouse there and another 5km down the road and several empty

blocks of dirt around Mackay - we wanted to put it all in one area.” The new facilities had increased the scope of work BTP could perform and dramatically lifted workshop capacity, he said. Mr Murphy moved from

Perth to start the Mackay-based Queensland operations for BTP in 2001 and said the business had grown threefold since then. The family-owned BTP group

includes bases in Perth and the Singleton region in New South Wales. Mr Murphy said there had been strong growth across the group in the past ﬁve years, particularly in Queensland and Western Australia. The business originated in the mid 1980s, when Caterpillar distributor Wigmores saw an opportunity to market used earthmoving machinery parts and established Best Tractor Parts. Australian company Emeco purchased Best Tractor Parts in 1987 and The Murphy Family Trust took over in 1999, subsequently establishing the Queensland and New South Wales arms of the business.

Good value shines through The pressure on purchasing officers to shop around for good prices has assisted Best Tractor Parts Queensland to win increased business with major mining companies during the economic downturn. New and used parts sales manager Simon Ross believes the company will not only maintain that foothold, but see it firm as the industry’s recovery gathers pace. “Our goal is to become the No. 1 supplier of heavy earthmoving components in Australia,” Mr Ross said. “What we’ve just built here, the new facility, should really enable us to meet that goal in the next couple of years. “We want to be the business that comes straight to people’s minds when a component in their machine has just failed. We want to be the first port of call for those people.” Mr Ross said BTP Queensland’s business had increased substantially since 2007 as a result of the economic downturn – a fact that had enabled the firm to bring forward the development of the new Connors Rd premises. He believed the company would maintain the customer relationships it had gained in that time as the Bowen Basin mining industry entered what he believed was the next boom. The mining industry accounts for the vast majority of BTP’s business, with the company specialising in providing parts for heavy earthmoving equipment including Terex, Komatsu, Caterpillar, Hitachi and Liebherr machines. “We buy the machines,

Simon Ross BTP new and used parts sales manager

dismantle them, recondition the components and put them on the shelf to satisfy customer demands,” Mr Ross said. “There is no other business in Australia or overseas that would supply the variety of parts that we oﬀer. We’re a bit of a one-stop shop for the mining industry.” Mr Ross said the price for parts provided by BTP was 20-30

per cent lower than equivalent new or reconditioned parts from OEMs (original equipment manufacturers). As well as competitive pricing, he said BTP oﬀered reliable, knowledgeable and friendly service. “We’re not a big OEM. We realise that if a part doesn’t perform as expected to we won’t get repeat business,” he said While the Mackay-based BTP operation sends out hundreds of parts each week to mines in the Bowen Basin and elsewhere in Australia, Mr Ross said about 30 per cent of its business came from overseas. The company supplied mines in countries including New Zealand, the Philippines, Indonesia, Canada, the United States, South Africa, Dubai, India, Egypt and the United Kingdom, he said. Mr Ross said Best Tractor Parts was open 24/7 to meet any customer request. “If BTP Queensland don’t have it on the shelf, we have a variety of suppliers around the world that can get it for us,” he said.

The new BTP premises at 191 Connors Road, Paget.

Opening celebrations raise $53,000-plus for charity Best Tractor Parts roped in rugby league legend Wally Lewis to help launch the business’s new premises, using The King’s star power to assist in raising more than $53,000 for charity amidst the opening celebrations. More than 300 people attended a Friday night function featuring Lewis as guest speaker, according to event organisers DP Advertising. DP Advertising sales manager Chris Bonanno said the launch party was aimed at providing BTP clients with a sneak peek at the new premises and the chance to celebrate the opening with staﬀ.

The night’s entertainment included a live band and a charity auction conducted by Hassall Auctions to raise funds for CQ Rescue and the Leukaemia Foundation. Mr Bonanno said Lewis, who attended with wife Jacqui, had signed many of the items up for auction, adding value to the lots. An open day at Best Tractor Parts’ multimillion-dollar Paget complex the following day drew more than 1000 people. Mr Bonanno said Lewis had been inundated with fans wishing to have memorabilia signed.

Hire and sales focus for new business arm A new company has emerged from Best Tractor Parts operations across Australia to focus on the hire and sale of earthmoving machines. Mackay-based sales and rental manager Richard Belcham is in charge of business in the eastern states and Northern Territory for BTP Equipment, which was formed in January this year. He said the formation of the new company would mean a greater focus on equipment hire and sales, which had

previously been run only as a sideline to BTP’s successful parts division in Queensland and New South Wales. In Western Australia, BTP had already been running a separate Tahmoore equipment business and this was also now operating under the BTP Equipment banner, he said. Mr Belcham said BTP Equipment oﬀered clients a wide range of machinery for hire or sale, with everything from 30-tonne to 300-tonne excavators and D8

to D11 dozers in its ﬂeet, for example. The world-wide procurement network that BTP had in place also gave the equipment arm excellent capability in sourcing particular pieces to meet client requests, he said. Mr Belcham said he could see a huge potential for growth in this aspect of BTP business. He was already receiving good feedback from clients and was working on some substantial proposals, he said.

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Mount Isa Property Special Promotion

The Mining Advocate | March 2010

A top-shelf investment option It may seem a big call to say that property opportunities in Mount Isa can provide, in some cases, superior returns and value for money to many ﬂashier centres in south-east Queensland. Due to returns and certain opportunities in and around Mount Isa, the Queensland Property Investors Group has been bringing outside money into the outback town for the past four years. Principal Tony McDonald, who has more than 25 years’ experience in property and ﬁnance throughout Queensland, has been promoting Mount Isa as one of the places to invest in Queensland. “In today’s market, people are more educated and discerning regarding their investment

property choices,” Mr McDonald said. “Our investors come from as far aﬁeld as Sydney and Perth they are looking for properties with capital growth potential. “The mining industry drives the economies of Queensland and Western Australia. “The current resurgence in mining and infrastructure development does impact certain cities and towns in regional Queensland. “But while there will always be highs and lows in the market, operations like Mount Isa Mines remain stalwart. “These large mining companies have core staﬀ numbers which support families, they have highcost maintenance agendas which support local economies and they

Investors are getting some of the best returns in their portfolios from Mount Isa real estate. Photo: Roslyn Budd

have a corporate commitment to growth which they are legally obliged to pursue.” Mr McDonald said this

wealth ﬂowed to the east coast - not vice versa. “Conversely the economic drivers in many coastal communities are building

and tourism, both of which are volatile industries,” he said. The Queensland Property Investors Group identifies potential areas for stable, ongoing growth. They also take rental returns and the ability to valueadd to property into the equation. “The appeal of areas such as Mount Isa comes in the unique rental returns and the ability to make real capital returns in the short term,” Mr McDonald said. “At the end of the day, every area is different, every property is different.” Mr McDonald said the Queensland Property Investors Group helped people to create a plan to build their wealth and then assisted them in locating suitable property opportunities to achieve their goals.

Buyers’ market in boom town The heat is being turned up on the Mount Isa property market. Director of Ray White Real Estate Mount Isa, Rifet Turcinovic, says it is in line with the optimistic outlook for the mining industry. “The talking down of the minerals market has stopped and everyone is holding their breath to see what is around the corner,” Mr Turcinovic said. “Business has been steady since the 2008 global financial crisis and the announcements of several significant investments have replaced any pessimism.” Mr Turcinovic said the catalysts for change were Xstrata’s half a billion dollar investment in its Ernest Henry Mining operation outside Cloncurry, Cape Lambert’s reigniting the failed Lady Annie mine north of Mount Isa and movements from junior miners. “Xstrata has made a business decision based on the quality of the resource and demand for base metals,” he said. “It is a tremendous show of confidence in the region. “More junior miners are starting to invest in plant and machinery, which means they are closer to production. “On top of this there are at least two uranium explorers in Mount Isa who are proving up ground in anticipation of a change in government policy to allow mining in Queensland. “We also have new airlines flying into and out of Mount Isa. “This is a big confidence boost for our city.” The real estate website Domain.com reported median house prices at $342,500 and median unit prices at $270,000 in Mount Isa in the 12 months to February 2010. The website reported capital growth rates of 30 per cent in median house prices in 2004-05. Growth has tapered off since then to the point where it is now

a buyers’ market, according to Mr Turcinovic. “It is now a matter of when the market will shift,” he said. “It won’t be long now. There are traditionally low vacancy rates and even now investors can expect rental returns upwards of 8 and 9 per cent.” The performance of the Ray

White team in Mount Isa speaks volumes for the local market. In 2009 Laurelle Cavanough achieved second place in Australia in residential sales for the Ray White Rural Group. Ray White Rural Mount Isa also achieved eighth place nationwide in residential and rural sales.

Healy Heights is the premier suburb in Mount Isa.

Photo: Roslyn Budd

Healy Heights raises the bar

The outlook for mining and real estate is improving in Mount Isa. Photo: Roslyn Budd

A subdivision located to the south-east of Mount Isa has created a residential market of its own in the mining city. Healy Heights was conceived by Mount Isa City Council in the ﬁrst half of the last decade in response to the chronic lack of housing in the city. The new generation of business owners, engineers and managers

Entrepreneur turns to the Isa The Gold Coast’s Young Entrepreneur of the Year is looking to Mount Isa to expand his award-winning business. Managing director of MKM Homes, Michael Kljaic, built five homes in Mount Isa last year and already has eight on the books for 2010. After starting business 15 years ago, MKM Homes is now building 50 homes a year and has offices on the Gold Coast and in Warwick. They set up a third base in Mount Isa two years ago. Mr Kljaic said there were many advantages in doing business in regional areas like Mount Isa. “The approvals process in regional areas is generally much faster than the south-east corner of the state,” he said. “We are building in Gladstone, Rockhampton and Ipswich as well as Mount Isa, among others, and we find local authorities much more responsive - which is good for business.”

MKM Homes has made a name for itself by delivering on-time and on-budget homes in areas like Mount Isa where tradespeople can be in short supply. “Our secret is projecting excess capacity in tradespeople to where the business calls for it,” Mr Kljaic said. “Combining fly in-fly out staff with local tradespeople makes for a winning combination. “We have tradespeople flying into Mount Isa from Cairns and Townsville at the moment. “They will be there for around five weeks. Others may fly in from the Gold Coast. I know them all and know they can deliver a good job.” Mr Kljaic said MKM Homes’ efficiencies and established relationships with suppliers resulted in savings which could be passed on to clients. “We are cheaper. In Mount Isa we found where we can source cheaper trusses, for example. That makes us competitive,” he said.

coming into the city wanted modern conveniences and access to technological innovations, as well as a planned community in which to raise their children. It seems they got it. The council has 180 blocks planned for the community, which is being progressively rolled out. About 70 blocks have so far been released. Sales consultant with Mount Isa Properties and Auctioneers, Kim McKelvie, has sold 21 properties in the subdivision in the past 14 months and says homes in the exclusive area are commanding prices in the late $500,000s and early $600,000s. That compares to a median house price of about $324,000 for the rest of the city. Ms McKelvie said homes that came on the market in Healy Heights were readily taken up, mostly by owner-occupiers. “Healy Heights is its own market by virtue of the demand for the type of housing,” she said. “Homes here generally hold their value, even when the market is slow. Its position in relation to the mine oﬀers an opportunity to enjoy the night views over the city and also nestle in the raw beauty of the surrounding hills. “For those who have held on to the vision, Healy Heights is going ahead. It is now the most sought-after land in Mount Isa.”

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Xstrata Mount Isa Mining Expo Promotion

The Mining Advocate | March 2010

Event a ‘must go’ for industry The mining expo may be a proven success for the north-west, but that hasn’t stopped efforts to keep improving on its winning formula. Xstrata Mount Isa Mining Expo organisers push hard to take the event to a new level each year, says Chamber of Commerce president Brett Peterson. “We want our event to be seen not just as an expo, but a ‘must go’ event on the Queensland industry calendar,” he said. With the event marking its 15th anniversary in 2010, Mr Peterson described the expo as a real success story in the relationship between the chamber

and the mining industry. While the public event may only last a matter of days, he said the work behind the scenes went on for 12 months as the team considered how it could continue to improve the expo experience. Mr Peterson said networking initiatives such as “Meet the Buyer” spots oﬀering exhibitors face-to-face meetings with mine purchasing oﬃcers were an important plank of the event’s industry appeal.

Brett Peterson Mount Isa Chamber of Commerce president

“We’ve had a great response from several mines who are bringing more purchasing oﬃcers

because they think it’s a great way to look at new products or generic products that offer the same benefits at a cheaper price,” Mr Peterson said. “When you’re getting that sort of response back from purchasing officers and a fantastic response from exhibitors, you know you’re on the right track.” While the industry had suffered ups and downs, Mr Peterson said interest in the expo had remained strong and its location at the heart of a major mineral province with an impressive potential for growth bode well for its ongoing success. “It has given exhibitors a way

to showcase their services and what they can supply to the mining industry in one strategic location,” he said. “We are the hub of the North West Mineral Province. With a lot of exploration being carried out, mines getting ready to open or looking at the feasibility stage, this is deﬁnitely the event to be at for suppliers.” The expo also helps the mining sector engage with the general community, including oﬀering many children with extra insight into the industry that employs dad or mum. About 8000 visitors went through the exhibits at Buchanan Park in 2009.

There’s no place like the Isa for Patricia The driving force in organising this year’s mining expo, Patricia O’Callaghan holds what may well be the perfect qualiﬁcations for the job. The 26-year-old not only brings a work history of event marketing and public relations to the role, but a lifelong love of Mount Isa. Ms O’Callaghan has been manager of the Mount Isa Chamber of Commerce since 2007 and is now organising her third mining expo. Born and bred in Mount Isa, Ms O’Callaghan’s only stint outside the mining city was for three years in Brisbane, when she studied at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT). “I had oﬀers to stay in

Brisbane but declined them and came back home where I’m surrounded by family and friends,” she said. Those loved ones include mother Efrenia, father Michael – a retired miner, and her two brothers Shane and Michael – who both work in the mining industry in Mount Isa. As the mother of four-anda-half-year-old son, Keanau, Ms O’Callaghan also enjoys the lifestyle beneﬁts the area oﬀers young families, including camping and play in the new family fun park. “I’ve always loved Mount Isa,” she said. “I’ve always loved the lifestyle of outback living. “With Mount Isa we have the conveniences of metropolitan

services such as cafes and restaurants, but with the atmosphere and community spirit that I really missed when I was in Brisbane.” Ms O’Callaghan gained a business degree majoring in public relations and marketing from her time at QUT, graduating with distinction. “I have always been an outgoing person, so public relations was a ﬁeld I wanted to go into,” she said. “My degree allowed me to get a strong foundation in business but also study in two areas that I’ve always loved.” Ms O’Callaghan worked with Nova Consultants, a local events marketing and public relations business, upon her return to Mount Isa in 2005.

Chamber of Commerce manager Patricia O’Callagahan.

“That gave me my ﬁrst taste of the mining expo – they contracted services to the expo committee,” she said. That was followed in 2006 with her appointment as northwestern project oﬃcer with the North Queensland Area Consultative Committee. “Both positions grounded me perfectly for the job I’m in now, which has a strong focus on events management, PR and marketing but also requires a knowledge of economic

Photo: Roslyn Budd

development and wider issues,” Ms O’Callaghan said She said Brett Peterson had encouraged her to apply for the manager’s role after he became Mount Isa Chamber of Commerce president in late 2007. Organising the Xstrata Mount Isa Mining Expo is one of her biggest annual projects, along with co-ordinating the district’s Quick Smart Easiﬁnd directory and the Mount Isa and Regional Business Awards.

Xstrata Mount Isa Mining Expo Promotion

The Mining Advocate | March 2010

Katter makes powerful case Expo guests will be briefed on the Clean Energy Corridor proposal and its role in securing crucial electricity supply for industry in the north west. Improved energy infrastructure is a prerequisite for further mining development in the North West Minerals Province, according to Federal Member for Kennedy Bob Katter. And he is keen to brief Mount Isa Mining Expo participants on the raft of “plug-in” projects that he is advocating in the push to gain an AC transmission line linking the region to the coast. Mr Katter is due to address the

annual “Mining the Carpentaria” breakfast on the proposed Northern Australia Clean Energy Corridor, a raft of renewable energy projects which would feed into the national grid via the proposed AC line. That concept includes a solar project at Cloncurry, a major wind farm at Hughenden and a proposed generator at Julia Creek to be fuelled by burning the pest plant prickly acacia.

Breakfast forum promises topical speaking line-up Former Mount Isa MP Tony McGrady will highlight the potential beneﬁts of a Queensland uranium industry during a presentation at this year’s mining expo. The Laramide Resources advisory board member, who has previously held Queensland ministerial roles including the mines and energy portfolio, will be among the speakers at the “Mining the Carpentaria” breakfast on April 14. Legend International Holdings project manager Ed Walker and Queensland Resources Council industry policy director Andrew Barger are also scheduled to speak along with Federal Member for Kennedy Bob Katter (see main story) and representatives from Xstrata and Port of Townsville.

It also includes a cluster of electricity generation projects in far north Queensland using the sugar industry waste product bagasse as fuel. “Most important is a proposed $500 million solar/biofuel project east of Pentland,” Mr Katter said.

“We’re at a stage now where cheques have to be written or we will run into desperate trouble.” “This project by itself would produce 1 per cent of Australia’s base-load power requirements and 5 per cent of its fuel needs (in the form of ethanol).” The Pentland proposal includes construction of the Hells Gate Dam on the upper reaches of the Burdekin River to assist in the development of about 120,000ha of cane farming land in the area. Demand for an enhanced

would reach 370MW within two years. Mr Katter said the North West Minerals Province was the richest minerals province on earth, with associated commodity production earning $15 billion a year in revenue for Australia and many major resources still untouched. “That’s the importance (of this area) – but we have no electricity,” he said.

The Federal Government had recognised the gravity of the issue, placing the national electricity grid second after broadband as a budget infrastructure item. “...Which is code for connecting the Pilbara, Olympic Dam and the North West Minerals Province,” Mr Katter said. And his clean energy corridor concept received a good hearing at the Renewable Energy Roundtable in Canberra last year. “But we’re at a stage now where cheques have to be written or we will run into desperate trouble,” Mr Katter said. “If the cheques are written, I think we will see an unprecedented boom in mining in the north west.” He proposes that the Federal Government contribute $100 to $150 million for the transmission line, in the form of a repayable grant, in addition to ﬁnancial assistance for some of the renewable projects.

Networking key to success Mount Isa’s annual mining expo may not be the largest event of its kind, but organisers take pride in the networking edge it oﬀers participants. This is achieved through a mix of carefully orchestrated

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power supply for the North West was desperate, Mr Katter said. While the present generating capacity at Mount Isa’s Mica Creek power station stood at 355 megawatts (MW), he said State Government modelling had shown that demand in the region

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social functions and industry presentations as well as “Meet the Buyer” sessions, which oﬀer exhibitors 20-minute slots of individual contact with purchasing oﬃcers from key mining operations. “We’re not concentrating on becoming the biggest event, but becoming a quality event where exhibitors get the opportunity to interact with relevant people,” Mount Isa Chamber of Commerce manager Patricia O’Callaghan said. The booth price at the Xstrata Mount Isa Mining Expo included access to networking events, she said. Social occasions during the 2010 expo include a gala opening function on Monday night, April 12, which has been themed around the event’s Crystal Anniversary, marking 15 years of operation. That will be followed on April 13 by the “Buyer and Supplier

Networking Dinner”, where purchasing oﬃcers from mines throughout the region rub shoulders with other guests. Ms O’Callaghan said the key to these functions’ success was their ability to get people interacting in a fun and relaxing environment. “We have a number of ways of getting them talking and moving, including some networking games,” she said. “On Wednesday (April 14) we have the Mining the Carpentaria breakfast, for industry to discuss current and impending projects, and on Thursday night we have a big closing function. “That’s always a huge night. Last year had a Pirates of the Caribbean theme and we have something special planned for this year. “We theme the nights to make them very entertaining and to encourage people to feel comfortable. It’s an innovative approach to networking.”

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Xstrata Mount Isa Mining Expo Promotion

The Mining Advocate | March 2010

A question of community Expo greetings from the Mount Isa City Council The Mount Isa City Council is proud, once again, to be a major sponsor of the Xstrata Mount Isa Mining Expo. Mount Isa is well known as the major industrial and commercial hub for the North West Minerals Province and the Mount Isa City Council strongly supports any and all efforts to encourage further development in this region. The mining expo’s value as an industry attraction should not be undervalued. It showcases some of the mining industry’s most innovative ideas and developments, and allows the networking of individuals from all sides of the industry to further their common goals. Furthermore, the expo serves as a fantastic event to showcase the facilities of the Mount Isa Buchanan Park Events Complex. Built during 2006/07 at a cost of more than $20 million, Buchanan Park is the perfect environment to host such a large-scale and prestigious event. The Xstrata Entertainment Pavilion is filled with exhibitors and visitors over the expo’s duration (last year more than 8000 attended over the three days) and the Mount Isa City Council is thrilled to see the venue put to such valuable use. In addition to the positives that the mining expo brings to the city’s businesses and commercial operators, there are flowon benefits experienced by the entire Mount Isa population. The increase in visitors to the area, the festival atmosphere and the family-oriented events that are held, advantage the entire community. The Mount Isa City Council is extremely proud of its strong relationships with many local partners, working tirelessly to foster associations with the Chamber of Commerce, Xstrata Mount Isa Mines and associated commercial and industrial operators. But Mount Isa is not just about mining. It is a family-friendly city - rich with community pride, a land of opportunity with regard to career, education and lifestyle. From the $4.25 million all-abilities family park opened in June 2009 to the Lake Moondarra Barramundi Fishing Classic, from the Mount Isa Rotary Rodeo to the ample retail and shopping facilities, there is a wide variety of attractions that make visiting, living and working in the city such an attraction. We look forward to meeting all of you who are attending the 2010 Xstrata Mount Isa Mining Expo and hope that you enjoy your time in our great city.

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Joining the Xstrata Mount Isa Mining Expo each year is not a question of short-term gain for local Hastings Deering branch manager Andrew Revell. Mr Revell said the company’s long-standing presence at the event was more a matter of supporting the local community than selling products.

“We don’t tend to pick up major equipment sales any more,” he said. “In years gone by, mining expos were really about suppliers like us showcasing new product, with the potential for managers to come in and place orders. “That doesn’t generally happen in this day and age.

The Hastings Deering display site at the 2008 expo.

“The information technology pipeline allows them to get that information more readily than waiting for it to turn up at a local mining show.” However he said exhibiting at the Xstrata Mount Isa Mining Expo reconﬁrmed Hastings Deering’s commitment and support for the products it supplied to local mining companies. Mr Revell also mentioned the many school children who ﬁle through the expo exhibits each year, eagerly collecting merchandising items such as balloons and stickers and gazing with excitement at some of the larger equipment. “Hopefully in years to come, if these kids are looking for a career or a machine, they will think favourably of Hastings Deering and Caterpillar,” he said. “Being a part of the mining expo is about being a part of the Isa mining community.”

Participation bears business leads Statewide Bearings is heading to Mount Isa for its third consecutive mining expo this year after receiving a very good response from its participation in 2009. The impetus for the company to join the annual event was generated through a local link. Its Brisbane-based mining rep, Neal Ragau, grew up in the north-west Queensland mining city and completed an apprenticeship with Mount Isa Mines before entering the bearings business. Mr Ragau said his ﬁrst priority upon shifting to Statewide Bearings from another supplier in 2005 had been to seek exposure in the North West Minerals Province. He said he had made a point of returning regularly to Mount Isa to check out the annual mining expo even before joining as an exhibitor. He believed the value the event oﬀered had improved in recent years.

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“There are some excellent contacts to be made from the expo and it’s very well organised,” Mr Ragau said. “We go to a number of expos around Queensland and Australia, but I do tend to think the (Mount Isa) Chamber of Commerce runs probably the best one we go to...although I might be a bit biased, being an ex Mount Isa person.” Mr Ragau said the company’s ﬁrst year at the Mount Isa expo had been a matter of getting people familiar with Statewide Bearings and its products. Its subsequent appearance in 2009 had been very successful in securing new work, he said. Mr Ragau said Statewide Bearings planned to have a sizeable display indoors at this year’s mining expo, with four staﬀ on hand to deal with inquiries.

Building Mining Communities

March 2010 |

The Mining Advocate

Hitting the high notes Budding performers in the north-west have had the benefit of some professional polish in an arts program backed by the local power plant. Mount Isa students have been hitting the high notes thanks to a visiting opera workshop sponsored by CS Energy. The Moving Opera! program was coaching local schoolchildren in musical theatre and opera in early March in an experience culminating in a public concert. Moving Opera! is an intensive, in-school residency program that focuses on the creative process of making opera and music theatre. The program gives students the opportunity to learn from ﬁve professional artists. In this case the students worked with director Sean Dennehy, soprano Dania Cornelius, mezzo-soprano Louise Dorsman, tenor Bernard Wheaton and music director/ pianist Amanda Hodder. Moving Opera! was last presented in Mount Isa in 2008

to students from Spinifex State College and Good Shepherd Catholic College. This year, the program involved 35 students from Spinifex State College, Townview State School, St Joseph’s Catholic School and St Kieran’s Catholic School. CS Energy Mica Creek site manager Greg Dale said the company was proud to bring Moving Opera! back to Mount Isa for the fourth time. “We support Moving Opera! because it gives students in the remote north-west a chance to learn from some of the best opera performers in Australia,” Mr Dale said. Since its inception in 2002, the Moving Opera! program has taken opera and music theatre into the classrooms of some 4000 secondary school students throughout Queensland.

Director Sean Dennehy from Moving Opera! gives students a few pointers.

Photo: Ros Budd

Renovations are child’s play The children at Cloncurry Kindergarten have been enjoying some colourful new play areas since doors opened for 2010 thanks to a partnership with Ernest Henry Mining (EHM). A number of projects have been completed at the kindergarten in the past year with funding from EHM under the Xstrata Community Partnership Program North Queensland. “We renovated an old ‘mud hut’ structure to open it up, creating a new castle-like play area for the children,” Cloncurry Kindergarten Beautiﬁcation

Committee member Susan Dowling said. “We also cut back an old shed to produce a gazebo

area with seating and we built a new vermin-proof shed for additional storage space.”

Cloncurry Kindergarten Beautification Committee members Susan Dowling, Penny Back and Donna Turner with Imogen Back, Jordana Dowling and Darcy Back in front of the new castle play area.

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Building Mining Communities

The Mining Advocate | March 2010

Online support for families The ups and downs of the mining lifestyle are all too familiar for the creator of a new website offering information and advice. A little girl’s distress at her dad’s absences from home for ﬂy inﬂy out (FIFO) work has spurred an Adelaide woman to develop a new web-based support and networking forum for mining families. Mother of two Alicia Ranford developed the Mining Family Matters website after discovering there were few online resources to help people dealing with the challenges of the FIFO lifestyle. Mrs Ranford, a registered nurse by profession, said that over the years she and her mining engineer husband, Joe, had dealt with the many ups and downs of both a FIFO lifestyle and postings in remote communities. Their work had taken them to locations including South Africa, Charters Towers in North Queensland and Cobar in outback New South Wales, she said. When the young family moved to Adelaide about three years ago and Mr Ranford began FIFO stints in Western Australia, Mrs Ranford said their daughter

basic things to do that were effective immediately. Although not all problems can be fixed immediately, it really helped Abby out and made her feel not so far away from her dad.” The website she subsequently developed includes professional advice from her friend Angie Willcocks, who acts as resident psychologist for the site, as well as social worker Nicole Pietsch. It offers a host of information and tips such as an “On the Move” page to assist people with relocations, an online shopping

guide, a career section, proﬁles of various mining communities and a chat forum. Mrs Ranford said the reaction to the website, launched in February, had been “phenomenal” – with 1000 unique hits within the ﬁrst week. “We’re very much about the positive promotion of the mining lifestyle,” Mrs Ranford said. The Ranfords have always found ways to make the mining lifestyle work for them, both as a couple and then as parents, according to Mrs Ranford.

This included opting to swap their Cobar posting for the Western Australian FIFO position that offered Mr Ranford five full days per fortnight of quality time off with daughter Abby, now aged 5, and son Sam, 4. “That’s really the attitude we’ve taken through the years to his career – we’ve got to see great places, interesting things and meet fantastic people,” Mrs Ranford said. The website can be found at www.miningfm.com.au.

Three simple tips to help kids cope Registered psychologist Angie Willcocks provides

Alicia Ranford

some pointers for keeping the connection alive

miningfm.com.au founder

when a parent is away working.

Abby had trouble coping with her father being away at night. “I went on to the web at night to see how best to explain to a three-year-old why Dad’s away at work and there were no resources I could ﬁnd to help,” Mrs Ranford said. “I turned to a friend who is a psychologist for help and she was able to give me three really

• For young children, make or ﬁnd a special “connection” token for each of you (child and dad/mum) that can be carried or worn at all times. Talk through the idea that when one is thinking of the other they can touch the special connection token and send their love to each other. This sort of idea is supported by books such as The Invisible String by Patrice Karst and You, Me and the Rainbow by Petrea King. • For older children, parent and child can each

have a copy of the same book or movie to watch when they are apart and can talk about this either over the phone or when they are back together again. This then becomes a shared interest and something easy to talk about together. • For children of all ages, the absent parent should let them know speciﬁc times they were thinking of them and why, if possible. For example, “I was thinking of you when I was ﬂying back to the site because I heard that song you like.” It is important for all kids to be reminded that out of sight does not mean out of mind.

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Building Mining Communities

March 2010 |

The Mining Advocate

Pretty in pink for country club date A mining equipment manufacturer has come up with an eye-catching way to encourage people to dig deep for a breast cancer charity. With a bright pink paint job and baby blue eyes, 41-tonne “Bertha” is a bucket with a difference. She is the 150th dragline bucket produced by CQMS Razer in Mackay and the manufacturer has celebrated the milestone by dolling up “Bertha” and sending her out to lend her considerable weight to the battle against breast cancer. Her efforts will include a highprofile appearance at Mackay’s Harrup Park Country Club before she starts her working life in the coalfields of the Bowen Basin. CQMS Razer chief executive officer David Haslett said it was hoped that that “Bertha Bucket” – also known as CQ150 - would raise more than $100,000 with the help of generous sponsors and donations from businesses as well as the public. “The aim is to raise as much

money as possible for the McGrath Foundation and its work in supporting breast cancer patients and their families,” Mr Haslett said. The money would be used to employ more McGrath Breast Care Nurses in rural and regional communities, he said. The 8m-wide pink Eartheater bucket was recently placed on display at Boundary Rd, near the Mackay Airport, prior to a grand appearance at “Dig Deep for Charity 2010”. The community and industry event, to be held at Harrup Park on March 14, is being hosted by CQMS Razer and BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA) to raise funds for the McGrath Foundation. The family fun day will include a charity cricket match between the Queensland Fire ladies team and a team of local

players bolstered with celebrity appearances by Olympic gold medalists Linda McKenzie and Tracy Belbin. Former Australian cricketing international Michael Bevan will represent the McGrath Foundation at the event. Mr Haslett said Bertha would head oﬀ the next day to start work at BMA’s Norwich Park Mine, outside Dysart, where she would be moving more than 6000 tonnes of overburden per hour. “As we mark the occasion of our 150th dragline bucket, we wanted CQ150 to make a real impact in more ways than one,” he said. “Big, pink and out to impress, she will certainly turn a few heads on her road trip to Norwich Park Mine.” Since the design and development of the company’s ﬁrst dragline bucket in 1996, CQMS Razer has secured a position as a global leader in advanced bucket technology and wear products.

Nicole Tortora, Madeleine Maurer and Kym Kirkwood from Sun City Signs apply some finishing touches before “Bertha Bucket’s” public appearances in Mackay.

Air monitors on their way BMA has announced plans to install an air quality monitoring station in the township of Moranbah following feedback from the Isaac Regional Council and the local community. The company said the device would provide important information about air quality, including the type and level of dust particles, and assist in planning future operations in the region. Isaac Mayor Cedric Marshall said independent

third parties would collect, analyse and report the results from the air quality monitoring station in town. “The report will then be made available to the community,” he said. BMA chief executive oﬃcer Marcelo Bastos said also the Caval Ridge Project had expanded its dust monitoring program to include six continuous air monitoring stations around the proposed mine site, south-east of Moranbah.

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Building Mining Communities

The Mining Advocate | March 2010

Cameron eyes $10,000 target As resource industry workers throughout the state sacrifice their hair for charity, one man tells of his heartfelt motivation to go the extra mile. the Leukaemia Foundation of Queensland’s World’s Greatest Shave Mine Challenge. The Sedgman employee, who works at the Red Mountain joint venture plant outside Moranbah, began his fundraising efforts with a target of $3000. However, his tally was well past $6000 by late February and Mr Welsh had his sights set on achieving the $10,000 mark. “I have a mono-brow and I’ve told the guys at work that if I raise $10,000 I will shave that off as well,” he said. Mr Welsh said his World’s Greatest Shave fundraising efforts had drawn strong support from people involved in both the coal and cane industries. Mr Welsh was employed with

Cameron Welsh gears up for the World’s Greatest Shave Mine Challenge.

the United Group on shutdown maintenance work in the coal industry before joining Sedgman about four years ago. He also has a strong background in the sugar cane industry, having grown up and worked on farms in the Mackay district.

“Also, my wife works with CSR at Sarina and the people she works with at the sugar mill and ethanol plant have given me support,” Mr Welsh said. The couple, who live at Campwin Beach outside Sarina, have a four-year-old son,

Measuring up for a healthier lifestyle Local mine workers and other members of the Dysart community are being steered towards healthier lifestyle choices thanks to a free sevenweek program sponsored by BMA. The “Measuring Up” program was launched in February, with sessions held every Wednesday at 7.30am and again at 7pm to cater for diﬀerent work shifts. BMA health, safety, environment and community vice-president Jason Economidis said the program was based on the national “Measure Up” campaign. That campaign is part of the Australian Better Health Initiative, which aims to reduce the risk factors for chronic diseases such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes and some cancers. “Most people have probably seen the Measure Up ads on TV

– we want to take this one step further and provide people with the skills they need to make a healthy difference in their life,” he said. Participants receive expert advice from local dietician Rachael Cox, psychologist Tara Payne and personal trainer Juanita Henry. Ms Cox, who runs Health Avenues in Dysart, said 16 people had joined the program within the first couple of weeks and she was hopeful numbers would build. Shift workers in particular faced a number of challenges in terms of maintaining a healthy eating and exercise regime when they were working long hours, she said. These included finding time to go shopping and doing the preparation work required to cook healthy foods at home, Ms Cox said.

Those in camp accommodation faced their own challenges in making healthy selections from provided meals. “It deﬁnitely can be hard, but there are ways and means of adopting a few habits to make things a bit healthier in a typical day - whether it’s more

incidental activity at work or taking some time during days oﬀ to plan or prepare meals,” Ms Cox said. The Measuring Up sessions gave participants more information regarding healthy eating, physical activity, motivation and goal setting, she said.

“Measuring Up” program participants Jo-Ann Lucke, Deb Hancox, Rachael Cox (dietician), Ruth Dalton, Tara Payne (psychologist), Jane Blackbourne and Russell Dendle.

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Cameron Welsh may not be looking forward to having his head shaved for charity, but the coal handling and preparation plant operator is the ﬁrst to admit that, for him, going bald will be no big deal. It has been far tougher for his wife, Fiona, who has lost her hair as the result of her ongoing chemotherapy after being diagnosed in December with breast cancer. “I thought to support her I would shave my hair as well and I may as well do it for a good cause,” Mr Welsh said. Mr Welsh is among hundreds of resource industry workers who will be going under the razor, or submitting to the dye pot, in March as part of

Brayden, and an eight-year-old daughter, Kiralee. “They both had a fair shock when Fiona fully lost her hair, but they have grown to live with it,” Mr Welsh said. “They know I’m going to shave and my boy reckons he wants to shave his hair as well.” He said also Kiralee’s school, St Anne’s Catholic Primary School in Sarina, was holding a “crazy hair” day to support his fundraising eﬀort. World’s Greatest Shave Mine Challenge chairperson Paul Barnard said 44 sites throughout the state had signed up for the challenge by early March, including mining operations throughout the Bowen Basin and North West Minerals Province as well as company headquarters in Brisbane. He hoped to see the event raise $500,000 this year to assist with the care of patients and their families living with leukaemias, lymphomas, myeloma and related blood disorders. Mr Barnard said the Mine Challenge raised about $385,000 in 2009 compared to an average of $400,000 to $425,000 in previous years. “The only thing we can put that down to was the ﬁnancial crisis. We hope to do a bit of catch-up this year,” Mr Barnard said.

Building Mining Communities

March 2010 |

The Mining Advocate

Saddling up for the union cause This former rodeo rider has worked “flat out” since becoming the AWU’s northern district secretary and is preparing for a big year ahead. Ask anyone around North Queensland who Rod Stockham is and it’s likely you’ll get a shoulder shrug. But mention “Cowboy from the union” and there’s a good chance you will receive a diﬀerent reaction. That’s the word from the man himself, Australian Workers’ Union (AWU) northern district secretary “Cowboy” Stockham, whose role sees him represent about 6500 workers in ﬁelds as diverse as health, hospitality and metalliferous mining. “I was a rodeo rider,” Mr Stockham explains. “For a lot of years I rode saddle broncs and bulls. I was nicknamed Cowboy in the early part of my working life and it stuck like the proverbial.” Mr Stockham has family links to mining, with his grandfather Jack Stockham having worked as a gold miner in Ravenswood until his death in the 1940s. The family’s freehold property in the area was sold decades later to Carpentaria Gold. Cowboy’s own work history has been varied. “I worked in the building industry in the late 70s and did my trade as a glazier,” Mr Stockham said. “I have worked contracting, did a fair bit of work in the bush ringing, fencing, yard building. “I then worked in the cement industry in various jobs at North Australian Cement Limited (in Townsville).” Mr Stockham was made redundant when that plant folded and he moved into the sugar industry in the Burdekin,

where he began his involvement as an Australian Workers’ Union official. “I have always had strong union views and I was working at Invicta Mill in Giru when the offer of an organiser position was made to me,” he said. “I didn’t hesitate. I jumped at the opportunity to join the ranks as an official of the AWU. “On the retirement of Burdekin organiser, the late Brian Hutchings, I took over the area. “I did a reasonable stint in the Mackay region as well with the retirement of an organiser there.” He has also worked in the Townsville and Charters Towers regions over the years, representing many resource sector workers including

Australian Workers’ Union northern district secretary Cowboy Stockham. Photo: Stewart McLean

great support provided by the organisers and administrative staﬀ working in the northern district. “Our Mount Isa organisers and I will have a big year

“I didn’t hesitate. I jumped at the opportunity to join the ranks as an official of the AWU.” employees at the Charters Towers and Ravenswood gold mines and process workers at the Xstrata Copper and Queensland Nickel refineries in Townsville. He was also a local organiser during the heated dispute that arose in the construction of the Korea Zinc (Sun Metals Corporation) refinery in the late 1990s. Mr Stockham took over as northern district secretary in July last year following the retirement of his predecessor, Bob Boscacci. He said he had been “flat out” since and was grateful for the

in the area with the Xstrata EBA (Enterprise Bargaining Agreement) up for negotiation and as we speak negotiations continue with North Queensland Metals for the process workers at Pajingo mine at Charters Towers,” he said. “The union continues to grow and provide representation - both legal and industrial - and service to our members, which is good. “Every day in this job brings diﬀerent and varied challenges. “The people that come through our doors rarely have a good news story for us.

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“But with the challenges of the Howard Government’s WorkChoices legislation behind us, it has paved the way for mining workers to be better represented by their respective unions - which is great news for those in the industry.” When not fighting for workers’ rights, Mr Stockham can often be found at the “Stingers Boxing Club”, which he runs with son Bobby at their Majors Creek home, south-west of Townsville. “We train kids from 10 years old upwards and adult fighters, both male and female. Some girls train for fitness also,” he said. “The Queensland branch of the AWU sponsors the Sunstate Amateur Boxing League, which I am the president of, and this greatly assists the Queensland team. “The boxers’ shirts and singlets have the words ‘proudly sponsored by the AWU’ - which is good promotion for the union also.” Bobby won the Australian amateur boxing title as a

mosquito weight fighter in 2003, in what Mr Stockham describes as one of the proudest moments of his life. The 49-year-old’s other interests include working on the small farm at Majors Creek, where he lives with wife Gayle, 18-year-old Bobby and daughter Jodie,17. “We have 200 acres (80ha) on which we grow cattle and hay. We have mangoes and have tried our hand at small crops farming in the past, but work soon put an end to that,” he said. Mr Stockham’s son is an apprentice diesel fitter with the Markwell Group while Jodie has started a traineeship with TORGAS. “My hopes for the future include, like everyone, paying my place off and improving it,” Mr Stockham said. “But certainly, above all that, my priority is to grow this great union and continue to service and represent our members to contribute toward the next 124 years of our existence.”

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