November 2010

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NEWS

The Mining Advocate | November 2010

November 2010

2 Pipes, tenders, action!

Construction and supply sectors in the LNG and CSG regions are ramping up as Queensland heralds the birth of a major new industry.

This edition brings a rescue challenge round-up from north-west Queensland and the recent national titles held on the coalfields near Middlemount. (Page 30) Our cover photo shows BHP Billiton Cannington team member Gentry Thiedeman in action during the vertical rescue scenario at the 2010 North West Queensland Minerals Province Mine Rescue Challenge. Yannick Barbaux-Couper from the Xstrata Mount Isa Mines C Crew is pictured above working on “patient� Ryan Thomas in the underground event.

Photos: Ben Taylor Photography.

5 Environmental fee outcry A bungled mass mail-out of invoices for new environmental authority payments has upset Queensland’s miners, who are fighting what they see as an unjust system of implementing the fees.

29 New direction for processing

FEATURES 9 Townsville Regional Capacity 10 Mount Isa Regional Capacity 11 Mackay Regional Capacity 12 Coal and Gas Update

More mines are expected to introduce paste thickening to their coal preparation plants after a study by Sinclair Knight Merz (SKM) highlighting the environmental and cost-saving benefits.

33 Wish you were here...

News in brief across the coal and gas industries.

14 Industry Update - Hardrock

The Queensland Resources Council hopes to lure more junior miners to Brisbane, rather than seeing them headquartered in Perth and other capitals, so the Sunshine State can gain greater economic spin-offs from the exploration activity it hosts.

A comprehensive wrap of exploration and operations in Queensland and the Northern Territory.

16 Between Shifts 19 Shutdowns 20 Orica feature 22 Building Mining Communities 26 Materials Handling 27 Environment and Cultural Heritage 28 Major Projects 29 Processing 30 Emergency Response and Rescue 31 Living Remotely 32 Exploration and Drilling 34 Cloncurry Wrap 36 Battle of the Mines

35 Cloncurry’s ring of conďŹ dence With a number of mining projects lining up to begin production, Cloncurry Mayor Andrew Daniels sees the district entering a new boom.

36 Action from the ‘BattleďŹ eld’ Also in Cloncurry, a Gulf versus Mount Isa final was the culmination of a day of hard-fought rugby league.

This edition captures all the colour from the 2010 Battle of the Mines.

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

www.miningadvocate.com.au

Email: ...........................................................info@industryadvocate.com.au

Managing editor:

Address: ......................................... U3/11 Carlton St, Kirwan, Q, 4817

Journalist: ......................... Belinda Humphries m. 0439 726 074

Postal: ...................................................... PO Box 945, Townsville, Q, 4810

Sales: ................................................p. (07) 4755 0336 m. 0417 623 156

......................... Robert

Dark m. 0417 623 156

Advertising booking deadline January edition: December 17 All material is copyright and cannot be reproduced in part or in full by any means without written permission of the managing editor. The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the publisher.

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1

2

NEWS

November 2010 |

The Mining Advocate

New industry off and running A final investment decision from a key player has added a substantial shot of confidence in Queensland’s future as a major LNG producer.

British energy giant BG Group has become first cab off the rank to commit to developing a liquefied natural gas plant at Gladstone, with a $15 billion project expected to create about 6000 jobs.

The company announced its final investment decision on October 31, saying it would immediately progress development and construction of its Queensland Curtis LNG project (QCLNG), to be operated by its Australian subsidiary QGC. The first phase of QCLNG involves the development of a two-train liquefaction plant on Curtis Island, with a combined capacity of 8.5 million tonnes per annum, together with the associated upstream and pipeline facilities.

First LNG exports are planned to commence from 2014.

Queensland Premier Anna

Bligh said she was now confident that Queensland was about to give birth to a new industry

based on coal seam gas.

“Queensland will host the world’s first LNG development based on coal seam gas and it will allow Queensland to rival the North West Shelf Project in Western Australia as one of the

Resources, Energy and Tourism Minister Martin Ferguson, QGC managing director Catherine Tanna and Acting Prime Minister and Treasurer Wayne Swan announce the final investment decision.

world’s leading gas suppliers,” she said.

“The BG Group project is expected to add $32 billion to Queensland’s economy over the next 10 years and will benefit local council regions based on Gladstone, Banana, North Burnett and the Western Downs.”

The BG Group received final regulatory approval for the project on October 22, with Federal Environment Minister Tony Burke imposing more than 300 conditions on the development in addition to the 1200 imposed by Queensland.

A competing LNG project proposed by Santos in joint venture with Malaysia’s Petronas and Total of France received federal environmental approval on the same date.

Santos expects to reach a final investment decision on the first train of its GLNG project by the end of 2010.

An Australia Pacific LNG spokesman said that joint venture was also on track to make a final investment

decision by the end of the year, although it was yet to receive environmental approvals by the end of October.

Welcoming the BG Group Board’s go-ahead for the QCLNG project, Queensland Resources Council chief executive Michael Roche described the rise of the state’s coal seam gas industry over the past 15 years as a phenomenal achievement.

But the QRC warns that progress on Queensland’s LNG projects places increasing pressure on the Federal Government to deliver an early response to the National Resource Sector Employment Taskforce report, delivered in July. The report found that by 2015 Australia would need to fill 45,000 construction phase jobs for major projects, 61,500 new mining jobs and 3200 operational jobs in LNG projects.

The BG Group estimates its project will create about 5000 construction jobs over four years and almost 1000 operational roles.

Pipes, tenders, action!...LNG show comes to town The first shipments of pipes have started arriving in Brisbane and Gladstone for construction of the Queensland Curtis LNG project.

More than 2300 12m-long pipes were unloaded at the Port of Brisbane in October, following on from the arrival of the first batch of line pipes in Gladstone in September.

QR National subsidiary ARG has signed a rail haulage contract to transport about 260,000 tonnes of pipes from the ports to central and southern Queensland over the next 10 months for BG Group

subsidiary QGC. It will operate four trains per week from the Port of Brisbane to Miles and seven from the Port of Gladstone to Biloela.

The pipeline to be constructed for the QCLNG project will include a 194km section in the gas fields around Chinchilla and a 334km main export line from near Miles to Gladstone.

It will be the longest 42-inch diameter gas pipe of its type laid onshore in Australia.

Following its recent final investment decision, the BG Group was immediately

issuing final notices to proceed to the main contractors appointed for the development of the first phase of QCLNG. A QGC spokesman said early works would include minor port augmentation at Auckland Point and the RG Tanna facility in Gladstone.

“This work involves upgrades to existing working quays and the preparation of freight marshalling yards,” he said.

“The Gladstone Ports Corporation has also started minor dredging to facilitate

access to Curtis Island for a construction dock. The main contractor for the LNG plant, Bechtel, has started moving plant and equipment to the island in preparation for civil engineering work.”

In the gas fields – where QGC already has a substantial gas business supplying about 20 per cent of the Queensland market - early works for transport infrastructure for the QCLNG construction have begun.

“Gas field work is expected to ramp up over the next couple of months,” the QGC spokesman said.

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NEWS

The Mining Advocate | November 2010

3

Regions ready for gas ramp-up Local businesses are prepared for a stream of supply opportunities from pending LNG development, writes Belinda Humphries.

Neil Mansell Transport in Toowoomba received a rapid burst of requests for new quotes and final costings for gas pipeline jobs within days of two major LNG projects receiving federal environmental approvals.

For company compliance officer Timothy Drew there is no doubt of the flow-on effect for regional businesses as the gas companies advance the LNG developments in Queensland.

“NMT has, in recent months, purchased and built new equipment required to load and transport the ever-increasing number of drilling rigs required to establish the thousands of wells that will supply these LNG plants,” Mr Drew said.

“Now that the Federal Government approvals have been obtained, there are several companies and consortiums

A Neil Mansell Transport rig truck loads a drilling mud tank.

proposing supply pipelines for these LNG plants. This has instigated a number of alternative and competing proposals in terms of diameter, routes and transport options that these pipelines will take.”

NMT, which specialises in moving drill rigs and hauling pipe for the gas and oil industries, had established depots in Roma and Chinchilla in the past two years in anticipation of the major gas developments, Mr Drew said.

Plumber John Mullins, who is based in Miles - about 340km west of Brisbane, said his business had been working for QGC (proponent of the Queensland Curtis LNG project) for 10 years.

“In the last four of five years that has grown to setting up all their camps and doing a lot of their plumbing maintenance,” he said.

Plumber John Mullins “Probably nearly half of our work now is directly with QGC.” J Mullins Plumbing had been involved in the establishment of the 150-bed Windibri camp and the two 180-bed Kenya camps, east of Condamine, he said.

“I’ve ramped up a little bit, but I don’t really want to go much larger,” Mr Mullins said.

“As long as you can do what

they want, even quite small firms can get a good slice of the pie.”

Mr Mullins believed it would be a case of “all systems go” following the BG Group’s investment commitment to the Queensland Curtis LNG project.

The combined effect of various energy projects and the proposed Surat Basin Rail on the Miles area would be quite staggering, he said.

Gladstone Engineering Alliance chief executive officer Karen Porter believed the city was well positioned to meet demand as the construction phase of the projects began.

Mrs Porter said the Gladstone Engineering Alliance had been running tender-readiness programs. Local firms had been able to gain a good understanding of the supply opportunities in the gas industry and where their

capabilities would fit, while continuing to develop their relationship with other mining and processing sectors, she said.

“We’re not just talking millions, we’re talking billions and when you look at the Surat and Bowen Basin - the amount of mine expansion going on in those areas outside of the gas exploration, it’s just phenomenal,” she said.

“But we have to understand where we all fit into it and what the realistic opportunities are.”

Acting chief executive officer for the Surat Basin Corporation, Marc Leman, said while local businesses were not likely to be in the running for “the $100 million contracts” stemming from the projects, they would be among the third, fourth and fifth-tier suppliers.

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Dyno Nobel's new ammonium nitrate plant takes shape at Moranbah

Opportunities don't appear every day. So you must be alert for chances to advance your career and improve your lifestyle.

At Moranbah in central Queensland there's an opportunity to do both, thanks to the restart of Incitec Pivot Limited's new Dyno Nobel ammonium nitrate plant.

Construction on the $935 million project restarted in May and now the company is looking for skilled men and women to operate it. This provides a rare opportunity to join a landmark project early, be there on day one and grow with the operation.

The Moranbah plant will manufacture explosives for the mining industry. It is being built to supply the rapidly growing, high-grade coal mining industry in the Bowen Basin.

There are no fewer than 40 mines operating in the Bowen Basin, extracting 100 million tonnes of coal annually. They include operations controlled by some of the world's biggest miners, including BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA), Rio Tinto, Anglo Coal and Xstrata.

These operations export metallurgical coal to rapidly industrialising countries such as India and China, linking Dyno Nobel with international economic growth.

Thursday Island Bamaga

All these mines need explosives and the Dyno Nobel plant at Moranbah, when it reaches full production, will make 330,000 tonnes of ammonium nitrate a year in prill form and emulsion.

Weipa

Iron Range

So it's not hard to see how it will become an integral part of mining in the region in the years ahead.

Cooktown

Cairns Mareeba Karumba Normanton

Innisfail Croydon Ingham

Forsayth

To man up the new plant, Dyno Nobel is now preparing to recruit for permanent operations and maintenance roles. We are looking for experienced

Hinchinbrook Island

Moranbah offers first-class facilities for a wellrounded lifestyle process operators at all levels, mechanical and electrical maintenance technicians, chemical, electrical and mechanical engineers and support personnel.

Moranbah has a 10-hole, 72-par golf course

To learn more about the opportunities coming up, contact us as shown below.

Through its Global Manufacturing operations, IPL is the only Australian producer of urea fertiliser (in Brisbane) and ammonium phosphate fertilisers (at Phosphate Hill). This spreads the company's exposure across both the mining and agriculture markets.

Interesting lifestyle

About the project

The Dyno Nobel plant is located just five kilometres from the established town of Moranbah, which itself is just two hours drive from Mackay on Queensland's coast.

The Dyno Nobel ammonium nitrate plant at Moranbah is due to be commissioned in early 2012.

In operation it will have 85 employees.

Moranbah has most of the services a family would need. On the education front there is a kindergarten, two primary schools, a high school, a well-equipped library and a day-care centre.

The plant's location close to the major Bowen Basin coal mines will give it a competitive freight advantage. A long-term gas contract enhances its position as a low-cost AN producer.

For health services there is a hospital and five GPs working from two medical centres. For recreation, there is an aquatic centre, team sports facilities, a golf course and access to a range of recreational facilities for boating, fishing, camping and bushwalking.

Already 90 per cent of its production has been committed to customers, underpinning the viability of the new world-scale plant from day one.

Naturally the town has an extensive shopping mall and a full range of retail and specialty shops.

Moranbah will be the sixth ammonia plant in the IPL Group, highlighting the company's nitrogen manufacturing competence.

About the company Dyno Nobel provides explosives products and blasting services to some of the world's most successful mining companies. It is the No 1 explosives and mining services supplier in the United States and No 2 in Australia, as well as operating in Asia.

Dyno Nobel is a business of Incitec Pivot Limited (IPL), an ASX top 50 company which also owns Incitec Pivot Fertilisers, Australia's premier fertiliser supplier.

Townsville Ayr

HOW TO FIND OUT MORE

Bowen

Hughenden enden

Mackay Winton

Q U E E N S L A N D Longreach

Barcaldine ne

Rockhampton Curtis I.

Blackall

Gladstone

Over the coming months, we will be advertising a wide range of opportunities on our website and seek.com.au. To lodge an expression of interest, register your details early by visiting www.incitecpivot.com.au and in the 'Careers' section click 'Apply' and then 'Job Search'.

Searching for job number 650390 will take you to Expressions of Interest - Moranbah Operations.

Alternatively, email the Recruitment Manager Project Aurora, adan.humphries@incitecpivot.com.au.

NEWS

The Mining Advocate | November 2010

5

Miners up in arms over fees There are calls for a blizzard of bills to be withdrawn as industry groups raise concerns about the recent roll-out of new charges.

Miners are refusing to pay new environmental fees in a stand-off with the State Government.

Tenement holders have been angered by a bungled mass mail-out of invoices for the environmental authority payments. They are also fighting what they see as an unjust system of implementing the fees, which are being imposed for ground on which miners have applications pending as well as the granted tenements they can actually access.

Queensland Small Miners Council chairman Ralph De Lacey said that group was awaiting response to a list of demands it presented the Department of Environment and Resource Management (DERM) following a recent meeting over the fees. The Queensland Resources Council has also taken the department to task over its handling of the issue and is working with DERM to address flaws.

Mr De Lacey said DERM had agreed to fix the system in future so that the $500 annual environmental authority fee was only activated shortly before a tenement was granted, rather than from the time an application was lodged.

But department officers insisted miners would have to pay the existing round of invoices relating

to applications, he said.

“They are saying we should pay it. We’re saying we’re not,” Mr De Lacey said.

“The miners shouldn’t be paying it. It’s just immoral to ask for an annual fee on an application, it just doesn’t make sense.”

Mr De Lacey said some delegates representing people working small claims on Queensland’s gemfields were going further and saying they would not pay any environmental authority fees as the amount was too high. The QSMC has called on DERM to withdraw all current invoices and is also advocating a transitional period to allow miners to amalgamate environmental authorities for their tenements rather than receiving multiple bills.

DERM general manager of operations, environment and natural resource regulation, Lindsay Delzoppo, said the department had undertaken to respond to the matters raised

by QSMC before the end of November.

He warned that if a miner failed to pay for an environmental authority, they would be operating unlawfully. They would also potentially place themselves at greater risk in terms of insurance and liability should something go wrong on their mining site, Mr Delzoppo said.

Queensland Small Miners Council chairman Ralph De Lacey with some of his invoices.

He said DERM was providing miners with assistance to amalgamate their authorities, where applicable, so that in the future only a single annual fee would be payable when an annual notice was issued.

Mr De Lacey was critical of the “avalanche” of paperwork DERM had unleashed through the mail-out of two years’ worth of invoices.

He said many had been based on out-of-date tenement information and addresses.

“I’ve received a pile about two inches thick, $1000 each, for tenements I have sold or surrendered – that no longer exist in my name,” Mr De Lacey said “Everyone is up in arms about this. How can DERM run a business when they don’t even know who they are dealing with?

“I heard today of a widow in Charters Towers who received a $1000 invoice for her husband – it was an invoice for a tenement they no longer hold and he has been dead six years.”

Photo: Romy Siegmann

Mr Delzoppo said the invoice mail-out had been based on information provided by the miners themselves when they first applied for mining approvals.

“Where QSMC has identified any inaccuracies with invoicing - such as incorrect addresses DERM has immediately sought to fix it,” he said.

“There have so far been few of these cases, but we will continue to work with the council if any more cases arise during this process.”

QRC works to ‘nail’ invoicing issue with DERM The Queensland Resources Council (QRC) is working with the Department of Environment and Resource Management (DERM) to iron out problems with environmental fees.

QRC chief executive Michael Roche wrote to State Climate Change and Sustainability Minister Kate Jones in September calling for DERM to withdraw all invoices due to members’ concerns about the way fees for environmental authorities for miners had been implemented.

But he indicated to The Mining Advocate recently that the QRC would not be holding that line.

“I think they should have started again, but we understand the complexities of the situation they’re in and so we don’t believe they are going to agree to withdraw the invoices,” Mr Roche said.

“Second best is to make sure this shemozzle doesn’t happen again.”

Mr Roche said multiple errors in the recent invoice mail-out had highlighted the need for DERM to clean up its database.

The QRC agreed in principle with a new fee structure to invest into added DERM resources to keep pace with expanded activity, but had not seen any details prior to the rollout.

“Those fees were meant to come into force on January 1, 2009,” Mr Roche said.

“Unbeknown to many of us, the department didn’t get around to implementing the new fee structure until 18 months later.”

From mid-year miners began receiving invoices for fees backdated over two years and for small miners these were being applied to the exploration stage for the first time, he said.

“People were receiving some very large bills that they hadn’t budgeted for and that came out of the blue, compounded by errors and then compounded

with this problem that people were being asked to pay a fee on land they didn’t have access to,” Mr Roche said.

He said the QRC was working with DERM to address the issue of fees applying to applications for tenements.

“After some cross words and correspondence we have now sat down with the department and they have accepted the principal that the charging for an environmental authority should be as close to or at the same time as your tenure comes into force,” Mr Roche said.

“Now we’re working with them on a number of options to give effect to that principle in a way that can be done as quickly as possible and with a minimum of complexity.”

Mr Roche said the QRC was still trying to “nail the issue” with DERM. He said DERM’s issuing of those invoices had been legal, if not right on principle.

While miners were rightly declining to pay bills issued in error - based on out-of-date and incorrect tenure information, for example - he believed refusing to pay the legally issued bills

for fees on applications raised questions about whether miners would be placing their tenure applications in jeopardy.

Many QRC members would be paying under protest, he said.

Expo spots filling fast Registrations are open for the 2011 Mount Isa Mining Expo, to be held from April 5 to 7 at Buchanan Park.

Organisers plan to increase the scope of the popular “meet the buyer” sessions in 2011 by increasing the number of mines who make key procurement personnel available for the oneon-one meetings.

“That is one of the biggest drawcards for exhibitors attending the event,” Mount Isa Chamber of Commerce manager Patricia O’Callaghan said.

She said those who booked an expo booth also had great opportunities to network with key mining industry contacts through the various social events held during the week.

Ms O’Callaghan said organisers had increased the number of booths available by just over 20 to a total of 180 sites.

“Registrations are open now and are filling fast,” she said.

“We sold out six weeks ahead (of the event) last time, so it pays to get in quick.”

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NEWS

November 2010 |

The Mining Advocate

All signs point to fertile future Construction work may start within a year on a major new mining and processing operation for Mount Isa, writes Belinda Humphries.

Legend International Holdings aims to start inking major procurement contracts early next year as it moves towards a 2013 start to production in its Paradise Phosphate Project in north-west Queensland.

After announcing “positive and robust” feasibility study results mid-year, Legend and strategic alliance partner Wengfu Group are now looking at doubling output from the project’s planned Mount Isa fertiliser complex.

The expanded production scenario, which would see the complex churning out around 1.2 million tonnes of diammonium and monoammonium phosphate (DAP/MAP) annually, is being included in a definitive feasibility study to be completed in the first quarter of 2011.

Legend International Holdings executive general manager Craig Michael said the company was aiming to finalise discussions with potential equity and financing partners for the project upon completion of that study.

The expanded production scenario is likely to increase the total number of direct jobs generated by the project to more than 3000, including 870 ongoing operational roles.

Previous modelling conducted

by Townsville Enterprise has shown that generally for every job provided by the project another would be created indirectly through industrial and consumption effects.

The phosphate fertiliser complex is expected to be located

Craig Michael Legend International Holdings executive general manager

near the Mica Creek Power Station, south of Mount Isa, where Legend has been granted “first right of refusal” over a 263ha land package.

Legend has already shortlisted a number of companies for the operation’s mining contract.

The project direction has changed significantly since Legend became involved in 2007, when the global phosphate rock price was well over $US300 a tonne.

“The first group we struck a deal with, IFFCO (Indian Farmers Fertiliser Co-op), was keen to have large quantities of phosphate rock and we initially had that as our focus - a project delivering 5 million tonnes to them,” Mr Michael said.

“Then the GFC occurred and the price of rock went down – much to the same price it would cost us to get it to the Port of

Townsville, so the margins were significantly reduced.”

Although prices had rebounded to some extent, the company realised it should be maximising the value of its deposits through local processing, he said.

They have been aided by the know-how of the Wengfu Group of China, who have spent up to $US100 million per year on research to maximise the value from their own phosphate deposits with a process that includes aluminium fluoride production.

Mr Michael said the proponents hoped to start construction work towards the end of 2011.

“We’ve confirmed to ourselves and investors that the project is feasible and can go ahead now we’ve got to find a partner willing to invest,” he said.

BHP Billiton’s takeover bid for Canadian fertiliser company Potash Corp and rising phosphate prices were indicative of the growing global interest in fertiliser, Mr Michael said.

“It’s an indication the world has really recognised what these nutrients are needed for and where they come from,” he said.

“We think that now, and in the long term (Paradise Phosphate) is a good project - there is a positive outlook and demand will be strong.

“It will be good for Mount Isa, Queensland and Australia to have this project go ahead.

“We’re seeing interest from a lot of parties internationally and in Australia to invest in this project and push development forward.”

Legend’s north-west Queensland phosphate tenements.

Paradise Phosphate Project – at a glance • Phosphate ore is to be mined and dry screened at Paradise North, about 150km north of Mount Isa, for the first five years of operation.

• From the fifth year of operation, ore is to be mined at the adjacent Paradise South deposit and processed through an on-site flotation beneficiation plant before transport.

• Approximately 1 million tonnes of phosphate concentrate will be trucked from these sites to the Mount Isa phosphate fertilizer complex each year.

• The Mount Isa phosphate fertilizer complex is proposed to include a 600,000 tonnes-per-annum (tpa) sulphuric acid plant, 300,000tpa phosphoric acid plant, 600,000tpa DAP/MAP plant and 15,000tpa aluminium fluoride plant.

• This would be increased to 1.2 million tpa DAP/MAP and 30,000tpa aluminium fluoride under the expansion proposal under study.

• The feasibility study estimated the project would require a capital expenditure of $US808.16 million and generate more than $US11 billion in revenue over 30 years based on a DAP/MAP production rate of 600,000tpa. Cost and revenue estimates for the expanded production scenarios are yet to be released.

• Legend is working to establish enough Paradise ore reserves to support an operation lasting 60 years at a production rate of 600,000tpa or 30 years at 1.2 million tpa DAP/MAP. • The company holds further phosphate resources just west of the Paradise deposits at D-Tree as well as Highland Plains to the north, the Lily and Sherrin Creek deposits near Mount Isa and Quita Creek to the south.

Engineering excellence

Mechanical engineer Craig McClintock at the presentation.

Photo: Stewart McLean

Mechanical engineer Craig McClintock achieved a double whammy at this year’s Townsville Region Engineering and Resources Excellence Awards.

Mr McClintock was named Young Engineer of the Year, while his firm’s work on the Stanley Place office building in Townsville’s city heart was recognised as Project of the Year.

The McClintock Engineering Group upgraded the landmark 1992-built office structure in 2008 to improve energy efficiency. The energy savings exceeded expectations, achieving a 5-star rating under the National Australian Built Environment Rating System (NABERS).

Ergon Energy’s Townsville Region 66/11kV zone substations construction program was also nominated in the project of the year category, along with work by Rockfield Technologies Australia and ESCO Corporation to improve the design of mining truck bodies.

Those firms used fundamental bulk materials theory combined with novel application of beam theory, geometric curves and bio-mimicry to create

a design that uses less steel in fabrication, allowing mine trucks to carry more material per load, while maintaining safety, strength, fatigue resistance and wear characteristics.

Awards also went to Ergon Energy substation engineering manager Kevin Hunter, who was named Townsville Region Professional Engineer of the Year, and civil engineer Janice Ballard from Townsville City Council, who was named as Townsville Region Woman in Engineering.

The second annual Townsville Region Engineering and Resources Excellence Awards were co-ordinated by the Engineers Australia local group in partnership with the North Queensland Branch of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (AusIMM). The winners were announced at a gala presentation at the Mercure Inn in Townsville on October 30.

AusIMM NQ branch chair Jim Morrison said the awards gave long-deserved recognition to the professional excellence of North Queensland engineering and resource projects and professionals.

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The Mining Advocate | November 2010

NEWS

7

Govt draws fire for jilting Angela Pamela A shock announcement on an NT uranium project will harm investment confidence, industry groups warn.

The Australian Uranium Association has slammed the Northern Territory Government for veering away from its own regulatory processes regarding the Angela Pamela uranium project near Alice Springs.

Association chief executive officer Michael Angwin said the fact Chief Minister Paul Henderson had withdrawn support from a project his government had actively encouraged, and whose development was proceeding according to government processes, created great uncertainty.

The Commonwealth Resources Minister holds the deciding authority for the grant of approval to mine uranium in the Territory under the relevant NT legislation and would be able to formally advise the NT Miniser to approve the operation if he chose.

Mr Angwin said the Australian Uranium Association had confidence that due Commonwealth processes would be followed to allow such decisions to be made on projects’ merits.

Mr Henderson announced in the leadup to a local by-election that the NT Government would not support the establishment of a uranium mine at Angela Pamela.

Project proponents Cameco Australia and Paladin Energy have met with Mr Henderson and NT Resources Minister Kon Vatskalis since the shock announcement and are reconsidering the level of spending committed to the project in the shortterm. In a joint statement, Paladin Energy managing director John Borshoff and Cameco vice-president of exploration Colin Macdonald said they remained committed to the Angela Pamela project.

“We understand the importance of community acceptance of our activities,

although we believe the government has been unduly influenced by a very vocal minority,” they said.

In December 2006, the NT Government invited interested mining companies to apply for an exploration licence for the Angela and Pamela sites.

Of the 37 expressions of interest received, in February 2008 the Paladin and Cameco joint venture was selected by the Northern Territory Government as the preferred applicant.

“What is important to recognise is that this is an exploration project and we are some way off even considering the matter of whether to lodge an application to mine the deposit,” Mr Borshoff and Mr Macdonald said.

A ministerial spokeswoman said the NT Government remained strongly supportive of mining and energy sectors in the Territory, including uranium.

She said it had listened

to the concerns of the local community prior to making its position clear in opposing a possible mine within 25km of Alice Springs.

“It should be noted that both the NT Government and the NT Opposition have expressed concerns about the development of a uranium mine in this proximity,” she said.

Minerals Council of Australia chief executive officer Mitch Hooke warned that the government’s stand sent a dangerous signal to all potential investors in the NT minerals industry, adding a new layer of sovereign risk.

A global survey by the Fraser Institute in August found that the NT had slipped from 12th to 25th place in the list of attractive mining destinations as a result of the divisive mining super tax issue, he said.

“Unilaterally ruling out the development of a minerals deposit rather than relying on sound science and proper government review will only serve to increase the NT’s sovereign risk,” Mr Hooke said.

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The Mining Advocate

Topping up training on the fly with management, accounting and legal backgrounds.

AusIMM chief executive officer Michael Catchpole said it was a major priority to use technology to give all members better access to professional development opportunities.

Mr Catchpole said the organisation already had thousands of conference papers and journal articles available online, the majority being free for members.

AusIMM’s new president is keen to harness technological advances to assist regional members in their professional development.

Imagine being able to use time in the air, en route to a remote mine site or heading back home, to update your qualifications via podcasts.

This is incoming AusIMM national president Alice Clark’s vision - harnessing modern technology to improve access to professional development modules and other material for members in regional and remote locations.

“We’ve heard our members in regional areas loud and clear I’m one of those members and this type of access to information helps to bring new ideas and innovation to regional members,” Ms Clark said.

This vision is fast being realised as the AusIMM Online Services Task Force, formed in 2008, continues its work.

The AusIMM is in the process of scanning technical papers dating back to the institute’s inception in 1893 and upgrading the institute’s website to improve access to such material.

In addition to the digitisation

of historical material, the taskforce is working on improving AusIMM’s offering of audio and video podcasts and DVDs. Ms Clark, a geologist based in Mount Isa, is due to take up her new role as AusIMM president in January 2011.

She is a firm advocate of people taking responsibility for their own career path and stresses the importance of professional societies such as AusIMM in offering avenues for professional development.

She sees new technology as presenting a major opportunity for the organisation to better serve its regional members in this way.

“Through the AusIMM website members have access to a vast amount of information that they would have had to purchase separately in the past,” she said.

“They will soon be able to download technical papers from AusIMM conferences and other proceedings that are more than

He said audio podcasts of keynote presentations at AusIMM conferences were made available through the website and added to the institute’s RSS feed for download.

“We hope to expand this service to include more branch presentations and additional conference papers in the future, with our online taskforce investigating alternatives and options in regards to podcasts,” he said.

New NT minerals chief

Alice Clark

procurement for the NT Government, 2003 to 2006.

Mr Stewart replaces Scott Perkins, who left the Minerals Council of Australia NT Division leadership role to take up a position as manager of government and community relations with the Groote Eylandt Mining Company (GEMCO).

The new job has seen Mr Perkins and wife Debbie shift from Darwin to Groote Eylandt in the Gulf of Carpentaria.

The Minerals Council of Australia has appointed Peter Stewart as executive director of its Northern Territory Division.

Mr Stewart is leaving a position in Canada as president (North America) of GMC Global to take up the NT role in November.

He has previously held positions with Burdekin River Resources, Rio Tinto Iron Ore, Newmont and Normandy Mining.

He also spent three years as director of contracts and

AusIMM incoming president

12 months old.

“The next step for us is applying the technology to provide for continuing professional development to be available through podcasts.

“Here people can download a lecture or training package on their IPod and watch it on the way home from a FIFO site.”

The AusIMM has about 10,500 members Australiawide, including geologists and engineers working in mining and mineral processing fields as well as some industry professionals

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The Mining Advocate | November 2010

Port activity in overdrive

Robotic design wins medal Railway Estate resident Dion Sumpton’s interest in robotics sparked the engineering project which earned him this year’s Engineers Australia Charles Barton Medal.

The prestigious CN Barton Medal is awarded annually to the student who has presented the best fourthyear thesis seminar at James Cook University’s School of

Records continue to fall in a sustained trade performance believed to reflect Townsville region’s broad economic strength post-GFC. Trade through the Port of Townsville jumped nearly 13 per cent last financial year to a record high.

The strong 2009-10 performance has already been reinforced by a record start to 2010-11, in which trade reached 3.4 million tonnes for the first quarter.

This result is the highest three-month period on record at the Port of Townsville and exceeds the previous quarterly high (set in 2005-06) by 459,710 tonnes.

“We are looking to build on this solid start by monitoring opportunities, particularly in the mining industry, to identify and target prospective customers and further enhance our role as a global gateway to trade and investment,” Port of Townsville Limited chairman Ross Dunning said More than 10.25 million tonnes of goods passed over the wharves in 2009-10, the highest volume traded through the Townsville Port in its 114-year history.

Mineral concentrates and sugar remained the port’s two highest export commodities, accounting for a combined 2.65 million tonnes on the back of respective tonnage increases of 10.6 and 10.4 per cent.

Fertiliser and refined mineral product exports were also both up, along with general cargo, sulphuric acid and molasses tonnages.

Nickel ore bound for the Yabulu refinery led the import commodity charge at 3.68 million tonnes and was

supported by strong growth in petroleum products and the cement trade.

Mr Dunning said the record performance highlighted broad regional economic strength postGFC ( global financial crisis).

“In 2009-10, international exports out of the Port of Townsville alone were valued at more than $5.58 billion,” he said.

“That value is up more than 13 per cent on the previous financial year and equal to an average of about $15.29 million of international trade passing over Townsville’s wharves every day.

“These figures show this community has survived, recovered and prospered since the onset of the global financial crisis.”

Fourth-year electrical engineering (electric and electronic) student Dion Sumpton - winner of the 2010 CN Barton Medal - with his invention.

Engineering and Physical Sciences.

Mr Sumpton, 23, delivered a presentation on the co-operative localisation system he invented for mobile robots.

The electrical engineering student said the system could help robots determine their position in respect to each other and map out their environment.

Enabling such teamwork would allow very simple robots to achieve the same performance level as more advanced, expensive ones, he said.

Potential applications would include surveillance operations involving unmanned aerial vehicles or allowing robots to coordinate themselves into search patterns for search and rescue functions, he said.

Mr Sumpton developed his own localisation algorithm for the project and a software simulation package to allow him to analyse its performance before building and testing a physical prototype of the system.

“I’m quite interested in robotics and that’s the underlying theme of the research,” he said.

The engineering graduate plans to join a defence contracting company in New South Wales in 2011.

Business pursues new line in mine supplies Townsville Bulk Storage and Handling hopes to tap a growing market by supplying imported grinding media, chemicals and

other mining needs to operations throughout Queensland.

Business owner Dewayne Cannon said he had a 500-tonne

Townsville Bulk Storage and Handling manager Dewayne Cannon inside the complex.

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shipment of grinding media arriving in January and was confident of signing up customers.

He saw the new supply business as a way of capitalising on the transport and logistics network Townsville Bulk Storage and Handling had established.

“If mines come to us we’ll source the product, show it to them, clear it through Customs and Quarantine and arrange transport to site - so they only have to come to one person,” he said “I think it will be the only operation in North Queensland that can provide that service from overseas companies

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The operation includes a 3600sq m warehouse for bulk commodities, a two-storey office complex and Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service-approved wash bay.

Mr Cannon said the business was registered for under-bond cargo as a 77G depot.

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Mount Isa Regional Capacity

November 2010 |

The Mining Advocate

Miners back in business Three north-west Queensland operations are making a comeback as the copper market regains its shine, writes Belinda Humphries.

Barminco has won a $100 million contract to deliver underground mining services as Aditya Birla Minerals restarts its Mount Gordon operation, 130km north of Mount Isa. The Mount Gordon copper operation was suspended in 2009 and placed on care and maintenance after copper prices plunged.

The Aditya Birla Board recently announced that a detailed economic study had demonstrated that conditions were now favourable to recommence operations.

Mt Gordon is expected produce about 2100 million tonnes of copper in concentrate per month when operations recommence.

Barminco chief executive officer Neil Warburton said mobilisation was under way with work to start on site in November and production expected to resume in January.

Total manpower requirements for the contract were 139 personnel, he said.

Est. 1930

The contract covers total underground mine operating services including underground development and production, with work expected to run through to 2012.

Meanwhile the Lady Annie operation, also to the north of Mount Isa, is expected to produce its first copper cathode in a year in December CST Minerals, part of the group formerly known as China Sci-Tech Holdings, took possession of the operation on May 31 from Cape Lambert Resources – which had acquired the mine and other assets after former operator CopperCo was placed into administration in late 2008.

General manager Brian Wyatt said mining and hauling was in full swing and the Lady Annie operation would be ramping up production over the next six to 12 months. It was expected to produce 20-25,000 tonnes of copper cathode in 2011, he said.

About 250 people are employed at the site across two work

panels, including about 210 CST Minerals employees.

“About 50 per cent are returning employees (from the previous CopperCo operation),” Mr Wyatt said.

He said about 15 per cent of the workforce was indigenous.

The Eloise copper mine in the

Cloncurry district, which has been on care and maintenance since December 2008, is set to reopen from November.

Breakaway Resources, which has an interest in the operation, recently announced that owner FMR had finalised an offtake agreement and was negotiating

Training hits new heights Height safety training in Mount Isa has entered a new dimension.

Krause Health and Safety is offering course participants greater practical experience through the use of a purposebuilt platform tower, which also includes a compartment for

confined space exercises.

It is an opportunity being embraced by local industry, according to Krause Health and Safety manager Dave Anderson.

Mr Anderson said the new facility had already helped the company win major training

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the mining contract terms ahead of a planned reopening.

The decision to restart operations followed the recent increase in the copper price and positive internal reviews of the underground mining method to be employed at Eloise, the company said.

Krause Health and Safety manager David Anderson at the facility.

Photo: Roslyn Budd

tenders with a large mining operator and an energy company.

The company’s new training facility, including the outdoor height platform and a small conference room, was constructed at a Richardson Rd site at a cost of about $50,000.

The platform is about 3m off the ground and has been certified as safe for its purpose by a mechanical engineer.

Mr Anderson said Krause Health and Safety had also employed two new trainers as part of the expansion.

He said Krause Health and Safety offered nationally accredited training covering both theoretical and practical aspects of working safely at heights and in confined spaces, with a focus on fall prevention systems and equipment.

“There is strong demand for what we are providing now,” Mr Anderson said.

“The standard set of outcomes for this course, the context and environment in which the learning is applied is probably one of the best I’ve seen in the region.”

While Krause Health and Safety had been able to offer some training in this area before, Mr Anderson said much of it had been confined to the classroom.

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Mackay Regional Capacity

The Mining Advocate | November 2010

11

From the (under)ground up A key mining contractor is preparing “cleanskins� to enter the coal industry through a new purpose-built centre.

The first graduates from Mastermyne’s new Myne Start underground training facility in Mackay have joined the central Queensland mining workforce.

Mastermyne has invested more than $1.2 million in the facility, which was officially opened recently by Queensland Resources Council chief executive Michael Roche.

The nine people trained in the first intake recently started work with Mastermyne at Moranbah North and Oaky Creek coal mines.

Mastermyne managing director Tony Caruso said the complex would specifically provide inexperienced workers with the opportunity to complete in-depth training in a simulated underground facility.

He said the pool of labour in the underground sector was under increasing demands and many contractors were cannibalising each others’ workforces by simply offering more money. “We wanted to look for a solution to help replenish that

pool,� Mr Caruso said.

It is expected that a total of 100 participants will successfully graduate from the training program in the first 12 months of operation. However Mr Caruso said Myne Start had the capacity to double that number to meet demand.

Mr Caruso said Mastermyne required a mix of experienced and new workers as it won coal projects, so it would continue to recruit skilled workers from overseas as well as targeting other sectors of the domestic market, including hardrock mining.

It had enjoyed “a fair bit of success� in drawing workers from north-west Queensland, he said.

Mastermyne employs about 640 people in operations across Australia, with about two-thirds of those based in the Bowen Basin.

Mr Caruso said the Myne Start training facility would be filling the company’s own workforce needs at this stage, but may offer courses for other parties in future.

Mastermyne was also considering opening a training centre in New South Wales, he said.

The Mackay complex includes

a series of shipping containers joined together to form three ventilated “underground� roadways, about 5.2m wide and 2.6m high.

It also features surface facilities including a bathhouse, lamp room, muster area, training room and equipment go line as well as underground crib room facilities, communication systems, a conveyor system, fire

Safety summit planned The Mackay Area Industry Network (MAIN) plans to kick off a new regional safety event in March next year.

The inaugural Bowen Basin Safety Conference will be held at the Mackay Entertainment and Convention Centre.

MAIN director Andrew Woodley said the conference would bring together the large mining houses and their subcontractors to offer the opportunity for each group to learn from the other about the safest work practices across the whole industry. “The aim is to improve safety and promote continuous learning and to facilitate the flow of information,� Mr Woodley said.

The conference will be promoted at a local, state and national level for the inaugural event, and MAIN managing director Narelle Pearse has already extended an invitation to Chinese officials.

The event will include an awards evening to recognise safety achievements and innovation.

Ms Pearse said safety in the mining industry was crucial to productivity, the well-being of employees and the public profile of organisations.

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INDUSTRY UPDATE COAL AND GAS

November 2010 |

Research partnership

services for the “Plains” pit of the Jellinbah coal mine, about 200km west of Rockhampton. General manager of John Holland’s mining business, Russell Cuttler, said the initial focus would be on delivering a smooth transition from the existing contractor.

Mobilisation of equipment to site is expected to be completed in April 2011.

Hughenden attracts interest Guildford Coal and the Flinders Shire Council recently showcased Hughenden’s coal mining potential to an 11-strong delegation of Chinese investors.

Linc Energy’s UCG demonstration facility at Chinchilla, Queensland.

Linc Energy has entered into a memorandum of understanding with a European researcher to develop and apply carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology to the company’s underground coal gasification (UCG) operations.

The agreement will see Helmholtz Centre Potsdam GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences work for Linc Energy over the next three years, conducting research to confirm the extent of carbon dioxide storage available in remaining UCG cavities once the energy extraction process is complete.

Linc chief executive officer Peter Bond said it was well known that UCG cavities provided one of the best opportunities to store carbon dioxide on a commercial scale.

“With a potential efficiency of 400 times that of other CCS methods when storing carbon dioxide in UCG cavities, UCG operations could end up providing the carbon dioxide sinks required in many parts of the world whilst also producing cleaner energy,” Mr Bond said.

Study pleases Stanmore Independent engineers Minserve have completed the initial conceptual mining study for Stanmore Coal’s The Range project, indicating the project is likely to be economically and technically viable.

The Range Project, 24km south-east of Wandoan within the Surat Basin coal province, contains a JORC inferred resource of 219 million tonnes of export quality thermal coal.

Stanmore Coal managing director Nick Jorss said the study indicated a viable 5 million-tonnes-per-annum open-pit

conventional mining operation with an 18-year mine life. Subject to statutory approvals being attained, the outcomes of further studies and the satisfactory progression of third party infrastructure, the site construction work would start in the second quarter of 2013, with first coal production targeted for 2015.

“Stanmore Coal is very pleased with the results of the study,’’ Mr Jorss said.

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The Mining Advocate

on whose property traces of BTEX were found in exploration wells. Australia Pacific LNG said analysis did not identify unsafe levels of any of those chemicals.

Oaky Creek underground deal WDS has been awarded a three-year contract for major underground works at Xstrata Coal Queensland’s Oaky Creek complex in the Bowen Basin.

Water Trucks

WDS chief executive officer Terry Chapman said the $100 million contract would involve more than 250 personnel, the majority of whom were already mobilised across the Oaky No.1 and Oaky North sites.

The visit included Guildford Coal’s www.equipmentplacement.com.au drilling site off the Hann Highway “This contract north of Hughenden. The company’s builds on the previous two years’ Hughenden Project is centred on experience at site and will enable WDS a group of tenements covering an to continue the implementation of estimated area of 18,000km sq within a range of continuous improvement the Galilee and Eromanga basins. strategies developed in conjunction with Xstrata Coal,” Mr Chapman said.

Guildford Coal has appointed former Townsville Mayor and recent Labor candidate for the federal seat of Herbert, Tony Mooney, to the full-time position of general manager stakeholder relations.

Contamination in wells Traces of hydrocarbon chemicals known as BTEX have been found in fluid samples taken from eight Australia Pacific LNG exploration wells in the Surat Basin west of Miles.

Boost for MetroCoal project MetroCoal recently announced that its joint venture with China Coal Import & Export Company (CCIEC), a wholly owned subsidiary of China National Coal Group Corp (China Coal), is now unconditional.

The traces were found as part of Australia Pacific LNG’s routine testing, from samples of fluids from hydraulic fractured exploration wells.

Indicative approval has been received from the Queensland Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation for the assignment of 51 per cent of MetroCoal’s Columboola tenement near Miles in the Surat Basin to China Coal’s Australian subsidiary.

However, the company said it did not use BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene) in its fracture fluids. It said testing was under way to determine the source of the BTEX, which can be found in a range of oilbased products including lubricating oil, diesel and petrol. Sampling has been conducted at the bores of landowners

In return CCIEC has committed to spend $30 million to explore and evaluate the potential for future commercialisation options within that tenement. The agreement, which requires a minimum expenditure of $4 million within two years, also opens up the opportunity for participation in MetroCoal’s other tenements.

Contact RUSSELL HOCKINGS www.hastingsdeering.com.au

INDUSTRY UPDATE COAL AND GAS

The Mining Advocate | November 2010

New order for Industrea Industrea subsidiary, Advanced Mining Technologies, has received a $35.6 million order from BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA) for its open-cut mining CAS-CAM/RF collision avoidance system.

The order will be delivered over two years and includes more than 3100 specialist radio frequency-based collision avoidance systems and support software.

The equipment is to be deployed at BMA’s Norwich Park, Saraji, Peak Downs, Goonyella Riverside, Blackwater and Gregory operations in Queensland’s Bowen Basin.

Industrea said the new contract meant the CAS-CAM/RF system would now be used at a total of 33 sites around the world, with more than 6600 operational units.

Haulage deal extended QR National has signed a long-term haulage contract with Peabody Energy to transport up to 9 million tonnes of coal per annum from the North Goonyella, Burton, Eaglefield and Millennium mines to Dalrymple Bay Coal Terminal.

The contract is an extension of an existing arrangement. Peabody will have the flexibility to rail coal from any if its four mines in the Goonyella system to port to match its needs, dependent on production, demand and supply chain dynamics.

QR National Coal also hauls coal from Peabody’s Wilkie Creek mine in the Surat Basin to the Port of Brisbane.

Caval Ridge village shift Public consultation has begun on draft alterations to the location and size of an accommodation village for the proposed Caval Ridge Mine near Moranbah.

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Official opening

Queensland Infrastructure and Planning Minister Stirling Hinchliffe said project proponent BMA had requested a new location be considered.

He said the Co-ordinator-General Graeme Newton would assess the proposed relocation from Denham Village to Buffel Village, 17km south of Moranbah.

The new proposal will allow the construction workforce to be increased from 1200 to up to 2000 people.

Mr Hinchliffe said the change request did not seek to amend the fly in-fly out (FIFO) operational workforce arrangement for the mine.

BMA recently sparked a community backlash by flagging intentions to amend the proportion of FIFO workers for the operation from 70 to 100 per cent, a change that would require the company to lodge a new application and seek a separate approval.

An electronic copy of the request for change regarding the construction accommodation village can be obtained free of charge by calling 1800 078 797 or emailing: enquiries@bmacoal.com

Focus on NT gas Recently formed D’Aguilar Gold subsidiary Armour Energy has released details of its plans to focus on a new gas province in the Northern Territory.

The area under application covers 118,814sq km of the McArthur, South Nicholson and Georgina basins.

Armour has identified a core target area located within and adjacent to the faultbounded trough structure known as the Batten Trough.

The company says the project area is well positioned to service local markets in the NT as well as the Northern Economic Triangle of Queensland, centred on Mount Isa, Townsville and Bowen.

Rio Tinto chief executive - energy Doug Ritchie looks over the mine with Queensland Premier Anna Bligh and Natural Resources, Mines and Energy Minister Stephen Robertson.

Australia’s newest open cut thermal coal mine – the Clermont Mine – has been officially opened in a ceremony at the Bowen Basin operation.

Speaking at the event, Queensland Premier Anna Bligh commended the operation on its award-winning recruitment approach for women, indigenous people and those without prior mining experience.

The Clermont Mine is managed by Rio Tinto for the Clermont Joint Venture, which includes Mitsubishi Development, J-Power Australia, J.C.D. Australia and Queensland Coal. It is estimated that the $US1.29 billion mine, which is employing 380 people at peak and around 260 experienced contract operators, will support up to 3800 jobs throughout the Queensland economy during operations.

Construction began in 2007 and the mine became operational in April 2010, delivering its first export coal for shipment in May. The Clermont Mine will replace the neighbouring Blair Athol operation, which is expected to close in 2016 when it runs out of resources.

It plans to apply proven coal seam gas and US shale gas techniques to exploration and development.

Support for Callide Oxyfuel The Callide Oxyfuel Project, outside Biloela in central Queensland, is among the first six projects to receive funding from the Global Carbon Capture and Storage Institute.

The institute has announced $1.83 million in-principle support to facilitate an injection test of CO2 into a potential storage site in the Northern

Denison Trough and other locations in Queensland under Stage 2 of the Callide Oxyfuel Project.

The project is currently retrofitting oxyfuel technology to CS Energy’s Callide A Power Station to enable it to generate electricity in oxy-firing mode from mid-2011 for up to three years.

One other Australian project has attracted Global Carbon Capture and Storage Institute funding – the CarbonNet project in Victoria’s Latrobe Valley, along with two European projects and two in the United States.

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INDUSTRY UPDATE HARDROCK

Conquest takes control Conquest Mining has gained control of assets including the Pajingo gold mine outside Charters Towers after a successful $80 million takeover offer on mine operator North Queensland Metals.

The company has also acquired Heemskirk Consolidated’s share of the operation for $37 million in cash and shares in a deal that was sealed by shareholder votes on October 29.

The company described the development as a breakthrough in its strategy of building a profitable and sustainable mid-tier gold miner through exploration, development and acquisition.

Conquest is continuing to advance its own flagship gold project, Mt Carlton, with Calder Project Services expected to complete an engineering and costing study in December for the required process plant and ancillaries.

The company has signed a long-term off take agreement with Shandong Guoda Gold for gold-silver concentrate from the V2 deposit at the Mt Carlton project, north-west of Collinsville.

Early roll-out for Roper River Sherwin Iron - formerly Batavia Mining - says it is on track to start production at its Roper River iron ore project in the Northern Territory in 2012.

The company recently announced that a scoping study completed by Engenium on the Hodgson Downs deposits within the project had delivered a series of highly positive conclusions.

It had confirmed the suitability and availability of infrastructure to support initial production of two million tonnes a year from 2012, increasing to four or five million tonnes within two to three years of operation. Sherwin Iron said the study had assumed a mine life running until 2025. However, the W Deposit resource estimate of 100 million tonnes at 48 per cent iron, together with the upgrade potential demonstrated by the metallurgical testing to date, significantly exceeded the base case resource assumption in the study.

November 2010 |

Silver lining at Texas Alcyone Resources says it remains on track to recommence silver operations at the Twin Hills mine in south-east Queensland by the end of the year.

The company reported in October that work was nearing completion on an economic review of the mine, part of Alcyone’s Texas silver and polymetallic project.

It was targeting a trial re-irrigation of the existing heaps in the December quarter.

“This should deliver first silver production for the company in early 2011 and will enable the completion of further test work ahead of the planned recommencement of full-scale commercial production from Twin Hills early next year,” the company stated.

Alcyone listed on the Australian Securities Exchange one year ago following the recapitalisation and reconstruction of the former Macmin Silver, which had been placed into administration.

Safety levy overhaul Mining operations that employ five workers or less will no longer have to pay the Queensland Government’s annual Safety and Health Levy.

Mines and Energy Minister Stephen Robertson said the levy exemption applied to small mining and quarrying operators as well as ammunition sellers and collectors, tourist mines, gun clubs and farm businesses which used ammonium nitrate.

“Until now, operators with five full-time workers or less paid an annual Safety and Health Levy of $100 per worker,” Mr Robertson said.

“The exemption for small operators applies immediately so they won’t have to pay the 2010-11 levy payable by October 31.”

The annual payment for mining operators employing between six and 10 workers will remain at $100 per employee. Organisations employing 11 workers or more will pay a reduced annual levy of $795 per employee.

Revenue from the annual Safety and Health Levy is used to pay for State Government safety and health services to the mining and resource industries.

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Bauxite project no longer viable

Survey bears fruit Syndicated Metals says the first VTEM survey at its Mount Remarkable project, about 50km north-east of Mount Isa, has identified 15 high-priority targets.

The survey was conducted by Geotech Airborne using a helicopter-borne Versatile Time-Domain Electromagnetic (VTEM) system and centred on the Barbara copper-gold deposits.

The effectiveness of VTEM as demonstrated by this survey indicated that the technique could be confidently used in identifying and ranking targets elsewhere within Syndicated’s extensive tenement holdings at Mount Remarkable, the company said.

The Barbara exploration permit is held

by Syndicated Metals (51 per cent) in joint venture with Mt Isa Metals.

Cape Alumina says an internal review has shown that its Pisolite Hills bauxite project is no longer economically viable as a result of the recent declaration of the Wenlock River Basin as a wild river area and that it cannot proceed unless the associated High Preservation Areas are reduced in size.

The company said 23 per cent of the Pisolite Hills mineral resource had been sterilised as a direct result of the imposition of arbitrary 500m buffers around features within the river basin.

The review also considered the impact of the declaration on mine sequencing and ore blending options, and determined that a further 22 per cent of the mineral resource had been indirectly rendered uneconomic to mine. Cape Alumina said it would maintain its mining lease applications and continue the environmental impact statement process.

“The company remains hopeful that the 500m buffers will be reduced through a change of position by the current or a future state government,” it stated.

Browns Oxide bows out Joint venture partners Compass Resources and Hunan Nonferrous Metals Corporation have shifted the Browns Oxide mine and processing plant into permanent care and maintenance.

Metallica raring to go Production from the NORNICO project in North Queensland may begin by late 2013, owner Metallica Minerals said.

Project operator, HNC (Australia) Resources - HAR - expected to make up to 12 workers redundant as a result.

Subject to a favourable outcome from the current scoping study, the key definitive feasibility study into the mine could commence next early year.

The copper project, at Batchelor in the Northern Territory, operated briefly in 2008 before being shut down due to operational problems in early 2009.

The site has remained in care and maintenance since as options for the project have been reviewed.

Managing director Andrew Gillies told a recent conference the study would focus particularly on first mining and processing of high-grade nickel, cobalt and scandium ores from the southern portion of NORNICO on the old Greenvale nickel mine site.

HAR general manager Bob Lloyd said the joint venture partners made the decision to move to permanent care and maintenance due to the likely cost of the remedial works required to fix the processing plant, plus the uncertainty of obtaining approval for the Area 55 mine, which was to become a major source of ore to the plant once the Browns mine was exhausted.

“The most significant outcome of studies to date is that the project’s nickel, cobalt and scandium-bearing laterite ores are suitable for simultaneous trimetal mining and processing under the proprietary technology specifically developed by Metallica for this project – a unique processing upside that will deliver significant revenue and margin performance,” Mr Gillies said.

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INDUSTRY UPDATE HARDROCK

The Mining Advocate | November 2010

Industry exports honoured Xstrata Mount Isa Mines has won the minerals and energy category of the 2010 Premier of Queensland’s Export Awards.

Premier Anna Bligh described the operation, which contributed almost $2 billion to the Queensland economy last year, as a deserving winner.

It is the second time in four years that Xstrata Mount Isa Mines has won that category of the export awards.

While Brisbanebased meat packer and exporter Swift Australia was named Queensland Exporter of the Year, the resources sector shone in several categories.

and is designed to extend mineralisation and improve understanding of the deposits. Drill results are expected later this year or early in the new year.

Expansion under way

Mount Elliott rising Ongoing exploration on Ivanhoe Australia’s Mount Elliott project near Cloncurry in north-west Queensland has increased the mineral resource by 20 per cent to an estimated 570 million tonnes.

This includes an Service estimated 2.5 Trucks million tonnes of contained copper, an increase of 200,000 tonnes, and 4.7 million ounces gold, an increase of 400,000 ounces.

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Brisbane services company, Sedgman, was named winner of the Premier of Queensland’s Export Award in the large services category while MineWare topped the emerging exporter category. Rockhampton’s Capricorn Sandstone Quarries won the Tom Burns Award for its efforts and success in exporting to China.

Among the finalists in various categories were Ludowici, Xstrata Technology, JKTech and GBI Mining Intelligence.

Drilling at Roseby Altona Mining has announced plans for a 4300m reverse circulation drilling program at the company’s Roseby copper project near Mount Isa, to begin when weather permits.

Altona has completed a review of all prior resource estimates at Roseby, which together provide a total resource of 132.5 million tonnes at 0.7 per cent copper and 0.1g/t gold for 906,000 tonnes of contained copper and 245,000 ounces of gold.

The new drilling program at Roseby’s Blackard, Legend and Scanlan deposits is an outcome of this resource review

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“Mount Elliott now is recognised as one of the largest copper-gold mineralised systems discovered in Australia thanks to our exploration successes during the past three years,” Ivanhoe Australia chief executive officer Peter Reeve said.

“We expect that with the correct development approach Mount Elliott will become a significant operating project for Ivanhoe Australia in the future. The system is very large and, in parts, sparsely drilled and open in several directions.”

Ivanhoe Australia is planning a detailed scoping study to evaluate Mount Elliott and the Swan high-grade zone.

High-grade copper find Kagara says drilling carried out by subsidiary Mungana Goldmines at the Red Dome resource in North Queensland has returned a host of promising copper assays.

The high-grade copper intersections of between 5 and 8 per cent copper were intersected over a vertical extent of 300m, and varied in true width from 2 to 7m. Kagara, in co-operation with Mungana, plans to conduct further drilling and evaluation of this

Work is starting in Mount Isa on a $274 million expansion project at Xstrata Zinc’s George Fisher Mine to increase production by almost 30 per cent from 2013.

The company recently announced that Xstrata and Queensland Government approvals had been received for the George Fisher project.

The news follows approval of the $133 million Black Star Deeps open cut development, where preliminary construction and preparation activities have begun.

Xstrata Zinc Australia chief operating officer Brian Hearne said the projects would ensure the full utilisation of the zinc-lead concentrator capacity in Mount Isa, which was raised to 8 million tonnes per annum in 2009.

The George Fisher Mine expansion will increase the annual production rate from 3.5 million tonnes per annum to 4.5 million tonnes and will require an additional 250 contractors in construction and 120 employees in its operation.

Mr Hearne said the expansion project had been encouraged by a 126 per cent increase in zinc reserves to 76 million tonnes since Xstrata acquired the operation in 2003. The company said work was commencing immediately on the project, with equipment mobilised to begin ventilation shaft works during November.

mineralisation. Should a significant resource be quantified, then Kagara said both parties would consult and determine the optimum development strategy.

Fine for environmental breach The owner of a Cloncurry copper operation has been fined $135,000 for causing serious environmental harm to Coppermine Creek last year.

Great Australian Operations pleaded guilty in the Brisbane Magistrates Court recently to unlawfully causing

serious environmental harm in breach of the Environmental Protection Act 1994.

Department of Environment and Resource Management assistant director-general Dean Ellwood said about 2km of the creek had been affected when a pipe burst as contaminated stormwater was being transported around the mine site to stormwater ponds after the 2008-09 wet season. The company had acted quickly to avert further problems and would continue monitoring the recovery of the impacted environment until 2014, Mr Ellwood said.

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BETWEEN SHIFTS

November 2010 |

MMG Century suppliers’ golf day

The Mining Advocate

PHOTOS: Stewart McLean

Rowes Bay Golf Club, Townsville

Troy Clive (Komatsu) and Rod Dugmore (MMG).

Paul Walker and Peter Ropata (both NQX).

Kym Burbidge and Graeme Woods (both from Chubb Fire).

Lance Jorgensen (MMG) with Dave Rodda and Dave Conroy (both NQX).

Nigel Watt (Sinoz), Andrew Mackintosh (MMG) and Matt Stallmann (Hastings Deering).

Karl Spaleck (MMG) with Jason Garea and Glen Shannen (both Hastings Deering).

NT Resources Week gala dinner

PHOTOS: Christopher Knight

Darwin Convention Centre

Robert Gard (MEO Aust) with David Stocombe and Michael Hackett (both from Santos).

Chris Rumley (Poten and Partners) with Hideki Kidokoro and Naoki Fufuda (Tokyo Gas Australia) and Nobuhiro Fujii (Kansai Electric Power Australia).

James Kernahan (ENI), Angela Macdonald-Smith (Australian Financial Review) and Christine Forster (Platts).

Chris Mumme (Mumme Tools), Leanne Ladlow (Top End Barge), Phil Taylor (Mumme Tools), Paul Wenger (Top End Barge) and Andy Steele (Shorelands Group).

Rob Priest (Territory Instruments), Phil Jones (Contract Resources) and Darren Wheckert (Territory Instruments).

Sarah Ball (AMEC) with Wayne Bennett (ICN NT).

BETWEEN SHIFTS

The Mining Advocate | November 2010

Engineers Australia golf day

17

PHOTOS: Stewart McLean

Rowes Bay Golf Club, Townsville

Scott Waters and Michael Bancroft (Cardno).

Patrick Gibbons (Coffey Geotech) and Trevor Smith (Department of Transport and Main Roads).

Scott Carmody and John Single (Northern Consulting Engineers).

Merrin Lewis, Barry Kyte and Dennis Best (all from Hatch).

Michael Puntil, Troy Craperi, Glenn Stephens and Dyrick Hoobs (all from AECOM).

Paul Bradford and Mitchell Seaden (both from Hatch).

Central Highlands Development Corporation business breakfast

PHOTOS: Sue Sands

Capricornia Restaurant, Emerald

David Stolz (Department of Infrastructure and Planning) with Di Hancock-Mills (Century 21 Real Estate).

Nui Harris (Waratah Coal), Helen Quaide (DEEDI) and Mark Imber (Waratah Coal).

Mark Muldrew (Ray White Real Estate), Karen Nevins (Westpac) and Paul Muldrew (Ray White Real Estate).

Mastermyne underground training centre launch Myne Start complex, Mackay

Michael Coombs (Coombs Business Services) with Andrew Watts and Allan Russell (both from Mastermyne).

Peter Slaughter and Tony Caruso (both from Mastermyne) with Ben Mansour (Anglo Coal).

Tony Mapp (4Sight Training Solutions) and Jeff O’Keeffe (Mastermyne).

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BETWEEN SHIFTS

November 2010 |

Mount Isa Chamber of Commerce dragon boat regatta

The Mining Advocate

PHOTOS: Roslyn Budd

Lake Moondarra Fishing Classic, Mount Isa

Paul White (4Seen Automotive) with Zoe Dark (Headlines) paddling hard in the Mount Isa Fish Stocking Group entry.

Oscar and Will McLure try their luck with a line.

The Dave Clancy Electical crew - Seppo Nyrhinen, Colin Leeon, Mick Scotney, Jeremy Webb and Dave Clancy.

Amy Pugh and Michelle Taylor (Ernest Henry Mining) with their creation “Tremendous Titan’s” .

Part of CS Energy’s team for “Barrels of Fun” - Brett Kelly, Brad Jones and Janet Happer.

“The Chamber Maids” - Jeremy Murphy (Xstrata), Loreena Martyr (Martyr Transport and Training), Chelsea Martyr and Wayne Fraser (Fast Scaff ).

Bowen After Hours networking function

PHOTOS: Robert Dark

Queens Beach Motor Hotel, Bowen

Domenic Corrandeni (Corrandeni Engineering) and Stuart Cantoni (Force Rentals).

James Doyle, Kristy Bourne, Neil Platt and Bill Cristaldi (all from DEEDI).

Michael Thorsen (Fuji Xerox) and David Hull (Chandler McLeod).

Victor McCulloch, Jim Macdonald and Carl Howe (DMS Group).

Matthew Magin (North Queensland Bulk Ports), Mark Saunders (TBH Engineers), Michael Brown (Queens Beach Motor Hotel) and Mike Brunker (Whitsunday Mayor).

Craig Joy (Workplace Consulting), Jane Benson (Bowen Paint and Tiles) and Ray Menkins (grazier).

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SHUTDOWNS

The Mining Advocate | November 2010

19

Stanwell in $54m overhaul A project workforce of up to 600 has helped fit a new low-pressure turbine and deliver other improvements for a key CQ energy generator.

Unit 4 at Stanwell power station outside Rockhampton has undergone a 60-day shutdown to complete a $54 million program of upgrade and maintenance works.

The project workforce peaked at about 600 on site, including 200 of Stanwell Corporation’s own permanent employees, according to station manager Graham Dawson.

The central Queensland power plant runs each of its four 350MW generating units for four years between maintenance outages, meaning it takes one unit offline each year.

In addition to routine maintenance and inspection work, Stanwell used the latest outage to carry out a $22 million upgrade of Unit 4’s low-pressure turbine and generator.

Specialists from the original equipment manufacturer, Hitachi, were flown from Japan to assist with the installation of a new low-pressure turbine.

By utilising steam more efficiently, the technology allows the station to produce the same amount of energy from less coal.

“When Stanwell power station was first commissioned in 1993 it was based on 1980s technology,”

Mr Dawson said.

“Now, more than 20 years on from when it was on the drawing board, there are a lot of upgrades and new design we can incorporate.”

Two other units have already received a similar upgrade and the final unit is due to install a new low-pressure turbine next year.

The corporation also spent $8 million to install 30 new lowNOx (nitrogen oxide) burners in the Unit 4 boiler to reduce the plant’s gaseous emissions.

Mr Dawson said a total of 500 contract workers were inducted for shutdown jobs including fitting and mechanical tasks, boilermaking, scaffolding, lagging and cladding, high-pressure steam pipe welding, crane and forklift operation, cleaning and catering.

Fatigue management was the greatest health and safety challenge in such an extended shutdown program, he said.

“It’s a real balance between working the hours to get the job done quickly, but at the same time we’re well aware of the implications of fatigue,” Mr Dawson said.

He said Stanwell had reduced

The new Unit 4 low-pressure turbine rotor weighs about 53 tonnes and spins at 3000 rpm when in operation.

shutdown shifts in recent years to 11 hours rather than 12 and ensured each worker had a “safety day” of rest every seventh day.

“One of the challenges for us is, not only have we got a unit offline, but we must maintain the reliable operations of the three

other in-service units,” he said.

Mr Dawson said also it was a fairly complicated process to bring a unit back online after such an outage, with a lot of equipment commissioning, checks and balances.

While the shutdown work

was completed on schedule in late October, the plant was subsequently forced to remove Unit 4 from service to fix a faulty thermocouple in the boiler.

Work was continuing to return Unit 4 to service as The Mining Advocate went to press.

Unusual gig for event specialist Ethan Dooley has worked at AC/DC and Pearl Jam concerts, rave parties, international cricket matches and AFL games in Brisbane in the past year.

But his most recent gig has taken him to central Queensland to help provide aroundthe-clock support at Stanwell power station’s recent 60-day shutdown.

The Event First Aid operations officer was one of three paramedics from the Brisbanebased firm working on rotation at the site.

While many industrial operations had relied on the Queensland Ambulance Service to provide paramedic coverage for such events in the past, Mr Dooley said private industry was stepping up to take on more such contracts.

Mr Dooley conceded his posting at the shutdown had proved “pretty boring”, with not

much to do, but said the downtime gave the paramedics a chance to go through some course work to further their training.

Stanwell power station manager Graham Dawson said the operation had seen a 50 per cent reduction in injuries this year compared to the 2009 outage.

Most cases had been injuries that could be treated by the paramedics on site, such as dust in eyes that needed flushing and cuts on hands, he said.

“Unfortunately we have also had some injuries where people have needed medical treatment from a doctor,” he said.

“One of our major commitments to help out health and safety this year has been to ensure we are out there having safety conversations with the people doing the work.”

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The Mining Advocate | November 2010

ADVERTORIAL

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Orica Mining Services launches Pentex™D for underground market Orica Mining Services is the world’s leading supplier of commercial explosives. Committed to innovation, we are continuously working with customers to provide a tailored service to meet the changing needs of a global mining industry.

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22

Building Mining Communities

November 2010 |

Fun for all the family as union hosts day out Almost 2000 people joined a Biloela family fun day organised by the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) Callide Valley Lodge recently.

Lodge vice-president Coralie Rollinson said the event was run in conjunction with a members’ end-of-year party at the Biloela Panthers Rugby League Club grounds.

It was a way of raising the CFMEU’s local profile and putting something back into the community, with free rides and other giveaways on offer for all children on the day, she said “The look on the kids’ faces when they received their tickets in the free draw for the bikes and their lolly and sticker bag was worth all the effort that was put in to make this day a success,” Ms Rollinson said.

CFMEU Callide Valley Lodge member Bob Petty CFMEU members Shane Brunker, Ant Duncan, Jim Vallery and Lara cooked up more than Watson with Anne Pierce from the Maritime, Mining and Power 1000 sausages for the Credit Union. hungry crowd and local Girl Guides Australia volunteers also helped in the kitchen.

A raffle raised $527 for the local retirement village, Wahroonga, and the Callide Valley Lodge presented its annual community donations through the Allan (Skinny) Ninness Fund to the Biloela Chaplaincy Fund, Thangool Playgroup and the Biloela SES. Ms Rollinson said the lodge had also donated The “Storm $2700 to the Rider” was among the Biloela Accident Appeal, rides on off er for local children. assisting young people affected by a serious car crash in July.

The 2010 event marked the fourth year the union had hosted the family fun day, which was growing bigger each year, she said.

The Mining Advocate

Settling in at Moranbah Incitec Pivot Limited (IPL) is beginning to build up the permanent workforce which will operate its Dyno Nobel ammonium nitrate plant at Moranbah.

Already some operational managers and technicians have moved to Moranbah to be part of the construction program in preparation for the plant’s commissioning in early 2012.

The new arrivals, most of them accompanied by their families, are living in company accommodation in Moranbah township.

“We are finding that candidates like the idea of living in this well-serviced family-friendly town,” said operations manager Kyle Gimpl, who worked for six years in Canada before moving to Moranbah.

“We are attracting people from far afield, including overseas, who are excited to get in on the ground floor of a major development.”

IPL’s Moranbah team welcomed newcomers at a “meet and greet” function at the Purple Grape in Moranbah recently.

The $935 million ammonium nitrate plant, which will supply materials for blasting to coal mines in the region, is being constructed by an alliance led by UGL Resources as principal contractor.

The plant will employ about 75 people in full-time operations roles, with the majority to be housed in Moranbah.

An IPL spokesman said the company owned 49 dwellings in the town and construction of the remaining required housing was expected in 2011.

“Approximately 20 families have already relocated or are en route to Moranbah,” he said.

Brisbane-based senior human resources adviser operations, Michelle Squire, with partner Josh Hannay.

Senior process engineer for the new plant, Marc Hermus, from Holland, with his wife Sharma and son Daan.

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24

Building Mining Communities

November 2010 |

The Mining Advocate

Making classic car a go-goer Left - Newton Gobbert with the 1959 Dart - the second Goggomobil to have been in the family.

Electrician Newton Gobbert plans to take over where his father, Syd, left off in restoring a 1959 model Dart, writes Belinda Humphries.

“G-O G-G-O...” That well-loved Yellow Pages advertisement of the 1990s featuring a frustrated home mechanic with a Scottish accent may have been many Australians’ introduction to the microcar known as the Goggomobil.

But Moranbah electrician Newton Gobbert has been familiar with a sporty Australian version of the Goggomobil – yes, the Dart – since childhood.

Mr Gobbert remembers his father Syd, a bit of a car buff, bringing the broken-down car home about 30 years ago.

Newton was just 13 when the Dart came to live in a shed at the family’s wheat property outside Miles in southern Queensland and just 15 when his father passed away, having failed to get the old car going.

Now Mr Gobbert, 45, has taken over where his father left off.

“I brought it up (to his property in Moranbah) a couple of years ago,” Mr Gobbert said.

“I have stripped it down and have been collecting bits and pieces. It will be quite a project to get it up and running.”

He said he had joined an Australian Goggomobil owners club to learn more about the vehicle.

The original Goggomobil line of cheap microcars with fibreglass bodies was produced in Germany by Hans Glas between 1955 and 1969.

Buckle Motors in Sydney manufactured the Dart under the Goggomobil licence, producing about 700 of the little sports cars between 1957 and 1961 in

addition to other Goggomobil models.

Mr Gobbert described the Dart as being novel in appearance.

The 400CC vehicle - powered by a two-stroke, two-cylinder engine – had no doors and was entered by stepping over the side, he said.

“It’s a rear-engine, rear-wheel

“Most dirt bikes would have more power than this has got.” drive and fairly small,” Mr Gobbert said.

“Most dirt bikes would have more power than this has got.”

The 1959 Dart in his shed was the second Goggomobil to have been in the family.

“My dad originally bought one brand new when the Australian one (the Dart) first came out,” Mr Gobbert said.

“It was a unique-looking thing – a sporty little thing.

“People from Miles remember him coming to town with it.”

Mr Gobbert said the car had a top speed of about 50 miles an hour (just over 80kph) downhill.

He never saw that vehicle in action as his father sold it after about a year.

But 20 years later, Mr Gobbert said his father had bought the second Dart.

“He used to collect stuff like that,” Mr Gobbert said.

“He had Model T Fords and old Jeeps – stuff he’d collected

while working around the place.”

The 1959 Dart had no engine in it when purchased and had

never been “a goer”, although his father had made some attempts to rebuild it, Mr Gobbert said.

With his children Sabina and Codie now in their late teens and his work roster with the mines allowing more time, Mr Gobbert intends to turn his attention to the Dart following his recent success in restoring an SLR Torana.

“This Torana has taken four or five years. I’m guessing the Goggomobil will take at least two years,” he said.

Dose of the blues for mine site A 240-tonne haul truck with “the blues” is helping to highlight an important health issue at BMA’s Goonyella Riverside Mine outside Moranbah.

With about 20,000 new cases of prostate cancer diagnosed in Australia each year and 3300 men dying of the disease, the truck painted in campaign colours is hoped to increase awareness among mine employees.

And it took a whole lot of blue to transform the standard yellow work truck - with 50 litres of paint required for the undercoat and 60 litres for the topcoat.

The initiative was launched to help promote Mater Foundation prostate cancer information sessions which were held across Moranbah, Dysart, Blackwater and Emerald recently. Mine employees also held a charity breakfast featuring blue pancakes.

Goonyella Riverside Mine general manager Steve Rae said that it was great to see so many employees getting behind such

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an important event.

“By continuing the blue theme we hope this visual reminder will encourage more men to get tested for prostate cancer,” Mr Rae said. “Our employees also generously donated over $720 for this worthy cause, which was matched through BHP Billiton’s Matched Giving Program.”

BMA has pledged $100,000

over three years to support the Mater Foundation’s vision of finding a cure for the disease through its cell research and immunotherapy program.

The painted haul truck is expected to remain blue for at least a year to serve as a reminder to BMA’s mostly male workforce about the importance of regular prostate checks.

Goonyella Riverside Mine employees Morgan Truelson, Klancie Keough, Candice Kenny, Hayley Colls and Kaitlin Dowson with the blue truck.

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Building Mining Communities

The Mining Advocate | November 2010

25

Mining Supporting Communities

BROUGHT TO YOU BY

'ERRMRKXSR Cyclists ride into Clermont for the Smiling for Smiddy Challenge.

BHP Billiton Cannington supervisor of emergency services Steve Hambrecht shows Corin Griffin around the site fire truck.

Local families join 20-year celebrations More than 190 people joined the on-site festivities at BHP Billiton’s Cannington operation in north-west Queensland recently to help mark a mining milestone.

The mine held an open day for members of the community, providing an insight into its operations and entertainment for adults and children alike, as it celebrated 20 years since the discovery of the Cannington ore deposit.

The day included children’s activities, a vehicle display, site tours and a gourmet barbecue lunch on the Cannington village playing fields.

The company also hosted a sit-down community dinner at McIntyre Park in Julia Creek to celebrate the anniversary, with entertainment provided by Brisbane-based comedian Mike Van Acker and a live band.

Cannington asset leader Bob Fulker said the weekend was a huge success and both staff and visitors enjoyed the 20th anniversary events.

“We received really positive feedback from everyone involved and it was great to see so many people make the effort to attend both events,” Mr Fulker said.

“The community dinner was a way for us to say thank you to the local community for all their support over the past 20 years.

“The open day gave locals and our employees’ family members the opportunity to learn a bit about what goes on at Cannington and how the mine has contributed to the region during its life.”

Rio Tinto pledge supports aged care accommodation Rio Tinto Alcan recently made a final $100,000 payment under an agreement with the Gladstone Central Committee on the Ageing to house construction personnel for the Yarwun 2 refinery expansion project.

Project director Keith Nugent said the committee had been able to save around half a million dollars in interest payments as a result of the partnership.

“In 2008 we entered into a commercial agreement with the Gladstone Central Committee on the Ageing, which involved leasing newly constructed units at commercial rates until July 2010,” Mr Nugent said.

“The units then became

available as affordable accommodation for the aged at subsidised rents.”

Mr Nugent said Rio Tinto Alcan was mindful that accommodation and housing availability in the Gladstone region was an important community issue.

“As such the project utilises a variety of options from rental and motel accommodation to working with developers and community organisations,” Mr Nugent said.

The $1.8 billion Yarwun 2 project, which currently employs more than 900 people, is expected to be completed in the latter half of 2012.

Warm welcome for cyclists The Clermont community was the largest regional fundraiser for this year’s “Smiling for Smiddy Challenge” - an eight-day bike ride to raise funds for the Mater Foundation’s cancer research.

The annual 1600km ride from Brisbane to Townsville is held in memory of Adam Smiddy - a talented tri-athlete who died from cancer at the age of 26.

Rio Tinto Coal Australia funded project co-ordinators to work with the council and local organisations in Clermont in

support of this year’s event.

Project co-ordinator Janelle Otto said Blair Athol Mine and local community organisations hosted a welcome afternoon tea for the cyclists and crew, followed by a fundraising dinner and charity auction.

“The dinner was attended by around 150 people who helped raise more than $20,000,” she said.“This is a testament to Clermont’s tireless community spirit and generosity for this cause.”

Residents continued their annual tradition and opened their homes to accommodate 60 cyclists and 17 road crew billets up from 63 last year.

Rio Tinto Coal Australia general manager operations for Clermont region, Andrew Cole, said most of the profits from the fundraising dinner would go to the Mater Foundation, with $1000 from the bar takings given back to the community organisations that assisted with the successful event.

Boost for Surat Basin schools Xstrata Coal is contributing $720,000 in a partnership with the Queensland Minerals and Energy Academy (QMEA) to benefit three Surat Basin school communities.

The Xstrata Coal Wandoan QMEA Partnership aims to improve the pathways from senior school to industry and help attract and retain dedicated, suitably qualified teaching staff.

It will also provide funding, equipment, curriculum enrichment and school-industry liaison to: • Extend the QMEA to Wandoan State School, Taroom State School and Miles State High School, • Support the establishment of a Trade Training Centre in Miles with regional hubs at Wandoan and Taroom State Schools, including industry placement and teacher training, • Begin a program for school-based or fulltime apprenticeships or traineeships with Xstrata Coal and district employers.

In addition, Xstrata Coal will direct funding and other resources through Education Queensland to: • Support the establishment of a science centre at Wandoan State School, • Employ teacher aides at the Wandoan State School to deliver literacy and numeracy programs, • Establish a Wandoan bursary fund for equipment, transport and tuition that supports pupils’ studies and extra-curricular activities,

• Fund industry placement and teacher training for Trade Training Centre staff, • Provide incentive grants for Wandoan district employers to hire apprentices.

Xstrata Coal Wandoan Project executive general manager Steve Bridger said the aim was to give young people in the Surat Basin the skills they needed to build strong, thriving communities that could make the most of the resources industries entering their region.

“It will be these young people who will show us that resources and agricultural industries can co-exist and thrive,” he said.

Queensland Resources Council chief executive Michael Roche said the industry partnership was another important step to ensure young people were aware of the career opportunities available to them in the resources sector.

“The resources sector in Queensland is a $50 billion-a-year industry, and with a looming skills shortage, it is paramount that we have programs in place to ensure resource sector career options are made known,” Mr Roche said.

Xstrata Coal plans to construct an opencut thermal coal mine in the Wandoan region with the capacity to produce about 22 million tonnes per annum, as well as new rail and port infrastructure by 2015.

The $720,000 donation over three years to the Wandoan QMEA Partnership is part of the company’s Corporate Social Involvement program.

resourcing g the e future 'ERRMRKXSR

26

MATERIALS HANDLING

November 2010 |

The Mining Advocate

Expansion works attract accolade Successful stockyard and rail receival facility innovations have helped place a central Queensland project in the winner’s circle.

The Aurecon Hatch joint venture project that lifted the Dalrymple Bay Coal Terminal’s capacity by 30 million tonnes per annum has been recognised in Engineers Australia’s 2010 Queensland Engineering Excellence Awards.

The Dalrymple Bay Coal Terminal 7X Project, completed last year, was named as winner of the industrial development and manufacturing category at a recent presentation night in Brisbane.

In its award entry, Aurecon Hatch pointed to a host of innovative engineering solutions employed on the terminal project, south of Mackay.

DBCT 7X Project lead engineer John Leech said the required upgrades for the terminal stockyard had presented one of the major challenges for the project team and amongst the successful elements they employed was the use of narrow, high-wall bunds between stockyard rows.

Stacking coal against the new bund walls achieved a 20 per cent increase in yard volume, Mr Leech said.

A further 30 per cent gain was achieved through the addition of two new rows. The average reclaim capacity was increased through a combination of higher digging rates from two new machines plus efficiency gains from existing yard machines due

Aurecon Hatch is looking to incorporate the improvements achieved at Dalrymple Bay in other operations throughout Australia. to the wider stockpile benches that resulted from stacking coal against the walls.

“The new high-wall stacker bunds demanded an innovative design that would allow rapid installation to minimise interference with the yard operations and minimise overall cost,” Mr Leech said.

“The bunds were designed to be constructed from interlocking prefabricated concrete modules that were tied together and backfilled with compacted earth.”

Other innovations included the use of a dual-trigger wagon door opening system and belt feeder design at Rail Receival Pit No. 3 to allow for a simple automated approach to on-therun dumping.

Mr Leech said the addition of Berth No. 4 as part of the $1.3 billion expansion project had involved extension of the offshore spillage and return system developed by Aurecon Hatch during previous work

at Dalrymple Bay.This system collects all spillage at the shiploader and offshore transfer points and transports the slurry to shore using the return strand of the conveyor belt.

“Compared to alternative pipeline systems, this significantly improves reliability, reduces power demand and complexity,” he said.

Aurecon Hatch is looking to incorporate the improvements achieved at Dalrymple Bay in other operations throughout Australia.

Some of the innovations already have been used in subsequent work at Abbot Point near Bowen and for the Newcastle Coal Infrastructure Group in New South Wales.

Aurecon Hatch general manager Ross Parslow described the recent Engineering Excellence award as a prestigious acknowledgement of design innovation and great project execution by the DBCT 7X Project team, including the client team at DBCT Management, over a five-year period.

Mr Parslow said the quality of design work had enabled an efficient terminal with all new machinery and equipment reaching name-plate capacity within days of load commissioning.

“The terminal operators have easily assimilated the increased output of the terminal into their daily operations, meeting the increased customer demand for export port capacity,” he said.

An artist’s impression of the planned WICET stockyard.

Terminal milestone Stage One of the industryfunded Wiggins Island Coal Export Terminal (WICET) development at Gladstone has achieved a milestone, with eight coal producers signing on for capacity commitments totalling 27 million tonnes per annum.

The capacity commitments form the basis for WICET to secure funding for the initial terminal development, with financial close expected in the first half of 2011 and shipments from 2014. WICET has appointed Worley Parsons to provide procurement and construction services for Stage One of the terminal.

WICET project director

Mark West said reaching such a milestone demonstrated that an industry-funded terminal offered real benefits for coal producers.

The Stage One owners are Aquila Resources, Bandanna Energy, Caledon Resources, Cockatoo Coal, Northern Energy Corporation, Wesfarmers Curragh, Yancoal and Xstrata Coal.

The $5 billion terminal, to be built in stages to match demand, will be located at Golding Point – to the west of the existing RG Tanna Terminal.

It is expected to have a capacity of about 80 million tonnes per annum in export coal when fully commissioned.

Loading system reviewed Rio Tinto Alcan Gove is spending $5.4 million on engineering works and associated infrastructure to reduce dust emissions from its alumina ship loading facility.

General manager Julio Costa said the operation was working with Northern Territory regulatory authorities and an internal engineering team to find a workable solution to a complex and challenging issue.

“The engineering studies have commenced and implementation is expected to commence in 2011. In the longer term RTA Gove is looking at replacing the ship loader,” Mr Costa said.

The local newspaper this year reported concerns about alumina hydrate blowing off a conveyor belt while being loaded on to ships for export.

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ENVIRONMENT AND CULTURAL HERITAGE

The Mining Advocate | November 2010

27

Keen to counter culture of fear This Cairns-based consultant has words of reassurance for miners concerned about indigenous heritage issues on their sites.

Archaeologist Fay Agee has found a large degree of fear surrounding issues of indigenous cultural heritage and industry responsibilities.

It is an attitude the Cairnsbased consultant is keen to counter as she continues her work in the field, which has included a six-month stint at the Lady Annie site in north-west Queensland.

“People are very scared of the whole thing,” Ms Agee said.

“They think if anything is found in the way of cultural heritage they will lose the rights to the land they are mining or developing, and nothing could be further from the truth.”

The vast majority of traditional owners were keen to work with mining organisations to help improve the economy of their communities with training and jobs, she said.

Where companies struck trouble was if they failed to conduct appropriate cultural consultation and employee education, Ms Agee said.

“Breaching duty of care is not always clear,” Ms Agee said.

What appeared to be “just a pile of rocks” to the untrained eye may in fact be a traditional quarry site which must be preserved, for example.

In cases where artefacts were found on planned work sites

Smart Culture consultant Fay Agee. Photo: Romy Seigmann

during cultural clearance checks, the items could often be collected and returned to traditional owners or stored for repatriation once mining had finished, Ms Agee said. They could also be used for training purposes to allow staff to

Clermont eyes coal mine as future ‘green’ industry site A study funded in partnership between Rio Tinto Coal Australia and Isaac Regional Council will assess the Clermont region’s potential to host green industries.

The feasibility study, expected to finish in mid 2011, will include consideration of possible uses for the Blair Athol Mine site after the operation’s expected closure in 2016.

Isaac Regional Mayor Cedric Marshall said there was a wide range of green and bio-industries that could

compliment local mining and agriculture, including energy and fuel production.

The project aligns with the goals and opportunities identified by Isaac Regional Council’s Community Plan and the objectives of the Clermont Preferred Futures Project (CPFP).

“The CPFP steering committee identified the area’s future would benefit from an integrated strategy for a ‘green’ Clermont, linking with the agricultural industry,” Cr Marshall said. “Research

showed previous open-cut coal operations can be used for bioindustry development.

“It was this research that persuaded us to approach Rio Tinto’s Blair Athol Mine with a proposal to investigate their site as a potential location for the project.”

Rio Tinto general manager operations for Clermont region, Andrew Cole, said the company was pleased to support the study through its Clermont Community Development Fund.

A stone tool collected from the Lady Annie tenements.

see what tools and other artefacts looked like.

Ms Agee, who began her consultancy business in 2005, spent the first six months of this year helping Cape Lambert Resources undertake native title, cultural heritage and community compliance requirements for the Lady Annie mine site in preparation for its sale to China Sci-Tech Holdings.

She said it was a complex task,

A scar tree located during cultural clearance work with traditional owners on the Lady Annie tenements.

hindered by the fact that records for the operation – which had gone into receivership under former operators CopperCo – were incomplete and scattered.

Her responsibilities included developing Cultural Heritage Management Plans for the organisation as well as specific location plans which included a battle site graveyard.

Ms Agee is now writing an academic paper on the graveyard, identified on a cultural clearance with traditional owners after flooding in 2008 revealed bones along a planned power-water corridor for the mine.

She said the 18 graves had been found about 80km from Battle Mountain - the well-known site of a major clash between the Kalkadoon people and settlers in 1884. They were believed to stem from the same era, Ms Agee said.

“The power-water corridor alignment was shifted about 200m to protect this very sacred site,” she said.

“Working in consultation with traditional owners, a simple solution was found for mining operations to continue and to protect cultural heritage.”

28

MAJOR PROJECTS

November 2010 |

The Mining Advocate

CopperString confidence Leighton Contractors believe good planning will overcome critical skills issues associated with this major infrastructure roll-out.

Finding enough riggers to erect the 2600-odd transmission towers required for a 1100km high-voltage link between Townsville and north-west Queensland energy users is one of the key challenges ahead for the CopperString project.

However, Leighton Contractors – who are developing the project with private firm CuString – are confident planning work being undertaken now will see the infrastructure delivered within CopperString’s three-year

construction timeframe.

Northern Region operations manager – energy, Craig Aspinall, said the potential impact of an industry skills shortage was among Leighton Contractors’ concerns and it was assessing its options in terms of mitigating the risk.

“The benefit of this project is, because we’re involved in the project development phase and are also the project constructor, we can plan ahead to get the resources available and that could include training on a very

Tower erection will be a critical element in skills supply. Photo: Cameron Laird

Craig Aspinall Northern Region operations manager – energy

large scale,” Mr Aspinall said.

“You’re not often afforded that opportunity as a contractor.”

Bio Energy clears H20 hurdle North Queensland Bio Energy Corporation’s proposal for a sugar, ethanol and power generation plant at Ingham has been declared a significant project by Queensland CoordinatorGeneral Graeme Newton.

Company chairman Robert Carey described the declaration as a huge step forward, saying it cleared the way for North Queensland Bio Energy (NQBE) to access water for the plant.

The company hopes to be in a position to start construction by June next year and complete the project ahead of the 2013 crushing season.

The project had faced an uncertain future due to the announcement early this year of a State Government moratorium on ground and surface water in the area.

Projects of state significance are exempt from the provisions of the water moratorium.

Mr Carey said NQBE would now focus on

gaining local government approval, finalise factory design, engage with potential project managers and construction companies, and progress financing matters.

Queensland Infrastructure and Planning Minister Stirling Hinchliffe said up to 300 workers would be required for the construction phase of the NQBE project, with about 250 positions created for the operational phase.

“The $400 million project is intended to generate significant economic development in the region by operating 330 days per year, rather than the seasonal pattern of traditional sugar milling operations,” he said.

The facility could process up to 2.5 million tonnes of sugar cane each year to produce up to 200,000 litres of ethanol each day and 330,000 tonnes of sugar per annum. It will have the capacity to generate 80-85 MW of power.

INVEST IN LOWER RUNNING COSTS

A final investment decision on the CopperString project is expected in the first quarter of 2011, with construction proposed to begin in November next year.

Mr Aspinall said the project was likely to be competing with a burgeoning coal seam gas industry and mining development for some skill sets.

However the critical element would be the tower supply and erection.

“Even if we took all the rigging capacity available right now in the HV (high-voltage) market, we probably wouldn’t have enough in the time required,” he said.

“It’s very early days. But because we know where the critical resource is, that is where we have started planning from.

“We are confident, because we have the time, that we will arrive at a solution that allows us to deliver on time.”

Mr Aspinall said also Leighton Contractors was very keen to draw on local companies for the massive build and had put some effort in recent months into understanding the North Queensland market of suppliers and subcontractors.

“The scale of the project is such that it will need a lot of big suppliers to pull it off, but there

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will be a lot of work that goes straight into the local economy,” he said.

The project’s major potential customers in the mining industry are due to reach a decision by the end of the year regarding support for CopperString.

Mr Aspinall said debt equity would be secured against the supply agreements which would hopefully be reached with those end users.

The Federal Government has made a significant commitment to the project, promising $185 million for the first five years and undertaking that the CopperString project be assessed under its new $1billion Connecting Renewables Initiative.

In addition to supplying 400MW of transfer capability between the grid and north-west Queensland energy users, the CopperString transmission line would provide opportunities to develop a raft of renewable energy projects along the corridor.

Subcontractors are encouraged to register their interest on the CopperString website at www. coppersting.com.au.

PROCESSING

The Mining Advocate | November 2010

29

Study proves potential savings The use of paste thickeners is likely to become commonplace in coal plants, says a chemical engineer who has analysed the advantages.

A study by Sinclair Knight Merz (SKM) for the new Rio Tinto Clermont Mine has highlighted the environmental and cost-saving benefits of introducing paste thickening to coal preparation plants.

SKM developed the design and managed the construction of the Clermont Coal Processing Plant (CPP) using a deep cone thickener to reduce the amount of water lost in the reject material.

SKM chemical engineer Rebecca Colley believed the results of SKM’s work would prompt more sites to consider paste thickening given the growing emphasis on water preservation and its ability

to reduce operations’ carbon footprints.

The Clermont CPP was the first greenfields installation of a paste thickener in the coal industry in Australia.

The deep cone thickener was chosen from a list of options including filter presses, vacuum filters and belt press filters after comparisons in water saving, power saving, capital outlay and maintenance costs.

“Even if there isn’t a water shortage on site, I believe (paste thickening) will become common practice, because it’s good practice,” Mrs Colley said.

“I think more and more people will be looking at it especially

Rebecca Colley SKM chemical engineer – Queensland mining and metal

because, in terms of unit operation, thickening is generally hassle-free. There are not a lot of moving parts, that’s why maintenance costs were a major

factor in deciding to use the deep cone thickener (at Clermont mine), whereas in a lot of filters and presses there are more things that can go wrong.”

Mrs Colley said installing such a unit greatly reduced pumping costs, both in terms of fresh water into the plant and the quantity of waste leaving the plant.

Mrs Colley said the use of a conventional thickener was ruled out of the study options early as it did not save enough water to meet the criteria.

However a deep cone thickener resulted in a water saving of more than 63 per cent compared with the co-disposal of coal wastes.

Co-disposal - the combined pumping of coarse and fine wastes in slurry form through a pipeline, followed by deposition in an impoundment - is the most common form of reject disposal in

the Australian coal industry.

Using filter presses, vacuum filters or belt press filters achieved 4 to 6 per cent greater water savings than deep cone thickening.

However, the study concluded that deep cone thickening came out on top when power demand, maintenance and capital costs were taken into account.

Mrs Colley said the use of paste thickening technology in processing had “really come along” in the past five years, but it had not previously been applied in coal operations.

Mrs Colley and Norris September, the lead process engineer with SKM’s mining and metals business unit in Queensland, presented a paper on the case at the recent International Mineral Processing Congress in Brisbane.

New arena opens for IsaMill technology Xstrata Technology is breaking into iron ore processing with its IsaMill fine grinding technology.

An IsaMill unit has been selected for the new magnetite processing circuit being developed at Xstrata Copper’s Ernest Henry Mine near Cloncurry. Its installation, planned for the first half of 2011, will mark the first use of IsaMill technology in magnetite processing.

IsaMill operations manager Steve Smith said the company saw this as a new arena opening up for the technology.

“The IsaMill technology is currently being considered for several other magnetite

projects,” Mr Smith said.

“It’s a growth area that we believe the mill is appropriate for, due to the large capacity of the units. To get the first one (at Ernest Henry) - it’s a good reference for further projects, particularly in Western Australia and also in Brazil.”

Xstrata Technology will be providing an M10,000 IsaMill package to the Ernest Henry site, which includes the IsaMill grinding unit powered by a 3MW motor as well as feed and discharge pump boxes, steel work and a media addition system.

The Ernest Henry magnetite circuit will process tailings from the existing copper

concentrator, through regrinding and magnetic separation, to produce a highgrade magnetite concentrate.

Mr Smith said the circuit at Ernest Henry would require a coarser grinding media than used in typical IsaMill applications such as in gold, zinc or copper processing, due to the coarseness and hardness of the magnetite.

The IsaMill will grind the magnetite-bearing material down to 40 microns to enable a premium grade concentrate to be produced.

Planned concentrate production is approximately 1.2 million tonnes of magnetite per annum for export to Asia.

There are about 90 IsaMills installed worldwide, including eight units at Xstrata’s Mount Isa operations and eight at the McArthur River zinc operation in the Northern Territory.

The technology has its origins in north-west Queensland, where Dr Bill Johnson – the former research and development manager at Mount Isa Mines - saw the potential to convert the approach taken in smaller grinding applications – such as paint pigment and cacao beans for chocolate – to mining industry needs.

“They took the basis of that technology and changed it and increased the size 10-fold

and then 30-fold to make it appropriate for the mining industry,” Mr Smith said.

“The IsaMill was developed in Mount Isa using Xstrata engineers in conjunction with engineers from Netzsch (a German manufacturer). It was a joint development with a joint patent.”

Mr Smith said a feature of the IsaMill units, available in 3MW and 8MW models, was their small footprint in area relative to power intensity.

“The number of kilowatts is in the order of 300 kilowatts per cubic metre of grinding chamber volume,” he said.

30

EMERGENCY RESPONSE AND RESCUE

November 2010 |

The Mining Advocate

‘Real-life’ scenario tests teams A north-west Queensland rescue challenge is continuing to provide a good learning environment for local crews.

Organisers took teams “outside their comfort zone” at this year’s Mount Isa-based mine rescue competition with a heart attack response scenario inspired by recent real-life incidents.

The scenario acted as the first-aid component of the 2010

North West Queensland Minerals Province Mine Rescue Challenge.

Three Xstrata Mount Isa Mines crews competed along with teams from Ernest Henry Mining, MMG Century and BHP Billiton Cannington. The Mount Isa Mines B Crew came out on top.

The winning Xstrata Mount Isa Mines B Crew from the rescue challenge - Cameron Moore (captain), Andrew Nugent, Greg Bostok, Matt Breen and Kotabi Ilpola.

Photo: Ben Taylor

Xstrata Mount Isa Mines emergency and protective services superintendent Darren Bracey said the first aid exercise involving chest pains was timely.

“We have attended to a few similar incidents in recent months however none have turned out to be serious,” he said.

“Importantly though, this has highlighted the potential for this

sort of thing to occur, especially with an ageing mining workforce.

“These are the sort of things we want to pick up on to give the teams realistic scenarios.”

It was one of six scenarios in the competition, along with vertical rescue, road accident rescue, fire, search and rescue and confined-space events.

Mr Bracey said the two-day

Southern crews dominate challenge Teams from New South Wales took out the top three places when the Australian Mines Rescue Competition was held at the Grasstree West mine, near Middlemount in central Queensland.

Nine teams from coal mining operations across Queensland, New South Wales and Tasmania contested the event. They included the Top 4 performers in Queensland’s 2010 EK Healy Cup – Broadmeadows, Kestrel, Grasstree and Oaky 1 mines.

Chief assessor Lindsay Creighton, the operations manager for Queensland Mines Rescue, said the Angus Place team from the Lithgow region had won the event. Wambo from the Hunter Valley and the Appin

The team from Anglo American Capcoal’s Grasstree mine searches for missing people in the underground scenario of the competition.

colliery team from Wollongong took second and third places.

“It’s fair to say (the Queensland contenders) were disappointed,” Mr Creighton said.

The event had included an underground scenario where

teams had to find and escort two patients from a mine after an incident.

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fire, so they had some firefighting as well,” he said.

“Then they were sent to rescue some blokes from a refuge bay, where they first had to do some support work – timbering up to the refuge station through some bad roofing conditions. Then a stretcher carry.”

Teams also faced a fire and first aid exercise and theory event as well as individual practical tests.

Mr Creighton said the next event on the rescue calendar was the International Mines Rescue Competition to be held at Wollongong on November 8-12.

A team from Queensland’s Gregory Crinum mine – the winner of last year’s national competition - will contest the event and North Goonyella has also been invited to participate.

challenge helped test the skills of rescue personnel as well as providing a good learning environment, with time allotted to enable adjudicators to provide feedback immediately after each exercise.

A number of families and members of the Xstrata Mount Isa Mines management team watched the 2010 North West Queensland Minerals Province Mine Rescue Challenge, which was staged at the Outback at Isa complex.

“Next year we would like to set up spectator areas and have some information sheets produced about each event to give (spectators) an idea of what we are doing and the objectives,” Mr Bracey said.

Xstrata Mount Isa Mines is looking at the potential for the competition to further broaden into an event to replace the former Queensland Mines Rescue Challenge run by the Queensland Resources Council in recent years.

However, Mr Bracey said any such event was likely to remain focused on the north-west.

He said the parties involved were also keen to keep it small enough so that participation remained affordable for smaller mining operations.

A committee would be formed to pursue the matter, he said.

LIVING REMOTELY

The Mining Advocate | November 2010

31

Go the extra mile at Christmas The festive season should not have to take a negative slant for those separated by work, says the team behind a mining families website.

Whether it’s using modern technology for some face-to-face contact on Christmas morning or packing a special gift box, there are many ways for families to make the holiday season special even when a mine-site roster is keeping them apart.

Alicia Ranford, the co-founder of the Mining Family Matters website, lists these among her own tips for coping with an absent partner during the holiday season. She said the website in December would feature information on how to deal with separation at such times and has urged The Mining Advocate’s readers to provide input by visiting www.miningfm.com.au.

“We just really want to highlight that it doesn’t have to be a negative time if you live away from extended family or a partner is away working on a mine site at Christmas,” Mrs Ranford said.

“There are really lots of things we can do to still make it a special time.”

The mother of two lives in Adelaide with husband Joe, a mining engineer working on a fly in-fly out (FIFO) roster at a Western Australian operation.

The couple has also lived in mining centres including Cobar in outback New South Wales and Charters Towers in North Queensland as well as a stint in South Africa.

Mrs Ranford said her husband would be away at work this Christmas, so the family planned to have a celebration together before he left on December 23.

“The kids are really understanding of that,” she said.

“In fact they think it’s fantastic

The mining lifestyle can keep families apart at Christmas. Photo: Rosyln Budd

Alicia Ranford Mining Family Matters website co-founder

around it,” Ms Willcocks said.

“Also, instead of pining for home and trying to replicate a ‘usual’ Christmas day, it can be great to do something totally different for an away Christmas

because they get one Christmas celebration when Dad’s home and then we will go to my parents’ (on December 25).

“You can also make use of things like Skype (video calling).

“We’ll be able to get a Skype feed going in the morning and he’ll see the kids.”

Another issue for mining families at Christmas is the fact they are likely to live far away from their extended families due to the remote location of many mining towns.

Registered psychologist Angie Willcocks - who contributes to the Mining Family Matters website - stressed that children would tend to take the lead from their parents when it came to their attitude on this.

“I would be encouraging the parents to watch their own language and attitude to an ‘away’ Christmas and try to get rid of (or at least reduce) any negativity

to make it fun and memorable for the kids. I’m thinking of a picnic at the local swimming pool or a Christmas movie marathon at home, or a fancy dress Christmas lunch with some friends.”

Mrs Ranford said people usually made an extra effort to get together despite the distance, however there were other ways of feeling connected at Christmas.

“If family can’t come to you, make up special Christmas boxes - make a real effort to send something special from where you are living,” Mrs Ranford said.

“My mum has sent her traditional Christmas pudding to us wherever we live and puts in Christmas crackers.”

She said also residents in mining towns usually did their best to ensure those in the community who could not be with their own families were included in their celebrations.

“I think there is a real family spirit in mining towns where you get included in things because people remember the feeling when they were the new person,” Mrs Ranford said.

Fresh take on health program Morris Corporation is relaunching its Activ8 healthy lifestyle program with a new focus on adequate rest and activity levels.

Marketing co-ordinator Lea Finau said updated material was being rolled out across the company’s sites nationwide.

These include Morris Corporation-run accommodation camps at the Newlands Coal Mine at Glenden, Ravenswood Gold Mine in North Queensland, the Dyno Village at Moranbah and Merinda Village outside Bowen.

“A holistic approach is definitely the philosophy behind this,” Ms Finau said of the revamped program.

The ActiV8 program provides a rating system to guide residents towards healthy lifestyle choices through a plan to achieve eight points per day.

Ms Finau said the company had applied a similar system to diet and nutrition for some

years, including a healthy heart rating system for meal choices.

The new program also includes points for achieving 30 minutes of activity per day and eight hours’ sleep per day, highlighting the importance of rest in terms of safety and performance at work. Information to help achieve a good night’s sleep is available as part of the ActiV8 campaign.

Morris Corporation nutritionist/dietician Chris Pritchard said the Activ8 rebranding was undertaken with the express intent of bringing together the key elements that affected the performance of an individual while on site exercise, sleep and nutrition.

“The MO (modus operandi) was to allow the individual to take responsibility for their wellbeing - which studies have shown is one of the most effective ways to instill new behaviours,” Mr Pritchard said.

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EXPLORATION AND DRILLING

November 2010 |

The Mining Advocate

Culture of discovery pays off A new centre for excellence in geophysics is the latest initiative for a global mining business that places a high value on exploration.

Ivanhoe Australia chief executive officer Peter Reeve speaks proudly of the “great culture of exploration” within the company.

Ivanhoe Australia has invested about $150 million in exploration at its tenements in the Cloncurry district since 2003– groundwork that is paying off as it moves toward production amid fresh announcements of increased mineral resources and new highgrade intercepts.

Its parent company recently announced the creation of an Ivanhoe Centre of Excellence in Geophysics, to be led by former BHP head geophysicist Barry de Wet. Mr Reeve said this would not only help keep Ivanhoe Mines at the forefront of geophysics application in the industry but

also ensure that know-how was fully exploited at each of its operations globally.

“It’s a matter of getting a really high-quality individual who’s then putting together a very high-quality team ... and then it’s getting cutting-edge geophysical techniques - which we have developed and are developing on a constant basis - to apply to give us a real competitive edge when we go and spend an exploration dollar,” he said.

Mr Reeve said the company had made advances in areas including magnetic imaging and magnetic inversions in addition to its ground-breaking Zeus proprietary induced polarization and resistivity (IP) technology.

The Centre of Excellence in Geophysics initiative was announced at the Ivanhoe Group

Peter Reeve Ivanhoe Australia chief executive officer

Global Exploration Conference, which Ivanhoe Australia hosted at the recently purchased Osborne mine site in north-west Queensland.

Mr Reeve said about 50 Ivanhoe professionals had attended from operations across the globe including some of the group’s most senior executives.

Exploration is key in the company’s philosophy on how best to build a resource business, according to Mr Reeve.

“There are people that go out there and buy companies and take companies over and that’s one way to build a business,” he said “But if you can find a deposit for $100 million worth of drilling or buy the company containing that deposit for $1.5 billion or $2 billion – what’s the best way to go?

“We just think it’s very simple good business to say let’s apply our exploration skills that we’ve developed - and it’s a great culture of exploration in the group we’ve developed - let’s keep that bubbling along.”

Mr Reeve said the highgrade Merlin molybdenum and

rhenium deposit would be first cab off the rank productionwise among Ivanhoe Australia’s projects in the Cloncurry area.

However the company was keen to start a detailed study regarding the development of Mount Elliott, where the resource was recently upgraded by 95 million tonnes to a total of 570 million tonnes at 0.44 per cent copper and 0.26 grams of gold per tonne.

Meanwhile, the first drilling program on the Starra Line has intersected significant highgrade copper-gold mineralisation adjacent to the existing resource at the Starra 222 orebody.

Mr Reeve said the other big exploration story in the area at the moment was Barnes Shaft, north of Mount Elliott.

“That has potential to turn into something quite significant,” Mr Reeve said.

Far from plain sailing for drill industry Lingering uncertainty fuelled by the mining tax debate is undermining recovery in the drilling industry, according to a peak body.

Australian Drilling Industry Association chief executive officer Simon Fitzgerald said that - like research and development funds - exploration was among the first expenses to be cut during a downturn.

While the industry had stabilised since the depths of the recent financial crisis,

Mr Fitzgerald said there were many sites that would have been operating 24/7 two years ago and were now only running on a single shift, halving working hours.

“Together with that, prices got forced down for some contracts because of oversupply,” he said.

The combined effect had left many smaller drilling businesses struggling, he said.

“I don’t think we’re back to the situation now where we’re anywhere near plain

sailing,” Mr Fitzgerald said.

“A lot of contractors are still very nervous about what might be around the corner.”

The Australian Government’s Policy Transition Group has recently been involved in consultation with stakeholders to gain feedback on the implementation of the government’s resource taxation reforms, including discussion of potential exploration incentives.

Mr Fitzgerald said

uncertainty over the issue was continuing to cause concerns in the drilling industry.

He stressed that the major miners who had been involved in the Minerals Resource Rent Tax (MRRT) and extended Petroleum Resource Rent Tax (PRRT) agreements in the lead up to the federal election were not representative of the exploration industry, which was heavily concentrated around junior miners.

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EXPLORATION AND DRILLING

The Mining Advocate | November 2010

Queensland push for junior support Establishing Brisbane as a stronger base for corporate services for the exploration industry is among the goals of a new state campaign.

Queensland is campaigning for more junior miners to set up headquarters in Brisbane to allow the state to reap a greater share of economic spin-offs from the exploration activity it hosts.

Queensland Resources Council chief executive Michael Roche highlighted the issue during the launch of the publication Discover Queensland: A 2020 Exploration Vision. He announced plans to marshal support from a wide range of stakeholders through a new Queensland Exploration Council.

This will include service sectors such as brokers, lawyers and accounting firms as well as academic and research interests, industry groups, resource companies, the State Government and Brisbane City Council.

“The council needs to set as its goal how we can bring to Brisbane and Queensland the vibrancy and critical mass we see in the West Perth junior resource company enclave and in the annual Diggers and Dealers mining conference in Kalgoorlie,” Mr Roche said.

“I believe we need to set a goal of luring to Brisbane many of those juniors who base themselves in West Perth but whose principal or only projects are actually right here in Queensland.”

By 2020, the QRC hopes to

QRC chief executive Michael Roche delivers his exploration vision address in Brisbane.

see Queensland become the destination of choice, recognised globally for exploration, resource production and the range of advanced technical and professional services required to support it.

Mr Roche said Queensland

had a highly developed expertise in field work and the technical side of exploration.

But it had historically outsourced the corporate backend of the exploration business such as financial, legal and fiduciary services.

Research showed that 32 per cent of inputs into mineral exploration in Queensland were sourced from outside the state compared with only 8 per cent in Western Australia.

“Allowing this to continue will mean that Queensland continues to export valuable head office jobs and the flow-on economic benefits from exploration in Queensland to cities such as Perth, Melbourne, Sydney, Toronto, Santiago and London,” Mr Roche said.

He said also Queensland’s exploration spend was off kilter, with the local industry spending about $16 on exploration for every $1000 of mining output.

This compared with $37 dollars in Western Australia and a national average of $25 per $1000 of mining output.

“Those figures alone make it clear that to achieve the 2020 Vision we need to improve our exploration to resource production ratio and increase the local supply of services for exploration,” Mr Roche said.

“Our goal for 2020 is a supportive, self-sustaining environment made up of explorers, investors, intermediaries, professional service providers, mining service providers, governments and other stakeholders.”

Symposium draws strong interest More than 550 people attended the sixth Bowen Basin Symposium, an event believed to be the largest coal geology forum of its kind in the world.

The symposium is hosted every five years by the Bowen Basin Geologists Group, a not-for-profit organisation with about 450 active members.

Bowen Basin Geologists Group chairman Todd Harrington said the symposium was growing significantly, having attracted 340 people at its last staging and 170 on the previous occasion.

The 2010 event was held at the Mackay Entertainment and Convention Centre.

In addition to geologists, geotechnical experts and researchers in the field, Mr Harrington said the gathering had also attracted some recruiters.

Delegates attended from throughout Australia and overseas, including visitors from Mongolia, Columbia and South Africa.

Symposium presentations covered coal quality, geotechnical topics, advanced geophysics, data base and modelling, coal seam gas and – for the first time – a focus on fugitive emissions.

Mr Harrison said the symposium also featured a range of nine professional development workshops.

The Bowen Basin Geologists Group holds mine site meetings three times a year.

Its next major event will be a two-day session at the Central Queensland University in July in conjunction with the Australian Coal Association Research Program (ACARP) to discuss research projects and help ensure that work is well targeted to industry needs.

Greenfields sites released The State Government will release new areas of land for mineral exploration in northwest Queensland early next year.

The greenfields sites are in the north-eastern section of the North West Queensland Mineral Province, close to Croydon and 270km north-east of Mount Isa. The sites to be released for exploration are presently covered by Restricted Areas 361, 362, 363 and 364.

The areas were selected on

the basis of several geophysical anomalies found using new airborne geophysical and ground gravity survey data collected as part of the Queensland Government’s $20 million Smart Exploration program.

“These results demonstrate the benefits to the exploration industry of modern geophysical data, made possible by our investment in the technology,” Mines and Energy Minister Stephen Robertson said.

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Engineering company goes back to its Cloncurry roots Northwest Construction Company Pty Ltd is returning to Cloncurry the place of its beginnings. With the boom in the mining and exploration business, Northwest is excited about the future of the company in Cloncurry.

road project near the Ernest Henry operation outside of Cloncurry.

Newly appointed Managing Director, Canadian, James Melnike, is focussing his energies on the Cloncurry with a commitment to employ, source and rent locally.

”I have no hesitation of jumping right in”, he said. “I started with a pick, shovel and wheel barrow and held a dump truck license for 25 years. When it gets down to the nuts and bolts of daily site works, I’ve done it.”

Mr Melnike and his family, including partner Jeanette and two boys, moved to Townsville 18 months ago from South Australia after emigrating from Canada.

Northwest Constructions started in Cloncurry in 1958 and grew under the controlling hand of a consortium which included two local identities: Samuel Russell and Joseph Keith Seymour.

Starting off as road builders, the company followed the opportunities at the time to the east coast.

While Townsville will remain its home base, Northwest Constructions will be drawing on its western legacy to secure more work in the Isa-Carpentaria minerals province said Mr Melnike.

The company has completed a 13km

It’s familiar territory for Mr Melnike who has 30 years in civil construction to draw on.

“I am very comfortable operating with Australians. We share similar family values and work ethics. Socially, we are easy going. The only real difference is our accent.

“There is a lot of (similar) remote work in harsh climates. Canada’s, of course, is mostly cold.

“At this stage we have a team of six people staying at a local (Cloncurry) motel and four staying in a local (Cloncurry) rental house. We are looking at setting up a more permanent base and perhaps building our own camp.”

The future for the company is very much focussed on mines and civil contracting in the west.

Mr Melnike brings with him a culture of service that is stand out in North America. He has already increased the plant capacity and has committed all maintenance and refurbishments carried to the parent company.

He is also redrafting systems to raise the compliance standards above what is generally expected and has called on the skills and experience of former Cannington Mine manager and ‘Beneath Hill 60’ film-maker, Ross Thomas, who has joined the team at Northwest and is working on various projects within the company’s portfolio.

“I have found Ross’ exposure to mining generally and his experience in this part of the world particularly, invaluable.

He is an asset to Northwest and I am privileged to have Ross as a Senior Member of Northwest.”

“I was impressed with the way workplace health, safety and environment (WHS&E) values are articulated in this country. When they say that WHS is for the families of workers as well as for individuals, I take that literally.”

Northwest Construction Co. Managing Director James Melnike and his wife Jeanette.

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Focus on Cloncurry

The Mining Advocate | November 2010

35

Poised for new wave of growth A raft of newcomers nearing production and recent commitments from established mining interests bode well for this district’s future.

Cloncurry is entering a new mining boom likely to take the town’s population from 5000 to as high as 10,000 within five years, according to Shire Mayor Andrew Daniels.

Cr Daniels said he could not stress enough the opportunities that existed in the region “if somebody wants to have a go”.

But he said the region would have to stay on the ball in terms of meeting the infrastructure needs of burgeoning industry.

“We’re in a very interesting place at the moment - I just hope that we can cater for them,” he said.

Cr Daniels was also concerned about the frustrating delays that some mining interests were facing due to state regulatory procedures.

The resumption of Ernest Henry Mining’s $589 million project to move to underground mining and install a magnetite extraction circuit has added confidence in the local community. About 200 projectrelated contractors are currently working on site at Ernest Henry in addition to the normal

Andrew Daniels Cloncurry Shire Mayor

operating workforce of 600.

Breakaway Resources recently announced that the Eloise copper mine, about 70km south-east of Cloncurry, was set to re-open by the end of the year Copper junior CuDeco recently invested more than $1 million in an office complex in the heart of town and the CopperChem operation is continuing its expansion project.

Exco Resources is completing a definitive feasibility study on its Cloncurry Copper Project with the aim of going into production by 2012.

MMG expects to make an investment decision in the first quarter of 2011 on the potential development of the Dugald River zinc, lead and silver deposit.

Meanwhile Ivanhoe Australia has ramped up its activities significantly in recent months with its Merlin mine now under construction following the company’s purchase from Barrick Australia of the Osborne copper-gold operation. It plans to process Merlin resources through the established facilities at Osborne, allowing it to come into production in late 2011.

The company has recently boosted local staff numbers to about 130, including about 35 former Osborne employees.

Queensland Mining Corporation has a range of drilling programs under way on Cloncurry district projects, including tenements acquired from the administrators of Matrix Metals.

Cr Daniels said increased exploration activity was already translating into extra trade for the town’s small businesses including

hotels, motels and the local hardware shop.

However he said the fly infly out element of the mining workforce would probably dilute the local experience of the boom.

Cr Daniels welcomed Xstrata Copper’s recent move to increase incentives for Ernest Henry employees opting to live locally.

He has called on mining companies and contractors to make a greater effort to encourage personnel to consider living in Cloncurry.

“When I first became Mayor I struggled with a lot of this,” Cr Daniels said.

“Now I feel the infrastructure has been put in places – we’re opening up land and offering

people that country environment.

Now they will have to sit up and take notice.We’re offering the opportunity for mining companies to promote our little town and say ‘look at everything we have here’.”

RealWay Mount Isa owner Kath Andersen said that property agency had a significant number of listings for Cloncurry, where housing prices remained cheap compared to Mount Isa. “But as word is filtering out about what’s going to be happening out there, people are starting to take interest,” Ms Andersen said.

“I think it won’t be very long at all and it (the Cloncurry real estate market) will just take off.”

CuDeco invests in Cloncurry Geologist Rod Berrell had recently lost a job with another mining junior in north-west Queensland when he gained an opportunity with CuDeco in May this year.

He is now part of a 30-strong exploration team at CuDeco’s Rocklands project near Cloncurry, where the company had five diamond drills and two reverse circulation rigs in operation in late October.

“That has increased from two rigs when I started with them,” Mr Berrell said.

Mr Berrell has taken up residence in Cloncurry, which he described as “a nice little quiet town”. He should be the first of many when CuDeco launches into construction and production at its Rocklands copper project,

Rod Berrell CuDeco geologist

with the company opting against engaging a fly in-fly out (FIFO) workforce.

CuDeco construction and

CuDeco’s new office building in Cloncurry.

logistics engineer John Green said the company had recently received all approvals for a construction camp on the outskirts of town.

It would include 200 cabins to be built next year, with the area evolving towards more permanent accommodation arrangements as production commenced from late 2012, he said.

“We won’t have a FIFO workforce. We’re building 48 houses as well in Cloncurry,” Mr Green said.

“Everyone working for CuDeco, we want to come and live in Cloncurry.”

CuDeco recently spent $1.3 million on an office complex and 20 self-contained cabins in the town. Mr Green said also the company was contributing $2 million to sealing Corella Park Rd. “Between Ivanhoe and us and MMG and Exco, there are a lot of new mines almost progressing to the point of construction to production stage,” Mr Green said.

“It’s definitely a busy time for Cloncurry.

“The biggest thing is getting the infrastructure up to the point where it can handle the influx of people, both FIFO and residential, and CuDeco is trying to help the council with that.”

Concreting work has begun in preparation for construction of the headframe for Ernest Henry Mining’s underground expansion.

Photo: Rob Parsons

Transport hub planned Engineering consultants GHD have been appointed to develop a master plan for a multi-user load-out facility to meet the needs of Cloncurry district mining operations.

The proposed facility, to be built in 2011, is intended to ensure efficient handling of mine products being transported to refineries and the Port of Townsville.

Traffic to the new hub is likely to reach up to 180 trucks a day, according to Mount Isa to Townsville Economic Zone (MITEZ) executive officer Glen Graham.

“There are a number of potential users - some immediate like the magnetite (to be produced from 2011 by Ernest Henry Mining) and some coming online soon like Exco, CuDeco and MMG (Dugald River),” he said.

The questions of who would pay for the development and how it would be run would be considered as part of the GHD study, due for completion in December, Mr Graham said.

Ownership by Cloncurry Shire Council is among the options. The study must also assess the suitability of potential load-out facility sites in the region.

36

Battle of the Mines

November 2010 |

The Mining Advocate

Chariots go the distance The guys from the Gulf overcame the hurdles to take home the Australian Workers Union Shield for the 2010 rugby league tournament.

You’ve not heard a “tyranny of distance” story until you’ve heard the extent to which the Century Chariots go to win the Battle of the Mines.

The Chariots took out the Australian Workers Union Shield in this year’s Battle of the Mines with the motto: “Hurt as a team, play as a team”.

The win is all the more potent as they don’t get to train as a team.

They pull on the boots for onsite training sessions as the 12hour shifts allow - in this case three lots of roughly 10 players each. Factor in the eight-on, sixoff roster and those groups may only get to train twice a month.

Century as a mine facilitates involvement in the competition which the Chariots and fellow Battle of the Mines titans

MICO Devils have dominated since its inception in 1996.

But the zinc ore needs to be mined from the Gulf super pit and the players, grateful for any opportunity to display their talent, do what needs to be done to participate in what is a showcase on the mining industry calendar.

The majority of the team is made up of players from Gulf communities who coach Chris Moren described as having bucket-loads of natural talent.

Other players are drawn from staff who fly in and out of the Mount Isa, Cairns and Townsville areas.

They leave Century early on game day for a six to seven-hour bus trip to Cloncurry.

Those unlucky enough to have come straight off nightshift need

Copper Smelter Mongrels player Douglas Duncan tackles Century player Matty Gulliver as he gets a pass away to Sorren Owens.

to catch their sleep en route before putting on their “game face” as Moren calls it.

The dawn start to the bus trip is the first chance they get to meld as a team.

The cohesion was tested this year with the absence of perennial hard-man and leader Bull Yanner.

Yanner, who has played in the

event for the last eight years, was ruled out with a sciatic nerve injury.

The team was tasked to deliver a blow by blow description of the day’s events via mobile phone to Bull at his Mission Beach home.

Only the passion for winning overcame the distance and difficulties Century faced in fielding a team, coach Moren said.

The Century players’ choice award in the form of the Pete Marshall trophy went to Kyle Hedington.

The Pete Marshall trophy, dedicated to one of the team’s founding players who died in an accident, was presented, as it is every year, by Pete Tupuhi, a long-time friend.

Nardoo league legacy In what must come as a relief to manager Mal MacRae, enduring Devils front-rower Reggie Nardoo says he will return next year to help wrest back the Australian Workers Union Shield from Century Chariots.

In fact, he has set 50 as a round number to keep playing to.

At 42, Nardoo has proven he’s still got it. He was in every team that contested six games over a 10-hour period in the Battle of the Mines and shared the MICO Devils players’ player award.

His actions follow the three golden rules of leadership: example, example and example.

Maybe having a 21-year-old son in the side makes him try that little bit harder. Jullian Nardoo played on the wing for Devils this year.

Reggie, who was the youngest player ever to represent Mount Isa when he played in the city’s last Foley Shield win in 1988, has played in 12 of the 15 years the Battle has been staged.

The underground miner will notch up 20 years in Battle of the Mines if he sees his retirement plan through.

Although it was not getting any easier, he said.

“It has been a lot harder the last few years,” Nardoo said.

“Everyone is getting into training a bit more for it. Before, it was a social show-up for the weekend.

“Now everyone is fairly serious with the kit, everyone looks good.

“They (the players) are better.

They are faster, quicker and stronger. It is a different era now and they are much stronger players. The young fellas are into weights a lot earlier.”

The best part about the annual rugby league event in Cloncurry was the camaraderie, he said.

“I don’t get to play full-time league during the season due to

shift work,” Nardoo said.

“You get to come down here, do a bit of training in the leadup to it and it is a good social weekend. A lot of teams, a lot of people come out to watch.

“It is a good thing for the community, especially Cloncurry.

They get a little left out and it is such a big mining province.”

Reggie Nardoo, 42, and his 21-year-old son Jullian took the field for the MICO Devils in this year’s Battle of the Mines.

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Battle of the Mines

The Mining Advocate | November 2010

37

Two teams, two tales, one game The Century Chariots came out on top this time round in what has become an enduring battle with a strong foe, writes Robert Dark.

Battle of the Mines continues to be dominated by the Century Chariots and MICO (Mount Isa Copper Operations) Devils.

Historically, both sides give no ground and any win is an effort etched out from granite.

But the Chariots’ turn for dramatic effect in the 2010 event would make for unlikely rugby league fiction.

Chariots took out the Australian Workers Union Shield with a try scored by five-eighth Trevor Chong and converted by Anthony Saltmere in the closing minutes of the grand final.

To make the grand final they beat X-Men, formerly Xstrata Zinc, 4-0 in extra time.

While players were blessed with a soft ground and mild weather brought about by unseasonal mid-October rain,

both the Chariots and Devils were dealt exhausting hands in the draw.

They, along with other teams, played four games in six hours to make the finals. All counted, they played around 130 minutes of football in one day.

To gain poll position, Century had to fend off a determined Cannington Cougars, who fought them to a 4-all draw in the last fixture round.

The Gulf men never let up against the MICO Devils, who have kept the AWU Shield safely in Mount Isa city limits for the past three years.

A later start in the draw allowed Century to gauge their opposition, said coach Chris Moren.

“We got to watch the other teams’ style,” he said.

“The (Cannington) Cougars

The victorious Century Chariots soon after winning the Battle of the Mines.

to the

CENTURY CHARIOTS for winning The Australian Workers Union (AWU) shield in the 2010 Battle of the Mines

were a very disciplined side, for example.

“What people tend to forget is more than 70 per cent of our team are once-a-year players, which is at the Battle of the Mines carnival.

“We are playing against teams that are playing every weekend and we still manage to dig in and upset some very strong sides.

“We go into every game at the carnival every year with the underdog tag, and that’s the way we like it.”

It was good to see players like Chong and Anthony Saltmere back in the Century Chariots colours, Moren said.

“That’s where they belong playing alongside not only their workmates and family, but also for their traditional country of Lawn Hill, where the mine site is and which belongs to the Waanyi people. We would also like to welcome a few new players into the Century Chariots family.”

Photo: Roslyn Budd

Kody Saltmere (MICO Devils) outsteps the opposition

Photo: Roslyn Budd

Defeated Devils down in numbers Any “underdogs” tag should go to the Devils, according to MICO coach Mal MacRae. The reputed depth and strength of the Devils was so depleted by the time of the grand final that a squad of 15 was all that could be mustered from a starting line-up of 23 players.

They lost key players including halfback Luke Crumblin in the first game and second-rowers Ben Watt and Clinton Farrell.

Veteran Mount Isa forward Max Smith was among those forced from the field with injury.

By the time the Devils secured a tight 10-8 win against Cannington to advance to the grand final, they had only two reserves left, both of whom were in the middle of their fifth decade on the planet.

“Century was lucky to win,” MacRae said.

“We lost the game. It was a

long day as we all put our guts into it. The commitment of the guys who took the field was outstanding.”

Other veterans managed to avoid injury and go on to earn a name among legends like Frank Daisy who have run on the Cloncurry showgrounds for MICO in their middle age.

MacRae citied Reggie Nardoo and Tony Shafer, who played all six games on the day.

Shafer’s career has included a season in first-grade with the Broncos in the 1980s.

Mount Isa locals Jamie Sloan and Zeb Kyle were voted best forward and best back respectively.

John Viiga, who played in the NRL with Cronulla under-20s in 2009, scored six tries on the day and was voted player of the event. He and Reggie Nardoo were joint players’ player winners for the Devils.

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Battle of the Mines

The Mining Advocate | November 2010

39

Diggers keen for another crack The central Queensland-based Cracow gold operation is planning a return to Cloncurry in 2011 after this year’s Battle of the Mines debut.

They came, they saw, they were conquered.

And the Cracow Diggers won a lot of respect at the Battle of the Mines along the way.

Cracow, around three hours due west of Hervey Bay, is now famous for hosting the pub owned by boxing troupe legend Fred Brophy and has only a handful of local residents.

The mine is staffed by a workforce drawn from towns as far away as Gympie, Bundaberg and Hervey Bay. The decision to fund a team was a big commitment by mine

owners - the Newcrest-Catalpa alliance, mine operators Downer EDI Mining and the staff, said Diggers coach, manager and second-rower Gary Hughes.

“We had five months’ preparation,” he said.

“Everyone lives in different places and we would fly into Cracow for a camp and train on the old bowling green. In the last three or four weeks we would drive 50km to Theodore to train on an oval.

“It is a small mine and men from only two crews could be let go. We took our RDOs and

Steve Edley from the Cracow Diggers tackles MICO Devils winger Jullian Nardoo.

travelled 1400km - or around 17 hours one way - to Cloncurry.

“The best thing was associating with blokes we wouldn’t normally get the opportunity to. Everyone we spoke to and played against thanked us for coming. No one failed to recognise we had come a long way.”

There was a big north-west Queensland influence in the Diggers team. The trip afforded winger Darren Mayocchi the chance to see his Mount Isabased mother for the first time in three years.

Second-rower Scott Hodgson and hooker Dave Smith both had worked for the Eloise

Photo: Roslyn Budd

operation and Hughes found himself lining up against Blackstar footballers he played alongside when he worked for Mount Isa Mines.

Hughes said the Diggers were already talking about next year’s competition and would increase the squad to 30, up from the 18 players fielded this year.

Cougars stalk competition glory

Cracow Diggers player Luke Chaplain.

Photo: Roslyn Budd

A message to dominant Battle of the Mines sides Century Chariots and MICO Devils ... you’re being watched.

Steady improvement shown by the Cannington Cougars over the past couple of years will culminate in a grand final appearance in season 2011, coach Lenny Heron predicts.

The Cougars have always been a competitive if somewhat thrown-together side in the yearly clash.

Heron, who works with catering company ESS on site, is the team’s first official coach. He played Foley Shield for both Burdekin-Whitsunday and Townsville and said the Cougars were developing a more professional approach to the competition.

“We have been training for five or so months and we’re big on keeping a line of defence like the NRL - pick spots on the field and keep playing them,” Heron said.

“Once the blokes with no rugby league experience

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“We trained around our shifts and got eight to 10 at each session. You would usually have the same line-up once a month. Fitness was up to each player, but they knew they would get less time on the field if they weren’t fit.”

Heron pointed to the draw with grand final winners Century Chariots this year as a defining moment in the team’s progress.

“We drew 4-all in the last round-robin game against the team that won it,” he said.

“That was after a hard draw which saw us play three games in as many hours. We played a semifinal immediately afterwards (going down 10-8 to MICO Devils). It was a big effort.

“They (Chariots) had some young, fast blokes and MICO Devils were strong all over the paddock. So we know we are competitive. We should win it (in 2011) if the team sticks together.”

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40

Battle of the Mines

November 2010 |

Charity and cheer Photos: Roslyn Budd

S’no doubt Kolt’s a fundraising bolter Snow cone ki

ng Kolt Fergus

on.

The Mining Advocate

X-Men champion community causes

X-Men stand ou out as charity champions in the 2010 Battle of tthe Mines tournament.

The team, who suited up as Zinc Power in p previous years, have made large donations to th the Mount Isa Base Hospital children’s ward an and a local breast cancer support group.

This follows donations to the Royal Flying D Doctor Service totalling more than $100,000 ov over the last five years.

The team was behind the new nominees, co coach Jim Larkin said. ““I rang the children’s ward and they needed the money to buy monitors and equipment for the kids - that’s where we are sending it this yea year and the team is behind it,” he said. ““We would like to thank our sponsors Hu Huddy’s Mining Services, North West Crane Ernest Henry team sup porters Jenaya Story an Hire, Q-Crush, McMahon, Steelcon, 2PH, d Kylie Allan. Hir North West Equipment Hire and SUMMS. “Without them supporting the local community this would not be possible.

“We have handed over cheques of $11,500 for the kids’ ward and $10,000 for the breast cancer support group.”

As for the football, X-Men came in third overall and Larkin praised the effort of all teams in what he described as a strong competition.

X-Men half-back and captain John Venz and five-eighth Lincoln Lorrigo were standouts on the day, he said. The finishers also stood up to be counted, with wingers Joe Sobbenkamp and Jono Saunders scoring from loose balls.

“A couple of other guys really stood up in the forwards,” Larkin said.

“Steve Retchford, a front-rower, also filled in at half-back. Jason McGirr is a rugby union player who played second-row and hooker Jade Geary scored a couple of times. Jade’s only ever played secondrow, but I know where he’ll be playing next year.”

Battle of the Mines is a great opportunity for the Cloncurry and Mount Isa communities to raise funds for various charities.

The Scouts and Rotary clubs provide services like cooking hamburgers, monitoring the front gate or serving beer to help make the day complete.

A number of other charities benefit from 13-year-old Cloncurry on’s snow cones.

State School Student Kolt Ferguson’s nd pouring cordial Kolt can be found pulling ice and n practically every weekend between Easter and October at some sort of gathering, usually involving his parent’s mobile saddlery business.

Kolt turned tragedy into opportunity after he was run over by a truck, breaking one leg and needing skin grafts on the other.

That was three years ago.

Kolt’s mother Kylee said the ay snow cone business helped him stay in contact with his mates. ry “When he got back to Cloncurry (from hospital in Townsville), Koltt d to couldn’t play all the sports he used d” Wonderlan play,” she said. ers “Alice in rt o p p su rels elter Mong “We got him the snow cone Copper Sm ”. n a ag machine to start fundraising so he had and “Reg R something to do while his mates played football and whatever. He decided to raise money to put a paediatric wheelchair in Cloncurry and ended up getting two: one for the hospital and one for Blue Care.

“He has continued raising money for the RFDS (Royal Flying Doctor Service) who helped him out, Blue Care, the Cloncurry Hospital and Ronald McDonald House - who helped us while we were in Townsville - as well. He has also given some to the sporting clubs he is involved in.”

It is estimated Kolt has raised more than $15,000 for charity so far.

Kay Hardy and Gayle Steed from the Mount Isa North West Breast Cancer Support Group, along with McGrath breast cancer nurse Nancy Scott, accept a $10,000 cheque from X-Men rugby league team members John Venz, Jimmy Larkin and Stephen Retchford.

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