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Monday November 9, 2015 198th Edition

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Qcoal’s brave decision will breath life back into Glenden    Full report page 4

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CONTENTS NEWS

4 6

Downer pay packets at BMA Blackwater

7 Terrifying

investigation into Austar deaths.

4 10 7

10 Cost of living falling in CQ

Regulars

8 Frank the Tank 1 10 17 Miners Trader 19 Wharts & All Queensland mining community's best source of local news

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Mitchell $27M Cracow contract MITCHELL Services has been quick to capitalise on the recent purchase of fire sale priced mining equipment, securing a AU$27 million contract at two Central Queensland mines.

In June, Mitchell purchased 25 drilling rigs and the associated drilling assets of the recently bankrupt Dysart-based Nitro Group for just over $16 million.

On the face of it, the purchase price seemed a bargain with the most recent replacement valuation of Nitro’s drilling assets being around $84 million - around five times more than they paid for it.

At the time of the purchase, Mitchell said the Nitro deal would give them the capacity to expand their drilling operations in what they considered a strong tender pipeline environment.

By using second hand gear, they also expected to be able to lower their tender price - which appears to have been a good strategy, with the company beating off heavy competition to secure nearly $30 million of drilling work at the Evolution Mining-owned Pajingo Gold Mine west of Townsville and the Cracow Gold Mine west of Gladstone.

Green field project approved

MURPHY Pipe & Civil has picked up the rail civil works package for Qcoal’s Byerwen coal project near Glenden, and the company is expected to announce further details on preferred contractors before the end of this month.

Qcoal confirmed the appointment

to Shift Miner this week and says they will start building the mine before the year is out.

The decision to push forward with the project - despite the current low coal prices - is a strong endorsement of coal’s future by the company’s owner

and rich-lister Chris Wallin.

In a statement to Shift Miner a Qcoal spokesperson confirmed the project. “ The first of the mining leases required for the Byerwen Coal Project was granted in April 2015, and construction of stage 1 of the project will commence on this lease later this year,” the spokesperson said.

“Stage 1 of the project is expected to create up to 100 jobs during construction and employ approximately 300 people in operations, and first coal from the Byerwen project is expected in late 2016.

“Final award of contracts for the project is yet to commence, however Murphy Pipe and Civil has been announced as the preferred contractor for the rail civil works package, subject to final commercial arrangements.

“Procurement for rail earthworks, civil earthworks and supply of electrical equipment for the project is already in the secondary stages of the tender process with announcements expected soon.”

At full production, Qcoal expects the mine will produce 10 million tonnes of hard coking coal a year and be a major part of their plan to export 20 million tonnes of coal by 2020.

The mine would have a life of at least 50 years depending on what further drilling of the deposit reveals.

Wage range at Downer Tinkler to be hands on in CQ FORMER Middlemount mining electrician and billionaire Nathan Tinkler will take a hands on role at Australian Pacific Coal (APC) as CEO and anaging director after acquiring more than 40 per cent of the business over the last six months.

Back in September, shares in Australian Pacific Coal took off when Nathan Tinkler and Trepang services - a company owned by the wealthy Northern Territory-based Paspaley and Robinson families - bought 15 per cent of the business.

Since then, Mr Tinkler has raised his stake in APC to 40 per cent.

The investment has been a godsend for APC who, like many other listed small cap miners, has seen their value collapse from a high of nearly AU$0.75 in 2005 to a low of just $0.01 now.

In April this year, APC announced it had just $300,000 of working capital to proceed with, and in June, its future looked even more bleak following a decision by Rio Tinto not to continue with its JV on the Hillalong tenement adjacent to Hail

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9th November 2015

Creek mine west of Mackay.

It is unclear which of the company’s assets are the ones considered attractive by its new investors.

Rio Tinto would not have spent 12 months drilling the Hillalong resource if they did not think it had potential, and a decision not to buy could have been made for all sorts of reasons unrelated to the results of the drilling.

On the other hand, APC says its flagship project is its Cooroorah tenement between Curragh and Jellinbah mines near Blackwater.

That project has advanced to the mineral development licence stage and has a deposit of around 125 million tonnes of metallurgical and thermal coal.

Mr Tinkler shot to fame in 2009 when he topped the Australian BRW Rich List for people under 40.

His personal wealth at the time was estimated to be $441 million.

The former electrician who worked in Newcastle coal mines made a fortune selling stakes in several mining companies around Middlemount.

ONE of the theories in circulation about the recent decision by BMA to award Downer AU$150 million worth of prestrip, mobile maintenance and blast operations at Blackwater mine is that it was the only way that BMA could lower the cost of labour at the site.

While it is still unclear whether that has been achieved (or was the goal), evidence is starting to emerge about the employment packages being offered at the mine by Downer.

The consensus view from miners working in the region is that level 1 recruits are looking at around $84,000 a year, level two employees are on $95 to $100,000 a year and level three employees around $105,000 a year. Those wages include 12 per cent super and the $200 per week living away from home allowance (LAFA).

By comparison, the Stellar Recruitment

salary guide released in July said the average boiler-maker on a Queensland coal mine was earning between $110 to $120,000 a year, diesel fitters between $115 to $130,000 a year, and dump truck operators $85 to $90,000 a year, which is down between eight and 15 per cent from 12 months prior.

However, according to comments at our Facebook page, there does not appear to be any obvious trend for local versus FIFO employment at the mine.

“I don’t know about pay, but I do know they only want locals; all the jobs are advertised as residential and no accommodation is being offered,” one miner commented.

“Do not think that they are only hiring locals.

“There have been young, experienced operators from Blackwater who work onsite that are local who have missed out, while operators who do not live here received a job with accommodation provided,” said another.

“They’re not hiring all locals; I know of two young labour hire people I work with personally who are both good at their job and both local, and they were turned down.

“I’m sure they weren’t the only ones,” another miner responded.

“As far as I know, they kept most of the crew that already work there.

“Why get rid of people already doing the job?” asked another.

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Peabody’s amazing cost reductions

THE cost of producing coal at Peabody Energy’s Queensland mines has fallen 28 per cent to US$48.11 per tonne in the last three months - and set a new company record.

The embattled US based coal miner, whose shares have fallen 86 per cent in the last 12 months, released the astonishing results in its quarterly statements this week.

Despite losing more than $300 million across its whole business in the three months to September, the company says earnings from its Australian mines have increased more than 250 per cent to $34 million - all of which has come through massive cost reductions.

“Nearly $150 million in cost improvements overcame approximately $110 million in lower pricing,” Peabody said.

“Australian costs per tonne improved 28 per cent to $48.10 - a record low for this platform which includes the benefit of lower currency, fuel rates, productivity improvements, workforce reductions and operational changes implemented in the second quarter.

“Four million tonnes of metallurgical coal averaged US$68.53 per tonne, and three point three million tonnes of export thermal coal averaged US$52.97 per tonne.”

Looking to the future, Peabody said

further easing of demand in China for steelmaking coal had seen the benchmark price for prime hard coking coal fall a further four per cent to $89 - the lowest level since 2004.

Peabody also says India is now the largest global importer of thermal coal, having overtaken China in the last three months.

However, despite this achievement, India’s increase in imports of nearly 20 million tonnes has not offset China’s fall in imports of nearly 60 million tonnes, meaning the thermal coal market is unlikely to improve soon.

Peabody says around 80 per cent of metallurgical coal supply is not covering costs at the moment, and they expect seaborne coal supplies to fall 15 million tonnes as a result.

“U.S. metallurgical coal exports fell 17 per cent through September and are expected to decline 10 to 15 million tonnes in 2015,” Peabody said.

“Cutbacks have accelerated in the seaborne thermal market, particularly in the U.S. and Indonesia, where exports are down 39 per cent and eight per cent, respectively.

“Peabody expects additional coal production curtailments in response to current prices, and in addition, limited capital spending is anticipated to act as a future supply constraint.”

Peabody owns the Burton, Coppabella, Middlemount, Millennium, Morvale and North Goonyella Mines in Central Queensland as well as three mines in NSW.

Grasstree death in court THE Queensland mines inspectorate has completed its investigations into the death of an electrician at the Grasstree mine near Middlemount last year and is now seeking to prosecute the mine’s owner, Anglo American.

Just over 12 months ago, electrician Paul McGuire, who was working underground, was discovered unconscious and taken to the surface around 3 in the afternoon where attempts to revive him were unsuccessful.

In a statement made immediately after the accident, Anglo American said the miner was found in a closed area of the mine.

“Preliminary indications suggest the electrician entered a closed area of the underground mine workings and may have been asphyxiated by a noxious atmosphere,” a spokesperson told Shift Miner at the time.

The matter will be heard in the Mackay Magistrates Court next Wednesday.

The death is one of six fatalities that occurred in Queensland over the 12 month period from March 2014 to March 2015.

It was the sector’s worst safety performance in nearly 20 years.

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200 to go CENTRAL Queensland jobs appear to be safe following a decision by gas producer Santos to slash a further 200 positions.

Santos has now cut nearly 800 roles in the last twelve months as it seeks to respond to falling gas prices that have caused their share price to fall by nearly two-thirds since late 2014.

In a statement in October, Santos said the job cuts would be mostly office-based roles in Adelaide and would lower costs.

“The job reductions, together with additional initiatives to simplify the business, will deliver approximately AU$100 million in cost savings across the company’s Cooper Basin activities over the next three years,” Santos said in a statement.

“The job reductions are a part of a broader restructure of the Eastern Australian business to make it a leaner, more agile organisation delivering lower cost oil and gas from the Cooper Basin.”

The decision came less than a month after Santos started producing its first liquefied natural gas (LNG) on Curtis Island near Gladstone.

Baralaba miners face month of uncertainty

THE community of Baralaba and the hundreds of workers employed by Cockatoo Coal in the area will have to wait another month to find out what the future holds.

As foreshadowed by Shift Miner the first week of October, Cockatoo Coal confirmed that an AU$81 million bank loan with the ANZ was terminated, leaving Cockatoo with just a month to make arrangements for repaying any outstanding amounts and just four months before the loan is officially

One comment at a time ADANI might be back to a skeleton staff for its Queensland operations, but it is beefing up its efforts in the public relations war that is being waged over the mine.

In mid-October, the company received re-approval for its Carmichael mine project from the federal government - two months after earlier approval was withdrawn following a successful challenge by environmental groups in court.

However, in a sign that the company is pulling out all stops to try and counter the public relations battle being warred, the company has adopted the high risk strategy of arguing its case on Facebook.

Before it had released anything to conventional media, and even before it had posted a statement on its own website, Adani once again re-affirmed its commitment to the project.

“The Carmichael mine and North Galilee Basin Rail lie at the heart of Adani’s plans to build a long-term future with Queensland,” Adani said on its Facebook page.

“Today’s announcement of the final federal approval for the Carmichael mine and NGBR by Minister Hunt makes clear that these concerns have been addressed, reflected in rigorous and painstaking conditions.

“It is certainty over the remaining

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approvals that is now key to the company progressing its plan to deliver mine, rail and port projects in Queensland that will deliver 10,000 direct and indirect jobs, and AU$22 billion in taxes and royalties to be re-invested back into community services,” they said.

Not surprisingly the announcement has triggered a social media storm with hundreds of comments from both supporters and critics of the project.

Despite some of the comments against the project being expletive laden, Adani seems to be taking a patient approach to selling its plan.

“Hi Carmine, your comment is being deleted because of the language. You are welcome to re-post without the swearing.

Thank you for taking the time to share your view,” they responded to one critic.

“Nicole, thank you for the post, we appreciate you sharing your view on an important subject. We disagree with you, and we will be happy to share more information on how water is governed in the region for industry as a whole,” they said to another.

However, not all posts were negative.

“The scare-mongering continues!

Pity we can’t stick to the facts & not have to listen to unsubstantiated claims,” one supporter posted.

To have your say, you can click here then follow the links.

terminated next year.

In a written statement, Cockatoo said it was looking at its options.

“Cockatoo has received a notice from ANZ, pursuant to which the LC facility will be terminated on the 15th January 2016,” they said.

“The option remains for the company to put to ANZ an alternative restructuring proposal.

“The company is exploring options

for the refinancing of the amounts outstanding under the LC facility and will further update the market with any material developments.”

The announcement capped off a very difficult year for Cockatoo Coal who has struggled to stay viable in the face of plummeting coal prices.

In February, they were forced to massively dilute the value of shares in the company by issuing $125 million worth of new stock at just $0.02 a share, which was 86 per cent less than they were worth before they went into a trading halt in late 2014.

They have also scaled back development plans at their Baralaba expansion project, which involved large redundancies, pausing the CHHP construction and delaying the planned ramp-up to full exports of 3.5 Mt a year until 2018.

However, despite all those efforts, both their share and coal prices have continued to deteriorate, forcing the company to recently slash 86 per cent of its head office staff in Brisbane and nearly a quarter of those in Baralaba.

Downer “mum” on Blackwater

DOWNER Mining says it is on schedule to commence operations at the Blackwater mine, but there is still little known about when the work will start and how much of the previous workforce has been retained.

Despite asking for (and being supplied with) written questions, Downer has not responded to enquiries from Shift Miner about the recruitment process, but a media spokesperson for the company says things were moving forward as planned.

“Since we made the announcement, I haven’t heard anything back, but no news is good news which means we are on schedule to start delivering on the contracts,” he said.

In August, BMA announced that it had decided to contract out $150 million worth of pre-strip, mobile maintenance and blast operations at Blackwater mine to the Downer Group.

While the change in operations has been widely mis-reported as a casualisation of the workforce, it nonetheless brought great uncertainty to the 306 permanent, contractor and labour hire workers currently employed in those areas by BMA. At the time the decision was announced, the Downer group said it was hoping to get most of the people it needed from Blackwater mine’s existing workforce.

“We expect we will need roughly the same amount of people to do the job as are currently employed,” a spokesperson said.

“We are currently in discussions with the existing workforce and their representatives about what opportunities might be available.

“We don’t plan to do a recruitment drive at this stage; although, we will look to employ locals, and it is not our intention to start a fly-in fly-out operation.”

However, just days after saying that, Downer launched a major public recruitment drive for staff to work at Blackwater mine.

Downer advertised online for everything from haul truck drivers and blast crews to electricians, tyre fitters and contract administrators.

Dozens of roles were advertised on a full time basis, with some offering camp accommodations and other roles listed as residential positions.

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Terrifying account into dual fatality

A DIFFICULT-to-read report into the loss of two lives in an underground mining accident at a NSW mine last year has concluded the accident was caused by a severe “pressure burst”.

At 9:05 pm on 15 April 2014 at the Austar mine near Cessnock, James Mitchell (49) and Phillip Grant (35) were working alongside a bolter miner and shuttle car to develop a gate road for a future longwall panel when the wall beside them exploded horizontally crushing them under nearly 40 cubic metres of rubble.

The force of the burst was such that the

driver of the continuous miner said he was knocked off his feet.

“I had the conveyor still running when I was lifting the head up, just to park the head until the car came back again,” the miner said.

“I started lifting up, and then I flicked the conveyor off.

“As soon as I flicked the conveyor off, that’s when they had this huge pressure bump; it was like hitting a switch.

“It was, like, almost instant at the time I flicked that switch - enormous pressure bump.

“It sort of knocked me back onto the rail

and I sort of ducked down, just out of habit, like coal sort of flying down your back and all that sort of stuff.”

The deputy in charge of the crew was driving the shuttle car at the time and describes it like a bomb going off.

“It was like there was an explosion; it was massive,” he said during investigations.

“I was sitting in the shuttle car, and it blew me into the mesh guarding.

“I lost my helmet.

“It was like a split second; it was just that quick and intense.”

When the dust settled and it was realised that the rocks had collapsed through the installed rib supports and that two miners were underneath them, a decision was made by the deputy that a rescue at that point was too dangerous, and they withdrew from the area and raised the alert.

It was another two days before the bodies of both miners could be removed.

Determining the cause of the incident entailed a detailed examination of the nature of the overall geology of the mine and the forces and load distributions at the depth that the mine was operating.

Two experts concluded that the depth of mining (more than 500 metres) and local geology played a large role in the accident.

They also observed that the Greta coal seam they were mining had a long history of “pressure bumps and bursts”.

Union says no change in CQ A LOCAL official from the region’s biggest mining union, the CFMEU, says a proposed merger with the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) will have no impact on the regional operations of the union.

The CFMEU’s, Steve Pierce, who is based in Mackay told Shift Miner the rank and file should not be concerned.

“From a local miner’s point-of-view, the merger - if it happens - won’t create any changes in our division; it will be business as usual.” he said.

“It’s not the first time this has happened; the organisation has been through mergers before.”

Under the deal, all branches of the CFMEU are expected to be incorporated to create a super-union after a ballot of the MUA membership is held at their national conference in February.

MUA National Secretary Paddy Crumlin said the potential merger would create Australia’s most powerful union, which would better serve the membership of both unions.

CFMEU national secretary Michael O’Connor agrees.

“This move will be hugely beneficial to not just the members of the MUA and CFMEU but will lead the way for all working men and women,” he said.

9th November 2015

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Mixed week for mega miner

IF you knew nothing about Adani and you walked into their headquarters in Brisbane, you would almost certainly conclude the company was pulling up stumps in Australia.

At least two separate business people who have visited Adani’s Brisbane offices in the last month

have told Shift Miner they have been “shocked” by the exodus of people, and the scaling down of operations.

“This is the third time I have been down there in two years, and I couldn’t believe the change; there is hardly anyone there, and all they are saying is that the approvals process has just taken

too long” one businessman said.

“There is just nobody there,” said another.

Within 12 months, Adani virtually emptied its once bustling head office, and all work at the proposed mine site in the Galilee has stopped.

For all intents and purposes, it looks like the Galilee dream is over.

Yet, the Adani office remains open on a skeleton staff.

Their media person is still taking calls and updating their Facebook page, and they have said again and again they will move forward with the project when they get all their approvals.

In October, they reached another approval milestone when the State Government lodged the final Environmental Impact Statement with the Commonwealth for dredging and construction works at Abbot Point coal port.

In handing over to the federal government for final sign off, State Development Minister Dr Anthony Lynham said the port was critical to the future of the Galilee.

“Expansion at Abbot Point is a critical piece of the puzzle for development of the Galilee Basin,” he said.

“This is significant progress for the Galilee Basin proponents and the regional communities looking forward

to the job opportunities and economic development this project offers.”

In more good news for Adani, the Federal Minister for Resources, Josh Frydenberg, gave in principle - but not financial - support for the project in a presentation to the Resources Industry Network (RIN) in Mackay.

Allan Ruming from Group Engineering said the presentation was well received by the majority of the audience.

“It was a good presentation, and I think the concensus was that he was actually quite open and well informed about the future for coal,” he said.

“At the end of the day, they want to see Adani go ahead and not be unreasonably stalled.

“We need something like Adani to get moving, to get everything moving forward in the Galilee Basin.

“Adani have really scaled back their operations and they pretty much just have their compliance guys working now.

“But I think it’s a strategic decision; they know they still have to get all the approvals and jump through the hoops, and that’s probably 12 to 18 months away.”

The Federal Environment Minister had just over a month to make a decision on the Abbott Point EIS.

Prime Minister rejects The upside of the downturn coal moratorium AN open letter signed by 61 Australians - mostly academics - calling for a halt on new coal mines has been rejected by the Prime Minister.

The letter, which was published the last week of October, asked global leaders to put coal exports on the agenda at the Paris Climate Summit in December.

However, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull says he does not agree with stopping coal exports and that it would not make “the blindest bit of difference” to global emissions.

“If Australia stopped exporting coal, the countries to which we export it would simply buy it from somewhere else,” Mr Turnbull said.

“If Australia were to stop all of its coal exports … it would not reduce global emissions one iota.

“In fact, arguably, it would increase them because our coal, by and large, is cleaner than the coal in many other countries.

“So with great respect to the motivations and the big hearts and the idealism of the people that advocate that, that is actually not a sensible

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policy either from an economic point-of-view, a jobs point-of-view or, frankly, from a global warming or global emissions point-of-view.”

Australia’s Trade Minister, Andrew Robb, has echoed the Prime Minister telling an Indian audience that Australia has a moral imperative to export its coal.

“It’s all about the transition period,” he said.

“No matter which way you look at it over the next 50 to 70 years, there is no alternative to coal as part of the mix.

“If that’s the case the world should be using the best quality coal because that produces the lowest emissions.

“The alternative is if we do not sell our coal, CO2 emissions will go up, because coal use will increase dramatically - not just in India but China and other places.

“We can’t sit down there enjoying the magnificent quality of life we do (achieved on the back of far dirtier coal-fired power stations than the new ones) and turn a blind eye to the fact we have the solution to help hundreds of millions out of poverty and we don’t exercise it.”

THE complete resetting of the cost of living and working in a mining community is delivering some unforeseen benefits to some of the region’s towns.

While the upsides are still dwarfed by the implications of major job losses across Central Queensland, for those that remain there are some good things happening in places like Dysart and Blackwater.

One local business owner told Shift Miner that some of Blackwater’s residents were drifting back.

“Yes, the town is very quiet, but the strangest thing happened today,” he recently told Shift Miner.

“I have had two new couples come into the shop this morning, who have just moved back.

“One couple had a young family and

had decided to move back out here from Rockhampton, because it was so much cheaper to live.

“They settled in Rockhampton at the height of the boom, but they said it never felt like home.

“The other couple were retired and had sold up a few years back but had decided to move back, because the cost of living was so much cheaper now,” An hour or so down the road at Dysart, spokesperson for the local Community and Business Group, John Crooks, says localbuy initiatives by the mining companies have made a big difference.

“Yes, we just opened up another store in Tieri, and so far Glencore have been really supportive,” he said.

“I really think the amount of work going to locals has picked up; that’s not to say you don’t have to be competitive with your pricing though.

“We recently had a local-buy meeting with BMA, and it was a great opportunity to have a one-on-one discussion with some of their people.

“I think there was about AU$40 million worth of investment through the local buy program, and while not everything has worked as well as it should, we do seem to be getting more business locally.

“But overall in Dysart, it’s not a boom, and there is no great activity - but the feeling in the town is alright.”

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World first for automation

FOR the first time in history, two mines in Western Australia have removed human truck drivers entirely from the iron ore hauling process.

Mining giant Rio Tinto is now running 69 driverless trucks at its mine sites near Newman, which are controlled from an operations centre in Perth.

While driverless haul trucks have been trialled for much of the last decade, this is the first time that they have taken over the entire haulage process on a mine site.

Josh Bennett is closely involved with running 22 driverless trucks at the Yandicoogina mine, and he explained the

operations to ABC. “To the naked eye, it looks like conventional mining methods,” he said.

“But what we have done is map out our entire mine and put that into a system, and the system then works out how to manoeuvre the driverless trucks through the mine.

“It is quite challenging to get repeatability out of a human, and one of the advantages we have had with autonomous haulage - particularly in the truck fleet- is we notice we are getting consistency in terms of the way the machines are operating.”

Because the haul trucks can operate all the time, Rio Tinto estimates they can save around 500 work hours a year per truck, and there are measurable flight and accommodation savings.

However, these are being offset to some extent by new unconventional roles in Perth.

“We have a whole dedicated team based in Perth that is looking at how to optimise the system, looking at maintenance, productivity; those are jobs that did not exist five years ago,” Mr Bennett said.

“We have got new roles which are being created such as a central controller and a pit controller, which are essential to running the autonomous system.”

In March, Rio Tinto officially opened a world-first Analytics Excellence Centre (AEC) in India which will interpret vast quantities of operational data captured at the coalface by sensors on its machinery.

The centre will then assess the data and use it to predict and prevent engine breakdowns and other downtime events, significantly boosting productivity and safety.

Using predictive mathematics, machine learning and advanced modelling, data scientists in India will be working to identify a range of problems before they occur.

It is hoped this analysis will reduce maintenance costs and production losses from unplanned breakdowns.

Gasfield dealership finds a buyer DEFUNCT Surat Basin car dealership Southern Cross Automotive has been broken up and sold off with buyers announced the first week of October for the company’s Toowoomba, Roma and Warwick operations. The Dalby and Chinchilla businesses failed to find a buyer and will be closed down.

The Toowoomba operations new owners, John and Jacqui Armstrong, will add the Toowoomba dealership to their existing portfolio.

“Realistically, it was a fantastic opportunity just for the expansion of our current business interests in Toowoomba,” he said.

“We’re passionate about the region and the area, and we think it’s just a prime opportunity to grow our business in Toowoomba and the Darling Downs.”

It is a relatively quick sale for the receiver, Peter Hedge, from Hedge and Associates, who was brought in to manage the company after it started to struggle under too much debt and the faltering Surat Basin economy.

Southern Cross was owned by Toowoomba businessmen John Keating and Anthony Freer and employed around 200 staff, with car showrooms in Toowoomba, Dalby, Warwick, Chinchilla and Roma.

It is still unclear how much of any money owed to them unsecured creditors will get back from the dealership’s original owners, Southern Cross Automotive Group.

Contractors could be winners

THE president of Chinchilla’s peak lobby group is optimistic that the current cost cutting by the state’s biggest CSG operators could end up being a good thing for local business.

In particular, he says with CSG companies reducing their staffing levels, they are being forced to look to contractors to do the critical work still required.

“There is still a great deal of work that needs to be done, even in this period of low prices,” he told Shift Miner.

“With fewer headcounts, companies will be looking to use contractors.

“However, it obviously depends on contractors being able to cut costs and be competitive if they want to get the work.

“I know a few contractors are getting squeezed by the proverbials at the moment, and you have medium sized contractors like WDS going into receivership, so it’s not going to be easy.

“However, oil prices will improve, and

for those businesses that can innovate and keep their costs down, the current downturn could be a good thing long term.

“I still think these resources will get developed, and at the right price, local contractors can still get continuity of work,” he said.

In June, QGC announced it had employed two primary contractors - CBI Downer and Leighton’s - to undertake what it called an early contractor involvement phase for a possible expansion of its Surat North CSG development.

During this phase, it intends to get a better handle on the costs involved in expanding its gas fields.

“A competitive early contractor involvement, or ECI, involves QGC engaging two contractors to provide constructability input into the design process for the Surat North project and develop detailed construction plans for execution,” QGC said at the time.

“This includes identifying local suppliers and subcontractors for specific packages of work and developing an actual cost estimate.”

“Each ECI contractor will be required to provide a target cost proposal for the construction of the work, and following completion of the ECI process, these proposals will be evaluated, and one contractor will be selected to perform the construction work when and if the project receives a final investment decision from BG Group.”

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$30 million of work THE Mastermyne Group announced in October that it won a contract from Rio Tinto worth around AU$30 million.

The contract has generated 50 jobs and will run for two years, with an optional third.

Under the deal, Mastermyne will primarily build underground roadways; however, it is a flexible contract in terms of the services offered.

Mastermyne expects it to generate revenue of between $10 and $12 million annually.

Mastermyne CEO, Tony Caruso, said the deal underscores the importance of contractors in the mining landscape.

“We are very pleased with this result and look forward to continuing our strong working relationship with global mining companies in the region,” he said.

“The awarding of this major tender reinforces Mastermyne’s strong value proposition and supports the integral role contracting organisations will play in maintaining a globally competitive coal sector.”

The contract win validates predictions made by Mr Caruso twelve months earlier when he forecast that mines, which were trying to dig out as much coal as possible, could not expand without new roads and new equipment.

“If you don’t do that [roadway] work, you’re not going to be able to produce coal,” he argued in August last year.

In other news for the company, Shift Miner understands Mastermyne will soon announce the acquisition of another well-known fabrication business based in Mackay.

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9th November 2015

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Super trucks unlikely in CQ

A TRIAL of 60 metre long quad trucks for hauling iron ore on public roads in Western Australia is unlikely to be replicated in Queensland.

That is according to CEO of the Queensland Trucking Association, Peter Garskee.

However, he has not ruled them out as an option for servicing the proposed Galilee coal mines from Townsville, should those projects ever get off the ground.

“I don’t envisage them any time soon,” he told Shift Miner.

“Certainly not on the road network that we share with every other road user.

“They are a big, productive truck, but the likelihood of us using them over here is very small, because we have a very different road network to those they have in the Pilbara.

“It might be possible for some of the mega-mine projects in the Galilee to use the trucks if they ever got off the ground, but they would have to build special roads out of Townsville to carry them.”

The trial of the 60 metre road trains commenced in the Pilbara on the Great Northern Highway between Munjina-Roy Hill Road and Utah Point, Port Hedland.

Qube logistics claims the trucks could

reduce the number of haul trips by nearly 50,000 a year.

“The first set run tipped off at Utah this afternoon at three with a load from Atlas Wodgina mine,” a spokesman said.

“This unit is 60 metres in length and will carry up to 140 tonne payloads.

“This is compared with conventional quads that are 53.5 metres in length and carry 114 tonne payloads.

“If adopted across all tonnes at Utah Point, it has the potential to reduce the current required truck trips into the facility by 46,000 trips per annum, which is a very significant road safety and productivity uplift,” Qube said.

Though capable of higher speeds, the road trains will be limited telematically to 90kmh, which the government says will allow for easier overtaking by other vehicles and ensure superior on-road performance.

It is hoped the introduction of the trucks will increase mining productivity, lower operating costs and reduce the number of heavy vehicles on the road longer-term.

The trial will be assessed by the Road Safety Commission, local government, WA Police, Main Roads Western Australia and the caravanning industry and will look at issues like pavement assessments, traffic data, community surveys and on-road monitoring.

Shift Miner Magazine

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Port “blockade” killing confidence Lawyers likely at REASON TO SMILE IN BLACKWATER Wiggins Island

“It encompasses important PORT operator, North Queensland long-term principles like Bulk Ports (NQBP) believes delays in Blackwater Crushers presentation night held at the Civic Centre getting approvals for port development intergenerational responsibility.

“We want our kids to look back is eroding investor confidence and in fifty years and say that we were unnecessarily compromising Central good custodians of the economy administration) have challenged Aurizon Queensland’s ability to grow as a and the reef.” over the amount of fees they pay. resource-rich region.

Mr Kane says one of the problems Aurizon disputed the challenge, While much of the focus in the Australia has is that it is a world leader which they said would cost around debate about port expansion in in port development in sensitive areas. $10 million this year and around $500 Queensland has focussed on Adani’s NQBP is the only port operator million over the next 20 years. proposals at Abbot Point, Kevin Kane, in the world to operate three ports “Aurizon Network has received notices Environmental Manager for NQBP, Zac Clemesha, Kent Booker and Coach Bass Tara Cox, Ben Cook and Jo Bass Bassy and Coxy Desley and Bill Storch within a World Heritage Area, which - the validity of which it disputes - from argues there is absolutely no reason means they cannot draw on the seven of the eight Wiggins Island Rail why development and the Great Barrier success of other operators.

Project customers,” Aurizon said.

Reef cannot co-exist.

“The big take-home message for all “Those notices purport to exercise a He says one of the facts that the industries that are working on the right under the relevant agreements to seems to have been lost in the debate front door of the GBR is that we need to reduce the financial exposure of those is that Australia is an island nation consider it a privilege,” he said. customers to Aurizon Network in respect that depends on safe and efficient LEGAL action seems likely at the brand “If we can grow and demonstrate of the Wiggins Island Rail Project. ports for 99.7 % of everything that new Wiggins Island Coal Export Terminal long term development of the near “At this point, Aurizon can provide comes in or goes out.

(WICET), following a decision by the seven Great Barrier Reef, we will have guidance that the annual impact “Whether it’s for mining or owners of the port to contest the amount of real value that we can would be in a range from $0 to agricultural commodities, the port is they pay to Aurizon to use rail built to Peyton, Trae and Mariah Simone and Doyle Dickfos Kayleen and Andrew Crooks Cindy and Charlie Palmer something Yasmin Black and Shae Cox share with the world. $27 million in earnings per annum the pinnacle of growth, because if the service the facility.

“We have more than twenty over the 19.5 year life of the above ports cannot grow to accommodate When the decision was first made to years of learning and data about regulatory return component.” industry, nothing else can move develop WICET at the height of the mining how things like dredging can impact The challenge by the port’s owners forward,” he told Shift Miner. boom, Aurizon negotiated a deal with the the environment, and we have a came just weeks after WICET shipped “I think people got a little bit port’s original eight owners that would responsibility to share that knowledge. its first million tonnes of coal and fatigued by the word sustainability see them pay a usage fee into the future, “But no matter what we do, we have in an ironic twist, appointed Marcus in the last decade, but it is still in return for Aurizon spending more than to get our message out there because we McAuliffe to the role of CEO. the best word to describe a future AU$840 million connecting the port with can’t do anything without buy-in from Mr McAuliffe was previously the where ports and the Great Barrier the existing rail network. our local communities.”

CEO of Queensland Rail before it was Reef can co-exist.

However, the seven remaining owners Narelle and Jacob Ford privatised and became and Justine FletcherAurizon.

Mikaela, Tegan, Jess, Miranda and Kayleen (Ryan Bandanna the eighth - is now in Chayne Flint Palmer- and Brandon

.............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

BBMC EMERALD LUNCHEON AT TOWN HALL

The annual networking luncheon was hosted by the Bowen Basin Mining Club (BBMC) with the support of CHDC.

Andrew Caulton_MACA_Dustin Pratten_MacKellar Mining_Craig Batten_Vermeer

Sean Ryan_Hitachi_Brendan Camilleri_ComiskeyMining_Andrew Gale_Hitachi

Sandra Hobbs_CHDC_David Brierley_ Furgo_Brad Stallard_CQUniversity

Charlie Brimblecombe_CHRC_Lyn Capman_MSA Safety_ Stephen Smith_DRNM_Rowan McAllister_DNRM_Eddie Wust_Tex Onsite

Chris Shore_MatildaEquipment_Kevin Christie_ Mick Carr_Downer_Mick Forday_AllEarthMoving_Russel MatildaEquipment_David Moore_NQGroup Soper_AustinEngineering_Kurt Baumgard_Downer

Brett Garland_Caledon Coal

Graham Parminter Downer

Jennie Hickery_AccountantReadyServices_ Kim Palmeri)MRC

Jodie Currie BBMC, Jonathan Soulvis Downer, Graham Parminter Downer, Sandra Hobbs CHDC

Holding a social event you want photographed? Call the Shift Miner office on 4921 4333 to let us know. You can also give our office a bell if you’d like a copy of any of the photos in this edition.

9th November 2015

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Shift Miner Magazine

60 day pay wait THE shock decision in June by BMA to move to 60 day payment terms for its suppliers seems to have been reluctantly accepted by mining support businesses in Central Queensland.

While there are rumours that two businesses had been forced to the wall by the decision, Tony Caruso from the Resource Industry Group says companies have moved on.

“Companies have absorbed that now and are dealing with it,” he told Shift Miner.

“People have dealt with it in different ways; some are sharing it with suppliers, some are having to get extra finance through their banks, but most are coming to grips with it.

“I haven’t heard of any businesses pulling up specifically because of the changes - as tough as it was to deal with.”

The decision in June by mining giant BMA to double the time it takes to pay its bills outraged suppliers.

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In the wake of the decision, a crisis meeting was held with BMA, but in the end, suppliers either had to accept the deal or lose the business.

One business owner, who preferred not to be named, estimated labour hire businesses would need up to two million dollars extra in working capital just to stay afloat.

Former operations manager for RIN, Rodger Doudney, said the decision had been bitterly disappointing for local business.

“It is clearly not ideal,” Mr Doudney told Shift Miner at the time.

“There are a number of businesses that are currently stressed in the region, and this will simply just stress them more.

“While they [BMA] are not going to reverse the decision, they have agreed to sit down and talk to concerned businesses to see if they can work something out,” he said.

Business winners TWO Emerald based mining support businesses have shared top honours in the Central Highlands Business Excellence Awards.

H.E.M.E. and TNC Cranes were both crowned Central Highlands Businesses of the Year and joint winners in the manufacturing and industry sector category at a gala awards dinner in Emerald.

In announcing the award, the Central Highlands Development Corporation said both businesses had proved adaptable.

“H.E.M.E. is impressive with their adoption of innovative technologies to maintain their competitive advantage, their culture of continuous improvement and their well-executed

succession plan,” CHDC said.

“While TNC Cranes impressed the judges with their ISO accreditation, their unique computerised management system, their diversification into product development and unwavering vision for the business since its inception.”

Since forming in 1997, owners of H.E.M.E, Kym and Anthony Hellmuth have expanded from a single shed to spreading across four blocks of land.

Kym told Shift Miner it was nice to receive outside recognition.

“Winning the award is very welcomed - and that all that hard work is being recognised,” she said.

“We knew we were doing OK, but it’s good to get approval from someone outside the business.

“We have been lucky these last few years in that we have been able to adapt to the current market.

“Also, some new opportunities have presented themselves after other workshops decided to close down and leave the region.

“But, most importantly, we have a great team here that have been with us for several years, and we thank them for their support year after year.”

Another resource sector business, Crush Tech Mining, won the Young Business Owner of the Year Award.

REASON TO SMILE IN BLACKWATER Blackwater Crushers presentation night held at the Civic Centre

Zac Clemesha, Kent Booker and Coach Bass

Tara Cox, Ben Cook and Jo Bass

Peyton, Trae and Mariah

Simone and Doyle Dickfos

Ryan Palmer and Brandon

Chayne Flint and Justine Fletcher

Bassy and Coxy

Desley and Bill Storch

Kayleen and Andrew Crooks

Cindy and Charlie Palmer

Narelle and Jacob Ford

Mikaela, Tegan, Jess, Miranda and Kayleen

Yasmin Black and Shae Cox

.............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

BBMC EMERALD LUNCHEON AT TOWN HALL

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9th November 2015

Shift Miner Magazine

Around Town

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LARGEST ENTERPRISE EVENING

Toowoomba and Surat Basin Enterprise (TSBE) have hosted their largest Enterprise Evening yet

TSBE CEO Dr Ben Lyons, TSBE Chairman Shane Charles, Paul Digby, John Hagan and Jose Antonio Sanchez of Nexus Infrastructure.

TSBE CEO Dr Ben Lyons and TSBE Chairman Shane Charles with Nexus Infrastructure’s Paul Digby and John Hagan.

Lucas Talbot from range Environmental Consultants and Mark Rundle of Wagners.

Shane Meagher from Hastings Deering Australia and John Davis from The Brown and Hurley Group.

Kent Bligh, Christopher Low from Oz Excavator Buckets and Toowoomba Regional Council Mayor Cr Paul Antonio.

Gary King from Newlands Civil Construction, Scott Fyfe from Rocla and Nathan Swaffer from Rocla.

Toowoomba Regional Council Cr Nancy Sommerfield, Stephen Bowers from Lauder and Liz Wagner.

Terry Smoothy from Verifact, Gary Christison from Traffic Group Australia and Nicholas Elston from Traffic Group Australia.

Sarah Lockwood from Accession3 Business, Phil Hadley from Commonwealth Bank and Scott Templeman from Toowoomba Regional Council.

Ben James from the Apprenticeship John Wagner from Wagner Global Mark Loring from Geofabrics Australasia, Company, Paul Janke from Linetech Kevin Mills from Civil Mining and Construction Roadmarking Services and Dale HakansonServices and John Hagan from Nexus and Marcus Koolen from Perfect Earth. from Linetech Roadmarking and Services. Infrastructure.

Andrew Tilly and Helen Tilly from Tilly’s Crawler Parts, Kate Gaffney from Struber Communications Joy Mingay from Classic Recruitment, Paul Digby from Nexus Infrastructure and Lisa and Toowoomba Regional Council Cr Geoff Lee from Classic Recruitment.

McDonald.

Sponsor for the evening Wiley’s Michael Matthewson addressing guests.

Former TSBE Chairman John Wagner.

Paul Digby of Nexus Infrastructure discusses the Toowoomba Second Range Crossing project.

Greg Dalziell from Geiger Group and Marty Quinlan from Diversified Resource Management.

TSBE Chairman Shane Charles addresses the audience of over 550.

John Hagan from Nexus Infrastructure addressing guests.

Jose Antonio Sanchez from Nexus Infrastructure addresses guests.

TSBE CEO Ben Lyons thanks guests for attending the event.

Buy this and many other images at

www.shiftminer.com Shift Miner magazine – bringing the mining community closer together 9th November 2015

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Frank the Tank’s Dear Frank, I’m a big rugby freak but my girlfriend hates it. She even asked me to go see a movie with her instead of watching the World Cup with my mates. I chose the World Cup and she was not impressed.

Is it wrong to choose sport over your girlfriend?

Andy, Mt Isa

Andy, This is a more common problem than you may realise. Countless men have found themselves torn between a game of footy and the ol’ ball and chain. In my youth I was considered quite the skilled Rugby player, however my methods of throwing the opposition off their game have been largely discredited due to the well publicised actions of my protégé, John Hopoate. I would, however like to take this opportunity to set the record straight, it was all just a big misunderstanding, I told Hopoate it was essential to get into the mind of the opposition, he heard “behind”, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Notwithstanding my failure as a mentor to young John, in the short time it has taken me to put this article to paper I have come to think of you as my protégé, Andy, and I want you to know that the advice I’m giving you here is pure unadulterated gold. Women don’t want men to watch sport because women know that if men are given free reign to watch sport all day, every day, then the need for female companionship will dwindle to nothingness, and the human race will face extinction.

You may think that I’m overstating the seriousness of an unrestrained

“Streakin” good love advice

male appetite for sport, but I can assure you, I’m not. Consider this, has Rugby ever forced you to have dinner with its mother? Has a game of cricket ever insisted you accompany it to the gynecologist? I think not. Although, as an interesting side note, in the mid 80s David Boon and I once posed as gynecologists on a flight to London, after several beverages we found ourselves locked in the lavatory with a stewardess. It gets a little hazy after that, but I can recall seeing perhaps the most splendorous union of man and woman since Adam and Eve. It was impossible to tell where she ended and Boony’s moustache began, but that’s a matter for a different time.

You may think there are some discrepancies in my doomsday theory, largely the insatiable need men have to satisfy their sexual urges. If we are allowed to view sport at will, the consumption of beer by the average man will almost quadruple, making the bulk of us lethargic, impotent and dimwitted. Only elite minds such as mine will be able to resist slipping into this coma of sloth and ignorance. Our reward? Wave after of wave of women frustrated by the collective apathy of their partners.

In short, Andy, it’s only natural for you to choose sport over your girlfriend, but every time you do, it pushes her closer to a man like me, so you never know, the next time you ditch her to watch the cricket she might wind up checking out a very different middle stump.

Frank

SENSIBLE SUSAN Andy, Don’t let Frank scare you, he’s been dying to voice his doomsday theory ever since he saw 2012. You shouldn’t have to choose sport over your girlfriend, I think the key to this whole situation is compromise.

Let her know how passionately you feel about sport, but also that you’re sensitive to her needs. Try suggesting a picnic in the morning, so that you might watch the game in the afternoon, if you can reach a compromise I think both you and your girlfriend will be a lot happier.

Susan

MadMumzie.com

Robots Need Humans? Humans Need Robots?

Dad rang me in a panic after watching the news on autonomous trucks. “You will be out of a job; robots are taking over!”

I calmly replied, “I bet they didn’t mention the one that crashed into the water cart!”

The big miners are set to increase driverless train, drill, and truck numbers where people will run the show from computers in the big smoke.

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9th November 2015

Would you enjoy sitting at home on a PlayStation and getting paid for it? If so, you may like this mining job more than being a digger driver.

However, as Real Miner has pointed out, robots will need people to service and fix them, so fitters’ jobs will continue to be secure. On the bright side of this topic, there will be fewer operator error issues to deal with!

All of this prompted me to think, “What can I automate in my life?”

I already have one robot at home Robocop. Robocop is a vacuum cleaner that zips around sucking up messes as I follow, watching his pursuits. Because he does need my help to be automated, the robot does not save me time, but it definitely requires less of my energy.

For example, when my assistance is needed, the robot’s American accent informs me, “Error: Clean brushes or Error: Move robot.” He continues to get stuck under the lounge over and over again, disregarding my pleas to not go under there! I also have to empty the dust out and make sure his docking station is accessible to power for charging. It is quite high maintenance really!

The same company makes a gutter cleaning robot that flicks the leaves out of roof gutters. Cool right? Sadly, he would not work in my gutters. Hmmm, is it time for new ones?

I think a robot for cleaning walls and high ceilings here in Queensland would be a great invention and have researched in the past to see if anyone is getting close.

My idea is for one that eats up the mould

that grows due to our high humidity.

There is a shower robot on the drawing board that is similar to a pool vac. The makers have my concept, but it needs water and a hose, which might not be too good on the carpet. Real Miner says it needs to be like a sucker fish in my fish tank. Yep that’s it. Maybe someone could breed up an insect or something. Perhaps it would be as successful as the cane toad!

What could a robot do for you - outside of taking your position at work? I guess if they do automate everything, we operators will have time to clean the floors, gutters and mouldy walls! Perhaps I could become a fitter for the driverless trucks.

However, I think being the PlayStation style miner is more up my alley, as I don’t like to get very dirty. Or I could be the Australian distributor for your mould robot. Email me!

Mad Mumzie X Google “Madmumzie” to go to my website.

Shift Miner Magazine

Off Shift

www.shiftminer.com

“Wharts” and all CHAPTER 3:

American bosses we had a dust problem, and the foreman who reported this to the office was told that if we didn’t return to work, everyone would be dismissed.

After a short meeting, we went on strike for 48 hours.

Later we discovered that Mr Bloggs had rung the Biloela Police requesting that someone be sent out to get the men back to work. The reply he got back from the police can’t be printed here.

What made matters worse for the company, was that two other mines went out in sympathy.

The American bosses talked to us after that through an accountant, and then through the registered manager, who up until then had been bypassed.

The manager was a very nice fellow named Ken Burley who left the company

After allowing the new bosses time to settle in, the Union Reps decided to organise a meeting with them to discuss a few differences that were emerging.

Well on the chosen day, the Union Reps made their way to Joe Bloggs’ office where they were asked to wait outside in the hot sun, because his secretary said there wasn’t room inside.

After an hour, the secretary led the Union Reps inside where they met the big chief at his office door, and before they could say a word Mr Bloggs says : “Gentleman I do not believe in Unions, the people that sign the paychecks around here run the show, now good day to you gentleman”.

The Union Reps were then politely shown the door by the smiling secretary.

So good days were to come A short time after this encounter with the

Here come the Yanks Those of you who have been following this column will notice that most of my writing relates to Moura Mine.

The reason for this is that Moura Mine was where a lot of the fights for the conditions we know today in modern mining begun.

Back in the early to mid 1960’s, Thiess Brothers knew that to get things moving at Moura they would need a partner to provide the money and know-how. After a global search they convinced Peabody Mining in America to join as the senior partner.

So here came the Yanks.

The first of the Peabody big bosses was a bloke I will call Joe Bloggs and his offsider was called Joe Bloggs the Second. I won’t use their real names, since neither of them will have a right of reply. However they brought with them some different ideas about how to manage the workforce.

by CQ mining stalwart

Tom Wharton

shortly after the strike, and was replaced with another good bloke named Keith Mercer.

However once again, he was ruled over by the general manager, which was the way the Americans did things.

After a period, the first large dragline went into operation. The operation of this dragline became another battleground between the unions and the American bosses.

The bosses said: ”No Aussie would ever sit in the driver’s seat”, but eventually they did so the Union won that one.

Meanwhile families were still living in terrible conditions in tents near the mine and on the Dawson River, and it was decided to address this problem.

Workers were advised by the unions to save some money in case the battle took a long time.

I will look at that in my next column.

About the author: Tom started work at Moura mine around 1962, and has since held official positions with the unions as well as leadership roles for various mining companies. In 1999 he took a voluntary redundancy from his role as a process coordinator, but re-entered the industry in 2001 as a dragline supervisor and then later as an Open Cut Examiner. He has worked at mines across the Bowen Basin.

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LAST EDITION’S SOLUTIONS T E S T T U B E I I L A D L I B B E M V I M E L E V A T I D R S E T C H S V I WH I NG E S A G E O T R I E R D T L S A I MA G E S N N Y GU T T E D

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# 78

Numbers You Can Count On* *When audited by the CAB

Shift Miner Handy Cross blank grid.pdf ©Lovatts Publications 5/03/09 artist – mb

M A G A Z I N E

www.shiftminer.com

Proudly Audited by

For more information visit www.auditbureau.org.au

9th November 2015

19

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