Mining NZ - Spring 2016

SPRING 2016

Over the Edge Members of the OceanaGold Waihi Mines Rescue Team put their abseiling skills to good use recently in works at the Martha Open Pit mine.

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Contents »

Spring 2016

Contents

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9 Golden Cross sets standard The rehabilitation programme at the Golden Cross mine near Waihi has set a new standard for environmental protection.

14 A passion for mining For Mark Pizey, Worksafe’s new chief inspector (extractives), mining is very much in the blood.

16 Learning from the past A new book recounts the story of five young Norwegians who began mining in Otago’s Waitahuna Gully 150 years ago.

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21 Leaving a legacy Christchurch’s Isaac Construction has been recognised for its environmental efforts at its McLean’s Island quarry.

16 If you have an image you think would look great on the cover, contact us: Phone 03 983 5559 Email nick@waterfordpress.co.nz www.waterfordpress.co.nz Cover photo courtesy of OceanaGold

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4 Mining NZ » Spring 2016

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News »

Rising costs a cause for concern Jo Bailey Increased compliance costs and pressure to pay higher wages are making life difficult for many alluvial gold miners, says Brett Cummings, president of the Commercial Goldminers’ Association, and board member of Minerals West Coast.

“Costs have increases, the risk has increased, but there is no extra gold in the ground.

“The alluvial guys who mine full time seem to be struggling the most but some of the guys with other strings to their bow such as farming or contracting are just hanging in there too.

“How much longer people will stick with it, I don’t know.”

He says that the proposed New Zealand Petroleum and Minerals rate increases, the rise in health and safety compliance and training costs, payments to the Crown, Regional Councils, District Councils, the Department of Conservation (if on DOC land), and landowners, including Maori, takes a big chunk out of any profits before operating costs are even considered.

“The other issue facing the alluvial guys is finding good people who want to do a week’s work for a reasonable rate.

“Some guys who have been paid exorbitant wages by big mining companies think they are worth a lot more money for doing the same job.”

Risks are also increasing from an operational perspective, he says.

“If anything the gold is getting harder to find, so the risks are bigger. Mining marginal ground isn’t really worth it any more because of the extra costs.

“People are having to strip off up to 20 metres of overburden before they can even start work.”

Brett says the same applies to endowment land turned into ecological areas by DOC. “There is a lot of good land locked up with DOC that no one is game to take on because it’s too costly.”

He says bureaucracy has gone ‘crazy’ since the days when an alluvial miner sent in an application, was given a square on a map and told to go for it.

“There is an incredible amount of paperwork to complete these days, and the potential for NZP&M enforcement officers to take a license away if testing isn’t completed within their time frame.

“This removes the flexibility for miners to delay testing until closer to mining to save costs.”

Tough road: increased compliance costs and pressure to pay higher wages are making life difficult for many alluvial gold miners.

If alluvial miners start to walk away and the licenses are ‘sitting there doing nothing’ because people can’t afford to mine them, it’s a ‘lose lose’ situation, he says.

“Getting that across to the government is the biggest problem. Here on the West Coast we have the issue of three different District Councils and the Regional Council to comply with, adding another layer of costs.

“The Regional Council are great to deal with and help us all a lot. I think it would be a lot more streamlined if they took over the whole thing.”

Minerals West Coast manager Phil McKinnell says there is still reasonably strong activity in the alluvial gold mining sector on the West Coast, which has remained constant over the last three to five years.

“The increase in gold price, drop in the New Zealand dollar and lower fuel prices have definitely added to the bottom line.

“The alluvial guys who mine full time seem to be struggling the most but some of the guys with other strings to their bow such as farming or contracting are just hanging in there too.”

“However the regulatory regime isn’t conducive to new players, with the proposed fee increase for permit application, increased cost to access land, and compliance to the Resource Management Act among several barriers to entry.”

He says the additional costs have put continued pressure on existing miners, and only the most committed alluvial gold miners are entering the industry.

“While the idea of gold mining is quite attractive, there needs to be the realisation of how hard it is to operate within the industry.

Guys work really hard, put in long hours, and it is high risk in terms of finances.

“You certainly have to know what you’re doing and surround yourself with the right people giving the right advice to make a go of it.

However there are definitely still opportunities along with the challenges.”

Spring 2016 » Mining NZ 5

News »

Rangitira holds high hopes for Te Kuha Hugh de Lacy There’s potential for downstream local industry participation in the proposal by Rangitira Developments Ltd to open an opencast highquality coking coal mine at Te Kuha, 12km from Westport on the West Coast.

The estimated four-million-tonne deposit is of such quality that Rangitira will pitch its output at the carbon fibre and chemical industry markets, as well as offering it for blending with other coals for the main global coking-coal market, the steelmaking industry.

Rangitira, whose principal shareholder is longestablished New Zealand firm Stevenson Mining Ltd, is applying to the Buller District Council (BDC) for resource consent to mine their 109-hectare prospect, and to the Department of Conservation (DoC) for an 11ha access permit.

The DoC application has already been lodged and has attracted about 70 supportive and a dozen opposing submissions.

The BDC application was expected to be lodged by the beginning of September, and both applications are seeking terms of between 10 and 25 years.

Rangitira would sink $20m into what it calls the Te Kuha Project which would create 64 permanent jobs in a region battered by the closure of much of the Coast’s coking-coal mines in the wake of the Global Financial Crisis.

As well as the permanent jobs, the Te Kuha Project would create a further 18 jobs indirectly, as well as 64 during the construction period and six during the rehabilitation.

Operations Manager Anne Brewster told Business Mining that Te Kuha would be operated as a boutique mine, aiming at the high-end specialist coal market and creating the opportunity for further processing on the Coast.

Though not part of the proposal, an activated carbon plant supplied by the mine is “just one of the options,” Brewster said.

“We would very much like to add value as close to the source as possible.”

She said the mine would operate only during the day and only Monday to Friday, making it an attractive employer to local residents.

Stevenson Mining is a privately-owned company founded in 1948, and since 2011 has operated the Rotowaro opencast mine in Huntly.

The company has extensive experience in the South island, having worked at the Ohai and Coaldale coalmines in Southland, as well as the Oceana goldmine at Macraes in East Otago.

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Exploration programme management Geological mapping and 3D modelling Resource evaluation and certification Mine drainage consulting, research, sampling and testing - Gas content testing of coal

6 Mining NZ » Spring 2016

Members of the OceanaGold Waihi Mines Rescue Team abseiled down the south wall of the Martha open pit to install prisms on the rock face.

Mines Rescue Team’s skills put to good use Members of the OceanaGold Waihi Mines Rescue Team recently abseiled down the south wall of the Martha open pit to install prisms on the rock face.

The prisms contain small mirrors which reflect laser beams and are used for survey control in the open pit.

The measurements provided allow the company to accurately monitor each wall via a monitoring station which has been recently moved. This relocation provided the opportunity to realign existing prisms and add to the network.

Mines Rescue coordinator Dave Oliver says that installing the prisms gave members of the team a good chance to practice their rope skills.

“Even if the access road to the bottom of the pit was currently available we would still be abseiling down the walls to install the prisms.

“It’s the best way to complete the job, and it’s good practice for the team.”

The OceanaGold Waihi Mines Rescue Team is used to being called upon by Emergency Services. Their skills in vertical rescue at height and depth, combined with their fitness, training and specialist equipment mean their assistance is highly valued in the community as well as on site. Over recent years the team has extracted a casualty with a broken leg who was trapped by large seas at the Bowentown Heads, rescued a kayaker from the base of a cliff in heavy seas, extricated a dog from a precarious ledge on a Bowentown cliff face, and assisted with search and rescue operations.

Team members say they are fortunate that the company makes the them available to assist Emergency Services in the region.

Dave says that just as they were returning to the Rescue Station at the end of the day after installing prisms, the team was placed on standby by the LandSar as a party had become trapped on a ledge in the Karangahake Gorge.

“As it turned out, we weren’t needed, but Emergency Services know we are here, know our capabilities and equipment, and that we are ready to provide our skills where needed.”

“We have equipment and expertise that civilian services do not have, so it makes sense to help where we can. As a whole team, we’re available 24 hours a day for incidents on site, but our local and regional rescue services also know we are also available around the clock with our specialised skills and equipment to back them up at any time,” says Dave. “‘This is what we train for, and although we train for incidents on site at Waihi we are increasingly being called on to assist in the wider community. But it’s not just us. If we are out then we know someone is covering our shift or a job we would normally do back on site, so this isn’t just Mines Rescue, it’s the whole of OceanaGold Waihi; managers, supervisors and all other staff.”

Demand drives up price for coking coal Hugh de Lacy Global coking coal prices have shunned the wild swings in thermal coal prices – and even those in iron ore prices – to be knocking on the door of the $100/tonne mark.

Iron ore rallied spectacularly by 86% between its December low and its April high, but has since dropped back 23% to around $53/tonne.

By contrast, coking coal, the vital ingredient of steel-making and a commodity in which New Zealand is rich, gained only 20% between December and late April, but continued its rise

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thereafter, reaching $94/t in mid-August.

The disparity between the performances of the two mutually dependent commodities is accounted for by steadily rising imports of coking coal from both China and India, neither of which has large reserves of their own, even as their hunger for iron ore and thermal coal have waxed and waned.

Chinese imports of coking coal rose 14.7% (16.8 million tonnes) over the first four months of this year compared to last, and to meet the demand Australian production climbed 27.8%.

The price New Zealand exporters receive for its coking coal, most of which goes to Japan, is dictated by the Australian one.

New Brisbane joint venture - CB3 Ltd Spontaneous combustion testing Combustion analysis and testing Gasification and carbonisation research Advanced nano-materials research and development Coal and minerals processing research

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While China’s demand for coking coal is encouraging, it is overshadowed by India, which in 2015 imported more coking coal for its steel industry than China did. India’s steel production is expected to keep rising by 8% through to 2021, while at the same time China is cutting back on its own coal production.

The world’s biggest exporter, Australian giant BHP Billiton, is predicting long-term demand growth driven by China and India, supported by the smaller emerging economies with steel-making capacity.

BHP is hacking at its production costs, aiming to get them down to around $52/t over the next couple of years.

Coal and combustion testing Chemical analysis on fuels Water analysis - domestic to industrial Magnetic and density mineral separations X-ray diffraction and X-ray fluorescence (XRF & XRD) Acid base accounting and kinetic testing

News »

AusIMM NZ well set for the future Jo Bailey As the New Zealand Branch of the AusIMM celebrates 50 years, it can look forward to the future with confidence and optimism, according to a paper titled The New Zealand Branch of the AusIMM – Fifty Years On written by mining engineers Nic MacArthur and Michael Buckenham, who will present it at the upcoming branch conference.

The report notes the high levels of competence, member participation and support, financial and membership growth, and educational support in the New Zealand Branch, and says the ‘spectacular’ Annual Conference is a model for all branches, bringing together professionals and practitioners of all mineral and related disciplines.

“Through its capable and long serving officers and its focus on members’ professional needs, the Branch has performed highly creditably as a professional society,” said the report.

Although the official formation of the New Zealand Branch of AusIMM was in 1966, its origins can be traced back as far as 1897, when a group of 80 mining personnel formed the New Zealand Institute of Mining Engineers.

The organisation was short-lived and disbanded in 1900 after only four years with 28 of its members joining the Australasian Institute instead. An Auckland branch of the Institute was established in 1911 but was also disbanded by 1914. Until the 1960s, New Zealanders involved in the minerals sector joined the Australian based parent Institute, with various local members serving as the correspondent or councillor for New Zealand.

Tasman (Tas) McKee, managing director of Lime & Marble Ltd, was elected as a councillor

in 1965, with his appointment coinciding with the Eighth Commonwealth Mining and Metallurgical Congress, held in Australia and New Zealand, as well as the publication of Gordon Williams’ Economic Geology of New Zealand, which became the ‘bible’ for those engaged in mineral exploration in New Zealand.

With rapid growth occurring in the sector, Tas McKee decided the time was right to establish a New Zealand Branch of AusIMM and called into the Wellington Mines Department Office to discuss the possibility.

With Institute approval, the inaugural meeting of the New Zealand Branch of AusIMM was held on Monday 18 April 1966, and was attended by around 60 members and their guests.

Apart from small grants from Melbourne, most of the early financing of the Branch depended on donations from the minerals industry and grants from residual funds from the Commonwealth Congress in 1965.

Students have been an important part of the New Zealand Branch since its inception, with 24 Otago School of Mines students who were already members of the parent Institute, switching to the local branch on its formation.

Gordon Williams promoted student membership with the surplus from the first and second editions of his book going to the Branch. Michael Buckenham was on the founding committee and has been a member of the Branch

ever since. This attention to student membership has continued throughout the history of the New Zealand Branch, with a fund to provide annual grants for tertiary student papers first introduced in 1977.

In 1985, Vivienne Bull achieved the distinction of being the first woman Branch Chair of the Institute, a position she held until 1987, and again from 1997 to 1999.

The 1990s was a time of turbulence and change for the Branch and Institute, starting with wholesale structural reform and legislative changes introduced by the New Zealand Government in the early 1990s.

This included the enactment of the Resource Management Act, Crown Minerals Act and Health and Safety in Employment Act, as well as the restructuring of the Mines Inspectorate.

At the same time, in Australia there was dissatisfaction among members that the parent body was being run by an old boys’ network of mining executives, who maintained a tight grip on Institute affairs.

As membership declined and funds decreased an independent review by The Allen Consulting Group was commissioned, which resulted in sweeping changes.

Closer ties between the New Zealand and Australian operations were a positive legacy of the changes. The New Zealand Branch has faced other challenges. Deciding what role, if

“Through its capable and long serving officers and its focus on members’ professional needs, the Branch has performed highly creditably as a professional society.”

any advocacy should play has been problematic throughout its history, particularly following the deregulation of the 1990s.

There is also the question of how to fill the gap in tertiary mining engineering education.

Since the closing of the Otago School of Mines in 1986 and its successor at Auckland University in 1994, the Institute has not involved itself in this issue.

Scholarships introduced for students to study in Australia in the late 2000s petered out.

Current student membership is only around five percent of total membership, which indicates that the Branch’s student programmes may not be yielding the desired and expected returns.

Today the New Zealand Branch supports its members through a wide range of initiatives, such as its Annual Conference featuring highlevel presentations, field trips, short courses, a trade show, social events and an opportunity for students to showcase their work.

Additional guest lectures, technical meetings and short courses are run throughout New Zealand.

Students and young professionals in the industry are supported with scholarships, grants, sponsorships, prizes and promotions.

Industry liaison with a range of other groups is another focus of the New Zealand Branch of AusIMM, which also supports a range of mining heritage projects.

There are currently 251 paid up members in the organisation, down from its peak of 330 in 2014, but well up from the 144 members in the organisation in 2001.

As the paper by Nic MacArthur and Michael Buckenham suggests, the New Zealand Branch of AusIMM appears to be well positioned as it moves into the second half century of its existence.

Packed programme to mark the first 50 years Jo Bailey Delegates can expect a packed programme at the annual conference of the AusIMM New Zealand branch, which has a ’50 Years’ theme in line with the Institute’s fiftieth anniversary.

Several exploration history and mining heritage themed presentations will feature at the event, being held at Te Papa from September 3-6.

Presenters giving special addresses include long term branch members Michael Buckenham, who along with Nic MacArthur has written a paper on the history of the AusIMM New Zealand branch, and John Taylor, who is covering mining heritage topics.

A number of presentations will also look forward the next 50 years, which should raise some interesting questions and possible developments in the minerals and coal industries are discussed.

These sessions complement the conference’s regular technical programme with its usual range of geoscience research, exploration, mining, geotechnical, environmental, legislative, and health and safety topics.

The latest AusIMM Monograph on New Zealand mineral deposits will be launched at the start of the conference by the chair of the conference organising committee, Tony Christie, of GNS Science.

Field trips and short courses are taking place on Saturday September 3, followed by registration and welcome cocktails at Te Papa that evening.

The first full day of presentations will get

Presenters giving special addresses include long term branch members Michael Buckenham and John Taylor, who is covering mining heritage topics. underway on Sunday with technical and geological oriented papers. Also on the Sunday will be the Tas McKee address given by AusIMM president, Rex Berthelsen, along with student presentations, and a Student/Industry function in the evening.

A packed programme of plenary sessions is planned for Monday 4th and Tuesday 5th September. The address by Minister for Energy and Resources Simon Bridges will be a feature of the Monday sessions, along with a forum on government mining policy, the industry leaders’ updates, and the annual state of the industry talks by Tony Haworth and Matt Freeman.

The conference dinner at Parliament buildings on the Tuesday evening is expected to be another highlight of the programme, along with some special award presentations.

As the New Zealand Branch gets set to celebrate 50 years, conference organisers are hoping for a strong turnout of around 350 delegates at the event.

Whangarei

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Auckland

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Taupo

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Nelson Westport

Christchurch Temuka

Dunedin Invercargill

Spring 2016 » Mining NZ 7

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CRP bounces back from consent blow Hugh de Lacy The fortunes of would-be Chatham Rise undersea phosphate miner Chatham Rock Phosphate (CRP) have rebounded from the blow of being denied a marine resource consent by the Environmental Protection Authority last year.

The listed company’s share-price is at only nine cents, valuing the company at $7.24 million, compared to the $490m it was worth before the EPA’s decision. But a big and widely spread portfolio of shareholders has stuck to CPR, the former penny dreadful whose recent $600,000 share purchase plan was over-subscribed.

New corner shareholders have also been drawn in from Malaysia, Switzerland and Germany, chief executive Chris Castle said in a letter to shareholders last month.

The share purchase brings to a little over $3m the amount CRP has raised since the EPA decision, “despite our share price having been slaughtered”, Castle noted.

“Our ability to raise money against the odds underscores the fundamental attractiveness of the Chatham Rise project, and the perceptiveness of our ever-enlarging shareholder base,” Castle told Mining NZ. Castle said that directors and management interests, and two new cornerstone investor groups, now each held about 13% of the company.

September could see the company gaining a listing on the minerals-friendly Toronto Stock Exchange following its reverse takeover of New Zealand minnow Antipodes Gold, the former Glass Earth Gold.

“Together with the Antipodes shell we inherit some funds associated with the merger, a Toronto director, 1003 resource-sector shareholders in a number of countries, and a Canadian corporate support structure.

“This merger will strengthen Chatham, complement our New Zealand listing and provide new opportunities for existing Antipodes shareholders,” Castle said.

“Our ability to raise money against the odds underscores the fundamental attractiveness of the Chatham Rise project....”

Further boosting CRP’s attraction to investors is the independent research report into the company by Geneva-based investment banking firm RAMPartners SA. RAMPartners valued CRP at $472m, and recommended it as a buy prospect with a price target of 50c against the current nine cents.

The report was built around assumptions on the market price of rock phosphate, a key ingredient in New Zealand farming that is presently almost entirely imported from Morocco, as well as projected production costs and currency interactions, and the risks still facing the company over resource consents.

CRP has decided to follow Trans Tasman Resources (TTR), earlier bilked by the EPA of an ironsands project off the west coast of the North Island, in lodging another consent application.

A sign that the second attempt may be more successful has come in the form of the Office of the Ombudsman’s agreement to investigate the way the EPA levied charges against the applicants.

A widely-held view within the extractives industry is that TTR and CRP were both originally denied consent because of the inadequacies of the EPA’s investigation processes rather than the environmental impacts of the projects themselves.

Battery Room focus for ‘Thames 150’ Web-based

training for quarry sector

Jo Bailey Opening the old, historic Battery Room at the Thames School of Mines to the public is one of the main activities planned in a packed programme for ‘The Thames 150’, celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Thames goldfield.

John Isdale of Thames School of Mines says a lot of work is being completed to get the Battery Room ready for its opening in August 2017, with the team behind the initiative focused on ‘achievable outcomes’ rather than presenting a completely finished product.

“Getting the room open so people can look at some really significant New Zealand mining history will be a good first step.”

The Battery Room - sometimes referred to as an “experimental metallurgical works” was important in the huge strides made in increasing gold recovery from various ores in New Zealand, he says.

“James Park, the second director of the school was at the forefront of the use of cyanide, with the plant in the Battery Room at the Thames School used for training operators in this process from throughout the country.”

John says it is understood the first cyanide plant set up in South Africa even had Thames School of Mines input, with one of its ex-pupils sent over to assist.

Back in New Zealand, experimentation went beyond cyanide with two other nineteenth century gold extraction improvements - chlorination and the Wilfley table also installed.

“While the former was not found efficacious with local ores, the Wilfley tables found application at places like Waiomu that had complex refractory ores.”

The complex ores were another major focus for Thames School of Mines and the work in its Battery Room, says John.

Karen Phelps

The Battery Room - sometimes referred to as an “experimental metallurgical works” was important in the huge strides made in increasing gold recovery from various ores in New Zealand.

“Not all trials of new methods and technology were successful.

“Professor Black, who had been in charge of getting Schools of Mines going in the mid 1880s, patented a permanganate process which was installed for a full scale trial that did not replicate the lab test results.”

The Thames School of Mines is also planning a photographic exhibition to mark the 150th anniversary, and is one of a number of groups in Thames who plan to celebrate the region’s rich mining heritage throughout 2017.

The Hauraki Prospectors Association, which runs a gold mine experience, is planning to get

an older Stamper Battery running, while the Bella Street Pumphouse Association runs a Museum of Technology housed in a building that provided the power supply to the last big pump on the Thames goldfield.

“We cover a fair bit between us, and there are other community groups also keen to get involved in the celebrations.”

Other events planned include an exhibition at the Thames Historical Museum, Thames Goldrush Market, a Fashion Extravaganza called ‘Going for Gold’, Proclamation of Thames Goldfields, Wearable Arts Show, Heritage Tour Event and Steampunk Festival.

In a new initiative, the Institute of Quarrying (IoQ) NZ is offering a series of monthly webinars from anywhere in the country for those wanting to undertake training that counts towards Continued Professional Development.

Under the scheme people register and pay for the chosen course and are then issued with a password. At the appropriate time they log onto the course via their internet connection and view the live presentation.

There is also the opportunity to interact with the presenter by asking questions via an online chat facility during the webinar.

“People can complete their training on a break at work then head back to work afterwards or choose an after hours course if they prefer,” says IoQ NZ president Les Ward.

He says finding the time to complete training has always been an issue.

“Webinars mean people don’t have to spend time travelling to courses making it much more convenient to complete CPD.” The webinars have been developed by working closely with the Institute of Quarrying New Zealand’s sister organisation in Australia.

“Australia has been offering webinar training for some time,” says Les. “We didn’t need to reinvent the wheel so we’ve worked with them to access content to develop our own series,” explains Les. IoQ NZ has also appointed a dedicated webinar training facilitator, Ray Haley.

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Golden Cross work sets the standard Jo Bailey A world-class rehabilitation programme at Golden Cross gold and silver mine near Waihi has set a new standard for successful environmental protection during mine operation and closure.

“We are very proud of what has been achieved,” says Jeff Sanderson, a former electrical foreman during the mine’s operating days in the 1990s who has been its caretaker during the rehabilitation works under contract to Coeur Mining, the Chicago based owners of Golden Cross.

“The site has been returned to working farmland, with the former tailings storage facility stabilised and converted into a wetland ringed by native vegetation. Signposted walkways reaching the wider Whangamata Peninsula are enjoyed by a number of walkers throughout the year.”

Barely a trace of mining activity remains, apart from some foundations that were purposefully left behind, says Jeff.

“This was done as a reminder of the past in keeping with old foundations left at the historic mine workings in the early 1900s. Back then there was a massive town up there.”

Around 80,000 ounces of gold were recovered from underground workings in the area between 1895 and 1920.

Further exploration was carried out at the site in the 1970s and 1980s, revealing its ongoing potential.

Mining got underway at Golden Cross again in 1991, and from 1993 was operated in a joint venture between Coeur Gold New Zealand (holding 80%) and Viking Mining Ltd (20%).

At its peak the mine employed 243 staff, with an additional 750 employed in service and support industries.

The open-pit and underground gold and silver operation produced 584,000 ounces of gold and 1,675,000 ounces of silver from five million tonnes of ore between December 1991 and April 1998, when a deep seated ground movement was identified and the mine was closed to ensure long term stability of the tailing storage facility.

Key factors in the successful rehabilitation of the site were the enhanced Closure Plan put in place by the joint venture to establish a sustainable land use by commissioning engineered facilities designed to last for perpetuity, as well as ongoing consultation with the local community.

Site works focused on the issues of handling the site stormwater, compacting and sealing acid generating waste, and creating long term stable structures.

Waste rock partially filled the open pit and the slopes were re-contoured. This area and other disturbed ground including the former tailings storage facility were covered in soil and sown in grass and trees.

The Golden Cross site has been returned to working farmland, with the former tailings storage facility stabilised and converted into a wetland ringed by native vegetation.

“Stability was the main issue in the early phase of the rehabilitation. However the site has been remarkably stable for the last 10 years or so. It is now very well farmed by a sheep and cattle farmer who uses it has a run-off,” says Jeff.

Infrastructure was removed apart from the water treatment plant, which continues to operate at the site and is monitored by Jeff.

“I visit the site every day to check the plant, and also have remote access via computer. I’m alerted if I need to alter any settings or return to the site.”

A major aim of the rehabilitation works was to ensure the best possible water chemistry was achieved as quickly as possible following mine closure. Surface draining water from the site can be discharged into receiving water in a high quality stream without the need for further treatment.

Jeff is also responsible for environmental compliance monitoring and taking care of day-today operations at the site.

Jay Gear, Director, Environmental Permitting of Coeur Mining in Chicago says care and maintenance activities pursuant to post mining land uses and future sustaining interests will continue.

“The Golden Cross mine was returned to a condition that allows for the establishment of a self-sustaining ecosystem and creates stable and productive post-mining land uses for wildlife, tree farming, grazing, pasture, recreation, and mineral exploration. Site rehabilitation has been completed and the mine site has been returned to its former farmland use with livestock grazing and pasture management activity.”

A grazing plan has been implemented and will continue, which includes managing the lands for grazing and rotating stock. Other associated activities include fertilization, weed control, fence control, and grazing rotation practices.

Maintenance of current land management practices will ensure that vegetation cover remains

“The Golden Cross mine represents successful and sustainable reclamation that was based on sound science and engineering practices.”

effective and erosion is controlled. Ongoing site works are also focused on continued pumping and treatment of underground mine water.

“Continued operations of the water treatment facility will occur until untreated mine water meets surface water quality discharge objectives,” he says. “Overall, the rehabilitation process to date has proved a success and the site has continually met downstream water quality compliance conditions”’ Other post closure care and maintenance monitoring activities also continue, involving water quality monitoring, erosion control, vegetative success monitoring, geotechnical monitoring associated with the historic landslip.

“Overall, the Golden Cross mine represents successful and sustainable reclamation that was based on sound science and engineering practices.

“We are committed to environmental excellence and strong reclamation fundamentals from initial exploration through sustainable future land uses.”

While these rehabilitation efforts at Golden Cross have been, and continue to be, successful, there are valuable mineral resources that still remain.

Accordingly, recommencing mining remains a potential option for the area. However, there are no current plans to recommence mining at Golden Cross but no decision to rule out future mining has been made either.

Spring 2016 » Mining NZ 9

Gold » Industry News

Tragedy overshadows result Hugh de Lacy The tragic death of an underground mineworker at its Waihi mine in the North Island has cast a shadow over a spectacular first half result for the country’s biggest goldmining company, OceanaGold Corporation.

Tipiwai Stainton, 29, died when the 50-tonne loader he was driving rolled in the early evening of July 28 while he was backfilling waste rock about 200 metres below the surface.

The mine was immediately shut while investigations into the accident took place, and the body was recovered in the early hours of the following morning.

The fatality soured the company’s recordable injury frequency rate which had dropped 74% over the preceding half-decade.

The accident came at a time when Oceana had almost tripled its 2016 first-half profit, riding the

rising market for a 174% gain to $US63 million ($NZ86.3m) compared to the same period last year.

Gold sales rose around 30% to $US331m ($NZ453m) while production costs rose only 14% to $US79.6m ($NZ109m), helped by lower diesel prices and a softening New Zealand dollar, as spot gold climbed to $US1335 an ounce ($NZ1829/oz) compared to $US1087/oz ($NZ1489/oz) a year earlier.

Production was up 27% to 225,339oz, while copper output from the gold-copper porphyry in the Philippines hit 12,244 tonnes.

The company does not issue dividends but the six-monthly result saw its New Zealand-listed shares climb over the $5 mark, a 73% gain during a period when the NZX 50 Index rose 25%.

Oceana also received a one-off payment of $US34m ($NZ46.5m) from the sale of the mining fleet it took over at Haile under a lease-back agreement with Caterpillar.

The result endorses Oceana’s rapid expansion

over the past couple of years which included buying the historic Martha Pit and associated underground mines at Waihi from Newmont Gold in 2015, and starting development of the Haile mine in the United States which will come into production next year.

The company is not resting on its laurels, with plans over the next two years to activate six more New Zealand exploration permits in the northern Bay of Plenty and the Coromandel, with $10m budgeted to drill 34km of exploratory holes.

Helping the bottom line is the reduction in spending from the Reefton mines on the West Coast which are being wound down.

Topping off the bright picture for the company has been the expansion of its revolving credit facility with its current banks to $US300m ($NZ411m) from $US250m ($BNZ342m) on broadly existing terms.

Chief executive Mick Wilkes said the strong first half left the company “well positioned to achieve its production and cost guidance for the year.”

Gold price holding after Brexit boost Hugh de Lacy The $US100/ounce ($NZ140/oz) jump in the global gold price on the day the Brexit vote result came out seems to have had the potential over time to either boost or burst the value of the precious metal, which quietly climbed 25% in 2016, its biggest move in 36 years.

Investors fled into gold when the shock result of Brexit came out on July 24, and whether bullion continues to rise at its earlier rate, or slumps back into a long-term holding or shrinking pattern, will likely depend on Britain’s reaction to the vote to

leave the European Union.

The initial British response, that the people had spoken and they must be obeyed, has steadily softened to the point where a credible campaign to overturn the vote in the British Parliament is under way.

The Brexit vote was, after all, non-binding, and more of a reflection on the flooding of Europe, and by association Britain, with Syrian refugees over the past couple of years than any deep underlying disaffection with the EU itself.

Last December gold was at $US1045/oz ($NZ1432/oz), compared to its 2011 all-time high of $US1923/oz ($NZ2634/oz), and on June 23,

Fire protection crucial for expensive mine equipment Protecting mining equipment from fire could save companies millions of dollars, says Steve Benseman from Fire Suppression Systems.

“If companies have a complete burn-out of one of their key pieces of equipment, it could be out of action for up to a year which would cost them an awful lot of money.”

Benseman says the lead time to replace highly specialised mining and construction equipment is currently around 50 weeks from when an order is placed to when it arrives in New Zealand.

“That’s why it is imperative companies protect their existing machinery as the combination of large amounts of fuel, hydraulic oil, extremely hot surfaces and electrical components create an operating environment with an inherently high fire risk.”

Benseman has 13 years experience in advising, installing and maintaining fire suppression systems at New Zealand mine sites.

He says it is important companies deal with a specialist such as Fire Suppression Systems to ensure their systems meet the testing and certified standards required of the industry.

“Some of our competitors dabble in fire suppression work outside their core business, but I believe we’re the only company in New Zealand to focus solely on mobile equipment fire suppression.”

Fire Suppression Systems offers a full range of systems for the mining, construction, drilling, forestry and mobile equipment industries.

Benseman is based in Auckland and employs three mobile technicians who operate from other parts of the country.

Between them they visit clients’ often remote sites in fully set-up vehicles that enable them to

10 Mining NZ » Spring 2016

“We pride ourselves

the day before the vote, it was at $US1257/oz ($NZ7122/oz).

By the end of the following day it was at $US1358/oz ($NZ1860/oz) following the biggest one-day gain since January 2009.

By mid-August this year it had inched up to $US1371/oz ($NZ1878/oz), and forecasters were debating whether it would resume its pre-Brexit pattern or settle into a slowing and falling trend.

Brexit undoubtedly put the willies up a lot of investors and, in the absence of decent returns from the likes of bank deposits, it’s fair to assume that much of the money that fled to gold will stay there, at least for the time being.

Aorere looks to Nevada Listed New Zealand extractives industries investor Aorere Resources Ltd, which describes itself as a privately-held exploration company focussed on precious metals discovery and development, is buying a gold prospect in Nevada.

The prospect, called the Fondaway Canyon Project, was previously owned by American Innovative Minerals (AIM), and as part of its due diligence process Aorere commissioned a scoping report from Techbase International.

Using a series of technical reports developed between 1990 and 2013, Techbase estimated a mineralisation of 620,000 tonnes averaging 0.269 ounces per tonne for a total of 166,726 ounces.

Total recoverable gold was estimated at 142,862oz at operating costs of $US130/t ($NZ178/t), and estimated the exploration, planning, permitting and capital costs of the venture at $US39.2m ($NZ53.7m), giving the project a value of $US37.2m ($NZ51m).

The price of the transaction was $US2m ($NZ2.74m) and the business will operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Aorere called Nevada Gold Ltd (NGL).

Initially NGL had just eight weeks to raise the purchase money, but managing director Chris Castle, who is also MD of Chatham Rock Phosphate, told Business Mining this had later been extended by mutual agreement to the end of October.

“Fund-raising is well under way,” Castle said, with fellow director Simon Henderson, the founder of Glass Earth Gold (now Antipodes Gold) and Aorere, close to completing a deal.

A full range of fire suppression systems for the following surface and underground applications:

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on delivering reliable, proven products that give our customers peace of mind ....” provide complete equipment install, maintenance and servicing on-site. The expert team can also provide clients with advice on preventative measures and maintenance practices they can undertake to further reduce fire risk.

Benseman is the New Zealand agent for foam fire suppression system Sandvik NFP 1000. Around 18,000 Sandvik systems are now being used worldwide, he says.

The system is fully compliant with the new Australian standard AS5062. A key feature is that it is completely self-contained so even if there is no electricity or person to operate the system it will still activate in the event of an emergency.

Benseman says Fire Suppression Systems recently installed fire suppression systems to 115 machines for the Downer/Solid Energy Stockton Alliance on the West Coast, its biggest single install to date.

“We continue to look after every other major mine in the country.

“We pride ourselves on delivering reliable, proven products that give our customers peace of mind that their equipment and staff will be protected should a fire incident occur.”

Fire Suppression Systems P.O. Box 334081 Sunnynook, Auckland Steve Benseman Ph: 021 918 900, E-mail: sbenseman@clear.net.nz

Gold » Waikaia Gold

Waikaia Gold keeps rolling along Jo Bailey Production at the Waikaia Gold project on the Waikaia River flood plain in Northern Southland is going strong, and only just slightly down on last year’s high of around 20,000 ounces, says Sam March.

“We’re in the range of 16,000 to 20,000 ounces this year.

“The grade is good but the distribution of gold is quite different from earlier on as it is more vertically distributed. This was predictable from our drilling so has been no real surprise.”

Sam manages the project day-to-day, which employs 30 of Waikaia Gold’s own staff plus around 15 contractors from West Coast firm Rosco Contracting.

He says ongoing drilling and mine path design are both critical to the success of the project, given the volume of overburden being removed to access the gold.

“A lot of science has gone into the project and we are very well informed due to our drilling programme and modeling of the resource.

Sometimes there is a wee bit of variance but our modeling has proved pretty accurate so far.

“We’re confident in our systems to determine what’s out in front of us and are constantly monitoring our mine path design as we travel northwards.”

Waikaia Gold also keeps close tabs on the operation from their air, flying a drone around every couple of days to capture images of the mine site.

Sam says there is around 18 months left in Stage Two of the project, with operations then moving onto Stage 3, and later Stage 4 in the Garbie Burn block.

“These stages will require a bit more drilling which will be done this year.”

There is an estimated three to four years left of the seven-year life of mine, although that could be extended, says Sam. “There is the possibility we will consent other parts of the mining license but that will require further exploration.”

With an estimated resource of around 145,000 ounces, the mine is a significant alluvial gold producer by New Zealand standards, which has buffered it from the impact of increasing compliance and operating costs affecting other alluvial miners.

“As a project company the changes haven’t really impacted on us directly.

“Though I understand why miners are feeling frustrated by the system, especially the timeliness getting licenses through and the red tape around it.”

Waikaia Gold uses a bespoke floating recovery plant that works on deposits in previously unworked ground at between 15 and 19 metres deep.

“We’re confident in our systems to determine what’s out in front of us and are constantly monitoring our mine path design as we travel northwards.”

Waikaia Gold uses a bespoke floating recovery plant that works on deposits in previously unworked ground at between 15 and 19 metres deep, enabling it to reach deposits the early goldminers in the region didn’t have the technology to access.

Sam, his brother Buzz March, and managing director Warren Batt are among the company’s five directors, who spent four years gaining land access, completing feasibility studies, applying for resource consents and raising a significant

amount of private equity from a diverse range of shareholders and investors, to get the project off the ground.

“As the promoters of the project, Warren, Buzz and I and several others remain intimately involved.

I’m here almost full time, with Warren here at least monthly or bi-monthly and involved in the planning and financial side of the operation.”

Waikaia Gold has brought a lot of positive spinoffs to the local community, employing many

people from the local and wider regions, and supporting numerous organisations and sports clubs through sponsorship.

“We have a great relationship with the landowners, both the people directly and indirectly affected, and support local industry from the local Waikaia store to engineering companies and other service providers. A lot of money goes into the community, into which we now fit very well.”

The rise in gold prices over the last year is another positive factor impacting on the company, says Sam. “For the first couple of years of the project we were selling gold between NZ$1,450 and 1600 an ounce. The current gold price in the high $1800s is making a big difference, and the return would be even higher if the New Zealand dollar wasn’t so strong.”

S C O O R CONTRACTORS L LTD TD REEFTON

MINING SPECIALISTS M 027 431 0211 P 03 732 7033 F 03 732 7035 E admin@rosco.net.nz Spring 2016 » Mining NZ 11

Gold » Industry News

Exploration programme underway at Puhipuhi Karen Phelps Following an extensive period of environmental baseline studies and discussions with members of the local community about its activities, Evolution Mining commenced its first drilling programme for gold and silver mineralisation in its Puhipuhi Exploration Permit area on June 8.

Two holes of the 10 hole drilling program have now been completed and the results from the drilling program will determine the company’s next steps in the exploration program, says Evolution Mining head geologist and New Zealand project manger Jackie Hobbins.

The drilling is required by the New Zealand Government as part of the Permit conditions and follows identification of new exploration targets from low-impact geophysical surveys that were undertaken in late 2015.

A New Zealand manufactured drilling rig with a small environmental footprint is being used to drill up to 10 boreholes of approximately 100mm diameter to depths of up to 600m.

It can take up to three or four weeks to prepare, drill and rehabilitate each drillsite.

The company has stated that holes will be plugged and grouted to protect aquifers in accordance with the New Zealand Drilling Environmental Standard and will comply with all central and local government requirements.

Hobbins says that the first priority when Evolution Mining acquired Puhipuhi was to complete a comprehensive environmental

Drilling starts at Laneways

“Evolution Mining has a commitment across its business to ensure that it leaves a lasting, positive legacy in the local communities where it operates or explores.” assessment of the project area.

“We appointed an independent Aucklandbased consultancy to complete an exhaustive baseline environmental study.

“This involved surface and ground water analysis, soil surveys and analysis, stream sediment surveys and flora and fauna surveys.

“The rapid ecological survey identified flora and fauna species along a series of transects. The aim was to characterise the dominant vegetation types, and whether any endangered species are likely to be present within the permit area.

“Most of the permit area is in pasture and plantation pine forest, but there are pockets of native vegetation and scrub that may harbour species such as kiwi and kauri snails.

“If, following the results from the current drilling program, we were to plan drilling in those areas we would carry out more detailed ecological surveys first. If Evolution is unable to identify a way to conduct our activities safely and without harm to the environment, we will not proceed,” she says.

Hobbins states that even if an economic gold deposit is identified from drilling, mining would be at least five years away and would

be dependent on the outcomes of a series of feasibility studies to investigate environmental, economic and engineering-related aspects in addition to undertaking extensive consultation and obtaining all relevant mining Permits and resource consents.

“Evolution Mining has a commitment across its business to ensure that it leaves a lasting, positive legacy in the local communities where it operates or explores.

“Although we are at a very early stage of exploration at Puhipuhi and there is still significant uncertainty as to whether there will be any future mining project, we want to ensure that the community understands what we are doing and that we will always operate in an environmentally and socially responsible way.

“We support local businesses where possible and have a team of five people in New Zealand who are all New Zealanders.

“So far the drilling has been successful in reaching targeted areas and we’ve had no real problems.

“Exploration is a process that is carefully staged and the results of one program will dictate what our next move is.”

Geological mapping, rock chipping and a geochemical soil sampling programme has been completed on the Southern Coromandel Project by joint venture partners Newcrest Mining and Laneway Resources.

Drill sites for the Phase One drilling programme have been selected and the drilling contract awarded to Hamilton-based Alton Drilling.

The diamond drill program has commenced and will continue throughout the rest of the year. Six drill holes have been completed with assay results pending.

Exploration activities are being undertaken on two tenements in the Hauraki goldfield, within a mineralised corridor host to the historic Karangahake and Golden Cross gold-silver mines.

Under the joint venture agreement Laneway Resources is the registered permit holder - MEP 54216 (Owharoa) and MEP 53469 (Waitekauri) - and is managing all exploration activities while Newcrest is providing technical direction and funding. Newcrest has the right to earn an 80 per cent interest in the project by sole funding a twostage work program within the tenement package.

The permit areas straddle both private and Department of Conservation land.

Newcrest says that the company is committed to operating in an environmentally responsible manner and has developed management plans to prevent potential environmental impacts during the establishment of the drill sites and during exploration drilling. All drill sites are fully rehabilitated once drilling has been completed.

Newcrest has stated that exploration drilling is ongoing with a ground based geophysical survey to commence in mid-September in the eastern part of the Waitekauri tenement.

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12 Mining NZ » Spring 2016

Gold » Waitahuna Gully

Revisiting the Waitahuna goldfields Jo Bailey Alan Roberts says his alluvial gold mining operation in the historic goldfields at Otago’s Waitahuna Gully is “experimental” but he is confident in its potential to pay dividends.

“I think we know everything that needs to be done. However it is going to require more investment to get the mine where we need it to be, as we’ve been told the best gold is likely to be at the bottom. No one else has ever got to the bottom of Waitahuna before to my knowledge.”

Alan, a fourth generation miner and founder of the Robbie’s hotel franchise has been exploring on the West Coast for many years, where his company Maruia Mining still holds a joint venture licence with OceanaGold at the Waiuta Mine near Reefton.

The Waitahuna Gully project is Alan’s first outside the region, and came about by chance, after he travelled south with his friend Professor Ross Barnett, who was researching the history of some distant Norwegian relations who first mined at the site back in the mid 1800s.

“Waitahuna was mined extensively back in the 1800s and early 1900s, and some of the miners did very well out of it. They left in the end because they couldn’t get water or go down deep enough.”

The company is mining an ancient riverbed that Alan says could be up to 50 million years old.

“Professor Dave Craw from the University of Otago has taken a big interest in the mine because of the size of the resource, and has arranged for a student to research the site, take samples and map the faulting. We don’t believe this is the original site of this conglomerate and that it may have shifted around 5km towards the northeast.”

The site is full of rotten sand or silt, so it’s been a real learning exercise to mine, says Alan.

“Getting the gold to separate through the silt is an issue as we’ve had trouble getting an adequate water supply. We did try mining with recycled water, but this didn’t work out. We have since found a source of clean water and hopefully will have sufficient on site although we may struggle through the summer. We’ve got a resource consent to pump water from the Waitahuna River 3km away, but that’s not a straightforward solution.”

Alan says there is a massive amount of gold bearing material at the four to five different sites under the mining license.

“We haven’t tested a fraction of it but if it does carry similar grades to our current mine site we have years of mining ahead with the right equipment to handle the environment.”

Ready to go: the processing plant and conglomerate at Waitahuna Gully with the old river bed in the background.

“No one else has ever got to the bottom of Waitahuna before to my knowledge.”

The mining company transferred equipment from the West Coast to the Waitahuna project, but this hasn’t been entirely successful, says Alan.

“We’ve had to modify the gear considerably and continue to do so. We are achieving better recovery with the clean water, however the stones are still coming through the plant with dirt stuck to them.”

After testing the tailings and finding considerable gold, Alan has decided to build a scrub plant, essentially a big drum with bars and water in it, to

soak and break down the material before it goes through the recovery screen so the gold is not lost.

“As well as better recovery it will give us increased throughput which is positive.”

Professor Dave Craw has helped Alan to make an additional gold saving discovery, he says.

“Dave has been looking at the results under an electronic microscope at the University, and found that a percentage of gold is locked up in sulphides that won’t separate with mercury.

“We’ve found by breaking the sulphides down and processing it we could potentially achieve up to an additional eight percent gold recovery. This is another new discovery we’ve made at the mine and is something else we’ll continue to experiment with.”

Alan says the mine is ‘only marginally payable’ on the current throughput and grade, but with an increase in volumes through the plant, good results are possible.

“We’re still nowhere near where we want to be and there are some definite challenges, but I think we’re winning. The gold grade is relatively consistent which is surprising for an old riverbed.

“It if wasn’t such a huge resource I wouldn’t go to all this effort, but because there is hundreds of thousands and potentially millions of tonnes of material, it is definitely worth it.”

There is potential for outside mining on tribune investors to invest and explore part of the resource for themselves, says Alan.

“We have a Chinese investor showing quite a bit of interest. The advantage for someone starting up after us with what we have learned is they could design a plant from scratch that would do much better in the conditions. I believe an operation with a plant processing 150 cubic metres per hour could make some really good money.”

• Looking back at Waitahuna - page 16

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Industry Focus »

Keeping a watch on mine safety For Mark Pizey, Worksafe’s new chief inspector (extractives), mining is very much in the blood. He talks to Karen Phelps.

S

omething few people may know about new chief inspector (extractives) at WorkSafe New Zealand Mark Pizey is that he enjoys the great outdoors and once sailed a boat from Tasmania to New Zealand.

The other thing, which is somewhat at the other end of the scale, is that he also enjoys being many miles beneath the earth: “It was the technical challenges that were posed in the mining industry that I enjoyed and, in a perverse way, I enjoyed working underground.

“It was a pleasant place to work with the camaraderie of the people,” he says of his reasons to pursue a career in mining.

But perhaps it was also in the blood. Mark hails from Cornwall in the south of England, which has a history of mining dating back to the early Bronze Age, approximately 2150 BC, and is also bordered by spectacular ocean.

Mark pursued somewhat eclectic studies – a physic degree at the University of Exeter followed by a degree with a double major in biology and geology at Whitman College in Washington State in the United States before securing a place at a medical school in the UK. But he was soon involved in the Cornish mining industry when he took a part time job in the tin mines to fund his studies.

Mark worked in the metallurgical circuit in the recovery plant, focusing on tin flotation and gravity separation as well as general mining.

When he realised the career options that the industry presented he headed straight to the University of Newcastle upon Tyne on a scholarship from the National Coal Board completing a masters degree in rock mechanics and excavation engineering.

In 1980 he finished his degree and worked in a technical capacity on the shaft sinking crew, as the Selby coalfield in Yorkshire was developed.

He says that it was a technical role as he was involved in designing a system to monitor groundwater during the sinking of the shafts as well as the shaft lining design itself.

A sense of adventure lured him over the other side of the world to Fiji, where he worked for Emperor Gold Mining Company (which later became Western Mining Corporation) as a shaft engineer. He cites the job as his true apprenticeship in the industry.

He remained for five years before making the move to New Zealand to work as a geotechnical engineer for Applied Geology Associates based

Mark Pizey: “The challenge for myself and my team is to keep the momentum for change and improvement alive.”

in Auckland. This was followed by a position as inspector of mines, quarries and tunnels for the Ministry of Energy based in Greymouth.

As a member of the mines inspectorate his duties included input to the grant of licences for mining followed by monitoring to ensure there was effective management of Crown resources as well as administration of the relevant legislation.

In 1991, when the Health and Safety in Employment Act and the Resource Management Act, came into effect he says that he started to see the writing on the wall that would eventually play a contributing factor in the Pike River disaster many years later.

“There was too much of a hands off approach to the control of health and safety, which meant that the inspectorate was, in my opinion, no longer as effective an entity as it had been,” he says.

He left the role a year later and was appointed general manager of DML Resources, responsible for the development and exploitation of the lignite resources in southern and central Otago.

Two years later when a management buyout meant that the gold mining division of the company was sold to then become L & M Mining, he went to work there as the development manager.

“We’re nearly 6 years beyond that (Pike River ) event now and the risk is that people will become more and more complacent towards the management of health and safety in the workplace.”

This role included the determination of the economic viability of the company’s exploration projects with his role including the consenting and building and commission of plant.

He remained in the role, which saw him travel to far flung locations such as Bolivia and Chile, until 2000 when he was recruited by Solid Energy New Zealand as a technical manager developing new resources and permits.

When Solid Energy New Zealand acquired Pike River Mine in 2012 Mark had risen to the position of general manager of Pike River as the company sought to firstly determine the viability of a partial re-entry to the mine, then when that proved unfeasible, how to safely decommission the site.

“There are certainly metaphorical ghosts in there,” he says.

“When you go into the drift you can’t help but think of the fact that there are still 29 men in there who will never see the light of day again.

“You are constantly reminded of the fact you are dealing with something that was one of the largest mining disasters in New Zealand history.”

Which brings us to earlier this year when

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Industry Focus » Mark took up the position of chief inspector (extractives) at WorkSafe New Zealand, a role to which it hopes he can give something back to the industry that he says has given him so much already.

With regards to where the industry is at present, he sees a number of challenges, imminently the looming deadline for Certificates of Competency, which he predicts will see enforcement issues arising early next year.

The longer term risk he sees as complacency towards safety issues as we get further away from the Pike River disaster: “Six months after that disaster everybody would have agreed that things needed to change. We’re nearly 6 years beyond that event now and the risk is that people will become more and more complacent towards the management of health and safety in the workplace. The challenge for myself and my team is to keep the momentum for change and improvement alive.”

The initial challenge for him in taking on the new role has been a more pragmatic one – getting his head around working for government again: “It’s more ponderous then working for the private sector in terms of making decisions. It’s not a criticism - it’s just the way it works.”

As he has spent over 30 years working in the New Zealand industry he feels this has given him a distinct advantage in his new role.

“I know many of the practitioners who I am now working with so in many ways it’s been a renewing of old acquaintances.

“Some people may think this would compromise my ability but in practice it’s quite the contrary – I don’t have to go into many sites and introduce myself. This means I can start the conversation at a different level.”

Mark gives the impression that he prefers to remain a private person although he will concede he is married and has three children.

Aside from that he’ll only admit to enjoying the outdoors, which, in the past, has seen him rock climbing and long distance ocean sailing although

Challenging environment: there are plenty of issues facing both big and small operators in the extractives sector.

these days he’s more likely to be found fly fishing on the West Coast.

But in his interests though can also be found a similar thread, which has woven its way through his working life: “Particularly with long distance ocean sailing it was the camaraderie that I liked – there may be just two or three of you aboard the boat and you’re dependent on each other for safety and

security, just as you are underground. It also gives you insight into human behaviour that you wouldn’t get under other circumstances.

“For example when you’re on the edge of the cyclone you find out a lot about people and what makes them tick.”

Mark, aged 61, says he’s never had any inkling to return to the UK. He is currently based in Christchurch, has a small group of friends and

feels happy with his accomplishments in life – both personal and professional. He doesn’t see himself retiring any time soon.

“I feel comfortable with the concept of working and don’t see the need to stop. I enjoy what I do.

“One thing I can assure you is that I’ll never be bored in this job. You can go from periods of elation to desolation within a day. It’s challenging and that’s the great thing.”

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Spring 2016 » Mining NZ 15

Pioneers »

Learning from the Past? The Norwegian Party and the Blue Spur Conglomerate In his new book Goldfield Entrepreneurs, Ross Barnett recounts the adventures of five young Norwegians who began mining in Otago’s Waitahuna Gully 150 years ago. Here he outlines their remarkable achievements.

I

n 1866, one hundred and fifty years ago, five Norwegians began mining in Waitahuna Gully and remained there for almost half a century.

They built one of the longest water races in Otago and were the largest gold producers at Waitahuna, if not the Tuapeka Goldfield, producing over an estimated 85,000oz gold. Even the fabled Blue Spur and Gabriel’s Gully Consolidated Company which operated for thirty years in Gabriel’s Gully did not achieve this level of gold output.

This was a remarkable achievement for five young men who came to New Zealand with little mining experience and limited capital.

Their story is the focus of my recent book, Goldfield Entrepreneurs, which highlights their mining activities at Waitahuna and the contribution they made.

The Norwegians were successful because they eventually mastered working a difficult gold deposit, the Blue Spur Conglomerate, also called ‘cement’ because of its hardness.

The cement is a complex fanglomerate and alluvial deposit, formed by ancient streams which flowed from the northeast to the southwest around 100 million years ago.

Today only remnants of the cement survive at various intervals along the Tuapeka Fault, notably at Blue Spur, Wetherstones, Forsyth and Waitahuna Gully. In world terms the Blue Spur Conglomerate is unusual amongst alluvial gold deposits due to its extensive cementation, great thickness and multiple auriferous beds. In New Zealand conglomerates are also present on other goldfields, such as at Ross on the West Coast. While these also have multiple rich layers separated by barren horizons, they differ from the Blue Spur formation in that the gravels are not cemented.

The Norwegians have received attention because of both their attempts to work the cement on a large scale and the efficiency of their mining operation. These were evident in a number of ways.

First, before starting serious mining the Norwegians secured long-term water rights and constructed a 77km water race from an untapped source, the Tokomairiro River.

In contrast to most other mining parties, this continuous supply of water enabled them to adopt industrial methods of gold production involving an increased throughput of material, allowing them to mine the conglomerate at a profit.

From the early 1880s they began mining 16 hours a day in two shifts.

Soon after the efficiency of their operation was further improved by the installation of electric lighting. Such productivity seems more typical of twenty-first century gold miners than those of nineteenth century!

Second, the special characteristics of the cement meant that, while normal alluvial mining, via ground sluicing and hydraulic elevating was possible, other methods, such as quarrying, blasting, and quartz milling technologies, also had to be used.

While these technologies were not new the success of the Norwegians lay in their ability to try alternative mining methods and to quickly discard them if they were not profitable.

Third, like many modern miners, they adopted a

16 Mining NZ » Spring 2016

The Norwegian Party's claim in lower Waitahuna Gully (circa 1900). regular schedule of mining. While mining one area the Norwegians were always preparing to mine the next.

This system provided regular employment to a number of men who would otherwise have had to go further afield to find work.

It also left them with ample room to deposit their tailings.

Fourth, since gold loss was always an issue in the 1890s they improved their gold recovery by installing new, longer, boxes to catch the finer gold.

Since much of this was still embedded in small pieces of conglomerate, longer boxes meant that fine gold was less likely to be lost.

The Norwegians mined up to 1915 when they sold out to the Sailor’s Gully Company which during its lifetime produced approximately 17,000oz of gold.

From 1948 there was no recorded mining until 2015 when Mariua Mining started operations in Waitahuna Gully in almost exactly the spot where the Norwegians first started working.

The amount of gold left in the Blue Spur Conglomerate is an open question. Not all the cement has been mined and remains relatively unexplored. In the absence of deep drilling, however, it is hard to speculate on how much gold remains.

If gold, as expected, is dispersed throughout the cement, this dispersal will reflect the different environments in which the deposit was first formed.

Given this, some rich pockets might remain as the Sailor’s Gully Company found out in 1933 when they took 629oz of gold in November from one paddock.

In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries the Norwegians rose to the challenge and profitably worked a difficult gold deposit using industrial mining methods. Along with the Sailor’s Gully Company they produced over an estimated 100,000oz gold. In the twenty first century it remains to be seen whether miners, using modern technology, will be as successful.

Occurrences of auriferous Blue Spur ‘Cement’ in the Tuapeka area.

Pioneers »

Family connection helps tale to be told Jo Bailey Mining his family’s past has led Ross Barnett to publish his new book about some of his pioneering Norwegian ancestors.

Ross, an Adjunct Professor of Geography at the University of Canterbury, says his longstanding interest in the Party stems from his Great Uncle Walter Ion Cooper (known as Ion) who was the step-son of Ole Hansen Bjorngaard, one of the five Norwegians who arrived in New Zealand in the 1860s and established the successful mining operation. In his later years, Ion (1883-1956) lived with Ross’s grandmother in Dunedin, quite close to where Ross and his parents lived.

“Ion used to show me gold that had been mined in the Gully, which he kept in a big ornate wooden box in his bedroom cupboard along with a set of gold scales. My grandmother gave them to me when he died when I was about 10 or 11.”

Ross says the gold had come from underneath the old Waitahuna Gully store, one of the few pieces of freehold land in the goldfield, which had at one time been owned by Ion’s sister, Susie Cooper.

“It was most unusual that the lady who had owned the store before Susie Cooper had been able to buy the site. In those days the store was one of the few buildings in the Gully and was surrounded by tailings. When it was demolished in 1922 a great deal of gold, around 300 oz, was found underneath.”

The gold given to Ross was in the form of free gold, and a piece of Blue Spur conglomerate, a cemented specimen of quartz gravels about the size of a tennis ball.

“I could see the gold sticking out from the sides, so when I was about 12, I decided to break it up and take it to the Bank of New Zealand. I was ushered down to the basement where my gold was weighed and I believe sent to Australia to be refined.

I later received a cheque in the mail for eight pounds, representing around two onces of gold.”

By the time he was a geography student at the University of Otago, Ross had become interested in mining technology and the social history of mining.

He also started recreational gold mining on the Arrow River.

“Although I didn’t end up doing geology as a career, it has always been my hobby,” he says.

When Ross started putting together some family history a couple of years ago, his interest was piqued by the story of the Norwegian Group, and after further investigation, decided it was a story that needed to be told.

“They were five young guys who came here with no capital and virtually no mining experience

apart from a little bit they had learned in Australia.

However they managed to set up an operation that lasted 46 years. It was also a dangerous operation.

One of them was killed in the mine. The rest all ended up settling in New Zealand.”

Since retiring from full time work at the University of Canterbury, Ross has had the opportunity to develop his mining interests further, in more recent years, assisting his friend Alan Roberts, owner of Mariua Mining, in working alluvial and quartz reef gold claims on the West Coast.

“A couple of years ago I took Alan to the site where my ancestor mined at Waitahuna, and he has since established an operation there which is exciting.”

There have been other unexpected spin-offs following the book’s publication, including the interest in it from Norway, where around 30 copies have already been sold.

In writing the book Ross had discussions with Dave Craw, a Professor of Geology at the University of Otago, who now has a research student investigating the Blue Spur conglomerate, a very interesting but also very ancient deposit with an estimated age of approximately 100 million years .

“Samples for this work have been taken from Alan Robert’s mine which has allowed the student to reach depths and layers that would otherwise be really difficult to achieve.”

Ross’s lifelong interest in geology has also seen him exploring old mining areas in New Zealand and further afield, particularly in Britain and the United States.

“I regularly travel to south-west Colorado, which has a brilliant gold and silver mining heritage. An ex-geologist friend, Robert Stoufer, has a bookshop and minerals business in Ouray, where we have done quite a bit of exploration of old mine sites at high altitude, often over 12,000 feet.”

Ross is also actively involved with the Friends of Waiuta (a preservation group based in Christchurch and the West Coast), and is a member of the Lawrence Museum, the Lakes District Museum in Arrowtown, and the Ouray County Historical Society in Colorado.

As an academic, he has published one other book and more than 100 papers and book chapters, but says he had never written anything historical before.

“It was quite a different experience and I enjoyed doing it. To capture this piece of mining history has been really worthwhile.”

Ross Barnett: “To capture this piece of mining history has been really worthwhile”.

• Goldfield Entrepreneurs is available from the author or from the Otago Settlers Museum and the Lawrence District Museum. For more details visit www.goldfieldentrepreneurs.co.nz

Bruce Mc Keown

Zane Brown

QUALITY FOCUSED RESULTS Back in the day: Ross Barnett at the Birthday Reef stopes at Waiuta, 1997.

Spring 2016 » Mining NZ 17

Quarrying » 2016 QuarryNZ Conference

Ongoing safety issues a major focus for industry Karen Phelps Safety was the big issue at the 2016 QuarryNZ conference, which was titled ‘safe, sound and solid’ reflecting the industry’s focus on the topic after a number of recent legislative changes.

Aggregate and Quarry Association chief executive Roger Parton says that the conference, held at the Marlborough Convention Centre in Blenheim from July 13-15, was well attended with over 300 delegates taking part.

Speakers included both local and international industry heavy weights with Ken Slattery, chief executive of the Concrete and Cement Association of Australia, who had recently attended the Global Aggregates Information Network conference in South Africa, telling the New Zealand industry that issues being faced in this country were also problematic for the industry internationally.

He cited issues such as access to resources, environmental issues, health and safety and an ageing workforce as being key areas of concern going forward.

With safety at the forefront for the industry a number of speakers presented on different safety topics. Graeme Lindup, from WorleyParsons NZ Ltd, spoke about approaches to inspection and remediation of structures in recognition that quarry and industrial plant faces common challenges around corrosion, damage by operations, modifications to structures, operating load increases, changing seismic and other regulatory requirements.

His presentation examined the challenges and risks to people if inspections find an issue with a

18 Mining NZ » Spring 2016

structure as well as approaches to remediation and application of interim controls. He pointed out that new legislation also places greater emphasis on the role of the designer, so new structures will need to consider safety by design during the design process.

Trevor Watts from NZ Mines Rescue Service spoke about how emergency management applied to the quarry industry in light of legislative changes where quarries now have a duty to prepare, maintain and implement an emergency plan to be fully compliant with Part 1, s14 of the Health and Safety at Work (General Risk and Workplace Management) Regulations 2016.

Wayne Scott, an inspector of mines from the Queensland Department of Natural Resources and Mines, gave his controversial opinion on why current safety practices and theories have failed to deliver more significant improvements to safety in the workplace.

Compliance schemes were also up for discussion including the NZTA proposed quarry accreditation scheme, which would mean quarries would have to test in certain volume amounts and record the results for M4 aggregate for roading to provide proof it was fit for purpose.

The Aggregate and Quarry Association would most probably administer the scheme, and although not opposed to the idea, Roger says it is now a matter of determining how this would best work for the industry.

Another proposed NZTA testing regime of ethylene glycol in aggregates, which has been trailed for the past two years, was also a topic of discussion with industry concern expressed over relevancy.

John Mites, President IoQ Australia with Mark Pizey, Chief Inspector, Extractives, WorkSafe.

NZTA speakers who presented at the conference were John Donbavand, Frank Porter and Mike Chilton.

Dr Bryan Pidwerbesky, general manager, technical, and Clare Dring, technical engineer – materials specialist, from Fulton Hogan, also spoke on aggregate specifications and particularly how by working in collaboration with clients to develop specifications and material property tests that are fit for purpose this can allow alternative and/or recycled materials to be used resulting in project outcomes which include reduced waste (fuel and material), encouraging recycling and research and development to develop sustainable solutions.

New requirements around Certificates of Competency was the other big issue at the conference with Les McCracken, CEO of MinEx, and Ari Motus from WorkSafe NZ speaking on this issue as the extended deadline for compliance looms on January 1, 2017.

Other speakers included James GardinerHopkins from JGH Barrister, who was one of the

Counsel acting for NZ King Salmon in its application for new space in the Marlborough Sounds, who spoke on the implications of the decision for the industry in terms of resource management.

Richard McNamara from the Marlborough Rural Fire Authority emphasised emergency management using the forest fires in Marlborough as an example.

The conference was also an opportunity for the delegates, speakers and exhibiters who attended to celebrate the past year and mingle.

As usual there was also a trade show for delegates to get up to date with the latest offerings to the industry with over 70 exhibitors taking part.

“There was strong support for the conference from delegates, sponsors and exhibitors this year. It was an extremely enjoyable event with a wide range of speakers.

“While there are obviously some issues facing the industry it was also a time to celebrate the successes of the past year,” says Roger.

• Environmental awards - page 20, 21

Quarrying » 2016 QuarryNZ Conference

Warning over looming COC renewals “This will have flow on effects for the whole country –

Karen Phelps The extended deadline for renewal of Certificates of Competency (COC) is looming and Aggregate and Quarry Association chief executive Roger Parton says it could be an “impending train crash” for the industry with implications for wider New Zealand.

“I’m not sure that everybody in the industry fully understands the implications and appreciates what needs to be done and the time they’ve got to do it in,” says Roger.

“We’re trying to make sure everyone is aware of what they need to do and has their training underway. But we fear there may be a number who won’t complete it in time,” he says.

Issues have been cited by the industry for some time around the availability of COC training, delays in getting results back from some providers and the capacity of WorkSafe to process applications in time.

Roger says that as some site managers have not been in a classroom situation for many years this has also been problematic for some individuals.

He says another common issue has been ensuring workers have the time to do the training when working in a busy operation without negative impacts on the business.

“We are also faced with an aging workforce.

Some who are due to retire in the near future may not bother to renew their COC and that will increase the skills gap we are already facing,” he predicts.

“This will have flow on effects for the whole country – if we don’t have a quarry manager then we don’t have operational quarries.

“It’s a hugely important issue for the industry and New Zealand as aggregate is the building blocks of this country. That’s going to affect things such as the 13,500 houses in Auckland that need to get built.”

if we don’t have a quarry manager then we don’t have operational quarries.”

Roger Parton, left, CEO AQA with Ken Slattery – CEO, Concrete & Cement Association of Australia at the recent Quarry NZ conference.

The new COC regulations also require holders to complete continued professional development (CPD) in order to obtain their renewal.

Roger says the industry organisations are working hard to provide adequate opportunities for COC holders to undertake this development in time.

“Some of the opportunities for continued professional development weren’t there in the first 12 months as the system has taken time to get up to speed,” he says.

“There is a bit of concern that some COC holders won’t have had the opportunity or completed enough continued professional development and have now left it a bit late.”

He points out that MinEx has held several health and safety forums this year, which each qualify for two hours of continued professional development.

The High Hazards Unit Extractives of WorkSafe New Zealand has also run CPD workshops throughout the country and one third of CPD can be informal.

“This means reading industry journals, work inductions etc. There are now quite a range of things that can be done but it needs to be planned and continuous throughout the year to ensure the requirements are met,” he says.

Chief inspector (extractives) at WorkSafe New Zealand Mark Pizey says that COC holders who were granted their COCs approaching a year ago might be now faced with acquiring the professional development training required fast.

He says WorkSafe, although not directly involved in training, acknowledges training providers such as the Institute of Quarrying are doing a good job.

“The new requirements are not a case of bureaucracy gone mad as I am sure some might think but rather the result of the Royal Commission of Enquiry investigations.

“We need to have competent people managing sites not people who have completed their training 20 years ago and done nothing since.

“We’re looking for a professional body of managers within the sector who can deliver at the right level.”

Both Roger and Mark are expecting a last minute rush.

As an example Mark says that there are around 1600 operational quarries in New Zealand and so far WorkSafe has received around 600 notifications of quarry managers.

He says that while sites may have previously had more than one COC holder new regulations could mean sites may choose to just have one COC holder in future.

But he is expecting there will be some sites who will not be in compliance with the new regulations

by January 1 next year.

“We will be taking appropriate action and prohibition notices will be issued. We are also expecting a backlog of COCs to be processed between now and the end of the year.

“We expect that we’ll need to take on some additional resources to manage the rush we expect,” he says.

“The message is that if people wish to have a COC granted before 31 December they should not wait until 30 December and expect it to be processed.

“The sooner people can get their applications in the better.”

January 1, 2017 is the cut off date. Roger says the deadline is non-negotiable, particularly as it’s already been extended once.

“The clock is ticking and it’s ticking quite fast.”

Mitigating site hazards In the mining and quarry industries reversing vehicles are an obvious and well-recognised hazard on site.

Auckland company Rearsense offers a suite of comprehensive solutions to mitigate this hazard ensuring a safer and more efficient workplace.

“The Health and Safety at Work Act that came into force from April 2016 puts further requirement on quarries and mines to ensure the safety of staff,” says Rearsense owner Joe Naus.

“One of the fundamental aspects of the legislation is that employers must take all practical steps to reduce or eliminate identified workplace hazards.

“We offer practical cost effective solutions tailored to suit the unique requirements of our clients to ensure vehicles are backed safely and this very real hazard is mitigated.”

He says that statistics suggest that more than 50% of the incidents involving vehicles on mining and quarry sites where people are injured or killed include reversing vehicles.

Joe says that there are two main aspects that need to be addressed – tools for the operator and warning systems to alert people outside of the vehicle and other vehicles on the site.

In order to assist Rearsense firstly obtains the customer’s specific brief and finds out the unique requirements before forming a suite of solutions to suit the client’s individual needs.

Typically recommended is a combination of a camera (so the operator can sight hazards) combined with a reverse radar system to sound a visual and/or audio alarm when a hazard is identified to warn the driver.

Broadband reversing alarms and reversing LED strobe lights provide pedestrians/other vehicles with a visual and audio alert.

All products supplied by Rearsense are industry leading and specially developed for the unique requirements of the mining and quarry industries. Rearsense also keeps abreast of developing technology which can assist its customers to operate a safer business, says Joe. Since it was formed in 2008 Rearsense has been helping the mining and quarry industries to operate safely and more efficiently and counts among its clientele Winstone Aggregates, Fulton Hogan, Ravensdown and Holcim New Zealand.

The company supplies nationwide and employs its own installers and service technicians to offer clients a complete service to ensure equipment always operates efficiently.

Cost-effective solutions are available for both smaller and larger operators.

“We believe the use of this equipment is an essential, practical step employers can take to reduce the risk of injury.

“Alongside good safety practise our solutions are likely to reduce the number of non-injury collisions that may be costly in terms of repair.

“Ensuring the safety of staff and the public is a fundamental legal requirement to operate a business in New Zealand.

“The focus of reduced harm and working towards zero harm is built into the values and culture of many businesses in New Zealand and most believe in the ethos that staff should be able to work and return home unharmed. Rearsense helps business achieve this goal in real and practical way.”

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Contact Joe Naus 0274936014 Joe@rearsense.co.nz Check out full range on www.rearsense.co.nz Spring 2016 » Mining NZ 19

Quarrying » 2016 QuarryNZ Conference

SI firms recognised for environmental inputs Karen Phelps It was a clean sweep for the South Island at the recent MIMICO Environmental Excellence Awards with three Canterbury quarries taking out the top honours. MIMICO Environment Awards judge, former Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, Dr Morgan Williams, gave gold to Isaac Construction for what he described as the “ultimate legacy project” at its McLeans Island quarry on Christchurch’s northern outskirts.

Silver awards went to Canterbury Aggregates for its commitment to handover its Amberley Beach Quarry as a future community asset and to Fulton Hogan Miners Road quarry for leadership in environmental policy and sustainability practice.

Another Canterbury-based quarry company Road Metals, which operates quarries at Rolleston, Miners Road Yaldhurst and McLeans Island as well as other South Island locations, picked up four awards at the Friday night event honouring the company’s engineering, operations, quarry leadership and health and safety practices.

Dr Williams said the standout feature of this year’s winners is they full integrated environmental management goals into their operations, not as add-ons.

All were privately held, family-based companies with histories of business resilience and of being a good neighbour and environmental steward.

The MIMICO Environmental Excellence Awards, which concluded the three day QuarryNZ conference held in Blenheim, recognised the importance quarries placed on good environmental management, says Aggregate and Quarry Association chief executive Roger Parton, who recognized the high calibre of the entries.

“It’s an essential part of the industry – if we don’t have support from the community for what we do we can’t operate.

“There is obviously a great deal of effort and interest in rehabilitation of quarries, being environmentally friendly and ensuring minimal impact on local communities.”

Aggregate and Quarr y Association (AQA) chair Brian Roche agreed: “While much of our focus is rightly on health and safety, our industry is also committed to everimproving our environmental performance and we put great value on that and our relationships with the communities in which we work.”

“There is obviously a great deal of effort and interest in rehabilitation of quarries, being environmentally friendly and ensuring minimal impact on local communities.”

THE WINNERS Isaac Construction – Gold Award A unique business model where an environmentally focused trust (The Isaac Conservation and Wildlife Trust) owned all the Isaac businesses and land.

“The purpose of all commercial activities quarrying, dairy farming, salmon farming - beyond maintaining robust, innovative businesses, is to finance the conservation goals of the Trust,” said Dr Williams.

Canterbury Aggregates Amberley Beach Quarry Silver Award Another environmental legacy project in the making, said Dr Williams.

“They are doing great habitat restoration and have indicated they are committed to bequeathing a fully restored wildlife reserve and community recreation asset to a locally owned trust when quarrying finishes in 25-5- years.”

Fulton Hogan Miners Road Quarry – Silver Award Fulton Hogan invested considerable time and money in submitting on regional and district planning matters, often as part of the Canterbury Aggregates Producers Group, CAPG. Dr Williams said proactive press and television coverage of issues at FH’s Miners Road quarry had provided excellent perspectives on the consent applications from CAPG. “In doing so they have provided evidence to the Canterbury community of the value of the aggregate industry to society and some of the initiatives the industry has been involved with,” he said.

Isaac Construction’s Mike Higgins with a model of the new safety tail guard.

Innovative safety solution A frustration with monkey cages and a desire to find a better way has seen the team at Isaac Construction come up with an innovative safety solution.

Isaac Construction industries manager Mike Higgins says the company took an idea from the Australian and New Zealand safety standards as to how to guard a tail drum and in 12 months came up with a solution that could radically enhance safety on sites.

“Spillage resulting in stones getting into the tail drum is a common conveyor problem. This not only causes wear and tear on the conveyor belt but can also present a safety hazard if workers try to remove the stones,” says Mike.

“While a monkey cage is the typical solution it brings problems as stuff falls off conveyors and gets retained in the cage causing problems for the rollers, which can jam and are hard to maintain,” he says.

The Isaac Construction solution utilises a common v-plow to push stones off the return side of the belt before they reach the drum.

The top of the v-plow is covered and matched in to the tail drum to cover the nip point – the part that is the real safety hazard if workers are tempted to recover stones.

Mike says the team at Isaac Construction “played around” with the original prototype to

develop a solution, driven by a desire to make this part of the job easier and safer. Typically as one problem the team came across was resolved another problem arose to take its place, he says.

For example when the belt moved to one side the team found the side of the v-plow was exposed and the nip point was open because they didn’t have a floor in the v-plow.

The tail guard has also been made in two pieces to slide easily into the confined space on a conveyor frame.

Mike says the solution still continues to be developed but already it has helped Isaac Construction to reduce risk on site, protect equipment and made the job easier.

The solution was presented at the recent QuarryNZ conference and Mike says it is something other companies could easily implement on sites to make the job safer.

“Although they don’t look dangerous, like some other equipment in a quarry does, conveyors can kill. It’s a matter of protecting people from unwittingly getting into a situation where they could lose a limb. We’re happy to show off the solution we have come up with in the past year so other companies can benefit without having to go through the same process we did in developing the solution.”

New programme targets youth Karen Phelps

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20 Mining NZ » Spring 2016

A youth programme launched at the 2016 Quarry NZ conference by the Institute of Quarrying New Zealand aims to grow tomorrow’s leaders in the extractive industry, says Institute of Quarrying New Zealand president Les Ward.

“We’ve always been conscious as an organisation of the need to attract young people into the industry and grow those young people who are already working in it.

“The aim of the programme is to promote and support young members as they move through their careers within the extractive industry by providing opportunities for young extractive operators to make lasting relationships and gather knowledge from established industry leaders,” he says.

The initiative will identify young individuals aged 18-35 and nominations must come from existing Institute of Quarrying members.

Candidates must have one to two years experience in the extractive industry, be currently employed in the extractive industry and have obtained or be working towards a B Grade COC.

The successful candidates – one will be selected from each island - will win complimentary entry to the 2017 Quarry New Zealand Conference, Institute of Quarrying New Zealand student membership for 12 months and opportunities to form relationships within the industry.

Les says that the winners must also put together three progress reports during the year following their win, outlining conference information they have learned and two subsequent follow up reports on their progress through the industry.

With the average age of workers in the extractive industry estimated at 55, Les hopes the programme will provide a lifeline for the industry.

Les also hopes the programme will also prompt employers to think about how they can encourage young people working in their organisations to advance such as offering individual cadetships within their businesses to attract and retain young staff.

He says reception to the programme has already been positive with a number of candidates put forward. Companies have until May 2017 to submit applicants.

MIMICO Environmental Awards »

Due recognition for ‘legacy project’ Karen Phelps It was described as the “ultimate legacy project” by MIMICO Environment Awards judge, former Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, Dr Morgan Williams.

The work that has been undertaken by this year’s gold winners, Isaac Construction, at the company’s McLean’s Island quarry on Christchurch’s northern outskirts has undoubtedly set the bar pretty high for future entrants.

“Sir Neil and Lady Diana Isaac were ahead of their time, believing a business could be built while enhancing the environment,” says Mike Higgins, Isaac Construction industries manager.

Isaac Construction is a unique business model where an environmentally- focused trust (The Isaac Conservation and Wildlife Trust) owns all the Isaac businesses and land.

It was back in 1954 that Sir Neil and Lady Isaac acquired a homestead and land at Harewood. The site became the location for their family home and also housed the main Isaac Construction company office.

Quarrying began in 1957 to provide aggregate for the projects being undertaken by Isaac Construction around Christchurch.

As shingle was removed from the site voids were created, which inspired the couple to provide something back to the land.

The result was the formation of what would be the first of many conservation waterways including Lake Diana. The 200ha rehabilitated area was named Peacock Springs, and within it the beginnings of a sustainable and expansive habitat for native flora and fauna was established.

Walking onto the Isaac Construction site is a world away from what might typically be associated with a quarry.

Green spaces, lakes and wetland areas dominate the site and provide a home to rear and protect native species of birds, fish, reptiles and plant species.

Wandering around the site you might come across a variety of endangered species including the black stilt, New Zealand shore plover, orangefronted parakeet, blue duck, brown teal, South Island kaka, tuatara, grand skink, Otago skink and Canterbury mudfish.

Re-vegetation is another vital part of the overall plan with efforts focusing on a vast range of native vegetation across parts of the 1100 ha total site owned by the Trust.

Native planting is an ongoing exercise and examples include Otukaikino Stream (South Branch / Waimakariri River).

Endangered species who now make their home at the quarry include the black stilt left, and the blue duck, right.

The Trust has plans to develop walking tracks on the land adjacent to Otukaikino Stream, so that the general public can enjoy access to the river and observe the native planting programme, says Mike.

The final part of the equation is historic building conservation, a process embodied by the creation and development of the Heritage Village.

There are over a dozen buildings dating from about 1860-1940, including a barn, cottages, a jail, school dental clinic and a church, rescued from demolition and brought to the site to be fully restored.

Fully integrated environmental management goals are a part of the day-to-day operations of the quarry. For example Mike says that no more than 5-20ha of the quarry is exposed at any one time.

As a new area is exposed earth is used to cover up the previous excavation area, which is then sown in grass.

Although in the past grass could only be sown in autumn due to Canterbury’s weather not

“We don’t need to win an award to know we are leading the field in terms of quarry rehabilitation and it’s something that the whole team at Isaac Construction is incredibly proud of.” being conducive to re-vegetation at other times of the year, a recent innovation has been to sow brassica with the grass.

This proved successful at vegetating areas pre-Christmas as well as helping to reduce dust on site stirred up by the region’s famous norwesters.

Mike says the conservation efforts of the Trust are a constant work in progress. For example the Trust is presently in the process of meeting council requirements in order to be able to open the historic buildings, which are also being renovated inside complete with period furniture etc, to the general public.

As the purpose of all commercial activities for both Isaac Construction and the other businesses held in the Trust is to finance the conservation goals, Mike says the result is a unique work environment. But for most it was business as usual after winning the prestigious award.

“Isaac Construction doesn’t go looking for external pats on the back,” says Mike pragmatically.

“We don’t need to win an award to know we are leading the field in terms of quarry rehabilitation and it’s something that the whole team at Isaac Construction is incredibly proud of.”

There are now over a dozen historic buildings housed on the quarry site. Dating from around 1860-1940 they include a barn, cottages, a jail, school dental clinic and a church.

Spring 2016 » Mining NZ 21

Industry News »

Latest in E-Series has plenty to offer BELL Equipment’s E-Series has evolved.

This latest addition to the Articulated Dump Truck (ADT) line-up is the B60E, the next generation – a 4x4 with full articulation steering and oscillation joint, which keeps all four wheels on the ground and fully utilises the traction available, giving it more off-road capability than any other conventional rigid truck.

CablePrice say the B60E is ideally suited for bulk earthworks, quarries and mines that experience conditions that rigid dump trucks cannot safely cope with.

Rain and excess water can greatly affect traction and whilst many rigid trucks do not have the capability to cope in these conditions, the B60E, with its all-wheel traction, can continue to work safely with no loss in production.

Additionally, less ground maintenance at the load and dump sites, traditionally required to prevent rigid trucks from getting stuck, will save both time and money.

The nominal payload of the B60E is rated at 55 metric tonnes. Far larger than a conventional ADT bin, the flat-bottomed 35 cubic metre body resembles a rigid truck bin in its dimensions and geometry, which makes it fully compatible with existing loading equipment in mines and quarries.

Powered by the latest Mercedes Benz engine, the B60E continues the Bell tradition

“The B60E continues the Bell tradition of offering the lowest cost per tonne machines on the market....”

of offering the lowest cost per tonne machines on the market, with an economical drivetrain that delivers significantly lower fuel consumption than a traditional rigid truck.

Alongside the B60E, CablePrice also offer the B25E, B30E, B40E and B50E models.

The next generation in ADT design and technology, the E-Series presents an evolution that builds upon the proven legacy of the successful D-series, in order to deliver increased production payloads, lower daily operating costs, superior ride quality and uncompromised safety standards.

CablePrice says the Bell machines are factory fitted with items that other manufacturers typically include only as optional extras, such as reversing camera and reverse radar detection system, embedded payload system and keyless start with lock-out codes for added security.

The B60E is ideally suited for bulk earthworks, quarries and mines that experience conditions that rigid dump trucks cannot safely cope with.

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Aluminium Oil Cooler, Intercooler and Radiator Specialists We are able to Service all types and sizes of Heat Exchangers and specialise in heavy duty radiators, intercoolers and oil coolers for mining, earth moving, marine, industrial and transport applications.

“I have been a customer with James ever since he became established in NZ. In 1998 there was no one who could manage the size of radiators we have in the mining industry nor was anyone able or willing to turn them around in the same time frame as it took to change an engine out. I have been impressed with his ‘can do’ attitude & his ability to work within the tightest schedules & delivery times... even to the point of direct delivery to site if transport is going to be a problem. I have not experienced any deficiency in work quality nor required any re-work where Industrial Radiators have been involved & will continue to utilise & support their services for this industry.”

Cliff Webb, Group Maintenance Manager, OGL (NZ) Ltd

40 Hands Road, Middleton, Christchurch 8024 Ph: (03) 338 8016 | Fax: (03) 338 8017 | Email: jimmy@industrialradiators.co.nz

22 Mining NZ » Spring 2016

www.industrialradiators.co.nz

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