Tag: Mining

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12 Months of Mining Recap

A lot has happened in 2022 so we’ve compiled some of this year’s biggest mining news:

January

Rio Tinto expects the introduction of battery-electric powered trains in the Pilbara will help them halve their emissions by 2030.

They hope the trial will pave the way for its entire fleet of 220 diesel locomotives to go electric.

Fortescue Metals Group also plans to replace diesel-powered vehicles by 2030 in their plan to decarbonise.

Then FMG chief executive Elizabeth Gaines said to achieve carbon neutrality: “we will have to replace our mining fleet, our rail fleet, shipping, all of those areas that are mobile that rely on the use of diesel.”

Rio Tinto

 

February

Lynas has received approval from WA Environment Minister Reece Whitby to build $500m rare earths refinery at Kalgoorlie.

The plant is scheduled to begin production next year and is expected to create over 120 jobs.

Kalgoorlie-Boulder Mayor John Bowler said he hopes the plant will operate for decades: “This is the next big metal, something totally different from gold and nickel … it’s a big occasion and great day for Kalgoorlie-Boulder.”

 

May

Ron Sayers, West Australian mining tycoon who founded the Perenti Group, has died after his battle with stomach cancer and Alzheimer’s disease.

Sayers began as a fitter on Kalgoorlie’s Golden Mile before founding his company Ausdrill in 1987.

Today the ASX200 listed company employs more than 8,000 employees across 12 countries.

 

Construction has begun on a 580km pipeline in WA that will take gas from the Perth basin to the Goldfields.

The $460m pipeline will form part of the Northern Goldfields Interconnect pipeline, aimed to significantly increase the volume of gas available inland.

 

June

The United States Department of Defence has awarded Lynas Rare Earths a $120USD contract to build a processing facility on the Gulf Coast in Texas.

The production of the facility aims to reduce the US’ reliance on China for rare earth minerals.

Lynas managing director Amanda Lacaze says the deal demonstrates the priority that the US is placing on “ensuring that supply chains for these critical materials are resilient and environmentally responsible”.

 

July

Australian mining company Lucapa has unearthed a rare 170-carat pink diamond, one of the biggest pink diamonds ever found.

“The Lulo Rose” is believed to be the largest found in 300 years.

Lucapa Diamond

 

October

Two people have died in 72 hours in separate mining incidents in WA.

The first died after a rock fall at the Hamlet underground mine at Saint Ives near Kambalda.

The second died at the Capricorn Metals’ Karlawinda gold mine near Newman when his vehicle was run over by a large dump truck.

 

November

A $750m community investment trust funded by WA’s big fish in mining has been set up by the state government to help fund infrastructure in remote communities and legacy projects.

The government hopes to eventually have $1b in the fund, so far Rio Tinto and BHP have contributed $250m each, Hancock Prospecting has contributed $100m, Woodside $50m, Chevron $50m and Mineral Resources has contributed $50m.

Projects to be funded include an Aboriginal Cultural Centre for Perth’s CBD, the refurbishment of the Perth Concert Hall and upgrades to the Perth Zoo as well as several projects in remote WA.

 

Swedish company, Epiroc, has agreed to acquire Kalgoorlie Boulder company, Remote Control Technologies Pty Ltd.

RCT was founded 50 years ago and provides automation solutions to mining companies.

RCT is the second Kalgoorlie Boulder company acquired by Epiroc this year, after their acquisition of JTMEC earlier in the year.

The acquisition is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

RCT

 

December

St Barbara and Genesis Minerals have announced their merger to create Hoover House,

St Barbara will acquire 100% of the shares in Genesis. Genesis shareholders will own 41% of Hoover House, with St Barbara shareholders owning 38%.

Hoover House will have a production target of over 300,000oz of gold per annum.

St Barbara chair, Tim Netscher, said: “The merger with our Leonora neighbour, Genesis, to create Hoover House, will accelerate our Leonora Province Plan. Shareholders will reap the benefits of more production at lower cost and lower risk from this prolific mining district.”

Genesis Managing Director, Raleigh Finlayson, said: “By combining with St Barbara, we are creating Hoover House, the premium Australian gold company we envisaged, with sustainable, high-quality production.”

St Barbara

 

Elizabeth Gains is stepping down as CEO of Fortescue to become their ambassador for their global green hydrogen brand. Gains will remain a non-executive director.

Gains will be responsible for promoting green hydrogen, green ammonia and green energy.

Since Gains began leading the company in 2018, Fortescue’s share price has quadrupled, and shareholders have grown from less than 35,000 to 170,000.

“ I don’t see this as a departure of any shape or form. I think it’s just the opportune time for Fortescue who are genuinely transitioning,” Ms Gaines said.

 

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What you missed in the news this week

St Barbara and Genesis Minerals have announced their merger to create Hoover House,

St Barbara will acquire 100% of the shares in Genesis. Genesis shareholders will own 41% of Hoover House, with St Barbara shareholders owning 38%.

Hoover House will have a production target of over 300,000oz of gold per annum.

St Barbara chair, Tim Netscher, said: “The merger with our Leonora neighbour, Genesis, to create Hoover House, will accelerate our Leonora Province Plan. Shareholders will reap the benefits of more production at lower cost and lower risk from this prolific mining district.”

Genesis Managing Director, Raleigh Finlayson, said: “By combining with St Barbara, we are creating Hoover House, the premium Australian gold company we envisaged, with sustainable, high-quality production.”

St Barbara

 

The federal government has announced a cap on gas and coal prices as part of its Energy Price Relief Plan.

The plan includes the 12-month emergency gas price cap, a targeted energy bill relief for households and businesses, and investment in cleaner, cheaper and reliable energy.

Anthony Albanese said the action is designed to “provide all Australians with a buffer in unprecedented times.”

 

A South African researcher has developed a new way to remove contaminates from water used in mining.

The process involves small polystyrene beads that chemically bond with pollutants as the water passes through, cleaning the water and collecting the pollutants for reuse.

Ed Hardwick, owner of Cwenga Technologies said the beads extract valuable materials from the water: “What has been identified in some streams, especially coal mining streams, is that the acid that’s produced from the mine waters actually dissolves out some rare earth materials.”

 

Aruma Resources has announced its recently completed diamond core drilling program at their Salmon gums Gold Project has expanded the project’s Greenstone footprint to over 75km2.

The drilling, located at their Norseman Gold Camp was designed to provide a deeper geological understanding of the project and opened up the potential for the project to host multiple horizons.

 

Kin Mining has completed their first deep diamond drill-hole at Helens-Rangoon Fault – which saw wide zones of shallow gold – to test an Induced Polarisation anomaly.

The drilling was completed at their Cardinia Gold Project near Leonora and has intersected significant zones of gold mineralisation.

Kin Mining Managing Director, Andrew Munckton, said: “This represents a strong start to the 5‐hole diamond drill program, which is designed to test the first generation of deeper targets at Cardinia with the aim of uncovering new, high‐grade discoveries within the exciting Eastern Corridor.”

Shire of Leonora

 

S&P/ASX 200 markets started out the week a little lower, at 7,163 points before climbing to 7,253 points at the end of Wednesday. The markets saw a sudden drop Friday morning, falling from 7,209 points to 7,122 points before making a slight comeback to finish the week.

The All Ordinaries followed a similar trajectory, falling 91 points to 7,304 points Friday morning, before climbing again throughout the day.

 

Gold peaked at a 3-month high of $1,813.70USD on Wednesday, before dropping again to $1,787.85USD to round out the week.

Silver saw a 6-month high of $24USD on Wednesday before a slight decline to $23.35USD to end the week.

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What You Missed in the News This Week

IGO’s Nova Mine will cease operations for several weeks after a fire started in the diesel engine room.

No one was injured in the fire, but the West Australian mine safety authorises have launched an investigation into the incident.

The mine is located in the Fraser Range, 160km east of Norseman.

IGO’s acting chief executive, Matt Dusci said “We are thankful that all our people are safe and unharmed. We have activated our contingency plans and will work to re-establish operations at Nova as quickly and safely as possible.”

IGO’s Nova Mine

 

The Saint Barbara Festival took place last week in Kalgoorlie.

The annual event consists of the Miners Memorial Service on Thursday 1st December and the St Barbara’s Parade on Sunday 4th December.

St Barbara’s Parade

Codrus Minerals has announced high grades at their Niobium-Rich Karloning REE Project in north of Mukinbudin in the Wheatbelt.

Codrus Managing Director, Shannan Bamforth said: “We are excited by the high grades returned from 3 samples that exceeded the upper detection limit in the original assaying. Seeing grades for heavy REE elements of this magnitude is very positive, particularly given that these metals are intrinsically linked to the decarbonisation thematic.”

 

The S&P/ASX 200 closed on a lower note this week. Starting at 7,321 points on Monday, before finishing at 7,213 points on Friday.

Champion Iron and Sandfire Resources were top performing shares, gaining 5.15% and 4.81% respectively.

The All Ordinaries finished on 7,406 points, falling from the high of 7,551 from Monday.

 

Gold dropped on Tuesday from $1,810.70USD to $1,7744.54USD before rising again over the last few days to finish up at $1,798.80USD.

Silver also fell significantly on Tuesday from $23.49USD to $22.63USD but gained it back during the week to $23.44USD

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What You Missed in the New this Week

Surbiton Associates has announced Australian gold production for the September 22 quarter is down 9% from the June 22 quarter.

The September quarter saw 76 tonnes compared to the 83 tonnes from the June quarter.

Surbiton Associates director, Dr Sandra Close said gold production for the quarter is somewhat disappointing and stated “some wet weather and Covid-19 problems affected output adversely” but is confident these effects are slowly receding.

Gold Fields has awarded their Barren Lands open pit project to establish a new mine at their Agnew Gold Mine, 150km Northwest of Leonora to MLG Oz.

The project will run alongside their current St Ives cooperation.

MLG founder and managing director Murray Leahy said “we are very proud to continue to support Gold Fields at their St Ives and Agnew operations extending what has, and continues to be, a long and rewarding relationship.”

Metal Hawk Limited has announced diamond drilling at their Berehaven Nickel Project has commenced.

The project, located 20km Southeast of Kalgoorlie Boulder, continued after high grade nickel sulphide was discovered in the area last year.

Minerals Resources is offering starting salaries of over $140,000 to New Zealanders in an entice them to Perth. The campaign is set to see several hundred New Zealanders over the next 6 months.

 

 

The S&P/ASX200 stumbled slightly on Monday before recovering to start the month on a high of 7,372 points yesterday. The markets finished off the week on 7,302 points, dropping 0.72% from yesterday.

The All Ordinaries peaked at 7,572 points yesterday, finishing at 7,504 points today.

 

 

Gold was relatively stable at the start of the week, before picking up on Wednesday to finish the week at the biggest high since August at $1,802.25USD/oz.

Silver followed suit, starting stable before reaching the biggest high since June at $233.04USD/oz.

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What You Missed This Week in the News

BHP has offered Oz Minerals a takeover offer of $28.25/share, including $9.6B, three months after their initial unsolicited offer.

BHP offered a$25/share, $8.4m takeover offer in August, which Oz Minerals rejected, saying it failed to properly value the company’s portfolio.

The offer comes after the two renewed talks on Thursday, and Oz Minerals board have accepted the offer, OZ Minerals Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Andrew Cole said: “BHP’s Revised Proposal is a clear reflection of OZ Minerals’ unique set of highly strategic, quality assets in quality jurisdictions. We look forward to working with BHP in a collaborative way to progress the Revised Proposal in the best interests of OZ Minerals’ and its stakeholders.”

 

MetalsGrove Mining has announced that drilling contractor Topdrill has mobilised its drill rig in preparation to commence the inaugural drilling at their Upper Coondina Lithium Project.

The project is located 100km south of Marble Bar, near Port Hedland.

 

Town of Port Hedland

BHP, Curtin University and Greening Australia have partnered to trial vegetation barriers to improve air quality and capture dust in the West End scheme in Port Hedland as part of BHP’s Pilbara Air Quality Program.

Phase 1 which involved planting 80,000 seedlings, has been completed and another 80,000 is scheduled to be planted in the next few months.

 

The ”What’s Down the Track” Forum was held in Kalgoorlie Boulder on Thursday. The event, run by the Kalgoorlie-Boulder Chamber of Commerce, provides a 12-month forecast into the drivers that support the growth and opportunities that exist within the region.

The event included speakers and exhibitions from BHP, Kai Rho Contracting, Deep Yellow Limited, St Ives, Northern Star, Lynas Rare Earths, Evolution Mining and Epiroc.

 

Kalgoorlie-Boulder Chamber of Commerce

The S&P/ASX200 markets stumbled at the beginning of the week, starting off on the month’s high of 7,196 points before falling to 7,106 points on Wednesday. The markets made a comeback to finish the week at 7,152 points. Oz Minerals was the top performing stock, up 3.92% after their takeover offer from BHP.

The All Ordinaries us up too, finishing the week on 7,355 points.

 

Gold is trading at $1,765.52USD after a stable week, and silver at $21.35USD, after peaking early on Tuesday at $22.28USD.

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What You Missed This Week in the News

 

Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest

 

Mining magnate Twiggy Forrest at the Egypt COP27 climate summit this week, is pushing to restrict seabed mining until it has the same protections as land mining.

In sentiments echoed by conservationist groups, Forrest voiced concerns about the environmental impact of seabed mining – which could begin as early as mid 2023.

“The deepest seabed supports some of the least understood ecosystems on the planet.” He said and argues that seabed mining should not commence “until we can match existing regulations placed on mining on land.”

 

QX Resources is scheduled to commence drilling at their Turner River hard rock lithium project by the end of the month. The project is located in the Pilbara Region, Southeast of Port Hedland.

 

OD6 Metal’s share price skyrocketed on Wednesday by 97.84% to $0.459 after announcing outstanding results from their recently completed drilling campaign at their Splinter Rock project northeast of Esperance.

 

BHP have announced record shipments from their iron ore in WA for the third year running. In their AGM this week, BHP released their income figures, including $33.9B EBITDA from iron ore.

 

 

In the AGM, BHP CEO Mike Henry and Chairman Ken MacKenzie also announced their commitment to a total elimination of sexual harassment, racism and bullying in BHP workplaces.

“That is why I want to apologise to all those who have experienced or continue to experience, any form of sexual harassment, racism or bullying anywhere at BHP,” MacKenzie said.

“We are determined to eliminate these harmful behaviours. At BHP, we are committed to providing a safe, inclusive, and supportive workplace culture where everyone can bring the best of themselves to work.”

 

The S&P/ASX200 jumped sharply today to 7,143.10 points, jumping 2.79% (194.0 points). The markets rounded out the week by following the upward trend that started on the 11th of this month.

 

ASX

 

All Ordinaries followed suit, gaining 204.40 points (2.86%) to 7,350.10

Gold had a good week, ending on a high compared to the start of the week. The spot price rose 2.45% from $2591.72oz t to $2655.23oz t.

Silver rose from $32.36oz t to $33.37oz t this week.

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What You Missed This Week In The News

Buru Energy Ltd was dealt a blow in this week’s Federal Budget.

In April 2022, Buru was awarded a $7M Commonwealth Government Grant for Geovault, their offshore geological storage of greenhouse gas in the Carnarvon Basin.

The program that the grant was offered by has been cancelled in this new budget.

A revised grant will be offered which Buru says they will aggressively pursue.

Summit Minerals Ltd will start its maiden drilling campaign at the Stallion REE Project, east of Kalgoorlie.

Summit received approval from the Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety for a 16-hole RC drill program and is expected to begin as early as next week.

 

Riversgold Ltd also announced its maiden 2,500M RC drilling program, which has commenced at their Tambourah Lithium Project in the Pilbara Region.

The project is Riversgold most advanced lithium project and will include up to 21 holes.

 

Koba Resources Ltd.’s share price has soared by 136% to $0.260 this week after it staked mining claims covering 145km2 at its Whitlock Lithium Project in Canada.

Koba Resources

WA1 Resources’ saw a significant jump in its share price this week after announcing the first results of its maiden West Arunta Project drilling program.

The share price rose by a whopping 542% to $0.94 after the revealing the drilling found the first Niobium deposits in the area.

WA1 Resources

The S&P/ASX Markets closed the day lower than yesterday, which saw the end of a 4-day streak. The markets fell by 58.60 points to 6,786.50 after setting a new 20-day high yesterday at 6,870 points.  

The All Ordinaries also finished off the week on a lower note, dropping 0.98% to 6,973.40, but also saw a 20-day high yesterday.  

 

Gold also finished lower at $2,566.62oz t, after peaking at $2,620.42 at the start of the week.  

Silver has remained steady after the fall it had last week, finishing at $30.52oz t compared to the low of $30.02 last week. 

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Federal Budget Breakdown

The 2022 October Federal Budget has been announced. Here’s how the Goldfields and mining are affected.

 

The migration cap will increase 35,000 persons to 195,000 people in 2022-23. At least 90% of these 35,000 will be for skilled migrants and more than 25% will be targeted to regional areas.

This will ease labour shortages and include accelerating visa processing. Student and secondary training visa holders will have their work restrictions relaxed until 30 June 2023.

 

In an effort to transform regional industries to net zero by 2025, the Government will establish a $1.9B Powering the Regions Fund to transform Australia into a renewable energy superpower. $1.5B will be allocated to the Pilbara Region to support mining, mineral processing, and local manufacturing, and provide investment in hydrogen and renewable energy projects.

 

$500M Driving the Nation Fund will reduce transport emissions by installing electric charging infrastructure at 117 highway sites and hydrogen highways for key freight routes. Electric cars will be exempt from fringe benefits tax (FBT) and the 5% import tariff.

$350.0M will be dedicated to seal the Tanami Road between Norther Western Australia and the Northern Territory, $400M for the Alice Springs to Halls Creek Corridor upgrade and $125M for electric bus charging in Perth.

 

$757.7M will be allocated to improving mobile and broadband connectivity in regional Australia. $7.4B will be invested to support regional development across Australia. The Growing Regions Program will support community groups, fund local projects such as libraries and regional airport upgrades. The Government will also dedicate $1.4B for local community, sport and infrastructure projects across Australia.

 

$143.3M will be provided over 4 years to support access to healthcare in rural and regional areas by investing in primary care services, training, workforce incentives and trials for innovative models of care.

 

A $50.5M Critical Minerals Research and Development Fund will invest in lithium, cobalt, manganese, titanium and rare earths to meet growing demands for batteries, electric vehicles and clean technology.

 

Multinational corporations will pay an extra $1B in tax with the crackdown on excessive deductions and profit-shifting to lower-taxing countries.

Individual taxpayers and businesses will also be targeted with the ATO cracking down on over-claiming deductions and incorrect reporting of income.

 

Due to high inflation and low wage growth, worker’s pay will effectively go backwards until 2024-25 when inflation is expected to return to 2-3%. Inflation is expected to peak at 7.75% in December.

 

The Better Regions Fund (BBRF) was the former Government’s regional grants program designed to deliver funding for regional infrastructure projects and community development activities. The Government scrapped the fund in the budget as they believe the fund wasn’t awarded based on merit and were favouring National Party electorates.

However, the budget includes a new national grants program.

 

Truck drivers will be hit with an extra 0.8 cents in tax for every litre of diesel they purchase. The Heavy Vehicle Road User Charge will increase from 26.4 cents/litre to 27.2cents/litre.

 

Consumer confidence continues to sit at a low, having peaked in 2021. The current figure is comparable to the start of the pandemic in 2020 and the Global Financial Crisis in 2008.

Source: Westpac-Melbourne Institute, MWM Research, October 2022
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What You Missed In The News This Week

St Barbara’s share price plummeted to a 7 year low, dropping 35.18% after they released their quarterly report on Tuesday. The shares dropped from $0.68AUD to just $0.46AUD. Production was down almost 26% and costs up 34.8% from last quarter. Currently it costs St Barbara $4/oz more to produce gold than they receive from selling it.

IGO chief executive Peter Bradford has passed away at 64. Bradford began working in the mining industry in 1979 and has been a supporter of clean energy and climate change. He was an active mentor for the Women in Mining WA organisation and a committee member of CEOs for Gender Equity Inc.

Peter Bradford | LinkedIn

St Ives has resumed operations after a worker was killed last week. The worker died at the Hamlet underground mine near Kambalda. The tragic incident was one of two mine site deaths last week, with a second occurring at a Pilbara mine site last Thursday.

St Ives | Gold Fields Australia

Rox Resources has announced significant results from its Reverse Circulation drilling at their Mt Fisher Gold Project. Managing director Alex Passmore said these results continue to confirm the “strong prospectively of the highly under-explored Mount Fisher Gold Project.”

 

Raiden Resources’ Mt Sholl maiden diamond drilling to be completed over the next two days ahead of schedule. Of their completed holes, all have intersected visual Nickel and Copper mineralisation. The tenements are located 22km southeast of Karratha in the Pilbara region.

 

The S&P/ASX200 has finished the week at 6,676.80 points today, falling 0.80% from yesterday. The All Ordinaries finished much the same at 6,869,90, falling 0.71% from yesterday. Gold rounded out the week at $2,588.81oz t.

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Savannah Set To Restart – Letters of Intent Placed

Savannah Nickel Mine

Hot on the heels of the Cassini mine opening near Kambalda recently, another Western Australian nickel project is making the move this morning – Panoramic Resources Savannah Nickel Project in the East Kimberley. Panoramic is preparing with the restart of mining from August 2021 and the first shipment of concentrate earmarked for December. A 12-year mine life with an average annual production target of 9,072t nickel, 4,683t copper, and 676t cobalt in concentrate is earmarked.  

Savannah Nickel Mine
Savannah Nickel Mine – Pic Supplied

The Savannah Nickel Project has had quite a busy 12 months since April 2020 and has resulted in a more optimised project moving forward. Panoramic Managing Director and CEO Victor Rajasooriar said 

“It is pleasing to see that Savannah, one of the most advanced nickel sulphide development assets in Australia, is forecast to come into production as the battery thematic continues to grow worldwide. We learnt many lessons in the lead up to the temporary suspension of operations at Savannah in April 2020, amid the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since that time, we have recapitalised the business and undertaken a range of planning and site-based initiatives to put the operation in a much stronger position for the restart. This process of optimisation combined with the improved outlook for Savannah’s high-quality nickel, copper and cobalt products, has given the Board confidence in approving the restart with a target of the first shipment from Wyndham Port by the end of 2021.  I would like to thank our staff, contractors, local stakeholders, and shareholders for being patient as we de-risked the project over the past 12 months, enabling Savannah to now be well-positioned for future success.” 

As part of the announcement this morning, Panoramic also has announced it has engaged with Letter of Intents with two contractors – Perenti’s Barminco for underground mining and NRW subsidiary Primero, for its operations and maintenance contracts.  

Under the contract with Barminco, it is intended that Barminco will provide all underground mine development and production works with mobilisation expected in July 2021. While Primero will operate and maintain the processing and surface infrastructure facilities at the Savannah nickel mine for an initial term of three years, with an option to extend an additional two years.  

Perenti Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Mark Norwell said: “We are very pleased Panoramic has elected to restart the Savannah Nickel Project and we look forward to finalising the contract details for Perenti to support the recommencement of operations at this long-life project.” while NRW CEO Jules Pemberton said, “This agreement further strengthens the annuity revenue stream that our Minerals, Energy and Technology division has been building through its various businesses. RCR and its product support and maintenance business, DIAB through its shutdown and maintenance activities and now this significant award to Primero for a three year plus two-year option delivering operations and maintenance services to the Savannah Nickel Project”.