Australia/New Caledonia/Papua New Guinea Mining – Page 84

Opinion: Lithium boom has echoes of Poseidon craze – by Trevor Sykes (Australian Financial Review – June 2, 2016)

June 2, 2016

http://www.afr.com/

The lithium boom has revived happy memories for Pierpont, because it has strong similarities to the great Poseidon boom of 1969. For the benefit of those infants who weren’t trading back then, Poseidon shares ran from $1 in September 1969 to a screaming peak of $280 in February 1970.

Better still, Poseidon dragged a mass of ragtag and bobtail penny stocks along with it in the wildest share boom Australia ever saw. Poseidon’s major shareholder, Norm Shierlaw, became a household name.

They were magic times, which Pierpont thoroughly enjoyed. He didn’t make much money out of it overall but the experience was terrific. A typical episode involved Pursuit Oil, whose shares trebled from 4¢ to 12¢ in a single day’s trading (October 16, 1969, if you want to check).

Coal industry shouldn’t get carried away with new-found optimism – by Clyde Russell (Reuters U.S. – June 1, 2016)

June 1, 2016

http://www.reuters.com/

NUSA DUA, INDONESIA – Something has changed in the coal industry. For the past 22 years Asia’s coal producers, traders and buyers have gathered in the Indonesian resort island of Bali to discuss the state of the sector.

In recent years these have been pretty depressing affairs as participants bemoaned the ongoing slump in prices, prayed that things couldn’t get any worse and then lamented when they did.

But this year was different. For the first time since 2012 there was a mood of optimism at the annual Coaltrans Asia meeting. What remains to be seen is whether this new-found view that the worst is past has any basis in reality, or whether it’s just a different type of delusion for the beleaguered coal industry.

The lithium boom will end, like all the others – by Paul Garvey (The Australian – June 1, 2016)

June 1, 2016

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/

Lithium’s moment in the sun is evoking more than a few memories of the iron ore boom — and we all remember how that ended.

Lithium stocks have been on a tear over the past year, culminating on Monday with the $800 million merger of lithium mining duo Galaxy Minerals and General Mining.

The price of lithium has been surging amid forecasts for a continued rise in demand for the lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles and home energy storage systems. Structurally, there are some notable similarities in the lithium market to what we saw in iron ore over the past decade.

Australian micro miner says finds big zinc lode (Reuters U.S. – June 1, 2016)

June 1, 2016

http://www.reuters.com/

Australian penny stock Rox Resources, backed by mining major Teck Resources of Canada, said it has discovered one of the world’s largest zinc deposits in northern Australia, although any decision to mine is years away.

The discovery comes seven months after Chinese conglomerate MMG Ltd shut the nearby exhausted Century zinc mine, once the world’s third-biggest, leaving a hole in global supplies of the metal chiefly used to galvanise steel.

The lode, named Teena, holds 14.2 billion pounds of zinc, as well as 2.1 billion pounds of lead, making it around the same size as the Century deposit. Teena is located eight kms (5 miles) from the Glencore -owned McArthur River zinc mine.

RPT-Australian miner eyes second bonanza with Canadian iron ore bet – by Susan Taylor (Reuters U.S. – May 31, 2016)

May 31, 2016

http://www.reuters.com/

May 31 An Australian mining veteran who made investors billions with a shrewd bet on coal in Mozambique is aiming for another big score with Canadian iron ore, even as a global gush of new supply threatens to depress already slumping prices.

Champion Iron Chief Executive Michael O’Keeffe is laying the groundwork to restart Bloom Lake mine in northern Quebec’s metals-rich Labrador Trough.

Champion bought Bloom Lake last year for only C$10.5 million ($8.04 million) after Cliffs Natural Resources, which paid $4.9 billion for it in 2011, put the unprofitable mine into creditor protection.

Champion will have its work cut out.

RNC’s Beta Hunt ramp-up ahead of schedule – by Henry Lazenby (MiningWeekly.com – May 30, 2016)

May 31, 2016

http://www.miningweekly.com/page/americas-home

TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Canadian gold producer Royal Nickel Corporation (RNC) is ahead of the May ramp-up schedule for its Beta Hunt mine, hitting about 65% of the year-end mining rate target, which is ahead of the ramp-up schedule that was planned in the Beta Hunt preliminary economic assessment, the company reported on Monday.

This was compared with 58% of the year-end mining rate at Beta Hunt, located in the Kambalda mining district of Australia, as at the end of the first quarter, the TSX-listed miner advised.

“We continue to evaluate the best long-term option to process gold production from Beta Hunt and have been satisfied with the initial results from a new tolling agreement that began last week. With the recently developed bonanza grade Hand of Faith (HOF) zone, targeting of further bonanza-grade zones for mining in 2016, and the strong progress in mine development to date, the mine continues to exceed expectations,” stated president and CEO Mark Selby.

Australia clean-ups seek to reset mining’s tarnished image (Financial Times Next – May 31, 2016)

May 31, 2016

https://next.ft.com/

Drive to heal scarred landscapes to try to win back public support for industry

A wedge-tailed eagle soars above a picturesque hillside blanketed with shrubs and flowers, looking for prey. “The animals are coming back,” says Damien Ryba, environment and community officer for mining group Glencore. “This is a sign that the land is returning to a natural state.”

Five years ago outsized trucks crowded a track thick with coal dust near the company’s Mangoola mine, one of the biggest open-pit developments in Australia’s Hunter Valley. It is now part of a pilot project by the Switzerland-based miner to rehabilitate former mining sites as it attempts to rebuild support in the community.

Alarmed by growing concerns about new mines, some companies are placing more emphasis on rehabilitating existing ones, particularly in the developed world. These initiatives follow centuries of poor practice that have caused environmental disasters, threatened human health and left taxpayers with large clean-up bills.

Investors get in on the lithium rush – by Tess Ingram (Australian Financial Review – May 31, 2016)

May 31, 2016

http://www.afr.com/

Unless you have been living under a heavy, lithium-bearing rock you would be aware that investor interest in the lively sector has been super-charged over the past 12 months.

As the name suggests, lithium is a key ingredient in lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles and energy-storage systems which are expected to become more prevalent over the next decade.

On the back of bullish analyst demand projections and keen investor interest, tens of local players have joined the hunt for lithium, including Andrew Forrest-backed nickel miner Poseidon Nickel and resurrected iron ore miner Atlas Iron.

Before digging around for the best stock picks, here are five positives and negatives about the burgeoning sector to keep in mind.

Mining industry backlash over ASIC disclosure rule – by Tess Ingram (Sydney Morning Herald – May 30, 2016)

May 30, 2016

http://www.smh.com.au/

Financial institutions, legal firms and key mining industry groups are preparing a riposte to the Australian Securities and Investment Commission’s controversial changes to disclosure rules for resources projects.

The mining industry’s peak lobby group, Minerals Council of Australia (MCA), and other members of the world-renowned Australasian Joint Ore Reserves Committee (JORC) are seeking to engage with the corporate watchdog on an information note it released in April, which the industry claims restricts what resources companies can tell the market about the economic potential of their projects.

The guidelines have created uncertainty within the industry’s junior ranks, with executives concerned the changes raise legal risks and could impact a company’s ability to raise money, advance projects and keep retail investors properly informed.

Australian gold output slips 2 pct as miners dig lower grade ore – by James Regan (Reuters U.S. – May 29, 2016)

May 30, 2016

http://www.reuters.com/

SYDNEY – May 29 Gold output in Australia, the world’s second biggest producer, slipped 2 percent in the first quarter, due in part to mining of lesser grade ores during a period of higher bullion prices, a survey released on Sunday showed.

Australian gold production reached some 71 tonnes in the first quarter, around 1.5 tonnes, or 2 percent lower, than the previous quarter, according to the survey by sector consultants Surbiton Associates in Melbourne.

“Many operators have the flexibility to trim their grades and still make a reasonable profit,” said Surbiton’s director, Sandra Close. “If the overall grade is reduced by just a fraction of a gram per tonne, it will reduce the total gold output by several tonnes.”

Educate Aborigines in STEM skills to help them and the nation – by Andrew MacKenzie (The Australian – May 27, 2016)

May 27, 2016

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/

Andrew Mackenzie is the chief executive of BHP Billiton.

The benefit that Australia stands to gain from making Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people part of the nation’s economic growth is an opportunity we can’t afford to miss.

On this day 49 years ago, Australians voted overwhelmingly to allow Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to be included in the census. It was Australia’s most successful referendum and the message of inclusion was made crystal-clear.

This time last year our company was one of a growing number of businesses that publicly stood up to support formal recognition of the first Australians in the Constitution. As we celebrate Reconciliation Week this year, I’m convinced there is more we can do to support a reconciled Australia.

One powerful way that businesses like ours can contribute is to make sure all Australians have the opportunity to share in our country’s growth and prosperity.

BHP Billiton Digs In at Vast Australian Copper Mine – by Rhiannon Hoyle (Wall Street Journal – May 26, 2016)

May 27, 2016

http://www.wsj.com/

Australian miner working on plan to boost output in shift of focus to copper, petroleum amid growth of Asia’s middle class

OLYMPIC DAM, Australia— BHP Billiton Ltd. executives aim to devise a way over the next year to boost copper output from Australia’s biggest underground mine by up to 40%, even before a proposed and long-awaited mega-expansion of its operations here.

Meantime, a plan to halve costs within two years is on course and should strengthen the case for the ultimate buildout of the mine, said Olympic Dam Asset President Jacqui McGill.

Olympic Dam, the world’s biggest deposit of uranium and one of the biggest known sources of copper and gold, is at the heart of BHP’s strategy to grow its output of copper and petroleum, tacking away from commodities such as iron ore where it expanded heavily in recent years but which now face an oversupply in world markets.

‘Real Spark’ for Copper Demand Is Renewable Energy, BHP Says – by David Stringer (Bloomberg News – May 26, 2016)

May 26, 2016

http://www.bloomberg.com/

Renewable energy and China’s economic shift toward consumer-led growth will be major catalysts for a new wave of copper demand that’ll accelerate a shortage forecast to develop from 2019, according to BHP Billiton Ltd., the world’s largest mining company.

“The real spark, though, is the demand for renewables,” said Jacqui McGill, asset president for BHP’s Olympic Dam copper mine, the world’s fifth-largest deposit of the metal. “Regardless of where the energy’s coming from, it needs copper.”

Mining companies, including rival Rio Tinto Group, are racing to meet the forecast global deficit as output is constrained at existing mines on lower grades. By 2040, the share of global electricity generated from renewable energy sources, including solar and wind, will double to 46 percent, Bloomberg New Energy Finance estimates.

Battery-powered mining – by Noel Dyson (Mining Monthly – May 25, 2016)

May 26, 2016

http://www.miningmonthly.com/

A 100% Australian-made battery-powered car is leading the charge to remove diesel engines from underground operations.

After all, the emissions from diesel engines underground are a major challenge so removing them makes a lot of sense. The more diesel burnt underground the stronger the mine ventilation system has to be.

A bit of experimental work was done with fuel cells to get around the problem, however, the recent huge advances in battery technology has brought them to the forefront. Tomcar, the guys that set out to make a car ideally suited to the underground mining environment, have come up with an electric model.

The initial Tomcar prototype was a diesel driven vehicle that looked more like a souped up golf buggy with a serious roll cage.

Seachange and China drive pace of Australia’s urban growth – by Bernard Salt (The Australian – May 26, 2016)

May 26, 2016

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/

What a difference a mining boom, an earthquake and Chinese investment make.

The fortunes of Australia’s cities and towns are unusually connected to these trends and events. I have compared the rate of population growth across the 100 largest towns in Australia between the 2010 and 2015 financial years, which straddle the rise and fall of the mining boom as well as the 2011 Christchurch earthquake and subsequent construction boom that has all but reversed the cross-Tasman migration of New Zealanders. I’ll come to the China effect later.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics released estimates of population growth for the 2015 financial year in April. The database relates to significant urban areas that might be simply described as the contiguous urban area. This means that for larger towns and capital cities outlying commuter towns are measured as separate urban centres so that Sydney’s population (4.5 million) in this dataset excludes the Central Coast (325,000) and other outlying settlements that are otherwise wrapped up into a metropolitan population of close to five million.