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Gas crunch hits industry
THIS EDITION • Apprenticeship drop-off sparks warning • Row over disaster-recovery work contracts
Focus on Charters Towers – special feature
• New coal projects breaking ground
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COVER IMAGE: Australian Professional Galvanizing faces soaring gas bills. Photo: Roslyn Budd
November 2014
2 Trade gap A sharp decline in people starting apprenticeships has sparked warnings of future skills shortfalls and prompted calls to better market the benefits of mastering a trade.
3 Road blocks
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FEATURES 11 Industry Update A wrap of mining, construction and other industry developments throughout Queensland.
14 Industry Leaders 15 Local Government 16 Between Shifts 17 Living Remotely
repairs funded under the Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements scheme, saying their own staff could do the job for less.
SAFE STRONG STABLE.
4-5 Power plight QIA covers industry concerns about domestic gas costs and supply as Queensland’s LNG projects prepare to begin exports. We also look at some of the players proposing to help address the local shortfall by getting new gas fields and pipelines into production.
Queensland Industry Advocate tel: (07) 4755 0336 fax: (07) 4755 0338 Managing editor: Robert Dark 0417 623 156 Client Services: Marion Lago 0414 225 621
9 Cranking up
Journalist: Dominique Kimber 0414 371 966
18 Building Mining Communities 19 Charters Towers Regional Council Feature 24 Education 25 Equipment Review 27 Training 28 Our Mining Heritage
Sales: (07) 4755 0336 or 0417 623 156
QCoal Group is adding Drake to its producing operations in the Collinsville area, while Queensland Coal Corporation is gearing up
Stories: cos@industryadvocate.com.au
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Email: info@industryadvocate.com.au
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Postal: PO Box 945, Townsville, Q, 4810
Advertising booking deadline January 2015 edition: December 11 All material is copyright and cannot be reproduced in part or in full by any means without written permission of the managing editor. The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the publisher.
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2 NEWS
Queensland Industry Advocate | November 2014
Industry warning on apprenticeship drop-off A wage hike has contributed to troubles in the trades, writes Bruce Macdonald. Queensland faces the very real possibility of a skills shortage in a number of trades based on a marked decline in trade commencements, an industry body warns. National Council of Vocational Education Research (NCVER) early trend data for the June quarter showed trade commencements dropping to 21,700 from 25,500 a year earlier. Master Electricians Australia (MEA) general manager
workplace policy Jason O’Dwyer has no doubt what has triggered the latest decline. “Last year’s massive hike in apprentice wages has led to a national collapse in work commencements, setting the scene for skills shortages in critical industries in future years,” he said. Consistent with NCVER’s findings, apprenticeship commencements at TAFE Queensland North’s training centres in Cairns, Mount Isa and
Townsville have seen a decline, from 1100 in 2012-13 to just under 800 in 2013-14. “We have seen a drop in apprenticeship commencements by around 29 per cent and the local economy would benefit from another big project like the Aquis casino development in Cairns to trigger an increase in trade commencements,” TAFE Queensland North general manager Joann Pyne said. “Interestingly, while commencements have decreased, there has been a rise in the number of apprenticeship completions. TAFE Queensland North has experienced an apprenticeship completion rate rise of 6 per cent on last year, which means more workers
finishing their training and entering the workforce.” The grave situation hasn’t been lost on the LNP Government, which has rolled out a $36 million incentive scheme offering employers up to $6000 for each additional apprentice taken on this financial year. Additional money has been set aside for pre-apprenticeship, trades skills assessment and gap training programs. Master Builders Australia believes the benefits of completing a trade need to be marketed better. “We need to change the perception of the apprenticeship brand,” MBA communications manager Ben Carter said. “A tertiary education is seen as
more value and we are trying to address this.” Mr Carter said the Fair Work Commission ruling last year to lift apprenticeship wages “was a terrible decision” but the housing industry must move forward and one of the ways of achieving that was by making a career in a trade more desirable. “A fully qualified tradesperson has the potential to make more money than many university graduates,” he said. Mr Carter said the MBA applauded moves at a federal level to review the National Skills Standard Council Board which hopefully would see more involvement by the building and construction industry. • More training stories - Page 27
Tides of change for training groups Training providers in Queensland’s resources industry are gearing up for changes including new requirements in the sector’s central training package, with a focus on more on-site assessments. The looming overhaul of the RII (Resource Infrastructure Industry) package in 2015 was among the key issues discussed at the Resources Industry Skills Association annual conference in Brisbane recently. RISA chief executive officer Rod Ramsay said about 120 trainers and training managers from work sites and RTOs (Registered Training Organisations) attended the event, with the theme “Resources Sector Skilling: What’s next?” Mr Ramsay said the biggest change the industry was dealing with was the contraction in the state’s mining sector, in coal in particular, over the past three years. RISA members had seen a 70 per cent drop in demand for training for new resource sector workers or jobseekers looking for entry into the mining industry, he said.
“In the resources sector this is the new normal - we have to learn to adapt and work with that,” Mr Ramsay said. “A lot of our members have lost some of their staff because of the decrease in the number of workers and training required on mine sites.” Mr Ramsay said the changes to the RII package requiring a lot more assessment work to be completed on site would mean a greater emphasis on partnerships between training providers and mining operations. The entire vocational education and training industry in Australia is also undergoing major transition under an overhaul launched by the Abbott Government recently. “The VET changes have had a fairly positive reaction from our members in that the government wants to really stamp out those minority RTOs that are not quite doing the right thing and that is a good thing for us because our association is about quality training,” Mr Ramsay said.
A decline in apprenticeship commencements has sparked industry concerns.
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3
Queensland Industry Advocate | November 2014
NEWS
Councils fight for recovery work Flood repair funding arrangements have sparked protest, writes Dominique Kimber. A scheme forcing local governments to use contract labour for disaster recovery work rather than utilise council staff is costing taxpayers millions of extra dollars, according to the Local Government Association of Queensland (LGAQ). Work conducted by local council staff is exempt from funding available through the Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements scheme, despite the LGAQ’s argument that the use of contractors in remote communities is impractical and costly. The issue was the subject of several motions at the 118th LGAQ Annual Conference recently, all of which were unanimously passed by more than 200 delegates. Among the 44 local governments impacted by the scheme is the Flinders Shire Council, which is currently undertaking about $13 million
in work on roads damaged by floods in 2012. The council said it had been experiencing great difficulty in completing flood damage work on council roads partly due to a lack of external contractors offering competitive prices. LGAQ president Margaret de Wit said changes should be made and that the Deputy Prime Minister and Infrastructure Minister Warren Truss should accept common sense on the issue. “There have been four years of argy-bargy on this critically important issue with two successive federal governments,” Cr de Wit said. “Time and again we have shown how impractical and costly it is to use contractors for disaster recovery work in remote communities. Time and again, we and organisations like the Queensland Reconstruction Authority show the value for money process saves taxpayer dollars.”
The LGAQ says it has proven how impractical and costly it is to use contractors for disaster recovery work in remote communities.
Queensland Reconstruction Authority estimates showed that a trial using council day
labour for disaster recovery had saved taxpayers about $126 million.
A spokeswoman for Mr Truss said that the salaries of permanent council staff was currently an issue being examined by the Productivity Commission as part of a broader review of disaster funding. “The Productivity Commission recently released its draft report which contained recommendations relating to the use of day labour, and has invited comment on that draft report,” she said. “Public consultations on the draft report are currently under way. The government is keen to hear from all interested parties, and looks forward to receiving a final report from the Productivity Commission in coming months.” A spokesman for the LGAQ acknowledged the Productivity Commission process and said the LGAQ would continue to make representations to the Australian and Queensland governments for a resolution of the issue. • More local government news - Page 15
4 NEWS
Queensland Industry Advocate | November 2014
Promise in northern source For Armour Energy, plans to supply gas to the domestic market are all about cracking the codes and identifying the sweet spots. The company has tenements in north-west Queensland and has so far found gas in the shale formations in both of its wells, Egilabria 2 and Egilabria 4. Armour Energy chief executive officer Robbert de Weijer says the potential for more wells and increased gas supply is vast.
“What we know is we have independently verified prospector resources of more than 22 TCF in our Queensland tenement. So that’s 22 trillion cubic feet - which is an absolute massive amount of gas,� he said. “Effectively 1 trillion cubic feet can provide enough gas for 1 million people for 20 years. . . If we’re talking about gas supply to MMG of 7-9PJ per annum, if we continue to be successful I could
The flare at Armour Energy’s Egilabria 2 well in north-west Queensland.
Australian Professional Galvanizing, Townsville.
Photo: Roslyn Budd
Cost challenge for galvaniser A Townsville-based company is among those grappling with significant energy costs. Gas prices are at the forefront of cost concerns for Australian Professional Galvanzing (APG), a company that currently faces a monthly energy bill of about $60,000. Trevor Raiteri is the manager of the Townsville-based company and says that while electricity accounts for $7000 to $10,000 of the energy bill, gas makes up the remainder. “Power right now is more controllable, we’re installing solar panels and there are other things you can do to bring your costs down,� he said. “Gas, that’s a challenge. There’s nothing I can do to influence gas. “Gas fires our galvaniser kettle and we would use on average around 2000 litres a day.� Mr Raiteri says that he has recorded a minimum 5 per cent increase in gas prices every year since 2011, with this year forecast to head the same way. The increased production costs make it harder for businesses like APG to remain competitive in the industry, a fact that is never too far from Mr Raiteri’s mind. He says a percentage of gas reserved for the Australian domestic market could be the
answer to energy concerns. “There’s just been a lot of money spent on pipelines in Australia but it’s all being sent offshore. It’s more profitable to send the gas offshore than build the infrastructure for Australianbased companies,� he said. “Let’s be realistic, we’re (domestic gas users) not massive users of the gas they would want to export, we might only want 10 per cent if that. “Right now we’re stuck with poor infrastructure and we can’t tap into our natural gas reserves, which could decrease our energy costs and make us competitive in the world.� The company now has to consider other ways of staying viable and keeping costs down including changing its energy concept to burning other cheaper fuels. “That could be ethanol, which is not a step forward or environmentally friendly compared to burning gas,� Mr Raiteri said. “We currently use liquid petroleum gas, which is a very clean energy. We don’t want to turn a blind eye on the environment but there is a matter of survival.�
Carbon keen to kick off Blue Gum project The last remaining pilot UCG project in Queensland is waiting for the green light from government to commence the approvals process for its first commercial scale project in Queensland, the Blue Gum gas project. Carbon Energy has spent the last year and a half complying with government requirements to prove it can successfully decommission and rehabilitate its Bloodwood Creek underground coal gasification (UCG) pilot plant near Dalby, in southern Queensland. The company recently submitted its decommissioning report and the rehabilitation plans for review. The Blue Gum gas project is located in the Surat Basin and is expected to produce about 25PJ per annum for about 30 years. Carbon Energy chief executive officer MornĂŠ Engelbrecht says the project will focus on providing for local industry ahead of a pending gas shortage. “In Queensland you’re looking at about 80 – 90PJ of gas shortage for industry and manufacturing. 25PJ will go some way to filling that gap,â€? he said. “You see it in the news every day of the week – gas shortages are looming, this is just another supply looking at filling that gap and we’re really focusing on local industry first and then getting the first capital projects off the ground in terms of filling that gap and we look forward to doing that.â€? The Blue Gum project would also create more than 1000 jobs during construction phase and more than 150 sustainable jobs during operation. As the last of three pilot UCG projects run in Queensland, Carbon Energy has an advantage over any newcomers to the UCG market, a market which Mr Engelbrecht says is full of potential.
see a scenario over the longer term where we produce 200300PJ per annum into the east coast of Australia.� Mr de Weijer said this positioned Armour Energy as a major solution to the projected gas shortage on the east coast of Australia and increased gas prices. “I think it will be good news all around. If you really want to ease the pressure on rising gas prices, by far the most effective way of doing it is by increasing gas supply. The more supply we bring into the market, the better it will be for gas prices,� he said. “For us it’s a matter of identifying the sweet spots and cracking the codes.� Earlier this year Armour Energy entered a non-binding memorandum of understanding with MMG Century to work together towards gas supply arrangements from Armour’s exploration tenements in northwest Queensland to MMG’s Queensland operations. Mr de Weijer said the intent was for Armour to provide MMG with gas by 2016/2017. Armour also has a heads of agreement in place with gas infrastructure company APA Group which includes the construction of a gas pipeline to Mount Isa from its North Queensland assets. Mr de Weijer said, depending on how successful Armour was with maturing its acreage, the pipeline could be in place within four to five years. He also highlighted the company’s interest to supply gas to a new gas pipeline linking the Northern Territory with the east coast gas grid. The NT Government is working with the Federal Government to secure private investment in the pipeline. “Would we be interested in supplying gas to the pipeline? – absolutely,� Mr de Weijer said. “I think credit to both Queensland and NT governments. They are very aware of the need to increase gas supplies, so they’re trying to encourage companies like ours to invest in the acreage.�
w W s Co www.gracelaw.com.au Ph 07 4775 4997 Suite 2, 511 Flinders Street West Townsville QLD 4810
5
Queensland Industry Advocate | November 2014
NEWS
Energy users warn on gas crunch for industry Gas drilling
LNG export rush sparks fears for future domestic supply and cost Australian industry is approaching crunch time as gas is driven offshore and international prices push domestic rates up, according to the head of a national energy association. Energy Users Association Australia (EUAA) chief executive officer Phil Barresi says the next three years will be crucial as companies look overseas to a more lucrative market. “What producers are saying is that we can get international prices by exporting overseas and we are going to send it offshore,” he said. “These LNG trains will come onboard and, like a giant vacuum cleaner, they will suck all of the
operations in Queensland.
APA Group’s Wallumbilla hub.
gas from Victoria, NSW and Queensland.” Mr Barresi said another side effect of international gas exports was the inability of businesses to secure long-term contracts for gas supply, leaving many industries in a state of limbo. “Industry makes long-term decisions about their viability within the economy and they need to know if the gas is going to be around in two, three, or four years’ time,” he said. “Most users realise that we’ve had it good in terms of low prices, but to see prices in most cases triple overnight with no longterm contracts available is putting a lot of major commercial and industrial users to struggle to secure gas contracts and secure prices that are affordable.” Peak industry body Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association (APPEA) says that lower gas prices lie in increased supply rather than gas reservation for domestic use. APPEA chief executive David Byers spoke at Eastern Australia’s Energy Market Outlook Conference on the issue recently. “Australia is blessed with abundant natural gas resources for both domestic and export demand, but now is not the time
to fear exports when opportunities abound to develop supply for all gas users, big and small,” he said. However, Mr Barresi said more supply wouldn’t necessarily drive down prices. “There’s no guarantee that extra wells will mean the gas will go to the domestic market,” he said. “We need greater transparency in the contracts and we need the producers to be genuine in their drive to see that we have a thriving domestic market.”
Photo: Roslyn Budd
Network overhaul has APA ready to go with the flow APA Group is well advanced with works at its Wallumbilla site in Queensland which will allow bi-directional flow and increased compression capacity across the south-western Queensland gas pipeline network. They are part of the wider $325 million SWQP program of works being undertaken by APA including a new
Manufacturers hit hard A recent Deloitte Access Economics report highlighted the impact that the rise of LNG exports will have on the manufacturing sector. The report forecast that the Australian manufacturing industry would experience a $118 billion loss of output and a loss of about 14,600 manufacturing jobs by 2021. It found non-gas mining would also contract by close to $34 billion and Queensland’s economy would feel the most severe decline, with a cumulative $60 billion contraction in manufacturing output and a $22 billion contraction in mining output in net present value terms to 2021. Other key findings: • Overall manufacturing output is projected to be 3.61 per cent lower in 2021; mining output 3.59 per cent lower; agriculture 2.01 per cent lower; and transport 1.79 per cent lower. • The negative impacts on manufacturing would be significantly lower in a modeled scenario where gas prices are set by a more competitive upstream gas market. • In general, transformations occurring on the east and west coast gas markets will have the most adverse consequences for manufacturing businesses that use gas most intensively, and therefore incur significant increases in input costs.
compressor station and pressure reduction station at Moomba (MCS) in South Australia, a new compressor station at Wallumbilla in south-west Queensland (WCS3) and the project to provide bi-directional flow on the South West Queensland Pipeline (Eastern Haul Project). APA general manager construction for infrastructure development Warwick Tidswell said the 756km South West Queensland Pipeline (SWQP) was originally constructed to deliver Cooper/Eromanga Basin gas in an easterly direction. In 2006, rapid development of Queensland CSG forced the direction of flow to be reversed. The SWQP now needed to be able to meet the needs of Gladstone’s LNG train commissioning, long-term Cooper Basin gas sales to the LNG projects, redirection of CSG production to other markets and short-term storage services in the event of LNG train upsets, Mr Tidswell said. The work under way means it will be able to reverse direction at any time and flow at maximum capacity within a few hours.
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6 NEWS
Queensland Industry Advocate | November 2014
How to bag that bonus or benefits you desire The debate over the use of 100 per cent FIFO on Queensland mine operations reached boiling point recently as the gates were officially opened at BMA’s $US3.4 billion Caval Ridge coal mine in the Bowen Basin. Web surfers had something to say on everything from protecting local jobs to Tony Abbott’s lack of PPE during the site opening. The controversy lies in the new mine’s 100 per cent FIFO policy, sourcing workers travelling out of Brisbane and Cairns, and the subsequent exclusion of local jobseekers. It’s a particularly touchy subject following the recent announcement by BMA that it is slashing 700 positions from its Bowen Basin operations due to tough market conditions. The CFMEU Facebook page received mixed opinions on the subject, but Prime Minister Abbott quickly emerged as a popular villain for the part he played in the mine opening. Phil Latham
Of course he (Tony Abbott) would support fifo, it opens the doors for more 457 visa holders to come in and further erode safety standards and wages hard fought for by generations past Jamie Volker
These mining company need to be told how they need to run their shows to benefit the community’s where they make their massive profits. If they tell them no, call their bluff and say no mine, stick to their guns. They will cave. Look at how Norway does it. Matti Hjelmström
wheres your hard hat Tony?
Ron Whalan
Global market forces at work.......many if not all of these mining towns were never guaranteed their existence forever, rather, they have always been hanging on at the whim of coal prices and market forces......it’s sad but reality! On the CFMEU home page, Mining and Energy District President Stephen Smyth urged the Prime Minister to use his position to protect local jobs. “Prime Minister Abbott should use his trip to Moranbah to pull BHP into line on jobs,” said Mr Smyth. Isaac Regional Council Mayor Anne Baker also voiced her opinion as she continued her campaign against 100 per cent FIFO. “We have yet to receive a very clear explanation or demonstration of data for the need for 100 per cent forced FIFO on any project when we’ve got skilled workforce living in our region,” she said. Local Mackay newspaper the Daily Mercury had its own online campaign running on the issue and an online poll asking the question “Should Caval Ridge Mine allow for local workers?” - which came back with an overwhelming “yes” vote of 90 per cent. BHP Billiton Coal president Dean Dalla Valle defended the decision to use 100 per cent FIFO, saying it allowed for a more diverse workforce. “Having a FIFO operation enabled us to reach a wider potential employee pool across the State, not only bringing greater diversity but also enabling us to share the economic benefits of the mine more broadly,” he said. “Over 30,000 people applied for around 950 roles at Caval Ridge and its sister mine Daunia.”
Tough times have seen many work teams shrink and pay conditions slide. So in a tight market, what’s the trick to getting a better deal at work? Australian engineering and resources staff recruiter SouthTech has identified five key tips for employees - and it’s more than just meeting your project targets each month. You need to develop a personal strategy, demonstrate your value to your employer and come up with viable fresh ideas for the business, according to South Tech executive general manager Paul Barbaro. “Think of it like the investment market. A company may post a good profit but industry analysts want to see sound strategic growth plans before they’ll recommend the business as a buy option,” he said. “It’s the same with bosses – when it comes to pay increase considerations for engineering and other resources industry roles, they don’t just look at how you’re performing now, they look at your future value. “Getting a bigger share of the pie – whether it’s a pay increase, a bonus or benefit - takes perseverance. You have to ask for it, but you’ve also got to work for it.” Here are some ideas to get you started:
Develop a personal strategy “To be successful, you’ve got to know where you want to go and how you’re going to get there,” Mr Barbaro said. Strategy templates are available online for companies, and he suggests adapting one to suit your personal strategy. “Be brave and run through this with your boss – they’ll be impressed with your commitment.”
Prove your current value Mr Barbaro said employees should track how the work they did added to the operation’s bottom line and how they executed it in tandem with the company’s values. “Pinpoint specific tasks that show how you support a project whether it’s in planning, review or through creating efficiencies,” he said.
Paul Barbaro South Tech executive general manager
Show your future value “As part of your plan show how you contribute to innovation,” Mr Barbaro said. He suggests reviewing your company’s strategy or vision and picking an area where you can help. “Talk with your boss or colleagues to ensure you hit the mark.”
Sharpen skills that matter This could involve brushing up on your negotiation or project management skills, for example, or building stronger relationships with suppliers to drive efficiencies.
Surprise and delight the boss “Employers love new ideas for customers so identify areas that could do with a makeover and do it,” Mr Barbaro said. “Organise a 10-minute chat with your boss once a month to outline your ideas.”
Finally, be realistic. “There simply may not be money in the pot - so try negotiating for additional benefits instead,” he said. This could take the form of more training, flexible work hours or even asking for a mentor.
Civil contractors continue ‘de-bundling‘ campaign
The benefits of de-bundling larger project packages include increased competition, leading to better value for money, CCF Queensland says.
The Civil Contractors Federation, Queensland is reinforcing its push for the State Government to “de-bundle” more large work packages with a new position paper. The Queensland branch is gathering member input to put before relevant ministers and departments to advocate on the issue. Chief executive officer Robert Row said CCF Queensland members believed there were benefits to de-bundling larger project packages including increased competition, leading to
better value for money. “De-bundling leads to a greater spread of work across the industry, which our members believe provides for positive outcomes for industry at all levels,” he said. “Our members argue that smaller contractors are also likely to be local companies; which leads to profits remaining in the state and greater employment outcomes for Queensland communities.” Support for de-bundling major works packages - allowing separate, smaller contracts to be
awarded – was a long-held policy position of CCF at a state and national level, Mr Row said. The Queensland branch is continuing to gather members’ input for the new position paper, following a meeting on the issue in late September. “CCF QLD is aiming to ensure that government assess whether de-bundling is possible for all projects before they are let to market,” Mr Row said. “The branch and our members accept that there will always be projects that are not suited to this model.”
7
Queensland Industry Advocate | November 2014
REGIONAL ROUND-UP Townsville
Cairns
Townsville City Council is partnering with the Australian Urban Research Infrastructure Network (AURIN) on a major data project to guide the city’s future water and energy security. The Townsville Data Hub will research information and trends on energy and water consumption that will assist residents, business and the council plan for a sustainable future for the city’s growth, with an expected doubling of the population over the next 25 years. Ergon Energy, the Queensland Cyber Infrastructure Foundation, James Cook University and Queensland University of Technology are also involved in the project. It builds on the success of the Townsville IBM Smarter Cities Challenge, which won the Smart Infrastructure Project award at the 2013 National Infrastructure Awards. AURIN director Professor Bob Stimson praised the council’s leadership on the issue, saying the Townsville Data Hub and the models that would ultimately draw on it would be powerful tools for planners to test policy ideas.
Far Northern business leaders have spoken out against a State Government decision to award a raft of qconnect air services to Rex Airlines. “Rex Airlines does not have a local Far Northern base - its major base is in New South Wales. This will potentially translate to a significant loss of Queensland jobs and a massive loss in revenue for our regional economy,” Cairns Chamber of Commerce chief executive officer Deb Hancock said. Skytrans airlines has operated flights for more than six years for the Gulf route (Cairns-Normanton-Gununa-Burketown-Doomadgee-Mount Isa) as well as two western routes taking in Brisbane, Toowoomba and a string of western Queensland and Gulf towns. Skytrans airlines has invested more than $5 million into the Far Northern community through a variety of initiatives, including the Return to Country Program, sporting sponsorships throughout Cape York and support for indigenous health and education programs, according to the Advance Cairns group.
Rockhampton
Clermont
The Queensland Government has approved $8 million in funding for a road project to kickstart a North Rockhampton residential development expected to include 2000-2500 new homes. Deputy Premier and Minister for State Development, Infrastructure and Planning Jeff Seeney said the State Government would partner with the Rockhampton Regional Council and CQU to fund a new four-way signalised intersection and the first stage of the main street for the CQU Rockhampton Priority Development Area. The work, funded under the State Government’s Priority Development Infrastructure program, would be the catalyst for developing a world-class, mixed-use village incorporating university, residential, retail and commercial spaces, Mr Seeney said. Rockhampton Region Mayor Margaret Strelow said the funding for new infrastructure in the CQU residential precinct would unlock growth and open doors for new economic development opportunities.
The Galilee Basin State Development Area (GBSDA) stripped landholders’ rights and large tracts of country were unnecessarily being held to ransom, a landholder spokeswoman told a recent Parliamentary hearing into the matter. Corridor to Coast - Galilee Network spokeswoman Shontae Moran, from the Double D cattle station north-east of Clermont, told the hearing that the GBSDA corridor was 10 times the size of GVK’s approved Environmental Impact Study (EIS) corridor, according to an APN news report. The GBSDA was declared in June to support the development of two multi-user common rail corridors from Galilee Basin coal projects to Abbot Point. Ms Moran said the majority of affected landholders were opposed to the GBSDA because it failed to strike the right balance between the interests of overseas mining companies and farmers, The Chronicle reported. Premier Campbell Newman said the land acquisition was essential for the state’s prosperity.
Bowen The State Government is seeking Commonwealth approval for a strategy which would see dredge spoil from the planned Abbot Point coal terminal expansion used on land rather than being dumped at sea. The Abbot Point Beneficial Reuse Strategy involves dredge material being placed on state land west of the port facilities, to lay the groundwork for future expansion. Existing man-made wetlands to the south will be expanded. “The State Government has appointed experienced project manager, Michael Schaumburg, to oversee this development, with work set to commence as soon as possible should Federal Government approval be granted,” Deputy Premier Jeff Seeney said. Meanwhile Federal MP George Christensen has come under fire for comments about environmental groups made in a speech to the Parliament, the Whitsunday Times reported. Mr Christensen described those who continued to oppose the Abbot Point expansion, despite winning the offshore dredge dumping war, as “gutless green grubs” and “eco-terrorists”. In September about 600 people joined a rally at the Bowen showgrounds to show support for the planned expansion of Abbot Point coal terminal and the Carmichael coal development.
Moranbah About 300 contractors will lose their jobs at the Isaac Plains open-cut mine near Moranbah as operations wind down. Owners Vale and Sumitomo recently announced plans to place the coal mine in care and maintenance, saying the operation was not economically feasible under current market conditions. “That mine was not attracting premium coal prices. It wasn’t at the premium end of coal quality,” Queensland Resources Council chief executive Michael Roche told ABC News. Sumitomo has confirmed suggestions Isaac Plains will go into standby mode by January 2015, according to the Daily Mercury – which said the announcement capped off one of the bloodiest weeks in recent memory for the coal workforce. It followed news that BHP Billiton planned to cut 700 Central Queensland positions – with APN reporting that Blackwater, Goonyella Riverside, Peak Downs, Saraji, Broadmeadow, Caval Ridge and Daunia mines were expected to be the focus of those cuts.
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8 NEWS
Queensland Industry Advocate | November 2014
The new NSS harbour crane takes shape at Port of Townsville.
Get your game on for GC2018
• For time-lapse images of the build, visit the QIA website.
Businesses statewide are lining up for a piece of the action, with a $2b boost on its way.
Photo: Roslyn Budd
Suppliers throughout regional Queensland are being encouraged to target opportunities from the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games, with more than 270 work packages on offer. The range of goods and services required for GC2018 include construction, the upgrade and preparation of venues and facilities, temporary grandstand seating, temporary fencing, temporary lighting, shipping containers, tents, scaffolding and logistics services. A State Government spokesman said GC2018 was expected to inject $2 billion into the Queensland economy. “The scale of GC2018 can benefit businesses locally, statewide and nationally,” the Department of Tourism, Major Events, Small Business and the Commonwealth Games spokesman said. He said about 13 per cent of expressions of interests against GC2018 work packages received to date had been from Queensland businesses from locations outside of the Gold Coast and Brisbane areas. Regional working groups are being established to help identify regional business development priorities and raise awareness
about procurement opportunities with regional industries. A business and industry portal has been established with information including the forward procurement plan and schedule
“
The scale of GC2018 (the
2018 Commonwealth Games) can benefit businesses locally, statewide and nationally. State Government
for GC2018, the Embracing 2018 Business Development Framework, and information about events, tools, training and support available for businesses. (Visit http://www.business.qld. gov.au/commonwealth-games). Businesses can also register on the ICN Gateway and express interest in GC2018 work packages or create a logon for QTenders to receive notification of when public tenders for GC2018 opportunities are released. ICN Queensland is part of the procurement working group and has embedded consultant Abhiney Arora to work directly with the organising committee.
Leibherr crane lifts handling capacity at Port of Townsville Northern Stevedoring Services continues to invest in the future prosperity of the Port of Townsville, with a $5 million
Sparks of brilliance at WorldSkills A boilermaker from Crows Nest near Toowoomba has taken out gold at a national skills competition in Perth - an experience that he says pushed him to work harder than ever before. Jed Sparks competed in the Construction Steel Work category of the 2014 WorldSkills Australia National Competition.
Mr Sparks and his competitors were challenged with the construction of a design resembling a mini-bulldozer over the course of three six-hour days. “I’ve never worked that hard in my life actually,”Mr Sparks said. “It was an absolutely brilliant experience for me personally and I worked very very hard.” Mr Sparks credits a bit of good advice he received from his father for his success. “My personal motto that I got from my old man is - it’s good, better, best; never let it rest ? until your good is better “ CALL JAMESTECH “ and your better is best.” The competition saw * Electrical Trades and Technical Labour Hire * close to 500 people “Supplying the right man for the job” James Technologies Pty Ltd ACN. 079 932 513 compete across 46 skills categories, assessed by * Electrical Construction and Engineering * about 300 judges. “Job satisfaction from start to finish” James Technologies (Projects) Pty Ltd ACN. 135 411 728 WorldSkills Australia Electrical Contractors License QLD 66397, NSW 128976C, NT C2197 chief executive officer * Electrical Safety & Risk Awareness Courses * Mark Callaghan said “Learning to stay safe” judges had praised the James Technologies (Training) Pty Ltd ACN. 116 604 230 Registered Training Organisation - National Training Provider (RTO) No. 31908 level of competition Ph. 1300 732 881 (inside Australia) at this year’s event, Ph. +61-7-5549 3471 (Brisbane direct) Ph. +61-7-4725 7706 (Townsville direct) with only a few points www.jamestech.com.au separating many gold,
Leibherr 420 harbour crane now working at Berth Three. The purchase follows the completion of a $12 million bulk handling facility adjacent to the port earlier in the year. The crane arrived by ship from Germany in pieces and took more than two weeks to unload, reassemble and commission for its new role at the port.
“
We are speaking with shipping companies that operate vessels which don’t have onboard cranes to look at Townsville Ross Grenside
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Boilermaker Jed Sparks with his minibulldozer competition piece.
silver, and bronze medallists. WorldSkills Australia is one of 76 member countries worldwide and the next stage of the WorldSkills cycle will be the 2015 international competition in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
NSS commercial manager Ross Grenside said the Leibherr 420 had a lift capacity of 124 tonnes, a substantial increase of capability over the old harbour crane which had a maximum lift capacity of 80 tonnes. Mr Grenside said the old crane would be retained for the time being as a back-up. NSS customers can expect a 20 per cent lift in ship turnarounds, cutting about four hours off the usual day-long period while unloading. “That represents a $4000 saving for our customers,” Mr Grenside said. “The dieselpowered Leibherr 420 is also much cheaper to run than the old crane.”
An added advantage of the Leibherr 420 is its boom reach of 44m, which allows it to load and unload larger vessels with a greater width more quickly. Maintenance manager Jarrod Sawyer said the crane had a number of innovative features to increase efficiency and also enhance safety. A Cycoptronic point-topoint system allows operators to program in the arc of the boom, which will automatically compensate for the forward momentum of the load. A remote control system has also been fitted which allows an operator to control the crane from outside the cabin, which is 30m above the ground. Mr Sawyer said this would be used for maintenance work, moving the crane to a new location and in the movement of large project cargo which has very little leeway when being lifted from the hold of a vessel. The crane also features a twinlift Bromma container spreader which allows for two containers to be unloaded simultaneously. Mr Grenside said he had been speaking with port officials about spreading the word about the increased loading and unloading capacity at the Port of Townsville. “We are speaking with shipping companies that operate vessels which don’t have onboard cranes to look at Townsville as a possible destination,” he said.
9
Queensland Industry Advocate | November 2014
NEWS
Twin pits on the starting blocks Time is ripe for lean, medium-sized coal operations to kick off, says proponent. Queensland Coal Corporation is poised to begin initial test pit operations in 2015 at its Wilton and Fairhill hard coking coal projects, which sit side by side in the Bowen Basin north-east of Emerald. Wilton – with a JORC 2012 compliant 2.28-billion-tonne resource – is set to be first cab off the rank, according to Queensland Coal Corporation managing director Paul McKenna. “We’re in the final stage of doing our mine planning, mine scheduling and economic analysis of the project,” he said. The first stage test pit at Wilton could start as early as the second quarter of 2015,
depending on the market, with Fairhill set to follow by the end of the year. Mr McKenna said the longterm mine plan indicated operations would commence at 1mtpa, ramping up to 5mtpa in full production. He said the company had built strong ties to the nearby community of Emerald, which had been very supportive of the projects. “We’ve met and worked with local suppliers and we want to try to employ locally – that has been our focus all along. We’ve used local contractors before and we want to continue down that path,” Mr McKenna said. The company will
seek amendments to the environmental authorities attached to its Mineral Development Licences to allow the test pits to go ahead, providing large enough coal samples to send to steel mills for production testing. “The test pit concept is very similar to what Hancock did in the Galilee Basin and QCoal up around Collinsville,” Mr McKenna said. He said they were in regular discussions with the largest steel companies in the world regarding offtake.
Costeaning at the Wilton coal project.
Mr McKenna said the time was ripe for the development of “lean” medium-sized mining operations that could fit in with spare capacity available locally in terms of infrastructure. The current downturn in the market was a plus in terms of the availability and affordability of contractors, plant and equipment. “Contractors’ rates and costs of plant and equipment have come
QCoal brings Drake into production QCoal Group is set to start production at its new Drake mine, 17km south of Collinsville, in November, appointing a contractor for the early works. The Brisbane-based producer is creating a northern hub of sites centred on its existing Sonoma mine facilities. While the Drake mine has approval for construction and operation of a coal processing and rail loading facility on site, early coal will be processed using the existing infrastructure at Sonoma mine. QCoal has several projects in its Northern Hub of operations – located near the town of Collinsville - including the Sonoma, Drake, Cows and Jax sites. Drake is expected to produce up to 6 million tonnes of coal per annum across a 30-year life.
“Early works at Drake demonstrates QCoal’s commitment to the region and the development of new projects,” QCoal general manager mining operations Danny McCarthy said. The company is also forging ahead with its $1.7 billion Byerwen coal project – a 10mtpa operation of predominately hard coking coal that QCoal is developing 20km west of Glenden. In early October the federal Environment Department granted conditional approval for the Byerwen coal project to go ahead subject to environmental conditions. “QCoal expects the grant of the mining leases in early 2015,” Mr McCarthy said. QCoal recently received the Queensland Miner of the Year Award at the Mining
2014 Resources Convention in Brisbane. The group currently exports 4mtpa and expects to export 20 million tonnes of coal in 2020 based on its project pipeline. “Our strong project pipeline is a direct result of over 20 years of uninterrupted exploration in Queensland,” QCoal Group managing director Christopher Wallin said. “In addition to continuous investment in greenfield exploration, we have a strong focus on efficiency across our operations and this makes our projects sustainable at longrun coal prices.” Minotaur Exploration, which this year discovered the high-grade Artemis coppergold-zinc deposit near Cloncurry, was named Queensland Explorer of the Year at the Mining 2014 Resources Convention.
down markedly and we see it as a very good window of opportunity to develop projects and get them production-ready in this time when coal prices are low,” Mr McKenna said. “This is a fantastic time to develop projects and, with forward price projections on coal, to have projects production-ready by 2015/16 to meet the market recovery – that’s our goal.”
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10 NEWS
Queensland Industry Advocate | November 2014
Queensland takes hat-trick in rescue field Oaky North led the charge for Sunshine State mines at the recent national competition. Queensland has taken out the top three spots at the 52nd Australian Mines Rescue Competition for the first time in the event’s history. Oaky North mine took out first place for the second year in a row with Broadmeadow and Crinum mines following in second and third place. Nine teams competed at this year’s event, held at Glencore’s Oaky North mine, near Tieri. Queensland Mines Rescue Service operations manager Ray Smith said it was one of the
closest national competitions in years. “There was only four points between first and second so it was very tight. The level of competition, it’s one of the closest for some years. Any of the 18 teams potentially could have won,” he said. The teams were faced with two underground scenarios including challenges surrounding spontaneous combustion and ventilation. “They all challenged and adapted really well to it and
Oaky North captain Jim Young briefs the team prior to CABA (Compressed Air Breathing Apparatus) exercise underground.
ticked all the good boxes there,” Mr Smith said. Back on the surface teams completed the standard theory component and two exercises
The Kestrel mines rescue team at the International Mines Rescue Competition. Back row - Ben Lang, Anthony Appleton, Derrin Powell and Luke Jaavuo. Front row - Chris Catip, Adroito Xavier and Brendan Iddles.
that included multiple casualties and a first aid challenge. “The teams responded to an incident of a compressed air scenario, there was a lot of debris around and one of the casualties went into cardiac arrest. So it really put a lot of stress on the team and there was a lot of dynamics for the team to respond to,” Mr Smith said. Oaky North mine also placed seventh at the mines rescue world championships in Poland earlier this year – an experience that Mr Smith said placed them well to take out the national competition. “I think they brought back experience and confidence from the international comp to take out the shield this year,” he said. Twenty-one other mines rescue teams from 13 countries competed in the 9th International Mines Rescue Competition including Kestrel mine, from the Emerald region
in Queensland. Kestrel won third place in the simulated rescue event, which included a series of practical and theoretical tests over two days. Kestrel mines rescue team captain Derrin Powell said the team was thrilled with the result. “We have learnt a lot and are grateful for this opportunity to share best practice with our peers from a number of different mining operations around the world,” he said. “The team trained hard and tried to make the most of the time we had to familiarise ourselves with the different rules and equipment in the days leading up to the competition. “The experience wasn’t without its challenges as we hadn’t used most of the equipment before and needed the help of a translator to assist with the language barrier between English and Polish.”
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Queensland Industry Advocate | November 2014
INDUSTRY UPDATE
Down the line
“The size of the anomaly is larger than that of the company’s flagship Watershed tungsten deposit and the tenor of tungsten and tin values in samples is extremely exciting,” Vital managing director Mark Strizek said. Vital in September released results from its definitive feasibility study for the Watershed project, held in joint venture with JOGMEC, which showed strong economics for a 2.5mtpa open-pit tungsten mine. The project would cost $172 million to build, with the company expecting to begin early site works in 2015 and to ship its first concentrate in early 2017.
Santos GLNG pipeline technician Daniel Daly at the pipeline compressor station in the Fairview field.
Santos GLNG has fed natural gas into its 420km gas transmission pipeline for the first time via its primary compressor station in the Fairview field in southwest Queensland. Santos vice-president downstream GLNG Rod Duke said he was pleased to take another important step towards the project’s first shipment of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Gladstone Harbour next year. “Commissioning of our pipeline is an important milestone, not only for our business, but the Queensland LNG industry as a whole,” Mr Duke said. Once commissioned, the pipeline will transport up to 40 million cubic metres of natural gas each day from Santos GLNG’s gas fields to its gas liquefaction plant on Curtis Island. “Building such a big pipeline is no easy task. Construction began in 2012, and since then we’ve worked more than six million hours on this part of our project,” Mr Duke said. Work in Santos GLNG’s gas fields across the Bowen and Surat basins and construction of the LNG plant at Curtis Island were also progressing strongly towards first LNG in 2015, he said. All the modules for the GLNG plant project on Curtis Island have been successfully delivered, with the recent arrival from the Philippines of the final two modules to site for installation and commissioning by the Bechtel project team. Bechtel is the engineering, procurement and construction contractor across three LNG projects which are being simultaneously constructed, side-by-side on Curtis Island. BG Group’s QCLNG project is set to be first cab off the rank for exports - with the company’s most recent quarterly report confirming the project was ramping up gas production for first exports in December this year.
Construction of the Santos GLNG pipeline involved: • Six million work hours. • 36,000 segments of pipe • Four camps - in the Arcadia Valley, Fairview field, Bauhinia and Kilburnie • 2000 vehicles • 120 excavators and 45 pipe-laying machines • One primary contractor and more than 50 subcontractors • More than 2000 jobs created during construction • 4.3km under-sea tunnel from the mainland to Curtis Island
Progress for Carmichael Adani’s plans to build a $16 billion coal mine are a step closer after the Federal Government approved a 310km railway that will link the operation to the port. The rail line will connect Adani’s proposed Carmichael mine to already established rail lines in the Bowen Basin. Capable of carrying 60 million tonnes of coal per year, the commodity will then be exported through Abbot Point coal terminal. Adani Mining is partnering with POSCO for the rail project, tipped to provide up to 2400 new jobs. It will connect the Carmichael Mine, north-west of Clermont, to the Port of Abbot Point, north of Bowen. Parsons Brinckerhoff recently entered into an agreement as the project management consultant for the integrated mine, port and rail project.
Orion strikes gold in CQ Orion Gold has discovered a substantial gold-silver target at its Connors Arc Project, 180km from Rockhampton in Central Queensland. The Aurora Flats prospect was a large epithermal gold-silver system – the style of deposit which accounted for a substantial proportion of world gold production, the company said. Orion has engaged Search Exploration to conduct a high-powered IP/resistivity survey at the Aurora Flats target to identify the location of greatest vein density at the “critical depth” for metal deposition in the epithermal system.
Jubilee celebrations Consulmet comes on board Metallica Minerals has contracted Consulmet to supply and commission the concentrator plant for its heavy mineral sands (HMS) and bauxite project at Urquhart Point, 3km west of Weipa on Cape York. The company said Consulmet would now commence construction of the modularised plant in South Africa. The plant is expected to be commissioned late in May 2015, with HMS production commencing in June. The project is a joint venture between Metallica’s wholly-owned subsidiary,
Oresome Australia, and Ozore Resources, which is owned by a private Chinese investor.
Vital signs all good Vital Metals says it has identified a significant tin and tungsten anomaly on its Slaty Range exploration tenement, 55km south of its flagship Watershed tungsten project in North Queensland. Recent work by Vital’s geologists in compiling historical stream sediment geochemical sampling had identified the true extent of the Slaty Range prospect, formerly held by BHP, the company said.
Chinalco Yunnan Copper Resources is continuing to report excellent results from its Mount Isa-based exploration team. Managing director Paul Williams said the team had followed up its success at the Jubilee prospect – 5.5km south of Mary Kathleen - earlier this year with results confirming the existence of significant high- grade copper and gold mineralisation that was not closed off along the north-south length of strike nor at depth. “We look forward to the opportunity to go back into the Jubilee area for more (deeper) drilling in November,” he said.
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MMG keeps options open MMG is continuing to examine options to utilise the Century operation’s infrastructure as it prepares for the end of open-pit production at the lower Gulf site in late 2015. General manager of MMG’s Queensland operations, Mark Adams, said the strategy of keeping Century’s infrastructure at Lawn Hill and Karumba in a state of operational readiness was still in place. “Rehabilitation planning has already commenced and our intention is to return the lease to its pre-mining use as an area suitable for light cattle grazing. While we examine future options, we will maintain all plant, equipment and infrastructure in a state of operational readiness,” Mr Adams said. The workforce at Century will continue to decline in line with operational requirements, down from the current strength of 900 to about 160 by the end of 2015. MMG’s Dugald River development, 65km north of Cloncurry, is continuing its mine stoping trial program with a total of 13 trial stopes now successfully mined and backfilled.
Sedgman wins Baralaba job Sedgman has won a $36.7 million contract for a significant expansion of Cockatoo Coal’s Baralaba mine, about 5km outside Baralaba in the lower Bowen Basin. The upgrade will increase the Baralaba mine’s capacity to stack, reclaim and rail product from 1 mtpa to upwards of 3.5 mtpa. Sedgman’s scope of work includes the design, supply, fabrication, construction and commissioning of the train load-out and stockyard facility at Moura. The upgraded facilities are scheduled for completion in August 2015.
Rolleston coal work goes to SMJV Glencore Coal Queensland has awarded the SNC-Lavalin–McConnell Dowell Joint Venture (SMJV ) the engineering, procurement and construction contract for the Rolleston 5th Coal Valve project in the Bowen Basin. The contract covers installation of a fifth coal valve in the product stockpile, lengthening of a reclaim tunnel and associated reclaim conveyor, extension of product stacker rails and minor upgrades to water and power facilities. “This project provides McConnell Dowell a key opportunity to reinforce our partnership with an international player in the engineering and construction industry, to merge our capabilities and offer clients a real and valuable alternative in the market,” SMJV committee chairman Harry Hartman said.
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12 INDUSTRY UPDATE Mastermyne branches out Mastermyne Group has a $20 million deal in train to acquire maintenance, engineering and contract mining service provider Diversified Mining Services. Mastermyne chief executive and managing director Tony Caruso said the DMS business would provide a key suite of services that complemented the company’s current offering, were timely in the market and, importantly, were very niche to a number of sectors. DMS operates throughout the Bowen Basin, Gladstone and Mackay regions as well as in the Hunter Valley for a range of clients in the mining, metalliferous processing, contracting and mining infrastructure industries.
Research to fight fume hazard
Queensland Industry Advocate | November 2014
“The scientific rigour that has gone into the environmental assessment of our Alpha Coal Project has received approval from the State and Federal governments and we plan to meet every environmental condition that has been set by regulatory authorities.” GVK Hancock is continuing to finalise its proposed joint venture with Aurizon to progress the development of rail and port transport solution connecting Galilee Basin to export markets via a rail line into a new terminal (T3) at the existing Abbot Point port. “Once we finalise the infrastructure joint venture with Aurizon and the regulatory bodies have addressed litigious challenges to approvals, we will execute coal off-take agreements before finalising all financing arrangements,” Mr Euler said.
Green light for Bowen Gas Project The State Government has approved the environmental impact statement for Arrow Energy’s Bowen Gas Project in Central Queensland.
CRCMining is seeking potential mining partners to launch the next stage of a research project to eliminate the hazard of post-blast nitrogen oxide (NOx) fumes from coal overburden blasting. The toxic fumes appeared to be an industry-wide problem occurring in a variety of geological conditions and with various bulk ammonium nitrate explosive products, the research body said.
The Clough AMEC joint venture has won the $70 million front-end engineering design contract for the project - which involves a major, staged expansion of Arrow’s existing domestic coal seam gas production in the Bowen Basin, to supply gas to the domestic market and for the production and export of liquefied natural gas. Queensland Resources Council chief executive Michael Roche said the Arrow Energy CSG project would provide more than 1500 jobs during the construction phase from 2016, and about 700 permanent jobs.
Artemis drill program steps up
CRCMining is working with the University of Queensland and the School of Mechanical and Mining Engineering to develop alternatives to ammonium nitrate for industry use.
Alpha ticks environmental boxes GVK Hancock has been granted an environmental authority for its Alpha coal project in the Galilee Basin. The company said this milestone took it one step closer to commencing the proposed mine, which would create about 4000 jobs during its three-year construction and more than 1800 jobs over 30-plus years of operation. “We’ve invested tens of millions of dollars and thousands of man hours assessing, planning and engaging with communities to reach this point,” GVK Hancock corporate affairs manager Josh Euler said.
zone, testing strike and depth extensions of mineralisation.
Cockatoo Coal has entered a joint venture with Japanese Governmentowned corporation JOGMEC to fund an exploration program on the Dingo West coal project in the Bowen Basin. Under the terms of the agreement, JOGMEC will provide up to $3.5 million to Cockatoo over a threeyear period for exploration and will earn an interest of up to a 35 per cent in the Dingo West project. The project lies 50km north of Cockatoo’s Baralaba mining complex and is also adjacent to the company’s Dingo joint venture project with Whitehaven Coal. Cockatoo acquired the Dingo West project through the takeover late last year of Blackwood Corporation, which had intercepted coal seams of PCI quality within the tenure during preliminary scout drilling.
Top-notch training An inaugural awards presentation at the recent Resources Industry Skills Association annual conference in Brisbane recognised three organisations for their contribution to quality training in the sector. They included Sharp Training from Mackay (outstanding site/company partnering program), Jenagar Training from Charters Towers (outstanding RTO skilling initiative), and HSE Mining (outstanding company skilling initiative).
Slower progress than expected on the Eagle Downs mine development and a fatality at a CSG site have contributed to a downgrade in expected earnings this financial year for engineering services contractor WDS. The Eloise Copper joint venture has announced a major ramp-up of exploration, which will see it spend $6 million by mid-2015 on drilling at the Artemis prospect near Cloncurry. Joint venture partner Minotaur Exploration in July confirmed its discovery of significant massive sulphide mineralisation at Artemis after the first drill hole into the target returned highgrade assays above 5 per cent copper. Minotaur managing director Andrew Woskett said the JV had decided to substantially and immediately ramp-up its on-ground work over the area. “This is an extraordinary vote of confidence in the demonstrated calibre and potential of this emerging coppergold discovery and similar prospects
The company said also much lower than expected tunnelling rates and support installation rates had been achieved in the driveage of two surface to coal seam access drifts at the Eagle Downs project in the Bowen Basin. WDS has appointed a team of external advisors as part of its recently announced review of business strategy and operations.
Focus on low emissions
JV deal for Dingo West
Contractor left reeling
Project leader Dr Italo Onederra said preliminary detonation tests results were very encouraging. “If the explosive delivers the expected outcomes, there is no doubt that Australia will be at the forefront of mining explosives innovation,” he said.
around it,” Mr Woskett said. A Coretech track-mounted diamond rig began the new drilling campaign in late October, with a second rig mobilised for deeper drilling to test below mineralised intersections encountered by the first rig. A program of 40 holes for 18,000m is planned at and along the Artemis
The Minerals Council of Australia is setting up a leadership roundtable for the development of low-emissions technologies for fossil fuels. Wesfarmers Resources managing director Stewart Butel will chair the roundtable. Membership will include senior representatives from the coal, oil and gas, and power generation industries, research organisations, federal and state governments and the Global CCS Institute. Minerals Council of Australia chief executive Brendan Pearson said the roundtable’s role would be to share information on relevant low-emission technology activities across Australia and overseas and to identify potential new studies and activities that could address current gaps and future needs.
Bechtel takes national award Bechtel has been recognised for its commitment to safety on the GLNG plant project at Gladstone with a National Safety Award of Excellence from the National Safety Council of Australia. Bechtel’s GLNG project team developed an innovative program called the Safety League to create a long-term, sustainable safety culture. Borrowing from rugby league, the program uses teams and easilyunderstood sports terminology and concepts to motivate people and reward safe behaviours. The program also benefits the community by donating money to local charities on behalf of the teams that successfully complete safety challenges. Since the program’s inception, the company has given $110,000 to organisations in the Gladstone area.
The company in October released a market update revealing adverse impacts of the order of $9 million from its Energy Division and of the order of $4 million from the Mining Division, with net profit after tax for 2014-15 expected to be $1-3 million. In September a WDS employee suffered a fatal injury at an Australia Pacific LNG project worksite at Reedy Creek in south-west Queensland. In another blow, WDS failed to win the initial package of work for the next phase of a major CSG project.
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13
Queensland Industry Advocate | November 2014
INDUSTRY UPDATE
Safety excellence
electricity use is at its lowest and discharging them during the day if required when energy use peaks. The units will improve the quality and reliability of electricity supply to rural customers on constrained single wire high voltage distribution voltage lines, known as SWER (Single Wire Earth Return), Ergon says.
Queensland export winners Blast Movement Technologies has been named as the Queensland Exporter of the year at the Premier of Queensland’s Export Awards in Brisbane.
Celebrating the win at the QMCA gala dinner were (from left) Anne Woolley, Dominic O’Brien, Orla Gallagher, Travis Graham, Brendan Ostwald, Andrew Cook, Alan Murray, Val Gardiner, Jarrod McHugh, Alan McWilliam, Steve Giles, Steve Abson, Louise Perram-Fisk, Jonathan Davies, Jon Bell, Shane Scholefield, Mark Bingley, Gerard Williams and Danny O’Reilly.
Ostwald Bros has taken out the 2014 Queensland Project Safety Excellence Award for its APLNG rig pads and roads project. The awards, run annually by the Queensland Major Contractors Association (QMCA), recognise a project team’s commitment to safety in the construction of major government and private sector infrastructure projects. The winning Ostwald Bros project involved provision of access roads and stable, flat, safe rig pads on which gas drilling facilities could be established for the operation of an energised gas field. The project is spread over hundreds of hectares with virtually no road network. Other finalists were BMD Constructions for the Geebung Overpass Alliance project, Laing O’Rourke for the Bauhinia electrification project, Thiess for the QCLNG compression facilities project and Fulton Hogan for the Blacksoil Interchange Warrego Highway / Brisbane Valley Highway project.
Airport lands key approval
Plant upgrades for APG
Mackay Airport has welcomed State Government approval of the Mackay Airport Land Use Plan 2014, paving the way for a $1 billion redevelopment.
Mr Brown said NQA had already made a major investment in Mackay Airport through the $30 million ibis Mackay Airport hotel and surrounds project currently under way and due for completion by mid-2015.
Qld engineering honours BMD Group took out three of this year’s Engineers Australia Queensland Engineering Excellence awards, including for its work with Albem Operations to design and construct the $111 million Bruce Highway upgrade into Cairns. The $360 million Richlands to Springfield project, entered by TrackStar Alliance, was this year’s winner of the RW Hawken Award, and also took out an Excellence Award in the project management category. Dr Burt Look, a geotechnical engineer with more than 30 years’ professional engineering experience, was named the Queensland Professional Engineer of the Year.
Blast Movement Technologies (BMT) spans manufacturing, R&D, consulting, training and software development – with its core business built around a patented method of measuring the movement of rock that occurs during blasting.
CCF boosts northern profile The Civil Contractors Federation has boosted its presence in North Queensland with the appointment of two senior managers based at its new $1.2 million Queensland Civil Industry Training Centre in Mount Louisa, Townsville. CCF Queensland recently appointed David Lynch to the role of general manager – Civil Train and North Queensland operations, while Joe Hoolahan was named as regional manager.
Chief executive officer Kevin Brown said the plan gave Mackay Airport’s owners, NQA (North Queensland Airports), the confidence to make major investments in development projects and provide opportunities to diversify the airport business mix and bring new business to the region. “An almost $1 billion redevelopment of Mackay Airport proposed over the next 20 years will ensure it continues to evolve as Central Queensland’s integrated multi-modal transport hub and provides the infrastructure vital for regional development,” he said.
The company was among 16 Queensland businesses recognised at this year’s event including Deswik Mining Consultants, construction and earthmoving equipment manufacturer Digga Australia and professional infrastructure and environmental services company Cardno.
Mr Lynch is responsible for CCF Queensland’s training operations and strategically developing the body in North Queensland, while Mr Hoolahan manages Townsville and Cairns operations, with a focus on member services and business development. Australian Professional Galvanizing performed stage 1 of a critical upgrades plan at their Townsville facility recently. The work included a new 100,000-litre acid pickling tank fabricated by AIM (Australian Infrastructure Manufacturing) in Cairns. The company also equipped its main dipping crane 2 with new hoists, increasing its lifting capacity from 6.5 tonnes to 12 tonnes. Stage 2 of the crane 2 upgrade is planned for Christmas 2015. APG will be tendering all work within North Queensland in relation to these projects.
GUSS power takes off Ergon Energy plans to install new battery-based technology called Grid Utility Support Systems (GUSS) to help power sections of its electricity network by mid-2015. S&C Electric Company has won an Ergon tender to provide 20 of the GUSS units. Developed by Ergon from an initial concept in 2006, GUSS works by charging batteries overnight when
$30m build for Bundaberg The State Government says more than 300 new jobs will be created in Bundaberg following approval of a new Masters Home Improvement Store to be built east of the city. The $30 million development had the potential to create more than 180 jobs during construction and up to 150 operational jobs for Bundaberg locals, providing a real boost to the city, Deputy Premier and Minister for State Development, Infrastructure and Planning Jeff Seeney said.
Ports report record throughput North Queensland Bulk Ports Corporation (NQBP) has announced a record throughput and one of its best financial results since the port authority was formed five years ago, with an after tax profit of $24.8 million. NQBP’s annual report noted that its strong 2013-14 financial position was a result of record throughput, with more than 164.7 million tonnes (up 12.4 per cent) passing through its four ports.
$24.5m Toowoomba works Local contractor Hutchinson Builders has been selected to construct a $24.5 million project for Toowoomba Regional Council. The project includes a new city library, community meeting rooms, immunisation clinic, a cycle centre, basement car park and civic square be located behind City Hall. Construction is expected to begin in November and is scheduled for completion in late 2015. Toowoomba Mayor Paul Antonio said the tender process had enabled the council to gain a commitment from the construction contractor that all materials for the project would be sourced locally where possible.
$5b drop in major project spend A new report has forecast that the value of construction work carried out on major projects in Queensland will decline from $14 billion in 2013/14 to $8.8 billion by 2015/16. The 2014 Major Projects Report Update was prepared by the Queensland Major Contractors Association and Construction Skills Queensland. “There is much more government and the construction industry can do to tackle core issues such as high costs, low competitiveness, sustainable tendering processes, certainty of procurement timetables, asset sales and capital recycling programs, workplace efficiencies, skills development and innovation,” QMCA president Tony Hackett said.
Council opts to shop locally The Central Highlands Regional Council adopted a local preference Policy at a recent council meeting, in a move Mayor Peter Maguire described as good news for local businesses. “Council spends around $120 million per annum on materials and services, and while we work under a strict regulatory regime for the purchase of these goods and services, we are determined to do what we can to support economic activity in the region,” he said. “Last financial year just one third of our expenditure on materials and services was spent within the region, so with the adoption of this policy we have a great opportunity to improve on that and provide real support to local businesses and suppliers.”
Updates for electrical contractors Ergon Energy is running information sessions throughout regional Queensland in November and December to bring electrical contractors up to speed on topics including industry and operational changes and new technical standards. The briefings – dubbed Residential Electrical Contractor Engagement Sessions (or RECESS) - will be conducted at Mackay, Rockhampton, Gladstone, Bundaberg, Hervey Bay, Toowoomba, Roma, Townsville, Cairns and Mareeba. Electrical contractors, business partners and office managers wanting to attend should visit www.ergon.com.au for further details.
14 INDUSTRY LEADERS
Queensland Industry Advocate | November 2014
Engineering and adventure Tony Holmes A sense of adventure and a passion for complex and logistically challenging projects has seen Brisbane-based McConnell Dowell operations manager Tony Holmes work in some of the world’s most remote and dangerous locations. Over the last 25 years, Mr Holmes’ career in construction and engineering has taken him to sites including Zambia, Saipan, Guam, the Philippines, New Zealand and Christmas Island. Mr Holmes describes his stint in Zambia in Central Africa as a life and career-changing experience. “I went to Zambia and did a bridge over the Kafue River there. It was a time in the early ’90s when it was quite unsettled in Africa with civil strife,” he said. “On one occasion I got caught in the crossfire between two tribes while we were working on the bridge. It was a case of keep covered until they ran out of bullets basically. “Zambia was a bit of an eye-
opener but very good for my career and it was very hands-on and remote so it opened me up to problem solving on the spot.” Mr Holmes was also the project manager for building the Christmas Island Immigration Reception and Processing Centre, now more commonly known as the Christmas Island Detention Centre, which he credits as one of his proudest career achievements. “It was an experience, living
Mr Holmes in Zambia for a bridge project over the Kafue River.
on a little speck in the Indian Ocean, and the logistics involved in that,” he said. “We used all Australian labour, being an Australian project, and we flew the workforce in to Singapore and then chartered them into Christmas Island. Getting supply chain logistics right was also a challenge. “I’m proud to say that I actually became part of the community there in two and half years and got involved in local events, not so much politics but certainly the culture.” Mr Holmes is back on home soil working as the operations manager northern region for major engineering and construction contractor McConnell Dowell. While he says travel is still something he enjoys in his personal time, his career efforts are now directed towards the development and support of other people who work with him. “I think I add something to the construction industry in Queensland from where I’ve been and what I’ve done and the varied experience that I can bring. I think I have a proven track record in building teams and team building in experience in delivery is what I have to offer. I know I don’t know everything, but I’m like a sponge and I like to learn. “My role moving forward is career development for the people who work for me. I love to see the people who work for me grow.” In his down time Mr Holmes tends to his other passion – the rugby, and heads to Reds home games or gives his golf clubs a swing.
Community focus Greg Elkins Community involvement has been a key focus for Greg Elkins this year in his role as Engineers Australia’s Townsville regional group chair. “We’re trying to get more involved with leadership and influence,” he said. “We’re trying to engage with the council and other major engineering players to ensure that we’re putting our best foot forward for the community in the engineering space.” A second-generation electrical engineer, Mr Elkins was recently employed by GHD-Hill Michael and is now beginning a consultancy specialising in power systems analysis. He also lectures in electronics at James Cook University. Outside of work, much of his time is spent with wife Amy and their son Ruben James – born in May this year. Of the 15 regional Engineers Australia groups across
Queensland Mr Elkins said Townsville was generally considered the most active. “We are certainly seeing an uplift in the quality of our events and the interaction with industry,” he said. A mid-year seminar the local group hosted attracted 73 people from the Townsville area and 12 from elsewhere, for example. Mr Elkins said the group was in early planning for engineering events in 2016 to piggyback on citywide celebrations marking 150 years since Townsville was declared a municipality. “The Townsville regional group would like to celebrate the successes of engineering that have facilitated the development of our city,” he said. A gala dinner is planned to showcase some of the key engineering feats and installations that have helped form Townsville.
15
Queensland Industry Advocate | November 2014
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Water treatment costs pose a clear challenge Small councils in Queensland will continue to produce drinking water resembling mud unless the government boosts water infrastructure funding. That’s according to the Local Government Association North Queensland President (LGANQ) Frank Beveridge. The issue gains prominence after long periods of drought when water levels in creeks and rivers run at their lowest, followed by a heavy downpour. Cr Beveridge says smaller councils generally have water treatment systems incapable of completely clearing the high levels of turbidity this causes. “Sometimes the level of solids in the water can be hundreds of times a higher ratio than they would be normally be,” he said. “It’s very expensive to upgrade these things (water systems).” Until recent years, subsidies of up to 60 per cent were available for local governments to upgrade their water and sewerage infrastructure. Cr Beveridge said State and
Frank Beveridge Local Government Association North Queensland president
Federal governments should re-instate this funding for small councils. “Without an external source of funding it will probably get worse,” he said. The Central Highlands Regional
Water system upgrades can be a major challenge for councils. Photo: Roslyn Budd
Council (CHRC) has been dealing with the issue for a number of years and this year cleaned out the council water reservoirs and flushed the water mains by way of air scouring. “The water was OK after the flushing, but (recently) we had more blackish water around Blackwater again - so it hasn’t resolved the situation,” Mayor Peter Maguire said. The CHRC has budgeted $900,000 for improvements at the water treatment plant to begin in late 2014, but Cr Maguire says it will take a number of years to cover all of the work necessary. Mount Isa MP Robbie Katter raised the issue in State Parliament recently after images emerged of a child from Georgetown in Etheridge Shire bathing in black water. “No one anywhere in Australia would find that (dirty water) acceptable,” he said. A spokesman for Energy and Water Supply Minister Mark McArdle said other funding was available to councils for upgrades. “The Queensland Government accepted the recommendation of the 2012 Commission of Audit that any future bulk water storage facilities such as dams be developed and funded by councils, the private sector and other water users,” he said. “While the Department of Energy and Water Supply does not provide financial assistance, councils experiencing problems should look at applying for funding under the Queensland Government’s Royalties for the Regions program, which is available to assist on funding water infrastructure.”
Western Downs Regional Council utilities treatment principal Terry Fagg (at right) at the Miles water treatment plant construction site with Mayor Ray Brown (at rear), Cr Carolyn Tillman and Cr Andrew Smith.
Terry’s innovation draws attention The Western Downs area operates at a water deficit and as such relies on council staff to come up with new and innovative ideas to keep the taps running. Utilities treatment principal Terry Fagg is one of the faces behind the Western Downs Regional Council’s water supply. Mr Fagg’s position focuses on water and wastewater treatment technology and includes process optimisation, research and planning for the future, and looking for new and innovative ways of doing things. He says one of his key areas of work is in desalination – a process that turns poor quality water supplies into town water. “In Western Downs we use more water than we have. So water has to come from an external location to our area or we have to diminish the supply,” he said. “The ground water supplies both alluvial and artesian over many years are gradually being mined out. Surface water is very limited so over a long time a lot of my work has been in desalination.” Mr Fagg’s work was recognised recently by the Australian Water Association, who named him as this year’s Water Professional of the Year for Queensland. Mr Terry Fagg said he was surprised and humbled to receive the award. “I didn’t know until about two weeks beforehand that I’d even been nominated and I really didn’t think I had a chance. I’ve always thought I just do what needs to be done,” he said. “Local government isn’t always looked at as a very innovative area but I’ve always tried to look at what’s happening in water supply and try and bring some of that innovation in.” Western Downs chief executive officer Phil Berting said the award cemented Mr Fagg as a leading water treatment expert in municipal desalination and fluoridation.
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16 BETWEEN SHIFTS
Queensland Industry Advocate | November 2014
Andrew Brown (CQG Consulting), Kurt Heidecker (Gladstone Industry Leadership Group) and Lance McKay (Toxfree) at the GEA Major Industry Conference - Gladstone.
Shane Murphy, Jimmy Duncan (WSG) and Reece Milburn (Skymere) at NQ Bulk Ports Major Projects Summit Dinner Bowen.
Chris Zahn (Aurecon), Gus Stedman and Philip Brown (both Aggreko) with Sam Priebe (Azmeb Global Trailers) at the GEA Major Industry Conference - Gladstone.
Phil Berting (Western Downs Regional Council), Cameron MacMillan (BDO), Paul Bracegirdle (Trade & Investment Queensland) and John Moncrieff (Moncrieff Consulting) attending the TSBE Trade and Investment Queensland dinner - Toowoomba. Kelly Clark, Samuel Eigbobo and Emily Hall (CQU) at CQUniversity Townsville campus opening – Townsville.
Professor Scott Bowman (CQU) and Gary Eddiehausen (Townsville City Council) at the CQUniversity Townsville campus opening – Townsville.
Kay Strong (Department of Industry Business) and Lisa Mulvihill (Whitsunday Marketing and Development) at the NQ Bulk Ports Major Projects Summit Dinner - Bowen.
Scan this code with your mobile device to see more photos from Leonie Bella (Hydro Excavac), Rex Ross (Mack) and Tiffany Paffrey (Transpacific) at the NQ Bulk Ports Major Projects Summit Dinner - Bowen.
these and
Stephen Lin and Shaye-Lee Blackaman (both from CQU) at the CQUniversity Townsville campus opening – Townsville.
other events
Kylie Smith (Coral Coast Excavations), Tara Medcalf (Pearly Shell Motel) and Mary Steel (NQ Bulk Ports) at the NQ Bulk Ports Major Projects Summit Dinner - Bowen.
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17
Queensland Industry Advocate | November 2014
REMOTE LIVING
Master the art of Christmases apart As the tinsel begins to appear in shop windows and the familiar sound of Christmas carols fills the aisles at local supermarkets, some families are preparing to spend Christmas apart due to work commitments. While the festive season can be one of the most challenging times of the year for FIFO families, there are ways to make it special. FIFO Families founder and director Nicole Ashby offers these key pointers for making the most out of the holiday season: • Communicate clearly with children about why mum or dad will be away and re-iterate that they will still be thinking of them. • Focus on the positives - why you’re living the lifestyle, and what your long-term goals are. • Talk to your mates and make sure you get involved in the activities and celebrations on site.
365 days a year, but a company spokesman said that the team did its best to get into the holiday celebrations. “Our contract partner ESS decorates the Darimah Village dining room to create a festive spirit, with employees and families also enjoying a gourmet Christmas dinner,” he said. “MMG Century also encourages employees to bring Nicole Ashby with her family.
• You could do things like leave little notes around the house that can be found on the day. • If you’re feeling isolated without your partner, accept offers from others to join in and celebrate the season. • Get on Skype. If you have a laptop at home you could put it in the place where mum or dad would normally sit for dinner “I heard of a family
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and the mum at home would often leave the laptop rolling on Skype in the kitchen, not knowing when the FIFO dad would come and sit down. It means Dad can come and drop in and see what’s going on in the house,” Ms Ashby said. “For me personally, I certainly felt that Christmas was quite a challenging time and it always felt very long to me and very drawn out when we were apart. We obviously missed each other terribly.” MMG’s Century mine in north-west Queensland is one of the many mines that continues to operate
their families to site to celebrate Christmas as part of our Share a Day Program. “Families are flown to site on the regular employer commute flight. The families are able to enjoy local attractions such as Adels Grove and Boodjamulla (Lawn Hill) National Park as well as having a tour of the mine.”
How to cope with seasonal stresses Lifeline Research Foundation executive director Alan Woodward offers these tips for FIFO/DIDO workers over the festive season: • Recognise that the days before leaving for work and the days on returning home can be the most stressful for all – plan more relaxing activities on these days. • Find ways to stay in touch with family and friends over the Christmas period – be creative, such as using video messaging, or posting “care packs” to each other. • Get good sleep – to help your body and mind cope with additional pressures. • Stay physically well to be mentally well: good diet, exercise and social activities with others. • If you are feeling down, tell someone - a trusted friend or family member, or call a crisis line like Lifeline on 13 11 14.
Alan Woodward Lifeline Research Foundation executive director
The Lifeline chat service is also available every day over the festive season, including Christmas Day, on www.lifeline. org.au/crisischat (7pm-4am)
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18 BUILDING MINING COMMUNITIES
Queensland Industry Advocate | November 2014
SUPPORTED BY BHP BILLITON CANNINGTON
Mount Isa Mines has donated $150,000 to assist a new taskforce developing a growth plan for the city’s future. Photo: Roslyn Budd.
Origin regional community relations manager Scott Bird with Western Downs Mayor Ray Brown.
Photo: courtesy of Origin.
Origin targets roads Western Downs Regional Council has welcomed a $36 million funding commitment by Origin, on behalf of Australia Pacific LNG, to improve local roads. Mayor Ray Brown said the council would work closely with Origin to deliver major upgrades to improve road standards and increase safety for road users. “This ínfrastructure agreement between council and Origin will see the delivery of road upgrades throughout the Chinchilla, Miles and Wandoan districts,” he said. “Already we have seen several roadworks projects delivered in these areas as a result of this agreement, and maintenance works on several roads will continue as part of council’s
ongoing relationship with Origin.” Origin regional community relations manager Scott Bird said the funding commitment was aimed at managing the impact of Australia Pacific LNG project requirements, including delivery of large infrastructure to sites within the Western Downs region. “This funding agreement will involve maintenance or upgrades to more than 500km of roads in total across the region and some of these roads only require shortterm use by the project,” Mr Bird said. “Therefore, the upgrades are expected to deliver a lasting benefit for many residents across the Western Downs.” The council also recently signed an agreement with gas producer QGC to upgrade Chinchilla
Airport infrastructure. In the first of two phases, QGC will invest $200,000 in an engineering design study to determine the level of maintenance required. QGC has allocated a further $4.5 million for a work program next year to strengthen the runway, improve runway lighting, upgrade terminal facilities and install a solar weather station to enhance the airport’s operability in poor weather. The agreement for the airport work is part of the Queensland Curtis LNG Social Impact Management Plan, which is addressing impacts and maximising benefits from project construction during 2011-14.
Western Downs health service expands Families in the Western Downs will have better access to specialist medical care after the expansion of a telehealth service supported by QGC and The University of Queensland. The expansion to Tara and Wandoan builds on the establishment of the Health-e-Regions service in Miles, Dalby and Chinchilla during the past year. Patients visiting participating medical centres can consult medical practitioners by video-conference and webcast technology rather than travel hundreds
of kilometres for specialist appointments in Toowoomba or Brisbane. In the next year QGC will invest $516,000, in addition to the $1.3 million contributed to establish and run the initial, two-year pilot phase of the project. The service is run by the university’s Centre for Online Health, with support from the Queensland Government and the university’s main research commercialisation company, UniQuest.
Donations by the truckload at Callide Anglo American’s Callide mine has raised $10,000 for Cancer Council Queensland through a painted haul truck health promotion on site. Last year two Hitachi Euclid EH4500 trucks were given makeovers, one painted pink and
one blue, as a bright statement promoting cancer awareness, health checks and early detection for breast and prostate cancer. “The trucks have been a fun focal point onsite during the past year. Anglo American is proud to continue our support for the
outstanding work Cancer Council Queensland does,” Callide project manager Brett Thompson said. The trucks clocked up 5000 hours each on the Callide haul roads and Anglo American matched the production hours with donation dollars.
Taskforce focus on Mount Isa’s future Mount Isa Mines is working with Commerce North West and the Mount Isa City Council to develop a plan to help the city grow as a resource and economic hub as well as a great place to live and visit. A Mount Isa City Futures Taskforce has been developed as part of the new initiative, with consultancy firm Deborah Wilson Consulting appointed to assist. Chief processing officer North Queensland Copper Assets for Glencore Richard Harvey said Mount Isa Mines had invested $150,000 through its Glencore Community Program North Queensland to ensure the success of the newly developed Mount Isa City Futures Taskforce and the Mount Isa City Plan. “There is currently a lot of interest from both the Federal and State governments on Northern
Australia including Mount Isa and as a city we believe we need to do all we can to take advantage of this opportunity,” he said. “Through the Mount Isa City Futures Taskforce we will be looking at the various government plans and strategies that focus on our region and we will be working hard to tap into these reports to try and get some outcomes for our region. “Creating opportunities for Mount Isa, looking at recreation options, amenities and new investment opportunities to help our city attract and retain residents and businesses is what our main drivers will be.” Mount Isa Mayor Tony McGrady said said he was excited about what the taskforce would achieve in the coming months.
STEM funds to help indigenous students A new CSIRO education program, funded by the BHP Billiton Foundation, aims to close the gap in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander achievement and employment in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). The $28.8 million, five-year project will deliver education programs, excellence awards, mentoring, summer schools and tailored university degrees, reaching students and schools across Australia. BHP Billiton chief executive officer Andrew Mackenzie said the company believed providing opportunities in STEM education was a powerful way to support the professional aspirations and career opportunities of a generation of young Aboriginal Australians. “This latest long-term partnership commitment between CSIRO and BHP Billiton is aligned not only to the Foundation’s focus on STEM education but also the company’s commitment to provide tangible opportunities that support Aboriginal peoples with education, training, employment and business development,” Mr Mackenzie said. “We hope the program encourages more Aboriginal students to consider a rewarding career in the STEM disciplines, which will go some way to further closing the gap and recognising the important contribution Aboriginal Australians make to the economy.”
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Drive to diversify Charters Towers has a history of gold mining spanning three centuries but in recent years there has been a significant shift away from an industry that is littered with tall tales of boom or bust. The recently amalgamated Charters Towers Regional Council has a new buzz word – diversification. A ready supply of water from the upper reaches of the mighty Burdekin River is CTRC’s new golden resource and chief executive officer Mark Crawley believes it will be pivotal in developing agriculture in the district in the decades ahead. Water will also play a vital role in CTRC’s push to build a meat processing plant to complement an already active live cattle export business through the council-owned saleyards, which have recently been upgraded.
The council also owns the city’s airport and has allocated land for a master-planned light industrial development of linked support businesses. CTRC planning and development manager Ramon Jayo said it was important the council ensured that the city was ready to respond to business opportunities before, not after, an opportunity emerged. Stage one of the 2.5ha Cunningham Industrial Estate, completed in October, was created with an eye upon Adani’s massive coal development in the northern portion of the Galilee Basin. To facilitate the new era and direction for the historic city, a close bond has been forged between the CTRC and the Charters Towers Chamber of Commerce and Mines.
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20 CHARTERS TOWERS REGIONAL COUNCIL
Aiming for new heights The construction of a privately owned airport on the outskirts of Toowoomba has provided added motivation for the Charters Towers Regional Council to progress plans to transform the largely under-utilised local airport. CTRC sees great potential to upgrade the airport, which is mainly used by light aircraft owners, many of them graziers. The council has developed a master plan to create a light industrial precinct adjacent to the runway in the hope that private investors will forge partnerships to attract commercial operations into the city. A commercial aircraft operator has already approached the council to gauge the potential of the airport for future commercial use. The airport, which has a 1736m sealed asphalt runway, sits 200m above sea level and is not subject to flooding. The council sees further potential in: • Commercial passenger traffic, • Commercial cargo traffic, • Development of new essential airport facilities, • Warehouse and logistics facilities, • Specialised airport maintenance, and
An upgrade is on the horizon for Charters Towers airport.
• Establishment of a specialised training facility. A high priority is to upgrade the airport’s runway to Code 4C standard, which would see it lengthened to 1800m at 30m wide to accommodate aircraft with a maximum take-off weight of 68,100kg. Also key to the development is a new ground transport solution including a new access road provision plus town planning to accommodate development within the airport precinct boundaries. Airline representatives told council minimal work needed to be done to the terminal to cater to commercial passengers, CTRC planning and sustainable
development director Ramon Jayo said. He said the creation of a light industrial estate for aeronautical support industries would ensure no ad hoc developments were allowed to occur. As a result of the approach by the commercial airline, council also commissioned a survey to better understand what airport users require in the way of air services. Council has been working this year on the necessary rezoning requirements to move ahead quickly with the redevelopment of the airport if commercial interest continues to grow.
Queensland Industry Advocate | November 2014
Meatworks plan attracts interest Charters Towers Regional Council has completed a planning and logistical review as part of its drive to attract private investors to build a local meat processing plant. Three locations, all around 1000 acres (more than 400ha) and within 10km of the city, have been short-listed for the venture. All are close to roads, plus have accessible water and power. It hasn’t taken long to trigger overseas interest, with delegations from China and Vietnam visiting the city this year for inspections. The delegations included Hollis Ho representing Yu Tong Sheng Trading Company (China) plus Richard Dang and Ken Tang from T&T Enterprise Australia (Vietnam). The trio of businessmen were accompanied by Townsville-based Trade and Investment Queensland representative Roger Kaus. Earlier, representatives from Chinese food company Oxfield International Holding Group also expressed interest in a meat processing facility after a council-hosted inspection tour. Mayor Frank Beveridge said his council was investing a lot of energy into hosting genuine interested investors and industry representatives. “There’s a lot of activity in this area right now and council will continue to facilitate such visits for as long as it takes to get that big breakthrough,� he said. CTRC Planning and Sustainable Development director Ramon Jayo said there were more than 600,000 head of cattle within the council boundaries when pasture was good. The council also owns and operates the city’s cattle saleyard, which has an annual turnover of $44 million. A dedicated access road to the Port of Townsville, which links up with the Flinders Highway to Charters Towers, is able to accommodate live cattle triple road trains which can access Berth 10 directly. In the past triples were not allowed to transit directly to the port.
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21
Queensland Industry Advocate | November 2014
CHARTERS TOWERS REGIONAL COUNCIL
Estate set to tap coal spin-offs Charters Towers Regional Council chief executive officer Mark Crawley is trumpeting a message that the city is “open for business”. A clear indication of his mission is the completion in October of stage one of the Cunningham Industrial Estate on the city’s north-eastern outskirts, adjacent to the Flinders Highway. Mr Crawley said it was vital the CTRC positioned itself for the development of the northern portion of the Galilee Basin coal deposits. Indian company Adani is well advanced in plans for its Carmichael mine, which will be among the world’s largest with a projected 60mtpa to be exported when full production is reached.
Adani representatives have publicly stated that first coal should be ready for export in 2017. Mr Crawley said it was the council’s view that supply chain businesses servicing the Carmichael mine would see positives in locating in Charters Towers. “We are hoping that big players like Hastings Deering and Komatsu will look at being based in the city,” he said. The coal will be exported via the Abbot Point coal loading facility 25km north of Bowen, but much of the project cargo and consumables are expected to enter Australia through the Port of Townsville and then on to the mine via the Flinders
Charters Towers Regional Council chief executive officer Mark Crawley at the city’s new industrial estate. Photo: Roslyn Budd
Highway and the Gregory Development Rd, most of which are located within the CTRC boundaries. Stage one of the Cunningham Industrial Estate features nine blocks and all include the necessary infrastructure - single
and three-phase power, sealed roads, drainage and street lighting. Mr Crawley said the estate was master-planned but offered prospective buyers the flexibility of differing lot sizes to best meet a company’s requirements. “Tenants moving into the estate
won’t have to worry about delays associated with planning approvals, that will already be taken care of,” he said. CTRC has the potential to expand the estate via a stage two development should interest outstrip available space.
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Operations manager and director Des Bolton is an environmental scientist who has turned his hand to business. Hydro-mulching is an immediate form of erosion control that Mr Bolton has had a hand in evolving over the years for application in wet and dry tropical locations. Revegetation Contractors runs a research and development division, with a soil scientist and experts in ecology forming part of the team. Bespoke equipment to apply hydro-mulching products has also been engineered. “Research and development is a vital part of the business ... we take soil profiles of the areas we work in and find
the best match of grass or ground cover to suit the location,” Mr Bolton said. “The business is all about getting the best environmental outcome for a project.” Mr Bolton has worked on a range of projects across Queensland and overseas in Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and the Philippines. The company works closely with mining operations to assist in realising the best outcome for the environment during and after mining. One of the specialties of the business is using wetland areas as the vehicle to “cleanse and polish” water that has been used during the mineral extraction process.
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22 CHARTERS TOWERS REGIONAL COUNCIL
Queensland Industry Advocate | November 2014
City at heart of Wayne’s world
Wayne Miller Charters Towers Chamber of Commerce and Mines president
Charters Towers Chamber of Commerce and Mines president Wayne Miller was born and bred in the city and, although he headed to the big smoke for a few years back in the ’70s, he reckons there isn’t a better place to live and do business. And he should know - he started Towers Motor Cycles upon his return to the area before moving into commercial real estate and becoming one of the city’s most successful businessmen.
His son Brian and daughter Tina also own and operate successful businesses in the city. “It’s a very liveable place. It’s got the country-town mentality where people help each other,” Mr Miller said. “I suppose some people might think it is a strange spot to do business, but the set-up costs are less than bigger centres – real estate is much cheaper.” Even though Mr Miller is often out of town on business trips, he still finds time to develop business opportunities for people in the city. “We (the chamber of commerce) have a close working relationship with the council, which is much more open these days,” he said. He sees growing the population and business as the two key factors vital to the city moving forward. “I suppose it’s a bit like the chicken and egg ... which comes first? You can’t have one without the other,” he said. And what does Wayne Miller do when he’s not running his businesses or promoting the city as chamber president? “I don’t really have a lot of hobbies, it’s mainly work, but I still enjoy riding road bikes,” he said.
Charters Towers traders will soon have a new avenue for business promotion.
Business register on the way The Charters Towers Chamber of Commerce and Mines is working on an online business register for the city and surrounding centres. The register is being compiled and progressively updated to appear on three key sites – those of the Queensland Chamber of Commerce, the Charters Towers Regional Council and the chamber’s own website. Chamber president Wayne Miller said the project was started in June and he hoped it would be completed sometime in November. “At this stage we have compiled information on all the chamber members and are now compiling lists of businesses in places like Pentland, Balfes Creek and Greenvale,” he said. The register is created in categories with contact numbers, addresses and websites plus a brief overview of capabilities and specialised skills of each listing.
Wulguru Steel’s premises in Charters Towers.
Move out west a winner Townsville-based Wulguru Steel has reaped significant benefits from diversifying its operation into Charters Towers, according to general manager Wayne Landrigan. Mr Landrigan said the company seized upon an opportunity to buy an existing engineering business in Charters Towers eight years ago and benefits had flowed since. “The business operates as a remote site for the Townsville operation as well as generating its own work locally. It provides a regular stable workforce of its own as well as expanding the Wulguru Group’s market reach,” he said. The business employs 11 staff including a manager, seven tradesmen and three apprentices. “All of them live in Charters Towers,” Mr Landrigan said. The most significant benefit involves customers operating
in the western corridor from Townsville.
Wulguru Steel’s way because of its local connection.
“A substantial portion of the work we undertake is fabricating items for the mining sector,” Mr Landrigan said.
“At that time we had a team of 60 workers on the site for four months packing up all the mining equipment for transport offshore,” Mr Landrigan said.
“Before the move to Charters Towers we would have to truck the job in pieces to the site because of load restrictions leaving Townsville.” He said such items could now be transported to the Charters Towers site, assembled in the controlled workshop environment, then transported to where they were needed. The workshop is conveniently located on the Charters Towers bypass road, allowing for easy transportation of completed jobs to western locations. A number of large projects, including the decommissioning of the Rishton gold mine south-west of Charters Towers, have come
Photo: Roslyn Budd
Wulguru Steel has expanded the Charters Towers operation since its purchase and upgraded equipment. This includes a 12-tonne mobile crane, a gantry crane in the workshop, a plate roller, guillotine and metal press. “The Charters Towers Regional Council staff are great people to work with and have gone out of their way to work with us, which is a refreshing attitude,” Mr Landrigan said. “We’ve also been working with them (council staff ) on a couple of major projects they hope to develop in the area.”
The chamber, which has more than 80 members, is part of REDROC (the Regional Economic Development Regional Group Organisation of Councils) - which represents the council areas of Hinchinbrook, Townsville, Palm Island, the Burdekin and Charters Towers. Mr Miller said it was vital that a united view encompassing all North Queensland councils was put to various levels of government and larger businesses investing in the region. He sees the major focus points for development in the Charters Towers region as being the establishment of a meatworks, an expansion of horticulture, upgrading the airport and an expansion of the city’s reticulated water supply to meet any population growth. For more information on the chamber visit: http://charterstowerschamber.com.au/
23
Queensland Industry Advocate | November 2014
CHARTERS TOWERS REGIONAL COUNCIL
Abundant water to spark new growth Gold was the wellspring that fed the rise of Charters Towers in the 19th century, but it is water – and lots of it - that could spark a revival in the city, 130km west of Townsville. The upper reaches of the biggest river on the eastern seaboard, the Burdekin, has vast stocks of unallocated water flowing within a handful of kilometres of the city and the Charters Towers Regional Council is positioning itself to tap into the resource. Not only is CTRC planning to expand its water reticulation network for projected population growth, it has landholders on board eager to exploit the resource and place thousands of hectares under irrigated crop production. The CTRC lodged a document with the Department of Natural Resources and Mines midyear seeking an increased allocation of water and recently organised an
agriculture information meeting. A department spokesman confirmed that 10,000 megalitres from the upper reaches of the Burdekin remained unallocated and may be granted as a water licence or water allocation. CTRC sustainable planning and development director Ramon Jayo, who has been driving the project, said the council and landowners were seeking an additional 30,000 megalitres on top of the unallocated amount to ensure an adequate supply to meet their needs. The department is now considering all expressions of interest in unallocated water reserves following the closing date on October 17 and will prioritise unallocated water release processes throughout the state. Mr Jayo said the council considered development of major, new irrigation areas as a high priority - a
priority that will contribute to the state’s target to double agricultural production by 2040. The Cunningham Industrial Estate, which opened in October, has plots available for supply chain businesses that could be linked to an increase in agriculture production. The 15 landholders involved in the venture, who all lodged applications with the department, have identified a combined total of 3950ha as developable on their properties. Their plans range from intensive cropping to mosaic systems designed to value add to grazing operations. Successful cropping adjacent to the Burdekin River already includes citrus fruit, potato, pumpkin, melon and various broad-acre fodder crops.
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24 EDUCATION
Queensland Industry Advocate | November 2014
Back-up options for boarding fees Families relying on incomes from boom-bust industries like mining and construction may face challenges in keeping up with boarding fees when they hit leaner periods. But industry insiders say there are a range of measures they can look at to tide them through. Australian Boarding Schools Association (ABSA) executive director Richard Stokes says the effects of a downturn can leave families in need of some extra support. A longer-term strategy is to get ahead in fees when times are good. “If things are booming maybe get ahead, just in case. The idea of a savings plan for education is huge in the USA, but not so here in Australia where it would be very useful,� he said. Many boarding schools also offered options for those families in need, Mr Stokes said. “If the boom has gone and they (families) are struggling, they should not be too proud to contact the principal of their school to discuss their situation,� he said. “Each boarding school has its own way of helping struggling families, from scholarships and bursaries, to private arrangements with families to allow them to pay off the fees over an extended number of years. “It is really unusual for a family to have to leave a boarding school if they are happy to discuss their situation with the principal and work out a plan
to pay the fees in some way.� St Margaret’s Anglican Girls school in Brisbane has a number of students who come from families in the mining and civil construction industries. Principal Ros Curtis said families had the opportunity to pay schooling fees in advance during times of boom. “They can pay the whole schooling in advance and get a discount and they’re also protected for school fee increases that way,� she said. Ms Curtis said the school also provided a range of scholarship opportunities for those who were struggling with fees. “It can happen that people’s circumstances can change. Not just in boom and bust industries but also things can happen with families, as we all know,
Renowned for its vibrant music program, which includes an award-winning rock band, St Margaret’s has been a boarding school since 1895, and now accepts boarders from Years 7 to 12. Photo: Michael Marston
and the school works closely with families to assist them in any ways we can,� she said. “We have the financial needs
scholarships, but what we might also refer to as a bursary, which is assistance so that the student can remain at St Margaret’s or
for someone who might not otherwise be able to access our education, this would assist them to do that.�
Online opportunity for eleventh-hour enrolments Queensland families can now secure discounts on places at a range of private schools through a first-of-its-kind “last minute� school enrolment website. “School Places� (schoolplaces.com. au) helps private schools maximise student numbers and optimise revenue by connecting them with families who are searching for discounted private school vacancies. The site publishes vacancies from partner schools, offering discounts of 5-50 per cent for one to five years. School Places chief executive officer Natalie Mactier said more Queensland schools were planning to sign on to the program later in the year.
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Queensland Industry Advocate | November 2014
EQUIPMENT REVIEW
Grading with a capital G John Deere G-Series motor graders continue to be the grader of choice for government and contractors alike, according to Australian distributor Hitachi Construction Machinery. The G-Series’ Grade Pro package offers a suite of productivity-enhancing features for high-production grading. With the push of a button, operators can engage return-to-straight, bringing the rear frame back to centre. Cross-slope control allows operators to select a desired slope and maintain it with just one blade lift lever.
Best-in-class lever efforts are combined with pressure-compensated load-sensing hydraulics to ensure consistent, predictable and precise response. The manufacturers highlight ease of maintenance as a G-Series selling point, with swing-out coolers and hinged fan providing wide-open access to both sides of the cores for simplified clean-out. Same-side service points and easy-to-check gauges, fluid reservoirs and quick-change filters make routine service checks streamlined.
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10,000km holiday – no problem When 43-year-old electrical lines person Michael O’Brien from Deception Bay in North Brisbane found a low-mileage Mahindra Pik-Up at the end of 2012, no-one guessed where the relationship would lead. The answer came when he took his Pik-Up on a four-week road trip taking in Adelaide, Alice Springs and Mount Isa for a total of 9900km. “I found a 2012 with 11,000km on it from a dealer,” Mr O’Brien said. “Somebody else had already thrown a bull bar, some sidesteps and a canopy on it and they were selling it for 25 grand. “I hadn’t had anything to do with Mahindra before, so price was one of the biggest driving factors for me initially.” Pik-Up’s high power mHawk engine is a hallmark of Mahindra’s cutting-edge technology; an environment-friendly, fuel-efficient power plant which, in conjunction with the standard mechanical locking differential provides exceptional on and off-road capabilities. In the 60,000km driven since Mr O’Brien purchased his Pik-Up, he’s taken in a lot of sights, including Coonabarabran, Broken Hill, Coober Pedy, Uluru, Glen Helen Gorge and the Devils Marbles. “The next big adventure we’re thinking of doing with it, and it won’t be till next winter, is up to the Cape,” he said.
As a long-term user of plant and equipment, generally you have one thing that is clear – you have already approved the new machine purchase in your own mind, you know why you are buying it, what it will earn or save you and the risks involved. Whether the machine is being purchased Finlease Australia broker to improve the Phil Horton processes, required for additional contracts, or to reduce existing outsourced subcontractor costs, as a business owner you have already gone through a mental “approval” process or justification behind buying the gear. All too often this very concept and what it really means is lost on the banks or at least not heard as clearly as it needs to be. Good finance is not about jumping through hoops for the bank, it is absolutely about assisting the bank in understanding why the decision has been made to buy the machine and how it will be paid for.
This needs to be communicated well and into “bank speak”. If it is not, either a finance approval won’t happen or if it does it will be “roped and chained” far more than it needs to be and possibly to an extent that is not ideal for the client. Let’s not get confused about any complexity here, finance comes down to four fundamental questions:• Can you afford the payments? • Does your business show sound trading results? • Have you always honoured your commitments (historic finance report card)? • If it all goes pear shaped, can you sell the gear and pay out the debt? Whether the asset cost is $20,000, $200,000 or $2 million, these fundamentals apply. Yes, it is true that the larger the asset cost, the more detail is needed around these questions. If you are seeking the finance approval for, say, a $1 million transaction, typically you need to address over 20 individual areas, however these are all in reality simply subsets of these fundamental questions. There is nothing complex about the areas shown above, they are in so many ways simply common sense and definitely not “rocket science”. Working with an experienced equipment finance broker helps address these points and position you to cover the “bank speak”.
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27
Queensland Industry Advocate | November 2014
TRAINING
Apprenticeship downturn sparks intern initiative Construction Skills Queensland and Careers Australia recently completed a first-of-its-kind construction internship program to help equip young people for apprenticeships in Queensland. Careers Australia executive general manager, industry, Sean Cummiskey said the program was launched in response to a four-year low in people starting apprenticeships. “Obviously there has been a significant downturn in the market so we, as a training company, in partnership with Construction Skills Queensland, started to have some conversation around how we could generate some activity in pre-vocational training which would allow us to have a pool of job-ready candidates in the event that there was an upturn in the market,” he said. “We worked with some industry partners and looked at what were the main challenges in terms of preparing young people for a career in construction. “Our industry partners said that a lot of times when they went to employ an apprentice, the apprentice didn’t really understand the industry or what it was they were getting themselves into. So a key for us was about increasing awareness of industry as well as providing industry with a pool of apprenticeship-ready candidates.” Two hundred and twenty-five young people from Brisbane, Ipswich, the Gold Coast, Toowoomba and Townsville
Mathew Bernardi was among the participants at the Townsville regional centre. Fitter and turner Anna Kepper won the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Student of the Year Award.
Rio Tinto comes up trumps again participated in the 10-week program, with more than 60 per cent receiving full-time employment as an apprentice afterwards. Students completed 12 competencies throughout the program (four weeks’ classroom learning, six weeks’ placement). Eighteen year-old Mathew Bernardi was among the participants at the Townsville regional centre. Mr Bernardi had previously tried and failed three times to gain an apprenticeship. He said the program equipped him with some important skills and provided an important link with an industry employer. Since the internship program, Mr Bernardi has begun an apprenticeship in refrigeration and air conditioning with Mark Graham Electrical through TORGAS.
Red tape cut welcomed TAFE Directors Australia (TDA) has welcomed Federal Government moves to remove red tape under national training regulator, the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA). TDA chief executive Martin Riordan said the “one size fits all” approach to regulation adopted by ASQA had failed to adequately recognise that low-risk Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) such as TAFEs needed less regulation. “Another big overhead cost for TAFE Institutes and VET providers generally has been the multiple and frequent changes or ‘churn’ to training packages, documented by ASQA under the Industry Skill Councils (ISCs),” he said. TDA welcomed Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane’s recent announcement that a more competitive environment may operate for training packages, he said. “We also acknowledge that industry’s frustration with the current VET (Vocational Education and Training) system needs to be urgently addressed.” Mr Macfarlane recently announced the second tranche of the Government’s overhaul of the VET system, including changes to the way ASQA operates. Mr Macfarlane said also the Government would move to a more contestable model for the development and maintenance of training packages at the end of the current contract period with the 12 Industry Skills Councils. And new national standards are being implemented from January 1, 2015, for prospective training providers and April 1 for existing providers.
“The apprenticeship is going great and I’m learning heaps and I definitely think the internship helped me out,” he said. Mr Cummiskey said Careers Australia hoped to work with Construction Skills Queensland again next year to provide even more internship programs across the state but that it would be dependent on funding. A Department of Education, Training and Employment spokeswoman said the State Government had committed $86 million for 10,000 additional apprenticeships over six years to 2018-19 to boost employment and skills. There was a range of financial assistance for businesses, training organisations and individuals interested in participating in an apprenticeship program, she said.
Rio Tinto’s commitment to providing training and employment to indigenous people at its Weipa bauxite mining project was underscored at the recent Queensland Training Awards in Brisbane. Fitter and turner Anna Kepper won the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Student of the Year Award, the second time in three years a Rio Tinto entrant has claimed the award. Boilermaker Aaron Bond, who started work with the company as an adult apprentice, took out the same award in 2012. Both are now fulltime employees. Rio Tinto Alcan Weipa’s traineeship program has been running for 12 years, with between 10 and 15 apprentices taken on board and trained in association with provider Skill360 Australia every year. Ms Kepper said she had always been interested in how mechanical things worked. “Pursuing a fitting and turning career has allowed me to work with large machinery and equipment,” she said. “I really enjoy being in a nontraditional role and my crew has been nothing but supportive.” Other 2014 Queensland Training Award Winners included Apprentice of the Year Peter Newbold (Bruce Lynton BMW, Gold Coast) and Trainee of the Year Ashleigh Taylor (Greyhound Australia, Brisbane). Gemma Hartwig, working with Ostwald Brothers in Dalby, was named School-based Apprentice or Trainee of the Year. Careers Australia was named Large Training Provider of the Year, while Look Now Training on the Sunshine Coast was Small Training Provider of the Year. “Quality training is the foundation of a strong economy, which is why it is so important that we recognise excellence in all areas of our Vocational Education and Training (VET) sector,” State Education, Training and Employment Minister John-Paul Langbroek said. He said the State Government was investing $615 million in training programs to address skills shortages and boost productivity.
Program gives sisters a step-up Opportunities for women seeking careers in the mining industry are difficult to come by, and even more so for indigenous women. Thiess, Wesfarmers Curragh and the Salvation Army’s Employment Plus program have combined to address that situation with the Oothungs (Sisters) in Mining initiative. Ten indigenous women were
recruited from Rockhampton and Blackwater with an opportunity to tread a pathway into long-term employment. All were offered traineeships after they completed a course where they undertook classroom theory plus training in an advanced truck hauler simulator. Four took roles at the Wesfarmers Curragh coal mine and six with Thiess at the Curragh
Oothungs (Sisters) in Mining graduates - Lorellee Pickering, Amanda Conlon, Stacie Warren, Patricia Shephard and Michelle Nikki.
North operation.Another five candidates have since launched themselves on a path to long-term employment at the Lake Vermont coal mine as haul truck operators. “This pre-employment program is not just about job opportunities,” Thiess project manager Colin Mulligan said. “It’s also about Thiess creating an inclusive work environment that breaks the norms of what has traditionally been a male-dominated industry.” The program won the Premier’s Industry Collaboration Award at the annual Queensland Training Awards. Having run a similar program for indigenous men and women at the Curragh mine in 2011, Wesfarmers Curragh general manager Craig McCabe said the company was very pleased to be offering this opportunity in conjunction with Thiess. “This is a great example of how organisations can work together to deliver great employment outcomes for local indigenous women,” he said.
28 OUR MINING HERITAGE
Queensland Industry Advocate | November 2014
Gem of a spot to stumble on a fortune A 14-year-old boy was walking behind the local post office on his way home from school when he discovered a hidden gem. It was 1979 in the Central Queensland gemfields and young Serli “Smiley” Nelson had just discovered what became known as the largest gem-quality sapphire in the world. The Centenary Sapphire, which weighed in at 2020 carats, was stolen in 1983 from an exhibition but was recovered a few years later. It is believed that the rock was then sold to a New York jeweler, who cut and re-sold it for about $1.87 million. The Centenary Sapphire is just one of many famous stones found on the Sapphire gemfields. Secretary of the annual Gemfest event, Linda Drake – a gemfields local (or ‘Gemmie’ as they’re affectionately known), said some of the discoveries held
international significance. “In America they have a collection of very large sapphires that are carved into the (likeness of ) presidents’ heads. They regard these as their crown jewels, including Lincoln, Jefferson, Washington plus Martin Luther King and another huge star sapphire carved into the Madonna and Child,” she said. “They used to reside in the Smithsonian Institute, but are now domicile in the Oval Room of the White House.” The Pride of Queensland, the largest cut yellow sapphire in the world at 169 carats, and a large blue-black sapphire known as the Black Star of Queensland were also found in the area. The Black Star of Queensland was found in 1938 by 12-yearold Roy Spencer. The stone, which was recently put up for sale at $90 million, wasn’t always held to such high
value. The palm- sized stone, weighing 1,156 carats, spent nine years as a doorstop in the Spencer family home. The Autumn Glory was an orange sapphire found by a fossicker in 1993. The owner turned down an offer of $100,000 for the precious rock with hopes of finding a higher bidder overseas. The sapphire “disappeared” on its journey and the owner’s dreams of riches were lost. In 2000 a tourist found a sapphire weighing 200 carats and named it The Millenium Sapphire. The owner placed the sapphire for tender at the annual Gemfest the following week, when it was snapped up for $85,000. Earlier this year a local man discovered a 753-carat sapphire and named it the Sapphire Princess.
The Black Star of Queensland was used as a doorstop until it was realised that it was a multimillion-dollar gem.
Treasure seekers Sapphires were first reported in the Sapphire gemfields by John Archibald Richardson in the 1870s. By 1890 commercial mining had begun in Retreat Creek in the present town of Sapphire. It was hard work in an isolated spot in harsh conditions with a lack of water. Mines were dug by hand using picks and shovels in open pits or trenches. The early miners also
Sieving for sapphires at Anakie, 1913.
Photo: courtesy of the State Library of Queensland.
dug square sided shafts, which they climbed with their backs braced against the walls. In the earlier days the main buyers were Germans, Russians and other European nationals. After 1935 the sapphire fields went into a decline until the 1960s, when a new phase began with tourists as recreational mining and fossicking became popular. By 1970 an increasing price for rough sapphires led to largescale mechanised mining, which resulted in huge amounts of sapphires produced by a large number of miners, and purchased by buyers from Thailand. During this period Australia produced more than 80 per cent of the world’s sapphires. High production continued until the early 1980s, when an increase in output from Asia and Africa led to a massive downturn in the Australian sapphire market - which continues today. An active tourist industry was established in the early ‘80s and separate areas were set aside for fossicking, hand mining and large-scale machinery mining.
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