September 2008

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Indigenous workers saddle up for Century

THIS MONTH • Tennant Creek’s golden era • Sending Aussie sand to Russia • Rock-bolting legends • Short break in far north Queensland

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The Mining Advocate | September 2008

The

MINING September 2008

2 Doing the bolt Semi-retired senior engineer Wally Mills recently enlightened attendees at an Engineers Australia Townsville local group meeting about the pioneering work of engineers on the Snowy Mountains hydro-electric scheme who developed rock bolting into a scientific exercise.

Mr Mills said a small team took the guesswork out of this crucial technique used in underground mines and even managed to impress the Duke of Edinburgh with some innovative research.

3 Roping them in

(COVER STORY )

Lawn Hill Riversleigh Pastoral Holding Company is having great success in training indigenous youth at its cattle station.The company, now majority owned by traditional owners, was set up with the assistance of OZ Minerals Century Mine, which is now set to benefit from a pool of job-ready employees.

Century Mine general manager John Lamb told a recent Lawn Hill Riversleigh Pastoral Holding Company open day that all successful trainees would have the opportunity to work at the mine if they wished.

6 Heart of gold A common-user bulk mineral distribution facility looks likely to be built in Tennant Creek to support the region’s boom in exploration and burgeoning importance in the Northern Territory’s mineral production.

However, the proposed new facility also conjures up ghosts of Tennant Creek’s past as a major goldfield.

The early and mid 20th century had its own shared facilities in the form of government gold batteries and one remains today as a testament to this history.

The Mining Advocate also found on a recent trip to the town that its response decades ago to a shortage of women could provide a lesson or two to Mount Isa, which some say is experiencing a similar problem.

The promising mining future of the Tennant Creek region in the Northern Territory is underpinned by a glorious past.

FEATURES 11 People

9 Aussie expertise

12 Industry Update A comprehensive wrap of exploration and operations in North Queensland and the Northern Territory.

Townsville-based company Project Delivery Managers (PDM) recently completed work for the multibillion-dollar Sakhalin II energy project in Russia, which called for PDM to manage the winning and refining of special fine-grained sand from the Burdekin River and see it sent promptly to Sakhalin Island in the northern Pacific Ocean.

Director Andrew Franzmann believes Aussies are well equipped to tackle challenging engineering jobs and there is no reason why northern Australian companies should not be chasing similar niche projects overseas.

16 Between Shifts 20 Lifestyle 22 Rec ‘n Tech

20 Blowing off work

23 Bigger, Tougher, Better

Chucking a sickie or two is a great temptation when experiencing the lush relaxation of far north Queensland, as The Mining Advocate discovered recently.

24 Mining Safety Conference

CONTACTS p. (07) 4755 0336 f. (07) 4755 0338

Advertising Booking deadline October edition: September 30

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NEWS

September 2008 |

The Mining Advocate

A technical turning point Engineers on the Snowy Mountains scheme are credited with having taken the guesswork out of rock bolting, writes Michael Stevens.

Semi-retired senior engineer Wally Mills has paid tribute to a team of engineers based in the New South Wales town of Cooma during the 1950s for turning rock bolting into an engineering science.

Mr Mills spoke at a recent Engineers Australia Townsville local group presentation.

He said that although rock bolts were first used in hard rock tunnelling in Sweden in 1939, rock bolt development work proper occurred during the building of the Snowy Mountains hydro-electric scheme, which required deep tunnels underground.

Engineers working on the scheme established that rock bolting should be done in specific patterns according to rock structure, Mr Mills said.

In 1956 a 40-tonne block fell from the roof of a tunnel constructed during the scheme.

No one was injured but the material had rock bolts in it, sparking urgent action from a research and development team.

George Worotnicki worked 34 hours straight to complete an analysis of the incident.

He also produced photoelastic studies and mathematical analyses of rock stresses.

His work helped to show that spacing and bolt length interacted and solutions could be found for optimal compression.

But Mr Mills said it was the famous model of David Lafeber that had the greatest psychological influence on sceptics. Dr Lafeber created the famous upturned bucket model, where a bucket was filled with fine crushed rock and 40 model rock bolts held the load in place.

Mr Mills described the occasion when the Duke of Edinburgh encountered the model when visiting Cooma’s engineering geology lab in 1956 during his visit to Australia for the Olympics.

The Duke was reportedly in a bad mood and appeared disinterested when engineering geologist Dan Moye explained the model.

In order to prove that it was the rock bolting pattern that kept the bucket load in place, Mr Moye loosened the nut on one bolt and the load fell to the floor. Apparently, the Duke was fascinated.

Mr Mills said rock bolts had continued to be refined since the Snowy Mountains project and used in more economical ways, but some used today still resembled those developed by the Cooma engineers.

The rock bolt bucket test as seen by the Duke in 1956.

Wake-up call on height safety A senior workplace health and safety consultant has advised the mining industry to familiarise itself with working at heights legislation.

Dennis Gaskell spoke at a recent Commerce Queensland workplace health and safety club meeting in Townsville.

He said many supervisors and workers outside of the construction industry were unaware of their responsibilities under the Workplace Health and Safety Regulation, which contains

the requirements for working at heights in the state.

“Even though it (the regulation) mentions construction workers, the law expects other workers to exercise proper diligence by at least exercising those regulations,” Mr Gaskell said.

As well as promoting legislative awareness, Mr Gaskell dispelled a common myth surrounding work at heights.

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Mr Gaskell said proper edge protection, which could withstand the weight of heavy employees, was the best safety system for working at heights, with travel restraint as the next priority.

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The Mining Advocate | September 2008

3

Century jobs offer Indigenous trainees gaining skills on a Gulf cattle station are being roped in to join the mining industry, writes Michael Stevens.

OZ Minerals Century Mine is set to take advantage of a ready pool of indigenous workers trained on a nearby cattle station.

The Lawn Hill Riversleigh Pastoral Holding Company, which is 51 per cent owned by the local Waanyi people and 49 per cent by OZ Minerals, runs a commercial cattle station near Century Mine and takes on indigenous trainees at its stock camp to equip them with life and job skills.

Century Mine general manager John Lamb announced at a recent Lawn Hill Riversleigh Pastoral Holding Company open day that all

successful trainees would now have the opportunity to work at the mine if they did not wish to pursue careers in the pastoral industry.

The trainees complete Level II programs in Agricultural Beef Production.

The holding company’s pastoral adviser, Boyd Curran, said future training programs would include time on the mine site as well as on the cattle station.

Mr Curran said most trainees graduated in about 12 months but could take up to two years if required and the company offered support to graduates after they left the station.

Trainees show off their horse skills at a Lawn Hill Riversleigh Pastoral Holding Company open day.

“One thing we’re working hard on is the continued follow-up and mentoring of our trainees once they finish here on the property,” he said.

“Because we do provide a lot more support here on the property than you would have in any mainstream organisation, we’re very aware that it is quite daunting for our trainees to go

into the mainstream workforce when they finish here.”

The pastoral holding company aims to deliver economic returns to the Waanyi community.

“Because we’re 51 percent owned by the Waanyi people, we see this as a huge legacy left behind after the mine goes, so we want to build it up into a true economic powerhouse that

can deliver real benefits to our shareholders,” Mr Curran said.

The company was formed under the Gulf Communities Agreement, which is a tripartite agreement between OZ Minerals (formerly Zinifex), the Queensland Government and native title groups to deliver social and economic benefits to the region.

Companies urged to add voice to lobby group The North Queensland Miners Association (NQMA) wants more input from emerging mining and exploration companies.

President Ralph De Lacey said the traditional mining focus of the Atherton Tableland and surrounds, where the organisation is based, was on small tin and gold miners.

However, he said small miners had been displaced by mediumsized companies in recent years, and the NQMA would like to see these companies become actively involved in the advocacy organisation.

“It is of benefit to everybody that all miners are involved, that they come to the meetings and put forward their points of view, and then the association can be

Mareeba resident Wally Scott tests the waters at the North Queensland Gold Panning Championships.

the voice of all miners,” Mr De Lacey said.

“It’s not much use us being the voice of a select few miners, we have to get everybody in there

and putting that to government as the real voice of miners in North Queensland.”

He said the association’s work from a decade ago in

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helping small miners have their tenements granted through indigenous land use agreements had created a false impression that the NQMA was only for small miners.

Mr De Lacey spoke to The Mining Advocate at the recent North Queensland Gold Panning Championships in Mareeba.

He said the annual event, sponsored by the NQMA and companies operating in the region including Vital Metals and Republic Gold, provided the association with an opportunity to promote itself and was a social occasion for the district’s mining community.

In addition to his role with NQMA, Mr De Lacey is managing director of Consolidated Tin Mines, which

is focused on exploring three tenements in the southern Herberton tin field on the Atherton Tableland.

“We’re hoping to put together a contained tin metal resource of 50,000 tonnes, which will then give us the confidence to go ahead with development of a central mill with production of 5000 tonnes (of tin) per annum and a 10-year mine life,” he said.

“Once we get to that stage, we might have other deposits in the area that we can add.

“We’re looking at getting the numbers stacked up by the end of the year and doing a scoping study. We won’t be going straight into a mine development, but it will give us the confidence next year to put a lot of holes together and start getting a measured resource.”

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September 2008 |

The Mining Advocate

Unlucky break on acid prices Proponents have been forced to postpone production at a new North Queensland nickel and cobalt project, writes Robert Dark.

The soaring price of sulphuric acid this year has forced Metals Finance Corporation (MFC) and Metallica Minerals to put back the highly anticipated first production from the Lucky Break project.

The Lucky Break nickel and cobalt project west of Townsville was due to begin production late this year.

The company is now looking at mid-to-late 2009, subject to acid supply.

Metallica Minerals managing director Andrew Gillies told a recent Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (AusIMM) conference in Charters Towers that a supply deal made in August 2007 with Korea Zinc’s Sun Metals refinery in Townsville had broken down over price.

He said sulphur prices were running at up to 10 times the market norm of between $20-$60 per tonne free on board (FOB), which was causing some pain to all acid leaching metal projects.

Such prices were an anomaly and had hopefully peaked, he said.

“The Lucky Break project was looking at getting a local supply of acid from Sun Metals,” Mr Gillies said.

“Unfortunately our joint venture partners and managers MFC are in dispute on that one.

“Acid prices, like sulphur prices generally, have gone up enormously. So we’ve basically had to put the Lucky Break project on hold.

“Everything was ready to go for project development and construction, subject to the acid price.”

Mr Gillies said prices were expected to drop again in the next couple years.

“There’s expected to be a worldwide glut of sulphur in

“We are looking at importing elemental sulphur, mostly from Canada,” Mr Gillies said.

The company was scoping the logistics of bringing the shipped sulphur in through Mourilyan harbour near Innisfail, he said.

That option would involve building a sulphur storage facility, which Mr Gillies said would be a big boost to the port’s utilisation.

In the last week of August, Metallica Minerals announced

a nickel resource upgrade to 38 million tonnes at 0.73 per cent nickel and 0.04 per cent cobalt, containing approximately 282,000 tonnes of nickel, to further underpin the NORNICO project.

MINING AROUND THE WORLD

Andrew Gillies Metallica Minerals managing director

the next few years. Even the suppliers are mentioning that,” he said.

The company believed that with forecast long-term sulphur prices of less than $140 per tonne FOB it would have a robust project at Lucky Break.

Mr Gillies admitted the delay was frustrating.

He said he was keen to measure the production logistics at Lucky Break in the lead up to the feasibility study and commissioning of the flagship NORNICO project.

Metallica is expecting to treat more than one million tonnes of nickel oxide or laterite ore for 8000 tonnes of nickel per annum from NORNICO, located south-west of Cairns.

Lucky Break is smaller. It is expected to yield about 1600 tonnes of nickel per annum from processing 250,000 tonnes of ore annually.

Because NORNICO is a much larger project which, subject to a favourable feasibility study, is touted to run for decades, the company is planning its own sulphurburning acid plant and power plant on site.

Hugh Francis’ Artisanal miners mining for gold, Eritrea.

Eritrea is a north-east African nation bordered

by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south and Djibouti in the south-east.

It was a colony of Italy and later administered by the British under a United Nations mandate before being federated with Ethiopia in 1951.

A struggle ensued against this federation, eventually leading to Eritrea declaring its independence and gaining international recognition in 1993.

Eritrea has a small mining industry with growth potential in minerals including gold, barite, feldspar, kaolin, potash, rock salt, gypsum, asbestos and marble. The country is also close to export markets in the Middle East and Europe.

Photo: Courtesy of Snowden

Australian gold explorer Sub-Sahara Resources has a 69 per cent interest in the Zara joint venture in northern Eritrea.

This is comprised of four contiguous exploration licences covering an area of 196km sq.

Hugh Francis’ photo (above) features the Eritrean gold industry on a much smaller scale, with artisanal miners working independently of mining companies.

The photo won the People and Culture category of this year’s Snowden Photo Competition, an amateur event that aims to showcase beauty in the mining industry.

For more information on the competition visit www.snowdengroup.com.

NEWS

The Mining Advocate | September 2008

5

Jobs boost during ‘phase-in’ period A possible move to open-cut mining at Cannington would see the site’s workforce swell during a proposed three-year transition.

A potential shift from underground to open-cut mining at BHP Billiton Cannington Mine would see the workforce swell to more than 1000 during the transition phase, a project leader says.

A decision will be made in December on whether to proceed to a full feasibility study for open-cut mining, which is being examined as a growth option under the Cannington Life Extension Project.

Project manager David Lawrence said major site construction would be required to possibly double the size of the processing plant (to facilitate higher production levels under open-cut mining) and to relocate surface infrastructure displaced by the new pit.

Additionally, open-cut and underground mining would be

THE FACTS One option for open-cut mining would create a final pit about 620m deep and 2.5km wide.

Concentrate production would increase by 50 per cent over the life of the project under open-cut mining.

While underground mining typically extracts about 60 per cent of a resource, open-cut mining removes well above 80 per cent.

The BHP Billiton Cannington Mine milltower.

David Lawrence Cannington Life Extension Project manager

conducted simultaneously at Cannington during a three-year transition period.

Mr Lawrence said the workforce would settle to

below 1000 when Cannington transferred completely to opencut mining, and the operation would assimilate as many of its underground workers into opencut mining as possible. “The reality is, the change is not going to happen quickly, so we’ll need both types of miners for a long time - it will be a very well-ordered transition,� he said.

About 540 BHP Billiton employees and up to 300

contractors presently work for the operation.

The open pit option for extending the life of Cannington silver, lead and zinc mine is attractive because of high metal prices, raising the possibility of mining the lowergrade “halo� around the current ore body.

However, Mr Lawrence said the operation would face a number of challenges in

Photo: Stewart McLean

undertaking open-cut mining in an area containing underground workings back-ďŹ lled with paste and underground infrastructure including rock bolts.

A major drilling program is under way to ensure that the halo around the current ore body is well understood.

Open-cut mining could start as early as 2010 if the move proves feasible.

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September 2008 |

The Mining Advocate

Battery powers tourism An historic extraction plant offers Tennant Creek visitors a glimpse of the Territory town’s gold industry in its heyday, writes Michael Stevens.

Although new shared minerals infrastructure could be constructed in Tennant Creek to boost its economic future, it is an old common-user facility that provides the historic gold town with its main tourist attraction.

The Mining Advocate recently visited the Battery Hill Mining Centre, home to a 10-head gold battery with 1200-pound stamps.

It is the only one remaining of three government batteries that provided processing for prospectors and small companies operating in the Tennant Creek field during its heyday.

The battery in its original form began operating in June 1941, but halted from 1942 to 1946

before resuming around-theclock production after World War II. Structural damage forced it to be dismantled in 1956.

It was rebuilt in its present position, 30m to the south-west, in 1958.

The battery was decommissioned in 1985 and is now on static display to the public.

Battery Hill Mining Centre interim manager Roddy Calvert explained how gold was extracted after the stamps had crushed about 10 tonnes of ore per day.

“Copper plates on the primary amalgamation table were covered

with silver nitrate and then a smearing of mercury - it’s the mercury that captures that gold,” she said.

“At the end of the day, the operators would run a rubber block up the tables and scrape a gold and mercury amalgam into a metal pan.

“They would then retort the ball of amalgam in a wood-fired retort pot to remove the mercury - at a certain heat the mercury vaporises - and it was then cooled, solidified and re-used.

“The gold would be further processed in a crucible, then hammered into a bar and scrubbed with borax to make the ingot appear gold.”

A cyclone and secondary amalgamation table extracted gold from ore that was not properly treated in the initial process.

Above: Battery Hill Mining Centre interim manager Roddy Calvert.

Inset: Tennant Creek residents watch the first ore being crushed at the government battery that remains in the town as a tourist attraction.

Photo: (National Archive of Australia: A1200, L28477)

Proposed minerals facility gains major project status region) are exporting well and the $10 million of mineral exploration expected to be undertaken in the region this year points to a number of potential new mines,” NT Chief Minister Paul Henderson said.

The project would see a $30 million investment to construct the Tennant Creek facility and up to $20 million spent on East Arm Port stockpile facilities.

A proposal to construct a common-user bulk mineral distribution facility in Tennant Creek has been awarded major project status by the Northern Territory Government.

Businessman Bill Gibbins, working with mining company MineMakers, is aiming to build the facility.

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The Mining Advocate | September 2008

7

There is nothin’ like a dame...

A Melbourne telephonist threw the limelight on Tennant Creek in the ‘60s with her novel response to the town’s gender imbalance.

Tennant Creek stay.

Unfortunately for the bachelors, Ms McNiece left after her three-week holiday in Tennant Creek without accepting any of the marriage proposals that came her way, saying that she was too young to get hitched.

But media coverage of her visit inspired other women from America, Europe and across Australia to write to men in Tennant Creek offering to follow in Ms McNiece’s footsteps and the town council apparently considered subsidising such visits.

The publicity also inspired the formation of a Tennant Creek theatre group, the Limelight Club, whose first production We Aint Got Dames was based on Ms McNiece’s visit.

Tellingly, the club stated that the show took liberties with the truth in the same way as the media did, claiming that Tennant Creek already had a number of unattached women in the town at the time of Ms McNiece’s visit.

Diane McNiece draws a name out of the hat to determine her official chaperone during her Tennant Creek holiday.

Inset: A poster for the We Aint Got Dames theatrical show is displayed at the Tennant Creek Battery Hill Mining Centre.

The same ambiguity can be found in the media coverage of the Mount Isa woman shortage.

Some reports state that men outnumber women five to one in the city, but the latest Australian

Bureau of Statistics regional profile for the Mount Isa local government area (2006) shows only 1236 more males than females in a population of 21,082.

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Mount Isa could learn a thing or two from the experiences of Tennant Creek in attracting women to mining towns.

City Mayor John Molony recently unleashed a storm of controversy when he appealed for “beauty disadvantaged women” to move to Mount Isa to help even up a perceived imbalance in the male-tofemale population.

According to information at the Tennant Creek Battery Hill Mining Centre, Tennant Creek believed it had a similar shortage of women in 1964, and 21-year-old Melbourne telephonist Diane McNiece offered a solution.

After hearing that the town was home to 150 lonely bachelors, Ms McNiece offered to spend her holidays in Tennant Creek if the men paid for her air fare, which they willingly did.

Ms McNiece was greeted at the town’s airstrip with a bagpipe serenade and drew a name out of a hat to determine her official escort for her

8

NEWS

September 2008 |

The Mining Advocate

Focus on northern engineering A recent conference in Cairns reached out to local youth while encouraging speakers to tackle their industry’s most challenging issues.

Organisers added a fresh element to the 2008 Northern Engineering Conference by inviting budding engineers from local schools to the Cairns event.

Nine high school students joined 72 engineering professionals to listen in on the technical sessions, Engineers Australia Cairns local group committee member Craig Kazakoff said.

“We just wanted to create an environment where the kids could be exposed to the engineering profession,” he said.

Mr Kazakoff said the initiative had been an “eleventh hour” decision and he believed it would be repeated and improved

upon at the next Cairns-based conference.

The Northern Engineering Conference is held annually and rotated between Cairns, Mackay and Townsville in North Queensland.

Mr Kazakoff organised the 2008 conference along with fellow Engineers Australia Cairns local group member Fiona Collin.

“The local group was very pleased with the response from the local engineering community - both in terms of sponsorship and attendance – and we hope to make it bigger and better next time,” he said.

The 2008 conference, from

Craig Kazakoff Northern Engineering Conference organiser

August 7 to 9, kicked off with an opening night function at Tjapukai Cultural Centre and incorporated a number of social events, including a dinner at

the Cairns International Hotel attracting more than 100 people.

Mr Kazakoff said the Northern Engineering Conference gave engineering professionals in the region the chance to share knowledge and to network without having to travel to Brisbane, where many such events tended to be based.

The theme for the 2008 event “Engineering in Volatile Times” - was intended to explore the opportunities and risks presented to northern engineers by the changing demands of economic policy, community expectations regarding environmental impact, population pressures on infrastructure and the tropical climate.

Mr Kazakoff said speakers had been challenged to come up with presentations showing how they managed to balance

environmental conditions with functional requirements.

“We were very impressed with many of the speakers who attacked that topic head-on and shared their innovations and ideas with the rest of us,” he said.

Other presentations were aimed at keeping engineers abreast of changing legislative requirements and research.

The challenges of the Cardwell Range Road upgrade, water quality issues and the “ever-changing” triggers for environmental approvals were among many topics covered in technical presentations.

Mackay is scheduled to host the 2009 Northern Engineering Conference.

More skills under the belt for Britrac A delegation from Townsvillebased Britrac Engineering Services travelled to Sweden recently to train in a new area of business.

Britrac often installs conveyer belts for the mining industry as an Australian agent for global supplier Metso Minerals.

Metso Minerals also has about 85 per cent of the European market in the manufacture and supply of belts for the plasterboard industry and is trying to break into the Australian market for these belts.

Metso Minerals sent Britrac manager Brian Steele and senior splicer Kevin Maskery to its service centre in Rotenberg for four days to train for an upcoming plasterboard belt installation job at a CSR Gyprock project in Brisbane.

Mr Steele said the pair trained

on two orders being prepared for projects in Birmingham, England.

He said the belt sections manufactured in Norway - were closely inspected, tested with a laser for thickness and joined together flawlessly.

“It’s a very similar concept to joining belts in the mining industry, but there’s a bit more finesse and detail required in putting the plasterboard belts together,” Mr Steele said.

“The belts have to be absolutely smooth and flat because the plasterboard is actually set on top of the conveyer belt and the belts have to be particularly smooth where they are joined.

“A piece of plasterboard cannot have any faults in it and if you stuff it up it costs a lot of money.”

Britrac manager Brian Steele (right) with senior splicer Kevin Maskery in Metso Minerals’ plasterboard workshop.

Mr Steele said the trip was his first to Sweden and it had taken a while to adjust to the

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Townsville

mid-summer situation in that country of darkness for only a couple of hours each night.

Britrac is now authorised to join plasterboard belts in Australia for Metso Minerals.

NEWS

The Mining Advocate | September 2008

9

Business lessons written in sand With a successful foray into Russia behind it, a North Queensland firm shares some insight on overseas contract opportunities.

The head of a Townsville-based management consultancy says their experience in organising sand supplies for a major project in Russia has highlighted how well placed northern Australian companies and workers are to pursue overseas contract work.

Project Delivery Managers (PDM) recently completed work for the multibillion-dollar Sakhalin II energy project in Russia, which called for PDM to manage the winning and refining of about 23,000 tonnes of special finegrained sand from the Burdekin River and supervise transport logistics leading to the sand’s delivery to Sakhalin Island in the northern Pacific Ocean.

Director Andrew Franzmann said his experiences during the project confirmed his opinion that Australians were highly valued in overseas engineering operations as technically skilled all-rounders.

“We’re well regarded for our attitude to working across a number of different disciplines,” he said.

Andrew Franzmann PDM director

Lowering gas pipe at a fault crossing.

“In some countries, everyone specialises and hands (parts of the job) on to other specialists, but Australians are known for being versatile.

“We’re generally recognised as being very well trained and technically refined, and our labour-skilled workforce is well educated in that regard.”

The Sakhalin II project includes construction of an 800km onshore pipeline to connect offshore hydrocarbon deposits to the north of the island to a liquefied natural gas (LNG) and oil export terminal in the island’s south.

The route crosses an unprecedented 19 active fault lines, meaning it has to be backfilled with special fine-grained silica sand to allow the pipe to move sideways up to 5.5m in the event of a major earthquake.

The sand is usually sourced from nearby coastal deposits in Russia, but PDM was asked to organise substitute sand from the Burdekin when northern Pacific waters froze in -40C winter temperatures, making it impossible to win sand.

Sand from the Burdekin was transported to Townsville where it was dried, screened and bagged before being trucked to the Port of Townsville and loaded onto Russian ships.

Mr Franzmann said PDM faced a number of logistical challenges during its management contract, which were amplified by the fact that construction of the pipeline could not be delayed by any issues with the sand shipment.

The Burdekin sand required continual monitoring during screening to ensure it conformed to a specified size range.

PDM also navigated differences between Russian and Australian engineering standards to establish the sand’s shear strength characteristics and managed shipping agents and logistics issues.

Mr Franzmann said success in gaining overseas contracts was partly due to “who you know” but more importantly “for what and how you deliver” when given the opportunity.

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10

ADVERTORIAL

September 2008 |

The Mining Advocate

Top End important market for Simply Containers and TCA The resources boom in Northern Queensland and the Northern Territory continues to be integral to the growth and expansion of Simply Containers and Tank Containers Australia (subsidiaries of SCF Containers International).

With the recent acquisition of a container supplier in Brisbane, and the Simply Containers agency in Darwin, SCF Containers are looking to further expand their business within the region.

‘We are excited about increasing our presence in northern Australia and we are looking forward to developing closer relationships with clients in this area’ SCF Containers Director Richard Sykes said.

Indeed, one of their clients utilises the Perkins Shipping service from Darwin to Gove extensively, with a number of SCF Containers’ units in service. With specialised equipment such as the Sea2Rail container in both 20’and 40’configurations, SCF Containers are able to supply equipment which is both road and rail friendly and has the added advantage of being cell guide compatible for use on all Perkins vessels.

As a result of the rapid growth in both the mining and support services sectors within these regions there continues to be a shortage of both accommodation and office facilities.

SCF Containers also offers tank containers to the region through their subsidiary Tank Containers Australia.

‘Between the growth in East Timor, the mining and exploration boom in Northern Queensland and the NT, the demand for liquid transport and storage has placed significant demands on the industry and we at TCA are looking to capitalise on this by opening up a depot in Gladstone’ TCA Assistant General Manager Lionel Edwards said.

‘We are very excited at being able to service this area more effectively and build on our current relationships. We currently supply acid tanks to East Timor for the only 24hr service station in Dili and no doubt our relationships with the government and police there will increase now that the new Perkins Shipping services are in operation’.

In fact, TCA have been experiencing such growth that they have purchased and are now in the process of taking delivery of 180 tanks which are a mixture of food grade, DG and non DG. Delivery will commence in late July and be completed in time for the New Year shutdowns. ‘This will provide us with added impetus to be able to better service our clients in northern Australia.

Recently, we have been supplying companies throughout the area for tanks to

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‘Our office and accommodation units are specifically manufactured in a container frame to provide strength, stability and durability while also providing the very best in transportable style accommodation throughout our quality interior’.

store fuel, acid and oil for various uses.

For example, tanks for the liquid gas and bio diesel plants, tanks for drilling pumps and as well as tanks for helicopter fuel for the oil rigs’ ‘Additionally, TCA is in the process of designing and producing a self bunding system for ISO tanks which will capture any spillages in the event that an incident occurs. This is an important step forward in protecting our clients’ in terms of OHS&E, as well as increasing our service to clients. I’m looking forward to seeing the first unit in operation in a fortnight’s time’.

PEOPLE

The Mining Advocate | September 2008

11

Budds loving life, Isa-style community to become a part of, or does it take a while to fit in?

Ros and Steve Budd with their children, Scott and Lisa.

Steve and Ros Budd and their family have enjoyed an active and social lifestyle in Mount Isa over the last 13 years, proving that the city is not just a domain for single men.

After working at Xstrata Mount Isa Mines for 12 years, Ros recently took up a role as senior exploration geologist with

RB: Mount Isa is a very friendly and welcoming community. As with any town, it is what you make of it, and there are plenty of opportunities to get involved in whatever interests people have.

The hardest part of the weekend is trying to narrow down the options, with a huge range of sporting options on offer and loads of great places to go camping and four-wheel driving.

Kings Minerals, which is exploring in the region.

Steve is acting manager for Xstrata Copper Engineering Services.

The pair also run Outback Photographics, with Ros taking the photos and Steve organising the business side of the operation.

They have two teenage children – Lisa, who is planning to study business at James Cook University in Townsville in 2009, and Scott, who wants to

specialise in a trade after Year 12.

Q: When did you move to Mount Isa? RB: We arrived here on Mardi Gras night in 1995.

The move from Townsville to Mount Isa presented a work opportunity for both of us in a “live in” community. Fly in-fly out was not an option that we wanted to take up as we both wanted to be home every night with the family.

Q: Is Mount Isa an easy

Q: To what extent is social life ordered around shift work at the mines?

RB: Steve and I don’t have to do shift work but for those that do, shift work has an impact in the sense that you need to plan ahead a bit. There is a negative impact on team sports, with regard to people not being able to attend every week.

But with work rosters rotating continuously, there is always something happening every day of the week.

Q: The issue of high lead levels in the city has received a lot of media attention lately – has it been a concern for your family?

RB: No, it boils down to basic hygiene and it is no surprise that there are naturally elevated levels of lead in the soil. Without

less frequent but longer holidays.

Q: What is the best part of living in the Isa? RB: The lifestyle in Mount Isa is second to none. It is a very relaxed atmosphere and people can do as much or as little as they choose. Socially, it

”Fly in-fly out was not an option that we wanted to take up as we both wanted to be home every night with the family” it there would be no mine and therefore no town.

Q: Has Mount Isa’s remoteness been a challenge?

RB: Not really, it’s all relative and it just means a bit more planning. You can get everything you need but not necessarily everything you want when you want it. The remoteness is most noticed if there is an emergency such as trying to get to see a dentist on a weekend.

It is expensive to fly anywhere from Mount Isa, so we generally plan

is a young town with lots of energy and enthusiastic people.

You can’t go anywhere without seeing someone you know - my daughter Lisa says that this can be a good and a bad thing.

People in Mount Isa work hard and play hard.

It is a town of opportunities where families can enjoy a great lifestyle, get a good headstart financially and make loads of great lifelong friends.

DATE CLAIMERS Cairns networking opportunity

Cairns Chamber of Commerce Mining Company Familiarisation - held in conjunction with the Cairns Amateurs, Cannon Park Race Course, September 12-13. For more information, visit www.cairnschamber.com.au.

Sustainable development summit

Minerals Council of Australia’s Sustainable Development Conference Darwin City Convention Centre, September 15 to 19. For more information visit www.sd08.com.au.

Memorial day for Queensland miners

Queensland Miners Memorial Day - September 19, Roma Street Parklands, Brisbane.

Hydraulics in water engineering

Engineers Australia Hydraulics in Water Engineering conference - Darwin Convention Centre, September 23 to 26. For more information, visit www. hydraulics2008.com.

Economic development conference

AFL legend Michael Long, left, poses with a mock-up of the new Northern Territory guernsey alongside promising youngster Michael Gugliotta and Rio Tinto managing director Stephen Creese.

New era for Territory AFL A new Northern Territory AFL team, set to play in the Queensland competition next year, has received sponsorship from Energy Resources of Australia (ERA) and parent company Rio Tinto.

The companies said they were pleased to be foundation sponsors of an iconic Territory-based, nationally recognised sporting team.

The arrangement will also provide access to potential trainees and employees for their operations, as each player in the team

is required to be in full-time employment or a traineeship.

It is envisaged that sporting and career pathways will especially be opened up for players from the Territory’s Gove and Jabiru regions, where the two companies operate.

ERA and Rio Tinto are also sponsoring the Northern Territory Storm netball team in the new Australian Netball League.

Townsville City Council’s North Queensland Economic Development Conference - Mercure Inn, October 2 and 3. For more information visit www. riseofthenorth.com.au/enterprise/nqedc.

Silica dust probe kicks off A joint research project could lead to improvements in the lung health of miners in Queensland.

Mines and Energy Minister Geoff Wilson said the State Government and the University of Western Sydney had

embarked on a joint investigation into the effects of silica dust on miners.

Silica dust can cause acute silicosis, a slowdeveloping lung disease.

“The study will determine how silica dust is being controlled

on work sites and what further improvements can be made,” Mr Wilson said.

He said the Queensland Mines Inspectorate had sent a questionnaire to industry in a bid to identify activities where workers may be exposed to silica dust.

12

INDUSTRY UPDATE

September 2008 |

The Mining Advocate

New zone confirmed

Welcome return to resources portfolio for Kon Vatskalis The Northern Territory Resources Council has welcomed the return of Kon Vatskalis to the resources portfolio after the recent Territory elections.

Mr Vatskalis has taken on the responsibilities of Primary Industry, Fisheries and Resources as well as Employment. He is also the Business Minister.

He was previously Mines and Energy Minister between December 2003 and August 2006, before Chris Natt took over the portfolio.

Mr Natt lost his seat in the recent election.

Northern Territory Resources Council chief executive officer Scott Perkins said Mr Vatskalis was well known as an energetic and enthusiastic supporter of the resources sector.

Chief Minister Paul Henderson has taken over responsibility for Economic Development in the new ministry and he is also the Major Projects and Trade Minister.

Deputy Chief Minister Marion Scrymgour remains the Minister for Indigenous Policy, and Education and Training.

Treasurer Delia Lawrie retains responsibility for Planning and Lands, and Infrastructure and Transport.

Karl Hampton is the new Regional Development Minister, which is a portfolio now based in Alice Springs.

Meanwhile, the Northern Territory Resources

Excellent results for Marqua Uramet Minerals has received “excellent” laboratory assay results for samples taken from its Marqua phosphate project in the Northern Territory, following on from initial exploration work that confirmed the presence of phosphate earlier this year.

Managing director Bill Hewitt said the company was looking forward to the completion of targeted drilling programs to gain a more detailed understanding of the extent of mineralisation.

“A number of these results are well above the grade required for direct shipping ore and are nothing short of spectacular,” he said.

The Marqua project is in the southern Georgina Basin near the Queensland border.

Ivanhoe raises funds Ivanhoe Australia, which is 80 per cent owned by Canadian company Ivanhoe Mines, began trading on the Australian Securities Exchange recently with an initial public offering.

The listing has raised capital for ongoing exploration and development of Ivanhoe Australia’s 2250sq km of tenements in the Mount Isa-Cloncurry mineral district in north-west Queensland.

The company’s current focus is on the preparation of development studies for its iron oxide, copper and gold discoveries at the Mount Elliott, Mount Dore and Starra Line projects.

Non-stop mining Citigold has begun continuous mining at its Warrior Mine in Charters Towers.

Chief executive officer Mark Lynch said underground operations were running 24/7, with miners working shifts of 12 hours per day.

He said the increase in operating hours was another important step required for scaling up mine development and gold output over the coming year.

It is a part of the company’s planned expansion of underground working areas by duplicating the current operations along strike.

Mine manager Garry Foord said a successful recruitment drive had been undertaken to meet an increase in underground staff.

Exco Resources says recent drilling has confirmed the presence of a major new zone of mineralisation on the eastern limb of its E1 North copper deposit.

Managing director Michael Anderson said oregrade intersections had been returned in five holes over a strike length of at least 160m and visual interpretations suggested the presence of significant mineralisation in a further four holes.

He said the intersections occurred outside the current E1 North resource model and the new results were expected to lead to a sizeable increase in resources.

Mr Anderson said the company remained on track to update the resource models for E1 North and E1 South during this quarter.

The E1 Camp is located 40km north-east of Cloncurry in North Queensland.

Republic taps CSIRO expertise

New Northern Territory Resources Minister Kon Vatskalis.

Council has elected Groote Eylandt Mining Company (GEMCO) general manager Bryan Quinn as its new president.

He replaces former president Chris Salisbury, who was the chief executive of Energy Resources of Australia (ERA) but recently left the company to move to another role in parent company Rio Tinto.

More Rocklands intercepts CuDECO has announced that ongoing drilling within the widespread Rocklands mineralised zone in the Mount Isa district continues to intercept significant copper mineralisation.

Chairman Wayne McCrae said an identified resource footprint of more than 700m along strike and 500m in width represented a significant target for the company’s current resource definition program.

He said mineralisation remained open along strike to the north-west and to the south-east.

NORNICO resource boost Metallica Minerals’ NORNICO nickel resource base has increased to 38.63 million tonnes following recent results.

Managing director Andrew Gillies also said that the first nickel resource estimate was expected later this year for the Kokomo deposit within the NORNICO project, where extensive exploration continues.

The project is near Mount Garnet and Greenvale in North Queensland.

Silver Hill going strong Conquest Mining has announced that recent drilling at its Silver Hill gold and silver deposit in North Queensland confirms grades and extended the resource south and west.

The company stated that drilling was continuing with two rigs on contract.

The Silver Hill deposit is part of the Mt Carlton project near Townsville.

Good news for Glengarry Glengarry Resources has reported encouraging results from the initial phase of exploration at the company’s new polymetallic Percyvale Project.

The project is located 300km west of Townsville in a geological region known to host economic deposits of a number of different metals including gold, copper, lead-zinc-silver, uranium and molybdenum.

Glengarry Resources managing director David Richards said first-pass mapping, soil sampling and prospecting had defined large anomalies at the Bernadette and Maggies prospects within the project.

He said initial drill testing in coming months would follow up high-grade copper, gold and silver values.

Republic Gold has completed a joint research project with CSIRO and the Queensland Department of Mines and Energy Geological Survey, utilising CSIRO’s expertise in modelling mineralising systems.

The project has resulted in the development of a computer modelling technique for predicting the location of mineral deposits in the Hodgkinson Basin in North Queensland.

Republic Gold managing director John Kelly said the new modelling technique would greatly enhance the company’s array of geological tools and help it to prioritise areas for evaluation and increase its efficiency in locating and defining mineral deposits.

Progress at Wolfram Camp Queensland Ores has announced that commissioning of the plant at its Wolfram Camp is progressing well and concentrates continue to be produced.

The company stated that it had overcome an initial problem with suspended solids in the process water.

The Wolfram Camp tungsten and molybdenum project is 90km west of Cairns.

Territory surveys Deep Yellow has conducted an airborne electromagnetic survey over selected target areas within its Reynolds Range, Mt Doreen and Mt Liebig uranium projects in the Northern Territory.

A 15,000m aircore drill program is scheduled to begin on the project areas early this month as followup to the survey.

A reverse circulation percussion drill program is also scheduled for October at Deep Yellow’s Nonouba project to the west of Alice Springs.

Axiom project flowering Axiom Mining has received assay results for three more of the eight diamond drill holes completed recently at the company’s Nightflower project, near Chillagoe in North Queensland.

The company stated that bonanza-grade silver and high base-metal values had been obtained in all recently assayed intersections at the project’s Digger Lode, which showed that it extended along strike and down dip well beyond what had previously been shown.

Axiom Mining believes the assay results have important implications for the project and demonstrate its significant economic potential, particularly given that it is located only 25km from Kagara’s rapidly developing mining and treatment operations and associated infrastructure.

Drilling begins at Wollogorang Gulf Mines has begun the drilling program at its Wollogorang copper project in the Northern Territory.

Managing director Graham Reveleigh said the first hole into the Masterton Ridge prospect intersected visible copper mineralisation in numerous intervals along the hole.

He said the drilling program was aimed at probing several target types and was continuing.

INDUSTRY UPDATE

The Mining Advocate | September 2008

13

Tin mine purchase Kangaroo Metals has signed a purchase agreement with unnamed parties for the California Creek alluvial tin mine, west of Cairns in North Queensland.

Managing director Brett Teale said the company would now undertake due diligence to assess the value of the asset to its operations.

The California Creek alluvial mine is centrally placed on Kangaroo Metals’ current California and California West exploration tenements.

It consists of 15 mining leases covering 25km of creek bed and a processing plant site.

Dr Teale said the new mine site also had a fully operational camp, which could accommodate six to12 staff with full amenities, solar power, gas and communications.

He said the camp would serve as a base for further exploration as well as mine operations.

Discovery at Greenvale East Anchor Resources has reported the discovery of a new zone of gold and copper mineralisation at the Clayholes Dam prospect, part of the company’s Greenvale East project in North Queensland.

Managing director Trevor Woolfe said the company’s technical team was reviewing the results received from the recent drilling program, focusing on the mineralised holes clustered at the northern end of the prospect.

Anchor Resources received a grant under the State Government’s 2007 Collaborative Drilling Initiative for the program.

Arafura chemical plant Arafura Resources has signed an agreement with Incitec Pivot to develop a chemical processing facility that would supply chemicals to Arafura’s proposed rare earths phosphate plant in the Northern Territory.

The chemical facility would supply hydrochloric and sulphuric acid and caustic soda to the plant for the production of rare earths and phosphoric acid.

Arafura Resources managing director Alistair Stephens said the agreement was a major step forward for the company’s Nolans project, 100km north of Alice Springs.

A heads of agreement study will incorporate a review of potential plant sites in either South Australia or the Northern Territory for both the chemical plant and the rare earths processing facilities. It is expected to take about six months.

Golden results at Rover 1 Westgold Resources has reported further “outstanding” drilling results from its Rover 1 project near Tennant Creek in the Northern Territory.

Managing director Andrew Beckwith said the high-grade gold mineralisation occurred within a broad polymetallic iron oxide-copper-gold system.

Kagara forecasts a bright future despite recent profit slump Kagara is remaining optimistic despite a drop in profits for the last financial year.

The company reported a net annual profit for 2007/08 that was 28 per cent lower than the previous year, but also forecast a 35 per cent increase in copper production for the 2009 financial year.

The copper, zinc and lead producer described its $65 million net profit after tax for the 12 months to June 30 as “robust” and underpinned by the record copper output.

It stated that the result reinforced the company’s position as a low-cost, high-margin base metal producer with a diversified production base.

The result was achieved despite a significant fall in commodity prices and a rising Australian dollar during the year.

Kagara expected its copper production to increase to 35 to 40,000 tonnes for 2008/09, with the company set to benefit from the construction and commissioning of its fourth base metal treatment plant at the Mungana project near Chillagoe.

Executive chairman Kim Robinson said copper was now the main driver of the company’s earnings growth and provided an excellent buffer against the current cyclical downswing in zinc prices.

“With the medium-term outlook for copper remaining positive and our production forecast to increase strongly again this financial year, the outlook for Kagara remains very positive,” he said.

Land use agreements formed North Queensland Metals (NQM) has announced the registration of three indigenous land use agreements covering its tenements in the Herberton area.

NQM is developing a copper, tin, silver and indium mine at Baal Gammon and is exploring the region for additional ore sources for the project.

The agreements outline the process the company will follow in order to explore and develop in the areas encompassed by its exploration permits for minerals.

They also cover compensation and co-operative arrangements in relation to employment and business opportunities.

The indigenous land use agreements involve the Jirrbal people and the Bar Barrum people.

MOVING FORWARD.

An aerial view of Kagara’s Mungana operation.

Mr Robinson said the estimated $50 million capital expenditure remaining to bring the Mungana operations on stream in early 2009 was partly being internally funded and the board had decided not to pay a dividend for the 2007/08 financial year.

“While this is regrettable, the company’s ability to internally fund this key development project represents an important strategic advantage in the current equity market environment, with the Mungana development set to increase our copper production and enable us to more than double our zinc production to in excess of 100,000 tonnes per annum of metal in concentrate in the 2009/10 financial year,” he said.

This would also enable Kagara to internally fund the other exciting growth projects within its portfolio, Mr Robinson said.

Growing confidence Consolidated Tin Mines has announced further significant intercepts of tin and iron mineralisation from recently completed drilling at its flagship Mount Garnet project in North Queensland.

The drilling program targeted three key deposits - Gillian, Pinnacles and Deadmans Gully. It was designed to provide verification of existing data and obtain material for metallurgical testing.

“The results from this program give us great confidence in moving forward with our next drilling campaign, which will follow up on the strong tin and iron intercepts at Mount Garnet, and we will then embark on another drill program before the end of the year to expand and upgrade the resource base at the project,” executive technical director John Sainsbury said.

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14

INDUSTRY UPDATE

September 2008 |

The Mining Advocate

Fundraising to propel diamond project

Harbour drilling to help decide site for LNG facility INPEX will undertake nearshore drilling activities in the waters around Blaydin Point and several other locations in Darwin Harbour from this month until November.

This drilling project is part of the pre-feasibility study process being carried out for the company’s Ichthys Gas Field Development Project in the Browse Basin, 200km off the north-west coast of Western Australia, which is a joint venture operated

by INPEX. Darwin could be chosen as the preferred site for a $12 billion liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility to support the development.

The purpose of the drilling is to investigate geological and foundation conditions for proposed jetties, the offshore gas import pipeline route and the dredging areas required for a shipping channel, turning basins and berthing pockets.

A jack-up barge will drill 26 holes – about 21 in the proposed jetty areas and the proposed dredging areas and about five along the proposed gas import pipeline route.

The boreholes will reach depths of up to 40m below the seabed and will provide core samples to be subjected to technical analysis at a later stage.

The LNG plant was originally intended to be built in WA, but Darwin emerged as an alternative site after environmental concerns were raised.

Lady Annie expands

North Australian Diamonds has appointed Ascot Securities to assist with capital raising of about $6 million.

The funds will primarily be used to progress the Merlin project to completion of a bankable feasibility study, which the company believes is the only way to generate future value for shareholders.

The project is situated about 75km south-southeast by road from McArthur River in the Northern Territory.

Phosphate potential Minemakers has completed a four-month resource definition drilling program at its Wonarah rock phosphate project in the Northern Territory.

New joint ore reserve committee-compliant resource estimates for the project’s main zone and Arruwurra prospect will be undertaken by Coffey Mining over the next couple of months.

Minemakers managing director Andrew Drummond said the company expected that the new resource estimate for the main zone would significantly increase from the current 72 million tonnes.

New targets at Pentland, Isa INPEX plans nearshore drilling in Darwin Harbour (above).

Some West Australian media outlets have reported that INPEX has already chosen Darwin as its preferred location, but the company has stated it is still considering sites in WA including the Maret Islands and a potential multi-user LNG “hub” in the Kimberley.

A final decision has been scheduled for the end of this month.

Looking deeper at Roseby

CopperCo has tied a new electrowinning section to its processing plant at the Lady Annie copper project, near Mount Isa. The company announced that commissioning of this section and several sections of a new solvent extraction plant was under way. The improvements were made under CopperCo’s copper output expansion project.

Extension of the crushing and stacking material handling system and leach pads was scheduled for completion early this month.The company said this would complete the project’s construction, which had so far occurred on time and on budget.

Cathode production, now around 19,000 tonnes per annum, will expand to 25,000 in December and 30,000 in June 2009 as the ore inventory under leach builds.

Wide zones of high-grade copper sulphide mineralisation have been discovered at depth below the Blackard native copper resource at the Roseby project during recent drilling by Xstrata Copper as part of the sulphide extension exploration project (SEEP).

The SEEP joint venture, whereby Xstrata Copper earns a 51 per cent interest, surrounds but excludes the resources that are owned wholly by Universal Resources at Roseby, 65km north-north-west of Cloncurry in North Queensland.

Multiple zones of high-grade copper on three section lines were intersected within a strike length of 450m at Blackard.

Drilling also confirmed the continuity of copper sulphide mineralisation along the south-easterly strike extensions of the nearby Legend resource.

China Yunnan Copper Australia has announced significant new copper and gold targets at its Mount Isa and Pentland projects in North Queensland.

The Huggins Lookout prospect was identified as part of a regional reconnaissance program of all mineral occurrences reported by the Department of Mines and Energy within the company’s Mount Isa project.

The Toomba prospect at the Pentland project was the result of reconnaissance mapping and data collection of previously collected samples.

The company has commissioned a rig to drill the prospects.

Oil shale ban slammed The Queensland Government’s declaration of a 20-year moratorium over the development of the McFarlane oil shale deposit would further erode Queensland’s standing as a destination for exploration investment, Queensland Resources Council chief executive Michael Roche said.

Mr Roche said the Government was motivated in its decision by the marginal nature of the Labor seat of Whitsunday, which hosts the McFarlane deposit.

Premier Anna Bligh said she would not allow the environment to be put at risk while the technology for extraction of the resource was still not proven, and no new shale oil mines would be permitted anywhere in the state. Queensland has about 90 per cent of Australia’s known shale oil reserves.

2009 Xstrata Mount Isa Mining Expo 24, 25 & 26 March 2009 Xstrata Entertainment Centre - Buchanan Park, Mount Isa QLD

Exhibition Sites are now on sale for the 2009 Xstrata Mount Isa Mining Expo Register now to promote your product in one of the richest mineral provinces in the world. Home to several of the world's largest mining conglomerates and international mining organisations.

Showcasing the latest in mining tools, trades and technologies over three whole days For further information contact Mount Isa Chamber of Commerce I 76-78 Camooweal St, Mount Isa, QLD, 4825 I PO Box 1705 I Phone: 4743 9881 I or jump onto the website at www.michamber.com.au

INDUSTRY UPDATE

The Mining Advocate | September 2008

15

Early expo planning Preparations have begun for the next Mount Isa Mining Expo, to be held at Buchanan Park next year on March 24, 25 and 26.

Floor plans, site prices, expression-of-interest forms and event information have been released via email to all previous mining expo exhibitors and participants.

An early registration discount will be offered.

For further information contact the Mount Isa Chamber of Commerce on 0488 439881.

Bad news for copper thieves Ergon Energy has joined forces with Crime Stoppers in a national program to combat copper theft, which has been attributed to the rising price of copper.

The program will include improved security and surveillance measures, as well as an awareness campaign to educate the community on the impact of copper thefts and to seek their support in identifying the culprits

Exporting safety know-how The Queensland Government’s Safety in Mines Testing and Research Station (SIMTARS) has been awarded a $350,000 contract to provide software to a leading United States mine safety institute.

Mines and Energy Minister Geoff Wilson said SIMTARS would share its expertise with the National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety, based in Washington DC. He said Queensland’s gas monitoring system, long considered one of the best in the world, was used extensively in underground coal mines throughout the state and in New South Wales.

“The SIMTARS team has done the hard yards over many years to produce a state-of-the-art gas monitoring system that can quickly and reliably analyse the gas atmosphere in a mine,” he said.

Xstrata supports studies Xstrata Mount Isa Mines has initiated three doctoral studies through the University of Queensland’s Centre of Mined Land Rehabilitation (CMLR). Xstrata Zinc is also a major sponsor of a further CLMR initiative that incorporates a fourth doctoral study. The studies involve: • Investigation of the potential long-term risk of tailings seepage impacting on the environment at Mount Isa Mines and Ernest Henry Mine.

• Developing knowledge to allow Xstrata to make an informed decision about strategies for the revegetation of tailing storage facilities at those sites.

• Looking at the pathways of metals from air to land and water.

• Examining the role of vegetation on moisture store and release cover systems.

Ore shifting at the Bootu Creek manganese mine in the Northern Territory.

Bootu Creek mine steps up production OM Holdings, operator of the Bootu Creek manganese mine, 110km north of Tennant Creek in the Northern Territory, is considering expanding production and has announced a share buy-back.

The Singapore-based company aims to increase its NT manganese production to 800,000 tonnes a year.

The mine was producing 550,000 tonnes of ore a year until it installed a new run-of-mine bin last December to feed ore more reliably into its processing plant. The mine has seen record production since the $4.1 million upgrade.

The company has announced it will increase exploration activity with a view to extending the mine’s life.

Calling country engineers Engineers Australia is calling for input from engineers who have worked in regional areas.

A taskforce has been established to identify programs to support the needs of engineering team members living and working in regional Australia.

The group will address issues disadvantaging regional members and explore opportunities that can be pursued, especially in regards to increasing access to career professional development and peer support.

Information collected from a survey will help the taskforce better understand its regional members and plan its activities and services.

The survey can be found at: www.easurveys.com.au/ SurveyASP/TakeSurvey.asp?PageNumber=1&Survey ID=3MM9536H8592G.

The current life-of-mine plan for Bootu Creek stands at eight and a half years with production of 700,000 tonnes per annum.

OM Holdings chief executive Low Ngee Tong said the company had more than $60 million in cash with no debt.

“The outlook for our businesses remains very strong, with manganese prices remaining buoyant,” he said.

OM (Manganese), a subsidiary of OM Holdings, was listed on the then-Australian Stock Exchange in March 1998. Its Bootu Creek mine was commissioned in 2006 and earlier this year the company shipped its millionth tonne of manganese from the Port of Darwin.

Indigenous training program Pathways into the mining sector for 240 indigenous Queenslanders will be on offer through State Government-subsidised pre-vocational training.

Education and Training Minister Rod Welford said the new Indigenous Skilling Partnerships Program was part of the Queensland Skills Plan 2008.

“During the next two years the program will prepare indigenous students for vocational training in areas such as mining, civil construction, hospitality and business services,” he said.

Mr Welford said training providers would be required to offer culturally appropriate support during training and for a short period after job placement.

The program is one of several Queensland Skills Plan 2008 initiatives to increase job opportunities for unemployed and under-employed sectors.

16

BETWEEN SHIFTS

September 2008 |

QRC Women in Mining and Resources Queensland networking function

The Mining Advocate

PHOTOS: Stewart McLean

Jupiters Casino Coral Sea Room, Townsville

Emma Kitching (OZ Minerals), Caroline Morrissey (Queensland Resources Council) and Brigette Hendersonhall (WIMARQ).

Jane Moss (BMA), Claire Buchanan (BMA), Tammy Farrell (Core Health Consulting) and Anne-Maree Buontempi (Xstrata).

Kristin Coppola (Dawsons Engineering), Janice Ballard (Maunsell), Abby Midgley (Maunsell) and Kelly Stokes (Townsville City Council).

Alison Way (GHD), Kath Logan (OZ Minerals) and Anne Lavers (GHD).

James Cook University students Maureen Price and Karin Forarty with Wendy Berry (BMA Saraji Mine).

Krishan Patten, Michelle Berry and Emma Grandy (all from Downer EDI Mining).

Queensland Mining Industry Health and Safety Conference networking drinks

PHOTOS: Stewart McLean

Jupiters Casino Lobby Bar, Townsville

Mark Harris, Bill Drysdale and Stewart Sherrington (all from New Hope Coal).

Mark Blackburn, Ian Belousoff and Greg Dolan (Anglo).

Matt Daley (Xstrata Copper) and Nigel Ward (Xstrata Zinc).

Katherine Lynch, Guy McKellar, Elizabeth Gray and Samantha Evans (all from Anglo Coal).

Amanda Lacey, Jack Farry and Hanida Brady (BMA).

Mauro Soto (Peabody Energy), Merv Wiki (Walter Mining) and Scott Atkins (Valley Longwall International).

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BETWEEN SHIFTS

The Mining Advocate | September 2008

17

Charters Towers Mines Charity Ball Venus Battery, Charters Towers Tim Baker and Dan Johnson (Sovereign Metals) with Guy Drummond (Well Drilled).

Yanni Scamakas (Kagara) and Krystal Vickers.

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Shannon Green and Jo Spiller (Mega Uranium).

Stella McMahon and Debra Hilton (Charters Towers Mines Charity Ball Committee).

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18

BETWEEN SHIFTS

September 2008 |

Northern Engineering Conference welcome function

The Mining Advocate

PHOTOS: Romy Siegmann

Tjapukai Cultural Centre, Cairns Mitchim Elder (Aimtek), Tony Black (Black and More), Kris Steele (Black and More) and Steve Day (Stephen Day and Associates).

Ann and Andrew Kerr (retired engineer).

Felicity Yan and Adrian Zalta (both James Cook University engineering students).

Jeff and Debbie Bunt, Michael Ganza (Engineers Australia), Marie and Warren Olsen (Cairns Ports).

Vicki Stannard and Clifford Stanyon (Stanyon Consulting).

John Breen (Main Roads), Dan Martin (Douglas Partners) and John Hawkes (Cairns Regional Council).

Milton Messer (Northern Consulting) and Robert Mikhail (SKM).

Paul Pommer and Danette McLean (both from Connell Wagner).

Esther Bank and Kelly Stokes (both from Townsville City Council).

BETWEEN SHIFTS

The Mining Advocate | September 2008

OZ Minerals suppliers golf day

19

PHOTOS: Stewart McLean

Rowes Bay Golf Club, Townsville Terry Johnston (NQ Cowboys), Lloyd Jones (OZ Minerals) and Daniel Bridger (MSS).

John Craven (Orica Mining Chemicals) and Paul Hefferan (OZ Minerals).

Steve Spiller (KSB) and Howard Hardwick (OZ Minerals).

Dave Rodda (NQX), Lindsay Porter (NQX), Dave Lahy (QRX) and Matt Lehr (NQX).

Robert Bird (Robert Bird Group) and Cliff McCulloch (Wagners).

Lee McGorum, Ray Luff and Lara Higson (all from OZ Minerals).

Ron Black (Prime Print) and Brad Ryan (MTU Detroit Diesel).

Nigel Gill (BP) and Tristan Fortt (Orica).

Mark Nash (Nash Industrial Electrics), Jeff Innes (OZ Minerals) and Paul Bowman (NQ Cowboys).

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20

LIFESTYLE

September 2008 |

The Mining Advocate

Croc spotting, beach bliss and The lure of the far north had Mining Advocate scribe Michael Stevens falling back on a somewhat flimsy excuse to delay his return to work as a recent getaway drew to a close.

He shares his tales from the road in these pages.

My wife Kath and I needed a kick-start recently, so we decided to throw our tent in the back of the Corolla and spend a few days travelling through the Atherton Tableland and Cape Tribulation.

We certainly found relaxation in fact, the lush green landscape and laid-back atmosphere were so invigorating the boss had to do without me for a couple of extra days while we enjoyed a long weekend - and a couple of sick days - in far north Queensland.

FRIDAY Townsville to Mareeba The Bruce Highway from Townsville to the Innisfail turnoff to the Atherton Tableland was the worst part of the journey, with corridors of road works lengthening our travel time and a bevy of bogans in black utes threatening to cut it tragically short.

But after Italian sandwiches at an Innisfail deli we ascended to the undulating green plains of the Tableland and all was well with the world again.

At first glance Mareeba perhaps seems an odd destination; it isn’t exactly on most travellers’ lists of aesthetically pleasing places to stop off.

But about 12km outside the town is the Granite Gorge campsite, set amid a series of rambling rounded granite boulders.

Granite Gorge is also promoted for its abundant rock wallabies and when we arrived they were being conjured up by a pied-piper in a Wicked Campers van playing a recorder (I hadn’t heard the instrument played with such gusto since our Year 5 music teacher belted out Auld Lang Syne in 1987).

The campsite is a perfect compromise between bush camping and caravan parks – its facilities are basic but you have the freedom to set up where you

like and build a campfire.

There were no signs up reminding patrons to consider others when making noise and to clean up the sink, but funnily enough the site operated as a decent society all on its own.

We arrived just in time for a beer on a granite boulder in the twilight, which gave us an unexpectedly great view over a wide expanse of bushland.

SATURDAY Granite Gorge to Daintree The drive through to Daintree via Mossman took about an hour and was fascinating in its varied sights – wetlands, grazing cattle, country bed and breakfasts and pockets of tropical rainforest.

Daintree village, which is 15 minutes past the turnoff for the ferry to Cape Tribulation and thus not as popular as it could be, is one of the strangest places I have been – it feels like an ‘end of the line’ town, but with little else than tourist booking agencies.

We had dinner at a restaurant there that was surprisingly untouristy – it did not play up to any particular image and was homely as a result.

Determined to stick strictly to regional fare, we ordered prawns grilled on pieces of sugar cane and crocodile wantons for starters.

For main course I ate barramundi steamed with Asian greens – I was amazed at how the subtle spices used in the dish really brought out the flavour of the barramundi when I compared it with the plain grilled barra Kath ordered (one up for me; she hates it when I out-order her).

While we ate, a cat with multiple chins sneaked its way in

A traveller muses over the Mareeba district bushland at Granite Gorge campsite.

Daintree village – slightly odd.

and sprawled out across the floor, occasionally hoisting itself up unsteadily to procure food from diners.

Our waitress shooed it out of the restaurant and on to the footpath– she said she often told overseas visitors that the cat was so fat because it was crossed with a wombat and apparently many tourists had fallen for the gag.

SUNDAY Daintree to Cape Tribulation The bloke was unhappy and letting everyone know about it – apparently he didn’t sleep too well after his drunken tent-mate urinated at the top of a slope too close to the tent and he awoke to a trickling yellow stream inside the canvas.

Apart from being greeted by the jarring sounds of an angry German early that morning, the “camp anywhere” park overlooking the Daintree River was pleasant enough.

After packing up the tent we took a nature cruise on the river, which was mainly dedicated to croc spotting but threw in some tree snakes and a pair of frogmouths for good measure.

And we did indeed spot a massive saltie – apparently breeding season had started early and a few dominant males were swimming up the river in search of good sorts. Unfortunately, we missed out on seeing long-term

An afternoon at Cape Kimberley beach.

residents Gummy and Fat Albert – our guide told us that records show Fat Albert was living in the river as long ago as the 1930s and probably earlier (crocodiles are thought to live for up to 100 years or more).

From Daintree we backtracked to the Cape Tribulation ferry and crossed into the splendour of thick, dark rainforest.

We set up camp at Cape Kimberley beach and busily set about the task of doing nothing for a few hours.

Sitting at our digs with a few beers and listening to Parra winning the footy on our radio, I started to imagine a slight snuffle and enjoyed a pleasant premonition that I would be far too ill for work the next day to bother trying to drive back to Townsville.

However, the novelty of the campfire almost did make me sick that night – with 20 different groups of campers having their own smoky fires in close proximity, Francis Ford Coppola could have rolled up and shot a sequel to Apocalypse Now.

MONDAY Staying put Time to SMS the boss and let him know I’ll be off work for a couple of days, before saluting the marvel of modern technology that has removed the need to make a pitiful phone call with tissues stuffed up your nostrils.

Lazy Monday arvo was perfect – after listening to the Olympics coverage on the radio we went down to the beach to wet a line, ignoring the raised eyebrows of the bait seller who thought we were wasting our time fishing without a boat.

We knew we wouldn’t be pulling in monsters of the deep, but Kath did manage to catch a couple of nice-sized whiting (yes, I was out-fished by my wife and I’m not afraid to admit it).

In any case, being ankle deep in warm coastal waters as the sun disappeared behind rainforest-clad mountains made the need for a better catch totally redundant.

LIFESTYLE

The Mining Advocate | September 2008

21

the tricky ‘sickie’ that stayed

A fair-sized saltie on the prowl in the Daintree River.

TUESDAY Home the long way around In order to make the journey home more amenable, we decided to go back through the Tableland and sample some of the local produce.

First stop was Coffee Works in Mareeba, a place that would smell of alertness if that state of

mind had an aroma.

We then wound our way through the hills to the Falls Teahouse near Millaa Millaa, where we gorged ourselves on pie floaters (homemade beef pies floating in mushy peas and gravy).

For dessert, we made a quick dash over to the Mungalli Creek Dairy, where I stuffed myself so full of free cream cheese samples and a huge slab of mango

Farmland against a backdrop of tropical rainforest near Daintree village.

cheesecake that the seatbelt hurt across my belly in the final hours of the drive home.

There is no doubt we kicked

Rainforest at Cape Tribulation.

back mightily on our long weekend and a bit in far north Queensland, but I didn’t feel so clever about my lies to gain

a couple of extra days off work after our last day pig-out session.

On my second “sick” day, I did indeed arrive home sick.

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22

REC ‘N TECH

September 2008 |

The Mining Advocate

Canon HD video camera

Nintendo DS Cooking Guide

While you’re working on site don’t miss a moment at home with Canon Australia’s three new high-definition (HD) digital video cameras. Canon says its HF11, HG20 and HG21 HD video cameras are the first on the market with a recording rate of 24Mbps, the highest rate possible for HD cameras. The HG21 has the largest hard drive of the three, with a capacity to record up to 45 hours of footage.

You eat well on the mine site, now eat well at home too with a little help from Nintendo. The Nintendo DS Cooking Guide will take you step by step through its 250 recipes, providing easy-tofollow spoken instructions. It will also tell you what you need to buy, the utensils you need and how many calories you’re about to consume.

DSC-T700

DSC-T77

EOS Wireless sound system Rock out to your favourite tunes with the world’s first digital wireless home speaker system for iPod, available in Australia this month. The Eos Wireless system uses WiFi technology to link a base station with up to four remote speakers enabling you to pump CD quality music throughout your entire house.

Sony T-series Cyber-shot cameras Sony has announced two new additions to its T-series range of Cyber-shot digital cameras.

The Album T (DSC-T700) allows you to capture and store up to 40,000 photographs. It’s also equipped with instant search capabilities that make it easy to find an image by face type. The new super skinny T Slim (DSC-T77) is just 13.9mm at its thinnest point and a Smile Shutter icon on its touch screen enables continuous shooting when smiling faces are detected.

RRP: Album T (DSC-T700) $599; T Slim (DSC-T77) $429.

Samsung YP-S3 player Wii Fit Nintendo has enlisted the help of Olivia Let’s Get Physical Newton John to sell its new series of programs aimed at getting you up off the couch. Wii Fit is described as a health and lifestyle product with more than 40 exercises. It could be the fitness solution you need to work off those hearty on-site meals.

Samsung’s new colourful YP-S3 video MP3 players come equipped with a simple “drag and drop” music transfer tool, making it easier to navigate your musical library. They also feature a 176 x 220 resolution LCD screen and are available in pink, white, blue and black.

RRP: $99 (2GB), $129 (4GB) and $189 (8GB).

Power Monkey Re-charging your mobile, iPod or digital camera will always be an easy task with the Power Monkey eXplorer portable solar charger.

The solar-slave draws power directly from the sun providing free solar power wherever you happen to be. Available from www.mulitpoweredproducts.com.au. RRP $169

BIGGER, TOUGHER, BETTER

The Mining Advocate | September 2008

23

Komatsu hybrid excavator Komatsu has released the world’s first hybrid (electro-hydraulic) excavator. The 20-tonne PC200-8 Hybrid is powered using a newly developed electronic motor to turn the upper structure, a powergeneration motor, a capacitor and a low-speed diesel engine.

Komatsu says it typically uses 25 per cent less fuel than the standard PC2008, but during certain operations such as digging and slewing it has achieved savings of up to 40 per cent. The hybrid excavator is currently only sold in Japan but should be available to other markets next year.

Bambach saddle chair If you’ve ever spent a 12-hour shift in a control room you’ll know how important it is to have a comfy seat. Ergonomic chairs designed by The Bambach Saddle Seat company are designed to reduce neck, shoulder and back pain and have the Australian Physiotherapy Association’s tick of approval. The RRP for a seat with a back is $995 and a 30-day trial is available.

Blue Steel boots

Standard Sonomax hearing protection pack

Hearing protection with acoustic tube for radio communication gear

Having to put up with wet feet can be miserable but footwear specialist Blue Steel has made it its mission to ensure it’s a problem underground miners no longer encounter. The company has designed a shoe that’s as waterproof as a PVC wellington but with far greater ankle support. The boots also feature space-age temperature regulating technology to avoid the skin fungal problems caused by hot and sweaty feet.

Sonomax hearing protection Disposable ear plugs could soon be a thing of the past if Sonomax has its way. Its ear plugs are custom fit for individual users and then tested using a specially designed computer program. Sonomax says it’s a simple process that takes just a few minutes and on-site visits are possible.

Sundstrom breathing apparatus The SR 500 EX fan has been developed by Sundström as an alternative to filter protections, particularly when the work is intensive, hot or of long duration. It’s explosion proof and specially adapted for use in an explosive atmosphere. See www.srsafety.se for further details.

Komatsu 960E K TTowering 7m above the ground with tyres measuring 44m in diameter, the 327 960E-1 electric-drive truck is the la largest machine ever manufactured by Komatsu.

It has been designed and developed by Komatsu A America Corp and is being produced at operations in IlIllinois to enhance productivity at mines throughout the w world.

Uvex Helix C5 gloves Uvex is promising to put an end to sweaty, uncomfortable safety gloves with its new Helix C5 range made using Bamboo Twinflex® technology.

The gloves provide the wearer with cut Level 5 hand protection as well as comfort and maximum sweat absorption.

24

Queensland Mining Industry Health & Safety Conference

September 2008 |

The Mining Advocate

Resin Bolt Timer innovation The Resin Bolt Timer is a tool to ensure consistent and safe operation of resin bolt installation at Xstrata Zinc’s George Fisher Mine (GFM). This very simple idea came from the identification through route cause incident investigation during which it was recognised, taking into consideration all the distractions in an underground operating environment, that operator judgement is variable in estimating cycle times.

A resin bolt is a solid 2.4 metre long x 20 millimetre diameter threaded bolt. The resin cartridge is a two part epoxy mixture that forms a bonded layer between the resin bolt and the rock surface.

The combination of bolt and resin cartridge is inserted in a drilled hole of a set length and diameter. The bolt is spun as it is inserted thereby mixing the resin.

When the resin is set the bolt is tensioned against the rock surface supporting the ground.

Resin bolts require a fixed process for their installation that is time critical. There are two time critical aspects of the installation; Spin time and Hold (set) time.

Spin time refers to the time required to spin and insert the bolt and resin cartridge in the drilled hole to mix the two chemicals that form the resin. The Hold time refers to how long the bolt must be held for the resin to set before the

The operator only presses the button once. The unit is mounted in the operators field of vision when bolting. bolt can be tensioned.

Failure to comply with the manufacturer’s instructions may result in inadequate mixing of the resin, over mixing of the resin, or inadequate set time. Any of these variables can result in poor ground support quality due to: a) inadequate mixing, the catalyst and resin inadequately mixed causing a weaker than designed bond strength; b) over mixing, causing the bonds formed by the chemical reaction to break causing a weaker than designed bond strength; or c) Bolt being tensioned earlier than the designed set time causing the bolt to be pulled through the resin causing weaker than designed bond strength and shorter bolt installation length.

The idea of a Resin Bolt Timer was developed within the GFM Operations Team and

was designed and constructed by the Xstrata Zinc Electrical Engineering Team.

The Resin Bolt Timer is not much larger than a mobile phone and consists of a button which when pressed illuminates three light emitting diodes (LED’s) in sequence. The first timed LED provides the correct time for the “Spin” or installation phase of the cycle. The second “Hold” cycle allows for the resin to “Set”

Xstrata continuing to support the Queensland Mining Industry Safety and Health Conference

and the third or “Next” confirms when the operator can tension the bolt and thereby complete the installation and move onto the next task.

The resin bolt timers have been fitted in all Jumbo operating cabins within the mine and they are sighted in the operator’s field of vision when bolting. The operator simply pushes the button once when he is ready to begin the “Spin” cycle and then follows

the LED prompts. Should the cycle not commence after pushing the button, the Operator simply pushes the button again to reset the sequence.

Since the introduction of the Resin Bolt Timer at GFM, Xstrata believes resin bolt installation has improved at the mine due to a reduction in variables of resin bolt installation by removing a “Human Factor” and thereby improving resin bolt installation Quality Assurance Quality Control (QAQC).

Supporting this is the audited visual evidence of the correct length of bolt protruding from hole collars at the end of installation and that no resin bolts have failed the scheduled monthly pull-tests regime.

The device does not negate the need for correct training or supervision however it assists the operator by eliminating judgement from the task.

The device can be used in all mines using resin bolts and can be manufactured and installed at minimal cost.

The Resin Bolt Timer can be adjusted internally to allow for varying OEM specifications and resin requirements to be complied with.

With the above in mind the device can also be used in other applications where timing is critical.

The Mining Advocate | September 2008

Record-breaking response A record 670 delegates attended the recent Queensland Mining Industry Health and Safety Conference at the Townsville Entertainment and Convention Centre.

The event theme, “Breaking New Ground”, was designed to reflect the fact that as the industry’s injury rate continues to fall, the innovation and commitment needed to sustain this downward trend increases.

In addition to keynote speakers and the presentation of technical papers, the conference once again featured an innovations award competition, hosted by James O’Loghlin from the ABC’ s New Inventors program.

The conference, now in its 20th year, was hosted by the Queensland Resources Council, the Department of Mines and Energy and the mining unions (the CFMEU and AWU).

The Mining Advocate was on hand to report on the event’s highlights.

THE AUSTRALIAN WORKERS' UNION: PUTTING MINERS' SAFETY FIRST

ARE YOU CONCERNED ABOUT YOUR RIGHTS AND CONDITIONS AT WORK? ARE YOU WORRIED THAT SAFETY IS BEING COMPROMISED? DO YOU THINK YOU DESERVE BETTER? ONLY QUEENSLAND STRONGEST UNION IS COMMITTED TO PROTECTING MINERS' SAFETY IN THE WORKPLACE NOT AN AWU MEMBER YET? THEN CALL THE AWU TODAY TO FIND OUT HOW TO BECOME PROTECTED AT WORK

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Queensland Mining Industry Health & Safety Conference

25

No real value in ‘zero harm’ line A safety consultant provided a touch of iconoclasm at this year’s Queensland Mining Industry Health and Safety Conference when he questioned the common goal of “zero harm”.

SAFEmap International chief executive officer Corrie Pitzer said the average mining industry employee did not believe that operations would ever reach the point where workers did not suffer any bumps or scratches.

“We paint ourselves into a corner all the time by making ‘zero’ a goal. We are doomed to fail,” he said.

Mr Pitzer rejected the motivational value of “zero harm”, citing research that indicated workers responded more to the knowledge that companies genuinely cared about them than to set goals or systems of safety rewards that could inhibit the reporting of bad news.

“All of my areas of breaking new ground are about leading with social values, not leading with numbers or leading with goals,” he said.

Mr Pitzer said the mining industry had now reached the point where workers were being cocooned by a raft of safety systems and procedures on site.

Although these systems had helped reduce accident levels, a “cult of compliance” had arisen that meant workers were not as sharp in their behaviours as they ought to be.

He said sites should now be encouraging critical thought and decision making by individual workers at the point of risk.

Mr Pitzer said all useful activity in life contained risks and the focus of safety systems should be on the best ways of managing risk rather than on eliminating it.

26

Queensland Mining Industry Health & Safety Conference

September 2008 |

Invention cuts work risks The Ernest Henry mine’s submission to the innovation competition held in conjunction with this year’s Queensland Mining Industry Health and Safety Conference was a tool to manage the risk of airborne missiles.

Site representative Peter Barry told the conference that a concentrator mechanical maintenance team had identified a potential hazard in the operation of the gyratory crusher.

The team members watched a video of a serious incident at an unnamed site in which a groundengaging tool (GET) became stuck between the mantle and crusher body.

A technician was struck in the head when the foreign material ejected from the crusher at high velocity as it was being lanced.

The maintenance crew believed that the risk of a similar incident involving GET such as bucket teeth was present at the Ernest Henry operation and developed a safety-enhancing removal tool.

The tool, which resembles a many-pronged claw, is designed to slip over the moil of a mobile rock breaker.

When placed over a piece of GET stuck in the crusher, the prongs provide a physical barrier for the technician while allowing access for the lancing tool.

The Mining Advocate

Praise from air chief A Qantas Airways manager has praised the mining industry’s occupational health and safety regime for being superior to that of the aviation industry.

Qantas Airways group general manager of occupational health and safety, Dr Graeme Peel, said the company had only become proactive in that area relatively recently after a poor record in the 1990s.

He said Qantas was then in the “almost schizophrenic” position of having world-best flight safety but little interest in occupational health and safety.

Dr Peel said the company had now adjusted its focus from injury claims management to incident prevention.

It had put in place an occupational health and safety management system, a behavioural safety program, performance measurement analysis and reporting procedures.

Technology’s new wave

The GET removal tool.

Photo: Xstrata Copper Ernest Henry Mining.

A new wave of “Star Wars” technology is set to enhance mining industry safety, according to a consultant in the field.

Safety Wise Solutions managing director Gerry Gibb said some new mining equipment could be operated remotely - even thousands of kilometres from site - to allow operators to work from safe locations. He said the mining industry was able to benefit from the sort of remote operation technology being used by NASA for missions on the moon.

Mr Gibb said the equipment would help attract Generation Y to the industry.

Gerry Gibb Automation was also beneficial to an ageing workforce and improved the work of novice employees, he said.

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Queensland Mining Industry Health & Safety Conference

The Mining Advocate | September 2008

27

Uniform standards a must

One vision A retiring mining executive has highlighted the pitfalls of allowing sites across a company to maintain differing sets of safety values.

Mining companies with numerous sites should have a uniform set of safety values across the whole organisation, says Rio Tinto’s former senior advisor to the chief executive, Oscar Groeneveld.

Mr Groeneveld, who spoke at the Queensland Mining Industry Health and Safety Conference on his last day of work before retiring, said values needed to be aligned from the boardroom to the induction room.

He said having different operations with separate standards in the same company was counter-productive because staff had to learn a new set of safety standards every time they transferred to a different site.

“We went through quite a journey of standards because we had a very strong philosophy of decentralisation - we as miners have always prided ourselves on being able to operate in

remote locations and with local challenges, and to do it in the absence of any interference or input from head office,” Mr Groeneveld said.

“We realised that by taking that approach we were wasting enormous resources in inventing and re-inventing standards and approaches, particularly in regards to safety, so we decided around the start of this decade that it had to stop.”

Mr Groeneveld chaired a sub-branch of the executive committee for five years to bring safety values into alignment.

He said the inducting of site leaders to a common safety standard was identified as the top priority but it was also the hardest task faced by the committee, because leaders generally thought their systems were already sound.

“It took us quite a while to get traction and momentum around

Oscar Groeneveld addresses the safety conference in Townsville.

common standards - there was a fair bit of grumbling at having to re-work what were perfectly good existing standards at some of these locations,” he said.

As well as properly training site leaders, Mr Groeneveld said a company’s safety strategy should be centred on choosing the right assets.

He said Rio Tinto’s policy of putting employee safety first had dissuaded it from entering

Photo: Stewart McLean

into mining activities in some emerging countries where the threat of gunfire was too great, despite exciting exploration prospects.

On the other hand, Mr Groeneveld led the team to steer the recent merger of Rio Tinto Aluminium and Alcan, and he said he was confident all the way through that the Alcan culture could be quickly brought into alignment with Rio Tinto’s.

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“The stronger the union, the safer the mine”

On a personal level, miners should keep a reasonable discipline in their lifestyles and maintain themselves in the same way as they maintained a company’s business assets, he said.

Mr Groeneveld said increased safety focus and resources were needed in small mining operations in Australia, although the industry was generally in a strong position regarding safety.

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28

Queensland Mining Industry Health & Safety Conference

September 2008 |

The Mining Advocate

A leading light in innovations Century mine workers have a strong record in developing their own practical solutions to site safety issues, writes Michael Stevens.

A system to automatically start lighting plants at OZ Minerals Century Mine won this year’s Queensland Mining Industry Health and Safety Conference innovation award.

Lighting plants are used at the Century open-pit mine in the lower Gulf to allow employees to work safely at night in areas such as tip heads, shovels, intersections and corners.

Prior to the development of the system, the 45 lighting plants spread around Oz Minerals’ Century Mine were started manually each afternoon by staff in light vehicles.

The new system, operating on a timer, allows the plants to start automatically and reduces the risks of workers moving about the mine site close to heavy machinery, especially at dusk or at night when it is harder to see.

The system is also designed

to help avoid vehicle accidents, exposure to heat and dust, slips, trips, sprains and strains.

Beacons on top of each of the lighting plants are activated when a unit breaks down, making it easier to find in the dark.

The innovation, which won both the judges’ and people’s choice awards, was steered by Century fitter and electrician David McGrory.

Century mine also submitted a second innovation to the awards - a lifting tool for removing contactors from 830E electric haul trucks during maintenance.

Workers who removed the heavy contactors before the tool was developed were required to be hunched-over in a tight space, but the lightweight portable remover has now significantly reduced manual handling risks by allowing the contactors to

North West Crane Hire has the following equipment and cranes on offer: 18-220t Cranes 34ft – 85ft EWP’s 3 x 10m Tippers Semi’s, Flat top and Step Deck Trailers IT Loader 3t-7t Forklifts Tilt Trays Crane Operators, Riggers, Labourers, Tradespeople and Supervisors available The company, directed by Mark and Leanne Bellamy, commenced in 2004 with one 50t Crane and now the fleet has expanded to 78 various units with more cranes, semi’s and equipment on order and due to arrive in 2008.

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MORE EFFICIENT As well as improving safety, Century mine’s lighting plant auto-start system makes savings of: Up to 2.5 hours of excess running time per day, making an annual saving of about 64,250 litres of diesel - worth $96,375.

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be removed by workers in a standing position.

Century plant manager Rod Dugmore, who outlined the second initiative at the safety conference, said the operation had made innovation award submissions for the past three years.

He said Century mine did not necessarily set out to win safety awards but it did have a proactive workforce.

Century fitter and electrician David McGrory drove the development of a lighting plant auto-start system.

“Our people are clearly of the opinion that they should come up with innovations to reduce risk in the workplace,” he said.

“In recent years, innovations have been around this rather

than in response to incidents that had already occurred.

“We have workers come to us with ideas each year and, as a management team, we like to foster those.”

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