The Mining Advocate May 2014 edition

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The Mining Advocate | May 2014

1

COVER IMAGE: Kevin Lee and Wesley McRae prepare to fly out from Toowoomba with Easternwell. Photo: Statik Illusions

May 2014

FEATURES

3 Rights ruling

8 FIFO Special

A High Court decision has cleared confusion over the status of native title on older mining leases.

12 Our Mining Heritage

7 Exploration lifeline

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A federal incentive to boost greenfields exploration has been embraced by industry bodies, as Australian geoscientists face record jobless rates.

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8 Up and away

14 Promoting Indigenous Employment

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A detailed look at the fly in-fly out phenomenon across the Queensland resources sector.

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12 Golden Gympie

16 Industry Update

18 Between Shifts

How an English prospector’s discovery turned around the fortunes of a fledgling state.

20 Port of Townsville feature

20 Full steam ahead The Port of Townsville reaches a key milestone in 2014, with ongoing improvements cementing a bright

24 Toowoomba and Surat Basin Operations

future as it celebrates 150 years of trade.

CONTACTS p. (07) 4755 0336 f. (07) 4755 0338 Email: ............................................................... info@miningadvocate.com.au Address: ........................................13 Carlton Street, Kirwan, Q, 4817 Postal: ...................................................... PO Box 945, Townsville, Q, 4810

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Coal has the edge Gas exports change Queensland’s power generation equation, writes Bruce Macdonald The development of three LNG processing plants off Gladstone is forcing up the domestic price of gas and returning coal to favour as a power generating fuel in Queensland, according to a senior resource analyst.

Gavin Wendt, the founding director of MineLife, said thermal coal prices had, in contrast, been at low levels for a number of years and looked like staying that way for some time to come.

He said that Australian gas prices were more related to oil after being turned into liquefied natural gas as an export fuel.

Queensland power producer Stanwell Corporation recently opted to close its Swanbank E power plant, 10km south of Ipswich, and sell the gas used to run the 385MW facility on the open market.

Meanwhile two 350MW units not in use at Tarong in southern Queensland will be brought back on line at the coal-fired plant progressively starting in July.

Stanwell spokesman Jay Merrit said Stanwell’s energy generation division lost $96 million last financial year and the board had

put in place a strategy to return it to profitability in two years.

Mr Merrit said the Queensland energy sector had in the region of a 60 per cent oversupply, which was a significant factor in Stanwell’s loss.

Thermal coal is trading at about $US80 a tonne and has progressively declined from a high of $US140 a tonne in January 2011, making it a more cost-effective solution than gas which is expected to rise in price as the three Curtis Island LNG plants come progressively online from this year.

The three consortia involved in the projects are tapping large coal seam gas reserves in the Surat and Bowen basins, with all production earmarked for export.

The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) has set up a gas trading hub at Wallumbilla, about five hours by road west of Brisbane at the junction of three major gas pipelines.

“The gas supply hub is an exchange for the wholesale trading of natural gas. Participants place anonymous offers (to sell) or bids (to buy) a specified quantity

at a specified price, which are automatically matched on the exchange to form transactions,” an AEMO spokeswoman said.

“The new voluntary market responds to emerging challenges in the east coast gas markets.

Queensland in particular is experiencing substantial developments in LNG exports, which has increased the need for more flexible and transparent upstream transactions between parties.”

The hub opened for business in February this year and had traded 222,425 gigajoules up to April 20 for a total cash value of $768,678.

One of the players in gas hub trading is energy provider Alinta, which operates the Braemer 1 500MW gas-powered generation plant comprising three open-cycle gas turbine units in southern Queensland.

Alinta gas trading manager Peter Frost said gas prices were steadily increasing as a result of the growing LNG export industry.

“In this environment Alinta potentially sees value in gas being sold as a commodity rather than as a fuel to generate electricity,” he said.

Ross Thompson speaking at the 2014 Mining the North West Conference.

Gas logical power source for the Isa Mount Isa will continue to receive its energy needs from gas, according to an industry expert.

Soren Consulting director Ross Thompson told the 2014 Mining the North West Conference that energy provider Ergon and miner Glencore Xstrata had both negotiated long-term gas supply contracts to 2020 and beyond which would hedge against projected rises in the cost of domestic gas supply.

Mr Thompson’s remarks come in the wake of State power producer Stanwell Corporation’s decision to take its 385-megawatt gas-fired Swanbank E station off the grid and sell its gas supply.

Mr Thompson told the conference that the gas market would tighten as LNG trains at Curtis Island off Gladstone came online in the $10 to $12 range per gigajoule, but the market forecast was that prices would drop back to $7 to $8 per gigajoule by 2019.

Mr Thompson added that there were “many impacts” that could influence future prices.

These could include project delays, the cost of resource development, new gas resources and new LNG trains.

Mr Thompson said while the conversion of coal seam gas to LNG was the main focus of energy providers in Queensland at the moment he didn’t rule out other non-conventional energy sources like shale becoming viable in the future as the need for energy grew.

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The Mining Advocate | May 2014

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New twist for native title A ruling addresses the issue of rights on older mine sites, writes Dominique Kimber A recent High Court decision has cleared confusion over the presence of native title rights on older mining leases.

It was previously thought that when dealing with extinguishment of native title under common law, the rights of traditional land owners would be considered extinguished if the land had been developed.

The court ruled in March that non-exclusive native title rights and interests would not be extinguished by the grant of certain mining leases - even in areas which had been developed into a mine, town and associated works.

Senior associate at Herbert Smith Freehills commercial law firm, Katherine Perincek, said the decision provided clarity moving forward.

“Until this decision came down, the law was in a state of flux about the extent to which native title could be extinguished at common law by operations under certain older mining leases,” she said.

“More recent mining leases that are granted in accordance with the ‘future act procedures’

under the Native Title Act, we know what happens there and generally native title isn’t extinguished. With the older mining leases that were granted some time ago, it wasn’t clear.

“There was a case called De Rose No 2 about pastoral interests, and generally a pastoral lease only partially extinguishes native title.

“But then within the area of the pastoral lease, say for example where the pastoralist built a building or constructed a dam or something like that, the court in this case said native title can’t continue to exist in those areas. So in those areas native title was wholly extinguished.

So the same was thought to apply to areas developed under these older style mining leases.

“The High Court decision that came down recently said that the De Rose case was wrong on this point and that native title is not extinguished in these areas.”

Ms Perincek said the holder of a validly granted mining lease could continue to exercise rights under that mining lease, which would prevail over native title rights.

However, the new ruling meant that mining companies interested in obtaining tenure over areas of previous development would have to consider carefully whether they needed to go through Native Title Act processes.

“Native title is a bundle of rights and some grants, like the grant of a pastoral lease, can extinguish some of those rights,” Ms Perincek said. “But the High Court’s recent decision indicates

catch up with the needs and entitlements of traditional owners according to one cultural heritage management specialist.

Fay Agee-Wakefield has worked in cultural heritage field for the last eight years and says that operations and procedures relating to native title have come a long way. “Now, native title is becoming one of those huge compliance areas which needs serious consideration before commencing a project,” she said.

that even in the area of a mine, some of those rights may not be extinguished, although the native title holders may not be able to exercise those rights while the mine is operating. But once the mine closes and the land is rehabilitated they can exercise their native rights and use the land. Mining developments don’t necessarily extinguish their rights forever.”

Mining and resources industries are beginning to

Oaky team triumphs The mines rescue team from Oaky No. 1 coal mine came up trumps at this year’s Queensland Mines Rescue Service Memorial Cup. Chief assessor Ray Smith said the six teams competing in the 2014 event at BMA Gregory Crinum had been closely matched.

“In the underground exercises, it was probably the closest we’ve seen in scores in many years,” he said.

The above-ground scenarios had made the difference in sorting out the Top 4, who will go on to compete in the EK Healy Cup competition at Broadmeadow mine on July 31.

The teams from Oaky No. 1, Moranbah North, Kestrel and Cook Colliery will take on North Goonyella, Oaky North, Broadmeadow and Crinum at that competition.

Mr Smith said the winning Oaky No. 1 team had also claimed the George Carbine Shield for excellence in first aid at the QMRS Memorial Cup event.

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Hundreds of workers for rebrick Major project to cost $30 million and take 31 days to complete working around the clock

Richard Harvey Glencore Mount Isa chief processing officer

Glencore’s Mount Isa Mines copper smelter will undergo a $30 million refurbishment at the end of May. The project involves 300 contractors, 100 maintenance staff plus another 30 workers from the operational team.

They will combine for the

planned 31-day, 24-hours-a-day undertaking. The last time the smelter was refurbished was in April 2010.

Glencore’s chief processing officer in Mount Isa, Richard Harvey, said the refurbishment was the culmination of an eightmonth planning project.

“The project started with a dedicated team of five staff, which steadily increased in number as the project drew closer,” Mr Harvey said.

About 40 per cent of all the contractors involved in the massive undertaking are drawn from the Mount Isa area.

The key elements of the refurbishment are the rebricking of one of the two rotary holding furnaces, the two anode furnaces plus the primary smelting vessel (ISASMELT).

Copper smelter manager Steve Nilsson said specially made bricks capable of withstanding heat up to 1300 degrees would be stripped out of the vessels and replaced with 1100 tonnes of new bricks.

These will be laid by a team of 130 specialist bricklayers recruited from across Australia.

Copper anodes ready to be transported from the copper smelter at Glencore’s Mount Isa Mine.

Photo: Rob Parsons

The bricks, manufactured by RHI in Austria, were shipped from Hamburg to Brisbane and trucked to Mount Isa over several weeks ahead of the project, which

was scheduled to start on May 28 when The Mining Advocate went to press.

The cylindrical primary smelting vessel measures 14.5m

in height, with a diameter of 4.8m, and the holding furnace is 15.5m long and 4.6m in diameter.

In addition to the primary work, sections of ducting to the nearby acid plant - which uses the by-product from the smelting process - will be refurbished and boiler tubes above the furnace used to create steam for power generation will be replaced.

Mr Nilsson said safety was paramount during the refurbishment project. Bricks would be removed from both vessels remotely using a specially designed machine and new bricks would be moved into the vessels via a conveyor belt, he said.

Smelter shutdown record in sight The shutdown of Glencore’s Mount Isa Mines copper smelter at the end of May will mark the creation of a global record for the refractory brick campaign length in the ISASMELT process pioneered at the site.

A total of 15 ISASMELT plants operate in 10 countries worldwide. Previous to this shutdown, the longest campaign achieved by the Mount Isa Mines smelter was 44 months.

Outside that plant, the longest record standing is 40.8 months at a facility in India. Both records will fall to the Mount Isa plant at 50 months when the shutdown begins, according to Glencore’s North Queensland chief processing officer, Richard Harvey.

ISASMELT and companion processes, Jameson Cell flotation technology and the refining method, ISA PROCESS, were spawned from the difficulties associated with mining lead, zinc and copper from the region.

The ISASMELT process evolved out of a collaboration between Mount Isa Mines staff and the CSIRO in the late 1970s and has been subject to ongoing innovation since to become an industry benchmark.

From a small pilot plant that moved five tonnes per hour in 1983, the process is now responsible for production of 160 tonnes per hour.

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The Mining Advocate | May 2014

Program tackles use of illicit drugs One-day workshops to help quarrying industry deal with emerging problem A Queensland-based company is developing a program for the Institute of Quarrying Australia (IQA) to tackle the issues surrounding illicit drugs in the industry.

BXF Consulting directors Adam Frost and Clay Butler say there is a strong demand for specialist advice in this area as the drugs market is ever-changing and adapting. “We started the business because we saw the need mainly in the resources industry for more information on drugs - the issues and hazards that they present not only the workers, but for the businesses that have to manage those hazards,� Mr Frost said. “Especially when it comes to the new synthetic drugs, there’s a lot of confusion over the legality and the effects of them, so we saw a need to get that information out there.�

The IQA’s “Fit for

Duty�program will be delivered in a one-day face-to-face workshop that will see Mr Frost and Mr Butler travelling across Queensland and interstate. “The IQA package will be a day session - so we do workshops on alcohol, traditional drugs and the synthetic drugs out there,�

Mr Frost said. “We will look at the adverse effects of these drugs and their impact on the individual, the workplace and the greater community. It’s designed to run for a full day and it is very comprehensive. “It’s for company managers, their site supervisors and their health and safety staff and it allows them to understand the hazards and use current risk management processes to reinvigorate their existing policies and make them more effective in light of the new synthetics and the other new drugs on the market.

“There’s a lot of information available on the internet but it often takes that little extra explanation to relate it to that person or organisation’s situation so it makes sense.�

Mr Frost and Mr Butler have a combined 30 years’ of law enforcement experience dealing with alcohol and other drugs. “There are a lot of policies in place for drug and alcohol testing in corporations but they’re for the traditional drugs, and it’s really important to be aware of the new drugs that are always coming out,� Mr Butler said “The idea behind our program is to improve initial awareness levels, let companies and workers know what’s out there, let them know that their policies are probably a little bit out of date and then, past that, if they need any help in developing policies we can assist further there.�

BXF Consulting is also working on the delivery of an online information portal that will deliver information on drugrelated issues via online webinars.

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Duty of care rests with all, says institute Workers in the quarrying industry have a moral obligation to look out for their co-workers on site, according to Institute of Quarrying Australia general manager Paul Sutton.

Mr Sutton says that although there are appropriate safety rules and legislation in place, all on-site workers have a duty to do more. “The fact is that, yes, legislation states that there has to be health and safety policies for each state, but it goes beyond that in the sense of taking care of your mates,� Mr Sutton said. “The quarrying industry has come a long way with their health and safety - and they do health and safety, along with so many other good things in their industry, by the smell of an oily rag because they’re operating on very low margins. “On some sites the quarrying manager is the manager, the supervisor and the health and safety person, so they wear a number of hats. It’s not always possible to get around the site with the health and safety hat on. So it’s necessary for the team to take on some of that moral responsibility. “If you see something health and safety-related, it’s your moral

duty to report it to someone who can fix it. It may not be part of your job description but as part of a team it’s a moral obligation to address it. “If you suspect that your coworker is fatigued, or under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and those types of things, it’s important to say something.

Accidents will occur if this moral obligation is ignored.�

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The Mining Advocate

Campaign to protect workers The death of her husband prompted Rachel Blee to set up an organisation to help others Rachel and Jason Blee were booked in with the lawyer to finalise their wills, but a tragic accident at Jason’s work meant they never made the appointment.

Jason was working at Moranbah North mine in the Bowen Basin when he lost his life in an underground accident.

After the accident, Mrs Blee said she had been left alone to look after four children and to battle through paperwork and legal obstacles that she and her husband had not been prepared for.

“In 2007 my husband Jason was working at Moranbah North and he was killed in an underground mining incident with a shuttle car,” she said.

“We didn’t have a current will. We were in the process of doing one but my husband was changed from one crew to the next. So we were booked in to get it done the next week and the next week never came.”

Mrs Blee, with the help of Mine Safety Institute of

Australia director Mark Parcell, started up A Miner’s Legacy in 2012 to act as a support and advice network for families who experienced the loss of a loved one in the mining industry.

The organisation recently produced an induction book for mine workers and their families advising on how to be prepared in the case of an accident.

“As A Miner’s Legacy has progressed we have actually produced an induction brochure.

It outlines what they should have prepared for themselves to get themselves through if something were to happen,” Mrs Blee said.

“Things like get a current will, make sure they have power of attorney arrangements, adequate life insurance, income protection, update super with correct details, update next of kin forms at work.

“We would like mining companies to purchase these brochures for $2 each and hand them out to their workers. It will get them to think, this is what it’s all about. It’s not just about earning good money

A Miner’s Legacy founder Rachel Blee and her late husband Jason.

and having a great job, it’s also about protecting the ones that they love. The unfortunate part about it is people don’t like to talk about incidents that could

Rethink for Yarwun coal export terminal The mothballing of Surat Basin coal projects has reshaped plans for an export terminal at Yarwun, Gladstone.

Tenement to Terminal Ltd (3TL) is still moving forward on its plan to build on 134ha of land, according to board chairman Everald Compton.

But the project is no longer planned as a single-use facility.

“We now plan to make the site an agricultural import and export facility as well,” he said.

Mr Compton said the project was not in mothballs, but that 3TL was moving forward with the environmental impact study a little slower than it normally would.

He was confident the 25 million tonnes per annum coal export facility would eventually go ahead, but could offer no insight into when global coal prices would rise to about $100 per tonne, a trigger he sees for mothballed coal mining projects to move forward.

In the interim, he is bullish about the potential for the agricultural sector to provide business opportunities.

“We have been getting good feedback (from agricultural groups) in the Darling Downs, Maranoa and Central Queensland,” Mr Compton said.

“Multi-user ports is the way to go, it’s going to happen (as the mining boom slows down).”

or could not happen. They don’t like to think it will happen on their watch.

“But in the industry itself since 2000 we’ve lost over 30 guys and

they’re all single fatalities.

“We have to marry up great job, great work, great life with the other side of the coin, which is devastation.”

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Councils share in royalties The Queensland Government is well advanced in preparing its list of council recipients for grants under the third round of the Royalties for the Regions (R4R) program, which has already distributed $250 million.

Deputy Premier and State Development, Infrastructure and Planning Minister, Jeff Seeney, said the State Government would finalise successful R4R Round Three applications in coming weeks, with more than 23 council projects expected to share in this round’s allocations.

“To date more than 39 councils across Queensland have received over $250 million in funding under the program, delivering much-needed roads, community infrastructure and flood mitigation projects,” Mr Seeney said.

Councils already on the list to benefit from the fund include Banana Shire Council (floodway upgrade); Blackall-Tambo Regional Council; Goondiwindi Regional Council; Boulia Shire Council (new passenger terminal for airport); Livingstone Shire Council and North Burnett Regional Council (sealing of Mount Perry Road).

Earlier this month work officially began on one of the larger projects associated with Round Two allocations, the $21 million Toowoomba transport corridor.

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Incentive a lifeline for ailing industry A federal move to back greenfields exploration kicks off in July, writes Dominique Kimber The Australian Institute of Geoscientists (AIG) has welcomed a scheme to boost mineral exploration in Australia as the profession faces its highest jobless rates since 2009.

The Exploration Development Incentive is a plan by the Federal Government aimed at assisting junior explorers in raising funds.

AIG vice-president and immediate past-president Kaylene Camuti said the incentive would provide support to the industry, which was experiencing record unemployment rates.

A recent survey by the AIG showed that by the end of last year, 18.7 per cent of Australia’s geoscientists, geologists and

geophysicists were unemployed.

The figures revealed the highest unemployment and underemployment levels since the surveys began in 2009.

“The Exploration Development Incentive was a policy that the government announced at the lead-up to the last federal election and that will be introduced from July 1,” Ms Camuti said.

“It’s good news for geoscientists and we’re looking towards it.

Hopefully it will encourage investment in junior companies and we’re hoping it will help pump more funds into exploration and get some activity going again.

“The downturn had an immediate effect on geoscientists.

We’re one of the first groups within the industry that starts to feel the cold breeze and it spreads from there.”

The Exploration Development Incentive will apply to exploration undertaken from July onwards and will provide investors with a refundable tax offset for greenfields mineral exploration costs.

Federal Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane said the scheme would give a significant boost to Australia’s junior explorers.

“The future prosperity of the resources sector and the Australian economy is dependent on our ability to make new mineral discoveries, and this scheme will provide an incentive for exploration,” Mr Macfarlane said.

Chief executive officer and managing director of Townsville-

AIG vice-president Kaylene Camuti.

Photo: Allison Bessell

based Krucible Metals, Allan Branch. said investment into exploration was key to the future of the resources industry.

“Without investment in exploration, Australia is going to be behind the ball game as we come out of this,” he said.

“Existing mines will run out and without discoveries there will be nothing to fill the gaps, so there will be a huge problem and in five or 10 years’ time the effects of today will be felt.”

Association of Mining and Exploration Companies (AMEC) chief executive officer Simon Bennison said that the group

had been a vocal supporter of the initiative.

“The EDI (Exploration Development Incentive) will go a long way towards addressing low new discovery rates, an ongoing reduction in Australian greenfield exploration activities and a low number of Initial Public Offerings for mineral projects in Australia,” he said.

“It will help Australia to regain international competitiveness and increase its share of global exploration expenditure. This is on the back of the worst periods in many for years for base and precious metal companies.”

Abbot Point concerns dredged up again UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee (WHC) draft decision on management of the Great Barrier Reef has expressed concern about the proposed relocation of dredge spoil associated with the Abbot Point coal-loading terminal expansion.

The body has asked the Federal Government to provide a new report by February 1 next year proving that dumping is the least damaging option and will not damage the reef ’s value to the WHC. UNESCO has indicated it may declare in reef “in danger” if it is not satisfied with the report it is seeking.

However, the WHC also commended progress being made by governments to safely manage the reef, a point Queensland Resources Council chief executive Michael Roche

highlighted recently. Mr Roche also cited a Reef Scientific Consensus Statement released last year which indicated that terrestrial run-off was one of the most significant threats facing the Great Barrier Reef.

“The consensus statement goes on to say that compared with terrestrial run-off, the impacts of ports and shipping are relatively small,” Mr Roche added.

Thirty businesses have closed in Bowen in the past two years as the nearby Abbot Point expansion became the most recent battleground to halt coal mining, according to Bowen Chamber of Commerce chairman Bruce Hedditch.

What frustrates Mr Hedditch is that the anti coal-mining alliance has used the Great Barrier Reef as an emotive trigger by suggesting that

Michael Roche Queensland Resources Council chief executive

dredging associated with the port expansion will somehow damage the reef.

“It’s (the dredge material) 80 per cent sand and it’s been

dumped 40km from the reef,” he said.

Mr Roche told a recent meeting of the Bowen Basin Mining Club that the anti-coal mining lobby had an ulterior motive for attacking the Abbot Point project – strangling the expansion of coal mining into the Galilee Basin by denying export points to the coal companies.

Mr Roche said this was revealed in 2012 in a leaked document, Stopping the Australian Coal Export Boom.

“A central component of the strategy is litigation, which is now being pursued in the Federal Court over the Abbot Point coal terminal approval,” he said.

The QRC recently authorised a campaign of television commercials urging Australians

to become informed about the true environmental health of the Great Barrier Reef.

Federal Environment Minister Greg Hunt said approval for the Abbot Point work had carried stringent conditions and he urged people to visit website www.reeffacts. qld.gov.au - set up by the Queensland Government to highlight the work being done to support the health of the reef.

North Queensland Bulk Ports chief executive officer Brad Fish told a gathering of business people in Bowen at a function staged by Whitsunday Marketing and Development recently that he doubted there had ever been a port dredging project in Australia, and possibly even overseas, that had as many stringent conditions associated with it.

Crystal-clear opportunity Women working in resource industries are being encouraged to stand up and be recognised for their achievements by nominating themselves for a Crystal Vision Award.

The awards, now in their 16th year, acknowledge the work of women in the construction industry in Queensland and the Northern Territory.

National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC) Queensland and Northern Territory President Marnie Beckett says that the construction and mining industries are closely aligned.

“I have actually worked in NAWIC president Marnie Beckett

construction and in the mining industries in my time and I think there is often a lot of synergies between the two,” she said.

“Obviously most mines start off with a construction phase.”

Ms Beckett said more women from the construction and mining industries should feel confident in nominating themselves for the upcoming awards.

“There are about 12 categories available and details on the categories as well as some of the criteria we’re looking for is listed on our website,” she said.

The award presentations will be held at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre in August. For more information on Crystal Vision Award categories, nominations and tickets visit www. nawic.com.au.

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FIFO Special

Up and away New Queensland Government statistics show that the FIFO and DIDO population of the Surat Basin has almost quadrupled since 2011 while the Bowen Basin has seen a drop of about 30 per cent since its peak in 2012.

The Surat Basin non–resident population projections report, 2014 to 2020, revealed that by June 2014 an estimated 12,000 FIFO and DIDO employees would work in the region compared to only 3270 counted in June 2011.

Toowoomba and Surat Basin Enterprise chief executive officer Shane Charles said the figures represented a successful construction phase among projects in the area but that he now expected to see a more permanent workforce employed during operational phases.

“The report endorses what we know to be true and that is, we are nearing peak construction in 2014,” he said.

“During construction phase of projects, which have a set life, FIFO is imperative as regional communities cannot cope with the level of demand that the construction phase places on essential services including housing - affordable and social housing, sewerage, water, schooling, health, etc.

“FIFO/DIDO is here to stay for some time as at this stage I am not sure the region can cope with the number of employees required in an operational phase.

“However, the community leaders throughout the region have made it very clear that they would prefer and will actively encourage people to relocate to the regions to work in this phase.”

According to the government report, seven gas and coal operations within the Western Downs region contributed to the significant growth in FIFO and DIDO numbers in the Surat Basin.

Numbers in the Western Downs increased by 273 per cent (5480 people) over the two-year period 2011-13.

The Bowen Basin non–resident population projections report, 2014 to 2020, showed that by June of this year FIFO and DIDO numbers were expected to sit between 17,720 and 17,830 people.

This is about a 30 per cent drop from a peak of 25,000 people in June 2012 and more than a 20 per cent drop from the 22,900 total recorded in 2013.

The report said that if potential projects in the Bowen Basin reached final investment decision in the expected timeframe, nonresident population levels could reach another peak of 25,500 people by June 2017.

Proposed resource projects and infrastructure developments in the Bowen Basin include new coal terminals and port expansions at Abbot Point and Arrow Energy’s proposed Bowen Basin gasfield development and gas pipeline to Gladstone.

Photo: Courtesy NQA

Popular departure points More than a million fly in- fly out workers passed through Queensland’s Mackay and Cairns airports over the past year.

Operator North Queensland Airports recorded about 480,000 FIFO passenger movements for Mackay and 574,000 FIFO passenger movements for Cairns during the past 12 months.

“NQA actively explores opportunities to share our aviation and airport expertise with mining companies and local governments to assist them to provide the most effective and efficient transport solutions for resource sector workforce,” NQA chief

Project workforces entering decline Fly in-fly out (FIFO) and drive indrive out (DIDO) workforces across the Bowen, Surat and Galilee basins and the Gladstone region are set to decline as major projects transition from construction to operational phase.

According to the Queensland Government Statistician’s Office (QGSO) non-resident population projections, 2014 to 2020, the current estimated FIFO and DIDO population in the Bowen Basin is between 17,720 and 17,830 people. This is a drop from the 2012 high of 25,000.

Without any investment in new projects this figure is predicted to fall to 14,240 by 2020.

A QGSO spokeswoman said if projects in the pipeline were to proceed there could be another increase in FIFO and DIDO numbers from 2017, which would match the 2012 peak.

“The non-resident population projections reflect that the contribution of the resources sector to the Queensland economy is transitioning from investment and construction to operation and export,” she said.

“Non-resident populations in all the resources regions would decline after 2014

(except the Galilee as there is virtually no non-residential population currently), unless projects in the approvals process go ahead.”

The Surat Basin FIFO and DIDO numbers have remained steady since June 2013 at more than 12,000. Totals are expected to drop off later this year as the large construction workforces of the three CSG-LNG projects taper off.

By June 2017 the non-resident population is predicted to sit between 6080 and 8050 people, with further declines through to 2020.

The Galilee Basin has typically recorded low levels of FIFO and DIDO workers, with levels of around 100 people.

However, if major projects in the approval process get the go-ahead, this number could grow to between 2120 and 3830 by June 2017.

The Gladstone region FIFO and DIDO statistics peaked in June 2013 at 4890 and this number is expected to remain steady until the construction completion of the LNG projects and Wiggins Island Coal Export Terminal.

According to the 2014 non-resident population projections report, that number will be under 1000 by 2020.

The QGSO reports did not cover the North West but the 2011 census showed there were about 4000 FIFO and DIDO workers in that region.

It’s estimated the FIFO and DIDO population in the Bowen Basin is around 17,750.

executive officer Kevin Brown said.

Cairns has one of the most extensive FIFO networks in Australia, with 15 routes operating either dedicated FIFO charters or regular public transport air services that carry a large portion of FIFO personnel. The majority of these people are travelling to Queensland destinations and the Northern Territory as well as the international locations of Papua New Guinea and Indonesia.

The 2011 Census reported that 858 people in Cairns recorded their place of work as being the North West of Queensland, 360 in Central Queensland, 370 in Northern Territory and 169 in the Kimberley and Pilbara area.

“In 2013 these numbers were boosted further when BMA specifically recruited 250 people from the Cairns region to work in their Central Queensland operations under FIFO arrangements and these employees fly direct from Cairns to Moranbah,” Mr Brown said.

Mr Brown said the Mackay Airport provided an integrated transport hub servicing mining activity in the Bowen and Galilee basins.

“An airport passenger survey conducted in 2012 showed that 41 per cent of passengers were involved in the resources industry and were flying in and out of Mackay Airport on a regular basis,” he said.

“Most FIFO personnel flying into Mackay were coming from Brisbane on regular public transport air services. Our passenger surveys indicated demand for direct services between Mackay and the Gold Coast, with almost half the FIFO travellers residing in South-East Queensland. This was reaffirmed in a study by renowned demographer Bernard Salt, Analysis of the Gold Coast Long Distance Commuter Workforce.

“The study highlighted the significant size of the FIFO resource industry workforce which is based on the Gold Coast and that these people would benefit from direct services to places such as Mackay, being central to the Bowen and Galilee Basin mining operations.”

Jetstar in June would introduce the first direct service between Mackay and the Gold Coast, Mr Brown said. “We are now in discussion with airlines on direct links with the Sunshine Coast which is another significant FIFO home base.”

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FIFO Special

The Mining Advocate | May 2014

Fatigue fears as air travel canned About 140 Downer employees being flown and bussed to Goonyellla Riverside mine in Central Queensland have been told to find their own way to site from late June.

The company announced that as of June, flights from Townsville would no longer run for workers and a raft of bus services would also be dropped.

Queensland CFMEU district president Stephen Smyth said the decision by Downer to cancel flights for workers should act as a warning to other FIFO contractors.

“According to a call that I got from one of the workers, something like 60 per cent of the workforce that are with Downer are in Townsville or Cairns - so it will obviously have a dramatic effect,” he said.

“We (CFMEU) keep telling workers, get things written into the agreement. Employers will promise you the world and will say trust us, but if it’s not in writing, you haven’t got it.

“I’d say it was obviously a

cost-cutting measure. They’ll have people waiting in the wings to take the jobs that live closer and are ready to step in when the workers can’t adapt to the new arrangement.”

Most of the workers are on a four-days-on, four-off roster.

Mr Smyth said there would be a real issue of fatigue for the workers who would now be forced to drive to the mine.

“For the workers who are in Townsville or Brisbane they have to now drive and fatigue is an issue,” he said.

“I assume the company will have to put the mechanisms in place to address that.”

A Downer spokeswoman said the changes were in response to a depressed coal market.

“Flights from Townsville and bus transport from Cairns, Airlie Beach and Rockhampton will cease effective June 29.

Employees are required to make their own travel arrangements effective June 29 if they live in these regions,” she said.

“The Mackay bus service will

remain unchanged at this time.

“Approximately 140 employees will be impacted. Employees living in the Central Highlands and Mackay regions will not be affected.

“It is important that we take measures to ensure that we continue to provide a costeffective and efficient service to our clients.”

The spokeswoman said any issues related to fatigue would be addressed under the current Goonyella Riverside mine fatigue management plan.

“The current management plan details employees’ responsibilities and maximum hours of work, including travel/ breaks etc,”she said.

“Information sessions will be run to assist employees in understanding their obligations under the Coal Mining Act. Other practices, such as travel management plans and fatigue rooms, will also be in place.”

Inquiry findings in holding pattern

Nicole Ashby FIFO Families director

Questions are being raised as to whether a year-old report on fly in-fly out work practices will ever be addressed.

In February last year the House Standing Committee on Regional Australia tabled its report on the inquiry into the use of FIFO workforces in regional Australia entitled Cancer of the bush or salvation for our cities? But more than 12 months on, little more has happened.

FIFO Families founder and director Nicole Ashby said it seemed like the inquiry had been put on the shelf.

“I think it was a much needed

report, the title was rather controversial and certainly didn’t do any favours for FIFO as a positive work choice but I strongly agreed with many of the recommendations that the inquiry came up with, particularly around employers supporting families and having a best model for employers to follow,” Mrs Ashby said.

“When it was released it was quite exciting and I had a lot of hope that some changes would be implemented, but with the change of government it seems like it has been shelved.”

A spokesman for Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss refused to comment on the status of the inquiry other than to say that it was under review.

“The government is currently considering the recommendations made by the former House of Representatives Standing Committee on Regional Australia into fly in-fly out work practices,” he said. “As the report’s 21 recommendations were wide-ranging and require a whole-of-government response, it is appropriate for government to carefully consider these recommendations before responding.”

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FIFO Special

May 2014 |

The Mining Advocate

Row over blanket FIFO plan The Bowen Basin could become home to another BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA) coal mine using a 100 per cent fly in-fly out workforce if approvals go ahead.

The Red Hill mine lease project, 20km north of Moranbah, would include a new accommodation village to house the proposed 2000 employees during the construction phase and 1500 workers during the operational phase.

Isaac Regional Council Mayor Anne Baker said another 100 per cent FIFO mine in the area would be detrimental to the region.

“What we’re faced with at the moment is the single biggest threat, which is the 100 per cent forced FIFO workforce,” she said.

“One hundred per cent FIFO removes our ability for

population renewal, it has an impact on business and subsequently across the whole region.

“When I say the region I mean Isaac region and I also mean the wider region from Townsville through to Gladstone.”

Two other BMA-operated mines in the area, Daunia and Caval Ridge, are using a wholly FIFO workforce.

“What we know is that the Daunia mine and the Caval Ridge mine have been approved for complete FIFO workforce.

People who live in these regions, and I might say that both of those mines are less than 20km away from the community of Moranbah, and the people living in the community do not have the opportunity to work at those mines,” Cr Baker said.

“Look, council is not naïve enough to expect total

Anne Baker Isaac Regional Council mayor

operational numbers to be sourced locally but we certainly have a high expectation that

genuine choice be given to everybody and people decide for themselves where they would like to live and not be dictated to through work practice.

“This is a national issue and every Australian and local government should be watching it and familiarising themselves with this type of work practice slowly being implemented.”

A BHP Billiton spokeswoman said the FIFO workforce arrangements at the mines would spread job opportunities across the state and open opportunities for diversity in the workplace.

“Over 6500 of our employees reside in Central Queensland communities,”she said.

“We made a careful and considered decision to operate our newest mines, Caval Ridge and Daunia, with remote workforce arrangements for a range of reasons, including

the ability to source a diverse workforce, to operate the mines safely and efficiently,” she said.

“It’s important to remember, we employ more than 7000 people in the Bowen Basin and just 900 are FIFO. This balances the benefits of employment fairly across the state.

“Having some FIFO provides us with access to a broader skills base and improves our diversity – 25 per cent of employees at Daunia are women.

“We had more than 30,000 applicants from Cairns and Brisbane for around 900 roles at Caval and Daunia mines.

The strong demand from these regions in Queensland demonstrates the choices people are making about how they want to live and work.”

Commute a foreign affair for process engineer Process engineer Michael Osborne experienced culture shock when he travelled to PNG for his first FIFO roster, but now he says it’s the cultural diversity that makes his job so interesting.

Mr Osborne first arrived in PNG in 2011 and has been working in his most recent position at a small oil refinery near Port Moresby for just under two years.

“PNG is very different to Australia and it took a little bit of getting used to,” Mr Osborne said. “New Guinean people are very very laid back. It’s good but initially I had a little bit of frustration getting used to the way that they work out there.

I come from a background in Australia where it’s a ‘get the

job done’ focus and things don’t work quite the same there.

“There are a lot of other fly in-fly out workers and they come from all over the place. There’s Filipinos, Americans, Australians and some English guys. I think I’ve met more people from different backgrounds working in PNG than I ever would have in, say, a job in Brisbane. It’s a diverse group but it’s really interesting.”

Mr Osborne said the long commute to work didn’t put him off travelling and that he actually liked to use his nine days off every four weeks to travel more with his partner.

“When I’m at home, my partner and I travel a fair bit.

For a while my partner and

I were both doing FIFO and our rosters were aligned, which worked well because it meant on our days off we could go travelling together,” he said.

“If I worked a nine-to-five job I’d get four weeks annual leave a year and so that’s like one or two holidays a year. But with this job I can take a holiday at the end of every rotation.”

The small oil refinery, owned and operated by InterOil, is located just outside of Port Moresby, more than 2000km away from Mr Osborne’s home in Brisbane.

“Sometimes I feel a million miles away from Australia, communication back to Australia is hard sometimes, calls are more expensive, internet doesn’t

Michael Osborne (right) with operators Ernesto Quijano, Tino Perez, Bert Odeta and Mario Dalisay at his PNG workplace.

work as well. It comes with the territory of FIFO as it’s often in remote locations I suppose,” he said. “I don’t think FIFO is

something I could do forever but right now I’m enjoying it. I’m working hard to get stuff done and I get the big rewards for it.”

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FIFO Special

The Mining Advocate | May 2014

11

Well crews have their own wings A drilling and well servicing company in Queensland has its own fleet of planes to transport employees working on remote rigs.

Easternwell’s private fleet flys its employees to its 14-plus rigs operating in the Surat and Bowen basins.

Easternwell human resources and recruitment advisor Kate Hutson says the planes allow the company to work in remote locations that would otherwise be hard to access.

“We have operations in the

Surat Basin, Central Queensland and the Cooper Basin. We also fly to Barrow Island and the Pilbara,” she said.

“The areas that we work in are quite remote. There aren’t always commercial flights that fly into the areas that we work in.

“We have our own hangar at Toowoomba airport and our own fleet of planes.”

Most of the rig workers are employed on a two-week-on, two-week-off roster.

Ms Hutson said the longer periods at home made it easier

Easternwell’s private planes fly its employees to remote rigs operating throughout the Surat and Bowen basins.

for workers adjusting to the FIFO lifestyle.

“Workers, particularly with our entry-level employees, can find that the lifestyle is a bit of an adjustment,”she said.

“We do consciously recruit people that have experience living and working in remote locations because they tend

to deal with the lifestyle a bit better. Having said that, once they have had a few trips out there they quickly grow to enjoy the lifestyle and appreciate the benefits.

“While they’re at work, the accommodation mobile camps are very comfortable. There are camp attendants and chefs.

“The chefs cook them fivecourse meals and look after them pretty well and the camp attendants do their washing and make their beds for them every day.”

The company has roughly 1200 workers spread across Australia who work on more than 60 different rigs.

Beautiful business spin-off New flights to Miles as gas workforce blossoms Towns in the Surat Basin are finding there is an increased demand for beauty-related services as more female oil and gas workers travel to the region for FIFO work.

Western Downs Regional Council Mayor Ray Brown said the Miles airport currently welcomed about 2000 passengers a week, including an increased number of women.

“We’re averaging around 40 flights and charter flights per week out of the new Miles airport,” he said.

“A great many women are involved in the gas industry it’s not just men, so we have to make some changes in our commercial and business sectors to cater for everybody.

“I’m talking about beauticians, coffee shops and hair salons, female fly in-fly out workers want to spend money too.”

Veronica Allwood owns and operates the local Veronica May Beauty Salon.

Ms Allwood said there had been an increased demand for salon services since new mining and resources projects started in the region.

“I started my small business in 2011 in Miles as there were no beauty salons there at the time,” she said.

“Clientele is increasing with more women involved in the mining sector visiting the salon.

“The most popular treatments are waxing and relaxation treatments such as eyebrow waxing and, if the time permits, facials, relaxation massage and

Growing activity in the Surat Basin’s gas fields has attracted the attention of Qantas and Alliance Aviation Services, who both recently started new flights from Brisbane to Miles.

Qantas now operates nine commercial flights a week and Alliance signed a contract with Serco Australia for the provision of 24 fly in-fly out (FIFO) services per week.

Alliance Aviation managing director Scott McMillan said it was the company’s first contract in the coal seam gas sector.

“We are seeing growth in demand for FIFO services from the oil and gas sector and have strategies in place to increase our exposure to this industry,” he said.

“Diversification of revenue sources is an important differentiator of our business. We continue to service the mining sector, targeting major operating mines across Australia.”

The introduction of the new flights follows a $20 million runway upgrade managed by Origin on behalf of Australia Pacific LNG and approval by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) last October, allowing larger aircraft to land at Miles.

Western Downs Mayor and GasFields Commissioner Ray Brown said the upgrade would add to the region’s growing air transport infrastructure.

“APLNG’s upgrade of Miles Airport to cater for these commercial flights is a great example of how investment by gas companies can leave an infrastructure legacy, potentially attracting other industries to the area and helping to diversify and sustain our regional communities,” he said.

“We now have upgraded airport facilities and commercial flights available across our region including Roma, Miles and soon from the new Wellcamp airport near Toowoomba.”

Help for workers Veronica Allwood prepares a client for an eyebrow waxing treatment.

pedicures, especially with the added treatment of shellac application.

“I have also been told on many occasions that the women are very thankful that there is a beauty salon where they can have their beauty needs provided.

“It’s such a compliment when the women in the mining sector visit the salon and compliment your work, knowing they are from another city, state or country and the salons they normally visit are much larger than mine.”

An online induction tool has been launched to help boost the emotional resilience of Australia’s growing population of fly in-fly out workers.

Developed by Mining Family Matters, the induction tool features professional advice from a psychologist and practical tips for keeping employees happy and healthy despite regular separation from loved ones.

Mining Family Matters creator Alicia Ranford said Making It Work When You Work Away offered advice on issues

including the importance of setting goals, overcoming mood swings, avoiding arguments about how R&R is spent, and staying connected. “It’s designed to forewarn employees about the most common emotional pressures faced by FIFO workers, and arm them with simple strategies to overcome any issues that do arise,” Ms Ranford said.

The launch follows the success of Mining Family Matters’ suite of guides including the original Survival Guide for Mining Families.

12

OUR MINING HERITAGE

May 2014 |

The Five Ways

Gold find saved state In 1867, one man’s search for personal fortune made the history books when he discovered 75 ounces of gold in the place that became known as “the town that saved Queensland”.

English prospector James Nash was travelling the bankrupt state of Queensland when he arrived at Gympie, 150km north of central Brisbane, and struck gold – sparking a gold rush.

Queensland had recently become a self-governing colony with its own Governor, nominated Legislative Council and an elected Legislative Assembly.

Gympie historian Beth Wilson says the Queensland government encouraged prospectors to search for gold as an answer to the state’s financial problems.

“When James Nash discovered the gold in Gympie the government had put out a reward for any gold that was found within 90 miles (145 km) of Brisbane, so people were out

James Nash portrait.

looking for gold everywhere,” she said.

“When James Nash reported the find they didn’t pay him the full reward because he was outside of the mileage limits, but he was awarded about £1000. This was a lot of money though, really quite a significant amount for the time.

Most people were maybe earning one or two pounds a week, if that.

“The gold that James Nash found saved the state from bankruptcy, that’s the significance of Gympie - it’s the town that saved Queensland.”

James Nash published the tale of how he came to find gold in the Gympie Times of October 15, 1896.

“About the middle of August, 1867, I left Nanango for Gladstone, I had been working some time in Nanango; there was nothing there worth staying for, so I thought of going to Gladstone, trying all likely places on the way,” he wrote. “…I did not try it at all, nor any

Photo: Courtesy of Gympie Regional Libraries

The Mining Advocate

Gympie c1870.

Photo: Courtesy of Gympie Regional Libraries

other place, until travelling down to what is now Caledonian Hill.

Just at the end of where Mr. T. J. Ferguson’s garden now is I tried a dish of dirt, and got a speck in it.

“That half day and the next day I got an ounce and three pennyweights. On the second day I broke the hammer-headed pick I

had and could do no more digging, so I went on to Maryborough, where I tried two banks and several stores, but could not sell the gold. “…I went up the creek, near where the gas works now is. While washing the first dirt there, I picked up gold beside me in small pieces.

I stayed on there…I got 75oz.

in six days, and then started for Maryborough again.”

As well as receiving £1000 for his find, Mr Nash was given the prospector’s reward of an extra claim and a half. He made £7000 from his alluvial claims and finished up his days taking care of the Gympie powder magazine.

Tour will take guests back in time An international mining history event in Charters Towers promises to explore where old mining and new meet as part of a guided tour of the nearby town of Ravenswood.

The tour is part of the 10th International Mining History Congress and 20th Australasian Mining History Association Conference program to be held in July.

Historical consultant Peter Bell will be leading the Ravenswood trip and says it will be of particular interest for international guests.

“This conference is a little bit special because we’re combining our own national conference with the international mining history congress. So we’re expecting not just the usual suspects but an influx

Peter Bell Historical consultant

of visitors from overseas,” he said. “Ravenswood is a very interesting place to visit. It was

a very early gold discovery and it remained a very important mining centre from the 1860s until roughly the First World War.” But the site posed a problem.

“The gold in Ravenswood was notoriously difficult to work, there were metallurgical problems; the gold was chemically bound up in the rock and it was a nightmare,” Mr Bell said. “They spent decades trying to work out what to do with it before someone finally had a breakthrough and very briefly got rich and then the whole thing collapsed in the First World War.” More information on the upcoming conference can be found on the website http:// www.ct2014miningcongress.com

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OUR MINING HERITAGE

The Mining Advocate | May 2014

~ Life at the lodge ~ More than 30 years ago retired miner Jack Dempsey made an overseas trip from Collinsville for a world mining conference.

It was on this trip Mr Dempsey decided that something needed to be done to preserve Collinsville’s rich mining history.

On his return, Mr Dempsey and others, including Arch Tudehope and James Thomas, from the Collinsville Lodge of Retired Miners began to think about how they could tell Collinsville’s mining stories for years to come.

Mr Dempsey is a longstanding member of the Retired Miners and has been the lodge president for about 10 years.

“When I was in England I saw that they had mining museums that you could go to and look at. Arch (past president Arch Tudehope) and the others would have seen things like it too during their travels overseas and there was nothing like it here, so we decided to do it,” Mr Dempsey said.

In 1997 the Retired Miners Lodge began lobbying the Bowen Shire Council, unions and the State Government for assistance in getting the Coalface Museum up and running. The council committed $100,000, the Mineworkers Trust

x

Displays at the Collinsville Coalface

Jack Dempsey

Museum.

Collinsville Lodge of Retired Miners

committed $100,000 and the State Government committed $130,000 to the project.

“It really is one of the most memorable things for me and I think it’s one of the best things that the Retired Miners has done,” Mr Dempsey said.

“It’s a memorial to underground workers of the past and what they had to go through, the strikes, the disasters and what have you.”

Mr Dempsey said another key achievement for the lodge was

Photos: Carly Grittner

the local memorial garden where a ceremony is held each year to commemorate the deaths of local miners.

“The lodge also started the Collinsville Miners Memorial Day. We have a very big day each year to commemorate the miners who lost their lives.

People attend the memorial at the garden and travel from as far as WA. We also open up the Coalface Museum for free on that day each year,” he said.

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14

PROMOTING INDIGENOUS EMPLOYMENT

May 2014 |

The Mining Advocate

Arrow aims to build indigenous connection Arrow Energy is launching its 2014 indigenous business development program with free introductory workshops in Dalby, Toowoomba, Gladstone, Mackay and Brisbane.

The May and June workshops are the lead-in to Whanu Binal – Arrow’s program to build indigenous participation in supplying goods and services into the coal seam gas industry.

“The CSG supply chain offers big opportunities but there are also some significant standards that businesses must meet,” Arrow vice-president community and sustainable development Leisa Elder said.

“Whanu Binal is Arrow’s capacity-building program for indigenous businesses wanting to learn how to meet those standards and compete for work across the CSG industry and beyond.

“Last year we had 10 indigenous businesses prequalify with Arrow as a direct result of their participation in Whanu Binal, so we know it works.

“Even better, if a business is capable of pre-qualifying in the oil and gas sector, it’s capable of pursuing work in the wider resources sector and amongst major projects as well.”

Thomas Holden, managing director of Townsville-based training and security company Sundown Group, took part in Whanu Binal last year and is already receiving interest from suppliers to the LNG industry.

“I did my introductory workshop in Gladstone and they talked about capacity building and fitting into the LNG supply

Leisa Elder Arrow vice-president community and sustainable development

chain,” Mr Holden said.

“Back in 2009, getting involved in LNG was a 10-year goal for my company. Whanu Binal moved it forward.

“As a direct result of Whanu

Binal, we’re getting more interest in my company. We’re in discussions with major international companies and we have the capability to acquire those works.”

Applications are now open for businesses to join Whanu Binal in 2014.

Businesses must be indigenous-owned (50 per cent minimum) and priority will be given to businesses from Arrow’s areas of operation.

The free Whanu Binal introductory workshops will give indigenous businesses an overview of the CSG-LNG industry and allow them to assess whether the program can assist them.

Businesses which progress from the workshops will receive a pathway plan for their development, and then be guided with assistance that includes networking and mentoring from local and regional businesses.

Whanu Binal workshop schedule • May 26 – Brisbane (Arrow Energy office, 8.30am-12pm) • May 28 – Mackay (Mackay Entertainment and Convention Centre, 12.30pm-4pm) • June 4 – Gladstone (Oaks Grand Gladstone, 8.30am-12pm) • June 5 – Brisbane (Arrow Energy office, 8.30am-12pm) • June 11 – Dalby (Dalby Chamber of Commerce and Industry, 12.30pm-4pm) • June 12 – Toowoomba (Burke and Wills Hotel, 8.30am-12pm).

To register for the workshops, please email: indigenousrelations@ arrowenergy.com.au or visit http://www.arrowenergy.com.au/ sustainability/indigenous-relations/whanu-binal- program

Meet the Buyer forum participants.

Photo: Mel Sutton

Forum talks up business A speed-dating-style forum helped resources companies and contractors meet face-to-face with indigenous businesses recently in Brisbane.

The Meet the Buyer forum was held under the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to increase indigenous participation in the Queensland Resources Sector.

Partnership facilitator Michael Limerick said the forum was about creating networks and opening up opportunities for resources companies and indigenous businesses alike.

“We had about 30 indigenous businesses and about 12 or 13 mining companies and contractors attend the Meet the Buyer forum,” Mr Limerick said.

“We ran it in a speed networking type format. We set the resources companies and contractors with tables around the room with table numbers and then the indigenous businesses got five minutes with each table to pitch their capability and provide a capability statement and hand over their business card. They got to see what opportunities were there and what they could offer in terms of their supply chain.

“We had around 36 rounds over three and a half hours and each time the bell rang they moved tables.

“The format was good because it opened up networking and forced the resources companies and contractors and indigenous contractors to talk.

“Hopefully what comes out of it is resource companies find out more about the capability of the indigenous businesses out there and the indigenous businesses got an opportunity to talk directly to the buyers and at the same time find out a little bit more about how the industry works.”

There was also a separate forum for procurement managers to discuss good processes for indigenous businesses opportunities.

“The idea of that was to hear about things like where you can source indigenous businesses from, whether it’s through databases like the Black Business Finder that the Industry Capability Network hosts on their network or whether it’s through Supply Nation which is a national body that accredits indigenous business and connects them with the private sector,” Mr Limerick said.

Mr Limerick said the plan was to hold several more Meet the Buyer forums across the state.

Building Mining Communities 15

The Mining Advocate | May 2014

SUPPORTED BY BHP BILLITON CANNINGTON

Barry Riddiford and Peter Flanagan go pink at Century mine.

Organising committee member Kate Bradshaw (left) poses with visiting judge Robyn Hills beside the 2013 winning colour entry by Scott Bridle entitled Jordan’s Woolshed, Brenda Station.

Outback in focus The Waltzing Matilda Outback photo competition is one of BHP Billiton Cannington’s longest-running community associations, supported continuously since 1999.

The competition began in 1998 to help publicise the opening of the Waltzing Matilda Centre, which was built to celebrate the writing of the iconic song by A. B. “Banjo” Paterson in 1895 in Winton.

The following year a committee was formed to continue the event and Cannington mine officials were approached to assist with the administrative costs.

Fast forward to 2014 and the event continues to flourish with photographers from across the

country eager to showcase their work.

Organising committee treasurer Helen Collins said Cannington’s continued involvement had allowed the competition to grow in prestige.

“The theme of the competition is ‘Image of the Outback’, we want it to reflect where we live,” Ms Collins said.

“It’s about the Outback but we allow photographers to interpret it in their own ways.”

Cannington has increased its sponsorship this year, allowing the committee to offer $8000 prize money for the competition – which will be judged in September.

Due to the popularity of the event, Ms Collins said

photographers were restricted to a total of four entries each.

“We only have space to comfortably hang about 80 photographs in the gallery space,” she said.

“One year we had 200 entries and it was a struggle to fit them all in.”

First prize-winning works will be acquired by the Cannington Collection. All other entries will be for sale.

Acclaimed Australian photographer, writer, creative producer and social documentary maker John Elliott is this year’s judge.

Entries close on August 8. For details: www.matildacentre.com. au/competitions.

Pipeline poised to help save wombats Pipeline from Santos GLNG contractor Saipem will help the Queensland Department of Environment and Heritage Protection establish new colonies of northern hairy-nosed wombats and protect the species from extinction.

The pipe would usually be used by Saipem in construction projects such as Santos GLNG’s 420km gas transmission pipeline from the Maranoa to Gladstone, but in this case will be used to create traps and new wombat burrows.

Saipem has donated 20 segments of 8m long, 450mm-diameter pipe to Moggill National Park in Brisbane.

Santos GLNG principal ecologist Joe Adair said the donation was made after Santos GLNG heard the pipe segments would be ideal material for the wombat rehabilitation program.

“We are really pleased to be helping our furry friends move to new homes,” he said.

Project and partners pursue services hub The Australia Pacific LNG Project has partnered with Santos GLNG, the Queensland Government and Maranoa Regional Council to build a new community services hub in Roma.

Australia Pacific LNG

contributed $500,000 for the construction and fitout of the new facility to house local community support organisations.

The facility will enable a range of services to be accessed at one location.

These include family support, legal aid, counselling, jobseeking programs, disability services and emergency relief.

The Roma community hub is scheduled for construction in the first half of 2014.

Pink a perfect way to drive home message Real men really do wear pink, and they’re proving it at MMG’s Queensland operations with high-visibility pink shirts spreading like wildfire at Century’s Lawn Hill mine and its Karumba Port operation, as well as MMG’s Dugald River development project near Cloncurry.

The Real Men Wear Pink (RMWP) campaign, which raises funds for breast cancer research, was launched in May for Century and Dugald River.

It is an Australia-wide campaign that uses the colour pink, long associated with breast cancer awareness and fundraising.

The local MMG campaign for Real Men Wear Pink is an initiative of the human resources team at Century and Dugald River, with the groundwork being done by Superintendent Rebecca (Bec) Stevenson and her RMWP

committee. The campaign has formed part of the Queensland Operations Diversity and Inclusion initiatives.

Ms Stevenson sais there was a good reason to have the campaign in a fly in-fly out mining operation.

“On a remote mine site, people can have a feeling of helplessness and isolation because they feel less able to assist loved ones or those in need,” she said.

“The message that we are sending is that of support and inclusiveness to our employees and to really demonstrate the commitment that MMG has to our people’s work and life balance.”

To give the campaign a high profile, she arranged for highvisibility pink shirts to be made available for purchase, with $3 from every shirt sale going to breast cancer research.

Roma students in pole position for learning The world’s largest secondary school technology program is under way in Roma, with the global initiative F1 in Schools giving local students the green light to design, build and test model formula one (F1) cars.

F1 in Schools aims to encourage students into science and engineering tertiary studies or trades, and is supported by Santos GLNG in partnership with QMI Solutions and Roma State College.

Santos GLNG Maranoa regional manager Sam Klaas said the program would give students the chance to have fun and develop creativity, innovation and technical skills.

“Santos GLNG has a strong track record of supporting great educational initiatives in the regions, but I think students will particularly enjoy F1 in Schools,” Mr Klaas said.

“Students will use computer programs to design miniature F1 cars before building and eventually racing them competitively. I almost wish I was 15 again so I could give it a go.

“We’re delighted to be helping lift the profile of science and engineering-related fields and encouraging students to consider careers in these areas.”

Proudly supporting

mining communities Cannington

16

INDUSTRY UPDATE COAL AND GAS

Safe hands

May 2014 |

obligations under the project’s existing environmental approvals.”

Aquila takeover bid Aurizon Holdings and Baosteel Resources International have announced plans to make a joint bid for Aquila Resources.

Aquila Resources’ assets include the Eagle Downs hard coking coal project - an underground longwall coal mine under construction in the Bowen Basin, as well as an interest in the West Pilbara iron ore project.

SAB mining director Scott Browne with QCoal general manager – mining operations Danny McCarthy.

Queensland companies QCoal and SAB Mining Services have achieved the milestone of 1000 days injury free across SAB operations at the Sonoma and Cows sites just outside Collinsville in the Bowen Basin.

They say the achievement is a reflection of the strong safety ethos which is embedded in the culture of the two Queensland-born-and-bred companies.

QCoal managing director Christopher Wallin said he was proud of the partnership between the companies.

“Achieving 1000 days injury free is a credit to the team at SAB, in particular the company’s director Scott Browne, who leads by example and ensures that safety is at the forefront of operations,” Mr Wallin said.

He said QCoal preferred to partner with likeminded companies and the partnership with SAB reflected its values of safety and community involvement.

Boost for Baralaba mine Cockatoo Coal has started producing coal from its $313 million mine expansion at Baralaba in Central Queensland.

Queensland Deputy Premier Jeff Seeney said the first part of the Baralaba North mine expansion would enable Cockatoo Coal to boost production from about 700,000 tonnes to about one million tonnes of metallurgical coal a year.

This would climb to 3.5 million tonnes per annum by 2015, he said.

Cockatoo Coal chief executive officer Andrew Lawson said the coal from the mine’s expansion would be exported initially to Japan and Korea.

Clearance for Carmichael Queensland’s Co-ordinator-General has approved the proposed $16.5 billion Carmichael coal mine and rail project north-west of Clermont, subject to environmental and social conditions.

Deputy Premier Jeff Seeney said the Galilee Basin project had the potential to be the largest coal mine in Australia and one of the largest in the world.

The project had the potential to create up to 2500 construction and 3900 operational jobs, providing a major boost to the local and state economy, he said.

“The project proposes a combination of open-cut and underground coal mining and is forecast to produce 60 million tonnes of thermal coal per annum for export,” he said.

Mr Seeney said the Co-ordinatorGeneral had set stringent and wide-ranging conditions to protect landholders, local flora, groundwater resources, surface water and air quality as well as controls on dust and noise.

More grunt at Meandu Stanwell Corporation has added six new Hitachi dump trucks to its Meandu Mine fleet at a cost of almost $50 million.

Stanwell chief executive officer Richard

Van Breda said the new, much larger mine trucks would mean Meandu Mine could provide cheaper coal to Stanwell’s Tarong and Tarong North power stations, located adjacent to the mine.

“Our expenditure of more than $47 million is a strong vote of confidence in the future of electricity generation in the South Burnett,” he said.

“Stanwell is ensuring that it has the most up-to-date mine machinery to continue coal mining at Meandu and power generation at our two power stations for the long term.”

South Clermont agreement Australian Pacific Coal has entered a deal with Linchpin Capital Group to jointly develop the South Clermont coal exploration tenement in the Bowen Basin.

The intention, once the agreement is finalised, is to initiate an exploration program to complete proving the resource and then to bring the deposit into production.

Australian Pacific Coal said initial indications were that the project had the potential to be an open-cut operation.

Court clears way for GVK GVK Hancock has welcomed Land Court recommendations that the Environmental Authority and Mining Lease for the Alpha coal project be granted subject to conditions.

Company corporate affairs manager Josh Euler said objections had been raised in relation to climate change, economics, surface water, groundwater, land use, public interest and greenhouse gas emissions.

“In its judgment the Land Court clearly confirmed that GVK Hancock’s comprehensive environmental assessment addressed all the objections raised with no requirement for further conditions apart from groundwater,” he said.

“The groundwater conditions do not raise any new environmental

Moves to expand Meridian WestSide Corporation has kicked off the first phase of the planned expansion of the Meridian gas fields near Moura with a drilling program.

WestSide managing director Mike Hughes said the Phase 1 well program, involving six new production wells, would incorporate extensive recommended improvements in drilling procedures and practices to maximise drilling and production success.

“Wells will be drilled, lined and completed in a single seam and drilled in areas where there is good knowledge of faults and depth control to enable a high confidence of drilling in-seam using global best practice steering techniques,” Mr Hughes said.

WestSide has contracted with Silver City Drilling, PathFinder Directional Drilling Services (part of Schlumberger Drilling Company) and Superior Energy Services for the critical drilling activities.

PNG LNG comes online The PNG LNG project has started producing liquefied natural gas ahead of schedule, with first cargo expected to be shipped to Asian markets before mid-year.

Santos managing director David Knox said that first LNG production from PNG LNG represented a significant milestone for the project, following first condensate production in late March.

“I congratulate our operator ExxonMobil on the successful delivery of this major milestone ahead of schedule. We look forward to the continued ramp up of LNG production until the first cargo is ready to be loaded in the coming weeks,” he said.

Sanctioned in December 2009, the $US19 billion PNG LNG project includes the development of gas production and processing facilities in the Hela, Southern Highlands and Western Provinces of Papua New Guinea, more than 700km of pipelines and a two-train LNG processing and loading facility with a capacity of 6.9 million tonnes per annum located near Port Moresby.

Pipeline pushes through Santos GLNG has achieved another milestone, with the final section of its gas transmission pipeline successfully pushed through a 4.3km tunnel beneath the Gladstone Harbour to the LNG plant on Curtis Island.

The 120 pipeline segments, each 36m long, were welded and pushed gradually through the tunnel using a large hydraulic jack.

The gas transmission pipeline is being built by Santos GLNG’s contractor

The Mining Advocate

Saipem Australia, while the tunnel was constructed by subcontractor Thiess.

The 3.45m internal diameter under-sea tunnel was a feat in itself, running about 8m below the sea bed and constructed using a 100m long, 277-tonne tunnel boring machine.

Tank tests under way The first of the six LNG storage tanks Bechtel is building for the three Curtis Island liquefied natural gas projects at Gladstone has passed a landmark hydro test involving 94 million litres of water.

“This was the first of a series of tank hydro tests to take place in 2014 and another example of how the LNG construction projects in Gladstone are achieving many world-first milestones for Bechtel and the industry in Australia,” Bechtel Gladstone general manager Kevin Berg said.

The hydro test involved filling the tank with seawater to about the halfway mark – 19m, with the water allowed to sit for 24 hours to ensure the integrity of the tank foundations.

Then members of the tanks team worked around the clock to scrub the walls with 80,000 litres of fresh water as the tank was slowly drained. Due to the type of work being conducted, the access restrictions, and the high humidity inside the tank, workers were allowed to swap their long pants, long sleeves and steel caps, for shorts, shirts and reef shoes.

Kentz wins $615m job An Australian subsidiary of Kentz Corporation has won the $615 million contract for electrical and instrumentation construction packages for Ichthys LNG project onshore facilities in Darwin.

Site preparation will commence in August for the work, expected to last 30 months and provide more than 1200 jobs for construction personnel.

The Ichthys LNG project is a joint venture between INPEX group companies, major partner TOTAL and the Australian subsidiaries of Tokyo Gas, Osaka Gas, Chubu Electric Power and Toho Gas. It is expected to produce 8.4 million tonnes of LNG and 1.6 million tonnes of LPG per annum, along with about 100,000 barrels of condensate per day at peak.

Key land release The Queensland Government has released more than 16,400sq km of land in six areas of the state’s north-west and south-west for petroleum and gas exploration.

Natural Resources and Mines Minister Andrew Cripps said the land available through tenders was located south of Normanton, north of Camooweal in far north-west Queensland and areas to the west of Quilpie.

“Queensland’s mining industry will benefit from the release of underexplored land, considered to be frontier areas with little or no previous exploration,” he said.

“The land we are releasing has potential for new discoveries of both conventional and unconventional petroleum resources, and the area to the west of Quilpie possibly contains oil resources as well.”

INDUSTRY UPDATE HARD ROCK

The Mining Advocate | May 2014

Mount Morgan gold deal Raging Bull Mining has acquired Norton Gold Fields’ Mount Morgan gold and copper tailings project, 38km south-west of Rockhampton.

The company has also announced the execution of a formal agreement with Carbine Resources to finance and develop the asset.

In addition to the Mount Morgan tenements and Kundana plant acquisition, Raging Bull will acquire Norton’s Many Peaks copper and gold exploration tenements.

Australian mineral resources explorer Fe Limited has completed the sale of its subsidiary Gympie Eldorado Mining to a private Singapore-registered company.

Fe will receive about $2.4 million from the sale, which includes a reimbursement of environmental performance bonds, as well as a royalty provision.

Walford Creek changes hands Aeon Metals has announced it has agreed to acquire Aston Metals – the largest remaining mining asset of Nathan Tinkler – from the company’s receivers.

The move will see Aeon Metals gain a 3600sq km portfolio of exploration tenements in north-west Queensland including the Walford Creek base metals project. Aeon sees Walford Creek – with a JORC indicated and inferred resource of 48 million tonnes at 1.42 per cent copper – as having the potential for open-pit mine development of world scale.

The company plans to drill an additional 12,000m. The aim is to increase the Walford Creek resource by at least 50 per cent to more than 75 million tonnes and complete a pre-feasibility study by December 2015.

Aeon will purchase Aston through a combination of shares, options and a $20 million loan. It has completed an $8 million share placement as part of the transaction.

Cash for north-west exploration Chinalco Yunnan Copper Resources plans a $2 million exploration program on its Mount Isa region holdings

ResourcesQ on a roll

throughout 2014. The activities are designed to further define copper, gold and other mineralisation at prospects such as Millenium and create a pipeline of drill targets into 2015 and 2016.

The project area covers more than 1000sq km, centred in an area 75km north-east of Mount Isa and 40km north-west of Cloncurry.

It involves a number of farm-in agreements including with Mount Isa Mines, Altona, Elementos and Goldsearch, together with tenure held directly by Chinalco Yunnan Copper Resources.

Green light for Lorena

Fe Limited completes sale

Malachite Resources and BCD Resources have received the State Environmental Authority Permit to develop Lorena gold project, 15km east of Cloncurry in north-west Queensland.

Granting of the authority will allow the major part of construction at Lorena to begin in earnest.

Malachite said concrete construction commenced in April for the project, with a contractor working on slabs and pedestal arrangements for the ball mill and flotation area.

Fabrication of the steel for the flotation building was complete and fabrication of the primary ball mill steel structure was proceeding, the company said.

Joyce McCulloch (Mount Isa Chamber of Commerce), Natural Resources and Mines Minister Andrew Cripps, John Green (CuDeco) and Deanne Ivers (State Development) at the Mount Isa ResourcesQ workshop.

Photo: Kate Glover

The Queensland resources sector has welcomed an agreement with the State Government that takes a long-term view to develop the state’s minerals and energy wealth to its full potential.

Queensland Resources Council chief executive Michael Roche said ResourcesQ, a 30-year vision for the sector, was an important blueprint for the industry’s future, particularly with its emphasis on global competitiveness.

A statement of intent between the Queensland Government, the Association of Mining and Exploration Companies (AMEC), the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association (APPEA), and the QRC was signed recently.

State Premier Campbell Newman said key elements of the agreement included a new Resources Skills Centre of Excellence and a government “one-stop-shop” for the resource industry.

The government has been holding workshops throughout Queensland to gather on-the-ground attitudes from businesses and communities in key resource regions.

They included a forum for more than 60 supply chain industry leaders from across Queensland, as well as recent workshops in Cairns, Mount Isa and Gladstone. More ResourcesQ workshops are planned for Roma on May 28 and Emerald on June 11.

Knock-back for Aurukun plans The Queensland Government has decided not to accept two proposals to develop the Aurukun bauxite deposit, saying benefits for local communities were deemed to be insufficient and timeframes for delivery too long.

Australian Indigenous Resources (AIR) and Glencore International had submitted proposals to develop the deposit after Chalco Australia allowed its $2.5 billion development deal to lapse in 2010.

Deputy Premier Jeff Seeney said the government had committed to work with mining companies and indigenous communities to ensure benefits flowed from the development of bauxite resources on Western Cape York.

“When we came to government the process of developing these deposits was going nowhere given Labor’s insistence that proponents also build a refinery in Queensland,” Mr Seeney said.

“Our government shifted the focus away from a refinery and instead made the primary goal to deliver benefits to the people of Aurukun.”

The door remained open to proposals which would develop these resources in a timely fashion, Mr Seeney said.

Rocklands trial a triumph CuDeco has reported ore grades 400 per cent higher than expected in a recent ore-sorter trial at its Rocklands copper project, 15km west of Cloncurry.

The company recently processed 5000 tonnes of low-grade native copper/ chalcocite ore through the primary crushing circuit to investigate the impact on mineralogical characteristics at various size fractions.

About 1000 tonnes was processed continuously through the company’s

ore-sorter and produced 26 tonnes of copper concentrate product.

The sorted product averaged 77 per cent copper, with 974 tonnes of copper-rich “waste” averaging 0.5 per cent copper, that was sent back to the stockpiles for later processing through the main process plant.

The results indicated head-grades were well above 2.5 per cent - five times more than expected, for this apparently “lowgrade” ore, the company said.

The success of the ore-sorter trials at Rocklands has encouraged the company to incorporate a larger unit into the circuit.

The copper processing circuit which forms part of the Rocklands process plant is under construction and is due for completion late 2014.

Emerging Leaders Continuity of water supply key issue for Mount Isa

Travis Crowther

17

Water has the potential to inhibit the growth of Mount Isa as the supply hub of the rich North West Mineral Province.

That is the view of the chairman of the Mount Isa Chamber of Commerce, Travis Crowther, who was born and bred in the inland city.

He was disappointed when he read recently in the media that as many as eight dams could be built in South-East Queensland to flood-proof the region.

“Why couldn’t they make it seven and do something out

here?” Mr Crowther said.

His comments came as the city’s water supply at Lake Moondarra sat around a third full and the Mount Isa City Council rolled out Level Two water restrictions.

“Better road and rail links with the Port of Townsville are obviously very important but I see water as something that needs to be addressed quickly,” he said.

Mr Crowther said the chamber, Mount Isa City Council and representatives

from Glencore were in discussions to mount a threepronged campaign to address the water issue.

An electrician and instrument fitter by trade, Mr Crowther owns an industrial supply business which services the mining and agricultural sectors in the region.

He said the region had seen its ups and downs over the years as commodity prices fluctuated but was confident in a bright future for the city.

“Things can change quite

quickly from my experience and even though Glencore plans to close the copper smelter in Mount Isa (in December 2016) it may still not happen,” he said.

Mr Crowther pointed to the imminent start of production at CuDeco’s copper mine near Cloncurry and more distant mining operations at Lady Loretta and McArthur River as projects with great potential.

“There still remains plenty of potential ahead for the region,” he said.

18

BETWEEN SHIFTS

May 2014 |

CQEXPO and welcome event

The Mining Advocate

PHOTOS: Darren Wright

Rockhampton Showgrounds and CQ Leagues Club

Greg Landsberg and Des Hopkins (both Terrequip).

Toowoomba Enterprise Evening

Pattie Campbell and Colin Campbell (both Discovery Holiday Parks Rockhampton).

Lisa Burgess and Allison Perry (both The Guinea Group).

PHOTOS: Lucy RC Photography

Middle Ridge Golf Club, Toowoomba

Helen Braithwaite (New Hope Group), Phil Stonestreet (Stonestreet’s Coaches), Suzie Washington (Lifeline) and Bill Conway (Stonestreet’s Coaches).

Leon Williamson (Exact Mining Services), Michelle Hoffman (Gasfields Commission) and Richard Holmes (Australian Industry Trade College).

Michael Hubbard (MJH Advisory), Charlie MacFarlane (Stock Locker), Steve Osborne and Peter Delaforce (Construction Machinery Solutions) and Lance MacManus (TSBE).

Bowen Business Information Forum Queens Beach Motor Hotel, Bowen

Dean Deighton (Skilled Group) and Greg France (Whitsundays Marketing and Development).

Mick Boyce (Whitsundays Agricultural Services), Clive Miles and Mark Gaudrey (Thiess).

Julie Sladek (OHS Consulting) with Peter Collings (West Wing Aviation).

Henry Taljaard and Jono Fulton (Allroads).

Denise Brown (Tourism and Events Queensland), Ross Contarino (Enterprise Connect) and Nicole Hayes (Aecom).

Vinai Sokkalingams (Adani Ports) with Andrew Wilcox (Whitsunday Regional Council).

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The Mining Advocate | May 2014

MINEX 2014

19

PHOTOS: Roslyn Budd

Buchanan Park, Mount Isa

Jodie Sheppard (4LM) and Dave Whitehead (entertainment).

Jess Hughes (Richmond Engineering) and Shaun Eckel (Metabo).

Darren Charmers and Paul Mos (Boss) with Sharon Christensen (Blackwoods).

Travis Crowther, Paul Malouf, Sue Wicks and Ryan Mackenzie (all Mount Isa Chamber of Commerce).

Anthony Rush and Jeff Flynn (both from ABB).

Steve O’Keefe and Louise Smith (both Energy Power Systems) with Enzo Trigila (Power and Air Solutions), Dallas Farnsworth (Incitec Pivot) and Brodie Deverell (Power and Air Solutions).

North Queensland Industry and Resources Expo

PHOTOS: Dominique Kimber

Townsville Entertainment and Convention Centre

Danielle Simmonette and Leanne Doherty (Specialised Geo).

Gerard Pearson and Ian Hutchison (both from Tech Rentals).

Adrian Part and Adam Packer (both TEi).

Chris Wills and Rob Ravizza (both Wulguru Steel).

Jodi Hamilton and Tania Clarke (both Townsville Enterprise).

Pat Leighton and Loretta Reid (Safe Option Solutions).

Quarrying and Small Mines Safety and Health Seminar Rydges Southbank, Townsville

Des Bouchadt, James Coghlan, Carissa Crozier (Department of Natural Resources and Mines).

Kyle Caruana (Caruana Drill and Blast), Wally Low (Orica) and Luke Payne (Sequel Drill and Blast).

Lee Cobbe, Greg Fanti and Martyn Taylor (Boral Quarries).

Nikki Webster and Sharon Wheatley (Soil Engineering Services).

Berth completion unlocks potential The Port of Townsville’s operational flexibility received a huge boost with completion late last year of the $85 million multi-purpose Berth 10.

Berth 10 has unlocked the tourist potential of Townsville with cruise liners now able to berth and transit through a state-of-the art cruise terminal to the city’s CBD and beyond.

In addition, the Australian Defence Force and visiting overseas naval vessels use the berth for refuelling, providoring and rest and recreation, injecting money into the community.

An extensive hard stand area has been built around the berth for quick loading and unloading of containers and general cargo.

The Port of Townsville is Australia’s largest export point for sugar, copper, zinc and lead.

“That diversity means our business is more resilient to changes in market forces and can adapt to accommodate different commodities and cargo to remain viable,” the

port’s acting general manager trade and property Claudia BrummeSmith said.

“The arrival of Berth 10 significantly adds to that flexibility.”

Innovation is a hallmark of the port’s business relationship with its clients.

It has developed a four-tier supply chain solution for bulk mineral exporters which previously faced difficulties in shipping product, particularly junior miners.

Unique in Queensland, the supply chain options offer flexibility and reliability.

The first option, or “Rotainer” Solution, allows customers to store products in special half-height containers.

These containers are moved to Berths 3, 4 or 10 where they are rotated above the holds of bulk carriers and the contents dumped into the vessel.

Option two, the Container Solution, allows customers to deliver product in bulk bags which

are containerised when shipping is available.

Ms Brumme-Smith said this solution was easy to get started, involved no or low-investment costs, plus offered berth and transport flexibility.

Option three, or Third Party Access Solution, allows customers to use port facilities at Berths 7, 8, 9 and 11.

Finally there is the Individual Logistic Solution used at Berth 11

by BHP Billiton Cannington mine and Berth 2 by Queensland Nickel, where the companies have dedicated facilities.

The port has completed design and has approvals in place for the development of Berth 12 in the outer harbour, which would likely be a privately financed project.

Ms Brumme-Smith said more than $500 million had been invested over the past five years to increase port and transport links to provide capacity and efficiency to support growth.

FAST FACTS Supply chain supports freight worth $15 billion annually $8 billion international trade ($22 million in cargo value per day) 721 vessels arrive to port per year 12,000 direct and indirect jobs

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Port of Townsville

The Mining Advocate | May 2014

21

The port that grew and grew The Port of Townsville celebrates 150 years since the beginning of trade this year and, like the city itself, has changed dramatically both in appearance and function during the intervening years.

Inland Australia was being opened up by enterprising pastoralists in the mid-1800s and the northern portion of Queensland needed a close and obstacle-free access point for imports and exports.

John Melton Black, employed

by Robert Towns at Woodstock Station, dispatched a small party accompanied by Aboriginal guides to find a suitable location for a port.

The party reached the mouth of Ross Creek in April 1864 and soon returned with news that a suitable location had been found.

Cyclone Sigma struck Townsville in 1896 causing extensive damage and prompting the formation of the Townsville Harbour Board.

The inner harbour was repaired and expanded but it wasn’t until it was decided to expand into the outer harbour that construction activity stepped up.

Trade fell away dramatically soon after the beginning of World War I in 1914 and didn’t begin to recover until 1921, a period marked by industrial unrest.

The vast mineral wealth centred around Mount Isa heralded a new era of development at the port, which became the sole export point for all the mined products via an inland rail link.

The eastern jetty was extended by 220m and rail tracks laid along it. A 20-tonne electric crane was also installed to load the products.

In 1929 Shell and Vacuum Oil began the first bulk oil trade into the city. That sector continued to grow -with Mobil, Caltex, BP, Ampol, Amco and H. C. Sleigh all

using the port to import petroleum products by the 1960s.

Townsville’s strategic location was never more important than during World War II when one million tonnes of war supplies and some 300,000 tonnes of fuel passed through the port by 1943.

The war period resulted in major congestion problems and soon after the eastern breakwater was widened and Mount Isa Mines significantly ramped up its production.

A sugar terminal was completed in 1959 and operated until 1963 when a fire destroyed the facility.

It was rebuilt soon after and a second bulk sugar shed was added in 1965.

The face of the Port of Townsville changed dramatically with the introduction of the region’s first roll-on/roll-off facilities at Berth 7 in 1969.

Townsville was hit by a second cyclone in 1971 when Althea ravaged the port and city infrastructure.

The port’s control tower was destroyed and took more than a year to rebuild.

The Mount Is Mines loading facilities were upgraded again in 1972 to accommodate product in containers. The Harbour Board installed a container crane in 1974 with a net lifting capacity of 55 tonnes.

The 1980s saw further port expansion with 9.1ha adjacent to the eastern breakwater reclaimed for a new container terminal, LPG terminals and an aqua ammonia terminal.

A major upgrade of the bulk sugar terminal also took place along with a new bulk minerals handling facility for Mount Isa Mines.

On January 1, 1987 the Townsville Harbour Board became the Townsville Port Authority and

The Port of Townsville circa 1940s.

Photo: courtesy Port of Townsville

as the 1980s came to a close oil, sugar and minerals accounted for 95 per cent of port throughput, with trade records regularly being broken.

Port facilities continued to expand into the 1990s with Berth 9 lengthened to cater for Panamax Class cargo vessels.

By December 1997 BHP

World Minerals had constructed Berth 11, Townsville’s first outer harbour berth to handle mineral concentrates from its Cannington Mine.

Ross is ready to tackle any job Ross Markham has seen significant changes at the port since he started as a carpenter 22 years ago, not just in the physical appearance but with what happens on a day-to-day basis.

Now the port’s contract supervisor, he has previously held several supervisory roles.

During the course of Mr Markham’s career at the port, he has witnessed the implementation of computerised management systems.

“When I started it was all manual paperwork. These days most of it is done via email,” Mr Markham said.

“There’s no doubting that computers have made forward planning much easier.”

Mr Markham has seen significant changes in the way the port does business, particularly in his area of

current state. “They deserve credit for their vision,” he said.

A number of events are being planned to mark the Port of Townsville’s 150-year milestone in 2014.

A community event involving the port, Defence and its customers will be held in October.

The port’s acting general manager trade and property, Claudia Brumme-Smith, said a fundraising dinner, industry breakfasts and engagement with local schools was also planned.

Ross Markham Port of Townsville contract supervisor

overseeing external work undertaken by contractors.

Mr Markham praised those who, over the last 40 years, have played a role in growing the port’s infrastructure to its

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22

Port of Townsville

May 2014 |

Port of Townsville

Demand drives expansion A raft of expansion projects are under way, ready for implementation or in the future planning stage at the Port of Townsville.

As global demand for bulk ore from the North West Mineral Province centred around Mount Isa grows, momentum gathers to find a proponent to develop Berth 12 in the outer harbour.

The port is in talks with a number of proponents to develop the bulk loading facility.

In the meantime, work on the $80 million refurbishment of Berth 8 continues and should be completed by July.

The project was jointly funded by the Port of Townsville and Glencore ($40 million each).

When completed, it will accommodate Panamax-sized vessels up to 220m long for bulk loading of mineral concentrates and fertiliser products.

The port’s acting general manager trade and property Claudia Brumme-Smith said once Glencore’s operations were relocated to Berth 8, the nearby Berths 6 and 7 would be decommissioned - creating

additional manoeuvring space for larger Panamax vessels while also increasing loading capacity via the new conveyor belt.

Also planned for the near future is the realigning of Berths 2, 3 and 4 to create one contiguous “super wharf ” capable of berthing four vessels at once.

While Berth 12, which has all the required approvals, will need private sector funding to move ahead, plans are already afoot to open up a State Development Area on the southern side of the Ross River adjacent to the new Port Access Rd and proposed rail corridor which links the Flinders Highway to Mount Isa with the port. An area of 4900ha has been earmarked for the development, of which 2900ha will form buffer areas.

Ms Brumme-Smith said it was vital the port “stayed ahead of the game” by having approvals in place with the various planning authorities well before they were needed.

The Port of Townsville has lodged plans for six new outer harbour berths with the required State Government departments.

The Mining Advocate

acting general manager trade and property Claudia BrummeSmith, with Queensland Nickel managing director operations refinery and port, Ian Ferguson.

The changing face of operations Port of Townsville customer, Queensland Nickel/ Palmer Nickel and Cobalt Refinery, has operated its refinery north of the city for 40 years and has evolved from an exporter to the port’s biggest importer over the years.

The Yabulu nickel refinery opened in 1974 to process ore from the Greenvale nickel mine 225km north-west of the city but switched to importing ore in 1986 when the mine resource dwindled.

The first nickel ore import arrived aboard the River Torrens in 1986 and it took weeks to unload the 30,000-tonne shipment.

Fast forward to 2014, QN has imported up to 4.1 million tonnes of ore in one year in bulk carriers which now carry twice the cargo of the River Torrens and unloading the shipment takes a mere three days with the aid of modern technology.

QN also imports nickel intermediate feed stocks and generates up to 6000 container movements annually.

QN operates Berth 2, dedicated to bulk unloading nickel ore, and last year reached a significant milestone of unloading 75 million tonnes of nickel ore.

Each year about 80 bulk carriers unload ore using a sophisticated material handling system as opposed to originally unloading directly onto the wharf.

QN managing director operations refinery and port, Ian Ferguson, said ore was now unloaded via a combination of a gantry crane and ship cranes into hoppers and then on to conveyor belts to the railway loading facility or to a stockpile.

“The ore is then railed 28km to the Yabulu refinery,” Mr Ferguson said.

“Three trains are continually working around the clock delivering the ore from the port.’’

Mr Ferguson said QN was the port’s largest importer and its product represented about 80 per cent of all imports through the Port of Townsville.

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Port of Townsville

The Mining Advocate | May 2014

23

Stevedoring firms Strong focus on environment invest heavily to deal with growth The Port of Townsville’s two principal stevedoring operations, Northern Stevedoring Services (NSS) and Townsville Bulk Storage and Handling (TBSH), are investing heavily in keeping pace with the rapid growth of imports and exports through the city.

Between them, the companies are spending more than $30 million in additional storage capacity and two new mobile cranes which will dramatically cut loading and unloading times.

NSS commercial manager Ross Grenside expected work on the company’s $12 million, 8500sq m, fully pressurised storage facility to be completed by June.

Mr Grenside said zinc producer Sun Metals had already struck a deal to use the new facility and other prospective clients were also being spoken to.

TBSH is investing $15 million to develop a 30,000sq m warehousing precinct and is expecting to employ 60 people as it expands its storage capability and fleet of road trains.

About $10 million is being invested in four warehouses providing 12,000sq m under cover plus a new two-level 300sq m office building along with wash bays and workshops.

Part-owner and chief executive officer Peta Connelly said TBSH was investing in the future growth of trade through the Port of Townsville.

Ms Connelly said a new $5 million Liebherr mobile harbour crane with a lifting capacity of 140 tonnes was due to arrive in May. NSS is also investing in a Liebherr LHM420 mobile harbour crane which will be able to handle bulk cargo, project cargo and containers.

Mr Grenside said the crane, which will arrive in August, would reinforce NSS’s commitment to the region and greatly increase productivity at the port and reduce loading times.

Port of Townsville acting general manager trade and property Claudia Brumme-Smith said the port had a good working relationship with both companies and provided the land for the latest developments.

Unlike many ports, the Port of Townsville is adjacent to the city’s CBD and is surrounded by well-established homes, so environmental issues like noise and air quality are critical for its immediate neighbours.

A team of five environmental scientists focus their efforts on four key areas: ambient marine water, marine sediment, air quality and sea-grass monitoring.

This is in addition to specific programs undertaken for development projects.

“The port operates in a sensitive environment with unique and highly valued ecosystems,” the port’s acting general manager trade and property Claudia Brumme-Smith said.

“We are dedicated to the sustainable management of any impacts our operations may have on the environment and that our trade growth is done in a sustainable way.”

Ms Brumme-Smith said the port operated under an environmental management system and continued to monitor and improve the system to ensure best practice.

An environmental work group has also been in operation for many years to identify and implement continual improvements to environmental and sustainability programs.

Wulguru Group employees Barry Weir (26 years’ service), Jeff Dellit (16 years) and Kevin Cox (32 years).

Wulguru Steel - experienced people with the right skill sets A Townsville-based business specialising in steel fabrication and supplying equipment and services to the mining and mineral processing sectors continues to prosper in the market as many competitors have been forced to downsize as commodity prices contract.

The Wulguru Group boasts 150 employees and company director Wayne Landrigan reckons he knows why

the business continues to do well.

“It’s our people - we don’t have much turnover, within the last few years having several employees reaching milestones of 15, 20 as well as 30 years with us,” he said.

“We have experienced people with the right skill sets who are known by our clients through repeat business, that’s where we shine.”

Clients include the BHP Billiton Cannington Mine in the North West, Phosphate Hill, Queensland Nickel, Glencore and the Port of Townsville.

the changing market conditions, but one common thread has run through the business since its inception – acquiring the very best staff with a shared view of excellence and a capacity to present engineering solutions across a range of engineering, welding and fabrication applications.

Formed in 1977, the company has evolved and diversified with

For more details visit: www.wulgurusteel. com

Wulguru Group staff are skilled in a variety of engineering applications including steel, plate work, tanks and pressure pipe work.

Environmental co-ordinator Patricia Elder (left) and environmental officer Casey Johnson take water samples at the port as part of their routine duties.

These initiatives include the collection of 20 marine water samples every month during the wet season and every second month during the dry season from the inner and outer harbours, the shipping channel, marine precinct, Ross Creek and Ross River areas.

An average of 250 samples of marine sediment are collected every quarter and tested for heavy

metals. Air quality is monitored by a tapered element oscillating microbalance (TEOM) located at Ross Creek, downwind from the majority of port operations.

High volume samplers are also installed at a number of sites to supplement the TEOM monitoring.

In addition, every port customer has its own environmental guidelines in place.

24

Toowoomba and Surat Basin Operations

May 2014 |

All systems go for GLNG’s Fairview hub

Easternwell delivers on rig contract Toowoomba-based drilling and well-servicing company Easternwell has built and commissioned a groundbreaking rig as part of its new $30 million contract with Santos.

The well-servicing rig sets new standards in safety, versatility, load rating, portability and doesn’t need a road permit when moved from one well head to another.

Easternwell superintendent of operations Craig Giffen said the servicing rig had been trucked to the Cooper Basin near Moomba in South Australia on its purpose-built trailer and would play a lead role in maintaining Santos’ well infrastructure in the area.

Word has got out about how effective the new rig is with a second already under construction for a new client, according to Mr Giffen.

The well-servicing rig project took 18 months to complete and involved about 100 skilled workers in various facets of its construction.

Easternwell chief operating officer Darren Greer said $4 million was injected into the Toowoomba region’s economy during construction.

Mr Greer said that in addition to providing work-over services on conventional gas wells, the rig had the potential to be used on upcoming shale operations.

“This would be a natural and exciting progression for us as we have substantial experience in the conventional and nonconventional (coal seam gas) industry which puts us in a good position to deliver for Santos,” he said.

Mr Giffen said the rig had been designed with a high priority given to safety.

“The rig operator is out of the

The Mining Advocate

The wellservicing rig went through a rigorous commissioning phase before it was sent to the Cooper Basin.

line of fire if there is a critical load pressure issue and direct contact with the rig when it is working has been minimised,” he said.

“The rig underwent a rigorous commissioning phase before being shipped to the Cooper Basin and didn’t have any reliability issues in the first month of operation, which we are really proud of.”

Easternwell has worked closely with Santos for 20 years and the latest $30 million contract represents a further two-year association with the energy provider, which is a partner in one of three consortia building gas pipelines from the Surat Basin CSG fields to Curtis Island off Gladstone where three LNG plants are being developed.

Final testing and commissioning can begin at Santos GLNG’s largest gas compression hub after its control room was connected to the Brisbane headquarters in May. This marks the handover of the hub from the construction contractor to Santos GLNG and brings it closer to start-up and gas production.

Santos vice-president Queensland Trevor Brown said new work fronts would open up at the hub in Fairview field, two hours’ drive north of Roma, now the connection was complete.

“Now that our hub control room is connected to the Brisbane operations centre we can monitor the status of all equipment at this site and eventually control the hub from hundreds of kilometres away,” Mr Brown said.

Three hubs under construction for Santos GLNG include one in Roma and two in Fairview field.

From 2015, the hubs will compress and treat gas extracted from nearby wells so it can be sent along a 420km pipeline to Gladstone for conversion to liquefied natural gas for export.

Toowoomba and Surat Basin Operations

The Mining Advocate | May 2014

25

Tips from Thiess to win work Thiess has awarded about $750 million in contracts on the Queensland Curtis LNG project in the past year and is working with local businesses to build their capability in the sector.

Project director Joe Dujmovic said the company had channelled 83 per cent of these funds into Queensland and 26.6 per cent into the Surat Basin region.

“Suppliers play an important role in the success of our operations,” Mr Dujmovic said.

“That is why we spend a great deal of time working with local business to help them demonstrate that they can meet the fundamental requirements of our operations such as the right health and safety procedures, quality procedures, ability to manage a workforce and provide equitable and diverse working environments.”

The company is delivering 17 field compression stations and four central processing plants for the QCLNG project.

Thiess local content advisor for QCLNG Ben Hughes has shared some advice for local businesses wishing to get involved.

Mr Hughes stresses that the gateway everyone needs to go through to be part of the Thiess supply chain is to prequalify.

“Beyond these broad essentials, businesses must also ensure they present themselves in the best possible light,” he said.

“There are fundamentally about six things that local businesses and small businesses need to focus on.”

1. A good online presence “We hear a lot about businesses having capability statements and that’s important, but I think the more important thing is for that capability statement to be replicated online,” Mr Hughes said.

Most large businesses

accommodation to use. The ability to access a local workforce, the ability to be on call in a short space of time. All of these factors are often considerations within a tender and very often we see local businesses not selling themselves.

They just don’t tell us about it, they don’t think it’s important.”

QGC compression facilities in the Surat Basin.

Photo: Angela Buddee

centralised their contracts and procurement departments, and those people were likely to make an online search of potential suppliers, he said.

“If they can’t be found or their website looks unprofessional then that’s a significant disadvantage,” Mr Hughes said.“For somebody looking to crack into a supply chain or crack into a market they need to really put their best foot forward in a number of ways - and one of them is to be represented professionally online.”

and that’s everything from emails through to the ability to track lost parts,” Mr Hughes said.

“It’s not about having the latest piece of equipment, it’s just about having your paperwork in order, having a process that demonstrates what is your HR strategy. It’s all about going on a branding journey of building confidence in the supply chain that you can deliver on a job.”

2. Good customer service Businesses also should ensure they could react professionally to any enquiries, Mr Hughes said.

“One example, when I was looking to speak to an organisation about a $9 million road package, I was given a number that went through to an office and I presume one of their parents or grandparents was on the phone because she asked if I could call back after The Bold and the Beautiful was finished,” he said.

“Now, obviously I didn’t because we have a lot of people who want to compete for our work

Ben Hughes Thiess local content advisor

and if that’s the customer service standard we’re going to receive from that business now we’re just going to be letting ourselves in for a lot of problems in future. ”

3. Good business systems “That doesn’t mean you have to involve yourself in huge great complex platforms, but just to ensure the business systems work -

5. Know your place “Businesses seeking work must make sure they know where they fit in the supply chain and must differentiate between a construction project and an operations and maintenance contract,” Mr Hughes said.

“QGC subcontract to us and we subcontract to others, and they might subcontract down to a fourth level. If you’re a small business with a couple of welders, you’re unlikely to be working for the proponent, but you could be working for one of our subcontractors. Understand where you fit in the supply chain so you can really target your niche.”

4. Sell to your advantages

6. Don’t be afraid to put departures in a tender response

Local businesses should consider what benefits they offer over other suppliers in terms of time, cost, quality and safety – then make sure the company they are approaching knows about them.

“When you’re a local business, take advantage of the benefits of being local,” Mr Hughes said.

“For example, if we’re looking for haulage operators, we would ideally want to use locals because they understand how the roads react under heavy loads when it’s raining, they know that you can’t go down a road because it might be cut off when the creek’s up. They might even have

“If you are sent a tender package, it will likely include a draft contract,” he said. “Read that contract, read it three or four times, and make sure you understand the impact that it will have on your business.”

When subcontractors ran into trouble with terms and schedule timings, often these issues could have been resolved in the tender process, Mr Hughes said.

“The business can submit a ‘departure’ with their tender,” he said. “It’s common practice and no one will think any less of you, in fact it demonstrates you have clearly understood the scope and the risks.”

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Toowoomba and Surat Basin Operations

May 2014 |

The Mining Advocate

Justin engineers right balance Justin Clarke at a phosphate mine in Morocco.

Justin Clarke’s business philosophy flies in the face of conventional wisdom, which in many cases demands long hours and personal sacrifices to succeed, often to the detriment of family and friends.

Mr Clarke owns and operates JPC Engineering, located near Toowoomba on the family’s 2ha property.

It is but a few paces to his design studio from the family home, shared by wife of 20 years Sonja and five children, Patrick, Ben, Hugh, James and Emily.

Striking a balance between family and business has been the focus of Justin’s working life which began in Canberra.

He registered JPC Engineering in 1988 and the business has travelled with him through many destinations in Australia and overseas.

JPC delivers a wide range of engineering projects from design concept through to 3D design, 2D drafting of production drawings, engineering certification, fabrication and machining, site installation and commissioning.

It has supported many businesses in the Surat Basin development and in recent years also conducted projects in South

Sailing with family on Sydney harbour.

Africa, Zimbabwe and Morocco.

In fact one of the attractions of his business is being able to offer a total package to his clients from 3D modelling to installation in often technically demanding locations including the Kalahari Desert in South

Africa and 450m underground at a mine.

A self-confessed tinkerer with an enthusiasm for mechanical restoration, Mr Clarke casually remarks: “I’ve restored a couple of old 50s Chevs, a 1962 speedboat, a couple of sailboats

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but I believe it’s important to get away from work,” he said.

“Of course I take my mobile phone and laptop (computer) with me so I’m not out of contact. I find by stepping back I think more clearly about the best way to run the business.

“The business is on a continual path of improvement to find better solutions to design challenges while increasing efficiency.”

Mr Clarke’s efforts haven’t gone unnoticed; he recently won the Professional and Business category at the Toowoomba Chamber of Commerce and Business Excellence Awards.

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and am currently restoring a 1977 Torana SS.” And if overseeing the rise to prominence of his company in recent years isn’t enough to keep him busy, he has also found time to design on and off-road caravans as a sideline.

With so many projects on the go and a trip to Brazil in the pipeline to scope a new job, it’s hard to believe that Mr Clarke manages to spend more than two months every year travelling with his family around Australia.

“Many people who own businesses might think I take too much time off to be with my family during the school holidays

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Toowoomba and Surat Basin Operations

The Mining Advocate | May 2014

Carbon Energy fired up over UCG possibilities Carbon Energy is continuing to push towards the commercialisation of its Underground Coal Gasification (UCG) technology in Queensland.

A government-appointed independent scientific panel last year concluded that UCG could have a viable commercial future, but only if companies could demonstrate an ability to decommission and rehabilitate their sites. Carbon Energy chief executive officer Morné Engelbrecht says the Queenslandbased company is doing exactly that at its Bloodwood Creek site, about 40km west of Dalby.

“We are closing the complete life cycle process for our specific UCG technology and being more rigorous than any similar industry at the same stage,” Mr Engelbrecht said.

UCG is an unconventional gas production technology that’s been around for about 80 years.

Mr Engelbrecht said Carbon Energy’s specific style of UCG, keyseam technology, had provided the industry with the most significant advances of recent times. “Keyseam is a highly controlled process, that efficiently converts solid coal into synthetic gas (syngas) deep underground,”

Morné Engelbrecht Carbon Energy CEO

he said. “It unlocks new energy sources by accessing vast coal reserves located hundreds of metres below the earth’s surface, which until now have not been commercially viable to extract through conventional means. It produces a high-quality syngas which can be used for many purposes including power generation, chemical production, fertilisers and production of natural gas.

“Keyseam also minimises

surface disturbance and preserves groundwater quality. Importantly keyseam maximises resource efficiency, extracting up to 20 times more gas than any other unconventional method in comparison.”

Another Queensland-based UCG pilot operator, Linc Energy, is facing government charges over alleged environmental breaches.

The Department of Environment and Heritage Protection charged Linc Energy with causing serious environmental harm. Environment and Heritage Protection Minister Andrew Powell said the charges followed a nine-month investigation in relation to the company’s pilot UCG plant near Chinchilla.

Linc Energy said in a recent statement that it would defend allegations that it had caused unauthorised environmental harm.

Managing director and chief executive officer Peter Bond said Linc Energy had had an ongoing dispute with the department for a number of years; “a rift that essentially is based around the DEHP’s lack of knowledge of UCG and their unwillingness to learn about the UCG process’’.

27

Toowoomba bypass strikes speed bump Construction of the Toowoomba Second Range Crossing is facing delays as the Federal and State governments try to work out the fine print for the allocation of $1.67 billion in funding.

Toowoomba and Surat Basin Enterprise chief executive officer Shane Charles said the governments had agreed to an 80/20 per cent funding split but that discussions over the arrangements had caused delays.

The original deadline to launch the expressions of interest (EOI) phase of the bypass project lapsed in March.

“Projects Queensland are a little late at the moment in releasing their expressions of interest, they’re behind schedule. The reason is, to the best of my knowledge, that the Federal Government and Queensland Government are still finalising the terms between them on the funding arrangements,” Mr Charles said.

“There seems to be a real commitment to the range by-pass proceeding, it’s just a case of when an agreement can be reached between the state and the feds.”

Mr Charles said the early project delays would add pressure to the prospective tenderers once the EOI phase began.

“The delays clearly bring pressure on the prospective tenderers to try and get their tenders and design work done in a quick fashion,” he said.

“The project has the expressions of interest, then the tenders will have to be submitted, then the prospective tenders selected, more design works will have to be completed and negotiations with the local councils will have to take place. So there’s a significant amount of design work and negotiation that needs to be done to get the project under way.

“We’re still hopeful that work will commence in January 2015, but unless the governments can get their arrangements finalised quickly, the commencement time frames may need to be postponed.”

The road project is seen as a key enabler for economic growth in the Toowoomba and Surat Basin region.

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Toowoomba and Surat Basin Operations

May 2014 |

The Mining Advocate

Open for business this year The Wellcamp Business Park will have the “open” sign up in October when stage one of the project is expected to be completed.

A 3km dual-lane road is being pushed into the business park off Toowoomba-Cecil Plains Rd. The first blocks available for purchase or lease will be located in cul-de-sacs off the dual carriageway.

The project is being privately funded by Toowoomba-based Wagners Constructions, which will relocate its head office and equipment storage facility to the business park.

It is adjacent to the airport they are building on the same site.

Wagners Construction director Denis Wagner said construction teams were flat out to meet the October deadline and work would continue on the project post the opening at a rate determined by demand.

“All the water, sewerage, fibre

optic cables and main trunk roads will be completed as part of stage one,” he said.

A total of 500ha has been set aside for the business park, which will cater to a range of transport, storage, manufacturing and warehousing operations plus corporate offices.

There are also plans to locate a five-star hotel near the business park and airport.

Mr Wagner said the family business would locate its composite fibre technology manufacturing company on the site. It manufactures cross-arms for power poles and rail bridges.

He said the company sold its products mainly into the US but also in Australia.

Mr Wagner said because of “commercial in confidence” considerations he couldn’t name actual businesses that were keen to move into the business park.

“There has been interest from the aviation maintenance industry and overall there has

An artist’s impression of the Wellcamp Business Park.

probably been more interest than we had expected,” Mr Wagner said.

He is excited about the prospect of a major global food processor possibly locating its operation at the business park.

“Toowoomba has the potential to become the logistics hub for distribution of perishable food products into Asia,” he said.

“When people in Brisbane are eating food grown on the Darling Downs, so will people in Asia.”

A Toowoomba Surat Basin Enterprise economic impact study on the airport and business park revealed that it could

John and Denis Wagner inspect the business park site outside Toowoomba.

generate as many as 3200 jobs by its fifth year of operation and generate revenues of $528 million per annum within

the same timeframe. Mr Wagner said he and his brothers were confident of turning a profit in three to four years.

Wellcamp Downs a rock-solid investment Little did the Wagner family know how significant the purchase of the Wellcamp Downs thoroughbred horse stud in 1994 would become as a tipping point to build a commercial airport and business hub 17km west of Toowoomba.

The family owns a construction business and bought the property because of its potential as a quarry site.

It was that abundance of rock which was needed for the 2.87km runway which made it viable to press on with the project which will see the airport open for business in the last quarter of 2014.

Company director Denis Wagner is proud to declare that the project is “on time and on budget”.

What that budget is has never been publicly revealed, but chairman of Wagner Constructions, John Wagner, was quoted as saying it was “well north of $100 million”.

An official opening of the airport is being planned for November.

Work on the runway was to be complete in May, with lighting, the terminal and other infrastructure to follow.

Denis Wagner said Toowoomba - Australia’s largest inland city after Canberra, with a population of about 165,000 - lacked rail, road and air connectivity.

“We (the four Wagner brothers) sat down around the board table in April 2012 and discussed the pros and cons,” he said. “After we made the decision things happened pretty quickly, we appointed consultants in June and received approval by December 2012.”

Toowoomba’s official airport is limited as to the size of aircraft which land there because the runway is road-bound.

Mr Wagner said talks were well advanced with major carriers which had expressed an interest in landing 737s capable of seating 168 passengers and the smaller 717s, which accommodate about 125 passengers, at the new air strip.

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REGIONAL ROUND-UP

May 2014 |

The Mining Advocate

Mackay

Cairns

Komatsu Australia has opened a new customer support facility at Bosso Road, Paget, just 10 months after a ground-breaking ceremony at the launch of the company’s Mackay Mining Assembly facilities.

The new Mackay customer support centre, with a covered area of 1800sq m, includes a parts warehouse, service workshop, track press, washbay and offices.

Equipment being serviced out of this new site includes Komatsu 960E ultraclass dump trucks, WA900 and WA1200 wheel loaders, and up to PC8000 mining shovels – as well as other Komatsu mining and construction equipment.

“Our new Paget customer support facility is a major investment in our ability to better service our mining and construction industry customers throughout Central and North Queensland,” Komatsu Australia Queensland general manager Dean Gaedtke said.

“As far as we are concerned, it’s a real vote of confidence in the Central Queensland mining industry and indicates that we believe there is a long-term, stable future for the region.”

The Cairns Chamber of Commerce has launched a Queensland-first tendering and procurement taskforce to help far northern businesses win more government contracts.

The taskforce has been working with senior officers from the State Government’s new Procurement Transformation Division to develop an action plan.

Cairns Chamber of Commerce chief executive officer Deb Hancock said the new taskforce would be an important conduit for information related to tendering and procurement on State Government contracts.

The government is looking to replicate the Cairns model – which involves business, industry and government - across other regions, based on its early success, according to Housing and Public Works Minister Tim Mander.

Mount Isa A heckler’s blast against Mount Isa Mayor Tony McGrady may spark a police presence at future local anti-uranium meetings, The North West Star reports.

Cr McGrady was defending planned uranium mining in Queensland after presentations by Dr Bill Williams from the Medical Association for the Prevention of War and Australian Conservation Foundation nuclear-free campaigner Dave Sweeney.

The North West Star described Cr McGrady as appearing frustrated and shaken by the angry audience member’s confrontation.

Mount Isa Senior Sergeant Graham Boyd told the paper police were evaluating the need for police attendance to keep the peace at future events.

Similar anti-uranium forums were held in Townsville and Charters Towers recently.

Natural Resources and Mines Minister Andrew Cripps told the Townsville Bulletin that uranium mining had the potential to generate significant economic growth and jobs for Queensland.

The government was still on track to have regulatory framework for uranium mining in place by July, he said.

Townsville The Queensland Government was monitoring water released from tailings dams at The Palmer Nickel and Cobalt Refinery after rain from Cyclone Ita. News outlets reported in April that the Yabulu refinery’s operations were suspended as the dams reached capacity and that Environment Minister Andrew Powell raised concerns about toxic waste spilling into local waterways.

Queensland Nickel managing director Ian Ferguson stated that the company was meeting licence requirements, according to ABC News, while refinery owner Clive Palmer accused the State Government of targeting him and jeopardising the local economy.

During a visit to Townsville, Mr Powell said he was concerned there was no capacity within the dams for further rainfall, the Townsville Bulletin reported.

“They have until next wet season to get that dam lifted,” Mr Powell told the newspaper.

Mr Palmer defended his environmental record in a recent Brisbane news conference where it was announced that his Waratah Coal company had applied for preferred developer status for the $3 billion T2 expansion at Abbot Point, near Bowen.

Ravenswood Resolute Mining’s Carpentaria Gold operation recently hosted a two-day mines rescue challenge, with teams from Citigold and the Eloise mine competing with local personnel in a series of skill tests.

“The events were bigger and more challenging than last year and some, such as the search and rescue, were very physically demanding,” Carpentaria Gold ERT trainer Justin Gersbach said.

“The five teams that attended last year showed a marked improvement and Eloise did a great job in their first mines rescue challenge – it shows what an important learning opportunity these challenges are to prepare teams for real-life incidents.”

Carpentaria Gold’s Hard Rock Rescue team took out the challenge champion’s title, with captain Lloyd Mossman named as best captain. Kyle Urquhart from the company’s DNA team was named best medic and the gold miner’s TNT team was voted the “Esprit de Corps” winner by the other participants.

Adjudicators from NSW Coal Mine Rescue, Queensland Ambulance Service, Capital Safety and Alliance Safety Group oversaw the challenge.

Yeppoon Livingstone Shire Council has paved the way for a new industry park on Yeppoon to Rockhampton Rd with a $3.5 million strategic land acquisition.

Mayor Bill Ludwig said the 55ha site would form an integral component of the council’s economic development and job creation strategy for the Capricorn Coast.

“Council is encouraging existing Rockhampton-based businesses to consider expanding current operations to the Capricorn Coast to take full advantage of our projected strong growth,” he said.

“Long-term commercial and industrial growth will naturally expand here on the coast to cater for the rapidly growing residential market and smart businesses will naturally want to get in on the ground floor.”

Meanwhile the State Government has agreed to fund half of the expected $25-$30 million needed to construct the Northern Strategic Link Road – Panorama Drive at Yeppoon (Western Bypass Stage 2).

Capricorn Enterprise helped Livingstone Shire Council win the funding under Royalties for the Regions Round 3, Capricorn Enterprise chief executive officer Mary Carroll said.

Gladstone

Toowoomba

The Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union has called for an investigation into welding test procedures for employment on the Curtis Island LNG projects after Bechtel revealed a high failure rate by Australian welders.

More than 50 per cent of the tradespeople who took the practical test for specialist weld positions with Bechtel had failed, The Observer reported.

The company had brought in specialists from the United Kingdom and Ireland as a result, in what Bechtel general manager Gladstone Kevin Berg described as an expensive last option, the paper said.

The AMWU has called on the Federal Government to tighten the 457 visa rules to ensure all local employment opportunities are exhausted before bringing in overseas workers.

In a statement published on its website, the union said it believed some locals in Gladstone had been ruled out for non-skill reasons including failing to sweep the floor after the test and being a few minutes late for the appointment.

Toowoomba Region Mayor Paul Antonio is representing southern Queensland’s interests in a group formed to give local government a voice in the development of the Melbourne to Brisbane Inland Rail project.

The Melbourne to Brisbane Inland Rail Alliance (MBIRA) includes council representatives from New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland.

“The Federal Government has committed $300 million in the budget for corridor acquisition and detailed alignment of the Melbourne to Brisbane Inland Rail,” Cr Antonio said.

“This group brings together all local governments with an interest in seeing the inland rail line developed.”

The MBIRA chair, Parkes Mayor Ken Keith from New South Wales, told the Parkes Champion-Post that work on the line could start within three years - and be finished in 10 years.

“Planning and consultation has commenced for the project, especially around Toowoomba and into the Port of Brisbane where over half the cost of the project will occur,” he told the paper.

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