Mining NZ Spring

SPRING 2015

Heart of Gold Bernie O’Leary has taken the reins at OceanaGold’s newly acquired Waihi mine

Earthmoving / Construction / Quarries / Minings

Very high-performance lubricant for all diesel engines, with or without particulate filter

Formulated especially for off highway equipment, Rubia Works 2000 is for use with engines that are required to operate for long periods at full capacity or with repeated acceleration and idling cycles.

Specifically developed for use with Japanese engines, also suitable with American and European engines. Rubia Works 2000 has obtained the official JASO DH-2 licence.

Rubia Works 2000 is a low saps oil which means it has lower Ash, Phosphorus and Sulphur contents to reduce clogging of the particulate filters in latest generation low emission engines.

For further information phone 0800 868 256 www.totaloilsolutions.co.nz

Contents »

Spring, 2015

Contents

9

9 Maruia Marvel Maruia Mining has started exploration and mining at Waitahuna Gully, an area that hasn’t been mined for nearly 70 years.

10 Bathurst hangs tough Bathurst Resources hopes it will soon be back exporting the West Coast’s hard coking coals to the steelmakers of the world.

14 Macraes Milestone OceanaGold is about to chalk up 25 years of operation at its Macraes Mine in East Otago.

10

18 Drillers Progress The 40th anniversary of the New Zealand Drillers Federation coincided with some major steps forward for the industry.

If you have an image you think would look great on the cover, contact us: Phone 03 983 5500 Email nick@waterfordpress.co.nz

14

www.waterfordpress.co.nz

Cover photo courtesy of OceanaGold

PUBLISHER: James Lynch

Ph: 03 983 5500 Email: james@waterfordpress.co.nz

EDITOR: Nick Gormack

PRODUCTION MANAGER Luke Lynch luke@waterfordpress.co.nz

CUSTOMER SERVICES:

Ph: 03 983 5559 Email: nick@waterfordpress.co.nz

Ann-Marie Frentz, Sarah McQuilkin Phone: 03 983 5554 Email: annmarie@waterfordpress.co.nz

JOURNALISTS: Jo Bailey, Hugh de Lacy, Karen Phelps, Peter Owens

ART DEPARTMENT:

MARKETING CONSULTANT: Paul Crowther Ph (03) 983 5503 paul@waterfordpress.co.nz

GENERAL MANAGER: Rex Lynch Email: rex@waterfordpress.co.nz

4 Mining NZ » Spring 2015

18

ISSN 2324-1187

Samantha Stuart, Mike Parker, Anton Gray, Liki Udam, Jessica Ann, Michael Perry Ph: 03 983 5560 Email: art@waterfordpress.co.nz

OFFICE / ACCOUNTS: Helen Bourne, Jill Holland, Alex Cohen Ph: 03 983 5500 Email: helen@waterfordpress.co.nz

These conditions are prescribed for the sake of understanding between the Company and its clients. Advertising is charged for on the basis of space taken up using a standard tabloid page. Actual space may be reduced during the printing process but this will effect all advertisers equally so no credit will be given for any reduction in size due to processing. The Company reserves the right to alter, change or omit entirely any advertisement or article that it considers to be objectionable or which may contravene any law. In the event of a failure on the part of the Company to insert advertising as instructed the Company may publish the advertisement at the first available subsequent reasonable date unless the advertisement features date sensitive material. Every care shall be taken to publish the advertisement in accordance with the advertisers instructions as to page and position but the Company reserves the right for whatever reason to place advertising in a different position and in doing so shall incur no liability whatsoever. Advertisers must advise Mining NZ immediately of any error or omission in advertisements and shall work constructively to remedy the situation which in the first instance shall be a rerun of the corrected advertisement in the next available issue of Mining NZ. Where advertisement proofs have been faxed or mailed to the client 48 hours prior to the nominated printing cutoff time acquiesce shall be taken as confirmation and acceptance. Corrections made by telephone shall be accepted but the Company reserves the right to decide whether a further proof should be faxed or mailed to the client. Accounts for advertising are due for payment within seven days of publication of the newspaper. Accounts not paid within this time may incur a penalty of 3% per month until the account is paid. Any debt collection costs incurred by the Company will be added to the account of the debtor. Views and opinions expressed in Mining NZ are not necessarily those of the editors, Waterford Press Ltd or publisher. Mining NZ welcomes contributions from freelance writers & journalists. All articles published at editors discretion. Mining NZ accepts no responsibilty for loss of photos or manuscripts.

112 Wrights Road, Addington PO Box 37 346, Christchurch Phone 03-983 5500 www.waterfordpress.co.nz

News »

Plenty riding on TTR consent Hugh de Lacy As many as three other seafloor mining initiatives are to varying extents dependent on the outcome of Trans Tasman Resources’ (TTR’s) pending second attempt at winning marine resource consent to mine ironsands off the west coast of the North Island.

TTR has also applied for a prospecting licence for heavy marine sands off the West Coast of the South Island, and the progress of that enterprise would be hugely accelerated if the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) were to grant the company’s second application for the North Island permit.

Hanging in the background, and keenly interested in TTR’s progress, is Chatham Rock Phosphate (CRP) whose marine resource consent application to mine seafloor phosphate deposits on the Chatham Rise was, like TTR’s first ironsands application, turned down by the EPA earlier this year.

And CRP chief executive Chris Castle has revealed to Mining NZ that his listed company is eyeing up a second marine phosphate deposit

whose prospects, as with the Chatham Rise application, will be heavily influenced by TTR’s ironsands application.

Other than that CRP was “looking at investing in another phosphate application off-shore,” Castle could say nothing more about the new prospect without “giving the game away.”

“We announced a little while ago that we intended to look at acquiring other phosphate assets both on-shore and off-shore, so we’d have product supply without having to wait for our own mine [to get started].”

CRP was also working with a couple of other companies about working with them in the phosphate market.

“We actually have to market stuff anyway, but again I can’t really say much about it, though we’re actually walking the walk instead of just talking about something.”

Castle said a decision would have to be made in the first quarter of next year as to whether or not CRP would take another tilt at getting the Chatham scheme off the ground by way of the EPA. “It depends on various other things happening before then, including a change in the rules.

“I can’t really say much about it, though we’re actually walking the walk instead of just talking about something.”

the powers that be in Wellington shut down until early February anyway.”

He said that TTR was still awaiting the outcome of its West Coast prospecting permit application, but was disappointed it had been unable to locate the data assembled by two earlier prospectors of the West Coast’s heavy minerals sands, Rio Tinto and Seafield Resources, who explored in-shore between Ross and Karamea towards the end of last century.

“We were hoping there’d be a shedful of samples somewhere,” Eggers said, but the company had been unable to locate any.

Geo-physical and other reported data had been accessed but the physical samples appeared to have been destroyed.

“Also, we want to see what TTR does,” Castle said.

CRP’s recent hunt for capital from farmers generated “some interest, but not as much as I’d hoped, probably because it was beautifully timed with the downturn in dairy prices.”

Meanwhile, TTR’s second ironsands application is in the advanced stages of preparation.

However TTR executive chairman Alan Eggers told Mining NZ the actual lodgement will probably not take place until February, rather than before Christmas as he had previously suggested.

Eggers said the reason for the delay was largely administrative.

“We won’t get a consent granted any sooner if we get it in in late November-December, because

Sales help deal with slump

Sealing seems fate for Huntly

“The company is

Hugh de Lacy Sales and production ahead of guidance, and a significant reduction in net debt have helped collier Bathurst Resources adjust to the slump in the global coal market, and to new leadership in the wake of the departure of former chief executive Hamish Bohannan.

Bohannan, who had successfully guided the Australian-based company through the resource consent minefield for its Escarpment coking coal enterprise on the West coast of the South Island, resigned from Bathurst earlier this year.

Richard Tacon succeeded Bohannan as Bathurst chief executive, and the company simultaneously launched an efficiency drive that included the disestablishment of several executive positions, including that of chief financial officer, Tacon’s previous position at the company.

The result, as shown in the company’s quarterly activities report to the end of September this year, is a $3.03m improvement in the operating cash performance as compared with the same period last year, while net debt fell to zero from $4.7m after asset rationalisations under the company’s revised growth strategy.

continuing to operate its domestic thermal coal operation profitably.”

Richard Tacon

Administration overheads for the September quarter fell 16 percent compared to the June quarter, and 48% from the same period last year.

The company is continuing to operate its domestic thermal coal operation profitably, having built its resources base by acquiring a

new 658 hectare mining area near its existing Nightcaps mine in Southland.

Spare cash is being channelled into the hard coking coal Escarpment mine on West Coast in anticipation of an eventual rise in global coking coal prices, though there’s little sign of a recovery yet earlier in the year.

Globally, coal pices remain soft: hard coking coal spot prices FOB out of Australia were being quoted at about $78/ tonne in early October, with the market hoping for upward pressure from Chinese end-users bolstering low stocks.

Bathurst produced nearly 112,000t of coal in the September quarter this year, including 17,000t from the Escarpment which was sold to domestic users.

• Tacon optimistic - page 11

Sealing and flooding looks to be the fate of struggling state-owned Solid Energy’s Huntly East underground coalmine in the Waikato, as directors abandon hope of either returning it to profit or finding a buyer.

The early October decision to close the mine, dependent now only on workforce feedback, was made in the wake of Solid Energy going into voluntary administration, and holding a creditors’ meeting last month that decided to sell the company’s assets over the next two and a half years.

The Solid Energy board undertook a major restructuring at Huntly East two years ago, but its fortunes continued to fade following the crash in global coal prices, and it has lately been costing around $500,000 a month to keep going.

Since the restructure, the mine has been producing at the rate of 100,000 tonnes a year, well down on the peak production of 465,000t/yr it reached in 2003-2004.

It currently employs a staff of 68, but this was to be reduced progressively to three doing safetycritical underground work from the October 8 date of the announcement.

Coal has been mined underground in the Huntly area for nearly 140 years, with Huntly East starting production in 1978.

SUPPLYING SAFETY SOLUTIONS TO THE MINING INDUSTRY iNDUSTRY FOR 20 YEARS T54 HI-VIS KNEE PAD TROUSERS

SH67R WESTPEAK 100% Cotton D/N Reflective Shirts

• Orange/Navy • Yellow/Navy • Digger Drivers • Concrete Placers • Truck Drivers • Labourers Plus many other applications

• 190gsm Fabric, all tape double stitched for longer wear, Full buttons.

Compliant to AS/NZS 4602.1.2001 for day/night use

T56H Westpeak Maxi-Stride Hi-vis Trousers With Cordura

PRODUCT CATALOGUE NO.13

• Full gusted crutch and knee for extreme movement, makes it the safest trouser for climbing on and off machinery and climbing ladders e.t.c

1 YEAR GUARANTEE*

Phone for a copy of our 180 page catalogue.

Check out our website: www.westlandworkgear.co.nz Free phone 0508 967 543 sales@westlandworkgear.co.nz Spring 2015 » Mining NZ 5

News »

Booming niche market Karen Phelps With only one other supplier of ethically sourced silver as competition worldwide and no other company currently supplying ethically sourced gold, Baz Howie, from Waihihi Bullion Company, has big plans for a new venture, which will see ethically produced precious metals from Newmont Waihi Gold’s mine available to growing niche markets.

“Ethically sourced gold and silver is a growing request for the jewellery industry from its clients and I expect in the near future it will become as popular as requesting ethically sourced diamonds,” predicts Howie.

His belief in the market can be seen in Howie’s dedication over many years to develop a path of traceability for gold and silver mined by Newmont Waihi Gold. All gold and silver bullion produced from Newmont’s gold mines in Waihi is shipped to the Perth Mint as dore bars for refining as it’s not possible to refine the gold and silver produced in Waihi to the required purity in New Zealand.

Previously it wasn’t possible to separate Waihi’s gold or silver at the Perth Mint from batches produced by other miners. Howie worked closely with the Perth Mint, which is part of the Conflict Free Smelter Programme, so precious metal produced from Waihi could be separated as anode bars before it is mixed with other product.

Once refined, it is now shipped back to Waihi as one ounce gold and 10 ounce silver ingots and Newmont Waihi Gold provides Waihihi Bullion Company with information about the shipment number once the ingots are back in Waihi.

The Waihihi Bullion Company can then provide consumers with information about when the gold or silver was poured and where it came from providing a clear path of traceability right down to the tunnel where the metal was mined.

Newmont Waihi Gold external affairs coordinator Kit Wilson says that gold and silver production at Waihi meets the international criteria for ethical gold production.

“This includes labour laws, cultural training, closure plans, and community engagement. This means that if a consumer purchases a Waihi gold or silver ingot from the Waihihi Bullion Company or the Gold Discovery Centre, or a piece of jewellery from an accredited manufacturing jeweller who is using Waihi’s gold and silver, they know exactly where

Hugh de Lacy

Gold and silver production at Waihi meets the international criteria for ethical gold production. it came from. They will know that it wasn’t mined using questionable techniques, using child labour or destructive environmental practices or in a conflict zone,” says Wilson.

Both one ounce gold and 10 ounce silver ingots are available for purchase from Waihihi Bullion Company on pre-order or over the counter at the Waihi Gold Discovery Centre.

Gold and silver is delivered in small increments to address any security issues around delivering or storing the ingots and only very small amounts of gold and silver are kept in Waihi.

Howie, who has a 20-year background in finance, says his primary market at present is the souvenir industry and that customers have been enthusiastic about purchasing precious metals they know originated in the local area.

Sales to New Zealand-based jewellers are also increasing but Howie sees export potential and is presently making contacts with jewellers internationally. He also plans to target the military medals and bullion backing investment markets.

Howie says that investment in physical bullion is

“Ethically sourced gold and silver is a growing request for the jewellery industry from its clients.” a market trend: “Markets internationally, particularly China, are buying up gold big time at the moment.

There is a supply and demand issue so the partnership with Newmont Waihi Gold will give Waihihi Bullion Company consistency of supply and this was one of the other main drivers for establishing the partnership.

“As our business grows so will our access to increased supply. This will give us a real competitive advantage in the marketplace.”

Chinese keen to up New Talisman stake Hugh de Lacy Chinese interests appear keen to build on their 20 percent stake in dual-listed New Talisman Gold (NTG), though the company doesn’t want to surrender to a full takeover, chief executive Matthew Hill says.

NTG is awaiting the acceptance of a traffic management plan by the Hauraki District Council so it can begin mining its historic prospect in the Karangahake Gorge, near Waihi.

Uncertainty proves beneficial

“We’ve had some interesting discussions with the Chinese and they’re of a view that they want to do a bigger deal,” Hill told Mining NZ. “They’ve already signed an agreement to pick up 20% of the stock at 0.8 cents a share, which at the time was a 20% discount on the market price, the maximum you’re allowed under the placement provisions.”

That deal was done with Chinese principal Yang Xia working through an Australian listed company, Vetilot, that is part of the Australasian Food Group, which he bought for $1.6m.

NTG is awaiting a further proposal from Xia,

“but if the question is will we let go of where we are at the moment, the answer is no,” Hill said.

The company is selling up some of its 17 million shares in Australian-listed Broken Hill Prospecting, and letting other non-core assets go, to help fund the $1 million start-up cost at the New Talisman mine.

NTG and joint venture partner Newcrest Mining are also awaiting a New Zealand Petroleum and Minerals decision on their application to extend the New Talisman mine to the adjacent and contiguous Rahu prospect, Hill said.

Continuing uncertainty over when the United States Federal Reserve Bank will start raising interest rates has pushed the gold price up 5 percent in the past month, coinciding nicely with New Zealand-listed OceanaGold Corporation’s recent purchase of a controlling stake in a Canadian company it hopes will help make it the world’s lowest-cost goldproducer.

With the Federal Reserve looking as if it will hold off on its first rate hike in nearly 10 years until early in the New Year, market sentiment appears to be changing in favour of commodities.

Gold was trading at just under $US1160 an ounce ($NZ1830/oz) in mid-October, the highest it had been for two months.

This would seem to endorse Oceana’s decision earlier in the year to pay a 73% premium on the then sharemarket price for Canada’s Romarco Minerals, whose shares were trading for less than C40c at the time but have since jumped 32% to C52c.

Oceana paid C68c a share to give it 51% of the Toronto-based company’s Haile gold mine in the United States state of South Carolina, not long after buying Newmont Gold’s historic Martha Pit in New Zealand’s Hauraki District for $NZ101m.

The Martha Pit has produced around 7.8 million ounces in the nearly 150 years it has been worked.

Romarco’s Haile mine is a high-grade open pit that is still under construction, but Oceana touted the purchase as contributing to its goal of becoming the world’s lowest-cost producer.

The keys to this it cited as the long reserve life of its New Zealand, Filipino and South Carolina mines, which it described as “high quality assets that generate significant free cash-flow and a solid pipeline of organic growth possibilities.”

At an all-in cost of less than $US600/oz ($NZ948/oz), Oceana expects to be producing around 540,000oz a year by 2017, three-quarters of it coming from New Zealand and the US, and the rest from the Phillippines.

The investments have come at relatively small cost to the company’s share price which, at around $2.70 on the New Zealand exchange this month, shows a decline of about 8.1% over the past 12 months.

A more significant impact on the company’s share price was the announcement of a sharp drop in profit, to $US23.5m ($NZ37.1m), for the six months to the end of June this year, compared to $US56.8m ($NZ89.7m) for the same period in 2014.

This was the result of revenue slipping over that period from $US63.6m ($NZ100.4m) to $US43.8m ($NZ69.2m).

The upward nudge to the global gold price came after the Federal Reserve released minutes suggesting that the US will be stuck in its current annual low growth phase of 1.7% through until 2020. This compares with average growth over the past 50 years of 3.1%.

EXCEPTIONAL LIFETIME VALUE FOR YOUR MINING OPERATION

Parts: 0800 93 39 39

6 Mining NZ » Spring 2015

Service: 0800 CAT HELP

www.goughcat.co.nz

mining.cat@goughcat.co.nz

News »

Optimism despite tough times Jo Bailey There were sparks of optimism amongst the negative outlook at this year’s AusIMM NZ Branch conference, says Rene Sterk, chairperson of the organising committee.

“Times are obviously still really tough with commodity prices low, people continuing to be laid off and very little new expenditure or investment in the industry.

“However, some speakers at the conference said it is not all bad news, citing OceanaGold’s great progress and Newcrest’s big ideas and plans for New Zealand.”

More than 250 delegates attended the event, which was held in Dunedin for the first time in more than 10 years.

“Numbers were a little down on last year, but considering the state of the industry it was a pretty decent turnout,” says Sterk.

With such a variety of speakers and sessions, he says it is difficult to pick a highlight.

However, the sessions with Tony Haworth, director of Campbell MacPherson, and Alan Broome, chairman emeritus of Austmine and also chairman of CRL, who provided overviews of the state of the New Zealand and Australian mining sectors, generated a lot of interesting debate.

Tony Haworth said the commodities downturn was in its fifth year and there was no sign of recovery yet. Equity funding for the sector had plunged, and New Zealand’s global ranking as a host mining country dropped from 19 places to 35th out of 100.

He said the attraction of investing in gold in New Zealand was one upside for the sector, given the availability of exploration ground, and data available from the government-funded aeromagnetic surveys.

Alan Broome told a similar story with regards the Australian sector, where $155 billion in projects has been postponed due to the downturn.

He said the sector needed to rethink the way it attracted capital, and employ smarter mining principles and the use of innovative technologies.

Rene Sterk

“It was great to hear their views about where the industries are at and where things are headed from a global perspective,” says Rene.

The conference was loosely themed around the topic New Standards, with many of the sessions covering the new regulations, codes and guidelines released over the last three years.

A highlight of the final day of the conference was the presentation titled Edge of Tomorrow: A time-travel tour of 2016-2020 Mineral Commodity Markets by Dr Allan Trench, an independent mining and metals professional and director of Emmerson Resources and Enterprise Metals in Perth.

The field trips and social events were also popular, particularly the conference dinner held at Larnach’s Castle, which was attended by 170 people, and the field trip to OceanaGold’s Macraes mine, which was sold out.

Although times are tough, Rene says that it is important people right across the mining sector attend events such as the AusIMM NZ conference, which is the largest industry event in New Zealand.

“It is where everyone from one-man bands, to large mining firms, consultants, and service company representatives can get a barometer of what’s going on in the industry.

Survey reveals grim findings AusIMM’s annual professional employment survey returned some fairly grim statistics for the Australian minerals industry.

The unemployment rate for Australian based AusIMM members is 16.2 percent, a rise from the 12.2% recorded in 2014, and a massive jump from just 1.7% in 2012.

Geoscientists were the first groups affected by the downturn, according to the survey, however minerals production roles including mining engineers, metallurgical engineers and geotechnical engineers have faced the largest year-on-year increase in unemployment.

Almost a quarter of Australia’s iron ore mining professionals who responded to the survey are currently unemployed, as are around 35% of new professionals (students who have entered the workforce in the last 12 months).

The purpose of the survey was to provide an insight into the current state of the minerals professional employment market, as well as the future outlook.

Over 80% of the 2,266 respondents do not expect the depressed state of the industry to improve over the next 12 months.

In a media release at the end of September, AusIMM said the surge in unemployment has seen the Australian mining industry lose highly skilled professionals as they pursue alternative work.

Australian universities have also noticed a significant reduction in the numbers of students enrolling in and completing professional qualifications related to the industry.

AusIMM is calling on the Australian government to ramp up support for skills development, research, innovation and productivity improvements to help ward off the skills shortage and maintain the country’s

-

Exploration programme management Geological mapping and 3D modelling Resource evaluation and certification Mine drainage consulting, research, sampling and testing - Gas content testing of coal

position in global markets. Just 2% of respondents to the AusIMM survey came from New Zealand, and it is difficult to compare the state of the local market with its Trans-Tasman cousin, says AusIMM New Zealand branch chairman, Rene Sterk.

“You cannot really compare the two, as the markets are several orders of magnitude different,” says Sterk.

“Because of the size of Australia it is obvious that more mines will be closed over there than in New Zealand. I wouldn’t say we’re faring better, just that the impact has been far less over here because of the size of the market.”

Australia also had hundreds of exploration projects put on hold when the downturn hit, which led to the significant decline in jobs for mining professionals, he says.

“There has been a similar impact in New Zealand, albeit on a smaller scale, with only limited opportunities for mining engineers, geoscientists and graduates in the current climate. Things probably won’t improve until exploration picks up again.”

Rene says the lift in optimism in the global markets during September and October has been encouraging, although whether this is a sustainable improvement in the near future is “still anyone’s guess”.

He says mining professionals and graduates are responding to the challenging employment market in different ways.

Although the Australian market has worse employment figures, it is still a far larger market, and therefore has more opportunities than in New Zealand for people who are prepared to “work hard and chase them”, he says.

Many analysts are predicting 2016 to be as painful as this year for the industry.

-

New Brisbane joint venture - CB3 Ltd Spontaneous combustion testing Combustion analysis and testing Gasification and carbonisation research Advanced nano-materials research and development Coal and minerals processing research

Whangarei

Pukekohe Waikato Otorohanga

Auckland

Taranaki

Whakatane Gisborne

Taupo

Hawkes Bay Palmerston North Wairarapa

Nelson Westport

Christchurch Temuka

Dunedin Invercargill

-

Coal and combustion testing Chemical analysis on fuels Water analysis - domestic to industrial Magnetic and density mineral separations X-ray diffraction and X-ray fluorescence (XRF & XRD) Acid base accounting and kinetic testing

Spring 2015 » Mining NZ 7

Gold » Industry News

Waihi purchase cements an ‘exciting’ six months “We now look forward

Karen Phelps OceanaGold Corporation has completed the acquisition of Waihi Gold Mine from Newmont Mining Corporation.

OceanaGold’s managing director and CEO, Mick Wilkes says that the company is excited to complete the purchase process adding Waihi Gold Mine to the company’s group of assets, which in New Zealand includes Macraes Goldfield and Reefton Gold Mine.

“We now look forward to fully integrating the Waihi operation and its experienced workforce into our business and unlocking significant value from this asset,” says Wilkes.

Wilkes has previously stated that the company has long believed that Waihi has strong strategic synergies with OceanaGold.

Other factors which the company has said influenced the decision to purchase the Waihi mining operations have included the fact that the proposed acquisition is accretive to shareholders, it grows OceanaGold Corporation’s production profile and it has synergies with OceanaGold Corporation’s existing operations in New Zealand, including the recent announcement of a mine life extension to the Frasers Underground Mine at Macraes.

The completion of the transaction follows the regulatory approval from New Zealand’s Overseas Investment Office.

Wilkes says that the company will now focus on developing collaborative relationships with local stakeholders as it seeks to build on

to fully integrating the Waihi operation and its experienced workforce into our business and unlocking significant value from this asset.”

Mick Wilkes

Newmont’s strong history of local engagement and community support.

In 2015, the company expects to produce and attribute 380,000 to 410,000 ounces of gold from its combined New Zealand and Phillipines operations.

The acquisition is part of OceanaGold’s announcement of a focus on developing a pipeline of organic growth and exploration opportunities in the Australasia and Americas regions.

Another recent acquisition is Haile Gold Mine in South Carolina, United States, through the acquisition of Romarco Minerals Inc. in September 2015. The Haile Gold Mine is a top-tier asset currently in construction and is expected to operate commercially early in 2017.

“The past six months have been an exciting time for OceanaGold,” says Wilkes.

“With the addition of the Haile and Waihi assets, we have further strengthened and transformed the company into a leading mid-tier gold producer with low-cost production growth, significant cash flow generation and a solid pipeline of organic growth opportunities.

“Over the next 12 months, we will advance comprehensive exploration programs across our portfolio to unlock value at each site while optimising our existing operations.”

Newmont announces expansion plans Newmont Mining Corporation has announced plans to expand its Tanami operations in Australia by building a second decline in the underground mine and additional plant capacity.

The expansion project is expected to add incremental gold production of approximately 80,000 ounces per year and decrease Tanami’s all-in sustaining costs by 5 to 10 percent in the first five years of production.

It will open access to two million ounces of profitable production and extend mine life by three years. The project will also create a platform for exploration drilling to support future growth. Recent exploration results

8 Mining NZ » Spring 2015

demonstrate the potential to double current reserves and resources by expanding existing Tanami deposits, and developing adjacent discoveries.

“Tanami is a Newmont success story.

Since 2012, the team has more than doubled gold production while cutting costs by about two-thirds and significantly improving resource confidence. The expansion project continues this trajectory, offering robust returns of more than 35 percent at current gold prices,” said Gary Goldberg, president and CEO. Building a second decline at Tanami will support a step change in mining rates,

which will ramp up to approximately 2.6 million tonnes per year. The processing plant expansion includes adding a ball mill, thickener and gravity circuit to improve recoveries and expand mill capacity from 2.3 to 2.6 million tonnes per year. When the expansion is complete, Tanami will produce between 425,000 and 475,000 ounces of gold per year at all-in sustaining costs of between $700 and $750 per ounce in the first five years of production.

Tanami is located 590 miles southwest of Darwin and 350 miles northwest of Alice Springs in Australia’s Northern Territory.

Newcrest hopes to drill by end of year Jo Bailey Gold miner Newcrest commenced target generation fieldwork at its Southern Coromandel gold project in the September 2015 quarter and expects to start drilling before the end of the year.

The project is being operated in a farm-in agreement with another Australian based mining and exploration company Laneway Resources, which owns 100 percent of two large exploration permits covering an area of 102km2 within the Hauraki Goldfield.

The project lies within a gold corridor that contains the historic Golden Cross and Karangahake deposits, and is in the same region as the Waihi mine.

The tenements were mined between 1860 and 1952 at depths of up to 140 metres.

Under the joint venture arrangement, Newcrest will fully fund exploration activities to earn 80% of the project. Laneway will remain as managers of the project during the farm-in period and earn a management fee.

The target generation fieldwork carried out by Newcrest in the September quarter was focused on defining potential drill targets within the north-east portion of the main vein corridor that now stands over 7km.

Drilling is now scheduled to commence within the December quarter.

CEO Sandeep Biswas said in a speech addressing Newcrest’s AGM in late October that the company has a strong history of exploration success, and its exploration team is actively looking to bring more potential targets and early entry opportunities to the company for consideration.

Newcrest expected to spend 60 to 70 million dollars on exploration in the coming year with some “exciting opportunities” that leverage the company’s existing operational footprints and technical strengths, Biswas said.

The search for high grade epithermal vein style mineralisation at the Southern Coromandel goldfields is one of the greenfields projects already targeted, along with a gold-copper porphyry related mineralisation at Mungana in Queensland which is to be explored in a similar farm-in deal with Mungana Goldmines.

Newcrest is the largest gold producer listed on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) where it has been listed since 1987.

The company is currently operating mines in Australia, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and the Ivory Coast, which produced 583,745 ounces of gold and 21,337 tonnes of copper in the September quarter.

Gold » Maruia Mining

Chance visit reaps golden rewards Jo Bailey A chance visit to a Central Otago museum has led to Alan Robert’s first gold mining venture outside the West Coast.

His company Maruia Mining has started exploration and mining at Waitahuna Gully, an area that hasn’t been mined for nearly 70 years.

“A good friend of mine is a university professor of geography and geology, whose family history includes some Norwegians who spent 46 years mining at Waitahuna Gully in the early 1900s. He planned to write a book about them and the area and was going to a museum down south to do some research. I said I’d go along for a look,” says Roberts.

He says after searching through the old records it quickly became obvious there was a “massive amount” of unworked ground at the site, which was last mined in 1948.

This was largely due to the difficulty the early miners had getting water up into the gully.

At its height in the early 1900s, Waitahuna Gully had a population of around 6000 and five hotels.

Protecting any historic pre-1900s house sites or land at the mine site is one of the conditions of Maruia Mining’s resource consent over 50ha of privately owned land, which was issued by Clutha District Council earlier this year.

Alan first saw the mine site in December 2014, and was back there to do some testing before the end of January.

“After about two-and-a-half months of testing we found a reasonable grade of gold and decided to give it a go.”

Further mining trials have been ongoing at the site and mining is only just getting underway in earnest, although there are some silt and water issues to sort, he says.

“There is a massive amount of gold bearing material. However, we’re having trouble getting an adequate water supply. We’re using mostly ground water at this stage.

“We’ve dug big ponds and are recirculating it.

It’s been all right through the winter but once we’re geared up to full production over summer we will struggle and may have to pipe water from quite some distance.”

The company is mining an ancient riverbed that Roberts says could be over 40 million years old.

“It is full of rotten sand, or basically silt, which is different to what we’re used to mining. It’s a bit of a learning exercise.”

Although the gold is low grade, the site is relatively easy to work, as there is no overburden, or stripping of big stones like on the West Coast, where Maruia has operated other alluvial mines.

“It’s just a matter of volume. We will have to process around 5000 to 6000 cubic metres of material a week to make reasonable money out of the mine, and can only do that with reliable water.”

Roberts believes the ancient riverbed started at Beaumont, and went up Munro Gully, through Gabriel’s Gully and on to Wetherstons, with the gold-rich conglomerate (solidified riverbed gravel) disappearing and reappearing several times before popping up again at Waitahuna Gully.

Maruia Mining has started exploration and mining at Waitahuna Gully, an area that hasn’t been mined for nearly 70 years.

“The riverbed probably goes out to sea at Kaitangata, although this is not proven,” he says.

Maruia Mining will prospect all the “missing bits” where the riverbed has been pushed up, eroded or skewed off sideways.

“It is our intention to try and link up the gaps whether they have been washed out or faulted off.

We also have Waitahuna township, Foursight and part of Wetherstons in our license, so there is the potential to do lots more drilling and testing.”

Maruia Mining is operating a six-foot screen at the mine, which is being continually improved and adapted for the conditions.

“It’s a bit of a challenge recovering the very fine gold from the silt but we’re winning.”

The company also has a 40 tonne and 50 tonne digger on site, with a 30 tonne digger soon to be added to the fleet and dedicated to prospecting work.

“We don’t know if we’re in the best area to mine until we do a lot more test work but are already thinking about a second screen depending on water availability.”

Alan says there will be negligible environmental impacts from the mine.

“We are very environmentally conscious, with all water recycled through the operation. Once mined, the land will be restored block by block into forestry.”

“We will have to process around 5000 to 6000 cubic metres of material a week to make reasonable money out of the mine, and can only do that with reliable water.”

A fourth generation miner, Alan was born in Hokitika and moved to Christchurch in the 1960s, where he has been involved in numerous business ventures, predominantly property and farming related.

He has always kept up with his mining heritage, and until 18 months ago was mining at Maruia, just north of Springs Junction, and still holds a joint

venture licence with OceanaGold at the Waiuta Mine near Reefton, where he has been exploring for 25 years.

“Waitahuna Gully is my first mining venture off the West Coast. My son is also involved and I travel down with him every week for a couple of nights.

There is a bit of work to do but we’re excited by the potential of the mine.”

BR Satherley Transport Ltd BASED IN NORTH ISLAND, SOUTH ISLAND, WEST COAST AND CHRISTCHURCH • Cartage loads up to 75 tonnes • Specialise in mining projects • Door to door service “No job too big or small”

15 Hamilton Place, Onekawa Napier

Phone: 0274 335 799 | Fax: 06 833 7418 | office@satherleytransport.co.nz Spring 2015 » Mining NZ 9

Coal » Bathurst Resources

New life looming for Bathurst “We’re running at a

Hugh de Lacy

Richard Tacon: ”We’ve got more cash in the bank than we’ve got debt at the present time.”

• • • • •

Tack another $US15 a tonne ($NZ22/t) onto the global price, and Bathurst Resources will be back in the business it is best resourced for: exporting the West Coast’s hard coking coals to the steelmakers of the world.

And in the meantime what used to be the second biggest coking collier in New Zealand, but which stopped exporting when the price dropped to below $US50/t ($NZ74/t), has begun eking out a profit supplying the New Zealand domestic market with thermal coal – and a bit of the hard stuff.

“We’re running at a profit, and that’s been the big turnaround this quarter just gone,” newly appointed chief executive Richard Tacon told Mining NZ. Bathurst stands alone in New Zealand as a potential large-scale exporter of coking coal after the same global price slump killed off the overindebted state-owned collier Solid Energy.

For a while Bathurst was, like Solid Energy, haemorrhaging cash, but under former chief executive Hamish Bohannan, and now Tacon, it has rapidly and successfully restructured to focus on domestic supply while slashing debt and operating costs. It now has no debt apart from that on the equipment it bought to take over from the contractor at its Takitimu thermal coal mine in Southland.

profit, and that’s been the big turnaround this quarter just gone.”

“We’ve got about $2.5 million of bank debt on our equipment and some leases and stuff like that, but we’ve got more cash in the bank than we’ve got debt at the present time,” Tacon said.

Through all of the restructuring Bathurst has contrived to continue its development of the Escarpment coking coal mine on the West Coast’s Denniston Plateau that it took four years to drive through the resource consenting process in the face of trenchant environmentalist opposition.

While Solid Energy, which owned an even larger consented resource than Bathurst does now, is being sold off bit by bit, Bathurst is poised to launch into full-scale export production as soon as the price comes right. “[The price] is bouncing along now at $78 $76 a tonne, but I don’t think it’s got to $75 yet – we’re looking at a 15-year low,” Tacon said.

“We probably need about $US90/t price [to get the Escarpment exporting], and a favourable [New Zealand] dollar down around $US0.65c, and it was as low as US0.63c a few weeks ago,” he said.

R/C High pressure Coalbed methane Geothermal Diamond core Horizontal drainage

Magnum Water Trucks and Tanks 2000 litres – 150 000 litres Water Cannons – Manual and Remote Controlled Spray Valves – 565 – 1350 litres per minute Cabin Switching Components Pump Stations, Hose Reels etc

From component supply to full design and build service. Magnum are the industry standard in all aspects of Dust Control, Fire Fighting, Automated Washdown Systems and Haul Road Maintenance Available in New Zealand through....

Southern Parts & Machinery Ltd

0800 66 66 56 Dave Tennent 21 Donald Street Kaikorai Valley, Dunedin Ph (03) 488 1889 Fax (03) 488 2374 Email dave@southernparts.co.nz

®

DO OUR READERS KNOW YOU EXIST? Put yourself in front of potential clients.

Phone: 03 983 5500 Fax: 03 983 5552

www.waterfordpress.co.nz 10 Mining NZ » Spring 2015

AVAILABLE TO SUPPLY

3 x Diamond Rigs • 3 x R/C Rigs • 4 x 8x8 Trucks 4 x Boosters • 8 x Auxiliary compressors • Digital cameras

Phone 0800 160 100 www.washingtons.co.nz

email: admin@washingtons.co.nz

Coal » Bathurst Resources

Bathurst is poised to launch into full-scale export production as soon as the price comes right.

As well as repatriating the contractor’s margin by taking over the 250,000t/year Takitimu operation itself, Bathurst is using its experience there to fine-tune the embryonic but potentially money-spinning Escarpment operation.

It has a dozen people employed on the Escarpment development, which is incidentally

yielding about 5000t of hard coal a month, most of which is sold to the Holcim cement plant near Westport.

Holcim will be closing next year and shifting its operations to the other side of the island, but in the meantime the development of the Escarpment is paying for itself.

Fire protection crucial for expensive mine equipment Protecting mining equipment from fire could save companies millions of dollars, says Steve Benseman from Fire Suppression Systems.

“If companies have a complete burn-out of one of their key pieces of equipment, it could be out of action for up to a year which would cost them an awful lot of money.”

Benseman says the lead time to replace highly specialised mining and construction equipment is currently around 50 weeks from when an order is placed to when it arrives in New Zealand.

“That’s why it is imperative companies protect their existing machinery as the combination of large amounts of fuel, hydraulic oil, extremely hot surfaces and electrical components create an operating environment with an inherently high fire risk.”

Benseman has 13 years experience in advising, installing and maintaining fire suppression systems at New Zealand mine sites.

He says it is important companies deal with a specialist such as Fire Suppression Systems to ensure their systems meet the testing and certified standards required of the industry.

“Some of our competitors dabble in fire suppression work outside their core business, but I believe we’re the only company in New Zealand to focus solely on mobile equipment fire suppression.”

Fire Suppression Systems offers a full range of systems for the mining, construction, drilling, forestry and mobile equipment industries.

Benseman is based in Auckland and employs three mobile technicians who operate from other parts of the country.

Between them they visit clients’ often remote sites in fully set-up vehicles that enable them to provide complete equipment install, maintenance and servicing on-site.

“We pride ourselves

On the domestic front, things are going a little better than anticipated with the Takitimu thermal mine, thanks in part to an earlier than usual resumption of seasonal demand from the South Island dairy processing industry.

“We’ve halved the cost of production over the last 12 months; we took over from the contractor

– that was a really good swap-over; we’ve selected equipment that we believe gives us a lower cost of production, and we’ve continued to drive that,” Tacon said.

The abysmal coking coal price notwithstanding, Bathurst Resources is clearly not going to go the way of Solid Energy.

A full range of fire suppression systems for the following surface and underground applications:

• Mining / Resource Industries • Construction • Drilling • Forestry • Mobile Equipment

on delivering reliable, proven products that give our customers peace of mind ....”

The expert team can also provide clients with advice on preventative measures and maintenance practices they can undertake to further reduce fire risk.

Benseman is the New Zealand agent for foam fire suppression system Sandvik NFP 1000. Around 18,000 Sandvik systems are now being used worldwide, he says.

The system is fully compliant with the new Australian standard AS5062.

A key feature is that it is completely selfcontained so even if there is no electricity or person to operate the system it will still activate in the event of an emergency.

Benseman says Fire Suppression Systems recently installed fire suppression systems to 115 machines for the Downer/Solid Energy Stockton Alliance on the West Coast, its biggest single install to date.

“We continue to look after every other major mine in the country.

“We pride ourselves on delivering reliable, proven products that give our customers peace of mind that their equipment and staff will be protected should a fire incident occur.”

Fire Suppression Systems P.O. Box 334081 Sunnynook, Auckland Steve Benseman Ph: 021 918 900, E-mail: sbenseman@clear.net.nz

Spring 2015 » Mining NZ 11

Industry Focus »

A passion for industry training West Coast mining industry identity Peter O’Sullivan has taken on the challenge of a new role.

He talks to Jo Bailey.

A

fter six years managing Minerals West Coast, Peter O’Sullivan is enjoying his new role as national manager for Minerals, Energy and Infrastructure training at Tai Poutini Polytechnic in Greymouth.

“The opportunity to lead the development of the New Zealand School of Minerals, Energy and Infrastructure, creating a Centre of Excellence for learnings that support the mining, minerals and infrastructure sectors in Australasia, has motivated me to return to the polytechnic. I knew this would be a challenge and it’s one I am enjoying so far.”

The new division has grown out of the School of Mines concept, which has been adapted since commodity prices dropped worldwide and the New Zealand minerals industry adjusted to the challenging economic times.

“The original concept was based purely around the mining industry. However we have now applied the same thinking to the wider New Zealand minerals industry encompassing the quarrying and civil construction sectors. This is what led to the name change.”

Peter is also responsible for the Polytechnic’s various digger and drilling schools located around the country.

“We have fully equipped and resourced Digger School campuses in Auckland, Hamilton, Invercargill and on the West Coast. We use the Digger Schools to recruit people new to the industry and teach them how to operate heavy plant and equipment as well as a range of small plant and equipment, preparing them to enter either the minerals or civil construction industry with a good package of basic skills.”

Peter says the Polytechnic intends to further develop the range of training programmes available from its Digger Schools so that it is better able to serve the needs of the wider minerals and infrastructure industry.

“Each of these schools is to be developed into a Centre of Excellence in its own right.”

The bulk of his team’s current workload is in providing training for quarry managers and managers of surface mining operations requiring their A and B Grade qualifications.

“There is a lot of pressure around the sheer number of people trying to get their competency certificates renewed or in place to meet WorkSafe requirements. It’s taking a lot of our resources to keep up with that.”

Part of this work is in reviewing current training materials to ensure they align with WorkSafe’s

Peter O’Sullivan - enjoying the challenge of his new role at Tai Poutini Polytechnic.

“There is a lot of pressure around the sheer number of people trying to get their competency certificates renewed or in place to meet WorkSafe requirements.” new Good Practice Guide for Surface Mines and Quarries, which Peter says is a “fantastic guiding document”.

“In my eyes the planets are aligning quite well to lift the relevance and value of training.

“As we move our focus from the gaining of unit standards to the training of people to be competent, safe, able quarry and mine site managers, who have also achieved the required unit standards, companies should see even greater direct benefit from staff attend these training programmes.”

Peter’s own entry into the minerals sector was not especially straightforward.

He grew up in Reefton in a mining community, after his family moved to the area when he was three months old.

“I like to think of myself as a West Coaster but it’s amazing how many people over here know I was born in Darfield and so am not a true Coaster.”

He remembers working in a couple of mines during the school holidays, in the days when health and safety requirements were a little different.

“If we had sports billets or visitors staying we would often ring the mine manager of an underground coal mine up the night before and ask where they would be working in the mine. The next day we would kit ourselves out in helmets and lights at the bath house, and head into the mine to see the mining operation.

There has definitely been some much-needed changes since then.”

It was building, rather than mining, that Peter chose as his career after school.

He set up his own business then later joined Tai Poutini Polytechnic to establish and run its trade training division.

This department quickly expanded to include training for the extractive industries, he says.

“In 1995 I started working with Tom Reece and Exito, managing the minerals industry training for Tai Poutini, which involved developing and organising training packages that met the requirements of the sector.”

After 20 years with the Polytechnic, Peter

decided to take up the opportunity to lead Minerals West Coast, with the objective of assisting local mining and minerals operations to reach their potential and lead the West Coast economy.

Some of his tasks included helping to develop new regulations and standards; assisting companies to come to grips with the requirements of new legislation; and advocating for the needs of smaller mining companies.

“It was a really interesting, challenging and rewarding role that gave me a much better understanding of just how difficult it can be to run a small mining or minerals operation.

“It’s not easy for them to keep their heads above water whilst meeting their various external compliance requirements.”

He expects the understanding he gained at Minerals West Coast to lead to improved training that better meets companies’ needs.

“If we can get things right for the small companies, it usually translates well to the larger ones.”

His goal is to continue to develop Minerals, Energy and Infrastructure training that links in with professional programmes available at universities in New Zealand and Australia.

“Ultimately, we’d love to provide pathways for young New Zealanders to end up as fully certified mining professionals in the fields of Engineering, Health and Safety, Geology and Exploration.”

NATIONAL CERTIFICATE IN EXTRACTIVE INDUSTRIES A Grade Quarry Manager B Grade Quarry Manager

0800 TPP INFO WWW.TPP.AC.NZ

APPLY NOW 12 Mining NZ » Spring 2015

Unearth your potential Are you passionate about learning, and want to advance your career by completing a national qualification? If you work in the automotive, extractive, transport, logistics or industrial textile fabrication industry, you could be eligible to apply for a 2016 MITO scholarship.

With up to 48 scholarships available, across five categories, totalling up to $50,000 in value, there are numerous opportunities available for you to explore. Previous recipients used their scholarships to help fund apprenticeships, graduate business diplomas, advanced technical programmes and management courses.

The scholarship categories for 2016 are: • Kick Start: Have you been working full time in the automotive, extractive, transport, logistics or industrial textile fabrication industry for less than 12 months? Then Kick Start your career with a MITO scholarship! Twenty scholarships are available, paying up to $1,000 towards the first year of your study for any MITO apprenticeship or traineeship programme at Level 4 or above.

• Graduate: Have you completed a national qualification at Level 4 or above through MITO, Tranzqual or EXITO and would like to continue your studies while you’re working? This scholarship contributes up to $2,000 towards any programme of study

related to the industry (either through MITO or another course provider, including universities). There are two scholarships available.

• Business Skills: Are you a current or aspiring manager or supervisor in one of MITO’s industries? Then apply for one of twenty Business Skills scholarships available. This scholarship will pay for the programme fee for the National Certificate in Business (First Line Management) (Level 4), valued at up to $1,000.

• Clyde Cunningham QSM Memorial: Are you a MITO automotive graduate in the Hawke’s Bay region? This scholarship honours a long-standing MITO employee and will pay for the first year of fees, up to $1,000, for either MITO’s Advanced Technical (ATech®) programme or the National Certificate in Business (First Line Management) (Level 4).

• Drilling: Are you employed full time in the drilling industry and keen to progress your career with a MITO qualification?

There are five scholarships available that will provide up to $1,000 towards the first year fees for MITO’s New Zealand Certificate in Drilling (Level 3).

Visit mito.org.nz/scholarships for criteria and application forms.

Applications close 18 December 2015.

Industry Focus » Macraes Mine

Bernie - looking back with pride OceanaGold’s new Waihi manager Bernie O’Leary has fond memories of his time at the helm of the company’s Macraes Mine. He talks to Jo Bailey.

A

fter six years as general manager of OceanaGold’s Macraes operation, Bernie O’Leary has moved north to take over the reins at the firm’s newly acquired Waihi mine.

“It was sad to leave Macraes as I’ve spent about half of my working life at the mine. But it’s also invigorating to be working in a different area, with different people, in a mine with different issues.”

Bernie joined the Waihi team in late October and says it probably won’t sink in that he has left Macraes until he heads south to attend the mine’s 25th anniversary celebrations later this month.

His involvement with the Otago mine goes back to 1990 when it was first constructed and commissioned.

“It was special to have been there at the start.

The virgin site had very steep gullies and quite challenging land to work in for construction purposes.

“We had to build the processing plant, start the ore mining, construct four dams and realign a public road running through the middle of the site.”

The construction team only had six months to complete the works before commissioning but managed to “wade through it and meet the targets”, says Bernie.

“The first open pit we mined at the site was Round Hill. It was an exciting project with plenty of challenges but rewarding at the same time.”

By the time Bernie left the mine in 1999 to pursue opportunities overseas, he had progressed to the role of mining manager looking after open pit mining at the site.

A decade later he returned to take up the general manager’s position and says he has witnessed some big changes at the operation over the years.

“The difference in the size and scale of the mine from the early days is pretty staggering.

“There has also been lots of changes in personnel within the company and we’ve seen the next generation of farmers take over from their parents on the land neighbouring the mine.”

New technologies are now the biggest drivers of change at the operation, he says.

“Technology has advanced in so many areas.

We now use GPS for equipment tracking, remote controlled loaders in the underground mine, and so much capacity and complexity has been added to the processing plant, which enabled us to recover more gold.

“The difference in the size and scale of the mine from the early days is pretty staggering.”

“Attitudes and practices when it comes to health and safety have also moved on in leaps and bounds over the last 25 years.”

Bernie says one of the most heartening aspects of his long career at Macraes was watching people develop.

“I remember mining manager Mike Dodd starting as a sampler on a drill rig 24 years ago.

“To see others like Mike grow and to help them progress along the way has been special.

“It’s people who have made the business a success and have turned the mine into the long project it has become.”

One thing that hasn’t changed at Macraes in 25 years is the challenging nature of the mine, with its reasonably low-grade gold deposit making extraction more difficult, he says.

“The mine tends to challenge the team every year with something different. However this makes for a dynamic workplace that breeds a culture of innovation. The old axiom about necessity being the mother of invention is definitely true for Macraes.”

He says the mine’s management and staff have learned to get the best out of the mine over the years through good teamwork.

“It is so much easier when everybody is dialed into overcoming challenges and looking for improvements.”

Encouraging a similar team culture at Waihi is one of Bernie’s goals as the operation’s new general manager.

“I only knew a handful of people at Waihi when I moved here so I’m excited to get to know the rest of the team and lead the mine into the next stage of its development.”

On October 30, OceanaGold announced it had completed the acquisition of the Waihi mine.

This has led to further reshuffling within the company’s management ranks.

Dale Oram the current general manager at OceanaGold’s Globe Progress mine at Reefton is taking over as the new general manager at Macraes.

Bernie O’Leary: “It’s people who have made the business a success and have turned the mine into the long project it has become.”

He will continue to oversee the Reefton operation’s transition into care and maintenance, and is expected to take over from Macraes acting general manager Quenton Johnston in December.

David Bickerton, who led the professional team that carried out the preparatory work ensuring the smooth transition of the Waihi mine

Difficult terrain; the virgin Macraes site had steep gullies and “quite challenging land” to work in for construction purposes.

14 Mining NZ » Spring 2015

into OceanaGold ownership has taken up the position of vice president project executive at the company’s Haile Project Development in South Carolina, US. An anniversary dinner is being held on 28 November to celebrate 25 years of operation at the Macraes Mine.

Industry Focus » Macraes Mine

OceanaGold’s Macraes Mine: “The mine tends to challenge the team every year with something different.”

Spring 2015 » Mining NZ 15

Comment »

RMA planning raising concerns RMA planning processes playing out around New Zealand reveal a worrying anti-business trend, writes Bernie Napp, policy manager, Straterra.

At a climate change conference last month, Auckland Deputy Mayor Penny Hulse announced the commitment of New Zealand’s 10 largest cities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

These Mayors have decided that Central Government is not doing enough on the climate change issue, so they are going to take the lead themselves. This is wrong.

Otago Regional Council, for example, is proposing in the review of its Regional Policy Statement “to reduce long term demand for fossil fuels”.

There is nothing in the Resource Management Act 1991 that provides for a council to do that, and for very good reasons.

Greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels, and any other source, are already addressed under the Climate Change Response Act 2002. Does the council want businesses to comply with two sets of regulation over the same issue?

Secondly, the underlying philosophy of the RMA is the efficient and effective use of resources, and to enable markets, within appropriate constraints, to determine what that is.

If that were not the case, councils could decide, for example, that farming is always the best use of rural land. In fact, that is what the ORC and Queenstown Lakes District Council are proposing to enshrine in plans.

Straterra is submitting on these and many other matters being raised in RMA planning processes around the country.

We are having to explain to councils - not on the West Coast, of course - that mining is the highest value use of land, is a temporary use of land, and can only be done where economic mineral deposits occur. We do not know in advance where all of the mines of the future are going to be, and we do not need to know that information now.

Continuing with our key messages, mining occupies a relatively small footprint, and environmental management is increasingly standardised best-practice.

Mining is a good job to have, spanning a wide range of career choices, and the stuff we produce is essential to modern society.

On the topic of heritage, most mining today is done where mining was done in the past. The irony is that today we manage the environmental effects, while the leavings of the old-timers are now heritage.

In the proposed Otago RPS and the proposed Queenstown Lakes District Plan, heritage is to be

Heritage values: most mining today is done where mining was done in the past. protected from all economic development.

That is at odds with the Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga Act 2014, which provides for companies to apply for authorities to modify or destroy heritage.

A similar protectionist approach is taken for areas that are deemed to be outstanding natural landscapes, areas of significant native species, and wetlands and other outstanding water bodies.

This goes to the 2014 Supreme Court decision on King Salmon’s proposal to farm salmon at nine sites in the Marlborough Sounds.

The court decided that if a plan or policy statement says that effects must be “avoided” at particular places, then there can be no effects.

In some of these RMA planning processes, biodiversity offsets are provided for as a way of developers achieving “no net loss” to biodiversity.

Unfortunately, New Zealand does not have a workable framework for biodiversity offsets, and even if we did, this tool would not always be appropriate for managing the adverse effects of development on biodiversity, either on costeffectiveness or practicality grounds.

“There is little understanding of mining, except in those parts of the country where mining is a big part of the community and the economy.”

QLDC handles this issue well by providing for “compensatory measures”, which allows for flexibility of approach, in contrast to the ORC, Christchurch City or South Taranaki District Councils.

We are detecting a common theme emerging from these planning processes, which is that councils do not always understand legislation other than the RMA, and have not properly thought through the consequences of protecting all matters of national importance, in light of the King Salmon decision.

There is little understanding of mining, except in those parts of the country where mining is a big part of the community and the economy.

Straterra is spending increasing resources on travelling around New Zealand to appear at hearings on the topics mentioned, as well as on air quality.

We know that the Ministry for the Environment is doing work on the concept of “stronger national direction” under the RMA to support councils in writing their plans. We have been engaging with their national direction team.

The reality in New Zealand is that we still need an economy, and a large part of that is based on the development of natural resources.

“This is not about destroying the environment; it is about the wise and responsible use of resources.

It is our contention that the RMA framework already provides for that.

Govt hopes Data Packs will encourage more exploration Jo Bailey The Government intends to create an improved National Minerals Exploration Datapack, to help remove a lot of the data gathering “leg work” that can be a barrier for potential explorers.

At the recent AusIMM confernce, Minister of Energy and Resources Simon Bridges told delegates the Data Packs will include the latest aeromagnetic and exploration data, along with the results of a series of prospectivity studies Government has allocated $400,000 to undertake.

“These studies are designed to assist explorers to understand how selected mineral systems in New Zealand work and help remove uncertainty.

“The point of packaging all this information is to encourage companies to begin their work at the more advanced level of exploration.”

Bridges said that encouraging more exploration was the key to growing the minerals sector in

16 Mining NZ » Spring 2015

New Zealand, as this leads to new discoveries and creates jobs.

Government has invested $4.4 million in aeromagnetic surveys of the West Coast and Northland since 2012, and is spending a further $6 million over the next four years on aeromagnetic surveys across parts of East-Nelson/Marlborough, Otago and Southland.

These surveys, covering at least 23,000sqkm will provide comprehensive data in some littleknown areas and when combined with the other surveys by Government and industry, will mean aeromagnetic data has been gathered over thirty percent of New Zealand.

“That’s a massive leap from where we were five years ago,” he said.

Although exploration activity is down on previous years, the Minister was “encouraged” by the strong levels of permitting activity, with more than 900 mineral prospecting, exploration and mining permits across the country, and a further

163 permit applications being processed by New Zealand Petroleum and Minerals.

“Like any industry, investment in the minerals sector can fluctuate.

“You all know the impact commodity prices are having at present but you also know the industry and the gains are over the long-term,” he told delegates.

Health and safety was another key message in the Minister’s address.

With the new regulatory framework in place, he said WorkSafe is continuing to roll out guidance and clarify its expectations of good health and safety practices.

High Hazard Unit Inspectors have been working with Straterra, Minex and operators to help embed the new health and safety standards and make sure they are adhered to.

He said that the Government had set a target of reducing workplace death and injury by 25 per cent by 2020.

Simon Bridges

Industry Profile »

Amber carving out a ‘cool’ career Jo Bailey Production geologist Amber Daniels has been asked some “cool” questions as an ambassador for FutureInTech, a programme that shares the career experiences of young technologists, engineers and scientists, with New Zealand school children.

“Quite a few kids have asked if I find diamonds at work, or if I get paid in gold,” she says.

Amber, who works at OceanaGold’s Macraes Mine has been part of the programme for five years, alongside other young professionals from a huge variety of work environments.

She has already made several school visits this year, speaking to children from year 1 right through to year 13.

“One of our roles is to show students how we use maths and science in our everyday careers. We also talk to the older students about the different career opportunities that are available in the technology engineering and science fields and tell them what the university experience is really like.”

Amber says the response from the students is usually really positive.

“The younger children love the sparkly rocks and tools I take along. I’ve also recently spoken at a couple of careers nights at St Hildas and Otago Girls High, which were great. I wish we’d had things like that when I was leaving school, as it can be quite scary to reach 18 and think you have to choose the career you want for the rest of your life.”

Amber says the students take heart from our own career journey, which included a few detours before she finally settled on geology.

“I thought I wanted to get into tourism before leaving school, then started studying surveying at University of Otago. However I wasn’t too good at maths so decided to do something else. I had completed some geography and geology papers in my first year and had always enjoyed science and earth sciences. After talking to both heads of department, I ended up picking geology and absolutely loved it.”

She likes to impress on the young adults she speaks to that there is flexibility within the university system to change paths.

Reaching out: Amber Daniels says she has been asked some “cool” questions as an ambassador for FutureInTech.

“I had no idea I could do that when I started.

However students are able to take a real mix of subjects in the first year to find out what they like to do.”

When she looks back to her childhood, Amber says the signs of a future in geology were already there.

“We used to visit my grandparents in Hawea, Central Otago every Christmas and I was always the nerdy kid picking up rocks and looking at the

Amber Daniels receives the Mann Redmayne Medal from the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining president Jon Binner.

Total Hose & Fitting Service

“We used to visit my grandparents in Central Otago every Christmas and I was always the nerdy kid picking up rocks and looking at the mountains wondering how they got there.” mountains wondering how they got there.”

After graduating in 2008, Amber went to Australia to “chase the mining boom”.

However she timed her trip just as the global financial crisis hit, and ended up working in a supermarket in Perth instead.

“It was character building, as my aunty said.”

She had applied for a graduate position as a geologist at OceanaGold before leaving New Zealand, and, although she wasn’t successful at the time, the company had kept her records on file, and later offered her a position with them as a field technician.

“I took the job, and after six months one of the other geologists left and I was able to successfully apply for the vacant graduate position.”

In her newly minted role as a production geologist, Amber was taken under the wing of fellow geologist Jacqueline Mascini, who encouraged Amber to co-author a paper on the benefits of mine scale three-dimensional structural modelling at Macraes Gold Mine.

“The paper took us about six months to write, and involved looking at different ways of collecting data, and different ways of analysing it to help us interpret how faulting and offsets would affect the ore zone.”

The paper was published by AusIMM and presented at the organisation’s annual conference in 2011.

UK publishers Maney, on behalf of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IOM3), then published the paper in its Applied Earth Science publication.

Amber was later nominated for the Mann Redmayne Medal for her work on the research paper.

The medal is presented to a first author, either a research student or someone in the early part of their industry career, who is a member of IOM3 or AusIMM. “I didn’t really take it seriously when I received an email from the UK saying I had been nominated for the award.

‘Then six months later I received another email, saying congratulations, you’ve won it.”

OceanaGold helped to cover the costs of Amber’s trip to London to collect the prize in October 2014 at the IOM3 headquarters.

“I’m really grateful for OceanaGold’s support to get me over there.

“To this day I still don’t know who nominated me for the award but it was a fantastic experience and a real honour to receive it.”

call 0800 4 ENZED or visit www.enzed.co.nz Spring 2015 » Mining NZ 17

Drilling » Drillfed 2015

New qualifications at Drill 2015 Karen Phelps The 40th anniversary of the New Zealand Drillers Federation coincided with some major steps forward for the industry announced at the Drill 2015 conference held on the West Coast in August.

The launch of the new drillers qualifications at the conference by MITO marked a major turning point for the industry, says New Zealand Drillers Federation executive officer Debbie Lovett.

“The ideas behind the qualifications were first raised by the Federation’s original founding members 40 years ago,” says Lovett.

“So to be able to launch these qualifications at the 40th anniversary, with both founding and life members of the Federation present, was very special.”

She says that for the first time the drilling industry is able to provide a recognised and official career pathway from starting out to progression to more senior roles.

The New Zealand Certificates in Drilling Levels 3,4 and 5 were launched by MITO CEO Janet Lane at the conference.

The qualifications provide participants with the skills and knowledge required for working safely at a drilling workplace.

The MITO training programmes have been contextualised for the non-hydrocarbon drilling sector and are aligned to the Australian Industry Training Package for Drilling using the DICAT learning and assessment resources from the Australian Drilling Industry Training Committee (ADITC) to gain New Zealand unit standards.

The training for the programmes is delivered through a mix of on-the-job training, on-site and off-site training and with the use of distance learning materials.

MITO facilitates the entire programme, offering ongoing guidance and support, as well as arranging all the off-job training and the practical assessments when participants get to that part of the training plan.

The new qualifications follow on from a pre-employment certificate course in drilling: nonhydrocarbon, driller’s assistant, level two, which has been offered for some time by Tai Poutini Polytechnic.

The 20 week programme includes both theoretical and practical opportunities including seven weeks of work based experience on a drilling rig.

It focuses on a range of hands on skills

The Drill 2015 conference was held on the West Coast in August and attracted 120 delegates from around New Zealand.

including working safety, maintenance of drilling equipment and tools, basic welding skills, hazard identification and control, health and safety.

The New Zealand Drillers Federation offers a scholarship to one top student from each course.

Lovett says that the Federation is hopeful that the broader range of qualifications now being offered will help to attract more young people to the drilling industry.

She says that another important milestone for the industry was the launch of the Drillers Registration system earlier in the year, which was also promoted at the conference.

Lovett says that so far around 30 people have applied and been approved for registration.

Registration is open in three categories: assistant driller, driller and senior driller, all dependent on levels of experience.

“Although people are competitors they are also friends.

So it was a good opportunity for everyone to get together and help each other.”

Registration includes proving completion of training such as health and safety, first aid, necessary licenses and relevant industry qualifications.

“Employing a registered driller will give peace of mind that a driller is fully qualified for the job,” she says.

“It’s proof of qualifications, length of time in the industry and that they are capable of doing the job to a high standard.”

The conference also included the annual AGM, election of councillors and the announcement of the recipient of the first Blick Industrial Drilling

Industry Scholarship awarded to Aaron Winsloe, of CW Drilling. The conference was topped off with a gala evening dinner held on the final night.

Drill 2015, which also included a trade show, was attended by 120 delegates from around New Zealand who enjoyed important opportunities to network as well as relax during a series of field trips.

“It’s a very close industry,” says Lovett.

“Although people are competitors they are also friends. So it was a good opportunity for everyone to get together and help each other. It’s a pretty unique industry like that.”

“THE ULTIMATE IN ABRASION RESISTANT PLATE” • • • •

Available thicknesses (10 - 20mm) Cut and formed to order.

Ideal for crusher mill housings, screw conveyor flights, log forks and grapples, loader bucket lining and more.

Outlasts conventional wear plate many times.

“For more information or advice call us today”

21 Mustang Drive Bell Block New Plymouth 4312

FREEPHONE

0800 000 144

sales@duroweld.co.nz www.duroweld.co.nz

18 Mining NZ » Spring 2015

Russell Bayliss outbid all other contendors for ADITC’s new drilling manual, autographed by foundation members present at the 40th anniversary celebrations. Virginia Hilliard of ADITC, presents the drillers “bible” to Russell.

Drilling » Drillfed 2015

Driller keen to pass knowledge on I’ve been in the industry

Karen Phelps Blick Industrial is hoping that the establishment of a drilling scholarship, which aims to reward those who have shown dedication to the New Zealand drilling industry, will do something positive, as well as promote the Blick name, says Blick Industrial general manager Hamish Moore.

“We wanted to move away from straight out advertising and do something with longevity, creating a resource that would benefit the industry as a whole,” he says.

“With opportunities offshore we have to find ways to keep skilled people in New Zealand.

“That’s why we chose to aim the scholarship at those who have demonstrated some dedication to this industry.

“We wanted to create something that has real pride attached to it both for the drillers and Blick as the provider of the scholarship.”

The scholarship, supported by the New Zealand Drilling Federation and M-I Swaco, is targeted at applicants who have displayed an intention to continue to develop their skills and knowledge with the view to progressing into a leadership position within the New Zealand Drilling Industry.

A minimum period of seven years employment in the drilling industry is a pre-requisite for all applicants, who must be nominated by an owner or director of a New Zealand Drilling Federation member company.

The scholarship, which Moore says is an industry first, attracted nine applicants, which were whittled down to three finalists by a panel of New Zealand Drilling Federation council members.

The three finalists attended the 2015 New

for a long time ... The drilling industry is hard work so to win this is a real honour.”

Aaron Winsloe, from CW Drilling, was awarded the Blick Industrial Drilling Industry Scholarship.

Zealand Drilling Federation conference where they were interviewed by three members of the council, including Blick director Tim Babbage.

The scholarship was eventually awarded to Aaron Winsloe, from CW Drilling, during the conference gala dinner.

Runners up were Wesley Berryman, of McMillan NI, and Matthew Taylor, of Washingtons Exploration.

Winsloe, who has 22 years industry experience across New Zealand, Australia, Fiji and Papua New Guinea and is presently a senior driller for CW Drilling, says the opportunity to learn

new technology, processes and products will be invaluable: “I’ve been in the industry for a long time and to be recognised as someone deemed worthy of recognition has been overwhelming.

The drilling industry is hard work so to win this is a real honour.”

Winsloe says that he enjoys the variation the job brings and aims to head into a supervisory role in the future, something he did overseas.

“This is where the scholarship will be really beneficial as in that type of role I’ll be advising people and passing on the knowledge I’ll learn,” he says.

James Chapman, managing director of CW Drilling who entered Winsloe for the scholarship, says that he saw it as a great opportunity not just for Winsloe but for his company.

“Like many in the industry we’re in the process of generally upskilling all of our personnel.

“Aaron is a mentor to a lot of our younger staff so it makes us a stronger company if he can pass [new] knowledge on.”

Winsloe will head off for a week of training and field experience hosted by M-I Swaco in Houston, Texas, US. All flights, training and accommodation costs for the trip are covered by Blick Industrial and M-I Swaco.

The training, earmarked for March 2016, will include a three day ‘mud’ school, where Winsloe will learn more about the application and use of drilling fluids.

“We want to help, acknowledge and encourage those in the industry and to help progress those individuals and the industry as a whole,” says Moore.

“We hope that scholarship recipients will ultimately become the future movers and shakers of the drilling industry.”

Supporting the industry Promoting good working relationships among those working in the drilling industry and generally levels of professionalism has been a key focus of the New Zealand Drillers Federation since it was first formed in 1975 following an idea by drillers Jim Faulkner and Hilton Prestney.

New Zealand Drillers Federation executive officer Debbie Lovett says that the federation was formed to give strength to contractors in the drilling industry.

“At that time casing quality and availability, drilling rig registration and road tax and customs duty on second hand drilling rigs from overseas were just a few of the problems facing the industry,” she says.

All drilling contractors were called to meet at the Waikato Motor Hotel on Saturday, July 6, 1975.

Thirty five contractors assembled that day representing a good proportion of the drilling industry in the North Island.

Today, Lovett says that the federation’s objective is to secure co-operation and co-ordination between the various persons involved in the drilling industry within New

Zealand including contractors, companies supplying to the industry and local councils.

The Federation is heavily involved in enhancing the skill and expertise levels within the New Zealand drilling industry to continue to raise the overall levels of professionalism.

Another key focus is to promote public understanding and awareness of drilling issues, as well as supporting the local community.

Environmental protection and the development of standards around this issue has also been a growing area. The federation was involved in the development of NZS 4411:2001, an environmental standard for the drilling of soil and rock.

The use of this standard is mandatory with regional councils and Lovett says all federation members are encouraged to rigorously adhere to this standard giving customers’ confidence when they choose to employ a federation member for their job.

The federation is operated by a council, which meets around four times per year. An annual conference is held for members.

The federation currently has around 100 members, who Lovett says benefit from

Three of the eldest foundation members - and life members - of the NZDF cutting the 40th anniversary cake, from left, Russ Harris, Gordon Griffiths and Doug Chase. information sharing and bulk deals on products necessary for the industry, such as fuel and insurance. Drilling supply companies, regional

councils and some large exploration type companies also count among the membership base.

SUPPLIER TO THE NEW ZEALAND DRILLING INDUSTRY

Spring 2015 » Mining NZ 19

Minerals »

Difficult times continuing for Taha Peter Owens It has long been accepted that the application of superphosphate made from rock phosphate has been one of the main drivers of the position at the top held by New Zealand agriculture.

Unfortunately, sources of rock phosphate have dwindled dramatically and very little is being mined except in North Africa - in Morocco to be more precise.

This rapidly increasing worldwide shortage of the basics for phosphate fertiliser has produced some strange side-effects and it is really needed in New Zealand. This has resulted in a company using the dross from alumina mined in Australia for the production of a substitute phosphate fertiliser.

Bahrein-based Taha Asia Pacific has had a difficult time since it first began operations in Southland several years ago. The company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Taha International and it came to New Zealand with plans to process a new form of phosphate fertiliser for the local agricultural industries.

This was to have been produced from a substance known as Ouvea Premix. This substance is itself produced after aluminium dross is heated to a very high temperature at the company’s $11 million plant at Tiwai Point near Bluff.

Recoverable aluminium is extracted and returned to the smelter. What is left is known as Ouvea Premix. This is a class six hazardous substance but it may be processed into a phosphate fertiliser.

Taha Asia Pacific has stockpiled a considerable quantity of Ouvea Premix and set about planning for it to be processed into fertiliser. It was then that it ran into serious problems.

In 2014, the company incurred the wrath of Environment Southland and indeed of the Environment Court for storing a large quantity of the hazardous substance at Edendale. This resulted in the court ordering Taha Asia Pacific to pay the council $30,745 towards the cost of investigating and cleaning up premix stored in a gravel extraction pit at Edendale.

Then it was discovered that Taha had been storing Ouvea Premix at the former Carter Holt Harvey paper mill at Mataura and situated on the Mataura River. The company did not have a resource consent to so and was unaware one was required.

This aroused strong opposition in the local district and led to an uproar at a meeting Taha conducted with local people to apologise for its actions. As a result of this strong feeling in the community, Taha abandoned plans to process the premix at Mataura but applied to the Gore District Council for retrospective resource consent to store it.

Taha had stored Ouvea Premix - a class six hazardous substance - in Mataura since at least September last year without the required resource consent. It has now received a retrospective consent to store the material for up to two more years.

Now the company has received this retrospective consent but it will have to pay up a $2.3 million bond to comply.

The Gore District Council held two hearings into Taha’s retrospective application to keep up to 10,000 tonnes of Ouvea Premix - a class six hazardous substances used to produce phosphate fertiliser - at the site for up to two more years.

Dozens of Mataura residents submitted against the application, expressing concerns including whether it was safe to store Ouvea Premix so close to the Mataura River when the product was potentially dangerous if mixed with water.

Independent hearing commissioners Colin Weatherall and David Pullar approved the application, with conditions including the $2.3m bond, after finding the impact of continued storage on the environment and surrounding community would be “no more than minor”.

The buildings at the old paper mill were structurally capable of storing Ouvea Premix, and because the site was in an industrial zone there was “an expectation for this type of activity”, the commissioners’ decision says.

“Dozens of Mataura residents submitted against the application, expressing concerns including whether it was safe to store Ouvea Premix so close to the Mataura River.....”

Taha had stored the material in Mataura since at least September last year without the required resource consent.

Gore District Council chief executive Stephen Parry said the bond should help put submitters’ minds at ease.

In the meantime, Taha has plans to build a processing plant for the fertiliser at the Invercargill City Council-owned industrial park near Tiwai.

The commissioners’ decision would give Taha the time it needed to remove the product from Mataura and begin storing it at the new site Consent documents lodged with the Invercargill City Council show Taha has applied for resource consent to build a fertiliser storage and production facility in the industrial park.

The company is in negotiations to purchase a site for the facility.

Robert Vesper, head of Taha’s operations in New Zealand, says Taha’s hot dross recycling process was the benchmark for environmentally sound dross processing in the aluminium industry.

The company had been processing this material for 10 years, he said. “The hot dross recycling process extracted every last trace of aluminium metal”, he said.

Ouvea Premix - the material that remains following the dross processing - could then be used in fertiliser. Taha had commissioned independent scientific tests on its fertiliser product line, and was committed to developing its operation responsibly, Vesper says.

Post To:

Name:

Phone:

Business name:

Fax:

Your position:

Signature:

Industry type: Postal address:

Waterford Press P O Box 37 346, Christchurch www.waterfordpress.co.nz Ph: 03 983 5500 Fax: 03 983 5552 Please tick your payment option Invoice me Cheque enclosed

1 YEAR’S SUBSCRIPTION FOR ONLY $34.50 (Inc GST) 20 Mining NZ » Spring 2015

To ensure your copy arrives at your desk, join our mailing list TODAY for PROMPT delivery

Environment »

Highlighting industry achievements “The industry takes

jo Bailey

its environmental The winners at the 2015 MIMICO Environmental

Excellence Awards run by the Aggregate and Quarry Association (AQA) demonstrated “truly innovative approaches”, says judge Dr Morgan Williams, the former Commissioner for the Environment.

“They are good examples of what can be achieved by enthusiastic, committed staff in companies that understand the value of being a good neighbour and operating their, at times challenging business, in an environmentally sustainable way,” says Williams.

Such teams are also trying to ensure they pass their sites onto future owners, and uses, in an ecologically resilient state that enhances the wellbeing of local communities.”

Holcim NZ won the gold award for major rehabilitation works at its Tauranga Bay quarry and surrounding lands, in anticipation of the closure of the quarry in mid 2016. The aim is to rehabilitate the site into a recreation area for public use and restore surrounding lands to a maturing indigenous forest.

Winstone Aggregates won the silver award for its innovative project to increase staff understanding of the purpose and value of resource consents at its Belmont quarry.

This led to the development of Operation Gecko, which brought the company’s staff, local Iwi and DOC personnel together at a hui and on field visits to observe the gecko in its natural environment, in order to gain a better understanding of how to manage consent conditions and why.

The long-term rehabilitation of Fulton Hogan’s Gore Crushing quarry area, which includes a

responsibilities very seriously, as highlighted by this year’s award winners.”

All smiles: Gold award winner Tony Warren of Holcim, centre, with Rex Davies (MIMICO), left, and awards judge Dr Morgan Williams.

two-year planting riparian programme, won bronze.

Entries were judged against criteria developed by the AQA and MIMICO, which included degree of positive environmental impact; originality and innovation; degree of difficulty; quality of documentation; and leadership.

Dr Williams says important themes have emerged from the 2015 entries that warrant further thought.

“I believe the Winstone Aggregates initiative is well worth promoting more widely in the industry, as I have not seen such an example in seven years of judging these awards.”

He says the importance of high-quality, long-term plans for a quarry site was highlighted by the Holcim entry, and he would like to a special category added to the awards, purely for companies to enter their quarry plans.

Dr Williams would also like to see quarrying companies consider the carbon footprint of the operations when they enter the awards in future, as this has been a missing element to date.

“I congratulate MIMICO for ongoing sponsorship of the awards which continue to provide an excellent incentive, as evidenced by the diversity of entries, for the industry to address, achieve and celebrate sustainable

management of their part of the New Zealand environment.”

Rex Davies, managing director of sponsors MIMICO says the company, which sells, hires and services heavy machinery to the quarrying, mining, contracting, construction, recycling and forestry industries, is pleased to provide ongoing support for the awards.

“We have a long association with the awards and AQA dating back 15 years and enjoy giving something back to an industry which supports us.”

He would like to encourage more small quarrying companies to enter the awards, which recognise projects of any scale.

“They shouldn’t be put off by entering against the big firms, and don’t have to put together a big, flashy presentation. The awards are all about highlighting achievement.”

He hopes the awards might dispel some of the myths surrounding quarrying as a “filthy, dusty, dirty” industry, run by people who don’t care about the environment.

“This is totally incorrect. The industry takes its environmental responsibilities very seriously, as highlighted by this year’s award winners.”

Spring 2015 » Mining NZ 21

CAT, KOMATSU,

HITACHI,

KOBELCO,

SUMITOMO,

IHI,

SAMSUNG, HYUNDAI, DAEWOO, VOLVO, YANMAR, TAKEUCHI.

MIKE PEARCE 027 559 0051 mike@industrialbrake.co.nz TAURANGA Ph: 07 574 3619 Fax: 07 574 0302 Unit 8, 20 Owens Place, Bay Fair, Mt Maunganui

cantly reducing down

OIL DISTRIBUTORS KEEPING NEW ZEALAND INDUSTRY MOVING