News

Infrastructure the issue as South Australia’s resources sector meets in Adelaide

Posted on 27 Apr 2012

olympic_dam.jpgAs hundreds of South Australia’s mining and energy players prepare to gather next week for their annual conference, the adequacy and investment needs of the State’s supportive mining infrastructure is set to dominate the Conference’s public and private discussions. For the first time the organisers have empanelled some of the State’s infrastructure decision makers in a specific late afternoon session on Monday to flesh out and address the looming infrastructure bottlenecks. “Bringing the infrastructure issue to a head this year is the imminent decision by BHPB – expected by end of June – whether to sanction the massive expansion of the Olympic Dam mine in the State’s north,” Conference Convenor, Bill Repard, said today.

“Nowhere else in Australia has such a critical gathering of the resources sector been held within the shadow of such a major pending decision – a decision that will have ramifications beyond the borders of even South Australia as the State mans up to service the expansion, if the go-ahead is the final BHPB decision,” Repard said.

“It will bring to South Australia challenges, issues, project ramifications and investment attitudes of an unprecedented scale, comparable to the issues confronting the expansion of the Pilbara iron ore region in Western Australia,” he said.

“In parallel to that, we now have for the first time, the release by the Woomera Prohibited Area (WPA) Coordination Office of its Draft Deed of Access. It is early days but slowly the door is opening to potentially much greater minerals exploration in Woomera’s previously large and generally historically untouchable footprint of mineralised land.

“Add into that mix the known and emerging new mines for SA and it is easy to see that water, power, road, rail, airport, accommodation and on-site mining infrastructure, are peaking as the ‘must solve’ issue confronting SA’s resources sector.”

The specialist infrastructure debate will close the first day on Monday of the 2012 Paydirt South Australian Resources & Energy Investment Conference, being held at the Hilton Hotel in Victoria Square on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday next week.

Infrastructure panel members will comprise:

George McKenzie                   Finlaysons                   Convenor

Tino Guglielmo                        Chairman designate, Resource Industry Council and Managing Director, Ambassador Oil and Gas  

Steve Brown                           Chief Executive Officer, Port Spencer

Alan Millet                               Infrastructure Manager, Iron Road  

Rainer Korte                            Executive Manager, Network Strategy & Regulatory Affairs, ElectraNet SA

Sean van der Linden   Partner, Tax; Ernst & Young

Joe Mastrangelo                     Director Major Projects and Investment Attraction, Resource Industry Council

John Murray                           Business Manager – Patrick Ports, Asciano Ltd

More than 350 delegates have registered for the main two day program on Monday and Tuesday (program attached) with similar numbers for Wednesday’s full day technical session. Full program:

08:15 Arrival tea, coffee and registration
Session One Chair: Derek Carter, Minotaur Exploration Ltd
09:00 Welcome: Bill Repard, Executive Chairman, Paydirt Media Pty Ltd (5)
09:05 Hon Tom Koutsantonis, Minister for Mineral Resources and Energy, Government of South Australia (20)
09:25 Dr Ian Gould, Chairman, SA Minerals and Petroleum Experts Group (20)
09:45 Dr Robert Porter, General Manager Investor Relations, Iluka Resources Ltd, “Iluka’s South Australian mineral sands opportunities” (20)
10:05 Terry Burgess, Managing Director, OZ Minerals Ltd, “Investment in Australia’s new mining state” (25)
10:30 Questions (5)

Session Two Chair: Keith Yates, Resources Industry Development Board
11:15 Paul Heithersay, Deputy Chief Executive, Resources and Energy, Chief Executive, Olympic Dam Task Force,
Department for Manufacturing, Innovation, Trade, Resources & Energy, “South Australia: new discoveries,
new developments, new mines” (25)
11:40 Wayne Richards, Managing Director, IronClad Mining Ltd, “Wilcherry Hill iron ore project” (25)
12:05 Greg Solomon, Executive Chairman, Tasman Resources Ltd, “Vulcan IOCGU project – success in sight?” (15)
12:20 George McKenzie, Partner, Finlaysons, “Access to land & Native Title/Aboriginal heritage agreements –
where to now?” (15)
12:35 Gerard Anderson, Managing Director, Archer Exploration Ltd, “Graphite and more” (15)
12:50 Questions (5)
12:55 Lunch

Session Three Chair: John Roberts, SA Chamber of Minerals and Energy
14:00 John Roberts, President, South Australian Chamber of Minerals and Energy (5)
14:05 Michael Whiting, Director, Taylor Collison Ltd, “A stockbroker’s perspective” (20)
14:25 Andrew Woskett, Managing Director, Minotaur Exploration Ltd, “Copper gold exploration around Australia” (15)
14:40 Stephen Biggins, Managing Director, Core Exploration Ltd, “Core’s copper exploration on Yorke Peninsula and in
South Australia” (15)
14:55 Joe Mastrangelo, Director Major Projects and Investment Attraction & Sue Czerniak, Senior Project Officer,
RESIC, “RESIC & Infrastructure Channel” (15)
15:10 Questions (5)

Session Four Chair: George McKenzie, Finlaysons
15:45 South Australia Infrastructure Panel Session: George McKenzie, Finlaysons (convenor); Tino
Guglielmo, Ambassador Oil and Gas Ltd; Steve Brown, Centrex Ltd; Alan Millet, Iron Road Ltd; Rainer Korte, ElectraNet SA; Sean van der Linden, Ernst & Young; Joe Mastrangelo, RESIC; John Murray, Asciano Ltd (90)
17:15 Cocktail Drinks

Programme Day Two Tuesday May 1, 2012
08:30 Arrival tea, coffee and registration
Session Five Chair: Ted Tyne, Department for Manufacturing, Infrastructure, Trade, Resources & Energy
09:00 Barry Goldstein, Executive Director Energy Resources, Department for Manufacturing, Innovation, Trade,
Resources & Energy, “Competitive advantages for petroleum and geothermal projects in South Australia” (25)
09:25 Steve Olsen, Managing Director, Rex Minerals Ltd, “A major copper project on the horizon” (15)
09:40 Graham Ascough, Managing Director, Mithril Resources Ltd, “Exploration update” (15)
09:55 Robert Waugh, Managing Director, Musgrave Minerals Ltd, “Musgrave Minerals – in our own back yard” (15)
10:10 Nick Sheard, Executive Chairman, Carpentaria Exploration Ltd, “Carpentaria’s Hawsons iron project, Braemar Iron
Formation and a new magnetite industry for SA/NSW” (15)
10:25 Questions (5)

Session Six Chair: Andrew Woskett, Minotaur Exploration Ltd
11:10 Dr John Parker, Managing Director, Lincoln Minerals Ltd, “The next big graphite player on SA’s Eyre Peninsula” (15)
11:25 Norman Kennedy, Director, PepinNini Minerals Ltd, “PepinNini Minerals – exploring the Musgrave and Curnamona
provinces of South Australia” (15)
11:40 Christopher Doig, Principal, Coffey Environments, “Environmental approvals: planning a course through
the minefield” (15)
11:55 Steve Johnston, Managing Director, Alliance Resources Ltd, “Alliance Resources Ltd – projects update” (15)
12:10 John Roberts, Committee Member, Fundraising Committee, “The Aboriginal & Torres Strait memorial” (10)
12:25 Questions (5)
12:30 Lunch

Session Seven Chair: Steve Olsen, Rex Minerals Ltd
13:30 Terry Kallis, Managing Director, Petratherm Ltd, “Company & projects update” (15)
13:45 Ben Heard, Director, ThinkClimate Consulting, “Time to get critical: re-examining the environmental case for nuclear
power” (20)
14:05 Pat Scott, Managing Director, Mungana Goldmines Ltd, “Mungana Goldmines Ltd” (15)
14:20 David Christensen, Managing Director, Renaissance Uranium Ltd, “Exploration in South Australia’s Olary province and
Gawler Craton” (15)
14:35 Questions (5)
14:40 Afternoon Tea (30)

Session Eight Chair: Michael Whiting, Taylor Collison Ltd
15:10 Neil Meadow, Managing Director, IMX Resources Ltd, “IMX Resources’ Cairn Hill iron ore mining operations” (15)
15:25 John Anderson, Managing Director, Investigator Resources Ltd, “Paris – the new silver setting in South Australia” (15)
15:40 Andrew Stocks, Managing Director, Iron Road Ltd, “On the road to production” (15)
15:55 Questions (5)
16:00 Panel Session: Derek Carter, Minotaur Exploration Ltd (convenor); Paul Heithersay, DMITRE; Michael
Whiting, Taylor Collison Ltd, Greg Solomon, Tasman Resources Ltd