Tag Archives: Western Australia

Austmine to offer ‘complete’ industry access to conference and exhibition

Mining events, Mining services, , , , , ,

Austmine is ensuring all participants from the Australian and international resources sector can gain access to the upcoming Austmine Conference and Exhibition in Perth, Western Australia, irrespective of COVID-19 travel restrictions.

The mining equipment, technology and services industry organisation is hosting its conference and exhibition from May 25-27, with expectations it will be one of the largest gatherings of the industry since COVID-19 emerged.

Austmine CEO, Christine Gibbs Stewart, said Austmine knows how important this event is to the industry and wants to ensure everyone is able to get complete access, even in these uncertain times.

“To make sure no one misses out, if borders close in your state during the conference, we will be providing an alternate conference experience virtually that will give you access to view and engage with the conference from your home or office,” Gibbs Stewart said.

“We understand virtual attendance is not quite the same as getting to experience the in-room atmosphere and opportunity for conversation and collaboration, which is why we are giving 25% refunds to all who are pushed to join virtually due to border restrictions.

“We are, however, encouraging everyone to purchase full-access tickets to Austmine 2021 to embrace the full experience as we hear from industry experts and explore the importance of optimising our technology, processes and collaboration across the industry.

“We are really conscious of the unprecedented times we face, and although travel is opening up and restrictions are easing, we are wanting to implement a solution ahead of time should any further restrictions arise.”

More than 80 exhibiting companies will attend the 2021 conference, along with a line-up of world-class speakers, interactive workshops, educational and networking opportunities, live demonstrations, the collaborative Ideas Exchange, Meet the Miners and the Austmine Industry Leaders’ Dinner and Awards, Austmine says.

International Mining is a media sponsor of Austmine 2021

Panoramic, Primero and Barminco get to work on restarting Savannah nickel operation

Base metals, Comminution of minerals, Energy minerals, Mine operation news, Mineral processing, Mineral project development, Mining equipment, Mining services, , , , , , , , , , , ,

Panoramic Resources Ltd, after a 12-month review process, has approved the restart of the Savannah Nickel Operation, in the Kimberley region of Western Australia.

The decision hinges on a 12-year mine life with an average annual production target of 9,072 t of nickel, 4,683 t of copper and 676 t cobalt in concentrate; as well as an offtake agreement with Trafigura that will also see the trading company provide a loan facility of up to A$45 million to cover the A$41 million of upfront capital cost required to restart the mine.

Savannah is set to operate at average site all-in costs of A$6.36/lb of payable nickel, net of copper and cobalt by-product credits and royalty payments. This equates to roughly $4.86/Ib or $10,714/t.

Savannah, with more than A$100 million already invested, has been maintained since the suspension of operations in April 2020 with a view towards operational readiness and project optimisation. This includes the recent completion of the FAR#3 ventilation raise, underground capital development on four mining levels at Savannah North and ancillary capital works on surface and underground infrastructure, which are currently being completed, Panoramic said.

The restart decision has led to divisions of Perenti and NRW Holdings being awarded significant contracts related to the resumption of mining activities.

Barminco, a subsidiary of the Perenti Group, has been awarded a four-year underground mining contract under a binding letter of intent and is scheduled to mobilise to site in July 2021. The contract will be serviced by new underground mining equipment including the use of tele-remote mining equipment, expected to deliver both safety and productivity benefits, Panoramic said.

The contractor was formally awarded the A$200 million contract back in February.

“Based on Barminco’s previous working knowledge at Savannah, opportunities to increase ore production and reduce dilution have also been identified,” the company added, explaining that underground mining is planned to commence in August, with ore to initially be sourced from both the Savannah and the Savannah North deposits.

Following an evaluation of an owner-operator model for the processing plant and a competitive contract tender process, Panoramic has also signed a non-binding letter of intent worth A$35 million with Primero (owned by NRW Holdings), which envisages a three-year agreement. The agreement relates to all processing and maintenance work at the Savannah processing plant, which has been maintained in “excellent condition” during the suspension, Panoramic said.

“A number of opportunities for improved recoveries through enhanced operating practices and minor capital projects have been identified,” the company added. As a result, the non-binding letter of intent with Primero has been structured to incentivise achieving higher than budget recoveries.

Panoramic is working with Primero to complete a binding contract in the coming months, but ore processing is set to restart in November 2021, allowing ore stockpiles to build for around three months (100,000 t) to de-risk ore supply issues.

The process plant at Savannah was commissioned in August 2004 and comprises a single stage crusher, SAG mill, flotation, thickening and filtering stages to produce a bulk nickel, copper, cobalt concentrate. Over the 2004 to 2016 initial operating period, metallurgical recoveries averaged 86-89% for nickel, 94-97% for copper and 89-92% for cobalt. The plant was originally designed for a throughput of 750,000 t/y, but consistently outperformed the design specifications with rates exceeding 1 Mt on an annualised basis, Panoramic said.

First concentrate shipment from the Wyndham Port is targeted for December 2021.

Red 5 taps Zenith Energy for hybrid power options at King of the Hills gold project

Environmental, Mineral project development, Mining services, Power supply for mines, Precious metals, , , , , , , , , , , ,

Red 5 Ltd has entered into a Power Purchase Agreement with a subsidiary of Zenith Energy Ltd that will see the growing Australia-based power producer build, own and operate approximately 30 MW of hybrid power generation capacity to service the needs of the King of the Hills (KOTH) project in Western Australia.

The power inputs as part of the BOO agreement comprise high efficiency reciprocating gas fuel power generation together with a 2 MW photovoltaic solar farm (an example from Zenith’s other work shown above) and a battery energy storage system.

Power supply to the site is planned to commence in the March quarter of 2022 with an initial term of 10 years. The contract includes provision for a potential future upgrade to the power station to support increased plant throughput beyond the initial planned 4 Mt/y run rate, Red 5 says.

Gas will be supplied from the Goldfields Gas Pipeline, 12 km west of the mine, under separate contracts, the company clarified.

Red 5 Managing Director, Mark Williams, said the award of the agreement marked another important construction milestone for the King of the Hills project while, at the same time, helping to achieve one of the company’s environmental, social and governance commitments to reduce the carbon footprint of the project.

“We are pleased to have signed the Power Purchase Agreement with Zenith, an experienced power producer which provided us with a compelling hybrid thermal and sustainable power solution that includes renewable energy,” he said. “Zenith’s combination of a gas and solar power station, supported by a battery energy storage system, provides the efficiency and stability required for the processing plant and infrastructure to enable King of the Hills to be a long-life, low-cost gold producer.”

The KOTH project is an open pit and underground gold deposit with a projected mine life of over 16 years. This could see the company produce 176,000 oz/y of gold over the first six years, according to a recent feasibility study.

MACA signs three-year extension with CITIC Pacific at Cape Preston

Mine operation news, Mining services, Steel and iron ore, , , , , , ,

MACA Ltd says it has finalised the hire and maintenance contract for CITIC Pacific Mining Management at the Cape Preston Sino Iron magnetite project, 100 km southwest of Karratha in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.

The contract is expected to generate A$200 million ($152 million) in revenue for MACA over a 36-month term commencing in April. MACA’s work-in-hand position as of February 2021 is A$3.4 billion, the company said.

MACA CEO, Mike Sutton, said: “MACA is very pleased to continue working with CITIC Pacific Mining at the Sino Iron magnetite project, and we value the long-standing relationships we have with our clients at this pioneering mega project.

The current CPM contract was novated from Downer to MACA, following the acquisition of the Mining West business, and it’s pleasing to have now secured this three-year extension.”

In February, MACA completed the acquisition of Downer’s Mining West business, bringing with it four contracts at long-life mining assets in Western Australia, including the Cape Preston agreement.

John Holland on track at Fortescue’s Eliwana iron ore project

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Infrastructure and rail company, John Holland, says it has achieved a major milestone at the Eliwana Mine and Rail project by successfully laying the final piece of 143 km of heavy haul rail track in Western Australia’s Pilbara region.

The track works are part of a A$130 million ($90 million) contract with Fortescue Metals Group, which will also see an extension to the existing signalling and train control systems and a traffic capacity upgrade to communication infrastructure.

When completed, the greenfield project will connect the new Eliwana iron ore mine to the existing Fortescue Hammersley Line.

The John Holland team will now focus on final destressing works for 130 km of the track, siding extension works, final grinding and correction. Final ballasting and tamping work for about 60 km of the track is on schedule. All remaining track works are to be completed by June 2021, the company said. The signalling and communication works are well ahead of schedule to be delivered by the end of 2021, it added.

John Holland Rail Delivery Manager, John Ma, said the team had worked hard to ensure the project progressed despite weather and access challenges throughout the course of construction.

“The safe unloading of the last long weld rail off the final rail train on the Eliwana project was a significant moment for us,” he said. “It’s a huge undertaking – more than 240,000 sleepers were laid as well as 400,000 t of ballast dropped with more than 12,000 welds joining the tracks together.

“Working in a remote and often volatile environment has its challenges, but I am proud that the team were able to demonstrate our capability to manage complex logistics and high-production welding facilities while enabling efficient project delivery.”

Remaining track work is scheduled to be completed by late June, while signalling construction will be complete by the end of August. Testing and integration of the track will be finalised in December.

Around 90 km west of Tom Price, the Eliwana mine celebrated the production of its first ore in December 2020. At full capacity, the mine will produce 30 Mt/y.

MinRes delivers first ore at Wonmunna iron ore project

Comminution of minerals, Mine operation news, Mineral project development, Steel and iron ore, , , , ,

Less than five months after breaking ground at the Wonmunna iron ore project in Western Australia, Mineral Resources Ltd has delivered first ore.

The Wonmunna operation, 80 km northwest of Newman and 360 km south of Port Hedland, was purchased from the Australian Aboriginal Mining Corporation (AAMC) in September 2020. In line with the undisclosed terms of the transaction, AAMC shareholders will receive a royalty in respect of the first 40 Mt extracted and removed from the area.

The project is set to ramp-up to its nameplate capacity of 5 Mt/y in the June quarter of 2021, but MinRes says there is potential to expand Wonmunna’s output to the designed capacity of 10 Mt/y upon the successful grant of additional approvals, at little extra capital costs.

Ore from the project will be used to underpin MinRes’ Utah Point Hub iron ore blend, which includes tonnes from its Iron Valley site. The addition of Wonmunna will help boost output from the Utah point export facility towards 14 Mt/y by the end of the December 2021 quarter, it says.

“Wonmunna’s rapid and safe development is testimony to the MRL team’s ability to deliver what others thought impossible,” the company said. “This is a great outcome not just for MRL but also for AAMC’s shareholders, who will shortly receive their first royalty cheque from Wonmunna, and the people of Western Australia as the project has created 500 jobs across the mine site and transport network.”

Salt Lake Potash nears SOP production milestone at Lake Way

Comminution of minerals, Industrial minerals, Mineral processing, Mineral project development, Mining services, Water management, , , , , , , ,

Salt Lake Potash Limited remains on track for first production and sale of sulphate of potash (SOP) in the June quarter after declaring the commencement of process plant commissioning at its Lake Way project in Western Australia.

In a project update, the company said first time potassium-rich harvest salts, precipitated from lake aquifer brine, have been fed into an SOP plant in Australia.

These harvest sales were successfully fed into the feed hopper, conveyed to the surge bin, run through the lump breaker, and then into the attritioning feed tank at the front end of the process plant. This front-end plant commissioning was powered by 2 MW diesel generators, which will continue to be used to progress the process in the near term.

Over the coming weeks the utilities, conversion circuit, flotation circuits, crystallisers and dryer will all be commissioned ahead of full load commissioning and SOP production in the June quarter, it said.

Consultants from the plant designer, Wood Group, as well as vendors Veolia and Broadbent (among others) will be assisting in the commissioning process.

In the meantime, gas supply lines and the delivery station for the 10 MW power station have been fully commissioned, with “power on” scheduled for late April to support final commissioning activities and production commencement.

Lake Way is a 245,000 t/y SOP development with an expected mine life of over 20 years. Located in the Goldfields region of Western Australia, it is expected to produce a high-quality SOP fertiliser with the help of Veolia Water Technologies’ HPD® crystallisation systems, among other processes.

Barminco set for Normet battery-electric Charmec trial at IGO’s Nova operation

Base metals, Environmental, Explosives and blasting, Mine operation news, Mineral project development, Mining equipment, Mining services, Power supply for mines, Sustainable mining, , , , , , , ,

Normet’s Charmec MC 605 VE Smart Drive battery-powered emulsion charger is continuing its tour of Australia, with Barminco signing up to trial the machine for three months at the Independence Group-owned Nova nickel-copper-cobalt underground mine in Western Australia.

Barminco, a Perenti company, says the trial is part of its commitment to improving performance and driving sustainability initiatives across its business. It represents the contractor’s first heavy-duty battery electric vehicle (BEV) trial, coming on top of the short trial it conducted with Safescape’s Bortana light electric vehicle, also at Nova.

The MC605 VE Smart Drive will be a direct replacement for the diesel-powered MC605 D Barminco uses at its underground client sites, with the battery-electric trial likely involving a mix of production and development operations.

“Along with the maintenance and cost benefits of using battery-electric equipment underground, it will also provide an improved work environment for our people,” Barminco said.

OZ Minerals, in October, became the first miner in Australia to take delivery of a battery-powered Normet Charmec MC 605 VE SD. The charging unit, which arrived at the Carrapateena copper-gold mine in South Australia, was also put through a three-month trial.

The work at Carrapateena involved the charging of 30 faces – all of which were charged without any major problems – with tramming times of 5-15 minutes and tramming distances of 1-3.5 km from the explosives warehouse to the face and back, according to Normet. The process saw 4.5 m long cuts and an average of 65 holes, with 300-400 kg of emulsion loaded per cut.

The trial involved the use of an on-board 1.5 t Emulsion Charging Module system provided by Normet and the application of Downer Blasting Services’ HEAT® 9000 ammonium nitrate emulsion.

The unit carried out charging with and without a trailing cable plugged into the mine site’s electricity infrastructure and a SmartDrive CT40 DC-charging trolley was also employed.

Reflecting on the Carrapateena trial, Normet said: “SmartDrive battery-electric vehicle architecture proved its ability for emulsion charging as this process is extremely energy efficient and enables independent operations even without a trailing cable plugged in.

“Silent slope performance as well as exhaust-, heat- and noise-free charging operations made a real impression on all users of the SD Charmec.”

Back in 2019, Normet made history with the MC 605 VE Smart Drive by demonstrating battery-electric emulsion charging in an underground production environment for the first time in Europe at the Pyhäsalmi mine, in Finland.

Fortescue rewards Monadelphous and Pentium Hydro with more Pilbara work

Equipment maintenance, Mine operation news, Mining equipment, Mining services, Steel and iron ore, , , , , , , , , ,

Fortescue Metals Group has handed out new work to Monadelphous Group and Pentium Hydro at its iron ore operations in the Pilbara of Western Australia.

Engineering company Monadelphous has secured a new five-year crane services contract, valued at around A$150 million ($117 million), with the miner.

The contract is for the provision of crane services supporting general repairs, maintenance and shutdown activities at Fortescue’s Solomon (pictured) and Eliwana operations.

Monadelphous has provided crane services to Fortescue’s Solomon operations since 2017 and, last year, expanded those services to Fortescue’s Eliwana operations.

Vysarn Ltd subsidiary Pentium Hydro, meanwhile, advises that it has amended, via a Deed of Amendment, the agreement for hydrogeological borefield drilling and construction services with Fortescue’s wholly owned Chichester Metals Pty Ltd and FMG Solomon Pty Ltd subsidiaries, previously announced in November 2019.

This amendment will see the term of its contract increased to 36 months, with the option of a two-year extension exercisable by Fortescue. The scope of work has also been amended to include the provision of dual tube flooded reverse drilling services, with an additional drill rig expected to be deployed by April.

At the same time, the companies have amended the revenue model for the contract.

Revenue from works in the original contract was based on key performance indicators for a number of production and monitoring bores and was subject to metres drilled and drill rates. Revenue from works will now be based on a combination of day rates and a schedule of hourly rates, Vysarn said.

Fe Ltd and Big Yellow make plans to mine JWD iron ore project

Mineral project development, Mining services, Steel and iron ore, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Fe Limited says it has executed a letter of intent (LOI) with Big Yellow that could see the emerging company become the mining contractor for the JWD iron ore project in the Pilbara of Western Australia.

A full form contract is targeted to be completed within the next 30 days, subject to receipt of necessary environmental approvals and logistic contracts. This LOI, the company says, will enable Big Yellow to allocate the necessary mining fleet and people to the FEL project.

Big Yellow is a new contractor founded by mining executives Brad Gordon (former CEO of Acacia and Intrepid), David Edwards and Mitch Wallace (both ex MACA).

“FEL believes that Big Yellow’s combination of experienced personnel looking to replicate their past success in a new entity is a good fit with FEL’s own aspirations to do the same and looks forward to continuing to work together,” it said.

Following the LOI being executed by both parties, discussions have commenced on works that can be commenced in advance of final environmental approvals being received.

The approvals received to date allow certain clearing and preparatory works to occur at JWD, along with refurbishment of the existing office facilities on site. These early works will allow a faster ramp-up of operations once the remaining approvals and key contracts are secured, FEL claims.

FEL says it has revisited the JWD geological model and mine plan, with opportunities identified for a reduction in the strip ratio and an improved average iron ore head grade. If successfully implemented, this would have a positive impact on its margins through reduced mining costs and improved pricing as a result of higher-grade products than initially expected, it said.

FEL Executive Chairman, Tony Sage, said: “With mining at Wiluna close to commencing, we are pleased to have advised Big Yellow of our intention to appoint them as our mining contractor. We are well advanced with the final approvals and other key contracts and would anticipate being able to update shareholders on these shortly.”

In September, FEL acquired a 51% interest (including operatorship) in the Gold Valley Iron Ore Mining Rights Agreement over the Wiluna West JWD deposit. The JWD project is part of the wider Wiluna West project, owned by GWR Group. It came with a 10.7 Mt resource grading 63.7% Fe using a 55% Fe cutoff.

FEL classes the project as a low capex, direct shipping ore development, which will produce a high-grade (resource average circa-63.7% Fe), low impurity iron ore. A January 2021 presentation claimed the mining and transport of the first 300,000 t of iron ore is required by September under the iron rights agreement.