#Official Mining Thread

[Aidan]

The 'Tiser's just reported something not on that map:

Revival of the Copper Coast
SARAH MARTIN
December 23, 2009 12:01am
EXCELLENT results by a Yorke Peninsula mineral explorer are nurturing the idea that the region again could be home for lucrative copper exports.

New technology enabling explorers to look below the ground has discovered a potential treasure trove in the area where, about 160 years ago, the old-timers noticed traces of ore in wombat burrows or plough tracks and built shallow mines which supported the earliest days of the SA colony.

Copper explorer Rex Minerals next year will declare if it has discovered a resource at its Hillside project near Ardrossan, large enough to justify a copper mine for the region - a mine to rival Oz Minerals' $1.2 billion Prominent Hill mine in the state's north.

One mine may not be the end of the story. Rex Minerals managing director Steven Olsen said the potential-filled Pine Point copper belt of the region - which forms the southern tail of the Gawler Craton - had at least half a dozen abandoned mines from the 19th century, ripe for rediscovery.

Mr Olsen said the reason the highly prospective area had been left unexplored for so long was limitations of technology.

By using advanced magnetic surveying techniques - which had established a correlation between the iron ore magnetite and copper - Rex had been able to identify the copper resource deep below the surface.

The full report is at http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/stor ... 82,00.html

[Wayno]

Another ODX nearby?

tasman-resources-exploration.JPG (53.93 KiB) Viewed 1760 times

Exploration ~100km east of Olympic Dam has uncovered what could become another ODX sized deposit. Very early days - but quite exciting too. This is exactly what we need - a cluster of massive mines nearby each other. Obviously mining companies love this situation as they get to share the huge infrastructure related costs.

TASMAN Resources has confirmed that a huge anomaly on the northern shore of Lake Torrens is a base metal deposit with mineralisation similar to the nearby Olympic Dam.

"It's very encouraging,'' Tasman Resources executive chairman Greg Solomon said of assay results on the first drilling at the Vulcan project.

"The whole assemblage of the metals - the relationships are occurring in the same sort of relationships and ratios as you get with the Olympic Dam ore body.

"Everything about it is consistent with what you find at Olympic Dam.'' The Vulcan project covers a target of 30-40 sq km and is about 30km northeast of Olympic Dam.

"It's a huge, huge geophysical anomaly,'' Mr Solomon said. ``It's certainly significant for South Australia. It potentially opens up whole new economies of scale.''

Mineral Resources Development Minister Paul Holloway said the initial results from Vulcan appeared promising.

"While it is early days for this particular project, indications from geological data and exploration so far suggest that there are likely to be other discoveries of Olympic Dam-style mineralisations within the Gawler Craton," he said.

Mr Solomon said the assay results took the project from the possible to the definite.

"We have got an IOCGU (iron oxide-copper-gold-uranium),'' he said.

Grades from the first drilling reached 0.38 per cent copper and 0.18 grams/tonne of gold.

The company had not expected grades to be high because this first hole was on the northwestern corner of a potentially larger system.

Tasman was unable to drill its first hole in the most promising centre of the target because of an Aboriginal heritage issue. Talks over this issue were continuing and Mr Solomon was optimistic it would be resolved early next year.

Four drilling sites in the heart of the anomaly have been marked out for the next step in the program.

Tasman raised $1.5 million in October through a placement and has "enough cash to drill the next lot of holes''.

[fabricator]

Minor problem of having a salt lake bed between the two, still in the scale of the mine that is a minor cost.

[rhino]

Although the article states that this is 30km from Olympic Dam, it's closer to 60km as the crow flies, and about 100km (as Wayno suggests) by road, with, as Fabricator noted, a salt lake between the two.

Meanwhile, from today's Adelaide Now:

Coober Pedy mining deal shelved

CAMERON ENGLAND
December 30, 2009 12:01am

A DEAL to spend $660,000 exploring for iron ore near Coober Pedy has been put on ice over uncertainty about mining rights in the Woomera Prohibited Area (WPA).
Western Plains Resources has shelved a deal with Apollo Resources to spend a further $660,000 at the Commonwealth Hill prospect southwest of Coober Pedy.
Western Plains executive chairman Bob Duffin said the company had received encouraging results from the $90,000 worth of exploration it had done so far.
It would "almost certainly" have committed the extra money if the tenement was not within the WPA, Mr Duffin said.
It is not the first time restrictions surrounding the WPA have hindered mining investment. OZ Minerals' full sale to Chinese company MinMetals was blocked this year on national security grounds, as OZ's Prominent Hill copper and gold mine was located within the WPA.
Western Plains is also still in discussions with the Defence Department over Defence's plans to oppose its Foreign Investment Review Board application for the Hawk's Nest iron ore development within the WPA, which is being co-funded by Chinese State-owned company Wuhan Iron and Steel Corporation.
The WPA is a 12,700 sq km weapons testing range operated by the Defence Department. Mineral exploration companies operating in the WPA require Defence approval to set up mining operations.
Western Plains has identified a ""corridor of uncertainty" which it believes the Defence department has particular concerns over.
Defence has said that while it is developing clearer guidelines for the area, mining companies had to recognise the commercial risk inherent in operating in a weapons testing range.
The South Australian Government has also called on Defence to clarify the access conditions for the WPA, which contains more than 120 active mineral exploration licences.
Mr Duffin said the WPA issue was the sole factor in his company foregoing the chance to explore further at Commonwealth Hill. "We had identified a number of targets which under normal circumstances we would have taken to the drilling phase shortly, but the fact that a company's got a granted exploration licence and a deed of access for exploration . . . that doesn't mean it's going to get the right to mine," Mr Duffin said.
"Until the Commonwealth Government releases a clear, transparent and unambiguous policy as to the conditions under which ore bodies discovered in the WPA, and in particular in the high investment-risk parts of it, can be mined, it is Western Plains' view further exploration expenditure at Commonwealth Hill would be imprudent."
Mr Duffin expects a response from Defence on the Hawk's Nest project in the next few months.

[Wayno]

The South Australian Government has also called on Defence to clarify the access conditions for the WPA, which contains more than 120 active mineral exploration licences.

Wowza - i did not realise 120+ exploration licenses have been issued in the WPA! I hope the SA Govt is putting heaps of pressure on Rudd, Fitzgibbon & The DoD.

[rhino]

From Monday's Adelaide Now:

IMX Resources in $47m funding deal for SA mine
CAMERON ENGLAND, CHIEF BUSINESS REPORTER
January 04, 2010 12:30pm

A $47 million deal has been signed with a Chinese company to develop an iron ore mine southeast of Coober Pedy.
At least three companies expect to start mining iron ore in South Australia this year, in the first big iron ore push since BHP started prospecting around what was to become Whyalla 110 years ago.
IMX Resources said it had signed an agreement with Hong Kong-based Taifeng Yuanchang International Development Co to fund the development of the first phase of its Cairn Hill iron ore project 55km southeast of Coober Pedy.
The project will create about 100 jobs, many based in Coober Pedy, and export 1-1.7 million tonnes of ore a year through Port Adelaide to China.
Fellow iron ore company Ironclad Mining announced that recent metallurgical testing shows the ore at its Wilcherry Hill project on the Eyre Peninsula is suitable for low-cost dry processing, which would enable the company to start operations late this year, at a rate of 2 million tonnes a year.
Centrex Metals, which plans to ship its ore through Port Lincoln, also expects to start mining this year.
The IMX deal is subject to Foreign Investment Review Board approval, which in turn requires sign-off from the Defence Department as the mining area lies within the Woomera Prohibited Area weapons testing range.
Having a proposed mine site inside the WPA has posed a problem for Western Plains Resources, which has been told by Defence that one of its proposals will not be supported.
However, IMX managing director Duncan McBain said his company was confident of FIRB and Defence approval.
Mr McBain said the company already had a deed of access for the site, which was about 100km from what appeared to be the most sensitive part of the WPA.
"Our deal conforms with our access deed that we already have with the Department of Defence, so we think that will just take its normal course,'' he said.
"We don't envisage any particular issues with the Department of Defence.''
Western Plains said it had extended by three months its agreement with Chinese company Wuhan Iron and Steel Corporation to provide a $45 million investment in its Hawk's Nest iron ore project within the WPA, while the company seeks to resolve its issues with Defence.
Western Plains' Peculiar Knob project, also within the WPA, has been approved by Defence, and the company aims to have that project fully permitted and funded during the first half of the year.
The IMX deal announced Chinese partner joins IMX in $47m deal for Woomera mine involves Taifeng investing $23 million for a half stake in the first phase of the Cairn Hill project.
Taifeng would also subscribe for at least $24.1 million in IMX shares, at 48.4c a share, to become a 19.9 per cent shareholder in the company.
This follows a deal in November with OZ Minerals, in which OZ acquired 13 per cent of IMX for $10 million.
Mr McBain said the deal would allow Cairn Hill to start production by mid-year.
"The investment by Taifeng in IMX and the Cairn Hill project is company transforming,'' he said.
``In addition to the OZ Minerals transaction announced in November, having another financially strong investor who shares the board's vision for the company provides new opportunities to grow the company.''
Following the placement to Taifeng, IMX would have at least $37 million in the bank, the company said.
Taifeng chairman Song Yuangang said his company had been looking at investing in an Australian iron ore company for some time.
"As our first overseas strategic investment we chose IMX, as we share the same vision as the IMX board to grow the company into a mid to large mining company,'' he said.
Taifeng is a subsidiary of Sichuan Taifeng Group, which employs more than 1500 people in manufacturing, mineral resources development, real estate development and education.
Taifeng expects to complete due diligence on the investment by the end of the month. The deal is also subject to shareholder approval.
IMX shares added 3c to 45.5c yesterday. IronClad stock was up 45.9 per cent, or 36.5c to $1.16.
Western Plains shares were steady at 30c.

[rhino]

Missed this on about the Mindarie Zircon Mine a couple of weeks ago:

Six bid for shut zircon mine
VALERINA CHANGARATHIL
December 23, 2009 11:30pm

SIX bidders have been short-listed for the mothballed Mindarie zircon mine in the state's east, with final offers due by mid-January.
The time frame for offers had been extended, administrator Bryan Hughes said yesterday.
"We have received significant interest and a number of people have conducted site visits,'' Mr Hughes said.
He said creditors had also approved an adjournment of the second meeting to early January while he finalised a deed of company arrangement with insolvent Australian Zircon's largest shareholder, DCM Decometal.
DCM has pumped in $6 million towards priority payments such as employees' pay and banks repayments.
If successful, the deed of company arrangement will see DCM commit to another $8 million towards settling unsecured creditors' claims.
The company's secondary processing plants have continued to process ilmenite, zircon and rutile, with sales of more than $US1 million.

[Wayno]

i must say, if i was younger (and unmarried) i would be getting a truck drivers license and heading up north to earn $100k+ per annum, working something like a "7 day on / 7 day off" roster. Big money for youngsters to earn. You figure the hourly rate.

Do a mining engineering degree at the same time and really reap the rewards...

[rhino]

From today's Adelaide Now:

Opening for more ore out of Lincoln
SARAH MARTIN
January 06, 2010 12:01am

MORE mining companies will be able to apply to ship iron ore out of Port Lincoln, the State Government says, in a rebuff to the Eyre Peninsula fishing industry.
Lincoln Minerals chief executive John Parker said he would apply to export from Port Lincoln for his company's Gum Flat project, if the mine proved viable.
Planning approval for Centrex Metals to export from the port was granted last October, prompting a petition from 4000 against the deal. The licence stipulated the deal was only for 10 years and only from the company's Wilgerup project.
The Opposition has announced it would block any further mineral export applications.
Resources Minister Paul Holloway said the approval was a "necessary first step" to create confidence in the iron ore industry which he hoped would lead to a new, privately funded port.
Tuna baron Hagen Stehr said: "This is short-term gain for long-term loss. It will have a detrimental effect on the seafood industry."

[rhino]

Also from today's Adelaide Now:

Trafford in $1.3m pledge to IronClad
CAMERON ENGLAND
January 05, 2010 11:30pm

IRONCLAD Mining shares hit a 12-month high yesterday, after major shareholder Trafford Resources confirmed it would take up its share of a $2.6 million rights issue.
Stock in the iron ore developer hit $1.31 before settling to close 8c lower at $1.08.
The shares had piled on 45.9 per cent the previous day, increasing from 79.5c to $1.16.
IronClad said this week it would fast-track the development of its Wilcherry Hill iron ore mine after tests showed the ore was amenable to low-cost dry treatment.
The money raised in the $2.6 million rights issue, $1.3 million of which is now guaranteed after the Trafford take-up of its 50 per cent share, will be used for final stages of the feasibility study into the mine and for mine development.
Other shareholders have until the close of business on January 14 to indicate whether they will take up the rights issue - which is offering one new share for each 10 shares held - at a price of 65c.
"On the back of exceptionally good metallurgical testwork, the board of IronClad has decided to continue and, where possible, accelerate the fast-track approach to the first stage of the Wilcherry Hill project,'' Trafford said.
"First production is targeted for the third quarter of the current year, to take advantage of the strong demand for iron ore by China's rapidly expanding steel industry and the resulting high prices for sea-borne iron ore.
"Recent metallurgical tests confirmed simple, dry, low-cost processing will enable IronClad to commence production of two million tonnes a year of premium direct shipping ore by the third quarter. Low-cost processing on-site is likely to be carried out utilising a simple mobile crushing and screening plant, with low-intensity magnetic separation options.''
As well as owning half of IronClad, Trafford, which spun the company out in 2007, also has a 20 per cent free carried interest in the Wilcherry Hill development.
In November, IronClad signed a deal to export its ore, from the project on the Eyre Peninsula, via Port Adelaide.
Trafford shares added 4.4 per cent to close at $1.06 yesterday, after increasing 33.6 per cent the previous day.

[rhino]

From today's Adelaide Now:

Libs' desal plan could cost 23,000 jobs, says Mike Rann
JILL PENGELLEY
January 07, 2010 11:50am

OPPOSITION plans for a desalination plant on the west coast would cost SA thousands of mining jobs and billions of dollars in lost investment, Premier Mike Rann claims.
The Government wants to put a desalination plant at Point Lowly, in the Upper Spencer Gulf, to cater for the planned multi-billion-dollar expansion of BHP Billiton's Olympic Dam mine.
Opposition Leader Isobel Redmond has identified an alternative site south of Penong, which Mr Rann said would jeopardise "23,000 jobs that will be created by the expanded mine and huge economic development for the Upper Spencer Gulf."
"Apart from the fact there are no power lines or basic infrastructure at her location, her policy fails to take into account a giant salt lake, flood plains, the Defence Department's Woomera Prohibited Area, Aboriginal heritage issues and national parks - none of which has been surveyed for a pipeline," he said this morning.
Mr Rann said he understood BHP Billiton had warned the Opposition that its policy threatened the continuation of the project.
"It's irresponsible in the extreme and would send a signal to future mining ventures that we are no longer open for business as a mining-friendly state," he said.
A spokesman for Ms Redmond said she had received no such warning and had neither met nor corresponded with the company.
The Opposition had environmental concerns about the Upper Spencer Gulf and believed a desalination plant would be better suited to the far west coast.


I wonder how much of these things are really problems? It's certainly not hard to build a pipeline across a salt lake or a floodplain, or to get a survey done. In fact, a quick look at a map will show you that from Penong to Olympic Dam, you can easily avoid salt lakes, aboriginal land, the WPA, and utilise the already-surveyed Trans Australian Railway permanent way, and still be taking a reasonably direct route.

[Wayno]

I wonder how much of these things are really problems? It's certainly not hard to build a pipeline across a salt lake or a floodplain, or to get a survey done. In fact, a quick look at a map will show you that from Penong to Olympic Dam, you can easily avoid salt lakes, aboriginal land, the WPA, and utilise the already-surveyed Trans Australian Railway permanent way, and still be taking a reasonably direct route.

Definitely an overreaction by Rann (election looming - simple scare tactics).

I was actually chatting about this desal issue with a couple of mates recently (yes - i do have real friends ), and our consensus was to place the plant somewhere near Kiana.

One thing that's not overly discussed is that the plant will be used for both mining and non-mining purposes (industry & domestic use all over the place). A modest amount of Fed/State govt funding could be used to cover the extra pipeline distance. This solution offers good proximity to the most populated areas on the peninsula, and is not too distant from Pt Lincoln where many employees could be based. Also avoids the main concern with Pt Lowly - saline issues in the gulf. It would be a vote winner in many respects.

[rhino]

Article from Saturday's Adelaide Now:

BHP insists Point Lowley best for desalination plant
SARAH MARTIN
January 08, 2010 12:01am

BHP Billiton says building its proposed desalination plant anywhere but Point Lowly on the Spencer Gulf would cost "hundreds of millions" more dollars.
The desal plant's location has divided the State Government and the Opposition, with the latter calling for BHP to investigate an alternative site on the West Coast beyond Ceduna.
Labor member for Giles, Lyn Breuer, also wants the plant built elsewhere, saying the risk to the giant cuttlefish population in the gulf is too great.
The desalination plant is included in the company's Olympic Dam Expansion draft Environmental Impact Statement, which is still being considered by the state and federal governments.
In a report to Parliament in November, Ms Breuer said the State Government had asked BHP to look at alternative locations, but a spokesman for Minerals Resources Minister Paul Holloway yesterday said that was not the case.
BHP head of external affairs Kym Winter-Dewhirst said the only site under consideration was Point Lowly.
"We are certainly conscious of the fact that there are others who believe we should be looking at other sites (but) we have studied a whole range of areas and we have concluded that Point Lowly is far and away the best location," he said.
Mr Winter-Dewhirst said he was confident the research undertaken by the company was sufficient, and questioned the Government's ability to block the site without blocking the project. "You either approve the whole project or you reject the whole project," he said.
Opposition leader Isobel Redmond, who wants the plant built near Penong, said she believed the Government was "over-anxious" for the project to go ahead.
"Is the Premier saying that no matter what environmental impact there may be, he is giving BHP the go-ahead to put the desal plant there?" Ms Redmond said.
"The Government would have the authority to tell them where they can't put the desal plant or where they can."
The State Government said the Liberal Party's position would add $500 million to development costs and threaten the multi-billion dollar project.
"The election of a Redmond government would be catastrophic to the project," Premier Mike Rann said in a statement.
Mr Winter-Dewhirst said if the project were to blow out by half a billion dollars, financing the expansion could be more difficult.
"If suddenly at the whim of a special interest group or a government we were to dramatically alter the financial fundamentals of a project it would have to come under a lot of scrutiny," he said.

[skyliner]

I wonder if anyone has thought of a pipeline from the Pt Lowly site to the lib. site for connection to the sea. it should be a consideration costing less than $500m? it could be on the land surface all the way over thus avoiding trenching costs and as the land is relatively flat this also would reduce costs. It would call for pumping facilities near the sea site and perhaps along the way however. This way all parties are addressed in some way.

SA - STATE ON THE MOVE

[Wayno]

I wonder if anyone has thought of a pipeline from the Pt Lowly site to the lib. site for connection to the sea. it should be a consideration costing less than $500m? it could be on the land surface all the way over thus avoiding trenching costs and as the land is relatively flat this also would reduce costs. It would call for pumping facilities near the sea site and perhaps along the way however. This way all parties are addressed in some way.

I'm confused. Do you mean suck water from the guly into the Desal plant at Point Lowly (for use by BHP, etc) and have an outlet pipe running E->W across the peninsula to discharge brine into the open sea beyond Ceduna?