#Official Mining Thread

[Wayno]

That's good news Rhino. Mines within a couple hours of ODX have certainly become hot property. Geographic clustering of mines offers many advantages. Suspect we'll see plenty more of this over the coming years...

[monotonehell]

That's good news Rhino. Mines within a couple hours of ODX have certainly become hot property. Geographic clustering of mines offers many advantages. Suspect we'll see plenty more of this over the coming years...

Yes, you're correct. The guys from accounting have also noticed this and have made a cost saving recommendation to have all the minerals moved to a more convenient and central location.

[Wayno]

That's good news Rhino. Mines within a couple hours of ODX have certainly become hot property. Geographic clustering of mines offers many advantages. Suspect we'll see plenty more of this over the coming years...

Yes, you're correct. The guys from accounting have also noticed this and have made a cost saving recommendation to have all the minerals moved to a more convenient and central location.

The Internal Audit Dept has authority over Accounting, but are likely to approve such an idea...

[Wayno]

Govt recommendation for more mining in the Woomera region

A FEDERAL government report has recommended a downsizing of the Woomera weapons testing range to allow for increased mining activity.

An interim report into the use of the massive South Australian site says that the Defence Department should cede ground to the mining companies to allow for greater exploitation of deposits of uranium, gold and copper, which are believed to be among the largest in the nation.

There are three mines in operation on the government-owned land, along with a core area for military use. The report proposes an unspecified reduction in the core area.

Miners and the military should both operate at certain sections of the site -- which is the size of England -- on a "time-share" basis, it says.

The federal government ordered the review into the use of the Woomera Protected Area after the Defence Department blocked a joint venture at the site between a Chinese company and West Australian iron ore miner Western Plains Resources last year.

The report says that the department is not the owner of the land and should support mining in the region.

"Defence has a responsibility to facilitate co-existence to the fullest extent possible while still protecting people, property and official secrets," it says.

Early last year, Treasurer Wayne Swan blocked a planned takeover of OZ Minerals by China's Minmetals on the grounds that one of its mines was in the Woomera Prohibited Area.

Minmetals was forced to pare back the deal to exclude the Prominent Hill copper and gold mine.

A time-share basis? so mining during the day and weapon testing overnight

[Wayno]

An addendum to my previous post:

Indications are that the area to be opened to mining within the Woomera precinct contain 62% of Australia's known copper resources and 78% of uranium. In today's figures that's over $1,000,000,000,000 (yes a trillion dollars) of mineral wealth for SA.

[rhino]

WOOOOHOOOOO!

[skyliner]

An addendum to my previous post:

Indications are that the area to be opened to mining within the Woomera precinct contain 62% of Australia's known copper resources and 78% of uranium. In today's figures that's over $1,000,000,000,000 (yes a trillion dollars) of mineral wealth for SA.

Read this on the net under ODX mining as well. Big bonus for SA

SA - STATE ON THE MOVE

[rhino]

Here it comes!

Olympic Dam plan within days
CHRISTOPHER RUSSELL From: The Advertiser November 17, 2010 12:01AM

MINING giant BHP Billiton will hand a long-awaited Olympic Dam environmental plan to the federal and state governments within 10 days.

Chief executive Marius Kloppers would only say yesterday handover of the Supplementary Environmental Impact Statement was "imminent".

Several non-BHP sources said it would be delivered by the end of the month.

Analysts speculate Monday's scuttling of BHP's $US40 billion bid to buy Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan in Canada would add impetus to Olympic Dam as a growth option.

After the annual meeting in Perth yesterday, Mr Kloppers said BHP had funds for the staged expansion.

"We've been growing at about 20 per cent a year over the past decade," he said. "We can deploy about $US15 billion a year organically (on its own projects, not acquisitions). Olympic Dam is very much within that envelope."
He believed the project was on track for final approvals from governments, leading to a decision to go ahead from the BHP board by the end of next year.

The supplementary EIS will not be made public immediately but is expected to be released before Christmas if the governments are satisfied it contains enough data on which they can evaluate plans to expand the copper-gold-uranium mine.

It is BHP Billiton's answer to the hundreds of submissions from the public, organisations and the federal, SA and NT governments on the draft EIS which detailed the expansion plans that would create the world's biggest open-cut mine.

Progress on the expansion puts pressure on the State Government to find a replacement for Paul Case who has resigned as chief of the Olympic Dam Taskforce, which spearheads negotiations with the government.

A spokeswoman for Treasurer Kevin Foley said a new head would be appointed soon. Bruce Carter, who yesterday said he would step down from the Economic Development Board, will remain taskforce chairman.

At the AGM, environmental activists and Aboriginal representatives asked why BHP was mining uranium at Yeelirrie in WA. BHP chairman Jac Nasser said people with concerns should engage in the consultation process.

[Wayno]

yay!

Of course it will be 9-12 months before BHP finally makes public their expansion plan & timeline.

[skyliner]

Yay again!!! Seems all is quite favourable to the miner going through to construction and hence SA getting a huge economic boost. The next year will be a loooong wait however.

SA - STATE ON THE MOVE

[Wayno]

Another new mine. Will start sometime next year. 6-10 year lifespan.

SOUTH Australian iron ore project developer WPG Resources has lodged a mining and rehabilitation program for its flagship mine south of Coober Pedy.

The company expects Peculiar Knob mine's life, on a stand-alone basis, to be 6 years, including short ramp-up and ramp-down periods.

Mining would start next year, with sales to begin at the end of the year and build up to 3.3 million tonnes a year high grade fines over several months as rolling stock becomes available.

WPG said a combined DSO project's life would extend to 10 years if an eventual Commonwealth review of of the Woomera Prohibited Area allows development within proposed guidelines of Buzzard and Tui deposits at Hawks Nest.

Approval of the MARP and a development application for the construction of the Port Pirie ore storage facility, are the last of the main hurdles to be cleared before Peculiar Knob can be put into production.

A decision is expected this year.

[rhino]

A bit more about the Mount Gunson Copper Mine, I think ...

$20m windfall for SA family from public float of Salisbury Resources
RUSSELL EMMERSON From: The Advertiser November 19, 2010 12:00AM

A SOUTH Australian family-owned company stands to gain more than $20 million from the successful float of Salisbury Resources.
Mining contracting company A & MJ Musolino holds the mining lease that will form the flagship of the proposed $5 million-plus float and will continue to operate its own four-man copper oxide leach operation after the float.
The Musolino operation produces about four tonnes of copper a day, worth about $35,000, from its lease 130km south of Olympic Dam. The prospectus also reveals the company stands to gain $20 million in cash and shares in the following five years if Salisbury converts the prospect to a commercial mine the shares to be issued at a 10 per cent discount to the average value at the time.
Musolino also has been given first right to tender for the mining contract on the Cattle Grid Copper Deposit that forms the basis of the Salisbury float the value of which is not disclosed.
Director Tony Musolino said he was happy to keep his own operation going while Salisbury developed the rest of the site.
"They are prepared to see the potential of the site," he said. "We couldn't afford to put in plant of about $80 million... and that is what is required to develop this mine which we think can produce $1.2 billion of copper."
That estimate is based on a copper content of 1.3 per cent. Drilling suggests higher grades up to 1.9 per cent. Salisbury chairman Les Mann said the company would stick with its published conservative estimates. "It has the potential to go a lot further but we have got to put things in print that we can justify," he said.
Salisbury aims for a pre-Christmas listing to fund the exercise of its option on the Cattle Grid prospect by August next year. It will be its second attempt at listing.
It turned to seed investors to raise $780,000 in 2007 after its first attempt was foiled by the global financial crisis. Only $190,842 remains, so the company turned to Musolino for a $400,000 loan for IPO costs.
The author travelled to the site as a guest of Salisbury Resources

[rhino]

And our 13th mine is here:

OneSteel's Iron Chieftain mine at Whyalla launched
ADAM TODD From: The Advertiser November 19, 2010 12:00AM

UP TO 30 more mines and resource projects are in the pipeline across the South Australia, Premier Mike Rann says, after launching the state's 13th operating mine yesterday.
Mr Rann launched OneSteel's Iron Chieftain mine in the Southern Middleback Ranges, 50km west of Whyalla.
OneSteel will start production at the site before the end of the year, as part of its $350 million Project Magnet Phase 2, exporting six million tonnes of iron ore a year for 10 years.
"This iron ore project is just the latest in a pipeline of 20-30 significant resource projects expected to be developed in South Australia in the years ahead, further enhancing our reputation as a reliable exporter of mineral resources," Mr Rann said during a tour of the site yesterday.
"Iron Chieftain will be the 13th mine in South Australia, building on the four mines that were in operation when Labor took office in 2002.
"One million tonnes were exported a few years ago, it's now six million tonnes, all of it to China."
Mr Rann said the project would provide job security for OneSteel Whyalla's 650 employees and contractors at the Southern Middleback Ranges mining operations.
OneSteel Whyalla chief executive Mark Parry said the approval of the Iron Chieftain mine would guarantee production for at least the next decade.
"Based on the reserves we've got, we expect to be able to ship 6 million tonnes of iron ore a year for 10 years, that takes us through to 2020," he said.
Whyalla Mayor Jim Pollock said the launch of the mine was an important milestone in the renaissance of Whyalla.
"Whyalla's been at the top, it's been at the bottom and now it's coming back to the top," he said.
Mr Pollock said he hoped Whyalla's population of 22,000 could reach 30,000 within the next decade based on mining growth.
"This mine just gives the further added security to our community that's needed."
Mr Rann also met with officials from Arafura Resources who announced in September plans for a $1 billion rare earths project at Whyalla.
The Arafura project has been declared a major project and the resource company hopes to gain approval and start construction by the start of 2012.



I assume the Iron Duke Mine is still operating?

[rhino]

It seems we may have even more copper in the ground up north ...

Monax plans April drilling for Punt Hill project
MEREDITH BOOTH From: The Advertiser November 17, 2010 1:54PM

SOUTH Australian iron oxide copper gold explorer Monax will start its first drilling program under a new Chilean-backed joint venture at its key Punt Hill project from April 2011.
Exploration success at Punt Hill, 130km north of Port Augusta, will potentially deliver Monax a $US10 million "success" fee from Chilean partner, Antofagasta Minerals S.A, chairman Bob Kennedy told shareholders at the company's annual meeting today.
Antofagasta, a global top 10 copper producer, has indicated it was prepared to approve accelerated spending on Punt Hill based on positive drill results and would pay the fee once it made a development decision to mine Punt Hill.
Monax already has spent $5 million drilling 22 holes (19,680m) on ten regional targets to mature this project, Mr Kennedy said.
"We had undertaken sufficient work to successfully attract an international partner with guarantees to spend no less than $US1.5 million on Punt Hill within the next two years and up to $US4 million within four years to earn a 51 per cent stake,'' he said.
"What this ensures is that there will be ongoing well funded exploration activity taking place at Punt Hill with the potential to intensify that over even shorter timeframes.''

[Wayno]

Hm, interesting one. i'm not exactly sure where this new lode is located - obviously spans the SA/NT border, but where? I will investigate and advise...

http://www.mineweb.com/mineweb/view/min ... ail&pid=55

Australia announces discovery of potentially rich new vein of minerals

According to Australia's resource minister, the country may have discovered a rich new vein with similarities to BHP's Olympic Dam lode

Australia may have discovered a potentially rich new vein of minerals and energy, with similarities to BHP Billiton's Olympic Dam lode, the world's largest known uranium deposit, its resource minister said on Friday.

A geological survey, as part of the government's Onshore Energy Security programme, indicates the potential for "significant discoveries of energy and mineral resources", particularly in South Australia.

Australia is currently experiencing a resources boom fuelled by Asia's voracious appetite for minerals, which its central bank says could last 20 years.

Resource Minister Martin Ferugson said in a statement announcing the potential new resource reserves that data showed geological similarities to the uranium-copper-gold at Olympic Dam and neighbouring Prominent Hill copper and gold deposit.

"The survey also crossed large sedimentary basins which have the potential for a range of petroleum and hydrocarbon resources," said Ferguson.

Geoscience Australia collected 634 kms (390 miles) of seismic and other data from northern South Australia state and the southern part of the Northern Territory, providing images of the geology deep beneath the earth surface.

The area surveyed was remote and had previously been inaccessible due to sediments, including desert sands that cover most of the rocks which are considered to have potential for either energy or mineral resources.