March 11th, 2009
Our company has made a strategic decision to sell our Australian mining web sites to focus our attention on our website design and internet marketing business.
We are offering for sale our complete suite of Australian mining web sites. These include the following sites:
Included in the sale are the domain names, the complete web content and all the email subscribers.
Our websites rank on the first page of the main search engines for some of the best keywords like “mining companies”, “mining equipment”, and “mining directory”
We are also offering for sale the following domain names that are owned by us:
Key Statistics
- Up to 15,000 web visitors per month
- 3,000 companies listed in the Mining Business Directory
- Almost 3,000 subscribers to our miningreference.com email newsletter
- Over 1,500 subscribers to Mining Marketing email newsletter
- Over 10,000 registered job seekers on The Mining Jobsite
Interested parties are requested to send an email to info@miningreference.com or call us on either of our contact telephone numbers:
- (02) 4016-4022 (Australia)
- (888) 601-9473 (USA)
Tags: Internet Business For Sale, mining reference sale
Posted in Internet Business For Sale, marketing, news | No Comments »
March 11th, 2009
The Australian Mines and Metals Association (AMMA) has released a survey showing that over half of our mining companies will cut staff numbers over the next 12 months.
The AMMA surveyed over 100 mining companies and found that:
- 55% of companies were likely to cut staff
- a further 21% of companies said that cutting staff was a possibility
- 15% suggested that they were not likely to cut staff
- 9% said they were not sure
These figures come on the heels of the news that in the last quarter, over 10,000 job cuts have been made, according to the AMMA.
This is amazing given a prediction less than 12 months ago suggesting that an additional 86,000 mine staff would be needed.
Calvin Close
Australian Mining Reference
Tags: Australia, Jobs, mining
Posted in Australia, Jobs | No Comments »
March 11th, 2009
News out of Japan is that Australia’s largest coal producers are to agree to a 40% cut in thermal coal prices. The final price is expected to be in the range of US$70 - US$72 per tonne, sharply down from the US$125 per tonne that Japanese companies have been paying for their thermal coal.
This cut represents a $5 billion cut in export earnings for Australia.
You know that times are really not so good for the Australian mining industry when companies can take that sort of cut and be convinced that this is a good result for them.
When you look at the spot price hovering around US$60 per tonne, you realise that the companies might be right in their enthusiasm.
Although down 40% from last year, this year’s price will still be the second highest price paid by the Japanese companies. It is also still far higher than the contracted price just 2 years ago.
The slightly better that expected thermal coal prices being negotiated have given hope that the coking coal prices will not be hit as hard as previously expected.
Our iron ore producers are expecting a 30% cut in prices from the current US$100 per tonne.
Calvin Close
Australian Mining Reference
Tags: Australia, Coal Mining, coal prices
Posted in Australia, Coal Mining, mining, news | No Comments »
November 12th, 2008
We have all seen the news about the slowing Australian economy. The latest ANZ jobs survey showed a 5.9% decrease in job advertisements in October. This followed a 1.4 decrease in September. Overall, job advertisements are down 9.8% from October last year.
(See full story on MarketWatch)
The government has release the Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook (MYEFO) which predicts that Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and jobs growth are both expected to slow significantly. However, Treasury has assessed that a recession is not in prospect.
(See full story on Forbes)
Yes. Australia is being affected by the global financial crisis.
So what about the mining industry?
Many people believe that the mining boom has peaked. Actually, it seems more like there is a “wait and see” approach being taken by some mining companies. Many projects have been put “on hold” while the mining companies assess potential drops in resources demand. Production cuts have also been announced by several mining companies. This has meant that many companies have already cut staff.
The recent announcement of China’s Economic Stimulus plan has caused shares in major Australian mining companies to rise on Monday.
Despite the downturn, the Minerals Council of Australia (MCA) has maintained that demand from China will continue at high levels. They are still predicting significant increases in jobs over the next 12 years.
It will be interesting to watch proceedings over the next few months.
Tags: mining, mining forecast
Posted in Jobs, mining, news | No Comments »
August 7th, 2008
Xstrata Coal today announced that it has secured Xstrata PLC Board approval to proceed with the AUD1.1 billion development of the Mangoola Coal open cut coal mine near Muswellbrook. Xstrata Coal acquired the Mangoola project from Centennial Coal (then known as Anvil Hill) in October 2007.
The construction of the mine will create around 400 new jobs, with an expected 300 employees required for the ongoing operation of the site.
A further 700 employment opportunities will be created indirectly as a result of the development.
The Mangoola Coal mine will produce up to 10.5 million tonnes per year of run of mine ROM of both export and domestic quality thermal coal with an expected mine life of 18 years.
Mangoola Coal will generate over AUD35 million ($33 million) per annum for the NSW State Government through coal royalties and provide significant support to local infrastructure, employment and training projects through a Memorandum of Understanding with Muswellbrook Shire Council.
Peter Freyberg, Xstrata Coal Chief Executive, stated that, “Xstrata Coal is the largest producer of export coal in New South Wales, with a proven history of successful project development. We have the technical skills, experience and senior management in place to deliver projects on time and on budget, as demonstrated by the recent completion of our Liddell and Glendell open cut projects.”
At each stage of the Mangoola Coal project, Xstrata Coal will implement detailed environmental management processes to address energy conservation, air quality, noise and vibration, water resources, and any potential impacts to flora and fauna.
Mangoola Coal will produce coal for both the export and domestic markets in a 80:20 ratio over the life of the mine. An agreement for the first 12 years of domestic production is in place with Macquarie Generation (Bayswater and Liddell power stations). Export output will range between 6 million tonnes and 7 million tonnes per annum. All product coal will be transported by rail from the mine site to either Macquarie Generation or the port of Newcastle.
Major construction works will commence upon the issuance of the mining lease. Development consents and other approvals have been received.
Posted in Coal Mining, New Mines, XStrata, news | No Comments »
July 11th, 2008
We have just launched a new web site for Business Owners called The Business Reference. The site has lots of free information to help you run your business. Here are just some of the information you can get your hands on from this web site:
The idea behind this site is that many people would ask us questions about how to run or market their business. We knew that there is a host of free information out there, so are compiling the best free information into one place.
We will continue to add to this site as information becomes available.
Let us know if there is something that you think that we should include on the Business Reference site.
Posted in New Services | No Comments »
January 22nd, 2008
A new type of transport system is now available that could bring incredible benefits to the mining industry. The system can potentially eliminate the need for constructing new railways to transport coal / ore from the mine to the port (or other destination).
The great thing about it is that the same system can also be used to transport workers to / from the mine, in many cases eliminating the need for expensive fly-in-fly-out (FIFO) transport. The system can also be used to transport supplies to / from the mine.
Another major benefit for the mining industry is that this system can eliminate the need for expensive port loading infrastructure because the transport modules can load directly into ships.
This system is also an answer to some of the criticism received from the environmental movement. The system can be installed with minimal earthworks and can cross sensitive environmental areas with minimal impact. The system is also extremely fuel efficient.
The cost to install the system is about half the cost of installing a conventional railway line. If you combine the savings from line construction and eliminating the port requirements, the savings amount to hundreds of millions of dollars. In some cases, this can mean the difference between proceeding or not proceeding with a new mine development.
Read more about the application to mining transport.
The same company has also developed a system for high speed passenger transport.
Imagine being able to travel from Sydney to Melbourne in less than 2 hours! Imagine doing it without all the hassles of airport check-ins and going through security.
Their inner city passenger transport solution will enable people to travel across the city at speeds of up to 110kph. This type of system can be installed in just about any city because it is installed ABOVE the city.
For more information, go to the Alternate Transport website. The website has lots of images and even a few videos to watch.
Tags: coal transport, congestion, passenger transport, rail transport, traffic
Posted in Infrastructure, Mining Equipment Suppliers, news | 3 Comments »
January 8th, 2008
Mining Equipment heavy-weight, Joy Global, has announced that it has agreed to buy Continental Global, the world-wide manufacturer of conveyor systems. The deal which is worth US$270 million is expected to be finalised within the first quarter 2008.
Mike Sutherlin, Joy Global’s President and Chief Executive Officer said that the purchase of Continental would expand the range of products and services they can deliver to their customers, and was consistent with their strategy of adding related and highly synergised product lines. He added that Continental’s conveyor systems fit closely with their surface and underground and businesses, allowing Joy to leverage their strong global presence in both segments.
From other comments made, it appears that Joy is looking to further integrate their face mining systems with outbye conveyor systems in order to further improve system reliability. If this truly happens, it would surely be welcomed by all longwall and development superintendents.
Let’s see how all this progresses.
Calvin Close
Managing Director
Australian Mining Reference
Further links:
Australian Mining Business Directory
- Underground Coal Mining Equipment
- Open Cut Mining Equipment
- Hard Rock Mining Equipment
- Conveyor Equipment
Tags: Continental Conveyors, Joy, Mining Acquisitions, Mining News
Posted in Joy Mining, Mining Equipment Suppliers, news | No Comments »
December 5th, 2007
The number of people that are scalded each year from removing radiator caps is incredible. From research, it appears that each year, over 5,000 people are scalded in the USA from removing radiator caps. I couldn’t get any accurate numbers from Australia, but the number is still very high.
In fact, there are countless Mining Safety Alerts about scald injuries from people removing radiator caps on mine sites in Australia.
A small Australian company, MineSafe, has now come up with a solution to this problem by designing a radiator cap that is impossible to remove without first releasing the pressure from the radiator using the pressure release lever. Their main radiator cap has been specifically designed for use underground in mines. The cap has no prohibited alloy components and is built robustly for the tough environmental conditions experienced at mine sites.
We all know that hard barriers are a much better control for preventing accidents than procedures. These MineSafe Radiator Caps are a hard barrier.
These caps are inexpensive so there is no reason that they shouldn’t be fitted to every vehicle on a mine site. In fact, they have models to suit most industrial radiators and also smaller versions to fit standard passenger vehicles.
For more information, you can go to the MineSafe Radiator Caps website, or call Jean or Brett on +612 6372-2579.
Tags: radiator cap, Safety
Posted in Safety | 1 Comment »
October 30th, 2007
Xstrata Coal has continued its buying spree with the purchase of Anvil Hill and Austral Coal from Centennial Coal. Helios Australia (a subsidiary of Xstrata Coal) has paid $1.86 per Austral share. This means that Centennial will receive A$479 million from XStrata Coal.
Previously, Centennial Coal completed the sale of its Anvil Hill development to XStrata for A$454 million.
Centennial is using the proceeds of both sales to reduce debt and for capital management initiatives.
Posted in Centennial Coal, Coal Mining, New Mines, XStrata, news | 3 Comments »