The Mining Blog

miningreference.com is pleased to announce the upcoming launch of The Mining Showcase on 1 September 2006.

The Mining Showcase is the place for companies to showcase their products and services to the mining industry.

The idea for The Mining Showcase began because we had so many companies approach us asking how they could promote their products and services to the mining industry. Many of these products and services were unique and very beneficial to the industry.

All of these companies were facing similar problems of getting their products / services known to the mining industry.

On the other hand, the team at miningreference.com had experience in promoting to the mining industry.

The match was obvious. These companies had the great products and services; the miningreference.com team had the experience and appropriate channels to promote these to the mining industry.

What’s more, we did not stop there with product listings on The Mining Showcase. We surveyed all the requests we had received for assistance in promoting to the mining industry.

We realised that some companies not only wanted to be able to “showcase” their products on the internet; they also wanted a higher-profile promotion of their products and services.

We tailored several “Mining Promotion Packages” that specifically addressed the needs of these companies. There are packages to suit every budget. All the packages include listings in The Mining Showcase, but the higher-end packages include other means of promotion to the mining industry.

The top-end package, “Platinum”, includes an incredible range of services that provide an un-precedented promotion into the mining industry and beyond.

We have received a great response from our existing advertisers, so we are really excited about this latest service provided by miningreference.com.

For further information about promoting your product / service to the mining industry, or to request a sneak preview of The Mining Showcase, please contact advertising@miningreference.com.

Calvin Close
miningreference.com - Australia’s Premier Mining Directory, plus a whole lot more

BHP Billiton has posted an Australian corporate record profit of US$15.3 billion (Underlying EBIT) for the financial year ending 30 June 2006. This profit comes on the back of the booming resources sector.

Although this profit is great news for BHP Billiton shareholders, their record profit has also allowed them to invest a significant amount of money into new growth projects. This investment is good news for the Australian economy and employment.

BHP Billiton also announced a share buy-back program of US$3.0 billion over the next 18 months.

A summary of the results for the full financial year ending 30 June 2006 are as follows:

• Commodity markets remain strong underpinned by supply restrictions and a generally constructive global economy.
• Annual records for all key earnings measures including Underlying EBITDA up 50% to US$18.1 billion and Underlying EBIT up 54% to US$15.3 billion.
• Attributable profit up 63% to US$10.5 billion, including exceptionals, and up 58% to US$10.2 billion, excluding exceptionals.
• EPS up 66%, including exceptionals, and 60%, excluding exceptionals, benefiting from recent buy-backs.
• Underlying EBIT margin and Return on Capital Employed increased to 44% and 35% respectively.
• Record annual production volumes for aluminium, copper, iron ore, nickel and natural gas in a strong demand environment.
• Four major growth projects completed and seven major growth projects approved. 23 projects in execution or feasibility, representing US$13.8 billion of investment.
• Final dividend of 18.5 US cents per share, an increase of 27.6% on last year’s final dividend. This brings the full year dividend to 36.0 US cents per share, up 28.6%.
• Further capital return of US$3.0 billion, bringing total for FY2006 to US$5.0 billion.

(Source: BHP Billiton News Release Number 26/06, 23 Aug 2006)

Further details can be obtained by viewing their full news release.

Please note that this post does not represent financial advice of any sort.

Calvin Close
miningreference.com - Australia’s Premier Mining Directory

We have all heard it… BANG! goes the water pipes in your home when the water supply is turned off by the washing machine, dishwasher, or even when you turn off some taps in your home. This effect is known as “water hammer” or “hydraulic shock”, and apart from the irritating noise it makes, actually causes damage to the pipes in your home.

Now, imagine what would happen if the pipes were 30 - 40 cm diameter pipes. Well, I have seen what happens. In one mine that I worked, I saw where about a dozen 1″ roof bolts were broken because of water hammer in the pipe that was hanging from them. It is absolutely amazing to see!

There have been many companies try to solve this problem. Some try to dampen the effect. Their solutions only partly solve the problem, and some of them come with some big adverse side-effects. Another (very expensive way) of solving this problem is by installing “soft-start” pumps that ramp up / ramp down the speed of the pump. Again, this only covers some of the times where water hammer occurs.

Now, a company in Australia has developed a water hammer arrestor that eliminates (positive and negative) hydraulic shock 100% effectively.

Not only can the device eliminate water hammer in pipes containing water at any pipe size and pressure, it can also combat this shock in steam, gas, air, sludge or just about any other fluid. The applications cover both residential installations and industries such as mining, oil/gas, etc.

The arrestor is not presently available for sale, but more information will be available on a website currently being prepared by the developers of the arrestor. I will post further details as they become available.

What are your experiences with water hammer? Has water hammer been a real headache to you? Let us know by posting a comment.

Calvin Close
Managing Director
miningreference.com - Australia’s Premier Mining Directory