December 9th, 2009
I had been working in Australian underground mines for over 10 years before I had the opportunity to visit some underground mines in the USA. What amazed me was the stark contrasts in mining practices in Australia vs the USA. I thought that I would share some of those experiences for those that have not had the privilege of seeing both USA and Australian underground mines. There are some practices that are widespread in Australia, yet banned in USA mines. On the other hand, there are some things that are allowed in USA mines that Australian mine workers would not believe were allowed.
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 [...]
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 [...]
May 17th, 2007
I am sure that you have seen the news about mining companies having to scale back coal production due to infrastructure problems.
Rio Tinto’s Coal & Allied Division announced a 20 percent cut in coal production due to bottlenecks in rail infrastructure and Newcastle Port. As a result, 250 miners will lose their jobs this month.
Other [...]
April 4th, 2007
You may have read about the Western Australian Environmental Protection Authority stopping Rio Tinto from expanding its Pilbarra iron ore project because it failed to protect five species of Troglobite.
Robe River Mining Company, a subsidiary of Rio Tinto, had proposed the $12.5 billion Mesa A project as an expansion of the Pilbarra iron ore project.
The [...]
March 20th, 2007
Who thinks that the Australian mining boom is over? Not me! I have reviewed the latest Mineral Exploration figures that have just been released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
In the December 2006 quarter alone, mineral exploration (excluding petroleum) rose yet another $36 million (9.5%) to $424 million.
This represents an increase of over [...]
December 6th, 2006
A Parliamentary Committee has given the green light to the sale of Australian uranium to China. The committee has concluded that the sale would be in the national interest of Australia. IT was convinced that there are suitable measures in place to ensure that Australia’s uranium would only be used for peaceful processes.
Committee [...]