Largest coal mine in Russia opens

Largest-coal-mine-in-Russia-opens-659681-l_300A new 167 year life coal mine has opened in Russia.

The new Arshanovsky open cut mine, in south eastern Siberia, has set a goal of two billion tonnes of coal extracted over its mine life, at a rate of around 10 million tonnes per annum, according to the Siberian Times.

One of Australia’s largest coal mines, Adani’s Carmichael mine, has an operational life of only 60 years.

The Russian mine will be located in the Khakassia region of Siberia, with plans to construct additional rail infrastructure to support the operation.

The opening comes as Russia also announces the construction of two new coal ports in Siberia, which gives the nation more access to Chinese, Japanese, and Korean coal markets.

US industry barely growing

US-industry-barely-growing-659661-lThe United States manufacturing sector appears to have slowed to only slight rate of growth, according to the Federal Reserve’s figures.
The Wall Street Journal reports that overall industrial production – around three quarters of which is made up by manufacturing – grew by 0.2 per cent in January.
This was not enough to offset a decline of 0.3 per cent in December.
Reuters noted that the overall 0.2 per cent increase in industrials – including manufacturing, utilities and mining – was “entirely” due to an uptick in utilities.
The results “underscore what we have seen in the past couple of months from the ISM factory index: the manufacturing sector is cooling off after an extraordinarily robust 2014,” offered chief economist for Amherst Pierpont Securities Stephen Stanley in a note to clients.
Capacity utilisation was steady for January at 79.4 per cent, just below the historical average for the years 1972 to 2014.
The result follows similar indications from the ISM survey released at the beginning of the month, which registered the slowest manufacturing performance in a year, influenced by the decline in commodity prices.

UNIVERSAL STANDARD PROPOSED TO MINIMISE MINING IMPACT

QN-15-Sibelco2An organisation that develops international industry standards has set its sights on reducing the long-term impact of mining, which could have implications for the quarrying industry.

ISO, the world’s largest developer of voluntary international standards, has formed a new subcommittee that will focus on minimising the long-term damage that can potentially be caused by mining activities.

The aim of creating these mining reclamation management standards is to improve the relationship between the mining industry and local communities, as well as the quality of life of residents that live in the surrounding areas.

Subcommittee chair Professor Sun Joon Kim explained that the conflict that could occur between these parties could sometimes grow beyond reasonable mediation.

“International standards for mining reclamation management can be beneficial as these internationally agreed guidelines help avoid excessive claims or profits from one side, leading to a win-win situation,” he said.

Developing a universal guideline
While it was acknowledged that many countries had established effective local standards, Kim said ISO would be developing a “general guideline that can be applied universally” and which can address “more detailed fields and standards that meet each situation … if necessary, special situations must be standardised separately”.

Commenting on the standard development process, ISO mining technical committee chair Reinhard Reinartz said, “The first and most important step is for [the mining technical committee] to identify and understand in detail these different needs. Then we will be able to identify common ground with other topics and fields, making sure we are not isolating issues.”

Reinartz explained that both the mining committee and its mining reclamation management subcommittee would be working with related ISO technical committees – especially in the field of machinery – to exchange findings, discuss next steps and, where possible, create a common interdisciplinary standard.

“This will ensure best practices are being shared for the benefit of the industry and highlight where we need to be industry-specific,” he concluded.

An ISO spokeswoman confirmed to Quarry that the subcommittee would be focusing on all types of mining, including both underground and surface mines or open-cut mines such as quarries.

“After the suggestion of a general guideline applicable to any specific mining activities, the next step for the subcommittee would include developing guidelines of more detailed mining objects. During this stage, the subcommittee would consider whether or not quarrying needs special standards,” she explained.

ISO has published more than 19,500 international standards since it was founded in 1947. The organisation comprises a network of national standards bodies from 163 countries and is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.

Rio Tinto iron ore to cut costs across all sites

Rio Tinto’s iron ore business is set to engage in a heavy cost cutting campaign, involving renegotiation of service contracts, reduction of scheduled maintenance task times, and changes to staff pay which will “reflect market conditions”.

An internal document leaked to Australian Mining this week showed Rio Tinto iron ore chief executive Andrew Harding had outlined a series of cost cutting requirements, including an immediate hiring freeze, which he said must be performed to maintain business success.

The document was distributed by email to members of management, and was read aloud to workers on all Rio Tinto iron ore sites in Western Australia.

The areas said to require urgent attention include:

Cost-outs and capital reductions that are significantly below the existing plan;
The renegotiation of significant service and supply contracts;
Reflecting market conditions for employees and labour related costs;
The extension of an immediate hiring freeze and review of organisational structures;
Revamping of the way we schedule maintenance – by intervals and task times;
A significant reduction in warehouse and stockpile inventories.
Harding stressed that “the whole business will be called to contribute to this work, with a degree of urgency”.

The document also said that all site superintendents will be subject to quarterly reviews, which would help to identify “pinch points” in the business.

“These will cover safety, cost and productivity performance, as well as commitments for the forthcoming quarter,” Harding said.

“I do not intend that any of these actions, and the extra efforts required on safety, will compromise our objective of continuing to be the best iron ore company in the world.

“Indeed, I expect that they will actually ensure that we can continue to be ‘the best’.”

Harding said the agenda was a large one, but “not unmanageable”.

Australian Mining contacted Rio Tinto to discuss the details of these adjustments, however a spokesperson for Rio Tinto said no further details could be disclosed at this point, and made the following statement:

“We remain focused on maintaining our market competitiveness in very challenging industry conditions. For some time now our people have been pursuing cost and productivity improvements. We are constantly examining all parts of our business in order to remain strong and globally competitive.”

Recent rumours among staff on Rio Tinto sites around Western Australia suggest plans to cut the Australian iron ore workforce by 10 to 15 per cent, however Rio Tinto said these claims were incorrect.

Rio Tinto will release their Quarterly Report on Thursday evening, February 12.

Arrium sells Newcastle manufacturing business

Arrium is selling its Wire Ropes business in Newcastle to a Danish firm for $90 million.

The business supplies drag line and shovel ropes to miners and has been operating for more than 90 years.

Arrium’s CEO Andrew Roberts said while Wire Ropes is a quality outfit, it lies outside the company’s strategic focus for future growth in mining consumables.

“Our growth in mining consumables is centred on the global mineral processing industry, including capturing at least our share of the expected strong growth in grinding media demand,” Roberts said.

“Today’s announcement is consistent with our focus on recuding debt, and builds on our good progress with asset divestments.”

Arrium’s asset divestment proceeds for FY2015 will increase to at least $150 million following the completion of the sale in March.

New owner Bekeart is expected to offer all of Wire Rope’s 100 workers ongoing employment.

Last month, Arrium announced it will be recording an asset impairment charge of $1.3 billion.

The writedown relates to Arrium’s iron ore mining and steel businesses and includes an impairment of $1.7 billion in the company primarily related to the impact of low iron ore prices and the mothballing of Southern Iron mine, and $130 million in steel and recycling.

The company is targeting a $200 million reduction in its capital expenditure as well as a redesign of its mining business in order to deal with the mining downturn.

Sandvik to close Wollongong operations

wollongong_300Sandvik has announced it will close its Wollongong operations and reduce its Kalgoorlie site in the wake of continuing mining uncertainty.

As a result of the shutdown Sandvik will now focus on field service in the Illawarra, while its Kalgoorlie site will now operate as a field service division, warehouse, and rock drill rebuild facility.

“Sandvik Mining in Australia continues to operate under very challenging market conditions, with the continued reduction in commodity prices and subsequent decline in the mining business,” Rowan Melrose, country manager for Sandvik Australia, stated.

“As a result Sandvik Mining has undertaken a further review of the business and adjusted our Australian operations accordingly.”

As a result of these changes 63 roles will be made redundant in the company.

“Unfortunately, these redundancies are necessary as a result of the continuing decline in market conditions,” Melrose said.

“Sandvik is not alone in having to make these difficult decisions, with other suppliers of equipment and services, along with mining companies, announcing employment reductions and facing the same situation.”

The company added that all workers affected will be offered career transitioning services and access to Sandvik’s employee assistance program.

Sandvik will now carry out its customer pre-delivers and machine rebuilds and repairs for the Illawarra and Kalgoorlie regions from Heatherbrae and Perth respectively.

澳洲联储宣布降息!澳元暴跌、澳股疯涨

澳洲联储(RBA)周二公布利率政策决议,一如市场预期降息25个基点至2.25%,旨在刺激低迷的国内经济,称预计降息将支持需求,同时继续对澳元施加下行压力。同时,决议声明显示,委员会认为未来进一步降息也是合适的政策举措,进一步巩固了市场对后续降息的预期。决议公布后,澳元兑美元急挫100余点,刷新2009年6月以来新低0.7650。澳洲股市S&P/ASX 200指数扩大涨幅至1%,触及2008年5月以来最高。

澳洲联储决议声明表示,鉴于大宗商品下滑,澳元汇率仍高于基本面价值,预计降息将支持需求。降息将有助于促进经济增长,且通胀率符合目标。

澳洲联储决议还称,仍预计增长速度将低于趋势水平,降息的目的是为了提振经济增长,可能需要汇率进一步走低来帮助平衡经济增长,未来1-2年通胀将符合目标区间,预计失业率需再走高一些才能见到峰值。在一段时间内产出增长仍低于趋势水准。
澳洲联储自2013年8月就一直将关键利率保持在2.50%的低位不变,这次降息可谓充满戏剧性;早前有调查显示澳洲联储本次降息25个基点的概率高达六成,但因上月末的第四季度核心通胀超预期而让市场放松对澳洲联储降息的戒备,“意外”降息也导致澳元兑美元急速下挫;本轮降息也意味着迫于油价走低带来的通缩压力,澳洲联储在新的一年将转变此前“利率维稳”的态度。

澳元兑美元在决议公布后暴跌:031306535nit在金钱抱昨日发布的前瞻报告中曾向投资者提及,澳洲联储降息同时暗示未来可能进一步降息是对于澳元最为利空的结果,而澳元兑美元此次在决议后出现暴跌,也完全在预料之中,目前来看,澳元兑美元下行之路最为关键的支撑点将是0.75关口。此前在去年末,澳洲联储曾表示希望乐见澳元兑美元跌至该水平。

澳洲联储RBA预计再次进入降息周期

鉴于对澳大利亚经济疲软状况的担忧,澳洲联储很可能在今天的政策会议上选择降息。

最新官方数据显示,澳洲年度失业率有所下降,然而本季度失业率平均值比上个月的平均值有所升高,说明失业率仍在继续攀升。在过去的一年中,澳洲平均失业率由5.9%逐步上升至6%、6.1%,最终达6.2%。

澳洲联储理事会公布的经济数据显示,澳大利亚6个月内经济年度增速由3.6%下滑至1.6%。,新的预测数据将在周五重新公布。

由于经济增长所需财政预算下跌回长期水平,消费者信心指数和企业信心指数均未出现提振。

受到价格折扣的影响以及工资缓慢增长和攀升的失业率的压力,零售销售数据保持稳定但并未出现大幅增长。

油价暴跌以来,整体通胀水平已经下跌至1.7%,进一步偏离澳洲联储在上一年第二季度所设定的2—3%的通胀目标。更重要的是,不同于去年年底给出的油价下跌将放缓的预期,澳洲联储可能会预计油价将继续下跌,而这一下跌将影响其他商品价格,给通胀带来更大下行压力。

澳洲联储的重心并未放在2014年第四季度超高的基本通胀率上,而更加关注与 “非贸易品”(不进行国际交易的商品)相关的通胀率。由于工资增长缓慢和消费者需求降低,这一指标较去年同期大幅下滑。然而尽管澳元严重贬值,与“贸易品”(可进行国际交易的商品)相关的通胀率也已经出现负值。

尽管受到降息是否能有刺激经济增长的质疑,澳洲联储仍希望降低隔夜现金利率。然而大家担心这一降息决定可能会对地产投资市场造成不利影响,其刺激企业和消费者借贷以增加消费的目的可能无法实现。

另一降息阻力来自于澳洲联储在12月政策会议后发布的声明,声明中提到“最谨慎的做法应该是维持利率一段时间内的稳定”。

澳洲联储相信自去年12月以来,油价暴跌、经济增速放缓和低通胀率已经改变了市场情况。他们相信如果降息势在必行的话,那么现在就是最好的时间。他们同时担心如果违背了降息预期,近期内贬值的澳元将会重新反弹。

本周二,包括新任的财政部长John Fraser在内的澳洲联储理事会的9个成员将最终决定是否降息。目前市场预期降息势在必行。如果考虑到近期经济增长而没有降息的话,降息决定将可能出现在3月。

Nullagine Joint Venture

The Nullagine Joint Venture (NJV) is an unincorporated 75:25 joint venture between BC Iron and Fortescue Metals Group (Fortescue), which is located approximately 150km north of Newman in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.

The NJV is a producing iron ore mine with the capacity to export up to 6Mtpa of product. BC Iron is the operator and manager of the joint venture and Fortescue facilitates the export of iron ore via both its rail and port infrastructure, and the provision of marketing services.

Nullagine Joint Venture location
Nullagine-Joint-Venture-locationIron mineralisation occurs in channel iron deposits, which present as flat-top hills or ‘mesas’. The NJV contains an extensive number of mesas, shown in orange above. The current NJV mine plan includes 12 mesas across four mining areas; Outcamp (1-5), Warrigal (1-4), Bonnie East (1) and Coongan (1 and 2).

Ore is mined using surface miners and then processed via a simple dry crushing and screening method to produce Bonnie Fines, a direct shipping ore (DSO) fines product. The Bonnie Fines product is transported approximately 60km from the NJV mine site to Fortescue’s Christmas Creek rail loadout facility via a private bitumen haul road, utilising 400 tonne payload Powertrans Pit Hauler rigs. At Christmas Creek, Bonnie Fines is loaded onto trains and transported approximately 300km to Fortescue’s Herb Elliot Port at Port Hedland, where it is loaded onto capesize vessels and exported to customers overseas.

Bonnie Fines has an iron grade of 56-57% Fe, but has a loss on ignition of approximately 12% which produces a high calcined iron grade after sintering. It also has low impurities, particularly phosphorus and silica. These properties make it a highly-sought after sinter feed.

During FY2014, the NJV exported 5.79M wmt1 (BC Iron share 4.30M wmt) at free-on-board (FOB) C1 cash operating costs of $52 per wmt. As at 30 June 2014, the NJV has a remaining mine life of 5-6 years at an average waste to ore ratio of 1.3:1.

BC Iron is assessing mine life extensions at the NJV via the beneficiation of low grade material (50-55% Fe) into a saleable product. The initial phase of this work has been completed, which culminated in BC Iron reporting an Ore Reserve estimate for beneficiated shipping ore (“BSO”) of 3.9Mt at 54.2% Fe (after yield adjustment). This estimate only consider low grade at existing stockpiles and within the current DSO pit designs. Further work is required to evaluate regional mesas which are not in the current mine plan.

BC Iron leans on contractors for cost savings

BC Iron is looking to renegotiate the terms of several of its workforce contracts in order to save money amid the weak price of iron ore.

BC made the announcement as part of its December quarter results.

At Iron Valley, the agreement with Mineral Resources Limited is being varied to ensure the company can implement initiatives aimed at securing the project’s long-term viability.

Meanwhile, the Nullagine mine is also going out to tender in the hope of securing cost savings.

“The next round of material savings will come in our retendering of existing contracts,” CEO Morgan Bell said.

“We’re expecting a reduction in the overall cost of mining and potentially haulage.”

Nullagine mine, a joint venture with FMG, cut jobs in December in order to deal with the falling price of iron ore.

The price of the commodity hit fresh five-year lows last week of $USS63 a tonne.

BC Iron managed to save $2-3 per wet metric tonne during the quarter, with the company revising its full-year cash cost guidance down to $47-51/wmt.

Nullagine mine ramped up production to its 6 million tonnes per annum run-rate in the December quarter following an operational slow-down in the September quarter.

The mine shipped 1.38wmt of Bonnie Fines for an average price of $60 per tonne.

The new Iron Valley mine shipped a total of 0.79M dmt in the quarter.

BC Iron’s cash balance was $110.1 million as at 31 December 2014.

Ball said the miner would continue to focus on operational performance, productivity and costs in order to make it through the iron ore slump.

“In a really tough in environment we’re all doing a really good job and keeping on punching,” Ball said.

Last year, company announced three non-executive directors resigned with the remaining directors taking a 10 per cent pay cut.