Oli Vibrators: When you need it, where you need it

ADAM DAUNT

Quarries need reliable equipment that can handle intense conditions. High temperatures, freezing cold, heavy material and constant use can put extreme pressure on components. 

This is why Oli Vibrators Australia is fully stocked and on standby to assist Australian quarries. 

Many quarries are also located in remote areas, operating almost 24 hours per day. They can’t afford a breakdown.

Sean Brewer, sales executive at Oli Vibrators, told Quarry this is why the vibration motor specialist remains fully stocked and on standby.

“Having our Australian subsidiary and warehouse located in Melbourne is perfect for the many customers we have in the quarry and mining sector,” he said.

“There’s so many OLI vibrators out there in Australia’s crushing, scalping and dewatering screens and a lot of them are purring away 24/7 and getting a real workout. The push for higher productivity and minimal downtime is factored in to all the quarry managers budgets.”

“We’re not just down the road from our manufacturing plants in Italy and Malta, so the need for a fully stocked local warehouse is crucial to our customers and distributors. As such we need to ensure that our local Melbourne warehouse is well stocked not only with all our faster moving smaller vibrators, but also our big bangers like our six & eight pole motors with huge kilograms of force and proven reliability.”

Oli Vibrators
Oli Vibrators has a strong presence in Australia.

Oli Vibrators specialise in industrial vibration technology, providing high-quality, European-built industrial electric and pneumatic vibrators, frequency converters, flowaids and aerators. The company has operated in Australia for more than two decades and has built up expertise in providing the right tools for the job.

Oli Vibrators manufactures its product in Italy, where its head office is located, and Malta. Here, the equipment goes through rigorous testing and quality control to ensure they can handle the extreme conditions.

The Melbourne-based branch liaises with the European manufacturing facilities to ensure it has the core items required for quarries.

Brewer said this is important, as several local quarry plant equipment manufacturers and designers incorporate Oli vibrators into their designs.

“They need reassurance so that when they get a call from a stressed quarry manager looking for a quick supply turnaround time, we’ll be able to assist quickly and not to let them down,” he said.

He added that while much of the plant equipment found in Australian quarries was imported and not locally manufactured, it was good to see a lot of it comes with Oli vibrators as original equipment.

“Ideally, we would love to supply mainly local manufacturers with our product out of the Melbourne warehouse but realistically our European colleagues are pushing just as hard to get the Oli vibrators on to their own locally produced quarry equipment bound for Australia,” he said.

“We’re happy to offer the after sales support and advice once it’s here. We are also happy to swap out our competitor’s vibrators for the OLI as happens quite a bit, because we have the stock on hand.”

Brewer spends the bulk of his workday talking with customers, many of whom are the procurement and plant maintenance managers for quarries.

With such a wide range of applications to cover, he helps them find the right size and placement for the company’s range of equipment. Small aerators and fluidisers are often deployed for cement powder, lime, and fly ash applications, while heavy-duty vibrators are installed on hoppers and bins. Even the delivery trucks can make use of the equipment.

Oli Vibrator’s specialists work closely with the site team, using drawings and site visits to help pick the right tool for the job.

Brewer said feedback has been positive.

“They love that we can solve problems for them quickly,” he said. “A site might have a blockage or reduced flow. They give us a phone call or email, and we can work together to get things moving.”

“Oli Group worldwide for many years has strived to stand by our mantra of ‘When You need it, where you need it’, and I think with the huge range of large size and brute force vibrators that we keep on the shelf, combined with the local logistics network we have finely tuned over the years, we live up to that.

“There is also a vast number of maintenance companies in Australia that specifically service the quarry sector, so they look to us to provide solutions with fast and reliable supply times. I get great satisfaction when I’m presented with a problem where our products can help and when the call comes back to me saying problem solved.” •

To learn more, visit olivibra.com/oli-australia/
or call 0458 444 200.

Newmont-Newcrest deal makes billions for Australia

OLIVIA THOMSON

Cadia

The Cadia operation. Image: Newcrest Mining

Pitchers Partners has released its Dealmakers: mid-market M&A in Australia 2023 update, where it found that the mining sector contributed significantly to the country’s M&A (mergers and acquisitions) value through the Newmont acquisition of Newcrest.

Pitcher Partners is an association of independent accounting and business advisory firms located in Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Newcastle, Perth and Sydney.

Its latest dealers M&A (mergers and acquisitions) update found that international corporate buyers accounted for $48 billion of M&A activity in the first half of 2023. As a result, this has delivered the strongest six-month interval for offshore M&A values since 2018.

“Across all markets, foreign interest was led by North American dealmakers who contributed 77 per cent of deal value as they explored opportunities in Australia’s rich technology sector, as well as mining and resources, finance and healthcare,” the report said.

The overall value of global M&A was down by 35 per cent compared to the first half of 2022 and with a 37 per cent slump in the mid-market.

However, it was good news for Australia as the country’s M&A value increased by 13 per cent compared to the first half of 2022. Australian transactions in the first half of 2023 were worth $64.8 billion, coming from 390 deals. The number of deals has decreased by 26 per cent compared to those recorded in 2022.

The value figure is said to be influenced by the $26.6 billion Newmont purchase of Newcrest, which has made up approximately 41 per cent of the total deal value in Australia during the first half of 2023.

“Energy, mining and utilities made up 78 per cent of deal value in the first half of 2023, and even without the inclusion of the Newcrest sale, the sector still made up 50 per cent of total sales,” the report said.

Pitcher Partners Sydney corporate finance partner Andy Hough said that while values remain strong, Australian deal volumes were the lowest in more than five years, which he attributed to deals taking longer to complete in comparison to 12 months ago.

“Due diligence is becoming an increasingly drawn-out process, with factors such as environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) and increased regulatory burdens leading to a greater depth of scope,” Hough said.

A key example of this is the Newmont acquisition of Newcrest recently receiving approval from the Canadian Competition Bureau and Papua New Guinea’s Independent Consumer and Competition Commission.

“While that has negatively impacted on deal numbers in this half, it should result in an uptick of completed deals in the second half of the year,” Hough said.

Major miners release tailings facility details

OLIVIA THOMSON

A tailing management facility at a mine.

Anglo American and Glencore have reported the progress they have made towards meeting the global industry standard on tailings management (GISTM).

Last week, Rio Tinto released details on its tailings facility.

Anglo American has set out its progress towards bringing its 12 tailings storage facilities (TSFs) that are currently within the two highest potential consequence categories into conformance with GISTM.

“We have made very significant progress towards conformance with the GISTM over the last three years, building upon our already high technical standards,” Anglo American chief executive Duncan Wanblad said.

“We continue our prudent approach to align with a number of specific GISTM requirements, as well as the social and community aspects that are already encompassed in our comprehensive social way management system. We are addressing the few outstanding areas and have set out the work needed to get us there.

“As an industry, we have a clear ethical imperative to do everything possible to ensure that TSFs are managed to the highest standards as we work together to build greater levels of trust with all our stakeholders. GISTM’s role in driving continuous improvement across the industry with full transparency is beyond doubt.”

Glencore also reported its conformance to GISTM for its TSFs with ‘very high’ or ‘extreme’ consequence classifications.

“We have taken a rigorous and technically robust approach to applying the GISTM, which goes beyond self-assessments and includes independent third-party assurance,” Glencore said.

“We welcome the greater transparency it has brought around the management of these important facilities. We are pleased with the progress we have made over the last three years… Based on our ongoing TSF management systems and independent third-party assessments we have in place for our TSFs with ‘very high’ and ‘extreme” consequence classifications we believe that any gaps in conformance are identified and managed appropriately.”

Both miners have committed to working towards conformance in respect of its TSFs that are within the other three lower consequence categories, ‘low’, ‘significant’ and ‘high’, by August 2025. This in line with the commitment made by all ICMM member companies.

Newmont takeover of Newcrest receives PNG approval

OLIVIA THOMSON

Lihir gold mine in PNG

Papua New Guinea’s (PNG) Independent Consumer and Competition Commission (ICCC) has granted clearance for Newmont to proceed with its acquisition of Newcrest.

After a three-month process beginning in February 2023, Newmont secured a $26.2 billion takeover deal with Newcrest.

The Canadian Competition Bureau issued a ‘no action’ letter clearing Newmont’s announced transaction with Newcrest under Canadian competition law in mid-July.

Newmont has since been continuing to advance other regulatory approvals, such as PNG’s, and it expects to close the transaction in the December 2023 quarter.

Newmont still needs regulatory approvals from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), the Australia Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB), the Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC), the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC), and the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) to complete its acquisition of Newcrest.

Additionally, Newmont has been in consultation with Newcrest, and through this has determined that a pre-merger notification under the Hart–Scott–Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 will not be required in the US for the transaction to proceed.

“We appreciate the ICCC in Papua New Guinea carefully reviewing and clearing our proposed acquisition of Newcrest,” Newmont chief executive officer Tom Palmer said.

Lihir in PNG is one of the world’s great gold mines and a Tier 1 operation by any measure. In addition to Lihir, we see profitable gold and copper growth through the world-class Wafi-Golpu project.

“We remain committed to building strong, mutually beneficial and long lasting relationships with PNG’s government and local communities. As part of this commitment, Newmont plans to establish PNG as a standalone fifth region in our portfolio with an in-country senior leadership presence and pursue a secondary listing of Newmont depositary interests on the PNG’s National Stock Exchange (PNGX).”

Both miners will continue engaging with the PNG Government and regulators about other approvals and clearances for the takeover.

WA powers on with vanadium

ALEXANDRA EASTWOOD

Future mining plans in north-west Queensland could be undermined by a lack of highly skilled workers, industry experts have warned.

Western Australia is set to see a renewable energy boost with Horizon Power’s purchase of a vanadium redox flow battery.

Vanadium is a metal found in mineral deposits. Currently, there is only one vanadium mining lease granted in Queensland, located in the North West Minerals Province. The Saint Elmo vanadium project began construction in 2022.

Australia’s first commercial vanadium flow battery was completed in South Australia in June this year.

The WA vanadium flow battery is expected to arrive in Perth in 2024. Western Australia Energy Minister Bill Johnston said the delivery will help the state lead the way in clean energy technology.

“Vanadium redox flow batteries are specifically designed to deliver energy over a long period of time, which is crucial for achieving the high levels of decarbonisation we are after,” Johnston said.

“If the pilot is successful, there is potential to expand the use of long-duration, 100 per cent renewable energy across Horizon Power’s 2.3 million square-kilometre network.”

The 78-kilowatt battery will provide Horizon Power will key learnings around how renewable energy can be integrated into the grid system.

Horizon Power has signed an agreement with VSUN Energy, a subsidiary of Australian Vanadium Limited, for the purchase, installation, and commissioning of the vanadium battery.

Newcrest achieves 210m

金矿巨头Newcrest全年黄金产量录得210万盎司

2023-07-25 10:40:47 (AET) by Edward Zhang   819

黄金生产商 Newcrest(ASX:NCM)在23财年实现了集团黄金产量和AISC(全部维持成本)的指导目标。但由于Cadia和Telfer的工厂产量下降,其全年铜产量低于指导范围1%。

澳股资讯平台 – 61 Financial 7月25日讯黄金生产商 Newcrest(ASX:NCM)周二发布公告,提供了2023年6月季度的活动报告。

报告显示,Newcrest在23财年实现了集团黄金产量和AISC(全部维持成本)的指导目标。但由于Cadia和Telfer的工厂产量下降,其全年铜产量低于指导范围1%。

由于本季度Cadia、Lihir和Brucejack业务的工厂吞吐量增加,以及Lihir和Brucejack的头矿金品位提高,黄金产量比上一季度高出9%。与前一时期相比,Red Chris和Telfer的黄金产量也有所增加。

公司季度总黄金产量录得55.6万盎司,铜产量录得3.5万吨。这推动公司23财年黄金总产量录得210万盎司,总铜产量为13.3万吨。

Newcrest本季度的AISC录得1196美元/盎司,比上一季度高出20%,主要是由于Lihir、Cadia和Red Chris的资本支出增加,以及实现铜价下降。本季度公司主要运营地点的黄金产量增加,推动了全集团黄金销量的增长,以及铜销量增加和澳元兑美元贬值对运营成本的影响,部分抵消了这一影响。

6月季度,Newcrest旗下受伤率与前一时期基本一致,这反映了Newcrest对安全的高度关注,因为所有工厂都在继续进行控制改进计划,以解决主要危险。尽管在整个23财年稳步降低了工伤率,但Cadia在本季度遭受了工伤的上升。

Cadia的TRIFR(总可记录伤害频次率)录得每百万小时7.06次可记录伤害,高于前一时期。公司指出,在本季度,来自Cadia合同合作伙伴的一名团队成员严重受伤,目前正在接受新南威尔士州资源监管机构的调查。

目前,Newcrest正在为这名队员、他的家人和同事提供支持。并致力于评估和改进其安全文化和系统,以减少伤害事件。

公司股价一年走势回顾:

text【更多NCM公告和股价走势请点击NCM个股页面


消息来源:

公司公告Quarterly Report ended 30 June 2023

Fenix completes $25 million iron ore acquisition

OLIVIA THOMSON

mining

Fenix Resources has completed the acquisition of Mount Gibson Iron’s Mid-West iron ore, port and rail assets.

In June 2023, Mount Gibson reached a conditional agreement to divest its Mid-West hematite iron ore mining and infrastructure assets to Fenix for $25 million. The deal comprised of $10 million in cash and 60 million Fenix shares and additional options.

The agreement makes Mount Gibson the single largest shareholder in Fenix with an approximate interest of 8.6 per cent.

The assets acquired by Fenix include:

  • the Shine iron ore mine, an operational iron ore mine currently on care and maintenance with a mineral resource estimate of 15 million tonnes at 58 per cent
  • two storage sheds at Geraldton Port that are on-wharf infrastructure consisting of Shed 4 with storage capacity of 120,000 tonnes and Shed 5 with storage capacity of 240,000 tonnes both with in-loading access via truck or rail
  • the two mid-west rail sidings, Ruvidini and Perenjori rail sidings, providing access to the main Mid-West rail network connecting to Geraldton Port and assembly locations for product storage and blending activities
  • assets at the Extension Hill iron ore mine that are large scale operational crushing and screening plant, associated equipment, and interests in an operational 138 bed mining camp, all currently on care and maintenance.

The acquisition is expected to provide Fenix with opportunities such as reducing the cost of its Iron Ridge project located approximately 600 kilometres north-northeast of Perth, Western Australia, as well as expanding the project’s production.

Fenix chairman John Welborn said the acquisition of Mount Gibson’s Mid-West iron ore and port assets is a game changer.

“This transformational event for Fenix will drive material economies of scale, provide flexibility to expand iron ore production and operate new projects concurrently,” Welborn said.

“In expanding a mine-to-port logistics solution for ourselves and other producers in the Mid-West, we also create employment opportunities which will strongly support regional economic growth and create exceptional shareholder value.”

Northern Star Resources set to expand the Super Pit

金矿商Northern Star计划开发价值15亿澳元项目扩展


金矿商 Northern Star(ASX:NST)已决定批准在西澳大利亚州卡尔古利(Kalgoorlie)开发价值15亿澳元的KCGM工厂扩建项目。

澳股资讯平台 – 61 Financial 6月23日讯金矿商 Northern Star(ASX:NST)周四发布公告称,其已决定批准在西澳大利亚州卡尔古利(Kalgoorlie)开发价值15亿澳元的KCGM工厂扩建项目。

根据更新,Northern Star预计该开发将进一步加强北极星的关键资产和公司的整体投资组合。预计KCGM的处理能力将从1300万吨/年增加到2700万吨/年,并实现现代化。

根据每盎司2600澳元的金价(当前金价约为2850澳元),公司预期如下:

  • 税后内部收益率(IRR)为19%;
  • 项目投资回收期4.6年;
  • 黄金平均年产量为90万盎司;
  • 平均每年全部维持成本(AISC)为每盎司1425澳元(全公司AISC目前为每盎司1766澳元)。

公司透露,为期三年的建设阶段现已开始,并已订购了长期领先的项目。

Northern Star预计,产量将从2027财年开始增加,到2029财年达到2700万吨/年的稳定产量。

此外,这想开发将完全由该公司手头现金和预测现金流提供资金。因此,公司的股息政策将得以维持。

公司股价一年走势回顾:

text【更多NST公告和股价走势请点击NST个股页面


消息来源:

公司公告KCGM Mill Expansion Financial Investment Decision

Northern Star Resources set to expand the Super Pit

ALEXANDRA EASTWOOD

Northern Star

The Northern Star Resources board has approved the expansion of the Fimiston Mill, part of the Kalgoorlie Consolidated Gold Mines’ (KCGM) Super Pit.

The expansion from 13 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) to 37Mtpa is set to cost $1.5 billion and is due to be completed in 2026.

Located at the centre of the Kalgoorlie goldfields, the Super Pit is one of Australia’s largest open pit gold mines and includes the Mt Charlotte underground mine and the Fimiston and Gidji processing plants.

“Today is an exciting day for Northern Star and a historic new chapter for this world-class asset,” Northern Star managing director Stuart Tonkin said.

“The board’s decision to approve the KCGM mill expansion and optimisation represents the next stage to revitalise our largest asset as well as the surrounding district for decades to come.

This project is financially compelling, and a significant enabling step towards delivering our strategy to generate superior returns for our shareholders.”

Northern Star has had a productive start to the year at the Super Pit, increasing gold resources to 57.4 million ounces (Moz) and keeping ore reserves steady at 20.2Moz.

Tonkin said the company is confident the site will continue to produce significant value.

“Our confidence in the economics of KCGM to remain a long-life, low-cost gold mine has been further reinforced through the feasibility study phase,” he said.

“Expanding the processing capacity of KCGM will strengthen Northern Star’s portfolio, materially increase our free cash flow generation and progress our long-term strategy to be within the 2nd quartile of the global cost curve.

“Further, the project is important in our sustainability journey and will also sustain hundreds of local jobs, economic and social investment, and local procurement opportunities in the Goldfields region.”

Newcrest gains management of Juri joint venture

OLIVIA THOMSON

Greatland Gold has announced that the management of the Juri joint venture (JV) will transfer to Newcrest, its joint venture partner from July 1.

The Juri JV is an unincorporated joint venture between Greatland Gold and Newcrest. Greatland own 49 per cent of the JV and Newcrest own 51 per cent. The JV was formed in November 2020 to accelerate exploration at the Paterson Range East and Black Hills exploration licences.

Under the terms of the farm-in and joint venture agreement which governs the Juri JV, Newcrest could elect to become the joint venture manager at any time following an initial period.

Newcrest has now exercised its right to do so and will assume this responsibility from the beginning of the 2024 financial year.  The transfer of management of the Juri JV to Newcrest does not affect any of Greatland’s other rights as a joint venture participant.

Greatland managing director Shaun Day said the company welcomes Newcrest elevating its engagement and interest in the Juri JV.

“Greatland strongly believes in the prospectivity of the Juri Joint Venture tenure and will continue to be an active participant following the upcoming management transition,” Day said.

“The shift of Juri Joint Venture management to Newcrest provides Greatland’s exploration team the opportunity to put greater focus on our 100 per cent owned portfolio of highly prospective tenure together with our responsibilities as the new manager of the farm-in and joint venture arrangement with Rio Tinto on the Paterson South project.”

Greatland has the intention to continue as an active and supportive joint venture participant given the potential for the discovery of new intrusion-related gold-copper deposits similar to its Havieron gold-copper depositNewcrest’s Telfer gold-copper mine and Rio Tinto’s Winu copper-gold deposit.

Is South32 eyeing another copper mine?

TOM PARKER

South32 M&A

As South32 looks to grow its portfolio, the company seems to have identified a copper mine that could be an M&A fit.

According to The Australian Financial Review, South32 has sounded out a potential acquisition of Khoemacau Copper Mining which operates its namesake copper mine in Botswana.

Khoemacau ramped up to full production in February – achieving 3.65 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) of throughput – and has a nameplate production capacity of 60,000 tonnes per annum of copper, with silver as an added-value product.

Khoemacau has an estimated mine life of 20 years, producing copper at C1 cash costs of $US1.15 per pound. Mining is currently taking place from Zone 5 – an underground mine where three corridors are producing an average of 1.2Mtpa of ore each.

It is understood South32 has engaged RBC Capital Markets as it prepares an indicative bid for Khoemacau Copper Mining, while the AFR also believes the company could come up against opposition, including from Sandfire Resources.

Khoemacau could be seen to complement Sandfire’s Motheo copper mine, which produced first copper concentrate in late May.

South32 chief executive officer Graham Kerr recently suggested copper, zinc and nickel were the three commodities driving the company’s M&A strategy.

The major currently produces copper from its 45 per cent stake in the Sierra Gorda mine in Chile – an asset it acquired in February 2022.

The company also has a series of earn-in agreements with resource companies around the world. This includes two emerging copper exploration projects in Argentina – Chita Valley and Don Julio.

Kerr said Argentina could be a copper jurisdiction to keep an eye on in years to come.

“Argentina’s become an interesting location,” he told reporters at a Melbourne Mining Club luncheon in late April. “When we first started doing some work there, we were probably the only ones. You’ve got BHP there, you’ve got Barrick there, you’ve Glencore there – everyone’s sort of pouring money into that jurisdiction at the moment.

“If you look at where it is, it’s on the other side of the Chile mountains where basically all the copper is. So I think that’s an area that’s going to develop pretty quickly. The challenge around that jurisdiction is it tends to be on average higher levels of arsenic, which typically you blend out, or you look at new technology to remove it.”

Elsewhere, South32’s portfolio is made up of commodities such as alumina, aluminium, zinc, silver, lead, nickel and manganese.

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