A processing partnership built to last

ASTEC and OPS share a decade-long partnership. Image: Astec

Astec and OPS are committed to growing each other and the mining industry.

All hands were on deck at the OPS Screening and Crushing Equipment open days on March 21–22.

Held at OPS’s Perth facility, the expo celebrated 35 years of the company supplying critical equipment to Australia’s mining and quarrying industry.

To mark the occasion, OPS welcomed industry players from across the world to take part in two days of exhibitions, presentations and displays.

Rock-to-road solutions expert Astec was a major participant at the event. The company was also celebrating its decade-long partnership with OPS.

“Both Astec and OPS have seen excellent growth through our partnership,” Astec business line manager – material solutions Adam Gordon told Australian Mining.

“A key factor in the relationship is we know we can rely on OPS to provide quality service and expert technicians ready to rise to any challenge.”

Astec was in attendance to support OPS at its two-day expo in March.
Image: Astec

Gordon said OPS is a trusted distributer of Astec’s bulk material handling and fixed plant equipment to mines and quarries in Western Australia, South Australia, the Northern Territory and New South Wales.

And the company distributes Astec’s rock breaker systems, materials handling equipment and ship-loading range Australia-wide.

“Astec manufactures equipment for the entire mineral processing chain, including crushing, screening, handling and washing,” he said.

“It’s big equipment for a big industry, and it requires knowledge, expertise and an extensive range of high-quality products to get the right machines to the right sites.”

Between them, Astec and OPS teams have built hundreds of years of industry experience, including expertise drawn from the 16 respected brands under the Astec umbrella.

“While Astec and OPS are successful businesses in their own right, they’re even better working together,” Gordon said. “We each bring different strengths to the partnership – strengths that we then build on to benefit each other and our customers.

“And with our combined experience, we have the Australian mining and quarrying industries covered.”

According to Gordon, one significant advantage in working together is the companies’ ability to deliver advanced training to teams on the ground.

“We’re very hands-on with our training,” Gordon said. “In fact, we ran multiple, comprehensive training sessions on specific aspects of our equipment at the two-day expo,” Gordon said.

When it comes to ensuring technicians are capable of providing outstanding service to customers, Gordon credits Astec’s tailored approach in ensuring OPS staff members are well equipped to face any challenge.

OPS managing director Shane Czerkasow addressing the crowd at the OPS expo.
Image: Astec

“We have a lot of equipment in the thousands-of-tonnes-per-hour range and it’s all very specialised,” he said. “That’s why our training is personalised in a one-on-one environment, to ensure these technicians are able to deliver next level service to our customers.”

Among Astec’s innovative equipment and technology on display at the OPS event was a virtual reality station where attendees could take a virtual tour of Astec’s ship-loading and modular plant crusher facilities.

“Being able to showcase the scale of our capabilities was a major highlight of the event,” Gordon said.

The recent expansion of Astec’s Omagh manufacturing facility in Northern Ireland is another important factor in the company’s ability to support OPS.

“This expansion has effectively doubled our manufacturing capability, meaning we can supply more equipment more often to OPS, thereby keeping our customers up to date with the latest products and critical support when they need it,” he said.

Gordon emphasised that through Astec’s commitment to continuous improvement, the company is already designing and building equipment for the future, and it’s counting on OPS to be with them on that journey.

“We are very proud to be associated with OPS,” Gordon said, “We’re similar businesses, with the same goal of providing our customers with the best possible equipment to meet their needs.

“We work very well together, and we’re looking forward to a great future of growth.”

This feature appeared in the May 2024 issue of Australian Mining.

Ravensthorpe nickel to suspend operations

KELSIE TIBBEN

The Ravensthorpe nickel operations. Image: First Quantum Minerals

While many of the staff members from the Ravensthorpe nickel operation (RPO) will be made redundant, owner First Quantum Minerals is taking steps to keep as many employed as possible.

It comes as First Quantum places the WA site into a care and maintenance process from May 1. All production at the site is expected to cease by late May, with wind-down activities planned over the coming weeks.

“First Quantum acknowledges that its decision will have a significant impact on its employees and their families,” a spokesperson for the miner said in a statement.

“A smaller, dedicated care and maintenance team will be appointed from current RNO employees to ensure the site is safe and preserved for a future re-start.”

In addition to keeping on as many staff as possible, First Quantum will continue to support the Ravensthorpe and Hopetoun communities in any way it can.

“The company remains committed to supporting the local community and will play an active role within the Shire of Ravensthorpe throughout the care and maintenance period,” the First Quantum spokesperson said.

“This will include ensuring a large proportion of the care and maintenance team are based locally and maintaining the current First Quantum-owned housing within Hopetoun.

“Recognising the impact that this decision will have on the region, the company will continue engaging with the Ravensthorpe and Hopetoun communities and provide an appropriate level of community investment and support in the period ahead.”

After first scaling back operations in January, First Quantum again cited lower nickel prices and higher operating costs as major factors in the decision.

“Despite RNO’s best efforts to maintain operations by transitioning to a new operating strategy that involved ceasing mining activities, processing stockpiles and altering its approach to production, the site is incurring significant current and projected losses,” the spokesperson said.

“RNO will continue to meet all its environmental management and monitoring, rehabilitation and other regulatory requirements for the site.”

Ravensthorpe joins the Cosmos nickel mine in WA in entering care and maintenance in 2024, with owner IGO also citing a weakening nickel market as a driver in the decision to shutter the site.

“We still believe there is value in Cosmos; however, in this nickel environment we need to be disciplined with our allocation of capital, while retaining our optionality to restart if market conditions improve,” IGO managing director and chief executive officer Ivan Vella said in January.

Mount Isa Mines levels up renewables

OLIVIA THOMSON

APA solar farm at Mount Isa, Queensland. Image: Glencore.

Glencore’s Mount Isa Mines operation is set to source 20 per cent of its long-term electricity needs from APA Group’s new solar farm in Mica Creek, Queensland.

Under a 15-year agreement, Mount Isa Mines can use up to 50 per cent of the solar electricity produced each year at the Mica Creek solar farm (also known as the Dugald River solar farm).

The agreement was first announced in December 2023, where Glencore zinc assets Australia chief operating officer Sam Strohmayr said the partnership will help Glencore reduce its emissions footprint.

“The partnership helps reduce our high-power costs which is one of the elements that make it difficult to compete with our international rivals,” Strohmayr said.

The 88-megawatt farm at the basis of the agreement was officially opened yesterday and is poised to boast 180,000 solar panels across 200 hectares of land. The official opening was attended by Strohmayr.

“APA has been working with us for many years providing reliable electricity for our Mount Isa Mines operations,” Strohmayr said. “We welcomed the opportunity to partner with APA on a renewables project and in the process contribute to a collective effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

“There are several benefits from this agreement – not only for us but also for the community. Mount Isa Mines is reducing its carbon footprint, and in the process using renewable energy to help produce energy transition metals, such as zinc and copper, that are needed globally for a low carbon future.”

In October 2023, Glencore announced plans to close the Mount Isa Mines underground copper operations – Enterprise, X41 and Black Rock – and its copper concentrator by the end of 2025. The company cited low ore grades as the cause.

Glencore’s Lady Loretta zinc mine, which was a finite orebody with a seven-year mine life, will also close in 2025.

In response to the Mount Isa closures, the Queensland Government created the $50 million Mount Isa Transition Fund, which aims to boost projects that can commence quickly, create jobs, and build on the region’s reputation as a great place to live and work.

With $20 million going towards shovel-ready mining projects, $30 million will be used to accelerate resources projects in the Northwest Minerals Province. The initiative will be led by the Queensland Treasury and Department of Resources.

Other Mount Isa operations such as the copper smelter, the George Fisher mine, the zinc-lead concentrator, the lead smelter, and the copper refinery in Townsville remain operating.

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Metso opens the doors in Karratha

ALEXANDRA EASTWOOD

The new Karratha service centre. Image: Metso

Metso’s largest service centre has now officially opened in Karratha, Western Australia, supporting the growing demand of customer needs in the region.

The centre serves mining and aggregates customers with maintenance and repair solutions and spans a 35,000m² area, including a workshop covering 5000m².

“The opening of the new center is an important milestone and further proof of our commitment to accelerate strategic investments in serving customers from pit to port,” Metso president, services business area Sami Takaluoma said.

“Strengthening our presence to offer increased productivity, shorter lead times, and environmental advantages will allow us to take service capabilities and customer experience to the next level.”

The centre has been equipped with advanced amenities including high-capacity cranes, CNC machines, a heat treatment furnace, welding facilities and assembly stations.

“This is a long-term and significant commitment to the Pilbara region and the communities here,” Metso president Asia Pacific Stuart Sneyd said. “We are extremely pleased that our local customers are already expressing considerable interest and confidence in our services.

“Metso has a significant installed base of equipment and a strong reputation in Asia Pacific; every day over 900 processing plants rely on Metso’s technology.

“By utilising Metso’s service know-how and expertise, genuine parts, exact materials, and OEM specifications, customers will achieve significant business and sustainability benefits.”

The centre will also provide a dedicated training facility to enhance the technical expertise of mining professionals.

An apprenticeship training program is planned for the centre at a later date.

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Cosmos nickel mine to close

ALEXANDRA EASTWOOD

Cosmos open-pit. Image: Western Areas

After conducting a review into its Cosmos nickel mine in WA, IGO has made the decision to transition the site into care and maintenance.

The closure is expected to be concluded by the end of May this year, with IGO assessing the value of continuing work on select exploration programs in the area.

The news comes after IGO advised the company would see through the current slump in lithium prices but would reduce production at its Greenbushes lithium joint venture in WA.

“This is not the outcome anyone at IGO wanted, however we cannot ignore the operational and financial risks involved in continuing to develop Cosmos in the current environment,” IGO managing director and chief executive officer Ivan Vella said.

“We still believe there is value in Cosmos, however in this nickel environment we need to be disciplined with our allocation of capital, while retaining our optionality to restart if market conditions improve.”

IGO also released its December 2023 quarterly, reporting that both net cash and group nickel production had been reduced.

“Our industry is facing some significant challenges and uncertainty with both nickel and lithium experiencing a downturn in the cycle,” Vella said.

It is expected that there will be redundancies owing to the closure, but Vella said IGO is committed to working with its people.

“I’d like to thank the team on site who have done an outstanding job to work through the challenges, and to progress the project to where it is today,” he said.

“Prioritising and minimising the impact on our team through this process is our absolute focus and we will provide every support we can to those people affected.”

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Australia’s new largest gold miner

TIM BOND

The Cadia gold operation in New South Wales.

Newcrest Mining disappears from the ASX, having been officially swallowed-up by gold giant Newmont.

The takeover creates a veritable gold behemoth in control of over half of the world’s Tier-1 gold assets. The enlarged Newmont, which sees foreign ownership of Australian gold assets rise above 50 per cent, will oversee 10 “large, long-life, low-cost Tier-1” operations across the world.

Newmont already owned the Boddington and Tanami gold operations in Australia and will now add Cadia and Telfer to the fold. This puts Newmont in control of four out of six of Australia’s largest gold mines.

Other additions include the Brucejack and Red Chris operations in Canada, which are located nearby Newmont’s Saddle North project. Newmont president and chief executive officer Tom Palmer called this combination of gold assets a “golden triangle”.

The Lihir operation in Papua New Guinea will also fall under Newmont’s control.

Newmont expects to generate pre-tax synergies of $500 million, and at least $2 billion in cash improvements, in the first two years after closing the deal as it optimises its portfolio of assets.

“Today marks a historic milestone in our company and the industry with the successful completion of this transformational acquisition of Newcrest by Newmont,” Palmer said.

“Our attention now turns to safely, efficiently, and responsibly integrating Newcrest’s assets and people into Newmont’s proven operating model, so we can accelerate the delivery of our value-focused strategy for all our stakeholders.”

Australia’s new largest gold miner

TIM BOND2 days ago

The Cadia gold operation in New South Wales.

Newcrest Mining disappears from the ASX, having been officially swallowed-up by gold giant Newmont.

The Lihir operation in Papua New Guinea will also fall under Newmont’s control.

Newmont expects to generate pre-tax synergies of $500 million, and at least $2 billion in cash improvements, in the first two years after closing the deal as it optimises its portfolio of assets.

“Today marks a historic milestone in our company and the industry with the successful completion of this transformational acquisition of Newcrest by Newmont,” Palmer said.

Revealed: Kinder Australia unveil new chief executive officer

ADAM DAUNT

Charles Pratt is the new CEO of Kinder Australia. Picture: Kinder Australia

Kinder Australia has announced a major step for the company by unveiling a new chief executive officer.

The Australian company has appointed long-time employee Charles Pratt to take the top job after starting his journey with Kinder more than two decades ago.

Kinder Australia founders Neil and Christine Kinder have transitioned into managerial roles on the company’s advisory board. Neil will maintain his role as a managing director.

In a statement, Kinder welcomed the promotion of Pratt as the company prepares to celebrate its 39th anniversary in the bulk handling industry next year.

“Charles Pratt is characterised by his unwavering diligence and diplomatic approach to achieve the best possible outcomes and practical solutions,” they said.

“He encourages a culture of inclusiveness and upskilling – qualities that have played a pivotal role in his rapid rise within the company.

“His hands-on experience and profound understanding of heavy process industries make him a remarkable problem solver, not only for Kinder but also for the company’s valued customers.

“Charles has an uncanny ability to dive deep and uncover issues, often identifying challenges that even the most discerning customer might overlook.”

Pratt previously served Kinder as the operations manager and is remaining as a company shareholder.

Whitehaven coal swoop a matter of longevity

TIM BOND

As the ink dries on Whitehaven Coal’s $US4.1 billion ($6.5 billion) acquisition of two of BHP’s Queensland coal assets, movement on the ASX shows that stakeholders are mulling over the broader significance of the deal.

Following the announcement of the deal on Wednesday, Whitehaven opened on the ASX with a bang at $7.79 per share (up from $6.69 on Tuesday), its highest share price since the coal boom at the beginning of the year.

The purchase of BHP’s Daunia and Blackwater coal mines comes with a price tag of $US2.1 billion in cash up front, $US1.1 billion in cash over three years after completion and the potential for up to $US0.9 billion in a price-linked earnout payable over three years. This comprises a total sale price of around $6.48 billion, with completion of the deal expected in the June 2024 quarter.

Whitehaven chief executive officer and managing director Paul Flynn called the acquisition of the two metallurgical coal assets ‘transformative’ for the company.

Metallurgical and thermal coal differ in quality and carbon content. Thermal coal is traditionally burned to generate electricity, but as Australia and the world transition to cleaner energy, thermal coal is heavily regulated and arguably falling from relevance. Metallurgical coal, on the other hand, is a higher quality coal used in steelmaking with strong global demand.

The deal will mean 70 per cent of Whitehaven’s coal production will be metallurgical, giving the miner some much needed longevity in the heavily regulated realm of coal mining.

“Daunia and Blackwater produce metallurgical coal that is in high demand across Asia… where population growth and economic development is expected to drive strong demand for steel production and metallurgical coal through to at least 2050,” Flynn said.

The two mines also expand Whitehaven’s coal assets outside of NSW, where the company currently operates four mines in the Gunnedah Basin.

But BHP seems to feel differently when it comes to the longevity of Daunia and Blackwater – at least under its own capital investment model. The mining giant first flagged the two Queensland mines for sale so it could focus on producing higher quality metallurgical coal, a move it views as more sustainable.

“A key route for steelmakers to be able to reduce their carbon intensity will be through more efficient blast furnace operations. That requires the highest of quality coking (metallurgical) coal. And that’s what we have in assets like Peak Downs, Goonyella, Saraji and Broadmedow,” BHP said.

“And so those assets we see as having both sides through the energy transition. What we’re doing here is further concentrating our portfolio on the best of the best assets.”

Glencore to close Mount Isa

KELSIE HARFORD

Glencore has announced plans to close its Mount Isa copper operations in Queensland by the end of 2025, but said it will keep its other metal assets open.

Operating for over 60 years, the company’s copper mine life has already been extended six years past its original life expectancy.

All three copper mines at the Mount Isa operation – Enterprise, X41 and Black Rock – are set to close, as well as the company’s copper concentrator.

Other Mount Isa mines and operations will remain open, including the copper smelter, the George Fisher mine, the zinc-lead concentrator, the lead smelter in Mount Isa, as well as the copper refinery in Townsville.

Glencore said it has conducted a range of studies and reviews seeking to further extend the life of the underground copper mines, but the end of mine life has been confirmed.

Glencore’s Lady Loretta zinc mine, located 140km north-west of Mount Isa, which was a finite orebody with a seven-year mine life, will also close in 2025.

“We know this decision will be disappointing for our people, our suppliers, and the Mount Isa community,” Glencore Australia zinc asset chief operating officer Sam Strohmayr said.

“The reality of mining is that mines have a beginning, middle and end. And unfortunately, after 60 years of operation, Mount Isa’s underground copper operations have now reached that end.

“We want to give our people as much time as possible to consider the best options for them and their families, which is why we are notifying our workers and the community almost two years before these mines close.

“Our focus over the coming months will be to work closely with our people and contractors, our suppliers, and the Mount Isa community to provide support as we move towards closure of these assets.”

Glencore’s Mount Isa underground copper mines, copper concentrator and supporting services currently employ around 1200 people.

BHP scales new copper heights

TOM PARKER

BHP’s acquisition of OZ Minerals is paying dividends, with operational records falling across its new copper district in South Australia.

The Carrapateena mine, located 100km south-east of BHP’s Olympic Dam operation, achieved record development metres in September, producing 14,100 tonnes of copper in the September quarter. This is a 21 per cent increase on the previous three months (11,700 tonnes).

Olympic Dam, which BHP owned before the OZ Minerals acquisition, mined 2.64 million tonnes (Mt) of material during the September quarter – its highest mark since the 2014–15 financial year (FY15).

This equated to record gold production of 53,028 ounces, the second time Olympic Dam has achieved this in three quarters.

Combined with a 48 per cent increase in copper production at Prominent Hill, BHP produced 71,700 tonnes from its South Australia copper operations – a 44 per cent uplift from the same quarter last year (bearing in mind it only owned Olympic Dam at this point).

BHP achieved a 11 per cent group copper production uplift from the third quarter of 2022, with the Escondida and Pampa Norte operations in Chile also delivering strong performances.

Iron ore production fell three per cent from the same quarter last year, which the major miner attributed to “tie-in activity for the Rail Technology Programme (RTP), the ongoing ramp up and maintenance at the Central Pilbara hub (South Flank and Mining Area C), and the timing of track renewal maintenance”.

BHP said South Flank remains on track to ramp up to full production capacity of 80 million tonnes per annum by the end of FY24.

The miner’s quarterly was released on the same day as the divestment of BMA’s Daunia and Blackwater coal mines was revealed, with Whitehaven buying the mines for $US3.2 ($5.02) billion.

BMA is a joint venture between BHP and Mitsubishi Development.