Australia and NZ

Mel Togolo, country manager of Nautilus Minerals Niugini Ltd (Nautilus) talks to Jayne Flannery about the company’s pioneering work to explore and develop seafloor mineral deposits in the South Pacific.

Company turnarounds require tough decisions and strong leadership. But for McColl’s Transport, the secret has been to lock operational activities into standardised systems, as CEO Simon Thornton explains to Gay Sutton.

Anglo Swiss mining giant Xstrata has raised its cash offer to buy Australia’s Sphere Minerals by 20 per cent to A$514 million (approximately €365 million).

Zug, Switzerland-based Xstrata said the offer was final and would lapse if shareholder acceptances stayed below 50 per cent by 12 November. 8.1 per cent of Sphere’s shareholders had accepted the initial offer as of 2 November.

The UK’s BG Group has approved its biggest ever investment, a £9.3 billion liquefied natural gas (LNG) development in north-east Australia.

Following environmental approvals from the Australian government, the company will now proceed with the first phase of the project—to build a liquefaction plant on Curtis Island, Queensland.

The project will also involve construction of a 540 kilometre pipeline to move gas from the Queensland interior, where the gas will be drilled using 6,000 bore holes, to the liquefaction plant.

Australia’s fourth largest port achieved a record financial year in 2009, handling more than 83,000,000 tonnes of coal, grain and other goods. The company managing this impressive growth is Gladstone Ports Corporation Limited.

Dr Doug Jones, managing director and CEO of Chalice Gold Mines Limited, speaks to Jane Bordenave about the company’s work in Eritrea, and the shining opportunities it presents.

Advent Energy is about to begin drilling the first ever exploration well off the coast of New South Wales, in what may become one of the largest natural gas discoveries of the decade. Ben Sansom talks to managing director David Breeze about the exploration and why the prospects look so good.

Mining is often about an underground world of tunnels towards the centre of the earth. At Pike River Coal, however, the challenge of New Zealand’s geology has resulted in tunnelling uphill and a reliance on water. New CEO Peter Whittall explains all to Andrew Pelis.

The recent earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand reveals the geological complexity of the South Island. For Pike River Coal, however, while earth tremors are no major problem, geology has proved to be an uphill struggle.

The meteoric growth of Perth-based Catalpa Resources has been down to a solid strategy and a culture of excellence—as well as a dash of bravery, as managing director Bruce McFadzean tells Andrew Pelis.

Andy Haslam, managing director of iron ore producer Territory Resources, is delighted to be mirroring the growth of Asia’s resurgent economies. Jayne Flannery reports.