Australia and NZ

Mining giant BHP Billiton has approved investment of US$845 million to establish a replacement mining area at its Appin Mine in New South Wales, Australia.

The replacement mining area will sustain operations at Illawarra Coal and will have a production capacity of 3.5 million tonnes per year of metallurgical coal, sustaining production capacity at nine million tonnes per year.

Rio Tinto has announced it is committing US$4.2 billion to developing its tier one iron ore business.

The investment covers $3.7 billion for expansion of the Pilbara iron ore operations in Western Australia; and $501 million for further infrastructure development at the Simandou iron ore project in Guinea.

With a shortage of skilled labour in its booming mining sector, Australia has for the first time passed measures to allow migrant workers to come in and fill the gap.

The Enterprise Migration Agreement (EMA) announced last Friday allows companies with projects worth more than $2-billion (Australian) to recruit skilled workers from overseas on fixed contracts.

With a population of 22 million, Australia is struggling to find enough skilled workers at home to satisfy demand from China and other major markets for its abundant natural resources.

The Western Australian Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) has recommended approval for Western Australia’s first uranium mine.

Toro Energy Limited has been advised by the EPA that approval has been recommended for the company’s Wiluna Uranium Project. The EPA has presented a report to WA’s state minister for environment stating that the Wiluna Project meets environmental approval requirements and should be approved and allowed to proceed, subject to stated conditions within the report.

Mike Hollett, chief executive officer of National Lifestyle Villages, tells Andrew Pelis how the company has diversified and grown into a $50 million business since the turn of the century.

DHL Express Australia is investing heavily in its facilities and infrastructure as it moves to grow further in one of its longest-standing markets.

DHL has been in operation since 1969, when in San Francisco, Dalsey, Hillblom and Lynn launched the world’s first intercontinental express delivery service. Today, DHL’s air and road network spans over 220 countries across the globe, and has become a household name and market leader in express delivery.

Multinational construction group Lend Lease today announced the award of a A$210 million contract for the Caval Ridge Mine project in central Queensland owned by the BHP Billiton-Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA).

The contract will be delivered by Abigroup, a member of Lend Lease's Australian construction business.

Australia’s Woodside Petroleum has begun producing LNG from its Pluto LNG Project near Karratha in Western Australia, the company announced today.

Woodside will soon be loading its first cargo aboard the Woodside Donaldson LNG tanker for shipment.

The project processes gas from the Pluto gas field, located in the Carnarvon Basin about 190 kilometres north-west of Karratha.

Even at today’s prices, the economics of opening a new gold mine need careful attention, as Alan Swaby learns while talking with Carrick Gold.

Just like rare book collectors, gold exploration companies are always on the lookout for the big find—the one that will make their name, not to mention their fortune. Not surprisingly, both professions tend to attract more than their share of dreamers.

As hardware merchants in the California gold rush discovered, you can make money from mining either by discovering the mother lode or by selling picks and shovels. Jeff Daniel talks to a modern-day version of the hardware merchant.