Queenslanders Kicking Goals Overseas

[hr]The rest of the country might have ‘tall poppy syndrome’ but here in Queensland, we like nothing better than to hear about our fellow Queenslanders kicking goals – on or off the footy field. We’re not fussy.[hr]

Apart from sport, business, medicine, construction, tourism, sunny days and growing stuff, Queensland is really good at mining. And we’re increasingly becoming better at exporting our top-shelf mining acumen overseas.

It’s a good thing too because the latest report from the Australian Bureau of Resources and Energy Economics tells us that “…the global rush to capitalise on China’s booming appetite for commodities has now resulted in too much supply hitting the markets and has pushed commodity prices down.”

This slowdown is being felt across the country with mines closing, projects put on hold and thousands of jobs being lost as business looks to cut costs and remain viable. The resources landscape in Queensland has certainly changed with the peak of the investment boom now well and truly past.

However Queenslanders, in their droves, are shaking off the commodities doldrums and exploring new unchartered resources markets in places as far flung as Chile, Mongolia and Madagascar.

As our Federal Industry Minister  Ian Macfalane said recently, “From exploration to development, export and mine site rehabilitation, we have set the pace in the productive and competitive development of environmentally responsible, economically important, world-class resources and energy projects.”

“The challenge we face is clear: if Australia is to remain a leading resources and energy exporter, our productivity and competitiveness must rise, especially as the major discoveries that are the backbone of these industries become less frequent.”

“The good news is that Australian mining companies have been quick to adopt new technologies, resulting in the development of one of the world’s most innovative mining equipment technology and services sectors,” the Minister said.

Making the most of what we have has always been a source of pride for Queenslanders, and when it comes to mining know-how, we’re fortunate to have a lot.

In this edition of Queensland Mining and Energy Bulletin, we’ve taken a quick snapshot of where our home-grown talent is making its mark overseas:

United States:

EDP Renewables North America now uses Trakka®, a cloud-based predictive analytical and workflow maintenance management software developed by Queensland-based company, Dingo.

Dingo’s Trakka® is currently employed on all of Anglo American’s metallurgical coal businesses in Queensland.

Headquartered in Houston, Texas, EDP North America maintains offices and wind farms across North America.  EDP currently operates over 3,800 MW with 29 wind farms in the U.S. and Canada.

EDP engineering staff use Trakka® to proactively monitor turbine condition for their post-warranty turbine fleet in the U.S. Additionally, EDPR is utilising Trakka’s document storage functionality to record inspection reports, gearbox teardowns, oil  sampling  procedures and boroscope inspection reports.  With the addition of this most recent order, Dingo now monitors 14GW of wind power capacity in Trakka®.

[pullQuote]This partnership is an important part of Dingoís continued strategic expansion into energy markets.[/pullQuote]

Paul Higgins, Dingo Chief Executive Officer, stated, “We are pleased to announce this agreement with EDP Renewables North America. This partnership is an important part of Dingo’s continued strategic expansion into energy markets.  As thousands of wind turbines transition out of initial warranty, ways to manage long term (assests) are becoming more important than ever to the wind industry.”

Indonesia

Queensland-based Cokal Limited will start construction on the company’s flagship Bumi Barito Mineral (BBM) coal mine project in Indonesia by the end of this year after receiving an in-principal approval from the Indonesian Ministry of Forestry.

The project marks the company’s progression from exploration company to mine developer.

Cokal Chairman and CEO Peter Lynch said a key requirement for the project had been met with the Indonesian Ministry of Forestry approving an In-Principal Forestry Permit for areas required for the mine located in Central Kalimantan.

Mr Lynch said an initial area of approximately 1,242ha has been approved by the Forestry Department to enable the development of the port, haul road and the initial development of the mine site once the conditions of the In-Principal Forestry Permit are met.

“We are pleased that the final stage in forestry permitting is nearing completion,” Mr Lynch said.

“The effort of our team to achieve this milestone in the timeframe is testimony to the way in which Cokal has been able to work in a professional manner with stakeholders from all three levels of Government.

[pullQuote]Queensland-based Cokal Limited will start construction on the companyís flagship Bumi Barito Mineral coal mine project in Indonesia by the end of this year[/pullQuote]

“We have the ability to expand the operation from the initial 2Mtpa up to potentially 6Mtpa of premium coking coal for future development and this considerably increases our confidence in the success of this exciting project.”

Mr Lynch said Cokal is aiming to start construction of the mine later this year with first production targeted in the second half of 2015. Cokal has already accepted a package of up to US$150 million from financing group Platinum Partners to fund the project.

The BBM Coal Project is situated in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia in the prospective metallurgical Upper Barito Coal Basin, Regency of Murung Raya.  The Project covers an area of 14,980ha. The Project is adjacent to the BHP Billiton’s, Indomet Coal, Joloi Project in Murung Raya Regency. BBM currently has a JORC Coal Resource of 261million tonnes (Mt) in multiple seams comprised of 10.5Mt Measured, 13.5Mt Indicated and 237Mt Inferred Coal Resources.

South Africa

Specialist mining software developed by Queensland company RungePincockMinarco (RPM) is currently being implemented by clients in South Africa and Indonesia as well as Australia.

A number of other clients from around the world are in the process of either trialling the software, undertaking a proof of concept or negotiating to acquire the product in this calendar year.

Launched with the support of SAP, the software, called XERAS for Enterprise, seamlessly integrates SAP’s Financial and Maintenance Management modules with the financial modelling capabilities of XERAS, RPM’s financial modelling product for mining.

This integration allows for unprecedented levels of financial visibility and cost control, from individual mine sites through to corporate management reporting systems, which was the key benefit behind the decision made by South African miner, Sasol Mining, to purchase XERAS for Enterprise.

For Sasol Mining, it was critical that their operational systems were more tightly integrated with their corporate Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system, SAP, so they could better analyse planned versus actual financial results.

[pullQuote]Sasol Mining expect the budgeting process to be more accurate and streamlined…[/pullQuote]

The XERAS for Enterprise implementation at Sasol Mining will automatically consolidate XERAS models from multiple mine sites into an enterprise wide view of the business. Sasol Mining expect the budgeting process to be more accurate and streamlined, given that the information flow between these key systems can now be monitored and controlled. Data integrity will be maintained by functionality within XERAS for Enterprise, providing confidence to all users that they are always using “one version of the truth”.

Sasol is an early adopter of XERAS for Enterprise and as such is working with RPM to influence the product direction as additional functionality opportunities are identified during the implementation.

South East Asia

Last year, One Key Resources opened a new office in Singapore, providing a gateway for the company to provide expert industry training, animated training technology, productivity improvement programs, expatriate recruitment and contracting services throughout Asia.

“The Singapore office space provides a perfect platform for our consultants, trainers and management staff to carry out project work and meetings,” said Managing Director Grant Wechsel.

“We are excited to build on our brand and reputation in Australia throughout the international mining and resources market,” he added.

[pullQuote]The animation technology is hosted online capturing best practice standards for machinery operation and can be shown to speakers of any language[/pullQuote]

One of the ways One Key Resources will target the South East Asian, Chinese, Mongolian and African markets is through the development and implementation of its unique mining animation videos with supporting e-learning database, reporting and hands-on training on site. The animation technology is hosted online capturing best practice standards for machinery operation and can be shown to speakers of any language.

Madagascar

Up against a host of international competitors, Queensland company, Ausenco, won the contract to provide a complete range of services, from design through to start-up support, on the world’s first commercial nickel laterite slurry pipeline system in Madagascar.

[pullQuote]Up against a host of international competitors, Queensland company, Ausenco, won the contract to provide a complete range of services[/pullQuote]

The pipeline system is designed to transport 7.2 million tonnes per year (Mt/y) of laterite ore from the Ambatovy mine site to terminal facilities at Toamasina (Tamatave) in Madagascar.

The system design included:

• A 208 kilometre (km), 24-inch diameter buried concentrate pipeline
• One pump station at the ore preparation plant, with the provision to add additional pumps should slurry properties change
• Three pressure monitoring stations along the pipeline route
• One main valve station along the pipeline route

Pipeline terminal/choke facilities.

• Ausenco’s control systems group also added the following:
• Supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system with remote power systems and fiber optic telecommunications
• Ausenco’s Pipeline Advisor package for process optimisation and leak detection.

After the project was successfully in operation for approximately one year, Ausenco was retained again to provide performance testing and further training for operations safety, efficiency and maintenance.

Mongolia

Queensland-based Guildford Coal Limited announced in July that it had secured a haulage permit which allows transport of coal from its Baruun Noyon Uul (BNU) mine in the South Gobi Region of Mongolia.

Guildford Coal Group Managing Director Mr Peter Kane described the permit from the Mongolian Ministry of Roads and Transport as a significant milestone for the company’s wholly owned Mongolian subsidiary, Terra Energy.

“Negotiations for the approval have extended over 6 months so we are delighted with the news. The mine is now fully commissioned and the transport of coal to China can commence.”

“The permit clears the way for coal to be exported from the Baruun Noyon Uul (BNU) Mine to Shivee Khuren, which is adjacent to the Ceke Border crossing into China.  Commercial arrangements are in place for a Mongolian company to transport the coal”, he said.

[pullQuote]The company has entered into a marketing agreement with Noble to sell coal into the China market and we are confident of the demand…[/pullQuote]

Mr Kane was appreciative of the efforts of the Mongolian Ministry of Roads and Transport in facilitating the approval process.  He said the BNU Mine had generated widespread interest from potential customers and investors.

“We will shortly begin the process of exporting a trial shipment of approximately 10,000 tonnes to northern China. This trial shipment is designed to confirm the down-stream logistics and processing performance.

“Final arrangements for sale will be made following processing at a facility in Ceke, Inner Mongolia with early interest already shown by a number of companies.

“The company has entered into a marketing agreement with Noble to sell coal into the China market and we are confident of the demand” Mr Kane said.

Chile

Austin Engineering, based on the outskirts of Brisbane, was recently awarded two major contracts at the second largest copper mine in Chile.

Both contracts have been awarded by Compania Minera Dona De Collahausi SCM (Collahausi).

The first contract is for the supply of all new and replacement tray bodies as well as the offsite maintenance of the existing fleet. Collahausi have a fleet of over 110 dump trucks.  The initial term of this contract is 3 years, with 6 x 1 year extensions, which would take the maximum term up to 9 years.

The second contract is for the supply of site labour for maintenance of equipment onsite. The initial term of this contract is 2 years, with 6 x 1 year extensions, which would take the maximum term up to 8 years.

[pullQuote]Austin Engineering, based on the outskirts of Brisbane, was recently awarded two major contracts at the second largest copper mine in Chile[/pullQuote]

The minimum revenue of the combined base contracts, for their initial periods only, is $15 – 18 million. Increases to this will depend on the quantity of repairs and replacements required, as well as the scale and rate of production increases on site. Extensions to these initial terms, included in the contracts, will also increase the value.

Commenting on the award Managing Director Michael Buckland said, “The two contracts have been under negotiation for 6 months and it is very pleasing to finally see the award of these contracts to the company.

“Collahausi has made the decision to standardise on the Westech design and we will be replacing the current non-Westech tray bodies with new Westech bodies as their current fleet wears out. We expect to be repairing a minimum of 2 trays per month which will also give the La Negra operation a solid base load. As the mine expands all new trucks will be fitted with Westech trays and the replacement cycle is expected to commence in the second half of the calendar year.”

The provision of site personnel will also allow the company to oversee the flow of work offsite; complete minor onsite repairs as well as advise the mine on the condition of the operating fleet.