The Australian Mining Review speaks with Hancock Prospecting executive director Tad Watroba about Gina Rinehart’s journey to establishing her late father’s business as a bastion of Australian mining.

With a history dating back to 1955, the story of Hancock Prospecting is one of a family-owned business that went on to become a juggernaut of the Australian sector.

The names Lang Hancock and Gina Rinehart are synonymous with the Australian mining industry and rightfully so – their influence on the industry over the course of almost 67 years has been profound and put the remote Pilbara region of WA on the map.

Extensive lobbying in its early years and rapid progression and diversification of its assets continue to drive the company to new heights, with the crowning jewel the Roy Hill iron ore project, which began operations in 2014.

Boasting one of Australia’s largest single iron ore mines, Roy Hill delivers enormous economic benefits to the WA and Australian communities and employs almost 3000 employees and a host of contractors, suppliers and service providers.

Roy Hill reported a record shipment of 64mt of iron ore and delivered a $3.2b profit after tax in FY24, a stunning effort by industry standards.

While Mrs Rinehart’s interests are wide and varied, with stakes in iron ore, lithium, gas, agiculture, property and fashion, Roy Hill is the largest revenue and profit earner for its majority owner Hancock Prospecting Pty Ltd.

The Australian Mining Review speaks with Hancock Prospecting executive director Tad Watroba about how the company has grown to become Australia’s largest private company.

AMR: Can you tell me about the beginning of Roy Hill / Hancock Prospecting and what the ultimate goal was for the companies?

TW: Hancock Prospecting (HPPL) was founded by Lang Hancock in 1955 as a private family prospecting and exploration company. Proceeding this, in November 1952, Mr Hancock had made his famous discovery flight over the Hamersley Ranges, on his way to Perth, the clouds forcing him to fly low over a gorge. He later returned to that gorge and took samples of rock along about 20 miles, sending the samples more than 1,000 miles to Perth. At the time the government believed that Australia would run out of ore by 1965 and had imposed an export embargo on iron ore. Mr Hancock spent many years working to have this embargo lifted in 1960 and then lobbying the state government to remove its bans on the pegging of tenements, so that West Australia’s vast iron ore resources could be developed for the benefit of Australians.

Following the passing of Mr Hancock in March 1992, Mrs Rinehart took over as Executive Chairman of HPPL and set about saving and building the company, which was in a financially perilous state and left with many difficulties. Much of those early years of Mrs Rinehart’s chairmanship was spent dealing with legal proceedings, defending HPPL’s assets, trying to secure what would later become the successful Hope Downs deposits. HPPL gained in December 1992 a State Agreement over the Hope Downs tenements, and the following year in 1993 HPPL acquired the Roy Hill tenements. Money was short and had to be spent on defending the Hope Downs tenements, as well as trickling money into exploration and studies into Hope Downs, finalising a pre-feasibility study in 1997.

In 2005, HPPL entities entered into a joint venture agreement with Rio Tinto to co- develop the Hope Downs mines. First ore was produced at Hope Downs 1 in November 2007, and then another mine was developed at Hope 1 the next year. With Hope Downs producing, time and resources could now be spent on developing the Roy Hill project. In 2012, Equity agreements were achieved with South Korea’s POSCO, Japan’s Marubeni, and Taiwan’s China Steel Corporation, who collectively hold a 30% share of Roy Hill. Equity money was spent securing the port berths and on early development of Roy Hill. In 2014 the US$7.2b Roy Hill debt financing package was secured with five export credit agencies and 19 major international and Australian banks. The following year, in November 2015, first ore from Roy Hill was railed from the mine to Port Hedland for export.

While mineral exploration and investment was the foundation of the Hancock family business, under Mrs Rinehart’s leadership, Hancock has grown to become not only a successful mine operator and project developer but Australia’s most successful private business with significantly expanded and diversified interests in energy, agriculture, rare earths, property and some of Australia’s most iconic brands, Kidman, Rossi and Driza-Bone. Hancock Prospecting’s mission is to bring Australian mineral resources and agricultural products to market and in doing so, help secure Australia’s living standards by not only generating revenue and prosperity, but also bringing much benefit to its staff across Australia and the regions those primary and essential industries operate in.

AMR: How has the business managed to stay private for so long?

TW: HPPL has always been a family company, owned first by Mr Hancock and his wife Hope Hancock, and Mrs Rinehart, and later her children as minority shareholders via a trust. Under Mrs Rinehart’s leadership, Hancock has focused on building up a strong balance sheet and making investments in primarily Australian mining, agricultural, and energy projects, properties, and businesses. Mrs Rinehart has had a focus on paying down debt when it had to be incurred (to develop Hope Downs and later Roy Hill) as quickly as possible, to put the company on a secure footing. Throughout her chairmanship, Mrs Rinehart has shown an exceptional ability to identify opportunities, navigate complex business landscapes, and realise the benefits of strategic partnerships. Her negotiations and the securing of equity partnerships with major global enterprises including POSCO, Marubeni, and China Steel Corporation helped develop the very successful mega Roy Hill project. Under Mrs Rinehart’s leadership, Hancock has been able to build success upon success, turning Hancock around from a company facing many difficulties (including financial difficulties) 32 years ago, to being the most successful private company in Australia’s history. Given the complexity of a public company and the increasing difficulty for it to act nimbly and quickly, Mrs Rinehart has chosen to keep the family company private.

AMR: Did anyone think the business was going to become this successful when it first started out?

TW:  When Hancock was founded, there was still an embargo on the export of iron ore. And a ban on pegging title to the ore! With bad government policy blocking the company’s way in the 1950s, it would have been unthinkable then to imagine the incredibly successful company Mrs Rinehart has built. Risks taken with both Hope Downs and then Roy Hill, and the difficulty of achieving approvals, meant more years never thinking the business would be this successful.

AMR: What are the keys to keeping the business so successful and private over all these years?

TW: For the thirty plus years I’ve worked for Mrs Rinehart, I would have to say one of the keys is her hard work, dedication and incredible ability to maintain a disciplined, common-sense focus, no matter the at times seemingly impossible and overwhelming hurdles. She has always seen the bigger picture when it comes to investing, her business sense is incredible and her work ethic, more incredible. Unlike most major mines which are developed by public companies, which use many thousands of shareholders’ money, Mrs Rinehart bore the risk personally, via her private family company to borrow and outlay multi millions in high-risk expenditure to progress the work needed to develop Hope Downs and later Roy Hill.

In 2014, she made history, inking a US$7.2b loan agreement for the development of Roy Hill – the biggest project financing ever completed for an onshore greenfields mining venture. Within five years, and with Mrs Rinehart maintaining a disciplined course to repay debt prior to declaring dividends, saving many hundreds of millions of dollars, Roy Hill had repaid the entire debt. Building a major iron ore project with billions of dollars worth of infrastructure, including for its rail and port, is incredibly difficult, especially for a relatively small private company, it requires great courage and tenacity.

AMR: Are there any positive news you can share across the operations?

TW: Hancock recently received the long-awaited approvals for its another iron ore McPhee project which will create 500 new jobs during construction and up to 200 new full-time positions once operational. The lengthy wait was despite the project using existing rail and port and processing plant.

Roy Hill has been recognised as Australian Mine of the Year for the second consecutive year and third time running.

Our majority owned Bannister Downs Dairy continues to receive multi awards for its produce, including recently winning both Champion Cream and Grand Champion Dairy Product for its double cream at the Australian Grand Dairy Awards.

Hancock’s and Mrs Rinehart’s support for swimming over more than a decade helped the swimmers achieve their best ever Olympics.

Driza-Bone, Rossi and Kidman opened the Brisbane Fashion Festival in August, and again presented the Bush Summit around Australia in conjunction with News Corp.

AMR: What does the future look like for Roy Hill / Hancock Prospecting?

TW: As Australia’s most successful private company and with Mrs Rinehart at the helm, and the staff loyalty Mrs Rinehart has achieved, with very low turnover in the industry, the future looks bright.

Along with a pipeline of mining projects, which require timely and workable government approvals in order to be progressed, Hancock has diversified to make considerable investments in agriculture, property, energy, and into fashion too with Rossi, Driza-Bone, and Kidman.

The acquisition of the iconic S. Kidman and Co pastoral company and 2GR wagyu cattle farms sees the award winning 2GR premium wagyu beef exported to 26 countries across North and South Asia, the Middle East, Europe and North America.

But it must be noted there are currently many obstacles to opening new mines and their supporting infrastructure, including increasingly burdensome tape, regulation and lengthy approvals processes, so government must reverse this negative trend and create a policy environment which encourages investment, or risk driving investment overseas and driving Australian living standards downwards.

AMR: Is there anything we missed?

TW: Mrs Rinehart founded National Days to celebrate the mining and agricultural industries and the industries they support, these being 22 and 21 November, respectively. She passed the Patronship of National Mining Day to me, a position of which I’m very proud, given I’ve been in the mining industry all my life, and she retained the Co-Patron position. She is also very active as Patron of the National Agriculture and Related Industries Day, with her Co-Patron being Tony Seabrook, President of the Pastoralists and Graziers Association. This year National Mining and Related Industries Day will be held at Santos, Moomba, given the importance of gas to keep our electricity going. Agriculture day will be held at Penfolds, Adelaide. Please contact Hancock events team for more details and tickets.

Roy Hill and Hancock are proud to be supporting men and women who have served and sacrificed for their country, with our industry leading Veteran Employment Program which offers direct employment pathways and a supportive work environment for veterans and ex-defence members. Under the drive and leadership of Mrs Rinehart, Roy Hill and all Hancock Prospecting businesses are taking a proactive stance in bringing more veterans into the organisation, as well as advocating for other businesses to do the same. We wanted veterans and ex-military personnel to feel valued and preferentially treated when they approach us and to create a real sense of recognition of military service to the country which they served. In a win-win situation, the Veterans Employment Program provides Roy Hill and Atlas with the special attributes veterans bring, while improving employment outcomes for defence personnel transitioning to civilian life.

It is one thing to be Australia’s most successful private company, but for staff to tell you Roy Hill is the best mining company to work for, speaks volumes and demonstrates Mrs Rinehart’s very genuine desire to provide well for her staff and contribute to their wellbeing.

Walking the talk

AMR: Tell me about Roy Hill / Hancock Prospecting’s community and philanthropy work.

TW: Roy Hill and Hancock businesses support a range of grass-roots initiatives and organisations in Port Hedland and the broader footprint of our operations. In addition to direct financial investment, the businesses are focused on partnering with community organisations to provide much needed social outreach activities and on-the-ground support to initiatives that support a positive step change in the communities in which the companies operate. They include the Royal Flying Doctor Service, breast cancer research and support, Telethon, Pilbara sporting clubs, education initiatives with local schools and community service organisations.

School programs

Hanrine Futures – a unique scholarship initiated in 2021 by Mrs Gina Rinehart AO, Executive Chairman Hancock Prospecting, which provides funding for indigenous children including school fees, boarding, mentoring, internships, work experience and extracurricular activities. There are now twenty Aboriginal students being supported in partnership with MADALAH in their education, mentoring and wrap around services. It is designed to support the student from commencement of their scholarship through to employment.

Pilbara Mentors – the Hanrine Foundation partnered with Ed Connect to introduce the first student mentoring program in Port Hedland. This supports 30 scholarships annually for Aboriginal children to attend St Cecilia’s Primary School in Port Hedland – increasing attendance, engagement and outcomes for Indigenous students.

Mirnukaru Hedland Attendance Strategy – community driven initiative to help improve school attendance. Roy Hill funded a brand new 22-seater Toyota Coaster bus along with running costs to provide daily transport to school for vulnerable and at-risk students from their homes in Port Hedland and South Hedland.

Fresh food in schools’ program – regular delivery of fresh fruit and vegetables to schools in remote Aboriginal communities increasing accessibility of fresh food and promoting healthy lifestyles.

Port Hedland school holiday programs – Roy Hill partners with the Julyardi Aboriginal Corporation to deliver school holiday programs focused on reconnecting kids to culture and country, providing catering, staff, transport, fishing and media equipment for kids to share their experiences.

Hedland school athletic and community swimming carnivals – Roy Hill provides support including supply of marquees, staff, catering, and accommodation for attendees from remote communities or those travelling long distances.

Fair Game – a weekly community health and sport program at JD Hardie Centre in Port Hedland for at risk youth. Roy Hill provide catering and volunteers to help facilitate the program, and also do community visits to hold Blue Light Discos in the remote communities of Warralong and Yandeyarra.

Community grants program

In addition to major sponsorships, Roy Hill also provides mid-tier community grants that align with its Social Impact Strategy and grass roots community grants to deliver community activities and outreach activities. Non-profit organisations can apply for financial assistance of up to $10,000 for community-based projects, which promote positive development in areas of education and training, Indigenous capacity building, improving community health, well-being or safety, and more. Since the program’s launch in late last year, Roy Hill has funded nearly 20 projects to the tune of just under $150,000.

Environmental initiatives (Energy of the Future program, net zero)

Hancock Prospecting and Roy Hill are investing in research, development and deployment of energy-efficient technology to transition its operations to alternative power sources and reduce emissions across its various businesses. Roy Hill is the first mining company in the Pilbara to invest in a 100% battery locomotive. Roy Hill has also recently taken delivery of two state-of-the-art electric buses to transport workers during their commute to and from the mine village each day.

Indigenous engagement

Roy Hill is proud of the long and trusting relationships it has developed with Traditional Owner (TO) groups over many years and support a range of projects working collaboratively with Traditional Owners to promote education, training, employment and business opportunities. All staff undergo cultural awareness training so they can learn about the importance of culture and connection to land. Roy Hill has a dedicated Indigenous Business Development Manager that works with Indigenous businesses to ensure contracting opportunities are presented to them. Atlas Iron became the first miner in the Pilbara to award contract mining services to a company with direct ties to the land’s traditional owners. Through the Hanrine Foundation (formerly the Roy Hill Community Foundation) which Roy Hill is the major funder, health, education, arts and culture programs support the wellbeing and economic capacity of land connected people where Roy Hill operates. One of the most exciting initiatives is a world-leading facial recognition program identifying rare genetic disorders in indigenous children becoming a reality through the Foundation.

Supporting athletes (Swimming WA, Volleyball Australia, Rowing Australia and Synchronised Swimming Australia)

Roy Hill is extremely proud to be, through its Executive Chairman and majority owner Hancock Prospecting, Australia’s largest supporter of Olympic sport. As part of the partnership, Roy Hill sponsored Aussie athletes competing at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games, Paris 2024 Summer Olympics and will continue to support our Olympians at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics in February 2026. Mrs Rinehart is the single biggest individual financial supporter of Australian Olympic sport and serves as Patron of Australia’s internationally renowned Olympic swimming, rowing, volleyball and synchronised swimming teams, whose Olympians provide important role models for Australians.

In August last year, Hancock Operations chief executive Gerhard Veldsman rallied employees and other companies to compete at Rowing WA’s inaugural Corporate Regatta, with the primary purpose of raising awareness for Telethon. The competition not only resulted in a sizeable donation to the children’s charity, but also doubled as an effective culture building opportunity. Furthermore, Gerhard identified a gap in support for the women’s youth program at Swan River Rowing Club (who hosted the Corporate Regatta) and donated a new Empacher racing hull as part of Roy Hill’s and Mrs Rinehart’s commitment to rowing in Australia. It is the first Olympic-standard 8+ in West Australia.

Workplace giving

Inspired by Mrs Rinehart’s generous and quiet philanthropy, Roy Hill and Hancock businesses have a ‘workplace giving’ program which enables employees to make direct pre-tax payroll donations to the National Breast Cancer Foundation, Telethon, and Men’s Health initiative, Movember.

Roy Hill is the only mine site in the world to have a fleet of pink trucks, pink locomotives and other pink equipment in support of breast cancer research and assistance.

The post Iron willed: what it took to build Australia’s largest private company appeared first on The Australian Mining Review.

As Chair of the Gold Industry Group and a graduate of the AICD, Kelly’s achievements have been recognised as one of the 2018 BMO “100 Global Inspirational Women in Mining”, a winner at the 2018 Business News 40 under 40 Awards, and as a finalist in the 2017 CME Women in Resources Awards.  

The Australian Mining Review’s Kathleen Southway speaks with Kelly about the importance of stakeholder value creation in reaching Gold Fields’ 2030 global ESG targets.

AMR: What does stakeholder value creation mean to the Gold Fields? Who are the stakeholders and what value is Gold Fields creating? 

KC: I think it really talks directly to our purpose, which is to create enduring value beyond mining. What is critically important is that this ambition is experienced by our stakeholders. This motivates us internally. Creating a lived experience for our stakeholders lies at the heart of making sure that we’re doing what it is that we’re striving to do. We’ve got a global footprint. And that means our stakeholders are varied and different across the regions in which we operate. Part of our intention is to make sure all of those various stakeholder cohorts are experiencing sustainable benefits from our operations. This refers primarily to creating economic value in the form of salaries, procurement, taxes and jobs, among others but also developing a relationship with our stakeholders based on trust, transparency and respect. We have identified five key stakeholders for Gold Fields: our host communities, First Nations peoples, which is critically important in the Australian context, our employees, business partners, the governments in the jurisdictions in which we operate, as well as our shareholders. They are all a critical part of the stakeholder framework for an organisation. It’s really important that we are demonstrating value across all of those stakeholder cohorts.  

AMR: Why is stakeholder value creation important within the gold industry, specifically in Australia? 

KC: It really goes to the heart of what sustainability is for an organisation. Whether you look at it through that lens of sustainability or social licence, it is imperative that our operations and our business partner with and provide value to our communities and other stakeholders. I think that in Australia, gold has been an integral part of the country’s history. It has tangible demonstrations of being part of Australian prosperity, when there are cities in Australia, like Kalgoorlie, that were built on gold. It is a stable commodity and what is important is that we demonstrate that value on an enduring basis. One of the criticisms that is often levelled at the resources sector is that stakeholder value creation has peaks and troughs. It’s really important that there is a level of consistency to demonstrating value creation. The gold sector has historically not been terribly good at telling its stories, about demonstrating value creation to communities, in particular. This is part of the reason why the Gold Industry Group was formed. It is a collective of gold industry participants –  producers, refiners, service providers and explorers – to work collectively to demonstrate that sense of value creation to our external stakeholders, as well as to our own our own people. And we’ve been very effective in doing that over the last seven years. 

AMR: Can you discuss how stakeholder value creation fits in with Gold Fields’ global ESG targets? 

KC: In December 2021 we launched six priority ESG targets, of which stakeholder value creation was one of them. These six priority areas have been assigned 2030 targets. With stakeholder value creation, our target is to ensure that 30% of the total value we create benefits our host communities. By 2030, we are also aiming to have six legacy programs in place that benefit our host communities beyond the inevitable closures of our mines. There are a number of ways in which we create community value. In 2022, a total of 27% of all our procurement came from community businesses. A second factor is host community employment, which is a strong focus in Australia. A total of 18% of our employment at our Australian mines is from within our host communities. Naturally, this is not easy given that most of our operations are remote, but we have a significant proportion of our workforce, particularly at our St Ives operation, who reside in the Kalgoorlie area. The remainder of the workforce largely lives in Perth and the southwest of WA, and they fly-in and fly-out of our operations. Between both the employment and the procurement space, we’ve made some real headway, particularly in Australia. From a procurement perspective, looking at 2022, we had A$369m of procurement spend from within our host communities. That’s 361 different suppliers benefiting from having direct contracting arrangements with Gold Fields, of which 47 of them are female-owned businesses. We’re continuing to build our relationships with traditional owners to understand how we can support further opportunities and engagement in that space. 

AMR: How are the six flagship programs progressing? 

KC: The pipeline of those projects has been framed and conceptualised. We plan to deliver these programs in each of the five countries in which we operate. There will be at least one program in Australia. This is currently in concept stage, and we will be working with our communities and other stakeholder partners to develop that program so that it will be in operation before 2030. We have one of the programs, a dairy supply chain project in Peru, that is now fully scoped and ready to be launched later this year. It is exciting to see how we can help strengthen the dairy farming industry in the rural area surrounding our mine in northern Peru. The nature of these programs is that they are intended to go beyond our social investments in these communities. We are working hard to deliver these transformational and enduring programs for our host communities. In order to achieve that it is critical that we do the development work and engagement work upfront to set them up for enduring success. 

AMR: What challenges or potential risks do you see in reaching the ESG targets for stakeholder value creation? 

KC: Looking at the current operating environment, there are challenges to our host community employment targets given that mining is increasingly relying on high-level skills that are scarce in many of our operating countries. This is particularly so here in Australia but also at our South Deep mine in South Africa. To address this, we are focusing on the work environment that we’re looking to provide. There is a focus on culture as a driver through building a safe and respectful work environment that people really want to work in. Looking beyond salary and income, we find that our broader offerings as an organisation, with the focus on a collaborative and welcoming culture and a strong commitment to ESG, is something that’s appears really attractive to local employees.

Kelly will be presenting on host community value creation at the 2023 International Mining and Resources Conference + Expo (IMARC) at the ICC Sydney from 31 October – 2 November. 

The post Q&A with Gold Fields executive vice president legal & compliance Kelly Carter appeared first on The Australian Mining Review.

BCI Minerals Ltd (ASX:BCI) is seeing rapid growth and success with its 100% owned Mardie Salt and Potash Project on the West Pilbara coast in WA.

Designed to produce 5.35Mtpa of high-purity salt and 140ktpa of Sulphate of Potash (SOP), the project is a future Tier 1 solar evaporation project that will be a sustainable supplier of salt and potash for decades to come.

As a developer of renewable minerals for a modern world, BCI Minerals is currently still in its construction phase and will be the first major salt project developed in Australia in two decades, being the only Australian operation to product commercially saleable salt and SOP.

BCI Minerals Managing Director David Boshoff, who has more than 20 years of experience in the mining industry and has a strong background in delivering large capital projects, says the company has been focusing on robust progression.

“We have spent a lot of time on improving knowledge of the Mardie Project; the planning, the cost forecast, the schedule forecast,” he says.

“Personally, I’ve spent a lot of time with the projects team with a focus to reduce the risk and increase certainty. Those are very important for BCI Minerals in terms of funding, which is the main role I’ve been doing with the team in the last couple months.

“What makes the Mardie Project so exciting is the fact that it’s a completely renewable project; when you’re using sea water, you’re using solar wind to evaporate salt from it and then produce salt from the process, and 98-99% of our energy is completely renewable energy and from a renewable source.

“There is such a strong connection for BCI Minerals to the renewables transition. “Most people don’t know it, but our salt is not actually used for table salt; ours has a very high purity that suits extremely well to other industries which require salt as an input – for instance, in South East Asia in chemical production.

“But an incredibly exciting opportunity is in glass manufacturing, in solar panels. Solar panels require a lot of glass, and salt is a key ingredient to that; also different technologies are developing, and with the price of lithium having gone up recently, lots of people are developing alternative technologies.

We’re very enthusiastic about those options regarding salt in specific batteries, which is showing to be promising, and given our project is long term this will create opportunities for a demand.

“And of course, with a supply-demand deficit, we believe the price is going to follow.

“It’s completely different to what I’ve done in the past, and it’s great to be able to use the skills I’ve gained from the mining industry to apply it to projects such as this.”

BCI Minerals has had several mining leases approved recently, which are all in the process of extending the company’s footprint to complete the whole project.

Mr Boshoff says BCI Minerals has full approval for more than two-thirds of the footprint, but they are looking at taking it further.

“We’d like to extend the project to the north; that’s part of BCI Minerals’ optimised project; to be able to produce more salt than the original case – that’s underway at the moment,” he explains.

In terms of how quickly the Mardie Project is moving along, its ratio is quite different to other civil construction projects in that it’s rate of speed is determined by the evaporation of salt.

“Certainly not as intense in terms of capital deployment that way because we basically match the capital deployment with the salt crystallisation process,” Mr Boshoff reveals.

“So that’s good, but it’s a large project…we’re talking more than a billion dollars that we’re going to be spending on this, so it’s considerable; and employing a lot of people in the construction phase as well as creating a wide variety of opportunities for WA businesses.”

The general outlook for BCI Minerals for the remainder of 2023 is highly positive, with a capital raise currently underway that is seeing full support from investors and funding partners.

The company’s board has got a lot of depth and Mr Boshoff says each members’ wealth of knowledge and expertise will see BCI Minerals succeed in the Mardie Project.

“That was part of the attraction for me joining the team,” he says.

“I’m certainly getting a lot of guidance from the board who are very well connected to this industry, providing great opportunities for us to continue to successfully deliver our project.”

The post BCI Minerals On Track For Renewables Transition appeared first on The Australian Mining Review.

Asset owners and site managers are aware of the risks associated with working at heights, and the need to implement procedures that keep workers safe when performing their duties.

While keeping projects on track, reducing operational downtime, and increasing productivity all have an impact on business performance, maintaining a safe environment for workers remains a priority.

When performing tasks at potentially dangerous heights, employees need the assurance that all the necessary steps have been taken to mitigate unforeseen risk.

From mining maintenance, construction sites and manufacturing workshops, to retail, warehousing and everything in between, OEM Group is a company that is keeping a step ahead in safeguarding workers.

In the early 2000’s, the company identified a need to safely access heights, whilst maintaining production targets. OEM Group introduced various manufactured platforms to the East and West Coast, however quickly found that the products and logistics of such large products were not fit-for-purpose, or cost-effective for the jobs at hand.

After heading back to the drawing board, the team devised a safe, stable, flat-packed solution never before seen in the market. That’s where STEPRITE® was born.

Designed and tested to eliminate fall hazards and manufactured to comply with AS 1892.1:2018, the company’s STEPRITE® Safety Access Platforms are built for the toughest sites.

According to OEM Group Chief Executive Officer, Vincent Allegre, the company is committed to designing innovative solutions that improve safety across all industries.

“Our STEPRITE® safety access platform ladders have been specifically designed with performance and safety in mind,” said Vincent.

“They offer added protection in mining and heavy industrial applications, and provide better access when working at heights for both fixed or mobile plant equipment.”

Heavy-duty design for the toughest sites

Designed to perform in the toughest environments, the standard and mine-spec STEPRITE® safety access platform ladders are constructed from strong structural grade aluminium and have a 250kg working load limit.

The strong, portable and lightweight ladders feature conveniently positioned lifting handles and fixed wheels, which are easily manoeuvred by hand.

“Our mine-spec platform ladders include a one-way self-closing barn-style safety door, and a boom-rail to prevent access up to a controlled point. Forklift pockets are also included to provide a simple solution for safe positioning.” said Vincent.

“The unique frame is designed to allow for the platform to be flat packed, for cost-effective transport and storage,” said Vincent.

“Special anti-slip bull nosing on the stairs and heavy-duty platforms assist in preventing slips and falls. The large non-slip rubber mounding’s on the feet provide stable footing, and the fully welded 900mm high handrail with mid-rail allow safe access to the top of the platform.

“They are available in a range of standard sizes starting at a working height of 500 mm, and increase in 250 mm intervals all the way up to our largest at three metres.”

Whether it’s mining maintenance, aviation, construction, transport, agriculture, mechanical or manufacturing workshop, the STEPRITE® ladders are fully customisable, offering a high degree of flexibility when working at heights.

Stepping it up in safety

Although STEPRITE® platforms are used for multiple applications within the mining industry, they are becoming increasingly common in repair and maintenance of both fixed and mobile plant equipment in other industries where safety and productivity are critical.

In instances where truck drivers, forklift operators and warehouse personnel have experienced falls from trailers when trying to restrain loads, STEPRITE® access platforms are providing a simple way of reducing the risk of falls and injuries.

The access platforms are also being used onsite by transport companies for mechanical maintenance and repairs, cleaning windscreens, warning lights and horns, all of which can be done without the risk of drivers having to climb up the side of their trucks or bonnets.

“As our STEPRITE platform ladders are engineered from steel or aluminium, we eliminate the need for scaffolding in fixed plant operations,” he said.

“Not only are they a cost-effective solution, our platform ladders can also be fully customisable to meet unique customer requirements and site specifications.

“We engineer products to suit mobile equipment (trucks, dozers, loaders, excavators, etc.), train loadouts, crushers and conveyors, reclaimers, as well as vibrating screens, drums and chutes.

“Aside from our access platforms, we also manufacture a range of mobile equipment solutions including hub stands, tray dollies, and diff skates for all makes and models of mining trucks, excavators, loaders and dozers.

“Our range of maintenance tooling is designed to increase safety and reduce downtime during shutdowns and onsite maintenance of mining trucks, excavators, loaders, dozers and recovery trailers.”

Setting the benchmark in fabrication

From specialised cleaning solutions to custom safety access platforms and special builds, it’s no surprise OEM Group has been at the forefront of innovative and creative safety solutions for over 20 years.

The company’s in-house design, engineering and fabrication expertise enables customised fit-for-purpose solutions that are aligned to specific end-user requirements – on time and within budget.

“Our portfolio includes specialised aluminium and steel welding, fabrication services and processes to create innovative equipment solutions to suit our customers’ unique applications,” said Vincent.

“We have an expert team of drafts people and engineers that support the custom design process, whether it’s a safety access platform, materials storage, workshop solutions, maintenance tooling, or a completely bespoke product. This includes 3D scanning for larger, more complex projects that require specific dimensions and weights.

“When you choose OEM Group, you can be assured you are getting a skilled team of fabricators capable of producing the best quality solutions.”

About OEM Group

For over 20 years, OEM Group has been the exclusive distributor for a wide range of prefabricated products and innovative industrial equipment.

Founded in Perth, Western Australia, OEM Group is proudly West Australian owned and operated. It works with some of the country’s leaders in the mining, civil, oil, gas, marine, aviation, transport and industrial sectors.

OEM Group is the exclusive WA distributor for SPITWATER Pressure Cleaners, JETFIRE Space Heaters, VACSTORM Vacuum Cleaners and manufacturers of STEPRITE® Safety Access Platforms, JACKRITE Jacking Stands and WESTCHOCK® Wheel Chocks.

For more information, please visit https://www.oemgroup.com.au/

The post A Step Above The Rest | OEM Group appeared first on The Australian Mining Review.

The company drilled to a depth of 150m. This was a 50% increase over and above the 100m depth drilled for the maiden drill campaign and was not included in the exploration targets announced last year. The previous JORC compliant Exploration Target estimate outlined between 1.01 and 1.27 Billion Tonnes of Rare Earth mineralised rocks with TREO grades ranging between 2,245 ppm and 2,807 ppm.

American Rare Earths said the drilling confirms the Rare Earth Elements (REE) containing geological structure is significantly larger than previously thought. Geological data shows significant consistent REE mineralisation across the observed samples, with the massive deposit remaining open at depth and likely continuing east into the company’s adjoining Bluegrass prospect.

Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Chris Gibbs said: “We have a major deposit here, the size scale and consistency of the resource we are observing is similar to large-scale, long-life copper / gold porphyry mines which are common throughout the Western United States.

The exploration target of over a billion tonnes is now being authenticated based on this drilling program. The drill results together with the positive metallurgical studies amplify the significant value of Halleck Creek’s potential as a key domestic US rare earth supplier.”

The Company is awaiting assay results to finalise a maiden JORC resource estimate, which it plans on releasing in the first quarter of 2023.

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The company confirmed that all conditions precedent have been satisfied or waived for the purchase of the Muchea Silica Sand Project (previously referred to as White Hill Silica Sand Project).

The Muchea Silica Sand Project comprises pending exploration licence E70/4981 (Tenement Application), located in the Muchea area, (Yeal nature reserve) 50km north of Perth, Western Australia, and is highly prospective for high-quality silica sand.

The project spans an area of ~47km². The targeted Silica sand deposits lie in the Bassendean sand table. These are windblown dune systems that have been created over tens of thousands of years.

The dunes sit above the natural surface of the ground with heights of up to 20m-40m sitting well above the water table. Historical exploration within the tenement area is limited, though the adjoining Muchea Silica Sand tenement (ASX: VRX) has produced some ultra-high grade results where extensive drilling and testing has taken place producing grades of up to 99.93% SiO2 and 40ppm Fe2O3 in the ground, these being reputed as one of the highest known naturally occurring grades in the world.

Suvo has agreed to issue or grant the following royalty interest and deferred consideration to Mr Aaron Banks, the vendor, as set out in the company’s notice of meeting dated 14 September 2022 (Notice), which was approved by shareholders on 21 October 2022:

1. Royalty: 4% of the proceeds of gross sales from Product derived from the Tenement Application; b) Deferred Consideration Shares: Subject to development milestones having first been satisfied, issue to the Vendor up to $1,550,000 Shares (Deferred Consideration Shares), in the following tranches: i. Grant of Mining License: Upon the grant of a mining license over any part of the Tenement Application, the number of Shares calculated by dividing $1,150,000 by the greater of: – the 5 Day VWAP; and – $0.15
2. Grant of Mining Permit: Upon the grant of all necessary mining permits over any part of the Tenement Application, necessary to commence production (including environmental permits, water licenses, project management plans and mine closure plans), the number of shares calculated by dividing $400,000 by the greater of: – the 5 Day VWAP; and – $0.15 The Deferred Consideration Shares must be issued by 21 October 2027 (5 years from the date of shareholder approval), or the rights to the Deferred Consideration Shares will lapse. The Vendor has agreed to waive his rights to receive the 333,334 unquoted options set out in Resolution 2 of the Notice for $nil consideration.

The post Suvo Completes Muchea Silica Sand Project Acquisition appeared first on The Australian Mining Review.

The new tenements cover 784.3km2 across 253 blocks, expanding the existing project area to a total 1004.4km2.

The applications follow field reconnaissance in early December 2022 which identified a number of potential lithium bearing pegmatites outcropping within granites previously mapped by the Geological Survey of Western Australia.

The Denchi Lithium Project is located approximately 50km west of Wiluna and in proximity to several known lithium resources including Liontown Resources’ Kathleen Valley deposit.

Oar Resources Chief Executive Officer Paul Stephen said: “These tenement applications, once granted, will expand OAR’s project footprint considerably in this highly prospective area.

“Following recent work by our field exploration team, our confidence is further buoyed in the prospectivity of the Denchi Lithium Project. The presence of several lithium bearing pegmatites within the existing project area has been previously confirmed and there are visual indications of numerous additional potential pegmatites and similar geology in the surrounding areas.”

Figure 1 below shows the areas covered by the new applications, which when granted will incorporate large tracts of prospective ground in between and to the south-west of the existing grants.

The post OAR Rows Towards Denchi Lithium Project Expansion appeared first on The Australian Mining Review.

With this acquisition, Epiroc will be the world-leading automation solutions provider not only for surface and underground rock drilling but also for underground loading and haulage. 

Remote Control Technologies, known as RCT, is headquartered in Perth, Australia, with customers in more than 70 countries. The company provides automation and remote-control solutions applicable for either a single machine or an entire mixed fleet of machines regardless of manufacturer or type of equipment. RCT also provides data and information systems, fleet and machine management systems, and machine protection systems. 

RCT has about 225 employees and had revenues in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2022, of approximately MAUD 85 (MSEK 600). 

Epiroc announced on October 31, 2022, that it had agreed to acquire RCT. 

The transaction is not subject to a disclosure obligation pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. To learn more about RCT, please see https://rct-global.com/. 

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The appointment marks the completion of a global executive search that followed founding CEO Karl Simich’s decision to step down from the role on 30 September 2022.

Mr Harris has extensive experience as an exploration geologist, highly-regarded equity analyst and senior executive with BHP and South32. He has been a member of South32’s executive management team since its demerger from BHP in 2015 and played a key role in the company’s establishment as its inaugural Chief Financial Officer. Most recently, he has held the role of Chief Human Resources and Commercial Officer at South32, with responsibility for global commodity marketing, procurement and human resources.

He has also previously served as BHP’s Global Head of Investor Relations and, prior to joining BHP in 2010, held various roles in investment banking including as Executive Director at Macquarie Securities, where he led the Metals & Mining Research team. Mr Harris brings a broad range of leadership, commercial and technical skills to Sandfire, particularly in the management and operations of a diversified international mining business, and he has a deep understanding of the future-facing metals required to sustainably decarbonise the global economy.

Mr Harris is expected to commence employment with Sandfire on 3 April 2023.

Sandfire Non-Executive Chair, John Richards, said: “The Board is delighted to have secured a leading industry executive of Brendan’s calibre and experience in an extremely competitive market for talent.

“Brendan impressed us with his broad range of skills and his vision for Sandfire to be a safe and sustainability-focused, global copper mining company that is well positioned to meet the needs of a rapidly growing market.

“Importantly, Brendan shares the Board’s views on Sandfire’s strategy for continued, profitable growth and has well-developed ideas on the implementation of that strategy.”

Incoming CEO, Brendan Harris, said: “I feel incredibly privileged to be joining Sandfire at such an exciting time in its evolution as a global copper producer, with the MATSA Copper Operations in Spain and the Motheo Copper Mine in Botswana providing the foundation to grow copper production safely and responsibly as demand benefits from the electrification of the global economy.

“I look forward to leading the Sandfire team and building on the company’s strong safety track record, outstanding operating credentials and positive relationships with its surrounding communities to ensure that tangible value is created for all stakeholders.”

The post Sandfire Appoints Brendan Harris as CEO and Managing Director appeared first on The Australian Mining Review.

Newcrest said the cutback would underpin continuity of operations at Telfer, with the mine now expected to extend operations into early FY25 .

The cutback is located adjacent to the current West Dome Stage 2 and West Dome Stage 5 pits, and first ore production is expected in the December 2022 quarter.

Newcrest Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Sandeep Biswas, said: “We are delighted to further extend the life of our Telfer operation, highlighting our ability to maximise the full potential of our assets through our strong technical expertise. Telfer is strategically positioned in the highly prospective Paterson Province and we are continuing to progress several potential options to expand the resource base in the open pits and underground to unlock additional value.”

Telfer Hedging

As at 30 June 2022 the total outstanding volume of gold hedged for Telfer was 137,919 oz and the average price for gold was AU$1,942.

Newcrest said Telfer is a large scale, low grade mine and its profitability and cash flow are both very sensitive to the realised Australian Dollar gold price. Following the approval of West Dome Stage 8 cutback, Newcrest has completed further hedging of a portion of Telfer’s future planned production for FY23 and FY24 to secure margins and support investment in cutbacks and mine development.

A further 432,479 ounces of planned gold sales have been hedged in the form of Australian dollar gold zero cost collars. The total volume and prices of new hedges implemented for Telfer are as follows:

Financial Year Ending      Gold Ounces Hedged       Floor Price $A/oz      Cap Price $A/oz

30 June 2023                       123,723                               $2,450                        $2,773

30 June 2024                        308,756                               $2,500                        $2,886

Telfer guidance for FY23 remains unchanged, including gold production (355-405koz), sustaining production stripping (US$55-75 million) and sustaining capital expenditure (US$35-55 million).

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