Q&M Feb-Mar 2015

NEW ZEALAND QUARRYING & MINING

Volume 12 - No 1 | February - March 2015 | $8.95

LOOKING 150 YEARS AHEADStevenson Resources is redeveloping its Drury Quarry to get at new resources.

CHATTING WITH SAM AARONSBathurst Resources’ corporate manager talks about her job and the industry.

TODD’S AUSSIE MINE INVESTMENTTodd Corporation sets up a minerals arm to invest in Pilbara iron ore.

GOING BACK FOR VALUE Amuri Lime “couldn’t be happier” with its second Hitachi wheeled loader from CablePrice

We’re a big part of your business

Our brands

Coming soon... a 2-in-1 revolution!The Metso Lokotrack LT220D hits in New Zealand early this year. This game changing addition to Metso’s Lokotrack crushing and screening equipment range offers a combination of high-performance cone crusher and screen on the same chassis.

In addition to cost savings from lower fuel consumption, easier transport and a reduced need for maintenance, the quick setup times of the LT220D increases the effective production time and consequently the production capacity.

The LT220D will help you increase the productivity and profitability of your operation.

Talk to MIMICO. We are the New Zealand distributors of Metso equipment, parts and service.

www.mimico.co.nzFreephone 0800 806 464 | E-mail [email protected] | Auckland, Matamata, Christchurch

NZQM_Feb2015.indd 1 14/01/2015 9:22:47 a.m.

Q&M February - March 2015 1

C O N T E N T S

INSIDEUPFRONT

2 Editorial

4-11 News, views, comments, and reports from across the quarrying and mining sectors

FEATURES

14 Quarrying – Looking ahead 150 years

20 Profile – A chat with Sam Aarons of Bathurst Resources

22 Quarrying – Story of a smaller player

26 Mining – BPM readies for mineral expansion

32 Mining – Tungsten-gold project mooted for Macraes

33 Mining – Sams Creek finds gold at the folds

34 Mining – Stevensons works on new coal mine

35 Mining – Todd invests in Aussie mining

36 Technology – Washplant project an Aussie first

38 Wheels in the workplace – Volkswagen’s Amarok

40 Comment – A rocky road for minerals

42 Comment – Message from the EPA

43 Politics – Call to rewrite the problem RMA

ON THE COVER

12 Going back for value – Amuri Lime buy a second Hitachi wheeled loader from Cable Price

WRAP UP

43 Advertisers’ Index

Volume 12 - No 1 | February - March 2015 | $8.95


20

14

10

ON THE COVER:

GRANT DUNCAN of Amuri Lime explains why, after looking at three different brands, he decided to buy a second Hitachi wheeled loader from CablePrice. See story page 12 35

22

2 February - March 2015 Q&M

Dodging pot holes and stonesI trust most readers managed to enjoy the extraordinary fine weather over the Christmas/New Year break?

I headed up north and experienced those ‘rough’, cut-up, weather damaged roads everyone has been complaining about. Our car has a particularly hard suspension so every unexpected pothole created anxious terror among the occupants as we waited for the sump or wishbone arms to be spat out of the rear of the vehicle. It didn’t happen, but the left rear side developed an ominous rattle that will need attention.

Still, I fared better than my colleague Kevin Lawrence who also drove up north and was unlucky enough to enter road works just as cars on the other side were accelerating at speed out of freshly laid asphalt – showering oncoming traffic with a barrage of tarry stones. He lost head lamps and his windscreen, and had to wait to get his car fixed because the auto glass repairers in the area were so ‘busy’.

On the positive side, the works up north demand more aggregate to be extracted, and from what I saw there’s plenty of future work needed to bring the region’s roads to any thing considered an acceptable and even safe condition.

We bring you a variety of contents in the first edition for 2015; including two quarry stories – the small – Hillside Quarry (Southland) that has been developed on a family farm; and big earth works to open up new resource at the huge Stevensons at Drury in Auckland.

These two operations couldn’t be more different in both scale and production but they share one thing in common – they need to plan for the distant future to protect their resources.

The comment ‘A rocky road for minerals’ by By Chris Baker, CEO, Straterra, was written for the inaugural 2015 Contractor Perspectives, but I thought it was so pertinent to our industry sector it was worth republishing in this issue.

The other comment is written by Sarah Gardner, Environmental Protection Authority’s general manager Applications & Assessment.

This is basically an answer to criticisms of the authority (basically, that it has been too uptight) reported on in the last issue of Q&M magazine. So please read it and I am the first to admit we all have a job to do and interests to protect, and providing plenty to talk and bitch about. And I don’t see the world changing soon.

Read on please and keep on digging for a better future for this fine nation.

Alan Titchall, Editor Aggregate & Quarry Association www.quarrying.org.nz

Institute of Quarrying (NZ) Inc www.ioqnz.co.nz

New Zealand Minerals Industry Association www.straterra.co.nz

Extractive Industries Training Organisation www.mito.org.nz

Civil Contractors NZ www.civilcontractors.co.nz

NZ Ready Mixed Concrete Association www.nzrmca.org.nz

Connexis www.connexis.org.nz

VISIT THESE WEBSITES

Q&M covers news, views and trends from the extractive industries, along with features on projects and people in the industry.

www.contrafed.co.nz

PUBLISHER

Contrafed Publishing Co LtdSuite 2.1, 93 Dominion Road, Mt Eden 1024PO Box 112357, Penrose, Auckland 1642Phone: 09 636 5715 Fax: 09 636 5716

EDITOR

Alan TitchallDDI: 09 636 5712Mobile: 027 405 0338Email: [email protected]

GENERAL MANAGER

Kevin LawrenceDDI: 09 636 5710Mobile: 021 512 800Email: [email protected]

ADVERTISING Charles FairbairnDDI: 09 636 5724Mobile: 021411 890Email: [email protected]

REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS

Hugh de Lacy, Lindsay Clark, and Gavin Riley

ADMINISTRATION/SUBSCRIPTIONS

Email: [email protected]: 09 636 5715

PRODUCTION

Design: Tracey Asher, TMA Design Printing: PMP MAXUM

Contributions welcomed. Please contact the editor before sending them in.Articles in NZ Quarrying & Mining are copyright and may not be reproduced in whole or in part without permission of the publisher.Opinions expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of the shareholding organisations or the publisher.


ISSN 0110-1382

“Having people understand that mining is essential to the way of life as we know it and that coal in particular is a vital ingredient in so many of our everyday items … not just steel but cement, carbon fibres, carbon filters, silicon chips, skin care products and shampoos … the list is endless.”Sam Aarons, general manager, corporate relations, Bathurst Resources, P20

Your unbeatable Hardox bucket doesn’t deserve average teeth.ESCO Ultralok increases productivity, improves digging performance, extends service life and reduces maintenance. The new hammerless locking system is integrated into the tooth. One simple tool means safer and faster field replacement.

0800 REAL STEEL REALSTEEL.CO.NZ

Achieve bucket perfection with hardox and esco.


U P F R O N T

Chatham Rock decision dueThe Environmental Protection Authority’s (EPA) Decision-making Committee hearing on the marine consent application by Chatham Rock Phosphate (CRP) closed at the end of last year and its decision is due.

CRP is proposing to mine phosphate nodules from the Chatham Rise, initially within an 820 square kilometre area for which it has a mining permit. In the future, mining may also occur in a wider 5207 square kilometre area, dependent on monitoring results and environmental investigations. The publicly notified marine consent application by CRP is being considered by the EPA under the Exclusive Economic Zone and Continental Shelf (Environment Effects) Act 2012.

CRP is seeking a marine consent from the EPA in relation to the wider area (5207 square kilometres). CRP proposes to mine at least 30 square kilometres of seabed per annum to meet its annual minimum production target of 1.5 million tonnes of phosphate nodules.

The Decision-making Committee can grant or refuse the marine

LETTER Dobson mine explosionIn the December/January issue of Q&M, in his article on the final chapter of Pike River, Hugh De Lacy states that following the December 1926 explosion at the Dobson mine, five miners were

left unrecovered in the mine. This is incorrect. The mine was dewatered and six months later in May 1927, all

were recovered and then buried at the Greymouth cemetery. Hugh is correct that two miners were unrecovered from the

Strongman disaster of 1967 and they remain in Greens 2 section, the scene of the explosion.

The only other miner not recovered from 432 documented coal mining fatalities in the West Coast Inspection District since the 1870s, is one William James Cooper, 61, whose body was not recovered from the Alborn’s mine, a few kilometres south of Reefton, following an inrush of surface water/mud and debris on April 4, 1966. Every other mining victim, until Pike River, has been recovered.

The PC claptrap we have today was an issue mining didn’t have with such tasks until recent times.

Solid Energy’s reasoning, care of Dan Clifford, for abandoning re-entry of the Pike drift is unfortunate and more the result of the over-the-top risk-averse management culture that now prevails because of Pike.

Pity mine management at Pike and the regulator didn’t have that same cautious MO during that mine’s construction. All things are difficult when they are undertaken with reluctance.RegardsPeter EwenJournalist/author – Strongman Three Score & More (2006), and Pike – Death By Parliament (2014).

consent. If consent is granted, the Committee can set conditions to address the adverse effects of the activity on the environment or existing interests. These conditions would be monitored and enforced by the EPA.

Meantime, the EPA has granted a marine consent to OMV NZ to continue its development drilling programme in the Maari oil field in the South Taranaki Bight.

This is the first publicly notified application for a marine consent to be granted by the agency.

The marine consent will allow OMV to continue to drill up to seven development wells within existing conductor slots and carry out associated activities in the Maari oil field. The consent is subject to 33 conditions that will be monitored and enforced by the EPA.

In releasing its decision, the Committee said that the overall effect of the development drilling programme on the environment was minor, and in many cases, the effects were temporary.

For more information on the CRP application see www.epa.govt.nz/EEZ/chatham_rock_phosphate/Pages/default.aspx

Mining service agreementSandvik Mining Systems and Downer have a new agreement that sees the two mining services providers working together on field service and maintenance of mining materials handling projects in Australia.

The deals means Downer will carry out any maintenance work on Sandvik Mining Systems equipment operating on its customer sites.

Paul Gilbert, Bids & Contracts manager for Downer in Australia, says the deal is the “best-fit” solution for both organisations and their customers.

“Downer has an extensive history in the mining and construction industry, and we’ve developed a strong level of product knowledge of Sandvik Mining Systems, and the necessary expertise to maintain them correctly.”

Sandvik jacking system.

FACING A TOUGH OPPONENT?BRING IT ON.

www.transdiesel.com Volvo Construction Equipment

Perfectly suited to heavy duty work at the face or in rehandling applications, the L250G is the industry’s first wheel loader in the 35 tonne weight class. It combines the optimal mix of lifting strength, breakout force and traction, resulting in high bucket penetration. As well as exceptional productivity and operator comfort, the L250G’s powerful Z-Bar linkage offers high lift capacity and rapid hydraulic reaction, resulting in faster work cycles.

Volvo’s L250G: in a class of its own.


U P F R O N T

QuarryNZ 2015 beckons‘Forging the path to the future’ is the grand title of QuarryNZ 2015, to

be held in Hamilton, July 15-17, 2015.For conference sponsorship and exhibition opportunities read more at

www.quarrynz.com, or contact the conference organiser Malcolm Blakey at [email protected].

Each year the Aggregate and Quarry Association of NZ and the Institute of Quarrying NZ hold their annual joint conference, which is an opportunity for all those involved in the quarrying industry to interact and exchange ideas, take the opportunity to hear the experiences of guest speakers and to socialise with old friends and colleagues and to make new contacts. Make sure you turn up.

We couldn’t let a lovely photo like this go unnoticed as US-based Martin Engineering, a world innovator in bulk material handling, celebrates 70 years of industry service.

Martin Engineering has influenced operations in coal, cement, aggregate, biomass and other industries over the decades. In 1944, Edwin Peterson developed the Vibrolator, the first industrial vibrator designed with compressed air propelling a steel ball around a raceway, which remains an industry standard to this day.

“We undergo a continuous evolution as a company, always seeking new and better ways to serve customers and deliver solutions to common industry problems,” says Edwin Peterson, son of the founder and current company chairman.

Who could forget the Vibrolater?

Dunedin quarrying heritage Blackhead Quarries, a joint venture between Palmer and Son and Fulton Hogan, employs 37 people at its four major plants and a surprising number of them have membership in the company’s ‘25-year club’. Five of the staff followed their fathers into positions with Palmer and Son, and some are in the third generation of a family that has worked for the company.

Tony Hunter (pictured) is, believe it or not, the fifth generation of his family to be involved with the company. He joined Palmer and Son in 1986 with a BSc. from the now non-existent Otago School of Mines and was appointed general manager of Blackhead Quarries in 2002. He continues that role, based at Logan Point Quarry in Dunedin city, overlooking the spectacular, if not controversial Forsyth Barr Stadium.

Martin Engineering stand at a foundry show in 1964 in Atlantic city, US. This was the year Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali) TKOs Sonny Liston for his first world heavyweight championship title; Don Campbell sets record for turbine vehicle, 690.91 kph (429.31 mph); Walt Disney releases Mary Poppins; and Jan and Dean release “Little Old Lady From Pasadena.”


TO STAY AHEAD OF THE GAME, YOU NEED THE UAS BUILT FOR PERFORMANCE, NOT PLAY

...Don’t waste your time with toys

Talk to us about New Zealand-ready solutionsGet in touch today: 0800 867 [email protected] | Wellington | Christchurch

HP DEC 2014 QM UAS.indd 1 15/12/2014 4:56:57 PM

Back in the saddleThe site of the earliest coal mine in New Zealand has been the subject of an appeal by Saddle Views Estate which owns a quarry on Saddle Hill near Dunedin.

The Environment Court originally held that the company had no resource consent for quarrying the lower hump of Saddle Hill (known locally as Jaffray’s Hill) and that the company had never had any consent at any time.

Saddle Views Estate, the 100 percent owned by the welfare fund of Amalgamated Workers Union New Zealand Southern, appealed an Environment Court declaration (originally sought by the Dunedin City Council) that no consent exists, or ever did, for quarrying on the hill. Ironically, the Amalgamated Workers Union NZ Southern is a union representing up to 300 Dunedin City Council staff, and dozens of other unionised workers at various workplaces in Dunedin.

However, on November 20 Justice Christian Watta, sitting in his appellate jurisdiction in the High Court in Dunedin, overturned the findings of the Environment Court and found that the appellant, Saddle Views Estate, did have a resource consent to quarry the area under dispute.

The judge’s decision was rather stilted. On the one hand he found there was a consent to mine, but noted “the precise terms cannot be accurately defined”. He suggested that the parties should “seek to reach consensus on the proper scope of the activity…”

The facts in this matter have been confused by the absence of any documentation from anybody plainly stating whether or not there was a resource consent to mine on Saddle Hill. Both the appellant and the respondent agreed that this confusion arose when important files disappeared when the Taieri County Council and Dunedin City merged in the 1980s.

In the meantime, Calvin Fisher, who is the sole director of Saddle Views Estate, is now “seeking to reach consensus on the proper scope of the activity” as recommended by Justice Watta. However, discussions on this have not yet started.

Saddle Hill is a prominent landmark overlooking the northeastern end of the Taieri Plains. Within the limits of Dunedin city, it is located 18 kilometres to the west of the city centre, between Mosgiel and Green Island, and is clearly visible from many of the city’s southern hill suburbs. The hill has two peaks: the eastern is the higher, rising to 473 metres; the western peak – Jaffray’s Hill – rises to 431 metres. By Peter Owens.


U P F R O N T

The inaugural New Zealand Mines Rescue Competitions were held in Waihi late last year. The event was organised by WorkSafe in partnership with industry lobby group Straterra, and hosted by Newmont Waihi Gold.

Four teams of six members entered – one from OceanaGold at Macraes mine in Otago, one from New Zealand Mines Rescue based at Huntly, and two from Newmont Waihi Gold.

There were three events, an underground rescue incorporating search and rescue and first aid, a fitness test that also included elements of teamwork and intitiative, and

a bench test which involved identifying equipment faults and answering theory questions. Each team rotated through each of the events.

Waihi Black gained first place, with Waihi Red coming in third behind the NZ Mines Rescue team from Huntly. The OceanaGold team were placed fourth.

The winning team didn’t have it all their own way, however. Waihi Red beat Black in the underground rescue section by one mark out of 200. Black Team’s Dave Oliver was judged Best Team Captain by a solid margin.

Half of the country’s workforce is between the ages of 45 and 65 and this number is projected to grow in the coming years.

Many of these baby boomers are seeking to stay in the workforce longer and are looking for satisfying, fulfilling jobs.

Searching for a new job can be daunting at the best of times, but in our current climate — with large

numbers of people all vying for the same positions — job hunting has become even more stressful.

How To Get A Good Job After 50 is a practical guide designed especially for job seekers over 50, and encourages readers to become proactive, guiding readers step-by-step through how to write an impeccable résumé that will grab an employer’s attention.

The author, Rupert French, says he has developed a very effective job search methodology and the book provides practical tips for job hunting that include learning how to network and use social media effectively.

The book is available from March from www.exislepublishing.co.nz and all good book stores and costs $34.99.

Waihi wins first rescue competitions

A book for the aging workforce

Selecting the right Ground Engaging Tools (G.E.T.) is critical to achieving the maximum return on your machine investment.

At Gough Cat, we offer many G.E.T. options because every machine and application has its own special needs. G.E.T. protects the expensive parts of your blades, buckets and ripper shanks, resulting in longer life and reducing maintenance costs. G.E.T. also plays a big part in determining how well your machine performs in a specific application.

Cat G.E.T. from Goughs is the only product of its kind engineered with your entire business in mind — built by the recognised industry leader to perform in tandem with your buckets and machines.

Phone your local Goughs Parts & Service Sales Representative to discuss your G.E.T. needs — we’re specialists and experienced in matching the right tools to your application. That’s what we’re built to deliver.

FROM THE MOMENT YOU HIT THE GROUND...

GET SMARTER WITH CAT® G.E.T.

Branches Nationwide | Phone Parts 0800 93 39 39 | GoughCat.co.nz/parts

AUCKLAND / NORTHLANDClint Greer 021 361 454ROTORUA / BAY OF PLENTYAllen Frost 029 200 1134EAST CAPE / HAWKES BAY & WAIRARAPAMarina McKenzie 021 847 031TARANAKI / MANAWATU / WELLINGTONPeter Torrance 029 478 1520

UPPER SOUTH ISLANDMark Donaldson 021 942 052CANTERBURYToby McLaughlin 021 870 559OTAGO / SOUTHLAND Ben Isbister 021 427 502


U P F R O N T

These women know a thing or two about gold mining the old way as they all grew up in families with gold panning in their veins.

They can pan 10 kilograms of Otago sand and gravel, separating all of the gold in less than one minute, and are champions in the competitive Gold Panning Championship titles in this country and overseas.

They are all active gold prospectors and their ideal day out is heading down to the river with a pan and having a crack at striking their luck. The team are now on a mission to make it to the 2015/16 competitions being held in Australia and finally at the 2016 World Championships in the USA, and they need your support. Competition dates: Australian Championships (March 2015 and 2016), New Zealand Championships (April, 2015 and 2016); and World Championships California, USA (September, 2016).

Perhaps you can spare an ounce (or even half!) of gold as a donation to sell; make a cash donation to help pay for the entry fees, airfares and accommodation; or even provide some good old fashioned support by sharing this around your colleagues, friends and family, or simply by turning up to an event to support them.

The NZ team is made up of Annie Fitzgerald, AJ Woodhouse, and Megan Ide.

As a shepherd Annie’s father saddle packed a gold pan for the occasional dabble while waiting for sheep to cross over

rivers or creeks. Annie’s first professional encounter was as an OceanaGold Sponsorship Representative in 2010, when after some coaching by other panners, she entered the novice event and came home with a trophy. Annie now uses her Dad’s pan for the traditional side of panning and gets the occasional tip from her father.

AJ Woodhouse was introduced to recreational and competition gold panning by her father, Artie Lind and both of his parents prospected when he was young. Growing up AJ spent a small amount of time in Central Otago and the Maniototo gold panning. She has developed a passion for it after having a family of her own and making good friends to go exploring with. AJ’s day job is at the University of Otago where she works as a research manager, and on weekends she can be found beside a river looking for an elusive nugget!

Megan Ide has been goldmining with her father Stuart in the Wakatipu Basin and surrounds since she was wee. Her grandfather was also a recreational goldminer, and great uncle Jack claimed that he could divine for gold. A teacher by profession and an outdoors lover, Megan started competition panning five years ago with her father and hasn’t looked back.

All sponsorship opportunities are open and appreciated, including corporate opportunities. Contact AJ: 021 407 074 or [email protected]

Pan handling with the best and calling for sponsors

The NZ pan handling team Annie Fitzgerald (left); AJ Woodhouse; and Megan Ide.


U P F R O N T

The NZ Mining Board of Examiners has been working with Worksafe on new Certificate of Competency requirements relating to safety-critical roles in mining and quarrying.

The final competency requirements were Gazetted before Christmas and are now in force. Current certificate holders will have to sit additional unit standards by January 1, 2016 in order for their certificates to remain valid.

Most of the unit standards and experience remain unchanged with unit standards added. The major changes relate to the new additional unit standards and cover human factors; risk management; and health and safety management.

A first aid certificate is required for all CoCs and explosive unit standards with the exception of B-grade quarry managers, electrical superintendents, mechanical superintendents, ventilation officers, winding engine drivers and mine surveyors.

A lower level, level 4, legislation unit standard replaces the level 6, 7142 for the coal mine deputy, B-grade opencast mine manager, B-grade quarry manager and B-grade tunnel manager.

No competencies have been set for the Manager of a Designated Quarry.

At the end of last year MITO solicited feedback from the industry on the appropriateness of times to attain credits and qualifications, and certain standards, and whether qualifications met workforce development needs.

MITO says it will act upon this feedback prior to submitting an Application for Approval to list the qualifications to NZQA.

The consultation related only to the proposed extractives qualifications and not to Certificate of Competency (CoC) requirements now in force. These qualifications contain more than just health and safety skills and are being developed to meet the educational needs for specific roles within the industry.

Specifically, “The aims of the review are to: Streamline the number of qualifications listed on the New Zealand Qualifications Framework; ensure that any qualifications registered with NZQA are relevant, fit-for-purpose and meet an identified industry need; and clearly communicate the career and education pathways in your industry,” Worksafe says.

Six qualifications have been proposed to replace the 20 current qualifications.

The proposed identified graduate roles are: A new starter (level 2); a competent operator/miner (level 3); a first-line supervisor or team leader (level 4); a supervisor (level 5); a manager (level 6); and a Mines Rescue team member (level 4).

“NZQA is developing Foundation Skills qualifications, which will give recognition to people who have gained workplace-ready skills and knowledge (such as basic health and safety, self-management skills, and some induction-type knowledge). In some sectors of the extractives industry, tailor-made programmes leading to the level 2 Foundation Skills qualification may be suitable for new starters.

“Unfortunately this qualification is still in the early stages of development, but we see this as an option for the educational pathway.”

In the survey participants were asked, once the proposed level

2 qualification was available, if they would be interested in MITO developing a programme tailor-made for the industry so people could work towards this. They would be awarded a New Zealand Certificate in Foundation Skills (Level 2).

There are two proposed qualifications at level 3: A New Zealand Certificate in Surface Mining, Quarrying, and Processing Operations; and a New Zealand Certificate in Underground Mining (Operator). These qualifications are targeted at school-leavers or new workers in the industry, as well as those in the industry seeking formal recognition of their skills and knowledge.

“The purpose … is to provide industry with operators with the skills and knowledge to competently undertake a range of tasks within the workplace. Graduates will generally work under limited supervision.”

Survey participants were asked how strongly they agreed or disagreed that this qualification met their workforce development needs.

Tailor-made programmes and learning materials

Once the proposed qualifications have been approved by NZQA, MITO will begin the process of programme development.

This again involves working with industry representatives to develop training programmes that are tailor-made to meet the needs of different workplaces, work roles, sectors and contexts, within the overall suite of proposed qualifications.

At the same time, all learning and assessment materials, such as workbooks, will be updated to ensure they are current, relevant, and user-friendly. Programme materials will include support for learners with low language, literacy, or numeracy skills.

Qualification pathway development

The Governance and Working Groups developed the proposed qualifications and pathway using NZQA’s new rules for qualifications. All industries have been mandated by NZQA to develop ‘New Zealand’ qualifications that will be used in place of current ‘National’ qualifications. All current ‘National’ qualifications are being phased out.

To determine the qualification pathway for the extractives industry, the Governance and Working Groups considered which roles across the different sectors should be recognised with a qualification. The skills and knowledge required by these role-holders were then aligned with the NZQA level descriptors.

The identified graduate roles are: a competent operator/miner (level 3); a first-line supervisor or team leader (level 4); a supervisor (level 5); a manager (level 6).

NZQA is developing Foundation Skills qualifications, which will give recognition to people who have gained workplace-ready skills and knowledge (such as basic health and safety, self-management skills, and some induction-type knowledge). In some sectors of the extractives industry, tailor-made programmes leading to the level 2 Foundation Skills qualification may be suitable for new starters.

In addition, a specialist Mines Rescue Working Group has developed a proposed qualification at level 4 for Mines Rescue team members.

Final CoC requirements


O N T H E C O V E R

A couple of weeks after Amuri Lime took possession of its new Hitachi ZW310 Wheeled Loader, works manager Grant Duncan says he, “couldn’t be happier”.

“The machine is going really good. The bigger bucket is making the job easier and faster and has definitely upped production. It’s already proving to be a great investment.”

A lot is expected of the 22,400kg machine at the North Canterbury site, where it does everything from carting rock from the face to the plant, to putting it in the crusher and loading trucks.

However, Grant says the versatile machine has no trouble delivering.“The comfort and speed of the loader is great, and I’ve noticed a big

GRANT DUNCAN of Amuri Lime explains why, after looking at three different brands, he decided to buy a second Hitachi wheeled loader from CablePrice.

GOING BACK

step-up in terms of technology from our older Hitachi loader. “This new machine really outsmarts it. The hydraulics are a lot faster and

even with a full bucket the comfort is pretty amazing.” The mobility and stability of the machine are also impressive, he adds.“It is a well-balanced loader that doesn’t rock all over the place, even

with a full load.”Grant is the sole operator at Amuri Lime, a cooperative run by several

local farmers, which has been supplying high quality, affordable crushed agricultural lime, driveway chips and rocks direct to mainly Canterbury and West Coast clients since 1945.

He says the company looked at three different brands after deciding

for value


to purchase a second wheeled loader for the site, but stuck with Hitachi and CablePrice after getting good service and value for money out of its previous machines.

“We bought our first machine from CablePrice in 1983 and have found the Hitachi brand stands the test of time. We’ve had no trouble at all with our other loaders, and are keeping our old LX160 which has done 13,000 hours as a second loader.”

The panoramic cab in the ZW310 gives almost all-round visibility due to a widened front glass window and pillar-less cab rear corners, he says.

“The floor to ceiling windows in the cab are really handy and offer great visibility of the site.”

The hydraulically-operated cooling fan is another time saving feature, as it can be reversed for easy removal of dirt from the radiator.

“A lot of dust floats around the site. We used to water blast the radiator of the old loader once a fortnight, but with this machine, you just sit in the cab, push a button, and the dust is all blown out in about a minute.”

Grant says the ergonomically positioned joystick controls with a forward and reverse button are also easy to operate.

“A lot of dust floats around the site. We used to water

blast the radiator of the old loader once a fortnight, but

with this machine, you just sit in the cab, push a button,

and the dust is all blown out in about a minute.”

“I don’t have to take my hand off the steering wheel at any time which is a big plus.”

The safe, quiet, environmentally friendly design of the Hitachi ZW310 Wheeled Loader includes a leading edge, low emission diesel engine and a number of advanced mechanisms that provide enhanced durability, ensuring it can handle the toughest work conditions.

Superior lifting ability, big production capability and continuous reliability are other hallmarks of the machine.

Grant says Amuri Lime had a “good run” with CablePrice through the acquisition process.

“We enjoy dealing with sales rep Andrew McCoy as he is never pushy. He gives us his recommendations then puts all the information on the table and leaves us to make up our minds. There were a couple of hold-ups with the delivery of the loader but Andrew kept us right up to date with what was going on.”

When the machine arrived in site, it was in top shape, he adds.“We had quite a lot of extras put on it, and it turned up well groomed,

clean and sparkly. It was a job well done by CablePrice.” •


Q U A R R Y I N G

LOOKING AHEAD YEARS


Stevenson Resources has been moving vast quantities of overburden around its Drury Quarry to get at resources that were never expected to be quarried in the old days.

Preparing bench levels for the new quarry site.


Q U A R R Y I N G

Drury Quarry is located at the base of the Hunua foothills in Auckland’s southern boundary and is one of the last ‘city’ quarries in the region.

The quarry contains a significant and substantial aggregate resource with a potential life in excess of 150 years.

Future proofing the access to that resource has been on-going for the Kiwi company, which has commercial interests in engineering, concrete, mining and agriculture.

The company was founded by William Stevenson in 1912 as a drain laying business. Between 1938 and 1939 the family-run business bought the Drury Quarry, 30 kilometres south of Auckland.

At the time the quarry was considered so far from Auckland that Stevensons had to provide housing for its workers. Over the decades, millions of cubic metres of aggregate have been extracted from the quarry to build Auckland’s roads and major

civic projects, and the quarry is expected to contribute to the region’s growth for many decades to come.

Over the past decade Stevensons has invested huge resources in protecting its Drury Quarry from residential developments that are forever encroaching on the city’s retreating green fringe. The company owns about 2000 acres of farmland around its Drury resource to act as a buffer zone, and has planted a large greenbelt to mitigate any problems with the local community over dust and noise.

However, one of its latest projects, essential to future extraction, is within the quarry boundaries. This involves a 35-year, five-stage project to move overburden off the north-east side of the pit to get at the aggregate underneath.

This overburden was placed there in the quarry’s early days when no one, least of all the Stevensons, thought the quarry would be working back this far.

Some of the boulders unearthed during the preparation of the new site along with sheep that have escaped from the farm that acts as a greenbelt around the quarry.


Looking over the gulley being prepared for the stripped overburden and up the slopes to the dam.

The view west from the bund on top of Drury Quarry. The ridge that is being stripped in preparation for extraction can be seen to the left. In the background between the quarry and the Southern Motorway is the site for the Drury South project – a new 223 hectare industrial zone, designed to accommodate construction, manufacturing, wholesale trade and distribution activities.


Q U A R R Y I N G

*Conditions Apply. Offer on all New Caterpillar machines. Orders must be received before

31 March 2015. This offer cannot be used in conjunction with any other finance or promotional programme.

Factory rebate is calculated on the Caterpillar factory supplied product only & excludes local attachments and modifications.

BUILT FOR IT.™

For a limited time only, get up to a 10% Factory Rebate off any New Cat

Machine.

DUE TO POPULAR DEMAND, OFFER NOW EXTENDED TO 31 MARCH 2015!

SAVEWHEN YOU BUY ANY CAT ® MACHINE.

10%

Northland & Auckland North Chris Wilson 021 682 403

Auckland South Poovan Naidoo 021 860 443

Waikato & Coromandel James West 029 299 8909

Rotorua & Bay of Plenty Shayne Kennedy 029 200 7270

Central North Island Paul Roche 021 954 376

Taranaki, Manawatu & Wellington Carl Southee 021 981 850

East Cape, Hawkes Bay & Wairarapa Steve Goss 029 271 7895

Nelson, Marlborough & West Coast Chris Jones 029 200 8382

Christchurch City Nick Worthington 021 979 826

Canterbury James Lundy 029 208 0423

Otago & Southland Brent Duncan 029 222 4682

YOUR GOUGH CAT TERRITORY SALES MANAGERS

Branches From Whangarei To Invercargill | 0800 93 39 39 | www.GoughCat.co.nz

The company is halfway through the project, which involves preparing the site at the very top of the quarry’s north-eastern edge and preparing the fill site (sloping farmland and deep gullies raising up from the quarry’s eastern edge towards the dam on the top) where the material will be dumped.

While preparing the old overburden site (pictured) workers found an unexpected pile of huge basalt boulders, some of at least 60 tonnes that are natural basalt intrusions.

“We never knew they were there and they slowed us down a bit getting rid of them,” comments Stevenson Resources aggregate manager, Steve Ellis.

The first stage of the fill site on the eastern slopes involved earthworks and stone water races, and moving and ‘lifting’ a significant stream running down the eastern slopes.

While planting extends up the slope some 30 metres, rainwater coming off the fill is captured in watercourses and treated in a flock station before joining the diverted creek.

Ellis says around 250,000 metres has already been stripped and moved to the new fill site and another 600,000 to 700,000 metres will be moved in the next stage (some overburden will be used down on the Drury South project – a new 223 hectare industrial zone being developed by the company).

This will provide access to another 3.5 million tonnes of aggregate.

“Yes, we are still very much alive here with 40 years of resource in the current pit and another 100 odd years from the southern rock at the back.” Q&M

Stone water courses for diverting rainwater from the new fill to a flock station.

*Conditions Apply. Offer on all New Caterpillar machines. Orders must be received before

31 March 2015. This offer cannot be used in conjunction with any other finance or promotional programme.

Factory rebate is calculated on the Caterpillar factory supplied product only & excludes local attachments and modifications.

BUILT FOR IT.™

For a limited time only, get up to a 10% Factory Rebate off any New Cat

Machine.

DUE TO POPULAR DEMAND, OFFER NOW EXTENDED TO 31 MARCH 2015!

SAVEWHEN YOU BUY ANY CAT ® MACHINE.

10%

Northland & Auckland North Chris Wilson 021 682 403

Auckland South Poovan Naidoo 021 860 443

Waikato & Coromandel James West 029 299 8909

Rotorua & Bay of Plenty Shayne Kennedy 029 200 7270

Central North Island Paul Roche 021 954 376

Taranaki, Manawatu & Wellington Carl Southee 021 981 850

East Cape, Hawkes Bay & Wairarapa Steve Goss 029 271 7895

Nelson, Marlborough & West Coast Chris Jones 029 200 8382

Christchurch City Nick Worthington 021 979 826

Canterbury James Lundy 029 208 0423

Otago & Southland Brent Duncan 029 222 4682

YOUR GOUGH CAT TERRITORY SALES MANAGERS

Branches From Whangarei To Invercargill | 0800 93 39 39 | www.GoughCat.co.nz

P R O F I L E

How long have you been in the

industry? 20 Years

Where did you do your

qualifications? At the coal face!

I don’t have any formal qualifications. I deferred an arts/law degree at the Australian National University, deciding to work for a year and started working in advertising in Melbourne.

I remained in that industry for some years before moving into a general management and corporate services role with Henry Walker Eltin, a mining contracting company in Darwin in the early ‘90s. In between I had my own version of an OE … in my case it was an “Outback Experience”. I spend a few years as a tour guide on 4WD camping tours in outback Australia, then ended up running a bush pub in the Northern Territory.

How did you end up in your

current position? I had been heavily involved in developing the New Zealand coal business during my time at Galilee Energy in Brisbane. When Bathurst acquired those assets it made sense for me to move to Bathurst and relocate to New Zealand. The role I have with Bathurst is very similar to that I had with Galilee – PR/Investor Relations/Stakeholder Liasion.

A chat with…. Sam Aarons

In the first of a series of interviews we have a casual chat with Sam Aarons, general manager, corporate relations, Bathurst Resources.



“It’s frustrating when people campaign for renewable energy, but ignore the fact

that wind turbines are made from steel and solar panels from silicon, both dependent on coal

in the manufacturing process.”

What does the job involve? The role at Bathurst is extremely varied. While it’s predominately a marketing/communications role, I also get the opportunity to become involved in the site operations to some extent.

One day I might be writing an annual report, the next it could be organising a site visit for potential export customers or preparing a tender for coal supply.

What is the most challenging part

of the industry?

Right now I’d have to say working through the downturn in the commodities cycle.

What is the most challenging part

of your job? Having people understand that mining is essential to the way of life as we know it and that coal in particular is a vital ingredient in so many of our everyday items … not just steel but cement, carbon fibres, carbon filters, silicon chips, skin care products and shampoos … the list is endless.

It’s frustrating when people campaign for renewable energy, but ignore the fact that wind turbines are made from steel and solar panels from silicon, both dependent on coal in the manufacturing process.

What is the best part of

the job?

Without a doubt it’s dealing with people … all the stakeholders with whom we work, the people on the team, the communities that support us and our investors.

Does your role conflict with views

of friends or family?

I have no family and my friends are pragmatic, like-minded people, many of whom are from the same industry.

What is the most interesting aspect

of the job? I find it extremely satisfying having a role in the development of new projects and watching them grow from a concept through to fruition.

What do you think of the new

WorkSafe regime and new

legislation?

I think it’s essential and regrettable that it took a tragedy to initiate it in the first place.

Coming from a Queensland mining background it’s nothing new. It’s pleasing to know that some of our team were part of the consultation process in developing the new regs.

Describe a job incident you are

memorably proud of.

After three years of hard work by all concerned, finally receiving the full consents for the Escarpment project.

Describe an incident that went

wrong. It’s not so much an incident that went wrong … it was the continual set back of working through appeal after appeal on the Escarpment consents and the impact that the delay had to the project, and also on the team involved.

What advice would you give to

other women coming into the

industry workforce? In any industry, you survive and thrive on your merits, not on your gender.

What plans do you have for the

future?

To stay in New Zealand and have a contributing role to the full development of the Buller Coal project.

If you weren’t in mining what other

industry could you see yourself in? Marketing and communications.

What future do you think extraction

has here?

New Zealand is blessed with a host of natural resources, which can be mined responsibly and sustainably to benefit the lives of all New Zealanders.

What needs to be done to achieve

that? A rational approach that ensures a balance between economic values and respect for the environment. Q&M


Q U A R R Y I N G

The dairy boom got Southland’s Hillside Quarry up and running, and the current slump may yet slow it down. HUGH DE LACY checks out a small player in the aggregates market.

Story of a smaller player

Mataura Island isn’t one – at least not any more – but the Southland locality boasts a quarry that has turned a farmer-by-trade into an aggregates supplier who’s

done well out of the dairy boom in the deep south.Dairy-farmer David McKenzie launched his Hillside Quarry

on the eastern side of Mataura Island, about equidistant from Wyndham and Edendale, nearly 20 years ago, and it’s ended up supplanting the farm as his principal business interest.

Mataura Island hasn’t been an island since 1878 when the Mataura River used to flow further to the east than it does now, and a farmer called Thomas Ayson scoured out a new bed in Stewarts Creek to take some of the Mataura’s flow to his land, thereby making an island of the land in between.

The river promptly responded by staging a flood – one of all too many – that carved a new main path for itself down the creek

bed, leaving its old watercourse dry, and the district still called an island even though it was no longer one.

McKenzie grew up on the farm next to his present 350-hectare property which today supports a 400-cow dairy farm run by a sharemilker, as well as the quarry on a subdivided four-hectare block.

McKenzie had started out as a sharemilker himself, and bought the present farm from the proceeds in 1976.

It was good limestone country but one corner of it featured a rocky outcrop on which grass refused to grow.

He’d been farming the land for some time when a mate of his from around the corner, Jack Cameron of Cameron Contracting at Woodlands, asked if he could buy a bit of the metal out of the rocky outcrop for a roading job he was doing nearby at the time.

A few loads later and McKenzie realised he had the beginnings


of an alternative revenue source in the rock, so set about formalising it.

He paid a visit to the Southland District Council, as it was then, and asked what it would take to get a quarrying resource consent on his land.

The staff gave him a brief lowdown of the information required, and soon afterwards McKenzie was back with all that he thought was needed written down on a single foolscap sheet of paper, and with the expectation of walking out with the consent in his back pocket.

When the bureaucrats had stopped laughing, they outlined in greater detail what was required, and McKenzie retired to the drawing board.

He spent the next six months going through each step by himself and got a lawyer to translate it all into legalese, but on his

return to the council was startled to recognise a local contractor also bent on getting a resource consent heading into the fray with three lawyers down from Wellington for the occasion.

McKenzie must have done his homework though, because in the end he got his consent without having to make any further representation, and six months later it showed up in the mail from Christchurch.

By the end of 1994 he was in the quarrying business.“The resource is brown limestone rock and we’d realised its

potential by using it ourselves for tracks and gateways round the farm,” McKenzie told Q&M.

The initial resource consent was for just 15,000m3 a year, but over the ensuing 18 years it has been upgraded twice in response to demand, and output now is in the region of 36,000–38,000m3 a year, most it going into dairy conversions, but some also being


Q U A R R Y I N G

used as roading basecourse.To get under way, McKenzie bought himself a six-tonne digger

and taught himself to drive it – not very well as it turned out: the little machine was taking 36 bucketfuls to load a truck and trailer, and one day as he went to swing the boom around with another bite of aggregate, it stayed where it was, having snapped halfway along its length.

Even at that stage McKenzie realised his quarry had a future forming tracks on the myriad of former sheep and beef farms that were being converted annually to dairying, each requiring around 10,000m3 of gravel, so he thought he’d better acquire some better machinery.

This would have to include a crusher, because he’d exhausted the naturally crumbled metal in the pit.

He got in touch with Porter Hire and rented a Komatsu jaw-crusher off them long enough to crush 20,000 cubic metres, and when all that was sold he went back to Porters asking them to organise a purchase price.

“I also asked them to get me a decent digger, and I ended up buying a loader as well – all secondhand,” McKenzie says.

To that basic equipment he found the need to add truck scales after a couple of his contractor clients found themselves in strife with the gendarmerie over load weights.

When it became necessary to start blasting rock out of the

quarry, McKenzie had it done by contract.After a number of years running the business himself, David

employed his son-in-law Clayton Olive to run the quarry and hired David Shedden as mechanic to service the machinery.

McKenzie has subsequently found himself sidelined from the business – “They reckon I’m too rough on the machinery” – and sent back onto the farm to run the dry stock plus a couple of hundred head of beef.

The business still uses the Hillside Gardens email address that McKenzie’s wife Eileen employed when the farm hosted a noted rhododendron nursery that for a while sold plants directly to the public.

Health issues and a change of lifestyle means Eileen no longer opens the gardens to the public.

The crash in milk prices this year has McKenzie suspecting an imminent slowdown in the rate of dairy conversions which have been the main market for Hillside Quarry over its nearly two decades of operation.

In the week when cooperative dairy giant Fonterra hacked its milkfat payout to $4.70 a kilogram from over $8 last year, McKenzie says, “the writing’s on the wall” for dairy conversions.

“It’s going to hurt, though it may not do so for probably another six months, but then we’ll feel the bite.” Q&M

M I N I N G

The second part of our story on catching up with Paul Tidmarsh and Blue Pacific Minerals, his unique minerals business, features the new $10 million processing plant in Tokoroa.

Blue Pacific Minerals (BPM) is in the middle of upgrading its zeolite and perlite process operation (made up of quarrying, drying, crushing, screening,

classifying, packaging, storage, and a distribution centre) at Tokoroa after moving the operation there from Waharoa three years ago.

Overall the company is investing about $10 million in expanding the operation, which has involved the purchase of a 3500 square metre building with 32,000 square metres of land, and adding another 4500 square metres of building extension, located within a subdivision on the southern edge of Tokoroa.

The building has been redeveloped by Grant Tidmarsh (Paul’s nephew) of GST Construction based in Matamata.

The plant and equipment is being sourced from Europe and the US, with Rocktec in Matamata providing the majority of the engineering.

The minerals

The zeolite and perlite mined by BPM are unique to the Volcanic Plateau. The term zeolite is literally translated from Greek as “boiling stones” – a reference to its water absorption/desorption properties. It forms where volcanic ash layers react


BPM readies for mineral expansion


BPM readies for mineral expansion

with alkaline groundwater, and there are over 40 separate types of the mineral around the globe, each with a specific geophysical or geochemical make-up. Only a small number of these zeolites are extracted for commercial use. Each ore deposit, and therefore its commercial performance, varies significantly.

New Zealand zeolite, aged around 100,000 years is, on a global basis, very young and relatively lightweight, soft and very porous when dehydrated. The Aussie variety is around two to three million years old and is comparatively hard (mohs 7), dense, heavy, and relatively non-porous and is therefore a poor absorbent. Zeolites are also characterised by their high cation exchange capacity (CEC) which is a part of what makes the mineral a “special clay”

and the New Zealand variety is no exception. The New Zealand zeolite has proven an excellent material for

such uses as pet litter and as an absorbent for BBQ fat and oil spills. It is also an integral ingredient for slow release fertilisers, water filtration, ruminant feed optimiser, and as a carrier for many liquid products made easier to handle as solid products.

Once you understand all of the attributes of New Zealand zeolite it is easy to see how the many markets that BPM serves are derived.

Presently 60 percent of the zeolite mined by BPM is sold here (the majority into the absorbent market) and the rest is exported to Australia and SE Asia. These percentages will change significantly once the new plant is operational.


M I N I N G

Popcorn rock

Perlite couldn’t be more different from zeolite, and Paul refers to it as “popcorn rock”. It is defined as an ”amorphous volcanic glass”. When the prepared ore is fed into a proprietary furnace at ~850 degrees Celsius, the water trapped inside the glass “vesicles” turns to steam and it expands like popcorn to more than 25 times its original volume.

There are only a few good commercial perlite resources around the world, and Paul concedes that when you are selling this mineral from the bottom of the world, then your product has to be either the best, or the cheapest. The BPM product is considered one of the best, but price dictates how far you can ship it commercially.

The expanded ore is used in such industries as lightweight aggregates, hydroponics, loose-fill industrial insulation, cast-form insulation, and acoustic ceiling tiles. The unexpanded ore is used in steel-making where the perlite is spread thinly onto the top of a steel melt, and it proceeds to form a cheese-like layer coagulating surface impurities which can then be removed, prior to pouring.

Some of BPM perlite is shipped to SE Asian foundries for this use, but the majority of the volume goes to Australia and SE Asia for use as a cryogenic insulant in the petrochemical industry. In this application, the expanded ore is shipped to its end-use destination and then “popped” onsite and pneumatically pumped into a false wall chamber surrounding a tank containing cryogenic liquid – LNG, for example which is kept at –160 degrees Celsius.

Extraction – (sunglasses essential)

As both perlite and zeolite are quite soft materials – they both

require no blasting, and the extraction, crushing, and screening processes are very similar – they can be treated with common mobile gear and plant.

Due to the relatively high ambient moisture content and low abrasion index, the zeolite is crushed with the ‘old fashion’ toothed rolls crushers. The zeolite is mined during the summer and stockpiled “very quickly”, says Paul Tidmarsh, under custom-designed storage buildings onsite before it is rained on.

“During the summer we draw directly off the face, and during winter from the storage sheds.”

Dust is not a problem he says given the natural moisture content (typically circa 36 percent). However, sunglasses are the order of the day during the summer months because of the glare from the naturally white rock.

The perlite extraction is somewhat simpler and is presently contracted out to Winstones (which operates a nearby stone quarry in the forest) using standard crushing/screening gear.

Product marketing

The expansion of the business also includes bringing new product to market.

“The selective mining process has allowed some of the BPM resource to be used in a new branded product called ‘Stockrock’, which is used on farm races and sold throughout the North Island,” says Paul.

The product performs exceptionally well both in terms of being soft on the cows’ feet on the long walks now the norm in New Zealand dairying, but also in its robustness when laid, he adds, and has self-cementing property which, after grading and rolling, provides the ultimate far race surface.

As both perlite and zeolite are quite soft materials – they both require no blasting, and the extraction, crushing, and screening processes are very similar – they can be treated with common mobile gear and plant.


M I N I N G

“It is still zeolite soft rock with a mix of premium grade included and has become an important segment of our business. As quarrying goes this is as sustainable as you can get, with almost nil waste from the site.”

The overburden is a consistent 1.5 metres thick and this goes, initially, into a neighbouring gully, which will be contoured and re-grassed. Future overburden will go back into re-establishment, following the working area of the quarry forward. Each stripping campaign provides approximately three years of available ore.

Other new products being pushed are Optimate – which is a ruminant feed optimiser – offering improved feed utilisation in dairy cows, and Optibind in which BPM zeolite is a component in a mycotoxin-binder (absorbing toxins contained in stockfeed) for export.

Production expansion

Paul estimates that they have enough resources of both minerals to last 100 years.

The perlite was formed along with pumice, Rhyolite, and obsidian via volcanic lava flows producing perlite beds up to 30 metres thick. Based on a number of existing geological surveys,

Paul and Dave did their own exploration and found “just a little corner of perlite sticking out of the ground in a pine forest” near Atiamuri. Not only was it a thick deposit, but fortuitously, it was located in an accessible area with no cliffs, rivers, local houses, or public roads and had “friendly” owners.

“With no neighbours, a willing owner, and a go-ahead local iwi, we also got off lightly with consenting – albeit with the normal drawn out bureaucratic process,” Paul adds.

The zeolite is quarried out of an opencast mine, 20 kilometres south of Rotorua at Ngakuru.

By the time the new facility at Tokoroa is in full flight, production of perlite will have lifted from 8000 tonnes in 2014, to 25,000 tonnes by 2019, and zeolite from 12,000 tonnes in 2014, to 38,000 tonnes by 2019. The forecast also has Stockrock production increasing from ~45,000 tpa to 80-100,000 by 2109.

This expansion project has been carried out in stages with the first involving some very impressive landscaping of the new eight acre site at Tokoroa, and the redevelopment of the 160 metre long building that came with the property carried out in 2009.

The next expansion stages, which are being manufactured as this article is being written, will be covered in the June issue. Q&M

At the moment, processed minerals are handled in one tonne bags. Most of the zeolite is produced as absorbent products.

M I N I N G

Tungsten-gold project mooted for MacraesA possible tungsten-gold mine at the Macraes gold mine in east Otago is being investigated by OceanaGold. BY LINDSAY CLARK.

The mine is targeting the deeper sections of the Round Hill gold deposit where the modern Macraes mine had its beginnings in the 1980s, and is the latest wrinkle in

developing the country’s largest gold mine as it moves into the last years of mining the resource.

Mining tungsten would be a new aspect for OceanaGold, but not new for the Macraes area. Historically tungsten in the form of scheelite was mined from underground mines from the Deep Dell hillside into Round Hill near where the current Macraes processing plant is sited.

Professor Dave Craw from the Otago University Geology Department estimates 1000 tons of scheelite was mined at Macraes, mostly during both World Wars and the Korean War in the 1950s. These were the times scheelite was also mined in the Glenorchy area of Lake Wakatipu.

Tungsten has the highest melting point of any metal (3422 degrees centigrade) and has the highest tensile strength. This made tungsten-blend steels tough and heat resistant for many weapons needed in wartime.

When modern era mineral exploration companies like Homestake and BP Minerals began investigating the Macraes deposit in the early 1980s they were focused on the tungsten potential.

But when gold prices suddenly shot up in the mid 1980s, the mining attention turned almost only to gold and it was the West Australian forerunners of OceanaGold that started the Macraes mine in 1990 and turned it into a five million ounce plus mine. Tungsten has since been barely mentioned.

Now OceanaGold is attempting to take advantage of recent higher prices for tungsten.

In 2013 the company began a programme of re-assaying assay pulps derived from the 25 years of drilling at Macraes. This work continued in 2014 and is expected to lead to an updated gold and tungsten resource estimate for Round Hill. A pre-feasibility study on the commercial production of a tungsten concentrate is planned, plus an initial assessment of other prospects with tungsten potential over OceanaGold’s permits covering 35 kilometres of the Hyde-Macraes Shear Zone.

Michael Holmes, the chief operating officer of OceanaGold,

told the AusIMM New Zealand mineral conference in August that there is a real opportunity for the company to extract tungsten as a byproduct from Macraes.

He said the resource at depth at Round Hill contains about 1.26 million ounces of gold – though no tungsten resource size has been made public. However the gold and tungsten resource is “sterilised” by the current location of the process plant.

OceanaGold has floated the possibility of building a new, probably smaller processing plant nearby.

Holmes said: “We are looking at the possibility of building a new but relocated three million tonnes a year processing plant at Macraes which would have a tungsten/gold stream and a tungsten oxide (WO3) stream.”

Tungsten has a wide range of uses, mainly as an alloy where it imparts its qualities of hardness and heat resistance. A major use is for tungsten carbide drills and cutting tools for the oil and mining industry.

The metal is also used in military applications and for missile and rocket nozzles, which must resist high temperatures.

Tungsten is also widely used for hard tungsten steel alloys, for light bulb filaments, for electric and electronic contacts. In consumer products it can be found in TV sets, cell phones, the magnetrons used in microwaves, in jewellery – even in the small balls on the ends of ballpoint pens.

As something of a coincidence, Todd Corporation, the Wellington-based investment company of New Zealand’s wealthiest family, has recently made two significant international investments in tungsten projects in Canada and the UK. Todd, which has made much of its money through oil and gas investments in New Zealand, has established a minerals and coal arm operating mainly in the international market from a Sydney office.

Todd is the largest single shareholder in Northcliff’s new tungsten-molybdenum mine in New Brunswick, eastern Canada. The low-cost project is expected to take Canada into second place as a tungsten producer, after dominant supplier China.

Todd has also bought a one third stake in Perth-based Wolf Minerals which is developing the Hemerdon tungsten and tin project in Devon, which Wolf says is one the largest undeveloped tungsten and tin resources in the western world. Q&M



M I N I N G

obviously other mineralisation occurring between the folds,” he says.

“It’s a quite compelling model for exploration.”The folds are quite long, possibly over some kilometres. In the

three kilometres from the Main Zone (where a resource of over one million ounces has been defined) to the Western Outcrops there is potential for another million ounces of gold, he says.

A drilling programme of widely spaced drill holes is planned with the objective of testing the potential of fold extensions for one and a half kilometres west of the Main Zone.

MOD halted drilling at Sams Creek in the middle of the year while it concentrated on drilling its Kalahari copper belt prospect in Botswana and because of current investment sentiment toward gold as gold prices dipped. Q&M

Sams Creek finds gold at the folds

More pieces have been put together in the jigsaw puzzle that is the largest undeveloped gold prospect in the country – at Sams Creek near Takaka in Nelson. BY LINDSAY CLARK.

Discoveries made in the likely multimillion-ounce resource over the past two years by Perth-based company MOD Resources may have unlocked the key to finding where

the highest gold grades are located in the massive deposit. The porphyry dyke is at least seven kilometres long, up to 60

metres wide but plunges steeply down to a depth of about one kilometre. The dyke is believed to have been formed by molten rock about 100 million years ago, which would have carried gold mineralisation up from deep in the earth.

Gold grades reported to date have been encouraging but not of the high grades found, for example, in the epithermal gold deposits in and around the Waihi gold mine in the North Island.

If Sams Creek is to be developed as an underground mine, the highest grades will need to be mined to make it economic. So far the best grade is 20 metres at six grams a tonne, with the longest gold intersection 60 metres at 2.4 grams a tonne.

The Sams Creek formation is known as an intrusion-related gold deposit (IRGD), many of which are known globally to contain multimillion-ounce resources and contain higher grades at depth.

Paul Angus, MOD’s project manager at Sams Creek, in a presentation to the AusIMM minerals conference in Hamilton, said exploration has now defined at least three major folds in the dyke.

The highest gold grades have been found in the fold hinges, he says. More gold-bearing arsenopyrite-pyrite quartz veins form along these hinges.

“Most of the mineralisation is occurring on the axis of these folds, which is quite different to what our previous thinking was.

“There is probably a million ounces of gold on one fold, another half a million ounces of gold on another fold hinge. There is

M I N I N G

Stevensonsworks on new coal mine Despite the slump in the export price of coal, Auckland-based Stevenson Mining is working on starting a commercial mine at Te Kuha, near Westport. BY PETER OWENS


Stevenson Mining, a member of the Stevenson Group, has applied for a resource and other consents to operate an opencast mine at Te Kuha. In anticipation of receiving that

consent, the company has surveyed a nine kilometre access road to the site. It expects to be mining within 12 months of the consent being received.

In 2011 Stevenson Mining entered into a limited partnership with the historic owner of a mining permit located on land about 10 kilometres from Westport known as Te Kuha. Stevenson’s mandate is to explore the resource, develop a mine plan and to apply for the required resource consents and access agreements. During the first half of 2012 exploratory drilling was undertaken to determine the quantity and quality of the coal resource at Te Kuha.

This has proved to be excellent on both counts and general manager, Mike Coleman, says that once the mine has been commissioned, it should produce about 350,000 tonnes annually for export via the Port of Lyttelton. Coleman is not concerned about the low international price for coal. He says his company has been

continually receiving enquiries from international buyers seeking high quality coal for carbon fibre and steel making.

Coleman also pointed out that the company had sufficient funds for development of the mine as a commercial entity. At the same time it does not carry the heavy overheads of Solid Energy and Bathurst. He says the mine when commissioned would probably employ about 40 workers who would be sourced locally.

Stevenson has a long history in the country’s coal mining industry, beginning in 1948 at Kopuku Mine (since renamed Kopako) and which soon developed into the largest of its kind in the country. Its involvement in the industry continued with Glencoal Energy in the mines at Kopako, Renown, and Pirongia. Currently Stevensons is the main contractor at Rotowaro Mine near Huntly, which is owned by Solid Energy NZ and is one of the country’s largest opencast coal mines with over 120 onsite staff. It has in the past also undertaken work for Takatimu’s Ohai mine in Western Southland and the OceanaGold mine at Macraes in East Otago. Q&M

Stevenson Mining is the main contractor at the opencast Rotowaro Mine near Huntly

M I N I N G

Todd invests in Aussie miningTodd Corporation, the wealthy private Wellington firm best known for its large stake in oil and gas, has set up a minerals arm, which has made a canny investment in a Pilbara iron ore company. BY LINDSAY CLARK

Todd has bought a 20 percent stake in Adelaide-based company Flinders Mines, which has discovered a 1040 million tonne hematite iron ore resource in the rich

Hamersley Ranges. The two biggest Australian iron ore miners, Rio Tinto and BHP, mine to the west and east respectively of Flinders’ prospect.

The A$1 billion project aims to produce 25 million tonnes of ore a year, making Flinders Australia’s fifth largest iron ore producer.

Todd’s original Pilbara investment came before iron ore prices took a plunge of around 50 percent this year, close to loss-making levels for most junior miners like Flinders, as the world’s top four producers have flooded the market with low-cost ore.

The Flinders mine has been a stranded asset 200 kilometres from a coastal port, but Todd has also shrewdly invested in a railway and port project that will be the vital link in moving ore to an export port. Todd has invested in the Balla Balla project with joint venture partner, Rutila Resources. Todd has a 32 percent interest in the Balla Balla joint venture (BBJV) and a 46 percent interest in Rutila.

The Rutila company controls a separate lower grade magnetite iron ore project just a few kilometres from the coast, but has found it difficult to export economically.

However Rutila has developed a plan for a shallow-water port that would load ore onto low-draft barges which would trans-ship the iron ore on to deep draft carriers offshore – a method already used by other companies along the West Australian coast.

The Balla Balla port and railway will cost another A$3.3 billion. An expanded alliance agreement for construction and operation of the vital transport infrastructure will allow both Flinders and Rutila to export their products to market.

But with export iron ore prices again dropping below US$70 a tonne by the end of 2014, Todd took the opportunity to double its stake in Flinders from 10 to 20 percent for just A$4.5 million. Flinders’ share price had slumped mid December to only 13 cents a share.

Todd’s first Pilbara iron ore investment could be in for interesting times ahead. Q&M


Flinders Mines’ Pilbara Iron Ore Project - Delta Deposit, in WA, Australia.

WASHPLANT PROJECT an Aussie first Terex Washing Systems recently

installed the first of its AggreSand Washplants in the Australian market at a challenging sand operation in NSW.

T E C H N O L O G Y


Fergal McPhillips (left), sales manager, TWS; Graham Colburn, owner Dubbo Sands; Niall Donaghy, sales manager, Mineral Washing Systems (Australian distributor).


Dubbo Sands is a privately owned and operated business in NSW that was formed by owners Mardi & Graham Colbran in 2003. The company is a leading producer of sand and

gravel serving Central West NSW, offering a range of products including washed sand, washed coarse sand, washed fine sand and washed riverstone in many sizes.

TWS and the Australian distributor of the plant worked with Dubbo Sands to devise a solution to meet the site specific needs. After analysis of the feed material it was identified that a portion of the Dubbo Sands feed contained high levels of silt therefore demanding a system that would deal with this in one pass. With its old wash plant Dubbo Sands often had to wash this difficult material twice.

The solution was a TWS AggreSand 165, with a three deck aggregate screen and a single sand plant – providing an integrated feeding, screening and sand washing operation on one modular chassis.

The entire wash plant including the pre-wash system was transported to Australia from the TWS factory in Dungannon, Ireland, in just seven, 40-foot shipping containers. The modular, pre-wired and pre-plumbed concept of the AggreSand 165 allowed for rapid deployment once delivered to site and the plant was erected and commissioned within a matter of days.

Feed system Dubbo Sands wanted to be able to blend varying feed materials from its site and so a dual feeder system was proposed. The feeders both have a 12-metre capacity and are configured so that the two grades of feed material can be blended at different rates before being conveyed to the washplant. Both 14-foot feeders are powered from one electric hydraulic powerpack and both have remote control hydraulic tipping grids.

The blended feed material is delivered to the 16x5 screen by a heavy duty inclined feed conveyor fitted with a 1000mm belt. At the head of the conveyor an integrated wash box gives the material an all-important pre-soak to precondition before going on to the screen.

Aggregate rinsing screen The efficient two bearing 16x5 gives a true 80-foot screening area on each deck. The high quality polyurethane modular deck adds excellent screening and wear qualities to the aggregate rinsing screen. The isolated spray bars fitted with polyurethane gators mean that the spray bars remain static as the screen vibrates.

The screen is powered by a 15kW electric motor and has a 10mm throw. Access around the screen is excellent with the walkways on all four sides and an innovative rolling chute to allow easy screen/module access. The inclined feed conveyor is fitted with hydraulic rams which allow the conveyor to be raised

above the screen for even greater access. The top deck acts as a protection deck while the top and bottom

deck materials are stockpiled by the AggreSand’s integrated nine metre stockpiling conveyors. These conveyors each have a stockpiling capacity of 150 metres. The conveyors are powered by an electric motor and have a 650mm wide belt.

Pre-wash system The pre-wash system is one of the first of its kind in Australia. The polyurethane in the bottom deck of the aggregate screen is split 1/3-2/3 sections with 1mm and 4mm polyurethane modules respectively. The catchbox under the screen is specially designed to capture and separate the two grades of sand (0-1mm and 0-4mm). The fine material which passes through the 1mm section of the screen is safely collected and piped to the pre-wash conical sump tank. The conical sump is designed to initially float off any light material (silt) with the heavier material dropping to the bottom of the sloped wall tank.

The conical sump is designed to enable regulation of incoming water and solids flowing in varying conditions without the loss of useful fines.

A rubber lined centrifugal pump then transfers the material from the bottom of the tank to a cyclone/separator. The separator gives a secondary cleansing of the sand and removes more material below 75 microns and sends it off to the Dubbo Sands dirty water management system.

The beauty of the separator is that it has an ability to cope with varying levels of silt due to discharge regulator which ensures a constant underflow density. This ability to deal with varying silt levels was Dubbo Sands’ number one specification for the entire plant. The adjustable air bleed off valve enables vacuum control which affects the moisture content of the underflow material.

The overflow material is directed towards the Dubbo Sands water management system while the underflow is piped to the AggreSand’s sand plant.

Sand plant The pre-washed sand enters the AggreSand’s sump tank and is pumped by a rubber-lined centrifugal pump to a cyclone to remove any remaining silt (<75 microns) before being dewatered on a 12x5 dewatering screen. The dewatering screen is producing sand below 12 percent moisture, which eliminates the need for stockpile drainage.

This is a windfall for Dubbo Sands as demand is high for this quality concrete sand, which is instantly saleable and can be loaded onto a truck from the stockpiler belt. In addition the plant is producing two washed aggregates from a 200tph feed.

More information: www.terex.com/washing. Q&M

Terex Washing Systems recently installed (through distributor Mineral Washing Systems the first AggreSand Washplant in the Australian market, located at Dubbo Sands Quarry, NSW.


Back in 2010 cynics were quick to raise an eyebrow at the idea of a premium German brand building utes. But something that began life as a South American market quirk – where

Volkswagen has long had a manufacturing base – quickly started producing carbon copy sales successes in Australasia, South Africa and a few European territories too, notably Russia.

Kiwi cynics were silenced almost immediately. Even when potentially hobbled by the fact only manual transmission Amaroks could be sourced by the New Zealand distributor for the first six or so months it was on sale here, it still did very well. As soon as the automatic versions arrived, well... you only have to drive a couple of kilometres it seems before you’ll spy one.

Those early wins are especially notable when considering the parent company’s premium status meant the new wellside addition to Volkswagen’s light commercial range was never going to be sold at cheap-and-cheerful knockabout prices (a start-up strategy that has paid dividends for Chinese brands such as Great Wall and Foton).

But perhaps that’s the key: while Volkswagen couldn’t boast utility truck heritage the likes of which Ford, Toyota or Nissan enjoy, it still has a long history of building practical light commercials, especially vans. And rather than chase the big fleets, it also unashamedly marketed its new ute to the (predominantly urban) weekend warrior.

Some great technology onboard from the off didn’t harm their chances of success either. For example, in addition to being the first ute in its class to achieve a five star Euro NCAP safety rating, the Amarok was the first ute on the New Zealand market with an eight speed automatic gearbox option.

Volkswagen claims the additional gear enables the ute to achieve a broader ratio spread between gears one and eight compared to a conventional automatic transmission, making it very fuel efficient even with a trailered Bobcat or boat hooked on the back.

In fact Volkswagen engineered the eighth gear specifically as a fuel-saving overdrive gear that operates at reduced engine speed,

STRENGTH TO STRENGTH

Talk about hitting the ground running. Volkswagen’s Amarok has been a consistent winner since it arrived in New Zealand a handful of years ago and continues to take the challenge in the ever-expanding ute segment to the mainstream competition. BY CAMERON OFFICER.

W H E E L S I N T H E W O R K P L A C E


FORGING THE PATH TO THE FUTUREClaudelands, Hamilton

15th - 17th July 2015

www.quarrynz.com

Registrations Now Open

Each year the Aggregate and Quarry Association of NZ and the Institute of Quarrying NZ hold an annual joint conference. In July 2015 the QuarryNZ Conference will be held in Hamilton.

The conference is an opportunity for all those involved in the quarrying industry to interact and exchange ideas, take the opportunity to hear the experiences of guest speakers and to socialise with old friends and colleagues and to make new contacts.

Register now at www.quarrynz.com

Volkswagen Amarok 2WD Highline TDIEngine: 2.0-litre twin turbo four cylinder diesel

Transmission: Eight-speed automatic

Power: 132kW

Torque: 400Nm

Fuel economy: 8.1L/100km

Tow rating: 3000kg (braked)

0-100km/h: N/A

Max speed: N/A

Price: $54,990

while first gear is configured for pulling away in off-road use or when towing.

It’s worth noting you can also still buy every version of Amarok fitted with a six speed manual gearbox as well, for a slightly reduced sticker price.

Additionally, the Amarok upped the ante in terms of standard trim. The level of creature comforts is very good across the board and includes Bluetooth phone connectivity and a media-friendly stereo system, climate control air conditioning, quality trim materials, a slightly raised rear bench to help those in the back (whether colleagues or kids) see out better, both grab handles and 12V power outlets everywhere, along with a raft of safety tech too.

In the 2WD trim of our tester, the Amarok boasts a 962kg max payload limit, 3000kg braked tow rating and a 2.52m³ rear tray load area. There are huge reserves of power from the twin turbo diesel and with new models featuring a standard 20,000km servicing interval, Volkswagen continues to place emphasis on the reliability of its engineering (10,000km-15,000km service intervals are the norm with most other manufacturers).

After successfully pitching to the ‘weekday work vehicle/weekend tow car’ crowd, Volkswagen New Zealand is now tempting the fleets with a lower spec offering called the Trendline. In addition to this fleet-friendly version, Volkswagen believes the recently added 2WD version should prove a consistent seller for it as well; a reflection of the fact that not every buyer wants nor needs full four wheel drive ability.

With the ute market growing to claim a huge 20 percent share of the overall volume of new vehicle sales in New Zealand last year, Volkswagen clearly knows model choice is key. Having already completed some decent trimming to prices of its small passenger cars, it seems only natural that we should start to see (moderately) cheaper Volkswagen utes too. Regardless of sticker price though, the Amarok remains a worthy investment for any buyer.

Oh, and the name? Never ones to shy away from the ‘wind chimes and dream catchers’ end of the spectrum when work-shopping brand names for its vehicles, Amarok is Inuit for “wolf”. Then again, with Volkswagen’s global headquarters being in the German city of Wolfsburg, there’s a degree of practicality behind the choice there too.

Practicality? Well, it is a ute after all. Q&MPH

OTO

S: C

AM

ERO

N O

FFIC

ER

C O M M E N T

A rocky road for mineralsUps and downs for the New Zealand minerals sector while commodity prices stay flat.

BY CHRIS BAKER, CEO, STRATERRA

The Briefings to Incoming Ministers (BIM) from government agencies responsible for resource management advocate “a strategic, integrated approach” to resource management, and that Government form a “standing grouping of natural resource ministers to drive system-wide approaches to issues”.

At issue for the Government’s Business Growth Agenda is a string of recent negative resource management decisions, or decisions likely to stymie development, in aquaculture, roading, irrigation and mining.

Ministers know that Bathurst Resources took more than three years and spent several million dollars gaining environmental approvals for the Escarpment coal mine at Denniston. The Department of Conservation is now suggesting that nationally-significant proposals on conservation land – eg, Bathurst – ought to be able to have concession, access arrangement and resource consent processes heard at a single hearing. We like the similarity of this proposal to Straterra’s Operation Minotaur initiative, which we advanced to Ministers last year.

Offshore, Trans-Tasman Resources’ application for environmental approval to mine ironsands in the South Taranaki Bight was declined (with that decision under appeal). Straterra convened a small expert group to analyse the decision. Our discussion paper, completed in November, concluded that the relevant Act needs amendment, in particular, to deal adequately with uncertainty of information, and adaptive management of environmental effects. We also proposed guidance for the Environmental Protection Authority, and other parties to the hearings process. Straterra appeared before a meeting of senior officials from natural resource sector agencies to hear and discuss our findings. From that, we sense an appetite for improvement.

The above are among issues identified in Straterra’s BIM to natural resource sector Ministers and officials in late October 2014. Others include recommendations for: regulators to enable development; national direction on minerals; the Resource Management Act 1991 reforms to continue; and a review of the Conservation Act 1987.

The 2014 year was a tumultuous one for our minerals sector, with the gold price dropping to below US$200/ounce, export coal staying flat at around US$120 a tonne, the

per tonne iron ore price falling below US$80, and the regulatory environment remaining a serious challenge.

The gold story illustrates the fortunes or otherwise of the minerals sector, drawing on the Inside Resources online service for recent news.

The new Waikaia gold dredging operation in Southland is mining 20,000 ounces a year, while L&M’s operation at Earnscleugh, Otago, is closing down. OceanaGold’s Frasers underground mine at Macraes is due to close in 2015, as is the opencast mine near Reefton, a 50,000-70,000 ounce a year operation, while OCG’s underground 570,000 ounce resource at Blackwater is “under consideration”. Newmont Waihi Gold has started developing Correnso, a 600,000 ounce underground ore body, as part of its Waihi operations, with Trio coming to the end of its life. New Talisman plans to start mining at Karangahake.

For the explorers and juniors, there are the commodity price challenges, and more. MOD Resources has an inferred resource at Sams Creek in northwest Nelson of one million ounces, with more drilling planned when the market improves. Strategic Elements may add new exploration ground to its Aorangi asset in Golden Bay. De Gray’s foray into Northland is working through some obstacles; Silver City expects to explore near Taupo next year; and Hardie Resources and Laneway Resources are among companies consolidating their permits. Antipodes Gold has one exploration target, WKP in South Hauraki, with an inferred resource of 260,000 ounces.

So, the commodity cycle exerts pressure on producers, while capital markets make it almost impossible for explorers to raise funds – and on top of this many of the regulatory barriers to development in New Zealand remain.

This is a serious issue to which Straterra has attached high importance. With the National-led Government confirmed in early October for a new Parliamentary term, we continue to press for change, and we can reasonably expect more action this time around.



Your perfect solutions

Above all Equip2 processing solutions pride themselves on their experience and ability to provide the perfect machine to suit the job at hand, with an extensive supplier network set up, and support bases around New Zealand, Equip2 are able to offer the complete reliable solution, backed with experienced support.

Equip2 makes rock processing easier.

Freephone 0800 872 254

Keestrack Destroyer 1313

Call us today!0800 872 254

Email: [email protected]

We note that the health and safety reforms have been progressing on a good track, and in many respects the approach taken by the mining inspectorate provides a good example of how government should operate to enable business.

Returning to the state of the sector, the story for coal is similar to that of gold.

Demand for domestic product is relatively strong, with Glencoal and NZCC consenting new mines in the North and South Island respectively. Total domestic coal consumption in 2013 (2.5 million tonnes) was down 300,000 tonne on the previous year, driven largely by further reductions in coal use at the Huntly power station. Solid Energy surrendered the Pike River mine permit, having determined that it is too unsafe to re-enter the mine. Bathurst Resources picked up two exploration permits in the Waikato, while Fortescue Metals Group has left New Zealand.

On ironsands, NZ Steel is set to expand production at its coastal Waikato mine, at Taharoa, over the next two to three years. In the year to June 2014 NZ Steel exported 2.3 million tonne of iron ore concentrate, up on 1.7 million tonne the previous year, including from its mine at North Head. Just south of Raglan, Sinosteel has posted an indicated and inferred resource of 160 million tonne, with an average titanomagnetite grade of 13.6 percent. More work lies ahead before applications for regulatory approvals can begin.

To other metals, there is talk and some action on a variety of other resources, including titanium, vanadium, zirconium, tungsten, nickel, and platinum.

Taken together, the minerals sector produces more than $2 billion worth of minerals a year, including aggregates and industrial minerals. We estimate that around 8000 people are directly and indirectly employed in the sector. From government reports, workers in our industry earn on average $105,000 a year, which is more than double the national average wage.

In my foreword to the Straterra Minerals Briefing Paper, launched at Parliament in April 2014, I concluded that: “With favourable conditions … New Zealand could treble output and investment in minerals exploration and mining over time, and thus gain the benefits from increased economic activity in our highly-productive, regionally-based and export-focused industry.”

The recent NZ Initiative report by Jason Krupp, “Poverty of Wealth – why minerals need to be part of the rural economy,” supports that notion and is a valuable contribution for the minerals sector.

Above all, minerals, metals, and commodities move in cycles, and sometimes those cycles are severe – as is currently the case. What is certain, however, is that prices for iron, coking coal, and gold will be higher, substantially higher, than they are now – we just don’t know when. Our challenge as a sector is to ensure we can attract our share of new investment when the cycle does turn. Q&M

C O M M E N T

New Zealand’s new offshore environmental regime is beginning to settle down after a steep learning curve for regulators and operators over the past 18 months.

BY SARAH GARDNER, ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AUTHORITY GENERAL MANAGER APPLICATIONS & ASSESSMENT

A message from the EPA


The implementation of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) legislation has been a period of adjustment for all parties involved. As with any new statutory regime there is always

a learning period where regulators and applicants alike learn how to respond to its requirements.

The Environmental Protection Authority always expected that it would take some time for the new EEZ regulatory regime to bed down and we have been working constructively with operators over this period.

For example, in the first 12 months of the new regime we met regularly with industry and other marine management regime regulators in a forum where we exchanged learnings and information.

We have also involved industry in workshops about rulings, produced guidance material and promoted compliance with the legislation at industry events such as the recent Petroleum Summit.

We note that there was some criticism at the Summit, by one of the speakers (James Willis), around the information that was sought by the EPA for an application by OMV New Zealand (OMV). This was reported in the last edition of NZ Quarrying and Mining.

As a regulator of the EEZ we can only make our decisions on the evidence provided by parties to our process. Because the EEZ Act and its information principles require us to adopt caution and environmental protection in the face of uncertain information, what an applicant and other parties present to us is extremely important.

Our role requires us to make robust decisions based on evidence. Sometimes that means that we need to understand more about the effects of a proposed activity. However, applicants have the ability to refuse to provide information if they wish.

In relation to the particular examples cited by James Willis, the EPA sought relatively minor points of clarification on two matters, which were raised by the applicant of its own volition in its Impact Assessment.

As part of our normal process, we sought an independent review of the applicant’s Impact Assessment. This was carried out by ERM, which is a world leading sustainability consultancy

with specialist expertise in the oil and gas industry. As a result of this review, we sought verification from the Department of Conservation of the information provided by OMV (section 2.3.9 of its Impact Assessment) on the presence of marine reptiles.

We also sought clarification from the applicant on the likely polychaete worm communities in the vicinity of the application area (section 2.3.2). It is important to note that polychaetes are the most dominant taxonomic group in the application area and are often used as indicator species of environmental conditions.

The EPA is always available to engage constructively with industry and other parties. Free and frank exchanges with parties are valued and welcomed. We would welcome further discussion with James Willis.

In relation to the costs involved with applications to the EPA, we recognise that environmental decision-making does come with a cost and we are aware that this is borne by applicants.

However, those same applicants also enjoy the benefits of having access to our EEZ environment if they are granted a marine consent.

In recent months we have granted non-notified marine consents to both OMV and Shell Todd Oil Services for oil exploration activities.

Both processes were completed within the statutory timeframes and at costs 75 percent lower than we had anticipated.

Our investment in quality technical staff with both industry and regulatory backgrounds means that we have the capability required to assess these activities.

We have also just granted a marine consent to OMV to continue its development drilling programme in the Maari oil field in the South Taranaki Bight.

This was the first publicly notified application for a marine consent for oil-related activities and was granted by the EPA, subject to conditions.

We look forward to continuing to engage constructively with the industry and other parties as the regulatory regime further consolidates over the next 12 months. Q&M


P O L I T I C S

CablePrice ........................................................... OFC, 12, 13Chevron New Zealand ........................................................ 25Equip2 .............................................................................. 41Gough Group..................................................................9, 19ICM ................................................................................... 39Mimico ..............................................................................IFCPorter Equipment.........................................................44, IBC

Position Partners ................................................................. 7Real Steel ............................................................................ 3Rocktec ............................................................................. 29Transdiesel ......................................................................... 5Total Oil .......................................................................... OBCWest-Trak Equipment ........................................................ 31

Advertisers Index

Krupp, a research fellow at the Initiative, calls for the RMA to be rewritten to permit reasonable access and extraction of minerals in rural areas.

Serious impediments to this industry by the Resource Management Act are not only well documented but acknowledged by the Government. In a 2013 discussion document, the Ministry for the Environment detailed five issues with the RMA legislation despite numerous amendments in the past. They included cost, complexity, unbalanced values, and a lack of service culture among councils.

“Why are the resource-rich rural regions not tapping into the wealth beneath their feet even as these communities experience ongoing declines amid a dwindling economic opportunity set?” This is the question Dr Jason Krupp tries to answer in his paper, Poverty of Wealth: Why minerals need to be part of the rural economy.

The report was prepared for and released by New Zealand Initiative, a market-oriented think-tank formed by the merger in 2011 of the New Zealand Business Roundtable and the New Zealand Institute.

In his report, Krupp pointed to many rural areas facing poverty as their traditional rural industries such as meat production and forestry are faced with strong competition from overseas in traditional market places. According to Krupp, “Only four of the country’s regional councils recorded job number increases between 2008 and 2013.” While economic growth concentrated in urban areas, half of our rural economies shrank in the year ending June 2013.

“Yet this divided picture stands in stark contrast to the untapped mineral wealth under the country’s feet. New Zealand already mines gold and silver, coal, and extracts large amounts of oil and gas from the Taranaki field, which contributes up to five percent of GDP per year. “What’s more, this sector is under-exploited and

could potentially expand significantly, depending on prospecting results. It is also a productive sector, with employees earning twice the New Zealand average ($105,645 versus $50,262 in 2011 terms).

“One potential answer to the puzzle is that these resources have not been tapped in order to avoid the so-called resource curse – the phenomena in which mineral-rich countries experience lower economic development than their less well-endowed peers.”

Krupp points out that it is “bitterly ironic that rural regions, as rich as they are in natural resources, are trapped in a cycle of economic decline and poverty”.

He says that despite this, attempts to extract this mineral wealth are “often avoided by local councils because of the cost, complexity and legal troubles imposed on them by the Resource Management Act”.

Krupp believes it should be possible for this country to achieve “a better balance around extractive industries in the way that other developed countries have done. These are largely owned by New Zealanders through the Crown, so why shouldn’t they get the benefit of them?”

The New Zealand Initiative will be releasing a second report containing more specific proposals for the improvement of the economy sometime later this year. Q&M

Call to rewrite the problem RMA A report for the New Zealand Initiative by Jason Krupp calls for better access to minerals as a solution for struggling rural areas.BY PETER OWENS

it is “bitterly ironic that rural

regions, as rich as they are in natural

resources, are trapped in a cycle of

economic decline and poverty”.

Proud supporters of

With our extensive range of

oil and lubricants we have

mining covered. Our products

and unrivalled service keeps

your business moving. We care

about your industry and will

work with you to deliver the

Total package.

TOTAL FOR MINING

To find out more go to

www.totaloilsolutions.co.nz

or contact us on 0800 868 256.

Think oil, think Total.

Q&M Feb-Mar 2015

Documents

Transcript of Q&M Feb-Mar 2015