Autoclave valves no longer the problem
September 15 - 21, 2011
IF THE NEXT wave of Australian mineral producers who choose to utilise pressure leaching start coming across autoclave issues once they get their circuits up and running, it shouldn’t be due to valve-related problems.
Nickel plant could cut emissions, costs
July 21 - 27, 2011
IN THE build up to the Federal Labor Party’s carbon tax policy launch, an Australian engineering outfit was working on a flowsheet designed to help both reduce emissions and operating costs for global nickel laterite producers.
High pressure breakthrough
July 14 - 20, 2011
AROUND the time BHP Billiton’s Ravensthorpe nickel laterite mine in Western Australia was crashing and burning, a similar (albeit smaller) project in the Philippines was successfully expanding its circuit. Now, one of the Japanese partners behind the undertaking is looking to help establish a second high pressure acid leach (HPAL) lateritic operation in the South East Asian country.
Tenix ready to build mining profile
June 23 - 29, 2011
PRIVATELY-owned Tenix has signalled it is ready to have a bigger say in new mine engineering and construction tenders with its $A174 million contract win with Rio Tinto at the Argyle diamond mine in Western Australia.
RCR plugs power gap
May 26 - June 1, 2011
MINING services company RCR Tomlinson has moved further into the power-generation market gap left by the collapse of Austrian Energy & Environment (AE&E) last year with the acquisition of the business and assets of the failed company.
Mining sector lift for SNC-Lavalin
May 5 - 11, 2011
CANADIAN engineering group SNC-Lavalin increased Mining & Metallurgy division revenue to $C177.3 million in the first quarter of 2011, compared with $C149.4 million in the same period a year ago, and will look to build its order backlog in the sector this year to sustain the contribution in the medium term.
Growth to squeeze margins
April 21 - 27, 2011
TAKE a look at the handsome profit margins of companies like ASX-listed Forge Group. They could soon be things of the past, according to the analyst team at Citi.
SKM secures Colombia market entry
February 16 - 22, 2011
SINCLAIR Knight Merz has made its long-awaited entry into the Colombian engineering market, teaming with Canada’s SNC-Lavalin to work on the expansion of the giant Cerrejon coal mine in the country’s north.
SNC grows Colombia footprint
January 19 - 25, 2011
CANADIAN engineering firm SNC-Lavalin has expanded its presence in Colombia, buying Bogota-based Itansuca Proyectos de Ingenieria SA for an undisclosed price.
Goro shows nickel risks
December 15 - 21, 2010
VALE’S massive Goro nickel project in New Caledonia shows just what sort of battle nickel laterite companies face in developing their projects, but the project commissioning is now almost complete after a marathon journey.
A new measure of success
December 8 - 14, 2010
THOSE who lament Australia’s apparent inability to develop a large-scale mining equipment manufacturing base often find solace in the army of world-class niche suppliers capturing markets all around the globe. Right on the cutting edge of that movement, quite literally, is Western Australian firm Hofmann Engineering.
Mark II nickel plant taking shape
November 10 - 16, 2010
IF FIRST Quantum gets it right at the Ravensthorpe nickel laterite project in Western Australia there are likely to be a whole bunch of BHP Billiton engineers and project managers ensuring there’s no mention of the project on their personal CVs. The second coming of Ravensthorpe is currently taking shape.
Billion-dollar vision for SKM arm
October 20 - 26, 2010
THE JURY is still out on Colombia for a major engineering firm, but probably only for as long as it takes to close out what has become a protracted major contract negotiation.
Sedgman moves deeper into Africa
September 1 - 7, 2010
AUSTRALIAN engineering firm Sedgman’s push into Africa has gained further momentum with confirmation that is has secured more than $US90 million of work on Discovery Metals’ Boseto copper project in north-east Botswana. The company lists southern Africa as the second richest potential source of new projects in a $US6 billion-plus global pipeline.
Laterite nickel project on track
July 28 - August 3, 2010
ARGUABLY the world’s most-likely-to-succeed new nickel laterite project remains on track for mechanical completion early next year.
Consolidation occurs swiftly
June 2 - 8, 2010
THE shake-up of Australia’s mining equipment parts business continues apace with confirmation this week of US-based ESCO Corporation’s acquisition of Queensland-based Swift Group’s engineering and mining products division. ESCO, which severs long-term ties with Bradken next year, is trying to increase its Australian distribution channels.
Exit, stage left
May 26 - June 1, 2010
WORLEY Parsons wins more work in Saudi Arabia; Sedgman expands its southern Africa order book; and Leighton continues to grow its presence in Mongolia and Indonesia. Meanwhile, an Australian company becomes the first foreign mining lease holder in Saudi Arabia. Some good news, perhaps, for Australian mining service companies facing the prospect of a slowdown in the domestic market.
North and South
May 19 - 25, 2010
EXPANSION in the Americas by Bradken and Austin Engineering, aimed primarily at mining markets, has won both companies plaudits from analysts. Merely observed though, up to this point, is Austin’s ‘shadow’ as it continues to extend its global leadership as an independent supplier in the mine dump truck body business.
Heroic mining sector may not save budget
May 19 - 25, 2010
THE author of a new report on resource-sector engineering construction activity in Australia, who last week said new Federal Budget mining investment projections were “heroic”, doesn’t believe uncertainty created by the Rudd Government’s proposed mining profits tax will derail too many projects.
Engineer spruiks ore upgrade solutions
March 2 - 8, 2010
WITH few exceptions the next generation of Australian iron ore mines won’t be exploiting the high Fe grades that have become staple in the diets of Japanese, Korean and Chinese steel mills over the past four decades, and that’s foremost in the thinking of Peter McSweeney in taking on agencies for allmineral Processing Equipment (aPE).