Logistics, Transport, Infrastructure
Efficiency gains for Rio Tinto’s Pilbara rail operations
Over the last few years mining heavy weight Rio Tinto has worked hard, making significant efficiency improvements to its Pilbara rail network. A key contributor to this success was the optimisation of train loading operations at Yandicoogina.
Conveying specialist teams up with US rubber maker
Kinder & Co has announced a supply agreement with one of America’s leading custom industrial rubber manufacturers, Bi-State Rubber Inc.
Indian demand may boost Australian coal exports
Australia's buoyant coal industry has received another positive signal that any extra export volumes will be eagerly snapped up by international buyers, particularly a rapidly-expanding market in India.
Rio Tinto approves funding for iron ore expansion
Rio Tinto announced, on July 14th, US$200 million funding to prepare for the expansion of its iron ore operations in Western Australia.
DBCT bullish on future coal volumes
Dalrymple Bay Coal Terminal owner Prime Infrastructure is aiming to double its coal export volumes in coming years on the back of improved infrastructure utilisation and a bumper 2009/10 result.
QR divides as coal haulage contract war continues
QR formally split in two, on July 1st, with the newly-separated freight company, QR National, wasting no time in announcing a revised $250 million coal haulage contract.
Mineral Resources signs rail haulage agreement
Mineral Resources Limited (MRL) has signed an agreement for the provision of rail haulage for its Carina Yilgarn iron ore project in Western Australia with QR Freight.
China tapped for $11 billion resources investment
China is to pour about $11 billion into Australia's port, rail and mining projects in a deal signed on June 21st by Prime minister Kevin Rudd and China’s vice president Xi Jinping.
Karara contracts and orders approach $1 billion
Gindalbie Metals has announced the Karara Iron Ore Project will reach a key milestone in coming months with the value of service contracts and orders expected to reach a total of $1 billion.
Coal industry says rail bid ‘ticks all the boxes’ but AMWU disagrees
The Queensland Coal Industry Rail Group’s $4.85 billion cash offer for the central Queensland coal track network ‘ticks all the boxes’ according to the Queensland Resources Council.
QR divestment – the case for a different model
The Queensland Resources Council’s Michael Roche spoken at a recent industry event about the need for industry to have more of a say in the ownership of QR's coal track business.
Budget based on “heroic” mining assumptions: BIS Shrapnel
Industry analyst and economic forecaster, BIS Shrapnel, has questioned Treasury’s outlook for engineering construction in the 2010/11 Commonwealth Budget.
Karara rail line project moves towards construction
Construction of another major iron ore railway in Western Australia’s Mid-West has moved a step closer with the introduction to State Parliament of the Railway (Tilley to Karara) Bill 2010.
Hybrid SR drives for new loader
In what some consider the most significant jump in technology in 20 years, the new Le Tourneau SR drive breaks away from the traditional power generation.
Loaders – at the frontline of mining operations
Loaders have a unique role at any mine site – they are often the first type of mining equipment to enter the draw point after blasting (with the exception of scalers in some operations) or to approach the face.
Green light for QR's Northern Missing Link
The Queensland Government and the state's coal miners put aside their QR privatisation differences with the go-ahead given to the $1.1bn expansion of Goonyella-Abbot Point.
Darwin port faces copper contamination inquiry
The Port of Darwin Corporation is seeking to limit the fallout from reports of copper concentrate fouling East Arm Wharf waters and the port area, after the Northern Territory Government announced an investigation.
Setback for civil construction during 2010/11
Civil construction activity is set to decline six per cent during 2010/11, despite the recent commencement of large projects, according to industry analyst and economic forecaster BIS Shrapnel.
Benefits of collision avoidance technologies
Collision avoidance is a crucial issue for Australian mining operations in terms of worker safety, damage to machinery and costly shutdowns. It is arguably the biggest killer on mine sites.
QR on track for huge iron ore deal in WA
QR is on the way to winning a 10-year haulage deal with Gindalbie Metals, which could see QR Freight haul iron ore from the Karara minesite to the port of Geraldton.
