Caution needed as Australian economy recovers, says economist

Although the Australian economy has performed better than expected in the current economic climate, Chief Economist of Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Michael Blythe says Australia still needs to be cautious.

Mr Blythe who will be addressing SEAAOC 2009 in Darwin on the 9-11 of September, says the resources industry was one of the reasons the Australian economy defied the global recession.

“Weak as our economy activity may have been, we have had very good results because of the backlog…from the mining boom and the fact that now the global recovery is driven by China,” he said.

Mr Blythe says caution is needed because financial crises weaken recovery in the early stages.

“We’ve got to look for an economy that…is growing at a slower than usual rate,” he says. “That means we haven’t seen the peak in the unemployment rate just yet.”

Mr Blythe says lower interest rates will be in place for some time.

Capital spending will be of the key decisions impacting the economy as it is currently the weakest.

“Certainly only few months ago there were big concerns the way companies were cancelling, deferring their capital spending plans- something that could have deepened or lengthened the downturn in Australia,” Mr Blythe says.

“Now all of a sudden, there’s a global backdrop…It’s the sort of environment where you may see some of the projects…suddenly look a lot more attractive and they’re potentially big drivers of the Australian economy.”

Mr Blythe hopes his presentation will give delegates a better understanding of the global financial crisis and some idea about the risks that will be experienced over the next year or two.

Other speakers include:
The Hon Paul Henderson MLA, Chief Minister of Northern Territory Government, Mr Alfredo Pires, Secretary of State – Natural Resources of Timor-Leste, Joseph Marushack, President of ConocoPhillips Australia, Sean Kildare, General Manager Darwin of Inpex and Mr. Yoichi Norisugi, Director, Secretary General of Nippon GTL Technology Research Association.

www.seaaoc.com

To arrange a media pass, request more information or arrange speaker interviews at the SEAAOC 2009 conference, please contact:
John Wilson
Informa-IIR
02 9080 4107; 0405751012
John.wilson@informa.com.au

Michael Blythe, Chief Economist of Commonwealth Bank of Australia discusses the economy

Michael Blythe, Chief Economist of Commonwealth Bank of Australia, spoke to us about his thoughts on the outlook for the resources industry in light of the current economic climate, the Australian economy over the next 6-12 months and key oil and gas related decisions that will impact the economy, and his upcoming presentation at this year’s SEAAOC in Darwin.

For more information on SEAAOC 2009, visit www.seaaoc.com or contact Customer Service on +61 2 9080 4090.

Not for the faint hearted

Workers on a Pilbara mine site were surprised to find a snake in the middle of a meal which took it five hours to consume. They managed to keep the serpent safe from traffic in the meantime.

You may be able to catch exciting sights like these if you’re at Pilbara for our 3rd Annual Mining the Pilbara conference happening on the 10-11 June 2009.  Click here to find out more about the conference!

These pics were taken by one of the the NRW crew at Cloudbreak this week.

National Water Reform needs to focus on rural areas

The National Water Commission needs to focus on rural areas and the way water is managed in those areas, says Managing Director of Yarra Valley Water and Chairman of WaterAid Australia, Tony Kelly.

Mr Kelly will be addressing the 7th Annual Australian Water Summit on June 4 and 5 in Brisbane.

He says the National Water Commission has been successful in its performance reporting in urban water as there are now national comparisons which assist with further improvements.

However, Mr Kelly says the imbalance between rural and urban areas needs to be addressed.

“On the national level… urban [areas] are only using 10 per cent of Australia’s fresh water and a majority of the balance is used in rural areas,” he said. “The emphasis now needs to be on rural areas and particularly on irrigation usage.”

Older irrigation systems needed to be upgraded as they could not longer meet the needs of modern farming.

Mr Kelly says the biggest national water issue in the next year and a half is the way water is managed in rural areas.

“Improving the efficiency of rural irrigation systems has been a major element in Victoria’s Reform Agenda but much less so in other states,” he says. “What’s happened in Victoria is that we have had the urban water users funding improvement in irrigation infrastructure in exchange for a share of the water savings.

The Victorian experience will provide cheap water for urban areas, increased security for farmers and will benefit the environment.

In his address, Mr Kelly will touch on the progress of water reform in Victoria and the establishment of a state wide water grid which will link various regions together.

This would allow Victoria to optimise their supplies across the state for the benefit of farmers, urban consumers and the environment. In the past this has been compromised by a lack of coordination across utility boundaries and a lack of a state wide perspective experiencing the same water restrictions, he said.

“When the Grid is fully operational, we’ll also have access to cheaper whole-sale water. That’s got to be good for urban users and farmers because it’s going to keep pressure off the prices.”

Other speakers attending the conference include Ken Matthews, Chairman and CEO of the National Water Commission; Joe Flynn, Chief Executive of Water Industry Alliance; Andrew Gregson, Chief Executive Officer of NSW Irrigator’s Council; Rob Freeman, CEO of the Murray Darling Basin Authority; and Elaine Prior, Director of Citi Investment Research.

Records highlight Isa link with Port of Townsville

Mt Isa’s synergistic relationship with the Port of Townsville is underscored by three trade records broken in 2007-08.

They are among six individual import and four export trade records broken in the period, listed in the Port’s latest annual report.

In one record 582,378 tonnes of cement was imported from Gladstone. Used in stope filling and mine remediation, cement is distributed from Townsville by road and rail to the greater North Queensland area, including all points west to Mount Isa.

Sulphur, of which a record 124,398 tonnes was imported, is used at Incitec Pivot’s Phosphate Hill Mine south of Mt Isa. Bulk sulphur is containerised at the Port and railed to Phosphate Hill where it is converted to sulphuric acid for the production of DAP (diammonium phosphate) and MAP (monoammonium) high analysis fertilizer.

Record exports included 187,480 tonnes of lead ingots produced by Xstrata Mount Isa Mine and Lead Smelter. Lead is railed to the Port of Townsville for export to the UK.

The Port of Townsville is a Supporting Sponsor at the 3rd Annual Mining the Isa Conference at the Mount Isa Civic Centre on 17-18 November.

The conference will feature presentations from Mt Isa mining industry leaders. They include Joe Gutnick, CEO of Legend International Holdings, who will speak on the world’s new appetite for phosphate; Steve de Kruijff, Chief Operating Officer, Xstrata Copper who will give an update on operations; and Mark Lynch, Managing Director of Citgold Corporation, who will report on the Charters Towers goldfield development.

http://www.iir.com.au/isa

To arrange a media pass, request more information or arrange speaker interviews please contact:
Nigel Dique – Informa-IIR 02 9080 4108; 0423 024 819; nigel.dique@informa.com.au

Joe Gutnick to address Mining the Isa forum

Mining industry entrepreneur Joseph Gutnick will give the keynote address at the 3rdAnnual Mining the Isa Conference at the Mount Isa Civic Centre on 17-18 November.

Mr Gutnick, President and CEO of Legend International Holdings, will speak on the world’s new appetite for phosphate and its effect on the Mt Isa region.

Demand for phosphate, used primarily in agricultural fertilizers has escalated in recent months in response to world wide food shortages and higher prices.

Legend International Holdings recently entered into a long term agreement to supply phosphate from its Lady Annie project in Queensland to Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited (IFFCO), India’s largest fertilizer enterprise, a cooperative with over 50 million farmers associated with it.

The conference program includes presentations from established mining companies in the Mount Isa region, junior companies, and infrastructure stakeholders including water, energy and transport companies.

Among them are Steve de Kruijff, Chief Operating Officer, Xstrata Copper who will give an update on operations and Mark Lynch, Managing Director of Citgold Corporation, who will report on the Charters Towers goldfield development.

Betty Kiernan, the state Member for Mount Isa and Bob Katter, the Federal Member for Kennedy, will also address the conference.

http://www.iir.com.au/isa

To arrange a media pass, request more information or arrange speaker interviews please contact:

Nigel Dique – Informa-IIR
02 9080 4108
0423 024 819
nigel.dique@informa.com.au

Get ready for the boom, says minerals industry chief

South Australian communities need to be prepared for the coming mineral boom to avoid the mistakes of other states, says Jason Kuchel, Chief Executive of South Australian Chamber of Mines and Energy.

Mr Kuchel will address the Mining South Australia conference in Whyalla on 3-4 December.

A new resource boom is on the way but it will be at least another year or two before South Australia experiences the “full swing”, he says in an interview.

“But the most important thing from South Australia’s point of view is it is and will continue to be very steady growth and it’s growth we can count on.”

Mr Kuchel also expects the demand from Asian economies like China to remain strong in coming years to fuel their domestic growth regardless of a cooling of world economies.

South Australia will not initially have problems supplying the necessary skills and services that it needs as it has not stretched capacity to the limit.

“We have skilled workers who are currently working in WA and Queensland who have their families in South Australia. I think many of those are looking to come home.”

Federal Government approval of the expansion of the Beverly uranium mine was welcome because it will give “greater understanding for other uranium projects in terms of how they should proceed”. However South Australia is fortunate in possessing a broad range of resources from base metals to mineral sands, even coal and oil and gas reserves.

At the Mining South Australia conference, Mr Kuchel will discuss how regional communities can take advantage of resources activity and ensure that other states’ past mistakes are not repeated in terms of social infrastructure and broader economic development.

Other speakers at the conference include Mark Malcolm, Executive Manager for Southern Flinders Ranges Development Board; Steve Arndt, Chief Executive Officer for Whyalla Economic Development Board; Dr Paul Heithersay, Executive Director for Minerals and Energy Resources, PIRSA; Jim Pollock, Mayor of City of Whyalla; and Geoff Brock, Mayor of Port Pirie Council.

Further information: www.iir.com.au/sa

NT a world-class place to explore for minerals

Geological studies reveal the Northern Territory as a world-class place to explore for a large range of commodities, especially uranium-based metals, phosphate, gold and rare earth elements, says Dr Ian Scrimgeour, Director of the Northern Territory Geological Survey.

However the real challenge is extending knowledge in undercover areas, areas covered by thick sedimentary cover, he says.

Dr Scrimgeour, opening speaker at the Mining the Territory conference on 14-15 October at the Darwin Convention Centre, says in an interview he will focus on the NT Government’s $14.4 million Bringing Forward Discovery exploration initiative that aims to assist industry explore remote, under-explored parts of the territory.

“In particular I’ll be focusing on the newly announced successful applications for the first round of our geophysics and drilling collaborations, going through what exploration programs the government will be co-funding and giving tips to companies on how to successfully apply for funding in future rounds,” he says.

“I’ll also be touching on some of the new exciting geoscience data coming out of the initiative including the results of our first major regional gravity survey in central Australia.”

Dr Scrimgeour says Bringing Forward Discovery is all about bringing forward the next major mineral and petroleum discoveries in the territory and also working hard to raise the Territory’s profile as an exploration destination both nationally and internationally.

“We want to lower exploration risks through the provision of high quality geo-science data and prospectivity assessments. We also want to increase the intensity of high risk innovative greenfield exploration by co-funding selected industry exploration programs through a newly announced geo-physics and drilling collaborations program.

“In the geological survey we use a varied and multi-disciplinary approach to assist companies in identifying new exploration opportunities.

“We certainly have a focus in getting our geologists out on the ground in under-explored areas and doing geological mapping and collecting new data such as geochemical analyses, and getting the information out to industry as soon as we can.

“We combine all that data together to compile a framework of the stratigraphy, the tectonics of an area that form the basis of regional prospectivity assessments of an area for the industry.

“We also back this field-based work up with the acquisition of regional geophysics such as magnetics, radiometrics and gravity to allow interpretation of the under-covered geology.

“And we’re moving towards an increased focus on using that geophysical data to produce 3D visualisations of under-covered geology to assist exploration targeting.”

www.iir.com.au/territory

To arrange a media pass, request more information or arrange speaker interviews contact:

Nigel Dique
Informa-IIR 02 9080 4108; 0423 024 819;
ndique@iir.com.au

Conference to review SA mining progress

South Australia is entering an exciting new developmental phase, with around $13 billion worth of minerals and energy projects under way.

Leading the charge are BHP Billiton’s $7 billion Olympic Dam project targeting copper, uranium, silver and gold and OZ Minerals’ $775 million Prominent Hill (copper, gold).In addition to copper, uranium, silver and gold, companies have major investments in mining coal, zinc, lead, silver and mineral sands.

Analysts are predicting South Australia has the resources to challenge Western Australia as the country’s leading minerals producer.

“The continued interest in South Australia for exploration reflects the confidence minerals companies have to invest in this State,” says SA Mineral Resources Development Minister Paul Holloway.

Mr Holloway will be a keynote speaker at the Mining South Australia conference in Whyalla on 2-4 December. The conference will be held at the Middleback Theatre, to cope with bigger numbers following last year’s inaugural event that packed in 200 minerals industry representatives from around Australia.

Mr Holloway says investment in exploration reached a record $551.5 million for the 12 months to the end of June, almost level pegging with Queensland, Australia’s other resource-rich boom State.

The need for supporting infrastructure and services is expected to create major opportunities for investment and jobs in mine planning, engineering, procurement and logistics, project and construction management, maintenance, technical support and environmental management.

They’ll also create demand for accommodation, social infrastructure and skills.

These issues will be discussed at Mining South Australia, where speakers from government and industry will provide insights into the outlook for South Australian mining and the economy, and what’s needed to ensure operations proceed smoothly in the interests of South Australia and the nation.

Further information: http://www.iir.com.au/sa

To arrange a media pass, request more information or arrange speaker interviews please contact: Nigel Dique Informa-IIR 02 9080 4108; 0423 024 819; ndique@iir.com.au

Comprehensive agenda for Mining the Territory

The Mining the Territory conference in Darwin, Australia on 14-15 October will provide an opportunity to debate the big challenges and opportunities in developing Northern Territory resources.

Northern Territory Resources Council CEO Scott Perkins says one of the big issues is the infrastructure necessary to support very remote operations, along with the interface between transport systems.

“During the conference you’ll hear discussion about the port, road-rail infrastructure and the interconnections.”

Mr Perkins says he’s pleased to see Dr Ian Scrimgeour, the Director of the NT Geological Survey head up the program.

“After more than 100 years of exploration, we have a fair idea of the true potential of NT mineral resources,” he says.

“But we are going to find out a lot more, with Dr Scrimgeour driving a program of geophysical surveys.”

Dr Scrimgeour’s address will be on ‘Unlocking the greenfields exploration potential of the Territory’.

“There’s enough in the program for everyone to get what they want out of it,” says Mr Perkins.

“It’s an opportunity for people to assess for themselves the very great opportunities that are available here, the great resources that back up those opportunities in the form of local companies and local people, and we hope they can see a way of investing in our great Territory.”

http://www.iir.com.au/territory/blog