DISCOVERY V I C T O R I A ’ S
E A R T H
R E S O U R C E S
J O U R N A L
F E B R U A R Y
2 0 0 0
COMMERCIAL HYDRAULICS AD HERE SEE NEW FILM
INSIDE THIS ISSUE •
NEW FIND AT STAWELL
•
DOUBLE GAS DISCOVERY
•
NEW EXPLORATION AREAS
DISCOVERY V I C T O R I A’ S
Intranet
Solutions
Internet/Intranet GIS Solutions
E A RT H
R E S O U R C E S
J O U R N A L
F E B R U A RY
2 0 0 0
contents EXPLORATION SUCCESS AT STAWELL
2
Victoria’s biggest gold mine gets a welcome lift to its reserves
ONSHORE GAS FIND
5
Two new discoveries boost gas supplies
TOP MOVES
6
Major executive changes at NRE
NEW GROWTH ON THE GOLDFIELDS
8
Marilyn Sprague leads the mine rehabilitation battle
NEW LEASES ON OFFER
10
New areas for mineral sands and petroleum exploration
GAS NETWORK EXPANDS ACROSS VIC
cover picture
17
Gas is piped into the Mildura region
GREEN GO FOR MARYVALE
Restoring Victoria’s decimated and still shrinking Box-Ironbark forest areas, which once covered the central goldfields region, is a passion of Marilyn Sprague, creator of the thriving Goldfields Revegetation business. Operating from a nine acre site outside Bendigo, the company has established dedicated plots where native species from specific areas can be grown and seed collected to ensure the survival of indigenous plants. As environmental concerns have grown so too has the business of restoring Victoria’s delicate natural vegetation, devastated by a century and a half of poor farming and mining practices and the pressure of urban development. Photograph courtesy of Perseverance Corporation and supplied by AAD Strategic Design.
18
Our newest coal mine gets environmental approval
NATIVE TITLE AGREEMENT SIGNED
20
Deal clears way for project to proceed
NEW PROPOSALS TO IMPROVE MINE SAFETY
22
A review of Victoria’s safety and health legislation
RUBBISH BLANKET MAY HIDE ORE BODIES
24
Solutions
Internet
New studies are helping local explorers
STORAGE GUIDELINES FOR MINE TAILINGS
27
New rules will help eliminate hazards
Move GIS from the back office and integrate it with vital information systems. Dryden Technologies MapXtreme solutions lets you decide whether to create a complex GIS for analysts or a simple Business Intelligence system for management.
Enterprise Information Discovery Dryden Technologies MapXtreme solutions gives your organization data mining and analysis through a
regular features A GREAT OPPORTUNITY INDUSTRY NEWS
Easy Mapping
VICTORIAN RESOURCES
accessible to all by using a Dryden
7
Minister Candy Broad is enthusiastic about Victoria’s Mineral Sands
simple web browser.
Make simple mapping more
DISCLAIMER: This publication may be of assistance to you, but the State of Victoria and its officers do not guarantee that the publication is without flaw of any kind or is wholly appropriate for your particular purposes and therefore disclaims all liability for any error, loss or other consequence which may arise from you relying on any information in this publication. Minerals and Petroleum Victoria acknowledges contributions made by private enterprise. Acceptance of these contributions, however, does not endorse or imply endorsement by the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of any product or service offered by the contributors.
12
News roundup
14
All photographs, maps, charts, tables and written information in this publication are copyright under the Copyright Act and may not be reproduced by any process whatsoever without the written permission of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment.
Maps of mineral, oil and gas resources
LICENCE REVIEW
16
The latest news on mineral exploration licences
© Minerals and Petroleum Victoria 1999.
solution with MapInfo MapXtreme. HEAD OFFICE: Suite 5, 412 Toorak Road Toorak Victoria 3142 Telephone: 03 9804 7500 Facsimile: 03 9827 0473 E-mail
[email protected] Internet www.drydentech.com
®
MapInfo Strategic Partner & Technology Partner
Published quarterly on behalf of the Minerals and Petroleum Division of the Department of Natural Resources & Environment by RBA Communications, 86 Cooloongatta Rd, Camberwell Vic 3124 Tel: (03) 9889 1094 Fax: (03) 9889 9997 EMail:
[email protected] Editorial: Rex Banks. Advertising: Watts Media, 1396 Malvern Rd, Tooronga, Vic 3146 Tel: (03) 9822 4461 Fax: (03) 9822 9192. Distribution enquires to Chandri Nambiar, Manager Marketing Development, Minerals and Petroleum Division, Department of Natural Resources & Environment, Level 7, 240 Victoria Parade, East Melbourne, Vic, 3002, Tel: (03) 9412 5061 Fax: (03) 9412 5155. Website:
Australia Post Print Publication PP349472/00128. ISSN Number 13282409.
1
DISCOVERY V I C T O R I A’ S
Intranet
Solutions
Internet/Intranet GIS Solutions
E A RT H
R E S O U R C E S
J O U R N A L
F E B R U A RY
2 0 0 0
contents EXPLORATION SUCCESS AT STAWELL
2
Victoria’s biggest gold mine gets a welcome lift to its reserves
ONSHORE GAS FIND
5
Two new discoveries boost gas supplies
TOP MOVES
6
Major executive changes at NRE
NEW GROWTH ON THE GOLDFIELDS
8
Marilyn Sprague leads the mine rehabilitation battle
NEW LEASES ON OFFER
10
New areas for mineral sands and petroleum exploration
GAS NETWORK EXPANDS ACROSS VIC
cover picture
17
Gas is piped into the Mildura region
GREEN GO FOR MARYVALE
Restoring Victoria’s decimated and still shrinking Box-Ironbark forest areas, which once covered the central goldfields region, is a passion of Marilyn Sprague, creator of the thriving Goldfields Revegetation business. Operating from a nine acre site outside Bendigo, the company has established dedicated plots where native species from specific areas can be grown and seed collected to ensure the survival of indigenous plants. As environmental concerns have grown so too has the business of restoring Victoria’s delicate natural vegetation, devastated by a century and a half of poor farming and mining practices and the pressure of urban development. Photograph courtesy of Perseverance Corporation and supplied by AAD Strategic Design.
18
Our newest coal mine gets environmental approval
NATIVE TITLE AGREEMENT SIGNED
20
Deal clears way for project to proceed
NEW PROPOSALS TO IMPROVE MINE SAFETY
22
A review of Victoria’s safety and health legislation
RUBBISH BLANKET MAY HIDE ORE BODIES
24
Solutions
Internet
New studies are helping local explorers
STORAGE GUIDELINES FOR MINE TAILINGS
27
New rules will help eliminate hazards
Move GIS from the back office and integrate it with vital information systems. Dryden Technologies MapXtreme solutions lets you decide whether to create a complex GIS for analysts or a simple Business Intelligence system for management.
Enterprise Information Discovery Dryden Technologies MapXtreme solutions gives your organization data mining and analysis through a
regular features A GREAT OPPORTUNITY INDUSTRY NEWS
Easy Mapping
VICTORIAN RESOURCES
accessible to all by using a Dryden
7
Minister Candy Broad is enthusiastic about Victoria’s Mineral Sands
simple web browser.
Make simple mapping more
DISCLAIMER: This publication may be of assistance to you, but the State of Victoria and its officers do not guarantee that the publication is without flaw of any kind or is wholly appropriate for your particular purposes and therefore disclaims all liability for any error, loss or other consequence which may arise from you relying on any information in this publication. Minerals and Petroleum Victoria acknowledges contributions made by private enterprise. Acceptance of these contributions, however, does not endorse or imply endorsement by the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of any product or service offered by the contributors.
12
News roundup
14
All photographs, maps, charts, tables and written information in this publication are copyright under the Copyright Act and may not be reproduced by any process whatsoever without the written permission of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment.
Maps of mineral, oil and gas resources
LICENCE REVIEW
16
The latest news on mineral exploration licences
© Minerals and Petroleum Victoria 1999.
solution with MapInfo MapXtreme. HEAD OFFICE: Suite 5, 412 Toorak Road Toorak Victoria 3142 Telephone: 03 9804 7500 Facsimile: 03 9827 0473 E-mail [email protected] Internet www.drydentech.com
®
MapInfo Strategic Partner & Technology Partner
Published quarterly on behalf of the Minerals and Petroleum Division of the Department of Natural Resources & Environment by RBA Communications, 86 Cooloongatta Rd, Camberwell Vic 3124 Tel: (03) 9889 1094 Fax: (03) 9889 9997 EMail: [email protected] Editorial: Rex Banks. Advertising: Watts Media, 1396 Malvern Rd, Tooronga, Vic 3146 Tel: (03) 9822 4461 Fax: (03) 9822 9192. Distribution enquires to Chandri Nambiar, Manager Marketing Development, Minerals and Petroleum Division, Department of Natural Resources & Environment, Level 7, 240 Victoria Parade, East Melbourne, Vic, 3002, Tel: (03) 9412 5061 Fax: (03) 9412 5155. Website: Australia Post Print Publication PP349472/00128. ISSN Number 13282409.
1
SPECIAL FEATURE
Exploration success at Stawell 1992 has added 1.2 million ounces of gold resources at a discovery cost of $8.60 oz.
FIGURE 1: Magdala Mine Cross Section
Stawell Gold Mines is now producing more than 90,000 oz of gold per year and has proved and probable reserves to sustain a further five years of underground mining. Long-term studies incorporating current inferred resources from underground and recently delineated surface resources suggest the possibility of a mine life in excess of 10 years. Ore from Magdala is produced from a series of sub-parallel lodes hosted by faults/ shear zones on the western flank of a large basalt antiform — the Magdala Anticline.
GOLD GEOLOGISTS, JON DUGDALE AND DEAN FREDERICKSEN, REVIEW SOME EXCITING DEVELOPMENTS AT STAWELL, VICTORIA’S BIGGEST GOLD MINE.
A
major exploration success at the Stawell Gold Mine in north-western Victoria could double its previously known ore resources and allow underground mining to continue well beyond the present expected life of the mine. Exploration in the past year has produced outstanding results below the South Fault, previously considered the base of the known gold ore resource at the mine.
which was commenced in 1982 and has now reached a depth of 750 m below surface. Mineralisation at Stawell is hosted by Cambro-Ordovician rocks at the western margin of the Lachlan Fold Belt.
Above: An aerial view looking west over the township of Stawell with the mine, treatment plant and other site facilities in the foreground.
Goldfield is 4.7 million ounces (M/oz).
Exploration tenements extend 100 km northwest from the mine and cover a continuous corridor of similar lithologies under a deepening Murray Basin cover.
This includes pre-1926 alluvial and hard rock production of 2.7 M/oz, post-1984 production of 0.9 M/oz and current reserves and resources estimated at 1.17 M/oz.
The overall endowment of the Stawell
Discovery since acquisition of the project in
These lodes, the most important of which are the Central Lode and the basalt contact lodes, are intimately associated with an intensely deformed package of volcanogenic sedimentary rocks. Historical production was predominantly from high-grade ‘Hanging-wall reefs’ which are hosted by the Stawell Fault. Ore shoots developed within the Magdala Lodes generally plunge steeply north, but are constrained within a moderate northerly plunging corridor bounded by the Scotchmans Fault, above and the South Fault, below (Figure 1). This corridor has been the main focus of exploration since acquisition of the mine in 1992 and currently contains nearly all of the resources outlined to date.
The discovery of mineralisation under the South Fault is the culmination of a detailed exercise involving the examination of old data, detailed structural mapping, magnetic modelling and diamond drilling.
A large-scale exploration program has recently commenced to test the deeper extensions of this corridor below 800 m vertical depth.
Drilling results indicate the potential to double the endowment of the deposit in future years, subject to the economic constraint of depth below surface.
The first intersection of this program was 16.7 m @ 6.5 grams of gold per tonne (Au/t).
The Stawell Gold Mine is located 250 km west of Melbourne in Victoria’s Wimmera region.
It has long been recognised that the Magdala system, as we know it, is terminated by the South Fault at depth.
Stawell Gold Mines Pty Ltd (SGM), which operates the Stawell Gold Mine and conducts exploration on surrounding tenements, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Mining Project Investors Pty Ltd (MPI) and the manager of a joint venture between MPI Gold Pty Ltd and Pittston Mineral Ventures of Australia Pty Ltd The mine is based on the Magdala Decline,
Since the beginning of the modern era of mining at Stawell several structural studies have investigated the possibility that the South Fault truncated a much larger Magdala mineralised system and that the remainder of this system (lower block) lay unseen either to the east, west or at depth below the upper block.
Right: Stawell Gold Mine’s ore milling and leach plant could be utilised well into the future if the new ore discovery translates into substantial new reserves.
Previous work by Bob Watchorn, Marty Lenard, Tapio Koistinen and others is acknowledged as providing a strong structural framework upon which recent conclusions 2
are based. Previous drilling tested the area under the South Fault at the south end of the mine, without success.
The extensive underground workings within the Magdala lode extract ore from a series of subparallel lodes hosted by faults and shear zones on the western flank of a large basalt antiform known as the Magdala anticline.
At that stage it was concluded that the lower block was either offset on the fault more substantially than modelled, lay at great depth, or didn’t exist.
end of a doubly plunging dome which may plunge south under the South Fault.
Several factors have recently combined to revitalise interest in the concept that an ore block existed below the South Fault.
Drilling at the southern end of the mine would therefore have over-shot the southerly plunge of the lower block.
Conceptual work presented the possibility that the lower block may in fact be the southern
Until recently, critical underground exposures of the Magdala System truncated by the South
3
SPECIAL FEATURE
Exploration success at Stawell 1992 has added 1.2 million ounces of gold resources at a discovery cost of $8.60 oz.
FIGURE 1: Magdala Mine Cross Section
Stawell Gold Mines is now producing more than 90,000 oz of gold per year and has proved and probable reserves to sustain a further five years of underground mining. Long-term studies incorporating current inferred resources from underground and recently delineated surface resources suggest the possibility of a mine life in excess of 10 years. Ore from Magdala is produced from a series of sub-parallel lodes hosted by faults/ shear zones on the western flank of a large basalt antiform — the Magdala Anticline.
GOLD GEOLOGISTS, JON DUGDALE AND DEAN FREDERICKSEN, REVIEW SOME EXCITING DEVELOPMENTS AT STAWELL, VICTORIA’S BIGGEST GOLD MINE.
A
major exploration success at the Stawell Gold Mine in north-western Victoria could double its previously known ore resources and allow underground mining to continue well beyond the present expected life of the mine. Exploration in the past year has produced outstanding results below the South Fault, previously considered the base of the known gold ore resource at the mine.
which was commenced in 1982 and has now reached a depth of 750 m below surface. Mineralisation at Stawell is hosted by Cambro-Ordovician rocks at the western margin of the Lachlan Fold Belt.
Above: An aerial view looking west over the township of Stawell with the mine, treatment plant and other site facilities in the foreground.
Goldfield is 4.7 million ounces (M/oz).
Exploration tenements extend 100 km northwest from the mine and cover a continuous corridor of similar lithologies under a deepening Murray Basin cover.
This includes pre-1926 alluvial and hard rock production of 2.7 M/oz, post-1984 production of 0.9 M/oz and current reserves and resources estimated at 1.17 M/oz.
The overall endowment of the Stawell
Discovery since acquisition of the project in
These lodes, the most important of which are the Central Lode and the basalt contact lodes, are intimately associated with an intensely deformed package of volcanogenic sedimentary rocks. Historical production was predominantly from high-grade ‘Hanging-wall reefs’ which are hosted by the Stawell Fault. Ore shoots developed within the Magdala Lodes generally plunge steeply north, but are constrained within a moderate northerly plunging corridor bounded by the Scotchmans Fault, above and the South Fault, below (Figure 1). This corridor has been the main focus of exploration since acquisition of the mine in 1992 and currently contains nearly all of the resources outlined to date.
The discovery of mineralisation under the South Fault is the culmination of a detailed exercise involving the examination of old data, detailed structural mapping, magnetic modelling and diamond drilling.
A large-scale exploration program has recently commenced to test the deeper extensions of this corridor below 800 m vertical depth.
Drilling results indicate the potential to double the endowment of the deposit in future years, subject to the economic constraint of depth below surface.
The first intersection of this program was 16.7 m @ 6.5 grams of gold per tonne (Au/t).
The Stawell Gold Mine is located 250 km west of Melbourne in Victoria’s Wimmera region.
It has long been recognised that the Magdala system, as we know it, is terminated by the South Fault at depth.
Stawell Gold Mines Pty Ltd (SGM), which operates the Stawell Gold Mine and conducts exploration on surrounding tenements, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Mining Project Investors Pty Ltd (MPI) and the manager of a joint venture between MPI Gold Pty Ltd and Pittston Mineral Ventures of Australia Pty Ltd The mine is based on the Magdala Decline,
Since the beginning of the modern era of mining at Stawell several structural studies have investigated the possibility that the South Fault truncated a much larger Magdala mineralised system and that the remainder of this system (lower block) lay unseen either to the east, west or at depth below the upper block.
Right: Stawell Gold Mine’s ore milling and leach plant could be utilised well into the future if the new ore discovery translates into substantial new reserves.
Previous work by Bob Watchorn, Marty Lenard, Tapio Koistinen and others is acknowledged as providing a strong structural framework upon which recent conclusions 2
are based. Previous drilling tested the area under the South Fault at the south end of the mine, without success.
The extensive underground workings within the Magdala lode extract ore from a series of subparallel lodes hosted by faults and shear zones on the western flank of a large basalt antiform known as the Magdala anticline.
At that stage it was concluded that the lower block was either offset on the fault more substantially than modelled, lay at great depth, or didn’t exist.
end of a doubly plunging dome which may plunge south under the South Fault.
Several factors have recently combined to revitalise interest in the concept that an ore block existed below the South Fault.
Drilling at the southern end of the mine would therefore have over-shot the southerly plunge of the lower block.
Conceptual work presented the possibility that the lower block may in fact be the southern
Until recently, critical underground exposures of the Magdala System truncated by the South
3
SPECIAL FEATURE
GAS DEVELOPMENTS
Left: Stawell Gold Mine’s primary ore crusher.
Fault have not been available. Examination of these exposures has allowed a detailed structural analysis of the South Fault to be carried out.
Diamond drilling to test the concept was started on June 19 last year on cross section 320N.
Direct observations of the fault confirmed the dislocation of the Magdala ore shoots by the fault (or series of faults).
The drillhole intersected volcanogenic sediments and basalt immediately below the South Fault at 910 m RL, producing an intercept of 3.2 m @ 4 g Au/t.
The mine has now reached 750 m below surface and recent engineering studies indicate that it is feasible to extend the decline mine to below 800 metres depth.
A second hole, drilled further east, intersected basalt below the South Fault. A third hole angled between these holes intersected three repeated zones of mineralised volcanogenics with visible gold, located below the South Fault on basalt contacts.
Management decided that the important concept of a ‘repetition’ of the Magdala ore system should be revisited as a priority task. Detailed structural studies on the underground South Fault exposures by University of Melbourne postdoctoral, Dr John Miller, indicated that the South Fault and related structures evolved from a north over south (along strike) movement sense to a northeast over southwest (across strike) movement sense. Depending on the relative degrees of movement, it was concluded that the lower block should lie underneath and to the north of Magdala as we knew it.
Analytical results include intersections of 16.2 m @ 5.l5 g Au/t, 19.0 m @ 7.21 g Au/t and 2.85 m @ 7.12 g Au/t. The hanging-wall of these zones has not yet been intersected.
allowed a best case scenario for the position of the lower block to be constructed.
Magnetic modelling, combined with re-construction of the movement history of the fault,
Various presentation methods were used to illustrate the point, including a sliced watermelon, a wooden model and a series of interpreted cross sections at 1:5,000 scale.
Below: A fleet of modern Tamrock Toro 500 haul trucks carry ore to the surface treatment facilities from the underground workings at the Magdala orebody at Stawell allowing the mine to produce around 90,000 ounces of gold a year.
The best case target for the location of the continuation of the Magdala mineralisation below the South Fault was selected as –900 m RL and at least 300 m east of the upper basalt contact on section 320N (Figure 3).
The only questions were how far; how deep?
This is a very significant technical success and further drilling is planned to define the extent of economic mineralisation below the South Fault.
F O R M O R E I N F O R M AT I O N C O N TA C T:
Jon Dugdale, Senior Gold Geologist, Mining Project Investors or Dean Fredericksen, Chief Geologist, Stawell Gold Mines Telephone (03) 5358 1022
Onshore gas find V
ictoria’s onshore gas inventory has been substantially increased with two new gas discoveries in the Port Campbell region of western Victoria.
Boral Energy and Santos Ltd have both been successful with wildcat drilling in recent months. New reserves from discoveries in the two exploration wells will increase Victoria’s gas reserves and will improve the security of Victoria’s gas supply by providing an alternative source to Gippsland Basin gas supplied from Bass Strait. The first of the new discoveries came from Boral Energy Ltd’s Wild Dog Road-1 exploration well drilled near Port Campbell late last year. Boral Energy produced a substantial gas flow from the Wild Dog Road well located in permit PPL 1 in the Otway Basin. The exploration well, which was spudded on December 8, lies amidst other producing gas fields and is 8 km north north-west of Port Campbell and just one kilometre from the North Paarratte gas field, which is currently in production. Boral Energy told the Australian Stock Exchange in December that mud log, wireline log and pressure data recovered from the well demonstrated the presence of a gas accumulation in the Waarre Formation unit C reservoir. The major gas intersection was between a depth of 1587 metres to 1607 metres indicating a gross hydrocarbon column of 20 metres. Subsequent production tests produced substantial gas flows at a rate of between 15 and 20 terajoules a day and the well was expected to be brought into production during January.
ry of gas production wells operated by Santos in the Port Campbell area. Penryn 1 is located within a cluster of gas discoveries. It lies 2.4 kilometres south east of the Fenton Creek field and three kilometres north of the recently completed Heytesbury gas facility. The Heytesbury gas processing facility currently treats gas from the Mylor 1 and Fenton Creek 1 wells. Santos, which owns 100 per cent of PEP 108, is now planning to drill more wells in the permit in a bid to locate extra commercial gas fields. Santos began gas sales in Victoria in July last year when the Heytesbury gas processing facility came on line. That followed Santos’ first sale of gas into Victoria from South Australia utilising the pipeline linking Victoria and NSW via
Given its close proximity to existing gas pipelines and processing facilities, even a small gas accumulation in the Wild Dog Road field is likely to be commercially viable.
Wagga Wagga and Albury. The Victorian Government is keen to seen new local gas fields developed to provide increased security of supply for the state. A network of new gas storage and transmission pipelines is steadily being developed across Victoria through Australia-wide initiatives to de-regulate the gas industry and create a truly national gas market. By September this year Victoria's second major interstate gas pipeline link will be completed when Duke Energy finishes the East Coast pipeline, designed to deliver gas from Victoria’s Bass Strait into the NSW and Queensland markets.
The onshore Otway Basin in Victoria’s Port Campbell region is becoming an important gas producer as more fields are being discovered through a surge in drilling interest.
The Santos discovery came from the Penryn 1 wildcat well located three kilometres north east of the Wild Dog Road-1 well drilled by Boral. Penryn 1, which lies in permit PEP 108, intersected a 20 metre gross gas column in the Cretaceous age Waarre sandstone formation, the same formation which produced gas in the Wild Dog Road-1 well. Penryn-1 reached a total depth of 1823 metres and has been cased and suspended as a future production well to add to the growing invento-
4
The Wild Dog Road-1 wildcat gas discovery well is in the vicinity of the North Paarratte gas field which produced this spectacular flare during earlier testing.
5
SPECIAL FEATURE
GAS DEVELOPMENTS
Left: Stawell Gold Mine’s primary ore crusher.
Fault have not been available. Examination of these exposures has allowed a detailed structural analysis of the South Fault to be carried out.
Diamond drilling to test the concept was started on June 19 last year on cross section 320N.
Direct observations of the fault confirmed the dislocation of the Magdala ore shoots by the fault (or series of faults).
The drillhole intersected volcanogenic sediments and basalt immediately below the South Fault at 910 m RL, producing an intercept of 3.2 m @ 4 g Au/t.
The mine has now reached 750 m below surface and recent engineering studies indicate that it is feasible to extend the decline mine to below 800 metres depth.
A second hole, drilled further east, intersected basalt below the South Fault. A third hole angled between these holes intersected three repeated zones of mineralised volcanogenics with visible gold, located below the South Fault on basalt contacts.
Management decided that the important concept of a ‘repetition’ of the Magdala ore system should be revisited as a priority task. Detailed structural studies on the underground South Fault exposures by University of Melbourne postdoctoral, Dr John Miller, indicated that the South Fault and related structures evolved from a north over south (along strike) movement sense to a northeast over southwest (across strike) movement sense. Depending on the relative degrees of movement, it was concluded that the lower block should lie underneath and to the north of Magdala as we knew it.
Analytical results include intersections of 16.2 m @ 5.l5 g Au/t, 19.0 m @ 7.21 g Au/t and 2.85 m @ 7.12 g Au/t. The hanging-wall of these zones has not yet been intersected.
allowed a best case scenario for the position of the lower block to be constructed.
Magnetic modelling, combined with re-construction of the movement history of the fault,
Various presentation methods were used to illustrate the point, including a sliced watermelon, a wooden model and a series of interpreted cross sections at 1:5,000 scale.
Below: A fleet of modern Tamrock Toro 500 haul trucks carry ore to the surface treatment facilities from the underground workings at the Magdala orebody at Stawell allowing the mine to produce around 90,000 ounces of gold a year.
The best case target for the location of the continuation of the Magdala mineralisation below the South Fault was selected as –900 m RL and at least 300 m east of the upper basalt contact on section 320N (Figure 3).
The only questions were how far; how deep?
This is a very significant technical success and further drilling is planned to define the extent of economic mineralisation below the South Fault.
F O R M O R E I N F O R M AT I O N C O N TA C T:
Jon Dugdale, Senior Gold Geologist, Mining Project Investors or Dean Fredericksen, Chief Geologist, Stawell Gold Mines Telephone (03) 5358 1022
Onshore gas find V
ictoria’s onshore gas inventory has been substantially increased with two new gas discoveries in the Port Campbell region of western Victoria.
Boral Energy and Santos Ltd have both been successful with wildcat drilling in recent months. New reserves from discoveries in the two exploration wells will increase Victoria’s gas reserves and will improve the security of Victoria’s gas supply by providing an alternative source to Gippsland Basin gas supplied from Bass Strait. The first of the new discoveries came from Boral Energy Ltd’s Wild Dog Road-1 exploration well drilled near Port Campbell late last year. Boral Energy produced a substantial gas flow from the Wild Dog Road well located in permit PPL 1 in the Otway Basin. The exploration well, which was spudded on December 8, lies amidst other producing gas fields and is 8 km north north-west of Port Campbell and just one kilometre from the North Paarratte gas field, which is currently in production. Boral Energy told the Australian Stock Exchange in December that mud log, wireline log and pressure data recovered from the well demonstrated the presence of a gas accumulation in the Waarre Formation unit C reservoir. The major gas intersection was between a depth of 1587 metres to 1607 metres indicating a gross hydrocarbon column of 20 metres. Subsequent production tests produced substantial gas flows at a rate of between 15 and 20 terajoules a day and the well was expected to be brought into production during January.
ry of gas production wells operated by Santos in the Port Campbell area. Penryn 1 is located within a cluster of gas discoveries. It lies 2.4 kilometres south east of the Fenton Creek field and three kilometres north of the recently completed Heytesbury gas facility. The Heytesbury gas processing facility currently treats gas from the Mylor 1 and Fenton Creek 1 wells. Santos, which owns 100 per cent of PEP 108, is now planning to drill more wells in the permit in a bid to locate extra commercial gas fields. Santos began gas sales in Victoria in July last year when the Heytesbury gas processing facility came on line. That followed Santos’ first sale of gas into Victoria from South Australia utilising the pipeline linking Victoria and NSW via
Given its close proximity to existing gas pipelines and processing facilities, even a small gas accumulation in the Wild Dog Road field is likely to be commercially viable.
Wagga Wagga and Albury. The Victorian Government is keen to seen new local gas fields developed to provide increased security of supply for the state. A network of new gas storage and transmission pipelines is steadily being developed across Victoria through Australia-wide initiatives to de-regulate the gas industry and create a truly national gas market. By September this year Victoria's second major interstate gas pipeline link will be completed when Duke Energy finishes the East Coast pipeline, designed to deliver gas from Victoria’s Bass Strait into the NSW and Queensland markets.
The onshore Otway Basin in Victoria’s Port Campbell region is becoming an important gas producer as more fields are being discovered through a surge in drilling interest.
The Santos discovery came from the Penryn 1 wildcat well located three kilometres north east of the Wild Dog Road-1 well drilled by Boral. Penryn 1, which lies in permit PEP 108, intersected a 20 metre gross gas column in the Cretaceous age Waarre sandstone formation, the same formation which produced gas in the Wild Dog Road-1 well. Penryn-1 reached a total depth of 1823 metres and has been cased and suspended as a future production well to add to the growing invento-
4
The Wild Dog Road-1 wildcat gas discovery well is in the vicinity of the North Paarratte gas field which produced this spectacular flare during earlier testing.
5
REGULAR FEATURE DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT MINERALS AND PETROLEUM CONTACT LIST: MINERALS BUSINESS CENTRE: Level 8, 240 Victoria Parade, East Melbourne Vic 3002 Australia Tel: +613 9412 5020 Fax: +613 9412 5150
MINERALS AND PETROLEUM DIVISION: Fax: (03) 9412 7834 David Lea Executive Director Minerals and Petroleum Telephone: (03) 9637 8535 David Wallish Business Manager Telephone: (03) 9637 8535 MINERALS BUSINESS CENTRE: Fax: (03) 9412 5150 Kim Ricketts Client Services Officer Telephone: (03) 9412 5103 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY VICTORIA: Fax: (03) 9412 5155 Phil Roberts Manager Geological Survey Victoria Telephone: (03) 9412 5035 Alan Willocks Manager - Geophysics Telephone: (03) 9412 5131 Peter O’Shea Manager Geological Mapping Telephone: (03) 9412 5093 Roger Buckley Manager Mineral Resources Telephone: (03) 9412 5025 Graham Gooding Regional Manager Ballarat Telephone: (03) 53 336 521
Tom Dickson, manager of Geological Survey of Victoria retires
HEAD OFFICE: Level 15, 8 Nicholson Street, East Melbourne Vic 3002 Australia Tel: +613 9637 8535 Fax: +613 9637 8155
T
om Dickson, Manager of The Geological Survey of Victoria, within the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, will retire from the department in February. He will be replaced by Phil Roberts.
Kourosh Mehin Acting Manager Petroleum Resources Telephone: (03) 9412 5074
During his more than five years as GSV Manager, Tom Dickson guided the massive the Victorian Initiative for Minerals and Petroleum (VIMP), the biggest geological program in the state for decades. The program has been extended into the VIMP 2001 program with additional mapping and geological studies over large parts of the state being conducted.
Mike Woollands Manager Basin Studies Telephone: (03) 9412 5135
Tom Dickson
Maher Megallaa Manager Acreage Release Telephone: (03) 9412 5081
Mr Dickson began his career with the NSW Department of Mines as a cadet from 1963 to 1967 after growing up in Broken Hill, the cradle of the Australian mining industry.
Bob Harms Manager Petroleum Information Telephone: (03) 9412 5053
In 1977, he joined CRA Ltd (now Rio Tinto Australia) as chief geologist at Broken Hill, later appointed as chief geologist of the company’s operations on the west coast of Tasmania, eventually moving to Melbourne where he became chief geologist for Victoria and Tasmania. In Victoria, CRA was principally involved in the search for viable mineral sands deposits, locating the rich WIM and WIM 150 deposits near Horsham.
Geoff Collins Manager Petroleum Projects Telephone: (03) 9637 8531 MINERALS AND PETROLEUM REGULATIONS: Fax: (03) 9412 5152
He joined the Geological Survey of Victoria in November 1994 where he supervised the VIMP program. During this period, a number of significant technical advances were made by the GSV including the recognition of extensions of the Lachlan fold belt in Victoria from Tasmania and a changed perception of the formation of the Grampians in the state’s west.
Rob King Manager Minerals and Petroleum Telephone: (03) 9412 5069 George Buckland Manager Minerals and Petroleum Tenements Telephone: (03) 9412 4778
Phil Roberts
INFORMATION: Janne Bonnett Manager Library Telephone: (03) 9412 5022 Fax: (03) 9412 5157
Mr Roberts was formerly with the GSV for eight years, mainly in geological mapping before moving into the fields of minerals policy, management of drilling operations, environmental management of quarrying and mining and minerals development.
Mike Taylor joins federal department
M
Guy Hamilton Regional Manager Bendigo Telephone: (03) 5430 4531 Chandri Nambiar Manager Marketing Development Telephone: (03) 9412 5061 Fax: (03) 9412 5155 PETROLEUM DEVELOPMENT: Fax: (03) 9412 5156 Kathy Hill Manager Petroleum Developments Telephone: (03) 9637 8530
6
ike Taylor, Secretary of the Department of Natural Resources and Energy, has resigned to take up the position as Secretary of the Commonwealth Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.
Wemen gets the go-ahead A
fter much speculation on the great promise of mineral sands in the Murray Basin, we now have a very significant mining project going ahead. The announcement by RZM Pty Ltd and Sons of Gwalia Ltd that the Wemen project will proceed is great news for regional Victoria and, hopefully, the start of major new Victorian industry. Wemen will be the first mineral sands development in the Murray Basin and is warmly welcomed by the Government. I hope the Wemen project will be a catalyst for further developments in the Murray Basin. Importantly, the project go-ahead demonstrates that mineral sands developments in the Basin can be commercially viable. The prospects for new mines and associated infrastructure and processing facilities in Victoria are now very good. Such developments can only benefit rural and regional economies and employment, by providing sustainable industrial development. Even mining in the New South Wales and South Australian sections of the Basin may ultimately benefit Victoria, either as an infrastructure provider or as a site for processing facilities.
Iluka’s extensive exploration program continues to build on earlier discoveries in the Ouyen region; similarly RZM is exploring over a broad area to add to its resource inventory; Basin Minerals has identified a number of deposits, with its Douglas Project to the west of Horsham showing particular promise; and Minotaur has recently announced encouraging intersections in the Casterton area. As a further boost to exploration in the Victorian section of the Basin, a number of highly prospective areas will be put out to tender for exploration licences in April. The areas include the WIM 150 & 100 deposits earlier identified by Rio Tinto and extensive areas in the Mallee and Wimmera, recently required to be relinquished by Iluka. Already there has been a good deal of interest in the release of these areas. Further details of the tender are to be found in this edition (page 10). Meanwhile, a broad-ranging study of the future infrastructure requirements of a substantial mineral sands industry in the Murray Basin is underway. The study will look at factors affecting future development, including water resources, transport, energy supply, telecommunications, social infrastructure,
FROM LAST ISSUE
Candy Broad Minister for Energy and Resources
My Department will continue to provide advice, assistance and geological data to facilitate mineral sands developments
He has been replaced temporarily by Richard Rawson who will be Acting Secretary. Terry Healy will continue as Deputy Secretary Policy while Michonne van Rees is Acting Deputy Secretary Operations. Mr Taylor left DNRE in December after 30 years with the department in its various forms after starting in December 1967. “The last three years have been exciting times and all NRE staff members can be pleased to have contributed to our significant achievements,” Mr Taylor said.
The Government is strongly committed to the revitalization of country Victoria. Accordingly, it strongly supports new countrybased industries such as mineral sands, provided of course that acceptable environmental and community outcomes are achieved by those industries. My Department will continue to provide advice, assistance and geological data to facilitate mineral sands developments.
“As we enter the new century I believe NRE will be well placed to face the many exciting and demanding challenges that lie ahead. I am confident that as a management agency responsible for natural resource management, NRE is taking a progressive and integrated approach in meeting government priorities.”
While the Wemen announcement is very important, it is by no means the only focus of activity in the Murray Basin. Exploration in the Victorian section of the Basin is proceeding apace and with some excellent results.
environmental priorities and land access. Victoria initiated the study, which is being carried out jointly with New South Wales, South Australia, the Commonwealth and a number of mining and exploration companies operating in the Basin. It is most encouraging to see such co-operation between a number of governments and industry in such an important area of mutual interest. I look forward to the completed study forming a basis for further public and private sector infrastructure projects which will facilitate the development of the valuable mineral resources of the Murray Basin. 7
REGULAR FEATURE DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT MINERALS AND PETROLEUM CONTACT LIST: MINERALS BUSINESS CENTRE: Level 8, 240 Victoria Parade, East Melbourne Vic 3002 Australia Tel: +613 9412 5020 Fax: +613 9412 5150
MINERALS AND PETROLEUM DIVISION: Fax: (03) 9412 7834 David Lea Executive Director Minerals and Petroleum Telephone: (03) 9637 8535 David Wallish Business Manager Telephone: (03) 9637 8535 MINERALS BUSINESS CENTRE: Fax: (03) 9412 5150 Kim Ricketts Client Services Officer Telephone: (03) 9412 5103 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY VICTORIA: Fax: (03) 9412 5155 Phil Roberts Manager Geological Survey Victoria Telephone: (03) 9412 5035 Alan Willocks Manager - Geophysics Telephone: (03) 9412 5131 Peter O’Shea Manager Geological Mapping Telephone: (03) 9412 5093 Roger Buckley Manager Mineral Resources Telephone: (03) 9412 5025 Graham Gooding Regional Manager Ballarat Telephone: (03) 53 336 521
Tom Dickson, manager of Geological Survey of Victoria retires
HEAD OFFICE: Level 15, 8 Nicholson Street, East Melbourne Vic 3002 Australia Tel: +613 9637 8535 Fax: +613 9637 8155
T
om Dickson, Manager of The Geological Survey of Victoria, within the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, will retire from the department in February. He will be replaced by Phil Roberts.
Kourosh Mehin Acting Manager Petroleum Resources Telephone: (03) 9412 5074
During his more than five years as GSV Manager, Tom Dickson guided the massive the Victorian Initiative for Minerals and Petroleum (VIMP), the biggest geological program in the state for decades. The program has been extended into the VIMP 2001 program with additional mapping and geological studies over large parts of the state being conducted.
Mike Woollands Manager Basin Studies Telephone: (03) 9412 5135
Tom Dickson
Maher Megallaa Manager Acreage Release Telephone: (03) 9412 5081
Mr Dickson began his career with the NSW Department of Mines as a cadet from 1963 to 1967 after growing up in Broken Hill, the cradle of the Australian mining industry.
Bob Harms Manager Petroleum Information Telephone: (03) 9412 5053
In 1977, he joined CRA Ltd (now Rio Tinto Australia) as chief geologist at Broken Hill, later appointed as chief geologist of the company’s operations on the west coast of Tasmania, eventually moving to Melbourne where he became chief geologist for Victoria and Tasmania. In Victoria, CRA was principally involved in the search for viable mineral sands deposits, locating the rich WIM and WIM 150 deposits near Horsham.
Geoff Collins Manager Petroleum Projects Telephone: (03) 9637 8531 MINERALS AND PETROLEUM REGULATIONS: Fax: (03) 9412 5152
He joined the Geological Survey of Victoria in November 1994 where he supervised the VIMP program. During this period, a number of significant technical advances were made by the GSV including the recognition of extensions of the Lachlan fold belt in Victoria from Tasmania and a changed perception of the formation of the Grampians in the state’s west.
Rob King Manager Minerals and Petroleum Telephone: (03) 9412 5069 George Buckland Manager Minerals and Petroleum Tenements Telephone: (03) 9412 4778
Phil Roberts
INFORMATION: Janne Bonnett Manager Library Telephone: (03) 9412 5022 Fax: (03) 9412 5157
Mr Roberts was formerly with the GSV for eight years, mainly in geological mapping before moving into the fields of minerals policy, management of drilling operations, environmental management of quarrying and mining and minerals development.
Mike Taylor joins federal department
M
Guy Hamilton Regional Manager Bendigo Telephone: (03) 5430 4531 Chandri Nambiar Manager Marketing Development Telephone: (03) 9412 5061 Fax: (03) 9412 5155 PETROLEUM DEVELOPMENT: Fax: (03) 9412 5156 Kathy Hill Manager Petroleum Developments Telephone: (03) 9637 8530
6
ike Taylor, Secretary of the Department of Natural Resources and Energy, has resigned to take up the position as Secretary of the Commonwealth Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.
Wemen gets the go-ahead A
fter much speculation on the great promise of mineral sands in the Murray Basin, we now have a very significant mining project going ahead. The announcement by RZM Pty Ltd and Sons of Gwalia Ltd that the Wemen project will proceed is great news for regional Victoria and, hopefully, the start of major new Victorian industry. Wemen will be the first mineral sands development in the Murray Basin and is warmly welcomed by the Government. I hope the Wemen project will be a catalyst for further developments in the Murray Basin. Importantly, the project go-ahead demonstrates that mineral sands developments in the Basin can be commercially viable. The prospects for new mines and associated infrastructure and processing facilities in Victoria are now very good. Such developments can only benefit rural and regional economies and employment, by providing sustainable industrial development. Even mining in the New South Wales and South Australian sections of the Basin may ultimately benefit Victoria, either as an infrastructure provider or as a site for processing facilities.
Iluka’s extensive exploration program continues to build on earlier discoveries in the Ouyen region; similarly RZM is exploring over a broad area to add to its resource inventory; Basin Minerals has identified a number of deposits, with its Douglas Project to the west of Horsham showing particular promise; and Minotaur has recently announced encouraging intersections in the Casterton area. As a further boost to exploration in the Victorian section of the Basin, a number of highly prospective areas will be put out to tender for exploration licences in April. The areas include the WIM 150 & 100 deposits earlier identified by Rio Tinto and extensive areas in the Mallee and Wimmera, recently required to be relinquished by Iluka. Already there has been a good deal of interest in the release of these areas. Further details of the tender are to be found in this edition (page 10). Meanwhile, a broad-ranging study of the future infrastructure requirements of a substantial mineral sands industry in the Murray Basin is underway. The study will look at factors affecting future development, including water resources, transport, energy supply, telecommunications, social infrastructure,
Candy Broad Minister for Energy and Resources
My Department will continue to provide advice, assistance and geological data to facilitate mineral sands developments
He has been replaced temporarily by Richard Rawson who will be Acting Secretary. Terry Healy will continue as Deputy Secretary Policy while Michonne van Rees is Acting Deputy Secretary Operations. Mr Taylor left DNRE in December after 30 years with the department in its various forms after starting in December 1967. “The last three years have been exciting times and all NRE staff members can be pleased to have contributed to our significant achievements,” Mr Taylor said.
The Government is strongly committed to the revitalization of country Victoria. Accordingly, it strongly supports new countrybased industries such as mineral sands, provided of course that acceptable environmental and community outcomes are achieved by those industries. My Department will continue to provide advice, assistance and geological data to facilitate mineral sands developments.
“As we enter the new century I believe NRE will be well placed to face the many exciting and demanding challenges that lie ahead. I am confident that as a management agency responsible for natural resource management, NRE is taking a progressive and integrated approach in meeting government priorities.”
While the Wemen announcement is very important, it is by no means the only focus of activity in the Murray Basin. Exploration in the Victorian section of the Basin is proceeding apace and with some excellent results.
environmental priorities and land access. Victoria initiated the study, which is being carried out jointly with New South Wales, South Australia, the Commonwealth and a number of mining and exploration companies operating in the Basin. It is most encouraging to see such co-operation between a number of governments and industry in such an important area of mutual interest. I look forward to the completed study forming a basis for further public and private sector infrastructure projects which will facilitate the development of the valuable mineral resources of the Murray Basin. 7
ENVIRONMENT
New growth on the goldfields Marilyn Sprague has taken the goal of environmental rehabilitation to new heights with the successful development of a major business aimed squarely at restoring land ravaged by a century and a half of farming, mining and urban development.
ing companies is still something of a sidelight; her burning ambition is to protect and expand Victoria’s box/ironbark forests and repair the damaged land of the state. Eroded gullies, creek washaways and degraded soils denuded of tree or vegetation cover is an appalling commentary on 150 years of poor agricultural practices. “It’s going to take an enormous effort if we are ever going to arrest the decline of the Boxironbark forest in Victoria,” Ms Sprague said. “Agriculture took away huge areas of the Boxironbark forests. Today the biggest threat is from subdivisions which continue to eat into the remaining forest areas.”
A
century ago central Victoria’s boxironbark forests were devastated as the trees were cut to fuel the steam boilers of the gold mining industry and to provide building timber for the rapidly growing city of Melbourne.
eries and florists. Since then, the project has blossomed into a major business, making her company, Goldfields Revegetation, an integral part of most environmental rehabilitation projects in central Victoria.
One of Marilyn Sprague’s early ambitions was to restore viable populations of the floral emblem of the Bendigo region, the Bendigo Wax flower.
“It’s declined so much through picking and rabbits so I am trying to re-establish populations and improve the gene pool.” In the early days Sprague and her three children started propagating and growing flowers for sale, but an excess of plants one year led her to the offices of Western Mining Corp, which was exploring for gold in the Bendigo region. She called the mining company to see if there was any interest in her plants to assist with its revegetation work.
This practical need led the business into new areas, such as minesite rehabilitation.
It was the beginning of a long association with the mining industry.
Her work has been so successful that mining companies now seek out Marilyn Sprague before work starts on mine sites to help plan the eventual site rehabilitation.
WMC hired her to assist with a major program of restoring and replanting a large part of the former Bendigo mining areas which the company had consolidated into a single large mining lease. That project is now in the hands of Bendigo Mining which is currently digging the Swan Decline beneath Bendigo in a bid to rejuvenate the local gold mining industry. The portal of the decline is now a flourishing swathe of native plants and shrubs which beautify the area, reduce erosion and provide a habitat for many birds, insects and animals.
Clear felling, as farmers extended their holdings, also reduced the forest cover.
But environmental damage is caused not only by miners.
Today, only 15 per cent of Victoria’s original box-ironbark forests remain with much of that regrowth recovered from earlier timber cutting.
The invasion of weeds, or non-indigenous species, into the Australian bushland is also a major issue with seeds carried or blown from home gardens creating many problems.
Over the past few years Goldfields Revegetation has worked on numerous Victorian mine sites including those at Nagambie, Fosterville, Daylesford, Bailieston, Armhurst and Buninyong.
Strong pressure now exists to save the remaining trees and replant new areas to regenerate the forests which once covered the bulk of the central goldfields region.
Now local Landcare and school groups and a wide range of other people come to the ninehectare base of Goldfields Revegetation at Mandurang, outside Bendigo, to buy local
One woman has taken the challenge to heart, extending her desire to help rehabilitate devastated areas into a highly successful business.
Revegetation work at Bendigo Mining’s Swan decline site in Bendigo, managed by Marilyn Sprague, helped the company win a Victorian Rural Pride Environmental Award.
Marilyn Sprague began her efforts in growing native flowers for sale to local Bendigo nurs-
8
Telstra is another recent client, keen to repair the disturbance created by trenching and the construction of transmission lines.
“Now you only see it in low sprawling plants, nothing like the volumes we used to have.
In the early days of her operations in the mid 1980’s, hard-line conservationists publicly criticised Sprague as a ‘traitor’ for daring to work with mining companies.
However, her environmental work with min-
Goldfields Revegetation works with VicRoads on restoring vegetation to new road areas and the company also is contracted to the Army to restore areas of its Puckapunyal training camp.
“Years ago groups used to come to Bendigo on the train and go home with huge amounts of Bendigo Wax in their arms,” she said.
While protecting the environment is close to her heart, Goldfields Revegetation needed to pay the bills.
And far from considering mining the ‘enemy’ Marilyn Sprague firmly believes in the economic benefits mining can bring to weakened local economies such as those in Victoria’s rural areas.
Marilyn Sprague plans to re-introduce Bendigo’s floral emblem, the Bendigo Wax flower (also known as the Fairy Wax flower) to the Bendigo mine site later this year. Picture: NRE/McCann.
plants, get advice on what to plant in certain areas and to enjoy the oasis created on the site.
Open pits and the creation of large heaps of waste rock and mine tailings are one of the major impacts of mining. With careful planning, these areas can be landscaped, covered with topsoil and later resown with native species to minimise the visual impact and return the land to a useful and useable state. Perseverance Exploration Managing Director, John Kelly, says Marilyn Sprague’s expertise
Marilyn Sprague believes passionately in the use of indigenous species, not only native to Victoria but to specific areas. Often plants of the same species have adapted differently to conditions in certain areas. When replanting an area, Sprague uses only plants grown from seed collected in that same area to guarantee the integrity of the rehabilitation work. now forms a vital part of his company’s environmental planning. At a previous mine site at Bailieston, Mr Kelly said, work by Goldfields Revegetation has so thoroughly restored the site that no evidence now exists of the mining activity. A century ago, mining practices made no allowance for rehabilitation, leaving large areas of central Victoria a barren and useless wasteland. Those practices are no longer acceptable and miners are keen to use the services of experts like Marilyn Sprague to create comprehensive rehabilitation programs planned from the very beginning of any mining project. The environmental message is also spreading into other areas. Road works also cause significant disturbance of large areas of land where cuttings through hills are opened and mounds created to flatten dips.
To demonstrate the site specific nature of goldfields flora, she has established display areas at Mandurang utilising plants from particular areas. That way a stock of plants from an area is retained, producing seed for future work. Her Mandurang centre also recycles its water using biological filters and pumps to lift water back to a holding dam for re-use. Nearby, at the Bendigo Mining site, water recycling is also a major part of the operation as old mine works are gradually pumped dry. In central Victoria the work required to fully restore the damaged creeks, farmland and other industrial regions is too much for one person, but the interest being generated by Marilyn Sprague in restoring native flora could just be the initiative required to generate a new wave of enthusiasm.
BENDIGO MINING WINS STATE RURAL PRIDE ENVIRONMENTAL AWARD Bendigo Mining has been judged the winner in the 1999-2000 Rural Pride Keep Australia Beautiful Competition in the commercial/industrial site category. The awards were made at a gala dinner in Horsham and Bendigo Mining’s Managing Director, Doug Buerger accepted the award for ‘Outstanding Concern and Action Towards Preserving the Environment’. Mr Buerger paid tribute to Marilyn Sprague of Goldfields Revegetation who manages Bendigo Mining’s rehabilitation work. He also congratulated the staff and contractors working for the company for their ongoing environmental concern. “The award also recognises the monitoring of the company’s impact on the environment and the efforts made to minimise this impact,” Mr Buerger said. “The company is committed to sound environmental management as part of the pursuit of its business goals.”
9
ENVIRONMENT
New growth on the goldfields Marilyn Sprague has taken the goal of environmental rehabilitation to new heights with the successful development of a major business aimed squarely at restoring land ravaged by a century and a half of farming, mining and urban development.
ing companies is still something of a sidelight; her burning ambition is to protect and expand Victoria’s box/ironbark forests and repair the damaged land of the state. Eroded gullies, creek washaways and degraded soils denuded of tree or vegetation cover is an appalling commentary on 150 years of poor agricultural practices. “It’s going to take an enormous effort if we are ever going to arrest the decline of the Boxironbark forest in Victoria,” Ms Sprague said. “Agriculture took away huge areas of the Boxironbark forests. Today the biggest threat is from subdivisions which continue to eat into the remaining forest areas.”
A
century ago central Victoria’s boxironbark forests were devastated as the trees were cut to fuel the steam boilers of the gold mining industry and to provide building timber for the rapidly growing city of Melbourne.
eries and florists. Since then, the project has blossomed into a major business, making her company, Goldfields Revegetation, an integral part of most environmental rehabilitation projects in central Victoria.
One of Marilyn Sprague’s early ambitions was to restore viable populations of the floral emblem of the Bendigo region, the Bendigo Wax flower.
“It’s declined so much through picking and rabbits so I am trying to re-establish populations and improve the gene pool.” In the early days Sprague and her three children started propagating and growing flowers for sale, but an excess of plants one year led her to the offices of Western Mining Corp, which was exploring for gold in the Bendigo region. She called the mining company to see if there was any interest in her plants to assist with its revegetation work.
This practical need led the business into new areas, such as minesite rehabilitation.
It was the beginning of a long association with the mining industry.
Her work has been so successful that mining companies now seek out Marilyn Sprague before work starts on mine sites to help plan the eventual site rehabilitation.
WMC hired her to assist with a major program of restoring and replanting a large part of the former Bendigo mining areas which the company had consolidated into a single large mining lease. That project is now in the hands of Bendigo Mining which is currently digging the Swan Decline beneath Bendigo in a bid to rejuvenate the local gold mining industry. The portal of the decline is now a flourishing swathe of native plants and shrubs which beautify the area, reduce erosion and provide a habitat for many birds, insects and animals.
Clear felling, as farmers extended their holdings, also reduced the forest cover.
But environmental damage is caused not only by miners.
Today, only 15 per cent of Victoria’s original box-ironbark forests remain with much of that regrowth recovered from earlier timber cutting.
The invasion of weeds, or non-indigenous species, into the Australian bushland is also a major issue with seeds carried or blown from home gardens creating many problems.
Over the past few years Goldfields Revegetation has worked on numerous Victorian mine sites including those at Nagambie, Fosterville, Daylesford, Bailieston, Armhurst and Buninyong.
Strong pressure now exists to save the remaining trees and replant new areas to regenerate the forests which once covered the bulk of the central goldfields region.
Now local Landcare and school groups and a wide range of other people come to the ninehectare base of Goldfields Revegetation at Mandurang, outside Bendigo, to buy local
One woman has taken the challenge to heart, extending her desire to help rehabilitate devastated areas into a highly successful business.
Revegetation work at Bendigo Mining’s Swan decline site in Bendigo, managed by Marilyn Sprague, helped the company win a Victorian Rural Pride Environmental Award.
Marilyn Sprague began her efforts in growing native flowers for sale to local Bendigo nurs-
8
Telstra is another recent client, keen to repair the disturbance created by trenching and the construction of transmission lines.
“Now you only see it in low sprawling plants, nothing like the volumes we used to have.
In the early days of her operations in the mid 1980’s, hard-line conservationists publicly criticised Sprague as a ‘traitor’ for daring to work with mining companies.
However, her environmental work with min-
Goldfields Revegetation works with VicRoads on restoring vegetation to new road areas and the company also is contracted to the Army to restore areas of its Puckapunyal training camp.
“Years ago groups used to come to Bendigo on the train and go home with huge amounts of Bendigo Wax in their arms,” she said.
While protecting the environment is close to her heart, Goldfields Revegetation needed to pay the bills.
And far from considering mining the ‘enemy’ Marilyn Sprague firmly believes in the economic benefits mining can bring to weakened local economies such as those in Victoria’s rural areas.
Marilyn Sprague plans to re-introduce Bendigo’s floral emblem, the Bendigo Wax flower (also known as the Fairy Wax flower) to the Bendigo mine site later this year. Picture: NRE/McCann.
plants, get advice on what to plant in certain areas and to enjoy the oasis created on the site.
Open pits and the creation of large heaps of waste rock and mine tailings are one of the major impacts of mining. With careful planning, these areas can be landscaped, covered with topsoil and later resown with native species to minimise the visual impact and return the land to a useful and useable state. Perseverance Exploration Managing Director, John Kelly, says Marilyn Sprague’s expertise
Marilyn Sprague believes passionately in the use of indigenous species, not only native to Victoria but to specific areas. Often plants of the same species have adapted differently to conditions in certain areas. When replanting an area, Sprague uses only plants grown from seed collected in that same area to guarantee the integrity of the rehabilitation work. now forms a vital part of his company’s environmental planning. At a previous mine site at Bailieston, Mr Kelly said, work by Goldfields Revegetation has so thoroughly restored the site that no evidence now exists of the mining activity. A century ago, mining practices made no allowance for rehabilitation, leaving large areas of central Victoria a barren and useless wasteland. Those practices are no longer acceptable and miners are keen to use the services of experts like Marilyn Sprague to create comprehensive rehabilitation programs planned from the very beginning of any mining project. The environmental message is also spreading into other areas. Road works also cause significant disturbance of large areas of land where cuttings through hills are opened and mounds created to flatten dips.
To demonstrate the site specific nature of goldfields flora, she has established display areas at Mandurang utilising plants from particular areas. That way a stock of plants from an area is retained, producing seed for future work. Her Mandurang centre also recycles its water using biological filters and pumps to lift water back to a holding dam for re-use. Nearby, at the Bendigo Mining site, water recycling is also a major part of the operation as old mine works are gradually pumped dry. In central Victoria the work required to fully restore the damaged creeks, farmland and other industrial regions is too much for one person, but the interest being generated by Marilyn Sprague in restoring native flora could just be the initiative required to generate a new wave of enthusiasm.
BENDIGO MINING WINS STATE RURAL PRIDE ENVIRONMENTAL AWARD Bendigo Mining has been judged the winner in the 1999-2000 Rural Pride Keep Australia Beautiful Competition in the commercial/industrial site category. The awards were made at a gala dinner in Horsham and Bendigo Mining’s Managing Director, Doug Buerger accepted the award for ‘Outstanding Concern and Action Towards Preserving the Environment’. Mr Buerger paid tribute to Marilyn Sprague of Goldfields Revegetation who manages Bendigo Mining’s rehabilitation work. He also congratulated the staff and contractors working for the company for their ongoing environmental concern. “The award also recognises the monitoring of the company’s impact on the environment and the efforts made to minimise this impact,” Mr Buerger said. “The company is committed to sound environmental management as part of the pursuit of its business goals.”
9
EXPLORATION NEWS
EXPLORATION NEWS
New opportunities for mineral sands, petroleum exploration S
A
trong interest is expected in the next tender of highly prospective mineral sands areas to be offered to the mining industry in April.
The latest tender, following on from the previous release of acreage in the Murray Basin, includes the Block 4 area of the previous release as well as ground covering the WIM 100 and WIM 150 mineral sands discoveries made by CRA Ltd (now Rio Tinto Ltd) several years ago. The WIM discoveries were part of a major, fine-grained mineral sands discovery by CRA which contained vast reserves of material but which could not be commercialised due to processing difficulties. However, new work has fine tuned much of the exploration effort with greater understanding of the geological history of the area leading to the discovery of smaller, but much coarser-grained material. The coarser-grained sands are easier to process and are more likely to be economically viable than the finer-grained material. The latest mineral sand tender also includes a substantial area recently relinquished by Iluka Resources. The total area offered in the latest package covers 11,766 square kilometres. The Murray Basin has become the hottest mineral sands exploration region in Australia with explorers moving away from the depleting and more environmentally restrictive areas in favor of the rich rewards on offer in rural Victoria, NSW and South Australia. Conservative estimates suggest that there could be up to 50 million tonnes of economically viable mineral sands in the Murray Basin worth about $A13 billion. Late last year, six of the first seven exploration blocks were quickly snapped up in one of the most keenly bid exploration tenders in Victoria. A study of the region’s infrastructure is currently being conducted to determine what resources need to be developed if the region is to support a mineral sands industry. The study, jointly sponsored by the Victorian, NSW, South Australian and the Federal Governments, is being headed by John Reynolds, who recently retired as Execu tive Director of the Victorian Chamber of Mines. Federal Resources Minister, Senator Nick Minchin, said the study would examine, “The opportunities for creating employment in this region, in both mining and downstream processing.
major new offshore petroleum lease area in the Otway Basin has been offered for tender under the supplementary release agreement between the Commonwealth, State and Territory governments. The permit area, designated V99-1, is part of a major package of exploration tenements to be re-released nationally by the Commonwealth and State/Territory Resource Ministers. Late last year it was announced that acreage that did not attract a successful bid in the normal application round would be offered immediately at a supplementary release. The petroleum industry through the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association (APPEA) supports the initiative which is designed to stimulate important exploration work in Australia’s offshore waters. The introduction of acreage re-release will enhance the flexibility of the acreage release process as it will allow industry a second opportunity to bid for an area or to increase a previously unsuccessful bid. It will also enhance the marketability of non-exclusive seismic data through longer exposure to potential purchasers and provide an opportunity for companies that have not complied with permit conditions to enter into an agreement with government to maintain their good standing without compromising the integrity of the work program bidding system.
“The sustainable use of water resources is another important aspect of the study. I am pleased that the opportunities for the use of recycled waste and saline water will also be examined,” he added. Mineral sands found in the Murray Basin include ilmenite, rutile, zircon and leucoxene. Rutile is the raw material for lightweight durable titanium metal used in aircraft, surgical procedures like hip replacements and in golf clubs. However, the bulk of rutile and ilmenite is processed into non-toxic white pigment for 10
use in paints, plastics, paper, ink, rubber and textiles. Zircon is used in ceramics, computers, electronics and jewellery. The Murray Basin infrastructure study is expected to be completed by mid 2000. F O R M O R E I N F O R M AT I O N C O N TA C T:
Kim Ricketts, Minerals Business Centre Phone (03) 9412 5020 Fax (03) 9412 5150 Email: [email protected]
The V99-1 block is located in offshore Otway Basin and encompasses the Torquay Sub-basin. Bids for the block close on April 6, 2000. The area was gazetted by the Joint Authority in April 1999 but did not attract a successful bid. Minerals and Petroleum Victoria (MPV) has produced a comprehensive VIMP report (No. 60) on the hydrocarbon prospectivity of this Sub-Basin (the report can purchased from MPV). It notes that there is significant untested potential remaining in the basin. Three wells have already been drilled in
the offshore part of the sub-basin, Nerita-1, Snail-1 and Wild Dog-1. They tested the Tertiary Age Formation but were all dry. (Note: Wild Dog-l is not related to the Wild Dog Road-1 gas well dicovered recently in the on-shore region of the Otway Basin. See story, page 5 of this issue). However the Nerita-1 well produced numerous gas shows, suggesting the possibility of an active petroleum system. Within the Torquay sub-basin there are two potential petroleum systems within the Crayfish sub-group and the Eumeralla Formations. Within the Otway Basin generally the Early Cretaceous age Eumerella, Pretty Hill and Casterton Formations demonstrate they contain source rocks capable of generating both oil and gas. Thicknesses of the early Cretaceous are more than adequate for thermal maturity with gas considered the most likely hydrocarbon type. The principal remaining play types within the Torquay sub-basin are tilted fault block traps, with these play types successful elsewhere in the basin. One of the main targets in the western portion of the Otway Basin is the Pretty Hill Formation which is interpreted to be present at depths of around 2,000 metres on the Snail Terrace area. Minerals and Petroleum Victoria has carried out regional mapping over the area and a number of leads have been mapped, including a very large structure beneath the Wild Dog-1 well. Shallow water depths of 50 to 90 metres and the proximity to Geelong (80 km) suggest any gas discoveries could be commercialised while oil discoveries could be developed cheaply.
F O R M O R E I N F O R M AT I O N C O N TA C T:
Maher Megallaa Manager Acreage Release Minerals and Petroleum Victoria Phone (03) 9412 5081
11
IMAGES OF SEABED IN AUSTRALIA’S SOUTH EAST SEAS A FIRST Australia’s $50 million Oceans Policy research program has provided clear images of parts of south-east Australia’s seabed never before surveyed. Stage one of the AUSTREA 1 seabed mapping survey, which began off Lord Howe Island in December last year, has provided spectacular images of Australia’s continental slope and deep sea bed, including previously unknown volcanoes, marine canyons and cliffs seen in detail for the first time. The month-long survey was the first part of a co-operative seabed mapping program commissioned by the National Oceans Office and undertaken in collaboration with the Australian Geological Survey Organisation (AGSO). The French research vessel L’Atalante is conducting the detailed surveys which will assist the petroleum industry locate potential new oil and gas reserves. Areas already mapped include the upper slope of the Bass Canyon off south-east Victoria, the Otway Basin off north-west Victoria and Tasmania, the uppermost slope off south-east and south-west Tasmania, the volcanic seamounts south of Hobart, the slopes of Lord Howe Island and the slope of the Great Australian Bight marine protected area. Tasmanian Senator, Paul Calvert said getting a glimpse of the unexplored part of Australia’s environment was a welcome start to 2000. “There are vast areas about which we know little or nothing, but modern seabed survey techniques now provide us with some very powerful tools which we can apply to improve our understanding and provide a better basis on which to manage all of our ocean uses,” Senator Calvert said. “The seabed surveys, using the multi-beam swathe mapping technique, will provide important baseline data to support the development of a regional marine plan for the south-east marine region,” he said.
EXPLORATION NEWS
EXPLORATION NEWS
New opportunities for mineral sands, petroleum exploration S
A
trong interest is expected in the next tender of highly prospective mineral sands areas to be offered to the mining industry in April.
The latest tender, following on from the previous release of acreage in the Murray Basin, includes the Block 4 area of the previous release as well as ground covering the WIM 100 and WIM 150 mineral sands discoveries made by CRA Ltd (now Rio Tinto Ltd) several years ago. The WIM discoveries were part of a major, fine-grained mineral sands discovery by CRA which contained vast reserves of material but which could not be commercialised due to processing difficulties. However, new work has fine tuned much of the exploration effort with greater understanding of the geological history of the area leading to the discovery of smaller, but much coarser-grained material. The coarser-grained sands are easier to process and are more likely to be economically viable than the finer-grained material. The latest mineral sand tender also includes a substantial area recently relinquished by Iluka Resources. The total area offered in the latest package covers 11,766 square kilometres. The Murray Basin has become the hottest mineral sands exploration region in Australia with explorers moving away from the depleting and more environmentally restrictive areas in favor of the rich rewards on offer in rural Victoria, NSW and South Australia. Conservative estimates suggest that there could be up to 50 million tonnes of economically viable mineral sands in the Murray Basin worth about $A13 billion. Late last year, six of the first seven exploration blocks were quickly snapped up in one of the most keenly bid exploration tenders in Victoria. A study of the region’s infrastructure is currently being conducted to determine what resources need to be developed if the region is to support a mineral sands industry. The study, jointly sponsored by the Victorian, NSW, South Australian and the Federal Governments, is being headed by John Reynolds, who recently retired as Execu tive Director of the Victorian Chamber of Mines. Federal Resources Minister, Senator Nick Minchin, said the study would examine, “The opportunities for creating employment in this region, in both mining and downstream processing.
major new offshore petroleum lease area in the Otway Basin has been offered for tender under the supplementary release agreement between the Commonwealth, State and Territory governments. The permit area, designated V99-1, is part of a major package of exploration tenements to be re-released nationally by the Commonwealth and State/Territory Resource Ministers. Late last year it was announced that acreage that did not attract a successful bid in the normal application round would be offered immediately at a supplementary release. The petroleum industry through the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association (APPEA) supports the initiative which is designed to stimulate important exploration work in Australia’s offshore waters. The introduction of acreage re-release will enhance the flexibility of the acreage release process as it will allow industry a second opportunity to bid for an area or to increase a previously unsuccessful bid. It will also enhance the marketability of non-exclusive seismic data through longer exposure to potential purchasers and provide an opportunity for companies that have not complied with permit conditions to enter into an agreement with government to maintain their good standing without compromising the integrity of the work program bidding system.
“The sustainable use of water resources is another important aspect of the study. I am pleased that the opportunities for the use of recycled waste and saline water will also be examined,” he added. Mineral sands found in the Murray Basin include ilmenite, rutile, zircon and leucoxene. Rutile is the raw material for lightweight durable titanium metal used in aircraft, surgical procedures like hip replacements and in golf clubs. However, the bulk of rutile and ilmenite is processed into non-toxic white pigment for 10
use in paints, plastics, paper, ink, rubber and textiles. Zircon is used in ceramics, computers, electronics and jewellery. The Murray Basin infrastructure study is expected to be completed by mid 2000. F O R M O R E I N F O R M AT I O N C O N TA C T:
Kim Ricketts, Minerals Business Centre Phone (03) 9412 5020 Fax (03) 9412 5150 Email: [email protected]
The V99-1 block is located in offshore Otway Basin and encompasses the Torquay Sub-basin. Bids for the block close on April 6, 2000. The area was gazetted by the Joint Authority in April 1999 but did not attract a successful bid. Minerals and Petroleum Victoria (MPV) has produced a comprehensive VIMP report (No. 60) on the hydrocarbon prospectivity of this Sub-Basin (the report can purchased from MPV). It notes that there is significant untested potential remaining in the basin. Three wells have already been drilled in
the offshore part of the sub-basin, Nerita-1, Snail-1 and Wild Dog-1. They tested the Tertiary Age Formation but were all dry. (Note: Wild Dog-l is not related to the Wild Dog Road-1 gas well dicovered recently in the on-shore region of the Otway Basin. See story, page 5 of this issue). However the Nerita-1 well produced numerous gas shows, suggesting the possibility of an active petroleum system. Within the Torquay sub-basin there are two potential petroleum systems within the Crayfish sub-group and the Eumeralla Formations. Within the Otway Basin generally the Early Cretaceous age Eumerella, Pretty Hill and Casterton Formations demonstrate they contain source rocks capable of generating both oil and gas. Thicknesses of the early Cretaceous are more than adequate for thermal maturity with gas considered the most likely hydrocarbon type. The principal remaining play types within the Torquay sub-basin are tilted fault block traps, with these play types successful elsewhere in the basin. One of the main targets in the western portion of the Otway Basin is the Pretty Hill Formation which is interpreted to be present at depths of around 2,000 metres on the Snail Terrace area. Minerals and Petroleum Victoria has carried out regional mapping over the area and a number of leads have been mapped, including a very large structure beneath the Wild Dog-1 well. Shallow water depths of 50 to 90 metres and the proximity to Geelong (80 km) suggest any gas discoveries could be commercialised while oil discoveries could be developed cheaply.
F O R M O R E I N F O R M AT I O N C O N TA C T:
Maher Megallaa Manager Acreage Release Minerals and Petroleum Victoria Phone (03) 9412 5081
11
IMAGES OF SEABED IN AUSTRALIA’S SOUTH EAST SEAS A FIRST Australia’s $50 million Oceans Policy research program has provided clear images of parts of south-east Australia’s seabed never before surveyed. Stage one of the AUSTREA 1 seabed mapping survey, which began off Lord Howe Island in December last year, has provided spectacular images of Australia’s continental slope and deep sea bed, including previously unknown volcanoes, marine canyons and cliffs seen in detail for the first time. The month-long survey was the first part of a co-operative seabed mapping program commissioned by the National Oceans Office and undertaken in collaboration with the Australian Geological Survey Organisation (AGSO). The French research vessel L’Atalante is conducting the detailed surveys which will assist the petroleum industry locate potential new oil and gas reserves. Areas already mapped include the upper slope of the Bass Canyon off south-east Victoria, the Otway Basin off north-west Victoria and Tasmania, the uppermost slope off south-east and south-west Tasmania, the volcanic seamounts south of Hobart, the slopes of Lord Howe Island and the slope of the Great Australian Bight marine protected area. Tasmanian Senator, Paul Calvert said getting a glimpse of the unexplored part of Australia’s environment was a welcome start to 2000. “There are vast areas about which we know little or nothing, but modern seabed survey techniques now provide us with some very powerful tools which we can apply to improve our understanding and provide a better basis on which to manage all of our ocean uses,” Senator Calvert said. “The seabed surveys, using the multi-beam swathe mapping technique, will provide important baseline data to support the development of a regional marine plan for the south-east marine region,” he said.
REGULAR FEATURE
REGULAR FEATURE
Industry News VICTORIAN GAS SUMMIT The third annual Victorian Gas Summit will be be held in Melbourne on February 16 and 17. The conference will look specifically at gas pricing, regulation, investment and operations in the newly competitive environment of the gas industry. Australia’s gas industry has undergone the most sweeping changes in its history in the past two years as de-regulation and privatisation have changed the face of gas production distribution and sales forever. Senior executives from gas industry players such as Victoria’s market operator, Vencorp and gas supplier, GPU GasNet will address supply systems and regulatory issues as well as outline new additions to Victoria’s gas transmission system. The Australian Pipeline Industry Association Executive Director, Alan Beasley, will disuss the impact of the Federal Government-driven reform process and case studies of specific projects and issues will be presented. The conference will be held at the Hilton on the Park Hotel. More information and registration details can be found on the website: www.nationalpowerforum.com.
Estimates by Bendigo Mining suggest that up to 10 million ounces of gold could be contained in new ore resources left behind by former miners. The Bendigo mines originally stopped due to flooding and a lack of adequate pumping technology to cope with the inflow. Modern pumps can easily match the water flows, theoretically allowing deeper ore resources to be accessible to the latest mining techniques. Historically, the mined grade of gold ore from across the Bendigo field was 14 grams of gold per tonne of ore, a very rich target in modern terms when gold mines commonly operate on ore grading 2 g/t or less. Mr Buerger said current progress was rapid with ground conditions allowing the miners to simply install rock bolts and wire mesh to support the upper parts of the decline tunnel. Bendigo Mining expects to begin underground exploration drilling in the first quarter of 2000 to test their theory of fresh new orebodies under the old Deborah and Sheepshead workings, but Mr Buerger said that was only the first test. Once the decline has reached its target depth of 700 metres, bulk sampling will also take place to determine the prospects for a viable mining operation.
SWAN DIVES BELOW BENDIGO
Industry News Interest in the project rose initially in December when Bendigo Mining’s share price spiked to a recent high of 22 cents but waning interest in gold stocks saw the shares ease back to around 16 cents by year end. For more information see the website: www.bendigo.net.au/~gold
BASS STRAIT GAS FLOWS INTO NSW History was made when natural gas from Bass Strait flowed northwards into the New South Wales gas market last November.
ALLIANCE SECURES NEW DEAL
Gas distributor, Duke Energy International, supplied the gas to NSW retailers, Energy Australia, CitiPower and Integral Energy.
Alliance Gold Ltd, former operator of the Maldon gold project, has taken a new direction, securing the rights to acquire up to 75 per cent of the equity in Encore Metals NL, owner of the Tasmelt zinc and tin smelter project.
The gas was delivered through the ‘interconnect’ gas pipeline which links the Victorian and NSW gas grids through a link constructed between Wagga Wagga and Albury.
The project, to be built near Zeehan, Tasmania, will be a boutique smelter to recover zinc, tin and other metals from stockpiled and in-situ material deposited from over a century of mining on Tasmania’s rugged west coast.
Duke’s General Manager, Commercial Developments, Kevin Howell, said the provision of gas through the Interconnect was the first step in creating true competition in the NSW gas market. “Competition will be further developed when DEI’s eastern gas pipeline is completed by September 1, 2000,” he added.
Encore Metals already owns the slag dumps at the mines which are estimated to contain over $100 million of zinc, lead and silver.
The 975-kilometre pipeline, costing $A450 million, is already under construction with teams starting work on several areas in NSW.
The project will recover the zinc as a zinc oxide fume and on-sell to refiners.
Work on the Victorian part of the pipeline began early this year.
The Tasmelt regional concept demonstrates how old, environmentally degraded mine dumps can be progressively and profitably restored using modern environmental practices.
ENERGY SAVINGS TO LIGHT UP 9000 HOMES As well as generating the electricity to light up the state of Victoria and many interstate markets, the Latrobe Valley generators are also leading the way by introducing major energy savings across their operations.
The $35 million Swan decline project to access new gold resources below Bendigo’s old gold mines is running smoothly, with the tunnel passing 2,000 metres just before Christmas.
Edison Mission, Energy Brix Australia, Hazelwood Power, Loy Yang Power and Yallourn Energy, have committed themselves to new practices which will reduce their power consumption and sharply reduce greenhouse gas emissions to the atmosphere.
Bendigo Mining Managing Director, Doug Buerger, said the decline had passed 2030 metres and crossed the Sheepshead line of reef. He said the project was running on budget and on time. The decline, which so far has travelled in a straight line angling downward, will begin to spiral downwards in tight circles before reaching the Deborah line of reef early in 2000.
Energy Efficiency Victoria’s Energy Smart Cascade campaign has had a major impact in the Latrobe Valley.
“The environmental benefits are also significant with a reduction of some 122,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases per year.”. Energy savings are achieved through modifying lighting systems, switching off coal conveyors when not in use, improving ash disposal systems, better control of water cooling systems and other process control improvements.
BALLARAT GOLDFIELDS JOINS THE TECHNOLOGY RUSH
An offshore petroleum exploration group led by Woodside Petroleum Ltd has started its offshore Otway Basin exploration program in the first step of a major push to locate new oil and gas reserves in Victoria. The zeismic survey ship, Western Pride, has completed its four week seismic survey of the region aimed at providing detailed information on possible petroleum targets deep beneath the ocean floor. The 71.5 metre survey vessel began its survey late in December. Woodside, with partners Boral Energy and CalEnergy could develop drilling targets by late this year.
Ballarat Goldfields NL has revealed a major change in direction from its former work to develop the goldfields of the Ballarat region and joined the high technology rush, acquiring the Oztrak Group Pty Ltd in a $5m deal.
Since its formation in 1995, Oztrak has established itself as a successful R&D innovator, recognised for the technical superiority of its product range.
At the company’s annual meeting in December, company Chairman, JB Roberts said, “The gold sector remained under considerable pressure during the past year. Capital raisings continue to be very difficult for small explorers and developers like BGF.”
Its main technology product integrates communications and GPS location devices to enable the transmission of two-way voice and data communications via satellite, GSM (Global System for Mobiles) and telecommunications networks.
This had lead the company to consider diversifying outside the minerals area.
The main aim is to reach a point below the base of former workings on both the Sheepshead and Deborah reefs to allow new ore resources to be mined.
“We have been working with the energy manager of each company over the past six months with some outstanding results,” said Keith Fitzmaurice, Energy Efficiency Victoria General Manager.
“We were attracted to... a non-mining business, with tangible business products, identified markets and sales revenue, “Mr Roberts said. “Oztrak was identified as such a business.”
BGF managing director, Andrew Woskett said, “Acquisition of Oztrak provides Ballarat Goldfields with a cash flow generating subsidiary and a sound diversification platform from which the cyclical downside movement of mineral commodity prices can be weathered.”
The new $35 million Swan decline project is on time and under budget says Bendigo Mining Managing Director, Doug Buerger.
“Total identified energy savings for these five companies would be enough to power 9000 homes each year.
The Oztrak group is based at the Greenhill commercial technology park, adjacent to the University of Ballarat.
“It reduces the group’s exposure to geological risk and commodity price fluctuations.”
12
13
REGULAR FEATURE
REGULAR FEATURE
Industry News VICTORIAN GAS SUMMIT The third annual Victorian Gas Summit will be be held in Melbourne on February 16 and 17. The conference will look specifically at gas pricing, regulation, investment and operations in the newly competitive environment of the gas industry. Australia’s gas industry has undergone the most sweeping changes in its history in the past two years as de-regulation and privatisation have changed the face of gas production distribution and sales forever. Senior executives from gas industry players such as Victoria’s market operator, Vencorp and gas supplier, GPU GasNet will address supply systems and regulatory issues as well as outline new additions to Victoria’s gas transmission system. The Australian Pipeline Industry Association Executive Director, Alan Beasley, will disuss the impact of the Federal Government-driven reform process and case studies of specific projects and issues will be presented. The conference will be held at the Hilton on the Park Hotel. More information and registration details can be found on the website: www.nationalpowerforum.com.
Estimates by Bendigo Mining suggest that up to 10 million ounces of gold could be contained in new ore resources left behind by former miners. The Bendigo mines originally stopped due to flooding and a lack of adequate pumping technology to cope with the inflow. Modern pumps can easily match the water flows, theoretically allowing deeper ore resources to be accessible to the latest mining techniques. Historically, the mined grade of gold ore from across the Bendigo field was 14 grams of gold per tonne of ore, a very rich target in modern terms when gold mines commonly operate on ore grading 2 g/t or less. Mr Buerger said current progress was rapid with ground conditions allowing the miners to simply install rock bolts and wire mesh to support the upper parts of the decline tunnel. Bendigo Mining expects to begin underground exploration drilling in the first quarter of 2000 to test their theory of fresh new orebodies under the old Deborah and Sheepshead workings, but Mr Buerger said that was only the first test. Once the decline has reached its target depth of 700 metres, bulk sampling will also take place to determine the prospects for a viable mining operation.
SWAN DIVES BELOW BENDIGO
Industry News Interest in the project rose initially in December when Bendigo Mining’s share price spiked to a recent high of 22 cents but waning interest in gold stocks saw the shares ease back to around 16 cents by year end. For more information see the website: www.bendigo.net.au/~gold
BASS STRAIT GAS FLOWS INTO NSW History was made when natural gas from Bass Strait flowed northwards into the New South Wales gas market last November.
ALLIANCE SECURES NEW DEAL
Gas distributor, Duke Energy International, supplied the gas to NSW retailers, Energy Australia, CitiPower and Integral Energy.
Alliance Gold Ltd, former operator of the Maldon gold project, has taken a new direction, securing the rights to acquire up to 75 per cent of the equity in Encore Metals NL, owner of the Tasmelt zinc and tin smelter project.
The gas was delivered through the ‘interconnect’ gas pipeline which links the Victorian and NSW gas grids through a link constructed between Wagga Wagga and Albury.
The project, to be built near Zeehan, Tasmania, will be a boutique smelter to recover zinc, tin and other metals from stockpiled and in-situ material deposited from over a century of mining on Tasmania’s rugged west coast.
Duke’s General Manager, Commercial Developments, Kevin Howell, said the provision of gas through the Interconnect was the first step in creating true competition in the NSW gas market. “Competition will be further developed when DEI’s eastern gas pipeline is completed by September 1, 2000,” he added.
Encore Metals already owns the slag dumps at the mines which are estimated to contain over $100 million of zinc, lead and silver.
The 975-kilometre pipeline, costing $A450 million, is already under construction with teams starting work on several areas in NSW.
The project will recover the zinc as a zinc oxide fume and on-sell to refiners.
Work on the Victorian part of the pipeline began early this year.
The Tasmelt regional concept demonstrates how old, environmentally degraded mine dumps can be progressively and profitably restored using modern environmental practices.
ENERGY SAVINGS TO LIGHT UP 9000 HOMES As well as generating the electricity to light up the state of Victoria and many interstate markets, the Latrobe Valley generators are also leading the way by introducing major energy savings across their operations.
The $35 million Swan decline project to access new gold resources below Bendigo’s old gold mines is running smoothly, with the tunnel passing 2,000 metres just before Christmas.
Edison Mission, Energy Brix Australia, Hazelwood Power, Loy Yang Power and Yallourn Energy, have committed themselves to new practices which will reduce their power consumption and sharply reduce greenhouse gas emissions to the atmosphere.
Bendigo Mining Managing Director, Doug Buerger, said the decline had passed 2030 metres and crossed the Sheepshead line of reef. He said the project was running on budget and on time. The decline, which so far has travelled in a straight line angling downward, will begin to spiral downwards in tight circles before reaching the Deborah line of reef early in 2000.
Energy Efficiency Victoria’s Energy Smart Cascade campaign has had a major impact in the Latrobe Valley.
“The environmental benefits are also significant with a reduction of some 122,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases per year.”. Energy savings are achieved through modifying lighting systems, switching off coal conveyors when not in use, improving ash disposal systems, better control of water cooling systems and other process control improvements.
BALLARAT GOLDFIELDS JOINS THE TECHNOLOGY RUSH
An offshore petroleum exploration group led by Woodside Petroleum Ltd has started its offshore Otway Basin exploration program in the first step of a major push to locate new oil and gas reserves in Victoria. The zeismic survey ship, Western Pride, has completed its four week seismic survey of the region aimed at providing detailed information on possible petroleum targets deep beneath the ocean floor. The 71.5 metre survey vessel began its survey late in December. Woodside, with partners Boral Energy and CalEnergy could develop drilling targets by late this year.
Ballarat Goldfields NL has revealed a major change in direction from its former work to develop the goldfields of the Ballarat region and joined the high technology rush, acquiring the Oztrak Group Pty Ltd in a $5m deal.
Since its formation in 1995, Oztrak has established itself as a successful R&D innovator, recognised for the technical superiority of its product range.
At the company’s annual meeting in December, company Chairman, JB Roberts said, “The gold sector remained under considerable pressure during the past year. Capital raisings continue to be very difficult for small explorers and developers like BGF.”
Its main technology product integrates communications and GPS location devices to enable the transmission of two-way voice and data communications via satellite, GSM (Global System for Mobiles) and telecommunications networks.
This had lead the company to consider diversifying outside the minerals area.
The main aim is to reach a point below the base of former workings on both the Sheepshead and Deborah reefs to allow new ore resources to be mined.
“We have been working with the energy manager of each company over the past six months with some outstanding results,” said Keith Fitzmaurice, Energy Efficiency Victoria General Manager.
“We were attracted to... a non-mining business, with tangible business products, identified markets and sales revenue, “Mr Roberts said. “Oztrak was identified as such a business.”
BGF managing director, Andrew Woskett said, “Acquisition of Oztrak provides Ballarat Goldfields with a cash flow generating subsidiary and a sound diversification platform from which the cyclical downside movement of mineral commodity prices can be weathered.”
The new $35 million Swan decline project is on time and under budget says Bendigo Mining Managing Director, Doug Buerger.
“Total identified energy savings for these five companies would be enough to power 9000 homes each year.
The Oztrak group is based at the Greenhill commercial technology park, adjacent to the University of Ballarat.
“It reduces the group’s exposure to geological risk and commodity price fluctuations.”
12
13
VICTORIAN RESOURCES Mildura
Victorian resources
Minerals
O
2
General area of major exploration project
NO COMPANY
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
Alcaston Alliance Alliance Ballarat Cons Centaur Rio Tinto Crest - Goldminco Duketon Gold Golden Heritage Golden Triangle Golden Triangle Highlake Res Highlake Res Highlake Res - Brady Intrepid Metex
17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34
Mt Wellington North - Rio Tinto Expl Osprey Gold Osprey Gold Perseverance M Platsearch - Hume RGC St Barbara - Minico & Melanti Sedimentary Vic Gold - Mines & Res Zephyr Min Continent - Range Gawler Gold Goldminco Goldminco Goldminco Goldminco Alliance
Area available for exploration application Areas becoming available for exploration
P
(Please see moratorium list for available dates)
Area currently under exploration (licence tenure or application) Area unavailable for exploration (National Parks etc) Area under exemption
U 2
4
Swan Hill
4
MAJOR EXPLORATION PROJECTS
EXPLORATION STATUS
MAJOR MINES/DEVELOPMENTS 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50
Fortuna Golden Heritage Hardrock Exploration Highlake Res Highlake Res Highlake Res Perseverance New H Range River Range River Reef Mining Range River (Flowerdale) Basin Minerals (B-Swan Hill) Basin Minerals (Culgoa) Basin Minerals (Douglas) Reef Mining Reef Mining
the WORLD is yours
GOLD A Stawell Gold Mines B Sedimentary Holdings C Reef Mining D Goldminco E Ballarat Goldfields F Alliance Gold G Bendigo Mining H Tech-Sol Resources Pty Ltd J Perseverance Exploration K Australian Gold Devel. L Perseverance Mining M Duketon Goldfields N Mount Conqueror Minerals NON-METALLIC MINERALS O Victorian Gypsum P RZM & Aberfoyle Q Rio Tinto R Kaolin Aust S Osterfield T ACI U Iluka Midwest Limited BROWN COAL
You’ll find a world of information on Victorian mining, geology and petroleum in the Department of
1
Echuca Shepparton
1
T
3 6 1
Horsham
4
Q
5 2
C
3
Bendigo
J
4 L
S
G
4
7 K
Benambra
M
F
4
Stawell
3
A
Ararat
3
B
5 3
D
2
4
2
3
2
1
Ballarat
E 4 R
2
2 3
9
1
Mansfield
3
8
3 3
2 4
Hamilton
4
3
1
2
1 N
H 2
1
Wood's Point
Orbost
1
Werribee
Bairnsdale
Walhalla
Geelong
Lakes Entrance
Yallour
Alc
Portland
1
2 1
MaddinglMELBOURNE
Hazelw
Loy
Warrnambool
4
Oil & Gas
Natural Resources’ Minerals and Petroleum Reference Centre. Although focussed to serve members of the mining industry, the MPRC is open to the public from 8.30am to 5pm, Monday to Friday. It is conveniently located next to the Minerals Business Centre.
special collections include: • Expired tenement reports on microfiche (and hard copy) • 5000+ Geological Survey of Victoria Unpublished Reports • Departmental publications (old Mines Department records and reports dating from 1851) • Victorian published geological maps, both current and historical • Underground mine plans on microfiche • 1600+ B&W historical Victorian mining photographs
The MPRC is now located with the Minerals Business Centre on the 8th floor, Department of Natural Resources and Environment, 240 Victoria Parade, East Melbourne. Phone: (03) 9412 5145. Fax: (03) 9412 5157. E-mail:[email protected]
14
Wangaratta
15
Production Licences Retention Leases Current Permits 1999 Acreage Release Proposed Joint Authority 2000 Acreage Release
Gas Pipeline Oil & Other Pipeline Proposed Pipeline Under Construction Gas Field Oil Field
VICTORIAN RESOURCES Mildura
Victorian resources
Minerals
O
2
General area of major exploration project
NO COMPANY
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
Alcaston Alliance Alliance Ballarat Cons Centaur Rio Tinto Crest - Goldminco Duketon Gold Golden Heritage Golden Triangle Golden Triangle Highlake Res Highlake Res Highlake Res - Brady Intrepid Metex
17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34
Mt Wellington North - Rio Tinto Expl Osprey Gold Osprey Gold Perseverance M Platsearch - Hume RGC St Barbara - Minico & Melanti Sedimentary Vic Gold - Mines & Res Zephyr Min Continent - Range Gawler Gold Goldminco Goldminco Goldminco Goldminco Alliance
Area available for exploration application Areas becoming available for exploration
P
(Please see moratorium list for available dates)
Area currently under exploration (licence tenure or application) Area unavailable for exploration (National Parks etc) Area under exemption
U 2
4
Swan Hill
4
MAJOR EXPLORATION PROJECTS
EXPLORATION STATUS
MAJOR MINES/DEVELOPMENTS 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50
Fortuna Golden Heritage Hardrock Exploration Highlake Res Highlake Res Highlake Res Perseverance New H Range River Range River Reef Mining Range River (Flowerdale) Basin Minerals (B-Swan Hill) Basin Minerals (Culgoa) Basin Minerals (Douglas) Reef Mining Reef Mining
the WORLD is yours
GOLD A Stawell Gold Mines B Sedimentary Holdings C Reef Mining D Goldminco E Ballarat Goldfields F Alliance Gold G Bendigo Mining H Tech-Sol Resources Pty Ltd J Perseverance Exploration K Australian Gold Devel. L Perseverance Mining M Duketon Goldfields N Mount Conqueror Minerals NON-METALLIC MINERALS O Victorian Gypsum P RZM & Aberfoyle Q Rio Tinto R Kaolin Aust S Osterfield T ACI U Iluka Midwest Limited BROWN COAL
You’ll find a world of information on Victorian mining, geology and petroleum in the Department of
1
Echuca Shepparton
1
T
3 6 1
Horsham
4
Q
5 2
C
3
Bendigo
J
4 L
S
G
4
7 K
Benambra
M
F
4
Stawell
3
A
Ararat
3
B
5 3
D
2
4
2
3
2
1
Ballarat
E 4 R
2
2 3
9
1
Mansfield
3
8
3 3
2 4
Hamilton
4
3
1
2
1 N
H 2
1
Wood's Point
Orbost
1
Werribee
Bairnsdale
Walhalla
Geelong
Lakes Entrance
Yallour
Alc
Portland
1
2 1
MaddinglMELBOURNE
Hazelw
Loy
Warrnambool
4
Oil & Gas
Natural Resources’ Minerals and Petroleum Reference Centre. Although focussed to serve members of the mining industry, the MPRC is open to the public from 8.30am to 5pm, Monday to Friday. It is conveniently located next to the Minerals Business Centre.
special collections include: • Expired tenement reports on microfiche (and hard copy) • 5000+ Geological Survey of Victoria Unpublished Reports • Departmental publications (old Mines Department records and reports dating from 1851) • Victorian published geological maps, both current and historical • Underground mine plans on microfiche • 1600+ B&W historical Victorian mining photographs
The MPRC is now located with the Minerals Business Centre on the 8th floor, Department of Natural Resources and Environment, 240 Victoria Parade, East Melbourne. Phone: (03) 9412 5145. Fax: (03) 9412 5157. E-mail:[email protected]
14
Wangaratta
15
Production Licences Retention Leases Current Permits 1999 Acreage Release Proposed Joint Authority 2000 Acreage Release
Gas Pipeline Oil & Other Pipeline Proposed Pipeline Under Construction Gas Field Oil Field
LICENCE REVIEW
Mineral Licences
October to December 1999
EXPLORATION LICENCES GRANTED TITLE NO.
STATUS
EVENT
MAP
PRIMARY OWNER
EVENT DATE
EXPIRY DATE
EL 4431
CURRENT
GRANT
EL 4428
CURRENT
GRANT
ROSEWOOD
JOHN M BRADY
08/10/1999
07/10/2001
HORSHAM
IMPERIAL MINING (AUSTRALIA) NL
08/10/1999
EL 4424
CURRENT
07/10/2001
GRANT
MELBOURNE
AUSTRALIAN ORGANIC RESOURCES P/L
15/10/1999
14/10/2001
EL 4418 EL 4433
CURRENT
GRANT
CRESWICK
WILLIAM J KYTE
15/10/1999
14/10/2001
CURRENT
GRANT
DONALD
GDM RESOURCES PTY LTD
15/12/1999
15/12/2001
EL 4432
CURRENT
GRANT
RUPANYUP
GDM RESOURCES PTY LTD
15/12/1999
15/12/2001
EXPLORATION LICENCES SURRENDERED, CANCELLED OR EXPIRED TITLE NO.
STATUS
EVENT DATE
EXPIRY DATE
EL 3580
SURR
DARGO
MAP
GAWLER GOLD & MINERAL EXPLORATION NL
PRIMARY OWNER
11/10/1999
11/10/1999
EL 3926
SURR
MELBOURNE
VARUNO PTY LTD
18/10/1999
18/10/1999
EL 4271
SURR
ALBURY
HIGHLAKE RESOURCES NL
15/12/1999
15/12/1999
EL 3797
SURR
WEDDERBURN GOLDEN TRIANGLE RESOURCES NL
15/12/1999
15/12/1999
EL 4208
SURR
ECHUCA
GOLDEN TRIANGLE RESOURCES NL
15/12/1999
15/12/1999
EL 3627
SURR
MAFFRA
ASSOCIATED GOLD MINES OF VICTORIA LTD
15/12/1999
15/12/1999
EL 3989
SURR
MITIAMO
HOMESTAKE GOLD OF AUSTRALIA LTD
15/12/1999
15/12/1999
TITLE NO.
STATUS
EVENT
MAP
PRIMARY OWNER
EVENT DATE
EXPIRY DATE
MIN5216
CURRENT
GRANT
MOE
YALLOURN ENERGY PTY LTD
08/10/1999
07/10/2019
MIN5266
CURRENT
GRANT
HEATHCOTE
FLITEGOLD PTY LTD
15/10/1999
17/12/2002
MIN4777
CURRENT
GRANT
BALLARAT
KINGLAKE RESOURCES PTY LTD
06/12/1999
05/12/2009
MIN5246
CURRENT
GRANT
HEATHCOTE
MR FRANCIS W TYLOR
15/12/1999
15/12/2004
MIN5280
CURRENT
GRANT
HOPETOUN
MS MOIRA A CONWAY
24/12/1999
24/12/2009
GAS NETWORK EXPANDS ACROSS VICTORIA
MINING LICENCES GRANTED
MINING LICENCES SURRENDERED, CANCELLED OR EXPIRED TITLE NO.
STATUS
MAP
PRIMARY OWNER
EVENT DATE
EXPIRY DATE
MIN5257
SURR
NYAH
VICTORIAN GYPSUM PTY LTD
18/10/1999
18/10/1999
MIN5034
SURR
CRESWICK
DIAMETRIC RESOURCES (AUST) P/L
29/11/1999
29/11/1999
MIN5084
SURR
DUNOLLY
THOMAS N WRIGHT
29/11/1999
29/11/1999
MIN4950
SURR
DUNOLLY
DIAMETRIC RESOURCES (AUST) P/L
29/11/1999
29/11/1999
MIN4717
SURR
TYRRELL
ANTHONY W LINKLATER
29/11/1999
29/11/1999 29/11/1999
ML 581
SURR
DUNOLLY
RUSSELL J PEACOCK
29/11/1999
MIN4801
SURR
DUNOLLY
SEDIMENTARY HOLDINGS NL
15/12/1999
15/12/1999
MIN4914
SURR
DUNOLLY
RONALD J CLARK
15/12/1999
15/12/1999
MIN5006
SURR
DUNOLLY
RONALD J CLARK
15/12/1999
15/12/1999
ABBREVIATIONS: SURR - SURRENDERED, CANC - CANCELLATION CAN/AM - CANCELLED/AMALGAMATED
16
he network of new pipes delivering natural gas to regional Victoria is growing rapidly as a result of the deregulation of the national gas industry which now allows gas to be traded across state borders.
T
“The commitment of many large industries and commercial operations in the region to use natural gas as soon as it was available made the project viable,” Mr Clark said. (These include the Mildura base hospital, abattoirs, and the Buttercup dairy factory,)
A $30 million project to construct a 190-kilometre gas transmission pipeline from South Australia to Mildura has just been completed along with a substantial amount of gas pipeline reticulation in the city itself.
“Without the base load they provide, construction of the pipeline and distribution network would not have been economic.” Mr Clark added that up to 750 consumers would be supplied with natural gas through the first section of the distribution network which is scheduled to be completed in February.
Adelaide-based utility company, Envestra Ltd, commissioned the new transmission line late last year. Managing Director, Ollie Clark, said, “This is a significant milestone as it is the first major regional project undertaken by Envestra since it was formed in August 1997.” “Natural gas for the Mildura region will be supplied from Moomba, with Boral Energy being the initial retailer.” The transmission starts with the South Australian gas grid from Berri in the Riverland district and travels to Mildura. Initially, 350 new gas consumers signed up to buy gas with many more in the region expected to embrace the fuel.
“Construction of the network will be progressively undertaken over the next five years, by which time about 5,000 consumers will be using natural gas.” he added. Envestra has taken advantage of a new subdivision in the Mildura area by installing four kilometres of gas piping to provide a service to new homes as they are built. When complete the Mildura region gas network will spread to the nearby towns of Irymple and Red Cliffs. Last year Envestra also completed a gas transmission and local reticulation project in the Cardinia shire east of Melbourne. 17
Stratus Networks, owned by Envestra Ltd, spent $2 million on the gas mains project which is designed initially to supply 1,000 residential and commercial customers in Bunyip, Garfield, Tynong and Nar Nar Goon. Envestra says it is adding about 12,000 customers a year in Victoria through its Stratus Networks business. Envestra is also involved at present in a major project to bring gas to 14 towns in northern Victoria from Shepparton to Albury. The $60 million project involves the construction of 95 kilometres of transmission gas lines and an additional 390 km low-pressure distribution network. When complete the new network will join about 15,000 customers to Victoria’s gas network. Victoria already has the highest level of households connected to gas of any Australian state. F O R M O R E I N F O R M AT I O N C O N TA C T:
Des Petherick Manager Corporate and Public Affairs Envestra Ltd (08) 8227 1500 Mobile 0419 516 279
LICENCE REVIEW
Mineral Licences
October to December 1999
EXPLORATION LICENCES GRANTED TITLE NO.
STATUS
EVENT
MAP
PRIMARY OWNER
EVENT DATE
EXPIRY DATE
EL 4431
CURRENT
GRANT
EL 4428
CURRENT
GRANT
ROSEWOOD
JOHN M BRADY
08/10/1999
07/10/2001
HORSHAM
IMPERIAL MINING (AUSTRALIA) NL
08/10/1999
EL 4424
CURRENT
07/10/2001
GRANT
MELBOURNE
AUSTRALIAN ORGANIC RESOURCES P/L
15/10/1999
14/10/2001
EL 4418 EL 4433
CURRENT
GRANT
CRESWICK
WILLIAM J KYTE
15/10/1999
14/10/2001
CURRENT
GRANT
DONALD
GDM RESOURCES PTY LTD
15/12/1999
15/12/2001
EL 4432
CURRENT
GRANT
RUPANYUP
GDM RESOURCES PTY LTD
15/12/1999
15/12/2001
EXPLORATION LICENCES SURRENDERED, CANCELLED OR EXPIRED TITLE NO.
STATUS
EVENT DATE
EXPIRY DATE
EL 3580
SURR
DARGO
MAP
GAWLER GOLD & MINERAL EXPLORATION NL
PRIMARY OWNER
11/10/1999
11/10/1999
EL 3926
SURR
MELBOURNE
VARUNO PTY LTD
18/10/1999
18/10/1999
EL 4271
SURR
ALBURY
HIGHLAKE RESOURCES NL
15/12/1999
15/12/1999
EL 3797
SURR
WEDDERBURN GOLDEN TRIANGLE RESOURCES NL
15/12/1999
15/12/1999
EL 4208
SURR
ECHUCA
GOLDEN TRIANGLE RESOURCES NL
15/12/1999
15/12/1999
EL 3627
SURR
MAFFRA
ASSOCIATED GOLD MINES OF VICTORIA LTD
15/12/1999
15/12/1999
EL 3989
SURR
MITIAMO
HOMESTAKE GOLD OF AUSTRALIA LTD
15/12/1999
15/12/1999
TITLE NO.
STATUS
EVENT
MAP
PRIMARY OWNER
EVENT DATE
EXPIRY DATE
MIN5216
CURRENT
GRANT
MOE
YALLOURN ENERGY PTY LTD
08/10/1999
07/10/2019
MIN5266
CURRENT
GRANT
HEATHCOTE
FLITEGOLD PTY LTD
15/10/1999
17/12/2002
MIN4777
CURRENT
GRANT
BALLARAT
KINGLAKE RESOURCES PTY LTD
06/12/1999
05/12/2009
MIN5246
CURRENT
GRANT
HEATHCOTE
MR FRANCIS W TYLOR
15/12/1999
15/12/2004
MIN5280
CURRENT
GRANT
HOPETOUN
MS MOIRA A CONWAY
24/12/1999
24/12/2009
GAS NETWORK EXPANDS ACROSS VICTORIA
MINING LICENCES GRANTED
MINING LICENCES SURRENDERED, CANCELLED OR EXPIRED TITLE NO.
STATUS
MAP
PRIMARY OWNER
EVENT DATE
EXPIRY DATE
MIN5257
SURR
NYAH
VICTORIAN GYPSUM PTY LTD
18/10/1999
18/10/1999
MIN5034
SURR
CRESWICK
DIAMETRIC RESOURCES (AUST) P/L
29/11/1999
29/11/1999
MIN5084
SURR
DUNOLLY
THOMAS N WRIGHT
29/11/1999
29/11/1999
MIN4950
SURR
DUNOLLY
DIAMETRIC RESOURCES (AUST) P/L
29/11/1999
29/11/1999
MIN4717
SURR
TYRRELL
ANTHONY W LINKLATER
29/11/1999
29/11/1999 29/11/1999
ML 581
SURR
DUNOLLY
RUSSELL J PEACOCK
29/11/1999
MIN4801
SURR
DUNOLLY
SEDIMENTARY HOLDINGS NL
15/12/1999
15/12/1999
MIN4914
SURR
DUNOLLY
RONALD J CLARK
15/12/1999
15/12/1999
MIN5006
SURR
DUNOLLY
RONALD J CLARK
15/12/1999
15/12/1999
ABBREVIATIONS: SURR - SURRENDERED, CANC - CANCELLATION CAN/AM - CANCELLED/AMALGAMATED
16
he network of new pipes delivering natural gas to regional Victoria is growing rapidly as a result of the deregulation of the national gas industry which now allows gas to be traded across state borders.
T
“The commitment of many large industries and commercial operations in the region to use natural gas as soon as it was available made the project viable,” Mr Clark said. (These include the Mildura base hospital, abattoirs, and the Buttercup dairy factory,)
A $30 million project to construct a 190-kilometre gas transmission pipeline from South Australia to Mildura has just been completed along with a substantial amount of gas pipeline reticulation in the city itself.
“Without the base load they provide, construction of the pipeline and distribution network would not have been economic.” Mr Clark added that up to 750 consumers would be supplied with natural gas through the first section of the distribution network which is scheduled to be completed in February.
Adelaide-based utility company, Envestra Ltd, commissioned the new transmission line late last year. Managing Director, Ollie Clark, said, “This is a significant milestone as it is the first major regional project undertaken by Envestra since it was formed in August 1997.” “Natural gas for the Mildura region will be supplied from Moomba, with Boral Energy being the initial retailer.” The transmission starts with the South Australian gas grid from Berri in the Riverland district and travels to Mildura. Initially, 350 new gas consumers signed up to buy gas with many more in the region expected to embrace the fuel.
“Construction of the network will be progressively undertaken over the next five years, by which time about 5,000 consumers will be using natural gas.” he added. Envestra has taken advantage of a new subdivision in the Mildura area by installing four kilometres of gas piping to provide a service to new homes as they are built. When complete the Mildura region gas network will spread to the nearby towns of Irymple and Red Cliffs. Last year Envestra also completed a gas transmission and local reticulation project in the Cardinia shire east of Melbourne. 17
Stratus Networks, owned by Envestra Ltd, spent $2 million on the gas mains project which is designed initially to supply 1,000 residential and commercial customers in Bunyip, Garfield, Tynong and Nar Nar Goon. Envestra says it is adding about 12,000 customers a year in Victoria through its Stratus Networks business. Envestra is also involved at present in a major project to bring gas to 14 towns in northern Victoria from Shepparton to Albury. The $60 million project involves the construction of 95 kilometres of transmission gas lines and an additional 390 km low-pressure distribution network. When complete the new network will join about 15,000 customers to Victoria’s gas network. Victoria already has the highest level of households connected to gas of any Australian state. F O R M O R E I N F O R M AT I O N C O N TA C T:
Des Petherick Manager Corporate and Public Affairs Envestra Ltd (08) 8227 1500 Mobile 0419 516 279
COAL INDUSTRY
COAL INDUSTRY
The five coal dredges currently operating in the East field mine will be progressively moved into the new Maryvale mine once the development is complete.
T
Maryvale will produce coal for power generation for at least another 27 years, ensuring Victoria retains its low-cost electricity supply.
He also recommended a conservation management plan be prepared as part of the environmental management plan for the Maryvale development.
The new mine will operate in similar fashion to the existing East Field mine where five dredges are currently employed, one removing overburden to expose the coal and the other four extracting the brown coal.
Its operator, Yallourn Energy, now only requires formal work plan and environmental approval before construction of the new mine can start. These approvals are expected by mid-year.
F O R M O R E I N F O R M AT I O N C O N TA C T:
Tony Villella Manager Public Affairs Phone (03) 5128 2363 Fax (03)5128 2648
To move into operation at Maryvale, the dredges will be progressively moved from the East Field into the Maryvale Field by 2004 and excavate in a southerly direction until 2027.
The Maryvale project involves an 8-kilometre diversion of the Morwell River to provide access to the underlying coal reserves.
Green ‘go’ for Maryvale Construction of the river diversion and the associated mine development will take up to four years with first coal to be extracted in 2004.
Coal will be transported by conveyor from the dredges to the raw coal bunker near the power station. Yallourn W power station generates 9500 gigawatt hours of electricity a year while the existing East Field mine, which produces around 18 million tonnes a year, is one of the largest coal mines in Australia. The existing mining and power generation work provide employment for around 600 people.
It will be the second time the Morwell River has been diverted for mine works.
The new diversion will begin 750 metres downstream from the existing eastern railway bridge and rejoin the East Field diversion two
In his assessment Mr Thwaites recommended that Yallourn Energy provide measures to ensure ‘no net conservation loss’ of swampy riparian forest and damp sands, herb-rich foothills forest communities and Eucalyptus Strzeleckii and to re-establish areas disturbed during construction.
Coal from the Maryvale mine, as with Yallourn Energy’s other mines, will be used in the Yallourn W power station which produces 25 per cent of Victoria’s electricity requirements.
The new mine will replace the existing Township and East Field mines which are nearing the end of their lives.
This will recreate a more natural and meandering river course and associated habitat, providing the opportunity for future recreation facilities along the course of the river.
The habitat area where the species currently grows is in a swampy region at the north end of the Morwell West drain.
“Whilst the Minister’s assessment represents the major step in the environmental process, it is now necessary to work with the relevant government authorities to finalise the works approval conditions before we can start work.”
Victoria’s new Planning Minister, John Thwaites, gave the go-ahead in December following assessment of the environmental effects of the project.
The new diversion will also allow a replacement of an existing diversion in which a 3.7 kilometre stretch of the river is directed into an underground pipeline.
This species is listed as nationally significant and the existing population will be carefully monitored during development of the mine and throughout its operation.
it will be imperative that the company implements sound environmental management of the site and, in particular, careful monitoring and management of dust and noise emissions during the river diversion and operation of the mine.
he $A200 million development of the Maryvale brown coal mine in the Latrobe Valley has moved a step closer following completion of the environmental assessment process late last year.
The new diversion will allow mining to continue from the existing East Field mine directly into the Maryvale Field while mining the best coal which is located in the vicinity of the current course of the Morwell River.
for protection in the Maryvale project area including the native tree Eucalyptus Strzeleckii.
kilometres upstream from the junction of the Latrobe River (see aerial map). Overburden from the excavation of the new river channel, which will follow the course of an existing gully, will be placed into screening mounds east and south of the diversion and within the existing mine. The screening mounds will be up to 25 metres high with slopes of one (vertical) in three (horizontal) or less.
Final approval for the development of Yallourn Energy’s $200 million Maryvale brown coal mine in the LaTrobe Valley is imminent after the project won the approval of Victorian Planning Minister, John Thwaites, in December.
minimal impact on water quality, water flow, flora and fauna.
The excavation will be conducted by large excavator and dump trucks with construction occurring over summer and autumn through a four-year period.
The Minister largely endorsed recommendations of an independent panel for sound environmental management of the site, particularly the monitoring and management of dust and noise emissions during construction of the river diversion and the later operation of the mine.
In his assessment, Mr Thwaites said he was satisfied that the river could be diverted with
Yallourn Energy’s Maryvale Project Director, Graeme Offer, said, “In developing Maryvale
18
The development of the Maryvale mine will generate a major economic boost to the Latrobe Valley with the bulk of the $200 million to be spent locally on goods and services required to construct the mine and river diversion. The project will also demand high environmental monitoring and protection standards but Yallourn Energy has already demonstrated its commitment to sound environmental practices. In 1996 it became the first Victorian firm to be granted accredited licensee status by the Environment Protection Authority. Several key species of fauna have been listed An aerial view of the Yallourn Energy mining and power generation operations shows the major new Maryvale field development area and associated river diversion.
19
COAL INDUSTRY
COAL INDUSTRY
The five coal dredges currently operating in the East field mine will be progressively moved into the new Maryvale mine once the development is complete.
T
Maryvale will produce coal for power generation for at least another 27 years, ensuring Victoria retains its low-cost electricity supply.
He also recommended a conservation management plan be prepared as part of the environmental management plan for the Maryvale development.
The new mine will operate in similar fashion to the existing East Field mine where five dredges are currently employed, one removing overburden to expose the coal and the other four extracting the brown coal.
Its operator, Yallourn Energy, now only requires formal work plan and environmental approval before construction of the new mine can start. These approvals are expected by mid-year.
F O R M O R E I N F O R M AT I O N C O N TA C T:
Tony Villella Manager Public Affairs Phone (03) 5128 2363 Fax (03)5128 2648
To move into operation at Maryvale, the dredges will be progressively moved from the East Field into the Maryvale Field by 2004 and excavate in a southerly direction until 2027.
The Maryvale project involves an 8-kilometre diversion of the Morwell River to provide access to the underlying coal reserves.
Green ‘go’ for Maryvale Construction of the river diversion and the associated mine development will take up to four years with first coal to be extracted in 2004.
Coal will be transported by conveyor from the dredges to the raw coal bunker near the power station. Yallourn W power station generates 9500 gigawatt hours of electricity a year while the existing East Field mine, which produces around 18 million tonnes a year, is one of the largest coal mines in Australia. The existing mining and power generation work provide employment for around 600 people.
It will be the second time the Morwell River has been diverted for mine works.
The new diversion will begin 750 metres downstream from the existing eastern railway bridge and rejoin the East Field diversion two
In his assessment Mr Thwaites recommended that Yallourn Energy provide measures to ensure ‘no net conservation loss’ of swampy riparian forest and damp sands, herb-rich foothills forest communities and Eucalyptus Strzeleckii and to re-establish areas disturbed during construction.
Coal from the Maryvale mine, as with Yallourn Energy’s other mines, will be used in the Yallourn W power station which produces 25 per cent of Victoria’s electricity requirements.
The new mine will replace the existing Township and East Field mines which are nearing the end of their lives.
This will recreate a more natural and meandering river course and associated habitat, providing the opportunity for future recreation facilities along the course of the river.
The habitat area where the species currently grows is in a swampy region at the north end of the Morwell West drain.
“Whilst the Minister’s assessment represents the major step in the environmental process, it is now necessary to work with the relevant government authorities to finalise the works approval conditions before we can start work.”
Victoria’s new Planning Minister, John Thwaites, gave the go-ahead in December following assessment of the environmental effects of the project.
The new diversion will also allow a replacement of an existing diversion in which a 3.7 kilometre stretch of the river is directed into an underground pipeline.
This species is listed as nationally significant and the existing population will be carefully monitored during development of the mine and throughout its operation.
it will be imperative that the company implements sound environmental management of the site and, in particular, careful monitoring and management of dust and noise emissions during the river diversion and operation of the mine.
he $A200 million development of the Maryvale brown coal mine in the Latrobe Valley has moved a step closer following completion of the environmental assessment process late last year.
The new diversion will allow mining to continue from the existing East Field mine directly into the Maryvale Field while mining the best coal which is located in the vicinity of the current course of the Morwell River.
for protection in the Maryvale project area including the native tree Eucalyptus Strzeleckii.
kilometres upstream from the junction of the Latrobe River (see aerial map). Overburden from the excavation of the new river channel, which will follow the course of an existing gully, will be placed into screening mounds east and south of the diversion and within the existing mine. The screening mounds will be up to 25 metres high with slopes of one (vertical) in three (horizontal) or less.
Final approval for the development of Yallourn Energy’s $200 million Maryvale brown coal mine in the LaTrobe Valley is imminent after the project won the approval of Victorian Planning Minister, John Thwaites, in December.
minimal impact on water quality, water flow, flora and fauna.
The excavation will be conducted by large excavator and dump trucks with construction occurring over summer and autumn through a four-year period.
The Minister largely endorsed recommendations of an independent panel for sound environmental management of the site, particularly the monitoring and management of dust and noise emissions during construction of the river diversion and the later operation of the mine.
In his assessment, Mr Thwaites said he was satisfied that the river could be diverted with
Yallourn Energy’s Maryvale Project Director, Graeme Offer, said, “In developing Maryvale
18
The development of the Maryvale mine will generate a major economic boost to the Latrobe Valley with the bulk of the $200 million to be spent locally on goods and services required to construct the mine and river diversion. The project will also demand high environmental monitoring and protection standards but Yallourn Energy has already demonstrated its commitment to sound environmental practices. In 1996 it became the first Victorian firm to be granted accredited licensee status by the Environment Protection Authority. Several key species of fauna have been listed An aerial view of the Yallourn Energy mining and power generation operations shows the major new Maryvale field development area and associated river diversion.
19
NATIVE TITLE
Native title agreement signed Y
allourn Energy has signed Victoria’s first native title agreement for a major mining project.
The agreement, between Yallourn Energy and the Gunai/Kurnai people of Gippsland, allows the development of the $200 million Maryvale Field Project to proceed (see accompanying story). The agreement follows two years of negotiations between Yallourn, the Gunai/ Kurnai people and the State of Victoria. Yallourn Energy plans to use the Maryvale Field by 2005 as the company’s major coal supply, producing 18 million tonnes a year, until 2027. Yallourn’s application for a new mining licence including Crown land trig-
gered the right to negotiate process under the Native Title Act 1993 (Commonwealth). Yallourn Energy began discussions with the Gunai/Kurnai people in October 1997, to involve the community in the project as early as possible. In June 1998 the Victorian Government issued a section 29 notice which initiates the right to negotiate process under the Native Title Act. However, discussions between the parties were not resolved and on May 28, 1999, Yallourn Energy referred the matter to the National Native Title Tribunal (NNTT) for arbitration. Negotiations between the parties continued in parallel with the arbitration process and on
September 1 last, Yallourn and the Gunai /Kurnai people announced that they had reached agreement and sought a consent determination from the NNTT. The 30-year confidential agreement gives the go-ahead to the Maryvale Field Project establishes a trust fund to help educate and train local young Aboriginal people. A joint management plan has also been developed for cultural heritage and sites of Aboriginal significance. Yallourn will also make a contribution towards establishing a keeping place to preserve and exhibit items of significance. Yallourn Energy’s Chief Executive, Mike Johnston, said, “This is an important step forward for us in terms of the project. We also see it as very much the start of a long-term relationship between the company and the Kurnai people.” Gunai/Kurnai Council of Elders Chairman, Terry Hood said, “This agreement shows that Aboriginal people are not anti-development. We just want to share in the benefits of that development and have a say in how it affects our country.” While the end result in the process has been positive, it serves to show that negotiated outcomes are better for all parties. In this case, the arbitration process imposed considerable costs and workloads on all parties to achieve an outcome that could have been achieved through negotiation alone. Left: Yallourn Energy Chief Executive, Mike Johnson (right) and Chairman of the Gurnai/Kurnai council of elders, Terry Hood, signed a native title agreement allowing the $200 million Maryvale project to proceed. Right: The Yallourn Energy – Gurnai/Kurnai native title agreement was celebrated by the Watbalimba Dance Group at the signing ceremony.
Victoria registers its first ilua! A
n Indigenous Land Use Agreement (ILUA) for BHP Petroleum’s proposed Minerva gas field development has been registered by the National Native Title Tribunal. The agreement is the first ILUA to be registered in Victoria under the amended Native Title Act 1993. BHP Petroleum, the Framlingham Aboriginal
Trust, the Kirrae Whurrong Native Title Group, and the State Government are all cosignatories to the agreement which represents approval under the Native Title Act 1993 to enable the $200 million Minerva Project to proceed.
tres off the coast near Port Campbell, through Port Campbell National Park, to a gas treatment plant near Two Mile Bay.
The project will involve the construction of a system of pipelines to transport gas from the Minerva gas field which lies about 11 kilome-
Joanna Halls, DNRE Phone (03) 9637 8535 Fax (03) 9637 8155
20
F O R M O R E I N F O R M AT I O N C O N TA C T:
Mediation offers best outcome M
ediation of a native title claim has also begun in Victoria’s west where the Wotjobaluk people are seeking to resolve issues surrounding a land and water claim.
of concern and matters of common interest.
The Wotjobaluk people, who are represented in their claim by the Miriambak Nations Aboriginal Corporation started a series of meetings in late November.
“We are committed to the process of mediation. It is the best way to go in the long run to reach an agreement. No-one has the time or money to spend five years in the court process. It is much better to have an outcome through mediation.”
The Wotjobaluk claim covers crown land in the areas loosely bordered by the towns of Edenhope, Ararat, Wycheproof, Birchip, Ouyen and Murrayville with about 500 respondents having registered as having a proprietary interest affected by the claim. The mediation process will be presided over by Professor Doug Williams, QC, a member of the National Native Title Tribunal. Initial meetings will be held separately to outline areas
Wotjobaluk claimant, Peter Kennedy, said, “We are in the process of getting together with interest groups and we are not and do not intend to hold anything back.
The mediation process has been made possible through amendments to the Native Title Act which previously required an initial ‘plenary’ conference between the interested groups. Miriambak Nations Chief Executive Officer, Ross Hebblewhite, said, “The plenary conference was often a problematic stage in the mediation process. It was not always appro21
priate to put the applicants and respondent parties in the ring, so to speak, before they even knew what they were fighting about.” The new process means that the native title applicants and numerous other parties are informed about the issues and aware of the mediation process before they meet, Mr Hebblewhite said. He added that the recent Gurnai/Kurnai agreement with Yallourn Energy represented the successful results which can be achieved through a negotiated outcome. F O R M O R E I N F O R M AT I O N C O N TA C T:
Ross Hebblewhite, Chief Executive Officer Miriambak Nations Aboriginal Corporation Phone (Bus Hrs) 9326 3900
NATIVE TITLE
Native title agreement signed Y
allourn Energy has signed Victoria’s first native title agreement for a major mining project.
The agreement, between Yallourn Energy and the Gunai/Kurnai people of Gippsland, allows the development of the $200 million Maryvale Field Project to proceed (see accompanying story). The agreement follows two years of negotiations between Yallourn, the Gunai/ Kurnai people and the State of Victoria. Yallourn Energy plans to use the Maryvale Field by 2005 as the company’s major coal supply, producing 18 million tonnes a year, until 2027. Yallourn’s application for a new mining licence including Crown land trig-
gered the right to negotiate process under the Native Title Act 1993 (Commonwealth). Yallourn Energy began discussions with the Gunai/Kurnai people in October 1997, to involve the community in the project as early as possible. In June 1998 the Victorian Government issued a section 29 notice which initiates the right to negotiate process under the Native Title Act. However, discussions between the parties were not resolved and on May 28, 1999, Yallourn Energy referred the matter to the National Native Title Tribunal (NNTT) for arbitration. Negotiations between the parties continued in parallel with the arbitration process and on
September 1 last, Yallourn and the Gunai /Kurnai people announced that they had reached agreement and sought a consent determination from the NNTT. The 30-year confidential agreement gives the go-ahead to the Maryvale Field Project establishes a trust fund to help educate and train local young Aboriginal people. A joint management plan has also been developed for cultural heritage and sites of Aboriginal significance. Yallourn will also make a contribution towards establishing a keeping place to preserve and exhibit items of significance. Yallourn Energy’s Chief Executive, Mike Johnston, said, “This is an important step forward for us in terms of the project. We also see it as very much the start of a long-term relationship between the company and the Kurnai people.” Gunai/Kurnai Council of Elders Chairman, Terry Hood said, “This agreement shows that Aboriginal people are not anti-development. We just want to share in the benefits of that development and have a say in how it affects our country.” While the end result in the process has been positive, it serves to show that negotiated outcomes are better for all parties. In this case, the arbitration process imposed considerable costs and workloads on all parties to achieve an outcome that could have been achieved through negotiation alone. Left: Yallourn Energy Chief Executive, Mike Johnson (right) and Chairman of the Gurnai/Kurnai council of elders, Terry Hood, signed a native title agreement allowing the $200 million Maryvale project to proceed. Right: The Yallourn Energy – Gurnai/Kurnai native title agreement was celebrated by the Watbalimba Dance Group at the signing ceremony.
Victoria registers its first ilua! A
n Indigenous Land Use Agreement (ILUA) for BHP Petroleum’s proposed Minerva gas field development has been registered by the National Native Title Tribunal. The agreement is the first ILUA to be registered in Victoria under the amended Native Title Act 1993. BHP Petroleum, the Framlingham Aboriginal
Trust, the Kirrae Whurrong Native Title Group, and the State Government are all cosignatories to the agreement which represents approval under the Native Title Act 1993 to enable the $200 million Minerva Project to proceed.
tres off the coast near Port Campbell, through Port Campbell National Park, to a gas treatment plant near Two Mile Bay.
The project will involve the construction of a system of pipelines to transport gas from the Minerva gas field which lies about 11 kilome-
Joanna Halls, DNRE Phone (03) 9637 8535 Fax (03) 9637 8155
20
F O R M O R E I N F O R M AT I O N C O N TA C T:
Mediation offers best outcome M
ediation of a native title claim has also begun in Victoria’s west where the Wotjobaluk people are seeking to resolve issues surrounding a land and water claim.
of concern and matters of common interest.
The Wotjobaluk people, who are represented in their claim by the Miriambak Nations Aboriginal Corporation started a series of meetings in late November.
“We are committed to the process of mediation. It is the best way to go in the long run to reach an agreement. No-one has the time or money to spend five years in the court process. It is much better to have an outcome through mediation.”
The Wotjobaluk claim covers crown land in the areas loosely bordered by the towns of Edenhope, Ararat, Wycheproof, Birchip, Ouyen and Murrayville with about 500 respondents having registered as having a proprietary interest affected by the claim. The mediation process will be presided over by Professor Doug Williams, QC, a member of the National Native Title Tribunal. Initial meetings will be held separately to outline areas
Wotjobaluk claimant, Peter Kennedy, said, “We are in the process of getting together with interest groups and we are not and do not intend to hold anything back.
The mediation process has been made possible through amendments to the Native Title Act which previously required an initial ‘plenary’ conference between the interested groups. Miriambak Nations Chief Executive Officer, Ross Hebblewhite, said, “The plenary conference was often a problematic stage in the mediation process. It was not always appro21
priate to put the applicants and respondent parties in the ring, so to speak, before they even knew what they were fighting about.” The new process means that the native title applicants and numerous other parties are informed about the issues and aware of the mediation process before they meet, Mr Hebblewhite said. He added that the recent Gurnai/Kurnai agreement with Yallourn Energy represented the successful results which can be achieved through a negotiated outcome. F O R M O R E I N F O R M AT I O N C O N TA C T:
Ross Hebblewhite, Chief Executive Officer Miriambak Nations Aboriginal Corporation Phone (Bus Hrs) 9326 3900
SAFETY REVIEW
New proposals to improve mine safety Graeme McLaughlan, Chief Mining Inspector at Minerals and Petroleum Victoria, reviewed the development of health and safety legislation for the Victorian mining industry at a safety seminar held during Mining Week. Here is an edited version of his paper.
M
ining legislation in Victoria, in common with other areas around the world, has historically been enacted as a result of significant accidents, incidents or disasters. The original purpose of the State’s mining legislation was to ensure a degree of certainty of tenure. This was followed by the need to make mines safe for people to work in and be free from associated disease. The inclusion of health and safety regulation was secondary and the development of the legislation has essentially been reactive, rather than pro-active. Victorian mining operations are currently subject to several Acts and subordinate legislation (regulations). The legislative divide is based on the definition of ‘mineral’ and broadly separates the mining of stone (extractive industry) and minerals (metalliferous and coal). The principal legislation under which commercial extractive industries (quarries) are permitted to operate are the: • Extractive Industries Development Act 1995 and associated regulations, • Occupational Health and Safety Act 1985; and the • Dangerous Goods Act 1985 The principal legislation under which mines (both metalliferous and coal) are permitted to operate are the: • Mineral Resources Development Act 1990 and associated health and safety regulations; and the • Dangerous Goods Act 1985 The OH&S Act has primacy on extractive (quarry) sites. This Act falls under the jurisdiction of the Victorian WorkCover Authority, but is administered at site level by officers of the Minerals and Petroleum Regulation Branch.
The Act contains general duty of care obligations and provides for approved codes of practice for use in support of the regulations. The Dangerous Goods legislation (under review through 1999) is generally prescriptive and detailed in nature. The EID Act has relatively few safety-related provisions and largely focuses on titles and other on-site issues. Metalliferous mines and coal mines fall under the jurisdiction of the MRD act. Separate health and safety subordinate legislation exists for metalliferous mines. These regulations contain some duty of care and process and exposure standard legislation. However, the majority of the regulations are very prescriptive and relate to the control of specific hazards. Coal mine safety is controlled through the Mineral Resources (Health and Safety in Large open cut Mines) Regulations 1995. These regulations are essentially performance based and incorporate the general duty of care principles.
Why regulate ? Regulation benefits members of the industry engaged in mining activities (including the workforce) and the public. The benefits lie in protection against risks, which may be broadly categorised as risks to health and safety; financial risks; risks arising from a lack of adequate information, and risks of criminal activity. Regulatory controls are justified only where it can be shown that an unacceptable degree of risk results from unregulated activity. The stringency of the controls must, in all cases, be commensurate with the level of risk. The record of the mining industry in the area of health and safety is of major concern to all stakeholders. In its 1997/98 Safety and Health Performance 22
Report the Australian Minerals Council identified that an average of almost twenty five fatalities had occurred in the industry each year during the preceding decade. In the same survey the industry’s lost-time injury frequency rate, while showing consistent improvement during the period, was estimated to have plateaued at approximately fifteen (lost-time injuries per million man hours worked). Whilst on a smaller scale, the lost-time injury frequency rate patterns in Victoria show similar trends to those of the national industry, a significant difference can be cited in the fatality rate of zero in Victoria for the last six years. While an improvement trend has been identified, and may be attributed to the efforts of the industry, industry bodies and government initiatives, the estimated fatal and lost-time injury rates within the industry remain unacceptably high. The unacceptable impact of poor health and safety performance on the industry, employees and the public is recognised by industry through it’s industry bodies. These include the various State Chambers of Mines and the Minerals Council of Australia, and by government through the Australian and New Zealand Minerals and Energy Council (ANZMEC). One of the outcomes of the 1998 meeting of ANZMEC Ministers was the formation of a national mine safety taskforce whose primary objective is the establishment of a national strategic regulatory framework to guide governments’ contribution to realise a safe and healthy mining industry in the most efficient, effective and timely manner. The current review of the Victorian extractive industry’s health and safety regulation is well into the consultation phase. The primary aim of the proposed extractive industry legislative changes is to establish a regime that:• Provides a framework for the active management of hazards and risks arising from quarrying, where those hazards and risks impact on people and/or the environment; • Ensures a consistent approach to regulation; • Removes duplication; • Establishes a consistent approach to enforcement that changes the focus from the regulator having to prove compliance to
the operator having to demonstrate compliance; • Provides a framework for all operators, particularly medium to small operators, to comply with the safety management system currently required under the relevant legislation;
Mine safety competitions help develop on-theground skills safety but the move to standardise safety legislation and regulations between the states is aimed at improving the safety culture in the mining industry.
• Provides sufficient prescriptive guidance for smaller operators in areas of high risk in quarrying (eg: explosives); and • Provides a balance between prescription and performance-based regulations. Given the relatively low-risk profile of extractive industry, compared say to an offshore petroleum facility, full performance-based style regulation is probably inappropriate for extractive industries. However, mining, particularly underground mining, faces a different set of hazards to those of the extractive industry. It is anticipated that the review of the Victorian mining health and safety regulations will introduce new legislative initiatives to ensure the acceptable management and control of risks to health and safety in the industry. The key elements of the proposals, the management of risks and the establishment of formal safety management plans, will provide a platform for progressive improvement in mine safety into the next century. Major issues for the new legislation will include an emphasis on the ‘duty of care’ of all those participating in the industry, the implementation of safety management systems and control of hazards and employee consultation and the balance between performance-based and prescriptive regulation. The new legislation will allow for the development, and/or the adoption of guidelines and codes of practice. The contents of the proposals will be the sub-
ject of wide consultation through the state. The new legislation may introduce many new elements to Victorian health and safety regulation including:• General duty of care applicable to all those involved in the industry to manage risks; • Inclusion of senior company executives in accountable positions; • Involvement of employees at the mine sites in safety and health issues; • Both prescriptive and performance-based regulations and guidelines; and • More realistic penalties for non-compliance. The industry and government will have to work together to ensure that quality management systems are introduced and implemented at mine sites. In Victoria, there is considerable variation in the size of mining operations - from the large open cut coal mines in the Latrobe Valley, through medium-sized underground operations like Stawell, all the way to the one-man surface prospecting operator. The new legislation and the inspectorate will have to be flexible enough to deal with this range of situations. The core of the legislation will be the need to 23
identify and manage risks to such an extent that mining activity can be undertaken in such a manner that the risk of harm to a person’s health and/or safety is reduced to as low as is reasonably practicable, and within acceptable limits. To control risk to this level, the development of management and operating systems that incorporate the following elements will be necessary: • Identification, analysis and assessment of hazards; • Establishment of control measures; • Avoidance of unacceptable risk; • Monitoring of the level of risk; • Review of the effectiveness of the control measures; and • Appropriate corrective action. The achievement of the industry’s aim of injury and disease free mining operations should be seen as a journey rather than a destination. The journey will be rather steep in places. The introduction of a new legislative model will provide a contribution to the management of the risks inherent in mining activities. The co-operation of all parties involved in the industry in the development of the legislation will be paramount. The continuation of that co-operation as the legislation is implemented will be of foremost benefit in identifying and managing the risks to an acceptable level.
SAFETY REVIEW
New proposals to improve mine safety Graeme McLaughlan, Chief Mining Inspector at Minerals and Petroleum Victoria, reviewed the development of health and safety legislation for the Victorian mining industry at a safety seminar held during Mining Week. Here is an edited version of his paper.
M
ining legislation in Victoria, in common with other areas around the world, has historically been enacted as a result of significant accidents, incidents or disasters. The original purpose of the State’s mining legislation was to ensure a degree of certainty of tenure. This was followed by the need to make mines safe for people to work in and be free from associated disease. The inclusion of health and safety regulation was secondary and the development of the legislation has essentially been reactive, rather than pro-active. Victorian mining operations are currently subject to several Acts and subordinate legislation (regulations). The legislative divide is based on the definition of ‘mineral’ and broadly separates the mining of stone (extractive industry) and minerals (metalliferous and coal). The principal legislation under which commercial extractive industries (quarries) are permitted to operate are the: • Extractive Industries Development Act 1995 and associated regulations, • Occupational Health and Safety Act 1985; and the • Dangerous Goods Act 1985 The principal legislation under which mines (both metalliferous and coal) are permitted to operate are the: • Mineral Resources Development Act 1990 and associated health and safety regulations; and the • Dangerous Goods Act 1985 The OH&S Act has primacy on extractive (quarry) sites. This Act falls under the jurisdiction of the Victorian WorkCover Authority, but is administered at site level by officers of the Minerals and Petroleum Regulation Branch.
The Act contains general duty of care obligations and provides for approved codes of practice for use in support of the regulations. The Dangerous Goods legislation (under review through 1999) is generally prescriptive and detailed in nature. The EID Act has relatively few safety-related provisions and largely focuses on titles and other on-site issues. Metalliferous mines and coal mines fall under the jurisdiction of the MRD act. Separate health and safety subordinate legislation exists for metalliferous mines. These regulations contain some duty of care and process and exposure standard legislation. However, the majority of the regulations are very prescriptive and relate to the control of specific hazards. Coal mine safety is controlled through the Mineral Resources (Health and Safety in Large open cut Mines) Regulations 1995. These regulations are essentially performance based and incorporate the general duty of care principles.
Why regulate ? Regulation benefits members of the industry engaged in mining activities (including the workforce) and the public. The benefits lie in protection against risks, which may be broadly categorised as risks to health and safety; financial risks; risks arising from a lack of adequate information, and risks of criminal activity. Regulatory controls are justified only where it can be shown that an unacceptable degree of risk results from unregulated activity. The stringency of the controls must, in all cases, be commensurate with the level of risk. The record of the mining industry in the area of health and safety is of major concern to all stakeholders. In its 1997/98 Safety and Health Performance 22
Report the Australian Minerals Council identified that an average of almost twenty five fatalities had occurred in the industry each year during the preceding decade. In the same survey the industry’s lost-time injury frequency rate, while showing consistent improvement during the period, was estimated to have plateaued at approximately fifteen (lost-time injuries per million man hours worked). Whilst on a smaller scale, the lost-time injury frequency rate patterns in Victoria show similar trends to those of the national industry, a significant difference can be cited in the fatality rate of zero in Victoria for the last six years. While an improvement trend has been identified, and may be attributed to the efforts of the industry, industry bodies and government initiatives, the estimated fatal and lost-time injury rates within the industry remain unacceptably high. The unacceptable impact of poor health and safety performance on the industry, employees and the public is recognised by industry through it’s industry bodies. These include the various State Chambers of Mines and the Minerals Council of Australia, and by government through the Australian and New Zealand Minerals and Energy Council (ANZMEC). One of the outcomes of the 1998 meeting of ANZMEC Ministers was the formation of a national mine safety taskforce whose primary objective is the establishment of a national strategic regulatory framework to guide governments’ contribution to realise a safe and healthy mining industry in the most efficient, effective and timely manner. The current review of the Victorian extractive industry’s health and safety regulation is well into the consultation phase. The primary aim of the proposed extractive industry legislative changes is to establish a regime that:• Provides a framework for the active management of hazards and risks arising from quarrying, where those hazards and risks impact on people and/or the environment; • Ensures a consistent approach to regulation; • Removes duplication; • Establishes a consistent approach to enforcement that changes the focus from the regulator having to prove compliance to
the operator having to demonstrate compliance; • Provides a framework for all operators, particularly medium to small operators, to comply with the safety management system currently required under the relevant legislation;
Mine safety competitions help develop on-theground skills safety but the move to standardise safety legislation and regulations between the states is aimed at improving the safety culture in the mining industry.
• Provides sufficient prescriptive guidance for smaller operators in areas of high risk in quarrying (eg: explosives); and • Provides a balance between prescription and performance-based regulations. Given the relatively low-risk profile of extractive industry, compared say to an offshore petroleum facility, full performance-based style regulation is probably inappropriate for extractive industries. However, mining, particularly underground mining, faces a different set of hazards to those of the extractive industry. It is anticipated that the review of the Victorian mining health and safety regulations will introduce new legislative initiatives to ensure the acceptable management and control of risks to health and safety in the industry. The key elements of the proposals, the management of risks and the establishment of formal safety management plans, will provide a platform for progressive improvement in mine safety into the next century. Major issues for the new legislation will include an emphasis on the ‘duty of care’ of all those participating in the industry, the implementation of safety management systems and control of hazards and employee consultation and the balance between performance-based and prescriptive regulation. The new legislation will allow for the development, and/or the adoption of guidelines and codes of practice. The contents of the proposals will be the sub-
ject of wide consultation through the state. The new legislation may introduce many new elements to Victorian health and safety regulation including:• General duty of care applicable to all those involved in the industry to manage risks; • Inclusion of senior company executives in accountable positions; • Involvement of employees at the mine sites in safety and health issues; • Both prescriptive and performance-based regulations and guidelines; and • More realistic penalties for non-compliance. The industry and government will have to work together to ensure that quality management systems are introduced and implemented at mine sites. In Victoria, there is considerable variation in the size of mining operations - from the large open cut coal mines in the Latrobe Valley, through medium-sized underground operations like Stawell, all the way to the one-man surface prospecting operator. The new legislation and the inspectorate will have to be flexible enough to deal with this range of situations. The core of the legislation will be the need to 23
identify and manage risks to such an extent that mining activity can be undertaken in such a manner that the risk of harm to a person’s health and/or safety is reduced to as low as is reasonably practicable, and within acceptable limits. To control risk to this level, the development of management and operating systems that incorporate the following elements will be necessary: • Identification, analysis and assessment of hazards; • Establishment of control measures; • Avoidance of unacceptable risk; • Monitoring of the level of risk; • Review of the effectiveness of the control measures; and • Appropriate corrective action. The achievement of the industry’s aim of injury and disease free mining operations should be seen as a journey rather than a destination. The journey will be rather steep in places. The introduction of a new legislative model will provide a contribution to the management of the risks inherent in mining activities. The co-operation of all parties involved in the industry in the development of the legislation will be paramount. The continuation of that co-operation as the legislation is implemented will be of foremost benefit in identifying and managing the risks to an acceptable level.
SPECIAL FEATURE
SPECIAL FEATURE
‘Rubbish blanket’ may hide new ore bodies Regolith studies are a relatively new tool
larger, though weaker, than that of the parent ore-body. These dispersed geochemical haloes may be 200-300 times the size of the parent ore body and thus permit a wide-space sampling program that is rapid and cheap.
that will help mineral exploration as well as being valuable for landcare, agricultural and salinity-control programs.
Understanding the regolith and taming it to become a friend rather than an enemy presents an exciting new trend in Australian exploration.
David Taylor, a Geologist with the Geological Survey of Victoria, explains.
Regolith studies gained prominence in Western Australia in the 1980s by helping find large hidden deposits like Bronzewing and by recognising that some ore-bodies such as Boddington are actually hosted by the regolith.
M
ost Victorian explorers would love to find a new ‘million-ounce gold deposit’ like Bendigo, Stawell or Ballarat. To date however, most companies have had to be content with picking over the near-surface remnants of such historical goldfields, or gaining expensive access to their untouched deeper levels.
Calcrete sampling, one of the offshoots of regolith studies, helped fuel the Gawler Craton ‘gold rush’ in South Australia several years ago. People such as Simon Bolster of Regolex Pty Ltd in Perth say that “as we approach the 21st century, the regolith is now an asset to the exploration industry as it has successfully hidden ore deposits from the generations of explorers who have preceded us!”.
The mineralised quartz-reefs systems in the Palaeozoic bedrock of western Victoria are attractive high grade targets, but how do you find a new example of these relatively narrow orebodies given that the area has been explored for over 30 years by modern geochemical exploration with only limited success? Most previous regional exploration has concentrated on stream sediment or soil sampling of the areas of exposed bedrock and has replicated, although in a more sophisticated manner, the canny exploration of the old timers. It is a tribute to the ingenuity and perseverance of the old timers that essentially no new quartz-reef hosted goldfields have been discovered in Victoria since their time. The relatively narrow width of the quartz-reef systems and the large amounts of young sedimentary and volcanic cover make finding a completely new ore body like trying to find the proverbial needle in the haystack. So what is the quickest, best and cheapest way of finding the needle? Rather than the painful exercise of slowly, methodically and expensively looking for the needle itself, perhaps whole handfuls of the hay could be quickly sifted for telltale signs of rust staining to show where the needle lies. Enter the regolith. Regolith is a Greek word meaning stone blanket and has been described in tongue-in-cheek fashion by Cliff Ollier and Colin Pain in their excellent textbook ‘Regolith, Soils and Landforms’, as ‘the loose, weathered, illdefined rubbish near the earth’s surface that nobody wants to deal with.
Nigel Radford of Normandy Exploration Ltd noted at the Regolith 96 conference in Brisbane that the regolith holds important clues to the location of the next headframe but that many geologists still don’t take enough interest in it, concentrating instead on the few available outcrops of hardrock geology. The newsletters of Australian Laboratory Services Pty Ltd, particularly volume 4 number 1 entitled ‘Exploration in the Australian Regolith’, provide a good summary of the importance of the regolith to exploration and recommendations for sampling strategies.
To most geologists it is the junk on top that obscures a clear view of the rocks’. A more scientific definition of the regolith is the blanket of weathered material mantling the fresh rock. The regolith includes in-situ weathered bedrock as well as transported surficial material such as colluvium and alluvium. Most of our precious groundwater resources flow through the regolith and it is the top most layer of the regolith which forms the soil upon which our agriculture depends. Now that most of the exposed bedrock in Australia has been explored for the obvious ore bodies, the areas of regolith have come to represent 24
Above: Mapface of the Ballarat 1:100 000 regolith-exploration map showing the variably weathered bedrock in blue (the deeper the blue the greater the weathering), granites in pale red, the extensive young volcanic cover in orange and the young transported cover in grey and green.
regions where a surficially-concealing barrier may be hiding completely new ones. If properly understood, the regolith can aid rather than impede exploration since dispersed geochemical haloes in the regolith, the ruststained hay in the needle-in-the-hay-stack analogy, can produce a signature many times
to the first generation of Australian geologists that had been trained there, it was a curse that obscured the real rocks. Australia by necessity has now become one of the world leaders in regolith studies —with the deeply weathered and flat landscape of Western Australia being a fertile training ground. The Cooperative Research Centre for Landscape Evolution and Mineral Exploration (CRCLEME), which was founded by the Australian Geological Survey Organisation (AGSO), the Commonwealth Science and Industry Research Organisation (CSIRO) and the University of Canberra and the Australian National University, has encouraged regolith studies and regolith-landform maps are currently being produced for many parts of Australia, in addition to numerous special investigative projects. While regolith studies in Victoria are in their infancy, they should be boosted significantly by recognising that it is the subdued topography of western Victoria, where regolith development and cover is greatest, where the bulk of the state’s proven mineral wealth also lies.
Mesozoic landscape was severely dissected during the Australia-Antarctica break-up. Several cycles of erosion followed the breakup and left fluvial placer gold deposits (derived from nearby quartz-reefs in the bedrock) scattered across the present landscape. In historical times these placers were extensively mined, but today they would mainly complicate exploration as transported anomalies. The landscape evolution which produced the placers also generated a variety of bedrock regolith profile — from pallid clay to ferruginised saprock —whose distribution affects the sample media available and the assay technique required. There are high-standing areas of bedrock which have remained relatively unweathered and are uncontaminated by transported gold liberated from the Cainozoic deposits.
A large proportion of Victoria’s historical gold production was won from the mining of buried ‘deep lead’ river channels or the fabulously rich, shallow gold rush diggings —all material that could be classified as transported regolith.
Low-standing areas of bedrock exhumed from below the Cainozoic deposits range from highly weathered to almost fresh and would be more likely to be contaminated by transported gold. In addition, large areas of the goldfield — an area characterised by million ounce gold deposits — have been masked from any previous exploration by relatively young basalt flows that are generally only tens of metres thick but locally aggregate to over 100 m.
The present landscape of the western Victorian goldfields dates back to the start of the Cainozoic period when a deeply weathered
Although the regions where the bedrock is exposed are the obvious exploration target, it is perhaps the covered areas that provide the
As well as helping the minerals industry, the study of the regolith will also aid landcare, agricultural and salinity control programs since soils and groundwater are some of the complex, interacting facets that make-up, control, and are controlled by, the development of the regolith. As an ancient continent, much of Australia is replete with a thick rind of regolith —far different from the young, hilly landscape of North America and Europe that was scoured by extensive glaciation in the last ice ages. Classical geology studies, born in the northern hemisphere, virtually ignored the regolith and, Right: A complex regolith scenario with pallid bedrock saprolite exposed in old shallow diggings from beneath a protective duricrust of auriferous transported gravel.
25
SPECIAL FEATURE
SPECIAL FEATURE
‘Rubbish blanket’ may hide new ore bodies Regolith studies are a relatively new tool
larger, though weaker, than that of the parent ore-body. These dispersed geochemical haloes may be 200-300 times the size of the parent ore body and thus permit a wide-space sampling program that is rapid and cheap.
that will help mineral exploration as well as being valuable for landcare, agricultural and salinity-control programs.
Understanding the regolith and taming it to become a friend rather than an enemy presents an exciting new trend in Australian exploration.
David Taylor, a Geologist with the Geological Survey of Victoria, explains.
Regolith studies gained prominence in Western Australia in the 1980s by helping find large hidden deposits like Bronzewing and by recognising that some ore-bodies such as Boddington are actually hosted by the regolith.
M
ost Victorian explorers would love to find a new ‘million-ounce gold deposit’ like Bendigo, Stawell or Ballarat. To date however, most companies have had to be content with picking over the near-surface remnants of such historical goldfields, or gaining expensive access to their untouched deeper levels.
Calcrete sampling, one of the offshoots of regolith studies, helped fuel the Gawler Craton ‘gold rush’ in South Australia several years ago. People such as Simon Bolster of Regolex Pty Ltd in Perth say that “as we approach the 21st century, the regolith is now an asset to the exploration industry as it has successfully hidden ore deposits from the generations of explorers who have preceded us!”.
The mineralised quartz-reefs systems in the Palaeozoic bedrock of western Victoria are attractive high grade targets, but how do you find a new example of these relatively narrow orebodies given that the area has been explored for over 30 years by modern geochemical exploration with only limited success? Most previous regional exploration has concentrated on stream sediment or soil sampling of the areas of exposed bedrock and has replicated, although in a more sophisticated manner, the canny exploration of the old timers. It is a tribute to the ingenuity and perseverance of the old timers that essentially no new quartz-reef hosted goldfields have been discovered in Victoria since their time. The relatively narrow width of the quartz-reef systems and the large amounts of young sedimentary and volcanic cover make finding a completely new ore body like trying to find the proverbial needle in the haystack. So what is the quickest, best and cheapest way of finding the needle? Rather than the painful exercise of slowly, methodically and expensively looking for the needle itself, perhaps whole handfuls of the hay could be quickly sifted for telltale signs of rust staining to show where the needle lies. Enter the regolith. Regolith is a Greek word meaning stone blanket and has been described in tongue-in-cheek fashion by Cliff Ollier and Colin Pain in their excellent textbook ‘Regolith, Soils and Landforms’, as ‘the loose, weathered, illdefined rubbish near the earth’s surface that nobody wants to deal with.
Nigel Radford of Normandy Exploration Ltd noted at the Regolith 96 conference in Brisbane that the regolith holds important clues to the location of the next headframe but that many geologists still don’t take enough interest in it, concentrating instead on the few available outcrops of hardrock geology. The newsletters of Australian Laboratory Services Pty Ltd, particularly volume 4 number 1 entitled ‘Exploration in the Australian Regolith’, provide a good summary of the importance of the regolith to exploration and recommendations for sampling strategies.
To most geologists it is the junk on top that obscures a clear view of the rocks’. A more scientific definition of the regolith is the blanket of weathered material mantling the fresh rock. The regolith includes in-situ weathered bedrock as well as transported surficial material such as colluvium and alluvium. Most of our precious groundwater resources flow through the regolith and it is the top most layer of the regolith which forms the soil upon which our agriculture depends. Now that most of the exposed bedrock in Australia has been explored for the obvious ore bodies, the areas of regolith have come to represent 24
Above: Mapface of the Ballarat 1:100 000 regolith-exploration map showing the variably weathered bedrock in blue (the deeper the blue the greater the weathering), granites in pale red, the extensive young volcanic cover in orange and the young transported cover in grey and green.
regions where a surficially-concealing barrier may be hiding completely new ones. If properly understood, the regolith can aid rather than impede exploration since dispersed geochemical haloes in the regolith, the ruststained hay in the needle-in-the-hay-stack analogy, can produce a signature many times
to the first generation of Australian geologists that had been trained there, it was a curse that obscured the real rocks. Australia by necessity has now become one of the world leaders in regolith studies —with the deeply weathered and flat landscape of Western Australia being a fertile training ground. The Cooperative Research Centre for Landscape Evolution and Mineral Exploration (CRCLEME), which was founded by the Australian Geological Survey Organisation (AGSO), the Commonwealth Science and Industry Research Organisation (CSIRO) and the University of Canberra and the Australian National University, has encouraged regolith studies and regolith-landform maps are currently being produced for many parts of Australia, in addition to numerous special investigative projects. While regolith studies in Victoria are in their infancy, they should be boosted significantly by recognising that it is the subdued topography of western Victoria, where regolith development and cover is greatest, where the bulk of the state’s proven mineral wealth also lies.
Mesozoic landscape was severely dissected during the Australia-Antarctica break-up. Several cycles of erosion followed the breakup and left fluvial placer gold deposits (derived from nearby quartz-reefs in the bedrock) scattered across the present landscape. In historical times these placers were extensively mined, but today they would mainly complicate exploration as transported anomalies. The landscape evolution which produced the placers also generated a variety of bedrock regolith profile — from pallid clay to ferruginised saprock —whose distribution affects the sample media available and the assay technique required. There are high-standing areas of bedrock which have remained relatively unweathered and are uncontaminated by transported gold liberated from the Cainozoic deposits.
A large proportion of Victoria’s historical gold production was won from the mining of buried ‘deep lead’ river channels or the fabulously rich, shallow gold rush diggings —all material that could be classified as transported regolith.
Low-standing areas of bedrock exhumed from below the Cainozoic deposits range from highly weathered to almost fresh and would be more likely to be contaminated by transported gold. In addition, large areas of the goldfield — an area characterised by million ounce gold deposits — have been masked from any previous exploration by relatively young basalt flows that are generally only tens of metres thick but locally aggregate to over 100 m.
The present landscape of the western Victorian goldfields dates back to the start of the Cainozoic period when a deeply weathered
Although the regions where the bedrock is exposed are the obvious exploration target, it is perhaps the covered areas that provide the
As well as helping the minerals industry, the study of the regolith will also aid landcare, agricultural and salinity control programs since soils and groundwater are some of the complex, interacting facets that make-up, control, and are controlled by, the development of the regolith. As an ancient continent, much of Australia is replete with a thick rind of regolith —far different from the young, hilly landscape of North America and Europe that was scoured by extensive glaciation in the last ice ages. Classical geology studies, born in the northern hemisphere, virtually ignored the regolith and, Right: A complex regolith scenario with pallid bedrock saprolite exposed in old shallow diggings from beneath a protective duricrust of auriferous transported gravel.
25
SPECIAL FEATURE
most excitement for future exploration finds. Although more difficult to explore, the potential rewards of a completely new ore-body with its enriched supergene cap in place, are greater. Underneath the extensive basalt plains around Creswick there may be totally hidden, pristine ore-bodies leaking their geochemical signature into the deep-lead aquifers that flow beneath the basalt. Some work by the CSIRO Division of Exploration and Mining shows that sampling of the groundwater to very sensitive detection limits may be a useful technique in exploring for such hidden deposits. Elsewhere the thin, extensive surface veneers of Cainozoic gravels or Murray Basin sediment may be covering similar ore-bodies. Have these ore bodies developed a weak geochemical halo up into that cover? The planning and execution of future mineral exploration will be enhanced by the results of the regolith studies just beginning in Victoria. The Geological Survey of Victoria recently produced its first “prototype” 1:100 000 regolith map covering the Ballarat area.
ENVIRONMENT
It is envisaged that an improved series of maps incorporating digital elevation models, magnetic and radiometric data from recent airborne surveys, the depth of the cover sequences from drilling databases, and the locations of previous exploration sampling from recent GIS releases, will eventually be produced to cover the western goldfields region. These maps will provide the broad brush regional information necessary for companies to devise their orientation surveys and their sampling and assay strategies during exploration. Thus the maps should fulfil many of the basic requirements for mineral explorers such as: • description of the surface material likely to be encountered such as leached, pallid saprolite or ferruginous lag over slightlyweathered bedrock; • delineation of areas of transported versus areas of in-situ regolith; • the depth to bedrock where it is extensively covered by basalt or thick accumulations of Cainozoic sediments and the location of the major groundwater aquifers in this cover; • the extent of old workings, known mineralisation and previous sampling;
26
Pallid bedrock saprolite overlain by a ferruginised marine sand, capped by a gray topsoil of possible windblown origin. What and where do you sample here to find clues for bedrock mineralisation?
Storage guidelines for Mine Tailings
• an interpretation of the processes that operated to produce the landscape and the regolith units within it. A number of regolith and groundwater mapping projects are already available across much of western Victoria from the University of Melbourne and the University of Ballarat, many sponsored by GSV. This pioneering work is helping to unravel the history and development of the Victorian regolith and should prove valuable for follow up investigations such as the proposed GSV maps or even directly to company exploration. Under the auspices the Victorian Institute of Earth and Planetary Sciences (VIEPS) Bernie Joyce of Melbourne University coordinates a short post-graduate course on the mapping and geochemistry of the Victorian regolith. Participation in this course is an ideal opportunity for industry to capitalise on the present knowledge. The Minerals Council of Australia also is sponsoring a collaborative program termed the National Geoscience Teaching Network between the three Melbourne-based VIEPS universities, the two Canberra-based universities associated with CRC LEME, and the Australiawide economic key-centre universities. This network will allow the Victorian universities to tap more directly into the accumulated expertise of the CRC LEME and the economic key centres. It is obvious from other Australian states that mineral exploration and the need to husband and manage our soils and groundwater will foster the demand for regolith studies in Victoria. The collation of diverse data sets such as airborne radiometric surveys, drilling data and previous company sampling into manageable GIS datasets will make the task of regolith studies easier. Regolith maps incorporating these data sets should make the job of planning future exploration surveys easier and boost the likelihood of discovering ore-bodies that probably lie concealed beneath the substantial amounts of thin cover.
Minerals and Petroleum Victoria is developing
F O R M O R E I N F O R M AT I O N C O N TA C T:
Peter O’Shea, Manager Geological Mapping Phone 03 9412 5093 Also look at these websites: leme.anu.edu.au or www.agso.au
new guidelines for the storage of tailings which will help eliminate hazards in both dam safety and the regional environment around the tailings site. MPV’s Terry McKinley presented a paper on the issue to the Victorian Mining Week environment seminar sponsored by the Victorian Chamber of Mines. Here is an edited version.
T
he storage of mine tailings can present significant dam safety and environmental hazards if the tailings repository is not designed, constructed or operated properly. Often, tailings and waste rock contain significant contaminants such as arsenic and cyanide, or are sulphidic and potentially acid-producing. Currently, there are no integrated guidelines in Victoria for the design, construction, operation, decommissioning and eventual rehabilitation of tailings storage sites, but the issue is being examined in detail. Guidelines covering all aspects of tailings storage, including departmental administration,
within Victoria are currently being developed. The three main steps planned in the development of these guidelines include:
Careful design, construction and operation is essential to construct tailings repositories which are safe, perform as expected and which can later be rehabilitated to reduce local environmental impacts.
• Carrying out a detailed literature review with emphasis on existing guidelines and policies, significant developments and existing technical papers;
sis of these comments. The guidelines may include:
• Producing a discussion paper setting out regulatory approaches used elsewhere and options for regulation in Victoria;
• A guide to justifying the type of a tailings storage facility (TSF) proposed over other methods of disposal;
• Developing guidelines for the approval of storage of mine tailings (including justification for the type of tailings storage proposed), investigation, design, construction, operation, monitoring, decommissioning and final rehabilitation. The guidelines will include objectives and good practice principles.
• Environmental risk assessment;
The discussion paper will be circulated within government and interested external organisations for comment.
• Operating and monitoring requirements, including preferred methods of tailings distribution within the containment during operation; and
Development of Draft Tailings Storage Guidelines for Victoria will follow the analy-
Top left: Properly managed tailings dumps can be successfully rehabilitated. Left: Consolidated tailings can be landscaped to blend with local landforms to minimise visual impact.
27
• Geotechnical investigation; • Design (possibly with independent audit requirements); • Construction methods; • Quality assurance testing;
• Detailed methods of storage closure and final rehabilitation. The guidelines could also include reference to the geochemical characterisation of the mine waste including acid-producing or potentially acid-producing rock and the acceptable range of disposal methods in various parts of Victoria
SPECIAL FEATURE
most excitement for future exploration finds. Although more difficult to explore, the potential rewards of a completely new ore-body with its enriched supergene cap in place, are greater. Underneath the extensive basalt plains around Creswick there may be totally hidden, pristine ore-bodies leaking their geochemical signature into the deep-lead aquifers that flow beneath the basalt. Some work by the CSIRO Division of Exploration and Mining shows that sampling of the groundwater to very sensitive detection limits may be a useful technique in exploring for such hidden deposits. Elsewhere the thin, extensive surface veneers of Cainozoic gravels or Murray Basin sediment may be covering similar ore-bodies. Have these ore bodies developed a weak geochemical halo up into that cover? The planning and execution of future mineral exploration will be enhanced by the results of the regolith studies just beginning in Victoria. The Geological Survey of Victoria recently produced its first “prototype” 1:100 000 regolith map covering the Ballarat area.
ENVIRONMENT
It is envisaged that an improved series of maps incorporating digital elevation models, magnetic and radiometric data from recent airborne surveys, the depth of the cover sequences from drilling databases, and the locations of previous exploration sampling from recent GIS releases, will eventually be produced to cover the western goldfields region. These maps will provide the broad brush regional information necessary for companies to devise their orientation surveys and their sampling and assay strategies during exploration. Thus the maps should fulfil many of the basic requirements for mineral explorers such as: • description of the surface material likely to be encountered such as leached, pallid saprolite or ferruginous lag over slightlyweathered bedrock; • delineation of areas of transported versus areas of in-situ regolith; • the depth to bedrock where it is extensively covered by basalt or thick accumulations of Cainozoic sediments and the location of the major groundwater aquifers in this cover; • the extent of old workings, known mineralisation and previous sampling;
26
Pallid bedrock saprolite overlain by a ferruginised marine sand, capped by a gray topsoil of possible windblown origin. What and where do you sample here to find clues for bedrock mineralisation?
Storage guidelines for Mine Tailings
• an interpretation of the processes that operated to produce the landscape and the regolith units within it. A number of regolith and groundwater mapping projects are already available across much of western Victoria from the University of Melbourne and the University of Ballarat, many sponsored by GSV. This pioneering work is helping to unravel the history and development of the Victorian regolith and should prove valuable for follow up investigations such as the proposed GSV maps or even directly to company exploration. Under the auspices the Victorian Institute of Earth and Planetary Sciences (VIEPS) Bernie Joyce of Melbourne University coordinates a short post-graduate course on the mapping and geochemistry of the Victorian regolith. Participation in this course is an ideal opportunity for industry to capitalise on the present knowledge. The Minerals Council of Australia also is sponsoring a collaborative program termed the National Geoscience Teaching Network between the three Melbourne-based VIEPS universities, the two Canberra-based universities associated with CRC LEME, and the Australiawide economic key-centre universities. This network will allow the Victorian universities to tap more directly into the accumulated expertise of the CRC LEME and the economic key centres. It is obvious from other Australian states that mineral exploration and the need to husband and manage our soils and groundwater will foster the demand for regolith studies in Victoria. The collation of diverse data sets such as airborne radiometric surveys, drilling data and previous company sampling into manageable GIS datasets will make the task of regolith studies easier. Regolith maps incorporating these data sets should make the job of planning future exploration surveys easier and boost the likelihood of discovering ore-bodies that probably lie concealed beneath the substantial amounts of thin cover.
Minerals and Petroleum Victoria is developing
F O R M O R E I N F O R M AT I O N C O N TA C T:
Peter O’Shea, Manager Geological Mapping Phone 03 9412 5093 Also look at these websites: leme.anu.edu.au or www.agso.au
new guidelines for the storage of tailings which will help eliminate hazards in both dam safety and the regional environment around the tailings site. MPV’s Terry McKinley presented a paper on the issue to the Victorian Mining Week environment seminar sponsored by the Victorian Chamber of Mines. Here is an edited version.
T
he storage of mine tailings can present significant dam safety and environmental hazards if the tailings repository is not designed, constructed or operated properly. Often, tailings and waste rock contain significant contaminants such as arsenic and cyanide, or are sulphidic and potentially acid-producing. Currently, there are no integrated guidelines in Victoria for the design, construction, operation, decommissioning and eventual rehabilitation of tailings storage sites, but the issue is being examined in detail. Guidelines covering all aspects of tailings storage, including departmental administration,
within Victoria are currently being developed. The three main steps planned in the development of these guidelines include:
Careful design, construction and operation is essential to construct tailings repositories which are safe, perform as expected and which can later be rehabilitated to reduce local environmental impacts.
• Carrying out a detailed literature review with emphasis on existing guidelines and policies, significant developments and existing technical papers;
sis of these comments. The guidelines may include:
• Producing a discussion paper setting out regulatory approaches used elsewhere and options for regulation in Victoria;
• A guide to justifying the type of a tailings storage facility (TSF) proposed over other methods of disposal;
• Developing guidelines for the approval of storage of mine tailings (including justification for the type of tailings storage proposed), investigation, design, construction, operation, monitoring, decommissioning and final rehabilitation. The guidelines will include objectives and good practice principles.
• Environmental risk assessment;
The discussion paper will be circulated within government and interested external organisations for comment.
• Operating and monitoring requirements, including preferred methods of tailings distribution within the containment during operation; and
Development of Draft Tailings Storage Guidelines for Victoria will follow the analy-
Top left: Properly managed tailings dumps can be successfully rehabilitated. Left: Consolidated tailings can be landscaped to blend with local landforms to minimise visual impact.
27
• Geotechnical investigation; • Design (possibly with independent audit requirements); • Construction methods; • Quality assurance testing;
• Detailed methods of storage closure and final rehabilitation. The guidelines could also include reference to the geochemical characterisation of the mine waste including acid-producing or potentially acid-producing rock and the acceptable range of disposal methods in various parts of Victoria
ENVIRONMENT
New methods of tailings disposal within dams, including newly developed paste technology, allows dramatic reductions in waste water handling and improvements in water recycling.
to look at climate and risk-based factors. A guide to rehabilitation bond calculations and resulting bond levels on the TSF will be provided. The key objectives of the TSF guideline will be environmental responsibility and safety through minimum requirements that are objective-based and self-regulating. Where possible regulation is not meant to be prescriptive. At a mining site, the mine tailings generally represent the most significant environmental impact and, if not managed correctly, represent a significant safety hazard. Keeping this in mind, the TSF proposal must firstly address the environmental significance and impacts on the site and, secondly, the safety hazards. The principal influencing policies will be coregulation and objective-based reporting, waste minimisation and the protection of the beneficial uses of water and groundwater. The later three policies are some of the key environmental guiding principles of the Victorian Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) in waste management. The Environment Protection Act (1970) provides environmental protection policies that give the direction needed for maintaining environmental quality. The main environmental policies that must be complied with for the construction of a tailings storage facility are: • Industrial Waste Management Policies (IWMP); • Waste Minimisation (EPA 1990); and • State Environment Protection Policies (SEPPs). Industrial waste management policies control the management of industrial waste that may be harmful to humans and the environment. Mine tailings are considered to be equivalent to industrial waste. In assessing waste management options, the EPA seeks to achieve: • Waste avoidance and/or reduction;
New processes, such as paste technology, can also lead to improvements in water recycling, minimising water use, minimising land disturbance and progressive rehabilitation.
teristics of the tailings.
Similar to the hierarchy for waste management, a hierarchical order of TSF options could be assessed for justification.
The guideline will provide information for companies to develop tailings management systems and could require reporting in any or all of the following areas:
When assessing these options, the whole of life cycle and beyond would need to be considered. It is considered essential that operators analyse their tailings storage requirements effectively and ensure the chosen option is the optimum long-term solution. Options, not necessarily in order of hierarchy, could include: • Underground backfill disposal; • In-pit disposal; • Paste - Underground, in pit or surface disposal - Reduced slurry water - Cement addition; • Central thickened discharge; • Co-disposal; • Surface embankments (Hydraulic discharge - Subaqueous or subaerial deposition) across valley storage or paddock impoundment; • Single stage construction to full height;
Risk assessment: Identification of the most cost-effective means of satisfying design, operating and closure criteria in line with agreed levels of environmental and safety risk. Construction Requirements: A report detailing the conditions exposed during construction and how the design assumptions were met or why they were varied.
There’s a new force in developing Victoria’s mining and oil and gas industries.
Operational Requirements: This could include an operating procedures manual suited to the particular TSF.
It’s called VIMP 2001 (the Victorian Initiative for Minerals and Petroleum for the 21st Century) and has already led to major new discoveries, particularly of gold, base metals and world-class deposits of mineral sands.
Inspections and Reporting: The frequency of inspection reporting would depend on the type and size of the TSF. These reports could be provided to MPV and might in part replace current inspection by the department.
Funded by the Victorian State Government, the VIMP 2001 program uses the latest technology to provide industry with extensive geophysical and geological data.
2 001
Rehabilitation Reporting: Reclamation and closure plans could be updated and audited by third party specialists.
New information is being added continuously, particularly from airborne geophysical surveys both on and offshore, broadening the knowledge of Victoria’s sedimentary basins and identifying exciting new target areas of mineralisation.
The key objective of the guideline will be to provide a framework for environmental responsibility and safety.
• Staged construction
• Waste reuse, recycling and reclamation;
- Downstream method
• Waste treatment and, finally
- Centreline method
• Waste disposal.
- Upstream method
The principles of this policy will be adopted within the guideline.
For instance, sulphidic tailings may result in acid generation or there may be remnant cyanide in the tailings.
Justification of the disposal method would take into account the chemical charac-
28
F O R M O R E I N F O R M AT I O N C O N TA C T:
Terry McKinley, Minerals & Petroleum Victoria Phone (03) 9412 5133
Contact Minerals and Petroleum Victoria for details. You won’t be disappointed. Minerals and Petroleum Victoria Level 15, 8 Nicholson Street East Melbourne Victoria 3002 Australia Tel: +613 9637 8535 Fax: +613 9637 8155 Website: http://www.nre.vic.gov.au/minpet/index.htm
ENVIRONMENT
New methods of tailings disposal within dams, including newly developed paste technology, allows dramatic reductions in waste water handling and improvements in water recycling.
to look at climate and risk-based factors. A guide to rehabilitation bond calculations and resulting bond levels on the TSF will be provided. The key objectives of the TSF guideline will be environmental responsibility and safety through minimum requirements that are objective-based and self-regulating. Where possible regulation is not meant to be prescriptive. At a mining site, the mine tailings generally represent the most significant environmental impact and, if not managed correctly, represent a significant safety hazard. Keeping this in mind, the TSF proposal must firstly address the environmental significance and impacts on the site and, secondly, the safety hazards. The principal influencing policies will be coregulation and objective-based reporting, waste minimisation and the protection of the beneficial uses of water and groundwater. The later three policies are some of the key environmental guiding principles of the Victorian Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) in waste management. The Environment Protection Act (1970) provides environmental protection policies that give the direction needed for maintaining environmental quality. The main environmental policies that must be complied with for the construction of a tailings storage facility are: • Industrial Waste Management Policies (IWMP); • Waste Minimisation (EPA 1990); and • State Environment Protection Policies (SEPPs). Industrial waste management policies control the management of industrial waste that may be harmful to humans and the environment. Mine tailings are considered to be equivalent to industrial waste. In assessing waste management options, the EPA seeks to achieve: • Waste avoidance and/or reduction;
New processes, such as paste technology, can also lead to improvements in water recycling, minimising water use, minimising land disturbance and progressive rehabilitation.
teristics of the tailings.
Similar to the hierarchy for waste management, a hierarchical order of TSF options could be assessed for justification.
The guideline will provide information for companies to develop tailings management systems and could require reporting in any or all of the following areas:
When assessing these options, the whole of life cycle and beyond would need to be considered. It is considered essential that operators analyse their tailings storage requirements effectively and ensure the chosen option is the optimum long-term solution. Options, not necessarily in order of hierarchy, could include: • Underground backfill disposal; • In-pit disposal; • Paste - Underground, in pit or surface disposal - Reduced slurry water - Cement addition; • Central thickened discharge; • Co-disposal; • Surface embankments (Hydraulic discharge - Subaqueous or subaerial deposition) across valley storage or paddock impoundment; • Single stage construction to full height;
Risk assessment: Identification of the most cost-effective means of satisfying design, operating and closure criteria in line with agreed levels of environmental and safety risk. Construction Requirements: A report detailing the conditions exposed during construction and how the design assumptions were met or why they were varied.
There’s a new force in developing Victoria’s mining and oil and gas industries.
Operational Requirements: This could include an operating procedures manual suited to the particular TSF.
It’s called VIMP 2001 (the Victorian Initiative for Minerals and Petroleum for the 21st Century) and has already led to major new discoveries, particularly of gold, base metals and world-class deposits of mineral sands.
Inspections and Reporting: The frequency of inspection reporting would depend on the type and size of the TSF. These reports could be provided to MPV and might in part replace current inspection by the department.
Funded by the Victorian State Government, the VIMP 2001 program uses the latest technology to provide industry with extensive geophysical and geological data.
2 001
Rehabilitation Reporting: Reclamation and closure plans could be updated and audited by third party specialists.
New information is being added continuously, particularly from airborne geophysical surveys both on and offshore, broadening the knowledge of Victoria’s sedimentary basins and identifying exciting new target areas of mineralisation.
The key objective of the guideline will be to provide a framework for environmental responsibility and safety.
• Staged construction
• Waste reuse, recycling and reclamation;
- Downstream method
• Waste treatment and, finally
- Centreline method
• Waste disposal.
- Upstream method
The principles of this policy will be adopted within the guideline.
For instance, sulphidic tailings may result in acid generation or there may be remnant cyanide in the tailings.
Justification of the disposal method would take into account the chemical charac-
28
F O R M O R E I N F O R M AT I O N C O N TA C T:
Terry McKinley, Minerals & Petroleum Victoria Phone (03) 9412 5133
Contact Minerals and Petroleum Victoria for details. You won’t be disappointed. Minerals and Petroleum Victoria Level 15, 8 Nicholson Street East Melbourne Victoria 3002 Australia Tel: +613 9637 8535 Fax: +613 9637 8155 Website: http://www.nre.vic.gov.au/minpet/index.htm
