Monday, 05 Mar 2012
NEW ZEALAND's state railway KiwiRail has placed an order for 100 new bulk coal containers for use on its South Island domestic coal services. The 3m high containers will be dedicated to the Nightcaps -Temuka service which carries coal from the Takitimu mine in Southland to the South Canterbury factory of dairy company Fonterra.
The containers will be delivered in time for the start of the next dairy season on August 1 and will complement 80 new HCL containers added to the fleet in 2010.
The investment comes as KiwiRail completes a major year-long refurbishment of the Nightcaps branch line, which involved laying new sleepers and ballast. This has boosted the line speed from 25 to 40km/h.
Source:Railjournal.com
Showing posts with label New Zealand's coal news. Show all posts
Showing posts with label New Zealand's coal news. Show all posts
Monday, March 5, 2012
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Bobab JORC resource in Tete region of Mozambique rises by 100 million tonnes
Wednesday, 02 Nov 2011
Baobab Resources has added more than 100 million tonnes to the JORC compliant resource at its iron ore project in the Tete region of Mozambique. It rises to 267 million tonnes from 160 million tonnes following the completion of resource estimates on the Ruoni North and Chitongue Grande.
This is phenomenal progress for a company which started 2011 with a JORC resource of 48 million tonnes and puts it tantalizingly close to its 300 million tonne target which it hopes to achieve by the year-end.
Mr Ben James Managing director said "Ten months into the year and the global inventory is now sitting at more than a quarter of a billion tonnes with the high grade Ruoni South resource still to come in and Tenge beginning to flex its muscle.
He said that "This would not have been accomplished without the unswerving dedication of our technical team in Mozambique. The scoping study is progressing at pace and is assessing development routes that will capitalize on the project's unique proximity to abundant coal and water resources and some of the lowest tariff hydro-power in Africa.”
He added that "Importantly these are the critical complementary resources for establishing a fully integrated iron and steel industry."
The Tete project splits into two distinct parts the Singore area and directly to the north of this, the Massamba Group. Massamba can then be split into a number of target areas Chitongue Grande, Chimbala, the Tenge-Ruoni prospect and finally the rather blandly named South Zone.
Ruoni North inferred resource is 93 million tonnes with a head grade of 35% iron ore (Fe) and an indicative concentrate grade of 58% Fe, 0.8% vanadium oxide and 13% titanium dioxide. Chitongue Grande’s inferred resource base increased from 48 million tonnes to 61 million with a head grade of 25% Fe and an average concentrate grade of 64%.
Baobab said drilling at Ruoni South, meanwhile has defined broad packages of mineralization delivering some of the best quality concentrate grades in the Massamba Group. These included a consistently high grade of vanadium. Independent consultant Coffey Mining is on schedule to deliver a resource estimate by the end of November.
The company revealed that the high mass recoveries recorded at the Ruoni North deposit means that it will yield more than double the concentrate per tonne of ore processed than its South Zone or Chitongue Grande counterparts. Drilling is progressing steadily at Tenge, outlining substantial zones of strong mineralization. First analytical results are expected during December.
Finally the group reiterated that the compilation of a scoping study on the project is at an advanced stage with preliminary results expected in the latter half of November. The plan in the next three-and-a-half to four years is to create an operation that will initially export magnetite and an increasingly more profitable ilmenite concentrate. It will then move into the production of pig iron using well established rotary hearth furnace technology successfully employed in South Africa and New Zealand.
The capital costs of such a project are substantial, at anywhere between USD 500 million to USD 750 million but off-set by the staggering revenue potential of pig iron, magnetite and ilmenite concentrate production. When compared to some of the iron ore projects planned for West Africa that requires a huge investment in infrastructure, Baobab Tete project looks much more affordable.
(sourced from Proactiveinvestors)
Baobab Resources has added more than 100 million tonnes to the JORC compliant resource at its iron ore project in the Tete region of Mozambique. It rises to 267 million tonnes from 160 million tonnes following the completion of resource estimates on the Ruoni North and Chitongue Grande.
This is phenomenal progress for a company which started 2011 with a JORC resource of 48 million tonnes and puts it tantalizingly close to its 300 million tonne target which it hopes to achieve by the year-end.
Mr Ben James Managing director said "Ten months into the year and the global inventory is now sitting at more than a quarter of a billion tonnes with the high grade Ruoni South resource still to come in and Tenge beginning to flex its muscle.
He said that "This would not have been accomplished without the unswerving dedication of our technical team in Mozambique. The scoping study is progressing at pace and is assessing development routes that will capitalize on the project's unique proximity to abundant coal and water resources and some of the lowest tariff hydro-power in Africa.”
He added that "Importantly these are the critical complementary resources for establishing a fully integrated iron and steel industry."
The Tete project splits into two distinct parts the Singore area and directly to the north of this, the Massamba Group. Massamba can then be split into a number of target areas Chitongue Grande, Chimbala, the Tenge-Ruoni prospect and finally the rather blandly named South Zone.
Ruoni North inferred resource is 93 million tonnes with a head grade of 35% iron ore (Fe) and an indicative concentrate grade of 58% Fe, 0.8% vanadium oxide and 13% titanium dioxide. Chitongue Grande’s inferred resource base increased from 48 million tonnes to 61 million with a head grade of 25% Fe and an average concentrate grade of 64%.
Baobab said drilling at Ruoni South, meanwhile has defined broad packages of mineralization delivering some of the best quality concentrate grades in the Massamba Group. These included a consistently high grade of vanadium. Independent consultant Coffey Mining is on schedule to deliver a resource estimate by the end of November.
The company revealed that the high mass recoveries recorded at the Ruoni North deposit means that it will yield more than double the concentrate per tonne of ore processed than its South Zone or Chitongue Grande counterparts. Drilling is progressing steadily at Tenge, outlining substantial zones of strong mineralization. First analytical results are expected during December.
Finally the group reiterated that the compilation of a scoping study on the project is at an advanced stage with preliminary results expected in the latter half of November. The plan in the next three-and-a-half to four years is to create an operation that will initially export magnetite and an increasingly more profitable ilmenite concentrate. It will then move into the production of pig iron using well established rotary hearth furnace technology successfully employed in South Africa and New Zealand.
The capital costs of such a project are substantial, at anywhere between USD 500 million to USD 750 million but off-set by the staggering revenue potential of pig iron, magnetite and ilmenite concentrate production. When compared to some of the iron ore projects planned for West Africa that requires a huge investment in infrastructure, Baobab Tete project looks much more affordable.
(sourced from Proactiveinvestors)
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Coal Action Network condemns opencast mine decision at Denniston
Tuesday, 30 Aug 2011
Voxy News Engine reported that Coal Action Network Aotearoa has condemned the consent for a Denniston opencast coal mine on conservation land and instead called for people to demand we keep the coal in the hole.
Ms Frances Mountier spokesperson for the Coal Action Network Aotearoa said that "Burning coal is the dirtiest fossil fuel activity on the planet and there are huge reserves of coal left worldwide. If we allow them to be burnt, we have no chance of avoiding a climate catastrophe. We need to keep the coal in the hole."
The first step is to stop any new or expanded coal mines in New Zealand, and that means the Denniston opencast coal mine, while consented today, must not go ahead.
Ms Mountier said that "To be opening a new coal mine in this day and age is unbelievable. Bathurst's proposed mine would increase New Zealand's coal exports by up to 62%. We call on people across the country to join the campaign to keep the Coal in the Hole. This mine would destroy 200 hectares of a nationally significant ecosystem, when just last year, people across the country clearly said NO to mining on conservation land."
Coal Action Network Aotearoa is a group of climate justice campaigners committed to fighting the continuation of coal mining in Aotearoa New Zealand. They submitted against the proposed mine at Denniston.
Ms Mountier said that "The commissioners stated in their report we are of the view that legislative restrictions provide us with no jurisdiction to consider climate change in the general sense. We believe that climate change should be at the forefront of all discussions around coal mining. We have a responsibility to future generations to leave them a planet with a stable climate, and with conservation areas intact. We will support the groups taking ongoing legal and protest action against this mine, and we will be encouraging the 1000 people receiving our monthly digest on coal to do so too."
(sourced from VOXY News)
Voxy News Engine reported that Coal Action Network Aotearoa has condemned the consent for a Denniston opencast coal mine on conservation land and instead called for people to demand we keep the coal in the hole.
Ms Frances Mountier spokesperson for the Coal Action Network Aotearoa said that "Burning coal is the dirtiest fossil fuel activity on the planet and there are huge reserves of coal left worldwide. If we allow them to be burnt, we have no chance of avoiding a climate catastrophe. We need to keep the coal in the hole."
The first step is to stop any new or expanded coal mines in New Zealand, and that means the Denniston opencast coal mine, while consented today, must not go ahead.
Ms Mountier said that "To be opening a new coal mine in this day and age is unbelievable. Bathurst's proposed mine would increase New Zealand's coal exports by up to 62%. We call on people across the country to join the campaign to keep the Coal in the Hole. This mine would destroy 200 hectares of a nationally significant ecosystem, when just last year, people across the country clearly said NO to mining on conservation land."
Coal Action Network Aotearoa is a group of climate justice campaigners committed to fighting the continuation of coal mining in Aotearoa New Zealand. They submitted against the proposed mine at Denniston.
Ms Mountier said that "The commissioners stated in their report we are of the view that legislative restrictions provide us with no jurisdiction to consider climate change in the general sense. We believe that climate change should be at the forefront of all discussions around coal mining. We have a responsibility to future generations to leave them a planet with a stable climate, and with conservation areas intact. We will support the groups taking ongoing legal and protest action against this mine, and we will be encouraging the 1000 people receiving our monthly digest on coal to do so too."
(sourced from VOXY News)
Friday, March 11, 2011
NZ's Lyttelton Port lifts force majeure on coal experts
Fri Mar 11, 2011 5:00am GMT
WELLINGTON, March 11 (Reuters) - New Zealand's Lyttelton Port lifted force majeure on coal shipments from state coal miner Solid Energy, the company said on Friday.
Force majeure was imposed after the port's facilities were damaged in the Feb 22 earthquake, which struck the country's second biggest city, Christchurch.
The port company, which exports around 2 million tonnes of coal annually, said the lifting of the notice was conditional.
"LPC is not able to currently meet the minimum loading rates and the minimum depth alongside the berth that are set out in the coal handling agreement," it said in a statement.
State-owned Solid Energy had also declared a force majeure notice to its export customers.
Force majeure is a contractual clause that allows companies to miss deliveries because of circumstances beyond their control.(Reporting by Gyles Beckford, sourced:Reuters)
Force majeure was imposed after the port's facilities were damaged in the Feb 22 earthquake, which struck the country's second biggest city, Christchurch.
The port company, which exports around 2 million tonnes of coal annually, said the lifting of the notice was conditional.
"LPC is not able to currently meet the minimum loading rates and the minimum depth alongside the berth that are set out in the coal handling agreement," it said in a statement.
State-owned Solid Energy had also declared a force majeure notice to its export customers.
Force majeure is a contractual clause that allows companies to miss deliveries because of circumstances beyond their control.(Reporting by Gyles Beckford, sourced:Reuters)
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