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What the Westgold–Karora merger means for the Aussie gold sector
Apr 28, 2024
The Westgold-Karora merger is the latest acquisition to set the mining industry abuzz. But how will it shape the Australian gold sector? Australian Mining investigates.
When Westgold Resources announced its $1.2 billion merger with Western Australian gold miner Karora Resources this week, it sent the industry into a spin – and for good reason.
Karora is the owner of the Beta Hunt and Higginsville gold mines, both high-performing assets nestled in the same region of WA as Westgold’s iconic Bluebird and Great Fingall mines.
Alongside other operating assets, the enlarged Westgold is expected to bring in 400,000 ounces of gold per year. This will launch the company into the top five Australian producers.
“The prize here is Beta Hunt’s gold potential,” Westgold managing director and chief executive officer Wayne Bramwell said.
“Rarely do you find a gold asset of the quality and potential of Beta Hunt hiding in a nickel belt and drilling is expected to further unlock value at this mine.
“This merger brings Beta Hunt together with Big Bell, the emerging Bluebird and the iconic Great Fingall mine under one Australian management team.”
The merger is set to rocket Westgold’s standings up the ladder to hold the spot as Australia’s fifth highest gold producer, right under a newly created Red 5/Silver Lake entity, if that merger was to go ahead.
With a combined 13-million-ounce mineral resource and a 3.2-million-ounce ore reserve from two historic WA goldfields, Westgold also has the chance to continue to grow this footprint.
It’s little wonder Karora chair and chief executive officer Paul Huet is welcoming the merger with open arms.
“With the combination of Westgold and Karora, we are taking the next step by combining two highly complementary, free cash flow generating asset bases in one of the world’s finest mining jurisdictions to create a premier Western Australian mid-tier gold producer,” he said.
“Karora shareholders will benefit from having very meaningful ownership in a larger, more diversified gold producer with a highly experienced management team located entirely in Western Australia.”
Source: https://www.australianmining.com.au/what-does-the-westgold-karora-merger-mean-for-the-aussie-gold-sector/
Australia’s Fortescue (ASX: FMG) has begun building its first “green” hydrogen plant in Arizona, which is expected to produce up to 11,000 tonnes of the element annually. Construction of the project, dubbed Arizona Hydrogen, is part of Fortescue’s $550 million commitment to developing an electrolyzer and liquefaction facility in Phoenix, where first production of liquid green hydrogen is targeted for 2026. The world’s fourth-largest iron ore maker, which is expanding into renewable resources with its Fortescue Energy unit, said the Arizona plant is slated to create over 2,000 jobs during construction and more than 400 permanent positions once in operation. The process of producing green hydrogen is powered entirely by renewable energy. Since it doesn’t generate polluting emissions it is considered the cleanest and most sustainable form of hydrogen. “Fortescue is unashamedly a first-mover in this space, the world needs us to move quickly,” Fortescue executive chair and founder Andrew Forrest said. “But, we need to be encouraged to that, not punished. There are rules right now under consideration with the Biden Administration that would make already announced projects like this one dramatically more expensive and smaller, resulting in fewer economic opportunities and slower progress on decarbonization.” Forrest was referring to the proposed Clean Hydrogen Production Tax Credit, or section 45V of the US Inflation Reduction Act, which dictates how hydrogen producers qualify for the credit. The draft rules propose to limit hydrogen producers’ ability to provide project-specific information, such as upstream emissions data, when calculating the carbon intensity of their hydrogen. Instead, a national average will be used for all producers, rather than allowing them to use their actual upstream emissions data. According to opponents to these rules , they say that the eligibility for the 45V tax credit will be based on this national average carbon intensity, rather than the real emissions associated with each producer’s operations. As a result, the federal government may end up rewarding dirtier natural gas production while discouraging other producers from cleaning up their processes. “I support the Biden Administration’s goal to produce hydrogen in a way that prioritizes sustainability, however 45V, in its current form, is a straitjacket on the industry and works against the Biden Administration’s own climate goals,” Forrest said. Fortescue has been expanding its presence in the green energy market in recent months. Late last year, it approved investments of about $750 million over the next three years for the Arizona hub and two other projects: the Gladstone 50 megawatt green hydrogen project in Queensland, Australia; and the Christmas Creek green iron trial commercial plant in Western Australia. The miner has also announced its intention to build an advanced manufacturing facility in Michigan and it has opened an office in New York , called Fortescue Capital, to attract more investment into its green energy businesses. As part of the strategy to scale up its green energy unit, Fortescue said last year it would no longer allocate 10% of its net profits to this business. Instead, projects and investments will compete for capital allocation, with additional funding coming from external investors. Fortescue expects to maintain equity stakes ranging from 25% to 50% in these projects, where it will partner with outside investors. The miner is expected to make final investment decisions on green hydrogen initiatives in northeastern Brazil and Norway before year-end. Source: https://www.mining.com/fortescue-begins-building-arizona-green-hydrogen-plant/
Firebird Metals (ASX: FRB) has provided a feasibility study for its proposed manganese sulphate operations based in China that demonstrated a low-cost producer of material used in lithium manganese iron phosphate (LMFP) batteries. The company has several manganese projects in Western Australia, but is aiming to lower production costs by building a plant and establishing operations in China, where it has developed relationships with several experts in the LMFP space. After assessing a number of locations, Firebird selected Jinshi, Hunan province, as the site of its battery-grade manganese sulphate production facility for the initial phase, during which it will process manganese ore provided by third parties. According to the feasibility study released on Monday, the projected capex of the Stage 1 operation is estimated at $83.5 million, with another $10.6 million pegged for working capital. The Stage 1 plant will have a capacity of 50,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) of battery-grade manganese sulphate (MnSO4) and 10,000 tpa of manganese tetra oxide (Mn3O4), or the equivalent of 72,500 tpa MnSO4. The company will rely on the circular industry and plant location within the Jinshi High-Tech Industrial Park, which has localized key reagents and inputs that can drive a low opex of approximately $609/mt for MnSO4. The price of MnSO4 referenced in the feasibility report is $1,419/mt. “The company has been buoyed by the incredible level of support and interest received from key government agencies and tier-one banks in assisting us establish operations in China,” Firebird managing director Peter Allen said in a news release. “With their support, Firebird is well-positioned to deliver on key remaining development and financing milestones to meet our objective of commencing operations in China in Q4 2025,” he said, adding that this support also extends to ongoing discussions regarding third-party manganese offtake for Stage 1. In Stage 2, Firebird will transition to processing ore from its Oakover project, located 85 km east of Newman in the East Pilbara manganese province. The production capacity is expected to rise to 300,000 tpa MnSO4 for the Chinese cathode market plus 100,000 tpa MnSO4 for Western markets. An August 2023 a scoping study for the Oakover project indicated an 18-year mine capable of producing 1.2 million tonnes of 30-32% pure manganese concentrate annually. The deposit has a measured resource of 172 million tonnes at 9.9% manganese and an indicated resource of 105.8 million tonnes at 10.1% manganese. Source: https://www.mining.com/firebird-metals-confirms-low-cost-chinese-manganese-operation-with-feasibility-study/
BUMA deploys operational technology to ensure the best client outcomes. Mining services provider BUMA offers comprehensive end-to-end services to its clients throughout Queensland with ongoing support from its technology solution partner, Aptella . With a focus on safety and collaboration, BUMA has rapidly expanded its use of operational technology in recent years, tailoring solutions to meet the requirements of each client and project. Jack Walker leads operational technology initiatives across BUMA sites, providing solutions and offering comprehensive support for technology incorporated into the day to day running of a mine. “As a mining services provider we partner with our clients over the long term and our commitment is to deliver on their evolving objectives,” Walker said. BUMA’s scope and scale of operations are varied and dynamic, offering tailored mining service solutions to clients. These range from comprehensive full scope services to fulfilling specific requirements such as integration with a client’s fully autonomous fleet, rehabilitation services and asset maintenance. “We take pride in our ability to adapt our approach and be agile, quickly mobilising to address new requirements or meet changing project demands,” Walker said. Responsible for examining the latest advancements in technology, Walker engages with external stakeholders to seek solutions that optimise performance, asset management and rural network connectivity. Collaboration with all major departments, particularly asset technology, allows the business to work cohesively and deliver well-rounded solutions. BUMA’s journey into operational technology stems from a fundamental focus on taking care of its people, company assets including trucks, excavators and dozers, and the mine itself. “Safety is the number one value at BUMA. We continuously look to integrate and utilise technology to create a secure working environment for all employees, both our own and our clients’,” Walker said. The use of high precision machine guidance for excavators and dozers, coupled with survey solutions, machine health monitoring, and site networking, enhances the efficiency of the mine and lifespan of the machinery. “Optimising the safety of our people, as well as the health and performance of our equipment, ultimately leads to improved pit compliance and extraction,” Walker said. “That in turn translates to higher quality outcomes for clients, both in the short- and long-term.” As a growing company, BUMA focuses on downstream technologies that materially support strategic mine planning. Survey, machine guidance and drone technology help to ensure accurate and safe mine designs that enhance overall efficiency. Additionally, BUMA is investing in modern network infrastructure to maintain dataflow and real-time operations. In choosing a technology provider, Walker said it was important the company aligned with BUMA’s agile, tailored approach. After years of successful deployment at the Commodore mine, near Toowoomba in Queensland, Aptella (formerly Position Partners) has supported BUMA’s expansion of technology across all sites, with rapid deployment within a six-month period. “We value Aptella’s adaptability, aligning with BUMA’s commitment to client needs,” Walker said. “Aptella’s agnostic products provide us with a wide range of solutions across various mining functions, enabling us to choose and deploy the best tools for each project.” Aptella mining business executive manager Andrew Granger said the company deeply values its collaborative working relationship with BUMA. “As a company that lives and breathes its commitments to safety and progress, it has been a privilege to support BUMA’s growth by providing end-to-end technology services to meet their evolving needs,” he said. As a multi-solution distributor with offices throughout Australia, South-East Asia, and New Zealand, Aptella has a strong commitment to providing local service and support capabilities to customers. Like BUMA, Aptella recognises that every site and client has unique requirements when it comes to both the technology, service and support that will suit them best. “Our approach is to listen to customer challenges and understand desired outcomes, first and foremost,” Granger said. “We then innovate to source and deploy the best, fit-for-purpose technology to help deliver those outcomes and support our customers over the long-term.” Aptella provides BUMA with 24–7 asset monitoring and support, which includes access to Aptella’s remote access platform that enables technicians to contact, troubleshoot and resolve issues remotely. This service provides BUMA with fast, proactive support, and is backed by a local team of technicians who can deliver site maintenance and training. “In the dynamic industry that is mining, unplanned maintenance is part of the journey,” Walker said. “Having Aptella’s readily-deployable resources make a significant difference, enabling us to address any issues quickly, minimising disruption and ensuring smooth operations.” Source: https://www.australianmining.com.au/an-end-to-end-technology-solution/
