Archived News for Industry Professionals

The Victorian Government has officially opened the new $17.5 million Wimmera Intermodal Freight Terminal.

The Foreign Minister Bob Carr has announced $4.9 million in aid funding for the Extractive Industries Technical Advisory Facility to help developing countries share the benefits from mining.

Monash University will launch its first mining engineering degree in 2013.

The Monash University Bachelor of Mining Engineering (Honours) will be the only Group of Eight mining engineering degree to be offered in Victoria or Tasmania.

Monash University's Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, Professor Tam Sridhar said the introduction of the new mining degree reflected the University’s continuing commitment to providing industry-relevant courses.

“The creation of this degree is a positive response to industry requests to produce quality mining graduates to fill the significant deficit, which has existed in Australia for many years, particularly in the area of engineering,” Professor Sridhar said.

“Currently only about half of the mining engineering positions in Australia are being filled by Australian mining graduates each year. The mining industry is continuing to expand, and will do so for quite some time and it is important that Monash take the lead to develop new courses to address the needs of an industry, which is very important to Australia.

“We have already had considerable interest from students and the new degree will enable Victorian students to undertake a degree in mining engineering in their home state for the first time. Scholarships will be offered to encourage qualified students to pursue this course.”

The four-year course, a combination of theory and practice, has been developed with substantial industry support and will provide graduates with a diverse range of potential career paths. 

Alongside subjects covering the technical requirements of resource developments, the course will also cover units in sustainability, community engagement and the environment.

Professor Gary Codner from the Department of Civil Engineering said the course had been designed to provide the industry with the type of multi-skilled engineer required in the mines of the future.

“The course incorporates automation, environment, sustainability, people and community, safety, project management, economics, communication skills, innovation and leadership: all aspects of the mines of the future,” Professor Codner said.

“We have integrated all these areas into the degree so our graduates will be ready to make a positive impact in communities here and overseas. They will be ready to work in exploration, planning, extraction and processing of minerals.”

Full details of the Bachelor of Mining Engineering (Honours) can be found in Course Finder.

The Western Australian Government has announced the appointment of Simon Ridge, the State's Mining Engineer, as the new executive director of Resources Safety, the body charged with enforcing safe work practices across the state's mining and resources sector. Mr Ridge was promoted to the role following the retirement of Malcolm Russell.

Temporary migrant workers play an essential role in Australia’s resource industry by filling highly-skilled positions that cannot be met by local supply, the preliminarily findings of a pilot study by Edith Cowan University (ECU) have shown.

A new suite of continental-scale mineral maps has been developed that will enable mining companies to increase the efficiency and viability of their exploration efforts.

The proposed development will also employ about 400 workers during construction as well as ongoing employment.

Online job postings of oil and gas positions have recorded an unprecedented 11.98 per cent booming in the last year and a half according to an index published by recruitment specialist Hays.

A new $90 million partnership between the Federal and Victorian Governments will aim to ensure a ‘bright future’ for the state’s Latrobe Valley coal industries in a future low emissions economy, according to Federal Minister for Resources and Energy Martin Ferguson.

The Queensland Government has introduced legislation before State Parliament that will aim to significantly cut red tape and streamline regulatory approval in the resources sector.

The Queensland Government has proposed new rules to govern the management of water and brine produced by the coal seam gas industry.

The Queensland Government has announced the appointment of mining industry veteran Barry Golding as a facilitator to test coal companies’ appetite to proceed with the new coal handing facilities at the Port of Abbot Point.

The South Australian Government has earmarked $200,000 in funding for the Port Pirie Regional Council to help strategic studies into the city’s long term economic development.

The South Australian Government has launched an independent analysis of industry and community views on infrastructure required to support the growing mining and energy sector in the state.

Australia has authorised uranium exports to the United Arab Emirates to cater for future UAE domestic power generation, with the signing of a Nuclear Co-operation Agreement between the two countries in Abu Dhabi.

The ABC’s Lateline program has questioned the independence of the Independent Expert Scientific Committee on Coal Seam Gas and Large Coal Mining Development, set up in May by the Federal Government to provide advice on impacts of coal seam gas and large coal mining proposals on water resources, claiming it comprises members with financial links to the mining and gas industry.

The Queensland Government has passed its Greentape Reduction Bill, reducing the Environmental Protection Act by 90 pages and aiming to save businesses on average $20,000 in costs, 150 pages in paper work and 68 days in processing time.

The Namoi Catchment Water Study, commissioned by the NSW Government and prepared by Schlumberger, has found that mining and coal seam gas drilling at current levels are unlikely to cause extensive regional-scale damage water supplies in north-west NSW. Increased mining could be expected to place more pressure on fresh water supplies.

The South Australian Environment Minister Bill Marmion has appointed Dr Roy Green to investigate more than 200 appeals received regarding the Environmental Protection Authority’s report on the Browse Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Precinct at James Price Point. 

Dr Green has considerable experience in government and the petroleum industry, including chairing an expert panel for quarantine management at the Gorgon LNG Project on Barrow Island Nature Reserve. 

“Dr Green is appointed as an appeals committee and will investigate all appeals received,” Mr Marmion said.

“He has previously been the chief executive of the CSIRO and deputy chairman of the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA), and as such, is considered to have an eminent standing to undertake the committee role.”

The process of investigating the appeals will include consultation with the EPA, appellants and the proponent.  Once the committee has completed its investigations, a report is presented to the Minister, who will determine the appeals having regard to the committee’s advice. 

Appeals against the EPA’s report closed on Monday July 30, 2012.  

This year’s Mining Business Outlook Report by Newport Consulting has found that mining leaders are ‘more bearish’ in their economic outlook for 2012–13 compared to the previous financial year.