Archive

Lunch Series: Friday 31 May 2013

Guests at SACOME’s second lunch event for 2013 were treated to an enthralling and entertaining presentation from Business SA’s Chief Executive Officer, Nigel McBride. Mr McBride’s presentation, entitled ‘South Australia at a cross road’, provided a frank and realistic discussion on the current economic situation for the State, saying there was no “magic bullet” to fix the situation. 

"We are at the point in the State's history where we've got to take a response and demand action,” he told the 200-strong crowd at the Adelaide Convention Centre. Mr McBride joked that his presentation would sound negative, but said “hang in there, there is some good news – it’s in the last 5 minutes of my presentation”, before listing agribusiness, mining, and oil & gas as key to the State’s future.
He also encouraged collaboration and aggregation as essential in addressing the current climate, and urged South Australians to “change our thinking” to create a better future. Mr McBride called for the State Government to intervene in the economy by building or facilitating key infrastructure and cutting payroll tax in half to encourage employment. He used Singapore as an example, where the government provided proactive support in an extremely difficult environment.
Speaking at the lunch, Mr McBride said the state "desperately needs wholesale tax reform", and reminded guests that State debt, deficit, high tax and cost environment cannot be ignored. "If there's one bold message they (the State Government) can send to the business community, one single bold message, one single thing...cut payroll tax in half...And by the way if you can't find, out of the $6.9 billion we spend on the public service, space for $600 million, I'm sorry but you're not looking hard enough."

Mr McBride finished his presentation by reiterating the importance of social media, and encouraging more priority placed on retaining youth in South Australia.

View Nigel's presentation here

SACOME thanks the 2013 Annual Sponsors for their support of this event together with event sponsor Ashurst.

Breakfast Briefing: Thursday 21 March 2013

Unconventional gas in the Cooper Basin, iron ore in the Flinders Ranges, and procurement tips were discussed at the first SACOME breakfast briefing for 2013.

Bryan Scruby, Head of Department – Procurement, Global Mining, Parsons Brinckerhoff, discussed the steps involved in the procurement process, stressing the importance of ensuring the business is in order before entering pre-qualification. He told service providers to “make sure your company has the ability to meet minimum standards”. Mr Scruby advised SMEs to “talk to the right people like SACOME” to understand the process, and which companies and managers to target to discuss any tenders. He urged service providers to “get directly involved” with the tender process to better the company’s chances of winning a contract. Click here to view the presentation.

Marcus Filis, Managing Director and CEO, Royal Resources Limited, updated guests on the Razorback advanced exploration project underway in the Flinders Ranges. Boasting a strip ratio of less than 0.8:1, Mr Filis told guests that the project would “produce ore from day one”. He also noted the importance of the ore “being very soft”, making it an ideal product to transport via a slurry pipeline. Mr Filis said the project didn’t require “any additional CAPEX” and boasted that it would have “low environmental impact, with no dust, noise and no traffic impacts”. With a mine life of over 25 years, the project would “revitalise an area of South Australia that is economically depressed”, creating around 650 full time jobs and contributing $50 million in royalties to the State. Click here to view the presentation.

Ian Davies, Managing Director, Senex Energy, opened his presentation by highlighting the impacts of the 2010/11 Cooper Basin floods, showcasing the risks involved in the oil and gas game. With a large presence in South Australia, Mr Davies detailed the results of Senex Energy’s recent exploration program results, noting that “85% of our exploration in the last twelve months has been in SA.” He also discussed Senex Energy’s plans to spend $120 million on unconventional gas exploration; $100 million on oilfield appraisal and development; and $40 million in 3D seismic acquisition and processing. Currently targeting local, experienced and “reliable” service providers, Mr Davies said Senex is a company “committed to South Australia”, as seen by the coming significant capital investment program. Click here to view the presentation.

Lunch Series: Friday 15 February 2013

Nearly 300 guests attended the first SACOME Lunch of 2013 to hear Hon Tom Koutsantonis MP in his first official address to the industry as Minister for Transport and Infrastructure.
In a wide-ranging speech covering issues from access to the Woomera Prohibited Area (WPA) to the importance of the upgrade of Port Pirie’s Nyrstar operations, Minister Koutsantonis pledged the State Government’s continued support of the sector.
“This government will not play politics with the resource sector,” he said.
Minister Koutsantonis said the decision to bring the portfolios of Mineral Resources and Energy together with Transport and Infrastructure was “a defining moment.”
He disappointed many in the room by reaffirming the State Government’s position on not providing any funding for ports, saying it is not the governments place to “pick a winner”.
“There will only be one new port for the Eyre Peninsula … this will be driven by the market and funded by private investment,” he said.
"And it will be a multi-user facility."
The Minister was referring to the two port proposals put up by Centrex Metals and Iron Road, who are both looking to build cape size vessel port facilities in the area.
The Minister did say that the Government would support both in going through environmental and regulatory checks, but cited bad infrastructure funding decisions by governments in the past as a reason for not assisting companies with building ports.
In response to the RESIC Recommendations released late last year, Minister Koutsantonis pledged the State Government’s support of the findings and promised electricity upgrade to the Eyre Peninsula by 2016.
The Minister kindly agreed to take questions from the audience, not committing to an upgrade of the Whyalla airport but acknowledging the wish for regional councils to upgrade their facilities to attract FIFO contracts.
He described the WPA issue as a “difficult creature to deal with”, but stated that both Federal and State Labor parties were committed to seeing this area open up for minerals exploration.

SACOME thanks the2013 Annual Sponsors for their support of this event.

Lunch Series: Friday 14 December 2013

Over 200 guests gathered for the final SACOME lunch event of 2012 to hear an entertaining and informative presentation from Dr Ian Gould AM. The Chancellor of the University of South Australia and SA Minerals & Petroleum Expert Group Chair spoke candidly about the year that was and his outlook for 2013 and beyond. Dr Gould, a former geologist with 40 years’ experience in the minerals industry, held the audience captive throughout his speech which was peppered with clever nuances appreciated by those in the industry. Dr Gould spoke highly of the Nyrstar funding deal, as well as the need for key South Australian industry leaders to speak out and promote the industry. He also noted the need to address the existence of gender division, and land use tensions across the Eyre Peninsula. Dr Gould answered questions from the audience about a ‘Christmas wish’ from the industry for the Federal Government to greater understand and show recognition of the industry when making decisions. Bell ringers from Springhead Lutheran School offered a special Christmas treat for guests, playing a range of carols before proceedings. 

SACOME thanks our annual sponsors for their continued support. 

Environmental Open Day

SACOME held an Environmental Open Day to allow the general public to see first-hand the measures SACOME member companies take to ensure environment management and sustainability is an essential part of daily operations. The event covered four topics including water/waste water management, flora/fauna, emissions/energy and uranium/nuclear. The Open Day was run as part of National Science Week.

When: Tuesday 14 August, 9:30AM - 3PM

Where: Adelaide Convention Centre

Special event sponsor: Beach Energy

Session sponsors: Arrium, EBS Ecology, OZ Minerals

Landholder Engagement Workshop

SACOME held a landholder engagement workshop to discuss a range of issues regarding land access and the importance of engaging with landholders in the exploration and mining process. Identifying what landowners really want to know about mining before instigating the engagement process was discussed. Case studies and practical applications of Land Access Agreements—including examples of SACOME’s work in this area—was presented. DMITRE’s role and the benefits of having an on-ground practitioner present also featured.

View the presentation from cega here

View the presentation from DMITRE here

View the presentation from Eyre Iron here 

View the presentation from Phoenix Copper here 

Lunch Series: Friday 12 October 2012

The need for the mining industry to work together on a national basis to overcome negative perceptions; lack of promotion of positive industry activities; and the lack of a social media presence was discussed at the fifth event in the SACOME Lunch Series on October 12. Libby Lyons, General Manager External Relations, Atlas Iron, spoke candidly about the need for a collaborative approach to resources branding, sharing her experiences with Atlas - the first junior iron ore explorer in the Pilbara to progress through to production.

Noting that the resources industry has the best practice in safety and environmental management, and contributes extensively to the community through generous corporate social responsibility programs, Ms Lyons explained that a collaborative approach to communicate the realities and benefits is needed to combat negative stereotypes and anti-mining social media groups. She praised the Chambers for their work in their subsequent states, but highlighted the need for a national approach to the issues by mining companies and the industry as a whole.   

Ms Lyons also noted that the Government needs to listen to the junior explorers instead of just the "big guys", especially in terms of policy. The success story of Atlas Iron and the positive work the company is doing in Perth was used as an example of how the mining industry gives back to the community.

Click here to view the presentation. 

SACOME thanks special event sponsor Beach Energy and all the SACOME annual sponsors for their support. 

Lunch Series: Wednesday 22 August

Over 300 guests attended the fourth lunch in the 2012 SACOME Lunch Series on August 22 to hear about exciting developments in the Cooper Basin. Reg Nelson, Managing Director, Beach Energy, updated guests on recent unpredicted exploration results in the Basin, and how this would affect future operations. 

Mr Nelson discussed shale depositis near Moomba and how this would affect upcoming gas supply and demand. He discussed Beach Energy's LNG projects and the multiple potential benefits the Cooper Basin gas supply has to LNG projects.

He also offered a brief outlook on Beach Energy's operations in Egypt and Tanzania.

To view the presentation, click here.

SACOME thanks special event sponsor, Basetec, and the SACOME annual sponsors for their support.

Lunch Series: Friday 20 July 2012

Lunch Series: Friday 25 May 2012

A lack of infrastructure, including a port that should have been built in the 80s, is creating a big challenge for miners today, said Greg Waters, Chief Executive Mining, OneSteel, at SACOME's May 25 Lunch. 

Around 300 guests attended the second lunch of 2012 in the SACOME Lunch Series to hear Mr Waters speak about exciting developments at OneSteel, including the new business arms, 'Arrium'.

He discussed the company's mining strategy and views on the market including China and associated risks, noting the the company always exceeds demands placed on them by China.

To view the presentation, click here. 

SACOME thanks special event sponsor, BankWest, and the SACOME annual sponsors for their support. 

Annual Dinner a sell-out success!

A record 590 people attended the  Annual Resources Industry Dinner at the Adelaide Convention Centre on April 30.

SACOME's biggest-ever event included presentations from PwC's Global Mining Leader, Tim Goldsmith, and Santos' Vice President Eastern Australia, James Baulderstone, as well as updates from SACOME Chief Executive, Jason Kuchel.

The Hon. Jay Weatherill presented the Premier's Awards to OZ Minerals for Social Inclusion, and Santos for Supporting Community Participation. 

Entertainment was provided by the Concordia College Band.

Read more about the event in the June/July issue of the SA Mines & Energy Journal. 

GMUSG/SACOME Mining & Resources Conference and Trade Expo 2012

SACOME partnered with GMUSG to present the Mining & Resources Conference and Trade Expo on August 29 & 30, hosted by Whyalla City Council. 

Over 350 delegates involved in the exploration, mining and resources industry attended the conference, which included a presentation from BHP Billiton about the impact the delayed expansion of Olympic Dam will have on the region. Other guest speakers were from OZ Minerals, McMahon Services, Thiess, DMITRE, SACOME and the local Upper Spencer Gulf Mayors.

Click here to view the presentations from all the speaker companies.