20Dec

Clontarf students gain insight into mining industry

WASMA December 20, 2017

Christy Taylor

Eight Aboriginal students celebrated the completion of a five-day intensive course last night with acelebration dinner.
The Indigenous Students Action Group, in partnership with the Clontarf Foundation, WASM and AngloGold Ashanti, provided the Clontarf students from across the State with a unique first-hand experience
of the Goldfields’ mining industry and what a career in the industry might look like.
Goldfields Clontarf Academy graduate Calen Tullock said his favourite part of the trip was visiting the KCGM Mt Charlotte operation and he was now considering a career in the mining industry.
“Going underground at Mt Charlotte was my favourite,” he said. “I was a bit claustrophobic down there, but it was a good experience because some people don’t get to see that.
“We got to meet all these people that were pretty high up in the ladder in the mining companies and for you to remember them, and for them to remember you, where you come from, and what you want to do was really good.”
Goldfields Clontarf Academy student Steven Trott said although he wanted to study software engineering at university, the trip gave him further insight into his dad’s work at the BHP nickel smelter.
“The camp was pretty good because we got to see all the roles that people do in the mines,” he said.
“It was great to head out to the BHP nickel smelter, because that’s where Dad works, so I have quite a bit of knowledge out there from his stories.”
The course gave the students the opportunity to rub shoulders with top mining and business executives including Carey Mining founder Daniel Tucker, who was also the keynote speaker on the night and Raleigh Finlayson, MD Saracen Minerals and President of WA School of Mines Alumni
As part of the course, the students also took part in a tour of the Sunrise Dam gold mine. ISAG chairman Keith Ross said he hoped the inaugural Mining and the Lands course would become an annual event and he hoped to
branch out and include indigenous girls in programs in the future.

13Nov

Global School of Excellence

WASMA November 13, 2017

WA School of Mines Alumni Association president Raleigh Finlayson says industry support will be essential to get a long-proposed plan to upgrade the Kalgoorlie university up and running.

Mr Finlayson, the managing director of gold miner Saracen Mineral Holdings, said he was looking to get a “centre of excellence” at WASM, which is part of Curtin University, back on the agenda more than six months after the Nationals took the policy to the State election.

A $150 million plan to expand WASM into the Pilbara and develop a test mine and Harvard-like finishing school in Kalgoorlie-Boulder was put forward by local candidate Tony Crook and Nationals leader Brendon Grylls, both of whom were defeated, at the March election.

Mr Finlayson said he was talking to stakeholders again about putting a plan together.

“If we can get several funding sources from Federal Government, State Government and the industry itself, we think we’d have a chance,” he said.

“It’s probably an 18-month dream and we’re probably looking at early next year to try pull something together as a proposal, a business plan if you like, and obviously Curtin will be a core part of that through WASM.”

Fellow gold miner Northern Star Resources stoked the fire at the Diggers and Dealers Mining Forum in Kalgoorlie-Boulder in August, when it pledged $50 million towards setting up its own centre of excellence in underground mining in the gold capital over the next decade.

But Mr Finlayson said broader industry support would be probably be needed to support a wider proposal

“We’ve got very strong support from the Northern Stars and Saracens of the world but if we can broaden that to start looking at the big end of town like iron ore, oil and gas, I think that’s going to be a major push,” he said.

WASM is ranked second in the world to the Colorado School of Mines in Denver for mining engineering, according to the global tertiary education standard QS Rankings.

Treasurer Ben Wyatt said the State Government was yet to see a formal proposal but noted the parlous position of WA’s finances.

“While the Government has had some preliminary discussions, we are yet to receive any sort of formal proposal,” he said.

“Should we receive the proposal, we would be sure to consider it on its merits.”

06Nov

Pilbara Minerals boss Ken Brinsden’s ‘fortuitous’ leap from iron ore to lithium

WASMA November 6, 2017

AFR:

Ken Brinsden, did not have to travel very far to be at the forefront of Western Australia’s emergent lithium industry.

As chief executive of Pilbara Minerals, Brinsden is in charge of bringing the large Pilgangoora lithium deposit in Western Australia’s Pilbara region into production.

But in an unusual coincidence, Pilgangoora is flanked by two of the iron ore mines that were under his watch in his previous role as managing director of Atlas Iron.

“I pinched myself actually when I first started travelling up with Pilbara and, standing on the top of the hill at Pilgangoora, I could see Abydos and I could see Wodgina,” Brinsden tells AFR Weekend.

Ken is a WASMA council member and Chair of the Finance Subcommittee

06Nov

WASM Annual Ball kalgoorlie

WASMA November 6, 2017

Kal Miner Andrew Murdoch
A crowd of about 100 students and special guests donned their classiest formal attire and descended on the Palace Hotel for an evening of dancing, fine cuisine and celebration at the WA School of Mines Ball on Friday.
WASM Student Guild president Jonathon Flynn said the annual ball highlighted the school’s healthy social atmosphere and strong focus on student engagement. “I think one of the benefits of WASM is that because we are all
located on campus and most often away from our families, we develop a tight-knit community and it naturally results in a good bunch of people forming close relationships,” he said.
“Our main focus is promoting the opportunities for students to capitalise on their time in Kalgoorlie- Boulder and create networks to secure graduate positions and the ball is a way to relax after a year of hard work.”

Read Here

06Nov

WA’s first aeroplane

WASMA November 6, 2017

Curtin Alumni News

Thursday 2 November 2017

Belmont Park racecourse, Friday 10 December 1915. A visiting pressman from the Perth-based Daily News clambers into the cockpit of the first aeroplane built in Western Australia. His purpose? To explain to his readers ‘how it feels to fly’.

Building the Kalgoorlie biplane

In the early 1900s, Australia, like many other nations around the world, was beginning to invest in the powered flying machine first realised by Orville and Wilbur Wright’s successful 12-second flight over Kitty Hawk, North Carolina in 1903.

But these developments were being made in the eastern states. There were no plans to build any aeroplanes in WA.

That changed in 1912 when Paul Jentsch, Roy Burton and Walter Peters, mechanical engineering apprentices from the Kalgoorlie (now the Curtin WA) School of Mines, first dreamed of building their own fleet. They were joined the following year by Albert Edward ‘Jack’ Geere, an English pilot in his mid-20s, who at the time was believed to be the only licenced pilot in the state.

The four men contacted others in the gold mining town and formed the Kalgoorlie Aero Syndicate, a group of 20 men who each had an equal share in £500 in capital. The syndicate eventually made contact with the British War Office and obtained plans for a two-seater tractor biplane. These plans were redrawn by Jentsch, who was a skilled draftsman.

The engine was bought secondhand from a crashed monoplane in New South Wales, while steel sheets and planks of hickory were used to build the frame. Construction began in 1914 and took almost 12 months to complete.

It was the first aeroplane built in WA.

25Oct

Mining Innovation Hub For kalgoorlie

WASMA October 25, 2017

Ground-breaking Mining Innovation Hub set to accelerate regional growth and innovation in Australia’s minerals industry

A major new mining innovation Hub has been announced for the Australian minerals industry to ensure it remains at the cutting edge of profitable, productive and sustainable minerals production. To be based in Kalgoorlie-Boulder, this new initiative developed by the Cooperative Research Centre for Optimising Resource Extraction (CRC ORE) will bring together some of Australia’s best scientists, engineers and mining experts on co-collaboration projects to innovate and add significant value to our burgeoning minerals industry.
Launched today in Kalgoorlie-Boulder where the Hub will be headquartered, the initiative is set to translate leading Australian mining research into real economic outcomes for the region and the country.

Driven by the leaders in Australia’s minerals industry, the Kalgoorlie-Boulder Mining Innovation Hub will nurture and progress new mining technologies to revolutionise the way gold and other mineral deposits are exploited for maximum profitability and minimum environmental impact.a

The collaborative approach being taken by the Hub will see a solid pipeline of projects developed and deployed to deliver real value to current operations.

For an initial establishment period (an estimated two years), the Kalgoorlie-Boulder Mining Innovation Hub will run as a node of CRC ORE. CRC ORE will provide close oversight and an existing governance structure while allowing time for the development of a sustainable long term operating entity. The development of the Hub and the bringing together of collaborators to progress innovative technology fits soundly into CRC ORE’s remit.

“The Hub will develop and test novel ways to optimise the extraction of precious minerals,” explains Dr Luke Keeney, a key driver of the Hub’s development.

“It will boost the industry and regions economic prosperity, as well as its environmental sustainability. This work is essential in ensuring Australia retains its credentials and remains competitive as a world leader in the production of minerals and associated technology,” he says.

The location of the Hub was carefully selected for its proximity to several operating mine sites. The area is home to a range of geological and mineralisation styles. Access to this diversity is a real plus for technology development and application tailored to Australian conditions. It allows for the direct linkage of the innovative technologies being developed to operating sites in Australia.
There has been good support for establishment of the Hub from industry. Early priorities will be the appointment of a Hub Director and the establishment of an Advisory Committee with strong industry representation. The Hub will be housed in the Western Australian Chamber of Minerals and Energy (CME) office in Kalgoorlie.

Importantly, the Hub also provides a vehicle to train professionals to further grow capability and capacity within Western Australia and Australia. With foundation partners in Curtin University’s Western Australian School of Mines (WASM) and the Central Regional TAFE, it is envisaged that the Hub will become a centre of excellence for technical knowledge transfer.

There is a strong team of inaugural partners, including WASM, the Minerals Research Institute of Western Australia (MRIWA), METS Ignited, an Industry Growth Centre funded by the Australian Government, CME, the Central Regional TAFE and the City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder.

“The strong support from the resource sector and government illustrates its importance for the future of the industry,” Rowena Olsen, CME’s Manager – Eastern Region says.

“This sets up a strong platform for finding better ways of extracting minerals from rock and processing them efficiently. We are looking to ensure Australia produces the highest quality product at the lowest cost with minimal environmental impact.

10Oct

Curtin researchers ‘muddy’ current thinking on Earth’s mantle

WASMA October 10, 2017

Media release

Monday 9 October 2017

Curtin University researchers have for the first time discovered the melting of mud in the Earth’s mantle, providing insights into the nature and history of the continental crust.

The paper in GEOLOGY published by Geological Society of America has significant bearing on the understanding of how the Earth’s rock cycle operates.

After several research expeditions to Oman and the United Arab Emirates, researchers found that the geochemical signature in the mineral zircon conclusively shows that mud from the ocean floor subducts deep into the mantle, where it then melts to form granite.

Lead researcher Dr Christopher Spencer from the Department of Applied Geology in the WA School of Mines Curtin said the findings provide new insights into how materials are recycled at the boundaries between continents and oceans, also known as subduction zones.

“The results from our research provide new information into the nature and history of the continental crust and mineral resources found within it,” Dr Spencer said.

“This discovery is crucial as it is the first time we have directly observed sedimentary material that melted in the mantle, as previous research has only speculated on this process.

“Our research discovered the highest oxygen isotope signature ever reported for zircon. Finding the zircon and the granite within the mantle rocks was extremely unexpected.

“Identifying the presence and determining the extent of mud melting in the mantle has important implications for understanding the effects on the composition of the mantle over time.”

The study was carried out with researchers at the John de Laeter Centre at Curtin University, as well as the Universities of St Andrews, Derby, Oxford, and Edinburgh in the United Kingdom, the University of Stellenbosch in South Africa and The University of Western Australia.

Co-author Dr Aaron Cavosie also from the WA School of Mines said the research gives us fresh insight into how the zircon records large-scale tectonic plate processes.

“The mineral zircon records many geological processes, from the creation of the Earth’s earliest oceans, glacial process, metamorphism, and recycling of the Earth’s crust,” Dr Cavosie said.

“The zircon we analysed are off-the-charts in terms of oxygen isotope ratios which can only result from melting mud and finding these in the exposed the mantle is incredibly exciting.”

The research was carried out as part of the Early Career Curtin Research Fellowship awarded to Dr Christopher Spencer.

The full research paper, Evidence for melting mud in Earth’s mantle from extreme oxygen isotope signatures in zircon, can be found at: https://bit.ly/2xcMspu