Category Archives: Alumni News

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23Jan

WASMA Hero, Professor Colin Roberts

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Professor Colin Roberts, a graduate of WASM and a member of the WA School of Mines Alumni,  has been appointed Executive Chairman of Salternas and will direct the feasibility study to construct and operate the world’s largest solar-salt project in Somaliland.

Preliminary studies have estimated the project could support up to 10 million tonnes a year of salt exports and generate more than $US6 billion ($7.6bn) in cash flow over an initial 20-year operating life. Salternas Pty Ltd through its fully-owned German subsidiary Salternas GmbH have initiated the integrated solar salt project leading to self-sustaining humanitarian relief creating an oasis with flow-on benefits such as the production of potable water, fresh vegetables, animal fodder, aquaculture and mariculture “Combining Philanthropy with Investment”.

If just one life can be saved it will be worthwhile. 6.2 million people are suffering in Somalia from lack of nourishment. Overall, some 388,000 acutely malnourished children are in need of critical nutrition support, including life-saving treatment for more than 87,000 severely malnourished children. We at Salternas are constructing plans to provide enough food, fresh water and fodder to exceed Somalia’s requirements.

In a nutshell, a proportion of the annual pre-tax cash-flow from the salt production (estimated at an eventual US$350 million (AU$450 million) will be reinvested to produce a major humanitarian program to produce enough food to create zero hunger.

11Jan

WASM Graduate New COO of Intermin Resources

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Grant Haywood graduated from WASM in 1991. Grant is a mining engineer with over 25 years experience in underground and open cut mining operations and holds a First Class Mine Managers Certificate. He has managed mining projects from feasibility through to operations predominantly in the Western Australian goldfields for junior and multi national gold mining companies including Phoenix Gold, Saracen Mineral Holdings and Goldfields Ltd.

 

Congratulations Grant

13Nov

Global School of Excellence

Author WASMA Posted on

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

Author WASMA Posted on

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

WA’s first aeroplane

Author WASMA Posted on
Curtin Alumni News

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.

Read more

 

06Nov

WASM Annual Ball kalgoorlie

Author WASMA Posted on

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

25Oct

Mining Innovation Hub For kalgoorlie

Author WASMA Posted on

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

Kal Hub announced web

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.

07Sep

WASM Alumni Member Key Speaker at IMARC

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IMARC | The International Mining and Resources Conference  is Australia’s largest mining conference. Bringing together Global Mining Leaders to connect  with Technology, Finance and the Future.

Steven McClare WA School of Mines 1993 Mining Engineer joined Hillgrove Resources in September 2012 to oversee operations at the Kanmantoo Copper Mine. Previously the Deputy General Manager, then Head of Mining Operations for Newcrest Mining’s Cadia Valley Operations, Steve has spent a significant portion of his career constructing, ramping up and optimising mining operations, including Telfer, Cadia Hill, Ridgeway Deeps and Cadia East for Newcrest, and Callie for Newmont. With a background that includes management of Normandy’s White Devil Mine, various roles within Mount Isa Mines and a work/study Mining Engineering Cadetship with Western Collieries when he joined the industry in 1989, Steve boasts significant experience within the industry ranging from underground operations of 150ktpa to 26mtpa, to open pit operations of 2mtpa to 17mtpa, and copper concentrators of 2.4mtpa to 24mtpa. Steve was appointed CEO and Managing Director of Hillgrove Resources in May 2015.

Steve McClare will join a panel discussion on the growth strategies to success for the new generation of successful Australian miners

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