By Rebecca Curtin

The City of Kalgoorlie has taken a hit to its budget bottom line, as the mining boom goes bust in Western Australia. 

Hundreds of thousands of dollars of infrastructure projects have been put on hold in Western Australia's mining heartland, as the local council grapples with a massive budget hole caused by surrendered tenements.

The WA Department of Mines and Petroleum said 622 "dead" tenements were recorded in Kalgoorlie-Boulder, in the state's Goldfields region, in the last year.

Explorers pay rent to the State Government and rates to local councils for the land they lease.

Local councils are required by law to reimburse the balance of rates miners have paid if tenements are surrendered.

Kalgoorlie Mayor Ron Yuryevich said in trying to refund tenement holders the council had been forced to put more than $800,000 worth of projects on the back burner.

"That does have a dramatic effect on our bottom line when you have a severe amount, and that's never happened before," he said.

"We have to have certainty going forward in our budget process, so if we've got an expectation of $23 million coming in rates, we shouldn't be subject to five, six, seven hundred thousand dollars in mining leases being handed back."

The council has voted to ask the WA Local Government Association (WALGA) to petition the State Government for a change to legislation requiring refunding of mining tenement rates.

The region has 2,737 tenements still active.


READ MORE ON THIS AT: 
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-08-18/kalgoorlie-takes-hit-after-mining-tenement-numbers-collapse/6705876

Scotgold Says Cononish Study Backs Robust Economics Of Project

Wed, 5th Aug 2015 08:33


LONDON (Alliance News) - Scotgold Resources Ltd on Wednesday said it has received the bankable feasibility study for the Cononish gold and silver project in Scotland, with the study backing the robust economics of the project, sending shares in the company higher in early trade.

Scotgold said the study showed the economics of the project are strong, with a low average operating cost. The study estimated average annual gold production from the site would be 23,370 ounces equivalent, with peak production to hit 28,540 ounces.

Completion of the study will allow Scotgold to work on securing its preferred financing route for the project and the signing of a financing deal is set to follow in the near future, it said.

"The study illustrates the robustness of the Cononish Project with the mine profitable down to USD700 per ounce and provides a very solid base for our ongoing discussions with potential project finance providers," said Richard Gray, Scotgold's chief executive.

Scotgold shares were up 4.7% to 0.7849 pence on the news.

By Sam Unsted; samunsted@alliancenews.com; @SamUAtAlliance




Scotgold Resources Says Progress Made At Cononish, Grampian Projects

Mon, 3rd Aug 2015 08:25

LONDON (Alliance News) - Scotgold Resources Ltd shares were trading higher Monday morning after the company reported good progress in the past quarter on the Cononish gold project in Scotland.

Scotgold said the ore reserve estimate for Cononish was upgraded in the quarter to the end of June and said the bankable feasibility study for the project is now complete and awaiting final sign off by the consultants working on the project.

It is considering a range of parallel financing options in order to secure the necessary capital to bring the project into production.

The company is also awaiting the results of the structural and geochemical survey being conducted at the Grampian gold project, also in Scotland.

Scotgold shares were up 9.9% to 0.8241 pence in early trade, one of the best performers in the AIM All-Share.

By Sam Unsted; samunsted@alliancenews.com; @SamUAtAlliance

Copyright 2015 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.

 

Zijin Mining Group, the world's biggest gold producer by market value, will press ahead with mine acquisitions to improve its portfolio quality, adding to the $1bn of deals it agreed in the past year.

"We will not stop," vice president George Fang said yesterday in an interview in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia. "In terms of how much we will need to spend, that depends on the opportunity and on the funding strategy."

While China is the biggest producer of gold, it lacks large individual mines, which means producers including Zijin are searching overseas to add operations, said Greg Foulis, chief executive officer of Kingsgate Consolidated, which operates mines in Thailand and Australia.

"China's gold mines are very small on a world scale," Mr Foulis said. "If Zijin wants to be a global gold miner, it needs to operate global gold mines."

Gold producers proposed or completed deals valued at $9.6bn in the six months to June 30, up 7pc on the previous half, as asset prices fell in the wake of tumbling bullion prices. The metal fell to $1,077.40 on July 24, the lowest level in five years.

Growth in demand for gold in China, also the biggest consumer, will continue to rise as the nation's middle class swells by about 500 million people in the next five years.

Mr Fang declined to comment on whether Zijin had discussed a potential acquisition of a stake in Kalgoorlie's Superpit, Australia's largest open-pit mine. (Bloomberg)





Irish Independent 05.08.2015.

There was an incident in Bremerhaven in May when a gantry crane collapsed on to the ship Maersk Karachi.  A couple of weeks after that, during the repair-work, there was a fire in the hold and consequently the fire services flooded holds three and four.


General Average is a process whereby the parties whose interests have been sacrificed, or who have incurred extra expenses, are recompensed by the contribution of those whose interests have been saved.


As General Average has been declared, you will be asked for an indemnity or a deposit.  Any standard Marine Insurance policy will include General Average losses, so if the goods have been insured the insured party should obtain a General Average guarantee from the insurers.


Whatever the position, your first action upon receiving notification that a General Average has been declared for a vessel, is to give immediate notice to your customer.


This is one superb reason to have Marine Insurance in place and therefor limit your liability should anything go wrong.