Weekly on Wednesday online-only News for the Coober Pedy Region

Contact        Previous Issues      TV, Radio Programs          5-day Weather Forecast for Coober Pedy      512km composite Woomera Radar Loop

Wednesday 11 August 2010

Vol. 3 No. 36


 PECULIAR KNOB DSO IRON ORE PROJECT UPDATE

(From the Western Plains Resources June Quarterly Report)

Western Plains Resources' (WPG) direct shipping (DSO) iron ore projects lie on the Peculiar

Knob mineral lease, ML 6314 and on the Buzzard mineral claim MC 3810 at Hawks

Nest. MC 3810 is covered by a Retention Lease application. WPG holds its interests

in all these tenements through its 100% owned subsidiary Southern Iron Pty Ltd.

The locations of these tenements and the infrastructure required to enable the

development of the Peculiar Knob deposit are shown below:

Development Status

To the best of WPG’s knowledge, Peculiar Knob is the highest grade undeveloped

direct shipping iron ore deposit, with the lowest levels of the key impurities alumina

and phosphorus, in Australia.

WPG expects to commence exports through Port Pirie late in 2011 at the rate of 3-4

million tonnes per annum using transhipment to Capesize vessels at anchor in

Spencer Gulf. Train paths have been reserved with this capacity and mining and

logistics service contracts are presently being evaluated. The life of the DSO project

will be 7 years with ramp-up and ramp-down periods, but this could be extended to

more than 10 years if mining approvals are granted at Hawks Nest.

Peculiar Knob and its associated infrastructure corridors do not lie in the Core Area of

Operations of the Woomera Prohibited Area (“WPA”).

Permitting

Peculiar Knob is almost fully permitted and virtually shovel ready for development.

The status of key permits and approvals is as follows:

Mining lease – granted;

Native title mining agreement – executed;

Department of Defence: mining access agreement for mine development, haul

road, accommodation village, rail loader and crusher – executed;

Compensation agreements with pastoralists – signed;

Authorities to build infrastructure on all third party exploration licences –

approved;

Stafford borefield – licensed by Department of Water;

Extractive mineral licences for haul road construction and miscellaneous

purposes licences for haul road, accommodation village, rail loader and crusher

site – advertised in Government Gazette of 17 June 2010 and being processed

by PIRSA in accordance with the statutory timetable; and

Mining and rehabilitation plan – drafted and ready to be lodged with PIRSA

when PIRSA is ready to receive it.

Port Pirie

WPG has executed binding lease, licence and pricing agreements with Flinders

Ports Pty Ltd that will give the Company long term access to Berth 7 at Port Pirie for

the export of iron ore and coal.

The initial term of the agreements is 10 years with WPG holding rights to extend the

term for a total period of up to 30 years.

The capacity of the materials handling and transhipment strategy to be implemented

at Port Pirie is 7-8 million tonnes per annum. WPG expects to commence its own

exports at the rate of 3-4 million tonnes per annum in H2 2011. The Company

intends to make surplus capacity at Port Pirie available to other users.

The 30 year term of the agreements with Flinders Ports will provide WPG a

seamless path to export ore from the Hawks Nest DSO and magnetite iron ore

projects if mining there is approved by the Commonwealth, and also if development

of the Penrhyn coal project proceeds. WPG will not rely on other parties to build Port

Bonython.

WPG has engaged Sinclair Knight Mertz to prepare a Development Application for

the Port Pirie infrastructure development and it is anticipated that the application will

be lodged during September.

WPG will commence a community consultation program at Port Pirie within the next

few weeks, well before any activities commence.

Contracts awarded

WPG has let the following contracts for project development:

Consultant engineers: overall project design – Como Engineers Pty Ltd;

Design of haul road underpass under Stuart Highway – Parsons Brinckerhoff;

and

Preparation of Development Application for Port Pirie capital works – Sinclair

Knight Mertz.

Contracts now at tender

The Company has released tender documents for the design and construction of the

ore storage facility at Port Pirie.

Preferred tenderer - transhipment

WPG has awarded preferred tenderer status for its transhipment operations to CSL

Australia Pty Ltd. CSL is the transhipment contractor for iron ore exports at Whyalla

and for several coal mines in Indonesia. It also operates a number of other

commodities shipping services in Australia including iron ore pellets from Tasmania to

Port Kembla, coal to Whyalla from Port Kembla, clinker from Gladstone to Brisbane,

and other minerals including limestone from South Australian ports. Preferred

tenderer status will allow the two parties to work together to finalise contract

documentation.

Preferred tenderer – rail operations

WPG is in advanced negotiations with three short-listed rail haulage operators that will

result in the award of preferred tenderer status within the next few weeks.

Requests for proposals

Submissions have been received and are now being assessed from service providers

for the following operations and logistics functions:

Mining contractor;

Road haulage contractor;

Crushing contractor; and

Rail loading.

Requests for proposals will be issued within the current quarter for:

Accommodation village construction;

Haul road construction; and

Ore storage facility management.

Iron Ore Sales

WPG has entered into MOU agreements with four Asian and European customers for

the sale of iron ore beginning in late 2011. Pricing will be set by reference to accepted

market clearing prices at the time of each sale. WPG expects that the MOUs will

translate into binding offtake contracts once commitment to project development is

taken.

Based on recent enquiries, WPG has little doubt that all of Peculiar Knob’s output for

the first five years of operations will be fully committed to a diverse group of

customers in several countries when the decision to put the project into production is

made.

Technical Activities

Surveying

The collar positions of all ten holes drilled during the March quarter have been

surveyed. Down hole gyro surveying was carried out on all but one of the RC

exploration holes. Hole PK-112 could not be surveyed due to damaged casing. The

new survey information has been incorporated into the Peculiar Knob drill hole data

base and revised geological sections constructed. Only minor adjustments from the

previously interpreted geology were required. The new data will be integrated into a

revision of the wireframe and resource models when assays are received from the

massive haematite mineralisation intersected in the five metallurgical core holes

drilled last quarter.

Metallurgical drilling program

Three large diameter cored holes were drilled in 2007 for metallurgical testwork, and a

further five holes were drilled early in 2010 to obtain additional metallurgical data.

Metallurgical testwork on the second phase of holes commenced during the quarter. A

total of 311 bulk density measurements and 71 uniaxial compressive strength (UCS)

tests were completed on the 198.5 metres of PQ sized massive haematite drill core.

Bulk densities ranged from 4.51 to 5.20 and when merged with the previous data gave

an average of 4.93 which is identical to that used in the existing Peculiar Knob block

model resource estimate. UCS results are consistent with previous test results and

indicate a generally high compressive strength for the massive haematite ore.

Drop tower testing has been carried out on samples from all of the five holes.

Preliminary results indicate a slightly higher lump to fines ratio than was determined

from WPG’s previous testwork. Completion of the test program and receipt of a

detailed technical report is expected during the September quarter.

Exploratory water drilling

Test pumping was carried out under the supervision of the Company’s consulting

hydrogeologist on the two bores in which water was located during the March 2010

drilling program. The testing comprised four 1 hour step tests and a 48 hour constant

rate test for each bore with drawdown measured in the pumped bore. Results indicate

a significant supply of water is available at both sites via larger diameter production

bores. Chemical analyses of water samples collected during the testing show high

salinities indicating the water would be unsuitable for pastoral use, but it is ideal for its

intended use as a dust suppressant. Production licence applications for both bores

have been lodged with the South Australian Department of Water.

 


LIBERALS BACK MORE CLOSED CIRCUIT TELEVISION

FOR COOBER PEDY

In a Media Release the Federal Member for Grey, Rowan Ramsey said that   if elected a Coalition Government will ramp up Closed Circuit Television in a number of centres around the electorate including Coober Pedy.

“Coober Pedy already has a number of cameras,” Mr Ramsey said, “and they have made an enormous difference both in the incidence of crime and in the apprehension of offenders.

Mr Ramsey said, “The Coalition recognises that people are concerned about the level of crime in our communities and while ‘Law and Order’ is largely a state responsibility, what the Commonwealth can do is invest in providing the best tools possible for Councils and  police to deal with the issues”.

“The Coober Pedy Council will be eligible for up to $150,000 for this project which will be used to upgrade and expand the existing network, adding the flexibility of a radio network which will enable the cameras to be relocated to trouble spots or for public events”.

“There is no doubt these cameras do make a significant difference to wilful damage, graffiti, late night violence and order at public events”.   

“The money will be given to the Council to manage the project.   The tragedy of the waste in the Home Insulation and Julia Gillard’s BER projects has re-enforced the principle that these programs should be run by locals and not from Canberra,” Mr Ramsey said.  


 

WOOMERA & DISTRICTS FOOTBALL LEAGUE

ROUND 15, 7th Aug 2010

 

Olympic Dam 21 goals 18 behinds 144 points defeated Andamooka 7 goals 5 behinds 47 points

 

Best players for OD 1st S Peek 2nd C Green 3rd T Hornhardt 4th D Webb 5th D McKenna

Goal scorers D Webb 6 goals S Montgomerie 5 goals S Peek 4 goals J Elliot D Moyse 2 goals each R Montgomerie 1 goal

 

Best players for Andamooka 1st B Harris 2nd D McDonald 3rd L Alder 4th L Sanders 5th D Reid

Goal scorers T Ripley 3 goals T Paull 2 goals M Maloney A Moss 1 goal each

 

Roxby Districts 16 goals 20 behinds 116 points defeated Hornridge 2 goals 3 behinds 15 points

 

Best players for Roxby Districts 1st C Kenny 2nd S Carroll 3rd N McLachlan 4th J Watson

5th K Zeptner

Goal scorers for Roxby R Prosser I McBey S Finey 3 goals each J Roberts K Zeptner 2 goals each M Bascomb C Kenny M Lively 1 goal each

 

Best players for Hornridge 1st M Blackie 2nd B Cooper 3rd N Tuthill 4th B Kelly 5th R Price

Goals scorers B Kelly 2 goals

.....................................................................................................................

On the 21st Aug the 1st finals will be held:
Olympic Dam v Roxby at 2pm at Roxby Oval and Coober Pedy v Andamooka at

OZ Oval Coober Pedy.


          

Statement from the Australian Electoral Commission

on High Court Decision

The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) acknowledged in a Media Release on August 6 the High Court decision

that allows additional eligible voters to now be entitled to vote in the 2010 federal

election. Voters affected are those who submitted correctly completed claims for

enrolment after 8pm on Monday 19 July but before 8pm on Monday 26 July.

The AEC will process these additional enrolment claims in coming days and attempt to

contact all electors concerned to advise they are entitled to vote and how to obtain

further assistance if needed.

The voter lists, used in polling places to mark off those who have voted, for the 2010

election have already been printed and distributed, so it is too late to include these

voters on these lists.

This means that voters affected by today’s decision who attend a polling place on

election day (or early voting centre) will have to cast a declaration vote and provide an

accepted form of evidence of identity. The AEC therefore urges those electors to carry

their driver’s licence or other accepted form of identity with them when voting to easily

meet these requirements (list attached).

The AEC will provide further advice once it has studied the full detail of the High Court’s

decision.


 

EDITORIAL

You can fool most people some of the time …

In an Australian Christian Lobby publication, “Australia Votes – Know what the Parties Think before you Vote”, twenty-four questions of concern to Christians were put to five Parties: Australian Greens; Australian Labor Party; Christian Democratic Party; Coalition – Liberal and National Parties; Family First. 

Of the five parties only one party declined to give an answer to any of the 24 questions – the Australian Greens.

The Australian Greens declined to answer 18 of the 24 questions (75%).

The incredible thing is, many of the questions that the Australian Greens declined to answer relate to specific Australian Greens Policy Platforms.

For example, on the topic of Marriage, the question was:

“Marriage is clearly defined in the Marriage Act as the union of a man and a woman to the exclusion of all others, voluntarily entered into for life. 

Would your Party commit to support this definition for the life of the Government and beyond?”

In the Australian Greens Policy Category: D. Care for People Issued: June 2008 it is clearly stated that the Australian Greens want:

“the legalisation of marriage between two consenting adults regardless of sexuality or gender identity.”

And that the Australian Greens will:

“legislate to allow marriage regardless of sexuality or gender identity.”  

.........................................................................................................................................................................

Coober Pedy Police News 03/08/2010

At about 10:00pm on 28/7/10, Police were performing mobile driver testing duties when they stopped a 40 year old male from Ernabella on Grey Street and Alco tested the driver.  The male driver returned a positive reading and police conveyed the male to the Coober Pedy Police Station to undergo a breath analysis test.  As a result police reported the male for PCA and driving without a license. The male will attend at the Coober Pedy Magistrates Court at a later date to answer the charges. The male was also issued an immediate license disqualification notice for 12 months.

At about 3:32pm on 17/07/2010, Police were performing mobile driver testing duties when they stopped a 30 year old male from Coober Pedy on Hutchison Street and Alco tested the male.  The male driver returned a positive reading and police conveyed the male to the Coober Pedy Police Station to undergo a breath analysis test.  As a result police reported the male for PCA.  The male will appear at the COOBER PEDY Court at a later date to answer the charge.  The male was also issued an immediate license disqualification notice for 12 months.

At about 1:00am on 31/7/10 police attended an Alp Street address and conducted a search of the premises under general search warrant.  Police located numerous firearms and ammunition and seized them for not being secured properly according to the Firearms Regulations.  Police reported the male occupant for fail to secure firearms and fail to secure ammunition.  The male will appear at the COOBER PEDY Court at a later date to answer the charges.

At about 7:45pm on 2/8/10, police attended in the vicinity of the round about on Hutchison Street COOBER PEDY regarding a disturbance.  Police located a large group of people who were intoxicated and in possession of alcohol within a designated dry zone of the community.  Police were able to resolve this situation and were able to disburse the group along with 4 persons arrested for street and bail offences and police then decamped the liquor.  These people will appear in the COOBER PEDY Magistrates Court at a later date to answer the charges.

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

REAL ESTATE


 

 

 2 Corinthians Ch. 5, vs 1 (Backpackers Bible): 

"Our bodies are like tents that we live in here on earth. But when these tents are destroyed, we know that God will give each of us a place to live. These homes won't be buildings that someone has made, but they're in heaven and will last for ever. "

 


Church Meeting Times
: Catacomb (Anglican) Sunday 9.30am; Catholic Saturday 6.30pm Sunday 10am; Coober Pedy Revival Fellowship Sunday 10.15 am, 7 pm Wed 7.30 pm; Coober Pedy Brethren Sunday 10am;
Coober Pedy Christian Home Church Sunday 3pm Ph 0417 814 559 or 0408 890 280; Coober Pedy Community Church - Assembly of God, Paxton Rd Sunday 10:00 am Wednesday 7:00 pm Friday Prayer Meeting: 7:30pm



     
        powered by FreeFind

                                                                      Google
 
Web cooberpedynews.com.au
webopal.com cooberpedynews.blogspot.com