Latest news with #Coolgardie
ABC News
6 days ago
- General
- ABC News
Goldfields police suspend search for Perth man Paul Lamp missing for weeks
Police and family members say they have increasingly grave concerns for a Perth man missing from almost three weeks. Paul Michael Lamp left his home in Chidlow on May 9 and was last seen shopping in Kalgoorlie, 600 kilometres east of Perth, on May 10. Police believe the 54-year-old then headed west, with a phone pinging a transmission tower near Coolgardie later that day. Mr Lamp's family has since joined police and State Emergency Service volunteers searching a 1,600km area of remote scrubland for leads on his whereabouts. While that search effort was suspended at the weekend, Goldfields Police Superintendent Mick Kelly said fresh information from the public remained critical. "There are grave concerns for his welfare," he said. "If he does hear this particular message please reach out to your family, your loved ones are hurting. He said it is not known why Mr Lamp travelled to the Goldfields and there is no evidence of criminality in his disappearance. It is understood his family had previously travelled in the area when he was younger, but is otherwise unclear why he chose Coolgardie. "Mr Lamp, like some of us, did show an interest in prospecting shows," Superintendent Kelly said. "Enquiries with local prospectors that are out there at the moment, and prospecting shops, have not indicated anything to suggest he may have purchased equipment to go looking for gold." Many of Mr Lamp's family have travelled to the area to assist the search. His sister Rachael Lamp expressed her gratitude for all the people who have helped with the search. "We've got volunteers that have been amazing, people we don't even know, locals, police have been fabulous. The SES," she said. "He's a member of a big family and we all love him. "We all need him home. "If anybody's got any information at all please contact the police and let them know." Mr Lamp was driving a blue Nissan Navara utility with the registration plate 1HNT 095. He was identified on CCTV wearing an olive green t-shirt, dark blue training pants, and black thongs with a white sole. He is approximately 180 centimetres tall with tanned skin, a medium to solid build, with thick, short, dark hair and brown eyes. Anyone who has seen Mr Lamp, or with any information relating to his whereabouts, can call police on 131 444.
ABC News
7 days ago
- Business
- ABC News
Shire of Coolgardie angers mining industry with 97 per cent rates hike
A cash-strapped regional shire in Western Australia's Goldfields is pushing on with plans to hike mining rates despite significant public backlash. The move has drawn the ire of industry titans in Perth and local prospectors. The Shire of Coolgardie, which was founded on the discovery of gold in 1892, has taken drastic steps since March when it revealed it was facing a $6.5 million budget deficit. The local government, colloquially known as "the mother of the Goldfields", was already dealing with an ongoing investigation into former CEO James Trail when it this month proposed raising mining rates by 119 per cent. The plan to increase the rate in the dollar for mining rates from 0.23667 to 0.52030 would result in increases for all operating mining companies and tenements within the shire. The proposal attracted 21 submissions during public consultation, with a further 179 submissions lodged in a petition. Objections flowed from major employers in the Goldfields, including companies controlled by mining magnates Andrew Forrest and Chris Ellison, and powerful lobby groups such as the Association of Mining and Exploration Companies (AMEC). At Tuesday's ordinary council meeting in Coolgardie, councillors voted in favour of a slightly reduced increase in the rate in the dollar of 0.46827. It equated to a 97 per cent increase in mining rates. Councillors also agreed to provide a 30 per cent concession for prospectors and a 25 per cent concession for exploration companies, reducing forecast rates revenue by $481,478. The shire has forecast rates revenue of $20.57 million in 2025-26, up $7.86 million from the $12.71 million forecast in 2024-25. Shire of Coolgardie president Mal Cullen had defended the proposed increase, telling the ABC the additional income would help cover the cost of a $10.4 million capital works program to repair roads damaged by increased heavy vehicle movements and mining activity in the past three years. "The reasoning behind the proposed increase is to maintain infrastructure in the shire, such as the road network," he said. "The cost of operation of local government these days is significant." Deputy shire president Tracey Rathbone said the shire had done its best under the circumstances, telling the packed public gallery at Tuesday's meeting that "voices have been heard". "It has not been an easy budget to work through," she said. The angry response to the proposed hike was reflected by the Eastern Goldfields Prospectors Association, which took out a full-page newspaper advertisement in Tuesday's edition of the Kalgoorlie Miner. The advertisement depicted the shire as the grim reaper and urged ratepayers to "stand with us", calling for the appointment of administrators and for Local Government Minister Hannah Beazley to intervene "before mining is destroyed". "We're upset, our members are ropeable they've been targeted to get the shire out of trouble," president Cranston Edwards said. "They just go to the mining industry for a quick fix, it's a like a drug addict … we've been attacked." Prospector Ferdinand Gere said the proposed rates hike was unrealistic and scandalous. Privately-owned gold miner, Corinthian Mining, said if approved, the rates bill on its tenements would jump nearly $300,000 a year to $511,534. The shire disputed that figure. Corinthian Mining managing director Noel Wemyss said it risked Coolgardie's reputation as a stable place to invest. Ms Beazley has been contacted for comment. Mr Ellison's Mineral Resources, which placed its Bald Hill mine near Kambalda into care and maintenance last year, has been working closely with the Shire of Coolgardie on plans to upgrade the Kambalda Airport. It said the proposed increases differed markedly from neighbouring local governments with no evidence-based rationale to justify the hike. In response to a similar comment during the council meeting's public question time, shire president Mal Cullen said each shire had different budget considerations to work through when drafting rate increases. Mineral Resources manager of land access and tenure, Michael Bycroft, said it would result in a $400,000 increase in rates, describing the proposed hike as "unfair and inequitable". Mr Forrest's Wyloo Metals, which closed its Kambalda nickel mines last year, wrote in its public submission to the shire that its rates bill would increase from $725,471 to $1.74 million as a result of the proposed hike. Wyloo's Kambalda asset president, Zoran Seat, noted the financial impact of the shire's decision to build a 328-bed workers camp in Kambalda, known as Bluebush Village. He said multi-million dollar losses from the effectively failed investment by the shire had directly contributed to its deficit. "We have serious concerns that the proposed rate hike is being implemented to raise funds to address the shortfall in finances the shire is facing, rather than as part of a fair or sustainable fiscal strategy," Mr Seat wrote. ASX-listed exploration company WIN Metals said its rates bill would jump from $299,000 a year to $511,000, which it described as "simply ridiculous". "The shire and its financial issues are entirely of its own creation," WIN Metals managing director Steve Norregaard said. A submission from AMEC chief executive Warren Pearce called it an "extraordinary leap", saying he was not unsympathetic to the shire's financial woes but "exorbitant rates" were not the solution. Mining giant Rio Tinto, via its general manager of technical services for lithium, Leigh Slomp, said mining growth was fragile. He pointed to a recent downturn in nickel and lithium as examples. "It threatens to severely undermine confidence in Coolgardie as a mining-friendly shire and ultimately reduce long-term revenue as companies reassess the attractiveness of operating in Coolgardie and its reputation as a stable place to invest," he said. Gold miner Evolution Mining, which this year completed a $228 million expansion of its Mungari operations, estimated the rates on its mining tenements would increase by $1.6 million to $2.8 million. Evolution Mining also owns the 100-bed Kurrajong Village in Coolgardie, with the company calculating the rates for the workforce accommodation would increase by $784,237 to $1.43 million. Mungari general manager Scott Barber said the increases would have lasting and long-term repercussions, adding the company would be asking the local government minister to intervene. ASX-listed Minerals 260 in January paid $166.5 million to acquire the Bullabulling gold project near Coolgardie. It plans to enter production in 2028 with a mine employing about 350 workers. Minerals 260 managing director Luke McFadyen said the proposed rates hike would deter investment in the region, reduce exploration activity and discourage the key industry which underpinned the local economy.
News.com.au
12-05-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Timing is Everything: Gold price reignites historic Bullabulling mine for Tim Goyder's Minerals 260
Gold prices have surged this year, sparking M&A and fast-tracking new developments in Australia Tim Goyder's Minerals 260 is looking to revive the 2.3Moz Bullabulling gold mine 80,000m drill program has started ahead of resource upgrade and PFS ASX mining's Midas character Tim Goyder says we are in the best market for new gold developments in "70 to 80 years" after pulling off an "audacious" deal that could create WA's next mid-tier gold producer. One of five ASX vehicles where the money man behind Liontown Resources (ASX:LTR) and Chalice Mining (ASX:CHN) has made his fortune, Minerals 260 (ASX:MI6) has begun an 80,000m drill campaign to improve its confidence in the 2.3Moz Bullabulling gold project ahead of modern project studies. The mine west of the historic Goldfields town of Coolgardie – where gold was first discovered in 1892 – has famously missed a string of gold booms, after being folded into the global portfolio of $100bn Chinese gold, copper and lithium giant Zijin Mining. Previously an unheralded junior explorer, minnow MI6 wrapped up one of the deals of the year in January 1, beating out larger players with a $165 million deal to acquire the mine. The catch? MI6 was worth just $30m at the time. It would take close to three months to lock up the $220m of fresh capital needed to get the deal across the line. In the interceding period, Donald Trump's tariff policy sent investors flocking for safe haven, pushing gold to record highs. A major backdown from both the US and China on the scale of their reciprocal tariffs (from 145% and 125% to 30% and 10% respectively) sent bullion over US$100 down last night to a touch over US$3200/oz. That's still 28% higher over the past six months, with handy exchange rates seeing Aussie dollar gold lifting a remarkable $700/oz since the deal was announced. "Clearly this is the most exciting period for gold for the last 70 or 80 years, so I'd say the way it's gone. It's risen since we've done the deal about $700 an ounce in a matter of three months," Goyder said at Coolgardie's iconic Denver City Hotel yesterday. "So it is exciting. And the world has shifted. The central banks around the world are buying gold and that says something about the economy, doesn't it?" The upside Minerals 260 is chaired by Goyder, the firm's second largest shareholder with a 7.26% stake, and led by managing director Luke McFadyen, whose impressive resume includes four years as head of portfolio strategy and economics at OZ Minerals, a role which culminated with the copper miner's $9.6bn sale to BHP. This time on the other side of the deal, he saw the value latent in an unloved asset that didn't meet the investment hurdles and technical properties Zijin favoured. Studied as a heap leach, MI6 will pursue a conventional heap leach for the project, which has a resource running 60Mt at 1.2g/t for 2.3Moz. Around 55,000m of the drilling, currently being conducted via three RC rigs and one diamond, will consist of infill drilling to improve the confidence level of the resource, largely at the key Bacchus deposit. It's one of four bulk, low grade open pits along an 8.5km strike trending north to south across the tenement package. Another smaller pit, Gibraltar, runs east to west on the other side of the property, but is surrounded by potentially mineralised ground yet to be tested. Located 65km from Australia's gold capital of Kalgoorlie, Resolute Mining (ASX:RSG) mined out the oxide resources in the late 1990s to a depth of around 70m at Bullabulling when gold was fetching just $500/oz. Modern resources have been cut at a gold price of just $3000/oz Aussie and the deepest point of the resource is just 250m underground. Holes in the current program will extend as far as 500m deep. Aside from the raging gold price, that attention to detail is partly why McFadyen thinks MI6 can do what Zijin couldn't. "I think it sat in the wrong company. It's a $100 billion Chinese company that don't do exploration. And very similar to my experience in buying other projects from other big companies, they just ... don't see it how we see it," McFadyen said. " So to the cynics, we'll wait to prove you wrong and we look forward to it. "Ultimately, this has got 530,000m of drilling in it, so you can't fake that. Some of these drill holes are 20m by 20m. So it's been extensively understood, it's had multiple resource updates. "And so we're pleased to be able to prove these people wrong in the future." How big could it be? MI6 was capped at $270m on Monday, but exploration and study success could well move it into another strata of Aussie gold plays. McFadyen thinks it could become a regional play, with the development of the Bullabulling project to open up small satellite prospects that could be held on nearby tenements. An early sighter of that strategy came last week via an option deal over tenements to the north of Bullabulling owned by Argentine copper explorer Belararox (ASX:BRX), expanding its territory to 570km2. Analysts and brokers are already beginning to map out the long-term future for the project in a buoyant gold environment. Argonaut thinks a 5Mtpa open pit could produce a "base case" 140,000ozpa. Goyder told reporters the aim would be to become a company producing 'in the order of' 150,000oz a year. With a resource upgrade due in December, McFadyen noted it would be up to the pre-feasibility study results to show how big the mine – on a timeline to enter production in H2 2028 – would be. But he said Bullabulling was the "foundation of a fantastic company". "If you look at similar sized resources and what they produce, you've got a substantial production profile, both in annual production as well as length of production," he said. "This is a big project, you don't often see 2-plus million ounces one hour's drive away from Kalgoorlie Airport." New breed Euroz Hartleys analyst Michael Scantlebury said the rise in the gold price this year had the potential to underpin a new generation of gold developers. It comes with the large end of town cashing in. Euroz's quarterly gold review showed free cash flow generation across ASX gold miners bounded beyond $1bn for the first time in the March quarter. "You're seeing a lot of those once marginal producers generating strong cash flows, proving that this next round of developers really can make solid margins at today's pricing," he said. " As much as people ... may think that these assets have been tried and tested before, a lot of them, especially with MI6, are coming out of larger companies that just didn't make sense for them to spend the capital. "I think that at today's pricing you're going to see these developers actually come online and be successful." While the gold price is "anyone's guess", Scantlebury says easing inflation is on the side of the developers as well. M&A is also expected to continue. "I think the amount of cash that some of these these (miners) are putting on (means M&A will continue)," Scantlebury said. "Ramelius was adding $256 million bucks in a single quarter in underlying free cash flow. "When you're doing quarters like that, you can go and buy some of these juniors with one quarter of free cash flow and pick up a couple of these kind of small developers to, especially if you've got infrastructure already in place." Among the potential takeover targets in the developer space, Scantlebury says Magnetic Resources (ASX:MAU) could be a target for Laverton gold district neighbour Genesis Minerals (ASX:GMD). He also thinks Ramelius Resources (ASX:RMS), currently executing a merger with Spartan Resources (ASX:SPR), could look to mop up projects around its pre-development Rebecca/Roe site. Meanwhile, Scantlebury says Antipa Minerals (ASX:AZY) is a "screaming takeover target" for Greatland Gold, Scantlebury says. Its 2.8Moz Minyari Dome project sits in the neighbourhood of Greatland's Telfer plant, acquired for US$475m from Newmont last year and expected to be underfed when its primary ore feed switches to the underground Havieron deposit.
News.com.au
09-05-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Resources Top 5: Forrestania a star performer with up to 25.6g/t gold
New results include the highest gold intercept seen at Ada Ann from Forrestania drilling White Cliff Minerals continues to ride high after a 175m intersection at 2.5% Cu from 7.6m Jameson has updated economic outcomes of a BFS for the Crown Mountain coal project in Canada Your standout resources stocks for Friday, May 9, 2025 Forrestania Resources (ASX:FRS) Golden drilling results from Ada Ann prospect at the Bonnie Vale Project near Coolgardie in WA's prolific Eastern Goldfields have made Forrestania Resources a star performer. Shares were as much as 54% above the previous close at a daily high of 6c and it has been a steady move northward for FRS from 0.9c on February 5, 2025. 1m drilling results from the second phase of drilling at Ada Ann have returned more encouragement after the first stage defined strong, consistent, high-grade gold with grades up to 21g/t. They have confirmed consistent mineralised structures at Ada Ann and include the highest gold intercept seen at Ada Ann from FRS drilling – 25.6g/t gold - and the second highest ever intercepted at the prospect confirming the high-grade potential. The second phase of 14 RC holes for 1017m returned best results of: 7m at 4.3g/t gold from 72m, including 1m at 25.6g/t; 3m at 7.8g/t from 74m, including 1m at 22.2g/t; and 3m at 5.9g/t from 82m, including 1m at 16g/t and 2m at 3.6g/t from 70m. The Ada Ann footprint has been extended ~60m south and ~30m north of historical mineralisation and it remains open at depth and along strike in both directions. The strike of gold mineralisation has increased to ~310m. 'These 1m results from Ada Ann are highly significant, with grades up to 26g/t Au, underlining the high-grade potential of the system. Pleasingly, we are seeing some thickening of the mineralised zones at depth,' Forrestania Resources' chairman John Hannaford said. 'The drill program extended the known mineralised zones to the north and south and the prospect continues to remain open in all directions. 'We look forward to coming back to drilling at the Bonnie Vale project later in the year.' With the Au mineralisation continuing to extend north and south, the company is hopeful of extending the mineralisation in both directions and increasing the strike extent with further drilling. The company will now focus its attention on drilling at the Lady Lila prospect, whilst continuing analysis and planning for further drilling at Ada Ann and the Bonnie Vale project. White Cliff Minerals (ASX:WCN) A string of positive news from its projects in Canada's remote northwest, and particularly in relation to copper, has driven White Cliff Minerals to a new high of more than eight years. The company has reached 37c, an increase of 23.34% on the previous close on volume exceeding 158m. WCN has surged 185% from 1.3c on April 9. Most of the good news has come from the Rae copper project with the latest being a 175m intersection at 2.5% Cu from 7.6m while the nearby Great Bear project has also delivered encouraging survey results pointing to IOCG and epithermal potential. Results from Rae on Tuesday increased the spotlight on WCN and have seen it as one of the week's best performers. The 175m hit in hole DAN25008 also included 8.66g/t silver with a sub-section of 14m at 7.55% copper and 25.8g/t silver from 138m. This hole averaged 3.9% copper and 14.96g/t silver in the last 60m to the final depth of 182.88m and it ended in mineralisation with the last 1.5m sample returning 4.46% copper and 11.58g/t silver. 'We believe this drill hole ranks among the most significant copper intersections globally within the last 50 years and comfortably sits within the top 10 globally reported 'grade-metre' copper results,' WCN managing director Troy Whittaker said. Another hole, DAN25001, returned 52m at 1.16% copper and 3.43g/t silver from surface, including 7.6m at 3% copper and 9.5g/t silver from 18.28m. The Rae project is home to a number of historical non-JORC and 'blue sky' resource estimates, as well as up to 64.02% copper from rock chip assays indicating widespread outcropping copper throughout the 805km2 licensed area. It represents a district-scale opportunity at the pre-discovery stage, underpinned by the presence of high-grade volcanic-hosted copper-silver lodes and the prospect of a large tonnage sedimentary hosted copper deposit. Follow up diamond drilling is being planned to drill out the mineralisation boundaries at Danvers, while the next five assays along strike from DAN25008 are due in the coming weeks. Jameson Resources (ASX:JAL) Revised capital and operating costs and coal price assumptions have enabled Jameson Resources to update the economic outcomes of a bankable feasibility study (BFS) for the Crown Mountain hard coking coal project in the Elk Valley of British Columbia, Canada. Results confirm that increased coal price forecasts arising from concern about reduced supply of premium steelmaking coal significantly outweigh any capital and operating cost increases that have occurred since the BFS was completed in July 2020. Using the updated economic inputs, the review resulted in an estimated increase to pre-production capital (without contingency) of 28% to US$394m and a 15% increase in cash operating costs (FOB Vancouver) from US$89.41/t in the Yield Optimisation Study to US$102.79/t. The outcome of the increases to capital and operating costs and coal price forecasts resulted in an overall 200% increase in pre-tax NPV10 from US$469m in the Yield Optimisation Study to US$942m. 'The feasibility update has indicated significant increases to the project's high-level economics,' Jameson's chair Nicole Hollows said. "With the continued progress of the Environmental Assessment process, this update highlights the advanced position of the project compared with greenfield projects in Canada, Australia or other key producer locations. "There has been more than US$20 billion in steelmaking coal M&A in the last year highlighting that existing producers have limited options for organic growth. 'Crown Mountain's position as the most advanced steelmaking coal project in Canada and its substantial underlying value is further enhanced by the feasibility update which demonstrates the project's cost competitiveness compared to current and planned production. 'Continued progress of the regulatory process will enable the project to be developed to meet the identified shortfall in premium steelmaking coal supply in the medium and long term.' As a result of the positive review, Jameson's shares were one-third higher to 4c. Aureka (ASX:AKA) The appointment of a world-class exploration manager by Aureka (ASX:AKA) is expected to provide new impetus as it advances a suite of advanced stage high-grade gold projects across Victoria. As well as significant experience gained during more than 25 years in the field and the last four years as Barrick Gold's exploration manager, Jozef Story brings to Aureka the benefit of more than 12 years focused on numerous Victorian gold projects including early-stage Fosterville exploration. The appointment adds increased experience to Aureka's existing technical team with project assessment, exploration, planning and execution skills. While at Barrick, Story was responsible for managing, developing and exploring that company's entire +5000km2 exploration portfolio throughout Tanzania. 'We are delighted to have secured and to welcome a senior exploration manager with such credentials, to our already talented team at Aureka, which recognises the significance of our portfolio of existing and future discoveries,' AKA managing director James Gurry said. 'Jozef's time with Barrick and other projects globally, along with his experience with successful Victorian projects, ensures we have the very best opportunity for Aureka's success and growth.' Aureka's current contract exploration manager Peter de Vries will continue to consult to the company through his firm Geological, Educational & Mining Services (G.E.M.S) P/L. While Story takes responsibility for exploration strategy, de Vries will continue to oversee the practical elements of the Irvine and St Arnaud drilling programs. "I'd also like to thank Peter de Vries for his efforts in getting Aureka back drilling after its 2-year hiatus,' Gurry said. The company's shares reached 14,5c, a 31.82% increase on the previous close. Augustus Minerals (ASX:AUG) Augustus Minerals has been as much as 40.7% higher to 4.5c after executing a binding share purchase agreement to acquire ACM International's ACM Contract Mining PNG Ltd, a PNG company with a valid third in line licence application for the Mt Kare gold project. Two earlier applications for the advanced PNG project made by unrelated third parties for the same project area will be considered prior to ACMPNG's application. Mt Kare, which is about 600km northwest of Port Morseby and 145km west of Mt Hagen, is prospective for gold and silver, hosting a historical JORC 2004 mineral resource of 43Mt at 1.5 g/t Au for 2.1 Moz Au and 18 Moz Ag. Nearly 75% of this is in the higher confidence measured and indicated category, based on 454 diamond drill holes for 73,639m as at July 2013. This historical estimate has not been reported in accordance with the JORC Code 2012. The total consideration payable by Augustus under the acquisition is $250,000 in cash, excluding GST. As the application has not yet been granted and is contested ACMPNG does not have an actual or contingent right to undertake exploration and development activities, or to exploit the historical resource estimate and there is no guarantee that the application will lead to a licence being granted over the project. Based on ongoing due diligence investigations, the company understands that in excess of $2 million has been spent by ACM to date in relation to the application process. The company also understands that ACMPNG has approximately $80,000 (in PNG Kina) in funds available, resulting in the effective purchase price being approximately $170,000. The board of the company considers that the quality of the Mt Kare project places it as one of the premier gold development opportunities in the Australasia-Pacific Region. Following completion of the acquisition, Augustus intends to actively pursue the application and grant of an exploration licence.
