Latest news with #DavidMichael
BBC News
29-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
'A season of missed opportunities'
We asked for your views on our fan contributor David Michael's end of season scorecard (27 May, 15:58 BST).Here are some of your comments:Tony: Absolutely agree with this assessment. We've played some brilliant football - home to Newcastle, for example - some of the best play I've seen in over 57 years at Villa Park. Yet we then don't turn up in crunch games, and I don't get it. Next season will be trepidation about possibly falling back from what we achieved over the past three seasons. Nervous!Robert: I give this season a 7/10. While we can take Villa seriously as regular European contenders now, there's more work to do before we're regulars in the Champions League. Our season will be defined by the number of times we've had to get a result from a losing position, but it could've been different if we'd avoided individual defensive mistakes that led to goals conceded or, in the case of the last day, getting our goalkeeper sent off. Champions League regulars are strict on players who make mistakes at that level, and if Villa aspire to become one of them in years to come, that's the mentality we need to My old chap watched Villa with my grandad through the 50s and 60s. He always said, even then, that Villa didn't score enough goals. It's the same this season, our goals-for column is too low. That said, we shipped a lot too. Liam Delap would be a good start at correcting that Season rating - 7/10. Could have easily been 9/10 but two pivotal games, against Crystal Palace and Manchester United, when the team froze and cost us dearly has lost a lot of goodwill. Our unsung hero has to be Boubacar Kamara. Midfield dynamo who can play across midfield, got us out of a lot of trouble by playing in the back four when we were desperate and is now scoring goals. Kamara is very much the glue that has held Villa together this The season has been one of missed opportunities. Seeing Newcastle and Palace win trophies, something we haven't managed since 1996, makes me very envious. Missing out on the Champions League in the way we did also sticks in the craw. Overall 7/10.
BBC News
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Your Aston Villa player of the season
We asked you to select your Aston Villa player of the season from the four candidates chosen by our fan with the poll now closed, we can reveal the winner is... Youri Tielemans!Here's what David Michael from My Old Man Said, external said about him: After taking almost half a season to start a league game last season, the Belgium midfielder has been Villa's only ever-present starter this time around.A revelation under Unai Emery, he is now very much the heartbeat of the team. His deeper role limits headline stats, but his influence has been essential for the final poll breakdown
West Australian
25-05-2025
- Business
- West Australian
WA gold sales hit record high in 2024, as does number of jobs in State's mining industry
New figures show WA gold sales hit a record high in 2024, as did the number of jobs in the State's mining industry. The State Government on Sunday said employment in WA's mining industry reached a new peak last year, with there being 135,693 on-site full-time equivalent positions. The government said on top of this, there were 4263 on-site FTE positions in the exploration sector, and a further 7870 positions in the State's petroleum industry. The government said gold hit a record $24 billion in sales amid global uncertainty, despite a slight dip in production. Ire ore remained the mining kingpin, with $128b in sales, the third highest result on record, driven by strong prices and near-record volumes. Liquefied natural gas generated $36b in sales, which was down on recent years amid weaker market conditions. Alumina recorded $7.4b in sales, its highest value since 2018-19, supported by strong prices. However, weaker global markets affected battery minerals, with lithium sales totalling $5b and nickel $3.2b. The government said exploration activity remained strong, with near-record mineral exploration expenditure of $2.5b focused on gold, iron ore, nickel, cobalt, copper, and other minerals including lithium and rare earths. Premier Roger Cook said the record jobs growth in WA's mining sector showed there was no better place in the world to get a quality job, with iron ore, gold, LNG and alumina all big contributors to the State's jobs boom. 'My government will continue to work hard to diversify our economy for the future and make more things here, as part of our Made in WA plan,' he said. 'Robust exploration spending across key commodities like gold, lithium and rare earths reinforces WA's position as a global minerals leader. 'These figures reflect the industry's continued confidence in WA and its commitment to long-term growth.' Mines and Petroleum Minister David Michael said as the global economy shifted, WA's resources sector was well-placed to support the energy transition, critical minerals development, and ongoing exploration. 'More than 135,000 people are now employed in our resources sector — the highest on record — showing the industry's vital role in creating jobs for West Australians,' he said.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
'Most Villa fans would pick any other ground - but Emery breaks hoodoos'
Back-to-back Champions League qualifications would be pivotal in maintaining the momentum of the Unai Emery revolution at Aston Villa. It would not only further cement the club's footballing status at the top table but also provide a vital financial boost - especially amid ongoing wage pressures and broader fiscal challenges. In the bigger picture, Villa simply cannot afford to fall short. Already Tottenham, one of the two clubs they are aiming to displace in the so-called 'Big Six' has sneaked into the Champions League via the Europa League final. Falling behind them now risks more than lost prestige - it could mean losing key players and missing out on top transfer targets needed to strengthen this summer. And for a final-day decider? Most Villa supporters would pick any ground but Old Trafford, which has been the 'Theatre of Nightmares' over the past seven decades. Since 1955, Villa have won just three times - in 1983, 2009 and 2021. Still, Unai Emery is no stranger to breaking hoodoos. He delivered Villa's only home win over Manchester United this century - and now has the chance to complete a rare managerial double. To do that, the players need to summon the mindset and composure that deserted them in recent semi-finals - games where they were favourites, but faltered. If they can rise to the occasion and finish on 69 points - one more than their fourth-placed finish last season - even if other results do not fall their way, it still marks tangible progress. To the players and the manager: one last push. On the club's 150th anniversary, securing consecutive Champion League qualifications would provide a great foundation for a potential new legacy period in the club's history. Find more from David Michael at My Old Man Said
News.com.au
05-05-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Western Australia's incentive scheme continues to supercharge minerals drilling
WA's Exploration Incentive Scheme has been operating since April 2009 to drive greenfields exploration Scheme has delivered numerous success stories over the years with OBM identifying high-grade gold Round 31 of the scheme has set aside $7.8m to co-fund drilling across 49 projects There's simply no getting around the fact that mineral resources are the beating heart of Western Australia and the state government is well aware of that. With the mining industry having contributed 44% of the state's gross state product in the 2023-24 financial year, there's vested interest in keeping the industry running. One key way to ensure the health of the industry is ensuring that there's a healthy level of greenfields exploration – that is exploring in previously unexplored or underexplored areas – to find new resources. To promote and accelerate exploration in these regions, the WA state government started the Exploration Incentive Scheme in April 2009. which offers co-funding for 50% of the costs of various types of exploration activity such as drilling, geophysics and energy analysis. The scheme has delivered numerous success stories, the most recent of which was Ora Banda (ASX:OBM) identifying high-grade gold mineralisation at its Little Gem discovery using co-funding from Round 29 of the twice-yearly program. Others include two drillholes intersecting significant gold mineralisation at Yandal Resources' (ASX:YRL) New England Granite prospect (Round 28), high-grade niobium intercepts from Dreadnought Resources' (ASX:DRE) Stinger prospect (Round 28), and a new rare earth element lode at Kingfisher Mining's (ASX:KFM) MW2 prospect (Round 29). Round 31 saw the state government offer $11.2m across the three programs with the lion's share going to support drilling with 49 projects receiving grants totalling $7.8m. Critical minerals are the target of 50% of the drilling applications while a full 75% of the geophysics grants are going towards discovering potential new deposits. WA's Mines and Petroleum Minister David Michael said the EIS plays a pivotal role in overcoming the financial barriers that often prevent early-stage projects from reaching their full potential. Here are some of the winners for Round 31. Black Canyon (ASX:BCA) Black Canyon has been awarded up to $122,500 under the EIS for an upcoming reverse circulation drill program of up to 150 holes totalling 3000m at its Wandanya manganese and iron project. Approvals are in place and a Heritage Survey was recently completed allowing the clearing of access tracks and drill lines for the program to commence. Wandanya represents a new w exploration model on the eastern margin of the Oakover Basin where the company has only drill tested 240m of the 3km long manganese target where drilling had returned results such as 5m at 31.1% manganese from surface and 5m at 32.4% manganese from 3m. Drilling will also test outcropping iron formations that returned high grade assays of up to 64.3% iron. Buxton Resources (ASX:BUX) Buxton landed a $180,000 grant to co-fund maiden drilling at the Madman project about 375km northeast of Wiluna, WA. The project has similarities to the 8.4Moz gold and copper Havieron orebody discovered by Newcrest and Greatland Gold, which in turn launched Greatland's US$475 million bid to acquire the nearby Telfer mine from Newmont. One of the best gold discoveries in Australia in the past decade, Havieron was discovered under cover by targeting a similar magnetic feature to Madman, which is interpreted to lie under shallow cover close to the major crustal boundary, the Marloo Fault. The company has completed a reconnaissance visit to meet key local stakeholders at Glenayle and Carnegie, stations along the famous Canning Stock Route which have contributed to derisking logistics for the drill program. It has also submitted a heritage survey request after securing land access from the Mungarlu Nurrarakatja Rirraunkaja Aboriginal Corporation. However, it does not need to wait on any of these to start the EIS drilling. Errawarra Resources (ASX:ERW) While Errawarra is focused on its Elizabeth Hill silver project, it has secured EIS funding for drilling at its Andover West project. Andover West sits 30km south-southwest of Karratha with exploration initially targeting only mafic intrusion hosted nickel-copper mineralisation. However, significant lithium-caesium-tantalum discoveries reported by Azure Minerals and their ongoing evaluation highlighted the potential for LCT pegmatite on Errawarra's adjoining tenement. ERW has identified identified two prospective lithium pegmatite swarms within its project tenement located along strike of the Azure discoveries. GreenTech Metals (ASX:GRE) GreenTech Metals has received two EIS grants for drilling at the Whundo project and Osborne joint venture project. Recent Stage 2 drilling at the Whundo project in the West Pilbara, WA, to test two major conductors on the unmined Shelby and Austin ore shoots returned mineralised zones with variable high-grade intersections. At Austin, a hole returned a 7.14m intersection grading 1.46% copper, 1.23% zinc and 0.08g/t gold from 277.16m while drilling at Shelby hit a 9.94m zone at 1.32% copper and 0.18g/t gold from 598.2m. The Osborne JV with Artemis Resources about 15km southeast of Karratha is highly prospective for lithium and nickel. High grade lithium pegmatites have been discovered with assays returning up to 3.6% Li2O over a combined strike of 5km. RareX (ASX:REE) RareX has secured a grant of up to $160,000 for drilling and $15,000 for mobilisation costs for its Khaleesi project in WA's eastern Yilgarn region about 290km northeast of Kalgoorlie. The company has already identified extensive gallium mineralisation at the project with aircore drilling returning intersections up to 86g/t gallium while rock chips have returned up to 81g/t. This has identified a large 5km by 3km moderately mineralised body. It plans to complete between 300m and 1300m of RC drilling at the project, with an average hole depth of 100m, across six targets. Targets include a mix of magnetic, gravity and geochemical anomalies from historical geophysics and aircore drilling. Trek Metals (ASX:TKM) Over in the Kimberley region, Trek Metals has secured a grant of $180,000 to test the Martin and Zahn projects at the Christmas Creek project. It was awarded based on the company's commitment to target major new greenfields gold discoveries undercover in frontier locations such as Christmas Creek. The 1183km2 project southwest of Halls Creek is an underexplored, largely concealed district-scale gold and rare earths exploration opportunity. Previous exploration to test if the area is an extension of the prolific Granites-Tanami Orogen demonstrated a correlation to the sequences that host Newmont Mining's Tanami gold mine in the Northern Territory. Visible gold was observed in the high-grade intervals intersected by drill holes at the Martin prospect while limited work completed to date at Zahn has indicated the presence of wide zones of low-grade gold mineralisation and the coincidence of later fluid focusing structures intersecting these broad zones. Western Mines Group has secured two EIS awards totalling $440,000 for exploration drilling its Mulga Tank project. The company plans to drill three diamond holes – one in the main body of the Complex and two targeting the komatiite channel system in tenement E39/2134. Diamond hole EIS8 aims to test the eastern portion of the Mobile MT anomaly and basal contact of the Mulga Tank Ultramafic Complex near MTD027. Meanwhile, the two holes will test the recently confirmed komatiite channel system in tenement E39/2134 - targeting the basal contact and stratigraphy of a roughly 1.3km long body.
