Latest news with #WesternAustralia
ABC News
an hour ago
- ABC News
Artificial reef at Middleton Beach transforms Albany's surf scene
As he stands at a lookout overlooking the rugged beauty of King George Sound, on the south coast of Western Australia, Peter Bolt's eyes are drawn to something in the water. It's a perfect left-hand wave, reeling towards Middleton Beach as a stiff offshore breeze whips spray from its crest. The sight is one to behold, especially for a lifelong surfer in Bolt who grew up riding the waves near Albany, a port town 420km south of Perth. But it wasn't always this way. In fact, until very recently, the sight of perfect waves breaking at Middleton Beach as clean Southern Ocean swells wrapped into the Sound was largely a fantasy inside the minds of the town's many surfers. Middleton Beach for most of the year — and for practically all of every winter — was the scene of almost unsurfable close-outs. For Bolt, however, this is no dream. It is the realisation of an endeavour that started when he moved back to Albany with a young family more than 30 years ago. "I think I came back to Albany in 1990," Bolt said. "And we started working on a feasibility study for the artificial surf reef at Middleton Beach. For decades, Bolt and a band of fellow advocates, some of whom died before their vision could become a reality, faced a litany of obstacles and setbacks. Foremost among them was the cost. Surf reefs don't come cheap. Bolt said those pushing for the reef were almost invariably locked in an uphill battle to convince politicians and other potential donors that the money would be worth it. There were also concerns about how a reef might affect the coastline and environment at Middleton Beach, the town's main tourist drawcard. Then there was the chequered history of artificial reefs themselves, which had been prone to failure and disappointment elsewhere in the world. "There was no money or desire to do anything beyond that [original feasibility study]," he said. "And in some ways that was a positive thing because the design was around using geo-textile bags and historically when they have been used to build reefs or protect shorelines they failed because they split, they settle, they move and that would have been a failed reef, another failed reef. "So it was not bad timing in some ways, looking back in hindsight." Those advocating for the Southern Ocean Surf Reef caught a break in 2017 when both the major parties at a state level pledged $5 million in funding to make it a reality. The pledges also included financial help from the City of Albany and other sources, including a local quarry. The final break came in 2022 when the federal parties came on board, both pledging $5 million to get the reef over the line. Soon enough, Bolt said expressions of interest were sought, tenders were called and contracts were signed. As a result, a specialist marine engineering crew from New Zealand spent close to six months in Albany building a high-class wave. To do so, they used precision geospatial equipment to spread 70,000 tonnes of granite rock graded into three layers. Bolt said the results were there for all to see. "It's a bit more challenging than expected," he said. "We were aiming for an intermediate wave, which it is when the swell is smaller. "But as it gets bigger, it breaks out there and it's fairly shallow. So it's intermediate-to-advanced on most days." It's a view echoed by other surfers. Like Bolt, Cameron Warburton is a local who's surfed the waves around Albany for most of his life. And, like Bolt, he says the artificial surf reef has eclipsed his expectations. "It's the power of the wave," Warburton said. "We don't have many waves around here where you've got a really punchy top-to-bottom take-off wave. Warburton said the reef was already transforming Albany's surf scene. Middleton Beach, near the heart of the town, had traditionally been overlooked by most surfers because of its second-rate waves most of the time. But he said the reef was becoming a surf destination, drawing the crowds and generating a buzz. "We've never really had the opportunity to grab a surf and a coffee or grab a surf and head down to the new brewery and have a beer," he said. Bolt said the aim was for the reef to generate surfable waves 41 per cent of the time, but the actual figure was far higher than this. He said he had "not surfed Middleton Beach so much in all my life, certainly at this time of the year". While the reef had come with an up-front cost, Bolt said it was a one-off spend that would draw waves, surfers and the money they and their families spent for a hundred years or more. More importantly, he said the reef was set to breed future generations of surfers who may not have otherwise taken up the sport. "I get stoked every time we come down here," Bolt said. "When I see the kids come down here before school, in the dark, to get a wave before they go to school, and then they zip down here again after school, I go, 'Yeah, that's it'. "That's what this was all about." The Southern Ocean Surf Reef officially opens today.
Bloomberg
2 hours ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Rio Tinto Say Iron Ore Exports Steady After Naming New CEO
Rio Tinto Group 's second-quarter iron ore shipments largely recovered from cyclone impacts in the previous three months, as the major miner prepares for a new chief executive officer to take charge. Exports of key steel-making material iron ore reached 79.9 million tons for the three months ended June 30, 1% lower than for the same period last year, Rio said in a statement Wednesday. It was a jump from the 70.7 million tons shipped in the first quarter, when four cyclones impacted ports servicing Western Australian mining hub the Pilbara.
ABC News
2 hours ago
- General
- ABC News
DBCA documents reveal damage to rare forest after hundreds of trees felled by controlled burn
Internal Department of Biodiversity Conservation and Attractions (DBCA) documents have revealed the full extent of damage caused by a prescribed burn that felled hundreds of rare native trees along Western Australia's south coast. Giant red tingles are the largest buttressing species of eucalyptus in the world and only grow in a small parcel of forest 400 kilometres south of Perth, known as the Valley of the Giants. The trees, which can live for 500 years and reach heights of 80 metres, are considered under threat by global authorities. But they are targeted as part of WA's controlled burning program that is designed to reduce the bushfire risk across the state's south. Conservation groups raised the alarm in December last year, after a burn in an area of Walpole-Nornalup National Park known as the Giants Block saw a 400-year-old tingle tree destroyed. "We have seen a lot of the demise of flora and fauna, and we're very concerned about that," conservationist Bart Lebbing said. Immediately after the fire, DBCA stated it was aware of "one large tree" felled by the fire. But internal documents obtained by the ABC showed 114 trees, including 95 red tingles, were destroyed. Documents also show the fire burned 99 per cent of the prescribed area with greater severity than mitigation burns conducted at the same block three decades ago. Crown scorching, where the tops of the trees are visibly damaged and something meant to be minimised during mitigation burns, occurred in more than half of the mature karri and tingle trees in the area. The DBCA report suggested the severity of the fire could be attributed to higher fuel loads, the intervals since its last burn, ignition timing, and lighting strategies. DBCA initially declined to release its Prescribed Burn Plan until compelled to do so under Freedom of Information rules. Despite the damage caused, DBCA said the burn was a success, but several experts contacted by the ABC concluded the burn was a failure. At a community forum in June, the department confirmed 19 blocks in neighbouring forest were earmarked for burning over the next three years, including four with stands of red tingle trees. The Leeuwin group, a consortium of WA's top environmental scientists, has urged the government to amend its burn program to avoid another mass felling. "We are really keen to see a form of fire protection put in place that doesn't involve burning blocks of tingle," Professor Steve Hopper said. "Rather, burns around the periphery of them to afford some protection from incoming fire, but not taking out literally tens if not hundreds of trees. "That's what we've recommended consistently to the government, and as yet, they haven't responded in a way that indicates a change is afoot." WA Environment Minister Matthew Swinbourn declined multiple requests from the ABC for an interview. A statement from his office said DBCA had a legislated responsibility to protect communities and the environment from bushfires and defended the department's management of its burn program. "DBCA follows specific operational guidelines that include scrub rolling, clearing, hosing, and applying fire retardant to the base of tingle trees to protect large hollow trees and prevent canopy fires during prescribed burns," it read. 'The prescribed burning of red tingle forests follows scientific evidence and operational best practice. "DBCA continues to assess and learn from all events." An earlier statement said the burn program was based on 60 years of data, with new research underway. However, the Leeuwin group said the minister's response amounted to a red herring. "The minister's solution has been to park it for 10 years, and he's given the department a bit of money for new research to be done," Professor Hopper said. "We think the scientific evidence is already compelling." A trial burn of the same plot in 1997, conducted by the then Department of Conservation and Land Management (CALM), found that 10 trees per 100 hectares was the highest acceptable loss. DBCA's assessment of the Giants Block burn identified 114 trees in a 91-hectare area as having fallen, well in excess of the CALM report. Ecologist and lecturer at the University of Tasmania, Nathan Anderson, has been studying red tingles in the south-west for the past five years. He said some historical data, like the 1997 CALM report, was being ignored. "The previous burn that was in there, there were 30 trees that collapsed, that was a concerning loss of trees, and we're at more than three times that amount for the same area," he said. "We're looking at a concern that was raised in the 1990s, and it's still a concern today, and if we don't address that, then it's only going to get worse." Mr Anderson said continued burning in the tingle forest would only serve to weaken existing trees and increase the risk of future collapse. Mr Anderson said that as the climate in the south-west changed, so too should fire mitigation practices. "In the next five decades, we're looking at the entirety of the red tingle forest becoming drier than the driest portion of red tingle now," he said. "There needs to be an open acknowledgement that this is a fire-sensitive ecosystem, then we can move forward with that with discussions from ecology, from fire practitioners, from fire science within the department."
News.com.au
2 hours ago
- Health
- News.com.au
Measles confirmed in Newman miner and Qantas staff member
An isolated West Australian mining town is experiencing a suspected outbreak of one of the world's most contagious diseases after a miner and a Qantas flight staff member were diagnosed with the illness. It's understood the initial case developed in a miner who had been working at the BHP mine site in Newman, an outback WA mining town, in early July. BHP confirmed it was monitoring another staff member, still at the site, who had developed a confirmed case of measles and several others who were isolating as a precaution because they were presenting symptoms. 'Our health and safety team has implemented precautionary measures for the wellbeing of our workforce and the community,' a BHP spokesman told Perth Now. It's understood the person harbouring the initial case of measles had flown on Qantas Flight QF1705 from Newman to Perth on June 23 before making their way back to Newman on flight QF1708 on July 2. A Qantas spokesman confirmed to Perth Now that one of the flight crew contracted measles after a flight in early July. 'We advised WA health of our team member's positive diagnosis and conducted contact tracing internally to identify other staff who may have been in contact with the impacted crew member,' he said. The crew member is isolating, and no further symptoms are present. The WA Department of Health has advised anybody who 'visited an exposure location ' during the indicated dates and times to pay attention to any possible symptom developments for 'between 7 to 18 days'. 'Persons who have received two measles vaccinations and those born before 1966 are considered immune to measles. On rare occasions, vaccinated individuals may develop a mild illness,' the department said. 'Anyone who has travelled overseas or attended any of the above listed areas, and are not immune to measles, are at risk of developing measles. Those presenting signs and symptoms of measles should be tested.'
News.com.au
4 hours ago
- Business
- News.com.au
Following in the footsteps of De Grey – who will find the next Pilbara gold monster?
After De Grey's $6bn sale, juniors a lining up to find the Pilbara's next Hemi Soon to be one of Australia's largest gold mines, explorers are confident the region has more to give New Age, Peregrine, Artemis and more among the hot gold hunters in the district The Pilbara is renowned for its world-class iron ore deposits and has more recently become a lithium hot spot. But the rising gold price has put its precious metals cargo on the map as well. While there are existing gold mines in the region, like the Mark Creasy owned Warrawoona, Black Cat Syndicate's (ASX:BC8) Paulsens and Capricorn Metals' (ASX:CMM) Karlawinda, it was De Grey Mining's (ASX:DEG) 2020 discovery of Hemi that really cemented its gold status as a gold hotspot, more than two years on from the flash in the pan 'conglomerate gold rush'. Hemi and the surrounding deposits within De Grey's Mallina project have since grown to 13.6 million ounces of gold at 1.4 grams per tonne. And now, record gold prices and Northern Star Resources (ASX:NST) $6 billion acquisition of De Grey has kicked off a swathe of M&A activities in the area this year – shining a spotlight on the Pilbara's gold potential. Gold juniors with a play in the region are all building cases as to why they could be on to the next Hemi. One is New Age Exploration (ASX:NAE), where executive director Joshua Wellisch says the company is so confident it has streamlined its assets to focus on the Wagyu project, which sits adjacent to – and along strike – from Hemi. 'It's the only project that has produced results thus far that look anything like Hemi,' he said. 'With the location directly along strike, we have a very good chance of finding a substantial deposit there.' The company has confirmed Hemi style rocks thanks to recent aircore and reverse circulation drilling, with assays up to 28.6g/t. Wellisch says this reinforces the project's parallels to the discovery process at Hemi, where shallow oxide mineralisation guided targeting of deeper, high-grade zones. 'We were also able to fast track the project in about 9 months, benefitting from DEG's 20 years of exploration work at Hemi,' he said. 'We knew what processes and what steps to take to firm up the initial targets and followed that through with aircore drilling to establish the initial gold mineralisation. 'We're sitting on intermediate intrusive in all of the targets and now what we're seeing is a highly gold mineralised supergene blanket across multiple targets which provides the pathway for us to vector in on where the gold mineralisation at depth is. 'Like Hemi was, we're seeing exactly what they did in the early days.' Earlier this month the company announced the sale of the Lochinvar project in the UK to focus resources on Wagyu. The next round of drilling will aim to expand gold-enriched supergene zones and to further test deeper primary mineralisation. 'As we move into the next stages of drilling we'll be able to push deeper and take a more refined approach in terms of our targeting,' Wellisch said. 'We want to expand on the supergene gold mineralisation, which is shallow – that in itself may represent an economic deposit – and then we'll look to vector in on the gold mineralisation at depth and find ... Hemi 2.0.' Wellisch notes that Hemi is made up of six individual deposits, so even if NAE had 2 or 3 similar deposits you could be talking multiple million-ounce deposits. 'The opportunity is really significant at this market cap,' he said. A number of other companies have active gold drill programs going on in the Pilbara. Artemis Resources (ASX:ARV) This year ARV kicked off a fresh exploration strategy with the appointment of new managing director Julian Hanna. He was the brains behind the early growth of Western Areas from an explorer into a leading Australian nickel producer, which was eventually acquired by IGO (ASX:IGO) for $1.3 billion in 2022. That stunning success was followed up by the development and sale of MOD Resources to Sandfire Resources (ASX:SFR), now the owner and miner of MOD's Motheo discovery in Botswana's Kalahari copper belt. Hanna previously told Stockhead he was attracted to Artemis' Pilbara portfolio, and he's wasted no time getting exploration up and running at Karratha. He reckons Artemis could have a slice of the Hemi action at the western end of the belt, where the Carlow deposit sits with its resource of 8.74 million tonnes at 2.5 grams per tonne gold equivalent for 704,000 ounces of AuEq, or 374,000oz of gold, 64,000t of copper and 8000t of cobalt. Five diamond holes for 1790m were completed last quarter, and returned hits of up to 15.3g/t gold. A further 3800m of diamond drilling is in the works now, with 1500m of RC drilling underway at the Titan target along with a gravity survey over the Cassowary Intrusion east of Kalgoorlie, where ARV is chasing Iron-Oxide-Copper-Gold mineralisation. Moving to technical studies is the next goal to progress Carlow towards possible feasibility and early development stages. Peregrine Gold (ASX:PGD) At the Mallina project near Hemi, PGD has appointed highly experienced geologist Matt Rolfe as exploration manager. His previous roles include as the senior geologist managing Northern Star Resources' Pilbara exploration program. The company has its eye on a whopping 40 priority targets for intrusion hosted 'Hemi style' and other orogenic gold deposits, as well as 6 targets analogous to Chalice Mining's 'Julimar type' Ni-Cu-PGE deposits. PGD believes there are further Hemi style discoveries to be made in the Mallina Basin and with numerous targets already identified, Matt's expertise and knowledge of the region gives them the best chance to unlock the potential of the project. The company is now in the final stages of planning for a substantial 10,000m Aircore drilling program to test the majority of these priority gold and Ni-Cu-PGE targets as well as other Cu-Zn-Pb-Ag-Au targets identified in historical drilling. Back in Feb, the junior identified 12km of strike at its Tambourah project, with rock chips returning up to 101g/t gold. The project was originally acquired for its lithium potential in the northwest corner of the tenement, but its gold potential is just becoming properly understood. The area has always been highly prospective for gold, with gold being discovered there in 1891, which resulted in a gold rush. The company is planning further rock chip sampling to refine drill targets. Novo Resources (ASX:NVO) Novo was the company that originally inspired the long-forgotten conglomerate gold rush, surging to ridiculous highs in the Canadian market for its theory that watermelon seed shaped nuggets found in the Pilbara were evidence of a historical link between the region and the Witwatersrand Basin in South Africa, the world's most productive gold field. Not so, the story didn't hang together. But Novo had collected a massive tenement package it brought directly to the Australian market in a 2023 dual listing. Novo had De Grey (now Northern Star) engaged on a JV at its Egina project next to Hemi, but also holds a host of tenements in the region either 100% or in JV with groups like Peregrine, Creasy and lithium giant SQM. Most recently, the company's attention has been turned to its Tibooburra and John Bull project in New South Wales, but it has been working up gold and antimony targets at Balla Balla and Sherlock Crossing.
