Mining Journal > Exploration & Development > Live from the event: Australian excellence

Four Australian companies were this week recognised for their achievements in the year to end-June at an awards ceremony in Darling Harbour, Sydney. The Mining Excellence awards, part of the Mines and Money Australia conference, also included the induction of another ‘Mining Legend’.

The corporate awards were determined by on-line voting from a short list (of five or six candidates in each category) selected by the editorial teams of Mining Journal and ResourceStocks.

In the ‘Project: Exploration and discovery’ category, the winner was Gold Road Resources Ltd for its Yamarna project in Western Australia. Gold Road has discovered what it describes as an “entirely new gold region” on the eastern edge of the Yilgarn Craton. Gold Road is the first company to systematically explore the region, and exploration is currently focused on a 6km² central target, where Gold Road has identified five high-grade deposits – Attila, Hann, Byzantium, Central Bore and Justinian.

In the second category, ‘Mine: Production and management’, Atlas Iron Ltd won for its Wodgina operation in WA. Production started at Wodgina in mid-2010, and Atlas has since increased its direct-shipping iron ore to 6Mt/y. Atlas aims to double this annualised production by the end of 2012.

Base Resources Ltd was the winner of the ‘Company: Management and transactions’ ward for 2010/11. Over a period of 18 months, Base has moved from being a small exploration company to being the 100% owner of the Kwale mineral sands project in Kenya. From a market capitalisation of only A$3 million (with A$2 million in cash), Base improved its valuation to a peak of A$100 million.

In the ’Technology’ award, the Aqua Guardian Group won for its AquaArmour product. This is a floating, evaporation and algal-control system made from food-grade high density polyethylene designed to mitigate the evaporation losses from open-water storage. The product saves up to 88% of the water that would otherwise be lost to evaporation.

The 'Legend' inductee at this year's Mining Excellence awards was Charles Copeman, was the chief executive of Peko-Wallsend Ltd in 1983 when it took over Robe River Ltd (which held 35% of a mining and shipping joint venture in the Pilbara). Although being one of the largest iron-ore producers in the world, Robe River was unprofitable as a result of being massively overmanned, and dominated by union activism.

Mr Copeman stood up to the unions (including a five-week strike) and removed 284 restrictive work practices. Nine industrial-relations issues were taken, on appeal, to the Western Australian Supreme Court, and Peko won eight. Robe River first doubled, and then tripled production.

Mr Copeman's stand marked a watershed; it toughened management and began the road to reform. He was elected to the Mining Hall of Fame in October 2009.