In The News

Olympic Dam Not all Doom and Gloom
New Mining TAFE for South Australia
A Stronger Future for Port Pirie
Critical Skills Fund - $4000 Completion Payment
National Workforce Development Fund
AusNAC CVGT - South Australia's newest Australian Apprenticeship provider
Maximising Benefits in the Upper Spencer Gulf

Australia's Mining Sector Needs to Turnaround Its Crippling Costs

Australia's mining sector has lost its cost competitiveness in the past decade due largely to its declining cost position at existing operations combined with capital costs for new projects rising faster than elsewhere, according to one of the country's key business advisory and productivity agencies to the sector, the Resources and Engineering Skills Alliance (RESA).

Addressing the second day of the two day Paydirt 2013 South Australian Resources and Energy Investment Conference at the Adelaide Convention Centre on 1st May 2013, RESA's Chief Executive Officer, Mr Phil de Courcey, said that ranked against competing producers in the thermal coal, coking coal, copper and nickel markets, more than half of Australia's mines have costs above global averages.

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Poor Productivity Impacting Mining Boom Benefits

The deteriorating productivity of Australia's mining industry will continue to worsen unless there is a concerted effort to lift both performance and the level of skills needed to protect and grow our position as the world's 3rd largest mining country in terms of minerals commodity wealth.

The blunt warning was issued today by the Adelaide-based Resources and Engineering Skills Alliance (RESA) - one of the few bodies nationally tasked with bridging the skills, training and workforce gaps in our $737 billion value resources sector.
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SA Gets First Mining Career Website

Today (19th December) the Resources Engineering Skills Alliance (RESA) gave the South Australian resources sector their first preview of Hot Rubble, their newly developed resources careers website (www.hotrubble.com.au).

Hot Rubble is a first for South Australia, being the only South Australian focused careers site for the resources sector, featuring projects, training and career pathways at all levels which will assist to spread the benefits of the SA resources sector to all South Australians.

"Hot Rubble is RESA's opportunity to open up the possibilities that the resources sector provides to all South Australians," Phil de Courcey, CEO of RESA said. "By highlighting careers, training required, and where in South Australia you might work within the resource sector we aim to streamline and demystify employment options."

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SA Mining Prospects Still Bright

South Australia's mining industry will flourish in spite of concerns the mining boom is at an end. BHP's decision to shelve its Olympic Dam plans has caused concern about the future of mining in SA. But Resources and Engineering Skills Alliance (RESA) chief executive Phil De Courcey begs to differ.

"South Australia is well positioned," he says "The prospect for growth in South Australia is definitely strong. "The future plans for SA promise bigger investment and greater job opportunities."
De Courcey says the mining industry offers a diverse range of jobs, from mining engineers and operators to roles in supporting industries, such as truck drivers and logistics.

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Second Resource Industry Skills Summit to be Held in Adelaide

CEO of the Resources and Engineering Skills Alliance (RESA) Phil de Courcey, announced today that his organisation will stage a second resource sector Skills and Workforce Summit in Adelaide next February. Mr de Courcey said one of the focal points of the national event will be innovation and technology.

Three Summit speakers will pitch their presentations in keeping with an innovation and excellence segment of the Summit. One of these presenters - Adrian Smith, Managing Director of Rheinmetall, will deliver a keynote presentation on the impact of simulation technology within the resource sector. Professor Richard Hillis, CEO of Deep Exploration Technologies, will deliver a presentation around new age drilling, while the last speaker in this section - Christopher Reynolds, will share his view on training excellence.

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Move into Mining Brings Rex to SA

A new mining company head office will be set up in Adelaide, with Rex Minerals deciding to move its base here. Rex has also appointed former OneSteel executive Mark Parry as managing director to drive the development of the company's Hillside copper project on the Yorke Peninsula. Founding managing director Steven Olsen will stay on the board as a director and will continue in a business development role until at least the middle of next year. Mr Parry has 27 years' experience in the mining and construction sector, and oversaw the development of OneSteel's Project Magnet in Whyalla, which converted the blast furnace to a magnetite feed and boosted iron ore exports. Source: The Advertiser 25 September 2012 by Cameron England

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Prominent Learning Experience

Oz Minerals is helping unearth the next generation of South Australian mining talent, courtesy of an exciting field trip program for first year university students. The copper and gold producer last week hosted 60 mining engineering students from the University of Adelaide on a three day visit to its Prominent Hill copper gold mine, some 130km southeast of Cooper Pedy. Another 60 students from the University of South Australia will arrive this week. "Being afforded the opportunity to visit a mine site such as Prominent Hill is extraordinary - the experience is unrivalled by anything else so far," University of Adelaide mining engineering student Ashleigh Walsh said. Prominent Hill General Manager and RESA board member Brian Kilgariff said: "This hands on experience gives them an insight into the opportunities that are available for the future careers." Source: The Advertiser 24 September 2012 by Julian Swallow.

First Graduates from Mining Program

With around 30 advanced mineral projects underway in South Australia, many companies are quietly up-skilling their workforce in anticipation of progressing to full scale mining operations in the
near future. One of these companies is Rex Minerals who made a significant copper discovery in 2009 at the Hillside Project on the Yorke Peninsula in South Australia. Rex is currently undertaking a prefeasibility study and plans to create a new large-scale and long-life copper operation at its Hillside project. In preparation Rex is developing its staff by enhancing their management training.

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Arrium digs in for future rich in iron export jobs

ARRIUM Mining is about to step up the rungs of iron ore producers to be a major player as exports from Whyalla cross a threshold. The strategy to diversify from steel production for the company, formerly named OneSteel, reaches a milestone tomorrow with the formal opening of plant at its Iron Baron mine. It will be followed with two further milestones before Christmas ore from the Peculiar Knob mine near Coober Pedy being brought to the dock and exports beginning from the upgraded Whyalla port. Source: The Advertiser 18 September 2012 by Christopher Russell

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