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Worker killed at Worsley

A BHP Billiton employee has been killed at the company's Worsley Alumina refinery in Western Australia.

The worker was fatally injured in an incident in the powerhouse yesterday.

"We extend our deepest condolences and support to the deceased's family, friends and colleagues at this difficult time," BHP Billiton said in a short statement.

A full investigation into the incident is underway.

"The Department of Mines and Petroleum was notified of a fatality at BHP Billiton's Worsley Alumina refinery that occurred about 5pm on Monday afternoon," DMP executive director of resources safety Simon Ridge said.

"An inspector from the Collie office is on site and two more inspectors from Perth are on their way to the site to conduct an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident."

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Northern Star's drilling push paying off

NORTHERN Star Resources is confident of growing resources and the mine life of its Jundee operation after drilling hit more than 3000 grams per tonne in a new area.

Drilling intersected 1.1m at 869gpt gold, including 0.3m at 3040gpt gold on the northern side of the Moore fault, an area previously thought to be barren.

The company said the result highlighted the potential of the largely untested Wilson Gap area, which is close to existing mine infrastructure.

Other uncut results from drilling at Jundee included 0.4m at 1760gpt gold; 0.3m at 1280gpt gold; 0.3m at 1080gpt gold; 0.8m at 433gpt gold; 0.4m at 418gpt gold; 0.5m at 335gpt gold; and 6.1m at 69gpt gold.

The results are from outside the existing Jundee resource of 851,000 ounces.

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PanAust suspends mine after incident

PANAUST has suspended its flagship operation in Laos overnight after a security incident which left an employee wounded.

In a brief statement, the company said the security incident occurred last night at the accommodation camp of its Phu Kham copper-gold mine.

The wounded employee has been evacuated to Thailand for treatment and PanAust said it was in regular contact with the family of the injured worker.

The incident is being investigated by Lao police.

PanAust has suspended all mining, processing and maintenance activities at the mine for 48 hours as a precautionary measure in line with the company's security protocols.

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Optimistic juniors emerging from the bottom

THE battered junior mining space could begin to recover after a tough 2014 financial year, according to Grant Thornton.

The 2014 Grant Thornton JUMEX Report found that two thirds of Australian junior mining and exploration companies were experiencing improved investor sentiment or expected to see an improvement in the 2015 financial year.

And 72% of respondents expected an increase in commodity prices over the next year, up from 56% last year.

It comes after 79% of companies that raised funds in FY14 experienced at least moderate challenges, up from 66% in the 2013 financial year.

Grant Thornton Australia Energy & Resources partner Holly Stiles said capital was returning to the sector, but was filtering in selectively.

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Honey, I shrunk the wheel loader

MOST construction and mining workers love their big toys, be it a 400 tonne truck or a large construction wheel loader. So what happens when Lego decides to make a toy version of one of those toys?

The Danish toy company turned to Swedish original equipment manufacturer Volvo for assistance and created a model of its Volvo L350F wheel loader.

The Lego version can lift more than 1kg in its bucket and drive challenging terrain.

With 1600 individual pieces and the largest individual element ever created for the brand, the Lego version of the L350 wheel loader is also remote controlled.

Lego has also posted a film that follows Lego Technic design manager Jeppe Juul Jensen and head of marketing Niels Henrik Horsted as they conduct hands-on research, visiting the Volvo factor and a construction site and operating the real L350F themselves.

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