Mr HATTON - 1998-06-16
I understand, from information received, that the government has recently granted a new mining lease which has the potential to create an entirely new industry in the Northern Territory. This will present great opportunities for broadening our economic base and creating some real jobs in the Territory. Will the minister outline the potential of this particular project?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, in your position you may feel sometimes that you do not have many friends. I am about to talk about what is possibly your best friend - diamonds. I am very pleased to announce to Territorians that we have indeed granted a new lease to Ashton Mining to operate the Merlin diamond mine. This will be the first diamond mine in the Northern Territory and the second hard-rock diamond mine in the country. The site is 80 km south of Borroloola, on Spring Creek Station, and the project is managed by Ashton Mining on behalf of a joint venture involving Ashton and Aberfoyle Resources.
As there is a possibility that native title exists over this property, the company requested the Territory government to proceed to grant the mineral lease in accord with the right-to-negotiate procedures under the Native Title Act. As members would be aware, generally the government has not followed this process for exploration tenements. In this instance, the title was granted only after the company agreed to indemnify the government against the payment of any compensation for native title claims. Also, in this instance, the native title negotiations were streamlined because of the location, the type of mine operation, and the relatively small size of the mine. The lease area is only some 2350 ha. It is about 8 km long and 4 km wide.
The mining of diamonds has a very low impact on the environment as no chemical processes are used. Nevertheless, it took Ashton Mining some 6 months to negotiate a native title agreement. As part of the agreement, the Merlin joint venturers have agreed to provide employment and training for Aboriginal people and to pay compensation for the impact on native title rights.
Although the mine is small, in capital costs it is worth some $28m. It will create some 60 jobs during its operation and about 100 jobs during the construction phase. It is expected that some 500 000 t to 750 000 t of ore will be mined each year during the phase 1 operation of the mine. It is important for members to note that the diamonds are of very high quality. They are 65% gem and 35% near-gem. To give a comparison, the Argyle diamond mine in Western Australia produces only 5% gem quality. Thus, it appears that the dollar value per carat at Merlin will be exceptionally high. I will invite representatives of the media to see some samples of the diamonds this afternoon, in the Elsey Room at 4 pm. We will be counting them in and out of the room. Mike Ryan, the project manager of Merlin Projects, will fly into Darwin today with the samples and will be present at that time.
This is really an exciting project, with phase 1 set to begin at what could become a major mine in the Northern Territory. Thus, this week, we have received good news on Jabiluka and we have this exceptional news on Merlin. Merlin’s real value will become clearer after the commencement of operations and when it has a track record behind it.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, in your position you may feel sometimes that you do not have many friends. I am about to talk about what is possibly your best friend - diamonds. I am very pleased to announce to Territorians that we have indeed granted a new lease to Ashton Mining to operate the Merlin diamond mine. This will be the first diamond mine in the Northern Territory and the second hard-rock diamond mine in the country. The site is 80 km south of Borroloola, on Spring Creek Station, and the project is managed by Ashton Mining on behalf of a joint venture involving Ashton and Aberfoyle Resources.
As there is a possibility that native title exists over this property, the company requested the Territory government to proceed to grant the mineral lease in accord with the right-to-negotiate procedures under the Native Title Act. As members would be aware, generally the government has not followed this process for exploration tenements. In this instance, the title was granted only after the company agreed to indemnify the government against the payment of any compensation for native title claims. Also, in this instance, the native title negotiations were streamlined because of the location, the type of mine operation, and the relatively small size of the mine. The lease area is only some 2350 ha. It is about 8 km long and 4 km wide.
The mining of diamonds has a very low impact on the environment as no chemical processes are used. Nevertheless, it took Ashton Mining some 6 months to negotiate a native title agreement. As part of the agreement, the Merlin joint venturers have agreed to provide employment and training for Aboriginal people and to pay compensation for the impact on native title rights.
Although the mine is small, in capital costs it is worth some $28m. It will create some 60 jobs during its operation and about 100 jobs during the construction phase. It is expected that some 500 000 t to 750 000 t of ore will be mined each year during the phase 1 operation of the mine. It is important for members to note that the diamonds are of very high quality. They are 65% gem and 35% near-gem. To give a comparison, the Argyle diamond mine in Western Australia produces only 5% gem quality. Thus, it appears that the dollar value per carat at Merlin will be exceptionally high. I will invite representatives of the media to see some samples of the diamonds this afternoon, in the Elsey Room at 4 pm. We will be counting them in and out of the room. Mike Ryan, the project manager of Merlin Projects, will fly into Darwin today with the samples and will be present at that time.
This is really an exciting project, with phase 1 set to begin at what could become a major mine in the Northern Territory. Thus, this week, we have received good news on Jabiluka and we have this exceptional news on Merlin. Merlin’s real value will become clearer after the commencement of operations and when it has a track record behind it.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016