| Mining Technology
Buoyed by China's continued drive for safety and productivity gains throughout its coal mining sector and strengthened demand from the global resource sector, the Mining Technology division enjoyed a record year, with sales increasing by 62% to $114.5 million. EBITA increased 96% to $38.0 million.
Included in revenues were material sales to BHP Billiton Group for the deployment of our CAS-CAM/RF® collision avoidance system globally including Australia, South Africa and South America.
At the start of the current financial year Rio Tinto ordered a CAS-CAM/RF® system for trial deployment at one of its West Australian mine sites. We are hopeful that this will open additional opportunities for the system to be deployed at other Rio Tinto sites in Australia and overseas.
In Queensland alone it is estimated that around 75% of all mining related fatalities result from vehicle-related accidents. Queensland's independent mine safety regulator has publicly stated that they strongly back the mandatory introduction of collision avoidance systems at every mine site in the state.
With the increasing size of equipment being used at mine sites, which themselves continue to grow in scale and complexity, we expect regulators and mining companies throughout Australia will continue to push for deployment of enhanced safety measures, such as our market-leading CAS-CAM/RF® provides.
It is estimated that Australia has around 130 active surface mines in current operation. Of these, only a limited proportion currently utilise formal collision avoidance systems, and if all were to implement this technology it would represent a total estimated capital expenditure of around $780 million.
Through the Technology division CAS-CAM/RF® contracts with customers in the emerging markets of South America and South Africa, we hope to make further inroads into both countries in the year ahead.
The increasing focus on safety within the Chinese coal mining industry, as evidenced by the China State Administration of Coal Mine Safety imposing strict penalties for mines that failed to adhere to mandated safety standards, also drove a record number of orders for Industrea's gas drainage and directional drilling systems.
Among the new Chinese orders for gas drainage and directional drilling systems in FY 2011 were Shanxi Coking Coal Group International for its Xishan Coal Electricity mine ($10.3 million), Shanxi Yangcheng Fuyan Coal Industry Co ($3.1 million) and Jincheng Anthracite Mining Group for its Sihe Mine ($6.1 million).
During the year we also continued to successfully expand export sales outside of China, with the largest ever single contract for drill guidance systems into Russia, and orders for civil applications in Japan.
The development and manufacture of a proprietary Industrea Mining Equipment drill rig during the second half of FY 2011, represented a significant evolvement of our gas drainage market offering. The incorporation of this new rig with our existing drill guidance system represents a clear technological step change over existing competing gas drainage solutions. This vastly enhanced market offering will be leveraged via our new Gas Management division, to open what we are confident will be significant new business opportunities both in Australia and overseas markets, and particularly China and Russia.
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