Dear All,
How the world has changed! The extreme water shortages which were seriously curtailing our mining operations at the time of our Christmas 2007 Report are now a thing of the past. Our mining dams are full and the countryside is covered with grass once again.
The heavy flooding on the Gemfields did a lot of damage to some of the underground mines and to the homes and equipment of miners in some of the low-lying areas, and these people now face a difficult and expensive task to reconstruct their lives.
However, it has also meant that the area has been 'washed clean', and that there is now lots of available surface water for fossickers and small miners, so many of the hand miners have been able to recommence mining and there are excellent prospects for a big 'tourist miner' season. The caravan parks are already starting to fill up, and there are many people camped in the outer areas, no doubt to take advantage of the excellent break to the long drought.
My only advice would be for people contemplating camping out in the more remote areas to bring a "whipper-snipper" to clear their camp sites of the heavy grass cover, which is now rapidly drying out and could pose a fire hazard before the winter is over. It is a great pity that the authorities placed a restriction on the number of cattle on the Miners Common, as another hundred or so head would do a lot of good at this time.
Mining Operations
While we now have ample water for our mining for some considerable time, the high cost of diesel is an ever growing concern. Our last tanker loads cost around $ 1.60 per litre and there are expectations that this could rise even further in the short term - if not permanently.
We have calculated that, if we were to recover our current mining costs, the price of our sapphires would have to rise by over 250%!! Since this is unlikely to happen in the short term, we will continue to mine only at a very slow rate - just sufficient to supply our immediate needs, and to keep our leases and our equipment operational.
There has been a resurgence in demand for good quality blue sapphires, so we have readied our Lava Plains plant and equipment for operation, and the weather now appears as if it has dried up enough to allow work to recommence on this very productive mining lease. The sapphire mined at Lava Plains is relatively small, but very beautiful and it is pleasing that some of our more discerning clients are becoming addicted to it.
The number of larger machinery miners in Australia has become a very small group, and the only other significant miners at the present time are Mosley Mining on the Central Queensland Gemfields and John Wilson at Inverell. I had a long talk to John yesterday and found out that, as well as the high cost of equipment and fuel, miners in N.S.W. also face exhorbitant demands from bureaucracy which adds to their costs and makes their business almost impossible.
Exhibitions
We have just returned from our long trip south to exhibit at the Brisbane Jewellery Trade Fair, and then on to the Australian Gemboree which was held this year at Murray Bridge in South Australia.
We were most disappointed in the Brisbane Jewellery Fair. The organisers reported that the attendance was about the same as last year but, from our perspective, we felt that it was down at least 30% - and that there were not many serious customers around. While there were still some of the top quality exhibitors present, many well known suppliers seemed to be missing, and there was a good dealt of material which we felt was well below the standard expected of a premier jewellery show.
We have since contacted a number of people who usually attend the jewellery fairs to find out the reason for their absence, and almost unanimously they said that they considered that it "was no longer worth their while to make the effort". It's a pity. Being dedicated Queenslanders, we had such high hopes for this show. The high cost of exhibiting ( for us, a total of some $ 7,500.00), makes it too expensive to attend just to meet and greet our regular customers, when we could rent a whole floor in one of the prestige hotels for two days for less outlay - and it must cost some of the other exhibitors a lot more than we spend in attending the show.
Consequently, we have advised the organisers that we will not be attending next year.
The Gemboree at Murray Bridge was held in the driest conditions that we have experienced - even worse than the drought we've had in Central Queensland over the last few years. It was again a pleasant show ehich was well attended by the club members and lapidary people from all over Australia, but not many of the public. It appears that Adelaide people do not travel - even the short distance over the hill to Murray Bridge.
When we left the area a few days later, having done our work in Adelaide and having enjoyed a lovely three days on Kangaroo Island, it was actually raining at Murray Bridge - so we hope that life there has become a bit easier for the locals.
Incidentally, we can thoroughly recommend a few days on Kangaroo Island. The scenery was different to anything we had experienced, the locals were most friendly and helpful, and we felt that the prices of everything we purchased were most reasonable. We had a lovely three days there, with the highlight being a walk on the beach among the sealions.
We now have a quiet period until July, which should allow us to catch up on some of our property work. We were booked to go to the Lismore Gem Show in May, but several international visitors and clients decided to come here at the same time, so we have had to withdraw. Also, I am also finding it increasingly attractive to stay home and 'talk to our cattle', rather than rush around the countryside - especially with the high costs of travel today. I did not get time to wet our little fishing tinny over Christmas, but I have high hopes for the rest of this year!
Gemfest
Please note that Gemfest is a little later than "normal" this year. The actual dates for Gemfest at Anakie are from Thursday 14 to Sunday 17 August. We will be starting our Queensland Sapphire Producers Show and Sale in the Sapphire Multipurpose Centre on Tuesday 12 August, which provides tailgaiters and other Gemfest exhibitors with the opportunity to purchase their requirements before they get tied up with their own exhibits.
The Gemfest Committee has been rejuvenated with some new blood, and the injection of ideas from many local businesses. We are most pleased that the new group has recognised the need to take action to return the Gemfest to the heady days back in 1987 when it was started by Joyce Deeley and Gladys Doughty to promote the genuine, natural products mined on the Gemfields. I believe that their new ideas will make our Gemfest one of Australia's premier gem and jewellery shows, at which buyers can make their purchases with confidence as to the integrity and authenticity of the gemstones purchased.
The Committee is seeking to involve the whole community in Gemfest, and is obtaining paid sponsorships from local businesses and suppliers - which will provide the funds to 'kick-start' the organising and publicising of the event. Sponsors will each provide an item of a value equal to their cash donation which will be used in a "multi-draw" raffle. It is anticipated that this will provide some thirty items for the raffle, which will make it very attractive for ticket buyers.
One of the innovations being introduced includes the use of a single "passport" to cost around $ 10.00, which will give the buyer the right of access to all venues for the entire period of Gemfest, and which will be 'stamped' when the buyer presents it to each of the participating venues. This passport will also be the ticket for the multi-draw raffle of the items provided by the sponsoring groups, with a bonus draw for the first ticket drawn which has all venues stamped.
While it is too late for this incoming committee to make many structural changes to Gemfest for this year, I believe that they may be considering giving some of the exhibitors the opportunity to be located in future years in the Sapphire and Rubyvale Halls, or possibly even considering the construction of a new purpose-built exhibition centre. This will allow them to cater for an expanded Gemfest and to do away with the expensive marquee - which will mean that exhibitors could be provided with greatly improved amenities, with better lighting, less dust and a more friendly environment than the present big marquee provides, and which, when combined with the "passport" system, will provide better buying facility for visitors.
While I understand that these considerations are still in the formative stage, anyone interested or with suggestions, comments or queries should contact:
The Gemfest Organiser,
Josie Carew. Phone: 07.4985.4375
E-mail: info@gemfest.com.au
Faceting Courses
The facetting courses being run by John Broadfoot on behalf of the Queensland Sapphire Producers Association continue to be in great demand.
The next available courses are on in late July and early August. John advises that the Level 2 and Level 3 courses are almost fully booked but that, due to assistance from Peter Stringfellow, he is able to offer another beginners session.
Interested people should contact John Broadfoot direct: Phone: 07.3269.2904
Mobile: 0429.692904
E-mail: geminfo@bigpond.com
Chrysoprase
We have not been able to regain access to the chrysoprase mining area at Marlborough, so our stocks of good cutting material are running down. We do have more good material, but it is all in very large boulders, and we do not want to break up the boulders into smaller pieces - because we believe that they are very valuable, and we hope that we will one day find someone who will buy these boulders and carve them into very large works of art.
Our best chrysoprase boulder weighs some 9,000 kilograms of solid material, and we have another (which has some low grade material included in it ) which weighs 16,400 kilograms - and we also have many other boulders, varying from a few hundred kilograms to two or three tons, which we believe would be better used as large carving pieces, rather than being broken down for cutting and polishing.
It appears that the entire Chrysoprase mining area at Marlborough in Central Queensland is now held under mining tenures or agreements by a very large nickel mining company which is planning to establish a treatment plant near Gladstone to process the Marlborough ore, as well as nickel ore imported from overseas. This is a massive project of national significance, and little miners like us find it very difficult to compete with the big money of the big companies. However, we are still trying to gain access, as it will be most disappointing if all that lovely chrysoprase is crushed up to smelt into nickel metal.
Zeolite
The number of people asking for details on where to access powdered zeolite continues to increase, due to the expanding knowledge about its benefits in the treatment of people suffering from cancers, blood disorders, kidney and liver problems, heavy metal poisoning, etc. I therefore provide again the contacts for the new owners of the Queensland Zeolite Pty. Ltd. mine which is located just west of the Gemfields.
Mick Delroy Phone: 07.4995.1178 Mobile: 0428.951178
e-mail wandarri@bigpond.com.au
Neal Delroy Mobiles: 0447.363063 or 0429.181930
e-mail nealctc@bigpond.com
Philosophising
Our concerns about the future of our economy as expressed in our comments in our Christmas 2007 Report proved to be on the mark, despite the fact that we had no knowledge at the time of writing, of events such as the effects of the "Sub-Prime Mortgage" crashes. Some of our financial advisors seem to think that the worst is over and that the world economy is in a process of recovery. I do not agree with this sentiment, and believe that we must expect a lot more bumps in our economy over the next year or so - particularly if, as I suspect will happen, China restricts its imports by even a relatively small amount at the end of this year, after the end of the Beijing Olympics, or if they revalue their currency.
The mining industries seem to be charging on as if the "boom" will never end, but I suspect that this may soon turn around, if only temporarily. Most of the 'experts' I have spoken to say that this can not happen and that the demand for our metal products will continue to increase - but I urge caution! I believe that the next major concern, which is already rearing its head, will be the ability to provide enough food - not just for the starving masses throughout the world, but also for the populations whose affluence and eating habits have been changed by the rapid industrial expansions, particularly in Asia.
This thought, together with concerns about the increasing importation into this country of foods of all kinds from places where production controls do not meet the standards forced onto Australian producers of like goods, has encouraged us to establish our own vegetable gardens, plant more fruit trees, and even invest in another relatively small cattle property - the development of which is now consuming more of our time.
Our 7,000 km trip to participate in the Australian Gemboree in South Australia took us through a lot of the farming and grazing lands of western NSW and Victoria and the eastern part of SA. While we have had our own weather problems around here, it made us realise how lucky we are to live where we do, as I do not know how the poor blighters in that part of the world make a living off their most 'marginal' country. The whole area looked absolutely terrible when we went through it, but the strong-hearted farmers were out ploughing their drought stricken paddocks, no doubt in the hope that rain would soon arrive and they may have one of their "good years". It was starting to rain as we came back, so I hope that their prayers were answered and they may soon see a change in the seasons.
As I write this, we are listening to all the hype and political grandstanding over the "2020 Summit" held in Canberra. The documentary on the presentations included many good ideas, but only time will tell if it was all worth while. It was disappointing to me that the summary of the principal items for consideration that I heard went back to the same old issues and ideas, but the real test will come in the implementation. I hope that we do not see a proliferation of 'Committees of Review', as most of the "big ideas" need to be implemented well before "2020" and, being somewhat cynical about the whole process, I also hope that the important and necessary changes do not get de-railed by any attempt to put the Republic debate back on the front burner!
My mother used to regularly preach to us her doctrine of her three "R's":
Respect, Restraint, Responsibility
I believe that, if we are going to survive in today's world, these principles are now more important than ever.
Best Wishes to everyone for the rest of the year.
Regards, Jim Elliot. Coolamon Mining Pty. Ltd.
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