ECR Minerals Unchime Iron Ore Project Update

ECR Minerals plc is pleased to announce thprocess of making minerals powder industryat it has secured, at no cost to ECR, a 60 day extension to the date by which the Company is required to make a US$1.3 million cash payment to the owners of the Unchime iron ore project in Salta Province, Argentina in part consideration for the acquisition of an initial ownership interest in the project of 70%.

More time is required for ECR to complete appropriate due diligence on the Unchime project and decide whether to proceed with the acquisition. Core samples from the diamond drilling programme completed by the Company at Unchime during September are being analysed, however this process has been delayed due to a worldwide backlog of samples at suitable laboratories. In addition ECR is continuing to implement a programme of metallurgical testwork on samples from Unchime. In order to acquire an initial 70% interest in the Unchime project ECR is now required to make a payment to the owners of the project of US$1.3 million on or before 1 December 2011, followed by an additional payment of US$500,000 not more than 7 months from the date of the...

Drilling Program Adds 180 000oz of Gold to M&I Resources at Frog's Leg Mine

Avoca Resources is pleased to report that the ongoing resource delineation program at its 49%equipment used in the limestone quarry plantpage3-owned Frog’s Leg underground gold mine in Western Australia as reported by La Mancha Resources Limited on November 22, 2010, has led to an increase of 180,000 ounces of gold (88,200 attributable to Avoca’s 49% interest) to the mine’s measured and inferred (“M&I”) resources.

Avoca’s joint venture partner, La Mancha Resources has a 51% interest in the Frog’s Leg mine and is operator of the joint venture. La Mancha’s press release is attached to this announcement.

Resource Increase Highlights:

• First half of the exploration program adds 180,000 ounces of gold (88,200 ounces attributable to Avoca) to M&I resources.


• Drill results suggest mineralisation remains thick at depth while resource remains open.


• Management expects further resource growth on completion of the three remaining drill platforms.

Highlights of additional result not yet included in resource update

Preliminary results from second half of drilling campaign returns more high-grade intercepts, including:

• 13.5m @ 8.58 g/t Au with true thickness of 12.3m


• 14.5m @ 7.00 g/t Au with true thickness of 12.1m


• 16.0m @ 7.14 g/t Au with true thickness of 9.9m


• 16.57m @ 6.31 g/t Au with true thickness of 9.7m

Only 45% of all drilling completed is included in the resource update.

Rohan Williams, Chief Executive Officer of Avoca, stated, “We are very pleased with these encouraging results and particularly as the original objective of the program was to add around 150,000 ounces of gold to the Frog’s Leg resource.

“Clearly this objective has been exceeded as to date only 45% of the drill holes completed have been used in this new resource update.”

Venturex to acquire Panorama project from CBH

Venturex Resources Limited today announced thatit has entered into a conditional agreement to acquire the Panorama Copper Zinc Project from CBH Resources Limited for $26.2m cash and an accompanying zinc off-take agreement to Toho Zinc Co Ltd. The acquisitrituradoras de piedra en venta en mexicotion will be funded through a A$36.8m capital raising comprising a share placement to institutional and sophisticated investors and a 2:5 fully underwritten non-renounceable accelerated entitlements issue.

The proceeds will also provide working capital to fast track a definitive feasibility study of the combined projects. The Panorama Project is the largest known VMS deposit in the Pilbara, located 162km SE of Port Hedland. It contains a JORC Mineral Resource of 19.3Mt @ 1.2% Cu and 3.2% Zn, and previous feasibility studies have confirmed a high grade core amenable to large scale underground mining.

Consideration for the acquisition comprises a deposit of A$750,000, which has been paid, a final completion payment of A$25.45m, subject to satisfaction of conditions precedent (including successful completion of the capital raising), by 1 March 2011, and the grant of zinc off-take rights to Toho Zinc capped at 230,000t of zinc in zinc concentrate from Panorama (or Venturex’s other Pilbara Operations) on international benchmark terms.

Dr Tim Sugden, Venturex’s Managing Director, said that the acquisition of Panorama is a logical step in Venturex’s strategy of consolidating VMS deposits in the Pilbara and developing a centralised processing hub at its Whim Creek operations. “The Panorama Project adds significant scale to our Pilbara development plans and, by capitalising on our existing infrastructure, the economics of the combined projects are compelling. This acquisition will elevate Venturex into the ranks of Australian mid-tier base metals developers and position our Shareholders to benefit from the positive market outlook for copper and zinc.”

Rio Tinto reopens Pilbara expansion study after mining tax deal

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Rio Tinto said today it has recommenced studies on its multibillion dollar Pilbara iron ore expansion after the recent mining tax deal. "We're in the process of re-opening studies in relation to our Pilbara expansions," Rio iron ore chief executive Sam Walsh told reporters on the sidelines of a function.

"With the certainty that we've now got with the Minerals Resource Rent Tax, we are now reconfiguring those numbers and the impact back into our projects." In May, Rio Tinto put its Australian projects on hold due to uncertainty relating to the proposed Resource Super Profits Tax. The company wants to increase iron ore production to about 330 million tonnes a year from about 230 million tonnes a year by the middle of the decade. Despite the greater certainty generated by last week's tax compromise, Mr Walsh declined to put a timeframe on when Rio Tinto will approve the expansion, which may cost more than $US10 billion ($12bn).

Avanti Mining gets $640 million financing for Kitsault mine in B.C.

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Avanti Mining has arranged to borrow $640 million from an international group for the development of its Kitsault molybdenum mine in northwestern B.C.

The Vancouver-based company said Thursday the five lenders include Export Development Canada and Caterpillar Financial. Also on the list are UniCredit Bank AG, KfW IPEX-Bank GmbH, and Korea Development Bank. "This confirms our belief that Kitsault is a world class molybdenum deposit in a well known mining jurisdiction and can be developed in a manner that protects and supports the local communities," said president and CEO Craig Nelsen. Molybdenum is used to harden and protect other metals from corrosion. Avanti has focused on restarting the mothballed molybdenum mine, and is awaiting environmental approvals from both the B.C. and Canadian environmental assessment offices. The company said the agreement will give it $560 million of senior debt over a...

Pan African increases resource at Manica and reserve at Phoenix Platinum

Pan African Resources annolumsden 95 vertical spindle rotary table surface grinderunced a significant increase in the mineral resource for its Manica gold project in Mozambique and a doubling of the metal mineral reserve for the Phoenix Platinum project in South Africa. This follows the significant increase in the mineral resource and reserve at Barberton Mines as announced at the end of May.

At Manica, the total mineral resource rose 16 percent to 2.97 million ounces of gold, contained in 50.554 million tonnes grading 1.82 grammes per tonne in situ. The total of Marica is made up of measured and indicated mineral resource of 1.38Moz, a 5 percent increase on the previous estimate, and an inferred resource of 1.58Moz, up 26 percent. The total mineral resource for the group has risen 22 percent to 5.67Moz. This is made up of a 3.43Moz measured and indicated gold, a 16 percent rise, and a 33 percent higher infereed resource of 2.24Moz. Pan African’s proved and probable reserve now stands at 1Moz, up 51 percent on the previous estimate. At Phoenix Platinum, the proved and probable reserve is now declared at 174,000oz 4E minerals: 56.6 percent platinum, 27 percent Palladium, 16 percent Rhodium and 0.5 percent gold. The new figure represents a 100 percnet rise on the previous estimate...

Anglesey Mining's LIM books first iron ore sales for 2012

Anglesey Mining said Labrador Iron Mines has recorded the first sale of ore malaysia standard for sand miningfor 2012.

Anglesey has a 26 per cent stake in LIM, which operates the James mine and a number of associated operations in the Schefferville area of western Labrador and north-eastern Quebec.

The James mine commenced its first full season of production on April 2 and is on track to mine approximately 3 million tonnes of iron ore, with a saleable production target of 2 million tonnes for 2012.

The company relayed an operations update from LIM covering the first six weeks of the 2012 production season.

The first shipment containing approximately 170,000 wet tonnes of direct rail ore at a grade of 63.65 per cent iron departed the Port of Sept-Iles on May 19.

Going forward, at least two shipments are anticipated each month during the operating year, with the next shipment scheduled in early June.

The Silver Yards processing facility re-started for the season on May 18 and the Phase 3 plant expansion, designed to increase production capacity to approximately 2 million tonnes per year, is slated for completion in the summer.

LIM chairman and chief executive John Kearney said: "This has been an extremely positive start to 2012, as we have executed on key milestones that will ensure a successful operating season.

"With LIM's first shipment and sale of iron ore, we are off to a good start to meet our production target of two million tonnes

Miners attack global tax changes

Mining companies have attacked a government plan to secure up to $1.9 billion in tax revenue thrcivil cost for a jaw crusher installationough tougher laws on global profit-shifting, saying the changes threaten to increase uncertainty in the industry.

In a move that has raised the ire of companies including General Motors and GE, the government is set to make retrospective changes to laws on ''transfer pricing'' - trade between different parts of a global company. The changes will apply to tax disputes going back to 2004.

The general manager of transfer pricing at Rio Tinto, Richard Atkinson, said yesterday the changes raised the ''significant risk'' that companies would face ''double taxation'' across different jurisdictions.

BHP's manager of tax in Australia, Don Spirason, said the miner opposed the changes ''in principle'' because they would lead to more uncertainty. ''Perhaps the motivation for the legislation is that it will remove uncertainty, but from our perspective it increases it,'' he said in Canberra.

While government senators suggested the companies were trying to minimise their tax, Minerals Council of Australia deputy chief executive John Kunkel said the laws failed the ''critical tests'' of transparency and fairness.

''Retrospective change to taxation laws damages investor confidence in a way that makes Australia a less attractive location for capital investment,'' Dr Kunkel said.

The government has defended the laws by saying they are only designed to clarify Parliament's intention. Treasury says up to $1.9 billion is at risk if they are not passed.

Labor senator Doug Cameron suggested that the big companies' main gripe with the changes was not one of principle but that they threatened to eat into profits, asking Rio Tinto's Mr Atkinson: ''It's not just a matter of principle, is it? It's about money.'' Mr Atkinson conceded that it was ''about dollars'' but companies also needed certainty about global tax arrangements.

Berkeley and KEPCO Sign US$70m Financing Partnership for Salamanca Project

Berkeley Resources is pleased to announce that it has entered into a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Koreacrushing plant design and layoutpage2 Electric Power Corporation (`KEPCO’), to finance and develop the Salamanca Uranium Project.

The Korea Electric Power Corporation is a Korean government invested diversified energy company with assets over $US 80 billion and revenues of over $US 30 billion, on a consolidated basis as of December 31, 2009. The company is involved in the generation, transmission and distribution of electrical power from nuclear, hydro, coal, oil and LNG sources worldwide. KEPCO provides electricity to almost all households in Korea and operates twenty nuclear power plants in the country with six more under construction.

The company has over 30,000 employees and is listed on the Korean Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange.

KEPCO will invest, at the Project level only, US$70 million for a 35% interest in Berkeley’s Salamanca Uranium Project, which comprises of Aguila, Alameda, Retortillo and Villar mining areas. KEPCO will also contribute funding of 35% for the development of the Salamanca Uranium Project assets to bring them into production as well as ongoing operating expenditure.

Berkeley and KEPCO will work together through appropriate Board representation at project level and will regularly review future Capital needs and off-take arrangements as the project development phase progresses.

In return, this agreement provides that KEPCO will execute a proposed offtake agreement to purchase 35% of the Salamanca Uranium Project’s U308 production at industry standard terms, based on a mix of spot and term prices.

Mr. Ian Stalker, Managing Director of Berkeley commented: "The strategic partnership with such a successful industry heavyweight as KEPCO confirms our determination to rapidly develop our Salamanca Uranium Project and be operational by the end of 2012. We are delighted to have this added flexibility in both our financing plan and market awareness, particularly at this stage of our project development. This marks a significant achievement in the progress of Berkeley’s development cycle and goes a long way to achieve the development of this unique and strategic Project. Berkeley will also retain 100% of the exploration potential in its extensive portfolio as well as the Gambuta Project, which has a JORC inferred resource of 9.2 Mlbs."

The transaction is subject to the completion of a final sixty (60) days due diligence by KEPCO, execution and delivery of a Definitive Agreement (DA) within thirty (30) days thereafter and Berkeley and KEPCO Board approvals, as well as the receipt of certain regulatory stock exchange approvals, if required.

Iluka lifts revenue despite lower sales

Mineral sands miner Iluka Resources has lifted its revenue in the first half of the year, despite sales dropping by more than a third.

Iluka collected $662.8 million in the six months to June 30 from its sales of mineral sands, up 16.2 per cent from $570.2 million for the same period last year.second hand gold mining equipment for sale

High prices and strong margins have kept revenues rising, with the company reducing production of its chief earners zircon, rutile and synthetic rutile to deal with lower demand conditions.

The company reduced production of the three products by 23 per cent to 444,000 thousand tonnes in the first six months of 2012, and by four per cent to 217,000 thousand tonnes in the three months to June 30 compared to the previous quarter.

Iluka surprised the market earlier this week with a sharp sales downgrade for the year, saying it expected to sell between 510,000 and 720,000 tonnes of zircon, rutile and synthetic rutile in calendar 2012, compared to its May estimate of 935,000 tonnes.

More than $1.1 billion, or a quarter of the company's market value, was wiped off its share price following the news.

Thursday's quarterly production report showed a 35.1 per cent fall in sales of those three items to 273,900 tonnes.

Revenue of $2.26 million per tonne sold, compared to $709,000 in cash costs represented a 68.5 per cent margin compared to 50 per cent for the same period last year.

The company is blaming many different factors for the sales downturn, all representing a sluggish global economy.

A weak Chinese property market had hit sales of zircon, which is needed for ceramics products used in the country's construction and manufacturing sector.

Demand in Europe for rutile, used in titanium dioxide to provide pigments for paints, plastics and paper, has come to a standstill.

Mineral sands broadly are used in paints, electronics, nuclear reactors and deodorants along with the decorative ceramics industry.

Iluka's shares had fallen 24 cents, or 2.59 per cent to $9.03 by 10am.

BHP Faces More Industrial Action at Coal Mines, Union Says

BHP Billiton is facing a third rouncopper processing plants in the philippinesd of industrial action in Australia this week at its coking coal mines, further disrupting output from the world’s largest exporter of the steelmaking material.

Workers at seven mining sites owned by BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance in Queensland state’s Bowen Basin won’t do any “non-rostered” overtime on June 30 and July 1, Stephen Smyth, a division president at the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union in Queensland, said by telephone today. Coal mine workers began their second round of strikes on June 24 and they’ll finish on June 29, said Smyth. BHP has been notified about the latest plan and further strikes are possible next week, he said. Labor unions in Australia are stepping up demands for wage increases and job security as surging commodity prices swell profits at companies including Melbourne-based BHP. Protracted strikes may bolster coal prices already driven higher by...

Kumba Says ArcelorMittal Price Doesn't Apply to Phoenix Expansion Project

Kumba Iron Ore Ltd., embroiled in a dispute over the price of raw material it sells to Arceharga mesin pemecah batupage2lorMittal South Africa Ltd., said a 2001 accord setting out costs for its steelmaking customer doesn’t extend to a planned mine expansion. The contract for the Thabazimbi mine shouldn’t apply to the Project Phoenix expansion plan, Kumba said.

“Mittal made the election not to participate in Project Phoenix,” the unit of Anglo America Plc. said in an e-mailed response to questions. The Thabazimbi mine, in Limpopo, ships all of its ore to the metal producer at the same rate. The expansion adds 20 years of life to the site. “According to the agreement, it is the responsibility of SIOC to extend the life of the mine for as long as possible,” ArcelorMittal South Africa Chief Financial Officer Kobus Verster, said in a text message today, referring to Kumba unit Sishen Iron Ore Co. Ltd., which runs Sishen and Thabazimbi.

Altona announces further resource upgrades at Roseby project

Altona Mining is pleased to announce upgrades to the Mineral Resource Estimates for three deposits at its 100% owned Roseby Project, near Mt Isa in Queensland, Australia.

These Resources are reported at stone crushing business for sale in omana 0.3% copper lower cut-off grade.

Contained copper metal at the Resources has increased by 48% at Ivy Ann and 141% at Lady Clayre. Resources are little changed at Bedford.

The resource upgrades result from drilling undertaken at Ivy Ann and Lady Clayre in 2011 and at Bedford in 2009. There is significant potential to further increase resources, particularly at Ivy Ann and Lady Clayre. Further drilling is planned for the upcoming 2012 field season.

These deposits are envisaged as satellite feeder pits to the much larger Little Eva mine and processing plant.

The total Resource classified as copper-gold sulphide and available for mining and for processing at the proposed Little Eva plant is now: 131.2Mt at 0.53% copper and 0.10g/t gold (701,000 tonnes contained copper, 431,000 ounces contained gold).

Altona Mining Limited has a producing copper-gold-zinc underground mine and processing plant at Outokumpu in Finland. The project is ramping up to design production rate of 550,000tpa. The project produces both copper-gold concentrate and zinc concentrate for sale.

The Roseby Copper Project near Mt Isa in Queensland is one of Australia’s largest undeveloped copper projects. The Company’s aim is to increase resources well beyond 1 million tonnes of contained copper and to upgrade the DFS to a production target of 40,000tpa copper. Altona will take Roseby to a development decision in parallel with developing the Outokumpu Copper Project.

The Roseby Copper Project near Mt Isa in Queensland is one of Australia’s largest undeveloped copper resources. A Definitive Feasibility Study will be completed in mid 2012 which envisaged the production of 32,000 tonnes per annum of copper, and 15,000 ounces per annum of gold for 10 years from a large scale open pit-mining operation. Environmental and regulatory approvals are well advanced.

Mining industry must transform says Minister Susan Shabangu

Mineral Resources Minister Susan Shabangu has called for sustainable growth and development in the mining segravel washing machine cost in egyptctor to "ensure the speedy realisation of government's transformation objectives".

This, she said, was in order "to accommodate the groups yearning for inclusion within the mainstream economy, which still reflects the pre-1994 demographic dominance of certain groups".

Shabangu was addressing the opening of the McClosky Southern African Coal Exports conference on Thursday in Cape Town.

"South Africa has about 49 million citizens, more than 50 percent of them women. Despite the good intentions of the transformation laws, women are still not properly represented in the sector.

"Continued reliance of the sector on the previously advantaged 20 percent of the population, obsessed with a bottom line approach at the expense of national objectives, has undermined the objectives of this sector," said Shabangu, adding that those who remain marginalized in the economy must be included in the sector.

Shabangu challenged Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) companies to do things differently, and not to "merely to buy these assets (companies) and yet still perpetuate the pre-1994 trend, in terms of their asset management and control".

Switching focus to the plight of small players in the industry, she said junior operators found it difficult to access funding for their exploration and mining activities.

"This leads to some of these players selling their properties prematurely, which defeats the objective of raising levels of participation of BEEs in the sector," she said.

One of the delegates at the conference, Vuslat Bayoglu - director at Umthombo Resources -applauded the minister's take on the need for sustainable transformation of the industry.

"Having a minister like her gives confidence to the industry. She makes us feel safe. She was upfront," he said.

South Africa is a world leader in mining, accounting for a significant proportion of world production and reserves. In 2009, according to the Chamber of Mines of South Africa, the industry contributed 8.8% directly, and another 10% indirectly, to the country's gross domestic product.

Selwyn Resources agrees to acquire Acadian Mining subsidiary for $10 million

Selwyn Resources Ltd. says it has signed a letter of intentiron ore crushing and screening plant to acquire ScoZinc Ltd. for $10 million from Acadian Mining Corp. The purchase includes all assets of the zinc-lead Scotia zinc mine in Nova Scotia. Under the agreement announced Tuesday, both companies will hold an exclusive period until Feb. 14 that will allow them to complete the letter of agreement.

Selwyn said it plans to refurbish the Scotia mine with a goal of resuming production in the first quarter of next year. "The acquisition and restart of ScoZinc will be a major step in the evolution of Selwyn into a mid-tier base metal mining company, and will provide Selwyn with an attractive opportunity to expand its operations and take advantage of mining opportunities in mining friendly Nova Scotia," said Selwyn president and CEO Harlan Meade in a release...

Avoca shares slide further after merger announcement

Sharinput size and output size of your raw material and the capacity per hour you needes in gold miner Avoca Resources fell another 10 per cent today in a clear sign investors remain unimpressed with its decision to merge with a US-based, Turkey-focused gold explorer. Yesterday the gold miner announced it had signed a merger agreement with Anatolia Minerals Development to create an intermediate producer owned 50/50 by Anatolia and Avoca shareholders with a combined market capitalisation of about $US2 billion ($A2.18 billion).

Avoca shareholders will receive 0.4453 Anatolia shares for each Avoca share they hold. The new company, to be called Alacer Gold Corp, will be dual-listed in Australia and Canada and have offices in Colorado, Turkey and Perth. The proposed scheme of arrangement will be subject to approval by shareholders of both companies at meetings later this year. UBS analyst Jo Battershill yesterday said in a note to clients that the logic of the deal was "difficult to comprehend", given Avoca predominantly mined underground in WA while Anatolia was developing a heap leach project in Turkey.

Impala Platinum Earnings Climb 67% as Metal Prices Rise

Impala Platinum Holdings saidamerica stone crushing machines manufacturers first-half profit rose 67 percent as rand-based prices climbed. Adjusted earnings climbed to 5.73 rand a share in the six months through December, from 3.44 rand a year before, the Johannesburg-based company said in a statement today.

The mean estimate of five analysts surveyed by Bloomberg is for adjusted earnings of 5.35 rand. While the average dollar platinum price increased 1.7 percent to $1,654.33 in the six-month period, the rand price of the metal advanced 8.5 percent as the local currency depreciated. Impala mines mostly in South Africa, which has the largest reserves. Refined platinum production declined 21 percent to 356,000 ounces after a 48 percent decrease in volumes supplied to Impala by rival companies. Second-half output will be eroded by a stoppage at Impala’s largest mine near Rustenburg, northwest of Johannesburg. The company is losing about 3,000 platinum ounces a day at the operation, which came to...

Sumitomo sets off Mindax board row

Mindax’s biggest shareholder, Chinese-born and educated Australiandiamond recovery machine suppliers in south africa citizen Andrew Tsang, has broken his silence on why he wants to sack the Yilgarn iron ore junior’s managing director Greg Bromley.

Tsang, who controls 22.8 per cent of Mindax, says the company effectively gave away its potentially big magnetite deposit through a proposed farm-in deal with Japanese trading giant Sumitomo. And, Tsang claims, the time has come for Mindax’s focus to shift from exploration to mine development. “This will require a change in culture and, I believe, to drive this change, a new management,” Tsang said in a letter to Mindax shareholders. Tsang said he did not want to “engage in a public debate with existing management”, although it’s too late for that. This is a typical battle between the biggest shareholder and the long-serving managing director. In little over a week — on April 27 — Mindax shareholders will meet to vote on motions put by Tsang and boardroom ally Benjamin Chow for Bromley and non-executive director Ken Pettit to be sacked. Bromley’s camp has wasted little time requisitioning its own meeting, which is likely to be held around May 12, to force the removal of Tsang and...

China bid causes Extract Resources trading halt

Extract Resources shares have been placed in a trading halt ahead of an announcement on China's bid for the uranium comining equipment for quarrying limestonempany's major shareholder. The shares, which last traded at $6.68, were halted as Extract waited for the information on Chinese state-owned CGNPC Uranium Resources' offer for Kalahari Minerals, which has a 43 per cent stake in Extract.

Because of Kalahari's stake, CGNPC is seeking relief from the Australian Securities & Investments Commission to acquire a relevant interest in more than 20 per cent of Extract. The regulatory deadline was yesterday, but there was no sign from China or ASIC as to whether the application was granted. Extract requested the trading halt until tomorrow. Extract's independent directors had asked ASIC not to grant CGNPC's request, or that it be conditional on CGNPC's offer for Kalahari being extended to all Extract shareholders...

Unions 'fear mongering' over mine labour

Trade unions are using misleading arguments to inflame community fears about foreign workersstone crushing equipment for sale in usa, a peak mining industry body says.

In a speech at the Fair Work Summit in Sydney today, Australian Mines and Metals Association (AMMA) chief Steve Knott said rhetoric from the unions about the use of foreign labour by resource companies was untrue and simplistic, and failed to incorporate all the facts.

"It has become commonplace for unions to roll out the same old campaigns of negativity and self-interested public fear mongering, complete with recurring misinformation," Mr Knott said.

Unions have reacted negatively to the Federal Government's decision to allow the world's wealthiest woman, Gina Rinehart, to bring in foreign workers to her $9 billion Roy Hill iron ore project in Western Australia.

They argue resource companies are importing workers to save wage costs and that no real effort has been made to find local employees.

But the AMMA says importing foreign labour is often more expensive and seeking workers from overseas is a last resort.

"The resource industry only relies on the use of skilled migration to fill the critical temporary skills gaps that, at this stage, are unable to be solved by local supply," Mr Knott said in his speech.

"The use of skilled labour from overseas is not seen by the industry as a way of sourcing inexpensive labour or providing an alternative to existing skilled Australian labour."

Under the Enterprise Migration Agreement about 1700 foreign workers are expected to be granted visas to work on the Roy Hill project.

Transport Worker's Union national secretary Tony Sheldon has called the move an affront to Australian human rights.

"Those people come into this country, and after 28 days, if they have been sacked by their employer for any reason, any reason, they're deported," he told a TWU forum in Sydney today.

"Where in the world does an employer have a right to deport somebody ... That is not Australia.

"The basic rights of human beings to be able to say: 'My work environment is unsafe or improper'. Those are the sorts of issues we should be fighting about."