Brisbane mining companies announce plans to merge

TWO Brisbane mining minnows have announced plans to merge in a bid to improve their odds of survival, after recently reporting multimillion-dollar losses.

Bauxite mining.

TWO struggling Brisbane mining minnows have joined forces in a bid to improve their odds of survival.

Metallica Minerals and Melior Resources announced plans yesterday to merge in to a single company with several projects poised to begin production in Queensland.

Metallica chairman Peter Turnbull described it as “a transformational deal for both companies’’.

His firm, which has bled red ink for years and suffered a $2.56 million loss in 2017, hopes to start extracting bauxite out of the ground near Weipa in the near term.

Work has been delayed for about two years thanks to a dispute about access to build a haul road.

Melior, which is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, has also done it tough in its bid to mine ilmenite. It reported a $CAN4.1 million loss in 2017 and a whopping $CAN19.6 million loss the previous year.

But none of this unpleasantness was highlighted yesterday, as the two outfits touted their “strong pipeline of future growth opportunities’’.

Melior noted that its Goondicum project near Monto was fully funded and on track to start production in November. It’s forecast to deliver a pre-tax cashflow of $US51 million in the first three years.

HEADING SOUTH

The brains behind Queensland’s biggest beer festival is taking the idea interstate for the first time.

Marty Keetels plans to launch his Beer InCider event in Melbourne in March.

“I love the idea that a small part of Brisbane’s beer culture is being exported to Melbourne, the so-called home of beer in Australia,’’ he told City Beat yesterday.

Marty Keetels plans to launch his Beer InCider event in Melbourne in March.

Before then, Keetels is focused like a laser beam on the organisational minutiae to pull off next week’s festival, which plays out Friday and Saturday at the Brisbane showgrounds.

More than 10,000 thirsty patrons are expected to walk through the gates for the fifth annual gathering, which features more than 60 brewers showcasing 300-plus beers, including about 30 crafted just for the show.

As in years past, there will be plenty of food trucks and live bands to feed and entertain the masses. But there also a few noteworthy changes, too.

In a nod to evolving consumer expectations, Keetels is ramping up his green credentials to combat the excessive amounts of waste generated by festivals. It will cost a bit more but he believes it’s worth it.

“This year we’re introducing re-usable cups, having organic compost and recycling bins, and no plastic straws or cutlery or packaging,’’ he said.

“Our audience is expecting festivals to try to minimise their impact on the environment and we have responded. We have doubled down on our investment in environmental responsibility.’’

Also new this year is a “brewers stage’’ where the biggest issues facing the industry will be debated, including a looming skills shortage and how to promote beer-focused tourism.

In case all this wasn’t enough, Keetels, a former commercial lawyer turned marketer, will preside over his second annual “Beeries’’ awards night next Thursday.

It’s a lighthearted gathering where 300 or so industry players can get together to recognise the best performers. No prizes for guessing what’s on tap.

MIXED FEELINGS

You couldn’t blame CUA boss Rob Goudswaard for having mixed feelings yesterday.

On the one hand, the Brisbane bizoid wheeled out a flat full-year result, with net profit dipping slightly to $54.8 million.

At the same time, it emerged that he had made it on to the top-10 list of finalists for CEO of the Year as determined by the astute folks at CEO Magazine.

He’s up against a bunch of people we don’t know too much about when the usual gala dinner is thrown in Sydney on November 21.

The good news is that among the judges are a few fellow Queenslanders, such as Steve Baxter and Lorna Jane Clarkson.