Ben from Glencore is proud to be a miner. In this chat with Newcastle Knights winger and former coal miner Nathan Ross, Ben talks about what he loves about his job, why he is grateful for the support we have in the community and what he is looking forward to most about Voice for Mining Family Day. On Sunday 2 July 2017, the NSW mining community is joining together with the Newcastle Knights to celebrate all the good things mining brings. From jobs, economic activity and mining royalties to help fund our NSW teachers, nurses and police to the coal that provides the power for most homes and businesses across the State. So wear bright orange or hi-vis to support these two great local teams - the Newcastle Knights and our NSW miners! Sign up to be a supporter now at voiceformining.com.au

On Sunday 2 July 2017, the NSW mining community is joining together with the Newcastle Knights to celebrate all the good things mining brings. From jobs, economic activity and mining royalties to help fund our NSW teachers, nurses and police to the coal that provides the power for most homes and businesses across the State. Ben will be there with his family and friends and he wants you to join him in bright orange or hi-vis to support two great local teams - the Newcastle Knights and our NSW miners! Sign up to be a supporter now at voiceformining.com.au

The company was founded in 1926 in Switzerland as Südelektra, an infrastructure and electricity projects concern operating in Latin America. In 1990, Marc Rich + Co AG became its majority shareholder. In the 1990s it diversified into mining and disposed of its non-core businesses. It was first listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2002 at which time it acquired Glencore's coal assets in Australia and South Africa. In 2003, it doubled in size with the A$2.9 billion takeover of Australian copper, zinc and lead miner MIM Holdings. However, it failed in a 2005 bid for another Australian miner, WMC Resources, which was captured by BHP Billiton, the world's biggest mining company. In 2004 Xstrata closed its recently purchased Windimurra Vanadium plant in Western Australia which had the effect of increasing Vanadium prices received for Xstrata's other Vanadium mines around the world. Many hundreds of people were put out of work and now many Western Australians are not keen to see Xstrata involved in other mining activities in the state because of this action. In August 2005, Xstrata purchased a 19.9% stake in Falconbridge Limited, a diversified Canadian mining company producing copper, nickel, aluminum, lead and zinc. Following a contested take-over battle with Inco Limited, Xstrata successfully acquired the remaining 80.1% of Falconbridge in August 2006. In 2006, The Northern Territory and Australian Governments approved the expansion of the McArthur River zinc mine, near the popular fishing destination of Borrooloola. The expansion involves diversion of the river to a new 5.5 km channel, to allow construction of a massive open-cut pit in the existing river. On behalf of the Traditional Owners of the region -- the Yanyuwa, Mara, Garrawa and Gurdanji peoples -- the Northern Land Council launched a legal challenge to the Northern Territory Government's decision to approve the mining of and diversion of the McArthur River. On 1 May 2007, The Northern Territory Supreme Court ruled in favour of the Northern Land Council to stop the expansion. On 3 May 2007, the Northern Territory government rushed through retrospective legislation to overrule the court decision and allow the open-cut mine to proceed. On 28 May 2012 violent repression of local residents by the police in the province of Espinar, Cuzco, Peru, caused the deaths of two civilians. The inhabitants protested against the pollution of the water sources caused by Xstrata's mining activities. The government has decreed a State of Emergency and suspended civil liberties guaranteed in the Constitution. Since the turn of the millennium it has developed from a small player into one of the world's largest diversified mining groups with the help of a series of large acquisitions. In 2008, its degree of transnationality according to the Transnationality Index was 93.2 percent and ranked first place.It has major operations/projects in eighteen countries (Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Germany, Jamaica, New Caledonia, Norway, Papua New Guinea, Peru, South Africa, Spain, Tanzania, the United States and the United Kingdom) and it is a major producer of copper, coking coal, thermal coal, nickel, ferrochrome, vanadium and zinc. It has smaller scale involvement in aluminum, gold, lead and silver. It also has interests in platinum group metals through its 24.9% stake in Lonmin. In July 2012, Xstrata opened its first office in mainland China. China accounts for up to one-third of Xstrata's global sales. The office is located in Shanghai. Bulga Coal Xstrata are currently the operators of the Bulga Coal Mine in NSW, Australia. Xstrata have managed this mine on behalf of the Bulga Coal Pty Ltd shareholders since 2001 when it purchased Enex Resources Limited from Glencore International AG. The Bulga Coal mine site serves as the headquarters for Xstrata Coal's NSW division. In 2007 Xstrata Coal, based in Sydney, bought Anvil Hill Coal Mine from Centennial Coal Company. Since the purchase of the Anvil Hill Coal Mine Xstrata Coal, an Australia-based subsidiary of Xstrata PLC, has come under media scrutiny numerous times in regards to the company's management of the pre-mining stage of the mining project, most notably scrutinised has been the community relations approach of Xstrata Coal towards the local community, with allegations of misleading actions on behalf of the company being cited in the local and regional media, and other regional and local communication channels. This included the setting up of a local action group in opposition to the mine named WAG (Wybong Action Group). Xstrata's A$274 million expansion plan for the George Fisher mine at Mount Isa was approved by the government of Queensland Mindanao, Philippines Xstrata's $5.9-million copper-gold mine in the Philippines' southern island of Mindanao has been delayed three years to 2019 due to security concerns and regulatory obstacles set by the local government.

On Sunday 2 July 2017, the NSW mining community is joining together with the Newcastle Knights to celebrate all the good things mining brings. From jobs, economic activity and mining royalties to help fund our NSW teachers, nurses and police to the coal that provides the power for most homes and businesses across the State. Mick will be there with his family and friends and he wants you to join him in bright orange or hi-vis to support two great local teams - the Newcastle Knights and our NSW miners!

2 May 2017 Legislative Council, NSW Parliament Adjournment Debate - Adani Carmichael Coalmine Proposal Impact The Hon. ADAM SEARLE ( 17:41 ): The Adani coal mine proposal in Queensland's Galilee Basin should not proceed. It should not proceed if we support the coal industry in New South Wales and the many jobs and economic support it provides to the regions and the State as a whole. Based on publicly available information, we know that the proposed Adani mine in Queensland does not stack up environmentally or even economically. If it such a great idea why is it seeking a $1 billion Federal loan? It is now a matter of record that the big four banks will not fund the Adani mine. This is a pretty clear indication that it is completely bananas economically. Banks are not known to be philanthropic or to have a social conscience, but they do know how to make a buck. If they are not willing to invest in a project it is probably not going to earn a profit. It is clear that the Adani mine proposal represents a clear and present threat to the New South Wales economy and to the State budget. Increasing the global supply of thermal coal by the 6 per cent represented by Adani will place downward pressure on prices received by New South Wales coal exporters and slash mining royalties paid to the State Government by tens and possibly hundreds of millions per year. That would undermine the integrity of the New South Wales budget and its capacity to deliver basic services. It would put existing mine operations and jobs in New South Wales at risk. That is the evidence given by Adani to the Queensland land court in connection with the mine approvals. It acknowledged that its mine proposal would have a negative impact on mines in Queensland and elsewhere in Australia. The world thermal coal market is flat and likely to contract. No-one is predicting any real growth. There is a debate among economists about whether the change in demand for thermal coal is cyclical or structural—a significant increase in production of thermal coal will not lead to higher overall sales and prices. In a statement this week Mr Jonathan van Rooyen, General Manager, Investments for the Port of Newcastle's half-share owner Gardior, said the Adani mine would unarguably reduce world coal prices and the volume of coal mined in the Hunter. He further stated that the Federal Government would "distort competition and create sovereign risk" by subsidising Adani in a "shrinking world coal market". Further he said: There is n o avoiding the simple mathematics that if Turnbull succeeds in pushing between 25 million and 60 million tonnes of subsidised new coal into a flat world market the volume of coal mined and exported from the Hunter and Illawarra will decline. As will royalt ies collected by the New South Wales Government and the number of coal jobs in the Hunter and Illawarra. It echoes comments made in 2015 by senior Glencore coal division executive Peter Freyberg who criticised proposed Federal Government subsidies to Adani. He stated, "Bringing on additional tonnes with the aid of taxpayer money would materially increase the risk to existing coal operations" and would "distort competition and create sovereign risk" by subsidising Adani in a "shrinking world coal market. In a report issued last week by the Australia Institute, titled "Royalty Flush—the risks to NSW coal royalty revenue from Adani subsidy", economist Rod Campbell stated: The subsidised development of the Adani mine represents a threat not just to Newcastle Port but to all mines in the Hunter. With flat world demand, subsidising a large amount of new supply is economic madness. To place this in perspective: the Saudis have around 14 per cent of the traded world market in oil. Did they get rich by flooding the market with oil or by carefully rationing the supply to international markets? Australia has around 20 per cent of the traded world market in thermal coal. In contrast to the Saudi approach, it has approved as many mines as companies want to build. In my view, future approval processes need to be mindful not only of the cumulative impact on land and water but also of the level of supply and likely demand and price to be obtained by the resource. After all, the resource—contrary to the views of coalmining companies—does not belong to any mining company but to the wider community and government has a responsibility to ensure that if the resource is developed or extracted that the best price is obtained. FULL TRANSCRIPT at https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/Hansard/Pages/HansardResult.aspx#/docid/HANSARD-1820781676-73122/link/95

The Federal Government is investigating whether the multinational mining company and commodities trader Glencore has breached Commonwealth Environment laws by contaminating fish near its McArthur River Mine. It comes after four years of the world's largest bulk zinc lead concentrate mine admitting it has been the source of lead in fish on its mine site in the Northern Territory's Gulf of Carpentaria. But the company has continued to argue that it hasn't been responsible for fish contamination in the McArthur River, off its site. ABC News, 14/02/2016

With a soaring career, private education and stunning fiancee, Sydney man Bennet Schwartz had everything he could have dreamed of.But it was 'greed' that motivated him to develop a double life as a criminal figure and begin transporting massive shipments of cocaine into Australia, NSW District Court Judge Peter Berman said during his sentencing on Thursday.Schwartz, 29, was charged with allegedly smuggling 23kg of cocaine with a street value of more than $7 million to Australia from the United States in 2016, A Current Affair reported.He was dragged off a plane by Australian Federal Police in front of his then-fiancee Sarah Wakefield, who is not alleged to have known anything about her soon-to-be husband's criminal activity.Once a high-flying executive at mining company Rio Tinto and weeks away from marrying the woman of his dreams, Schwatz's downfall was swift and brutal.Two packages containing 25 kilograms of cocaine were intercepted by Border Force and Australian Federal Police before his arrest.The privately-educated executive was to earn a huge payoff for his role in moving the powder to multiple alleged underworld figures in Sydney.Following his arrest, AFP officers took control of his military-grade encrypted Blackberry and began to act as him while communicating with other alleged crime figures believed to be linked to the drug syndicate.In two separate busts, officers intercepted one parcel from Los Angeles containing 15 kilograms of cocaine, labelled as car parts, and another containing 10 kilograms of the narcotic.During his time in prison, Schwartz has had a target on his back after being falsely labelled as a police informant because he had given officers access to his Blackberry.The Downing Centre District Court heard the Sydney man had been intimidated and brutally attacked during his time behind bars, and stood over as details of his privileged upbringing came to light.Kings Cross identity Elias Dimarelis, who was Schwartz's cellmate for nine months last year told ACA the man had been beaten over the head with a Breville sandwich press, stabbed and had a threat made against his life by another inmate demanding $30,000.Schwartz pleaded guilty to two charges of importing a commercial quantity of cocaine, and was handed down a heavily discounted sentence on Thursday.He will be eligible for parole in March 2020, but will have no fiancée and no executive career to return to.

Lithgow Blast Furnace Location: Inch Street, Lithgow, NSW 2790 Constructed: 1906 - 1907 The history of Macedonian migration to Australia begins in the late 19th century, with the first major wave occurring in the years after World War I. The Balkan region was unstable and employment prospects were poor so young men left their families to find work on the other side of the world. By the early 1920s there were a significant number of Macedonian men working in the steel industry in Lithgow, NSW. When the industry relocated to Port Kembla in the Illawarra in 1928, the Macedonian workers came with it. Високите Печки во Литгоу (Буквален Превод) Првата Железара во Австралија, во Литгоу Локација: Улица Инч, Литгоу, Нов Јужен Велс 2790 Изградена: 1906 - 1907 Историјата на миграција на Македонците во Австралија започнува во втората половина на19-ти век. Првиот голем бран се случува во годините по Првата светска војна. Имено, Балканскиот регион е нестабилен и можностите за вработување биле скоро никакви, па млади луѓе ги оставаат своите семејства за да најдат работа од другата страна на светот. Во почетокот на (19)20-тите години имало значителен број на македонци кои работеле во индустријата за челик во Литгоу, Нов Јужен Велс. Кога индустријата се преселила во Порт Кембла во Илавара во 1928 година, македонските работници дошле, односно се преселиле со неа.....

This video clip is about a V8 supercar that is a NT police car. Video by Hamza Parvez