NEWSLETTER October 2013 Issue 7. SOHO core construction well on its way at level 10

Transcription

1 NEWSLETTER October 2013 SOHO core construction well on its way at level 10

2 View of Darwin at night taken from the North West corner of where SOHO will be built. NEWSLETTER October 2013 Hi Everyone, What a busy time we are having in Darwin: SOHO (see the pic s) is forging ahead, and looking amazing. Construction is now up to level 10 and will accelerate now as the core construction of the building is almost in place. The Coolalinga Shopping Village and The Pavilions are also on in earnest now so it is exciting times in Gwelo at the moment. I will be attending the Northern Territory Major Projects conference this month to listen to experts on the overview of major projects in the NT, just in time to report to you in next months Newsletter. SOHO - Core construction soaring high to level 10 If you have time read the attached ABC (The Drum 13th September) report on the SEAAC conference. It is a great synopsis of what we discussed at the conference in Darwin recently. The bullet points coming are two new Gas cooling trains, one each for existing projects Conoco Phillips and Inpex in Darwin (15 Billion plus). Huge expansion of the NT s ONSHORE Gas fields which with the planned 60,000 more people predicted to move to Darwin over the next decade will secure Darwin s future as a Gas hub of global significance. You may also have heard of an amazing man by the name of Pat Farmer. Pat is an investor with Gwelo Developments in The Lenz, and we have organised a special event on the 26th of November this year where Pat will recount his amazing feet of running POLE TO POLE to the Darwin public. Details will be sent to you soon. This will be an amazing night not to be missed, and personally I can t wait. This will also double as our Christmas Event for our local investors. So, from BOOMING Darwin until our next newsletter, all the very best. Coolalinga - Construction is well on its way All the best Jim Downs Mobile: Phone: Fax: Jim@gwelodevelopments.com.au

3 ABC - The Drum 13 September 2013 Analysis and opinion on the issues of the day NT declares itself open for business on LNG by ABC s Ticky Fullerton It seems a big game of poker is being played in the Northern Territory at present, with the rights to develop the LNG industry shaping up as the prize, writes Ticky Fullerton. There are a lot of blokes in Darwin this week, and not just because the US navy is having a stopover. It s all that gas. The annual SEAAC conference, together with the Northern Resources meet, will pull in 900 delegates including the top oil and gas producers, and all the industry that hangs off them: mining services, energy consultants, building contractors. And Chief Minister Adam Giles makes it very clear that the Northern Territory is open for business. Clearly delighted by the Abbott victory federally, he talks of a different paradigm in the confidence of investing in Australia, and many in the gas industry would agree. The jewel asset for the NT is the Ichthys project, a joint venture between Japanese-owned Inpex and Total. For the first time globally, Inpex is the developer of the project, and it s not cheap. If on budget, it will cost $34 billion and employ at its peak 5,000 workers. Some will be local, but many will be fly in, fly out and conveniently those just coming off jobs on the big East coast LNG projects like Gladstone and APLNG. Inpex s LNG site at Blayden Point, not far out of Darwin, is currently a massive 250 hectare footprint of earth movers and levellers, as the ground is prepared for cooling towers that will hold 650,000 cubic metres of cooled liquid gas, then to be transported by ship to hungry industry. Post-Fukashima, Japan s appetite for LNG is growing and Ichthys will supply up to 10 per cent of that requirement. There is much talk about the deal struck by the Territory s previous Labor government to coax the deal away from Western Australia. Ichthys after all is much closer to Western Australia and a pipeline metre diameter - will run 880 kilometres from the gas field. One factor is that all the gas will be for offshore markets. Adam Giles makes it very clear that the NT is not interested in any domestic gas reservation currently operating in WA and strongly advocated by manufacturing peak bodies. It s another level of certainty around investment in the Northern Territory for the gas companies who passionately oppose domestic reserves... Current levels of investment in Australian LNG are impressive - take Santos alone, John Anderson explains. We ve got one LNG plant online here in Darwin, two being built at the moment which for a company of our size is quite remarkable, and a fourth project offshore Northern Territory, not yet sanctioned, which is Bonaparte LNG. The challenge is to keep the investment coming, and part of that is remaining competitive. Costs on some projects, like APLNG owned by ConocoPhillips and Origin among others, have crept up. Chevron has recently been highly critical of Australian productivity levels on projects. The next stage for the north according to the ambitious Chief Minister is additional trains for Inpex or ConocoPhillips in Darwin, and then, Can we entice other companies to come on shore or can we be a supply base for companies into the future? Darwin is already the Shell s offshore supply base for Prelude and it s lobbying hard to be the service hub for Woodside. The challenge for WA s premier Barnett is that he can t at present match Darwin as an established hub for the LNG sector. It will be interesting to see if any value-add projects like petrochemical plants are built in or around Darwin. I understand that gas fields in areas like the Browse Basin are rich in ethane which is a valuable input for petrochemical

4 ABC - The Drum 13 September 2013 production. Chief Minister Giles says he would welcome such developments Three days in Darwin has provided me with a couple of interesting insights. The first is that the exploration potential is enormous. American ConocoPhillips has 11 million acres in the Canning Basin in the Kimberley; Santos dominates the Cooper Basin and is also exploring in the NT s McArthur Basin. Some of this gas is easy to access, but much of it is unconventional gas, or shale gas, which would probably require some form of fracking. It s very similar to the resource that has driven the shale gas boom in the US, but neither Todd Creeger from ConocoPhillips nor Santos John Anderson believe that it will be the boon for Australia that America has enjoyed. The reason? Infrastructure. In the US, operations are often very close to the users. The ConocoPhillips wells in the Kimberley are 900km from the nearest pipeline.the decisions to go ahead with development are big decisions, and expensive ones Two workshops were run at the start of the SEAAOC conference around the frontier for LNG development. The first was on floating LNG... Shell s Prelude FLNG platform will be a world first, the size of six of the aircraft carriers currently in Darwin harbour put side-by-side. Right out on the high seas, FLNG will be built faster and more cheaply than plants like Inpex LNG with no long pipelines, platforms built in shipyards overseas with specialist labour and shipped to site, and no planning issues that dog the industry onshore, according to energy consultants. It also means that smaller areas and less accessible areas from land will be more easily tapped. The second area is LNG in transport. And while LNG tanks may already be commonplace in Turkish taxis, the market for big trucks and shipping looks very promising. It is now possible to buy LNG energy at the pump for about 60% per cent of the cost of diesel. For shipping the attraction is both environmental and economic. The world is under pressure to phase out fuel oil - North America and Europe will probably do so by so the option is diesel, costing 60 per cent more than fuel oil or LNG at about the same cost. This could be transformational for the sector. If all ships switch from fuel oil to LNG that would consume more than the entire world production of LNG. According to Tri-Zen International s Tony Regan, in Darwin for the conference, This is a completely new market for LNG... so please can we have 10 more Ichthys projects?

5 NT News: Investors take bus tour Interstate investors have been given a property presentation at Gwelo Development s Mantra Pandanas apartments before being taken on a tour of unit developments around Darwin. Deputy Chief Minister Dave Tollner made a guest appearance to discuss Darwin s booming economy Property Observer: Best yields here for property investors Latest research from RP Data shows over the past decade Darwin s house and unit prices have increased 10% per annum NT News: Best yields here for property investors Darwin is the nation s boom market for property investors A study by RP Data and Rismark International follows reports showing rents increasing and the housing market skewing towards owners. The average Darwin unit owner will earn more than $6,700 a year from their tenants compared with the Australian average. An investor in Darwin can command $545 a week in rent - a yield of 6.3% - for a unit in the city worth $450,000. An identically-priced unit elsewhere in Australia would earn about $415 a week chief executive officer Ben Skilbeck said: With year-on-year gross total returns being 10% (in Darwin), and borrowing costs close to half of this, it is likely investors will continue to be attracted in to the market Property Observer: Darwin s price rebound the nation s highest: RP Data: Darwin s dwelling values growth has been 13.8% Treasury Economic Brief: Preliminary Residential Property Statistics In July 2013, the median price of houses sold in Darwin s inner suburbs was $857,500. The median price of units sold in the Darwin CBD increased strongly in the month, up from $474,000 in July 2013 to $540,000 in August NT News: Territory s flashiest home At $5.4 million it has just become the most expensive single home sold in the Territory. (Cullen Bay, Darwin) Real Estate Institute NT: Strong Sales Sales of units/townhouses up 37.4%... The median house price for Greater Darwin has reached a new high at $612,000. That s an increase of 3.4% for the quarter and 7.4% against the same time last year. Unit/townhouse sales also saw a rise in median price, up by 9.2% for the quarter and up by 6.7% year-on-year to record a median price of $464,000. Rental yields remain very strong across the Territory ranging between 6.4% in Katherine to 5.6% in Darwin. Rent in Greater Darwin rose again this quarter, to record an average rent of $656 per week for a 3 bedroom house. The average weekly rent for a 2 bedroom unit/townhouse rose by 3% to $485 per week Media Release: major Milestone for Ichthys Project The Ichthys Project has reached another major milestone, with Stage 1 of the worker s village at Howard Springs officially opening its doors today... The Manigurr-ma Village will be able to accommodate up to 3500 workers by the middle of 2014.

6 Gas Today: Northern innovation at Ichthys The Ichthys LNG project is technically three mega-projects in one: an offshore project; an onshore project, and a major transmission pipeline project linking the two Project Managing Director Antoine Serceau: Over the 40- year initial design life of the project, the central processing facility will collect gas from a network of up to 50 subsea production wells drilled into reservoirs 4,000 to 4,500m beneath the seabed Work is now underway on all major offshore facilities Australian Mining: Programmed win massive Ichthys LNG contract Programmed have won a $100 million contract to provide services for the INPEX operated Ichthys LNG project. The contract will see it provide vessel management, marine and construction manning, catering, and logistical services ninemsn: SKILLED Group snags $200 million LNG contract Labour hire and workforce services company SKILLED Group announced today that it has secured a $200 million contract to provide staff for INPEX-operated LNG project NT News: Inpex Inpex Darwin general manager Sean Kildare told an economic forum of business leaders the Japanese energy corporation worked out plans to expand the $US34 billion ($A38 billion) Blaydin Point Ichthys facility. It has the capacity to add four more gas processing trains to the two that are now being built. We are taking a very aggressive exploration program offshore in our own right and with our partners with an eye on acquiring future reserves NT News: Boon could fuel Territory Territorians have been urged to take advantage of the gas boom for the next couple of years by a top economist. Huw McKay, senior international economist at Westpac, says the Territory is in a unique economic position. The NT economy is going well, it s the standout performer inside the Australian economy, and you ve got at least two years to enjoy this outperforming status. He said the falling Australian dollar and lower official interest rates were an opportunity for Territory businesses. China s continued growth and attempts to transfer to cleaner-burning fuels provide a huge potential market to buy future reserves of NT gas and uranium. The gas boom has put the Territory in a unique economic position NT Business Review: Indonesians fired up by Territory energy hopes Senator Hamdhani, who represents Central Kalimantan, said Indonesia would like to participate in direct foreign investment into the Territory and to be involved in oil and gas projects for export to Indonesia Australian LNG projects now committed and under construction will total $188 billion by 2017, with one of the largest being the Ichthys project. But Santos vice-president of WAS and NT John Anderson said global demand was rising so fast that 40 new trains were needed to meet it by NT Business Review: Eni looking to open up Blacktip to newcomers Managing Director Ernie Delfos told the SEAAOC Conference that the onshore gas processing plant at yelcherr near Wadeye would be available to third parties ConocoPhillips is also looking at third parties as potential feedstock providers for their Wickham Point gas plant in Darwin Backfilling could come from the fields in the Browse, Timor and Bonaparte basins

7 Platts: Australia s Bonaparte floating LNG to start up in 2019 First gas from the Bonaparte floating LNG facility off northern Australia is now expected in 2019, around a year later than previously forecast The Bonaparte FLNG project is 60% owned and operated by France s GDF Suez. Australian exploration and production company Santos holds the remaining 40% of the joint venture. The partners are expected to move to the front-end engineering and design phase of the project in the first quarter of A final investment decision is targeted for mid-2015, GDF Suez s Jean-Francois Letellier told SEAAOC in Darwin. The Bonaparte project is being designed to produce around 2.4 million mt/year of LNG from the Petrel, Tern and Frigate gas fields The company estimates the project will add A$45 billion ($41.9 billion) to Australia s gross domestic product over its 25- year life and generate A$12 billion in tax revenue. Bonaparte would be Australia s second FLNG facility. Anglo-Dutch major Shell is currently building an FLNG facility for its Prelude project in the Browse Basin off northwestern Australia. Prelude was approved by Shell in May 2011, when it was expected to be the world s first FLNG project to go into production, forecast for The Prelude facility is designed to pump 3.6 million mt/year of LNG, 1.3 million mt/year of condensate and 400,000 mt/year of LPG. When it was approved, Shell indicated that Prelude would cost around $10.8 billion to $12.6 billion The Bonaparte project would mark Santos fourth foray into the LNG sector GDF Suez is the world s third-largest LNG importer ABC News: Santos targets Territory in hunt for more gas Santos says it plans to spend $320 million on gas exploration in the NT over the next few years. Senior executive John Anderson says he sees a big future for mining and exploration in the Territory, and for the projects that will follow. There is a potential for both onshore and offshore to come together, and potentially participate in some of those expansions here in Darwin, I think it is a real opportunity for shale gas in the Northern Territory Meanwhile, global gas industry figures say there will be lucrative spinoffs for communities in northern Australia, with the emergence of a floating LNG industry. Multinational Shell hopes to have the world s first floating liquefied natural gas processing platform operating off the Kimberley coast of Western Australia by 2017 The company says northern Australia is set to become a beneficiary, with the project supplying jobs and contracts. It says Darwin has the potential to be a major supply hub. Shell also says northern Australian universities will have a big role to play in training the necessary skilled work force The Australian: Tie-ups key to unlocking Browse potential: Santos In the past year Santos has made two gas discoveries in the Browse basin, namely Crown and Bassett West Santos existing licences in the Browse Basin include joint ventures with some of world s biggest oil and gas companies Santos holds an 11.5% interest in the Darwin LNG plant, operated by ConocoPhillips. The 3.7 million tonnes a year plant has approvals to life capacity to 10 million tonnes... Santos vice-president John Anderson: The proximity of Darwin to Asia, and the ability to use existing infrastructure, should be considered by industry as a real, economic and cost-competitive option for the development of nearby fields NT Business Review: Paramedics needed offshore Offshore gas rigs need paramedics the Territory industry is growing so much that Link Health managing director Brenton Siviour is looking at a 40% increase in the next 2 years NT News: Asian appetite for Aussie LNG is growing Energy giant Santos sees a wave of opportunity for new energy projects to sell Australian gas to Asia, including potential new projects off the Territory coast. Santos vice-president for WA and the NT John Anderson said the most exciting opportunities for oil and gas industry participants would be the next wave of opportunities in exporting from

8 Australia. There s a lot of LNG demand coming out of Asia. A semi-submersible rig called the Nan Hai VI has been secured to drill the Barossa and Caldita fields, 200km northwest of Darwin. Santos and operator ConocoPhillips have signed a $520 million deal with South Korean company SK E&S to develop the fields It was previously reported that if the fields are found to hold only two or three trillion cubic feet of gas, the partners would most likely opt for a floating production platform. The platform would be serviced and maintained from Darwin. But if the reserves are larger, a pipeline could be laid to Wickham Point at Darwin Harbour. Mr Anderson said it was his preference to pipe the gas to Darwin. The company has chosen floating LNG to process the Bonaparte Basin deposits at Petrel, Tern and Frigate that it jointly owns with operator GDF Suez. Mr Anderson will speak at the SEAAOC conference held in parallel with the highly regarded Mining the Territory Conference to form NT Resources Week. The value of mineral and energy production in the Territory was $5.9 billion in , about 19.8% of gross state product Media Release: Building trade capacity through Darwin Port The Darwin Port Corporation has lodged an application to deepen the shipping channel. The projected growth in trade activity and development of major projects in the Territory will see an increase in shipping traffic at Darwin s East Arm Port Chief Minister Adam Giles said. The Port s plans will build on Darwin s strategic position and existing infrastructure to secure future opportunities that will help build the North of Australia ABC News: Petrochemical plant push The NT Government has flagged Glyde Point near Darwin as the possible location for a big petrochemical plant Territory Infrastructure Minister Peter Styles says a petrochemical plant near Darwin would boost the Territory s economy and involve 1000s of jobs... he is keen to find ways to attract a company like Dow Chemical to build a plant in the Top End NT Business Review: time to weigh anchor on Darwin s new port a second port was now a top priority for the NT Government the second port could process bulk mineral exports, petroleum and petrochemicals, live cattle exports and also host naval facilities. It would include an integrated industrial site NT News: Port of Darwin s ship has come in The number of motor vehicles crossing the docks of Darwin s port has increased dramatically in a clear indication of the booming Territory economy The number of total trading vessel visits to Darwin Harbour over the past year has increased by 80%... Chief executive Terry O Connor said Port business is increasing across the board as the economy booms The Port of Darwin has made a profit each year for the past 4 years and is riding a boom sparked by large projects, including several mine expansions and the Inpex project. Exports increased 21.9% and imports grew 23.5%. Petroleum imports increased by 75,000 tonnes and chemicals used by the mining and offshore industries grew by 56,000 tonnes. Imports of building supplies also increased and will grow further as the Inpex construction project increases to peak capacity. In the year to June it processed nearly 4.3 million tonnes of cargo at East Arm Wharf, up more than 800,000 tonnes on the previous year. The increase in total trade is mainly due to dry bulk exports especially iron ore, which increased by 570,000 tonnes. The new Marine Supply Base will open another 140m of wharf space at East Arm and take the offshore support vessel business for the oil and gas industry. This will free up Port capacity. Mr O Connor sees potential in new business from cattle exports, mining and the Ord River scheme. Cruise ship and naval visits are also growing.

9 NT News: Port readies for Browse Gas Darwin s port is getting ready to support Browse Basin gas projects, including the Inpex Ichthys project, as the Marine Supply Base nears completion. Darwin Port Corporation is now using about 40% of its capacity. The port hosts about 406 offshore oil and gas support vessels per year on a dedicated tender. The Marine Supply Base will be able to host 634 vessels each year when it is finished by December NT News: NT steps on the gas Work is progressing rapidly at the Territory s $110 million Marine Supply Base at Darwin s East Arm Port The Marine Supply Base provides all consumables to the offshore oil and gas industry from spare parts to food and cleaning products. The trade is expected to be worth about $150 million a year for the Territory base once it s up and running ShoreAsco managing director Ashley Harrison said the Marine Supply Base would have the capability to service the Browse oil and gas industry. Inpex and Shell in Browse will be supported in Darwin, it s a simple equation. Darwin has more capability onshore to cope with the requirements. Mr Harrison said the supply base has three working berths dedicated to the offshore industry and would have the ability to turn vessels around quickly The Australian: LNG revenue to reach $61bm by 2018 There are $188bn of LNG projects under construction in Western Australia, Queensland and the Northern Territory, accounting for just over three-quarters of the nation s total resources-related investment Australian Financial Review: NT keen to plug NSW gas needs An ambitious plan to link the Northern Territory s natural gas pipeline system to South Australia s to supply gas from the north to energy-short NSW is being pushed by Territory Chief Minister Adam Giles NT News: Onshore energy clock is ticking Shale gas is a potential game changer for the Territory, Chief Minister Adam Giles says... the Territory had potential reserves of 240 trillion cubic feet of unconventional gas spread over three basins, and (he) welcomed exploration taking place by companies such as Falcon, Pangaea, Armour, Magellan, Central Petroleum and Statoil Gas Today: NT Chief Minister promotes Darwin as key energy hub The new coalition government is very good news for Territorians. It will remove the roadblocks that stand in the way of development in the Territory, said Mr Giles. It marks the start of a new focus in realising the potential in developing northern Australia. Mr Giles said he planned to expand the resources sector in the Territory Business Insider: Resource Rich Northern Territory Australia s largely untapped Northern Territory is rich in resources like uranium, zinc, lead, bauxite, gold, phosphate and manganese Tony Abbott wants to develop the Northern Territory and bring a new wave of mining investment to the country upstream: Armour spuds NT well Armour Energy has kicked off a drilling campaign in Australia s Northern Territory with the spudding of an exploration well in exploration permit 176 The structure being tested has an estimated recoverable resource of 4.4 billion cubic feet.

10 ABC Rural: Exploration Richard Cottee, from Central Petroleum, says oil and gas is booming. The oil and gas sector in the Northern Territory - there clearly has been an uptick occurring and that s because of the eastern seaboard gas prices. We re actually in a commodity boom situation, while everyone thinks we re in a commodity bust. And at the same time, oil and gas companies like Central Petroleum are themselves taking advantage of reduced operational costs. With partner Santos, Central Petroleum has just begun a massive seismic program over 1,500 kilometres in its north Mereenie Block, south of Alice Springs NT News: Santos: NT rules promote gas hunt Santos has come out stridently in support of not having to sell any gas domestically through a gas reservation policy. The major producer s West Australian and NT vice president John Anderson said the oil and gas firm would spend $320 million over the next 3 years exploring 3 areas of the Territory as a result of the policy There is plenty of potential onshore gas and big companies are looking. Inpex Darwin general manager Sean Kildare told an economic forum of business leaders in Darwin that the Territory has the largest number of shale gas exploration leases either granted or under application of any jurisdiction in Australia Inpex s Ichthys partner Total will spend $48 million in the next year drilling for unconventional shale gas in the Territory s onshore Georgina Basin as part of a farm-in deal with junior explorer Central Petroleum... The Inpex annual report, released last week, shows it has 20 projects under exploration in the Asia Pacific region of which 10 are close to the Ichthys field in the Browse basin off the coast of Western Australia ABC News: Miner to explore for oil, gas Imperial Oil and Gas, a subsidiary of Empire Energy Group, says exploration work will begin early in next year s northern dry season... It is the first lease of Imperial s seven applications covering almost 60,000 square kilometres in the region to be granted proactive investors: Baraka Energy & Resources, Statoil complete 2D seismic in NT Baraka Energy & Resources has advised that operator Statoil has completed the AMY 2D seismic survey in the Southern Georgina Basin, Northern Territory the latter part of 2013 and 2014 will see increased activity in the Southern Georgina Basin, Baraka executive chairman Collin Vost said. Besides our own activities, neighbouring exploration company Central Petroleum is due to complete its seismic survey in the last quarter of 2013 as per their Southern Georgina Joint Venture with the world s 13th largest oil and gas company, French energy giant Total. Interpretation of their data is expected to be finalised during the first quarter of 2014, followed by a 6 hole drilling programme and testing program during the period April-November 2014 Statoil under its amended farm-in with PetroFrontier will spend US$160 million to fully fund exploration over three phases to the end of 2016, in return for 80% of PetroFrontier s working interest. This adds to the US$30 million that PetroFrontier and Statoil had jointly spent since the farm-in agreement was reached mid last year and the first half of Under Phase 1 and 2A, Statoil will spend US$50 million throughout the remainder of 2013 and 2014 to fully fund the 385 kilometre AMY seismic program as well as drill and stimulate between 4 to 6 vertical test wells. It can then proceed to Phase 2B, where it can spend US$30 million on exploration before moving on to Phase 3, which will require it spend US$80 million Media Release: Major Project status for Mount Peake TNG is aiming to begin construction of the project in 2014 with production and exports scheduled to begin in If the project proceeds to full development, it would involve strategic metals mining, processing and export to overseas markets via Darwin s East Arm Wharf. The Vanadium-Iron-Titanium operation has an anticipated life-span of 20 years.

11 Merlin Diamonds recommissions NT mine Merlin Diamonds, formerly North Australian Diamonds, has recommenced production 100kms south of Borroloola In 2002, Australia s largest diamond, a carat stone that the company named the Gungulinya-Bunagina was recovered at the mine the mine contains an estimated resource of 7.2 million carats, making it the second-largest diamond reserve in Australia after Rio Tinto s Argyle diamond mine Rum Jungle Resources Limited: Transitioning from Explorer to Fertiliser Mineral producer Phosphate and potash resource. Environmental approvals process to commence October Proactive Investors: Arafura Resources teams with China s Shenghe Resources to develop NT rare earths project Arafura Resources has executed a key Memorandum of Understanding with Chinese rare earths producer Shenghe Resources Holding to jointly develop the Nolans Rare Earths Project in the Northern Territory an Ore Reserve, enough to support a 22 year mine life ABC: iron ore mine gets finance for export push Western Desert Resources, which plans to employ over 200 full time workers has just received financial backing from a major bank for its A$170 million project, south of Ngukurr. Mr Norm Gardener MD: ore will be shipped overseas within the next 3 months a workforce of about 400 contractors is currently on site for the construction phase with current projected reserves the mine will last for 5 years but I think we re a fair chance to run 10 years on this direct shipping ore stage. If we can work out a commercially viable plan for the second stage of the project, there s probably enough ore there to run for 40 or 50 years proactive investors: KGL Resources starts the drill spinning KGL Resources has launched an aggressive 20,000 metre diamond and reverse circulation drilling program at the wholly-owned Jervois Copper-Silver-Gold Project in the Territory proactive investors: ABM Resources starts processing high grade gold ABM has started processing high grade material from Western Limb Mining Weekly: Legacy buys TNG project Legacy Iron has signed an agreement with TNG to acquire the Manabarrum zinc-lead-silver project, in the Northern Territory. The project comprises a series of Mississippi Valley-style lead/zinc/silver deposits that were discovered in 2007, and includes 3 exploration licences and 2 mineral authorities, covering a combined 407 km Reuters: Australia s mining boom rolls on Former Chinese commodities trader Jerry Ren, who is quietly building a mining empire in the Australian outback, scoffs at talk the resources boom is over. For him it s just moved north... Ren s privately held Australian Oil & Gas company holds a 75% stake in exploration rights covering 70 million acres, 25% of Australia s Northern Territory

12 ABC Rural: Jerry Ren Mr Ren is involved in several northern mining projects, including the ilmenite mine in the Roper region of the Territory. He is currently a shareholder and director of Bonaparte Oil Ltd, Australian Oil and Gas Ltd, Wiso Oil Pty Ltd, Arafura Oil Pty Ltd, AOG (SA) Pty Ltd, AOG (WA) Pty Ltd and North Australian Uranium Ltd. Sherwin Iron s Roper River iron ore project has this year produced 64,725 tonnes, which is being stockpiled at the Darwin Port. Its first shipment of ore to China is expected to be made in the first week of September Proactive investors: comprehensive nickel sulphide hunt in NT Mithril Resources has executed a new option and joint venture agreement with MMG Exploration and Oklo Resources MMG s expanded search highlights the nickel potential of East Arunta, and importantly allows Mithril to remain focused on its copper exploration including the 3,000 metre drill program testing 6 priority copper targets currently underway The Australian: catalyst for expansion of Ranger Energy Resources of Australia, which Rio has a 68.4% interest in, officially opened the $220 million brine concentrator in the NT today ERA is seeking approvals and conducting studies for the new underground mine, which it would hope to start producing from by late Proactive investors: Alligator Energy targets extensions Alligator Energy has commenced Phase II of drilling at the Tin Camp Creek Uranium Project in the Alligator uranium province in Arnhem Land, Northern Territory... Alligator Rivers Uranium Province hosts nearly 1 billion pounds of high grade uranium resources and past production, including the Ranger Mine and Jabiluka The Australian: High hopes for live exports The Indonesian government has just announced in Jakarta it is scrapping its rigid quota system (it) will now allow open imports of live cattle into Indonesia s feedlots for further fattening and slaughter whenever the local consumer price of beef exceeds the government s new set benchmark of 76,000 rupiah ($7.50) a kilogram Beef Central: $91 Darwin plant to open in second half of next year Final stage funding approval had been granted and the plant should be operational in the second half of next year AACo Chair Don McGauchie said the Darwin project was an important part of AACo s clear focus on driving shareholder value by building a global, vertically integrated red meat supply chain, with particular focus on Asian markets, servicing the rising demand for red meat protein. Predictions from ABARES suggest that Australia will need to double its food production by 2050 to meet predictions from the Asian Region. The demand is coming from the emergence of an Asian mega middle class which in the next 15 years alone will increase sixfold to 3.2 billion people Media Release: Tollner visits Asia for investment talks International infrastructure investment opportunities in the Territory will be the focus of a keynote address by Deputy Chief Minister David Tollner at a forum in Thailand tomorrow With Australia s fastest growing economy and an estimated new hotel rooms needed each year to meet growing demand, the Territory offers significant investment opportunities for developers and investors, both locally and abroad. Minister Tollner will fly to Kuala Lumpur on Thursday to meet with the CEO of Malaysia Airlines. After a 10 year absence, the airline is returning to the Territory in November with flights between Darwin and Kuala Lumpur running up to five times a week. Mr Tollner flies to Singapore on Friday for further talks about Northern Territory investment opportunities. Demand for visitor accommodation in the Territory has increased, with the number of room nights occupied up from 1.62 million in to 1.69 million in , an average annual growth rate of 1.5%.

13 Media Release: Tourism industry on road to recovery International holiday visitor results for 1 July 2012 to 30 June 2013 show the NT recorded: 0.9% increase in international holiday visitors, 0.3% increase in holiday nights 7.3% increase in holiday expenditure to $294 million In terms of the NT s key holiday markets; the UK was up 6.5%, Germany up 13%, Japan up 8.6%, France up 2.9% Media Release: Business Ambassadors Talk-Up the NT Northern Territory Business Events Ambassador program brings together 16 of Australia s leading business and community leaders. They have a broad cross section of experiences and expertise and their single goal is promoting the Northern Territory both nationally and on the international stage. As the capital of North Australia, this Government wants to build an economy that uses our place in the region to grow international trade, culture and tourism links and to leverage new investment. The Business Events sector produces the highest daily yield in tourism and is estimated to generate $89 million in expenditure for the Territory economy annually. (include: James Paspaley and Gina Rinehart) NT News: Upgrade will lift airport s capacity Work has begun on 3 new aircraft parking bays which will double the amount of passengers that Darwin International Airport can handle in peak periods When finished, the airport will have 17 aircraft parking bays, doubling peak capacity the expanded airport will be able to handle close to 4 million passengers The number of passengers will increase gradually with an extra 100,000 arriving in this financial year to make a total of 2.4 million... By June next year more than 12 international flights will be added each week for a 30% rise in international seat capacity generated by newcomers Philippine Airlines, Indonesia AirAsia and Malaysia Airlines NT News: Inpex workers to flood into airport About 3,500 workers will be bussed in and out of Darwin International Airport next year when the Inpex project hits peak construction Philippine Airlines assistant vice-president of government affairs Jose E.L. Perez de Tagle has said more than 50% of the 1,092 passengers flying in and out of Darwin on the airline s new daily service would initially be FIFO workers NT News: Marines THE commanding officer of the US Marines in Darwin has confirmed the next rotation will include an infantry battalion, logistics support an aviation support contingent and four medium-lift helicopters would operate from Darwin RAAF base Darwin s proximity to south-east Asia, south Asia and the Indian Ocean allowed Marines to train with regional partners and respond to humanitarian crises and natural disasters throughout the region NT News: Top End plan in Obama talk US President Barack Obama has phoned Prime Minister-elect Tony Abbott to discuss the full implementation of plans to send rotations of 2,500 Marines to Darwin Darwin and the Top End would be likely to benefit from any increase in defence spending.

14 ICN NT Newsletter: Defence Project Department of Defence went to tender for construction, support and maintenance and repair services which will provide facilities to support 1,200 US Marines deployed to Darwin through Stage 2, Marine Rotation Force Darwin, at Robertson Barracks and RAAF Base Darwin NT News: Lucrative Defence contracts in pipeline Australian Industry & Defence Network NT executive officer Jodie Cassidy estimated Defence contributes about $1.7 billion to the Territory economy each year hundreds of millions of dollars worth of infrastructure work needs to be done, including the Defence Logistics Transformation Program at Robertson Barracks... worth $114 million In future there will be opportunities for infrastructure upgrades in Darwin. HMAS Coonawarra base in Darwin will see new navy platforms coming through that need to be enlarged as new patrol boats are coming on board More opportunities for work will come from the Joint Logistics Unit North australiandefence.com: Exercise Cassowary 2013 concludes On 31 August 2013 ships and sailors from the Indonesian Eastern fleet and the Royal Australian Navy completed Exercise Cassowary 2013 in the Darwin area NT News: Medical staff on board with navy for training A Territory doctor and nurse hitched a ride with the US Navy last week to help train doctors in East Timor. Dr Malcolm Johnston-Leek and National Critical Care and Trauma Response Centre trauma co-ordinator Bronte Douglas sailed on USS Denver to Dili NT News: Troops set for exercise More than 1000 Australian Army and United States Marine Corps personnel are preparing to take part in a joint training exercise south-west of Darwin Exercise Koolendong 2013 which will include around 700 Marines from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit based in Okinawa, Japan and about 150 more who are on a 6-month rotation in Darwin NT News: Tasty profits sprout up for plant growers Plant industries have spread their leaves and grown $198 million for the Territory last year according to figures from the Department of Primary Industry and Fisheries the industry has grown by 43% since The fruit industry took the biggest bite, with melons, bananas and table grapes all on the rise The highest value fruit business is mangoes worth $80 million last year The West Australian: Cadbury sweet on Ord cocoa The US-based company which owns the Cadbury and Vegemite brands is eyeing a major investment in the Ord River irrigation scheme The NT government is working with traditional land owners on a deal to extend the irrigation scheme across the border The Australian: NT proposes lease deal to help develop Tiwi islands Under a proposal from the NT government, traditional owners would give the government 99-year leases over about 10,000ha of land that could be developed for agriculture.

15 Treasury Economic Brief: Tourist Accommodation June Quarter 2013 In 12 months to June 2013, Darwin region had the highest average occupancy rate, 78.9% Treasury Economic Brief: Sales of New Motor Vehicles August 2013 Compared to the previous month, trend new motor vehicle sales increased by 0.8% in August 2013, the highest monthly result on record NT Business Review: Swift move set for big boom Global oil and gas recruitment firm has opened its 24th office in Darwin ready for gas boom Treasury Economic Brief: Labour Force August 2013 The labour force participation rate increased by 0.3% to 75.2% in August 2013, the highest rate of the jurisdictions and the highest level in the Territory since June % above the national average Treasury Economic Brief: Housing Finance Owner Occupation Jul 2013 In the year to July 2013, in original terms, the number of housing finance commitments in the Territory increased by 7.2%, the second highest growth rate of the states behind WA Treasury Economic Brief: State Final Demand June quarter 2013 In , Territory SFD increased by 20.9% to $26.8 billion. This was the highest annual total on record and the highest growth rate of the jurisdictions In , total investment in the Territory increased by 52.2% to $11.6 billion, the highest level on record Treasury Economic Brief: Building Approvals July 2013 In the year to July 2013, the number of residential building approvals in the Territory increased by 55.4%, the highest growth rate of the jurisdictions. The increase reflects strong demand for new residential properties supported by strengthening population growth, relatively high rental yields and low interest rates Treasury Economic Brief: Private New Capital Expenditure June Quarter 2013 In , in original terms, private new capital expenditure in the Territory increased by 162.2% per cent to $7.2B. This is the highest annual total on record Treasury Economic Brief: Construction Work Done June Quarter 2013 In , total construction work done in the Territory increased by 55.2% to $5.1B, the highest annual total on record... reflects work on several major projects, including the INPEX Ichthys liquefied natural gas (LNG) project, the Montara oilfield development, the new Darwin Correctional Precinct, and expansions at several major mine sites.

16 Property Observer: NT engineering construction The Australian Construction Industry Forum s latest report for the Territory shows positive growth for all sectors over the short-medium term ACIF s Construction Market Report shows that the Northern Territory will enjoy heightened demand across all sectors for much of the next decade, and when it does fall back it will be to levels that still offer good amounts of work for the industry. Disclaimer The above information has been compiled by Gwelo (the Agent) from third party providers. The Agent has not verified whether the above information is accurate and does not have any belief one way or the other as to its accuracy. The Agent does no more than pass on the information. The Agent does not accept any responsibility to any person for its accuracy. All interested parties should make and rely upon their own enquiries in order to determine whether or not the information is, in fact, accurate.