News

July 24, 2008

Frances Creek Survives Its Second Cyclone, And Territory Resources Picks Up The Pieces

By Our Man in Oz

Lightning might not strike twice in the same spot, but cyclones do. The twin cyclonic events in the life of the Frances Creek iron ore mine in Australia’s Northern Territory were named Tracy and Michael. Tracy struck on Christmas Eve 1974, flooding the Frances Creek pit, as well killing 65 people and damaging essential infrastructure in the nearby port city of Darwin. Michael, also known as Michael Kiernan, struck two years ago, also bringing violent gusts of wind, and for a time doing a lot of good in restoring Frances Creek. But, earlier this year cyclone Michael went off course, a combination of trying to do too much too quickly, and of re-directing spare cash from Frances Creek into the troubled goldminer, Monarch Gold, rather than into a rock solid, but less glamorous business, called Territory Resources.

After Michael comes Andrew. Also prone to moderately strong winds and forceful opinions, Andrew Simpson, is the new man in charge of Territory. He was also, until recently, a very close associate of Kiernan, but told Minesite’s Man in Oz earlier this week, that relations now were “icy, at best”. The problem, when friends fall out, is to know which side to take. So, for this exercise in explaining what’s afoot at Territory there will be a degree of skirting around the core issues of who said...