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5 Tips for Successful Retail Fitout in Australia

July 31, 2019 by Reporter Leave a Comment

retail design

If you are just venturing into the retail sector, fitting out the shop might be one of the unexpected hurdles that you face. After you have found the right location, repaint it, and buy the display cabinets and racks, you will still need to make it visually appealing. Most building owners will encourage you to improve the building at your expense.

1. Improve the interior Design to Attract Customers

You will need a strategic approach and the right expertise to get the retail interior design right. Great signage, product placement, and visual merchandising can complement this. When you are planning your interior design, always have the customer experience in mind. For a customer, the persuasion to enter the store is the ambience and not the products. Most customers do not notice the merchandise on display. When they come into the store, the first impression is what matters.

One way to grab their attention is to install floor to ceiling wall fixtures. It will allow for the optimal placement of products while encouraging customers to linger. In the trading area, place low-line shelves to allow customers to see products, which will help increasing spending. It also increases customer visibility, which helps to lower shoplifting.

With the right layout, it will also promote signage. This can assist the flow of traffic while helping to build your brand. By analysing and understanding the customer behaviour, you will be able to design a space to guide customers through the store to where they need to be.

2. Make Use of LED Lighting

If you run a retail store, it is important to make full use of shop windows to attract customers. The windows have to be well lit and this will attract customers. The LED lighting is the best option since it helps you to save money on the energy bill. Besides that, it is quite durable and efficient. It also gives you a lot of flexibility when it comes to highlighting certain products that are in high demand. To get it right, consider speaking to a retail fitout service in Melbourne like Unita.

3. Invest in Good-Quality Air Condition

In Melbourne, summer can be quite hot. It is important that you have a good air conditioning unit to maintain a relaxing environment inside the store. Besides that, it preserves the shelf life of your products. The last thing you want is for customers to run off to a more comfortable retail store. If your store is a haven for all weather conditions, you will have more customers who want to come back to your store.

4. Provide Seating for Customers

A great addition to the store that you should consider during the retail refurbishment is seating for the customers. Giving them a place where they can rest their weary feet gives them time to look around and find the products they need. The seating will ensure that shopper take time to discover products they did not know they needed.

5. Do Not Overlook the Security

You have invested a lot of money into your retail business and it is important to protect that investment. Get a professional to install a CCTV system at the store. In case an issue arises, the authorities will have an easier time apprehending and prosecuting the culprits. It can also help to identify serial shoplifters thus helping the entire business community.

Summary

Starting a retail business is exciting but if you want to succeed, you have to do it right. These few tips should prove quite useful in getting things right. If you need expert assistance on how to get the retail fit-out right, consider talking to the experts at Unita.

Filed Under: Business, Online retailing, Retail, Shopping Tagged With: Australian, Online shops, Shop, Small Biz

Buying-In Benefits – The Advantages of Becoming a Franchisee

February 28, 2018 by Reporter Leave a Comment

clip_image002

Buying-In Benefits ~ The Advantages of Becoming a Franchisee

For many people, purchasing a franchise is a popular means to achieving the goal of starting a new business. With a higher average rate of success than start-up businesses and developed methods of successful business strategies, there are many benefits in choosing to invest in a franchise model.

Franchises combine the independence of small business ownership, with the benefits and support of a big business network. When buying a franchise, you therefore become part of a wider business community, providing you with ongoing support, training and other benefits. Read on to find the other key advantages of becoming a franchisee.

Established Brand Identity

Franchisees are able to take full advantage of the already established market image of the corporate brand. Most established franchises are easily identifiable to the public, providing your business with cumulative marketing impact. Franchised businesses have some of the most successful brand identities in the world and have even built national and international brand-name recognition, such as McDonald’s or KFC.

The name recognition that comes with an established brand and the consistency of the franchise model, provides your business with pre-existing customers who have previously enjoyed the franchise system’s products or services.

Lower Risk

Existing customer awareness of the brand and the guidance of the franchisor are just some reasons that franchises enjoy a lower failure rate than their start-up business counterparts.

A lot of planning and trial and error go into starting any new business from scratch. When you purchase a franchise, you purchase the knowledge of those who have gone before you. This is the expertise of people who have made mistakes, learned from them and developed systems that are profitable and successful for the market and the individual business.

Ongoing Support

Franchise companies are dedicated to the success of each franchise location. They therefore have staff dedicated to providing ongoing assistance, even after you have built and started running your business.

Most established franchisors have already survived decades in their respective industries, and are therefore experts at providing tips and tricks to help your business succeed. A good franchise company will have training programs designed to provide ongoing training and the most successful methods to run the business.

Exclusivity

Exclusivity is another advantage of buying into a franchise. Most franchise agreements provide you with an exclusivity agreement in your specific area. This means that an identical franchise will not be permitted to open within a certain distance from your business.

The exclusivity arrangements of most franchise agreements alleviate some of the competition and provides you with an opportunity to make your stamp on the local business market.

Record of Success

When you buy a franchise, you are buying an established concept that has been previously successful. In fact, before buying a franchise the owners are required to disclose their market results, so that you can verify the numbers prior to making a purchasing decision.

Marketing Assistance

One of the biggest advantages of purchasing a franchise, is the ability to benefit from national advertising campaigns. Advertising can be one of the biggest expenses for any new business. Being supported by national and international marketing strategies therefore puts you at an advantage over other local competitors.

Owning a franchise typically gives you some freedom in pursuing local marketing and advertising campaigns. With the support of the franchise’s marketing experts, providing you with proven tools and strategies for attracting and retaining customers, you can even launch your own locally-targeted campaigns.

~

While there are always risks in any new business venture, purchasing a franchise limits some of the concerns of a start-up business. Being a franchisee can indeed be the fast track to success, if backed up by hard work and persistence. When you purchase a franchise, you buy into a proven business model with huge growth potential; providing you with the opportunities and support to run a successful and profitable business.

Bio: Laura Costello is a recent graduate of a Bachelor of Law/International Relations at Latrobe University. She is passionate about the law, the power of social media, and the ability to translate her knowledge of both common and complex topics to readers across a variety of mediums, in a way that is easy to understand.

Filed Under: Business News Tagged With: Australian, Branding, Franchise

Woolworths and Wesfarmers in GLOBAL top 250 Retailers list

March 18, 2014 by Reporter Leave a Comment

Article updated:

Australian  favourite retail giants, Woolworths and Wesfarmers ( Coles Supermarkets), are now listed in the world’s top 25 retail companies list.

Top Australian Retailer in Global Rankings

 

coles against woolworths

The report brought out by research agency Deloitte , identifies the “250 largest retailers by revenue globally” for the fiscal year 2010, lists Woolworths in 20th (26th last year) and Wesfarmers in 23rd position (28th last year).

While the global downturn and economic slowdowns have seen many  top retailers companies going down the list , The Australian retail companies both Woolworths and Wesfarmers both  have jumped up by the list by six and five places  respectively.

The global Retailers list

 

The top Global retailers rankings also included other top global retail companies like WALMART ( No .1 From USA ) , CAREFOUR S.A. ( No.2 – From France ), TESCO PLC ( No. 3 – From UK)

wesfarmers top retailer list

Among the top 30 were also other companies like Costo , Best Buy Co,  Safeway , Ikea and Amazon. Brazil another rapidly growing economy has topped the “top 10 Latin Americas retailer  list”  with its “Grupo Pao De Acucar” taking the top honours.

So what is the big giants Woolworths and Wesfarmers made up of ?

Below is a listing of  the different divisions and businesses that make up the two Goliath’s of  australia

Wesfarmers

§ Retail – Coles, Bi-Lo, Liqourland, Coles express, Coles.com.au, First Choice Liquor, Vintage Cellars, Target, Target Country, K Mart, Kmart Tyre and Auto Services

§ Home Improvement – Bunnings, Bunnings Warehouse, Bunnings Trade

§ Office Supplies – Officeworks

§ Insurance – Lumley, WFi, Oamps, Crombie Lockwood

§ Resources – Urragh, Bengalla

§ Chemicals and Fertilisers – CSBP, QNP (Queensland Nitrates) and AGR (Australian Gold Reagents)

§ Gas/Energy – Kleenheat Gas, Evol LNG, Premier Power (electricity)

§ Industrial and Safety – Blackwoods, Protector Alsafe, Bullivants, Total fasteners, Coregas, Blackwoods Protector, Packaging House, Gotstock.com.au, Safety Source

§ Others, and stakes in – ModWood wood-plastic products, 50% stake each in Gresham Partners (Barminco, Silk Logistics Group and Tasmanian Walking Company) and Westpine Industries and a 24% stake in BWP warehouse retailing properties.

Woolworths

§ Retail – Woolworths Supermarkets, Woolworths Petrol, Big W, BWS, Dan Murphy’s, Wine market, Cellarmasters, Ezibuy, Countdown, Thomas Dux.

§ Home Improvement – Masters

§ Hospitality – ALH (Australia Leisure and Hospitality) group and its brands including Great Food Great Value, Live At Your Local, 28s, Function Venue Finder and Graziers beef.

§ Finance – Woolworths Money credit cards, Reloadable MasterCards and Gift cards.

§ Others – Woolworths Mobile, Langton’s

More details  about the top global retailers can be got from the Deloitte website

Download Global Powers of Retail 2011 Read and download the full report ‘Global Powers of Retailing 2011’ in PDF format.

Filed Under: 2012, Australia, Business, Online retailing, Retail, Shopping, World Tagged With: Australian, Bunnings, Coles, Costco, Deloitte, Grocery, Hypermart, Metway, Retailers, Supermarkets, Target, Top rankings

What is a “Means Test” and how it affects your health insurance costs

December 21, 2012 by Reporter Leave a Comment

Kevin Murphy is a freelance writer and former insurance industry professional. He spends most of his time in his native Australia, and he writes about Health Insurance for Frank Health Insurance.

health insurance in australia  with healthcare

The Australian healthcare system changed forever on July 1st, 2012. To many, it was just another July day, but to others it significantly changed the way their health care costs were structured. Among other things, the government passed a law through the Senate that will require Means Testing for many Australian families with private health insurance in order to determine their eligibility for the 30% health care rebate. Along with that, they also reorganized the way that rebates are paid out. They are now in separate tiers that will provide a lower or higher rebate depending on factors like your age and income level.

The day everything changed

Prior to July 1st, 2012, as we all know, there was a rebate of 30% across the board for anyone with private health insurance. This was mercifully uncomplicated and made it so a lot of those families with middle to lower middle class income levels could pay less out of pocket each year for their private health care coverage. The downside was that if you were a family who made $168,001 per year or more, you would have to pay just as much out of pocket for private health insurance as someone who earned millions of dollars a year, making the burden a little bit harder on those on the lower end of the income spectrum. The government wanted to both lighten the load on lower income families and ensure that those who couldn’t afford private health insurance weren’t negatively affected.

Paving a path with good intentions

As with many things that the Australian or any government does, they start out with good intentions. The health care rebate Means Test is meant to help the government be able to more accurately payout health care rebates and prevent overpaying to those who could otherwise afford the treatment they received. The purpose of which was to save the government money and, in turn, put less strain on the already overburdened public health care system. This looks great on the surface, but it could have far-reaching unintended consequences for the entire health care system as it stands.

Is it a fair shake for everybody?

Of course, there are two sides to this coin. Many people feel that putting a higher monetary strain on those with the most money would be an appropriate measure to ensure that those with little to low income have access to affordable, adequate health care. While that looks good on paper, it may do just the opposite, warns Dr. Michael Armitage, Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Health Insurance Association, who predicts that “means-testing the 30 per cent rebate will force people out of the private healthcare sector.”

Dr. Armitage has spoken out against Means Testing since the bill was in its infancy a few years ago. He also warns that “The costs of treating consumers in the public hospital system are expected to rise substantially above what is currently anticipated by the government, with an estimated rise of $3.8 billion over five years, and an estimated 850,000 person increase in public hospital admissions.” If you look at it that way, then the July 1st restructuring could force people out of private health care and back into the public system, clogging an already clogged infrastructure.

Change, good or bad, is happening

While it will be a while before we can truly see the effects of the Means Test on our health care system, we do know that change is in the wind. Whether it’s for better or for worse, only time will tell. Until then, the best advice would be to keep your private health insurance coverage as long as is feasible in order to provide the best possible care for you and your family.

Filed Under: 2012, Gpost, Health Insurance, Insurance Tagged With: Australian, Healthcare, Industry

Australian Business Newspapers and News reporting to focus on building online presence

January 7, 2012 by Reporter 1 Comment

As The NBN gets launched nationally Australians are getting better broadband speeds and more people now  are changing the habits rapidly  to check the Australian news online rather than  picking up a print newspaper or magazine. The advance in technology  with the help of new gadgets like Ipads, Netbooks and Smartphones  have  made news easily available on the go and  Australians  no more need  to reach out to the nearest deli or newsagent  or then the telly  to get the latest news.

Business Newspapers Australia

In fact according to IBIS revenue  to Australian on-line retailers is expected to increase to a staggering 8.6 %per year over five years to be  worth a whopping 10 Billion. Internet acess and speed have increased  and will increase further with the  teh NBN making it possible fopr the larger part of the population to go online and read newspapers  or shop online.

The older methods of getting the latest breaking news like the TV and the Newspaper  will soon become a thing of the past.

Below  is a list of some of the “major Australian Newspapers”  that have managed to get a sizeable online presence in this changing market.

Sydney Morning herald (SMH) – Sydney and Australian News @  www.smh.com.au

SMH sydney morning herald Business newspaper  australian

The Australian –  www.australian.com.au

The australian newspaper business section news

The Age – Melbourne & Australian News @ www.theage.com.au

 

Heraldsun – -Victoria and Australia News @ www.heraldsun.com.au

Herald sun  victoria newspaper

 

News Portal  – www.news.com.au

 

Many of these newspapers have also released apps for smartphones in the apple and Android marketplace to make their news more accessible to people with smartphones on the go

australian financial review  newspaper business review

The Australian financial review

 

Other than newspapers having online presence there  are other dedicated online Business journals that  have a had a major online presence since a some time back like  the www.brw.com.au/  ( Business review weekly )and local players  like www.wabusinessnews.com.au ( for WA business ) and the Business spectator at www.businessspectator.com.au/

Brw business review weekly australian magazine newspaper

The Business Review Weekly

 

If you are looking  for a old article from  a newspaper , it is likely that you can  find it  at www.trove.nla.gov.au which have  a digitised version of the newspapers online or Archives

 

Technorati Tags: Australian newspapers,wall street,financial news,Business news,Business website australia

Filed Under: 2012, Australia, Business, Finance, Small Business, Website Tagged With: Australian, Business newspapers, Newspapers, Online

Samantha Stosur takes US open cup

September 12, 2011 by Reporter 1 Comment

Samantha Stosur finished the US open in style beating the reigning American favourite Serena Williams. Stosur, 27, from the Australian state of Queensland beat Williams 6-2, 6-3 Sunday to become the first Australian woman in 31 years to win a major singles title.

Aussies Claim another Sporting Victory

samantha stosur australian champion US open

Williams was the hot favourite to win the cup but  Ninth-seeded Stosur had other plans and beat Serena Williams on American soil. The match was won in one hour and 13 minutes in front of 23,000 people on Arthur Ashe Stadium.

This is another great victory for Australia after Cadel Evans recently claimed the Tour de france cup

The match was not without controversy with Williams berating the chair umpire after receiving a one-point penalty for verbal hindrance.

Sam stosur WA Tennis champion

What Serena Williams said to umpire Asdaraki

Williams called the chair umpire a ”hater”.

”If you ever see me walking down the hall, walk the other way,” she said.

"Aren’t you the one who screwed me over last time?,” Williams bellowed at Umpire Asdaraki. "That is totally not cool.”

serena williams samantha stosur swearing

 

Related links:

http://samstosur.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samantha_Stosur

Filed Under: Australia, Perth WA, Sports, World Tagged With: Australia, Australian, Sports Event

Australia Made proud by Cadel Evans Tour De France win

July 26, 2011 by Reporter 2 Comments

Cadel Evans is  the first Australian to win the world’s toughest cycling race “ the tour de france”.

Australian Cadel Evans wins Tour de France

 

At 34 he’s also the oldest winner of the Tour in nearly 90 years and he had a word or two in his wining commentary for all his skeptics, who had doubted him.

cadel-evans tour de france

His achievements on the cycling race at  Tour de France is now set to ensure his status as a barrier-breaking legend of Australian sport.  "A few people always believed in me, I believed in me and here we are today," he said after crossing the finish line.

Hers is an interview with  radio australia just after he won the tour de France . –> Interview

Tour de France – Cycling race

The Tour de France is an annual bicycle race held in France and nearby countries. First staged in 1903, the race covers more than 3,600 kilometres (2,200 mi) and lasts three weeks. As the best known and most prestigious of cycling’s three "Grand Tours", the Tour de France attracts riders and teams from around the world. The race is broken into day-long segments, called stages. Individual times to finish each stage are aggregated to determine the overall winner at the end of the race

According to the website http://www.cadelevans.com.au/ Cadel was born on the 14th February 1977 at the Katherine Hospital, Katherine, in the Northern Territory (Australia) and is currently Living between Barwon Heads, Victoria, Australia half the year and  Stabio, Switzerland the other half. You can also check out his diary on the website

Prime Minister Julia Gillard has congratulated Cadel Evans on his expected Tour de France win

Filed Under: 2011, Australia, Sports, Victoria Tagged With: Australian, cycling, Sports, Victoria, Winner

The lines are drawn with the nobel prize

December 11, 2010 by Reporter Leave a Comment

Chinese pro-democracy activist, Liu Xiaobo, is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize amid controversy between pro and anti-China supporters.

For the first time since 1936, the Nobel peace prize could not be presented today either to its laureate or, as the prize rules require, to a close relative.  “No medal or diploma will be presented today,” the committee’s chairman, Thorbjorn Jagland as the prize winner is unable to attend.

China, drawing on its growing economic clout in the world, has mounted a campaign  to encourage countries to boycott the ceremony. China declared that the “vast majority” of nations would boycott but the Norwegian award committee said two-thirds of those invited would attend. Among the countries not attending were Russia, Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Pakistan, Serbia, Iraq, Vietnam, Iran, Afghanistan, Egypt, Sudan, Cuba, Morocco and Algeria.


According to the Nobel Institute, 44 embassies have accepted invitations and 19 have refused “for various reasons”, while two have not replied. Ukraine and the Philippines had at first declined their invitations, but Nobel Institute director Geir Lundestad said Thursday they had changed their minds. Serbia, which had initially refused the invitation, said Thursday it would be sending a representative after all. Russia, which signed trade agreements with China last month worth 8.5 billion dollars, has officially pleaded prior engagements for its absence.

The  non attending  versus the attending  definetly indicates or gives us an idea where  the line is drawn and who ( country ) stands where  if   a situation arises , similar to what Kevin Rudd said recently as disclosed in the wikileaks.org  “ preparing to deploy force if everything goes wrong” .

The obvious variables to consider are alliance patterns, regime type, trade with/aid from China, proximity to Beijing, and maybe a corruption measure. That said, if you look at the list of all foreign embassies in Oslo, there are some interesting questions to ask. Why is Thailand attending but not the Philippines? Why is Colombia joining Venezuela in not attending? Why is Vietnam, an enduring rival of China, allying with China on this issue?

Embassies are not required to explain why they accept or decline a Nobel invitation, but a senior Filipino diplomat spoke candidly, underlining China’s growing power, especially in Asia.

“We do not want to further annoy China,” he said.

India plans to attend the ceremonyat which the Nobel Peace Prize is to be presented to Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo, Foreign Minister SM Krishna said Thursday. New Delhi is disregarding Beijing’s request for an international boycott of the event

Nominated for his “long and nonviolent struggle for fundamental human rights in China“, Liu, a 54-year-old critic and writer, is serving an 11-year prison sentence for inciting subversion after coauthoring Charter 08, an appeal for democratic reform. His wife, Liu Xia, has been under house arrest since the award was announced last month. Liu is married, but has no children. His wife has remained under police surveillance at the couple’s home in central Beijing since her husband was imprisoned.

It was the first time that a laureate under detention had not been formally represented since Nazi Germany barred pacifist Carl von Ossietzky from attending in 1935. Several jailed or detained laureates since had been represented by family but China did not allow anyone near Liu to travel to Oslo

China appeared to have blocked Western news websites, including the BBC and CNN, and state media made no mention of the ceremony, aside from a statement condemning the prize Ref ( http://tvnz.co.nz/nobel )

Winners of previous Nobel prize

Winners of the Nobel Peace Prize since 1980:

– 2010: Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo.

– 2009: US President Barack Obama

– 2008: Martti Ahtisaari

– 2007: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Al Gore

– 2006: Muhammad Yunus, Grameen Bank

– 2005: International Atomic Energy Agency, Mohamed ElBaradei

– 2004: Wangari Maathai

– 2003: Shirin Ebadi

– 2002: Former US President Jimmy Carter

– 2001: United Nations, Kofi Annan

– 2000: Kim Dae-jung

– 1999: Medecins Sans Frontieres

– 1998: John Hume, David Trimble

– 1997: International Campaign to Ban Landmines, Jody Williams

– 1996: Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo, Jose Ramos-Horta

– 1995: Joseph Rotblat, Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs

– 1994: Yasser Arafat, Shimon Peres, Yitzhak Rabin

– 1993: Nelson Mandela, FW de Klerk

– 1992: Rigoberta Menchu Tum

– 1991: Aung San Suu Kyi

– 1990: Mikhail Gorbachev

– 1989: The 14th Dalai Lama

– 1988: UN Peacekeeping Forces

– 1987: Oscar Arias Sanchez

– 1986: Elie Wiesel

– 1985: International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War

– 1984: Desmond Tutu

– 1983: Lech Walesa

– 1982: Alva Myrdal, Alfonso Garcia Robles

– 1981: Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees

– 1980: Adolfo Perez Esquivel

Related Links

Nobel peace prize winners list 2010


Liu Xiaobo
– Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://nobelprize.org/

Technorati Tags: INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS,CHINA,HUMAN RIGHTS,DEMOCRACY,GREAT POWER POLITICS,INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS THEORY,SMALL STATES,STATECRAFT

Filed Under: 2010, Australia, Nobel Prize, Times, World Tagged With: 2011, Australian, China

Get the Australian 2010 Elections Guide free

August 20, 2010 by Reporter 2 Comments

((((( Voting is compulsory for Australian citizens )))))

Who are the main parties looking to win this election

1. Liberals – clip_image004 clip_image005www.liberal.org.au

2. Labor – clip_image007 clip_image009 www.alp.org.au

3. Independent parties (Like : Greens, Christian Democratic Party, Australian SEX party ,Family first and Independent – parties may vary in your state and territory) . For a detailed list of parties and their representative in your territory and town got to http://aec.gov.au/election/who-are-the-candidates.htm

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To get more information on voting – eligibility to vote, voting centre’s, Etc go to www.aec.gov.au

We have put together  a Free election guide which you can download  giving you  information on how to vote , where to vote , timings etc  and links to much more information.

Download the  Election  2010 pdf  guide file here

Free australian election guide

Date: Election Day is Saturday 21 August 2010

Timing: Voting centres will open at 8 am to 6PM Sharp

Where : At any polling ( voting) place in your state or territory on election day ( if interstate check for details below)

The main two candidates are JULIA GILLARD  from LABOR PARTY and TONY ABOTT from LIBERAL PARTY

Make your vote count

Filed Under: 2010, Australia, Elections Australia, Labor Party, Mining, News Australia Tagged With: 2010, 2011, Australian, Elections, News Australia

Potash Mining and Australia

May 18, 2010 by Reporter 3 Comments

Is potash the next big mining commodity in Australia ?

Potash is a group of potassium minerals (oxides, chlorides, sulphates, nitrates and carbonates) used for fertilizer production with the most commonly extracted being potassium chloride salts deposited as sedimentary salt beds formed by the evaporation of ancient seas.

BHP Billiton Ltd., the world’s largest mining company, said in recent days it agreed to acquire Athabasca Potash Inc. for about C$341 million ($322 million) to add to assets in Canada containing the crop nutrient potash.

Australian potash mining

Potash is far from the most glamorous product of the global mining industry, it is  however, one of the most important commodities mining provides to the world.

Mining  Growth in Australian & Global potash sector

Athabasca has one of the largest potash exploration permit areas in the so-called Saskatchewan basin, covering approximately 6,900 square kilometres (2,664 square miles), BHP said in a separate statement.

 

The Athabasca deal will give BHP access to a total exploration area of more than 14,000 square kilometres in the so-called Saskatchewan potash basin, BHP said. Saskatchewan represents approximately one-third of the world’s potash production capacity and has approximately 53% of global potash reserves. It is big business. Potash Corp of Saskatchewan is worth more than Barrick Gold – the market caps are $US39 billion and $US33 billion respectively.

Potash is the common name for potassium carbonate and various mined and manufactured salts that contain the element potassium in water-soluble form. In some rare cases, potash can be formed with traces of organic materials such as plant remains.

minerals and commodity miningpotaqsh

POTASH TECHNICAL INFO

The main potash mineral of potential economic interest on the Colorado project is sylvite – a high-potassium chloride salt (KCl) containing 63% potassium (K2O) by weight.  Sylvite is water soluble and the most favoured salt mineral for potash solution mining.

The sylvite-bearing rock is called sylvinite and typically contains about 10-50% sylvite mixed with halite, minor shale beds and other salts.  The main saleable product after mining and processing of the sylvinite is muriate of potassium (MOP) a sylvite and halite mix containing greater than 95% sylvite.

 

Potash and mining in australia

Potash is a source of potassium which, in fertilisers, raises yields and disease resistance for plants. The potash price has doubled in the past three years. Potash production rates are related to demand projections whilst salt output is roughly determined by the development required to achieve the potash target.

Potash is a general term covering several types of potassium salts, of which the most important is potassium chloride, the mineral sylvite.

Potash is a nutrient essential for plant growth, and is a cornerstone of modern agricultural fertilizers. Roughly 95 per cent of world potash production goes into fertilizer, while the other five per cent is used in commercial and industrial products – everything from soap to television tubes.

 

It is well-known that Australian soils are low in phosphorus. What is not so well-known is that many of our soils are also low in potassium. As a result, the animal manures that we increasingly use on our gardens in place of chemical fertilizers are also low in potassium. This has led to an increase in the incidence of plant diseases.

Australia now imports all its potash, but Reward is hoping to fill a large part of that demand. There’s just that native title barrier and, of course, further drilling before Reward can cross the production bridge. Although potash could never be described as a fungicide, its correct use can certainly minimize diseases such as blackspot, rust and powdery mildew. These appear most visibly on the leaves and fruit of affected plants, but can affect any part.

In 2005, these three emerging countries (China, India and Brazil ) consumed just 42% of the level of potash scientifically recommended for them. Now these three countries, “require a combined 25-million more potash tons annually to meet scientifically recommended application levels.”  On existing farmland, China should increase its potash consumption by more than 100%, while India should increase its consumption by more than 6-million tons, and Brazil by 5-million tons, annually.

The top producing country is Canada, followed by Russia, Belarus, Germany, and the US, while other important potash producers are Israel, Jordan, Brazil, and China.

mining wa

In fact, there are just 13 global competitors in the sector. They are (from biggest to smallest): Potash Corporation (PotashCorp) of Canada, Belaruskali (Belarus), Mosaic (Canada, US), Silvinit (Russia), Uralkali (Russia), ICL (Israel, Spain, UK), Kali+Salz (Germany), Sinofert (China), APC (Jordan), Agrium (Canada), Intrepid (US), Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (Brazil), and SQM (Chile).

DRILLING FOR POTASH

Solution mining costs are directly related to drilling cost and the quantity of potash produced from each well.  A variety of production well configurations for solution mining are available dependent upon the geology of the deposit.  Most solution mining has involved extracting potash-bearing solutions from flooded underground mines or used well designs which access the potash with vertical drill holes (technique recommended for the Colorado Potash Project).

These extraction techniques are the lowest cost solution mining operations and enable large tonnages to be mined.  With improved controlled drilling methods horizontal well designs are being employed that enable thinner, high-grade beds to be cost effectively extracted but these are generally higher cost, lower tonnage operations compared to the vertical well configurations.

And, it must be noted, PotashCorp holds 32% of SQM, 28% of APC, 22% of Sinofert, and 11% of ICL. All told, PotashCorp controls 22% of global potash capacity. The first ten of the companies listed above jointly hold more than 95% of global capacity

Other potash projects

Caldera Resources In

(Caldera is engaged in diamond exploration in Australia. Three projects are located in the Pilbara region of northern Western Australia, one of which is joint ventured with Mr. Ronald Winston. The Company also has one project located adjacent to the Ellendale Lamproite Field in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. Caldera also has three base metal/gold projects in South Australia.)

 

Potasio Rio Colorado (PRC) potash project in Argentina

AusPotash

Aus Potash is now a wholly owned subsidiary Sirius Exploration Plc. For further information, please go to: www.siriusexploration.com …
www.auspotash.com

Corumbá iron ore mine in Brazil

Passport Metals Inc

Talon Metals Corp

Sainik Coal Mining Pvt. Ltd., an India Company

Asia Pacific Potash Corporation’s Udon Potash Project in north-eastern Thailand

Australian Potash Company Pty Ltd

( Carnarvon Basin Project, an exploration property covering approximately 4,280 square kilometers of prospective potash horizons in an extensive evaporate basin known as the Southern Carnarvon Basin in Western Australia. Previous drilling, consisting of three widely spaced oil and gas wells over a distance of 25 kilometers, has indicated the potential for significant potash and other sodium and magnesium salts)

Boulby Potash Mine, United Kingdom

In the 1960s, with fertiliser demand growing and the UK reliant on imported potash, ICI decided to develop reserves 40km from its Cleveland facilities in north-east England. The 200ha mine site is at Boulby, half-way between the Tees estuary and the port of Whitby. The design capacity is now over 1.0Mt/y of potassium chloride (KCl) product, sufficient to maintain a 55% UK market share and substantial export sales

Fertilizers Related to potash which could see some interest at some stage :
Nitrogen (urea, ammonium nitrate, ammonium sulphate), phosphate fertilizers (superphospahte, dap, map) ,potassium (muriate of potash, sulfate of potash) , compound fertilizers (npk granulated, bulk blended)

Filed Under: Australian, Business, Mining, Small Business, Stock Market Tagged With: Australia, Australian, Mining, Mining Sector

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