Past winners may get nod again

摘要

WESTERN AUSTRALIA SHOULD dominate this year's Diggers & Dealers awards, with two of the three major prizes expected to go to Sandgropers. Publisher of the Gold & Minerals Gazette, Resource Information Unit, believes the 2007 Digger of the Year will be West Perth-based Mincor Resources ML, which currently holds the unofficial title of Kambalda King after going into the WA nickel district back in 2001 and kick starting an ex-WMC Resources mine (Miitel) before successfully establishing three other operations in the area. Mincor was the conference's Dealer of the Year in 2001 for the WMC acquisition. Meanwhile RIU is also confident this year's dealer gong will again go to WA mining entrepreneur Andrew Forrest who, during the past 18 months has raised over 3 billion dollars to fund a new iron ore operation in the state's Pilbara. If he wins, it will be the second time Forrest will have been recognised for his wheeling and dealing efforts, the forum's organisers seeing fit to bestow him with the honour back in 1998 after he collected a truck load of investment cash to get the Murrin Murrin nickel laterite mine up and running.