Latest news with #Woodhead
Otago Daily Times
02-07-2025
- Health
- Otago Daily Times
‘Ill bowels' spur switch from Clutha tap water
An Otago resident on one of the country's worst water schemes says she has switched to bottled water to prevent diarrhoea. Waitahuna resident Caroline Mann said she made the switch several months ago, after she and other residents of the rural township near Lawrence noticed continual issues with "ill bowels". On Monday, water regulator Taumata Arowai published its 2024 national drinking water report, which showed the Clutha District Council was responsible for 338, or 59.8%, of the country's drinking water quality breaches. The supply with the most E. coli notifications nationwide was Waitahuna Rural (15), which is owned by the council, and is on a permanent boil-water notice. Waitahuna Rural also continues to breach standards for aluminium in its drinking water. Ms Mann said she had begun to sell bottled water to cyclists passing on the Clutha Gold Trail, which runs in front of her business, Waitahuna Wonders, as she did not want to give them tap water for fear of harm. "Over summer, we often get asked to fill up bottles by cyclists, but I tell them I don't want to poison them, because the tap water is diabolical. "Appropriately, our logo and sign is a skeleton cyclist — unless you stick to the bottles." She said tap water was often brown, and sometimes stopped altogether when the local pumping station broke down. "When we do have to use it we always boil it. But there's an additional expense to boiling water, or buying in bottles, so it would be nice if the council acknowledged that in our rates somehow." Other residents on Clutha water schemes receiving a black mark from the report were more sanguine regarding their water quality, blaming "gold standard" regulations for breaches. Retired Crichton farmer Stephen Woodhead, whose lifestyle block is on the North Bruce scheme near Milton, said he and his family were "very comfortable" with domestic water quality. North Bruce breached aluminium levels 64 times last year, and had two breaches for "disinfection by-product". "We boil our water anyway, although we use tap water for brushing our teeth, etc. We've noticed no ill effects," Mr Woodhead said. "The consent breaches are arising because these are stock water schemes that, over time, have come to supply homes also. The standards for domestic supply have risen to a level that is unnecessary for stock, leading to a requirement for multimillion-dollar investment in infrastructure upgrades that are going to impact heavily on our rural communities. "Yes, we need good regulation, but we need sensible rules that also allow for workable transition times that don't burden ratepayers unfairly." He said a "middle ground" needed to be found. "We should all be capturing rainwater off our roofs, for toilet and garden use. You have the situation now where some water is treated to very high standards, then people are watering their roses with it." Mr Woodhead's comments echoed Clutha District Mayor Bryan Cadogan's response to the report on Monday. He described the jump in standards as "like trying to turn a car into an aeroplane". Taumata Arowai head of operations Steve Taylor said Clutha was working hard to make improvements. A new, fully compliant, water scheme was expected to supply Waitahuna and other problem areas from December this year. "Considerable work has been completed by the council in the past six months. We will continue to work closely with Clutha District Council as it addresses issues across its supplies."
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Black Iron Appoints New Chief Financial Officer
TORONTO, ON / / April 1, 2025 / Black Iron Inc. ("Black Iron" or the "Company") (TSX:BKI) is please to announce the appointment of Stephen Woodhead as Chief Financial Officer of the Company, effective immediately. Mr. Woodhead is a graduate of the University of Cape Town and a member of the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants. Mr. Woodhead has over 30 years of experience in the resource sector, having worked for Trans Hex Group, a South African diamond producer, before relocating to Canada in 1997 as Chief Financial Officer of Trans Hex International. Mr. Woodhead is a director of Lipari Mining, and has worked as Chief Financial Officer / VP Finance with various public companies, including Desert Sun Mining, from 2003 until it was acquired by Yamana Gold in 2006, developer and operator of the Jacobina gold mine in Brazil, Homeland Energy (developer of a coal mine in South Africa), Crocodile Gold (developer, operator and acquiror of gold mines in Australia), Trigon Metals (developer of a copper mine in Namibia), and Gratomic (focused on graphite exploration and development in Namibia and Brazil). Mr. Woodhead also served as a director of Apogee Minerals (silver) and Vaaldiam Mining (diamonds). Mr. Woodhead's appointment follows the resignation of Paul Bozoki as the former Chief Financial Officer of the Company. The Company's management and board of directors thank Paul for his years of dedication to the Company, and wishes him the best in his future endeavours. Matt Simpson, Chief Executive Officer of the Company, commented, "it has been a real pleasure working with Paul, as in addition to being a highly competent CFO, he took on a number of important tasks outside of his core role with strong leadership and follow-through, plus shared extensive experience in land-transfer related matters. On behalf of the Board and myself, we welcome Stephen Woodhead to our team and look forward to leveraging his international experience." About Black Iron Black Iron is an iron ore exploration and development company, advancing its 100% owned Shymanivske Iron Ore Project located in Kryviy Rih, Ukraine. Full mineral resource details and projected project economics can be found in the NI 43-101 technical report entitled "(Amended) Preliminary Economic Assessment of the Re-scoped Shymanivske Iron Ore Deposit" published in March 2020 with an effective date of November 21, 2017 under the Company's profile on SEDAR at The Project is surrounded by five other operating mines, including Metinvest's YuGOK and ArcelorMittal's iron ore complex. Please visit the Company's website at for more information For more information, please contact: Matt SimpsonChief Executive OfficerBlack Iron Forward-Looking Information This press release contains forward-looking information. Forward-looking information is based on what management believes to be reasonable assumptions, opinions and estimates of the date such statements are made based on information available to them at that time. Forward-looking information may include, but is not limited to, statements with respect to the appointment of officers. Generally, forward looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved". Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including but not limited to: the war in Ukraine; general business, economic, competitive, geopolitical and social uncertainties; the actual results of current exploration activities; other risks of the mining industry and the risks described in the annual information form of the Company. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward looking information. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. The Company notes that mineral resources are not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability. SOURCE: Black Iron View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire
Associated Press
01-04-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Black Iron Appoints New Chief Financial Officer
TORONTO, ON / ACCESS Newswire / April 1, 2025 / Black Iron Inc. ('Black Iron' or the 'Company') (TSX:BKI) is please to announce the appointment of Stephen Woodhead as Chief Financial Officer of the Company, effective immediately. Mr. Woodhead is a graduate of the University of Cape Town and a member of the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants. Mr. Woodhead has over 30 years of experience in the resource sector, having worked for Trans Hex Group, a South African diamond producer, before relocating to Canada in 1997 as Chief Financial Officer of Trans Hex International. Mr. Woodhead is a director of Lipari Mining, and has worked as Chief Financial Officer / VP Finance with various public companies, including Desert Sun Mining, from 2003 until it was acquired by Yamana Gold in 2006, developer and operator of the Jacobina gold mine in Brazil, Homeland Energy (developer of a coal mine in South Africa), Crocodile Gold (developer, operator and acquiror of gold mines in Australia), Trigon Metals (developer of a copper mine in Namibia), and Gratomic (focused on graphite exploration and development in Namibia and Brazil). Mr. Woodhead also served as a director of Apogee Minerals (silver) and Vaaldiam Mining (diamonds). Mr. Woodhead's appointment follows the resignation of Paul Bozoki as the former Chief Financial Officer of the Company. The Company's management and board of directors thank Paul for his years of dedication to the Company, and wishes him the best in his future endeavours. Matt Simpson, Chief Executive Officer of the Company, commented, 'it has been a real pleasure working with Paul, as in addition to being a highly competent CFO, he took on a number of important tasks outside of his core role with strong leadership and follow-through, plus shared extensive experience in land-transfer related matters. On behalf of the Board and myself, we welcome Stephen Woodhead to our team and look forward to leveraging his international experience.' About Black Iron Black Iron is an iron ore exploration and development company, advancing its 100% owned Shymanivske Iron Ore Project located in Kryviy Rih, Ukraine. Full mineral resource details and projected project economics can be found in the NI 43-101 technical report entitled "(Amended) Preliminary Economic Assessment of the Re-scoped Shymanivske Iron Ore Deposit' published in March 2020 with an effective date of November 21, 2017 under the Company's profile on SEDAR at The Project is surrounded by five other operating mines, including Metinvest's YuGOK and ArcelorMittal's iron ore complex. Please visit the Company's website at for more information For more information, please contact: Matt Simpson Chief Executive Officer Black Iron Inc. Forward-Looking Information This press release contains forward-looking information. Forward-looking information is based on what management believes to be reasonable assumptions, opinions and estimates of the date such statements are made based on information available to them at that time. Forward-looking information may include, but is not limited to, statements with respect to the appointment of officers. Generally, forward looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as 'plans', 'expects' or 'does not expect', 'is expected', 'budget', 'scheduled', 'estimates', 'forecasts', 'intends', 'anticipates' or 'does not anticipate', or 'believes', or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results 'may', 'could', 'would', 'might' or 'will be taken', 'occur' or 'be achieved'. Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including but not limited to: the war in Ukraine; general business, economic, competitive, geopolitical and social uncertainties; the actual results of current exploration activities; other risks of the mining industry and the risks described in the annual information form of the Company. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward looking information. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. The Company notes that mineral resources are not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability.
The Guardian
06-02-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
‘Desperate for change' – but is UK gen Z really disillusioned with democracy?
They have been dismissed as idealistic and over-sensitive snowflakes, obsessed with healthy living and social media. But generation Z – those born between the mid-to-late 1990s and the early 2000s – has recently been accused of something far more sinister. A Mail on Sunday poll of 18- to 27-year-olds found 67% were in favour of chemically castrating sex offenders and 45% supported the death penalty. A study for Channel 4 found 52% of gen Zers thought 'the UK would be a better place if a strong leader was in charge who does not have to bother with parliament and elections'. The Channel 4 report, Gen Z: Trends, Truth and Trust, also found 33% of those aged 13-27 agreed that the UK would be better off 'if the army was in charge', and 47% agreed that 'the entire way our society is organised must be radically changed through revolution'. But is the younger generation really so keen on authoritarian leadership? Prof Linda Woodhead, a co-author of Gen Z, Explained: The Art of Living in a Digital Age, said her research had found 40% of those surveyed in the UK and the US did believe the political system needed major reform, and 15% felt it was entirely broken. Their disillusionment was rooted in what they saw as the failure of the political establishment to tackle existential crises such as climate breakdown. This dissatisfaction was exacerbated by the jarring contrast between the freedom gen Zers enjoyed online and the frustrations they encountered offline when dealing with establishment institutions, such as government bureaucracy and political parties, added Woodhead, the head of the theology and religious studies at King's College London. 'Online, they get a lot of voice from the minute they get their hands on a smartphone. They find it disillusioning when they don't have that same level of recognition and influence in traditional institutions,' she said. 'Democracies are slow and inefficient. In old political systems you had to work your way up from the local level through membership and you might be 30 before you have a voice. This generation is not used to that. They have a sense of urgency because the world is burning up and it's all going wrong.' Dr Daniel Evans, a sociologist and lecturer in criminology at Swansea University, said the recent surveys' findings reflected a generation struggling with high living costs and poor employment prospects and 'desperate for change'. This frustration was most acute among middle-class young people who saw their prospects as inferior to their parents', he said. While they had been perceived to be 'generation left' owing to their support for Jeremy Corbyn, in 2025, Evans said, they saw neither a more centrist Labour nor a Reform-lite Conservative party as offering the urgent reform they desired. Sign up to Headlines UK Get the day's headlines and highlights emailed direct to you every morning after newsletter promotion 'As Leon Trotsky said, 'the feverish petty bourgeoisie can turn to the right or to the left',' said Evans. 'In 2017, they had a populist-left alternative in Jeremy Corbyn. But they don't have that now. I don't think it's any coincidence young people are looking at the rise of 'strong men' like Trump across the world and thinking, 'well, at least these people are saying they're going to do something'.' Prof Bobby Duffy, director of the Policy Institute at King's College London, said claims that gen Z supported dictatorship risked demonising them as being uniquely weird. Most evidence showing their dissatisfaction with the political system was consistent with that expressed by previous generations of young people, he said. The World Values survey, which the Policy Institute helps to produce, found a higher level of support for democracy among gen Z than among millennials, said Duffy, the author of Generations: Does When You're Born Shape Who You Are?. He predicted this support would increase as they aged, as it had among previous generations. 'It looked like millennials were much less into having a democratic system back in 2008 when they first came into the adult population, but since then, they've come nearly completely into line with the rest of the adult population,' he said. Some sociologists and polling experts believe surveys like the one produced by Channel 4 are flawed and risk exacerbating generational divisions. In a thread on Bluesky, Dr Chris Prosser, a co-director of the Economic and Social Research Council-funded British Election Study, said its most recent research showed gen Z was 'the least likely generation to support a strong leader', with just 13% in favour last year. Dr Jennie Bristow, a reader in sociology at Canterbury Christ Church University, said attitudinal research was often used as a weapon to justify prejudices against certain generations, such as claims baby boomers were out of touch and held offensive beliefs. She said: 'The boomers used to be the villains. I think what you're seeing now is rather than society facing up to its problems, it's just going, 'oh well, it's these nihilistic youth who are the problem'. They're being constructed as the barbarians of populism.' In a statement, Channel 4 said its survey on gen Z was 'a robust, reliable and carefully thought-through piece of research'.
