Mining Matters

Amidst rising pressure for countries to reach their net-zero goals and diversify critical mineral supply chains, collaboration between industry and government has never been more important.

Miners beat Albanese to Oval Office

Leaders from two of the world’s largest mining companies, BHP (ASX: BHP) and Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO), met US President Donald Trump in Washington to discuss the future of the world’s next copper giant.

Rio Tinto chief executive Jakob Stausholm, incoming chief executive Simon Trott and BHP chief executive Mike Henry met with President Trump following a decision from the Ninth US Circuit Court of Appeals to issue a temporary order blocking the US Government from executing a land transfer to Resolution Copper.

As the US’ largest untapped copper reserve, the Resolution project in Arizona has the potential to produce more than 20mt over its 40-year mine life — meeting more than 25% of the country’s copper demand.

In a post to Trump Media & Technology Group-owned Truth Social, President Trump referred to the decision as a threat to more than 3800 jobs by a “radical left court”.

Resolution Copper, a joint venture between Rio (55%) and BHP (45%), has faced a lengthy court battle, since 2013 to attain approvals and get the globally significant project off the ground.

Mr Henry says demand for copper is growing strongly.

“The world needs more mining to build the future,” he said.

“As the world’s largest mining company and copper producer, I want to thank President Trump and Secretary Burgum for their strong leadership to reinvigorate mining and processing supply chains in and for America.”

Mr Stausholm echoed Mr Henry’s sentiments in a post on LinkedIn.

“Rio Tinto has a 150-year history in the US and is a significant producer of copper in the country as well as other critical materials such as lithium, tellurium, gold, silver, molybdenum, borates and recycled aluminium,” he said.

According to the Ninth US Circuit Court of Appeals, the transfer is being halted while the court weighs a request from the San Carlos Apache tribe to block the project for religious, cultural and environmental reasons.

The mine has previously gained approval from the US Department of Agriculture, the US Forest Service and other governing bodies.

President Trump says an expedited appeal will be taking place shortly before the Ninth Circuit.

Could collaboration save the Pilbara $30b?

The Pilbara energy system is at an inflection point.

A new report commissioned by the Federal Government and published by the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC), Common user transmissions and decarbonising Pilbara energy demand, indicates that without collaboration, the region will hinder Australia’s emission reductions ambitions with costly consequences.

However, the report finds the region and miners operating within it could save more than $30b over the next 25 years with coordinated renewable infrastructure development.

By partnering to develop shared infrastructure, mining companies and Australia can potentially avoid the duplication of assets and in turn avoid $26b in generation and storage costs as well as an additional $4b in transmission costs, according to the report.

The Pilbara’s heavy industries, dominated by iron ore production, are nationally significant in its economic contribution and energy use. According to the report, the region contributes a third of national exports and nearly 20% of WA’s total economic output and accounts for about 23% of the national safeguard facility total greenhouse gas emissions or 40% of that for WA, making it central to Australia’s decarbonisation ambitions.

The report finds that a common-user model has the potential to significantly decarbonise the Pilbara while creating more opportunities to plan at a network-system level, engage stakeholders, streamline processes, reduce costs and accelerate timelines.

CEFC WA and resources executive director Rob Wilson says this is a clear opportunity to build it once and build it right.

“The economic case is overwhelming. And the coordination required is both achievable and essential,” he said.

“Everyone can win under this coordinated approach, but it requires urgent cooperation, coordination and leadership.”

To displace existing use of fossil fuel as a primary energy source, the region requires significant infrastructure to leverage its abundant solar and wind resources. This presents a significant opportunity for growing green industries including iron, ammonia and hydrogen.

This collaborative approach could avoid costly duplication and improve access for users, including small miners, while also delivering a 29% reduction in new transmission kilometres required and a 16% reduction in generation and storage infrastructure needs.

A lack of collaboration in the Pilbara’s rail sector has led to parallel infrastructure and increased land disturbance, leading to challenges for Traditional Owners and limiting access for smaller companies — an example of the costly consequences of an individual user approach.

CEFC chief executive Ian Learmonth the Pilbara is one of Australia’s economic powerhouses, and it now has a critical opportunity to lead the nation’s industrial decarbonisation.

“This report confirms that smarter, shared infrastructure delivers both climate and economic wins,” he said.

“It is the kind of solution that strengthens Australia’s position as a future energy superpower.”

Rapid reform to cut red tape tangle

In an unusual display of unity, a coalition of industry, community and environmental organisations have reached a consensus — the current Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act is not working.

Following discussion at the Economic Reform Roundtable last week in Canberra, the Federal Government announced plans to accelerate a long-awaited overhaul of the EPBC Act.

The reform is aimed at improving approval timelines for projects considered national priorities, including renewables and critical minerals operations.

Originally planned for introduction in mid-2026, the Federal Government now intends to bring in new legislation before the year is out.

Under the current EPBC Act, there is a backlog of more than 30,000 housing, renewable and resources projects, as reported by the ABC.

The WA Department of Mines, Petroleum and Exploration (DMPE) targets completion of 80% of approval assessments within 30 business days but projects across the country are seeing unprecedented approval delays.

In FY24, only 42.4% of approvals were completed within the 30-day target period, according to Assessment timeframes for mining environmental application 2023-24 analysis published by the DMPE.

This backlog is underlined by duplication between state and federal approvals and assessment systems which slow down approval pipelines — an issue the reforms will focus on correcting.

By addressing regulatory uncertainty, Australia’s mining sector could potentially benefit from streamlined processing. Through addressing points of contention, reform could improve project certainty while maintaining effective environmental protections.

According to the Minerals Council of Australia (MCA), long lead times for approvals are hindering Australia’s resources sector as timely decisions are essential to attracting and retaining investment.

MCA chief executive Tania Constable says it is vital the changes are properly road-tested with industry to ensure they are practical and free of unintended consequences.

“It is crucial that reform delivers a clear pathway for projects to be assessed efficiently, consistently, and delivered in a way that benefits communities, the environment and the economy,” she said.

The reforms will also introduce strong new environmental standards with greater transparency in environmental regulation.

Federal Environment and Water Minister Murray Watt says governments will continue consulting to develop the reforms and pass the vital legislation.

“It was clear from last week’s roundtable that there is very strong support — across business, environment and community representatives — for serious and urgent reform to deliver stronger environmental protections, faster and simpler project approvals and greater transparency in environmental regulation,” he said.