Rio Tinto diamond mine delivers final production

Greatland Resources’ (ASX: GGP) proposed Havieron underground mine has won backing from the WA EPA, under conditions that include a ban on night-time haulage to protect the critically endangered night parrot.The miner's proposal includes waste rock landforms, evaporation ponds, expanded groundwater abstraction and a 55km haul road for trucking ore from Havieron to Telfer for processing for a combined total of 32mt of ore production.WA EPA Chair Darren Walsh says the protection of conservation-significant fauna was front and centre of the environmental impact assessment.“The EPA’s recommended conditions would ensure that implementation of the proposal would result in no disturbance to critical habitat for the night parrot, and protections for the greater bilby population within and adjacent to the project area,” he said.“The EPA considers that impacts can be significantly reduced through speed limits during day-time haulage, prohibition of night?time haulage operations on the Telfer Havieron haul road, use of fauna spotters, buffers around active burrows and roosts and fauna crossings to maintain ecological connectivity.“Pre-clearance surveys and fauna exclusion areas have also been recommended to minimise any direct impact to terrestrial fauna such as the night parrot, greater bilby and great desert skink.”According to Greatland, Havieron represents Australia’s third largest underground gold ore reserve with an updated ore reserve of 38.5mt at 2.63g/t gold and .33% copper for 3.3moz gold and 128kt copper.The miner’s base-case ‘Havieron Standalone’ operating cost model assumes no extension of the current Telfer mine life, with the Telfer mill processing only Havieron ore.Greatland is targeting first gold about 2.5 years after final investment decision. Havieron has an initial mine life of 17 years, including an initial nine-year steady state period.The EPA’s report to the Minister for Environment is now open for a three-week public appeal period, closing on April 29.Greatland reported production of 82,723oz gold and 4128t copper in the March quarter. The miner currently expects FY26 full year production to be around, or slightly above, the upper end of its guidance range of 260,000–310,000oz gold.The miner says the Telfer operation is not currently impacted by diesel supply disruptions as fuel is supplied directly by a global oil major on a long-term contract via Port Hedland.

In 1963, Dr G Yunupingu, the late visionary Gumatj clan leader, stood alongside his father, Munggurrawuy Yunupingu, at what he described in 2008 as the first mining agreement on the Gove Peninsula.

The Queensland Government has launched a 10% subsidy on below-rail access charges for the next four years for users of the Mount Isa line in an effort to support industry and strengthen freight corridors.The Mount Isa line is a strategic freight corridor connecting the north-west minerals province (NWMP) to the Port of Townsville, playing a critical role in keeping exports moving.According to the Queensland Government, lowering rail transport costs will enable significant cost savings for operators within the region. For example, a rail user moving .5mtpa of minerals concentrates in a bulk operation between Cloncurry and Townsville would save about $1.4m annually and $5.6m over the four years, says the Queensland Government.Queensland Transport and Main Roads Minister Brent Mickelberg says the four-year subsidy is about backing the industries that keep the state moving by delivering practical support they can rely on.“By lowering rail transport costs, we’re making rail a more competitive option for industry, improving freight corridors and supporting growth across the NWMP,” he said.“We know transport costs can be a real pressure on industry in the north and this subsidy will encourage a shift from road to rail, improving safety on our roads and strengthening long-term freight resilience.”Minerals concentrate, fertiliser, acid, mining inputs, refined metals and cattle are all moved along the Mount Isa line.Queensland Natural Resources and Mines Minister Dale Last says the Queensland Government is serious about unlocking the full potential of Queensland’s north-west.“Queensland’s resources are world-class, and demand is strong, with the elevating phosphate to  list of critical minerals late last year,” he said.“But to meet that demand, we need to get our resources to the coast, and that’s where the Government’s Mount Isa rail subsidy kicks in.“The Mount Isa line is the backbone of the north-west economy, moving mineral concentrates, processed metals, fertilisers, phosphate rock and acid to export markets.”