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  FORTESCUE Metals Group has recorded record shipments in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis. Reflecting strong operating performance and resilient demand, the miner’s latest Quarterly Report showed record third quarter iron ore shipments of 42.3mt, 10pc higher than Q3 FY19, and year-to-date shipments at a record 130.9mt. C1 costs of US$13.27/wet metric tonne (wmt) were 2pc lower than Q3 FY19 costs of US$13.51/wmt, while robust demand for Fortescue products delivered average revenue of US$73/dry metric tonne (dmt). Based on the strong operating performance year-to-date, guidance for FY20 shipments has been upgraded to 175-177mt. Fortescue Chief Executive Officer Elizabeth Gaines said the strong operating performance in the March quarter underpinned an upgrade to its full year guidance for shipments. “Fortescue...

WA miner De Grey Mining has received firm commitments from investors to raise more than $31m to further develop its Hemi discovery within the Mallina gold project near Port Hedland. The company plans to execute a placement of about 111.4m shares at a price of 28c each, representing a 12.5pc discount to the last closing price. Executive Chairman Simon Lill said De Grey has been flooded with offers for a capital raising or direct investment since announcing positive drilling results at Hemi, with assays from section A indicating a 30m wide gold zone. The funds will be used to continue exploration activities across the Mallina, but with a specific focus on Hemi. "This is an extremely strong validation as to...

REGIS Resources is not expecting the current coronavirus restrictions across Australia to cause any significant delays to the McPhillamys project in NSW. Of five major approval phases, three remain, including a response to submissions by Regis (expected mid-2020), assessment by the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment, and an independent planning commission public hearing decision. The final decision for the McPhillamys project is expected in the first half of 2021. In its latest quarterly report, Regis managing director Jim Beyer said the operation performed solidly despite the pandemic, producing 86,300oz of gold for the period. While down on the December quarter’s 90,849oz, cash flow from operations increased by $7.4m to $107.4m and the company’s full-year guidance remains unchanged at 340,000-370,000oz....

THE Australian resources sector is acting to reassure communities that it’s taking strict and comprehensive measures to protect workers, families and mining communities from COVID-19. A national TV and digital campaign featuring the resources workforce is being launched this week to show how the industry is taking action to implement the resource sector’s COVID-19 national protocol. The campaign shows resource sector workers from across Australia demonstrating a range of anti-COVID protection measures including physical distancing during travel and at site, increased hygiene and cleaning, temperature testing, changes to shift start times and working arrangements. These measures are being implemented as the resources sector across Australia continues safe operations – supporting jobs and economic stability and providing royalties to fund hospitals,...

A NEW Indigenous brand of bottled water has been made available to all WA mine sites. Yurrama Water has been developed by the Ashburton Aboriginal Corporation (AAC), an organisation which finds and creates culturally appropriate employment, education and training opportunities for Aboriginal people in the Pilbara. Sodexo, world leader in quality of life services, has made a commitment to progress the brand concept through the development and production stages. Yurrama Water was officially launched in February and will be available in 600ml and 1.5L bottles. In line with AAC’s mission, the sales from Yurrama Water will fund Indigenous youth employment programs in the Pilbara and provide an increase in Indigenous employment opportunities. Sodexo indigenous and community general manager Sean Armistead...

LITHIUM Australia has received a ‘Certificate of Grant’ from IP Australia for its LieNA lithium processing technology patent, providing legal protection in Australia for 20 years over the technology. LieNA significantly improves metallurgical recovery of lithium from fine and contaminated spodumene. Hard-rock lithium production has long faced a major sustainability issue of poor recoveries of spodumene from the mine onwards to the production of lithium chemicals. While the recovery rate of lithium from conventional spodumene beneficiation varies, it can be as low as 50pc owing to the concentrate offtake specification constraints applied by the current generation of lithium chemical producers, all of which commence the process by roasting the concentrate. LieNA does not require a roasting stage and can recover...

BIOKEM is in the business of reducing maintenance costs and increasing equipment and lubricant life, taking oil analysis and filtration service to the highest levels. It offers a holistic approach to the treatment of the system circuitry, analysing and cleaning not just the lube oil but the equipment itself. BioKem Business and Technical manager, John Lagos, likens the service BioKem provides to a full health check, complete with remedies for any problems detected. In his words, they are the medics of the industrial world. The company uses industry-leading equipment and 70 years of expertise to offer broad sweeping lube oil services capabilities with a personal touch. Its job can start with the lubricant oil received directly from lubricant suppliers, cleaning...