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WA LITHIUM Australia has had a positive year with promising developments including the acquisition of Mt Deans East and the completion of the Ravensthorpe mine rehabilitation. The company has updated its raw material strategy for 2020 in order to establish a high-quality lithium resource base. Primary supply opportunities, including the Medcalf prospect, are being explored. Mine-waste streams (historical dumps and tailings) and discharge from currently operating mines are also being considered as sources. The Medcalf prospect has a cluster of stacked pegmatite dikes with abundant spodumene and a possible extension suggested by a lithium-in-soil geochemistry anomaly that was later discovered. The spodumene samples show positive signs with very low levels of deleterious elements. The company also announced that the Mt...

LEGISLATION has been passed in Queensland to set up an independent health and safety body for workers in the resources sector from July 1. The new body will be called Resources Safety and Health Queensland (RSHQ) and will regulate the safety and health of workers in the state’s minerals, coal, petroleum and gas, quarry, small scale mining and explosives industries. This puts into action the Safety and Health Queensland Bill 2019, based on recommendations by the Coal Workers’ Pneumoconiosis (CWP) select committee. Queensland Mines minister Anthony Lynham said the new regulator would focus on enhancing safety of the state’s 70,000 resources workers. “It will be totally separate from the government’s broader function of growing and facilitating mining and exploration projects...

IRON ore will prop up Australia’s resource and energy export earnings despite the impact of the coronavirus outbreak, according to a new estimate put forth by the Australian Department of Industry, Innovation and Science. The department’s latest Resources and Energy Quarterly (REQ) forecasts commodity export earnings to hit a record $299b in 2019-2020, an increase of $18b from 2018-2019. The REQ covers a five-year outlook, highlighting long-term structural changes affecting global commodity markets including urbanisation, industrialisation and technological change. This edition includes information on the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on the commodity outlook. While oil prices have been falling due to diminishing global demands for air travel, gold prices have been increasing as investors look towards safe options, benefiting...

EXTENDED potential mineralisation has been identified at Cyprium Metals’ Hollandaire prospect, with follow-up drilling planned for March 2020. The results were outside the current mineralisation, promising a greater yield for the Cue copper project located north east of Perth, near the Murchison Project. The RC drilling which was completed in February has identified further mineralisation at depth on the western margins of both the east and west structures, with results being returned outside of the currently identified mineralisation. Five intersections from 156m to 283m returned positive findings. The results identified solid concentrates of up to 7.50 g/t from 161m and 1.79pc copper from 116m. Musgrave Minerals is pursuing an option for a joint venture and earn-in with Cyprium that will...

JAMES Bruce will be head up the investor relations division at Mineral Resources Limited (ASX: MIN) from April 1, 2020. Mineral Resources chief financial officer Mark Wilson said the appointment broadens the skills and experience of the company’s leadership team and highlights the company’s ability to attract talent. “With more than 25 years’ experience in international financial markets and operational roles in the WA resources industry, James is ideally placed to lead out investor relations efforts, provide input to our environmental, social and governance (ESG) activities and our capital management approach,” he said. Mineral Resources is a Perth-based leading mining services provider, with a focus on the iron ore and hard-rock lithium sectors in WA.

THE 23rd Global Iron Ore and Steel Forecast Conference, scheduled to take place in Perth next week, has been cancelled amid concerns over the potential spread of the coronavirus. The conference will be rescheduled to later this year at the same venue, The Westin Hotel Perth. Informa Australia resources conference director Alexandra Bennet said all existing registrations and sponsors will be transferred to the new conference dates of 1 and 2 December. “We were greatly looking forward to welcoming to the conference but this reschedule is in the best interest of the health and welfare of all involved and we apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused,” she said. The conference is a premier annual event for the...

THE Minerals Council of Australia believes the Federal Government’s $17.6b stimulus package to boost the national economy will benefit junior miners. The statement was in response to a meeting in Canberra yesterday, attended by leaders from the resources sector, to plan against the potential impact of the coronavirus outbreak. MCA chief executive Tania Constable said the Australian mining sector is responsive and responsible during challenging times. “Business confidence is essential during this period,” she said. “Through encouraging exploration and investment, the Government’s stimulus package is good news for the country’s junior miners. “Australian mining contributes to national economic strength provides a bedrock for the Australian Government to meet its immediate and long-term challenges.” The Queensland Resources Council, South Australia...

AS gold prices continue to rise rapidly, gold exploration is ramping up all over the goldfields and Sandstone is no exception. Aircore geochemical drilling at Middle Island’s Sandstone gold project, WA, has confirmed a new Tailings South gold target, just 800m south, a result from the Jan 2020 1800m program. Tailings South will be the last prospect to be tested as part of the company’s current 12,300m Phase I reverse circulation (RC) drilling program. These additional Mineral Resources will be applied to the Sandstone pre-feasibility study which is expected to be completed by the end of the 2020 June quarter, and will be crucial to decision around recommissioning. Originally identified by a Weights of Evidence (WoE) structural targeting study, the...

Australian-first autonomous excavators AUTONOMOUS excavators have begun work in Queensland in an Australian first, digging pipeline trenches across the Surat Basin. It follows a successful trial by MPC Kinetic in late 2019 of a 30t excavator operating fully-autonomously and guided by artificial intelligence (AI). MPC Kinetic will partner with Built Robotics, the developer of the AI technology, to roll out a fleet of fully-automated excavators. MPC Kinetic business unit leader Richard Butler said the move to autonomous equipment is part of a progressive step for the wider industry. “We see autonomous earthmoving equipment as the key to building a new era of construction here in Australia,” he said. “It’s not about replacing our people, it’s about freeing up our skilled...

European funds for aluminium plant A $189M new high purity alumina (HPA) plant will be established in Kwinana, WA, by FYI Resources, with about 30pc of the financing secured from a European private fund. Luxembourg’s GEM Global Yield, a US$3.4b alternative investment group, will be financing $80m or about 30pc of the cost to build the proposed Kwinana plant. First production of HPA is targeted in the second quarter of 2022, with the company aiming to produce up to 8000tpa. FYI Resources managing director Roland Hill says the company is pleased to secure significant equity funding, which will de-risk the project by providing funding access at critical development stages. “Our definitive feasibility study outcome was outstanding, with results within five...

Speedy lithium extraction on horizon AN international research team, led by Australia’s Monash university, has pioneered a new lithium filtration technique that could change energy production drastically. The synthetic Metal-Organic Framework (MOF) membrane can filter lithium ions dramatically faster and uses a highly selective technique, promising a 90pc lithium recovery rate. The study has presented its findings in the prestigious Nature Materials journal, illustrating the way in which MOF channels mimic the “ion selectivity” of biological ion channels embedded within a cell membrane. University of Texas McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering, Professor Benny Freeman, said that thanks to the international, interdisciplinary and collaborative team involved in this research,  new routes to very selective separation membranes are being discovered. “Based on...