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Many Australian mining companies take pride in their commitment to corporate and social responsibility. Low impact mining, sustainability, responsible resource extraction, diversity and inclusion are core values rather than buzzwords. Responsibility extends beyond ore extraction and employee welfare. It encompasses total site management and maintenance practices. Historically, low dollar value assets were often treated as consumable products, not critical to production and with limited useable life. Similar attitudes often existed with heavy mining equipment: maintain tonnage output, run it hard, replace the failed component and get the machine back to work. Is it possible to calculate the environmental impacts of this old approach? Premature failure or destruction of light vehicles, heavy mining machines burning excessive amounts of fuel and oil,…

WA Mines and Petroleum Minister David Michael has announced the successful applicants for Round 30 of the Exploration Incentive Scheme (EIS) co-funded drilling program. A total of 50 applicants, including six prospectors, will receive grants worth $7.288m for projects to be drilled between December 2024 and November 2025. Seventeen of the successful companies are targeting battery minerals including lithium and Rare Earth Elements (REE). Minister Michael says the WA Government aims to position the State as a dynamic global supplier of future battery minerals and materials. “It is pleasing to see exploration expenditure continue to rise in WA, hitting a record $2.6b in 2023, with demand for critical minerals soaring on the back of global decarbonisation initiatives,” he said. “The…

The inaugural gold doré bar has been poured from the bulk sampling program at Mt Malcolm Mines’ (ASX: M2M) Golden Crown prospect in WA. A bulk sampling program at Golden Crown has produced Mt Malcolm’s first gold via gravity processing. Notably, two gold doré bars were poured with a combined weight of 431g. The bulk sampling program forms an integral part of Mt Malcolm’s strategy to evaluate the potential of Golden Grove. So far, excavation has reached a depth of around 9m with efforts continuing to excavate and extract deeper mineralised material. Ongoing sampling is continuing to visually confirm gold mineralisation, with visible gold observed in multiple rock chip samples, particularly within iron oxide alteration zones and quartz veins. Mt…

The NSW Government has released a $250m royalty deferral initiative, the first of the State’s new critical minerals and high-tech metals strategy. Currently, there are 12 critical minerals mining and processing projects NSW that are ready for investment. These projects need around $7.6b in capital investment and are expected to generate around 4600 jobs during construction and 2700 after that. High initial investment costs for critical minerals projects are a challenge and the royalty deferral initiative will assist new projects in the early stages of development, ease financial pressures, attract investment to NSW and enhance the economic viability of the mining sector. NSW hosts significant resource deposits for 21 of the 31 nationally declared critical minerals, with the strategy identifying…

Koonenberry Gold (ASX: KNB) is set to acquire a suite of projects from Global Uranium and Enrichment (ASX: GUE) and Gilmore Metals. These projects – the Enmore gold project and the Lachlan projects – will increase Koonenberry’s existing gold and copper assets in NSW. Under the acquisitions, GUE will receive 35m fully paid ordinary Koonenberry shares, while Gilmore Metals shareholders will receive 95m Koonenberry shares. All shares are subject to 12 months of voluntary escrow. The acquisitions are subject to Koonenberry completing a minimum $2m fund raising, shareholder approval and the end of the Enmore gold project’s 2% net smelter royalty. Koonenberry has already received firm subscriptions to raise $4.5m via the issue of 450m new shares to institutional and…

A draft standard covering all commodities, facilities and locations worldwide is out for public comment over the next two months. Partners of the Consolidated Mining Standard Initiative (CMSI) – ICMM, World Gold Council, Mining Association of Canada and The Copper Mark – launched their first public consultation yesterday and will run until December 16 this year. Their vision is for a sustainable society, enabled by the responsible production, sourcing and recycling of metals and minerals. The goal is to simplify the current mining standards landscape and promote continual improvement of environmental, social and governance practices across metal and mineral value chains – from mining to smelting, refining and beyond. World Gold Council chief financial officer Terry Heymann comments on this.…

Recent surface geochemical sampling at Litchfield Minerals’ (ASX: LMS) Mt Doreen project in the Northern Territory has confirmed the presence of rare earth element (REE) anomalism. A total of 134 soil and 50 rock chip samples were collected at Mt Doreen to assess REE anomalism within granites and associated erosional sediments. Rock chip sampling was undertaken to assess REE anomalism within granite outcrops, while soil sampling was undertaken to test the granite-derived sediments surrounding the granites. Light REE dominated the findings, with an average of 42% cerium, 21% lanthanum and 19% neodymium returned. The highest-grade REE samples were collected from soils developed on a small, sub-cropping thorium-anomalous granite which spans a length of 300m and peaked at 248 parts per…

Evolution Mining (ASX: EVN) has followed its record FY24 performance, with the company announcing it’s on track to achieve over $1.9b of operating cash flow by the end of FY25. In Q1 FY25, Evolution generated mine cash flow of $429m, with all operations delivering positive cash flow and major contributions coming from the Cowal and Red Lake operations. Looking at production, 193,554oz of gold and 19,059t of copper was produced, and with an all-in sustaining cost (AISC) of $1569/oz, Evolution remains one of the lowest cost producers in the sector. Evolution managing director and chief executive Lawrie Conway says it’s satisfying to start the new financial year in a positive way. “We have seen the benefits of the foundation laid…

Monadelphous Group Limited (ASX: MND) has announced the award of new contracts and extensions totalling around $160m. The engineering group has been awarded two one-year contract extensions for fixed plant maintenance services and sustaining capital projects across Rio Tinto’s iron ore operations in the Pilbara, WA. Monadelphous has also secured a fabrication, supply, installation and commissioning contract at the global miner’s Tom Price mine, with work completion expected in mid-2025. South32’s Worsley Alumina operations in southwest WA has awarded a new three-year contract for the provision of minor project works at site, on the back of the maintenance and shutdown services contract extension announced last month. Monadelphous has been providing services at Worsley Alumina for nearly two decades. Inteforge, Mondadelphous’…

RCR Mining Technologies has launched the world-first sealed pan feeder (SPF), combining apron feeder technology with the sealing properties of a belt feeder into one machine. The SPF shares over 90% of its components with the trusted RCR apron feeder in its low-maintenance and high-durability design. Key improvements include: Enhanced performance: The SPF reduces the need for maintenance outages, offering approximately 50% fewer outages and 39% less tool time over a 15-year period compared to standard, non-RCR apron feeders. Maximised production: The reduction in maintenance frequency and outage duration translates directly to more ore throughput without increasing the size or speed of the feeder. Cost efficiency: By eliminating the need for dribble conveyors, the SPF delivers more efficient operating costs,…

Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO) has released its Q3 CY24 results, with the company increasing Pilbara iron ore, bauxite and titanium dioxide slag production. Bauxite production saw an 8% increase from the prior corresponding period to 15.1mt, titanium dioxide slag production increased 7% to 263kt and Pilbara iron ore production increased 1% to 84.1mt. On the other hand, aluminium production decreased 2% to 809kt and mined copper production dropped 1% to 168kt. Operations Construction of Rio’s Western Range mine is now 80% complete, with the company finalising commissioning of the autonomous haul trucks and completing the Paraburdoo upgrade in the quarter. Rio continues to focus on the construction of the greenfield crushing and screening plant as well as the Paraburdoo plant…