Author: admin

Fingerboards project receives new lease on life The Victoria Resources Regulator has renewed two retention licences held by Gippsland Critical Minerals at the Fingerboards mineral sands project. As part of this renewal, the regulator has placed strict conditions on Gippsland with the company to seek a Victorian Government determination on the future requirements of the Environmental Effects Statement, following the project’s failure to gain approval in 2021. Other milestones and performance requirements include thorough engagement with the community and Traditional Owners, climate modelling, environmental baseline monitoring and rehabilitation trials. Failing to deliver these milestones could lead to the cancellation of the licences. Resources Victoria executive director regulatory operations...

Resources companies spend $32.7b on Queensland businesses The Queensland Resources Council’s (QRC) Local Content Report shows resources companies spent $32.7b purchasing goods and services from Queensland companies in FY23 an increase of almost $6b on the previous financial year. QRC chief executive Janette Hewson says the report confirms the importance of the resources sector to Queensland’s economy goes beyond the direct contribution it generates for our state through royalties and jobs. “Our report reveals nearly three of every four dollars, or 72%, were spent by resources companies with businesses in Queensland,” she said. “Buying local means resources companies...

ECU, CPC Engineering and Impact Minerals trial new HPA process Edith Cowan University (ECU), CPC Engineering and Impact Minerals (ASX: IPT) have secured a $2.87m grant a trial a new high purity alumina (HPA) process. As part of the Federal Government’s Cooperative Research Centres Projects (CRC-P) program, the grant will help fund the development of a pilot plant to validate Impact’s innovative, low-carbon process for producing HPA and sulphate of potash (SOP). Impact’s innovative approach uses a hydrometallurgical process with salts from lake-based deposits, eliminating...

Fleet Space Technologies and Rio collaborate for Rincon Australia’s leading space exploration company, Fleet Space Technologies, has partnered with Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO) to advance exploration at the latter’s Rincon lithium project in Argentina. Leveraging Fleet Space’s end-to-end exploration solution, ExoSphere, Rio will develop 3D subface maps of the reservoir basement depth and brine influencing structures across 100km2 of the project’s salt flat and subvolcanic structures. Fleet Space co-founder and chief executive Flavia Tata Nardini commented on the partnership. “We are proud to deploy ExoSphere’s real-time Multiphysics capabilities in support of Rio Tinto’s data-driven exploration for energy transition minerals,” she said. “We look forward to...

New NSW coal ash advisory committee The NSW Government is calling on Lake Macquarie and Lake Munmorah residents to participate in a new coal ash advisory committee. The committee has been set up following the State’s Parliamentary Inquiry into remediation costs of sites containing coal ash repositories. NSW Health has commissioned a review of environmental data to determine whether people living close to power stations and coal ash dams are exposed to potentially harmful chemicals through air, water, soil or local fish and seafood. The committee will allow open discussions between NSW Health and representatives of the local community,...

Direct lithium extraction from extreme environments As the demand for lithium continues to grow, supply is expected to fall short of demand as early as next year, with up to 75% of the world’s lithium-rich saltwater sources remaining untappable using current methods. Monash University engineers have developed world-first technology, EDTA-aided loose nanofiltration (EALNF), enabling direct lithium extraction from difficult-to-process sources. The technology extracts both lithium and magnesium simultaneously, unlike traditional methods that treat magnesium salts as waste, making it smarter, faster and more sustainable. The work, co-led by Dr Zhikao Li, from the Monash Suzhou Research Institute and...

Liontown donates Kathleen Valley pegmatites to WA Museum Liontown Resources (ASX: LTR) has donated five spodumene-rich lithium ore samples from its Kathleen Valley lithium project in WA to the WA Museum’s minerals collection. These samples are now part of the Earth and Planetary Sciences department, which manages a comprehensive collection of over 30,000 mineral specimens from across the state. This collection marks a valuable resource for prospectors, industry professionals and academics. Liontown senior mine geologist Lincoln Young led the initiative to donate samples to the museum and handed them over personally. These pegmatites also...

Maximising mining efficiency through responsible resource management and sustainable practices 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,...