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The shift to advanced PPE - How Milwaukee Tool is leading the way in job site safety innovation

The shift to advanced PPE: How Milwaukee Tool is leading the way in job site safety innovation

The shift to advanced PPE: How Milwaukee Tool is leading the way in job site safety innovation Latest statistics from Safe Work Australia show that 5,000 serious claims were linked to head injuries in FY23, with hands, fingers and thumbs also accounting for about 13%, or 17,849, of all serious claims in the same period. All mine site workers have the right to a safe working environment and to head home safely at the end of every shift – but the challenges to overcome this remain significant. The Australian Mining Review speaks with Milwaukee Tool business development manager Andrew Miller about performance, innovative and advanced personal protective equipment (PPE) solutions currently available to the Australian mining industry that offer workers...

Shining a light on Sunrise Dam

Shining a light on Sunrise Dam

Shining a light on Sunrise Dam With gold prices reaching an all-time high of $3935oz (US$2685oz) in September 2024, gold mining companies are reaping the benefits as demand for this precious metal remains elevated. One such company is AngloGold Ashanti, owner of the Sunrise Dam operation which lies 205km north-northeast of Kalgoorlie and 55km south of Laverton in WA. Open pit production began in 1997 and was completed at the main pit in 2014 to a final depth of 500m below surface. After the Golden Delicious open pit was depleted last year, the main source of ore comes from the Vogue and Frankie zones, both of which are underground operations. Underground operations and production from Golden Delicious, while it was...

The project failed to gain approval in 2021.

Fingerboards project receives new lease on life

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...

Surface mounted self-primers are simple to install and maintain.

Self-priming heroes … made for mines – Aussie Pumps

Self-priming heroes … made for mines Australian Pump is well known as the country’s leading designer and exponent of mine specific equipment, specialising in pressure cleaners and self-priming centrifugal pumps. The pump product range goes all the way from 2” through to 6” ‘guzzlers’, now widely known and respected right throughout Australia’s mining industry. “Self-priming engine drive trash pumps, high pressure transfer pumps, even fire pumps for mine safety are all part of our standard package,” said Aussie’s chief engineer John Hales said. More recently the company launched its range of pumps and pressure cleaners in what is known as the “Mine Boss” configuration. Monobloc self primers...

Mining in the Pilbara: A cut above the rest

Mining in the Pilbara: A cut above the rest

Mining in the Pilbara: A cut above the rest Not only is WA’s Pilbara region known for its stunning landscapes, but it’s also home to the world’s largest and most economically significant iron ore deposits. While copper, gold and iron ore deposits were identified in WA in the 1880s, the mining industry only started to develop in the Pilbara around the 1950s – 1960s. One of the first major discoveries in the Pilbara, the Goldsworthy iron ore deposit, was discovered in 1938 and extensively surveyed in the 1950s by the Mines Department (now known as the WA Department of Energy, Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety). In a call for tenders to develop Goldsworthy, the State Government invited further exploration for...

(Image source: BHP) BHP’s Western Australian Iron Ore operation.

Forging global ties: BHP’s WAIO business and China’s steel market

Forging global ties: BHP's WAIO business and China's steel market Australia is the world’s largest iron ore exporter and producer, exporting 892mt of the mineral in 2023, more than double the second largest of Brazil. China is the world’s largest iron ore importer, with the country importing nearly 1.12bt in 2023, or around 76% of the world’s supply for that year. Making up 5% of the Earth’s crust, iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be extracted. Iron ore is the primary source for the world’s iron and steel industries, with almost all (around 98%) of iron ore used in the steelmaking process....

The QRC Local Content report revealed a significant increase in resources companies engaging with Queensland Indigenous business operators.

Resources companies spend $32.7b on Queensland businesses

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...

(Image source: ECU) From L-R: ECU associate professor Amir Razmjou, Federal Industry and Science Minister Ed Husic, Impact Minerals chief executive Dr Mike Jones and CPC Engineering process manager Eugenia Phgan.

ECU, CPC Engineering and Impact Minerals trial new HPA process

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...

(Image source: Rio Tinto) Rio Tinto’s Rincon lithium project in Argentina.

Fleet Space Technologies and Rio collaborate for Rincon

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...

Aerial view of coal ash slurry from a thermal power plant flowing in to a storage lake.

New NSW coal ash advisory committee

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,...

Monash University engineers have developed world-first technology, EDTA-aided loose nanofiltration (EALNF), enabling direct lithium extraction from difficult-to-process sources.

Direct lithium extraction from extreme environments

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...