Author: admin

Coal royalties damaging to Queensland: QRC The Queensland Resources Council (QRC) says coal royalty legislation which passed through State Parliament yesterday have further damaged the state’s competitiveness. The Bill, which was introduced by the State Government without consultation in May 2023, will force any future decrease in coal royalty taxes to be legislated, making it harder for future governments to make changes. QRC chief executive Janette Hewson says the State Government should focus on getting the right policy settings to secure a pipeline of investment and re-establish the...

Queensland Government approves 10 new projects to support Mount Isa jobs Ahead of planned mine closes by resources giant Glencore, the Queensland Government has approved 10 projects to support almost 500 local jobs in Mount Isa. These projects are being funded via the $20m Mount Isa Transition Fund which includes $14.7m for program delivery costs associated with the projects and $5.3m for the Mount Isa City Council to implement projects identified through its own economic transition strategy. The fund is part of the broader $50m structural adjustment package which also includes $30m to accelerate resources projects in the Northwest Minerals Province. Combined, the 10...

Dutton to fast-track 421 projects and create 100,000 mining jobs Federal Opposition Leader Peter Dutton says he will push through 421 projects that are sitting on the sidelines to bring in $525b for the Australian economy, in his recent address to the Minerals Week 2024 Conference in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. Mr Dutton says this push forward will create a total of 100,000 jobs during the construction phase, along with 55,000 ongoing jobs during operation. Could this hold a glimmer of hope for the Australian mining industry that has lost 8,000 jobs this year from waning nickel and lithium demand,...

Vault Minerals introduced to the market Vault Minerals has been revealed as the name of the Red 5 (ASX: RED) and Silver Lake joint company, with shareholder approval to be sought after at a general meeting on September 25. According to Red 5, the name Vault Minerals was chosen for its significance to the company as a profitable, financially disciplined and returns-focused gold producer. The chemical symbol for gold – Au – is also embedded in the word vault and Red 5 considers this new name embodies its key objective of its long-term strategy of becoming a valuable producer and...

Promising gold recovery achieved from e-waste Up to 70% of the contained gold in electronic waste (e-waste) has been recovered in initial tests of MTM Critical Metals’ (ASX: MTM) flash joule heating (FJH) technology. The FJH technology works by ‘flash’ heating e-waste in a chlorine gas atmosphere, vaporising the target metals such as gold for efficient separation and collection via metal chlorides. This process is highly scalable and environmentally friendly, offering a sustainable and energy efficient alternative to traditional methods of recovering metals from e-waste such as smelting and chemical leaching which are considered energy intensive,...

Rio and UQ monitor mine waste with drones and sensors Local researchers, in partnership with a global miner, are developing new ways to monitor mine waste using drones and ground sensors. Rio Tinto and the University of Queensland are working together to advance mineral waste management solutions with the aim of improving safety and land rehabilitation across mine sites. University of Queensland’s (UQ) School of Civil Engineering lead investigator Dr Thierry Bore says safe management and rehabilitation of mine waste is...

Mineral Resources receives approval for $1.3 Onslow haul road sale Mineral Resources (ASX: MIN) has received approval from the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) for the sale of a 49% interest in the Onslow Iron haul road. The minority stake in the haul road will be sold to investment funds managed by Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners (MSIP) for $1.3b. Proceeds are payable in cash and comprise of an upfront consideration of $1.1b and a deferred consideration of $200m that is subject to achieving a 35mtpa run rate for any quarter before June 30, 2026. Upon...

Newmont’s $475m Telfer & Havieron sale to Greatland Gold Newmont Corporation (ASX: NEM) has agreed to sell the Telfer operation, its 70% interest in the Havieron gold-copper project about 45km away and other related interests in WA’s Paterson region to Greatland Gold plc for up to $475m. London Stock Exchange-listed Greatland Gold discovered Havieron in 2018 and currently has a 30% stake in it, with the company requesting Newmont fix Telfer’s leaky tailings dams as part of the deal. Newmont president and chief executive Tom Palmer this transaction announced represents the first asset sale in the divestiture program announced in February. “I am pleased that...

BHP contributes $52.9b to Australian economy in FY24 It’s been revealed that mining giant BHP (ASX: BHP) contributed $52.9b in economic value to Australia in FY24 through wages, dividends, payments to suppliers, investments, taxes and royalties. Of this $52.9b, $22b was spent with suppliers and $110m went to social investment across BHP’s Australian communities. BHP-operated projects spent around $700m with 240 Indigenous suppliers, a 75% increase year-on-year, and these projects are well on track to meet its commitment to procure $1.5b of goods and services from Indigenous and Traditional Owner...

Simple solutions can provide remarkable results Australian Mining Companies are genuinely concerned about workshop hygiene and personnel exposure to dusts. Ironically, some practices that have been introduced to help minimise dust are often counterproductive and result in the need for additional primary filter services. Today’s modern diesel engines can consume up to 20,000 litres of heavily contaminated air for each litre of diesel fuel burned, mining air intake systems can be overwhelmed by the volume of dust threatening high performing diesel engines. In the laboratory, a dual SSG Radial Seal™ housing will separate and filter out more than 200kg of test dust prior to reaching the maximum allowable intake restriction common to modern engines. It’s a reasonable assumption that the...

New TAFE training centre to fuel clean energy workforce An Electric Automotive Vehicle Training Centre has been added to North Metropolitan TAFE’s Joondalup campus to deliver skills training across clean energy vehicles. WA Premier Roger Cook and Training and Workforce Development Minister Simone McGurk officially opened the new centre at the Joondalup Learning Precinct and met with students undertaking training to maintain electric and hybrid vehicles. This centre will provide a hub for people to train in electric vehicle (EV) technologies and help develop the next generation of automotive workers to service vehicles...