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Big win for Whitehaven’s $1b Queensland coal project Whitehaven Coal (ASX: WHC) has welcomed the Queensland Government’s approval of its greenfield $1b open cut coal mine, Winchester South. The State’s Coordinator General has accepted the environmental impact statement (EIS) for the Winchester South metallurgical coal project with an evaluation report and recommendation for the project to proceed, subject to environmental conditions. The Winchester South mine will produce up to 17mtpa of primarily metallurgical run-of-mine (ROM) coal (11mtpa product coal), from an estimated 380mt of reserves, which will supply...

Alliance Aviation Services extends Olympic Dam works Alliance Aviation Services (ASX:AQZ) has extended its contract with BHP (ASX:BHP) to provide its services for a further five years at the Olympic Dam project. Since 2007, Alliance has been providing its services to Olympic Dam and recently moved to an all-jet operation. The Embraer 190 delivers impressive economics, excellent performance, operational efficiencies plus spacious interiors. Alliance managing director Scott McMillan welcomes the extension. “We welcome this further five-year extension of our contract to supply air services between Adelaide and Olympic Dam,” he said. “Alliance has built a significant presence in South Australia and is proud of the 16 years of uninterrupted services we...

First Sandvik DR410i drill rig arrives at Gruyere The first of six Sandvik DR410i rotary blasthole drill rigs has arrived at the Gruyere gold mine. A joint venture between Gold Fields and Gold Road Resources (ASX:GOR), the Gruyere gold mine lies 1200km northeast of Perth in WA’s northeastern Goldfields. The mine is a tier one low-cost and long-life asset with current mine life of more than 10 years. In 2022, Gruyere delivered record annual gold production of 314,647oz. The Sandvik DR410i is a diesel-powered, self-propelled, crawler-mounter blasthole drill, ideal for surface mining. The Sandvik intelligent control system architecture gives operators real-time system diagnostics to monitor the health and performance of...

Komatsu wins gold at Australian Training Awards Komatsu Australia has been recognised for its commitment to training and development by winning the prestigious Australian Apprenticeships Employer Award at the 2023 Australian Training Awards. The Australian Apprenticeships Employer Award recognises employers who have made innovative improvements in training which provide beneficial outcomes for their apprentices and to their local community. Komatsu’s National RTO & technical capability manager Matthew Tosolini says the award win is a testament to Komatsu's dedication to nurturing talent and providing apprentices with a supportive learning environment. “We have a...

Round 8 opens for QLD resources exploration grants Queensland has opened up round 8 of the Collaborative Exploration Initiative (CEI) with a focus on critical minerals. A total of $4.6m in grants is up for grabs and applications close on January 11 next year. The CEI program builds on the Queensland Critical Minerals Strategy and has reduced rent for new and existing exploration permits for minerals to $0 for the next five years, which is worth $55 million. It also builds on the Queensland Government’s $5b Copperstring 2032 project which will help unlock potentially $500b of critical mineral projects in the North West Minerals Province. Queensland Resources Minister Scott...

Lithium prospectivity confirmed at Cooletha   Lithium prospectivity has been confirmed at Australian Critical Minerals’ (ASX:ACM) flagship Cooletha lithium project in WA. Overall, 10 high priority targets totalling a length of over 24km have been identified via ACM’s recent first-pass rock chip and mapping program. Lithium and lithium-caesium-tantalum (LCT) pegmatite indicator minerals have been confirmed with multi-element assays identifying vectors towards evolved intrusive rocks. Multispectral analysis integrated with assay results and geological observations has defined multiple exploration locations in the Pilbara LCT pegmatite ‘Goldilocks zone’. Managing director Dean de Largie says the company is excited by the results. “Positive results from our initial exploration program across the large Cooletha lithium project...

BHP and TransAlta partner for solar and battery storage facility A new solar farm in the Northern Goldfields has been switched online thanks to a partnership between BHP (ASX:BHP) and renewable energy provider TransAlta. This partnership will help BHP reduce scope two emissions at its Nickel West northern operations by 12%. TransAlta president and chief executive John Kousinioris says the company is excited to flick the switch on a ground-breaking project. “This facility represents a first for both companies — it’s BHP’s first on-site, large-scale renewable project globally, and it’s TransAlta’s first renewable energy facility in Australia. It’s also the first time we have combined solar and battery storage to offer...

SA and WA Innovators of the Year 2023: Chrysos Photon Assay and Portable PPB The South Australian Government has awarded the Chrysos Photon Assay team the Innovator of the Year at the 2023 South Australian Science and Innovation awards last Friday evening. The Chrysos Photon Assay team, consisting of chief technical officer Dr James Tickner, chief executive and managing director Dirk Treasure, Dr Alvin Chowles and Dr Rhys Preston, were awarded for developing and commercialising their game-changing Photon Assay technology for the mining industry. Dr Tickner says being able to understand how much valuable metal is in the ore is...

Thiess moves 10m banked cubic metres semi-autonomously at Lake Vermont Global mining services provider Thiess has moved more than 10m banked cubic metres semi-autonomously at the Lake Vermont mine in Queensland. The milestone was achieved three years after Thiess launched its fleet of six Cat D11 dozers with the semi-autonomous tractor system (SATs). Thiess head of autonomy and operations technology Trent Smith commented on the milestone. “10m banked cubic metres is equivalent in volume to 4000 Olympic-sized swimming pools — moving this amount without an operator in the machine is a significant milestone,” he said. “It reflects Thiess’ ongoing commitment to linking people and technology to deliver safety and operational...

Construction starts on NEXTDC data centre in Darwin, propels NT digital economy Construction has commenced on a new data centre in the Northern Territory, called D1 Darwin, an $80m critical infrastructure project that will house about 1,500 racks and support up to 8MW IT load. The construction of this new NEXTDC data centre is being managed by Kapitol Group NT and will create and support up to 200 jobs. NEXTDC is Australia’s only provider of integrated edge data centre and remote operations solutions. The new centre is within walking distance from the new Charles Darwin University CBD campus and will offer critical digital infrastructure to support...

Rio Tinto and Aymium partner to trial renewable biocarbon product Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) and Aymium have partnered to develop and trial a renewable biocarbon product for use as an alternative resource to reduce emissions in large scale industrial processes. This product has been successfully trialled as a replacement for anthracite used in ilmenite smelting processes at Rio’s metallurgical complex in Sorel-Tracy, Quebec. The complex is a world-leading producer of high-grade titanium dioxide feedstock plus iron and steel for specialised applications. Rio Tinto minerals chief executive Sinead Kaufman says the company is delighted to work with Aymium. “We are delighted to work with Aymium to develop and trial this renewable biocarbon...