Author: Chloe Coutinho

The Queensland Government is tackling bottlenecks holding back one of the state’s most valuable export sectors with a high-level Coal Supply Chain Roundtable hosted in Brisbane. Queensland Minister for Finance, Trade, Employment and Training Ros Bates and Queensland Minister for Natural Resources and Mines Dale Last hosted the event, bringing together leaders from across the coal export network to drive practical solutions and unlock billions in stalled export capacity. Despite having more than 300mt of port capacity, Queensland exported less than 200mt in FY24. The Queensland Government is determined to reduce that gap, supercharge regional economies, and strengthen ties with our major coal trading partners, including India, Japan, China and South Korea. Roundtable attendees included senior leaders from key industry stakeholders and…

The NSW Government is partnering with coal-producing regions across the state to establish the Future Jobs and Investment Authority. While coal will remain an important regional employer and economic driver for decades, global demand is forecast to decrease in coming decades. Under current planning approvals, by 2040 all four of NSW’s coal-fired power stations, and 32 of the state’s 39 coal mines will close. The authority will help guide the future economic development of the four coal mining regions — the Hunter, Central West, Illawarra and North West — from coal production towards other economic opportunities and employment. The FY26 NSW Budget will include $27.3m over four years to fund the authority, initially focusing on the Hunter and Central West…

The Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility (NAIF) will invest up to $50m for Element 25’s (ASX: E25) Butcherbird manganese project in the Pilbara region of WA. This will support Element 25’s plans to expand Butcherbird’s production capacity to 1.1mtpa of manganese oxide concentrate. Butcherbird’s expansion will enable it to supply manganese concentrate feedstock for Element 25’s planned battery grade, high purity manganese sulphate monohydrate (HPMSM) processing facility which it plans to build in Louisiana, US, as well as securing concentrate sales to other customers. NAIF’s support for the expansion follows Element 25’s awarding of a Grant Agreement for $268m (US$166m) from the US Department of Energy (DoE) under the Battery Materials Processing Grant Program to support construction of its planned HPMSM…

Alcoa Australia (ASX: AAI) hosted more than 120 delegates from 33 organisations across the country at its Environmental Research Symposium last week. Attendees heard about 19 innovative research projects presented by Alcoa, collaborative partners and others from across industry, government and academia. Hosted by Alcoa’s Forest Research Centre and supported by Murdoch’s Harry Butler Institute, the event included insights across fauna, flora, rehabilitation practices, water, and the importance of embracing Traditional Owner knowledge and practices to develop a legitimate two-way science approach to forest management. In addition to insights into fauna behaviour, attendees witnessed presentations covering the secrets of seed dormancy in multiple species of native flowering plants, pathways of surface water flow in rehabilitation, and how decades of research…

Most investors build their portfolios through traditional, but a new investment horizon has emerged that extends beyond Earth’s atmosphere. The space economy represents a potential opportunity for forward-thinking investors willing to explore unconventional markets, but questions remain about how best to participate in this sector. The space industry continues its rapid expansion, with estimates suggesting it could grow from about $765b (US$500b) in 2022, to a multi-trillion dollar industry by 2040. While current growth focuses on communications, Earth observation and navigation, experts forecast significant expansion into cislunar (between the Earth and the moon) space. Tinka Resources chairman and UNSW engineering PhD student Ben McKeown, who has led a number of co-authored research papers on the topic, comments on the outlook.…

A $10.6m multi-purpose community pavilion is set to be built alongside the Goldfields Art Centre, marking the first investment from BHP’s (ASX: BHP) WA Nickel Community Fund. The pavilion will be co-funded by the City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder ($6.6m), BHP ($3m) and Lotterywest ($1m), with construction beginning in August/September 2025 and completion set for May 2026. BHP vice president WA nickel Annabelle Blom comments on the investment. “We’re thrilled that the community pavilion is the very first project to receive funding from our WA Nickel Community Fund,” she said. “It won’t be just a building — it will be a place for people. A place where local culture will be celebrated, where young people can safely access support, and where the…

Think & Act Differently (TAD), BHP‘s (ASX: BHP) innovation team, together with Unearthed Solutions, announced eight finalists for its Deep Mining Open Call, chosen from over ninety applications received from around the world. The Deep Mining Open Call, launched in September 2024, aimed to identify innovators with capability that could be applied to deep underground mining. The focus was on addressing challenges such as high temperature, high rock stress and hypersaline conditions in deep mining environments. BHP Innovation Vice President Jessica Farrell comments on the announcement. “Collaborating for innovative solutions is critical to our industry, providing the opportunity to truly step change safety, sustainability and productivity potential for our resources,” she said. “The Deep Mining challenge, brings people and resources…

Ore is being fed into the processing plant and commissioning is underway at Meeka Metals’ (ASX: MEK) Murchison gold project. Dry commissioning has progressed successfully and wet commissioning is underway with the first gold pour from gravity gold planned for this month. Meeka’s Managing Director Tim Davidson comments on the progress. “With commissioning of processing in June 2025, we achieve an important milestone for the Murchison as we transition from developer to producer status,” he said. “It rounds out a period of consistent delivery against our development timeline and reflects our focused actions to bring the project online. “We are now focused on maximising the expanded open pit mining opportunity following the success we are having with the drill bit.…

A University of Queensland-led study has found misinformation about electric vehicles (EVs) has taken root in society, primarily fuelled by mistrust and conspiracy theories. The University of Queensland (UQ) Business School postdoctoral research fellow Dr Chris Bretter says surveys in Australia, the US, Germany and Austria found people were more likely to agree than disagree with misinformation on EVs — even among those who owned one. “The misinformation statements we tested included that EVs are more likely to catch fire than petrol cars, do not produce emission savings and emit electromagnetic fields that damage health … all claims which are demonstrably false,” he said. “We know this sort of false information is out there and circulating, but the scale of…

A group of high school students have been given the inside scoop on the Alcoa recruitment process and how to perfect job resumes and ace interviews. Alcoa’s Pinjarra alumina refinery hosted an employability and personal branding workshop at Pinjarra Senior High School as part of the Pinjarra Prospects Program. The program, now in its ninth year, is a joint partnership between Pinjarra Senior High School and Pinjarra refinery and aims to prepare students for their move into the workforce. Twenty-seven female students from year 10 took part in the workshop learning about resumes and cover letters, interviewing tips including non-verbal communication, what a recruitment process looks like from start to end at Alcoa, and how to best show their true…

The Queensland Government has reinforced its commitment to CopperString, announcing it will boost funding for the project in the upcoming state budget. The FY26 state budget will bring the total funding commitment for the project to a record investment of $2.4b — an increase of $1.4b on last year’s budget. The CopperString project is a 1,100km high-voltage electricity transmission line from Townsville to Mount Isa that will connect the state’s North West Minerals Province to the national electricity grid. Ahead of handing down the state budget on June 24, Queensland Treasurer and Minister for Energy David Janetzki said the state was open for business. “We’re committed to delivering investment and economic growth across the state, including our minerals-rich North West,”…