Author: Chloe Coutinho

Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO), in collaboration with The University of Queensland, has marked the official launch of the South Gobi Underground Mass Mining Institute (SGUMMI) with a visit by the President of Mongolia to the Oyu Tolgoi mine. This institute offers a comprehensive, world class training program designed for both local and international mining professionals utilising the Oyu Tolgoi copper mine as practical training hub. In recent years, there has been a significant decline in the number of students studying in mining engineering, leading to a shortage of highly skilled mining professionals. The establishment of this underground mine training program aims to address the skills gap in the industry and elevate Mongolia’s mining industry on the global stage. Mongolia President…

Glencore business development and technical services general manager Hope Mulvihill has been named the 2025 Exceptional Woman in NSW Mining. Ms Mulvihill realised her passion for mining at university, becoming the first ever female president of The University of Queensland’s Mining and Metallurgy Association student chapter and vice president of the AusIMM student chapter. After joining Glencore in 2011, Hope worked as a senior mining engineer and business analyst before her appointment in 2024 as business development and technical services general manager, overseeing governance, business planning, merger and acquisition due diligence assessments and project support. Her career and personal experience in mining has driven Ms Mulvihill to become a strong advocate for women to consider mining as a dynamic and…

Emergency response crews from across Victoria, NSW and Tasmania descended on Costerfield and Heathcote over the weekend to take part in the Victorian Mine Rescue Competition. In one of the largest annual mine safety training exercises in Australia, Fosterville gold mine took out the top honours as best overall emergency rescue team after completing two days of six challenging simulated emergency scenarios. Teams competed in simulated scenarios that tested critical aspects of emergency response including underground rescue skills, firefighting, first aid and technical rope rescue. Organised by MCA Victoria this important event has gone from strength to strength over three decades, with Fosterville gold mine taking out this year’s best overall emergency rescue team category. Cornwall Coal came in second…

The Sedgman and CPB Contractors joint venture (SCJV), both CIMIC Group companies, have successfully transported more than 30 preassembled modules over 800km for BHP’s (ASX: BHP) Western Ridge crusher project in WA. The modules, weighing up to 125t and measuring 42m long and 11m wide, arrived in Port Hedland in February before beginning an escorted road journey from Port Hedland to Newman. CPB Contractors project manager Christian D’Angelo says the movement of these massive structures required meticulous planning and close collaboration with BHP stakeholders. “During this exercise, we were focused on safety and minimising impacts to communities to ensure the smooth transition of these modules from laydown yard to site,” he said. The SCJV team’s meticulous transport approach included planning…

With 240 mines in Australia projected to close by 2040, algae could be key in managing site water quality, improving mine closure outcomes and creating business opportunities. A new report released by the Cooperative Research Centre for Transformations in Mining Economies (CRC TiME) has found notable benefits in using algae-based technologies to help mitigate the environmental impacts of mining during operations and after closure. Integrating algae into mine site closure planning could enable the creation of algae-based supply chains — with potential for regional, Indigenous and Australian enterprises. The research shows that various micro- and macro-algae have been detected and identified in mine waters. This indicates that, with suitable growth conditions and the selection of appropriate species, algae have the…

Metso is launching the Sustainable Flowsheet Explorer (SFX) in response to rising demand for strategic minerals and metals, depleting ore deposits and stricter environmental regulations and a call for innovative system-level thinking in minerals processing. The SFX enables the assessment, simulation and comparison of technological alternatives on circuit and full flowsheets within minutes instead of weeks. This innovative digital solution provides valuable insights on energy consumption, water usage, GHG emissions, costs, metallurgical performance and much more. Metso minerals digital process performance vice president Rodrigo Grau says the Sustainable Flowsheet Explorer streamlines the evaluation and comparison of technological alternatives with a focus on the Metso Plus solutions for mining customers. “It significantly reduces the time needed for initial flowsheet assessments, providing…

Operator Tim Lamb from Edgeworth has become NSW’s best Cat® machinery operator following the thrilling State Final of the Caterpillar® Global Operator Challenge, held at WesTrac’s dig pit in Tomago. The 34-year-old, who works with Daracon Group, outperformed nine other finalists in the challenges, designed to test the skill, accuracy and agility of competitors. Tim was crowned state champion and will join WA’s champion Max Harris on an all-expenses-paid trip to Japan, where they will compete against international operators at the Asia-Pacific Regional Finals in October. WesTrac NSW construction general manager Ryan Boslem says operators competing in the NSW final had to put their skills to the ultimate test across three challenges using three different Cat machines. “This year’s challenge…

Liebherr-Australia celebrated its new partnership with Mineco — an Australian-based mining services provide — with the handing over of a brand-new R 9150 excavator set to go to work at Mount Arthur coal mine in NSW. The commissioning of this excavator highlights Liebherr-Australia’s continued growth in the 150-tonne class mining segment in Australia and reinforces the company’s commitment to providing innovative and efficient solutions tailored to the evolving needs of the Australian mining industry. Liebherr-Australia’s Mount Thorley branch will provide Mineco and its new excavator with comprehensive support, ensuring optimal performance and reliability on site. In recent years, Mineco has grown and expanded its business so that it now has the capacity to provide solutions to its customers that require…

Metso is extending its Nordberg® HPe series™ to larger crushing capacities for both aggregates production and high-demand mining applications with the introduction of the HP600e, HP800e and HP900e cone crushers. Metso aggregates HP Cones product manager Ilkka Somero says the evolution of the cone crusher technology brings multiple benefits and presents a true step change in terms of performance, uptime, serviceability and application coverage. “We are excited to expand the Nordberg® HPe series and bring to market a wider offering of these high-performance crushers fit for different production purposes,” he said. Metso gyratory and large cone crushers director Nicolas Gallay says efficiency is the key to meeting the industry’s needs. “With the robust new HPe units, we can offer performance,…

New regulatory changes could significantly increase the amount of methane emissions reported by coal mines, as well as make methane recovery and utilisation a more attractive option, according to a new study from The University of Queensland’s Gas & Energy Transition Research Centre (UQGET). The study, which was jointly written by a team from UQGET and Novus Fuels, examines a range of Bowen Basin coal mines using the new, more precise methane emission estimation methods that will soon be adopted by Australia’s Safeguard Mechanism. Using representative gas content data from those operations, the researchers conclude coal mines could see their reported methane emissions increase by upwards of 3.6 – 4.2 times. The Federal Government’s Safeguard Mechanism is designed to reduce industrial…

EQ Resources (ASX: EQR) has entered five long-term offtake agreements for the next 24 months of production from its tungsten operations in Australia and Spain. Based on the current pricing for tungsten, the total value of these agreements is estimated to be $195m (US$124m), representing volumes of 470 containers, each container holding 20mt of 50% tungsten trioxide concentrate. These long-term offtake contracts have been executed with leading international tungsten consumers. EQR says the counterparties to these agreements are well-known producers of tungsten and tungsten-related products and considered to be in the top three producers in their respective markets, covering the production of ammonium paratungstate (APT), tungsten oxide and tungsten carbide materials— with all products subject to the recent export restrictions…