Author: Chloe Coutinho

Alcoa’s (ASX: AAI) new Bushfire Ready Fund will provide $1.3m over the next three years to support communities in WA and Victoria to deliver key initiatives that address the risk of bushfires and contributing climate factors. To kick the program off donations of $6500 were made to 23 volunteer fire services in the Peel and South West regions of WA, where Alcoa operates bauxite mines and alumina refineries, and the Glenelg Shire in Victoria, location of Alcoa’s Portland Aluminium Smelter. The Gnaala Karla Booja Aboriginal Corporation’s Ranger Program in WA also received funding. The support is intended to help the groups better prepare for and mitigate against bushfire risk. Alcoa Australia president Elsabe Muller says the company recognised that bushfire…

Image Resources (ASX: IMA) has achieved first heavy mineral concentrate (HMC) production at the company’s 100%-owned Atlas mineral sands project, 170km north of Perth WA. Despite construction delays from site evacuations for the bush fire in late November 2024, accelerated construction in December and January resulted in the completion of all major construction activities, allowing a wind down to the remaining non-process infrastructure items. This is in line with the forecast and associated construction schedule approved by the board in July 2024. Image Resources managing director and chief executive Patrick Mutz says this is a significant milestone for the company, on the heels of the successful construction and early-stage commissioning of its second mineral sands project. “Over the next few…

Results from the NSW Minerals Council’s latest annual Member Expenditure Survey have confirmed mining’s ongoing strong economic contribution to Cobar. In FY24, participating mining companies supported over 633 local jobs and directly spent $148m in Cobar, according to the survey. This is an increase in spending levels in the Cobar Local Government Area (LGA) of $15m compared to the previous year. It is also the highest level of spending recorded for Cobar since 2018-19 when relevant survey results for Cobar were first recorded. The $148m of direct mining spending in Cobar in FY24 included over $76m on wages and salaries, and $72m for goods and services purchased from over 93 local mining supplier businesses. NSW Minerals Council chief executive Stephen…

Westgold (ASX: WGX) has reported further results from its inaugural drilling program at the Fletcher Zone and details of planned drilling of the potential southern extension of Fletcher (the Mason Zone target). Additional large, high-grade drilling intervals were returned at Fletcher including 41m at 7.99g/t of gold and 19m at 5.95g/t of gold in hole FF475SP-62AE and 38m at 6.8g/t of gold in hole WF440VD-55AE. Since acquiring the Beta Hunt operation, Westgold has moved quickly to identify and test priority exploration targets. This work commenced with the Stage 1 Fletcher Zone Resource Definition program in November 2024 with two drill rigs and has continued into 2025 with five drill rigs now in operation. Westgold managing director and chief executive Wayne…

BHP (ASX: BHP) had a strong start to FY25, with the company expecting an enduring competitive advantage, thanks in part to its portfolio of commodities linked to global megatrends such as population growth, data centres and AI and the energy transition. According to BHP, demand for commodities in the developed world continued to be soft in CY24 as sluggish industrial activity persisted. However, the company expects recovery for steel and copper demand across the OECD in the near-term. Still, BHP says potential trade tensions present a risk to the recovery in developed economies and across the globe. “Over the long term, population growth, urbanisation, rising living standards, and the infrastructure required for digitisation and decarbonisation are all expected to drive…

Liebherr-Australia has successfully repowered two R 9800 excavators for Yancoal at its Mount Thorley Warkworth (MTW) coal mining operation in the Hunter Valley region of NSW. The repower involved replacing the excavators’ existing engines with Liebherr’s D9812 12-cylinder engines, which are designed specifically for the mining industry. This was the first repower of Liebherr R 9800s in the world and highlights Liebherr’s engineering expertise and commitment to supporting customers with innovative solutions that drive performance and efficiency. The process began at Liebherr-Australia’s Mount Thorley facility, where the D9812 engines were prepared for integration. Once completed, the engines were transported to MTW where the final phases of the repower were executed, ensuring a smooth transition into operation. According to Liebherr, the…

Anglo American has made significant progress towards its demerger of Anglo American Platinum, aiming to finalise the demerger by June. Anglo American chief executive Duncan Wanblad says the company is on a clear timeline towards demerging Anglo American Platinum — the world’s leading PGMs producer — in June, with its primary listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and an additional listing on the London Stock Exchange. “Consistent with our commitment to deliver a responsible demerger, Anglo American intends to retain a 19.9% shareholding in Anglo American Platinum in order to further help manage flowback by reducing the absolute size of the shareholding that will be demerged,” he said. “Anglo American will no longer have any representation on the Anglo American…

Inaccessible supplies of an element crucial to powering a clean-energy future are set to be unlocked with technology developed by The University of Queensland (UQ). The technology, commercialised through new start-up company Banksia Minerals Processing (BMP), is a more energy-efficient and environmentally friendly way to extract copper from previously unviable low-quality resources. UQ’s School of Chemical Engineering metallurgy major lead and Hydrometallurgy Research Group head, Associate Professor James Vaughan says the technology reveals cleaner more efficient methods for processing copper concentrate. “While much of the world is going wireless, large amounts of copper are still needed to run everything from smartphones to electric vehicles,” he said. “Copper plays a key role in achieving global ambitions towards clean energy transition and…

The Tasmanian Government has opened a new round of Exploration Drilling Grant Initiative (EDGI). Tasmanian Business, Industry and Resources Minister Eric Abetz says the state has what the world wants. “Critical minerals are a sought-after commodity as governments, businesses and organisations across the globe look to a more sustainable future,” he said. “There is a global shift to find these minerals and Tasmania can continue to further cement itself as a leader in this space. “This funding will allow mineral explorers to test greenfield locations which may lead to our next big mineral discovery. “We know exploration leads to more resources projects and more jobs in the future for Tasmanians — something we’re eager to support through our 2030 Strong…

Westgold (ASX: WGX) is positioning itself as an Australian gold titan, with promising half-year results including gold production of 158,255oz with all-in sustaining costs of $2,562poz. These results follow the company’s merger with Karora and subsequent inclusion in the ASX200 and dual listing on the ASX and TSX. Westgold says its 29.4% increase in gold production from H1FY24 was a result of the Karora acquisition. Combined with higher achieved gold prices, this increased production contributed to a record half year revenue of $624m. Westgold managing director and chief executive Wayne Bramwell says the post-merger results solidify the company’s position as one of Australia’s top five gold mining companies. “This half-year was a period of consolidation and strategic investment, with a…

Worsley Alumina in WA has received federal environmental approval for the Worsley Mine Development Project under the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (1999). This follows South32’s (ASX: S32) appeal of the WA EPA’s recommendations for the Worsley mine expansion in July 2024. The federal approval is subject to conditions which are substantively consistent with the state environmental approval received on December 20, 2024. The development project will enable access to bauxite to sustain production at Worsley Alumina, with mining of bauxite areas located near existing operations expected to commence in Q4 FY25. South32 will now also commence the development of new mining areas that are expected to sustain production to at least FY36. South 32 chief executive Graham Kerr…