Author: Chloe Coutinho

Liontown Resources (ASX: LTR) reports first underground development ore mined and first spodumene concentrate delivered to port at its Kathleen Valley lithium project in WA. Since the commencement of underground operations at Mt Mann in November 2023, more than 4,000 development metres have been advanced. The 145t of spodumene concentrate delivered to the Port of Geraldton in WA, will be stockpiled at Qube’s dedicated storage shed ahead of first shipment planned for later this quarter. Liontown managing director and chief executive Tony Ottaviano says this rapid progression underscores the momentum Liontown is building as it transitions from construction to production. “Just a week after achieving first production, the first truckload of spodumene concentrate has been successfully dispatched to Geraldton Port,”…

Cauldron Energy chief executive Jonathan Fisher advocated for uranium mining in Australia at the WA Mining Club July luncheon. Mr Fisher argues uranium mining is essential to decarbonisation and cites the Federal ban on nuclear energy and WA ban on uranium as roadblocks in achieving emissions reduction goals. “The nuclear industry globally is now awake,” he said. “That is driven by decarbonisation because other than hydro, nuclear is the only mass available, baseload generating, zero carbon source which is on 24/7.” Following the triple nuclear pledge signed at COP28 — which saw 22 countries pledging to triple nuclear power capacity by 2050 — the United States, Canada, France, Japan and the United Kingdom formed the Sapporo 5 to establish a…

Alcoa Corporation (ASX: AAI) has completed its acquisition of Alumina, cementing itself as a leading pure play, upstream aluminium company. Alcoa president and chief executive William F. Oplinger says the company is proud to announce the completion of its first major acquisition. “The acquisition of Alumina strengthens Alcoa’s position as one of the world’s largest bauxite and alumina producers and is expected to result in long-term value creation from greater financial and operational flexibility,” he said. “I want to thank both the Alcoa and Alumina teams, and our advisors, for full cooperation and diligence in closing this transformational transaction on a very tight schedule.” Following the acquisition, the Alcoa World Alumina and Chemicals (AWAC) joint venture, which Alcoa previously held…

Westgold Resources (ASX: WGX) and Karora Resources have completed their merger to create a leading mid-tier gold producer and international gold company. This follows Westgold’s acquisition of 100% of the issued and outstanding shares of Karora. Westgold managing director and chief executive Wayne Bramwell says this marks the next phase of Westgold’s evolution into a larger, unhedged and well-funded Australian gold producer. “Our value proposition is significantly enhanced with an expanded team, quality operating assets and an enviable pipeline of exploration prospects across two of Australia’s most productive gold fields,” he said. “The merger with Karora upsizes our WA operating platform — an extensive and established asset base that can be increasingly leveraged for free cash generation and growth. “Westgold…

The WA Chamber of Minerals and Energy (CME) has released its report on risks to WA’s investment-readiness, highlighting the need for turnkey industrial areas. The Australian Venture Consultants report commissioned by the WA CME examined a range of industrial precincts in competing jurisdictions. The report found the lack of fully equipped strategic industrial areas (SIAs) was severely hampering WA’s ability to attract investment. WA CME chief executive Rebecca Tomkinson says the intense global competition in critical minerals and clean energy supply chains means that investment incentives and project-ready industrial precincts offer a significant competitive advantage. “One of the key factors hindering WA’s agility to respond to market needs and have projects up and running quickly has been the absence of…

Orica (ASX: ORI) announced a project to eliminate about 50% of greenhouse emissions at its Yarwun manufacturing facility in Queensland. By deploying tertiary abatement technology Orica expects to eliminate about 200,000t of carbon dioxide equivalent annually. The installation of two tertiary abatement reactors is expected to reduce Australia’s overall industrial chemical sector emissions by 4% and Queensland’s emissions for the same sector by about 16%, according to Orica. The installation of the first reactor at Yarwun was achieved safely, on time and on budget earlier this year, with the second reactor to be operational by the end of September. This follows the successful implementation of similar tertiary emissions abatement technology at Orica’s Kooragang Island facility in NSW, which is forecast…

Poseidon Nickel (ASX: POS) has identified promising gold targets at all three WA projects as the company looks towards production. A large gold anomaly was defined at Lake Johnston, following the terminated Mineral Resources (ASX: MIN) deal. The 1.2km by 0.9km gold in soil anomaly remains open and untested by drilling. Gold rock chip samples at Windarra returned up to 0.37g/t gold and 12.9g/t gold. Windarra contains strike extensions to the main mineralised gold trend which controls nearby gold camps. A potential 6.5km gold corridor was also identified at Black Swan. A metal detecting program has recovered several small gold nuggets along the corridor with numerous historic shallow workings. Only 5% of all previous drill samples at Black Swan were…

Fortescue (ASX: FMG) and COSCO SHIPPING signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding to work together on decarbonising shipping. The companies will explore the construction and deployment of COSCO SHIPPING vessels, or co-owned vessels, powered by green ammonia to reduce the Australia-China iron ore green shipping corridor’s emissions. Fortescue Metals chief executive Dino Otranto comments on the agreement. “The shipping industry plays a vital role in global trade however also contributes significantly to the world’s carbon emissions,” he said. “This collaboration marks a significant step in decarbonising the shipping industry and establishing a green fuel supply chain. “It also paves the way for collaboration on a variety of decarbonisation solutions which we believe will be integral to delivering on our ambitious…

UGL has completed commissioning and readiness for energisation for the construction of Neoen Australia’s Collie Battery Stage 1 in WA. The battery will connect to Western Power’s Shotts Terminal substation, enhancing the region’s power distribution network. Work at Collie battery Stage 1 commenced in April 2023 and is expected to finish later this year. The project encompasses the installation of 219MW/877MWh battery of Tesla Energy Megapacks, coupled with the establishment of a new 33/330kV High Voltage Substation. UGL project manager Diego Cortes Ferrer comments on the progress. “This milestone was a great effort from the UGL Construction and Commissioning teams, especially considering the heavy rains during some construction weeks,” he said. “The team worked collaboratively to achieve a successful outcome.”…

Mineral Resources (MinRes) (ASX: MIN) reports a productive Q4, with record lithium shipments and high lithium prices across all operations. WA lithium operations Wodgina and Mt Marion both reported record shipments up 41% and 46% respectively from Q4 of 2023. Lithium operations benefitted from high prices, with a weighted average realised price across all operations of about $1479/dmt (US$970/dmt) in Q4, an increase of 15% from Q3. Total quarterly iron ore shipments increased by 6% from Q3 to 18.1Mwmt within guidance, with MinRes delivering its first iron ore on ship ahead of schedule from Onslow iron in WA. MinRes also announced in Q4 that iron ore exports from the Yilgarn hub in WA will cease by the end of 2024.…