Author: Samantha Bawden

Rio boosts Pilbara shipments, loads first ore at Simandou Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO) has recorded strong results for Q3 CY25, backed by rebounding iron ore prices and advancing operations at the Simandou iron ore project in Guinea. The company shipped 84.3mt of iron ore from its WA operations during Q3 CY25, narrowly missing the estimated guidance of 85.5mt. Rio’s $6.2b Simandou project reached a major milestone with the loading of first ore on the newly commissioned mine-to-rail-to-port system. First shipments are expected in November, with a ramp-up to the site's full capacity of 60mtpa expected over the next 30 months. Rio Tinto chief executive Simon...

Hancock Prospecting invests in Araxá rare earths project St George Mining (ASX: SGQ) has secured $72.5m in funding for its rare earths-niobium Araxá project in Brazil.  The placement involved the issue of 725 million new ordinary shares and attracted major interest from prominent investors, including Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting. Hancock acquired 225 million shares — representing about 31% of the placement value.  St George initially targeted a smaller placement, but upsized due to overwhelming interest from investors in Europe, the US and Australia.  The Araxá project’s mineral resource estimate (MRE) includes six of the top 10 minerals on the...

Finniss lithium reserves get 42% boost Core Lithium (ASX: CXO) has revised the ore reserve at its Finniss lithium mine in the Northern Territory to 15.2mt at 1.26% lithium oxide. Operations at the project were previously suspended in 2024 due to the global lithium price slump caused by oversupply of the mineral. The project is now advancing towards a low-cost underground operation with a 20 year mine life, supported by the findings of a restart study. There have been firm commitments for a $50m (before costs) placement and an additional $4.3m raised through a share purchase plan (SPP) to accelerate the Finniss development....

Australia taps antimony miners ahead of Albanese-Trump meeting Resolution Minerals (ASX: RML) and Nova Minerals (ASX: NVA) are amongst the miners requested to brief Australian Ambassador to the US Dr Kevin Rudd ahead of Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese meeting with US President Donald Trump. The meeting between Prime Minister Albanese and President Trump is scheduled to take place in Washington DC on October 20 with critical minerals and strategic cooperation set to be key points of discussion. The Ambassador has requested Resolution to provide an update on its Horse Heaven gold-antimony-tungsten project...

Exploration gets a boost in WA Grants worth $6.6m have been allocated to 39 recipients of the 32nd round of the WA Government exploration incentive scheme (EIS) co-funded drilling program.  By sharing the financial risk of early-stage exploration, the EIS enables companies to pursue high-potential projects that may otherwise be considered too risky or cost-prohibitive.    The long running scheme is considered highly successful with Lord Resources reporting success under the previous round at its Ilgarari project, where two co-funded drillholes intersected primary copper mineralisation.   Copper exploration has also yielded promising results for Redstone Resources, which recovered a 10m zone of continuous copper mineralisation from a co-funded...

Queensland to keep running on coal into 2050 The Queensland Government will build a new gas-fired power plant and continue operating coal-fired power plants into 2050, outlined in the state's energy roadmap released today. The roadmap outlines that coal will continue to underpin affordable and reliable energy supply to the state for as long as needed with gas emerging as a critical technology for system reliability. According to the roadmap, in 2025, there is about 8GW of coal-fired generation capacity owned and operated by...

Ford delays Liontown deal Liontown Resources (ASX: LTR) will not be delivering lithium from its Kathleen Valley operations in WA to the Ford Motor Company until at least 2029, if at all. Under the original terms of the offtake agreement, Liontown was to deliver 512,500dmt to Ford from January 1, 2027, onwards. The total has now been halved to 256,250dmt with initial delivery pushed back by at least two years. The reduction in lithium volume and delay in delivery are being attributed to slow electric vehicle (EV) uptake across the...

Metso accelerates flotation innovation Metso has opened a new separation laboratory and pilot area at its research centre in Pori, Finland, bringing expanded research and development services for its customers.  The latest development at the research centre is the new coarse particle flotation (CPF) cell, which introduces a novel deep-froth pneumatic design that eliminates the need for fluidised beds, set for launch in 2026 following industrial-scale testing.  Metso Plus flotation technologies, such as the Concorde Cell and FloatForce+, were validated at Pori before their launch and both are now referenced globally across a range of commodities....

Bellevue’s record-breaking quarter Bellevue Gold (ASX: BGL) has delivered strong Q1 FY26 results, surpassing gold production and development expectations across its gold project in WA.  The company achieved a record production volume of 296kt processed at 3.2 g/t gold, following 259kt of ore mined at 3.2 g/t gold, with grades expected to rise throughout FY26 as the mining sequence progressively moves to higher-grade stoping areas in the Deacon, Viago and Deacon North mining areas.   Development rates for the quarter averaged 322m per jumbo operator per month, well ahead of the FY26 guidance of 270m per month.  Following the successful completion of planned plant upgrades during the...

Karlawinda delivers record gold production Capricorn Metals (ASX: CMM) has announced its Karlawinda gold project, in the Pilbara region of WA, is on track for it FY26 guidance in a preliminary update on Q1 FY26 production.  The project delivered another strong quarter of operations, producing 32, 318oz of gold, on track to achieve 115,000-125,000oz at an all in sustaining cost (AISC) of $1,530-$1,630 per oz, in line with expectations outline in the FY26 mine plan.  Gold production for the quarter reflected the ongoing mining productivity improvement that drove the consistent quarterly increases in output throughout FY25.   The mining fleet achieved...

Cost reassessment underway for $12b Snowy 2.0 Snowy Hydro has ordered the comprehensive review of its Snowy 2.0 pumped hydro project in NSW currently undergoing development. Due to current material cost pressures, the company has engaged independent construction cost experts to verify the principal contractor Future Generation Joint Venture’s (FGJV) line-by-line reassessment. Snowy Hydro chief executive Dennis Barnes says the renewable energy project has made good progress since its reset in 2023 and the need to reassess is disappointing as the critical importance of the project to electricity users across the network has not changed. “Despite disruption, including work stoppages due to safety...