Author: Samantha Bawden

Australia’s largest battery park approved Pacific Green, a global battery energy storage company, has secured a planning permit for the development of a grid-scale battery energy park in Portland, Victoria. Once constructed, it will become Australia’s largest battery energy park — providing up to 1GW of firming capacity — and will significantly boost energy storage capacity, securing the state’s energy stability and transition to net-zero emissions. Strategically positioned within an industrial zone, the energy park is near the Portland aluminium smelter and the Portland water treatment plant, enabling the asset to provide energy security to strategic...

Brightstar gets greenlight for Lord Byron Brightstar Resources (ASX: BTR) has received approval from the WA Government to begin production at its Lord Byron open pit gold mine at its Laverton Hub in WA.   The project is on track for development and production in H2 CY26 after receiving approval from the WA Department of Mine, Petroleum and Energy (DPME) for Lord Byron's mining proposal and closure plan.   Brightstar’s managing director Alex Rovira says Lord Byron mine is pivotal to accelerating gold production growth in the company’s Laverton Hub.  “Importantly, the Lord Byron open pit is located less thank 10km from...

Weir launches heavy-duty submersible slurry pump Weir has redesigned its market-leading heavy-duty submersible slurry pump to deliver reliable performance in the harshest slurry environments.   The WARMAN SHW-XTR heavy-duty submersible slurry pump uses a larger shaft than previous designs and heavy-duty bearings to keep everything stable, running smoothly and avoid motor failure from shaft deflection.   Weir dewatering solutions global product manager Ian Ross says the legacy WARMAN SHW pump has been a mainstay in demanding applications in mining operations all over the world.  “ hydraulics are trusted throughout the industry, which...

FMG goes to New York Fortescue’s (ASX: FMG) Green Pioneer, has sailed to New York for the world’s largest annual climate event — Climate Week NYC.  The 75m dual fuel ammonia-powered vessel is docked on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, marking the latest stop on its 2025 global tour to accelerate the adoption of green ammonia as a marine fuel.  The Green Pioneer recently completed operations at the Port of Boston, where the Fortescue team worked closely with the US Coast Guard to secure approval for ammonia bunkering. This was successfully executed at the...

Komatsu Australia’s AHS milestone Komatsu Australia has reached a significant milestone with its 500th automated haulage system (AHS) truck now operating in WA.  Autonomous haulage has become a key part of modern mining, offering both safety and productivity benefits by removing operators from dangerous conditions, greatly lowering the risk of accidents and injuries, with their ability to run continuously drives significant gains in site productivity.  Komatsu mining automation general manager Garry Povah says the shift to AHS shows how quickly the industry has adapted to change.   “Having 500 AHS truck in operation across Australia is a proud achievement...

Aluminum demand expected to rise 80% by 2050  Alcoa (ASX: AAI) has highlighted how the energy transition is driving global aluminum demand in a new white paper published with Eurasia Group.  The paper, Competitiveness and Green Transition in the Aluminum Industry: Finding Synergies or Facing Trade-Offs, examines the intersection of economic competitiveness and the global green energy transition and highlights rising aluminum demand across technologies, such as solar panels and wind turbines, and the transmission projects that support them.   The paper also highlights...

LETA accelerates carbon capture technology Low Emission Technology Australia (LETA) has joined a major international effort to advance carbon capture technology for energy-intensive industries. In partnership with the US Department of Energy and industry leaders, LETA is investing in GTI Energy’s advanced ROTA-CAP technology, an innovation designed to make carbon capture systems smaller, cheaper and more easily scalable for industrial settings. Alongside LETA, the project team includes US Steel, Amrize (formerly Holcim US) and Enbridge. The ROTA-CAP carbon capture technology will be tested at pilot scale at US Steel’s Edgar Thomson facility in Braddock, Pennsylvania. The project aims to assess the technology’s readiness for commercial scale-up and enable wider deployment across the steel,...

Federal Government sets ‘ambitious’ 2035 emissions target The Federal Government has set what it calls an “ambitious but achievable” emissions reduction target of 62–70% below 2005 levels by 2035. The target was released alongside the Federal Government’s Net Zero Plan and supporting documents, including the National Climate Risk Assessment (NCRA). The NCRA showed that 2°C warming would have a disastrous impact on Australia’s economy, health and survival. 2°C will double severe and extreme heatwave events and increase time spent in drought by up to 70%, according to the assessment. The assessment found heat-related mortality would increase by 190% in Sydney,...

Second culling: Anglo American axes coal jobs  Anglo American is cutting more than 200 jobs across its coal operations in central Queensland and its Brisbane head office, according to the Issac Regional Council. The company is Australia's second largest steelmaker, operating five mines across Queensland, including the state’s largest — the Grosvenor underground coal mine. Anglo American Australia people and corporate relations vice president Ben Mansour says the company has undertaken a comprehensive review of its organisational structure to ensure the long-term sustainability of the business. “As part of this review, a small...

Anglo American makes $7.5b copper agreement Anglo American and Codelco have entered into a definitive agreement to implement a joint mine plan for their adjacent copper operations, Los Bronces and Andina, in Chile. The joint mine plan has been developed to unlock an additional 2.7mt of copper production over a 21-year period by increasing annual production by 120,000tpa —predicted to generate a pre-tax net present value uplift of at least $7.5b . According to 2024 data, combined production of the projects ranks among the top ten copper mines globally...

Metso acquires Q&R Industrial Hoses Metso has signed an agreement to acquire the privately owned Australian company which specialises in the manufacture of pinch valve sleeves, rubber hoses and other rubber products. This acquisition marks another step in Metso’s commitment to offer comprehensive, end-to-end slurry handling solutions and services for its customers. Following Metso’s valve and process control offering acquisition of Jindex in 2024, the addition of Q&R Industrial Hoses will further enhance Metso’s portfolio. Metso valves and hoses director Christian Trulsson says the company has a long relationship with Q&R, which has served Metso as a critical rubber parts...