Author: Samantha Bawden

Court rules for safer conditions for Queensland mines The Queensland Industrial Court has ruled in favour of the state's resources regulator to limit operations at Queensland open cut mines during severe lightning storms. Resources Safety and Health Queensland (RSHQ) has issued a safety alert following the outcome, which confirmed it was not safe for mine workers to operate heavy mobile equipment (HME) such as bulldozers and dump trucks, during nearby lightning storms. The court cases arose after RSHQ coal mines chief inspector Jacques le Roux first issued a directive...

Federal Government supercharges battery innovation The Federal Government is investing $25m in Melbourne-based company Relectrify to fast-track the roll-out of its world-first battery energy storage system, the AC1. This breakthrough battery technology has the potential to transform energy storage – supporting the transition to a more flexible, low emissions grid as, unlike conventional batteries, the AC1 can generate grid-ready AC power directly from battery cells, without the need for an inverter. This dramatically decreases costs, reduces battery degradation and helps deliver more reliable, affordable energy as part of the Federal Government's efforts to...

Curtin scientists awarded for their innovation Two Curtin University researchers have been recognised among Australia’s top emerging science leaders, named joint WA winners of the 2025 Young Tall Poppy Science Awards. Geologist Dr Denis Fougerouse and geospatial scientist Dr Yongze Song, are the two winners of the Australian Institute of Policy and Science (AIPS)’ prestigious award, celebrated for their respective research driving Australia’s clean energy and smart infrastructure futures. Dr Denis Fougerouse is a geologist pioneering research in nanogeoscience...

Alcoa’s record-breaking rehabilitation effort Alcoa (ASX: AAI) planted a record number of nursery-raised native seedlings across sites as part of its annual planting season.  The 745,000 seedlings were hand planted across 619ha at its Huntly and Willowdale bauxite mines in WA and 2.1t of zamia palm seeds were spread over the same areas.  The increase from about 500,000 plants and 1.6tof zamia seeds last year is part of a concerted effort to increase total areas under rehabilitation and ensure optimum density of planting.  Planting is one of the final steps of...

Australian mine rescue teams go head-to-head Yesterday, Queensland Mines Rescue Service (QMRS) and Coal Services NSW Mines Rescue hosted the 61st Australian Underground Mines Rescue Competition at BMA’s Broadmeadow coal mine in Queensland. The event brought together eight of the nation’s best mines rescue teams from Queensland and NSW, showcasing their skills, teamwork and commitment to safety in a series of challenging underground emergency response scenarios. Teams were tested on firefighting, search and rescue, first aid, hazard awareness and team management across realistic and high-pressure...

Hundreds of jobs on the line as AGL retires coal-fired power AGL Energy (ASX: AGL), one of Australia’s largest energy providers, will cut hundreds of jobs as it retires ageing coal-fired power stations and replaces them with renewable assets. The Mining and Energy Union (MEU) representatives were informed that 300 jobs, including management and operational roles, would be cut across AGL’s business in meetings held at AGL’s Bayswater and Loy Yang A power stations in NSW this week. MEU general secretary Grahame Kelly says the news is devastating for workers. “Coal-fired power station workers around the country are already facing stress and uncertainty with moving timelines for...

Onslow Iron backs strong Q1 results for MinRes Mineral Resources (ASX: MIN) is on track to reach its full-year guidance driven by the ramp-up of Onslow Iron to its nameplate capacity and a lithium market rebound in Q1 FY26. Total quarterly iron ore production across the company’s Onslow Iron and Pilbara Hub operations reached 10.9mt with record shipments of 11.4mt, 8.6mt of which were shipped from Onslow Iron — a 50% quarter-on-quarter increase. Costs at MinRes’ Wodinga and Mt Marion lithium projects were lower than expected with the weighted average realised price achieved rising 31% quarter-on-quarter to about $1280/t . Total...

Transgrid securing NSW energy future Major construction works have commenced on the HumeLink in NSW — one of Australia’s biggest electricity transmission infrastructure projects.  The delivery of this project will reinforce NSW’s southern electricity grid and enable the integration of more renewable generation into the National Electricity Market (NEM), forming the backbone of the power transmission network from South Australia through to northern Queensland. The link will connect at Wagga Wagga with EnergyConnect and form the energy infrastructure needed to help bring cheaper, cleaner renewable energy online from solar and wind generators in south-west NSW.  It...

MinRes boosts Indigenous participation with new joint venture Mineral Resources (ASX: MIN) has commenced a new joint venture, Yardi Mining Services, to place Traditional Owners of the Onslow Iron project at the centre of sustainable economic participation.  The partnership with wholly owned subsidiary CSI Mining Services (CSI) and Robe River Services (RRS), which represents the Robe River Kuruma (RRK) community in WA, creates pathways for RRK members to gain skills across a diverse range of mining services — from operating heavy machinery such as excavators...

Metso Life Cycle Services model for minerals processing Metso is introducing a groundbreaking Life Cycle Services (LCS) framework to reflect the shift toward outcome-based partnerships and performance-driven business models, while addressing customers’ different levels of support requirements.    Metso has offered LCS for more than 15 years and the new LCS model includes solutions for parts, equipment and process island scopes as well as three partnership levels focusing on stability, optimisation or growth.  Metso integrated service solutions senior vice president Miika Tirkkonen says customers aim to improve efficiency and profitability, although their needs vary greatly.   “Metso is...

Rineheart nearly doubles Arafura stake  Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting has committed $125m to Arafura Rare Earths (ASX: ARU) as part of a recent $425m capital raise, bumping Rinehart's holding to about 15.7%.  The capital raise brings Arafura closer to the full funding of $2.3b required for the development of its Nolans rare earths project, located 135km north of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory. Nolans is set to be Australia’s first integrated rare earths mine and processing facility.  The Nolans raise follows Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's visit to the US last week where he signed a $13b Australia-US investment framework for rare earths and critical minerals with...