Author: Samantha Bawden

Rudd highlights Australia’s critical minerals significance Australia Ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd has expressed confidence in Australia’s ability to become a critical minerals and rare earths superpower.   This week in Washington, at a forum hosted by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Dr Rudd highlighted the strengths of the Australian mining industry that position it as a key partner in countering China’s dominance over global supply chains.   Dr Rudd says Australia has the biggest mining industry and the largest mining companies in the world.   “The President recognises the size of these companies and...

Epiroc Women in Mining Scholarship applications open The 2026 Epiroc Women in Mining Scholarship is open for applications to female STEM or technology-related fields students in WA.  The scholarship will provide financial support, paid industry experience and professional development opportunities to help one outstanding student take the next step towards a rewarding career in the resource sector.   Designed to support, celebrate and inspire the next generation of women in mining, the scholarship is delivered in partnership between AusIMM and Epiroc.  AusIMM and Epiroc are committed to building a more diverse and inclusive...

Whitehaven continues coal expansion  Whitehaven Coal (ASX: WHC) has delivered strong FY25 results, underpinned by the company’s growth and diversification driven by acquisitions across Queensland.  The company has reported an underlying net profit (NPAT) of $319m for FY25 and underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of $1.4b, matching the EBITDA reported in FY24.   Revenue for FY25 was 53% higher than FY24 at $5.8b, of which metallurgical coal sales accounted for 64%, underpinned by an average coal price of $215/t.  Whitehaven chief executive and managing director Paul Flynn says FY25 marked the...

RTS highlights industry-wide concerns This week in Perth, WA, key industry representatives addressed some major challenges the Australian mining industry is facing at the Resources Technology Showcase. Concerns surrounding the feasibility of global green steel production amid challenging industry conditions, oversupply, low ore grades, approval delays and low ore prices, were prominent. BHP (ASX: BHP) WA iron ore asset president Tim Day says getting the costs of smelting iron ore using lower emissions fuels to compete with traditional blast furnaces is at least 10 years away. “It is very hard to compete against an established industry and making the industry commercial in Australia...

Australia’s electricity market reliability improves The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) released a report outlining the 10-year outlook on investments needed to maintain national electricity market reliability. Reflecting the positive investment momentum to meet growing demand and replace retiring energy generation, the 2025 Electricity Statement of Opportunities report shows improved reliability outlooks, reliant on all expected investments being delivered on time and in full. The report assesses reliability against two development outlooks: A government schemes and actionable developments reliability assessment, which reflects more than...

King pushes for domestic processing Federal Resources Minister Madeleine King has urged Australia to take a leading role in critical minerals and rare earths processing in the face of global uncertainty. In her speech to attendees at the Resources Technology Showcase, held in Perth this week, Minister King reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to growing the country’s critical minerals and rare earths sectors. “In the face of extraordinarily difficult international market conditions, some might say that taking up the challenge to compete in the mining, processing and refining of critical minerals and rare earths is...

EPA greenlights $4b Boodarie iron proposal The WA Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) has approved the construction of Port Hedland Iron’s proposed hot briquetted iron plant. The Port Hedland Iron project — a collaboration between POSCO, Marubeni and China Steel Corporation — aims to decarbonise the steel manufacturing supply chain with production of low carbon hot briquetted iron. The proposal involves the development of a downstream processing facility in the Boodarie strategic industrial area (SIA) to produce iron pellets and about 2mt of hot briquette iron for export. EPA chair Darren Walsh says the location of the proposal, as well as its use...

Star’s exceptional shallow gold results Star Minerals (ASX: SMS) has received positive results from its first round of assay results for drilling at its Tumblegum South gold project in WA. The drilling program included 38 holes for a total of 2032m, 22 of which have been returned, interpreted and announced. Star Minerals managing director Ashley Jones says the company is pleased to see the quality of these first results from the project. “With the standout intercept so far being 5m at , Tumblegum South is proving to be an even stronger project, with a quality...

Bravus confident in Carmichael’s future Bravus Mining and Resources is investing $50m in expansion works to increase production at its Carmichael coal mine by a third over the next four years to 16mtpa. The investment will support expansion of the Carmichael workers village, a new water dam, the construction of a rail network maintenance hub, additional mine site infrastructure and engineering works. Bravus Mining and Resources chief operating officer Mick Crowe says the decision to export more coal from Carmichael will create hundreds...

Rare earths identified at Ironback Hill Magnetite Mines (ASX: MGT) has discovered near-surface clay hosted rare earth element (REE) mineralisation at its Ironback Hill project in South Australia. The identification of REE followed re-testing of limited clay rich samples from archived reverse circulation drill samples originally drilled by the company at the Ironback Hill deposit from 2011-2012. Magnetite Mines managing director Tim Dobson says the company has commenced a low-cost assessment of its vast South Australian tenement base for gold and critical minerals potential. “While the development of the Razorback iron ore project remains our...

Woodside backed hydrogen plant launched Yesterday, the WA Government opened the $16m Hydrilyte Technology pilot plant — offering the prospect of a safe and scalable way to transport hydrogen. The plant, operated by WA company Carbon 280 in Kwinana, uses its patented Hyridlyte Technology that uses a metal hydride suspended in a light mineral oil with a process that locks the hydrogen in a solid state within the liquid. The Hydrilyte and hydrogen solution can be stored indefinitely without loss and requires the process to be reversed to...