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Eight Pilbara initiatives have shared in a $152,000 funding total as part of the 2025 Fortescue (ASX: FMG) Innovation Grants Program.From eco-events to community gardens, the Innovation Grants program funds up to $25,000 per initiative that are focused on sustainability, green innovation and community-led environmental change.The program is designed to introduce a new wave of creative ideas and sustainable initiatives, helping to tackle environmental challenges, strengthen local connections and create lasting benefits across the Pilbara.Fortescue director approvals, communities and services Rosli Wheelock comments on how these grants empower local organisations.“Community-led innovation is at the heart of these grants and we are proud to support ideas that not only drive sustainability but strengthen the social fabric of our Pilbara communities,” he said.To celebrate, Fortescue hosted events in Port Hedland and Karratha, bringing together local organisations, partners and community members to hear firsthand from the recent grant recipients.

Vaughan Harris has just become the first Tjiwarl community member to complete an apprenticeship with Liontown (ASX: LTR) at its Kathleen Valley lithium operations.Mr Harris grew up in Leonora and completed his final years of high school at the Cunderdin College of Agriculture. He started his electrical trade at 23 which led him to complete his apprenticeship.Mr Harris reflects on the historic moment in the Liontown partnership with the Tjiwarl community.“Being the first Tjiwarl apprentice to complete an apprenticeship here at Liontown feels exciting,” he said.“I hope it shows other Tjiwarl members, and even non-members, that it’s absolutely possible to complete an apprenticeship with Liontown’s support and the support of the community.”Mr Harris will relocate to Karratha with his wife, Cate, and daughter Aurora.“I hope to keep expanding my electrical knowledge, taking up extra courses and training,” he said.“When I get to Karratha, I’m hoping to start out in the rail side of things, which interests me most, but whatever I end up doing will likely be new to me, and that’s exciting in itself.”Liontown continues to partner closely with Tjiwarl to provide meaningful employment and training opportunities.

Macmahon Holdings (ASX: MAH) has executed a new three-year contract at the Byerwen coking coal mine in Queensland.Macmahon has been a part of the Bowen Basin mine since its establishment in 2017 undertaking open cut mining services, including load and haul and crusher feed, and provides employment to 545 people on site.This contract acts as a continuation of Macmahon’s services from December 2025 with no additional capital expenditure required beyond sustaining capital budgets.The contract also highlights an option to extend a further two years, resulting in an increased total value of $1.32b.The Byerwen mine is owned by Byerwen Coal, a joint venture between QCoal Group and Japanese steel manufacturer JFE Steel.Macmahon managing director and chief executive Michael Finnegan comments on the contract.“The QCoal relationship and Byerwen project are incredibly important to Macmahon and have helped underpin the company’s continued growth over the last nine years,” he said.Following the notice of award announcement for the project to the ASX in April, Macmahon’s shares increased from $.23 to $.61 as of December 17. This is the company’s highest level since early-May 2012.Macmahon’s FY26 guidance remains unchanged.

Northern Star (ASX: NST) has selected Sandvik to supply Toro TH663i underground trucks and Toro LH621i and Toro LH517i intelligent loaders for its underground operations in WA.The i-series platforms offer advanced connectivity, real-time analytics, automation readiness and superior maintainability, enabling high payloads, lower operating cost per ton and safer work sites, according to Sandvik.Sandvik load and haul business line manager Andrew Dawson comments on the partnership.“We are proud to partner with Northern Star on this significant fleet investment,” he said.“This order underlines our commitment to delivering equipment and services that help our customers meet their productivity, safety and sustainability targets in underground operations.”The deal was confirmed in Q4 CY25 with deliveries expected to commence in Q1 CY26 and to continue throughout the year.

Westgold Resources (ASX: WGX) will divest the Mt Henry-Selene gold project in WA, closely following the announced spin-out of the company’s non-core Murchison projects.Alicanto (ASX: AQI) will acquire 100% of the 150moz project including all associated mining tenements, licences, heritage agreements, contracts and technical information.The Mt Henry project was acquired by Westgold in 2024 after being placed on care and maintenance in 2019 by Karora Resources. It hosts a combined mineral resource of 24.5mt at 1.2g/t gold for 915,000oz of contained gold and an ore reserve of 11.7mt at 1.3g/t gold for 478,300oz.Westgold will receive $15m cash and $19.6m via the issue of 19.9% of the ordinary shares in Alicanto post transaction close.Westgold says the transaction is aligned with its long-term strategic plans of focusing on larger, core operating assets rather than non-core assets such as Mt Henry.“This transaction delivers Westgold shareholders an attractive mix of cash, exposure to project upside via a large strategic shareholding and deferred consideration payable on specific project milestones,” Westgold managing director and chief executive Wayne Bramwell said.“Westgold is pleased to partner with Alicanto, whose board and management team are experienced and committed explorers and have a demonstrable record of rapidly advancing gold projects.“Westgold continues to progress discussions in relation to the potential sale of its Peak Hill and Chalice gold assets following strong inbound interest.”Alicanto interim executive chair Ray Shorrocks comments on the transaction.“The Mt Henry acquisition is an exceptional company-making opportunity for Alicanto,” he said.“It provides immediate scale, a high-quality, near-surface Resource and a clear platform for rapid growth and development.“The .9moz resource and pit shells were calculated when the gold price was one-quarter of its current level and the historic drilling data shows most holes ended in mineralisation.”The divestment follows Westgold’s recently announced demerger, with the company spinning out its non-core Reedy’s and Comet gold exploration assets to new stand-alone Valient Gold.The Reedy’s and Comet assets have a combined mineral resource of 15.6mt at 2.4g/t gold for 1.2moz.Both projects were previously in production before being placed on care and maintenance in FY23.“By establishing Valiant, we create an independent, well-funded gold company that can bring forward value from smaller assets such as the Comet and South Emu-Triton underground mines and unlock the exploration potential across the Reedy and Comet packages,” Mr Bramwell said.“Valiant will have a fast-track to cashflow with an ore purchase agreement (OPA) to be entered into with Westgold.“This collaborative, capital efficient model is proven, as demonstrated by Westgold’s investment and OPA with New Murchison Gold (ASX: NMG).“This model saw NMG transition from explorer to producer, with gold production from NMG’s Crown Prince deposit now delivering high grade oxide ore to Westgold’s Meekatharra processing hub.“Valiant can replicate this success. With several small underground mines in care and maintenance, a range of open pit opportunities and exploration upside, the Valiant team has multiple near-term restart and growth options to deliver near term cashflow.”Westgold will retain upside to exploration and production success through a substantial equity holding in Valiant.

Yilgarn Iron completes first shipment Yilgarn Iron has completed its first shipment with more than 176,000t of iron ore loaded through the Port of Esperance in WA.The five-day operation saw iron ore loaded onto the bulk carrier MV Densa Shark, which departed for China on Saturday.The shipment comes less than 12 months after Mineral Resources' (ASX: MIN) final export from the Koolyanobbing operations in the Yilgarn Hub, which were acquired by Yilgarn Iron Investments in June.Southern Ports chief executive officer Keith Wilks says having Yilgarn Iron come on board as the Port of Esperance's second iron ore exporter less than a year on from the operations ceasing in the Yilgarn is a great result."Two customers using our iron ore infrastructure means more volume and more shipments from our Port of Esperance, which ultimately means more hours for our workforce on the ground,” he said."Trade losses are never easy to weather, but by proactively pursuing opportunities to diversify our customer base and commodity throughput we continue to be a reliable partner creating enduring value across our regions."At full production, Yilgarn Iron is targeting annual exports of more than 4mt, supporting the creation of up to 15 new operational roles at the Port of Esperance in early 2026 and increasing the port's operations workforce by more than a third.Yilgarn Iron Investments managing director Fergus Campbell comments on the shipment."Exporting our first 176,000t within less than four months of assuming control of the Yilgarn Iron Ore project is a testament to our hardworking and dedicated team, as well as to our suppliers and service providers, including Southern Ports and Aurizon,” he said.Yilgarn Iron becomes the second customer to use the port's iron ore circuit, joining Gold Valley, which has exported almost 2.5mt of iron ore through the Port of Esperance since its first shipment in October 2024.

The Rhodes Ridge Joint Venture has approved a $294m (US$191m) feasibility study to progress the first stage of the Rhodes Ridge project.

BHP backs Chinese $1.69b SolGold takeover bid Major SolGold shareholders — including BHP (ASX: BHP) and Newmont (ASX: NEM) — have vowed to support a takeover from China-based Jiangxi Copper (JCC) for the right price. If JCC, SolGold’s largest shareholder, can formalise an offer of 56c (£0.28) per London stock exchange-listed share, the other major shareholders have agreed to hand over the keys to SolGold’s crown jewel — the Cascabel copper-gold project in Ecuador. Hosting the high-grade Alpala deposit, the Cascabel project is positioned to emerge as a significant global copper and gold mine. Both BHP and Newmont, who each hold a 10.3% stake, have provided a letter of intent to JCC indicating their support of the revises possible offer. Max Capital and Nichola Mather, who hold 5.1% and 2.8% respectively, have also issued letters of intent. JCC has been a significant shareholder in SolGold since December 2022 and owns 12.2% of the issued share capital of SolGold which, combined with the letters of intent, represents 40.7% of the issued share capital of SolGold. SolGold’s board of directors have indicated to JCC that if an offer that meets the terms is made, they would be minded to recommend the offer to shareholders. 

Fortescue bets $152m on Peruvian copper takeover Fortescue (ASX: FMG) has entered a binding agreement to acquire the remaining 64% of Canada- based Alta Copper for an implied value of $151m (C$139m).  Through the acquisition, Fortescue will gain full control of the Cañariaco copper project in Peru — considered a high potential long-life copper asset — which contains an estimated 1.1bt of measured and indicated resource at .42% copper equivalent as well as an additional .9bt of inferred resource at .29%. Fortescue already owns about 36% of Alta and, under the agreement, will pay Alta Copper shareholders about $1.53 (C$1.40) per share to acquire the remaining stake — a 50% premium on the company’s current 30-day volume weighted average price. Peru is a major copper-producing country, with companies including Anglo American and Glencore already extracting copper in the region. Fortescue has been operating in Latin America since 2018 and is positioned to leverage its well established technical, permitting and community engagement expertise to advance the project.  Fortescue’s recent diversification efforts have focused almost solely on clean energy products, including green hydrogen. The company is currently developing a 168,000tpa green hydrogen plant in Brazil at the industrial and port complex of Pecém, Ceará. The Cañariaco copper project aligns with Fortescue’s critical minerals diversification strategy and will form the cornerstone of the company’s copper portfolio.  Alta Copper’s board of directors, alongside officers holding 12.5% of shares, have unanimously recommended that Alta Copper shareholders approve the transaction. A vote is schedule for January 26 2026 and Fortescue will need about 66% of shareholder support for the acquisition to go ahead. The transaction is targeted to close in the Q1 CY2026. 

Rio Tinto signs agreement with Yinhawangka Aboriginal Corporation Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO) and Yinhawangka Aboriginal Corporation have signed an Interim Modernised Agreement, establishing a pathway to a fuller agreement that will govern how the miner operates on Yinhawangka Country in the long term. The agreement introduces a co-management approach allowing Yinhawangka to be involved earlier in mine planning.  It will establishment a joint committee where both parties work together to make decisions regarding the protection and management of cultural heritage and Country as well as new projects and major operational changes.  The interim agreement builds on the 2013 Participation Agreement between the Yinhawangka People and Rio Tinto. Yinhawangka Aboriginal Corporation board chairwoman Robyn Hayden (née Tommy) comments on the agreement.  "Mining on our Country always comes with hard decisions, and we have always been clear that Yinhawangka People must be at the centre of those decisions,” she said.  “This agreement with Rio Tinto reflects both parties’ commitment to working in partnership, strengthening respectful communication, and ensuring Yinhawangka voices are heard.  “It creates opportunities for both our current and future generations, supporting a stronger and more sustainable future for both our People and our Country.” Rio Tinto iron ore chief executive Matthew Holcz says the agreement will allow the company to keep learning from Yinhawangka knowledge and perspectives as it works towards a fully modernised agreement, based on respect, transparency and shared responsibility. “We thank the Yinhawangka People for their continued leadership and guidance, as we work together to strengthen our partnership,” he said. Yinhawangka Aboriginal Corporation and Rio Tinto will continue working together to finalise the agreement in 2026.