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Liontown (ASX: LTR) lifted H1 revenue to $207.5m as the underground ramp-up at Kathleen Valley drove a 106% surge in sales volumes.Kathleen Valley’s 1mtpa run rate was delivered on schedule, with Liontown targeting 1.5mtpa by the end of March.Liontown managing director and chief executive Tony Ottaviano says Kathleen Valley is now a 100% underground operation.“We have delivered a 1mtpa underground run-rate on schedule, sold 190,000t of concentrate across ten shipments and more than doubled revenue period to period,” he said.“The underground ramp-up is on track and we expect the second half to be materially stronger as volumes, recoveries and pricing all continue to improve.”Kathleen Valley was still ramping up in H1 with AISC of $1,179/dmt weighing on margins, although Liontown expects unit costs and cash generation to improve in H2.The miner reported an average realised spodumene price of US$888/dmt, with an encouraging price signal for Liontown coming out of its November 2025 Metalshub spot auction, which cleared at US$1,254/dmt for shipment in January 2026.Liontown says spodumene prices were strengthening into CY26 and expects cash generation to improve in H2.“The balance sheet has been reset. Pro forma gearing (excluding leases) has dropped from 48% to 22% and we had $390m in cash at 31 December 2025,” Mr Ottaviano said.“This provides us with a strong financial foundation to complete the ramp-up, progress the 4mtpa expansion study and continue to grow the company to its full potential.“We are one of a small number of producers globally that can bring additional lithium tonnes to market quickly through brownfield expansion of an operating asset. The expansion study is underway and we are advancing critical path procurement now."Liontown posted a statutory net loss of $184m, including $104.4m loss on the LGES convertible note primarily driven by the company’s share price increasing from $.70 to $1.575 over the period.Liontown said the note converted to equity in February, with an estimated $58m gain expected to be recognised on conversion.

Workers at Glencore’s refinery in Townsville have threatened to walk off the job this Friday if wage negotiations remain unresolved.Negotiations for a new enterprise agreement (EA) started March 25 last year before stalling amid uncertainty around the July 2025 closure of Mount Isa’s underground copper operations. Talks later resumed after the Federal and Queensland Government committed $600m to continue operations at the smelter and support its workers.This week, the Australian Workers Union (AWU) gave notice that members will be partaking in protected industrial action if the issues are not settled at a bargaining meeting scheduled for tomorrow.AWU northern district secretary Jim Wilson says Glencore is paying workers almost 15% less than neighbouring sites for the same work.“It’s simply unacceptable,” he said.“The Townsville community is sick of billionaires profiting from our town and leaving nothing but the crumbs for workers and their families.”The Queensland Electrical Trades Union (ETU) says across three EA meetings held since the bailout announcement, Glencore failed to make any meaningful movement.A Glencore spokesperson says the company has been engaging with copper refinery workers about the new EA for more than 12 months.“Glencore has tabled a competitive package which includes a salary increase over four years and we will continue to negotiate in good faith to get an agreement,” they said.“Despite securing a government funding package last year, the refinery is expected to continue losing money.“This political grandstanding from the unions is not helpful and undermines the constructive engagement to date with local EA bargaining representatives.”According to ETU, Glencore was offering wage increases of 6.9-10.4% across four years based on individual performance at the discretion of the company, saying this fell behind rising living costs and citing Australia’s consumer price index (CPI) of 3.8% per annum.Glencore publicly rejected these comments, reporting it tabled a 13% salary increase across four years.AWU Queensland secretary Stacey Schinnerl says the wage offer that Glencore has put on the table doesn’t meet the rising cost of living pressures faced by workers and their families.“We have a bargaining meeting on Thursday where we hope Glencore will finally come to the table to sort this out. The message to Glencore is clear, we won’t accept you short-changing our members.”

Westgold Resources (ASX: WGX) has approved the final investment decision to expand its Higginsville processing hub from 1.6mtpa to 2.6mtpa.This follows the completion of a definitive feasibility study (DFS) confirming the expansion which would increase Westgold’s southern goldfields gold production by about 60kozpa and reduce processing costs by 24% to $34/t.Many of the upgrades within the flowsheet are designed to support further expansion to 4mtpa.Westgold managing director and chief executive Wayne Bramwell comments on the expansion plan.“The Higginsville expansion plan (HXP) is the next step to drive down unit costs and increase group free cash flow from the Southern Goldfields,” he said.“By expanding the Higginsville mill capacity to a nominal 2.6mtpa we are creating a more productive, lower-cost processing hub to match the growing outputs from our Beta Hunt mine. This will see us deliver higher group gold production at a lower cost, in line with our three-year outlook.“The DFS highlights the strength of the business case. It is underpinned by increasing annual gold production and a step-change reduction in processing unit costs – all within a short payback period.“The timing of the HXP aligns strategically with the anticipated growth in mining rates from the Southern Goldfields, ensuring that expanded processing capacity is ready to accommodate increased ore delivery from Beta Hunt.”The final capital cost for the processing plant upgrade, as determined by the DFS, is $145m.

Dyno Nobel (ASX: DNL) has sold it Phosphate Hill site in north west Queensland to Mayfair Corporation for an initial purchase price of $1 and a deferred consideration of up to $100m.Dyno Nobel had previously said that if a sale was not completed by March 31, it would progress cease operations at Phosphate Hill by 30 September 2026.This announcement came after the company reported a $149.1m after-tax impairment on the asset last year.Located 140km south east of Mount Isa, Phosphate Hill’s acid plant is critical to operations at Glencore’s Mount Isa copper smelter and its closure would significantly affect smelter operations.Sulphur dioxide produced as a byproduct at Mount Isa is processed into sulphuric acid, which is then sent to Phosphate Hill for fertiliser production.Queensland Natural resources and Mines Minister Dale Last says recent geopolitical events have reinforced the importance of protecting Queensland’s sovereign fertiliser manufacturing capability.“These assets are too important to our agricultural sector, our supply chains and our economic security to take for granted,” he said.The symbiotic relationship between Phosphate Hill and the Mount Isa smelter supports more than 1000 jobs across the region, according to the Queensland Government.Dyno Nobel chief executive and managing director Mauro Neves says the sale is an important milestone that concludes the company’s separation from the fertiliser business.“I am very pleased that our talented teams in Phosphate Hill, Mount Isa and Townsville will continue to provide Australian farmers with a secure domestic source of fertilisers supply,” he said.Mayfair will assume ownership of the Phosphate Hill operations from April 1. The privately held Australian energy and resources company currently operates the Top Camp gold project in Cloncurry, about 150km north of the Phosphate Hill site.

Researchers from CSIRO and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) have successfully demonstrated a viable approach to reduce emissions from steelmaking by partially replacing coal with agricultural waste.The breakthrough offers a scalable pathway to commercial use and cutting emissions in one of the world’s fastest growing industrial economies, marking a major advance in efforts to decarbonise iron and steelmaking.Using locally sourced rice husk pellets, the CSIRO team validated sustained production of biomass-derived synthesis gas for iron ore reduction at a large-scale commercial steelworks in India.The trial was completed in partnership with commercial steel innovator RESCONS Solutions.India’s steel sector is the fastest-growing globally, projected to double its capacity to 300mt by 2030 and reach 500mt by 2047. This rapid expansion poses a major challenge for global emissions, with India’s steel production emitting an average of 2.55t of carbon dioxide per tonne of steel — well above the global average of 1.85-1.92t, according to World Steel.The sector is responsible for about 12% of India’s total emissions.To address these challenges, the Indian Ministry of Steel has outlined a roadmap to achieve net zero emissions by 2070, including strategies such as transitioning to electric arc furnaces, increasing scrap use, carbon capture and storage, green hydrogen and using biomass as a replacement for coal.Leveraging India’s abundant agricultural waste, the CSIRO-led team, with funding from the Federal Government’s India-Australia green steel research partnership, conducted a full-scale trial at Jindal Steel in Odisha. The team successfully blended 5% and 10% rice husk pellets into Jindal Steel gasifiers, achieving sustained syngas production with no loss of performance.CSIRO senior experimental scientist Warren Flentje says the trial is a world-first demonstration of how agricultural waste can be harnessed to decarbonise steelmaking at scale.“By blending rice husk pellets into commercial gasifiers, we’ve shown that biomass can replace coal without compromising performance,” he said.“This is a major step forward for sustainable steel production in India and globally.”If adopted across India, the process could reduce steel sector emissions by up to 50% totalling about 357mtpa of carbon dioxide.Building on this success, the team will expand their work to include smaller-scale regional steelmaking facilities and a wider range of biomass sources, including integrated systems that produce both food and steel feed.Jindal Steel executive director Damodar Mittal says the collaboration marks a pivotal moment in India’s journey towards decarbonisation.“By integrating green energy and biomass into our production processes, we are not only reducing our carbon footprint but also setting a new benchmark for the Indian steel industry,” he said.Air quality is a major health issue in India, with more than 30,000 deaths annually linked to poor air quality, with much of it caused by in-field burning of crop residues.This pioneering work by CSIRO and its Indian partners could fast-track the adoption of biomass for steelmaking, delivering major emissions reductions, improving air quality and supporting regional economic development in India.CSIRO green metals production research group leader Keith Vining says the trial has demonstrated that biomass can be a viable alternative to coal, especially in regional areas where surplus agri-waste and coal DRI facilities co-exist.“The next phase will focus on increasing biomass replacement rates and assessing impacts on the direct reduction process,” he said.