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New geoscience centre to shape Australia's future workforce The University of Western Australia (UWA), alongside Federal Resources Minister Madeleine King, officially launched the ARC Industrial Transformation Training Centre (ITTC) in Critical Resources for the Future, aiming to deliver the skills and disruptive thinking required to advance the critical minerals sector. The innovative new research centre will bring together some of Australia’s leading universities, resource industry stakeholders and government institutions to drive research into critical minerals and sustainable mining. Minister King...

Finalists revealed for 2025 Women in Resources Awards Thirteen inspirational individuals and three trailblazing companies have been selected as finalists for the 2025 Women in Resources Awards (WIRA). The annual awards ceremony — now in its 16th year — showcases the champions breaking the mould and leading the charge for change in the State’s resources sector. Organised by the Chamber of Minerals and Energy of Western Australia (CME), WIRA is a celebration of some of the best and brightest women in industry. WA CME chief executive Rebecca Tomkinson said the six award categories recognised both professional...

Westgold shoots for the stars with Starlight Westgold (ASX: WGX) has increased the Starlight mineral resource estimate by 91% following a concerted two-year drilling program at the Fortnum project in WA. Starlight’s mineral resource estimate now stands at 12.9mt at 2.7g/t of gold for 1.13moz. The updated mineral resource comprises the underground mineral resource of an underground mineral resource of 8.7mt at 3.0g/t for 840koz and a newly estimated open pit mineral resource of 4.2mt at 2.2g/t au for 290koz. Westgold managing director and chief executive Wayne Bramwell says the...

BHP boosts community sports BHP (ASX: BHP) has been busy giving back, with two major community partnerships reaching milestones. Netball is taking centre court as the BHP Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA) is now the Foundation Partner of the Queensland Firebirds Futures Academy (QFFA). Through the two-year partnership with Netball Queensland and the Queensland Firebirds, BMA will help strengthen the QFFA’s regional operations and ensure the continued growth of netball pathways in Queensland. In the spirit of making a difference, the QFFA is an investment in the next generation of talent, allowing regional players to stay local and develop in...

300 jobs impacted as Bald Hill mothballed Mineral Resources (ASX: MIN) will transition its Bald Hill lithium mine into care and maintenance this week with about 300 staff impacted. The company says all Bald Hill employees will be redeployed, followed by a redundancy process if opportunities cannot be found. Mining and mobile maintenance operations cease today, with the spodumene concentrate plant and accommodation village scheduled to temporarily cease operations by early December this year. MinRes managing director Chris Ellison says Bald Hill is a significant...

South Australia’s resource royalties race past records Surging prices for South Australia’s in-demand mineral resources have delivered bumper royalty receipts for FY24. Royalty receipts for FY24 totalled a record $422.5m — a $43.3m increase over FY23's revenue of $379.2m, representing a year-to-year increase of around 11%. South Australia benefited from strong growth in prices for copper, gold and uranium. Copper is critical for electrification, and global demand is forecast to outstrip supply in coming years. This represents a significant opportunity for South Australia, which is home to 69% of the nation’s copper resources. In the 12 months to September 2024, refined copper and copper products represented...

New Acland Coal extends funding of PCYC Oakey Connect program A substantial funding extension from New Hope Group’s (ASX: NHC) New Acland Coal will allow the PCYC Oakey Connect program to continue to support the region’s young people for another two years. New Acland Coal, which has been supporting social and community projects throughout the Darling Downs for more than 20 years, will invest another $360,000 to fully fund the vital program. Two years ago, New Acland...

NSW’s new planning framework to fast-track clean energy future The NSW Government has developed a new Renewable Energy Planning Framework to promote faster planning decisions, provide investment certainty for industry and host communities and boost economic benefits for regional communities. The framework includes a suite of guidelines and tools that will play an important role in supporting the NSW Government’s legislated Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap and emissions reduction targets. According to the NSW Government, while there is broad support for renewable energy across the state, there have increasingly been calls from local communities for greater certainty and transparency on how renewable...

Australia’s first commercial graphite micronising plant International Graphite (ASX: IG6) has secured funding to construct the first purpose-built commercial graphite micronising plant in Australia. The company has entered into a funding agreement with the WA Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation (JTSI) on behalf of the WA Government for $4.5m. International Graphite managing director and chief executive Andrew Worland says the company is excited to be pushing ahead with the construction of the new plant at Collie....

Lynas: Australia's first rare earths processing plant opens Federal Resources Minister Madeleine King has officially opened the Lynas Rare Earths (ASX: LYC) processing plant in Kalgoorlie, WA. The new Lynas plant will create around 115 direct jobs in the Goldfields region by processing ores from the nearby Mt Weld mine to create a mixed rare earth carbonate. This...