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Decmil secures $123m road upgrade contract for WA lithium project Macmahon holdings (ASX: MAH) subsidiary, Decmil, has been awarded a $123m road upgrade contract for Covalent Lithium’s Mount Holland lithium project in WA. The scope of works includes upgrading the logistics link between the Great Eastern Highway and Covalent’s Mount Holland site, with approximately 113km of road upgrades to take place. Decmil commenced work on the project in August 2023 following receipt of a limited notice of award (LNoA) in July 2023. Approximately $59m of works had already been completed during FY24. Work under the full contract award is expected to directly...

UAJV: transforming outdated PPE into sustainable solutions UAJV is tackling the challenge of managing outdated and non-compliant personal protective equipment (PPE) as part of its ongoing commitment to sustainability. Rather than contributing to landfill waste, the team has taken the opportunity to make a positive impact by partnering with Loop Upcycling to upcycle functional garments that no longer meet clients’ minimum specifications. With Loop's expertise, UAJV upcycled 199 shirts and coveralls into 90 padded laptop sleeves, complete with long and short handles and 100 durable duffle bags. The process was managed to ensure zero waste, with even...

The future of apron feeder technology RCR Mining Technologies has launched the world-first sealed pan feeder (SPF), combining apron feeder technology with the sealing properties of a belt feeder into one machine. The SPF shares over 90% of its components with the trusted RCR apron feeder in its low-maintenance and high-durability design. Key improvements include: Enhanced performance: The SPF reduces the need for maintenance outages, offering approximately 50% fewer outages and 39% less tool time over a 15-year period compared to standard, non-RCR apron feeders. Maximised production: The reduction in maintenance frequency and outage duration translates directly to more...

Muckanippie kicks off titanium drilling Petratherm (PTR) (ASX: PTR) has commenced drilling at its Muckanippie titanium project in South Australia. The 4,000m drill program will assess at a regional scale the Rosewood and Claypan Prospect titanium rich heavy mineral sands (HMS) mineralisation. Drilling is also planned over high titanium-vanadium bearing source rock horizons for primary vanadiferous titanomagnetite (VTM) style mineralisation. PTR Chief executive Peter Redi says the company is extremely pleased to have drilling now underway. “The critical minerals, titanium and vanadium, have been identified over large areas and in a variety of target forms which is testament to the fertility of the Muckanippie area,” he said. “This...

Rio Tinto increases iron ore, bauxite and titanium dioxide production in Q3 Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO) has released its Q3 CY24 results, with the company increasing Pilbara iron ore, bauxite and titanium dioxide slag production. Bauxite production saw an 8% increase from the prior corresponding period to 15.1mt, titanium dioxide slag production increased 7% to 263kt and Pilbara iron ore production increased 1% to 84.1mt. On the other hand, aluminium production decreased 2% to 809kt and mined copper production dropped 1% to 168kt. Operations Construction of Rio’s Western Range mine is now 80% complete, with the company finalising commissioning of the autonomous haul trucks and completing...

Federal Government backs rare earths The Federal Government is putting Dubbo, NSW at the heart of its plans to grow Australia’s critical minerals and rare earths industry by providing further support for miner Australian Strategic Materials Limited (ASM) (ASX: ASM). The Dubbo project will produce critical minerals such as zirconium, niobium and hafnium as well as several rare earth elements. Rare earths are critical to the energy and defence industries...

Alcoa: rubber hits the road on tyre recycling Old tyres are being given a new life thanks to an innovative recycling project involving Alcoa Australia and Tyrecycle’s newly established East Rockingham, WA, facility. The “off-the-road” (OTR) haul truck tyres that have reached the end of their operational life are being sent from Alcoa’s bauxite mines in the Peel and South West regions to the local Tyrecycle facility where they are processed to create a crumbed rubber product. The resulting product can be used for a...

Gold booming for Rumble Resources Rumble Resources (ASX: RTR) has announced a 76% increase to its mineral resources estimate (MRE) for the Western Queen gold project. The project now boasts an upgraded MRE of 4.42mt at 2.02g/t of gold for 286,600oz with indicated resources of 2.39mt at 2.11g/t of gold for 163,800oz, a 142% increase compared to the August 2021 MRE. Diamond drilling completed in June 2024 prompted a comprehensive lithostructural review and reinterpretation of the Western Queen gold project, which led to the remodelling of the MRE. Rumble managing director and chief executive Peter Harold says the company...

Queensland new-to-industry intake gets women into mining Two trailblazing women have swapped the salon and vet hospital for new careers at the New Acland mine in Queensland. Jodi Keane-Venz, a former hairdresser and teacher and Ella Graham, a former vet nurse, started work at New Acland Coal in August. The duo is part of a new-to-industry intake, which required no prior knowledge of the mining industry. Mrs Keane-Venz, an Oakey based hairdresser for the past 30 years says she jumped at the opportunity to swap the scissors of the salon for the roads of the New Acland mine. “My husband and sons have worked in...

Westgold reaps record post-merger results Westgold Resources (ASX: WGX) produced a record 77,369oz of gold from its expanded portfolio, achieving an average sale price of $3,723/oz for Q1 FY25. The Q1 FY25 result is based on three months of production from the Murchison (52,889oz) operations, but only two months of production from the Southern Goldfields operations (24,480oz). This follows the company’s move to increase FY25 production guidance to 400,000-420,000oz, a substantial increase from its 220,000-235,000oz FY24 guidance. Westgold managing director and chief executive Wayne Bramwell says Q1 FY25...

UNSW Innovation Symposium to explore VFB supply chain On October 15 and 16, Emeritus Professor Maria Skyllas-Kazacos and her team at UNSW Sydney will host the 40th Anniversary Flow Battery Innovation Symposium. Since the first 1kW vanadium flow battery (VFB) was built at UNSW, the technology has significantly evolved with systems now being installed internationally at capacities into gigawatt hour scale. This scale up of flow battery deployments signals a major shift in the global energy landscape as countries turn to long-duration energy storage to support renewable power sources. The symposium will bring together...