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Fortescue (ASX: FMG) has released its rigorous climate transition plan that lays out how it plans to stop burning fossil fuels across its Australian iron ore operations by the end of the decade. The action plan was released by Fortescue executive chairman Andrew Forrest at a roundtable event hosted by United Nations under-secretary general Melissa Fleming in New York. The detailed timeline shows how Fortescue will eliminate Scope 1 and 2 emissions without voluntary carbon offsets and without carbon capture and storage – which is now known as real zero. In a foreword written by University of Oxford director of sustainable finance group Dr Benjamin Caldecott, he said climate transition planning and the disclosure of climate transition plans was “increasingly…

Mineral Resources’ (ASX: MIN) Onslow iron project in WA is one step closer to more efficient power with construction completed on a dedicated gas pipeline. Following internal collaboration between MinRes’ energy and engineering and construction divisions, the Ken’s Bore gas pipeline has been developed. This pipeline extends 16km underground from the Goldfields gas pipeline to the gas fire power station at the Ken’s Bore mine site. Construction was undertaken from March to August 2024 and the pipeline will become fully operational by the end of October, helping reduce Onslow Iron’s dependency on diesel fuel. MinRes’ energy and construction teams, together with specialised subcontractors, harnessed in-house expertise to help reduce risks associated with scope creep, control costs and maintain flexibility over…

Whitehaven Coal (ASX: WHC) has welcomed the Federal Government’s approval of the Narrabri Stage 3 project, subject to conditions, per the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (Cth). This comes after the Federal Government approved the extension of three NSW coal mines – Whitehaven Coal’s Narrabri underground mine Stage 3 extension project, Yancoal’s Ravensworth underground mine and MACH Energy’s Mount Pleasant optimisation project – guaranteeing more than 1800 jobs in the Hunter Valley and Narrabri regions. The approval is cold comfort to Whitehaven Coal as the miner calls on governments to address the weak links in the project approvals process. “Significant delays to this approval arising from unnecessarily protracted State and Federal Government assessment processes have in this case been…

Liebherr is partnering with Italian company Bruno Generators Group (BGG) on the feasibility of green ammonia for low and zero emission power generation in mining. If successful, this will be another option for mining companies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Liebherr has already investigated ammonia as a power source for dual-fuel internal combustion engines and the company’s Mining Equipment SAS executive vice president, R&D, engineering and production Oliver Weiss says he is excited to be working with BGG now. “Their innovative mindset and tracked development and delivery of low emission solutions are a perfect match for us as we work towards our zero emissions targets,” he said. ‘When our combustion engines business unit saw promising results from ammonia as a…

Fortescue Zero and Downer are working together to jointly design and develop a battery electric locomotive (BEL). Together, the two companies will design and develop the world’s most energy efficient BEL, delivering an innovative zero emissions solution for heavy haul rail. Furthermore, it marks an important step towards the commercialisation of zero emissions power system technologies in heavy industry applications. The partnership draws on Downer’s rollingstock and engineering experience, and Fortescue Zero’s experience as a heavy haul rail operator and familiarity in green technologies and zero emissions power systems. Downer chief executive Peter Tompkins says the company is proud to become a leader in helping eliminate rail emissions. “With 150 years of rail experience, including the ability to design, manufacture…

Pilbara Minerals (ASX: PLS) has welcomed a new haulage truck to its Pilgangoora operation, in celebration of its extended services agreement with haulage partner, Qube. The new truck, which will operate 24 hours a day, replaces a Qube vehicle that has been hauling for Pilbara Minerals since first production in 2018, with over two million kilometres on the clock. The Volvo FH16 truck is part of a fleet dedicated to Pilbara Minerals and has been specifically designed to transport spodumene concentrate from the Pilgangoora operation to Port Hedland for storage and shipping. The truck is adorned with artwork by Wiradjuri and Sydney-based artist Darren Charlwood, commissioned as part of Qube’s 2023 Reconciliation Action Plan. Pilbara Minerals-Qube partnership Pilbara Mineral executive…

Four promising gold in soil anomalies have been identified at Poseidon Nickel’s (ASX: POS) Black Swan project in WA. In August, Poseidon collected 362 soil samples from a wide spaced reconnaissance soil sampling program with the samples then tested using UltraFine+ analysis. The most coherent anomaly, which is located at the Wilson’s prospect, assayed up to 54 parts per billion (ppb) gold and measures 1.4km by 1km in size. Furthermore, the anomaly covers an area adjacent to the previously reported gold bearing rock chips which graded up to 1.25g/t gold and it remains open to the south. The presence of a gold in soil anomaly in this area defines a compelling gold exploration target at Black Swan that Poseidon will…

Mineral Resources (ASX: MIN) has invested more than $119,000 into WA’s Mid West communities this year. This includes a grant to support the Yamatji Traditional Owners broaden their skills through a tailored TAFE course. Current course participants are working towards a Certificate II Yamatji Heritage Advisors – Workplace Readiness at Geraldton’s Central Regional TAFE (CRTAFE). They are on track to complete their training by the end of October 2024. An additional grant was provided to Fremantle Biennale to support a Yamatji-inspired light and sound display during this year’s NAIDOC Week events in July. The MinRes Indigenous Employment and Energy teams also recently participated in the Clontarf Foundation’s Geraldton Employment Forum, discussing career opportunities with Year 11 and 12 Yamatji students…

Whitehaven Coal (ASX: WHC), Peabody Energy and Ulan Coal Mines, a subsidiary of Glencore, have announced intentions to appeal the Fair Work Commission decision that forces companies into multi-employer bargaining. In 2022, amendments made to the Fair Work Act ruled that competing businesses that mined the same commodity in the same state had a ‘common interest’ that required them to be forced into multi-employer bargaining. These companies, which are members of the Minerals Council of Australia (MCA), have filed a joint application to the Federal Court to overturn this ruling. This appeal aims to restore the right to negotiate enterprise agreements specific to operations rather than being forced into an industry-wide framework. A decision from the Fair Work Commission marked…

Queensland’s critical minerals industry has been boosted with the creation of a new partnership between the state government and the University of Queensland’s Sustainable Minerals Institute. The partnership includes an $8m research program part of the Critical Minerals and Circular Economy Research Alliance and it will drive the identification, discovery and development of critical minerals. Research programs will also focus on creating a critical minerals circular economy, from mining resources to processing and then manufacturing the renewable technologies Queensland needs to decarbonise. Queensland Resources and Critical Minerals Minister Scott Stewart says this alliance is about setting up the future of Queensland’s resources industry. “We want to create a critical minerals industry where we not only mine and process the minerals…

As part of Whitehaven Coal’s longstanding partnership with the Clontarf Academy, the mining company’s corporate office in Sydney, NSW, welcomed a group of senior boys from the Narrabri High School Clontarf Academy. The visit was an opportunity for the group of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander boys to learn more about Whitehaven’s operation. The group also gave a presentation to the Whitehaven team and senior executives about some of  their recent successes at the Academy. Narrabri Academy director Clayton Pursche, who accompanied the group to Sydney, says the visit was an eye-opener for the boys. “It’s great that the boys get an opportunity to see how a large company like Whitehaven operates and that Paul Flynn (CEO & Managing Director),…