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Critical minerals Federation mine to open in NSW Aurelia Metals’ (ASX: AMI) Federation critical minerals and high-tech metals mine is opening in NSW, after receiving development consent in 2023 for operations until 2036. The mine will be located near the historical mining town of Cobar, NSW, and will support more than 140 skilled jobs while providing a $143m investment boost to the region. Production for the mine is estimated at 600,000tpa of high-grade zinc, gold, copper and lead. The mine is projected to produce 4.0mt of ore containing approximately 328,000t of zinc, 192,000t of lead, 12,000t...

Rio and UQ monitor mine waste with drones and sensors Local researchers, in partnership with a global miner, are developing new ways to monitor mine waste using drones and ground sensors. Rio Tinto and the University of Queensland are working together to advance mineral waste management solutions with the aim of improving safety and land rehabilitation across mine sites. University of Queensland’s (UQ) School of Civil Engineering lead investigator Dr Thierry Bore says safe management and rehabilitation of mine waste is...

Mineral Resources receives approval for $1.3 Onslow haul road sale Mineral Resources (ASX: MIN) has received approval from the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) for the sale of a 49% interest in the Onslow Iron haul road. The minority stake in the haul road will be sold to investment funds managed by Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners (MSIP) for $1.3b. Proceeds are payable in cash and comprise of an upfront consideration of $1.1b and a deferred consideration of $200m that is subject to achieving a 35mtpa run rate for any quarter before June 30, 2026. Upon...

Newmont’s $475m Telfer & Havieron sale to Greatland Gold Newmont Corporation (ASX: NEM) has agreed to sell the Telfer operation, its 70% interest in the Havieron gold-copper project about 45km away and other related interests in WA’s Paterson region to Greatland Gold plc for up to $475m. London Stock Exchange-listed Greatland Gold discovered Havieron in 2018 and currently has a 30% stake in it, with the company requesting Newmont fix Telfer’s leaky tailings dams as part of the deal. Newmont president and chief executive Tom Palmer this transaction announced represents the first asset sale in the divestiture program announced in February. “I am pleased that...

BHP contributes $52.9b to Australian economy in FY24 It’s been revealed that mining giant BHP (ASX: BHP) contributed $52.9b in economic value to Australia in FY24 through wages, dividends, payments to suppliers, investments, taxes and royalties. Of this $52.9b, $22b was spent with suppliers and $110m went to social investment across BHP’s Australian communities. BHP-operated projects spent around $700m with 240 Indigenous suppliers, a 75% increase year-on-year, and these projects are well on track to meet its commitment to procure $1.5b of goods and services from Indigenous and Traditional Owner...

Simple solutions can provide remarkable results Australian Mining Companies are genuinely concerned about workshop hygiene and personnel exposure to dusts. Ironically, some practices that have been introduced to help minimise dust are often counterproductive and result in the need for additional primary filter services. Today’s modern diesel engines can consume up to 20,000 litres of heavily contaminated air for each litre of diesel fuel burned, mining air intake systems can be overwhelmed by the volume of dust threatening high performing diesel engines. In the laboratory, a dual SSG Radial Seal™ housing will separate and filter out more than 200kg of test dust prior to reaching the maximum allowable intake restriction common to modern engines. It’s a reasonable assumption that the...

Federal government approves largest solar salt project The Federal Government has granted environmental approval for BCI Minerals’ (ASX: BCI) Optimised Mardie project (OMP) in the Pilbara region of WA. The OMP will be the largest solar salt project in Australia and the third largest globally, producing 5.35mtpa of high-quality industrial salt for export with an operating life expected to exceed 60 years. The approval allows operations to commence and enables further construction in the northern area of the project footprint. BCI Minerals will commence operations by filling...

Kincora secures new ground on Australia’s premier porphyry copper-gold province Kincora Copper (ASX: KCC) has been awarded the Nyngan West, Nyngan South and Nevertire South projects in central west NSW. These new projects double Kincora’s position on the Macquarie Arc’s Northern Junee-Narromine Belt (NJNB) and provide continuous landholding along more than 100km strike of the Arc. This consolidates the immediate extensions of the Nyngan and Nevertire projects held in partnership with AngloGold Ashanti Australia. Kincora president and chief executive Sam Spring says...

New TAFE training centre to fuel clean energy workforce An Electric Automotive Vehicle Training Centre has been added to North Metropolitan TAFE’s Joondalup campus to deliver skills training across clean energy vehicles. WA Premier Roger Cook and Training and Workforce Development Minister Simone McGurk officially opened the new centre at the Joondalup Learning Precinct and met with students undertaking training to maintain electric and hybrid vehicles. This centre will provide a hub for people to train in electric vehicle (EV) technologies and help develop the next generation of automotive workers to service vehicles...

Bellevue Gold begins Tribune underground decline development, successful dewatering & ventilation upgrade Bellevue Gold Limited (ASX: BGL) reports that the underground decline development has started at the Tribune portal, established in August this year, with the aim of providing a second independent mine access route. The Tribune decline, which will be the sixth independent mining area, is being developed by an additional fifth jumbo and is expected to access ore from the Tribune lode...

Flight of capital risky for Australian mining: Northern Star’s Stuart Tonkin Northern Star Resources (ASX: NST) managing director Stuart Tonkin spoke on the company's record FY24 at the WA Mining Club August luncheon. The gold producer saw record cash earnings in FY24 of $1.8b plus revenue of $4.92b, crediting these results to the strong operational performance across its Kalgoorlie and Yandal production centres in WA, plus its Pogo production centre in Alaska. Looking forward, Mr Tonkin says one of the biggest threats...