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SACOME welcomes BHP’s move on Olympic Dam copper smelter The South Australian Chamber of Mines & Energy (SACOME) has welcomed BHP’s proposed staged expansion of its Olympic Dam smelter and refinery, which has the potential to double the State’s copper production by the mid-2030s to 650,000t. One of only two copper smelters in Australia, the other being Mount Isa in Queensland, this expansion will see the current Olympic Dam copper smelter upgraded to a two-stage smelter, with its refining capacity also expanded. Last week, a notification in the South Australian Government Gazette announced that the State...

Komatsu renews Endeavour Foundation partnership Komatsu is continuing to provide jobs for people with a disability through the renewal of its partnership with Endeavour Foundation. The partnership between the two companies will provide employment opportunities within Komatsu’s Oil Wear Analysis (KOWA) area. Supported employees in the program clean the 100% recycled plastic containers so they can be reused up to six times. Komatsu executive general manager Russell Hodson says the company is excited to continue its partnership with Endeavour for a further three years. “We’ve been able to not only offer meaningful employment to a number of people, but...

BHP takes next step in Olympic Dam expansion The South Australian Government has announced the start of an application and assessment process for BHP’s (ASX: BHP) planned smelter and refinery expansion at Olympic Dam. This marks a step forward for BHP’s copper growth plans in South Australia and follows the company’s FY24 results which outlined a phased strategy to increase production in South Australia to 500kt of refined copper cathode by the early 2030s. BHP asset president copper South Australia Anna Wiley commented on the news. “Today’s announcement is an important step...

Glencore partners up on copper with $40m loan Glencore will provide a $40m senior loan facility to Cyprium Metals (ASX: CYM) to execute the copper cathode and concentrate offtake agreements. This new loan completes the refinancing of Cyprium’s near-term maturities. With refinancing completed, the company will now focus on bringing copper products to market. Cyprium executive chair Matt Fifield says the company’s commercial strategic partnership with Glencore continues to gain momentum. “First, our offtake agreements for copper products are in final form,” he said. “We expect to execute them alongside the loan facility in the...

BHP kicking goals with the AFLW BHP (ASX: BHP) has partnered with the AFLW for the 2024 season to help inspire the next generation of women shine in the workplace and on the football ground. With the 2024 NAB AFLW season kicking off tonight (August 30), BHP is aiming to improve opportunity and equality in business and sport. BHP Australia president Geraldine Slattery says the company is excited to continue supporting the AFLW for another season. “At the heart of this partnership is our shared commitment to embracing diversity. Together with the...

Newmont giving back to its people and communities Newmont (ASX: NEM) has made a number of strides in its commitment to engagement and inclusion, from supporting improved regional health access to empowering female staff. The company has partnered with the Charles Sturt University Foundation to establish a rural health simulation centre near its Cadie operation in Orange, NSW. Newmont Mines Cadia Valley operations provided a generous donation of $1.4m for the centre which will be used to train regional doctors and encourage them to remain in country areas. The centre will ensure the University’s medical, allied health and nursing students...

MinRes reports $5.27b in revenue in FY24 Mineral Resources (ASX: MIN) has released its FY24 results with the period highlighted by record underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of $550m. While revenue increased 10% from FY23 to $5.27b, underlying net profit after tax decreased 79% to $158m. Mineral Resources credits the increase in revenue to the growth in mining services revenue from the Onslow iron project in WA. Looking at MinRes’ production, production volumes totalled 269mwmt, up 9% from 248mwmt in FY23, and first ore was delivered from Onslow ahead of schedule. Additionally, MinRes’ mining services division was awarded six new contracts and three contracts...

Improving recycling rates at WA mine sites A new initiative in WA will improve the State’s container recycling rates and see millions of beverage containers on mine sites collected and diverted from landfill every year. CITIC Pacific Mining will partner with Sodexo Australia to provide 360 Containers for Change collection points at Eramurra mine site and village, near Karratha, WA. This Western Australia Return Recycle Renew Limited-supported (WARRRL) partnership is expected to result in 2.7 million containers collected each year, diverting more than 5% of unrecycled containers from landfill. Sodexo Australia managing director Keith Weston says this is a significant step for the...

WesTrac showcases two new compact track loaders at roadshow WesTrac customers are getting the chance to test drive two new Cat compact track loaders at the CTL Roadshow in WA, NSW and the Australian Capital Territory. First launched at the National Diesel Dirt and Turf Conference in Sydney earlier in the year, the Cat 255 and 265 compact track loaders are the first next generation compact track loaders to hit the market. These two new models will be replacing the Cat 259D3, 279D3 and 289D3 machines and build on...

Mining underway at Boorara Mining has begun at Horizon Minerals’ (ASX: HRZ) Boorara gold project in WA, following approval in July to mine four open pits. Hampton Transport Services will undertake the work on competitive terms, with no mining contractor payments until first gold pour has been sold and funds have been received. Hampton has mobilised to and established the site with mining underway and the first drill and blast pattern fired last week to build up broken stocks in combination with free dig areas in Pit Area 2, the larger pit in the Regal zone of the...

High grade niobium, TREO and zircon identified at Yangibana High grade niobium, rare earths and hafnium-rich zircon have been identified at the Bald Hill deposit within Hastings Technology Metals’ (ASX: HAS) Yangibana project in WA. A recent geological mapping and rock chip sampling program at Bald Hill uncovered multiple carbonatite-related ironstone intrusions ranging from 100m to 650m in length. Of the 104 rock chip samples reported on, 22% exceeded 1% niobium pentoxide, with a peak concentration of 23.69% niobium pentoxide measured. More than half of the samples ranged between 0.25% to 8.91% total rare earth...