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SuperGrid cadetships open to high schoolers in remote and regional Queensland The Queensland Government is inviting high school students to apply for a cadetship on Queensland’s SuperGrid. Following a successful pilot across South West Queensland this year, Ergon Energy Network and Energex, in partnership with TAFE Queensland, are expanding the program across regional and remote Queensland in 2025. Through the Ergon Energy Network and Energex 2025 Pre-apprenticeship Program, students will learn from experienced TAFE Queensland trainers and Ergon Energy Network and Energex experts during weekly online workshops and on-campus practical days, complemented by real-world experience at up to 55 depots. Queensland Energy and Clean Economy Jobs Minister Mick de Brenni says the program will offer opportunities for young people to…

Liontown Resources (ASX: LTR) has secured a 10-month offtake agreement with Beijing Sinomine International Trade Co. (BSIT) to purchase ramp-up volumes. The 100,000dmt supply of spodumene concentrate will come from Liontown’s Kathleen Valley lithium project in WA. This agreement is in addition to existing long-term offtake contracts with Tesla, LG Energy Solution and Ford which will be progressively brought into effect over the next 12 months as Liontown ramps-up Kathleen Valley to full-production. Liontown managing director and chief executive Tony Ottaviano says these offtakes complement each other. “Securing a near-term offtake with an established lithium refiner to sell initial volumes over the ramp-up period, de-risks sales during our ramp-up of the plant towards nameplate capacity,” he said. “This complements our…

The Federal Government’s Powering the Regions Fund is injecting $91m into six new projects to help cut heavy industry emissions, after its $330m investment into nine projects in April this year. The projects will lower energy use, swap out fossil fuels with cleaner alternatives and cut more than 1mtpa climate pollution, equivalent to removing over 240,000 cars off the roads. These include projects in the aluminium, mining, fuel refining and chemical production industries, which will create new jobs and support existing jobs in regional communities across Australia. Federal Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen says the grants will support technologies that have not been deployed at scale in Australia, including cutting methane from the ventilation air shafts of underground…

The proposed $798m Vecco critical minerals project in Queensland is one step closer to development after receiving coordinated project status. Queensland’s coordinator general for Vecco has given ‘coordinated project’ declaration to the project, paving the way for multiple environmental approvals from the Queensland and Federal governments. The Vecco project would see an open-cut mine built around 70km north of Julia Creek along with a critical minerals processing plant which would supply minerals for use in the manufacture of rechargeable batteries for grid scale energy. Queensland coordinator general Gerard Coggan commented on the declaration. “The declaration fosters a whole-of-government approach to developing critical mineral projects and to support positive outcomes for North West Queensland communities,” he said. “There is a reason…

Dynamic Metals (ASX: DYM) and Mineral Resources (ASX: MIN) have formed a lithium-focused joint venture on the Widgiemooltha project in WA. In March this year, Dynamic entered a binding term sheet for a farm-in and joint venture agreement with HoldCo, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mineral Resources. Dynamic holds 60% of the joint venture while HoldCo has the remaining 40% with the ability to increase its stake to 65% by sole funding a further $15m on exploration over four years. HoldCo can earn up to an 80% interest by sole funding expenditure through to a decision to mine. Upon HoldCo earning an 80% interest, Dynamic must either choose to remain in the joint venture and contribute to joint venture expenses or…

Queensland Resources Council (QRC) member companies are remaining confident about the continued strong demand for the State’s commodities. Despite this, the companies have identified government policy and regulatory uncertainty as the biggest concern for the resources sector. QRC chief executive Janette Hewson says the report shows there is good reason to be optimistic about the future of Queensland’s resources industry. “As the State Election approaches, our message to all political parties is that balanced, stable and consistent policy settings are critical to securing the investment that will ensure the resources sector can continue to underpin Queensland’s economic prosperity in the decades ahead,” she said. “The global energy transition is presenting new opportunities for all Queensland’s resources, from coal, gas, metals…

BHP (ASX: BHP) will temporarily suspend WA nickel operations citing the global oversupply of nickel. Despite significant capital investments since FY20, BHP states they have not been able to overcome the sharp decline in nickel prices driven by increased international competition and reduced demand. BHP intends to review the temporary suspension by February 2027. The transition period will commence from July 2024, with operations to be suspended in October and handover activities for temporary suspension completed by December this year. During the transition, BHP will suspend mining and processing operations at the Kwinana nickel refinery, Kalgoorlie nickel smelter and Mt Keith and Leinster operations and the development of the West Musgrave project. The company will implement a care and maintenance…

A new scheduled oil sampling laboratory established by WesTrac at its Tomago, NSW, headquarters has gone live, giving customers access to industry-leading testing and analysis services. Recently introducing three automated instruments known as AutoLabs, WesTrac has integrated and automated six separate fluid analysis tests, doubling its testing capacity to 1200 fluid samples per day. As well as integrating six testing steps into one instrument, WesTrac has introduced AutoA — an automated interpretation software that releases ‘no action required’ samples without the requirement of manual technician intervention. Each of the AutoLab instruments integrate tools for visual inspection, particle quantification infrared spectrometry, particle counting, viscometer and dilution. These instruments allow technicians to perform advanced tests, including Fast Patch2Go, Ferrograph and Filtergram Analysis.…

Mineral Resources (ASX: MIN) and Buurabalayji Thalanyji Aboriginal Corporation (BTAC) have signed a land access agreement to deliver benefits to the Onslow iron project in WA. The Indigenous Land Use Agreement (ILUA) comes after more than two year of collaboration between the two parties which culminated in a common law holders meeting in Onslow. The ILUA strengthens the partnership between MinRes and BTAC who will work together for the next 30-plus years to create opportunities for the Thalanyji people. MinRes managing director Chris Ellison commented on the agreement. “I am grateful to the Thalanyji people for entrusting MinRes with the responsibility of implementing this agreement. I am excited by the future successes we will share at Onslow iron,” he said.…

From 24 to 26 September 2024, Liebherr will present advancements from its mining, earthmoving, mobile and crawler cranes, components, and aerospace and transportation product segments at MINExpo in Las Vegas, USA. In line with Liebherr’s motto for the event, ‘Your mining partner’, Liebherr will showcase its reliability as a partner for best-in-class equipment, decarbonisation solutions, cutting-edge technology, and service excellence for the mining industry. Liebherr will be sharing its latest news, products, services, and innovations for the mining sector at the world’s largest mining exhibition, MINExpo INTERNATIONAL®, this September. Visitors will experience over 2,777m2 (over 29,000 sq. ft) of Liebherr exhibits at booth #7832. Daily masterclasses and live demonstrations will take place at the Liebherr booth each day, showcasing the company’s latest product…