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MACH is set to acquire all remaining shares of Rex Minerals (Rex) (ASX: RXM) in a new scheme implementation deed. The Rex board has unanimously recommended the transaction. The offer follows a competitive global partnering process which identified a $854m funding and development pathway for mining operations at Rex’s Hillside copper-gold project in South Australia. Rex Minerals chief executive Richard Laufmann says this option provides certainty for stakeholders in Hillside, including the local community, the South Australian Government and Rex employees. “The Transaction provides certainty of value and a significant premium representing a 98% uplift relative to Rex’s 90-day volume-weighted average price, as well as the opportunity for Rex shareholders to realise their investment at a 10-year historical share price…

Kairos Minerals (ASX: KAI) has awarded GR Engineering Services a contract to complete a scoping study on its Mt York gold project in WA’s Pilbara. The study will assess an ore process of 4mtpa with modelling variations at 3mtpa and 5mtpa. Mt York has total gold resources of 49.24mt @ 1.02g/t gold for 1.61moz, with attention to grow the resources above 2moz. An internal valuation by Kairos, under the guidance of GR Engineering Services (GRES), indicated that the best commercial outcomes for the project were delivered using process rates higher than 1mtpa. Testwork of fresh metallurgical samples indicate that the gold in non-refractory, easily leached and would likely yield to a simple carbon-in-leach process route. GRES will manage the scoping…

Alkane Resources (Alkane) (ASX: ALK) Tomingley gold operations in New South Wales has closed FY24 with 57,217oz of production to meet its updated guidance. Production in the June quarter of FY24 accounted for 17,319oz of gold. Preliminary all in sustaining costs (AISC) are expected to fall within updated guidance ($2,150/oz to $2,350/oz) for FY24 The Group’s unaudited cash, bullion and listed investments position at the close of FY24 totalled $54.5m, comprising $45.5m cash, $8.7m of bullion on hand and $0.3m of listed investments. Alkane managing director Nic Earner says the Roswell underground ramp-up is the primary contributor to this strong production. “Tomingley is steadily increasing production from the Roswell underground. Tomingley is now performing well, and the paste plant and…

Mineral Resources (ASX: MIN) has become the first resources company in WA to deploy a team of in-house mental health counsellors to its mines across the State. This investment ensures that all MinRes employees — including its 7500 fly in, fly out (FIFO) staff — have the opportunity to talk about mental health and receive support when needed. The Mind Matters team features seven highly qualified mental health clinicians, each designated to work at one of MinRes’ sites with a roving counsellor supporting client sites. Counsellors work a 4:3 on-site roster and a 4:3 Perth roster to provide support to both remote and in-house MinRes staff. All of the mental health professionals are available for individual consultations and welfare checks…

BHP (ASX: BHP) is going green at its Escondida Norte project in Chile with the implementation of a mining truck electrification system. An environmental impact statement has been submitted to the Environmental Impact Assessment System to advance the “implementation of the mining truck electrification system in Escondida Norte project”. This seeks to assist the movement of this equipment inside the mine by means of a trolley system. Work includes the construction of a new electrical substation and transmission lines both inside and around the Escondida Norte pit. The substation and transmission lines will electrically assist the movement of the trucks inside the mine in the areas where they go up loaded with ore and use more fuel. Instead of using…

SCEE Electrical (ASX: SXE) has been awarded a $50m contract to link Synergy’s (ASX: IS3) Collie battery to the WA power grid. Upon completion in late 2025, the battery will be one of the biggest in the world with a capacity of 500MW/2000MWh. The new scope of works will deliver a 330KV switchyard, substation and support ancillary buildings and equipment to connect the Collie battery to Western Power’s network. With State-owned coal-fired power stations due to be retired by 2030, the WA Government has committed $2.3b for Synergy to deliver new battery storage to support renewable energy integration and grid stability. WA Acting Energy Minister Dr Toni Buti says the project will deliver more jobs for WA as well as…

Newcrest Operations, a subsidiary of Newmont Corporation, has maintained its 8.6% shareholding in Antipa Minerals (ASX: AZY). Newmont has exercised its right to maintain its shareholding in Antipa via a top-up placement delivering $540k in additional new equity funds, increasing the total funding to $7.25m. This participation will see Antipa deliver an additional 54.15m fully paid shares at $0.01. The top-up placement is subject to shareholder approval at a general meeting expected to be held on August 13. Antipa managing director Roger Mason commented on Newmont’s participation. “Their participation represents a strong endorsement of our Paterson portfolio ad exploration strategy, including our rapidly emerging Minyari Dome gold project,” he said. “With continued support from the world’s largest gold mining…

Battery-powered vehicles can offer a cost-effective and environmentally friendly alternative to underground diesel fleets The decarbonisation of underground mining has received a huge boost from a landmark study, which found that battery-powered vehicles (BEVs) could be a cost-effective and greener alternative to diesel-powered fleets. The Cosmos Underground Electrification Study, which was conducted by mining services company Perenti in collaboration with technology leader ABB and mining and exploration company IGO Limited for IGO’s Cosmos Project, found that replacing diesel vehicles with BEVs could result in significant safety and environmental benefits for miners and mining personnel. The study was one of the first in Australia to comprehensively detail the requirements for underground mine electrification and diesel fleet transition, and it found that…

The Federal Government has introduced the new Future Made in Australia Bill 2024 to Parliament. This package will legislate the new National Interest Framework, introduce a robust sector assessment process and outline the Community Benefit Principles intended to encourage new industries that strengthen economic resilience during the energy transition. The National Interest Framework defines criteria for identifying sectors essential to the net zero transformation and where Australia has a genuine comparative advantage. The Community Benefit Principles provide detailed and rigorous criteria to identify investments within those sectors that make the most of net zero potential and ensure the benefits reach local communities. The package also enables the Federal Government to commission the Federal Treasury to undertake independent analysis and identify…

Mineral Resources’ (ASX: MIN) new internal airline, MinRes Air, has taken to the skies for the first time with the inaugural flight landing in the Pilbara, WA. On July 2nd, the plane transported MinRes employees and contractors from Brisbane Airport to its Wodgina and Ken’s Bore mine sites. An A319 aircraft completed the 3600km journey in five hours and 40 minutes. The aircraft is decked out in MinRes insignia and was refurbished to provide an extra 25cm of legroom. MinRes executive general manager people, facilities and logistics Bethanie Ibrahim says this is an exciting milestone for the company. “MinRes Air is one of the ways we are redefining the fly in, fly out employees experienced by setting a new standard…

First gold pour is expected this quarter at the Maranoa deposit within Resources & Energy’s (ASX: REZ) East Menzies gold project in WA. Following the successful capital raising in May, REZ and Lamington Minerals have lodged a mining proposal with the WA Department of Energy, Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety (DMIRS) in mid-June 2024. The proposal covers a gold vat leach program with ore sourced from the Maranoa strike that was previously identified as an ideal shallow, high-grade gold target to support a vat leach campaign. The campaign will initially target 5kt of ore with a diluted grade of around 4g/t gold and after establishing the economics of the process, REZ will develop a larger-scale vat leach campaign to treat…