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Alcoa Alumina acquisition approved alongside strong Q2 results Alcoa stockholders have approved the Alumina (ASX: AWC) acquisition, as the mining giant today posts strong second quarter results. Alcoa expects the acquisition to be completed by August 1, 2024, subject to approval by the shareholders of Alumina. Alcoa president and chief executive William F. Oplinger says this is an important milestone for the company. “The strong support from our stockholders reflects their recognition of this strategic step to enhance Alcoa’s global position as a leading pure-play, upstream aluminium company," he said. This closes a productive Q2 for Alcoa, that saw a 12% revenue...

FIRB approves Westgold-Karora merger The Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) has issued its approval of Westgold’s (ASX: WGX) acquisition of Karora. The enlarged Westgold will have a $2.4b market cap with combined ore reserves of 3.2moz and mineral resources of 13moz, which Westgold says will place it solidly among the top 5 ASX-listed gold producers operating predominantly in Australia. The company will be well funded, with financial resources of about $160m and dual listing on the ASX and Toronto stock exchange (TSX). Westgold expects to complete the transaction by the end of...

Rio Tinto appoints copper chief executive Katie Jackson has been appointed to lead Rio Tinto’s (ASX: RIO) copper business, succeeding Bold Baatar who will become chief commercial officer. Ms Jackson is currently the president of National Grid Ventures and is responsible for the development and operation of large-scale energy infrastructure assets. Rio chief executive Jakob Stausholm welcome Ms Jackson to the company. “Katie brings diverse experience from across the energy sector. Her leadership will be invaluable as we shape our copper business for a successful future,” he said. “As we continue the ramp up of Oyu Tolgoi to become one...

Fortescue slashes 700 jobs, announces board appointments Fortescue (ASX: FMG) will be slashing the roles of 700 employees, stating it must ‘continually evolve to ensure it remains lean and is best positioned to deliver on its strategy’. These redundancies will be finalised by the end of July and Fortescue stated it’s grateful for the contribution of those affected. Coinciding with the redundancies, Fortescue also announced the appointment of a chief financial officer, chief operating officer and company secretary. After serving 11 months in the role, acting chief financial officer Apple Paget will move into the position of group chief financial officer. Ms Paget joined...

Heritage surveys begin at Centurion Aboriginal Heritage surveys have begun at Buxton Resources’ (ASX: BUX) Centurion project in WA. The heritage survey comprises of members from the Parna Ngururrpa and Ngurra Kayanta traditional owner groups who speak for the land on which Centurion is located. A helicopter is being used to help in the inspection of the drill sites and around 50km of access tracks. Buxton chief executive Marty Moloney commented on the surveys. “We’re very pleased to be working in partnership with the Parna Ngururrpa and the Ngurra Kayanta, the Native Title custodians of the land which hosts the Centurion project,” he said....

Vale, Sir Roderick Carnegie Former Conzinc Riotinto of Australia Limited (CRA) chief executive, chairman and managing director Sir Roderick Carnegie passed away on July 14, aged 91. Under his leadership in the 1970s and 1980s, Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO) discovered the Argyle diamond mine in WA rapidly doubling world diamond production and supplying virtually the entire world’s source of rare pink, red and violet diamonds. The company also forged strong relationships with China and continued to develop its flagship iron ore business in the Pilbara, including...

Record-breaking year for BHP iron ore and copper BHP (ASX: BHP) released its FY24 operational review, showing record iron ore production and its highest copper production in over 15 years. BHP chief executive Mike Henry says BHP had a strong finish to the year. “We finished the year with a strong fourth quarter, achieving several production records and we are meeting current production and unit cost guidance for all commodities,” he said. BHP looks to continue this year’s record production and decarbonisation efforts to drive results in FY25. Record production BHP achieved FY24 production guidance for...

Keep the Fire Burning: MinRes 2024 NAIDOC Week Mineral Resources (ASX: MIN) celebrated 2024 NAIDOC Week with a range of cultural activities across its sites and local communities. This year’s theme was Keep the Fire Burning! Blak, Loud & Proud, and employees and the community were invited to engage in dialogue about the stories, traditions and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. Across its regional sites, teams recognised NAIDOC Week with Welcome to Country events, flag raising and smoking ceremonies, sports and social events as well as live performances by local Aboriginal musicians. At its Perth head office, an...

Rio Tinto continues to improve in Q2 Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO) has released its Q2 production results, emphasising significant upgrades to safety and operations. The report highlights investments in HSE, the energy transition and decarbonisation. Rio Tinto also reported improving iron ore production in the Pilbara for Q2, with 79.5mt produced, up 2% from Q1 of 2024. Safety Rio Tinto chief executive Jakob Stausholm says the company’s operational performance is continuing to progress. “While there are still significant improvements ahead, we are beginning to see a step-change in production, including from our Queensland bauxite business following the roll-out of the Safe Production System...

Rio Tinto moves forward with $9.2b Simandou investment All conditions have now been satisfied for Rio Tinto’s (ASX: RIO) investment to develop the Simandou high-grade iron ore deposit in Guinea. This investment will be the largest greenfield integrated mine and infrastructure investment in Africa. More than 600km of new co-developed rail with port facilities will allow the export of up to 120mtpa of mined iron ore by Simfer and WCS from their respective Simandou mining concessions. Rio Tinto Guinea and copper executive committee lead Bold Baatar says they are thankful for the Government of Guinea, Chinalco, Baowu and...

Stellar Resources begins Heemskirk drill program Stellar Resources (ASX: SRZ) has begun an extensive infill and extensional drill program at the Heemskirk tin project in Tasmania. The first of two drill rigs is onsite to complete a planned 24-hole program at the Seven and Queen Hill deposits. The program is designed to help make the Heemskirk project development ready by providing key technical inputs for the pre-feasibility study. The drilling will also upgrade additional resources to the indicated category, provide samples for metallurgical testwork, extend mineralisation along trend and provide a platform for downhole electromagnetic surveys. Stellar executive chairman Simon Taylor...