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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...

All systems GO for Guarantee of Origin scheme The Federal Government is rolling out the initial phase of the internationally-recognised Guarantee of Origin (GO) scheme to measure and certify emissions intensity across supply chains and support the development of Australia’s green industries. A crucial component of the $22.7b Future Made in Australia program, the scheme will replace the RET in 2030 as the framework for certifying renewable electricity. NSW Assistant Climate Change and Energy Minister Jenny McAllister says “the Guarantee of Origin scheme is the most important green industry program you never heard of”. “As...

PYBAR awarded $149m underground services contract Underground mining contractor PYBAR has been awarded a four year contract to provide services at the Eloise copper mine complex in Queensland. Valued at $149m, the contract involves delivering the 3km underground link drive for the Jericho and Eloise decline which lies 125m below surface, plus 600m of development for stockpiles. Owned by AIC Mines (ASX: AIC), the Eloise mine was commissioned in 1996 and since then has mined over 13.5mt of ore grading 2.8% copper and 0.8g/t gold to produce 350kt of copper and 180koz of gold in concentrate. Current operations consist of an...

Rio Tinto to power the Pilbara with 80MW solar farm Ngarluma Aboriginal Corporation (NAC) and Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO) will develop an 80MW solar farm on Ngarluma Country near Karratha, WA. The project will supply renewable energy to Rio Tinto’s iron ore operations in the Pilbara region and is expected to be located next to Rio Tinto’s Yurralyi Maya power station. This marks an essential step in Rio Tinto’s energy transition. Rio Tinto estimates 600MW to 700MW...

Round two of Pilbara Minerals community grants program opens Round two of Pilbara Minerals’ (ASX: PLS) community grants program has opened with community groups eligible to apply for up to $10,000 in funding. Designed to empower local groups that make a difference in their community, the grants program targets projects and events that will improve access to education, build healthy communities and enable the energy transition. Pilbara Minerals managing director and chief executive Dale Henderson says the company is pleased to continued its annual grants program. “We invited applications for grants of up to $10,000 for community projects that align with our priority investment areas...

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...

Liontown secures another key offtake deal 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...

$91m injection to power 6 new Australian projects 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...

$798m Vecco project inches closer to development 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...

Dynamic Metals forms lithium joint venture with MinRes 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...