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Sykes Group, a leading name in the realm of dewatering pump solutions, is excited to announce the launch of its latest innovation, the Sykes / Primax XH250. Developed with the distinct requirements of the mining and quarry industries in mind, the XH250 is set to revolutionise dewatering operations in these sectors. Mines and quarries are continually expanding, reaching greater depths and widths, demanding reliable dewatering solutions. The Sykes XH250 steps in to address this challenge by delivering higher heads and flow rates. This ensures consistent equipment access to all areas of mining and quarry sites. The XH250 complements Sykes’ existing range of Extra High Head pumps and boasts a remarkable head capability of 200 l/sec @ 220m or 250 l/sec…

Australia’s first newly built electric excavator is now in operation at Fortescue’s (ASX:FMG) Cloudbreak mine in WA. Powered by a 6.6kV substation and more than 2km of high voltage trailing cable, this is the first of three R 9400 E electric excavators being delivered by Liebherr. Fortescue chief executive Dino Otranto says the commissioning of the excavator is a milestone for the company. “The commissioning of this fully electric excavator is a massive achievement by the team and is the first of its kind in Australia for the mining industry,” he said. “It’s a true demonstration of industry collaboration where we’ve been fortunate enough to work with industry experts who have been using trailing cable for decades, and then repurpose…

Independent research has found graphene-enhanced electrocatalysts reduce the amount of power needed during hydrogen generation. The study by the Centre for Process Innovation UK (CPI) showed electrodes composed of First Graphene’s (ASX:FGR) metal-oxide doped graphene — PureGRAPH — resulted in a 43% reduction in overpotential, the energy required to drive the hydrogen generation reaction. The PureGRAPH-based electrodes showed overpotential values of 0.175V for graphene-manganese-oxide and 0.170V for graphene-ruthenium-manganese-oxide. Improvements to the process were also identified that can increase throughput by 64%, reduce raw material costs by 50% and broaden metal oxide options in the product. First Graphene managing director and chief executive Michael Bell says this is an exciting development for the company. “This is an exciting development for First…

Alcoa today welcomed decisions from the WA Government that will allow the company to continue bauxite mining and downstream alumina refining in the State, while also pledging to enhance the way it operates to meet evolving requirements and expectations. The WA Government has announced that it will approve Alcoa’s latest five-year mine plan  – known as the 2023-2027 Mining and Management Program (MMP) – for its Huntly and Willowdale bauxite mines. In addition, the WA Government has granted an exemption that will allow Alcoa to continue its mining operations if the WA Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) decides to undertake a separate environmental impact assessment on all or parts of the MMP. The EPA’s determination is expected by year end. Alcoa…

Agrimin (ASX:AMN) has signed the final Native Title Agreement with Tjurabalan Native Title Land Aboriginal Corporation RNTBC (TNTLAC) for the Mackay potash project. This agreement allows the granting of requisite haul road licences within the Tjurabalan determination area. In August 2021, Agrimin and TNTLAC began formal negotiations to permit the construction and operation of Agrimin’s haul road, whilst preserving the traditional way of life of the Tjurabalan native title holders. These negotiations involved on-country meetings and heritage surveys, as well as input from environmental, economic and legal experts. The Native Title Agreement provides the necessary consents for a miscellaneous licence and ancillary licences to be granted by the Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety relating to the haul road…

True North Copper (ASX:TNC) has combined the Great Australia Mine Reserve (GAM) and the Wallace North Resource to create the Cloncurry copper project (CCP). This decision comes after recent positive exploration and development across both projects with the finalised CCP mine plans to be announced early 2024 following the completion of the updated GAM and the maiden Wallace North Reserve. Advanced grade control drilling at Wallace North included multiple high-grade gold and copper zones with up to 14.05% copper and 25.7g/t gold intersected. True North managing director Marty Costello commented on the mining restart. “Over the past six months, thanks to the tremendous efforts of our operational and technical teams, we have reached a point where the TNC board can…

Mineral Resources (MinRes) has handed over the first custom off-road triple road train to Hexagon AB for conversion to autonomous operation. Delivered one month ahead of schedule, the handover represents a significant milestone in the development of a fully autonomous fleet of road trains. This world-first technology was designed and developed by MinRes and Hexagon for Mineral Resources’ Onslow iron project which is situated in the Pilbara region of WA. MinRes director of technology and innovation David Geraghty presented the keys to a customised Kenworth C509 prime mover at Hexagon AB’s Perth workshop. Hexagon AB chief synergy officer autonomous solutions Gordon Dale, executive vice president core autonomy Mike Verheyn and vice president core autonomy engineering John Buszek were in Perth…

Visible gold in quartz veins has been intersected at the Bellagio gold prospect in NSW. Situated within Koonenberry Gold’s (ASX:KNB) namesake project, a 14-hole air core drilling program was undertaken at Bellagio to test below the base of complete oxidation where broad wide zones of highly anomalous gold was defined during phase one drilling. Under this recent drilling program, the drill rig was able to penetrate through the completely weathered upper saprolite and saprock where the true nature of the gold mineralisation may be revealed. Visible gold was observed from 75m to 76m with multiple fine gold grains (0.2mm in size) observed in quartz veins and goethitic fractures in drill chips. Full assays from the phase two drilling program are…

Nickel Industries Limited (ASX: NIC) has entered into a maiden nickel matte sales contract with Glencore AG commencing in January 2024 and running for an initial six-month term. The contract will see nickel matte from Nickel Industries’ Hengjaya nickel project in Indonesia sold to Glencore. Nickel Industries managing director Justin Werner says the company is delighted about this initial Glencore contract. “This contract a maturing of our nickel matte business and an important diversification of our customer base into western markets closely linked with the global EV supply chain,” he said. “Very pleasingly we have seen strong interest from global battery and EV makers for our matte product and welcome this first contract with Glencore as we continue to…

Cape Flattery Silica Pty Ltd (CFS) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Eternal Asia Supply Chain Management Ltd (EA) for the testing of processed high purity silica sand from the CFS project. The MoU between the Metallica Minerals Limited (ASX: MLM) wholly-owned subsidiary and the Shenzhen Investment Holdings Co Ltd subsidiary will also assess its suitability for further processing and value adding using EA’s propriety technology. Metallica executive chairman Theo Psaros says the MoU with Eternal Asia is a great outcome for both parties. “For CFS is provides an opportunity to move out already high purity silica sand into a non-glass market segment with a higher value, through further processing using EA’s technology,” he said. “For EA they…

Lynas Rare Earths Ltd (ASX: LYC) has reached an important milestone with first feed of materials from Mt Weld being introduced into the Kalgoorlie rare earths processing facility. This marks the transition from commissioning phase to first production and ramp up of the facility. Lynas Rare Earths chief executive and managing director Amanda Lacaze says the company is delighted to have achieved first feed on in Kalgoorlie. “This is an exciting milestone as we continue to expand our operating footprint and capacity to meet growing global demand for separate rare earth materials,” she said. “The Kalgoorlie rare earths processing facility is Australia’s first value-added rare earths processing facility, making it a significant project for both Lynas and the Australian critical…