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Stage 2 mining to commence at Jeffreys Find gold mine, toll mill contract for minimum 300kt ore Auric Mining (ASX: AWJ) will commence stage two of mining the Jeffreys Find gold mine near Norseman, WA, in early March, with first parcel of ore expected in mid-April this year. BML Ventures Pty Ltd of Kalgoorlie, Auric’s joint venture partners, has executed a contract with FMR Investments Pty Ltd to toll mill a minimum of 300,000t of ore at the Greenfields mill in Coolgardie this year. Auric Mining managing director Mark English commented on this....

Dianne copper mine project granted $1.3m by QLD Government Revolver Resources Holdings Limited (ASX: RRR) has secured a $1.3m grant from the QLD Government’s Critical Minerals and Battery Technology Fund for its Dianne copper mine project in northwest Queensland. The grant received will be directed towards advanced technical studies and site-specific engineering designs for the project starting next month. These include $800,000 for the SX/EW processing engineering design and $500,000 for site engineering design. Revolver managing director Pat Williams says the company is very pleased...

Ad Standards rejects activist claim against Bravus Australia’s advertising regulator has rejected a complaint about Bravus’ website by anti-coal activists and the taxpayer-supported Environmental Defenders Office. An Ad Standards Community Panel found Bravus’ website did not breach the Australian Association of National Advertisers Code on the Bravus website. The complaint was brought by the Environmental Defenders Office on behalf of the Australian Religious Response to Climate Change (ARRCC). This dismissal followed the Community Panel’s initial rejection of the complaint in December 2023, which the Environmental Defenders Office then appealed. There are no further avenues for appeal. A Bravus spokesperson said the company was pleased the complaint had been dismissed as it was a misuse of process and taxpayers’ money by...

Fortescue records its second highest first half iron ore shipments as profits rise Fortescue (ASX: FMG) shipped 94.6mt of iron ore in H1 FY24, the second highest first half shipments in the company’s history.  Fortescue’s near-record shipments helped the miner increase its net profit after tax (NPAT) by 41% over the prior corresponding period to $5.04b (US$3.3b).  Fortescue Metals chief executive Dino Otranto says “Fortescue’s performance in the first half of FY24 has been excellent, with the team achieving our second highest first half shipments while maintaining our strong focus on safety and keeping our costs low”.   “This contributed to...

Rio Tinto to become Australia’s biggest industrial buyer of renewable power  Rio Tinto has signed Australia’s largest renewable power purchase agreement (PPA) to date to supply its Gladstone operations in Queensland, agreeing to buy the majority of electricity from Windlab’s planned 1.4GW Bungaban wind energy project.  The latest agreement, which follows last month’s announcement of a PPA for the Upper Calliope solar farm in Queensland, will make Rio Tinto the biggest industrial buyer of renewable power in Australia.  Under the new PPA with Windlab, Rio Tinto will buy 80% of all power generated from the Bungaban wind energy project over 25 years.   The project, which...

Gold miner Ramelius Resources posts record revenue Gold miner Ramelius Resources Limited?(ASX:RMS) has posted a record half-year revenue of $348.5m as the company benefited from higher prices and lower costs coupled with a 5% increase in gold production over the previous corresponding period (pcp). The increased gold production, buoyed by contributions from the Penny gold mine as well as the addition of the Symes gold mine at the Edna May hub, saw the company increase its net profit by 42% to $41.2m for the half year. The reported all-in sustaining costs (AISC) for the half-year was $1,899/oz, 7% lower than the pcp. The miner expects AISC to decrease further...

$140m injection to build Pilbara Hydrogen Hub The Federal and WA Governments have agreed on building a $140m hydrogen hub in the Pilbara, WA, supporting almost 1000 direct and indirect jobs. Construction on the Pilbara Hydrogen Hub will begin this year with a target timeframe of mid-2028 to become operational. It will be major centre for hydrogen production and export, with the potential to become an international gateway to Australian-made green steel and iron. A planned pipeline could enable hydrogen production of around 492,000tpa, enough to decarbonise existing ammonia production on the Burrup Peninsula. WA...

Dematic powers WesTrac Tomago spare parts warehouse WesTrac has successfully implemented a Dematic Automated Piece Picking System at its Tomago warehouse in NSW. As one of the world’s largest authorised Caterpillar® equipment dealers, this new picking system along with its Autostore™ system (resembling a large Rubik’s cube) supports the mining and construction industries in WA, NSW and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) WesTrac warehouse operations manager Natalia Trewin says its Tomago warehouse is the central distribution centre for 17 regional branches, as well...

WA producers thrown lifeline as nickel is included in Critical Minerals List The WA Government is throwing a lifeline to the State’s nickel producers by offering a 50% royalty rebate from Q2 CY24 for 18 months, in response to current global market challenges. The Nickel Financial Assistance Program will provide a rebate if the average price of nickel in concentrate is below $31,000/t (US$20,000/t) for a given quarter. The rebate will then be repayable by the companies in equal quarterly instalments over the following 24 months. WA Premier Roger...

Lidar surveying guides Central Queensland Hydrogen Project Lidar surveying is underway at the Central Queensland Hydrogen (CQ-H2) Project as part of front-end studies paving the way for the State’s largest renewable hydrogen project. The CQ-H2 Project includes the development of a large-scale renewable hydrogen production facility at Aldoga, a hydrogen transport facility (pipeline) and a liquefaction and shipping facility at the Port of Gladstone. The project will also supply renewable hydrogen to an ammonia production facility. A statement on Stanwell’s website says “lidar data points and aerial photographs were captured by a plane flying over the proposed sites of the...

Drill cores preserved as Victorian mining sites rehabilitated Two former mining sites near Bendigo, Victoria, are a step closer to rehabilitation with the removal of drill core samples from the Woodvale Evaporation Ponds and the start of rehabilitation work at Kangaroo Flat. The Victorian Earth Resources Regulator (ERR) is overseeing the rehabilitation of both sites as the former licensee was unable to meet its obligations. Resources Victoria chief executive Matt Vincent says the drill core to be stored at the Geological Survey of Victoria’s...