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First shipment of Thunderbird product Kimberley Mineral Sands (KMS) completed its first shipment of about 300t of non-magnetic (zircon) concentrate from the Thunderbird project in northwest WA over the weekend. With production commencing ahead of schedule in Q4 CY23, KMS was able to ship its bagged product via Port Hedland to three existing offtake customers. KMS is a joint venture company equally owned by Sheffield Resources Pty Ltd (ASX: SFX) and YGH Australia Investments Pty Ltd (Yansteel). Sheffied Resources executive chair Bruce Griffin says the company congratulates the Kimberley Mineral Sands team. “ thank our offtake customers for this milestone achievement of first revenue for...

First DSO shipment completed from Kolosori The first shipment of high-grade direct shipping ore (DSO) from the Kolosori nickel project has been completed. Loading of the first 60,000t bulk carrier was completed on December 25, 2023, with a loading rate of around 10,000tpd achieved in line with the expected rate. The ship departed the site on December 26 to offtake partner Glencore with the DSO having an average nickel grade of over 1.75% nickel. Pacific Nickel (ASX:PNM) has now received its first payment of 85% of the value of the first shipment from Glencore with the remainder to be paid upon the receiving of the cargo at port. The...

Thiess secures $120m GEMCO contract Global mining services provider Thiess has secured a three-year, $120m contract with GEMCO, a manganese operation on Groote Eylandt, Northern Territory. The contract, which has a potential two-year extension, includes a range of services critical to GEMCO’s manganese operation. Thiess will supply, operate and maintain the equipment for the pre-strip mining operations, as well as undertaking the design and construction of support infrastructure which includes workshops and related mobile maintenance facilities. Thiess executive chair and chief executive Michael Wright commented on the contract. “This award demonstrates Thiess’ commitment to delivering sustainable mining solutions for our clients, strongly supporting the further development of the local community,”...

Introducing the Sykes XH250: Meeting the evolving dewatering needs of the mining and quarry industries 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...

Fortescue debuts Australia’s first electrical excavator at Cloudbreak 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...

PureGRAPH showcases potential in hydrogen production 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...

Alcoa welcomes decisions that support WA operations 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...

Agrimin signs final Native Title Agreement for Mackay haul road 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...

True North Copper gives green light to Cloncurry restart 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...

Mineral Resources reaches major milestone for first fully autonomous road trains 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...

Visible gold intersected at Koonenberry gold project 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...