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Mineral Resources autonomous prime movers arrive at Onslow The first convoy of Kenworth C509 prime movers with autonomous technology has arrived at Mineral Resources’ (ASX: MIN) Onslow iron project in WA. The prime movers will be based at Mineral Resources’ Truck Maintenance Facility near Onslow while they undertake trials and verification before beginning autonomous operations. Mineral Resources director of technology and innovation David Geraghty says the arrival of the vehicles is an exciting milestone for the project. “The prime movers are being progressively fitted out with autonomous technology by autonomy specialist Hexagon. It’s fantastic to see the first batch arrive in Onslow in preparation...

Anglo American rejects $59b BHP proposal Anglo American has rejected BHP’s $59.57b (£31.1b) proposal as it “significantly undervalues Anglo American and its future prospects”. Additionally, Anglo American’s board believes the proposal contemplates a structure which is highly unattractive for the company’s shareholders, given the uncertainty and complexity in the proposal and significant execution risks. Anglo American chairman Stuart Chambers commented on the rejection of the proposal. “The BHP proposal is opportunistic and fails to value Anglo American’s prospects, while significantly diluting the relative value upside participation of Anglo American’s shareholders relative to BHP’s shareholders,” he said. “The proposed structure is also...

Ardea forms joint venture for Kalgoorlie nickel project – Goongarrie Hub Ardea Resources (ASX: ARL) has entered a binding cooperation agreement with Sumitomo Metal Mining and Mitsubishi Corporation (Consortium) to develop the Kalgoorlie nickel project – Goongarrie Hub in WA. The incorporated joint venture will be Kalgoorlie Nickel (KNPL), which is currently a wholly owned subsidiary of Ardea. The cooperation agreement sets out the terms and conditions on which Ardea, Sumitomo, Mitsubishi and KNPL will fund and undertake a definitive feasibility study (DFS). Upon agreement by the parties and subject to a positive DFS, front-end engineering design and pre-commitment activities leading to a...

Successful Round 29 EIS applicants announced Successful applicants for Round 29 of the Exploration Incentive Scheme’s (EIS) Co-funded Drilling Program, Series 7 of the Energy Analysis Program (EAP) and the inaugural Co-funded Geophysics Program (CGP) have been announced. All up, 47 applicants will receive grants worth almost $7.5m in the EIS for projects to be drilled between June 2024 and November 2025. Round 29 of the EIS program saw a continued interest in battery minerals exploration with 57% of the project focusing on these commodities, including rare earth elements, lithium and nickel-cobalt. Western Mines Group (ASX: WMG) received $318,000 to fund drilling at the...

RaptorTech’s Next Generation Fleet Management and Collision Avoidance Technology Set to Revolutionise Mining Operations Jean Ferreira (left) and Aaron Locke, (founders of RaptorTech) at a recent commissioning of a Raptor Data Centre, an independently powered mine-wide private LTE (4G) network.From the distant echoes of 17th century experiments to the pulsating digital realms of today, telemetry has etched its mark on the annals of innovation. Its story is one of relentless evolution, fuelled by human ingenuity and the quest for remote connectivity. Imagine early scientists tinkering with rudimentary forms of remote communication, laying the groundwork for what would become the backbone of modern telemetry. Fast forward to the tumultuous battlegrounds of World War II, where telemetry emerged as a silent sentinel,...

Datarock unearths value by bridging the gap between data collection and data-driven decision making Transitioning to a renewable economy will require a new mining industry that can extract significantly more metal from the ground to meet future demand, while operating in accordance with stricter environmental, social, and governance responsibilities. However, this is compounded by a myriad of challenges. Exploration success rates are dwindling, existing deposits are becoming deeper and more arduous to mine, and ore grades are declining. Mining companies are collecting more data than ever, yet they struggle to maximise value to meet the greater demands placed on them. The...

Federal Government to invest $330m to reduce emissions The Federal Government will co-invest $330m to reduce industrial emissions and support the ongoing domestic production of key inputs into clean energy projects. Under the Powering the Regions Fund, nine projects will receive a portion of the funding with the projects to cut yearly emissions by 830kt – the same as taking over a quarter of a million cars off Australian roads. The funding includes $197m to maintain Australia’s domestic manufacturing capability in cement and aluminium. Grants include, $94m to Queensland Alumina to reduce energy use, $52.9m to Cement Australia to reduce coal consumption...

CIMIC increases Thiess ownership to 60% CIMIC Group (ASX: CIM) has increased its ownership in global mining services provider Thiess to 60%. The $320m acquisition has increased CIMIC’s shareholding by 10%. CIMIC executive chairman Juan Santamaria says the increase will strengthen the company’s profile. “Increasing our ownership of Thiess strengthens CIMIC’s business profile, as it grows its commodities portfolio to include metals and minerals critical to the world’s shift to zero emissions and develops services to enable sustainable mining, reflecting the strategic importance of the energy transition to CIMIC,” he said. “Thiess is a well performing business underpinned by long-term, low-risk contract, providing an annuity-style...

Anglo American responds to $59b BHP offer Anglo American has confirmed it has received an unsolicited, non-binding and highly conditional proposal from BHP (ASX: BHP). BHP confirmed that on April 16, 2024, it made a proposal to Anglo American’s board of directors comprising an all-share offer for Anglo American. Under the proposal, Anglo American shareholders would receive 0.7097 BHP shares for every Anglo share, plus ordinary shares in Anglo American Platinum and Kumba Iron Ore. The deal represents a value of $48.04 (£25.08) per Anglo American share, $9.31 (£4.86) in Anglo Platinum shares and $6.51 (£3.40) in Kumba shares, valuing Anglo American’s share capital of $59.57b (£31.1b). The proposal...

Maiden exploration target established at Pippingarra Industrial Minerals (ASX: IND) has established a maiden exploration target for high purity quartz (HPQ) at its Pippingarra Quarry project in WA. The exploration target is based on results from a reverse circulation (RC) drilling program completed in December 2023 which encountered white crystalline quartz over widths from 12m to 20m. In addition, there is also coarse-grained quartz crystals which form a significant part of the Pippingarra pegmatite and have been observed to comprise more than 30% quartz. Industrial Minerals managing director Jeff Sweet commented on the target. “The Pippingarra exploration target is limited to an area where...

Consent to mine granted for Stansmore WA Mines and Petroleum Minister Bill Johnston has granted Lycaon Resources (ASX: LYN) consent to mine at the Stansmore project in the West Arunta region of WA. This follows the recent approval by Aboriginal Affairs Minister Tony Buti granting West Arunta Resources, Lycaon’s subsidiary, permission to access Ngaanyatjarra Central Australia Reserve for the purpose of carrying out exploration activities. Recent discoveries by WA1 Resources (ASX: WA1) and Encounter Resources (ASX: ENR) demonstrated the potential for the West Arunta region to host significant rare earth element and iron oxide copper gold mineralisation. Up to 4.7% niobium pentoxide has been...