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WA Mines and Petroleum Minister Bill Johnston resigns After seven years in the role, WA Mines and Petroleum Minister Bill Johnston is stepping down from Cabinet and will not contest the 2025 State Election. Minister Johnston will see out the remainder of his term as the Member for Cannington, a position he has been in since 2008. “I have been very proud to work for the Cannington community over the last 15 years, and I look forward to serving them until the next election,” he said. “The Cannington community have always had my first loyalty as their representative in Parliament, and it is a tremendous privilege to represent this vibrant community.”  As...

Western Gold Resources inches closer to gold production Following metallurgical test work at the Gold Duke project, Western Gold Resources (ASX:WGR) is one step closer to becoming a gold producer. Perth-based BHM Process Consultants undertook the test work to determine the amenability of the orebodies to heap leaching and carbon-in-leach (CIL) processing. Notably for Western Gold, results from this work pointed towards a low capex gold operation. Samples were taken from oxide ore stockpiles which were previously sampled as part of a trial toll-treatment program. Both a high-grade (153kg) and a low-grade (137kg) composite were formed from the stockpiles and submitted to Nagrom laboratory. The high-grade sample returned a grade of 2g/t...

More than $4m in grants introduced to lower methane emissions The Australian Government will invest more than $4m in new research to help lower methane emissions from resources projects and help Australia achieve net zero by 2050. Two research grants have been introduced to the CSIRO and the University of Newcastle for projects which will trial new technology that will tackle methane emissions from coal mines. The grants — $2.05m for the CSIRO and $2.3m for the University of Newcastle — come from the Resources Methane Abatement Fund and will be for projects that tackle ventilation air methane. The Methane Abatement Fund supports research organisations to undertake development, prototype verification and validation, and demonstration...

World first WELL Health-Safety Rating for Atlas Iron In a world-first for the mining industry, Atlas Iron’s Sanjiv Ridge iron ore mine site has been awarded the WELL Health-Safety Rating. Atlas is a subsidiary of Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting and its Sanjiv Ridge mining operation is located 240km from Port Hedland in the Pilbara, northwest WA. Hancock Operations chief executive Gerhard Veldsman says WELL Health-Safety Rating reinforces the company’s commitment to prioritising the health, safety and comfort of its staff. “Championed by our executive chairman Mrs Gina Rinehart AO, and previous Atlas chief executive, now Atlas...

Alcoa continues jarrah forest rehabilitation success More than 75% of the areas cleared for bauxite mining in WA have been rehabilitated with the ultimate goal of the rehabilitation to restore a self-sustaining jarrah forest ecosystem. To date, Alcoa has handed back two areas — totalling 1355ha — at the Jarrahdale mine and has received two Certificates of Acceptance from the State stating the areas met appropriate criteria for completed rehabilitation. Notably, this was the first significant mining are to be submitted for and receive a Certificate of Acceptance in Australia. Many of the rehabilitated areas that are yet to be handed back to the State support self-sustaining forest ecosystems...

Positive Duty demands change in sexual harassment response The Australian Human Rights Commission will have new powers from 12 December 2023 to investigate and enforce an employer’s positive duty under the Sex Discrimination Act 1985. Positive duty, introduced in December 2022, was a key recommendation of the Commission’s Respect@Work Report, led by former Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins AO and published in March 2020. It imposes a legal obligation on organisations and businesses to take proactive and meaningful action to prevent certain unlawful...

Sandvik unveils second battery-electric surface drill rig With decarbonisation efforts accelerating across the mining sector, Sandvik has unveiled its second battery-electric concept surface drill rig. This vehicle is the first in its size class, is capable of drilling holes up to 229m in diameter and can blend the autonomy of battery with the continuous endurance of power cable. Electric surface rigs typically depend solely on a tethered cable as the power source but Sandvik’s second battery-electric surface drill rig pushes the potential of more sustainable surface drilling. The battery provides power for up to one hour of drilling or seven hours of tramming, and the battery is primarily intended for...

Environmental mining reforms pass through Northern Territory Parliament Reforms to the Northern Territory’s environmental regulation of mining activities have passed through Parliament. The Environmental Protection Legislation Amendment (Mining) Bill 2023 will improve the Northern Territory’s environmental management of mining activities. The Northern Territory’s mining industry is the largest income driver, with the industry worth over $6b. Northern Territory Environment, Climate Change and Water Security Minister Kate Worden commented on the reforms. “The resources sector is a major employer and economic driver for the Northern Territory and will be an important factor in our future prosperity,” she said. “Mining needs to be sustainable and ecologically viable. These reforms will give the industry more certainty...

Weir acquires innovative developer of AI process optimisation solutions Weir, a global mining technology leader, has acquired SentianAI, a Swedish-based developer of AI solutions that optimise performance in minerals processing. With this acquisition, Weir is accelerating its technology roadmap and expanding its digital capability to provide enhanced productivity and sustainability offerings to customers. SentianAI, founded in 2016, is based in Malmö and has a team of highly skilled software developers and data scientists. The software that it develops uses advanced AI algorithms that continuously learn and adapt to the dynamic processes within a mine, providing continuous improvement and optimisation over time. Commenting on the acquisition, Jon Stanton, CEO of The Weir Group said: “Digital technology has an important role in...

Satellite images identify South Australian uranium palaeochannels Adavale Resources Limited’s (ASX: ADD) initial interpretation of its South Australian uranium projects at Lake Surprise and Mundowdna using high-resolution Sentinel 2 satellite imagery has been completed, with new palaeochannel systems on the northwestern edge of the Flinders Ranges highlighted for further investigations. Over the coming weeks, high priority targets for uranium exploration will be generated by combining three lines of evidence – Sentinel 2 satellite imagery, GeoScience Australia gravity data and electromagnetic (EM) data from the Frome survey –...