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Westgold Board Approves Big Bell Expansion The board of Westgold Resources Limited (ASX: WGX) has approved the expansion of the Big Bell project in Cue, WA, and its immediate commencement. The expansion involves a new long-hole open stoping (LHOS) operation below the existing sub level cave. Westgold managing director Wayne Bramwell says Big Bell has a long and profitable life ahead of it now. “This expansion underwrites the future of our Murchison operations and provides Westgold with further optionality to leverage our existing processing capital,” he said. “The economics of making our biggest mine bigger is compelling. “Big...

Sandvik introduces AutoMine for underground drills Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions has introduced AutoMine for underground drills, becoming the first original equipment manufacturer to introduce a unified traffic management system for drills, loaders and trucks. AutoMine for underground drills is a cutting-edge tele-remote solution that enables operators to remotely and simultaneously control and supervise multiple automated Sandvik underground drills, increase efficiency, productivity and safety. It includes ring-to-ring tramming capabilities, allowing seamless control and coordination of drills, loaders and trucks operating in the same area with sophisticated traffic management. This new offering is available for Sandvik longhole drills i-series machines with three levels of tele-remote operations available, including single drill, drill fleet and machine fleet....

Alliance Aviation Services executes five-year contract with BHP Nickel West Alliance Aviation Services (ASX:AQZ) has executed a five-year contract with BHP Nickel West. Nickel West was Alliance’s first client in WA with services beginning in 2006. Since then, Alliance has operated continuously for Nickel West and when this five-year contract ends, operations would have run for 23 years. Under this new contract, Alliance will be the primary air charter services provider for Nickel West. Spanning throughout WA, Nickel West comprises of open-cut and underground mines, concentrators, a smelter and a refinery. In FY23, nickel production at Nickel West was up 4% from FY22 to 80kt due to an increased proportion of...

E25’s patent applications for low carbon HPMSM process Element 25 Limited (ASX: E25) has lodged two key international patent applications for its battery grade high-purity manganese sulphate monohydrate (HPMSM) production process. The patent applications have been lodged under the Patent Co-operation Treaty (PCT), claiming priority from Australian Patent Application(s) 2022903576 & 2022903573 and aims to protect two key manganese processing steps in Element 25’s flowsheet. The flowsheet was developed to convert the company’s Butcherbird manganese concentrate into HPMSM, a critical raw material for the manufacture of lithium-ion batteries. In a statement released by Element 25 today, the company says these two key processing steps “are...

Mineral Resources receives hat-trick of awards Mineral Resources (ASX:MIN) received three awards from two industry events held last week. At the 2023 WA Mental Health Awards, Mineral Resources was named the winner of the Happiness Co and Happiness Foundation Mentally Healthy Workplace Award. This award recognised the company’s efforts to encourage excellent mental health for both staff and volunteers. Mineral Resources head of mental health and wellbeing Chris Harris accepted the award on behalf of the company. “We’re proud to be recognised for the investment we have made in the mental wellbeing of our people,”...

Automated Sandvik loaders and drills selected for Kathleen Valley work Mining contractor Byrnecut has chosen Sandvik to supply automated loaders, underground drills and rock tools at the Kathleen Valley lithium project in WA. Sandvik will supply seven Toro LH621i loaders with AutoMine, three Sandvik DD422i development drills with Dual Controls and a Sandvik DS422i cable bolter to Byrnecut. Sandvik will also supply Byrnecut with rock tools for Kathleen Valley over four years. The Toro LH621i underground loaders are engineered for rapid mine development and large-scale underground production. Smart boom geometry optimises hydraulic power for large rock handling and fast bucket filling. Under AutoMine Multi-Lite, an operator can remotely control and simultaneously supervise...

Esperance Port paves way for trade growth with $12.2m upgrades The WA Government is positioning the Port of Esperance for growth with a $12.2m investment in road upgrades to improve safety, access and efficiency to the port. Part of the larger Southern Ports, the Port of Esperance is the only deepwater port in the southern region and one of only two container crane ports in the State. It is also the third largest spodumene (lithium) port in the world and the region's second largest employer. WA Ports Minister David Michael commented on the infrastructure upgrades and road renewals. "Almost all of the Port of Esperance's non-iron ore trade is transported by...

Big win for Whitehaven’s $1b Queensland coal project Whitehaven Coal (ASX: WHC) has welcomed the Queensland Government’s approval of its greenfield $1b open cut coal mine, Winchester South. The State’s Coordinator General has accepted the environmental impact statement (EIS) for the Winchester South metallurgical coal project with an evaluation report and recommendation for the project to proceed, subject to environmental conditions. The Winchester South mine will produce up to 17mtpa of primarily metallurgical run-of-mine (ROM) coal (11mtpa product coal), from an estimated 380mt of reserves, which will supply...

Alliance Aviation Services extends Olympic Dam works Alliance Aviation Services (ASX:AQZ) has extended its contract with BHP (ASX:BHP) to provide its services for a further five years at the Olympic Dam project. Since 2007, Alliance has been providing its services to Olympic Dam and recently moved to an all-jet operation. The Embraer 190 delivers impressive economics, excellent performance, operational efficiencies plus spacious interiors. Alliance managing director Scott McMillan welcomes the extension. “We welcome this further five-year extension of our contract to supply air services between Adelaide and Olympic Dam,” he said. “Alliance has built a significant presence in South Australia and is proud of the 16 years of uninterrupted services we...

First Sandvik DR410i drill rig arrives at Gruyere The first of six Sandvik DR410i rotary blasthole drill rigs has arrived at the Gruyere gold mine. A joint venture between Gold Fields and Gold Road Resources (ASX:GOR), the Gruyere gold mine lies 1200km northeast of Perth in WA’s northeastern Goldfields. The mine is a tier one low-cost and long-life asset with current mine life of more than 10 years. In 2022, Gruyere delivered record annual gold production of 314,647oz. The Sandvik DR410i is a diesel-powered, self-propelled, crawler-mounter blasthole drill, ideal for surface mining. The Sandvik intelligent control system architecture gives operators real-time system diagnostics to monitor the health and performance of...

Komatsu wins gold at Australian Training Awards Komatsu Australia has been recognised for its commitment to training and development by winning the prestigious Australian Apprenticeships Employer Award at the 2023 Australian Training Awards. The Australian Apprenticeships Employer Award recognises employers who have made innovative improvements in training which provide beneficial outcomes for their apprentices and to their local community. Komatsu’s National RTO & technical capability manager Matthew Tosolini says the award win is a testament to Komatsu's dedication to nurturing talent and providing apprentices with a supportive learning environment. “We have a...