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BHP Xplor, a six-month cohort-based accelerator program, has begun a global search for its 2024 cohort. After successfully completing its inaugural year in 2023, BHP Xplor is now on the hunt for early-stage explorers and startups focussed on finding new resources of critical minerals needed for the world’s future. BHP Xplor is designed to provide selected participants with the opportunity to accelerate their exploration concepts and potential to establish a long-term partnership with BHP. It offers participants funding, mentorship and coaching as well as connection into BHP’s network of suppliers and service providers. BHP Xplor vice president Sonia Scarselli said the company is thrilled to begin the new search. “We are energised by the success of the program’s first cycle…

Primobius GmbH, a joint venture between Neometals (ASX:NMT) and SMS Group GmbH, has received a purchase order for supply of a 10tpd Spoke with Mercedes. The purchase order was awarded as part of a cooperation arrangement with Mercedes, with Primobius responsible for the engineering, equipment supply and installation for a fully integrated, closed loop Mercedes lithium-ion battery (LIB) recycling plant. The Mercedes LIB recycling plant marks the automotive giants’ entry into the field of LIB recycling and it ‘aims to cut resource consumption and establish closed-loop recycling of battery raw materials as (Mercedes) moves towards going electric only’.  This plant is expected to have an annual capacity of 2500t, recovering materials which will be fed back into production of a…

Albermarle has awarded a contract worth nearly $71m to Compass Group Remote Hospitality Services to operate and maintain the Paris Grove workforce accommodation precinct in Australind, near Bunbury, WA. The $140m Paris Grove village is now under construction and will provide accommodation during rosters for up to 800 people working on the $2b expansion of Albemarle’s nearby Kemerton lithium hydroxide processing plant. The contract with Compass Group spans three years with extension provisions and its ESS Support Services Worldwide arm will be responsible for the contract. Around 70 people will be employed by Compass Group on a rolling roster with the company seeking to employ as many local people as possible. A range positions is now being advertised, including roles…

RareX (ASX:REE) has completed an enhanced scoping study which delivered positive outcomes from a three-stage project development strategy for its Cummins Range project. The enhanced scoping study built on the learnings and recommendations from the September 2022 scoping study which positioned Cummins Range as Australia’s largest undeveloped rare earths project. The study outlined a fundable, low-CAPEX, stage one direct shipping ore (DSO) phosphate project as the springboard for a longer-term, high-value, low-risk staged rare earths operation. Stage one is simple, fundable and deliverable with significantly lower risk that other development pathways and establishes an operating platform before expanding into stage two. Stage two development, operations and offtake are materially de-risked following stage one, while stage three builds one the stage…

Bravus Mining and Resources has partnered with Queensland scientists to use cutting-edge artificial intelligence technology to improve remote monitoring of the Black-throated Finch at the Carmichael mine near Clermont in central Queensland. Researchers from E2M created an automated recogniser to capture the birds’ calls, which will support best practice monitoring of the species and open the door for better surveillance of other rare birds. In a new scientific article published in the international journal Ecological Informatics, the researchers detailed the use of machine learning to make major advances in the technology used to analyse bioacoustics data. Bravus chief operating officer Mick Crowe said this latest research and innovation built on the company’s comprehensive work to protect the local finch population.…

Despite recording “strong” financial results, the ASX’s largest tock BHP (ASX:BHP) tabled underlying attributable profit of US$13.4b (A$20.9b) for FY23, down 37% from FY22. Revenue was down 17% from FY22 to US$53.8b (A$83.9b) while attributable profit — total operations decreased 58% to US$12.9b (A$20.1b). BHP credits these decreases due to lower prices across iron ore, metallurgical coal and copper. Chief executive Mike Henry commented on the company’s performance. “Our financial results for the year were strong, underpinned by reliable production together with capital and cost discipline as we managed lower commodity prices and inflationary pressures,” he said. “Our balance sheet is robust and deliberately positioned to support portfolio growth in commodities the world needs for population growth, urbanisation and decarbonisation.”…

Alcoa has nearly halved the amount of spills from its fuel, hydraulic fluid and other hydrocarbons over the past four years at its bauxite operations in the Peel region of WA. And the company says it is on track to cut spills by up to 60% by the end of 2023. The results at Alcoa’s Huntly and Willowdale bauxite mines are due to measures including adopting a rigorous preventative maintenance schedule that far exceeds manufacturer recommendations, better training for personnel and introducing more regular inspections of mobile equipment. With a focus on maintaining its 60-year record of never having negatively impacted public drinking water supply and to ensure mined areas can be readily restored to fully functioning forest ecosystems, Alcoa…

Greater monitoring of wind, gas density and temperatures in coal mines can help reduce the risk of disasters, according to a new joint study with Charles Darwin University (CDU) and University Technology Sydney (UTS). The study, An FSV analysis approach to verify the robustness of the triple-correlation analysis theoretical framework, focused on developing a gas monitoring system which takes a holistic approach to assessing wind, gas and temperature conditions. The project used data from a large Global Fortune 500 listed mining company in China, which held 46% of the world’s coal production in 2020. Co-author and CDU Faculty of Science and Technology Associate Professor Niusha Shafiabady says the study examined real-time data and all tests indicates three significant correlations between…

Following the extraction of a bulk sample last year, Classic Minerals (ASX:CLZ) is set to begin a trial mining exercise at its Kat Gap gold project. The trial mining will test the veracity of the recently announced indicated resource and provide Classic with data it needs to derive an ore reserve. It will also aid in the calibration of mining and metallurgy parameters prior to full-scale mining and production. Classic will likely trial mine a good portion of the oxide component of the indicated resource to a depth of 45m. The trial pit is expected to take around two months to complete. The ore will be run through the Gekko gravity plant to give Classic the opportunity to fully test…

Battery Age Minerals (ASX:BM8) has been accepted to join the European Raw Materials Alliance (ERMA). The ERMA was created by the European Commission to foster collaboration and provide European countries strategic access to the critical raw materials (CRM) supply chain. ERMA’s plan on critical raw materials is to develop resilient value chains for European Union (EU) industrial ecosystems, reduce dependency on primary CRMs, strengthen domestic sourcing of raw materials in the EU and diversify sourcing from third countries. Battery Age Minerals holds claims adjacent to the historical Bleiberg mine which is proven to have some of the world’s highest germanium grades (up to 200g/t) as well as proven gallium mineralisation (90-110g/t). Membership to the ERME provides Battery Age Materials the…

Strandline Resources (ASX:STA) has shipped its first delivery of chloride ilmenite product from its Coburn mineral sands project in WA. This first shipment is part of commissioning and ramp-up of Coburn’s downstream mineral separation plant (MSP). The MSP is designed to separate the heavy mineral concentrate (HMC) produced from Coburn’s wet concentration plant (WCP) into valuable critical minerals such as zircon and titanium as well as a zircon in concentrate product. The 6000 metric tonne shipment was loaded at the Port of Geraldton in bulk cargo form. The shipment is on route to Strandline’s offtake customer in America and is expected to be used for production of high-quality titanium dioxide, which in turn is primarily used in pigments for paint,…