Latest News

Alcoa employees across Australia proudly celebrated the history and culture of Australia’s traditional owners, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, at NAIDOC Week events in November. Activities hosted across Alcoa’s Australian sites included Aboriginal flag raising and Welcome to Country ceremonies, traditional dancing and storytelling, Indigenous-inspired food being served at canteens, and cultural awareness training. Company representatives also attended a range of community celebrations. The theme for 2020 – Always Was, Always Will Be – acknowledged Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ 65,000-year-old history and the oldest continuing cultures on the planet. Alcoa’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Engagement Champion Adam Gilbert said it was pleasing to see NAIDOC Week being increasingly celebrated by Australians from all walks of...

Acacia Coal Ltd has ditched its coal assets and relisted on the ASX today as an “environmentally- focused” company after acquiring Graphene Technology Solutions. The former coal developer has been rebranded and renamed Sparc Technologies Limited (ASX:SPN) in a reverse takeover deal, which will see Acacia’s core business transition from coal and mineral exploration to the development and commercialisation of “new-world” products. Sparc will initially harness graphene to develop technologies that could revolutionise the mining industry such as improved metals recovery from tailings and environmental remediation. Graphene is a 2D material made of carbon atoms with a unique hexagonal lattice structure that makes it lightweight, thin, strong, super conductive, elastic, anti-microbial, anti-corrosive and hydrophobic, meaning it can separate toxins from...

The formation of diamonds in the natural world takes billions of years, huge amounts of pressure and ultra-hot temperatures. Now an international team of scientists, led by the Australian National University and RMIT, have managed to defy nature by creating diamonds in a lab in just a few minutes. The team made two types of diamonds: the kind found on an engagement ring, and another type of diamond called lonsdaleite, which is found in nature at the site of meteorite impacts such as Canyon Diablo in the US. Lead researcher and ANU Professor Jodie Bradby said lonsdaleite, which is 58% harder than regular diamonds, has the potential to be used for cutting through ultra-solid materials on mining sites. "Creating more...

A new Komatsu 930E-5 haul truck at BMA’s Goonyella Riverside Mine in Queensland stands out from the rest – with its tray painted turquoise in celebration of BHP’s LGBT+ ally community, Jasper. The group’s name was inspired by the gemstone jasper – an opaque and fine-grained variety of quartz known for its unique multi-coloured patterns – reflecting the rich diversity of BHP’S lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and others (LGBT+) staff and allies. BHP said the LGBT+ ally network focused on strengthening the company’s inclusion culture by providing advice on ways to mitigate bias and ensuring that LGBT+ people were respected, valued and free from discrimination. Diana Sanchez, Superintendent Mods and Ops Projects from the BMA Asset Engineering team, identified an opportunity...

Mental health and wellbeing will be important to Australia’s recovery from COVID-19, according to the Minerals Council of Australia (MCA). In its pre-budget submission, the MCA encouraged the Australian Government to extend funding to crucial initiatives that promote mental health and wellbeing, such as the MATES in Mining program. The program was established after the success of the MATES in Construction program, which works to reduce levels of suicide in the construction industry. In its submission, the MCA said that the mining industry recognised that the pandemic, which has required companies to locate employees, minimise the number of workers on site and institute longer shift cycles, had placed pressures on workers’ relationships and mental health. According to the MCA, depression...

The Federal Government has called on China to resolve a standoff involving an Indian ship carrying Australian coal, one of more than 50 currently stranded off the Chinese coast. Trade minister Simon Birmingham raised concerns about the welfare of the Indian seafarers who remained on board, while making a broader appeal to the Chinese government to cease “what seems to be a recurring targeting of some Australian industries”. The Indian-flagged vessel carrying coal from Australia arrived at the port of Jingtang in mid-June but has been waiting five months to be allowed to berth. Mr Birmingham said crew on board the vessel were in need of urgent relief and are mentally and physically exhausted due to unprecedented prolonged stay on board....

New regulations governing the transportation of lead acid batteries (new and used) have been adopted by the Australian Code for Transportation of Dangerous Goods by Road and Rail (ADGC). The new regulations came into effect in October 2020. The National Transport Commission (NTC) has adopted the new P801 Packing Instructions approved in June 2018, by the UN Subcommittee of Experts for the Transportation of Dangerous Goods. Upon inclusion in the ADGC there is a 12-month period before they become mandatory. The primary change to the existing packing instructions is the inclusion of requirements for transporting waste or used lead acid batteries (ULAB) in either stainless steel or plastic bins. These changes were introduced to remove the ambiguity as to whether...

Universal Field Robots, in partnership with IMDEX Ltd, has won the Greyhound Innovation (METS) Award at this year’s Queensland Mining Awards. The business joined nine other technology and services companies with innovative industry solutions such as Industrial Internet of Things condition monitoring, autonomous industrial drone mapping, and a global online crowdsourcing competition for diverse site access solutions. Universal Field Robots (UFR) joined forces with global sub-surface intelligence solutions leader IMDEX on a collaborative project that combines UFR’s E20C 2-ton robotic platform that operates UFR Autonomy (called AutoLog), and IMDEX’s downhole sensor technology to deliver IMDEX BLASTDOG, a semi-autonomous system that helps optimise blasting based on measuring hole physicals and high-resolution three-dimensional material models built from sensor data. To perform the...

Yaskawa, technology supplier with a global operation specialising in robotics and control technology, is teaming up with Lorch Schweißtechnik, one of the technology leaders in the field of MIG-MAG welding. Their future cooperation will make new and innovative welding solutions available to industrial businesses across Europe. Both partners see enormous potential for mid-size businesses to use the next couple of years to automate their production processes and update their existing structures to the latest developments in digital production. Otwin Kleinschmidt, Division Manager Yaskawa Germany, said: "We are the market leader in the welding sector with our broad robot portfolio. In times of collaborative robotics and even closer work cooperation between man and machine, it is obvious that we should cooperate...

Mount Gibson’s flagship operation, Koolan Island, doesn’t just boast Australia’s highest-grade direct shipping hematite iron ore mine. Hemmed in by the turquoise water of the Buccaneer Archipelago off WA’s Kimberley Coast, Mount Gibson CEO Peter Kerr believes the “amazing location” also offers the best view from a mine site he has ever seen in Australia. Speaking at the WA Mining Club on October 22, Mr Kerr said the “high grade niche mine” has ore reserves of about 18mt with a grading of about 65% Fe. A new airstrip has been built on the central spine of the Rottnest-sized island, where ore is crushed, processed and blended as needed before shipping. The mining fleet includes three excavators and 16 trucks while...

The merger between Northern Star Resources (ASX: NST) and Saracen Mineral Holdings (ASX: SAR), announced in early October, has sent ripples through the Australian gold mining industry. The friendly alliance between the Australian owners of the Super Pit, managed by Kalgoorlie Consolidated Gold Mines (KCGM), will effectively create a new Top 10 global gold major with a $16b market capitalisation. The completion of the merger, anticipated around February 2021, will target new production levels of 2mozpa by FY27 from its Tier 1 locations at Kalgoorlie, Yandal and North America. Northern Star Resources executive chairman Bill Beament, who will transition to Non-Executive Chair in July 2021, says the company has only ever pursued growth that will create value for its shareholders....