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Vanadium explorer and developer QEM (ASX: QEM) has engaged global independent energy expert DNV to progress studies into green hydrogen opportunities at its flagship project Julia Creek in northwest Queensland. DNV has commenced a pre-feasibility study (PFS) into solar and wind farms at the 100%-owned vanadium and oil shale project, covering mapping, modelling, preliminary solar photovoltaic (solar PV system design) and layout. QEM managing director Gavin Loyden said the company is proactively progressing its green hydrogen strategy. “Engaging DNV demonstrates that we are swiftly laying the foundations for green hydrogen opportunities at Julia Creek,” he said. “The Julia Creek site receives significant sun exposure and DNV has already noted that the site is substantially flat, which bodes well for installation...

Rio Tinto has awarded Mineral Resources’ subsidiary CSI Mining Services a contract at the Brockman 2 iron ore mine in the Pilbara, WA, generating about 150 jobs to carry out load and haul, drill and blast and short-term mine planning activities for the site. The scope involves scheduling, drilling, blasting and excavating 27mt of waste rock and iron ore over nine-months with a fleet of large-scale mining equipment, developing the Lens A/B pit for Rio Tinto. Mineral Resources chief executive mining services Mike Grey says the company is delighted to have been invited by Rio Tinto to support at another of its iron ore mines. “Our relationship with Rio Tinto dates back 16 years,” he said. “Since then, we have...

Resources Minister Keith Pitt has slammed calls for two major superannuation funds, QSuper and Sunsuper, to abandon coal, saying if that happened, it would deprive hundreds of thousands of members of a good investment option. Mr Pitt said the Australian Conservation Council is using a tiny minority of the funds’ members to push its activist agenda. “The Conservation Council says around 200 members have written to the funds calling on them to stop investing in coal, which is about 0.01 per cent of QSuper and Sunsuper’s combined membership,” he said. “To deprive more than 1.88 million other members of solid investment returns on the whim of a relative few and the ideological motives of the Conservation Council is farcical. “The...

WA-focused gold developer and explorer Bellevue Gold and Australia-focused precious and base metals explorer Chalice Mining are the recipients of the coveted Craig Oliver Award, presented on the first day of the 20th RIU Explorers Conference. The Award – which is in memory of Craig Oliver, the former Sundance Resources director and major contributor to the mining industry – recognises the ASX resource sector’s best all-round achievers throughout the year. In accepting the award, in front of a packed ballroom at The Esplanade Hotel in Fremantle, Bellevue Gold managing director Steve Parsons said he was proud of Bellevue for its efforts over the past 12 months. “It’s a great project but it’s got great people as well and it’s the...

St Barbara has appointed Macmahon Holdings as the underground mining contractor at the Gwalia mine at Leonora in WA. The initial contract term is five years, with an option for St Barbara to extend for a further three-year period. According to St Barbara Managing Director and CEO Craig Jetson, the appointment of Macmahon brings an opportunity to enhance the performance of the Gwalia mine. “This change is indicative of St Barbara’s determination to enliven Gwalia’s future, to safely and sustainably rebuild operational performance and to secure future investment by delivering predictable and strong financial returns,” he said. “We would like to thank Byrnecut for their service over the past seven years and look forward to an orderly and effective transition....

Time is running out to put forward exceptional members of the community for this year’s Western Australian of the Year Awards, with nominations closing on Friday, February 26. The 2021 Awards will be particularly special, celebrating the achievements of Western Australians over the past two years and raising the calibre of the Awards even higher. Celebrate WA was forced to cancel the 2020 celebrations in order to play their part in the fight against COVID-19, but the Board is confident the 2021 Awards will take place, with final decisions on the nature of the Awards ceremony to be made in line with the most up to date advice from the State Government. In the period since the 2019 Awards many...

They are a fluke of nature and the ultimate in luxury, made in Australia. Discovered in a dusty creek bed in WA, today Argyle diamonds can be found every place diamonds are loved – sparkling in jewellery store windows to royal palaces to weddings to prized collections. Rio Tinto geologist Murray says while it’s hard enough to find a diamond deposit, getting a treasure trove of pink, red, blue, violet, champagne and cognac diamonds is “really something else”. “What we discovered at Argyle was an entirely new specimen of diamond,” he said. “It changed diamond markets forever and showed coloured gems in a whole new light – not just the famous Argyle pinks, which represented less than 1% of production,...

First it was copper prices which hit an eight-year high. Now it’s nickel’s turn, with prices on the London Metal Exchange hitting peaks not seen since September 2014,  reaching US$18,612/t this week. The rising trend for metals is largely caused by the green energy drive from global governments, the transition to electric vehicles and the push by the mining industry to lead the ESG movement through decarbonisation and emissions reductions. Nickel is predicted to recover through 2021 as COVID-19 vaccines roll out and stimulus packages materialise. The price spike follows India’s announcement that the country will house a new Tesla manufacturing factory, as foreshadowed by Tesla chief executive officer Elon Musk. Consultants Wood Mackenzie have warned that $1 trillion of...

Copper prices hit an eight-year high in January, reaching US$8103/t on the London Metal Exchange, with analysts predicting the price rise to continue in 2021, as high as US$9500/t in the fourth quarter. The green energy drive by global governments, the transition to electric vehicles and the push by the mining industry to lead the ESG movement through decarbonisation and emissions reductions, sees the demand for copper rising in the medium term as supply struggles to catch up. After falling to its lows in March 2020 where it plummeted to around US$5000/t from the COVID-19 lockdowns, prices have rebounded sharply since June, reaching US$5700/t that same month, followed by further highs of US$6800/t in September and US$7674.50/t in December. ABN...

Employment opportunities for Australia’s geoscientists showed a sharp increase in the final quarter of 2020, according to Australian Institute of Geoscientists survey results. The greatest improvement was WA, where unemployment fell from 8% to 2.6%, while in Queensland the unemployment rate fell from 9.4% to 5.3%. Overall, unemployment amongst professional geologists, geophysicists and allied earth scientists eased after improvement in employment prospects stalled throughout the previous three quarters of the year, the AIG said. AIG president Andrew Waltho said he was pleased to see job prospects for Australian geoscientists ending a tentative 2020 on such a positive note Nationally, between the beginning of October and end of December 2020, geoscientist unemployment fell sharply from 10.6% to 4.5%, the fourth-lowest rate...

Shandong Gold Mining’s takeover of West African goldd-focused exploration and development Company Cardinal Resources is near completion. The offer closed on January 19 and the bidder now has a relevant interest in 95.62% of all Cardinal shares. Shandong intends to compulsorily acquire all remaining Cardinal Shares that it does not hold. Compulsory acquisition notices and related correspondence will be dispatched to all remaining Cardinal shareholders. In accordance with ASX Listing rules, Cardinal’s shares will be suspended five business days after the date of the Notice, being February 3. Once suspended, the ASX will remove Cardinal from the official list at the close of trading on a date to be determined. Cardinal Respources holds interests in tenements within Ghana, West Africa....