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Lithium Australia teams up with CSIRO ASX company Lithium Australia’s subsidiary VSPC has been selected to be part of the Australian government’s $5m research program to develop fast-charge lithium-ion batteries for use in transportation. VSPC will develop advanced cathode materials with research partners CSIRO, The University of Queensland, and Soluna Australia. Lithium Australia managing director Adrian Griffin said the research aims to deliver an Australian product that puts the country at the forefront of battery development. “This is an unparalleled opportunity to combine VSPC’s battery-materials technology with some of the world’s leading research,” Mr Griffin said. For participating in the Co-operative Research Centres project, VSPC will receive grant funding of $1.6m, with similar amounts going to the other research partners....

AUSTRALIAN-BASED Southern Gold has announced a binding agreement for the placement of 71,428,571 ordinary shares in the company at 14c per share. The objective is to raise $10m toward doubling the exploration and drilling program in South Korea. AIM-listed investment group, Metal Tiger PLC, will invest about $3.33m, with an agreement for a cornerstone position in the placement and the right to nominate one director to the company. Southern Gold owns 100pc of several high-grade gold projects in South Korea and has interests in other gold production projects in the region. The nominee for this position will be Terry Grammer, an award-winning geologist with more than 40 years’ experience in mining and mineral exploration across the globe. Mr Grammer discovered...

Mines withstand Damien CLEAN-UP operations are underway in the Pilbara after the category 4 Cyclone Damien made its presence felt across the region on February 7. Ports servicing Roy Hill, Rio Tinto, and FMG Iron Ore operations at Dampier and Ashburton went into cyclone preparation mode and shut as the cyclone passed, with the port at Port Hedland remaining closed for 25 hours. Roy Hill and FMG mines received the least of the storm, with Rio Tinto’s port, rail and mine network situated in the direct path of the storm. A report from the company said that it is supporting recovery efforts alongside DFES. Further disruptions were hoped to be avoided as heavy rain continued to fall. The towns of...

Peabody Energy to sell North Goonyella US coal company Peabody Energy is considering selling all or part of its interest in the North Goonyella coking coal mine in Queensland, Australia, after receiving substantial expressions of interest from potential buyers for the asset. Peabody Energy said that it had started a commercial process for North Goonyella mine, which shipped 1.8mt of coking coal through Dalrymple Bay coal terminal in 2018. “The process comes in response to substantial expressions of interest in this valuable asset from potential strategic partners and other producers,” the company stated. Commercial outcomes could include a strategic financial partner, joint venture structure, or complete sale of North Goonyella. The mine was temporarily closed after an underground fire in...

Gove contract to SXE SOUTHERN Cross Electrical Engineering Limited (SXE) has been awarded an $18m contract by Rio Tinto for its refinery site on the Gove Peninsula in North East Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory. The works will form part of the planned rehabilitation of the site, including the re-routing and isolation of electrical and hydraulic services to the refinery. Mobilisation of the works is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2020 to be completed by March 2021. The Gove site has been producing bauxite worldwide for the global aluminium industry for the past 40 years. Gove’s milestones include the largest bauxite ship to be loaded from an Australian port and a record production of 12.5mt. Rio...

State of Mine FLY In Fly Out (FIFO) worker Blake Wood and business partner George Helou are on a mission to eradicate suicide among FIFO workers. Their program, FIFOZero, aims to teach workers practical problem-solving skills in order to confront issues of mental and emotional stress they say are exacerbated through the isolation that often comes with FIFO life. Mr Wood worked in the FIFO sector for nearly nine years before he was forced to face his own demons. He struggled from panic attacks, chronic anxiety and suicidal thoughts and, after the suicide of a close colleague, he was driven to do something about it. After taking Mr Helou’s EP7 seven step program, the two developed FIFOZero, a nuanced response...

Movie Reviews - February 2020 BIRDS OF PREY   Margot Robbie, Ewan McGregor  THE eccentric Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) has broken up with her psychopathic lover, the Joker, with whom she had a relationship in 2016’ mediocrely-received Suicide Squad. And now, without the big J’s protection, the scatter-brained Harleen Quinzel faces a life confronting previous enemies ready to cash in on karma, to the extent that she can’t even eat an egg sandwich without being pursued by a variety of riff raff that she has managed to offend in the past. That’s the basic setup as director Cathy Yan jumps around haphazardly in time, from mere hours ago to several weeks before, and then even further back to ‘80s Sicily, as...

Soaring Tesla excites metals markets US electric vehicle maker Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) has seen an incredible run-up in its share price over the past few days, sparking interest in the metals used in the production of its cars and vehicles. At the end of Tuesday’s US trading session on the Nasdaq exchange, Tesla’s share price rose 13pc or US$107/share to close at an all-time high of US$887/share, according to exchange data. The rally has lasted for several days, after the Tesla share price suddenly took off from US$650/share on January 31, and brings gains for the stock since then to $237/share or 36.5pc. Tesla had a stock market value of US$160b on Wednesday. In a presentation released last week, Tesla...

Horizon Minerals strikes gold HIGH grade drill results have been announced at the Rose Hill, Gunga West and Golden Ridge gold mining projects in WA. The sites, near Kalgoorlie and Coolgardie, were acquired by Horizon Minerals under an asset swap with Northern Star resources in September and December last year. According to Horizon management, Rosehill has produced about 1340 oz of gold at 8.3g/t gold from 5000t since 1898. The drill results came after 12 Reverse Circulation (RC) holes at Rose Hill, which were conducted for the purpose of due diligence. Significant assays of gold, associated with stock work quartz veining and increased pyrite abundance, were found within a steep dipping, porphyry host rock. Confirmation of solid gold mineralisation was...

Lynas wins approval for Kalgoorlie AUSTRALIAN rare earths company Lynas Corporation’s (ASX: LYC) new processing plant in Kalgoorlie, WA, has been granted Major Project Status by the Australian government. Major Project Status streamlines government approvals processes for mining projects, providing a single-entry point for their assessment by the Australian government, and formally recognises a project’s significance to the Australian economy. The company’s Kalgoorlie processing plant will carry out cracking and leaching of rare earth concentrate from Lynas’s Mt Weld mine in WA’s Goldfield’s region and will support the development of new infrastructure including chemicals production for the rare earths industry. At its peak construction phase the plant is expected to create 500 jobs, and increase Lynas’s Goldfields workforce to more...