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RIO Tinto, in collaboration with the WA government and South Metropolitan TAFE, has launched Australia’s most advanced automation qualification to date. The Certificate IV in Autonomous Control and Remote Operations was approved by the Training and Accreditation Council (WA), and aims to teach students the knowledge and skills to work at facilities such as Rio’s remote operations centre in Perth. The Resource Industry Collaboration is led by WA state training board chair Jim Walker and includes Rio Tinto, Santos, Yara, Komatsu, BHP, FMG, South32, Roy Hill, the Chamber of Minerals and Energy of Western Australia, TAFE WA, the University of Western Australia and Scitech. The Certificate IV follows the two courses launched earlier this year, the Certificate II in Autonomous…

RENASCOR Resources (ASX: RNU) has completed the Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) at its 100pc owned Siviour graphite project in South Australia. The proposed Siviour mine would be an open pit with an adjacent graphite production plant, which the company said has the potential to be a world-class, low OPEX project. The DFS, completed by Royal IHC and Wave International, has been based on staged development, aiming for an average production of 80ktpa during the first stage, before expansion in year five that would be funded through the expected cash flows, ramping up production to 144ktpa between years five to 10. The projected life of mine operating cost is expected to be about $508/t, which according to the company is amongst…

WESTERN Australian engineering and construction company Clough has nabbed the contract for the construction of the Great Northern Highway road-over-rail bridge and access road intersection for Rio’s Koodaideri mine in the Pilbara. Awarded by Main Roads WA as part of the Acciona Clough Joint Venture (ACJV), the contract covers  the construction of 3.6 km of road for the approaches to the bridge over rail, the construction of the bridge over rail, and construction of side road upgrades of the Great Northern Highway and Koodaideri Mine Access Road (KMAR) intersection. Clough chief executive and managing director Peter Bennett said he was extremely pleased to win the contract. “Our history with Main Roads started in 1957 and we are proud to continue…

AN attack on a convoy of five busses carrying employees to the Bongou mine in Burkina Faso has left 37 dead and 60 injured. Workers of African Mine Services, a subsidiary of Australian company Perenti (ASX: PRN), and Canadian mine owner, Semafo, were among the dead. Sefamo said the convoy was escorted by military police and was about 40km from the mine when it was ambushed by gunmen. No one has claimed responsibility for the attacks at this stage, however suspicion has fallen on Islamic militants. The country has been plagued for the past five years by Jihadi violence that has spilled over from Mali. The attack is the deadliest in the five years of violence and the death toll,…

LITHIUM Australia (ASX: LIT) has confirmed an offtake deal with Korean battery recycler SungEel Hitech Co via its 24pc-owned subsidiary Envirostream Australia. The companies signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the exclusive supply of metals extracted from recycled lithium-ion batteries (‘LIBs’) out of Australia, specifically of mixed metal dust (MMD) containing the energy metals cobalt, nickel and lithium. Lithium Australia managing director Adrian Griffin said the MoU provides for immediate refining of the MMD that Envirostream produces. “Expanding Envirostream’s processing capacity to keep spent LIBs from landfill and export the energy metals they contain is an Australian imperative,” Mr Griffin said. “Closing the loop on the production of battery materials reduces the environmental footprint of the mining and processing…

THE extensive drilling program at Alkane’s (ASX: ALK) Tomingley Gold Project (TPG) has completed the first phase of drilling at the Roswell prospect. The company also continues to drill at San Antonio, and is confident it will release an initial resource by December. Roswell and San Antonio are located to the immediate south of the Tomingley gold operation, where Alkane is conducting an extensive drilling program to define additional resources with the potential for both open pit and underground mining. The additional ore feed would supplement the Tomingley Gold Operation’s 1mtpa processing plant. To date, 18,208m of drilling has been completed, with assays received for a further 8000m of the 60,000m resource definition drilling program at 40m by 40m spacing.…

MINOTAUR Exploration has successfully completed a placement to raise A$1.5m to back its base metals tenements in Queensland and South Australia. New shares will be issued at $0.05 per share, representing around a 9pc discount to last close (on October 30, 2019) and around a 12pc discount to the 15-day volume weighed average price (VWAP) of $0.057. Minotaur managing director Andrew Woskett said that the investor support seen in the placement validated the company’s prospects, with the proceeds to be applied across Minotaur’s base metals exploration projects. “Works will include drilling for the Windsor JV plus drill targeting at Minotaur’s wholly-owned Peake and Denison, and Highlands projects,” Mr Woskett said. Around $0.950m of the placement will be spent at the…

INDEPENDENCE Group (ASX: IGO) has launched a $312m takeover bid for Panoramic Resources (ASX: PAN). IGO said the hostile all-scrip bid was taken to shareholders after a number of attempts to engage with the board for a friendly takeover were unsuccessful. The company cited poor performance and a “lack of engagement from the Panoramic board” as the reason for backing the takeover. “The offer represents, in IGO’s view, the best opportunity for Panoramic’s shareholders to crystalise and de-risk meaningful value from their investment in Panoramic in the foreseeable future,” it said. The offer would pay a premium 42pc to the last closing price of Panoramic shares before the date of the bidder’s statement, and 51pc to the one-month VWAP. Under…

MINERAL Resources (ASX: MIN) and Albermarle have mothballed the Wodgina lithium project in the Pilbara to wait out the lithium price slump after finalising the establishment of the unincorporated MARBL JV. The MARBL JV (60:40 Albermarle MIN), has joined a growing number of developments cutting back, or halting lithium production to wait for better prices as the US-China trade wars and the stalled EV boom continues to frustrate the international market. MIN said that it will take about four weeks to transition to care and maintenance. During that time, Albermarle will manage the marketing and sale of spodumene concentrate, and under the terms of the JV, will continue to manage it once Wodgina goes back into production. Mineral Resources managing…

WITH the development of BHP’s South Flank well underway, Iluka Resources is considering a demerger of the royalty it pockets from BHP’s Mining Area C (MAC). The development of South Flank means the capacity of the expanded MAC hub will sit at around 145 wmtpa from 2023 onwards and would equate to an increase in annual iron ore production (within the MAC royalty area) from around 55 million dmtpa to 135 million dmtpa. With this increase in production (and cash flow), it’s a no-brainer for Iluka to seriously consider a structural separation of MAC by way of demerger. Iluka managing director Tom O’Leary said that the MAC area is a high grade, low cost iron ore asset with a tier…

ACCORDING to Anglo American’s chief executive officer metallurgical coal business Tyler Mitchelson, the mining industry needs to present a sustainable future to ensure continued stakeholder support. “There is no doubt that societal expectations are shaping the future of our industry,” Mr Mitchelson told attendees at the 2019 International Mines and Resources Conference (IMARC) in Melbourne. “The mining industry must present a compelling picture about its future to its workforce and communities to continue to grow and prosper. “In the future, when someone refers to ‘mining’ I hope they see a picture of people doing valued work in a cleaner, smarter and more socially responsible way, providing the essential ingredients for modern life.” Mr Mitchelson said the stakeholder ecosystem is becoming…