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Tivan (ASX: TVN) has secured regulatory approval from the Northern Territory Lands, Planning and Environment Department to commence its maiden drilling campaign at the Sandover fluorite project. The program will test high-grade fluorite veins identified through two recently completed surface sampling and mapping programs, which returned assays measuring up to 94% calcium fluorite and identified multiple priority vein targets for drilling. The approval follows the signing of a mineral exploration deed for the project, located 230km north-east of Alice Springs, with the Central Land Council, providing the consent of Traditional Owners and Native Title Holders to undertake site-based works. Tivan executive chairman Grant Wilson says the company is pleased to have received regulatory approval just in time to mobilise its…

A largely unknown site has said the quiet part out loud.  On Friday evening, SteelOrbis, a small website based in Istanbul, published a story suggesting that BHP (ASX: BHP) would settle 30% of its spot iron ore sales to China in RMB instead of US dollars starting in Q4 2025.  The report, while attention grabbing, has yet to be confirmed, as both BHP and China’s state-run iron ore buyer CMRG are keeping quiet amid ongoing negotiations.   Similar unconfirmed reports surfaced in late September, claiming that CMRG had told major steelmakers and traders to temporarily halt purchases of all new BHP (ASX: BHP) cargoes.  In this case, the reports prompted a more substantial reaction, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese saying he…

Glencore’s Jameson Cell, one of the most effective, flexible and high performing flotation technologies in the world, remains at the forefront of froth flotation innovation. The Jameson Cell was developed in 1985 when Mount Isa Mines asked Professor Graeme Jameson to improve flotation performance in their zinc circuit. His breakthrough — the downcomer — showed that effective particle recovery occurred in an intense mixing zone, leading to the creation of a compact, high-efficiency flotation cell. Over the next 40 years, the Jameson Cell underwent continuous improvement. Key milestones included the introduction of the External Recycle Mechanism (ERM) in the 1990’s, which fundamentally improved the process stability. In 2007, Glencore Technology, in conjunction with Professor Jameson, conducted a series of internal…

The Federal and WA Government are negotiating a new bilateral agreement to eliminate duplication in environmental approvals that, if adopted nation-wide, could save Australia $7b according to Federal Government figures. This week, Federal Environment Minister Murray Watt met with WA Premier Roger Cook to discuss reforms to the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act. These changes will streamline processes by negating the need for Federal assessment of projects already under review by the WA Environmental Protection Authority (EPA). Minister Watt says he is confident that the governments can both deliver better environmental protections for Australia and speed up approvals processes for mining projects. “The problem with the current laws is that the processes are too clunky, they are seeing…

Pinnacle Minerals (ASX: PIM) is expanding its global footprint in the technology and defence sectors with the acquisition of eight critical minerals projects in the US. This acquisition marks the company’s entry into the US critical mineral landscape with the aims of positioning the company to benefit from emerging government policy in both the US and Australia. It follows recent developments in international critical minerals policy, including China’s further tightening of export controls on critical minerals on October 9 and the Federal Government’s advancement on a $1.2b critical minerals strategic reserve. The projects encompass highly prospective antimony, gold and silver projects across historical mining jurisdictions, including six claim blocks in Idaho and two claim blocks in Washington state. The Idaho…

Fortescue (ASX: FMG) is dropping plans to manufacture electric motors in-house and moving work offshore to China in a shift that will cost hundreds of workers in the UK and WA their jobs. The UK-based Fortescue Zero division was set to manufacture powertrains for about 400 electric mining trucks for the company’s extensive iron ore operations in the Pilbara region of WA. The company will instead be making the majority of components for the vehicles offshore in China where costs are lower and turnover times are faster. Fortescue Zero will still be responsible for the design and development of the powertrains for the mining trucks and the first 20 battery power systems, however, manufacturing at scale will be the responsibility…

Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO) has recorded strong results for Q3 CY25, backed by rebounding iron ore prices and advancing operations at the Simandou iron ore project in Guinea. The company shipped 84.3mt of iron ore from its WA operations during Q3 CY25, narrowly missing the estimated guidance of 85.5mt. Rio’s $6.2b Simandou project reached a major milestone with the loading of first ore on the newly commissioned mine-to-rail-to-port system. First shipments are expected in November, with a ramp-up to the site’s full capacity of 60mtpa expected over the next 30 months. Rio Tinto chief executive Simon Trott says the company continues to strengthen performance from its assets. “We are also focused on delivering a strong finish to the year from…

St George Mining (ASX: SGQ) has secured $72.5m in funding for its rare earths-niobium Araxá project in Brazil.  The placement involved the issue of 725 million new ordinary shares and attracted major interest from prominent investors, including Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting. Hancock acquired 225 million shares — representing about 31% of the placement value.  St George initially targeted a smaller placement, but upsized due to overwhelming interest from investors in Europe, the US and Australia.  The Araxá project’s mineral resource estimate (MRE) includes six of the top 10 minerals on the US Department of Interior’s critical minerals list including samarium, lutetium, terbium, dysprosium, gadolinium and niobium.  The project hosts 6mt at 4.13% total rare earth oxides (TREO) and 41.2mt at…

Core Lithium (ASX: CXO) has revised the ore reserve at its Finniss lithium mine in the Northern Territory to 15.2mt at 1.26% lithium oxide. Operations at the project were previously suspended in 2024 due to the global lithium price slump caused by oversupply of the mineral. The project is now advancing towards a low-cost underground operation with a 20 year mine life, supported by the findings of a restart study. There have been firm commitments for a $50m (before costs) placement and an additional $4.3m raised through a share purchase plan (SPP) to accelerate the Finniss development. Core Lithium chief executive Paul Brown says the company has built on the restart study during the September quarter. “Final investment decision (FID)-related…

Resolution Minerals (ASX: RML) and Nova Minerals (ASX: NVA) are amongst the miners requested to brief Australian Ambassador to the US Dr Kevin Rudd ahead of Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese meeting with US President Donald Trump. The meeting between Prime Minister Albanese and President Trump is scheduled to take place in Washington DC on October 20 with critical minerals and strategic cooperation set to be key points of discussion. The Ambassador has requested Resolution to provide an update on its Horse Heaven gold-antimony-tungsten project in Idaho, including its size, mineral resource value and prospective expansion plan. Horse Heaven is well positioned to benefit from a strategic partnership between Australia and the US that supports domestic supply chains as the…

Grants worth $6.6m have been allocated to 39 recipients of the 32nd round of the WA Government exploration incentive scheme (EIS) co-funded drilling program.  By sharing the financial risk of early-stage exploration, the EIS enables companies to pursue high-potential projects that may otherwise be considered too risky or cost-prohibitive.    The long running scheme is considered highly successful with Lord Resources reporting success under the previous round at its Ilgarari project, where two co-funded drillholes intersected primary copper mineralisation.   Copper exploration has also yielded promising results for Redstone Resources, which recovered a 10m zone of continuous copper mineralisation from a co-funded diamond drillhole at its Chatsworth prospect, part of its West Musgrave project under round 29 of the scheme.  WA Mines…