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Federal Government to bail out Mount Isa The Federal and Queensland Governments will provide a $600m support package to maintain operations at the Mount Isa copper smelter and Townsville copper refinery. The agreement will allow the smelter — which provides half of Australia’s copper smelting capacity — and the refinery to continue operations until the end of 2028. Australia has only two operational copper smelters — Mount Isa and BHP’s at Olympic Dam — but they face huge competition from China. China has invested heavily in copper smelting and now has 44 smelters, with the surge in Chinese production creating an unprecedented decline...

BHP’s Jimblebar expansion closes in on environmental approval  The WA Environmental Protection Agency (WA EPA) has given its endorsement and recommendations for BHP’s (ASX: BHP) proposed Jimblebar Hub expansion.  The Jimblebar Hub combined proposal covers plans to develop mining deposits both above and below the water table surrounding the Pilbara mine.   To facilitate this, BHP plans to build new overburden storage areas, a new beneficiation plant, an overland conveyor, roads and pipelines.  EPA chair Darren Walsh says the independent authority’s report included recommended conditions to mitigate impacts to conservation-significant flora and fauna and to ensure the protection...

Bellevue’s record-breaking quarter Bellevue Gold (ASX: BGL) has delivered strong Q1 FY26 results, surpassing gold production and development expectations across its gold project in WA.  The company achieved a record production volume of 296kt processed at 3.2 g/t gold, following 259kt of ore mined at 3.2 g/t gold, with grades expected to rise throughout FY26 as the mining sequence progressively moves to higher-grade stoping areas in the Deacon, Viago and Deacon North mining areas.   Development rates for the quarter averaged 322m per jumbo operator per month, well ahead of the FY26 guidance of 270m per month.  Following the successful completion of planned plant upgrades during the...

MinRes appoints new executive Mineral Resources (ASX: MIN) has appointed Sarah Standish as joint company secretary effective immediately. Ms Standish has 20 years of experience in leading legal, governance, risk and compliance functions at ASX-listed and international companies involved in the mining and energy sectors. Additionally, she previously served as general counsel and company secretary at St Barbara (ASX: SBM), general counsel at Imdex (ASX: IMD) and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Derek Oelofse and Ms...

Australia’s rapid uptake of solar panels is creating a looming waste problem University of South Australia researchers have identified ways to overcome barriers to safely and profitably increase the life of solar panels and decrease the overall footprint of solar energy. Australia leads the world in per-capita rooftop solar installations, the systems of which typically have a lifespan of 20 to 30 years but in practice are removed or replaced much sooner. Australia’s quick uptake of solar panels is creating an emerging waste problem with most solar photovoltaic (PV) panels being directed to landfill...

Rio Tinto to develop $1.1b Pilbara mine Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO), Mitsui and Nippon Steel will invest $1.1b (US$733m) to develop new iron ore deposits in the West Angelas hub in WA. The deposits will maintain the hub’s total annual production capacity of 35mt under the West Angelas sustaining project — which has received all necessary State and Federal Government approvals. About 600 jobs will be created during construction. Once operational, the project will help maintain a workforce of about 950 full time equivalent roles at the West Angelas hub. Rio Tinto Iron Ore chief executive Matthew Holcz comments...

Karlawinda delivers record gold production Capricorn Metals (ASX: CMM) has announced its Karlawinda gold project, in the Pilbara region of WA, is on track for it FY26 guidance in a preliminary update on Q1 FY26 production.  The project delivered another strong quarter of operations, producing 32, 318oz of gold, on track to achieve 115,000-125,000oz at an all in sustaining cost (AISC) of $1,530-$1,630 per oz, in line with expectations outline in the FY26 mine plan.  Gold production for the quarter reflected the ongoing mining productivity improvement that drove the consistent quarterly increases in output throughout FY25.   The mining fleet achieved...

Nova Minerals secures funding from US Government  Nova Minerals’ (ASX: NVA) US subsidiary Alaska Range Resources (ARR) has been awarded $65.5m (US$43.4m) to produce antimony trisulfide at its Estelle gold and critical minerals project in Alaska.  The 24-month agreement will allow ARR to accelerate development of a fully integrated US antimony supply chain to extract, concentrate and refine stibnite to produce military grade antimony trisulfide to assist in meeting the US defence industrial base demands.  The project is funded through the US Department of War (DoW) Manufacturing Capability Expansion and Investment Prioritisation (MCEIP) directorate’s Defence Production...

Cost reassessment underway for $12b Snowy 2.0 Snowy Hydro has ordered the comprehensive review of its Snowy 2.0 pumped hydro project in NSW currently undergoing development. Due to current material cost pressures, the company has engaged independent construction cost experts to verify the principal contractor Future Generation Joint Venture’s (FGJV) line-by-line reassessment. Snowy Hydro chief executive Dennis Barnes says the renewable energy project has made good progress since its reset in 2023 and the need to reassess is disappointing as the critical importance of the project to electricity users across the network has not changed. “Despite disruption, including work stoppages due to safety...

US Department of War has an unlikely target: Australian critical minerals In early September, the Trump Administration rebranded the US Department of Defence (DOD), restoring the moniker last deployed in the 1940s. The executive order for the name change says the update conveys a stronger message of readiness and resolve compared to Department of Defence, which emphasises only defensive capabilities. At the signing of the executive order, US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth said the country would “go on offence, not just on defence. Maximum lethality, not tepid legality. Violent effect, not politically correct.” One unlikely manoeuvre is taking shape with...

Protecting lives, maximising operational resilience and overcoming the limits of traditional IT cybersecurity By Claroty sales director John Rice The mining industry is facing an escalating wave of cyber threats as it becomes increasingly reliant on connected systems and digital technologies to drive efficiency and productivity. Modern mining operations rely on Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS), which Gartner defines as engineered systems that orchestrate sensing, computation, control, networking and analytics to interact with the physical world (including humans) spanning industrial control systems (ICS), OT devices, Internet of Things (IoT) devices and more. CPS are at the heart of automation, remote operations and industrial connectivity, but their integration of physical processes with digital control makes them a particularly high-value target. Attacks on OT...