Latest News

Chemical release costs Queensland company $1m Queensland Alumina Limited (QAL) has been fined $1m for causing serious environmental harm following a major chemical release at its alumina refinery in 2022. The release occurred when a pipe in a high-pressure system ruptured. On Monday, QAL was sentenced in Gladstone Magistrates Court and fined after pleading guilty to three offences against the Environmental Protection Act 1994. The offences include one offence of unlawfully causing serious environmental harm and two offences of contravening a condition of its environmental authority. According to the Queensland Department...

Newmont’s Tom Palmer retires Newmont (ASX: NEM) chief executive Tom Palmer will step down from his role as chief executive on December 31, 2025. Natascha Viljoen, president and chief operating officer, will succeed Mr Palmer as president and chief executive and will also join the board of directors on January 1, 2026. Mr Palmer will serve as a strategic advisor until his retirement on March 31, 2026, to support a seamless leadership transition. Mr Palmer comments on his resignation....

MinRes upgrades Onslow Iron haul road Mineral Resources (ASX: MIN) has safely completed the upgrades to the Onslow Iron private haul road, allowing unconstrained haulage to resume at normal speeds. Roadworks included seal binder upgrades and cement stabilisation to enhance pavement strength and moisture resistance, as well as asphalting along the entire length of the sealed road. The width of the upgraded private haul road spans 11 sealed metres from edge to edge, two metres wider than typical public roads used for heavy haulage in the Pilbara region. Mineral Resources managing director Chris Ellison comments on the upgrades. “Onslow...

Alcoa permanently closes Kwinana refinery Alcoa (ASX: AAI) has confirmed a $1.36b (US$890m) plan to permanently close its Kwinana alumina refinery in WA, citing the age of the facility, scale and operating costs, market conditions and bauxite grade challenges. This follows the curtailment of production at the refinery in June 2024. The Kwinana refinery currently has about 220 employees. Alcoa says this number will be reduced during 2026 as the closure progresses. Certain employees will remain beyond 2026 to prepare the site for future redevelopment. Permanently closing Kwinana’s 2.2mmt of annual capacity will bring Alcoa’s global consolidated refining capacity to 11.7mmt. Alcoa has undertaken numerous studies and analyses since curtailment to determine the future of the refinery, including restart and closure....

Monadelphous awarded $220m in contracts Monadelphous Group has been awarded new construction contracts with BHP (ASX: BHP) and Fortescue (ASX: FMG) for Pilbara projects. The company has secured a major multidisciplinary construction contract with BHP associated with the Jimblebar train loadout replacement project, located near Newman. The vertically integrated scope includes earthworks and civils performed by Melchor, the company’s civil business, structural, mechanical, piping, electrical and instrumentation work. It also includes offsite fabrication and procurement provided by Inteforge, the company’s fabrication business. Work under the contract is expected to be completed in late 2027. Monadelphous has also been awarded a contract for the construction of Fortescue’s North...

Thiess secures Iron Bridge extension Thiess has been awarded a two-year contract extension for mining and asset management works at the Iron Bridge magnetite mine in WA’s Pilbara region. The extension, which includes an option to extend a further two years, builds on its successful operations at the Iron Bridge mine since 2022. Under the new agreement, Thiess will expand delivery of mining and asset management services, continuing the long-standing relationship with Fortescue (ASX: FMG). The award supports the ongoing ramp-up of...

NSW: gold shines bright with record prices Gold production in NSW surpassed $4.2b in FY25, more than half the total value of the state’s mineral output, bolstered by record-high global gold prices. Gold mining has been part of NSW’s economic fabric for more than 175 years and will continue to be for decades to come, providing regional employment, delivering billions in royalties and providing the resources that continue to drive local economies and global industries. Together with these record highs for the gold...

BHP’s Copper SA gets largest renewable electricity deal BHP has entered into its third and biggest renewable electricity supply arrangement for Copper SA. Under this baseload electricity arrangement, 100MW of renewable electricity will be supplied to power BHP’s Copper SA province, including the Olympic Dam mine, smelter and refinery as well as the Carrapateena and Prominent Hill operations. It will be supported by output from the first 300MW of Neoen’s Goyder North Wind Farm, reinforced by their new Goyder Battery with a minimum capacity of 200MW/9800MWh, and Neoen’s in-house energy management...

Fortescue signs international decarbonisation-driven deals Fortescue (ASX: FMG) has signed agreements with four major green energy innovators to accelerate decarbonisation in the Pilbara and beyond. Announced in New York during the United Nations General Assembly, the agreements are with global leader in electric vehicles and in battery manufacturing and development, BYD; solar technology and manufacturing giant, LONGi; construction and mining equipment manufacturer, XCMG; and wind and energy storage leader, Envision Energy. Fortescue has also finalised the acquisition of Spanish...

Kathleen Valley’s first year results in $193m loss for Liontown  Liontown Resources (ASX: LTR) posted a $193m loss for FY25 in the company’s first year of operations at the Kathleen Valley lithium mine in WA.  The statutory net loss after profit includes an $81m non-cash write-down of ore sorting potential (OSP) stockpiles, foreshadowed in the June quarter results.  Liontown managing director and chief executive Tony Ottaviano comments on the loss.  “While we reported a statutory loss, this was expected in a commissioning year and reflects depreciation and the treatment of stockpiles...

Core frees Finniss production  All future Finniss spodumene production is now unencumbered, following the termination of Core Lithium’s (ASX: CXO) offtake agreement with Ganfeng Lithium.  The offtake agreement was in relation to spodumene concentrate from the Finniss lithium project, located 88km by road southwest of Darwin Port in the Northern Territory.  The earlier termination of the Yahua offtake agreement together with this settlement, effected through a one-off $3m (US$2m) payment to Ganfeng, all spodumene offtake obligations are removed, leaving 100% of future Finniss production unencumbered.   This provides Core with complete marketing flexibility, with all future spodumene concentrate production now available for project partners or spot sales.   Core...