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Gold prices pushed to their peak by US Government shutdown The US Government shut down yesterday amid a funding standoff, temporarily shuttering government agencies and leaving about 750,000 workers facing furlough. Immediately following the shutdown, the spot price for gold reached a record high of $5904.61/oz. The spot price for gold has climbed nearly 50% since this time last year. US Government shutdowns occur when there is a funding gap — when Democrats and Republicans cannot pass a bill funding government services into the new fiscal year...

Neoen and Tesla select UGL to build six-hour Muchea battery UGL, a member of the CIMIC Group, has been selected to construct a 164MW / 905MWh Muchea Battery north-east of Perth in WA for Neoen in partnership with Tesla. Muchea Battery is Neoen’s first six-hour long-duration storage asset and will be equipped to support the WA’s energy reliability and transition to renewables. UGL has been contracted to help prepare the site for the installation and connection of 252 Tesla Megapack 2XL units and to design and construct a 132kV substation, including the installation of...

BHP invests $840m in Olympic Dam BHP (ASX: BHP) is investing in a series of growth-enabling projects at Olympic Dam in a move to strengthen the foundations of underground mining productivity. According to BHP chief operating officer Edgar Basto, the miner expects to grow its copper base from 1.7mtpa to about 2.5mtpa. “Achieving that scale requires significant copper growth and we are fortunate to have a world-class copper province right here in South Australia to do just that,” Mr Basto said. “The South Australian copper province is already performing strongly, consistently...

Metso lands repeat orders in concentrate and tailings filtration  Metso has reported repeat orders for its concentrate and tailings filtration technology totalling over $17m (EUR$10m) for Q3 CY25. Most of the orders the Finnish machining giant received were for filter modernisations and upgrades, as well as full-scope replacements of HRT thickeners, including the new ReactorwellTM and Thickener Vane FeedwellTM systems, which are part of the company’s Metso Plus portfolio. Metso vice president, beneficiation and dewatering services, product commercial support Felipe Bañados says proactive maintenance is shaping customer decisions, with reliability fuelling interest in concentrate filtration solutions. “In thickeners, growth is...

Westgold to increase production by 25% Westgold (ASX: WGX) has delivered a high confidence plan that lifts annual gold production at its WA projects from 326koz to 470koz by FY28. Underpinned by the company’s ore reserves of 56mt at 1.93g/t gold for 3.5moz of gold, the plan will see increased output from the company’s four existing processing hubs, currently operating at a 6mtpa capacity, fed from its operating mines and ore purchase agreement. Westgold managing director and chief executive Wayne Bramwell says the outlook provides a baseline for a larger, more...

Weir unveils new ENDURON crushers Weir, a global leader in mining technology, has launched a new range of ENDURON jaw and cone crushers, developed in close collaboration with customers to address their most pressing operational challenges. This customer-first approach has resulted in equipment that enhances safety, boosts productivity, simplifies maintenance, and supports sustainability goals. The updated ENDURON  jaw crushers now feature a redesigned Hydraulic Power Unit (HPU), which allows for true pushbutton control of CSS adjustments. This innovation eliminates the need for manual intervention, significantly reducing safety risks for operators and maintenance teams....

Engineers achieve record-breaking battery performance Engineers at Monash University have developed a new catalyst that could drive zinc-air batteries from hearing aids and watches to EVs and large-scale industrial applications. While zinc-air batteries are currently used in small devices, this opens the door to rechargeable, high-power applications, moving the technology closer to real-world, grid-scale and transport uses. Using microscopic heat treatment, the researchers have developed carbon sheets from 3D materials, adding a framework of individual cobalt and iron atoms to greatly increase reactivity and efficiency within the battery. Saeed Askari and Dr Parama Banerjee, lead authors from Monash...

Rio Tinto may retire Gladstone coal-fired power station early Queensland’s oldest and largest coal-fired power station — the Gladstone Power Station (GPS) — could retire in 2029, six years earlier than expected. Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO) says no final decision has been made to retire GPS, which has operated since 1976, and there is potential to extend the life of the power station should market and other factors allow. The miner says there is no immediate impact on operations and existing power supply contracts, including to Boyne Smelters, will remain in place until their scheduled expiry in March 2029. The GPS JV participants recognise the contribution of the power station to the Gladstone community and are committed to work with...

Liontown revises Tesla deal Liontown (ASX: LTR) has amended its pricing mechanism in its long-term offtake agreement with Tesla. This comes as the miner shifts from lithium hydroxide indices to spodumene concentrate, in line with Liontown’s strategy to be exposed to a ‘basket’ of pricing references across the main lithium products. The revised pricing mechanism will apply to all future deliveries under the agreement. There is no change to the remaining volumes under the agreement for the balance of the term ending in 2029. Liontown is also in advanced discussions with Ford Motor Company in relation to proposed amendments to the offtake and...

Queensland advances $1.23b graphite project The Queensland Government is advancing a major project in North Queensland with the release of the environmental impact statement (EIS) terms of reference for Graphinex’s Esmerelda graphite project. Subject to approval, the project could extract up to 3.5mtpa of ore to produce about 25mt of graphite concentrate over a 50-year project life, creating up to 100 construction jobs and 113 operational jobs at peak production. Queensland Deputy Premier and State Development, Infrastructure and Planning Minister Jarrod Bleijie says the Queensland Government is committed to backing projects that supercharge the economy...

Cutting maintenance costs How real-time oil monitoring transforms equipment reliability By Oreflow Australia Unplanned downtime is one of the biggest headaches in mining and mineral processing. When a critical piece of equipment goes down, the costs immediately escalate with lost production, emergency parts and labour. For most sites, maintenance costs are already one of the largest expenses. The challenge is how to bring them down without cutting corners on reliability.  One of the smartest shifts happening right now is the move from scheduled oil sampling to real-time oil condition monitoring. Instead of waiting for a lab report or sticking to fixed intervals, operators can now see the exact health of their oil and machinery as it changes, 24/7. That’s where...