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This month, leading Cat® dealer WesTrac celebrated dual milestones, 100 years since the inception of Caterpillar® and 35 years of partnership. The first iteration of Cat machines was delivered in 1913 to NSW when Holt Manufacturing Company showcased tractors and harvesters to local farmers. The machines proved to be so popular that the business secured a position in the Australian market. The Caterpillar brand was born on the 15th of April 1925 following the merge of Holt Manufacturing Co and C.L. Best Gas Traction Co. Cat products would officially enter the WA and NSW markets in the following year, marking the beginning of the company’s journey to becoming an internationally renowned brand. WestTrac is the leading supplier of Cat equipment…

NSW coal giant Mount Arthur will be given a second life as a pumped hydro energy storage project following its 2030 closure. BHP (ASX: BHP) has announced its partnership with renewable energy and infrastructure company ACCIONA Energia to transition the project. In 2022 BHP confirmed that Mount Arthur Coal mine would be ushered to sleep as it reached the end of its economic life in 2030. The NSW Government approved the extension of mining activities for a further four years from July 2026 to June 2030 as part of its planned pathway to closure. Conceptual studies of the project show that the proposed facility at Mount Arthur has the potential to support more than 1,000 jobs in the region during…

At Tropicana gold mine, located 330km northeast of Kalgoorlie WA, tyres are one of the largest and most costly consumables. The challenging environment at Tropicana means that wear and tear is unavoidable, but instead of discarding tyres at the end of their life cycle, Macmahon (ASX: MAH) is taking a more sustainable approach. The company is leading a repair initiative to give injured tyres a second life. This not only allows for massive cost savings but to also lowers their ecological footprint. Since 2020 Macmahon’s tyre repair team has repaired 677 tyres, with a total of 909 repairs. Each repaired tyre gains 1,200 hours of additional use on top of its typical 2,500 to 3,500 hours. Tyres are an increasingly…

Black Cat Syndicate (ASX: BC8) has received approval to commence underground mining at Myhree gold deposit. This will follow the completion of the sites open pit later this year. Myhree is located within the Kal East gold project area in Kalgoorlie, WA and is 24km from the 1.2Mtpa Lakewood processing facility. The project’s underground deposit currently compromises a mineral resource estimate of 815kt at 4g/t of gold and remains open at depth. The company is progressing multiple WA projects as part of its ‘more gold soon strategy’. Black Cat’s managing director Gareth Solly said that the approval provides optionality for Kal East and that mining approvals for other deposits are expected soon. “With Lakewood running well, and the open pits…

Mineral Resources (ASX: MIN) is engaging and empowering Indigenous communities with its Onslow iron project. The project, located in WA’s Pilbara region, holds Traditional Owner-led businesses at its heart. MinRes has attributed the success of the project, following the increase of production to 35mt annually, to the support of deep partnerships with local Indigenous suppliers. These partnerships not only provide the project with critical services but shape its legacy through job-creation, long-term capability-building and economic empowerment. MinRes is setting the standard for the resource sector to encourage generational change in Indigenous communities by integrating Indigenous-owned enterprises across its supply chain. The company’s intentional and strategic approach to fostering these partnerships ensures that these relationships are so much more than just…

BCI Minerals (ASX: BCI) announced that it has transitioned to full-scale operations at its Mardie salt and potash project. This now marks the Pilbara as the home of the world’s third-largest salt project. This follows approval from the Commonwealth Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water on the projects updated Groundwater Monitoring and Management Plan (GMMP). The project, located 80km south-west of Karratha in WA, is the first salt operation Australia has seen in nearly three decades and has an expected operation life of 60 years. The Mardie project is anticipated to produce more than 5.35mt of industrial salt annually, making it the largest salt project Australia has ever seen. It is projected to contribute nearly $5b to…

Fortescue (ASX: FMG) has confirmed it has signed a $350m major contract with mining equipment manufacturer Epiroc to acquire more than 50 electric drills. This decision is part of Fortescue’s progress towards operating at net-zero emissions. The company has committed to purchasing a fleet consisting of both autonomous electric platform drills and autonomous electric contour drills. The fleet is anticipated to be operational by 2030, aligning with Fortescue’s goal of replacing ageing diesel-powered equipment. The autonomous electric fleet will be operated from Fortescue’s Integrated Operations Centre in Perth, WA and is expected to cut diesel consumption annually by more than 35ML. Fortescue Metals chief executive Dino Otranto says that the company is thrilled to be collaborating with Epiroc to integrate…

Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO) has discovered one of the largest gem-quality yellow diamonds to ever be found. Weighing in at 158.20 carats, this rough diamond was found at its Diavik diamond mine located in the remote Northwest Territories of Canada. This is one of five diamonds weighing in over at 100 carats to ever be found at Diavik in its two decades of operation. Diamond production at Diavik is primarily white gem quality diamonds, with less than a percent of its production yielding yellow diamonds. Diavik diamond mine chief operating officer Matt Breen says that the two-billion-year-old natural Canadian diamond is a miracle of nature. “It is a testament to the skill and fortitude of all the men and women…

In February of this year, Leibherr-Australia, on behalf of Northern Star Resources (ASX: NST), commissioned five PR 776 dozers. These five dozers are the first of thirteen brand-new Liebherr machines to be acquired by Northern Star at their notorious Super Pit gold mine located near Kalgoorlie, WA. Liebherr-Australia will also supply two more PR 776 dozers, five R 9150 excavators and an R 9400 excavator to the company. This commissioning of these machines grows the number of existing Lieberr machines in Northern Star’s current fleet to seventeen. Northern Star began acquiring Liebherr machines in 2022, the first machine being an R 9400 excavator. Liebherr-Australia’s operations manager for WA Daniel Law-Davis says that to accommodate for the company’s growing presence in…

Gold Road Resources (ASX: GOR) has announced its support of Northern Star Resources (ASX: NST) acquisition of De Grey Mining (ASX: DEG). Gold Road has advised that it has the intention to vote all the De Grey shares it holds in favour of the scheme. Gold Road holds approximately 17.26% of De Grey shares, which are valued at over $1b, making it the company’s largest shareholder. Northern Star is Australia’s largest listed gold miner, valued at almost $25b, and will know if its bid has been successful following a De Grey shareholder meeting on April 16th. The target of this acquisition and De Grey’s most lustrous asset is the Hemi gold project in the Pilbara region of WA. Hemi is…