Category: Technology & Innovation

BHP (ASX: BHP) has signed four new clean energy contracts for power at its Escondida and Spence copper mines in Chile as it continues its push toward 100pc renewable power in the mid 2020’s. While the company will cop US$780m in cancellation fees for dropping coal contracts, it said that it would be value-accretive in the long term. The transition came as the result of separate tenders for both Escondida and Spence, with BHP signing on for two separate 15-year contracts for 3TW hours per year, and 10-year contracts for 3TW hours per year with ENEL Generacion Chile and Colbun respectively. BHP said that the contracts would reduce energy prices at the mines by about 20pc, provide operations flexibility and…

IN a landmark agreement with Alinta Energy, Fortescue Metals Group (FMG) has announced that up to 100pc of daytime stationary energy requirements at Chichester Hub iron ore operations will be powered by renewable energy. Remaining power requirements will be met through integrated battery storage and gas power station facilities. The Chichester Solar Gas Hybrid project will see the construction of a 60MW solar photovoltaic generation facility at the Chichester Hub (comprising FMG’s Christmas Creek and Cloudbreak mining operations), along with a 60km transmission line linking the mining operations with Alinta Energy’s Newman gas-fired power station plus a 35MW battery facility. Fortescue chief executive officer Elizabeth Gaines said that reliable and competitive energy generation remained an important consideration for the mining…

TALGA Resources’ UK subsidiary Talga Technologies has gained funding under the UK Government’s Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund (ISCF) Faraday Battery Challenge to develop the company’s graphitic anode for solid state batteries. The Faraday Challenge represents a £246m UK Government funding initiative for battery research, development and scale-up of facilities to help create a new supply chain for battery production in the UK and income from battery technologies. Solid state battery technology has the potential to combine high energy and power with improved safety – using a solid state electrolyte made of polymer, ceramic or glass material instead of the (more flammable) liquid electrolyte of  lithium-ion batteries. Talga aims to replace the metallic lithium anode in solid state batteries by developing…

THE Australian Government has released a Critical Minerals Strategy Report, exposing huge holes in the supply chain as tensions between Beijing and Washington heat up. The 17 elements that make up the rare earths are vital to high-tech appliances for both domestic and military use, and the heavy rare earths are the fundamental component in the powerful magnets used in electric vehicle motors. The report highlights Australia’s status as the world’s second largest producer of rare earths, and therefore perfectly positioned to supply the US with the high-tech elements, particularly the heavy rare earths that China has traditionally dominated. Resources and Northern Australia Minister Matt Canavan said that the Critical Minerals Strategy would prepare Australia to become the alternative to…

RIO Tinto (ASX: RIO) has entered into a historic MoU with Chinese steel giant China Baowu Steel Group and Tsinghua University to implement methods that reduce carbon emissions across the steel value chain. Signed at the China International Steel and Raw Materials Conference in Qingdao, the MoU will enable the formation of a working group tasked with identifying a pathway to reduce the carbon emitted across the entire value chain – amounting to between 7-9pc of world emissions. This comes as a major breakthrough to address carbon emission downstream, or scope 3 emissions, as mounting concerns pressure companies such as BHP to address the global climate impact of their products across the whole supply chain. Rio Tinto chief executive Jean-Sébastien Jacques…

BRIDGING the gap between university graduates and careers in the mining industry was high on the agenda at the recent Association of Mining Companies (AMEC) conference in Perth. Student Edge head of research Cristiano Lima detailed the finding of two surveys of around 3000 young people (1000 between 15-29 years old and 2000 between 12-24 years old), in which questions were asked about their perceptions of mining as a career pathway. Around 60pc of students said they knew nothing about mining, and Mr Lima said the surveys showed the main reason for the decline in graduates pursuing careers in mining could be due to misconceptions around what jobs were available and concerns around automation and the boom-bust cycle. “Students said…

A SYDNEY Law School energy and natural resources expert says a collective bargaining agreement for farmers will help them co-exist with miners and their operations. In her new book, Agricultural land use and natural gas extraction conflicts, Dr Madeline Taylor said the move towards renewables, in particular the expansion of the Liquified Natural Gas market, has brought about tensions between miners and producers whose land and livelihoods can be irreparably damaged by such activities. Dr Taylor posits a State-centric model, rather than the somewhat ad hoc adaptive management approach, as a way to level the playing field and ensure the best interest of all parties involved. “Instead of having this linear relationship between State, landholder and unconventional gas licence holder,…

Mt Arthur Coal’s manager coal production, Kirsty Liddicoat, hopes to use her leadership skills to help other women excel in the mining industry. Image: BHP Billiton. WITH more than 14 years of experience in the mining industry, Mt Arthur Coal’s coal production manager Kirsty Liddicoat has a strong track record of delivering both results and cultural changes. Late last year Ms Liddicoat won a scholarship through Chief Executive Women (CEW) for a place in the Leading for Results course at the prestigious INSEAD Business School in Singapore – which was designed to help experienced managers take their leadership skills to the next level. “I could see that the course was designed to help create a compelling vision, provide feedback and…