Agricultural waste emerges as a viable coal substitute in steelmaking

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 one-year old mine site restoration in WA. Image: Centre for Mine Site Restoration.   BY ELIZABETH FABRI   TAILINGS dams are among the most ‘ecologically hostile’ by-products of mining operations yet there is currently a lack of sufficient technology to deliver timely and cost-effective restoration outcomes, according to Curtin University’s ARC Centre for Mine Site Restoration (CMSR).   In its new report One giant leap for mankind: can ecopoiesis avert mine tailings disasters?, CMSR argues more time is needed to allow for adequate mine site restoration practices, with current legislation providing a short timeframe. “After a mining operation ceases, there is often less than 10 years given to adequately restore the used land back to a sustainable ecological landscape,...

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...

WA Premier Mark McGowan has jumped on board the Prime Minister’s plans to fast track environmental approvals for resource projects. In his recent speech at the Business Council of Australia annual dinner on November 21, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said environmental approval processes for major projects are overly complex, duplicative and they take too long. “We will partner with the Western Australian Government to develop a system that will reduce approvals times, allow project proponents to submit a single application via a single online portal, track its progress and access a database of biodiversity studies relevant to their project,” Mr Morrison said. “It takes approximately three and a half years for a complex major project to navigate the State and...