Australia prioritises military minerals in strategic reserve

Atlas’ successful start Image Resources (ASX: IMA) has successfully completed three planned shipments of heavy mineral concentrate (HMC) in the June quarter from its WA-based Atlas mineral sands project. The shipments from the project, located 170km north of Perth, totalled 35kt and had a total booked revenue of around $22m. Atlas is now operating at nameplate capacity, a significant milestone for the project. Operations at the project commenced in early April this year with the June quarter marking the first quarter of production at Atlas. This follows rapid and successful project commissioning in February and March this...

MinRes boosts Indigenous participation with new joint venture Mineral Resources (ASX: MIN) has commenced a new joint venture, Yardi Mining Services, to place Traditional Owners of the Onslow Iron project at the centre of sustainable economic participation.  The partnership with wholly owned subsidiary CSI Mining Services (CSI) and Robe River Services (RRS), which represents the Robe River Kuruma (RRK) community in WA, creates pathways for RRK members to gain skills across a diverse range of mining services — from operating heavy machinery such as excavators...

850 jobs on the line as Yandi scales back BHP (ASX: BHP) will be winding down operations at its Yandi iron ore mine in the Pilbara region of WA as the ore body nears depletion. The company has begun informing its workforce, about 650 direct employees and 200 contractors, that operations will be scaled back over the next year before ceasing altogether. BHP first proposed scaling down operations at Yandi in 2017 but strong demand for iron ore led to multiple life-of-mine extensions. The Western Mineworkers' Alliance (WMWA), representing more than 100 members at Yandi, says the announcement comes as...

AusQuest commence major drilling program at Balladonia AusQuest (ASX: AQD) has announced the commencement of its drilling program at the Balladonia project located in the Fraser region of WA. The program targets a range of metals including copper, lead, zinc and silver. The drilling program is expected to take six weeks to complete. Initial assays are expected from late May to early June this year. AusQuest’s managing director Graeme Drew says the company is very pleased to be drilling again at Balladonia now that they have successfully defined some promising large-scale base metal targets. “Geological comparisons that have been made with productive base metal regions like Northwest Queensland...