The Australian Mining Review December 2025 Edition

Queens Beach State School teacher Bec Trask (back left) with Bowen Rail Company’s Lienca Nell (back right) and students with a haul from their kitchen garden.

Bravus blooms little green thumbs in Bowen community

The Bowen Rail Company (BRC) is supporting the Queensland region’s littlest green thumbs through a grant to the Queens Beach State School kitchen garden program. The Bowen state school was one of four recipients of the latest round of funding from BRC’s Community Partnership Program, designed to assist not-for-profit organisations and community groups with the purchase of small assets that can make a big difference. Queens Beach is part of the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program and teacher Bec Trask says the children learn about food through hands-on gardening, harvesting, and cooking. “Thanks to the grant we’ve been able to expand the garden and have a bigger variety of fruit and vegetables for the kids to cook with,’’ she said.…

Northern Star doubles profit

Northern Star doubles profit

Northern Star Resources (ASX: NST) reports a record-breaking FY25 marked by high gold prices, steady production and the acquisition of De Grey Mining’s (ASX: DEG) Hemi development project. FY25 has seen several miners report record-breaking years, thanks largely to similarly remarkable gold prices. Gold has surged multiple times throughout the year, thanks in part to global uncertainty around aggressive tariffs driving investment into the industry. Northern Star has reported $6.4b in revenue, up 30% from FY24’s $4.9b, as well as an underlying net profit of over $1.4b after tax, which has more than doubled from last year. The miner has also reported a record group underlying free cash flow of $536m, with shareholders seeing fully franked dividends of 30c/share. Whilst…

(Image source: Bravus Mining and Resources) Cowboys co-captain Tom Dearden in front of his haul truck ride.

Digging coal is the goal for Cowboys co-captain

Cowboys co-captain Tom Dearden has shown he’d have no trouble swapping footy boots for steel caps in the distant future when he’s ready to transition to a life after rugby league. The superstar five-eighth looked right at home behind the wheel of a massive Caterpillar 796AC haul truck during a trip to the Carmichael mine to shoot the new “Digging Coal, Kicking Goals” campaign that celebrates the Platinum Partnership between Bravus Mining and Resources and the Cowboys. Mr Dearden says the visit, including a lap of mining operations sitting in the haul truck’s trainer’s seat, gave him an even greater appreciation of what the partnership between the Townsville-headquartered business and National Rugby League club meant to regional Queenslanders. “My dad…

Juniors warm up inside Bravus Arena.

Bravus Mining & Rockhampton Basketball gear up for season 2024

Bravus Mining and Resources will be cheering up a storm when the Rockhampton Cyclones and Rockets take to Bravus Arena on Saturday (13 April) for the start of the 2024 NBL1 North Season. The owner and operator of the Carmichael mine near Clermont in central Queensland has been a Major Partner of Rockhampton Basketball since 2018. Bravus Mining and Resources head of community Kate Campbell says a ticket to round one against the Townsville Flames and Heat is hot property in the business’ Victoria Parade office. Rockhampton and Townsville are the primary FIFO hubs for the more than 1,200 regional Queenslanders who work at the Carmichael mine. Residents who live in Clermont and the Isaac Region also drive-in and drive-out…

Aiming high for low costs

InternationalNews

Aiming high for low costs

PIEDMONT Lithium could become the world’s lowest-cost lithium producer and an independent spodumene converter providing a US-based source of lithium for the rapidly growing global EV market. The company recently announced results of a pre-feasibility study (PFS) for its proposed lithium hydroxide chemical plant and an updated scoping study for its mine and integrated project in North Carolina to service electric vehicle (EV) production in the US Auto Alley. With operations wholly based in the US, Piedmont would provide local and European auto plants with a more secure supply chain of high-quality LiOH. Currently China accounts for 80% of the world’s LiOH production and nearly 100% of spodumene conversion. The results showed that the two project options (“Merchant” where Piedmont…

Improving mine performance from the ground up

Improving mine performance from the ground up

HAVING been in operation for more than 12 years, MaxiTool Dredging Services owns and operates a fleet of dredges that can meet the demands of the most difficult projects. The company’s team of dredge operators is highly experienced in all aspects of dredging, including the safe dredging of high-density-polyethylenelined ponds without risk of damage to the lining. Whether de-silting return water dams to improve capacity or performing maintenance works for process ponds, MaxiTool has the equipment and kno-how to complete the project. Recently, MaxiTool carried out dredging at Wesfarmers Resources’ Curragh coal mine. The dredging was conducted on site at Retention Dam 7 (RD7). RD7 is one of the main supply dams for the coal handling and preparation plant (CHPP),…

Bravus

Miner move keeps Bravus Mining and Resources anchored in Townsville

Bravus Mining and Resources’ enduring commitment to Townsville has been further cemented with the successful move into a new head office. The miner relocated from the Telstra building in South Townsville at the end of a six-year lease – but not far; just 200m into a new fit-for-purpose premises at the corner of McIlwraith and Dean streets. Bravus Mining and Resources chief operating officer Mick Crowe said the new multi-year tenancy aligned with the business’ commitment to being an operation that can keep employing people, keep engaging local suppliers and keep giving back to the local community over the long term. “What is so exciting about this new office is how it builds on the successes the Carmichael mine has…

Milestone flows for Dugald River

Milestone flows for Dugald River

THROUGH its subsidiary MMG, mid-tier mining company Minmetals Resources has received final environmental approvals for its Dugald River lead-zinc-silver project, 65km northwest of Cloncurry in Queensland. The Hong-Kong listed company was granted final environmental authority from the Queensland Department of Environment and Heritage Protection early last month, setting out licence conditions for the project. MMG executive general manager, business development Michael Nossal said the company had worked closely with the Queensland Government, local communities and other stakeholders for the past 18 months, and that the environmental approval marked a significant milestone for the project. Dugald River is one of the world’s largest and highest-grade lead-zinc-silver deposits, with a mineral reserve of 39 million tonnes grading 12.3 per cent zinc, 1.9…