BHP said its board of directors recently approved the Western Ridge Crusher (WRC) project, located on the traditional lands of the Nyiyaparli people, approximately 21 kilometres southwest of Newman, Western Australia. The project is a sustaining tonnes proposal for the miner’s Newman Operations, which consists of two mining sites. BHP WA Iron Ore Asset President Tim Day said this was…
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Rio Tinto confirmed it has signed a power purchase agreement, the largest ever for Australia, to energize its Gladstone operations in central Queensland. The miner has agreed to buy the majority of electricity from Windlab’s planned 1.4-GW Bungaban wind energy project, making it the biggest industrial buyer of renewable power in Australia. Rio Tinto officials called it a major step…
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Western Australia-based South32 said its subsidiary South32 Eagle Downs has agreed to divest its 50% interest in the Eagle Downs metallurgical coal project in Queensland to a Stanmore Resources subsidiary. The miner, which owns the project along with China Baowu subsidiary Aquila Resources, is divesting its interest for US$15 million. The transaction is expected to be completed by year’s end.…
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International Graphite, in a first for Australia’s minerals industry, has commissioned a new micronizing plant in Collie, near Perth. The qualification-scale microniser, with a capacity of 200 tonnes per annum, is the largest in Australia and a milestone in the development of a domestic graphite industry. It will be the first to produce graphite products in Australia for customer acceptance…
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Hillgrove Resources has achieved a significant milestone with the production of first copper concentrate from the Kanmantoo underground mine in South Australia following successful commissioning of the processing facility. “Completing this transition from explorer to producer makes Hillgrove Resources one of only a few copper producers on the [Australian Stock Exchange], and doing so in eight months highlights the company’s…
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Australia’s leading iron ore producers – BHP and Rio Tinto – have partnered with BlueScope to accelerate the decarbonisation of steelmaking by agreeing to jointly investigate the development of the country’s first ironmaking electric smelting furnace (ESF) pilot plant. Under a framework agreement, the companies will consolidate the work each party has completed to date, leveraging both miners’ deep knowledge…
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Western Australia-based miners Red 5 and Silver Lake Resources have entered into a merger of equals, creating a diversified gold producer with a significant ore reserve and mineral resource inventory of 4 million ounces and 12.4 million oz., respectively. Under the terms of the transaction, Red 5 will acquire 100% of the shares in Silver Lake and each Silver Lake…
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Hitachi Construction Machinery will start full-scale operation of a remote support center in April that will monitor mining sites using its autonomous haulage system 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to help increase overall operational efficiency. Dubbed the “Technological Centre of Excellence (TCoE),” the operation will monitor the dump truck AHS used at mines. Hitachi will initially utilize…
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UK-based AB Dynamics subsidiary ABD Solutions has announced the newest step in its strategic expansion: expansion of its international footprint with the formation of an operation in Perth, Western Australia. ABD Solutions, which specialises in aftermarket autonomy tailored for fleets in mining, construction, materials handling, defence and agriculture, said it launched the new operation in response to growing demand for…
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Future Element Operations, a 50/50 joint venture between Clean TeQ Water and mine tailings management company Future Element, has joined Unearthed’s Think and Act Differently (TAD) program. TAD is powered by BHP and allows innovators to engage in short experiments designed to de-risk ideas and fast-track technological breakthroughs. Future Element is part of the Essentials Minerals Cohort and will receive…
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