Liontown achieves major milestone with first concentrate

Liontown Resources has produced first spodumene concentrate at its Kathleen Valley mine in Western Australia, following the commissioning of the wet plant and end-to-end operation of the Kathleen Valley value chain. “Two and a half years ago, we set ourselves the ambitious goal of achieving first production by mid-2024. Today, we have achieved it,” said Managing Director and CEO Tony…

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Poseidon taps Encore Minerals for Windarra project

Poseidon Nickel has entered into an agreement with Encore Minerals to develop the gold and nickel tailings at the Windarra tailings project in Western Australia using Draslovka’s proprietary Glycine Leaching Technology and other patented solutions. Under the agreement, Encore will be responsible for the funding, development, operation, closure and rehabilitation of the project, subject to certain conditions being met. Additionally,…

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Zenith Energy to deliver power solution to Mt Weld

Zenith Energy has entered an agreement with Lynas Rare Earths to design, build, own, operate and maintain a hybrid power station at Lynas’ Mt Weld mine in Western Australia. The total installed capacity of the Mt Weld power station upon completion will be approximately 65 megawatts. The Mt Weld hybrid power station will include a 24-MW wind farm (four wind…

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Rio Tinto, Ngarluma to construct solar farm

Rio Tinto and the Ngarluma Aboriginal Corporation (NAC) have agreed to develop an 80-megawatt solar farm on Ngarluma Country to supply renewable energy to Rio’s iron ore operations in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. The solar farm is the first proposed project the Ngarluma people and Rio Tinto will pursue after a memorandum of understanding was signed to explore…

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Liontown secures offtake with China’s BSIT

Liontown Resources said it has executed a full-form offtake agreement with Beijing Sinomine International Trade Co. (BSIT) for the supply of spodumene concentrate from its flagship Kathleen Valley lithium project in Western Australia. “Securing a near-term offtake with an established lithium refiner to sell initial volumes over the ramp-up period, de-risks sales during our ramp-up of the plant towards nameplate…

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Tetra Tech tapped for refinery work

Cobalt Blue Holdings has selected Tetra Tech for the engineering works of its cobalt-nickel refinery in the Kwinana Industrial Area of Western Australia. Financial details were not disclosed, nor was a timeline for work, but Coalt Blue said the scope of work will include detailed process plant design and construction participation in the projects. “We are excited to partner with…

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BHP to suspend WA nickel operations amid saturated market

BHP said it will temporarily suspend its Western Australian nickel operations as it has not “been able to overcome the substantial economic challenges driven by a global oversupply of nickel.” The miner said the suspension will begin in October and last at least until February 2027.  “We understand this is a challenging period for the Western Australia Nickel team and…

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MinRes pioneers on-site mental health push

Western Australian miner Mineral Resources (MinRes) has become the first resource company in the Australian state to send out a team of mental health counsellors to its mine sites. In a model it hopes will set the tone for others in WA, MinRes said the move will offer services to all of its employees, including the 7,500 it has working…

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MinRes to shut down Yilgarn iron ore hub

After completing a comprehensive viability assessment, Mineral Resources (MinRes) has decided to cease iron ore shipments from its Yilgarn hub in Western Australia by 31 December 2024. The miner said the outcome was influenced by several factors, including the limited remaining mine life across five operating mines at the hub and the significant capital cost and lead time required to…

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BHP goes electric with first CAT Early Learner truck

Before the first Early Learner CAT 793 battery-electric haul truck (BEHT) rolls into BHP’s Jimblebar mine in Western Australia in October, the miner’s Operational Decarbonisation team visited Caterpillar’s Tucson Proving Ground (USA) to witness it in action. “It’s incredibly exciting to be here in Tucson seeing this battery-electric truck in action. Not only do these trials represent an important step…

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