Freeport plans to restore large-scale production from PT Freeport Indonesia’s Grasberg operations in Central Papua, Indonesia, following a fatal mud-flow disaster in early September. Remediation activities are advancing to prepare for a phased restart and ramp-up of the Grasberg Block Cave underground mine beginning in the second quarter of 2026. On September 8, seven workers were killed when around 800,000…
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The first brand-new, purpose-built battery-electric locomotives (BELs) in Australia have arrived in Port Hedland. Delivered in partnership with Wabtec, the two are fully battery-powered heavy-haul units that will be trialled on BHP’s iron ore rail routes between its Pilbara mines and Port Hedland operations. Purpose-built to withstand the region’s extreme heat and demanding conditions, the locomotives have been designed to…
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The Rio Tinto Kennecott operation, in its effort to meet corporate decarbonization objectives, has signed a 15-year virtual power purchase agreement (VPPA) with TerraGen for renewable energy from a newly completed wind farm in Texas. Full story.
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Lithium Americas has selected ABB as the electrification partner for its Thacker Pass project in Nevada, home to North America’s largest known measured lithium resource. Full story.
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RCT – Powered by Epiroc has worked with Fortescue at its flagship iron ore mine in the Pilbara region of Western Australia to further grow the Non Line of Sight (NLOS) fleet on site and, in turn, further drive efficiency and productivity. Fortescue has now added five NLOS excavators to its ever-expanding fleet. RCT’s Perth Solutions Team was tasked with…
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Ramaco Resources will establish a national strategic stockpile of rare earth elements (REEs) and critical minerals at its Brook mine facility in Wyoming. The Strategic Critical Minerals Terminal (SCMT) will position Ramaco as the most comprehensive, vertically integrated upstream, midstream and downstream producer of critical minerals and REEs in the United States. Full story.
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Rio Tinto and China’s State Power Investment Corporation (SPIC) Qiyuan have launched a trial of battery swap electric haul truck technology at the Oyu Tolgoi copper mine in Mongolia. This is the miner’s first use of battery swap electric haul trucks in surface mining operations. Battery swapping technology allows the battery of an electric mining truck to be replaced at…
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The National Mining Association has honored outstanding achievements in mine safety with the Sentinels of Safety Awards. Twenty American mining operations – six coal mines and 14 mineral/metal mines – were recognized for extraordinary safety performance in 2024. Full story.
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The United States has signed agreements on critical minerals with Thailand and Malaysia, aiming to diversify supply chains amid competing efforts on rare earths by China, reported Reuters. Malaysia agreed to refrain from banning or imposing quotas on exports to the United States of critical minerals or rare earth elements, the countries said in a statement. However, they did not…
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New South Wales Premier Chris Minns has issued a clear message to the global resources sector at the International Mining and Resources Conference (IMARC): NSW is open for investment and ready to power the world’s clean energy transition. Opening Australia’s largest mining conference in Sydney, the Minns acknowledged that the state’s planning system had created duplication and red tape that…
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