Rio Tinto investing big in Rincon

Rio Tinto has approved an earmark of $2.5 billion to expand the capacity of its Rincon lithium project in Argentina to 60,000 tonnes per year. Rincon is the company’s first commercial-scale lithium operation; that capacity is comprised of the 3,000-tonne starter plant and 57,000-tonne expansion plant. Rincon’s mine life is expected to be 40 years, with construction of the expanded…

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Rio Tinto celebrates milestone shipment to China

Rio Tinto said it shipped its four billionth tonne of iron ore from the Pilbara in Western Australia to China after half a century of working together. The shipment was loaded at Dampier Port on 19 July, bound for China Baowu Steel Group – the world’s top steel producer. “China’s strong demand for high-quality minerals such as iron ore has…

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Epiroc buys Canadian ground support company

Epiroc has agreed to acquire Canadian-based Yieldpoint, which provides advanced ground support solutions that strengthen safety for mining and civil engineering applications, for an undisclosed amount. “Proper ground support is crucial to safe mining and infrastructure operations. Yieldpoint’s smart and robust monitoring solutions complement our ground support offering well, and expand our portfolio of digital solutions,” said Helena Hedblom, Epiroc…

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Sandvik issues layoff under restructuring

Equipment maker Sandvik said it will be cutting 1,100 as part of a cost-saving restructuring effort. The company, which said it will also be consolidating production units and optimizing its organizational structure, said orders from majors were at a good level but it had seen a decrease in business from smaller operators as well as from the infrastructure market. The…

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TOMRA hit with cyberattack

Norwegian mining and recycling giant TOMRA said it discovered an extensive cyberattack on July 16, directly affecting some of the company’s data systems.  “We immediately disconnected some systems to contain the attack, and TOMRA is currently assessing whether customers and employees might experience reduced stability in our services. Our primary focus now is to get all systems up and running…

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Triton awards Ancuabe FEED to YOME

Triton Minerals, owner of the Ancuabe graphite project in Mozambique, has selected China-based equipment engineering group Yantai Oriental Metallurgical Engineering (YOME) as its front-end engineering design (FEED) contractor for the asset’s process plant and non-process infrastructure. YOME, an associate of Yantai Jinpeng Mining Machinery, will begin work this quarter and target the enhancement and improvement of the plant’s design. The…

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Leaching technology in action at Freeport’s El Abra

Jetti Resources has inked a deal with Freeport-McMoRan for its leaching technology deployment at the El Abra copper operation in Chile. The deal for the placement, which is between Jetti and Sociedad Contractual Minera El Abra, is the first in Chile, and the second for Jetti at a Freeport mine. The first was the Bagdad mine in Arizona last year.…

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Komatsu, Cummins partner to create remote equipment-monitoring solution

Unplanned downtime from equipment and engine maintenance at mines can be very costly. To create more value for customers, Komatsu and Cummins have partnered to deliver a new, integrated remote equipment-monitoring solution designed to reduce unplanned stoppages, accelerate maintenance execution, and extend component life and maintenance intervals. By sharing equipment health and performance data over common infrastructure, and collaborating on…

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