BHP Billiton has agreed to cease progression of the Caroona Coal Project, through the cancellation of Exploration Licence (EL) 6505. BHP Billiton Minerals Australia President, Mike Henry, acknowledged the NSW Government’s willingness to come to an acceptable agreement in respect of the cancellation. “While we believe that Caroona would have been developed responsibly, we accept the Government’s decision and appreciate its willingness to work with us to agree an acceptable financial outcome for the cancellation of our exploration licence,” Mr Henry said. “The Caroona Coal Project was studied extensively and developed cautiously for almost 10 years. We carried out extensive…
Rio Tinto will invest an incremental $338 million to complete the development of the Silvergrass mine in its world-class Pilbara iron ore operations in Western Australia. The brownfield expansion of the high-grade Silvergrass mine offers attractive returns, with an expected internal rate of return for this investment well in excess of 100 per cent and a pay back of less than three years. It is a key element in maintaining Rio Tinto’s premium Pilbara blend, and also delivers incremental tonnage and lower unit costs. As anticipated in previous guidance, this Silvergrass investment adds 10 million tonnes of capacity. The investment…
BHP Billiton has confirmed that it will not be seeking a further extension to the Variation Deed to the Indenture, which was executed between BHP Billiton and the State of South Australia in October 2011 to accommodate an open pit development at Olympic Dam. The Indenture is the State Agreement which governs the operation of Olympic Dam. As outlined in December last year, BHP Billiton is now pursuing an underground development pathway for Olympic Dam that, subject to approvals and an attractive investment environment, could see copper production increase to 450ktpa from 2025. Therefore as BHP Billiton will not…
Blackham Resources Ltd has successfully achieved another milestone towards gold production with the commencement of open pit mining and underground development work at the Company’s Matilda Gold Project. Blackham’s open pit contractor, MACA Ltd has mobilised the initial mining fleet and commenced mining operations at the Matilda M10 open pit. Pybar Mining Services Ltd has also commenced underground development at the high grade Golden Age orebody. Blackham’s Managing Director, Bryan Dixon, said: “The commencement of mining represents another significant milestone in the Company’s transition from gold explorer to producer at a time of record Australian gold prices”. The 5.1Moz Matilda…
IM Medical Limited has entered into an exclusivity agreement with Rox Resources Limited in relation to an offer to acquire Rox’s interest in the Reward zinc-lead joint venture through IMI’s wholly owned subsidiary IMI Zinc Exploration Pty Ltd. The Reward project is currently owned 49% by Rox and 51% by Teck Australia Pty Ltd, a subsidiary of Teck Resources Limited. Teck has the option to increase its JV interest to 70% by spending A$15 million in total by 31 August 2018. As at 31 March 2016 Teck had spent approximately $13.85 million. The parties have entered into an exclusivity agreement…
Toro Energy Limited has taken another important step in the development of the Wiluna Uranium Project with the signing of an agreement with the Wiluna People providing the consent of native title holders. More than seven years of relationship building between the Wiluna People and Toro culminated in a community meeting at Wiluna to ratify the agreement. Toro’s Managing Director, Dr Vanessa Guthrie, expressed the Company’s deep appreciation for the constructive approach the Wiluna People had taken to the development of their relationship with Toro and the negotiation of the mining agreement. Speaking for Tarlka Matuwa Piarku Aboriginal Corporation (TMPAC…
Red River Resources Limited has announced that a review of the historic Thalanga exploration database has identified a number of additional high priority exploration targets at its Thalanga Zinc Project in central Queensland. The review has confirmed that the favourable Thalanga Horizon is open at depth to the west and the east, and has highlighted a number of areas for further high priority exploration. Of particular interest is the Thalanga East to Far East area, where the review highlighted a historic drill hole intercept of 4.6m @ 4.1% Cu beneath Thalanga East and multiple intercepts of polymetallic zinc rich mineralisation…
American Rare Earths has revealed significant breakthroughs in metallurgical technology as part of the SynBREE project. The project, a consortium led by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), is part of the Environmental Microbes as a BioEngineering Resource (EMBER) program within the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), a U.S. Department of Defense agency. The groundbreaking results include the successful preconcentration of Halleck Creek ore to 3.5% Total Rare Earth Oxide (TREO) at a 12:1 upgrade ratio. This achievement represents a remarkable approximately 200 per cent increase from the existing flowsheet design, utilising cost-effective and conventional Dense Medium Separation (DMS) techniques.…
Gold exploration company Challenger Gold has announced that the company’s recent metallurgical testwork program at the Hualilan Gold Project in Argentina, conducted in November 2023, has opened new avenues for the processing and profitability of the project. The initial scoping study for the project outlined a process path yielding three primary product streams: an Au-Ag concentrate from bulk flotation, a Zn-Au-Ag concentrate from sequential flotation, and Au-Ag doré from leaching of the flotation tailings-leach (FTL). A significant enhancement was identified late in the study's preparation phase, proposing the conversion of the Au-Ag concentrate into doré through a fine-grind and high-intensity…
The latest drilling results recently released by Australian-based mineral exploration company — Latin Resources Ltd — from the Colina Deposit and Fog’s Block in Brazil have yielded high-grade lithium, enforcing the project’s Tier One status. Following the previous mineral resource estimate (MRE) in June 2023, an additional 53 holes (23,617 metres) were drilled at the Colina Deposit, and 13 diamond drill holes (4,575.7 metres) at Fog’s Block. Latin Resources Vice President of Operations - Americas Tony Greenaway said: “This latest update represents a solid five months of drilling which was focused on extending the Colina Deposit to the southwest along…
Australia-based mineral exploration company, Mont Royal Resources, has made significant progress in the Phase Two lithium exploration program at the Bohier Lithium Project, situated in the prolific Upper Eastmain Greenstone Belt in Quebec, Canada. The Bohier Lithium Project footprint has expanded through its second lithium exploration phase. The company reported high-grade results from the trenching and channel sampling program, including: 6.05 metres at 1.78 per cent lithium oxide 7 metres at 1.71 per cent lithium oxide 1 metre at 1.97 per cent lithium oxide 18 samples are currently pending results at the Actlabs laboratory facility in Val d’or, Quebec. Preparations…
Mineral exploration company Rincon Resources has made significant progress at its wholly-owned West Arunta project — in Western Australia — as the company has obtained the necessary heritage clearance. This sets the stage for imminent site works and the initiation of a groundbreaking 1,000 metre diamond drilling program at the Pokali IOCG Prospect. With the clearance in place, the team is diligently preparing for the site works, which is scheduled to commence soon, followed closely by the drilling activities. The upcoming drilling program is meticulously designed to include two diamond holes, each extending to a minimum depth of 500 metres.…
ASX-listed technology minerals company Pinnacle Minerals Ltd has mobilised the field team from Quebec-based geological consultants, IOS, to Mirage Outfitters for the execution of fieldwork. This move marks the preparation for the inaugural exploration program at the Adina East Project located in James Bay, Quebec. Pinnacle Minerals Managing Director Nic Matich said: “Pinnacle has secured the services of respected Geological Group IOS Services Géoscientifiques to conduct first pass exploration at the recently acquired Adina East Lithium Project. Having the crew mobilised on site one day after announcing the acquisition highlights the company’s intent to maximise shareholder value through prompt and…
Producer of high-performance titanium products Iperion X Limited has received a Letter of Interest (LOI) from the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM Bank) — offering a provisional equipment finance of US$11.5 million. This finance is intended for the development of IperionX’s Titanium Production Facility located in Halifax County, Virginia, and is repayable over a tenure of seven years. This promising development follows EXIM’s evaluation of IperionX’s project for eligibility under both its ‘China and Transformational Exports Program’ and the ‘Make More in America Initiative’. These schemes are crafted to diminish Chinese dominance in critical sectors while amplifying export-focused…
