At the start of the year, the Ranger uranium mine operated by Energy Resources of Australia Ltd (ERA), one of the longest continually operating uranium producers in the world, ceased processing. The Ranger mine is located eight kilometres east of Jabiru and 260 kilometres south-east of Darwin, in Australia's Northern Territory. The mine project area is 79 square kilometres and is surrounded by, but separate from the World Heritage-listed Kakadu National Park, which spans approximately 20,000 square kilometres. ERA has confirmed that all mining and processing activities at Ranger concluded on 8 January 2... more

BHP has commenced a new Light Electric Vehicle (LEV) trial at the company's Nickel West operations in Western Australia. Edgar Basto, President, Minerals Australia, BHP said the trial is another step in the company's ongoing studies into how emissions intensity of its light vehicle fleet can be reduced. The trial builds on BHP’s trials with other suppliers currently ongoing at Olympic Dam in South Australia and Broadmeadow in Queensland. “Reducing our reliance on diesel at our operations will help achieve our medium-term target of reducing operational emissions by 30 per cent by 2030,” he said. As... more

The Mining Management Plan (MMP) for the Jervois Base Metal Project has officially been given the green light by the Northern Territory Government this morning. Located 380 kilometres northeast of Alice Springs, the Jervois Base Metal Project has the potential to create 350 jobs during peak production. The approval allows Kentor Minerals Pty Ltd (wholly owned by KGL Resources Ltd) to develop the mine, which will include on-site processing and the production of a copper concentrate and a lead/zinc concentrate. KGL acquired the Jervois Base Metal Project in 2011 and set a strategic direction to improve th... more

Red River Resources Limited has officially commenced processing at its Hillgrove Gold Operation in New South Wales, located approximately 30 kilometres from Armidale. The project has a substantial high-grade JORC 2012 Compliant Mineral Resource of 5 million tonnes (Mt) at 4.3 grams per tonne (g/t) of gold (Au) and 1.5 per cent antimony (Sb) (6.4 g/t Au Eq.) (692koz gold and 75kt antimony). Bakers Creek Stockpile mining and trucking activities have commenced, with first ore delivered to Hillgrove ROM Pad on 23 December 2020. First ore was processed through the Hillgrove Mill on 29 December, and the compa... more

The bulk carrier HL Green received a special greeting when it arrived on its maiden voyage to Port Hedland, Western Australia on 6 January. HL Green was the first liquified natural gas (LNG) fuelled vessel to berth at the Port of Port Hedland, as the maritime industry moves to reduce emissions from shipping operations. HL Green is one of two 180,000 tonne bulk carriers that was built in Korea by Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries (HSHI) and launched on 11 December 2020. The vessel is expected to make about 10 round trips a year between Korea and Australia. The HL Green is distinguished from other bulk carri... more

BHP has awarded its first liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply agreement for five LNG-fuelled Newcastlemax bulk carriers, which will transport iron ore between Western Australia and China from 2022. Shell has secured the contract to fuel the vessels, which BHP will charter from Eastern Pacific Shipping (EPS) for five-year terms. BHP Chief Commercial Officer, Vandita Pant, said the LNG bunkering contract marks a significant step in how BHP is working with its suppliers to reduce emissions across the maritime supply chain. “LNG fuelled vessels are forecast to help BHP reduce carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2... more

Norwegian-based international energy company, Equinor, is leading a project to develop one of the UK’s – and the world’s – first at-scale facilities to produce hydrogen from natural gas in combination with carbon capture and storage (CCS). The project, called Hydrogen to Humber Saltend (H2H Saltend), provides the beginnings of a decarbonised industrial cluster in the Humber region, the UK’s largest by emissions. H2H Saltend supports the UK government’s aim to establish at least one low carbon industrial cluster by 2030 and the world’s first net-zero cluster by 2040. It also paves the way f... more

BP and Chevron have committed to investing a total of $116.5 million in oil and gas exploration activities, with at least half directed to projects in South Australia with a view to increasing energy supplies in the state and south-eastern Australia. BP and Chevron ceased their programs of exploration in the Great Australian Bight in 2017 and 2018 respectively. The commitments were announced following the conclusion of Good Standing Agreement negotiations with both parties after their decisions to cease petroleum exploration in the Great Australian Bight. Minister for Resources and Northern Australia Ma... more

Premier of Western Australia Mark McGowan and Energy Minister Bill Johnston have announced plans for a new $16 million energy hub in Albany. Western Power's state-of-the-art facility is forecast to generate around 70 construction jobs. It will enhance employee safety, improve operational efficiencies and future-proof the electricity supply for Albany and the Great Southern region. The facility's design focuses on a safe working environment, including single-flow traffic, the separation of light and heavy vehicles, and reduced interaction between forklifts and people. It also includes electric vehicle charg... more

A $4.5 million funding boost will help researchers at The Australian National University (ANU) develop next-generation solar cell technology. The money will go towards state-of-the-art research equipment for three separate projects. The funding is partly from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency's (ARENA) Australian Centre for Advanced Photovoltaics Infrastructure project ($3.6 million) and is supported with co-funding from ANU ($0.9 million). Dr Kean Chern Fong and his team will receive $3.1 million for a new 'nano-engineering' laboratory. The lab will help create new materials to enhance the conversion... more

Origin Energy Limited is advancing its plans for a battery at the Eraring Power Station in New South Wales with an overall capacity of up to 700 MW and a dispatch duration of four hours – making it the nation’s largest battery project currently under consideration. Origin has issued an Expression of Interest to suitably qualified firms to supply and install the large-scale battery. A Connection Enquiry has also been lodged with NSW transmission network service provider TransGrid to connect the battery to the national grid via the Eraring substation. Origin Executive General Manager, Energy Supply an... more

Through the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), the Australian Government has announced that it will jointly fund a new technical feasibility study into using an underground coal mine as part of a Pumped Hydro Energy Storage (PHES) scheme in New South Wales. On behalf of the Federal Government, ARENA will provide $995,000 in funding to Centennial Coal for a technical review and pilot trial to examine the feasibility of repurposing an underground coal mine for pumped hydro just south-west of Newcastle at Newstan Colliery, Fassifern. The mine has been on care and maintenance since 2014. The New South... more

The Railway Goods Shed and Footbridge in Collie, that were instrumental in establishing the only coal industry in Western Australia, have been included in the State Register of Heritage Places. Designed in 1898 by C.Y. O'Connor, the Goods Shed is the largest standard Class 1 shed built by the former railways department, and includes a double gabled roof with the track running through the length of the building on one side. The footbridge is one of the few rare surviving examples of a rural railway footbridge in the State and was restored by volunteer labour, reopening in 2013. It spans the entire distance ... more

Tasmania will soon have expanded geotechnical testing capabilities, thanks to a $2.4 million upgrade to the Mineral Resources Tasmania Core Library at Mornington. Minister for Resources, Guy Barnett, said the upgrade will mean more of the scientific analysis work that goes into both managing our natural resources and growing the sector can happen in Tasmania rather than going offshore. “Tasmanian construction company Fairbrother has been awarded the contract to upgrade the Library, which will combine laboratory facilities, currently spread across two sites, and provide an upgraded and expanded state-of-t... more

Strike Energy Limited has announced the launch of Project Haber, a Western Australian ammonia and urea manufacturing facility, which comes after a year of feasibility studies. Strike and TechnipFMC have completed feasibility studies on a 1.4 million tonne per annum urea production facility which would process gas from Strike’s Greater Erregulla development in the Perth Basin. Natural gas is a critical input into ammonia and urea production, and access to competitively priced gas from Strike’s Perth Basin resources would be a key enabler for the project. In parallel, Strike has been awarded (subject ... more

A tender for the construction of a dedicated industrial conveyor belt trade training facility at the Midland campus of North Metropolitan TAFE has been issued this week, with the design development stage now complete. The $2 million project is fully funded by the Western Australian Government and is included in its Mid-year Review. Construction on the facility is expected to be completed in October 2021 with training forecast to commence in Semester 1, 2022. Fremantle-based Armstrong Parkin Architects designed the facility, which will be used to deliver a qualification in the repair, maintenance and ins... more

Eagle Mountain Mining Limited (Eagle Mountain or the Company), has provided an update on exploration activities at its 80 per cent owned Oracle Ridge Copper Project (Oracle Ridge or the Project) in Arizona, USA. Drilling recommenced at Oracle Ridge on Monday, 11 January 2021 after a scheduled Christmas break. The first drill hole for 2021 is WT-21-01 and was completed last week. WT-21-02 is underway. All drilling undertaken by the Company last year was aimed at expanding the existing mineral resource base. Eagle Mountain outlines that assays received from the 2020 drilling contained significant grade... more

Barrick Gold Corporation has announced preliminary full year and fourth quarter 2020 results which indicate that it has met its 2020 guidance targets. According to Barrick, preliminary gold production for the full year of 4.8 million ounces is at the midpoint of the 4.6 to 5 million ounce guidance range, while preliminary copper production of 457 million pounds is also within the guidance range of 440 to 500 million pounds. The preliminary Q4 results show sales for the quarter of 1.19 million ounces of gold and 108 million pounds of copper, as well as preliminary Q4 production of 1.21 million ounces of gol... more

Pan Asia Metals Limited (PAM), has today provided an update on the drilling program at the Khao Soon Tungsten Project (KSTP) and has reported that a drill rig has been mobilised to the Reung Kiet Lithium Project, both located in southern Thailand. KSTP, located approximately 600 kilometres south of Bangkok, is one of PAM’s primary assets and a significant historical high-grade producer. PAM outlines that modern exploration has discovered potentially world-class district-scale tungsten mineralisation across numerous prospects. Today PAM announced that drilling of Priority One holes at the Than Pho West... more

Rio Tinto has agreed to a new electricity agreement with Meridian Energy that allows New Zealand’s Aluminium Smelter (NZAS) to continue operating the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter until 31 December 2024. The extension provides certainty to employees, the local community and customers while providing more time for all stakeholders to plan for the future. NZAS is New Zealand’s sole aluminium smelter. It commenced production in 1971 and produced 353,293 tonnes of aluminium in 2019. NZAS is 79.36 per cent owned by Rio Tinto and 20.64 per cent owned by Japan's Sumitomo Chemical Company. In July 2020, Rio... more