Zenith Minerals Limited (ASX:ZNC) has announced the commencement of drilling campaigns at its Hayes Hill Project in Western Australia, targeting both gold and nickel prospects. The project, located in the highly prospective Norseman-Widgiemooltha area, consists of four granted exploration licences with significant gold and nickel potential. An air core drilling campaign is underway, targeting large, 2.5 km-long gold anomalies identified by Zenith's recent auger drilling program. The project is positioned between the major multimillion-ounce active gold mining districts of Central Norseman and Higginsville. Notably, open-pit gold mining is active immediately west of the project area, and Karora Resources Limited's gold…
Mineral Resources Limited (ASX: MIN) has reached a significant milestone with its Onslow Iron project, delivering first ore on ship ahead of schedule for delivery to China Baowu Steel Group, the world's largest steelmaker. Two MinRes transhippers are currently loading approximately 113,000 wet metric tonnes (wmt) of iron ore aboard a bulk carrier anchored 40 kilometres off the Port of Ashburton. This achievement comes just 11 months after ground was broken at the Ken's Bore mine site in June 2023 and less than two years after the Red Hill Iron Ore Joint Venture (RHIOJV) made its final investment decision in…
The Queensland government has granted a major mining lease approval for a new copper mine in the state's northwest, paving the way for expanded operations and economic growth in the region. The state government's approval of the mining lease allows AIC Mines Limited (AIC) to develop the Jericho copper mine near Cloncurry and expand its nearby Eloise Copper mine. The combined operations are expected to extend the mine's life by another decade. With the development of the Jericho mine and the expansion of the Eloise processing plant, the production rate is projected to increase to more than 20,000 tonnes of…
Intra Energy Corporation Limited (ASX: IEC) has announced the discovery of significant high-grade gold assays at its Maggie Hays Hill Project, located within the prolific Lake Johnston Greenstone Belt in Western Australia. Recent exploration activities, including rock chip sampling conducted in March and April, have revealed additional mineralised quartz reefs, extending the known mineralisation with impressive gold assays. Continuous mapping efforts have identified three separate quartz reefs, each extending over 250 metres in length, with peak gold assay results reaching up to 7.6 g/t. The exploration team has also defined two large-scale gold anomalies through soil sampling, stretching up to…
Pinnacle Minerals Ltd (ASX: PIM) has announced the approval and scheduling of a significant drilling program at the Capel Mineral Sands Project in Western Australia. The program, comprising 93 air core drilling holes over approximately 2,000 metres, is set to begin on 20 May 2024. The Capel project, a brownfield heavy mineral (HM) exploration site, has already shown promising shallow mineralisation in previous drilling efforts by Iluka Resources. Noteworthy results include a mineralisation of 21 metres at 3.3 per cent HM from the surface, including 9 metres at 6.1 per cent HM from 11 metres depth. The project is strategically…
Alliance Nickel Limited (ASX:AXN) has announced that its NiWest Nickel Cobalt Project has been granted Major Project Status (MPS) by the Australian federal government. The project, located near Leonora, WA, is 100 per cent owned by Alliance and is considered strategically significant, with the potential to significantly contribute to Australia's economic growth and employment opportunities. The NiWest Project, boasting one of Australia's highest-grade undeveloped nickel laterite mineral resources, is targeting annual production of 90,000 tonnes of nickel sulphate and 7,000 tonnes of cobalt sulphate. The project is expected to create approximately 600 jobs during the construction phase and an additional…
Victory Metals Limited (ASX: VTM) has announced a significant milestone in Australia's mining sector with groundbreaking metallurgical recoveries of critical magnet metals at its North Stanmore Project in Western Australia. Achieving an exceptional recovery rate of 93 per cent, the results set a new benchmark in the rare earth sector and position North Stanmore as a leader in Australia’s critical minerals landscape. The recent leach tests conducted on beneficiated samples showcased remarkable recoveries of Praseodymium (Pr), Neodymium (Nd), Terbium (Tb), and Dysprosium (Dy). These high-purity elements are integral to advanced technological applications, including renewable energy solutions and electronic devices. Utilising…
AngloGold Ashanti has reached an agreement to sell its remaining South African producing assets and related liabilities to Harmony Gold Mining Company Limited. Consideration for the transaction is in cash and deferred payments with expected proceeds of around $300 million, subject to subsequent performance, and with additional proceeds if the West Wits assets are developed below current infrastructure. AngloGold Ashanti announced in May 2019 that it was undertaking a process to review sale options for the portfolio of assets, principally comprising the Mponeng underground mine, where further capital, necessary to extend the mine life was in competition with other, higher-return…
Rio Tinto has announced the company will conduct a strategic review of the ISAL smelter in Iceland, to determine the operation’s ongoing viability and explore options to improve its competitive position. ISAL is expected to remain unprofitable in the short to medium term in the challenging conditions facing the aluminium industry, due to the smelter’s uncompetitive energy costs and historically low aluminium prices. Rio Tinto will continue discussions with the Government of Iceland and power provider Landsvirkjun on how the smelter can return to profitability and become competitive in the global market. Rio Tinto Aluminium chief executive Alf Barrios said…
Glencore has signed a five-year agreement for the supply of cobalt hydroxide for use in lithium-ion batteries. Under the terms of the new supply contract, Glencore will provide up to 21,000 tonnes of cobalt contained in cobalt hydroxide between 2020 and 2024 to Samsung SDI . Glencore produced 42.2 kilotonnes of cobalt in 2018, mainly as a by-product of copper mining. The cobalt will be sourced from Glencore's Katanga and Mutanda operations which are located in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Glencore and Samsung SDI state that they are committed to ensuring the ethical and responsible production and procurement of…
Rio Tinto has decided to curtail operations at Richards Bay Minerals (RBM) in South Africa to ensure the safety and security of its employees due to an escalation in violence in the communities surrounding the operations. RBM is South Africa’s largest mineral sands producer and beneficiation company. It produces predominantly rutile, zircon, titania slag and high purity iron. Rio Tinto noted that there has been an escalation of criminal activity towards RBM employees and one was shot and seriously injured in the last few days. As a result, all mining operations at RBM have been halted and the smelters will…
Rio Tinto has announced that it plans to conduct a strategic review of its interest in New Zealand’s Aluminium Smelter (NZAS) at Tiwai Point, to determine the operation’s ongoing viability and competitive position. NZAS is a joint venture between Rio Tinto (79.36 per cent) and Sumitomo Chemical Company Limited of Japan (20.64 per cent). It is New Zealand’s only aluminium smelter and began operations in 1971. The plants produces primary aluminium in the form of ingot, billet, and rolling block. The majority of the plant's alumina is supplied from the Rio Tinto Yarwun and Queensland Alumina refineries at Gladstone in…
BHP has announced four new renewable power agreements to meet power demand for two of its copper operations in Chile. BHP’s Escondida mine, located in Northern Chile, is the world’s largest copper producer, while Spence is BHP’s wholly-owned open-pit copper mine, located in the Atacama Desert, in the North of Chile. BHP aims to supply Escondida and Spence’s energy requirements from 100 per cent renewable energy sources from the mid-2020s. The new contracts are expected to meet Escondida and Spence’s current energy needs and also contain the flexibility to help manage future demand as well. President of BHP Minerals Americas,…
Rio Tinto now offers independently certified responsibly produced aluminium from all of its Canadian operations, with the extension of the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative’s (ASI) Chain of Custody certification to include the BC Works smelter and Kemano Power Operations in Kitimat, British Columbia. The certification reinforces Rio Tinto’s commitment to responsible mining and metals production by providing independent verification that material can be traced through a ‘chain of custody’ which extends from Rio Tinto’s Gove bauxite mine in Australia to its alumina refinery, aluminium smelters and casthouses in Quebec and British Columbia. Being certified by the ASI means customers can be…
