Queensland’s Palaszczuk government will build and own a new processing plant for a key new resource mineral in Townsville. The vanadium facility will be part of the government’s plan to make Queensland a leading producer and exporter of new economy minerals and the home of new industries. Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said supporting even more jobs in more industries was a key part of Queensland’s plan for economic recovery. She continued: “We will continue to support our resources industry and the jobs it creates – that means new economy minerals like vanadium.” Treasurer and Minister for Trade and Investment Cameron Dick…
Copper producer Austral Resources Australia Ltd fired the first blast at Anthill Mine on 16 November 2021. The first production blast is designed to establish initial mining benches at Anthill East pit - in preparation for bulk earthmoving in January 2022. Copper Cathode producer Austral Resources Australia Ltd is focussed on developing its new Anthill Mine in preparation for first ore scheduled for March/April 2022 and ramping production to 10,000 tonnes of copper cathode by mid-2022 at Mt Kelly, which is scheduled to process 5,000 tonnes per of oxide ore at full production. Site activities are building momentum with an…
A $300 million high purity alumina industrial plant is a step closer for Gladstone with Alpha HPA purchasing a 9.2 hectare site in the Queensland Government’s State Development Area. Alpha HPA is fast tracking construction of its Stage 1, Precursor Production Facility (PPF). Stage 1 is fully funded and will enable the company to commence commercial production from August 2022, tapping into the expected alumina demand quickly. Stage 2, the full-scale project, will commence in parallel with Stage 1, and is scheduled to be commercially operating by 2024. Deputy Premier and Minister for State Development Steven Miles said Gladstone is…
As Queensland gears up to host the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games, a gold mine just 130km south of Townsville is hoping to be standing on the podium in 2032. Deputy Premier and Minister for State Development Steven Miles said gold from the Ravenswood Gold Mine in regional Queensland could be adorning Aussie athletes. “It could be supplying the gold for the many medals our great Aussie athletes win in 2032,” he said. Mr Miles said the Office of the Coordinator-General works closely with Ravenswood Gold to assist with approvals required for the new open cut mining pits and infrastructure…
Bryah Resources Limited has been successful in its application in Round 24 of the Western Australian Government’s Exploration Incentive Scheme (EIS). As a result, the company will receive grant funding of up to $130,000 from the Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety (DMIRS) as a contribution towards direct drilling costs at the Olympus Anomaly located within its Bryah Basin Project, which is located in central Western Australia. The Olympus Anomaly is a strike-extensive multi-element geochemical anomaly confirmed by infill auger soil sampling in 2021. It has similar pathfinder mineral characteristics to the significant geochemical anomaly over the nearby Windalah…
Minister for Resources and Water Keith Pitt has welcomed the largest nickel sulphide discovery in Australia in over two decades, achieved with the support of the Federal government’s Exploring for the Future Fund. Chalice Mining Limited released its maiden mineral resource estimate for the Gonneville deposit, located within the Julimar project near Perth in Western Australia on Tuesday. Minister Pitt said the tier one discovery - with 10 million ounces of palladium, platinum, and gold - would create hundreds of jobs and billions in economic benefits for the nation. Pitt added: “It will ensure Australia remains a globally attractive and…
The Federal Government’s Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment (DAWE) has finalised its environmental approval for the hydrometallurgical plant of the Hastings Technology Metals Ltd’s Yangibana Rare Earths Project, in the Gascoyne region of Western Australia. DAWE has given Hastings approval to proceed with constructing the Onslow Rare Earths Plant at the Ashburton North Strategic Industrial Area (ANSIA), approximately 15km south-west of the coastal town of Onslow. The Onslow Rare Earths Plant will perform the hydrometallurgical processing of rare earths oxide concentrate from Yangibana into mixed rare earth carbonate (MREC) containing high levels of neodymium and praseodymium concentrate (NdPr).…
A Curtin research team will work to bring leading broadband fibre optic acoustic sensing technology to the Australian oil and gas, mining and environmental monitoring industries, offering a more cost-effective and safer resource extraction process. As part of the Federal Government’s Global Innovation Linkages Program, the research team – led by Professor Roman Pevzner from Curtin’s WA School of Mines: Minerals, Energy and Chemical Engineering – will partner with international collaborators to test the viability of the technology in the Australian landscape. The project will seek to produce a suite of passive and active geophysical data acquisition and analysis techniques…
A proposed $1.3 billion hydrogen-gas turbine power station in Port Kembla has been declared Critical State Significant Infrastructure (CSSI), given its importance to renewable energy capacity in New South Wales. Deputy Premier John Barilaro said it is a massive step towards safeguarding the state’s future energy security while providing jobs during challenging times. “The Port Kembla Power Station will be a gamechanger, not just for NSW but Australia,” Mr Barilaro said. “It will provide the energy capacity our state needs as existing coal-fired power stations reach their end of life, and household power bills will be the big winner as…
Energy Minister Angus Taylor’s proposal to construct a gas-diesel power plant in Kurri Kurri, 25 kilometres west of Newcastle, has stirred up a hornet’s nest, both locally and nationally. “Community groups in the Hunter look to NSW Energy Minister Matt Kean and Planning Minister Rob Stokes to reject this unnecessary and harmful power plant and double down on making New South Wales a renewable energy superpower,” said Carly Phillips, Co-coordinator of the Gas Free Hunter Alliance. Snowy Hydro’s ‘Response to Submissions’, released on Monday, has drawn fire from community groups in the Hunter. Of the 261 submissions from government agencies,…
Woodside is investigating the supply of approximately 50 megawatts of solar energy to the Woodside-operated Pluto LNG facility on Western Australia’s Burrup Peninsula. The solar power would be supplied from the proposed Woodside Power Project, which could comprise more than 210,000 solar panels, making it one of the largest solar projects in Western Australia. Woodside has undertaken a range of environmental, geotechnical and engineering studies and is progressing key stakeholder consultations ahead of seeking regulatory approvals for the power project. Woodside Acting CEO, Meg O’Neill, said Western Australia is uniquely placed to capitalise on the state’s renewable energy resources and…
The Federal Government has committed up to $600M in the 2021-22 Budget, for Snowy Hydro Limited to construct a 660 megawatt (MW) open cycle gas turbine at Kurri Kurri in the Hunter Valley. The Hunter Power Project is expected to deliver an economic boost to the region, creating up to 600 new jobs during peak construction and 1,200 indirect jobs across New South Wales. The Government said the $600M project, together with EnergyAustralia’s 316 MW Tallawarra B open cycle gas plant, will help shore up the security, reliability and affordability of electricity for consumers in NSW, expected to be generating…
Australian Gas Networks (AGN) - part of Australian Gas Infrastructure Group (AGIG) - has officially opened its $14.5 million hydrogen production facility Hydrogen Park South Australia and commenced blending renewable hydrogen into part of its natural gas distribution network in Adelaide. At Hydrogen Park South Australia (HyP SA), located at the Tonsley Innovation District, a proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyser uses renewable electricity (solar and wind) to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. AGN will blend approximately 5 per cent renewable hydrogen into its existing natural gas distribution network to deliver a blended gas to more than 700 homes in…
Lightsource bp has secured planning approval to upscale plans for the Wellington North Solar Project in New South Wales. The 400-megawatt direct current (MWdc) site is adjacent to Lightsource bp’s 200 MWdc Wellington solar farm which is currently under construction. Once operational, the 600 MWdc hub could become the state’s largest renewable energy power hub. Adam Pegg, country manager, Lightsource bp Australia, said receiving the planning approval of the Wellington North solar farm is an important step forward in the ambition to help Australia transition to a lower-carbon future. “In a few years our 600MWdc Wellington solar hub will be…
Queensland's Planning Minister has given notice of a proposed call in for a proposed coal-fired power station on a cattle property located 30 kilometres north-west of the town of Alpha. Waratah Coal applied for a development approval to the Barcaldine Regional Council as a code assessable development, that does not require public consultation, under an outdated 2006 planning scheme. Deputy Premier and Planning Minister Steven Miles said Barcaldine Regional Council had done a good job of assessing the application given the small council has never assessed a project of this size. Miles added: “Currently, this application isn’t subject to public…
Heavy vehicles powered by renewable hydrogen will be used in a first-of-a-kind deployment based in Townsville, helping to reduce emissions in the transport and mining sectors. On behalf of the Australian government, the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has announced that it has conditionally approved $3.02 million in funding to Ark Energy H2 Pty Ltd (Ark) to support the deployment of a 1 megawatt electrolyser with storage and refuelling infrastructure to fuel five new 140-tonne rated fuel cell electric trucks. The project will be located at the Sun Metals zinc refinery in Townsville, which is owned by Ark’s sister company…
South Australia’s largest battery storage project to date will create 160 jobs and power up to 40,000 homes, with the State Government granting development approval to Maoneng Australia’s $150 million, 225MW project at Gould Creek. Maoneng Australia’s $150 million investment in its 225MW Gould Creek Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) will see the company power 40,000 homes during peak hour, once completed in 2023. Located just 22 kilometres outside Adelaide and covering approximately 3.4 hectares of land, the project is expected to take 12 months to complete and will provide up to 160 construction jobs and two full time maintenance…
A new solar farm of up to 88 megawatt will power the Mount Isa North West Minerals Province under a two staged plan with an initial investment of more than $80 million. APA has announced it will commence building the 44 megawatt stage one of the Mica Creek Solar Farm. Deputy Premier and Minister for State Development Steven Miles said the project is an excellent example of the demand for renewable energy, from all sectors of business and industry. “We’re backing businesses, backing renewable energy, and the North West Minerals Province as we keep delivering Queensland’s plan for economic recovery…
A $155 million contract has been awarded to NHOA Australia to deliver Western Australia's biggest lithium-ion battery. The 100 megawatt battery, to be built at the decommissioned Kwinana Power Station, will have the capacity to power the equivalent of 160,000 homes for two hours. Construction will begin in November 2021 with the battery expected to be operational by the end of 2022. The battery will be able to store excess rooftop solar energy during the day, when demand is low, and discharge electricity rapidly during the afternoon and evening peak. The site is bigger than 20 tennis courts, side-by-side, with space…
The more than A$30 billion Australia-Asia PowerLink (AAPowerLink), which will supply renewable electricity to Darwin and Singapore, has reached another milestone with the announcement of the project's team. One of the world’s largest renewable energy infrastructure projects will be delivered by a team consisting of Bechtel, Hatch, Marsh, PwC Australia and SMEC (a member of the Surbana Jurong Group) across different areas. The companies' experience in developing and delivering complex infrastructure projects, together with a strong commitment to renewable energy giga-projects and providing global solutions to achieve net zero targets will be essential in delivering a project of such scale…
Townsville in Queensland is a step closer to a huge industry and jobs boost from a proposed energy hub and advanced manufacturing facility at the Lansdown Eco-Industrial Precinct that will refine ore to produce critical materials for use in new-technology batteries. The proposed Townsville Energy Chemicals Hub (TECH) will create around 800 construction jobs and its operational phase will create an estimated 1700 jobs, including 300 highly-skilled advanced manufacturing jobs at the facility and 1400 jobs in support industries. Project proponent Queensland Pacific Metals (QPM) proposes to build the facility in the Townsville City Council’s Lansdown Eco-Industrial Precinct, approximately 40km…
The Future Battery Industries Cooperative Research Centre (FBICRC) has signed contracts with a consortium of companies, the WA Government, contractors and academic institutions to design and commission its flagship Cathode Precursor Production Pilot Plant in Western Australia which will provide technical capability towards the production of advanced battery materials on an industrial scale. The FBICRC and its partners will make an investment valued at over $18 million ($9.2 cash and $9.2 in-kind including the repurposing of BHP’s existing nickel sulfate pilot plant) to produce the present generation of cathode chemistries used in electric vehicles from locally sourced materials. The pilot…
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Renascor Resources and POSCO, one of South Korea’s largest conglomerates, will support a $209 million investment in South Australia to develop a Battery Anode Material (BAM) manufacturing facility in the Eyre Peninsula. The MoU provides for the purchase of up to 30,000 tonnes per annum of Purified Spherical Graphite (PSG) from Renascor’s planned BAM manufacturing facility and a potential equity investment by POSCO in Renascor. The South Australian Government states that the project is forecast to create 190 full-time roles, more than 100 jobs during construction and has the potential to generate around $260…
Covalent Lithium has entered into a long-term lease for a 40-hectare site in the Kwinana Strategic Industrial Area (SIA) where it will construct a lithium refinery. The Covalent Lithium refinery, a joint venture between the subsidiaries of Wesfarmers and Chilean company SQM, forms a part of the integrated Mount Holland Lithium project. The project, which is expected to create 1,000 construction and 350 operational jobs, involves the construction and operation of a spodumene mine and concentrator near Mount Holland in Western Australia. Once complete, the Kwinana refinery will have the capacity to support the production of batteries for up to…
Western Australia will soon be home to the longest electric highway in Australia with the State Government today announcing the 45 locations that will make up the electric vehicle fast-charging network. The infrastructure network includes up to 90 fast-charging stations and backup chargers at 45 different locations connecting Perth and regional Western Australia - stretching north to Kununurra, south to Esperance and east to Kalgoorlie. Electric vehicle owners will easily be able to travel the state along these routes, with the average distance between charging stations around 160 kilometres. Most electric cars can run for at least 400 kilometres in…
A National Radioactive Waste Management Facility (NRWMF) is now one step closer, following the decision by the Minister for Resources and Water, Keith Pitt, to declare Napandee near Kimba, South Australia as the proposed site for the facility. Australia’s radioactive waste is currently stored in more than 100 locations around the country. To solve this problem, the Australian Government is establishing a single fit-for-purpose facility. In coming to this decision, Minister Pitt considered relevant material to inform a formal declaration. “This is the next step in progressing this nationally significant infrastructure project, which successive governments have been working on for…
A new research and teaching hub that will investigate carbon-neutral solutions for Western Australia’s resources sector has been launched at Curtin University’s WA School of Mines in Kalgoorlie. Renowned iron ore processing expert Dr John Clout has been appointed the Professor of Practice in Pyrometallurgy at the new Kalgoorlie Metals Research Laboratory, based at Curtin’s Kalgoorlie campus. Curtin’s WA School of Mines: Minerals, Energy and Chemical Engineering Head of School Professor Michael Hitch said the new research hub will explore cleaner alternatives through teaching and research that will pave the way for a greener future for the industry. “The Kalgoorlie…
The largest infrastructure project in the history of the Port of Townsville has reached a major milestone this week, with the completion of the $232 million Channel Upgrade project’s rock wall. The Port of Townsville is the largest commercial Port in Northern Australia, but at just 92 metres, the shipping channel is one of the narrowest in the country. Currently, vessels up to 238 metres in length can safely access the Port. However, ships are getting larger with each passing year, so the Port needs to adapt so it can continue to service the needs of North Queensland's growing industries…
Rio Tinto has approved a US$108 million investment in underground development to enable early orebody access and undertake orebody characterisation studies for underground mining at its Kennecott copper operations in the United States. The investment builds on US$25 million approved early last year to complete a pre-feasibility study to determine the viability of underground mining operations at Kennecott. Potential underground mining would occur concurrently with open-pit operations and result in increased copper output. Kennecott holds the potential for a significant and attractive underground development, with declared Mineral Resources of 20 million tonnes at 3.65 per cent copper and 1.62 grams…
Canyon Resources Limited has announced that the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) for the Minim-Martap Bauxite Project was submitted on 1 June 2021 to the Ministry of Mines, Industry and Technological Development (MINMIDT). Canyon’s 100 per cent owned Minim-Martap Bauxite Project is a globally significant direct shipping ore (DSO) project. The project is located in central Cameroon and situated adjacent to the main rail line linking the region to the Atlantic port of Douala. ESS (Environmental and Social Sustainability), an Africa-based advisory services firm focused on Health, Safety, Environment and Communities (HSEC) management, managed the development of the ESIA…
Walkabout Resources has commenced construction prestart activities at its Lindi Jumbo Graphite Mine in Tanzania, in order to bring into production what is scheduled to be one of the highest margin graphite projects in the world. Chief Operating Officer of Walkabout Resources, Allan Mulligan, said the Lindi Jumbo Mine is rapidly materialising and on track for first production in the second quarter of 2022. "Our focus in stage 1 and 2 construction are on those items on the critical path including the civils required for plant erection and the continued manufacture and shipping of plant equipment from our EPC contractor…
BlackEarth Minerals NL has processed 60 tonnes of graphite material as part of a Stage 2 Pilot Program at the Maniry Project in Southern Madagascar. According to the company, test results have indicated that the designed flowsheet can achieve an average fixed carbon (FC) level of 96.5 per cent for all large and jumbo flake product testing, grades which are currently attracting significant price premiums in the graphite market. Over the next two weeks, BlackEarth plans to dry and screen the final concentrate prior to packaging samples for further downstream test work associated with the company’s strategic offtake plans. BlackEarth…
Lucapa Diamond Company Limited and its partner, the Government of the Kingdom of Lesotho (GoL), have announced the results of the third diamond sale in 2021 from the Mothae kimberlite mine in Lesotho, Southern Africa. The 3,617 carat parcel of rough diamonds was sold for US$420/carat or US$1.5 million (A$2 million or A$543/carat). As per the Diamond Sales and Purchase Agreement with Safdico International [1], Mothae will receive a minimum average cash flow value of US$630/carat for the first 12 months of the agreement. The difference between minimum average cash flow value and the selling price will be recouped by…
Rio Tinto’s ISAL smelter in Iceland has been certified by the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI) for meeting the highest internationally recognised standards for responsible aluminium production. The ISAL smelter commenced operations in 1969. It now produces approximately 184,000 tonnes of aluminium per year and employs around 500 workers on-site. The smelter recently achieved ASI Performance Standard certification with provisional status, following an independent, third party ‘desk top’ audit by ERM CVS. An on-site audit is expected to be completed following the easing of COVID-19 travel restrictions. Rio Tinto was the first company to offer ASI Aluminium in 2018. The company…
Pan Asia Metals Limited (PAM) has received laboratory assays for the final four holes of a drilling program conducted at the Than Pho West prospect (TPW) within the Khao Soon Tungsten Project (KSTP) in southern Thailand. This concludes the Priority One drilling program at Khao Soon which saw the completion of 19 holes for a total of 1601.5 metres. KSTP is located approximately 600 kilometres south of Bangkok in Nakhon Si Thammarat Province, Southern Thailand. It is one of PAM’s key assets and a significant historical high-grade producer. Modern exploration has discovered potentially world-class, district-scale tungsten mineralisation across numerous prospects.…
