Heavy rare earths producer, Northern Minerals Limited (Northern Minerals or the Company) has returned encouraging assay results across several targets from the first phase of its latest exploration drilling program at the Browns Range Project. The Browns Range Project is located 160 kilometres south-east of Halls Creek in northern Western Australia. Northern Minerals successfully completed 8,500 metres of reverse circulation (RC) drilling at Browns Range in late 2020, following the Company’s announcement on the 2 November that it had commenced a $5 million exploration program that would include up to 16,... more

Horizon Minerals Limited (Horizon or the Company) has started its 2021 new discovery and resource growth exploration program in the Goldfields region of Western Australia. Horizon’s fully-funded 50,000-metre exploration program is now underway, with four rigs across the 890 square kilometre asset portfolio, all operating within 75 kilometres of the proposed Boorara Mill site [1]. The program comprises diamond, RC and aircore drilling. The primary objectives of the exploration program are to [1]: Test high priority new discovery targets defined at greenfields project areas including Windanya, Lakewoo... more

New Century Resources Limited (New Century or the Company) has reached a major milestone, producing its 500,000th tonne of zinc concentrate since the recommencement of operations in August 2018. The Century mine is located at Lawn Hill, Queensland, approximately 250 kilometres north-west of Mount Isa in the Lower Gulf of Carpentaria. The mine initially commenced open-pit production in 1999 (under the operatorship of Rio Tinto [1]) and during its 16 years of operation, Century was recognised as one of the largest zinc mines in the world, producing and processing an average of 475,00 tonnes per annum (tpa) o... more

Brockman Mining Limited has provided an update on the current status of the Marillana Iron Ore Project in conjunction with the Farm-In and Joint-Venture agreement (FJV Agreement) with Polaris Metals Pty Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mineral Resources Limited (MRL). The Marillana Project is located in the Hamersley Iron Province within the Pilbara region of Western Australia. According to Brockman, Polaris has completed a drilling and metallurgical testing campaign and has also completed its technical and cost report on the project. The outcome of both these undertakings has resulted in Polaris providi... 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

Australian precious metals mining exploration company, Prospech Limited, has received 18 rock chip samples taken from outcrop and spoil heaps, located within the company’s Pukanec exploration licence, which is part of its 100 per cent owned Nova Bana project in Slovakia. Prospech’s Nova Bana project is a package of three licences totalling 45 square kilometres situated on the western flank of the Hodrusa caldera. Of the 18 rock chip samples assayed, the company outlined that eight returned gold grades over 1 grams per tonne (g/t) of gold (Au) and of these, the average was 12.1 g/t Au. 10 of the samples... more

Rafaella Resources Limited has contracted Geotech Limited to conduct a helicopter-borne survey over the recently acquired Midrim and Laforce claims in the Belleterre-Angliers Greenstone Belt in Quebec, Canada. The survey is anticipated to commence early next month and, subject to weather conditions, should take two weeks to complete. Rafaella states that the Versatile Time-Domain Electromagnetic (VTEM™ Max) combined with Groundfloor EM is excellent for locating discrete conductive anomalies as well as mapping lateral and vertical variations in resistivity. The VTEM™ Max provides the industry’s highes... more

In December 2020, Syrah Resources Limited announced a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with global solar power company, Solar Century Africa Limited, to progress a solar and battery storage hybrid power system at the Balama Graphite Project in Mozambique. The solar and battery storage system aims to reduce CO2 emissions and operating costs at Balama, which is the largest integrated natural graphite mine and processing plant globally as measured by annual flake concentrate production capacity. Syrah Managing Director and CEO, Shaun Verner, said: “Progression of a large-scale solar and battery installatio... more

Eagle Mountain Mining Limited has announced further assay results from its recent drilling program at the company’s 80 per cent owned Oracle Ridge Mine Project in Arizona, USA. Assay results from selected zones within drill holes WT-20-06, WT-20-07, WT-20-09, WT-20-11 have been received and were reported in an announcement on 18 December 2020. Initial observations from hole WT-20-10 were also provided. Notably, WT-20-06 lead to the discovery of quartz-breccia grading 6.67 per cent copper (Cu), 63.5 grams per tonne (g/t) silver (Ag) and 0.87 g/t of gold (Au) over 2.95 metres at 210 metres downhole. Th... more