Fortescue Metals Group (Fortescue) has marked a significant milestone for its Pilbara operations, exporting over 1.5 billion tonnes of iron ore since it was first established in 2003. It comes less than three years after the company celebrated shipping its billionth tonne from Herb Elliott Port in Port Hedland. This latest milestone coincided with a visit by Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison to Fortescue’s Christmas Creek operations, hosted by Fortescue Founder and Chairman Dr Andrew Forrest AO. “From the start, Fortescue’s journey has been to unlock the potential of the Pilbara and build Australia’s economy through the export of iron…
New Century Resources Limited has provided an update on the progress of drilling activities at the high-grade Silver King Lead-ZincSilver Deposit, located at the Century Zinc Mine in Queensland. Infill drilling has been completed at the Silver King Lead-Zinc-Silver Deposit for the purpose of upgrading the existing Mineral Resource estimate to support subsequent mining studies and detailed mine design. This includes: 30 diamond drill holes completed for a total of 5,468m drill metres. Spectacular assay results have been received from seven holes to date, and assay results are pending from the remaining 23 holes. Three additional large-diameter PQ holes have…
De Grey Mining Limited is making progress with its drilling program at the Hemi Gold Discovery, located approximately 60 kilometres south of Port Hedland in Western Australia. The Falcon intrusion is situated roughly 600 metres west of the Brolga zone and immediately south of the Aquila zone. Strong mineralisation has been defined over a strike length of approximately 1 kilometre north-south. A program of six initial wide spaced (160 metre) step out holes have been planned to test the mineralisation to approximately 500 metres depth along the current 1 kilometre strike of mineralisation at Falcon. The first of the step…
Gold and copper explorer, Torrens Mining Limited, has been granted one new tenement (EL7331) within the company’s Mt Piper Gold Project in Central Victoria. The granting of the tenement paves the way for drilling to commence at the Northwood Hill Prospect where a five-kilometre long gold anomalous corridor was identified by Perseverance Mining in the early 1990s. The area represents an exciting drill target for Torrens with significant near-surface 'Fosterville-style' gold drilling intercepts already identified by Perseverance. The shallow (less than 70-metre vertical depth) reverse circulation drilling by Perseverance reported important widths and grades of gold mineralisation. Torrens’ Managing Director,…
3D Resources Limited expects to commence a 2000 metre reverse circulation drilling program at the Adelong Gold Project in the second quarter of 2021, to test the deeper parts of the Challenger orebody to refine and finalise mine plans before mining commences. The Adelong Gold Project covers 70 square kilometres and comprises the old Adelong Goldfield in Southern NSW, located approximately 20 kilometres from Tumut and 80 kilometres from Gundagai. The project carries an existing JORC Resource of 180,600 ounces of gold and 17 freehold properties with all mining and processing plant equipment on-site, and until recently was a producing…
Core Lithium Limited has produced battery-grade lithium hydroxide monohydrate (LH) from spodumene mineral concentrate from the Finniss Lithium Project in the Northern Territory. Core Lithium’s Managing Director, Stephen Biggins, said it has been confirmed that battery-grade lithium hydroxide suitable for high-end uses in the lithium battery, renewable energy and electric vehicle industries, can be produced from Core’s lithium concentrate produced from the Finniss Project. “This successful proof-of-concept test work provides Core, and our customers, the confidence in utilising Finniss lithium concentrates in the global lithium battery supply chain,” Mr Biggins said. “Together with the recent award of Major Project Status…
Metro Mining Limited will recommence operations at the company’s flagship Bauxite Hills Mine after the northern Australia wet season. The Bauxite Hills Mine is located approximately 95 kilometres north of Weipa on Western Cape York where Metro holds a total tenement package covering approximately 1,900 square kilometres. The Bauxite Hills Mine has an estimated ore Reserve of 109.5 million tonnes (Mt) and total Resources of 138.2Mt. Mining operations commenced in April 2018. In its first year of operations, Metro achieved its 2018 production guidance, shipping 2 Mt to five different Chinese companies. The company advised on Wednesday that it has set a…
Mineral Resources Limited (MRL) has been successful in the recent Western Australian Government Petroleum Acreage Release, with the award of two highly prospective gas exploration permits in the Perth and Northern Carnarvon Basins. The award of these permits aligns with the MRL's strategy to secure its own natural gas supply to provide energy security for current and future mining operations at lower cost and with lower emissions to replace diesel use across the business. MRL has committed to achieving net zero emissions by 2050 and is presently developing the roadmap to enable this target to be achieved. A critical aspect…
Woodside Burrup Pty Ltd and its Pluto LNG joint venture participants (Kansai Electric Power Australia Pty Ltd and Tokyo Gas Pluto Pty Ltd) have delivered their first cargo of carbon offset condensate to commodity trading company Trafigura Pte Ltd. On Monday, Woodside outlined that the carbon dioxide equivalent emissions associated with extraction, storage and shipping of the 650,000- barrel cargo will be offset through a combination of efficiency measures, which reduce emissions, and surrender of high-quality carbon offsets. Trafigura is also working with the vessel owner to minimise actual emissions associated with transporting the cargo. High-quality carbon offsets have been…
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…
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-e) emissions by 30 per cent on…
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 for the vision set out by…
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 Matt Canavan said Australia’s offshore oil and gas…
Commercial operations have commenced on the $140 million Atlas Gas Pipeline, which will transport gas from Senex Energy’s Atlas gas acreage - located near Wandoan in south-west Queensland - to the east-coast gas market via the Wallumbilla Gas Hub. In June 2018, energy infrastructure company, Jemena, signed an agreement with Senex Energy to build, own, and operate a 15 petajoule per annum (40 TJ/day) gas processing facility and 60km buried pipeline (Atlas Gas Pipeline) in order to fast-track new gas supply to the domestic market. Jemena’s Managing Director, Frank Tudor, said the Senex-Jemena partnership demonstrated how the gas industry is…
AGL and Idemitsu Australia Resources (IAR) have today announced the preliminary phase of the feasibility study for the proposed 250 megawatt Bells Mountain pumped hydro project at Muswellbrook is nearing completion. The preliminary engineering study began in 2019 to determine whether the project is technically feasible, provide cost estimates for both construction and operation, and assess the required planning and approval processes. AGL Chief Operating Officer, Markus Brokhof, said AGL views the project as potentially beneficial to the community and Australia’s energy transition. “As we transition to more renewable energy sources, pumped hydro provides a reliable on-demand generation source,” Mr…
The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) has formally commenced market sounding for the Big Canberra Battery ecosystem. Battery storage technology varies in size, location and core use. The market sounding process will allow industry and key stakeholder input on the range of possible services and infrastructure ahead of the procurement phase of the project. Interested parties can register to be involved in the market sounding process and receive updates as they become available. They will also be invited to provide written input through a confidential submissions process which will ask industry for suggestions on how a Big Canberra Battery ecosystem would…
Global resources company, BHP, German shipping company, Oldendorff Carriers, and advanced biofuels pioneer, GoodFuels, with the support of the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), conducted the first marine biofuel trial involving an ocean-going vessel bunkered in Singapore on 4 April 2021. As part of the trial, the 2020-built 81,290 deadweight tonne dry bulk carrier Kira Oldendorff was refuelled with “drop-in” advanced biofuel blended with conventional fossil fuels. The key objectives of the biofuel bunkering trial include understanding the behaviour of the fuel (such as emissions), assessing engine and vessel operational performance during the trial as well as exploring the technical…
The Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility (NAIF) has reached contractual close on $610 million in investment, its largest financing commitment to date. NAIF’s loan to Genex Power’s Kidston 250 MW Pumped Storage Hydro Project (K2-Hydro) will help to create more than 500 construction jobs and deliver affordable, reliable electricity for north Queensland. Genex will be delivering the first pumped storage hydro project in Australia since 1984 and the first to be used solely for energy storage and generation rather than water management. NAIF were early supporters of K2-Hydro – which utilises the disused Kidston Gold Mine – and have worked closely…
Origin Energy’s export-scale liquid hydrogen project has reached an important milestone today, with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Port of Townsville to collaborate on the potential expansion of the port, as well as the development of a liquefaction facility, new berth and associated infrastructure. Origin is collaborating with Japan’s Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd (KHI) on a 300 megawatt (MW) early export project that would produce 36,500 tonnes per annum of green liquid hydrogen using renewable energy and sustainable water. The three parties will now focus on work required to accommodate KHI’s semi-commercial scale liquid hydrogen…
Independent expert for renewable energy projects, Suntrace GmbH, renewable energy company, BayWa r.e., and mining company B2Gold Corp. have completed commissioning of the world’s largest off-grid solar-battery hybrid system for the mining industry, at the Fekola gold mine in Mali, West Africa. The solar-battery hybrid plant was integrated and commissioned successfully with the existing power plant operation, and the solar plant is on course to be 100 per cent complete by the end of June. Hybrid projects such as this, which combine solar energy with conventional energy generation and battery storage, are an effective way to provide reliable power supply day…
AGL has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Finnish manufacturing and services company, Wärtsilä, to collaborate on the delivery of large-scale hybrid energy systems to commercial and industrial customers. The agreement will allow the development of systems that integrate renewable behind-the-meter and off-grid technologies to improve energy efficiencies and supply. AGL’s Chief Operating Officer, Markus Brokhof, said that AGL is excited to be developing these innovative systems with Wärtsilä, which will provide customers with a broader range of options on their energy. “This agreement is another way in which AGL is responding to the evolving needs of our customers…
Strike Energy Limited (Strike) has provided an update on Project Haber, which involves a proposed 1.4 million tonne per annum (Mtpa) urea fertiliser production facility to be built near Geraldton in Western Australia’s Mid West Region. Technip Energies, who completed the feasibility studies on Project Haber, have commenced the Pre-FEED (Front End Engineering Design) scope of work to further refine the capital cost estimate for the plant, which currently sits at US$1.74 billion. Technip Energies has included in their scope chemical process engineering works in order to maximise the amount of inherent carbon consumed from the natural gas via the…
AGL has lodged a planning application with the Victorian Minister for Planning and the Department of Environment, Water, Land and Planning for a 200 megawatt (MW), four-hour duration grid-scale battery at its Loy Yang Power Station in the Latrobe Valley. Loy Yang is Victoria’s largest power station and includes four 500+ MW turbo generators which were brought into service between 1984 and 1988. Upgrades through major maintenance programs and plant enhancements have taken generation capability from 2000 MW in the year 2000, to over 2200 MW today. AGL’s Chief Operating Officer, Markus Brokhof, said batteries will be an important part…
Alcoa Corporation has announced new agreements with multiple power generators for the Portland Aluminium Smelter in Victoria, meaning Alcoa will keep the smelter operating until 2026. The five-year agreements with AGL, Alinta Energy and Origin will commence on 1 August 2021. The Australian Government has committed, subject to approval, to provide up to A$19.2 million per year for four years to underwrite the smelter’s participation in the Reliability and Emergency Reserve Trader (RERT) scheme. The arrangement will recognise the smelter’s ability to rapidly shed load when required to help protect the power grid from unexpected interruptions when it is under…
Fibre Expressway Pty Ltd (FEPL) has unveiled the details of Project Koete, a first-of-its-kind US$1.5 billion technology ecosystem in Western Australia and the Northern Territory. Project Koete will provide vital data and internet connectivity domestically between Perth and Darwin, while directly connecting the cities and territories to international business hubs in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Japan and beyond in Asia Pacific and worldwide. It will be a major drawcard for attracting multinational businesses to the region and will boost digital investment, particularly from the natural resources, finance, and cloud computing industries. The project includes a 10,000-kilometre, carrier-neutral, high-speed low-latency subsea cable…
Deakin University will double the size of its ManuFutures advanced manufacturing hub and open-up the Geelong-based success story to key regional centres, thanks to a $20 million partnership with the Victorian Government. Deakin and the Victorian Government, through its Higher Education State Investment Fund (VHESIF), will each invest $10 million in the major project that will see ManuFutures double in size to give new start-ups and existing small and medium enterprises (SMEs) the opportunity to scale up quickly to advanced manufacturing and link-in with Geelong's knowledge economy. Vice-Chancellor Professor Iain Martin said the Geelong Future Economy Precinct at the Waurn…
Lightsource bp today announced that through a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Snowy Hydro, its West Wyalong solar farm will supply renewable energy to 88 of bp’s service stations across New South Wales. Snowy Hydro owns, operates and maintains the Snowy Scheme as well as Red Energy and Lumo Energy, making it the fourth-largest energy retailer in Australia with almost one million electricity and gas customers across Victoria, New South Wales, South Australia and Queensland. The PPA will enable the construction of a 107MWdc solar farm in West Wyalong. Snowy Hydro will purchase two-thirds of the 238,000MWh generated annually from…
Rio Tinto will soon commence construction on a plant that will recover tellurium, a critical mineral used in solar panels, from copper refining at its Kennecott mine near Salt Lake City, Utah. Rio Tinto is investing $2.9 million to set up the plant, which will recover tellurium as a by-product of copper smelting, extracting a valuable mineral from waste streams. The plant will have the capacity to produce approximately 20 tonnes of tellurium per year. Rio Tinto expects to begin production of tellurium in the fourth quarter of 2021, creating a new North American supply chain for this critical mineral.…
Lucapa Diamond Company Limited, Empresa Nacional de Diamantes E.P. (Endiama) and Rosas & Petalas have announced the recovery of the 23rd +100 carat diamond by Sociedade Mineira Do Lulo (SML) from the Lulo alluvial diamond mine located approximately 630 kilometres east of the Angolan capital of Luanda. The 144 carat Type IIa D-colour diamond recovered from Mining Block 08 (MB08), is the sixth +100 carat diamond recovered in 2021 so far and 23rd +100 carat stone recovered at Lulo since exploration and mining operations began. Lucapa’s Managing Director, Stephen Wetherall, said including the first +100 carat recovery from MB46 as…
Newcrest Mining Limited has announced its initial mineral resource estimate for the Red Chris mine in British Columbia, Canada. Red Chris is a gold-copper porphyry deposit located on the northern edge of the Skeena Mountains, approximately 1,700 kilometres north of Vancouver and 18 kilometres southeast of the town of Iskut in British Columbia. The construction of Red Chris was completed in November 2014, with first commercial production from the open pit occurring in July 2015. The mine site is located on 23,142 hectares and consists of 77 mineral tenures, five of which are mining leases. In August 2019, Newcrest acquired…
Anglo American has announced a collaboration agreement to complete a feasibility study to develop a 'hydrogen valley' anchored in the platinum group metals-rich Bushveld geological area in South Africa. Spearheaded by South Africa’s Department of Science and Innovation (DSI), the collaboration agreement also includes energy and services company ENGIE, the South African National Development Institute (SANEDI) and clean energy solutions provider Bambili Energy. The proposed hydrogen valley will stretch approximately 835 kilometres from Anglo American’s Mogalakwena platinum group metals (PGMs) mine near Mokopane in Limpopo province in the north of South Africa, along the industrial and commercial corridor to Johannesburg…
Eagle Mountain Mining Limited has announced assay results from the ongoing drilling program at the company’s 80 per cent owned Oracle Ridge Mine Project in Arizona, USA, have returned the highest grades ever recorded at the project. Assay results from hole WT-21-04 and WT-21-06 have been announced by Eagle Mountain, with results for holes WT-21-05, WT-20-07 and recently completed WT-21-08 still pending. [caption id="attachment_31864" align="aligncenter" width="807"] Figure 2 – Summary map of recent drill holes at Oracle Ridge with highlight of assay results reported in thecurrent announcement in red. Image credit: Eagle Mountain Mining Limited.[/caption] WT-21-04 WT-21-04 was…
African lithium developer, Prospect Resources Ltd has developed a scope of work for an Optimised Feasibility Study (OFS), for a staged development of the Arcadia Lithium Project in Zimbabwe, with the first stage expected to produce 1.2 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa), ramping up to 2.4Mtpa. Perth-based engineering consulting group, Lycopodium Ltd, has been appointed to complete the OFS. Lycopodium will supervise metallurgical testwork, optimise the staged 1.2Mtpa to 2.4Mtpa flowsheet, design the process plant, as well as related infrastructure including site power reticulation and on-site water treatment and distribution. The engineering work during this stage will enable formal quotations…
Rio Tinto has announced it will explore the deployment of Heliogen’s breakthrough solar technology at the miner’s borates mine in Boron, California. Under a Memorandum of Understanding, Heliogen will deploy its proprietary, artificial intelligence (AI)-powered technology at the Boron operation, where it will use heat from the sun to generate and store carbon-free energy to power the mine’s industrial processes. The two companies will begin detailed planning and securing government permits for the project, with the aim of starting operations from 2022. The companies will also use the Boron installation to begin exploring the potential for deployments of Heliogen’s technology…
Lucapa Diamond Company Limited and its partner, the Government of the Kingdom of Lesotho (GoL), have announced that the Mothae kimberlite mine expansion project in Lesotho in Southern Africa has been completed. The project is designed to increase nameplate capacity by 45 per cent from approximately 1.1 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) to 1.6Mtpa. The processing plant was handed back to the production team after completion of the installation of the new scrubber bypass conveyor, the new primary jaw crusher and other associated upgrades. The project was completed on-time, within budget and with no safety incidents recorded. Lucapa advised that…
