Unlocking the future of mining
Australian Mining Review
The Australian Mining Review is a monthly feature-based publication providing news on issues affecting the industry.
Innovators, technologists, future-focused mining professionals, leaders and academics convened in Australia’s Harbour City (aka Sydney) on September 2 - 4 for the 6th International Future Mining Conference 2024.
Co-hosted by AusIMM and The University of New South Wales ( UNSW Sydney), the sixth iteration explored transformative technologies, championed innovation and pushed the boundaries of possibility.
This carefully curated three-day program reviewed green mining, energy innovations, future skill requirements and mining in extreme environments, which does include space mining!
Conference goers were treated to a range of speakers, including BHP head of product development Maki Ikeda , NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration / NASA Ames Research Center branch chief of planetary systems Dr Luke Sollitt and The University of New South Wales dean of engineering Professor Julien Epps .
With the future of mining at the beck and call of technological advancements mining companies fighting to stay in tune with them, it will be exciting to see what the 2025 edition has in store.
Construction of world’s-largest high purity alumina facility begins
The transformation of Alpha HPA ’s Gladstone, Queensland, project into the largest single-site ultra-high purity aluminium materials refinery in the world is officially underway.
Alpha HPA managing director Rimas Kairaitis says he is pleased to announce that construction of the Stage Two HPA First Project has now commenced, with extensive funding support in place to progress to full scale production.
Arcadium Lithium to put Mt Cattlin into care and maintenance in mid-2025
Arcadium Lithium will suspend stage 4A waste stripping at its Mt Cattlin spodumene operation in WA given the continuing decline in spodumene prices.
Additionally, Arcadium Lithium plans to place Mt Cattlin into care and maintenance after it completes stage three mining and ore processing in the first half of 2025.
Glencore partners up on copper with $40m loan
Glencore will provide a $40m senior loan facility to Cyprium Metals Limited (ASX: CYM) to execute the copper cathode and concentrate offtake agreements.
This new loan completes the refinancing of Cyprium’s near-term maturities. With refinancing completed, the company will now focus on bringing copper products to market.
Wonderful turn out for Whitehaven Coal Community Open Day
Whitehaven Coal ’s annual Community Open Day gave about 1500 residents from across the Boggabri, NSW, region a behind the scenes look at their local mining industry.
Whitehaven Coal’s managing director and chief executive Paul Flynn attended the event and said it was a fantastic opportunity to say thank you to residents, local businesses and the broader community who continue to support Whitehaven and its operations in the region.
Granny Smith’s day in the sun: Gold Fields expands solar farm
GOLD FIELDS will be more than doubling the capacity of the solar farm at its Granny Smith mine in Laverton WA, with completion scheduled early next year.
The gold mine’s hybrid system, comprising 8MW on-site solar, a 2MW battery power system and gas plant, generated 7% of its electricity supply from renewables in CY23.
Tartana Minerals completes 150t copper sulphate shipment
Tartana Minerals has shipped 150t of copper sulphate pentahydrate to one of the largest mining operations in the Northern Territory.
The product came from Tartana’s namesake project which is located 150km west of Cairns in Queensland.
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SACOME welcomes BHP’s move on Olympic Dam copper smelter
The South Australian Chamber of Mines & Energy (SACOME) has welcomed BHP ’s proposed staged expansion of its Olympic Dam smelter and refinery, which has the potential to double the State’s copper production by the mid-2030s to 650,000t.
One of only two copper smelters in Australia, the other being Mount Isa in Queensland, this expansion will see the current Olympic Dam copper smelter upgraded to a two-stage smelter, with its refining capacity also expanded.
Liontown produces more than 10kt of spodumene concentrate from Kathleen Valley
Liontown Resources Limited has produced more than 10kt of spodumene concentrate since beginning operations at its Kathleen Valley lithium project in WA.
The concentrate produced to-date has a weighted average grade of 5.2% lithium oxide and the concentrate stockpile is currently split between site and port.
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Duketon gold mine: A future forged through growth
Regis Resources Ltd reports a third consecutive year where underground growth outpaced depletion at its Duketon and Tropicana mines in WA, with major plans to ramp up and optimise its current undergrounds.
Notably, Regis intends to build sustainable capacity with four or more underground mines, by identifying and testing underground and open pit targets, to reach a target of 500kozpa combined production across both Duketon and Tropicana.
How Australia can take its nickel-back
Occurring exclusively in the Earth’s crust and core, nickel is one of the most versatile metals found on the planet. It’s used in various alloys, including stainless steel, electroplating and most recently, lithium-ion batteries.
Nickel is corrosion and oxidation resistant, fully recyclable and highly ductile. It plays a critical role in enabling the transition required to reduce CO2 emissions.
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