BHP OK’d to run Mt Arthur to 2030, eyes hydro future
BHP will run the mine for four additional years and may convert it into a pumped hydro facility to support a post-coal future.
Technology & innovation
JV Article: Why end-to-end optimization isn’t optional
Yokogawa Electric, a Tokyo-headquartered electrical engineering and software company, is celebrating its 110th anniversary this year (just like The Northern Miner!) with a new strategy to manage mining operations from…
Deep-sea mining scars last decades, but life returns
A new study led by Britain’s National Oceanography Centre (NOC) has revealed that the effects of a deep-sea mining experiment in the Pacific Ocean more than four decades ago are…
JV article: Vorticity speeds up mineral discoveries with geophysics software
Mineral exploration has relied on slow, outdated computing for decades to analyze geophysical data. While other industries have advanced, prospecting has lagged behind, hampered by inefficient software and limited processing…
Cloud computing, AI can shorten energy transition, Seequent panel says
The path to the fourth industrial revolution and the green energy transition is best paved by integrating more technology into mining, industry panellists said this week at an event in…
Sodium-ion batteries could rival lithium-ion in cost, Stanford study finds
Sodium-ion batteries could rival lithium-ion batteries in cost by the 2030s, according to a new Stanford study. The study by Sustainability’s Precourt Institute for Energy and the SLAC-Stanford Battery Center evaluated…
Earth AI finds gold near Willow Glen molybdenum project, in Australia
Earth AI, an Australian tech-driven explorer for clean energy metals, has found a new gold system at its Willow Glen molybdenum-gold project near Guyra, New South Wales. Using its AI platform,…
Rio Tinto, BHP, BlueScope select Perth to build low-emission iron plant
Australia’s two largest iron ore miners, Rio Tinto (ASX, LSE, NYSE: RIO) and BHP (LSE, NYSE, ASX: BHP), working with BlueScope Steel, have selected Perth to locate the country’s largest…
BHP to spend up to US$14B in Chilean copper expansion
BHP (NYSE: BHP; LSE: BHP; ASX: BHP) has outlined its ambitious plans to boost copper production in Chile, aiming to increase output by 430,000 to 540,000 tonnes per year based…
Antofagasta propels green energy with South America’s first hydrogen-powered locomotive
Chile-focused Antofagasta (LSE: ANTO) aims to become the first mining company to use a hydrogen-powered locomotive in South America. It’s part of the copper producer’s efforts to develop alternatives to…
US government to assist Aclara with location study for new facility
Canada’s Aclara Resources (TSX: ARA) announced on Wednesday a collaboration with the U.S. Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration to find the best location for its planned rare earth separation…
Rio Tinto adopts space tech for lithium exploration in Argentina
Rio Tinto (NYSE: RIO; LSE: RIO; ASX: RIO) has adopted space technology from Australia’s Fleet Space to boost its exploration efforts at its Rincon lithium project in Argentina. The world’s…