Drilling operations at the Springdale graphite project in WA. Image: International Graphite.
International Graphite has welcomed the US’ decision to impose tariffs on a range of Chinese imports, including batteries, battery components and parts, and critical minerals.
Earlier this week, the US Government announced the tariff rate on natural graphite and permanent magnets from China will increase from zero to 25 per cent in 2026, and the tariff rate for other critical minerals will increase from zero to 25 per cent in 2024.
The tariff rate on electric vehicles (EVs) will also increase from 25 per cent to 100 per cent in 2024, meaning EVs that use Chinese graphite for battery components will not be eligible for the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) tax incentives.
The IRA legislation encourages innovation by giving firms various demand- and supply-side incentives to invest in developing and deploying clean energy technologies, while helping the country transition to net-zero.
“Despite rapid and recent progress in US onshoring, China currently controls over 80 per cent of certain segments of the EV battery supply chain, particularly upstream nodes such as critical minerals mining, processing, and refining,” the US Government said.
“Concentration of critical minerals mining and refining capacity in China leaves our supply chains vulnerable and our national security and clean energy goals at risk. In order to improve US and global resiliency in these supply chains, (the US Government) has invested across the US battery supply chain to build a sufficient domestic industrial base.”
International Graphite said graphite from its Springdale project in Western Australia will be free of US tariffs and Springdale customers will be eligible for IRA incentives as per the free trade agreement between Australia and the US.
“The timing of US tariffs coincides with the dates we expect to bring our Springdale mine into production,” International Graphite managing director and chief executive officer Andrew Worland said. “It is also the point at which world markets are expecting graphite demand to exceed supply.
“Our plan for a vertically integrated mine to market graphite business from Western Australia, fits perfectly with the goals of the US to reduce its reliance on China and secure other sources of trusted, reliable graphite.
“We have shown that Springdale has the potential to be a multi-decade, low-cost operation that will produce high quality graphite concentrates specifically for lithium-ion batteries.”
The Springdale graphite project in located in the Ravensthorpe region of WA. Since International Graphite took ownership of the project in 2022, it has grown to become one of the top 15 graphite deposits in the world.
AGG1 co-hosts with World of Asphalt. Image: Steven Franklin
Steve Franklin, founder of Eltirus, attended the AGG1 Academy & Expo in Nashville, Tennessee. He reports what he found at a key event for the North American aggregates industry.
Co-hosted with the World of Asphalt, the AGG1 Aggregates Academy & Expo witnessed a record-breaking attendance.
More than 15,800 industry professionals participated in the three-day event, marking a significant 38 per cent increase from the previous record of 11,400 attendees in 2022.
This surge in attendance underscores the event’s growing importance and influence within the aggregates and asphalt industries.
The show not only set new records in attendance but also expanded its reach in terms of educational sessions and exhibitors, offering more than 120 educational sessions and featured over 400 exhibitors across 18,000 square meters of place with attendees from all over the world, including as far as Australia, New Zealand, the UK, and Europe to engage with the latest innovations, technology, and education in the field.
Who was there?
The exhibitor area was well represented by equipment manufacturers and equipment.
In terms of aggregate equipment suppliers, all the companies that you would expect to be there were – Caterpillar, Epiroc, Develon, HD Hyundai, John Deer, Komatsu, Liebherr, Sandvik, Volvo, and more.
On the technology side, I saw Carlson, Inform, Loadrite, Price Bee, Topcon (to name but a few).
I also ran into a range of people from companies that I know who were not exhibiting, but nevertheless there catching up with customers and prospects.
Aggregate equipment suppliers were at the event, including Liebherr. Image: Steve Franklin
Electric and autonomous equipment
I was much disappointed to see very little in terms of this type of technology. The only notable machine was a small electric wheel loader. The big news in the North American market in terms of autonomous operation is of course the Luck Stone Caterpillar trial at their Bull Run quarry, however I didn’t hear any discussion of this at the show.
Automated environmental monitoring
Monitoring of environmental performance can be a pretty time-consuming affair when done manually. I have often thought there should be an easier way of doing things and I saw just that at AGG1.
Sauls Seismic provides a fully managed service that provides, installs, and manages IoT sensors that measure ground vibration, rainfall, water flow and water level, pH, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, conductivity, weather and dust deposition.
I have never seen a company that has all the environmental sensors that a site might need, installs, and maintains them and provides access to the data in a consistent format through a public API. Is there such a service in Australia – if so, please let me know.
Inventory management
Using drones for stockpile management is a big step up from manual measurement in terms of accuracy.
However, I am sure that you will also know that the approach can result in variable outcomes at time.
All it takes is someone to start changing densities, mis-pick the material type, alter the elevation of a stockpile base or boundary for you to see big swings in tonnages. In short, it is a good approach, but not an infallible one.
Enter Stockpile Reports (SR). Famous for their app that allows you to measure a stockpile using your iPhone (and more recently using the new Apple Vision Pro VR goggles), they also offer an enterprise inventory management service. So, what do I mean by inventory management service and how is this different to the way that we are used to measuring stockpiles with say Propeller or DroneDeploy?
Stockpile Reports is the only automated, controlled, and scalable third-party solution for managing bulk materials inventory that provides third-party verification and stockpile measurement accuracy scoring. Whether the imagery is captured with planes, drones, phones, or installed cameras, their patented technology ensures precision with reports that auto-correct obstructions, provide an objective surface score, and measure confidence in toe and base calculations.
The thing that really makes it stand out is the fact that your stockpile volumes are verified, and SR stand behind the numbers.
They also provide API access to the data and sensors that can provide real time analysis of stockpile volumes using fixed cameras that help identify potential stock-outs. It is amazing technology.
More than 15,800 industry professionals participated in the three-day event. Image: Steve Franklin
Aggregate and concrete plant scheduling
I think we can all agree that keeping quarry production and sales teams can sometimes get out of sync, with less than desirable outcomes.
Plant Demand aims to help alleviate this problem by putting in place a system that helps to keep everyone on the same page by helping to improve stock level visibility and reduce potential stock-outs. Increasingly common in North America, I think it has the opportunity to help businesses in our region too.
Logistics optimisation
Whether you deliver ready-mix concrete, cement, aggregates, asphalt, or any other building materials, effective transport planning can mean the make a big difference to the bottom line. Inform, a German company provides a remarkable AI based system that claims to increase truck fleet performance up to 30 per cent by calculating an optimised delivery schedule and fleet configuration for the next day based on service levels.
I am sure that to anyone who runs a fleet of trucks, 30 per cent improvement sounds like a big number. With this in mind, I was looking to talk to people at the show who had experience of Inform and could validate the sort of improvement that they are promoting.
One former managing director of a European aggregates operation who had experience of the system confirmed that they had indeed seen improvements on the order of 25-30 per cent in fleet productivity through the use of Inform and that its approach to fleet sizing or redistribution, truck right-sizing, fleet size/mix, haulage contracts made a profound difference to how they ran their fleet.
Quoting and sales price optimisation
Price Bee was very kind in allowing us to co-show with them at AGG1. I was amazed by the interest their product generated at the show, with many, many people stopping by to see their integrated quoting and pricing system for aggregates, concrete and asphalt.
Having seen the system from its inception many years ago, it was very interesting to get a deep dive into the software and how it can help providers. Even more so was to see the progress they have made into the North American market with a number of big-name customers.
If you haven’t seen Price Bee, it provides a fast, effective way to quote aggregates, concrete and asphalt (if you are using Excel for quotes, you must see this), but it also integrates pricing optimisation into the quote to ensure that different customers are charged the right pricing tiers and works to help you maximise price across the board.
Fleet management
Last but not least, great to see a home-grown technology solution at the show – Komatsu’s Smart Quarry Site system which was well represented and created a lot of interest.
Summary
Probably the most noticeable trend at AGG1 this year was the focus on digital transformation. The vast majority of producers I spoke to have an accelerated interest in this area and were working on projects to change how they did business. •
A drilling program carried out by First Quantum Minerals at Boss Energy’s Honeymoon uranium project in South Australia has intersected copper and gold mineralisation.
The mineralisation was uncovered below the Yarramba Palaeovalley along the Honeymoon tenements.
Three holes at the Atlas target, 4km east of Honeymoon, were drilled as part of the campaign, totalling 1029.5m.
Recent assays from Atlas include:
23CURDD002: 16m at 0.27 per cent copper (Cu) and 0.1 grams per tonne (g/t) gold (Au) from 288m
23CURDD006: 47m at 0.19 per cent Cu from 404m, with several narrower zones of 5–6m containing up to 0.5 per cent Cu and 0.12g/t Au.
“The intercepts are proof of process; evidence for movement and precipitation of copper (~gold/~zinc) within the Bimba Formation in the target area,” Boss Energy said.
Two holes equalling 701.6m were also drilled at the Pandora target, located 8km south of Honeymoon.
“One hole intersected an interval of stratiform low grade zinc-bearing stratigraphy, inferred to be the upper portion of the Bimba Formation,” Boss Energy said.
“This zone potentially lies outboard of a lower copper (~gold) zone, at the currently untested base of the Bimba Formation.”
One deep hole totalling 742.3m was also drilled at the Yarramba dome target, located 15km north of Honeymoon. However, no appreciable mineralisation was intersected.
The recent drilling carried out by First Quantum Minerals follows a maiden diamond drilling program carried out by the company along the Yarramba Palaeovalley in October 2023.
Boss Energy first entered into an exploration earn-in agreement with First Quantum Minerals in February 2022. The agreement covers the base metals rights of five tenements at the Honeymoon project.
“With a proven track record in discovering and developing deposits, Boss considers First Quantum Minerals an ideal partner in the exploration and potential development of any base or precious metal discoveries at Honeymoon,” Boss Energy said of the agreement.
After the drilling program’s completion, First Quantum Minerals may choose to earn a 51 per cent interest in its agreement with Boss Energy by spending $6 million on exploration within five years, as well as maintaining minimum annual expenditure on the project of $500,000.
If First Quantum follows this path, it will enter into a joint venture (JV) agreement with Boss Energy.
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ASTEC and OPS share a decade-long partnership. Image: Astec
Astec and OPS are committed to growing each other and the mining industry.
All hands were on deck at the OPS Screening and Crushing Equipment open days on March 21–22.
Held at OPS’s Perth facility, the expo celebrated 35 years of the company supplying critical equipment to Australia’s mining and quarrying industry.
To mark the occasion, OPS welcomed industry players from across the world to take part in two days of exhibitions, presentations and displays.
Rock-to-road solutions expert Astec was a major participant at the event. The company was also celebrating its decade-long partnership with OPS.
“Both Astec and OPS have seen excellent growth through our partnership,” Astec business line manager – material solutions Adam Gordon told Australian Mining.
“A key factor in the relationship is we know we can rely on OPS to provide quality service and expert technicians ready to rise to any challenge.”
Astec was in attendance to support OPS at its two-day expo in March. Image: Astec
Gordon said OPS is a trusted distributer of Astec’s bulk material handling and fixed plant equipment to mines and quarries in Western Australia, South Australia, the Northern Territory and New South Wales.
And the company distributes Astec’s rock breaker systems, materials handling equipment and ship-loading range Australia-wide.
“Astec manufactures equipment for the entire mineral processing chain, including crushing, screening, handling and washing,” he said.
“It’s big equipment for a big industry, and it requires knowledge, expertise and an extensive range of high-quality products to get the right machines to the right sites.”
Between them, Astec and OPS teams have built hundreds of years of industry experience, including expertise drawn from the 16 respected brands under the Astec umbrella.
“While Astec and OPS are successful businesses in their own right, they’re even better working together,” Gordon said. “We each bring different strengths to the partnership – strengths that we then build on to benefit each other and our customers.
“And with our combined experience, we have the Australian mining and quarrying industries covered.”
According to Gordon, one significant advantage in working together is the companies’ ability to deliver advanced training to teams on the ground.
“We’re very hands-on with our training,” Gordon said. “In fact, we ran multiple, comprehensive training sessions on specific aspects of our equipment at the two-day expo,” Gordon said.
When it comes to ensuring technicians are capable of providing outstanding service to customers, Gordon credits Astec’s tailored approach in ensuring OPS staff members are well equipped to face any challenge.
OPS managing director Shane Czerkasow addressing the crowd at the OPS expo. Image: Astec
“We have a lot of equipment in the thousands-of-tonnes-per-hour range and it’s all very specialised,” he said. “That’s why our training is personalised in a one-on-one environment, to ensure these technicians are able to deliver next level service to our customers.”
Among Astec’s innovative equipment and technology on display at the OPS event was a virtual reality station where attendees could take a virtual tour of Astec’s ship-loading and modular plant crusher facilities.
“Being able to showcase the scale of our capabilities was a major highlight of the event,” Gordon said.
The recent expansion of Astec’s Omagh manufacturing facility in Northern Ireland is another important factor in the company’s ability to support OPS.
“This expansion has effectively doubled our manufacturing capability, meaning we can supply more equipment more often to OPS, thereby keeping our customers up to date with the latest products and critical support when they need it,” he said.
Gordon emphasised that through Astec’s commitment to continuous improvement, the company is already designing and building equipment for the future, and it’s counting on OPS to be with them on that journey.
“We are very proud to be associated with OPS,” Gordon said, “We’re similar businesses, with the same goal of providing our customers with the best possible equipment to meet their needs.
“We work very well together, and we’re looking forward to a great future of growth.”
The Ravensthorpe nickel operations. Image: First Quantum Minerals
While many of the staff members from the Ravensthorpe nickel operation (RPO) will be made redundant, owner First Quantum Minerals is taking steps to keep as many employed as possible.
It comes as First Quantum places the WA site into a care and maintenance process from May 1. All production at the site is expected to cease by late May, with wind-down activities planned over the coming weeks.
“First Quantum acknowledges that its decision will have a significant impact on its employees and their families,” a spokesperson for the miner said in a statement.
“A smaller, dedicated care and maintenance team will be appointed from current RNO employees to ensure the site is safe and preserved for a future re-start.”
In addition to keeping on as many staff as possible, First Quantum will continue to support the Ravensthorpe and Hopetoun communities in any way it can.
“The company remains committed to supporting the local community and will play an active role within the Shire of Ravensthorpe throughout the care and maintenance period,” the First Quantum spokesperson said.
“This will include ensuring a large proportion of the care and maintenance team are based locally and maintaining the current First Quantum-owned housing within Hopetoun.
“Recognising the impact that this decision will have on the region, the company will continue engaging with the Ravensthorpe and Hopetoun communities and provide an appropriate level of community investment and support in the period ahead.”
After first scaling back operations in January, First Quantum again cited lower nickel prices and higher operating costs as major factors in the decision.
“Despite RNO’s best efforts to maintain operations by transitioning to a new operating strategy that involved ceasing mining activities, processing stockpiles and altering its approach to production, the site is incurring significant current and projected losses,” the spokesperson said.
“RNO will continue to meet all its environmental management and monitoring, rehabilitation and other regulatory requirements for the site.”
Ravensthorpe joins the Cosmos nickel mine in WA in entering care and maintenance in 2024, with owner IGO also citing a weakening nickel market as a driver in the decision to shutter the site.
“We still believe there is value in Cosmos; however, in this nickel environment we need to be disciplined with our allocation of capital, while retaining our optionality to restart if market conditions improve,” IGO managing director and chief executive officer Ivan Vella said in January.
APA solar farm at Mount Isa, Queensland. Image: Glencore.
Glencore’s Mount Isa Mines operation is set to source 20 per cent of its long-term electricity needs from APA Group’s new solar farm in Mica Creek, Queensland.
Under a 15-year agreement, Mount Isa Mines can use up to 50 per cent of the solar electricity produced each year at the Mica Creek solar farm (also known as the Dugald River solar farm).
The agreement was first announced in December 2023, where Glencore zinc assets Australia chief operating officer Sam Strohmayr said the partnership will help Glencore reduce its emissions footprint.
“The partnership helps reduce our high-power costs which is one of the elements that make it difficult to compete with our international rivals,” Strohmayr said.
The 88-megawatt farm at the basis of the agreement was officially opened yesterday and is poised to boast 180,000 solar panels across 200 hectares of land. The official opening was attended by Strohmayr.
“APA has been working with us for many years providing reliable electricity for our Mount Isa Mines operations,” Strohmayr said. “We welcomed the opportunity to partner with APA on a renewables project and in the process contribute to a collective effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
“There are several benefits from this agreement – not only for us but also for the community. Mount Isa Mines is reducing its carbon footprint, and in the process using renewable energy to help produce energy transition metals, such as zinc and copper, that are needed globally for a low carbon future.”
In October 2023, Glencore announced plans to close the Mount Isa Mines underground copper operations – Enterprise, X41 and Black Rock – and its copper concentrator by the end of 2025. The company cited low ore grades as the cause.
Glencore’s Lady Loretta zinc mine, which was a finite orebody with a seven-year mine life, will also close in 2025.
In response to the Mount Isa closures, the Queensland Government created the $50 million Mount Isa Transition Fund, which aims to boost projects that can commence quickly, create jobs, and build on the region’s reputation as a great place to live and work.
With $20 million going towards shovel-ready mining projects, $30 million will be used to accelerate resources projects in the Northwest Minerals Province. The initiative will be led by the Queensland Treasury and Department of Resources.
Other Mount Isa operations such as the copper smelter, the George Fisher mine, the zinc-lead concentrator, the lead smelter, and the copper refinery in Townsville remain operating.
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Metso’s largest service centre has now officially opened in Karratha, Western Australia, supporting the growing demand of customer needs in the region.
The centre serves mining and aggregates customers with maintenance and repair solutions and spans a 35,000m² area, including a workshop covering 5000m².
“The opening of the new center is an important milestone and further proof of our commitment to accelerate strategic investments in serving customers from pit to port,” Metso president, services business area Sami Takaluoma said.
“Strengthening our presence to offer increased productivity, shorter lead times, and environmental advantages will allow us to take service capabilities and customer experience to the next level.”
The centre has been equipped with advanced amenities including high-capacity cranes, CNC machines, a heat treatment furnace, welding facilities and assembly stations.
“This is a long-term and significant commitment to the Pilbara region and the communities here,” Metso president Asia Pacific Stuart Sneyd said. “We are extremely pleased that our local customers are already expressing considerable interest and confidence in our services.
“Metso has a significant installed base of equipment and a strong reputation in Asia Pacific; every day over 900 processing plants rely on Metso’s technology.
“By utilising Metso’s service know-how and expertise, genuine parts, exact materials, and OEM specifications, customers will achieve significant business and sustainability benefits.”
The centre will also provide a dedicated training facility to enhance the technical expertise of mining professionals.
An apprenticeship training program is planned for the centre at a later date.
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After conducting a review into its Cosmos nickel mine in WA, IGO has made the decision to transition the site into care and maintenance.
The closure is expected to be concluded by the end of May this year, with IGO assessing the value of continuing work on select exploration programs in the area.
The news comes after IGO advised the company would see through the current slump in lithium prices but would reduce production at its Greenbushes lithium joint venture in WA.
“This is not the outcome anyone at IGO wanted, however we cannot ignore the operational and financial risks involved in continuing to develop Cosmos in the current environment,” IGO managing director and chief executive officer Ivan Vella said.
“We still believe there is value in Cosmos, however in this nickel environment we need to be disciplined with our allocation of capital, while retaining our optionality to restart if market conditions improve.”
IGO also released its December 2023 quarterly, reporting that both net cash and group nickel production had been reduced.
“Our industry is facing some significant challenges and uncertainty with both nickel and lithium experiencing a downturn in the cycle,” Vella said.
It is expected that there will be redundancies owing to the closure, but Vella said IGO is committed to working with its people.
“I’d like to thank the team on site who have done an outstanding job to work through the challenges, and to progress the project to where it is today,” he said.
“Prioritising and minimising the impact on our team through this process is our absolute focus and we will provide every support we can to those people affected.”
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Newcrest Mining disappears from the ASX, having been officially swallowed-up by gold giant Newmont.
The takeover creates a veritable gold behemoth in control of over half of the world’s Tier-1 gold assets. The enlarged Newmont, which sees foreign ownership of Australian gold assets rise above 50 per cent, will oversee 10 “large, long-life, low-cost Tier-1” operations across the world.
Newmont already owned the Boddington and Tanami gold operations in Australia and will now add Cadia and Telfer to the fold. This puts Newmont in control of four out of six of Australia’s largest gold mines.
Other additions include the Brucejack and Red Chris operations in Canada, which are located nearby Newmont’s Saddle North project. Newmont president and chief executive officer Tom Palmer called this combination of gold assets a “golden triangle”.
The Lihir operation in Papua New Guinea will also fall under Newmont’s control.
Newmont expects to generate pre-tax synergies of $500 million, and at least $2 billion in cash improvements, in the first two years after closing the deal as it optimises its portfolio of assets.
“Today marks a historic milestone in our company and the industry with the successful completion of this transformational acquisition of Newcrest by Newmont,” Palmer said.
“Our attention now turns to safely, efficiently, and responsibly integrating Newcrest’s assets and people into Newmont’s proven operating model, so we can accelerate the delivery of our value-focused strategy for all our stakeholders.”
Newcrest Mining disappears from the ASX, having been officially swallowed-up by gold giant Newmont.
The takeover creates a veritable gold behemoth in control of over half of the world’s Tier-1 gold assets. The enlarged Newmont, which sees foreign ownership of Australian gold assets rise above 50 per cent, will oversee 10 “large, long-life, low-cost Tier-1” operations across the world.
Newmont already owned the Boddington and Tanami gold operations in Australia and will now add Cadia and Telfer to the fold. This puts Newmont in control of four out of six of Australia’s largest gold mines.
Other additions include the Brucejack and Red Chris operations in Canada, which are located nearby Newmont’s Saddle North project. Newmont president and chief executive officer Tom Palmer called this combination of gold assets a “golden triangle”.
The Lihir operation in Papua New Guinea will also fall under Newmont’s control.
Newmont expects to generate pre-tax synergies of $500 million, and at least $2 billion in cash improvements, in the first two years after closing the deal as it optimises its portfolio of assets.
“Today marks a historic milestone in our company and the industry with the successful completion of this transformational acquisition of Newcrest by Newmont,” Palmer said.
“Our attention now turns to safely, efficiently, and responsibly integrating Newcrest’s assets and people into Newmont’s proven operating model, so we can accelerate the delivery of our value-focused strategy for all our stakeholders.”
Charles Pratt is the new CEO of Kinder Australia. Picture: Kinder Australia
Kinder Australia has announced a major step for the company by unveiling a new chief executive officer.
The Australian company has appointed long-time employee Charles Pratt to take the top job after starting his journey with Kinder more than two decades ago.
Kinder Australia founders Neil and Christine Kinder have transitioned into managerial roles on the company’s advisory board. Neil will maintain his role as a managing director.
In a statement, Kinder welcomed the promotion of Pratt as the company prepares to celebrate its 39th anniversary in the bulk handling industry next year.
“Charles Pratt is characterised by his unwavering diligence and diplomatic approach to achieve the best possible outcomes and practical solutions,” they said.
“He encourages a culture of inclusiveness and upskilling – qualities that have played a pivotal role in his rapid rise within the company.
“His hands-on experience and profound understanding of heavy process industries make him a remarkable problem solver, not only for Kinder but also for the company’s valued customers.
“Charles has an uncanny ability to dive deep and uncover issues, often identifying challenges that even the most discerning customer might overlook.”
Pratt previously served Kinder as the operations manager and is remaining as a company shareholder.
