A Australian Strategic Material…

How Will Australian Strategic Materials Benefit From The Appointment Of New Coo?

Asm Signs Three-Way Mou To Enhance Rare Earth Element Supply Chain

Bhp Weighs $20 Billion Copper Expansion In South Australia Around 500 Kilometres North Of Adelaide Sits Olympic Dam, One Of The World’S Largest And Most Valuable Copper Deposits. It’S A Long-Running Operation In The Heart Of South Australia’S Outback, And A Critical Asset In Global Copper Supply. Linking Olympic Dam With Oak Dam Bhp’S Latest Studies Investigate Connecting Olympic Dam With Oak Dam — A High-Grade Copper Discovery Located Nearby. If Developed Together, The Two Sites Could Form A New Copper Hub Capable Of Lifting South Australia’S Production For Decades. A Project Facing Big Challenges Despite The Scale Of The Opportunity, Several Challenges Are Slowing Progress. Rising Energy Costs, Limited Water Availability, And Ongoing Infrastructure Constraints All Add Complexity To The Project. Water Supply In Particular Remains A Key Issue In The Region, With Any Major Expansion Likely Requiring New Pipelines Or Desalination Investment. Could This Be Australia’S Next Pilbara? If Bhp Overcomes These Hurdles, South Australia Could Become Home To A Copper Province On The Scale Of The Pilbara’S Iron Ore Industry. With Global Demand For Copper Surging, The Region’S Long-Term Potential Is Significant — But Turning It Into Australia’S Next Major Mining Hub Will Depend On Solving Today’S Bottlenecks.

Vault Minerals Approves $80m Expansion At King Of The Hills Vault Minerals (Asx: Vau) Has Signed Off On An $80 Million Expansion Of Its King Of The Hills (Koth) Gold Operation Near Leonora, Aiming To Lift Processing Capacity And Unlock More Of The District’S Long-Life Potential. New Crusher And Mill Upgrades: The Project Centres On A New Primary Crusher, New Tanks In The Cip Circuit, And Upgrades Across The Wet Plant. A Fresh Crushing Circuit Will Be Built 110 Metres West Of The Existing One To Avoid Interrupting Current Production. These Changes Are Designed To Reduce Bottlenecks And Support A Lift To 6 Million Tonnes Per Annum. Tapping A Massive Stockpile: Vault Is Currently Mill-Constrained, With A 7.3-Million-Tonne Stockpile Beside The Plant Holding More Than 108,000 Ounces Of Gold. The Expansion Allows Faster Processing Of This Ore And Better Use Of The Company’S Multiple Feed Sources. Strong Reserve Base: King Of The Hills And Nearby Operations Host: 2.24moz Ore Reserves 6.02moz Mineral Resources This Underpins A Base Case 10-Year Mine Life And Supports Future Growth Across The Leonora Region. Construction Timeline: Work Is Expected To Begin In April 2025, With Commissioning Targeted For Q4 Fy26. Gr Engineering Services Completed The Design And Cost Study For The Expansion. Positioning For Leonora’S Next Gold Wave: With Higher Capacity, Major Infrastructure Already In Place, And Renewed Underground Exploration, Vault Minerals Sees Koth As A Key Driver For The Next Phase Of Growth In The Leonora Gold District. Cover Image: Data Sio, Noaa, U.S. Navy, Nga, Gebco. Image Landsat / Copernicus. Processing Plant Image: © Vault Minerals.

$100 Million Plan To Boost Copper Output In North Queensland Major Upgrade At Eloise Mine Aic Mines Is Investing Around $100 Million Into Expanding The Eloise Copper Mine, Located South-East Of Mount Isa In North Queensland. The Project Aims To Modernise The Older Underground Operation And Bring New Life To The Site. Jericho Deposit Set To Drive Growth A Key Part Of The Plan Is The Development Of The Nearby Jericho Deposit. Once Opened, Jericho Is Expected To Send About 600,000 Tonnes Of Ore Each Year Into Eloise’S Processing Plant. Bigger Plant, Bigger Production To Handle The Extra Ore, Aic Mines Is Expanding The Processing Plant To 1.1 Million Tonnes A Year. Together, The Eloise And Jericho Operations Could Produce Around 20,000 Tonnes Of Copper Annually, Creating A New Copper Hub In The Mount Isa Region. A Potential Boost For Queensland’S Copper Belt With Global Demand For Copper Growing, The Combined Project Could Become A Significant Contributor To The State’S Critical Minerals Industry. Whether This $100 Million Move Sparks Queensland’S Next Copper Boom Remains To Be Seen, But It Marks A Major Step For Aic Mines And The Region’S Mining Future.

Rio Tinto Launches $15 Billion Asset Sell-Off Rio Tinto Has Announced Plans To Sell Up To $15 Billion Worth Of Assets As Part Of A Strategy To Streamline The Company And Refocus On Its Core Operations. The Move Marks One Of The Largest Portfolio Resets In The Miner’S History. Iron Ore Still The Backbone At Tom Price In Western Australia’S Pilbara Region, Iron Ore Is Moved By Rail Almost 400 Kilometres To Cape Lambert, Where It Is Loaded Onto Ships Bound For Asia. These Pilbara Mines Remain Rio’S Strongest Earnings Driver And Will Not Be Part Of The Sell-Off. What Will Be Sold? Rio Plans To Offload Non-Core Mines, Land Parcels, And Parts Of Its Processing And Infrastructure Portfolio. The Company Is Also Reducing Spending On Decarbonisation Projects, Shifting Towards Third-Party Partnerships Instead Of Funding Major Energy Investments Itself. Simandou Adds Global Pressure The Timing Of The Reset Coincides With The Long-Awaited Ramp-Up Of The Simandou Iron Ore Project In Guinea, Which Will Introduce New Global Supply. The Added Competition Has Intensified Rio’S Push To Sharpen Its Business And Strengthen Financial Performance. A High-Stakes Strategy Rio Says The Changes Will Make The Company “Stronger, Sharper And Simpler.” But With Iron Ore Markets Shifting And New Supply Emerging, The Key Question Remains: Will Selling Too Much Reduce Rio’S Long-Term Advantage?