This Month
Whitehaven Coal says inflation is ‘rife’
The coal miner says the cost of parts and services continues to rise despite higher unemployment, as a rail “glitch” soured its $6.4b move into Queensland coal.
Green hydrogen too ‘expensive and inefficient’: Finkel
Former chief scientist Alan Finkel – who devised Australia’s first clean hydrogen strategy – now says we are “unlikely to use hydrogen for storage of electricity”.
Forrest says Element Zero execs burned bridges ‘like Nazis’
Fortescue chairman Andrew Forrest has distanced himself from surveillance tactics used against former employees, but fully supported the IP lawsuit against them.
- Updated
- Energy
Labor’s hydrogen dream stalls as Fortescue slims down H2 vision
Fortescue will cut 700 jobs and slow its push into green hydrogen in a blow to the Albanese government’s plan to make Australia a hydrogen superpower supported by more than $8 billion of taxpayer funded incentives.
BHP breaks iron ore export record, promises copper lift
The mining giant could raise copper production by 10 per cent in the year ahead as its most important commodities offset nickel and coal woes.
Rio Tinto’s $34.3b African iron ore project gets green light
Soft iron ore exports from Western Australia were overshadowed by final approvals for the Simandou iron ore project in Africa.
June
Niobium fever spreads as Encounter hits paydirt in WA1’s backyard
The West Arunta region is rapidly becoming Australia’s next critical minerals province after Encounter found high-grade niobium close to WA1’s Luni discovery
Sir Andrew Mackenzie: time to focus on the best few climate solutions
The Shell chairman says the world’s carbon challenge is harder than he realised while running BHP, and it’s time for a global focus on a few winning solutions
Rio Tinto puts biofuels before batteries in carbon credit push
The miner reckons farmers should be eligible to earn carbon credits for growing crops that can be turned into carbon-neutral biofuels.
Fortescue should face EPA audit, native title group claims
Fortescue’s stoush with the Yindjibarndi people has deepened, with the native title group asking the WA government to review permits for the Solomon mining hub.
Pilbara’s lithium growth plans immune to price pressure
Lithium exporter Pilbara Minerals says it can triple lithium production in a value accretive way even if prices remain near current levels.
Forrest lieutenant Julie Shuttleworth exits Fortescue after a decade
Her departure adds to the growing list of executives who have left Fortescue recently. Ms Shuttleworth said she was leaving to spend more time with her family.
Russian mining membership dogs global coal lobby
Now known as FutureCoal, the organisation says it is “agnostic” after appointing a Russian director. Its members include Yancoal, Whitehaven and Incitec Pivot.
Japan’s Itochu delays plans to exit Australian thermal coal
The conglomerate joins Glencore in reassessing its decision to exit the fossil fuel with energy security prioritised amid rising geopolitical tensions.
The clean energy renaissance that’s backed by big oil
The extraction of geothermal energy from the Earth’s core is enjoying a renaissance, and companies like BHP, Chevron and BP have put their money behind it.
Long walk to treaty resumes in a fractured federation
The Albanese government has backed away from a promise to strike a treaty with Indigenous Australians. In a federal policy vacuum, some states are picking up the baton.
Fortescue accuses former execs of green iron IP breach
Andrew Forrest’s company has launched legal action against two of the architects of its clean energy pivot over claims they copied a green iron technology.
Heritage ‘price gouging’ strains miners and native title groups
Archaeologists and anthropologists have been accused of “ripping off” native title groups and miners, and driving a sharp rise in the cost of heritage surveys
Uranium miner not deterred by Jabiluka lease portent
An NT government ruling has raised traditional owners’ hopes that the Jabiluka mining lease will not be renewed, but mining company ERA hasn’t given up.
Ignorance rather than greed behind Sandfire’s Indigenous blunder
An investigation conducted by Gilbert + Tobin concluded there was a “clear failure” by the copper producer’s former management to understand “ESG obligations”.
