Australia’s mining industry is at a crossroads — caught between an aging workforce, dwindling productivity, and a reliance on a transient labour model that’s failing regional communities. Whilst the promise of automation is still a work in progress, the depth of experience that once sustained mining operations is at risk…

On 26 March 2025, the Parliament of Australia passed the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Amendment (Reconsiderations) Bill 2025, changing how some environmental decisions can be reviewed under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act). The Bill limits the power of the Minister for the Environment to reconsider…

The mining industry faces universal workforce challenges across continents, according to Arjen De Bruin, Group CEO of OIM Consulting. His research reveals critical insights into supervisory performance and organisational effectiveness in mining sectors across Africa, Australia, and the Americas. Supervisory Performance Landscape De Bruin's extensive study of over 2,000 supervisors…

While a modest achievement amongst the giant global copper miners, a mid-tier company nevertheless impressed the market earlier this year when it resumed production of the base metal at its South Australian project. In February, Hillgrove Resources Ltd announced it had produced its first copper concentrate from ore sourced from…

Western Australia’s burgeoning critical minerals sector received a major shot in the arm earlier this year with the official launch of a fully integrated producer and supplier of premium, battery-grade lithium hydroxide for the global electric vehicle (EV) market. An advanced lithium exploration play in WA’s Eastern Goldfields looks set…

Consistent growth in Western Australia’s rail network and the opening of a manufacturing facility in Karratha will see the continued expansion of Australia’s rail construction and maintenance industry. The WA government has supported the establishment of an iron ore railcar manufacturing industry in the Pilbara town of Karratha, investing in…

A new methodology has been proposed to help study the efficiency of surface mining drill fleets. The method involves the evaluation of a vast array of complex factors, including management strategies, equipment characteristics, maintenance programs, mine design, site planning, operating conditions as well as workforce skills. The Overall Mining Equipment…

As blasting technology continues to advance, the use of explosives to break rock is expected to have an increasingly smaller environmental impact. In conventional blasting when explosive material is detonated, a huge amount of effective and non-effective energies that can produce gas and shock — accompanied by light, heat, sound…