Mining and Metals Industry

A Queensland underground coal mine is on fire up to half a kilometre below ground. Remote control technology is helping in an around-the-clock race to seal the mine and avoid further explosions.

Only two years after beginning operations at its Pilbara gold project, Calidus Resources has collapsed under debt, even after gold prices recently hit a record high.

Work to seal off the Grosvenor Coal Mine is underway as a worried community fears a repeat of a devastating 2020 blast.

An underground inferno is pumping out clouds of black smoke in Central Queensland as emergency services try to extinguish it, with experts warning it could take weeks.

Now a ghost town, the community of Mary Kathleen disappeared after the nearby uranium mine closed in 1982. But in its heyday, it was an oasis in outback Queensland.

Esperance is bracing for a "significant impact" after a mine that accounts for more than half the export trade through the town's port announced it would close. 

A mine that accounts for more than half the export trade through the Esperance Port has announced it will close, leaving locals questioning their future.

In the midst of a housing crisis, an explosion of renewable energy projects, and the expansion of nearby coal mines, residents in Wollar, population 52, say the community will cease to exist in the next decade.

Coal miner Brad Duxbury went to work in 2019 and never came home. His employer has been fined $720,000 over his death and serious injury to another man.

After years awaiting compensation, Yindjibarndi Ngurra Aboriginal Corporation has called for an inquiry into the lucrative Solomon Hub iron ore mine claiming the it operates "below the current standard of industry regulation".

With nearly half of Australia's mining tyre waste generated in WA's Pilbara region, the focus is turning to how they can be recycled locally.   

Mining giant Mineral Resources, which received a five-year royalty holiday from the WA government to keep an iron ore mine open, says further taxpayer assistance would not have affected its decision to close.

With hundreds of jobs set to go following the closure of a local mine, the Shire of Ravensthorpe is pitching itself as a potential community hub to miners in other parts of the state.          

Farmers fear a company that "couldn't do the right thing" when exploring western NSW for rare earth minerals won't be able to manage if its project goes into full production.

With producers across the state looking far and wide for hay at a time of below-average rainfall, the mining giant's sudden drop in production comes as a blow to the livestock industry. 

Mining is set to return to the Northern Territory's former centre of gold production, as prices for the precious metal hit record highs this year.

A stargazing tourism operation says it has "legalled up" in response to a billion-dollar renewable energy project set to be located down the road from the business that relies on dark skies.

Kevin Weekes's world shattered when his doctor asked him if his affairs were in order. Five years on, Sibelco has been fined for failing to act on "red flags".

The WA opposition says flood damage to the Geraldton-Mount Magnet road shows investment in country roads is being deeply under-resourced. 

Population growth and cost-of-living relief are the headline drivers of spending and revenue in Queensland's 2024 election year budget.

As Western Australia's mining and energy sectors shape up for their latest boom, residents in the state's mining heartland are scrambling to keep a roof over their heads after an increase to average rents of more than 120 per cent in five years.

The Mining and Energy Union says the fact that there have been no serious injuries or deaths in the past 12 months — despite four derailments in the Pilbara in that time — can be put down to "more good luck than good management". 

Rio Tinto says a new way of treating iron ore for steel production could reduce emissions by 95 per cent. So what's the catch?

Five companies with ties to major Chinese entities are ordered by Jim Chalmers to divest their shares in this remote Australian rare earths mine "to protect our national interest."

Mining giant BHP might have pulled out at the 11th hour in its takeover ambitions for rival Anglo American, but make no mistake — it's a question of when, not if, the Big Australian will come knocking again.