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Mining and Metals Industry

A coal mine fire has been burning for five days in central Queensland. There is only one way to put it out

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.
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Remote control dozers are helping seal the burning Grosvenor Coal Mine.

Pilbara gold miner Calidus enters receivership despite skyrocketing global prices

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.
A small townsite in the desert with a fence in the foreground.

Inferno at Queensland's biggest underground coal mine sparks explosion fears

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

Residents warned to stay indoors amid battle to stop underground mine inferno, as black smoke fills sky

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.
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Clouds of dark smoke in front of an orange fire.

The final days of a ghost uranium mining town, shuttered and sold for parts

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.
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The red earth corrugations of an old mine pit surround a beautiful blue lake at the bottom.

The extraordinary deal that kept this port exporting iron ore in 2018 has ended. So what's next?

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 large ship in the port with a tugboat nearby at sunset

Esperance Port braces for 'significant impact' as Yilgarn closure halves trade

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.
ABC News Current
Duration: 1 minute 42 seconds

The coal mine near this tiny town is expanding, so why are houses being knocked down?

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.
A rundown store

Central Queensland mining company fined after electrician crushed to death by coal slab

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.
A man in a dark coloured polo shirt with red sections smiling at the camera.

Pilbara traditional owners call for inquiry into Andrew Forrest's Solomon Hub

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".
An outback landscape.

'A dramatic change of heart': Miners realise 44,000 tonnes of tyre waste must be properly managed, recyclers say

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.   
A yellow truck on red dirt

This iron ore mine paid no royalties for five years. Now it's closing down

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.
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Iron ore being loaded onto a train for export.

Remote council pitches FIFO hub plan to big miners in bid to maintain population

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.          
A man and woman with hard hats and high vis shirts.

Rule-breaching miner's billion-dollar plan raises red flags for farmers

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.
A man wearing a hat stands at a gated entrance to a rural property.

WA farmers rely on Rio Tinto for one crucial resource that's suddenly been cut by half

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. 
A centre pivot irrigates hay

What was once considered Australia's richest gold mine is being brought back to life

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.
Gold bars piled on a wooden pallet.

Astronomy tourism business ready to fight Australia's first compressed air energy storage project

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.
A mine near Broken Hill at sunset with the horizon and the city.

Global company fined $400k after workers exposed to silica dust

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".
kevin weekes himself

Outback truckers halted for days after deluge destroys road, prompting calls for more investment

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

These are the winners and losers in this year's Queensland budget

Population growth and cost-of-living relief are the headline drivers of spending and revenue in Queensland's 2024 election year budget.
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An illustration of a map of Australia highlighting Queensland.

A new resources boom in the Pilbara may be good for the economy, but it's bad news for local renters

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.
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A man carrying a box to his car.

Union says 'major' fatalities a possibility on WA mine railways due to poor safety culture

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". 
An iron ore train snakes its way through the Pilbara

Rio Tinto says a new way of processing iron ore in steelmaking could change the world. Do its claims stack up?

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?
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A man in bright yellow is dwarfed by three very large trucks in red dirt

'National interest' behind treasurer's orders to block Yuxiao Fund from Australian rare earth investments

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."
Northern Minerals

analysis:BHP might have walked away from Anglo American for now, but this isn't the end of the road

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.
A close up of orange letters that read "BHP" affixed to the side of a building.