The Australian Workers’ Union (AWU) has voiced serious concerns following an incident at Glencore’s copper smelter in Mount Isa, which left two workers in critical condition. “Tough questions need to be asked about how an incident like this has occurred,” stated AWU Queensland Secretary Stacey Schinnerl, expressing deep concern over the incident.

Against the arid, red dirt of the Australian Outback, the Mount Holland lithium mine emerges to approaching visitors as a colossal grey-tinged crater, with trucks the size of houses edging along its steep inclines. An expanding site at the heart of the world’s top lithium-producing region, the A$2.6-billion operation is emblematic of the plentiful additional supply of the battery material currently weighing on global prices, much of it from this neighborhood. Despite bullish long term forecasts, the metal has been languishing near two-year lows as demand fails to keep pace.

China's Tianqi Lithium said on Thursday it has formally requested that a proposed joint venture between lithium company SQM, in which it is a major shareholder, and state-run copper miner Codelco be put to a shareholder's vote. The Santiago-based SQM, the world's no. 2 lithium producer, is in talks with Codelco over the deal, which was mandated by Chile's government to boost the state role in the lithium industry.

Anglo American's management does not consider a proposed $39-billion takeover offer from BHP Group as attractive, two sources told Reuters, as some investors and analysts dismissed it as opportunistic. BHP on Thursday offered Anglo's shareholders 25.08 pounds ($31.39) per share, or $38.8-billion, a premium of 31% to the market close on Wednesday. It would take over Anglo after a spin-off of two assets.

Copper miner Antofagasta is holding meetings with investors this week for its first dollar bond offering in nearly two years, people familiar with the matter said. CFO Mauricio Ortiz and other executives started meeting money managers Thursday, according to the people, who requested anonymity because the meetings are private. A 10-year dollar note issuance may follow, they added.

When former boss Mark Cutifani left Anglo American in mid-April 2022, things had rarely looked better for the century-old miner. Metals prices soared as the world emerged from lockdowns, the company had recently posted its best-ever annual profit and the popular industry veteran was handing over to a trusted lieutenant. Anglo stock hit a record the same day. Two years later, the company’s reputation is in tatters after a series of missteps sent its value plunging by half. And now industry heavyweight BHP Group is moving in.

Global interest in and the uptake of the new REFLUX Flotation Cell (RFC) from full flowsheet technology and service supplier FLSmidth has been gaining considerable momentum. As a result of this significant interest, the company is experiencing a backlog in paid-for test programmes at its Salt Lake City facility, in the US, FLSmidth global product director REFLUX technologies Lance Christodoulou tells Mining Weekly. “We've got customers that are prepared to proceed with the purchase of full-scale equipment to trial in Europe, following the results achieved during lab testing. We are yards ahead in the commercialisation phase compared with where we were when we started two years ago.”

Mining technology provider Veracio’s TruScan core scanning system has facilitated the generation of geological insights instrumental to discovering diversified explorer and developer Foran Mining’s Bridge target zone, which is adjacent to Foran’s McIlvenna Bay copper development project, in the Province of  Saskatchewan in Canada. Since its partnership in 2022 with Veracio, Foran has deployed the TruScan system onsite as part of its ongoing exploration at its flagship McIlvenna Bay project to better understand the intricate geological complexities of the existing resource and the Tesla discovery, explains Foran exploration VP Erin Carswell.

A gold mine in south-eastern Mato Grosso State, Brazil.

Australia-headquartered BHP has made a bold move with its bid to acquire rival Anglo American in an all-share deal valued at $38.8-billion. With this manoeuvre, BHP aims to create the largest copper miner globally, but it could face scrutiny from Anglo shareholders over valuation concerns. Commenting on the proposed deal, Wood Mackenzie mining and metals corporate research director James Whiteside remarked that the transaction would represent the biggest shakeup of the global mining industry in more than a decade.