Recent advances in the field of X-Ray diffraction (XRD) now make it possible to easily perform quantitative analysis of the common minerals associated with limestone, where previously it has been considered too complex and costly for use by most producers. inXitu, a leader in portable XRD/XRF based instrumentation, has recently added an instrument to this field with the […]

Vale’s 2008 Sustainability Report shows the company to be a leader in the efficient use of water resources in mining. Its 2008 Sustainability Report shows the company continues to make significant progress in environmental, social and economic management. One of the positive results noted in the document is higher reuse of water resources. Of the […]

Precious metals consultancy GFMS reports in its 3-Year Copper Forecast - August 2009 publication that although prices have slipped by around 5% since the recent high of $6,419/t, the underlying fundamentals are still there. On an average annual basis, it expects higher copper prices each year out to 2012. It also said that a strong […]

Gold investment remained very strong in the second quarter of 2009, rising 46% (222 t) on year earlier levels. Overall, demand fell back from recent high levels, during the previous three quarters, as the combination of weak economic conditions and high prices made an impact, according to the Q2′09 Gold Demand Trends report published by World Gold […]

Newlands Northern underground mine - located in the Bowen basin of Queensland, Australia - is the new record holder for weekly and monthly production from longwall operations. In May 2009, it extracted 961,891 t from the longwall, beating Beltana’s previous record of 955,049 t set in November 2005, and also broke the weekly record, with […]

Ausdrill and Brandrill have announced a proposed merger of the two companies. The combined mining services group will have a strong and complementary range of Australian and international business operations. It is intended that Brandrill’s drilling businesses will use drilling consumables manufactured by Ausdrill’s Drilling Tools Australia business and benefit from the increased buying power of the […]