Bagdad to be first U.S. copper mine to move to AHS

Freeport-McMoRan’s Bagdad operation in Arizona will become the first copper mine in the United States to implement a fully autonomous haulage system (AHS). The miner will convert its fleet of 33 Cat 793 haul trucks using Cat MineStar Command for hauling.  “The three-year conversion project is expected to improve safety, optimize our fleet, reduce GHG emissions through reduced idle time…

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Kennecott Bingham Canyon picks Cat MineStar

Caterpillar and Utah dealer wheeler Machinery have completed the installation of a Cat MineStar fleet management system at Rio Tinto’s Kennecott Bingham Canyon copper mine outside Salt Lake City. The operation opted to deploy MineStar fleet over an upgrade of its previous fleet management system, and with the new implementation the site’s equipment tracking, production recording, material management and truck…

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Nevada Copper continues toward Pumpkin Hollow restart

Nevada Copper has provided an update on the progress of its operating restart activities at the Pumpkin Hollow underground copper mine in Nevada.  The company said Small Mine Development commenced underground activities on June 1. Six working faces were made available to the contractor to accelerate primary and secondary lateral development. Nevada Copper said mine development in the EN Zone,…

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WVU gets government boost for rare earth work

A group of researchers at West Virginia University have been awarded US$3 million from the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) to increase the supply of rare earth elements and critical minerals extracted from acid mine drainage across the country. The researchers, led by Paul Ziemkiewicz, director of the Water Research Institute at WVU, will establish resource recovery sites in West…

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U.S., Rio Tinto land swap to move forward

The U.S. Forest Service said it plans to re-publish an environmental report before July that will set in motion a land swap between the U.S. government and Rio Tinto, allowing the miner to develop its Resolution Copper project in Arizona, reported Reuters. In 2014, Congress approved the land exchange of 2,422 acres above a copper deposit for 5,459 acres of…

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Newmont proposes Newcrest US$16.9 billion takeover

In a move to combine two of the top senior gold producers, U.S.-based Newmont has submitted a non-binding proposal to acquire 100% of the issued share capital of Australian peer Newcrest Mining by way of a scheme of arrangement. If successful, it would be the largest mining takeover and the third-largest corporate buyout in Australian history, according to Refinitiv data.…

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Diesel-less future?

The mining industry has long relied on diesel. Cleaner alternatives are however needed if the industry is to successfully decarbonize its mine sites. By Jonathan Rowland The phrase “net zero mining” is fast taking its place in the dictionary of 21st century mining buzzwords, just after the “digital mine” and slotting in ahead of the related term, “sustainable mining.” But…

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