History of Nuclear Engineering Part 1: Radioactivity
For just over 100 years, radioactive elements have proved of industrial and commercial use. Marti...
Features
Engineers: Raise Your Voice
More chemical engineers are needed in industrial policy, says Chris McDonald
Iron Plan: Working Towards Emissions-Free Reduction
Kerry Hebden speaks to innovators piloting green steel production in Sweden, and a second team wo...
Electrochemistry for greener steel
Amanda Jasi speaks to technology developers working to use electrolysis to reduce emissions from ...
Materials: Switch on/Switch off
Pablo Brito-Parada and colleagues discuss how SOSO technology could provide the paradigm shift ne...
Process Engineering for the Final Frontier
Kathryn Hadler tells Amanda Jasi about the exciting prospect of extracting and processing resourc...
From Junk to Fuel: Addressing the Space Debris Challenge
Amanda Jasi talks to Gary Calnan about his company’s work on developing a forge for recycling was...
Trapping a Slippery Foe
Alfonso Rodriguez and Charlie Espinosa explain innovations to map and remove mercury contaminatio...
Happy Endings
Mine closure is not just an environmental issue, say Anna Littleboy, Guy Boggs and Glen Corder
The Middlewich Job (the Pump Preservation Society)
In the fourth in a series about chemical engineers who volunteer their skills to contribute to so...
Book Review: Credibility Crisis: Brumadinho and the Politics of Mining Industry Reform
Andrew Hopkins and Deanna Kemp; ISBN: 9781922509048; Wolters Kluwer; 2021; US$65
Producing Hydrogen While Storing CO2 in the Oceans
Mike Kelland and Greg Rau talk to Amanda Doyle about their clean-tech goals
Reducing the Daily Grind
Liza Forbes, Kym Runge, Mike Mankosa, Jaisen Kohmuench and Luke Vollert discuss a froth-free flot...
Moving the Dial to Decarbonise
David Wong and colleagues discuss how the world’s aluminium smelters could enable the rapid uptak...
Turning Points for IX
John Bewsey describes a new ion exchange process for cleaning up acid mines and brackish water
Monitoring in Mining
Amanda Jasi speaks to Albert Cabrejo and Leonnardo Probst about their company’s radar-based techn...
Bulk Solids Handling: Perspective on a Professional Blind Spot
A topic often overlooked and misunderstood, Grant Wellwood looks at the prevalence of bulk solids...
Digging Deeper
Glen Corder and Artem Golev look at the mining industry’s role in a circular economy
Mercury Falling
Teaching artisanal gold miners to go mercury-free using a century-old technique.
Worth its Weight
It is increasingly important for companies to maximise the sustainability of their manufacturing ...
Developing Policies: What Can We Do?
Increasing chemical engineering contributions to sustainable policy development: an Australian ...
Adding Value to Gold
Scotland’s first ever commercial goldmine proves that precious metals can be worth more than thei...
News
New UK coal mine blocked by High Court
PLANS to build the UK’s first coal mine in more than 30 years have been quashed by the High Court.
BHP workers at world’s largest copper mine claim pay dispute ‘victory’
UNION workers at BHP’s Escondida copper mine in Chile, the largest copper mine in the world, have...
Rio Tinto agrees state support for one of Australia’s largest smelters as Queensland ramps up renewables
OPERATION of the Boyne aluminium smelter in Queensland could be protected until at least 2040 und...
Landmark ruling could put UK fossil fuel projects at risk
THE impact of burning fossil fuels should be taken into account when approving energy development...
Green hydrogen hub greenlit for New South Wales in A$207m deal
AUSTRALIA is powering on with its commitment for regional green hydrogen, with the New South Wale...
Anglo American plans to cleave off coal, platinum, and diamonds after rejecting fresh £34bn offer from BHP
ANGLO AMERICAN has announced plans to break up the company, including getting rid of its coking c...
BHP, Vale, and Samarco propose US$25.1bn settlement for fatal 2015 dam collapse
MINING giants BHP, Vale, and their joint-venture Samarco have proposed a R$127bn (US$25.1bn) sett...
G7 countries enact coal exit plan but Greenpeace label it ‘too little, too late’
THE days of coal-fired electricity are numbered after G7 nations agreed to phase out production o...
Update: Anglo American rejects £31bn BHP offer, saying it significantly undervalues the firm
ANGLO AMERICAN has rejected a £31bn (US$38.7bn) takeover offer from its mining rival BHP, saying ...
Australian minerals and hydrogen research gets A$59m funding boost
A FLOATING device that uses sunlight to produce hydrogen from wastewater and a leaching process a...
Boston Metals’ electrified process starts extracting valuable metals from mining slag
A PILOT plant that recovers metals from mining waste has started operations in Brazil, as develop...
Aluminium producer Alcoa agrees US$2.2bn deal to acquire Alumina
Alcoa is set to secure its position as one of the world’s largest alumina and bauxite producers w...
Australia funds A$14m cleantech support centre
AUSTRALIA is funding a A$14m (US$9.2m) centre that will help companies manufacture and adopt rene...
BHP, Rio Tinto, and BlueScope partner to decarbonise Australian steelmaking with electric melter pilot
AUSTRALIAN iron ore majors BHP and Rio Tinto have partnered with a leading steelmaker in the coun...
ReElement Technologies partners with Afrivolt to develop Africa’s battery ecosystem
METALS refining and recycling company ReElement Technologies has signed a memorandum of understan...
BHP and Vale ordered to pay US$9.6bn in damages over fatal Samarco dam collapse
A BRAZILIAN federal judge has ordered mining majors BHP and Vale, along with their joint venture ...
Alcoa set to end 60 years of production at Kwinana alumina refinery, impacting 1,000 workers
ALUMINIUM producer Alcoa will fully curtail production at its 2.2m t/y alumina refinery in the Kw...
All-UK partnership to deliver landmark commercial scale direct lithium extraction plant
THREE companies from the north of England – Northern Lithium, Evove, and Sheers – have signed an ...
US unveils up to US$3.5bn funding to expand domestic battery manufacturing
THE White House has announced up to US$3.5bn in funding to strengthen domestic battery manufactur...
Chemical spill injures five at Western Australian alumina refinery
TWO PEOPLE were hospitalised, and three others also injured, after a spill of caustic solution at...
46 miners killed in methane gas explosion at ArcelorMittal mine in Kazakhstan
A METHANE explosion at a mine in Kazakhstan run by ArcelorMittal Temirtau has killed 46 workers. ...
UK lithium boost as engineers use membranes to extract lithium from brine
ENGINEERS have piloted a process that uses membranes to produce battery grade lithium carbonate f...
Researchers develop mussel-inspired coating that can extract rare earth elements
RESEARCHERS at Penn State University, US, have developed a mussel-inspired nanocellulose coating ...
Seabed watchdog accuses deep-sea miner of ignoring risk procedures after spill in Pacific
NAURA OCEAN RESOURCES (NORI), the company which sparked debate into deep sea mining in 2021, has ...
Imperial to lead £118m green minerals research centre
A NEW £118m (US$150m) research centre at Imperial College London will work to transform mineral e...
Imerys and British Lithium to develop UK’s largest lithium deposit while Norway’s Norge Mining makes major phosphate discovery
FRENCH multinational firm, Imerys, has teamed up with extraction company British Lithium to becom...
Rio Tinto announces manufacturing research lab in Australia as it charges ahead with batteries push
RIO TINTO is building a battery manufacturing laboratory at its research facility in Bundoora, Me...
Australian miner Fortescue is building battery factory in UK
FORTESCUE is building a factory near Oxford, UK, that will produce batteries and electric powertr...
Rio Tinto completes transition of heavy machinery to renewable diesel at US California borax site
RIO Tinto has completed the full transition of heavy machinery from fossil diesel to renewable di...
Rockwell Automation teams up with Cornish Lithium to develop the firm’s demonstration plant
LITHIUM exploration within Cornwall, UK has received a boost after Rockwell Automation announced ...
UK and Canada forge ties to strengthen critical minerals supplies
THE UK and Canada have agreed to cooperate on critical minerals including research to bolster the...
Search for survivors continues at fatal Chinese mine collapse site
A LARGE-scale rescue effort is ongoing after reports of an open-pit coal mine collapse in China, ...
Sweden discovers Europe’s largest rare earths deposit
SWEDEN’S state mining firm has discovered what could be Europe’s largest rare earths deposit, and...
UK to collaborate with Saudi Arabia on minerals, and UAE on green energy
The UK and Saudi Arabia have agreed to deepen collaboration and work together in areas including ...
Australia’s biggest polluters must cut emissions by nearly 5% a year from July
A REFORM to Australia’s climate safeguard mechanism means that more than 200 of the country’s hea...
UK’s first coal mine for 30 years faces legal challenge
FRIENDS of the Earth has filed a legal challenge in the UK’s High Court against the government’s ...
UK coal mine approval: ‘I don’t understand why we’re doing this,’ says CCC Chair
THE UK Government has approved the first coal mine in 30 years, despite widespread climate concer...
Partnership will use nanobubbles to increase copper recovery
BASF has partnered with Moleaer, a nanobubble technology company, to combine novel technologies i...
Short on sulfur: Is a potential resource crisis about to threaten food security and stifle green technology?
A NEW study by researchers at UCL suggests that supplies of sulfuric acid, a vital ingredient use...
CATL to build second European battery plant in Hungary
CHINESE battery firm CATL plans to build a new 100 GWh battery plant covering an area of 221 ha i...
UK set to host rare earths processing hub in push for cleantech security
THE UK is set to host a new US$195m rare earth processing hub that Pensana is building at the Sal...
UK sets up centre to advise on critical minerals, amid warnings of supply risks
THE UK has established a Critical Minerals Intelligence Centre in Nottingham to help the country ...
Curtin University to lead roadmap to decarbonise WA
CURTIN University’s School of Mines is leading the way in a campaign to decarbonise Western Austr...
New Acland coalmine gets approval for expansion
THE Queensland Government has given the green light to stage three of the New Hope Group’s open-c...
New technology extracts more lithium from mining waste
Scientists at the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) together with Li...
Aussie reactor trial seeks to coax coal miners to capture methane
A NOVEL reactor that neutralises methane emissions produced in coal mines will be trialled by Sou...
UK first: Cornish Lithium trials direct extraction of key battery metal from geothermal waters
AT the end of March, Cornish Lithium commissioned the UK’s first direct lithium extraction pilot ...
Australian rare earths mine gains backing of Government
THE Australian Government has backed the Yangibana rare earths mine in the Gascoyne region of Wes...
Woodside approves US$12bn LNG investment and BHP oil merger
WOODSIDE has approved a US$12bn investment in the Scarborough gas field and expansion of its Plut...
Students awarded first US$5m from Elon Musk’s carbon removal prize
23 student-led teams have won the first US$5m portion of the US$100m carbon removal prize launche...
Glencore and Britishvolt enter long-term supply agreement
GLENCORE and Britishvolt have signed an agreement for the mining company to supply responsibly-so...
Miner BHP could exit oil and gas through merger with Woodside
BHP is exploring options to exit the oil and gas sector by merging its assets with Woodside.
Claimants to appeal fatal Samarco disaster ruling in UK court
THE Court of Appeals, the most senior court in England and Wales, has ruled to allow proceedings ...
UK confirms plans to end coal power for electricity in 2024
THE UK Government has brought forward its deadline to end the use of coal for electricity by a ye...
Hydrogen Valley planned for Aussie coal country
A CONSORTIUM has outlined proposals to create a ‘hydrogen valley’ in the Hunter Valley region of ...
UK Government criticised for inconsistency on green policies
DESPITE some new announcements for funding for green industrial projects, the UK Government has b...
Parties reach US$7.02bn settlement for fatal Brazil dam collapse
MINING giant Vale and Brazilian authorities have agreed on a global settlement of about R$37.69bn...
Brazil dam collapse victims take TÜV SÜD to court
TWO years after the fatal collapse of a Vale dam, victims have brought landmark action against TÜ...
Vale opens plant to make mining waste into construction products
MINING company Vale has opened a pilot plant that will make products for civil construction using...
EnergyX partners with ProfMOF to improve lithium extraction technology
ENERGY Exploration Technologies (EnergyX) has announced a partnership with ProfMOF to further enh...
Initiative launches first global standard for safer mining waste storage
ON 5 August, the Global Tailings Review (GTR) initiative established the first global standard fo...
Partnership offers decision-making platform to the mining industry
BASF and industrial artificial intelligence (AI) company IntelliSense.io have announced the joint...
International group publishes safety guidelines for mining waste storage
AN international group of 142 scientists, community groups and NGOs from 24 countries has publish...
Environmentalists slam Australian mining advocate’s climate action plan
ENVIRONMENTALISTS have criticised the Climate Action Plan released by Minerals Council Australia ...
Glencore faces criticism as it pushes ahead with new coal mine
GLENCORE is a step closer to having a new A$1.5bn (US$1.05bn) open-cut coal mine approved by Aust...
UK heat network projects awarded £25m
FOUR heat network projects have been awarded almost £25m (US$31.6m) of funding, in the third roun...
Air Products invests US$2bn in world-scale coal-to-methanol facility
AIR Products is to invest US$2bn as part of a long-term agreement for a world-scale coal-to-metha...
Vale ordered to put aside US$1.47bn for dam collapse damages
BRAZILIAN mining company Vale has been ordered by a judge to put aside around R$7.93bn (US$1.47bn...
Organisations call for halt to US mining and drilling decisions, due to coronavirus
ONE hundred and one environmental and public health organisations have sent a letter to the US Go...
Rio Tinto will spend US$1bn on reducing emissions
RIO Tinto has announced that it will spend US$1bn over the next five years to reduce its carbon f...
Vale to begin disposing of mining waste from fatal Brazil dam collapse
MINING giant Vale is to begin disposing of the mine tailings from the fatal collapse of one of it...
Vale knew Brazil dam was unstable more than a decade before collapse, says report
ACCORDING to the summary of a report by an independent consulting committee created by Vale, the ...
Judge accepts fatal dam collapse charges
REUTERS reports that a Brazilian state judge has accepted homicide and environmental crime charge...
BASF and JenaBatteries cooperate to develop innovative power storage technology
BASF and German startup JenaBatteries are cooperating to produce battery technology suitable for ...
Vale to invest in technology to reduce dam use and increase safety
BRAZILIAN mining giant Vale is to invest in technology to reduce tailings dam use and increase op...
Queensland mining industry needs to improve safety to avoid deaths
AN expert report says that 12 deaths are likely to occur over any five-year period within the Que...
16 charged with homicide over fatal Brazil dam collapse
BRAZILIAN prosecutors have charged 16 people – including former Vale CEO Fabio Schvartsman – with...
Vale launches project to recover area affected by fatal dam collapse
BRAZILIAN mining giant Vale has launched a pilot project for the environmental recovery of the ar...
Several factors led to fatal Brazil dam collapse, reports expert panel
AN expert panel commissioned by Brazilian mining giant Vale has concluded that a number of factor...
Dam collapse tragedy could have been prevented
BRAZIL’s National Mining Agency (ANM) has released a technical report on the history of the taili...
Partnership to reduce steel industry CO2 emissions
MINING giant Rio Tinto has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with China’s largest steel ...
Expansions to lithium plants in Australia on hold due to market downturn
CHINA-based Tianqi Lithium has halted work on the expansion of its lithium hydroxide refinery in ...
Potential new processing route for nickel
HUGH Morgan, owner of Comet Minerals, has announced a new process which could be used to extract ...
Australian mining leads the way in tailings safety
THE Australian minerals industry has released a communiqué, which reinforces its position as a gl...
Pilbara Minerals raises US$62.7m in equity
AUSTRALIAN lithium mining company Pilbara Minerals has raised A$91.5m (US$62.7m) in equity. The t...
Worsley Alumina signs contracts to receive 1.75m t of LNG
CHEVRON and Woodside Energy are to supply South32-operated joint venture (JV) Worsley Alumina wit...
BHP announces US$400m Climate Investment Program
MINING company BHP has announced a five-year, US$400m Climate Investment Program (CIP) to develop...
Glencore to mothball cobalt and copper mine
GLENCORE will stop production at the Mutanda cobalt and copper mine in the Democratic Republic of...
43 people killed at Glencore mine
A LANDSLIDE at Glencore’s largest copper and cobalt mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC...
Umicore acquires Europe’s largest cobalt refinery
INTERNATIONAL mining company Freeport-McMoran has agreed to sell Europe’s largest cobalt refinery...
JV to supply US with rare earths separation capacity
LYNAS and Blue Line have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for a joint venture (JV) to d...
World Bank launches first-ever mining fund
THE World Bank has launched a multi-donor fund, the Climate-Smart Mining Facility. The fund is th...
Three more Brazil dams at critical alert
VALE has put three more of its Brazilian mine tailings dams on the highest level of alert – level...
Operations halted at Vale
A court decision has ordered Vale to stop activities at 13 of its mine tailings containment struc...
Brazil dam in critical alert
ON 22 March Vale raised the alert level of its Sul Superior Dam of the Gongo Soco mine located in...
Employees re-arrested after fatal Brazil dam collapse
ACCORDING to Reuters, last week a Brazilian court ordered the arrest of 11 Vale employees and two...
Warnings new UK coal mine undermines green ambitions
THE UK’s first deep coal mine in 30 years has been given the go ahead by Cumbria County Council, ...
Employees removed following Brazil dam collapse
FOLLOWING the fatal collapse of a Vale mine tailings dam the company has decided to remove severa...
Brazil dam collapse prosecutors investigate collusion
THE lead prosecutor investigating the cause of the fatal dam collapse at a mine in Brazil has all...
Offer to create world’s largest gold miner descends into spat
A WAR of words has broken out between the leaders of Barrick Gold and Newmont Mining after the la...
Vale CEO resigns after Brazil dam collapse
FABIO Schvartsman has resigned as the CEO of Vale, following the fatal collapse of a Vale mine ta...
Brazil approves dam safety bill
THE Brazilian Senate has passed a bill to tighten dam safety, reports Reuters. This follows the c...
A matter of cost
The fatal Brazil dam collapse highlights failings in the mining industry. Amanda Jasi speaks to e...
Brazil bans upstream dams
BRAZIL has decided to ban tailings dams built by the upstream method. The decision follows the fa...
Employees arrested after Brazil dam breach
EIGHT Vale employees have been arrested as part of a criminal investigation into the collapse of ...
Vale ‘knew’ Brazil dam was at risk of collapse, report says
REUTERS says it has seen an internal document that shows that Vale knew last year that its dam in...
Update: 165 people confirmed dead after Brazil dam breach
165 people have now been confirmed dead following the collapse of a Vale mine tailings dam in Bra...
Update: 157 confirmed dead after dam breach in Brazil
TWO weeks after the collapse of a Vale tailings dam 157 people have been confirmed dead, 134 of w...
Update: 134 confirmed dead after Brazil dam breach
FOLLOWING the collapse of a Vale dam in Brazil, 134 people have now been confirmed dead, with 120...
Update: Number killed in Brazil dam breach reaches 99
AFTER the fatal collapse of a Vale mine tailings dam in Brazil, 99 people have been reported dead...
Fatal dam breach in Brazil leaves hundreds missing
A TAILINGS dam in Brazil has collapsed, leaving a reported 16 people dead and 297 missing. Other ...
Albemarle signs agreement for lithium mining JV
ALBEMARLE, the global specialty chemicals company, has signed an exclusivity agreement with Miner...
Uranium: Under the sea
LCW Supercritical Technologies and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) have taken a mile...
High temperature nuclear reactors could make uranium extraction energy neutral
THE International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has published a report discussing how to make urani...
Johnson Matthey picks Clitheroe for next-gen battery plant
JOHNSON MATTHEY is building a demonstration- plant for production of next-generation lithium ion ...
Fine investment: coal miner and oil trader invest in novel coal-to-fuel developer
VITOL and Peabody Energy have invested US$20m in a firm that has developed technology that it say...
Green steel process given go ahead for testing at pilot scale
AN INDUSTRIAL consortium in Sweden will build a pilot plant to test a steel production process th...
Australia must act now to own big downstream battery opportunity
AUSTRALIA’S government has been urged to act now if it wants domestic industry to push downstream...
Acid ISR recovers uranium tenfold
A MINING company is seeking to switch from an alkaline to acidic method of uranium recovery in a ...
Key US coal and nuclear announcements
AMERICA’S power markets could move away from renewables and natural gas towards coal and nuclear,...
GFG Alliance to invest US$1bn in Arrium
GFG ALLIANCE has completed its acquisition of Australian metals and mining business Arrium, and w...
New Zealand offshore mining approved
NEW Zealand’s first offshore mining project has been approved despite environmental concerns, and...
Norilsk Nickel mine explosion kills four
AN explosion at Norilsk Nickel’s Zapolyarny mine in the far north of Russia has killed four people.
Kemper clean coal opts for gas instead
IN a blow to clean coal development, the Kemper County power plant in the US has been forced to a...
Funding to extract rare earths from coal
THE US Department of Energy (DOE) has awarded US$1m in funding to Penn State University and its i...
Rio Tinto picks Yancoal again
RIO TINTO has snubbed a second Glencore bid for its Australian coal assets, choosing Chinese mine...
Rio Tinto picks Yancoal for Aussie coal mines
RIO TINTO has snubbed an offer from Glencore for its thermal coal assets in Australia, sticking i...
Amec Foster Wheeler wins gold EPC
AMEC FOSTER WHEELER has won the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for one ...
