Australian Mining

Liebherr-Australia has delivered its first excavators to Gold Fields in Australia, marking the start of a new partnership between the two companies at the Gruyere gold mine in Western Australia. The first two machines – an R 9600 and an R 9400 excavator – were delivered to the operation in May, with a second R 9600 joining the fleet in June.

With reliability and total cost of ownership front of mind for operators across the Bowen Basin and beyond, HEPI will use QME 2026 to demonstrate how its global engineering network is helping mining operations extend equipment life and reduce downtime. Mining operations today are increasingly challenged to maximise uptime, extend equipment life, and reduce operating costs in some of the harshest environments in the world.

As Queensland’s mining sector gears up for QME 2026 in Mackay, Hitachi Construction Machinery Australia will use the event to spotlight its latest excavator technology, alongside news of its upcoming transition to the LANDCROS brand. Hitachi Construction Machinery Australia is excited to become LANDCROS from April 2027, offering the same trusted quality, the same Japanese machine manufacturing, and the same excellence in local service.

South32 has reported that it has exceeded its 2026 financial year production guidance across several key operations while accelerating its transition to a base metals-focused portfolio, highlighted by the proposed sale of its aluminium value chain assets and continued investment in copper and zinc growth projects.

Fenix Resources has secured the regulatory and environmental approvals needed to develop its new Beebyn-W10 iron ore mine in Western Australia’s Mid-West, paving the way for production to begin this quarter, with first ore shipments scheduled for the December quarter. Located immediately adjacent to the existing Beebyn-W11 operation, Beebyn-W10 will form part of the newly established Beebyn Hub within the company’s Weld Range iron ore project.

AIC Mines has brought forward the second-stage expansion of its Eloise processing plant by approximately two years, positioning the North Queensland operation to produce up to 27,000 tonnes of copper in concentrate in 2028–29. The expansion will lift processing capacity from 1.1 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) to 1.5Mtpa and is now targeted for completion in the December 2028 quarter. AIC had previously expected to reach its 25,000-tonne annual production goal in 2030–31.

Cooper Metals now owns the Pyramid gold project outright, and with it a Queensland fault line where drilling has already hit 8m at 7.31 grams per tonne (g/t) of gold and around 8km of the structure has barely seen a drill bit. The asset swap with AIC Mines, first struck in April, settled with Cooper issuing 15 million shares to the copper miner’s subsidiary Demetallica Gold Mines and trading away its Oorindi tenements near Mount Isa. The shares sit in escrow for 12 months.

Lady Ida ore accounted for almost 90 per cent of the gold produced at Beacon Minerals’ Jaurdi operation during the June quarter, as the company advanced the newly developed Iguana mine in Western Australia and accelerated processing rates. Beacon produced 5241 ounces (oz) of gold during the quarter, including 4566oz attributable to the Lady Ida joint venture and 675oz recovered from its wholly owned low-grade stockpiles.

Restarted capacity at Alcoa’s Portland smelter in south-west Victoria is selling into rising aluminium prices, part of a production lift that helped deliver the aluminium producer’s biggest revenue result yet. The company, which also mines bauxite and refines alumina south of Perth in Western Australia, packed plenty into the three months to June.

The long wait is over, as Queensland and Australia’s largest mining event returns to Mackay tomorrow. From 9 am sharp, doors will open at the Mackay Showgrounds for the first of three action-packed days, kicking off the Queensland Mining and Engineering Exhibition’s (QME) fourth decade in the region. And this year, organisers have pulled out all the stops.