All articles by Heidi Vella

Will the US’ onshoring strategy remove China’s chokehold on REEs?

Rare earth elements (REEs) – a group of 17 metals economically found in bastnaesite, monazite, loparite and lateritic ion-adsorption clays…
The optimisation of digital twins for mine safety

It’s been ten years since the world’s first fully autonomous trucks appeared at Rio Tinto’s Yandicoogina and Nammuldi mines in…
From scattered assets to scaled output: the rise of district-scale mining

“There is an old truth in mining: that the best place to find a new mine is where an old…
Inspiring women in mining: Dani Tamati, THE resources HUB, Australia

One day, after returning to her room following a long shift at a Pilbara mine site where she was working…
Assessing efforts to decarbonise iron ore and steel

For iron ore miners, it could be considered an inconvenient truth that the carbon emissions of steel (which account for…

Drilling down: how Western Australia can tackle its mining workforce shortage

For eight years straight, employment in Western Australia’s (WA) mining industry has been climbing. Government data shows that in 2024,…
Inspiring women in mining: Patience Mpofu, Insight Mining Experts – Australia

After more than 30 years working in mining and sustainability, Dr Patience Mpofu is an undisputed industry veteran – but…
Measuring for success: innovation comes to ore screening

The mining industry is facing up to a new reality that has, for some time, been taking root: ore grades…
“I’ve never seen such societal acceptance of mining” – Wheaton Precious Metals’ Randy Smallwood

Early in his geological engineering studies, Randy Smallwood was a recipient of a Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum…
Innovation comes to tailings management

Today, it is impossible to talk of mine tailings – the unfortunate but unavoidable legacy of mining – and not…

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