All articles by Heidi Vella

US tariffs target Chinese graphite supply – but is it working?

Graphite, a crystalline form of carbon, is a crucial component of lithium-ion batteries. It is the sole material, besides a…
Sexual harassment in Australian mining: what’s changed?

The extent of sexual harassment and bullying toward female FIFO workers in the mining sector was laid bare two years…
Going off-grid: miners turn to alternative power supply

For mining companies, energy consumption is a major expense, comprising approximately 30% of total cash operating costs. Standard practice is for…
When tragedy strikes: supporting a miner’s family after a workplace fatality

A young father is killed after the loader he was driving plummets 25m down an open void. A 21-year-old man…
Exploring the environmental benefits of autonomous underground mining equipment

Automation and digitalisation have been hot topics in the mining industry for some time, with different companies further along in…

Mapping minerals remotely: how hyperspectral imaging can support exploration

Discovering new deposits of critical and rare earth minerals is paramount to delivering global net-zero ambitions. However, finding new ore…
Dewatered tailings: a risk reduction solution for Australia miners?

In 2019, when the Brumadinho tailings dam breached at the Córrego do Feijão iron ore mine in Brazil, wiping out an entire village and…
Tailings potential: recovering metals from mine waste streams

In the Peruvian Amazon region of Madre de Dios, the beauty of the dense green rainforest is juxtaposed against a…
Untapped mineral riches: Angola looks beyond diamond mining

Angola, the seventh-largest country in Africa, is most well-known for being one of the region’s biggest oil exporters. The commodity…
What’s new in automated drilling and blasting?

Automation in the mining industry has been burgeoning since the noughties, after the first successful commercial deployment of automated technology…