The analysis was released on Monday night, hours after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese visited Queensland’s Gympie and Rockhampton as part of a pre-election tour.

Based on calculations from Australian Energy Market Operator figures, it claimed the Liberal-National coalition’s proposal to build and operate two nuclear reactors in the state would affect its economy by $872B, in addition to affecting Queensland’s output by $61.1B in 2050-51 alone.

Commenting on the latter factor, Mr Albanese said opposition leader Peter Dutton’s nuclear plans would take Australia backwards in terms of economic activity.

“Under the Coalition [Dutton’s] vision is for a smaller Australia, is for making less things, is for less economic activity, is for less jobs,” he said.

“A Soviet-style command economy of the energy system with his nuclear plan, because no one in the private sector would touch this with a barge pole because it doesn’t add up economically.”

According to Dutton’s nuclear strategy, seven reactors would be built across Australia, with two in Queensland, these being Tarong, north-west of Brisbane, and Callide, west of Gladstone.

The additional five would be Liddell and Mount Piper in New South Wales (in the Hunter Valley and near Lithgow respectively), Port Augusta in South Australia, Loy Yang in Victoria’s Latrobe Valley, and Muja in Western Australia (near the town of Collie). Per the plan, these would be operational between 2035 and 2037.

The proposal offers a series of challenges to Australia: A country that contains the world’s largest deposits of uranium, but only one nuclear reactor (Lucas Heights in Sydney, used solely for scientific and medicinal purposes).

Like many other Australian states, Queensland has a ban on uranium mining – this has been in place since 1989 – although exploration and development is ongoing at three main deposits.

These are Laramide Resources’ (ASX:LAM) Westmoreland – located in the far north, Paladin Energy’s (ASX:PDN) Valhalla – close to Mt Isa, and Ben Lomond – west of Townsville, which is being developed by Canadian company IsoEnergy. Mining previously occurred within the state, with production from the Mary Kathleen mine (also near Mt Isa) running from 1958 to 1982, when its resources depleted.

And Queensland’s political outlook on the issue is conflicted: On one hand, the state gov’t just recently elected in October under David Crisafulli has indicated it would push back against Peter Dutton’s nuclear plans.

At the same time, figures such as Robbie Katter – the Katter Australia Party member for Traeger (near Mary Kathleen township) – have said he would like to start a conversation about domestic supply.

After a lot of chatter about the coalition’s proposal to place uranium at the heart of its energy strategy, it called on consultancy firm Frontier Economics to produce a financial modelling report, which was duly released in December.

According to this, the capital and operating costs of the coalition plan (of 7 nuclear reactors across Australia and net zero emissions by 2050) would be $331B – or $263B less than Labor’s plan.

According to the coalition’s plan, Australia’s energy market (by 2050) would be comprised of 54% renewable energy and 38% nuclear energy, with the rest made up of storage solutions – gas and batteries. By contrast, Labor’s vision for energy by that time would be built around 94% renewables.

Another difference lies in the approach to coal from each political side: Labor anticipates the phasing out of coal-fired energy by 2034, while the coalition has acknowledged its plan would see coal being a feature of the market past that point, with nuclear reactors not going online until 2036.

But is the argument about lower costs correct? Labor has said no, pointing to statements from national science agency the CSIRO that nuclear energy would be significantly more expensive for Australia.

In December, the CSIRO said building a nuclear power plant would cost twice as much as renewable energy, and that power plants would provide few financial benefits despite having a relatively long shelf life.

Crucially, it argued, “Long development lead times mean nuclear won’t be able to make a significant contribution to achieving net zero emissions by 2050.”

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A previous study – reported in July – proved the scalability of the company’s recycling process using pure precursor Cathode Active Material (pCAM), excluding lithium.

In this new study, the black mass (or grounded spent batteries, with a mixture of different Li-ion battery types) was subjected to a three-stage pre-treatment process to remove impurities, and yielding the recoveries in question – an improvement from previous findings.

The study is an important milestone for the company, which is on-track to complete a prefeasibility study on its battery recycling technology by the end of October.

Once that’s complete, Iondrive will look at the development of a pilot plant for the technology, as well as opportunities for industry collaboration and non-dilutive funding in Europe and Australia.

Iondrive CEO Ebbe Dommisse said the results were a major breakthrough.

“Achieving such high recovery rates from mixed Black Mass is a significant step forward,” he said.

“Compared to our previous trials, which used pristine material, these new results demonstrate the robustness of our process, even with lower-quality, mixed material.

“Looking ahead, we expect to work with more consistent, higher-grade material through partnerships, which will further improve the efficiency and reliability of our recycling technology.”

Iondrive has been trading at 1.2 cents.

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Tech stocks included in the suspension were Bluechiip Ltd (ASX: BCT), Vection Technologies Ltd (ASX:VR1), and Vinyl Group Ltd (ASX:VNL) – with this coming only one day after the latter company informed investors it has snaffled a takeover of UK-based music platform Serenade.

In communication services, there was Sportshero Ltd (ASX:SHO), while healthcare was represented by Chimeric Therapeutics Ltd (ASX:CHM).

The consumer cyclical sector saw two companies suspended Site Group International Ltd (ASX:SIT) and Sprintex Ltd (ASX:SIX), while consumer defensive had three: Prestal Holdings Ltd (ASX:PTL), Wide Open Agriculture (ASX:WOA), and Yowie Group Ltd (ASX:YOW).

Unsurprisingly, the dominant energy sector was also represented, with Eden Innovations Ltd (ASX:EDE), Intra Energy Corporation Ltd (ASX:IEC), Neurizer Ltd (ASX:NRZ), Pure Hydrogen Corporation Ltd (ASX:PH2), and Whitebark Energy Ltd (ASX:WBE).

And of course, basic materials, which headed up the biggest group: Classic Minerals Ltd (ASX:CLZ), European Lithium Ltd (ASX:EUR), DGR Global Ltd (ASX:DGR), First Graphene Ltd (ASX:FGR), Foresta Group Holdings Ltd (ASX:FGH), Indiana Resources Ltd (ASX:IDA), Newfield Resources Ltd (ASX:NWF), Reedy Lagoon Corporation Ltd (ASX:RLC), Savannah Goldfields Ltd (ASX:SVG), Tasman Resources Ltd (ASX:TAS), and Thor Energy Plc (ASX:THR).

Suspensions can be placed on a company at its own request or be instated by the bourse itself – in the latter case, often due to a compulsory acquisition, non-compliance with listing rules, a failure to lodge documents, or the non-payment of annual listing fees.

In its statement released today, the ASX told companies they would be ‘suspended from quotation under Listing Rule 17.5 from the commencement of trading today, Tuesday, 1 October 2024, for not lodging the relevant periodic report by the due date’.

It added that if the report in question was lodged between the closure of the market announcements office on Monday (September 30) and the suspension being imposed, securities would be reinstated the trading day which followed the imposition.

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Key to this company’s story is its success through the IPO process – the company was meant to list in June. However, overwhelming demand from investors during the pre-listing stages now sees the company going live three weeks early in mid-May.

This follows a rapid accumulation of the maximum subscription of $13M Sun Silver can accept to begin trading shares – proof of a very favourable market reception.

Sun Silver has listed on the ASX with 124.9M shares at 20cps, in an IPO that saw Wagtail Capital act as lead manager.

The company’s flagship asset is the Maverick Springs silver gold project in Elko County, Nevada. Maverick Springs boasts an inferred JORC mineral resource of some 292 million ounces (Moz) of silver equivalent, at grades of 72.4g/t silver.

“[Our] resource is globally significant and one of the largest on the ASX,” Sun Silver Executive Director Gerard O’Donovan told The Market Online.

The company’s geological team are well-versed in mining around Nevada and the Carlin trend in particular, over which is located Maverick Springs’s project boundary envelope. And according to O’Donovan, for that area, grades of 72.4g/t are impressive.

Geological faults also occur underground within the permit area, highly sought after targets on any miner’s radar, given the way they ‘capture’ pockets of mineralisation over time. 

“Our exploration team who have extensive experience [locally] consider these grades high for the area,” he added.

What’s more, the style of mineralisation at Maverick Springs is interpreted to be that which occurs within soft carbonate rock – which means lower costs for mining and processing. 

Twenty five kilometres to the south lies the Kinross Bald Mountain gold mine, which produces at a head grade of 0.5g/t – evidence that the geology of the area lends itself to low cost projects where lower head grades are viable, due to the relative easiness of extracting target metals from carbonate rock.

According to O’Donovan, Sun Silver’s 292Moz resource only covers some 60% of the measured mineralisation on-site.

“There is substantial mineralisation that presently sits outside the existing resource shell,” O’Donovan said, adding “we will be conducting a desktop optimisation works utilising current day economics reflecting higher silver and gold prices with a view to increasing the current resource.”

To date, some 60,000 metres of drilling has been completed on-site at Maverick Springs by former proponents, and this in turn only covers some 20% of the company’s landholding, with mineralisation interpreted to be open in all directions.

The northern perimeter of the project’s resource constrained boundary is noted to contain the highest-grade silver found on-site in historical activities, as well as the widest drilling intercepts logged by geologists.

The company’s exploration team will focus on exploring this area with a view to targeting high grade intercepts further to the north at Maverick.  

Further desktop works will be carried out utilising revised economic inputs reflecting higher silver and gold prices as a matter of priority.

In a sign of early-stage upside potential, existing modelling for the Maverick Springs project was based upon silver prices of US$21.50/oz and US$1850/oz.

As of mid-May, that silver price is now higher at US$27.42/oz (and gold is well above, at the US$2,300/oz level.)

It’s been an interesting year for silver. The price of the metal – an oft-overlooked safe haven metal alternative to gold – is up 7.6% YoY, driven also by a YTD rally that kicked off around early March. For the uninitiated, silver prices also loosely track the price of gold.

So, with higher silver and gold prices than when initial modelling was projected, the company stands to be able to increase its bankability without even needing to strike a discovery. 

Perhaps excitingly, geological faults have not been the subject of any historical targeted drilling, according to O’Donovan.

This provides the company with highly prospective areas to drill test as part of extensional and infill drilling. 

Also, the presence of historical drill data will greatly assist the company’s exploration team in defining high priority exploration targets – meaning that Sun Silver can deliver value to shareholders by hitting the ground running out the gate.

“Historical geophysics indicates that the highest-grade parts of the resource occur within the fault structures,” O’Donovan said.

“These were not targeted in historical drilling. So we will be targeting those structures during infill drilling with the goal of increasing the overall grade of the resource.”

For a recap, Sun Silver offers ASX junior explorer watchers a compelling value proposition with a globally significant resource in a tier one jurisdiction that holds plenty of exploration upside potential. The company boasts an existing 292Moz silver equivalent resource at 72.4g/t, one of the ASX’s largest; promising geology, the benefit of higher metals prices, and, a JORC ready to be upgraded.

ElectraNet, a major electricity transmission company in South Australia, manages 5,591 km of high-voltage transmission lines. It also serves BHP group mines, Prominent Hill and Carrapateena, in the northern region of South Australia.

The joint venture initiated discussions, outlined in a term sheet, involving Vast Solar 1 and OZ Minerals Services (OZM), a BHP Group subsidiary. Negotiations between SiliconAurora, Vast Solar, and OZM are targeting finalisation of a binding agreement by September 30, 2024.

SiliconAurora and Vast Solar plan to conduct an independent technical review to evaluate any associated risks. The term sheet also incorporates provisions for termination if OZM finds the risks unsatisfactory post-review.

SiliconAurora has submitted a transmission connection application to ElectraNet for a battery energy storage system (BESS) to link to the National Electricity Market (NEM) through the H2H line. The application is currently being processed.

14D last traded at 7.3c, at 11:45am AEST.

Chiefly, this moves the Sydney-based company closer to achieving Class Approval for the H2Neo carrier – the next step after tank completion – which would mark a global achievement in bulk-scale hydrogen transportation.

However, Provaris is also looking to produce a range of smaller-scale hydrogen tanks in Norway from late this year, with these suitable for maritime bunkering and industrial storage. This represents another potential revenue stream for the company based on its developed prototype.

Provaris’ chief technical officer (CTO), Per Roed, said he believed that hydrogen tanks of high quality could be produced economically, noting the transformational nature of this achievement in terms of industrial and transportation applications.

“After significant design and testing materials and welds, and an extended period defining and optimizing the robotic production cell, we will now be able to validate our unique design work through fabrication of our first tank and testing,” Roed said.

“For the hydrogen industry to scale, there is a need for high quality carbon steel hydrogen tanks that focuses on safety in operation, whilst delivering a low-cost and energy efficient storage solution.

“Final approvals will radically advance the opportunities available to Provaris for the immediate need for industrial storage and the supply and transport of gaseous hydrogen.”

Initially formed in 2016 as Global Energy Ventures (GEV), the company initially worked towards delivery of a commercial supply chain for compressed natural gas (CNG) in various regional export markets.

However, the combined factors of falling gas rates and a global move towards clean energy guided executives towards a name change in 2022 and a new focus on developing green hydrogen supply chains.

Provaris is trading at 4c.

Last month, Frontier unveiled a definitive feasibility study (DFS) for its Waroona Renewable Energy Project, which showed the latter to have a potential lifespan of 30 years, and a strong financial return – with payback of just under six years, and profit of $68 million per year for the first five years (and $63 million over the first ten).

The project’s initial capital cost totals $304 million.

The strength of the feasibility study means Frontier is now ready to move towards an FID (Financial Investment Decision) by halfway through this year, and a planned first production in 2026 or 2027.

Located 120 kilometres from Perth, the project’s viability is partly built on proximity to the Landwehr Electricity Terminal, which connects to Western Australia’s main electricity network, the South West Interconnected System (SWIS).

But it is also based on the production model itself, which at Stage One is built around a 120-megawatt direct current (MWdc) solar farm with an integrated four-hour 80MW battery storage.

In its first year, Waroona’s solar energy generation forecast is for 258 gigawatt hours (GWh), with 119GWh sold through the battery during peak periods, and 115GWh discharged from direct solar generation (the daytime market) into the WA Wholesale Electricity Market (WEM).

The average energy price forecast over the life of Waroona is $143 per MWh (peak periods) and $80MWh (solar price), in line with 2023 actual prices on the WEM.

Frontier’s CEO Adam Kiley said the study showed the company’s potential as a near-term renewable energy producer for WA, and one of the largest in Australia further into the future.

“Australia has a number of very large-scale projects which are planned in the future, most of them are around a gigawatt. The difference between us and them is that they’re a long way off for actually coming through,” he said.

“Stage one is 120 megawatts, with an 80-megawatt four-hour battery. With the network connections that access two grid connections.”

“We have the potential to put on, at some time in the future, over a gigawatt of renewable energy onto the grid. If you look at just the land we own at the moment, that’s about 400 megawatts of solar.”

The project could not be coming at a better time, Mr Kiley added, given the increased energy demand in Western Australia – where the top six operational demand peaks ever recorded in the state’s main grid all happened between January 31 and Feb 19 this year.

Not to mention a lack of renewable energy projects in the works, and the state’s plan to close down coal-fired power stations in Collie beginning in 2025, with a complete shutdown by 2029.

“At the moment Collie provides about 25 to 30 percent of our energy, so that’s largely going to be gone over the next number of years, at the same time that the market’s increasing,” Mr Kiley said.

“So there’s a big imbalance which is potentially coming through quite quickly, and that’s the market that we’re really trying to hit at the moment, and that’s how we believe that what we have is really unique, since we can hit that market quite quickly.”

Waroona’s readiness is partly down to the fact that work began on the project six years ago, enabling Frontier to secure all the necessary connections, land, permits and approvals.

The next goal is FID (Final Investment Decision), which is expected to be achieved by halfway through 2024. For advice on a potential strategic partner, Frontier has brought on Australian advisory firm Barrenjoey.

“We engaged Barrenjoey because they’re one of the leaders across Australia for these types of transactions specifically in renewable energy,” Mr Kiley said.

“Because we’re going through financing now, we’ve effectively said, if someone is interested coming through as a project partner, put an offer forward, that will be used to reduce our equity contribution through stage one.

“It will also accelerate stage two and three expansions as well. It will give the market a lot of confidence by having a big brother brand coming through at the same time.”

An update on the situation would be provided in the second quarter, he added.

“If terms look like they’re going to be potentially acceptable, we’ll take through a potential short list of parties at that point, and look to finalise something there afterwards,” Mr Kiley said.

In terms of profit potential, Waroona a sweet deal for investors and potential business partners, providing a higher internal rate of return (IRR) based around how it adapts to the state’s energy pricing and future demand.

“Renewable energy projects generally have an IRR of 8-11 percent, ours has 15 percent,” Mr Kiley said.

“Why were we so much different or better? A large part of that is to do with reserve capacity, because the reserve capacity payment is unique only in Western Australia.

“In Western Australia, the price is capped at about $700 a megawatt. The trade-off for that cap, and to make energy generators whole is the reserve capacity payment. The way it works is that for every megawatt of power you have available, you get paid an amount. The government’s trying to make sure that in those peak periods – like in February – they’ve got energy readily available to go.”

In recent years, the reserve capacity payment had increased, with Frontier expecting it to be around $230 dollars per megawatt in Waroona’s first production year. However, with the market forecast to be in deficit in the future, this would mean a premium would be added to the price.

“That happened last year, it will likely happen again this year, that’s $300,000 dollars per megawatt, times that by 80 megawatts gives you $24 million: that’s for the battery,” Mr Kiley said.

“For intermittent energy, you still get that payment but it’s at a discount because it can’t always be relied upon, because the sun doesn’t always shine. So we’ve forecast that to come through as about a $3 or $4 million payment as well.

“The importance of reserve capacity as well is when you’re a new energy generator, you can lock that in for 5 years, so we can in essence lock in 28 million dollars per year for the first five years of production and that goes a long way to underpinning our debt financing strategy.”

The deal will connect Pilbara to Yahua’s universe of impressive battery material customers, including Tesla, LG Energy Solutions, LG Chem, and CATL.

Pilbara will supply 20Kt of spodumene concentrate with an option for an additional 60Kt to Yahua in the calendar year 2024, with this rising to a definite sale of 100Kt with a potential 60Kt more in calendar years 2025 and 2026.

Pilbara Minerals’ Managing Director and CEO Dale Henderson said the deal with Yahua – one of the world’s largest lithium hydroxide producers – had been in the works for some time, given previous sales between the two.

“This offtake builds-on an established relationship between our companies, having previously completed a number of sales together,” he said.

“The agreement enables Yahua to further expand its supply chain commitments with key global battery customers and builds-out Pilbara Minerals medium-term sales profile whilst preserving long-term optionality as we assess downstream opportunities in-line with our growth strategy.”

Yahua’s Vice Chairman Meng Yan said the arrangement would support his company’s activity in the green energy space.

“We are pleased to strengthen our relationship with Pilbara Minerals via this offtake agreement which secures a reliable supply of high quality spodumene concentrate over the medium term,” he said.

“We look forward to working with Pilbara Minerals to further enable our global customers to support the global energy transformation.”

Pilbara Minerals is trading at $4.16.

Altech has joined forces with German government research and development institute Fraunhofer IKTS to commercialise the CERENERGY Sodium Chloride Solid State (SCSS) Battery, propelling global efforts to transition to a more renewable energy future.

Altech has launched the design of the CERENERGY 1.0 MegaWatt-hour GridPack, and is planning a 100 MWh production facility on its own land in Saxony, Germany.

The CERENERGY Batteries could be a game-changing alternative to lithium-ion batteries, given they’re fire and explosion-proof, they have a lifespan of more than 15 years, and they can withstand extreme cold and desert-hot environments.

The batteries will be capable of storing more energy from renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power.

Altech’s Managing Director Iggy Tan said he was “extremely pleased” with the progress the company was making with its CERENERGY Battery project.

“We have moved very quickly on the opportunity and managed to close the joint venture Agreement with Fraunhofer and incorporated two companies in just two months, with one month being the August holidays in Germany,” Mr Tan said.

“Since that time, we have raced to get the project moving with several workshops, and we have also appointed key engineering companies like Leadec and Arikon.

“I am very pleased with the team we have assembled, and the outstanding progress made thus far.”

In addition to its CERENERGY Batteries, Altech’s Silumina Anodes project increases the lithium-ion battery capacity of electric vehicles (EV) by 30 per cent, using the company’s proprietary high-purity alumina coating technology that incorporates silicon into the graphite anode of EV batteries.

Silicon has ten times the capacity of graphite but swells and cracks, and the industry has been racing to solve the problem. Although, Altech previously announced that it had cracked the silicon code, successfully incorporating silicon into a battery anode.

Altech is now working on a Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) for its Silumina Anodes coating plant, which aims at supplying the product to the European EV market.

A battery energy storage system (BESS) is an electrochemical device that charges or collects energy from a grid or power plant so that energy can be used at a later time. It allows the electricity industry to match supply with demand.

“Energy storage – most commonly deployed in the form of battery energy storage solutions – is not just about cutting edge technology and innovative applications,” Mr Tan said.

“At its core, energy storage allows the electricity industry to instantaneously match supply with demand.”

The Clean Energy Council has claimed that transitioning to renewable energy would not only maintain emissions but would bring down household power costs and reduce wholesale power prices. It would lead to a more efficient and competitive energy market.

The introduction of the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) last August is set to fast-track clean energy initiatives for the future.

It contains US$394 billion (more than A$500 billion) in new spending and tax breaks to support clean energy, reduce healthcare costs and increase tax revenues.

One of the aims of the Act is to jump-start R&D and commercialisation of leading-edge technologies such as carbon capture, carbon storage and clean hydrogen. 

Batteries with renewables are expected to see the largest share of funding from the IRA, with other clean electricity sources and transport (which includes EV incentives) also major beneficiaries.

Around $43 billion of the tax credits are aimed at consumers and lowering emissions by making EVs, energy-efficient appliances, rooftop solar panels, geothermal heating and home batteries more affordable.

“The IRA could also be a driver of investment into newer or alternative technologies, which could apply to different types of batteries like flow or sodium-ion, or other types of energy storage advancements in the form of mechanical or thermal storage,” Mr Tan said.

“While some may say the American climate-legislated Inflation Reduction Act threatens Australia’s own clean energy transformation, it actually should reduce energy costs and the carbon emissions that come with battery or solar-plus-storage.

“The IRA incentivises the ability to both reduce costs and carbon emissions with battery storage or solar-plus-storage like never before.

“As the world transitions from a fossil fuel economy to a sustainable energy economy, scale and ramp up of battery storage solutions are required.” 

He said Australian companies could play a key role in helping the US achieve its target of reducing emissions by 40 per cent by 2030.

The Future Battery Industries Cooperative Research Centre suggests Australia can tap into the IRA benefits through both raw materials and developing a batteries industry, given one of the aims of the Act is to jump-start research, development and commercialisation of leading-edge technologies, such as battery storage and clean hydrogen.

Mr Tan said Altech’s propositions already align with this strategy.

According to Australia’s Science and Industry Minister Ed Husic, America’s IRA provides Australia with the potential to leverage its renewable battery opportunities by capitalising on its lithium reserves and other raw materials.

“The revenue and jobs opportunity for the battery industry in Australia has grown exponentially in the past two years,” he said. 

Australia’s Government is aware of the need to shore up the country’s supply chains for the clean energy transition.

Resources Minister Madeleine King has vowed to release Australia’s Critical Minerals Strategy later this year, which is also expected to support companies in developing strategic projects.

Earlier this year, ATC re-branded from Altech Chemicals to Altech Batteries, reflecting its new vision to meet a battery storage future as the world transitions to the electrification of energy solutions.

The four-day conference honours more than 60 years of global mining discussions, and those on the table this year offer a glimpse into what the future of mining could look like.

Moon mining, semi-autonomous dozers with advanced technology, and minerals policy requirements are on the agenda this time around.

Meanwhile, discussions surrounding the closure of mines and opening of new mines as the industry evolves in the coming decades will also be had.

CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency, is spearheading the Congress, ten years in the making, and is being led by Chair Dr Hua Guo.

In the leadup to the event, Professor Mike Hood, the Congress’ Program Director, lobbed the question: “Can mining walk and talk at the same time?”

“Can we find and sustainably mine the vast amounts of critical minerals needed for decarbonisation, and at the same time, how can we decarbonise the industry itself, and make mining safer?” He said.

Professor Hood claims that Brisbane researchers hold the key to many of the answers.

As a result of the green energy transition, the World Mining Congress is tackling the difficult discussion that is the changing demand for minerals.

Many mines around the world will cease production over the next decade, and thousands of new mines will need to be built in record time to meet net-zero emissions targets.

Cooperative Research Centre for Transformations in Mining Economies (CRC TiME) Research Director Professor Tom Measham said the closure of mines was more of an opportunity.

“The focus should be on what comes next, what is the post-mining economic activity? the answer is likely to involve very different people,” he said.

Just some of the Australian examples expressed include transitions to a recreational public park, an underground physics research laboratory, and a pumped hydro facility.”

“Societal expectations have shifted over the years, and communities now expect mining companies to leave a positive legacy, there’s now a real opportunity to do things well,” Professor Measham added.

Another out-of-this-world idea up for debate is small-scale mining on the moon to support NASA’s planned return mission, Artemis.

The mission involves the production of just one kilogram of a resource such as water, oxygen or building material on the Moon, which experts say could save mining companies hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Monday also sparked further critical minerals debate, with discussions centred around mineral policy requirements for the next 30 years.

At the top of the list sits sand, the most mined material on earth, critical for all infrastructure and renewable energy requirements. However, its extraction from seas, rivers, beaches and quarries impacts the environment and surrounding communities immensely.

“Sand is the most exploited natural resource on the planet,” UQ Professor Daniel Franks said.

Professor Franks explained how sand could be produced with other building materials sustainably, including how to harvest it from mining waste.

Additionally, mining industry pioneer, Thiess joins Caterpillar at the Congress for a live demonstration of a remote-controlled operation of Cat semi-autonomous dozers on an operating mine site more than 800 kilometres away in Central Queensland.

CSIRO’s Dr Jonathon Ralston said the national science agency would present its latest remote innovations, which utilise 50 individual lidars, multiple cameras, and high-performance inertial sensors on production mining equipment.

“Around 90 per cent of Australia’s underground coal production comes from longwall mining using massive machines augmented with automation technologies developed by CSIRO in Brisbane,” he said.

Dr Ralston expressed that the technology, combined with modelling, data fusion, and visualisation provides real-time, actionable information for underground mining operations, which would overall make them safer to use.

The 26th World Mining Congress is the first of its kind to be held in Australia, having debuted in Poland in 1958, and continuing every two to three years since.

The forum spans the entire Brisbane Convention Centre from 26 to 29 June 2023 and is UN-affiliated, with a secretariat in Poland.

The Congress has one common goal in mind, shared by its 3000 delegates this week, to explore how the industry can reimagine mining to resource the world for tomorrow.

The program is designed to address the increasing global demand for minerals essential for clean energy technologies, including electric vehicles and batteries, and foster the growth of Australia’s critical minerals processing sector.

The Federal Minister for Resources and Northern Australia, the Honourable Madeleine King, stated the projects would create jobs and opportunities across regional Australia and help the country to become a clean-energy powerhouse.

EcoGraf will receive a grant of $2.9 million to fund its battery anode material product qualification facility. This is expected to play a role in securing offtake agreements for its planned commercial-scale purification facilities in major global battery markets.

EcoGraf plans to produce environmentally superior battery anode materials by sourcing high-purity graphite feedstock from its Epanko graphite project in Tanzania.

The total cost of the facility is anticipated to come to $5.8 million, and discussions with potential customers for anode materials, batteries, and electric vehicles in Europe, North America, and Asia are underway.

“The successful projects will create jobs and opportunities across regional Australia and help Australia realise its ambitions to be a clean-energy superpower,” Ms King said.

“The 13 projects to receive funding under the critical minerals development program grants include plans to produce key inputs to lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles, and to support supply chains for advanced manufacturing for aerospace, medical, energy and defence applications.”

Under the program, applicants will receive up to 50 per cent of funding for eligible project expenditures, and the government claims the program would aid Australia and its export partners in lowering emissions to meet net-zero commitments by 2050.

EGR shares closed at 16.5 cents on May 18.

The peak body representing the Australian welding industry said headwinds in the welding industry would not only halt the Federal Government’s plans for a renewable energy revolution but would increase delays throughout downstream industries that relied on welding, such as building and construction, mining, oil and gas, and manufacturing.

Weld Australia’s 2023 Member Survey, completed by more than 130 companies, revealed that among rising shortages in skills, the welding industry was also concerned about rising labour and material costs, with 60 per cent of respondents indicating this could potentially inhibit business growth in 2023.

Alarmingly, the welding industry expects these overheads to continue to rise this year, with 82 per cent predicting even higher materials prices.

And these industry setbacks are anticipated to cause even more concern once the industry is tasked with meeting the requirements of the Federal Government’s renewable energy commitments.

Weld Australia CEO Geoff Crittenden said the government must step in and provide real support to industry to make the renewable energy revolution a reality.

“Without funding and support from governments at all levels, these challenges will make it nearly impossible for the industry to deliver the necessary manufacturing capability required for the Federal Government’s ambitious renewable energy revolution,” Mr Crittenden said.

“With a considerable volume of work being on-shored and a greater sentiment in the market to ‘buy local’, Australian fabrication companies are so strapped for skilled welders that they are operating well below capacity,” Mr Crittenden said.

When asked what the main concern is right now, 45 per cent of survey respondents confirmed that labour shortages were at the top of their lists.

According to Weld Australia, around half of the welding workshops in Australia are currently functioning at or below 80 per cent capacity.

“They are being forced to turn down jobs because they simply don’t have the manpower to complete the work,” Mr Crittenden said.

The Federal Government has set legislated targets of 43 per cent emissions reductions compared to 2005 levels by 2030 and net zero by 2050, but Weld Australia said these targets would necessitate the construction of new infrastructure on a massive scale.

It is expected that over 11,000 wind towers will need to be produced, each requiring 500 tonnes of plate steel for onshore towers, or 750 tonnes for offshore wind towers.

Weld Australia estimates that by 2030, Australia will be at a shortfall of at least 70,000 welders without government intervention.

The welding industry is taking steps to try and overcome these labour shortages without government support.

Weld Australia said 60 per cent of survey respondents indicated they were in the process of training and up-skilling existing staff, while 55 per cent had increased wages or employee benefits as an incentive to keep existing workers.

Further, 32 per cent had leveraged different talent pools, including the hiring of apprentices, females, and prisoners, and another 57 per cent were investing in automation and technology.

The welding industry has also invested in TAFE courses, with 21 per cent funded to support free TAFE for apprentices and 14 per cent supporting increased funding to upgrade TAFE facilities.

Almost half (45 per cent) of the survey participants already have a pipeline of work lasting six months or more, citing this as a necessary measure to address persistent skills shortages and entice workers to take up employment opportunities.

This is a marked increase from Weld Australia’s 2020 member survey results, meaning the work is there, but the skills are not.

“Without a massive investment in fabrication and steelmaking facilities, skills and training in each state, and real, practical support for local industry, Australia’s renewable energy revolution will simply not be a reality,” Mr Crittenden said.

“While our governments can wish, and hope, and make public pledges about Australia’s transition to renewable energy, at the moment, we simply do not have the sovereign manufacturing capability to make this a reality.”

Weld Australia wants the Federal Government to consider policy and funding opportunities as well as reduce red tape and regulatory barriers to support local investments to enable the renewable energy transition to begin.

The renewable energy government organisation said it would allocate the funds in two rounds: the first targeting lab-based research and the second to fund a commercialisation phase aimed at scaling up and demonstrating research breakthroughs.

Under the funding rounds, applicants will receive between $500,000 and $5 million based on their research and development (R&D) projects.

ARENA said its ‘hydrogen research and development round’ would focus on two key streams — one to improve and optimise the production of renewable hydrogen as well as hydrogen derivatives such as ammonia, and the other to investigate storage and distribution solutions.

Meanwhile, the ‘low emissions iron and steel’ round will offer funding for research that can significantly reduce emissions across the steel value chain in the near and long term.

ARENA Acting CEO Chris Faris said the two rounds would build on Australia’s legacy of research and development and would help scale up renewable energy as well as low-carbon exports.

“Australia has a proud history at the forefront of technological innovation to support our industrial base. ARENA is backing our local research sector with $50 million over two funding rounds,” Mr Faris said.

“Renewable hydrogen and low emissions iron and steel will be critical to Australia’s net-zero economy, and the research and development we’re funding now through these programs will underpin the clean industries of tomorrow.”

As the renewable hydrogen market expands globally, ARENA emphasised that more development was needed to improve the efficiency, storage, and transportation of renewable hydrogen on a larger scale.

Western Australia, in this respect, is poised to become a global leader in the development of renewable hydrogen energy due to its solar, wind, and natural land resources.

The north of the state offers the highest solar irradiance per square kilometre in the world, able to accommodate renewable hydrogen energy generation at scale.

As the world’s largest producer and exporter of iron ore, Australia holds a unique opportunity to reduce emissions from iron and steel production, which account for more than seven per cent of global emissions.

ARENA said technological innovation of renewable resources was vital to the industry achieving its net zero emissions target by 2050, as more global markets will demand low-carbon products.

Expressions of Interest for ARENA’s Hydrogen, Iron and Steel Research and Development Funding Rounds are due by June 1, 2023.

The program will support the deployment of community batteries across the nation in an effort to lower energy bills for consumers, as well as cut emissions and reduce pressures on the electricity grid.

These community batteries store excess solar energy for later use, reducing pressures on household electricity costs.

ARENA is currently seeking applications for up to $20 million in funding to deploy a minimum of five community batteries.

ARENA CEO Darren Miller said the community batteries mark the next step in “optimising” distributed energy resources across the electricity grid. 

“Not everyone is able to install rooftop solar, but by storing electricity close to the point of consumer demand we can reduce network costs and alleviate constraints in areas with high solar penetration,” he said.

“This will ultimately reduce electricity costs for all consumers.”

Eligibility for the funding comes down to each community battery being between 50 kilowatts and five megawatts in size and connected to the distribution network.

ARENA urged that individual households with batteries will not be eligible for the funding, with it targeted to support projects that feature larger volumes of batteries and faster deployment times.

The funds for round one have been divided equally into two streams – one for distributed network service providers (DNSP), and one which considers applicants that aren’t DNSPs.

As part of its 2022/23 Federal Budget, The Federal Government allocated $200 million for the household solar budget measure to deploy 400 community batteries across Australia and of this, ARENA was allocated $171 million in funding to deliver at least 342 community batteries.

ARENA has set aside $120 million for its initial rollout and intends on allocating the remaining amount to a future round based on learnings from this first tranche.

The Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) has been tasked with delivering an initial 58 batteries through the Business Grants Hub.

Sunwiz’s Australian Battery Market Report for 2022 revealed installations of batteries linked to solar systems increased by 55 per cent throughout the year.

According to the analysis, 47,100 residential energy storage systems were installed in 2022.

Sunwiz Managing Director Warwick Johnston said the increase came down to Australians being faced with multiple challenges.

“Australians responded to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, COVID, the energy price crisis and worsening climate fuelled disasters by installing home solar systems linked to batteries, in an effort to increase their energy independence, resilience and self-reliance,” Mr Johnston said.

“With skyrocketing electricity prices, this data shows Australian households and businesses are taking back power from the energy system by turning to cheaper, renewable sources of energy.”

Mr Johnson added that the installation of solar batteries to accompany panels helped store free energy for later use, bringing welcome relief to Australians.

“Homes and businesses set up with solar and storage are guaranteed lower power bills, which will be a relief to many as we go into winter,” he said.

The report found that the installation of solar and storage together has become a more common practice, with one storage system in every seven solar power systems installed last year.

In 2021, those figures were just one in 12.

Mr Johnson urged that Australians still had a way to go in terms of installing storage systems to go along with their panels.

“The cumulative total number of Australian homes and businesses with solar and batteries has hit 180,000,” he said.

“That’s still a long way off the three million homes with solar panels, but many solar households are seeing the light — with one-third of battery installations being retrofitted to existing solar systems.” 

Sunwiz’s analysis found that Victoria and New South Wales installed more energy storage systems in 2022 than any other state.

In terms of per-household uptake, South Australia led the charge.

Tasmania and the ACT emerged as the nation’s highest growth markets, installing four times more batteries in 2022 than the previous year.

Sunwiz expects that further growth in the energy storage industry lies ahead in 2023.

Also, on Wednesday, the nation’s national science agency, CSIRO, released its Renewable Energy Storage Roadmap outlining that the storage of renewable energy was essential to Australia’s net-zero transition.

CSIRO said it required significant investment.

The roadmap highlighted that storage capacity must grow significantly over the coming decades to keep pace with the rapidly rising electricity demand, which is projected to increase as building and transport industries become more electric.

The report revealed that the national electricity market (NEM) would require a 10- to 14-fold increase in its electricity storage capacity between 2025-2050.

CSIRO urged that while traditional storage technologies such as batteries would play a key role, all forms of energy storage would need to be considered to meet growing demand across the nation.

Independent senator David Pocock launched the Solar Citizens “Recharging Australia” analysis on Tuesday at Parliament House, forming part of the organisation’s Electric Ute roadshow.

“It is a privilege to launch Solar Citizens’ Recharging Australia analysis and to be a part of their Electric Ute roadshow,” Mr Pocock said.

“Their analysis underlines the opportunity offered by the adoption of fuel efficiency standards that are strong and have integrity.”

The roadshow is aimed at showcasing the cost-saving benefits that electric vehicles can bring to regional Australia.

An electric ute was on display at the launch, offering members of parliament rides around Canberra.

The analysis was based on Australian Bureau of Statistics figures and found that a fuel efficiency standard aligned with the European Union would bring Aussies serious savings in reduced fuel costs.

It found that regional Australians would save a combined $4 billion over five years.

In the first five years of the fuel efficiency standard, the number of electric vehicles in the nation would soar, from 40,000 in 2022 to more than 900,000.

The analysis also mentioned that the standards could lean on other countries’ policies too, such as the US and New Zealand, which share similar ambitions.

Solar Citizens Clean Transport Campaigner Ajaya Haikerwal urged that fuel savings would receive a welcome reception from Australians during the current cost-of-living crisis.

“With Australians facing high interest rates, high fuel prices and energy bills, saving at least $11.2 billion over five years and $52 billion over ten years would be welcome news for Australian families,” Mr Haikerwal commented.

He added that combining rooftop solar with electric vehicles was the “perfect way” to cut petrol bills and reap the benefits of solar energy.

“You can charge your car virtually for free,” he said.

“But we need to fix fuel efficiency standards to unlock these savings for Australian motorists. We’re a long way behind the rest of the world, and car makers exploit this fact and send us their most polluting and least efficient cars.”

If the standards were fixed, the nation would bring in an increased influx of more efficient petrol, diesel, hybrid and electric vehicles, offering Australians vehicles that are cheaper to run and pollute less.

As part of the organisation’s current roadshow, it’s touring the first commercially available electric ute, the LDV eT60, around regional Australia — a vehicle that could open the door to many more, Mr Haikerwal said, if the standards were fixed.

“Our electric ute is the first of its kind, but we’re not going to have access to the variety of cars and utes that exist overseas, such as the Ford F150 Lightning — the type of car that regional Australians are screaming out for — if we don’t fix fuel efficiency standards ASAP,” Mr Haikerwal said.

Senator Pocock reinforced that the money saved on cutting fuel costs could be used in more adequate places, such as towards creating local jobs through more being spent in communities and also used to pay off home loans.

Arcadia Minerals’ Executive Chairman has been passionate about exploration for over 24 years. He quit his job as a lawyer to dedicate himself full-time to exploring metals and minerals. Together with his team, they focus on the exploration of battery metals — lithium in particular.

Initial observations of raw data from a recent regional electromagnetic survey over the Bitterwasser lithium brine project have identified several large geophysical anomalies that are hinting towards highly conductive aqueous brine pools.

The most prominent geophysical feature is 42 kilometres long and 9 kilometres wide.

The uninterpreted raw geophysical data confirms the existence of a closed sub-surface basin and, according to Arcadia Minerals, represents the geological requirements for the concentration of brines containing lithium.

Mr Wessels is delighted with this discovery.

“When I saw the anomaly, it was just another tick box to check, as we did earlier in this project. It points in the direction of something significant, and I’m very excited about the prospect of drilling it,” he said.

In the process, the Australia-based company has focused entirely on Namibia. It is here in South West Africa that Arcadia Minerals concentrates on the exploration of tantalum, lithium, nickel, copper and gold.

According to Mr Wessels, Arcadia Minerals only became aware of the Bitterwasser area after intensive preliminary work and detailed testing.

“We knew that worldwide the lithium brines are in basins. That is where you have to start,” he said.

“You’ve got to find the basin and the first tell-tale sign is a pan. So, we went across entire southern Africa — Botswana, Namibia and South Africa — and we tested all the pans and took samples there. 

“The Bitterwasser area was the only place where anomalous lithium content was in the pans. So we knew there was concentration happening there. And this is exactly what we saw happen in America as well: the Nevada basin was discovered in the same way.”

The Bitterwasser Project covers an area of over 3400 kilometres and consists of two projects: the Bitterwasser Lithium-in-Brine and Lithium-in-Clay projects.

“The Bitterwasser Lithium-in-Brine, the one that is at the bottom (of the basin), that’s the one which we are focused on: because that will put us at the same level as companies in Nevada or in the Lithium triangle if we confirm that there is lithium in the brine,” Mr Wessels said.

“We have to first explore it, as you know, and confirm that it has got lithium in economic quantities. But the fact that it is there, that is a culmination of many years of exploration: first looking at the pans, then finding the right basin, then determining that there is geothermal activity – because that is a requirement for these basins, seeing that the evaporation is more than the precipitation.”  

The next steps are already in full swing. Arcadia Minerals’ consulting geophysicists are currently interpreting and modelling the electromagnetic survey results to identify drilling targets in the Bitterwasser area.

Mr Wessels expects to receive the results of the geophysical survey in February. Initial drilling could then start in March or April. He and his team are looking forward to the drilling with excitement.

“Very shortly we will know whether this is a new province of lithium in the world, or whatever we will see where it goes.”

The full interview with Jurie Wessels (in English), including photos and videos from the Bitterwasser lithium brine project, can be found above this article.

Located in Queensland, the Lakeland Project comprises a 10.8 megawatt alternating current (MWac) solar farm and a 1.4MWac lithium-ion battery storage facility.

Lakeland has been operating since 2017 and has a future operating life of 20 years.

MPower will look to upgrade existing project infrastructure and implement its proprietary solution for controlling and monitoring renewable energy markets.

Through the acquisition, MPower expects to generate annual revenue of around $1.8 million via the sale of energy and large-scale generation certificates.

Further, MPower expects Lakeland to contribute annual earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of around $800,000.

The transaction has an enterprise value of $8 million with deferred consideration of up to $350,000 over a three-year period following completion and the assumption of an existing $7.66 million debt facility.

MPower was steady on the market with shares trading at 2.3 cents at 3:50 pm AEST.

Under the agreement, Plenti will provide interest-free and green energy loans to LPE customers to drive the uptake of the LPE Solar Bank.

Initially, the LPE Solar Bank will be offered to LPE’s 4500 solar customers that do not currently have batteries installed.

The offer will then be expanded to LPE customers that don’t have a solar PV system and then out to the broader Southeast Queensland market.

Customers will earn a monthly credit that is applied to their bill when their battery is used as part of a virtual power plant with other LPE Solar Bank customers.

“We have created another win-win outcome for LPE and our customers. This partnership closely mirrors what LPE employed for strata customers through the creation of embedded networks resulting in tangible cost reductions,” Chairman Justin Pettett said.

“The LPE Solar Bank, in partnership with Plenti, enables LPE customers to pay off their system while reducing their grid electricity dependence.”

“More significantly, LPE can potentially double its margin on supplying grid electricity, together with receiving a supply and install fee, while reducing customers electricity costs. This has the potential to create significant value for shareholders.”

LPE has ended the day 4.35 per cent in the green with shares trading at 7.2 cents.

PH2 signed a binding term sheet under which it has entered a wet hire lease agreement with JJ’s Waste & Recycling to provide it with a Hydrogen Fuel Cell Side-Lift RCV truck to trial in South East Queensland at the end of this year.

Pure Hydrogen said if the trial was successful, it could potentially introduce more hydrogen-fuelled trucks into JJ’s 2000-truck fleet, helping to reduce the company’s carbon footprint.

In addition, PH2 will also deliver Emerald Hydrogen supply made from Waste-to-Hydrogen (waste avoiding landfill) via its refuelling service.

JJ’s Waste National Fleet Manager Owen Burton said the company felt it was “important to assist in the development of these [hydrogen fuel cell] technologies”.

“Vehicle technology is rapidly changing and we want to be able to offer our council customers the latest in environmentally-friendly vehicle options whilst ensuring maximum safety and reliability for our drivers and the public,” Mr Burton said.

PH2 said powering heavy commercial vehicles with affordable hydrogen would be a “game-changer” for the trucking industry given recent increases in the price and volatility of diesel.

“We believe this is the start of a new era for heavy commercial vehicles in Australia which will not only reduce and fix fuel costs but be cleaner and greener for the Australian environment,” Pure Hydrogen Managing Director Scott Brown said.

“It will also reduce our reliance on imported diesel by replacing it with hydrogen made in Australia.”

Pure Hydrogen was up 6.1 per cent today, trading at 44 cents at 12:43 pm AEDT.