
Stay on top of the most read articles on the Australian Mining website over the past week, including the ongoing rise of iron ore prices in 2019.
Iron ore prices break the $US100 mark
Prices for iron ore have reached a five-year high driven by higher steel production in China and speculation of another dam collapse at a Vale mine in Brazil.
The Chinese import price of 62 per cent iron content broke the $US100 ($144.7) per dry metric tonne for the first time since early 2014. Read more…
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Prospector finds gold nugget worth nearly $100,000
An amateur prospector in Western Australia has discovered a 49-ounce (1.4-kilogram) gold nugget valued at nearly $100,000.
The anonymous man allegedly discovered the palm-sized nugget using a metal detector while wandering around saltbush flats in the Goldfields region, according to media interviews with Finders Keepers Gold Prospecting owner Matt Cook. Read more…
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Vale raises alarm of potential tailings dam failure
Vale has warned of a possible dam collapse at the Gongo Soco mine in Barão de Cocais, Minas Gerais, 65 kilometres away from the site of the Brumadinho dam failure.
Gongo Soco, which has not been active since 2016, showed movement on the northern slope of the mine pit – a possible trigger for a failure at the Sul Superior dam 1.5 kilometres away. Read more…
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Fortescue gains approval for Queens Valley development
Fortescue Metals Group is moving forward with development of the Queens Valley mining area in the Pilbara after receiving the environmental and heritage approvals it requires.
The Queens Valley development, which holds an estimated value of $US287 million ($416.9 million), is within Fortescue’s Solomon Hub operations. Read more…
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Adani backs urgent request for Carmichael deadline
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has urged for a timeline to be set for the approval of Adani’s proposed Carmichael mine.
Palaszczuk advised her state coordinator-general to call an urgent meeting with Adani and the independent regulator to make a deadline by Friday. Read more…