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Australia will consider building its first new oil refinery in more than 60 years, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Tuesday, as war in the Middle East squeezes supplies from overseas and underscores the urgency to improve energy security.

Albanese said the project will help build Australia's resilience and sovereign capability on fuel, potentially helping shield the country from future supply shocks.

If the project proves feasible, the new large-scale oil refinery will be built by industrial chemical producer Perdaman in Western Australia, Albanese said.

"The war in the Middle East ... is having an impact here, like it's having an impact right around the world," Albanese told reporters from Karratha in Western Australia's Pilbara region.

"One of the things that building national resilience does is it makes Australia less vulnerable to the impact of events around the world."

Albanese said his government and the Western Australia state government will jointly spend A$4-million ($2.8-million) on a feasibility study for the refinery.

"We want to make sure that we get the right location but we want to make sure as well that it's a project that stacks up, that can go forward," Albanese added.

Australia depends on imports for about 80% of its fuel needs and has been racing to secure supplies amid the Iran war.

The government's push to cut its import dependence on oil comes after an Australian Treasury report warned that the global oil market has become more vulnerable "with weaker buffers against supply shocks".

Global oil inventory levels have dropped since conflict in the Middle East intensified, while refined fuel markets are now at risk of tightening further, the treasury said in a briefing provided to Treasurer Jim Chalmers over the weekend.

Most of Australia's domestic oil refineries were built during the 1950s and 1960s, but high operating costs and the emergence of large refineries across Asia forced many to shut down over the past three decades.

Ampol's Queensland refinery and the Viva Energy facility in Victoria – both on the country's east – are the only two operational now, compared to eight in 2000.

Western Australia's only refinery was shut down in 2021 after BP decided to convert its 146 000 barrels a day Kwinana plant into a fuel import terminal.

This audio is brought to you by Endress and Hauser, a global leader in process and laboratory measurement technology, offering a broad portfolio of instruments, solutions and services for industrial process measurement and automation.

The quality of iron-ore from Northern Cape is continuing to differentiate South Africa in the global iron-ore market.

During the first half of this year, the average realised export price of $90 per wet metric tonne (wmt) was 8% above benchmark and among the strongest in the seaborne iron-ore market.

Kumba Iron Ore's average iron content of was 63.6% while its lump-to-fines ratio remained approximately 66%, placing the Anglo American group company's products

"We continue to supply markets beyond China, including Japan, South Korea, and Europe, achieving an overall price premium of $7 per ton above the benchmark," Kumba CEO Mpumi Zikalala told journalists during media call in which Mining Weekly participated.

While China's steel demand is expected to plateau over time, long-term demand for premium iron-ore is expected to continue to be positive as higher-grade products play an increasingly important role in supporting new steel capacity, particularly in India as well as South East Asia.

Moreover, ultra-high dense media separation (UHDMS), an advanced mineral processing technology being implemented by Kumba at its Sishen iron-ore mine, is expected to increase the volume of premium iron-ore to 55% of Sishen's production, up from the current 18%. At its core, UHDMS provides greater flexibility across a wider range of ore grades and densities.

Meanwhile, Sishen's production will be lower as Kumba goes ahead with the UHDMS project tie-in, which means that Kumba's DMS plant at Sishen will be shut down, with only Sishen's jig plant remaining operational. The main tie-in is on track to begin next month.

Engineering is substantially concluded, and all major procurement is complete at the UHDMS project, which is now 45% complete.

To date, we have invested R5.2-billion rand in UHDMS, with the approved project capitals remaining unchanged at R11.2-billion.

"The UHDMS is an investment in Kumba's future. It will improve our product quality, increase recovery from our existing resource, strengthen the competitiveness of our business, and also more critically, extend the life of the Sishen mine," Zikalala reported

Kolomela production will continue at normal levels and Kumba remains on track to deliver full-year production guidance of between 31-million tons and 33-million tons.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Mining Weekly put this question to Kumba: Are you planning any modernisation along AI lines?

Zikalala: Great question. Firstly, I can confirm that we do have an AI strategy as a business, and, as you would imagine, some people see AI as a threat. We actually see it as an opportunity, and it's something that we're already working on in various parts of our business. We're implementing AI to assist us to improve the safety of our people in the business and I'm pleased to say that part of the reason why we can talk about the improved safety performance is due to work that our teams have been doing around AI.

Interestingly, we're also implementing AI from a geology perspective and, as you can imagine, geology is very important in our business. We spoke earlier in the year about the growth in both our reserves as well as our resources, and our teams are utilising AI as we progress. Because ultimately, the significant growth that we saw from a resource base is something that we'd like to convert into reserves and actually ultimately see the extension of life at both Sishen and Kolomela.

Then, secondly, from a full potential programme perspective, we are implementing AI in all the various parts of our business from a value chain perspective, touching on the mining side as well as the processing side. Pleasingly for me is that when I look at the teams that we have, it's something that we fundamentally decided we will see...

This audio is brought to you by Endress and Hauser, a global leader in process and laboratory measurement technology, offering a broad portfolio of instruments, solutions and services for industrial process measurement and automation.

Instead of relying primarily on traditional geological interpretation, South Africa can turn to artificial intelligence (AI) for help in the same way as has been done with huge success to discover Zambia's biggest copper deposit in a 100 years, South Africa's Mining Modernisation Showcase attendees heard.

To achieve this success, KoBold Metals digitised 300 years of handwritten geology reports, taught geology to AI, used AI models to analyse the vast amounts of geological, geophysical, drilling and historical exploration data to predict where high-grade mineralisation was most likely to occur, and then drilled a hole.

The outcome is that ground has already been broken at Mingomba, where the construction of a $2.3-billion copper mine is under way.

"It's crazy good, and the reason why I've given this example is because this is one of the specific things that South Africa needs to do," PwC Associate Director Smart Mining South Africa Ian Mackay explained at the mine modernisation event led by Minerals Council South Africa, Research Institute for Innovation and Sustainability (RIIS), the Centre for Science, Technology and Innovation Indicators specialised research unit within South Africa's Human Sciences Research Council, the Department of Science, Technology and Innovation, the National Advisory Council on Innovation, and PwC Smart Mining South Africa. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.)

The need for South Africa to be able to identify deposits where its next mines will be built was emphasised as being ultra urgent given the high dependence of South Africa's economy on mining.

"Before we can go and talk about investors and all the rest of it, we actually need deposits. We need something to put in the cadastral system in order to be able to sell it," Mackay outlined.

Mining cadastres track precise geographic boundaries, active operations, permit expiration dates, and the status of applications and South Africa's has still to be fully developed, amid Minerals Council South Africa pointing out at its 136th annual general meeting in May, that there is an urgent need for a one-stop shop for mineral right applications to coordinate and align all relevant regulations from other departments, to streamline and expedite approval processes.

In addition to optimising exploration, AI can already support a range of mining use cases such as detecting illegal mining using satellite imagery, predicting equipment failures before they happen, improving environmental performance, automating hazardous tasks, and improving metal recovery and processing.

AI could support research into new uses for platinum group metals, find new industrial applications for rare earths and battery chemistries, and potentially help to unlock deep gold resources.

"AI is not magic but used properly, it can help us see earlier, decide faster, operate faster, reduce waste, improve productivity, and unlock new forms of value," Mackay pointed out at the event covered by Mining Weekly.

PwC's full study is based on ten structured, anonymised CEO interviews, additional focus group sessions with line management from a diverse range of miners, and industry meetings and strategy sessions.

South Africa's mining industry is not growing in the way it needs it to grow. Very few large new mines have started in recent years, more mines have closed, economically viable deposits are harder to find, employment continues to decline, and illegal mining, infrastructure failures and community pressure are adding further strain.

Can AI and the Fourth Industrial Revolution help South African mining become safer, smarter, more competitive and more inclusive — or will South Africans allow the opportunity to pass their country by?

Mining is being hit by clima...

This audio is brought to you by Endress and Hauser, a global leader in process and laboratory measurement technology, offering a broad portfolio of instruments, solutions and services for industrial process measurement and automation.

Fortescue founder Andrew Forrest called for China and Australia to "always negotiate fairly," at an event in Perth on Monday, as the world's fourth-largest iron-ore maker negotiates annual supply terms with its biggest customer.

Global iron-ore miners have faced increasing resistance from China's state iron-ore buyer, China Mineral Resources Group (CMRG) in annual supply talks over the past year as China seeks better terms for its steelmakers.

Measures by CMRG have included restricting China's vast network of steel mills from buying certain iron-ore products from miners while negotiations were underway.

"Bilateral trade has supported Australian jobs, businesses, and public services, and also provided China with a secure and reliable supply of iron-ore that drove its extraordinary, unprecedented, historic, and industrial growth," Forrest, who is also Fortescue's executive chair, told the Boao Forum Perth, an offshoot of the larger Boao Forum for Asia.

Australia is the world's top iron-ore producer, accounting for some 53% of global supply. It expects iron-ore export earnings to fall to A$108-billion ($75.57-billion) in the 2026/27 financial year from A$117-billion last year as global supply rises.

The "shining light of partnership" should encourage Australia, China, and also Gabon, where Fortescue is building more iron-ore operations, to "grow together," he said.

"Let's always negotiate fairly... true partnerships are built on a partnership of the future."

CMRG notified China's domestic steel mills in early July that from July 15 they must not take delivery of Fortescue's Super Special Fines product held at ports.

This audio is brought to you by Endress and Hauser, a global leader in process and laboratory measurement technology, offering a broad portfolio of instruments, solutions and services for industrial process measurement and automation.

Mining modernisation, with private and public sectors as drivers, is an urgent strategic priority for the South African economy, a study undertaken by industry leaders, researchers, government partners, and innovators from across the South African spectrum reported very forcefully this week.

"We see that our competitors are investing heavily in digitisation and automation, as well as critical minerals and beneficiation.

"They're moving really quickly, and because they're moving really quickly, they're able to attract a lot of investment," Research Institute for Innovation and Sustainability (RIIS) consultant Ashleigh Muller reported during the Modernisation Showcase that displayed a strong partnership between Minerals Council South Africa, the Centre for Science, Technology and Innovation Indicators' specialised research unit within South Africa's Human Sciences Research Council, PwC Smart Mining, the Department of Science, Technology and Innovation, and the National Advisory Council on Innovation. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.)

"We know that mining is a significant contributor to our national GDP. We also have a really strong mineral wealth endowment. We have established historical markets that we can make use of, and most importantly, we have a legacy of mining experience that we can draw from.

"But the problem is that the benefits that come from these advantages are increasingly being offset by … aging infrastructure, lack of skills, and slow adoption of technology really hinders our ability to be globally competitive.

"I think everyone in this room understands that South Africa … has an adoption and implementation problem. South has the raw materials to lead but the regulatory, skills and technology gaps must be closed with urgency and coordination," Muller pointed out.

The purpose of the global benchmarking of South African mining was to understand the best practices being undertaken by other mining jurisdictions across the globe and to see what lessons South Africa could learn and implement from them.

"Not necessarily because we're looking for a copy-paste solution. We understand that each mining jurisdiction is unique, but there are lessons to be learned from each of the nine", which were classified under the categories of 'visionaries' – Australia and Sweden – 'competitors' – Canada, China and Chile – and 'contemporaries' – US, India, Brazil and Saudi Arabia.

The only 'green' achieved by South Africa was in markets and value chains. South Africa's 'reds' were under the headings of 'enabling environment' and 'advanced technology' and 'yellows' in the categories of human capital, sustainability, health, safety and security and exposed were the critical gaps of technology adoption, enabling environment and governance.

INNOVATION PRIORITIES

Drawing on work published by South Africa's State-owned CSIR and public research initiative Mandela Mining Precinct, seven innovation priorities for the uplifting of South Africa's mining sector were identified, namely:

diigital transformation and automation,;exploration and mineral intelligence; research and development intellectual property; decarbonisation and energy modernisation; inclusive and responsible innovation; andvalue addition and beneficiation.

These priorities align closely with South Africa's Cabinet-approved Critical Minerals & Metals Strategy, which is designed to create 2.3-million jobs and boost mining's contribution to GDP to 12% by 2030 through local beneficiation, but with success dependent on the resolution of energy, logistics, skills and regulatory issues.

South Africa's innovation priorities were described as being well-defined but in need of implementation speed, funding, and cross-sector coordination to eradicate...