Algae and mining: A new frontier in sustainable site rehabilitation

Algae might seem an unlikely candidate to help transform Australia’s post-mining landscapes, but a new CSIRO -led project suggests these tiny aquatic organisms could provide sustainable futures for mine sites, surrounding ecosystems, and local communities. Looking down the microscope at the microalgae Nannochloropsis Australia’s mining sector is approaching a crossroads—where economic legacy and environmental responsibility must find common ground. A new CSIRO -led study, supported by the Cooperative Research Centre for Transformations in Mining Economies (CRC TiME), suggests that one of the most promising bridges between these imperatives may come from an unexpected source: algae. Though small in stature, algae are emerging as giants in their potential to transform post-mining landscapes. The study, developed in partnership with the University of Queensland and Murdoch University , proposes that algae-based technologies could reduce mining’s environmental footprint while seeding new...

Australian copper miner moves into Indian coal

Australian-listed mining company India Resources Ltd will enter the Indian coal sector following an agreement with Bankura DRI Ltd, a consortium of six sponge iron manufacturers who have been allocated a coal block in Ranigunj in West Bengal. IRL managing director Arvind Mishra said. reserves are estimated at 95 Mt. His company is already operating in India, mining copper at the re-opened Surda mines of Hindustan Copper in Jharkhand where production has touched 37,000 t.

IRL has applied for licences for new copper mines near Udaipur in Rajasthan, besides applying for 15 exploration licences for iron ore in Orissa and Jharkhand. It has also applied for diamond exploration licences in Orissa, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. “We are already involved heavily in exploration activities in lead and zinc,” Mr Mishra said, as quoted by The Hindu.