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...

Freeport copper sales to fall on lower grades

Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc, the world’s largest publicly traded copper producer, said its sales of the metal will decline 7.3% in 2010 as it processes lower ore grades and production costs rise. It anticipates lower concentrations at the Grasberg mine in Indonesia and the El Abra mine in Chile may reduce its copper sales to 3.8 billion pounds this year from 4.1 billion in 2009.

“We were mining in the highest-grade section that we have available to us in the Grasberg mine,” CEO Richard Adkerson told analysts in a conference call reported by Bloomberg. Comparatively lower grades at Grasberg this year “will have an impact.”

Higher prices for fuel, steel and wages, particularly in South America, may boost Freeport’s average copper production cost to 86 cents a pound this year from 55 cents in 2009, Adkerson said.