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...

West Papua gold-copper exploration license

Australian-listed Hillgrove Resources Limited announced that its Indonesian partner, PT Akram Resources, has been granted an Exploration Mining Business Licence (IUP Eksplorasi) for its 99,230 ha project in the Indonesian province of West Papua. Hillgrove has an 80% economic interest in the gold-copper prospect.

The license gives PT Akram Resources the right to continue its exploration programs and, subject to positive feasibility studies, is convertible into a Production IUP for an initial period of 20 years and extendable for a further 20 years (by way of two 10 year extension periods).

“With our partners, we now hold almost 2,000km² under IUP’s over the Bird’s Head and Sumba Projects which contain some of the most prospective exploration ground in Indonesia. Both these projects will be the subject of extensive drilling campaigns in 2010,” David Archer, Managing Director of Hillgrove Resources, said.