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...

Indonesian local government shocks Newmont affiliate

PT Newmont Nusa Tenggara (NNT), a partly-owned affiliate of Newmont Mining Corporation, has expressed its “shock” over a letter from the municipal head of West Sumbawa Regency in Nusa Teggara Barat province, stating he would stop the copper-gold mine operating from April.

The ban will reportedly be implented if the Government of Indonesia does not grant the local government the right to purchase a 7 percent stake currently being offered to the central authorities as required by Indonesian law.

NNT president director, Martiono Hadianto, described the letter as an outcome of an “internal problem” between the central government and the local administration. “PT NNT and foreign shareholders of PT NNT should thus not be involved in the matter,” he said.