Caterpillar switches on first battery-electric mining haul truck

With its Arizona proving grounds outside Tucson, Ariz., serving as a backdrop, Caterpillar has demonstrated its first battery-electric 793 model large mining truck as it announced an investment into the campus as a sustainable testing and validation hub of the future.  The development of the 793 prototype came with support from key mining customers participating in Caterpillar’s Early Learner program.…

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CR Minerals, Rio Tinto to produce pozzolans from waste materials

Texas-based CR Minerals has reached an agreement with miner Rio Tinto for the production of pozzolans from waste materials at the latter’s U.S. Borax facility in Boron, Calif. CR Minerals intends to use waste tailings present onsite to produce pozzolans that can be used as a cement replacement in concrete. The pozzolans will be manufactured at a new facility to…

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Rio Tinto invests $55M to add underground mining at Kennecott

Rio Tinto has announced a major growth plan for its Kennecott copper complex outside of Salt Lake City, Utah – an expansion to mining that will also take its efforts underground, which it said holds “potential for significant and attractive underground development.” The miner has earmarked US$55 million for the landmark transition project on the century-old mine and said it…

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Arizona Sonoran, Nuton partner

Copper developer and near-term producer Arizona Sonoran Copper has entered into a one-year exclusivity period of metallurgical testing with Nuton, a Rio Tinto venture. Arizona Sonoran said the exclusivity was triggered by successfully modeling the Cactus and Parks/Salyer ore samples and achieving the previously contemplated indicative metallurgical recoveries of at least 72% (copper recovery to cathode), under an investor rights…

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Rio Tinto investing US$188M for Alma upgrade project

Rio Tinto said it has earmarked US$188 million to upgrade its Alma smelter in Lac-Saint-Jean, Quebec to boost its production by 202,000 tonnes annually. The project, which is projected to be commissioned in the first quarter of 2025, will include an expansion of the existing casting center to accommodate new equipment, including a casting pit and furnaces – which in…

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Rio Tinto, Star Diamond puts Star-Orion on ice

Star Diamond and partner Rio Tinto have confirmed they will place the Star-Orion diamond project in Saskatchewan, Canada, on care and maintenance until the end of this year. The two, which as a joint venture are known as Fort à la Corne, met recently and Rio Tinto Exploration Canada exercised its voting power as 75% interest holder to place the…

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Miners turn to unique leaching processes for copper extraction

Bacteria and newly developed chemicals provide an alternative to conventional leaching. Edited by Josephine Patterson Due to copper prices nearly doubling in the past two years, miners like Rio Tinto and Freeport-McMoRan have begun to use new leaching technologies to extract low concentrations of the in-demand product from waste rock, reported Reuters.  Miners aim to use bacteria or other newly…

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