News Articles for Chamber of Minerals and Energy of Western Australia

The resources sector has enthusiastically embraced a new government-backed app designed to facilitate travel across Western Australia but the freight sector has been lukewarm in its response, despite being touted as a major beneficiary.

The Royal Flying Doctor Service is increasing its capacity by 25 per cent in preparation for a potential increase in COVID-19 cases in the regions.

The Environmental Protection Authority has released its greenhouse gas guidance which maintains its goal of net zero emissions by 2050 but will be flexible in how it is applied, after receiving feedback on a draft it released in December.

Western Australian charities offering support services are gearing up for a surge in demand as restrictions introduced to stop the spread of COVID-19 start to strain people's finances and mental health.

Collaboration across the resources industry is one of the key changes Chamber of Minerals and Energy of WA CEO Paul Everingham has witnessed as the sector has sought to overcome the challenges of COVID-19. Click through to see the video interview.

In an initiative led by the Chamber of Minerals and Energy of WA, the Western Australian resources sector has pledged $6.6 million to Royal Flying Doctor Service Western Operations, Foodbank WA and Lifeline WA.

UPDATED: Woodside Petroleum has dropped plans for a 14-week fly-in, fly-out roster after presenting the option to its staff, opting instead for a less radical change as the oil and gas giant, along with mining companies, seeks to reduce the amount of travel to its remote sites.

Fortescue Metals Group said today it expected to meet its annual shipments guidance, as the mining sector started adapting to travel restrictions that will crimp fly-in, fly-out operations.

Reg Howard-Smith has been appointed chair of the Building and Construction Industry Training Board, as the state government proceeds with changes to the Building and Construction Training Fund's operation and governance.

In celebration of International Women's Day, inductees of the WA Women's Hall of Fame and the winners of the Chamber of Minerals and Energy of WA Women in Resources Awards were announced over the weekend.

The benchmark iron ore price has jumped to more than $US89 per tonne, continuing its month-long recovery, with the resources sector confirming that shipments to China are continuing as usual.

Nationals MPs Keith Pitt and Darren Chester have been elevated to federal cabinet in a ministerial reshuffle.

Rio Tinto and Telstra have announced shorter payment terms for small and medium Australian businesses, whereby SMEs will be paid within 20 days of a valid invoice receipt.

The Chamber of Minerals and Energy of WA has celebrated the addition of 12,000 jobs to the state's resource sector in the 2018-19 financial year, bringing the overall number of workers employed in the sector to 124,010.

The Environmental Protection Authority has released a new draft greenhouse gas emissions guideline, which substantially softens the initial draft guideline announced earlier this year.

Rare earth producer Lynas Corporation intends to sublease an industrial zoned property from the City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder, three months after signing an agreement with the mining town to review potential sites for its cracking and leaching plant.

The state government has today introduced harsher industrial manslaughter penalties, in an effort to bring WA's WHS laws in line with that of other states.

Rio Tinto has approved a $1 billion investment in its Pilbara iron ore operations, including the rollout of more autonomous trucks, on the same day the state government urged Canberra to support changes designed to fast track approvals for major resources projects.

The Chamber of Minerals and Energy of WA (CME) has welcomed the federal government's plan to deliver new deregulation measures for Australian businesses, saying it could save Western Australian resources projects more than $23 million each year.

The mining sector has welcomed an agreement signed by Geoscience Australia and the United States Geological Survey to collaborate on developing critical minerals assets, which include commodities such as lithium and rare earths.

The incidence of worker fatalities across Australia has continued its trend decline over the past decade, with the number of deaths attributed to workplace incidents falling to 13 in WA and 144 nationally.

The state government has factored in lithium hydroxide and carbonate into its royalty arrangement for lithium producers, which it claims will encourage downstream processing and manufacturing.

Mining project approval delays will be the target of a one-year Productivity Commission review looking at how to streamline regulation across Australia's resources sector.

The Chamber of Minerals & Energy of Western Australia has welcomed a major environmental move by the state government today that will slash approval times for BHP's Pilbara iron ore developments by up to half.

Our weekly appointment wrap includes Scott Jones, Terry Waldron, Reg Howard-Smith, David Buckingham, Philip Mirams, Colin Pavlovich, Ken Michael, Lee Broomhall, Kelly Howlett, Tim Youe, Joshua Byrne, David Templeman, Anne Banks-McAllister, Peter Snowsill, Martin Hirsch, Michael Winlo, Charles Fear, Patrick Beilby, Biljana Radulovic, Hector West, Matthew Seabrook, Arash Kalani, Simon Pigliardo, Kathy Reid, Melissa Joyce, Nada Raphael, Fredrick Riebeling, Gina Nofal, and Nicola Jansen.

Former Chamber of Minerals and Energy of WA chief executive Reg Howard-Smith has been appointed chairperson of the Waste Authority for a three-year term, replacing Marcus Geisler, who had served in the role since 2008.

The Environmental Protection Authority will commence formal consultation next month on its greenhouse gas guidelines, refuting media reports it has already decided to revive the guidelines that caused industry outrage earlier this year.

Mining icon Sir Arvi Parbo, whose achievements included concurrently chairing three of Australia's largest companies - BHP, Western Mining Corporation and Alcoa of Australia - has passed away at the age of 93.

BHP Group executive Edgar Basto has been elected president of the Chamber of Minerals and Energy of WA, which has also unveiled new branding.

The federal government has allocated $25 million towards a battery industry research initiative to be headquartered at Curtin University, while the Bentley-based university today announced it had awarded the main construction contract for a $110 million development.

A federal Labor government will make Perth the home base for an Australian Future Mines centre, and has also pledged to provide 50 mining engineering scholarships at WA universities.

A recommendation by Western Australia's environmental watchdog that new emissions-intensive projects should be carbon neutral has swiftly been rejected by the state government.

The Environmental Protection Authority has recommended that operators of future major projects in Western Australia pay to offset their carbon emissions, in order to help Australia meet its climate change obligations.

Chevron has announced its Wheatstone domestic gas plant is ready to begin regular supply, two months after successful test flows into the market and two years after the first LNG shipment.

SPECIAL REPORT: Western Australia may not be ready with the workforce and skills needed for the next boom.

About 5,000 exploration, tenure and mining approvals were sitting in the Department of Mines, Industry Regulation And Safety's pipeline at the end of the September quarter last year, according to the department's latest approvals performance data.

A state government report released today on Fifo mental health has prompted an immediate response, with the Chamber of Minerals and Energy of WA and mental health organisation Lifeline WA announcing a new partnership.

As the debate continues from the state government's recent decision on fracking, it is worth considering some of the potential projects that may proceed.

Opinion: The state government was never going to please all sides whatever decision it made on fracking.

The state government will lift a ban on fracking in prospective areas of Western Australia after an independent inquiry found the petroleum exploration practice to be low risk.