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How Australia’s geology gave us an abundance of coal – and a wealth of greentech minerals to switch to

Two recent announcements hint at a seismic shift about to hit Australia’s coal industry.

Australian tech billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes and Canada’s Brookfield put forward an extraordinary joint bid to takeover AGL Energy, Australia’s biggest emitting company, over the weekend. If successful, it would see AGL’s coal-fired power stations shut down early. And last week, Origin Energy announced that the country’s largest coal plant, Eraring, will close seven years early.

BlueScope moves to reline blast furnace

BlueScope steel is rapidly refining its plans for decarbonising its steel making and today announced the likely $1 billion relining of its currently mothballed No. 6 blast furnace (6BF) at Port Kembla in New South Wales. The company told investors that it now expects significant takeup of low emissions steel technology into the 2040s. “Given…

K-TIG raises cash, accelerates expansion

Australian high-tech welding manufacturer K-TIG will accelerate its global expansion, announcing it had raised $4 million in a share placement and revealing three new distribution deals. The TIG welding technology developer announced new distributors in Turkey, Spain, Portugal, and the successful placement of $4 million to investors including existing directors. Chairman Stuart Carmichael said the…

Rio Tinto to examine investment in Bell Bay

Rio Tinto and the Tasmanian Government are to work together to boost employment and growth outcomes for the company’s Bell Bay smelter, including examining the possibility of new investment in the smelter. They have signed a MoU to jointly investigate how the smelter’s manufacturing capability and electricity demand can help support the development of new…

Profits down slightly as supply challenges force RWC to increase prices

Plumbing supplies company Reliance Worldwide Corporation announced a 12.4 per cent increase in revenues for the half-year to December to $US 522 million. The ASX-listed manufacturer reported its half-year results on Monday, with pre-tax profit $US 92 million (down 3.1 per cent on the corresponding period) and net profit $US 63.7 million (down 3.3 per…

AGL rejects green takeover bid

The board of energy company AGL Energy has rejected a takeover bid aimed at accelerating both the closure of the company’s coal-fired power stations and its investment in renewables. The company issued a statement to the ASX this morning saying that it rejected an ‘unsolicited, non-binding indication of interest’ from a consortium including tech billionaire…

Manufacturing news briefs – stories you might have missed

First Graphene’s low-carbon cement grant A consortium led by First Graphene has secured a GBP190,000 UK government grant to develop graphene-enhanced, low carbon cement. The company and Breedon Cement, Morgan Sindall Construction & Infrastructure and the University of Manchester aim to achieve a 25 per cent reduction in CO2 emissions in cement production. The grant,…