Manufacturing news briefs – stories you might have missed

BHP sets new copper smelting records

BHP has set new records for smelted copper production at its South Australian copper mines centred on the Olympic Dam mine, concentrator and smelter. The company achieved record copper mined and concentrate smelted at Olympic Dam in FY24 production was up by 39 per cent to 322kt in the period. Production from the Prominent Hill and Carrapateena copper and gold mines purchased in 2023 were integrated with Olympic Dam production ‘resulting in annual records for cathode (copper) and gold production at Olympic Dam’, according to BHP.

Ai Group welcomes Australia’s Economic Accelerator

The Australian Industry Group has welcomed the launch of Australia’s Economic Accelerator (AEA) and its capacity to engage with industry. Chief Executive Innes Willox said: “The AEA has not only a critical role in accelerating the commercialisation of IP at early stage Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) but driving very necessary cultural change through Australia’s public research sector, making it more agile, client focused and aligned with industry’s needs. We look forward to our members engaging with the AEA’s Priority managers when they are announced. “The recently announced AEA Board and its composition will underpin whether the AEA will achieve its lofty goals.”

Lockheed Martin rebrands STELaRLab as Advanced Systems and Technologies

Lockheed Martin Australia has rebranded its Science, Technology, Engineering Leadership and Research Laboratory (STELaRLab) as Advanced Systems and Technologies to better align with the objectives of the Australian Defence Force. Established in 2016, the facility’s 57 staff facilitate programmes that include counter-hypersonics, hypersonics, autonomy, robotics and command, control, communications, computing, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C4ISR). Lockheed Martin Australia and New Zealand Chief Executive, Warren McDonald said: “With its focus on the acceleration of emergent technologies, Advanced Systems and Technologies has the potential to significantly lift Australia’s industrial capability through unprecedented collaboration with government, industry and academia.”

Grant to support international R&D for critical minerals

A new CSIRO research programme has been financed through the Australian Critical Minerals Research and Development Hub (R&D Hub). The $2.5 million grant will fund an international R&D collaboration scan, strategic R&D projects across critical minerals technologies, international science delegations, scholarship networks and a critical minerals research summer school for researchers. Federal Minister for Resources and Northern Australia Madeleine King said the grant would help build stronger and more resilient supply chains for critical minerals. The hub is a partnership between CSIRO, Geoscience Australia and the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO).

Sparc Hydrogen unaffected by changes at Fortescue

Changes in the management structure announced by Fortescue mining and energy will not change its Sparc Hydrogen joint venture with the University of Adelaide and Sparc Technologies, according to Sparc. Sparc Technologies Managing Director Nick O’Loughlin said: “Sparc enjoys a close working relationship with our joint venture partners in the Sparc Hydrogen joint venture which remains committed to driving Sparc Hydrogen’s next generation green hydrogen technology
forward. Having communicated with a senior Fortescue representative we understand that the organisational update described in Fortescue’s ASX release will not impact Sparc Hydrogen and it will be business as usual.”

AMGC hiring for WA director

No-for-profit the Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre has announced that it is hiring for a State Director in Western Australia. In a statement on Linkedin, AMGC said “as part of our recent agreement with the Government of Western Australia [we are] seeking a State Director to oversee the Wind Energy Sector manufacturing program in #WA.” The newly created role will lead the partnership between AMGC and the Western Australian government on the Industry Support Collaboration, focused on wind energy supply chains. Those interested in applying can find more information here.

Mars introduces Twix Wafer Rolls

Mars has announced the introduction of Twix Wafer Rolls, “the crunchy, creamy lighter eat”, which it says are a limited-edition, Australian-first confection. The rolls feature “two light and crispy wafer rolls coated in smooth milk chocolate, filled with a mouth-watering and satisfying Twix flavour”, according to the company. Twix Portfolio Director, Bianca Werkmeister, said these come with “the much-loved Twix flavour that the brand is iconic for, combined with the new crispy wafer which gives a new textural experience whilst eating, alongside a lighter formulation at only 114 calories per serve creating more permissibility for consumers.” Twix Wafer Rolls will be available at Coles and independent retailers nationwide this month.

NIOA opens UK office

Defence contractor the NIOA Group has announced its expansion into the United Kingdom, with Group CEO Robert Nioa making the announcement during a speech at the Australian British Chamber of Commerce Defence Catalyst (ABDC) dinner in London. According to a statement from the company, the UK office, is set to open at Abbey Wood in Bristol and “will serve as a hub for NIOA to work more closely with existing British industry partners while also exploring emerging munitions manufacturing and military supply opportunities.” Robert Nioa (pictured) said: “From an AUKUS technology exchange perspective this completes our Australia, UK, US network… Our first engineers are on site, albeit in temporary desks while we get our building fitout finalised. Our intention is for this office building to also act as our European headquarters in support of all of the different NIOA Group businesses.”

UniSA research could improve production of T-cell therapies

Researchers from the University of South Australia have developed what they say is a new technique to significantly enhance production of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapies, used for leukaemia and other blood cancers. CAR T-cell therapy takes immune cells from a cancer patient, reprograms them to attack the tumour, and then reinjects them into the patient, where they bind to and kill cancer cells. According to a statement from UniSA on Friday, the research, partly funded by Carina Biotech, has shown the potential of inertial spiral microfluidics to improve the CAR T-cell manufacturing process by efficiently removing contaminating cancerous cells and other large white blood cells. Those cells can interfere with production and reduce the effectiveness of treatment. “It achieves greater T-cell purity while offering higher recovery rates, which is the key to more successful CAR T-cell therapy – especially in patients with common blood cancers like B-cell ALL,” said Dr Mona Elsemary, a PhD graduate from UniSA’s Future Industries Institute

Picture: Nioa Group CEO Robert Nioa (supplied)