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...

Mongolia seeks to diversify mining investors

By a program of privatisations during 2010 - including licences to develop Tavan Tolgoi, a state-owned deposit that contains more than 6 Bt of coking coal, Mongolia’s government is attempting to attract fresh foreign mining investors to balance applications of Chinese and Russian companies.

According to William MacNamara in the Financial Times, companies from the USA, India, South Korea and elsewhere represent the "commercial corollary" of Mongolia's “third neighbour” foreign policy.

The government has been expecting an investment boom since last October, when it agreed a crucial mining contract with Canada’s Ivanhoe Mines and Rio Tinto, joint venture partners. The Oyu Tolgoi investment agreement, named after the Mongolian copper-gold deposit that Rio calls the world’s best untapped copper resource, had been under negotiation since 2004.

On 23 November, Sukhbataar Batbold, prime minister, said his government will prepare state-owned enterprises owning strategic assets for IPOs on international exchanges.