Credit Suisse seeking to wind up Whyalla
Citibank filed for “winding up in insolvency” in the NSW Supreme Court on Tuesday against two businesses owned by Sanjeev Gupta’s GFG Alliance.
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The US is worried about its critical minerals supply chains – essential for electric vehicles, wind power and the nation’s defence
Natural disasters, civil unrest, trade disputes and company failures can all disrupt a mineral supply chain and the many products that depend on it – making many critical minerals a national security priority.
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Perception versus the reality of manufacturing – by Shay Chalmers
Shay Chalmers takes a look at community perceptions of manufacturing. Often seen as dirty and unattractive, Shay believes the sector’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic is changing the face of manufacturing – and offering a way forward for Australian Made. The challenge is real. Manufacturing tends to conjure up some unfortunate mental images for people,…
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Lepidico announces new lithium carbonate process, files for patent protection
Lithium chemicals company Lepidico has announced the development of a new proprietary process for producing high purity, battery grade lithium carbonate from lithium hydroxide. The process sequesters and consumes upstream generated carbon dioxide, thus reducing the processes’ carbon intensity. The Perth company has applied for provisional patent protection from the Australian Patent office. Lepidico plans…
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Cleanaway to buy Suez recycling operations for $2.5 billion
Cleanaway Waste Management has agreed to buy the recycling and recovery businesses of Suez Groupe in Australia for $2.52 billion, subject to various conditions. The waste management and recycling company will buy what is a high quality, nationally vertically integrated waste management and environmental solutions business employing 2,000 people, according to Cleanaway. It includes six…
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On R&D spend, success can be hard to find
Any discussion about Australia’s R&D sector generally starts off by claiming that ‘Australia has spent billions on R&D over the past thirty years.’ That is true, we have. And yet, despite these billions, Australia ranks in the middle at the best, and in many measures well below, our OECD counterparts.
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The terrible trickiness of growing an Australian semiconductor sector
What does Australia have in the way of a semiconductor industry, and why does that matter? Brent Balinski spoke to Professor James Rabeau, the lead author of a national study of the sector published at the end of last year.
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Incitec Pivot reveals new costs in ammonia plant failure
Chemicals and explosives business Incitec Pivot’s shares plunged 9.4 per cent this morning with news of further problems at its trouble-plagued Waggaman ammonia plant in the US (pictured). The plant, one of a number of plant failures and natural disasters that have hit the company, was under repair until March 6 and started up through…
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Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing Hub turns one
Brisbane’s Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing (ARM) Hub has marked its first year of operating and noted a “huge and growing appetite for Australian businesses to innovate.”
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Covid hits apprenticeships hard, threatens renewed decline
The Covid-19 pandemic year of 2020 was a shocker for apprentices in Australia, with the pandemic hitting apprenticeship starts and completions hard. Commencements plunged 18.8 per cent to 126,665 as at 30 September, 2020 while completions were down 14 per cent to 73,205. There are now 264,425 Australians in apprenticeship training according to new figures…
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