Stardust Power has signed a non-binding Letter of Intent to supply battery-grade lithium carbonate from its planned Muskogee, Oklahoma refinery to US-based battery technology firm Charge CCCV (C4V), supporting C4V’s domestic gigafactory joint ventures. C4V’s phased demand forecast calls for 3,000 tonnes in 2028, 10,000 tonnes in 2029 and 20,000 tonnes by 2030, potentially absorbing a large share of Stardust’s output alongside its separate 20,000 t/y supply deal with Sumitomo Corporation. Stardust, recently selected for a US DOE-funded lithium-from-waste R&D programme, closed down 8.5% on Nasdaq, with a $6.6 million market capitalisation.

Real-time oil monitoring using systems such as Shell Remote Sense is shifting mine lubricant management from periodic lab sampling to continuous, sensor-based condition tracking. Remote Sense uses in-line sensors, telemetry and machine learning analytics to monitor parameters like viscosity, contamination and oxidation in engines, gearboxes and hydraulic systems, enabling condition-based maintenance rather than fixed-interval oil changes. For reliability engineers, this supports earlier detection of wear or coolant ingress, reduced unplanned downtime on high-value assets, and tighter control of lubricant consumption across large mobile and fixed plant fleets.

Mid-tier Australian miners are reassessing legacy HR and payroll platforms as rapid site expansions, complex award interpretations and FIFO rostering strain systems originally built for smaller workforces. Workday ANZ senior regional sales director Matt Lovell points to operators running multiple payroll engines, manual allowance calculations and fragmented time-and-attendance data across open-pit and underground sites as key pain points. Interest is growing in cloud-based platforms already deployed on several Australian mine sites that can centralise roster management, automate compliance with enterprise agreements and support faster onboarding during production ramp-ups.