Power play: despite the tough talk, the closure of Tiwai Point is far from a done deal
Another year, another round of hostage-taking by the owners of the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter.
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CR mining buys Keech Castings
Engineering and manufacturing company CR has bought the underground mining business of specialised Bendigo steel casting company Keech Castings. CR, formally known as CQMS Razer, will acquire Keech’s business in underground ground engagement tools including customer contracts, mining products and all associated Intellectual Property. The acquisition includes Keech’s UGET WearPact, ArmourBlade & new SNRG product…
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EOS develops containerised weapons system
Canberra defence, space and communications business Electro Optics Systems has developed a containerised of its R400 remote weapons station. To date the system, which enables a soldier to fire cannon, machine guns and missiles from a protected location, has only been used on mobile, armoured vehicles. Now EOS Defence Systems USA has demonstrated a containerised…
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PPK to enter dental technology sector
Advanced materials group PPK has entered the dental technology market with a new joint venture that will develop boron nitride nanotubes (BNNT) for new dental nanocomposites. PPK is partnering with a leading aesthetic dentist and Geelong’s Deakin University to develop a range of new materials with superior physical properties and aesthetic values. This is the…
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Thales Lithgow to manufacture additional rifles for army
Thales Australia will manufacture an additional 8,500 EF88 rifles for the Australian Defence Force. The Lithgow designed and manufactured EF88 Austeyr rifle is manufactured under licence from Steyr Mannlicher AG and is in service with 30 countries. The rifle rifle fires standard 5.56 x 45 millimetre ammunition with the latest version delivering increased range and…
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Hydrogen, collaborative robots among ARC Training Centre announcements
A combined $24 million in funding has been announced for five new Australian Research Council (ARC) Training Centres.
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Surf Coast startup bringing recycled carbon fibre surfboards to market
A Jan Juc, Victoria-based startup is commercialising a world-first recycled carbon fibre surfboard.
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First apprentices join frigate construction effort
The first shipbuilding apprentices to join the Hunter Class Frigate Program have been welcomed to South Australia’s Osborne Naval Shipyard. Eighteen high school students are the first of 1000 apprentices and graduates who will be employed by BAE Systems Australia’s shipbuilding subsidiary, ASC Shipbuilding, building nine new ships. A second intake of 22 students will…
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Is more rare earths processing about to be lost offshore?
Comment by Peter Roberts Australian Strategic Materials’ (ASM) Korean research and development partner, ZironTech has successfully produced a kilogramme of neodymium metal alloy. While this would normally be seen as a win for Australia the fact that production took place in ZironTech’s laboratory in South Korea rings alarm bells. Neodymium is a critical rare earth…
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Airbus links up with SME suppliers for helicopter bid
Airbus Helicopters has linked up with more thar 20 Australian partners to form Team Nightjar which will bid for a fleet of military helicopters. The consortium is aiming to snare Project LAND 2097 Phase 4 contract to build new helicopters for Defence’s Special Operations group. Team Nightjar members include Cablex, Cyborg Dynamics, Deakin University, DEWC,…
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