Category: News

Known either as the Silver City or the Oasis of the West, Broken Hill is the historic epicentre of Australian mining, with a rich history stretching back into the 1840s. The modern town was founded in 1883 by a man who thought he’d discovered tin, but had actually struck upon a silver and lead orebody.

With recent market corrections, there is a growing concern about big miners maintaining high-grade Iron Ore for key steelmaking commodity. This has led major players such as BHP, Rio Tinto, and FMG to provide price discounts amid a softening outlook on the country’s biggest export.

Is it all just technology hype? We are hearing a lot about Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the reality is that it’s finally begun to deliver on the promises, some made more than 60 years ago.

When we think of investment, there is one element that will always spring to mind: risk. Markets are volatile and unpredictable, and it can be difficult to make the most informed decisions when tips and recommendations often contradict each other.

The humble lock began life in ancient Assyria, where the earliest mechanism was made of wood. The device was discovered in the Palace of Khorsabad in Iraq, which is also the location of the discovery of the world’s oldest known key. Remarkably, the lock and key system dates back to 4000 B.C. Perhaps more astounding is that the fundamental principle of the lock and key that you use to secure your bicycle today, or to lock your baggage closed before you fly hasn’t changed in six centuries of human development. Whilst this suggests that the underlying idea had at least some merit, it also begs the question, where to next? But first, let’s explore the journey of the simple lock and find out how we got to where we are today.

The Internet of Things, or IoT for short, is becoming part of our daily vernacular – at least for those who are clued up on the trajectory of technology. The IoT refers to the interconnectedness of anything from devices and appliances to municipal services around the globe.

Madagascar may be best known for talking zoo animals, a monarchy comprised of lemurs, sassy hippos, and flamboyant musical numbers, but the African island just east of Mozambique has a commodity more pressing and vital than dancing primates. 

The more prevalent role that algorithms, automation and data have on our day to day existence, mean that the everyday person is more cogent than ever of the role statistics play in modern life. One statistic which is particularly difficult to ignore for most Australians, despite us hailing from the ‘lucky country’, Australia has the highest cancer rate in the world, with 468 cases per 100,000 people.

Black Earth Minerals (ASX:BEM) have recently announced they have secured ongoing support from the Madagascan Ministry of Mines and Strategic Resources. Following a meeting in June with the Minister, Mr Fidianiavo Ravoktra, the company is pleased to reveal that they had been offered the Minister’s full support for the Maniry project, acknowledging the strategic value that the project holds in one of the poorest parts of the country.

On Tuesday, 30th July, the Australian share market hit its highest level ever, surpassing a record set just before the global financial crisis. It took almost 12 years for the index to get back to this level surpassing the previous all-time high set in 2007.

‘Trade-war’ is a term that has been thrown around frequently to describe the happenings between China and the US over the past few years. As the relationship between the two biggest economies in the world continues to sour, it appears time to reflect on how, exactly, we got to this point.

Decades ago, the US military were confounded by transport issues in adverse terrain conditions. Inhospitable terrain such as soft and shifting soils and a lack of stable roads, meant that they were stuck; moving vehicles through such difficult landscapes seemed impossible. That is, until a few bright minds in the military came up with an idea: an engineered platform solution of large, moveable mats that could essentially be laid down and locked together, so that anything from a truck to a tank could move across them with ease.