The Concrete Institute of Australia is kicking its 2016 workshop program on High Performance Concrete Floors and Pavements between March and April, Want to be part of it?

US based company, Southern Research is using $1 million in federal funding to develop and test a method to extract valuable rare earth elements (REEs) from coal fly ash, the minuscule waste particles captured by anti-pollution devices in coal-fired power plants. REEs are a series of chemical elements found in the Earth’s crust that are widely used because of their special properties.  Increasing interest and research is being conducted into extract these elements from coal combustion products (Coal ash).

There has long been a considerable demand for coal ash products in the UK construction and engineering sectors. The UKQAA (UK Quality Ash Association) recently produced its Ash Availability Report, which showed that since the turn of the century, the construction industry has typically consumed half of what’s produced annually. This rose to 70% in 2014 as the economy showed real signs of growth and the sustainability agenda became more important to specifiers.

The annual participants forum was held Thursday, 26 November 2015 – Friday, 27 November 2015 at the Australian Maritime Museum. A full report from CEO Craig Heidrich will be featured in the upcoming April Edition of Coal Ash Matters.

"Methods for sampling and testing aggregates-Coarse aggregate quality by visual comparison" AS 1141.30.1-2009 Amd 1 draft is open for public comment, and is due to close in four days. If you wish to make a comment, click on the link below for more information.

After almost two years since the New South Wales Government called for expressions of interest, the Vales Point Power Station previously owned by the NSW Government has been sold for one million dollars to Sunset Power International Pty Ltd. Newcastle Trades Hall Council secretary Daniel Wallace said it is crucial that workers' jobs are protected.

Recently The United States Patent and Trademark Office granted Orbite a patent titled “Processes for Treating Fly Ash”. The patent covers selective extraction and recovery of valuable elements such as scandium, gallium, rare earths and rare metals, alumina, magnesium oxide and titanium dioxide from fly ash, a residue from coal combustion, using Orbite's chloride-based technology.

Alinta Energy today confirmed that its Flinders Operations will close on 31 March 2016, in line with previous guidance. Timing for this closure means that operational mining at Leigh Creek will cease on 17 November 2015 and the Augusta Power Stations plan to cease generation around 31 March 2016.

Fifteen Australian Standards documents have been released for Public Comment. All comments are submitted on the Standards Hub. Follow the link in the article to submit your comments. If you have any queries regarding the submission of comments, contact Australian Standards (contact details provided in artcile).

At the recent Concrete 2015 Conference at Albert Park, Melbourne the Ash Development Association of Australia (ADAA) was awarded 'Highly Commended' in the Technology Category for the 2015 Awards for Excellence in Concrete.

Running blog for Concrete 2015!

At the upcoming Concrete 2015 Conference hosted by the Concrete Institute of Australia, the ADAA's CEO, Craig Heidrich will present to an audience of over 500. His presentation will cover "Challenges Contemporizing Australian Standards: Supplementary Cementitious Materials."