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Deep seabed mining remains legally blocked after legal scholars Aline Jaeckel and Erik van Doorn argued that the International Seabed Authority cannot approve exploitation in areas like the Clarion-Clipperton Zone until separate benefit-sharing regulations, controlled by the ISA Assembly, are adopted. The ISA’s Finance Committee only produced a first draft benefit-sharing framework in 2024, centred on a Common Heritage Fund, while about 40 countries now support a moratorium and African states oppose using shared funds for remediation. Companies including The Metals Company, Impossible Metals and Lockheed Martin are advancing CCZ plans despite this regulatory deadlock.

Grangex AB has signed a strategic commercial agreement with Anglo American to support the restart of the Sydvaranger magnetite iron ore mine at Kirkenes in northern Norway. The plan is to produce about 3.5 Mt/y of 70% Fe direct reduction, ultra-high-grade magnetite concentrate, targeting DR pellet and green steel value chains. For process engineers and mine planners, the high-grade DR specification points to tight control of impurity levels and beneficiation performance, with logistics routed through the existing ice-free Barents Sea port infrastructure.

MMG’s board has approved the feasibility study and committed to construction of a major expansion at the Khoemacau Copper Mine in Botswana, targeting annual output of 130,000 t of copper in concentrate. The project will also lift associated silver production above current levels, positioning the operation as a large-scale polymetallic producer in the Kalahari Copper Belt. For mine planners and process engineers, the step-up in concentrate tonnage will drive requirements for upgraded underground development, hoisting, and concentrator throughput, as well as expanded tailings and water management infrastructure.

Nova Andino Litio SpA, the new joint venture between Codelco and SQM to develop lithium production in Chile’s Atacama Salt Flat, has held its first board meeting, signalling a shift from negotiation to implementation. The board comprises Codelco representatives Máximo Pacheco M, Josefina Montenegro A and Alfredo Moreno Ch, alongside SQM’s Ricardo Ramos. For project engineers, this formal governance structure clears the way for detailed planning of brine extraction, evaporation pond layouts and processing capacity expansions in one of the world’s highest-grade lithium salars.

Silver plunged nearly 10% from a record $83.63/oz to the low $70s on Monday, its steepest intraday fall since 2021, after a month-long 40% surge driven by Chinese investment demand and Shanghai spot premiums exceeding $8/oz over London. Despite the pullback, silver is still up 148% in 2025 and briefly reached a market capitalisation above Nvidia’s $4.55 trillion, with its 14-day RSI easing to about 67 after three weeks above the overbought 70 threshold. Gold also retreated more than 4.5% from a record $4,543.51/oz, though it remains up nearly 75% year to date.

Copper prices briefly surged towards $13,000/t on the LME on Monday, with a 6.6% intraday jump, while CME March futures in New York swung from a $5.92/lb peak to $5.56/lb, a 6% plunge that erased Friday’s gains. The metal is up about 35% in 2025 as US tariff fears on copper under President Trump drive front‑loaded imports, even as Chinese demand softens and mine disruptions at Grasberg, Kamoa‑Kakula and El Teniente constrain supply. BloombergNEF projects energy‑transition demand could triple by 2045, risking market deficits from 2026 and potential shortages of up to 19 Mt by 2050 without major new projects and recycling.

Axis International has launched a $28.9 billion arbitration claim at the World Bank’s ICSID after Guinea revoked the Boffa bauxite mining permit, one of more than 50 licences cancelled in May under President Mamadi Doumbouya’s crackdown on non-compliant projects. Axis says its Axis Minerals Resources unit, 85%-owned by Axis with the state holding 15%, exported 18 million tonnes of bauxite in 2024 from Boffa and was targeting 48 million tonnes in 2025, backed by over 800 million tonnes of proven reserves. The government has also seized equipment, frozen bank accounts and cancelled other operators’ permits, including Nomad Bauxite Corporation and a subsidiary of Emirates Global Aluminium, signalling heightened sovereign and licence security risk in Guinea’s bauxite and iron ore sectors.

Diamond mining was hit hard in 2025 as De Beers reported a steep revenue fall, accumulated about $2 billion in unsold natural stones and moved to cut over 1,000 jobs while Anglo American advanced plans to sell the business and merge with Teck Resources. Russia’s Alrosa saw profits drop nearly 80% and halted operations at key sites, while smaller miners entered administration or closed pits as lab-grown diamonds eroded prices. Botswana’s Debswana will cut output by up to 40% in 2025, and producers under the Luanda Accord pledged 1% of annual revenues to a global marketing push for natural stones.

HS2 Ltd reports steady 2025 build progress, with major earthworks, tunnelling and viaduct construction advancing on Britain’s largest live infrastructure scheme despite a leadership-led operational reset of the programme. Updated delivery plans are being phased in while maintaining work on key civil assets such as long-section bored tunnels and multi-span high-speed rail viaducts, rather than pausing site activity. For contractors and designers, the message is continuity of core geotechnical and structural work under revised governance and sequencing, not a wholesale slowdown.

NioCorp Developments’ Board has approved the Mine Portal Project for the Elk Creek critical minerals project in Nebraska, establishing the main underground mine entrances that will handle all personnel, equipment and materials access. The portal complex will be the primary interface between surface infrastructure and the planned underground operation targeting niobium, scandium and titanium, enabling subsequent development of declines, services and ventilation circuits. Early works on the portal will be critical for scheduling shaft sinking, underground construction and future production ramp-up.

Rainfall-triggered rockfall on Highway 18 in San Bernardino County has blocked lanes and damaged barriers along a steep cut slope, following weeks of intense winter storms that saturated highly fractured granitic and metamorphic rock. Caltrans geotechnical crews report multiple failures from tension cracks and oversteepened slopes above the roadway, with debris reaching the carriageway and impacting existing rockfall fences. Engineers are now assessing options including expanded rock bolting, additional draped mesh, improved surface and subsurface drainage, and revised slope scaling protocols ahead of further atmospheric river events.

Gold, silver and platinum hit fresh records on Friday, with spot gold touching $4,540/oz, February Comex futures peaking at $4,584/oz and March silver futures jumping over 9% to $78.30/oz, as palladium surged 13% to above $2,000/oz. Gold is heading for a >70% annual gain, driven by robust central bank buying and ETF inflows, including SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) increasing its holdings by more than 20% and physically backed funds taking in $82 billion (749 tonnes) by 22 December. Silver has rallied 160% in 2025 amid an October short squeeze, ongoing supply dislocations between London and New York vaults, and a pending US Commerce Department probe that could impose tariffs or trade restrictions.

Copper prices surged again on Friday, with London Metal Exchange contracts hitting a record $12,282/t before the Christmas break and Shanghai Futures Exchange prices briefly touching 100,000 yuan/t (~$14,270/t), creating a sharp premium over New York. Comex March copper climbed more than 5% to $5.903/lb (~$13,000/t), its highest since July’s short squeeze, as 2025 production was hit by accidents at Grasberg, Kamoa-Kakula and Codelco’s El Teniente. BMO now projects an average $12,500/t by Q2 2026, while Goldman Sachs still sees a 160 kt surplus capping prices at $10,000–$11,000/t.

B2Gold is closing 2025 with commercial production at the Goose mine in Nunavut, targeting 4,000 tonnes per day and about 300,000 oz. gold annually, while maintaining Fekola output in Mali at 515,000–550,000 oz. under a split open-pit/underground plan. CEO Clive Johnson is leveraging his Bema Gold experience in remote Russia to manage Goose’s long, seasonal ice-road supply chain and complex permitting under Mali’s 2023 mining code for trucking satellite ore to the Fekola mill. Additional growth options include the Antelope underground discovery at Otjikoto in Namibia (1.75 Mt at 6.91 g/t for ~390,000 oz.) and a 9.9% strategic stake in Snowline Gold’s Valley project in the Yukon.

Iamgold COO Bruno Lemelin, named Northern Miner Group’s EY Operator of the Year, has led the Côté open-pit mine in Ontario to commercial production at its 36,000 t/d plant, drawing on 233 Mt at 0.96 g/t for 7.17 Moz over an 18-year life and targeting average output of 365,000 oz/y. Third-quarter production reached 106,000 oz from Côté, Essakane (92,000 oz) and Westwood (23,000 oz), generating US$707 million revenue at an average realised gold price of US$3,492/oz and AISC of US$1,956/oz. Expansion work includes 55 km of drilling at the adjacent Gosselin deposit (4.4 Moz indicated, 3 Moz inferred) to test a “super-pit” concept lifting throughput from 13 Mt/y to up to 20 Mt/y, while Essakane life extension drilling proceeds under Burkina Faso’s tougher 2024 mining code and Côté ramps autonomous haulage and AI-enabled control-room operations.

Artificial intelligence–driven power demand from hyperscale data centres is emerging as a structural load on grids, with a Uranium.io survey of 600+ investors showing over 63% expect AI consumption to become a material factor in nuclear planning within a decade. More than 85% of respondents see uranium prices rising into 2026, many citing a US$100–120/lb range and potential spikes to US$135/lb as mined supply is forecast to cover under 75% of future reactor needs. Sprott Asset Management expects a widening supply deficit, with higher long-term contract prices needed to restart idled mines and advance greenfield uranium projects.

Serial wealth creator and Franco-Nevada co-founder Pierre Lassonde is publicly backing a long-term gold price of US$4,000/oz, drawing on his experience as former Newmont president and architect of the royalty/streaming model. He links the bullish outlook to persistent fiscal deficits, central bank buying and constrained new mine supply, arguing that large greenfield projects face decade-long permitting timelines and rising capital intensity. For miners and project financiers, his view reinforces pressure to secure tier-one ounces and royalty exposure rather than chasing marginal, high-cost developments.

Western Gold Resources has approved a formal decision to mine at its 100%-owned Gold Duke Project in Western Australia, moving from pure exploration to near-term production. The project already holds mining approvals over the Eagle, Emu, Golden Monarch and Gold King deposits, allowing WGR to advance directly into detailed mine planning and contractor engagement rather than waiting on permitting. For geotechnical and mine planning teams, the pre-approved multi-deposit layout signals a likely staged open-pit schedule and shared infrastructure strategy across the four pits.

PYBAR Mining Services has mobilised to Larvotto Resources’ 100%-owned Hillgrove antimony-gold project in New South Wales, with underground development now underway. The contractor is preparing access and development drives to reopen historic workings at Hillgrove, a high-grade antimony-gold system previously mined via narrow-vein underground methods. Early development performance, ground conditions and water management in these initial headings will strongly influence the mine’s restart schedule, stope design and the sequencing of future drilling and production levels.

Copper prices set fresh records above $12,000/t in London and $5.60/lb in Chicago in 2025, amid outages at Grasberg, El Teniente, Kamoa-Kakula, Quebrada Blanca II and Cobre Panamá, and mounting geopolitical friction over US tariffs and Chinese processing dominance (53.1% of global capacity). Analysts are split, with Goldman Sachs seeing a 160 kt surplus capping 2026 prices at $10,000–$11,000/t, while Bank of America and BloombergNEF project spikes to $15,000/t and a 19 Mt structural deficit by 2050. Technically significant stories include Freeport’s 400 kt sulfide leach push at Morenci, the stalled deep-shaft Resolution Copper project in Arizona, and the proposed $53 billion Anglo–Teck merger that could create a copper complex larger than Escondida’s 1.28 Mt/y output.

Super Copper’s Cordillera Cobre project in Chile’s Atacama copper belt has secured approval for 26 exploitation concessions from Sernageomin, covering about 6,858 hectares and granting full, permanent mining rights once registration in the Copiapó Mining Registry is complete. The company reports 25 concessions already have formal court resolutions and 15 have legal extracts published in the Official Mining Gazette, with title registration now in progress. CEO Zachary Dolesky says this clears the way to submit a drill programme as soon as results from the latest exploration work are finalised.

Gold rose to a record $4,524.68/oz in early Wednesday trading before easing towards $4,450, capping a year-to-date gain above 70% driven by central bank buying, ETF inflows and safe-haven demand linked to Venezuela tensions and expected US rate cuts. Silver hit an all-time high of $72.70/oz, up more than 150% this year after an October short squeeze and ongoing supply dislocations that have left large inventories concentrated in New York pending a US Commerce Department critical-minerals probe. Platinum climbed past $2,300/oz for the first time in the Bloomberg series, extending a 10-session rally on tight supply and high borrowing costs.

First Quantum Minerals has agreed to sell the past‑producing Cobre Las Cruces copper mine in southern Spain to Global Panduro, controlled by Resource Capital Funds, for up to $190 million, with $45 million cash on closing, a $65 million loan note and about $80 million in milestone‑linked deferred payments. The asset includes a high‑grade open‑pit mine and hydrometallurgical plant near Seville that produced copper cathode from 2009–2021 and reprocessed tailings until 2023. Resource Capital plans a polymetallic primary sulphide project targeting copper, zinc, lead and silver, while First Quantum redirects liquidity after Cobre Panama’s shift to preservation and safe maintenance.

First Quantum Minerals is divesting its Las Cruces copper operation in Spain, with subsidiary Cobre Las Cruces S.A.U. signing a binding agreement to sell the mine to Global Panduro, S.L.U., controlled by Resource Capital Funds, for up to US$190 million plus a profitability-linked earn-out. The deal transfers ownership of the existing open-pit and hydrometallurgical SX-EW plant near Seville, which has produced high-grade copper cathode from secondary sulphides. For engineers, the transaction signals potential changes to mine-life planning, processing flowsheet optimisation and permitting strategy under a new private-equity-backed owner.

Gold surged to a record just below $4,500/oz and silver traded above $70/oz for the first time, driven by safe-haven flows amid US oil tanker blockades off Venezuela and expectations of further US Federal Reserve rate cuts. Gold is up over 70% year-to-date, its strongest run since 1979, supported by central-bank buying and ETF inflows, with Goldman Sachs projecting $4,900/oz in 2026. Silver has climbed about 140% this year, amplified by October’s historic short squeeze, lingering supply dislocations between London and New York vaults, and a pending US Commerce Department critical-minerals probe.

Copper prices surged to a record $12,159.50/t on the LME, up nearly 40% year-to-date, as mine outages across Chile, Indonesia and Peru combined with looming Trump-era tariff risks to trigger a global bidding war for physical units. Analysts at BloombergNEF warn the market could slip into deficit as early as 2026, with potential shortfalls reaching 19 Mt by 2050 without major new mines and recycling. SiTration CEO Brendan Smith and BNEF’s Kwasi Ampofo both flag refining bottlenecks—China controls over 45% of global refined output—as a critical geopolitical and project-delivery risk for copper developers.

Japan will run a month-long pilot from 11 January to 14 February to continuously lift rare-earth-rich mud from about 6,000 m depth near Minamitorishima Island, targeting 350 t/day via a full integrated deep-sea mining system 1,900 km southeast of Tokyo. The Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology will monitor environmental impacts both on the seabed and onboard while operating within Japan’s exclusive economic zone. Dewatering will occur on Minamitorishima using spin-dryer-style equipment to cut mud volume by roughly 80% before shipment to mainland refineries, following ¥40 billion of government funding since 2018.

A catastrophic breach on the Llangollen Canal near New Mills Lift Bridge, Whitchurch has drained a long pound and damaged the embankment, despite recent routine inspections reporting no visible defects. Engineers from the Canal & River Trust are now investigating potential failure mechanisms, including internal erosion, leakage paths and historic construction weaknesses in the canal lining and embankment core. The incident raises immediate questions over current visual inspection regimes for ageing UK canal earthworks and whether more frequent intrusive or remote condition monitoring is needed on high-consequence reaches.

Network Rail is delivering £160M of works over Christmas and New Year across England, Wales and Scotland, combining large-scale renewals of ageing track, structures and overhead line equipment with installation of modern digital signalling. Possessions will concentrate on key main line bottlenecks and junctions, with multi-day blockades used to replace life-expired assets and reconfigure layouts for higher line speeds and more reliable timetabling. Contractors will need to manage intensive access windows, complex isolations and winter working risks while handing back routes for the post-holiday peak.

Thirteen Chilean copper projects worth $14.8 billion are targeting key 2026 milestones, with seven operations including Collahuasi’s C20+ life-extension, Codelco’s Rajo Inca and Capstone’s Mantos Blancos expected to add almost 500,000 tonnes/year of new capacity. A further six projects, such as BHP’s Spence and Capstone’s Santo Domingo, plan to start construction within a $7.7 billion pipeline that Cochilco says could lift national output to about 5.6 Mt, against a forecast 2026 deficit of 150,000–330,000 tonnes. José Antonio Kast’s incoming government is expected to streamline permitting and environmental approvals, but unresolved community opposition and potential legal challenges remain the main execution risk.

Cat® Job Site Solutions is marking 20 years of performance-based support agreements that bundle equipment, technology and services into outcome-focused contracts for mines and quarries. Originating from a 2005 initiative to rethink customer support, the business now structures deals around metrics such as cost per tonne, fuel burn and availability, using tools like MineStar™ Fleet, condition monitoring and dealer-managed maintenance. For geotechnical and mining engineers, this shifts fleet planning and pit design decisions towards lifecycle cost, uptime guarantees and data-driven productivity baselines.

NCE’s Top 10 most read in-depth pieces of 2025 span major UK infrastructure themes, from long-span bridge renewals and high-capacity rail corridors to complex urban tunnelling and flood defence upgrades. Interviews with project directors and design leads examine issues such as whole-life carbon in reinforced concrete, geotechnical risk allocation on large D&B contracts, and digital twins for asset monitoring. For practitioners, the list signals where peers are focusing attention: programme delivery under tight funding, resilience to extreme rainfall, and constructability on constrained brownfield sites.

An autonomous Komatsu HD1500 haul truck at Zijin Mining-owned Norton Gold Fields in Western Australia has completed its first fully autonomous test cycle with no safety driver on board, using EACON Mining Technology’s autonomous haulage system (AHS) in partnership with Thiess. The milestone confirms driverless operation from loading to dumping under site conditions, moving a 142 t-class rigid truck on a fixed haul route without human intervention in the cab. For mine planners and fleet engineers, this marks progression from supervised trials to true unmanned haulage, enabling redesign of traffic management, interaction zones, and shift deployment.

Early-career civil engineers recognised as Graduates and Apprentices of the Year are calling for project delivery models that combine productivity gains with whole-life carbon reduction and climate resilience. They point to digital design tools and offsite manufacture to cut programme times while enabling low-carbon materials, and stress the need for earlier integration of environmental assessment into concept design. Their comments signal growing pressure on contractors and consultants to embed decarbonisation targets alongside traditional KPIs such as cost, time and asset performance.

Larvotto Resources has begun underground development at its Hillgrove antimony–gold project in New South Wales, re‑opening historical workings to access high‑grade antimony and refractory gold mineralisation. The restart involves rehabilitating existing declines and levels, upgrading ground support, and re‑establishing services to support modern mechanised mining fleets. For geotechnical and mining teams, early focus will be on re‑assessing legacy excavation stability, water inflows and ventilation capacity to safely transition Hillgrove back into sustained underground production.

Fortescue has signed a technology development agreement with Taiyuan Iron and Steel (TISCO), a subsidiary of China Baowu, to jointly explore green iron production routes using Fortescue’s ore and TISCO’s low‑carbon steelmaking capability. The partnership centres on piloting and scaling technologies such as hydrogen‑based direct reduction and renewable‑powered electric furnaces within Baowu’s existing integrated steel complexes. For miners and steel producers, the move signals growing demand for ore specifications, beneficiation strategies and process control tailored to low‑carbon ironmaking flowsheets in China.

Liontown Resources has completed three years of open pit mining at its Kathleen Valley lithium project in Western Australia and is now transitioning fully to underground operations. The mine is shifting to long-term underground production targeting high-grade spodumene beneath the existing pits, supported by the Dragonfly accommodation village constructed to house the expanded workforce. The move concentrates activity on deeper ore zones, with implications for ground control, ventilation design and paste backfill planning in a hard-rock lithium setting.

Capricorn Metals will acquire the Yalgoo gold project in Western Australia from Tempest Minerals, expanding its footprint beyond the 2.1Moz Karlawinda operation near Newman. The Yalgoo package lies in the Murchison region, close to existing processing and haulage infrastructure used by multiple mid-tier gold producers. For geotechnical and mine planners, the deal signals further open-pit and potentially underground resource drilling in an established Archean greenstone belt, with scope for satellite ore trucking strategies similar to Karlawinda.

GBM Konect is now the core field data and asset management platform for Banyule City Council in Melbourne’s north-east, supporting service delivery across more than 20 suburbs and a population above 130,000. The cloud-based, location-aware system lets crews capture condition data, photos and GPS coordinates in real time for roads, paths, drainage and open space assets, replacing paper workflows. Engineers gain a single geospatial view of assets and maintenance history, improving defect prioritisation, scheduling and compliance reporting without bespoke in-house GIS development.

Iron ore, gold and copper projects are driving a stronger Australian resources and energy pipeline, with new and expanded operations in the Pilbara, WA goldfields and key copper provinces signalling renewed capital expenditure. Higher benchmark iron ore prices and robust gold margins are supporting feasibility work on large-scale open pits and underground expansions, while copper’s role in electrification is sustaining interest in long-life sulphide deposits. For geotechs and mine planners, this points to continued demand for large waste dumps, tailings storage expansions and long-horizon pit slope designs.

Sripath has launched ButaPhalt, a new polymer additive for polymer modified bitumen (PMB) blends designed to address long‑standing bonding and durability issues in road surfacings. The formulation is engineered to increase crosslinking connectivity within the binder matrix, improving cohesion between bitumen, polymer and aggregate while also boosting plant production efficiency. For pavement designers and asphalt producers, this signals potential for longer‑life wearing courses, better resistance to rutting and cracking, and fewer processing constraints when specifying high‑performance PMB mixes.

The 20th International Conference of the Australian Flexible Pavement Association in Adelaide brought together more than 400 delegates, 50 speakers and 40 exhibitors to tackle emerging technical and delivery challenges in flexible pavements. Sessions focused on future-ready road design, including performance-based asphalt specifications, recycled materials in dense-graded and stone mastic mixes, and data-driven asset management for high-volume freight corridors. For practitioners, the event signalled accelerating adoption of advanced binders, additives and mechanistic-empirical design tools in Australian pavement practice.

Specialised Roading Equipment’s first fixed wing sprayer built specifically for Australia has arrived, offering a purpose-designed alternative to retrofitted units for bitumen and emulsion spraying on highways and regional roads. Developed from SRE’s New Zealand fleet experience, the aircraft integrates calibrated spray bars, automated rate control and GPS-based application management to improve coverage accuracy and reduce overspray. For road agencies and contractors, the move opens options for large-scale seal programmes in remote areas where ground sprayers struggle with access, crew exposure and tight weather windows.

RoadAid is expanding from Victorian road maintenance into large-scale critical infrastructure and interstate projects, leveraging a combined maintenance and labour hire model for civil crews. The company focuses on proactive road asset upkeep, supplying traffic management, asphalt and spray seal teams, and flexible night-shift labour to Tier 1 and Tier 2 contractors on major corridors. Its emphasis on stable, trained site teams and on-site culture is aimed at reducing rework, improving programme certainty and supporting long-duration pavement and rehabilitation contracts.