Geomechanics.io

Two in five UK construction firms report a direct hit to their bottom line despite political promises of accelerated infrastructure delivery, exposing a gap between headline commitments and actual project flow. Contractors cite delayed notice-to-proceed on major road and rail schemes, stop–start funding cycles for schools and hospitals, and prolonged planning approvals as key drivers of margin erosion. For geotechnical and civil specialists, this means underutilised design and site teams, disrupted ground investigation programmes, and greater commercial risk when pricing long-lead works.

The MINEXCHANGE 2026 SME Annual Conference & Expo in Salt Lake City will close next week with SME’s Signature Awards Event recognising more than 70 recipients across mining, metallurgy and exploration. Honours span technical excellence, health and safety, environmental stewardship and professional service, reinforcing SME’s role in setting practice benchmarks for US and international operations. For engineers and operators, the awards list often signals emerging leaders, influential research directions and projects likely to shape upcoming guidance and conference content.

Tungsten West has appointed Duo Group as EPC contractor for a new-build crushing, screening and ore sorting plant at the Hemerdon tungsten-tin mine in Devon, and signed an agreement to deploy Gekko Systems’ In Line Pressure Jigs in the flowsheet. The project centres on upgrading run-of-mine ore through pre-concentration and sensor-based sorting ahead of jig-based gravity recovery, aiming to improve tungsten and tin yield from the existing open-pit resource. For process engineers, the move signals a flowsheet shift towards higher early-stage rejection of waste and lower downstream milling load.

ESCO’s ESCO division has launched the Nexsys Ripper System for Cat D11 dozers, targeting high-load ripping in mining, aggregate and heavy construction applications. The system uses premium alloy steels and a redesigned shank–tooth interface to improve penetration and wear life under highly abrasive conditions typical of large open pits and quarries. Faster tooth changes and reduced unplanned change-outs are aimed at increasing dozer utilisation on primary ripping benches and hard overburden, with direct implications for drill-and-blast requirements and fleet productivity.

Atlas Salt has expanded its strategic relationship with Sandvik Mining as part of an updated feasibility study for the Great Atlantic underground salt project near St George’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, building on a comprehensive non‑binding MOU signed in September 2024. The enlarged scope is expected to cover Sandvik’s input on underground mobile equipment fleets and automation-ready mining systems for large-scale room-and-pillar extraction. For engineers, the move signals early vendor integration into mine design, equipment selection and life-of-mine operating cost assumptions ahead of project sanctioning.

Graham has secured a £286m contract to redevelop Manchester Metropolitan University’s Cambridge Halls, delivering 2,302 student bedrooms in two new multi‑storey blocks rising up to 30 storeys on the site of demolished 1990s accommodation. The Cartwright Pickard–designed scheme combines cluster flats, studios, ground‑floor commercial units and a community health centre fronting Cambridge Street. Targeting BREEAM Excellent with air source heat pumps, PV panels, low‑energy heat recovery ventilation and intelligent BMS, phase one is due in 2029 with final completion in 2030.

Delays at the Building Safety Regulator’s Gateway 3 stage are linked by law firm Irwin Mitchell to 44 undecided schemes and 5,594 completed higher-risk residential units remaining unoccupied, with one case waiting 550 days against an eight‑week target. Of 158 Gateway 3 applications in 2023, 55 took more than three months for a decision, raising concerns over cashflow impacts on developers and handover timing for residents. The BSR disputes the interpretation, stating no new-build higher-risk building that passed Gateway 2 has yet applied for Gateway 3 and that current cases are mainly transitional legacy projects with significant safety issues.

Weir’s Alrode facility in Gauteng has become the first plant globally dedicated solely to manufacturing ENDURON Elite banana screens, adding 1,600 m² of covered production space to support the new range. Concentrating production in South Africa signals longer-term localisation of high-performance screening technology, with implications for regional supply chains and aftermarket support for large vibrating screens in coal, iron ore and aggregate operations. For process engineers, this may shorten lead times for custom screen sizes and deck configurations while standardising critical components across Weir’s global footprint.

Women into Home Building is opening applications for its eighth fully funded three-week intake, combining one week of online training with two weeks of on-site placements in site management and new building inspector roles with NHBC. Since its 2023 launch by the Home Builders Federation and partner house-builders, over 150 women have completed introductory training, but only about one-third have secured industry jobs, against a backdrop of women making up just 15% of the construction workforce and 5% of site managers. Applications for May 2026 placements run from 16 February to 22 March via pathwayctm.com.

Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council has appointed Barnfield Construction as main contractor for an £8.5m conversion of the fire‑damaged, Grade II listed St John’s Church into a digital and cyber business centre. Designs by Manchester-based OMI Architects provide 9,500 sq ft of flexible workspace within the 239-year-old structure, linked to the planned Blackburn Skills Campus and opportunities from the National Cyber Force at Samlesbury Enterprise Zone. Enabling works start in March, main construction begins in summer, with completion targeted for early 2028.

Sandvik Rock Processing has completed a full rebuild of a Sandvik BR3288i hydraulic breaker and BB8094R breaker boom for a major Ghanaian gold mine at its Kumasi technical workshop. The unit, installed at the run-of-mine grizzly, is a large-range breaker used for primary rock size reduction and clearing oversize at the crusher feed. Localised refurbishment capability in Kumasi cuts downtime and shipping delays for future overhauls, which is critical for maintaining ROM throughput and crusher utilisation on West African hard-rock gold operations.

Erewash Borough Council has approved Fassa Bortolo’s new UK headquarters and building materials factory at New Stanton Park, a 170,000 sq ft complex with manufacturing plant, training academy and warehousing. The facility will feature a 60-metre main tower, three metres higher than the former Stanton Ironworks chimney, on a 220-acre brownfield business estate masterplanned for up to 4,000 jobs. For materials suppliers and contractors, the site signals a significant East Midlands production hub for renders, mortars and plasters within a £350m global expansion programme.

Alumno has started construction of a £23m, six-storey purpose-built student accommodation block on St George’s Road in Glasgow’s Woodlands district, delivering 262 beds in four- and five-bed cluster flats plus studios. Clark Contracts is acting as design-and-build contractor, with Stallan Brand Architects, RankinFraser Landscape Architecture, Will Rudd Davidson, Ridge & Partners and Sound Advice Acoustics forming the professional team, and funding from Henderson Park. The scheme includes a ground-floor common room, sixth-floor dining, study and lounge spaces, and rear landscaped courtyards, with completion targeted for summer 2027.

Autonomous battery-electric haul trucks deployed by EACON at Shougang Group’s Shuichang Iron Ore Mine have completed a full year of operation, delivering quantified reductions in both unit haulage cost and diesel-related CO₂ emissions versus conventional diesel fleets. The system integrates autonomous driving, battery swapping and centralised dispatch to manage multiple BEV trucks on steep open-pit ramps and long-distance waste hauls. For mine planners and geotechnical teams, the shift to BEVs changes ramp ventilation assumptions, traffic patterns and braking heat loads, affecting haul road design and pit wall interaction.

Weir is promoting its Enduron EP350 cone crusher as a long-life, high-availability solution for mine crushing circuits, pairing the machine with engineered wear parts and process optimisation services. The company focuses on matching crusher geometry, liner design and metallurgy to specific ore characteristics, and uses condition monitoring and remote support to stabilise throughput and reduce unplanned downtime. For geotechnical and plant engineers, the message is tighter integration of equipment design, wear management and circuit control rather than standalone crusher selection.

The Papua New Guinea Industrial and Mining Exhibition and Conference will return to Port Moresby in July, bringing together mine operators, EPC contractors and OEM suppliers focused on PNG’s gold, copper and LNG-linked projects. Exhibitors typically span underground fleet, pit dewatering, tailings and paste-fill systems, explosives, and remote power solutions suited to PNG’s high-rainfall, steep-slope terrain and logistics constraints. For geotechnical and mining engineers, the event is a key venue to source equipment and services for haul road construction, slope stabilisation, camp infrastructure and port expansions in a challenging tropical environment.

Atlas Copco Rental Australia’s DrillAir Y1260 compressor is being deployed as a single air source from drill pad to processing plant, replacing multiple smaller units across blasthole drilling, dewatering and plant air services. The high-pressure, high-flow package is containerised for rapid relocation in-pit and around fixed infrastructure, with integrated fuel management and remote monitoring to optimise load profiles. For mine operators, the approach concentrates maintenance on one large unit, simplifies air distribution design and can cut diesel consumption and unplanned downtime across the pit-to-plant circuit.

Project Vault, a new $12 billion US government stockpile, targets critical minerals but leaves permanent magnet manufacturing—especially neodymium-based and other rare earth magnets—as the key unresolved vulnerability in decoupling from Chinese supply. Wade Senti, CEO of Advanced Magnet Lab, argues for a market-led, innovation-first strategy that diversifies rare earth feedstocks and sources while backing alternative magnet chemistries such as Samarium Iron Nitride (SmFeN) and Manganese Bismuth (MnBi). For mining and processing projects, this implies demand for flexible mine-to-magnet flowsheets, equipment-intensive magnet plants, and closer integration with downstream OEMs.

MPs on Parliament’s transport select committee are questioning whether the Railways Bill’s proposed Passengers’ Council will have any real enforcement powers to deliver a fully accessible national rail network. Concerns centre on the council’s ability to compel infrastructure managers and train operators to retrofit step-free access, tactile paving and compliant boarding interfaces across thousands of stations and platforms. For designers and asset owners, the outcome will influence how strongly accessibility standards are mandated in future station upgrades, platform works and rolling stock procurement.

Hecla Mining is nearly doubling 2026 spend on exploration and pre-development to US$55 million, targeting Nevada projects and producing assets Greens Creek (Alaska), Keno Hill (Yukon) and Lucky Friday (Idaho) to at least offset annual reserve depletion. The company reports 231 million oz silver and 2 million oz gold in reserves after 2025 output of 17 million oz silver, including a record 5.3 million oz from Lucky Friday and roughly half of total silver from Greens Creek. Drilling is focused on converting Inferred resources, extending reserve envelopes and testing high-grade targets at the historic Midas mine, which has produced 27 million oz silver and 2.2 million oz gold.

Lundin Gold has outlined a large intrusive complex with multiple shallow copper-gold porphyry systems near its Fruta del Norte mine in Ecuador, including Sandia hole SND-2025-383 with 603 m at 0.68% Cu, 0.1 g/t Au, 2.85 g/t Ag and 16.32 ppm Mo from 27 m. A newly identified fifth porphyry centre, Chontas, 7 km south of the main deposit, extends the porphyry corridor to at least 10 km, while Trancaloma hole TRL-2025-340 returned 945 m at 0.33% Cu from 152 m. Lundin plans 133,000 m of drilling in 2026 at Fruta del Norte, budgeted at $85 million, to support a potential south-zone mine decision and district-scale copper-gold evaluation.

NI 43-101’s standardised technical reports and qualified person requirements stabilised disclosure after Bre-X, but Erik Groves, corporate strategy and in-house counsel at Morgan Companies, argues they now mask chronic diluters whose projects never advance despite repeated financings and high G&A. With Canadian National Policy 51-201 still warning against “sporadic” online rumour correction on chat rooms and bulletin boards, legal advice often keeps issuers off X, YouTube and Reddit while retail investors crowdsource geology and drill-interval analysis. Groves calls for a defined safe harbour allowing video documentation of fieldwork, plain-language geological reasoning and public misinformation correction, without pre-releasing material results or implying unsupported resources.

Kumba Iron Ore is investing ZAR11.2 billion (about US$600 million) to retrofit ultra-high-dense-media-separation (UHDMS) technology into the existing DMS plant at its Sishen mine in South Africa’s Northern Cape. The UHDMS circuit is designed to treat lower-grade ore and waste material at higher cut densities than conventional DMS, materially lifting product quality and overall yield. For process and plant engineers, the project signals a shift towards more intensive beneficiation to extend Sishen’s life of mine and improve margins without new pit development.

Sandvik is launching the Leopard DI610i, a down-the-hole surface drill rig for open-pit mines and contractors, covering a 115–203 mm (4½–8 in) hole size range. The i-series platform targets high utilisation and rapid operator on-boarding through advanced automation, digital drilling controls and an ergonomic cabin layout. Sandvik positions the DI610i to cut total cost of ownership versus previous Leopard rigs by optimising fuel use, consumable life and maintenance intervals, which will interest operations rationalising large DTH fleets.

Agnico Eagle Mines posted record year-end 2025 gold reserves of 55.4 million oz (1.33 billion tonnes at 1.30 g/t) and a 135% jump in net income to $4.46 billion, lifting its quarterly dividend to $0.45 per share. Measured and indicated resources rose to 47.1 million oz and inferred resources to 41.8 million oz, supported by the Marban deposit at Malartic and 1.4 million metres of core drilling from an average 120 diamond rigs. CEO Ammar Al‑Joundi targets a 20–30% production increase to over 4 million oz/year by the early 2030s, driven by Detour Lake underground, Canadian Malartic, Upper Beaver and Hope Bay.

Transport for London has awarded M Group a £119M, five-year contract to maintain its portfolio of bridges and civil structures, with an option to extend the deal by a further three years. The framework will cover inspection, repair and strengthening of key assets across London’s strategic road and rail network, where many structures date from pre-motorway or early Underground expansion eras. Contractors and consultants can expect demand for complex access solutions, night-time possessions and staged works to keep high-traffic routes operational during interventions.

Network Rail has issued a prior information notice for a £450M Scotland’s Railway Electrification Framework, signalling a multi-year programme to extend 25kV overhead line equipment as part of Scotland’s rail decarbonisation plan. The framework is expected to cover design, civils and structures, mast and portal installations, feeder stations and sectioning cabins across multiple routes, with contractors needing proven experience in live-rail possessions and integration with existing signalling and structures. Geotechnical and civil packages are likely to include new foundations, bridge parapet and clearance modifications, and structural assessments for increased electrical clearances.

Rox Resources has appointed MACA Interquip Mintrex (MIQM), part of the MACA Limited Group, as preferred EPC contractor for the new Youanmi gold processing plant and associated facilities at its 100%-owned Youanmi project in Western Australia. MIQM will deliver engineering, procurement and construction for the plant, drawing on its multi-disciplinary capability across process plant design, structural and mechanical works, and site infrastructure. The appointment signals progression towards detailed design and construction, giving mine planners clearer timelines for integrating processing capacity with pit and underground scheduling.

Turner Mining Group has mobilised a new Caterpillar mining fleet to Minera Alamos’ Pan Mine in Nevada under a multi-year contract, completing assembly, commissioning and crew deployment over the holiday period while holding to targeted production rates. The contractor is now responsible for full-scale mine services, with the Cat fleet expected to handle drilling, loading and haulage across the open-pit gold operation. For engineers, the key point is a rapid contractor transition without a production dip, stressing the importance of parallel commissioning and workforce ramp-up.

Work has begun on a £28m upgrade of RAF Coningsby’s Air Operating Surfaces, with VolkerFitzpatrick reconstructing taxiways and apron areas under a construction contract initially valued at £18.6m and Aecom acting as consulting engineer. As the Lincolnshire base is one of two RAF Quick Reaction Alert stations, all works must be sequenced around 24/7 Typhoon launch readiness for 3 (Fighter), XI (Fighter) and 29 Squadrons. Completion is scheduled for October 2026, implying prolonged phasing, night working and tight airside access controls for contractors.

Jackson Civil Engineering has secured a £20m contract from East Sussex County Council to replace the single-lane, 1870s Exceat Bridge on the A259 over the River Cuckmere in the South Downs National Park. The scheme, funded by £7.9m from the Levelling Up Fund, £11.28m from Bus Service Improvement Plan Round 1 and council capital, will remove a major traffic pinchpoint between Seaford and Eastbourne where queues currently form in both directions. Preparatory works are due to start in spring, with environmental sensitivity a key requirement given the Seven Sisters Country Park setting.

The £1bn regeneration of Leeds’ four-hectare Eastgate Quarter has advanced with Khalbros and Torsion Group’s JV appointing FeildenCleggBradley Studios as lead architect/masterplanner and Danish urban designers SLA to reshape land between Vicar Lane and Bridge Street, from Lady Lane to the A64(M). Roscoe will deliver structural and civil engineering, AMA will advise on highways and transport, and FD Global will assess wind conditions, alongside ecology, archaeology, heritage and daylight/sunlight specialists. The mixed-use scheme, now in pre-application with Leeds City Council, aims to densify a long-underused inner-city area while reusing heritage buildings and expanding the city centre.

Wales has launched its first dedicated roofing, slating and tiling apprenticeship, delivered jointly by CITB, the National Construction College, Bridgend College and the National Federation of Roofing Contractors, with an initial cohort of nine apprentices starting in South Wales next month and a second intake planned for September. Training will combine classroom teaching with outdoor practical instruction led by a CITB roofing tutor, targeting both public and private sector demand. CITB’s Construction Workforce Outlook projects the UK will need 630 additional roofers by 2029, including at least 50 in Wales, within a wider requirement for 47,000 extra construction workers annually.

Construction has started on Lovell Homes’ £42m Swinfen Vale scheme on a 10.4-acre greenfield site off Beveridge Lane, Ellistown, forming part of Harworth Estates’ wider regeneration of southeast Coalville. The development will deliver 146 one- to four-bedroom homes, all designed to achieve SAP B energy ratings using gas heating supplemented by roof-mounted solar panels. Lovell will contribute £1m via planning obligations to local infrastructure and services, with first homes due on sale in July 2026 and initial occupation targeted for September 2026.

Construction of the 7.5‑kilometre M12 Motorway dual carriageway at Badgerys Creek is progressing around the Central Interchange, which will link the M7 and The Northern Road directly to Western Sydney International (Nancy‑Bird Walton) Airport. The interchange comprises multiple bridge structures, elevated ramps and extensive retaining walls, with precast concrete elements supplied and coordinated by National Precast members to manage complex geometry and staging. For geotechnical and civil teams, the works demand careful interface of precast foundations, approach embankments and retaining systems with existing motorway corridors and airport access constraints.

The second stage of the Main South Road Duplication Project has opened to traffic in Adelaide, doubling carriageway capacity between Aldinga and Sellicks Beach and removing a key bottleneck on the Fleurieu Peninsula corridor. Delivered by the Fleurieu Connections Alliance, led by CPB Contractors, the works convert this section of Main South Road from a single to dual carriageway, with new intersections and median separation improving traffic flow and crash risk performance. For civil and pavement engineers, the duplication sets the geometric and structural standard for future upgrades further south.

Restoration of Cornwallis’ flood-damaged drainage network and reconstruction of the missing section of Cornwallis Road in New South Wales has been completed by Hawkesbury City Council in partnership with NSW Public Works. Works included rebuilding the road and repairing the levee system to protect low-lying, flood‑prone properties along this corridor on the Hawkesbury floodplain. For geotechnical and civil teams, the project signals renewed design focus on drainage capacity and levee robustness after recent extreme flood events in the region.

Alkane Resources has posted what it calls the strongest quarter in its history after its August 2025 merger with Mandalay Resources, consolidating the Tomingley gold operation in NSW with two Mandalay underground gold–antimony mines into a three-mine portfolio. The enlarged group has focused on higher-grade stopes, tighter unit-cost control and shared technical services across the sites, lifting group mill throughput and gold-equivalent output while cutting all-in sustaining costs. For mine planners and geotechs, the integration is driving more aggressive cut-off grade strategies and coordinated underground scheduling across multiple orebodies.

Exploration activity is accelerating across Australia, with recent campaigns reporting high-grade intercepts in gold, tungsten and critical minerals and several new drill targets defined from geophysics and geochemistry. True North Copper has updated its resource at Cloncurry in Queensland, refining copper and gold tonnages and grades across multiple lodes and signalling scope for further step-out drilling. For geotechs and mine planners, the work points to expanding pit and underground envelopes in established districts rather than purely greenfield growth.

Dewatering design for a deep well system is modelled in GeoStudio using SEEP/W to simulate transient drawdown and quantify inflow to an excavation, with wells arranged around the perimeter and pumped to lower the groundwater table below formation level. The example compares different pumping rates and well spacings, showing effects on pore water pressures, hydraulic gradients and potential instability in adjacent slopes and structures. For practitioners, it illustrates how to test alternative layouts and pumping schedules numerically before committing to well installation on site.

Ultra high-grade fluorite intercepts from Tivan Limited’s maiden drilling at the Sandover project in the Northern Territory show multiple drill holes returning exceptionally rich mineralisation, positioning the asset as a potentially significant fluorite source. The results come from the first systematic programme over the Sandover tenements, targeting structurally controlled fluorite-bearing zones identified in earlier surface work. For geologists and mine planners, the continuity and grade across several holes will drive follow-up drilling, resource definition and early thinking on beneficiation flowsheets for high-purity CaF₂ products.

New South Wales has introduced a bill to make its Demerit Point Reward Program permanent, following a trial that began in 2023 to encourage safer driving behaviour. The scheme rewards motorists who avoid new offences over a defined period by restoring demerit points, directly affecting licence suspension thresholds and enforcement loads on the road network. For road and traffic engineers, the programme’s permanence would lock in a behavioural lever that can be modelled alongside physical safety upgrades, speed zoning and enforcement camera placement.

Alligator Energy has started a bankable feasibility study (BFS) on its Samphire uranium project near Whyalla in South Australia, moving the in‑situ recovery (ISR) development closer to a final investment decision as uranium prices trade near 15‑year highs. The BFS will refine wellfield layouts, leach chemistry and processing flowsheets for the Blackbush and Plumbush deposits, building on previous ISR field trials and updated JORC resources. For geotechnical and hydrogeological teams, the work will focus on aquifer characterisation, permeability controls and containment of lixiviant within the target sandstone units.

FLS has opened a large-scale service centre in Mackay, central to the Bowen Basin coalfields, to cut shutdown durations for Queensland miners by bringing overhaul capability for crushers, mills and vibrating screens closer to site. The modern workshop is sized for major components such as SAG mill heads and large cone crusher shells, with overhead lifting, specialised machining and condition-monitoring support integrated under one roof. Locating this capacity in Mackay reduces freight time for heavy equipment, enabling faster turnaround on wear parts and planned maintenance campaigns.