Brent crude jumping from $92 to over $113 per barrel in a single week is used by Edith Kikonyogo, Managing Director of Aggreko Africa, to argue that African mines should cut exposure to fuel price volatility by shifting from pure thermal generation to hybrid power. She points to integrating diesel or HFO with solar PV, battery energy storage systems and, where available, grid connections to stabilise costs and improve supply resilience. For mine planners and power engineers, the message is to design modular, multi-source plants rather than locking into single-fuel genset fleets.

Liebherr’s new 100 t R 9100 G8 mining excavator is moving into series production after pre‑series field validation and will replace the previous R 9100 G6 in the company’s 100 t class. The OEM is targeting the same deployment envelope as the G6 fleet while offering an updated eighth‑generation (G8) platform that standardises components with larger Liebherr mining excavators. For mine planners and maintenance teams, the key implication is a drop‑in successor for existing 100 t fleets with improved parts commonality and lifecycle support.

Metso has signed a major agreement to supply its VSF solvent extraction and electrowinning (SX-EW) technology to Southern Peru Copper Corporation’s Tia Maria greenfield project in Cocachacra, Arequipa. The SX-EW plant is designed to produce 120,000 t/y of high-purity copper cathode, using Metso’s modular VSF cells and integrated electrowinning circuits. For process and project engineers, the deal signals a commitment to heap leach–SX-EW flowsheets at Tia Maria rather than conventional concentrator–smelter routes.