Founders Factory and Rio Tinto have backed six new mining-technology startups through their accelerator, selected from more than 500 applications received in four months as demand for raw materials intensifies across exploration, processing and critical mineral recovery. The cohort targets digital and hardware solutions spanning orebody discovery, plant optimisation and recovery of low-grade or complex ores, signalling strong investor appetite for deployable tools rather than pure R&D. For mine operators, this points to a near-term pipeline of pilots and site trials, particularly around data-driven processing control and improved critical mineral extraction.

Gold Fields will pilot a prototype Sandvik 66‑tonne diesel‑electric underground haul truck at its St Ives gold operation in Western Australia, as outlined in its Sustainability Report 2025. The trial, to be conducted with mining contractor Byrnecut as “business partner”, will test high‑capacity diesel‑electric haulage in existing St Ives stopes and declines. Outcomes will inform fleet decarbonisation strategy, power demand planning and potential changes to ventilation design for future underground expansions.

Trafo Power Solutions is supplying seventeen specially engineered underground mini substations to a Zambian copper mine, comprising a mix of 800 kVA and 1,000 kVA units. The oil-cooled transformers are housed in compact, rugged enclosures designed for constrained haulages and high dust and moisture, with protection and switching gear integrated into each skid-mounted package. For mine electrical teams, the key impact is higher installed power density close to the working faces, reducing cable runs and voltage drop while keeping maintenance concentrated on modular units.