Fortescue has sold more than 40 tonnes of copper concentrate treated with its patented Toowong Process, a low-temperature, low-pressure hydrometallurgical circuit that removes arsenic from copper concentrates. Developed and tested over four years after Fortescue acquired the technology, the process targets a longstanding penalty element constraint that limits saleability of high-arsenic ores. Commercial deployment could materially change project economics for arsenic-rich copper deposits, enabling miners to convert previously marginal or stranded resources into exportable concentrate streams.

Core Lithium has reported its longest mineralised downhole intersection at the Blackbeard prospect within the Finniss lithium operation in the Northern Territory, with diamond drillhole NMRD104 returning 92m at 1.25 per cent Li₂O, including 73m at 1.45 per cent Li₂O. The thick, continuous spodumene-bearing pegmatite materially extends known mineralisation at depth and along strike, improving the potential for larger, more coherent underground or bulk open-pit mine designs. For resource modellers and geotechs, the interval supports tighter geological domaining and may justify updated pit shells and geotechnical slope assessments.

South32 lifted Australia Manganese saleable output 15 per cent quarter-on-quarter to 902,000 wet metric tonnes in the September 2026 quarter, driven by higher utilisation of the primary processing circuit, while keeping full-year production guidance unchanged across its operations. Alumina production also increased, and the company is continuing capital deployment into base metals growth projects, including copper and zinc developments. For mine planners and process engineers, the numbers signal more stable plant throughput assumptions and sustained demand for processing circuit optimisation and debottlenecking work.