Ark Mines has secured a Queensland mining lease for its Sandy Mitchell rare earths project, marking a key move from exploration to planned production. The licence positions the company to advance mine planning and approvals for heavy and light rare earth extraction in northern Queensland, a region already targeted for critical minerals development. Geotechnical and mine design teams can now progress detailed pit designs, waste storage layouts and haul road alignments under a defined tenure framework.

Final submissions are due within a week for the GRX26 global mining challenge, which is seeking innovators to tackle real-world operational problems for major producers including BHP, Rio Tinto and Newmont. Run through the AusIMM GRX (Global Resources Experience) platform, the challenge focuses on deployable solutions in areas such as orebody knowledge, tailings and waste, energy use and decarbonisation, and workforce technology. For engineers and tech developers, it offers direct access to operating sites, structured pilot pathways and feedback from senior technical leaders.

Liebherr’s LiReCon (Liebherr Remote Control) system has been deployed on 70‑tonne PR 776 mining dozers for SQM at the Nueva Victoria iodine operation in Chile’s Atacama Desert, marking the first customer delivery of the flagship dozer with factory‑fitted remote capability. The LiReCon package uses an ergonomically designed remote operating station with full‑HD cameras and real‑time machine data to control the dozer from a safe location away from high‑risk ripping and stockpile areas. For mine planners and maintenance teams, this enables deployment of heavy dozers in geotechnically marginal zones while reducing operator exposure and potential downtime from slope failures.