Boliden’s Somincor zinc and copper operations in Portugal are about to trial their first battery-electric production support unit, a Normet Variomec XS 035 Crew SD mine service vehicle delivered this week after being showcased at The Electric Mine in Lisbon. The compact XS 035 platform is configured for crew transport and general services, targeting reduced diesel emissions and heat in deep workings. Results from this trial will inform Somincor’s wider electrification strategy for auxiliary fleets and associated ventilation load reductions.

Barminco has secured an underground mining services contract worth about A$850 million over four years, with a one-year extension option, at Bellevue Gold’s high-grade Bellevue gold project in Western Australia. The scope is expected to cover decline and level development, production stoping and associated underground services for the planned underground mine, positioning Barminco as the key contractor through the project’s ramp-up phase. The scale and term of the award signal long-term demand for specialised underground fleet, labour and ground support capacity in the WA gold sector.

Core Lithium has awarded a three-year underground mining contract, with a two-year extension option, to Dev Mining Services (a Develop Global subsidiary) for the BP33 deposit that underpins the Finniss lithium operation in Australia’s Northern Territory. The scope covers all underground production activities at BP33, shifting Finniss from open-pit to a combined open-pit/underground operation and locking in a medium-term mining services provider. For engineers and contractors, the deal signals forward work on underground development, ground support and lithium ore handling in a relatively young NT hard-rock lithium district.