Holcim UK is deploying 20 LiuGong 870HE pure electric wheel loaders across its quarry fleet, expanding one of the highest-tonnage battery-electric loader deployments in the sector. The 870HE units, among the largest pure electric loaders currently available, are targeted at high-duty quarry loading cycles traditionally dominated by diesel machines. For geotechnical and quarry operators, this signals accelerating adoption of heavy battery-electric equipment for primary load-and-haul, with implications for power supply design, charging infrastructure layout and ventilation requirements in future pit and plant planning.

Gold jumped 1.7% to about $4,887/oz, its highest level since 17 March, after Iran reopened the Strait of Hormuz, restoring commercial traffic through a corridor that carries roughly 20% of global oil flows. Silver climbed more than 5% to $83/oz, a five-week high, as easing energy-price and inflation fears revived expectations of interest rate cuts that favour non-yielding assets. Analysts at Zaner Metals and MKS PAMP see scope for a move back towards $5,000/oz in the near term, while Goldman Sachs keeps a bullish $5,400/oz year-end target.

Benchmark Mineral Intelligence reports that 2025 copper production deviated sharply from company guidance, with CMOC beating its target by 111,000 tonnes while Zijin Mining missed by 65,000 tonnes due to delays at the Julong expansion and weaker African output. The analysis explicitly separates stated guidance from realised tonnages, showing that most copper supply models still treat guidance as production. For mine planners and market modellers, the data signal that project delays and operational volatility can materially distort supply curves if guidance is used unadjusted.