EACON Mining Technology has validated an autonomous haulage capability at Zijinshan copper-gold mine that keeps trucks running driverless through extended tunnel sections where GNSS/RTK positioning and network connectivity drop out. The system uses on-board perception and localisation to operate without full dependence on conventional high-definition maps, targeting long underground or covered haul segments rather than short blind spots. For mine planners and automation teams, this points to AHS designs that can tolerate sustained signal loss in complex pit–portal–tunnel layouts.

Sandvik will supply a 27-unit underground fleet to Orken LLP, the iron ore division of Qarmet JSC, to mechanise development at the Atasu operation in the Western Karazhal mine, Kazakhstan. The package includes 13 Toro TH430 trucks and five Toro LH410 loaders, shifting the mine from manual development headings to fully mechanised haulage and loading. The move signals higher development advance rates and more consistent ground support installation, with implications for ventilation design, traffic management and maintenance planning in existing drifts.

Brightstar Resources has nearly doubled the mineral resource estimate at its Two Mile Hill–Shillington deposit in Western Australia to 24.6Mt at 1.8g/t for 1.45Moz of gold, as part of ongoing mining studies for the Sandstone gold project. The revised MRE, covering both the tonalite-hosted Two Mile Hill intrusion and the adjacent Shillington shear-hosted mineralisation, materially upgrades the scale of potential open pit and underground options. Geotechnical and mine design teams will now be able to re-optimise pit shells, underground stoping layouts and scheduling around the larger, higher-confidence inventory.