BME, an Omnia Holdings company, is using artificial intelligence to mine the large operational datasets generated across the blasting value chain to optimise decisions and quantify business value. Data streams from blast design, explosives loading, initiation timing and downstream fragmentation are being integrated to link specific blast parameters with shovel productivity, crusher throughput and energy use. For engineers, this points to tighter control of blast outcomes, more reliable blast-to-mill reconciliation, and the potential to standardise best-practice designs across multiple pits and operations.

Anfield Energy has completed the first underground blast in nearly 40 years at the Velvet-Wood uranium-vanadium mine in San Juan County, Utah, after securing an ATF blast permit in June and rehabilitating the first 700 ft of decline. Ground support now includes rock bolts, wire mesh, new haul roads, mucking, and installation of a primary surface ventilation fan with ducting, air and water lines, power and communications. A water treatment plant and dewatering pump are almost complete, enabling dewatering of historic workings and further underground development targeting 4.6 million lb eU₃O₈ (measured and indicated).

Gold surged as much as 15.3% month-to-date in August 2026, breaking out of a multi‑month falling wedge, vaulting back above its 50‑day and 200‑day moving averages, and tracking as its sixth-strongest month since the US abandoned the gold standard in 1971. A 4.1% jump on 5 August, driven by 30.4k COMEX futures long contracts added in a single COT week, was followed by a further 3.9% spike after the US Treasury pledged to at least double longer‑dated bond buybacks to $4 billion per operation. Despite the speed of the move, gold is only about 3.5% above its 200‑day average—far from the 43.4% overextension seen in January’s blow‑off, suggesting less immediate downside risk for hedging and royalty strategies.