Engineering firm Salko UK has secured a 12‑month contract extension with Redpath Deilmann to continue supplying mechanical labour at Anglo American’s Woodsmith polyhalite mine in North Yorkshire, set to become Europe’s deepest mineshaft. A dedicated Salko team will support ongoing shaft and materials-handling installations, working alongside Redpath Deilmann’s specialist sinking crews. The extension signals continued demand for experienced mechanical contractors as Woodsmith advances critical underground infrastructure for large-scale polyhalite extraction.

A new highwall mining machine from Gainwell Engineering was inaugurated on 19 April 2026 at the Sharda Open Cast Mine in SECL’s Sohagpur Area, adding to Coal India’s growing fleet of highwall units. SECL has used highwall mining since the early 2010s, applying the method to extract residual coal from exposed highwalls where dragline or shovel–dumper operations have reached economic or geotechnical limits. The additional unit should increase recovery from existing highwalls while deferring new box-cutting and overburden removal.

BHP now expects full-year copper output near the top of its 1.9–2.0 Mt guidance after record material mined and concentrator throughput at Escondida, where improved recoveries are offsetting lower grades and a permit application has been lodged for a new concentrator. Antamina guidance has been raised to 150–160 kt on better grades and efficiency, while ore complexity has cut Spence’s outlook to 210–220 kt, and Resolution in Arizona advances alongside a $500 million Rio Tinto drilling campaign. Iron ore remains the earnings anchor, with WAIO output up 2% to 197 Mt and full-year guidance steady at 258–269 Mt despite cyclone disruptions.