DELKOR India has secured an EPC contract from Arab Potash Company to supply a 50 m diameter DELKOR Thickener for the Hot Leach Potash (HLP) circuit in the firm’s latest capacity expansion project. The large-diameter unit is designed for high-throughput liquid/solid separation in hot brine conditions, a critical bottleneck in potash crystallisation and recovery. For process and tailings engineers, the installation signals further scaling of HLP operations at Arab Potash’s Jordan facilities, with implications for water balance, underflow rheology and downstream evaporation capacity.

Global EV battery capacity deployment passed 1 TWh in 2025, nearly quadruple 2021 levels, yet the raw material bill for lithium, graphite, nickel, cobalt and manganese in passenger EVs reached only $15.6 billion, still about half the 2022 peak. BYD’s all‑LFP, lower‑end line-up and heavy plug‑in hybrid mix kept average battery metals spend to $247 per EV (US$366 per BEV), versus Tesla’s US$1,082 and Volkswagen’s US$1,624 per BEV, with VW now the largest battery metals spender. GM’s NCMA‑heavy Ultium strategy yields an average US$1,664 per EV and is being retooled towards LFP, while Toyota’s HEV‑dominated portfolio limits spend to US$185 per vehicle.

Weir has secured a contract to supply ENDURON® high pressure grinding rolls (HPGR) for the tertiary crushing circuit in Ivanhoe Mines’ Platreef Phase 2 concentrator expansion in South Africa. The HPGR circuit will be integrated as part of the Phase 2 flowsheet rather than relying solely on conventional cone crushing, targeting improved energy efficiency and finer product for downstream milling. For process engineers, the move signals continued adoption of HPGR technology on large-scale PGM–nickel concentrators to cut specific energy and potentially reduce overall comminution footprint.