Cementation Africa is upgrading Mopani Copper Mines’ Mindola shaft at Nkana, Kitwe, to extend mine life and raise hoisting efficiency, drawing on its long-running shaft sinking and underground construction experience in Zambia. The contract covers construction and erection of permanent shaft infrastructure, including new fixed installations and associated underground works, to support deeper, higher-volume copper production. For geotechnical and mining teams, the project signals continued investment in legacy Copperbelt infrastructure rather than greenfield capacity, with implications for ground support strategies and life-of-mine planning.

Macmahon Holdings has signed a Letter of Intent with Wolfram Limited, a Bumi Resources subsidiary, to restart the Mount Carlton Gold Mine in north Queensland, covering both surface and underground mining plus associated civil infrastructure works. The scope is expected to include open-pit and underground production, haul road and ROM pad construction, and potential tailings and water management upgrades typical of a brownfield restart. Contractors and suppliers should anticipate tenders for fleet, ground support, drill-and-blast, and civil packages once the LoI progresses to a full mining services contract.

Alligator Energy has begun uranium extraction in the field leach trial at its Samphire in-situ recovery (ISR) project near Whyalla, South Australia, a key step towards proving commercial ISR performance in the Eyre Peninsula’s shallow sandstone aquifers. The trial will operate a closed-circuit lixiviant system through a dedicated wellfield to generate real-time data on uranium recovery, solution chemistry and groundwater behaviour under controlled drawdown. Results will drive final well spacing, pump sizing and process plant design, and feed into regulatory approvals for full-scale ISR mining.