Mining safety specialist David Coghlan, head of technology and product at TURCK, argues that connected sensing and control must shift mines from reactive alarms to predictive intervention as fleets, conveyors and fixed plant become more automated. He points to integrated proximity detection, real-time location and condition monitoring on mobile equipment, tied into site-wide networks, as the basis for predicting collision and entrapment risks rather than just logging incidents. For geotechnical and operations teams, this means designing safety systems around data quality, latency and interoperability, not just compliance with existing guarding and lock-out procedures.

Develop Global’s latest underground drilling at the Woodlawn copper–zinc mine in New South Wales has returned intercepts grading up to 15.7 per cent copper equivalent (CuEq), supporting its Project DM15 plan to extend mine life from 10 to 15 years. The high-grade results, from step-out holes targeting depth extensions of existing lenses, suggest additional sulphide resources beyond the current reserve envelope. For mine planners and geotechs, this points to a longer stoping schedule, potential redesign of sequencing and backfill, and extended use of existing underground infrastructure.

Forrestania Resources has awarded MEGA Resources a ~$145 million contract for a two-year open-pit mining campaign at the Johnson Range gold project in Western Australia. The scope covers end-to-end pit development, including production drilling and blasting, ore and waste haulage, and construction of haul roads and associated mining infrastructure. Contractors and suppliers can expect near-term demand for drill-and-blast services, mobile fleet, and road construction materials, with geotechnical design and pit slope performance critical over the compressed two-year schedule.