Oxford University spinout Ascension has raised £1.7 million in new funding, combining a £670,490 Innovate UK Growth Catalyst grant with £1 million from UKI2S, Oxford Science Enterprises and East X, bringing total capital raised to £6.2 million. The company’s Selective Recovery programme targets rare earths and other critical minerals in deep volcanic glass, aiming to separate metals in situ and cut surface processing stages. Ascension’s process uses natural geothermal heat in volcanic rock deposits, avoiding excavation, high-temperature surface processing and associated land disturbance.

Holcim UK is deploying 20 LiuGong 870HE pure electric wheel loaders across its quarry fleet, expanding one of the highest-tonnage battery-electric loader deployments in the sector. The 870HE units, among the largest pure electric loaders currently available, are targeted at high-duty quarry loading cycles traditionally dominated by diesel machines. For geotechnical and quarry operators, this signals accelerating adoption of heavy battery-electric equipment for primary load-and-haul, with implications for power supply design, charging infrastructure layout and ventilation requirements in future pit and plant planning.

Benchmark Mineral Intelligence reports that 2025 copper production deviated sharply from company guidance, with CMOC beating its target by 111,000 tonnes while Zijin Mining missed by 65,000 tonnes due to delays at the Julong expansion and weaker African output. The analysis explicitly separates stated guidance from realised tonnages, showing that most copper supply models still treat guidance as production. For mine planners and market modellers, the data signal that project delays and operational volatility can materially distort supply curves if guidance is used unadjusted.