Record spending from Western Australia’s resources sector has delivered a $166 billion economic contribution, with mining and energy activity now supporting about two in every five jobs across the state. The sector’s direct and indirect employment footprint spans iron ore, LNG, gold and critical minerals operations, with flow-on work for civil contractors, drill and blast crews, maintenance trades and port logistics. For geotechnical and mining engineers, the scale of investment signals continued demand for large open-pit expansions, tailings and waste facility design, and brownfield infrastructure upgrades.

Resolute Mining has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Nimba Mining Company, a 100% Guinean state-owned entity, to co-develop gold projects in one of West Africa’s most prospective gold belts, under the oversight of Guinea’s Ministry of Mines and Geology. The partnership covers joint mineral resource assessment, detailed geological studies and frameworks for potential large-scale gold production, aligned with the State’s Simandou 2040 Programme. Resolute views Guinea as a candidate for its fourth mine, while NMC aims to increase local content in the national mining ecosystem.

Metso has signed a major agreement to deliver its modular VSF® solvent extraction and electrowinning (SX-EW) technology to Southern Peru Copper Corporation, one of the world’s largest copper producers. The package is expected to include Metso’s VSF® SX settlers, mixer–settlers and EW cells, integrated with process control systems to produce high-purity copper cathode from low-grade leach solutions. For process and project engineers, the deal signals continued uptake of large-scale SX-EW circuits in Peru’s heap leach operations, with implications for reagent management, phase disengagement design and long-term cathode quality control.