A ransomware attack on Perth-based Scope Systems’ Pronto Xi ERP cloud stack disrupted dozens of mining customers, including Northern Star Resources and Evolution Mining, in what MM‑ISAC’s Rob Labbe calls the broadest single third‑party cyber event the sector has seen. Scope says client servers were restored from backups and not directly accessed, but admits internal data was exfiltrated and has not disclosed the attack vector, raising questions about visibility at hypervisor, storage and backup layers. The incident spotlights how multi‑tenant vCenter/ESXi environments, VM cloning and snapshot abuse—already used by groups like Akira—could expose integrated exploration, production and maintenance data across more than 400 Pronto Xi‑reliant mining operations.

Newmont’s Red Chris mine in British Columbia has secured an amended Environmental Assessment Certificate and Mines Act permit, allowing a shift from open-pit to underground block caving and extending operations into the mid-2040s. The copper-gold porphyry deposit in the Golden Triangle hosts an estimated 20 million oz of gold and 13 billion lb of copper, with the block cave expected to lift Canada’s copper output by about 15%. The project entails several billion dollars in capital, around 1,800 construction jobs and roughly 1,500 operating roles at peak.

Panama’s environment ministry reports that First Quantum Minerals’ suspended Cobre Panama operation has achieved about 88% compliance with 370 commitments under its Category III Environmental Impact Assessment and environmental management programmes, with deficiencies centred on biodiversity management, ecological restoration and environmental monitoring. The SGS-led audit reviewed legal, fiscal, environmental and operational performance across the two open pits, processing plant, dual power stations and port, and found no “insurmountable structural failures”. An inter-agency task force will now use the findings to advise on a potential restart of the mine, which produced roughly 350,000 tonnes of copper in 2022.