Epiroc has signed its first ground support partnership in Oceania and Indonesia with DYWIDAG Australia, giving it wider distribution for products such as rock bolts, mesh and dynamic ground support systems in hard‑rock underground mines. The agreement targets high-stress, deep mining environments in Australia and Indonesia, where squeezing ground, seismicity and corrosion demand integrated support packages rather than standalone consumables. For operators, the deal signals broader local availability, shorter lead times and potentially more standardised support designs across multi-mine portfolios in the region.

Construction has commenced on Fortescue’s 440 MW Solomon Airport solar farm in the Pilbara, set to be Western Australia’s largest solar development and supplying about one-third of the solar capacity the company says it needs to reach its Real Zero emissions target. The project will feed Fortescue’s nearby iron ore operations, reducing reliance on gas and diesel generation across the Solomon power network. For mine planners and electrical engineers, this scale of behind-the-fence renewables will drive changes in load management, network stability design and contingency planning for remote operations.

Huawei’s Mining Business Unit president Andy Wu claims the company is at least six months ahead of rivals in deploying 4G, private LTE and 5G connectivity tailored for mine sites, integrating networks with edge computing and cloud platforms. Solutions discussed include autonomous haulage over dedicated 5G slices, high‑definition video for crusher corridors and stockpile monitoring, and unified OT/IT architectures linking SCADA, fleet management and environmental sensors. For engineers, the message is that robust, low‑latency wireless backbones are becoming a prerequisite for scaling automation and data‑driven optimisation underground and in large open pits.