Perenti Limited has appointed Dr Vanessa Torres as managing director and chief executive officer, succeeding long‑serving CEO Mark Norwell at the ASX‑listed mining services group that operates Barminco and Ausdrill across underground and open‑pit contracts. Torres, a former chief technical officer at South32 and senior executive at BHP and Vale, brings deep experience in large‑scale iron ore, base metals and coal operations, including brownfield expansion and asset optimisation. The leadership change signals continuity for Perenti’s contract mining, drill‑and‑blast and underground development business while positioning it to pursue more technically complex projects and decarbonisation initiatives.

Rio Tinto has committed $1.8 million to Lifeline WA to fund crisis support volunteers answering calls across Western Australia, with a focus on remote mining communities in the Pilbara. The three-year funding package will support recruitment, training and retention of telephone crisis supporters, who handle calls from FIFO workers, contractors and families affected by isolation, shift work and mental health pressures. For mine operators, the move signals continued expectation for structured psychosocial risk management alongside traditional safety systems on large iron ore operations.

Ardea Resources has secured more than $1 billion in backing from Sumitomo Metal Mining and Mitsubishi Corporation to advance its Goongarrie Hub nickel–cobalt project, part of the Kalgoorlie Nickel Project in Western Australia. The partners are targeting a high-pressure acid leach (HPAL) operation treating laterite ore to produce mixed hydroxide precipitate for battery supply chains, with front-end engineering design and approvals now the key gating steps. For geotechs and process engineers, the scale of HPAL infrastructure on deeply weathered profiles will drive complex foundation design, tailings storage, and water management requirements.