Applications have opened for South Australia’s latest Plan for Accelerating Exploration (PACE) Minerals program, offering co‑funding grants for drilling, geophysics and other greenfields exploration across the state. The scheme targets early‑stage work to advance prospects in copper, critical minerals and other commodities, with explorers able to offset direct exploration costs rather than tenure or corporate expenses. The Association of Mining and Exploration Companies (AMEC) has backed the move, signalling stronger state support for high‑risk drilling campaigns and geophysical surveys.

Caterpillar has opened the 17,000-square-foot (1,579 m²) Black Hills Engineering Design Center as a global hub for virtual reality and advanced visualisation in mining equipment development. Engineers can now design, test and refine machines in immersive VR environments before any physical prototype is built, shortening iteration cycles and exposing operators and maintainers to realistic training scenarios earlier in the design process. The centre supports Caterpillar teams worldwide across multiple machine platforms, enabling remote collaboration on ergonomics, sightlines and service access.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has secured more than C$1 billion in commercial agreements with Saudi Arabia, including 13 deals and MoUs spanning mining, critical minerals, LNG, hydrogen, renewable energy and carbon capture, plus plans for a foreign investment protection agreement by end-2027 and double-taxation talks. The move positions Canadian miners and energy firms to bid into Saudi Vision 2030 projects while diversifying away from US-centred trade exposure. AI firm Cohere’s strategic computing partnership with HUMAIN and BlackBerry’s work with Aramco Digital signal parallel collaboration on industrial digital infrastructure and secure operational technology.