Meeka Metals has reached its nameplate 600,000 tonnes per annum processing rate at the Andy Well gold operation in Western Australia, with the plant running at an annualised ~600ktpa through July and August and recording higher peak throughput over the period. An ore sorter is scheduled for commissioning in October, targeting higher feed grades and reduced mill load by rejecting low-grade material ahead of the existing circuit. For plant and mine planners, stable operation at nameplate before adding pre-concentration reduces ramp-up risk and supports more predictable metallurgical performance.

Greenland Mines has closed its US$35 million acquisition of the Sarfartoq rare earth project from Neo Performance Materials, securing a carbonatite-hosted NdPr deposit near Kangerlussuaq, about 60 km from Greenland’s main international airport. An independent Initial Assessment on the ST1 deposit alone, which occupies under 1% of the 191 km² licence, reports a pre-tax NPV of ~US$2.05 billion and IRR of 118.6%, based on Indicated and Inferred resources and a nine-year mine plan. The company plans immediate infill drilling, pilot-scale metallurgical test work, mine engineering and expanded environmental and social baseline studies to advance to pre-feasibility.

Western Australia will invest more than $900,000 in five 2027 Minerals Research Institute of Western Australia (MRIWA) PhD scholarships targeting safer, more efficient and lower-emission mining across the state. The funded projects will focus on critical operational challenges in WA’s resources sector, including improved mine safety systems and productivity in high-tonnage operations. For engineers, the programme signals future research capacity in areas such as low‑carbon extraction methods, advanced geotechnical characterisation and process optimisation tailored to WA orebodies.