XCMG has signed a memorandum of understanding with Chilean copper major Codelco in Santiago on 3 March, following Codelco Chairman Máximo Pacheco’s visit to XCMG’s Xuzhou manufacturing base in February. The agreement, signed by XCMG Vice President Liu Jiansen and Codelco Chief Procurement Officer Mauricio Acuña, centres on expanding supply of large-scale mining equipment and support services to Codelco’s open-pit and underground copper operations. For engineers, the deal signals intensifying competition with established OEMs on haul trucks, loaders and drilling fleets in high-altitude Andean conditions.

Oklahoma is positioning itself as a critical minerals processing hub rather than a mining state, anchored by Emirates Global Aluminium’s proposed US$4 billion primary aluminium smelter at the Port of Inola on the McClellan–Kerr Arkansas River system and backed by surplus low‑cost power from wind and natural gas. USA Rare Earth is building a vertically integrated rare earth magnet plant in Stillwater with about US$1.6 billion in public and private funding, while Stardust Power (NASDAQ: SDST) is advancing a lithium refinery in Muskogee with Sumitomo offtake and key permits secured. The cluster targets defence and aerospace demand around Tinker Air Force Base and other installations, aiming to plug the “missing middle” between raw mineral supply and finished components.

Thiess, together with MACA and RTL Mining and Earthworks, has visited Norton Gold Fields’ Mulgarrie operation near Kalgoorlie, where an autonomous haulage system (AHS) trial using EACON Mining Technology’s retrofitted trucks is under way. The trial, run with Norton Gold Fields (owned by Zijin Mining Group), is testing retrofit autonomy on an existing truck fleet rather than deploying factory-built autonomous units. For mine operators, successful validation would support lower‑capex conversion of conventional haul trucks to AHS across similar Australian gold and bulk operations.