Blasting of the central and ventilation portals for the Groundrush Exploration Decline has been completed by Macmahon at the Central Tanami Project Joint Venture (CTPJV) in Australia’s Northern Territory, allowing underground development to move beyond surface boxcuts into fresh rock. Tanami Gold and MGX Resources each hold a 50% interest in the CTPJV, with the decline targeting the Groundrush orebody beneath the historic open pit. Portal establishment now enables installation of initial ground support, services and ventilation infrastructure critical for subsequent long-hole drilling and resource definition.

Chinese OEM Inner Mongolia North Hauler (NHL) has launched the NTE240E, a 240‑tonne payload battery-electric haul truck using a 3,100–4,100kWh pack aimed at large open-pit operations. The truck combines megawatt-level liquid‑cooled DC fast charging with side or top-mounted overhead line current collection, with a dual-gun system designed to take charge from 20% to 90% within a few hours and a brake energy recovery algorithm claimed to be 15% more efficient than industry norms. NHL estimates each unit cuts CO₂ emissions by about 2,000 tonnes per year and is planning hydrogen fuel cell, hybrid and autonomous-ready variants integrated with solar-powered charging and smart dispatch.

Weir has launched the ENDURON Optimil vertical stirred mill to cut energy use and operating costs in fine and ultra-fine grinding circuits as ore grades fall and power prices rise. The mill uses a vertical, high-intensity stirred design with a small footprint, targeting regrind and tertiary duties where conventional ball mills struggle with efficiency. For process engineers, the key play is retrofitting into existing circuits to reduce specific energy consumption per tonne and improve grind size control without major layout changes.