Caterpillar has confirmed that Denise Johnson, Group President of Resource Industries since 2016 and a key figure in expanding autonomous haulage and large mining truck platforms, will retire on 1 February 2027. Derrick York, currently President of Solar Turbines and a Caterpillar Senior Vice President overseeing industrial gas turbines and compressor sets, will become Group President of Resource Industries on 1 November 2026, with Johnson shifting to an advisory role. The handover timetable gives miners nearly a year of overlap to align major fleet, autonomy and support contracts with the incoming leadership.

Tech companies are in talks to buy equity in Anglo American to secure long-term copper and other data centre metals, as Comex copper trades near $6.52/lb and LME cash copper recently hit a record $14,822/t. Anglo’s planned merger with Teck Resources would create a roughly $90 billion group producing about 1.2 million tonnes of copper per year, controlling around 5% of global supply, but is still awaiting Chinese antitrust clearance tied to concentrate flows to local smelters. Wanblad also warned Anglo may close its Brazilian nickel operations at Codemin and Barro Alto if the EU blocks the $500 million sale to MMG despite proposed long-term European ferronickel supply commitments.

Wolong Electric and AEAUTO have entered China’s fast-growing diesel-to-electric mining truck conversion market, joining established players such as HATL (Fujian Hongda Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd) and Huigong Group’s Xingdong Lithium Battery Technology Co Ltd (XDLE). The move expands the supply base for high-capacity lithium battery systems and electric drivetrains tailored to large haul trucks operating in Chinese open pits. For mine operators, increased competition in conversion packages should sharpen pricing and accelerate retrofits of existing diesel fleets rather than full replacement purchases.