Hertha Metals has broken ground on its $100 million Hertha Chalyx plant in Conroe, Texas, designed to produce about 10,000 tonnes per year of combined steel-grade and magnet-grade high-purity iron using domestic ore from Minnesota’s Iron Range and Texas natural gas. The facility, adjacent to the Pi100 pilot plant where 99.95% purity was achieved in August, will scale Hertha’s FLEXHERS process, which couples electric arc furnace technology with natural gas or hydrogen. First magnet-grade output is targeted for early 2028, feeding US NdFeB magnet makers that currently rely on China for an estimated 94% of high-purity iron.

PC Gold has identified a new high-grade North Link zone immediately north of the existing mineral resource estimate at its Spring Hill gold project in the Northern Territory, based on recent reverse-circulation drilling targeting mineralisation extensions. The North Link structure is interpreted to connect with known lodes within the current MRE footprint, potentially extending strike continuity and adding shallow, open-pittable ounces. For mine planners and geotechs, the result signals a need to revisit pit shell optimisation, geotechnical domains and slope design north of the present resource limits.

Horizon Gold has reported its strongest intercept yet at the Snook prospect within the Gum Creek project in Western Australia, with reverse-circulation drilling returning 44m at 5.08g/t gold from 145m, including 11m at 16.30g/t from 174m. The thick, high-grade zone at moderate depth points to a larger open pit shell and supports evaluation of underground mining scenarios beneath any eventual pit floor. For mine planners and geotechs, the result justifies updated pit optimisations, geotechnical domain modelling and closer-spaced drilling to refine continuity and rock mass conditions.