Allied Critical Metals has secured US$40 million – a US$25 million equity placement at C$2.05 per share plus a US$15 million bond or senior loan – to fully fund a pilot tungsten plant at its Vila Verde project in Portugal, licensed for 150,000 tonnes per year of ore throughput over five years. The existing shareholder providing the loan will offtake 50% of pilot tungsten concentrates at a floor price of US$1,000/mtu, rising to 75% if plant capacity doubles. Funds will also advance the Borralha project, scoped for an 11‑year mine producing 1,708 tonnes of WO₃ annually.

ARENA will provide up to A$38.1 million to PLS Group to build a lower‑emission lithium processing demonstration plant at the Pilgangoora operation in Western Australia, trialling Calix Limited’s electric‑kiln calcination technology. The electrically heated kiln aims to replace conventional fossil‑fuel‑fired calcination in spodumene processing, directly targeting one of the most energy‑ and carbon‑intensive steps in lithium concentrate upgrading. If successful at demonstration scale, the process could materially cut Scope 1 emissions from hard‑rock lithium refineries and influence future plant designs across the Pilbara.

Tru-Trac and UK distributor BREC Ltd will make their first joint Hillhead appearance showcasing belt-tracking and conveyor protection hardware aimed at extending belt life, improving uptime and cutting operating costs on high-duty quarry and mining conveyors. Appointed as Tru-Trac’s UK distributor in late 2024, BREC reports rapidly growing demand from operators seeking to retrofit existing conveyors rather than undertake full system replacements. For maintenance teams, the partnership signals wider local availability of engineered tracking idlers and related components, plus UK-based technical support for installation and optimisation.