Vulcan Elements has partnered with the North Carolina Collaboratory and UNC-Chapel Hill chemist Yosuke Kanai to use quantum-mechanical simulations to predict how atomic-level changes affect rare earth magnet properties, backed by a $600,000 research award. The work feeds directly into Vulcan’s 1.1 million-square-foot Benson, North Carolina plant, designed for 10,000 t/y of magnet production and billed as the largest rare earth magnet factory outside China. Vulcan claims its material, technology, software, IP and ownership are fully decoupled from Chinese supply chains, aligning with its existing $1.4 billion US government-backed partnership with ReElement Technologies.

Northern Star Resources has completed the tie-in of its expanded KCGM processing plant in Western Australia, with commissioning of the integrated circuit now under way ahead of a planned production ramp-up in the second half of FY27. Early commissioning is focused on achieving stable, sustained operating conditions across the enlarged plant, rather than immediate throughput gains. For plant and process engineers, the timeline signals when additional milling, crushing and gold recovery capacity at KCGM is expected to start contributing materially to output and unit cost performance.

Metso has agreed to acquire Italbronze, a Brazilian producer of high‑performance bronze alloy components used in crusher wear parts and other heavy industrial equipment. The deal secures in‑house manufacture of large bronze bushings and other precision castings that are critical for Metso’s cone and gyratory crusher aftermarket, particularly in high‑load, high‑abrasion applications. Vertical integration of this casting and machining capacity in Brazil should reduce supply risk and lead times for spares across Metso’s global crushing installed base.