H-Power plc has completed phase one of its Joint Development Agreement with Komatsu to assess an ammonia-fuelled engine platform and is moving into phase two to design and integrate its proprietary ammonia cracking technology into Komatsu machinery. The programme focuses on on-board conversion of ammonia to hydrogen-rich fuel gas, aiming to cut diesel use and CO₂ emissions in large mining equipment without major changes to existing engine architecture. For mine operators, this signals potential future options for low-carbon haul trucks and excavators where grid power or full battery electrification is impractical.

Normet has launched the HX-Bolt hybrid rock reinforcement system for underground mines, combining mechanical, frictional and bonded anchorage in a single bolt to handle variable and evolving ground conditions. The design targets rapid dynamic support immediately after installation while also providing long-term load capacity, aiming to bridge the gap between traditional mechanical anchors and fully grouted bolts in seismically active headings and development drives. For geotechnical engineers, the key change is a single bolt type that can be tuned to different ground behaviours without wholesale redesign of support patterns.

Alice Queen has remobilised a diamond drill rig to the Horn Island gold project in the Torres Strait, its first drilling there in several years, to test a recently defined exploration target. The rig will support a multi‑phase programme aimed at expanding known mineralisation around existing Horn Island pit shells and conceptual targets, rather than greenfield step‑outs. For geotechs and mine planners, new core data from this historically under‑drilled island deposit will refine structural models, grade continuity assumptions and potential open‑pit or underground design envelopes.