Vale, Caterpillar and dealer Sotreq have agreed to expand Vale’s autonomous haulage fleet in the Northern System in Pará from 14 Cat MineStar Command trucks today to about 90 units by 2028, including models rated up to 400 tonnes. Deployment will roll out across the Serra Norte and Serra Sul iron ore units over five years, building on autonomous operations that started in 2019. Vale reports up to 15% gains in operational performance, up to 7.5% fuel savings and more than 260 staff already retrained for digital and supervisory roles.

McEwen Mining has secured Mexican federal approval to extend the environmental impact assessment for its El Gallo project in Sinaloa, clearing the way for Phase 1 mill construction targeted to start mid-2026 and first gold pour in 2027. Phase 1 of the Fenix redevelopment will reprocess material from the existing historical leach pad via a new mill and leach circuit, aiming for about 20,000 oz gold-equivalent per year over 10 years, with initial capex estimated at US$42 million. A contemplated Phase 2 would add in-situ silver deposits for an extra US$24 million, potentially extending mine life beyond the current plan.

Sunrise Energy Metals has raised a further A$32.5 million via a 5 million-share placement at A$6.50 to fund pre-construction at its Syerston scandium project in New South Wales, taking total recent equity financing to about A$105 million, with A$59 million still subject to shareholder approval and a potential US EXIM loan of $67 million pending. The Syerston deposit hosts nearly 46 million measured and indicated tonnes grading 414 ppm scandium and is designed to produce about 60 tonnes of scandium per year over a 32-year mine life. Lockheed Martin has already signalled offtake interest for roughly 25% of annual output under the Australia–US critical minerals pact, providing early demand visibility for project development decisions.