BHP has appointed Brandon Craig as its new chief executive officer, succeeding Mike Henry at the helm of the world’s largest diversified miner. Craig steps up from within BHP’s leadership ranks, inheriting a portfolio dominated by iron ore, metallurgical coal, copper and nickel, with major operations in the Pilbara, Bowen Basin and South America. The transition signals continuity in large-scale bulk and base metals strategy, with implications for long-life asset investment, brownfield expansion decisions and capital allocation across BHP’s global open-pit and underground operations.

Orla Mining has secured SEMARNAT approval of the environmental impact assessment for Camino Rojo in Zacatecas, giving it all permits needed to complete the oxide open pit, including the northern layback, east–west pit expansion, and extensions to waste rock and low-grade stockpiles and related infrastructure. The EIA also authorises an underground exploration portal and decline, targeted to start in H2 2026, to define sulphide resources beneath the current pit and support a potential underground transition. Orla’s updated technical report outlines a 17‑year underground operation with initial capital of $608 million, sustaining capital of $489 million, and an IRR rising from 30% at $3,100/oz to 61% at $5,000/oz gold.

MST Global is preparing to launch a next‑generation underground digital network designed to simplify mine connectivity while expanding support for location tracking, voice, video and sensor data. The system targets more reliable communications in complex headings and declines, where signal propagation and power distribution typically limit Wi‑Fi and LTE coverage. For geotechnical and operations teams, denser, more resilient networks enable higher‑resolution monitoring of ground movement, equipment status and environmental conditions, supporting faster response to rockfall, gas or ventilation issues.