EACON Mining Technology has validated an autonomous haulage capability at Zijinshan copper-gold mine that keeps trucks running driverless through extended tunnel sections where GNSS/RTK positioning and network connectivity drop out. The system uses on-board perception and localisation to operate without full dependence on conventional high-definition maps, targeting long underground or covered haul segments rather than short blind spots. For mine planners and automation teams, this points to AHS designs that can tolerate sustained signal loss in complex pit–portal–tunnel layouts.

Brightstar Resources has nearly doubled the mineral resource estimate at its Two Mile Hill–Shillington deposit in Western Australia to 24.6Mt at 1.8g/t for 1.45Moz of gold, as part of ongoing mining studies for the Sandstone gold project. The revised MRE, covering both the tonalite-hosted Two Mile Hill intrusion and the adjacent Shillington shear-hosted mineralisation, materially upgrades the scale of potential open pit and underground options. Geotechnical and mine design teams will now be able to re-optimise pit shells, underground stoping layouts and scheduling around the larger, higher-confidence inventory.

Northern Star Resources has rejected a confidential all‑scrip takeover proposal from Gold Fields that valued the ASX‑listed gold producer at about $38 billion and sought 100 per cent of its fully paid ordinary shares. The board said the offer failed to reflect the “fundamental value” of its asset base, including its 50 per cent interest in the KCGM Super Pit in Kalgoorlie and other tier‑one Australian operations. The move signals continued confidence in Northern Star’s standalone growth pipeline and may delay further consolidation in the WA gold sector.