Fortescue Ltd has agreed to acquire the remaining 64% of Alta Copper Corp it does not already own via a Canadian Plan of Arrangement, offering Alta shareholders C$1.40 per share in cash. The deal would give Fortescue full control of Alta’s copper portfolio, positioning the iron ore major to expand further into large-scale red metal projects. For engineers and project teams, this signals potential acceleration of feasibility, permitting and infrastructure planning across Alta’s development assets under Fortescue’s balance sheet and project delivery model.

ABB has been selected to design and supply the complete electrical infrastructure for Vulcan Energy’s Phase One Lionheart geothermal lithium project in Germany’s Upper Rhine Valley, which will co-locate renewable power generation with lithium extraction and processing. The integrated plant will produce battery-grade lithium hydroxide monohydrate (LHM) for the European EV supply chain, requiring high-reliability power distribution, grid connection and process electrification. For engineers, the project signals growing demand for utility-scale, renewables-based electrical systems tightly coupled to hydrometallurgical lithium circuits.

Equinox Gold is divesting its Brazilian portfolio, agreeing to sell 100% interests in the Aurizona open-pit gold mine, the RDM Mine and the Bahia exploration complex to a CMOC Group subsidiary for US$1.015 billion. CMOC Chairman and CIO Liu Jianfeng framed the acquisition as a strategic move into gold, adding to a portfolio better known for copper and cobalt operations such as Tenke Fungurume. The deal signals continued Chinese capital deployment into established Brazilian gold assets, with potential changes ahead in mine planning, capital allocation and regional contractor pipelines.