Flexco is using the Queensland Mining & Engineering Exhibition in Mackay to showcase next‑generation conveyor reliability tools for coal operations facing tighter maintenance windows and labour shortages. The company is focusing on fast-install belt cleaners, condition‑monitoring hardware and data platforms that allow remote inspection of idlers, pulleys and splices without shutting down production. For mine operators, the pitch is higher conveyor availability on long overland and plant belts, reduced manual belt-walks, and more predictable shutdown planning in high‑throughput Queensland coal plants.

Aclara Resources has secured its Environmental Qualification Resolution for the Penco Module ionic clay rare earth project near Penco, 430 km south of Santiago, concluding a permitting process that ran for more than four years. The project is scoped to produce about 774 tonnes of rare earth oxides annually over 14 years, with a 2021 PEA outlining initial capital of $119 million, an after-tax NPV of $178 million at a 5% discount rate, a 23% IRR and a 4.7-year payback. Penco ore will ultimately feed Aclara’s planned commercial separation plant in Louisiana, supported by a Virginia Tech pilot facility producing both light and heavy rare earth oxides.

Deutsche Bank has cut its Q3 2026 gold price target by 22%, now forecasting an average of $4,300/oz versus a previous estimate above $5,500/oz, while keeping a Q4 target of $4,800/oz, both still above the current ~$4,150/oz spot price. Analyst Michael Hsueh attributes the downgrade to Fed repricing and resilient US macro data, with scenarios in which three to four rate hikes could push gold down towards $3,800/oz. The bank notes continued ETF outflows but persistent central bank buying, and maintains a longer-term upside case of up to $8,000/oz on de-dollarisation.