PROK has opened a new idler manufacturing facility in Johannesburg to supply conveyor components for African mining and bulk materials handling operations. The plant will produce PROK’s conveyor idlers and rollers locally, reducing lead times compared with imports and supporting large overland and in-plant conveyor installations. The investment signals a push for regionalised supply of wear-critical components, which could improve availability and lifecycle support for high-capacity conveyor systems in South African and neighbouring mines.

KGHM Polska Miedź SA and BHP, via BHP World Exploration Inc, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to create a formal framework for cooperation on copper-focused exploration and development projects. The MoU initiates structured technical dialogue between the two majors on potential joint work, likely covering greenfield targeting, resource definition drilling and project evaluation. For engineers, the move signals possible future collaboration on large-scale porphyry copper systems, shared geoscience datasets and standardised approaches to resource modelling and project development.

Metso has signed an agreement with Gruvaktiebolaget Viscaria to supply key copper and iron ore process equipment for the restart of the Viscaria mine in Kiruna, Sweden, enabling the project to move into its execution phase. The plant is designed for 120,000 t/y of copper concentrate, positioning Viscaria to become Sweden’s second-largest copper producer. For process and plant engineers, the deal signals imminent demand for detailed flowsheet integration, brownfield tie-ins and Nordic-standard power, water and tailings interfaces.