Normet has opened a new Technology Center in Pirkkala, Finland, dedicated to research, development and testing of advanced underground mining technologies. The facility will act as a central hub for autonomy, robotics and mining-specific software development, supporting projects such as automated concrete spraying, mechanised scaling and digital fleet management. For mine operators and contractors, the centre signals faster deployment of field-tested solutions for harsh underground conditions, with a focus on improving safety-critical tasks and reducing manual exposure at the face.

The Mt Lyell copper–gold mine on Tasmania’s west coast has secured key approvals to restart after nearly 10 years in care and maintenance, with operator Sibanye-Stillwater planning to bring the historic underground operation back into production. The brownfields restart is expected to generate about 300 local jobs and re-establish Mt Lyell as a significant sulphide copper–gold producer in Australia. For geotechnical and mining teams, the approval signals renewed demand for underground rehabilitation, ground support upgrades and modernised tailings and water management on a legacy site.

Western Australian explorers Corazon Mining, Javelin Minerals and Neometals are accelerating drilling across gold and copper targets, with Corazon defining a sizeable conceptual sulphide target around the historic Chalice nickel–copper–PGE mine near Leinster. Javelin is planning first-pass drilling on two previously untested magnetic anomalies interpreted as potential iron-oxide copper–gold (IOCG) systems, while also following up shallow high-grade gold intercepts at its Eastern Goldfields tenements. Neometals is advancing resource growth and deeper drilling on its Mt Edwards nickel–cobalt project, signalling continued appetite for base and precious metal discoveries in mature belts.