Rox Resources’ Youanmi gold project in Western Australia has its processing plant 39 per cent complete, with key equipment currently in transit and the first two United North underground levels developed. Ore stockpiling has commenced ahead of commissioning, signalling that stoping and plant tie-in are now the main gating steps to first gold. For mine planners and process engineers, the update points to near-term focus on ramp development, backfill sequencing and plant integration to de-risk the initial production ramp-up.

Vulcan Elements has partnered with the North Carolina Collaboratory and UNC-Chapel Hill chemist Yosuke Kanai to use quantum-mechanical simulations to predict how atomic-level changes affect rare earth magnet properties, backed by a $600,000 research award. The work feeds directly into Vulcan’s 1.1 million-square-foot Benson, North Carolina plant, designed for 10,000 t/y of magnet production and billed as the largest rare earth magnet factory outside China. Vulcan claims its material, technology, software, IP and ownership are fully decoupled from Chinese supply chains, aligning with its existing $1.4 billion US government-backed partnership with ReElement Technologies.

Anglo American’s steelmaking coal output jumped 53 per cent to 2.9Mt in Q3 2026, largely from ramped-up longwall production at the Moranbah North underground mine in Queensland. The surge comes as Anglo advances the sale of its Australian steelmaking coal portfolio to Dhilmar, signalling a strategic exit from assets including Moranbah North and potentially other Bowen Basin operations. For mine planners and contractors, the combination of elevated longwall volumes and impending ownership change points to near-term continuity of production but possible shifts in capital allocation and mine-life strategies.