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The Metals Royalty Company has listed on Nasdaq under ticker TMCR, offering investors a royalty exposure to TMC’s NORI deep-sea polymetallic nodule project in the Pacific Ocean targeting nickel, cobalt and copper. Chief executive Brian Paes-Braga positions the structure as a conventional mining royalty model applied offshore, with returns linked to future production from nodules on the Clarion-Clipperton-type seabed rather than equity in TMC (NASDAQ: TMCWW). For mining financiers and project developers, the move signals growing capital-market appetite for seabed resource plays despite unresolved regulatory and production-risk questions.

Uranium Energy Corp has started production at its Burke Hollow project in Texas, the first new US in-situ recovery (ISR) uranium operation in more than a decade and now the country’s largest ISR wellfield, with measured and indicated resources above 6.15 million lb on a 20,000-acre property. The Vancouver-based miner now runs two active ISR operations, adding Burke Hollow to Christensen Ranch in Wyoming, with a third planned at Ludeman next year. ISR solutions from Burke Hollow will be piped to the Hobson Central Processing Plant, licensed for up to 4 million lb U₃O₈ per year.

First Quantum Minerals has partnered with the International Finance Corporation to align the Taca Taca copper project in Salta Province, Argentina, with IFC Performance Standards on Environmental and Social Sustainability, a move aimed at improving access to debt financing. The open-pit project is scoped for 40 Mtpa throughput with expansion potential to 60 Mtpa, requiring about $4.2–5.25 billion in capex and targeting roughly 291,000 tonnes of copper per year over the first decade of a 35‑year mine life. Construction is expected to create up to 4,000 jobs and 2,000 operational roles, with IFC emphasising local skills development and infrastructure build‑out.

Gold jumped as much as 3% to a three-week high above $4,850/oz after the US and Iran agreed a two-week ceasefire, easing fears that Middle East-driven oil price spikes would lock in higher inflation and delay US Federal Reserve rate cuts. Prices are still down about 9% since the war began and remain below the near-$5,600/oz record hit earlier in 2026, with analysts warning the rebound is fragile and highly sensitive to any breakdown around the Strait of Hormuz. Longer term, Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo maintain bullish targets of $5,400/oz and $6,300/oz respectively.

Rock Tech Lithium has secured a C$200 million investment from Canadian developer BMI Group to advance its Red Rock lithium converter in northern Ontario, designed to produce up to 32,000 tonnes per year of battery-grade lithium carbonate equivalent using a fully engineered and permitted converter design from its Guben, Germany operation. The 337-acre former Norampac paper mill site, about 100 km east of Thunder Bay, offers rail and road access plus roughly 120 MW of power capacity, with up to C$30 million earmarked for engineering, permitting and early works ahead of a 2026 final investment decision. Feedstock is planned from Rock Tech’s Georgia Lake project 60 km north, which has 10.6 million indicated tonnes at 0.88% Li₂O and 4.2 million inferred tonnes at 1% Li₂O, with mine capex estimated at about C$291 million for a nine-year life and converter start-up targeted for 2029.

American Ocean Minerals Corp. is merging with Odyssey Marine Exploration in an all‑stock reverse takeover to form a roughly $1 billion Nasdaq‑listed deep‑sea miner (ticker AOMC), backed by over $225 million in recent equity financings and chaired by former Rio Tinto CEO Tom Albanese. The company is assembling a polymetallic nodule portfolio across the Cook Islands EEZ and US‑regulated international waters, including the Clarion‑Clipperton Zone and Penrhyn Basin, targeting nickel, copper, cobalt, manganese, iron and rare earths. AOMC has already met compliance for two US exploration applications under the Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act, covering more than 1.4 billion tonnes of inferred resources and moving towards prefeasibility and environmental studies as regulation evolves.

Perenti’s underground mining arm Barminco has secured a A$180 million extension to its alliance-style contract with Regis Resources at the Duketon Operations in Western Australia’s Goldfields, building on the three-year agreement first announced on 2 April 2024. The extension keeps Barminco in place for additional years of underground development and production services, locking in fleet, workforce and ground support planning across multiple Duketon orebodies. Contractors and suppliers can expect continued demand for underground drilling, blasting, ventilation, and backfill consumables tied to Regis’ ongoing gold production strategy.

AngloGold Ashanti has deployed a Normet Utimec LF 600 Transmixer SD battery-electric concrete mixer at its Cuiabá underground gold mine in Brazil, claimed as the first electric concrete mixer operating in the country. The SmartDrive unit will undergo an 18‑month trial, targeting reduced diesel use and lower heat and exhaust loads in confined headings. For geotechnical and shotcrete operations, the trial will test whether battery haul and mixing cycles can maintain required concrete quality and placement rates without compromising ventilation design.

First Quantum Minerals has received formal approval from the Government of Panama to remove, process and export stockpiled ore at the 85 Mt/y Cobre Panamá copper complex, limited to material mined before the November 2023 suspension. The campaign will draw down existing ROM and crushed ore stockpiles to reduce geotechnical and environmental risks from long-term surface storage, including potential slope instability and contact water management issues. Processing will use the existing concentrator and tailings facilities under previously permitted operating parameters.

Weir’s Heavy Bay Foundry in Gqeberha, Eastern Cape is undergoing a major expansion to serve as a central manufacturing hub in the company’s global supply chain for large high-performance cast components. The upgraded facility will supply castings for Weir’s heavy-duty slurry pumps, screening equipment and crushers, consolidating production that was previously spread across multiple sites. For mining OEM and project engineers, the move signals increased casting capacity and shorter lead times for critical wear parts and process equipment.

Orica Digital Solutions has launched a next-generation GroundProbe geotechnical monitoring platform aimed at mine slope stability, combining “future-ready” hardware with new software workflows for faster, higher-confidence decisions. The system is designed for quick, low-touch deployment and intuitive, risk-based monitoring workflows so small geotechnical teams can manage continuous radar or laser-based surveillance with less manual intervention. Orica is pitching the upgrade at operations needing rapid setup and streamlined data interpretation to support day-to-day geotechnical risk management around highwalls, tailings and pit ramps.

AI-driven subsurface intelligence is shifting mining from drilling more holes to connecting fragmented datasets, with 51% of geoprofessionals already using or considering AI despite only 39% of organisations having a defined data framework. At OceanaGold’s Waihi mine in New Zealand, a cloud-based AI tool re-analysed legacy drill data to identify a previously unmodelled vein in 60 minutes, adding an estimated US$10 million in value, while PT Stargate reports a 10% gain in grade control efficiency and an 80% reduction in drilling. Dynamic, traceable geological models are emerging as key to faster permitting, more defensible risk assessments, and tighter control of drilling-related environmental impacts.

Bellevue Gold has reported record underlying free cash flow for the March 2026 quarter at its Bellevue operation in Western Australia, driven by higher head grades and stronger mill performance as the project moves through ramp-up. The underground mine, targeting more than 200,000oz per annum at nameplate, is increasing stoping tonnage from the Armand and Deacon lodes while continuing development of new high-grade panels. Management is prioritising accelerated decline advance and ventilation upgrades to support higher ore production rates and sustain the improved grade profile.

Regis Resources has added $198 million in cash and bullion in the latest quarter, taking its liquidity buffer to around $1 billion as higher output from its Duketon operations and Tropicana joint venture feeds through to the balance sheet. Management is prioritising debt reduction and disciplined capital allocation over major new acquisitions, while continuing brownfields drilling around Garden Well and Rosemont to extend open-pit and underground mine lives. The stronger balance sheet gives Regis more flexibility to fund cutbacks, waste stripping and potential plant upgrades without stressing project cashflows.

Perenti has secured a further extension to its underground mining services contract with Regis Resources at the Duketon gold operations in Western Australia, reinforcing a long-running contractor–owner relationship on the multi-mine complex. The deal keeps Barminco, Perenti’s underground division, in place for core services such as jumbo development, production drilling, load-and-haul and ground support across Duketon’s underground orebodies. Continuity of a single contractor on a mature site like Duketon typically allows tighter control of unit costs, ground control practices and equipment maintenance strategies.

Ramelius Resources has kept its FY26 production guidance of 260,000–300,000 ounces of gold despite a cyclone, higher diesel prices and operational disruptions affecting its March quarter output. Weather-related access issues and fuel cost inflation have raised unit mining and haulage costs at its Western Australian open pits, pressuring margins and short-term strip ratios. Maintaining guidance signals continued confidence in ore reserve quality and mill performance, but leaves limited buffer for further weather or supply-chain shocks in upcoming quarters.

MAX Power Mining has drilled the Bracken Well, completed a high‑resolution 3D seismic survey over the Lawson Discovery and the wider 15‑19 discovery area, and identified a Lawson “look‑a‑like” target 12 km southwest using legacy 2D seismic, materially enlarging its natural hydrogen footprint along Saskatchewan’s 475‑km Genesis Trend. Core desorption tests from Cambrian Basal sands above the Basement Complex hydrogen zone returned helium up to 8.7% (average 4.4%), leveraging historically high helium prices. Backed by a C$20.5 million raise, MAX Power plans a Lawson follow‑up well, Bracken completion and further seismic across Genesis and Grasslands, with Bell Canada’s proposed mega data centre nearby adding potential baseload demand.

Allied Critical Metals’ Borralha project in northern Portugal has intersected over 200 metres of visible tungsten mineralisation at the new Venise breccia target, 400 metres from the Santa Helena breccia complex, sending its shares up 8% to C$1.88 and valuing the company at C$317 million. A March PEA for Santa Helena alone, based on 13 Mt at 0.21% WO₃ (measured and indicated) and 7 Mt at 0.18% WO₃ (inferred), outlines an 11‑year mine producing 1,708 t/y WO₃ with an after-tax NPV of C$473 million and 49% IRR. Venise, defined within a 20,000‑metre drill programme and historically mapped but never systematically tested, was excluded from the PEA and is now central to plans to grow a district-scale tungsten system designated a strategic national project by idD Portugal Defence.

BRICS+ central banks now hold about 6,000 tonnes of gold, or 17.4% of global reserves, up from 11.2% in 2019, with Russia (2,336 tonnes), China (2,298 tonnes) and India (880 tonnes) the largest holders. Annual official-sector gold buying has averaged roughly 1,000 tonnes over the past four years, doubling after 2022 sanctions on Russia, and BRICS+ countries accounted for more than half of purchases between 2020 and 2024. The report flags Saudi Arabia as a potential “wild card”, noting that a shift to a 5% gold allocation could alone match projected total central bank demand for 2026.

Copper’s early-2026 rally above $14,500/t has fully reversed, with prices now around $12,000/t and down 2.5% year-to-date after the Iran war and Strait of Hormuz disruptions pushed energy costs higher and clouded global growth. Goldman Sachs, led by analyst Aurelia Waltham, has cut its 2026 base-case copper target to $12,650/t from $12,850/t, versus an estimated “fair value” of about $11,100/t, and warns of a “severely adverse” downside scenario if the strait stays blocked. For project modellers and mine planners, the bank’s note signals weaker near-term demand assumptions and greater price risk around expansion and hedging decisions.

Revival Gold’s 2025 drilling at the past-producing Mercur gold project in Utah returned one of its strongest South Mercur intercepts to date, with hole RMC25-031 cutting 74 m at 2.8 g/t Au from 91 m downhole, including 13 m at 8 g/t from 13 m depth, and RMC25-032 intersecting 84 m at 1.1 g/t from 14 m. The company, which now owns 100% of Mercur after buying Barrick’s remaining stake, is advancing a heap leach operation based on a PEA outlining US$208 million capex for a 10-year, 95,000 oz/y mine. A 16,000 m follow-up drilling and engineering programme will feed into a pre-feasibility study targeted for Q1 2027, ahead of a potential construction decision in 2028 and first production in 2029.

MAXAM Tire has added a 45/65R45 size to its MS406 E4/L4 off-the-road tyre line, targeting heavy loader applications in mining and large quarry operations. The MS406 design uses a deep tread pattern and reinforced casing to handle high load cycles and abrasive conditions, aiming to extend service life and reduce unplanned downtime on large wheel loaders. For mine operators, the new size broadens fitment options on 45-inch rims, supporting tyre standardisation across mixed fleets and tighter cost-per-hour control.

Pilot Crushtec will use the Hillhead 2026 show (23–25 June, UK, c.20,000 visitors expected) to launch its latest-generation TwisterTrac VS350E Stage V mobile crusher and push for an expanded European dealer network. The VS350E, a track-mounted vertical shaft impact unit, is configured for quarrying, construction and recycling applications where EU Stage V emissions compliance is now mandatory. Stronger distribution in Europe signals more local support and parts availability for high-spec mobile crushing fleets on both greenfield and brownfield sites.

McEwen Copper is seeking about $4 billion in financing, including export-credit support from agencies such as the US Export-Import Bank and the US International Development Finance Corp., to build the Los Azules copper project in Argentina. The feasibility-stage operation targets copper cathode production, not concentrate, with planned output of 205,000 tonnes per year for the first five years, then averaging 148,000 tonnes over a projected 22-year mine life, extendable to 33 years. Backers include Stellantis and Rio Tinto’s Nuton, with a $300 million IPO and first production by 2030 under consideration.

Minerals Council of Australia has been confirmed as Endorsing Partner for the Global Resources Innovation Expo (GRX26), positioning the event as a ‘by industry, for industry’ platform for Australia’s mining and METS sector. The MCA, the peak body for major iron ore, coal, gold, copper and critical minerals producers, will use the partnership to promote technology-led productivity, decarbonisation and skills development. For engineers and suppliers, GRX26 now offers a more direct channel to operators and policy influencers shaping mine automation, electrification and processing innovation in Australia.

Sandvik has launched the DD423i automated twin-boom development drill rig, built on the DD422i platform but engineered for higher drilling accuracy, automation readiness and data integration in underground hard-rock mines. The rig is designed for multi-face development with intelligent drilling controls, compatibility with Sandvik’s AutoMine and OptiMine systems, and upgraded onboard diagnostics to reduce unplanned downtime. For mine engineers, the DD423i targets tighter drill-and-blast control, improved overbreak management and more consistent advance per blast in high-cost development headings.

St George Mining has signed an MoU with Boston Metal to trial molten oxide electrolysis (MOE) for niobium production at St George’s 100%-owned Araxá niobium-rare earths project in Minas Gerais, Brazil. The joint project will test MOE’s ability to improve niobium recovery and processing efficiency compared with conventional pyrometallurgical and hydrometallurgical routes. For mine developers and metallurgists, the trial will indicate whether MOE can offer a lower-emission, potentially lower-cost flowsheet option for future niobium and REE concentrate processing at Araxá-scale deposits.

Core Lithium has awarded NRW Pty Ltd a circa A$50 million surface mining services contract for open-pit mining at the Grants deposit within the wholly owned Finniss Lithium Operation in Australia’s Northern Territory. The package covers all key activities required to deliver ore from the Grants pit, including drill-and-blast, load-and-haul, and associated mine services for the spodumene-bearing pegmatite. For geotechnical and mine planners, the award signals continued development of Finniss as a conventional truck-and-shovel open pit rather than an early shift to underground methods.

KGL Resources has secured a $433 million (US$300 million) streaming agreement with Wheaton Precious Metals to advance its Jervois copper project in the Northern Territory, covering a significant portion of upfront development capital. The deal, structured as a precious metals stream over future by-product output, is intended to accelerate mine construction and de-risk financing compared with conventional debt. For geotechnical and mining teams, the funding clarity signals likely progression to detailed underground design, pit optimisation and long-lead procurement on a compressed schedule.

Tungsten Mining is preparing a major drilling campaign at its Watershed tungsten project in north Queensland, targeting extensions to known scheelite mineralisation within the existing open-pittable resource envelope. The program will use multi‑rig reverse circulation and diamond drilling to tighten spacing on priority lodes and test down‑dip continuity, aiming to upgrade Inferred tonnes to Indicated and support a revised mine plan. For geotechs and mine planners, new structural and geometallurgical data from fresh core could materially change pit slope design, dilution assumptions and processing flowsheet options.

Queensland has declared the Sugarbag Hill ultra-high purity quartz sand venture a prescribed project, fast-tracking approvals under the State Development and Public Works Organisation Act. The deposit is being positioned as a source of ultra-low impurity silica feedstock for solar PV and semiconductor supply chains, with processing to focus on tight control of trace elements such as Fe, Al and Ti. The status signals priority for associated infrastructure, including haul roads, power and water connections, which will be critical for meeting stringent product specification and export logistics.

Antipa Minerals has upgraded the mineral resource for its 100 per cent-owned Minyari gold–copper–silver project in Western Australia’s Paterson Province, signalling stronger standalone development potential. The update covers the Minyari and WACA deposits, where previous drilling defined near-surface, high-grade mineralisation amenable to open-pit and potential underground mining, with gold, copper and silver reported over multiple lodes. For geotechnical and mine planners, the revised resource inventory and geometry will directly influence pit shell optimisation, underground access design and potential processing plant scale on a remote greenfields site.

South Australia has appointed Suzanne Hunt as director of the state’s Geological Survey, bringing three decades of geoscience experience to the agency that underpins exploration targeting, stratigraphic mapping and pre-competitive data releases. Hunt will oversee statewide geophysical surveys, drill core libraries and 3D basin and crustal models that guide greenfields exploration and mine expansion decisions. Her leadership is expected to influence how South Australia prioritises deep-cover exploration, critical minerals prospectivity and integration of Geoscience Australia datasets into state-scale resource assessments.

Codelco and Chinese OEM SANY have completed a 680 km round-trip pilot of a 100% electric haul truck carrying 27 t of copper concentrate between the Radomiro Tomic Division and Angamos Port in northern Chile. The test ran across the Atacama Desert, exposing the vehicle to long-distance, high-temperature, low-humidity operating conditions typical of bulk copper logistics from mine to port. Results will inform future fleet decarbonisation strategies for long-haul mine-port corridors, including charging infrastructure siting and duty-cycle planning.

Atoms, the “physical AI” company founded by former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick, has completed its acquisition of autonomous haulage specialist Pronto, which now becomes the core technology engine of the new Atoms Mining division. The unit is one of three Atoms business lines focused on digitising physical operations using purpose-built, intelligent machines, signalling deeper integration of Pronto’s retrofit autonomy stacks and perception systems into mine fleets. For mine operators, this points to accelerated deployment of OEM-agnostic autonomy and data-rich fleet control across brownfield truck and equipment platforms.

Panama plans to authorise First Quantum to process and export about 38 million tonnes of stockpiled ore at the shuttered Cobre Panama complex, expected to yield roughly 70,000 tonnes of copper and take around 12 months once a three‑month ramp‑up is complete. Commerce and Industries Minister Julio Moltó expects the resolution by Tuesday, enabling shipments that could offset 2026 care‑and‑maintenance costs and add about 700 direct jobs to the current 1,600‑strong workforce. Authorities have already sold 122,000 tonnes of concentrate, generating nearly $30 million in royalties, while a 150 MW power unit has been restarted to support site maintenance and the national grid.

Versamet Royalties has agreed a US$360 million cornerstone gold stream on Skeena Resources’ Eskay Creek open-pit redevelopment in British Columbia’s Golden Triangle, securing 3.5% of payable gold for life-of-mine with no caps, step-downs or buyback rights and paying 10% of spot for delivered ounces. Eskay Creek, 49% built and targeting first production in Q2 2027, has 50.1 million tonnes at 2.6 g/t Au and 63 g/t Ag, with a 2023 study projecting 455,000 gold-equivalent oz per year for the first five years. The stream, expected to yield Versamet over 10,000 oz Au annually initially and lift its Canadian exposure to ~50% by 2028, is funded via an expanded credit package including a US$250 million revolver and new US$150 million term facility.

Altius Minerals has acquired a 9.9% stake in TNR Gold for C$4.2 million, buying 23.5 million shares at C$0.1775 each to expand its portfolio of royalty-linked equity positions. The deal gives Altius indirect exposure to TNR’s 0.4% NSR on McEwen’s Los Azules copper project, a 7% NPR on Batidero I and II at the Josemaria copper project (Lundin–BHP JV), and a 1.5% NSR on Ganfeng’s Mariana lithium project in Argentina. TNR also brings a 90% interest in the Shotgun gold project in Alaska, with 705,960 oz inferred resources.

New drilling at Vizsla Copper’s Poplar project in central British Columbia has extended the Thira porphyry system 200 metres north, with hole TH26-151 cutting 675 metres from 32 metres downhole grading 0.26% copper and 0.015% molybdenum, including 435 metres at 0.31% copper and 0.022% molybdenum from 198 metres. Together with hole TH26-148 (483 metres at 0.26% copper, 0.016% molybdenum from 9 metres), mineralisation now spans at least 800 metres east–west and 700 metres north–south and remains open. The 8,000‑metre programme is testing multiple porphyry targets along an 8 km alteration corridor within a 470 sq. km, road-accessible district 38 km from Imperial Metals’ Huckleberry mine.

Liberty Gold’s Black Pine oxide gold project in southeastern Idaho has entered the US National Environmental Policy Act process, with the US Forest Service issuing a notice of intent to prepare a full environmental impact statement covering public scoping, technical studies and coordinated federal–state environmental analysis. The project, in the Great Basin, holds nearly 4.2 million oz indicated and is scoped to produce about 2.2 million oz over a 17‑year mine life, and is now a FAST‑41 covered project with a published, integrated permitting schedule. Idaho has committed to align state permitting with FAST‑41, making Black Pine the first precious metals mine to operate under a single coordinated federal–state framework, while feasibility‑level work continues toward a year‑end technical report.

France’s Eramet and Chile’s state miner ENAMI are heading to court over the Salares Altoandinos lithium project, a Cold War-era CEOL licensing relic now colliding with Eramet’s 1,200 sq. km of claims covering 99% of the La Isla and Aguilar salt flats in the Atacama. ENAMI has selected Rio Tinto’s $415 million bid, which includes its direct lithium extraction process and access to the Rincon pilot plant, for a project estimated at 4.5 million tonnes lithium and $3 billion capex. A dispute lasting up to two years, possibly moving to international arbitration, could delay Chile’s plan to double lithium output to about 500,000 tonnes annually by 2035 and complicate Kast’s new mining agenda.

The White House has named Highland Copper’s Copperwood project in Michigan, alongside Ivanhoe Electric, Rio Tinto and Wieland, as part of a push to expand US copper mining, smelting and fabrication capacity following President Trump’s tariff adjustments on steel, aluminium and copper derivatives. Copperwood is a fully permitted underground room-and-pillar mine designed to process about 6,800 tonnes per day over an 11-year life, producing roughly 64.6 million lb of copper and 107,000 oz of silver annually, with initial capex estimated at $391 million. The US Export-Import Bank has issued a $250 million letter of interest, and Highland’s shares rose 7.4% in Toronto, signalling stronger financing and policy backing for project execution.

Boonray Technology has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with China Railway 21st Bureau Group Co Ltd to deploy electric and autonomous mining trucks and supporting digital systems across the contractor’s large mine construction and contract mining portfolio. The partnership targets integrated fleets combining Boonray’s autonomous haul trucks with its fleet management and remote supervision platforms on China Railway 21st Bureau’s major open-pit projects. For mine owners, this signals wider availability of turnkey autonomous haulage packages embedded directly into EPC and contract mining bids in China.

OceanaGold’s Didipio gold-copper mine in the Philippines is ramping underground production from 1.7 Mt/y to 2.5 Mt/y with a new Sandvik load and haul fleet now arriving on site. The order comprises two LH621i 21 t-capacity loaders, three TH663i 63 t trucks and one rebuilt TH663 truck, replacing older units to support higher ore hoisting rates. The fleet renewal targets lower unit mining costs, improved fuel and tyre performance, and more consistent cycle times in the deepening underground operation.

Global mining majors added $250 billion in value in early 2026, lifting the MINING.COM Top 50 to a combined $2.41 trillion despite the US–Iran war and volatile gold at about $4,700/oz and silver above $70/oz, both off record spikes. BHP briefly exceeded a $200 billion market capitalisation, copper contributed $7.95 billion to its half‑year operating earnings, and six miners – including Agnico Eagle, Zijin Mining, Southern Copper and Newmont – now sit in the $100‑billion club. At the other end, Amman Minerals fell 27% on Indonesian smelter delays and Ivanhoe Mines cut Kamoa‑Kakula 2026 copper guidance to 290,000–330,000 tonnes, dropping it below the $18 billion Top 50 cut‑off.

Canadian processor pH7 Technologies is expanding its Vancouver facility, backed by up to C$4 million from NRC IRAP, to scale its organo-electrochemical platform that recovers platinum, palladium and rhodium from secondary materials without toxic reagents or tailings wastewater. The commercial plant already processes spent catalytic converters, producing 30,000–40,000 oz of platinum-equivalent PGMs per year under a tolling and offtake model involving partners such as Mitsubishi. pH7 is now piloting electrochemically generated oxidants to heap leach chalcopyrite and other sulphide ores without cyanide, targeting on-site mine deployment within 1–2 years across South America, Africa and Australia.

Dellner Bubenzer is supplying a wide range of industrial brakes and couplings for mining hoists, slewing drives and belt conveyors, developed in long-term collaboration with OEMs. The company focuses on both service and emergency braking solutions tailored to heavy-duty mining duty cycles and harsh environments, addressing controlled hoisting, precise slewing and high-tension conveyor stopping. For engineers, the key point is an integrated approach to drivetrain and braking design, rather than bolt-on safety systems, across multiple critical mining applications.

China’s Zijin Mining is expanding RG Gold’s Raygorodok operation in Kazakhstan with a $500 million processing plant while deploying SKRI’s ‘phytocapture’ system, planting over 100,000 Scots pines across more than 20 hectares about 1.7 km downwind of the open pit. Supercomputer modelling using regional wind-rose data sets tree species and spacing to form multilayered vegetative barriers, not simple landscaping. SKRI reports particulate-matter reductions above 40%, with the forest belt expected to capture roughly one-third of dust emissions as mining advances towards the barrier.

Barrick Mining has warned of “significant increases” to the capital budget and schedule for the 50%-owned Reko Diq copper-gold project in Balochistan, where Phase 1 was previously costed at US$5.6–6.0 billion and Phase 2 at US$3.3–3.6 billion, with first production targeted by end-2028. Citing escalating security risks in Pakistan and the wider region, Barrick will slow field development and extend the technical and financing review to mid‑2027, while keeping the project under “active management” with reduced capital spend. The porphyry deposit, holding an estimated 15 million tonnes of copper reserves and modelled for a 37‑year mine life, remains central to Barrick’s Tier 1 copper strategy and its long-term community commitments in Balochistan.

Orica is targeting smaller North American mines and quarries with the same digital blasting toolkit used on large sites, including its BlastIQ cloud platform for blast design and performance tracking and on-bench digital loading systems. Area Business Manager Elliott Giles told IM that these operations, aggregated, form a major explosives volume market, and are now adopting electronic detonators and precise blast modelling to cut oversize and improve fragmentation. For geotechs and drill‑and‑blast engineers, the shift means more consistent burden control, tighter vibration management and better data for pit wall stability assessment even on “small” jobs.