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Gold prices fell nearly 2% on Monday, with spot gold hitting a weekly low of about $4,450/oz and three‑month New York futures holding just above $4,500/oz, as renewed US strikes on Iranian military sites pushed oil and the dollar higher. Traders now assign roughly a 39% probability to a 25‑basis‑point Federal Reserve rate hike in December, according to CME FedWatch, dampening appetite for non‑yielding bullion. Despite the pullback from January’s record near $5,600/oz, JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs still project average 2026 prices of $5,000/oz and $5,400/oz respectively.

Barrick is considering carving out its African mines into a London‑listed vehicle via a potential $30 billion combination with Endeavour Mining, while retaining a Toronto holding company for its New York‑listed shares. The move would mirror Barrick’s earlier Acacia spin‑off and comes as it plans a separate New York listing for its Nevada and Dominican Republic assets by end‑2026, shifting capital towards lower‑risk jurisdictions. A tie‑up would pool Barrick’s Kibali, North Mara, Bulyanhulu, Lumwana and Tongon operations with Endeavour’s West African portfolio, currently targeting about 1.2 million oz of gold output this year.

Activist fund Elliott Investment Management has confirmed a roughly A$1 billion stake in Northern Star Resources, giving it about 4% of the ASX-listed gold producer and placing it among the top five shareholders alongside Van Eck and BlackRock. Elliott is pushing for a new mining-experienced board, an external CEO and a formal strategic review, citing “repeated operational missteps”, cost overruns and “deeply inadequate disclosures” at assets including the KCGM open pit in Kalgoorlie. The move follows two production downgrades in 2026, supply issues at KCGM and a share price fall of up to 30% this year despite strong gold prices.

Orla Mining has halted all operations at its Camino Rojo open-pit gold mine in Zacatecas, Mexico, after unionised workers launched a blockade over a productivity bonus and statutory profit-sharing payments, knocking TSX-listed shares down 7.5%. The mine produced 96,764 oz of gold in 2025 and was guided to deliver 110,000–120,000 oz in 2026 at all-in sustaining costs of $1,150–$1,250/oz, making any prolonged stoppage material for mine planning and contractor utilisation. The disruption also injects risk into Orla’s planned all-stock $18.5 billion merger with Equinox Gold, which targets combined output of about 1.1 Moz/year.

Americas Gold and Silver’s latest Cosalá infill drilling at the San Rafael Upper and 120 zones is returning silver grades up to five times above the current resource model, including 14 metres at 599.8 g/t Ag and 0.83% Cu from 38.2 metres and 45 metres at 342.9 g/t Ag and 0.85% Cu from 106 metres, feeding directly into H2 mine plans. At Idaho’s Galena Complex, narrow-vein hits such as 0.21 metre at 24,913 g/t Ag and 16.9% Cu on the 149 Vein and new 43L-TJ vein mineralisation sit close to existing infrastructure. The company is backing a 64,000‑metre, US$20 million drilling campaign with processing upgrades including a paste backfill plant, No. 3 shaft hoist to ~105 short tons/hour and a mill expansion from 750 to 1,200 tons/day, supporting guidance of 3.2–3.6 Moz Ag in 2026.

Ramaco Resources has signed a non-binding MoU with REalloys Inc. to supply mixed rare earth carbonate from the Brook mine in Wyoming, described as the USA’s largest unconventional rare earth and critical mineral deposit hosted in coal and carbonaceous ore. REalloys will separate Ramaco’s MREC into individual oxides at the Saskatchewan Research Council facility in Canada, while Ramaco will also provide separated scandium oxide for alloy metallisation at REalloys’ Euclid, Ohio plant. A 2025 preliminary economic assessment for Brook reported a post-tax NPV of about $1.2 billion, 38% IRR and initial capex of $473 million.

Sandvik has partnered with Rio Tinto to integrate an autonomous drilling system (ADS) with Sandvik surface drill rigs, combining Rio Tinto’s remote operations experience with Sandvik’s AutoMine automation platform. Development will start at Sandvik’s Finnish facilities, then shift to Rio Tinto’s Perth operations centre for field trials across multiple rigs and sites. The work targets interoperable, mixed‑model autonomous drill fleets for large open‑pit mines, signalling future requirements for common control platforms and remote supervision of distributed drilling operations.

BHP is advancing renewable electricity self-supply and storage at its Escondida and Spence copper mines in Chile through new long-term agreements with Sungrow to keep both operations on 100% renewable power. The deals cover large-scale solar generation and battery energy storage systems sized to support long-term production growth and process stability at high-altitude, grid-constrained sites. For mine planners and process engineers, firmed renewable supply reduces exposure to grid curtailment and power price volatility while tightening decarbonisation baselines for future brownfield expansions.

Minera Las Bambas SA, part of MMG, has ordered a major new Caterpillar fleet from Peruvian dealer Ferreyros, with scope to expand to 45 units, anchored by 27 Cat 798 ultra-class trucks rated at 400 t payload. Ferreyros is scheduled to deliver more than 20 machines in 2026, signalling a substantial ramp-up in high-capacity haulage at the Las Bambas copper operation in Apurímac. The deal points to continued preference for ultra-class diesel haulage over trolley or autonomous solutions at this high-altitude open pit.

ESG technology is reshaping Australian mine design and operations by embedding real-time environmental, social and governance data into planning, approvals and day‑to‑day control. Operators are deploying integrated ESG platforms that pull live inputs from dust and noise monitors, water‑quality sensors and energy‑metering systems to automate compliance reporting and adjust haulage, dewatering and ventilation schedules. For geotechs and mine planners, this means designs increasingly need to accommodate dense sensor networks, verifiable rehabilitation metrics and auditable ESG baselines from feasibility through closure.

Structured service level agreements (SLAs) from conveyor specialist Tru-Trac are shifting mine operators from reactive belt repairs to continuous performance optimisation on high‑tonnage lines. Instead of ad hoc call‑outs, Tru-Trac ties services such as belt tracking audits, idler and pulley inspections, and condition‑based replacement of critical components to defined uptime, spillage and mistracking thresholds. For geotechnical and plant engineers, this formalises conveyor availability as a design and operational parameter, directly affecting stockpile feed stability, crusher utilisation and overall materials handling throughput.

South Africa’s mining sector is being urged by Chris Campbell, CEO of Consulting Engineers South Africa (CESA), to move beyond the traditional pit-to-port model of exporting largely unprocessed ore towards domestic beneficiation and value-adding plants. Campbell calls for engineering-led investment in concentrators, smelters and refineries tied to existing iron ore, manganese, PGMs and battery mineral operations, supported by reliable 132–400 kV power, bulk water supply and upgraded rail sidings. The shift would require integrated mine-to-metals project planning, retooled EPCM contracts and stronger collaboration between miners, state utilities and local OEMs.

Sandvik and Rio Tinto are jointly developing integration of Sandvik i-series surface drill rigs with the Rio Tinto Autonomous Drilling System (Rio Tinto ADS™), initially targeting support drilling in open pits. The work couples Rio Tinto’s existing autonomous and remote drilling operations with Sandvik’s AutoMine® automation platform to create a common control and data interface. For mine operators, the move signals future options to standardise autonomous blasthole and support drilling fleets across mixed-vendor rigs, with potential reductions in manual exposure around highwall support and pre-split drilling.

Solvay has signed a Letter of Intent with Viridis Mining and Minerals to process Brazilian rare earth materials at its La Rochelle plant in France, targeting a strategic supply by 2028 to bolster non-Chinese feedstock. The agreement centres on Viridis’ ionic clay rare earth projects in Brazil, with Solvay providing separation and refining capacity at an established solvent-extraction and roasting facility. For project developers, the move signals continued demand for clay-hosted REE resources and reinforces the importance of downstream-compatible mineralogy and impurity control in new deposits.

Tailings retreatment of legacy tailings storage facilities is emerging as a major opportunity, with SLR Consulting’s Asset Transition and Closure lead Danie Otto pointing to rapid shifts in project scale, processing technology and regulatory expectations. Operators are reassessing old TSFs as potential ore sources, using modern reprocessing circuits and improved metal recovery techniques to extract residual value while reducing long-term geotechnical and water-related liabilities. The approach is reshaping closure planning, with TSF stability, residue re-deposition strategies and progressive rehabilitation now integrated into upfront project design.

Sandvik Rock Processing is promoting an engineered-to-order (ETO) model for crushing and screening circuits, with Vice-President Sales Area Africa Tarynn Yatras saying bespoke plant layouts are built around each site’s ore characteristics, throughput targets and footprint constraints. The ETO approach allows integration of complex equipment such as multi-deck screens, cone crushers and surge bins into brownfield comminution lines, rather than relying on catalogue configurations. For engineers, this means earlier geometallurgical input, tighter control of transfer chutes and bin capacities, and fewer bottlenecks at primary and secondary crushing stages.

Players from NRL side The Dolphins have gone 200m underground at Anglo American’s Moranbah North longwall mine in Central Queensland for a first-hand look at steelmaking coal production. Six squad members toured the longwall face, shield supports and conveyor systems, observing methane management, strata control and dust suppression measures used in the gassy Bowen Basin operation. The visit forms part of Anglo American’s community and stakeholder engagement push, linking highwall-to-port coal supply chains with end users in stadium construction and infrastructure.

Coda Minerals has raised an oversubscribed $6.7 million placement, led by Cumulus Wealth and Leeuwin Wealth, to fast‑track technical work at its Elizabeth Creek copper–cobalt project in South Australia’s Olympic Copper Province ahead of a pre‑feasibility study. Funds will support metallurgical lock‑cycle testwork, hydrogeological investigations and approvals, targeting better definition of copper and cobalt recoveries and groundwater behaviour. The programme is aimed at de‑risking process design and water management assumptions before committing to larger‑scale engineering and capital decisions.

Greatland Resources has approved the final investment decision for its Havieron gold–copper project in Western Australia and secured a $500 million corporate debt facility underwritten by a Tier 1 syndicate including ANZ, ING, HSBC, NAB and Westpac. The package comprises a $250 million term loan and additional liquidity lines to fund mine development, underground infrastructure and associated processing upgrades at the newly acquired Telfer operation. For engineers and contractors, the decision signals imminent ramp-up of decline advance, stoping development and integration of Havieron ore into Telfer’s existing plant flowsheet.

The Northern Territory has declared Arafura Rare Earths’ $1.6 billion Nolans rare earths project its first “Significant Project” under the new Territory Coordinator Act, embedding it in the Territory’s critical minerals strategy. The status provides a whole‑of‑government coordination pathway to streamline complex approvals and interface risks while retaining normal environmental and regulatory assessment. For project engineers and contractors, this signals political backing for progressing mine, concentrator and downstream processing infrastructure near Alice Springs on an accelerated but scrutinised schedule.

Western Australia’s resources sector delivered $226 billion in mineral and petroleum sales in 2025, a decade-high investment year driven by record iron ore export volumes and all-time high gold revenue from operations such as the Super Pit. The sector supported more than 136,000 full-time equivalent on-site mining jobs, signalling sustained demand for mine development, brownfield expansions and associated infrastructure. Contractors can expect continued workload in pit optimisation, haul road upgrades and processing plant debottlenecking as operators push existing iron ore and gold assets harder.

Hillhead 2026 at Hillhead Quarry, Buxton will run from 23–25 June with more than 620 exhibitors, four live demonstration areas and over 50 scheduled demos, including a curated Quarry Face programme hosted by broadcaster Nikki Dean and a fleet of 35+ machines working across three benches. Major OEMs such as Hyundai, CASE, JCB, Komatsu, Hitachi, DEVELON, Volvo CE, SBM, Wirtgen and Pilot Crushtec will run live trials of new kit including the TwisterTrac VS350E mobile VSI, REMAX 600/JAWMAX 450 plants and all‑electric Mobirex MR 100 NEOe. An AI planning tool powered by Exhibitly will generate personalised itineraries, helping visitors target specific technologies such as battery‑electric loaders and excavators, AI-based safety systems like Parksafe’s Zone AI, and intelligent tyre monitoring from Continental.

Zijin Gold’s proposed C$5.5 billion (about $4 billion) cash acquisition of Allied Gold is facing delays at China’s National Development and Reform Commission, which is questioning the roughly 5% premium and jurisdictional risks tied to Allied’s African assets. The deal would add the Sadiola mine in Mali, a large Côte d’Ivoire complex and the Kurmuk project in Ethiopia, with the first two delivering nearly 380,000 oz of gold in 2025 and Kurmuk due to pour first gold this year. Allied’s market value sits around C$4.4 billion and the outside closing date has been pushed to end-July.

Sean Carr Lining Technology has completed construction of a lined storage lagoon for underground water from planned lithium exploration in Cornwall, a key enabling asset while the project awaits its Final Investment Decision. The lagoon is designed to hold pumped mine water prior to processing, allowing controlled management of flow rates and water quality during test and early-stage extraction. For geotechnical and civil teams, the milestone fixes the site’s hydraulic management concept and de-risks subsequent drilling, treatment plant foundations and environmental permitting.