Geomechanics.io

Conflict-driven disruption of sulphur flows through the Strait of Hormuz has pushed sulphur prices up more than 50% and more than doubled sulphuric acid prices in some regions, turning a low-profile reagent into a dominant cost driver for battery metals. Benchmark Mineral Intelligence reports sulphuric acid’s share of hard-rock lithium chemical C1 costs has jumped from 3% to 11%, while sulphur now accounts for 42% of HPAL nickel costs (up from 26%), with Indonesia sourcing 76% of its sulphur imports from the Middle East and needing over 10 tonnes of sulphur per tonne of HPAL nickel. Spot acid above $380/t in Indonesia and $440/t in Chile, China’s informal export curbs, and physical shortages now threaten curtailments or shutdowns at lithium, nickel, cobalt and manganese sulphate plants, even as copper smelters gain from higher acid byproduct revenues and falling treatment and refining charges.

A nearly $500 million solar‑plus‑storage plant in Chile’s Atacama Desert, ContourGlobal’s Victor Jara hybrid facility in Tarapacá, has begun operating with a 200 MW battery system capable of 6.5 hours discharge, backed by a 15‑year night‑time PPA with Copec EMOAC. Chile already has 3,072 MW of BESS operating or under test and expects a further 5,400 MW online by December, largely in the desert grid‑bottleneck zone where daytime solar is routinely curtailed. For mining and other energy‑intensive users, this rapidly expanding long‑duration storage fleet is key to securing firm, low‑carbon power contracts.

Minera Alamos has approved a US$58 million build-out of the past-producing Copperstone underground gold mine in Arizona, targeting about 46,000 oz. per year over a six-year life at an all-in sustaining cost of US$1,314/oz and payback in roughly 1.2 years. The new PFS, based on 4.1 million measured and indicated tonnes at 4.83 g/t (630,000 oz contained), gives an after-tax NPV of US$374 million and IRR of 108% at US$3,500/oz gold, rising to US$537 million NPV and 154% IRR at US$4,500/oz. Copperstone, on the Walker Lane structural trend and already permitted with existing underground development and processing infrastructure, will be funded from cash, a US$75 million revolver and Pan mine cash flow, with first production aimed for mid-2027 and further underground, down-plunge and potential open-pit heap-leach expansion drilling planned.

Giyani Metals’ feasibility study for the K.Hill open pit manganese project in Botswana cuts post-tax NPV to US$481.5 million at 8% and trims mine life to 25 years, while initial capex jumps 88% to US$535 million and planned output falls 57% to 1.5 million tonnes. The project now carries 5.3 million tonnes of proven and probable reserves at 12% MnO (about 642,000 tonnes contained), supporting a mine-to-market route for high-purity manganese oxide and sulphate from its Johannesburg demonstration plant. Construction could start in early 2027, with commissioning in late 2028 and ramp-up in 2029.

Undersea critical minerals explorer The Metals Company has had its USA B seabed exploration licence application formally certified by NOAA, covering about 122,000 km² of eastern Clarion Clipperton Zone seafloor with an estimated 1.02 billion tonnes of polymetallic nodules containing cobalt, nickel, copper and manganese. TMC USA’s separate consolidated application for an exploration licence and commercial recovery permit in the USA A area was ruled fully compliant on 28 April, and NOAA is now expected to issue a Notice of Intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement and draft Terms, Conditions and Restrictions. Environmental NGOs continue to push for a blanket ban on deep-sea mining, warning of irreversible biodiversity loss from industrial-scale nodule recovery.

Galan Lithium has produced its first lithium chloride at the Hombre Muerto West brine project in Catamarca, Argentina, after wet commissioning a nanofiltration plant fed with 0.5% lithium brine and discharging product to final evaporation ponds. The three‑month evaporation stage is expected to yield 6% lithium chloride concentrate, underpinning Phase 1 nameplate output of 4,000 tpa LCE, backed by a 10,000‑tonne LCE brine inventory and a 45,000‑tonne offtake with US-based Authium. Pond construction to lift capacity to 5,200 tpa LCE by H1 2027 is planned, with permits in place for a staged expansion to 60,000 tpa.

Eagle Nuclear Energy has completed key environmental and site-readiness work at its Aurora uranium project on the Oregon–Nevada border, including installation of a meteorological station, a wetland delineation study, and a full cultural and archaeological survey to support permitting. Aurora hosts an indicated resource of 32.75 million lb and nearly 5 million lb inferred, making it the largest conventional measured and indicated uranium deposit in the US and central to Eagle’s planned 27,000-foot pre-feasibility study. The project underpins a strategy to pair domestic uranium supply with advanced SMR technology, in a market where US reactors consume about 32 million lb of uranium annually but domestic production was only 677,000 lb in 2024.

Epiroc is expanding its Deep Automation portfolio to cover underground drilling and rock bolting, extending a platform previously focused mainly on autonomous loading and haulage. The updated concept spans the full automation curve, from tele-remote operation of drill rigs to higher autonomy levels with automated drilling cycles and bolt installation. For mine planners and engineers, this signals tighter integration between fleet management, drill-and-blast execution and ground support installation, with more predictable drilling patterns and support layouts in complex orebodies.

Komatsu and ABB are expanding their dynamic energy transfer concept beyond conventional trolley-assist haul trucks, with a new “side arm” current collection system in development for demonstration at Komatsu’s Arizona Proving Grounds in the US. Announced by Lucas van Latum and Nic Beutler at The Electric Mine 2026 in Lisbon, the side arm aims to maintain high-power DC transfer to mobile equipment without requiring trucks to remain strictly under overhead catenary. The work signals a push towards more flexible on-route charging layouts, with implications for haul road geometry, overhead line placement and mine power distribution design.

Metso has secured a repeat order in Asia Pacific to replace and modernise a railcar dumper, supplying a new fully assembled dumper cage with major mechanical and structural upgrades. The package targets higher train unloading throughput, reduced ore and coal spillage at the tipping station, and improved maintainability through simplified access and component replacement. For mine operators, the upgrade signals continued investment in brownfield load-out infrastructure to debottleneck rail logistics without expanding the existing dumper footprint.

Magnetite Mines is undertaking a strategic reset at its Razorback magnetite iron ore project in South Australia, appointing a new chief executive officer as managing director Tim Dobson steps down. The board is refocusing on capital efficiency and securing project funding, signalling a shift in development pacing and potential redesign of mine, processing and infrastructure capex. The company is also flagging early-stage gold potential at nearby Manna Hill, which could influence future exploration drilling priorities and resource allocation.

Mining magnate Gina Rinehart has retained her position as Australia’s richest person on the 2026 AFR Rich List, with Hancock Prospecting wealth estimated at $39.01 billion, up $900 million on 2025. Four mining leaders feature in the top 10, confirming the sector’s continued dominance in Australian capital formation and private investment capacity. The $900 million year‑on‑year gain alone exceeds $853 million, signalling sustained cash generation from large iron ore and critical minerals portfolios that continue to fund new resources, infrastructure and downstream processing projects.

Australia, the US, Japan and India have launched a Quad Critical Minerals Initiative aiming to mobilise up to US$20 billion in combined public and private finance across mining, processing and recycling projects. Funding will target diversified supply chains for key inputs such as lithium, nickel, rare earths and graphite, backing both greenfield extraction and brownfield processing expansions. For project developers, the move signals stronger support for downstream refining, hydrometallurgical plants and recycling facilities that can demonstrate secure offtake and alignment with each partner’s strategic minerals lists.

Macmahon Holdings has secured a 12‑month extension for underground mining services at Black Cat Syndicate’s Majestic gold mine in Western Australia, awarded through its wholly owned subsidiary Macmahon Underground. The deal follows completion of the underground portal and first ore delivery from Majestic to Black Cat’s Lakewood mill near Kalgoorlie, confirming the mine’s transition from development to steady-state production. For contractors and mine planners, the extension signals continuity of decline development, stoping and backfill scheduling under a single operator across the Majestic–Lakewood circuit.

Element 25 has signed long-term integrated mining and ore haulage contracts with Regroup Australia (ReGroup) for the Butcherbird manganese mine in Western Australia, locking in a single provider for drill‑and‑blast, load‑and‑haul, and road transport. The agreements cover mining services and haulage for the Butcherbird Expansion Project (BBX), giving schedule and cost certainty as Element 25 scales output beyond the current Stage 1 operation. For contractors and OEMs, the deal signals sustained demand for bulk haulage capacity and mobile mining fleets on remote Pilbara-style logistics corridors.

Specifying TECO’s MAX Ex d motor for underground coal mines centres on matching Ex d flameproof certification, insulation class (e.g. Class F/H windings) and available voltages to methane- and dust-laden headings with continuous duty. The AEMBXZ-TECO flameproof motor is designed for coalface and roadway equipment where restricted access limits maintenance intervals and thermal margins become critical. Engineers must balance frame size, starting torque and permissible temperature rise against hazardous area zoning and site supply (typically 1000 V or similar) to avoid derating and premature insulation failure.

Underground hard-rock mines are seeing development jumbo productivity eroded by repetitive maintenance on feed rail ropes, which are being replaced at increasingly short intervals long before outright failure. Crews are adapting work patterns around these stoppages rather than addressing the root cause, normalising frequent shutdowns and masking the true reliability problem in shift reports and KPIs. The case signals that reliability engineering in mobile fleets must target chronic, sub-failure component issues – such as rope wear mechanisms and lubrication regimes – not just catastrophic breakdowns.

The Queensland Mining and Engineering Exhibition (QME) returns to Mackay in July 2026 with a sold-out show floor, signalling strong demand from OEMs, technology vendors and contractors to showcase new equipment and digital systems. Organisers are centring the conference program on decarbonisation, mine electrification and automation, including low‑emission haulage, battery‑electric underground fleets and data‑driven maintenance. For site engineers and managers, QME 2026 offers concentrated access to suppliers and case studies tailored to Queensland’s coal and critical minerals operations, from Bowen Basin open pits to emerging North West Minerals Province projects.

High-grade deep drilling at Sitka Gold’s RC Gold project in Yukon indicates underground mine potential beneath the Blackjack deposit, with hole DDRCCC-26-121 cutting 273.8 m at 1.10 g/t Au from about 642 m depth, including 94 m at 1.79 g/t and 19.3 m at 5.04 g/t. The 1,093 m hole extends mineralisation roughly 370 m below the current resource pit and is the first complete assay from a 60,000 m, four-rig diamond programme now about 20% complete. Blackjack currently hosts 39.96 Mt indicated at 1.01 g/t Au (1.29 Moz), within a 447 sq.-km land package in the Tombstone belt accessible year-round by gravel road.

MP Materials has sued rival USA Rare Earth in a Texas court, alleging a former MP employee passed proprietary “grain boundary diffusion” magnet formulations to USAR, which then shared them with a third-party technology firm. The dispute centres on MP’s integrated mine-to-magnet process at Mountain Pass, California, versus USAR’s Round Top, Texas project and its new Stillwater, Oklahoma magnet plant, both heavily backed by US federal funding ($400 million to MP; $1.6 billion agreement with USAR). Shares in both companies fell about 3%, adding pressure as USAR’s $2.8 billion Serra Verde acquisition and White House deal face scrutiny.

Gold fell as much as 2% on Wednesday to just above $4,400/oz, a two‑month low, while silver slid 4% to around $74/oz as the US‑Iran conflict near the Strait of Hormuz stoked energy‑driven inflation fears and rate‑hike expectations. Bullion is now down 15% since hostilities began in late February, with futures markets pricing in a 25 bp US Federal Reserve hike by year‑end, pressuring non‑yielding assets. Despite the pullback from January’s near‑$5,600/oz record, JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs still project gold above $5,000/oz longer term.

US Department of Energy researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have built CICERO, a semi-autonomous system that uses AI agents, a liquid-handling robot, a sample-handling device and two analytical instruments to design and run 96 mineral recovery experiments in a single day. Tested on spent permanent magnets and oil and gas wastewater, CICERO rapidly identified flowsheets to recover magnesium from brines and neodymium, praseodymium and samarium from magnet waste. The approach uses existing industrial chemistries and separation methods, offering a route to extract critical elements from waste streams in days rather than months or years.

Iran’s war around the Strait of Hormuz has disrupted more than half of seaborne sulphur trade, shut in about 11 million barrels per day of crude and put 3–3.5 million tonnes of Middle East aluminium output at risk, driving sulphuric acid prices up 245% year-on-year and Europe’s duty-paid aluminium premium to a record $621/t. Indonesian HPAL nickel plants, which import roughly 75% of their sulphur from the Middle East, have already cut battery-feed output by at least 10%, while DRC leach operators face acid at $1,000–$1,400/t versus sub-$500 norms. Integrated sites with captive smelters, such as Ivanhoe’s Kamoa-Kakula producing 1,350 t/d of acid and selling Q1 volumes at $467/t then $725/t for June, are weathering the squeeze and in some cases monetising surplus, as European and US buyers also bid up Canadian aluminium to backfill lost Gulf supply.

Defense Metals has signed a non-binding MOU with South Korea’s Hanwha Ocean to evaluate supplying rare earth materials from the Wicheeda project in British Columbia into Hanwha’s shipbuilding and marine engineering supply chain. The arrangement could include a direct offtake agreement for rare earth elements used in next‑generation defence and maritime technologies, as Canada advances a multibillion‑dollar submarine procurement. Hanwha is also considering an equity investment in Defense Metals, adding to its Canadian critical minerals links after MOUs with the Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association and Algoma Steel.