Great British Energy – Nuclear has spent £58,282.31 on a scoping study assessing potential Scottish sites for new nuclear projects, appointing AtkinsRéalis and Mott MacDonald as technical advisers. The work is expected to focus on site suitability constraints familiar from UK nuclear siting practice, including coastal flood risk, seismic hazard, grid connection capacity and proximity to cooling water. For civil and geotechnical teams, this signals early-stage demand for site characterisation, ground risk assessment and infrastructure interface studies around shortlisted locations.

NexGen Energy has begun construction of the C$2.2‑billion Rook I underground uranium mine and mill in Saskatchewan, designed for about 30 million lb U₃O₈ per year over an 11‑year life, exceeding Cameco’s McArthur River–Key Lake licensed capacity of 25 million lb. Major earthworks, surface infrastructure and an initial 3,000‑ft airstrip are in place, with extension to 5,840 ft due by year‑end and shaft sinking planned for 2027. A 2021 feasibility study projects C$3.5‑billion after‑tax NPV (8% discount), 52.4% IRR and a 0.9‑year payback, contingent on executing the four‑year build.

Faraday Copper is acquiring BHP’s former San Manuel mine in Arizona, consolidating it with the adjacent Copper Creek project into a district-scale copper play targeting more than 18 billion lb. of contained metal and potential output of about 150,000 tonnes of copper per year over 40+ years. The San Manuel package includes a past-producing operation that milled roughly 800 million tonnes at 0.66% Cu, 109 sq. km of private land, existing rail, gas and power, and a water-supply agreement, but no surviving core, forcing at least 23,000 metres of confirmation drilling starting Q4 2026. Faraday plans two open pits and two underground mines using shared processing and infrastructure on the rehabilitated San Manuel site, funded initially from its C$126 million cash and term deposits, with BHP to hold 30% on a fully diluted basis and a right to a board seat.

Blue Moon Metals is contesting a Viceroy Research short report attacking permits, financing and strategy for its Nussir copper mine in Norway, while Haywood Securities has kept a buy rating and C$15 target, citing government backing and a Q3 2027 mill commissioning with Q1 2028 commercial output. Management says the submarine tailings permit remains valid under current EU water rules and notes only half of a US$25 million Hartree-Oaktree bridge has been drawn, with C$159 million cash on hand. The company is also advancing a Q4 2027 restart of the Springer tungsten operation in Nevada and has acquired 33 tungsten and antimony properties across the western U.S. to secure feed for its processing plant.

$1.6 million in North East Community Fund grants has been awarded to 77 schools, sporting clubs, community groups and not‑for‑profits located around the North East Link corridor in Victoria. The $10 million fund, tied to the major freeway and tunnel project linking the M80 Ring Road to the Eastern Freeway, targets suburbs such as Bulleen that are directly impacted by construction works. For project teams, the programme formalises expectations around construction staging, traffic management and noise mitigation to reduce disruption to social and recreational infrastructure.

Planning has begun on freight rail upgrades in Perth’s south to service the future Westport container terminal at Kwinana, with Arup Australia Projects and WSP Australia appointed to form an integrated project team with Main Roads WA and the Public Transport Authority. The work will focus on rail capacity and alignment changes to shift more container movements from road to rail once Westport replaces Fremantle’s inner harbour. Early involvement of both road and rail agencies signals tight interface management around level crossings, corridor widening and future grade separations.

Caravel Minerals has confirmed its Caravel Copper Project DFS remains on schedule for completion by September 2026, with the Western Australian operation now carrying an updated ore reserve of 597 million tonnes. The proposed open-pit mine, located about 150km north-east of Perth in the Wheatbelt, is being advanced towards front-end engineering design and a final investment decision. Geotechnical and mine planning teams can expect large-scale, low-grade-style pit designs and long-life tailings and water management infrastructure to be central to upcoming engineering packages.

Latitude 66 has agreed to sell its non-core Piastri gold project in Western Australia to Capricorn Metals for $1.5 million, to be paid entirely in fully paid Capricorn shares. The binding share-based deal lets Latitude 66 redeploy capital and management effort to its core exploration and development portfolio, while expanding Capricorn’s gold project pipeline in WA. For geologists and mine planners, the transaction signals continued consolidation of smaller gold tenements into established producers’ regional portfolios.

Catalyst Metals has doubled its revolving credit facility from $100 million to $200 million, taking total available liquidity to $531 million as it advances a multi-mine expansion across Western Australia’s Plutonic Gold Belt. The four-year facility remains fully undrawn, with Catalyst holding $331 million in cash and bullion and carrying no debt, giving substantial headroom for mine development, underground capital and potential plant upgrades. For contractors and suppliers, the strengthened balance sheet signals funding capacity for new drilling campaigns, fleet procurement and possible mill debottlenecking in the belt.

Graham has signed a three‑year deal making MukAway its primary materials management platform across UK and Ireland infrastructure sites, in one of MukAway’s largest contracts to date. The decision centres on handling very high volumes of earthworks on nationally significant infrastructure projects with full digital visibility of material movements and logistics. Graham’s team cites MukAway’s ESG dashboard as a key feature, giving project managers usable, site-level sustainability data in real time to inform haulage choices, disposal routes and reuse strategies.

Yorkshire Water is recruiting 90 engineers and project managers into its asset delivery team to accelerate a £8.3bn, five-year capital investment programme across its water and wastewater network. Roles will support design and delivery of treatment works upgrades, trunk main renewals and resilience schemes tied to AMP8 performance commitments on leakage, storm overflows and service resilience. The scale-up signals a sustained pipeline of civils, MEICA and programme management work for contractors and consultants in the Yorkshire region.

Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council has launched a procurement for a conservation architect-led multidisciplinary design team to deliver the £1.375M “Reimagining Margam Castle” National Lottery Heritage Fund project. The commission will cover full design services for the Grade I-listed, neo-Gothic castle and its setting, including structural and fabric conservation, building services upgrades and access improvements. Heritage-led interventions are expected to require careful coordination of stonework repair, moisture management and reversible modern insertions within the existing loadbearing masonry and historic interiors.

AtkinsRéalis, Jacobs and Stantec have secured places on Hampshire County Council’s new four-year, £80M transport, highways and infrastructure consultancy framework. The multi-disciplinary lot will cover planning, design and asset management services for local roads, structures and associated civil works across the county’s network. Consultants can expect work on schemes such as junction upgrades, corridor improvements and resilience measures, with framework call-offs likely to favour teams experienced in UK highways standards and whole-life asset strategies.

HS2 Ltd is seeking market views on potential 10-year partnering arrangements to supply professional services for the remaining phases of the UK’s high-speed rail programme, including design, project management and technical advisory roles. The proposed long-duration framework is expected to cover route-wide engineering support for track, civils and systems on Phase 2 and associated interfaces with existing classic rail infrastructure. Consultants and multidisciplinary teams will need to consider resource commitments, risk allocation and digital delivery capability over a decade-long pipeline.

WSP has secured Wiltshire Council’s £200M term highways consultancy contract following a competitive procurement, covering strategic design, asset management and technical support across the county’s road network. The commission is expected to span multiple years and will support maintenance and upgrade planning for A-roads, rural routes and associated structures such as bridges, retaining walls and drainage systems. For civil and geotechnical teams, the framework signals steady demand for pavement design, condition surveys, geotechnical assessments and resilience planning under tighter local authority budgets.

Newmont has agreed to spend US$30 million to earn up to 75% of Headwater Gold’s 28 km² Jupiter epithermal gold project in Nye County, Nevada, marking their third earn-in deal after Spring Peak and Lodestar. The structure includes US$2.5 million in the first two years, US$10 million within four years for 51%, a further US$20 million over three years for 65%, and a prefeasibility study on at least 1.5 million oz gold equivalent for 75%, plus a 2% NSR royalty to Headwater. Jupiter covers a 5-by-8-km altered volcanic zone with historical drilling of 9.1 m at 1.1 g/t Au from 112.8 m and surface samples up to 3.1 g/t Au, with new mapping, sampling and geophysics planned ahead of drilling.

Steadright Critical Minerals has secured a mining licence for its TitanBeach titanium project in Morocco, covering an approved core area of roughly 4 km by 4 km (about 16 km²) within a wider 192 km² tenure. 2025 exploration identified ilmenite, titanomagnetite, magnetite, leucoxene and rutile-bearing sands with Fe₂O₃ grades up to 79.5% and TiO₂ up to 14.9%. The licence, issued via NSM Capital Sarl in which Steadright holds 76.5%, is described as unusually large for Morocco and positions the project for detailed resource drilling and process testwork on heavy mineral sands.

Sandvik has secured orders from Lucara Botswana, a subsidiary of Lucara Diamond Corp, to supply a 15-unit underground mining fleet of drills and loaders, together with parts, rock tools and service support, for the Karowe diamond mine’s transition to underground operations in Botswana. The package is backed by Sandvik Financial Services, giving Lucara structured equipment financing alongside the technology supply. For geotechnical and mining teams, the deal signals long-term mechanised development at Karowe, with OEM-supported maintenance likely to influence availability targets and lifecycle cost assumptions.

Sedgman, part of CIMIC Group and ACS Group’s global critical minerals platform, is advancing the expansion of Sayona and Piedmont Lithium’s North American Lithium (NAL) operation in Québec through an ongoing feasibility study and a newly awarded detailed design mandate. The work follows updated scoping and prefeasibility studies for the NAL spodumene concentrator and associated processing facilities, targeting higher throughput and improved lithium recovery. For engineers, the key shift is from concept-level options to executable design, locking in flowsheet, plant layout and infrastructure requirements for the next growth phase.

Specialist broker Credeq is promoting unsecured guarantee capacity as an alternative to traditional bank guarantees and cash-backed performance bonds that can cap contractors’ ability to bid for large road and civil packages. By arranging surety bonds through non-bank insurers, contractors can secure performance security without tying up working capital or fixed assets, freeing bank facilities for plant, materials and project delivery. The approach targets mid-tier contractors facing bonding limits on multi-year D&C or alliance contracts, where aggregate security requirements can otherwise stall growth.

A $6.7 million upgrade of the Lincoln Highway–McBryde Terrace signalised intersection in Whyalla, South Australia, is now complete, improving a key freight and tourist link that carries about 7000 vehicles per day between the city’s industrial precinct and the Eyre Peninsula corridor. Works by the SA Department for Infrastructure and Transport focused on regional road safety and smoother traffic flow, with geometric reconfiguration and new pavement expected to better accommodate heavy vehicle turning movements. For civil designers, the project signals continued investment in freight pinch-point remediation on constrained urban arterials.

Carnaby Resources’ final assays from its Greater Duchess copper–gold project near Mount Isa, Queensland, returned copper equivalent grades up to 5.4 per cent from two new discoveries just as Evolution Mining moves to acquire the company. The completed drilling programme at Greater Duchess confirms multiple high-grade zones across the new targets, adding to the existing resource footprint and strengthening the geological case for a district-scale system. For mine planners and geotechs, the results sharpen the development rationale Evolution must now evaluate in its acquisition due diligence.

Silica Resources Australia will more than double output at its Far North Queensland silica sand operation to over 750,000 tonnes per year within five years, supported by a $30 million injection from the Queensland Critical Minerals Fund managed by Queensland Investment Corporation. First export shipments are scheduled from the Port of Mourilyan later this year to customers across Asia, signalling a step-up in high-purity sand supply for glass and solar-grade applications. The scale-up will require upgraded materials handling, port logistics and process control to maintain consistent particle size and impurity specifications.

CCL Facades has been appointed to deliver the façade package on Wolverhampton’s Bicycle Works, a 331-home residential scheme where Caddick Construction is main contractor for English Cities Fund (a Homes England, Legal & General and Muse partnership). The appointment consolidates façade and main works under a single corporate group, which should streamline design coordination, interfaces and programme control on the multi-block development. For contractors and designers, the move signals continued use of integrated delivery teams on large urban housing projects to manage façade performance, sequencing and warranty risk.

Lazari has appointed Vert Projects as main contractor for a dMFK-designed refurbishment of the Carreras building at Mornington Crescent, converting the former Carreras Black Cat factory into upgraded office and amenity space with a new 6,458 sq ft reception and lounge and a 5,866 sq ft sixth-floor roof garden. The roof garden will integrate photovoltaic panels, extensive planters, climbers, green walls and a green roof to boost urban greening and biodiversity, while reworking access to connect the structure more directly to the street on all sides. Key design-and-build partners include Gibberd Architects, KPA Electrical, ODH Services, Northvale Construction and Frixos Metalworks, with completion targeted for autumn 2027.

Persimmon has secured Dorset Council approval for 328 “zero‑carbon ready” homes at Chickerell, with 185 units in outline and 143 in detailed consent, including 115 affordable homes for social rent and shared ownership. The scheme incorporates air source heat pumps, roof‑mounted solar panels and EV charging points, and safeguards land for a new primary school plus a new Central Avenue link road to relieve local congestion. Persimmon will also contribute over £2m to local schools, health services, sports pitches, Weymouth Swimming Pool, play facilities and Chesil Beach and Fleet SAC protections.

Balfour Beatty reported first-half 2026 revenues of £5,563m, up from £5,150m in 2025, with underlying profit from operations rising to £119m from £77m, driven mainly by US buildings and UK power projects. The order book reached £22.9bn, compared with £22.7bn at end-2025 and £19.5bn a year earlier, signalling sustained workload across infrastructure, utilities and transport. Contractors and consultants can read this as continued demand for large-scale civils and grid-related work in the UK and vertical construction in the US.

Completion of three HS2 viaducts on the southern approach to Interchange station in the West Midlands marks a key milestone for the high‑speed rail alignment into the UK’s main parkway hub on the M42/M6 corridor. The structures form part of the grade‑separated approaches carrying twin high‑speed tracks over existing local roads, watercourses and utilities, reducing future interface works near the station box. For geotechnical and civil teams, this locks in finished track levels and embankment tie‑ins, constraining subsequent groundworks, drainage and utility diversions in the Interchange zone.

Marshalls Civils & Drainage has secured a place on Severn Trent Water’s new £6M AMP8 framework to supply precast concrete storm tanks across the utility’s network. The agreement will cover factory-produced units for stormwater storage and attenuation, supporting Severn Trent’s AMP8 capital programme and standardising tank solutions across multiple wastewater and drainage schemes. For civil and drainage designers, this signals wider use of offsite-manufactured precast tanks in UK water projects, with implications for hydraulic design, installation sequencing and site footprint.

Epiroc has signed a strategic memorandum with Avesoro to supply additional trucks, loaders and drilling equipment to the Bea Mountain Mining Corporation–owned New Liberty gold mine in Liberia. The agreement, confirmed by Avesoro CEO Özgür Gümüş and Epiroc President and CEO Helena Hedblom, expands an existing fleet rather than initiating a greenfield deployment. Increased OEM-standard loading and drilling capacity points to higher planned production rates and more standardised maintenance and parts support at the open-pit operation.

Medallion Metals has named Macmahon Underground as preferred tenderer for the underground mining contract at the Ravensthorpe gold project in Western Australia, covering portal establishment and initial mine development. The scope is expected to include decline access, level development and associated ground support, with Macmahon to deploy its underground fleet and technical services under a single integrated contract. For geotechnical and mine planners, the decision signals a move towards contractor-led design and execution for early-life underground access at Ravensthorpe.

Cornish Lithium has secured a £7.2 million UK Government DRIVE35 grant to part-fund a £14.5 million drilling and testing programme at its Cross Lanes geothermal lithium project at Baldhu, near Truro in southwest England. The work will focus on deep geothermal brines, using test wells and flow testing to evaluate lithium concentrations, reservoir productivity and sustainable heat extraction. Results will determine the technical and economic viability of commercial-scale geothermal lithium production in Cornwall, with implications for well design, brine handling and direct lithium extraction process selection.

Procurement of UK infrastructure projects is again under scrutiny as clients and contractors question whether current lowest-price tendering, late contractor involvement and fragmented design–build packages are driving cost overruns and disputes. Debate centres on shifting risk allocation away from one-sided NEC and FIDIC contracts towards more collaborative models such as alliancing, early contractor involvement and target-cost frameworks on complex rail, highways and water schemes. For geotechnical and civil teams, earlier input on ground risk, temporary works and buildability is seen as critical to avoiding contingency-heavy bids and late-stage redesign.

Macmahon Underground has been named preferred tenderer for a proposed $240 million underground mining contract at Medallion Metals’ Ravensthorpe gold project in Western Australia, covering portal establishment, primary development, production and associated works. The scope points to a full-service underground package likely including decline access, level development and stoping infrastructure, consolidating Macmahon’s presence in WA hard-rock gold. Final award remains subject to contract execution, so detailed schedules, equipment deployment and ground support strategies are yet to be confirmed.

Maritana Minerals has secured Department of Mines, Petroleum and Exploration approval for the Mining Development and Closure Proposal at its Black Swan Processing Hub (BSPH) in Western Australia, keeping the project on schedule for first gold in H2 2027. The MDCP sign-off allows on-ground development to proceed, including construction of processing infrastructure and associated mine services. For project engineers, the approvals de‑risk the development timeline and enable detailed design, procurement and contractor mobilisation to ramp up through 2025–26.

Fortuna Mining is acquiring the Bambadji gold project in Senegal from Barrick Mining and IAMGOLD for $200 million, consolidating control over roughly 60 km of contiguous, potentially gold-bearing ground adjoining its feasibility-stage Diamba Sud project. The company plans to invest $8 million in exploration at Bambadji through the end of 2026, with drilling scheduled to start in Q3 to test how the licence can be integrated with Diamba Sud. The deal deepens Fortuna’s West African focus on Senegal and Ivory Coast following the $130 million sale of its Yaramoko mine in Burkina Faso.

Cobre Panamá’s halted copper operation is edging towards a potential restart as Panama’s commerce minister Julio Moltó meets workers and suppliers in the Donoso, Omar Torrijos Herrera and La Pintada regions, where stockpile processing is currently supporting about 3,200 direct and 3,000 indirect jobs. First Quantum has already run two of three milling trains, treating 2.1 million tonnes of stockpiled ore by end-June for 3,200 tonnes of contained copper, with 38 million tonnes of ore (c.70,000 tonnes recoverable copper) remaining for roughly 12 months’ throughput. The mine, idle since a 2023 Supreme Court ruling, could return to 80–90% capacity within six to nine months of approvals, but will need about 6,000 workers and resolution of environmental and contractual issues, including a suspended US$20 billion arbitration.

Lake Victoria Gold’s Tembo project in Tanzania has reported an initial resource of almost 600,000 oz. gold adjacent to Barrick’s Bulyanhulu mine, including 2.69 million indicated tonnes at 1.16 g/t and 13.33 million inferred tonnes at 1.12 g/t across the Ngula 1, Nyakagwe Village and Nyakagwe East near-surface deposits. A 5,000-metre infill drilling campaign will target Ngula 1, already drilled to about 200 m depth and hosting over half of inferred ounces, while a toll-milling deal is being advanced with Nyati Resources’ 500 t/d plant on a Tembo licence. Combined with the shovel-ready Imwelo project, expected to average 3.7 g/t in its first two years, the company is positioning for small-scale multi-asset production in Tanzania.

Blue Moon Metals is acquiring 33 tungsten and antimony projects on BLM and Forest Service lands in the western U.S. in a US$20.5 million cash-and-shares deal, adding a 1% NSR royalty and annual holding costs of about US$162,000. The portfolio includes historic high-grade tungsten assets such as the Oregon mine in Colorado (5,000 tonnes at 14.51% WO₃) and Wildhorse Canyon in Idaho (7,461 tonnes at 0.62% WO₃) as potential direct-shipping feed to the Springer processing complex in Nevada, plus five antimony projects grading 2–10% stibnite, marking Blue Moon’s first move into antimony.

Endura Mining has awarded Macmahon Mining New Zealand a five-year underground mining contract at the Snowy River gold mine, valued at about A$406.2 million and scheduled to start in October 2026. Macmahon will take on core underground production activities under a single integrated scope, signalling a substantial re-entry into the New Zealand hard-rock sector for the contractor. The long-term, high-value package points to sustained demand for specialised underground fleet, ground support, and local workforce mobilisation in a relatively remote West Coast setting.

The first section of the new Marshalls Creek Bridge on the Sturt Highway at Wagga Wagga will open to traffic next week, marking the halfway point of the New South Wales Government’s $30 million upgrade. The project will extend the four-lane Sturt Highway corridor through Wagga Wagga to about 4.5 kilometres, with full completion targeted for mid-2027. For designers and contractors, the staged opening signals a shift in traffic loading and work sequencing on the remaining bridge structure and approach embankments.

Endurance Land, part of Nan Fung Group, has appointed Multiplex as main contractor for the 36-storey 99 City Road office tower in London, designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates. Structural engineer AKT II will lead the primary frame and foundations, while Arup is responsible for MEP systems and sustainability strategy. The appointment signals progression to detailed construction planning on a high-rise commercial scheme where integrated structural–services coordination and façade performance will be critical to meeting London office loading, comfort and energy targets.

Kimpton has secured the mechanical and electrical engineering contract for The City of Liverpool College after a competitive tender, with its prior hosting of T-Level student placements cited as a contributing factor. The scope will cover full M&E systems installation and integration across the college estate, including building services needed to support modern technical teaching spaces. For contractors and consultants, the award signals growing weight being given to demonstrable skills pipelines and education partnerships in bid evaluations, alongside price and technical competence.

Austral Resources Australia has secured Hammer Metals with an $80.7 million all-scrip offer after Larvotto Resources declined to match, consolidating a large copper exploration package in Queensland’s Mount Isa district. The deal combines Hammer’s high-grade exploration ground with Austral’s existing Mt Kelly heap leach–SX/EW operation and Lady Annie processing infrastructure, creating a larger regional copper platform. For geologists and mine planners, the enlarged tenement position around Mount Isa increases optionality for satellite open pits, resource consolidation and potential expansions of existing leach and processing circuits.

Argentina’s Los Azules copper project in San Juan province is moving towards a final investment decision as McEwen Copper completes 27% of its FID work programme and targets construction from early 2027 and first cathode production in 2030. A 2025 feasibility study outlines average output of 205,000 tonnes of copper cathode per year for the first five years at cash costs of US$1.71/lb over an initial 22-year life, placing the project in the second-lowest global cost quartile. Current work covers processing plant engineering, mining fleet selection, power supply, access road and camp construction, with Société Générale advising on debt and an IPO under consideration.

Largo’s shares jumped almost 15% after Brazil’s National Mining Agency approved production and sale of copper, PGMs, nickel and cobalt as by-products from the Maracás Menchen vanadium mine in Bahia, enabling a copper-PGM concentrate stream alongside vanadium and ilmenite. The company will use its existing vanadium plant and ilmenite flotation infrastructure rather than build a standalone circuit, moving from industrial-scale test work to ramp-up and commercialisation. Management expects copper-PGM concentrate margins to exceed those of ilmenite, but has not yet disclosed production or sales guidance.

Canadian billionaire Eric Sprott is investing C$10 million in MAX Power Mining via a private placement of 4 million units at C$2.50, lifting his stake from 17.6% to 19.5% and positioning him to become a control person subject to shareholder approval on 20 August 2026. Each unit carries a common share plus a 24‑month warrant exercisable at C$3.25, with closing targeted around 17 August. MAX plans to use the funds to advance its multi‑well commercial validation drilling for natural hydrogen at the Lawson project, 80 km north of Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan.

Sunrise Energy Metals plans to redomicile and list on a US securities exchange after the US Department of War’s Office of Strategic Capital issued a conditional commitment of up to $400 million to develop its 100%-owned Syerston scandium project in New South Wales. The project is designed for 60 tonnes per year of scandium production against an estimated 2025 global output of about 80 tonnes, positioning it as a major non-Chinese source within a Five Eyes jurisdiction. Chairman Robert Friedland said US authorities prefer critical mineral suppliers to be US‑domiciled.

Resolution Copper has let about $110 million in contracts to Major Drilling America and Redpath USA to accelerate exploration drilling and underground development at its proposed deep copper mine in Arizona. The work forms a major early tranche of an approximately $500 million post-FEIS investment programme, signalling a shift from study to execution-phase activities. For geotechnical and mining teams, this points to imminent ramp-up in underground access, drilling density, and ground characterisation data ahead of any full-scale shaft sinking or block-cave development decisions.

Construction of the new Fremantle Traffic Bridge over the Swan River in Western Australia is running ahead of programme, with full opening to road traffic expected later this year. The old timber traffic bridge, closed in February, has now been completely removed from the river, including four rows of timber piles, clearing the alignment for final works. Early completion will reduce temporary traffic management on this key north–south corridor and allows contractors to focus on finishing permanent approaches and river navigation clearances.