Geomechanics.io

Building materials supplier Elliotts is trialling a 13.5‑tonne Isuzu rear‑mount crane lorry at its Fordingbridge branch in the New Forest to improve deliveries on narrow rural roads and restricted-access sites. The compact truck carries a Hiab X‑Hiduo 082 loader with 8.1 tonne‑metre capacity and 11.6‑metre outreach, targeting faster turnarounds where larger vehicles struggle to unload. Performance, utilisation and customer outcomes are being tracked over a six‑month contract hire period before deciding on purchase and potential rollout to similar Hampshire and Dorset branches.

The UK government’s new fusion strategy sets March 2029 as the target date to submit a Development Consent Order for the proposed “limitless energy” fusion power plant. The project is expected to follow the prototype Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (STEP) concept at West Burton, using a compact tokamak design rather than conventional large toroidal reactors. For civil and geotechnical teams, the timetable fixes the window for detailed site investigations, nuclear-grade containment structures and heavy-shielded foundations to support extreme thermal and electromagnetic loading.

Sponge city strategies are gaining momentum in the UK as Ciwem’s recent Sponge Cities briefing note calls for widespread deployment of nature-based, water-retentive urban design. The concept centres on retrofitting streets, roofs and public spaces with permeable pavements, rain gardens, swales and green roofs to attenuate stormwater, reduce combined sewer overflows and manage surface water flooding. For civil and geotechnical engineers, this signals growing demand for SuDS-led masterplanning, hydraulic modelling of blue–green corridors and revised pavement and subgrade specifications to accommodate higher infiltration and storage.

Raglan Mine in Nunavik, Quebec, has reached a key automation milestone, with the first autonomous haul truck at the new Anuri underground nickel mine completing an autonomous ramp climb and successfully discharging ore at surface. The Glencore-owned complex now runs autonomous haulage alongside existing high-grade underground operations at Qakimajurq and Kikialik, signalling progressive automation across multiple orebodies. For mine planners and engineers, the achievement validates autonomous truck navigation on ramp profiles typical of deep Arctic underground operations, with implications for traffic management, communications and ramp design in similar cold-climate mines.

Australian researchers led by CSIRO have built the world’s first proof‑of‑concept quantum battery, using entangled quantum states to charge multiple cells collectively rather than individually. The lab‑scale device, fabricated in CSIRO’s clean quantum battery engineering lab, is designed to scale to solid‑state architectures compatible with grid‑scale storage and electric vehicles. If commercialised, the technology could sharply increase demand for high‑purity critical minerals such as lithium, nickel, cobalt and rare earth elements, with tighter specifications on impurity control and crystal defect behaviour.

Curtin University and Victory Metals have formed an “industry–academia powerhouse” partnership to accelerate development of Victory’s rare earths project in Western Australia, combining Curtin’s Western Australian School of Mines expertise with the company’s exploration and processing plans. The collaboration will focus on metallurgical testwork, process flowsheet optimisation and resource characterisation to improve recovery of rare earth elements from the project’s ore. For mining engineers and metallurgists, the tie-up signals early integration of research-grade mineral processing and geometallurgy into project design rather than post-feasibility optimisation.

Vulcan Energy has secured a key German regulatory milestone for its Lionheart lithium project, clearing a major hurdle towards bringing geothermal brine–sourced lithium chemicals into commercial production in the Upper Rhine Valley. The project targets direct lithium extraction from deep geothermal reservoirs, integrating baseload renewable power and heat with lithium hydroxide output for European battery supply chains. For geotechnical and civil teams, the approval signals advancing timelines for drilling, wellfield development and surface plant construction in a densely populated, infrastructure-rich setting with strict environmental constraints.

BluVein has begun on-site testing of its fourth-generation BluVein1 dynamic charging system at Australia’s largest bluestone quarry, using a retrofitted Epiroc Minetruck MT42 Battery to validate performance under production haul conditions. The system couples a slotted rail power line with a vehicle-mounted collector, allowing in-motion charging rather than relying solely on static fast-charge bays. Prior extreme-condition electrical testing at KEMA Labs in Germany de-risked insulation, arcing and thermal behaviour, giving mine operators early evidence on durability and compatibility with high-duty underground truck cycles.

Volvo Construction Equipment will shut down its Rokbak articulated dump truck business and close the Motherwell factory in Scotland, citing unsustainable profitability and a strategic shift away from ADTs. The move ends more than 40 years of production under the Rokbak and former Terex Trucks brands, which supplied 28–38 t class haulers to quarries and mines worldwide. Volvo CE will redirect capital and engineering resources to its rigid hauler line and other hauling solutions, signalling reduced OEM competition in the ADT segment.

FLSmidth has formed a joint venture in Uzbekistan with local industrial firm Texnopark, aiming to build a dedicated service centre for the country’s rapidly expanding copper, gold and uranium operations. The planned facility is expected to support installed FLSmidth equipment across concentrators and processing plants with localised spare parts, refurbishment and field service, reducing reliance on long lead-time imports via Russia or China. For mine operators in Central Asia, this signals tighter OEM support for high-wear components in comminution and flotation circuits and potentially higher plant availability.

Legrand is now supplying cable management systems made with 34% green steel, targeting high‑demand data centre projects that can require hundreds or thousands of kilometres of cabling. The green steel uses at least 75% scrap in electric arc furnaces powered by certified renewable electricity, cutting embodied carbon from about 2.38t CO2e to as little as 799kg CO2e per tonne of finished cold‑rolled steel, a 70% reduction versus blast furnaces. This shift is already lowering Legrand’s Scope 3 supply‑chain emissions and offers contractors a straightforward route to reduce project embodied carbon.

Groupe Legendre has opened a new branch in Guernsey, creating a strategic corridor linking its existing operations in Rennes, Jersey and London and adding capacity for larger, complex construction projects on the island. Jersey director Luc Richard, who led the 280‑home Horizon waterfront scheme for Jersey Development Company, will run the Guernsey office in parallel with Jersey, replicating the same strategy and operational model. Initial activity will focus on building projects, with recruitment underway for a local team and plans to expand into property development and energy.

Liebherr’s LiReCon (Liebherr Remote Control) system has been deployed on 70‑tonne PR 776 mining dozers for SQM at the Nueva Victoria iodine operation in Chile’s Atacama Desert, marking the first customer delivery of the flagship dozer with factory‑fitted remote capability. The LiReCon package uses an ergonomically designed remote operating station with full‑HD cameras and real‑time machine data to control the dozer from a safe location away from high‑risk ripping and stockpile areas. For mine planners and maintenance teams, this enables deployment of heavy dozers in geotechnically marginal zones while reducing operator exposure and potential downtime from slope failures.

Henkel is marking 70 years in mining maintenance support with its Loctite adhesive technologies, including long‑standing threadlocker Loctite 243 for locking and sealing metal fasteners on vibrating equipment. The company is pairing these anaerobic adhesives with structural bonding and wear‑protection products to extend service intervals on crushers, conveyors and mills, reducing unplanned shutdowns in high‑load, high‑vibration environments. For site engineers, the focus is on improving joint integrity without redesigning existing bolted connections or changing OEM hardware.

Final submissions are due within a week for the GRX26 global mining challenge, which is seeking innovators to tackle real-world operational problems for major producers including BHP, Rio Tinto and Newmont. Run through the AusIMM GRX (Global Resources Experience) platform, the challenge focuses on deployable solutions in areas such as orebody knowledge, tailings and waste, energy use and decarbonisation, and workforce technology. For engineers and tech developers, it offers direct access to operating sites, structured pilot pathways and feedback from senior technical leaders.

Ark Mines has secured a Queensland mining lease for its Sandy Mitchell rare earths project, marking a key move from exploration to planned production. The licence positions the company to advance mine planning and approvals for heavy and light rare earth extraction in northern Queensland, a region already targeted for critical minerals development. Geotechnical and mine design teams can now progress detailed pit designs, waste storage layouts and haul road alignments under a defined tenure framework.

Fuel supply constraints are increasingly disrupting Australia’s mining and exploration sector, with the Association of Mining and Exploration Companies (AMEC) warning that junior miners in remote regions face diesel shortages and volatile pricing at outback depots. AMEC reports that smaller operators, often running single-rig exploration programmes and contract haulage fleets, have limited storage capacity and weaker bargaining power with bulk fuel suppliers. The situation is forcing schedule changes, higher operating costs per drilled metre or tonne moved, and greater logistics risk for greenfields projects far from pipeline or rail infrastructure.

BHP has lodged an Environmental Impact Declaration for a new concentrator at the Escondida copper mine in Chile, a $4.4–$5.9 billion project designed to counter declining ore grades by replacing capacity from the ageing Los Colorados plant. The plant would sustain Escondida’s processing rate at 460,000 tonnes per day within existing production approvals and forms a core element of BHP’s $10.8 billion, 10‑year growth plan announced in late 2024. Construction could start in early 2027, with 2,500–6,000 construction workers and first production targeted for 2031–2032.

Congo is poised to approve the $30 million acquisition of Chemaf by US-based Virtus Minerals, clearing the way for about $750 million of planned investment to restart the stalled Mutoshi copper-cobalt project and expand the Etoile operation. The deal, which requires state sign-off on changes of control for mining permit holders, has seen Gécamines leverage its position as lessor of a key Mutoshi permit after previously blocking a Chinese state-backed bidder. As an early test of the December US–Congo minerals pact, the transaction will signal how preferential access for US investors to Congolese copper and cobalt assets will be structured.

Lucara Diamond has recovered a 36.92-carat Type IIb blue diamond from surface stockpiled ore at its 100%-owned Karowe mine in Botswana, using X-ray transmission sorting that has already delivered five stones over 100 carats in 2026. The find reinforces the economic value of Karowe’s stockpiles as open-pit mining winds down before June and the operation transitions to underground production. A completed feasibility study for the underground expansion outlines potential recovery of 4.5 million carats over 10 years, with Karowe currently yielding about 300,000 high-value carats annually.

New drilling at Dakota Gold’s Richmond Hill oxide heap-leach project in South Dakota has extended mineralisation at least 260 metres north of the current measured and indicated boundary, with step-out hole RH25C-359 cutting 13 metres at 3.14 g/t gold and 10.57 g/t silver from 99 metres depth, open in all directions. Additional intercepts include 6 metres at 2.53 g/t gold from 55 metres in BG-GW-11 and 9 metres at 1.42 g/t gold from 37 metres in BG-GW-13, feeding into a 2026 pre-feasibility and reserve declaration. The project currently hosts 244.7 million measured and indicated tonnes at 0.46 g/t gold and 4.83 g/t silver, underpinning a 28-year mine life and post-tax NPV of $1.6–2.1 billion with a 55–59% IRR and $384 million initial capex.

Antimony Resources’ share price jumped over 10% to a record C$1.59 as it advances the Bald Hill antimony deposit in New Brunswick towards a first mineral resource, underpinned by a 10,000-metre resource definition drill programme and a 3D mineralisation model. SRK Consultants’ Toronto office has been engaged for the estimate, drawing on its recent work at the Beaverbrook antimony deposit, while final assays from the remaining drilling are expected within 3–4 weeks. Bald Hill currently shows stibnite mineralisation over 700 m strike, to 400 m depth, averaging >3 m true width at 3–4% Sb.

Nouveau Monde Graphite has secured US$335 million in senior project debt from Export Development Canada and the Canada Infrastructure Bank towards the US$421 million Phase-2 development of its Matawinie open-pit graphite mine and concentrator at Saint-Michel-des-Saints, 150 km north of Montreal. The project is designed for 106,000 t/y of natural graphite concentrate over 25 years, with offtake support from Panasonic, Traxys and the Canadian government covering about 75% of planned output, and a linked 13,000 t/y active anode material plant at Bécancour. Feasibility work pegs after-tax NPV at US$238 million (8% discount) and IRR at 16%, with the project already shovel-ready and referred to Ottawa’s Major Projects Office for fast-tracking.

Benz Mining has intersected 7 metres grading 223 g/t gold within 11 metres at 144.2 g/t from 270 metres downhole in hole 26EGN013 at the new Kilkenny zone beneath the historical Hibernian mine at Mt Egerton, Western Australia. The hit, hosted in quartz–pyrite veins within mafic rocks in a folded gabbro sill at a predicted dilation position, validates a revised structural model targeting oblique shear zones and suggests potential for stacked high-grade shoots along the Hibernian corridor. Benz plans follow-up drilling on Kilkenny extensions and eastern targets (Galway, Mako, Gift, Trading Post) while funding a >250,000-metre campaign at its 510,100 oz Glenburgh project.