Geomechanics.io

Upgrades to the Bruce Highway–Buxton Road intersection at Isis River will add dedicated right- and left-turn lanes into Buxton Road, the local service station and a nearby fruit orchard, reducing conflict points on the existing two-lane highway. The design also provides formalised access for adjacent property owners, replacing ad hoc entry points that currently interrupt through traffic. For civil and pavement engineers, works will focus on widening, new turning pockets and tie-ins under live traffic, with associated drainage and shoulder reconstruction.

Curtin University has shortlisted three mining-focused technologies for its 2026 Curtinnovation Awards: a machine-learning tool for predicting tailings dam failures, a low-energy sensor network for real-time underground strata monitoring, and a modular system for recovering critical minerals from low-grade waste streams. The shortlisted projects, all led by Curtin researchers, target high-risk domains such as tailings storage, deep-level ground control and mine waste reprocessing. For operators, the work signals more data-rich geotechnical surveillance and potential new value from legacy waste facilities.

The Bulk Handling Technical Conference, running alongside the Australian Bulk Handling Expo in Melbourne from 16–17 September, will convene engineers and technical specialists to dissect current challenges in bulk materials handling. Sessions will focus on conveyor technology, including high-capacity overland systems and transfer chute design, as well as wear management strategies for liners, idlers and transfer points in abrasive ore streams. Mining operators, OEMs and consultants are expected to use the forum to benchmark design approaches, maintenance regimes and upgrade options for existing materials handling circuits.

Iluka Resources has signed its first rare earths offtake, a binding multi-year take-or-pay contract to supply neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium and terbium magnet rare earth oxides from 2028 to a globally recognised automotive manufacturer. The initial four-year deal covers about 10 per cent of planned output from Iluka’s Eneabba rare earths refinery in Western Australia, currently under development with federal support. For miners and processors, the agreement signals growing OEM willingness to lock in long-term supply for magnet-grade REO, underpinning project financing and downstream processing investment.

Sky Metals’ latest reverse circulation and diamond drilling at the Tallebung tin project in New South Wales has extended shallow mineralisation along the north‑eastern margin of the known system and defined a new zone outside the current Mineral Resource Estimate. The work targets near‑surface, open‑pittable tin ahead of an updated resource statement and pre‑feasibility study due within weeks. For mine planners and geotechs, the emerging geometry suggests potential for a larger, low‑strip open pit and revised pit shells once new grade and continuity data are incorporated.

Astron’s Donald mineral sands and rare earths project in Victoria’s Wimmera region is now shovel‑ready for Phase 1, with engineering design and site establishment advancing ahead of a final investment decision tied to securing a senior debt facility. The project targets zircon, titania and rare earth-bearing minerals from a large WIM-style fine-grained deposit, requiring tailored wet concentration and mineral separation plant design. Progress on financing and detailed engineering will dictate timelines for bulk earthworks, tailings storage construction and process plant installation.

Severn Trent Water has appointed Barhale to deliver a £9.5m stormwater scheme in Silverdale, near Stoke-on-Trent, centred on a 10.5m diameter, 16m deep shaft providing 770m³ of additional storage to cut intermittent CSO discharges in heavy rainfall. The shaft will be built inside a cofferdam and underpinned to deal with high perched water levels and loose ground, demanding careful temporary works and groundwater control. Barhale will also upgrade the existing pumping station, build a new one with full MEICA integration, and create new road access under a Section 278 agreement.

AtkinsRéalis has secured a place on Hampshire County Council’s new four‑year Gen5 Consult Transport, Highways & Infrastructure Consultancy Framework, as one of three suppliers on Lot A for multi‑disciplinary civil engineering and highways services. The framework is accessible to public bodies across England, giving AtkinsRéalis a direct route to commissions beyond Hampshire for transport planning, highway design and related infrastructure consultancy. Client director for local transport frameworks Kelly Kilby said the firm will leverage established south of England teams to support connectivity upgrades for businesses and communities.

Amey has secured a place on Transport for London’s £700m Infrastructure Improvement Framework, working alongside Costain and Dragados on multi-year upgrades. The framework covers London Underground and Overground station modernisations, tram infrastructure renewals and step-free access works, implying significant civils, structural and geotechnical packages across constrained urban sites. Contractors can expect complex staging around live rail operations, tight possession windows and integration with existing signalling, power and platform systems.

GMI Construction Group has been appointed via the NEPO Framework to refurbish South Shields’ Grade II listed Customs House, originally built in 1863 and now housing a 442-seat theatre and 132-seat studio/cinema. Works include internal reconfiguration, sensitive restoration of heritage fabric, and new extensions to deliver modern, fully accessible, multifunctional spaces for cultural, educational and commercial use. Key interventions feature an architectural glass entrance and an ‘internal street’ linking the main building to the adjacent Daltons Lane workshop, funded as part of South Tyneside Council’s £20m Levelling Up programme.

Standard contracts body JCT has appointed Michelmores partner Anna Wood as chair of its drafting sub-committee, succeeding Clyde & Co partner Victoria Peckett, who steps down in July 2026 after 18 years in the role. Wood leads Michelmores’ construction team and advises developers, employers, contractors and consultants on contentious and non-contentious UK projects, including complex built environment disputes. Her leadership will shape future updates to the JCT suite of standard form construction contracts, directly affecting risk allocation, payment, and dispute mechanisms on UK infrastructure and building schemes.

National Grid has appointed Balfour Beatty, M Group, Morgan Sindall Infrastructure, Murphy and OTW to deliver £1.2bn of ‘reconductoring’ upgrades to 1,000km of 275kV–400kV overhead transmission lines across England and Wales under its Electricity Transmission Partnership. The work, part of a £35bn programme running to 2031 and following an initial £8bn substation upgrade phase, will replace existing conductors with higher-capacity, modern materials to increase thermal ratings and network transfer capability. Delivery partners are expanding sector skills capacity, with new overhead line and HV training centres opened in Yorkshire and Staffordshire and a further facility planned in Nottinghamshire.

Bouygues UK has been appointed lead contractor for the Overdale Acute Hospital in Jersey, a purpose-built facility with 47,500m² internal gross floor area including an emergency department, six operating theatres, inpatient and critical care beds, and a dedicated women’s and children’s centre. Selected as preferred tenderer in November 2025 under the island’s New Healthcare Facilities Programme, Bouygues has since been finalising commercial terms and construction planning. The contractor will now implement mobilisation plans and manage main works, including logistics for materials and labour to an island site.

Holcim UK has secured the readymix contract for the Smithfield Lofts apartments in Digbeth, part of the £1.9bn Smithfield regeneration, supplying ECOPact low-carbon concrete mixes including a watertight grade to prevent water ingress. A 160m³ pour in November 2025 formed foundations for the crane platform and columns up to first floor level on the former Birmingham Wholesale Market site. By replacing the original CEM I-based specification reviewed by Velcol Groundworks and O’Connor Sutton Cronin, the ECOPact mixes cut embodied carbon by 429 tonnes CO₂e.

Ausa has launched the DR902AHG, a 9‑tonne reversible dumper powered by a 55.4 kW Deutz engine and equipped with a swivel-skip configuration for road, industrial and large infrastructure projects. The machine debuts Ausa AI Vision, a standard-fit safety system combining five cameras, AI processing and a radar unit on the skip side to monitor a 5 m envelope and extend object detection beyond that range. The system delivers real-time visual and audible alerts, with warning distances dynamically adjusted to machine speed to improve operator reaction time around blind spots.

Ramboll has secured a place on the UK government’s £3.5bn Construction Professional Services 2 framework, a four‑year route to market run by the Government Commercial Agency to replace the former Crown Commercial Service framework. The appointment gives Ramboll direct access to work with major departments such as the Ministry of Defence and the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, plus more than 200 public sector bodies including NHS trusts and local authorities. CPS 2 also covers existing clients Network Rail and National Highways, with Ramboll forecasting up to £20m in additional revenue across transport, infrastructure, buildings and energy.

Investcorp has acquired London-headquartered Smart Managed Solutions, a mechanical and electrical facilities management specialist providing critical HVAC, electrical, fire, water and gas system maintenance across UK sites. Founded in 2017, Smart has grown organically at over 30% per year to more than £100m in revenue, serving a fragmented market for mission-critical building services. Investcorp plans to back further UK expansion via bolt-on acquisitions, technology investment and organisational professionalisation, while co-founders Lee Bainbridge and Alex Wilkin retain a meaningful equity stake.

Scottish architecture firm Smith Scott Mullan has shifted to employee ownership, with owners Graham Acheson, Eugene Mullan and Rick McCluggage transferring 100% of their shares into an employee ownership trust. The Edinburgh-based practice, which works extensively on housing, education and community infrastructure projects across Scotland, will now be controlled on behalf of its 30-plus staff. For public-sector clients and contractors, the trust model signals continuity of design leadership and long-term commitment to framework agreements and multi-phase regeneration schemes.

Kier has secured a £101m construction continuation contract from the Environment Agency and Somerset Council for the Bridgwater Tidal Barrier, following the departure of the Haven SeaSeven jack-up barge from the site. The scheme forms the core of Bridgwater’s long-term tidal flood defence on the River Parrett, designed to protect low-lying urban and industrial areas from storm surges. The new contract phase signals a shift from marine plant-intensive works towards onshore civil, structural and mechanical flood control installations.

Cullross has lodged plans with City of Edinburgh Council for a 212‑home mixed-tenure scheme at Western Harbour, combining private units with affordable flats and townhouses to be managed by Wheatley Group. The masterplan includes external amenity space, green areas, bike and refuse stores and car parking, and is arranged to mirror Newhaven’s urban grain while prioritising sustainable travel via direct pedestrian and cycle links to nearby bus and tram stops. Cullross reports 116 participants at two public consultations in early 2026, plus separate meetings with Leith Harbour and Newhaven Community Council and the Western Harbour Owners’ Association.

Fischer construction robots are autonomously drilling about 16,000 ceiling fixing holes, each 10mm in diameter and 25mm deep, for heating and cooling panels in a Frankfurt office project built by Strabag and Ed Züblin. Working directly from a digital construction model, the robots position and drill to receive Fischer EA II hammerset anchors, improving positional accuracy for panel fastening into the concrete structure. All drilling data – including time, depth, coordinates and reinforcement strikes – is logged automatically, reducing manual surveying effort and worker exposure to repetitive overhead drilling.

Kier has secured the £101M construction phase of the Bridgwater Tidal Barrier Scheme, advancing Environment Agency and Somerset Council plans to cut tidal flood risk to Bridgwater and nearby communities. The scheme will deliver a new tidal barrier and associated flood defences on the River Parrett, designed to protect thousands of properties from storm surges and high spring tides. For civil and geotechnical teams, key tasks will include deep foundations in soft alluvial soils, complex cofferdam works, and integration with existing embankments and drainage infrastructure.

WSP has been appointed to Transport for London’s Professional Services Framework to provide programme, project and commercial management support across the capital’s multi-modal network, including Underground, Overground, bus and active travel schemes. The framework will be used to resource complex upgrades such as signalling renewals, station capacity works and major asset maintenance on bridges, tunnels and viaducts. For civil and geotechnical teams, this signals continued demand for integrated design–delivery capability, robust cost control and constructability input on constrained brownfield sites.

Gold climbed 1.2% in early New York trading to move back above $4,200/oz as reports of “encouraging progress” in US‑Iran peace talks in Switzerland eased some inflation fears from the Gulf conflict. Bullion is still down about 20% since the end‑February outbreak, when closure of the Strait of Hormuz drove energy prices higher and pushed markets to price an 89% chance of a December US rate hike via the CME FedWatch Tool. Goldman Sachs has cut its year‑end target to $4,900/oz and Bank of America now sees its $6,000/oz call as unlikely until rate hikes are fully priced out.