Geomechanics.io

Pile Dynamics, Inc. and GRL Engineers, Inc. will run a one-day 2026 “State of Practice” seminar focused on quality control for deep foundations, covering benefits, methods, interpretations, risks and implementation. The programme centres on modern testing and monitoring approaches for driven piles and drilled shafts, including practical guidance on data interpretation and risk management. Geotechnical practitioners can expect applied content directly relevant to foundation load testing, integrity assessment and construction QC procedures.

Denison Mines has appointed Wood Canada Limited as construction manager for the Phoenix in-situ recovery (ISR) uranium mine, part of the Wheeler River joint venture in northern Saskatchewan’s Athabasca Basin. Wood will coordinate surface plant, wellfield and supporting infrastructure construction for the ISR operation, which replaces conventional underground mining with a pattern of injection and recovery wells in sandstone-hosted ore. The appointment signals progression towards detailed engineering, procurement and constructability planning, with ISR-specific geotechnical, hydrogeological and groundwater control design now moving into execution focus.

Robit has taken on a full Managed Service Contract for drilling consumables at the Endeavor underground silver-zinc-lead mine, 40 km north of Cobar in New South Wales’ Cobar Basin. The contract covers supply and lifecycle management of drilling tools for one of Robit’s first underground sites in Australia using this model, shifting responsibility for bit and rod performance from the mine to the OEM. For mine operators, the arrangement ties consumable costs directly to drilled metres and tool life, tightening control over drilling productivity and budgeting.

A copper concentrator on Zambia’s Copperbelt has replaced repeatedly failing valve positioners in its flotation circuit with Valmet’s Neles NDX smart positioners to cope with aggressive reagents, high humidity, dust and strong vibration. The compact NDX units, with continuous self-diagnostics and low air consumption, are being installed on existing actuators across slurry, air and reagent control valves without changing piping or brackets. Early operation shows more stable froth level control and fewer unplanned shutdowns, directly improving plant throughput and maintenance planning.

Jevons Robotics has signed an agreement with Newmont Australia to deploy an automated pre-split loading robot based on its ARTEV1000 rugged, battery-electric robotic platform in highwall mining environments. The packaged system is purpose-built for drill-and-blast pre-split loading, extending the ARTEV1000 from a proven autonomous carrier into a fully integrated explosives-handling unit. By automating loading on highwalls, Newmont aims to materially cut exposure hours for personnel working near unstable faces and blast lines, with implications for wider robotic deployment in hazardous pit zones.

The Queensland Mining and Engineering Exhibition (QME) will return to Mackay Showgrounds on 21–23 July 2026, with 90 per cent of exhibition space already booked and organisers expecting one of the largest editions in the event’s 30‑plus year history. Exhibitors are set to span underground and open‑cut equipment, mine automation, condition monitoring, and decarbonisation technologies tailored to Queensland’s coal and critical minerals operations. For site engineers and maintenance teams, QME 2026 signals a concentrated opportunity to compare OEM fleets, digital optimisation tools, and brownfield retrofit solutions in one location.

Schlam is redesigning its Hercules dump truck bodies and Barracuda excavator buckets as whole-of-life assets, using on-site 3D scanning of tray wear and deformation to drive iterative geometry changes from first load to end-of-life. Technical service representatives capture high-density surface data on operating fleets, feeding back into liner layouts, wear package selection and structural reinforcement strategies tailored to specific ore abrasivity and loading patterns. For mine operators, this enables data-based decisions on tray rebuild timing, payload optimisation and maintenance scheduling rather than relying on generic wear assumptions.

Maintenance and resilience take centre stage in delivering the UK’s 10-year infrastructure strategy, with the new infrastructure pipeline and industrial strategy signalling sustained, long-term spend rather than short, reactive programmes. ICE’s Lighthouse initiative stresses whole-life asset management, prioritising condition monitoring, planned interventions and climate adaptation over headline-grabbing megaprojects. For designers and contractors this means more work on strengthening existing bridges, flood defences and transport corridors to withstand more frequent extreme weather, and tighter performance-based specifications for durability and inspection access.

President David Porter’s January visit to Hong Kong focused on strengthening the Institution of Civil Engineers’ global role through direct engagement with local members and project teams. Meetings with Hong Kong’s engineering community centred on major infrastructure delivery under dense urban and steep hillside conditions, including complex deep foundations and slope stabilisation works typical of the territory. For practitioners, the trip signals continued ICE emphasis on international knowledge exchange around design standards, risk management and construction methods in highly constrained, high-rise city environments.

Female civil and infrastructure engineers are being invited to a global ICE Connects: Women in Fellowship panel and networking event on Wednesday 11 March to demystify the Institution of Civil Engineers Fellowship application process. The session will focus on eligibility routes, evidencing leadership and technical impact on major projects, and navigating the review interview. For senior practitioners managing large infrastructure programmes or geotechnical portfolios, it offers direct access to current Fellows and practical guidance on preparing a successful FICE submission.

Trilogy Metals’ fiscal 2025 net loss widened to $42.2 million (US$0.26/share) from $8.6 million after a non-cash US GAAP derivative charge linked to a proposed $17.8 million US government investment for a 10% equity stake, plus warrants for a further 7.5%. The company ended the year with $51.6 million in cash and, with South32, has approved a $35 million FY2026 budget for Ambler Metals to start mine permitting for the Arctic copper-silver-zinc-lead-gold deposit and undertake geotechnical and condemnation drilling. Progress on the Ambler access road, backed by restored federal approvals and potential FAST-41 permitting, will be critical for long-term project execution and logistics.

BHP is prioritising organic copper growth over major M&A after copper overtook iron ore as its top earner, delivering US$8 billion EBITDA (up 59%) and underpinning a plan to lift copper-equivalent output to 2.5 million tonnes per year by FY2035 from 1.9–2Mt this year. The miner expects about 1.4Mtpa from Escondida and Pampa Norte in Chile plus an initial 500,000tpa from South Australia, while the Vicuña JV with Lundin in Argentina targets 800,000tpa copper equivalent at first-quartile cash costs from the Josemaría and Filo deposits. With net debt at US$14.7 billion and up to US$10 billion in “undervalued capital” identified, BHP says its balance sheet can support deals but growth will centre on productivity and advancing existing projects.

Genesis Minerals is acquiring Magnetic Resources for about A$639 million in a 70% cash, 30% scrip deal, paying A$1.40 plus 0.0873 Genesis shares per Magnetic share, a 25% premium to the last close. The transaction secures the 2.2-million-oz Lady Julie deposit at 1.8 g/t Au, 20 km from Genesis’ 3 Mtpa Laverton mill, enabling additional open-pit and underground feed into a larger integrated operation. Pro forma, Genesis will control 21 million oz of resources (5.2 million oz reserves) with a 275,000 oz/year production outlook across Laverton and Leonora.

Gold’s 2025–26 bull run is being sustained by central bank purchases of 328 tonnes in December 2025, record inflows of $19 billion into physical gold ETFs in January, and mounting concerns over US “dollar debasement” and sovereign debt, according to Scotiabank and Jefferies. Spot gold, now about $4,856/oz after a 2.7% drop Tuesday, is still up roughly 13% year‑to‑date following a more than 60% surge last year, with ETF holdings hitting 4,145 tonnes and $669 billion AUM. Jefferies also flags Tether’s 148‑tonne physical position as a non‑sovereign demand driver, adding 32 tonnes since Q4 2025.

Ontario has moved Kinross Gold’s C$1.4 billion Great Bear project into its One Project One Process fast-track regime, targeting mine approvals in about two years instead of the decade-plus typical for the province, alongside Canada Nickel’s Crawford and Frontier Lithium’s PAK projects. Great Bear, a combined open-pit and underground operation 500 km northwest of Thunder Bay, is planned to produce 518,000 oz/y by 2029 at an all-in sustaining cost of US$812/oz over an initial 12-year life, drawing on 30.3 Mt at 2.81 g/t Au (M&I) and 25.5 Mt at 4.74 g/t Au (inferred). The designation is linked to the planned Red Lake Transmission Line from Dryden, with regional electricity demand north of Dryden forecast to rise by up to 250% by 2050, largely from mining growth.

Genome British Columbia and UBC’s Bradshaw Research Institute for Minerals and Mining have launched a three-year Biomining Innovation Partnership backed by up to C$1 million to advance genomic tools for bioleaching and waste-stream metal recovery. The programme will train specialists and run field-focused projects on using microorganisms to extract metals from low-grade ores, tailings and polluted water that are uneconomic or difficult for conventional chemical or mechanical processing. Projects will be aligned with Rio Tinto’s C$150 million, 10-year Centre for Future Materials “Grand Challenges” to ensure direct relevance to large-scale mine operations.

Studio Egret West has been appointed to rework Rafael Viñoly’s original masterplan for the final 16 acres of the 42-acre Battersea Power Station riverside site, which already holds outline consent for 3.2 million sq ft of residential, commercial, cultural and leisure floorspace. The wider redevelopment, backed by Malaysian shareholders since 2012, has delivered over 2,200 homes, 800,000 sq ft of offices, a new Underground station and more than 150 retail and leisure units around the Grade II* listed power station. Remaining phases will tie into the 14-acre Nine Elms Park and six-acre Power Station Park, with construction of two Gehry-designed buildings on Electric Boulevard due to start within months.

More than 1,000 local authority craftworkers on the red book agreement, mainly plumbing and heating engineers in housing maintenance, will be balloted for strike action across seven councils – Durham, Leeds, Stoke, Dudley, Southwark, Newham and Bristol – between 19 February and 26 March. The dispute centres on the Local Government Association’s “full and final” 3.2% 2025 pay offer, removal of apprentices from the national agreement, and placing new entrants on the same scale as qualified craft operatives. Prolonged action could significantly delay responsive repairs and planned maintenance on council housing stock in the affected areas.

Kier has appointed long-serving executive Tracey Collins as sustainability director, giving her overall responsibility for the contractor’s environmental and social sustainability strategy across its UK infrastructure portfolio. Collins, previously director of emerging talent, inclusion and social sustainability, will work alongside Ben Stone, who remains group head of environment, and Verity Magee, who continues to lead social value. The move consolidates Kier’s ESG governance, signalling tighter integration of carbon, resilience and community objectives into project delivery and supply chain requirements.

AtkinsRéalis has secured a £96m, five-year sole-provider contract with Herefordshire Council’s highways department, covering highway and active travel design, bridge inspections, flood modelling, and environmental and heritage assessments from 6 April 2026 to 5 April 2031. The framework, extendable to 2036, also includes project management, transport planning and consultancy for major infrastructure schemes, positioning AtkinsRéalis alongside the term maintenance provider on all highways projects. For geotechnical and civil teams, the deal centralises technical standards and modelling across structures, drainage and active travel corridors county-wide.

Bovis Construction (Europe) is opening a Birmingham city centre office at Northspring on Temple Street, adding a third UK base to its existing London and Manchester operations to service a growing public sector workload. The move follows the April 2025 sale of Lendlease Construction (Europe) to US private equity firm Atlas Holdings and the subsequent reversion to the historic Bovis name. For clients, the new regional hub signals greater in-house delivery capacity and closer project oversight on central and local government schemes across the Midlands and wider UK.

Method Consulting has appointed Tom Bentham as partner for building services & environmental engineering and head of its London office at 3 Waterhouse Square, Holborn. Bentham joins from Max Fordham with a track record on complex low-energy buildings, including the RIBA Stirling Prize-winning Magdalene College New Library and Royal Wharf Primary School. His role signals Method’s intent to expand London capability in integrated building services and environmental design, relevant for clients targeting higher operational energy performance and whole-life carbon reductions.

Carillion’s former chief executive Richard Howson has been fined £237,700 by the Financial Conduct Authority for recklessly failing to disclose serious financial problems in the contractor’s UK construction business before its January 2018 collapse. The FCA found he was knowingly concerned in Carillion’s breaches of the Market Abuse Regulation and Listing Rules, having not updated market announcements or properly informed the board and audit committee. Former group finance directors Richard Adam and Zafar Khan were separately fined £232,800 and £138,900 in January 2026 after dropping their own appeals.

A High Wycombe contractor, Bow Tie Construction Limited, has been fined £24,000 plus £4,101 costs at Southwark Crown Court after a worker fell 1.65 metres from the top of a five‑foot stepladder while using a gas‑powered nail gun on temporary timber formwork for a new concrete staircase in an Islington refurbishment. The fall caused crush injuries to both elbows requiring multiple surgeries, a fractured forearm, dislocated wrists and leg and knee damage. HSE found no safe system of work for height, inadequate edge protection, incorrectly assembled tower scaffolds and uncontrolled ladder use, despite a prior prohibition notice one month earlier.