Geomechanics.io

Ora Banda Mining has identified a large-scale gold mineralisation system at the Round Dam prospect, only 3.5km from its 1.2Mtpa Davyhurst processing plant in Western Australia. Drilling has defined a broad, near-surface mineralised corridor interpreted as a new gold system rather than an extension of existing deposits, improving the case for low‑haul, open‑pit feed to Davyhurst. The proximity to established crushing, grinding and CIL infrastructure materially reduces capital intensity for bringing any future Round Dam resource into production.

The US Government has launched a US$12 billion strategic critical minerals reserve, mirroring Australia’s national stockpile approach to secure supplies of lithium, rare earths and other battery and defence inputs. Funding will support long-term offtake contracts, stockpiling and processing capacity within US borders, reducing exposure to Chinese-controlled refining and midstream bottlenecks. For Australian miners, particularly in spodumene, nickel and rare earth projects, the move signals stronger demand for US-aligned supply with potential for co-funded downstream processing and joint venture refineries.

British Columbia will from 1 April process mineral exploration permits within 40–140 days, with any files breaching the service standard escalated to the chief permitting officer for a decision within 14 days, after exploration spending reached a record C$751 million in 2025. The province is allocating C$3 million, including C$1 million to increase permitting capacity and C$2 million to improve the Mineral Claims Consultation Framework, which has been a key bottleneck. Minister Jagrup Brar cited recent approvals at Skeena’s C$713-million Eskay Creek restart and Centerra’s Mt. Milligan expansion to 2035 as proof the system can move faster while maintaining First Nations consultation.

US Department of Energy has issued a Request for Information inviting US states to host Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campuses covering fuel fabrication, enrichment, used-fuel reprocessing and waste disposition across the full nuclear fuel cycle. Depending on regional capabilities, campuses could also integrate advanced reactor deployment, power generation, advanced manufacturing and co-located data centres, with states asked to specify priorities such as workforce development, infrastructure investment and economic diversification. Responses, including proposed funding structures, risk-sharing mechanisms and federal partnership models, are due by 1 April 2026.

Eldorado Gold is acquiring Foran Mining in a C$3.8 billion deal to combine the fully financed Skouries gold-copper project in Greece with Foran’s McIlvenna Bay volcanogenic massive sulphide project in Saskatchewan’s Flin Flon Greenstone Belt. The combined company will control two advanced underground developments with planned long-life, low-cost production profiles and significant copper exposure alongside gold. For project engineers, the transaction signals continued capital support for complex underground bulk-tonnage builds in both EU and Canadian regulatory environments.

Flender’s Flender One platform has been expanded to cover all major industrial gearbox applications, promising full customisation of gear ratios, torque ratings and mounting interfaces while still using a modular manufacturing approach. The system is configured digitally in minutes, with application-specific designs generated from operating data such as load spectra, duty cycles and ambient conditions, then translated directly into production. For mining operators, this points to faster delivery of mill, conveyor and crusher drives with closer alignment to site-specific mechanical and thermal requirements than traditional catalogue gear units.

ABB has launched its Automation Extended programme as a strategic evolution of its distributed control systems, aiming to let mines introduce new automation capabilities progressively while preserving existing DCS investments and control logic. The approach is pitched at brownfield process plants with ABB’s large installed DCS base, where operators want to add advanced process control, data integration and remote operations without major shutdowns or rip-and-replace projects. For mining engineers, this signals a stronger focus on staged upgrades of concentrators, smelters and material handling systems rather than full control system overhauls.

Electrification of mobile fleets is emerging as the key performance differentiator for Canadian mines, with an EY report linking early adoption of battery-electric haul trucks and loaders to lower operating costs and access to federal GHG-reduction incentives. The report points to Canada’s grid mix and federal tax credits for zero-emission equipment as structural advantages over jurisdictions reliant on diesel power. EY flags grid capacity, on-site charging infrastructure and mine power distribution upgrades as immediate engineering constraints that will shape project timelines and capital allocation.

Metso has acquired Newcastle-based MRA Automation (Multiskilled Resources Australia Pty Ltd), a specialist in engineering, automation and software for bulk material handling systems at ports and terminals worldwide. The deal adds MRA’s digitalisation and control expertise for shiploaders, stacker–reclaimers and conveyor networks to Metso’s existing crushing, screening and conveying portfolio. For mine and terminal operators, this signals tighter integration between mechanical handling equipment and advanced automation platforms, with a single OEM able to deliver end-to-end design, control and optimisation support.

Saudi Arabia’s rapidly expanding surface mining sector is increasingly relying on three major contractors – Jac Rijk Al-Rushaid, EPSA and Saudi Comedat – to run large-scale load-and-haul, drilling and blasting fleets for Ma’aden and other operators. These groups are supplying and operating high-capacity hydraulic excavators, ultra-class haul trucks and large rotary blast-hole rigs across multiple gold, phosphate and bauxite pits, often under long-term, performance-based contracts. For mine owners, the model shifts capital and fleet management risk to contractors while tightening production, availability and cost-per-tonne guarantees.

Caterpillar’s redesigned Cat 6015 hydraulic mining shovel introduces a more versatile front-end and structural package aimed at higher annual output and lower cost per tonne across multiple digging and loading duties. The machine incorporates durability and serviceability upgrades to extend component life and reduce planned downtime, with easier access to major systems and faster maintenance cycles. For mine operators, the 6015’s flexible configuration is positioned to slot into existing truck–shovel fleets where maximising uptime on 100–150 t class excavators is critical to meeting production schedules.

Tarmac Building Products has been fined £633,300, plus £5,583 costs and a £2,000 victim surcharge, after an HSE investigation into a 22 July 2022 incident at its Linford, Essex block production line where an employee’s legs were crushed between moving steel frames on a trackway. The interlocked access gate to the fenced frame-cleaning area did not isolate power to preceding track sections, allowing a loaded frame to enter the “safe” zone while manual cleaning was underway. HSE found prior near misses on the same section and a historic risk assessment identifying extra guarding and control measures, which were only implemented after the life-changing injury.

A self-employed contractor has been jailed for 12 months after 19-year-old labourer Thomas Neate died from head injuries sustained when he fell through an opening while stripping tiles from a domestic garage roof in Staines-upon-Thames on 16 August 2023. HSE investigators found the demolition was carried out directly from the roof with no scaffolding, decking or fall-prevention system, alongside unsafe mini-digger use and unrestricted public access to the site. Asbestos cement sheets were also broken up and removed by hand with no prior survey, exposing three other workers and the household to fibre risk.

Blyth Marble Limited has been fined £50,000 plus a £3,750 victim surcharge after 61-year-old worker Steven White was fatally struck by two granite slabs with a combined weight of more than 900 kg during offloading from a lorry loader at its Larkhall, Lanarkshire premises on 4th September 2024. HSE investigators found vertical safety posts, intended as a physical barrier to prevent slab toppling, had been removed despite custom and practice to leave them in place and no explicit requirement in the safe working manual. The Safe System of Work also failed to distinguish between single and multiple slab lifting and was breached when White worked alone despite a two-person offloading requirement.

Wyloo is advancing its Eagle’s Nest nickel–copper–PGE deposit in Ontario’s Ring of Fire from remote prospect to near-term production hub, positioning it as a high-grade underground operation within a largely greenfield mining camp. The project sits in roadless muskeg terrain north of the Albany River, requiring all-season access corridors and air-supported logistics while Ontario and First Nations negotiate regional infrastructure and environmental approvals. For Australian operators, the move deepens Australia–Canada critical minerals ties and offers a test case for permitting and building deep, high-value sulphide mines in sensitive sub-Arctic wetlands.

Tega is promoting its DynaMax liner range as a full-coverage solution for mill grinding circuits, with the DynaPrime variant engineered specifically for large 28‑ft and above SAG and ball mills. The system focuses on optimising liner profile and wear life to extend mill uptime, stabilise power draw and improve grinding efficiency, particularly in high-throughput operations. For plant and maintenance engineers, the key implication is potential reductions in unplanned relines and more predictable mill availability across both primary SAG and secondary ball mill duties.

Global Tailings Management Institute has appointed a new chief executive officer and created a dedicated technical body to accelerate implementation of the Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management across major mining jurisdictions. The technical group is expected to focus on dam breach analysis, independent tailings review boards and minimum design criteria for upstream, downstream and centreline facilities, directly affecting geotechnical design and monitoring practice. For operators, the move signals tighter scrutiny of closure plans, beach slope performance and water balance management at large tailings storage facilities.

Merger talks between Rio Tinto and Glencore face a 5 February deadline under UK takeover rules, with any extension now described as unlikely. The proposed all-share deal would combine Rio’s iron ore and aluminium portfolio with Glencore’s large copper, coal and trading operations, creating a diversified mining group with a market value well above US$100 billion. For project developers and contractors, a tie-up could reshape capital allocation across Pilbara iron ore, Queensland and NSW coal, and major copper assets in South America and Africa.

Deep Yellow has confirmed the resignation of executive director Gillian Swaby and the appointment of Greg Field as managing director, signalling a leadership reset as the company advances its uranium portfolio. Swaby, a long-serving board member with a corporate governance and project finance background, is credited with shaping Deep Yellow’s growth strategy and capital structure. Field steps into the MD role as the company progresses key Namibian and Australian uranium assets through study and approvals phases, where permitting, ESG scrutiny and long-term price signals remain critical.

JPMorgan has set a year-end gold price target of $6,300/oz despite last week’s 10% single-day plunge from a near-record $5,600/oz to about $4,600/oz, arguing that an “entrenched” preference for real over paper assets will keep bullion supported. Strategists led by Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou see potential for $8,000/oz by 2030 if private investors increase allocations and central bank purchases return to around 800 tonnes in 2026. Silver is viewed as riskier, with prices having whipsawed from $120/oz to $70/oz in two days and JPMorgan now assuming a higher floor of $75–$80/oz.

Eldorado Gold will acquire Foran Mining in a C$3.8 billion ($2.8 billion) share-and-cash deal, consolidating the Skouries gold-copper project in Greece with Foran’s McIlvenna Bay copper-zinc project in Saskatchewan, both targeting commercial production in mid‑2026. The combined portfolio is projected to deliver about 900,000 gold-equivalent ounces in 2027, with roughly 77% exposure to gold and 15% to copper, and generate an estimated $2.1 billion in core profit and $1.5 billion in free cash flow. Foran shareholders will receive 0.1128 Eldorado shares plus C$0.01 per share, owning about 24% of the enlarged Vancouver-headquartered company.

Trump’s “Project Vault” will create a $12 billion US strategic stockpile of critical minerals such as gallium, cobalt and rare earths, funded by a $10 billion US Export-Import Bank loan plus $1.67 billion in private capital, to shield civilian manufacturers from Chinese supply and price shocks. More than a dozen major users including GM, Stellantis, Boeing, Corning, GE Vernova and Google have signed on, with traders Hartree, Traxys and Mercuria mandated to procure material. Fixed-price, buy-and-rebuy contracts aim to stabilise prices and give long-term offtake certainty to domestic mining and processing projects.

Kazatomprom plans to lift 2026 uranium output about 9% to 71.5–75.4 million lb. U3O8, driven mainly by ramp-up at the Budenovskoye in-situ recovery joint venture in southern Kazakhstan with its Russian partner, a range still about 5% below its state production cap but 6% above BMO’s forecast. The state-owned miner guides 2026 sales at 50.7–53.3 million lb., while spot uranium has surged to $99.25 per lb. from $63.50 at end-December, tightening margins for utilities and supporting new ISR wellfield development and brownfield expansion decisions.

Cleantech firm EnviroGold Global (CSE: NVRO) will begin trading on the TSX Venture Exchange on 4 February, maintaining its NVRO ticker, with a current C$51.5 million market capitalisation and shares at C$0.11. The company is advancing its NVRO hybrid acid leaching process for mine waste and tailings, claiming >95% gold and silver recovery, strong copper recovery, and operation at low temperature and atmospheric pressure to break sulphide bonds. EnviroGold reports up to 70% reduction in plant footprint and capex and as much as 96% lower carbon emissions versus conventional processing.