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Magnetite Mines is advancing its Razorback magnetite project in South Australia to supply high-grade iron ore concentrate tailored for low-emissions and green steel production, targeting direct reduction (DR) pellet and pellet feed markets. The company is ramping up global partnerships with downstream steelmakers and technology providers to align Razorback’s product specifications with DR furnace and hydrogen-based steelmaking requirements. For mine planners and process engineers, this signals growing demand for consistent, low-impurity magnetite concentrates optimised for DR-grade pellets rather than traditional blast furnace sinter feed.

Rehabilitation works at Energy Resources of Australia’s Ranger uranium mine near Jabiru will continue after Federal Resources Minister Madeleine King approved a new rehabilitation authority under the Commonwealth’s Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act. The authority replaces the expired mining authority and allows ERA to keep progressing tailings reprocessing, landform recontouring and water treatment required before the site can be handed back to Traditional Owners within Kakadu National Park. The decision removes a key regulatory risk for long-term radiological containment design and closure scheduling.

New South Wales has approved the Constellation critical minerals and high‑tech metals project near Cobar, positioning the state to grow copper output towards “super‑producer” scale alongside existing long‑life operations in the Cobar Basin. The project targets copper, gold and associated critical minerals, leveraging established regional infrastructure and brownfields mining services to accelerate development. For geotechnical and mining teams, the approval signals a pipeline of new underground and open‑pit work in highly altered, structurally complex ore systems typical of central NSW.

Bravo Mining has raised C$86 million via an oversubscribed public offering at C$4.40 per share, including a C$34.5 million non-brokered placement with Orion Mine Finance, to advance the Luanga nickel-PGM project in Pará, Brazil and fund preliminary and full feasibility studies. An updated PEA gives a base-case NPV of $1.25 billion, rising to $1.86 billion under a vertical-integration scenario with a local smelter, now supported by the new Barcarena Export Processing Zone decree. Laboratory Jameson Cell rougher flotation tests show 5–10% higher PGM and 5–30% higher nickel recoveries with 50% lower mass pull, implying higher concentrate grades, lower plant capex/opex and improved payabilities.

Rio Tinto Iron Ore is reassessing high wall designs in its Pilbara open pits after finding current slope angles are generally conservative, with most wall exposures performing to plan and showing no major instability. The work focuses on identifying specific levers for safe slope steepening, such as refined geotechnical domains, updated design acceptance criteria and tighter control of wall excavation to design. Any move to steeper inter-ramp or overall pit slopes would directly affect strip ratios, haul distances and long-term pit economics across multiple Pilbara operations.

International Tower Hill Mines has raised $118 million for its Livengood gold project in Alaska, including a $40 million private placement and an extra $3.3 million from hedge fund Paulson & Co., lifting Paulson’s stake to 35% at US$2.22 per share. The 2023 technical report pegs initial capex at US$1.93 billion with an after-tax NPV of US$2.35 billion at US$2,500/oz gold, but shows the project becomes marginal with modest price declines. About US$50 million is earmarked for feasibility and technical studies and US$35 million for permitting and community engagement, with additional metallurgical work planned on antimony recovery from stibnite veins.

Precious metals and copper prices plunged on Friday after the US Fed chair nomination triggered profit-taking, with April gold futures crashing 11.4% to $4,745/oz and silver suffering a record 35.9% drop to $78.53/oz, while March copper briefly fell 9.5% to $5.76/lb before closing 4.5% lower at $5.92/lb. The sell-off wiped billions from miners: Newmont fell 11.5% to a $122bn valuation, Barrick 19%, and silver-focused Pan American Silver 13.7% to $23bn. Diversified and copper majors were hit less severely, with BHP down 4.8%, Rio Tinto 4.3%, Glencore 3.4% and Southern Copper 8.5%, yet most leading miners remain strongly positive year-on-year.

Tether’s reported accumulation of roughly 140 tonnes of physical gold in Swiss underground-vaults converted from nuclear shelters, with purchases at times above $1 billion per week, is presented by Erik Groves, corporate strategy lead and in-house counsel at Morgan Companies, as a signal of growing unease with fiat-based reserve systems. He argues that both a re-gold-backed US dollar and a proposed gold-backed BRICS currency would still be constrained by domestic politics, repeating Bretton Woods’ core flaw. The op-ed points instead to a non-sovereign, gold-backed stablecoin combining gold’s reserve credibility with crypto settlement rails as a more durable anchor for global trade.

Geoprofessionals in mining and civil sectors are increasingly adopting AI tools but still struggle to extract value from complex, multisource subsurface datasets, according to Seequent’s 7th Geoprofessionals Data Management Report surveying over 1,000 practitioners. Respondents report data spread across multiple software platforms and large volumes of un-managed files, limiting effective integration of geological, geophysical and geotechnical information. The findings signal persistent bottlenecks in model building, QA/QC workflows and cross-discipline data sharing, despite wider availability of AI-assisted interpretation tools.

The Government of Liberia and ArcelorMittal have signed an amended Mineral Development Agreement extending the company’s iron ore mining rights to 2050, with an option to renew for a further 25 years. The ratified deal secures long-term access to Liberia’s existing rail and port export corridor, critical for moving high-volume ore from inland operations to the Port of Buchanan. For mine planners and infrastructure engineers, the extended tenure supports justification of major brownfield upgrades to rail capacity, load-out facilities and materials handling systems over multi-decade horizons.

FLSmidth has installed a large semi-mobile crushing station with sizer technology at Vale’s S11D Serra Sul iron ore operation in Brazil, with the first 26 m-high module commissioned in Area 5 to open new mining blocks. The semi-mobile design allows relocation as the pit advances, reducing truck haul distances to the conveyor network and supporting S11D’s high-throughput, low-strip-ratio mine plan. For mine planners and process engineers, the setup signals continued shift towards in-pit crushing and conveying (IPCC)-style layouts at large-scale iron ore operations.

Codelco has signed an agreement with Neuvol, Chile’s first collective management system for used and end-of-life tyres, to comply with the country’s Extended Producer Responsibility (REP) Law and embed circular-economy practices in its large mining tyre stream. The alliance’s first milestone is the processing of Codelco’s mining tyres through Neuvol’s system, shifting material from on-site stockpiles and potential landfill towards recovery routes such as granulation, pyrolysis or co-processing. For mine operators, the deal signals growing regulatory pressure to design haulage tyre logistics, storage yards and contracts around traceable collection and certified recycling capacity.

National Grid has deployed Triton, a digital twin and data visualisation platform developed with Atos, to model future electricity demand at grid supply points and transmission substations and cut infrastructure planning time by up to 70%. The tool integrates asset, demand and network constraint data to test reinforcement options virtually, allowing planners to compare multiple substation upgrade and new connection scenarios before committing to physical design. Faster optioneering is expected to de-risk programme delivery for major connections, including utility-scale renewables and high-load industrial customers.

East West Rail (EWR) will run a full public consultation on the remaining sections of the Oxford–Cambridge route even though the Planning and Infrastructure Bill removes the statutory requirement for such engagement. The commitment covers outstanding route options between Bedford and Cambridge, where alignments, junction layouts and land-take for new double-track sections and structures are still to be finalised. For designers and geotechnical teams, this signals continued scrutiny of earthworks, noise barriers, level crossing closures and settlement impacts on adjacent communities before Development Consent Order submission.

Ofwat has approved further funding for the £510M Grand Union Canal Strategic Resource Option and the £200M Minworth Strategic Resource Option, moving both major water transfer schemes to gate four of the regulatory process. The Grand Union Canal scheme is being developed to move raw water over long distances using existing canal corridors, while Minworth focuses on transferring treated water from Severn Trent’s large wastewater treatment and supply assets. Progression to gate four signals detailed design, environmental assessment and geotechnical route refinement can now advance under the RAPID programme.

National Highways is launching six supply chain roadshows to help Kent and Essex firms bid for work on the Lower Thames Crossing, the proposed new Thames road tunnel linking the M25 near North Ockendon with the A2/M2 near Gravesend. The events will target SMEs in civils, geotechnical works, materials supply and specialist services needed for the twin‑bore tunnel, approach cuttings, and associated junction upgrades. Contractors are expected to gain early visibility of work packages, prequalification requirements and procurement timelines for this multi‑billion‑pound scheme.

Bouygues has completed a post-tensioned timber wildlife bridge over the Zurich–Bern motorway, reconnecting fragmented habitats while separating animal movements from high-speed traffic. The structure uses longitudinal post-tensioning in engineered timber elements instead of conventional reinforced concrete, reducing self-weight and material-related embodied carbon while enabling a slender deck profile. For designers, the scheme signals growing acceptance of large-span timber with prestressing on primary highway infrastructure, with implications for dynamic performance, durability detailing and fire design.

Australian hard rock lithium producers are moving to restart and expand capacity after spodumene prices rebounded from about $600/t in July 2025 to intraday highs near $2,500/t in January, with Barrenjoey now forecasting $3,250/t in 2026. Pilbara Minerals is weighing a four‑month restart of its 200,000tpa Ngungaju plant and a A$1.2 billion expansion of Pilgangoora to 2Mtpa, while Mineral Resources has lifted FY26 guidance at Wodgina and Mt Marion to 450,000–490,000t and is assessing a four‑month restart of Bald Hill. Longer‑dated supply includes Greenbushes’ CGP3 adding 500,000tpa, Liontown studying a 4Mtpa expansion at Kathleen Valley, and Develop’s Pioneer Dome targeting six‑month DSO start‑up for A$35–40 million.

High base metal prices are being driven by tight supply rather than industrial demand, with BMO’s Helen Amos noting Chinese crude steel, copper and zinc consumption stayed sluggish in November–December despite manufacturing PMIs expanding in over half of major economies. Iron ore rose 4% to US$106/t in 2025, copper about 50% to US$5.89/lb (a post‑2011 high) and zinc 15% to US$1.52/lb, even as Chinese construction logged a sixth straight year of falling floor starts and negative flat steel margins. The main demand bright spot is autos, with 2025 light‑vehicle sales at 91.7 million units and EV sales up 20% to 20.7 million, reinforcing transport as a key metals offtake counterweight to weak Chinese building.

Gemfields’ 2025 auction revenue dropped 34% to $129 million, down from $196 million in 2024 and 47% below the $242 million achieved in 2023, signalling sustained pricing and demand weakness across coloured gemstones in line with the diamond market. The second processing plant at the Montepuez ruby mine in Mozambique is in final commissioning, on budget, with first output due for the February 2026 mixed‑quality ruby auction. At the Kagem emerald mine in Zambia, premium emerald recoveries have met expectations since focused mining restarted in May 2025, while group net debt has been cut to $39.2 million from $80.5 million.

Gold and silver prices crashed on Friday, with spot gold plunging over 12% intraday before closing around $4,910/oz (down more than 8%) and silver dropping as much as 33% to $75/oz before settling at $85/oz, still 29% lower. The sell-off followed reports that the Trump administration will nominate noted hawk Kevin Warsh as Federal Reserve chair, compounding pressure from a hotter‑than‑expected US producer price print and extreme positioning, including record call‑option buying. Despite the rout, gold remains up over 10% and silver more than 20% year‑to‑date, after peaks near $5,600/oz and $121/oz earlier this week.

Centerra Gold has suspended operations at its Langeloth metallurgical facility in Pennsylvania after an uncontrolled mixture of chemicals triggered an uncontained reaction adjacent to the acid plant at about 6:15 p.m. Eastern on Thursday. Two contractors were hospitalised with injuries and two employees taken to hospital as a precaution, with Centerra reporting no significant environmental release and confirming regulators have been notified. The shutdown hits Centerra’s key downstream plant for molybdenum concentrate, slated to process output from the Thompson Creek mine in Idaho when it restarts next year.

El Salvador’s central bank has bought 9,298 troy ounces of gold for about $50 million, lifting national reserves to 67,403 ounces valued at roughly $350 million at current prices. The move, welcomed by President Nayib Bukele as “buying the dip” after a sharp intraday price fall, follows a similar 13,999‑ounce purchase in September 2025, the first since 1990. Alongside the bullion build-up, Arkham data show El Salvador now holds 7,547 Bitcoin, worth about $620 million, reinforcing its unconventional reserve mix of gold, Bitcoin and US dollars.

Chief Rosanne Casimir of the Tk̓emlúps te Secwépemc Nation told the AME Roundup conference that meaningful reconciliation in British Columbia mining requires shared decision-making, recognition of Indigenous law and early engagement under DRIPA and UNDRIP. She warned that a large portion of Stk̓emlúpsemc te Secwépemc Nation territory is already staked through the province’s online mineral tenure system, often without consent, and that crown reserves frequently overlap culturally and environmentally sensitive areas. Casimir cited New Gold’s Afton copper-gold mine and the Ajax proposal to stress that SSN is not anti-mining, but will oppose projects in high-impact locations and expects proponents with claims to initiate early, relationship-based consultation.