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Plans by Allseas to operate deep-sea polymetallic nodule collectors for The Metals Company (TMC) in the Pacific, targeting 3 million wet tonnes per year from over 4,000 m water depth, are alleged to “directly” violate the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea in a Greenpeace-commissioned legal opinion by Professor André Nollkaemper. The analysis argues that TMC’s reliance on a unilateral US permit bypasses the International Seabed Authority, which holds exclusive regulatory competence over the Area. Greenpeace Netherlands and five other NGOs have sent an urgent letter pressing the Dutch government to intervene against the planned commercial system.

BHP is preparing to sell about $1.5 billion of Chilean power transmission assets, including roughly 1,000 km of lines feeding its Escondida, Spence and Cerro Colorado copper operations, in a move to concentrate capital on copper and other core commodities. The divestment follows last year’s $2 billion sale of a 49% stake in power lines serving its Australian iron ore business to Global Infrastructure Partners, a BlackRock subsidiary. In parallel, BHP and Lundin Mining have secured RIGI approval for the Vicuña copper district in Argentina, a $9.7–18 billion build-out combining Josemaría and Filo del Sol.

China’s new Mineral Resources Law, in force this week, introduces explicit provisions for import–export controls and “countermeasures” against activities deemed to threaten its mineral resource security and supply chain stability, according to Ministry of Natural Resources official Yan Bo. The overhaul, the first major rewrite since 1986, lets Beijing define and update a list of “strategic minerals”, refine a state reserve system by product, capacity and origin, and requisition resources or directly organise mining during crises. Analysts at BMO and Rare Earth Exchanges say this effectively hardwires China’s dominance in rare earths and other critical minerals into a legal tool for long-term geopolitical competition.

Hudbay Minerals has broken ground on the New Ingerbelle expansion at the Copper Mountain mine in British Columbia, a pushback of the historic Ingerbelle pit walls designed to access higher-grade ore with a stripping ratio about three times lower than current mining areas. Using existing Copper Mountain mill and fleet infrastructure, the project is forecast to produce about 750,000 tonnes of copper, 900,000 oz of gold and 5.5 million oz of silver, extending mine life beyond 2040. New Ingerbelle, now a B.C. priority resource project, preserves over 800 direct jobs and has refreshed participation agreements with the Upper and Lower Similkameen Indian Bands.

First Phosphate has secured letters of interest for up to C$275 million in guarantees from Denmark’s Export and Investment Fund and additional LOIs from Italy’s CDP, SIMEST and MAIRE to advance the Bégin-Lamarche mine and a Ballestra-technology phosphoric acid plant at Port Saguenay under the G7 Critical Minerals Resilience and Production Alliance. Bégin-Lamarche hosts 41.5 million indicated pit-constrained tonnes at 6.49% P2O5 and 214 million inferred tonnes at 6.01% P2O5 in igneous ore targeted for LFP battery-grade phosphoric acid. The company has also locked in offtake for at least 200,000 t/y of phosphate concentrate and 60,000 t/y of phosphoric acid, de-risking project financing and downstream integration.

Guardian Metal Resources has acquired Lincoln Estates Group LLC in Nevada, adding 841 acres of land and 2,540 acre-feet per year of water rights across three permits in the Lincoln County Water District to support its Tempiute and Pilot Mountain tungsten projects. Lincoln Estates lies less than 10 miles from the historic Tempiute (ex-Emerson) mine, a past Union Carbide producer last operated in the 1980s, and complements a US Department of War US$6.2 million award to advance Pilot Mountain. The deal materially de-risks water supply for mine redevelopment in a state where groundwater allocation is a critical permitting constraint.

Lloyds Metals and Energy has ordered 14 GEHO TZPM 2000 positive displacement pumps with GLORES (GEHO Load Reduction System) from Weir for the second phase of its iron ore slurry pipeline project in India, with the contract secured in Q1 2026. The large-bore PD pumps are designed for long-distance, high-pressure slurry transport, where GLORES reduces pressure spikes and mechanical loading on the pipeline and pump components. For engineers, the move signals continued reliance on high-availability PD technology for abrasive iron ore slurries rather than centrifugal alternatives on extended pipeline routes.

Master Drilling has entered a formal partnership with Safescape to retail and install the Safescape Laddertube escapeway system across underground operations, positioning itself to deliver turnkey emergency egress solutions rather than only drilling services. Laddertube replaces conventional steel ladderways with a fully enclosed, modular plastic escape system, typically installed in raises and winzes to provide controlled, corrosion‑resistant access and improved fall protection. The deal signals wider deployment potential in African and global mines seeking standardised, low‑maintenance escapeways integrated directly into raiseboring programmes.

Sandvik and SRG Global have rebuilt a Leopard DI650i down-the-hole drill rig after its rotary head, compressor and hydraulic pumps each reached 25,000 uninterrupted operating hours before first major overhaul, reportedly the highest global hours for these components. The performance is attributed to a proactive maintenance strategy combining OEM remote monitoring with site-based condition inspections and scheduled component change-outs. For drill and fleet engineers, the case gives a benchmark for component life on high-utilisation rotary blast-hole rigs and supports life-cycle cost planning for similar DTH fleets.

UK Mining Conference delegates in Cornwall set out how domestic resources such as Cornish lithium, Scottish barite and Welsh copper could reduce UK reliance on imported critical minerals amid volatile markets and geopolitical risk. Speakers linked subsurface datasets from the British Geological Survey with AI-driven targeting for deep exploration, and discussed permitting, ESG scrutiny and grid constraints as key barriers to new mines and processing plants. Panels also focused on skills, using school outreach, virtual reality mine tours and apprenticeships to attract young people into geoscience and mining engineering.

JCHX, the Chinese global mining contractor, has signed a five-year global strategic cooperation agreement with mining equipment major Epiroc at JCHX’s Beijing headquarters on 16 June. The deal is expected to centre on Epiroc’s underground drilling, loading and haulage fleets and digital automation platforms being deployed across JCHX’s international contract mining projects. For engineers, the agreement signals closer standardisation of OEM equipment, spares and data systems across JCHX-operated mines, which could simplify fleet maintenance strategies and interoperability planning.

Rising commodity prices are pushing lower‑grade material back into mine plans, forcing operators to rely on tighter, more defensible assay data as projects run closer to economic cut‑off grades. With narrower margins for analytical uncertainty, small shifts in laboratory results now materially affect resource models, reserve classification and pit optimisation. This raises the stakes on lab QA/QC, sample preparation protocols and inter‑lab variability, directly influencing project viability decisions across exploration and feasibility studies.

Hillhead 2026 will run from 23–25 June at Hillhead Quarry, Buxton, hosting 620 exhibitors and, for the first time, all 15 of the world’s largest heavy construction OEMs, with full-scale excavators, wheel loaders, crushing, screening and materials processing plant on show. Live demonstrations will span the Quarry Face, East and Registration areas, including curated Quarry Face demos and scheduled runs in Crusher Alley, giving engineers rare side‑by‑side comparisons of equipment performance in a working quarry. Visitors can pre‑plan routes and supplier meetings using a free digital Show Guide and an AI-based planning tool powered by Exhibitly.

Newlay Asphalt has doubled its fleet with eight new 32-tonne Renault Trucks C 430 8x4s, following 11 similar units added last year, to support a second asphalt plant at Brandesburton alongside its Dewsbury facility. The trucks, all identically specified with PPG Fabrications alloy insulated tipper bodies, three rear asphalt chutes, onboard weighing and overhead hazard detection, handle both inbound aggregates and outbound asphalt within a typical 50-mile radius. Each vehicle carries camera coverage on all sides, side radar, lane departure warning, intelligent speed assistance, tyre pressure monitoring and Renault’s Optifleet telematics via a 4G gateway for tracking, fuel and driver-performance management.

Beaver Bridges has opened Forge 44 in Irlam, Manchester, more than doubling its previous production space and adding a dedicated trial erection area where full bridge spans can be assembled and client-inspected before delivery. The facility’s layout is designed to increase throughput for larger, more complex steel bridge projects while reducing on-site installation risk and rework. Immediate access to the M60/M62 motorway network is intended to cut transport times for long bridge components and improve nationwide and international project logistics.

Gentoo is launching a £47.7m capital programme to upgrade more than 2,800 social homes across Sunderland, appointing RE:GEN Group, Esh Construction, PHS, Bell Group and Isoler as delivery partners. Works are expected to focus on fabric and services improvements typical of large-scale housing refurbishments, such as external envelope repairs, insulation upgrades, heating and electrical renewals and internal modernisation. Contractors will need to manage access and phasing across occupied properties, with implications for sequencing intrusive works, temporary services and quality control on repetitive retrofit tasks.

Fulcrum Group has created a head of pre-construction delivery role, promoting Michelle Lane to integrate project coordination, planning and street works management into a single pre-construction team across its Sheffield and Bury St Edmunds operations. Lane brings senior experience in traffic management, local authority liaison and utility infrastructure planning, and currently chairs Pillar 4 Technology, Data & Innovation for HAUC (UK) Vision 2030, influencing UK street works standards. The restructure is intended to cut handovers, increase visibility across the project lifecycle and support more complex multi-utility infrastructure schemes.

Yoo Capital’s £1bn Camden Film Quarter scheme has secured a resolution to grant from Camden Council for a masterplan by SPPARC featuring 11 new film sound stages. The mixed-use regeneration will also deliver 485 homes, with 50% designated as affordable, in partnership with housing provider Places for People. The scale of studio infrastructure and residential density will drive complex urban logistics, construction phasing and service coordination on a constrained inner-London site.

Reds10 has taken a strategic shareholding in Mad About Facades (MAF), a nine-strong specialist façade and cladding contractor with up to 30 site operatives delivering design, manufacture and installation across defence, education and residential projects. MAF’s portfolio includes Single Living Accommodation blocks for the Ministry of Defence and school schemes at Thomas Telford School and Connaught SEND School, where it supplied full façade packages. Bringing façade design and delivery in-house supports Reds10’s fully integrated offsite model, tightening programme control and coordination on complex modular builds across the UK.

Man Group has secured £362m in investor commitments for its third community housing vehicle, Man RI CoHo 3, targeting delivery of energy‑efficient affordable homes across England. Capital will be directed to new-build schemes designed to meet higher thermal performance standards and lower operational energy demand, which may drive uptake of modern methods of construction and fabric‑first design. For civil and housing engineers, the fund signals continued institutional appetite for low‑carbon residential infrastructure and long-term, income-backed development pipelines.

Drilling at Ausgold’s Katanning gold project in Western Australia has returned thick, high‑grade intercepts including 26m at 3.03g/t, 10m at 3.78g/t and 9m at similar grades, boosting confidence in the planned early years of production. Step‑out and infill holes are expanding known mineralisation across multiple deposits within the KGP and pointing to extensions beyond the current resource envelope. For mine planners and geotechs, the results suggest scope to optimise early pit shells, scheduling and geotechnical domains around thicker, higher‑grade zones.

Sunshine Metals has begun a 2079 line-kilometre helicopter-borne magnetic and radiometric survey over its Sybil gold project in north-east Queensland, the first detailed airborne dataset acquired across the tenure. The programme covers key prospects Francis Creek, Francis Creek East, Blue Range and Quartz Ridge, targeting structural and lithological controls on gold mineralisation that have been poorly constrained by existing mapping. New high-resolution magnetics and radiometrics are expected to refine drill targeting, upgrade prospect-scale geological models and de-risk follow-up ground geophysics.

Aeris Resources is set to acquire 100 per cent of Peel Mining after Peel shareholders overwhelmingly approved a scheme of arrangement and a concurrent demerger of gold-focused Spectre Metals. The deal consolidates Aeris’ copper position around its Tritton operation in the Cobar Basin of New South Wales, adding Peel’s nearby exploration and development assets into a single regional portfolio. For geotechnical and mine planners, the combined ground package enables more integrated resource modelling, shared underground and surface infrastructure, and potentially longer-life scheduling across multiple copper deposits.

Drilling at AIC Mines’ Jolly Shoot, the first planned mining zone at the Jericho copper deposit in north‑west Queensland, is returning high‑grade copper, gold and silver intercepts that management say are “exceeding all our expectations”. Successive strong assays are expanding the interpreted mineralised envelope and could justify changes to the initial mine plan, including potential extensions to the planned underground development and revised stoping layouts. For geotechs and mine planners, the evolving geometry and grade distribution will drive updates to geotechnical domains, ground support designs and early production scheduling.