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BHP incoming chief executive Brandon Craig has met Chinalco chair Ao Hong in Beijing, signalling a renewed alignment between the world’s largest diversified miner and China’s biggest state-owned aluminium producer. The talks centre on long-term supply security for iron ore and copper, with BHP’s Pilbara operations and Escondida copper mine likely to feature in any expanded offtake or joint development arrangements. For miners and project developers, the move points to continued Chinese backing for large-scale steel and energy-transition metals demand, supporting new brownfield expansions over greenfield risk.

Atlas Copco is targeting mineral processing plants with its oil-free ZS screw blowers, designed to deliver clean, ISO 8573-1 Class 0 compressed air for flotation cells, pneumatic conveying and filter presses. The units use variable speed drives and high-efficiency screw elements to cut specific energy consumption compared with conventional lobe blowers, while maintaining stable low-pressure air in the typical 0.3–1.5 bar(g) range. For plant engineers, the main gains are reduced blower-room power draw, lower heat load on ventilation systems and more consistent air supply to critical process circuits.

Australian mining equipment, technology and services (METS) suppliers are being urged by Austmine to target the US market ahead of the SelectUSA Investment Summit in Washington DC from 23–26 June 2024. Austmine is promoting opportunities linked to US critical minerals policy, including demand for Australian-developed ore sorting, mine automation and tailings monitoring technologies in states such as Nevada and Arizona. For METS firms, the push signals growing scope for export of drill-and-blast optimisation software, remote asset monitoring systems and specialist consulting on ESG-compliant mine design.

NASA’s Artemis II crew has completed a geology‑focused lunar flyby, using high‑resolution imaging and LiDAR to map candidate Artemis III landing zones across the South Pole–Aitken Basin and other polar regions. Astronauts conducted real‑time visual stratigraphy logging of crater walls up to several kilometres deep and coordinated spectral observations of suspected pyroclastic deposits and boulder fields larger than 5 metres. The resulting datasets on regolith thickness, block size distributions and slope angles are expected to refine bearing capacity models, excavation strategies and ground‑anchor design for future lunar surface infrastructure.

Argentina’s Congress has approved President Javier Milei’s reform of the 2010 Glacier Law by 137–111, allowing provinces rather than a national scientific body to define which of nearly 17,000 glaciers and 8,484 sq. km of periglacial zones can host mining, including high-altitude copper, lithium and gold projects. Supporters, including provincial leaders in Mendoza, San Juan, Catamarca and Salta, and miners such as Glencore, BHP, Rio Tinto, Lundin Mining and McEwen Mining, see scope to triple exports by 2030 and reach $165 billion by 2035. Environmental lawyers and scientists warn that opening periglacial areas—key to water regulation in arid Andean basins—could threaten supplies relied on by about 70% of Argentinians and introduce fragmented, politically driven permitting standards.

Barrick Mining is pivoting back to acquisitions and retreating from higher‑risk regions after 2025 gold output fell 17% to 3.26 million ounces, its lowest level in at least 25 years, and after the seizure of a key Mali mine and rising costs at the Reko Diq copper project in Pakistan. Chairman John Thornton said Barrick will prioritise “tier one” long-life, low-cost assets and plans to list a new vehicle by end‑2026 holding its Nevada joint venture, the Fourmile discovery and the Pueblo Viejo mine.

G Mining Ventures will acquire G2 Goldfields in a C$3 billion ($2.2 billion) all-share deal, consolidating the adjacent Oko West and Oko-Ghanie projects in Guyana into a single district-scale complex targeting more than 500,000 oz/y of gold over the life of mine. The combined 362 sq. km land package in the Guiana Shield holds 7 million oz measured and indicated at 2.28 g/t and 2.3 million oz inferred, with key zones open at depth and along strike. G Mining forecasts over C$1 billion in capex/opex synergies via shared infrastructure and mine sequencing, with first Oko West production still slated for H2 2027 and expanded output targeted by H1 2029.

NioCorp Developments has signed a non-binding deal making Traxys the exclusive offtake and marketing partner for all Elk Creek project output for the first 10 years, except the 50% ferroniobium already committed to ThyssenKrupp. The agreement covers the remaining 25% ferroniobium on a take-or-pay basis, all remaining scandium oxide on a best-efforts basis, plus titanium dioxide and rare earth elements, with Traxys also acting as marketing intermediary for third-party sales. Traxys plans an equity investment of up to $30 million, supporting NioCorp’s bid for up to $800 million in EXIM debt towards the $1.1 billion capex.

US lithium developer HiTech Minerals will go public on Nasdaq via a $571 million merger with SPAC Constellation Acquisition Corp. I, creating US Elemental, with parent Jindalee Lithium expected to retain about 80% ownership and the new ticker “ULIT”. The key asset is the McDermitt project on the Oregon–Nevada border, holding 21.5 million tonnes LCE and scoped in a 2024 PFS for 47,500 t/y output in the first decade, 63-year mine life, $3.2 billion post-tax NPV (8%), 17.9% IRR and roughly $3 billion capex. Designated under FAST‑41 and backed by a planned $20–30 million raise, the listing aims to secure US capital and partners for McDermitt and the Clayton North project in Nevada amid a lithium price rebound of nearly 40% this year.

Tharisa Minerals has fired the inaugural underground blast at its Bushveld Complex chrome and PGM operation, initiating the transition from open pit to underground mining scheduled from 31 March 2026. Cementation Africa, the contracting partner, will be central to developing the new underground infrastructure, including access declines and associated services, to extend mine life and access deeper ore. The shift will alter geotechnical design demands, ventilation and ground support requirements, and could change the mine’s stripping ratio and cost profile over the medium term.

GR Engineering has secured an EPC contract from Northparkes Mining Services, a subsidiary of Evolution Mining, to deliver a Coarse Particle Flotation (CPF) project at the Northparkes copper-gold operation, 300 km west of Sydney, New South Wales. The project will retrofit CPF into the existing concentrator, targeting recovery of coarser sulphide particles that currently bypass conventional flotation circuits. For process engineers, the key change is integration of new CPF cells and associated regrind, pumping and classification modifications into a brownfield plant while maintaining throughput.

Applications are now open for the New South Wales Government’s Level Crossing Improvement Program – Regional Council Minor Works, a sub-program of the broader LCIP receiving $7.5 million across 2026–27 to upgrade public level crossings. Funding will support regional councils to deliver small-scale works such as improved signage, road approaches and active protection at rail interfaces. Designers and contractors should expect a focus on low-cost, high-impact treatments and potential trials of new warning technologies suited to rural traffic and train speeds.

Crumb rubber asphalt produced from end-of-life tyres is moving from niche use to routine specification in Australian road surfacing, with Tyre Stewardship Australia citing growing government and industry confidence in large-scale procurement. Rubber‑modified binders, created by blending crumb rubber into bitumen, are delivering quantifiable engineering gains such as improved elasticity and cracking resistance, as shown in recent Western Australian trials. For pavement designers and asset managers, this signals wider acceptance of crumb rubber mixes in standard specifications rather than as one‑off innovation projects.

Completion of safety upgrades on Stuart Drive and duplication of the Bowen Road Bridge has delivered a major capacity and safety boost on the Townsville Connection Road, one of North Queensland’s busiest urban corridors. The Bowen Road Bridge duplication removes a key two-lane bottleneck by providing a parallel structure, while Stuart Drive works focus on intersection treatments and lane improvements to cut crash risk and queuing. Works were staged to minimise traffic disruption, offering a reference for phasing similar brownfield bridge and arterial upgrades in constrained urban networks.

Tivan has begun mobilisation for its 2026 fieldwork campaign in central Australia, preparing a drilling program at the Molyhil tungsten project to advance resource definition and project feasibility. The work follows earlier studies on Tivan’s Speewah vanadium–titanium–iron project in Western Australia, signalling a renewed focus on critical minerals assets across multiple jurisdictions. Geotechnical and drilling contractors should expect demand for tungsten-focused core drilling, structural logging and updated geometallurgical data to refine mine design and processing flowsheets ahead of potential development decisions.

Greatland Resources posted a strong March 2026 quarter from its 30 per cent stake in the Havieron gold–copper project in Western Australia’s Paterson Province, partnered with Newmont on a decline-access underground mine. Development has focused on the South East Crescent and Breccia zones, with continued infill and step-out drilling to refine the high-grade mineralisation envelope and support an updated resource and mine plan. For geotechs and mine planners, the results point to sustained underground development, ventilation and paste backfill requirements in competent but variably fractured Proterozoic host rocks.

Wildcat Resources has extended the Bolt Cutter Central lithium system in the Pilbara, with new reverse circulation and diamond drilling stepping out from the discovery holes to grow the mineralised footprint. Recent holes have intersected additional spodumene-bearing pegmatites at shallow depths, confirming continuity of the lithium-bearing corridor along strike and down dip. The results point to a larger-scale hard-rock lithium target, with implications for future resource definition drilling, pit shell optimisation and potential integration with regional Pilbara lithium infrastructure.

Saturn Metals has reported new high-grade gold intercepts at its Apollo Hill project in Western Australia and appointed Ausenco to complete a scoping study for a standalone gold operation. The work will assess processing options for the large, low-grade Apollo Hill resource using Ausenco’s gold plant design expertise, including trade-offs around throughput, recoveries and capital intensity. For mine planners and geotechs, the study outcome will shape pit shell optimisation, cut-off grade strategy and geotechnical design parameters for a potential new open pit development in the Eastern Goldfields.

Metso has appointed Jonathan Allen as chief growth officer effective 1 May 2026, tasking him with driving expansion across its minerals processing, aggregates and metals refining businesses. The role will sit on Metso’s executive team and focus on scaling solutions such as large SAG/ball mill circuits, high-capacity cone crushers and filtration systems for tailings and concentrate dewatering. For mine operators, the move signals continued investment in OEM-led process optimisation, brownfield throughput upgrades and integrated equipment–service packages.

Wrights of Twycross has added its first Fassi unit, a Scania P500 Highline 8x2 32-tonne rigid from Mac’s Truck Sales fitted with a F545RA.2.25 loader crane rated to lift 3,080kg at 14.2m and a heavy-duty Mac’s Spec cheesewedge body providing a 10-tonne payload. The truck, turned around in four weeks from a stock build, also carries a VBG drawbar coupling for additional trailer capacity roughly twice a week. It will operate five to six days weekly on containers, pipework, holding tanks, trackway matting and heavy plant, supporting Wrights’ one-driver, one-truck policy.

Egis has appointed Afshan Rasheed to lead a new UK environmental consultancy practice, positioned alongside its existing energy, water and transport teams. The unit will deliver environmental impact assessment and wider environmental services across Egis’s major infrastructure and engineering portfolio, embedding sustainability criteria from early optioneering through to construction delivery. Rasheed, who has previously held senior roles at major engineering consultancies, is tasked with scaling specialist environmental capability and building high-performing, multidisciplinary teams across the UK business.

Natural Resources Wales and the Coal Authority’s Mining Remediation Authority used a PDG helicopter to place 109 bags of stabilisation material along the Nant y Bai riverbank at Nant y Mwyn lead mine, Carmarthenshire, where about 300m³ of spoil was at immediate risk of being washed into the river. The airlift avoided haul roads and heavy plant, limiting ground disturbance and allowing follow‑up hand work to protect rare grassland around the site. Reducing severe spoil erosion is expected to cut cadmium and zinc loading to the Afon Tywi, currently elevated for up to 25 km downstream.

Tilhill Forestry has begun UK trials of the Swedish Plantma Forestry PlantMax automated planting system to accelerate woodland restocking and new planting. The machine combines ground scarification support with twin automated planting arms featuring adjustable compaction, and early trials show consistent planting quality across multiple site types at commercially viable rates. Performance is being benchmarked against manual methods over several seasons, with particular focus on terrain, drainage and ground preparation constraints, and on deployment in hard-to-reach areas where mechanised planting could materially reduce exposure for planting crews.

Sany has promoted Philip Boddy to global product director for telehandlers, moving him up from his previous Europe-focused product manager role to steer worldwide platform strategy and specification. Christopher Jarvis has been appointed head of telehandler sales for the UK and Ireland, taking responsibility for dealer networks and regional market growth. The moves signal a push to standardise Sany’s telehandler offering across markets while sharpening commercial focus in key rental and construction segments in Britain and Ireland.