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Gold prices extended their rally on Wednesday, with spot gold up 1.8% to about $4,760/oz and US futures approaching $4,800/oz, taking gains to 4.5% over four sessions after President Trump announced a pause in missile strikes against Iran. De‑escalation signals, including Trump’s claim that US forces could leave the region “within two weeks, maybe three”, eased inflation fears, pushed the US dollar lower and revived expectations that the Federal Reserve has “limited bandwidth” to raise rates. JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo and BNP Paribas all maintain bullish targets between $5,400 and above $6,000/oz, with some strategists seeing $5,000/oz as plausible on renewed rate‑cut bets.

Aura Minerals has more than doubled its proven and probable reserves to 7.22 million gold-equivalent ounces (GEOs) from 3.44 million, spanning six operating mines and two development projects across the Americas. Key drivers include a 170% reserve increase at the Borborema mine in Brazil following pit expansion, updated geological models and higher gold price assumptions in a new feasibility study, plus added underground reserves at Almas and the June acquisition of the Mineração Serra Grande mine from AngloGold Ashanti. Aura drilled over 106,500 metres in 2025 on US$21.8 million of exploration spend and is targeting 600,000 GEOs/year versus 280,000 GEOs produced in 2025.

ION Minerals has expanded its lithium brine portfolio to just over 280,000 mineral acres across the Smackover Formation in East Texas/Arkansas, the Texas Panhandle and Saskatchewan’s Duperow Formation, with adjacent Smackover projects reporting 47–60 tonnes LCE per acre. The company now controls nearly 50,000 acres between Tetra Technologies’ Evergreen Brine Unit and Standard Lithium’s Reynolds and Franklin units, plus 65,000 acres in the Texas Panhandle where internal work suggests up to 2.4 million tonnes LCE in place. A further 165,000 acres in southeast Saskatchewan could host up to 2.5 million tonnes LCE, with multi-bench Duperow drilling and testing scheduled for summer 2026.

Kinross Gold has lodged its $1.5 billion Lobo-Marte project with Chile’s Environmental Impact Assessment System, proposing sequential open-pit mining of the Marte and Lobo deposits in the Atacama region over a 16-year life. The plan centres on a static, six-phase heap leach pad and plant processing about 35,000 tonnes per day, supplied by freshwater piped from existing Mantos de Oro wells near Nevado Tres Cruces National Park and power from a 220 kV line. A 3.5-year build is envisaged, with production of roughly 4.7 million oz at an AISC of $680/oz, starting after La Coipa closes 50 km away.

American rare earth refiner ReElement Technologies has secured a strategic investment and collaboration with Mitsubishi Materials Corporation to pair MMC’s feedstock sourcing and recycling network with ReElement’s patented chromatography-based separation and purification platform. The partnership targets US midstream bottlenecks by supporting ReElement’s Noblesville, Indiana refining operations via feedstock supply, tolling and offtake, and by jointly assessing rare earth and critical mineral recycling projects in Japan using MMC’s existing recycling infrastructure. ReElement’s modular, chromatography-based plants are designed to process recycled materials, mine waste and primary ores into high-purity oxides with lower capex and operating costs than conventional solvent extraction.

Mercedes-Benz Trucks has appointed Lancashire-based Multevo as the sixth specialist Unimog sales dealer in the UK, adding to its role in the Unimog authorised repair network since May 2024. Multevo, which supplies multi-purpose equipment to more than 40% of local authorities, most major airports and Tier 1 contractors, recently expanded its headquarters to a 2.5-acre site with a dedicated service centre and employs over 400 staff. Unimog operators will now have sales support from Multevo and aftersales coverage from 24 authorised repairers nationwide.

MMoC specialist Reds10 has restructured its leadership, with founder and chairman Paul Ruddick becoming CEO of Reds10 Group overseeing nine businesses, while Ryan Geldard, formerly Managing Director – Offsite, takes over as CEO of Reds10 to run day-to-day operations. The group reported 2024/25 revenue of £144.7m with a 4.8% operating margin and is targeting growth to £500m by expanding in healthcare, affordable housing and temporary accommodation. Reds10 currently manufactures all buildings off site in five factories totalling 300,000 sq ft at Driffield, East Yorkshire, using industrialised construction and AI-enabled processes.

Kier has awarded Kimpton a £2.4m contract to deliver mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems for the new Wythenshawe Culture Hub within the town’s Civic building, part of a £500m regeneration led by Muse and Manchester City Council. Kimpton will design and install heating, ventilation, air conditioning, smoke extraction, a building management system, internal and external lighting, small power, fire alarm, access control and public address systems. Work is scheduled to start on site in autumn 2026 and complete by mid‑2027, serving a 40‑seat cinema, 200‑seat performance space and flexible studios.

Errigal Group has acquired Dungannon-based specialist joinery manufacturer Woodmarque, which has expanded its factory from 50,000 sq ft in 2019 to 130,000 sq ft and increased turnover six-fold over the past decade. Woodmarque, which produces high-volume doorsets and bespoke joinery for commercial, residential and hospitality projects across the UK and Ireland, will continue to be led by its founders, the Quinn family. The deal follows Woodmarque’s March 2024 purchase of Bristol-based Doorlining, signalling further consolidation in UK and Irish doorset and fit-out supply chains.

National Housing Bank has begun operations as a Homes England subsidiary, mandated to deploy up to £16bn in debt, equity and guarantees to support more than 500,000 homes and large regeneration and mixed-use schemes across England over the next decade. The institution aims to unlock over £53bn of private investment, working with house builders, developers, registered providers and Mayors through Homes England’s new regional model. Launch details include a £100m partnership with Aviva to deliver up to 3,300 build-to-rent homes in underinvested urban areas, starting with 300 units in Liverpool and Manchester.

Sandvik Mining has secured a large order from Aris Mining to supply underground loaders, trucks and multiple development, production and longhole drill rigs for the Marmato gold mine expansion in Colombia. The fleet will support deeper underground mining below the existing operation, where ramp haulage and high-intensity stope production will demand high-availability loading and haulage units. For mine planners and engineers, the deal signals a shift towards more mechanised, drill-and-blast stoping at Marmato, with corresponding implications for ground support, ventilation and power distribution design.

Ausenco has secured the EPCM contract for Rex Minerals’ Hillside copper-gold project on South Australia’s Yorke Peninsula, about 150 km west of Adelaide, one of the country’s largest undeveloped copper assets. The mandate covers full engineering, procurement and construction management for the greenfield operation, positioning Ausenco to define plant layout, materials handling systems and tailings and water management infrastructure. Geotechnical and civil design decisions at Hillside will be closely watched, given its scale and coastal setting with associated foundation, groundwater and environmental constraints.

EPCA has signed an agreement to convert a Caterpillar 988 wheel loader to full battery-electric drive for EMJC, delivering a complete electric powertrain retrofit rather than a new OEM unit. The E-988 project will draw on EPCA’s prior experience electrifying large mining assets, targeting zero tailpipe emissions and reduced diesel-related maintenance on a high-duty-cycle load-and-haul machine. For mine operators, the conversion pathway signals growing options to decarbonise existing medium–large wheel loader fleets without immediate fleet replacement.

A £300M first phase of renewal at Engie and La Caisse’s Dinorwig pumped storage plant in North Wales has been approved, covering full replacement of two of the site’s six turbine‑generator sets. The works will involve removing and installing large underground units within the existing cavern powerhouse, requiring complex heavy‑lift logistics and precise interface with 1970s civil structures and water conduits. Engineers will need to manage outage sequencing to maintain grid support from the remaining four units while upgrading hydraulic, electrical and control systems to modern performance and reliability standards.

Conservative Party leaders have launched a campaign to expand North Sea oil and gas production by issuing more exploration and production licences and backing new offshore platforms and subsea tie-backs. Environmental groups and some devolved administrations are attacking the plan over lifecycle emissions and stranded-asset risk, warning that new fixed and floating installations could lock in fossil infrastructure beyond 2050 net-zero targets. For civil and marine engineers, the policy signals potential demand for new jacket foundations, subsea pipelines and onshore terminal upgrades, but with heightened regulatory and ESG scrutiny on design and decommissioning strategies.

Senior leadership changes across major UK contractors in March 2026 include new appointments in project delivery, digital engineering and major projects portfolios at firms active on HS2, Lower Thames Crossing and large water frameworks. Several tier one contractors have restructured regional operations to tighten control of NEC4 contract risk, supply chain inflation and design–build integration on schemes above £100M. For geotechnical and civils teams, the moves signal closer central oversight of ground risk allocation, value engineering and early contractor involvement on complex infrastructure.

An Amentum-led joint venture has been appointed to provide engineering services for the UK’s first small modular reactors at Wylfa, targeting multi-unit deployment on the former nuclear site and early integration with existing grid and marine infrastructure. In parallel, Holtec’s 300MWe SMR-300 pressurised water reactor has cleared a key UK regulatory milestone for potential installation at the former Cottam coal-fired power station in Nottinghamshire. Together, the projects signal accelerated planning for SMR-ready brownfield sites with established cooling water access and high-voltage export capacity.

Ground Data for Growth Bill proposes mandatory sharing and standardisation of subsurface investigation data, turning borehole logs, CPT results and geophysical surveys from individual project assets into a national digital resource. By reducing duplicated ground investigations and improving access to historic GI records, the bill aims to cut early-stage geotechnical uncertainty, programme risk and contingency allowances on major schemes such as HS2-scale corridors and urban tunnelling. For practitioners, this signals stronger emphasis on interoperable formats, metadata quality and long-term stewardship of ground models.

Latrobe Magnesium has secured a non-dilutive prepayment from its US distribution partner Metal Exchange LLC to advance its Latrobe Valley magnesium production project, which uses fly ash from brown coal power generation as feedstock. The funding supports commissioning of LMG’s initial commercial plant designed to produce magnesium ingots and supplementary products such as cementitious material from waste residues. For mining and materials engineers, the deal signals growing commercial backing for ash-to-magnesium processing as an alternative to conventional dolomite- or magnesite-based routes.

Ardea Resources has secured more than $1 billion in backing from Sumitomo Metal Mining and Mitsubishi Corporation to advance its Goongarrie Hub nickel–cobalt project, part of the Kalgoorlie Nickel Project in Western Australia. The partners are targeting a high-pressure acid leach (HPAL) operation treating laterite ore to produce mixed hydroxide precipitate for battery supply chains, with front-end engineering design and approvals now the key gating steps. For geotechs and process engineers, the scale of HPAL infrastructure on deeply weathered profiles will drive complex foundation design, tailings storage, and water management requirements.

Tungsten prices hitting record highs have prompted Larvotto Resources to fast‑track work at its Hillgrove polymetallic project in New South Wales, targeting historically mined tungsten–antimony–gold lodes within an existing underground mine and processing footprint. The company is reviewing past production data and existing plant configuration to define a restart pathway that can exploit current prices without greenfield capital intensity. For mine planners and metallurgists, the key question is how far the legacy stopes, tailings and circuit can be re‑optimised for higher tungsten recoveries under today’s market conditions.

Perenti Limited has appointed Dr Vanessa Torres as managing director and chief executive officer, succeeding long‑serving CEO Mark Norwell at the ASX‑listed mining services group that operates Barminco and Ausdrill across underground and open‑pit contracts. Torres, a former chief technical officer at South32 and senior executive at BHP and Vale, brings deep experience in large‑scale iron ore, base metals and coal operations, including brownfield expansion and asset optimisation. The leadership change signals continuity for Perenti’s contract mining, drill‑and‑blast and underground development business while positioning it to pursue more technically complex projects and decarbonisation initiatives.

Rio Tinto has committed $1.8 million to Lifeline WA to fund crisis support volunteers answering calls across Western Australia, with a focus on remote mining communities in the Pilbara. The three-year funding package will support recruitment, training and retention of telephone crisis supporters, who handle calls from FIFO workers, contractors and families affected by isolation, shift work and mental health pressures. For mine operators, the move signals continued expectation for structured psychosocial risk management alongside traditional safety systems on large iron ore operations.

South Australia’s electricity demand is forecast by transmission operator ElectraNet to double over the next 15 years, driven largely by new and expanded mines and mineral processing, including copper, rare earths and hydrogen projects. The company points to a sharp rise in large industrial connections across the Upper Spencer Gulf and Eyre Peninsula, requiring major 275 kV and 132 kV network augmentations and new renewable generation hubs. For miners and project developers, grid access, connection timing and firm capacity are becoming critical design and investment constraints.