Geomechanics.io

Vermeer has launched the SM55 surface miner, a 54,431 kg (120,000 lb) machine designed to deliver production-scale cutting in a compact footprint suitable for quarrying, surface mining and civil construction. The unit’s drive-on, drive-off undercarriage allows single-load transport on standard low-bed trailers with reduced permitting, targeting contractors who frequently relocate between small to mid-size pits or road projects. Its configuration is aimed at sites where full-size surface miners are impractical due to haul road geometry, bench widths or local transport limits.

Kevin Rudd’s decision to step down as Australia’s ambassador to the US at the end of March injects uncertainty into a role that has been central to negotiating critical minerals, defence-industrial integration and US Inflation Reduction Act access for Australian projects. His replacement will inherit files covering lithium, rare earths and graphite supply chains, AUKUS-related technology transfer, and efforts to secure US offtake and financing for Australian mines via mechanisms such as the US Defence Production Act and Export-Import Bank. For miners, any gap or policy reset in Washington could slow permitting, funding decisions and long-term offtake agreements.

South Australia’s copper exports exceeded $3 billion over the past 12 months as record copper prices boosted output from major operations including BHP’s Olympic Dam. The state’s copper sector, which also draws on large open-pit operations in the Gawler Craton and integrated smelting capacity at Olympic Dam, is now a central contributor to South Australia’s export power. For miners and project developers, the revenue surge strengthens the case for new sulphide expansions, brownfield resource drilling and fast-tracking processing debottlenecking across existing plants.

Aeris Resources has secured New South Wales Department of Planning approval for its Constellation copper project, clearing a key regulatory hurdle for development alongside the existing Tritton underground operation near Nyngan. The approval covers surface infrastructure and underground mine development to access the Constellation deposit, envisaged as a new ore source to extend Tritton’s processing life and copper output. Geotechnical and mine planning teams can now advance detailed designs for decline access, ground support and tailings/storage expansions under the approved conditions.

BHP and Rio Tinto plan a joint Pilbara iron ore development targeting up to 200 million tonnes of production, signalling rare cooperation between the two dominant operators in Western Australia’s main export region. The venture is expected to leverage existing rail and port infrastructure at Port Hedland and Cape Lambert, potentially reducing unit costs compared with standalone greenfield expansions. For mine planners and geotechs, shared pit designs, haulage networks and waste dump layouts across adjoining tenements could drive standardised geotechnical models and common slope design criteria.

Hancock Iron Ore is deploying its AI-powered TrackDefectX system to automate defect detection across its heavy-haul rail network, targeting rail breaks, geometry faults and ballast issues that previously relied on manual inspection. Using high-resolution imaging and machine-learning models mounted on in-service rollingstock, TrackDefectX flags anomalies in near real time and feeds them into a central maintenance planning platform. The system, which earned Hancock the 2025 Excellence in IIoT Application award, is expected to cut inspection intervals, reduce unscheduled downtime and support more targeted tamping and rail replacement.

Cisco is promoting its IE3100H heavy‑duty industrial Ethernet switches for mining operations where equipment is exposed to constant vibration, shock and outdoor extremes, positioning them as a more robust alternative to standard plant-floor switches. The IP‑rated, hardened units are designed for mounting on mobile and fixed assets such as drills, crushers and stacker‑reclaimers, supporting industrial protocols and edge connectivity for condition monitoring and automation. For mine operators, the key pitch is reduced network downtime on high‑vibration assets and more reliable data links for OT systems in remote pits and processing areas.

Fortescue is expanding its battery intelligence capabilities by acquiring US-based software company Zitara, which specialises in physics-based battery modelling and predictive state-of-health algorithms for large-format lithium-ion systems. The deal will see Zitara’s digital twin and cloud analytics tools applied to Fortescue’s heavy mining haul truck and rail battery platforms, supporting high‑cycle, high‑C‑rate duty profiles typical of iron ore operations. For mine operators, the move signals growing emphasis on accurate battery degradation forecasting, thermal management, and life‑cycle cost control in large mobile fleets and stationary storage.

Polymetals Resources has restarted operations at the Endeavor silver–lead–zinc mine near Cobar, New South Wales, moving from voluntary shutdown to first concentrate shipments within weeks. The rapid ramp-up at the former CBH Resources underground operation, which includes a 1.2Mtpa processing plant and extensive existing tailings and pastefill infrastructure, relies on reactivating care-and-maintenance assets rather than new construction. For engineers, the case shows how brownfield polymetallic plants can be recommissioned quickly when underground access, power, and metallurgical circuits remain intact.

Gates is expanding its mining-ready power transmission offering, pairing high-performance hydraulic hoses with its high-power Predator synchronous belts for demanding crusher, conveyor and pump drives. The Predator belts are engineered for high-torque, shock-loaded applications common on long overland conveyors and primary crushers, aiming to reduce slippage and unplanned downtime compared with conventional V-belts. For maintenance and reliability teams, the integrated hose and belt package simplifies spares standardisation and supports higher installed power on existing drive layouts without major structural changes.

The Democratic Republic of Congo will this week send Washington a list of “strategic projects” in copper, cobalt, lithium and tantalum for potential US investment, following a 4 December accord granting American firms privileged access to its critical mineral reserves. Mines minister Louis Watum, speaking at the Future Minerals Forum in Riyadh, stressed deals will be on strictly commercial terms, contrasting them with 2007 tax breaks for Chinese miners that were meant to underpin $9 billion of investment but delivered about $6 billion. With Chinese companies such as CMOC now controlling roughly 80% of Congo’s mining output, including the Tenke Fungurume copper-cobalt complex, the new framework is tied to the “Washington Accords” peace process with Rwanda, linking security commitments to resource access.

Northern Graphite and Saudi conglomerate Al Obeikan Group will build a $200 million battery anode material plant at Yanbu on the Red Sea, with initial capacity of 25,000 tonnes per year supplied by concentrate from the restarted Okanjande graphite mine in Namibia, targeted for 2028. The joint venture, 51% owned by Obeikan and eligible for 50–75% project financing from the Saudi Industrial Development Fund, will also commit to buying up to 50,000 tonnes per year of Okanjande concentrate. Northern is in advanced talks on a 25,000-tonne-per-year offtake with global battery makers, while its Canadian and French anode projects are deferred.

Global mining M&A reached about $30 billion in the first three quarters of 2025, with 74% of deal value directed to Latin America and deal values in the region up more than 200% since 2021, while Africa’s have fallen nearly 80%. McKinsey and the Future Minerals Forum’s 2025 barometer reports that over 50% of global critical mineral reserves lie in Africa, West Asia and Central Asia, yet exploration spending there is the lowest worldwide and remains 40%–50% below required levels. The report estimates $5 trillion of cumulative investment is needed by 2035, with 16‑year discovery‑to‑production timelines and a projected 75% rise in copper demand to 56 Mt/y by 2050 requiring roughly 60 new Quellaveco‑scale mines.

Copper on the London Metal Exchange hit a record $13,310/t in early Wednesday trading before easing, extending a 6% year‑to‑date rise after a 40% gain in 2025 on AI, data centre and renewable energy demand plus ongoing supply and geopolitical risks. Goldman Sachs still sees a long‑term path above $15,000/t by 2035 but warns of consolidation and a possible pullback this year, tempering project pricing assumptions. Tin jumped as much as 6% to $52,495/t, up nearly 30% in 2026 despite rising LME inventories and a futures premium to spot, signalling speculative, low‑liquidity‑driven volatility rather than immediate physical tightness.

Critical Metals’ share price jumped 35% to about $18 in New York after it agreed to buy a Bromet-built, fully integrated mobile assay laboratory for roughly $1 million to support pre-mining pilot operations at its Tanbreez rare earth project in southern Greenland. The lab will provide real-time, on-site geochemical analysis for drill core and pilot plant material, complementing an Arctic-grade storage and pilot facility in Qaqortoq due mid-2026 and an international airport opening 12 km from site. A recent PEA outlines phased output from 85,000 to 425,000 tonnes of rare earth oxides per year from a 45-million-tonne kakortokite resource, with a pre-tax NPV of up to $3.6 billion and IRR of 180%.

Silver has surged past $90/oz to a record $92.23, up over 14% year-to-date, while spot gold hit $4,641.29/oz, extending a 6% gain as safe-haven demand intensifies and investors rotate out of government bonds amid US debt and monetary policy concerns. UBS reports silver in a “perpetual state of backwardation”, with US tariff overhang and its critical minerals designation restricting flows to London and driving acute physical tightness. Citi now pegs three‑month targets at $5,000/oz for gold and $100/oz for silver, after 2025 gains of 65% and 150% respectively.

Giga Metals and Arca Climate Technologies have signed a 10‑year agreement giving Arca exclusive access to tailings and approximately 1.3 billion tonnes of ultramafic waste rock at the Turnagain nickel project in British Columbia to test large‑scale carbon mineralisation. Using its proprietary Industrial Mineralization process on olivine-, serpentine- and brucite‑rich material, Arca estimates lifetime potential to remove up to 220 million tonnes of CO2 by converting mine waste to stable carbonate minerals. The work will include sampling, pilot‑scale trials and techno‑economic studies aimed at integrating permanent CO2 sequestration into Turnagain’s nickel concentrate production economics.

Milton Keynes Development Partnership is advancing a £76m, 4,000-capacity events venue at the Old Bus Station site on Elder Gate, adjacent to Station Square and near Santander’s new Unity Place headquarters. ATG Entertainment, which already operates Milton Keynes Theatre, has been selected as preferred operator, with the new building expected to host over 300,000 visitors a year for larger-scale performances. Planning and public consultation will start later in 2024, with construction to follow and opening targeted for 2029, signalling significant city-centre regeneration and transport-linked footfall.

Hire Association Europe and Event Hire Association has installed a refreshed board, adding JCB major account manager Paul Mabey, Huws Gray regional manager David Fox, Cleveland Group chief executive Andrew Thompson and GR8 Tool Hire managing director Josh Thompson alongside existing directors from Sunbelt Rentals UK, GoHire Group, Seddons Plant & Engineers and Plato Catering Hire. The revised governance model assigns each director a defined brief, including areas such as supply chain and independent hirers, and expands the use of specialist working groups and committees. Tool and plant suppliers can expect more structured engagement routes into policy, training and standards-setting within the UK and European hire market.

Hitachi Construction Machinery UK has gained accreditation as an NPORS approved training provider and training centre, enabling it to deliver nationally recognised operator courses beyond its own excavators and shovels to equipment such as forklift trucks, telehandlers, mobile elevating work platforms and cranes. Initial programmes will standardise training for HCMUK employees using the NPORS framework, before expanding from 2026 to external candidates including customers and local businesses. The offer also covers specialist safety training for slinger signallers, plant marshals, quick hitch awareness, abrasive wheel handling and suspended loads.

Falco Construction has ordered 15 all‑electric Takeuchi TB20e mini‑excavators after a 16‑month trial with UK Power Networks showed the 2‑tonne machines could operate for around five days between charges and then fully recharge within a few hours. The contractor, which runs more than 120 mini‑excavators on street works for clients including UK Power Networks and Thames Water, estimates that switching the full fleet from diesel to electric would cut its carbon emissions by over 200 tonnes per year. Falco is also trialling Stihl TSA 300 battery cut‑off saws with fast‑stop regenerative braking and Instagrid One mobile battery units as replacements for petrol saws and diesel generators on road‑cutting and utility sites.

Wolffkran UK tower crane operators have voted to strike after three years without a pay rise and proposed cuts to benefits such as standby payments, threatening disruption across major UK construction sites. Nearly 100 operators from the country’s second largest tower crane supplier, which runs more than 220 cranes, will begin action on Tuesday 27 January, then strike fortnightly with site-specific dates chosen for maximum impact. Projects potentially affected include the Grenfell Tower deconstruction, Cambridge Science Park and the new ECMWF headquarters in Berkshire.

Egis is merging its UK and Ireland operations under a single managing director, appointing François Basselot, former head of its energy and sustainable cities division for Europe and Africa, to lead the combined business focused on transport, water, energy transition (including nuclear) and the built environment. The reorganisation targets UK and Irish government programmes to modernise critical infrastructure, with integrated teams expected to deliver cross-border consultancy and project management on water, highways, rail and energy schemes. Claire Davies becomes chief operating officer for Egis Europe & Africa, while Steve Preece now leads Egis’ Irish operations and maintenance arm, which runs the Dublin Tunnel, 470 km of motorways and the national mobile road safety camera network.

McLaren Construction Yorkshire and North East has been appointed main contractor for a 14-storey purpose-built student tower at the Joseph’s Well complex in Leeds city centre, providing 256 bedrooms. Developer J Pullan & Sons, for whom this is the largest single investment in its 140-year history, is converting the former factory and mill estate beyond its long-standing office use. The project team includes Cunniff Design as architect, Roscoe as civil and structural engineer, FutureServ for building services, Orion Fire for fire strategy, and RBA as quantity surveyor and employer’s agent.