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UK progress on legally binding environmental targets is “largely off track”, with the Office for Environmental Protection warning that current policies will not deliver the Environment Act 2021 goals on air, water and biodiversity. The watchdog cites slow delivery of river basin management plans, weak nutrient pollution controls and delays to local nature recovery strategies as key gaps. For infrastructure schemes, this signals tighter scrutiny of water quality impacts, biodiversity net gain delivery and construction emissions as regulators push departments and agencies to close compliance gaps.

Atex Resources’ Valeriano copper‑gold project in northern Chile has returned a 448 m interval from hole ATXD26B grading 0.93% copper and 0.51 g/t gold from 1,014 m depth, including 186 m at 1.32% copper and 0.72 g/t gold and 88 m at 1.61% copper and 0.99 g/t gold, strengthening the B2B breccia target. The B2B zone now appears to have roughly 400 m strike, up to 200 m horizontal width and 500–600 m vertical extent, with drilling already past half of the planned 25,000 m in stage six. September’s resource update outlined 475 Mt indicated at 0.58% copper and 0.25 g/t gold plus 1.51 Bt inferred at 0.5% copper and 0.2 g/t gold, with Agnico Eagle holding a 13% stake and Atex valued at about C$1.2 billion.

Taseko Mines has completed construction of the Florence in-situ copper project in Arizona, with wellfield acidification underway, injection flow rates meeting or exceeding design expectations, and copper-in-solution grades now sufficient to start commissioning the solvent extraction and electrowinning (SX/EW) plant for first cathode output within weeks. Three drill rigs are expanding the commercial wellfield to boost solution flow and support ramp-up to full production through 2026, while Gibraltar in British Columbia delivered 98 million lb copper and 1.9 million lb molybdenum in 2025, including 31 million lb copper in Q4 at 0.26% head grade and 81% recovery.

Chile’s state development agency Corfo has awarded up to $5.8 million under its R&D Challenges programme to two projects on direct lithium extraction (DLE) and rare earth recovery, co-financing up to 80% of costs from Salar de Atacama concession revenues. One project, funded with up to $1.9 million over two years, will design a DLE testing platform for Chilean brines, while a second, up to $3.9 million over three years, will trial leaching and bioleaching of rare earths from tailings, waste dumps and slags containing at least 46,000 tonnes of vanadium and 16,000 tonnes of cobalt. The move coincides with Codelco–SQM’s Nova Andino Litio JV to 2060 and Albemarle’s Chile DLE pilot reporting >94% lithium recovery and up to 85% water reuse after 3,000 operating hours.

Taylor Swift’s engagement ring, featuring an estimated 7–10 carat antique Old Mine Cut natural diamond in hand‑engraved yellow gold by New York jeweller Kindred Lubeck, has triggered a surge of interest in vintage and fancy‑cut stones just as the natural diamond sector faces deep structural stress. Lab‑grown diamonds now make up over half of US engagement rings, with one‑carat solitaires retailing for about $150 at Walmart and price gaps to natural stones reaching 90%, driving Debswana output cuts of up to 40% and leaving De Beers with roughly $2 billion in unsold inventory. Producers and governments, including Botswana and Angola via the Luanda Accord’s 1% revenue marketing pledge, are pivoting messaging toward rarity, provenance and heritage cuts as a differentiator from mass‑produced lab‑grown supply.

Gold hit a fresh record on Tuesday, with spot prices up 0.3% to $4,633.86/oz and US futures at $4,612.10/oz, after US CPI data came in below analyst expectations and strengthened bets on further Federal Reserve rate cuts. Safe-haven demand is being reinforced by political pressure on the Fed, including a US Department of Justice probe into Chair Jerome Powell and President Trump’s aggressive calls for lower rates, after gold gained nearly 70% in 2025. Citigroup now forecasts $5,000/oz within three months, signalling sustained cost pressure for gold consumers and potential margin support for producers.

Silver surged more than 4% on Tuesday to a record $89.05/oz, extending its 2026 gain to 12% after a 140% rise in 2025 driven by persistent structural deficits, heavy inflows into precious metals and its inclusion on the US critical minerals list. Last year’s tariff concerns triggered substantial metal outflows into the US and a historic squeeze in London, tightening available liquidity for industrial users and refiners. Analysts at HSBC had projected a $58–$88/oz range with a later correction, but CME Group and Metals Focus now see a three‑digit peak as increasingly likely.

Ontario has fast-tracked Canada Nickel’s Crawford project under its One Project, One Process framework, targeting construction start by year-end and first production in Q4 2028, while Ottawa has also designated it for the federal Major Projects Office. The ultramafic-hosted deposit, 40 km north of Timmins, has a 41-year mine life and 2023 feasibility metrics of 3.5 billion lb nickel, 53 million lb cobalt, 490,000 oz palladium/platinum, 58 million tonnes iron and 6.2 million lb chromium, with C$3.5 billion capex and C$2.6 billion post-tax NPV (8% discount). A planned in-process tailings carbonisation circuit aims to geologically sequester about 1.5 million tonnes of CO2 per year, positioning Crawford as a large-scale, low-carbon nickel source relative to Indonesian laterite operations.

Silver Crown Royalties (Cboe: SCRI) hit an all-time high after Michael Gentile invested C$3 million, buying 424,500 units at C$7 each, with the stock jumping over 25% intraday to C$10.74 and valuing the company at about C$38.6 million. Gentile, co-founder of Bastion Asset Management and already the largest shareholder in more than 25 junior miners, will also act as strategic advisor, signalling stronger access to equity capital. Proceeds will target accretive silver royalties on assets including PPX Mining’s Igor mine in Peru, Pilar Gold’s PGDM in Brazil and EDM Resources’ Scotia mine in Canada, amid silver prices above $89/oz.

Kal Tire’s Mining Tire Group and Australian tech firm Decoda have launched KalPRO HaulSight, using front- and rear-mounted LiDAR and camera sensors plus an on-board edge computer to give real-time alerts on spillage, road undulations and high G‑force events across entire haul circuits. The system integrates with Kal Tire’s TOMS platform, allowing condition monitoring teams to auto-generate priority-based work orders and guide operators into safer loading and dumping positions. Tested for 18 months on Canadian mine sites in sub-zero conditions, HaulSight also quantifies trade-offs between lost tyre life, productivity, fuel burn and haul road upgrade costs.

Archaeologists working on the 6.5 km Sizewell C Link Road have uncovered a nationally significant early Anglo-Saxon barrow cemetery near Theberton, including at least 11 burial mounds and a ‘princely’ 7th-century grave with two individuals and a harnessed horse, comparable to Sutton Hoo. Oxford Cotswold Archaeology is excavating roughly two million square metres across 70 sites, with around 200 archaeologists recording sand silhouettes where bone has not survived in the sandy Suffolk soils. Additional finds include a Roman pottery kiln at Middleton, an Iron Age oak ladder and an 11th-century hoard of more than 300 silver coins.

Winvic Construction has been appointed main contractor for Marks & Spencer’s £340m, 1.3 million sq ft national distribution centre at Daventry International Rail Freight Terminal, comprising two single-storey warehouses with multi-storey offices and a vehicle maintenance unit. The 52-week programme includes soil nailing to stabilise the M1 embankment, major earthworks, new access roads, footpaths, a bridleway bridge, service yards and extensive HGV and car parking with associated drainage. The facility is designed to be the world’s largest building to achieve BREEAM Outstanding, targeting EPC A+ with rooftop PV, EV charging and high recycled material content, supported by stage two BIM.

Belfast-based property and construction consultant Johnston Houston has formally rebranded as Drees & Sommer UK, a year after its acquisition by German consultancy Drees & Sommer in September 2024. The Belfast team, led by directors Michael Johnston and Kerr Houston, has recently delivered phases one and two of The Residences at Kings Hall, a 40-apartment retirement living scheme, providing project management and quantity surveying through to handover. Integration into Drees & Sommer’s international organisation expands access to multidisciplinary construction services while retaining local Northern Ireland market knowledge.

Plant and machinery supplier Molson Equipment has appointed former Warwick Ward Machinery commercial director Simon Causier as its new sales director, following Warwick Ward’s collapse into administration in December 2025 after 55 years of trading. Causier brings 18 years’ experience launching and growing heavy-line equipment brands across UK construction, recycling and aggregates markets, including dealer development and aftersales-focused sales strategies. Molson Group chief executive Robin Powell frames the hire as a response to “difficult trading conditions in the UK”, signalling a push for growth and stronger customer support into 2026.

Persimmon reports 2025 completions up 12% to 11,905 homes, with private units at 9,830 and partnership homes at 2,075, but expects 2026 output to be only “not much more than 12,000” amid flat market conditions and affordability constraints. Average private selling prices rose 5% to £301,000 and partnership prices 4% to £168,000, while underlying build cost inflation is forecast to match 2025 levels. Doubling of landfill tax from April 2026 and ongoing registered provider weakness are flagged as key cost and demand pressures for future schemes.

Planning consent has been granted for Freeport 36, a 5.5 million sq ft industrial and logistics park on a 300-acre site off Junction 36 of the M62 at Goole, promoted by Henry Boot Developments and St John’s College Cambridge. The outline approval allows units from 40,000 sq ft up to more than 1 million sq ft, with the first phase expected to deliver around £130m in gross development value. Located within the Humber Freeport Goole tax site, the scheme targets manufacturers and logistics operators seeking freeport tax incentives and proximity to existing occupiers such as Siemens Mobility and Tesco Logistics.

Westminster City Council has adopted a retrofit-first planning policy in its City Plan Partial Review, obliging developers to evidence options for retaining and adapting existing structures before applying for demolition and rebuild. The plan also tightens affordable housing requirements, shifting the tenure mix in new schemes from 40% to 70% social rent and from 60% to 30% intermediate, and capturing sites with fewer than 10 units through financial contributions. Four large mixed-use strategic sites are flagged for redevelopment: St Mary’s Hospital, Westbourne Park Bus Garage, land adjacent to Royal Oak, and Grosvenor Sidings.

Delivery of Hinkley Point C’s second reactor pressure vessel marks a key milestone for Unit 2, with the 500‑tonne, 13‑metre‑long high‑strength steel cylinder shipped from Framatome’s Saint Marcel plant via Avonmouth and Combwich Wharf before a six‑hour, four‑mile heavy road move to site. Unit 1’s vessel, installed and welded in 2023, is now followed by intensive fit‑out of pipes, cables and equipment, while Unit 2 work centres on building completion after last July’s dome lift. EDF now expects Unit 1 to start generating in 2029–30, with Unit 2 a couple of years later, aided by 25% faster construction and about 60% prefabrication.

Gateshead-based Southbay Civil Engineering has secured an 18‑month design-and-build contract for a new rock-armour causeway at Port Stanley, replacing the existing 240‑metre structure that serves a large pontoon barge and upgrading capacity for heavier vehicles. The new works comprise an inner rock core with outer rock armour and a heavy steel ramp connection to the floating barge, using local Falklands labour and raw materials. Mobilisation from the Port of Tyne includes a 150‑tonne crawler crane, three 20‑tonne dumpers, excavators up to 60 tonnes and full compaction equipment.

Civil engineering contractor Murphy has added two 23‑tonne Sany SY215E excavators to its fleet, each powered by cobalt‑free lithium iron phosphate batteries from CATL. Sany states the machines deliver six to eight hours of operation with rapid charging to 80% state of charge in about one hour, enabling a full shift with a single mid‑day top‑up on many urban or constrained sites. The zero‑tailpipe‑emission units are likely to be deployed where air quality limits, noise constraints and low‑carbon client requirements are tightening.

Flexco has launched a Polyurethane Canoe Liner designed to fit inside conveyor skirtboard systems, providing immediate impact absorption at loading points to protect stringers, skirt plates and idlers from heavy material drop. The moulded polyurethane sections form a continuous “canoe” around the loading zone, reducing fugitive material, minimising liner gaps and lowering maintenance compared with traditional steel or rubber wear plates. Flexco positions the liner as part of its heavy-duty belt conveyor protection (HD BCP) range, targeting high-impact applications in mining and bulk handling plants.

RCT has secured a contract to deploy its Remote Shutdown System across five additional bulldozers at Glencore’s McArthur River Mine in Australia, following successful trials on a grader and a dozer. The Epiroc-owned automation specialist’s system allows operators to remotely cut power to mobile plant in surface operations, providing an extra control layer around high-risk interactions with heavy equipment. For mine planners and HSE teams, the rollout signals growing acceptance of engineered remote-stop solutions as part of mobile equipment risk management on large zinc–lead sites.

TAKRAF India has completed a major revamp programme for Special Mining Equipment at NLC India Limited, covering multiple bucketwheel excavators in the lignite mines that feed NLC’s large pithead power stations in Tamil Nadu. The work included life-extension overhauls of key mechanical systems, upgraded drives and controls, and refurbishment of high-wear components on the bucketwheel and conveyor assemblies. For mine planners and maintenance teams, the upgrades aim to stabilise overburden and lignite handling capacity while deferring full replacement of these high-capex continuous mining units.

Metso booked record stirred mill sales in 2025 as miners shifted new and brownfield grinding circuits towards energy‑efficient, multi‑stage configurations. Demand is rising for optimised combinations of stirred mills with conventional SAG/ball mills to cut specific energy consumption and associated carbon emissions while maintaining or increasing throughput. For process and project engineers, the trend signals stronger scrutiny of comminution power draw, lifecycle operating costs and circuit layouts, with stirred milling moving from niche regrind duty towards mainstream primary and secondary grinding roles.