Geomechanics.io

Rapid adoption of electric vehicles is creating a growing stream of “nearly new” traction batteries, and a specialist firm is repurposing these packs into temporary power units for construction sites. The systems aggregate multiple second-life EV modules into containerised battery energy storage, capable of running site cabins, tower cranes and small plant that would traditionally rely on 100–300kVA diesel generators. For contractors, this points to lower fuel logistics, reduced local emissions and quieter operation, but also raises questions on battery health monitoring, fire safety strategy and end-of-second-life recycling routes.

The British Antarctic Survey’s £100m Discovery Building at Rothera Research Station has been completed on time and budget, centralising field prep, storage, offices, training, medical and welfare facilities under one BMS-controlled roof designed for -22°C to +15°C conditions and targeting a 25% cut in station carbon emissions. Six redundant buildings are being deconstructed piece-by-piece, with cladding and other materials reused on site and waste containerised for controlled removal. Separately, Southbay Civil Engineering’s new 240m replacement causeway at Port Stanley, Falkland Islands, will use an inner rock core, outer rock armour and a heavy steel ramp, with local labour and materials.

The UK government’s proposed ban on cash retentions in construction, following a year-long consultation, is being hailed by trade bodies such as the ECA and NFRC as a long-fought win for specialist contractors previously exposed to withheld payments used as free working capital. Legal and commercial advisers including Kennedy’s Amanda Hanmore and Osborne Clarke’s Daniel Cashmore warn the ban could drive higher project costs via performance bonds, more back‑loaded payment schedules and milestone‑only payments, and trigger more disputes over incomplete or defective works. BCIS chief economist David Crosthwaite points to project bank accounts and alternative defects and quality mechanisms as critical to maintaining delivery standards and payment security across supply chains.

National Apprenticeship Week saw contractors, consultants and suppliers use site visits, taster days and structured Level 2–6 apprenticeship schemes to tackle construction’s chronic skills shortage. Interviewees point to clearer progression routes from T-levels to degree apprenticeships, better on-site mentoring, and earlier engagement with schools as critical to attracting site engineers, quantity surveyors and trades. For geotechnical and civil practices, the message is to embed apprentices on live ground investigation, piling and temporary works packages rather than confining training to classroom or lab settings.

Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon has been revived after Swansea Council agreed a multi-phase renewable energy development deal with Batri, reopening prospects for a large breakwater and impoundment structure in the Severn Estuary’s high-tidal-range environment. The agreement paves the way for detailed design and consenting of marine civil works, including caisson or rock-armour sea walls, turbine housings and associated grid connection infrastructure. Geotechnical and coastal engineers should expect complex foundation design in soft marine sediments, aggressive chloride exposure conditions and stringent flood and scour performance requirements.

MPs are pressing the Department for Transport to revive the stalled Croydon rail remodelling, arguing the existing bottleneck on the Brighton Main Line will worsen with Gatwick Airport’s planned second runway and the proposed Universal Studios theme park. The scheme, previously paused amid cost pressures, would untangle flat junctions around East Croydon and expand track capacity through the Selhurst triangle, a critical node for south London and Sussex services. Rail engineers face renewed scrutiny over junction geometry, signalling headways and resilience for peak airport and leisure traffic.

Nevada King Gold’s share price jumped 24% to C$0.205 after Centerra Gold agreed to invest C$10 million at C$0.21 per share for a 9.9% stake as part of a C$16 million financing, valuing Nevada King at about C$87 million. Proceeds will accelerate drilling and exploration at the past-producing Atlanta open-pit project on Nevada’s Battle Mountain trend, where a 2025 resource estimate outlines 27.7 million tonnes at 1.14 g/t Au (about 1 million oz) and follows more than 100,000 metres of drilling over a 130 sq. km land package. An investor rights agreement will give Centerra participation and information rights, signalling closer technical involvement alongside its existing Goldfield and Liberty Gold (Black Pine) positions in the region.

A prolonged Iran conflict that drives oil above $150 a barrel and constrains Strait of Hormuz flows could cap global copper demand growth at 0.5%–1%, push prices below $10,000/t and create a 100,000–200,000 t refined surplus, Bloomberg Intelligence warns. Under this scenario, 2026 earnings may drop about 20% at Southern Copper, 32% at Antofagasta and up to 55% at First Quantum, with unit costs rising 10%–20% and high-cost producer margins compressing from ~70% to ~40%. Sulfur and sulfuric acid supply from the Gulf emerges as a key constraint, particularly for DRC operations where 50%–60% of output depends on acid leaching.

Gemfields expects a 2025 loss per share of 2.6¢, narrowed from 7¢ in 2024, as weaker gemstone prices, illegal mining and grade volatility hit the Montepuez ruby mine in Mozambique and the Kagem emerald mine in Zambia, cutting output and cash flow. Commissioning of Montepuez’s second processing plant, already producing rubies since September 2025, is now delayed well into H1 2026, constraining volume recovery and auction scheduling. Seven gemstone auctions raised $129 million in 2025, down 34% from $195.9 million, despite firmer prices for top-tier emeralds and rubies.

Atco is investing C$10 million for a 40% stake in Inuit-backed West Kitikmeot Resources to advance the Grays Bay Road and Port Project, centred on a deepwater Arctic Ocean port, airstrip and 230 km all-season road linking Nunavut deposits to tidewater. The scheme, paired with the proposed 400 km Arctic Economic and Security Corridor from the Northwest Territories, is costed at a minimum C$2 billion, with construction of GBRP targeted to start in 2028 and open by 2035. The corridor would connect Izok zinc, High Lake copper, diamond, gold and base metal prospects to Canada’s national road network and dual-use civilian–military logistics.

Uranium Energy Corp has started uranium extraction from three new header houses at wellfield 11 of its Christensen Ranch ISR operation in Wyoming, with one more awaiting approval and three additional units under construction in wellfield 12 and the 10-extension, as it targets up to 4 million lb/year of capacity across three new wellfields. The recovered uranium feeds the Irigaray central processing plant, now being upgraded after first drummed production in February 2025 to handle output from 11 Powder River Basin projects. In parallel, UEC has received a US NRC docket number for a proposed uranium refining and conversion facility, planned with Fluor for 10,000 t/year UF6 capacity, exceeding half current US demand.

Gold steadied on Tuesday above $4,400/oz after falling as much as 2.7% in Asian trading, pausing a nine-day slide that has left bullion 21% below its all‑time high and 15% lower since the start of the Middle East war. Frank Monkam of Buffalo Bayou Commodities cites hawkish repricing of US rate expectations, a stronger dollar, and forced selling amid bond and equity declines, with deleveraging by retail investors and emerging‑market central banks liquidating reserves. Despite near‑term downside flagged by Standard Chartered and TD Securities, Ed Yardeni still targets $5,000/oz by end‑2026 and $10,000 by 2030.

Liberty Gold is selling its Goldstrike oxide gold project in southern Utah to Heliostar Metals for US$72.5 million, structured as US$10 million cash plus 1.6 million Heliostar shares on closing, followed by four staged cash payments over five years tied to infrastructure milestones and feasibility/construction decisions. Proceeds will fund Liberty’s Black Pine project in Idaho, which a 2024 prefeasibility study pegs at US$552 million NPV (5%), 32% IRR and 2.2 million oz output over 17 years at US$1,380/oz AISC. The non-dilutive deal supports feasibility work and long-lead procurement ahead of a targeted 2028 construction start.

Central banks are on track to buy roughly 850 tonnes of gold in 2026, only slightly below the 863 tonnes purchased in 2025, even after prices hit a record near $5,600/oz before sliding towards bear-market territory. China, Kazakhstan, Poland and Brazil remain key buyers, with Indonesia and Malaysia re-entering the market after long absences, while the US still holds over 8,100 tonnes and Germany about 3,350 tonnes in reserves. Analysts warn that the Middle East war and elevated oil prices could force some states to sell bullion to support foreign exchange reserves, injecting further price volatility.

Deep Sea Minerals (CSE: SEAS), via its US subsidiary American Ocean Minerals Corp., has applied to NOAA for a DSHMRA exploration licence targeting polymetallic nodules in a defined tract of the Clarion-Clipperton Zone in the Pacific. The submission includes baseline environmental data, proposed monitoring and mitigation measures, and a phased exploration plan with specified expenditure commitments. NOAA has recently pledged extra resources to accelerate licence and permit reviews, following a 2025 US executive order promoting deep-sea mining for nickel, copper and manganese.

Government has launched a 12-week consultation on merging the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) and Engineering Construction Industry Training Board (ECITB) into a single Industry Training Board covering construction and engineering construction across England, Scotland and Wales. The consultation, open until 23:59 on Sunday 14 June 2026, seeks views on governance, levy arrangements (including extending levy orders beyond the current three-year maximum), and the scope of employers covered. The move follows Mark Farmer’s 2023 ITB review, which called for a merged, employer-led body focused on attraction, training, retraining and retention to address structural workforce shortages.

Jacobs has completed the £1.2bn acquisition of the remaining 35% of UK-based PA Consulting, moving from a 65/35 joint ownership structure to full control. The deal folds PA’s Global Innovation Technology Centre in Cambridge and its strategy, digital innovation and major programme advisory capabilities into Jacobs’ existing infrastructure and engineering portfolio. For asset owners and contractors, the combined group signals a stronger single-provider model for front-end advisory through to programme delivery on large, complex infrastructure schemes.

Rail contractor QTS Group has expanded its board, promoting Adam Jordan to director of engineering and elevating long-serving engineer Bruno Martin to strategy and technical director, with roles centred on engineering strategy, technical capability and strategic industry partnerships. Former Ardent Hire Solutions HSQE director Tony Vozniak joins as HSQE director, working with compliance director Iain Kirk on licencing, accreditations and business management systems. The moves support QTS’s recent growth to more than 750 staff across 14 UK offices, including its Rench Farm HQ, Manchester and a new Derby office.

Construction costs for new high‑rise office towers in London have risen by up to 40% since 2020, making schemes more than three times as expensive as in Seoul and around 10 times Mumbai, according to Turner & Townsend’s Global Tall Buildings report. The firm notes that tower massing and form can create up to a 25% cost difference between ambitious landmark designs such as The Shard and more efficient blocks like 22 Bishopsgate. London is now in a fifth “doing more with less” wave, forcing early‑stage viability testing, tighter detailing, and closer supply‑chain engagement.

Willmott Dixon has broken ground on the £40m rebuild of Outwood Academy Kirkby in Nottinghamshire, delivering a new secondary and sixth-form campus for 900 pupils to replace 1970s buildings under the DfE’s national school rebuilding programme. Designed by ADP Architecture, the scheme includes purpose-built science, drama and technology classrooms, an all-weather pitch, multi-use games courts and play areas, with heating and power from air source heat pumps and solar panels. Construction will be phased using a temporary teaching block to maintain operations until the main building opens in the 2028/29 school year, after which existing structures will be demolished for final sports provision.

Graham has started construction of a £45m academic building on the University of East London’s Stratford Health Campus on Water Lane, forming part of a £170m, three-year expansion of the university’s healthcare teaching facilities. The building will house a range of healthcare-related courses aimed at training future NHS professionals and tackling health inequalities, with completion targeted for July 2027. The contract followed a competitive procurement that prioritised Graham’s track record in higher education and healthcare projects.

Stanhope has appointed Mace Construct as main contractor for Red Lion Court, an 11-storey, 249,500 sq ft office tower with two basement levels on a 1.24-acre riverside site between London Bridge and Southwark Bridge, valued at about £450m. Enabling and piling works are already under way next to Borough Yards, with the main construction phase due to start in Q4 2026 and practical completion targeted for early 2029. The Bjarke Ingels Group design includes four river-facing terraces, 719 cycle spaces, 54 showers and 1,000 sq ft of café space, signalling high servicing and amenity loads for structural and MEP coordination.

Government plans to ban retention withholding in construction, cap payment terms from large firms to small suppliers at 60 days, and mandate late-payment interest at 8% above the Bank of England base rate written into contracts. The Small Business Commissioner would gain powers to investigate suspected poor payers, adjudicate disputes outside court, and levy “significant” fines in the tens of millions, plus force large companies to publish explanations for poor performance. Construction bodies, including the National Federation of Builders, are pushing for alternative performance mechanisms such as accessible surety bonds or insurance during the consultation on the retention ban’s implementation.

Plug-in balcony solar panels will go on sale in Lidl stores across Great Britain within months, following government moves to modernise regulations for “plug-and-play” devices that connect via a standard mains socket without formal installation. The UK is drawing on continental experience, where Germany alone adds around 500,000 such micro-PV units a year, to cut household grid demand and exposure to volatile fossil fuel prices linked to the Iran war and wider Middle East conflict. In parallel, the new Future Homes Standard will require most new low-rise homes to incorporate on-site renewable electricity generation, predominantly roof-mounted PV, alongside low-carbon heating such as heat pumps or heat networks.