Geomechanics.io

Peri UK has launched an AI-enabled formwork service built on the DataB/PERI joint venture platform dataform.work, automating translation of 3D models into CNC-ready components and cutting concept-to-production time by more than half. First used on HS2 footbridge foundations near Coventry with 13 different facets and angles to optimise load paths and cut concrete volume, the system drove rapid, accurate fabrication of complex internal void formers via 5-axis CNC-milled plywood. A new joint design minimises screws, eliminates glue, and integrates striking elements, improving removal, reuse potential and programme certainty on intricate pours, particularly in high-rise work.

PepsiCo UK is investing £3.6m in rooftop solar at its Leicester distribution centre, with Ineco Energy installing photovoltaic panels across 30,000m² of roof area. The system is designed to supply 100% of the site’s electrical demand, effectively turning the facility into a fully solar-powered logistics hub under typical operating conditions. For industrial estate designers and structural engineers, the project signals continued demand for large-span roof structures with sufficient load capacity, access, and detailing to support extensive PV arrays.

The UK Government has announced changes to the way the Environment Agency and Natural England handle planning casework, aiming to speed up consents for major housing and infrastructure schemes. A new central Infrastructure Unit will triage and coordinate environmental assessments on nationally significant projects, with standardised templates and earlier engagement intended to cut repeated requests for information. For civil and geotechnical teams, the shift could compress timelines for flood risk, groundwater, habitat and nutrient neutrality assessments, increasing pressure on front‑loaded site investigation and design.

Stormwater engineer David Schofield argues that large-scale managed aquifer recharge (MAR) using infiltration basins and recharge wells could simultaneously reduce UK surface-water flood peaks and bolster drought resilience. He points to schemes where storm flows are diverted from combined sewers into gravel-filled soakaways and deep injection wells, storing millions of cubic metres in permeable chalk and sandstone rather than building ever-larger attenuation tanks. For geotechnical and civil designers, MAR shifts focus towards subsurface storage capacity, soil permeability, groundwater mounding, and long-term water quality monitoring.

Preparatory works have started at Hinkley Point C to drive a 620m-long fish return tunnel, using a tunnel boring machine to connect the cooling water system back to the Severn Estuary. The tunnel will allow fish and other marine organisms drawn into the 3.2GW plant’s cooling water intakes to be screened and safely returned offshore rather than discharged onshore. For designers and contractors, the project adds a short, small-diameter marine tunnel interface to an already dense underground works package of intake and outfall tunnels.

Stevenage Borough Council is partnering with Mace and other developers on a comprehensive town centre regeneration that reconfigures the original post‑war new town layout for higher‑density mixed use, active travel and modern utilities. The programme focuses on retrofitting 1950s concrete structures, rationalising multi‑storey car parks into development plots, and upgrading public realm and transport interchanges to handle contemporary pedestrian and bus flows. Lessons on phasing works around ageing services, constrained town‑centre highways and existing retail cores are being treated as a template for the UK Government’s proposed new wave of new towns.

Government has accepted key Nuclear Regulatory Taskforce recommendations and pledged a “proportionate” regime for consenting new nuclear projects, including large gigawatt-scale plants and small modular reactors. Planned changes include streamlining Development Consent Order examinations, tighter statutory timescales for the Office for Nuclear Regulation and Environment Agency, and clearer interfaces with the generic design assessment process. For civil and geotechnical teams, this signals earlier certainty on site licensing, ground investigation programmes and nuclear island design, potentially reducing pre-construction delay and rework.

Fuel security concerns will dominate Federal Resources Minister Madeleine King’s visit to Japan this weekend, with talks expected to focus on diesel and LNG supply chains and Australia’s role as a long-term energy exporter. King is also set to discuss Japanese investment in Australian critical minerals projects, including lithium, nickel and rare earths, amid pressure to diversify away from single-country processing hubs. Outcomes could influence future offtake agreements, funding for new mines and refineries, and infrastructure for secure fuel storage and shipping routes.

Odyssey Gold has confirmed gold mineralisation at its Tuckanarra project in Western Australia, extending known lodes along strike and at depth and supporting potential resource growth around the historic Cable and Bollard pits. Alliance Nickel is advancing feasibility and permitting work on its NiWest nickel–cobalt project, targeting battery-grade sulphate production from laterite ore in the northern Goldfields. Auravelle Metals is progressing early-stage exploration for lithium and other battery metals, using geochemical surveys and targeted drilling across multiple tenements in WA.

Victory Metals has appointed a specialist rare earths leadership team to accelerate development of its North Stanmore project near Cue in Western Australia, where drilling has already defined clay-hosted rare earth mineralisation over a broad footprint. The company is targeting near-surface, free-dig material amenable to low-strip-ratio open pit mining and simple beneficiation, positioning North Stanmore as a potential supplier of magnet rare earths. For geotechnical and mining teams, the focus will be on characterising clay rheology, managing drill pad stability, and optimising shallow pit design for cost-effective bulk extraction.

Canada’s proposed “buyers’ club” for critical minerals, raised by Prime Minister Mark Carney in meetings with Rio Tinto and Australian officials, would see like‑minded countries jointly contracting long‑term offtake for battery and magnet metals such as lithium, nickel and rare earths. For Australia, participation could de‑risk financing for new mines and refineries by underpinning bankable offtake, but would also expose producers to tighter ESG conditions and potential price caps. The move signals a shift from ad‑hoc spot sales towards coordinated, government‑backed demand aggregation in critical minerals supply chains.

Kingfisher Mining Limited and Broken Hill Mines Limited have signed a mining and processing cooperation agreement targeting high‑grade copper from Kingfisher’s exploration assets into Broken Hill’s established processing infrastructure in New South Wales. The deal links a junior explorer with an operating concentrator and associated logistics at Broken Hill, potentially shortening development timelines compared with building greenfield plant. For geotechnical and mining teams, the arrangement signals likely near‑term drilling, resource definition and mine design work focused on feed quality, haul distances and compatibility with existing crushing and flotation circuits.

A new low-emission crushing technology developed at the University of Adelaide aims to cut comminution energy use by targeting ore breakage at natural grain boundaries rather than by conventional compressive crushing. Led by researcher Mark Drechsler, the lab-scale unit is being tested on copper and gold ores to quantify reductions in specific energy consumption and downstream grinding requirements. If pilot-scale trials confirm lower kWh/t and improved liberation, plant designers could downsize SAG/ball mills and reduce both capital cost and CO₂ intensity of mineral processing circuits.

Rising Brent crude above $100/bbl could lift iron ore cash costs by about 20%, copper by 16% and gold by 9% if prices hold near that level, BMO Capital Markets estimates from Wood Mackenzie data. Historical sensitivities show iron ore costs rising ~4.2% for every 10% oil increase, versus 3.5% for copper and 1.9% for gold, with diesel now only ~5% of copper site costs but higher energy feeding through power, consumables, labour and equipment. Africa and the Americas appear less exposed than Europe and Asia, while sulphur and ammonia flows via the Strait of Hormuz threaten acid and explosives input costs.

Rio Tinto is slowing construction of the Nemaska lithium hydroxide conversion plant at Bécancour, Quebec, cutting its contractual workforce by about 50% while keeping several hundred workers on site, but still targets commissioning this decade and first production in 2028. The plant is roughly 70% complete, designed for 32,000 tonnes per year of lithium hydroxide, with Rio planning US$300 million of investment alongside a C$200 million commitment from the Quebec government, which retains 46.1%. Nemaska’s integrated project is based on a 26‑year Whabouchi open‑pit/underground mine producing 200,000 tonnes of spodumene concentrate annually, though Rio is reassessing feed against its Galaxy hard rock project, with a decision due in H2 2026.

Gold slipped below $5,100/oz on Friday, touching about $5,020 and heading for a second straight weekly loss as the Middle East war drives up oil and gas prices and keeps interest rate cut expectations low. The metal has traded in a tight $5,000–$5,200/oz range since an early-month spike after the US-Israeli strike on Iran, and is now almost 9% off its late-January record near $5,600/oz, though still 17% higher year-to-date. Silver fell almost 5% to just above $80/oz, with only a 10% gain so far in 2026.

Altrad RMD Kwikform has launched the R800 modular footbridge, a temporary works system offering clear spans of 60 metres and above and designed for 5kN/m² live loads with compliant headroom for pedestrian, cycle and service access. The bridge uses paired, four or six R800 girders with adjustable internal widths from 1,830mm to 3,630mm and optional cantilever extensions to create segregated walkways or service corridors over roads, railways and waterways. Off-site assembly with single-bolt node connections allows craning into position in as little as 15 minutes, with integrated plan bracing and enclosed edge protection improving wind performance and public interface.

Gateway 2 approval from the Building Safety Regulator allows McAleer & Rushe to start full construction of Firethorn’s 284-bed high-rise purpose-built student accommodation scheme on Stratford High Street, east London, with completion targeted for summer 2028. The development includes 35% affordable student rooms, shared study and fitness spaces, and a ground-floor community area, and sits within walking distance of UCL East and University of the Arts London. For engineers, Gateway 2 sign-off confirms detailed design and construction control arrangements meet the new higher-risk building safety regime.

Latimer, the development arm of Clarion Housing Group, has lodged a hybrid masterplan for the Tendring Colchester Borders Garden Community in Essex, proposing 7,750 homes in three walkable, transit-focused neighbourhoods with at least 30% affordable tenure. The scheme includes up to four primary schools, one secondary school, mobility hubs, health centres, and a civic common with cultural venues and a modern Guildhall, plus an initial phase delivering more than 800 homes and the first section of a rapid transit system. Arup, Haworth Tompkins, Kjellander Sjöberg and other consultants are supporting Latimer in its role as master developer.

Herefordshire Council has awarded John Graham Construction a £1.9m pre-construction services agreement, ahead of a £45m contract to build phase one of the Hereford Bypass, a 3.6km single carriageway linking the A49/Ross Road–Rotherwas Access Road roundabout with the A465 Abergavenny Road and B4349 Clehonger Road. Graham will develop design and technical proposals with Aecom and AtkinsRéalis, including a new bridge over the Hereford–Newport railway line and multiple underpasses, before main works start in December. Phase one completion is targeted for end-2028, following the council’s cancellation of a previous £190m scheme in 2021.

Speller Metcalfe has secured a £28m contract from North Warwickshire Borough Council to demolish and rebuild the existing Memorial Hall leisure centre in Atherstone, taking possession of the site at the end of April. The scheme follows a planning application lodged in late February and will deliver a new-build leisure facility with upgraded accessibility and an energy-efficient design, replacing the current ageing structure. Contractors and consultants can expect a full brownfield redevelopment with demolition, site preparation and modern services integration on a constrained town-centre site.

VolkerFitzpatrick has been contracted by Oxfordshire County Council to deliver phases 1 and 2 of the £350m HIF1 scheme, including dualling the A4130 east of the A34 Milton Interchange and constructing the three-span Didcot Science Bridge over the existing A4130, the Great Western main line and Milton Road. The A4130 upgrade will repurpose the current carriageway using the southern ditch as a central reservation, with the existing lanes carrying eastbound traffic to Didcot and two new south-side lanes carrying westbound traffic to Milton Interchange. The new single carriageway bridge and link will run through the former Didcot A Power Station site to rejoin the A4130 near Purchas Road, with main construction due to start in spring and last about two years.

Construction output in Great Britain in January 2026 edged up 0.2%, driven entirely by a 3.3% rise in repair and maintenance as new work fell 2.0%, with private new housing output dropping 6.3% over the three months to January and seven of nine work sectors in reverse. Aecom and McBains report paused infrastructure schemes now accelerating but investor appetite for major projects still weak, despite a £718bn UK Infrastructure Pipeline. Developers and lenders flag viability pressures from planning delays, volatile energy-linked material costs and tighter funding, particularly constraining SME housebuilders.

Strabag UK has secured a two-year contract from Jewel of Hertsmere Limited to rebuild the Aldenham Reservoir dam in Hertfordshire, an earth-fill embankment about 9 m high, 480 m long and impounding roughly 539,000 m³. Works include constructing a new embankment with an 8 m deep slurry wall, butyl liner and rock armour to address performance concerns and reduce downstream flood risk. The scheme also delivers a new reinforced concrete spillway, stilling basin and weir, plus a replacement footbridge and crest-top public footpath.