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US Export-Import Bank has lifted potential financing for Graphite One’s Alaska-to-Ohio graphite supply chain to about $2.1 billion, including $670 million for the Graphite Creek mine near Nome and $1.4 billion for a 100,000 t/y anode materials plant in Niles, Ohio, repayable over 15 years. EXIM signals willingness to fund roughly 70% of capex to first production, with Graphite One targeting initial 25,000 t/y anode output by mid-2027 and mine start-up in 2030 under a 20-year life. The project is post-feasibility, advancing under FAST-41 permitting, and already has $37.5 million US Department of Defense support.

The International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, via the International Journal of Geoengineering Case Histories, has opened a call for papers for a Special Issue on “Geo-Hazards: Lessons from the Ground”. Submissions are sought on documented case histories of landslides, liquefaction, sinkholes, tailings failures and other geo-hazards, emphasising in-situ data, back-analyses and performance of mitigation works. The issue targets practice-oriented lessons for design, monitoring and risk management, with detailed ground investigation records and instrumentation results strongly encouraged.

North American Construction Group has agreed to acquire Western Australia–based Iron Mine Contracting for about C$115 million, positioning NACG as a Tier 1 mining services contractor in the Australian iron ore and bulk commodities market. IMC brings established contracts across mine development, drill-and-blast and load-and-haul services, complementing NACG’s large earthworks and overburden removal fleet. NACG is pairing the deal with infrastructure and fleet optimisation initiatives, signalling further redeployment of ultra-class trucks and support equipment into higher-margin Australian projects.

Rajant Corporation has launched the SLP-1025 Slipstream gateway and Hawk FE1-2450G triple-radio BreadCrumb®, integrating 5G directly into its industrial wireless mesh architecture. The Hawk FE1-2450G combines three radios with embedded 5G to support low-latency links for autonomous haul trucks, high-definition video and real-time fleet telemetry across large open pits and underground drifts. The SLP-1025 acts as a high-throughput edge gateway, allowing mines to design distributed computing networks with 5G backhaul from initial deployment rather than retrofitting later.

Eldorado Gold is expanding electrified underground load-and-haul at the Lamaque Complex in Val-d’Or, Québec, with an order for 10 Sandvik battery-electric vehicles and 10 charging systems, including five TH550B 50‑t trucks and five Toro LH518iB loaders. The first two TH550B trucks were delivered in October, with the remaining three trucks and five loaders to follow, supporting a fully electric primary haulage fleet in key production areas. For mine planners and ventilation engineers, the BEVs are expected to cut diesel emissions and heat load, enabling tighter development in deeper zones.

Develop Global has secured a A$200 million, five-year underground development contract to establish access tunnels for OceanaGold’s Waihi North Project on New Zealand’s North Island, with mobilisation scheduled for the first half of 2026. The scope centres on creating new underground access to support future gold mining adjacent to the existing Waihi operations, implying significant lateral development and ground support in complex epithermal geology. The long lead time allows detailed mine design, equipment selection and geotechnical modelling before full-scale development starts.

Decmil has secured an A$81 million contract from Rio Tinto to deliver a Mobile Equipment Maintenance (MEM) Workshop Expansion at the Brockman 4 iron ore mine in Western Australia’s Pilbara. The scope includes a new MEM workshop, office and associated infrastructure to service large haul trucks and ancillary fleet, supporting higher availability of mobile plant in a remote, high-dust environment. Civil and structural works will need to accommodate heavy vehicle loads, large-span workshop bays and integration with existing mine services and traffic flows.

Epiroc’s Pit Viper blasthole drill, introduced 25 years ago, remains a flagship high‑capacity rig in large open pits, combining high power with flexible mast and hole configurations for production drilling. The platform has operated autonomously for the past decade, with fleets running driverless drill patterns and remote supervision from control centres rather than on‑bench cabins. For mine planners and drill‑and‑blast engineers, the Pit Viper’s long autonomous track record is a key reference point for integrating automated drilling into existing benches, patterns and safety envelopes.

BEUMER Group has inaugurated a new INR 2 billion manufacturing facility at Reliance’s Model Economic Township (MET City) in Jhajjar, Haryana, marking a major expansion of its Indian material handling footprint. The high-tech plant will localise production of bulk handling systems and conveyor technology for mining and cement, reducing import dependence and lead times for large overland conveyors and loading systems. For project engineers, closer regional fabrication should simplify logistics, spares support and lifecycle service for high-capacity conveying installations across India and neighbouring markets.

Prairie Machine’s Flexiveyor Continuous Haulage System has received MSHA certification from the US Mining Safety and Health Administration’s Approval and Certification Center, clearing it for use in regulated underground coal operations. The modular Flexiveyor is designed to provide continuous haulage between the mining face and section belt, reducing shuttle car traffic and associated congestion in development headings. Certification opens the US underground coal market to the system, giving mine engineers an additional compliant option for redesigning panel layouts and material flows around continuous haulage.

Manhole Form Hire is rolling out new certified, patented in-situ manhole formwork systems across Australian civil projects, using heavy-duty modular panels and corners that quickly configure into L-shapes and other geometries on constrained sites. The steel forms are designed for repeat hire, tight dimensional control and rapid pour-and-strip cycles, reducing on-site carpentry and crane time compared with traditional timber boxing. For contractors, the key gains are faster manhole construction, more consistent internal diameters and wall thicknesses, and improved safety around excavations.

The Linewide Alliance of KBR, WSP, Alstom, RATP Dev and John Holland has secured the $6.7 billion Linewide package for Melbourne’s Suburban Rail Loop (SRL) East, covering systems and infrastructure for a fully tunnelled 26‑kilometre twin‑bore metro corridor. Works include rail systems, power, signalling, communications and high‑capacity rolling stock integration for the orbital line linking Cheltenham to Box Hill. Geotechnical and civil interfaces will be critical, with continuous underground alignment, multiple underground stations and complex M&E fit‑out in constrained urban environments.

Brokk is promoting remote-controlled demolition robots for underground mining, positioning its 1–11‑tonne class machines as alternatives to conventional excavators and handheld breakers in stopes, crusher chambers and drawpoints. The electric-powered units use tethered or radio control to keep operators tens of metres from brow faces, brow cleaning and oversize reduction, and can carry hydraulic hammers, drum cutters and scabblers on compact carriers designed for low headings. For geotechnical and production teams, the key shift is moving personnel out of unsupported ground while still performing scaling, secondary breakage and rehabilitation in confined, high‑risk zones.

Victoria’s gold sector has gained approval for the state’s first dedicated deep exploration tunnel, enabling access to previously unreachable high-grade targets at depth beneath existing workings. The project is designed to support more technically advanced drilling, geotechnical mapping and real-time structural modelling, moving exploration away from shallow open-cut prospects towards complex, high-stress underground environments. For mine planners and geotechnical engineers, the tunnel signals a shift towards long-life, deep gold systems in Victoria, with greater emphasis on rock mass characterisation and seismic risk management.

Early testwork at ABx Group’s Deep Leads ionic adsorption clay rare earths project in northern Tasmania indicates that low-acid, ambient-temperature heap leaching may be technically viable, offering a simpler alternative to conventional tank leach circuits. Column leach trials on bulk samples are being used to assess percolation, recovery and impurity deportment, with a focus on desorption of magnet rare earths such as neodymium and praseodymium. If scaled, the approach could reduce reagent consumption, cut capital tied up in agitated tanks, and suit shallow, free-dig clay deposits typical of the licence area.

ASX-listed critical minerals developers are lining up a 2026 supply surge, with projects such as Richmond Vanadium Technology’s Richmond–Julia Creek vanadium deposit and multiple lithium and rare earths plays moving towards final investment decisions. Developers are targeting battery-grade vanadium pentoxide, spodumene concentrate and mixed rare earth carbonate from Queensland and Western Australian orebodies, leveraging existing rail and port corridors to cut capex and time-to-market. For geotechnical and mine planners, the pipeline signals imminent demand for large-scale pit designs, tailings storage and processing infrastructure sized for multi-decade production.

Antipa Minerals has issued an updated JORC 2012 mineral resource estimate for its 100 per cent-owned Minyari gold–copper project in Western Australia’s Paterson Province, confirming a standalone open-pit and underground development scenario. The MRE now covers the Minyari, WACA, Sundown and Minyari South deposits, with resources reported above a 0.5g/t gold cut-off for open pit and 1.5g/t for underground, and includes both sulphide and oxide material. Antipa is progressing pit optimisation, underground trade-off studies and metallurgical testwork to support a potential prefeasibility study.

Network Rail has appointed VolkerRail, Laing O’Rourke, AtkinsRéalis and Siemens Mobility to the Midlands Rail Hub Alliance to design and develop a £1.75bn programme of upgrades across the region’s rail network. Core works include two new chords at Bordesley to link the Chiltern main line into Birmingham Moor Street with the Camp Hill lines towards the South West and East Midlands, plus reopening platform 4 at Snow Hill to add direct Chiltern Railways services to London Marylebone. The alliance will also redesign Kings Norton station and its approaches to accommodate extra Cross City services and future Midlands Rail Hub-enabled stopping patterns.

Scottish Water has named Stantec and Aecom as primary designers and five asset delivery partners – M Group Water, Mott MacDonald Bentley, Farrans, WGM Engineering and Ross-Shire Engineering – for a six-year enterprise-style programme covering water and waste water upgrades from 2027 to 2033, with an option to extend a further six years. The framework, described as delivering around one-third of the SR27 capital investment programme, is Scottish Water’s largest procurement to date. Primary designers will hold end-to-end design accountability, while delivery partners will execute capital works once contracts are finalised by March 2026.

John Graham Construction has secured a £59m contract to build five student accommodation blocks of up to six storeys at Loughborough University’s Central Park, close to the Edward Herbert Building. The scheme will deliver 552 en-suite, self-catered bedspaces arranged around a landscaped square, plus amenity areas, sub-warden units, a plant block, utilities and associated external works. Construction is scheduled to start in early 2026 and complete by late summer 2027, fixing a tight 18–20 month delivery window for structural, M&E and external works integration.

Homes England has appointed five executive regional directors – Danielle Gillespie (northwest), Tom Bridges (northeast, Yorkshire and Humber), Jo Nugent (Midlands), Vicky Savage (London and east) and Kate McBride (south) – ahead of a new regional operating model starting in April 2026. The directors, expected to take up post from March 2026, will own regional development pipelines and sub‑regional programmes, spanning large-scale placemaking, growth partnerships and affordable housing schemes. Delivery teams will be backed by a nationally managed technical office and access to the National Housing Bank to align land and investment with local priorities.

Vp, the specialist equipment rental group whose divisions include Groundforce and UK Forks, has appointed Mitie Communities managing director Alice Woodwark as chief executive from 1 February 2025, succeeding Anna Bielby after a short handover. Woodwark brings a facilities management and services background rather than construction plant hire, having led Mitie Communities since 2021 and previously spent nine years in senior roles at Compass Group following McKinsey, Oxford PPE and Stanford MBA training. She will also continue as an independent non-executive director at Vistry Group, sitting on its nomination, remuneration and audit committees.

Proximity to Slopes, a new calculator in the Association of Lorry Loader Manufacturers & Importers (ALLMI) app, now quantifies safe stabiliser leg positions for loader cranes working beside embankments. Users input mat width, horizontal distance from the crane base to the crest, and slope height; the tool then defines a “danger area” where stabilisers must not be placed to avoid loss of stability. For temporary works and lift planners, this offers a quick, standardised check when siting cranes on or near cuttings, bunds and roadside batters.

Planning permissions for new homes in England fell to 42,000 units in Q3 2025, down 31% year-on-year and the lowest quarterly total in over 15 years, with only 1,311 projects approved between June and September, the 11th consecutive quarterly decline. Over the 12 months to September 2025, approvals dropped to 209,781 homes across 7,500 projects, 38% below the early‑2022 peak and just 36% of 2018 site numbers. London is hardest hit, with units approved down 49% on Q2 and 72% on Q3 2024, totalling fewer than 34,000 units and 910 projects.