Geomechanics.io

Alemlube is supplying Australian mines with Pulsarlube automatic lubrication systems that meter precise grease volumes directly to critical bearings, conveyors and crushers, reducing manual greasing in confined or high-risk areas. The electro-mechanical units can be programmed for specific discharge rates and operating intervals, maintaining consistent film thickness on components running under heavy loads and variable speeds. By cutting unplanned stoppages and minimising over- or under-lubrication, sites are extending bearing life, stabilising production and lowering maintenance exposure for fitters and lubrication technicians.

Queensland is investing $500,000 to move women into higher‑skilled operator and technician roles in the state’s resources sector, targeting positions such as autonomous haul truck operators, process plant technicians and mine control room specialists. Funding will support accredited training and upskilling programmes aligned with existing operations in coal, critical minerals and gas fields across regional Queensland. For mine operators, the initiative signals potential access to a broader pool of trained candidates for control systems, high‑precision equipment and maintenance roles where skills shortages are persistent.

Bedeschi Australia is retrofitting and redesigning bulk materials handling equipment across ports and mine sites to turn chronic bottlenecks – such as underperforming shiploaders, stacker–reclaimers and overland conveyors – into higher-throughput assets. The company is supplying locally engineered upgrades including redesigned chutes to cut blockage, heavier-duty conveyor components to handle higher belt tensions, and control-system modernisations to stabilise load profiles. For engineers, the focus is on extending asset life, reducing unplanned stoppages and lifting tonnes-per-hour without major greenfield capital spend.

Liebherr-Australia’s Adelaide fabrication team completed its 50th mining excavator bucket for 2025 on 10 December, setting a new annual production record for the facility. The milestone run included 18 m³ heavy-duty rock buckets for R 9400 excavators, built with full joint preheating and high-strength wear packages tailored to hard-rock conditions. For mine operators, the increased local capacity for large backhoe and face shovel buckets shortens lead times for replacements and custom designs, reducing reliance on imported ground-engaging equipment.

NHBC has opened its first multi-skills training hub at Redrow’s Curborough Lakes site in Lichfield, the pilot for 12 hubs in a £100m UK-wide programme intended to support delivery of 1.5m new homes this parliament. The first cohort achieved a 93% pass rate, with four distinctions and nine first-time passes, compared with a 53% industry average reported by the Department for Education. Apprentices train outdoors on live-site conditions and can qualify in about 14 months, roughly half the duration of many traditional routes, with capacity planned for 3,000 apprentices a year once all hubs are operating.

Arup has been appointed by Great British Energy – Nuclear to deliver early-phase foundation engineering and design support for the UK’s first small modular reactor project at Wylfa on Ynys Môn/Anglesey, which will comprise three Rolls-Royce SMR units backed by £2.5bn of UK government funding. Amentum is leading the delivery programme with Turner & Townsend, Hochtief, Mace Consult and Unipart, while LDA Design, TÜV SÜD Nuclear Technologies and Gleeds will cover masterplanning, nuclear safety and cost engineering. Early geotechnical characterisation, nuclear safety integration and site-specific civil design will strongly influence constructability, programme risk and future SMR replication.

Heidelberg Materials UK has re-secured a three-year, £9m structural carriageway resurfacing contract with Wirral Borough Council following a competitive tender, extending a relationship that began in 2014 via Bam Nuttall and directly since 2019. The scope covers highway carriageway resurfacing across the borough, with the council citing strong technical capability, value for money and sustainability performance in its award decision. Heidelberg will explore lower carbon asphalt solutions on the network, signalling potential demand for warm-mix and other reduced-embodied-carbon surfacing materials in local authority frameworks.

More than $1 billion in US-backed loans, equity and offtake deals has flowed into Latin American critical minerals since January 2025, including a $100 million Inter-American Development Bank loan for a $2.5 billion lithium project in Argentina and a proposed $465 million US Development Finance Corporation stake in Serra Verde’s rare earths mine in Goiás, Brazil. Argentina’s RIGI regime has already underpinned Rio Tinto’s $2.5 billion Salta lithium project and lifted national lithium capacity from 75,500 t/y in 2023 to about 186,000 t/y in 2025, with 658,000 t/y targeted by 2035. Geopolitically driven capital is accelerating lithium, rare earth and copper developments, but permitting, resource nationalism and EU/US merger scrutiny, such as the Phase II review of MMG’s bid for Anglo’s Brazilian nickel assets, remain critical schedule risks.

First Quantum Minerals is selling its Çayeli copper-zinc underground mine in northeastern Türkiye to Cengiz Insaat, controlled by Cengiz Holding, for $340 million in cash, including a $50 million advance, with completion targeted for Q2–Q3 2026. Çayeli, a VHMS deposit on the Black Sea coast using underground bulk-mining methods, has operated since 1994 and holds reserves expected to sustain production to 2036. The divestment follows December’s $190 million sale of Cobre Las Cruces in Spain as First Quantum reallocates capital towards restarting Cobre Panama.

Resolute Mining has approved the final investment decision for the Doropo gold project in north‑eastern Côte d’Ivoire, about 480 km north of Abidjan, targeting first construction in H1 2026 and an initial mine life of roughly 13 years. The project is central to Resolute’s plan to lift group output above 500,000 oz/y by the end of 2028 and to build a multi‑asset West African portfolio alongside its existing operations. Approval follows completion of technical, economic, environmental and social studies and the granting of a mining permit by Côte d’Ivoire’s Council of Ministers.

Cabral Gold’s Cuiú Cuiú project in Pará, Brazil, has returned its strongest drill intervals to date at the Jerimum Cima target, with hole DDH372 cutting 25.8 metres at 0.6 g/t Au from 131 metres, including about 3 metres at 285.5 g/t Au within a high-grade central zone surrounded by lower grade stockwork. The project’s updated prefeasibility study outlines 13.6 Mt indicated at 0.5 g/t Au (216,182 oz), 6.4 Mt inferred at 0.34 g/t Au (70,570 oz), initial capex of $37.7 million, a 78% post-tax IRR and 10‑month payback at $2,500/oz. Cabral plans Q4 start-up via a heap leach oxide starter pit at Moreira Gomes, targeting 113,000 oz over 6.2 years, with the share price up over 350% year-on-year.

Artemis Gold has halted processing at its Blackwater mine in central British Columbia after a ball mill gearbox failure forced a production outage expected to last 8–10 days, though mining activities continue and a replacement gear is on hand. First-quarter output will be below plan, but full-year guidance of 265,000–290,000 oz remains unchanged as the company brings forward second-quarter maintenance to use the downtime. The shutdown briefly knocked Artemis’ market capitalisation below C$9 billion, despite Blackwater having produced 192,808 oz of gold in its first eight months of operation in 2025.

Rio Tinto has completed an industrial trial with Prysmian to produce low‑carbon aluminium rod for power cables, blending metal from its hydro-powered Alma smelter in Quebec with ELYSIS inert-anode technology that eliminates direct smelting greenhouse gas emissions and generates oxygen. The trial sits within a five-year supply agreement signed in October 2023 to roll out lower‑carbon aluminium cable solutions for energy transmission and data centres. CRU forecasts data centres will grow from about 7% of North American cable demand in 2025 at roughly 17% CAGR to 2030, with aluminium gaining share for campus power distribution.

CITB has set a £11.5m employer networks budget for 2026-27, restricting access to micro, small and medium-sized firms (fewer than 249 staff) while creating a separate large employer fund. From April, these smaller employers can book training through networks at 50% match funding, subject to new annual caps of £1,500 for micro (up to nine staff), £2,000 for small (10–49) and £4,500 for medium (50–249). Large employers will instead access a £18,000-per-year large employer fund for any in-scope training, tied to an agreed training plan.

Manchester-based construction consultant Abacus has hired former Aecom leaders Steve Kenny as director of project management and Paul Camac as director of cost management, bolstering its 36-strong Manchester team. The move comes two years after Abacus was acquired by private equity-backed Contollo Group, which now has over 230 staff nationally and has consolidated consultancies including MBA, Tace, ESP and Kam. With clients such as Barratt Redrow, Bruntwood, Harworth and Sport England, the expanded leadership signals a push to scale project and cost management capability across complex built environment schemes.

Builders’ merchants ended 2025 with Q4 takings down 1.2% and volumes down 2.9% year-on-year, while prices were 1.8% higher, and December’s like-for-like volumes fell 5.8% despite a 3.6% price rise. Average daily takings in Q4 were 9.0% lower than Q3 and daily volumes 13.1% lower, mirroring ONS data showing a 2.1% quarter-on-quarter fall in construction output, led by a 3.6% drop in private new housing. The CPA has cut its 2026 construction output forecast from +2.8% to +1.7%, with private housing RMI now expected to contract by 1.0%.

Work has started on the £20m redevelopment of The Priory shopping centre in Worksop, with main contractor GF Tomlinson beginning structural demolition under Pagabo’s medium works framework for Bassetlaw District Council. Enabling works have included isolation of building services, soft strip of internal areas, full scaffolding to demolition zones and hoarding that cuts off part of the car park between the entrance road and service ramp to segregate the public from plant. A high-reach demolition excavator will remove primary structural elements while elevations near access roads are dismantled by hand, with demolition scheduled to complete by May 2026 and all stores remaining trading throughout.

Consulting engineer WSP has appointed former Ricardo Rail managing director Iain Carmichael as managing director for intelligent infrastructure across its UK & Ireland operations, five months after acquiring the British automotive engineering consultancy. Carmichael brings systems engineering, operational safety, risk management and third‑party certification experience, including leading Ricardo’s Asia office in Hong Kong from 2015 to 2018. WSP’s transport & infrastructure head Darren Reed expects the combined WSP–Ricardo capability to focus on digital, data‑enabled and safety‑critical infrastructure with stronger systems integration and resilience.

UK construction tender price inflation forecasts have turned more cautious, with Rider Levett Bucknall lifting its 2026 forecast to 3.45% (from 3.27%) as the Middle East conflict threatens fuel costs, trade routes such as the Strait of Hormuz, and key structural material supplies. RLB reports concurrent input cost pressures and weakening pipelines, with contractors pricing selectively and risk allowances diverging by sector and project type. Glenigan’s latest Index shows project starts under £100m down 15% year on year and overall market value 26% lower, leaving private residential and fragile major-infrastructure pipelines particularly exposed.

Ainscough Crane Hire has reported a 5% fall in turnover to £115.5m for the year to September 2025, with operating profit down 55% to £6.4m and profit before tax down 68% to £3.7m amid what the board called “subdued market conditions”. The Wigan-based firm nonetheless invested £28.7m in fixed assets, including £25.2m on new Liebherr cranes to maintain fleet age, while net debt rose from £32.4m to £37.7m. Borrowing headroom was increased from £29m to £39m, and US owner GSO/Blackstone extracted a £22m dividend in October 2025.

Palfinger has entered a strategic technology collaboration with US robotic construction specialist Icon, integrating its knuckle boom crane technology into Icon’s Titan concrete printing robot. Titan is designed to print concrete structures up to 27 feet high, supports multi‑level construction, uses modular components with stabilisers and crawler systems, and is intended for continuous 24/7 operation. Initial prototypes have completed testing for industrial use, signalling near‑term deployment of large‑scale robotic 3D concrete printing with reduced labour exposure and faster build cycles for structural shells.

Weir has secured a contract to supply a 150 t/h crushing and screening plant for Bezant’s Hope and Gorob copper-gold project in Namibia, centred on ENDURON ET905 and ET906 jaw crushers. The package also includes a Trio TF4012 vibrating grizzly feeder and a Trio EF3605 screen, configured for primary and secondary crushing of copper-gold ore. For mine planners and process engineers, the fixed 150 t/h capacity sets a clear constraint for upstream blasting/hauling rates and downstream milling circuit design.

Metso Corporation and Loesche GmbH have formed a partnership to roll out Metso Loesche vertical roller mill (VRM) dry grinding technology, now integrated into the Metso Plus offering for minerals processing. The VRM is positioned as a direct replacement for high-pressure grinding rolls (HPGR) and horizontal mills in primary grinding circuits, targeting reduced energy use and a smaller plant footprint. For process engineers, the move signals a push towards single-stage dry comminution flowsheets with fewer conveyors, screens and slurry handling systems.

Fortescue is rolling out a new Collision Avoidance System (CAS) as the first element of its HaulX technology suite, which CEO Metals and Operations Dino Otranto describes as a fundamental shift in the company’s vehicle safety approach. The CAS adds an engineered control layer on haul trucks and light vehicles, integrating proximity detection and automated intervention to prevent vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-person incidents. For mine operators, this signals tighter interaction control in mixed-traffic pits and a platform for progressive automation of haulage fleets.