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BHP faces a demand for at least £189 million ($253 million) in legal costs in the UK after being found liable for the 2015 Mariana tailings dam collapse at the Samarco iron ore mine in Minas Gerais, which killed 19 people and caused Brazil’s worst environmental disaster. The claim covers legal fees plus about £44 million spent on walk-in centres and call centre staff to communicate with roughly 620,000 affected people, and sits alongside a £36 billion ($48 billion) damages claim set for trial in October 2026. BHP is seeking permission to appeal, calling the costs “shocking” and pushing to defer any ruling on costs until after the damages phase.

Brazil has indefinitely postponed a planned March 2026 auction of mineral exploration areas rich in critical minerals after the National Mining Agency (ANM) said it lacks funds to cover embedded auction costs. The tender was to be the first mining round run jointly with B3, the São Paulo stock exchange operator, using a bidding model already applied in power and oil and gas, and would have addressed a backlog of roughly 100,000 areas awaiting auction. The delay jars with Brazil’s push to market its 94% share of global niobium reserves and significant graphite, nickel, lithium and rare earth potential.

Integra Resources’ updated feasibility study for the DeLamar gold-silver heap-leach project in Idaho outlines a 10-year plan averaging 88,000 oz. gold and 1.6 million oz. silver per year, with 106,000 oz. gold-equivalent output at site cash costs of $1,179/oz. and AISC of $1,480/oz. The redesign shifts to two smaller heap-leach pads and two-stage crushing, cutting pre-production capex to $389 million and delivering a base-case after-tax NPV5 of $774 million, 46% IRR and 1.8-year payback at $3,000/oz. gold. Proven and probable reserves stand at nearly 120 million tonnes grading 0.33 g/t Au and 13.56 g/t Ag, with permitting under US federal rules slated to start early 2026 and first production targeted for 2028.

Sierra Madre Gold & Silver is acquiring First Majestic’s 100%-owned Del Toro silver mine in Zacatecas for up to $60 million, with $30 million due at closing (US$20 million cash, US$10 million in shares) and two further US$10 million milestone payments tied to a >100 million oz AgEq resource and achieving commercial production within five years. Del Toro comprises three fully permitted underground mines, a 3,000 t/d flotation plant and 62.5 km of existing development over 21.6 sq. km of concessions, with historic resources of 7.57 million oz AgEq (M&I) and 11.18 million oz (inferred). Sierra Madre plans ~50,000 m of drilling, an updated resource by early 2028, and a staged restart from mid-2027, while keeping open an accelerated restart within 12 months if silver prices stay strong.

Canada Nickel has declared its Timmins Nickel District in northern Ontario the country’s largest undeveloped nickel district, with contained metal rising about 12% to 20.9 million tonnes after new initial resources at Bannockburn and Midlothian. Bannockburn now hosts 63 million indicated tonnes at 0.28% nickel plus 129 million inferred tonnes at 0.27%, while Midlothian adds 595 million inferred tonnes at 0.28% nickel from drilling totalling 9,268 metres in 22 holes. The district, anchored by the 9.7‑million‑tonne Crawford deposit and seven other defined resources, now exceeds The Metals Company’s Clarion‑Clipperton seabed nickel resource.

MEGAMINES ranks Saudi Arabia’s Wa’ad Al Shamal phosphate complex as the world’s costliest mining project, with total industrial-city investment of $22.7 billion and Ma’aden’s mine-and-refining CAPEX estimated at $15.5 billion, including an $8 billion original plant and a $7.7 billion Phosphate 3 expansion due by 2027. Guinea’s Simandou iron ore development follows with more than $20 billion in shared mine–rail–port spend, a 600 km trans-Guinean railway to a new deepwater port, and targeted output of 120 Mtpa of ~66% Fe ore by 2028. Brazil’s Serra Sul (S11D) at $19.5 billion plus a $2.8 billion brownfield expansion to 120 Mtpa, and Adani’s Carmichael coal project, originally scoped at 60 Mtpa with A$16.5–A$22 billion CAPEX but now operating at 10 Mtpa with a 200 km rail link, illustrate the scale, long timelines and redesign risk inherent in bulk mining megaprojects.

Trilogy Metals and South32’s 50/50 Ambler Metals JV has approved a $35 million 2026 work programme at Alaska’s Upper Kobuk Mineral Projects, targeting mine-permit submissions for the high-grade Arctic copper deposit under federal FAST-41. Drilling will focus on geotechnical and condemnation holes for mine design and infrastructure siting, while the Bornite camp is upgraded for multi-year geotechnical and exploration campaigns and an independent UKMP management team is re-established. Arctic’s 2023 feasibility study outlines a 13-year operation producing 149 Mlb/y copper plus zinc, lead, gold and silver, with an after-tax NPV8 of $1.1 billion and 22.8% IRR.

Ontario and Canada have signed a “one project, one review” agreement to coordinate federal and provincial environmental and impact assessments, targeting long-delayed mining and infrastructure schemes in the Ring of Fire and other critical mineral districts. The deal dovetails with Ontario’s One Project, One Process (1P1P) framework, which aims to cut mine approval timelines from up to 15 years to a maximum of two years, with Frontier Lithium’s PAK project the first pilot. For geotechnical and mining teams, the move signals materially shorter permitting horizons for cobalt, lithium, nickel and copper projects backed by a C$500 million processing fund.

Tata Steel has signed an MoU with Lloyds Metals & Energy to jointly develop iron ore mining, slurry pipeline logistics, pelletisation and steelmaking projects in Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli district. The partners will first target operating existing mining concessions and associated infrastructure to lift iron ore output from the region. For mine planners and process engineers, the deal signals potential investment in long-distance slurry transport, beneficiation and pellet plant capacity integrated with downstream steel facilities.

Airbridge has secured the maximum A$1.5 million grant under Western Australia’s Carbon Innovation Grants Program Round 2, run by the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation, to expand its carbon capture and utilisation technology. The funding will support scaling from an operational pilot plant in Perth into heavy industrial applications in the Pilbara, targeting large mining and processing emitters. For miners, this signals near-term opportunities to trial point-source capture and CO₂ utilisation on existing fixed plant rather than only at new-build facilities.

Redpath Mining has secured a five-year underground mining contract at Evolution Mining’s Cowal Gold Operations in New South Wales, with an early ramp-up scheduled for 2026 and full-scale development and production from July 2026. The contractor is already recruiting across multiple underground roles, signalling a build-out of crews and equipment ahead of portal establishment and development drilling. For geotechnical and mining engineers, the timeline points to imminent demand for ground support design, ventilation planning and production scheduling integrated with Cowal’s existing open-pit infrastructure.

Fluor has acquired FLSmidth’s Overland Conveyor Products Group, folding the technology and product line into its bulk materials handling subsidiary Virta Inc. The deal follows Virta’s earlier purchase of the RAHCO® brand, consolidating long-distance overland conveyor and mobile stacking system expertise under a single US-based design–supply provider. For mine developers, this signals a tighter EPC–OEM integration on high-capacity overland conveyor systems, potentially simplifying interface risk on multi‑kilometre haulage, waste stacking and in‑pit crushing projects.

Foran Mining is deploying Veracio’s Scan core-scanning technology at its McIlvenna Bay copper-zinc-precious metals project in Saskatchewan to compress exploration timelines during the 2025 winter drilling campaign. The system acquires continuous high-resolution imagery and multi-sensor data directly from drill core, enabling near-real-time geological logging and faster targeting decisions compared with traditional manual core logging workflows. For geologists and resource modellers, this means earlier structural and lithological interpretation, tighter drill spacing decisions, and potentially shorter cycles between discovery, resource definition, and mine planning.

ABB has expanded electrification and automation at Boliden’s Aitik tailings facility, integrating power distribution, process control and monitoring to support safe capacity growth at Sweden’s largest open-pit copper mine. The upgraded system strengthens water storage and recycling, with automated instrumentation and real-time data improving surveillance of dam performance and water balances. For geotechnical and tailings engineers, the project signals tighter coupling of electrical infrastructure, SCADA and dam monitoring as facilities scale to handle higher throughputs under rising copper demand.

Epiroc has launched the COPROD 89 drilling system for surface mining and quarrying, claiming higher penetration rates and lower fuel burn through increased flushing capacity and optimised tool geometry. The 89 mm COPROD string is engineered for durability and precision drilling in hard rock, aiming to extend bit and rod life while maintaining straight holes over longer benches. For mine operators, the key promise is reduced cost per metre drilled and improved rig utilisation without major changes to existing surface drill fleets.

FLS has secured an order to supply core comminution equipment for a greenfield copper concentrator in South America, centred on a 1600 x 2400 TSU gyratory crusher and two Raptor 900 cone crushers. The grinding circuit will use two 34‑ft diameter x 24‑ft long dual‑pinion SAG mills and two 24‑ft diameter mills, giving a high‑throughput, fully FLS-supplied front end. The package signals continued preference for large SAG-based circuits in new copper projects, with implications for power demand, liner wear strategies and maintenance planning.

SAIL has signed a 28‑year Mining Services Agreement with Kalinga Commercial Corporation Ltd to develop and operate the 14 Mt/y Rowghat iron ore project in Chhattisgarh, securing long‑term feed for its central India steel plants. The contract covers mine development, drilling, blasting, loading and haulage, shifting Rowghat from project stage to production ramp‑up. For geotechnical and mine planners, the long tenure and high annual tonnage point to sustained large‑scale pit development, waste dump design and haul road infrastructure over nearly three decades.

Metso will use the Future Minerals Forum 2026 in Riyadh (13–15 January) to showcase sustainable processing technologies for energy transition minerals, including copper, green steel feedstocks, gold and phosphate. CEO Sami Takaluoma, Minerals President Piia Karhu and Services President Heikki will lead panels and roundtables on end-to-end flowsheet optimisation, from comminution and beneficiation to service models. For mine planners and plant designers, the focus signals continued OEM push on lower-energy circuits and lifecycle service contracts in Middle Eastern and African growth markets.

Unite32, a Laing O’Rourke–AECOM joint venture, has secured the $7.1 billion delivery partner contract for the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games Venues Infrastructure Program. The team will deliver 17 new or upgraded competition venues and provide monitoring services for two additional sites distributed across Queensland, covering major stadium, aquatic and indoor arena works. Early contractor involvement and integrated design–construction management are expected to drive staging, temporary works and ground engineering decisions on constrained brownfield sites.

International No-Dig Auckland will bring the global trenchless technology sector to New Zealand on 28–29 October 2026, positioning Auckland as a regional hub for no-dig pipeline and utility installation. The event will gather major equipment suppliers, contractors and asset owners under one roof, with a focus on HDD rigs, microtunnelling systems and cured-in-place pipe (CIPP) rehabilitation. For Australasian civil and geotechnical engineers, it offers direct access to international case studies on minimising surface disruption, managing difficult ground conditions and upgrading ageing buried infrastructure.

Lower Thames Crossing, a proposed 23km road scheme including a 4.2km twin‑bore tunnel under the Thames, is ramping up local skills programmes to secure the workforce needed for delivery. National Highways and its delivery partners are targeting school leavers, apprentices and career‑changers in Kent and Essex with training in tunnelling, heavy civils and digital construction tools such as BIM. The initiative aims to build a locally based labour pool for large‑diameter tunnelling, complex groundworks and long‑span viaduct construction, reducing reliance on transient specialist crews.

Boss Energy has withdrawn its 2021 enhanced feasibility study for the Honeymoon in-situ recovery uranium project in South Australia and is preparing a fully updated development plan. The original EFS was based on restarting the mothballed plant and wellfields using legacy infrastructure, but recent drilling, higher uranium prices and changed cost assumptions have made those parameters obsolete. An overhaul of process design, production schedule and capital estimates is likely, with implications for wellfield layout, resin-in-pulp or ion-exchange circuit selection, and long-term groundwater management.

Queensland’s mid-year budget update shows resources royalties still underpin state finances, with coal, gas and metals revenue offsetting weaker coal prices and higher progressive royalty rates introduced in 2022. Treasury data points to sustained export volumes through ports such as Gladstone and Hay Point, with LNG, metallurgical coal and bauxite remaining key earners despite global price volatility. For miners, the figures signal continued fiscal reliance on high-value exports and reinforce the need to factor royalty regime risk into long-life project economics and expansion plans.

BHP’s $840 million investment to expand underground operations and upgrade surface infrastructure at Olympic Dam signals renewed confidence in South Australia’s copper sector amid surging energy-transition demand. The state is advancing large-scale projects across the Gawler Craton and Curnamona Province, including IOCG deposits near Prominent Hill and Carrapateena, supported by existing 200,000+ tpa smelting capacity at Olympic Dam. For geotechs and miners, the focus is shifting to deeper block cave and sublevel stoping designs, higher-throughput hoisting systems, and power and water infrastructure capable of supporting multi-decade expansions.