Geomechanics.io

SpectraFlow Analytics has secured an order for a SpectraFlow Crossbelt Analyzer at Daye Non-Ferrous Metal Group’s Ausmelt TSL copper smelter in Huangshi, China, one of the world’s five largest raw copper producers. The online analyser will measure concentrate chemistry directly on the conveyor, enabling tighter control of the Ausmelt TSL furnace feed mix in real time. For process engineers, this supports more stable bath conditions, improved sulphur and flux balance, and reduced reliance on intermittent grab sampling.

XCMG has delivered its first large XDE260 diesel-electric AC-drive mining trucks to Australia, marking the Chinese OEM’s entry into the country’s ultra-class haul truck segment. The XDE260, typically configured for around 240–260 t payloads and used in large open-pit operations, positions XCMG against established competitors such as Caterpillar 793/Komatsu 830E in high-production iron ore and coal mines. For mine planners and maintenance teams, the move signals another OEM option for fleet standardisation, parts support, and diesel-electric haulage strategies in Australian conditions.

Thiess plans to retrofit a Caterpillar 793D haul truck with a FLANDERS hybrid diesel‑electric kit as part of its 2025 Sustainability Report roadmap, targeting lower emissions from ultra‑class fleets while acknowledging that net zero‑capable propulsion for large trucks is not yet commercially ready. The FLANDERS system, previously used to boost productivity and cut fuel burn on large excavators and drills, will be adapted to the 793D’s existing electric drive to recover and reuse braking energy. For mine operators, the trial offers a near‑term retrofit option to reduce diesel consumption and validate hybrid performance on a widely used 220–240 t class truck.

Battery-powered mobile pump systems are emerging as an alternative to mains- and diesel-driven units on mine dewatering lines as Tsurumi trials containerised battery storage with its electric submersible pumps. The concept targets reduced local emissions, lower noise for underground and near-community operations, and greater flexibility where grid access is limited or generator logistics are costly. For engineers, the key questions now centre on achievable duty cycles, kW draw versus battery capacity, and integration with existing pump control and monitoring systems.

Work is commencing on upgrading Toowoomba–Athol Road, a key freight and commuter link between Toowoomba and Queensland’s south‑west that now carries a growing mix of heavy vehicles and urban traffic from rapidly expanding Westbrook and Wyreema. The project focuses on safety and capacity planning along this rural–urban corridor, where increasing freight volumes and commuter flows are stressing the existing two‑lane geometry and intersections. Outcomes will guide future widening, intersection treatments and pavement strengthening to support higher traffic loads and reduce crash risk.

Consultation on England’s revised National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) closed today, with engineers and planners warning the draft offers “all bark and no bite” on issues such as mandatory housing targets and delivery of nationally significant infrastructure. Critics argue the text weakens enforceable requirements on local plans, five-year housing land supply and brownfield-first development, while adding vague language on design quality and net zero. Concerns centre on greater scope for local refusal of dense schemes near transport hubs, potentially constraining urban regeneration and delaying major transport and energy projects.

Treotham has installed an igus roller chain energy supply system for a Shark Bay, Western Australia operation where mobile machines travel long distances, cutting drag forces by up to 75 per cent compared with conventional cable carriers. The polymer roller chain runs in a low-friction trough with integrated rollers, allowing longer travel strokes with reduced drive power and lower wear on cables and hoses. For mine operators, the system offers scope to downsize drive motors, extend maintenance intervals on travelling equipment and improve reliability on long conveyor and reclaimer runs.

ESS Engineering is rolling out practical conveyor control strategies to cut fugitive material loss and unplanned downtime on high‑throughput belt systems. The company is focusing on correctly sized and positioned primary and secondary belt cleaners, skirting and sealing systems, and improved transfer‑chute design to reduce carryback, spillage and dust at loading and discharge points. For mine operators, the approach targets lower maintenance at height, reduced clean‑up around conveyor structures, and more stable belt tracking and idler life.

ALLU screening and crushing buckets supplied by Total Rockbreaking Solutions are being used in Australian quarrying and mining operations to convert oversize and waste rock into saleable aggregate and fill. By processing byproduct in-situ on loaders and excavators rather than hauling it to fixed plants or waste dumps, sites can recover usable fractions, cut transport and tipping costs, and reduce stockpiled waste volumes. The approach is particularly relevant for brownfield pits with limited space and variable feed, where mobile, attachment-based processing can extend resource life.

Thiess executive general manager Rae O’Brien has been named Exceptional Woman of 2026 at the Queensland Resources Council and Women in Mining and Resources Queensland awards, recognising her leadership across large open-cut coal and metals operations. O’Brien has overseen multi-year productivity and safety programmes at Thiess, including deployment of autonomous haulage fleets and advanced fleet-optimisation analytics on east coast sites. Her recognition signals continued industry emphasis on senior female leadership in mine planning, contractor management and technology-enabled production improvement across Queensland’s major resource projects.

Lynas Rare Earths has extended its supply and funding agreement with Japan Australia Rare Earths (JARE) to 2038, locking in long-term offtake for Japanese customers and continued support for its Mt Weld mine and downstream processing assets. The deal secures financing flexibility through JARE’s existing loan facilities while underpinning feedstock for Lynas’ cracking and leaching plants in Kalgoorlie and Kuantan. For rare earths project developers, the move signals sustained Japanese backing for non-Chinese NdPr and heavy rare earth supply chains.

Mongolia is demanding earlier profit payments and an increase in its effective take to about 60% from the $18 billion Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold project, where it holds 34% via Erdenes Mongol and currently receives no dividends until a multi‑billion‑dollar Rio Tinto loan is repaid. The push comes despite Rio waiving $2.4 billion of debt in 2022 and follows a separate Mongolian lawsuit over about $450 million in alleged tax underpayments for 2021–22. With copper output up 61% last year and Oyu Tolgoi slated to be the world’s fourth‑largest copper mine by 2030, any fiscal changes could materially alter project cash-flow models and country risk assumptions.

Critical Metals has approved a $30 million programme to accelerate drilling, infrastructure, engineering design and metallurgical work at its Tanbreez heavy rare earth project in Greenland, one of the world’s largest known rare earth deposits. Development is being supported by a multi-use storage and pilot facility in Qaqortoq and a fully integrated mobile assay laboratory providing real-time geochemical data for drill core and processing samples. First ore is targeted for Q4 2028–Q1 2029, with concentrate exports by Q3 2029 and offtake agreements already covering about 75% of expected concentrate output.

Lundin Mining will spend $215 million to lift its stake in Chile’s Caserones open-pit copper-molybdenum mine to 75% and acquire 31% of the nearby Los Helados copper-gold deposit plus a 0.62% NSR royalty from JX Advanced Metals, with completion targeted for April. Caserones produced 132,881 tonnes of copper in 2025 at a cash cost of $2.17/lb, and Lundin expects the deal to add up to 7,000 tonnes of attributable copper in 2026 and generate immediate free cash flow. Los Helados, 17 km south of Caserones, hosts 2.1 billion tonnes indicated at 0.4% Cu, 0.15 g/t Au and 1.5 g/t Ag, and Lundin is evaluating trucking higher-grade ore to the existing Caserones plant to displace lower-grade feed.

Electra Battery Materials has signed a new term sheet with LG Energy Solution to supply 60% of cobalt sulphate output from its Temiskaming Shores refinery in Ontario through 2029, with an option to extend three years. The $250 million plant, 500 km north of Toronto, is targeting early commissioning in Q4 2026 and a one-year ramp-up to full capacity of 6,500 tonnes per year of battery-grade cobalt sulphate, backed by a newly approved $73 million construction budget. Once operating, it is expected to be North America’s first cobalt refinery and one of only two major facilities outside China, which currently supplies about 90% of global cobalt sulphate.

Rio Tinto has shipped its first 200 tonnes of lithium carbonate from the Rincon brine project in Salta, Argentina, to Shanghai, marking the start of exports from a planned 60,000 t/y battery-grade operation. The project will ramp from a 3,000 t/y starter plant to a 57,000 t/y expanded plant due online in 2028, with full capacity targeted within three years and an expected 40-year life at about 53,000 t/y. Rio has secured a US$1.175 billion loan package from IFC, IDB Invest, Export Finance Australia and JBIC towards the US$2.5 billion expansion capex.

CleanTech Lithium has agreed a 40‑year special operating contract (CEOL) with Chile’s mining ministry for the Laguna Verde brine project, covering 153 km² from exploration through to closure and giving direct contractual backing from the Chilean state. Laguna Verde holds a JORC‑compliant resource of 1.9 million tonnes at an average 174 mg/L lithium carbonate, with a 2023 scoping study outlining 20,000 tpa LCE over 30 years and a pre‑feasibility study due this quarter. The CEOL, one of only a few granted in Chile and still subject to Comptroller General ratification, materially reduces tenure risk for project financing and process design decisions.

US military stockpiles hold only about two months of rare earth supplies for systems such as missile guidance, fighter jet actuators and phased-array radar, exposing operations against Iran to potential disruption if Chinese exports tighten. China controls over half of global rare earth mine output and nearly all processing capacity, has already imposed export controls, and plans to strengthen industry development and export management under its 15th Five-Year Plan (2026–2030). A $12 billion US stockpiling and allied trade-bloc initiative is unlikely to bring non-Chinese projects online fast enough, concentrating pricing and supply-chain power in a few producers.

Gold advanced on Tuesday as US President Donald Trump signalled an imminent end to the Iran war, knocking oil off recent 30%-plus gains and easing inflation fears that had capped bullion. Spot gold rose up to 1.8% to about $5,240/oz and US gold futures gained 2.7%, while silver climbed 2% toward $90/oz, reversing part of last week’s 3% gold price drop and a 30-tonne ETF outflow, the largest in over two years. Analysts at TD Securities and BMO still flag elevated energy prices and unresolved Strait of Hormuz disruptions as key macro risks for miners and metals investors.

ICMM has released a Global Mining & Metals Greenhouse Gas Emissions Dataset and insights report showing that extraction of minerals critical for renewable energy technologies and sustainable development contributes a relatively small share of global GHG emissions. The dataset aggregates Scope 1 and 2 emissions from mining and metals operations worldwide and distinguishes them from downstream processing and end-use sectors such as power generation and transport. ICMM positions the tool to support more accurate value-chain accounting, scenario analysis and decarbonisation planning for commodities like copper, nickel, lithium and rare earths.

G&H has appointed former Mitie account manager and Amey operations manager Ian Moorby as its first head of operations to lead maintenance delivery, performance and growth. Moorby brings experience managing PFI contracts and compliance, planned and reactive maintenance, and project works across the northeast prison network for the Ministry of Justice. His role will cover recent and ongoing building maintenance and decarbonisation projects including Pudsey Sixth Form College, Windsor House, Evans Property Group’s head office, and Centrica-backed schemes at Heartlands and Hereford County Hospitals.

Clark Contracts has broken ground on a £20m, 191-bed purpose-built student accommodation scheme for Alumno and Henderson Park in Edinburgh’s Meadowbank and Jock’s Lodge area, with completion targeted for summer 2027. The development combines cluster flats with shared kitchens and self-contained studios, plus study and social spaces, landscaped courtyards, rooftop gardens and a ground-floor café/restaurant. For contractors and consultants, the long programme suggests phased delivery and extended coordination of fit-out, public realm and mixed-use ground-floor interfaces.

Grafton Group has agreed to acquire Macroom-based Cygnum Holdings, a timber frame manufacturer that generated more than €45.6m in revenue in 2024 from supplying offsite frames to house-builders across Ireland. Cygnum will be integrated into Grafton’s Chadwicks Group merchant network, with the existing management team retained and incentivised to grow profitability, subject to clearance from Ireland’s Competition & Consumer Protection Commission. The deal increases Grafton’s exposure to a housing market where notified timber frame use in scheme developments has risen from 37% in 2019 to 61% in 2025.

Emerson Crane Hire has taken delivery of the UK’s first Liebherr LTM 1400-6.1, a six-axle mobile crane with a 70-metre telescopic boom and 400-tonne safe working load on a chassis normally used for 300-tonne class machines. The unit is specified with an 80.5-metre luffing jib giving 120 metres maximum hoist height and 97 metres working radius, plus a 45.5-metre hydraulically adjustable jib with up to 40 degrees offset. Under UK STGO rules it travels at 16.5-tonne axle loads carrying its hook block, 10 tonnes of ballast and the Y-Guying system, which self-assembles via integrated hydraulic and electrical quick couplings.