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Truflo Pumps, founded as a family agricultural pump service in regional New South Wales, has grown into a specialist supplier of high-capacity dewatering and slurry pumps for Australian mines. The company manufactures modular skid- and trailer-mounted units with wet-end stock tailored for abrasive mine water, and deploys diesel- and electric-driven pumpsets for pit dewatering, underground sumps and tailings transfer. For operators, the focus is on rapid mobilisation, standardised spares and robust materials selection to keep pits accessible and haul roads dry during high-rainfall events.

Leading manufacturers of insulating glass units are adopting laser distance sensors to monitor and precisely adjust glass panel positioning during automated assembly. Dimetix D‑Series laser distance sensors, supplied locally by AMS Instrumentation & Calibration, provide non-contact measurement over several metres with millimetre-level accuracy, enabling closed-loop control of panel spacing and alignment. For mining and industrial plant glazing, this level of positional control reduces rework, improves seal integrity in multi-pane safety glass, and supports consistent thermal and acoustic performance in harsh environments.

Westgold Resources has approved a final investment decision to expand its Higginsville processing plant from 1.6 million tonnes per annum to 2.6 million tonnes per annum, creating a larger regional hub for its Western Australian gold operations. The expansion is designed to process additional ore from the Beta Hunt underground mine and surrounding open pits, consolidating treatment that is currently split across multiple facilities. For mine planners and metallurgists, the higher nameplate capacity enables higher throughput scheduling, potential cut-off grade optimisation, and reduced haulage distances to alternative plants.

According to Surbiton Associates Pty Ltd, Australia’s gold sector generated about $71 billion in 2025 as bullion prices set new records, extending a multi‑year surge in output and revenue. Producers are pushing higher‑grade underground stopes and expanding open pits in Western Australia and New South Wales, while marginal orebodies that were uneconomic below previous price decks are being reconsidered. The revenue spike is expected to drive more brownfield drilling, accelerated resource conversion to reserves, and renewed investment in processing plant debottlenecking and tailings storage upgrades.

Construction is underway on Fortescue’s 440 MW solar farm at Solomon Airport in the Pilbara, set to be Western Australia’s largest single-site solar installation and a key power source for the Solomon iron ore hub. The project will integrate with existing battery energy storage systems such as the North Star Junction BESS to displace a substantial share of gas and diesel generation on the mine’s microgrid. For mine planners and electrical engineers, this scale of behind-the-fence PV will drive new approaches to load management, contingency planning and grid stability.

Phoenix Copper has sacked executive chairman Marcus Edwards-Jones and CFO Richard Wilkins after an internal probe found about $1.765 million was paid between 2016 and 2025 to Lloyd Edwards-Jones, a corporate finance firm owned by Edwards-Jones, without board knowledge or AIM-related party approvals. Investigators also identified a further £610,000 in unauthorised payments, including transfers to an intermediary linked to bond financing made despite explicit board instructions not to proceed. Interim chair Catherine Evans and a newly appointed interim CFO are tightening governance and controls, while Phoenix warns working capital only covers operations at the Empire Copper Reserve project until end-Q2 2026.

Trafigura has signed a 10‑year take‑or‑pay offtake with Smackover Lithium, securing 8,000 t/y of US‑produced battery‑grade lithium carbonate from the South West Arkansas (SWA) brine project, totalling 80,000 tonnes. The JV between Standard Lithium and Equinor is targeting 22,500 t/y in its first phase using direct lithium extraction from the Smackover Formation, with this contract covering over 40% of planned initial output and final investment decision expected in 2026 for 2028 start‑up. Wood Mackenzie forecasts demand could exceed 13 Mt by 2050, with potential supply deficits from 2028 without major new investment.

Pan African Resources will acquire Emmerson Resources in an all-share deal valuing the Australian junior at about A$311 million, with Emmerson investors to receive 0.1493 new Pan African shares as CHESS Depositary Interests for ASX trading. The transaction, to be implemented via an Australian court-approved scheme of arrangement requiring 75% shareholder support in a June 2026 vote, will give Pan African full ownership of the Tennant Creek mineral field, consolidating its existing 75:25 joint venture. Emmerson’s board has unanimously backed the deal, with holders of roughly 26% of shares already indicating support.

TMC the metals company has cleared a key US hurdle after the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ruled its consolidated exploration and commercial recovery permit application for deep-sea polymetallic nodules “in substantial compliance” with revised Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act regulations. The submission, the first under President Trump’s streamlined regime, covers about 65,000 km² in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone and an estimated 619 million tonnes of wet nodules, with a further 200 million tonnes of upside. Greenpeace International argues the move breaches TMC’s International Seabed Authority contracts and urges the ISA to consider non-renewal.

DEScycle has formed a strategic partnership with Mitsubishi Corporation to deploy its ionometallurgy-based e-waste metals recovery platform in Japan, combining deep eutectic solvent chemistry with MC’s trading network and investment capacity. MC is funding a UK demo plant intended as a template for repeatable, distributed units, targeting capital-light deployments rather than billion‑dollar smelter-scale projects. The collaboration focuses on critical and precious metals from e-scrap, aiming to cut energy use and environmental load versus conventional smelting while strengthening domestic, sovereign metals supply chains.

La Mancha Resource Capital is lifting its stake in G Mining Ventures to 19.9% via a C$427 million purchase of 9.3 million shares at C$45.89, backing the ramp-up of the Tocantinzinho mine in Pará, Brazil, and development of the $973 million Oko West project in Guyana. G Mining guides 2026 output of 160,000–190,000 oz. at Tocantinzinho at AISC of $1,230–$1,444/oz, and targets first gold at Oko West in H2 2027 with 350,000 oz./year over 12.3 years at $1,123/oz AISC. A 2025 feasibility study pegs Oko West’s post-tax NPV at $2.2 billion and IRR at 27% at $2,500/oz gold, with 80.3 Mt indicated at 2.1 g/t (5.4 Moz) and a 2.9-year payback.

Gold fell as much as 3% to about $5,015/oz on Monday, with US futures still down 1%, as a stronger US dollar and expectations of prolonged higher US interest rates outweighed its safe-haven appeal, while silver gained over 2% to trade above $85/oz. Analysts from Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. and Marex describe current selling as a cash-raising phase amid Middle East war-driven inflation fears, with many investors opting to “wait” rather than add exposure. Despite the pullback, gold remains up roughly 18% year-to-date, supported by central-bank buying, including 16 consecutive months of purchases by the People’s Bank of China.

A contractor has died from injuries sustained during maintenance activities at Endeavour Mining’s Mana gold mine in Burkina Faso, where a carbon-in-leach plant processes ore from the recently transitioned underground operation. Mining and processing continue while Endeavour conducts an internal investigation, with no reported impact on the mine’s more than 2.1 million oz historical production profile or current output. Endeavour’s shares fell up to 3% in Toronto to about C$83.90, with the 85%-owned Mana and nearby Houndé mines remaining key assets in its C$20 billion portfolio.

Two firms have been fined after a cherry picker struck an 11kV overhead powerline at the Willand Biogas anaerobic digestion site in Cullompton, Devon on 1 June 2020, killing 34-year-old Carl Parsons and leaving colleague Luke Madavan with life-changing injuries. Willand O&M Ltd, advised by both its contractor and Western Power Distribution to divert or bury the line, failed to act or install controls such as height restrictors or exclusion zones, and was fined £51,000 plus £28,467 costs. New Wave Marine Ltd, whose risk assessment and supervision were deemed inadequate, was fined £30,000 with £8,000 costs.

Infrastructure works have begun at Yorkhill Quay in the Glasgow Waters district, where Peel Waters plans 1,100 waterfront apartments on a 13‑acre brownfield site along the River Clyde. Advance Construction Scotland has a £3.75m contract running to December 2026 to deliver core enabling works, including a 400‑metre waterfront promenade and a combined footpath/cycle path. The new route will link The Clydeside Distillery and The Riverside Museum, improving active‑travel connectivity and setting out the primary public realm framework for subsequent phases.

Lighthouse Charity, Willmott Dixon and local artist Rob Fenton have installed a large mental health mural at Staffordshire University’s new Student Village construction site in Stoke-on-Trent, depicting a lighthouse beacon as a symbol of hope for male workers. The unveiling coincided with a site-wide safety stand-down on mental health, delivered by Lighthouse’s specialist team for the DBFO consortium of Willmott Dixon, Hochtief PPP Solutions, Plenary and Pinnacle Group. Contractors are positioning the artwork as a permanent prompt for on-site “check-in” conversations in a traditionally male-dominated environment.

The Department for Education has let four main works contracts worth more than £125m, including Bowmer & Kirkland’s £54.9m scheme at The Bromfords School in Wickford and £14.5m Lime Hills SEND School in North Somerset, plus Willmott Dixon’s £40.4m project at Outwood Academy Kirkby and Galliford Try’s £16.2m rebuild of St Helens Primary in Hartlepool. Pre-construction service agreements have also been issued to Willmott Dixon, Kier, Bam and John Graham for eight further schools, signalling a rapid mobilisation phase under the £15.4bn Construction Framework 25.

Kent Police’s Rural Task Force, working with Port of Dover Police, NaVCIS and the National Construction & Agricultural Theft Team, has recovered around £200,000 of stolen plant and farm machinery at the Port of Dover. Seizures over two days included a Volvo G930 grader valued at about £150,000, a John Deere baler, an excavator and trailer, a woodchipper, diagnostic equipment and a VIN‑altering tool. Three men aged 31, 43 and 44 were arrested on suspicion of handling stolen goods, with all bailed while enquiries continue.

Swedish investor EQT Infrastructure will acquire a 42% stake in Kelda Holdings, parent of Yorkshire Water, alongside existing shareholders GIC of Singapore on 42% and Australia’s TCorp on 16%, with completion targeted by June 2026 subject to regulatory approvals. EQT, which has already deployed over £10bn of equity in UK businesses, will back Yorkshire Water’s £8.3bn multi-year investment programme to upgrade water and wastewater infrastructure across the region. Management frames the deal as providing long-term capital and board expertise to support operational performance improvements and sector reform.

Cardiff’s £100M Crossrail tram‑train scheme is moving into its first construction phase, with Cardiff Council appointing Graham as principal contractor for the new link between Cardiff Central and Cardiff Bay. The initial section will convert the existing heavy rail spur into a tram‑train corridor, requiring track upgrades, new overhead line equipment and modified signalling to interface with Network Rail infrastructure. Early works will focus on segregated running where possible and junction remodelling at Cardiff Central to accommodate higher‑frequency, lighter vehicles.

Reviving the UK construction sector sits at the centre of the government’s economic strategy, with a wave of planning reforms, accelerated infrastructure approvals and public capital spending aimed at unlocking stalled housing, transport and energy schemes. Delivery risks stem from chronic skills shortages in civils trades and site engineering, inflation-driven tender price volatility, and limited capacity in key supply chains such as precast concrete and steel fabrication. For contractors and consultants, the message is to prioritise productivity gains through MMC, digital design and alliancing contracts if they want to capture this pipeline at viable margins.

Hungary has detained seven Ukrainian nationals and seized about $40 million, €35 million and 9 kg of gold bars (roughly $1.5 million) from two armoured vehicles travelling from Austria to Ukraine in what officials called the “Ukrainian gold convoy operation”. Foreign minister Péter Szijjártó linked the funds to a “Ukrainian war mafia”, noting that since January Ukrainians have moved an estimated $900 million, €420 million and 146 kg of gold through Hungary, triggering a money-laundering probe with counter‑terrorism involvement. Kyiv says the detainees are Oschadbank staff conducting a routine interbank transfer because Ukraine’s airspace is closed, and has opened criminal proceedings against Hungary for “illegal deprivation of liberty”.

XCMG has signed a memorandum of understanding with Chilean copper major Codelco in Santiago on 3 March, following Codelco Chairman Máximo Pacheco’s visit to XCMG’s Xuzhou manufacturing base in February. The agreement, signed by XCMG Vice President Liu Jiansen and Codelco Chief Procurement Officer Mauricio Acuña, centres on expanding supply of large-scale mining equipment and support services to Codelco’s open-pit and underground copper operations. For engineers, the deal signals intensifying competition with established OEMs on haul trucks, loaders and drilling fleets in high-altitude Andean conditions.

MetalQuest Mining’s Lac Otelnuk project in northern Quebec hosts 4.9 billion tonnes of proven and probable reserves grading 28.7% Fe, with a 2015 feasibility study outlining an 11.6 km by 2.8 km open pit, post-tax NPV of US$5.24 billion (8% discount), IRR of 13% and capital costs of about US$14.2 billion. The study forecasts 68.5% Fe concentrate with 0.02% P and 2.95% SiO₂, positioning it for DRI-based low-emission steelmaking using Quebec hydro power. Infrastructure remains the critical constraint, with a previously proposed 755 km concentrate slurry pipeline to Sept-Îles now likely to be replaced by road and rail, and MetalQuest seeking a major partner ahead of a new feasibility targeted for 2030.