Geomechanics.io

Peel Waters has lodged an outline planning application with Trafford Council for the next phases of the Manchester Waters masterplan, proposing up to 2,600 homes plus office, retail, leisure and event space on a 25‑acre strip of Pomona Island between the Bridgewater and Manchester Ship Canals. The mixed‑use high‑rise district will be bookended by two existing tram stops and threaded with new promenades and cycleways, positioning it as a high‑density, transit‑oriented scheme. Earlier phases have already delivered almost 600 homes on site, with a further 500 units due to start in 2026 and 280 homes plus a Co‑op store completed at the Cornbrook gateway.

Equinox Gold has agreed to sell its entire Brazilian portfolio — the Aurizona and RDM mines plus the Bahia complex (Fazenda and Santa Luz) — to China’s CMOC Group for over US$1 billion, including US$900 million cash on closing and up to US$115 million in contingent payments tied to production. The divested assets were guided to produce 250,000–270,000 oz. of gold in 2025, while Equinox’s refocused portfolio will centre on the Greenstone (220,000–260,000 oz.), Valentine (175,000–200,000 oz. at full run-rate) and Mesquite (85,000–95,000 oz.) operations. Proceeds will be used to retire US$800 million of debt, cutting interest costs and freeing capital for expansions at Valentine, Castle Mountain and Los Filos, with group output targeted at 700,000–800,000 oz. next year.

Ionic Mineral Technologies reports its Silicon Ridge project in Utah is a halloysite-hosted ion-adsorption clay system grading about 2,700 ppm (0.27%) combined rare earths and critical metals from 106 boreholes over 10,000 m and 35 trenches across 650 acres, exceeding typical Chinese IAC grades of 500–2,000 ppm. The confirmed mineralisation currently covers only 11% of the resource area to 100 ft depth, with existing mining permits and a 74,000 ft² Provo processing plant enabling rapid start-up. Ionic MT plans a vertically integrated flowsheet producing three co-product streams—critical minerals (including gallium, germanium, scandium, lithium and tungsten), high-purity alumina and nano-silicon—with a preliminary economic assessment due in H1 2026.

Metso is promoting its Geminex™ digital twin platform as a way to move mineral processing plant control beyond traditional DCS screens towards predictive and proactive maintenance. Geminex™ integrates real-time sensor data with dynamic process models of grinding, flotation and filtration circuits to simulate plant behaviour, test “what‑if” scenarios and optimise setpoints before implementation. For operators, this signals deeper use of virtual commissioning, remote performance tuning and model-based failure prediction across comminution and concentrator lines.

Fortescue has received two Progress Rail EMD SD70J‑BB battery-electric locomotives, described as the world’s largest, for deployment on its heavy-haul iron ore network in the Pilbara. The units are designed for 100 per cent battery operation, integrating regenerative braking on long downhill runs from mine to port to recharge onboard packs and cut diesel use. For rail and mine planners, the key question will be how these high-mass, high-axle-load locomotives perform on existing Pilbara track geometry, gradients and maintenance regimes.

Severe bearing deterioration on a major strategic road bridge has been found after going unnoticed for more than 15 years, raising concerns that local authorities lack sufficient in‑house bridge engineering expertise. Inspectors identified advanced damage to key support bearings, with the defect considered potentially critical to the structure’s load‑carrying capacity and long‑term serviceability. The case is prompting calls for more specialist bridge inspectors, better asset management systems, and clearer responsibilities for monitoring ageing structures on heavily trafficked routes.

Contractors will return to the M62 Ouse Bridge over the River Ouse this weekend (13–14 December) to replace a damaged expansion joint installed only a couple of years ago, following an unexpected bolt failure earlier this year. National Highways plans to complete the joint replacement under a short-duration closure to minimise disruption on this key trans-Pennine route between junctions 36 and 37. The repeat intervention on a relatively new joint raises questions over detailing, fatigue performance and inspection regimes for heavily trafficked motorway bridges.

Plans to convert Coventry Airport into a £2.5bn battery gigafactory have moved a step forward after Warwick District Council’s planning committee approved applications covering early enabling works. The scheme, promoted as the UK’s largest battery manufacturing facility, will require full redevelopment of the existing airfield, major groundworks and new utilities to service large-scale process buildings and logistics areas. Civil and geotechnical teams can now progress detailed design for earthworks, foundations and site infrastructure ahead of main construction approvals.

UK regulators have advanced the GE Vernova Hitachi BWRX‑300 small modular reactor through the Generic Design Assessment in record time, signalling strong early confidence in the 300MWe boiling water design. The BWRX‑300 uses a simplified, natural‑circulation reactor concept derived from the ESBWR, with modular construction intended to reduce on‑site civil works, shorten programme durations and standardise below‑grade nuclear island layouts. Rapid GDA progress is likely to accelerate site‑specific geotechnical investigations, deep excavation design and nuclear‑grade concrete specification for potential UK deployments.

ABB’s Björn Jonsson, Business Line Manager Mining & Materials in its Process Industries division, frames 2026 as a year for “measured innovation”, urging miners to prioritise deployable automation and electrification over perfect long‑term blueprints. He points to fast-changing conditions from deep underground hoisting systems to large open-pit truck fleets and complex concentrators, with demand for critical materials forecast to multiply several-fold over coming decades. For engineers, the message is to focus on modular, upgradable control, power and digital systems that can be rolled out incrementally rather than waiting for fully optimised end-state designs.

Bechtel has been awarded the EPC contract for Harmony’s Eva copper project in northwest Queensland, covering the copper concentrator and all non-process infrastructure for the greenfield, long-life open-pit operation. The project is expected to be the region’s largest new copper mine, positioning it as a major asset within Australia’s critical minerals strategy. For engineers, the scope signals substantial demand ahead for bulk earthworks, tailings and water management systems, high-capacity power supply, and haul road and plant layout optimisation in a greenfield context.

M Resources has signed a binding MoU with Hazer Group to deploy Hazer’s methane pyrolysis technology, developed with KBR, at the Whyalla steelworks in South Australia if its planned acquisition of One Steel Manufacturing Pty Ltd proceeds. The process converts natural gas into hydrogen and solid carbon rather than CO₂, offering a potential low-emission reductant and fuel source for iron and steelmaking. For plant engineers, this signals possible future integration of hydrogen-ready furnaces and on-site carbon handling infrastructure at Whyalla.

SolGold has signalled it will recommend shareholders accept Jiangxi Copper’s third, all-cash takeover proposal at 28 pence per share, valuing the London-listed Ecuador-focused miner at about £842 million ($1.13 billion) and giving JCC full control of the Cascabel copper-gold project, one of South America’s largest undeveloped copper-gold resources. The bid, 7.7% above Jiangxi’s previous 26p offer, already has backing from major shareholders BHP, Newmont and Maxit Capital, which together hold 40.7%. Market caution persists, with SolGold’s shares trading around 25.75p and the deal still contingent on Chinese outbound investment approvals amid tighter scrutiny in Beijing.

Korean researchers led by Seungho Lee at Jeonbuk National University map five distinct lithium governance models in Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia and Mexico, linking them to commodity price cycles, geopolitical competition and the maturity of each country’s lithium industry. Chile’s hybrid regime with strong state oversight contrasts with Argentina and Brazil’s decentralised, market-led systems, Bolivia’s tightly controlled state-led model and Mexico’s largely rhetorical nationalisation stance. The two-stage decision-making framework signals that miners, battery manufacturers and state-backed investors must tailor project, offtake and JV strategies to country-specific political settlements rather than apply a single Latin America playbook.

BMC Minerals raised A$100 million in an oversubscribed IPO and debuted on the ASX at A$2.00 per CDI, closing 25% higher at A$2.50 for a market capitalisation of about A$550 million. Funds will advance the 100%-owned Kudz Ze Kayah polymetallic project in Yukon, where the 372 km² package hosts ABM and Kona deposits with over 20 Mt indicated, including 200,000 t copper, 1.15 Mt zinc and 87 Moz silver. A 2020 feasibility study for ABM outlines a nine-year mine, US$492 million initial capex and 32.2 Moz silver-equivalent per year, with 95% of first five years’ concentrate output under offtake.

Sirios Resources will acquire private explorer OVI Mining in a C$23 million all-share deal, consolidating the Cheechoo, Corvet Est and Plex gold assets in Quebec’s Eeyou Istchee James Bay district about 725 km north of Montreal. Cheechoo currently hosts 34.9 million indicated tonnes at 1.12 g/t Au (1.3 Moz) and 42.7 million inferred tonnes at 1.23 g/t Au (1.68 Moz), while historic drilling totals 21,000 m at Corvet Est and 38,000 m at Plex. The merged company, expected to close in Q1 2026 under a new name, will be led by OVI CEO Jean-Félix Lepage with Osisko’s Sean Roosen joining the board, signalling a more aggressive development push around Dhilmar’s nearby Éléonore mine.

Teck Resources has taken a 9.9% equity stake in Metal Energy by purchasing about 4.44 million flow-through shares at C$0.73 and 6.2 million common shares at C$0.45, matching Centerra Gold’s earlier 9.9% position. The financing lifts Metal Energy’s market capitalisation to roughly C$23 million after its share price jumped to C$0.80, about 60% above pre-Centerra levels. Proceeds will fund drilling in 2026 on fully permitted, drill-ready porphyry targets at the 215 km² NIV copper-gold-molybdenum property in British Columbia’s Toodoggone district.

Beijing’s April export controls on seven rare earth elements, followed by a now-suspended October expansion covering additional REEs, magnets and lithium battery materials, have forced Western buyers to reroute critical minerals via longer, chokepoint-heavy sea lanes such as the Red Sea and primary canals. Trading houses including BGN Group, Traxys and Gerald Group are acting as integrated maritime logistics platforms, combining shallow, infrastructure-poor African and Latin American load ports with highly automated deepwater hubs using mixed fleets of smaller bulk, multipurpose and VLGC-capable vessels. Global container lines like Maersk and Evergreen, which has ordered 14 LNG dual-fuel containerships for Asia–Europe, now directly influence lead times, freight costs and emissions for lithium chemicals, magnet alloys and battery intermediates moving to refineries and OEMs in Europe, North America and allied Asia.

Weir is acquiring the remaining 50% of its Chile-based joint venture ESCO Elecmetal Fundición Limitada from Elecmetal for £56 million ($75 million), giving it full control of a foundry built in 2012 that supplies ground engaging tools to the South American mining sector. The deal, expected to close in Q1 2026, adds Chilean casting capacity into Weir’s global foundry network and supports its go-direct sales strategy in the region. For mine operators, this signals tighter OEM integration on wear parts supply for large copper operations in Chile and neighbouring markets.

The Association for Mineral Exploration is urging British Columbia Premier David Eby to appeal the Gitxaala Nation v. British Columbia decision, after the province’s Court of Appeal ruled on 5 December that the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act incorporates UNDRIP and creates legally enforceable obligations. AME argues the ruling creates uncertainty for the province’s automatic online mineral claim system and the Mineral Tenure Act, despite the March 2025 Mineral Claims Consultation Framework (MCCF) changes. The group wants the legislature recalled to make “substantive” amendments to DRIPA and section 8.1 of the Interpretation Act before a 16 February 2026 appeal deadline.

Weir is acquiring the remaining 50% of Chile-based ESCO Elecmetal Fundición Limitada (ESEL), a ground engaging tools manufacturer, for about $75 million, giving it full ownership of the joint venture. The deal consolidates Weir’s control over design and production of GET for large mining shovels and loaders in South America, tightening integration with its ESCO wear parts portfolio. Direct access to ESEL’s foundry capacity in Chile should shorten lead times and improve aftermarket support for high-abrasion ore and waste handling applications.

Construction has begun on the $1.62 billion Beveridge Intermodal Precinct in Melbourne’s north, planned as Australia’s largest logistics hub and the only terminal in the city able to handle 1,800‑metre Inland Rail freight trains. The precinct will connect the southern terminus of the Inland Rail corridor with key Victorian road and rail freight routes, consolidating interstate and port-bound cargo. For civil and geotechnical teams, the scale implies extensive earthworks, high-capacity pavement design and heavy-axle-load rail formation over a large greenfield footprint.

Meridian’s Archer Guard system, a modular steel barrier designed for rapid deployment in fast-paced work zones, is being used on bridge decks, arterial roads and utility corridors to shield crews from live traffic. Proven in the United States and now deployed in Australia, the system can be installed and reconfigured with light plant rather than permanent anchoring, suiting short-duration lane closures and night works. For engineers and contractors, it offers a temporary protection option where conventional concrete barriers are too slow or logistically heavy to install.

A partially buried precast concrete arch forms the main structure of a new underground cellar and tasting room at Gurneys Cider in Foster, South Gippsland, integrating the facility into the vineyard landscape. Designed, engineered and manufactured by National Precast Master Precaster Geoquest Australia, the arch system uses factory-made concrete elements to achieve controlled geometry and rapid installation compared with in-situ construction. The project shows how standard precast bridge and culvert technology can be adapted for small-span, earth-covered architectural spaces with stable thermal and moisture conditions.