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Kier has appointed Rachel Warren as group finance director for transformation, tasking her with leading the company’s financial shared service centre alongside group finance director Basil Mendonca. Warren joins from brick manufacturer Michelmersh and brings experience from British Airways, Aer Lingus, Wincanton and Sage in restructuring complex operational businesses. The move signals Kier’s intent to tighten financial control and scalability as it targets long-term UK infrastructure work and pursues what it calls “ambitious plans” for growth.

Develop Global has approved final investment decisions for the Sulphur Springs copper–zinc–silver project in Western Australia and the Pioneer Dome lithium project after securing an approximately $570 million funding and offtake package with Trafigura. The package includes a $500 million loan facility, giving Develop Global full project funding coverage plus working capital to advance mine development, processing plants and associated infrastructure. For engineers, the deal signals firm backing for new base metal and lithium concentrator capacity in Australia under long-term offtake to a major global trader.

Queensland has committed a record $3.2 billion to the CopperString transmission project, which will connect Mount Isa and the North West Minerals Province to the National Electricity Market via Townsville ahead of the 2026–27 State Budget. The high-voltage line is intended to stabilise power supply for existing operations and new copper, zinc and critical minerals projects across the NWMP, where many mines currently rely on isolated gas and diesel generation. For engineers, grid connection could enable larger electrified fleets, lower-cost ventilation and dewatering, and easier integration of on-site renewables.

India’s rapid build-out of AI infrastructure and large-scale data centres, which demand continuous baseload power, is prompting expectations that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will seek higher uranium import volumes from Australia during a visit next month. Australia’s 2014 civil nuclear cooperation agreement with India allows uranium exports for safeguarded reactors, but actual shipments have remained minimal, leaving spare capacity at producers such as Olympic Dam and Ranger rehabilitation-constrained supply chains. Any long-term offtake deals would firm demand signals for Australian yellowcake and could influence mine-life planning, brownfield expansions and new project financing.

ISOIL has released the THERMAG VALVE – CS611, a two-way control valve integrating an electromagnetic thermal energy meter for precise monitoring of heating and cooling circuits in mining and industrial plants. The unit delivers real-time energy measurement and billing compliant with EN1434 and the MID 2014/32/EU directive, targeting both retrofit and new-build systems. For process and services engineers, the combined valve–meter design reduces separate instrumentation, simplifies balancing of thermal loads, and tightens accountability for energy use across distributed circuits.

Sodexo Australia has secured a five-year, >$100 million contract extension with Westgold Resources to provide integrated village services and industrial mine site cleaning across operations in Western Australia’s Goldfields and Murchison regions. The deal covers five remote accommodation villages, including the new Higginsville village, consolidating catering, facilities management and industrial cleaning under a single provider. For mine operators, the scale and duration of the contract signal continued outsourcing of non-core services to stabilise camp operations and labour support on geographically dispersed gold assets.

Tyrecycle Chief Executive Officer Jim Fairweather is urging stronger government procurement of recycled rubber products and market-based regulation in evidence to the federal parliamentary inquiry into Australia’s tyre industry. Fairweather wants policy settings that favour domestic processing of end-of-life tyres into crumb rubber and tyre-derived fuel rather than landfilling or export, stating the company’s goal is that “not a single tyre” is dumped in Australia. For road authorities and civil contractors, any mandated uptake could expand supply of rubber-modified asphalt and engineered fill using tyre-derived aggregates.

SAMI Bitumen Technologies has opened the SAMI Technical Centre (STC), a purpose-built laboratory for advanced bitumen and asphalt testing, research and performance-based assessment for Australia’s road network. The facility is configured for high-end rheological characterisation, mix design optimisation and durability testing of binders and asphalt, supporting polymer-modified and speciality binders used in heavy-duty pavements. Expanded in-house capability is expected to shorten test turnaround times for road agencies and contractors and support more rigorous performance specifications for high-traffic and high-temperature environments.

Coates is doubling its fleet of large containerised generators, adding 750–1250 kVA units to bolster temporary power capacity for major Australian construction and infrastructure worksites. The expansion targets complex, time-critical operations such as tunnelling, bridge construction and road upgrades where grid access is constrained or redundancy is critical. For contractors, the larger fleet enables scalable multi-megawatt setups, improved load sharing and reduced reliance on smaller, less efficient sets for dewatering, high-capacity cranes and continuous concrete batching.

Dudleys Consulting Engineers has completed the new UK headquarters for Spanish coach builder Irizar in Blyth, working with KPP Architects, Stainforth Construction LLP, RPP Group, Quod and Orbis Building Services Consultants. The facility consolidates Irizar’s UK operations on a single purpose-built site, integrating office, workshop and vehicle handling functions. For engineers, the scheme signals continuing demand for bespoke industrial premises with coordinated structural, services and transport planning input across multidisciplinary UK project teams.

Dalkia UK has secured an £8.9m mechanical, electrical and public health (MEP) package for the new Passivhaus-standard Trinity Academy secondary school in Edinburgh, its third Passivhaus school project. Working with main contractor McLaughlin & Harvey from October, Dalkia will be responsible for low-energy building services design and installation to meet the stringent Passivhaus heating demand and airtightness criteria. The contract signals continued demand for highly integrated MEP and fabric solutions on Scottish education projects targeting ultra-low operational energy.

National Tool Hire is expanding its online rehire marketplace to sell building materials such as bricks, plasterboard and cement, alongside its existing tools and equipment. By partnering with builders’ merchants across the UK, the platform will allow DIY and trade customers to order materials alone or bundled with hired kit, with nationwide delivery. The move targets time savings on small to medium projects where site teams currently source consumables and plant separately, streamlining procurement for short-duration construction and maintenance works.

Work has started on the second phase of the £65m redevelopment of Lynfield Mount Hospital in Bradford, with Bradford District Care NHS Foundation Trust appointing McAvoy to deliver the scheme using modular construction. The project will use offsite-manufactured units to accelerate programme and reduce disruption on the constrained healthcare campus, with modules craned into place to form new inpatient accommodation. For civil and structural teams, key issues will include modular foundation interfaces, service coordination through pre-formed openings, and managing tolerances at module joints.

Vp Plc reported adjusted profit of £27m on revenue of £358.3m for the year to 31 March 2026, down from £36.7m on £380m, after cutting fleet capital investment by 21.1% to £51.6m amid weak early‑year construction activity and lower AMP7 water revenues. The Brandon Hire Station restructuring has shifted the business fully to B2B, shrinking its branch network from 119 to 41, reducing its rental fleet by 40% and shedding 400 jobs. Restructuring costs of £10.5m to date, with a further £10.6m to come, are expected to achieve cash payback in four years.

Crane BS&U workers in Hitchin have secured a 6% pay rise from US-owned Crane Co, double the firm’s initial 3% offer, following two weeks of strike action by GMB members. The dispute, the second in two years at the process flow technologies division site, centred on base pay rather than one-off bonuses, with staff pushing for an uplift that better tracks current inflation and skilled engineering labour rates. The settlement may influence wage expectations at comparable UK manufacturing and valve/flow-control suppliers facing similar cost pressures.

Alwoodley Civils is using National Pile Croppers’ Quad and CFA croppers to trim 350mm concrete piles on a tightly constrained hotel site behind a preserved 1920s façade on Piccadilly, York, which also contains Roman-era walls. The Quad unit’s small footprint and four synchronised rams allow cropping of contiguous and secant piled walls with pile spacing down to 100mm, while holding cut sections for controlled removal. Despite the inner-city constraints and heritage sensitivities, the team is achieving cropping rates of 10–15 piles per day, with NPC specialists switching tools as conditions change.

The Regulators' Alliance for Progressing Infrastructure Development (Rapid) has opened a consultation on expanding its remit in planning and consenting major water infrastructure in England. Proposals would extend Rapid’s current focus on strategic water resource schemes to a wider range of large-scale assets, potentially including new reservoirs, inter-regional transfer pipelines and associated treatment works. For engineers, a broader Rapid role could change programme risk profiles, front‑end design timelines and regulatory interfaces for multi‑billion‑pound water projects in AMP9 and beyond.

Northern Star Resources has rejected activist investor Elliott Investment Management’s push for a strategic review and potential sale, saying a process is ill‑timed while it addresses processing mill issues at Kalgoorlie and manages CEO Stuart Tonkin’s planned departure after nearly 10 years. Elliott, which has built an estimated 3–4% stake and previously drove BHP’s oil and gas spin‑off and a US$300 million buyback at Kinross, wants options such as selling lower‑margin, shorter‑life mines assessed. The board says prior takeover, merger and spin‑off proposals reviewed with investment banks did not meet its value expectations but will keep portfolio options under regular review.

New drilling at Ero Copper’s Furnas polymetallic project in Pará, Brazil, has extended mineralisation up to 220 metres below and about 115 metres down dip beyond the current inferred resource, with hole FURN-DD-00357 returning 90 metres at 0.74% Cu, 0.5 g/t Au and 3.18 g/t Ag from 726 metres depth. The project’s February PEA outlines a 24-year mine life with average annual output of 52,000 tonnes Cu, 84,000 oz Au and 374,000 oz Ag, and Ero expects to complete earn-in spending under its Vale Base Metals agreement by year-end. Over 75,000 metres have now been drilled using 10 rigs, with the deposit remaining open at depth and along strike and a prefeasibility study targeted for 2027.

British Columbia’s Supreme Court has ordered the Environmental Assessment Office to reopen its “substantial start” decision for Seabridge Gold’s C$8.8 billion KSM project, giving the Tsetsaut Skii km Lax Ha Nation 90 days to file submissions over planned processing and tailings facilities in Treaty Creek Valley. The First Nation warns the tailings pond could reach about 52 storeys deep on its exclusive traditional territory, while Seabridge points to a 17-km access road, power foundations and extensive early works underpinning the original ruling. The decision threatens the validity of KSM’s 2014 environmental certificate, despite C$1.2 billion already spent on one of the world’s largest undeveloped gold-copper deposits.

Metals prices fell sharply in early London trading as renewed US strikes on Iran and expectations of further US rate hikes pushed gold down as much as 2.6% and silver about 1%, with base metals including aluminium and zinc also weaker. Losses eased after US core CPI rose less than expected, though headline inflation accelerated to 4.2%, keeping liquidity concerns elevated and pressuring risk assets, said Li Xuezhi of Chaos Ternary Futures. Longer term, analysts at BMI and Sprott cite central bank gold buying and China’s planned 2 trillion yuan data centre build-out as structural supports for bullion and copper demand to 2050.

Central Asia Metals increased January–May output to 5,141 tonnes of copper from the Kounrad dump-leach operation in Kazakhstan and 7,566 tonnes of zinc in concentrate from the Sasa mine in North Macedonia, while benefiting from average realised prices of $13,076/t for copper (up ~40%) and $3,299/t for zinc (up 19%). Historically low, now negative, lead treatment charges supported Sasa revenues despite slightly lower realised prices on 11,142 tonnes of lead concentrate. The group maintains 2026 guidance of 12,000–13,000 t Cu, 18,000–20,000 t Zn and 26,000–28,000 t Pb, and plans to acquire Cygnus Metals’ high-grade copper-gold project in Quebec.

Chile’s Sierra Gorda mine and BHP’s Spence operation have signed a memorandum of understanding to explore joint supply-chain and operating-process initiatives in the Sierra Gorda district, targeting economies of scale as both operations confront declining grades and reduced output. Spence is progressing a US$600 million concentrator expansion, including a new flotation circuit to manage ore variability, after producing 254,795 tonnes of fine copper in 2025. Sierra Gorda plans an SX-EW heap-leach project for about 30,000 tonnes of copper cathode per year over 10 years, alongside a US$400 million tailings facility upgrade and a potential US$700 million fourth grinding-line expansion.

A mass shooting that killed 12 people in the Cleveland settlement, about 6 km east of central Johannesburg, is intensifying scrutiny of violent illegal gold mining networks around the city. At least 10 gunmen reportedly moved through the informal settlement on Tuesday night, firing at multiple locations before fleeing in a white vehicle; 11 victims died on site and one later in hospital, with no arrests yet made. The area hosts extensive zama zama activity around abandoned workings, where rival groups contest residual gold, prompting recent army deployments and weapons seizures.