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Consulting engineer WSP has appointed former Ricardo Rail managing director Iain Carmichael as managing director for intelligent infrastructure across its UK & Ireland operations, five months after acquiring the British automotive engineering consultancy. Carmichael brings systems engineering, operational safety, risk management and third‑party certification experience, including leading Ricardo’s Asia office in Hong Kong from 2015 to 2018. WSP’s transport & infrastructure head Darren Reed expects the combined WSP–Ricardo capability to focus on digital, data‑enabled and safety‑critical infrastructure with stronger systems integration and resilience.

UK construction tender price inflation forecasts have turned more cautious, with Rider Levett Bucknall lifting its 2026 forecast to 3.45% (from 3.27%) as the Middle East conflict threatens fuel costs, trade routes such as the Strait of Hormuz, and key structural material supplies. RLB reports concurrent input cost pressures and weakening pipelines, with contractors pricing selectively and risk allowances diverging by sector and project type. Glenigan’s latest Index shows project starts under £100m down 15% year on year and overall market value 26% lower, leaving private residential and fragile major-infrastructure pipelines particularly exposed.

Ainscough Crane Hire has reported a 5% fall in turnover to £115.5m for the year to September 2025, with operating profit down 55% to £6.4m and profit before tax down 68% to £3.7m amid what the board called “subdued market conditions”. The Wigan-based firm nonetheless invested £28.7m in fixed assets, including £25.2m on new Liebherr cranes to maintain fleet age, while net debt rose from £32.4m to £37.7m. Borrowing headroom was increased from £29m to £39m, and US owner GSO/Blackstone extracted a £22m dividend in October 2025.

Palfinger has entered a strategic technology collaboration with US robotic construction specialist Icon, integrating its knuckle boom crane technology into Icon’s Titan concrete printing robot. Titan is designed to print concrete structures up to 27 feet high, supports multi‑level construction, uses modular components with stabilisers and crawler systems, and is intended for continuous 24/7 operation. Initial prototypes have completed testing for industrial use, signalling near‑term deployment of large‑scale robotic 3D concrete printing with reduced labour exposure and faster build cycles for structural shells.

Weir has secured a contract to supply a 150 t/h crushing and screening plant for Bezant’s Hope and Gorob copper-gold project in Namibia, centred on ENDURON ET905 and ET906 jaw crushers. The package also includes a Trio TF4012 vibrating grizzly feeder and a Trio EF3605 screen, configured for primary and secondary crushing of copper-gold ore. For mine planners and process engineers, the fixed 150 t/h capacity sets a clear constraint for upstream blasting/hauling rates and downstream milling circuit design.

Metso Corporation and Loesche GmbH have formed a partnership to roll out Metso Loesche vertical roller mill (VRM) dry grinding technology, now integrated into the Metso Plus offering for minerals processing. The VRM is positioned as a direct replacement for high-pressure grinding rolls (HPGR) and horizontal mills in primary grinding circuits, targeting reduced energy use and a smaller plant footprint. For process engineers, the move signals a push towards single-stage dry comminution flowsheets with fewer conveyors, screens and slurry handling systems.

Fortescue is rolling out a new Collision Avoidance System (CAS) as the first element of its HaulX technology suite, which CEO Metals and Operations Dino Otranto describes as a fundamental shift in the company’s vehicle safety approach. The CAS adds an engineered control layer on haul trucks and light vehicles, integrating proximity detection and automated intervention to prevent vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-person incidents. For mine operators, this signals tighter interaction control in mixed-traffic pits and a platform for progressive automation of haulage fleets.

Mineral Mining Services has mobilised its specialised reverse circulation drill fleet and crews to start a new RC drilling programme at the Leonora South gold project near Kookynie, Western Australia. The campaign follows a formalised “Drill-for-Equity” agreement with GoldArc Resources, under which MMS will receive part of its compensation in GoldArc equity rather than cash. The structure reduces upfront drilling costs for GoldArc while locking MMS into project upside, a model that could influence funding strategies for early-stage gold exploration in the Leonora–Kookynie belt.

Early works have started on National Highways’ Lower Thames Crossing, with archaeologists, ecologists and engineers mobilised across Essex and Kent ahead of main tunnelling works scheduled for 2028. Site investigations, environmental surveys and enabling works are being used to refine the alignment and construction methodology for the twin‑bore road tunnel beneath the Thames, planned as a key additional link to the Dartford Crossing. Geotechnical data from these early phases will drive detailed design of tunnel approaches, cuttings, and associated highway structures.

Five new railway stations in the West Midlands, including the three long-delayed Camp Hill line stops, will open to passengers over the next month, completing a regional rail upgrade aimed at restoring local stopping services. The scheme reconnects communities that have been without rail links for several decades, reducing reliance on radial routes into Birmingham New Street. For civil and rail engineers, the openings mark the handover of multiple infill stations delivered on an operational network, with associated track, signalling and platform interface works now moving into the operational testing phase.

Work is ramping up on National Highways’ A47 Thickthorn Junction upgrade near Norwich as roads minister Guy Opperman visits site and talks up the forthcoming Roads Investment Strategy 3 (RIS3). The scheme is replacing the existing roundabout with a free‑flowing grade‑separated junction to cut congestion on the A47/A11 interchange, a key strategic link to Great Yarmouth and the Midlands. Opperman signalled that RIS3 will prioritise similar major junction upgrades and corridor improvements on the Strategic Road Network, with detailed funding envelopes expected in the next spending period.

Forrestania Resources has entered a binding agreement to acquire several Western Australian gold exploration districts from Goldtribe Resources, expanding its tenure in the Forrestania and Southern Cross greenstone belts. The package reportedly includes early-stage tenements with historical gold workings and soil anomalies adjacent to existing shear-hosted deposits, giving Forrestania additional strike length along established mineralised trends. For geologists and mine planners, the deal consolidates ground in a mature Archean belt where brownfields-style targeting, rather than greenfields discovery, is likely to drive near-term drilling strategies.

Export Finance Australia has approved up to $385 million in loans and guarantees to support Australian suppliers delivering equipment and services to Rio Tinto’s Rincón lithium brine project in Salta, Argentina. The facility is expected to back contracts for process plant packages, modular infrastructure and specialist engineering for the planned direct lithium extraction and evaporation pond system. For contractors, the EFA backing reduces payment risk on offshore work and could favour Australian-designed process, materials handling and power systems in Rincón’s next development phases.

Metso has partnered with Loesche GmbH to launch a vertical roller mill (VRM) dry grinding solution targeting higher energy efficiency and reduced water use in comminution circuits. The system combines Metso’s process integration and plant design with Loesche’s VRM technology, which typically delivers fine grinding in a single, compact unit without the need for large downstream classification or thickening equipment. For mine designers, the dry VRM route can shrink plant footprint, simplify tailings handling and support projects in arid regions or where water licences are constrained.

Jenike & Johanson has launched a Solids Flow Essentials microlearning series targeted at process and plant engineers dealing with bulk solids handling in hoppers, bins and transfer chutes. The short, modular courses focus on practical issues such as arching, ratholing, segregation and wall friction, using Jenike shear testing concepts and flow property measurements to guide bin and silo design. For operations teams, the material offers a structured way to diagnose chronic flow problems and reduce unplanned downtime without full-length training programmes.

Dreadnought Resources has started reverse circulation drilling at the Metzke’s Find prospect within its 100 per cent owned Illaara gold project in Western Australia, targeting structurally controlled high-grade gold along a previously defined shear corridor. The RC programme is designed to step out from earlier intercepts and test down-dip and along-strike extensions of mineralisation, using relatively low-cost, high-production hammer drilling suited to the hard Archaean greenstone host rocks. Results will guide follow-up diamond drilling, resource definition and potential pit shell optimisation across the broader Illaara trend.

US–Israel military action against Iran has driven oil briefly towards $120 per barrel before settling in the $90s, as tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has fallen from about 80 ships per day to only a handful, erasing expectations of near‑term oversupply. BMO analysts report nitrogen fertiliser prices up roughly 30%, with Middle Eastern producers supplying nearly half of global urea exports and about 15% of global polyethylene capacity, pushing utilisation towards 90%+. Metals impacts are uneven: up to 5 Mt of Middle Eastern aluminium output may be disrupted, while sulfur‑intensive nickel and phosphate chains face rising cost and supply risk.

A revised offtake between Lynas Rare Earths and Japan’s JARE locks in annual purchases of 5,000 tonnes of neodymium‑praseodymium at a $110/kg floor price until 2038 and commits JARE to 50% of Lynas’ heavy rare earth output, including dysprosium and terbium. The deal decouples pricing from Chinese benchmarks used in the original 2011 $250 million agreement, offering Japanese magnet and electronics manufacturers a non‑Chinese supply chain anchored on Mount Weld ore and Malaysian separation capacity. Lynas, which produced 10,908 tonnes of rare earth oxides in 2024, saw its shares jump 16% to A$20.59.

Ferreyros is deepening its strategic partnership with Minera Chinalco Peru at the Toromocho copper mine, supplying Caterpillar fleets and supporting a new Integrated Operations Management centre focused on mine-wide digitalisation. The collaboration centres on real-time monitoring and data-driven control of truck–shovel fleets and fixed plant, using OEM telemetry and analytics to optimise haulage, loading and maintenance. Ferreyros is pursuing a similar model with Glencore’s Antapaccay operation, signalling continued investment in dealer-led digital support rather than purely in-house mine control systems.

Draslovka a.s has secured a supply contract to provide sodium cyanide (NaCN) to Barrick Mining Corporation’s Nevada Gold Mines, the largest gold mining complex in the United States. The deal centres on maintaining reliable NaCN deliveries for large-scale heap leach and CIL/CIP circuits, where reagent continuity directly affects gold recovery and plant throughput. For process and supply-chain engineers, the agreement signals continued reliance on conventional cyanide leaching chemistry, with operational risk now tied more to logistics and vendor performance than to reagent substitution.

Stantec has been appointed by St Augustine Gold & Copper to lead the definitive feasibility study and engineering for the US$2.37 billion Kingking copper-gold project in Pantukan, Davao de Oro, Mindanao, a major greenfield open-pit development. The mandate covers mine planning, process plant design and infrastructure for what is expected to be one of the Philippines’ largest copper-gold operations, requiring detailed geotechnical, tailings and water management solutions in a high-rainfall, seismically active setting. For contractors and consultants, the DFS will define scope for bulk earthworks, pit slope design and large-scale materials handling systems.

ASGCO has introduced a new Belt Lifter model capable of safely raising wider conveyor belts from 48 to 72 inches (1,200–1,800 mm), targeting large primary and overland mining conveyors. The unit is engineered for heavy-duty conditions, allowing maintenance teams to lift loaded or tensioned belts to access idlers, impact beds and skirt seals without relying on chain blocks or manual jacking. This reduces exposure in confined conveyor bays and standardises belt service procedures on larger, high-capacity haul and process lines.

Taseko Mines’ Florence Copper in-situ recovery project in Arizona has begun ramping up commercial operations, producing its first copper cathodes in late February 2026 using Metso’s solvent extraction and electrowinning (SX-EW) technology. The greenfield operation leaches copper from a deep oxide deposit via injection and recovery wells, sending pregnant leach solution to a Metso SX circuit and EW cells to plate high-purity cathode on stainless steel blanks. For engineers, the project is a live test case for large-scale in-situ leaching in a water-stressed, populated basin with strict groundwater controls.

Charles Darwin University has launched the Centre for Asphalt and Road Technologies (CART) to support Northern Territory road infrastructure, building on a pavement research program started in 2024 with funding from the NT Department of Logistics and Infrastructure. The centre will focus on asphalt and granular pavement performance under the Territory’s extreme temperature cycles and heavy vehicle loads, aiming to optimise mix designs and maintenance strategies for remote highways. Outcomes are likely to influence material specifications, life-cycle costing and rehabilitation planning across NT road projects.