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Western Australia’s mining industry bodies have backed Glen Kelly’s review of the state’s native title and cultural heritage processes, which was tabled in the WA Parliament and targets reduced duplication between the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972 and Native Title Act 1993 approvals. The review recommends clearer timeframes and a single, streamlined consultation pathway for Traditional Owners and project proponents, replacing overlapping heritage surveys and parallel negotiations. For miners, the changes promise more predictable project schedules and lower legal and compliance risk without removing existing heritage protections.

More than 70 critical minerals agreements have been signed since 2021, but over 60% are non‑binding frameworks without concrete investment, production, procurement or financing commitments, leaving China’s 60–90% control of rare earths refining and other midstream capacity largely unchallenged. The US has inked over 20 deals in 18 months and launched initiatives such as FORGE and the US‑EU‑Japan framework, yet only a handful are legally binding, creating a gap between diplomatic ambition and bankable project support. Africa, despite holding over 60% of global cobalt reserves, features in relatively few agreements, with contrasting cases such as a binding US‑DRC cobalt deal and Zambia’s rejection of proposed US conditions signalling producer countries’ growing leverage to demand local processing, infrastructure and policy flexibility.

Geosynthetics are moving from niche products to standard tools for Australian infrastructure delivery as Geoquest deploys geogrids, geotextiles and geocells to tackle increasingly poor ground and constrained project footprints. The company is customising reinforced soil structures, basal reinforcement and pavement subgrade improvement systems to reduce imported fill volumes, shorten construction programmes and enable construction over soft clays and variable alluvium that would previously require deep piling. For practitioners, the shift allows slimmer pavement designs, higher embankments on marginal soils and more predictable deformation behaviour under traffic loading.

Severn Trent is deploying Tracto’s Grundoburst 400G units for AMP8 water main renewals, using pipe bursting to replace failing 2in–10in pipes without open-cut excavation. Four rigs with ladder-rod systems capable of negotiating bends down to a 35mm radius have been procured, with 150 operators trained by Tracto and trenchless consultant Arnie Bailey providing on-site support. On an early scheme at Bagnall, Stoke-on-Trent, a single machine has already renewed 950m of ageing mains along a road with chronic burst history, signalling wider rollout across the region.

Leica has launched a new RTC series of terrestrial 3D laser scanners that combine the speed and on-site registration of the RTC360 with the robustness and higher accuracy of the ScanStation P‑Series, targeting surveying, construction, industrial plants, public safety and infrastructure workflows. Three performance tiers allow users to step up to more demanding scan jobs without replacing their full hardware stack, supporting incremental upgrades across project portfolios. A new Livelink data service, integrated into the Cyclone Field 360 mobile app, streams multi-scanner datasets directly to Hexagon GeoCloud so field, office and cloud models stay synchronised in near real time.

Komatsu is expanding its western US support network with a new mining parts distribution facility in Mesa, Arizona, aimed at boosting regional availability of components for large haul trucks, loaders and drills. The site will serve dealers and mine operators across key copper and gold districts in Arizona, Nevada and neighbouring states, cutting lead times for critical items that currently ship from distant hubs. Faster delivery of high-wear parts such as GET, hydraulic components and drivetrain assemblies is intended to reduce unplanned downtime and improve fleet maintenance planning.

Eclipse Data Innovations has expanded its SourceOne EKPS platform so operations teams at large industrial and mining sites can build custom, AI-powered workflow tools directly from their own time-series and event data using natural language prompts. The upgrade is aimed at tasks such as plant downtime analysis, shift handover reporting and maintenance planning, without needing bespoke coding or separate data-science projects. For engineers, this points to faster deployment of site-specific decision-support apps tightly coupled to existing historians, MES and fleet management systems.

Remote control mining excavator specialist BuilderX, led by founder Shaolong Sui, argues that excavation—not haulage—has become the main bottleneck to further mine automation, even as autonomous haul trucks move from pilots to large fleets with clear ROI. Sui positions teleoperated and semi-autonomous excavators as the next step to unlock productivity gains where manned digging still constrains fully automated truck fleets. For mine planners and OEMs, the message is to prioritise interface standards, control latency, and operator ergonomics at the shovel face rather than only optimising haulage.

Eldorado Gold is committing a further C$20.6 million to Amex Exploration to restore its 27% stake, taking its total investment close to C$100 million as the Perron gold project in Quebec advances on the back of a strong April feasibility study. Perron’s stage-one plan outlines 147,000 oz/y gold output for five years at an all-in sustaining cost of $910/oz, 1.9 Mt of reserves grading 12.1 g/t at the Champagne zone, initial capex of C$193.9 million and a post-tax NPV5 of C$1.1 billion at $3,500/oz gold. The project is fully permitted for a 40,000-tonne bulk sample, is targeting toll milling at nearby facilities such as Eldorado’s Lamaque-Sigma complex, and has funding in place for up to 100,000 metres of drilling across the expanded 570 km² land package.

Peru’s presidential race remains effectively tied with 95.8% of ballots counted, as left-wing Roberto Sánchez edges Keiko Fujimori 50.0% to 49.9%, putting billions of dollars in mining investment in the world’s third-largest copper producer under scrutiny. Sánchez has pledged to rewrite the constitution, review mining tax agreements, phase out open-pit mining and potentially shorten terms for unused concessions, directly affecting operators such as Glencore, Anglo American, Freeport McMoRan, MMG and Southern Copper’s contested Tía María project. Fortescue’s recent C$139-million acquisition of Alta Copper’s Cañariaco project, planned at 140,000 t/y copper output, now faces a more uncertain regulatory outlook.

Rio Tinto is increasing annual contributions to its Rio Tinto Canada Fund by 30% to C$13 million, extending support for community, Indigenous and environmental projects nationwide, particularly around its Iron Ore Company of Canada operations in Labrador/Newfoundland and aluminium plants in Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean. Since 2008 the fund has channelled nearly C$190 million into more than 600 organisations, backing programmes in healthcare innovation, mental health, food security and environmental stewardship. The move tightens social licence and workforce links as Rio advances its Nemaska Lithium partnership at Whabouchi and RTIT titanium dioxide operations in Sorel-Tracy.

Sigma Lithium has overturned a lower-court ruling in Minas Gerais, removing a potential $10 million legal collateral linked to alleged irresponsible waste disposal at its Grota do Cirilo lithium operation near Aracuai. The appeals court relied on 12 months of independently collected dust, noise and vibration data from nearby communities, while still requiring Sigma to retain an independent technical advisory firm for ongoing environmental monitoring. The decision clears a key hurdle for expansion of Grota do Cirilo from 270,000 t/y to a contemplated 520,000 t/y of lithium oxide concentrate, underpinned by its Greentech plant’s 100% water reuse and zero-tailings flowsheet.

Battery substitution between 2026 and 2031 will cap lithium’s pricing power rather than displace it, with GEM Mining Consulting CEO Juan Ignacio Guzmán estimating sodium-ion and other chemistries could remove 357,000 tonnes LCE demand by 2031, about 12.5% of projected battery use. Sodium-ion, iron–air and flow batteries are gaining ground in stationary storage, low-cost mobility and industrial backup where energy density is secondary to cost, safety and cycle life. Chile’s brine rents, Argentina’s project pipeline valuations and Australia’s hard-rock margins all become more exposed to lower-for-longer lithium prices, pushing producers towards tighter cost control and process innovation.

China has confirmed that its January export ban on dual-use rare earth products for Japanese military use remains in force, despite a reported US request to resume sales over technology supply chain concerns. Foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said rare earths stay classified as “dual-use materials” under Chinese law and linked the move to containing Japanese remilitarisation and nuclear ambitions, even as customs data show overall Chinese rare earth exports hitting a four‑month high in May but still below last year. Japan is responding by building alternative supply, including a A$1.6 billion rare earths deal with Australia and a “trilateral buyers” club with France and Canada.

Larvotto Resources has signed a seven-year mine-gate offtake agreement with Glencore for approximately 15,000 dry metric tonnes per year of gold concentrate from its 100%-owned Hillgrove antimony-gold project in New South Wales, with Glencore handling all logistics to end customers. Combined with an existing antimony concentrate offtake with Wogen Resources, the deal locks in marketing for Hillgrove’s primary concentrates ahead of first production, with plant commissioning targeted for August. Metallurgical testwork has reported 90% tungsten recovery and a 16-fold feed grade upgrade, supporting a simple, low-cost circuit for a potential tungsten by-product.

Gold’s long-term bull case is being tied by Sprott to the late stages of a global debt cycle, with US federal debt near 120% of GDP, annual deficits around 5% of GDP and interest costs approaching US$1 trillion a year, eroding confidence in sovereign bonds. Central banks bought 244 tonnes of gold in Q1 2026 and, in cases like Turkey, sold US Treasuries while largely retaining gold via swaps, treating bullion as core collateral rather than a trading asset. Sprott argues this shift, combined with constrained mine supply, supports gold as a structural store of value even as spot prices recently slipped to about US$4,230/oz.

The US House has passed H.R. 7037, the DOMINANCE (Developing Overseas Mineral Investments and New Allied Networks for Critical Energies) Act, aimed at cutting reliance on China, which currently controls about 90% of global rare earth processing capacity. The legislation focuses on overseas strategic mineral investments with allies, expanded energy diplomacy, and workforce development to support mining, processing, refining, and recycling. Backers include the National Association of Manufacturers, the Information Technology Industry Council, SAFE’s Center for Critical Minerals Strategy, and the US-ASEAN Business Council.

A magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck offshore Mindanao, Philippines, at a depth of about 32 km, killing at least 19 people and injuring more than 130 across Surigao del Sur, Davao Oriental and neighbouring provinces. Strong shaking triggered widespread liquefaction, lateral spreading and coastal slope failures, damaging bridges, port facilities and low-rise reinforced concrete buildings with soft-storey behaviour. Engineers are prioritising rapid assessment of pile-supported structures on reclaimed land, stability of coastal embankments and the integrity of lifeline corridors linking key mining and agricultural areas.

Spence and Sierra Gorda SCM copper mines have signed a Memorandum of Understanding at Exponor 2026 in Antofagasta to identify and evaluate joint technical and commercial initiatives to boost operational efficiency and competitiveness. The MoU links BHP’s Spence operation with Sierra Gorda SCM, owned 55% by KGHM and 45% by South32, creating a formal framework for shared work on items such as processing performance, cost structures and supply contracts. For engineers, the move signals potential alignment on plant benchmarking, technology trials and common service providers across neighbouring large-scale sulphide operations in northern Chile.

Komatsu and partners are advancing automated megawatt-class charging for battery-electric haul trucks, focusing on DC arc flash management, battery chemistry trade-offs and robust battery management systems discussed at The Electric Mine 2026 in Lisbon. Technical sessions examined safe operation of high-voltage DC connectors at MW power levels, thermal behaviour of different chemistries under rapid charge, and integration of BMS with mine energy management. For mine designers, the work signals tighter coupling between charger layout, electrical protection schemes and vehicle interface standards in future BEV fleets.

Final designs for removing the Ruthven Street level crossing in Macleod, Melbourne, confirm a new rail bridge will carry the Hurstbridge line over the road, eliminating a crossing the Victorian Government has labelled dangerous and highly congested. Early works will focus on relocating utilities, piling for bridge piers and rail occupation planning to maintain services during construction. For civil and geotechnical teams, key tasks will include foundation design for the elevated structure in a constrained suburban corridor and managing traffic staging on Ruthven Street.

PLS has opened Australia’s first mine-site lithium mid-stream processing facility at its Pilgangoora operation in Western Australia, aiming to process spodumene concentrate on site rather than exporting raw material. The demonstration-scale plant, located adjacent to existing open pits and concentrators, will trial conversion steps typically performed in Chinese refineries to assess technical performance, reagent consumption and product quality under Pilgangoora ore conditions. Outcomes will inform potential scale-up to commercial mid-stream capacity, with implications for mine-site power demand, tailings management and logistics design.

REMA TIP TOP is deploying tailored rubber, ceramic and composite lining systems across mill feed chutes, cyclones and slurry pipelines to balance wear life, cost and shutdown frequency in mineral processing plants. The company matches lining thickness, hardness and chemistry to specific duties such as coarse ore abrasion, high-velocity slurry impact and chemical attack, with modular panels designed for rapid replacement during planned outages. For plant engineers, the approach shifts decisions from generic wear packages to circuit-by-circuit optimisation of liner selection, installation method and inspection intervals.

Bellevue Gold’s namesake mine in Western Australia has operated for 155 consecutive hours on 100 per cent renewable power, running engine-off for more than six and a half days in early May. The off-grid hybrid system combines a large-scale solar farm, battery energy storage and a reduced reliance on diesel generation to maintain continuous underground and processing operations. For miners planning remote decarbonised sites, the run provides a real-world reference for renewable penetration, storage sizing and contingency planning in isolated grids.