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Antofagasta’s transport division FCAB has launched Latin America’s first hydrogen-powered freight locomotive in northern Chile, converting an existing diesel-electric unit to run on fuel cells and lithium-ion batteries. The pilot locomotive, developed with engineering firm TMI and fuel-cell supplier Ballard, is designed for heavy haul on the Antofagasta–Bolivia corridor, where gradients above 2% and long distances have traditionally locked operations into diesel. The project will test hydrogen supply logistics, refuelling cycles and performance at altitude, informing future decarbonisation of ore and sulphuric acid rail transport.

New Civil Engineer and Construction News announced the TechFest Awards 2025 winners at a gala event at the Hilton Metropole in London, recognising digital and technical innovation across UK infrastructure and construction. Although individual project details were not released in the brief announcement, the awards typically cover categories such as digital design workflows, data-driven asset management and offsite or automated construction methods. Practitioners should watch for the full winners’ list to benchmark emerging tools and processes that are gaining traction with major clients and Tier 1 contractors.

Network Rail has confirmed a £225M package for the Stalybridge–Diggle section of the Transpennine Route Upgrade, including modifications to 10 bridges to create clearance for full route electrification. Works between Stalybridge, Mossley, Greenfield and Diggle will require track realignment, parapet upgrades and structural alterations to overbridges and underbridges on this constrained valley corridor. A completely new Mossley station will be constructed on the existing alignment, with platforms and access designed around the upgraded overhead line equipment and revised track geometry.

Greatland Resources is accelerating expansion of the West Dome underground project at Telfer after new drilling confirmed additional mineralisation, signalling scope to extend mine life at the ageing copper–gold operation. Step-out holes beneath the current West Dome orebody have intersected wider and higher-grade zones than existing reserves, supporting updated resource modelling and potential redesign of underground stopes. For geotechs and planners, the work points to deeper development levels, revised ground support regimes and possible changes to ventilation and haulage layouts within the Telfer underground complex.

Lampson’s Gladstone team has completed a complex relocation of a P&H 4100XPC electric rope shovel, moving the multi-thousand-tonne machine in discrete components using heavy-lift transporters. The operation required precision loading and unloading of the upper works, carbody and crawler assemblies, with strict control of ground bearing pressures and haul route geometry across the mine site. For mine planners and geotechnical engineers, such moves demand detailed assessment of haul road formation, temporary ramp stability and pad compaction to accommodate concentrated axle loads.

Moxa has launched the RKP-C220 Series, its first AI-ready rackmount x86 industrial PC family designed for harsh mining sites, targeting tasks such as real-time video analytics, equipment condition monitoring and autonomous haulage support. The 2U rackmount units integrate industrial-grade components, wide-temperature operation and high shock/vibration tolerance for deployment in control rooms, substations and edge cabinets close to crushers and conveyors. For engineers, the platform is positioned as a rugged edge-compute node to host GPU-accelerated AI models without relying on remote data centres.

Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act reforms negotiated between the Australian Federal Government and the Greens have been broadly welcomed by the resources sector, which is now pushing to shape detailed approval pathways and timelines. Industry groups are seeking clearer statutory timeframes for project assessments, more predictable offsets rules, and streamlined approvals for brownfield expansions, while accepting stronger biodiversity safeguards. Miners warn that without tightly defined processes and resourcing for the new EPA-style regulator, major projects in iron ore, critical minerals and coal could still face multi‑year delays and higher compliance costs.

Argo Queensland, a new vehicle backed by a European–Japanese investor consortium, has acquired a 70 per cent stake in BHP Mitsubishi Alliance’s Daunia and Blackwater coal mines in Queensland’s Bowen Basin. The deal covers large-scale open-cut metallurgical coal operations that currently use draglines, truck–shovel fleets and extensive rail load-out infrastructure feeding the Goonyella and Blackwater systems. For mine planners and geotechs, the ownership change signals potential shifts in strip ratios, pit expansion sequencing and capital allocation for haul road upgrades, waste dump design and progressive rehabilitation.

Wirtgen Group is expanding its safety programme by partnering with Strata Worldwide to deploy and refine Proximity Detection Systems (PDS) on road construction and civil sites, targeting interactions between mobile plant and ground personnel. The systems use machine-mounted sensors and personal tags to create configurable warning and exclusion zones around pavers, rollers and milling machines, aiming to intervene before contact incidents occur. With Safe Work Australia reporting vehicle incidents as 42 per cent of work-related deaths in 2024, contractors may see PDS increasingly treated as a critical control alongside traffic management plans.

Young engineers Alicia Pera and Winnie Wilson are applying university training directly on Victoria’s Clyde Road Upgrade, working with contractor Seymour Whyte on complex roadworks in a live traffic environment. Both are rotating through on-site roles such as traffic staging, utilities coordination and pavement construction, gaining early exposure to design–construction interfaces and stakeholder management. Their experience points to a more structured pathway from classroom to construction site, with targeted mentoring and project-based learning used to build confidence and technical capability for women entering civil engineering.

Works on the Old Calder Highway and Watsons Road level crossings in Diggers Rest are now complete, with both crossings removed and replaced by new road bridges as part of the Victorian Government’s Level Crossing Removal Project, reaching its 88th removal. The package includes a new two-lane bridge designed to separate road and rail movements, eliminating boom-gate delays and reducing train–vehicle conflict points. For designers and contractors, the works add another reference for bridge-based grade separation on peri-urban arterial corridors in Melbourne’s north-west.

Wall-climbing robots from a Birmingham-based firm have completed non-destructive testing on a 200m-tall reinforced concrete chimney at an EDF facility, proving they can adhere and manoeuvre on near-vertical surfaces at height. The trials focused on remote NDT data capture on the external shell, replacing rope-access technicians for ultrasonic and visual inspection passes over large areas in a single deployment. For asset managers, the approach points to faster condition assessments, reduced working-at-height exposure, and more frequent monitoring of tall stacks and cooling structures.

A rival Liverpool Street station redevelopment concept has been unveiled, with its architect claiming it can be delivered for around half the cost and in roughly half the construction time of Network Rail’s current scheme, while requiring significantly less demolition. The alternative proposal is understood to retain more of the existing station fabric and over-site structures, reducing structural interventions and associated temporary works. For contractors and designers, the approach signals potential for lower programme risk, fewer possessions and reduced disruption to deep foundations and adjacent assets.

Rail freight and passenger operators warn that the proposed Great British Railways (GBR) structure could “mark its own homework”, with the infrastructure manager, system operator and contracting authority concentrated in a single body rather than separated between Network Rail, ORR and DfT. Stakeholders fear this blurring of roles will weaken independent economic regulation of track access charges and capacity allocation on key freight corridors such as Felixstowe–Nuneaton. Concerns also centre on deterring international investment in rolling stock and terminals, where long-term concessions and predictable regulatory frameworks are critical.

Approval of a new underground exploration tunnel at Southern Cross Gold’s Sunday Creek antimony–gold project in central Victoria will allow drilling from underground rather than surface pads, targeting high‑grade shoots at depth while reducing disturbance to farmland and native vegetation. The tunnel will be driven from freehold land into the main mineralised corridor, enabling tighter drill spacing and improved structural definition of the orogenic system. For geotechs and mine planners, the shift to underground drilling will refine resource geometry, de‑risk future decline design and inform ground support regimes early.

Building products manufacturer Marshalls has parted company with chief executive Matt Pullen with immediate effect, less than two years after his January 2024 appointment, following half-year results showing operating profit down 37% and pre-tax profit down 46% despite a 4% revenue increase. Chief commercial officer Simon Bourne becomes interim CEO while the board begins an external search for a permanent replacement. Chair Vanda Murray signalled a push to “refocus” and accelerate the Transform & Grow strategy, indicating likely scrutiny of product mix, margins and capital allocation on future schemes.

HE Services (Plant Hire) has placed a £25m order with Marubeni-Komatsu for more than 250 excavators ranging from 1.5-tonne minis to 49-tonne machines, in one of the largest fleet upgrades in the company’s history. The staged deliveries, running into next year, will refresh assets across 11 depots including Ashford, Cardiff, Durham and Daventry, targeting higher performance, reliability and operator comfort on hire. Contractors can expect newer Tier-compliant kit and greater availability for earthworks, utilities and infrastructure jobs across the UK.

National Timber Group, the UK’s largest independent timber distribution and processing group with 47 sites and 1,150 staff, has entered administration, with Alvarez & Marsal appointed on 26 November 2025 and an accelerated sale process launched. Administrators have made 561 immediate redundancies, closed 13 branches and mothballed some production facilities, while other depots continue trading under brands including Thornbridge, Arnold Laver, Rembrand Timber and Norclad. Contractors, joinery shops and house-builders reliant on NTG’s structural timber, sheet materials and engineered products face short‑term supply disruption and potential regional gaps in merchant coverage.

McLaren Construction has been appointed main contractor for Global Holdings’ 100,000 sq ft Xylo office in Clerkenwell, billed as the UK’s largest all-timber frame commercial building and costed at about £57m. The nine-storey structure will use glulam beams and cross-laminated timber supplied by Hybrid Structures to store more than 2,400 tonnes of CO₂, targeting embodied carbon 50% below a typical London office and operational emissions cuts of up to 82%. Designed for LETI Pioneer, NABERS UK 5.5-star and BREEAM ‘Excellent’, completion is scheduled for Q2 2028.

Excellon Resources is targeting deeper gold-silver mineralisation at the past-producing Mallay underground mine in Peru, where historical output focused on silver-lead-zinc veins. A new technical report outlines potential at depth below existing workings and along strike of the Mallay and Manto Santa Elena structures, supporting a possible restart scenario. For mine planners and geotechs, the shift to deeper targets implies renewed underground development, updated ground control in previously mined areas, and re-evaluation of shaft, hoisting, and ventilation capacity for a gold-silver focused operation.

Karnalyte Resources is promoting a proposed 70‑year potash operation 175 km east of Saskatoon, designed to produce 2.2 million tonnes of potash and 104,000 tonnes of hydromagnesite annually. The long mine life and dual‑product output signal a large, stable brine and ore resource, with implications for long‑term tailings, brine management and process plant design. For contractors and consultants, the scale suggests sustained demand for solution mining expertise, evaporation pond or crystalliser design, and associated rail and bulk handling infrastructure.

Dundee Precious Metals’ latest study for its Serbian gold project forecasts average annual production of 148,000 oz of gold, signalling a mid-scale operation in regional terms. The updated plan will drive mine design, processing plant sizing and tailings storage requirements, with knock-on effects for pit slope optimisation, haul road geometry and water management. Contractors and consultants can expect demand for detailed geotechnical investigation, open-pit stability analysis and materials handling design aligned with this throughput profile.

Centerra Gold has taken a 9.9% equity stake in Canadian explorer Metal Energy, matching similar 9.9% positions it has built in several other Canadian juniors over the past year. The move signals continued interest in early‑stage exploration exposure without triggering takeover bid thresholds common in Canadian securities rules. For geotechnical and mining teams, the backing of a mid-tier producer may accelerate drilling, resource definition and geotechnical characterisation on Metal Energy’s projects, potentially bringing new nickel or base‑metal targets forward in the development pipeline.

Panama will release the first audit results on First Quantum Minerals’ Cobre Panama copper mine in December, with initial reports expected as early as next week as the government weighs whether operations can restart. The review covers compliance with the 20-year concession contract, environmental obligations in the Donoso and Omar Torrijos districts, and fiscal terms linked to the mine’s reported multi-billion-dollar investment. Outcomes will directly affect one of Central America’s largest open-pit copper operations and contractors tied to associated port, power and tailings infrastructure.