Geomechanics.io

US Federal Reserve difficulty in curbing inflation while sustaining employment is pushing investors towards gold and silver as a risk hedge, CPM Group managing partner Jeffrey Christian told the Northern Miner podcast. Christian sees gold “easily” testing US$5,000/oz within four months, with a realistic chance of breaking above that level as anxiety over political, economic, financial and social disruptions grows. He notes a split market, with long-term holders accumulating bullion while short-term traders sell into rallies, adding volatility to price signals for miners and project financiers.

EU antitrust regulators have issued a formal statement of objections to MMG’s planned acquisition of Anglo American’s Brazilian nickel business, focusing on low-carbon ferronickel output from the Barro Alto mine and processing plant. The European Commission warns MMG, controlled via China Minmetals and SASAC, could reroute Barro Alto ferronickel to affiliated Chinese stainless steel producers, cutting volumes available to EU buyers. For smelters and alloy producers in Europe, the case signals closer scrutiny of supply concentration and long-term offtake structures in critical nickel feedstocks.

Komatsu has appointed M+C Saatchi Performance to run a US-wide talent awareness and acquisition campaign targeting its mining business, aiming to reach candidates beyond traditional engineering and operator pools. The partnership will use performance marketing and data-driven audience segmentation to promote roles linked to Komatsu’s autonomous haulage systems, electric drive trucks and mine automation technologies. For mine operators and contractors, this signals continued competition for skilled labour in areas such as fleet maintenance, control-room operations and digital support functions.

Alfred H Knight has opened a new metals and minerals laboratory in Maputo, Mozambique, providing local sample preparation and analytical testing for iron ore, chrome ore and other key commodities moving through southern Africa’s export corridors. The facility brings independent assay capability closer to mine sites and ports on the Indian Ocean, reducing turnaround times compared with sending samples to overseas labs. For operators, nearer real-time grade control and shipment certification should tighten quality assurance on bulk cargoes and support contract compliance.

First Quantum Minerals has secured a patent and trademark for Quantum Electra-Haul, its proprietary trolley-assist haulage system, formalising the technology it has been rolling out across its global copper operations. The system integrates overhead electric trolley lines with large diesel-electric haul trucks, allowing trucks to draw grid power on uphill hauls and cut diesel burn and emissions on high-intensity ramps. For mine planners and electrical engineers, the move signals continued large-scale investment in trolley-ready pit designs, high-voltage reticulation, and compatible truck fleets.

Cementation Africa has completed Thungela Resources’ Zibulo North Shaft decline under demanding underground conditions, using a continuous miner for a critical phase of advance rather than conventional drill-and-blast. Project Manager Peter Mazibuko credits the team’s underground coal expertise and close collaboration with the client for enabling safe deployment of the continuous miner in a constrained decline environment. For mine developers, the project signals growing confidence in mechanised decline development to accelerate schedules where geology and layout permit.

Road trauma care in Tasmania will receive an $85 million upgrade, with four dedicated supported accommodation facilities to be renewed under the Motor Accidents Insurance Board’s (MAIB) Supported Accommodation Renewal Project. The MAIB, which administers the State’s compulsory third-party motor accident insurance scheme, will fund works targeting long-term rehabilitation needs for seriously injured road users. For civil and building contractors, the programme signals upcoming medium-scale health infrastructure packages with specialised accessibility, clinical support spaces and resilient services design.

The first road upgrade in a $70 million Federal Government programme to improve access in Kakadu National Park has been completed, involving the realignment and upgrade of a section of Kubara Road to key visitor sites in the Northern Territory. Works focus on safer geometry and more reliable all-weather access for tourist and service vehicles, addressing previous constraints on wet-season traffic. For civil and geotechnical teams, upcoming stages will likely involve similar realignments, pavement strengthening and drainage improvements across other priority park routes.

Breedon has appointed Catherine Gibson as managing director for cement, products and surfacing solutions in Great Britain, adding her to Breedon GB CEO Mike Pearce’s leadership team at a time he describes as “challenging” but with “significant opportunities ahead”. Gibson previously sat on the Travis Perkins group executive committee, overseeing Keyline, its heavyside and civils brand, and other multi-site operations. With more than 25 years’ experience in UK building materials manufacturing and distribution, she is expected to focus on commercial performance and “sustainable growth” across Breedon’s heavy materials portfolio.

Housing association Aster Group has spent a record £124.8m in 2025/26 on upgrading and maintaining its 38,000-home estate and is targeting £1bn of improvement works over the next seven years. The programme will focus on existing stock rather than new build, signalling sustained demand for retrofit works, fabric upgrades and building services replacement across a dispersed portfolio. Contractors can expect steady pipelines in planned maintenance, energy-efficiency measures and structural repairs, with long-term frameworks likely to favour firms experienced in occupied-home refurbishment.

Wandsworth Council and Higgins Partnerships have started construction on Phase 2b of the Garratt Lane scheme, delivering 113 one-, two- and three-bedroom council-rented apartments with 100% affordable tenure plus ground-floor commercial space on Garratt Lane. The residential blocks follow completion of the new three-storey Atheldene Health Centre, which includes GP and pharmacy facilities and freed the former Brocklebank Health Centre site for redevelopment. For civil and building contractors, the phasing shows a clear model of integrating primary healthcare infrastructure with dense, mid-rise affordable housing on constrained urban sites.

The National Underground Assets Register has completed its first year under Ordnance Survey management with data from 400 asset owners and mapping coverage now extending to 3.2m km of buried infrastructure. Around 80% of known underground assets are digitised, giving utilities, highways authorities and contractors a far clearer view of pipes and cables before excavation. Wider adoption could materially cut strike incidents, reduce trial holes and support more accurate planning for streetworks and major civil schemes.

H E Services (Plant Hire) has introduced its first fully electric delivery lorry, an 18‑tonne DAF FA XD 220 from Channel Commercials, operating from its Strood depot and capable of being plated up to 20 tonnes to offset battery mass. The 9m vehicle, with a 6.9m Charlton Bodies platform and beavertail, uses three batteries for a quoted 130–180‑mile range per charge, depending on conditions and payload. To support operations, H E Services has installed an ultra‑rapid CCS charger at Strood, with the truck able to DC fast charge at up to 150 kW or 22 kW on AC.

Stepnell has appointed former Lendlease executive Simon Gorski as managing director of its construction business, drawing on his 30+ years’ experience in defence, justice, healthcare and central government frameworks, including 20 years with Bovis/Lendlease Europe. Based at the Rugby head office, Gorski is tasked with scaling Stepnell’s post-demerger “controlled growth” model, targeting a wider public sector and regional client base. The contractor, which opened its seventh office in Exeter in May 2026, reported £150m turnover with a forecast 20% uplift this year, signalling increased bidding capacity for complex projects.

Truck makers Volvo, Daimler and Toyota used the IAA Transportation show to commit to accelerating a hydrogen ecosystem for heavy goods vehicles, targeting commercial hydrogen truck operations in Germany by 2030. The plan centres on fuel-cell trucks for long-haul corridors, backed by dedicated high-capacity refuelling stations and green hydrogen supply rather than catenary or battery-only solutions. For civil and infrastructure planners, this signals future demand for hydrogen production hubs, roadside storage, and pressure-rated pipeline or tube-trailer logistics across key EU freight routes.

Pantoro Gold has extended the mineralised strike at the Racetrack discovery within the Norseman gold project in Western Australia to about 900m, with drilling confirming a continuous high-grade zone from near surface down to 600m depth. The lode remains open to the east, with both infill and extensional drilling tightening geological confidence and pointing to further resource growth potential. For mine planning, Racetrack is now shaping as a key ore source, supporting longer-term underground scheduling and potential mill feed flexibility at Norseman.

McLanahan is supplying gold operations with customised crushing, sampling and thickening circuits, including primary sizers configured to deliver a more cubical product for downstream leaching and milling. Engineers are tailoring equipment selection and layout to ore-specific parameters such as abrasion index, moisture content and required P80, rather than relying on standard crusher–screen flowsheets. The approach is aimed at stabilising throughput, improving sampling accuracy for grade control, and reducing bottlenecks in high-tonnage gold plants.

Western Australia is moving to convert decades of mining and petroleum investment into wider industrial capability, with WA MLA David Scaife telling the WA Mining Conference and Exhibition 2026 that the state’s mineral and petroleum sectors now generate a substantial share of gross state product and export revenue. The strategy centres on using established iron ore, LNG and critical minerals supply chains to attract downstream processing, manufacturing and technology services. For miners and engineers, this signals stronger policy backing for value-adding plants, local content requirements and skills development tied to existing operations.

Mineral Technologies and Nagrom have opened a high‑throughput piloting facility on Western Australia’s West Coast to test next‑generation critical minerals flowsheets under continuous, plant‑scale conditions. The site integrates Mineral Technologies’ spiral concentrators, magnetic separators and electrostatic separators with Nagrom’s existing crushing, grinding and classification circuits to run full ore‑to‑concentrate campaigns. For miners, the facility enables de‑risking of new process routes, validating recoveries and product specs before committing to multi‑million‑dollar concentrator designs.

Rio Tinto has extended its partnership with National Basketball League side Perth Wildcats for three years, with the Rio Tinto Perth Wildcats Academy to be expanded into Pilbara communities. The programme targets school-aged children with structured basketball clinics, mentoring and leadership activities delivered in remote towns where Rio Tinto operates iron ore mines and rail hubs. For site operators, the initiative supports local workforce pipelines and community relations in regions hosting large-scale pit, processing and export infrastructure.

Triton Uranium has completed four technical reports for its Atlas project in Saskatchewan’s historic Beaverlodge district, outlining low‑grade, open‑pit uranium potential of up to 46.56 million lb U₃O₈ across satellite occurrences and exploration targets. The optimised Red Rock model defines an Indicated Resource of 276,702 tonnes at 0.087% U₃O₈ (531,052 lb) and an Inferred Resource of 20,946 tonnes at 0.060% U₃O₈ (27,840 lb), with 11,035 m of new near‑surface targets now being tested in a 10,000 m drill programme. Triton aims to leverage existing Uranium City infrastructure to fast‑track what it claims could be North America’s only low‑cost, open‑pit uranium mine.

UK Research & Innovation (UKRI) has launched preliminary market engagement for a £6M framework covering civil engineering, groundworks and associated services across its research estate. The proposed procurement is expected to bundle site preparation, foundations, drainage, utilities diversions and minor structures to support new and upgraded laboratory and test facilities. Contractors are being asked to provide input on lot structure, regional coverage and delivery models before UKRI finalises tender documents and technical requirements.

Renegotiation of the two remaining HS2 civils contracts is expected to take a further two to three months, HS2 Ltd chief executive Mark Wild has confirmed, extending commercial uncertainty on key earthworks, structures and tunnelling packages. The delay affects final scope, risk allocation and pricing for major design-and-build lots that underpin formation works, viaduct foundations and interface management with existing rail and utilities. Contractors and designers will need to plan for prolonged bid teams, locked-in supply chain rates and potential reprogramming of geotechnical investigations and early works.

Plans for 1.5M new homes and multiple new towns in England risk locking in car dependency unless rail, bus rapid transit and active travel corridors are embedded in masterplans from day one, a University of Hertfordshire report warns. The study calls for safeguarded alignments for future rail stations, segregated cycleways and high-frequency bus routes to be fixed alongside land-use zoning, not retrofitted after plot-by-plot build-out. For civil and transport engineers, this signals earlier demand modelling, junction capacity design and multimodal access strategies at outline planning stage.