Geomechanics.io

Colin Wood, appointed managing director of Amey’s consulting business in May, sets out a long-term role for the consultancy in shaping UK infrastructure delivery, drawing on its work across highways, rail and complex asset management. He points to Amey’s integrated design–build–operate capability and data-led asset strategies as key to extending asset life and reducing whole-life cost, rather than focusing solely on new-build schemes. For geotechnical and civil engineers, this signals continued demand for resilience-focused upgrades, condition-led maintenance and digitally enabled asset monitoring across existing networks.

Work to modernise the Transpennine Route will shut Mirfield station over the Christmas blockade, allowing Network Rail to carry out intensive track, signalling and platform upgrades in West Yorkshire. The closure forms part of the multi‑billion‑pound Transpennine Route Upgrade between Manchester and York/Leeds, which is adding electrification, higher line speeds and capacity for longer, heavier trains. For contractors and designers, the key challenge will be delivering heavy rail systems work within a tightly constrained holiday possession while maintaining structural clearances for future OLE.

Bellevue Gold is progressing its Bellevue underground project in Western Australia with a forecast increase in ore grades driven by resumed development in high-grade stopes and record renewable power penetration at site. The operation is targeting a predominantly wind and solar-backed power mix through a hybrid microgrid, reducing reliance on diesel generation and cutting operating costs per ounce. For geotechnical and mining teams, the combination of higher-grade stoping fronts and power-cost reductions supports more aggressive underground development schedules and potentially deeper economic cut-off grades.

The Minerals Council of Australia signalled it is ready to work with the Federal Government on policies to make the country’s minerals sector more competitive, following recent federal reforms affecting approvals, industrial relations and critical minerals strategy. MCA is expected to push for streamlined project permitting under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act and more predictable royalty and tax settings to support long-life iron ore, coal and base metals operations. For engineers, any shift in approvals, closure regulation or infrastructure funding could materially affect project timelines, capital allocation and long-term mine planning.

Native Mineral Resources has certified a cumulative gold outturn of 1009.53 ounces from its Blackjack gold project in Queensland, following the latest doré smelts completed on 14 September 2025. The milestone confirms metallurgical performance at Blackjack’s processing circuit and provides a verified production base for further resource evaluation and mine planning. For operators, the result gives an early indication of recoverable grade and plant efficiency ahead of any scale-up decisions or additional capital deployment.

AIC Mines has reported an “unusually high” conversion rate after upgrading four exploration targets to prospects at its Eloise regional copper project in North Queensland, following recent RC and diamond drilling. The work extends the mineralised corridor around the Eloise copper mine, where existing underground operations target high-grade sulphide lenses at depths typically greater than 300m. The expanded prospect pipeline signals sustained drilling, resource definition and potential satellite ore feed to the Eloise processing plant, with implications for long-term mine planning and regional infrastructure.

KOR is deploying Cappellotto vacuum and jetting units to manage tailings, slurry and spillage clean-up in Australian mine plants, reducing unplanned shutdowns where an hour of downtime can cost millions. The truck-mounted systems combine high‑vacuum pumps, high‑pressure water jets and large-capacity debris tanks, and can be customised with different boom reaches, filtration stages and hose configurations for crushers, sumps and process lines. Faster, mechanised clean-up reduces manual entry into confined spaces and around conveyors, directly cutting exposure to slips, engulfment and mobile plant interactions.

South Australia’s Torrens to Darlington (T2D) transport corridor, a major upgrade of the North-South Motorway in Adelaide, is using Indigenous majority-owned civil contractor Karta Indigenous Services for key earthworks and site operations. Working alongside ResourceCo, Karta is delivering materials handling, haulage and on-corridor civil works while embedding Indigenous employment, training and subcontracting pathways into long-duration packages. The model shows how large linear infrastructure jobs can structure quarry products supply, spoil management and labour procurement to build local capability rather than relying solely on traditional Tier 1 supply chains.

Demolition and 24/7 construction works on the Albury to Illabo section of Inland Rail are commencing along roughly 185 kilometres of existing rail corridor between Victoria and New South Wales. The programme includes removal of legacy structures and reconstruction of key assets such as station footbridges and level crossings to provide greater vertical and horizontal clearances for double-stacked freight trains. For civil and track engineers, the works signal a shift from design to heavy brownfield delivery, with tight possession windows and interface risks in live rail and urban environments.

A stormwater upgrade on Cliff Drive in Leura, NSW’s Blue Mountains, replaced a failed culvert after landslip damage from repeated extreme rainfall, with civil contractor Brefni working on steep terrain and in environmentally sensitive bushland. Coates supplied an integrated shoring and dewatering solution plus plant hire, enabling safe excavation and culvert installation in unstable ground conditions while maintaining road access. The project was completed ahead of schedule and has since received an industry award, signalling the value of coordinated temporary works design in landslip-prone corridors.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves will cut capital gains tax relief on disposals to employee ownership trusts from 100% to 50%, targeting a scheme now projected to cost £2bn in foregone revenue since its 2013 launch and affecting recent EOT conversions at firms such as Gilbert-Ash, Conlon Group, Cheetham Hill Construction and Martin-Brooks Roofing. The change is expected to save £900m a year, alongside frozen income tax and employer NIC thresholds from 2028/29 projected to raise £8bn through fiscal drag. Salary-sacrifice pension contributions will become taxable, adding £4.7bn, with a 2-point rise on dividend, property and savings tax rates raising a further £2.1bn.

The UK Treasury has confirmed that the £9bn Lower Thames Crossing will proceed on a regulated asset base (RAB) model, with an additional £891m of public funding allocated to complete pre-construction works before private finance takes over construction and operation. Investors are expected to draw regulated revenue from the existing tolled Dartford Crossing during the new crossing’s construction, with the new crossing itself also tolled, mirroring approaches used on Thames Tideway and Sizewell C to lower the cost of capital. Market engagement on the RAB structure will start in 2026, and it remains unclear whether future asset owners will retain National Highways’ current delivery teams – Bouygues/Murphy JV for the tunnels and Skanska and Balfour Beatty for the approach roads – or re-tender major packages.

Government has scrapped plans to abolish the reduced rate of landfill tax, dropping proposals that would have raised charges on non-contaminated construction spoil from £4 to £126 per tonne by 2030, a move house-builders said would add about £15,000 per home and £1.26bn to London projects plus £437m to HS2. Instead, the standard rate will track RPI and the lower rate will rise by the same cash amount, preserving the gap, while the tax exemption for quarry backfilling is retained. Industry bodies warn that, despite avoiding the steep hike, higher lower-rate uplifts (forecast to raise £420m by 2030/31) and new higher business rates for large quarries, cement and asphalt plants will still increase costs and could influence waste routing and materials strategies on major schemes.

Australia and the European Union are preparing to deepen cooperation on critical minerals through jointly supported projects spanning exploration, processing and downstream value chains. The partnership is expected to prioritise EU-listed critical raw materials such as lithium, rare earths and cobalt from Australian deposits, with a focus on traceable supply chains and ESG-compliant offtake. For miners and processors, this signals potential access to EU co-funding, long-term supply contracts and stricter reporting on emissions, waste and community impacts.

The Global Resources Innovation Expo 2026 (GRX26) will run in Perth from 5–7 May 2026, positioning Australia’s mining and METS sector as host for a concentrated three‑day programme of technology, equipment and services. Organised by AusIMM, the event is expected to draw international operators, OEMs and technology vendors to showcase advances in areas such as automation, digital mine planning and mineral processing equipment. For engineers, GRX26 offers direct access to suppliers and case studies relevant to brownfield optimisation, remote operations and decarbonisation projects.

Fortescue has ended its legal action against three former senior executives who left to found green iron start-up Element Zero, reaching a confidential settlement and dropping claims over alleged misuse of confidential information. The dispute centred on Fortescue’s own green iron ambitions within its Fortescue Energy division and concerns that Element Zero’s technology development could overlap with internal decarbonisation work. Resolution removes a potential constraint on Element Zero’s fundraising and technology partnerships while clarifying competitive boundaries for green iron process development in Australia.

SolGold has set 2026 for early works at its Cascabel copper-gold project in northern Ecuador, fast-tracking site preparation, resource drilling and a two-unit corporate restructuring to target first production in 2028. The revised schedule focuses on accelerating enabling works for underground development and surface infrastructure while separating exploration and project development into distinct business units. For engineers and contractors, the timeline signals upcoming demand for geotechnical investigations, access roads, platforms and early civils to support mine construction within a compressed pre-production window.

Aya Gold & Silver has reported its strongest intercept to date at the Boumadine polymetallic project in Morocco, with both infill and step-out drilling returning high-grade silver, gold, zinc and lead over significant widths. Recent holes along the Main Trend and South Zone are extending mineralisation beyond the current resource envelope while tightening drill spacing in the central area for an updated estimate. An analyst notes that results to date support further resource growth, signalling upside for future mine planning and metallurgy work.

A 1,971‑kilogram silver bullion bar measuring 1.3 metres in length has been unveiled in Dubai, setting a new Guinness World Record for the largest silver bar. The record piece, cast as a single ingot, far exceeds standard 1,000‑oz (c. 31 kg) London Good Delivery bars, illustrating the casting and handling challenges of producing and moving nearly 2 tonnes of refined silver in one block. For miners and refiners, it serves mainly as a marketing and metallurgical showcase rather than a practical trading unit.

Canada has ordered a national security review of the proposed US$53 billion merger between Teck Resources and Anglo American under the Investment Canada Act, Industry Minister Mélanie Joly confirmed. The review adds regulatory uncertainty and potential delay to combining Teck’s steelmaking coal and copper assets with Anglo’s global portfolio, which includes major operations in Chile, South Africa and Australia. Any conditions imposed could affect future capital allocation, mine divestments and approvals for large-scale brownfield and greenfield expansions in Canada.

Eldorado Gold has increased proven and probable reserves by 5%, reporting 371.7 million tonnes at 1.05 g/t for about 12.5 million oz of contained gold as of end-September. The update materially extends mine life across its portfolio, with the grade sitting in the typical range for large open-pit and underground gold operations. Geotechnical and mine planning teams will need to revisit pit shells, underground stope designs and long-term tailings and waste storage requirements to accommodate the larger reserve base.

Rio Tinto is preparing to sell its US boron assets, which Bloomberg values at up to $2 billion, signalling a potential exit from one of the world’s key borates supply centres. The portfolio is expected to include the long‑life US Borax operations in California’s Mojave Desert, a major source of refined borates used in glass, ceramics and fertilisers. Any sale would reshape the borates market and could alter long‑term offtake, logistics and processing strategies for downstream industrial users.

Torrential monsoon rainfall over the past week in North Sumatra has triggered debris-laden flash floods and multiple landslides, killing at least 10 people and leaving six missing in districts including Toba and Samosir. Police and BNPB teams report riverbank failures and slope collapses along road corridors and near settlements, with access to several upland villages cut by washed-out embankments and blocked mountain passes. For geotechnical and civil engineers, the events point to highly saturated residual soils, inadequate slope drainage, and vulnerable transport links in steep catchments during peak monsoon conditions.

Keller has completed a ground improvement scheme for Encinal High School Stadium in Alameda, California, collaborating with the project geotechnical engineer to satisfy California Geological Survey seismic requirements. The solution, delivered as part of a larger stadium renovation, used ground improvement to mitigate liquefaction and lateral spreading risks identified in the site’s young bay mud and loose granular fills. For practitioners, the project shows how early contractor–engineer integration can tailor seismic ground improvement to school facilities on soft, seismically active coastal deposits.