Geomechanics.io

Sandvik and Rio Tinto are jointly developing integration of Sandvik i-series surface drill rigs with the Rio Tinto Autonomous Drilling System (Rio Tinto ADS™), initially targeting support drilling in open pits. The work couples Rio Tinto’s existing autonomous and remote drilling operations with Sandvik’s AutoMine® automation platform to create a common control and data interface. For mine operators, the move signals future options to standardise autonomous blasthole and support drilling fleets across mixed-vendor rigs, with potential reductions in manual exposure around highwall support and pre-split drilling.

Solvay has signed a Letter of Intent with Viridis Mining and Minerals to process Brazilian rare earth materials at its La Rochelle plant in France, targeting a strategic supply by 2028 to bolster non-Chinese feedstock. The agreement centres on Viridis’ ionic clay rare earth projects in Brazil, with Solvay providing separation and refining capacity at an established solvent-extraction and roasting facility. For project developers, the move signals continued demand for clay-hosted REE resources and reinforces the importance of downstream-compatible mineralogy and impurity control in new deposits.

Tailings retreatment of legacy tailings storage facilities is emerging as a major opportunity, with SLR Consulting’s Asset Transition and Closure lead Danie Otto pointing to rapid shifts in project scale, processing technology and regulatory expectations. Operators are reassessing old TSFs as potential ore sources, using modern reprocessing circuits and improved metal recovery techniques to extract residual value while reducing long-term geotechnical and water-related liabilities. The approach is reshaping closure planning, with TSF stability, residue re-deposition strategies and progressive rehabilitation now integrated into upfront project design.

Sandvik Rock Processing is promoting an engineered-to-order (ETO) model for crushing and screening circuits, with Vice-President Sales Area Africa Tarynn Yatras saying bespoke plant layouts are built around each site’s ore characteristics, throughput targets and footprint constraints. The ETO approach allows integration of complex equipment such as multi-deck screens, cone crushers and surge bins into brownfield comminution lines, rather than relying on catalogue configurations. For engineers, this means earlier geometallurgical input, tighter control of transfer chutes and bin capacities, and fewer bottlenecks at primary and secondary crushing stages.

Victoria’s winter road programme begins with the removal of the Ferris Road level crossing in Melton, as part of a broader package targeting multiple at‑grade rail intersections. Works will continue at Coburns Road and Exford Road in Melton and at Maddox Road, focusing on grade separation to eliminate boom‑gate delays and improve rail–road interface performance. Contractors and designers can expect intensive night and possession works in wet-season conditions, with traffic staging and temporary pavement design critical to maintaining freight and commuter flows.

Foundations and Frontiers 2026 (FF26), the Australian Constructors Association’s flagship forum, has released a broad speaker line-up bringing together senior government officials, tier-one contractors and infrastructure clients to examine “pockets of potential” in Australia’s construction sector. ACA President Annabel Crookes frames the agenda around current pressures on major projects and productivity, signalling sessions on procurement reform, collaborative contracting models and pipeline certainty. For geotechnical and civil practitioners, the programme points to detailed discussion of delivery risk allocation, interfaces on large transport corridors and how contractors and designers can structure data and digital workflows for complex ground conditions.

New fixed safety cameras on the Mitchell Freeway at Karrinyup Road in Perth are now enforcing seatbelt use and mobile phone offences, using automated image analytics on vehicles travelling at full freeway speeds. The system joins existing fixed safety cameras on the Kwinana Freeway and Forrest Highway, extending continuous enforcement coverage across key north–south corridors linking Perth’s CBD and northern suburbs. For road designers and traffic engineers, the installation signals ongoing integration of non-intrusive, overhead enforcement hardware into high-speed urban freeway cross-sections without major geometric changes.

Players from NRL side The Dolphins have gone 200m underground at Anglo American’s Moranbah North longwall mine in Central Queensland for a first-hand look at steelmaking coal production. Six squad members toured the longwall face, shield supports and conveyor systems, observing methane management, strata control and dust suppression measures used in the gassy Bowen Basin operation. The visit forms part of Anglo American’s community and stakeholder engagement push, linking highwall-to-port coal supply chains with end users in stadium construction and infrastructure.

Coda Minerals has raised an oversubscribed $6.7 million placement, led by Cumulus Wealth and Leeuwin Wealth, to fast‑track technical work at its Elizabeth Creek copper–cobalt project in South Australia’s Olympic Copper Province ahead of a pre‑feasibility study. Funds will support metallurgical lock‑cycle testwork, hydrogeological investigations and approvals, targeting better definition of copper and cobalt recoveries and groundwater behaviour. The programme is aimed at de‑risking process design and water management assumptions before committing to larger‑scale engineering and capital decisions.

Greatland Resources has approved the final investment decision for its Havieron gold–copper project in Western Australia and secured a $500 million corporate debt facility underwritten by a Tier 1 syndicate including ANZ, ING, HSBC, NAB and Westpac. The package comprises a $250 million term loan and additional liquidity lines to fund mine development, underground infrastructure and associated processing upgrades at the newly acquired Telfer operation. For engineers and contractors, the decision signals imminent ramp-up of decline advance, stoping development and integration of Havieron ore into Telfer’s existing plant flowsheet.

The Northern Territory has declared Arafura Rare Earths’ $1.6 billion Nolans rare earths project its first “Significant Project” under the new Territory Coordinator Act, embedding it in the Territory’s critical minerals strategy. The status provides a whole‑of‑government coordination pathway to streamline complex approvals and interface risks while retaining normal environmental and regulatory assessment. For project engineers and contractors, this signals political backing for progressing mine, concentrator and downstream processing infrastructure near Alice Springs on an accelerated but scrutinised schedule.

Western Australia’s resources sector delivered $226 billion in mineral and petroleum sales in 2025, a decade-high investment year driven by record iron ore export volumes and all-time high gold revenue from operations such as the Super Pit. The sector supported more than 136,000 full-time equivalent on-site mining jobs, signalling sustained demand for mine development, brownfield expansions and associated infrastructure. Contractors can expect continued workload in pit optimisation, haul road upgrades and processing plant debottlenecking as operators push existing iron ore and gold assets harder.

Construction has begun on European Energy’s 67.96MW solar farm with a 95MWh co-located battery energy storage system at Indian Queens, inland from Newquay in Cornwall, scheduled for completion in the first half of 2027 and expected to generate about 60GWh per year. The single grid connection for both generation and storage is intended to maximise use of existing grid infrastructure while enabling participation in ancillary services markets. Revenue is underpinned by a corporate PPA for the solar and a Capacity Market Contract for the BESS.

BAM UK & Ireland has secured its first contract under National Grid’s Accelerated Strategic Transmission Investment (ASTI) framework to deliver a new SSEN Transmission substation in Aberdeenshire in joint venture with Siemens Energy. The project will add high-voltage substation capacity to support grid reinforcement for North Sea renewables and wider Scottish transmission upgrades. Civil and geotechnical scope is expected to centre on heavy foundations, high-spec switchgear compounds and grid connection works under ASTI’s compressed delivery timelines.

Hillhead 2026 at Hillhead Quarry, Buxton will run from 23–25 June with more than 620 exhibitors, four live demonstration areas and over 50 scheduled demos, including a curated Quarry Face programme hosted by broadcaster Nikki Dean and a fleet of 35+ machines working across three benches. Major OEMs such as Hyundai, CASE, JCB, Komatsu, Hitachi, DEVELON, Volvo CE, SBM, Wirtgen and Pilot Crushtec will run live trials of new kit including the TwisterTrac VS350E mobile VSI, REMAX 600/JAWMAX 450 plants and all‑electric Mobirex MR 100 NEOe. An AI planning tool powered by Exhibitly will generate personalised itineraries, helping visitors target specific technologies such as battery‑electric loaders and excavators, AI-based safety systems like Parksafe’s Zone AI, and intelligent tyre monitoring from Continental.

Reds10 has appointed former Wates Group executive committee member Steve Beechey as executive chair to drive its next phase of growth in industrialised, modular delivery. Beechey previously served as group investment director, group strategy director and most recently group public sector director at Wates, leading major defence, education and justice programmes and long-term public sector frameworks. His experience in complex programme delivery, PPPs and scaling high-growth businesses signals Reds10’s intent to push larger, multi-sector offsite projects and deepen public sector engagement.

Huws Gray has appointed former Brandon Hire Station national operations director Jon Mugridge as operations director for its plant and tool hire division, signalling a push to scale its hire operations alongside its builders’ merchant network. With a 30-year retail and hire background spanning B&Q, Homebase, B&M and WH Smith, Mugridge is tasked with tightening operational performance, colleague development and health and safety processes. For contractors, the move points to a more structured, centrally led hire offer, with potential for improved fleet availability and site support.

Willmott Dixon has begun construction on the £28m overhaul of Huddersfield Bus Station for West Yorkshire Combined Authority and Kirklees Council, delivering a modernised hub within the Weaver Network with a new entrance canopy, solar panels, green roof and expanded cycle parking. The scheme includes real-time integrated bus and rail information screens, upgraded security systems, improved shop fronts and external public realm, plus fully accessible toilets including a Changing Places facility. During delivery, the contractor targets 398 apprentice weeks, 31 weeks of work experience and 584 hours of employment support in the local area.

Sarens’ SGC-250 “Big Carl” land crane, rated at 250,000 tonne-metres, has lifted the 13-metre-long reactor pressure vessel for Hinkley Point C Unit 2 into the reactor building, where the internal polar crane rotated it vertical and set it onto a support ring with just 40mm lateral clearance. Unit 2 construction is reported to be 20–30% faster than Unit 1, with the outer containment, additional structural steelwork and three large heat exchangers already installed at this stage. EDF plans to transfer these build efficiencies directly to the Sizewell C gigawatt-scale project.

Plans for One London, a £1bn, 309.6‑metre tower at 1 Undershaft, set out a 1.2 million sq ft office‑led skyscraper that will be the City of London’s tallest building and joint‑tallest in Western Europe on completion in 2033. The scheme, by Aroland Holdings with Stanhope and Eric Parry Architects, is located at the junction of Leadenhall Street and St Mary Axe within a six‑minute walk of six Underground lines and the Elizabeth line. Deconstruction of St Helen’s Tower is under way, with a main contractor due to be appointed this year and construction targeted from 2028.

Zijin Gold’s proposed C$5.5 billion (about $4 billion) cash acquisition of Allied Gold is facing delays at China’s National Development and Reform Commission, which is questioning the roughly 5% premium and jurisdictional risks tied to Allied’s African assets. The deal would add the Sadiola mine in Mali, a large Côte d’Ivoire complex and the Kurmuk project in Ethiopia, with the first two delivering nearly 380,000 oz of gold in 2025 and Kurmuk due to pour first gold this year. Allied’s market value sits around C$4.4 billion and the outside closing date has been pushed to end-July.

Work is progressing on VolkerFitzpatrick’s £61M Sturry Link Road in Canterbury, Kent, a new highway connection intended to divert traffic from the A28 through Sturry and cut peak-hour congestion. The scheme includes a new link road and associated junction upgrades designed to improve journey times between Canterbury and the A299, following a recent funding boost that secured the remaining finance. For civil and geotechnical teams, key tasks will centre on highway earthworks, drainage, and tie-ins to existing strategic routes in constrained urban and floodplain conditions.

Carbon Capture, Usage and Storage (CCUS) is being positioned as a core element of UK decarbonisation strategy for gas-fired power and hard-to-abate materials such as cement and concrete, with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries promoting large-scale post-combustion capture units integrated with existing plants. Critics question lifecycle emissions, high energy penalties for solvent-based capture, and long-term integrity of offshore geological storage. For civil and materials engineers, the debate centres on retrofit feasibility at existing cement kilns, pipeline and compression infrastructure requirements, and whether CCUS investment may delay process changes or clinker substitution.

Thirteen contractors have been appointed to a £150M Lincolnshire County Council highways framework to deliver road maintenance, improvement and resurfacing schemes across the county through to January 2030. The long-term framework is expected to package multiple schemes for A-road strengthening, rural carriageway reconstruction and surface dressing, giving contractors continuity of work and scope to optimise plant utilisation and asphalt supply. For designers and geotechnical teams, the programme signals sustained demand for pavement condition surveys, overlay design, drainage upgrades and subgrade remediation on an asset base dominated by ageing flexible pavements.