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Westgold Resources is divesting its Chalice gold project in Western Australia to Corazon Mining, signalling a tighter capital focus on its core producing assets such as the Meekatharra and Bryah operations. The transaction hands Corazon a brownfields gold project in an established WA mining district with existing drilling data and historic resource work, rather than a greenfields exploration play. For geotechnical and mining teams, the deal points to continued consolidation of non-core gold assets and potential near-term re-evaluation of Chalice’s pit designs, geotech models and processing options under new ownership.

Meeka Metals has intersected further gold mineralisation at its Murchison gold project in Western Australia, with step-out drilling extending known lodes beyond the current resource envelope. The latest reverse circulation and diamond holes are targeting down-dip and along-strike extensions near existing open-pit and underground designs, aiming to convert exploration success into additional JORC-compliant ounces. Results will influence pit shell optimisation, underground access layouts and future mine scheduling across the Murchison tenement package.

South Australia booked a record $25.6 million in mining royalties for April, driven largely by BHP’s Olympic Dam copper-uranium operation and higher output from other copper assets. Premier Peter Malinauskas used the result to press for accelerated copper growth, backing BHP’s expansion ambitions at Olympic Dam and its broader SA copper portfolio. For miners and contractors, the signal is stronger state support for new copper projects and associated infrastructure, with a clear focus on fast-tracking approvals and investment while prices remain favourable.

Benz Mining has confirmed widespread tungsten mineralisation along the full 12km Glenburgh corridor in Western Australia, indicating a large-scale skarn and vein-style system associated with the region’s granitic intrusives. Early drilling and surface sampling show continuous scheelite-bearing zones over multiple kilometres, with several prospects already returning high-grade intervals suitable for hard-rock tungsten concentrate production. For geotechnical and mine planning teams, the corridor-scale continuity suggests potential for multiple open pits or a combined pit–underground layout, with significant focus needed on ground support in brittle, altered host rocks.

The Northern Territory Government is sending a trade delegation to Taiwan this week to court investment in critical minerals and energy projects, with a focus on copper, rare earths and gas. Officials are promoting the Territory’s emerging copper and rare earths prospects alongside its LNG and offshore gas assets to Taiwanese utilities, battery manufacturers and trading houses. For miners and project developers, the move signals potential new offtake, JV and project finance channels from Taiwanese industry for NT greenfield and brownfield deposits.

Wales is being positioned as a future energy powerhouse, leveraging its high tidal ranges in the Severn Estuary and extensive offshore wind resource in the Celtic Sea for large-scale low‑carbon generation. Proposals include multi‑GW floating offshore wind arrays in waters deeper than 60m, tidal lagoon concepts using rock‑armoured breakwaters, and repurposing former coal and slate sites for onshore wind, solar and grid‑scale battery storage. For civil and geotechnical engineers, this signals major demand for marine foundations, coastal structures, grid reinforcement and port upgrades to handle heavy turbine components.

HS2 Phase 1 is now estimated by transport secretary Heidi Alexander to cost more than £100bn, with the first London–Birmingham services not expected to run for at least another 10 years. The revised outlook prolongs uncertainty for major civil works already under way, including long twin-bore tunnels, deep cuttings and high-speed viaducts designed for 360km/h operation. Contractors and designers face extended exposure to inflation, labour and materials volatility, and potential redesign or value-engineering pressure on earthworks, structures and station fit-out.

NNB Generation Company (HPC) has begun consulting on a permit variation to install additional on-site backup generation capacity at the Hinkley Point C nuclear project in Somerset. The application seeks approval from the environmental regulator to increase standby power beyond the currently consented diesel and gas turbine systems, strengthening resilience of critical safety and cooling loads during grid outages. Designers and contractors may face revised electrical, fuel storage and emissions constraints on the already congested nuclear island and balance-of-plant layouts.

Natural Resources Wales has issued a prior information notice for an £50M civil engineering and infrastructure framework to run over eight years, signalling a sustained pipeline of flood risk, river works and asset management projects. The framework is expected to bundle multiple small to medium schemes, likely including embankment upgrades, culvert replacements and coastal defence works, into long-term packages. Contractors and designers with geotechnical, hydraulic and environmental expertise will need to position early for prequalification once the full tender is released.

A rival Heathrow expansion plan proposes a third runway built in two phases, winning backing from several major airlines and aviation trade bodies against Heathrow Airport Ltd’s preferred single-phase scheme. The phased approach is pitched to cut upfront capital outlay and construction risk by spreading major airfield works and associated taxiway, apron and terminal modifications over a longer programme. For civil and geotechnical teams, this implies staged groundworks, utilities diversions and pavement construction under live-airfield constraints, with design needing to accommodate interim runway configurations and evolving air traffic patterns.

Belfast Harbour has announced a £1.3bn capital programme to upgrade port infrastructure so it remains resilient, efficient and competitive over coming decades. The plan is aimed at supporting long-term economic growth across Northern Ireland and the wider island, signalling substantial future works on quays, storage areas and marine access. Contractors and designers can expect major marine civils, ground engineering and heavy pavement packages as the authority moves to accommodate larger vessels and higher cargo throughputs.

Heathrow Airport has named the winner of its early careers innovation competition, run in collaboration with New Civil Engineer to surface practical ideas from graduates and apprentices for future airport infrastructure. The initiative targets concepts that could be integrated into major airside and landside projects, such as terminal refurbishments, pavement upgrades and baggage system overhauls, where constructability, carbon reduction and passenger flow are critical. For consultants and contractors, the scheme signals Heathrow’s interest in trialling low‑carbon materials, modular construction and digital design workflows proposed by early-career engineers.

Terrafame has started a prefeasibility study to recover scandium from process streams at its bioheap-leach nickel mine in Sotkamo, Finland, using the existing hydrometallurgical circuit as a base. If viable, the project would make Terrafame the only scandium producer in Europe, adding a critical rare earth element to its current battery-grade nickel output. For process engineers, the key questions will be scandium grades in intermediate liquors, additional solvent extraction or ion-exchange stages required, and integration without disrupting nickel and cobalt recovery.

Savannah Resources has ordered the first major capital equipment for its Barroso Lithium Project in northern Portugal, Europe’s largest spodumene deposit and designated a “Strategic Project” under the European Critical Raw Materials Act. The company and its external consultants are advancing technical workstreams including mine planning, process flowsheet optimisation for spodumene concentrate, and infrastructure design to meet EU environmental and permitting requirements. Early equipment procurement signals a move towards construction readiness, with engineering decisions now locking in plant layout, power demand and tailings handling concepts.

SANY has unveiled its SKT145Ei electric unmanned wide body mining truck at the Global Mining Key Customer Summit in Xi’an, where more than 700 delegates signed equipment orders exceeding 5 billion yuan. The SKT145Ei combines a battery-electric drivetrain with autonomous haulage capability, targeting short- to medium-haul open-pit operations that currently rely on diesel wide body trucks. For mine planners and geotechnical teams, the shift to unmanned electric haulage tightens requirements on road geometry, berm design and traffic management to support consistent autonomous operation.

Cementation and Terra Nova Technologies have completed a strategic ownership transition, giving the combined group substantially increased capital backing from a major investor to support global mining projects. The restructuring is aimed at scaling Cementation’s underground mine development and shaft sinking services alongside TNT’s overland conveyor and crushing plant systems across North and South America, Africa and other key regions. For project owners, the move signals stronger balance-sheet support for large EPC and design–build contracts, potentially reducing delivery and financing risk on complex materials handling and underground works.

Recovering more metal from existing heap leach pads, rather than building new mines, is presented as mining’s fastest production gain amid IEA-forecast supply gaps of 30% for copper and 40% for lithium by 2035. Tom Claridge, sales manager for Mining North at Netafim North America, argues that uneven solution distribution caused by slope, rock size, line spacing and pressure inconsistencies creates persistent wet–dry zones and permanent metal loss. He points to precision irrigation systems with controlled pressure and flow, plus automated monitoring, as key to improving percolation, water use and predictability on large pads.

Agnico Eagle Mines has approved construction of the $2.4 billion Hope Bay underground complex in Nunavut’s Kitikmeot region, targeting first production in about four years from three long-hole stoping deposits (Doris, Madrid and Patch 7) feeding a 6,000 t/d plant. The project is scoped for 400,000–435,000 oz. gold per year over an initial 11-year life, with total cash costs of about $942/oz, AISC of $1,199/oz and sustaining capex of $1.1 billion, based on measured and indicated resources of 31.97 Mt at 5.63 g/t. Agnico has already secured key environmental permits and leases, is advancing water licence amendments, and will spend over $100 million on exploration to 2028, including conversion drilling and potential satellite development at Boston.

Sigma Lithium is appealing a 17 May ruling by a local judge in Araçuaí that could impose up to $10 million in legal collateral over alleged improper waste disposal at its Grota do Cirilo lithium operation, after the case triggered a 15% share slide to about $14.50 and a $2.6 billion market capitalisation. Brazilian labour inspectors reportedly cited continued dumping on one of three suspended waste piles and a “partial rupture” near a school in Poço Dantas, raising structural and geotechnical stability concerns. The dispute coincides with Sigma’s plan to expand Grota do Cirilo from 270,000 to 520,000 tonnes per year of lithium concentrate, signalling tighter scrutiny of waste pile design, monitoring and closure in Latin American lithium projects.

Colombia is pressing Glencore to start detailed closure and transition planning for the Cerrejón complex, a 16.8‑million‑tonne‑per‑year open‑pit coal mine with a 150 km dedicated railway and Caribbean export port whose concession runs to 2034. A GEM consultancy report warns that abrupt, politically driven curtailment could destabilise La Guajira’s coal‑dependent economy, which currently relies on more than 12,000 mine‑related jobs, about $166 million a year in royalties and roughly $86 million in local procurement. GEM proposes a “managed transition compact” with ring‑fenced closure and retraining funds, supplier‑conversion schemes, environmental assurance financing and long‑term reuse plans for rail and port infrastructure.

Westgold Resources is selling its Chalice gold project in Western Australia’s Higginsville district to Corazon Mining for A$25.7 million, comprising A$8 million cash, A$6.7 million in Corazon shares and A$11 million in milestone-linked deferred payments, leaving Westgold with a 19.9% equity stake (47.6 million shares). Chalice is a historical underground producer with nearly 650,000 oz of past output at an average 5.4 g/t, and a current JORC resource of 191,000 oz at 2.7 g/t, remaining open in multiple directions. Corazon will fund the deal via a A$16.5 million private placement of 117.9 million shares at A$0.14, shifting from multi-commodity exploration to a single-asset gold development focus.

Construction has begun on Nouveau Monde Graphite’s C$2 billion Matawinie mine in Québec, fast-tracked through Canada’s Major Projects Office and designed to produce up to 106,000 tonnes of graphite per year, which would make it the largest graphite mine in the G7. Ottawa has backed the project with financing from Export Development Canada, the Canada Infrastructure Bank and the Canada Growth Fund, plus a seven-year offtake for 30,000 tonnes of concentrate annually. The mine, 120 km north of Montreal, is expected to create over 1,000 jobs and anchor an integrated graphite-to-battery materials chain with NMG’s planned Bécancour plant.

Sherritt International has reversed its plan to dissolve its Cuban mining assets, retaining its 50/50 Moa nickel-cobalt joint venture with state-owned General Nickel Company but keeping operations suspended under expanded US sanctions. The Trump executive order targeting non-US entities active in Cuba had already triggered the exit of three directors and the CFO, a share price collapse to C$0.11 and a market capitalisation of about C$81 million. Sherritt says it is assessing a preliminary “value preserving opportunity” while working with advisers and governments on a path through the sanctions.

Gold may retreat from about $4,500/oz. towards $4,000/oz. as Jeffrey Currie, former Goldman Sachs commodities chief and now Abaxx Markets executive co-chairman, stays tactically short, citing forced central bank sales such as Turkey’s roughly 120 tonnes of disposals to fund higher energy costs. Currie still targets a long-term move towards $10,000/oz., arguing that once central banks turn dovish after an energy-driven growth shock, the trade “resets”. He links this to a broader commodity super cycle driven by capex starvation and an estimated $820 billion of 2026 spending by the “Magnificent 7 plus Oracle”.