Geomechanics.io

South West Water has been fined £1.85M at Exeter Magistrates’ Court after a Cryptosporidium contamination at the Hillhead treatment works left tens of thousands of Devon customers without potable tap water in summer 2026. The DWI prosecution centred on failures in disinfection and monitoring barriers required under the Water Supply (Water Quality) Regulations, including inadequate protozoa control and delayed public notification. Other water companies are now ramping up enforcement and risk reviews of treatment works, with particular focus on UV systems, filtration integrity and contingency planning for microbial outbreaks.

Glencore’s Cerrejón coal complex in La Guajira, Colombia has restarted after a 10‑day rail blockade to Port Bolivar forced a full shutdown and force majeure, with operations resuming at 18:00 on 2 June once critical supplies were restored. The mine has already faced nearly 80 blockades this year and recorded 333 in 2024—equating to 135 lost operating days—contributing to a 12% year‑on‑year drop in 2024 output to 16.8 Mt and plans to cut a further 5–10 Mt/y amid Atlantic market oversupply. Persistent community‑driven rail disruptions and uncertainty over a temporary 1% export tax are now central design and risk factors for mine planning, logistics resilience and investment decisions across Colombia’s coal sector.

DPM Metals has reported a major gold-copper intercept at the Brevene South Porphyry target in Bulgaria, about 1 km from its Chelopech underground mine, with hole EX_BRESPO_03 cutting 713 m at 1.31 g/t gold and 1.16% copper from 1,172 m downhole, including 398 m at 1.48 g/t gold and 1.45% copper from 1,487 m. The porphyry lies within a >1,000 x 1,500 m hydrothermal system that remains open, and DPM has mobilised five high-capacity rigs for up to 15,000 m of additional drilling this year to test continuity and geometry for a resource. Proximity to existing Chelopech infrastructure, which currently hosts 15.3 Mt measured and indicated at 2.18 g/t gold and 0.64% copper and is permitted to 2036, could materially lower development capital and timelines if BSP proves economic.

Hycroft Mining’s proposed Nevada gold-silver operation is now scoped as a 51-year, large-scale POX and heap leach mine with a post-tax NPV of $10 billion at a 5% discount rate, based on spot prices of $4,569/oz gold and $77.94/oz silver and an initial capital cost of $2.4 billion plus $3.1 billion sustaining. The plant is designed to treat 57,100 t/d, producing on average 204,000 oz/y gold and 6.8 Moz/y silver (295,000 oz/y AuEq) at an all-in sustaining cost of $2,147/oz AuEq. The mine plan draws on 16.4 Moz gold and 562.6 Moz silver M&I resources, with upside from 5 Moz gold and 132.8 Moz silver inferred, underground options at Brimstone and Vortex, and new oxide heap leach targets across a land package exceeding 64,000 acres.

Russia claims it will mine 480–500 tonnes of gold in 2025 and that 2024 output was about 480 tonnes, which would exceed China’s 380-tonne 2024 production and contradict World Gold Council and Metals Focus estimates of 330–345 tonnes for Russia. The figures, issued by Natural Resources Minister Alexander Kozlov via Tass, are around 50% above widely used industry assessments despite no major new Russian gold mines coming online. Bloomberg also reports the Bank of Russia has sold about 28 tonnes of gold this year, raising over $4 billion to help plug budget deficits.

USA Rare Earth has finalised definitive agreements with the US Department of Commerce for nearly $1.6 billion under the CHIPS Act, comprising $277 million in federal funding and up to $1.3 billion in senior secured loans, supporting a total $3.5 billion capital programme. The company plans a fully integrated mine-to-magnet chain anchored by its Texas deposit (targeting production in 2028), a Stillwater, Oklahoma NdFeB magnet plant ramping to 600 tonnes this year and 10,000 tonnes/year of magnets plus 10,000 tonnes/year of heavy rare earth strip-cast, metal and alloy at full US build-out. Additional facilities are planned in Wheat Ridge, Colorado, Blacksburg, South Carolina ($1.2 billion), France (€175 million) and Brazil (a $2.8 billion mine acquisition), with yttrium already produced commercially in the UK via Less Common Metals.

Venezuela’s post-Maduro mining reset is centred on a new April mining law offering longer concessions and a “legal route” for foreign and domestic operators, but must overcome a 90%-plus collapse in metals output, entrenched illegal extraction and weak territorial control. GEM Mining Consulting estimates resources of 82 million oz. gold, 2.3 billion tonnes of iron ore and 2.5 billion tonnes of bauxite, with potential annual output of 2.1 million oz. gold, 148 million tonnes of iron ore products and 52 million tonnes of bauxite. The 112,000 km² Orinoco Mining Arc and wider Guayana Shield remain geologically attractive, yet Venezuela’s role is likely as a diversified supplementary supplier rather than a dominant producer of any single critical mineral.

The US Department of Energy has awarded $67 million to ElementUSA and Colorado School of Mines to design, build and operate a rare earth processing plant in St. John the Baptist Parish, Louisiana, using an integrated hydrometallurgical–pyrometallurgical flowsheet that co-produces pig iron and recovers scandium, gallium, germanium, yttrium and multiple REEs from bauxite residue. ElementUSA plans a phased build-out to a 1 Mtpa feed facility with an estimated $1.1 billion capex, underpinned by ~34 Mt of proven residue reserves secured under exclusive access. At full scale, the project could supply 45–385% of current US annual demand for several listed critical elements, turning a legacy alumina waste stream into a strategic feedstock.

Cornish Tin & Lithium’s Phase 3 drilling at the Tregonning project in West Cornwall has extended the lithium-bearing Newall Formation to a strike length of about 3.27 km from Tregonning North to Tregonning South, with multiple lithium-enriched aplite‑pegmatite sheets at varying depths. Earlier intersections at Tregonning North included 0.3 m grading 1.33% Li₂O, with a peak of 1.42% Li₂O, and the new work suggests a materially larger lithium inventory. Drilling at Tregonning South also defined a new tin system with at least ten lodes, returning up to 2.69% Sn in Norcross No.1, 1.26% Sn in Rib North and 1.68% Sn in Rib South.

Deep Sea Minerals has secured a “substantial compliance” determination from NOAA under the US Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act, advancing its application to explore polymetallic nodules in international waters. The proposed concession covers about 150,000 km² of the Pacific Ocean, targeting nodules containing nickel, cobalt, copper and manganese for electrification, energy and defence supply chains. The company says this makes it one of only three publicly traded or public-market pathway firms to reach this stage in NOAA’s DSHMRA regulatory process, as the agency moves to accelerate licence reviews.

Stardust Power Inc. has been selected as the end-use industrial partner in a US Department of Energy-funded programme led by Ohio University’s Institute for Sustainable Energy and the Environment and CONSOL Innovations to develop electrochemical technology for direct lithium extraction from domestic waste streams, including oil and gas wastewater and legacy coal mine drainage. Under FOA DE-FOA-0003105, the team will test coal- and waste coal-based electrodes, with Stardust Power evaluating lithium product against battery-grade specifications and assessing refinery integration. The move supports diversified US lithium feedstocks and strengthens domestic critical minerals processing capacity.

Sandvik has introduced the Tundo RH700 cluster hammer unit for its DU300-series and DU400-series in-the-hole (ITH) longhole drill rigs, allowing rapid changeovers between standard production drilling and fully mechanised slot raising on the same carrier. The RH700 cluster configuration is aimed at boosting rig utilisation across existing ITH fleets by eliminating the need for dedicated raiseboring units and associated rehandling. For mine planners and drill‑and‑blast engineers, this supports more flexible slot design and potentially tighter drilling schedules without additional capital equipment.

BHP is working with Microsoft to deploy AI agents to accelerate discovery of advanced copper leaching chemistries, replacing slow, manual trial‑and‑error testing of millions of potential molecules. The system uses large‑scale computational screening to predict leach reagent performance on different ore types, aiming to improve copper recovery from low‑grade and complex ores where conventional sulphide flotation or heap leach kinetics are marginal. For mine planners and metallurgists, this could shift testwork programmes towards AI‑guided candidate selection, reducing lab cycles and de‑risking leach circuit design.

RCT – Powered by Epiroc has opened a new branch in Orange, New South Wales, co-located with fellow Epiroc acquisition JTMEC at Leewood Drive to consolidate automation, control and electrical support for local underground mines. The site will act as a regional base for commissioning and servicing RCT’s ControlMaster automation and remote-control systems on LHDs, trucks and drill rigs, alongside JTMEC’s mine electrical and power distribution services. For operators in the central west NSW gold and base metals belt, the move should shorten response times and simplify integration of OEM-agnostic automation with site power infrastructure.

Colorado School of Mines and ElementUSA have secured US$67 million from the US Department of Energy to build a rare earth element extraction and processing plant treating alumina refinery tailings at Gramercy, Louisiana. The DOE Office of Critical Minerals and Materials is backing the project as one of only two funded initiatives, targeting recovery of REEs from existing bauxite residue streams rather than new mining. For process engineers and tailings specialists, the scheme signals growing support for hydrometallurgical upgrading and reprocessing of legacy red mud deposits.

Scotland delivers the highest value within the UK’s £105bn net zero economy, with major contributions from low‑carbon power, onshore and offshore wind, and grid infrastructure upgrades. Regional clusters in the Midlands and Yorkshire also rank strongly, driven by clean manufacturing, hydrogen pilots and industrial decarbonisation projects around existing heavy industry hubs. For civil and geotechnical engineers, this signals continued demand for large‑scale energy infrastructure, port upgrades for offshore wind, and brownfield industrial retrofits in these regions.

Sweco has agreed to acquire Finnish technical consultancy Platom, expanding its Nordic footprint in highly regulated industrial and nuclear-related projects. Platom brings specialist capability in process engineering, safety analyses and licensing support for nuclear facilities and other complex plants in Finland. For civil and geotechnical engineers, the deal signals more integrated design teams on projects involving radiation shielding, containment structures and long-term asset integrity in energy and industrial infrastructure.

Major work will start on 13 June at Cathays station on the Merthyr and Rhondda line, north of Cardiff Central, to install a new bridge as part of a wider rail infrastructure upgrade. Network Rail and its contractors are expected to replace the existing structure during a blockade, using crane lifts over the operational railway and staged possessions to minimise disruption to Cardiff commuter services. For designers and contractors, key issues will include managing limited urban worksite access, maintaining track geometry tolerances, and coordinating utilities and signalling interfaces around the new bridge deck and abutments.

The government’s latest HS2 update has reopened scrutiny of the UK’s capacity to deliver megaprojects as the curtailed London–Birmingham–Manchester high-speed line faces escalating costs and phased construction stretching well beyond original 2026–2033 opening targets. Protracted uncertainty over northern legs, station scope at Euston, and interfaces with existing classic lines is driving repeated redesign, land safeguarding extensions and contractor remobilisation costs. For civil and geotechnical teams, shifting phasing and scope complicate ground investigation strategies, tunnelling logistics and long-lead materials procurement, inflating risk allowances in future bids.

ACE Group’s Environmental Industries Commission has issued a policy roadmap urging UK governments to classify nature-based solutions – such as wetlands, urban forests and green roofs – as core infrastructure on a par with roads, rail and engineered flood defences. The plan seeks multi‑year funding, integration into National Policy Statements and Treasury Green Book appraisal, and explicit performance metrics for biodiversity, flood attenuation and urban cooling. For designers and geotechnical teams, this signals stronger policy backing for hybrid schemes combining hard defences with soil‑ and vegetation‑based systems.

AtkinsRéalis has been appointed by Northern Ireland’s Department for Infrastructure to deliver detailed design and construction supervision for Phase 2 of Belfast Rapid Transit, extending the existing Glider bus-based system. The commission will cover corridor alignment, junction remodelling, segregated bus lanes and priority signalling, plus associated structures and utilities coordination in dense urban streets. For civil and geotechnical teams, key tasks will include pavement design for high-frequency articulated buses, foundation works around buried services, and construction staging to maintain traffic and public transport operations.

EQ Resources has approved a $39 million expansion of the Mt Carbine tungsten mine in far north Queensland, doubling crushing capacity from about 1Mtpa to 2Mtpa to clear a key processing bottleneck. The project centres on upgrading the existing crushing circuit and associated materials handling to sustain higher throughput of low‑grade stockpiles and in-situ ore. For mine planners and plant engineers, the move signals a shift towards larger-scale tungsten production at Mt Carbine, with comminution capacity now aligned more closely to available ore resources.

Victory Metals has signed a Native Title Mining Agreement with the Wajarri Yamaji Aboriginal Corporation for the North Stanmore heavy rare earth project, clearing a key requirement for granting a Western Australian mining lease. The clay-hosted deposit, about 6km north of Cue, targets dysprosium and terbium within a broader rare earth assemblage considered strategically important for permanent magnets and defence supply chains. The agreement gives Traditional Owners defined cultural heritage protections and benefits while giving the proponent tenure certainty to progress mine design, approvals and funding.

BHP is using artificial intelligence with Microsoft and Prescience Insilico to screen more than 500,000 candidate molecules that could accelerate and improve copper leaching from existing ore. The project applies advanced computing to predict which reagents may enhance recovery rates in heap and dump leach circuits, rather than relying solely on conventional lab trial-and-error. For geometallurgists and process engineers, this signals a push to optimise reagent chemistry on legacy ore bodies before committing capital to new copper projects.