American Rare Earths’ Halleck Creek project in Wyoming has secured a Seed Translational Acceleration of Research (STAR) award via the University of Wyoming’s NSF Accelerating Research Translation programme to study byproducts and tailings from rare earth extraction. The work, led by Tyler Brown at UW’s School of Energy Resources, will assess technical viability, processing requirements and end-use applications for these materials and their impact on project economics. Halleck Creek metallurgical tests have already upgraded ore from 0.34% to 3.72% TREO, removing 93.5% of non-rare earth material early so only 6.5% requires further refining.

Global mine development has shifted decisively to brownfield expansion, with a University of Queensland study of 366 sites in 58 countries showing brownfield capital dominated by copper (just under 50%), followed by gold (17.5%), iron ore (14.4%) and nickel (6.3%). Chile accounts for 25.2% of global brownfield capex, ahead of the US (11.4%) and Australia (10.1%), while minesite exploration by majors in Pacific and Southeast Asia has surged from 27.3% of budgets in 2010 to 76.8% in 2024. Nearly 80% of brownfield mines assessed via satellite sit in areas with multiple high-risk conditions, and over half lie within 20 km of biodiversity hotspots or protected areas, signalling tighter geotechnical, water and permitting constraints for future expansions.

Researchers at Monash University have developed a hydrometallurgical process to recover high‑purity critical metals from spent lithium‑ion batteries using greener reagents than conventional strong mineral acids. Led by PhD student Parisa Biniaz and Dr Parama Banerjee, the lab‑scale method targets elements such as lithium, cobalt and nickel from shredded cathode material while minimising secondary waste streams. The approach points to lower‑impact recycling flowsheets that could reduce reliance on primary ore for battery metals and change leach chemistry assumptions in future plant design.

ISSMGE’s International Journal of Geoengineering Case Histories recorded 138,733 paper downloads in 2025, an 18.32% increase on 2024’s 117,260, signalling growing use of detailed case records by practising geotechnical engineers. Open-access case histories on foundations, embankments, ground improvement and slope stability are increasingly being used for benchmarking designs, calibrating numerical models and validating observational methods. The trend points to stronger reliance on documented field performance data, construction records and back-analyses to refine design parameters and risk assessments.

Krypton trapped in zircon grains from ancient Australian beach sands has been used by Curtin University’s Timescales of Mineral Systems Group, with the Universities of Göttingen and Cologne, as a “cosmic clock” to quantify how long sediments stayed near the surface before burial. Measurements of cosmogenic krypton show that under tectonically stable conditions with high sea levels, erosion rates drop sharply and sediments can be stored and reworked for millions of years in river basins, coastlines and continental shelves. The work links prolonged sediment storage to the concentration of durable heavy minerals, helping explain Australia’s large mineral sand deposits and offering new constraints for resource prospectivity models under changing climate and sea-level regimes.

Chile’s state development agency Corfo has awarded up to $5.8 million under its R&D Challenges programme to two projects on direct lithium extraction (DLE) and rare earth recovery, co-financing up to 80% of costs from Salar de Atacama concession revenues. One project, funded with up to $1.9 million over two years, will design a DLE testing platform for Chilean brines, while a second, up to $3.9 million over three years, will trial leaching and bioleaching of rare earths from tailings, waste dumps and slags containing at least 46,000 tonnes of vanadium and 16,000 tonnes of cobalt. The move coincides with Codelco–SQM’s Nova Andino Litio JV to 2060 and Albemarle’s Chile DLE pilot reporting >94% lithium recovery and up to 85% water reuse after 3,000 operating hours.

A $3.6 million Arbor-funded University of Arizona Tailings Center project, led by mining engineer Dr Isabel Barton, is evaluating whether 17.5 billion tons of historic copper tailings in Arizona—growing by ~100 million tonnes per year—can be reprocessed to recover critical minerals and reduce environmental risk. The team is combining statewide and UAV-based remote sensing, industry tailings datasets, drilling and surface sampling, mineralogical characterisation and techno-economic analysis using magnetic separation and basic leaching. Early work has identified unexpected mineral occurrences, including arsenic, zinc and possibly tungsten, which could justify flowsheet changes to keep these elements out of future tailings.

A three-year University of Stirling study links dense Himalayan balsam stands on UK riverbanks to higher winter bank erosion rates, as the shallow-rooted annual dies back and leaves bare, unreinforced soil exposed to peak flows. Researchers tracked vegetation and bank condition along invaded and non-invaded reaches, finding greater lateral retreat and fine sediment mobilisation where balsam dominated. The work signals a need to factor invasive species management into fluvial design, scour protection detailing and river corridor maintenance to protect water quality and habitat structure.

3D‑printed foundations for electricity substations have completed UK laboratory and on‑site validation, with load tests showing performance above design expectations for bearing capacity and stiffness. The trial, led by National Grid and partners using large‑format concrete 3D printers, compared printed units against conventional reinforced concrete pads under full‑scale vertical and uplift loading. Results indicate potential reductions in concrete volume, programme time and on‑site formwork, with implications for rapid substation upgrades on constrained brownfield sites and softer ground conditions.

Researchers in Sweden have characterised how stainless steel corrodes in contact with liquid lead, providing data critical for structural components in lead‑cooled fast reactors proposed as alternatives to pressurised water designs. The work focuses on corrosion mechanisms at the steel–lead interface, including dissolution and oxide layer behaviour, which directly affect cladding integrity, vessel wall thickness allowances and inspection intervals. Findings are expected to inform material selection, allowable temperature windows and safety margins for future Generation IV lead‑cooled reactor projects.

Dr Vanessa Torres has been appointed chair of the Minerals Research Institute of Western Australia (MRIWA), taking over leadership of the state-funded body that directs minerals R&D investment. MRIWA typically co-funds applied research in areas such as tailings management, orebody characterisation and decarbonisation of mining fleets across Western Australia’s iron ore, gold and battery minerals sectors. Torres’ appointment signals continuity for industry–research collaboration on high-impact geotechnical and processing projects, with funding decisions directly affecting mine design, waste storage strategies and technology trials in operating sites.

Kevitsa’s nickel-copper open pit in Finnish Lapland is subjecting Robit down-the-hole (DTH) hammers to extremely abrasive, high-strength host rock, pushing bit wear and hammer fatigue close to design limits. Robit has been trialling heavy-duty DTH configurations with modified carbide button profiles and optimised air pressure settings to maintain penetration rates and hole straightness for production drilling. The work is feeding into revised hammer life predictions and bit selection guidelines for hard, abrasive sulphide orebodies with similar geomechanical conditions.

Satellite analysis of more than 16,700 US dams shows over 2,500 structures are both in poor condition and classified as high-hazard potential, meaning failure would likely cause loss of life. Geoscientists report many of these ageing embankment and concrete gravity dams lack adequate spillway capacity, suffer from seepage and erosion issues, and sit downstream of growing urban development. The findings point to large unfunded backlogs in dam safety upgrades, with implications for risk-based inspection, emergency drawdown planning and prioritisation of remedial works.

The International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, via the International Journal of Geoengineering Case Histories, has opened a call for papers for a Special Issue on “Geo-Hazards: Lessons from the Ground”. Submissions are sought on documented case histories of landslides, liquefaction, sinkholes, tailings failures and other geo-hazards, emphasising in-situ data, back-analyses and performance of mitigation works. The issue targets practice-oriented lessons for design, monitoring and risk management, with detailed ground investigation records and instrumentation results strongly encouraged.

Western Australia is being tipped for a modern gold rush after geoscientists identified a major new exploration development, with state-scale datasets revealing previously overlooked greenstone belts and structurally complex shear zones prospective for orogenic gold. The breakthrough centres on integrating high-resolution aeromagnetic surveys with deep-crust seismic profiles to map concealed Archean terranes beneath thick regolith cover. For miners and explorers, the work points to new drill targets beyond mature camps like Kalgoorlie, with implications for revising prospectivity models and reallocating exploration budgets across the Yilgarn Craton.

Korean researchers led by Seungho Lee at Jeonbuk National University map five distinct lithium governance models in Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia and Mexico, linking them to commodity price cycles, geopolitical competition and the maturity of each country’s lithium industry. Chile’s hybrid regime with strong state oversight contrasts with Argentina and Brazil’s decentralised, market-led systems, Bolivia’s tightly controlled state-led model and Mexico’s largely rhetorical nationalisation stance. The two-stage decision-making framework signals that miners, battery manufacturers and state-backed investors must tailor project, offtake and JV strategies to country-specific political settlements rather than apply a single Latin America playbook.

Deep-sea mining tests in the Clarion–Clipperton Zone at 4,280 metres depth, commissioned by Nauru Ocean Resources (a The Metals Company subsidiary), cut macrofaunal density by 37% and species richness by 32% along machine tracks over two years, based on disturbance of 3,000 tonnes of polymetallic nodules. European researchers from the Natural History Museum, University of Gothenburg and the National Oceanography Centre collected 4,350 sediment macrofaunal animals and identified 788 species, mainly polychaete worms, crustaceans and molluscs. The trial used machines only about half the size of planned commercial systems, raising concern that full-scale operations could cause larger, possibly irreversible, benthic impacts.

Geoscience Australia has drilled a 3023‑metre stratigraphic hole in the South Nicholson Basin, pushing national pre‑competitive geoscience to new depths in the hunt for salt and critical minerals. Core and downhole geophysics from the ultra‑deep bore will refine basin architecture, fluid pathways and evaporite distribution models that guide potash, lithium brine and sediment‑hosted base metal exploration. For miners and consultants, the dataset should tighten depth predictions, reduce drilling risk and sharpen targeting in underexplored central Australian basins.

New research on Australian expansive clays warns that more frequent intense rainfall and drought cycles are accelerating differential movement and cracking in lightweight buildings, pavements and transport corridors founded on shrink–swell soils. The work points to heave and settlement driven by deep moisture fluctuations, with particular concern for lightly loaded slabs, shallow footings and low-volume roads where historical climate data underestimates design suction changes. Engineers are urged to revisit site classification, footing depth, drainage and moisture barriers, and to integrate updated climate projections into geotechnical design for new and existing assets.

A new ARC Research Hub for Smart Process Design and Control has been launched at Monash University to cut emissions from steelmaking, which currently accounts for about 8% of global CO₂ output and 18–20% of Australia’s export income via iron ore. The Hub links Monash, Macquarie, Queensland, UNSW and Western Sydney University with Rio Tinto, Baowu Steel and China Steel Corporation to develop AI- and simulation-driven, low-emission processes tailored to diverse Australian ores. More than 100 technical presentations from Australia, China and Korea marked the launch at a three-day conference.

New research from Sandvik’s global engineering group points to a shrinking pipeline of mining engineers, with survey data showing young professionals rank decarbonisation projects, automation and digital systems above traditional pit or plant roles. Respondents cited reluctance to work FIFO rosters and in remote camps, and a preference for hybrid city-based roles linked to remote operations centres and OEM technology hubs. Sandvik argues miners must redesign graduate pathways around battery-electric fleets, data analytics and equipment condition monitoring to compete with infrastructure, renewables and tech employers.

Two thirds of infrastructure investors are walking away from UK projects because the business case “doesn’t stack up”, despite a strong short- to medium-term project pipeline, according to new research. The report warns of a finite window to de-risk schemes by improving planning certainty, revenue models and long-term policy stability, or capital will shift to competing markets. For engineers, this signals tougher scrutiny on demand forecasts, cost escalation assumptions and risk allocation in PPP and regulated-asset projects.

A new algorithmic framework from MIT identifies the smallest “core” dataset needed to guarantee optimal solutions in structured decision-making problems such as geotechnical design under uncertainty. The method uses combinatorial optimisation to strip large datasets down to a minimal subset that still preserves the same optimal decision, reducing computation while maintaining solution quality. For geotechnical engineers running probabilistic slope stability, foundation or tunnel support analyses, this could cut Monte Carlo or scenario runs without sacrificing reliability in design outcomes.

Researchers at New York University Abu Dhabi report Curiosity rover evidence that liquid water once flowed beneath aeolian dunes in Gale Crater, forming cemented crusts and polygonal fracture networks in fine-grained sandstones. High-resolution Mastcam and ChemCam observations show cross-bedded units with indurated tops and moisture-related diagenetic features consistent with shallow subsurface flow rather than surface runoff. For planetary geotechnics, the work implies past groundwater-driven cementation, altered shear behaviour of dune-derived sediments, and more complex subsurface stratigraphy relevant to future drilling and in situ construction on Mars.

Indium recovered from existing mine waste streams could underpin a domestic Australian solar PV manufacturing sector, with a new study pointing to tailings from zinc and lead operations as a major untapped source. Researchers note that indium is a key component in indium tin oxide (ITO) coatings for high‑efficiency thin‑film cells, yet Australia currently exports concentrates and imports finished solar modules. The work signals opportunities for retrofitting hydrometallurgical circuits at established base‑metal plants to extract indium, adding revenue while reducing long‑term tailings liabilities.

Intelligent GNSS slope monitoring systems in open cut mines are moving from intermittent logging to permanently powered operation, collecting one position every 10 seconds and using interquartile filtering to deliver millimetric precision beyond standard centimetre-level RTK. Embedded software rejects outliers beyond 1.5–3 × IQR, routinely detecting 1–2 mm movements and generating multi-tiered products such as 5-minute (≈60-epoch) and 24-hour (≈8,640-epoch) averages. Time-series analyses show rolling 24-hour averages can cut detection lag by 40–60% for non-linear deformations, though longer 48-hour and weekly windows risk masking rapid, rainfall- or blast-driven accelerations.