Latest Engineering News

Gorilla Gold Mines has extended its Lakeview drilling story with a 7.0-metre intercept grading 12.6g/t gold, while securing the final permit for underground activities at Sovereign. Metallurgical testing across three Comet Vale deposits also returned average 94.6% gold recovery after 48 hours at a relatively coarse grind size.

Australian Rare Earths has moved its Koppamurra pilot plant beyond heap leaching, recovering rare earths from about 5,000 litres of leach solution into a Mixed Rare Earth Hydroxide intermediate product. The result provides an early test of the downstream flowsheet, although commercial economics and final product quality remain unproven.

Challenger Gold has set early 2029 as the target for commercial production from a stand-alone heap leach operation at its Hualilán project in Argentina. The roadmap brings engineering, drilling and financing into sharper focus, but still depends on a US$15 million debenture refinancing and a much larger project funding package.

Nine Entertainment has extended its Australian Premier League streaming and broadcast rights through the 2033-34 season, securing a major audience driver for Stan Sport. The deal carries an expected rights-fee increase of about 3% a year, while Nine says changes to legacy Optus discounts and other initiatives should offset higher costs.

Critical Resources has completed 65 cycles across more than a month in a full-format pouch cell using its solvent-free DSD cathode matrix. The cell retained about 75% of its starting capacity, offering a useful engineering baseline but not yet a commercial performance result.

Viridis Mining and Minerals has selected Sedgman and Blossom as the preferred EPCM partner for its Colossus rare earths project, with up to US$3 million approved for work before a final investment decision. The full contract remains conditional, but engineering and procurement activity will begin immediately.

Tungsten Mining has secured the primary approvals needed to take its Watershed tungsten project in Far North Queensland through to mining and production, while early site works are already under way. The project remains pre-FID, with financing and the October DFS still critical to the H1 2027 production target.

Canadian Phosphate has extended visually identified phosphate mineralisation at its Wapiti project in British Columbia to approximately 9km of strike. The company will spend more on exploration while deferring its Barnes bulk sample to 2027 and relying on lower-margin Montana inventory for near-term supply.

Horizon Oil has brought its Nam Phong booster compressor online in Thailand, lifting gross field gas sales to approximately 10.3 TJ/d. The early result is expected to raise Thailand’s contribution to group production by about 500 boepd, although the company has not disclosed the project’s cost or stabilised production outlook.

KTEK Aerosystems has secured a US$172,500 turnkey contract to design, tool and manufacture two composite prototypes for Israel-based Vestal Technology. The work adds a new customer, but any production beyond the prototypes remains uncertain.

Brightstar Resources says construction of its 1.5Mtpa Laverton processing plant remains on schedule and within budget, with first gold still targeted for June 2027. The update also marks the end of underground mining at Second Fortune as the company shifts towards commissioning and new mine development.

Patronus Resources is taking a well-funded exploration campaign into a busy phase, with 30,000 metres of multi-rig drilling underway at Pine Creek and a stated $65 million in cash and investments. The investor presentation also highlights a 2.3Moz AuEq resource base, although parts of the portfolio rely on historical estimates and future WA work remains dependent on heritage access.