Mining

Australian mining company Fortescue has taken delivery of a 1.4-MWh prototype battery that's heading for a 240-tonne electric mining haul truck developed in partnership with Liebherr, and will begin testing later in the year.

Swedish government-owned mining company LKAB has reported the largest deposit of rare earth metals ever discovered in Europe – more than a million tonnes of rare earth oxides, which will be invaluable in the race toward decarbonization.

Heavy duty construction machinery producer Caterpillar has built and demonstrated an electric version of its monstrous 2,650-horsepower mining truck, aimed at helping the mining industry transition to more sustainable operations.

The seafloor is rich in valuable metals, but gathering them is disruptive to the environment. An international project has now tested a system called Apollo 2, which can vacuum up metal nodules without kicking up sediment.

Many renewable energy technologies require metals that are mined through environmentally destructive processes. Now, Oxford scientists are investigating a new way to mine valuable metals trapped in hot brines beneath volcanoes.

Extracting and refining copper into a useful form can be energy intensive and requires harsh chemical treatments. But now researchers at the University of Houston have discovered bacteria that naturally convert toxic copper ions into metallic copper.

Mining giant Rio Tinto has announced plans to install a pilot version of Heliogen's high-temperature "solar refinery" at a Californian boron mine, supplying clean energy as well as heat for industrial processes, with operations set to start in 2022.

Torsus jumped onto the scene two years ago with one of the world's ruggedest 4x4 buses. Now it's turning the VW Crafter 4Motion/MAN TGE 4x4 into what it believes is the world's most capable minibus, a go-anywhere workhorse for up to 21 passengers.

As we continue to explore other planets, we're going to want to know not only what's on their surface, but also what's underneath it. That's where the Mole-bot comes in – it's a robot that autonomously tunnels its way through the ground.

Anglo American and Williams Advanced Engineering have joined forces to develop what will become the world's largest hydrogen or electric powered mining truck, aiming to help bring carbon neutral mining within reach.

Brazilian architectural studio Gustavo Penna Arquiteto e Associados (GPA&A) in partnership with steel industry company Gerdau has recently completed a 45-sq-m (484-sq-ft) minimalist home built using mining waste.

Scania has developed a number of self-driving trucks that are currently in service, but they've always included a cabin just in case a human driver needs to take over ... until now.