Vermeer has expanded its partnership with space startup Interlune to develop autonomous, all‑electric lunar excavators and site‑preparation tools capable of handling up to 100 tonnes of regolith per hour to depths of three metres, targeting a mission‑ready machine by 2028 in step with NASA’s Moon Base timeline. Interlune aims to extract and package helium‑3 on the Moon for return to Earth, while Komatsu is pursuing a rival fully electric lunar excavator, first shown as a scaled prototype at CES 2025. Extreme lunar temperatures from about 110°C to –170°C make thermal management and battery performance the critical design constraints.

Freeport-McMoRan has agreed to pay $77.2 million for 51% of TDG Gold’s Aurora West project in British Columbia, with options to lift its stake to 75% in the Aurora West JV and 100% in a separate ClaimsCo by funding $80 million in exploration and paying a further $40 million. The deal consolidates ground around the Aurora copper-gold discovery in the Toodoggone district, where Freeport already funds a 630 sq. km programme with Amarc Resources and has drilled almost 14,000 m in 16 holes. TDG retains 25% of the JV plus a 2% NSR on specified claims and will use proceeds to advance its Shasta gold-silver project without new equity.

Capstone Copper has cut its 2026 copper production floor by 5,000 tonnes to 195,000 tonnes after delaying full restart of the Pinto Valley mine in Arizona to mid-December due to additional primary crusher repairs, with OEM-fabricated mechanical components still off-site. Interim mobile crushers are expected to process up to 40,000 tonnes per day, about two-thirds of Pinto Valley’s 60,000‑tonne‑per‑day concentrator capacity, following Q3 output of 6,358 tonnes versus 9,949 tonnes a year earlier. A national truckers’ strike in Chile is adding logistics risk for fuel and sulphuric acid supply to Mantoverde and Mantos Blancos, compounding concerns over operational reliability into 2027.