The Rock Wrangler - The Rock Wrangler

The contractor recovery has a forward visibility problem, and the JV model is quietly rewriting how junior projects get built

There are two stories inside Grant Thornton's latest mining contractors report, and the one getting most of the attention is the wrong one.

By Jamie Wade on April 28, 2026
Efficiency, Production Optimisation, Mineral Processing, Costs, Financial Planning, Contract Management, Procurement Efficiency, ESG, Reclamation Projects, Regulatory Adherence, Long-term Planning, Extraction, Mineral Extraction, Reserve Estimation, Risk, Risk Assessment, Risk Mitigation, Mines & Projects, Project Overviews, Development Stages
Australia, Western Australia, Queensland, New South Wales, North America, Canada
Iron ore, Strategic Minerals, Lithium, Precious Metals, Gold, Base Metals, Copper, Nickel, Energy Minerals, Coal (Thermal and Metallurgical)

Contractors strike gold as profit sharing reshapes the rules of mining and turns service providers into project partners

Australia’s contract mining sector is undergoing a quiet revolution—one that could fundamentally reshape the relationship between contractors and mine owners.

Underground mining contractor fined $540,000 after fatal rock fall at Kambalda mine

An underground mining contractor has been fined $540,000 after a rock fall at the Hamlet Underground Gold Mine near Kambalda killed a driller and injured a probationary offsider.

Underground gold producer ramps up output, upgrades infrastructure and eyes near-mine drilling to unlock high-grade ounces and drive production growth

Kaiser Reef’s Managing Director Jonathan Downes took to the stage at the RIU Sydney Resources Round-up in May with a confident message: the company has transformed into a multi-asset, cash-generative gold producer – and it’s just getting started.

Sulphide smarts and borrowed plant give Medallion a shortcut to gold-copper cashflow in WA’s southern goldfields

In WA’s southern Goldfields, a smart, equipment-light approach is reshaping how smaller miners get into production without blowing the capex budget.

Ramelius digs deeper: Granodiorite reshapes gold exploration at Mount Magnet, unlocking new discoveries beyond traditional BIF-hosted deposits

A shift in geological thinking is reshaping exploration at Ramelius Resources’ Mount Magnet Gold Camp, where the company is moving beyond traditional banded iron formation (BIF) deposits to focus on granodiorite-hosted mineralisation.