North America
Morning Radar • Oct 25
What matters in mining today
The
Assay
Sunday, 25 October 2026
How US Rare Earth Refiners Plan to Beat China’s Know-How
Read the AssayToday's big story: Washington is funding a range of homegrown separation technologies rather than copying Chinese methods. The bet is that innovation closes the gap faster than imitation. The United States does not know how to refine rare earths at scale. China does. That gap is not a matter of scientific ignorance. It is a matter of manufacturing…
Today at a glance
Critical Minerals
US Seabed Mining: The Legal Battle Across Three Jurisdictions
Minerals & Metals
Yttrium at $1,150 a Kilogram: Japan’s Supply Crisis Is Now a US Defense Problem
Market Intelligence
Brazil’s Supreme Court Suspends Volta Grande Installation Licence as Indigenous Settlement Awaits Approval
Digging Deeper
Skillings Video Intelligence
Latest uploads from @SkillingsDiggingDeeper
Latest upload
The Hidden Link: America’s Yttrium Crisis
2 days ago
The Scattershot Strategy: America’s Billion Dollar Rare Earth
2 days ago
The Physics of a Monopoly
3 days ago
The 134 Mine Equation {global lithium demand}
3 days ago
The Implementation Gap: Why Mining Billions Take Years
4 days ago
The Missing Link: America’s Magnet Supply Chain
4 days ago
The Anatomy of Influence: Canada’s Critical Minerals Clampdown
5 days ago
The Vault Paradox: Tracing America’s Chinese Copper
5 days ago
The Critical Minerals War Mini Series — Episode 1
1 week ago
The Global Hunt for the Mines That Could Challenge China - Episode 3
1 week ago
CRITICAL MINERALS: THE NEW RESOURCE WAR: Mini Series: EPISODE 2
1 week ago
The Risk Reward Calculus of Moscow's Mining Boom
2 weeks agoEditor’s choice
Featured analysis
Minerals & Metals
Lithium Demand Could Require 134 New Mines and $100 Billion by 2050
Global lithium demand will more than triple between now and 2050, requiring the equivalent of 134 new mines and more than $100 billion in investment before any contribution from recycling, according to a forecast…
By mo Editor • 22 October 2026
China Controls 90% of Battery Graphite: Why Your EV Depends on It
The battery in your electric car contains more graphite than any other material by weight. Here is what it is, how it…
21 October 2026
How the US Government Is Financing Its Critical Minerals Industry
The US government has spent the past eighteen months deploying capital into critical minerals at a pace and in a form that…
17 October 2026
Minerals & Metals Watch
More →
Rare Earths
Phoenix Tailings’ $375M Rare Earth Plant Could Reshape America’s Critical Minerals Supply Chain
21 October 2026
Minerals & Metals
US–Australia Critical Minerals Pact: 2 Projects Underway, Billions Still Pending
21 October 2026
Minerals & Metals
Canada’s New Investment Rules Put Critical Minerals Deals Under Tighter Scrutiny
19 October 2026
News
US-Australia Critical Minerals Deal Faces a Long Road to 2029
One year ago today, President Trump and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese signed a critical minerals framework at the White House. The agreement promised to build…
Project Vault Received Its First Copper Delivery. The Metal Came From a Mine Majority-Owned by China.
US Holds Second Round of Undisclosed Talks With Myanmar’s Military-Backed Government on Heavy Rare Earths
Why Dysprosium and Terbium Matter in the Global Rare Earth Supply Chain
When Reuters reported this week that the United States and Myanmar’s military-backed government held a second round of undisclosed talks in Tokyo,…
Critical Minerals Deals Are Moving Faster Than Scrutiny, Governance Experts Tell Geneva Mining Forum
Hardhat & pit intelligence
More → Operations, Equipment & Mining Technology
Autonomous Mining Technology 2026: 1,500 Electric Trucks
By Charles Pitts Autonomous mining technology is moving from isolated pilot projects into routine production across surface and underground operations. In September,…
JL MAG Shows the Scale of China’s Rare Earth Magnet Manufacturing Advantage
JL MAG highlights the scale of China’s rare earth magnet manufacturing and the challenge of building alternative magnet supply chains outside China.
Africa Holds a Quarter of the World’s Critical Minerals — Why Reserves Haven’t Translated Into Greater Value
Africa holds more than a quarter of the world’s known critical-mineral reserves, according to McKinsey. The continent has particularly large deposits of…
Global regions & policy watch
Permitting, tariffs & sovereign partnershipsAmericas
The US Has 13.9 Billion Tonnes of Mine Tailings. Can They Become a Critical Minerals Resource?
Federal policy and new technologies could unlock valuable minerals from mining waste. However, poor site data, environmental risks…
15 October 2026
Asia Pacific
More Than a Dozen US Companies Explore Malaysia’s Rare Earth Sector
Malaysia’s established processing operations and emerging separation and magnet projects are attracting US interest. The challenge now is…
15 October 2026
Africa & Middle East
US Separates Zambia Health Pact From Critical Minerals Talks as Copper Negotiations Continue
Zambia and the United States have signed a five-year health-financing agreement worth $2.49 billion in combined commitments. Negotiations…
9 October 2026
Australia
China and New Zealand Hold Second EV Talks — No Deal, but the Bigger Story Is the Supply Chain
China and New Zealand have held their second EV dialogue, with no new minerals or investment deal announced.…
24 September 2026
Sustainable Mining & Energy Transition
ESG & decarbonisation →Mining ESG Compliance 2026: 70% Fewer Datapoints, Same Risk
By Charles Pitts The European Commission’s revised European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) reduce reporting volume sharply, but they do not remove the…
Mining ESG compliance 2026: EU disclosure cuts still raise data costs
By Charles Pitts The European Union’s revised European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) promise a substantial reduction in sustainability reporting volume. The European…
Mining ESG compliance 2026: tailings rules tighten into audit-ready regime
By Charles Pitts · Deep-dive analysis For mining companies, tailings management is moving from a sustainability narrative to an evidence system that…
The Assay — free daily briefing
Subscribe free
Get The Assay before the market opens
The mining news, permitting policy and commodity moves that shape your day, in your inbox every weekday morning.