North America
Morning Radar • Oct 25
What matters in mining today
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…
Market Intelligence
Brazil’s Supreme Court Suspends Volta Grande Installation Licence as Indigenous…
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
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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
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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
Battery 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 →
Minerals & Metals
US–Australia Critical Minerals Pact: 2 Projects Underway, Billions Still Pending
21 October 2026
Market Intelligence
Project Vault Received Its First Copper Delivery. The Metal Came From a Mine Majority-Owned by China.
19 October 2026
North America
US Holds Second Round of Undisclosed Talks With Myanmar’s Military-Backed Government on Heavy Rare Earths
17 October 2026
Critical Minerals
More Than a Dozen US Companies Explore Malaysia’s Rare Earth Sector
15 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…
China’s Rare Earth Exports Rise 6.7% in September, but Nine-Month Shipments Fall 9.6%
India Nears Critical Minerals Stockpiling Policy as Four Processing Parks Are Planned
Daines Urges Continued US-China Engagement on Rare Earths
Steve Daines has urged continued US-China engagement on rare earths as supply concerns persist and China's dominance of processing and magnet production…
China and New Zealand Hold Second EV Talks — No Deal, but the Bigger Story Is the Supply Chain
Hardhat & pit intelligence
More → Operations, Equipment & Mining Technology
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.
India’s Push for Mongolian Coking Coal Runs
India’s interest in Mongolian coking coal has intensified as steelmakers confront rising demand and continued dependence on Australian supply. But early optimism…
Women Mining India: A Quiet Workforce Shift
When the Directorate General of Mines Safety (DGMS) released new data at its 2025 conclave in Ranchi, the numbers showed a rare…
Asia Pacific watch
Permitting, tariffs & sovereign partnershipsMinerals & Metals
Critical Minerals Supply Chain: Korea Zinc’s $7.4B Crucible
An industrial processing complex in Tennessee is at the center of Korea Zinc’s plan to expand U.S. refining…
24 September 2026
Articles
China Halts Rio Tinto Pilbara Blend Purchases in Contract Standoff
Pilbara iron ore operations in Western Australia, the source of Rio Tinto’s flagship Pilbara Blend product. By Penny…
23 September 2026
Rare Earths
India to Launch Lithium-Nickel Processing Scheme as Mines Secretary Flags Mineral Exports
India will launch a new lithium-nickel processing scheme as it develops critical-mineral parks and seeks greater domestic mineral…
23 September 2026
Rare Earths
How One Chinese Company Became the World’s Dominant Rare Earth Magnet Maker — and Washington’s Biggest Problem
China's dominance of rare earths extends far beyond mining and refining. It is strongest at the downstream end…
22 September 2026
Sustainable Mining & Energy Transition
ESG & decarbonisation →Philippines Critical Minerals Policy Faces Indigenous and Environmental Concerns
Philippines Critical Minerals Policy: Mining, Indigenous Rights and Environmental Challenges The Philippines is seeking a larger role in the global critical-minerals supply…
Critical minerals supply chain 2026: IEA outlook, Japan seabed, and the China decoupling
Global critical mineral supply chains have entered a high-stakes realignment, driven by escalating geopolitical friction, aggressive state-led industrial policies, and mounting vulnerabilities…
The Uranium New Market: Why the Australia-India Fuel Deal is a Multibillion-Dollar Strategic Win
By Charles Pitts The global energy landscape shifted fundamentally this week as Australia and India finalized a long-awaited administrative arrangement, effectively activating…
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