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Charles Pitts is the publisher of Skillings Mining Review, the trade journal that has covered mining since 1912. He writes on the macro forces behind metal prices: commodity cycles, sovereign capital and the shifting sources of demand. His current work argues that hyperscale AI, and the gigawatt-scale power its data centres need, is becoming a buyer of lithium and copper in its own right, competing with the automotive supply chain for tier-one reserves.
Modern critical minerals refining and separation facility. The world is adding mines, but the refining system that turns ore into usable industrial material is becoming more…
Komatsu’s commissioning of its 1,000th ultra-class autonomous haul truck marks a significant change in mining technology. The milestone does not mean autonomy is new to mining,…
The lithium market is moving toward a more fragile balance as mine closures, delayed project ramps and export restrictions remove supply that producers once expected to…
Copper’s 2026 outlook is being reshaped by a market signal that is easy to miss in the headline price: spot treatment charges have fallen to around…
Gold and silver fell sharply on Monday as a surge in oil prices and stronger-than-expected U.S. inflation data pushed traders to raise bets that the Federal…
Copper Price Falls to Three-Week Low: US Tariff Deadline and Fed Risk Explained The copper price fell to a three-week low on Monday as traders unwound…
The European Union’s revised European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) promise a substantial reduction in sustainability reporting volume. The European Commission says the rules adopted in July…
The Araxá-Barreiro district in Minas Gerais combines established niobium and phosphate operations with a growing rare earths development pipeline. St George Mining’s latest resource upgrade at…
Autonomous haul trucks are moving from controlled pilots into larger commercial fleets. EACON’s ORCASTRA autonomous haulage system has now been deployed on more than 1,500 battery-electric…
Mining investors are navigating three connected signals: copper’s retreat from a record as U.S. tariff expectations cool, a widening gap between listed-company valuations and M&A clearing…
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