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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.
A proposed U.S. refinery capable of processing 24,000 metric tonnes of black mass a year is one of several 2026 milestones showing how the critical minerals…
An integrated mining and processing complex illustrates the infrastructure scale behind the sector’s latest consolidation cycle. The value of selected mid-tier mining transactions announced or completed…
Silver refinery operations are becoming a more important variable as mine supply stagnates and the market faces another structural deficit. Silver is entering 2026 with a…
Copper mining and processing infrastructure remain central to the market’s supply response as tariff policy stays unresolved. The White House has not decided whether to impose…
Guyana’s interior landscape near the proposed Eagle Mountain gold project. Mako Mining has signed a mineral agreement with the Government of Guyana for its Eagle Mountain…
Gold doré produced during commissioning at a Brazilian mine. Cabral Gold has poured its first gold at the Phase 1 Cuiú Cuiú mine in Pará state,…
Private 5G can connect autonomous trucks, dispatch systems, charging infrastructure and mine-control teams across a single operating network. Autonomous mining fleets are moving from isolated pilot…
A heavy M&A week is testing whether mining valuations can keep pace with commodity prices. Copper has retreated from a record near US$14,875 a tonne as…
Nickel processing infrastructure links Indonesian ore supply to global stainless steel and battery markets. Nickel prices are entering the final stretch of 2026 with a stronger…
Power infrastructure linking an AI data center campus with the wider electricity grid. Copper’s 2026 outlook is being shaped by two forces moving at different speeds.…
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