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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.
Nickel prices entered September near $16,700 per tonne, with LME inventories above 270,000 tonnes and the forward curve in contango. That combination points to a market…
Mining control rooms are becoming central to the collection, validation and assurance of ESG data. For mining companies, the most important ESG reporting milestone of 2026…
Tailings infrastructure and water controls are becoming central to mining approvals, financing and licence retention. Mining ESG compliance is moving from a reporting exercise to a…
Indonesia’s processing network is becoming the central cost and supply variable for the global nickel market. The nickel market is entering 2026 with two different stories.…
Autonomous mining technology 2026 is moving beyond pilot fleets. EACON says its autonomous haulage systems now operate on more than 3,500 mining trucks globally, including more…
Gold mining infrastructure and processing facilities are becoming more capital-intensive as operators manage higher costs and changing ore profiles. Gold mining is entering a more selective…
Industrial separation infrastructure illustrates the processing bottleneck at the center of the critical minerals supply chain. Byline: Penny Langford The critical minerals supply chain 2026 outlook…
Lithium brine evaporation ponds and processing infrastructure in an arid mining region. Lithium prices are entering 2026 with the market caught between two opposing forces: a…
Gold and silver bars reflect the competing forces shaping precious-metals markets. Gold slipped for a fourth consecutive session to about $4,420.80 per ounce on COMEX, while…
An autonomous haul truck operates on a terraced open-pit mine haul road. Autonomous mining technology is moving from pilot projects to fleet-scale deployment, but the operational…
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