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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.
Gold prices fell sharply after stronger-than-expected U.S. payrolls revived expectations that the Federal Reserve could raise interest rates at its Sept. 15-16 meeting, reversing some of…
Rare earth permanent magnets move through an automated manufacturing and inspection line. The Pentagon’s annual requirement for specialized rare earth magnets could rise to about 10,000…
Copper and nickel processing infrastructure in Brazil’s Carajás region. Vale has indefinitely shelved plans to list its critical-minerals subsidiary Vale Base Metals, according to a report…
Surface facilities at an underground platinum-group-metals mine in Montana. About 420 workers at Sibanye-Stillwater’s Stillwater East mine and Columbus Metallurgical Complex in Montana walked off the…
Brazilian critical minerals processing infrastructure and environmental monitoring systems. A critical minerals project can have strong geology, credible technology and a signed offtake agreement and still…
Processing infrastructure is becoming a central source of strategic value in mining transactions. Mining M&A is increasingly being shaped by a question that sits beyond resource…
Modern enrichment infrastructure illustrates the processing bottleneck between uranium mining and reactor fuel. The United States is moving to end its dependence on Russian enriched uranium,…
Gold bars in a secure bullion storage facility. Gold’s bullish trend is facing a near-term test from U.S. economic data, with prices consolidating after a pullback…
Mining ESG compliance is increasingly being tested through site-level evidence, environmental controls and community commitments. Mining ESG compliance is moving from a reporting issue to a…
Battery-electric haulage is moving from pilot projects to large-scale autonomous deployment, with EACON reporting more than 1,500 electric mining trucks using its autonomous solution. The scale…
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