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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.
Copper is trading near US$14,285 per tonne, but the price is being shaped by an unusual combination of tariff positioning, regional inventory imbalances and supply disruption…
Official-sector demand is providing structural support to gold as higher-rate expectations increase short-term market pressure. Gold is trading near US$4,374 per ounce after a volatile period…
Battery recycling equipment processes black mass at a U.S. industrial facility. The United States has moved to keep more battery and tungsten feedstock at home, requiring…
Copper consolidation is moving beyond headline mergers. The emerging strategy combines large-scale corporate integration, project-level commitments, minority partnerships and district-scale exploration. For operators and investors, the…
The Lac des Iles mine and processing facility in Quebec, Canada. Northern Graphite has delayed the planned restart of its Lac des Iles graphite mine in…
New Mexico’s arid Grants mineral belt is one of the United States’ historic uranium-producing regions. Americas Uranium Corp. has agreed to acquire a 100% interest in…
Industrial equipment representative of the oxide-to-metal stage in a rare-earth supply chain. Energy Fuels has completed its acquisition of Australian Strategic Materials, adding operating rare-earth metal…
South West Arkansas is being developed as a domestic source of battery-grade lithium carbonate. LG Energy Solution has signed a binding 10-year, take-or-pay agreement to purchase…
Copper projects are taking longer to move from discovery to production, just as grid investment, electric vehicles, renewable power and data centers increase demand for the…
Copper cathode inventory and warehouse infrastructure are becoming central to price formation as tariff uncertainty reshapes regional flows. SKILLINGS MINING INTELLIGENCE Copper’s retreat from its late-August…
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