How US Rare Earth Refiners Plan to Beat China’s Know-How
Washington is funding a range of homegrown separation technologies rather than copying Chinese methods. The bet is that innovation closes…
Minerals & Metals
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US Seabed Mining: The Legal Battle Across Three Jurisdictions
When the Trump administration issued an executive order in April 2025 calling for accelerated development of seabed mineral resources, it…
Yttrium at $1,150 a Kilogram: Japan’s Supply Crisis Is Now a US Defense Problem
China's export cutoff has left Japan months from running out of a metal that coats jet engines and chipmaking equipment.…
What a Permanent Magnet Actually Is and Why It Needs Rare Earths
A permanent magnet generates a magnetic field without any external power supply. No current through a coil, no energy input…
Base Metals
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Project Vault Received Its First Copper Delivery. The Metal Came From a Mine Majority-Owned by China.
The United States has taken its first physical delivery of copper into Project Vault. The $12 billion strategic minerals reserve…
US Separates Zambia Health Pact From Critical Minerals Talks as Copper Negotiations Continue
Zambia and the United States have signed a five-year health-financing agreement worth $2.49 billion in combined commitments. Negotiations over a…
Westwin’s Natchez Nickel Refinery: A $502M Bet on US Class 1 Supply
Westwin Elements plans to spend $502 million over the next five years on the Westwin Natchez nickel refinery, a commercial-scale,…
Skillings Mining Intelligence: Copper Squeeze, Argentina’s $7B and AIC’s $120M Deal
Copper processing and logistics infrastructure reflect the supply-chain pressures shaping the market. By Charles Pitts Copper is trading close to…
Gold
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Greenland Mines Combines Rare-Earth and PGM Projects as Development Risks Come Into Focus
Greenland Mines has brought two mineral projects with different commodity profiles under one corporate strategy: the Sarfartoq rare-earth project in…
Ghana’s Mining Enforcement Actions Put Environmental Compliance Under Scrutiny
Ghana’s latest environmental enforcement actions range from a mine shutdown to a pre-closure notice and inspections under review. The cases…
Gold Mining News 2026: $4,376 Gold and West Africa’s Reset
Gold mining operation and processing infrastructure in a West African setting. Gold is trading around $4,376 an ounce on COMEX,…
Silver Price Prediction 2026: $66 Tests and the Zgounder Hit
The Zgounder silver mine in Morocco sits within the arid Anti-Atlas mountain range. Silver entered late September with the market…
Rare Earths
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Phoenix Tailings’ $375M Rare Earth Plant Could Reshape America’s Critical Minerals Supply Chain
Phoenix Tailings announced on Tuesday that it will build a $375 million rare earth separation facility in Rochester, New York.…
US Holds Second Round of Undisclosed Talks With Myanmar’s Military-Backed Government on Heavy Rare Earths
The United States and Myanmar’s military-backed government met in Tokyo last week for the second time in a month, according…
Why Dysprosium and Terbium Matter in the Global Rare Earth Supply Chain
When Reuters reported this week that the United States and Myanmar’s military-backed government held a second round of undisclosed talks…
GEM: Lithium Faces the Greatest Supply Shortage by 2035, While Rare Earth Magnets Remain Most Vulnerable
A Santiago-based consultancy has drawn a distinction that most critical-mineral forecasts miss. Scarcity and fragility are not the same problem.…
Battery Metals
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Lithium Demand Could Require 134 New Mines and $100 Billion by 2050
Global lithium demand will more than triple between now and 2050, requiring the equivalent of 134 new mines and more…
China Controls 90% of Battery Graphite: Why Your EV Depends on It
The battery in your electric car contains more graphite than any other material by weight. Here is what it is,…
Lithium Price Forecast 2026: Warrant Destocking Meets Restarts
Lithium brine evaporation ponds and processing infrastructure. By Charles Pitts Lithium carbonate futures fell more than 3% in a single…
Titan Lithium Bids A$333M for Global Lithium at 73% Premium
Western Australian hard-rock lithium development infrastructure in the Goldfields region. Titan Australia Mining, a subsidiary of UAE-headquartered critical minerals group…
Iron Ore
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Iron Ore Falls Below $95 as China Steel Mills Cut Output
Chinese steelworks and iron ore handling infrastructure at a coastal terminal. By Charles Pitts Singapore iron ore futures briefly fell…
Iron Ore 2026: Great Lakes Shipments and the Mesabi Test
Great Lakes iron ore shipping remains below seasonal norms despite modest year-over-year growth, keeping domestic pellet demand and Mesabi Metallics’…
Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Broadens Beyond Iron Ore Into Rare Earths
Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting is putting another A$8.7 million behind copper exploration in Canada, taking a proposed 13.5% stake in…
Iron Ore Outlook 2026: Simandou Volumes Test the $100 Floor
High-grade iron ore stockpiles and ship-loading infrastructure at an export terminal. By Charles Pitts Simandou is approaching its first full-year…
Copper
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Copper Price Forecast 2026: Record Highs and a 600,000t Gap
Copper production at a large open-pit mine remains constrained by operational disruptions, declining grades and long project timelines. By Charles…
Skillings Mining Intelligence: Copper’s Record Squeeze and the Uranium Contracting Wave
By Charles Pitts Copper and uranium are setting the tone for the mining market as the fourth quarter approaches. Copper’s…
Copper Price Forecast 2026: 25% Supply Gap Meets Record Squeeze
Copper smelter and converter equipment reflects the processing bottleneck created by scarce concentrate. By Charles Pitts Copper’s 2026 rally has…
Skillings Mining Intelligence: Luca’s $385M Cozamin Deal Resets the P/NAV Calculus
Author: Charles Pitts Luca Mining’s agreement to acquire Capstone Copper’s Cozamin mine for up to US$385 million puts a fresh…
Coal
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U.S. Coal Ash Could Hold $8.4 Billion in Rare Earth Value — Scientists Turn to Nature for a Way to Recover It
A Worcester Polytechnic Institute-led research team is combining biology, artificial intelligence and materials science to investigate whether rare earth elements…
West Virginia Rare Earth Hub: AmForge and Flash Metals Target Coal Tailings in $150M Supply Chain Pivot
By Penny Langford RUPERT, WEST VIRGINIA : A consortium of private-sector energy and technology firms announced a US$150 million investment…
10 Best Movies About Coal Miners
Movies about coal miners that capture labor struggles, community life, and mining history, from classic documentaries to Hollywood dramas.
Coal Mine Approvals in India Simplified to
Coal mine approvals in India have been significantly simplified as the Central Government implements regulatory reforms to improve ease of…
Steel
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China Accelerates Military-Grade Steel Production
Military-grade steel production in China accelerates as state-backed mills boost output speed, strengthen defence supply chains, and improve armour steel…
U.S. Steel Granite City Furnace Restart
U.S. Steel Granite City restarts a long-idle furnace as demand rises, signaling stronger BOF output and renewed iron-ore needs under…
Rio Tinto Green Steel Pivot: Why the Miner
Rio Tinto has executed one of the most consequential shifts in its decarbonisation roadmap, shelving its A$215 million BioIron research…
EU Steel Tariffs: How Brussels’ 50% Levy
When the EU steel tariffs proposal was unveiled in October 2025, few in Brussels could have predicted how seismic its…
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