Today's Mining Pulse
Ximen Mining Deploys Robotic Dog to Speed Up Underground Surveys
Ximen Mining has introduced an autonomous robotic dog to survey underground excavations at its Kenville mine project in British Columbia. The platform delivers faster, safer data collection and the company says it trims survey time by roughly 30 percent, underscoring a broader industry shift toward automation.
Also developing:
By the numbers: Ganfeng invests $319M in Australian Mount Marion lithium mine
Fastmarkets Clarifies Publishing Schedule for Iran Steel Billet, Slab Export Prices
Fastmarkets announced that it will not publish weekly export prices for Iran’s steel billet and slab during the seven‑day public holiday declared after Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s death. The delay follows the firm’s policy of suspending price releases when a country observes a public holiday. Fastmarkets provided a link to its pricing calendar and methodology for users seeking further details. Contact information was included for stakeholders to submit questions or comments, with confidentiality options noted.
West Coast Silver Returns to Drilling This Month at Historic High-Grade Silver Play
West Coast Silver (ASX:WCE) is commencing a 4,000‑metre reverse‑circulation drilling campaign at its historic Elizabeth Hill silver project in Western Australia. The program targets the Munni Munni Fault, aiming to extend the high‑grade mineralisation that previously yielded a 33,107 g/t silver...
Australian Critical Minerals Drilling Into Upside of Peru’s World Class La Libertad Gold Belt
Australian Critical Minerals (ASX:ACM) is set to begin its first diamond drilling at the undrilled Flint project in Peru’s La Libertad gold belt, a region that has produced over 50 million ounces of gold. Geophysical surveys have identified a 4‑km...
BHP Is Pouring Billions Into This Argentine Copper District – but What Is Vicuna’s Next Company Maker?
BHP and Lundin are committing up to US$18 billion to develop the Vicuna copper province in Argentina, targeting a 400,000‑tonne‑per‑year copper output alongside significant gold and silver byproducts. The project will roll out in three stages, beginning with an open‑pit and...
US Antimony Estimates Resource for Ontario Tungsten Project
United States Antimony released an initial resource study for its Fostum tungsten project in Ontario, showing an inferred 14.62 million‑tonne resource grading 0.17% WO₃ and containing 53.6 million pounds of tungsten oxide. At $1,890 per tonne, the in‑ground metal is valued at...
PDAC: Canada Must Build Processing Now, Panelists Say – by Frederic Tomesco (Mining.com – March 2, 2026)
Canada faces a historic chance to add processing capacity as new mines come online amid a global resource boom, panelists warned at the PDAC convention. While the Toronto Stock Exchange lists over 1,095 mining issuers worth C$600 billion, foreign takeovers have...
Doug Ford Says Controversial Bill 5 Not Needed in Ring of Fire Deal – by Moira Welsh (Toronto Star –...
Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced an accelerated road‑building schedule for the Ring of Fire, promising completion by late 2030—five years ahead of original plans. The province signed new economic agreements with the Marten Falls and Webequie First Nations, complementing a federal deal...
Critical Minerals in Focus as Major Toronto Mining Conference Underway – by Ian Bickis(CTV News Northern Ontario – March 2,...
The Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) conference in Toronto, drawing over 27,000 attendees, has placed critical minerals at the forefront of its agenda. Industry leaders warned that geopolitical fragmentation is heightening supply‑chain vulnerability for metals such as copper,...
London Marine Insurers Expand Gulf High-Risk Zone as Mideast Conflict Escalates
London’s marine insurers, via the Joint War Committee, have expanded the Gulf’s high‑risk war‑zone to include waters around Bahrain, Djibouti, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar. The move follows a rapid escalation of Middle‑East hostilities, prompting a five‑fold jump in war‑risk premiums...
Russian LNG Carrier ‘Arctic Metagaz’ Reportedly Ablaze Off Malta as Maritime Patrol Aircraft Circles
The Russian‑owned LNG carrier Arctic Metagaz caught fire in the central Mediterranean off Malta on Tuesday, with its AIS signal disappearing shortly before the blaze. The vessel, loaded at the Saam floating storage unit, is part of a shadow fleet...
Power Metallic Mines Extends Lion Zones with Sulphide Intercepts at Nisk Project, Quebec
Power Metallic Mines announced drill results that extend the Lion copper‑nickel zone at its Nisk Project in Quebec. Structural analysis identified a shallow easterly‑plunging trend, and hole PML‑26‑067 intersected one metre of massive copper sulphides and 3.3 metres of disseminated copper...
Overlooked Tharisa, a PGM Bull Market Bridesmaid
Tharisa Resources has seen a 105% year‑on‑year rally but still lags larger PGM peers, trading at a deep discount despite strong fundamentals. The market penalises the stock for liquidity constraints and uncertainty around financing the Karo Platinum project. Spot PGM...
PRIO Gets Its Hands on Operating License for Brazilian Subsea Tie-Back Project
PRIO secured an operating license from Brazil’s environmental regulator Ibama for the Wahoo subsea tie‑back project in the Campos basin. The approval completes the final regulatory hurdle, allowing the field – estimated to hold over 125 million barrels in the pre‑salt...
Shorter Commodity Cycles Reshaping Trading, Value: McKinsey
McKinsey’s latest commodity trading report warns that volatility cycles are shortening, diminishing the relevance of traditional super‑cycle models. Trading revenues slipped to $69 billion in 2025, yet remain about twice pre‑pandemic levels, establishing a higher baseline. The firm highlights AI and...
Enbridge Paid Police to Protect One Pipeline. Now It Wants to Do It Again in Wisconsin.
Enbridge has secured a Public Safety Expense Reimbursement Agreement with Ashland and Iron counties, allowing the company to pay Wisconsin law‑enforcement for riot gear, training and policing of Line 5 protests. The uncapped arrangement follows Enbridge’s start of construction on a...
Construction at Longonjo on Track for First Production in 2027
Pensana reports that construction at its Longonjo rare‑earth project in Angola is on schedule, targeting first production in 2027. The initial phase will deliver 2,400 t of light‑magnet NdPr and 73 t of heavy‑magnet DyTb annually, with plans to double output after...
Ports at the Forefront of Economic War in the Gulf
The ongoing blockade of the Strait of Hormuz is choking maritime freight into the Arabian Gulf, threatening the region’s $570 billion oil and gas export flow. With the Gulf’s ports serving as the sole gateway, disruptions also jeopardize imports that account...
Atomic Minerals Launches South Lisbon Valley East Drill Permitting, Utah
Atomic Minerals Corp. has filed drill permits for an initial 18‑20 holes across its 1,516.5‑acre South Lisbon Valley East (SLVE) property in Utah. The program aims to test a suspected arcuate uranium belt on the northeast side of the Lisbon...
WoodMac Warns of Lithium Supply Deficit by 2028
Wood Mackenzie warns global lithium demand could exceed 13 Mt LCE by 2050 under an accelerated net‑zero transition. Without new investment, supply deficits could appear as early as 2028, with gaps widening to 8.5 Mt LCE by 2050. Electric vehicles account for...
Jack Lifton Interviews James Deckelman on Deep Sea Minerals and the Strategic Push Into Seabed Critical Minerals
Jack Lifton interviewed Deep Sea Minerals CEO James Deckelman about the company’s push into polymetallic seabed nodules as a new source of critical minerals. Deckelman highlighted a projected doubling of demand by 2040, a widening supply gap, and soaring copper...
Montero Completes Exploration Programs at Elvira Gold Project and Advances Data-Driven Targeting Strategy
Montero Mining completed a comprehensive data compilation and detailed exploration program at its Elvira gold project in Chile’s Maricunga Belt. The work integrated high‑resolution geological mapping, 205 km of ground magnetic surveys, 19.2 km of IP/resistivity lines, and AI‑assisted modeling to refine...
Brownfield Exploration Gives Copper Supply Breathing Time
The rate of discovering new copper deposits has fallen by half over the past decade, driven by a roughly 60% drop in grassroots exploration funding. In contrast, brownfield and mine‑site exploration has supplied four times more copper than greenfield discoveries,...
The Rare Earths Race Risks Environmental Disaster
Rare earth elements are critical for clean‑energy technologies, but the geopolitical push to cut China’s dominance is driving extraction in fragile ecosystems such as the deep‑sea Pacific mud, Brazil’s Amazon, Greenland, Mongolia and Madagascar. Mining and processing produce massive toxic...
Riot Delivers Record Revenue as Mining Industry Feels the Squeeze
Riot Platforms reported a record $647.4 million revenue for 2025, a 72 % increase year‑over‑year, driven primarily by $576.3 million in bitcoin mining revenue and higher hash‑rate output. The company produced 5,686 BTC, up from 4,828 the prior year, but its average cost to...
Austria’s Accupower Launches Residential Sodium-Ion Battery
Austrian firm Accupower has launched Natec Home, a residential sodium‑ion battery offering 7.68 kWh capacity, 3.8 kW power output, and a €3,990 price comparable to lithium systems. It operates from –30 °C to 50 °C, holds an IP65 rating, and can be paralleled up...
Rare Earths Norway Says Fen Resource 81% Larger
Rare Earths Norway announced an updated mineral resource estimate for its Fen project, Europe’s largest rare‑earth deposit, now pegged at 15.9 million tonnes – an 81% increase over the 2022 figure. The new estimate eclipses Sweden’s Per Geijer deposit, positioning Fen as...
Bull of the Day: IAMGOLD (IAG)
IAMGOLD (IAG) is positioned to benefit from soaring gold prices and a strengthening macro backdrop. The company operates mines in the Americas and West Africa and is advancing its flagship Côté Gold project in Ontario. Recent restructuring and asset divestitures...
PEM to Develop Hydrogen Infrastructure for Mining Sector
The Production Engineering of E‑Mobility Components (PEM) chair at RWTH Aachen launched the three‑year DigHy project, backed by €1.1 million from Germany’s Federal Ministry for Research, Technology and Space. The initiative aims to build a digital, scalable hydrogen infrastructure for the...
Schletter Installs Mounting at ‘Earthquake-Prone’ Italian Solar PV Site
Schletter Group installed its FS Duo steel mounting system at a 96 MWp solar PV farm near Udine, Italy, deploying 156,700 modules. The two‑post design stacks three modules vertically, boosting land‑use efficiency while delivering high structural stability. Driven hot‑dip galvanized steel...
Low Equity Volatility Could Push Silver Below $100
Silver's $100 Ceiling May Be Solidifying - A key risk for silver and most risk assets may be the spike in precious-metals volatility and plunging crypto prices spilling over into equities. My graphic highlights why we view a rebound in equity...
Ghana: Ghana Falls 7 Places in Global Mining Investment Attractiveness Report
Ghana slipped seven places in the Fraser Institute’s Global Mining Investment Attractiveness Index, moving from 46th out of 82 jurisdictions in 2024 to 53rd out of 68 in 2025. Its overall score dipped slightly from 56.98% to 55.21%, while its...
Toyota and Stellantis Withdraw From CO₂ Pool with Tesla
Toyota and Stellantis announced they will leave the EU‑wide “Tesla CO₂ pool” starting in 2026, removing two of Tesla’s biggest financial contributors. The pool lets manufacturers pool emissions to meet EU targets, with high‑EV makers offsetting higher‑emission brands. Toyota expects...
Arabian Drilling Reactivates Fleet as GCC Offshore Contract Starts
Arabian Drilling has reactivated two previously recalled rigs and launched its first international offshore contract within the GCC. The offshore fleet utilization now stands at 91% and total fleet utilization at 82%, with a third land rig entering service on...
Mozambique: Ustda Partners in Mozambique to Diversify Rare Earths Supply Chains
The U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) has signed an agreement to fund a pre‑feasibility study for Monte Muambe Mining Ltda’s rare‑earth project in Mozambique. The study will de‑risk mine and processing facility development, aiming to produce mixed rare‑earth carbonates for...
Rock Tech and Siemens Plan Lithium Converter in Canada
Rock Tech Lithium and Siemens have signed a non‑binding MOU to replicate the German lithium‑conversion plant in Canada’s Red Rock, Ontario. The German facility, under construction in Guben, will produce 24,000 tonnes of battery‑grade lithium hydroxide annually, while the Canadian version targets...
The ZiG Barrier: How Bank Account Requirements Could Derail Gold Deliveries
Zimbabwe’s Reserve Bank introduced a 90:10 ZiG payment split for artisanal gold miners, requiring bank accounts to receive the 10% government share. Miners can prove identity with a national ID, but banks demand proof of residence, company registration and impose...
Lithium Royalty Secures 1.5% Goulamina Spodumene Stake
Lithium Royalty Corp buys a 1.5% Goulamina lithium royalty in Mali, gaining long-dated spodumene exposure. https://www.metalnomist.com/2026/03/goulamina-lithium-royalty-deal.html
Rio Tinto to Progress Gallium R&D Project by Constructing Pilot Plant in Québec
Rio Tinto announced the construction of a pilot plant in Quebec to extract primary gallium from its alumina refining stream, following a successful test extraction with Indium Corp in May 2025. The project receives up to CDN $18.95 million from the Canadian...
PV-Powered Refrigerated Trailer Completes Long-Distance Australian Trial Run
Protran Solutions successfully completed a 1,671 km round‑trip between Sydney and Brisbane using a battery‑electric refrigerated trailer equipped with roof‑mounted solar panels. The Sunswap Endurance trailer consumed 85.9 kWh total energy, generating 58.9 kWh from solar while retaining 62 % battery capacity after 32 hours...
Petronas Sees No Disruption From Mideast War for Now
Petronas said it has seen no direct impact on its operations from the ongoing Middle East conflict, though it is monitoring the situation closely. The Malaysian oil‑and‑gas giant holds exploration concessions in Abu Dhabi’s Al Dhafra region and maintains long‑term LNG...
IRS Adds Backup Reporting for CCS Credits Pending EPA System
IRS and Treasury set backup reporting for CCS tax credits if EPA electronic reporting is not ready by June 2026. https://www.metalnomist.com/2026/03/carbon-capture-tax-credit-guidance-sets.html
Soybean Price Below 11.64 May Signal Downside
Upper Keltner for #soybeans right here at 11.64. Close below that would probably allow for a little more follow through to the downside. Feels like we are moving more to risk off VS buy everything because oils inflationary....
Brazilian Police Seize More than 1.5 Metric Tons of Shark Fins
Brazilian federal police seized more than 1.5 metric tons of shark fins in Rodelas, Bahia, uncovering a suspected Chinese‑run syndicate. Seven suspects, including three Chinese nationals, were arrested at a rural processing site. The haul likely contains fins from vulnerable...
Earthwise Plans 1,000‑Meter Drill at Talon Zone
Earthwise Minerals $WISE.CA Announces Planning Underway for 1,000 Meter Drill Program at Talon Zone, Iron Range Gold Project https://t.co/BKWeB5WLuf https://t.co/B9Lz7SNNOh
Province to Complete Ring of Fire Road Five Years Early
Province says it will finish Ring of Fire road 5 years ahead of schedule https://t.co/g4P6P6VEgs $PTX.V $RYO.V
Myuna to Mine on with Eraring Contract Secured
Centennial Coal's Myuna Colliery in New South Wales has reached a new commercial agreement with Origin Energy. The three‑year deal guarantees the supply of thermal coal to Origin’s Eraring Power Station. The arrangement removes months of operational uncertainty and secures...
China's Mineral Dominance Exposes Western Strategic Failure
China won the mineral war. Two new books show how the West let it happen Read more here: https://t.co/9ofBAHFGLx https://t.co/Qa5SYQX6Dg
CES Data Reveals True Battery Lifecycle Impacts
Looking forward to speaking at @_InterBattery in Seoul next week 🇰🇷. Will present CES data on the real lifecycle of batteries🔋♻️– and what it means for carbon footprint, residual value, and the future supply of recycled materials. Reach out if attending and...
Union Maritime Bulks up with First Newcastlemax Newbuilds
Union Maritime, a UK‑based tanker operator, is linked to its first Newcastlemax bulk carrier order, potentially securing up to four 215,000‑dwt vessels from China’s Wuhu Shipyard. The deal includes two firm ships and two options at roughly $76 million each, with...
Nordic’s Finnish Gold Push Back in Motion with Drilling Restart
Nordic Resources (ASX:NNL) has restarted a 3,000‑metre diamond drilling campaign across its Kopsa and Kiimala Trend gold projects in Finland, allocating 1,500 metres to each target. The program follows a successful 6,000‑metre drill in 2025 that identified step‑out targets, and...