Today's Mining Pulse
China slams Indonesia's investment climate over nickel curbs
China criticised Indonesia's investment climate, citing recent restrictions on nickel exports that could deter foreign investors. The Financial Times reported the remarks as part of broader concerns about the region's mining policy environment.
Also developing:
By the numbers: Mutapa Gold secures $75M bank funding
Defense Metals Starts Pilot Flotation Test Program for the Wicheeda Rare Earth Project, British Columbia
Defense Metals Corp. has launched a confirmatory pilot flotation test at SGS Canada’s Lakefield facility, beginning May 12, 2026. The five‑week program will process about 30 tonnes of drill core from the Wicheeda Rare Earth Project to produce a concentrate targeting roughly 50% total rare earth oxides (TREO). The resulting concentrate will feed a downstream hydrometallurgical pilot and generate tailings for further testing, while bulk‑solids handling studies will inform plant design. The initiative marks a key step toward de‑risking the project and advancing it toward a feasibility study and eventual production.
Liberia: Bea Mountain Under Fire
Former Press Union of Liberia president Abraham Massaley has accused Bea Mountain Mining Company of contaminating the Mafa River and Marvoe Creek with cyanide, arsenic, mercury and other toxic chemicals. Laboratory tests by the EPA allegedly show hazardous levels, prompting...
Scottish Player Remains on Support Duty for Australian Offshore Drilling Ops Until 2036
Aberdeen‑based OEG has secured a multimillion‑dollar contract extension to support offshore drilling in Australia’s Bass Strait through the field’s expected end of life in 2036. The agreement tasks OEG with supplying and manufacturing 200 DNV‑certified cargo‑carrying units (CCUs) at its...
Silent Qatari Tanker Mihzem Likely Passed Strait of Hormuz
The second Qatari oil tanker heading to Pakistan, Mihzem, which made a U-turn yesterday, has gone silent — no signal for the past 15 hours. It’s possible it has already passed the Strait of Hormuz. If it has, we should...
Gold, Silver Likely Enter Poor‑Performance Cycle After Rallies
Gold, Silver May Face a Typical Cycle: Years of Bad Performance Crude oil has been stuck in a range for about two decades and is approaching the upper end, which could be a guide for what to expect in gold and...
Trump-Xi Summit Puts Rare‑Earth Mineral Tensions Front‑and‑Center
U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping met in Beijing to discuss trade, security and rare‑earth minerals, with Washington pressing Beijing to ease supply‑chain pressure on critical mining inputs. The talks come amid broader Middle‑East turmoil and a...
Silver's 2026 Peak May Sustain for Years
Silver's 2026 High Could Endure for Years In transition over the years to more industrial commodity from money and store of value, silver may be more elastic than ever, and the 1Q price surge could mark a peaking process. Full report on...
ADNOC Gas Targets 80% Habshan Recovery by End-2026
ADNOC Gas announced it expects to restore 80% of the Habshan gas‑processing complex by the end of 2026, after Iranian strikes forced a shutdown in April. The Habshan complex, with 6.1 billion standard cubic feet per day capacity across five plants,...
Dolphin Drilling’s 1990-Built Rig Scores North Sea Job as 1974-Built Semi-Sub Stays in India
Dolphin Drilling, the Oslo‑listed offshore contractor, landed a firm $150 million contract with Harbour Energy for its 1990‑built Paul B. Loyd Jr. semi‑submersible on the UK Continental Shelf, extending through 30 August 2030. The agreement adds a five‑year extension option and lifts the company’s firm backlog...
Copper Quest Initiates Drilling at Rip Project in British Columbia
Copper Quest Exploration has launched a minimum 2,000‑metre drilling program at the Rip copper‑molybdenum porphyry project in British Columbia’s Stikine region. Initial holes RP24‑001 and RP24‑002 returned 0.102% copper‑equivalent over 126.6 m (including 0.268% over 24.6 m) and 0.112% copper‑equivalent over 114.3 m...
B2Gold Reports $200M Profit Surge on Strong African Output as Gold Production Reaches 237,763 Ounces
B2Gold Corp. posted a $200 million jump in net income, propelled by robust gold output from its Mali and Namibia operations. The company produced 237,763 ounces in the first quarter, reinforcing its 2025 target of up to 1.075 million ounces. A $325 million sale...
The Global Sand Crisis: It’s Being Used up Faster than It Can Be Replaced
A new UN‑UNEP report warns that the world extracts roughly 50 bn tonnes of sand each year—far faster than natural processes can replace it. Sand underpins construction, concrete, silicon chips and solar panels, yet its removal erodes riverbanks, coastal defenses and...
NESI and Vulcan Break Ground on German Lithium Refinery
NESI and Vulcan have begun construction on a 24,000‑tonne‑per‑year lithium refinery in Frankfurt, marking Europe’s first commercial‑scale electrochemical lithium‑refining facility. The plant is designed to produce enough lithium hydroxide monohydrate (LHM) for roughly 500,000 electric‑vehicle batteries each year. NESI recently...
Europe’s Reliance on Copper, Aluminium Imports Exposed as Security Concerns Overtake Energy Transition
Europe remains heavily dependent on imported copper and aluminium, with domestic processing capacity covering only a fraction of demand. Recent disruptions and widening deficits have pushed European copper premiums to $120‑150 per tonne and aluminium extrusion premiums above $1,200 per...
Komatsu’s Mine 4D Technology Offering Real-Time Visibility at Kevitsa Operation
Komatsu has deployed its Mine 4D digital platform at Boliden’s Kevitsa nickel‑copper mine in northern Finland, delivering real‑time visibility of load, haulage distance, utilisation and cycle times. The system operates reliably in temperatures as low as –40 °C, replacing manual reporting with...
LNG Capacity Boost Emerging in Oceania as New Gas Project Gets the Green Light
Joint‑venture partners including Santos, ExxonMobil PNG and others have secured a final investment decision for the Agogo Production Facility (APF) tie‑in project in Papua New Guinea, targeting first gas in the second quarter of 2028. The development will add roughly...
Kamoa Copper Expands Green Energy with New 30 MW Solar Deal
Kamoa Copper and Green World Energie have signed a second Power Purchase Agreement for an additional 30 MW of solar capacity, expanding the Phase II renewable project in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The deal brings the total installed solar capacity to...
The World Needs Africa. That Does Not Mean Africa Wins
Africa’s vast critical‑mineral reserves have thrust the continent into the center of the emerging global order, yet it captures less than 1% of clean‑energy manufacturing value. The competition among China, the United States, the European Union and Gulf states now...
India’s Critical Minerals Sector Faces Financing Constraints Despite Policy Push: Report
India’s critical minerals sector is hampered by financing constraints despite the National Critical Mineral Mission’s policy push. The International Energy Agency projects $915 billion of global investment needed for mining and refining between 2026 and 2035, yet private capital remains scarce....
FMG to Pay $150M for Solomon Hub Disruptions
Fortescue Metals Group (FMG) has been ordered by a Federal Court judge to pay just over $150 million to the Yindjibarndi Ngurra Aboriginal Corporation for economic and spiritual losses tied to disruptions at the Solomon Hub in Western Australia. The hub,...
FMG to Pay $150M for Solomon Hub Disruptions
Fortescue Metals Group (FMG) has been ordered by the Federal Court to pay just over $150 million to the Yindjibarndi Ngurra Aboriginal Corporation for disruptions to the Solomon Hub in Western Australia. Justice Stephen Burley found FMG’s operations caused significant economic...
China LNG Imports Signal Recovery
China’s LNG imports are rebounding, with the 30‑day moving average reaching its highest level since late February. Although still below the five‑year average, the gap has narrowed to about half of what it was in early April. The shortfall caused...
Barrick Advances Lumwana Super Pit Expansion as Copper Output Rises
Barrick Gold said its Lumwana Super Pit expansion in Zambia stayed on schedule and within budget in Q1 2026, with the first mill wall lift completed and steel deliveries due by June. Capital spending for 2026 is expected at the...
BHP, Rio Tinto Collaborating to Drive Tailings Best Practice
BHP and Rio Tinto have released new guidance on tailings dewatering through the Tailings Management Consortium (TMC). The two firms published a study guide for filtered‑tailings projects and a geotechnical white paper on large‑tonnage filtered stacks. The documents aim to...
Buried Treasure: Private Markets Sustainability Data and The Wealth Opportunity
Private market ESG data, long hampered by limited disclosures, is rapidly improving thanks to AI‑driven scraping and workflow tools that now generate near‑public‑level metrics. At the same time, U.S. wealth investors—especially those with over $100,000 in assets and younger generations—are...
RCT – Powered by Epiroc AutoNav Lite Solution Improving Stabilisation, Remediation Activities at Gold Mine
RCT – Powered by Epiroc quickly deployed AutoNav Lite semi‑automation on two Caterpillar D10 dozers at a northern Canada gold mine, enabling remote operation for stabilisation and remediation. The project moved from approval to commissioning faster than typical automation cycles....
Zimbabwe: Government-Backed Mutapa Ramps Up Gold Exploration Projects, Pursues U.S.$75m Debt Deal
Mutapa Gold Resources, a state‑owned mining group in Zimbabwe, has earmarked more than $12 million for gold exploration in 2026 to extend the life of its mines to at least a decade. The company says it needs roughly $250 million for long‑term...
Zimbabwe: Mnangagwa Confirms 4,48 Tons of Gold Reserves in Latest RBZ Visit
President Emmerson Mnangagwa visited the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe and announced that the nation’s gold reserves have risen to 4.48 tons, up from 4.2 tons in February. The gold underpins the ZiG, Zimbabwe’s gold‑backed currency launched in 2024, and the government aims...
American Pacific Begins Sampling at Nevada’s Ziggurat Gold Project
American Pacific Mining has launched a field reconnaissance and surface sampling program at its Ziggurat Gold Project in Nye County, Nevada. The effort focuses on mapping alteration zones and geochemical anomalies linked to Carlin‑type gold mineralisation, with teams collecting 59...
How to Get a Green Premium
Western Australian gold miner Bellevue Gold has demonstrated that a green premium—an extra price for environmentally responsible production—can be captured in the precious metals market. By powering its Bellevue operation with wind turbines, the company reduced its carbon footprint and...
Elevra May Signal Start of New Lithium Upcycle
Is Elevra the first in this cycle? The last upcycle was marked by a hot period of three or four months where producers realised that the worst was over and they now needed to invest in supply. In a short...
CATL's Woes Don't Reflect Jiangxi Lepidolite Standards
Dangerous to assume that, just because the CATL mine has bad environmental management, all lepidolite mines in Jiangxi do. CATL is very much the johnny-come-lately in Jiangxi. It moved late to secure resources and only managed to get low grade...
PYBAR Cuts First Exploration Portal in 30 Years at MMG's Rosebery
Mining contractor PYBAR has cut the first exploration portal at MMG's Rosebery mine in over 30 years, marking a new phase for the 90‑year‑old operation on Tasmania's west coast. The Tom McDonald Exploration Portal will support underground drilling aimed at identifying...
MEGA Delivers First Blast for Star at Tumblegum South
Star Minerals announced that the first blast at its Tumblegum South gold project in Western Australia has been successfully fired. The blast, executed by drilling contractor MEGA, cleared the initial waste rock, marking the start of bulk excavation. This milestone...
Larvotto Resources Delivers First Ore to Hillgrove Stockpile Ahead of August Commissioning
Larvotto Resources has moved the first development ore from the Metz underground mine to the Hillgrove antimony‑gold stockpile, keeping the project on schedule for an August 2026 plant‑commissioning. Underground development has progressed with 1.9 km of drives rehabilitated, a 170 m ramp‑up and...
India Fuel Crunch Slashes Jindal Stainless Output and Delays Shipments
India stainless steel fuel crunch forces Jindal Stainless to cut output and warn of shipment delays. https://www.metalnomist.com/2026/05/india-stainless-steel-fuel-crunch.html
Dalaroo Closes in on Drill Targets at 9km Côte D’Ivoire Gold Corridor
Dalaroo Metals has wrapped a district‑scale soil geochemistry program across its 9‑kilometre Gold Ridge corridor in Côte d’Ivoire, collecting 3,612 primary samples and a total of 4,363 specimens for laboratory analysis. The campaign, which covered 194.5 km of sampling lines on...
Beyond Green Extractivism: Asean's Security Depends on Justice
At the ASEAN summit in Cebu, leaders confronted a stark paradox: while the region’s energy plan touts a "Just and Inclusive Energy Transition," its infrastructure still prioritises natural‑gas pipelines and joint oil stockpiles. The ongoing Strait of Hormuz crisis has...
EV Resources Confirms Extensive Shallow Antimony System with Maiden Drilling at Los Lirios
EV Resources reported that its maiden diamond drilling at the Los Lirios antimony project in Mexico confirmed a broad, shallow carbonate‑replacement system. Four of five holes intersected antimony within 10 m of the surface, with the highest grade intersect being 3.05 m...
Iron Bear Lifts Indicated Iron Ore Resource by 114pc to 4.5Bt
Iron Bear Resources announced that its flagship Labrador Trough project now holds an indicated iron ore resource of 4.5 billion tonnes, a 114% increase from the previous estimate. The resource grades 29.5% total iron and 20.6% magnetic iron, with metallurgical testwork...
Auravelle Gears up for Infill, Extensional Gold Drilling at Sheoak
Auravelle Metals is launching a new reverse‑circulation (RC) drilling campaign at its Nuckulla Hill project in South Australia to infill and extend high‑grade gold mineralisation at the Sheoak prospect. Recent RC work at Sheoak returned broad, high‑grade intervals, including 21 m...
Verity Resources Declares Maiden Gold Resource
Verity Resources announced a maiden indicated gold resource of 66,200 ounces (1.75 g/t) at its Monument project in Western Australia’s Laverton Goldfields. The resource includes a 57,000‑ounce open‑pit component and raises the total indicated‑plus‑inferred resource to 137,700 ounces. An 11,000‑metre infill...
Mithril Silver and Gold Confirms High-Grade Mineralisation Outside Resource Boundary at Copalquin
Mithril Silver and Gold announced that its final phase of drilling at the Target 1 deposit on the Copalquin property has confirmed high‑grade gold‑silver mineralisation 300 m west of the existing resource boundary. The program drilled 13 holes totaling 4,383 m, delivering a...
Cheers for GoldArc as Bonanza-Grade Intercepts Confirm Scale of Cosmopolitan
GoldArc Resources’ first‑pass reverse‑circulation drilling at the historic Cosmopolitan underground mine in Western Australia delivered multiple bonanza‑grade intercepts, confirming a larger high‑grade gold system. The Main Zone returned up to 23 m at 11.31 g/t, including 2 m at 41.38 g/t and 3 m at...
ETM Scores Traxys MoU for Spanish Critical Minerals Project
Energy Transition Minerals (ETM) has signed a non‑binding memorandum of understanding with commodity trader Traxys Europe to explore a six‑year, exclusive off‑take of tin, tantalum and niobium concentrates from the Penouta mine in Galicia, Spain. The MoU allows Traxys to...
NRE, Funeng to Build
NRE and Ningbo Funeng plan a 10,000 t/yr rare earth alloy plant in Baotou. https://www.metalnomist.com/2026/05/rare-earth-metal-alloy-production.html
Gold Poised for 1980‑Level Peak by 2026
A Peak Like 1980? Gold Is Leaning That Way Gold futures started trading in 1975, peaked near $873 an ounce in 1Q80 and did not breach that high until 1Q08. I see peak parallels in 2026. Full report on the Bloomberg here:...
Trump Officials Cancel Rule that Made Conservation a ‘Use’ of Public Lands
The Trump administration has moved to cancel the 2024 Biden-era rule that allowed conservation projects to be leased on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands on the same footing as oil, gas, mining, logging and grazing. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum...
Xi’s Power Lies in Rare Earth Monopoly
.@gideonrachman in FT op-ed: “It is Xi Jinping who ‘has the cards’—to use a phrase that Trump likes. The Chinese president’s ace is his country’s near monopoly over the production of rare earths and critical minerals.” https://t.co/kdHuHoSwcP
Japan Denies Oil Futures Intervention, Keeps Option Open
Japan has publicly denied it had intervened in the oil futures market Speaking overnight, Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said Tokyo hadn’t intervened but added the government had never ruled out such an option.