Know What's Happening in Mining
Know What's Happening in Mining
Mining Titans Surge $250B Amid Iran Conflict, Valuing Sector at $2.41T
The MINING.com Top 50 miners posted a combined market capitalization of $2.41 trillion at the end of Q1 2026, up roughly $250 billion from the start of 2025. Valuations rose despite the US‑Iran war and a sharp drop in gold and silver prices, with copper only modestly down and lithium firms re‑entering the list. Six companies now exceed $100 billion in market value.
Pan African’s Muriel Mine in Zimbabwe has turned former waste dumps into a gold‑producing operation using high‑pressure hydrosluicing, tailings retreatment and aggressive exploration. The mine processed 1.166 million tonnes of tailings in 2025, delivering 20,000 ounces of gold and extending its life from three months to five years underground, with the nearby Aysha deposit promising a 30‑year horizon. Recovery rates now sit at 70‑75% despite copper and carbonaceous challenges. The Association of Mine Managers of Zimbabwe cites the project as a template for greener, sustainable mining.
Flexco installed its Elevate belt‑rip detection system at Cemex UK’s Dove Holes Quarry, where it automatically shut down a conveyor after detecting a fallen steel plate in April 2025. The rapid shutdown within 12 metres averted a catastrophic belt rupture and prevented weeks...
Urea prices have surged, pushing the urea‑to‑wheat ratio to 1.83, a 97th‑percentile level that compresses farmer margins. Historical analysis of five major spikes since the 1970s shows elevations lasting from six months to nearly five years, depending on whether the...
Felix Gold secured Alaska DNR approval to bulk sample 1,450 tonnes of antimony ore at the NW Array prospect, part of its Treasure Creek Antimony Project. Testwork shows over 89% antimony‑bearing stibnite veins, with drill hits exceeding 12% Sb and a...
Rio Tinto has dismantled its dedicated decarbonisation division, moving responsibility for the $1 billion repowering of the Tomago aluminium smelter to its aluminium and lithium team. The shift follows a budget cut that reduced the company’s 2021‑2030 decarbonisation spend to US$1‑2 billion,...
Singapore‑based gas owner Purus has exercised an option for an additional LNG carrier with Samsung Heavy Industries, pricing the contract at KRW 377.9 bn (about $252 m) and targeting delivery in Q2 2029. The newbuild follows a prior $503 m order for two 174,000‑cu m vessels...
Dry bulk freight surged in Q1 2026, with the Baltic Dry Index hitting 1,906 points—more than double the same period in 2025. Strong Chinese iron‑ore imports, record‑high Pilbara throughput, and a seasonal bauxite peak lifted capesize demand, while limited new...
Amid escalating West‑Asia tensions that threaten LPG supplies, India faces heightened energy security risks, prompting experts to spotlight thorium as a long‑term solution. The country possesses roughly 25‑30% of the world’s thorium reserves, offering a domestic, low‑cost fuel for power...
Copper slipped to its lowest level in over three months, falling 1.8% on the London Metal Exchange after a 6.7% plunge last week. The decline was triggered by heightened risk aversion stemming from the ongoing Middle East conflict, which pushed...
Verity Resources announced that drilling across its Monument gold project in Western Australia has confirmed mineralisation along a 7‑kilometre strike length. Results from the Perseverance and Triton prospects extend the known Banded Iron Formation (BIF) corridor beyond the existing Korong...
Alligator Energy has initiated uranium extraction at its Samphire project in South Australia as part of a four‑month field recovery trial. Detectable uranium concentrations have been confirmed in the lixiviant, though target extraction rates remain unmet. The trial will generate...
Australia’s largest ammonia producer, Yara’s Pilbara plant, will be offline for roughly two months after a power outage damaged equipment. The facility accounts for about 5% of the world’s traded ammonia, a key feedstock for urea fertilizer and ammonium nitrate...
Renascor Resources announced that its 13‑hole, 2,340‑metre reverse‑circulation drill program at the Bulloo Creek prospect intersected significant cobalt and copper mineralisation across both eastern and western magnetic anomalies. The eastern anomaly returned a 16‑metre interval averaging 901 ppm cobalt, including a...
Curtin University has launched the Curtin Frontier Institute for Geoscience Solutions (CFIGS) to accelerate critical minerals exploration in Western Australia. The institute links government, industry and academia through a Geo Shopfront platform that delivers tailored geoscience services. Backed by Curtin’s world‑class...
SSR Mining announced a $1.5 billion cash sale of its Çöpler stake and a $300 million buyback, while junior TRX Gold posted a 42% share surge. At the same time, soaring oil prices have pushed major gold producers down 15%‑17%, underscoring a...
The Minerals Council of Australia is seeking a $13 million, three‑year AI pilot to modernise environmental approvals under the EPBC Act. The council argues that decision times have jumped 60 % to 3.8 years, stalling projects worth billions. If successful, the initiative could...
Ardea Resources' Kalgoorlie nickel project was highlighted in the recent US‑Japan summit on critical minerals, underscoring its strategic role in the Goongarrie Hub. The project, backed by Japanese partners Sumitomo Metal Mining and Mitsubishi Corporation, has secured up to $1 billion...
Coeur Mining reported a record 2025 with gold production soaring 723% YoY and silver up 5%, driven by the Rochester expansion and the Silvercrest acquisition. Full‑year EBITDA more than doubled to over $1 billion and free cash flow swung to $666 million,...
Coal is re‑emerging as a key fallback fuel after the Iran‑triggered Operation Epic Fury disrupted global gas supplies. The International Energy Agency now projects 2026 coal demand at a record 8.85 bn tonnes, a 0.5% rise, while thermal‑coal prices have jumped...
Alabama Surface Mining Commission director Kathy Love announced that only the Oak Grove coal mine will be required to submit updated methane‑monitoring plans, rolling back a statewide mandate imposed after the March 2024 fatal explosion. The decision, made at the...
South Australia has been crowned Australia’s most attractive mining jurisdiction in the Fraser Institute’s 2025 survey, leaping to fourth place globally and overtaking Western Australia. The state’s Investment Attractiveness Index rose by 26.04 points, while its Best Practices Mineral Potential...
India remains heavily dependent on coal, which supplies roughly three‑quarters of its power, even as the economy expands at 7.5% annually and electricity demand surges. Solar capacity has exploded from 4 GW to 140 GW in a decade, putting the country on...
The eight supplied source documents do not include information on U.S.-China rare‑earth tensions, MP Materials, USA Rare Earth, or related market activity, preventing a factual news report.
Pan African Resources bought Australian miner Tennant Consolidated Mining Group for $54.2 million and now projects 46,000‑48,000 ounces of gold from the Nobles project in FY 2026, with a long‑term target of 100,000 ounces. To remove costly JV penalties, the company is...
The Trump Administration announced temporary licenses to allow Iranian and Russian crude to move and offered 86 million barrels from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR). Experts argue the licensing is largely symbolic, as sanctions, insurance gaps, and financing constraints keep...
The article argues that junior mining companies function as the original version of today’s tech startups, using exploration as a form of research and development. Both sectors share high‑risk, pre‑revenue models, cash‑burn dynamics, and reliance on visionary founders to attract...
India will launch its seventh tranche of critical mineral auctions on March 23, 2026, offering 19 blocks across multiple states. The blocks contain lithium, graphite, rare‑earth elements, tungsten, vanadium and titanium, essential for electric vehicles, renewables, fertilizers and defence. The...
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 closed at 8,428.40, down 0.82%, after the materials sector fell about 1.5% on Friday. The slide reflects a perfect storm of Middle‑East oil shocks, rising inflation expectations and fears of further Reserve Bank of Australia rate...
Greenland Resources to supply Mo to GMH Group under a long-term MOU linked to the Malmbjerg project. https://www.metalnomist.com/2026/03/greenland-resources-to-supply-mo-to-gmh.html
Aside the relaxation of US sanctions on Iranian oil, for Tehran the big win is the fact that >20 days into the war, it’s still exporting oil via Hormuz. At ~1.5m b/d (and assuming $85 a barrel) that’s a ~$2.5...
India’s coal imports slipped 4.2% to 213.1 million tonnes in the April‑January window, with non‑coking imports falling to 127.8 MT while coking imports rose modestly to 50.4 MT. The decline reflects a deliberate push toward self‑reliance as domestic output expands. Seaborne coal prices...
USA Rare Earth to build REE plant in France, co-located with Caremag oxide output and backed by C31V credits. https://www.metalnomist.com/2026/03/usa-rare-earth-to-build-ree-plant-in.html
The US benefits from the closing of the Hormuz Strait are 'tremendous,' expert says https://t.co/KX4da2Twrp
Copper Intelligence, formerly African Discovery Group, has deployed an XY‑44 drill rig to begin a drilling campaign at its Butembo copper project in eastern DRC. The program, partnered with South Africa’s Gemdrill, targets depths up to 1,000 m to test the...
I told you about Helium since day one of the Hormuz crisis… now people are catching up to it !
By what? Giving waver to Putin to sell his oil freely at prices we have not see since 2022? 😉
Zambia’s government has inaugurated a comprehensive environmental remediation program at Sino-Metals Leach Ltd following the February 2025 collapse of Tailings Dam No. 15, which polluted the Chambeshi, Mwambashi and Kafue rivers with acidic, heavy‑metal‑laden waste. A joint task force comprising ZEMA,...
22% of the world’s traded urea, 24% of its aluminium, a third of its helium and 45% of its sulphur come from the region
China's Rare Earth Weapon: Inside the "Mineral War" with Tomasz Nadrowski. Read more and sign up to my newsletter here: https://t.co/uDfSXat1Xl https://t.co/MXFQAofK9T
Zambia’s President Hakainde Hichilema warned oil‑marketing firms that hoarding fuel creates artificial shortages, despite the country holding 30‑60 days of reserves. He linked the issue to the broader Middle East conflict that is tightening global energy supplies. The administration announced...
"Fertilizer Shock Escalates as New Supply Risks Emerge" https://t.co/lgfrgMYRFg "almost half of the world’s supply of sulfur—which is turned into sulfuric acid for the processing of phosphate fertilizer—comes from countries in the Middle East" And US tariffs are making things worse:
The New Weapons of Global Power Are Oil, Rare Earths and Microchips This is a classic WSJ story, very well executed concept, good insights. Good read. https://t.co/OLjtrroo6Y
Indonesia now provides roughly 40% of the world’s nickel, a critical component for electric‑vehicle batteries. A 2014 export ban and a 2020 full ban forced the country to build a domestic refining sector, which exploded from six plants in 2015...
In relation to the mass driver idea on the moon, for anyone that has a deep understanding of materials needed for such a satellite, can most of it be sourced from the lunar surface? Interesting to know what percentage can...
If Iran—facing threats from President Trump—now announces that the Strait of Hormuz is OPEN, would that immediately end the crisis and get ships moving through it again? Why or why not?
The National Petroleum Reserve‑Alaska held its first lease sale in seven years, generating a record $163.7 million in high bids and awarding 187 leases across 1.33 million acres. Major oil companies such as ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips, and a Repsol‑Shell consortium secured tracts, marking...
The hard truth: the Iran war will dwarf the cost of Biden *loaning* Ukraine weapons, and having @ZelenskyyUa pay us back in the rare earths (a deal that Trump deftly negotiated) Looks like $200b at a minimum
Brazil is now RESISTING a critical minerals agreement with the US. FORGET THE ART OF THE DEAL. TRUMP = MASTERCLASS AT MAKING ENEMIES. https://t.co/jmtqeFKoVb
The International Seabed Authority (ISA) concluded its March 19 meeting without a clear timetable for the long‑awaited mining code, even as the United States pushes ahead with its own deep‑sea mining licences. The stalemate underscores a widening regulatory divide that...
The International Seabed Authority concluded its latest session without a clear deadline for the mining code, despite pressure from member states and industry. The gap leaves the nascent deep‑sea mining sector in regulatory limbo while the United States moves forward...
