Today's Mining Pulse
Synthetic graphite stockpile in Ontario could be worth $6.8 billion
A derelict factory in Welland, Ontario was found to contain 340,000 tonnes of high‑grade synthetic graphite. At up to $20,000 per tonne, the stockpile is valued at roughly $6.8 billion, offering a domestic source of a critical battery material. Regen Resources Recovery has invested tens of millions to test the material for commercial use.
Also developing:
West Coast Silver Stacks up 2.8Moz Maiden Elizabeth Hill Resource
West Coast Silver announced a maiden 2.8 Moz silver resource at Elizabeth Hill, comprising 141,000 t at 617 g/t, positioning the deposit among Australia’s highest‑grade silver projects. Of the total, 369,000 oz are classified as Indicated, while 2.4 Moz remain Inferred. An optimised 200 m × 180 m × 130 m open pit, sitting on a granted mining lease, captures most of the mineralisation and enables rapid development. The company plans 2026 drilling to upgrade resources, deepen the pit and extend its strike, moving the project toward reserve conversion and feasibility studies.
Canada’s Gold Sector Fires up Amidst M&A and Frontier Potential
Canada’s gold sector is experiencing a wave of mergers and acquisitions as global miners chase production growth. In March, Coeur Mining completed a $7 bn purchase of New Gold, while Fresnillo spent $560 m on Probe Gold and Gold Fields is scouting...
Norway Takes State Control of Fens Rare‑Earth Deposit Planning, Boosting Domestic Neodymium Supply
Norway's central government has taken over planning for the Fens rare‑earth deposit in Telemark after the local municipality requested state intervention. The move targets the continent's largest documented neodymium resource and aims to smooth land‑use conflicts while advancing a domestic...
Stronger for Longer Pricing Sets up Tungsten Juniors for Development
Tungsten prices have surged to $3,185 per tonne, up about 350% year‑to‑date, as demand from defence, industrial and strategic stockpiling outpaces a limited new‑mine pipeline. Canaccord Genuity’s seventh Junior Book spotlights five emerging explorers—American Tungsten & Antimony, Viking Mines, Resolution...
Silver Crown, EMS Target US Silver Growth Push
Silver Crown Royalties Inc. has teamed with Emergency Material Services to broaden its U.S. silver royalty platform using structured, non‑dilutive financing instead of owning mines. The partnership supplies operators with upfront capital while Silver Crown secures future production through net...
Lithium Market to Enter Deficit Until 2035, Says Canaccord
Canaccord Genuity forecasts a material lithium market deficit beginning in 2026 that could persist until 2035, despite a short‑term dip in electric‑vehicle battery demand. The analysts attribute the shortfall to tightening supply, which outpaces the modest demand recovery. Recent supply...
The Global Rush For Physical Gold & Silver Is Going Into Overdrive | Andy Schectman
Physical gold and silver demand is surging globally, with COMEX deliveries hitting unprecedented levels and China’s silver imports reaching record highs. Nations such as France are repatriating gold stored abroad, reflecting heightened concerns over counter‑party risk. Andy Schectman, CEO of...
World’s No. 6 Uranium Miner Starts New Output in Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan’s state uranium miner Navoiyuran has moved its Qizilkok project in the Navoi region into commercial production, adding 9,400 tonnes of reserves and a 15‑year mine life. The output boost lifts the company’s forecast to 7,000 tonnes of natural uranium...
The AI Economy Runs on Helium. The Iran War Just Created a $650 Billion Problem
Moody’s Ratings warns that the Iran‑Israel conflict has disrupted Qatar’s Ras Laffan helium plant, creating a $650 billion supply‑chain risk for the AI economy. Helium, essential for wafer cooling, carrier gas and leak detection in semiconductor fabs, has no industrial substitute. The...
Panama Counts Steep Cost of First Quantum’s Copper Mine Closure
Panama’s economy slumped after the 2023 shutdown of First Quantum Minerals’ Cobre Panama copper mine, wiping out roughly 5% of GDP and 7% of export earnings. The mine had supported more than 40,000 direct and indirect jobs and contributed about...
Trilogy to Seek FAST-41 Inclusion for Alaska Copper Project
Trilogy Metals’ Ambler joint venture has filed a Clean Water Act Section 404 permit to launch federal approvals for the Arctic copper‑zinc‑lead‑gold‑silver project in Alaska and will seek inclusion in the FAST‑41 expedited permitting program. The U.S. government is set...
Copper Price: Goldman Maintains Year-End Forecast, Traxys Sees $15,000
Copper prices steadied above $13,200 a tonne as supply concerns from the Middle East war and a looming sulphuric acid export ban by China weigh on the market. Goldman Sachs kept its 2024 price target at $12,650 per tonne despite...
SMM Breaks Ground on Western Cape Monazite Plant
Steenkampskraal monazite mine (SMM) has broken ground on a new processing plant in South Africa’s Western Cape, targeting a steady‑state output of 13,400 tonnes per year of monazite concentrate with over 50% total rare‑earth oxides (TREO). The plant will initially...
USA Rare Earth Seals $2.8 B Deal for Brazil’s Serra Verde Rare‑Earth Mine
USA Rare Earth Inc. announced a cash‑and‑stock transaction valued at about $2.8 billion to acquire Brazil’s Serra Verde Group, owner of the Pela Ema rare‑earth mine and processing plant. The deal adds 6,400 metric tons of annual rare‑earth oxide capacity and is expected...
Newmont COO Hardy Outlines Gold Production Execution Amid Safety Incident and Growth Push
Newmont's chief operating officer, Francois Hardy, highlighted the company's 5.7 million ounces of gold produced in 2025 and a $2.8 billion free‑cash flow in Q4 while addressing a fatal incident at Tanami and a Nevada joint‑venture default. The COO said execution on...
Organised Gold Recycling Can Curb Imports, Boost Economic Stability: Muthoot Exim CEO
India imports roughly 99% of its gold, amounting to about 630 tonnes and $58.8 billion in 2025. Muthoot Exim CEO Keyur Shah argues that organized gold recycling can turn idle household jewellery into a domestic supply, easing the current‑account deficit and environmental...
Silver’s Price Outlook
Silver has been reclassified by the United States as a critical mineral, driven by soaring industrial demand and its historic role as a monetary metal in Asia. China, the world’s second‑largest producer after Mexico, supplies about 110 million ounces (≈3,421 tonnes) annually,...
Bureau Veritas Expands Offshore Services with New Asia Hub
Bureau Veritas Marine & Offshore has opened an Offshore Center of Excellence in the Asia‑Pacific region, uniting teams in Singapore, Shanghai and Kuala Lumpur with its global technical network. The hub will deliver classification, certification, verification and advisory services for...
A Steady First Quarter, but Port of Rotterdam Waits for Hormuz Ripples
Rotterdam handled 103 million tonnes in Q1 2026, a modest 0.7% dip from the same period last year, reflecting stable container volumes but weaker dry‑bulk traffic. Container throughput rose 0.3% in TEU terms while tonnage fell 3.2% due to a surge...
An Old Factory in Welland, Ont., Sat Derelict for Years — Until Someone Discovered It Could Be Worth Billions
Steve Charest bought a derelict Welland, Ontario factory for a nominal fee and uncovered a landfill containing 340,000 tonnes of high‑grade synthetic graphite. At up to US$20,000 per tonne, the stockpile could be worth roughly US$6.8 billion, offering a domestic source...
Hochschild Rallies as Gold Price Surge Lifts Outlook
Hochschild Mining reported first‑quarter production of 75,600 gold‑equivalent ounces, surpassing analysts’ forecasts. The company’s average realized gold price jumped to $4,471 per ounce, a near‑40% increase from a year earlier, driving cash and equivalents to $412 million and net cash to...
POSCO Holdings Shares Jump 8.2% After Low‑Carbon Iron Ore Project Wins WA Approval
POSCO Holdings' shares climbed more than 8% on the Korea Exchange after the company secured regulatory approval for a low‑carbon iron plant in Western Australia. The project, which will use hydrogen‑based reduction, is a cornerstone of POSCO's strategy to decarbonise...
Commodity Traders Post Windfall Gains Amid Iran Conflict-Driven Market Turmoil
Commodity trading houses are logging multi‑billion‑dollar gains as the Iran conflict fuels extreme volatility in oil, copper and gold markets. Vitol alone is estimated to have earned about $2 bn in the first quarter, while Trafigura, Gunvor and Mercuria report record‑level...
Gold and Silver Surge as Hochschild Helps London’s Mining Stocks Shine
Hochschild Mining reported a near‑40% year‑on‑year jump in its average realizable gold price to $4,471 per ounce, propelling its FTSE 250 shares up more than 2%. The miner also disclosed an average silver price of $89.8 per ounce, more than double...
Abaxx Exchange Lists World’s First Solar Irradiance Futures Contract
Abaxx Exchange will list the Enwex Germany Solar (GSM) futures contract on April 23, marking the world’s first exchange‑cleared solar irradiance product. Developed by German energy exchange Enwex, the contract lets participants hedge Germany’s solar irradiance risk in a standardized,...
Gunfire and Gridlock Choke Hormuz
A Liberia‑flagged container ship was hit by IRGC gunfire 15 nautical miles northeast of Oman despite having permission to transit the Strait of Hormuz. The United States has extended a land cease‑fire with Iran but kept a maritime blockade, boarding...
BHP Now Expects Nearly 2M Tonnes Copper Production After Record Escondida Throughput
BHP reaffirmed its FY2026 outlook, citing record throughput at Chile’s Escondida mine and a 2% rise in Western Australia iron‑ore output. Copper production is now expected in the upper half of the 1.9‑2.0 million‑tonne guidance, driven by strong Antamina performance and...
Mining’s Transformative Power Spurred By Honest Engagement
Mines across Africa are emerging as catalysts for inclusive growth, leveraging renewable‑energy projects to spark local markets and technology adoption. At the Investing in African Mining Indaba, SRK Consulting’s Andrew van Zyl highlighted how mining firms act as first‑mover customers...
Revealed: How Big Oil Is Pushing Labour to Drill the North Sea
A Democracy for Sale investigation reveals that Offshore Energies UK (OEUK), representing BP, Shell and other majors, has lobbied Labour officials intensively to overturn the ban on new North Sea drilling and to scrap the energy‑profits windfall tax. The group...
Hastings Eyes US$53M First-Year Revenue From Thai Rare Earths Plant
Hastings Technology Metals disclosed that its Kabin Buri hydromet plant in Thailand is on track to start producing mixed rare‑earth chloride (MREC) in Q4 2026, with unaudited first‑year revenue estimated at US$53.4 million (≈US$49 million). The 49% stake should generate about US$10.6 million...
Channel Seven’s Spotlight Digging for Dirt on Clean Energy Ignores Fundamental Facts and Basic Journalistic Standards | Temperature Check
Channel Seven’s prime‑time Spotlight program aired a 50‑minute exposé linking Australia’s renewable‑energy and battery‑storage expansion to “blood cobalt” from artisanal mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The report omitted critical context: the U.S. Geological Survey shows only about 10%...
Shell Faces New Climate Lawsuit Over Oil & Gas Drilling, Emissions
Friends of the Earth Netherlands (Milieudefensie) has filed a new lawsuit against Shell, demanding the energy giant stop developing new oil and gas fields and progressively cut emissions between 2030 and 2050. The case builds on a 2021 Dutch court...
Buy ORCP as WA Gold Gains, Heritage Clearance Progresses
Macro: WA gold supportive. Key: Oracle cleared prelim heritage at Northern Zone; MDCP/lease advancing with Riversgold/MEGA JV. Risk: final heritage/permit delays. Trade: buy ORCP on MDCP. — Viktor Kopylov, PhD, CFA. More insights: t.me/si14Kopylov
Which Imports Really Matter for Inflation
The closure of the Strait of Hormuz amid the Iran war has reignited global inflation, primarily through a sharp cut in crude oil supplies. Researchers Consonni and Magerman quantified each EU import’s inflationary impact with a Strategic Dependency Index, finding...
Gateway Hits End-of-Hole Gold at WA Yandal Play
Gateway Mining announced a 32‑metre gold intercept averaging 1.1 g/t from an air‑core hole at its Mustang prospect within the Yandal project in Western Australia. The drill also returned an 8‑metre high‑grade segment at 2.1 g/t, extending mineralisation 500 m north and pushing...
Delicate Extraction: Malaysia Offers Rare Earths Alternative to China
Australian miner Lynas is expanding its rare‑earth processing hub in Gebeng, Malaysia, aiming to grow its roughly 10% share of a market dominated 90% by China. The plant, the world’s largest single‑site processor, now handles 11 of the 17 rare...
Syntax Equips Fenix Gold Mine with ‘Future-Ready Digital Core’
Syntax, a global technology solutions provider, completed a six‑month SAP Cloud ERP transformation for Rio2 Limited’s 100%-owned Fenix gold mine in Chile. The new digital core unified finance, procurement and project accounting across Canada, Chile and Peru, delivering real‑time visibility,...
Foreign Companies Are Making Billions Off Australia’s Gas. It’s Time that Changed
Australia’s gas export boom has generated roughly A$149 billion (≈US$98 billion) in profits for multinational firms over the past four years, yet tax contributions remain minimal. A parliamentary inquiry is pushing a 25% export tax that could raise about A$17 billion (≈US$11 billion) annually...
Ghana: Ghana's Mining Law Aims to Stop Speculation but Leaves Communities in Limbo - Insights From a Lithium Case Study
Ghana’s parliament ratified the nation’s first lithium mining agreement in March 2026, partnering with Barari DV Ghana Limited, a subsidiary of Australia’s Atlantic Lithium. The deal ends a three‑year legal moratorium that had frozen land‑use decisions for farming communities around...
Trump to Give Coal Industry More Handouts While Americans Pay
President Donald Trump invoked the Defense Production Act to funnel potentially hundreds of millions of dollars into the coal sector, adding a $525 million plant‑upgrade program. The move follows earlier administration actions that forced higher electric bills on consumers while subsidizing...
Judge Blocks Clean Water Act Permit for Mountaintop Removal Mine on Coal River Mountain
A U.S. District Court judge in West Virginia halted the Army Corps of Engineers’ Clean Water Act permit for the Turkeyfoot Surface Mine’s valley fills. The permit would have allowed Alpha Metallurgical Resources to dump mining spoil into more than...
Diet Coke Runs Dry in Indian Cities as Iran War Triggers Aluminium Can Shortage
Diet Coke is running out of stock in major Indian cities as the Iran war has choked the supply of aluminium beverage cans, the primary packaging for the diet soda. Importing cans from the UAE, Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia now...
Iltani Resources Resumes Orient Silver-Indium Exploration After Queensland Wet Season
Iltani Resources (ASX:ILT) has re‑opened its Orient silver‑indium project in Queensland after a wet season that delivered 626 mm of rain. The company released VTEM drill results showing high‑grade intercepts, including up to 437 g/t silver and 265 g/t indium, suggesting a potential...
Northern Star Posts Strong Q3, Gold Sales Surge
Northern Star Resources (NST) delivered a strong Q3: sold 418k oz gold, generated $324M cash flow, and boosted net cash to $1.1B. Full-year guidance firmly on track. Gold
Iran Crisis: A Moment of Reckoning for European Aviation
The Iran‑related Middle East crisis has triggered a sharp rise in European airline ticket prices, with long‑haul fares climbing about $97 since the conflict began. The spike exposes the EU’s heavy reliance on imported fossil jet fuel—over 95% of which...
Mount Ridley Revisits Grass Patch Samples to Unlock Critical Minerals Upside
Mount Ridley Mines is re‑assaying about 3,300 historic drill pulps from its Grass Patch project to capture missed scandium, gallium and heavy rare earth element (HREE) values. The company consolidated decades of drilling data, identifying roughly 17,000 untested pulps for...
Australia’s UNSW Launches Solar Recycling Hub as PV Waste Set to Hit 100,000 Tonnes Annually by 2030
Australia’s University of New South Wales has opened the nation’s first dedicated solar‑module recycling research hub, funded with AU$5 million (US$3.6 million) from the Australian Research Council. The ARC Hub for Photovoltaic Solar Panel Recycling and Sustainability aims to develop technologies that...
EV Resources Strikes Gold Ahead of Maiden Drilling Campaign at Dollar Antimony Project
EV Resources (ASX:EVR) has verified gold assays of up to 3.88 g/t at its Dollar antimony project in Nevada, confirming high‑grade polymetallic potential. A comprehensive soil‑geochemistry program revealed up to 15.05% antimony and significant copper and silver grades across the Dollar...
Riversgold Gains Preliminary Heritage Clearance for Northern Zone
Riversgold has secured a preliminary heritage clearance for its 80 km² Northern Zone gold project near Kalgoorlie, confirming no heritage sites across the tenement. The clearance removes a key regulatory hurdle and paves the way for a final report in four...
GoldArc Plans Resource Growth After Record Leonora South Drilling Campaign
GoldArc Resources (ASX:GA8) completed a record drilling campaign at its Leonora South gold project, sinking 269 drillholes for 15,260 m. The effort spanned development, advanced RC and greenfields aircore programs across Eclipse, Orion, Sapphire and broader Kookynie targets. Partner Mineral Mining...