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.
Orion Minerals secured a $250 million agreement with Glencore, including $40 million upfront, to supply copper from its Prieska Copper Zinc Mine and fund the Uppers and Deeps projects costing just over R6 billion. The company still requires roughly R2 billion in equity to complete the expansion and is using an Australian roadshow to attract institutional investors beyond its current founders Tembo Capital and Delphi Group. A $500,000 investment from BHP’s Xplor programme adds credibility and highlights major miners’ focus on copper. Orion expects its share price to climb once the Glencore deal closes and construction begins.
Liontown Resources, backed by Gina Rinehart’s near‑20% stake, is operating the Kathleen Valley lithium mine with an 80% renewable energy mix. The hybrid power plant—30 MW wind, 17 MW solar and a 17 MW battery—has reduced diesel to roughly 4‑5% of total operating...
White Gold Corp. announced the discovery of high‑grade copper mineralization at the Lost Pup target on its Hen property in Yukon’s White Gold District. Bedrock chip samples returned copper grades up to 0.96 % and silver up to 15.1 g/t, indicating a potential...
Silver North Resources has locked in a two‑year, fully funded diamond drilling contract with Boart Longyear for its Haldane silver project in Yukon, delivering 5,000‑7,000 metres of drilling each season. The 2026 campaign will prioritize expanding the Main Fault vein...
The US‑Israel war against Iran has already rattled global commodity markets, tightening supply chains for oil, fertilizers, chemicals and several metals. BMO Capital Markets notes oil prices spiked toward $120 per barrel before settling near $90, while nitrogen fertilizer costs...
Antimony, a strategic mineral, is primarily used in flame retardants, lead‑acid batteries, metal alloys, semiconductors, glass, military applications, and pigments. Global spot prices for 99.85% pure metal sit at $10‑12.5k per tonne, while ingot prices peaked at $40‑60k/tonne in 2024‑25...
Oil prices surged on Thursday as Iran intensified attacks on oil and transport infrastructure, reigniting fears of prolonged disruption through the Strait of Hormuz. Brent futures jumped 6.47% to $97.93 a barrel, briefly touching $100, while U.S. WTI rose 6%...
Fortescue has rolled out its Collision Avoidance System (CAS) as the first publicly showcased component of the HaulX technology suite. The system, already active on more than 400 Pilbara assets, automatically brakes heavy equipment when a light vehicle breaches a...
PTC secures an aerospace-grade titanium ingot order for ISRO and scales VAR and PAM capability. https://www.metalnomist.com/2026/03/aerospace-grade-titanium-ingot-order.html
Australian miner Canyon Resources has moved a surface miner to the Minim Martap bauxite project in Cameroon, kicking off mining operations by the end of March. The company now targets first bauxite production in early Q2 2026 and its inaugural cargo shipment...
American Tungsten & Antimony reported high‑grade antimony intercepts from its inaugural drilling at the Little Emma Prospect in Utah’s Antimony Canyon Project. Notable assays include 2.62 m at 12.54% Sb and 8.47 m at 2.67% Sb (including 2.2 m at 9.69% Sb). The...
Weir has secured a contract to deliver a 150 t/h crushing and screening plant for Bezant’s Hope and Gorob copper‑gold project in Namibia. The package includes two ENDURON jaw crushers (ET905, ET906), Trio feeders, a scalping screen, conveyors and a steel...
Global seaborne salt shipments jumped 19% year‑on‑year to 13.5 million tonnes in January‑February 2026, driven by Egyptian exports that more than doubled to 2.9 million tonnes. The United States recorded a record 4.2 million tonnes discharged, reflecting heightened de‑icing demand after severe winter...
South Africa's Transnet Rail Infrastructure Manager (TRIM) has issued requests for proposals to privately operate and invest in three rail sidings—Klaserie, Krugersdorp and Ngagane—for ten‑year terms. The RFPs require bidders to fund refurbishments, loading facilities, security and access upgrades while...
Bangladesh has seen a sharp rise in illegal shark and ray fishing as catches of traditional seafood species decline. Lower prices and growing export markets for dried fins and skins have made these protected species attractive to impoverished coastal fishers....
MP weighs Northlake, Texas, for a second magnet plant as it builds a 10X facility targeting 10,000 t/yr by 2028. https://www.metalnomist.com/2026/03/mp-materials-second-magnet-plant-could.html
China is expanding its ban on steel mills buying BHP iron ore again, adding another product to the blacklist. They've been negotiating for BHP for ~6 months now and there's no end in sight. This is the second ban in...
Uganda’s mining sector is grappling with prolonged licensing delays and opaque royalty collection, prompting stakeholders at the Annual Tax Dialogue to warn of rising informal mining. Despite gold exports exceeding $5 billion annually, licensed operations remain scarce, contributing only 1.9% of...
. @AlamosGoldInc $AGI top pick ~1M oz by 2030, low-cost North America ops, falling AISC, net cash funding growth, undervalued vs peers. Best mid-tier leverage to gold.
Overnight Iran reacted to the IEA's oil release intensifying its attacks on regional energy targets, including two small-sized fuel tankers in Iraq. Tehran knows oil is what could force President Trump to end the war early. Still, both Brent and...
Amex Exploration announced that its high‑grade Quebec gold project is on schedule to commence production in the third quarter of 2027. The development targets an initial output of roughly 120,000 ounces of gold per year, backed by measured and indicated...
At the PDAC 2026 conference, Stillwater Critical Minerals CEO Michael Rowley outlined a series of initiatives aimed at scaling the company’s flagship Montana project. Glencore reaffirmed its investment, backing a new three‑rig drilling campaign designed to expand the resource base...
Given the Trump' Administration decision to release 172 mb form the SPR, this is a must watch (from November 2022)
Metso and Loesche have formed an exclusive partnership to launch a vertical roller mill (VRM) dry‑grinding solution for mineral processing. The system promises substantial energy savings, lower operating costs and simplified process flows by replacing HPGRs, horizontal mills and stirred‑mill...
There is still plenty to discover in Nevada, says @strikepointgold's Michael Allen, especially with gold's run. The company is advancing its Hercules gold project. $SKP https://t.co/iIGi0ZW4QT https://t.co/BrEyGfD6a8
As high gold prices become the baseline, mining equities are poised to outperform in 2026 – VanEck’s Casanova $GDXJ $SILJ $CDNX https://t.co/L3SEm4naG1 via @KitcoNewsNOW
Victory Metals has appointed four internationally recognised technical experts—Ken Baxter, Scott Atkinson, Dr Ludovic Dumée and Peter Hedley—to its North Stanmore heavy rare earths project. The new hires complement existing leaders Professor Ken Collerson and CTO Dean O’Keefe, bringing deep...
Verity Resources announced high‑grade gold intercepts from its final infill drilling campaign at the Monument project in Western Australia. The 29 RC holes delivered grades as high as 5.41 g/t over 2.4 m, confirming strong continuity across the Waihi and Korong deposits....
Red Mountain Mining (RMX) reported high‑grade antimony results from its Oaky Creek target in the Armidale project, including a 28.1% antimony assay 600 m north‑northwest of Oaky Creek South. Earlier work had returned up to 39.3% antimony and 1.09 ppm gold across...
In case you are wondering why oil prices continued to rise despite the US announcement of a massive SPR release: In the SPR literature, more than 30 years ago, experts warned that announcing an SPR release might signal crisis and cause...
Dreadnought Resources has launched a reverse‑circulation (RC) drilling program at the Metzke’s Find prospect within its wholly‑owned Illaara gold project in Western Australia. The campaign will drill about 60 holes covering roughly 4,900 metres to extend the current 14,900‑ounce, 6.8 g/t resource...
Listen to episode 231 of the podcast with @Lithium_ARG VP Tom Benson if you want more details on this announcement. @tomvolcano
Lodestar Minerals reported visible copper sulphides, including chalcopyrite, pyrite, molybdenite and magnetite, in its maiden diamond drill hole at the Three Saints project in Chile, intersecting intervals from 190 m to 600 m depth. The increasing concentration of these IOCG‑style minerals suggests...
Excelsior’s latest newsletter spotlights growth‑oriented silver producers amid a surge in silver prices, which have hovered between the low $70s and low $90s per ounce. The metal is now trading at the highest average quarterly price ever recorded, driving heightened...
3 terrifying reasons the US military operations in Iran expose the fragility of global economics. Mainstream theory assumes a world of abundance and perfect competition. The reality is that our global supply chains rely on massive physical bottlenecks. From the single...
U.S. details its participation in the IEA coordinated SPR release. Washington will release 172 million barrels over a 120 day period, equal to a flow of ~1.4 million barrels per day.
At PDAC 2026, EY’s metals leader Theo Yameogo explained that gold’s price is driven more by geopolitical turmoil and deeper mining challenges than by forecasting models. He noted silver’s dual appeal as a safe‑haven and an industrial metal, especially for...
Aris @ArisMining 256k oz Au, beat guidance. 2026: 300-350k oz, path to 500k+ oz/yr run-rate,cheap vs peers in $5k+ gold. Mid-tier re-rating. $aris.to
Is it capable of “masse mining”? Does it even need to be if just a few mines can make insurance premiums skyrocket?
Novelis Inc. earned the 2026 Münchner Management Kolloquium Award of Excellence for an aluminum sheet produced entirely from end‑of‑life vehicle scrap, targeting exterior car‑body applications. The award highlights the technical feasibility of car‑to‑car recycling and the company’s push toward a...
President Trump has formally confirmed the US is participating in the IEA emergency oil stock release. “We’ll do that and then we’ll fill it up,” Trump said referring to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. “Right now, we’ll reduce it a little...
Ghana’s central bank announced a rebalancing of its international reserves, converting a portion of its gold holdings into foreign exchange. The move follows a Domestic Gold Purchase Programme that lifted gold stocks from 8.7 tonnes to over 40 tonnes, with a 62%...
Greenland’s Kvanefjeld deposit, rich in rare earth elements, is attracting global mining interest. A recent photo by Jonas Kako captures sodalite stones at the site glowing under ultraviolet light, highlighting the mineral’s visual appeal though it holds no commercial value....
The Eastside project for @A2GoldCorp gets 24 new claims, after a keen-eyed geologist spotted a few curious anomalies and realized the claim boundary was drawn a little too tight. See the map, what happens next, and why this #gold stock is...
Stantec has been appointed by St Augustine Gold & Copper Ltd to lead the Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) for the Kingking copper‑gold project in Mindanao, Philippines. The greenfield development is valued at US$2.37 billion and contains roughly 960 Mt of copper‑gold reserves....
ASGCO introduced a new Belt Lifter model designed for 48‑72‑inch (1,200‑1,800 mm) conveyor belts. The unit accommodates stringer widths from 56.5 to 86.5 inches, weighs 47.2 kg, and offers a closed height of 216 mm with a maximum lift of 482 mm. Built with rugged...
Big implications for #lithium and #copper markets... Chile is a major global producer of both #criticalminerals.
Cruz Battery Metals $CRUZ.CA $BKTPF Successful retest. Notable large bid support of 4M shares at 2.5c. Due to release their maiden resource soon. In Nevada lithium JV with Sienna $SIEN.V and Adelayde $ADDY.CA. Mystery box- what will billion-dollar multinational...
Aluminum prices surged to a four‑year high of $3,418 per metric ton after Middle East supply shocks, prompting analysts to flag the sector as volatile. A new ranking of nine aluminum and mining stocks, compiled by counting hedge‑fund holdings in...
Baker Hughes reported that the North America rig count slipped to 756 this week, eight rigs lower than the previous week. The U.S. portion rose slightly to 551 rigs while Canada fell to 205, driving the regional decline. Oil rigs...
