Today's Mining Pulse
Ximen Mining Deploys Robotic Dog to Accelerate Underground Surveys
Ximen Mining has introduced an autonomous robotic dog at its Kenville mine project in British Columbia, cutting underground survey time by roughly 30%. The move underscores a broader industry shift toward automation and faster, safer data collection.
Also developing:
By the numbers: Ganfeng invests $319M in Australian Mount Marion lithium mine
Tesla’s Texas Lithium Refinery Sparks Scrutiny of Lax Wastewater Permitting
Tesla’s first North American lithium refinery in Robstown, Texas, was hit with a cease‑and‑desist after a pipe released black liquid into a county drainage ditch, despite a state permit that allowed the discharge. Independent testing found lithium and other toxic metals, prompting regulators and environmental groups to question Texas’ wastewater permitting process.
Trump Announces $700m Coal Investment Using Wartime Powers
President Donald Trump announced a $700 million coal investment, invoking the Defense Production Act to fund the preservation of 14 coal plants, 42 mines, and the construction of two new plants and an export terminal. The package splits into $500 million of...
Indonesia Intercepts Mercury Shipment Bound for Illegal Philippine Mines
Indonesian authorities seized 760 bottles of mercury hidden in carpet rolls at the country’s largest port, intended for illegal gold mines in the Philippines’ Davao region. The shipment used falsified customs paperwork to appear as textiles, and nine suspects were...
Makwiranzou Hails E-Cadastre as Key Mining Reform, Promises Faster Approvals
Zimbabwe’s Deputy Minister of Mines, Caleb Makwiranzou, announced that the long‑awaited Electronic Cadastre will replace the country’s paper‑based mineral rights system with a digital registry. The platform will map and track all mining titles—from artisanal gold claims to large oil...
Urban Mining Needed as Copper Demand Outpaces Supply
🪱 Bringing Copper Home — Red Metals’ debut today TLDR; Copper is the workhorse of electrifying everything. We need to refine more copper in the next 25 years than in all of human history. FastCompany: “The world faces a looming copper shortage:...
Trump Pledges Hundreds of Millions to Revive U.S. Coal
🇺🇸 President Trump said he would marshal hundreds of millions of US taxpayer dollars behind his bid to revitalize the coal industry in America - Bloomberg
China Launches $8.4 B State‑Owned Firm to Drive Overseas Mining Deals
China has set up Guangyang International Investment, a state‑owned fund with 60 billion yuan (~$8.4 billion) in registered capital, to co‑invest in overseas metals and mining projects. The National Development and Reform Commission will oversee the firm, signalling a coordinated push to...
Upper Spring Creek Uranium Project in Texas Completes Construction, Operations to Start Late 2026
Dallas‑based enCore Energy Corp. has finished phase‑one construction of its Upper Spring Creek in‑situ recovery (ISR) uranium project in South Texas, including a satellite ion‑exchange plant capable of processing 1,600 gallons per minute—half of its design capacity. The first production...
Trafigura Warns World’s Largest Energy Crisis Is Far From Over
Trafigura warns that the Middle East conflict has removed over 1.1 billion barrels of oil from markets, creating the largest energy crisis in history. The trader estimates a daily supply loss of 14 million barrels, potentially exceeding 20 million without alternative routes. Prices...
Chapo Signs Law for 15% State Ownership in All Mozambique Mining Ventures
Mozambique President Daniel Chapo signed a law mandating a minimum 15 % state stake in all mining projects and requiring local processing of minerals. The legislation, approved by parliament in May, targets strategic resources such as graphite—a key battery material—and aims to...
African Mine Infrastructure Triggers 34‑Times More Deforestation Than Mines Themselves
A University of Sheffield-led analysis reveals that between 2001 and 2020, mining infrastructure in Africa cleared 187,000 hectares of forest—34 hectares for every hectare of active mine. The findings spotlight a hidden environmental cost of the continent’s mineral boom that...
Pacific Ridge Raising $7.2 Million for B.C. Copper-Gold Drilling
Pacific Ridge Exploration announced a non‑brokered private placement to raise roughly $7.2 million CAD (about $5.3 million USD). The offering includes hard‑dollar units at C$0.20, flow‑through units at C$0.23 and charity flow‑through shares at C$0.294, potentially giving a strategic investor up to...
Egyptian Phosrock Exports Resuming
Egyptian phosphate rock exporters have begun filing loading applications after a roughly one‑month suspension triggered by ambiguous government policy. The pause followed a May 3 statement by the mineral resources minister suggesting a halt to new export approvals, though no...
UBTech Robot Boom Sparks Fresh Rare‑Earth Magnet Demand
UBTech humanoid robot sales surged in 2025, pointing to new rare earth magnet demand. https://www.metalnomist.com/2026/06/ubtech-humanoid-robot-ubtech-humanoid.html
America's Rare Earth Reckoning Could Create a New Strategic Powerhouse
The Pentagon’s 2027 ban on Chinese‑origin rare‑earths is spurring a rapid build‑out of a sovereign supply chain, and REalloys (NASDAQ: ALOY) is at its center. The company has committed $20.6 million to upgrade the Saskatchewan Research Council’s processing plant, securing preferred...
Forge Resources Begins Biggest Diamond Drill Program at Alotta Project, Yukon
Forge Resources has kicked off its largest ever diamond‑drill campaign at the Alotta Project in Yukon, deploying roughly 2,500 metres of drilling. The 2026 program targets newly identified geophysical anomalies across the Payoff, Severance, Commission and Alimony zones, which are believed...
West Point Gold Drills 21.4 Metres of 1.01 G/T Gold in Union Pass Fault Corridor, Arizona
West Point Gold Corp. announced drill results from its Bull 8 target in Arizona’s Union Pass Fault Corridor, part of the Gold Chain Project. Hole GC26-136 intersected a 21.4‑metre interval grading 1.01 g/t Au, with true width around 18 m, while the other...
Aggregates Leader Tries Out Epiroc's LinkOA
Heidelberg Materials, the global aggregates leader, has launched a proof‑of‑concept trial of Epiroc's LinkOA autonomous haulage system at one of its Western Australia quarries. The pilot will deploy driverless Komatsu HD605 haul trucks to transport material without a human operator....
Highland Copper Targets Q1 2027 Feasibility Update for Copperwood
Highland Copper is advancing detailed engineering and optimisation studies at its Copperwood project in Michigan, targeting an updated feasibility study release in the first quarter of 2027. The company is evaluating lower cut‑off grades and bulk ore sorting, which could...
Cove Kaz Capital Launches Kazakhstan Tungsten Mine as War‑driven Shortages Hit Global Supply
Cove Kaz Capital announced plans for a large‑scale tungsten mine in Kazakhstan to offset a supply shock caused by the Ukraine and Iran conflicts. With China controlling up to 80% of global output and recent export curbs, the project targets...
Integra Resources Targets 300K-Ounce Gold Growth Plan | George Salamis
Integra Resources announced a strategic plan to become a mid‑tier gold producer, targeting more than 300,000 ounces of annual output. The company is stabilizing operations at its Florida Canyon mine in Nevada, moving the asset closer to full production. Simultaneously,...
Gunnison Copper Advancing Gunnison Copper Project, Arizona
Gunnison Copper Corp. has fully contracted a district‑wide drilling campaign at its Arizona Gunnison Copper Project, targeting up to 120 holes and roughly 138,000 feet of core to feed its pre‑feasibility study, resource expansion and metallurgical work. The first metallurgical phase...
Cub East Expands Whitehorse Copper
Gladiator Metals announced step‑out drilling at its Cub East target that pushes a high‑grade copper‑gold‑silver zone northward by more than 80 meters. Assays from four holes show up to 4.24% copper, 2.16 g/t gold and 31 g/t silver over significant intervals. A 3‑D...
Silver47 Tests Red Mountain Potential
Silver47 Exploration Corp. is launching a 10,000‑meter, 2026 drill campaign at Alaska's Red Mountain district, a 60‑km trend of polymetallic VMS mineralization. The program will allocate roughly 3,000 m to expand the known Dry Creek deposit, which already hosts an inferred...
China’s Rare Earth Playbook: Status‑Quo Stability, Crisis‑Driven Leverage, and the Global Race to Respond
China has turned rare earths into a strategic lever, using export licensing, environmental checks, and technology controls to keep global markets dependent while avoiding overt embargoes. In normal years this creates a predictable scarcity, especially for heavy rare earths like...
Oman’s Block 50 Offshore Drilling Ops Face Further Delays
Masirah Oil has postponed the start of its three‑well development drilling program at the Yumna field in Oman’s Block 50, with a new start date to be announced later. The company previously targeted the first quarter of 2026, then May 2026,...
2017-Built Rig’s Asian Multi-Well Drilling Assignment Awaits New Start Date
Jasmine Energy, a subsidiary of Singapore‑based Rex International, has announced a revised timeline for its multi‑well drilling program off Oman’s coast. The project will use the nine‑year‑old Energy Emerger jack‑up rig, operated by Northern Offshore, to drill three development wells...
Spurned by Trump, Oklahoma’s AG Sues to Block America’s First Aluminum Smelter in 50 Years
Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond has filed a 12‑page lawsuit to block Century Aluminum’s proposed primary aluminum smelter east of Tulsa, a project backed by $500 million in Biden‑administration funding. The plant, which would be the first new U.S. aluminum smelter...
FinEx Metals Announces Exploration Program for Its 100%-Owned Kero Project in the Central Lapland Greenstone Belt, Finland
FinEx Metals Ltd. announced a summer 2026 exploration program on its 100%-owned Kero gold project in Finland’s Central Lapland Greenstone Belt. The plan includes roughly 2,000 m of diamond drilling and 600 top‑of‑bedrock/bottom‑of‑till samples, targeting four zones where historical drilling missed...
As India Rises in Critical Minerals Race, Can It Dent China’s Dominance?
India and the United States signed a framework agreement on May 26 to cooperate on critical minerals and rare‑earths, aiming to reduce reliance on China’s dominant supply chain. The pact follows a $20 billion Quad initiative and includes provisions for joint mining,...
Simandou Iron Exports Jump to 2.2 Mt in May, Six Months After First China Shipment
Guinea’s Simandou iron ore project shipped 2.2 million tonnes in May, a sharp rise from April’s 1.3 million tonnes and the first three months’ sub‑0.6 million‑tonne levels. The surge, recorded six months after the inaugural shipment to China, marks a critical step in...
West High Yield’s Barry Baim on Bringing Magnesium Production Back to North America
West High Yield Resources Ltd. (TSXV: WHY) is moving its Record Ridge magnesium project in British Columbia from permitting to production, aiming to complete remaining Mines Act permit conditions by mid‑June and start ground disturbance in July. The deposit boasts...
April Manganese Ore Prices Surge on Tight Indian Supply
Moil raised April manganese ore prices as tight Indian supply and restricted imports lifted feedstock costs. https://www.metalnomist.com/2026/06/moil-moil-manganese-ore-prices-rose.html
Wesizwe Platinum to Cut Staff 70% as Rips up Mining Plan
Wesizwe Platinum, 45% owned by China‑Africa Jinchuan Investments, announced it will scrap its original Bakubung mine production plan and cut 70% of its workforce, laying off about 497 of 706 employees. The revised strategy abandons the 420,000‑ounce‑per‑year target and instead...
Boliden and V.A.S. Complete Autonomous Dam Haulage Project
Volvo Autonomous Solutions (V.A.S.) and Boliden have completed an autonomous haulage project at the Garpenberg mine in Sweden, moving close to 700,000 tonnes of rock fill to reinforce a dam wall. The operation spanned more than 11,000 transport cycles and covered...
Rocklands Mill Buy Keeps Plant Refurb Rolling
Austral Resources has secured an "as new" 4.75 MW semi‑autogenous grinding (SAG) mill for its Rocklands copper project in north‑west Queensland, with delivery slated for late July. The mill, previously unused, will replace aging equipment and keep the plant refurbishment on...
Vaca Muerta Infrastructure Project Nears $1 Billion Financing Package
Citigroup, Banco Santander and JP Morgan are negotiating a roughly $1 billion financing package for Transportadora de Gas del Sur's NGL Project in Argentina's Vaca Muerta shale basin. The $3 billion investment will add new gas‑processing capacity, a 573‑km pipeline to Bahía Blanca and export...
Pilbara Killer Pumps
Ship‑tracking data from Kpler shows Pilbara’s Morebaya port shipped 2.2 million tonnes of iron ore in May, eclipsing the 1.3 million‑tonne record set in April. The first three months of 2026 each moved only about 0.6 million tonnes, reflecting earlier expectations of a...
Strategic US‑Made Rare‑Earth Project Offers Low‑Capex Opportunity
HAMR-time meet xenotime Dy, Tb, Y, titanium, zircon Congrats @iperionx on robust Titan DFS. Trump admin no doubt recognizes the strategic nature @todd_hannigan so articulately summarizes below, which is why DOW funded the study. Low capex, low execution risk, permitted. 100% owned, 100% made...
Simandou Mine Threatens Iron Ore Giants' Pilbara Dominance
Iron ore giants start to feel the heat of higher exports from ‘Pilbara killer’ Simandou mine in Guinea https://t.co/GAwljPARuu
Verity Resources Reports 97% Gold Recoveries From Metallurgical Testing of Waihi Samples
Verity Resources (ASX:VRL) announced that metallurgical testing of Waihi samples from its Monument project delivered gold recoveries of up to 96.99% after a 24‑hour cyanide leach. The tests, which included both weathered saprock and fresh rock composites diluted with waste,...
Thermal Coal Market Update
Thermal coal prices surged across all major benchmarks in the first week of June, driven by a confluence of seasonal demand and geopolitical tension. Hot summer weather in the Northern Hemisphere boosted electricity consumption, while unrest in the Middle East...
Forging Supply Chain Resilience Through Lubrication Strategy
Mining operators face logistical bottlenecks, volatile commodity prices and rising efficiency demands, making operational resilience essential. Bel‑Ray, a 80‑year lubrication specialist and Calumet subsidiary, offers a partnership model that designs custom lubrication programs to cut inventory waste and guarantee part...
Miners Urge Gov’t Aid to Challenge China’s Rare Earth Dominance – by Kristie Batten (Mining.com – June 2, 2026)
Western mineral producers warned that government backing will remain essential as they attempt to erode China’s near‑monopoly over rare earths. At the AFR Mining Summit in Perth, executives highlighted decades of market distortion caused by Chinese supply dominance and pricing...
Data Distortions Mask True
💠How Are Data Distortions from Canadian Crude Blending Inflating Both US Oil Demand and Export Numbers? 💠Will Rising Prices and Inflation Push US Oil Demand Flat or Lower in H2 2026? 💠Are Product Inventory Builds Signaling Weak US Demand, or Just Post-Holiday...
High‑grade Gold Found; 30,000 M Drilling Expands Catalyst Potential
Channel sampling at @A2GoldCorp's Blackrock target finds some high-grade #gold, now with another style of mineralization in the broader Castle system. Drilling at Eastside was expanded to 30,000m so lots of potential catalysts ahead, overweight position: https://t.co/VPqi5kN3Xh https://t.co/K9BhQCN0nz
Kuwait's KPC Raises June Sulphur Price to $805/T Fob
Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) set the June Kuwait Sulphur Price at $805 per tonne FOB, up $40 from May. Freight to Chinese ports is $154‑170 per tonne, pushing delivered CFR costs to roughly $965 per tonne. The price hike reflects...
Q&A: Why Cleantech Might Not Be as Clean as It Seems
Vince Beiser, author of *Power Metal*, warns that the clean‑energy transition relies on critical minerals whose extraction often causes deforestation, water pollution and child labor. He argues that renewable electricity is better than fossil fuels but not truly "clean," emphasizing...
EVelution Energy’s Arizona Cobalt Refinery Lines up Financing From US and Finnish Export Credit Agencies
EVelution Energy secured a non‑binding Letter of Interest from Finland’s export credit agency Finnvera for up to $70 million to finance Metso‑supplied equipment at its planned solar‑powered cobalt refinery in Yuma County, Arizona. The U.S. Export‑Import Bank has also signaled up...
Jack-in-the-Stox: Defense Metals’ Wicheeda Deposit Emerges as Canada’s Most Technically Advanced Rare Earths Project
Defense Metals Corp.’s Wicheeda Rare Earth Project has emerged as the most technically advanced rare‑earth development in North America, thanks to pilot‑scale validation of both flotation and hydrometallurgical processes. The monazite‑synchysite mineralogy yields high‑grade concentrates and a clean mixed REE...