
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.
Endurance Mining, backed by Taurus Funds, has revived the Abra lead‑silver mine in Western Australia, delivering a record $19.5 million EBITDA and $8.8 million free cash flow in the December quarter. Production reached 253,000 oz of silver and 19,756 t of lead at a low sustaining cost of A$1.02 per pound, making Abra the country’s sixth‑largest silver producer. The company plans a late‑2026 ASX float to fund expansion and pursue multi‑asset M&A. Strong silver prices and resilient lead demand underpin the growth outlook.

The episode examines Vanderbilt Minerals, LLC’s recent Chapter 11 sale filing, tracing its roots back to the 1916-founded R.T. Vanderbilt Company and its evolution from paper clay mining to industrial talc production. It highlights the long‑standing regulatory challenges with OSHA...

A dispute has emerged between the Democratic Republic of Congo, Belgium, and U.S. firm KoBold Metals over access to colonial-era geological archives housed at Belgium’s AfricaMuseum. The DRC wants to partner with KoBold to digitize data on cobalt, lithium and...

The Democratic Republic of Congo will host the inaugural DRC Critical Minerals & Industrialization Forum in Kolwezi from 7 to 9 October 2026, co‑hosting with the DRC‑Africa Battery Metals Forum. The event targets cobalt and lithium, aiming to shift the...

Jubilee Metals reported a strong first half of 2025, with Roan achieving its 30,000‑tonne‑per‑month feed target and saleable copper output rising 8.7% to 1,543 tonnes. The company kept its full‑year production guidance of 4,500‑5,100 tonnes despite seasonal rain disruptions. Roan...

ZCCM Investments Holdings has begun constructing access roads to the Kikonge Mine in Mufumbwe, signalling a concrete step in Zambia’s drive to regularise artisanal and small‑scale mining. The government, led by Mining Minister Paul Kabuswe, linked illegal mining to the...

The Democratic Republic of Congo’s Regulatory Authority for Subcontracting (ARSP) has voided contracts between the Kibali Gold Mine and three service firms—KMS, Boart Longyear and TAI Services—citing non‑compliance with subcontracting regulations. The audit, conducted in November 2025, found the contractors...

The Democratic Republic of Congo’s Ministry of Mines and the Social Fund signed an agreement to launch the AXIS Programme and its Sovereign Gold Reserve Token (SGRT), a debt‑free financing tool linked to gold production. Led by the FSRDC with...

A new scramble for Africa's critical minerals—lithium, cobalt, graphite, platinum‑group metals and rare‑earth elements—is driven by global green‑energy supply chains. The article argues that regional blocs such as SADC, ECOWAS and EAC must coordinate policies to move from raw‑material exports...
India’s power demand rebounded sharply in December, posting a 6.3% rise, and continued climbing in January as a harsh winter and improving economic activity spurred electricity consumption. The surge is expected to lift coal demand, reversing a period of weakness...
Triple Eight Capital’s Roscoe Widdup warns that gold remains the market’s biggest trade, with bullion prices poised to climb above $5,000 per ounce. He highlights that top gold miners are trading at less than 10 times forward cash‑flow, a steep discount...
President Trump continues to tout coal while the industry sheds jobs at an accelerating pace. U.S. coal‑generating capacity fell by 57 GW during his two terms, outpacing the 48 GW loss under Obama and 41 GW under Biden. Employment in coal mining has...
Hubei STR will launch a 50,000 t/yr anode recycling plant in March 2026 as China battery scrap rises. https://www.metalnomist.com/2026/02/hubei-str-anode-recycling-plant-will.html
REalloys signs 5-year SRC deal for NdPr, Dy, Tb and funds Saskatoon capacity expansion. https://www.metalnomist.com/2026/02/realloys-rare-earth-supply-deal-with.html
Newmont Corporation filed a formal notice of default against Barrick Gold over the Nevada Gold Mines joint venture, citing alleged mismanagement and resource diversion. The JV, formed in 2019, gives Barrick a 61.5% operating stake while Newmont holds 38.5% of...

Teheran now believes it's marked for death, writes @ctindale Once survival replaces strategy, restraint evaporates & chaos becomes leverage Anyone who thinks this isn’t about oil—specifically balancing China’s grip on metals—simply isn’t paying attention #Geopolitics #Iran #Deterrence #EnergySecurity #PowerPolitics #Risk #MiddleEast #StrategicStability
While renewables boom in WA, WA electric vehicle adoption half the global adoption rate of 25% If WA's vehicle fleet was 100% electric in 2026 with renewables penetration at 55%, more than half of WA transport emissions would have been eliminated @RogerCookMLA
The Supreme Court narrowed presidential tariff authority, prompting the administration to rely on alternative statutes and refusing refunds for collected duties. This creates a new layer of substitution and retroactivity risk that markets now price into trade‑policy expectations. For capital‑intensive...

Japan’s deep-sea rare earth find at Minamitorishima sounds like a game-changer. And on paper, it is. The 50-50 mix of light and heavy rare earths is impressive, especially since heavy elements are the truly scarce ones. The bad news is it’s...

January Natural Gas vs. Lower Energy, Rates Goals - The January natural gas future (Jan27) is typically the tip of the price curve and will be tops in relevance around the US midterms, with a potential downward bias. Preexisting trends...
The article argues that embedding Union content criteria in the EU’s Industrial Accelerator Act (IAA) is the only viable lever to build a resilient, locally sourced battery industry. By conditioning public subsidies—such as EV purchase incentives—on a minimum share of...

Here’s an important story in the Washington Post, with a link below, about how the United States forgot how to mine anything and what it is costing our nation today. If America wants to reduce its dependence on imports from...
Almonty seeks $112.5mn to advance Montana tungsten, Portugal Panasqueira expansion, and Korea Sangdong Mo drilling. https://www.metalnomist.com/2026/02/almonty-tungsten-funding-targets-1125mn.html
Vale Base Metals has sold a majority stake in its Thompson nickel mine to a consortium of Exiro Minerals, Orion Resource Partners, and the Canada Growth Fund. The new Exiro Nickel Company will operate the mine, backed by up to...

Resource Expert Sean Brodrick interviews Deal-maker CEO Warwick Smith of American Pacific Mining Corp $USGDF $USGD.CA https://t.co/9vg3VBGu4A https://t.co/fs6rz3m196
Episode 229 of the @globallithium podcast with YJ Lee. The bullish forecasts are only a small part of the conversation. @usuallyYJLee https://t.co/Dkg19Dg7Lg
Gold prices rebounded from early‑week weakness, reclaiming the $5,000 support level and climbing to $5,100 per ounce by week’s end. The initial dip was tied to reduced Chinese demand during the Lunar New Year, but safe‑haven buying spurred by rising...

Gold back over $5100 USD and Silver over $84 USD. We have a potential Iran conflict, and the end of the CNY break next week. https://t.co/Eac6sG80np
Mineral Resources swings to interim profit on stronger Onslow output, lithium rebound https://t.co/DOTSeLY4pB via @KitcoNewsNOW
Southern Alberta country singer Corb Lund has relaunched his “Water Not Coal” petition campaign to ban new coal exploration and mining in the Eastern Slopes of the Rocky Mountains. He received official clearance from Alberta’s Chief Electoral Officer and has...
Let's build WA's future around renewables and green iron, not gullibly back nuclear and last century subs that have already been strategically neutralised by drones Hey @AlboMP - what the hell is wrong with Labor backing nukes?
British Columbia’s mining sector is experiencing a rapid boom as gold and silver prices reach historic highs and Canada intensifies its focus on critical minerals like copper and nickel. The surge has created a sharp demand for skilled workers, especially...
The Polaris zinc‑lead underground mine on Little Cornwallis Island, Nunavut, is the world’s most northerly base‑metal mine. Discovered in 1971 after a seven‑year Cominco exploration program, the first drill hole intersected a Mississippi Valley‑type orebody. The deposit holds about twenty...
Dan Gertler, an Israeli businessman, leveraged deep political connections to dominate Congo's cobalt mining, turning the country into a linchpin of the global battery supply chain. His network of opaque contracts and bribes enabled Western tech firms to secure cheap...
Teck Resources CEO Jonathan Price says the engineering setbacks at the QB2 mine in Chile will be resolved by the end of 2026, clearing a major operational hurdle. The company is awaiting final antitrust clearance for Anglo American's US$20 billion no‑premium...
Nutrien Ltd. projects potash demand to expand for a fourth straight year, targeting sales of 14.1‑14.8 million tonnes in 2026. Benchmark potash prices are roughly 20% higher than a year earlier, reflecting tighter market fundamentals. CFO Mark Thompson highlighted constrained...

Investor Erik Wetterling, known as The Hedgeless Horseman, breaks down why junior mining stocks remain undervalued despite recent market corrections after the VRIC event. He stresses patience, the "wall of worry" mindset, and the shift from gold‑silver focus to base‑metal...
i-80 Gold Corp reported Q4 2025 revenue of $21.3 million, an 8.3% decline from the prior year, while net loss widened to $85.6 million. The company completed a Class 3 study for the Lone Tree autoclave refurbishment, confirming 2,268 t/day capacity and a $430 million...

Kagem Mining Limited has been officially recognized by Zambia's Minerals Regulation Commission for completing four consecutive years without a lost‑time injury, a first in the country’s mining sector. The milestone underscores the company’s disciplined safety planning, continuous training, and adherence...

Tenke Fungurume Mining (TFM) told Mining Indaba delegates it has delivered roughly US$8 billion to the Democratic Republic of Congo’s public treasury since 2006 and supports about 20,000 jobs. The mine, a Copper Mark‑certified operation, allocates 0.3% of revenue to community projects...
The Critical Minerals Institute (CMI) has elevated tungsten to a top‑5 candidate on its 2025 watchlist, citing China’s 80%‑plus production share and the lack of domestic U.S. sources. In the interview, Director Alastair Neill also highlighted copper, gallium, cobalt, uranium and...

In this episode, Doomberg examines the recent surge of interest in copper, dissecting whether the metal is on the brink of a genuine supercycle driven by supply constraints and booming demand, or if the hype is largely speculative. He outlines...
Volta Metals Ltd., a Canadian critical‑minerals explorer, is advancing its Springer Rare‑Earth Project in Ontario after drill hole SL25‑23 returned 81 g/t Ga₂O₃ over 132 m, including 110 g/t over 15.7 m. The company, which also targets lithium, cesium and tantalum, controls about 11 km...

China’s decade‑long green mining agenda has slashed carbon output from raw coal by an estimated 43.59 million tons each year across its 14 largest coal bases, which together produce 96.6% of national output. Policy intensity surged more than tenfold after 2011,...
Yukon Metals Corp. announced a 2025 rock‑sampling program at its Carter Gulch property that returned a spectacular 250 g/t gold assay from a quartz‑vein float, with an average of 17.8 g/t across nine samples above 1 g/t. The high‑grade results prompted the company to...

The Africa Centre for Energy Policy and the Natural Resource Governance Institute are launching a one‑week summer school on extractive‑industry governance for Anglophone Africa. The program brings civil society, media, researchers and government officials together to address policy gaps and...

Is Gold the Next Big Commodity Trade? Historic Reversion Risks - Geopolitical tensions could add fuel to crude oil's bear market as it approaches good resistance while heightening peak signals in gold's bull market. The metal has reached historic extremes...

A Supply Scare Can Add Fuel to Brent Downtrend - What will end crude's downtrend may be a top commodity question of 2026. A supply scare that spikes prices might fuel more of the same -- US-led Western Hemisphere production...

The Rock May Be Too Hot - Gold vs. Commodities - Inflation is notably absent from gold's parabolic rally, which may suggest a too-hot rock if history is a guide. From a base of 100 in 1964, gold in terms...
"We have looked at building [the Donlin project] in phases, but given the current price environment of about $5,000 an ounce, it's our current thinking to build the project in a single build," said @NOVAGOLD 's CEO Greg Lang. ...