Today's Mining Pulse
Chinese financing fuels a $98 billion mineral power shift
A wave of $98 billion in Chinese financing and heightened U.S. diplomatic activity has thrust critical minerals into the geopolitical spotlight. Resource‑rich nations such as the DRC, Brazil and Zambia are leveraging their mineral wealth to negotiate better terms and assert greater control over strategic industries.
Also developing:
BREAKING: Trump Administration to Open New Mexico’s Most Protected River to Foreign Mining Company
The Trump administration issued a Federal Register notice cancelling a 20‑year withdrawal that had protected 163,483 acres (255 sq mi) of the Upper Pecos River watershed in northern New Mexico. The cancellation reopens the area to hard‑rock mining, oil, gas and geothermal leasing under the 1872 Mining Law, allowing the Australian‑origin company Comexico LLC—now owned by London‑listed Central Asia Metals—to file claims without paying royalties. The Upper Pecos, designated as Outstanding National Resource Waters, previously suffered a 1991 disaster that killed more than 90,000 trout after the historic Terrero Mine released acid and heavy metals. State‑level protections remain, but federal supporters are pushing the Pecos Watershed Protection Act to permanently block mining.
How Rare Earth Elements Power Modern Electric Lawn Equipment: From Motors to Manufacturing
Electric lawn tools have shifted from noisy gas engines to quiet, battery‑powered devices thanks to rare‑earth permanent magnets and phosphor‑based displays. Neodymium‑praseodymium (NdFeB) magnets provide high torque in compact motors, while dysprosium and terbium preserve magnetic strength at high temperatures....
Vizsla Drills 435 Metres of 0.49% CuEq at Poplar Project, B.C.
Vizsla Copper reported that drill hole TH26-151 intersected 435 metres of 0.49% copper‑equivalent mineralization, the longest continuous porphyry interval at the Thira discovery within its Poplar project in British Columbia. The mineralized zone extends at least 800 m east‑west and 700 m...
Copper Fox Metals Discloses 2026 Schaft Creek Program, British Columbia
Copper Fox Metals disclosed its 2026 development program for the Schaft Creek copper‑gold‑molybdenum‑silver project in British Columbia, budgeting roughly C$9.1 million (about $6.7 million USD). The plan focuses on technical reviews of the geological model, metallurgical testing, tailings and mine‑plan options, and...
Using AI to Speed up Australia’s Environmental Approvals Risks ‘Robodebt-Style’ Failures, Scientists Say
Conservation scientists warn that a $13 million (≈$8.6 million USD) AI pilot to accelerate Australia’s environmental approvals could produce “robodebt‑style” mistakes. The Biodiversity Council says the EPBC Act’s vague language and scarce species data make automated decisions unreliable. Experts argue clearer standards and...
Valaris Nets $447M Brazil Drillship Extension, Inks Suriname Collaboration Deal
Valaris secured a 1,064‑day extension for its DS‑4 drillship with Petrobras, adding roughly $447 million to its backlog and guaranteeing work through 2030. The extension also includes a day‑rate adjustment that trims about $21 million of backlog between now and November 2027. In...
Study Predicts up to 120,000 Sq Km of Ice-Free Antarctica by 2300, Exposing Gold, Copper and Silver
Researchers led by geophysicist Erica Lucas estimate that climate‑driven ice loss could uncover as much as 120,610 sq km of land in Antarctica by 2300, revealing extensive deposits of gold, copper, silver and iron. The projection, which incorporates glacial isostatic adjustment, raises...
Indium Corporation Announces Strategic Agreement for Domestic Critical Metals Recovery
Indium Corporation has signed a long‑term offtake framework with Flash Metals USA, a Metallium subsidiary, to purchase critical metals recovered from electronic scrap using Flash Joule Heating technology. The agreement covers gallium, germanium, copper, tin, gold and indium, with an...
Germanium Mining Finalises Initial Private Placement Phase
Germanium Mining has closed the initial phase of a non‑brokered private placement, securing capital to fund its 2026 exploration program at the Lac Du Km 35 property in Québec. The flagship Laganière showing recorded a germanium grade of 0.02 % (186 ppm), prompting the company...
Liberia: How Many Shocks Before We Build Our Own Strength?
Liberia’s economy is repeatedly jolted by external shocks—from wars to pandemics to soaring oil prices—because it imports nearly all its petroleum and relies heavily on raw‑material exports. The editorial argues that explaining these price spikes is insufficient; the country needs...
Solar, Mining Groups Partner to Improve Mineral Traceability
The Solar Stewardship Initiative (SSI) and the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA) have signed a memorandum of understanding to boost traceability and sustainability across solar supply chains. The partnership will span the entire value chain, from mineral extraction to...
Crude‑Gold Ratio Hits Historic Peak, Signals 2026 Reversal
Worthy Reversion Spark? Stocks vs. Gold, GDP, Crude Mean reversion can be profound when it's from historical extremes, and the relationship between crude oil and gold may suggest a reverse wealth effect that defines 2026. The roughly 86x January high in...
White House Taps Highland Copper in Local Supply Push
The White House has highlighted Canadian miner Highland Copper as a key contributor to expanding U.S. domestic copper supply, placing its Copperwood project alongside major players like Rio Tinto. The announcement follows President Trump’s recent tariff adjustments that lower duties...
Boonray Signs Cooperation Agreement with Major Mining Project Contractor China Railway 21st Bureau
Boonray Technology and China Railway 21st Bureau Group signed a strategic cooperation agreement on March 27, linking Boonray’s electric autonomous mining trucks with the contractor’s massive construction capacity. The state‑owned 21st Bureau, capable of delivering projects worth over $7 billion annually,...
India's Metal & Mining Sector Set for Earnings Recovery Despite Geopolitical Headwinds: Report
India’s metal and mining sector is poised for a near‑term earnings rebound, driven by stronger domestic steel demand and rising commodity prices. A sharp recovery in steel prices since December 2025 is expected to lift ferrous margins in Q4 FY26, while...
California Presses On With ‘Lithium Valley’ Amid Lawsuits, Water Dispute
California is moving forward with its “Lithium Valley” initiative in the Imperial Valley, aiming to tap geothermal lithium deposits that could support millions of electric‑vehicle batteries and create up to 12,000 jobs. The effort is now tangled in environmental lawsuits,...
Datong Launches Clean‑Energy Retraining for 800,000 Coal Miners
Datong, China’s historic coal hub, has unveiled a post‑mining plan that aims to retrain its 800,000‑strong mining workforce for clean‑energy jobs. The shift is anchored by tourism growth around the Yungang Grottoes and new coal‑to‑hydrogen projects, highlighting the province’s broader...
Commodity Exchanges Distort Prices, Not Discover Them
Is the commodity exchange model broken? When physical markets and paper prices tell completely different stories – in oil, metals and beyond – it raises a fundamental question: are exchanges still discovering prices, or distorting them? In this article I...
Oil Prices Give Up Early Gains On Iran War Ceasefire Hopes
Oil prices slipped on Monday after reports that the United States and Iran were engaging in indirect negotiations for a potential 45‑day cease‑fire. Brent crude for June delivery fell 0.4% to $108.56 a barrel, down from an intraday high of...
Eagle to Start 27,000ft Drilling at Aurora Uranium Project
Eagle Nuclear Energy will launch a 27,000‑foot drilling campaign at its Aurora Uranium Project on the Oregon‑Nevada border, commencing in early July. The program comprises 47 diamond drill holes equipped with gamma probes, Acoustic Televiewer tools, and hydrogeological sampling to...
Contractors Mobilised for Athena Gold’s Laird Lake Project Drilling
Athena Gold has mobilised drilling contractors to start a fully funded diamond‑drill program at its Laird Lake project in Ontario’s Red Lake Gold District. The campaign will drill approximately 5,000 m across ten holes, focusing on high‑priority geophysical and geochemical anomalies...
OceanaGold Prepares to Ramp up Didipio as New Sandvik Fleet Starts Arriving
OceanaGold's Didipio underground mine in the Philippines is scaling up production, targeting 2.5 Mt per year by 2029. To support this, the company has placed a new order with Sandvik for two LH621i loaders, three TH663i trucks and a rebuilt TH663...
Asian Multi-Well Drilling Campaign Bumped to May
Jasmine Energy, a subsidiary of Singapore’s Rex International, raised $25 million in senior secured bonds to fund a three‑well drilling campaign at Oman’s Yumna field in Block 50. The campaign, originally slated for Q1 2026, has been pushed to May 2026. Block 50 covers roughly...
IEA Calls for Oil‑Style Security Framework for Critical Minerals
The IEA says critical mineral stockpiles need an oil-style security framework to reduce supply disruption risk. https://www.metalnomist.com/2026/04/critical-mineral-stockpiles-need-oil.html
GDX: New Macro Risks, Same Solid Valuation For Gold Mining Stocks
VanEck’s Gold Miners ETF (GDX) retains a buy rating, anchored by an attractive 11.2× price‑earnings multiple and strong earnings‑per‑share growth forecasts. The fund has posted a 108% year‑to‑date return, outpacing the S&P 500 by more than 80 points, though it recently...
Rio Tinto Boosts Copper Output 5% in Q4 2025, Strengthening Base‑Metal Supply
Rio Tinto reported a 5% year‑over‑year increase in fourth‑quarter copper output and an 11% rise in total 2025 production to 883 kilotonnes. The gain, driven by ramp‑ups at Oyu Tolgoi, Kennecott and the new Johnson Camp mine, offers a welcome supply boost for...
Trafigura Secures Major London Victory, Pursues Large Damages
Trafigura won a major London court ruling in its fake nickel cargo fraud case and will seek substantial damages. https://www.metalnomist.com/2026/04/trafigura-nickel-fraud-ruling.html
Israel Strikes Iran's Asaluyeh Petrochemical Complex, Spares Gas Field
Israel appears to have attacked again the petrochemical plants connected to the South Pars gas project (but not the gas field itself or any of its immediate processing facilities). Israel said its military hit Iran's largest petrochemical facility, located in Asaluyeh.
BP Leading Effort to Develop Energy Deposits in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan
BP is positioning itself as the lead developer of the Ustyurt Plateau’s newly identified natural‑gas reserves that span western Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. The company signed an exploration agreement with KazMunayGaz on April 2 and is in talks with Uzbekneftegaz and Azerbaijan’s...
Q2Metals Announces Cisco Project Exploration Target Range
Last summer, @Q2Metals reported an Exploration Target on its Cisco Project estimating a range of potential mineralization and grade. Alicia Milne spoke with Mining Stock Daily. $QTWO https://t.co/5I8oS5H2dz https://t.co/cCo679mvgP
Quad3 Cycle Highs Signal Ongoing Bond Yield Breakout
COMMODITIES: New #Quad3 Cycle Highs last week should keep Bond Yields in breakout mode https://t.co/m2QLuLPYDZ
Critical Minerals Institute Unveils 2026 Watchlist: Rhenium (Re) and Indium (In) Added, Tungsten (W) Elevated to Top 5 as Supply...
The Critical Minerals Institute released its 2026 Critical Minerals Watchlist, adding rhenium (Re) and indium (In) and promoting tungsten (W) into the Top 5 strategic tier while demoting cobalt (Co). The update underscores a refined definition of criticality that hinges on...
Saudi Raises Arab Light Price to Record Premium
Saudi Arabia has increased its official selling price (OSP) to a record high. The state-owned Saudi oil giant told refineries in Asian it would charge a premium of $19.5 a barrel over the regional benchmark for sales of its flagship...
India's Russian Crude Imports Surge 94% in March
🇮🇳India’s Russian crude imports rebound sharply — up nearly 94% in March MoM and 10% YoY. https://t.co/O0zIu8LcIi
U.S. Moves to Secure Venezuela’s Gold as Influence Deepens After Intervention
The U.S. has shifted from sanctions to commercial deals, securing a $100 million shipment of Venezuelan gold—the first in over 20 years—under a limited Treasury licence. Trafigura is set to purchase 650‑1,000 kg of doré bars from state miner Minerven, with the...
Gold Leads US Exports, Offsetting Trade Deficits
The US’ single biggest export in February was “non-monetary gold.” Gold has been the US’ biggest export in 4 out of the past 5 months (it was the 2nd biggest export in the 5th mth.) Trump is partially settling US trade deficits...
Middle‑East Conflict Triggers New Helium Shortages for U.S. Manufacturers
U.S. helium suppliers warned of imminent disruptions after an Iranian missile strike damaged QatarEnergy’s Ras Laffan plant and the United States completed the sale of its federal helium reserve. The shortage threatens semiconductor fabs, MRI manufacturers and aerospace firms that...
Great Recession 2.0? | Michael Pento
Money manager Michael Pento warns that the U.S. economy is confronting a "triad of bubbles" in credit, real estate and equities, amplified by a sharp oil price rally to roughly $100‑$110 per barrel amid the Iran conflict. His proprietary 20‑indicator...
How Trump’s Iran War Could Make the World More Reliant on Coal
The U.S. and its allies’ war with Iran is spurring a global shift back toward coal as nations scramble for reliable energy amid disrupted oil and gas supplies. Worldwide coal consumption has risen by roughly 1.3 billion tons since 2020, reaching...
In Panic, Oil Hoarding Is Inevitable—China Must Act
⭕️When markets are in panic, asking countries not to hoard oil is like asking people in a lifeboat not to ration the food — everyone knows the supplies might run out before rescue arrives, and self-preservation kicks in hard. ⭕️China...
California’s Hell’s Kitchen Lithium Project Stalls Amid Permitting, Price and Water Disputes
Rod Colwell’s Hell’s Kitchen lithium project in Imperial County has hit a wall as environmental lawsuits, falling lithium prices and a dispute over water and power supplies delay the rollout. Governor Gavin Newsom’s earlier promises of a 12,000‑job boom now...
Paramedics for Ecosystems
In southeastern Ecuador’s copper‑rich mountains, local residents called “paraecologists” are systematically cataloguing biodiversity, from endangered species to medicinal plants. Their field data—species inventories, water quality tests, and habitat maps—are transformed into legally admissible evidence. Ecuador’s constitution, which grants nature legal...
Russian LNG Vessel Shifts From Arctic to Africa‑Asia Trade
This is a story packed with irony — perfect for the media: An ICE-class LNG carrier, once dedicated to carrying Yamal LNG from Russia’s Arctic, is now transporting LNG from Africa to Asia. The question is: Why is a Russian company shipping...
China Slashes Crude Imports, Doubles Floating Storage
China's crude oil imports declined by about 490 kb/d in March YoY. Floating storage more than doubled. Onshore storage increased by about 66 mb. China knew...
Asian Oil Stocks Plunge, US And
Major drop in crude oil inventories in Japan, followed by India. US and China are up! Make you own conclusions.
Turkish‑operated Tanker Moves 1 M Barrels via Iran’s Corridor
Roughly 1 million barrels of Iraqi Basra Heavy has passed through the Strait of Hormuz using the Iranian-assigned corridor. The vessel, a shadow fleet tanker, is owned and operated by a Turkish company. Map form @Kpler
Australia Assures Fuel Supply Ahead of Japan PM Visit
Australia given fuel supply assurances as plans in works for visit by Japan's prime minister https://t.co/C0jQ0t1KjJ via @ABCaustralia
Get Natural Gas Straight From the Permian
Want natural gas? Come to the Permian and just take it. No really, I’m serious.
Diesel Prices Poised to Surge Toward $11/Gal
We warned in the Daily Energy Report and the Weekly US Data Report about a month ago that diesel prices will skyrocket and inventories might decline to record levels. Will it go to $11/g?
U.S. Supplies Half Global NGLs; Hormuz Crisis Cuts 19% Shipments
⭕️The United States is not only the world's largest producer of natural gas liquids (NGLs), but it accounts for roughly half of global production. ⭕️ The Hormuz crisis blocked the shipmnets of about 19% of seaborn tarded NGLs. https://t.co/PeoruA92IE