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:
Zimbabwe Lithium Sector Adopts PGM Model as Beneficiation Deadline Nears
Zimbabwe’s lithium industry is shifting to a cooperative beneficiation model modeled on its platinum‑group metals sector, with larger miners offering toll‑processing capacity to smaller producers. Three lithium‑sulphate plants—Prospect Lithium’s $400 million Arcadia facility and Sinomine’s $500 million plant—are slated for commissioning between early 2026 and late 2026, putting the country on track to meet a government‑mandated export ban on raw concentrates effective February 26, 2026. The policy aims to transform raw spodumene, priced around $250 per tonne, into battery‑grade sulphate worth $18,000‑$22,000 per tonne, dramatically increasing export value.
Resources Top 5: Uranium Junior Flies on US Resource Upgrade; AI Move Boosts Graphite Play
American Uranium (ASX:AMU) announced a 10% resource upgrade at its Lo Herma project in Wyoming, boosting indicated resources to 4 million pounds and lifting the share price as much as 33%. Pure Resources (ASX:PR1) entered a research partnership with Rice University to...
South Africa: North West Raises Alarm Over Illegal Mining, Chrome Wash Plants
The North West Provincial Legislature’s Economic Development Committee warned that illegal chrome wash plants and unregulated mining are proliferating in Bojanala and Madibeng. In the 2025/26 fiscal year, inspectors found 30 of 70 wash plants operating without environmental authorisation, and...
Iran Attacks Kuwaiti Oil Tanker in Dubai Port
Iran has hit a fully laden Kuwaiti oil tanker in the anchorage area of Dubai’s port, damaging the hull and starting a fire on board, state-run Kuwait Petroleum Corporation said https://t.co/z0pPgEwdwx
Nine India‑bound Energy Ships Stuck at Hormuz
🇮🇳India: 9 India-bound energy vessels — carrying crude oil, LNG, and LPG — remain stranded at or near the Strait of Hormuz, unable to transit https://t.co/IzlRQxYqGH
US Steel Restarts Illinois Blast Furnace
U.S. Steel, now owned by Japan’s Nippon Steel, has successfully restarted blast furnace B at its Granite City Works in Illinois. The restart added roughly 400 new employees to support operations. The move was prompted by improving domestic steel demand...
Miramar Drilling Extends Highway Gold Strike Beyond 600m
Miramar Resources reported that reverse‑circulation drilling at its Highway prospect within the Gidji joint venture has delineated more than 600 metres of shallow gold mineralisation at depths of 47‑56 metres. The most notable intercept was 3 metres grading 9.45 g/t gold. The company plans...
Oil Companies Set to Make €24 Billion in Excess Profits From European Drivers This Year
Oil majors are projected to earn about €24 billion ($26 billion) in excess profits from European road fuels by the end of 2026, driven by price spikes after the US‑Israeli attack on Iran. So far they have already captured €1.3 billion ($1.4 billion) this...
Smart Fabrics Become Functional Fashion with Rare Earth Technology
Smart fabrics are evolving from passive textiles to active systems that can sense motion, temperature, sweat chemistry and provide feedback through heat, light or haptics. This functionality relies on miniature electronic modules that incorporate rare‑earth‑based components such as NdFeB magnets...
Pivotal Eyes Copper and By-Product Upside at Horden Lake
Pivotal Metals has launched Phase 2 metallurgical testwork at its wholly‑owned Horden Lake project in Quebec to boost recoveries of nickel, gold, silver, platinum and palladium. The pilot follows Phase 1 results that delivered 87‑94% copper recoveries and clean concentrates. Horden Lake hosts a...
Viking Delivers Premium Grade Tungsten Concentrate at Linka
Viking Mines announced that its Linka tungsten project in Nevada has produced a premium‑grade scheelite concentrate using simple gravity separation. The test upgraded a 1.2% WO3 feed to a 63.6% WO3 concentrate, representing a more than 5,300% grade increase. The...
Recycled Copper Output Starts Out Strong in 2026
Global recycled copper production surged in January 2026, reaching 445,000 metric tons, an 11.5% increase over the same month last year and up from December’s 424,000 tons. The rise was driven largely by expanded secondary refining in China, according to...
Monthly Oil Draw Hits Quarter‑billion Barrels, Chart Dips
According to Gemini this figure is now below the y-axis from @Rory_Johnston's chart. 495 Million barrels so a quarter billion barrel draw in a month https://t.co/PEEyloJs9H
Dateline Resources' Rare‑Earth Claim Near Joshua Tree Sparks Outcry
Dateline Resources Ltd. has staked a 32‑square‑mile heavy rare‑earth claim just 100 feet from the Joshua Tree National Park desert‑tortoise habitat. The move has ignited sharp backlash from environmental groups and a Democratic congressman, while the company argues the project could...
Filo Del Sol in Argentina May Hold 13 Mt of Copper, Redefining Global Supply
Geologists working for Lund & BHP have released an initial mineral resource estimate that puts the Filo del Sol deposit in northwest Argentina at up to 13 million tonnes of copper, 907,000 kg of gold and 18.6 million kg of silver – roughly five times the...
WA Iron Ore Mines Face Diesel Crisis in 10 Days
WA’s most labour-intensive iron ore mines could be just 10 days away from diesel supply catastrophe https://t.co/5djcT6LMSY
Record Resource Sector Spend Supports Around Two in Five Job Across WA
Western Australia’s resources sector delivered a record economic contribution of AUD 166 billion (≈ USD 110 billion) in 2024‑25. That spending equals roughly AUD 454 million (≈ USD 300 million) per day and supports about 650,000 jobs, or two‑fifths of all employment in the state. The industry paid AUD 26 billion in...
How A Magnet Shortage Could Bring The $10 Trillion Tech Sector to a Halt
Rare‑earth permanent magnets, essential for defense, automotive and consumer tech, are overwhelmingly produced in China—90% of processing and 93% of magnet manufacturing. A 2025 export restriction caused Ford to halt Explorer production, highlighting the fragility of the supply chain. REalloys...
Morella–Elevra Joint Venture Delivers Strong Pegmatite Hits at Mt Edon
Elevra Limited and Morella Corporation have finished a 20‑hole, 1,700‑metre reverse‑circulation drilling campaign at the Mt Edon rubidium‑lithium project in Western Australia. The program intersected broad pegmatite zones in 11 holes, including an 84‑metre interval starting at 18 metres depth, confirming a...
Rio Bounces Back From Cyclone Narelle
Rio Tinto quickly restored Pilbara iron ore port operations after Cyclone Narelle forced shutdowns on March 24. Ship loading resumed at East Intercourse Island, Parker Point and Cape Lambert B by March 28, while repairs continue at Cape Lambert A. The company says it...
Americas Gold & Silver Sees 30% Output Rise This Year
Americas Gold & Silver projects a 30% rise in 2026 silver output, targeting 3.2‑3.6 million ounces at an all‑in sustaining cost of $30‑$35 per ounce. Measured and indicated resources grew 10% to 115.7 million ounces, with average grades up 30%. The company...
Four IOCs Working on Lithium Extraction in US Smackover Play
After a 90% plunge in lithium carbonate prices from 2022 to 2025, U.S. brine projects in the Smackover Formation stalled, but a recent price rebound has revived interest. Equinor has secured an anchor off‑taker, while Exxon Mobil, Occidental Petroleum and Chevron...
Dateline Resources' Rare‑Earth Claim Near Joshua Tree Triggers Environmental Outcry
Dateline Resources Ltd. has secured mining claims covering roughly 32 square miles just 100 feet from critical desert tortoise habitat adjacent to Joshua Tree National Park. The move has provoked sharp criticism from conservation groups and U.S. lawmakers, while the company argues...
Eloro Resources Ltd: Advancing One of Bolivia’s Largest Silver Discoveries in Centuries, and Building a Portfolio to Match
Eloro Resources Ltd. (TSX: ELO) is advancing the Iska Iska Project, a newly identified silver‑tin polymetallic discovery in Bolivia’s Potosí Department. CEO Thomas G. Larsen describes the find as a world‑class, never‑drilled collapse‑resurgent caldera centre of a massive volcano. The...
China's Gold Premium Stays Elevated, Signaling Strong Buying
Gold Premium in #China Remains Well-Oriented. local premiums staying elevated during consolidation often reflects strong underlying buying.
US Blocks Rare Earth Development, Forces Foreign Dependence
US rug pull on rare earth floors. They didn't even let US supply get built. Looks like the names are getting hit. I wonder where the US gov thinks supply with come from... Brazil? Rely...
Attacks on Mideast Aluminum Plants Threaten Supply Crisis
Iranian drones and missiles struck the Emirates Global Aluminium plant in Abu Dhabi and Aluminium Bahrain, causing significant damage to two of the Middle East’s largest aluminum smelters. The attacks sent LME aluminum futures up 6% to $3,401 per ton...
Latin America Returns to the Energy Security Conversation at CERAWeek
At CERAWeek, Latin America re‑entered the energy‑security conversation, with Argentina positioning Vaca Muerta as a full‑scale export platform rather than just a resource play. Argentine officials forecast $50 billion in annual energy‑export revenues by 2031, supported by $130 billion of oil, LNG and...
Natural Gas Spike Signals Crude Oil Slide to $50
US Natural Gas' 100% 1Q Pump-Then-Dump May Guide 2026 Crude Oil - The roughly 100% 1Q rise in the front US natural gas future, and reversal to minus 18% on March 27, may lead crude oil's way in 2026, as...
US Natural Gas Floor Shifts to $3, Not $2
Is $3 the New $2 Floor for US Natural Gas? The front US natural gas future hasn't ended a quarter below $3 per million BTUs since 2Q24. Is $3 replacing $2 as the new floor? The 2026-27 winter should be a...
India Must Pursue Value-Driven Critical Minerals Diplomacy in Africa
The recent Strait of Hormuz disruption highlighted India’s vulnerability to energy chokepoints and underscored the need for a resilient critical‑minerals supply chain. A forthcoming CSEP paper proposes a value‑driven diplomacy with Africa, focusing on Zambia, Zimbabwe and Tanzania to secure...
Heating Oil Doubles Q1, Echoes 2008 Energy Crisis
Heating Oil, Distillate Surges and Price Peaks - Heating oil's 100% surge in 1Q may emphasize extreme stress and the potential for demand destruction that typically results when energy prices spike. On a weekly basis since 1986, the 4.5 ratio...
Gold's 2025 Surge Signals Possible 2026 Rebound
Gold's 2025 Rally Was Prescient: Is It Hangover Time? Gold may have one main problem -- ample room for reversion. At the end of February, the metal stretched to its highest-ever vs. the Bloomberg Commodity Spot Index and its greatest premium...
Oil Sales From California’s Santa Ynez Pipeline Begin
Sable Offshore announced it has begun selling oil from its Santa Ynez Pipeline System to Chevron after resuming crude transport earlier this month. The pipeline, idle since a 2015 spill that devastated the Gaviota Coast, was reopened under a Trump‑administration...
Metals Likely Pump‑Then‑Dump After 2026 Peak
2026 May Mark Enduring Metals Peaks - The Bloomberg Commodity All Metals Total Return Subindex cut its 22% gain for 2026 (to the Jan. 29 high) to roughly 2% on March 27. Did the metals sector set a pump-then-dump peak,...
Equinox Gold Tables Production Updates for Two Canadian Mines
Equinox Gold released updated technical reports for its Canadian Greenstone and Valentine mines, projecting a combined 543,000 ounces of gold annually over the next decade based on proven and probable reserves. Greenstone is targeting a 27,000‑tonne‑per‑day milling rate with potential...
Gold's Surge Signals Return of Safe‑Haven Appeal
Bull Trap or the safe heaven status is back ? Gold has been on the rise for the past few days meanwhile Geopolitical tensions & inflation fears are still on the rise. Let me share my 2 cents on what's happening &...
Intelligence Newsletter - 30/03/2026
Mining firms are accelerating a wave of billion‑dollar megaprojects as soaring metal prices boost investment pipelines. Mining IQ’s database shows megaproject economic studies climbing from 15 in 2024 ($25.9 billion capex) to 21 in 2025 ($43.7 billion), a 66 % jump, and ten...
PRI Eyes Transition Minerals Engagement as Part of Spring Initiative
The Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) has unveiled a new Spring initiative that concentrates on transition minerals such as battery metals and rare earth elements. The program seeks to strengthen investor capacity for responsible political engagement and to clarify the...
Fastmarkets Proposes Changes to Quality, Tonnage Specifications for Battery-Grade Cif CJK Lithium Salts Assessments
Fastmarkets has issued a consultation proposing new quality, tonnage, payment and shelf‑life specifications for its benchmark battery‑grade lithium‑hydroxide and lithium‑carbonate assessments in the China, Japan and Korea (CJK) market. The draft raises the minimum shipment size from 5 to 18...
Namibia Critical Metals and JOGMEC Amend Lofdal Heavy Rare Earths Project Agreement, Namibia
Namibia Critical Metals (NCMI) and Japanese partner JOGMEC have amended their earn‑in agreement for the Lofdal Heavy Rare Earths Project in northwestern Namibia. JOGMEC is committing an additional C$3 million (≈US$2.2 million) to fund the definitive feasibility study and related de‑risking work,...
Going Beyond Decarbonization: Key Insights Into Delivering a Just Transition for Steel and Mining Sectors
In March, IRMA and ResponsibleSteel released a landmark report on just transitions for the mining and steel sectors, highlighting the need to place people at the heart of decarbonisation efforts. Stakeholder interviews underscored that inclusive planning and continuous social dialogue...
Investors Favor Nuclear Miners, Shun Capital‑Heavy Space Tech
ListingTrack Weekly Theme Recap (Week Ending 03/27/26) This week, Nuclear strength concentrated in uranium miners and integrated nuclear utilities, while SMR developers and safety/fuel‑tech names faced renewed selling. New Space, by contrast, traded lower overall: Satellogic delivered a standout move on...
Iran Conflict Triggers Worldwide Fertilizer Crunch, Hikes Food Prices
The war in Iran sparks a global fertilizer shortage and threatens food prices https://t.co/xpr9UOnHTZ via @mySA
Vietnamese Player’s ‘Super Rig’ Ready for Drilling
Vietnam’s state‑owned Petrovietnam Drilling & Well Service Corp. (PV Drilling) officially named its newly acquired jack‑up rig PV DRILLING IX, formerly the Noble Highlander, on March 27. The vessel, built to Friede & Goldman JU2000E specifications, can drill to 9,144 meters and operate in water up to 129.5 meters...
Oil Slumps,
Sure, it looks bad in Oil.. But we are pretty far from 2021/2022 in Nat Gas, food, electricity etc.. Still a world apart..
Judge Rejects Environmental Challenge, Clears Ioneer's Nevada Mine
March 30 (Reuters) - A federal judge has rejected claims by environmentalists that the U.S. government improperly approved Australia-based ioneer's Rhyolite Ridge lithium and boron mine project in Nevada in a ruling on Monday that boosts efforts to increase U.S....
WTI Hits $100+ for First Time Since 2022
For the first time since the war started, WTI oil has settled above the $100-a-barrel threshold. It’s the first triple-digit settlement since 2022, when it closed above that level for >80 trading days. To match that, WTI would need to remain >$100...
LithiumIonic Secures $1,000 Spodumene Floor Deal
An exclamation point to this insightful color @D_Jimenez_Sch was @LithiumIonic signing spodumene offtakes with Yahua and Grand Chen Resouces on the heels of this Fastmarkets Shanghai conference last week: $1,000 price floor, no ceiling, no discount and $20M...
Brent May Futures Expire, June Takes Over at $108
A reminder that the Brent May futures contract, currently trading ~$115 a barrel, expires tomorrow. From Wednesday, the front-month futures would be the Brent June contract, currently trading at ~$108 a barrel. Liquidity has already moved from May to...