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:
Norden Moves Into Ice-Class with LKAB Deal and Newbuild Order
Denmark‑based shipping group Norden is entering the ice‑class market by securing a long‑term cargo contract with Swedish miner LKAB and ordering two new multipurpose vessels. The 10‑year contract covers bentonite shipments from Greece to northern Sweden, prompting Norden to commission two 23,000‑dwt ships built to Finnish‑Swedish Ice Class 1A standards, slated for delivery in 2028. The vessels will feature 80‑tonne cranes and biofuel capability, expanding Norden’s reach into ice‑prone regions. This move aligns with the company’s strategy to grow contract‑backed, stable earnings in specialized trades.
Stronger Output Boosts Benguet Corp.’s Profit to P760M in 2025
Benguet Corp. posted a 74% jump in net income for 2025, reaching ₱760 million (about $13.8 million). Revenue climbed 38% to ₱3.31 billion (~$60 million), driven by stronger gold and nickel output and higher commodity prices. The company also reported basic earnings per share...
Aramco Redirects 4 M Bpd, Fastest Global Mitigation
Striking image: dozens of empty tankers queued up at Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea ports, ready to load oil. @saudi_aramco has diverted approximately 4 million barrels per day from its eastern fields to the west. Their rapid and massive response stands...
FIN Reels in Big Sulphide Hit as It Chases Gold in Cabin Lake Drilling
FIN Resources reported that its first drill hole at the Cabin Lake project in the Northwest Territories intersected a 38.37‑metre interval of sulphide mineralisation, primarily pyrite with some pyrrhotite, from 14.55 m to 52.92 m depth. The visual hit matches historic Arrow...
Unity Strikes High-Grade Gold, Eyes Okvau-Style Mineralisation in First Look at Ngot
Unity Metals reported high‑grade gold intercepts from the first six holes of its maiden ~50‑hole diamond drill program at the Ngot Project in Cambodia. Notable assays include 0.5 m at 18.4 g/t Au, 1 m at 21.8 g/t Au, and a 0.4 m interval grading...
Star Minerals Clears the Road to Gold Mining at Tumblegum South
Star Minerals completed a 124‑hole grade‑control drill program at its Tumblegum South project in Western Australia, confirming high‑grade continuity with assays such as 9 m at 5.57 g/t gold, including 3 m at 14.54 g/t. The drill results underpin a 45,000‑ounce contained gold resource...
ERG Commits $1 Bn to Boost Kazakhstan Strategic Metals
ERG will invest $1bn in Kazakhstan to expand strategic metals, gallium, HBI, and core metallurgy assets. https://www.metalnomist.com/2026/03/erg-kazakh-mining-investment-signals.html
Exploration Round-Up: Legacy’s Greenfields Gold Discovery
Legacy Minerals announced a greenfield gold discovery at its Mascotte prospect, intersecting 40 m at 1.0 g/t gold in the first diamond hole, outside the current Mt Carrington resource. Kalamazoo Resources reported that Phase 1 drilling at Mt Olympus in Western Australia confirms the gold...
Tight Copper, Aluminium Supply Set to Boost Prices Through 2026
ING expects tight copper and aluminium supply to support prices into 2026 amid tariffs, weak mine output, and power constraints. https://www.metalnomist.com/2026/03/tight-copper-and-aluminium-supply-keeps.html
Saudi Crude Exports Surge From Western Ports
A Picture Worth a Thousand Words: Saudi Crude Exports from Western Ports Continue to Rise https://t.co/fSDuoL9nVW
JL Mag Rare‑Earth Posts Full‑Year Profit More Than Doubles to $99 M
JL Mag Rare‑Earth Co., Ltd. announced full‑year earnings that more than doubled to RMB705.6 million ($99 million), driven by a 14.1% rise in revenue to RMB7.718 billion. The results highlight the expanding role of rare‑earth minerals in global technology supply chains.
Pirate Gold Drills Crippleback, Likened to Valentine Deposit
@PirateGoldCorp has drills turning at its Crippleback project, which the company says shares similarities with Equinox Gold's Valentine deposit. Executive Chairman and CEO @DRLaviolette outlined the plan Crippleback and Moosehead projectS. https://t.co/V1brZ5wmlQ $YARR https://t.co/Er2A7VrCPU
China's 3M Strategy Secures EV Battery Dominance
China's CATL owns over 38% of the global EV battery market, generating over $10 BILLION in PROFIT last year. China's DOMINANCE is built on decades of strategic investment in what I call the "3Ms": Mining, Metallurgy, & Materials Science. CHINA HOLDS ALL...
Australia Poised as ‘Global Resource Rising Star’ in Electrified World: IEA Chief
International Energy Agency chief Fatih Birol said Australia is becoming a "global resource rising star" thanks to its extensive reserves of LNG, lithium, copper, cobalt and uranium. He highlighted that the country's mineral wealth positions it to supply both traditional...
Iran Ships 1.5M Barrels Daily, Prices Surge
four weeks in, iran continues to export oil through the strait of hormuz. 1.5 million barrels a day, at significantly higher prices than before the war.
Nevis Targets 10‑30 MW Geothermal Plant to Slash Power Costs Below $0.15/kWh
Nevis Premier Mark Brantley announced a multilateral‑backed geothermal power project that will initially deliver 10‑30 MW, enough to meet the island’s entire electricity demand. The plan promises to lower current rates of more than $0.40 per kilowatt‑hour to under $0.15, cutting...
Miners Tumble as Market Senses Looming Global Financial Crisis
Max pain for Miners today & they are trading like the market FINALLY is beginning to realize a MAJOR global financial crisis is coming: First Majestic (AG) -7% Hycroft -10% Hecla -6% SantaCruz Silver -10% Southern Silver -14% Trump's comments this morning seemed to finally...
As One N.W.T. Diamond Mine Shuts Down, These Workers Want to Stay in the North – by Devon Tredinnick (CBC...
Rio Tinto’s Diavik diamond mine in the Northwest Territories officially shut down after decades of operation, having extracted more than 150 million carats of diamonds. At its height the mine employed over 1,000 workers, many of whom settled in the region....
Canadian Farmers Pinched by Iran War as Cost of Key Fertilizer Ingredient Climbs – by Darius Snieckus (National Observer –...
Canadian farmers face looming fertilizer shortages as the U.S.-Iran war chokes the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for phosphate and sulphur shipments. Canada imports over 2.6 million tonnes of phosphate annually, with roughly 80% coming via the United States, which...
New Brunswick Seeks Antimony Mine Partners – by Joseph Quesnel (Canadian Mining Journal – March 26, 2026)
The New Brunswick government issued a March 24 call for private partners to explore the historic Lake George antimony mine, located 30 km southwest of Fredericton. The site contains known antimony deposits and prospective tungsten and molybdenum resources. Officials cite growing global demand...
South Korea Shifts From Aid to Minerals in Africa – by Liam Cowan (East Asia Forum – March 26, 2026)
South Korea’s new president Lee Jae‑myung slashed official development assistance by 24 % in the 2025 budget, abandoning former President Yoon Suk‑yeol’s pledge to double aid to Africa by 2030. The policy shift reflects a strategic pivot toward securing African minerals...
Billionaire Robert Friedland’s Ivanhoe Ships First Copper Through Lobito Corridor – by Mfonobong Nsehe (Billionaires Africa – March 24, 2026)
Ivanhoe Mines shipped its first batch of low‑carbon copper anodes from the Kamoa Kakula complex in the DRC through Angola’s Lobito Corridor to the Atlantic port of Lobito, where Germany’s Aurubis AG will refine them. The anodes are 99.7% pure and among...
4 Months After DRC Mine Spill, Residents Remain Impacted
On Nov. 4, 2025 a wastewater spill from Congo Dongfang International Mining’s copper‑cobalt plant flooded Lubumbashi neighborhoods, contaminating crops, drinking water and causing health problems. The DRC government announced a $6 million compensation package and health assistance, but victims and human‑rights groups argue...
This Star Geo Wants You to Forget Everything You’ve Heard About Early Stage Exploration
Veteran geologist Steve Beresford argues early‑stage exploration is actually low risk and urges investors to stop fearing it, especially as junior miners chase world‑class copper and other discoveries. Australian juniors sit on a record‑high cash pile of roughly $7.9 billion USD and...
U.S. Gas Prices Plunge: Permian Negative
While the world panics about the loss of Qatari LNG, your reminder that nat gas prices in the Permian (Waha hub) had been negative for 35 consecutive trading days — and counting. And that Henry Hub is at ~$3 per...
Maran Gas Doubles Down with Fresh LNG Carrier Order
Greek carrier Maran Gas Maritime has placed an order with South Korea’s Hanwha Ocean for two new LNG carriers, each with a capacity of 174,000 cubic metres. The contract, valued at roughly $505 million, targets delivery in May 2029. This order...
Saga Metals Acquires Titanium Property From Rio Tinto
Saga Metals has purchased the 64.5 km² Garneau titanium prospect from Rio Tinto’s Canadian arm for an exploration spend of about $317,000 USD, with Rio retaining a 2% NSR royalty and reimbursing $44,000. The property sits within Quebec’s Havre‑Saint‑Pierre anorthosite complex,...
Domestic Production Capacity of Rare Earth Permanent Magnets to Reach 5,000 Tonnes by 2030: Govt
India aims to boost domestic rare‑earth permanent magnet output to 5,000 tonnes by 2030, up from a current 4,000‑tonne demand that is expected to double. A pilot neodymium‑iron‑boron project and a new samarium‑cobalt plant in Visakhapatnam, initially producing 500 tonnes,...
The Iran War Has Already Unleashed a $25 Billion Energy Repair Bill
The ongoing Iran conflict has already generated an estimated $25 billion in energy‑sector repair costs, according to industry analysts. Damage to key oil refineries, pipelines and the strategic Kharg Island hub is forcing Iran to divert resources toward emergency reconstruction. The...
Oil Price Surge Is Hurting African Economies: Scholars in Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, and South Africa Take Stock
Oil prices surged above $100 a barrel after the United States and Israel attacked Iran, prompting Tehran to close the Strait of Hormuz, which carries roughly 20% of global oil. The disruption has sent fuel costs soaring across Africa, prompting...
Gold Demand Just Broke a Record. Supply Can’t Keep Up
A Reuters poll predicts gold will set another record in 2026 as central banks, 95% of those surveyed, plan to increase holdings to historic levels. U.S. demand surged 140% in 2025 to 679 tonnes, while ETF inflows added 437 tonnes,...
Epsilon Energy COO Henry Clanton Drives 54% Production Surge and 75% EBITDA Jump in Q4 2025 Call
Epsilon Energy's chief operating officer, Henry Nelson Clanton, used the Q4 2025 earnings call to outline a aggressive operational scaling plan that delivered a 54% year‑over‑year production increase and a 75% rise in adjusted EBITDA. The roadmap centers on the...
Rosatom and Brazil's NBEPar Launch Joint Venture for Critical Minerals Extraction
Rosatom and Brazil's private holding NBEPar have created a joint venture, Nadina Minerals, to extract and process critical minerals in Brazil. The JV will focus on uranium and other high‑technology metals, targeting deposits in Paraná's Figueira region and Bahia's Caculé....
New Zealand Receives Application for Canterbury Hydrocarbon Prospecting
New Zealand’s regulator has received a prospecting permit application from domestic firm CBX Energy Ltd to explore hydrocarbons in the offshore Canterbury Basin, the first such request since the 2018 exploration ban was lifted in late 2025. The government opened...
THE ROBOT REVOLUTION IS HERE: Why the Robotics and A.I. Booms and Ensuing Historic Metals Demand Will Trigger the Greatest...
Humanoid robot maker Unipath is already deploying kitchen‑grade robots in Chinese homes, marking the first large‑scale consumer rollout of AI‑driven robotics. The article warns that within the next two to three years billions of such machines will be built, creating...
Independence Gold Outlines B.C. Project Exploration Plan, Shares Rise
Independence Gold Corp. (TSXV: IGO) has launched a up‑to‑10,000‑metre diamond drill program at its wholly‑owned 3Ts gold‑silver project in central British Columbia, roughly 185 km southwest of Prince George. The program follows a Q4 2025 resource update that added the Tommy...
Report Suggests Alberta Could Sit on $1 Trillion Lithium Goldmine
Alberta sits atop an estimated 82.5 million tonnes of lithium‑carbonate‑equivalent, a resource valued at over US$1 trillion and enough to supply batteries for more than 10 billion electric vehicles. The province is developing direct lithium extraction (DLE) technology that repurposes oil‑and‑gas drilling expertise...
Gold Strong, but Juniors Must Deliver, Haywood Says
Gold’s rally to roughly $5,600 per ounce has lifted junior miners, but Haywood Securities warns that the next phase will reward only those with funded drill plans and clear catalysts. The firm’s latest quarterly report adds eight explorers to its...
B2Gold’s Goose Area Keeps Laying Bonanza Eggs
B2Gold reported striking drill results at its Llama deposit in Nunavut, including a 13.7‑metre intercept grading 41.95 g/t gold and a 38.2‑metre intercept at 17.95 g/t. The company’s 2025 exploration program, backed by $46 million in 2026 spending, expands the Back River district’s...
US‑Canada Crude Surplus Fuels Dec26 WTI Spike
Growing US, Canada Crude and Fuel Surplus - When the December 2026 (Dec26) WTI crude future started trading in 2017, the US and Canada had a supply-demand deficit near 1 million barrels a day (MMb/d). Now it's a roughly 7 MMb/d...
Rio Tinto, Australia Pledge $2B for Renewable‑powered Boyne Smelter
Storage-firmed renewables: Rio Tinto and Australian governments commit AU$2 billion to future-proof Boyne smelter #energysky -- via Energy Storage News: https://t.co/FjGb9Wzr6q
Final Production at Rio Tinto’s Diavik Diamond Mine
Rio Tinto’s Diavik diamond mine in Canada celebrated its final day of production after 23 years, having extracted more than 150 million carats of rough diamonds. The mine, which operated both open‑pit and underground methods beneath Lac de Gras, will cease...
War Prolongs Oil Price Surge Despite SPR Release
With Brent crude around $109, following the decision to release 400 million barrels from the SPR, along with waivers for Russian, Iranian, and Venezuelan oil entering the market, the path is clear: The longer the war drags on, the higher...
Treasury Claims Ample Oil, IEA Taps Strategic Reserves
“The oil market is well-supplied” — US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. (… that’s quite a statement after the International Energy Agency had to make the largest ever use of his member’s strategic petroleum reserves…)
New Report Finds The Metals Company Own Analysis Shows Project “Cannot Be Profitable”
An independent review of The Metals Company’s pre‑feasibility study finds the deep‑sea mining project would generate zero profit and exhaust its mineral reserves in roughly eight years. The analysis highlights that the model relies on overly optimistic metal prices, no...
Let Competition Buy Magnets, Not Government-Chosen Champions
Libertarian think tank analyst on Trump Admin’s equity investments in critical mineral supply chain: “If Washington wants more domestic rare-earth magnet capacity, why not just buy the magnets? Clearly, regulatory obstacles exist, but letting firms compete rather than try to...
Copper Miners and Prices Dip, Bottom Forming?
Copper Miners $COPX vs Price of Copper $COPPER. Down today but looks like it's hammering out a bottom. https://t.co/CCHLPeGBwv
Rio Tinto Targets Mid-2030s for Arizona Copper Mine Opening
Rio Tinto has launched a $500 million drilling program at previously inaccessible zones of its Resolution Copper project in Arizona, targeting mine start‑up by the mid‑2030s. The mine is projected to yield more than 18 million tonnes of copper over its life,...
Export Sales Far Exceed USDA Weekly Targets
Pretty solid export sales #corn 47.9 mb. Needed each week to meet current USDA projections 23.2 mb. #Soybean export sales 24.6. Needed each week to meet current USDA projections 8.3 mb.
Byrnecut Gives Sandvik Its Largest AutoMine Rollout Yet
Sandvik has secured five new AutoMine automation orders from Byrnecut, the world’s largest underground mining contractor. The contracts cover underground sites in Australia and Namibia, marking Sandvik’s biggest rollout for Byrnecut to date. The AutoMine Multi‑Lite system will enable loaders...