Today's Mining Pulse
Ximen Mining Deploys Robotic Dog to Speed Up Underground Surveys
Ximen Mining has introduced an autonomous robotic dog to survey underground excavations at its Kenville mine project in British Columbia. The platform delivers faster, safer data collection and the company says it trims survey time by roughly 30 percent, underscoring a broader industry shift toward automation.
Also developing:
By the numbers: Ganfeng invests $319M in Australian Mount Marion lithium mine
BHP's Port Hedland Export Operations the ETU's Next Target
The Electrical Trades Union (ETU) announced a vote on work stoppages for electrical workers at BHP's Port Hedland bulk‑export terminal. BHP ships more than 280 million tonnes of iron ore through the port each year, making it a linchpin of its Pilbara operations. A strike could halt shipments, pressuring BHP to negotiate on wages and safety. The move signals heightened labor activism in Australia’s mining sector.
EU Zinc Imports Drop 2025 as Dutch, German Demand Slumps
EU zinc imports fell in 2025 as Dutch and German buying weakened despite stronger Italy demand. https://www.metalnomist.com/2026/05/eu-zinc-imports-fell-in-2025-as-dutch.html
Komatsu, ABB Working on Joint Dynamic Energy Transfer Proposition
Komatsu and ABB are expanding their dynamic energy transfer technology beyond trolley‑assist systems, developing a “side arm” rail solution to be demonstrated at Komatsu’s Arizona Proving Grounds. The joint system aims to deliver up to 40 MW per galvanic section, enabling...
A Pivot Away From Coal Could Help Queensland’s Economic Diversification: DG
Queensland Director‑General Damien Walker told the Mandarin Future Ready Public Service summit that Australia must pivot away from coal to boost economic diversification and raise its economic complexity. He warned that the nation’s current low complexity leaves it exposed to...
Atomic Eagle Sharpens Muntanga North Uranium Drill Targets
Atomic Eagle completed 53km of a 100‑meter spaced ground radiometric survey at its Muntanga North uranium project in Zambia, confirming and refining airborne anomalies across five priority zones. The survey recorded 424 out of 854 readings above natural background, with...
Xpedra Resources Extends Shallow Gold System with RC Drilling at Springfield
Xpedra Resources (ASX:XPD) announced additional shallow gold intersections from its maiden reverse‑circulation drilling at the Springfield deposit in New South Wales. The latest three holes delivered a best result of 52 m at 1.35 g/t Au, including 4 m at 5.69 g/t, confirming a...
West Wits Breaks Into Ready-Made South African Gold Production Zones
West Wits Mining announced that its 1 West decline has successfully intersected the historic 2 Level mining horizon at the Qala Shallows deposit in South Africa. The breakthrough gives the company immediate access to legacy underground stopes, allowing it to bypass a...
U.S. Scores Major Rare Earth Win With Greenland Deposit Deal
REalloys (NASDAQ: ALOY) signed a definitive 15‑year offtake agreement for 15% of Phase 1 production from the Tanbreez heavy‑rare‑earth deposit in southern Greenland, securing dysprosium and terbium for U.S. defense applications. The deal expands REalloys' feedstock network as it builds the...
China Keeps Rare Earth Pressure on Washington After Trump Summit
China’s rare‑earth export restrictions remain largely intact despite the Trump‑Xi summit, keeping heavy rare earths such as dysprosium, terbium and yttrium at roughly 40‑50% of pre‑restriction volumes. The United States is accelerating domestic supply‑chain projects, highlighted by a $400 million DoD...
Responsible Mining Cost/Benefit Study: “Economically Rational and Strategically Important”
The Rocky Mountain Institute released the first quantitative assessment of responsible mining using the IRMA framework, finding that responsible practices add just 0.4% to a mine’s total capital expenditures over its life. Interviews with four IRMA‑certified miners, material purchasers, and...
Loopholes Undermine Palm Oil Industry’s Antideforestation Pledges
The palm oil sector’s No‑Deforestation‑No‑Peat‑No‑Exploitation (NDPE) pledges now cover roughly 83% of refinery capacity in Indonesia and Malaysia, yet satellite data show 31,000 hectares of forest were cleared for palm oil in Indonesia in 2025, a slight rise over 2024....
DRC Mines Ministry Reviews ONYO-BT’s Proposed Green Energy Solution for Mining Projects
On May 25, 2026, the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Mines Ministry met with ONYO‑BT to showcase a decentralized green‑energy system aimed at powering remote mining operations. The Congolese firm claims its autonomous plant in Kasai Oriental can generate 610 MW and...
Drilling Contractor Restarting PNG Activities
High Arctic Overseas, a Canada‑based drilling contractor, is restarting its heli‑portable Rig 103 in Papua New Guinea after a suspension that began in mid‑2024. The company will remobilise staff and equipment in July, with the first well slated for the fourth quarter...
The Companies Behind Australia’s Top End Mining Renaissance
The Northern Territory’s mining sector is accelerating, with three major projects moving forward in a single week: Arafura Rare Earths secured a US$1.9 billion final investment decision for the Nolans rare‑earths mine, projected to contribute about US$16.6 billion to the Territory’s gross...
CEO Chat: Montage Gold Expands West Africa Footprint as Koné First Pour Nears
Montage Gold is gearing up for its first gold pour at the Koné mine in Côte d’Ivoire, targeting Q4 2026. The feasibility study assigns the project a $1.1 billion net present value, a 31% internal rate of return and a 2.6‑year...
Quad Nations Unite on Scandium Supply Chain Initiative
After decades of hollowing out its own supply chains, the Quad countries are course-correcting with a smart initiative to pool resources to co-finance and co-develop critical minerals projects to fill the gaps. We are only getting started on this giant...
Litus, UWin Nanotech Enter MOU to Explore Projects Including Critical Mineral Recovery, Battery Recycling
Litus, a Calgary‑based critical‑minerals firm, and Taiwan’s UWin Nanotech have signed a memorandum of understanding to explore joint projects in lithium extraction, cobalt and nickel recovery, and battery recycling. The partnership will test Litus’s nanocomposite‑based LiNC direct lithium extraction platform...
‘Finally’: Zimbabwe, Invictus Sign Historic PPSA for Cabora Bassa Oil and Gas Project
The Government of Zimbabwe and Invictus Energy’s local arm, Geo Associates, signed a landmark Petroleum Production Sharing Agreement for the 360,000‑hectare Cabora Bassa Basin, clearing the legal path for the country’s first commercial oil and gas development. The deal establishes...
NevGold's Nevada Antimony Drill Hits All 17 Holes, Boosting U.S. Critical Mineral Push
NevGold Corp. announced that every one of its 17 sonic drillholes at the Limousine Butte project in Nevada returned consistent oxide antimony and gold grades, marking a rare domestic source of a critical mineral. The results arrive as Washington accelerates...
MP Materials Accuses USA Rare Earth of Magnet Tech Theft
MP Materials filed a Texas lawsuit accusing rival USA Rare Earth of stealing its proprietary magnet technology through a former employee. The suit claims USAR obtained “grain boundary diffusion” formulations and passed them to a third‑party tech firm, while also...
TMC and Allseas Ink Deal to Build First Commercial Deep‑Sea Nodule Recovery System
The Metals Company (TMC) and offshore engineering firm Allseas signed a partnership to design, build and operate the world’s first commercial‑scale deep‑sea nodule collector. The deal gives Allseas cost‑share rights and aligns incentives as TMC moves toward a 2028 production...
Coal Gasification Push Represents Structural Shift for Coal India, Says CMD B Sairam
Coal India Limited (CIL) set FY27 production at 815 million tonnes (mt) and a supply target of 850 mt, aiming to trim pit‑head inventories from 17% to around 10% of output. The company is pivoting toward coal‑to‑chemicals, launching a 660,000‑tonne‑per‑year ammonium nitrate...
Contango Commences 40,000-Meter 2026 Drill Program at the Kitsault Valley Silver-Gold Project
Contango Silver & Gold has launched a 40,000‑meter 2026 drill campaign at its Kitsault Valley project in British Columbia’s Golden Triangle. The program targets infill and resource expansion at the Dolly Varden, Wolf and Homestake Ridge deposits, with a preliminary...
CopAur Advances on Nevada Gold PEA and New Resource Estimate
CopAur Minerals released a preliminary economic assessment for its 100% owned Kingsley Mountain gold project in Nevada, outlining an open‑pit heap‑leach operation that would produce about 30,000 ounces of gold per year for the first four years starting in early...
Nordic Investors to EU: Nix Notion of Arctic Drilling
A coalition of Nordic investors and other financial institutions urged the European Union to keep its ban on new Arctic oil and gas drilling. The letter, organized by the Nordic Center for Sustainable Finance and Danish pension fund Sampension, warned...
Klondike Sets 2026 Toward Larger Resource
Klondike Gold Corp. has launched an 8,000‑meter diamond drilling campaign in 2026 to expand the gold resource at its Klondike District project in Yukon. The effort builds on a 2022 resource estimate that identified 468,901 ounces of indicated and 111,959...
Excellent Copper and Silver Recoveries in Historical Metallurgical Testing at Hennes Bay
Arctic Minerals AB disclosed historical metallurgical test results from its Hennes Bay copper‑silver project in Sweden, showing copper recoveries of around 90% and silver recoveries up to 85% using conventional sulphide flotation. The Dingelvik and Henneviken samples produced concentrates with...
Grit Metals Completes Maiden Drilling at Two Lithium Targets, Finland
Grit Metals Corp. has finished a 2,787‑metre maiden diamond drilling program across 29 holes at its Kyrölä and Mörkylä targets in central Finland. The campaign tested priority lithium‑cesium‑tantalum pegmatite zones identified by surface mapping and boulder sampling, with core logged...
Standard Uranium Expands Drill Program at Davidson River Project, Saskatchewan; Private Placement Planned
Standard Uranium Ltd. announced a $4 million private placement to fund an expanded 2026 drill campaign at its flagship Davidson River Project in Saskatchewan’s Athabasca Basin. The company will drill across the Warrior, Bronco and Thunderbird conductor corridors, deploying two rigs...
Russian Oil Update – Drones, Output, Exports, and Diesel Bans
Russia’s crude production remains near 10.5 million barrels per day, but refinery throughput has slipped as a wave of drone attacks damages key processing hubs. Exports of diesel have already dropped about 15% in April, prompting officials to weigh a rare,...
India-Canada Critical Minerals Roadmap Unveiled as Goyal Meets Canadian CEOs
India’s Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal met senior Canadian CEOs, including Neo Performance Materials’ Rahim Suleman, to chart a bilateral roadmap on critical minerals and rare‑earth processing. The talks dovetail with a fast‑tracked free‑trade pact that could lift India‑Canada trade...
Aluminum Prices Surge 17% as Middle East Smelter Outages Hit Global Supply
London metal traders report a 17% jump in aluminum prices to $3,673 a ton, spurred by smelter outages in the Middle East, a Hormuz chokepoint blockade, and new production cuts in China and Guinea. The spike threatens downstream manufacturers from...
Quad Ministers Commit $20 B Critical Minerals Framework and Fiji Port Project at Delhi Summit
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar announced a $20 billion Critical Minerals Initiative, a joint port in Fiji and new energy and maritime surveillance programs....
Is the BEV World Moving Away From Rare-Earth Magnets?
Battery electric vehicles continue to dominate new‑car sales, but range anxiety and raw‑material risk keep motor efficiency front‑and‑center. Permanent‑magnet synchronous motors (PMSMs) still power roughly 86% of BEV drivetrains, thanks to their superior efficiency, yet they depend on China‑controlled rare‑earth...
Horizon Targets First Production From Poland Gas Project
Horizon Petroleum announced that construction of the Lachowice‑7 well pad in southern Poland will begin in June, with re‑entry and recompletion work slated for July. The company aims to bring the Lachowice gas development online by the first half of...
GoldMining Starts Exploration Drilling at Colombia’s Yarumalito Project
GoldMining has launched a fully funded 1,200‑meter diamond core drilling program at its wholly‑owned Yarumalito gold‑copper project in Colombia’s Antioquia region. The drill campaign targets the under‑explored P‑1 porphyry unit, building on historic intervals that returned more than 250 m of...
BHP, Yindjibarndi Energy to Explore Green Options in the Pilbara
Australian mining giant BHP has signed a memorandum of understanding with Yindjibarndi Energy Corporation to explore large‑scale renewable power solutions in the Pilbara region. The partnership aims to develop green electricity for BHP’s iron‑ore mines, rail network and Port Hedland...
Trident Resources Intersects Additional High-Grade Gold at Contact Lake Grading 17.88 G/T Au over 11.25m, Including 42.53 G/T over 4.50m...
Trident Resources announced assay results from eight winter drill holes at its Contact Lake Gold Project in northern Saskatchewan. Hole CL26042 returned a standout 42.53 g/t Au over 4.5 m and a 350 g/t Au spike over 0.5 m, while Hole CL26035 delivered 93.44 g/t...
Recycling Could Meet Half of Europe’s Critical Mineral Needs by 2050
A new EU‑funded FutuRaM report finds that recycling waste streams could meet more than half of Europe’s critical mineral demand by 2050. The study estimates that 2 million tonnes of critical minerals in 2022 waste could rise to 6 million tonnes by...
CNOOC Starts Full Production at Bohai's Kenli Oilfield
China's state‑owned CNOOC announced full production at the Kenli 10‑2 oilfield Phase I in the Bohai Sea, delivering over 20,440 barrels of oil per day. The offshore project, operating at a shallow 20‑meter water depth, is part of a broader push that...
Indonesia’s Dive Into Economic Nationalism
Indonesia President Prabowo Subianto announced that all exports of selected raw materials will be funneled through a new state‑owned enterprise under the Danantara holding. The move is pitched as a way to combat under‑invoicing, which the government estimates cost $6.5 billion...
Gas-Based Hydrogen Hopeful Among Shortlisted “Low-Emission” Proposals for Troubled Whyalla Steelworks
Australia’s Whyalla steelworks and the nation’s only manganese smelter are nearing new ownership after a competitive shortlist was announced. M Resources, backed by Hazer Group’s low‑emission hydrogen technology, and India’s Jindal Steel emerged as the two final bidders, while BlueScope...
India, US Aim to Strengthen Critical Minerals Supply Chains With New Framework
India and the United States signed a bilateral framework in New Delhi on May 26 to cooperate on critical minerals and rare‑earth supply chains. The agreement covers mining, processing, recycling, and project financing, and dovetails with a broader Quad initiative that...
Critica Unlocks 14x TREO Concentrate Uplift at Jupiter, Reinforces Low-Cost Beneficiation
Critica’s Jupiter pilot plant achieved a 14‑fold increase in rare‑earth oxide (TREO) concentration, delivering a ~3% TREO intermediate concentrate from a 2,137 ppm feed. The process rejected 95% of the feed mass, concentrating the valuable rare earths into just 5% of...
Cobalt Blue, Glomar Launch US Nodules Pilot for Critical Minerals
Cobalt Blue and Glomar plan pilot processing of polymetallic nodules for US critical minerals supply. https://www.metalnomist.com/2026/05/cobalt-blue-glomar-nodule-processing.html
Marathon Port Reopens, Boosting GenMining’s Copper‑Pd Project
Port of Marathon reactivation = major win for NW Ontario mining. @GenMining’s Marathon project (just 10km away) holds 532 million lbs payable copper planned + strong Pd credits. One of Canada’s few fully permitted critical mineral mines. $GENM.TO
Minrex Has Path to Gold-Silver Growth Run at Tlamino
Minrex Resources is centering its 2026 growth plan on the Tlamino gold‑silver project in Serbia, launching a fully funded 7,000‑metre drilling campaign to upgrade the Barje resource and explore the adjacent Barje‑Liska corridor. The current NI 43‑101 estimate lists 570,000...
Metal Bank Taps Terra Mining for Work at Seven Leaders Deposit
Metal Bank has engaged Terra Mining to conduct mining and crushing at its Seven Leaders gold deposit in Western Australia. The deposit, part of the broader Whiteheads project, contains roughly 6,300 ounces of gold. Work is slated to begin later...
Barton Gold Delivers High-Grade Assays From Phase 2 Drilling at Tunkillia’s Area 51
Australian explorer Barton Gold reported its first Phase 2 assay results from the Tunkillia project’s Area 51 open pit in South Australia. The 30,000‑metre reverse‑circulation drill returned multiple high‑grade intervals, including a 6.65 g/t Au over 2 m and several 1‑3 g/t Au zones extending...
China’s 80% Tungsten Grip Triggers US‑India Push for Alternative Sources
China controls more than 80% of the world’s tungsten output, a metal essential for advanced U.S. weapons. The shortage has spurred Almonty Industries to restart South Korea’s Sangdong mine and prompted the United States and India to sign a critical‑minerals...