First Nations Coalition Says Indigenous Equity Key to Faster Mining Approvals in Canada
The First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) is championing Indigenous equity ownership as a catalyst for faster mining and energy project approvals across Canada. By providing technical, regulatory and financial support, the coalition helps First Nations move from consultation to co‑investment, with stakes already secured in pipelines, transmission lines and a geothermal venture. Government officials, aiming to make Canada the G20 leader in permitting speed, see Indigenous partnership as a way to reduce regulatory delays. FNMPC’s push for "smart projects" aligns community consent with national economic competitiveness in the critical‑minerals race.
LIT: Lithium And Battery Technology Remains Bullish (Downgrade)
Analyst Andrew Hecht downgraded the Global X Lithium & Battery Tech ETF (LIT) from buy to hold after a pronounced rally from its April 2025 lows. He cites continued volatility but notes a bullish longer‑term chart and an anticipated lithium supply...
CNRL Says It Will Delay $8-Billion Mine Expansion Until Carbon Pricing Rules Are Clear
Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. announced it will postpone its $8.25 billion Jackpine mine expansion in northern Alberta until federal and provincial carbon‑pricing and methane‑regulation frameworks are clarified. The delay will shave $310 million from CNRL’s 2026 capital budget and pushes back engineering...
SANY Highlights AI Service Assistant and Remote Control at CONEXPO 2026
At CONEXPO 2026 SANY unveiled its AI Service Assistant (SASA), RootPilot 3D guidance system, and a 5G‑enabled Remote Control that let visitors operate an excavator 6,500 miles away. The company also highlighted telematics that integrate location, hours and maintenance data...
Windward Daily Brief March 5: Conflict Reaches Indian Ocean as Hormuz Remains Shut
The Strait of Hormuz remained effectively shut on March 4, with only five vessels recorded, while traffic through Bab el‑Mandeb surged to 23 crossings, outpacing recent averages. Suez Canal activity fell to 23 transits, below trend levels, and diversions around the...
Glencore Backs Kazakh Entrepreneur’s ERG Stake Bid
Glencore has offered an $800 million pre‑payment to finance Kazakh entrepreneur Shakhmurat Mutalip’s $1.4 billion bid for a 40% stake in Eurasian Resources Group (ERG). The funding would be secured against future ferrochrome deliveries, helping Mutalip outpace a rival offer from ERG...
Zambian Govt Reaffirms Support for Sustainable Artisanal Mining in Central Province
Zambia’s Ministry of Mines and Minerals Development reaffirmed its commitment to legal, organised and sustainable artisanal small‑scale mining (ASM) in Central Province. The government, together with district authorities, traditional leaders and security agencies, will enforce regulations and expand a land‑facilitation...
French Delegation Explores Investment Opportunities at Kalumbila Multi-Facility Economic Zone
A high‑level French embassy delegation toured Zambia’s Kalumbila Multi‑Facility Economic Zone to assess investment prospects in the country’s mining supply chain. Hosted by First Quantum Minerals, the visit highlighted the zone’s 5,000‑hectare footprint, fiscal incentives and ready infrastructure. Kalumbila MFEZ’s...
PDAC 2026 Hosts Another Successful PDAC in Toronto
The 94th Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) convention in Toronto drew more than 32,100 attendees and set a record with over 1,300 exhibitors. Speakers highlighted strong commodity markets and growing governmental recognition of minerals as essential to economic...
PYZ: A Hold Despite Its Concentrated Portfolio Of Inflation Beneficiaries Prone To Deep Drawdowns
PYZ is an Invesco Dorsey Wright Basic Materials Momentum ETF that concentrates on metals, mining and chemicals, aiming to capture inflation‑benefiting stocks with strong price momentum. While the fund has delivered impressive year‑to‑date returns, it has lagged broader material ETFs...
Bullion Gold Plans a 25,000 M Drilling Program on Its Terragold Project
Bullion Gold Resources is preparing a 25,000‑metre diamond drilling campaign on its Terragold gold project in Senneterre, Québec, slated for spring 2026. The work follows receipt of Impact Exploration Work permits and aims to gather data for a National Instrument...
Bridge Collapse Disrupts DRC’s Key Copper Export Route
Severe flooding caused a bridge collapse near the Kasumbalesa border crossing, halting the main copper export corridor between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia. The blockage stopped trucks carrying copper and cobalt, threatening the flow of these critical minerals...
Resolute Mining Grows Gold Inventory with Côte D’Ivoire Additions
Resolute Mining announced a 60% increase in its gold resource estimate, now totaling 347 million tonnes at 1.6 g/t gold and over 17.63 million ounces. The boost stems from the $150 million acquisition of the Doropo and ABC projects in Côte d’Ivoire, which added...
Seafarers Maintain the Right to Refuse to Sail Through Mideast Gulf Region
Seafarers can now refuse to sail through the Middle East Gulf after the threat level was raised to its highest, according to the International Transport Workers’ Federation and the International Bargaining Forum. The agreement allows crew to decline voyages in...
Greenwashing Risk Is Widespread, Survey of 3,500 Companies Finds
A new study of 3,574 companies with climate commitments finds that 96% exhibit at least one greenwashing risk indicator. The seven‑point test highlights missing Scope 3 targets, vague offset usage, and lack of interim goals as the most common flaws. Only...
Connected by Design: Managing the Digital Mine in Systems, Not Silos
Underground mines now rely on real‑time digital infrastructure for traffic control, autonomous equipment, ventilation and safety monitoring. When that digital foundation fails, production stops just as it would for a broken loader or pump. Yet many operators still treat these...
NexGen Receives Final Federal Approval for the Rook I Uranium Project
NexGen Energy announced that the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission has granted final federal approval and a licence to prepare the site and construct the 100%-owned Rook I uranium project. The approval follows provincial clearances and a two‑part commission hearing, allowing...
How to Bring Private 5G to Life in Mining: A Five-Step Path to Safer, Smarter Operations
Private 5G is positioned as the backbone for digital transformation in mining, delivering industrial‑grade connectivity for automation, real‑time analytics, and safety systems. Operators face two practical questions: how to launch a trial and how to scale the network site‑wide. A...
US Invites Proposals to Boost Supply of Tungsten and 12 Other Critical Minerals
The Defense Industrial Base Consortium (DIBC) announced that the U.S. military is inviting proposals to develop domestic production of 13 critical minerals, including tungsten, arsenic and nickel, with submissions due March 20, 2026. The request covers the entire value chain—from...
Speak up for Our Sector
Maritime leaders face a perfect storm of geopolitical turmoil, regulatory uncertainty and shrinking investment, threatening the sector’s ability to meet decarbonisation and infrastructure goals. Intent Communications CEO Namrata Nadkarni urges a single, data‑driven voice through the 2025‑26 ICS Maritime Barometer Survey...
Dachser Achieves Emission-Free Deliveries in 25 City Centres
Dachser now operates emission‑free inner‑city delivery zones in 25 European cities, deploying 60 battery‑electric trucks and 13 cargo bikes. In 2025 the network covered roughly 1.8 million kilometres without greenhouse‑gas emissions, averaging 7,000 km per day. The rollout follows a modular...
Botswana: Mining Conference to Tackle Industrial Challenges
The Botswana Mining and Energy Conference and Expo (BME) will convene March 16‑17 in Gaborone, drawing roughly 1,200 senior executives from more than 30 countries. Organisers aim to align the event with the Botswana Economic Transformation Programme and the twelfth...
Pan American’s Largest Silver Mine Just Got Bigger
Pan American Silver announced the discovery of four new high‑grade veins—Filomena, Nicolasa, Bernardina and Josefina—at its La Colorada mine in Zacatecas, Mexico. Roughly 40% of the recent drill holes returned silver assays above 1,000 g/t, indicating a substantial resource upside. The...
SONAR Launches New Geopolitical Alert and Fuel Dashboards to Help Supply Chains Navigate Iran Conflict Volatility
SONAR introduced two platform enhancements—a Geopolitical Alert on its Executive Dashboard and a Fuel Dashboard within Truckload Insights—to give logistics professionals real‑time visibility into Iran‑related conflict risks and energy price swings. The Geopolitical Alert supplies immediate context, curated resources, and...
UK’s Carbon Storage Drive Advances with Go-Ahead for North Sea Appraisal Well
The UK’s North Sea Transition Authority has granted a two‑year consent to drill a carbon‑storage appraisal well as part of the Endurance project off Teesside. The well, scheduled to spud on 1 March and complete drilling in about 90 days, is...
US, China and Allies Pressure Ghana over Proposed Gold Royalty Hike
Ghana plans to replace its fixed 5% gold royalty with a sliding scale of 5‑12% tied to bullion prices, aiming to capture more revenue as gold hits record highs. A coordinated diplomatic push from the US, China, the UK, Canada,...
No Missiles, No Drones: What Happens When Rare Earths Stop Flowing?
China controls roughly 90‑95% of global rare‑earth processing, creating a strategic vulnerability for U.S. defense and high‑tech sectors. In response, REalloys (NASDAQ: ALOY) is building North America’s first fully integrated, China‑free heavy rare‑earth supply chain, with a production facility in...
BW LNG’s Second Vessel Kicks Off Its Gig with Norwegian Energy Giant
BW LNG has placed its second new LNG carrier, BW Borealis, into long‑term charter with Norway’s state‑owned Equinor, completing a two‑vessel program that began with BW Nivalis in February. The 174,000 cubic‑meter vessel, built at Hanwha Ocean’s Okpo shipyard, features ME‑GI...
New Modeling Insights Could Improve Safety in Multi-Coal Seam Mining
Researchers used FLAC3D to simulate stress redistribution in multi‑coal seam mining, comparing thin (20 m) and large (600 m) models based on the Kailuan area. They found that model size mainly influences stress magnitude, while the choice of goaf constitutive model—particularly the...
Codelco and Microsoft Sign Mining AI & Analytics Collaboration Agreement
Codelco, the world’s largest copper producer, has signed an 18‑month collaboration framework with Microsoft to embed artificial intelligence, advanced analytics, automation and digital security into its mining operations. Building on a 27‑year partnership, the deal will evaluate joint initiatives, pilot...
Sandvik Mining’s Zeltweg Facility Dispatches First Sandvik MC431 Continuous Miner for Australia
Sandvik Mining’s mechanical cutting division has shipped the first MC431 continuous miner to Australia after completing factory acceptance testing at its Zeltweg plant in Austria. The MC431 builds on the MC430 platform, which has logged 13 years of service in...
GMS Pushes EU to Recognise India’s Ship Recycling Capacity
GMS, the world’s largest cash buyer of ships for recycling, is urging the European Commission to add qualified Indian ship‑recycling yards to the EU Ship Recycling Regulation list. Over 110 Indian yards hold Hong Kong Convention compliance, yet none have been...
Charter Next Generation Joins US Flexible Film Initiative
Charter Next Generation (CNG), a Chicago‑based sustainable material science firm, has become an associate member of the US Flexible Film Initiative (USFFI). The partnership positions CNG to share its expertise in sustainable film design and to help expand domestic markets...
JP Morgan Warns DFC Insurance Cap Is Too Small for the Risk
JP Morgan analysts warned that the Development Finance Corporation’s (DFC) insurance cap of $205 billion is far too low to cover the estimated $352 billion needed to insure all oil tankers transiting the Strait of Hormuz. The firm highlighted that private war‑risk insurers...
Costamare Orderbook Hits 10 in 3,100 Teu Series
Costamare added four more 3,100 teu vessels to its Chinese newbuilding programme, bringing total orders for that size to ten. Deliveries are scheduled between Q4 2027 and Q4 2028, each with medium‑term charter agreements secured at signing. The expansion marks the company’s re‑entry...
Middle East Oil Supply Disruption Spurs Thailand to Zero in on Domestic Production
Amid heightened Middle East oil supply disruptions, Thailand’s Ministry of Energy has asked oil producers to postpone planned downtime and temporarily suspend crude exports, emphasizing domestic production for energy security. Canadian‑based Valeura Energy is seeking clarification from the ministry to...
MacLean Delivers First Volvo Penta-Powered Machine to Quebec Site
Volvo Penta and Canadian distributor Wajax have delivered the first Volvo‑Penta‑powered underground mining machine for MacLean Engineering to a Quebec site. The collaboration, rooted in a partnership dating back to 1988, leverages Volvo Penta’s D5 Tier 3 and Stage V off‑road engines...
DRC Showcases Strategy for Industrialisation and Value Addition at PDAC 2026
At PDAC 2026, the Democratic Republic of the Congo unveiled a strategy to convert its vast mineral endowment into an industrial engine, emphasizing local processing and value‑addition. The government highlighted a $29 billion Iron Mines of the Great East corridor, upcoming...
Korea Plans Mandatory Sustainability Reporting Beginning in 2028
South Korea’s Financial Services Commission unveiled a draft roadmap that will make sustainability reporting mandatory for large listed firms starting in 2028, using 2027 data. The new standards align closely with the IFRS Foundation’s ISSB IFRS S1 and S2 requirements, covering...
Great Eastern Keeps Fleet Renewal on Course with Fresh Kamsarmax Buy
Great Eastern Shipping announced the purchase of a 2014‑built Japanese kamsarmax of 81,094 dwt, slated to join its fleet in the first quarter of FY27. The acquisition is part of a broader renewal program that swaps older vessels for younger...
Vecoplan to Present Modular Solutions at IFAT 2026
German recycler equipment maker Vecoplan will launch its VES 3300 e‑mobile shredder at the IFAT trade fair in Munich (May 4‑7). The mobile unit features plug‑and‑play drive technology, allowing immediate operation without installation. Vecoplan will also showcase its VAZ 1700 shredder, a...
Four-Party Consortium Sets up Japan-New Zealand Hydrogen Corridor
Japanese firms Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Obayashi, Kawasaki Heavy Industries and Chiyoda have formed a four‑party consortium to create a Japan‑New Zealand hydrogen corridor. The partnership will launch feasibility studies this year to build a green‑hydrogen supply chain that transports production from...
MOPU and FSO Units Linked, Marking New Milestone for African Oil Field Revival
Akrake Petroleum, a subsidiary of Lime Petroleum and ultimately Rex International, has successfully linked its mobile offshore production unit (MOPU Stella Energy 1) to the floating storage and offloading vessel (FSO Kristina) at Benin's Sèmè field. The connection enables oil to...
UK Must Double Down on Renewables as Wars Drive up Energy Costs, Experts Say
The UK faces renewed fossil‑fuel price volatility after the US‑Israel attacks on Iran, echoing the 2022‑2025 energy shock that cost the EU and Britain $1.8 trillion. Experts and climate groups argue the government must accelerate its clean‑energy transition, focusing on renewables...
Estonian Owner Amisco Moves on MPP Newbuilds
Estonian shipowner Amisco has placed an order for two 5,900‑dwt multipurpose dry cargo vessels from Jiangsu Dajin Heavy Industry in China. Steel cutting for the first hull began in February 2026, with deliveries slated for the first and second quarters...
India Demand and Panama Pipeline Positive for VLGCs, Says Dorian LPG
U.S. LPG exports are hitting record levels while a 76‑km Panama pipeline, slated for post‑2031 operation, promises 2 million barrels per day capacity. Dorian LPG’s chief information officer says the pipeline will likely add loading and discharge points rather than divert cargoes,...
NWT Study Maps Critical Minerals Potential
The Northwest Territories government released the 2025 Mineral Potential Study, mapping critical mineral potential across the eastern Slave Geological Province. The assessment evaluated 1,721 mineral showings, covering 19 of Canada’s 34 critical minerals and identified 116 new occurrences. Officials say...
Lamprell Tasked with Replacing 285 Kilometers of Subsea Pipeline in India
Lamprell has secured a contract from India’s state‑owned Oil and Natural Gas Limited (ONGC) to replace and lay roughly 285 kilometers of subsea pipelines across several western offshore fields. The Pipeline Replacement Project (PRP‑IX) covers Mumbai High, Neelam, Heera, Bassein and...
Cove Capital, AHQ Sign MoU for Critical Minerals Projects
Cove Capital, a U.S. private investment firm, has signed a memorandum of understanding with Saudi Arabia’s Tariq Abdel Hadi Abdullah Al‑Qahtani & Brothers (AHQ) to jointly identify and develop critical‑minerals projects worldwide. The agreement covers upstream and mid‑stream assets, potential...
Harbour Energy Lifts Production Forecast After US Gulf Deals
Harbour Energy lifted its 2026 production outlook to 475,000‑500,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, driven by early output from the recently acquired LLOG assets in the Gulf of Mexico. The company’s pretax profit more than doubled to $2.8 billion in...