Albemarle Lithium Refinery Closure Gives WA Government a Critical Minerals Reality Check – by Jacqueline Lynch (Australian Broadcasting Corporation –...
Albemarle has suspended operations at its Kemerton lithium refinery in Western Australia, ending four years of processing and cutting hundreds of jobs. The company blamed soaring operating costs and prolonged price volatility for the shutdown. The closure mirrors a broader strain on Australian critical‑mineral processors, with Alcoa and BHP also pulling the plug on aluminium and nickel facilities. State and federal governments are increasingly stepping in to support struggling plants across the country.
Sudbury’s Mining Sector Drives Call for New Funding Model: Mayor – Take Our Poll – by Mary Katherine Keown (Sudbury...
Mayor Paul Lefebvre urged Ontario and the federal government to label Greater Sudbury a special economic zone, citing its role as a critical‑mineral powerhouse. He highlighted that Sudbury produces and refines nickel, copper and other strategic metals that feed Canadian...
New Mineral Discovered Inside Deep-Earth Diamond Now Named After Alberta Geochemist – by Fakiha Baig (Canadian Press/CBC Edmonton – April...
Researchers identified a new mineral, Grahampearsonite, within a deep‑Earth diamond recovered from Brazil. The mineral is named after Graham Pearson, a University of Alberta mantle geochemist renowned for his work on diamond inclusions. The International Mineralogical Association officially approved the...
North America’s First Lithium Hydroxide Plant Goes Live In Texas, Reducing Reliance On China – by Bethany Blankley (Dallas Express...
Tesla’s North American lithium‑hydroxide refinery in Robstown, Texas began full‑scale operations in January 2026, marking the continent’s first battery‑grade plant of its kind. The project, broken ground in May 2023 by Governor Greg Abbott, Elon Musk and state officials, aims...
Paraíba Tourmaline: The Gemstone Outpacing Gold and Inflation – by Adam Edwards (Financial Times – January 22, 2026)
Paraíba tourmaline, one of the planet’s rarest gemstones, has seen prices surge more than 15 times faster than gold, propelled by luxury fashion demand, pandemic‑induced supply shocks, and regional instability. A Mozambican mine that supplies the stone was crippled by...
Digging Deep: Mining Giant BHP’s New Jansen Potash Mine in Saskatchewan Is a Test Case for Canada in How to...
Australian mining giant BHP is investing $18 billion to build the Jansen potash mine in Saskatchewan, a 1,000‑metre deep underground operation that will run for a century. The project will ship product via a 2,000‑km rail corridor to a British Columbia...
Vale Base Metals Bets on Sudbury and Existing Mines to Drive Copper Output – by Staff (Northern Ontario Business –...
Vale Base Metals announced at its Toronto Investor Day that it will double copper production to 700,000 tons annually by 2035, relying on existing operations rather than acquisitions. The Sudbury basin in Ontario is central to this plan, with cost‑cutting and...
The California Lake Billed as the ‘Saudi Arabia of Lithium’ – by Soumya Karlamangla (New York Times – April 6,...
Governor Gavin Newsom called the Salton Sea “the Saudi Arabia of lithium,” citing an estimated $500 billion lithium reserve beneath the lake. The resource could spark a mining boom, delivering jobs and tax revenue to the struggling Imperial County. However, the...
From Endowment to Dependence: Why Canada Still Ships Its Future Offshore – by Sander Grieve and Andrew Disipio (Canadian Mining...
Canada sits atop a broad endowment of critical minerals, covering all 34 items on the federal list and ranking among the top five global producers for ten of them. While the government has introduced the Critical Minerals Exploration Tax Credit...
Rio Tinto’s Matt Holcz Is on a $20b, Two-Decade Mine Opening Treadmill – by Mark Wembridge (Australian Financial Review –...
Rio Tinto’s head of iron ore, Matt Holcz, is steering a $20 billion, two‑decade development plan for the Simandou high‑grade mine in Guinea while still overseeing the Pilbara operation that produces roughly 330 million tonnes of iron ore each year. The Simandou project, slated...
Will a B.C. Copper Smelter Make Economic Sense? – by Daisy Xiong (Business In Vancouver – April 1, 2026)
The federal and British Columbia governments are studying a proposed copper smelter and refinery on the West Coast to capture more value from the province’s copper output. BC produces roughly half of Canada’s copper but currently lacks any domestic processing...
Vale Base Metals Prioritizes Existing Assets, Including Sudbury, over M&A – by Staff (Sudbury Star – April 1, 2026)
Vale Base Metals announced it will focus on organic growth, developing existing assets such as its extensive Sudbury operations, rather than pursuing mergers or acquisitions. CEO Shaun Usmar emphasized that consolidation does not immediately increase the metal volumes the market...
China Is Taking on Mining Giants to Reorder a $190 Billion Market – by Alfred Cang and Katharine Gemmell (MSN.com...
China Mineral Resources Group (CMRG), a central‑government entity, is confronting BHP Group in a high‑stakes battle over iron‑ore pricing, aiming to convert China’s massive consumption into pricing power. The dispute centers on the $190 billion global iron‑ore market, the world’s most...
The Dangerous Myth of Green Capacity – by Amanda Van Dyke (Substack – March 25, 2026)
The article argues that "installed capacity" – gigawatts of wind and solar – is a misleading metric for the energy transition. It represents a theoretical maximum output under ideal conditions, not the electricity actually delivered. China’s rapid build‑out and Europe’s...
‘Momentum Is Good’: Corb Lund Making Stops Across Province This Weekend for Anti-Coal Mining Petition – by Stephen Tipper (Calgary...
Alberta country star Corb Lund is hitting 14 stops across the province this weekend to rally support for his Water Not Coal petition, which aims to block new coal mines on the eastern slopes of the Rockies. The three‑month signature...
Opinion: A Rail Line Would Better Serve the Ring of Fire – by Peter J. Barnett (Sudbury Star – April...
The Ring of Fire in northern Ontario contains vast deposits of critical minerals such as nickel, copper, chromium and platinum‑group elements, but its remote location limits development. Current access relies on seasonal winter roads, driving up costs and threatening Canada’s...
Global Atomic: Africa’s Highest-Grade Uranium Project Now Well Into Construction – by Arthur Tassell (Mining Review – March 30, 2026)
The Dasa uranium project in Niger, owned by TSX‑listed Global Atomic, is now well into construction, with earthworks nearing completion and underground infrastructure advancing. The deposit boasts uranium grades above 4,000 ppm U₃O₈, the highest in Africa. Global Atomic, active in...
The $93 Billion Secret in the Australian Dust – by Mark Wembridge (Australian Financial Review – April 1, 2026)
Delta Lithium, an ASX‑listed explorer backed by Gina Rinehart and Chris Ellison, has disclosed a rubidium deposit exceeding 60,000 tonnes, valued at roughly $1.5 million per tonne. The element, essential for night‑vision goggles, atomic clocks and quantum‑computing hardware, represents an estimated...
Vale Base Metals Says IPO Not Imminent, a Lot of Work to Be Done in Canada – Niall McGee and...
Vale Base Metals Ltd., 90% owned by Brazil's Vale SA, has ruled out an imminent IPO, citing insufficient market valuation and the need to slash nickel production costs. The Toronto‑based spin‑off, created in 2023, manages Vale’s global copper, nickel and...
The Rock Bears Gold: With Equinox Gold’s Valentine Gold Mine Now in Commercial Production, Newfoundland and Labrador Has Entered a...
Equinox Gold’s Valentine mine began commercial production in November 2025, marking the first major new gold operation in Newfoundland and Labrador in 25 years. The project, built on a decade of exploration by Marathon Gold, is slated to become the...
Sudbury Innovation Network Looks to Speed Adoption of New Technology Into Mines – by Lindsay Kelly (Northern Ontario Business –...
The Mining Innovation Commercialization Accelerator (MICA), run by Sudbury’s Centre for Excellence in Mining Innovation, is requesting roughly $148 million CAD (about $110 million USD) to fund a second phase of its program. The initiative follows a successful five‑year effort to commercialize...
Macquarie Says Copper Is Oversupplied and Overpriced – by Frik Els (Mining.com – March 26, 2026)
Macquarie’s strategy team says copper is oversupplied and overpriced after a 1.5% drop to $5.47 per pound, roughly $12,000 a tonne. The metal has shed more than 16% – about $2,400 per tonne – from its January peak. The bank...
Where Is Our Real Mining Plan? – by Geoff Russ (Resource Works – March 30, 2026)
Canada’s mining sector remains hamstrung by investor skepticism despite abundant critical mineral resources. Exploration spending has plateaued around $3.1 billion USD from 2023 through 2025, while total mining investment dropped to roughly $9.8 billion USD in 2024, down from $11.3 billion USD a...
NEWS RELEASE: Vale Base Metals Releases 2025 Exploration and 2026 Outlook Results; Copper Mineral Reserves and Mineral Resources Increase 6%...
Vale Base Metals announced that its 2025 copper mineral reserves and resources grew 6% to 53 million tonnes, while nickel reserves rose 13% to 14 million tonnes. The company targets more than a 20% increase in total reserves across Canada and Brazil...
Uncertainty Is the New Diamond World Order – by Shimon Gerstensang (Rapaport Magazine – March 12, 2026)
The diamond industry is undergoing a seismic shift as U.S. tariffs on Indian‑cut stones, tightening sanctions on Russian‑origin rough, and the rise of lab‑grown diamonds have fragmented the once‑seamless global supply chain. Over the past year, the polished market has...
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...
‘Critical Minerals Corridor’ Seen Linking Mines, Markets – by Frederic Tomesco (Northern Miner – March 20, 2026)
Canadian developer BMI Group has assembled five former industrial sites in Ontario and Quebec into a “Critical Minerals Corridor” aimed at bolstering the North American battery supply chain. The repurposed pulp and paper mills now serve as deployment‑ready hubs equipped...
As the Price of Lithium Tripled, so Did This Billionaire’s Wealth – by Hannah Tattersall (Australian Financial Review – March...
Australian‑born entrepreneur Nick Wakim saw his wealth triple to nearly US$3 billion as lithium prices surged three‑fold, propelling Phoenix Lithium to a US$5.5 billion valuation. The rapid price increase lifted Wakim 80 places on the 2026 Rich List. Despite analysts warning of...
Fork Deposit Could Become Next Mining Front at Red Lake’s Madsen Mine – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business –...
West Red Lake Gold Mines is initiating early design work for the Fork deposit, an untapped high‑grade gold zone near its Madsen underground mine in Red Lake. Recent infill drilling released encouraging grades and vein continuity, prompting the engineering team to...
Australian Mining Billionaire Sues Canada for $2 Billion – by Andrew Nikiforuk (The Tyee – March 20, 2026)
Australian mining magnate Gina Rinehart’s Northback Holdings has filed a $2 billion claim against the Canadian government under the CPTPP’s investor‑state dispute settlement mechanism. The claim arises from Canada’s refusal to approve the Grassy Mountain metallurgical‑coal project, which Rinehart says violates...
Critics Urge Ottawa to Help Inuit Resist Chinese Surveillance and Economic Dependence – by Dylan Robertson (National Observer/Canadian Press –...
Critics say the Liberal government is exposing Inuit communities to Chinese surveillance and economic dependence through unchecked Arctic investments. A report by the China Strategic Risks Institute warns that Beijing is leveraging infrastructure deals to gain data access and influence...
Bank Exec: Miners Must Partner with Indigenous Groups – by Joseph Quesnel (Canadian Mining Journal – March 17, 2026)
Jonathan Davey, Managing Director of Indigenous and Government Advisory at Scotiabank, told the Drumbeats podcast that Canada’s largest infrastructure and resource projects now require Indigenous equity participation. Recent federal programs and legal reforms have turned Indigenous partnerships from a political...
White House Considers Ambler Road Funding – by Shane Lasley (North of 60 Mining News – March 16, 2026)
The White House is evaluating a direct equity partnership to finance the Ambler Road, a proposed highway that would link Alaska’s mineral‑rich Ambler Mining District to national supply chains. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said the administration could become a financing...
Gina Rinehart’s $2.4 Billion Rare Earth Fortune – by Tim Treadgold (Forbes Magazine – March 16, 2026)
Australian mining magnate Gina Rinehart’s rare‑earth holdings have surged to over $2.4 billion, driven by a global push to diversify away from China. The portfolio, once a modest side‑investment, now represents a significant portion of her $25 billion wealth. China still controls...
Guest Column: Mideast Conflict Highlights Need to Rebuild Domestic Mining – by Rick Nolan (The Mercury – March 17, 2026)
The recent Iran conflict highlights America’s vulnerability due to heavy reliance on foreign critical minerals for defense production. Interceptor missiles and other modern munitions depend on rare earths, lithium, cobalt, and similar elements sourced from geopolitical rivals. While the Trump...
Millions of Dollars in Work for ‘Absolute Lifeline’ to First Nations – by Matt Prokopchuk (NWO News Watch – March...
Windigo First Nations Council received provincial funding for two winter‑road projects, reinforcing critical transport corridors for seven remote Indigenous communities. Council technical manager Jonathan Salo highlighted that road access dramatically lowers the cost of goods compared with air freight, where...
How Europe Is Racing to Secure Lithium Supply with New Mining Efforts – by Joseph Hammond (National Interest – March...
Europe is accelerating domestic lithium mining to lessen reliance on China, which supplies roughly two‑thirds of refined lithium worldwide. The EU expects lithium demand to grow fivefold by 2030, prompting projects in Germany, Serbia, Portugal and other member states. European...
Uranium Market Facing Supply Crunch as Nuclear Fleet Grows – by Georgia Williams (Investing News Network – March 11, 2026)
The uranium market is entering a critical juncture as nuclear power demand accelerates while supply tightens. At the PDAC conference, Cameco’s president and a UxC analyst warned that structural constraints—geopolitical disruptions and project development risks—could reshape pricing and security for...
Canada’s Junior Miners Still in Challenging Financial Climate as Metals Prices Climb – by Melissa Pistilli (Investing News Network –...
Canada remains a premier mining jurisdiction, with Ontario and Saskatchewan ranking among the world’s top, second only to Nevada, according to the Fraser Institute. Toronto continues to serve as the global hub for mining finance, channeling roughly 30% of all...
Ottawa’s $1.5M to Tłı̨chǫ Gov’t ‘Just the Beginning’ Grand Chief Says – by Devon Tredinnick (CBC News Canada North –...
The Canadian government has pledged $1.5 million to the Tłı̨chǫ Government to fund mineral exploration in the Northwest Territories. The funding supports a partnership with Australian mining giant Fortescue to assess lithium potential on Tłı̨chǫ lands. Grand Chief Jackson Lafferty described...
Nickel Market Could Turn Deficit Due to Indonesia Quota, Says Macquarie – by Staff (Mining.com – March 11, 2026)
Macquarie Group warns that Indonesia's new nickel production quota could push the global market into a deficit this year. The December 2025 policy tightens supply to counter a glut, already lifting prices of nickel metal, nickel pig iron, nickel sulfate...
Canada Nickel Looking for Partners as Timmins Nickel Mine Moves Ahead – by Amanda Rabski-McColl (Timmins Today – March 10,...
Canada Nickel is advancing the Crawford Nickel project in Timmins and actively seeking partners across government, First Nations, and peer mining firms. CEO Mark Selby highlighted the need to embed community value into a multi‑billion‑dollar venture. The company is also...
Massive N.L. Mine Could Meet a Quarter of Eastern Canada’s Winter Salt Needs – by Gary Kean (The Telegram –...
The Great Atlantic Salt Project, spearheaded by Atlas Salt Inc., will become North America’s first new underground salt mine in nearly three decades, located in western Newfoundland. It is designed to produce four million tonnes of high‑purity rock salt annually,...
Amid a Defence Boom, Zentek Takes a Fresh Look at Its Hearst-Area Graphite Deposit (Northern Ontario Business – March 10,...
Zentek, a Guelph‑based high‑tech firm, is revisiting its Albany graphite deposit near Hearst to position it as a strategic resource for defence, nuclear and battery markets. The new CEO, Mohammed Jiwan, announced a strategic reset and plans to launch a...
First Nation-Owned Mine in Manitoba Gets Green Light to Begin Production – by Ozten Shebahkeget (CBC News Manitoba – March...
The Minago critical minerals project in Manitoba has secured an amended environmental licence, allowing it to produce up to 10,000 tonnes of material per day. Owned entirely by the Norway House Cree Nation, the rebranded venture targets magnesium and platinum‑group...
Mine Waste Like Those Found in Sudbury Could Strengthen National Security (Sudbury Star – March 9, 2026)
Nadia Mykytczuk, director of Laurentian University’s Goodman School of Mines, told Canada’s Standing Committee on National Defence that the country’s abundant mining tailings contain billions of dollars’ worth of critical minerals such as nickel, copper, cobalt and rare earth elements....
