Rainbow Rare Earths paves way for SA mine in offtake deal
RAINBOW Rare Earths said on Thursday it aimed to publish a prefeasibility study (PFS) of its Phalaborwa rare earths project in South Africa in the fourth quarter, following a…
West lags China on sodium battery tech
THE West has fallen behind China in developing sodium-ion batteries, a breakthrough technology using saltwater rather than lithium, industry experts have told the Financial…
Aussies advance Namibia uranium projects
TWO Australian mining companies, Bannerman Energy and Deep Yellow, are pushing ahead with major uranium projects in Namibia, joining Chinese firms already active there as…
BHP’s Udd to take helm at Albemarle
ALBEMARLE has named BHP executive Ragnar Udd as its next CEO, Reuters reported on Thursday. Udd, currently BHP’s chief commercial officer, will take over on February 1, 2027,…
Copper tipped to hit record $15,000 in early 2027
Copper could climb to a record $15,000 a ton early next year as US tariff concerns tighten supplies outside America while mine disruptions and resilient demand support prices,…
AI, robots and shrinking supply drive Northam’s PGM growth plans
Northam Platinum is betting that new uses for platinum group metals in artificial intelligence, data storage, electronics and robotics will add to demand at a time when South…
Can this be the PGM market’s next big thing?
THE hydrogen economy was supposed to be platinum’s salvation, but it is turning out to be the lightest of lifelines. Deployment of electrolyser capacity, the technology that…
US backs African rare earths as private capital stays away
THE US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) is backing a pipeline of African rare-earth projects in an effort to reduce investment risks and attract private…
Orion moves ahead of JSE junior copper peers
NORTHERN Cape copper developer Orion Minerals, the FM’s Junior Mining Hot Stocks selection for 2026, has so far been the clear standout among the JSE’s junior copper counters.…
US backs Madagascar rare earths project
THE US State Department has confirmed support for the Ampasindava rare earths development in Madagascar, part of a broader effort to reduce reliance on rivals – chiefly China –…
Northam Platinum’s ‘mine without end’ exposes SA’s supply crisis
NORTHAM Platinum CEO Paul Dunne might joke that “there’s no luck in mining”, but fortune has certainly favoured his company in the past few months. For starters, resource…
Canada mulls C$400m Teck metals investment
CANADA has proposed a potential equity-style investment of up to C$400m ($281.93m) in Teck Resources to help expand the company’s Trail Operations facility in British Columbia,…
Mining’s slow burn exposure to Middle East conflict
THE memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between the US and Iran appears to have brought a relative calm to the Middle East, the occasional conflagration in the Strait of…
US Army opens bases to critical minerals plants
THE US Army has struck preliminary agreements with four companies to build critical minerals processing facilities on military installations, marking the first time commercial…
Iran war tightens industrial metals supply outlook
A MAJOR squeeze is emerging across industrial metals markets as the ongoing US-Israeli war against Iran compounds structural supply shortfalls, said the Financial Times on…
CMOC threatened dismissal after illegal strike
WORKERS at Tenke Fungurume Mining, CMOC Group’s flagship copper operation in the Democratic Republic of Congo, have returned to work after the company threatened dismissal for…
Mozambique mandates 15% state stake in all mines
MOZAMBIQUE’S President Daniel Chapo has signed into law a requirement for 15% state ownership in all mining ventures, along with a ban on exporting unprocessed or semi-processed…
Rio Tinto faces Madagascar rare earths lawsuit
MORE than 6,000 villagers living near Rio Tinto’s ilmenite and monazite mine in Madagascar are preparing to sue the company over alleged environmental contamination, said the…
Platinum Week cognoscenti agree the metal will keep rolling on
PLATINUM has been on the wrong end of the Middle East crisis falling 13% since hostilities between the US and Israel and Iran began. Yet industry mavens who gathered for the…
Rare earths ‘land grab’ accelerates as US funding flows
A GLOBAL scramble for rare earths assets is intensifying, with US company USA Rare Earth alone striking four deals worth around $3bn in less than a year, said the Financial Times…