Diversified Metals & Mining

Evolution Metals & Technologies Corp. has signed a Strategic Partnership Letter of Intent with UK-based INERGX Energy Optimisation Ltd. to engineer, supply, integrate and service the energy storage and power optimization systems for its planned critical materials and battery black mass recovery facility in the United States. The Facility is planned at approximately 1 GW of on-site capacity within two years, equivalent to the output of one typical U.S. nuclear reactor, and up to approximately 5 GW at full build-out, equivalent to five reactors and to the annual electricity use of approximately 4 million American homes, powered by on-site LNG generation. Under the LOI, INERGX intends to source cells, packs and battery management systems through qualified European or other approved non-China partners, with full country-of-origin documentation and no change in source without EM&T's written approval, addressing the roughly 85% share of global battery cell manufacturing capacity located in China in 2024. INERGX will carry out a First Block Study within eight weeks of receiving EM&T's site inputs, with definitive agreements for the first block targeted within twelve weeks of the study's delivery and acceptance, and a long-term service agreement with an anticipated initial term of ten years. The partnership comes as EM&T executes on its previously announced fiscal 2027 revenue guidance of $400 million to $460 million, reflecting the expected first full-year contribution from expanding its Pohang, Republic of Korea magnet capacity to approximately 10,000 metric tons annually.

Critical Metals Corp. shares rose 13% Monday morning after the company said it received formal mining approvals from the Government of Greenland for its Tanbreez Mine, valid through 2050. The Government of Greenland approved the Mining Plan and Closure Plan for the Tanbreez Project, one of the world's largest heavy rare earth deposits, located in Southern Greenland. The approvals, signed by Minister Múte B. Egede on September 29, 2026, establish a framework for approximately 24 years of permitted operations under the company's existing exploitation licence. They cover the extraction of 19 critical elements, including the heavy rare earths terbium, dysprosium and yttrium, as well as the magnet metals neodymium and praseodymium. The remaining step before construction can begin is obtaining activity-specific operating permits under sections 120 and 121 of the Greenland Mineral Activities Act, covering environmental management, marine transport, health and safety, and the export and sale of minerals. The approvals were granted to the company's Greenlandic subsidiary, Tanbreez Mining Greenland A/S, under Exclusive Licence No. 2020-54, which covers mineral exploitation at Killavaat Alannguat, between Narsaq and Qaqortoq in Southwest Greenland.

Galliford Try Holdings PLC has landed a spot on the latest £3 billion Constructing West Midlands Framework, selected for the major works lot covering projects over £10 million. Connecting Excellence Group Plc has completed its first acquisition, buying James Gray Recruitment, and has grown its Bitcoin holding to over 81 coins, worth around £5.25 million. Bradda Head Lithium Ltd has intersected visible spodumene mineralisation in all three of its first Whistlejacket holes in Arizona, with lab assays now the next key test. Tower Resources PLC has secured a one-year extension to its exploration licence at Thali in Cameroon and is now working towards a drilling campaign targeted for Q2 2027. Premier African Minerals Ltd has raised around £1.2 million to restart operations at its Zulu Lithium project in Zimbabwe, with the plan now focused on processing ore already sitting on the stockpile.

Collective Mining announced assay results from four diamond drill holes at its Guayabales Project in Colombia, including the first intersection of a high-grade tungsten-gold zone in schist outside the southern margin of the Apollo breccia body. The newly identified zone is hosted in a largely untested schist unit extending more than 1,000 meters vertically, introducing a fresh exploration target that could materially influence how investors think about the scale and metal mix of the broader Apollo system. The company also confirmed it remains funded for its 2026 drilling plans. The discovery reinforces Apollo's exploration upside but does not change the near-term focus on resource growth and metallurgical de-risking, nor the central risk that cost outcomes from future engineering work could still disappoint. A recent integrated processing flowsheet for Apollo outlines how gold, silver, copper and tungsten could be recovered through separate dor and concentrate streams, tying metallurgical progress to future cost assumptions and projected net margins.

Lundin Mining's fair value estimate has been raised to CA$42.54 from CA$41.45, with fresh analyst price targets clustering in the low to mid CA$40s. Scotiabank lifted its target to C$44 from C$42 while keeping an Outperform rating, and Barclays moved to C$43 from C$42 with an Equal Weight rating. Morgan Stanley adjusted its target to C$39.90 from C$38.20, maintaining Equal Weight, while TD Securities set a C$42 target, trimmed from C$43, but reiterated a Buy rating. On the bearish side, JPMorgan carries an Underweight rating with a SEK 209 target, revised from SEK 215, and a C$32 target, while Canaccord shifted to Hold from Buy with a C$39 target, adjusted from C$40. The updated fair value model uses revenue growth of 80.08% versus the earlier 70.86%, a net profit margin of 24.63% versus 24.32%, a future P/E of 26.92x versus 27.29x, and a discount rate of 7.93% versus 7.84%.

Endeavour Mining generated record free cash flow of about US$1.16 billion in fiscal 2025 and US$761 million in the first half of 2026, allowing it to maintain a net cash balance sheet. Those cash flows funded a record US$301 million returned to shareholders in the first half of 2026, including an interim dividend of roughly US$0.95 per share. The company's Assafou definitive feasibility study outlines a large, relatively low cost project in Côte d'Ivoire with a 16 year mine life, and the key question is whether future Assafou capex and any changes to Ivorian royalties or taxes could dilute the current dividend and buyback story. Endeavour's narrative projects US$6.2 billion in revenue and US$1.9 billion in earnings by 2029, yielding a CA$95.74 fair value and 18% upside to its current price, while some analysts had assumed revenue of about US$7.6 billion and earnings of roughly US$2.6 billion by 2029. Heightened West African royalty and tax discussions remain a risk to how much of the cash windfall reaches shareholders.

Impulsa Mendoza has awarded Public Tender No. 2/2026 to Cerro Quebrado S.A., a BHP Group company, granting it an exploration contract with a purchase option for the El Seguro copper project in Argentina's Malargüe Western Mining District. The award gives BHP a second route into the district alongside its alliance with Kobrea Exploration, deepening its copper exploration exposure in a single emerging Andean jurisdiction. The contract sits alongside BHP's recent production and guidance updates, in which copper output in FY2026 fell 3% year on year to 1,952.8 kt and 2027 copper guidance was set below 2026 levels. BHP's narrative projects $56.1 billion in revenue and $13.3 billion in earnings by 2029, with a fair value of A$61.02, while some of the lowest ranked analysts assumed revenue would fall to about US$52.5 billion by 2029 even as earnings rose to roughly US$11.7 billion.

BofA Securities raised its long-term copper price forecast by 20% to $12,000 per ton for 2026 and updated its mining sector rankings, upgrading BHP to Buy with a price objective of A$68 and naming the world's largest copper producer its top pick among large-cap mining stocks. Glencore was rated Buy with a price objective of GBp650, with BofA highlighting its copper growth options and monitoring a potential Australian listing for the diversified miner. Norsk Hydro received a Buy rating with a price objective of NOK98, which BofA described as offering interesting risk-reward characteristics for the pure-play aluminum company. Antofagasta maintained its Buy rating with a price objective of GBp4700, with the bank noting roughly 30% volume growth potential. BofA also trimmed its 2027 aluminum forecast by 5% to $3,625 per ton, and cautioned that investors should be prepared for potential drawdowns of 10% to 20%, noting that during China's super cycle from 2002 to 2008 markets experienced multiple corrections despite overall upward trends.

Great Western Mining Corporation PLC has appointed John Arthur as Chief Financial Officer with immediate effect, while Max Williams, Finance Director since November 2019, is retiring from the Board but will remain as Company Secretary. Mr. Arthur is an accountant with over 20 years of experience across finance disciplines, having previously held CFO roles at AIM-quoted IOG plc and UK Main Market-listed Aminex PLC, and earlier spent eight years at Seven Energy, a private equity-backed Nigerian oil and gas company. He is a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants and holds a BSc (Hons) in Applied Economics and Accounting from the University of Plymouth. Chairman Brian Hall thanked Mr. Williams for his contribution over the past seven years and said Mr. Arthur's experience of financing transactions will be particularly valuable as the company advances the Defender Tungsten Project in Nevada towards a maiden Mineral Resource Estimate. Great Western Mining is an exploration and development company focused on strategic minerals across several 100%-owned claim groups in Mineral County, Nevada, and also holds the Huntoon Copper Project, which hosts a JORC-compliant resource of 4.3 Mt at 0.45% Cu.

Amaroq Ltd. has completed its 2026 resource drilling programme at the Nanoq Gold Project in South Greenland, with 4,728.9 metres of core drilling across 33 holes focused on infill drilling of the Central Zone to support a planned maiden Mineral Resource Estimate, alongside step-out drilling to the south and at the West 1 target. Approximately 88% of holes intersected visible gold and copper sulphides similar to that observed in 2024 and 2025, with assay results still pending. Metallurgical test work by SGS Lakefield indicates Nanoq mineralisation is amenable to processing at the Nalunaq facility, with total gold recoveries of approximately 97 to 99% using the existing flow-sheet. Construction has also commenced on the Nanoq beach landing facility and starter access track, improving access to the mineralised area. CEO Eldur Ólafsson said the results provide the basis for bulk sampling Nanoq ore at Nalunaq towards the end of 2027 or into 2028, and for further resource and exploration drilling.

Rio Tinto, the Tasmanian government, and the Australian Government have reached an agreement to secure the ongoing operation of Bell Bay Aluminium in northern Tasmania through to the end of 2031. Under the arrangements, Hydro Tasmania will continue supplying electricity to Bell Bay Aluminium until 31 December 2031, while the Australian and Tasmanian Governments will provide additional support to continue operations as Tasmania's energy system evolves. That additional support is intended to help maintain Bell Bay Aluminium's international competitiveness and its ongoing contribution to the Tasmanian economy. Rio Tinto Aluminium & Lithium CEO Jérôme Pécresse said the agreements will provide Bell Bay Aluminium with an operating pathway through to 2031, and increased certainty for the company's people, suppliers and the northern Tasmanian community.

Ivanhoe Electric has released an updated Preliminary Feasibility Study and Technical Report Summary for its Santa Cruz Copper Project, prepared under SEC S-K 1300 rules and replacing the June 2025 report. The new study outlines a 24-year mine life with average life-of-mine cash costs of US$1.47 per pound and an after-tax internal rate of return of 18.7%, underlining the project's potential to generate positive cash flow. The company also recently appointed a new Chief Operating Officer and a dedicated Senior Vice President of Operations and Santa Cruz General Manager, both effective September 1, 2026. The updated study reinforces the project's positive cash flow profile but does not meaningfully change the near-term picture, where the key catalyst remains steady progress toward 2029 first production and the biggest risk is further cost inflation or delays that might force additional funding needs. Ivanhoe Electric's narrative projects $3.1 million revenue and $514.7 thousand earnings by 2029, requiring 1.1% yearly revenue growth and an earnings increase of about $34.9 million from -$34.4 million today.

Lundin Mining Corporation reported that its issued and outstanding common shares with voting rights rose by 22,173 to 851,359,558 as of September 30, 2026, an increase from August 31, 2026 resulting from the exercise of employee stock options and the vesting of employee share units. The company said it did not purchase any shares for cancellation under its Normal Course Issuer Bid program during that period. Under its shareholder distribution policy, Lundin Mining is committed to allocating up to US$150 million in annual share buybacks through the NCIB program, and its Board of Directors has approved an increase of up to US$100 million to the share repurchase program for the remainder of 2026. So far during 2026, the company has acquired 6,098,494 common shares at an average cost of approximately C$35.70 per share. Lundin Mining is a Canadian mining company headquartered in Vancouver with three operating mines in Brazil and Chile, and its shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under LUN and on Nasdaq Stockholm under LUMI.

Rio Tinto, the Tasmanian Government and the Australian Government have reached agreement to secure the ongoing operation of Bell Bay Aluminium in northern Tasmania through to the end of 2031. Under the arrangements, Hydro Tasmania will continue supplying electricity to the smelter until 31 December 2031, and the Australian and Tasmanian Governments will provide additional support to continue operations as Tasmania's energy system evolves, helping maintain Bell Bay Aluminium's international competitiveness and its contribution to the Tasmanian economy. Rio Tinto Aluminium & Lithium Chief Executive Jérôme Pécresse said the agreements provide an operating pathway through to 2031 and increased certainty for workers, suppliers and the northern Tasmanian community. Bell Bay Aluminium, 100 percent owned by Rio Tinto, began operating in 1955 as the first aluminium smelter in the Southern Hemisphere and produces about 190,000 tonnes of aluminium a year, supporting about 550 full-time employees and more than 1200 indirect jobs while spending about A$260 million annually with 180 suppliers. The smelter's current power supply arrangement with Hydro Tasmania was due to end on 31 December 2026.

United States Antimony Corporation announced an update on its third quarter delivery of Military Specification antimony ingot shipments to the Defense Logistics Agency under its existing $245 million sole-source supply contract. USAC is the sole producer of MIL-SPEC antimony ingots, which are more than 99.6% pure, in the Western Hemisphere. Antimony flake feedstock from the company's joint partner's Bolivian Hydrometallurgical facility landed at the Thompson Falls smelters during the third quarter, and its roughly 99% purity is expected to significantly improve the efficiency of the company's gas-fired furnaces. Chairman and CEO Gary C. Evans said the company is fulfilling the first significant delivery of a finished product in its nearly 60 year history, and that processing has begun on Stibnite Hill, Montana, antimony material mined late last year and this year, which now totals in excess of 400,000 pounds and is stockpiled at Radersburg, Montana.

The Metals Company has appointed former ExxonMobil upstream executive Liam Mallon to its board of directors as the company moves toward potential commercial seabed mining. Mallon spent 35 years with Mobil and ExxonMobil and served as President of ExxonMobil Upstream Company before retiring in 2025, overseeing a global exploration, development and production portfolio with annual capital spending of roughly $20 billion to $30 billion. His tenure included ExxonMobil's Guyana offshore development program and the company's $60-billion acquisition of Pioneer Natural Resources. At TMC, Mallon will also chair the board's Sustainability and Innovation Committee, with a remit covering offshore project economics, operational scaling and environmental management, and he replaces Brendan May, who is stepping down after two years on the board. The appointment comes as TMC seeks to shift from exploration and technology development to commercial recovery of polymetallic nodules containing nickel, copper, cobalt and manganese, pursuing U.S. authorization through the Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act, with its U.S. subsidiary seeking exploration and commercial recovery approvals from NOAA, which in August published TMC USA's consolidated application for the USA-A area and has begun environmental review of a separate exploration license application for the USA-B area.

TMC the metals company Inc. announced that Liam Mallon, former President of ExxonMobil Upstream Company, has been appointed to its Board of Directors. Mallon brings more than four decades of global energy and offshore operating experience, including 35 years with Mobil and ExxonMobil, where he oversaw $20–30 billion in annual capital deployment and led major growth projects such as ExxonMobil's Guyana development and the $60 billion acquisition of Pioneer Natural Resources. He will lead the Board's Sustainability and Innovation Committee, with a focus on innovations that improve offshore project economics and enable rapid scaling of offshore operations. The appointment comes as TMC prepares to launch the world's first commercial-scale deep seabed mineral operations, following NOAA's August publication of TMC USA's consolidated application for an exploration license and commercial recovery permit over the USA-A area and a Notice of Intent to develop an Environmental Impact Statement for the USA-B area. Brendan May will step down from the Board as Mallon joins.

Tronox Holdings plc has signed a cooperation and investment agreement with JX Advanced Metals Corporation to advance its rare earth and critical minerals business. Under the agreement, the two companies will fund on a 50/50 basis approximately $32 million to support a definitive feasibility study for Tronox's proposed rare earth cracking and leaching facility in Australia, a pre-feasibility study for a proposed rare earth oxide refinery in the United States, and development of a US-based pilot facility capable of producing initial quantities of high-purity rare earth oxides. The Cracking Plant is planned for the Rockingham Industrial Zone in Western Australia, about three kilometers south of Tronox's Kwinana TiO2 pigment plant, while the Refinery is expected to be located on Tronox-owned land adjacent to its Hamilton, Mississippi TiO2 pigment facility. Together, the two sites would aim to produce up to 10,000 tonnes per annum of total rare earth oxides, and the agreement also contemplates joint development of niobium, scandium, zirconium, and hafnium from Tronox's mineral resources. If the engineering studies demonstrate technical and commercial viability, the companies will explore forming a joint venture to fund, build, and operate the assets, and they have engaged with government-backed financing institutions including the US Export-Import Bank and Export Finance Australia.

BHP Group Limited has begun a progressive resumption of activities at its Escondida asset in Chile, the world's largest copper mine, following a temporary site-wide suspension triggered by a fatal maintenance accident. The company had halted mining operations to conduct safety assessments, evaluate workforce readiness, and secure clearance from Chilean regulatory authorities. BHP holds a 57.5% controlling interest in Escondida, alongside joint-venture partners Rio Tinto with 30% and JECO Corp with 12.5%, and the mine produced approximately 1.3 million tonnes of copper in fiscal 2026. Because copper accounts for over half of BHP's underlying earnings, restoring operational continuity at Escondida is vital to protecting the group's near-term production targets and cash flow generation. The restart comes as BHP faces separate cost pressures, with capital expenditure for Stage 1 of the Jansen potash project escalating 22% to 29% to $7.0 to $7.4 billion, while Jansen Stage 2 faces potential timeline delays.

A number of listed companies on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges issued important announcements on the evening of September 29. Wangsu Science & Technology plans to use 300 million yuan of its own funds, equivalent to 44.4517 million US dollars, to subscribe for 2.1054 million Series A+ preferred shares at 21.1137 US dollars per share in the video generation model company Sandai Cayman, and will hold a 4.3963 percent equity stake after the transaction is completed. The full industry chain project for producing 60,000 tonnes of energy-grade titanium and titanium alloy materials per year, invested and built by Anning Iron & Titanium, has produced its first furnace of titanium sponge, with a single furnace output of about 13 tonnes, and the project has entered the trial production stage. BOMESC's wholly-owned subsidiary Tianjin BOMESC signed a contract with Single Buoy Moorings Inc. for the construction of FPSO topside modules, with a contract value of approximately 1.6 billion to 2.1 billion yuan, scheduled for completion in the second half of 2028. The controlling shareholder of Dongyangguang, Shenzhen Dongyangguang Industrial, proposed that the company repurchase shares through centralized competitive trading, with a capital scale of no less than 600 million yuan and no more than 1.2 billion yuan. Huazhijie plans to acquire 83.5052 percent equity in Geliming through the issuance of shares and payment of cash, and to raise supporting funds, and its shares will resume trading when the market opens on September 30. Jianyan Institute's shares will be suspended from trading when the market opens on September 30 because related parties are planning major matters involving the company, and the suspension is expected to last no more than two trading days.

Dakota Gold Corp. has completed key process and site-layout trade-off studies for its Richmond Hill Oxide Heap Leach Gold Project Pre-Feasibility Study, selecting a 0.5-inch design crush size and a single heap-leach facility located generally within the area identified for Phase 1 in the Initial Assessment with Cash Flow. The company said recent metallurgical testing showed modeled ultimate gold recovery for oxide material averaged 80.4% at a 0.5-inch crush size versus 75.9% at a 1-inch crush size. Dakota Gold has also received the final assay results required for the Richmond Hill PFS resource update, with a total of 42,791 meters of drilling from 2025 and 2026 added to the upcoming resource update to be released in conjunction with the PFS in the fourth quarter of this year. The updated resource will incorporate 333 drill holes, representing 30% more drilling data than the prior resource, and will exclude transition material, which was roughly 18% of the heap leach material in the prior resource. The company is operating two drills to convert additional inferred resource material to reserve category post-PFS into a Feasibility Study mine plan, with the FS expected to be published mid-2027. At Maitland, initial drill results have been received representing 791 meters of drilling from the 5,578 meter campaign to produce a maiden resource for the Tertiary epithermal Unionville Zone, and Dakota Gold expects to resume drilling there and complete the planned program in the first half of 2027.

U.S. GoldMining Inc. announced the completion of its 2026 surface exploration program at its 100% owned Whistler Gold-Copper Project in Alaska, expanding its pipeline of high-priority drill targets. The program was conducted alongside the recently completed 7,493 meters of diamond core drilling across 10 targets within the Whistler Orbit. Fieldwork included reconnaissance mapping, prospecting and rock grab sampling at the Whistler Orbit, Island Mountain and Muddy Creek mineral systems, with 58 rock grab samples submitted for gold, copper and multi-element assaying, 12 geochronological samples collected, and 68 samples taken at the Long Lake Hills prospect for hyperspectral analysis. The company said the work identified new outcrop zones of gold-copper porphyry-style mineralization and extended the known footprints at the Whistler Orbit, Island Mountain and Muddy Creek, with assay results pending. The Whistler Project currently hosts 5.41 Moz AuEq of indicated resources and 4.97 Moz AuEq of inferred resources across the Whistler, Raintree West and Island Mountain deposits. CEO Tim Smith said the data will support future exploration and drilling campaigns aimed at identifying new gold and copper discoveries.

Perpetua Resources Corp. provided an update on construction and exploration progress at its Stibnite Gold Project in central Idaho, where federal approvals were secured in 2025 and early works and critical path construction activities continued through the summer and into the fall. Work on Burntlog Route, the year-round access road that will serve the Project, ramped up through the summer field season, with crews removing dead timber left by past wildfires ahead of earthworks before excavators and haul trucks advanced pioneer roadwork. In late August, the Worker Housing Facility civil works were completed and foundation installation began, with treated wood foundations being installed to support the kitchen, dining, and recreation modules while a Triodetic metal foundation will support the dormitory buildings and the arctic corridor connecting the facility. Working closely with its partners at Idaho Power Co., Perpetua said it is well advanced in procuring key equipment and materials for powerline upgrades, with long-lead items such as substations and transformers ordered and essential items such as power poles and ancillary equipment delivered to laydown areas in Donnelly and Cascade, Idaho. The exploration program surpassed the 10,000-meter mark in August, warranting an expansion of the previously defined program, with drilling continuing at the Clark Tunnel Fault Zone, Fiddle, Scout, and Hangar Flats targets; at the CTFZ, five holes totaling 1,900 meters were completed by the end of August, while eight holes totaling 2,400 meters were completed at Fiddle and fifteen holes totaling 2,300 meters were completed at Scout, with 21 holes planned there for the season. Looking ahead, Perpetua will continue critical path work through the fall, including bridge deliveries for Burntlog Route, installation of the Worker Housing Facility, and ongoing powerline procurement, with drilling to continue with four rigs before ramping down into the winter months.

Smackover Lithium has amended its binding commercial offtake agreement with Trafigura Trading LLC for the South West Arkansas Project, adding an option to deliver up to an additional 4,000 metric tonnes of battery-quality lithium carbonate per year on top of the initial 8,000 metric tonne per year commitment. Combined, the maximum possible volumes to be delivered to Trafigura on a take-or-pay basis has increased to 12,000 metric tonnes of battery-quality lithium carbonate per year over the 10-year Agreement beginning at the start of commercial production, with pricing and other key commercial terms remaining confidential. Because the additional volume is deliverable solely at Smackover Lithium's election, the partnership retains the ability to allocate that volume to other strategic customers in the future, and an additional offtake agreement is not required to move forward with Project financing. Together with the recently announced binding take-or-pay agreement with LG Energy Solution for 8,000 metric tonnes per year, total possible commitments have now reached 20,000 metric tonnes of battery-quality lithium carbonate per year, exceeding the Project's initial target of securing customer offtake for roughly 80%, or 18,000, of the 22,500 tonnes of annual nameplate lithium carbonate capacity in its initial phase. Smackover Lithium, a partnership between Standard Lithium and Equinor formed in May 2024 in which Standard Lithium holds a 55% interest and Equinor holds 45%, said due diligence is well underway with three major Export Credit Agencies on a senior secured, limited recourse debt financing package of around $1.1 billion, and it continues to target a Final Investment Decision later this year before moving into construction, enabling first commercial production of battery-quality lithium carbonate in 2029.

Hudbay Minerals released an updated mine plan for its Snow Lake operations in Manitoba, extending proven and probable reserve mine life by two more years to 2043 and lifting total life-of-mine gold production by 60% to 2.8 million ounces from 1.8 million ounces in the 2021 technical report. The two-year extension, combined with the four-year extension announced in March 2026, adds a total of six years to the reserve mine life, while the 2026-2030 five-year average annual gold production rises to 185,000 ounces, a 37% increase from an additional 250,000 ounces over the same period. Snow Lake mineral reserves grew to 27 million tonnes containing 2.0 million ounces of gold, a 38% increase in tonnage from the January 1, 2026 estimate, and mineral resources rose to 21 million tonnes containing 1.5 million ounces of gold, up 26% in tonnage despite significant resource-to-reserve conversion. Five-year average gold cash costs are put at $821 per ounce and average sustaining cash costs at $1,379 per ounce, and the company said the 1901 exploration and development work is on track for full production in late 2027, with the Stall hot tailings project expected to be commissioned in early 2028. Hudbay also flagged the Britannia Gold Project as a new anchor deposit opportunity that could meaningfully add gold production and extend mine life well beyond current reserves.

i-80 Gold released a feasibility study for its Granite Creek underground gold project, outlining updated reserves and mine planning. The study includes new measured and indicated resource figures alongside the first formal reserve estimates for the deposit, and management also reported positive step-out and infill drilling results at the Mineral Point project that confirmed mineralization beyond current resource outlines. The company, a CA$2.1b metals and mining business focused on advancing gold and silver projects in the United States, now has Granite Creek and Mineral Point contributing to its broader Nevada project pipeline. The Granite Creek feasibility study gives the production ramp-up catalyst more backbone because it now rests on formal reserves, updated grades and an optimized processing plan instead of earlier-stage assumptions, though the announcement also underlines existing risk around high capex, complex mine plans and the need for tight cost control across multiple assets. The practical checkpoint for investors is how closely actual Granite Creek output lines up with the feasibility schedule once Lone Tree processing is targeted to start in late 2027.

Rio Tinto Group's unit Rio Tinto Logistics won a maximum $995M IDIQ contract on Friday for high-purity aluminum. The five-year contract has no option periods and runs through May 7, 2031. It is funded with fiscal 2025–2029 transaction funds and was awarded by the Defense Logistics Agency Contracting Services Office.

MP Materials' Magnetics segment, the company's downstream magnet manufacturing arm, generated $37.6 million in revenues in the first half of 2026, up 50% year over year, while segment adjusted EBITDA nearly doubled to $17.1 million from $8.6 million. Within that half, first-quarter revenues surged 306% year over year to $21.1 million on higher magnetic precursor production, with segment adjusted EBITDA of $9.6 million versus $0.49 million a year earlier, while second-quarter revenues declined 17% year over year to $16.5 million and segment adjusted EBITDA fell 7% to $7.5 million, a drop MP attributed to the startup of magnet production at the Independence Facility and its impact on magnetic product pricing rather than weaker demand. MP delivered magnets to General Motors for in-vehicle qualification testing in the second quarter of 2026 and expects to begin commercial magnet shipments in the fourth quarter, followed by a steady production ramp. As of June 30, 2026, MP had collected $150 million in required prepayments from GM under their long-term supply agreement, had delivered $104.5 million of magnetic precursor products, and expects to deliver the remaining $45.5 million within one year, after which it plans to shift to finished magnet sales in 2026. MP is also building a second magnet plant in Northlake, Texas, known as the 10X Facility, expected to lift its overall U.S. rare earth magnet production capacity to roughly 10,000 metric tons per year, and is extending heavy rare earth refining at Mountain Pass.

Stifel initiated coverage of Almonty Industries with a Buy rating and a $25.00 price target, sending shares up nearly 8% in early Friday trading. Analyst Brock Cannon's target implies substantial upside from trading levels near $12.40. The call comes as Almonty transitions into Phase I commercial production at its flagship Sangdong mine in South Korea, with a slated Phase II buildout at Sangdong and capacity growth at the Panasqueira asset in Portugal expected to make it the premier Western tungsten producer by the end of 2028. Tungsten prices have surged roughly 775% since the start of 2025 after China tightened export controls, structurally altering global supply. Stifel also cited long-term upside from adjacent owned assets and a planned downstream tungsten oxide facility.