J2. Fossil Fuel Industry

Canadian Energy Metals (CEM) has announced the results of its preliminary economic assessment (PEA) for its Thor project in Saskatchewan, outlining the potential for Canada’s first major domestic alumina resource.

The PEA envisions a surface mining and processing operation with an average throughput of 16.5 million tonnes per year, supporting alumina production of 1.8 million tonnes per year over a 25-year project life. This is based on a resource estimate covering 23% of the property, containing 6.8 billion tonnes of alumina in the measured and indicated category.

“This PEA confirms that the Thor project is a possible game-changer for North America’s aluminum supply chain,” CEO Christopher Hopkins said in a Jan. 29 news release. “Our next focus is to engineer a demonstration facility while moving Thor towards commercialization.”

CEM has so far successfully produced two types of alumina through ongoing piloting efforts: 3N chemical-grade alumina (CGA) and 4N high-purity alumina (HPA). The company is conducting additional testing on the deposit’s polymetallic nature, focusing on smelter-grade alumina, scandium and vanadium.

The PEA model assumes initial capital expenditures of $6.3 billion, operating costs of $1.6 billion per year, and product price assumptions of $5,000 per tonne for CGA and $25,000 per tonne for HPA. The projected internal rate of return is 72%, with a net present value of cash flows at $72.3 billion (discounted at 10% after-tax).

“The Thor project discovery pairs our province’s pro-mining investment policies with a substantial geological advantage. We’re excited about the prospect of a new alumina industry setting up shop in our province, where people are ready for more jobs and investment from around the world,” Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said in a statement.

This year, the company plans to advance the project further by updating the mineral resource and confirming its potential for new products and by-products, with the expectation of releasing a prefeasibility study.

The United States will collaborate with the European Union, Japan and Mexico on critical minerals strategies as part of its efforts to weaken China’s dominance in the market for materials used in defense and high-tech industries.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer announced that the US, European Commission and Japan will work together to “develop action plans for critical minerals supply chain resilience.”

Under these action plans, the nations will develop coordinated trade policies and mechanisms, such as border-adjusted price floors, that can mitigate critical mineral supply chain vulnerabilities, the statement reads.

This, according to Greer, would lay “the groundwork for a binding plurilateral agreement on trade in critical minerals with like-minded partners.”

The announcement follows the Critical Minerals Ministerial meeting in Washington DC, featuring officials from over 50 countries including G7 nations and hosted by US Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

A memorandum of understanding is expected within 30 days for the parties to commit to the joint efforts, a joint statement said.

Separately, the US announced a similar partnership with Mexico to address vulnerabilities in the critical mineral supply chain with the conclusion of the meeting in Washington.

On Wednesday, the parties unveiled a 60-day action plan focused on developing trade policies centered on critical minerals. These would include consultations on price floors in a binding plurilateral agreement.

As part of the plan, the countries are expected to identify specific mining, processing and manufacturing projects for critical minerals in both countries and certain third countries, though no further details were provided.

Trade Representative Greer said the US-Mexico collaboration underscores “the countries’ shared commitment to address global market distortions that have left North American supply chains vulnerable to disruptions.”

The announcement comes months before a mandatory review of the US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement. The USTR announcement did not include Canada, whose Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson was also in attendance at the Wednesday meeting.

The agreements are designed to encourage investment outside China and reduce reliance on Beijing for rare earths and other critical minerals used in products from electric vehicles to semiconductors, US trade officials said.

“Today, the international market for critical minerals is failing,” Vice President Vance said in his opening remarks at Wednesday’s summit.

“Consistent investment is nearly impossible, and it will stay that way so long as prices are erratic and unpredictable,” Vance added, highlighting that mining and processing projects had to be abandoned due to volatile prices.

As a solution, he pitched a “preferential trade center” for critical minerals that would be protected from external disruptions, emphasizing the need for a coordinated agreement on price floors.

His comments built on President Donald Trump’s Monday announcement of plans for a nearly $12 billion critical minerals stockpile, part of his intensified efforts to bolster the domestic supply chain.

(With files from Bloomberg and Reuters)

Alamos Gold (TSX, NYSE: AGI) predicted annual output will climb 46% by 2028 as expansion work at Ontario’s Island Gold District bears fruit and costs decrease. The stock rose.

Gold production this year will probably range between 570,000 and 650,000 oz., rising to 735,000-835,000 oz. in 2028, Alamos said Wednesday in a statement. This year’s target is smaller than the range of 630,000-680,000 oz. that the company had provided earlier. 

Central to the company’s growth trajectory is the multi-phase expansion of the Island Gold District – which includes the namesake underground mine and the Magino mine and mill – and the startup of the Lynn Lake project in Manitoba. By 2030, those two assets should lift the company’s annual output to 1 million oz., Alamos said.

“We see the 2026 guidance in particular as a reset opportunity for the company following weaker operational performance in 2025,” Jefferies mining analyst Fahad Tariq said Wednesday in a note. “We maintain that there is nothing structurally wrong with the assets and expect the Island Gold District to drive production growth in the near term.”

Alamos shares rose 4.7% to C$54.67 Wednesday morning in Toronto, boosting the company’s market value to about C$23 billion ($17 billion).

A new study for the Island Gold District, released Tuesday, outlines a 30% increase in reserves – to 8.3 million oz. – and a $542 million mill expansion to 20,000 tonnes per day that should be completed by 2028.

With annual production of 419,000 oz. over a 19-year life, the operation would become one of Canada’s largest and longest‑life gold mines, Alamos said. At a long-term gold price of $3,200 per oz., Island Gold has a net present value of $8.2 billion.

Additional growth will come from Lynn Lake, a property that includes two open-pit sites, starting in 2029. Annual production is expected to average 186,000 oz. over the first 10 years, Alamos said.

“All of this growth is in Canada, it’s all lower cost, and we can fund it internally while generating growing free cash flow,” CEO John McCluskey said in the statement.

“Our operational performance over the past year was not up to our standards and not reflective of our long-term track record. We expect to deliver a stronger performance in 2026, particularly into the second half of the year as production ramps up and costs decrease with the completion of the shaft expansion at Island Gold.”

Construction activities at Lynn Lake are expected to restart this spring, with 2026 spending pegged at $140 million to $160 million. That’s 43% less than the previous guidance for 2026, which reflects the deferral of construction activities due to wildfires in Northern Manitoba last year.

Capital spending on Lynn Lake is expected to peak at $380 million to $410 million next year before slowing.

Total cash costs are expected to fall from $1,020–1,120 per oz. this year to $775–875 per oz. by 2028, Alamos also said. All-in sustaining costs (AISC) will probably shrink from $1,500–$1,600 per oz. to $1,200–$1,300 per oz. over the same span.

Capital expenditures this year will probably range from $850 million to $940 million, higher than a previous target communicated by the company. The figure includes up to $720 million for growth projects.

Analysts at Fitch Solutions’ BMI have lifted their price forecasts for industrial metals to reflect the speculative momentum in this sector as well as strong market fundamentals and macroeconomic forces.

Metals like copper and aluminum have gone on a massive rally since late 2025, and that momentum carried into January as their prices hit records. This metals frenzy, according to BMI, was “driven largely by bullish speculative trades across the markets,” on top of bets on a weakening dollar and tighter supply.

While this rally was always unsustainable, as seen in last week’s historic metals crash, strong fundamentals — namely a tight physical market — “should help base metals find a floor above historical averages in the coming months,” its analysts wrote in a note published on Tuesday.

In the coming weeks, BMI sees prices of key industrial metals like copper consolidating above historical averages as they transition into a corrective phase, with the possibility of a fundamentals-driven resurgence.

As such, BMI analysts have raised their annual forecasts for metals despite the LME index already hovering at record highs.

For copper, the Fitch Solutions unit sees prices staying elevated through at least mid-2026 and averaging $11,900/t for the year, with upside risks included. The red-colored metal set a record high of $14,500/t in London nearly a week ago before falling to the $13,000/t level.

As for aluminum, the firm also revised its annual average price forecast to $2,900/t, driven by supportive macro conditions and persisting expectations of structural tightness in the global market. The metal is currently trading at its highest level since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Tin received a significant upward revision — from $35,000/t to $45,000/t — as analysts highlighted the sharp rise in speculative demand, with three-month futures on the LME now hovering around $47,100/t, alongside permitting issues in Indonesia and supply constraints in Myanmar.

Two battery metals — nickel and lithium — also received upgrades amid rising demand from the clean energy transition. BMI’s annual average price forecast for nickel is set at $15,800/t, while lithium prices, which have gained the most this year, are projected at $13,500/t and $13,000/t for carbonates and hydroxides, respectively.

“While prices are still likely to fluctuate and settle at a higher level than historical averages, another sustained rally remains elusive for now and base metals appear poised for a correction across the board,” BMI’s analysts wrote.

Gold bounced back above the $5,000-an-ounce level on Wednesday as investors looking to “buy the dip” snapped up more of the metal following its historic crash last week.

Spot gold traded as high as $5,091.89 per ounce during the early hours of trading, before erasing its gains. Silver also rose by as much as 9% to $92 an ounce but has since pulled back.

Bullion has now recovered nearly half of its losses from Friday’s sudden collapse, which saw prices plunge by as much as 12% for its worst decline since 1980. Before that, the metal had been soaring to all-time highs on nearly a daily basis, a scorching rally underpinned by speculative momentum.

Market watchers had been warning that gold’s advances were too large and too swift. Prices were up by about a quarter on the year before Friday’s crash, which continued into the early parts of this week.

“As prices fell, dealer hedging flipped from buying into strength to selling into weakness, investor stop‑outs were triggered, and losses cascaded through the system,” analysts at Goldman Sachs wrote earlier this week.

Still, the major banks remain mostly bullish on gold, as they believe the underlying fundamentals that have driven its rally remain intact. Earlier this week, JPMorgan set a year-end price target of $6,300 per ounce, while Deutsche Bank reiterated its forecast to $6,000 an ounce.

While inflated prices and market turmoil may affect position sizing, it won’t dampen overall investor interest, Niklas Westermark, head of EMEA commodities trading at Bank of America, also said, though he warned that volatility in precious metals will remain elevated.

“Forced sales have likely run their course in precious metals,” Daniel Ghali, a senior commodity strategist at TD Securities, said in a note to Bloomberg. “The intense volatility over the last week could certainly keep retail participants on the sidelines, removing an increasingly important cohort of buyers.”

Meanwhile, gold has drawn increased safe-haven demand amid rising geopolitical tensions between the US and Iran, following the US Navy’s downing of an Iranian drone.

(With files from Bloomberg)

It’s retail therapy this quarter for the Sprott Physical Uranium Trust (TSX: U.U for USD; U.UN for CAD) which this week bought 250,000 lb. of uranium oxide (U3O8) as part of its strongest start to the fund since it was formed in 2021, though the spot uranium price fell from a two-year high.

The buy – part of Sprott’s second-highest quarterly transaction in four years – raises its first quarter uranium purchases to 3.65 million lb. and its total inventory to 78.4 million lb. after it bought 500,000 lb. last week. Sprott’s energy metal holdings now have a total value of $7.28 billion.

However, the purchase comes as the spot price fell almost 10% near the end of last week from $101.55, its highest price in two years, to $91.80 per lb. on Wednesday. The world’s top producing company, Kazatomprom (LSE: KAP), forecast a 9% output increase this year which is higher than expected, BMO Capital Markets analyst Helen Amos said in a note on Wednesday.

The Kazakhstan state uranium miner expects production of 71.5 to 75.4 million lb. this year compared to last year, mostly from ramp up at the Budenovskoye joint venture in southern Kazakhstan which Kazatomprom holds with Russia.

As the spot price reached its recent high on Jan. 29, SaskPower and the government of Saskatchewan – where most of Canada’s uranium exploration and mining takes place – had just said they would evaluate building large reactors in the province.

Though Saskatchewan’s Athabasca Basin is Canada’s top uranium producing region, the province has no nuclear power generation or processing. The evaluation would happen alongside SaskPower’s planned small modular reactor project.   

Sprott shares were flat at C$29.79 apiece on Wednesday morning in Toronto, valuing the company at C$9.2 billion ($6.7 billion).

Ivanhoe Mines (TSX: IVN) is in advanced talks with Congo’s state miner Gecamines and Swiss commodities trader Mercuria to route zinc-rich concentrate from its Kipushi mine to the United States under Washington’s newly launched strategic stockpiling scheme, Project Vault.

The discussions follow the White House launch of Project Vault, which Ivanhoe founder and co-executive chairman Robert Friedland attended. The $12 billion program aims to secure long-term supplies of strategic metals, backed by $1.67 billion in private capital and a $10 billion loan facility from the US Export-Import Bank.

Momentum behind the plan is building in Washington. Senators are set to introduce legislation on Wednesday to reauthorize funding for the Export-Import Bank for another decade, with the goal of injecting an additional $70 billion into the agency to support Trump’s critical minerals agenda, the Financial Times reported.

Republican senator Kevin Cramer of North Dakota, who is co-sponsoring the bill with Democrat Mark Warner, told the FT that Trump was “all in” on backing Ex-Im and “sees the value” of the institution. Cramer said he would push to raise the bank’s lending cap to $205 billion from $135 billion as part of the package.

Under the proposed arrangement, Mercuria would assign its existing offtake for Kipushi concentrate to Gecamines’ trading arm and market additional volumes expected once the mine ramps up later this year, Ivanhoe said. Gecamines could ultimately handle up to 50% of Kipushi’s output, including shipments destined for the US.

Gecamines confirmed the partnership in a separate statement on Tuesday, citing a December 2025 deal with Mercuria that provides financing and logistics to activate its offtake rights. The miner said the agreement marks the first step in a plan to expand into processing zinc, copper, germanium and gallium, with the long-term aim of becoming Kipushi’s sole buyer.

The talks form part of a broader US-Congo push on minerals as Washington intensifies competition with China for access to Africa’s vast resource base.

Glencore (LON: GLEN) and the US-backed Orion Critical Mineral Consortium announced this week a similar deal to channel cobalt and copper from the DRC into the US supply chain under the same government-supported program, underscoring rising competition among Western buyers.

Kipushi, one of Congo’s largest polymetallic deposits, is forecast to produce 240,000 to 290,000 tonnes of zinc concentrate this year, including meaningful volumes of germanium and gallium, minerals the US classifies as critical for semiconductors, defence applications and clean-technology.

Aqua Metals (NASDAQ: AQMS) and American Battery Factory (ABF) announced Tuesday a proposed strategic collaboration focused on advancing the domestic battery materials supply chain through recycling and circular manufacturing.

Under a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MOU), the companies will evaluate the co-location of a commercial Aqua Metals battery recycling facility adjacent to ABF’s planned battery cell manufacturing operations in Tucson, Arizona.

The proposed collaboration would enable Aqua Metals to recycle lithium-ion-phosphate (LFP) battery manufacturing scrap generated by ABF and return battery-grade lithium carbonate for reuse in US-based battery production, the companies said.

The collaboration is designed to address a key challenge facing the US battery industry: how to economically process battery materials domestically rather than exporting manufacturing scrap and black mass to overseas markets, primarily in Asia, for conventional hydrometallurgical processing.

In late 2025, Aqua Metals signed a non-binding letter of intent with Westwin Elements, the only major US nickel refinery, to supply up to 1,000 metric tons of recycled nickel carbonate a year starting in 2027.

The potential deal, valued at around $12 million annually based on current nickel prices, aims to strengthen domestic production of critical minerals.

By integrating recycling directly with battery manufacturing, the companies aim to improve cost competitiveness, reduce logistics complexity and strengthen domestic supply chain resilience.

Aqua Metals’ proprietary AquaRefining technology replaces high-temperature furnaces and chemical-intensive hydrometallurgical processes with an electricity-powered, closed-loop system. This approach, it said, is designed to operate more efficiently in the US regulatory and labor environment, while creating manufacturing jobs and producing battery-grade materials suitable for direct reuse.

“This strategic collaboration reflects our belief that domestic battery recycling must be economically viable, not just environmentally preferable,” Aqua Metals CEO Steve Cotton said in a news release.

“By working alongside American Battery Factory, we are evaluating a model that would keep valuable materials in circulation, support US manufacturing jobs, and offer a realistic alternative to exporting battery scrap overseas for processing methods that simply do not translate well to the United States.”

ABF is developing large-scale LFP battery cell manufacturing capacity in the US, supported by federal and state initiatives aimed at expanding domestic battery production. Through the contemplated collaboration, Aqua Metals would develop a co-located recycling facility that would process manufacturing scrap using AquaRefining and supply battery-grade lithium carbonate back into ABF’s supply chain or to designated downstream partners.

The MOU also outlines plans to evaluate a commercial-scale recycling facility capable of processing up to 10,000 metric tons of lithium-ion battery materials annually, including both manufacturing scrap and third-party feedstock.

The companies are targeting 2028 for the start of commercial operations.

With the 2026 Winter Olympics just days away, anticipation is building as the world prepares for another showcase of the elite winter sport. Around 3,500 athletes from more than 90 countries are set to travel to northern Italy and compete at Milano Cortina this month.

The ultimate prize, of course, is the gold medal awarded to the winner of each event. The silver and bronze medals, too, will be hard-earned prizes in their own right.

While to the athletes Olympic medals may be priceless, sentiment aside, their value is also measured by the metals they contain.

Given how much metal prices have rallied over the past year, calculating their intrinsic value is worth a closer look.

For each Olympics, the medals are redesigned to make them unique to the host cities. Milano Cortina 2026 features a split design, reflecting the partnership between Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo.

According to the official Milano Cortina website, the 2026 medals are crafted by the Italian State Mint, using recycled metals and renewable energy. Each type of medal contains a distinct metal composition — silver for silver medals and copper for bronze. Surprisingly, the gold medal is predominantly made of silver, not gold.

Based on design specifications released by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), each gold medal is expected to contain approximately 500 grams (16.1 troy ounces) of .999 fine silver and 6 grams (0.19 troy ounces) of .9999 fine gold. Silver medals contain the same amount of silver as gold medals, while a bronze medal contains about 410 grams of copper.

Despite a sharp pullback from record highs last week, gold, silver and copper are still trading at levels higher than during any previous Winter Games.

Based on current market prices — around $4,800/oz for gold, $80/oz for silver and $13,000 per tonne for copper — a gold medal would have an intrinsic value of about $2,212, while a silver medal would be worth roughly $1,286. A bronze medal’s value, by comparison, is estimated at just $5.46.

During this year’s event, a total of 735 Olympic medals (245 sets of gold, silver and bronze) are expected to be awarded, along with 411 medals for the Paralympic Games, bringing the total to 1,146 medals across both competitions.

At current prices, the combined intrinsic value of all medals would exceed $1.3 million (see table).

While this figure falls well short of capturing the true significance of an Olympic medal, it highlights the enduring role of metals such as gold as stores of value. For comparison, during the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, a gold medal was estimated to be worth around $736, based on a gold price of $1,900/oz and silver prices near $23/oz at the time.

At today’s prices, the intrinsic value of a gold medal has therefore risen by roughly threefold.

Australian gold miner Regis Resources (ASX: RRL) has moved to revive its stalled McPhillamys gold project in New South Wales by seeking approval for a new waste storage design after a federal heritage ruling rendered the original plan unviable.

In August 2024, then environment minister Tanya Plibersek blocked Regis from building a tailings dam near the headwaters of the Belubula River outside Blayney, halting development of the proposed mine. The decision forced the company to book a non-cash impairment of A$192 million ($135m) and warn that relocating the tailings facility would effectively restart approvals, potentially delaying the project by up to a decade.

After a sharp rally in gold prices, Regis this week asked the Environment Department to approve an alternative waste storage location that would not require reopening the entire approvals process. The proposal centres on an “integrated waste landform” that would store processed ore with waste rock along the eastern and southern edges of the project, while keeping the mine and processing facilities as approved by the department in 2023.

Regis said the original tailings dam remained the “optimal” solution but argued the revised design would allow the project to proceed under existing approvals. The company is simultaneously suing the federal government, seeking to overturn Plibersek’s heritage declaration on the grounds it was denied procedural fairness and that officials accepted claims about the blue-banded bee without sufficient scrutiny.

McPhillamys hosts at least 2.26 million ounces of gold, according to Regis disclosures. At Tuesday’s gold price of $4,906 an ounce, the resource could theoretically generate more than $11 billion in revenue if fully mined and sold.

Regis also applied on Monday for approval of a new 90-kilometre water pipeline from EnergyAustralia’s Mt Piper coal-fired power station near Lithgow, along with a new power line after the previous connection was caught up in the heritage ruling.

Glencore (LSE: GLEN) said it’s halting all investments related to emissions reduction at its Horne smelter in northern Quebec after failing to reach a deal with the provincial government on a plan to secure the facility’s long-term viability.

Despite sustained negotiations with Quebec dating back to mid-2025, the regulatory framework needed to justify the planned investments is “not sufficiently in place,” Glencore said Tuesday in a statement. Glencore said it was prepared to invest almost C$1 billion ($730 million) at Horne over five years, including C$300 million for emissions reduction. 

Without completing the planned investments, it will become impossible for the smelter to meet certain emissions targets that come into effect starting in March 2027, Glencore said. “Accordingly, the situation will need to be reassessed in the coming months,” the company stressed.

Investments at Glencore’s CCR copper refinery in Montreal will also be scaled back over the medium term, the company said Tuesday in a statement.

“We have worked in good faith and explored every option available to us. Protecting jobs and maintaining operations remain the company’s top priorities, but the conditions needed to move forward simply are not in place right now,” Marc Bédard, chief operating officer of Glencore’s custom metallurgical assets, said in the statement.

China may look to stockpile more copper as part of its strategic minerals inventory after its state-backed metals industry group suggested the move to bolster the nation’s supply security.

During its annual briefing on Tuesday, the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association said the Chinese government should expand its strategic reserves of copper, while working with major state-owned producers to boost commercial inventories.

In addition, market experts from the Association also suggested the possibility of adding copper concentrates to the nation’s strategic reserves.

The calls come a day after the US government unveiled “Project Vault” — a planned $12 billion fund aimed at building strategic mineral reserves to support domestic production and reduce reliance on Chinese supplies.

Last year, the US Geological Survey added copper to its list of minerals that are critical to the American economy and national security. The metal, which is used in almost everything from infrastructure and machinery to electronics and renewable energy, is currently being examined for a potential tariff by the Trump administration, highlighting the risks in its supply chain.

China, meanwhile, is thought to have been accumulating strategic stockpiles of minerals like copper for decades to protect itself from supply disruptions.

Amid a wave of mine disruptions and aggressive demand forecasts, copper prices have been soaring over the past year, recently hitting a record high of $14,500 per ton in London.

Despite the massive selloff in the metals’ market last week, copper has maintained a 40% gain on this time last year, and is 4% higher since the start of 2026.

Privately held developer Torngat Metals has pushed back its target for starting rare earths production at the C$2-billion ($1.46-billion) Strange Lake project in northern Quebec by about a year due to permitting and other delays. 

Until recently, the Montreal-based company had been saying it was aiming to start production by 2028. That timeline has now slipped, CEO Yves Leduc says. 

“It’s likely we will get permits in the earlier part of 2027, and construction would start around then. So 2028 is very, very tight. It’s more like 2029-30,” CEO Yves Leduc told The Northern Miner in a January telephone interview. 

Torngat is working to publish a bankable feasibility study for Strange Lake in the first half of 2026 and complete environmental impact assessments by the end of the year, Leduc says. The project includes three key components – a mine and concentration plant in Nunavik; a 180-km road to Voisey’s Bay, Labrador and an $800 million, 15,000 tonne-a-year rare earth separation plant in Sept-Îles, Quebec. 

Strange Lake stands out among North American rare earth projects for its heavy rare earth content, particularly dysprosium and terbium – elements critical to permanent magnets used in electric vehicles, wind turbines and defence technologies. It’s also notable for the company’s strategy of building a rare earth separation plant in Quebec and producing finished oxides domestically rather than exporting concentrates. 

Global demand for rare earths is set to climb by as much as 700% by 2040 to meet the needs of green technologies, according to International Energy Association forecasts. 

China’s dominance in the mining, processing and separation of rare earths has spurred Western countries such as Canada and the U.S. to accelerate mining projects – especially after the Asian country introduced export curbs last year. China controls 80 to 90% of the rare earths market, along with the entire supply chain for electric motors and permanent magnets.  

“You can say it was foresight on the part of China. Everybody was happy to have the processing of rare earths done in China,” Leduc said. “Today this small industry, heavy rare earths, which has a $10-billion size globally, controls directly over $50 trillion of economies. You can’t imagine more leverage.” 

Compared with China’s state-backed operations, Strange Lake would be modest in scale but significant strategically. Its planned annual output could meet a meaningful portion of North American demand for dysprosium and terbium, helping to cut reliance on Chinese imports. 

“We’re looking at an opportunity, probably never seen in Canada, to build an industry that will be the only alternative to a Chinese monopoly,” Leduc said. “If you add to that permanent magnet production, which could be in Canada’s control, you can see a mine-to-magnet vision. No other country, other than China, would have that. So the stars are aligned for this project to succeed.” 

Strange Lake would make Torngat the largest producer of heavy rare earths in North America and one of the biggest outside China. Production costs per kilogram of rare earth oxide would be competitive with global producers, though final figures will depend on engineering studies now in progress, Torngat says. 

The company envisions a mine life of more than 30 years, with between 5 million and 13 million tonnes of material extracted annually. Strange Lake is projected to produce 540 tonnes of dysprosium, 80 tonnes of terbium and 2,400 tonnes of neodymium and praseodymium a year, the company says on its website. 

In the meantime, talks are under way with six First Nations – including the Innu and the Inuit – to secure community approval for the project’s key components and negotiate equity stakes. 

“We want the Indigenous to become shareholders in the company, which would be a first in Eastern Canada,” Leduc said. “We are mobilizing to earn their trust. We set the bar very high on the environmental side. We want to be a role model in how we exploit rare earths and how we refine them.”

After securing $165 million in loans last year from Export Development Canada and the Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB) for pre-construction work at Strange Lake, Torngat is again in fundraising mode. The current focus is on raising equity, Leduc said. 

CIB could lend Torngat as much as $500 million to help build access to the project, Divya Shah, the bank’s managing director of trade and transportation investments, told The Northern Miner in a separate interview. 

With Prime Minister Mark Carney having made critical minerals a priority for Canada, “we’re at the heart of many, many discussions that are critical to Canada’s future,” Leduc said. “This project is extremely well financed, and it will continue to be.” 

Although Torngat’s largest shareholder is New York-based private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management, following a US$50 million ($70 million) investment in 2022, Leduc insists Strange Lake will serve Canada’s interests first and foremost. 

Cerberus executives “understand this has a to be a Quebec project,” Leduc said. “That’s why they nominated a Quebec CEO and a Quebec chair. We are putting a lot of focus on building a shareholder base that’s Canadian. That’s how we make this a Canadian project serving Canadian interests.” 

“It’s all about making sure the project remains Canadian. Our focus is on building an industry here. That will create leverage for the country that other industries wouldn’t have.” 

Political developments in Quebec haven’t dented the province’s commitment to Strange Lake, Leduc adds – even after Premier Francois Legault said Jan. 14 he planned to step down this year. Quebecers are scheduled to go to the polls in October.  

“There is a great deal of enthusiasm already expressed by the current government” about Strange Lake, Leduc said. “This is not something that’s tied to a government. I’m very confident that whoever leads [the province] after the next election will have the same level of enthusiasm that I have.” 

Leduc, a veteran executive with about 25 years of manufacturing experience who was named Torngat CEO last March, says his current challenge is unlike anything he’s ever experienced. 

“This is the most exciting thing I’ve ever done in my career,” he said. “The energy transition fully depends on heavy rare earths. Once Quebec has that strategy in place and we are in operation, we will be a critical component of the energy transition. That moves a lot of people.” 

Glencore (LSE: GLEN) has entered a non-binding agreement to sell a 40% stake in its mine assets in the Democratic Republic of Congo to the Orion Critical Mineral Consortium (Orion CMC).

Glencore currently operates the Mutanda and Kamoto mines in DRC’s Lualaba province — both large-scale producers of copper cathodes and cobalt hydroxide. Last year, they produced 247,800 tonnes of copper — roughly 30% of the group’s global output — and 35,100 tonnes of cobalt.

Under the proposed deal, Orion CMC would acquire 40% of Mutanda Mining (MUMI) and Kamoto Copper Company (KCC), both majority held by Glencore (95% and 75% respectively), for a total enterprise value of $9 billion.

Orion CMC may also appoint non-executive directors in respect of the assets and direct the sale of the relevant share of production to nominated buyers, in accordance with the US–DRC strategic partnership agreement. Upon completion of the transaction, the mines would continue to be managed as part of the Glencore group.

Orion CMC was established by Orion Resource Partners last October with the backing of Abu Dhabi’s ADQ and the US International Development Finance Corp. (DFC). Together, the parties sought to invest upwards of $5 billion to support the US and its allies in their critical minerals push.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, Orion said the companies will seek opportunities to expand and develop the asset in partnership with the DRC government and state-owned miner Gécamines, Glencore’s existing partner in KCC.

They will also look to acquire additional critical mineral projects and assets in the DRC and the African copper belt more broadly, it said.

“This proposed partnership between Orion CMC and Glencore has the potential to bring significant returns for both the United States and the DRC,” DFC CEO Ben Black said. “CMC’s potential investment would reflect the growing relationship between the US and the DRC, help secure a reliable source of critical minerals for the United States and our partners.”

In December, DFC pledged to invest more than $1 billion in two major projects as part of the US-DRC strategic partnership. These include plans to support a new copper and cobalt venture between Gécamines and commodity trader Mercuria Energy, as well as a rail project linking Congo and other central and southern African nations to Angola’s coast.

US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau said the proposed transaction between Orion CMC and Glencore “reflects the core objectives of the US-DRC Strategic Partnership Agreement by encouraging greater US investment in the DRC’s mining sector and promoting secure, reliable, and mutually beneficial flows of critical minerals between our two countries.”

“Through this partnership, we would be able to support the ambitions of the US government and private sector with the supply of two critical minerals,” Glencore CEO Gary Nagle said.

The move comes as Glencore continues to work out details on its proposed combination with Rio Tinto (ASX, LSE: RIO), which would create a copper-mining behemoth with a market value of more than $200 billion.

Shares of the Swiss group rose 2.9% on Tuesday on the asset sale announcement, taking its market capitalization to approximately £61 billion ($83.5 billion).

Ivanhoe Mines (TSX: IVN) founder and co-executive chairman Robert Friedland relayed the mining industry’s support for how US President Donald Trump has funded projects, quickened permits and now created a $12 billion minerals stockpile.

“Mr. President, thank you so much for what you’ve achieved,” Friedland said in an Oval Office ceremony on Monday featuring cabinet secretaries and other industry leaders such as General Motors CEO Mary Barra. “I’m telling you, on behalf of every miner I know, they’re elated.”

Friedland noted how the array of cameras facing the assembled were made of mined components, cell phones, too. He thanked Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and the US Export-Import bank for funding projects. The bank last year indicated the potential of $825 million in long-term debt financing for Ivanhoe Electric’s (TSX: IE; NYSE-AM: IE) Santa Cruz copper project in Arizona.

“We need your support, and we’re really happy to get it,” Friedland told President Trump. “The morale of the miners is sky high.”

Watch a clip of the exchange above and the full White House video on the minerals stockpile here.

Before you read about our January winners, add your voice to February’s benchmark. Vote Now – It takes 60 seconds.

Agnico Eagle, Hycroft Mining Holding and Sidney Resources began 2026 as clear January leaders in the Global Mining Power Rankings, lifted by investor sentiment, firmer commodity prices and strong 2025 execution that set them apart from peers.

The January rankings reflect companies seen by investors, analysts and industry insiders as delivering operational consistency, financial momentum and strategic progress across market capitalizations. Sentiment carried extra weight this month, supported by improving balance sheets, steady project delivery and supportive gold, silver and copper prices.

Canada’s Agnico Eagle (TSX, NYSE: AEM) claimed first place with 9.2% of votes. Agnico topped the category for a third straight month, backed by steady production across Canada, Australia, Mexico and Finland, disciplined cost control and a strong third quarter that kept the stock ahead of global peers. Investors continued to favour the company’s predictable operating profile in a year marked by persistent inflationary pressure across the mining sector.

Shares have climbed 89% in Toronto and roughly doubled in New York over the past year. Agnico also streamlined its portfolio through the sale of its 55% interest in the Barsele project in northern Sweden to Goldsky Resources, reinforcing balance sheet strength.

In 2025, the company broadened its strategic reach with the launch of Avenir Minerals Limited to pursue about $80 million in early-stage critical minerals investments, following its $180 million investment in Perpetua Resources (NASDAQ, TSX: PPTA) and the Stibnite gold-antimony project in Idaho. 

With gold prices strengthening early in 2026, investors continued to position for sustained shareholder returns.

Notables:

2. Rio Tinto (7.1%) (ASX: RIO): Firm iron ore prices and steady global steel demand underpinned sentiment.

3. Newmont (7.1%) (NYSE: NEM): with investors weighing portfolio optimization and integration progress following asset sales and strategic refocusing through 2025.

Hycroft Mining Holding (NASDAQ: HYMC) benefited from renewed interest in large-scale gold and silver assets as prices firmed late in 2025. The Nevada-based precious metals developer made progress last year on technical work aimed at unlocking value from its Hycroft mine, including metallurgical testing and project optimization, while maintaining a disciplined approach to capital amid volatile markets. That progress, combined with improving sentiment toward silver, helped lift the company into the top spot.

Notables

2. Snowline Gold Corp (3.4%) (TSX: SGD)(OTCQX: SNWGF): Snowline delivered a total return of about 209% in 2025, far outpacing gold’s gains. The Yukon-focused explorer advanced its Rogue project, where drilling at the Valley deposit extended mineralization beyond 1 km, and graduated to the TSX in November, a key corporate milestone.

3. Vizsla Silver Corp (2.4%) (TSX: VZLA): had a strong 2025 marked by continued exploration success at its Pánuco silver-gold district in Mexico, where drilling supported resource growth and reinforced the project’s status as one of the sector’s more advanced primary silver assets. Late in January, however, ten workers were abducted from the Pánuco project in the Mexican state of Sinaloa, underscoring the persistent security risks facing mining companies operating in regions affected by organized crime.

Sidney Resources Corp. (OTCMKTS: SDRC) climbed to the top in January after expanding its footprint in the historic Warren Mining District through the acquisition of Unity GoldSilver Mines assets early in the year and staking roughly 7,600 acres of new claims in December. The Idaho-focused explorer advanced gold, silver and critical minerals exploration during 2025 while continuing development of its proprietary laser mining technology.

“We are profoundly grateful to the MINING.COM readers for selecting Sidney Resources as the #1 Micro-Cap company and being ranked in the top 5 for the second consecutive month,” chief executive Sean-Rae Zalewski said. “This ongoing support underscores the momentum from our recent advancements, including expanded claims in the Warren District, promising concentration achievement in rare earth elements and critical minerals, and steady progress on our innovative laser mining technology.”

Zalewski said his company remains focused on responsible growth and creating long-term value through disciplined exploration and ethical practices.

Notables

2. Xtra Energy (10.8%) (OTCMKTS: XTPT): The micro-cap explorer spent 2025 advancing early-stage critical mineral and energy-related assets, focusing on asset consolidation, permitting and positioning for drilling as investor interest in domestic resource supply chains increased.

3. BrightRock Gold (9.5%) (OTCMKTS: BRGC):  The third spot win is the product of a year in which the company sharpened its exploration focus, expanded its land position and delivered steady technical progress that resonated with retail investors seeking leverage to higher gold prices.

The University of Texas at Austin has spun out Supra Elemental Recovery, a company focused on recovering high-purity gallium, scandium and other critical minerals from domestic waste streams, amid growing concern over fragile critical mineral supply chains in the United States.

The US is 100% import-dependent on gallium and scandium, elements essential to semiconductors, aerospace, energy, defence and communications. China dominates global supply through capital-intensive and environmentally hazardous refining methods, leaving billions of dollars’ worth of critical minerals locked in US industrial byproducts, mine tailings and electronic waste each year.

Supra says its proprietary platform combines the advantages of traditional solvent extraction and ion exchange into a non-toxic process that delivers up to 100× greater selectivity and speed, lowering costs while improving performance. The company is initially focused on semiconductor supply chains, with validation underway for other elements including cobalt and lithium used in batteries, magnets and electronics.

“Every year, billions of dollars’ worth of critical minerals are trapped in domestic waste streams, from industrial byproducts and mine tailings to electronic waste,” Co-founder and chief executive Katie Ullmann Durham said in a statement. “By profitably recovering these elements, we can secure the inputs needed for America’s advanced manufacturing future.”

Co-founder and chief operating officer Jordan Sessler said separating critical minerals at high purity is known to be difficult. He said that by refining multiple elements from multiple sources, Supra is positioned to deliver much-needed supply chain resilience.

The technology builds on federally supported research at UT Austin, a leading US centre for materials science and engineering. Mark Arnold, associate vice-president of Discovery to Impact and managing director of Longhorn Ventures at UT Austin, said the company reflects the university’s focus on translating research into market-ready solutions that strengthen US industrial leadership.

Alongside its launch, Supra closed an oversubscribed $2 million pre-seed round led by Crucible Capital, with participation from the UT Seed Fund, Climate Capital, Portmanteau Ventures and Pew Protection Trust.

“The bottleneck between domestic resources and secure supply is refining capacity,” Meltem Demirors, founder and general partner at Crucible Capital, said. “Supra is building that capability with a proprietary new approach to producing critical materials in the US.”

The funding will support further development and preparation for commercial pilots expected in 2026.

Skeena Gold & Silver (TSX: SKE) shares rose nearly 10% in pre-market trading Tuesday after the company secured its final regulatory approval to advance the Eskay Creek gold-silver project in British Columbia, Canada.

The miner received an Environmental Management Act permit from provincial authorities, completing the permitting process and clearing the way for commercial development. The approval was issued jointly with the Tahltan Central Government and follows the BC Mines Act permit granted on Jan. 27 as part of a coordinated application.

Mining operations at Eskay Creek are targeted to restart in the second quarter of 2027.

“We are deeply grateful to our employees, the Tahltan Nation and the regulatory authorities for their ongoing support throughout this process,” Skeena CEO Randy Reichert said in the statement. He added the company is now positioned to move toward construction and long-term value creation.

Eskay Creek, a former Barrick Mining asset in BC’s Golden Triangle, was once considered the world’s highest-grade gold mine. A 2023 feasibility study outlined an estimated 12-year mine life with average annual production of 320,000 oz. of gold-equivalent, including 455,000 oz. of gold over the first five years.

The project is expected to generate about 1,000 jobs during peak construction and more than 770 jobs at peak operations, with projected capital spending of C$713 million and approximately C$1.2 billion in provincial revenues.

Under the project’s environmental assessment certificate, substantial construction must begin by 2036.

Zimbabwe’s High court said Impala Platinum Holdings Ltd.’s local unit is not liable to pay mining royalties of $7.1 million on exports matte and concentrates.

The court ruled in favor of Zimplats after the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority determined the company owed royalties for the period between June 2018 and December 2021. The court said that no royalty rate had been set for such products over that period.

“It is therefore my considered view that matte and concentrate, as mineral-bearing products, cannot attract the same royalties as minerals that have gone through the refinery process,” High Court Judge Rodgers Manyangadze said in his ruling.

Zimbabwe has the world’s third-largest platinum reserves after South Africa and Russia and generates more than half of its revenues from mineral exports. Besides Impala, Sibanye Stillwater Ltd. and Valterra Platinum Ltd. also have platinum interests in the southern African country.

(By Godfrey Marawanyika)

Brazil-focused Serabi Gold (AIM:SRB, TSX:SBI) said mining and milling continue as usual at its Palito Complex and Coringa mine despite two fatal underground accidents last week.

The company said a worker died on Jan. 30 in a mining-related traffic accident at the Palito underground operation, with no other injuries reported. A week earlier, another employee was killed at the Coringa underground mine in an accident at the production face.

Serabi said it has notified Brazilian authorities, who are conducting formal investigations, and has launched an immediate review of operational effectiveness and safety procedures, signalling tighter oversight and a sharper focus on workforce safety.

The company’s focus is on the Tapajós region in Pará State in northern Brazil, where the Palito Complex has consistently produced between 30,000 and 40,000 ounces of gold a year. 

Serabi plans to double output in the coming years through construction of the Coringa mine and recently reported a copper-gold porphyry discovery on its extensive exploration licence.

The miner is headquartered in the UK and maintains a secondary office in Toronto, Canada.