- December Report – Canada exploration spending tightens amid favorable metal prices. READ MORE
- December 2025 – Financings fall from October peak as gold takes a breather. READ MORE
- India faces domestic, global hurdles in unlocking critical minerals potential. READ MORE
- UNDER THE MICROSCOPE – US lawmaker alleges Ivanhoe Atlantic links to Chinese state in letter. READ MORE
- The US House passed a $900 billion annual defense spending bill that includes the Defense Industrial Base Fund to include critical minerals, materials and chemicals. The fund, designed to strengthen US defense manufacturing and supply chains, received an $8.2 billion infusion under the Republican-backed reconciliation bill. READ MORE
- Korea Zinc Company Ltd. signed an agreement with the US to build an integrated nonferrous metal smelter in Tennessee with total costs projected at $7.4 billion. Korea Zinc said it made a conditional commitment with the Commerce and Defense departments for the smelter project that aims to expand US refining of metals the government deems critical. READ MORE
- Zimbabwean Mines Minister Winston Chitando was dismissed and will be replaced by his deputy, Polite Kambamura, Bloomberg News reported. READ MORE
- Rio Tinto’s lithium strategy reflects challenges for broader industry growth. READ MORE
- A judge in Mali ordered the return of seized gold worth $400 million from the Loulo-Gounkoto mine to Barrick Mining Corp., Reuters reported. READ MORE
- Anglo American and Teck Resources will find it hard to deliver on their copper growth promises, Baader analyst Varun Sikka writes. The tie-up is one step closer to happening after shareholders voted in support of the deal, but the upside for Anglo American from here is limited, he writes. There remains some uncertainty over both companies, he says. Teck is currently restructuring its marquee copper assets, meanwhile Anglo has problems disposing of its Australian steelmaking coal unit and still needs to take a decision on its diamond business De Beers, he adds. READ MORE
- Newmont Corp.’s Minas Conga gold-copper project in Peru “is being partially exploited by illegal mining,” according to Peruvian Prime Minister Ernesto Alvarez, Bloomberg News reported. Newmont holds the mineral rights at Minas Conga, but the site development was halted after farmer opposition led to violent protests in 2010. “When legal mining that meets high standards is not developed, it cedes the space to illegal mining, which pollutes and uses violence,” Alvarez said. READ MORE
