Weekly Geopolitical Mining Review
-
World Bank Mineral Compacts: From Resources to Industrial Capacity
World Bank mineral compacts bring a broader investment question into focus: how to connect resources, infrastructure, processing knowledge and customers. This Weekly examines PLS Group Limited’s P2000 approval, Simandou’s commercial chain, offtake agreements and the conditions that let producer economies capture durable industrial value.
-
Europe’s Rare Earth Dependence and the Race to Build Alternatives
Europe’s rare earth dependence frames a week of trade negotiations, strategic project selection and industrial investment. This Weekly connects EU China licensing talks with Australian construction, U.S. financing, processing technology and territorial decisions to examine how alternative mineral supply becomes commercially viable.
-
US Ukraine Critical Minerals Investment Platform Moves Into Project Origination
US Ukraine critical minerals entered project origination as a joint investment platform was approved. The week also brought U.S. defense orders, the Caldeira transaction, MARA RIGI approval, Marathon construction and Hope & Gorob production.
-
Etango’s Financing Links Ownership, Governance and Uranium Supply
Etango’s US$320.4 million transaction gives CNOL 42.75% project ownership and rights to purchase 60% of future production, while Project Vault becomes operational and Phalaborwa links processing technology with future rare earth supply.
-
U.S. Tungsten Strategy Links Mining, Conversion, Manufacturing and Procurement
U.S. public capital connected mining, APT conversion, manufacturing and procurement in a US$450 million tungsten platform, while Hemerdon entered production, Rwanda took 25% of a new venture and Los Santos secured long term offtake.
-
BRICS Critical Minerals Agenda: Sovereignty, Value Addition and the Terms of Supply
BRICS linked critical mineral supply chains with sovereignty, value addition and benefit sharing. During the same week, the United States and Colombia set a six month project agenda, USA Rare Earth broke ground on a US$1.2 billion magnet plant, Weda Bay restarted and U.S. strategic equity in Trilogy Metals closed.
-
Colombia Opens Consultation to Repeal Fifteen Mining District Delimitations
Colombia opened consultation on a draft resolution that would repeal 15 mining district delimitations covering 5.34 million hectares. The measures remain in force, while ownership rights, permitting, capital, construction and processing moved across the wider mineral system.
-
South America’s Strategic Minerals Agenda: Four Countries Seek Regional Coordination
Chile, Argentina, Bolivia and Peru opened a regional strategic minerals agenda, while U.S. licences widened controlled access to Venezuelan oil and minerals, state backed contracts reached rare earths and tungsten, and acquisitions connected mines with processing.
-
Canada’s Labrador Critical Minerals Corridor: Building Capacity Beyond the Mine
Canada referred the Labrador critical minerals corridor to the Major Projects Office, while NOAA opened the first commercial deep seabed mining review, BHP reported US$18 billion in copper EBITDA and the United States selected seven projects for US$500 million.
-
Indonesia’s Mineral Strategy 2026: From Production to Price Formation
Indonesia targets a strategic minerals exchange for January 2027, while Codelco retains US$2.422 billion, Australia backs Tomago with A$2.5 billion, Neo advances magnet production and Sogima remains unable to restart.