Mining

Mining projects dominate the investment prospectus Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney will put before global investors in Toronto next week, reported to account for 63 of its 167 opportunities. LithiumBank Resources (TSXV: LBNK; US-OTC: LBNKF) became the latest miner to confirm its place Friday. Its Boardwalk lithium brine project, 270 km northwest of Edmonton, is included in the 66-page booklet prepared for the Sept. 14-15 Canada Investment Summit.

Digital control center in mine overseeing real-time data for optimized operations of mining technology. AI_generated stock image by Degimages. The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation (CMEI) this week selected four projects for $73 million in funding through DOE’s Mine of the Future initiative to establish domestic testing grounds for innovative mining technologies.

The US plans to support liquefied natural gas and nuclear projects in the Philippines to lower electricity costs and attract businesses into an investment belt that’s seen to counter China’s supply-chain influence. The US Trade and Development Agency is working with the Philippine government and companies — including San Miguel Corp. and Manila Electric Co. — to improve power generation and transmission in the Southeast Asian nation, USTDA head Thomas Hardy said in an interview.

Ribbon cutting at Cyclic Materials Mesa, Arizona plant. Image: Amanda Stutt. Cyclic Materials opened its first commercial-scale rare earth magnet recycling facility in Mesa, Arizona on Sept. 9, hosting a ceremony attended by government, industry, stakeholders and investors. The plant adds significant domestic processing capacity as the United States seeks to reduce its reliance on concentrated foreign supplies of critical minerals.

A surprise surge in lithium stockpile data — after a change in methodology — has confounded traders and weighed on prices, prompting some to call on authorities to step in. Data released last week by SMM Information & Technology Co., leaning on a larger sample than previously, saw stockpiles jump to 175,000 tons. The previous figure stood at 78,800 tons. In response, prices for the most-active lithium carbonate contracts in China fell more than 14% across three days.

Credit: Sherritt International The tussle for control of Sherritt International Corp, a Canadian mining company with deep ties to Cuba, has drawn in two unlikely players: Citigroup Inc. and Office Depot Inc. Thanks to a byzantine series of mergers and acquisitions that go back almost a century, both companies hold claims on property seized during Cuba’s 1959 revolution and subsequently used by the Toronto-based nickel and cobalt producer.

Lobito Atlantic Railway expects to double cargo volumes next year after its first drawdown from a $753 million financing package for the US-backed route that links Democratic Republic of Congo’s copper and cobalt belt to Angola’s Atlantic coast. The company received about $300 million in June from the facility and a “very aggressive ramp-up” is under way to boost capacity, Chief Executive Officer Nicolas Fournier said in an interview in the capital, Luanda.

USA Rare Earth (Nasdaq: USAR) this week broke ground on its new rare earth metal and magnet manufacturing facility in Blacksburg, South Carolina, marking a milestone in its plan to build an integrated rare earth supply chain for the US and its allies. Located on a 124-acre site in Bailey Industrial Park in Cherokee County, the 800,000-square-foot facility represents an approximately $1.2 billion investment and is expected to create roughly 490 manufacturing jobs upstate.

Mercuria Energy Group Ltd. and Glencore Plc (LON: GLEN) are two of the firms exploring a deal for Venalum, Venezuela’s largest aluminum smelter, that could help revive production after years of decline. The potential agreement comes as Venezuela struggles to rebuild an industrial sector hampered by economic turmoil, power shortages and years of underinvestment, Bloomberg News reported, citing people familiar with the talks.

The European Union abandoned a proposal for an export duty on aluminium scrap over concerns it could complicate the final signature of a free trade deal with India, sources familiar with the discussions said. Instead of the duty, which aimed to preserve Europe’s smelting industry and support sustainability goals, the EU will rely on its environmental rules to curb scrap exports.