Skillings Minings Review

PERTH : Australian resources developer AuKing Mining has moved to consolidate its footprint in southern Africa, entering into a binding acquisition agreement to secure 100% of the Machinga Heavy Rare Earth Elements (HREE) and Niobium Project in Malawi.

By Penny Langford Boliden AB has agreed to acquire Votorantim S.A.'s controlling stake in Nexa Resources for approximately $1.3 billion, or about C$1.8 billion, in an all-share transaction that will create one of the world's largest integrated zinc and silver producers. Under the definitive agreement, Boliden will receive all of Votorantim's Nexa shares, representing 64.68% of Nexa's outstanding shares and voting rights.

For mining companies, the first ESG reporting deadlines of 2026 are turning a long-running data problem into an executive-level compliance issue. The GRI 14: Mining Sector 2024 standard applies to reports published from January 1, 2026, for organisations reporting in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative. In California, the current implementation of Senate Bill 253 points to November 10, 2026, as the first reporting deadline for covered companies' Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions.

By Sonny Rollins Volvo's launch of Autona / earth marks a significant change in how mining autonomy is being commercialized. Reported by International Mining on Aug. 25, the system is designed to place autonomous and conventional vehicles within the same operating environment, rather than requiring a mine to replace its entire haulage fleet at once. That matters because the autonomous mining technology 2026 landscape is no longer defined only by driverless trucks completing demonstration runs.

By Penny Langford Copper has crossed a critical market milestone in 2026: prices have moved above previous records while the physical market has become increasingly divided between well-stocked U.S. warehouses and tighter availability elsewhere. J.P. Morgan Global Research said copper briefly surpassed $14,500 per metric tonne at the start of the year. Goldman Sachs Research separately recorded a $13,387/t high in January after copper rose 22% from late 2025 levels.

By Sonny Rollins Autonomous mining technology has reached a scale that is changing how operators plan entire mines rather than individual machines. Komatsu's commissioning of its 1,000th ultra-class autonomous haul truck in April 2026 provided the clearest marker of that shift. The milestone vehicle, a 290-metric-ton Komatsu 930E-5AT, was deployed at Barrick's Nevada Gold Mines operation in the United States.

By Charles Pitts WASHINGTON : The U.S. government will invest about $3 billion in critical-minerals, battery and mining projects as the Trump administration seeks to expand domestic production, rebuild defense supply chains and reduce reliance on China, President Donald Trump said at a State Department roundtable attended by more than 200 mining executives.

The global architecture governing critical minerals has entered a decisive operational phase. As industrial demand accelerates across electric vehicles (EVs), grid-scale energy storage systems (ESS), artificial intelligence data centers, and defense technologies, supply chains face unprecedented structural tests.

By Charles Pitts The uranium market's most important signal in 2026 may not be the daily spot price. It may be the growing number of projects moving through permitting, financing and construction milestones while utilities continue paying a premium for longer-term supply. That tension was visible in South Dakota, where enCore Energy's Dewey-Burdock uranium project received Bureau of Land Management approval for initial ancillary infrastructure.

By Salini Krishnan The latest gold mining news 2026 cycle from British Columbia and Yukon is being defined less by a single spectacular assay than by the widening footprint of several mineralized systems. Juggernaut Exploration's Big One property in British Columbia's Golden Triangle has provided the clearest example.