Tariffs and markets swings are pushing developing countries rich in critical minerals such as cobalt, copper, gold, and lithium, to tighten their grip on their resources more than ever before, a new analysis from risk intelligence firm Verisk Maplecroft shows.
This trend, which has accelerated over the past five years, poses major challenges for mining companies and coincides with intensifying geopolitical competition for raw materials essential to global industries.
In recent weeks, you’ve likely heard a lot about rare-earth substances, thanks to President Trump’s stalled efforts to secure a minerals deal with Ukraine and his talk of annexing Greenland. These vital substances fuel the growing renewables and electric-vehicle industries. However, many experts warn that the shortage of another crucial metal, used in electronics, wiring and even plumbing could be just as concerning.
Copper may be even more crucial to the nation’s shift toward a greener, more efficient economy than rare elements like neodymium or praseodymium. While copper has been mined for thousands of years, the demand for it has surged in the past two decades, driving its price up nearly 75% since 2020.
Dr M’zée Fula Ngenge is Chairman of African Diamond Council.
Confronting its Limitations, Failures and the Broken Promise of a ‘Year of Delivery’
The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) is beset by a confluence of structural, operational, and ethical deficiencies that collectively undermine its legitimacy, efficacy, and relevance within the global diamond industry.
These challenges are not merely incidental, but are deeply entrenched in the Kimberley Process’ (KP) institutional framework, rendering it ill-equipped to address the evolving demands of ethical sourcing, transparency and accountability.
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/
One popular theory about Donald Trump’s seemingly random acts of economic punishment and threats of imperialistic conquest is that they’re part of a calculated resource grab. In this view, the U.S. President is engaged in a plan to seize rare and valuable sources of underground wealth for the enrichment of his country and its companies.
After all, most of the places Mr. Trump is targeting with threats of annexation or abandonment, including Ukraine, Greenland and Canada, are known for having a lot of potentially valuable resources.
In one of history’s little-known ironies, the Maple Leaf country pushing back against Donald Trump’s annexation bid is also host to a tiny, remote restaurant and brothel that helped launch the U.S. president’s family fortune more than 100 years ago.
To find it, look west. Way west. On a quiet, remote trail in British Columbia near the Yukon boundary sits a wooden facade resembling the brothel and restaurant Trump’s grandfather built at the turn of the century.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/thunder-bay/
Frontier Lithium plans to build facility on Mission Island
A proposed lithium refinery in Thunder Bay, Ont., has taken a big step forward, getting support from both the provincial and federal governments.
Frontier Lithium intends to build the facility on Mission Island. It would convert lithium from the company’s PAK mine, located north of Red Lake, into about 20,000 tonnes of lithium salts annually.
Election throws up surprise result as independence from Denmark remains tough to define.
Greenland had a message for Donald Trump as islanders went to the polls this week: thanks, but no thanks.
The U.S. president’s repeated noises about acquiring the vast Arctic island — not ruling out military force or economic coercion — were rejected at the ballot box, as a party that denounced Trump’s ambitions came out on top.
There are plans to mine the ‘Cornish alps’ reserves for use in EVs and the energy system, but not everyone is so bullish about their viability
“This area is affectionately known as the Cornish alps,” says Neil Elliot, pointing at a spike-shaped mound in the hills above St Austell. “The peaks round here are all man-made. They’re waste left over from the old china clay mines.”
The mines are mostly closed now, put out of business by competition from Brazil, but Elliot is part of a new rush for the riches in this landscape. If your kitchen has a granite work surface, you can probably see those riches for yourself. The tiny brown flecks in Cornwall’s granite contain a mineral for which the world has a sudden and ravenous appetite: lithium.
https://www.energypolicy.columbia.edu/
In an escalation of trade tensions, Donald Trump threatened to double tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum to 50 percent this week. This increase would have been in response to Ontario’s 25 percent surcharge on electricity exports to the United States. The threat rattled markets and several major indices continued to decline after the announcement, increasing fears of a recession[1]. [MRR1]
While Trump has at least temporarily backed down from the plan to raise the tariff to 50%, the 25% aluminum and steel import tariffs are still a big blow to North American supply chain interdependency and resilience. The following Q&A discusses the impact of Trump’s tariffs on US-Canada minerals trade and its ripple effects on supply chains, prices, and policy.
https://www.canadianminingjournal.com/
NexGold Mining announce potential positive outcomes as itworks towards the completion of its feasibility study for its Goliath gold complex located in the Wabigoon Greenstone belt in northwestern Ontario. NexGold Mining is a gold-focused company with assets in Canada and Alaska. The company expects the feasibility study in the second quarter of this year.
The Goliath gold complex project utilized a combination of open-pit and underground mining methods to extract gold ore. The company’s feasibility study is being prepared in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 – Standards for Disclosure for Mineral Projects.
https://www.bnamericas.com/en/
Brazil has huge potential to develop nickel projects and benefit from the energy transition, but it also must solve significant problems. National nickel reserves are estimated at 16Mt, putting Brazil in third place globally, after Indonesia (55Mt) and Australia (24Mt).
Output, however, is still modest, totaling 89,000t in 2023, for a global market share of 2.47%, which makes Brazil the ninth producer, according to US Geological Survey data. But Brazil is the only Latin American country which is a top 10 global nickel player.
Tokyo (AFP) – Rules on deep-sea mining in international waters must be driven by “sound science” and built on consensus, the head of the body charged with regulating the divisive practice said Thursday.
Deep-sea mining in international waters involves taking minerals like nickel, cobalt and copper — crucial for renewable energy technology — from the sea floor.
But researchers and environmentalists have long warned it risks destroying habitats and species that are little understood, and could upset delicate processes in the ocean that affect climate change.
Leonardo DiCaprio has thrown his support behind West Australian activists who are angry at the federal government for green-lighting a mine expansion in an area home to endangered species.
In February Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek gave approval to South32 to clear up to 3,855 hectares of native vegetation in WA’s Northern Jarrah Forests as part of a mine expansion near the town of Boddington.
Elon Musk has projected there will be 10 billion humanoid robots by 2040, and he’s not alone in predicting such extraordinarily high numbers:
-in China, Shenzhen’s city government has released an action plan to offer funding and policy support for intelligent robots, including humanoids. By 2027, it aims to host more than 10 companies valued at over 10 billion yuan (US$1.3 billion) and over 20 companies with annual revenues exceeding 1 billion yuan.
-a Citi report estimates there will likely be 1.3 billion AI-robots by 2035 and 4 billion by 2050
US couples spent 5% less on engagement rings last year as lab-grown diamond center stones gained in popularity. Consumers who took part in a recent survey paid approximately $5,200 on average for their engagement rings in 2024, down from $5,500 the previous year, according to a report from wedding resource
The Knot. That figure also declined 10% from 2022 and 13% from 2021. The decrease came as for the first time, more than half of center stones purchased were lab-grown. The trend toward synthetics in engagement rings in 2024 grew 6% from a year ago and 40% from 2019, the survey found.
