January 21, 2026 Korea Zinc says US smelter’s waste pile has $3 billion in metal The company bought the Nyrstar processing plant in Clarksville, Tennessee, and now plans to invest $7.4 billion to expand and refurbish it.
January 21, 2026 Tests confirm battery grade cobalt sulphate at NICO project in Northwest Territories The company says its flagship NICO deposit contains 12% of global bismuth reserves as well as 1.1 million in-situ ounces of gold.
January 21, 2026 Zambian power trader plans $100 million link to Tanzania Kanona Power’s planned high-voltage line would help boost electricity supplies to copper mines seeking alternative energy sources.
January 21, 2026 Critical minerals firm weighs plan to build US rare earth plant Atlantic Strategic Minerals is considering building the facility at its operations in Stoney Creek, Virginia.
January 20, 2026 Brazilian Nickel, Westwin ink offtake MOU on Piauí project for US market BRN would sell Westwin up to 10,000 tpa of nickel in MHP and circa 240 to 400 tpa of cobalt in MHP extracted from the Piauí project.
January 20, 2026 USA Rare Earth to build plant in France with gov’t backing USAR's proposed facility has a capacity of 3,750 metric tons per annum and will be co-located at the Caremag oxide facility.
January 20, 2026 Portugal’s Lifthium wins $210 million grant for lithium refinery Bondalti, Portugal's largest chemicals producer, already operates sites there and Lifthium aims to start operations by 2030.
January 19, 2026 Construction on track for Q1 completion at Sibanye’s Keliber lithium project in Finland Keliber is the EU's most advanced integrated lithium project.
January 19, 2026 Petra’s 42-carat blue diamond sparks hope for natural gems The ultra-rare stone could fetch up to $40 million, signalling a bright spot for a diamond sector under pressure.
January 16, 2026 Sandvik partners with Vale Base Metals for autonomous surface drill fleet expansions Sandvik will supply 16 surface drills with AutoMine readiness for Vale Base Metals’ copper operations in Brazil.
US House votes to overturn Minnesota mining ban, Senate to consider next If the ban is lifted, the Trump administration would then be free to reissue mining leases to Chile-focused Antofagasta. January 21, 2026 | 04:25 pm
