January 21, 2026 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 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 Trump streamlines permitting for deep-sea miners NOAA’s new rules, which take effect immediately, consolidate applications into a single, shorter review period.
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 US proposed SECURE Act aims to offset China’s grip on critical minerals Bill would establish a strategic reserve to support domestic production and processing of minerals vital to electrification, clean energy and national defense.
January 20, 2026 CMOC raises $1.2 billion in convertibles deal The notes mark the largest convertible-bond deal by a Chinese miner since Zijin’s $2 billion issuance in 2024.
January 20, 2026 DRC pitches manganese, copper, cobalt, lithium to US Kinshasa has sent Washington a shortlist of mines and projects as part of a push to turn diplomacy into supply-chain influence.
January 19, 2026 Canadian government bank has billions to back critical mineral projects The bank wants to help feasibility-stage projects develop the country’s 34 listed critical minerals.
January 16, 2026 CMOC bets on copper growth, maintains cobalt target Copper output is seen at 760,000 tons to 820,000 tons this year, rising as much as 11% from last year, the Chinese miner said.
January 16, 2026 Congo state miner proposes deal for cobalt producer prized by US Gecamines has proposed acquiring Chemaf before bringing in a new majority shareholder.
South32 posts nearly 17% jump in quarterly manganese output The world's biggest manganese producer produced 1.3 million wet metric tons of the steel additive for the December quarter. January 21, 2026 | 02:06 pm
