United States, government, and Cook Islands, Pacific micro-state, have begun negotiations on a programme to chart the island nation’s 1.96 million-km² exclusive economic zone, aiming to quantify polymetallic nodules that could feed battery supply chains and lessen China’s grip on critical minerals. The talks come five months after Avarua signed a five-year cooperation agreement with...
READ MORECritical Resources, Australian junior explorer, and New Zealand’s minerals regulator have cleared two binding deals that give the ASX-listed company the Cap Burn exploration permit and 90 % of four additional prospecting applications across Otago’s schist belt, positioning the Perth-based group less than 11 km along strike from OceanaGold’s ten-million-ounce Macraes mine and adjacent to...
READ MOREThe Metals Company, deep-sea nodule developer, and Korea Zinc, non-ferrous refiner and TMC investor, have moved the Clarion-Clipperton Zone project up the maturity curve as TMC released a Technical Report Summary of a pre-feasibility study for the NORI-D area and—under SEC S-K 1300—declared ~51 Mt of probable reserves, a first for polymetallic nodules. The package...
READ MORESilvercorp Metals, a Canada-based silver-and-zinc miner, and Kazakh Invest, the state investment promotion agency, have opened talks on a potential exploration push that could see Silvercorp deploy its digital mine-management model in Central Asia. The company’s leadership team, including founder and chief executive Rui Feng, met officials in Astana last week after posting record annual...
READ MOREAterian, a London-listed critical-minerals explorer, and Rio Tinto, the world’s second-largest miner, have reported high-grade lithium hits at their Kinunga joint-venture project in Rwanda, including 3.2 % Li over 3.5 m and 2.1 % Li over 6.9 m. The results, from the first two of 12 planned targets, prompted Rio Tinto to exercise a Stage-1...
READ MOREHalliburton, a US oilfield services company with operations spanning drilling, completion, and production services, has been awarded a contract by GeoFrame Energy, a privately-held lithium development company, to design demonstration wells in the Smackover Formation of East Texas. The project targets lithium extraction from geothermal brines using direct lithium extraction technology, with work expected to...
READ MOREChevron U.S.A. Inc., a subsidiary of Chevron Corporation, has acquired approximately 125,000 net acres across Northeast Texas and Southwest Arkansas, marking its entry into the U.S. lithium sector. The leasehold positions, secured from TerraVolta Resources (backed by The Energy & Minerals Group) and East Texas Natural Resources, target the Smackover Formation—a geologic unit increasingly recognized...
READ MORENorway-based Transition Elements has applied for an exclusive permit to explore lithium potential in France’s Hérault department, with a 218 km² area under consideration across 22 communes between Bédarieux and Clermont-l’Hérault. The application, submitted in October 2023, is currently under administrative review and has not yet been approved, according to the Hérault prefecture. The project...
READ MOREVedanta Group, controlled by Anil Agarwal, announced plans to explore and develop critical mineral assets in six Indian states: Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Bihar, Arunachal Pradesh, Karnataka, and Chhattisgarh. These critical minerals, including copper, cobalt, nickel, chromium, vanadium, tungsten, and Platinum Group Elements (PGEs), are essential components in rapidly advancing technologies such as wind power systems, electricity...
READ MOREMarula Mining has entered into a binding agreement to acquire up to a 70% interest in the highly prospective Boteti Lithium Brines Project, located in Botswana’s Makgadikgadi Desert Salt Pan. This project, covering 188,140 hectares, is recognized for its significant mineral potential, including lithium and potash, and has been designated the ‘Makgadikgadi Lithium Zone’ by...
READ MORELithium plays a central role in the production of lithium-ion batteries, used extensively in electric vehicles and energy storage technologies. Yet, while demand continues to rise globally, supply growth has lagged, heightening concerns around future shortages and price volatility. Munk’s latest study, published in Economic Geology, focuses on lithium brines found in closed basins—one of...
READ MOREJapan Gold has commenced its initial drill program at the Barrick Alliance Hakuryu Project in Hokkaido, Japan, marking the start of its 2025 exploration campaign. The company is targeting the Hakuryu No. 3 Vein, with plans to drill up to four shallow holes from two sites, totaling 700 meters. Assay results are expected in the...
READ MORECanstar Resources has entered into a letter of intent with VMS Mining Corporation (VMSC) to form a $11.5 million exploration joint venture focused on advancing high-grade volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) projects in Newfoundland. The JV aims to accelerate drilling and geophysical programs at Canstar’s Buchans and Mary March properties, located near several historical high-grade VMS...
READ MORERussia’s state-run diamond miner ALROSA is expanding its exploration and development efforts beyond diamonds, citing signs of polymetal occurrences in Yakutia and a broader push into gold mining. The company plans to evaluate the commercial potential of these additional resources, aiming to list them on its balance sheet. Company head Pavel Marinychev confirmed during the...
READ MOREInZinc Mining Ltd. has confirmed funding approval for a summer 2025 diamond drilling campaign at its wholly owned Indy Sedex project, located 90 kilometers southeast of Prince George, British Columbia. The company, which is fully permitted for up to 60 drill holes over a five-year period, plans to begin drilling in the first week of...
READ MORECulpeo Minerals is set to expand its Chilean copper exploration portfolio through a farm-in agreement with Excava Holdings for the Jupiter copper project. The deal grants Culpeo the right to acquire 100% ownership of the 4,000-hectare project, located in the low-altitude Coastal Cordillera region of Chile. Under the agreement, Excava will transfer the Jupiter concessions...
READ MOREBrazilian Rare Earths (BRE) has revised its acquisition terms for the Amargosa Bauxite Project in Brazil, reaching a new agreement with Rio de Contas Desenvolvimentos Minerais (Rio Tinto Brazil). The updated terms replace a prior US$40 million milestone payment with a fixed royalty of US$1.00 per wet tonne on future bauxite sales. The Amargosa project,...
READ MOREAltona Rare Earths has announced a significant discovery of high-grade gallium at its Monte Muambe project in Mozambique, with concentrations reaching 232 grams per tonne (g/t). The find, located in the Fluorite Zone and Target 6 areas, includes a continuous intercept of 77 g/t gallium over 100 meters in drill hole MM039, with a high-grade...
READ MOREFirst Atlantic Nickel has formed a research partnership with the Colorado School of Mines to evaluate the potential of geologic hydrogen in two ophiolite complexes in Newfoundland, Canada: the St. Anthony Ophiolite Complex (Atlantis Project, 103 km²) and the Pipestone Ophiolite Complex (Atlantic Nickel Project, 71 km²). Both sites are 100% owned by First Atlantic...
READ MOREMidland Exploration, in partnership with Rio Tinto Exploration Canada (RTEC), has announced the launch of a second lithium drilling campaign at the Galinee project. Located approximately 5 kilometers east of the Adina lithium deposit owned by Winsome Resources, the project is wholly owned by Midland and is under an option agreement with RTEC, initially signed...
READ MORECorcel Exploration has provided an update on its Yuma King Copper-Gold Project in La Paz County, Arizona. The project spans 3,200 hectares with 515 unpatented federal mining claims in the Ellsworth Mining District, which includes the past-producing Yuma Mine. This mine operated from 1940 to 1963, yielding copper, lead, gold, and silver. The Yuma King...
READ MORESienna Resources has received a drill permit for its 100% owned Case Lake West Cesium and Spodumene Pegmatite Project in Ontario. The Case Lake area is recognized as one of the most prospective regions for cesium in North America. While past results from nearby properties do not guarantee similar mineralization on Sienna’s site, the company...
READ MOREDistrict Metals and Boliden Minerals have approved an increased exploration budget of CAD$3.0 million for 2025, a 50% increase from the previous year, to be equally allocated between the Tomtebo and Stollberg properties in Sweden. District Metals, as the operator of the collaboration, has commenced core drilling at the high-grade base metal polymetallic Tomtebo Property...
READ MOREIvanhoe Mines has announced a joint venture with UK-based Pallas Resources to explore the Chu-Sarysu Copper Basin in Kazakhstan, the world’s third-largest sediment-hosted copper district. The venture covers up to 16,000 km², making it the largest license package in the region. Ivanhoe has committed $18.7 million in exploration funding over an initial two-year period, with...
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