Nth Cycle, a Boston-area technology company co-founded by MIT Associate Professor Desirée Plata, CEO Megan O’Connor, and Chief Scientist Chad Vecitis, has launched commercial operations at a facility in Fairfield, Ohio, producing mixed hydroxide precipitate containing nickel and cobalt from electronic waste and battery scrap. The company’s “electro-extraction” technology represents an attempt to challenge Chinese...
READ MOREShuka Minerals, a UK-based mining company with a secondary listing on the JSE, has completed regulatory approvals to acquire Leopard Exploration and Mining, which controls the historic Kabwe Zinc Mine in central Zambia. The transaction, valued at $4.35 million through a combination of 28.6 million shares and $1.35 million cash, represents a significant gamble on...
READ MOREShengde Precious Metal Resources, a Chinese-backed mining company operating in Tanzania, has completed construction of the country’s first copper refinery in Nala, Dodoma Region, with commercial production scheduled to begin in July 2025. The facility represents Tanzania’s entry into domestic copper processing as the government implements a mandate requiring all copper mined within the country...
READ MORERusal, Russia’s largest aluminum producer and the world’s biggest primary aluminum manufacturer outside China, has completed strategic investments in Chinese and Indian alumina facilities to replace supply disruptions from Australia and Ukraine totaling approximately 2.8 million tonnes annually. The company acquired a 30% stake in Hebei Wenfeng New Materials for $316 million and agreed to...
READ MORERio Tinto, a British-Australian multinational and the world’s second-largest metals and mining corporation, has signed a nonbinding memorandum of understanding with Reed Advanced Materials, an Australian lithium technology developer, to validate the ELi Process that could reduce processing costs for converting lithium brines into battery-grade chemicals. The collaboration builds on successful pilot trials conducted at...
READ MOREIndonesia has attracted over $80 billion ($102.5 billion) in nickel smelting investments during the past decade and now seeks to replicate this success in copper processing, where the country operates only four copper smelters compared to more than 50 nickel facilities. The Southeast Asian nation’s copper industry has secured over $9 billion in recent investments,...
READ MOREFastmarkets, a London-based commodity intelligence firm specializing in metals and mining market analysis, forecasts that China will surpass Australia as the world’s largest lithium producer by 2026, marking a fundamental shift in global battery metal supply chains. Chinese mining operations are projected to extract 8,000-10,000 metric tonnes more lithium than Australian competitors next year, representing...
READ MOREEurasian Resources Group, a Kazakhstan-based mining conglomerate with operations across Africa and Central Asia, plans to invest $20 million in gallium production facilities that would position Kazakhstan as the world’s second-largest producer of the critical semiconductor metal after China. The company will extract gallium from bauxite ore waste streams at its existing alumina operations, targeting...
READ MOREHindalco Industries, India’s largest aluminium producer and metals flagship of the Aditya Birla Group, has acquired AluChem Companies, a US specialty alumina manufacturer operating since 1978, for $125 million as part of a broader strategy to capture growing demand from electric vehicle and semiconductor industries. The transaction provides the Indian metals giant with 60,000 tonnes...
READ MORECymat Technologies, a Canadian manufacturer of stabilized aluminum foam founded in 2006, and Rio Tinto Alcan, a major global aluminum producer and the sole major supplier of proprietary metal matrix composites, have entered into a letter of intent for the acquisition of MMC technology and customer relationships. The transaction positions Cymat to capture $7.5-10 million...
READ MOREThe International Copper Study Group, a global intergovernmental organization monitoring copper markets, reported that worldwide refined copper surplus declined marginally to 233,000 tonnes during the first four months of 2025 compared to 236,000 tonnes in the corresponding period of 2024. Global refined copper production increased 3.2% year-over-year to 9.4 million tonnes while consumption expanded 3.3%...
READ MOREThe Chamber of Mines of the Philippines (CoMP) has warned that the recent U.S. airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities are likely to heighten volatility in industrial metals markets, particularly nickel and copper, while prompting investors to seek refuge in gold. The assessment comes as global commodity and financial markets react to escalating geopolitical tensions in...
READ MOREThe government of Kazakhstan is implementing measures under its 2021 Law “On Industrial Policy” to boost domestic manufacturing by supplying local enterprises with raw materials at subsidized prices. This initiative has led to a significant increase in the processing of base metals, including a twofold rise in primary aluminum processing to 57,000 tonnes in 2024,...
READ MOREGazprom Neft, the oil arm of Russian energy giant Gazprom, is advancing plans to launch industrial-scale production of lithium and iodine by 2028, with additional prospects for extracting scandium, gallium, rubidium, and cesium from the associated waters of its oil and gas fields. The initiative represents a strategic diversification into critical minerals production while leveraging...
READ MORECopper prices edged lower in the immediate aftermath of U.S. airstrikes on Iranian nuclear sites, defying expectations of a geopolitical risk premium for the industrial metal. Official trading data show both London and U.S. copper futures dipped by 0.1% to 0.3% in the first session following the attack, with benchmark contracts on the London Metal...
READ MORECentral Asia Metals (CAML), a British non-ferrous metals mining company, has revised its offer to acquire Australia’s New World Resources, raising the value to A$197 million (approximately US$130 million) from the initial A$185 million (US$119 million), according to a company announcement. The updated terms include immediate interim financing of $10 million as part of the...
READ MOREThe Canadian federal government announced on Thursday that it will adjust its retaliatory tariffs on U.S. steel and aluminum products starting July 21, 2025, a move directly tied to the progress of intense trade negotiations with the Trump administration. The adjustment is part of a multi-pronged strategy to protect Canadian industries from what Ottawa has...
READ MOREAdani Enterprises, a diversified Indian conglomerate, has started processing ores at its new Kutch Copper smelter in Gujarat, India, after facing multiple delays. The facility, designed to be one of the world’s largest single-location smelters, commences operations at a time of unprecedented tightness in the global market for copper concentrate, the raw material it needs...
READ MOREInventories of aluminum in London Metal Exchange (LME) warehouses have fallen to their lowest levels since 2022, creating significant underlying volatility in the market despite a seemingly stable headline price. Stocks have decreased from over 1.3 million metric tonnes two years ago to approximately 345,000 tonnes as of mid-June 2025. This tightening of available supply,...
READ MOREVale Base Metals, the copper and nickel unit of Brazilian mining giant Vale SA, is aiming for an Initial Public Offering (IPO) by 2027 or potentially sooner, according to CEO Shaun Usmar. The move is intended to position the subsidiary for a premium valuation over other metals producers and provide strategic flexibility in a dynamic...
READ MORETroilus Gold, a Canadian mineral exploration and development company, has reached an agreement on indicative commercial offtake terms with Aurubis, a global copper smelter headquartered in Hamburg, Germany. The agreement covers the copper-gold concentrate expected to be produced from Troilus’ project in north-central Quebec, Canada. This development helps to underpin the project’s financial profile as...
READ MORESouth Korea’s three primary aluminum flat product manufacturers—Novelis Korea, Choil Aluminum, and Daeho Al—collectively reported an increase in sales and domestic shipments in May 2025. Total sales for the month reached 78,898 metric tonnes, a 3.1% gain from 76,508 tonnes a year prior. Domestic shipments rose by 6.7% to 25,600 tonnes. However, the impact of...
READ MORESK Nexilis, a subsidiary of SKC specializing in copper foil manufacturing for secondary batteries, has secured a $110 million investment from Japan’s Toyota Tsusho. The deal, formalized at a signing ceremony in Seoul on June 18, 2025, involves the transfer of a partial stake in SK Nexilis’ Malaysian subsidiary to Toyota Tsusho. This partnership is...
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...
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