US critical minerals funding is expected to remain robust into 2027 despite any shift in Congress, with Clark Street Associates noting more than $5.4 billion already secured for clients and substantial unspent reconciliation and industrial funding still available to the administration. The US Defense Logistics Agency’s recent $2 billion commitment for National Defense Stockpile purchases and a combined $14.7 million in Defence Production Act awards to Canada’s Fortune Minerals and Lomiko Metals show ongoing support for mining, processing and refining capacity. Advisers expect tighter congressional scrutiny on project selection and transparency rather than a near-term cut in deal flow, so developers must prepare for more rigorous justification of processing routes, locations and partners.

Price volatility in lithium, copper, nickel and other critical minerals is causing 23% of otherwise viable projects to be deferred or cancelled and is a dealbreaker for a further 12% of developers, investors and miners in DLA Piper’s 550-respondent survey. More than half see volatility as a major constraint, with 28% unable to secure bankable long-term offtake, 27% postponing investment decisions and 26% facing higher cost of capital, particularly in the UK and US. In response, 37% of developers and 32% of producers are pursuing vertical integration from mine to recycling, while many favour component-linked pricing or long-term fixed contracts with periodic resets over spot benchmarks.

Gunnison Copper has confirmed a high-grade copper-zinc zone at the Strong & Harris deposit in Arizona, with drill hole SHM-2 cutting 94.8 metres at 1.39% Cu and 2.29% Zn from 160 metres depth, including 12.2 metres at 5.15% Cu, 11.99% Zn and 16.38 g/t Ag. The company will run flotation tests on sulphide material to determine recoveries and economics for potential copper and zinc concentrates, as an alternative to the current heap leach–SX–EW flowsheet in its March PEA. Gunnison is already producing copper at nearby Johnson Camp using Rio Tinto’s Nuton leaching technology under an $8 million demonstration agreement running to 2029.