The US Defense Logistics Agency has reopened a $500 million tender to buy up to 7,500 tonnes of cobalt after benchmark prices more than tripled since mid-August. The agency first sought offers in August but is now reissuing the procurement as spot market volatility and tight supply complicate long-term contracting. For miners and refiners, the move signals sustained US strategic demand for cobalt metal and intermediates, with potential upside for projects able to deliver secure, traceable supply into government stockpiles.

Ivanhoe Mines has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Qatar Investment Authority under which Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund will back Ivanhoe’s management in pursuing existing and new critical minerals projects in Africa. The collaboration targets large-scale copper, nickel and other battery-metal deposits across Ivanhoe’s pipeline, building on assets such as Kamoa-Kakula in the DRC. For engineers and project developers, the deal signals potential acceleration of feasibility studies, project financing and infrastructure build-out on African critical minerals hubs.

Aris Mining will pay US$80 million to acquire full ownership of the Soto Norte gold project in Colombia, positioning the company to target production of around 1 million oz of gold per year. The deal consolidates Aris’s interest in one of the country’s largest undeveloped underground gold assets, located in Santander department near the historic California-Vetas mining district. For mine planners and investors, the transaction signals intent to advance a large-scale, long-life operation in a jurisdiction already hosting significant high-grade underground gold mining.