Stormlands Mining’s decision-intelligence case study on Lode Gold Resources’ Fremont project in Mariposa County, California, doubles the modelled NPV to US$511.5 million by applying a gold price of US$4,245.22/oz to the project’s 2026 technical report. The revised scenario lifts projected life-of-mine revenue from US$3.45 billion to US$4.17 billion, increases IRR from 11.16% to 16.66%, and shortens payback from 8.5 years to 5 years 11 months at a 5% discount rate. Fremont, a 13.56 km² property with historical grades of 10.7 g/t Au, is being drilled ahead of a 2027 pre-feasibility study.

Lion Copper & Gold’s Bear deposit at the Rio Tinto-backed Yerington project in Nevada has an initial resource of about 1.0 billion indicated tonnes at 0.29% copper (6.7 billion lb) and 1.7 billion inferred tonnes at 0.22% copper (8.7 billion lb), making it one of the state’s largest undeveloped copper resources. Combined with Yerington’s 506.6 million tons of proven and probable reserves at 0.21% copper (2.1 billion lb), Lion’s Nevada portfolio now totals roughly 19 billion lb of contained copper, surpassing Hudbay’s Mason and Pumpkin Hollow. A 2025 PFS outlined 120 million lb/year cathode output over 12 years, with a post-tax NPV7 of US$694 million, 14.6% IRR and US$724 million initial capex, while Rio Tinto’s Nuton continues heap-leach testing under its 65% earn-in option.

War-fractured Myanmar has become the world’s largest supplier of heavy rare earths, with Chinese companies running largely unregulated in-situ leaching operations in autonomous border regions such as Kachin and eastern Shan, guarded by ethnic armies including the United Wa State Army. Workers like “Min” are paid about 3,000 yuan (£330) per month for roadbuilding and pit work on steep slopes, amid frequent fatal landslides and exposure to toxic lixiviants that have poisoned rivers and farmland. Ore is trucked into China, mixed with other feedstocks and effectively laundered into global supply chains for EVs, wind turbines and advanced weapons, while revenues fund more than 1,200 armed groups in an already fragmented civil war.