Glomar Minerals has sent its UK Seabed Resources vessel RV Tangaroa on a 67‑day campaign to the Clarion‑Clipperton Zone, surveying two UK‑sponsored licence areas totalling about 133,000 sq. km for polymetallic nodules rich in manganese, cobalt, nickel, copper and rare earths. CEO Chris Williams is targeting first processing of nodules before the end of Donald Trump’s current term via Project Infinity, a modular US refinery with Cobalt Blue designed for 200,000 tonnes of nodules and 7,500 tonnes of terrestrial cobalt hydroxide per year. The company is actively exploring regulatory pathways outside the ISA and positioning for staged scale‑up from a sub‑full‑vessel operation.

Gold’s jump of more than 2% on Friday to about $4,353/oz, after US payrolls unexpectedly fell by 23,000 in July, triggered one of the strongest weekly moves in years for gold equities. The VanEck Gold Miners ETF (GDX) surged 21.09% to $89.73 and the Junior Gold Miners ETF (GDXJ) 22.42% to $116.78, while Agnico Eagle, Newmont and Barrick each gained around 20% over five days. Junior-heavy TSX Venture names and the GDXJ outperformance underline how higher-cost producers’ operational leverage can rapidly reprice reserves and project pipelines.

NGEx Minerals will spin out its 1,090 sq. km Valle Ancho copper-gold district in the Maricunga belt into a new TSX Venture–listed company, with shareholders receiving 0.2 Spinco shares per NGEx share and funding provided for at least 12 months of exploration. Valle Ancho, fully owned since 2022, has porphyry copper-gold mineralisation confirmed by 2022 drilling and multiple drill-ready targets, yet contributes only about 1% (C$75 million) of NGEx’s estimated NAV. CEO Wojtek Wodzicki will lead Spinco, while NGEx refocuses on its Lunahuasi and Los Helados projects near the Chile-Argentina border.