Advanced Navigation America is expanding manufacturing in Huntsville, Alabama, to build a Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) Centre of Excellence for high‑precision mining navigation, funded by a US$110 million Series C round. The facility will develop and produce deep‑tech systems including fibre‑optic and MEMS inertial sensors, laser and photonic navigation, vision‑based systems, AI, and quantum sensing for autonomous equipment operating in deep, dark, GPS‑denied mines. A trilateral production footprint across the US, Australia and the UK is intended to improve supply chain redundancy and shorten lead times for North American mining projects.

Westwin Elements will invest $502 million over five years to build a commercial-scale Class 1 nickel refinery at the Belwood Industrial Site in Natchez, Mississippi, targeting 18,000 tonnes per year of output in its first phase with commissioning in 2029. The plant will scale up nickel carbonyl refining technology proven at Westwin’s 20 t/y Lawton, Oklahoma demonstration facility, with a completed Bankable Feasibility Study, a long-term site lease, and binding feedstock and offtake agreements already secured. Located adjacent to Natchez’s inland port and regional transport links, the project is expected to create 134 full-time jobs at an average salary of about $84,000.

Gold’s recent price rally is being driven mainly by central banks buying on dips as they diversify away from the U.S. dollar, with retail investors still largely absent, veteran mining financier Frank Giustra told The Northern Miner at the Precious Metals Summit in Colorado. Giustra, founder and CEO of Vancouver-based Fiore Group, said a major geopolitical or financial shock could pull ordinary investors into the market, fuelling a further leg up. He also expects copper prices to spike before new mine supply arrives and flagged Copper Giant Resources (TSXV: CGNT; US-OTC: CGNRF), where he is a major shareholder.