Global lithium demand is projected by Benchmark Mineral Intelligence to reach nearly 7 million tonnes LCE by 2050, up from 2.11 million tonnes this year, requiring the equivalent of 134 new mines at an average 36,000 t/y capacity and over $100 billion in capital. Australia’s share of mined supply is expected to fall from 29% to 20% as operations deplete, while North America could rise from 1.7% to 13% and Europe to 5.5%, both constrained by permitting, unproven extraction technologies and community opposition. Benchmark assumes recycling could supply almost half of lithium by mid-century, yet timing of battery retirements and cost competition with new mines remain critical uncertainties for project financing and long‑term supply planning.

Liechtenstein-based Incrementum gold fund manager Ronald-Peter Stöferle told The Northern Miner at Mining Forum Americas in Colorado Springs that his active gold strategy is holding almost 40% cash after its investment signal turned defensive earlier this year, yet he now sees clear bargains in mining equities following gold’s recent pullback. Meetings with producers convinced him that majors are showing unusual capital discipline on M&A and project pipelines despite rising earnings. He expects generalist investors to increase gold allocations, expanding the capital pool for listed miners.

Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court has again halted Belo Sun Mining’s $300 million Volta Grande project in Pará, suspending the installation licence until a settlement with the National Foundation of Indigenous Peoples (Funai) is judicially approved. The ruling centres on incomplete Indigenous Component Studies and cumulative environmental risks in a region already impacted by the Belo Monte hydroelectric dam, with Justice Edson Fachin warning of “serious harm” given the project’s exceptional scale. The delay stalls development of a planned 17-year open-pit mine with 3.8 million oz in reserves and projected output of about 205,000 oz of gold per year.