Top 50 listed mining companies ended Q4 2025 with a combined market capitalisation of $2.17 trillion, up $892 billion year-on-year, driven by surging gold, silver and copper prices plus a weaker US dollar. BHP, Rio Tinto, Zijin Mining ($124bn), Southern Copper ($119bn) and Newmont now all sit above $100 billion, while Agnico Eagle has doubled to $86.3 billion and is edging towards that tier. Lithium and rare earth valuations remain volatile, with SQM and Albemarle re-entering the Top 50 as MP Materials and Lynas drop out, and the proposed Anglo–Teck combination worth just under $68 billion.

Metso has booked the third tranche of orders for JSC Almalyk Mining and Metallurgical Complex’s copper smelter project in Uzbekistan, following equipment and project services contracts announced on 9 August 2024. The first two tranches, totalling €146 million, were booked in Q4 2024, with the latest booking covering additional core process equipment and associated services for the greenfield smelter complex. The staged order intake signals a multi-phase build-out where process design, commissioning support and long-lead items will be critical for throughput, energy performance and sulphur capture compliance.

Critical minerals and gold dominated mining in 2025 as China’s export controls on antimony and rare earths triggered smuggling crackdowns, a 7,500-tonne US cobalt tender was cancelled and reissued, and MP Materials halted rare earth exports from Mountain Pass to China. The Trump administration pursued supply-chain security via a proposed critical minerals tariff probe, a US–Ukraine rare earths deal, and a December US–Congo partnership covering cobalt. Record gold prices above $4,500/oz, a Goldman poll pointing to $5,000/oz by end-2026, and De Beers’ first new kimberlite field in 30 years rounded out a volatile year.