MetalQuest Mining’s Lac Otelnuk project in northern Quebec hosts 4.9 billion tonnes of proven and probable reserves grading 28.7% Fe, with a 2015 feasibility study outlining an 11.6 km by 2.8 km open pit, post-tax NPV of US$5.24 billion (8% discount), IRR of 13% and capital costs of about US$14.2 billion. The study forecasts 68.5% Fe concentrate with 0.02% P and 2.95% SiO₂, positioning it for DRI-based low-emission steelmaking using Quebec hydro power. Infrastructure remains the critical constraint, with a previously proposed 755 km concentrate slurry pipeline to Sept-Îles now likely to be replaced by road and rail, and MetalQuest seeking a major partner ahead of a new feasibility targeted for 2030.

XCMG has signed a memorandum of understanding with Chilean copper major Codelco in Santiago on 3 March, following Codelco Chairman Máximo Pacheco’s visit to XCMG’s Xuzhou manufacturing base in February. The agreement, signed by XCMG Vice President Liu Jiansen and Codelco Chief Procurement Officer Mauricio Acuña, centres on expanding supply of large-scale mining equipment and support services to Codelco’s open-pit and underground copper operations. For engineers, the deal signals intensifying competition with established OEMs on haul trucks, loaders and drilling fleets in high-altitude Andean conditions.

Oklahoma is positioning itself as a critical minerals processing hub rather than a mining state, anchored by Emirates Global Aluminium’s proposed US$4 billion primary aluminium smelter at the Port of Inola on the McClellan–Kerr Arkansas River system and backed by surplus low‑cost power from wind and natural gas. USA Rare Earth is building a vertically integrated rare earth magnet plant in Stillwater with about US$1.6 billion in public and private funding, while Stardust Power (NASDAQ: SDST) is advancing a lithium refinery in Muskogee with Sumitomo offtake and key permits secured. The cluster targets defence and aerospace demand around Tinker Air Force Base and other installations, aiming to plug the “missing middle” between raw mineral supply and finished components.