US Export-Import Bank has lifted potential financing for Graphite One’s Alaska-to-Ohio graphite supply chain to about $2.1 billion, including $670 million for the Graphite Creek mine near Nome and $1.4 billion for a 100,000 t/y anode materials plant in Niles, Ohio, repayable over 15 years. EXIM signals willingness to fund roughly 70% of capex to first production, with Graphite One targeting initial 25,000 t/y anode output by mid-2027 and mine start-up in 2030 under a 20-year life. The project is post-feasibility, advancing under FAST-41 permitting, and already has $37.5 million US Department of Defense support.

Erdene Resource Development has poured first gold at its Bayan Khundii open-pit mine in southwest Mongolia and is ramping to nameplate output of 85,000 oz. per year from a 650,000 tpa plant, underpinned by 3.8 Mt of proven and probable reserves grading 3.8 g/t gold and 1.7 g/t silver for a six-year mine life. The 50-50 joint venture with Mongolian Mining Corporation has invested about $115 million, installed a 240 km power line from Inner Mongolia and employs roughly 500 people, signalling district-scale intent. Nearby Zuun Mod, 35 km east, holds 271 Mt measured and indicated at 0.06% Mo and 0.06% Cu plus similar-scale inferred resources, positioning it as a potential major molybdenum-copper supplier to China.

Savannah Resources is set to secure full ownership of the Aldeia C‑190 lithium lease at Barroso in northern Portugal, adding a JORC-compliant 3.5 Mt at 1.30% Li₂O on Block A, about 11% of the project’s global resource, for €3.25 million via staged payments to the Directorate General for Energy and Geology. Barroso, designated an EU strategic project, now totals over 39 Mt of high-grade spodumene and is planned as four open pits processing 1.5 Mt/year over 14 years, with break-even at roughly $600/t lithium. Production is targeted for 2028, but permitting and environmental licensing remain contentious in the Barroso World Heritage agricultural landscape.