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.

Thiess, together with MACA and RTL Mining and Earthworks, has visited Norton Gold Fields’ Mulgarrie operation near Kalgoorlie, where an autonomous haulage system (AHS) trial using EACON Mining Technology’s retrofitted trucks is under way. The trial, run with Norton Gold Fields (owned by Zijin Mining Group), is testing retrofit autonomy on an existing truck fleet rather than deploying factory-built autonomous units. For mine operators, successful validation would support lower‑capex conversion of conventional haul trucks to AHS across similar Australian gold and bulk operations.

United States Antimony has secured approval to uplist from NYSE American to the New York Stock Exchange under ticker UAMY, with trading to start on 11 March and its share price jumping about 10%, valuing the company at US$1.4 billion. The Texas-based producer has also received US$27 million in US Defense Department funding to expand antimony extraction and refining, centred on a Montana smelter rated at 5 million lb/year of antimony metal. The company plans a fully integrated supply chain by adding ore extraction in Alaska for defence, battery and flame-retardant markets.