Hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of Venezuelan gold flown into the US under a Trafigura–Minerven deal backed by President Trump and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum is sitting idle because refiners refuse to process it without proof it meets responsible-sourcing standards. The gold, including about $100 million shipped within hours of the March signing, comes from guarded Minerven underground mines where small-scale producers reportedly pay protection money to the Tren de Guayana gang. Similar deals by Heeney Capital and Mercuria, targeting up to $2.2 billion a year in Venezuelan mineral exports, face the same due‑diligence bottleneck.

Robert Friedland is pushing to replace conventional SAG and ball mills with I-Pulse’s I-ROX pulsed-power comminution, which stores electricity then releases nanosecond–microsecond bursts to fracture ore internally along mineral boundaries, with projected energy cuts of up to 80% and about 5% higher metal recoveries. A 2,500 m² I-ROX research centre in Toulouse is testing Kamoa-Kakula copper ore and tailings, while I-Pulse has also secured a US$250 million CHIPS Act award for silicon-carbide semiconductors. The same platform underlies G-Pulse drilling, claimed to triple penetration rates and extend bit life sixfold, to be trialled on the Millungera Basin geothermal project in Queensland.

Lake Resources has secured the key Environmental Impact Declaration for its Kachi lithium brine project in Catamarca, Argentina, clearing the project to enter front-end engineering design for a 25,000 tpa lithium carbonate equivalent facility using Lilac Solutions’ direct lithium extraction process and prior engineering work with Hatch. The DIA confirms compliance with provincial environmental and social standards, imposes a 200 m surficial exclusion zone around the lagoon shoreline, and sets pre‑operations obligations. Lake has also committed $1 million to Catamarca’s Mining Royalty Trust Fund, to be paid between October 2026 and June 2027 for local infrastructure.