Canada could add up to C$98 billion a year to GDP by 2035 if it shifts from exporting raw critical minerals to more complex products, Export Development Canada says, citing rare earths, graphite, lithium, copper and uranium as priority value chains. The report points to moving beyond ore into nuclear fuel and reactor components for uranium, and into specialty conductors, transformer components and AI‑grade power grid equipment for copper, building on assets such as Glencore’s Horne copper smelter. Key constraints are long-term risk capital, skilled labour, commercialisation capacity and trade infrastructure still geared to bulk exports.

West Africa’s collective gold output now exceeds China’s, and Fortuna Mining CEO Jorge Ganoza says the region’s mineral endowment and rapid permitting and development timelines make it central to any growth strategy in precious metals despite higher geopolitical risk. Fortuna, which runs two mines in West Africa and two in Latin America, is tactically shifting capital between jurisdictions and has already started ordering critical power generators and other equipment for its newly acquired Bambadji project before securing an exploitation permit. Ganoza notes that competition from global data centres is constraining generator supply, limiting miners’ ability to secure units even with higher bids.

Almonty Industries has signed a long-term tungsten concentrate supply agreement with Sandvik subsidiary Wolfram Bergbau und Hütten AG for retreatment of the existing tailings stockpile at the Los Santos Mine in western Spain. The contract covers a minimum of about 1,720 t of contained WO₃ recovered from historical tailings, shifting the operation from primary ore mining to secondary extraction. For process engineers and tailings specialists, the deal signals continued commercial appetite for reprocessing fine-grained tungsten residues where grades and volumes justify dedicated retreatment circuits.