Glomar Minerals has sent its UK Seabed Resources vessel RV Tangaroa on a 67‑day campaign to the Clarion‑Clipperton Zone, surveying two UK‑sponsored licence areas totalling about 133,000 sq. km for polymetallic nodules rich in manganese, cobalt, nickel, copper and rare earths. CEO Chris Williams is targeting first processing of nodules before the end of Donald Trump’s current term via Project Infinity, a modular US refinery with Cobalt Blue designed for 200,000 tonnes of nodules and 7,500 tonnes of terrestrial cobalt hydroxide per year. The company is actively exploring regulatory pathways outside the ISA and positioning for staged scale‑up from a sub‑full‑vessel operation.

B2Gold has secured the Menankoto exploitation permit for its Fekola Regional project in Mali, enabling pre-stripping and integration of regional ore with the existing Fekola complex, which is now expected to produce more than 150,000 oz. per year from 2028 into the mid‑2030s under a 65:35 ownership split with the state. The permit delay forced a cut to 2026 group guidance to 820,000–920,000 oz., while a fire‑damaged crushing circuit at the Goose mine has pushed all‑in sustaining costs there to $6,390/oz as B2Gold relies on mobile crushers ahead of restoring 4,000 t/d capacity. Despite lower guidance, group Q2 output of 203,648 oz. and AISC of $2,356/oz beat several bank forecasts, and the end of 264,768 oz. of gold prepayment deliveries should materially lift free cash flow from H2 2026.

Gold’s jump of more than 2% on Friday to about $4,353/oz, after US payrolls unexpectedly fell by 23,000 in July, triggered one of the strongest weekly moves in years for gold equities. The VanEck Gold Miners ETF (GDX) surged 21.09% to $89.73 and the Junior Gold Miners ETF (GDXJ) 22.42% to $116.78, while Agnico Eagle, Newmont and Barrick each gained around 20% over five days. Junior-heavy TSX Venture names and the GDXJ outperformance underline how higher-cost producers’ operational leverage can rapidly reprice reserves and project pipelines.