Global Battery Materials will acquire Lomiko Metals in an all-share deal worth about US$7.9 million (C$11 million), gaining the La Loutre flake graphite project in Quebec, which has a March 2026 PFS showing an after-tax NPV of C$617.4 million, 24.7% IRR, 3.2-year payback and C$504.6 million initial capex. GBM, which aims to restart the Kearney graphite mine in Ontario by late 2027, plans a “structured review” of La Loutre with local rights holders amid existing pollution concerns. Lomiko shares jumped 60% to C$0.12, with the offer at a 71% premium to the 20-day VWAP and 18% of shareholders already backing the deal.

Titan Mining’s Empire State Mines subsidiary has signed a non-binding supply agreement with an unnamed US aerospace and defence manufacturer for natural graphite from its planned commercial facility in New York, backed by product qualification tests already under way on samples from its Kilbourne demonstration plant. The Kilbourne facility, located at the Empire State Mine infrastructure in St. Lawrence County, began producing graphite concentrate in January, marking the first US output in decades and offering a traceable domestic source in a market dominated by Chinese processing. Titan targets commissioning of the full-scale graphite plant in 2028, signalling future US-based supply options for high-spec defence and energy-storage applications.

Gold rebounded from an intraday low of $3,993.80/oz to $4,080.80 on the Comex August contract after the Federal Reserve held rates at 3.5%–3.75% in a split 9–3 decision, despite swaps pricing a roughly 38% chance of a hike. Silver outperformed, with the September contract up 2.2% to $58.78/oz, though both metals remain far below their late-January peaks, pressuring margins and project economics for high-cost producers. Precious metals equities edged higher on the hold, but Allied Gold slumped 19% in Toronto after its C$5.5 billion takeover by Zijin Gold collapsed.