Lynas Rare Earths has appointed chief operating officer Pol Le Roux as interim chief executive officer, effective when long‑serving CEO Amanda Lacaze retires later this month. Le Roux currently oversees Lynas’ processing operations in Malaysia and Western Australia, including plant performance, supply chain and major project delivery across its rare earths value chain. The leadership change comes as Lynas advances capacity expansions and process upgrades at its WA mining and concentration assets and downstream cracking and separation facilities in Kuantan.

EnergyX and Wildcat Discovery Technologies plan a more than $230 million lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cathode active material plant in Hooks, Texas, co-located with EnergyX’s Project Lonestar lithium brine facility over 50,000 acres of Smackover formation mining rights. Phase 1 design capacity is about 15,000 tpa of LFP cathode material on a 330-acre TexAmericas Center site with rail access and existing utilities, targeting energy storage, EV, and defence platforms. EnergyX will supply discounted, price-banded lithium carbonate, while Wildcat brings a high-throughput cathode R&D platform and roadmap for higher-density, cobalt- and nickel-free chemistries.

Mining influencers on TikTok and other platforms are rapidly building audiences, with Colombian mining and metallurgy student “Paula Mineria” reaching 110,600 TikTok followers and 1.6 million likes through site-visit videos filmed at operations in Colombia, Japan, Chile, Panama, Canada and the US. Underground miner Cory Rockwell has amassed 117,100 followers and 5 million likes by posting detailed clips of scaling walls, refuge chambers and explosives rounds at sites including Barrick’s Turquoise Ridge and Coeur’s Kensington gold mine. Their content, often company-approved and safety-PPE compliant, is being used by operators and recruiters to counter negative perceptions and showcase modern, regulated mining work.