Critical minerals and gold dominated mining in 2025 as China’s export controls on antimony and rare earths triggered smuggling crackdowns, a 7,500-tonne US cobalt tender was cancelled and reissued, and MP Materials halted rare earth exports from Mountain Pass to China. The Trump administration pursued supply-chain security via a proposed critical minerals tariff probe, a US–Ukraine rare earths deal, and a December US–Congo partnership covering cobalt. Record gold prices above $4,500/oz, a Goldman poll pointing to $5,000/oz by end-2026, and De Beers’ first new kimberlite field in 30 years rounded out a volatile year.

Metso will supply several Nordberg MP800 high-capacity cone crushers to Grupo Mexico’s La Caridad copper mine concentrator in Nacozari, Sonora, as part of a plant capacity upgrade. The MP800 units, typically used for secondary and tertiary crushing in large copper concentrators, will be integrated into existing circuits to handle higher throughputs without major footprint changes. For plant and process engineers, the move signals continued reliance on large, fixed crushing assets rather than smaller, modular units for brownfield debottlenecking.

Grangex AB has signed a strategic commercial agreement with Anglo American to support the restart of the Sydvaranger magnetite iron ore mine at Kirkenes in northern Norway. The plan is to produce about 3.5 Mt/y of 70% Fe direct reduction, ultra-high-grade magnetite concentrate, targeting DR pellet and green steel value chains. For process engineers and mine planners, the high-grade DR specification points to tight control of impurity levels and beneficiation performance, with logistics routed through the existing ice-free Barents Sea port infrastructure.