Savannah Resources has signed three benefit sharing agreements with baldios in the Barroso region of northern Portugal, securing land access on Blocks A and C of the Aldeia concession and the western end of the C-100 concession for its Barroso lithium project, designated a ‘Strategic Project’ under the EU Critical Raw Materials Act. The deals include rent-based compensation indexed to inflation, community participation in project oversight bodies and local reinvestment, plus a technical partnership with SBTMAD to manage and fire-proof about 100 hectares of agroforestry land. Barroso, with reserves now above 39 million tonnes of spodumene ore and planned output sufficient for roughly 500,000 EV batteries per year, is targeting a final environmental licence in Q3 2026, FID by year-end and first production in 2028.

Copper for September delivery on Comex briefly hit a record $6.7140/lb ($14,802/t) as a tame US inflation print eased rate fears and a tight physical market drove LME cash copper to a $207.50/t backwardation over three-month prices, the widest of 2026, with LME stocks down 14% since end-July to 214,550 t. Supply pressure is compounded by Chile cutting its production forecast again and Indonesia’s Gresik smelter, which treats Grasberg ore, remaining offline after an 8 August boiler leak. On the project side, Sweden’s government cleared Boliden’s Laver concession appeal, unlocking environmental permitting for a 849.5 Mt deposit grading 0.24% Cu, while Bougainville authorised Lloyds Metals & Energy to study reopening Panguna, with 5.3 Mt Cu and 19.3 Moz Au in remaining reserves.

Gold futures in New York briefly hit $4,502.70/oz on Wednesday, a two‑month high, as US CPI came in at 0.1% m/m and 3.4% y/y and core inflation slowed to 2.5%, trimming near‑term Fed hike odds and pulling two‑year Treasury yields down to 4.18%. Spot gold traded around $4,422/oz, with Ole Hansen of Saxo Bank flagging $4,200 as key support and the 200‑day moving average just below $4,500 as major resistance, while Comex September silver touched $66.98/oz and CME prepared 24/7 trading for 100‑oz silver futures. Gold and silver miners have rallied sharply, with Eldorado Gold up 33% month‑to‑date, Equinox Gold 29%, and Newmont 26%, versus a 9% move in bullion and SPDR Gold Shares.