Electra Battery Materials has signed a five-year working-capital and commercial partnership term sheet with Swiss commodities trader WMC Group AG to finance cobalt feedstock purchases and market battery-grade cobalt sulfate from its Temiskaming Shores refinery in northern Ontario. The deal covers logistics management, inventory working capital and exclusive marketing of output up to the plant’s nameplate capacity as Electra restarts North America’s only cobalt sulfate refinery, backed by US and Canadian government funding. The structure is aimed at smoothing the operating cash cycle as the project moves from construction and commissioning into production.

SSR Mining will acquire Nevada-focused Roxmore Resources for C$660.1 million in cash, securing the Converse open-pit project 6 km west of its Marigold mine, where a PEA outlines 250,000 oz. per year over 15 years, with a post-tax NPV of $2.7 billion at $3,600/oz. gold and a 42.8% IRR. Converse, hosting 103 million indicated tonnes at 0.65 g/t and 218 million inferred tonnes at 0.43 g/t, could lift SSR’s US output to 350,000–400,000 oz. annually from 2033–2042, despite an $829 million initial capex. In parallel, an updated Marigold plan extends mine life to 20 years, boosts probable reserves 43% to 4.6 million oz., and more than triples post-tax NPV to $3.3 billion, with life-of-mine capex rising to $1.3 billion and Buffalo Valley (700,000 oz. reserves) feeding first ore from 2029.

JPMorganChase has appointed Andrew Frame to lead critical minerals investments within its $1.5‑trillion, 10‑year Security and Resiliency Initiative, targeting extraction, refining and processing of copper, lithium, nickel, graphite, rare earths and other strategic materials. The bank has carved critical minerals out as one of 27 subcategories spanning nuclear energy, battery storage, semiconductors, robotics and advanced defence components, backed by a separate $10‑billion pool for equity and venture investments. For miners and processors, this signals potential access to large‑scale project finance, advisory support and policy advocacy on permitting and workforce constraints.