Gold shattered records in 2025, setting 50 all‑time highs and reaching $4,549.71/oz on Boxing Day, while Basel III reclassified physical bullion as a Tier 1 high-quality liquid asset that US banks can count at 100% of market value. Barrick’s Loulo‑Gounkoto complex in Mali was twice hit by state seizures totalling roughly $245m and 35,000 oz, forcing shutdowns until a $430m settlement in November. Geopolitical tension over reserves intensified as Germany and Italy faced pressure to repatriate a combined 5,800 tonnes held largely in US vaults.

Metso has booked the third tranche of orders for JSC Almalyk Mining and Metallurgical Complex’s copper smelter project in Uzbekistan, following equipment and project services contracts announced on 9 August 2024. The first two tranches, totalling €146 million, were booked in Q4 2024, with the latest booking covering additional core process equipment and associated services for the greenfield smelter complex. The staged order intake signals a multi-phase build-out where process design, commissioning support and long-lead items will be critical for throughput, energy performance and sulphur capture compliance.

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.