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The MINEXCHANGE 2026 SME Annual Conference & Expo in Salt Lake City will close next week with SME’s Signature Awards Event recognising more than 70 recipients across mining, metallurgy and exploration. Honours span technical excellence, health and safety, environmental stewardship and professional service, reinforcing SME’s role in setting practice benchmarks for US and international operations. For engineers and operators, the awards list often signals emerging leaders, influential research directions and projects likely to shape upcoming guidance and conference content.

Tungsten West has appointed Duo Group as EPC contractor for a new-build crushing, screening and ore sorting plant at the Hemerdon tungsten-tin mine in Devon, and signed an agreement to deploy Gekko Systems’ In Line Pressure Jigs in the flowsheet. The project centres on upgrading run-of-mine ore through pre-concentration and sensor-based sorting ahead of jig-based gravity recovery, aiming to improve tungsten and tin yield from the existing open-pit resource. For process engineers, the move signals a flowsheet shift towards higher early-stage rejection of waste and lower downstream milling load.

ESCO’s ESCO division has launched the Nexsys Ripper System for Cat D11 dozers, targeting high-load ripping in mining, aggregate and heavy construction applications. The system uses premium alloy steels and a redesigned shank–tooth interface to improve penetration and wear life under highly abrasive conditions typical of large open pits and quarries. Faster tooth changes and reduced unplanned change-outs are aimed at increasing dozer utilisation on primary ripping benches and hard overburden, with direct implications for drill-and-blast requirements and fleet productivity.

Atlas Salt has expanded its strategic relationship with Sandvik Mining as part of an updated feasibility study for the Great Atlantic underground salt project near St George’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, building on a comprehensive non‑binding MOU signed in September 2024. The enlarged scope is expected to cover Sandvik’s input on underground mobile equipment fleets and automation-ready mining systems for large-scale room-and-pillar extraction. For engineers, the move signals early vendor integration into mine design, equipment selection and life-of-mine operating cost assumptions ahead of project sanctioning.

Weir’s Alrode facility in Gauteng has become the first plant globally dedicated solely to manufacturing ENDURON Elite banana screens, adding 1,600 m² of covered production space to support the new range. Concentrating production in South Africa signals longer-term localisation of high-performance screening technology, with implications for regional supply chains and aftermarket support for large vibrating screens in coal, iron ore and aggregate operations. For process engineers, this may shorten lead times for custom screen sizes and deck configurations while standardising critical components across Weir’s global footprint.

Sandvik Rock Processing has completed a full rebuild of a Sandvik BR3288i hydraulic breaker and BB8094R breaker boom for a major Ghanaian gold mine at its Kumasi technical workshop. The unit, installed at the run-of-mine grizzly, is a large-range breaker used for primary rock size reduction and clearing oversize at the crusher feed. Localised refurbishment capability in Kumasi cuts downtime and shipping delays for future overhauls, which is critical for maintaining ROM throughput and crusher utilisation on West African hard-rock gold operations.

Autonomous battery-electric haul trucks deployed by EACON at Shougang Group’s Shuichang Iron Ore Mine have completed a full year of operation, delivering quantified reductions in both unit haulage cost and diesel-related CO₂ emissions versus conventional diesel fleets. The system integrates autonomous driving, battery swapping and centralised dispatch to manage multiple BEV trucks on steep open-pit ramps and long-distance waste hauls. For mine planners and geotechnical teams, the shift to BEVs changes ramp ventilation assumptions, traffic patterns and braking heat loads, affecting haul road design and pit wall interaction.

Weir is promoting its Enduron EP350 cone crusher as a long-life, high-availability solution for mine crushing circuits, pairing the machine with engineered wear parts and process optimisation services. The company focuses on matching crusher geometry, liner design and metallurgy to specific ore characteristics, and uses condition monitoring and remote support to stabilise throughput and reduce unplanned downtime. For geotechnical and plant engineers, the message is tighter integration of equipment design, wear management and circuit control rather than standalone crusher selection.

The Papua New Guinea Industrial and Mining Exhibition and Conference will return to Port Moresby in July, bringing together mine operators, EPC contractors and OEM suppliers focused on PNG’s gold, copper and LNG-linked projects. Exhibitors typically span underground fleet, pit dewatering, tailings and paste-fill systems, explosives, and remote power solutions suited to PNG’s high-rainfall, steep-slope terrain and logistics constraints. For geotechnical and mining engineers, the event is a key venue to source equipment and services for haul road construction, slope stabilisation, camp infrastructure and port expansions in a challenging tropical environment.

Atlas Copco Rental Australia’s DrillAir Y1260 compressor is being deployed as a single air source from drill pad to processing plant, replacing multiple smaller units across blasthole drilling, dewatering and plant air services. The high-pressure, high-flow package is containerised for rapid relocation in-pit and around fixed infrastructure, with integrated fuel management and remote monitoring to optimise load profiles. For mine operators, the approach concentrates maintenance on one large unit, simplifies air distribution design and can cut diesel consumption and unplanned downtime across the pit-to-plant circuit.

Project Vault, a new $12 billion US government stockpile, targets critical minerals but leaves permanent magnet manufacturing—especially neodymium-based and other rare earth magnets—as the key unresolved vulnerability in decoupling from Chinese supply. Wade Senti, CEO of Advanced Magnet Lab, argues for a market-led, innovation-first strategy that diversifies rare earth feedstocks and sources while backing alternative magnet chemistries such as Samarium Iron Nitride (SmFeN) and Manganese Bismuth (MnBi). For mining and processing projects, this implies demand for flexible mine-to-magnet flowsheets, equipment-intensive magnet plants, and closer integration with downstream OEMs.

Hecla Mining is nearly doubling 2026 spend on exploration and pre-development to US$55 million, targeting Nevada projects and producing assets Greens Creek (Alaska), Keno Hill (Yukon) and Lucky Friday (Idaho) to at least offset annual reserve depletion. The company reports 231 million oz silver and 2 million oz gold in reserves after 2025 output of 17 million oz silver, including a record 5.3 million oz from Lucky Friday and roughly half of total silver from Greens Creek. Drilling is focused on converting Inferred resources, extending reserve envelopes and testing high-grade targets at the historic Midas mine, which has produced 27 million oz silver and 2.2 million oz gold.

Lundin Gold has outlined a large intrusive complex with multiple shallow copper-gold porphyry systems near its Fruta del Norte mine in Ecuador, including Sandia hole SND-2025-383 with 603 m at 0.68% Cu, 0.1 g/t Au, 2.85 g/t Ag and 16.32 ppm Mo from 27 m. A newly identified fifth porphyry centre, Chontas, 7 km south of the main deposit, extends the porphyry corridor to at least 10 km, while Trancaloma hole TRL-2025-340 returned 945 m at 0.33% Cu from 152 m. Lundin plans 133,000 m of drilling in 2026 at Fruta del Norte, budgeted at $85 million, to support a potential south-zone mine decision and district-scale copper-gold evaluation.

Kumba Iron Ore is investing ZAR11.2 billion (about US$600 million) to retrofit ultra-high-dense-media-separation (UHDMS) technology into the existing DMS plant at its Sishen mine in South Africa’s Northern Cape. The UHDMS circuit is designed to treat lower-grade ore and waste material at higher cut densities than conventional DMS, materially lifting product quality and overall yield. For process and plant engineers, the project signals a shift towards more intensive beneficiation to extend Sishen’s life of mine and improve margins without new pit development.

Sandvik is launching the Leopard DI610i, a down-the-hole surface drill rig for open-pit mines and contractors, covering a 115–203 mm (4½–8 in) hole size range. The i-series platform targets high utilisation and rapid operator on-boarding through advanced automation, digital drilling controls and an ergonomic cabin layout. Sandvik positions the DI610i to cut total cost of ownership versus previous Leopard rigs by optimising fuel use, consumable life and maintenance intervals, which will interest operations rationalising large DTH fleets.

Agnico Eagle Mines posted record year-end 2025 gold reserves of 55.4 million oz (1.33 billion tonnes at 1.30 g/t) and a 135% jump in net income to $4.46 billion, lifting its quarterly dividend to $0.45 per share. Measured and indicated resources rose to 47.1 million oz and inferred resources to 41.8 million oz, supported by the Marban deposit at Malartic and 1.4 million metres of core drilling from an average 120 diamond rigs. CEO Ammar Al‑Joundi targets a 20–30% production increase to over 4 million oz/year by the early 2030s, driven by Detour Lake underground, Canadian Malartic, Upper Beaver and Hope Bay.

Rox Resources has appointed MACA Interquip Mintrex (MIQM), part of the MACA Limited Group, as preferred EPC contractor for the new Youanmi gold processing plant and associated facilities at its 100%-owned Youanmi project in Western Australia. MIQM will deliver engineering, procurement and construction for the plant, drawing on its multi-disciplinary capability across process plant design, structural and mechanical works, and site infrastructure. The appointment signals progression towards detailed design and construction, giving mine planners clearer timelines for integrating processing capacity with pit and underground scheduling.

Turner Mining Group has mobilised a new Caterpillar mining fleet to Minera Alamos’ Pan Mine in Nevada under a multi-year contract, completing assembly, commissioning and crew deployment over the holiday period while holding to targeted production rates. The contractor is now responsible for full-scale mine services, with the Cat fleet expected to handle drilling, loading and haulage across the open-pit gold operation. For engineers, the key point is a rapid contractor transition without a production dip, stressing the importance of parallel commissioning and workforce ramp-up.

Alkane Resources has posted what it calls the strongest quarter in its history after its August 2025 merger with Mandalay Resources, consolidating the Tomingley gold operation in NSW with two Mandalay underground gold–antimony mines into a three-mine portfolio. The enlarged group has focused on higher-grade stopes, tighter unit-cost control and shared technical services across the sites, lifting group mill throughput and gold-equivalent output while cutting all-in sustaining costs. For mine planners and geotechs, the integration is driving more aggressive cut-off grade strategies and coordinated underground scheduling across multiple orebodies.

Exploration activity is accelerating across Australia, with recent campaigns reporting high-grade intercepts in gold, tungsten and critical minerals and several new drill targets defined from geophysics and geochemistry. True North Copper has updated its resource at Cloncurry in Queensland, refining copper and gold tonnages and grades across multiple lodes and signalling scope for further step-out drilling. For geotechs and mine planners, the work points to expanding pit and underground envelopes in established districts rather than purely greenfield growth.

Ultra high-grade fluorite intercepts from Tivan Limited’s maiden drilling at the Sandover project in the Northern Territory show multiple drill holes returning exceptionally rich mineralisation, positioning the asset as a potentially significant fluorite source. The results come from the first systematic programme over the Sandover tenements, targeting structurally controlled fluorite-bearing zones identified in earlier surface work. For geologists and mine planners, the continuity and grade across several holes will drive follow-up drilling, resource definition and early thinking on beneficiation flowsheets for high-purity CaF₂ products.

Alligator Energy has started a bankable feasibility study (BFS) on its Samphire uranium project near Whyalla in South Australia, moving the in‑situ recovery (ISR) development closer to a final investment decision as uranium prices trade near 15‑year highs. The BFS will refine wellfield layouts, leach chemistry and processing flowsheets for the Blackbush and Plumbush deposits, building on previous ISR field trials and updated JORC resources. For geotechnical and hydrogeological teams, the work will focus on aquifer characterisation, permeability controls and containment of lixiviant within the target sandstone units.

FLS has opened a large-scale service centre in Mackay, central to the Bowen Basin coalfields, to cut shutdown durations for Queensland miners by bringing overhaul capability for crushers, mills and vibrating screens closer to site. The modern workshop is sized for major components such as SAG mill heads and large cone crusher shells, with overhead lifting, specialised machining and condition-monitoring support integrated under one roof. Locating this capacity in Mackay reduces freight time for heavy equipment, enabling faster turnaround on wear parts and planned maintenance campaigns.

BFCG is supplying Western Australian mines with high-specification materials handling and processing components from drill string hardware through to weighbridge systems, targeting tighter tolerances and longer service life in abrasive ore conditions. The company focuses on precision-machined parts, fit-for-purpose alloys and coatings, and accurate load measurement to reduce unplanned downtime and mis-weighing at high-throughput sites. For maintenance and reliability teams, the approach supports more predictable wear behaviour, cleaner data for production accounting, and better integration between pit equipment and fixed plant.

Schlam Payload has launched what it calls the world’s first mining truck bodies manufactured from green steel, integrating low‑emissions steel plate into its Hercules open‑pit haul truck trays. The design retains the Hercules’ ultra‑lightweight, high‑volume profile for large rigid dump trucks while substituting conventional plate with certified low‑carbon steel from SSAB’s HYBRIT-based supply chain. For mine operators, the move offers a direct Scope 3 emissions reduction lever on load-and-haul fleets without redesigning truck chassis, payload envelopes or existing maintenance practices.

Copper for March delivery fell over 3% in New York to $5.78/lb ($12,740/t) as Earth‑i’s SAVANT index showed 14.3% of global copper smelting capacity inactive in January, the weakest level in nearly a decade and 6.8% above the three‑year average. Active capacity outside China is down 1.2 Mt year‑on‑year, driven by outages at Isabel Leyte (PASAR) in the Philippines, Gresik and Manyar in Indonesia after the Grasberg mud‑rush, and Salvador (Potrerillos) in Chile, while Africa’s inactivity jumped to 28.4%. Spot TCRCs have turned deeply negative near –$45/t and –4.5¢/lb, with Antofagasta’s 2026 benchmark TC/RC with a Chinese smelter settling at $0, effectively wiping out smelter margins and signalling further curtailments unless concentrate supply normalises.

Sandvik is acquiring South African-based ThoroughTec Simulation, an OEM-agnostic mining training simulator specialist with about 200 staff and 2025 revenues of roughly SEK 170 million, to be folded into Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions’ parts and services division. ThoroughTec’s simulators and training management system will be combined with Sandvik’s digital solutions to deliver data-driven, customised operator training based on real machine performance, targeting higher productivity, improved operator behaviour and lower maintenance costs. The deal, with an undisclosed price, is expected to close in Q2 2026 and be EBITA-margin accretive.

Gold fell back below $5,000/oz on Thursday, dropping as much as 4% to $4,880 before stabilising above $4,900 for a 3% intraday loss, after stronger-than-expected US nonfarm payrolls data showed a 130,000 January jobs gain and unemployment easing to 4.3%. Silver slid nearly 10% as profit-taking on 12‑month gains of about 40% for gold and 160% for silver, plus stop-loss orders clustered below $5,000 and above $5,100, triggered a rapid cascade. Despite January’s historic selloff, bullion remains 17% higher year-to-date, with several banks still projecting up to $6,000/oz on continued central bank and retail demand.

i-80 Gold has secured a US$500 million package, including a US$250 million life-of-mine NSR royalty sale to Franco-Nevada (1.5%, rising to 3% from 2031) and a US$150 million gold prepay facility with National Bank and Macquarie plus a US$100 million accordion, to fund its Nevada growth plan and clear roughly US$175 million of debt. The financing is expected to fully fund Phase 1 and Phase 2, ramping Granite Creek, advancing Archimedes, and expanding Cove underground and the Granite Creek open pit to lift output from ~50,000 oz/year to 300,000–400,000 oz/year by 2031. Longer term, i-80 aims to develop the Mineral Point oxide heap leach project, which has 4.6 million oz Au-eq (measured and indicated) and a PEA outlining a 17-year life at 282,000 oz Au-eq/year, targeting total production of 600,000 oz/year across four Nevada operations.

Vizsla Silver is keeping its long-term development plans for the Panuco silver-gold project in Sinaloa after 10 workers were kidnapped on 23 January, at least five killed and five still missing, with site operations suspended but engineering work continuing remotely. Panuco hosts 12.8 million proven and probable tonnes grading 2.01 g/t gold and 249 g/t silver, with a planned 9.4‑year mine life producing 17.4 million silver‑equivalent oz. per year at an AISC of $10.61/oz and over 20 million oz. annually in the first five years. National Bank Financial now expects first production to slip from 2027 to around 2030 and warns security, labour and inflation could add up to $5/t to costs, as more than 1,000 Mexican troops and elite marines remain deployed in the district.

Fortescue has commissioned two Progress Rail battery electric locomotives in the Pilbara, each with a 14.5MWh onboard battery and 40–60% regenerative braking, to haul 40,000-tonne iron ore trains over 300–400km and cut about one million litres of diesel use per year. The units will run on renewable power from the Pilbara Energy Connect network, which already includes a 100MW solar farm with a 250MWh BESS at North Star Junction and a 760km electrified rail corridor linking five mines to Port Hedland. Fortescue is concurrently advancing 190–644MW-scale solar projects, its first Pilbara wind farm at Nullagine, and a green iron plant at Christmas Creek targeting first metal by June 2026.

Sandvik Group has signed a new global strategic cooperation agreement with Chinese contract mining major JCHX in Beijing, following a visit by Sandvik President and CEO Stefan Widing to JCHX’s headquarters on 11 February. JCHX Chairman Wang Xiancheng and Executive Vice President Wang Cicheng hosted the talks, where both parties agreed to expand the breadth and depth of their collaboration across underground mining equipment and services. The deal signals closer alignment between Sandvik’s OEM capabilities and JCHX’s large-scale contract mining projects in China and overseas.

Fortescue has begun commissioning two Progress Rail battery electric locomotives on its Pilbara iron ore rail network, targeting elimination of about one million litres of diesel consumption per year. The units, supplied by Caterpillar’s rail subsidiary, are described as housing the world’s largest battery systems fitted to locomotives, designed for heavy-haul operations on long-distance ore trains. For mine planners and rail engineers, the project will test high-capacity battery performance, charging logistics and duty cycles under Pilbara heat, gradients and dust conditions.

Release has signed a seven-year leasing agreement with Tshukudu Metals Botswana, a Sandfire Resources subsidiary, to deploy a 21 MW solar power plant at the Motheo Copper Operations in Botswana. The modular plant will supply a significant share of Motheo’s process power demand, cutting diesel generation and exposure to regional grid constraints. For mine planners and process engineers, the deal signals further integration of long-term, contract-based renewable capacity into African copper operations’ power strategies.

Sandvik has agreed to acquire South Africa-based ThoroughTec Simulation, a developer of OEM-agnostic mining equipment simulators and a cloud-based training management system, which will be integrated into Sandvik Mining’s Parts and Services division. ThoroughTec’s portfolio covers surface and underground loaders, trucks and drills, allowing site-specific virtual training on actual mine layouts and control systems. The deal signals stronger emphasis on simulator-based operator training, with potential to standardise competency management and reduce in-field training hours across mixed fleets.

Betolar has entered a strategic collaboration with EcoGraf and the Geological Survey of Finland (GTK) at the Epanko graphite project in Tanzania to test whether mine tailings can be reprocessed using Betolar’s metal extraction technology. The process is designed to enhance metal recovery from graphite tailings while generating secondary raw materials suitable for low-clinker binders and other construction products. For mine planners and tailings engineers, this signals potential shifts in tailings characterisation, storage design and long-term geochemical behaviour if waste streams are repurposed as feedstock.

South America is identified by Verisk Maplecroft’s Resource Nationalism Index and Political Risk Data as the most stable option for Western critical mineral diversification, with Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Peru combining large lithium, copper, cobalt, nickel, graphite and rare earth endowments with moderate state intervention. DR Congo, Indonesia and Tanzania sit among the 20 most exposed jurisdictions globally, yet remain unavoidable for some minerals, as shown by the US Strategic Minerals Cooperation Framework with DRC and the EU’s rare earth-linked trade deal with India. Geopolitical Alignment Tool scores place Argentina and the Philippines as close US allies and Chile, Madagascar and India as strategically aligned, making South America a relatively low-risk anchor in a fragmented supply landscape.

Schlam Payload has launched Xeroline, a mining truck tray range built using SSAB Zero™ green steel, claimed to be the first truck bodies made from 100% carbon-free steel in mining. The initial Xeroline trays are being supplied to Australian open-pit operations, targeting high-production fleets where payload and wear life are critical. For mine operators, the move offers a direct Scope 3 emissions reduction lever in load-and-haul fleets without changing truck models, while testing the durability and wear behaviour of fossil-free steel in heavy impact, high-abrasion duty cycles.

CopperTech Metals has formed a strategic partnership with Axiom Group, VBKOM and Fleet Space Technologies to deploy next-generation geoscience tools at Konkola Copper Mines, one of the world’s highest-grade copper operations run by CopperTech subsidiary KCM. The collaboration will use Fleet Space’s satellite-enabled subsurface imaging and Axiom/VBKOM’s integrated geoscience and mine planning workflows to accelerate 3D understanding of the orebody. Faster subsurface interpretation is aimed at shortening exploration decision cycles and tightening drill targeting around existing high-grade infrastructure.

Komatsu is expanding a national network for parts recycling and re-manufacture, using dedicated component workshops and centralised core collection to return engines, hydraulic pumps and driveline assemblies to OEM specification. The programme, developed over more than 30 years, focuses on heavy civil and mining fleets, offering factory-certified reman components with standard new-part warranties and controlled turnaround times to reduce machine downtime. For contractors and asset owners, the approach cuts lifecycle costs, lowers embodied carbon in major components and supports more predictable maintenance planning on high-hour equipment.

Albemarle is idling the last operating train at its Kemerton lithium hydroxide plant in Western Australia and placing the facility into care and maintenance immediately, after already mothballing Train 2 in 2024 and cancelling expansion of Trains 3 and 4. The Kemerton refinery converts spodumene feed from the Greenbushes hard-rock mine, where Albemarle holds both equity and 50% of offtake rights, into battery-grade lithium hydroxide for a Western supply chain. Albemarle expects the shutdown to be accretive to adjusted EBITDA from Q2 2026, with 2026 lithium hydroxide volumes backfilled from other global plants.

AusIMM has confirmed seven ambassadors for its 2026 International Women’s Day Event Series, including senior leaders from major miners and METS companies who will front events across Perth, Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide and Sydney. The series will combine in-person breakfasts and luncheons with live-streamed technical panels, targeting operational, geotechnical and processing professionals from graduate to executive level. Organisers are positioning the programme to tackle retention and progression of women in site-based roles, flexible rostering for FIFO operations, and leadership pathways in underground and processing plants.

Tutt Bryant Equipment is using long-term partnerships, flexible finance and tailored fleet planning to grow contractors such as Cooper Civil & Crushing, which has just added a Jonsson L120-330 double crusher to its mobile plant. The distributor supports customers from initial machine selection through to parts, service and rebuilds across loaders, crushers, screens and articulated dump trucks, reducing downtime on remote mining and quarry sites. For geotechnical and mining contractors, the model shifts capex towards scalable hire–purchase mixes while standardising support across mixed OEM fleets.

Liebherr will present its “Hands on the future” theme at Conexpo, showcasing new mining and construction technologies alongside digital service solutions. The company is expected to focus on equipment automation, data-driven maintenance and remote monitoring platforms integrated across its excavators, haul trucks and cranes. For mine operators and civil contractors, the exhibit signals continued investment in OEM-provided condition monitoring and lifecycle support, tightening the link between machine telemetry, fleet planning and on-site productivity.

Metso is promoting a “whole-of-circuit” approach to mineral processing, linking equipment such as vibrating pan feeders, multi-deck screens and high-pressure grinding rolls to optimise throughput and energy use rather than individual unit performance. By integrating digital tools like Metso Metrics and advanced process control with wear monitoring on crushers, mills and screens, the company aims to stabilise feed, reduce recirculating loads and extend liner life. For plant engineers, the message is to redesign and tune circuits as systems, not as isolated machines.

Proven air filtration protection for mine-site conditions is being targeted with Donaldson’s XHLX80K PowerCore kit, designed specifically for the Toyota Hilux N80 used in light-vehicle fleets on haul roads and in pit operations. The retrofit system replaces the OEM airbox with a high-dust-capacity PowerCore cartridge and sealed housing engineered for fine silica and abrasive dust typical of Australian open-cut mines. For maintenance planners, the kit aims to extend filter life, reduce unplanned engine derates, and standardise filtration performance across mixed-site Hilux fleets.

CopperTech Metals has formed a strategic partnership with Axiom Group, VBKOM and Fleet Space Technologies to deploy Fleet’s ExoSphere space-enabled, AI-powered geoscience platform at Konkola Copper Mines in Zambia, a 2.9–3.3% Cu operation with about 16 Mt in combined copper reserves/resources and proven cobalt. Axiom will embed ExoSphere and run a high‑resolution 3D seismic survey over the orebody and proximal areas to generate detailed 3D orebody knowledge models and AI‑driven drill targets. The partners aim to shorten exploration learning cycles, cut drill uncertainty and tighten near‑mine resource definition in KCM’s complex geology.

Ascot Resources is rebranding as Cambria Gold Mines and pivoting to a hub-and-spoke plan that will feed its recently built Premier mill with ore trucked from the Red Mountain project, 25 km east of Stewart, British Columbia. Red Mountain hosts 3.19 million tonnes at 7.63 g/t gold (783,000 oz.), is suited to long-hole stoping with existing production-scale underground workings, and is intended to provide most of the mill feed, blended with Premier-Northern Lights and Big Missouri ore. Permitting for the Red Mountain access road, including consultation with the Nisga’a Nation, began in autumn 2025, with construction targeted for this spring, backed by C$175 million in new financing and a restructured Sprott agreement.

A confidential 2010 UK government briefing on Helmand province mineral prospects, including uranium, thorium, gold, iridium, marble and possible oil and gas, was emailed by then trade envoy Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor to Jeffrey Epstein, the BBC reports. The document cited “significant high value mineral deposits” and “potential for low cost extraction” in Helmand, where most uranium indications still rely on Soviet-era surveys and early-stage USGS assessments. Any move to develop Afghan uranium would confront major security, infrastructure and safeguards barriers in an already supply‑constrained, geopolitically sensitive uranium market.

White Gold Corp (TSXV: WGO) will spin out six Yukon critical minerals properties – about 15% of its 3,051 km², 21-property land package – into a separate explorer focused on copper, molybdenum, tungsten, antimony, zinc and bismuth. Key targets Bridget, Isaac, Mascot and Wolf lie in the Dawson Range near the Casino porphyry and include the Bridget Mo-Cu porphyry anomaly, a 3 x 3.5 km zone enriched in tungsten, bismuth and silver that remains largely undrilled. The move, backed by Yukon and federal critical minerals policies, lets White Gold concentrate on its flagship gold project with 1.73 Moz indicated and 1.27 Moz inferred.