December futures trading on the CME briefly hit $2801.70 an ounce, topping the all-time high set last week, in overnight trade.

The rally comes despite rising bond yields and a stronger US dollar, which usually would have weighed on the precious metal. This brings bullion’s year-to-date gain to approximately 34%, making it one of the best-performing assets of 2024.

“Market positioning is elevated ahead of the election but also in anticipation of further Fed rate cuts and broader market and geopolitical uncertainty,” Standard Chartered Plc analyst Suki Cooper said in a note quoted by Bloomberg.

“Under a Trump-win scenario, markets are focused on the implications of wider tariffs, as well as inflationary pressures as a result of such tariffs.”

“Gold trades up on the week, despite deflating risk premiums elsewhere, confirming the focus remains the US election and especially the prospect of a Trump 2.0,” Saxo Bank said in a note to Bloomberg.

“It may bring greater policy disruption, trade tariffs and increased geopolitical risks.”

Global gold demand swelled about 5% in the third quarter, setting a record for the period and lifting consumption above $100 billion for the first time, according to the World Gold Council. The increase — which saw volumes climb to 1,313 tons — was underpinned by stronger investment flows from the West, including more high-net-worth individuals. 

Gold’s rally also follows new economic data released Tuesday that showed US job openings fell far more than expected while consumer confidence rose above all estimates. Investors now await more data later this week to further gauge the Federal Reserve’s stance on interest rates.

Markets are currently pricing in an almost 100% chance for a 25-basis-point rate cut by the US central bank in November.

“Gold should retain its upward bias and may even flirt with $2,800 in the days ahead, as long as US election risks continue weighing on market sentiment, while Fed rate cut expectations remain intact,” said Han Tan, chief market analyst at Exinity Group, on Tuesday.

(With files from Bloomberg and Reuters)

Mali’s mining code allows Compass to mine up to 200,000 tonnes of ore a year in the country’s south and produce as much as 160,000 oz. of metal over the next four years. Free cash flow from operations will support debt repayment, fund operating expenses, and advance exploration along the 15 km Tarabala trend, part of its Sikasso property, the company said in a release.

CEO Larry Phillips said the agreement puts Compass on the path to generating cash flow quickly while taking advantage of high gold prices.

“This initial joint-production arrangement represents an important step toward achieving near-term production with minimal capital investment,” Phillips said in a release. “We firmly believe the accelerated timeline afforded by this arrangement is especially important, given the historically high gold price to be realized through the production and sale of gold in the coming year.”

Compass shares hit a 12-month high in Toronto on Tuesday at C$0.22 apiece, having traded at a low of C$0.11. It has a market capitalization of C$15 million.

The agreement allows Compass to process 50 tonnes of ore per hour at the SMAT facility using new processing equipment scheduled for installation by early next year. The plant is just 3 km from its Massala prospect, where the Tarabala trend is found, and south of the capital Bamako.

Trenching results

Recent trenching at Massala returned gold assays above 1 gram gold per tonne, according to a release on Aug. 19. That’s above the minimum threshold for small-mine profitability, the company said.

The prospecting found strong gold near the surface. Assays confirmed a minable strike length of 150 metres.

The best results from the 5-metre-deep trenches included 21 metres at 3.51 grams gold per tonne. A high-grade interval was 1 metre at 40.29 grams gold. Compass said these results support its push for a small mine permit under Mali’s mining code, for which the Toronto-based company applied on Aug. 19.

It also seeks to renew its larger Sikasso property exploration permit, which spans 1,173 sq. km.

Phillips says he’s confident in the project timeline, expecting receipt of the mining permit early in the new year to coincide with plant readiness.

“We are close to pouring our first gold.”

Total transaction value as of Sept. 30 was $4.76 billion, down more than 50% compared to the $10.52 billion registered in the full year 2023, according to S&P’s latest report.

Steel producer H2GS AB’s (H2 Green Steel) $4.14 billion funding round in January led all private equity and venture capital deals in the metals and mining sector during that period.

The number of announced deals in the first three quarters totalled 59, on the year on track for the fewest deals in five years.

In the third quarter alone, total deal value plunged 80% year over year to $240 million from $1.22 billion, and the deal count dwindled to 15 from 37.

Antti Gronlund, managing director of UK-based private equity Appian Capital Advisory, said higher acquisition debt financing rates and reduced venture capital deployments have contributed to lower totals.

Transactions in 2023 may have benefited from large deals and non-sector-focused investors attracted by upbeat headlines focused on electric vehicles, which require significant amounts of critical minerals. Those headlines are now more subdued, affecting deal appetite, Gronlund explained.

Private equity investing is challenging because the sector is “working capital intensive,” added Kyle Mumford, partner at KPS Capital Partners LP.

“There are no small capital requests in a metals business. There’s only really big ones,” Mumford continued. “Unlike other businesses, in metals and mining, change in profitability and manufacturing to meet the demand that may be out there takes a long time and is really hard. It can mean a new equipment or a new mill or a new recycling capacity.

“Those are expensive and don’t often meet typical private equity return profiles.”

Still, opportunity exists for further investment in the coming years. Appian’s Gronlund noted that the mining industry is expected to require about $2.1 trillion by 2050 to support global net-zero goals, citing BloombergNEF estimates.

“A significant portion of that will need to come from private capital sources,” he added.

Total ore reserves at the are estimated at 4.8 million tonnes grading 53.8 grams per tonne of silver, containing 8.4 million oz. of the precious metal. This is part of a total estimated resource that comprises 38.3 million tonnes at 41.3 g/t for 51 million oz.

Wonawinta was previously developed as a shallow silver oxide project with four approved mine pits. Manuka took over the project in 2016 and, following a review period, began implementing a restart plan. The project currently has all mining approvals current and intact, and a process plant fully constructed.

The reserve estimate, says Manuka, gives the company a clear production pathway and the potential for revenues from gold and now silver following the restart of the Mt Boppy gold project located 150 km away from Wonawinta.

Manuka’s team has been infill drilling the current oxide resources on the Wonawinta mining lease while also testing the deeper mineralized sulphide ores (silver, lead and zinc). This was occurring whilst toll processing of the Mt Boppy gold ore is carried out at the Wonawinta plant.

Mt Boppy is the site of a historical mine that operated between 1901-1923, and at one time was one of the largest gold producers in Australia.

According to Dennis Karp, Manuka’s executive chairman, the process plant at Wonawinta has been kept in good working condition and has been on active care and maintenance since the processing of the gold bearing stockpiles hauled from Mt Boppy ceased in February 2024.

“It therefore stands ready to come back online at short notice,” he said, adding that the prospect of restarting Wonawinta following gold production from Mt Boppy provides “an excellent optionality on silver and the potential to take advantage of the very buoyant precious metals prices.”

Manuka is now reviewing its economic model for the Wonawinta mine development, which will include re-entering the two existing pits (Boundary and Manuka) plus the development of two new pits (Belah and Bimble). The company expects to announce the outcomes from this analysis during the current quarter.

Based on the current silver forward curve and an all-in sustaining cost of A$40.51/oz., the mine plan would deliver net operating cash flows of approximately A$100 million based on the ore reserve alone, Manuka estimates.

This Series B financing round was also supported by Andium’s existing investors Climate Investment, Intrepid Financial Partners and former Citadel chief information officer, Thomas Miglis.

Combined with the company’s $15 million Series A funding in 2021, this investment brings the total funding to over $40 million.

The new capital will help Andium accelerate its global expansion, including scaling operations across oil and gas basins in the US and the Middle East. It will also reduce technology and equipment costs, support ongoing research and development, and enhance the range of services Andium offers in industrial automation and emissions monitoring.

Andium’s solution combines AI-powered software with on-site sensors and cameras to provide a comprehensive, real-time solution for remote field monitoring. This enables accurate tracking of environmental, social and governance (ESG) metrics, detecting issues like methane leaks, fires and equipment malfunctions.

By providing instant insights, Andium helps companies ensure continuous asset performance and regulatory compliance. The technology has already proven effective in reducing greenhouse gas emissions by up to 65% per location while lowering field operational costs by up to 45% for major energy companies like BP and ConocoPhillips, the company says.

Andium’s real-time monitoring automation is also able to reduce windshield time by over 80%, addressing labor challenges, empowering workers, and improving efficiency across remote locations, it adds.

“This investment is a powerful endorsement of our platform, which will be pivotal as we enter our next stage of growth,” said Jory Schwach, founder and CEO at Andium.

“Our end-to-end operating system, which monitors and provides real-time, verifiable emissions data from remote locations, has already been proven to lower operational costs, cut emissions, and improve safety — helping energy, mining and waste companies meet their net-zero and zero-harm goals.”

Aramco Ventures’ $1.5 billion sustainability fund supports innovative technologies that reduce Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions. This investment aligns with Aramco’s goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050, the group said.

Bruce Niven, executive MD at Aramco Ventures, commented: “We are delighted to be partnering with Andium. This technology platform has the potential to reduce fugitive emissions as well as provide operational benefits in a variety of applications. It is an elegant and cost-effective solution.”

The company reported that in recent discussions, the bank confirmed its intention to approve a $295 million debt facility, which would cover 60% of the project’s projected costs.

Dasa is the highest-grade uranium deposit in Africa, surpassed only by grades found in Canada’s Athabasca Basin, and is scheduled to achieve commercial production in early 2026.

“The approval timelines outlined by the bank support yellowcake deliveries in 2026 as anticipated in the four off-take agreements we have in place with American and European nuclear power utilities,” said President and CEO of Global Atomic, Stephen G. Roman.

“To help fund the continuing development of Dasa until the bank funds are available, earlier this month we raised C$40 million ($29 million) in an oversubscribed public offering,”

Global Atomic shares traded at C$1.15 apiece on Tuesday morning in Toronto, valuing the company at C$304 million ($218 million). 

In addition to the development bank, Global Atomic is in discussions with parties regarding potential joint venture investment in the Dasa Project and other financing solutions.

Processing plant

According to Global Atomic, earthworks and civil engineering are progressing in preparation for the installation of plant equipment, components of which are now arriving at the site. More than 1,200 metres of mine development finished at Dasa.

The main fresh air raise is complete, and the return air raise is underway.  Once the fans have been installed, the expansion to the underground ventilation system will allow mining activity to advance beyond the first-level development.

Construction of a 400-person facility is expected to be completed in early Q1 2025.

Earlier this month, the company said 10,000 tonnes of development ore had been brought to the surface.

Niger coup

A military coup in July last year led the US to suspend government funding for Dasa. Still, the company managed to raise C$15 million ($11 million) in January and C$20 million ($14 million) in July by selling stock.

The Nigerien government has pledged its full support for the project, but other uranium developers in Niger faced major setbacks this past summer.

In June, the government withdrew a mining permit for Orano’s Imourare project, and in July, it revoked the mining licence for GoviEx Uranium’s (TSXV: GXU) Madaouela project.

According to the feasibility study, Dasa hosts 73 million lb. in probable reserves of uranium oxide in 8 million tonnes, grading 4,113 parts per million uranium oxide. Global Atomic has signed offtake agreements for 1.3 million lb. of uranium a year.

The financing from the federal agency could be for a 15-year term, the Vancouver-based company said on Monday. No interest rate was given. It follows a $22.8 million streaming loan in two tranches this year from Phoenix-based Monetary Metals & Co. and a $67 million funding deal with Sprott Private Resource Streaming and Royalty in May 2023.

The project is fully funded to start concentrate production by March or April using stockpiles, then ramp up mill throughput to 1,800 tonnes a day in about six months, Bunker Hill executive chairman Richard Williams told The Northern Miner by phone on Tuesday.

The new potential loan could help the mine expand to 2,500 tonnes a day. Depending on engineering studies due next year, the work may include a new 10,000-foot ramp, moving the crusher and installing underground conveyors, Williams said.

“We put a really great team on the ground in Idaho and the American government has paid attention,” he said. “Five years ago this site was rotting in a Superfund (cleanup program), didn’t have a processing facility and had no hope.”

Consolidation?

The expansion may encourage local M&A because it will dwarf nearby output by Hecla Mining (NYSE: HL) and Americas Gold and Silver (TSX: USA; NYSE USAS), Williams said.

“Why aren’t we doing all this together?” he said. “It’s not an accident we’re taking all these steps.”

Bunker Hill received a letter of intent from the bank which is to conduct due diligence on the project. The developer says it will submit a formal loan application to the bank by year’s end.

The first stage of the restart, due to begin by June, carries a $54.8 million capital cost, according to a 2022 prefeasibility study. However, the company said this year it’s choosing a more expensive pressure filtration system for tailings, over the disk filter system in the study, for better environmental management and easier expansion.

Bunker Hill plans an updated resource in next year’s first quarter followed by more drilling as the company preps the initial 1,800-tonne-per-day operation. Expansion plan details are to be published next year and the project might eventually tap the $150 million loan in late 2025 or 2026, Williams said.

Deeper veins

The expansion would increase mining and processing of the Quill-Newgard ore zones, the company said. It would later access the deeper, higher-grade silver-bearing galena veins that were extracted from the mine’s lower levels when Gulf Resources closed it in 1981, Bunker said.

Higher costs for environmental compliance and declining metal prices forced the shutdown, it said. Little production occurred under a new owner from 1988 to 1991, which also faced low metal prices.

“This the first positive statement of investment by the US government into Silver Valley mining since the mine shut,” Williams said. “That’s huge for Hecla, that’s huge for Americas Gold and Silver. That’s huge for us.”

It’s also good for New York-based Electrum Group, a finance company that owns a majority of the nearby Sunshine mine that’s been on care and maintenance for several years, Williams noted. From 1904 to 2001 the mine produced 364 million oz. silver as one the country’s largest silver operations.

Shares in Bunker Hill traded at C$0.16 apiece on Tuesday, valuing the company at C$52.4 million. They’ve traded in a 52-week range of C$0.09 to C$0.19.

Coeur d’Alene

Bunker Hill mine, in Idaho’s historical Coeur d’Alene mining district, started in 1887 and produced 35 million tons of mineralization grading 8.76% lead, 3.67% zinc and 5.49 oz. per ton (188.2 grams per tonne) silver. The mine remained in care and maintenance until 2020 when Placer Mining took over the project, and sold it to Bunker Hill in 2022.

The new project has a five-year life, an after-tax net present value of $52 million at an 8% discount rate and an internal rate of return of 36%, according to the 2022 prefeasibility study.

The site holds 3.2 million probable tonnes grading 1.12 grams silver per tonne, 2.59% lead and 5.81% zinc for 3.6 million oz. silver, 166 million lb. lead and 372.1 million lb. zinc, according to a 2022 resource.

”We are thrilled to announce this first step in a potential partnership with the Export Import Bank to rapidly expand Bunker Hill’s contribution to US domestic production of critical zinc and silver,” Bunker president and CEO Sam Ash said in a release.

“In the face of competition from China, Bunker Hill is proud to play its part in strengthening the US metals supply chain and creating new US mining jobs within the disadvantaged Shoshone County of northern Idaho.”

(With files by Henry Lazenby)

Critical Metals acquired a controlling stake in Tanbreez in June, hailing it as a potential “game-changing” mine project for North America’s rare earths supply chain. By total resource count, it is ranked the largest rare earth deposit in the world at 28.2 million tonnes of total rare earth oxides (TREO) contained within 4.7 billion tonnes of material.

Drilling kicked off last month, consisting of 14 holes with a total cumulative length of up to 2,200 metres. The objective of the drill program was to upgrade the Tanbreez resource to US SEC standards and enhance the potential mine throughput. Critical Metals’ team is currently actively cutting and preparing the drill core for testing.

In Tuesday’s update, the company said that its team examined three areas containing high-grade rare earth material during the past field season. Two of the areas were not initially envisioned for mining, namely Horizon Zero, where limited testing returned about 5% zirconium dioxide (ZrO2), and EALS, located above the unit designated for mining. The third area had high-grade, coarse-grained pegmatites next to the access road of the Tanbreez project’s proposed tailings site.

With the new information, Critical Metals said it will now mine the run-of-the-mill ore at 1.7-1.9% ZrO2, producing a concentrate at 10% ZrO2, 2.5% REO (30% heavy REO), 1.0% Nb2O5, and 0.15% Ta2O5 and HfO2 between late spring to mid-autumn, or approximately eight months of the year. During the winter months, it will enhance the cost-effectiveness of its development strategy by reducing labor and electricity usage while maintaining the same level of rare earth concentrate production.

For this strategy, the company said it has begun discussions with Nukissiorfiit, the Greenland government’s electric company, to secure a reliable and sustainable power source to support the production of up to 3 tonnes of rare earth materials annually.

Shares in Critical Metals gained 3.5% on the NASDAQ by midday trading to $6.45 apiece, with a market capitalization of $526.45 million. The company is a unit of European Lithium (ASX: EUR).

The study, published just a day after the United Nations warned the world is falling “miles short” of what’s needed to curb devastating global warming, indicates that an investment of $78 trillion will be needed to change this course and achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.

Under the 2015 Paris Agreement, nations committed to limiting global warming to “well below” two degrees Celsius above the average temperatures recorded between 1850 and 1900, aiming for a target of 1.5 degrees Celsius if feasible. Efforts to date have not succeeded in meeting this challenge, the annual “Energy Transition Outlook” from Wood Mackenzie shows.

Unlike the UN pessimistic outlook, the Scottish consultancy believes that while major obstacles hinder short-term targets, particularly for 2030, a 2050 net-zero goal remains feasible. Immediate and coordinated global action would be necessary, WoodMac warns.

Threats to climate progress

A series of global crises, including the Russia-Ukraine conflict, escalating Middle East violence, rising populism in Europe and global trade tensions with China, are undermining the pace of the energy transition, Wood Mackenzie’s vice president head of scenarios and technologies, Prakash Sharma, said. 

He explains that without urgent policy changes and enhanced investment, a warming trajectory of 2.5˚C to 3˚C could become inevitable.

“We are under no illusion as to how challenging the net zero transition will be, given the fact that fossil fuels are widely available, cost-competitive and deeply embedded in today’s complex energy system,” Sharma added. “A price on carbon maybe the most effective way to drive emissions reduction but it’s hard to see it coming together in a polarized environment.”

Key investment are needed across several critical areas, according to WoodMac. As renewable energy sources grow, substantial upgrades to power supply and grid infrastructure are essential to meet the growing demand. Additionally, the need for critical minerals, such as lithium, nickel and cobalt, is projected to increase five- to ten-fold by 2050, as demand for batteries and other technologies essential for the energy transition continues to grow. 

WoodMac sees the need to back the development of emerging technologies, including carbon capture, low-carbon hydrogen, and nuclear power, are vital for facilitating the shift towards cleaner energy sources.

Securing this funding won’t be easy, the consultants noted. “Doubling annual investments to $3.5 trillion by 2050 will be necessary in our net zero scenario,” Sharma said, adding that it will require unprecedented policy coordination globally.

The role of electrification

The electrification of energy systems will play a pivotal role in decarbonization. Transitioning from fossil fuels to electric power, Wood Mackenzie forecasts that electricity’s share of global energy demand will increase from 23% to 35% by 2050 in a base case, and could reach as high as 55% in a net-zero scenario.

Wood Mackenzie’s analysis reveals that global energy demand is set to rise by 14% by 2050. Emerging economies are projected to see even steeper growth at 45%, driven by rising populations and economic advancement. 

In parallel, data centres, electric vehicles, and AI are emerging as new drivers of electricity consumption, with AI-related energy use alone expected to increase from 500 TWh in 2023 to up to 4,500 TWh by 2050.

Including renewable energy source to meet electrifications demand could help reduce emissions, the report says.

According to Wood Mackenzie, solar and wind currently account for 17% of the global power supply, and renewables capacity is expected to double by 2030 in its base case. Yet, this increase still falls short of the COP28 commitment made in 2023 to triple renewables by 2030.

Transition or coexistence?

While nuclear energy holds promise for providing consistent, zero-carbon electricity, its high cost and frequent project delays pose significant challenges. WoodMac says that nuclear power could play a more significant role as it has attracted interest, particularly from tech companies looking to power data centres sustainably.

While fossil fuels is expected to plateau in the 2040s before beginning a gradual decline, Wood Mackenzie predicts that the high capital costs of low-carbon technologies coupled with strong demand for energy, will require the continued use of oil and gas in the near term.

Wood Mackenzie says to meet climate targets there will be necessary that nations gathered at the COP29 meeting in Azerbaijan next month finalize Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. This section focuses on carbon markets and aims to establish a new climate finance goal to replace the previous annual target of $100 billion, which experts consider insufficient.

The consultancy’s report echoes concerns included in a UN Environment Programme (UNEP) study released last week. The document says the next decade is crucial in the battle against climate change, adding that failing to act now will jeopardize any chance of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. According to the UN body, the current rate of climate action could lead to a catastrophic increase of 3.1 degrees Celsius this century. 

“Either leaders bridge the emissions gap, or we plunge headlong into climate disaster, with the poorest and most vulnerable suffering the most,” Secretary General Antonio Guterres warned.

Even if all existing commitments to reduce emissions are fulfilled, global temperatures would still rise by 2.6 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, experts agree.

The rather hopefully named Beijing “bazooka” was expected to be followed up by another stimulus blitz the following week, this time focused more on fiscal policy and infrastructure investment, but the latter turned out to be a damp squib, with prices down 9% since then. 

Next week could be another make or break moment for the copper price in a highly anticipated meeting of the Standing Committee of China’s National People’s Congress, the country’s highest lawmaking body, scheduled for 4–8 November. 

Copper markets will be hoping for more detail of the scale and nature of Beijing’s stimulus measures, but in a note the copper service of Benchmark Mineral Intelligence points out that the announcement did not mention debt or fiscal policy on the agenda, so it remains to be seen how forthcoming policymakers are with details: 

“If the meeting fails to shine further light on the scale of fiscal stimulus, we expect copper prices to come under renewed pressure. We note that copper prices have trended significantly above their implied relationship with the USD index since the announcement of China’s stimulus ‘blitz’ in late September. 

“If Chinese authorities follow through on the market’s expectations, we could see a permanent step-change in this relationship (just like we did post-COVID). Conversely, if the market loses faith in China’s stimulus efforts and deems them inadequate or superficial, our regression analysis suggests that copper stands to drop by close to $1,000 per tonne.”

Centamin noted that the necessary majority of its shareholders, equivalent to more than 75% of the voting rights, backed the deal at a court and general meeting held on Monday.

The deal would make the South African gold miner the world’s fourth largest producer of the precious metal as it hands it the key to the Sukari mine in Egypt.

Sukari is the country’s largest and first modern gold operation, as well as one of the world’s largest producing mines.

The addition of the Sukari mine to its portfolio will increase AngloGold’s annual production by around 450,000 ounces, bringing its total output to 3.1 million ounces. 

Since production began in 2009, Sukari has produced more than 5.9 million ounces of gold, and has a projected mine life of 14 years.

The acquisition of Centamin has already received clearance from Egypt’s competition authorities.

There is still one obstacle to overcome, AngloGold said, which is the approval of the scheme by the Jersey Court, withe the hearing scheduled for November 20.

Once the deal goes through, AngloGold shareholders will hold about 83.6% of the combined entity, while Centamin investors will own roughly 16.4% of the enlarged share capital.

The acquisition is the latest in a flurry of gold deals fuelled by record-breaking prices for the precious metal. It is also the latest blow to the London stock market, which has seen an exodus of companies over the past few years. The exchange has faced challenges since Randgold’s delisting after its merger with Barrick Gold in 2018, and the massive departure of Russian gold miners following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

The Vancouver-based junior said Monday that hole AP-24-313 hit 6.1 metres grading 8.24 grams gold per tonne from 388.5 metres depth. This extends the zone called the High Grade Panel (HGP) by 115 metres at depth. Another drill hole AP-24-314, cut 16 metres grading 16.7 grams gold from 182 metres deep. It detected a new mineralized zone between the HGP and the Parallel Panel zone.

Heliostar has drilled 1,995 metres of its planned first-phase 2,600 metres, with a second program set to follow early next year. Success here will factor into an updated feasibility study due by the end of 2025.

The company has C$9.5 million in cash, boosted by recent financings to support its drilling and development plans.

It says it will continue drilling to find the new zone’s limits and to see if it connects to the broader Parallel Panel.

Heliostar reworked the Ana Paula project from an open-pit to an underground mine in 2023 to improve economics, targeting the HGP. With over $100 million invested in infrastructure, including a 53-man camp, surface rights, a portal, and a 412-metre decline, the first phase of production aims for 50,000 oz. gold yearly, doubling to 100,000 oz. in a subsequent development.

The 2023 feasibility study reported an after-tax net present value (5% discount) of $233 million and an internal rate of return of 34%, based on a gold price assumption of $1,400 per ounce.

Meaningful growth

3L Capital director of capital markets Kim MacIntyre said the results point to meaningful resource growth, not just incremental gains for Heliostar. “The potential for new zones boosts both the mine plan and future valuation,” McIntyre wrote in a note to clients.

The analyst suggested the new gold zone could add mineable ounces if future drilling confirms continuity. “With these results, Heliostar gains the flexibility to enhance the mine plan and extend Ana Paula’s lifespan, setting it up for long-term success,” MacIntyre said.

Over the past few months, Heliostar shifted its drill orientation from east-west to north-south. According to CEO Charles Funk, this revealed more high-grade mineralization. “We changed the drill direction by 90 degrees, and it paid off,” Funk said in a news release. “With each hole, Ana Paula keeps showing more high-grade gold.”

MacIntyre notes that the company’s share price of C$0.65 reflects only 0.32x its net asset value (NAV). According to her calculations, if Heliostar reaches the average 0.64x P/NAV of its peers, the stock could double. 3L Capital’s analysis places Heliostar’s base NAV at C$750 million, or C$2.03 per share.

Acquisition update

Meanwhile, Heliostar has secured Mexican regulatory clearance for its C$5 million buy of Argonaut Gold’s former Mexican assets from Florida Canyon Gold. The company expects the deal to close early next month. The acquisition adds the San Agustin and La Colorada mines to its portfolio. They will provide cash flow to fund further development at the Ana Paula project.

The San Agustin mine, an open-pit heap leach operation produced 7,568 oz. of gold and 39,319 oz. of silver in the first quarter this year, and the La Colorada mine, currently on care and maintenance, yielded 3,922 oz. of gold and 6,848 oz. of silver in the same period from residual leaching.

Heliostar shares were down 1.5% at C$0.63 apiece in afternoon trading Monday, having touched C$0.17 and C$0.74 over the past year. It has a market capitalization of C$145.2 million.

Cadia becomes Newmont’s first site globally to receive these awards after successfully meeting more than 30 criteria needed in critical areas including environment, community, human rights and governance, amongst others.

Cadia is currently host to Australia’s largest underground mine, and now becomes the third copper mine in the country to receive The Copper Mark. It is also the only operating molybdenum mine in Australia, thus becoming the first to achieve The Molybdenum Mark.

The Copper Mark represents the leading assurance framework to promote responsible, sustainable and ethical practices across the copper, molybdenum, nickel and zinc value chains.

“Meeting growing global demand for copper brings an obligation to sustainability and responsible mining which prioritizes environmental stewardship, social responsibility and economic development for the communities in which we operate,” commented Newmont’s chief safety and sustainability officer Suzy Retallack.

In achieving The Copper Mark, she said the company’s global customers can now choose to source copper concentrate from an independently evaluated mine that “meets the highest standards in environmental, social and governance practices, responding to the increasing demand for sustainable supply chains.”

With this, about 35% of Australia’s copper is produced at sites that have obtained The Copper Mark, noted Michèle Brülhart, The Copper Mark’s executive director.

The Cadia operation is located approximately 25 km south-southwest of Orange in New South Wales and 250 km west of Sydney. It comprises the Cadia East underground mine, one of the largest gold and copper deposits in the world, and the Ridgeway underground mine, which is currently in care and maintenance.

In 2020, Cadia entered into a 15-year renewable power purchase agreement (PPA) with Tilt Renewables Limited to buy 55% of the wind farm’s output. Now fully operational, Rye Park is supplying approximately half of Cadia’s power needs.

“Cadia’s commitment to the community supported an investment of almost A$6 million in the 18 months to December 2023 to support community projects, education and infrastructure,” Retallack said.

Using data from 2022, the study estimates that the US generated 13,767 kg of gold that year worth around £882.8 million from its e-waste. The gold was recycled from a world-leading 4.1 billion kg of wastes, owing to the nation’s consumerist culture.

In second place is China, which recycled fewer than half of the gold than its main rival at 6,630 kg worth £425.1 million. In 2022, the world’s top consumer recycled 1.9 billion kg of documented e-waste, contributed by its role as a global e-waste hub since the 1970s.

Germany ranks third in estimated gold value from recycled e-waste, with 3,249 kg of gold worth approximately £208.4 million. The country processed 956.6 million kg of waste in 2022, a result of strict EU policies that require responsible collection and recycling.

Rounding out the top five are two other G7 nations — France and Japan — with 2,924 kg (£187.5 million) and 2,084 kg (£133.6 million) respectively.

The country that recycled the least amount of gold in 2022 was Azerbaijan, with just 10,000 kg. This could be for a range of reasons, such as a limited e-waste management infrastructure or the lack of regulations, the study says.

On a per-capita basis, Norway led the way with 19.42 kg of documented and recycled waste from electronic goods in 2022, which could generate an estimated 0.066 gram of gold worth £4.23.

For the full list of the world’s top gold recyclers from e-waste, click here.

Nations Royalty Corp. (CVE: NRC) is 77% Indigenous owned and its unique approach has attracted the backing renowned mining entrepreneur Frank Guistra.

The company enables Indigenous groups to keep ownership of royalty assets while receiving early economic benefits from mining projects on their land.

Royalties are not negotiated directly with mining companies, but through partnership with First Nations and Indigenous groups that have existing royalties. 

Nations Royalty chief investment officer Derrick Pattenden says the sharing of royalties between Indigenous groups has benefits beyond increased diversification.

Watch the full interview with MINING.com’s Devan Murugan:

The facility will be located in Sohar, a port city about 200 km north of the capital, Muscat. It will have the capacity to process 18 million tonnes of low-grade iron ore a year starting in 2027. The aim is to produce 12.6 million tonnes of high-grade concentrate annually.

Vale will invest $227 million to connect the plant to its pelletizing facilities in the region. Jinnan will invest about $400 million to build and operate the plant, which it will own.

“This project brings together Brazil’s capacity to produce high-quality iron ore and Oman’s prime location and infrastructure to enhance integration between the two countries, while also reinforcing our partnership with China through Jinnan,” Vale’s new CEO Gustavo Pimenta said in a release.

The iron ore is to be transformed into a higher-quality concentrate for the production of premium pellets and, in the future, briquettes, with a reduced environmental impact.

This marks Jinnan’s first project in Oman, supporting the country’s industrial ambitions. The company is known for its leading edge in magnetic separation technology.

Vale intends to replicate this investment model across its mega hubs. The miner has announced three mega hubs in the Middle East (Oman, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates) and has signed agreements to develop similar projects in Brazil and the United States.

Shares in Vale gained 1.7% to $62.76 apiece by mid-Monday afternoon in New York, valuing the company at $284.8 billion.

The Caribou mill complex includes a 3,000-t/d mineral processing facility with a primary grinding circuit, one semi-autogenous grinding (SAG) mill and one ball mill. There are two regrinding circuits with three ISA mills and one pall mill.

A differential sulphide flotation plant and regent system, laboratories, a tailings management facility, an underground mine, connection to the hydro grid, and a water supply for operations are included.

Canadian Copper has agreed to pay approximately C$6.2 million for the fully permitted complex, consisting of a C$225,000 deposit, half of which is refundable against the purchase price. The transaction is scheduled to close next July.

Simon Quick, CEO of Canadian Copper, hailed the agreement, stating that “the proposed transaction creates important synergies for Canadian Copper.”

“By integrating our large Murray Brook deposit with an already permitted and constructed Caribou complex that operated as recently as August 2022, we aim to significantly reduce the schedule, capital cost, and permitting time required to produce copper, zinc and lead concentrate from Murray Brook,” he said.

The company has already hired consultants to design, engineer and develop the mining and milling processes for the Murray Brook deposit. A preliminary economic assessment is due in the first half of 2025. Modifications to the water and tailings facilities are also under consideration.

The Murray Brook deposit contains measured and indicated sulphide resources of 21.1 million tonnes grading 0.45% copper, 0.91% lead and 2.49% zinc. There is also a measured and indicated oxide resource of 2 million tonnes at 1.03% copper, 0.74% lead and 2.22% zinc.

Resources in the inferred category comprise 110,000 tonnes of sulphides grading 0.41% copper, 0.68% lead and 1.82% zinc.

The move sets a precedent for future private-sector missions beyond Earth’s orbit as it gives AstroForge both approval for their upcoming mission, Odin, and the green light to establish communication networks with their ground partners

The Odin mission, to be launched in January 2025, is part of the firm’s ambitious plan to harvest precious metals from asteroids, offering an alternative to Earth’s dwindling critical resources.

This is not the first launch for the company. In April 2023, AstroForge launched a small cubesat called Brokkr-1 on a SpaceX Transporter flight, but was unable to transmit the necessary commands to demonstrate its space-based minerals and metals refining technology. 

The company also ran into issues when preparing a second mission, originally called Brokkr-2 and later renamed Odin, which is now ready to be launched.

A third attempt is planned for late 2025, when the company will launch Vestri. The craft  is about twice the size of Odin and is designed to return to the targeted metallic asteroid and dock with it by using magnets, as it is expected the asteroid will be rich in iron.

If successful, AstroForge plans to send a fourth mission, which will focus on extracting and refining asteroids’ metals before returning to Earth.

The Huntington Beach, California-based company is the most advanced private asteroid miner to date. Two previous companies, Planetary Resources and Deep Space Industries emerged about a decade ago, but neither company arrived on any asteroids and were eventually acquired and rerouted to other endeavours.

This state-of-the-art refinery will be associated with the new e-waste recycling plant that Hindalco is building in Pakhajan, Gujarat, for which Metso has already been awarded a contract for three Kaldo furnaces, an anode furnace and an anode casting shop, gas cleaning and supporting equipment. 

For the precious metals refinery, the Metso scope of delivery consists of a Kaldo furnace with off-gas handling and silver refining equipment. The Finnish firm will also deliver basic engineering for the precious metals refinery. The order value was not disclosed.

In a press release on Monday, Hindalco stated that commissioning of the plant is expected to take place within two years.

“We are excited to have been trusted with yet another important order from Hindalco Industries. The new plant will allow Hindalco Industries to increase their production of precious metals,” Lauri Närhi, director of sales, smelting, at Metso.

“Our precious metals refining technology ensures high recovery, low operating costs and high-quality products, all achieved within a short processing time. The process is highly automated, offering a safe working environment and zero toxic gas emissions.”

As part of the deal, Aura will obtain a 100% interest in Bluestone’s Cerro Blanco gold project in southeast Guatemala as well as the adjacent Mita geothermal project.

The Cerro Blanco project has faced challenges from the Guatemalan government, which disputed the January permit amendment allowing its transition to an open-pit mining operation.

Bluestone is 27%-owned by the Lundin family trust and had initially planned the $411 million gold project near the border with El Salvador.

Cerro Blanco aims to yield 2.7 million oz. of gold over 14 years, based on a 2022 feasibility study. It hosts measured and indicated resources of 63.5 million tonnes at 1.5 grams gold and 6.6 grams silver per tonne for 3 million oz. and 13.5 million oz. of the metals, respectively.

Aura stated that upon closing the transaction, it intends to evaluate alternatives for the potential future development of Cerro Blanco.

“Cerro Blanco stands as a world-class deposit that has encountered both social and institutional hurdles. We are confident that, over the next few years, by integrating it with Aura’s 360 vision, we can refine our strategic approach to make Cerro Blanco another flagship project,” said Rodrigo Barbosa, CEO of Aura.

Cerro Blanco is located approximately 230 km from the Minosa operating mine in Honduras, where Aura produced 65,927 ounces of gold in 2023. In addition, Aura has operating mines in Mexico and Brazil.

Over the last 12 months, Aura achieved production of 270,000 gold equivalent ounces (GEOs). With the acquisition of Bluestone, Aura expects its growth pipeline to expand beyond 450,000 GEOs in the coming years.

Shares of Aura Minerals rose 2.35% following the news, bringing the company’s market capitalization to $910 million. Bluestone’s shares fell 1.5% by 12:00 p.m. EDT, for a market capitalization of $37.6 million.

The acquisition, said Minera Alamos, would transform the company into a diversified North American gold producer beyond its existing Mexican operations led by the Santana gold mine in Sonora. The addition of Copperstone could add approximately 40,000 oz. of annual gold production, based on the project’s preliminary economic assessment (PEA) from last year.

The economics are based on a total resource estimate of 1.2 million tonnes grading 7.74 grams per tonne gold (300,000 contained oz.) in the measured and indicated category and 970,000 tonnes grading 6.30 g/t gold (197,000 contained oz.) in the inferred category.

The 2023 PEA represents a restart plan for the past-producing mine at Copperstone that produced a reported 514,000 oz. of gold between 1987 and 1993 from open pit mining and later had a brief period of underground mining. Since all facilities envisioned in the PEA are located in “brownfields” locations, the project’s water and surface rights have in place for years, and the mine is fully permitted for restart.

The PEA gave Copperstone an after-tax net present value of $89.3 million (using a 5% discount rate and $2,000 gold price), an internal rate of return of 71.1% and a payback period of 1.3 years. The initial mine life is estimated at 5.7 years, and initial capital at $36.3 million.

The reduced upfront capital is a result of the existing site infrastructure that had been installed from previous mining activities at Copperstone. According to Minera Alamos, a significant portion of the on-site infrastructure is in good repair and is available for the restart of site operations.

“The Copperstone project is an ideal addition to our portfolio of low-capex, late-stage development projects. The site has significant infrastructure and permits in place which will allow our technical group to quickly advance the project into production,” stated Darren Koningen, CEO of Mineral Alamos.

Acquisition terms

To acquire Sabre, Minera Alamos will issue approximately 76.5 million common shares to Sabre shareholders, representing a share exchange ratio of 0.693 to 1. Sabre will also settle certain debts with creditors by issuing shares at a 15% discount.

Upon completion of these transactions, existing Minera Alamos and Sabre shareholders will own 86% and 14% of the combined company, respectively.

Shares in Sabre Gold Mines nearly doubled following the announcement, up from C$0.12 at Friday’s market close to a 52-week high of C$0.23 on Monday morning. The gold junior has a market capitalization of C$17.6 million.

Minera Alamos’ shares fell 2.6% to C$0.38 apiece by 11:50 a.m. in Toronto, for a market capitalization of C$174.8 million.

Bolstered portfolio

Minera Alamos estimates that the addition of Sabre’s Copperstone project will increase its total gold resource inventory by 35% to almost 1.9 million oz., including a 60% increase in estimated measured and indicated resources. The acquisition cost is estimated at only $43/oz.

The acquisition adds another potential low-capex mine on top of the company’s Santana project, which entered production in 2021 and is currently going through the start-up of operations at the new Nicho Main deposit. Its Cerro de Oro oxide gold project in northern Zacatecas also has considerable past drilling, and the proposed mining project is currently being guided through the permitting process. The company also owns the La Fortuna open pit gold project in Durango, which has its main federal permits in place.

Minera Alamos intends to build out its Mexican assets in phases, with an eye on becoming a 150,000 oz./year gold producer. The addition of Copperstone, the company says, provides visibility to a further visibility to that goal.

The new project is expected to have a relatively rapid construction schedule that is currently anticipated at approximately 12 months. Minera Alamos said it is already in the process of optimizing new engineering design/plans for the project construction and is expanding its technical group to manage the increased activities.

The fatal incident occurred at the SimFer port site of the project on Saturday and the company said is collaborating with its partners and relevant authorities to conduct a comprehensive investigation.

Chief executive Jakob Stausholm extended his condolences to the family, friends, colleagues and communities affected by the tragedy. 

This is Rio Tinto’s fifth fatality in 2024. Four employees died in January when a charter flight to the Diavik diamond mine in northern Canada crashed. Before this accident, Rio had five consecutive years without fatalities at its managed operations.

The world’s second largest miner obtained in July all necessary regulatory approvals to resume construction at its vast Simandou iron ore asset, the world’s biggest mining project.

The mine, which Rio is co-developing with a Chinese consortium, is set to be the world’s largest and highest grade new iron ore mine, adding around 5% to global seaborne supply when it comes on line. 

First production from Simandou is scheduled for next year. The mine will contribute an annual supply of nearly 120 million tonnes of high-quality iron ore once it reaches full capacity.

This permit authorizes Atlas to assemble and operate its lithium processing plant, process mined ore from one of its deposits at the facility, and sell the lithium concentrate produced, Atlas said on Monday. Once operational, annual production at Neves is projected to reach 300,000 tonnes.

Shares of Atlas Lithium jumped 34% to $11.05 apiece in New York by early afternoon, bringing the company’s market capitalization to $168.5 million.

“Atlas Lithium’s permit reflects 14 months of our team’s meticulous work throughout the licensing process and showcases our unwavering commitment to developing an environmentally responsible and sustainable operation in Brazil’s Lithium Valley,” Atlas CEO Marc Fogassa said in a release.

The plan is to install a modular plant with components manufactured in South Africa. The dense media separation unit is designed to have a reduced height and physical footprint compared to others in the industry, Atlas said.

The company is aiming to be environmentally sustainable and minimize water usage with recycling. The project is to employ dry stacked tailings without using dams, it added.

Seven clusters

Atlas’ lithium project encompasses 85 mineral rights covering about 468 sq. km. It includes seven main clusters of prospective mineralization: Neves, Coronel Murta, Eastern Properties, Itinga, Salinas, Santa Clara and Tesouras.

This month, the company said exploration crews at Salinas, 100 km north of Neves, discovered additional spodumene-rich pegmatites. The team is now pursuing further geological and geophysical studies before launching a drilling campaign.

In May 2023, Atlas announced what is considered the largest lithium royalty deal in Brazil by selling a 3% gross overriding revenue royalty on the Neves project to Canada’s Lithium Royalty (TSX: LIRC) for an upfront cash consideration of $20 million.

In March this year, Japan’s Mitsui & Co. paid $30 million to acquire a 12% stake in the company.

The total stock market valuation of the world’s biggest mining companies is up a fairly modest 8% year to end-September and despite the good run is still $240 billion below the peak hit in the second quarter of 2022. And judging by the performance of the top tier in the final quarter (BHP down 8% QTD, Rio Tinto –5%, Vale –3%, Glencore –5%, Newmont –9%, Zijin –5%, Freeport –7%) the gap won’t be closing anytime soon.

In contrast, Nvidia — the maker of chips highly prized for artificial intelligence (AI) computing — is up nearly 200% so far this year (and 2,600% over five). When comparing the graphics card maker’s stock valuation to the mining industry’s collective worth, it’s difficult not to wonder if something is not awry with how global investors appraise the industrial economy.  

Should Nvidia (or Microsoft or Apple for that matter) be worth more than twice the top 50 miners? Outside the top 50 the average market cap quickly shrinks to the low teens so Nvidia is in fact worth more than the entire listed mining industry. 

Even when extending the top 50 into metals and energy –  steel, aluminium and electricity companies often operate their own mines – Nvidia can still throw shade. BHP does not even crack the top 100 most valuable companies in the world and is worth less than Booking.com, and Temu and Zara’s owners, none of which can exactly be called the building blocks of the global economy. 

Nvidia briefly surpassed Apple on Friday to become the world’s most valuable company. Its market capitalization is approximately $3.5 trillion, just below Apple’s, which remains the highest-valued firm globally.

The project, previously jointly and equally owned by the two companies, is expected to help Gold Fields balance its aging assets in Ghana and Peru, adding 300,000 ounces per year at an all-in sustaining cost (AISC) of under $800 per ounce, from early 2027.

The deal, announced in August, drew some criticism as Gold Fields paid a 55% premium for the second batch of Osisko shares. Chief executive Mike Fraser assured the market on Monday that Gold Fields remained in a strong financial position following the acquisition, maintaining its investment-grade credit rating.

Analysts have pointed that Gold Fields paid a premium for Osisko mainly to acquire a high-quality project and prevent being outbid for a growth asset in a strongly supportive gold market. Several banks and agencies forecast that prices for the precious metal will surpass $2,800/ounce this year and reach $3,000/ounce by 2025.

Gold Fields’ top executive said the company’s financial position was anticipated to strengthen further, thanks to cash flow growth projected for the remainder of the year and into 2025, driven by increased production volumes at various operations.

“Deposits of the scale and quality of Windfall with highly prospective exploration camps are rare, particularly in a world-class jurisdiction like Québec,” Fraser said. “This transaction therefore marks an important step in our journey to continue improving the quality of our portfolio.”

Growth “anchor”

Gold Fields plans to bring the Windfall mine into production by the end of 2026 or early 2027. The project, along with the recently commissioned Salares Norte project in Chile, is central to the company’s growth strategy.

“Windfall will be a real anchor for Gold Fields’ portfolio,” Fraser told our sister publication The Northern Miner in September. “It’s a place we’ve long looked at to grow our footprint.”

The asset holds an estimated 3.2 million ounces gold in 12 million tonnes at 8.1 grams gold per tonne in proven and probable reserves. Further exploration could extend the project’s lifespan, adding more long-term value, the company says.

Founded in 1887 by Cecil John Rhodes, Gold Fields has reshaped itself throughout the years. It sold all but one of its South African assets a decade ago, refocusing on newer, more profitable deposits in Ghana, Australia, and the Americas.

The gold producer projects output this year to total 2.2 million to 2.3 million ounces of the precious metal, revised down from an original estimate of 2.3 million to 2.4 million ounces to account for the delays in the Salares Norte ramp up.

Electra is currently looking to build a low-carbon hydrometallurgical cobalt refining complex in Temiskaming Shores, Ontario. Once complete, it would be the first facility of its kind in North America. The project is expected to cost around $250 million.

After a series of investments and government fundings, the required project funding was $60 million as of early September.

Once fully commissioned, Electra’s facility could produce up to 6,500 tonnes of cobalt per year, which it estimates could support the production of over 1 million electric vehicles annually. South Korea’s LG Energy Solution has announced it intends to purchase up to 80% of capacity over the first five years of operation.

“Given our objective of resuming construction shortly upon completing the project financing package, part of our preparations for the final phase of construction of North America’s only cobalt sulfate refinery is initiating some early works before winter sets in,” stated Electra CEO Trent Mell in a news release.

“Reducing heavy reliance on China in the EV materials supply chain continues to be a focus for North American policymakers,” Mell continued. “Electra’s Refinery is expected to be the first of its kind in North America, with the potential, when operating at full utilization, to produce enough cobalt sulfate for one million electric vehicles each year.”

The financing comprises $4 million in secured convertible notes and $1 million of Electra’s common shares priced at $0.543 per share. The notes can be converted into Electra shares at $0.62445 per share, representing a 15% premium.

Electra Battery Materials closed Friday’s session 4.5% higher at $0.55 apiece on the NASDAQ, for a market capitalization of approximately $31.3 million.

As global demand for minerals and raw materials increases, buoyed by the soaring of certain commodity prices, purported green ambitions, and nationalist fervour, governments have begun wielding a range of regulatory tools and sometimes strong-arm tactics against foreign mining companies in the name of resource nationalism.

The resurgence of resource nationalism—particularly in countries experiencing political upheaval, such as the “Coup Belt” in Francophone Africa—poses a major risk to the ambitions of foreign mining companies and the battery revolution. Beginning with the late Tanzanian President John Magufuli’s so-called “economic war” on foreign mining companies in 2016/2017, a number of African States have followed suit in adopting aggressive nationalistic mining policies that have frequently toed the line between legitimate economic rebalancing and outright rent-seeking.

Tanzanian beginnings

Despite more recent, legitimate efforts to improve its reputation for foreign investment, Tanzania led the way with resource nationalistic overhauls of its legal framework for mining in 2017 and 2018. Tanzania’s “economic war” has served as an exemplar to many African States, particularly in the Coup Belt, which have focused more on the electoral popularity of such measures than on their costly financial aftermath.

Tanzania’s economic war resulted in a rash of legal claims and whilst some of these claims —particularly the one brought by Barrick—settled in such a way that Tanzania could claim a purported “victory”, others have proven needlessly costly.

For instance, in 2023, Canadian gold miner Winshear Gold Corp. reached a $30 million settlement agreement with Tanzania after the government revoked Winshear’s retention licence for its SMP gold project. Similarly, subsidiaries of Australian nickel miner Indiana Resources recently obtained a $90 million settlement with Tanzania (82.5% of the total original Award) over the government’s illegal expropriation of the Ntaka Hill nickel project.

Although Tanzania is not in the Coup Belt, Tanzania’s recent experience will likely serve as a crystal ball for the region—resource nationalism and arbitrary “reforms” come at a significant cost, which could be avoided through simple negotiations rather than heavy-handed tactics.

Key risks for mining companies

Recent coups d’état across West Africa have led to the contemporary resurgence of politically popular, but fiscally irresponsible, measures adopted from Tanzania’s policy playbook, including sweeping changes to mining codes to increase government royalties and free carried interest percentages, increased export duties and the renegotiation of existing mining conventions and mineral development agreements. Such changes have caused increased permitting delays and complete legal uncertainty about how to meet regulatory requirements.

Structuring investments to benefit from BITs

Companies can effectively mitigate the risks associated with resource nationalism by structuring their investments to benefit from the protections offered by bilateral investment treaties (BITs). BITs are agreements between two or more countries that guarantee certain protections to investors, including the right to pursue international arbitration in the event of a dispute.

BITs can protect companies against unlawful expropriation and provide a legal framework for resolving disputes outside of the host country’s jurisdiction. However, investments must be structured through countries that have BITs with the host country.

In the case of Tanzania, investors like Indiana Resources and Winshear successfully pursued compensation for the unlawful revocation of their mining licenses by incorporating subsidiaries through the United Kingdom and Canada, respectively.  Notably, Tanzania has recently sought to terminate its BIT with Canada, a move which forces companies to structure their investments through other countries with treaty protections, like Mauritius, whilst underlining the risk that such jurisdictions pose in the first instance.

One of the primary lessons from recent events is that foreign companies should not rely solely on their licenses and agreements with local authorities; they should also explore international legal protections like those described above.

Negotiating robust agreements

Where companies have a direct agreement with the State, they should opt for a “Coup Belt and Braces” approach in negotiating robust agreements whilst also backstopping their investments with structuring that provides access to BITs. In respect of the former option, companies must ensure that their contracts with host governments include clauses that mitigate risks related to resource nationalism, such as:

• Stabilization clauses: These clauses protect investors from adverse changes in law or policy after the agreement has been signed by either freezing the regulatory framework in place or providing compensation if new laws negatively impact the investment.

• Dispute resolution clauses: Companies should negotiate to include international arbitration as the preferred method of dispute resolution, allowing them to bypass local courts, which may not be impartial or reliable. The same applies for local or regional arbitration centres, which are often untested and are supervised by the very courts foreign investors may wish to avoid.

Companies should avoid putting all their resources in one region, particularly in politically unstable areas. Diversification of assets across different countries reduces the impact of political and regulatory risks in any one location. If problems arise in one country, operations elsewhere can help cushion the financial blow. Many of our clients have been able to pursue their rights in respect of one project whilst providing value to shareholders by advancing another.

Engagement with local stakeholders

Whilst building strong relationships with local communities and stakeholders can help mitigate some risks, it cannot alleviate them entirely. Sadly, there is no evidence that governments are less likely to nationalize assets if companies operating in their country are benefiting local populations through job creation, infrastructure development, and other social programs.

Nevertheless, those efforts are laudable in their own right and provide terrible optics for a state seeking to explain away its nationalization of a mining project to an international tribunal.

Operating in challenging states, particularly those prone to political instability and resource nationalism, presents significant financial and operational risks—illegal expropriation, increased taxes, and revoked licenses, to name a few.

Mitigation of those risks demands adaptability and innovative strategies and frankly, good lawyers. In the current climate, it is down to mining companies to adapt to these challenging environments for as long as states prioritize nationalism over national long-term interest, and politicians in these states favour electoral over generational gain.

Timothy Foden is partner and co-head of the international arbitration group at Boies Schiller Flexner in London. Kristen Young is partner in Washington, D.C. and Rebecca Mee is an associate in London, both specialize in disputes in Francophone Africa.

Boies Schiller Flexner represented Indiana Resources and Winshear Gold in the cases mentioned.

The move, Blue Evolution said, creates a combined entity that will leverage enhanced R&D capabilities to drive innovation and commercialize new seaweed-based products across multiple sectors – agriculture, biomaterials – and critical minerals.

In December of last year, the US Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy (ARPA-E) first announced its selection of scientific teams to explore the feasibility of extracting critical minerals from ocean macroalgae.

In July this year, Blue Evolution announced a groundbreaking advancement in sustainable biomining after it partnered with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and Virginia Tech to develop a revolutionary method for sustainably extracting critical minerals and rare earth elements from seaweed.

The company operates seaweed farms in California and Alaska, and this month finalized a joint venture with the Māori Iwi Tribe to scale regenerative seaweed farming in Aotearoa, New Zealand.

From biofuels to rare earths

Blue Evolution CEO Beau Perry has been working with ARPA-E since 2017, first on large-scale systems for cultivation of seaweed for biofuels in Kodiak, Alaska, testing new hardware to grow seaweed in abundance, sustainably and economically.

Alaska is unparalleled in the US in terms of seaweed farming because of its size, environmental conditions and infrastructure. Perry noted both the state and the public are much more receptive to seaweed farming than to mining projects.

“It’s a relatively new industry. In post-war Japan, the coastal seaweed the Japanese had harvested for a long time was kind of destroyed…A British woman had closed the life cycle on nori in the early 50s. Seaweed farming was fairly new as a major agricultural sector, but now we grow, globally, 30 million tons of it,” Perry told MINING.com in an interview.

More than half of it is grown in China, but also Japan, Korea, Philippines and Indonesia.

The United States only entered the market ten years ago, and Perry said the US has grown a couple thousand tons so far.

Of over 10,000 species of seaweed worldwide, 300 species have been commercialized. Blue Evolution is working with six different species – four that they are growing in Alaska. Perry said seaweed has the potential to enter multiple markets because of its sustainability.

“It soaks up a lot more carbon than any terrestrial biomass per area, and it really only needs sunlight and seawater,” he said.

“We were looking [at] how to render biofuels from seaweed. PNNL was doing very in-depth content analyses of different samples of different species from different locations in our farmer network. We worked with different farmers that we’ve helped set up in Alaska, including the first ever commercial farm in Kodiak.”

The team started to find some unusual levels of minerals designated as in the strategic interest of US economic development and national security, but Perry said what got the Department of Energy’s attention was the rare earths.

The discovery is a positive development for a nascent North American rare earths market and taps into the broader issue of the glaring lack of domestic production. China has a near monopoly on mining and refining the group of 17 metals that are crucial to the development of smart electronic devices and wind turbines, and which are notoriously difficult to extract and expensive to process.

“This was sort of a beautiful accident, and it’s all a function of what’s in the water where the seaweed is growing,” Perry said.

“They’re a prolific sponge – they soak up nitrogen, phosphorus, carbon and a lot of minerals, and so in this first pass at the content analysis, we got a certain set of signals around REEs and precious metals, like rhodium, palladium and scandium.”

Each species of seaweed is metabolically prone to take up a certain set of minerals, and Perry noted some are really fascinating.

“We’ve seen sort of peaks and flat lines from different locations around the globe, and now we’re starting to fill in the puzzle of which seaweed could grow where to get what minerals,” he said.

“It’s clear that each one is taking up some combination of precious minerals, REEs and these other strategic minerals.”

The team has preliminary data and is working to understand which species, where, how they are grown, and determining scalable extraction methods.

“There’s kind of this matrix of ‘what am I growing the seaweed for?’ I think critical minerals past a certain scale will always be part of that based on what we’re seeing,” Perry said. “ In certain locations, that might be the primary one if we find a species that really soaks this stuff up. We’re talking parts per million, and even parts per billion as a baseline. It’s perfectly standard in mining.”

Doubling seaweed value

Perry said the company is forging ahead with a “very critical mineral centric expedition” to find if there are places to focus on critical minerals and develop farms that are primarily oriented towards producing them.

“It’s possible that the critical minerals are disruptive to seaweed farming economics generally. They could double the value of the biomass,” he said.

“If I were to grow at a level where … at a significant scale relative to that market, the amount of critical minerals that will be running through our supply chain will be significant. In some cases, maybe fundamentally changing the supply picture for specific critical minerals.”

“There are some tricks that we’re going to explore to really enhance the amount of rare earths per ton of biomass. It’s taking these things up all the time.

There are ways to coax maybe orders of magnitude more than we’re finding by accident, not really trying. We can do things at the genetic level, selecting for strains that are going to bioaccumulate more of a given target critical mineral.”

The goal, Perry said, is to really understand what’s possible from an extraction standpoint.

“There’s a certain amount of critical minerals that are economically recoverable from a site, but around it are a million years of sediment that the seaweed will be sort of steeped in, like a sponge. And that yield should actually increase over time, given that the baseline of those minerals should stay the same pretty much over a long period of time. And we’re going to get better at getting the seaweed to accumulate them and getting them out.”

When you think about a seaweed farm as a mine, it’s unlikely to run out anytime soon,” Perry said. “It will be replenished constantly by the ocean. So that, I think, from a mining perspective is pretty radical – I don’t need to spend $100 million to maybe break ground on a mine in 20 years.”

The junior, which acquired the Yellowknife project in The Northwest Territories two years ago, is selling 2.7 million shares for C$5.6575 apiece in an unbrokered private placement that’s due to close by Nov. 12. The deal included an additional 1.6 million shares at $3.65 each to the same shareholder.

The capital raising is excellent news for Li-FT as it’s now likely fully funded with C$27 million for a Yellowknife preliminary economic assessment due by next June and environmental studies for permitting, Cormark Securities mining analyst Shannon Gill said in a note on Friday.

“The strategic investment is another positive indicator for the sector, and hard rock lithium assets in particular,” Gill said.

“Continued M&A in the lithium space supports a potential pricing floor — recalling SQM (NYSE: SQM) and Hancock Prospecting’s May takeover of pre-resource Azure Minerals for a more than 40% premium and Pilbara Minerals’ (ASX: PLS) 67% premium offer to acquire Brazilian developer Latin Resources in August.”

Secrecy trend?

The secret investment could be part of a mini-trend among juniors after undisclosed investors bought the same stakes in Asante Gold (CSE: ASE) in September to expand gold mines in Ghana, Collective Mining (TSX: CNL; NYSE: CNL) in March for its Colombian properties and Foran Mining (TSX: FOM) last December. There was also TDG Gold (TSXV: TDG) last October.

The C$200 million financing for Foran to advance its McIlvenna Bay copper-zinc-gold-silver project was a mixture of equity and debt. It included the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Fund and Fairfax Financial. Fairfax holds 23% of Foran after C$360 million in financing this year, which also saw Agnico Eagle Mines (TSX: AEM; NYSE: AEM) take a 9.9% stake.

The TDG Gold investment was part of a private placement aimed at raising C$2.75 million. The proceeds targeted exploration at TDG’s projects in British Columbia, including the former producing Shasta gold-silver mine in the Toodoggone district.

Securities rules allow a backer to buy less than 10% of a publicly traded company anonymously. However, companies with 5% who are intending to buy more must notify the market, and investments considered material to the company must usually be disclosed in quarterly financial statements.

Li-FT CEO Francis MacDonald may comment on the undisclosed investor when the financing closes, investor relations manager Daniel Gordon told The Northern Miner Group by email on Friday.

Shares in Li-FT Power closed C$0.02 higher at C$4.00 apiece on Wednesday in Toronto after the financing news. They were at C$3.92 by mid-afternoon Friday, valuing the company at C$154.6 million.

Yellowknife project

Li-FT said the financing would be used to advance the resource-stage Yellowknife project with more exploration as it plans the economic study by June.

Cormark’s Gill noted the project consists of clustered spodumene pegmatite dykes – similar to Sigma Lithium‘s (TSXV: SGML; NASDAQ: SGML) Grota do Cirilo project in Brazil – in a mining-friendly jurisdiction adjacent to the Rio Tinto (NYSE: RIO; LSE: RIO; ASX: RIO) and De Beers diamond operations. He said the project could potentially generate 112 million tonnes of ore and has a skilled technical team behind it.

“As first movers in lithium exploration in the area, Li-FT’s land package hosts high potential for additional regional success as it continues to explore,” Gill said.

“Along with a responsible approach to land use that involves all stakeholders and proximity to road and rail infrastructure, Li-FT’s potentially generational Yellowknife project should set it apart from its peers in attracting future development partners and offtake agreements — necessities for developing North America’s future lithium assets.”

The project comprises seven targets along the all-season Ingraham Trail highway. The site hosts 50.4 million inferred tonnes grading 1% lithium oxide (Li₂O) for 506,000 tonnes of Li₂O, or 1.25 million tonnes of lithium carbonate-equivalent, according to the resource issued this month.

CEO MacDonald said at the time the resource ranked among the 10 largest hard-rock projects in the Americas and had “excellent potential to significantly grow through further drill programs.”

An earlier version of this story said Li-FT Power has Canada’s third-largest hard rock lithium resource. It is instead the third-largest maiden hard rock lithium resource.

Ioneer can now access a $700 million loan from the US Department of Energy (DOE) and a $490 million equity investment from Sibanye Stillwater (JSE: SSW; NYSE: SBSW) for Rhyolite Ridge that has an estimated life of 22 years.

The Sydney, Australia-based Ioneer aims to finalize its financing agreements for the $785 million project before year-end. However, legal battles, regulatory adjustments, and political uncertainty remain obstacles as the company pushes toward construction, CEO Bernard Rowe said on a late Thursday webcast.

“Legal challenges are almost inevitable,” he told investors, referring to lawsuits that environmental groups are expected to file over the mine’s impact on Tiehm’s buckwheat, an endangered plant found only at the project site, located about 362 km north of Las Vegas.

The plant’s presence forced Ioneer to redesign parts of the mine, creating buffer zones and a greenhouse propagation program. Rowe remains confident that regulatory efforts will hold up under scrutiny. “We are well-prepared, and we’ve built a solid scientific case around our environmental work,” he said.

Following six years of regulatory scrutiny, Rhyolite Ridge is the first lithium mine approved under the Biden administration. It reflects Washington’s push to secure domestic sources of critical minerals. The project also marks the first new lithium production in the US in over 60 years and the first boron mine in over a century, Rowe said. The operation will produce lithium carbonate and boric acid on-site, with the large chemical processing plant just a few kilometres from the mine.

Ioneer shares briefly spiked 9% to A$0.305 on Friday, a fresh 12-month high for the company, giving it a market capitalization of A$651 million. Shares come off a period low at A$0.105.

With the US federal election approaching, investors pressed management for their take on the potentially shifting political landscape. Still, Rowe dismissed the idea that a new administration could derail the project.

“There is strong bipartisan support for developing critical minerals in the US,” he said. “We’ve worked with both Republican and Democratic administrations, and the project has broad backing at the state and federal levels.”

Once operational, the mine will rival Albemarle (NYSE: ALB) and Lithium Americas (TSX: LAC; NYSE: LAC) as a top domestic producer. Albemarle operates the only active domestic lithium mine in Silver Peak, Nevada, and Lithium Americas is developing the Thacker Pass project, like Rhyolite Ridge another lithium clay site in Nevada.

Liquidity questioned

The DOE loan and Sibanye-Stillwater’s equity investment hinge on completing updates to the mine plan, reserve estimates, and project economics. Rowe stressed the importance of staying on schedule to avoid setbacks. “Permitting was the biggest hurdle, but we’re on track to close financing in the next few weeks.”

BMO Capital Markets mining analyst Raj Ray noted liquidity risks for Sibanye-Stillwater. It is set to invest $490 million in five equal tranches over 12 months. While the federal permit approval marks a positive step, Ray cautioned that Sibanye’s ability to meet its financial commitments remains uncertain.

Sibanye has net debt of $1.01 billion. It faces rising costs at Rhyolite Ridge and potential legal issues from a dispute with Appian, which could further strain liquidity. Earlier this month, Appian Capital, a London-based investment firm, won a UK court ruling forcing Sibanye to pay for terminating a $1.2 billion deal to acquire two Brazilian mines. The damages have not yet been determined.

“The 2020 DFS capex estimate of $785 million is stale (we currently model capex of $1.1 billion) and capex escalation beyond this sum is likely,” Ray said Friday in a note to clients. “However, between the DOE conditional loan and Sibanye’s investment, the project could potentially be fully funded.”

Ray said it remained to be seen how Sibanye manages its liquidity position over the next 12 months.

Boron kicker

Construction, scheduled to start early next year, will take about 30 months, putting the project on course for production in 2028.

The Rhyolite Ridge mine will run for 22 years. It will produce 22,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate a year. That’s enough to power 370,000 electric vehicles. It will also produce 170,000 tonnes of boric acid, according to the company.

The boron contributes 30% to 40% of the mine’s revenue, providing a buffer against lithium market volatility.

An April 2020 definitive feasibility study on the project pegged the after-tax net present value (8% discount) at $1.3 billion and the internal rate of return at 20.8%.

Rowe said that boric acid has had stable prices for decades, which helps balance the fluctuations in lithium prices. “We designed the process around known technologies, borrowing methods from copper leaching. This project will be a cornerstone for the US critical minerals supply chain.”

While confident in the path forward, Rowe stressed the importance of timely execution. “We have to make the final investment decision early next year, finalize contracts, and place long-lead orders,” he said. “We’re already gearing up, but delays could jeopardize our momentum.”

Ioneer expects the project to generate $125 million in annual wages, create 500 construction jobs, and employ 350 workers during operations. Though environmental groups remain opposed, Rowe believes the project’s benefits outweigh the risks.

“We’ve been at this for eight years, and reaching this point’s a tremendous feeling,” Rowe said. “Now it’s time to move forward.”

Under a private placement agreement announced on Friday, Agnico will purchase approximately 33.9 million units of ATEX at C$1.63 per unit, representing a 15% premium over ATEX’s stock price from a week ago and 12.4% over its previous day’s closing price.

By 11:10 a.m. ET in Toronto, ATEX Resources traded 11% higher at C$1.61, having touched a 52-week high of C$1.66 a share earlier in the session. The company has a market capitalization of C$336.2 million ($242.3 million)

The Agnico investment will support ATEX’s exploration activities at the Valeriano project. The property covers approximately 61.3 sq. km and is host to a large copper-gold porphyry deposit, below a near-surface oxidized epithermal gold deposit that extends from surface to a depth of 100 metres.

Since 2021, ATEX has completed multiple phases of drilling to test the mineralization at Valeriano, beginning with the gold oxide deposit in the initial phase then extending to the porphyry system.

Last year, it produced a mineral resource estimate totalling 1.44 billion tonnes grading 0.49% copper and 0.21 g/t gold, all in the inferred category. The porphyry deposit makes up most of this resource — 1.41 billion tonnes at 0.50% copper and 0.20 g/t — and contains a higher-grade core totaling 200 million tonnes at 0.62% copper and 0.29 g/t gold.

“This transaction results in ATEX being well capitalized through 2025 to execute on our future drill programs and to continue defining this deposit while also continuing to de-risk and conduct engineering studies,” commented ATEX CEO Ben Pullinger in a news release.

In addition to the private placement, the company also announced that it will repay the entire outstanding balance on its credit facility totaling $15 million through the issuance of equity. A total of 7.9 million units at the same price of the offering (C$1.63) and 5.5 million shares priced at C$1.42 each will be issued to its lenders (Firelight Investments, Beedie Capital and Trinity Capital Partners).

Moreover, ATEX has arranged a private placement with recently appointed board member Rick McCreary, who will purchase C$500,000 worth of units, also at the same price of the private placement.

Upon closing of the above transactions, Agnico would become one of ATEX’s largest shareholders, with a shareholding of 13% on an undiluted basis.

The agreement was signed in Brasília, the capital city, with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in attendance.

In February, a federal judge ruled that the companies must pay up to 47.6 billion reais ($8.4 billion) in damages for the dam collapse, though the decision is still subject to appeal.

The Fundão dam burst occurred on November 5, 2015. Approximately 40 million cubic meters of mining waste destroyed communities and livelihoods, contaminated the Rio Doce and its tributaries, and reached the Atlantic Ocean.

In total, 49 municipalities were affected, either directly or indirectly, and 19 people lost their lives.

According to BHP, the agreement builds on the existing remediation and compensation efforts by the Renova Foundation in Brazil, which have thus far totalled 38 billion reais ($7.9 billion).

In addition to the amount already spent by Renova, the agreement includes 100 billion reais ($18 billion) in installments over 20 years to public authorities, municipalities, Indigenous peoples and traditional communities. Additional performance obligations for Samarco, estimated at 32 billion reais ($5.8 billion), are also included.

Payments to be completed over 15 years

The compensation covers programs for universal water sanitation, health initiatives, economic recovery, infrastructure improvements, and investment funds in education, culture, sports and food security.

The agreement also includes compensation payments of 95,000 reais ($17,000) per person for eligible fishermen and farmers in the affected areas.

“BHP Brasil’s expected outflows under the agreement align with BHP’s FY2024 Samarco dam failure provision of $6.5 billion, and no update is required to the existing provision at this time,” BHP stated.

“The Samarco Fundão dam failure was a terrible tragedy. It should never have happened and must never be forgotten,” said BHP CEO Mike Henry.

Payments are expected to be completed over approximately 15 years, with the first installment of 5 billion reais ($880 million) due within 30 days. The agreement remains subject to approval by the Brazilian Supreme Court.

BHP still faces a potential $47 billion payout in damages in a lawsuit in London’s High Court. The settlement in Brazil will not impact the UK case.

The plaintiffs include over 600,000 Brazilian citizens, 46 municipalities and 2,000 businesses, all challenging BHP’s role in the disaster.

In July, BHP and Vale agreed to equally share the cost of any damages resulting from the UK proceedings.

Shares of BHP rose 0.7% by 12:00 p.m. EDT. Vale stocks were up 3.4%.

Read More: BHP says claim it put profit over safety ‘unjustified’ in Brazilian dam collapse case

Fokus Mining named Philippe MacKay  as CEO, effective Nov. 4.

Gr silver – The new CFO at GR Silver is Robert Payment following the retirement of Blaine Bailey.

Metso Corporation named Sami Takaluoma its new president and CEO.

Nations Royalty named Josh Kierce as CFO.

Board changes:

Julian Ovens joined the board of Canada Nickel Company.

Core Nickel named Paul Reid and Marc Pais as directors, and Shane Shircliff and Karen Lloyd have resigned.

Magnum Goldcorp added Dave Smith to its board.

Nuclear Fuels asked Brahm Silfogel to join the board.

Palisades Goldcorp accepted the resignation of William (Bill) Hayden from the board.

Pure Energy announced the resignation of Mary Little from the board.

Tintina Mines added Cesar Garrido to the board as Ricardo Landeta stepped down.

Volt Carbon Technologies said Rob Martin resigned his seat on the board.

Westmount Minerals announced the departer of director Kenneth Cawkell.

The permit allows the company to begin the disposing of tailings – discarded mined material – by December 2024. It comes after a July court decision that restricted Adriatic’s use of state forest land for storing mining waste. 

The company chose an alternative site at the former Veovaca open-pit mine, about two kilometres from the Vares processing plant, where Adriatic has full ownership rights.

The approved facility will employ a “dry stack” method, which stores solid tailings without requiring a liquid reservoir, and is regarded as a safer and more stable approach compared to conventional tailings ponds.

The Veovaca tailings storage facility (TSF) will be built in two phases, with the first designed to handle four to five years of production waste. This initial stage is projected to cost $5 million and is expected to be completed by the end of 2024.

Adriatic’s current tailing storage facility has a maximum capacity of around 133,000t, which is projected to allow tailings deposition until the first one to two months of 2025. Adriatic plans to complete the initial construction phase of the Veovaca TSF before that to ensure no impact on production or the current ramp up to commercial production due to tailings storage capacity, the company said.

Vares began production early this year, becoming Europe’s first new mine in over a decade. The newly named chief executive officer, Laura Tyler, said in early October the operation was in the final phase of reaching nameplate processing capacity of 800,000 tonnes.

In 2023, Adriatic contributed nearly 22% of foreign direct investment into Bosnia and 2% of its GDP. The miner deployed 69% of total capital domestically, the equivalent of $155 million, across 739 companies.

Shares in Adriatic Metals climbed on the news in both Sydney and London. In Australia, they closed up more than 4% to A$4.30 each. In the UK, the stock was up 3.7% at 221p by 2pm local time Friday, leaving the miner with a market capitalization of £720 million ($935m).

Other updates and enhancements to its suite of products will empower users with cutting-edge tools to streamline workflows, ensure data consistency, and boost overall efficiency, the company said.

“We’re thrilled to expand Micromine’s product ecosystem with Micromine Advance – the first and only dedicated tool designed to model the operational complexity of underground operations,” Micromine CEO Andrew Birch said in a news release.

“Earlier this year, mine design and scheduling software Micromine Beyond introduced a powerful dynamic pit design toolset that provides an interactive user experience,” Birch said. “This allows mine planners to achieve optimal pit designs faster. Its functionality has been further enhanced, minimizing manual interaction and accelerating decision-making.”

Micromine Spry, mine planning for open-pit soft rock, provides a detail-oriented and flexible approach to assist with the intricacies of complex operations. The new Repair Solids Wizard feature does all the detective work, identifying problems such as self-intersections, holes, or invalid geometries and automatically resolving them, the company said.

Widely adopted by some of the world’s most significant operations, Micromine Alastri, mine planning for open-pit hard rock, introduces a new Expression Builder feature that provides a straightforward and guided process for calculating site-specific scheduling data such as drilling meters or explosive quantities.

Another key functionality introduced is that users can now forecast how long broken stocks can sustain production whilst meeting all necessary blend and grade targets.

Operation OEM-agnostic fleet management and mine control solution, Micromine Pitram, has also introduced new features. Real-time Deviation Tracking allows users to configure parameters tailored to specific operational needs. This functionality provides faster detection of variances, enabling immediate corrective actions, the company said.

Boytim will lead the company in its mission to deliver cutting-edge, CTRM and supply chain solutions to its clients worldwide, Quor said.

With a robust background in the financial services and technology sectors, Boytim brings over 20 years of experience in growing technology companies. His expertise spans SaaS, enterprise software, data solutions and brokerage services, making him uniquely qualified to drive Quor’s strategic vision while placing its customers at the forefront of the company’s initiatives.

Before joining Quor, Boytim served as the chief operating officer at Broadway Technology, where he played a pivotal role in the company’s growth and market impact, ultimately leading to a successful acquisition by Bloomberg.

His previous experience includes time as chief operating officer and chief Strategy officer at Pico where he transformed the firm into an established player in the financial services space through a strong commitment to innovation.

“Bruce is a dynamic leader with a proven track record of driving growth and operational excellence,” Ishan Manaktala, operating partner at STG, said in a statement. “We are excited to welcome him as CEO, and are confident that his leadership will propel Quor and its customers to new levels.”