Mining – Battery Metals

Part of the PDAC 2026 technical program will examine supply security challenges across critical minerals, uranium, and potash, highlighting their strategic importance to energy, food production, and national security. Sessions will address by-product recovery from existing operations, uranium’s evolving role in the energy transition, and potash’s exposure to trade and geopolitical risks. Industry leaders, analysts, and technical specialists will discuss processing innovations, market fundamentals, and policy considerations shaping future supply. The program reflects how governments and companies are responding to resource constraints, geopolitical pressures, and shifting demand across these strategically significant commodity markets. [more]

The Canadian Mining Hall of Fame inducted four industry leaders in 2026 for their long-standing contributions to mineral exploration, mining finance, and industry standards. Honoured at the annual induction ceremony in Toronto, the recipients were David Harquail, Don Lindsay, Catherine McLeod-Seltzer, and Gordon Garfield Morrison; executives, entrepreneurs, and exploration leaders whose work has influenced capital markets, governance frameworks, and major mineral discoveries. The event highlighted careers spanning royalty companies, diversified miners, exploration success, and industry leadership. Collectively, the inductees have helped shape modern mining practices, advanced responsible development, and contributed to the long-term growth and credibility of Canada’s mining sector. [more]

Written by Edward G. Thompson, this article reflects on more than six decades in the gold mining industry and the evolution of gold price cycles. Beginning in the fixed-price era of the 1950s, Thompson traces how inflation, financial crises, and geopolitical shifts reshaped gold’s role across multiple market regimes. The narrative moves through the 1970s bull market, the post-financial crisis recovery, and the structurally driven rally of the 2020s. Drawing on firsthand experience with discoveries, financing cycles, and investor behavior, the article concludes that gold itself does not change. Instead, the world around it does, redefining gold’s role from speculative asset to strategic reserve. [more]

PDAC 2026 Technical Sessions outline how artificial intelligence and advanced geophysics are being applied in mineral exploration. The program includes an AI session covering computer vision, machine learning for structural modeling, and implementation considerations for large language models. Two geophysics sessions focus on integrated exploration case histories and newer methods, including magnetotellurics, inversion workflows, airborne geophysics analytics, and muon tomography. Regional technical sessions add examples from Latin America and brownfield exploration. Across the agenda, presentations emphasize multi-dataset interpretation, risk reduction, and operational constraints. The sessions collectively frame technology adoption as workflow-driven and incremental. This article summarizes sessions and key themes. [more]

Elemental Altus Royalties Corp. (TSXV: ELE | OTCQX: ELEMF) has signed a definitive agreement to acquire EMX Royalty Corp. (TSXV: EMX | NYSE American: EMX) in an all-share transaction valued at US$456 million. The Elemental EMX merger is expected to close in Q4/2025, subject to shareholder, court, and regulatory approvals. The combined company will operate as Elemental Royalty Corp., holding 16 producing royalties and more than 200 assets globally. Management expects the Elemental EMX merger to support approximately US$80 million in adjusted revenue by 2026. [more]

Royal Gold (NASDAQ: RGLD) will acquire Sandstorm Gold (TSX: SSL | NYSE: SAND) and Horizon Copper (TSXV: HCU) in transactions valued at approximately US$3.5 billion and $196 million, respectively. The deals are expected to close in late 2025 and will significantly expand Royal Gold’s streaming and royalty portfolio to 393 assets, including 80 producing properties. The company anticipates a 26% increase in gold equivalent output and an 87% revenue mix from precious metals. The acquisitions align with a broader trend of consolidation and diversification in the mining royalty space amid rising demand for gold and copper. [more]

Hercules Metals is progressing exploration at its 100%-owned Hercules Project in Idaho, where drilling has defined a copper porphyry system known as Leviathan beneath an upper silver zone. Backed by strategic investor Barrick Mining, Hercules Mining plans a 12,000m program in 2025 targeting deeper porphyry zones and potential new targets across the property. Newly permitted areas and additional land agreements strengthen the company’s position. Historic and recent drilling suggest multi-metal potential, and planned activity across the Eastern Block, Southern Flats, and Grade Creek zones may provide key catalysts for shareholders in the coming months. [more]

The U.S.-Ukraine minerals agreement gives U.S. firms access to Ukraine’s rare earths, lithium, and hydrocarbons in exchange for ongoing aid and a revenue-sharing model. The deal establishes a reinvestment fund for infrastructure and energy development, though the governance structure remains incomplete. Ukraine’s Parliament must still ratify the agreement, and the war adds significant uncertainty. Several U.S. and European mining and defense companies are reportedly assessing opportunities. With no production timeline and limited transparency rules, the arrangement reflects geopolitical positioning as much as economic strategy. However, investors are watching for signs of stability before capital begins to flow at scale. [more]