February 18th, 2026 - The Mine Wire

METALS MARKET

^{**For our chart above we are taking prices from Tuesday 4pm EST to Tuesday 4pm EST, so not the typical week of Monday through Friday. This week however, we have done December 16th 4pm EST to January 13th 4pm EST.}

KEEPING AN EYE ON GOVERNMENT DECISIONS

Here are some of the notable government policy moves this week:

🇨🇦 The Ontario government was busy moving projects forward this week. First, it greenlit the first permit under the Recovery of Minerals regulation to STLLR Gold’s Hollinger Tailings Project in Timmins. STLLR aims to recover residual metals and minerals from Hollinger Mine’s historical tailings. Then, it announced that it is accelerating Kinross Gold Corporation’s Great Bear Project under the ‘One Project, One Process’ framework, the third project overall to be accepted under this new framework launched this past October. (Ontario Government)

🇨🇦 The Government of Nunavut is now accepting applications for the Nunavut Mine Training Fund (NMTF) for community-based training initiatives that support Nunavummiut in gaining employment in the mining industry and related fields. Not-for-profit organizations, municipal governments and individuals are invited to apply with a deadline of Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (Nunavut Government)

🇺🇸 Bloomberg reported that an executive order will come later today from President Trump directing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to enter agreements to buy electricity from coal plants for military operations. Coal executives, miners and energy industry leaders are expected to visit the White House for the announcement.

🇺🇸 Are Russian companies dumping palladium? Sibanye-Stillwater thinks so and now data from an investigation by the U.S. Commerce Department supports such a claim. Apparently there is a "preliminary weighted-average dumping rate margin" of 132.83% for palladium from Russia. A final decision is expected in June, following investigations by the U.S. International Trade Commission. Another decision moving at the speed of government, sigh. (Reuters)

🇿🇲 Zambia's mining regulator has suspended operations at Mopani Copper Mines' Mufulira mine after it failed to account for all its underground personnel. The United Arab Emirates' International Resources Holding owns 51% with Zambia's state mining company ZCCM Investments Holdings owning the other 49%.

🇳🇪 Niger’s military ruler, Abdourahamane Tiani, announced that the government is ready to return approximately 95,000 tons of concentrated uranium powder (yellowcake) to Orano. This amount represents Orano's 63.4% pre-seizure stake in the total 150,000 tons produced at SOMAÏR during its tenure. Tiani emphasized that any uranium produced after the nationalization is strictly Nigerien property. The powder has been stuck at the airport for months upon months due to unresolved legal and diplomatic complications with France over the seizure. Throw in some jihadist attacks on the airport and we can only assume Tiani is looking for some sort of resolution.

GROUNDUP is back — PDAC Edition.

The 9th Annual GROUNDUP Networking Reception & Charity Event returns on Sunday, March 1st, 2026 at the iconic Walrus Pub & Beer Hall, just steps from the PDAC conference centre. This year, we’re going back to our roots—high-quality networking with the leaders of mineral exploration and mining, focused on real conversations and authentic connections.

With 1,000+ industry professionals expected and 100% of ticket proceeds donated to support Toronto’s homeless community, this is one of PDAC week’s most meaningful and well-attended events.

Sponsorship inquiries: [email protected]

🎟 Tickets go on sale this Friday. The event has sold out every year—secure yours early via Eventbrite.

The GROUNDUP Networking Reception Tickets, Sun, Mar 1, 2026 at 4:00 PM | Eventbrite

MINING MATTERS FROM AROUND THE WORLD 🌎

🇸🇪 🇿🇦 Global OEM’s continue to bolster their offerings through acquisitions as Sandvik lands a deal to purchase South Africa-based ThoroughTec Simulation. The company is a leading provider of equipment simulators and simulator-based training for the global mining industry. Last year Weir Group scooped up Micromine while Caterpillar sunk its claws into RPMGlobal. While OEM’s compete to bolster their own product and servicing offerings, some are concerned that further consolidation could lead to “vendor lock-in,” where mines become dependent on a single OEM, particularly if interoperability is limited. Only time will tell if this is a legitimate concern or not, but for now expect more consolidation in 2026. (Sandvik)

🇸🇪 🇦🇺 Sandvik wasn’t the only Swedish company wheeling and dealing this week. AFRY, a global engineering, project management, and advisory services firm with over 18,000 global employees has acquired Australia’s AMC Consultants. This acquisition supports AFRY’s ambition to grow internationally in key markets like Australia and Canada. “Joining AFRY marks an exciting new chapter for AMC. With AFRY’s global engineering and sustainability expertise within the minerals industry, we are well positioned to deliver even greater value to our clients globally while expanding our capabilities across the full mining life cycle”, says Andrew Hall, Managing Director of AMC. (AFRY)

🇲🇱 Barrick Mining has reportedly received a 10-year permit extension by Mali’s junta for its Loulo-Gounkoto gold mining complex. Barrick bulls will be pleased to see this resolution which provides less legal and expropriation risk in the near term. Certainly a much better outlook than this time last year.

🇵🇪 BHP has landed a US$4.3bn streaming deal with Wheaton Precious Metals. BHP will deliver the equivalent of 33.75% of the silver produced by Antamina (subject to a fixed payable rate of 90%). After 100 million ounces of silver have been delivered to Wheaton, the stream will be reduced and BHP will deliver the equivalent of 22.5% of silver produced by Antamina over the remaining life of mine. (BHP)

🇺🇸 Franco-Nevada has agreed to a $250m royalty stream with i-80 Gold Corp. “We are pleased to add i-80 Gold’s extensive portfolio of assets in Nevada to our U.S. portfolio and to partner with i-80 to advance their development plans,” said Paul Brink, President & CEO of Franco-Nevada. “The i-80 team has an excellent track record and we look forward to partnering with them as they unlock what we believe will be one of largest gold operations in Nevada.”

🇦🇺 Last Wednesday, Albemarle Corporation announced that it is immediately placing its Kemerton lithium hydroxide refinery in Western Australia into care and maintenance. This decision effectively halts downstream processing at the facility, which was once intended to be a cornerstone of Australia's critical minerals strategy. Despite recent price improvements in lithium, high domestic operating costs, specifically energy and labour, were cited as primary factors. Approximately 250 to 275 local jobs are expected to be lost due to the immediate closure. (ABC News)

MINING BITS

🇨🇦 🇫🇮 Mining Journal’s Mining IQ's World Risk Insights featuring MineHutte ratings, has once again rated Ontario as the lowest risk mining jurisdiction globally followed by Finland, Nunavut, Manitoba and Quebec. Let’s be honest, sometimes in these types of rankings, we want to know who is the worst or underperforming. Myanmar with an on-going civil war came in as the highest risk, followed by Russia, Mali, The Democratic Republic of the Congo and Cameroon. For all of our Australian readers, Western Australia was ranked 21st overall, as Australian states and territories “consistently underperform Canadian and US Jurisdictions, largely due to weaker legal scores that reflect higher levels of discretion in legislative drafting.” (Mining Journal)

🌏 China, Poland, and Türkiye were the largest gold buyers among central banks between 2020 and 2025. The Philippines recorded the largest reduction, cutting reserves by more than 65.2 tonnes while Kazakhstan (52.4) and Sri Lanka (19.1) also posted significant declines. See more at → (Visual Capitalist)

🇺🇸 Brent Underwood, host of Ghost Town Two, hikes to a forgotten mine in Death Valley, to explore the abandoned Big Bell Gold Mine, a forgotten early-1900s gold mining site connected to one of the wildest stories in mining history, a prospector who sold the claims for a fortune, won them back, lost them again in a roulette game, and later killed a man over the same mine. Because of it's remote nature, there is still a lot of original mining equipment left behind. This was a much more enjoyable and educational watch then a 30 minute sitcom, so why not give it a watch. With the quality of the video, we aren’t surprised Ghost Town Two has over 500k subscribers. (Video)

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