January 21th, 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:

🇺🇸 President Trump said this week that he won’t impose tariffs on rare earths, lithium and other critical minerals (at least for now) and instead has ordered his administration to seek supplies from international trading partners. A bi-partisan group of U.S. lawmakers has also introduced a bill to create a $2.5bn stockpile of critical minerals. Meanwhile, world leaders have descended on Davos, Switzerland for the World Economic Forum this week with President Trump slated to speak today. With AI maps in the oval office of American flags over Canada, Greenland and Venezuela along with threats of annexation of Greenland, we do wonder what the strategy is. Personally we believe you catch more flies with honey, but what do we know. Certainly rising tensions and a focus on all types of metals and critical minerals is positive for the sector as a whole.

🇵🇦 Panama’s President Jose Raul Mulino said the country aims to make a decision on First Quantum’s Cobre Panama copper mine by June.

🇳🇪 According to news sources, about 1,000 tonnes of uranium from Orano’s Somair mine that was nationalized by the military junta, has been stuck at an airport since November as it looks for buyers and a way to get the uranium out of country. As a landlocked nation, Niger has to rely on its neighbors to get its resources to port. Ties with Benin and Nigeria are both tense while other countries have jihadist insurgency issues. Air might be an option with several Russian cargo planes spotted in the country in January. Still, we have to wonder if the junta has bitten off more than it can chew.

🇲🇱 Speaking of West African juntas, Mali saw its industrial gold output fall 22.9% in 2025. With Barrick’s Loulo‑Gounkoto complex closed for a lengthy period of time, we aren’t surprised to see such a decrease. Hopefully things will be much calmer for operators in country now that majors have signed deals with the current ruling leaders.

MINING MATTERS FROM AROUND THE WORLD 🌎

🇸🇦 Speaking during a session at the Future Minerals Forum in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Robert Wilt, CEO of Saudi Arabian Mining Co. (Maaden) said the company has allocated $110bn for investment over the next decade. That is a lot of cheddar cheese. In focus are tripling Maaden’s phosphate and gold businesses while doubling their aluminum operations.

🇺🇸 🇦🇺 One of our favorite miners, Energy Fuels Inc., has entered into a Scheme Implementation Deed to acquire 100% of the issued share capital of Australian Strategic Materials Limited (ASM), a leading producer of REE metals and alloys. Energy Fuels will pay US$299m, which sent ASM’s stock surging 120%. As for Energy Fuels, it is up over 308% in the past year. (Energy Fuels)

🇺🇸 Rio Tinto and Amazon Web Services were touting their collaboration to bring low-carbon Nuton copper to U.S. data centres. We like it! (Businesswire)

🇺🇸 🇰🇷 Korea Zinc has signed a partnership agreement with US-based Alta Resource Technologies to establish a joint venture producing rare earth elements from electronic waste. In its initial phase, the facility will process about 100 tons of waste to produce high-purity rare earth oxides, including neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium and terbium. (The Korea Herald)

🇨🇦 Barrick Mining announced the appointment of Helen Cai as Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer as of March 1st, 2026. The current CFO, Graham Shuttleworth, will be leaving Barrick after the filing of the Company’s year-end results.

🇨🇦 Snowline Gold has signed an agreement with the First Nation of Na-Cho Nyäk Dun in Yukon. Chief Dawna Hope said, "We are pleased to work with operators like Snowline who respect our governance, our role over our traditional territory and what that means... who understand that our consent is required before a new mine is built." Snowline Gold CEO Scott Berdahl said the company is pleased and excited to be at the point of signing an MOU. Time to pick up some Snowline Gold shares? (CBC)

🇵🇹 Another week, another investment by the Portuguese government into the Lithium sector. Portugal's Lifthium Energy has been awarded a 180m euro ($210m) government grant to build a lithium refinery in the country's north. (Reuters)

🇮🇳 Coal India’s Bharat Coking Coal unit soared in its publicly traded debut earlier this week, rising as high a 96% on the day. The unit is now valued at $2.2bn. The $118.7m IPO drew bids worth $13bn last week, making it one of the most heavily subscribed state-run offerings in recent years. (Reuters)

MINING BITS

🇱🇰 A Purple Star Sapphire weighing 3,563 carats was unveiled on Saturday in the Sri Lankan capital which is estimated to be worth at least $300m. An anonymous group of owners is ready to sell the precious stone. So what exactly is a purple star sapphire you say? It is a rare variety of sapphire known for its deep violet to lavender hue and its unique optical phenomenon called asterism. This effect creates a star-shaped pattern—usually with six rays—that appears to glide across the surface when the stone is moved under light - like in our AI mock-up above. Want to see the real picture? Click on the article here → (AP News)

🇦🇺 A whistleblower at the Dartbrook coal mine in the NSW Hunter Valley raised the alarm that executives were doling out contracts to other businesses they had control or interests in. How can this happen you ask? Turns out the operation was a joint venture between ASX-listed Australian Pacific Coal (AQC) and privately-owned Tetra Resources, with the latter owning 20% of the venture but managing mine operations. AQC has been suspended on the stock exchange since October while the mine is insolvent. An investigation has apparently shown that key executives directed millions upon millions in contracts to other entities they owned as well as to friends and family. Definitely an interesting read and a good reminder to always do your own due diligence before investing. (ABC)

🇨🇦 Congratulations to Kristan Straub who has been appointed the President and Chief Executive Officer of Canada Indigenous Loan Guarantee Corporation, a subsidiary of Canada Development Investment Corporation. A member of Henvey Inlet and French River No. 13 First Nation, Mr. Straub is a highly accomplished executive and recognized industry leader with more than 25 years of experience in the global mining sector. Most recently, Mr. Straub served as Chief Executive Officer of Wyloo Canada. Looks like a great choice to us!

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