October 29th, 2025 - The Mine Wire

METALS MARKET

🇨🇦 BREAKING: The Bank of Canada has lowered its interest rate by a quarter point today from 2.5% to 2.25%. The decision was driven by a weakening economic outlook. The Bank’s Governor Tiff Macklem said, “The weakness we’re seeing in the Canadian economy is more than a cyclical downturn. It is also a structural transition.” Further, he said, “The U.S. trade conflict has diminished Canada’s economic prospects. The structural damage caused by tariffs is reducing our productive capacity and adding costs.”

🇺🇸 The U.S. Federal Reserve is also widely expected to cut interest rates by another quarter point as concerns about a cooling labor market outweigh inflation considerations.

^{**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.}

KEEPING AN EYE ON GOVERNMENT DECISIONS

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

• 🇨🇦 🇺🇸 In case you are living under a rock, President Trump promised an additional 10% tariff on Canadian goods & an immediate stop to trade negotiations in response to an advertisement by the Ontario Government. President Trump on Truth Social said, “Canada was caught, red handed, putting up a fraudulent advertisement on Ronald Reagan’s Speech on Tariffs… Because of their serious misrepresentation of the facts, and hostile act, I am increasing the Tariff on Canada by 10% over and above what they are paying now.” Despite costing Ontario $75m, Premier Doug Ford said the ad was seen over 1 billion times. Consider the bear poked. While we would have preferred a pot of honey, we also recognize that Ontario is between a rock and a hard place with President Trump going hard after Ontario’s auto sector. Only time will tell whether this was effective or a serious blunder. (Ontario Ad)

• 🇺🇸 So while Canada now waits for the United States to re-engage, President Trump was busy landing trade deals in Asia. At the ASEAN summit Trump signed deals with Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia and Vietnam. Then the President traveled to Japan to meet its new Prime Minister where the two countries signed a deal to secure rare earth supply. Last but certainly not least, the United States & China have apparently worked out a framework for a deal which will be reviewed by Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping tomorrow at 11am at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in South Korea.

• 🇺🇸 President Trump was also busy on the domestic front as he granted a two year exemption to copper smelters from stricter limits on emissions. The White House said, "Imposing these requirements on such a limited and already strained domestic industry risks accelerating further closures, weakening the Nation’s industrial base, undermining mineral independence, and increasing reliance on foreign-controlled processing capacity." The change was welcomed by Freeport-McMoRan which operates a copper smelter that will benefit from this move. (White House)

• 🇨🇦 The British Columbia government has approved Western High Yield Resources’ mining permit for the Record Ridge magnesium mine near Rossland. The stock is down nearly 50% in the past week due to a local action group filing for a judicial review of the mine permit. Despite that the stock is up over 67% in 2025 and looks like a strong long-term buy. (BC Government)

• 🇨🇦 The Alberta government will pay $95 million to Australia’s Evolve Power due to the government’s shifting policy on coal developments in 2022. Earlier this year, the government agreed to pay out $143m to Atrum Coal. (CBC)

• 🇳🇦 Namibia's President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah has removed Natangwe Ithete from his posts as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Industry, Mines and Energy. "In the interest of ensuring continuity and effective coordination within this key sector, President Nandi-Ndaitwah will assume responsibility for the Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy, effective immediately," the statement said according to Reuters.

MINING MATTERS FROM AROUND THE WORLD 🌎

• 🇺🇸 Westinghouse, Brookfield and Cameco have entered into a strategic partnership with the U.S. Government to accelerate the deployment of nuclear power which will see at least $80 billion of new reactors constructed across the United States using Westinghouse nuclear reactor technology. Westinghouse is owned by Brookfield Renewable, which holds a 51% stake, and Cameco, which holds the remaining 49%. Brookfield Renewable Partners saw a 4.63% gain on the day while Cameco jumped 22.86%. The uranium miner is now up 98.40% in 2025. We love nuclear power, are bullish on uranium and still can’t believe how much power artificial intelligence consumes. (Cameco)

• 🇺🇸 Albemarle has entered into a definitive agreement to sell a controlling stake in Ketjen Corporation's refining catalyst solutions business to KPS Capital Partners. Albemarle and KPS will own approximately 49% and 51% of Ketjen at close, with KPS having a majority of the Board of Directors and operational control of Ketjen. Separately, Albemarle will sell the entirety of its 50% interest in the Eurecat joint venture to Axens SA. Across the two transactions, Albemarle expects to receive total pre-tax proceeds of approximately $660 million which it will use to reduce debt and other corporate purposes.

• 🇺🇸 Perpetua Resources lined up some grade A investors this week as they announced $255 million in equity investments from Agnico Eagle Mines and JPMorganChase. We couldn’t stop talking about this one at PDAC back in March when Antimony seemed in the crosshairs and it was trading around $12.40 per share - today a whopping $35.33.

• 🇺🇸 Ramaco Resources announced that it will establish a national strategic stockpile of rare earth elements and critical minerals at its Brook Mine facility in Wyoming. Despite that news, the stock was down nearly 17% yesterday as Jefferies analyst Christopher LaFemina downgraded Ramaco Resources to ‘Hold’ from ‘Buy’ while slashing its price target to $33 from $45.

• 🇬🇭 Newmont was celebrating that its Ahafo North project in Afrisipakrom, Ghana has achieved commercial production. Over the next five years, the operation is positioned to deliver between 275,000 and 325,000 ounces of gold annually over a 13-year mine life.

• 🇦🇺 Benwerrin Investment Partners was launched this week by several former executives at Taurus. Reuters reported that the fund will invest up to $500m per project and will target junior and mid-tier miners. Orion Resource Partners Co-founder Doug Silver will act as an advisor to Benwerrin. You can find more about the new investment firm here → (Benwerrin) 

MINING BITS

• 🇦🇺 In its October Bulletin, the Reserve Bank of Australia was tepid on the global energy transition and a potential boom in critical minerals mining in Australia. Despite a big deal with the United States last week, the bank points out that long-term demand and Australian production are subject to “considerable uncertainty.” Factors impacting this include, “government policy, technological developments, developments in global prices relative to Australian producers’ marginal costs and other factors that determine the viability of Australian projects such as exploration success and mine approvals.” Full report here → (RBA)

• 🇨🇦 Congratulations to Simon Fallon of Hamilton, Ontario and his father who found the Second Bonus Prize of six one-ounce gold coins valued at over $34,000. The father-son duo got the latest clue from the Northern Miner, decoded it in the evening and set out for Nipissing Falls at 2am. "People are taking this very seriously — they're dropping everything and moving quickly when a clue is released. It's really captured the imagination of Canadians," said Anthony Vaccaro, President of The Northern Miner Group. There are still 10 more prizes plus the grand prize of $1m to come. This reminds us of the end of the 2008 movie “Wanted” where Wesley takes back control of his life at the end and asks, “What the Fuck Have You Done Lately?” - we think this would count as something! (Newsfile)

• 🇨🇦 Deloitte Canada came out with their 2025 Technology Fast 50 program winners. They include Ideon Technologies at 33 and MineSense Technologies at 48. You can learn more at the link and find a Globe & Mail article that covers MineSense in depth. Congrats to both companies! (Deloitte)

• 🇺🇸 Think you had a bad day at work this week? Be glad you aren’t the worker at the Palisades Nuclear Power Plant in Covert, Michigan, that fell into a nuclear reactor cavity full of water. Fortunately, no uranium fuel had been loaded into the reactor yet, despite it being delivered the day before. Holtec International, which owns the property, is planning to restart the decommissioned nuclear facility. We have a bold idea - how about putting some barriers in place! (mLive)

• 🇨🇦 Based in Canada and know someone interested in the mining sector? Let them know about the Mining Needs You Virtual Career Fair on November 24th and 25th from 10am to 7pm EST. Employers, recruiters, academic institutions, and industry leaders will connect with students and job seekers, offering exciting opportunities for work placements and careers in Canada’s mining sector! (Mining Needs You)

Not Signed Up to The Mine Wire Yet? 

We do the hard work and curate news from around the globe related to mining and bring it to you once a week in a free and easy to read format. Whether you’re a seasoned industry professional or a curious enthusiast, our newsletter delivers the latest updates, cutting-edge trends, and expert analysis straight to your inbox in an exciting format once a week. Subscribe below!