Trump, Milei, Glencore: Top 5 Mining Stories This Week
Andes Corridor Deepens US-Argentinian Minerals Cooperation
The Andes-Atlantic Corridor agreement between the US and Argentina will improve US investors’ access to investment opportunities in Argentina's mining sector, in the context of a joint initiative to modernise the South American country's rail and port logistics.
It will link Argentina's mineral-rich northwest, which contains a number of lithium and copper development projects, to Atlantic ports and Western markets.
Designated the first Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment corridor in the Western Hemisphere, it is designed to unlock large-scale investment.
It is also expected to expand opportunities for US companies and strengthen supply chains for energy, including oil and natural gas by attracting investment into pipeline and power infrastructure.
The company announced in September that its proprietary trolley-assist solution, Quantum Electra-Haul, had been granted a patent and trademark at the UK Intellectual Property Office.
The use of the trolley-assist technology allows the truck to travel at a higher speed than if it were operating under diesel power. The higher speed offers a significant timesaving, equivalent to approximately a 2-minute time saving per trolley-assist stretch.
The reduction in cycle time is expected to have a positive impact on other key performance indicators such as vehicle utilisation rates and mechanical availability, and even eventually on fleet requirements.
Gordon White, First Quantum’s Director, Mine Operations & Technology, praises the potential of trolley-assist technology: “The implementation of trolley-assist technology at our mines has led to notable greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions. Replacing diesel with renewable energy, this technology saved an estimated 45,000 tonnes of GHG emissions in 2025.”
A US titanium producer, IperionX, has successfully validated the production of titanium in a continuous titanium production platform based on the company’s patented hydrogen magnesiothermic reduction (HAMR) titanium production process.
By eliminating the need for discharging, cooling and recharging steps, the company says that it has achieved a sixfold increase in throughput volume, and a 75% reduction in energy intensity compared with the previous batch process.
The introduction of continuous production opens the prospect of a significant reduction of the costs of titanium production via the HAMR process, compared with traditional Kroll production, which is also reliant upon batch production.
From an environmental perspective, continuous production is also expected to lead to a reduction in the need for magnesium, HAMR’s largest reagent cost.
US based critical raw mineral refiner Nth Cycle signed a binding ten-year offtake agreement with Glencore. As part of the US$1bn agreement, Glencore will sell Nth Cycle 24,000 tonnes per year of black mass, the shredded battery parts derived from battery recycling.
Nth Cycle will then process that black mass and supply Glencore with lithium carbonate and a nickel-rich material known as mixed hydroxide product (MHP) for ten years. The offtake volumes will depend on the specific chemistry of the black mass supplied, which can vary depending on the underlying battery chemistries of the recycled material.
Jyothish George, Head of Marketing, Metals and Bulks, Glencore, comments: “Nth Cycle has been at the forefront of building domestic US refining capacity, and we are pleased to be partnering with them.” Mining Digital notes that the US announced plans to restrict black mass exports in August 2026.
A brownfield tungsten mine, Tungsten West, restarted production at its Hemerdon mine outside Plymouth, Devon on 15 September. The mine is targeting ramp-up to full-scale production by the end of the first quarter of 2027.
Barely eight days later, the mine owner and operator announced that it had agreed an eight-year supply and offtake agreement with Elmet Technologies, a US-based vertically integrated producer of tungsten products and advanced materials.
Elmet is building a vertically integrated US and allied tungsten supply chain, supported by a US$450m committed investment from the US Department of War, and has separately secured a US$2bn DLA contract to supply tungsten materials to the US National Defense Stockpile. It has recently acquired a 4.99% stake in Vietnamese tungsten producer Masan High Tech Materials and separately concluded a large investment in Spain-based producer EQ Resources.
The supply and offtake deal is nominally worth GBP1.4bn (US$1.85bn) and covers the supply of 1,000 tonnes per year of contained tungsten trioxide to Elmet, and a further commitment to process up to 500 tonnes per year of contained tungsten trioxide to support UK Government strategic requirements and UK industry.
Company portals
Executives
Gordon White
Group Manager Mining
Jyothish George
Head of Marketing, Metals and Bulks, Glencore
Megan O'Connor
CEO
