Latest Commodity News

Rare Earths Americas reported initial drilling results from its Homer rare earth project in Brazil’s Goiás Alkaline province. The project is fully owned by the company. Drilling has found widespread rare earth mineralization near the surface, with strong enrichment in heavy rare earth elements. More than 6,500 meters have been drilled, and several intersections contain more than 2,000 parts per million total rare earth oxides over intervals longer than 10 meters.

The company began a fully funded $5 million, 15,000-meter drilling program in June. So far, mineralization has been confirmed across about 2.15 square kilometers, which is less than 20% of the main geochemical anomaly at Homer-A and less than 7% of the total magnetic anomaly. The geological model points to a large alkaline-carbonatite system marked by a ring-shaped magnetic anomaly covering more than 35 square kilometers and extending more than 6.5 kilometers along its main axis.

Assay results show high levels of magnetic rare earth oxides. Multiple intervals have heavy rare earth oxides making up more than 30% of total rare earth oxides, neodymium-praseodymium above 25%, and combined dysprosium and terbium above 2%. The company also found niobium, tantalum, and scandium in weathered near-surface zones. Two additional drill rigs have been added, bringing the total to four, and the current program is expected to finish by year-end, with an initial mineral resource estimate targeted for 2027.

CEO Donald Swartz said Homer has advanced quickly since the company’s public listing in May and that the early results confirm scale, near-surface mineralization, and strong heavy magnet enrichment. Rare Earths Americas controls four exploration projects, including ionic clay deposits in Brazil and a monazite-rich sands project in Georgia. The company’s stock closed down 1.3% in New York, and its market capitalization is $219 million.

A worker has died in an accident at BHP's Escondida copper mine in northern Chile's Antofagasta region. Chile's National Geology and Mining Service confirmed the death on Sept. 23 and sent its regional team to the site to gather information and begin an investigation. The agency did not release details about how the accident happened or name the victim.

The accident involved a front-end loader used in mining, according to union leader Sebastian Liberona. BHP said the worker was killed while doing maintenance work, and that all operational activities at Escondida have been suspended. The company did not say when operations might restart. Escondida is the world's largest copper mine, and the suspension could matter for global copper supply.

BHP owns 57.5% of Escondida, Rio Tinto holds 30%, and Japanese investors own the rest. The accident comes as BHP negotiates a new contract with workers at the mine. A vote is expected by the end of September, and the union is urging workers to reject the offer. If the offer is rejected, a strike could follow.

Petrobras, Brazil's state-run oil company, may include the Sirius offshore natural gas project in Colombia in its 2027–2031 business plan. A company executive said the project is likely to appear if Petrobras receives an environmental license. The plan is expected later this year.

Sylvia Anjos, Petrobras' head of exploration and production, said the company has made progress toward the license but still needs to complete consultations with local communities. Petrobras operates the project with a 44.4% stake, while Colombia's Ecopetrol is its partner.

The project would involve building a pipeline to carry gas directly from the seabed to the coast, without using a platform. Earlier this year, Petrobras said it had completed more than half of the required prior consultations, a legal step meant to protect ethnic communities that could be affected.

Canada's oil and gas industry is experiencing a large wave of mergers and acquisitions. More than $30 billion in deals have been announced this year, and forecasts suggest the total could exceed the $53 billion reached in 2017. Unlike the earlier wave, when companies sold assets under pressure, today's deals are driven by strong oil and asset prices and Middle East tensions. Companies are combining from positions of strength, which can create more durable businesses.

The biggest deal is Shell's $16.4 billion purchase of Arc Resources. Shell needed to rebuild reserves, which had only about 5.3 years of life, below the 10-year benchmark for European majors. Arc adds 370,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day and boosts Shell's production growth from about 1% to 4% through 2030. Arc is a major Montney natural gas producer, and Shell owns 40% of LNG Canada. The deal secures gas supply for LNG Canada and could support a Phase 2 expansion. Arc also brings high-margin oil and condensate liquids.

Other notable deals include Tamarack Valley Energy and Headwater Exploration merging in an all-stock deal valued at C$10 billion ($7.25 billion). The combined company would produce over 80,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day and become the largest publicly traded pure-play Clearwater oil producer. Tamarack has secured 25,000 barrels per day of Trans Mountain pipeline capacity starting in 2027 and access to Cushing, Oklahoma, through a proposed connector.

Carlyle is expanding in Canadian energy by forming Avenrock Energy to acquire Parallax Energy Operating from Carnelian Energy Capital, reportedly for around $1 billion. Parallax has a 75% interest in about 300,000 acres in Alberta's East Shale Duvernay and produces 20,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, mostly light oil and natural gas liquids. This is Carlyle's second major Alberta push in a year after buying Kiwetinohk Energy. Experts expect more deals because inflation and commodity prices make producing assets attractive.

The White House has denied that it is considering a ban on U.S. diesel exports, after comments from President Donald Trump and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent appeared to leave the option open. The average U.S. diesel price has topped $6.50 per gallon, adding pressure on the administration ahead of the midterm elections. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said no flat ban is being discussed; instead, the focus is on getting more diesel into the U.S. market while maintaining strong flows of gasoline and jet fuel.

The global diesel shortage is being driven by wars in Iran and Ukraine, which have disrupted supply from the Middle East and Russia. This has pushed fuel prices up worldwide, including in the United States, where diesel is at a record high and gasoline is unusually expensive for this time of year. Some Republican senators, led by Chuck Grassley, are calling for a diesel export ban to help farmers and truckers facing high fuel costs.

The oil industry and market analysts oppose an export ban, arguing it would not solve high prices and could backfire. The American Petroleum Institute warns that restricting exports would force refiners to cut runs, tighten supplies further, and deepen the global refining crisis. Analysts add that the U.S. cannot isolate a globally traded commodity, and a ban could damage U.S. refining capacity and its role as a key diesel supplier to Europe and Latin America.

The United States produces more diesel than it consumes, so exports are important for global supply. Experts say the problem is a world diesel shortage, not a U.S. shortage. Treating the global price problem as a U.S.-only issue, they argue, could make the situation worse rather than lower prices.

Glencore's Cerrejón coal mine in Colombia halted railway operations after explosives damaged its rail network on the evening of Sept. 22 near Uribia in La Guajira. No injuries were reported, and mine activities continued as normal. Colombia's National Army deployed troops to secure the area and inspect the infrastructure, which the company said was the sixth attack on its infrastructure this year.

The railway is 150 kilometers long and connects the mine to Puerto Bolívar, where coal is exported to international markets. The company will assess damage once the area is safe. The attack follows more than 80 blockades this year, mostly tied to community protests over a lack of basic services rather than disputes with the company. Past disruptions have fully shut down the mine, showing how much it depends on the transport corridor.

Depending on how long repairs take, the attack could disrupt the movement of supplies and coal, potentially affecting production and exports. Cerrejón is one of the world's largest open-pit coal mines and produced 16.8 million tonnes of coal in 2025. Glencore shares rose 5.2% to £550.8 ($730.4) in London, valuing the company at £64.6 billion ($85.7 billion).

Ivanhoe Electric's Santa Cruz copper project in Arizona has a new prefeasibility study. Pre-production capital rose to $1.43 billion from $1.24 billion, a 15% increase. Net present value increased modestly to $1.5 billion from $1.4 billion, even with a higher assumed copper price. Internal rate of return slipped to 19% from 20%, and the payback period lengthened to 4.8 years from 4.4 years. The study assumes an 8% discount rate and a copper price of $4.75 per pound, below current spot prices; the prior study used $4.25 per pound. Shares fell 4.2% to $10.27.

The project is located near Casa Grande, about 77 km south of Phoenix. It is the most advanced project for the company led by Robert Friedland. First cathode production is targeted for 2029, a year later than originally planned, to help meet demand for copper, a critical mineral for electrical wiring, as Washington wants stronger domestic supply. Analyst Andrew Dusome of National Bank Financial called the PFS a key de-risking step. Higher capital spending was driven by a redesigned access tunnel to lower groundwater risk, plus construction materials and labor inflation. The analyst said capex above estimates may weigh on the stock near term but is largely offset by higher life-of-mine production and greater confidence.

Design changes replaced a roadheader-based underground access system with a Robbins Crossover tunnel-boring machine. Average copper production increased to about 74,700 tonnes per year over the first 15 years from about 72,000 tonnes. The mine life was extended to 24 years, one year longer. Santa Cruz holds 140.1 million probable tonnes grading 1.08% copper, containing 1.52 million tonnes of copper. Resources outside reserves include 1.44 million indicated tonnes of contained copper and 3.33 million inferred tonnes across Santa Cruz, East Ridge, and Texaco. Life-of-mine cash costs are projected at $1.47 per pound, with all-in sustaining costs at $2.28 per pound. At a spot copper price of about $6.79 per pound, NPV would jump to $3.5 billion with a 30% IRR and a three-year payback.

The project sits on about 24 sq km of private land with surface, mineral, and water rights, plus access to rail, highways, power, and natural gas infrastructure. Permits for surface construction have been obtained, and early development has begun. The company is pursuing project financing, with advanced discussions underway. It received a preliminary project letter from the U.S. Export-Import Bank in August for potential debt financing of up to $1.1 billion, now in a second phase of due diligence. The analyst expects Ivanhoe Electric to benefit from positive sentiment from U.S. government agencies supporting domestic critical metals mines.

China has started building a new hybrid energy project in Shandong province that combines a 50-megawatt supercritical carbon dioxide power unit with 100 megawatts of molten salt storage. The facility is being built at the existing coal-fired Bajiao power station in Yantai. It will capture surplus power when demand is low, store it as heat in molten salt, and use that heat during peak demand to generate electricity through a carbon dioxide turbine instead of a steam turbine.

The project, called Ruitan, is expected to begin operating next year and would be the first of its kind in the world. Its supercritical carbon dioxide system is designed to be smaller, water-free, more efficient, and less carbon-intensive than traditional power plants. It is also more flexible, which could help stabilize the local grid and provide lessons for future energy storage, nuclear power, and even lunar applications.

The project reflects China's broader push to lead clean energy technology. Chinese companies filed about 5 percent of the world's clean energy patents in 2000, but by 2022 they filed roughly 75 percent. From 2019 to 2025, China invested more than half of the $1.1 trillion spent globally on clean energy, while the United States invested $236 billion. This scale has made many countries dependent on Chinese clean energy technology.

Meanwhile, the United States is trying to reduce that dependence. The Trump administration has ordered a ban on Chinese-made batteries in utility-scale energy storage, but the vague wording has left developers uncertain. Barring affordable Chinese batteries may slow storage additions in the short term. The molten salt and supercritical carbon dioxide project is not expected to replace battery storage, but it is part of a wider Chinese strategy to dominate next-generation energy technology.

NexGold Mining has reported new high-grade drill results from its Goldlund gold deposit in northwestern Ontario. One notable hole, GL-26-034, cut 13 metres grading 2.84 grams of gold per tonne from 205 metres depth, including 8 metres at 9.76 grams gold and 7 metres at 14.07 grams gold. CEO Kevin Bullock said the grades and thicknesses continue to build confidence that mineralization extends at depth and matches earlier drilling. The work is meant to fill gaps and test the extension of Zone 4, helping refine the geological model and possibly informing future resource estimates.

Goldlund is part of the larger Goliath gold complex. The site and nearby Windward mine produced about 18,000 ounces of gold in the early 1980s. A 2023 prefeasibility study lists 16.2 million tonnes in probable reserves grading 1.19 grams gold for 621,000 contained ounces. The study estimated the Goliath complex could have a post-tax net present value of $336 million and a 25.4% internal rate of return, with initial capital costs of $335 million. It could produce 90,000 ounces of gold a year over a 13-year life, assuming a gold price of US$1,750 per ounce.

Other drill highlights include hole GL-26-032, which returned 15.5 metres at 2.23 grams gold from 123.5 metres depth, including 9.1 metres at 1.49 grams gold. Hole GL-26-033 cut 42.8 metres grading 0.84 gram gold from 245.7 metres depth, including 22 metres at 1.25 grams gold. Hole GL-26-039A returned 17.1 metres at 1.51 grams gold from about 219 metres downhole, including 6.2 metres at 2.04 grams gold. Mineralization occurs in quartz stockwork veins within sub-vertical granodiorite sills, and Zone 4 hosts broad intervals of mineralized volcanic rocks with multiple intrusions. The results come from a 35,000-metre drill program, of which 31,971 metres have been completed, and drilling is expected to finish by the end of the year.

NexGold was formed through the 2024 merger of Treasury Metals and Signal Gold. It aims to become a mid-tier Canadian gold producer with targeted output of more than 200,000 ounces a year from Goliath and the Goldboro project in Nova Scotia. Company shares fell more than 6% to $1.52 each in Toronto on Wednesday morning, giving a market capitalization of $391.7 million. The stock has traded between $1.12 and $2.40 over the past 12 months.

Highlander Silver has hired Natixis Corporate and Investment Banking to lead a proposed $330 million seven-year senior secured debt financing for its Corani silver project in Peru. The loan would be fully underwritten and supported by a cost-overrun provision of up to $100 million to be arranged before the first draw. Final amounts depend on due diligence and approvals, with closing targeted for the first quarter of 2027. Highlander had about $100 million in cash and no debt as of June 30. CEO Daniel Earle said the company retained 100% of the offtake rights to preserve optionality and maximize future value amid global competition for clean concentrates.

Corani is a fully permitted project in Peru's Puno region with 229 million ounces of silver in proven and probable reserves. An updated feasibility study is expected this year, covering revised reserves and resources and a staged development plan. BMO Capital Markets estimates construction will require $450 million to $500 million in capital expenditure, and it expects a revolving credit facility to cover the cost overrun, avoiding the need for equity financing. Highlander is close to being fully funded with about $100 million in cash and its Mercedes gold-silver mine in Mexico expected to contribute roughly $100 million in 2027 and 2028. BMO expects construction to start in the first half of 2027 and first production by the end of 2029.

Scotiabank estimates initial capital spending at about $460 million, meaning the proposed Natixis loan would cover roughly 72% of construction costs, in line with the bank's earlier assumption that about 70% would be debt funded. Corani's 2019 feasibility study outlined a 15-year mine producing an average 9.6 million ounces of silver annually. At $18 per ounce of silver, it estimated initial capital of $579 million, an after-tax net present value at a 5% discount rate of $532 million, a 23% internal rate of return, and life-of-mine all-in sustaining costs of $4.55 per ounce of silver.

Corani holds 138.6 million proven and probable tonnes grading 51.3 grams of silver per tonne, 0.9% lead and 0.55% zinc, for 229 million ounces of silver, 2.7 billion pounds of lead and 1.7 billion pounds of zinc. Site work has begun, including camp construction, preliminary earthworks and road building, with the workforce exceeding 300 people by July. Corani came to Highlander through the Bear Creek deal completed in February, which also brought the Mercedes gold-silver mine in Mexico and the San Luis gold-silver project in Peru. Highlander shares fell 7% to C$7.62 in Toronto as silver prices dropped about 3% and wider markets fell on rising bond yields, leaving the company with a market capitalization of C$1.55 billion ($1.1 billion).