Nearly 450 billion yuan ($63 billion) has been invested in mineral exploration and 150 new mineral deposits have been discovered nationwide during the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) period, the Ministry of Natural Resources announced on Thursday. According to the China Mineral Resources (2025) report unveiled by the ministry at the 27th China Mining Conference and Exhibition, which opened in Tianjin on Wednesday, China’s investment in geological exploration amounted to nearly 116 billion yuan last year, marking four consecutive years of growth. Last year, China’s production of 10 types of nonferrous metals continued to increase, while the output of “energy minerals”…
Author: TJ Markle
Bahrain has sponsored deep-sea mining firm Impossible Metals’ application for a mining permit with the International Seabed Authority, becoming the first Middle Eastern country to throw its support behind the fledgling industry as part of an economic diversification push. Privately-held Impossible Metals last Friday filed a 170-page application with the Jamaica-based ISA for a permit to mine part of the Pacific Ocean known as the Clarion-Clipperton Zone that contains polymetallic nodules filled with manganese, copper, nickel and other building blocks of electric vehicles and electronics. Any country can allow mining in its territorial waters. The United Nations-backed ISA was authorized by a 1980s…
Utah mining execs tout harmony between Beehive State and critical minerals industry ‘Down Under’ just days after the U.S. and Australia signed historic critical minerals deal Global mining executive Bruce Richardson remembers being a kid and getting a bit bored eating his toast smeared with Vegemite — that distinctly Australian food spread made from leftover brewers’ yeast. So young Bruce would add a bit of honey to his Vegemite. Immediately, the toast was far more appetizing. That harmonious Vegemite/honey blend doubles as an analogy in today’s headline-grabbing world of critical minerals and rare-earth resources, said Richardson at Wednesday’s International Mining…
The situation in the industry is challenging, but there is significant potential due to the mineral agreement with the US and EU programs Ukraine’s mining industry suffered a devastating blow in 2022, with production falling by 30%. Despite a partial recovery in 2023-2024, the industry continues to face critical challenges: loss of production capacity, rising electricity costs, higher logistics costs, and a shortage of qualified personnel. At the same time, the industry retains significant potential: Ukraine has deposits of 24 out of 34 critical EU minerals, including lithium, graphite, and titanium. The strategic agreement with the US to create an…
Even amidst the regressive resistance of the current U.S. administration, the world is shifting toward a green energy future. As governments pledge to phase out fossil fuels, companies tout electric vehicles, and financiers pour billions into solar, wind and batteries, it seems the necessary transition from fossil fuels to clean energy is finally picking up pace. But beneath the celebratory headlines lies a darker, inconvenient truth: the race to extract “transition minerals” widely used in current clean energy technology — is unleashing a new wave of destruction. And unless we change course, this mining boom will push us closer to collapse as…
Saudi Arabia increased its exploration spending by 500% over the last five years – more than doubling in the last year alone – making the kingdom one of the fastest-growing mining jurisdictions in the world, the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources (MIM) announced this week. The country’s exploration spending rose to SAR 1.05 billion ($280.5 million) in 2024, up from SAR 501 million ($133.5 million) in 2023 and up from SAR 205 million ($55 million) in 2020, according to the MIM’s latest Mineral Exploration Report released on Oct. 20. “Saudi Arabia’s mining sector is entering a new phase of…
The US$8.5 billion critical minerals deal signed between Australia and the United States this week has placed the spotlight on how much value the Trump Administration places on securing access to these resources in its strategic contest with China. This concern has similarly influenced US agreements with Ukraine, as part of continuing US support for the war against Russia, and its interest in acquiring Greenland. Accessing these minerals has also been a longstanding theme in the US position on deep seabed mining. This was highlighted on 24 April when President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order paving the way for the United States to…
In May 2025, the China Global South Initiative (CGSi), a collaboration between the Keough School of Global Affairs and the Atlantic Council Global China Hub, convened a group of twenty-two African environmental experts at the Peduase Valley Resort in Ghana for a three-day workshop on China’s environmental impact in West Africa. This policy workshop, hosted with the support of the Ford Foundation, included representatives from eleven West African countries—Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo—and South Africa. Amid three days of comradery and collaboration, these experts worked together to draft policy memorandums…
For more than two decades, Ross Orr has been challenging one of mining’s most prominent paradoxes: The Sustainability Paradox, which often asks the question: Can extracting the Earth’s resources ever truly be sustainable? But his company, BacTech Environmental, believes that the answer lies not in digging deeper but in looking closer at the microscopic world of naturally occurring bacteria. The company applies a process called bioleaching, which implements naturally occurring bacteria to break down sulfide ores, rock formations that often contain minerals like gold, silver, and other valuable metals. “Our technology implements this bacteria to effectively put metal into solution,” Orr explains.…
Indonesia’s mineral riches continue to clash with its green goals. A new law has been passed to regulate mining and protect the environment and local communities, but its enforcement remains weak. On Indonesia’s Buru Island, eucalyptus farmer Mahani switched professions and became a gold miner to make more money. He is just one of many who joined a gold rush. In 2011, gold was found on the island’s Mount Botak. Since then, people from around Maluku archipelago have been flocking to the island to search for gold. For decades before, Indonesia’s Buru had the stigma of being a place of exile…