Sanctions are often praised as moral weapons—the civilized alternative to armed conflict. They promise to punish aggressors without the bloodshed of war. But when those measures reach deep into the supply chains that sustain national defense, they risk weakening the…

In what has been an unprecedented rally, investors are celebrating another major milestone in the precious metals market, with silver pushing above $50 an ounce to new record highs. For many analysts, silver’s achievement was inevitable as the market has…

Armed criminal groups tear down precious rainforest to capitalise on record gold prices, report finds. An illegal gold rush has cleared 140,000 hectares of rainforest in the Peruvian Amazon and is accelerating as foreign, armed groups move into the region…

RESTON, Va. — The U.S. Geological Survey has awarded nearly $3 million in cooperative agreements to state geological surveys to study critical minerals in the materials left over from mining at active and legacy sites. “The USGS is mapping the…

A new material might contribute to a reduction of the fossil fuels consumed by aircraft engines and gas turbines in the future. A research team from Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) has developed a refractory metal-based alloy with properties unparalleled…

In the 1984 science fiction film Dune, Baron Vladimir Harkonnen uttered the famous quote that can aptly be used to describe rare earth metals: “He who controls the spice, controls the universe.” The spice was central to the Dune universe,…

DAKAR, Oct 8 (Reuters) – Mining companies operating in the Democratic Republic of Congo underreported $16.8 billion in revenue between 2018 and 2023, a state audit found, potentially reducing funds for the government and local communities. Under Congo’s 2018 mining…

Hydrogels become high-performance metals and ceramics in EPFL’s game-changing 3D printing breakthrough. Vat photopolymerization is a type of 3D printing that involves pouring a light-reactive liquid resin into a container and then solidifying specific areas with a laser or ultraviolet…