Critical Minerals Mining
The sector that explores, extracts and processes minerals such as rare earths, lithium and cobalt that are essential to batteries, electronics, defense systems and clean-energy technology, and considered strategically vital by governments including India's.
Covered in 20 MetalsCost.com News Intelligence articles, most recently on October 2, 2026.
Coverage
Eramet Plans a $350 Million Lithium Expansion in Argentina Under the RIGI Regime
A working direct extraction plant is moving toward its first expansion.
India Auctions Two Andaman Sea Blocks Rich in Cobalt and Nickel Nodules
Offshore blocks open a new potential source of battery metals for India.
Chinese Lithium Prices Fall 25% in September on Doubts Over Battery Demand
Lower prices squeeze miners' margins and project financing.
Lynas Agrees to Buy Meteoric for A$968 Million to Add a Brazilian Rare Earths Deposit
A well-funded producer takes over one of the larger rare earth deposits outside China.
Lithium Argentina Plans to Double Cauchari-Olaroz to 85,000 Tonnes a Year
A low-cost brownfield expansion strengthens Argentina's lithium pipeline.
Sigma Lithium Halts All Mining in Brazil as It Waits on an Appeals Court
The case shows how quickly legal disputes can stop a producing lithium mine.
Tronox and Japan's JX Advanced Metals Commit $32 Million to Rare Earth Plant Studies
A new partnership adds to rare earth processing plans outside China.
Brazil Orders Sigma Lithium to Halt Part of Its Mine Over an 'Imminent Risk' at a Pit Slope
The case raises the regulatory risk of lithium projects near traditional communities.
Lake Resources Wins Environmental Approval for Its Kachi Lithium Project in Argentina
A fully permitted DLE project is a test case for pond-free lithium production.
Hancock Prospecting Disputes the A$680 Million Paper Loss Put on Its Rare-Earth Stakes
The dispute concerns how one investor's stakes are valued, not the sector's operations.
Gina Rinehart's Hancock Prospecting Books an A$680 Million Paper Loss on Rare Earths
Falling valuations make funding new rare-earth projects harder.
Spark Energy Hits Project-Record Gallium Grade at Boa Vista, Brazil
Spark Energy Minerals has returned a project-record gallium grade at its Boa Vista target in Brazil's Lithium Valley, expanding the gallium-rare earth footprint of its Arapaima project. Surface sampling also defined a new, roughly two-kilometre anomalous zone alongside the company's first discovery at Cruzeta.
Rare Earths Americas Doubles Drill Fleet at Brazil's Homer Project
Rare Earths Americas is doubling its drill fleet at the Homer project in Brazil after early assays returned rare earth zones enriched in dysprosium and terbium, the elements most critical to permanent magnets. The company targets an initial resource estimate for the site in 2027.
Rainbow Rare Earths Taps Neo to Design Phalaborwa Separation Circuit
Rainbow Rare Earths has selected Neo Performance Materials to design the separation circuit at its Phalaborwa rare earths project in South Africa, handing Neo offtake rights to future output. The project processes legacy phosphate-fertiliser waste already sitting at the surface.
Glencore Commits $500 Million to US Critical Minerals Stockpile
Glencore has committed $500 million to VaultCo, the public-private partnership building a US government critical minerals stockpile under Project Vault. The mining and trading group becomes the fourth supplier named to the programme, joining Hartree Partners, Mercuria Americas and Traxys.
Bahia Metals Files NI 43-101 Report for 313-Million-Tonne Nickel Find
Bahia Metals has filed an independent NI 43-101 technical report defining 313 million tonnes of inferred nickel-copper-cobalt resource at its Mangueiros project in Bahia state, Brazil. The filing is a formal regulatory step that clears the way for a preliminary economic assessment.
US and Argentina Launch $7 Billion Andes-Atlantic Corridor to Secure Lithium and Copper Supply
US-backed financing for lithium and copper extraction, processing and export infrastructure directly supports Argentina's critical-minerals mining sector.
Cameco or MP Materials? A New Comparison Weighs Uranium Stability Against Rare-Earth Growth
MP Materials' Mountain Pass and Independence facilities are central to building out US domestic rare-earth supply.
Indian Private Firms Start Mining, Refining and Recycling Lithium at Home
Three Indian private companies -- Altmin, LOHUM and Navprakriti -- are separately building lithium refining, overseas mining and battery-recycling capacity, turning India's critical-minerals strategy from policy talk into real infrastructure.
India's Top Mining Institute Launches New Degree to Train Critical Minerals Specialists
A dedicated, AI-integrated postgraduate pipeline gives India's critical-minerals sector access to specialists trained across the full exploration-to-processing value chain, addressing a skills gap alongside the sector's raw-material and capacity investments.
