Latest Critical Minerals News

RareX has identified a 74-metre zone of anomalous copper in drill hole KRC012 at the Niobe Prospect, with portable XRF readings peaking at 5,724ppm. The result broadens the Khaleesi exploration story, but laboratory assays are still four to six weeks away.

Olympio Metals has started a roughly 1,500-metre maiden diamond drilling program at its Jacknife silver project in Idaho, targeting mineralisation linked to more than 3.2 million ounces of historical silver production. The campaign is significant, but the company must still verify old data before it can establish a JORC-compliant resource.

Vulcan Energy has started commercial-scale production in Germany of VULSORB, the proprietary adsorbent at the centre of its planned direct lithium extraction process. The material will supply first-fill volumes for Project Lionheart, although lithium production remains targeted for the second half of 2028.

American Tungsten & Antimony has produced antimony ingot from Arizona-mined material at its Nevada refinery, providing the first physical demonstration of its proposed US mine-to-metal chain. The milestone creates samples for testing and customer qualification, but the underlying asset acquisition remains incomplete and product quality is yet to be disclosed.

Everest Metals moved Mt Dimer into mining, established a 260,780-ounce Revere gold resource and upgraded its Mt Edon rubidium project in FY2026. Yet the company remains loss-making, has impaired its Mt Dimer development assets and warns that future funding and project cash inflows are needed to support its going-concern assessment.

Pivotal Metals has used its FY2026 annual report to position Horden Lake as a larger, better-understood Quebec copper project, with a maiden scoping study targeted for September. The company also expanded Belleterre drilling and added the Bambino project, but remains loss-making and dependent on further funding.

WA1 Resources has ended FY26 with a larger, higher-confidence Luni niobium resource, encouraging processing results and A$123.8 million in cash. The project now moves towards a targeted Q4 CY2026 Pre-Feasibility Study, with permitting, funding and commercial viability still ahead.

Dreadnought Resources has sharply reduced its FY2026 loss while building a larger exploration portfolio and advancing two high-grade gold deposits toward potential production. The ASX-listed explorer ended the year with $15.7 million in cash, but remains dependent on funding until operating income arrives.

Ionic Rare Earths is pushing toward commercial magnet recycling in Belfast and the United States, but its FY2026 report flags a material uncertainty over its ability to continue as a going concern. The company reported a larger A$14.9 million loss and A$13.9 million in operating cash outflows, despite government support and new strategic partnerships.

Sky Metals has used FY2026 to move Tallebung from exploration toward development, combining more than 500 drill holes with strong ore-sorting results and progress into NSW’s environmental approval process. The advance came alongside a A$5.37 million loss and continuing reliance on equity funding.

Legacy Minerals has appointed WSP to assess scandium at its 100%-owned NiCo Young project, potentially adding a third critical mineral to a 167.8Mt inferred nickel-cobalt resource. The combined JORC update is expected in October, but no scandium resource has yet been established.

Mount Ridley Mines says its third Selectro™ leach test lifted scandium recovery to 91.8% while using roughly half the reagent dose of earlier tests. Heavy and light rare earth recoveries also improved, although gallium recovery fell sharply.