CHARTS: Global mining is now a brownfield industry
The dearth of new greenfield mines – particularly copper – has been a problem for the industry for decades. A new study by the University of Queensland’s Sustainable Minerals Institute…
Articles by Frik Els
Ranked: Southern Copper knocks Rio from No. 2 spot
Global mining started 2026 the way it ended 2025 – with a huge rally. Gold now looks to have $5,000 in sight, silver’s wild swings are getting wilder, and copper…
Megamines: 10 most expensive bulk projects
With public and government attention shifting to critical minerals, energy transition metals and specialty commodities, and retail investors all-in on rampant gold and silver, here’s a reminder of where the…
Value of EV battery nickel second-highest on record, cobalt at 30-month high
In 2016, Elon Musk famously said: “Although [they’re] called lithium-ion, the actual percentage of lithium in a lithium-ion cell is approximately 2%. Technically, our cells should be called nickel-graphite, because…
CEO Tristan Pascall on First Quantum’s future
The highs and lows of copper are not quite as far apart as memecoins or stonks, but in the last couple of years more than the usual number of fires…
RANKED: Top 10 automakers by battery cobalt spending
Democratic Republic of Congo’s export quotas have lit a fire under cobalt prices and spending on the battery material is up 43% year on year despite ongoing thrifting. A surge…
Congo strategy nearly doubles cobalt price
The price of cobalt sulphate entering the electric vehicle battery supply chain in China has soared more than 90% since the start of the year after top producer the Democratic…
CHART: The brutal economics of EV battery lithium
News this week that the world’s second-biggest lithium miner – SQM – has begun laying off 5% of its Chilean workforce would not come as a surprise to those following…
CHART: Asian battery makers rule EV metals market
During the first quarter of 2025, a combined $3.01 billion worth of battery metals were contained in the packs of newly sold electric vehicles worldwide, up a modest 1.3% year…
CHARTS: EV battery metals bill ticks up as cobalt, nickel prices strengthen
The global passenger EV market, including plug-in and conventional hybrids, should easily reach 25 million units this year. In combined battery capacity deployed – a better indicator of battery materials…
Site visit: One of the strangest chapters in copper mining is drawing to a close
With so much happening in copper – from all-time highs mixed with price collapses – it’s easy to lose sight of the giant hole that exists in the industry where…
Raising capital now biggest risk to mining companies after ESG, says EY report
Global mining and metals executives still view environment, social and governance (ESG) as the top risk facing their business over the next 12 months, but access to capital has now…