According to foreign media reports, Resolution Copper has awarded approximately $110 million in drilling and underground development contracts as work advances at its proposed copper mine in Arizona, one of the world’s largest undeveloped copper deposits. Major Drilling America will undertake deep-hole directional diamond core drilling over the next two-and-a-half years, including drilling from the surface and from approximately 6,800 feet underground. Four large surface drilling rigs are planned for the programme, with two already on site and another two expected by the end of 2026. Redpath USA Corporation will undertake the first phase of underground development, including converting two existing shafts, each approximately 7,000 feet deep, for development activities. The contractor will also install underground infrastructure, construct a mine station at around 6,800 feet below surface and develop approximately 1,500 feet of new tunnels and supporting facilities. The contracts form part of an early phase of Resolution Copper’s planned $500 million investment programme, following completion of key environmental review and land-exchange processes earlier this year. The project is jointly owned by Rio Tinto with a 55% stake and BHP with 45%. If developed, Resolution Copper is expected to have the capacity to meet up to a quarter of annual US copper demand. However, a final investment decision remains subject to further data collection, permitting and partner approvals. From a copper-market perspective, the latest contract awards mark another step in advancing a potentially significant source of long-term US mine supply. While commercial production remains dependent on an eventual investment decision and further development, progress at Resolution is increasingly relevant as the US seeks to strengthen domestic copper supply amid rising requirements from power infrastructure, manufacturing and electrification.

The Lumwana Super Pit Expansion in Zambia remains on schedule, with first copper production targeted for the end of Q1 2028, keeping one of the country’s largest copper growth projects on its planned development timeline. According to the latest quarterly update from Barrick Mining Corporation, construction advanced during Q2 2026, with the second lift of the mill walls and roller slab completed and civil works for the primary crusher progressing. Civil construction also commenced on the transfer towers for the overland conveyor system. Most major long-lead equipment is now on site, including the mill shells and trunnions, primary crusher and tailings thickener. The expansion is expected to substantially increase Lumwana’s processing capacity and lift average annual copper production to around 240,000 tonnes once completed. The additional output would strengthen Lumwana’s role in Zambia’s medium-term copper supply growth and provide a significant contribution toward the country’s broader production expansion ambitions. From a copper supply perspective, maintaining the Q1 2028 first-production target improves visibility over Zambia’s medium-term mine supply pipeline. The project is particularly significant as Zambia seeks to translate a growing pipeline of mine expansions and new developments into sustained increases in national copper output. Continued progress at Lumwana will therefore be an important indicator of Zambia’s ability to deliver the next wave of additional mined copper supply from 2028 onward.

[SMM Express] Transport-related costs remain an important cost challenge for South Africa's chrome industry. The Minerals Council South Africa said in its latest Mining Input Cost Inflation report that chrome and manganese experienced elevated input-cost inflation in June, largely due to their reliance on transportation networks, particularly road freight, where higher fuel prices have increased operating costs. The pressure comes alongside elevated energy costs, with the Minerals Council noting that higher fuel prices and the full impact of winter electricity tariffs are expected to keep mining input-cost inflation elevated in the coming months. For chrome producers, the combination of fuel-intensive ore transportation and higher power costs could continue to weigh on margins, particularly for operations dependent on longer road-haulage routes to processing plants and export corridors.

[SMM Express] Southern Palladium has secured a 30-year mining right for its Bengwenyama PGM-chrome project on the Eastern Limb of South Africa's Bushveld Complex. The right was granted by the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources on August 7, 2026, marking a key regulatory milestone for the development, which is planned to recover both PGMs and chrome from UG2 ore. The development is particularly relevant to the chrome market following recent metallurgical testwork that lifted expected chromite recovery to 85.6%, from the 30%assumption in the earlier pre-feasibility study, potentially raising chrome concentrate production to about 1.054 million mt/y at the planned Stage 2 expansion. The mining right therefore strengthens the pathway for a future additional chrome supply source from South Africa's Bushveld Complex, although the project remains subject to further development and financing milestones.

Global chrome ore departures from major export ports totaled 717,000 mt in the week ended August 7, up 12.68% week-on-week, according to SMM's latest data. The increase was primarily driven by Maputo, which handled 496,200 mt, accounting for about 69% of total shipments. Richards Bay followed with 171,500 mt, while Mersin recorded 49,300 mt and Beira reported no chrome ore departures. The latest data also shows a notable shift in weekly flows. Maputo shipments increased from 389,300 mt in the previous week, while Richards Bay shipments eased from 180,400 mt and Mersin shipments declined from 66,600 mt. The stronger overall departures, led by Maputo, point to increased seaborne chrome ore flows from Southern Africa during the latest reporting week, with the port distribution highlighting the continued importance of Mozambique and South Africa's export corridors in global chrome ore supply.

Zimbabwe's sole operating lithium sulphate plant, run by a Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt subsidiary, has no capacity to process third-party concentrate just months before the country's export ban takes effect, according to comments from plant officials during a government site visit. No room for outside supply. The government's January 2027 ban on lithium concentrate exports aims to push miners toward domestic refining, lifting export revenue and local employment. Producers have requested more time to build their own processing plants, but authorities have instead directed them to use existing local facilities of which only the Prospect Lithium Zimbabwe Huayou plant is currently operational, and it cannot absorb outside material. Mine manager comment. "We don't have the capacity to process other minerals from outside. Our concentrator plant produces around 400,000 tons a year, so there's no room for other players," said mine manager Mthokozisi Goliath, noting the sulphate plant can only process what its own concentrator supplies. No delay to deadline. Mines minister Polite Kambamura ruled out pushing back the ban: "The January 2027 deadline is still on... We would like to urge all producers to stick to that deadline." Other plants not ready in time. Processing facilities under construction at other Zimbabwean lithium assets are unlikely to be completed before the deadline. Chinese firms have invested roughly $2 billion into Zimbabwe's lithium sector since 2021. SMM View: This tightens the bottleneck facing Zimbabwe's non-Huayou producers heading into January 2027 with Goromonzi at full capacity and rival plants unfinished, miners without their own processing routes face a stark choice between stockpiling concentrate, absorbing steep discounts on any domestic sale, or halting output altogether. This reinforces the case for closely tracking commissioning timelines at competing plants, as delays there directly translate into constrained sulphate supply and potential price support for processed material once the ban takes hold.