Futures zinc price stays high, spot premiums struggle to rise [SMM Ningbo Spot Weekly Review]

The Canadian federal government is considering granting national interest status to the Mackenzie Valley Highway and the Grays Bay Road and Port Project (GBRP), two major infrastructure developments aimed at improving access to mineral-rich regions in Nunavut and the Northwest Territories. The Mackenzie Valley Highway would extend approximately 800 km north from Wrigley to Inuvik, while the GBRP includes a deepwater port, airstrip and a 230-km all-season road connecting Nunavut and the Northwest Territories. Canadian officials said the projects could significantly improve transportation infrastructure, reduce logistics costs, and facilitate the development of zinc, copper, silver and other base metal deposits in the Far North. Companies that could benefit include Glencore, MMG and West Kitikmeot Resources. If approved, the projects would become among the first to receive consideration under Canada’s Building Canada Act, potentially accelerating permitting and regulatory approvals through the Major Projects Office.

Nuvau Minerals announced encouraging results from its 2026 winter drilling program at the Thundermine target in Quebec’s historic Matagami mining camp. Drill hole TM-26-001 intersected 6.10 meters grading 5.28 g/t gold, including a higher-grade interval of 3.10 meters grading 7.22 g/t gold. Drill hole TM-26-004 also returned 2.50 meters grading 3.15 g/t gold. The Matagami camp has historically been known for large-scale base metals production, having produced more than 10 billion pounds of zinc and nearly 1 billion pounds of copper since the 1960s. The latest Thundermine results suggest that, beyond its traditional VMS-style copper-zinc mineralization, the district may also host significant orogenic gold potential. Nuvau said a follow-up drilling campaign is scheduled to begin in July 2026, focusing on step-out drilling along strike and down dip from the TM-26-001 intercept to test the continuity and resource growth potential of the high-grade gold zone.

Blue Lagoon Resources announced that its Dome Mountain gold-silver mine in British Columbia, Canada, has achieved commercial production and is ramping up throughput from over 100 tonnes per day toward a target rate of 150 tonnes per day. The company expects to produce approximately 15,000 oz of gold over the next 12 months, with annual output potentially increasing to 20,000 oz thereafter. Dome Mountain is a quartz-carbonate vein-hosted gold-silver deposit that also contains lead, zinc and copper credits within its concentrate. Blue Lagoon stated that its next major focus will be exploration, with drilling programs scheduled to resume later this year. The company aims to expand the Boulder vein resource through infill, strike-extension and deep drilling, targeting a long-term resource inventory of 1 million ounces of gold. Current resources at the Boulder vein stand at approximately 234,000 oz of gold, while mineralization remains open along strike and at depth, providing significant resource growth potential.