China To Restrict Exports Of Critical Chipmaking Metals Gallium And Germanium In Escalated Tech War

[SMM Flash] PMET Resources' 100%-owned Shaakichiuwaanaan project in Québec, Canada, has been selected for inclusion in the Canada Investment Summit Prospectus, increasing the project's exposure to global institutional and strategic investors. While Shaakichiuwaanaan is primarily being developed as a major lithium project, PMET has also highlighted its significant tantalum and caesium co-product potential, describing the asset as hosting one of the world's largest tantalum-bearing pegmatite resources. The project already has strategic investment relationships with Volkswagen and Albemarle, while Société Générale, Export Development Canada and KfW IPEX-Bank have provided non-binding expressions of interest regarding potential debt financing. If developed, Shaakichiuwaanaan could contribute to geographical diversification of primary tantalum supply through co-product recovery from large-scale lithium mining. However, its inclusion in the investment summit does not represent a new financing commitment, final investment decision or confirmed tantalum production schedule.

[SMM Flash] The Democratic Republic of Congo produced approximately 868.94 tonnes of coltan in H1 2026, according to statistics from the country's Cellule Technique de Coordination et de Planification Minière (CTCPM) reported by La Guardia. Artisanal operations accounted for 803.73 tonnes, or approximately 92.5% of total output, while industrial production contributed 65.21 tonnes. Reported artisanal output increased sharply to 648.08 tonnes in Q2 from 155.65 tonnes in Q1. Haut-Lomami emerged as the leading reported artisanal coltan-producing province, contributing 490.67 tonnes during the period and overtaking Tanganyika. Industrial production remained highly concentrated, with MMR reportedly accounting for approximately 63 tonnes of the 65.21-tonne total. The figures highlight the continued dominance of artisanal mining in DRC coltan supply and the growing importance of Haut-Lomami to regional trade flows, traceability and aggregation. SMM has not independently verified the underlying 2026 CTCPM statistical publication.

[SMM Flash] Kenya is intensifying efforts to move from raw-mineral exports towards domestic processing and value addition, with the United States pledging support for development of the country's critical-minerals processing industry. President William Ruto has recently called for greater domestic beneficiation of resources including coltan, while US officials said Washington wants to support a transparent mining sector with greater local processing and community benefits. The immediate US focus includes Kenya's Mrima Hill deposit, which is primarily associated with rare earths and niobium rather than tantalum. However, the wider beneficiation policy is relevant to Kenya's emerging coltan sector because implementation could alter how locally produced tantalum-bearing material enters regional and international supply chains. No blanket legally effective coltan export ban or specific new tantalum-processing facility was confirmed in the latest US-Kenya announcement, so the development should currently be treated as policy direction rather than established new tantalum capacity.