Atlantic Strategic Minerals Completes Feasibility Study for Monazite Project, Aiming 1,000 mt Annual Production

Canadian International Trade Minister Sidhu Maninder revealed in an interview that Ottawa and Tokyo are negotiating cooperation options, including joint mining projects, offtake agreements, and joint stockpiling for minerals such as graphite and gallium. "We are providing Japan with opportunities to develop Canada's critical minerals." He cited the graphite offtake agreement between Nouveau Monde Graphite and Panasonic as an example to illustrate this point, noting that graphite is a critical material for batteries. Sidhu is leading a large delegation to Tokyo, which includes nearly 300 representatives from 180 enterprises and organizations, marking the largest such mission by this North American country in the Asia-Pacific region. Japan and Western governments and manufacturers have been seeking secure supplies of rare earth minerals.

Nigerian officials have announced the country’s most significant critical minerals discovery in recent years, as Africa’s largest oil producer seeks to diversify its economy and position itself as a key supplier of materials needed for the global energy transition. Last week, at the African Natural Resources & Energy Investment Summit in Abuja, Nigeria announced the discovery of a new polymetallic ore field in Kaduna State, including high-grade deposits of platinum group metals, gold, nickel, lithium, and rare earths. The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, described Kaduna as a “world-class” metallogenic province and one of the most significant advances in the country’s mining sector in recent years. The discovery was jointly made by private company Steron Mining and the Nigerian Geological Survey Agency (NGSA), and was later confirmed by NGSA.

[SMM Rare Earth ex-China] As of 11:30 am today, SMM rare earth FOB quotations remained stable, with no significant WoW fluctuations. Mainstream product neodymium metal FOB maintained $150-170/kg, dysprosium oxide FOB maintained $274-328/kg, and terbium oxide FOB maintained $1,153-1,241/kg.