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Canadian miner First Quantum Minerals said on Wednesday the likelihood of taking out the 121 000 t of copper from its disputed Cobre Panama mine can only happen after the Panama national election. First Quantum's Cobre Panama is under preservation and safe maintenance after the current Panama government ordered the closure of the copper mine last year.

Some of the world’s biggest energy trading companies are returning to metals, years after getting burnt in the notoriously difficult markets. Vitol Group, Gunvor Group and Mercuria Energy Group are among the traders building out their metals teams, as they look to deploy capital generated by record profits.

Copper miner Freeport-McMoRan beat Wall Street estimates for first-quarter profit on Tuesday, helped by higher production and easing costs. The mining giant said its quarterly production of copper rose to 1.1-billion pounds from 965-million pounds a year earlier, helped by a 49% jump in output from its Indonesia operations.

Toronto-listed G Mining Ventures (GMIN) has successfully drawn the remaining $33-million on its $75-million senior secured term loan with an affiliate of Franco-Nevada, in accordance with an announcement in July 2022. The proceeds of the term loan will be used to continue the development and construction of GMIN's 100% owned Tocantinzinho gold project currently under construction in Brazil.

The World Diamond Council’s (WDC’s) revised System of Warranties (SoW) is set to reach its first critical deadline on September 21, when it becomes obligatory for all rough diamond sales.   “We strongly urge all companies, but especially . . . rough diamond traders, to transition to the revised SoW, if they have not done so yet, to be ready for the September 21 deadline,” WDC executive director Elodie Daguzan said on April 24.

Chile's government is expected to receive 85% of "associated benefits" including taxes and lease payments from a planned partnership between state-run copper miner Codelco and lithium company SQM from 2031, Codelco chairman Maximo Pachecho said at an event on Tuesday. The two companies are negotiating the details of the agreement to partner on lithium mining in the Atacama salt flat, with a May 31 deadline to reach a final deal.

The London Metal Exchange (LME) moved on Tuesday to stop traders from taking Russian aluminium from its approved warehouses and returning it at a later date to profit from rule changes to comply with new sanctions. The US and Britain earlier this month banned the LME from accepting new Russian production of aluminium, copper and nickel to restrict Russian revenues from the export of these metals.

The green hydrogen sector now has a digital platform on which users can buy and sell green hydrogen by the click of a button, it was announced on Tuesday.  Euronext-listed Lhyfe, the French group devoted to energy transition, has begun taking of orders for green hydrogen in Europe and facilitating contacts between buyers and sellers. (Also watch attached video.)

Rio Tinto, Eramet and LG Energy are among 30 companies that have submitted proposals to develop lithium extraction technology for a Chilean salt flat in the early stages of exploration, state-run mining body ENAMI said. Chile is seeking to develop the salt flat known as Salares Altoandinos for lithium mining.

Toronto-listed G Mining Ventures (GMIN) unveiled a significant move on Monday, announcing its acquisition of TSX-V-listed Reunion Gold, owner of the Oko West project in Guyana, in a C$875-million transaction. The consolidation marks a strategic step for GMIN towards accelerating its vision of building a prominent intermediate gold producer, leveraging the acquisition of the globally significant Oko West gold discovery in the Guiana Shield.