Mining Engineering’s Weekly Rundown: Episode 20

First up, in a deal that’s sending shockwaves across the sector, Anglo American and Teck Resources have announced plans to merge, forming what would be the world’s fifth-largest copper company. The all-share transaction, worth more than $53 billion, is the second-biggest mining deal in history, trailing Glencore’s takeover of Xstrata in 2013. Under the agreement, Anglo shareholders will own just over 62 percent of the combined company, while Teck investors will hold the remaining 38 percent. The new entity, Anglo Teck, will be headquartered in Canada but listed primarily in London. Executives say the merger is a strategic bet on copper demand, fueled by the rise of electric vehicles and data center construction for artificial intelligence. The companies expect to unlock $800 million in annual cost savings, particularly from joint operations in Chile. The deal still needs regulatory approval, which could take up to 18 months, but with both sides’ leadership and shareholders strongly backing the tie-up, this could mark a new chapter in copper consolidation.

Next, in Brazil, Vale has officially reopened its Capanema iron ore mine in Ouro Preto after more than two decades of dormancy. Alongside the restart, the company announced it will invest 67 billion reais, about 12.4 billion U.S. dollars, in its Minas Gerais operations by 2030. Much of that investment is aimed at safer and more sustainable practices, including expanded filtering and dry stacking of tailings, with the goal of reducing reliance on dams. The reopened Capanema mine is designed as a model for a new phase of mining, as it operates without water in processing, produces no tailings, and requires no dams. The project will add 15 million tones a year to Vale’s iron ore output, helping the company hit its ambitious production target of up to 360 million tones next year.

Finally, in the United States, the former head of Glencore’s recycling business has launched a new venture aimed at shaking up the critical minerals supply chain. Kunal Sinha, who spent nearly 14 years at Glencore, has founded Valor, a New York-based metals processing startup. The company is betting on technology developed at the University of Illinois that uses specialized molecules, called ligands, to selectively extract metals like copper and rare earths. The method could in theory cut costs and processing times by a factor of ten while producing no waste, a potentially transformative step for the industry. Valor is now raising funds to build a demonstration plant in Massachusetts or New York, with the goal of producing at least five metals commercially within the next two to three years. With U.S. officials pushing hard to reduce reliance on China for critical minerals, Valor’s approach could offer a domestic alternative at a time when demand is surging for applications from defense to artificial intelligence.

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