Mining Engineering’s Weekly Rundown: Episode 57
Welcome to Mining Engineering’s Weekly Rundown, where we break down the latest news shaping the mining industry. As usual, we’re diving into a few major headlines that are striking the sector.
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Group of Seven leaders agreed to step up coordination to cut their countries’ reliance on China for critical minerals, including plans to align stockpiling and launch a new platform with an expanded role for the International Energy Agency. Western powers are racing to diversify supplies of metals vital to defense, technology and renewable energy and reduce dependence on China. Beijing rattled global markets last year when export curbs on permanent magnets disrupted industries, exposing their reliance on a single source. The G7 will also set up a platform to coordinate policy, data sharing and crisis response, working with the IEA to monitor markets and flag risks, as first reported by Reuters. The platform will draw on the agency for analysis and “early warnings of market distortions”, the group said.
Next, Newmont Corporation announced leadership appointments that further shape its go-forward Executive Leadership Team under President and Chief Executive Officer Natascha Viljoen and reflect the depth of leadership talent within the company. Effective July 1, 2026, Brian Tabolt has been appointed Chief Financial Officer, Mark Rodgers has been appointed Chief Operating Officer, and David Thornton has been appointed Chief Technical Officer. In addition, David Fry has been promoted to Executive Vice President, Project Development, reflecting the importance of disciplined project development and execution as Newmont advances its highest-return growth opportunities.
“These appointments bring together respected leaders with deep industry experience and a strong understanding of our operational, financial, technical and project development disciplines,” said Viljoen. “They reflect the strength of leadership and depth of talent we have built at Newmont and the capabilities we need to strengthen performance across the business, advance our world-class portfolio with discipline and pace, and continue creating long-term value for shareholders and stakeholders.”
Finally, The U.S. government signed a $725 million conditional loan commitment with Energy Fuels to boost domestic processing of rare earth elements as part of its efforts to reduce reliance on China. Energy Fuels, which specializes in uranium production, will expand its operations into rare earth separation and metallization, which is crucial for the production of permanent magnets, the U.S. Department of War’s Office of Strategic Capital said in a release.
Over the last year, several countries, including the U.S., have stepped up investments in rare earth mining and processing following China’s move to curb exports of rare earth magnets. Energy Fuels must fulfill financial, legal, technical and other due diligence requirements, as part of the conditional loan agreement, the OSC said, without elaborating on the requirements.
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