Q2 Metals (TSXV: QTWO) extended mineralization 100 metres at its Cisco lithium project in Quebec ahead of a preliminary economic assessment expected this fall; highlight hole CS26-096 cut 134.5 metres at 1.2% Li2O outside the April conceptual pit shell. Cisco hosts 295 million inferred tonnes at 1.36% Li2O, the largest hard-rock lithium deposit in the Western Hemisphere per Canaccord Genuity. Shares fell 2 percent to $2.20, valuing the company at $474.4 million. (Northern Miner, Oct 7; company release; grade C.)
Dutch private equity investor Kenzoll Capital is partnering with Namibian-registered MSF Commercials to restart the Sperrgebiet diamond mine, formerly Elizabeth Bay, near Luderitz. The 245,364-hectare licences hold 6.3 million carats of onshore and 4.2 million carats of offshore resources; Kenzoll has already committed over $10 million and expects total investment to reach $50 million following regulatory approvals, with some funding directed at heavy mineral sands and critical metals exploration. The revival comes as Namibia’s diamond exports fell from a peak of N$5.1 billion to N$1.7 billion. (Mining Weekly, Oct 7; grade C.)
Zimbabwe’s Minerals Marketing Corporation reported mineral sales excluding gold and silver of US$4.74 billion in the nine months to September, up 101.8 percent on a year earlier, with lithium generating US$2.16 billion and overtaking platinum group metals as the leading revenue earner. Spodumene sales jumped 368.2 percent to about US$1.812 billion on a realized price of roughly US$1,483 a tonne, up from US$387 a year earlier. (Mining Zimbabwe, Oct 8; grade C.)
Utah state incentives lifted the base-case net present value of Anson Resources’ Green River lithium project from $1.37 billion to $1.52 billion before tax and from $896 million to $1.04 billion after tax at an 8 percent discount rate, a 10.9 percent and 16.7 percent improvement respectively. The Utah Inland Port Authority approved a business incentive capped at $193 million in September. Underlying construction costs remain about $569 million. (Engineering News, Oct 7; grade C.)
Coface’s industrial metals report sees copper and nickel prices potentially doubling by 2035, with supply deficits averaging about 10 percent of demand and the refined copper deficit reaching 6.5 million tonnes, roughly 11 percent of projected demand. The firm counts 1,138 mineral trade restrictions in force, more than triple a decade ago. (mining.com, Oct 7; report data from USGS, IEA, LME; grade B.)
Hundreds of millions of dollars of Venezuelan gold dore shipped to the US under a Trafigura deal with state miner Minerven, backed by the Trump administration, is sitting in storage because refiners will not process it without proof it meets responsible-sourcing standards. About $100 million was flown in within hours of the March signing; Heeney Capital and Mercuria are targeting up to $2.2 billion a year in Venezuelan mineral exports facing the same due-diligence bottleneck. (Northern Miner, Sept 30; grade C.)