MMG revises remedies as EU nickel decision nears. Hong Kong-listed MMG said on November 11 it will revise the remedies offered to the European Commission to win antitrust approval for its $500 million purchase of Anglo American’s Brazilian nickel business. Reuters reported that regulators are leaning toward a veto after negative third-party feedback, and that the revised package would raise ferronickel volumes committed to Europe to 16,000 tonnes a year from 11,500 tonnes, with greater contract certainty and pricing flexibility. The Commission decides by December 21, the long-stop date has been extended to December 31, and Anglo has warned the operation is likely to shut if the sale is blocked.
Falco targets Horne 5 environmental decree in early 2027. Falco Resources said on November 11 that it continues to work through Quebec’s environmental assessment for the Horne 5 gold project beneath the former Horne mine at Rouyn-Noranda, and targets receipt of the provincial environmental decree in early 2027. The decree would allow detailed engineering and preparatory work, with further permits still required before construction. Falco puts planned investment at about $1.75 billion with potential for 500 direct, permanent jobs; the former Horne mine produced 11.6 million ounces of gold and 2.5 billion pounds of copper between 1927 and 1976.
Côte d’Ivoire unveils integrated mining and energy policy. The Ivorian government presented its Integrated Mineral Resources and Energy Policy (PIRME) in Abidjan on November 9, framing CFA38 trillion of investment to 2040 across mining, hydrocarbons and energy, with 88 percent expected from the private sector and 12 percent from the state. The phases run CFA11 trillion for 2026 to 2030, CFA21 trillion for 2031 to 2035 and CFA6 trillion for 2036 to 2040, split 41 percent to energy, 30 percent to mining and 29 percent to hydrocarbons. The policy aims to lift the sectors’ combined share of GDP from 7 percent in 2025 to 14 percent by 2040. The figure is a programme target, not committed funding.
AIC Mines completes Mt Cuthbert copper acquisition. AIC Mines has completed its $70 million acquisition of Materra Metals, including the Mt Cuthbert copper project in north-west Queensland, about 150 kilometres from its Eloise mine. Mt Cuthbert carries a resource of 18.7 million tonnes at 1.3 percent copper, containing 246,000 tonnes of copper across five deposits that remain open, plus an 8,000 tonne a year SXEW plant on care and maintenance. AIC also completed a $70 million placement to Hawke’s Point Resource Finance and plans about 60,000 metres of resource definition drilling over two years once the wet season passes.
Victory and Curtin team up on rare earth processing. Victory Metals has partnered with Curtin University in Perth to process heavy rare earth concentrate into mixed rare earth carbonate at pilot scale at the university’s Cathode Precursor Production Pilot Plant, a facility representing more than A$18.4 million of investment. Concentrate from Victory’s Burswood plant will be processed under a material transfer agreement running through 2027, testing an Australian processing route for material from the North Stanmore project. Samples will go to Victory for assessment alongside international offtake and refining partners.
Argentina could pass Chile in lithium by 2035, study says. A GEM Mining Consulting study reported by Mining.com forecasts Argentina’s lithium output at 481,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent by 2035, ahead of Chile at 426,000 tonnes, with global supply reaching 3.55 million tonnes. The ranking depends heavily on one project: without the two-stage Pozuelos-Pastos Grandes development, expected to contribute 90,000 tonnes a year, Argentina’s output would fall to about 391,000 tonnes and stay behind Chile. The study covers 150 operating mines, expansions and projects across 27 countries and warns that financing constraints and construction delays could reorder the table.