India's state-owned KABIL is preparing to explore Colombian mining opportunities across copper, nickel, cobalt, lithium, coltan and rare earths, while ONGC Videsh is deepening its energy-sector engagement and IndianOil has already taken a 2-million-barrel Castilla crude cargo under an optional supply arrangement with Ecopetrol. The push reflects a broader Indian imperative to treat mineral access as inseparable from energy security, with analysts noting that replacing oil-import dependence with reliance on imported battery materials would represent only a partial transformation of India's strategic resource position.

Brazil's Senate has approved a National Policy for Critical Minerals, creating a presidential council empowered to review foreign control of mineral rights, require export-destination disclosures and tie shipments to local value-addition commitments, alongside a 2-billion-real mineral guarantee fund and up to 5 billion reais in tax credits over five years for processing plants. Concurrent project activity includes USA Rare Earth's US$2.8 billion Serra Verde acquisition with a 15-year mixed rare earth carbonate offtake, and Viridis Mining's Colossus ionic-adsorption clay deposit in Minas Gerais, which is targeting 2028 commercial production while negotiating a supply link to Solvay's European separation customers.

The European Union announced €200 million for Greenland under a Global Gateway Partnership Package to be deployed by end-2027, formalized through a Joint Declaration signed by the European Commission, Greenland's Premier and Denmark's Prime Minister, with an initial focus on Greenland Resources' Malmbjerg Molybdenum Project and GreenRoc Strategic Materials' Amitsoq Graphite Project. Separately, an HCSS policy brief argues that the EU's existing strategic mineral partnerships remain largely political agreements and recommends that development cooperation finance the enabling conditions for investable supply chains—including geology, skills, governance and environmental safeguards—while the forthcoming 2028–2034 Multiannual Financial Framework should better blend EU funding instruments across the European Competitiveness Fund and Global Europe.

Almonty Industries' Sangdong tungsten mine in South Korea entered active processing in mid-2026, drawing on a 139,700-metric-ton ore stockpile at 0.25 percent WO3 grade and reporting C$43 million in second-quarter 2026 revenue. Five research houses now carry unanimous buy ratings on the stock, with Jefferies initiating at a buy target of US$26.25; shares have gained approximately 90 percent year-to-date on the Toronto Stock Exchange while trading roughly 27 percent below their 52-week high, reflecting a market cap of approximately €2.74 billion against revenue still in the tens of millions. Once at full capacity, Sangdong is expected to supply over 80 percent of global tungsten production outside China, positioning it directly against US procurement bans and Chinese export restrictions. Arafura Rare Earths is concurrently approaching a groundbreaking at its Nolans project in Australia, with a financing package combining government funds, export credits and equity giving it a pro-forma cash position of A$1.341 billion and a binding term sheet for up to 500 tonnes of magnet precursor products annually with an Indian special-purpose vehicle.

China's tightening grip on critical mineral supply chains was the subject of a US House hearing on supply chains, where witnesses warned that control of critical minerals could determine the future of strategic technology across semiconductors, AI data centers and defense. In the thermal interface materials sector, Chinese customs have stepped up scrutiny of indium exports even though indium itself is not on the formal export-control list, with approvals that once cleared same-day now taking several days; this follows a pattern established when China's July 2023 gallium and germanium controls produced a near-total halt in gallium shipments for multiple months. China simultaneously published a national standard for gallium-based liquid-metal thermal interface materials, a category where Chinese suppliers already hold roughly 80 percent of the global market.

On the project-development side, North America's 2027 DFARS deadline banning Chinese-origin rare earth magnets is colliding with mine timelines that can exceed 30 years from discovery to production, with 30–40 percent of that time consumed by sequential engineering studies; AiMinr's cloud platform addresses this by linking 50-plus AI agents to run geotechnical, metallurgical, hydrological and financial models in parallel, aiming to compress engineering phases from decades to years. In equity markets, ASX-listed names drawing investor attention in September 2026 include Galan Lithium, advancing a brine asset in Argentina toward production, Chalice Mining, progressing feasibility work at its platinum-group and battery-metals Gonneville project in Western Australia, and Andean Silver, a precious-metals explorer operating in a different segment of the critical-minerals landscape.

Lumina Copper, an affiliate of First Quantum Minerals, agreed to acquire Cascadero Minerals Corp. for up to US$19 million, with the contingent portion of the payment tied to construction progress at the Taca Taca copper project in Salta Province, Argentina, giving First Quantum expanded control over district-scale mining rights in that jurisdiction. The transaction is structured so that Lumina consolidates the relevant concessions without requiring a full corporate takeover, a structure that mirrors broader trends in critical-minerals M&A where asset-level deals unlock value incrementally. While the copper transaction is relatively modest in headline size, the Taca Taca contingent payment mechanism directly aligns consideration with project advancement, reducing upfront capital risk for the acquirer while incentivizing development milestones.

The Democratic Republic of Congo's state-owned artisanal cobalt aggregator entered the ranks of the country's top five exporters after shipping 3,531 tonnes in H1 2026, a milestone that also reflects the programme's traceability agenda for artisanally mined material. Separately, Kinshasa is tightening its grip on subsurface intelligence by developing a national critical-minerals databank covering cobalt, copper, lithium, tantalum, and gold; a US$180 million airborne survey with Spain's Xcalibur is mapping more than 700,000 km², and the databank is expected to be fully operational by end-2026, with basic data remaining free and sensitive datasets subject to fee-based access. The DRC's renewed cobalt export ban is part of a broader continental push toward in-country value addition, alongside raw-mineral export restrictions now in force or in preparation in Kenya, Ghana, Guinea, and Zimbabwe. Kenya's President William Ruto has declared that all minerals extracted domestically must be processed locally before export, targeting gold, graphite, titanium, and soda ash as priority commodities, and authorities have simultaneously suspended all mining operations by Tata Chemicals Magadi on the grounds of insufficient in-country benefit.

Brazil's most significant supply disruption of the week centres on Sigma Lithium's Grota do Cirilo mine, where a judge suspended environmental licences following a civil suit from the Federation of Quilombola Communities of Minas Gerais, which alleged the mine's blasting and earthmoving activities affect the Baú community located approximately 2.7 kilometres from the directly affected area — within Brazil's 8-kilometre threshold for enhanced consultation requirements. The ruling bars Minas Gerais from issuing new licences, orders an independent georeferencing review, and imposes a 100,000-reais daily fine if operations continue in breach. Sigma's stock fell over 9% overnight on the news; however, the company issued a formal statement contesting the ruling, noting it has not received legal notice and that operations remain active while it prepares its defence for when courts reopen on 8 September. The company also denied that the preliminary ruling overrides its recent TAC agreement with Minas Gerais state authorities, and maintains it sits outside the 8-kilometre impact zone. A separate Reuters review of court documents confirmed the suspension order. Grota do Cirilo, with nameplate capacity of 330,000 tonnes per annum of lithium oxide concentrate, is Sigma's sole producing asset, and the episode marks a second operational interruption in months following an earlier state-level embargo resolved in August.

The broader lithium price environment reflects these supply pressures. Battery-grade lithium carbonate on the MMLC index is trading at 145,750 yuan per tonne, below mid-year highs but well above prior-cycle lows, supported by constrained supply rather than accelerating demand. A separate and material supply variable is CATL's Jianxiawo lepidolite mine in Jiangxi, which remains on care and maintenance after failing to meet local restart conditions; Benchmark Mineral Intelligence has cut Jianxiawo's 2026 output estimate to roughly 32,000 tonnes LCE from an earlier 62,500 tonnes LCE, removing approximately 30,500 tonnes of assumed supply. Restart rumours have triggered sharp futures swings, keeping the mine a central market-expectations issue alongside the physical shortfall.

On the equity side, Albemarle's shares closed at USD 126.28 on 4 September, down 4.45% on the day and roughly 10.5% since the start of 2026, underperforming a broad lithium-sector ETF proxy that fell only 0.38% on the same session. The retreat contrasts with operationally strong second-quarter results in which the company reported a 61% rise in lithium prices year on year alongside 11% volume growth, translating into a more-than-20-fold increase in net income. Analyst consensus carries a Moderate Buy rating with a 12-month price target of USD 190.04, implying approximately 50% upside from the current level, and the company continues to pay a quarterly dividend of USD 0.41 per share.

Corporate and project activity was active across multiple jurisdictions. POSCO Holdings secured a USD 700 million IDB Invest facility to fund working capital for its first Argentine brine lithium plant and a second plant due for completion in the second half of 2026, while also accelerating the four-phase Sal de Oro project at Salar del Hombre Muerto toward an eventual 100,000 metric-ton-per-year capacity. Liontown Resources completed a staged farm-in entry into the Centenario lithium brine project in Argentina, with a pathway to acquire up to 100% of the asset. Core Lithium achieved first spodumene concentrate production at its recommissioned Finniss processing plant in the Northern Territory within six months of the final investment decision, with targeted plant upgrades expected to increase throughput by approximately 20% to 1.2 million tonnes per annum; the company is targeting first shipment during the December quarter 2026. Tesla announced the production of the first Cybertruck at its Texas Gigafactory using battery-grade lithium hydroxide sourced from its Robstown facility in Texas, where spodumene ore is converted via a low-acid process — a milestone in vertical supply-chain integration highlighted as "Lithium made in America." Australasian Metals (ASX:A8G) shares rose 45% in a week after the company entered a binding option to acquire majority interests in the Atex and Alliance lithium projects in Côte d'Ivoire from Firering Strategic Minerals, with historical drilling at Atex returning intercepts including 67.97 metres at 1.23% Li₂O; the transaction is valued at A$1.4 million and includes an A$100,000 option fee. Chariot Resources released a September 2026 investor presentation outlining a Hombre Muerto basin are positioned for a staged build-out beginning with lithium chloride concentrate, with project economics heavily contingent on price recovery. Global Lithium Resources holds two hard-rock projects in Western Australia, with generate 1.5 to 2 million jobs by 2030 as the country transitions from import-dependent assembly to integrated cell-to-recycling production, supported by a PLI scheme committing Rs. 18,100 crore toward 50 GWh of domestic ACC capacity. On fire safety, hazardous-materials specialist asecos has published sector-specific lithium battery guides covering aviation, construction, data centres, defence, logistics and other industries, citing an average of 4.8 lithium battery fires per day attended by UK Fire and Rescue Services. A five-megawatt lithium-ion BESS project by New Leaf Energy is seeking site-plan approval from the Schenectady Planning Commission for installation in the city's industrial zone. Separately, Sandia National Laboratories' THERMS gravel-bed thermal storage testbed has completed more than 200 charge-discharge cycles at up to 550°C and costs USD 10 to USD 50 per kWh, compared with USD 200 to USD 300 per kWh for lithium-ion batteries, framing it as a low-cost alternative for longer-duration energy storage applications. STMicroelectronics has released a battery-management IC targeting extended lithium power life in portable equipment, light EVs and UPS units, featuring increased precision and faster balancing across a full temperature range.

The Philippine data center industry anticipates expanded demand for advanced computing infrastructure from Pax Silica's manufacturing development, a United States-led initiative targeting semiconductor and electronics manufacturing capabilities that could create new opportunities for data center facilities in the country.

Brazil's Senate approved a critical minerals bill creating a National Policy for Critical and Strategic Minerals, establishing a presidential council with authority to scrutinize corporate control changes at companies holding rights to strategic minerals, and potentially reaching foreign-influence arrangements and export agreements with geopolitical implications. The legislation, which proceeds to President Lula for final approval, would also permit rules tying exports to value-addition commitments and requiring disclosure of destination, final beneficiary, and processing degree. The bill's passage directly intersects with USA Rare Earth's April agreement to acquire Serra Verde for $2.8 billion, a transaction that has drawn concern inside Brazil's government given Serra Verde's 15-year offtake committing its first-stage mixed rare earth carbonate output abroad rather than to domestic separation capacity.

Several ASX-listed developers are advancing Brazilian rare earth projects against this policy backdrop. Viridis Mining and Minerals is progressing the Colossus ionic-clay project across roughly 229 square kilometres in Minas Gerais, carrying a market capitalisation of approximately AUD 548 million on the strength of expected low-capital-intensity processing. St George Mining is developing the Araxá niobium and rare-earth project in the same state, having repositioned from a Western Australian nickel-and-gold explorer, with resource definition, metallurgy, and funding all remaining to be established. Brazilian Critical Minerals is pursuing an in-situ recovery approach at Ema, reporting field trials indicating high extraction rates and a magnet-rare-earth-rich product mix, while carrying a market capitalisation of approximately AUD 92 million at a pre-revenue stage.

China's progressive tightening of rare earth export controls continues to animate activity across jurisdictions. Osmond Resources' 2026 Annual Report for its Spanish Orión project details how 60 MT iron ore production in FY27 while planning to commence commercial thermal coal output at its Tokisud North mine in Jharkhand and aiming for 20 percent of non-iron ore revenue by 2030 through diversification into coal, critical minerals, and rare earth elements.