Mining Press Roundup: Discovery Mining Clears Mexico's Last Federal Permit for Cordero Silver

Discovery Mining said on Oct. 5, 2026 that it has received the environmental impact assessment permit and the Change of Land Use permit for its Cordero silver project from Mexico's Federal Environmental Department, SEMARNAT. According to Dsvmining, which carried the company's release, the two permits complete the federal environmental permitting process and position Discovery to advance Cordero towards development. That moves the project from a large undeveloped resource toward something lenders and partners can underwrite. The timing matters because gold is off its highs and Washington is pushing for domestic supplies of lithium and nickel, so projects that can show a clear path to construction are getting attention.

Discovery Mining: Cordero Gets Its Federal Environmental Permits

Discovery describes Cordero as 100%-owned and located in a prolific mining belt in Chihuahua State, Mexico. The company calls it one of the world's largest undeveloped silver deposits. President, CEO and Chairman Tony Makuch said Cordero is a large-scale silver project that will produce "the right mix of critical metals the world needs".

MINING.COM reports that Discovery still has to complete development planning and financing before construction can begin. The company has been updating Cordero's February 2024 feasibility study to reflect current capital and operating costs. That study outlined a 19-year mine producing an average of 37 million oz. of silver equivalent a year during its first 12 years. Using a silver price of $22 per oz., Discovery estimated initial capital costs of $606 million and an after-tax net present value of $1.2 billion. The deposit holds 327 million proven and probable tonnes grading 29 grams silver per tonne, for contained metal of 302 million oz. silver, according to a February 2024 resource cited by MINING.COM.

BMO Capital Markets analyst Kevin O'Halloran called the permits the final major hurdle for Cordero and said no further major approvals are required before development. BMO models first production in the second half of 2029. It values the project at $2.73 billion using a long-term silver price of $47 per oz. SCP Resource Finance said the approval showed that large greenfield open-pit projects with existing concessions can still advance under the current administration.

Investors took profits on the widely anticipated news. Discovery shares fell 2.3% to C$11.92 on Tuesday morning in Toronto, according to MINING.COM. The company has a market capitalization of C$9.7 billion ($6.8 billion), and the stock has gained sharply over the past year. Precious metals are not providing a tailwind. Gold futures settled at $4,345.80 per oz. on Monday, about 18% below their January record settlement of $5,318.40, according to Dow Jones market data cited by MINING.COM.

Surge Battery Metals: Nevada North Lithium Study Lands

Surge Battery Metals announced a pre-feasibility study for its Nevada North lithium project on Oct. 2, 2026. Per Surgebatterymetals, the study shows an after-tax net present value (8% discount) of US$9.81 billion and an after-tax internal rate of return of 23.6%. It also shows an after-tax payback of 4.2 years from the start of production and a 42-year mine life.

The project is capital-intensive. Phase 1 initial capital is US$2.77 billion, and Phase 2 expansion capital is US$2.35 billion. Life-of-mine average cash operating cost is US$4,719 per tonne of lithium carbonate, approximately 10% below the US$5,243/t estimated in the 2025 preliminary economic assessment. Nevada North has a Proven and Probable Mineral Reserve of 218.3 million tonnes at 3,928 ppm Li, containing 4.56 million tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent.

The base case assumes US$24,000/t for lithium carbonate. At a 30% lower price (US$16,800/t), after-tax NPV8% is approximately US$4.6 billion. Nevada North Lithium LLC is a joint venture owned 67.5% by Surge and 32.5% by Evolution Mining Limited. The study targets first production in the second half of 2031, subject to permitting, financing and a final investment decision. In the Surgebatterymetals release, Surge CEO Greg Reimer said the study "demonstrates that the NNLP can become a competitive source of domestic lithium production for America's growing battery industry."

Westwin Elements: Class 1 Nickel Refinery for Mississippi

Westwin Elements announced Monday plans to invest $502 million over five years to establish a commercial-scale Class 1 nickel refinery at the Belwood Industrial Site in Natchez, Mississippi, MINING.COM reported. The first phase plans to produce 18,000 tonnes of Class 1 nickel annually, with commissioning targeted for 2029.

Westwin has completed a Bankable Feasibility Study for the site and secured a long-term lease. The refinery builds on its 20-tonne-per-year demonstration plant in Lawton, Oklahoma, which uses nickel carbonyl refining technology to produce on-spec Class 1 nickel powder. The company says binding feedstock and offtake agreements are already in place to support production and revenue projected for the first phase.

The project is expected to create 134 full-time jobs in its first phase of commercial operations, at an average annual salary of approximately $84,000. It is a downstream play for a metal the US wants to refine at home.

KGHM and South32: Sierra Gorda Expansion Begins

KGHM and South32 have officially begun a $725 million expansion of the Sierra Gorda copper mine in Chile, MINING.COM reported. It is expected to lift annual copper output to nearly 200,000 tonnes. A fourth grinding line will increase ore-processing capacity by 26%. Construction is scheduled to begin in January 2027, and full capacity is expected in the second half of 2030.

According to South32's investment approval announcement, the project targets average annual payable copper production of about 195,000 tonnes and a roughly 10% reduction in average operating unit costs. Poland's KGHM owns 55% of Sierra Gorda, while Australia's South32 holds the remaining 45%.

Sierra Gorda CEO Marcelo Bustos said the operation ranks as Chile's eighth-largest copper producer, accounting for 3.1% of national output. In August, the partners announced a 61% increase in the ore reserve estimate, extending estimated reserve life by about five years to 2045.

Canterra Minerals: Lundberg Resource Grows as Grades Slip

Canterra Minerals increased the indicated resource at its Lundberg copper-zinc deposit in Newfoundland by 55%, delivering the "higher-confidence tonnes" it was seeking even as grades declined, according to MINING.COM. The resource contains 26.1 million indicated tonnes grading 0.36% copper, 1.31% zinc and 0.56% lead. That holds 94,800 tonnes of copper and 341,600 tonnes of zinc.

Indicated copper-equivalent grade fell 13% to 0.87% from 1% in the 2019 resource. The new estimate uses a copper price of $4.97 per lb., against $3 per lb. in the 2019 estimate. A September drill program returned a 144-metre interval grading 0.75% copper equivalent, including 76 metres at 1%.

Canterra shares gained 4% on Tuesday morning in Toronto, valuing the company at $51.7 million (US$37 million).

Cambria Gold Mines: Premier Mill Restart Is Still a Plan

Cambria Gold Mines plans to recommission the 2,500-tonne-per-day Premier gold mill in northern British Columbia in the fourth quarter of 2027 and ramp it up through 2028, MINING.COM reported. The company says $538 million (US$377.3 million) has been spent at the Premier complex since 2021.

The history explains the caution. Then operating as Ascot Resources, the company poured first gold at Premier in April 2024 but halted the mill five months later. Underground development had fallen behind, leaving too little material to sustain processing. An updated feasibility study has been delayed from the current quarter to the first half of next year. Cambria also said Premier's water-treatment plant hasn't consistently met permitted zinc-discharge limits since it was built in 2024.

Cambria shares were unchanged in mid-Monday trading, having fallen 74% over the past 12 months.

Freeport-McMoRan: Grasberg Still Short of Normal Rates

Freeport-McMoRan ran its Grasberg complex in Indonesia below normal milling rates in the third quarter, a year after a mudslide killed seven workers and shut the operation, MINING.COM reported. Grasberg processed about 140,000 tonnes of ore a day, and Freeport aims to reach 80% of capacity by mid-2027.

Benchmark Mineral Intelligence estimated last year that Grasberg's closure would remove 278,000 tonnes of copper from 2025 supply, equal to about 1.2% of global mine output.

What It Means

Today's announcements show how much of mining is a matter of getting from permit to financing to production. Discovery has cleared the permitting step at Cordero, but it still needs financing and development planning. Surge's lithium study and Westwin's nickel refinery both rest on timelines that depend on money and approvals still to come. Sierra Gorda is further along: its partners have already approved the investment.

The cautionary cases matter as much. Cambria's Premier mill and Grasberg's slow recovery show that operating problems can cost more time than permits do. Market data showed the lithium ETF LIT up 1.2% and the copper miners fund COPX up 0.5% at Monday's close, so investors are not shunning the battery and base metals names. With gold futures below their January record, the projects drawing attention are those tied to critical metals and domestic supply, provided they can show a credible route to production.

This roundup covers press releases published on October 6, 2026. Company announcements are sourced from mining industry wire services. For corrections or updates, contact contact@stakeandpaper.com.