Nuclear fuel security took center stage Monday as NexGen Energy broke ground on one of the world's largest new uranium mines, a groundbreaking that drew a former Canadian prime minister and a "Shark Tank" star to remote Saskatchewan. But it was a busy day across the board — gold dealmakers kept consolidating ahead of record bullion prices, Seoul locked down copper supply with a $1 billion loan to Glencore, and a junior in British Columbia landed a fresh vote of confidence from a major producer.
NexGen Energy: Rook I Uranium Mine Breaks Ground in Saskatchewan
NexGen Energy has started construction of its C$2.2-billion ($1.6-billion) Rook I uranium project in Saskatchewan, advancing what could become one of the world's largest new sources of uranium. The underground mine and mill are expected to take about four years to build and are designed to eventually produce about 30 million lb. of uranium annually. For context, Cameco's McArthur River-Key Lake operations are licensed to produce 25 million lb. annually, with 2026 guidance of 14 million to 16.5 million pounds.
The groundbreaking ceremony was no quiet affair. According to Canada's Daily Commercial News, former prime minister Stephen Harper, Premier Scott Moe and Kevin O'Leary of Dragons' Den and Shark Tank, were on hand to celebrate alongside the many partners and supporters of the NexGen project. NexGen itself described the milestone as "another major step toward production and becoming a leading supplier of uranium for the next generation of nuclear energy."
The regulatory runway is now clear: the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission approved NexGen's environmental assessment in March and granted a licence to construct Rook I, clearing the project's final regulatory hurdle before construction. A feasibility study from 2021 still underpins the economics — a 2021 feasibility study outlined an 11-year mine life producing 233.6 million lb. of yellowcake, with an after-tax net present value at an 8% discount rate of C$3.5 billion, a 52.4% internal rate of return and a 0.9-year payback period. The company also secured local buy-in ahead of construction: according to CBC News, NexGen signed benefit agreements with Clearwater River Dene Nation, Birch Narrows Dene Nation, Buffalo River Dene Nation and Métis Nation—Saskatchewan. With URA trading at $44.93 per market data, the sector's fundamentals continue to draw capital even as the shares dipped modestly on the day.
OceanaGold: $553 Million Bid for Ausgold Opens Australian Door
Gold's bull run is fueling another wave of consolidation, and this time it's OceanaGold making the move Down Under. Canadian gold and copper producer OceanaGold is buying Australia's Ausgold for A$776 million (almost $553 million), giving the miner its first acquisition in Australia and control of the Katanning gold project in Western Australia. The offer values Ausgold at A$1.36 per share, a 27.7% premium to its Friday close.
Under the deal structure, shareholders will receive 0.03365 OceanaGold common shares for each Ausgold share held, with an option to elect cash consideration, and are expected to own about 6% to 8% of OceanaGold after closing. OceanaGold CEO Gerard Bond called it a strategic fit, noting "the acquisition of Ausgold adds an advanced, high-quality, low-capital, open-pit development asset to our portfolio at an attractive valuation." Ausgold's own feasibility work suggests the project has real teeth: according to Ausgold's feasibility study, Katanning is forecast to yield more than 100,000oz of gold annually, with first production scheduled for 2029 and a potential mine.
The timing is no coincidence. The Ausgold bid comes amid heightened consolidation in the gold sector as record bullion prices strengthen producers' balance sheets and increase their ability to pursue acquisitions, with gold having nearly doubled over the past two years and trading near $4,399 an ounce on Monday. Per market data, gold was changing hands around $4,370/oz on the day, still within striking distance of that level. The deal also adds to a growing pipeline for OceanaGold, whose main near-term growth project is a new underground mine at Haile in South Carolina, which is expected to eventually account for about 45% of OceanaGold's gold production, alongside a large-scale underground operation at Waihi North in New Zealand.
Korea Eximbank and Glencore: $1 Billion Copper Supply Lock-In
As AI-driven electricity and data-center demand strains global copper supply, South Korea is moving to secure its industrial lifeline. The Export-Import Bank of Korea will lend $1-billion to commodities giant Glencore in exchange for copper supply to South Korean companies, as the country seeks to secure raw materials needed for the artificial intelligence boom.
The mechanics are straightforward but strategically loaded: the loan will be provided to Switzerland-based Glencore International AG, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Glencore, with proceeds used for general working capital, while Glencore has agreed to supply copper to Korean companies during the loan period, without providing details. South Korea is reliant on imports of the industrial material, which is used in power grids, data centers and for renewable energy equipment.
Korea Eximbank flagged Glencore's diversified footprint as a hedge against disruption, noting Glencore's diversified network of mines and trading partners, including those in Chile and Peru, could provide alternative supplies if production is disrupted. A Korea Eximbank official framed the arrangement bluntly: "By partnering with a leading global commodities company, we can secure a stable supply of key materials for Korea's advanced industries. This financing is significant as a proactive economic security measure." The deal lands as the AI data boom and rising electricity demand has boosted demand for copper, which has jumped around 15% this year and is near a record high. Per market data, COPX (Copper Miners ETF) sat at $85.70, up modestly on the day, while the metal itself continues to test fresh records on exchange floors.
AngloGold Ashanti: Doubles Down on Thesis Gold & Silver's Lawyers-Ranch
AngloGold Ashanti is deepening its bet on British Columbia's Toodoggone district. AngloGold Ashanti is investing $58.5 million (US$42 million) to double its stake in Thesis Gold & Silver and help the Vancouver-based developer advance the Lawyers-Ranch project in British Columbia. AngloGold will buy 8.34 million common shares for $28.5 million, along with $30 million of flow-through shares, lifting AngloGold's interest in Thesis to 9.7% from about 5%, following an initial $38.7 million investment in February.
This is now the second time in six months AngloGold has bought into Thesis, and analysts see it as a strong signal for the project's prospects. National Bank Financial's Alex Terentiew wrote that AngloGold's investment is "a strong endorsement of Lawyers-Ranch's scale, exploration potential and development outlook," adding that "the financing significantly improves funding visibility for ongoing exploration and technical work ahead of the expected 2027 feasibility study, while strengthening Thesis's relationship with a globally significant gold producer."
The underlying asset has scale. The financing comes as Thesis prepares a feasibility study for Lawyers-Ranch — due next year — while carrying out exploration and permitting work, having begun the environmental assessment process in late 2025, with a decision from provincial authorities expected in 2029. Earlier project economics were robust: a prefeasibility study previously outlined a 54.4% after-tax IRR and an after-tax NPV5% of C$2.37 billion (at US$2,900/oz Au and US$35/oz Ag).
Equinox Gold: South Railroad Clears Federal Permitting, Construction Underway
Equinox Gold notched a major regulatory win in Nevada. The company received a positive Record of Decision from the US Bureau of Land Management for the Nevada gold project, completing federal permitting under the National Environmental Policy Act. State permit and water rights applications have been submitted, and construction is already moving, with early works beginning on the north access road ahead of the decision and earthworks and major civil construction activities commencing once the ROD landed.
Engineering is well advanced: detailed engineering is 55.2% complete, and major contracts for power generation, process plant equipment, concrete and structural steel have been awarded. Mining equipment starts arriving at year end, with initial mining activities scheduled for spring 2027 and first gold targeted for 2028. Incoming CEO Jason Simpson, who takes the helm when Darren Hall retires at the end of October, called it "a major milestone for the South Railroad project" that "advances our next phase of growth."
Per the feasibility study underpinning the project, South Railroad is planned as an open-pit heap leach mine expected to produce an average 130,000 ounces of gold annually over the first five years and more than 100,000 ounces annually over an initial 10-year mine life. Initial capital costs are estimated at $395 million, including $70–$80 million in Equinox Gold's 2026 guidance. The project's arrival in the Equinox stable traces to its merger with Orla Mining, which closed July 31 and lifted consolidated 2026 production guidance to 870,000 to 920,000 ounces, with South Railroad one piece of a development pipeline the company says can add 800,000 ounces of annual production.
Faraday Copper: Building an 18-Billion-Pound Arizona Copper District
While the big names chase gold, junior Faraday Copper is quietly assembling one of the largest undeveloped copper districts in the United States. San Manuel's acquisition this month gives Faraday a copper mine, land, water rights, and infrastructure near Copper Creek, with the company expecting confirmation drilling at BHP's former San Manuel mine to support a combined Arizona resource containing more than 18 billion lb. of copper.
The existing Copper Creek resource is already substantial: Copper Creek already holds 421.9 million measured and indicated tonnes grading 0.45% copper for 4.2 billion lb. of contained metal, with inferred resources adding 83.6 million tonnes at 0.34% copper for 628 million contained pounds, according to a preliminary economic assessment issued in May 2023. The company has kept drilling active, having completed 88 holes totalling 22,510 metres in its latest Copper Creek program before pausing in June to account for the acquisition and Arizona's summer storms, with more assay results pending.
San Manuel itself carries a storied history and untapped potential. According to the Globe and Mail, San Manuel was once one of the biggest underground mines in the U.S., producing more than 4.5 million tonnes of copper between 1955 and 1999, and when the mine shut down, there was still billions of pounds of copper in the ground that potentially could be mined. Faraday plans to leverage that legacy infrastructure: the company plans to place shared facilities on the former San Manuel mine lands rather than duplicate infrastructure at Copper Creek, with the acquisition served by roads, rail, gas and power, and CEO Paul Harbidge planning to start with oxide material at San Manuel before developing Copper Creek's open pits and using cash flow to help fund a mill for sulphide ore.
CATL: Idled Lithium Mine Threatens to Flip Market Into Deficit
Not every story today is about new supply coming online — some are about supply that still hasn't returned. CATL suspended Jianxiawo in August 2025 after its mining licence expired, and the mine remains offline nearly a year later despite regulatory progress. The Chinese battery maker secured a safety production permit on June 29, clearing a key regulatory hurdle towards restarting the mine after a nearly year-long suspension, but operations have yet to resume.
The stakes for the global lithium balance are rising. Benchmark Mineral Intelligence currently forecasts a global lithium surplus of about 78,000 tonnes of LCE in 2026, but a sustained Jianxiawo delay combined with broader Jiangxi disruptions could erase much of that cushion and potentially push the market into deficit. The operation is no small player — Jianxiawo accounts for about 4% of global supply, and analysts warned Benchmark's base case, which assumed Jianxiawo would restart shortly after Lunar New Year in February, is therefore already outdated, and the analysts warned that a later restart could materially reduce expected 2026 output from the operation.
Prices have already whipsawed on the uncertainty: doubts around the future of global lithium supply comes after prices for the white metal have fallen nearly 30% since May amid rumours and unverified reports about Jianxiawo's return. Per market data, the LIT lithium ETF traded at $75.23, up 0.8% on the day — a sign investors may be starting to price in tighter conditions ahead.
What It Means
Today's news flow tells a story of two speeds in critical minerals. On one end, capital is flowing decisively into new supply — NexGen's uranium groundbreaking, Faraday's Arizona copper build-out, and Korea's sovereign-backed copper financing all reflect governments and majors racing to lock down strategic materials for AI infrastructure and nuclear power before scarcity bites. On the other, gold's record run is triggering a wholly separate consolidation wave, with OceanaGold, AngloGold Ashanti and Equinox Gold all advancing deals and permits while bullion trades near all-time highs — a pattern where miners with strong balance sheets are moving fast to snap up development-stage assets before valuations climb further.
Meanwhile, the CATL lithium story is a reminder that even in a market flush with new mine announcements, a single regulatory delay in Jiangxi province can still move global battery-metal pricing overnight. With copper, uranium and lithium all showing signs of tightening even as gold miners spend record profits on M&A, the roundup today captures a mining sector that is capital-rich but increasingly anxious about where the next ton of metal is actually going to come from.
This roundup covers press releases published on August 17, 2026. Company announcements are sourced from mining industry wire services. For corrections or updates, contact contact@stakeandpaper.com.
