Mining Press Roundup: Rio Tinto Buys Its Way Around a Bauxite Cliff Edge as Copper's Giants Circle Each Other

Rio Tinto moved today to plug a hole that's been opening in its Australian bauxite portfolio for years, agreeing to acquire the Aurukun project from Glencore and Mitsubishi Development just as the mining giant prepares to wind down operations elsewhere. It's a defensive-turned-offensive play in a commodity that rarely makes headlines but underpins the entire global aluminum supply chain -- and it lands on a day thick with copper news, from a DRC discovery growing "30% bigger" to BHP and KGHM formally joining forces to go hunting for the metal together.

Rio Tinto: Buying Aurukun to Backfill a Shrinking Bauxite Base

Rio Tinto has agreed to acquire the Aurukun bauxite project in Far North Queensland from a joint venture between Glencore and Mitsubishi Development, according to the companies' statements. The deal strengthens Rio Tinto's position in Australia's bauxite industry as it prepares for changes to its existing mine portfolio. Financial terms were not disclosed, and the transaction remains subject to approval from the Queensland government and other Australian regulators.

The timing is no accident. The deal comes as Rio Tinto prepares to wind down its Gove bauxite mine in Australia's Northern Territory by the end of the decade, while its East Weipa operation in Queensland ceased production in 2024. Aurukun sits right next door to Rio's existing footprint -- located on the west coast of Cape York in Queensland, close to Rio Tinto's existing bauxite operations -- but it's not an instant production boost. The project is currently held under a mineral development licence and does not yet have a mining lease, meaning the acquisition does not immediately add production to Rio Tinto's output. Once fully developed, though, the scale is significant: under the proposed development plan, Aurukun could produce up to 8 million dry metric tonnes of washed and screened bauxite a year over a mine life of more than 20 years, according to project documents.

For the sellers, this looks like a rational exit. Glencore said the joint venture has invested in the project's design, development, and approvals over several years, and following a review of its options, the joint venture determined Rio Tinto's regional operations provided the project with the best opportunity for future development. Rio Tinto, for its part, said it will seek the required approvals and continue discussions with Traditional Owners if the acquisition proceeds. Not everyone is satisfied with that process so far -- representatives of the Wik Waya people told The Australian they had not been adequately consulted about the sale.

Ivanhoe Mines: Makoko Copper Discovery Grows Another 30%, Scoping Study Set for 2027

Ivanhoe Mines delivered one of the day's most consequential resource updates, announcing that its Makoko District discovery in the Democratic Republic of Congo has grown by another 30% since last year's estimate. According to the company's release, since the May 2025 estimate, about 64,000 metres of diamond drilling have increased contained copper in the Makoko District by 30% to approximately 12 million tonnes on a 100% basis. Across the broader project, Indicated Mineral Resources now total 42 million tonnes at 2.66% copper, plus Inferred Mineral Resources of 612 million tonnes at 1.80% copper.

Executive Co-Chair Robert Friedland framed the discovery in stark terms, saying the company is "the world's largest and highest-grade new copper discovery of the past decade, arriving at a time when new copper sources are desperately needed but becoming increasingly rare... Our discovery rate is extraordinary, 100 million pounds of contained copper for every 1,000 metres drilled, at an exceptionally low cost." Notably, the update doesn't even capture everything in the ground: about 60,000 metres of drilling completed in 2026 was not incorporated into the latest estimate, while mineralization remains open in multiple directions, Ivanhoe founder Robert Friedland said.

Ivanhoe is now moving toward development planning. Ivanhoe plans to begin a scoping study for Makoko in the first quarter of 2027, and is preparing to expand drilling. The company is drawing directly on its own playbook next door: the company expects to draw on its experience developing the nearby Kamoa-Kakula copper complex, which advanced from discovery to first production in less than six years. Ivanhoe owns Kamoa-Kakula alongside China's Zijin and the Congolese government. As Reuters noted, the update lands at a pointed moment for the market -- issued on Tuesday as rising copper prices and a dwindling pipeline of major discoveries sharpen concerns over future supply.

BHP and KGHM: Two Copper Heavyweights Team Up to Hunt Together

In a sign of how tight the copper exploration pipeline has become, BHP and Poland's KGHM Polska Miedź signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly search for new copper deposits worldwide. BHP, the world's largest miner, and KGHM Polska Miedź are joining forces to hunt for new copper deposits globally as demand for the metal rises. The companies signed a memorandum of understanding to identify areas of mutual interest, exchange technical expertise and compare operating practices.

KGHM brings serious credentials to the table. KGHM is the world's second-largest silver producer and the European Union's largest producer of mined copper with operations in Poland and assets in the US, Canada and Chile. The deal is being described as exploratory rather than binding: the agreement remains an exploratory framework rather than a commitment to specific projects, with the companies first expected to refine their priorities and determine where cooperation could generate tangible value.

BHP CEO Brandon Craig connected the tie-up directly to demand fundamentals, saying "the world will need more copper, driven by traditional economic growth, the energy transition, and digital investments," and "we are focused on unlocking high returning growth through innovative partnerships like this one." The MoU arrives amid a genuinely frenzied copper tape -- copper surged to an all-time high on the London Metal Exchange, with three-month futures touching $14,533 a ton -- and per Polygon.io market data, the COPX copper miners ETF closed Friday at $90.66, still up sharply from earlier in the year even after a modest daily pullback.

MMG: Brussels Prepares to Warn Chinese Buyer Over Anglo Nickel Deal

The European Commission is preparing to formally push back on MMG's planned purchase of Anglo American's Brazilian nickel business, according to Reuters reporting cited in the press release. European Union regulators are reportedly preparing to warn MMG over its planned acquisition of Anglo American's Brazilian nickel business amid concerns the deal could threaten competition, with the European Commission planning to issue a statement of objections, or charge sheet, later this month.

The scrutiny is explicitly tied to Europe's broader anxiety about critical mineral dependency. The potential warning comes as the EU seeks to reduce its reliance on China for critical minerals used in defence, technology and renewable energy amid Beijing's use of export controls on some mineral supplies. Crucially, a charge sheet wouldn't kill the deal outright: a formal statement of objections would not itself block the acquisition, but would require MMG to answer the Commission's competition concerns as the regulator weighs whether the deal can proceed. MMG, whose controlling shareholder is China Minmetals, could try to head off the objections, though sources cited by Reuters suggest that's unlikely: MMG could avoid receiving the charge sheet by offering remedies to address the Commission's concerns, although one of the people cited by Reuters said that outcome was unlikely.

This is the latest twist in a saga that's dragged on for nearly a year, with Brussels' Phase 2 probe already having stalled the transaction well past its original completion target -- a reminder that critical-mineral M&A involving Chinese state-linked buyers now faces a much higher regulatory bar in Western markets than it did even two years ago.

South32: Hermosa's Federal Green Light Keeps Paying Off

While not a fresh announcement today, South32's Hermosa project in Arizona continues to generate momentum after the US Forest Service signed off on its Final Mine Plan of Operation. The project is notable for its scale and diversity of critical minerals: Hermosa hosts one of the world's largest undeveloped zinc deposits, a battery-grade manganese deposit and the emerging Peak copper discovery, and together they could support a 70-year operation producing five federally designated critical minerals. Construction is already well underway, with the company targeting construction already half-way complete on private land with zinc mining underground expected in late 2027 and first zinc product from the processing plant in the first half of 2028.

Op-Ed: Zambia's Manganese Opportunity Hiding in Copper's Shadow

A notable op-ed published today argues that Zambia's fixation on copper -- however justified -- risks blinding policymakers to a parallel opportunity in manganese as the Lobito Corridor reshapes regional logistics. The piece frames the two commodities very differently: for copper, logistics creates a competitive advantage, but for manganese, logistics tends to determine whether production remains viable at all.

Using a framework the author calls the Critical Dominance Opportunity Index, the analysis suggests manganese's remaining strategic opening lies upstream, where mining remains comparatively contestable even as refining has consolidated -- meaning while Zambia is unlikely to become a global manganese refining hub, there is an enormous opportunity to become one of the world's leading manganese producers before the next wave of battery demand reshapes global supply chains. The practical implication, the author argues, is that Zambia should think about infrastructure differently -- if copper benefits most from processing corridors, manganese benefits most from extraction corridors.

What It Means

Copper is the connective tissue running through nearly every story in today's roundup -- from Ivanhoe's rapidly expanding Congolese discovery to BHP and KGHM formally pooling resources to find the next one, to an op-ed arguing Zambia should be thinking past copper entirely toward its manganese upside. That's happening against a backdrop where, per Polygon.io market data, the COPX copper miners ETF sits at $90.66 with an RSI reading that reflects a sector still running hot after a historic August. The message from two of the world's largest miners teaming up on exploration is unambiguous: the era of easily found, world-class copper deposits is ending, and even giants with global reach are choosing to hunt in packs rather than alone.

Meanwhile, the MMG-Anglo nickel saga and Rio Tinto's bauxite maneuvering both point to a market where even "boring" base metals and battery materials are now subject to intense geopolitical scrutiny -- whether that's Brussels probing a Chinese state-linked buyer or Rio Tinto racing to backfill production before an aging mine closes. Critical minerals policy is no longer a side conversation in mining; it's dictating who gets to buy what, and how fast.

This roundup covers press releases published on September 8, 2026. Company announcements are sourced from mining industry wire services. For corrections or updates, contact contact@stakeandpaper.com.