Morning Briefing: China Announces New Mining Controls on Strategic Minerals
Good morning and welcome back to the Mining Stock Daily morning briefing. I am Trevor Hall.
It's Thursday, May 21.
Gold is down to $4,517 an ounce on the front month contract. Silver is at $75.34. Copper is at $6.26 a pound.
Three things to flag this morning. First, gold is selling off after Fed minutes showed a majority of officials would be open to rate increases if the Iran war continues to fuel inflation. Second, the EIA reported the biggest weekly crude draw in history — gasoline at its lowest for May since 2014, diesel hovering above 100 million barrels — and yet crude sold off yesterday on Iran peace deal optimism. The market is ignoring a very tight supply picture. Third, China has announced new mining controls on strategic minerals, with security reviews on foreign investment in the Chinese mining sector taking effect June 15, and new rules requiring strategic mineral reserves to be held at source for a minimum of five years. Beijing is tightening its chokehold on the global flow of critical resources.
We’ll get to the news from the miners and explorers in just a moment, but first a word about today’s sponsor.
This episode of Mining Stock Daily is brought to you by…Revival Gold
Revival Gold is one of the largest pure gold mine developer operating in the United States. The Company is advancing the Mercur Gold Project in Utah and mine permitting preparations and ongoing exploration at the Beartrack-Arnett Gold Project located in Idaho. Revival Gold is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the ticker symbol “RVG” and trades on the OTCQX Market under the ticker symbol “RVLGF”. Learn more about the company at revival-gold.com
Here’s what you need to know today.
Aldebaran Resources has reported a new drill result from the Altar copper-gold project in San Juan Province, Argentina, with a hole returning 1,339.30 metres at 0.45% copper equivalent — comprising 0.38% copper, 0.14 grams per tonne gold, and 2.54 grams per tonne silver — including a higher-grade core of 500 metres at 0.71% copper equivalent, or 0.58% copper, 0.35 grams per tonne gold, and 1.42 grams per tonne silver. Aldebaran holds an 80% interest in Altar and is advancing the project toward a pre-feasibility study in 2026 (TSX-V: ALDE, OTCQX: ADBRF). News Release
Fortune Bay has provided an update on pre-feasibility work programs at the Goldfields Gold Project in Saskatchewan. A four-hole geotechnical drill program at the Box deposit has been completed with no major continuous fault zones identified, and preliminary waste rock test results indicate the project is not expected to generate acidic conditions — both positive environmental signals. Following recent metallurgical results, the company has initiated trade-off work to evaluate a concentrate production opportunity identified in the 2025 Updated PEA, while the doré production case remains the base case. Metallurgical sampling is underway using existing core, and environmental, regulatory, and community work is advancing, building on the approved 2008 Environmental Impact Statement (TSX-V: FOR, OTCQB: FTBYF). News Release
Scorpio Gold has released new results from five step-out holes at the Manhattan District in Nevada, with hole 26MN-071 returning 2.68 grams per tonne gold over 11.34 metres from just 0.76 metres depth — essentially from surface — including 6.54 grams per tonne gold over 3.41 metres. A companion hole, 26MN-070, returned 0.69 grams per tonne gold over 23.23 metres. All intercepts in this batch are outside the current Inferred Resource Constraining Pit, extending the Zanzibar Trend beyond the existing resource boundary. With approximately 300 metres of untested strike still ahead, Scorpio has now drilled 24,312 metres across 84 holes in its Phase Two program (TSX-V: SGN, OTCQB: SRCRF). News Release
Gladiator Metals has intersected further high-grade copper-gold mineralization at the Cub East discovery in the Whitehorse Copper Belt in Yukon, with a new hole returning 24 metres at 3.03% copper and 1.08 grams per tonne gold from 190 metres depth. The result extends Cub East mineralization at depth and builds on the maiden program intercept of 44.2 metres at 1.69% copper and 0.93 grams per tonne gold. Gladiator is running a fully funded 50,000-metre 2026 drill campaign at the Whitehorse Copper Belt (TSX-V: GLAD, OTCQB: GDTRF). News Release
Oroco Resource has released initial Phase 2 assay results from the South Zone at the Santo Tomás copper project in Sinaloa, Mexico, with two holes returning 228 metres at 0.49% copper equivalent and 212 metres at 0.44% copper equivalent. The Phase 2 program is focused on resource drilling to support the project's advancing development studies. Oroco's mineral resource estimate outlines combined Indicated and Inferred resources of over one billion tonnes, and a preliminary economic assessment outlined an after-tax NPV of US$1.48 billion (TSX-V: OCO, OTC: ORRCF). News Release
Tudor Gold has commenced its 2026 exploration drill program at the Treaty Creek project in BC's Golden Triangle, with two rigs now on site targeting over 10,000 metres across two phases. Phase One covers the CBS Zone with 2,000 metres of initial drilling following up on a 2021 intercept of 155 metres at 0.78 grams per tonne gold, while Phase Two targets the Perfectstorm Zone with 8,000 metres of initial drilling following up on a 2023 hole that returned 102 metres at 1.23 grams per tonne gold. Treaty Creek's Goldstorm Deposit hosts Indicated Resources of 24.9 million ounces of gold (TSX-V: TUD, OTC: TDRRF). News Release
Li-FT Power has completed its combination with Winsome Resources, effective today, adding the tier-one Adina lithium project in the Eeyou Istchee James Bay region of Quebec to its portfolio. Together with a recently announced 75% interest in the adjacent Galinée property, the combined entity is now one of the largest hard rock lithium developers in Canada. Eligible Winsome shareholders received 0.107 of a LIFT share per Winsome ordinary share held. LIFT has also completed a concurrent listing on the Australian Securities Exchange under the ticker LFT (TSX-V: LIFT, OTCQX: LIFFF). News Release
Vizsla Silver has appointed Guillermo Hernandez as Vice President of Exploration, effective immediately. Hernandez brings 20 years of international exploration experience, including senior roles at Lundin Gold, Luca Mining, and most recently Outcrop Silver, where he led exploration at the Santa Ana silver project in Colombia. His appointment coincides with the promotion of Jesus Velador — previously VP Exploration — to Chief Geologist of Vizsla Silver (TSX: VZLA, NYSE American: VZLA). News Release
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That's it for today everyone. Have a great day. Stay safe.
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