The US Defense Department is set to invest $450 million in The Elmet Group, including $150 million to restart Blue Moon Metals’ Springer tungsten complex in Nevada, as Washington seeks to curb reliance on China for critical minerals. Under a binding deal, Blue Moon would receive a $50million tungsten concentrate prepayment facility and a $25million equity investment. Elmet would add $75 million through a joint venture to restart the site’s ammonium paratungstate (APT) plant, with a further $25 million available if needed.

Barrick Mining and Newmont have reached an agreement to resolve their dispute over the Nevada Gold Mines joint venture, with Newmont set to pay $1.95 billion and several key projects to be folded into the venture. Barrick also reported second-quarter results, with adjusted earnings of $0.82 per share versus analysts’ $0.88 estimate, even as gold output rose 11% quarter over quarter to 796,000 oz. Costs included gold cost of sales of $1,993 per oz. and all-in sustaining costs of $1,866 per oz., while operating cash flow increased 28% year over year to $1.7 billion. The miner maintained full-year production and cost guidance but cut its expected attributable capital expenditures to $3.8 billion–$4.2 billion.

Refined copper is flooding into the US as traders position for President Donald Trump’s pending decision on tariffs for refined imports. About 200,000 metric tons arrived in July, the largest monthly inflow in IHS Markit shipping data going back to 2014. Comex inventories have risen more than 40% this year to a record, and total US copper stockpiles are widely estimated at well above 1 million metric tons. The Comex-LME spread averaged more than $350 a metric ton in July, keeping an arbitrage that is drawing metal into US warehouses.

Radiant World, an iron ore trading firm, expanded its annual volumes from about 7 million tons in 2014 to 43 million tons in 2024, with roughly $12 billion in yearly revenue. Concerns about its credit risk have drawn attention, with Intesa Sanpaolo SpA confirming exposure of around €200 million ($231 million) and Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s Point Bonita fund saying its exposure is less than $300 million. The company has been a significant counterparty and borrower for major traders, miners and banks. The situation has highlighted potential fragilities in commodity trade finance and weighed on confidence and liquidity in the iron ore market.