Welcome back to your weekly mining news recap, where we catch you up on some of the news you may have missed. This week’s headlines include First Nations opposition to the Record Ridge magnesium project in British Columbia, a royalty deal for the Spanish Mountain gold-silver project and reporting on Teck’s first quarter.

Agnico Eagle is pursuing a three-part deal to consolidate a major gold district in northern Finland, led by a $2.9 billion acquisition of Rupert Resources. It also plans to purchase Aurion Resources for around $481 million and B2Gold’s 70 per cent stake in the Fingold joint venture for $444 million, gaining control of a roughly 2,500-square-kilometre land package in the Central Lapland greenstone belt—an area that includes its Kittilä gold mine.

New Found Gold has received $205 million to advance its Queensway gold project near Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador. Led by EdgePoint Investment Group with backing from financier Eric Sprott, the financing will be used to bring phase one of the project into production. A July 2025 preliminary economic assessment outlined expected production of around 1.5 million ounces of gold over a 15-year mine life.

Komatsu has commissioned its 1,000th ultra-class autonomous haul truck equipped with its FrontRunner Autonomous Haulage System. The 1,000th truck is a Komatsu 930E-5AT operating at Barrick’s Nevada Gold Mines operations in the United States. Since its commercial launch in 2008, FrontRunner fleets have collectively moved more than 11.5 billion tonnes of material globally.

B.C. courts have upheld the right of the Sinixt, a transboundary Indigenous group with rights in both Canada and the United States, to participate in a judicial review of the Record Ridge magnesium project, The Globe and Mail reported. Last year, the province’s Environmental Assessment Office ruled that the project would not require an environmental assessment (EA) certificate, though the Sinixt are now seeking a formal EA and helped secure a temporary halt to construction last month.

Spanish Mountain Gold has signed a US$55 million royalty deal with Wheaton Precious Metals for the Spanish Mountain project in British Columbia. Wheaton will receive a 1.5 per cent net-smelter-returns royalty on future gold and silver output. The funding will support an ongoing feasibility study for the project, with the goal of reaching a construction decision by 2028.

Teck shared results for the first quarter of 2026 this week. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization reached $2.1 billion, which is a 125 per cent increase over Q1 2025. Its Quebrada Blanca mine in Chile produced 55,500 tonnes of copper for the first three months of the year, with throughput at the operation increasing over the course of the quarter. 

B2Gold has lowered the second-quarter production forecast for its Goose mine in Nunavut after a fire on April 16 damaged part of the site’s crushing circuit, The Globe and Mail reported. Output for this quarter has been revised down to between 18,000 and 20,000 gold ounces, from about 29,000. The company said the disruption should be temporary, with repairs expected to be completed in the third quarter of this year.

Agnico Eagle will donate $10 million to Inuit Nunangat University, an Inuit-led school planned to open in Nunavut in 2030. The school, which will have its main campus located in Arviat, will allow Inuit students to study closer to home while having access to programs that incorporate Inuit knowledge, language and culture. The school has already secured over $160 million in funding.

The federal government is considering whether to build a new copper smelter and refinery in Western Canada, as most domestic copper concentrate is currently exported for processing, mainly to Asia, Trish Saywell reported for CIM Magazine. Natural Resources Canada is assessing economic viability and strategic value, but industry experts say high costs, global overcapacity and weak refining margins would make profitability difficult without major government support. While supporters argued domestic copper processing would strengthen supply chains and add value, others suggested a broader focus on advanced materials and downstream manufacturing may offer greater long-term economic benefit.

That’s all for this week. If you’ve got feedback, you can always reach us at editor@cim.org. If you’ve got something to add, why not join the conversation on our Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or Instagram pages?