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 Rio Tinto Alcan stepping away from its aluminum composites business, Seabridge Gold securing funds for its KSM project in British Columbia and Panama reviewing options for a potential restart of the Cobre Panama copper mine.

Orla Mining and Equinox Gold shareholders unanimously backed a merger of the companies on Wednesday, which will create Canada’s second largest gold producer, Mining.com reported. Investors will receive one Equinox share for each Orla share, while existing Equinox shareholders will own 67 per cent of the US$18.5 billion combined company. The merger is expected to result in over 1.1 million ounces of annual gold production from six operations, including the Greenstone and Musselwhite mines in Ontario, and the Valentine mine in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Osisko Gold Group signed a three-year agreement with British Columbia’s District of Wells on Tuesday to support community priorities as its subsidiary Barkerville Gold Mines advances the Cariboo gold project. As part of the agreement, the group will provide for WILDways High School, supporting the institution’s infrastructure while also enabling students in the area to attend locally. Osisko Gold may also contribute up to $3 million over three years towards community infrastructure and other local initiatives as part of the agreement.

Each year, CIM Magazine’s Names to Know feature spotlights nine individuals whose work is shaping the future of the mining industry. This year’s list, published in the June/July 2026 issue, includes Vincent Boulanger-Martel, Canada research chair in geoenvironmental engineering of mine waste in cold regions at Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue; Ed Toms, CEO of the Global Tailings Management Institute; Kaella-Marie Earle, president of the Canadian Aboriginal Minerals Association; and Chao Yu, CEO and co-founder of LoopX.

Rio Tinto Alcan is exiting its niche aluminum metal matrix composites business and transferring its customers to Ontario-based Cymat Technologies, Mining Weekly reported. Cymat plans to manufacture the material at its Mississauga plant and will pay Rio Tinto US$750 per tonne sold or used over five years, capped at US$500,000. The ceramic-reinforced aluminum is mainly used in components for the automotive and rail industries.

Seabridge Gold has secured a roughly $137 million loan to keep work moving at its KSM gold-copper project in northern British Columbia, The Northern Miner reported. The funding will support access road construction, technical data collection, feasibility-level design and engineering while Seabridge seeks a development partner for KSM. The project faces legal challenges after the B.C. Supreme Court ordered the province to reconsider KSM’s “substantially started” status because of inadequate Indigenous consultation, while a separate dispute with Tudor Gold has delayed permit amendments for the Mitchell Treaty Tunnels, which run through land that Tudor has mineral claims on.

Panama is considering setting up a state-owned mining company that could partner with First Quantum Minerals to potentially restart the Cobre Panama copper mine, Reuters reported. One proposal under consideration would give First Quantum operational control and a 60 to 65 per cent stake in the mine, with a Panamanian state-owned entity holding the remaining share. The mine was shut down in 2023 after Panama’s Supreme Court declared First Quantum’s government contract unconstitutional following widespread protests. The government’s decision could come by the end of the year.

Eldorado Gold’s Skouries copper-gold project in Greece has entered its commissioning phase after processing its first ore. Construction is nearly complete, with first copper-gold concentrate targeted for the third quarter of this year and commercial production expected in the fourth. Final site energization awaits inspection and approval from the Greek power authority. Open-pit mining is taking place at the site, creating a 3.9-million-tonne stockpile that is expected to supply the plant through 2026.

Greenstone Council has approved a one-year extension for the 613-bed temporary work camp at the Greenstone gold mine site in Ontario, rejecting the requested three-year renewal and a proposed 120-bed expansion, Northern Ontario Business reported. Greenstone Gold Mines, owned by Equinox Gold, may appeal to the Ontario Land Tribunal. The camp had received prior council approval in 2020 and again in 2023.

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?