China Locks Down 36 Strategic Minerals as Australia's Pilbara Faces Twin Strike Threats, Surge Copper's Berg Project Posts C$4.6 Billion NPV, and the G7 Opens in France
Follow your favourite podcasts, listen offline and in the car with CarPlay and Android Auto, and always pick up where you left off. Free to try.
The Mining Insider — June 15, 2026. Host: Logan Ore.
Today's stories: 1. China's State Council Decree 839 takes effect — 36 minerals including rare earths, lithium, cobalt, gallium and germanium formally designated as national strategic minerals under full-chain state control, with centralized mining rights, joint export review, and a three-tier reserve system. 2. Australia's Offshore Alliance extends Ichthys LNG strikes past June 23 after FWC rejection of Inpex's suspension bid; BHP's Port Hedland maintenance workers vote 90% for strike action after six months of failed bargaining — threatening the world's largest bulk export port. 3. Surge Copper releases Berg Pre-Feasibility Study: after-tax NPV of C$4.6 billion at 8% discount rate, 24% IRR — confirming Berg as one of Canada's most significant copper-molybdenum-silver critical minerals projects in British Columbia. 4. G7 summit opens in Évian-les-Bains, France (June 15-17) — Trump's AI-driven bilateral mineral pricing plan faces G7 skepticism; Japan prepares Greenland rare earth delegation.
