US Passes the DOMINANCE Act to Break China's Rare Earth Hold, Ichthys LNG Strike Threatens Asian Cargoes, Eldorado Gold Pours First Copper at McIlvenna Bay, and South Africa's Mining Sector Braces for a Chrome Tax

Today on The Mining Insider: The US House of Representatives passed the DOMINANCE Act on Monday — bipartisan legislation aimed at China's 90% grip on rare earth processing — the same day the Department of Energy committed $134 million to rare earth extraction projects in Louisiana and Oklahoma. In Australia, Inpex has applied to the Fair Work Commission to halt an escalating strike at its 9.3 million tonne-per-year Ichthys LNG project near Darwin, with cargo loading bans starting June 11 and up to four LNG cargoes at risk. In Saskatchewan, Eldorado Gold produced its first copper concentrate at McIlvenna Bay less than two months after closing its acquisition of Foran Mining — targeting commercial production in Q3 2026 from an 18-year mine expected to yield 41 million pounds of copper annually. And South Africa's mining industry is reacting with alarm to a government proposal to impose a chrome export levy and attach beneficiation conditions to mining licences, while the country's mining cadastre gets a fifth deadline: March 31, 2027.

Sources: Mining.com — DOMINANCE Act (https://www.mining.com/the-us-passes-dominance-act-for-critical-minerals-security/), Mining.com — DOE $134M RE funding (https://www.mining.com/web/us-picks-louisiana-oklahoma-rare-earth-projects-for-134m-funding/), Argus Media — Ichthys strike (https://www.argusmedia.com/en/news-and-insights/latest-market-news/2837500-inpex-applies-to-halt-australia-s-ichthys-lng-strike), Investing News Network — McIlvenna Bay (https://investingnews.com/eldorado-gold-begins-copper-production/), Daily Maverick — SA chrome/cadastre (https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-06-09-sa-mining-sector-jolted-by-government-chrome-tax-beneficiation-proposals-/)