Marathon Gets Its Billion, Gold Stumbles on Fed Hawks, and Rare Earths Without New Mining

Generation Mining completes C$1.3B construction financing for Marathon Copper-Palladium Project — early works begin Q4 2026, Glencore life-of-mine offtake, 2.16M oz palladium + 532M lbs copper over 13 years. Gold drops 1.7% to $4,282 on hawkish Fed officials and a stronger US dollar; 95% probability of December rate hike per CME FedWatch. Neo Performance Materials signs MOU with Rainbow Rare Earths for NdPr oxide and dysprosium-terbium offtake from South Africa's Phalaborwa phosphogypsum project — no new mining required. Barrick Loulo-Gounkoto Mali: four days to September 28 strike deadline, no resolution announced.

Sources:
- Generation Mining Marathon financing: https://genmining.com/news/2026/generation-mining-secures-full-project-financing-t-15448/
- Reuters — Gold falls hawkish Fed: https://www.reuters.com/world/india/gold-lacklustre-higher-for-longer-rate-outlook-weighs-sentiment-2026-09-23/
- Yahoo Finance / CNW — Neo Performance / Rainbow Rare Earths MOU: https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/neo-performance-materials-signs-mou-060000205.html
- Reuters — Barrick Mali strike notices: https://www.reuters.com/business/world-at-work/multiple-unions-threaten-strikes-barricks-flagship-mali-gold-mine-documents-show-2026-09-18/