Deep-sea mining heats up as new player challenges early mover advantage
Chinese rare earth producer hikes Q2 price by 44%
China to ban sulfuric acid exports as Iran war hits supply
Oman’s MDO shares project updates on $1.2bln minerals portfolio
Neo Performance begins producing heavy rare earths at Estonia plant
Deep-sea mining heats up as new player challenges early mover advantage
A newly rebranded Canadian-listed company is moving to stake its claim in the emerging deep-sea mining sector, positioning itself to explore vast stretches of the Pacific Ocean as global demand for critical minerals accelerates.
Deep Sea Minerals (CNSX: SEAS), after pivoting from its former identity as Copperhead Resources, is targeting exploration licenses in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ) and the Cook Islands’ exclusive economic zone.
The company, which in February secured an initial oversubscribed $4.22 million private placement, recently submitted an application to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) pursuant to the Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act (DSHMRA).
If successful, initial work programs could begin as early as late 2026 or early 2027, marking the company’s entry into a sector widely viewed as both promising and controversial.
CEO James Deckelman believes that deep-sea minerals are being discussed in ways that echo the early evolution of deepwater oil, a frontier once marked by high uncertainty before becoming a pillar of the resource sector.
“It’s a nascent, emerging sector at a very pivotal transformational moment right now,” Deckelman told MINING.COM in an interview.
Deep-sea mining is an industry with few publicly traded players. This week, American Ocean Minerals announced it is merging with Odyssey Marine Exploration (NASDAQ: OMEX) in a reverse takeover that will create a roughly $1 billion deep-sea mining company.
Baotou City: Epicentre of China’s rare earth industry.
One of China’s biggest rare earth producers has hiked prices significantly, underscoring tightening market conditions and high geopolitical tensions in the midst of a raging conflict in the Middle East.
On Friday, China Northern Rare Earth Group said it had set its rare earth concentrate transaction price for the second quarter of 2026 at 38,804 yuan (about $5,390) per tonne, excluding tax, based on material containing 50% rare earth oxide (REO).
The Inner Mongolia-based company added that this price will adjust by 776.08 yuan per tonne (roughly $108) for every percentage point change in grade. The adjusted price represents a 44.6% increase over that of the first quarter, and is more than twice higher than this time last year.
Formula-based pricing
While the update appears routine, it underscores a defining feature of China’s rare earth industry: pricing is not left to open market forces, but guided through structured mechanisms embedded across the supply chain.
The company said the price was determined under an existing arrangement with Inner Mongolia Baotou Steel Union Co., its related-party supplier, using a standing concentrate pricing formula tied to rare earth oxide prices from the first quarter of 2026. The new benchmark was reviewed and approved at an internal management meeting.
The new pricing comes amid intensified supply chain risks across many industries that rely on materials flowing through the Strait of Hormuz. While the war in the Middle East has not severely impacted rare earths like it did with other minerals like aluminum, it created a global shortage of sulphuric acid, which is used to leach and separate ores in mining.
China to ban sulfuric acid exports as Iran war hits supply
China has indicated it will halt exports of sulfuric acid from May, hitting metals and fertilizer industries already strained by raw material bottlenecks resulting from the Iran war.
Some sulfuric acid producers in the country recently received notifications about the change, and one large buyer has been told about it by their Chinese supplier, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified discussing confidential information. The ban will cover sulfuric acid that’s a by-product of copper and zinc smelting in China.
Sulfuric acid prices have been rising since the start of the Iran conflict, as the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz blocks sulfur shipments from the Middle East, where it’s a product of oil and gas refining. The region produces one third of the world’s sulfur, a raw material used to make sulfuric acid that’s essential for some copper extraction and phosphate fertilizers.
China’s move to conserve sulfuric acid supplies during the peak crop-planting season will put further pressure on the market. That squeeze will hit the copper-mining industries in key producers such as Chile, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia.
Acuity first reported the Chinese ban on Thursday, saying the restriction could last throughout 2026. China’s Ministry of Commerce didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Prices have already surged in Chile, which buys over 1 million tons of Chinese sulfuric acid every year. Around a fifth of the copper output in Chile — the world’s No. 1 producer — involves a type of processing that depends on sulfuric acid.
State-owned Minerals Development Oman (MDO) has provided a progress report on its key projects, which represent a combined investment of $1.2 billion aimed at unlocking the full potential of the country's mineral resources.
The update, released in the company’s 2025 annual report, highlighted progress across copper, salt, titanium and industrial minerals projects.
Mazoon Copper Project
The Mazoon Copper Project, the sultanate’s largest integrated copper concentrate production project, has achieved a 35 percent completion rate, according to the annual report released last week.
Concrete works for primary crushers and grinding mills have been completed, the report said. Agreements were signed with the Finnish company Metso last year to equip the plant with new technologies.
The project has already secured $270 million in financing, covering 60 percent of the total cost [estimated at $450 million). It covers 20 square kilometres (sq km) and has total reserves estimated at 23.54 million tonnes. The total production capacity stands at 115,000 tonnes of copper concentrate.
Naqaa Salt
MDO has received the final environmental permit for the 13.4 million Omani rials ($35 million) Naqaa Salt Project, a joint venture with Dev Salt India, the report noted. The project management team has been established and preliminary construction works on site have commenced.
The Public-Private Partnership (PPP) project, which covers 109 sq km in Wilayat Mahout, will have a production capacity of 2 million tonnes per annum.
Sohar Titanium
Sohar Titanium Project has achieved an overall project completion rate of 89 percent, with 84 percent construction work completed. The first and second furnaces have been commissioned.
The OMR 63.5 million ($165 million) project, developed in partnership with the Dubai Holding Group, covers 120,000 sqm in the Sohar Free Zone. It has an annual production capacity of 150,000 tonnes of titanium dioxide, the report said.
Ash-Shuwaimiyah Industrial Minerals Project
The report said a strategic partnership agreement was signed with India’s JSW to advance the Ash-Shuwaimiyah Industrial Minerals Project located in Dhofar Governorate. The project is estimated to cost about OMR 204 million ($531 million) and will be developed as an integrated, export-oriented minerals complex.
The scheme will include gypsum and limestone quarries tapping into Dhofar’s reserves, estimated at around 520 million tonnes of gypsum and 2.5 billion tonnes of limestone, and a deep-water port with an annual handling capacity of about 27 million tonnes.
Planned production capacity is around 30 million tonnes per year of gypsum and limestone combined.
Neo Performance begins producing heavy rare earths at Estonia plant
Neo Performance Materials (TSX: NEO) has produced its first batch of heavy rare earth elements following the successful commissioning of the solvent extraction line at its Silmet facility in Estonia.
The small-scale production line is currently operating at its nameplate capacity, producing separated terbium and dysprosium oxides from mixed rare earth carbonate feedstock, the company said in a press release on Friday.
Both dysprosium and terbium are essential inputs for high-performance sintered rare earth permanent magnets used in robotics, electric-vehicle traction motors, wind turbines, and industrial automation applications.
By developing this separation capability at Silmet, Neo says it is advancing “a secure, Europe-based supply of these critical materials to support its growing magnet manufacturing operations and to serve the broader strategic objectives of supply chain diversification.”
“The successful launch of our heavy rare earth separation in Estonia represents a critical step in Neo’s strategy to build the most vertically integrated rare earth magnetics value chain in Europe,” CEO Rahim Suleman stated in the release.
Europe’s first magnet plant
The new production line would complement the company’s existing rare earth magnet manufacturing plant in Narva, Estonia. The facility, which opened in September, is the first to mass-produce sintered magnets in Europe, with an initial capacity to produce 2,000 tonnes per year.
“Our rare earth value chain now spans both light and heavy rare earth processing, enabling the separation and finishing of select elements into value-added, engineered end-use applications,” Suleman added. “This achievement enables Neo to provide secure, traceable and high-quality heavy rare earth materials to our European permanent magnet facility, supporting our customers’ most demanding applications.”
With heavy rare earth separation commissioned, Neo said it will now focus on delivering stable product purity prior to transitioning to routine production capacity.
