It’s been an active week across the metals complex. Silver led the charge, platinum and palladium followed, and copper took a breather after a strong run. The moves feel less speculative and more like capital rotating with intent. Precious metals strength is being absorbed constructively, while copper’s pullback looks like consolidation rather than exhaustion.
Beyond the charts, the bigger story remains structural. Governments are leaning harder into critical minerals strategy. Majors are doubling down on copper. Juniors are raising capital selectively. Resource nationalism continues to reshape trade routes. And capital is concentrating into projects with jurisdictional clarity and credible execution pathways.
The market is noisy. The underlying direction is not.
Week-end price comparison: 13th vs 20th of February 2026
Week end prices shown are as of 17:00 UTC on February 20th 2026.
Silver jumped sharply (+6.7% WoW), extending its momentum as investors leaned into precious metals beta. The move looks less like a one-off spike and more like a catch-up trade after earlier underperformance, with positioning turning more constructive alongside firm gold.
Platinum rallied strongly (+5.8% WoW), supported by renewed interest in supply tightness and spillover from broader precious metals strength. The bounce suggests short covering and tactical inflows rather than a clean demand-driven trend shift just yet.
Palladium also firmed (+4.2% WoW), but the advance looks more technical than fundamental. The market remains cautious given the overhang of surplus and weak auto demand, so this reads as a relief rally rather than a regime change.
Copper slipped (-2.1% WoW), giving back some ground after a strong run. The pullback looks more like digestion than trend reversal, with macro growth worries and China data keeping upside momentum in check.
This Week's Key Mining and Capital Market Stories
Phoenix Gold’s Tulu Kapi gold project in western Ethiopia is now in construction after final financing and licences, aiming to produce 125kozpa over 12 years. As Ethiopia’s first greenfield gold mine, it underscores investor interest in underexplored East African deposits despite significant infrastructure and water constraints.
The EV battery metals index hitting a 27-month peak signals intensifying demand pressures across lithium, nickel and cobalt markets. Geological constraints and multi-year project lead times mean supply won’t catch up quickly, potentially squeezing manufacturers’ costs and prompting accelerated exploration and processing investments.
AngloGold Ashanti’s US$28 million for a 5% stake in royalty fintech Thesis highlights miners’ shift to non dilutive, portfolio style cashflows. By harnessing steady royalty receipts untethered from capital expenditure volatility, this early collaboration underlines a pragmatic hedge against metals price cycles.
Japaul Gold plans to multiply output tenfold through two new processing plants, aiming to formalise Nigeria’s gold sector and improve recoveries currently held back by artisanal mills. While geological variability and commissioning risks remain, success could reshape local supply, drawing off informal production into regulated channels.
Namibia’s Otjikoto gold mine, managed by B2Gold, posted near-record output in 2025 thanks to sustained ore grade and optimised sequencing. This performance reinforces mid-tier supply stability, a factor often underappreciated when forecasting gold pricing amid macro volatility, and underscores the resilience of established Namibian orebodies.
Kenya’s invitation to Indian firms to develop its rare earth deposits marks a strategic bid to secure reliable non-Chinese supply for magnets and batteries. Initial surveys indicate underexplored heavy-mineral potential, but scaling extraction and processing amid infrastructure gaps will demand sustained investment and robust regulatory oversight.
US copper inventories have climbed to multiyear highs yet refining throughput lags, exposing smelter underinvestment and permitting hurdles that could tighten refined supply despite ample ore. Elevated concentrate premiums reflect this structural bottleneck, suggesting production realities will constrain cathode markets despite bloated warehouse stocks.
Fortitude Gold has completed a US$12 million private placement, issuing new units to institutional and accredited investors to support exploration and development at its flagship gold projects. The financing is intended to fund drilling programs and advance resource definition, bolstering the company’s position ahead of key catalyst milestones.
Lundin’s discovery of multiple high-sulphidation copper-gold systems in Ecuador’s emerging Andean belt highlights underexplored potential beyond established Fruta del Norte reserves. Despite promising multi-gram gold and per cent-level copper assays, geological complexity and demanding terrain mean feasibility rests on extensive drilling and infrastructure upgrades before resource conversion.
Canada Growth Fund and partners will invest up to US$85 million to acquire Manitoba’s Thompson nickel complex, mobilising government-backed capital into one of Canada’s highest-grade sulphide deposits. This strategic move shores up domestic critical mineral supply chains amid rising clean-energy demand and mitigates geopolitical risks in nickel sourcing.
Scotiabank sees gold rally driven by lower real Treasury yields and persistent inflation, expecting prices near US$2000 by year end. Geological supply constraints and high production costs reinforce this outlook, while prospective Fed easing and safe haven demand offer further support.
Mining juniors captured most TSXV top spots, as surging demand for battery and precious metals meets supply constraints. Early stage drill results fuel investor appetite, but persistent geological setbacks and permitting hurdles often curtail project timelines, echoing past cycles where enthusiasm outpaced production delivery.
Asia’s rising mineral nationalism, from Indonesia’s nickel ore ban to Malaysia’s bauxite levy, compels firms to invest in local smelting and rewires global metals routes. Echoing past export curbs, these resource value policies expose production bottlenecks and heighten supply risks for manufacturers reliant on regional feedstocks.
A new East Asia Forum analysis warns that intensifying competition for critical minerals in East Asia spotlights enduring supply risks, with China’s refining dominance and declining ore grades constraining outputs. Early diversification and recycling strategies remain embryonic, signalling geopolitics, not economics alone, will shape future supply chains.
By cutting import duties on African exports from key mineral producers, China aims to secure critical ore supplies and deepen trade ties, yet tangible gains hinge on African mining capacity and infrastructure improvements. Historical patterns suggest raw material dependency may limit local value addition despite tariff relief.
Asia’s top ten gold and silver funds delivered double-digit returns as lingering inflation and real-rate uncertainty drive safe-haven demand. Outperformance highlights tight mine supply growth and robust central bank bullion purchases, underlining metals’ enduring portfolio diversification benefits despite early-stage digital gold concepts still nascent.
India has struck an MoU with Argentina’s Jujuy authorities to jointly develop lithium brine assets in the Cauchari-Olaroz basin, aiming to secure EV supply chains. While salars offer scale, extended evaporation timelines and community water concerns could challenge timely output, underscoring lingering price volatility and processing bottlenecks.
Anglo Asian expects to triple copper output by 2026 via expansions at Gedabek and Gosha, tapping higher-grade zones and tailings feed. While modest globally, this ramp underlines how satellite deposits can ease tight markets and reminds of geological constraints on sustaining long-term output growth.
European stocks traded in mixed fashion as investors weighed quarterly mining earnings, UK labour market data and ongoing nuclear talks between the US and Iran. Heavyweight miners and energy companies were in focus amid broader earnings releases, while softer UK jobs figures and geopolitical developments shaped sentiment across major indices.
By doubling its copper investment and eyeing acquisitions, Glencore aims to secure tier-one sulphide assets ahead of looming supply deficits driven by electrification. With project lead times often exceeding a decade and past M&A cycles showing overpayment risks, this strategy underscores the premium on proven, long-life mines.
Rio Tinto’s doubling down on copper marks a strategic response to iron ore weakness and rising electrification demand. With Oyu Tolgoi phase 2 and Chile projects it eyes almost 2 million tonnes by 2030. Yet deep porphyry ore bodies and multi-year build-outs underscore persistent production lags.
Project Vault’s secure repository under the EU Critical Raw Materials Act aims to sharpen supply chain transparency for battery and high-tech metals but sparks confidentiality and compliance challenges. Uneven geological reporting, especially from artisanal and junior miners, demands robust data protocols so regulators can trust digital traceability without undermining IP.
Eurobattery Minerals released its 2025 year-end report detailing progress across its battery metals portfolio and work underway on a tungsten processing plant at San Juan. The company reported advances in project design and construction planning, while continuing exploration and development activities aimed at supporting future supply of critical minerals for battery and industrial markets.
EU-backed minerals projects in Africa are transitioning from policy frameworks to tangible development, with funding agreements and early field work underway. Initiatives targeting lithium, cobalt and other critical minerals are moving into feasibility and construction planning, reflecting a shift from strategy to execution as Europe seeks reliable, diversified supply outside dominant sources such as China.
Lithium prices have climbed as EV and battery demand surges; however, supply constraints from mining project lead times and grade declines signal sustained tightness. This rebound echoes past cycles where oversupply lagged demand growth, underlining that new investments must navigate lengthy permitting and geological hurdles before easing price pressures.
Rio Tinto’s sale of its West Pilbara copper tenements to explorer M Critical shifts geological risk from a Tier 1 miner to a specialist junior. This reflects majors’ drive to prioritise core assets while juniors capitalise on growing copper demand, though greenfield Pilbara copper remains a high-risk, early-stage play.
Pilbara Minerals has reactivated its Ngungaju processing plant in response to firming lithium prices, aiming to boost spodumene output. This pragmatic restart underscores the volatility of battery-grade supply, highlights geological grade variability and capacity constraints and signals a modest shift in market balances rather than a structural surplus resolution.
Genesis Minerals’ A$449m takeover of Magnetic Resources cements its footprint in WA’s prolific Laverton belt, adding high-grade brownfield and greenfield gold assets poised for near-term drilling. The deal boosts combined resources, drives scale benefits and underscores ongoing consolidation in an underexplored Australian gold province.
Sandover Resources has dispatched a 97% CaF2 fluorite concentrate from its Weebo project to Tivan for use in battery materials recycling. High-grade fluorite deposits above 95% remain geologically scarce and traditionally China-dominated, so this supply helps diversify feedstock and alleviate flux constraints in downstream refining.
Advance has secured a low six figure cash injection plus royalties by offloading its British Columbia coal licence, redirecting capital to accelerate gold drilling in Victoria’s Bendigo Zone. This pragmatic reweighting reflects coal’s price volatility and finite endowment, prioritising near surface, high grade targets with proven gold potential.
Alligator Energy’s bankable feasibility study confirms robust uranium economics at its Northern Territory project, capitalising on prices above US$70 a pound. As supply remains geopolitically constrained and nuclear demand climbs, this milestone offers markets tangible clarity on the timing and scale of next-generation uranium output.
Early-stage mining remains constrained by fragmented capital access, limited liquidity and restricted participation. Strong commodity cycles do not automatically translate into risk capital for exploration. Assets remain discounted and illiquid for years, while retail participation is largely excluded by high minimums and opaque networks. The risk is real, but so is the asymmetry.
Minestarters is designed to introduce structure where friction exists. Expert-curated baskets aim to diversify early-stage exposure, with economic rights represented via on-chain vault tokens. Verification, compliance screening and transparent cash-flow routing are built into the framework. The objective is simple: align capital, accountability and project execution more efficiently.
TerraZar continues to advance its principal mining holdings strategy across multiple jurisdictions. Current focus remains on active projects including Moxico Resources and Tertiary Minerals, alongside ongoing discussions with Amplitude Resources. The website has been updated to reflect portfolio positioning and mandate structure.
For those tracking strategic mining capital, TerraZar’s operating footprint is outlined at terrazar.co. Follow TerraZar on LinkedIn and X for more updates.
Which commodity will perform the best over the next 12 months? |
 |  |
Low frequency, high substance.
Subscribers receive weekly analysis on jurisdictional risk, capital structure mechanics, and the realities of the mining cycle. Content is designed to filter noise and provide clarity on deal-relevant developments.
