Ernst & Young’s Canadian Mining Eye index — which tracks the performance of 100 Toronto Stock Exchange and TSX Venture Exchange mid-tier and junior mining companies — rose 5% fin the January-March period.
The document divides operations into six levels, from zero (entirely manual) to five (fully autonomous), and assists in the preparation of a business case for autonomous mining, depending on level and needs.
Chile's SQM, the world’s second-largest lithium miner, said expansion plans had gone better than expected and that sales would likely beat its forecasts for this year.
The rare earths miner said its board had concluded it would not engage with retail and industrial conglomerate Wesfarmers, stating its unsolicited takeover offer undervalues Lynas' intellectual property.
The company, which in March more than doubled the size of the vanadium property, believes that Carlin’s maiden resource will provide a base for an economic study.