Mining profits reach $230 billion a year, topped only by oil & gas, pharma; Lithium prices continue to soar – up 88% in 2021; Massive new port could give Vale back iron ore crown.

Investors are betting big on a lithium comeback less than three years after prices of the metal used in rechargeable batteries collapsed.

Extremely tight copper mine supply has pushed spot treatment charges for concentrate to their lowest in more than a decade.

The global nickel market surplus shrank to 8,400 tonnes in January from a revised surplus of 14,700 tonnes in the previous month.

Nexa has acquired a 9% stake in Tinka, which is developing Ayawilca, one of the largest zinc projects in Peru.

A project for a dedicated iron ore port with a capacity of up to 560 million tonnes per year is advancing in the north of Brazil.

According to its 2020 sustainability report, Teck aims to have its Chilean operations fully running on clean energy by 2030.