Mining Forum: US needs Canada to break China’s minerals grip

AI desk brief

Former U.S. sanctions official Edward Fishman argued Washington cannot fully break China’s minerals grip without Canadian and Australian mining expertise, framing mineral supply as a long-term geopolitical contest rather than a temporary trade dispute. He also said dividing the global economy into blocs would likely raise energy costs, inflation and uncertainty, while supporting copper demand from AI/electrification and sustaining central-bank demand for gold.

On the company side, Centerra Gold is restarting Thompson Creek in Idaho with first production targeted for mid-2027 and restart capital of $425 million-$450 million, while Hecla Mining highlighted the valuation support from lower-jurisdictional-risk assets in Alaska, Idaho and Yukon. Fishman said structural reasons exist for sovereign gold buying to continue for at least another decade, even if gold does not displace the dollar across all functions.