Copper cathodes hanging from a crane in an electrowinning plant at a copper mine. Credit: Adobe Stock/Jose Luis Stephens
Copper slipped in New York on Tuesday, giving back an advance in London, as a global bond selloff and a firmer dollar cut into a rally that has carried the metal to within touching distance of record highs.
Comex copper for December delivery, which took over this week as the most-active contract, fell 1.3% to $6.6020 a pound (about $14,555 a tonne) by late morning in New York, after trading as high as $6.7420 earlier in the session. The September contract touched an all-time high of $6.7775 last Wednesday.
In London, three-month copper came within $2.50 of its own record last week, touching $14,525 a tonne against the all-time intraday peak of $14,527.50 set on January 29. LME inventories have fallen for four straight sessions, to 234,275 tonnes.
Click on chart for live prices.
Traders have spent the year shipping copper into the United States ahead of a 15% duty on refined imports due in January 2027, rising to 30% in 2028, a trade that has dominated the paper market and drained warehouses everywhere else. Comex stockpiles reached about 688,000 tonnes on August 31, almost three times the LME total, according to Bloomberg.
CRU projected a 639,000-tonne global surplus for 2026 but now regards the market as at best balanced. “If imports keep coming in as they have been, then it’s going to look like a deficit market in reality,” principal copper analyst Robert Edwards told Reuters last week.
Chile’s missing tonnes
Chile produced 403,424 tonnes of copper in July, down 9.4% from a year earlier and 9.8% below June, the weakest July for the world’s biggest producer since 2011. The national statistics agency blamed weather in the north of the country that hindered normal production, along with maintenance at major sites.
The damage showed up in the wider economy on Tuesday. Chile’s Imacec activity index, a proxy for GDP, fell 1.5% in July from a year earlier against expectations for 0.4% growth, with mining down 9.3%. The 1.7% monthly drop was the steepest since 2022. “These results were partly affected by weather conditions that disrupted the normal operation of production facilities,” the central bank said.
Copper producers fell with the metal on Tuesday, though the month behind them looks very different. Freeport-McMoRan, down 2.6% to $73.76 on Tuesday, has still gained 17.8% over the past month, the best of the majors, ahead of First Quantum’s 15.6% and Ivanhoe Mines’ 15.3%. Southern Copper is up 13.3% over the month, Teck Resources 11.4%, Glencore 10.7% and BHP 10.5%.
The two producers that cut Chilean guidance are the laggards. Antofagasta, ahead 4.9% over the month, dropped 5.1% on Tuesday, the worst performer in the group, while Lundin Mining has managed just 2.9% and fell 3.8% in Toronto.
Sibanye-Stillwater, down 0.8%, used first-half results on Tuesday to commit to the $340 million Mt Lyell copper-gold mine in Tasmania, targeting first ore in 2029 and 26,000 tonnes of copper a year over a 23-year life.
Comex copper is up about 15% in 2026 and 44% over the past year.
New equipment provides capacity to produce up to 20 million rounds per month, helping meet marketplace demand
HAGERSTOWN, MD / ACCESS Newswire / September 1, 2026 / First Breach Inc. (NASDAQ:FBDT) (“First Breach” or the “Company”), a U.S. based developer and manufacturer of defense technologies, today announced that new ammunition-loading and inspection equipment has been installed and is operational at the Company’s manufacturing facility in Hagerstown, Maryland.
The newly installed equipment significantly increases First Breach’s ammunition production capacity by approximately 175%, enabling the Company to manufacture up to 20 million rounds per month as it transitions to a 24-hour production schedule.
“The addition of this equipment reflects the continued growth of First Breach and our manufacturing operations,” said Jeffrey Low, Chief Executive Officer of First Breach. “This significant expansion provides us with the scale needed to respond to the strong demand we are seeing in the ammunition market. It also complements our growing drone manufacturing capabilities as we continue building a broader American-made defense technology platform. Across both areas, our focus remains on delivering the quality, consistency and reliability our customers expect from us.”
About First Breach
First Breach Inc. is an ISO 9001:2015 certified, American-made defense technologies company focused on manufacturing match-grade ammunition components, finished ammunition, and developing next-generation unmanned aerial systems for commercial, law enforcement, and military markets. The Company manufactures its products in-house at its Hagerstown, Maryland facility, where it produces brass cups, casings, projectiles, lead cores, lead wire, and completed ammunition with rigorous quality control standards. First Breach is also advancing its drone strategy through the development of U.S.-made unmanned systems, leveraging advanced engineering, robotics, ISR and sensor technologies, and precision manufacturing capabilities to address evolving defense, homeland security, law enforcement, and commercial requirements across domestic and international markets.
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are not historical facts and include statements regarding the Company’s expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, strategies, future events, future performance, business prospects, growth initiatives, acquisitions, market opportunities, capital resources, operational objectives, and other statements that are predictive in nature. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “forecast,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “seek,” “should,” “target,” “will,” “would,” and similar expressions, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words.
Forward-looking statements are based on management’s current expectations, assumptions, and beliefs regarding future developments and their potential effect on the Company. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions, and other factors that may cause actual results, performance, or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.
Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, changes in economic, business, market, competitive, regulatory, technological, legal, and geopolitical conditions; the Company’s ability to execute its business strategy; the successful integration of acquisitions and strategic transactions; access to capital and financing; customer demand; industry developments; and other risks and uncertainties described from time to time in the Company’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which are available for review at www.sec.gov.
Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made. Except as required by applicable law, the Company undertakes no obligation to update, revise, or publicly disclose any revisions to any forward-looking statements to reflect events, circumstances, or changes in expectations occurring after the date of this press release.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Aug. 31, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Blue Jay Gold Corp. (TSXV: JAY) (OTCQB: JAYGF) (FSE: JAY) (“Blue Jay” or the “Company“), is pleased to announce that it has commenced drilling at the Becker-Cochran antimony-silver occurrence on its 100%-owned Steller Gold Project (“Steller” or the “Project“) in southern Yukon (Figures 1&2). The Company has planned ten drill holes to test the target. Blue Jay also expects to receive and publish initial assay results from its 2026 drill program at the Skukum Creek and Mt. Skukum gold-silver deposits in September.
“The underground development at Becker-Cochran stopped in the 1960’s because the antimony price collapsed, not because the target wasn’t promising,” said Geordie Mark, CEO of Blue Jay Gold. “The scope of earlier works were limited by time, and not the scale of the antimony systems. Mineralizing systems of this style extend laterally for several kilometres, and the surface exposures at Becker-Cochran carry stibnite needles set in opaline silica and chalcedony textures. Textures of that kind typically form at or near the top of such a system. The Company’s interpretation is that the historical underground development, which reached less than 100 metres below the surface outcrop, worked only the uppermost part of the system, and that the system may extend as much as 600 metres below surface. That figure is based on our own interpretation of the available data.”
“We see considerable potential to extend the defined lateral and vertical continuity of mineralization of the system. We have designed a Phase 1 drill program at Becker-Cochran to test extensions of known antimony mineralization, complementing our ongoing metallurgical work assessing antimony concentrate product quality. Antimony is a critical mineral the Western world is short of, and we have it right here in our backyard. If these holes tell us what we hope they will, Steller carries a second and entirely different endowment alongside its known gold and silver resources and that is exactly why we believe Steller is a district play rather than a single deposit.”
What the Becker-Cochran Drill Program Is Testing
The holes are planned along the strike length of the historical underground development at Becker-Cochran and are designed to test the down-dip continuation of the mineralized shear zone below the two levels developed in the mid-1960’s.1
Historical workings only outlined the zone over a limited vertical extent, so the mineralized footprint is defined by the available data rather than by geology, a gap tied to the antimony price falling out of favour at the time. The zone remains open for exploration targeting.
Steller Gold-Silver Project (170 km2) in southern Yukon, showing the distribution of gold-(silver) deposits (e.g., Skukum Creek and Mt Skukum), as well as antimony prospects (e.g., Becker-Cochran and Porter). Steller Project area underlay comprised of pseudo-colour TMI from airborne magnetic survey data, which drapes over grey-scale regional satellite image.
Figure 1. Steller Gold-Silver Project (170 km2) in southern Yukon, showing the distribution of gold-(silver) deposits (e.g., Skukum Creek and Mt Skukum), as well as antimony prospects (e.g., Becker-Cochran and Porter). Steller Project area underlay comprised of pseudo-colour TMI from airborne magnetic survey data, which drapes over grey-scale regional satellite image.
Figure 2. Kilometre-scale antimony soil and rock anomaly over Steller Project. (Left): Colour contoured rock and soil survey showing antimony anomaly over Steller Project area (East). (Right): Pseudo-colour Total Magnetic Intensity Map over Steller Project area (East).
Figure 2. Kilometre-scale antimony soil and rock anomaly over Steller Project. (Left): Colour contoured rock and soil survey showing antimony anomaly over Steller Project area (East). (Right): Pseudo-colour Total Magnetic Intensity Map over Steller Project area (East).
The Workings the Drill Follows
Antimony was found on the flank of Carbon Hill in 1906, and the belt was mapped by the Geological Survey of Canada in 1912. In 1964 Yukon Antimony Corporation Ltd. was formed to develop it. The company stripped the Becker-Cochran showing along strike, and in 1965 began driving a tunnel, developing the zone underground on two levels, and mapping and sampling what was uncovered. Workings have remained dormant since that time.1
Becker-Cochran, One of the Many Targets at Steller
Drilling at Becker-Cochran has been part of the Company’s 2026 exploration plan from the outset. Blue Jay is drilling a number of targets at Steller this year, and Becker-Cochran is a deliberate exception to the Company’s core gold and silver drill target focus, forming no part of the Project’s current Mineral Resource Estimate.
What the historical record at Becker-Cochran does provide is further evidence of something the Company has said since acquiring Steller: this is a district, not a single deposit. The approximately 170 km² land package, located 55 kilometres south of Whitehorse and accessible by road, includes a mine that has already produced gold, two additional gold and gold-silver deposits hosted in different geological styles, a processing plant, and kilometres of underground workings. On the eastern side of the property lies the antimony ground that attracted an earlier generation of prospectors. All of it traces back to Eocene-age magmatic-epithermal activity manifesting a widespread mineralized system, and systems like this rarely leave only one deposit behind. Becker-Cochran is not a departure from the plan. It is another target within a property that continues to unveil its potential to host multiple attractive mineralized targets.
(1) Further detail regarding the Becker-Cochran occurrence, including its discovery, historical exploration, underground development, drilling and sampling, and regarding the Steller Gold Project and its current Mineral Resource Estimate, is set out in the technical report entitled “Technical Report and Updated Mineral Resource Estimate of the Steller Gold Project, Whitehorse Mining District, Yukon Territory, Canada,” prepared for the Company by P&E Mining Consultants Inc. with an effective date of October 31, 2025, available under the Company’s profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca.
Investors Relation / Marketing Agreement
The Company is pleased to announce that the Company has entered into a service agreement (the “Agreement“) with Resource Stock Digest (“RSD“). Under the terms of the Agreement, among other things, RSD has agreed to provide certain marketing and advertising services to the Company, including conducting interviews with the Company, and producing content that is distributed to RSD’s subscriber base via e-mail and posts to RSD’s website. These services may constitute “Investor Relations Activities” as defined under the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange (the “TSXV“).
The Agreement has a 12-month term ending September 1, 2027, with an initiation fee of US$8,500 due on TSXV approval and a monthly fee of US$2,450 due upon RSD providing an invoice at the end of each month for services rendered. There are no performance factors in the Agreement, and no securities of the Company will be issued to RSD or any of its authorized representatives as compensation. Either party may terminate the Agreement at any time, with or without cause, by providing the other party with at least thirty (30) days prior written notice. Termination will become effective upon expiration of the thirty (30) day notice period. All amounts due and obligations accrued through the effective date of termination will remain due and payable in accordance with the terms of the Agreement.
RSD’s contact details are as follows:
Attention: Gerardo Del Real, 2250 Double Creek Dr #5669, Round Rock, TX 78665, USA Email: editor@resourcestockdigest.com; Phone: (844) 334-4700.
RSD is owned and operated by Nicholas Hodge and Gerardo Del Real and is based in Round, Rock, Texas, USA. Neither RSD nor Messrs. Del Real and Hodge have any present interest, directly or indirectly, in the Company or its securities, or any right or present intent to acquire such an interest. RSD and its principals, Messrs. Del Real and Hodge, are considered arm’s-length to the Company and have no relationship with the Company outside of this Agreement.
Cautionary Note Regarding Historical Information
Information in this news release regarding the discovery, historical exploration, underground development, drilling and sampling at the Becker-Cochran occurrence is derived from publications and reports prepared before NI 43-101 came into force, together with information summarized in the technical report referred to above. The Company has not independently verified this historical information, and it should not be relied upon. The sampling and analytical procedures used, the laboratories engaged, and the quality assurance and quality control protocols applied are not known to the Company and cannot be verified, and any samples described are selective and not necessarily representative of mineralization on the Property. Historical results are not necessarily indicative of the results of the drilling or metallurgical programs now underway. A Qualified Person has not done sufficient work to verify or classify the historical information as current mineral resources or mineral reserves, and the Company is not treating it as such. No mineral resource has been estimated for antimony mineralization at Becker-Cochran, no economic assessment of the occurrence has been undertaken, and antimony mineralization forms no part of the current Mineral Resource Estimate for the Steller Gold Project.
Qualified Person
The scientific and technical content of this news release has been reviewed and approved by Freeman Smith, P.Geo., VP Exploration of Blue Jay Gold Corp., who is a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 – Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.
About Blue Jay Gold Corp.
Blue Jay Gold Corp. is a Canadian gold exploration company focused on growing and discovering resources within established gold producing regions in Canada. The Company’s flagship asset is the 100%-owned Steller Gold Project in southern Yukon, an infrastructure-supported, past-producing mine with significant exploration upside and clear near-term catalysts. Blue Jay has also built a portfolio of projects in Ontario. With strategically located assets and a leadership team experienced in geology and capital markets, Blue Jay will advance disciplined, modern exploration programs focused on target definition, resource growth, and new discoveries in known gold-mineralized regions. For more information, please visit: www.bluejaygoldcorp.com.
Eric Negraeff Investor Relations Blue Jay Gold Corp. eric@bluejaygoldcorp.com Phone: (604) 235-4059
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements in this press release contain forward-looking information. Forward-looking information involves risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. In addition, the forward-looking statements require management to make assumptions and are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties. There is significant risk that the forward-looking statements will not prove to be accurate, that the management’s assumptions may not be correct and that actual results may differ materially from such forward-looking statements. These statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology (e.g., “expect”,” estimates”, “intends”, “anticipates”, “believes”, “plans”). Forward-looking statements contained in this press release may include, but are not limited to, the results of drilling at the Becker-Cochran occurrence, the timing and scope of the rest of the Company’s exploration program, and future business plans of the Company. Such information involves known and unknown risks, including the receipt of regulatory approval, the results of future financing and exploration activities, the interpretation of exploration results and other geological data, or unanticipated costs and expenses and other risks identified by Blue Jay in its public securities filings that may cause actual events to differ materially from current expectations. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. Except as required by applicable securities laws and regulation, Blue Jay disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Figures accompanying this announcement are available at:
First Breach completes first flight of proprietary drone prototype, with large scale production scaling expected to begin in Q2 2027.
Targeting production of more than 2,500 drones per week, supported by advanced robotics, computer vision, and expanded manufacturing capacity.
HAGERSTOWN, MD / ACCESS Newswire / August 25, 2026 / First Breach Inc. (NASDAQ:FBDT) (“First Breach” or the “Company”), an American-made defense technologies company focused on vertically integrated ammunition production and next-generation unmanned aerial systems, today announced the completion of the first flight of the drone prototype and provided an update on its strategic agreement with Hellbender, Inc. to support the development and domestic manufacturing of its proprietary drone platforms.
“Successfully completing our first flight of our drone prototype marks an important step in expanding First Breach beyond ammunition and into American-made unmanned aerial systems,” said Jeffrey Low, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of First Breach. “By owning the technology and manufacturing domestically, we are building a scalable platform to support the evolving needs of defense and government customers.”
The Company expects to complete the initial prototypes in Q4 2026 and begin scaling production in the second quarter of 2027, with a targeted production capacity of more than 2,500 drones per week as manufacturing operations expand.
First Breach owns the drone platforms and their associated intellectual property and will control the manufacturing and commercialization, with Hellbender providing engineering, design, technical support, and component manufacturing. The agreement covers two Class 1 attritable drone platforms intended for cost-effective deployment in defense and security applications: a compact, close-quarters system and a longer-range system. Both platforms are being developed around common components designed to maximize supply chain efficiencies, support scalable assemblies, ensure consistent quality, enable adaptable mission configurations, and rapidly expand replicable domestic production.
“With the first flight complete, our focus is on finishing the prototyping iterations, scaling the manufacturing infrastructure, and refining our automated production capabilities needed to begin scaling in the second quarter of 2027,” said Jordan Low, Co-Founder, President and Chief Operating Officer of First Breach. “Hellbender’s expertise supports that effort as we work toward our targeted production capacity.”
First Breach currently operates approximately 80,000 square feet of ammunition manufacturing space in its Hagerstown, Maryland facility, with more than 200,000 additional contiguous square feet designed to support drone production, robotic assembly, automated logistics, and expanded ammunition manufacturing.
About First Breach
First Breach Inc. is an ISO 9001:2015 certified, American-made defense technologies company focused on manufacturing match-grade ammunition components, finished ammunition, and developing next-generation unmanned aerial systems for commercial, law enforcement, and military markets. The Company manufactures its products in-house at its Hagerstown, Maryland facility, where it produces brass cups, casings, projectiles, lead cores, lead wire, and completed ammunition with rigorous quality control standards. First Breach is also advancing its drone strategy through the development of U.S.-made unmanned systems, leveraging advanced engineering, robotics, ISR and sensor technologies, and precision manufacturing capabilities to address evolving defense, homeland security, law enforcement, and commercial requirements across domestic and international markets.
Hellbender, Inc. is a Pittsburgh-based engineering and advanced manufacturing company specializing in physical AI, computer vision, drones, robotics, electronics design, and automated manufacturing. Operating from approximately 90,000 square feet of facilities, the company provides integrated product development capabilities spanning engineering, prototyping, printed circuit board assembly, advanced sensor integration, robotic manufacturing, and production testing. More than 25% of Hellbender’s workforce consists of military veterans, supporting its commitment to American manufacturing and technical innovation.
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are not historical facts and include statements regarding the Company’s expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, strategies, future events, future performance, business prospects, growth initiatives, acquisitions, market opportunities, capital resources, operational objectives, and other statements that are predictive in nature. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “forecast,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “seek,” “should,” “target,” “will,” “would,” and similar expressions, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words.
Forward-looking statements are based on management’s current expectations, assumptions, and beliefs regarding future developments and their potential effect on the Company. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions, and other factors that may cause actual results, performance, or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.
Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, changes in economic, business, market, competitive, regulatory, technological, legal, and geopolitical conditions; the Company’s ability to execute its business strategy; the successful integration of acquisitions and strategic transactions; access to capital and financing; customer demand; industry developments; and other risks and uncertainties described from time to time in the Company’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which are available for review at www.sec.gov.
Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made. Except as required by applicable law, the Company undertakes no obligation to update, revise, or publicly disclose any revisions to any forward-looking statements to reflect events, circumstances, or changes in expectations occurring after the date of this press release.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Aug. 24, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Riverside Resources Inc. (“Riverside” or the “Company“) (TSX-V: RRI) (OTCQB: RVSDF) (FSE: 5YY0), is pleased to announce that it has entered into an option agreement (the “Option Agreement“) with 1575540 B.C. Ltd., a private British Columbia company (the “Optionee“), pursuant to which the Optionee may acquire a 100% interest in Riverside’s Revel carbonatite rare earth element (REE) project located approximately 20 kilometres from the community of Seymour Arm, north of Revelstoke, in southeastern British Columbia (the “Revel Project” or the “Project“) with Riverside retaining a 3% NSR if the option is completed and if not the project returns 100% to Riverside.
“Securing this option agreement for Revel is an excellent step forward for Riverside’s REE portfolio and we can immediately move forward with a high resolution geophysical survey of the project with partner funding to refine and expand the targets,” said John-Mark Staude, President and CEO of Riverside Resources. “The agreement brings dedicated funding to advance the 12-kilometre-long Revel carbonatite REE system while allowing our team to remain involved in the program and building value across our broader portfolio of British Columbia and Mexico projects. By retaining a 3% NSR, Riverside preserves meaningful long-term exposure to the discovery and development potential of the Revel Project.”
Terms of the Option Agreement
Under the terms of the Option Agreement, the Optionee may acquire a 100% interest in the Revel Project by making aggregate cash payments to Riverside totalling $450,000 and incurring aggregate exploration expenditures on the Project totalling up to $2,200,000 in each case in accordance with the milestone schedule set out below and over a 5-year option period commencing on February 18, 2026 as the effective date of the Option Agreement.
Milestone Cash Payments and Exploration Expenditures
Milestone
Cash Payments to Riverside
Exploration Spend Required
Signing Option Agreement
$40,000(1)
N/A
On or before the 1st Anniversary of the Effective Date
$60,000
$150,000(1)
On or before the 2nd Anniversary of the Effective Date
$50,000
$350,000
On or before the 3rd Anniversary of the Effective Date
$50,000
$500,000
On or before the 4th Anniversary of the Effective Date
$100,000
$1,200,000 or $1,000,000(2)
On or before the 5th Anniversary of the Effective Date
$150,000
N/A
Total
$450,000
Up to $2,200,000
Paid $40,000 Signing Option and has Firm Commitment of $150,000 minimum exploration spending in 1st year.
An additional $1,200,000 of Exploration Expenditures (for an aggregate of $2,200,000 in Exploration Expenditures) on or before the 4th anniversary of this Agreement in the event the price of Au is greater than $6,000 per ounce on January 1, 2029 OR an additional $1,000,000 (for an aggregate of $2,000,000 in Exploration Expenditures) in the event the price of Au is less than $6,000 per ounce on January 1, 2029.
Upon exercise of the option and acquisition of a 100% interest in the Revel Project, the Optionee will grant to Riverside a 3% net smelter returns royalty on all commercial production from the Project on the terms set out in the NSR Royalty Agreement entered into concurrently with the Option Agreement (the “Royalty Agreement“). The Royalty Agreement provides the Optionee with two buy-down rights: (i) a first right to purchase 0.5% of the NSR for US$1,000,000 at any time prior to January 1, 2033, reducing the royalty to 2.5%; and (ii) a second right, exercisable only if the first buy-down has been exercised, to purchase an additional 1.0% of the NSR for US$2,000,000 at any time prior to January 1, 2035, reducing the royalty to 1.5%.
Riverside’s exploration team will continue to provide technical input and oversight on the Revel Project during the option period, with the Optionee funding programs designed to advance the Project toward drill testing of the carbonatite-style rare earth system.
About the Revel Project
The Revel Project is located approximately 20 kilometres from the community of Seymour Arm and north of Revelstoke, British Columbia, within a highly prospective carbonatite belt. The Project covers part of the Mount Grace Carbonatite, which is known to host rare earth element mineralization, and Riverside has outlined a 12-kilometre-long carbonatite-style rare earth system at Revel that remains undrilled.
The Revel claims are located on the northeast margin of the Frenchman Cap Gneiss Dome, comprising part of the Shuswap Metamorphic Terrain. The core gneisses are overlain by allochthonous cover rocks that host both extrusive and intrusive carbonatites and form part of the Monashee cover sequence. Recent exploration at Revel has included detailed mapping, spectral and geochemical sampling, and ground geophysics designed to vector toward higher-grade REE zones in advance of drill testing.
The next work will likely be airborne geophysics and field exploration work during the summer of 2026 with funding partner providing the capital for these efforts. Additional information on the Revel Project is available on Riverside’s website at www.rivres.com.
Qualified Person & QA/QC:
The scientific and technical data contained in this news release pertaining to the Project was reviewed and approved by Freeman Smith, P.Geo, a non-independent qualified person to Riverside Resources Inc., who is responsible for ensuring that the information provided in this news release is accurate and who acts as a “qualified person” under National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.
About Riverside Resources Inc.:
Riverside is a well-funded exploration company driven by value generation and discovery. The Company has a strong balance sheet, no debt and tight share structure with a strong portfolio of gold-silver, copper, and REE assets and royalties in North America. Further information about Riverside is available on the Company’s website at www.rivres.com.
ON BEHALF OF RIVERSIDE RESOURCES INC.
“John-Mark Staude”
Dr. John-Mark Staude, President & CEO
For additional information contact:
John-Mark Staude President, CEO Riverside Resources Inc. info@rivres.com Phone: (778) 327-6671 Fax: (778) 327-6675 Web: www.rivres.com
Eric Negraeff Investor Relations Riverside Resources Inc. Phone: (778) 327-6671 TF: (877) RIV-RES1 Web: www.rivres.com
Certain statements in this press release may be considered forward-looking information. These statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology (e.g., “expect”,” estimates”, “intends”, “anticipates”, “believes”, “plans”). Such information involves known and unknown risks — including the availability of funds, the results of financing and exploration activities, the interpretation of exploration results and other geological data, or unanticipated costs and expenses and other risks identified by Riverside in its public securities filings that may cause actual events to differ materially from current expectations. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
DALLAS, TX / ACCESS Newswire / August 24, 2026 / AIAI Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ:AIAI) (“Ai2” or the “Company”), an AI-enabled diversified holding company utilizing Transformational AI (TAI) to enhance portfolio performance, announced today that, following discussions with its board, the Company is commencing discussions with Messier 42 LLC, a company controlled by our founder and controlling stockholder, John P. Rochon, to begin the process of acquiring a number of M42’s existing and targeted businesses across multiple sectors to help execute the Company’s vision, including international and domestic defense, intelligence, healthcare, gaming and rare earth minerals. The Company anticipates that, if completed, these significant transactions will be structured to be minimally dilutive to the current Ai² stockholders.
The acquisitions remain subject to due diligence and will require the approval of the board of AIAI. Additionally, because these will be related-party transactions, the Company will retain an investment banker to provide a fairness opinion and structuring advice.
About AIAI Holdings Corporation AIAI Holdings Corporation (Ai2) (NASDAQ:AIAI) is an AI-enabled diversified holding company that acquires and grows companies across multiple industries. We expect to drive revenue and earnings growth throughout our portfolio by applying exclusively licensed Transformational AI to enhance operational efficiency and financial performance.
Ai2 is building a next-generation model for technology-enabled business operations, which is expected to create sustainable value for shareholders through the strategic integration of artificial intelligence across diverse industries.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements This press release contains “forward-looking statements” or “forward-looking information” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements regarding the plans, intentions, beliefs, and current expectations of the Company with respect to future business activities and plans of the Company. All statements contained in this press release that do not relate to matters of historical fact should be considered forward-looking statements, including without limitation statements regarding our expectations, intentions, beliefs, plans, objectives, goals, strategies, future events or performance, and underlying assumptions. Forward-looking statements are often identified by the use of words such as “may,” “will,” “expect,” “believe,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “would,” “could,” “should”, “estimate,” “plan,” “predict,” “project,” “estimate”, or “continue,” or similar expressions, including the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology.
Forward-looking statements are based on the Company’s current expectations regarding its strategy, plans, intentions, performance, or future occurrences or results, the information on which such expectations were based may change. These forward-looking statements rely on a number of assumptions concerning future events and are subject to a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, many of which are outside of the Company’s control, that could cause actual results, performance, or achievements to materially differ from any future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Such risks, uncertainties and other factors include, but are not limited to our lack of operating history, our ability to attract new investments, our failure to manage growth effectively, our acquisition activities may pose risks that could harm our business, and our licensed AI may not perform up to the expected standards, as well as general business and economic conditions, competitive pressures, regulatory changes, technological developments, and other factors identified in the Company’s most recent filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Registration Statement on Form S-1, which are available for review at www.sec.gov
Furthermore, the Company operates in a competitive environment where new and unanticipated risks may arise. Accordingly, investors should not place any reliance on forward-looking statements as a prediction of actual results.
The forward-looking statements in this press release are based on information available to us as of the date hereof, and we disclaim any intention to, and, except as may be required by law, undertake no obligation to, update or revise forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that subsequently occur or of which the Company hereafter become aware. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing our views as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release.
CASPER, WY / ACCESS Newswire / August 20, 2026 / Ur-Energy Inc. (NYSE American:URG)(TSX:URE) (“Ur-Energy” or the “Company“), America’s largest and fastest-growing domestic ISR uranium producer, is pleased to announce that on August 19, 2026, it made the first shipment of uranium from its Shirley Basin mine to its Lost Creek processing plant in Wyoming.
Matt Gili, President & CEO of Ur-Energy, stated, “This first shipment is not only the start of full operations at Shirley Basin, it also marks Ur-Energy’s transition to a multi-asset, domestic U.S. uranium producer. It is important to note that Shirley Basin moved from construction decision to production in just two and a half years. This is a clear demonstration of our team’s ability to progress through permitting, construction, and startup in a highly effective manner. Crucially, this milestone also validates our capital-efficient, hub-and-spoke development model and further strengthens Ur-Energy’s position as a leading U.S. uranium producer.”
With licensed wellfield and toll processing capacity of up to 2.0 million pounds of U3O8 equivalent, Ur-Energy’s Shirley Basin mine is the Company’s second uranium in-situ recovery (“ISR”) operation in Wyoming. As previously announced, initial mining operations commenced at the mine in April 2026. Final authorization to advance to full operations was received from the State of Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality in late June 2026.
Shirley Basin is being run as a satellite mine of the Company’s Lost Creek hub operation. Lost Creek, which is home to the largest operating ISR mine in the U.S., has a proven and tested facility that has processed and shipped more than 3.5 million pounds of U3O8 to the conversion facility for delivery to the Company’s customers. This hub-and-spoke model is the basis of Ur-Energy’s growth platform in Wyoming. It avoids duplicative infrastructure, improves capital efficiency, and can be scaled at an accelerated pace.
Now that shipments from Shirley Basin to Lost Creek have commenced, the Company will execute on its strategy for ramp-up to full commercial levels, while continuing to advance its other organic growth opportunities in the district.
About Ur-Energy
Ur-Energy is the largest and fastest-growing ISR uranium mining company in the United States. It owns and operates the Lost Creek ISR uranium facility in south-central Wyoming, which has produced more than 3.5 million pounds of U₃O₈ since operations began, and the Shirley Basin ISR operation in central Wyoming, where uranium recovery commenced in April 2026. Lost Creek and Shirley Basin have combined annual licensed production and toll-processing capacity of 4.2 million pounds of U₃O₈. The Company is also engaged in exploration and development activities at a selection of projects in the Great Divide Basin uranium district. Ur-Energy’s common shares trade on the NYSE American under the symbol “URG” and on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol “URE.” The Company’s corporate headquarters is in Casper, Wyoming, and its registered office is in Ottawa, Ontario.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information
This release may contain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of applicable securities laws regarding events or conditions that may occur in the future (e.g., our ability and the expected or planned timing at Shirley Basin to ramp up and increase production or to reach full commercial levels of production; our ability in the future to execute on our construction, development, and operating plans; and our ability in the future to comply with regulatory requirements and receive regulatory approvals). Generally, forward-looking statements can be identified by use of forward-looking terminology such as “plans,” “expects,” “does not expect,” “is expected,” “is likely,” “estimates,” “intends,” “anticipates,” “does not anticipate,” “believes,” or variations of the foregoing, or statements that certain actions, events or results “may,” “could,” “might” or “will” “be taken,” “occur,” “be achieved” or “have the potential to.” All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are considered to be forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause actual results, performance, or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, capital and other costs varying significantly from estimates; failure to establish estimated resources and reserves; the grade and recovery of ore that is mined varying from estimates; production rates, methods, and amounts varying from estimates; delays in obtaining or failures to obtain required governmental, environmental, or other project approvals; inflation; changes in exchange rates; fluctuations in commodity prices; delays in development; changes in governmental polices or market conditions; and other factors described in the public filings of the Company that are available at www.sec.gov and www.sedarplus.ca. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements contained herein are based on the beliefs, expectations, and opinions of management as of the date hereof, and Ur-Energy disclaims any intent or obligation to update them or revise them to reflect any change in circumstances or changes in management’s beliefs, expectations, or opinions that occur in the future, except as required by applicable law.
The U.S. government’s debt has surpassed $40 trillion, according to the latest data from the Treasury. It’s a staggering, hard-to-process number, totaling over $359,000 in federal debt for every American taxpayer.
Bank of America’s chief equity strategist, Michael Hartnett, projects the number will swell to $50 trillion in less than three years.
“The problem with $40 trillion is not the number,” Stephen Innes, financial markets analyst and former investment bank trader, wrote in an analysis. “Markets have been watching the US debt clock spin higher for years and, for most of that time, the response has been little more than a shrug. Washington spends, Treasury issues, investors absorb it, and the machine keeps moving.”
The largest federal budget items are Medicare/Medicaid combined (nearly $2 trillion), Social Security (over $1.6 trillion), national defense ($946 billion) — and interest on the debt (over $1 trillion).
Innes believes interest costs will soon begin “eating the budget alive,” with the steep trajectory of the government debt making the interest expense “one of Washington’s largest single outlays.”
What does that mean for the stock and bond markets — and the cost of living?
For fiscal year 2026, the federal government is projected to collect $5.6 trillion in revenue while spending about $7.4 trillion. That results in a deficit of roughly $1.9 trillion, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
“In other words, the government is spending roughly $1.33 for every $1 collected,” Colin Slabach, clinical assistant professor at New York University’s School of Professional Studies, told Yahoo Finance in an email.
“The good news is that there is still plenty of demand for US government debt,” he added. “The problem is that if that changes in the future — and nations like Japan need to sell our debt to stabilize their own currency — it could lead to an overabundance of supply.”
That’s when the Treasury would have to pay increasingly higher interest rates to attract investments in the U.S. government, Slabach said.
As swelling government debt pushes bond yields higher, borrowing costs for consumers also rise.
“As the federal government runs a deficit, it must borrow the difference by issuing Treasury securities. Increased supply of U.S. Treasuries pushes yields higher to attract investors. Those yields then serve as a benchmark for interest rates across the economy,” the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, a nonpartisan economic think tank, wrote in an economic outlook.
As rising rates filter through the economy, the cost of living squeezes household budgets even tighter.
“Rising borrowing costs mean larger payments on mortgages, car loans, student loans, business loans, and credit card debt,” the report noted.
However, it’s not only about a higher monthly housing payment, Ethan White, co-founder of White Sands Tax Services in Long Beach, Calif., told Yahoo Finance.
When borrowing costs remain high, the “freedom to buy, move, downsize, or respond to a new job or caregiving need” is reduced.
“The debt becomes tangible not when Washington crosses another trillion-dollar milestone, but when an otherwise reasonable life decision no longer fits within the family budget,” White said.
The federal debt could ‘lower the standard of living for all Americans’
In June, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) came to a startling conclusion: At $31.3 trillion, the U.S. debt was roughly equal in size to the country’s economy. Within weeks, the debt quickly surpassed the U.S. Gross Domestic Product.
“When the federal government spends more than it collects in revenue, it borrows money to make up that deficit,” the GAO report said, adding that while the federal debt would often spike during an economic setback, over the past two decades, the deficit had grown even as the economy thrived.
One result: Businesses face higher borrowing costs. With less capital for operational costs, wages suffer, “leading to slower wage growth,” the GAO reported.
“If nothing is done to reduce deficits each year, we project that debt will grow about twice as fast as the economy over the next 10 years. In 30 years, that debt will likely be 2.5 times the size of the economy,” the GAO said. “What that means for you, and future generations, is that today’s deficits — if not addressed — could have lasting financial consequences. The federal government’s debt could ultimately lower the standard of living for all Americans.”
A growing deficit could bring another headache to taxpayers: “It could mean higher taxes with no additional services because the taxes will pay the interest on the debt,” Slabach said.
And investors are likely to see continued volatility in the markets.
“Higher rates can weigh on stocks because it makes borrowing more expensive for companies,” Robert Brokamp, CFP, a financial advisor with The Motley Fool, told Yahoo Finance. “When rates rise, the prices of current bonds drop since they are now less attractive than new bonds offering higher yields. Because rates have risen in 2026, the overall bond market has dropped approximately 2.5% so far this year. It’s not a devastating loss, but also not what many investors expect from ‘safe’ bonds.”
Brokamp recommends keeping any money you may need in the next three to five years in higher-yielding cash, money market funds, CDs, or short-term bonds, which are less sensitive to interest-rate moves.
Borrowers should watch debt levels as well.
“If rates remain elevated, carrying $25,000 on a variable-rate credit card or financing a car every few years becomes much more consequential,” Zachary Sahar, CPA, managing director at Capital Tax in Walnut Creek, Calif., said in an email. “I’d focus less on predicting Washington and more on reducing expensive variable-rate debt, maintaining liquidity, and avoiding new fixed expenses that only work if rates or economic conditions improve.”
Copper Is Reaching Record Highs for New Reasons: Despite mixed economic data, copper is benefiting from growing demand tied to energy security, AI, defense and electrical infrastructure.
Mine Supply Remains Constrained: Weak Chilean production, delayed mine recoveries and long development timelines continue to limit supply growth.
Concentrate Scarcity Is Shifting the Economics: Record-low treatment charges and spot-indexed contracts signal intensifying competition for concentrate and growing miner leverage.
Tariff Uncertainty Is Fragmenting Supply: Potential U.S. tariffs have drawn significant refined copper into the U.S., tightening availability elsewhere.
Power May Be AI’s Next Bottleneck: AI investment is expanding from chips to power generation, transmission and grid infrastructure, adding another copper-intensive source of demand.
Copper Miners Are Responding: After lagging in July, miners rallied sharply in early August as record copper prices and strong margins highlighted their operating leverage.
Performance for periods of less than one year is not annualized. Source: Bloomberg as of 7/31/2026. You cannot invest directly in an index. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.
Performance Overview: Copper Reaches Another Record High
Copper prices continued to advance in July, extending a rally that has increasingly diverged from the traditional industrial cycle. Copper ended the month at $13,836 per metric ton, gaining 3.65% in July and 11.10% year-to-date. The rally continued into August, with copper reaching a new all-time high of $14,334 per metric ton on August 10. A weaker U.S. dollar and persistent concerns over global mine supply helped support copper’s move. The U.S. copper premium also climbed back above 3%, reflecting continued positioning ahead of a potential tariff on refined copper imports.
Copper miners initially lagged the metal, gaining just 0.22% in July, before responding more strongly in August. As of August 10, copper miners had gained 12.96% month-to-date, while junior copper miners had risen 15.06%. The acceleration suggests that investors may be looking beyond near-term copper price volatility and focusing more closely on the earnings leverage available to producers if prices remain near historically elevated levels.
Copper is breaking away from the traditional industrial cycle.
Copper’s strength is particularly notable against an uneven economic backdrop. Chinese demand indicators remain mixed, elevated prices have pressured some fabricators and broader industrial activity has not provided an obvious cyclical catalyst. Yet copper continues to be one of the better-performing commodities. We believe this resilience reflects a structural shift in copper’s demand profile, with consumption increasingly driven not only by construction, manufacturing and consumer activity, but also by electricity networks, AI data centers, defense systems and energy infrastructure. These sources of demand are supported by government policy, national security priorities and long-term infrastructure investment, making them generally less sensitive to short-term economic conditions.
At the same time, supply constraints are emerging across multiple stages of the copper value chain. Mine production continues to underperform expectations, exceptionally low treatment charges (TCs; the fees mining companies pay smelters to process copper concentrate into refined metal) point to an acute shortage of concentrate, and tariff uncertainty has redirected refined copper toward the U.S. No single factor fully explains copper’s move to record highs. Collectively, however, they underscore the limited flexibility within the global copper supply system as structural demand growth, constrained supply and policy disruptions increasingly converge.
Looking at longer-term performance, copper miners have outpaced broader equities over the past five years (Figure 1).
Figure 1. Physical Copper and Copper Stocks Have Outperformed Other Asset Classes Over the Past Five Years (7/31/2021-7/31/2026)
Source: Bloomberg and Sprott Asset Management. Data as of 7/31/2026. Copper Miners are measured by the Nasdaq Sprott Copper Miners™ Index (NSCOPPT index); Junior Copper Miners are measured by the Nasdaq Sprott Junior Copper Miners™ Index (NSCOPJT index); U.S. Equities are measured by the S&P 500 TR Index; the Copper Spot Price is measured by LMCADY Comdty; and Commodities are measured by the Bloomberg Commodity Index (BCOM). Definitions of the indices are provided in the footnotes. You cannot invest directly in an index. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.
Market Drivers
Concentrate Scarcity Is Rewriting the Copper Market
Demand for copper concentrate continued to intensify in July as mine supply became increasingly difficult to secure. Spot treatment charges fell to another all-time low, while Chilean copper miner Antofagasta plc shifted its mid-year copper sales from fixed terms, which had long served as an industry benchmark, to prices linked to the copper spot market.6 Antofagasta’s contracting decisions matter because its terms have traditionally influenced pricing across much of the copper industry. Together, these developments suggest that concentrate is becoming increasingly scarce, bargaining power is shifting toward miners and long-standing industry practices are beginning to adjust to a tighter market.
Concentrate scarcity is shifting the balance of power decisively toward copper miners.
For much of the copper industry’s history, large miners and smelters negotiated annual or mid-year benchmark treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs). Once a leading producer and smelter reached an agreement, other market participants frequently adopted similar terms, providing greater pricing certainty across the industry.
Antofagasta has become the de facto leader on the mining side of these negotiations in recent years. Its move toward spot-index-linked pricing is therefore more significant than an isolated contract between a miner and a smelter. If similar arrangements become more common, they could weaken the traditional benchmark system and expose a larger share of the industry directly to prevailing concentrate scarcity. BHP, the world’s largest copper producer in 2025, has already priced substantial volumes of concentrate against spot indexes.
TC/RCs provide an important measure of the balance between concentrate supply and smelting capacity. When concentrate is abundant, smelters can charge miners more to process it. When concentrate becomes scarce, smelters must offer miners increasingly favorable terms to secure enough material to keep their facilities operating. Negative TC/RCs therefore indicate that the value of concentrate has risen significantly relative to refined copper.
The move from above $90 per metric ton in late 2023 to below -$150 today represents a reversal of more than $240 per metric ton. This extraordinary shift illustrates how decisively bargaining power has moved toward miners and provides a clearer indication of upstream scarcity than record-high refined copper prices alone.
Why Smelters Keep Competing for Scarce Concentrate
Given deeply negative treatment charges, an important question is why smelters have not responded by reducing production. Treatment charges have historically been an important source of smelter revenue, but they are only one component of a more complex earnings model. Smelters can also generate revenue from sulphuric acid produced during processing, payable and recoverable by-products such as gold and silver, copper recovered above contracted payable levels, cathode premiums and downstream products such as wire rod and tubing.
Sulphuric acid has been particularly important in sustaining smelter demand for concentrate. The Iran war disrupted trade from the Middle East, a region responsible for nearly half of global sulphur trade, while China’s suspension of sulphuric acid exports further tightened availability outside the country. Higher acid prices have had opposing effects across the copper supply chain: increasing costs and supply risks for acid-dependent solvent extraction and electrowinning mines while improving the economics of smelters that produce sulphuric acid as a valuable by-product.
Combined with elevated gold and silver prices, these revenues have allowed many smelters to remain profitable and continue competing aggressively for scarce concentrate despite deeply negative TC/RCs. This has delayed the production cuts that might otherwise have reduced competition for concentrate and allowed treatment charges to recover.
Copper miners are benefiting from scarcity on both sides of the market.
For copper miners, the result is particularly favorable. Smelters are offering increasingly attractive terms to secure scarce concentrate at the same time that refined copper prices are near record highs. Together, these conditions have pushed copper miners’ all-in sustaining cost margins to levels not seen in decades.
The resulting margin expansion highlights the operating leverage available to copper miners. Once a mine’s operating costs are covered, higher copper prices can flow disproportionately into earnings and cash flow. This leverage has historically allowed copper miners to outperform the metal during sustained bull markets, particularly when higher prices coincide with favorable concentrate terms and strong by-product revenues, as they do today.
We believe pure-play copper miners provide more direct exposure to copper’s constrained supply response and the resulting margin expansion, positioning them to benefit disproportionately if these conditions persist.
Figure 2. Record-Low Treatment Charges
Source: Bloomberg. China Treatment Charge measured by ZACNTC26 Index. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
U.S. Tariff Uncertainty Is Reshaping the Global Copper Market
The possibility of U.S. tariffs on refined copper has redirected significant volumes of metal into the country, creating a historically large domestic stockpile. In 2025, the U.S. Commerce Department recommended a universal tariff of 15% beginning January 1, 2027, rising to 30% on January 1, 2028. Although the Trump administration separately imposed a 50% tariff on semi-finished copper products, it did not immediately adopt the recommendation for refined copper, leaving the market uncertain about whether—and at what rate—imports might eventually be taxed.
Tariff uncertainty is pulling copper into the U.S. and reshaping global trade flows.
That uncertainty created a powerful incentive to move copper into the U.S. before any tariff took effect. Copper already inside the country could become considerably more valuable if future imports were taxed, supporting a premium for U.S. copper over metal traded on the London Metal Exchange (LME). When that premium was sufficient to cover freight, financing and storage costs, traders could profitably purchase copper abroad and deliver it to U.S. ports and warehouses.
The resulting inventory shift has been extraordinary. More than 200,000 metric tons of refined copper arrived at U.S. ports in July, the largest monthly inflow in data extending back to 2014.
The U.S. Commerce Department was expected to complete its Section 232 review by June 30, 2026, but no public decision followed. The market must therefore continue to weigh several potential outcomes, including the original phased tariff, a lower rate with exemptions or another delay. Each carries different implications for the value of copper already accumulated in the U.S.
Under normal conditions, COMEX copper trades at only a modest premium to LME copper. That changed dramatically in July 2025, when President Trump’s comments regarding a 50% copper tariff led traders to believe the levy could include refined copper, pushing the COMEX premium above 28%. The premium collapsed after refined copper was excluded but has recently begun to rebuild, rising above 3% as the market again prices in the possibility of future tariffs.
Copper already held inside the U.S. therefore retains valuable optionality. If a tariff is ultimately imposed, those inventories could become more valuable relative to copper outside the country. As long as policy remains unresolved, that possibility reduces the incentive to return metal to international markets.
U.S. Stockpiling Is Tightening Copper Markets Elsewhere
The U.S. stockpile has been built at the expense of availability elsewhere. Copper shipped to the U.S. has been diverted from other consuming regions, contributing to a sharp decline in available LME inventories. Nearby LME contracts have moved further into backwardation, indicating that copper available for immediate delivery is commanding a premium over future supply. Chinese buyers are also competing more aggressively for metal while domestic exchange inventories remain low.
Some copper may eventually return to international markets as trade flows normalize. But policy clarity cannot increase mine production, reverse declining ore grades or accelerate projects that can take more than a decade to develop. U.S. tariff uncertainty has amplified and regionalized copper’s tightness, but it has not created the underlying scarcity of mined copper.
Figure 3. U.S. Copper Shipments Surge as Tariff Decision Looms
Source: Bloomberg and HIS Markit. Copper Tariff Delay Raises Repricing Risk: Macro View.
Chile’s Production Downgrade Reinforces the Mine-Supply Challenge
Chile lowered its copper production forecasts after first-half output fell to its lowest level since 2018.7The world’s largest copper-producing country now expects output to decline in 2026 before recovering next year, with both forecasts reduced meaningfully from prior estimates. At a time when smelters are already struggling to secure concentrate, the loss of expected supply from Chile further tightens the upstream market.
The weakness reflects more than temporary maintenance or operational disruptions. Much of Chile’s major copper capacity was developed decades ago, and key operations are contending with declining ore grades, aging infrastructure, water constraints and increasingly complex investment requirements. National production remains below its 2018 peak and would still fall short of that level even if the revised recovery forecast is achieved.
Copper needs new supply, but new mines remain years away.
These challenges extend well beyond Chile. Mine disruptions exceeded their long-term average in both 2024 and 2025, while recoveries at major operations, including Grasberg and Kamoa-Kakula, have taken longer than expected. The market needs Chilean production to recover, disrupted mines to return and operating performance elsewhere to normalize simply to deliver the supply already embedded in forecasts.
Higher copper prices should encourage investment, but major mines can take 15 to 20 years to develop and require substantial capital. Much of the visible project pipeline is also needed simply to replace declining production at existing operations before it can generate meaningful net supply growth. Record copper prices are sending the necessary investment signal, but the supply response remains years away.
Copper enters the remainder of 2026 near record highs, but the market has yet to deliver the supply response those prices are intended to encourage. The most important near-term test will be whether production begins to recover. The market is relying on improved output from Chile and the gradual restoration of major operations, including Grasberg and Kamoa-Kakula. These recoveries, though reduced from original expectations, are already embedded in supply forecasts, leaving limited room for further disappointment at a time when record-low treatment charges indicate that smelters are already struggling to secure enough concentrate.
Meanwhile, strategic demand continues to build. AI was not the principal driver of copper’s recent rally, but its rapid expansion is exposing the limitations of global power systems. Data centers can be built faster than the generation, substations and transmission systems needed to supply them, shifting the potential bottleneck from computing hardware toward electricity infrastructure. Copper demand extends well beyond the metal contained within data centers to the much larger power systems required to operate them.
The copper market is tightening before power-related demand reaches full scale.
China is already investing at scale. As an energy-dependent nation, China’s expansion of domestic generation and transmission is fundamentally an energy-security strategy, reducing exposure to imported fuels while supporting industrial and technological growth. The U.S. faces similar pressure to expand its power system as AI, advanced manufacturing and defense requirements collide with aging grids and limited connection capacity.
AI does not need to become copper’s largest end market to have a meaningful effect. Even incremental demand can materially tighten a market in which existing mine supply is already falling short and new production remains slow to deliver.
Copper’s record price should therefore be viewed as a signal that significant investment is still required. The market is already competing intensely for limited concentrate before the next phase of power-related demand has fully arrived. With strategic uses expanding faster than mine supply can keep pace, the copper market appears to be moving deeper into a multi-year period of structural tightness.
Short-term volatility is likely, but the longer-term balance is becoming increasingly supportive. Copper miners offer leverage to that imbalance because higher realized prices can flow disproportionately into margins and cash flow. As supply remains inelastic and strategic demand accelerates, copper and copper miners remain well positioned to benefit through the remainder of 2026 and beyond.
Figure 5. Copper Reaches New All-Time Highs (2000-2026)
Source: Bloomberg as of 8/10/2026. Copper is measured by LMCADY Comdty. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
Footnotes
1
The copper spot price is measured by the LME Copper Cash ($), Bloomberg ticker LMCADY.
2
The Nasdaq Sprott Copper Miners™ Index (NSCOPP™) is designed to track the performance of a selection of global securities in the copper industry; the Index was co-developed by Nasdaq® and Sprott Asset Management LP.
3
Nasdaq Sprott Junior Copper Miners™ Index (NSCOPJ™) is designed to track the performance of mid-, small- and micro-cap companies in copper-mining related businesses; the Index was co-developed by Nasdaq® and Sprott Asset Management LP.
4
The Bloomberg Commodity Index (BCOM) is a broadly diversified commodity price index that tracks prices of futures contracts on physical commodities and is designed to minimize concentration in any one commodity or sector. It currently has 23 commodity futures in six sectors.
5
The S&P 500 or Standard & Poor’s 500 Index is a market-capitalization-weighted index of the 500 largest U.S. publicly traded companies.
Here is a number that doesn’t happen. Thirty patent applications filed. Thirty patents issued. Zero denied.
Patent examiners are paid to push back. For a claim to survive, it must cover patentable subject matter, be new, non-obvious, technically enabled, and practically useful — not one bar, five. Mica has cleared all five, thirty times — spanning Credential-less Payments, Credential-less Enrollment, N-Character PIN, Coupons and Rewards as Currency, Multi-Tender Payments, and many others.
Alston & Bird, one of the most respected intellectual property practices in the country, became Mica’s legal partner — building the patent portfolio jurisdiction by jurisdiction, claim by claim, across ten markets.
“Behind every issued patent is a challenge overcome and an innovative idea brought to life. Mica’s expanding patent portfolio reflects a relentless drive to innovate, reinforcing its position as a market leader and advancing transformative solutions that are shaping the future of the industry.”
— Dane Baltich, Partner, Alston & Bird
II. TRUE INNOVATION DOESN’T LAYER. IT REBUILDS.
There is a pattern to technological shifts that actually redefine industries. When an old foundation is structurally flawed, you don’t build a better layer on top of it. You pull it out by the roots.
Steve Jobs didn’t build a better Nokia. He looked at the phone — keyboard, carrier relationships, software, the whole thing — and decided the right answer was to throw it all out and rebuild from scratch. Every smartphone manufacturer in the world had been layering features onto existing form factors. Jobs built a new foundation, and the old one became irrelevant.
For decades, fintech has followed a predictable playbook: build a shinier interface or a faster tokenization layer over legacy transaction rails. But every one of those layers inherits the exact same original sin — the persistent credential. Whether it’s a credit card number, a bank routing code, or a proxy token sitting in a vault, it remains an attack surface waiting to be exploited.
Mica co-founders Christopher Petersen and Tim Kuchlein understood this. Having previously designed the core digital wallet architecture that became Google Wallet, they knew exactly where the old rails hit the wall. They didn’t set out to build onto an existing network. They built a new network.
III. TRANSACTION INFRASTRUCTURE, REBUILT
Mica is a ground-up transformation of transaction infrastructure that redefines authorization.
Zero Credentials, Eliminated Credential Risk: Instead of shielding or masking card numbers, Mica eliminates them entirely from the authorization flow using Universally Unique Ephemeral Keys (UUEKs). Identity is addressed, never stored, removing credential-based fraud exposure at the architectural layer.
Universal Authorization: Where existing networks are siloed by use case — credit cards, ACH or rewards — Mica treats all values natively. Bank accounts, loyalty and coupons can seamlessly orchestrate into a single transaction authorization in under 900 milliseconds.
Intelligence at the Core: Legacy infrastructure moves money and stops, leaving data resolution to third-party software. Mica introduces SKU-level transaction transparency and automated adjudication directly into the network layer.
IV. THIRTY FOR THIRTY
The patents are the proof of work. Thirty times, Christopher, Tim and Alston & Bird put a piece of that infrastructure in front of the patent system — and thirty times, the answer came back the same.
Yes. This is new. This is yours.
With 60+ additional applications pending across ten jurisdictions, the portfolio is still growing.
Building new transaction infrastructure is one of the hardest things a company can attempt. You are asking every participant in an existing ecosystem to change. The people who came in early didn’t just believe in Mica. They’ve staked their reputations on it.
FT Partners, one of fintech’s most respected strategic investment banks.
“When we began working with Mica, it was immediately clear this wasn’t an incremental improvement to existing payment infrastructure — it was a ground-up redesign of how authorization works. The removal of reusable credentials from the transaction flow addresses the structural root cause of problems the industry has spent decades managing around. Reaching 30 issued patents is a meaningful milestone, but what it reflects is more significant: a defensible, novel architecture that incumbents cannot simply replicate. That combination of structural differentiation and a deepening intellectual property portfolio is exactly what we look for when we partner with a category-defining company.”
— Steve McLaughlin, Founder / CEO / Managing Partner, FT Partners
Editor’s note: By the time this article was finished, Mica received five more patents. The total is now 35. There are 60 pending. We’ve stopped being surprised.
