Latest Developments in Mineral Processing: Global Project Updates and Innovation Trends (June–July 2025)

The past month has seen a wave of activity across the global mining sector, particularly in the field of mineral processing. From advanced lithium extraction to new rare earths and nickel processing flowsheets, here’s a summary of key project developments and innovations shaping the next phase of critical mineral production.

North America

🇺🇸 United States – Lithium Projects

Tonopah Flats Lithium Project (Nevada): American Battery Technology Company (ABTC) was granted FAST-41 status in June 2025. The project features an integrated claystone mine and a 30,000 tpy lithium hydroxide refinery. ABTC has demonstrated a proprietary processing flowsheet that produces battery-grade LiOH from claystone.
Southwest Arkansas Lithium Project: Standard Lithium (in partnership with Equinor) is advancing its DLE-based lithium brine extraction facility. In June 2025, it converted LiOH into battery-grade Li₂S using Telescope Innovations’ DualPure process, offering a low-temperature route to supply solid-state battery materials.

🇺🇸 United States – Copper and Rare Earths

Johnson Camp Mine (Arizona): Gunnison Copper will start copper cathode production in July 2025. The heap leach–SX/EW plant will also trial Rio Tinto’s Nuton™ leaching for primary sulfides, aiming for lower water and energy use.
Sheep Creek Rare Earths Project (Montana): US Critical Materials has launched a 1–2 tpd pilot plant with Idaho National Laboratory to refine Nd, Pr, Sc, and Ga from high-grade carbonatite using advanced separation technologies.
Brook Mine (Wyoming): Ramaco Resources opened the first US rare earth mine in decades in July 2025. It targets heavy REEs found in coal seams, co-mining rare earths and coal and applying novel processing to produce RE oxides from carbon-rich ores.

🇨🇦 Canada – Nickel, Graphite, and Gold

Atlantic Nickel Project (Newfoundland): First Atlantic Nickel’s smelter-free flowsheet uses magnetic separation and flotation to process awaruite (a Ni-Fe alloy), eliminating energy-intensive roasting. (source)
Graphite Creek Project (Alaska): Graphite One is building a mine-to-anode supply chain. Its Alaska mine will supply a new Ohio facility for converting graphite concentrate into EV-grade anode material.
Georgia Lake Lithium Project (Ontario): Rock Tech Lithium launched a Queen’s University-led ore-sorting program in June 2025 to recover lithium efficiently from low-grade spodumene ores (0.3–0.5% Li₂O).
Goose Mine (Nunavut): B2Gold poured first gold in June 2025 from its new 1.3 Mt/y CIL plant, with production expected to hit 20–25 koz/month by year-end.

Australasia

🇦🇺 Australia – Gold and Lithium

Blackjack & Far Fanning Projects (Queensland): Native Mineral Resources is refurbishing a 340 kt/y CIL plant for oxide gold, targeting 20–30 koz/year starting Q3 2025.
Pilgangoora Expansion: Pilbara Minerals is expanding its flagship operation (P1000 project) to increase lithium concentrate production to ~25 Mtpa.

Technological Innovations in Mineral Processing

Hydraulic Dewatered Stacking (HDS): Anglo American is piloting coarse particle flotation and HDS tailings at El Soldado (Chile), reclaiming >80% water and reducing footprint. (source)
Bioleaching for Ni-Co: Canadian North Resources continues testing bioleaching at Ferguson Lake (Nunavut), extracting 98% Ni and 97% Co without smelting.
Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE): Projects in the US and Argentina (e.g., Standard Lithium) are deploying membranes and ion-exchange systems for faster, cleaner lithium recovery.
New Gold Processing (Malaysia): Besra Gold is piloting pyrolysis to produce gold doré while stabilizing arsenic-rich tailings into vitrified waste, as an alternative to POX. (Dundee Technologies is assisting).
Rare Earth Oxide Separation: Torngat Metals (Canada) is building a separation facility at Sept-Îles, Quebec, tied to its Strange Lake mine, focused on heavy REEs for magnets and defense.
Underwater Rare Earths Mining: Japan’s JAMSTEC will begin pilot recovery of REE-rich seafloor muds in early 2026, with plans to scale to 350 t/d. (Nikkei Asia)

Conclusion

Across gold, lithium, copper, and rare earths, the mining industry is accelerating both development and innovation. New processing flowsheets, smelter-free refining, direct extraction from brines and muds, and low-impact tailings management are all reshaping the future of mineral production. As we enter the second half of 2025, expect more pilot projects to become commercial operations — bringing sustainable mineral processing closer to the mainstream.