The M&E Dispatch // 110

Hello Everyone,

In this time of… change, yeah, let’s go with that. Everything from borders to corridors, trade to tariffs, times are changing.

In all this is lesson we should learn from China, and it’s not just about scale or commodity prices. It’s about thinking long-term. While we’re reshaping how we conduct business on a global basis I really feel we should take a look at how we drive policy.

China implements industrial and resource policies that survive decades, giving its companies the stability to invest boldly, bet on vast infrastructure, and know the government isn’t going to pull the rug out every four or eight years. Unlike the West, there’s little appetite for undoing the previous regime’s progress out of pure party politics. Companies can plan past the next quarter, and the value of “legacy” isn’t just a dirty word reserved for election slogans.

Meanwhile, here in Canada, we spend more time sandbagging the next administration than building something that might last. Too often, our resource projects are conceived by one government, only to have the next threaten, and sometimes succeed, in axing them. It’s not a new problem:

• The TMX pipeline was purchased by one administration to ensure its expansion, ballooned in cost from an initial $4.7B to over $30B, with its financial viability questioned quarter after quarter, and future governments mulling its fate. Companies aren’t paying the tolls needed to recover the investment, leaving taxpayers on the hook.

• Critical minerals development: Despite a $3.8B federal strategy, major supply chain projects, including lithium, nickel, copper, are dogged by regulatory reversals, permitting delays and legal challenges from Indigenous groups who rightly insist on meaningful consultation. Fast-track laws passed in June led to constitutional challenges and protests, with new “special economic zones” threatening to bypass environmental protections altogether.

• Alberta coal and renewable energy projects: A $143 million payout over coal policy reversals and a moratorium on renewables in 2023 have created whiplash for investors and communities alike, shutting down projects that were the pride of the previous government.

• Pipeline dreams and climate goals: Each election brings vows either to “axe the tax” or “double down on climate action”, but very few plans to ensure project certainty beyond the current government’s mandate. The risk of stranded assets looms, and both investors and the international community take note.

Now, compare that with China’s Belt and Road Initiative, which is surging forward with $124 billion invested in just the first six months of 2025, a sum committed not for the next election cycle, but for the next quarter century. China's approach: sign decades-long resource deals, build infrastructure on a continental scale, and weave projects into a policy framework that survives changing leaders and shifting headlines.

What do we do about it?

• We respect regulatory boundaries and avoid rewriting the rules every four years, as recommended by the country’s top economic think tanks.

• We build expertise into tribunals empowered to make decisions in the public interest, not just the political interest of the party in power.

• We create predictable approvals and timelines, reducing risk for companies who want to swing for the fences, instead of keeping their heads down until the next election.

• And above all, we foster an ambition for legacy, so that our projects are championed by governments of all stripes, not held hostage by the changing tides of politics.

If Canada wants to compete for the big stage in mining, energy and critical minerals, we have to plan past the next vote. Maybe then, our companies can invest with the same boldness, and confidence, that the world’s long-game players take for granted.

While we debate, China just signed a $1.4 billion deal to rehabilitate the TAZARA railway, transforming a 1,860-kilometre line so copper and cobalt flow effortlessly from Zambia’s mines to global markets. That single corridor bypasses the rail bottlenecks and port delays that have frustrated African miners for years.

For now, we’re watching as China connects remote resource frontiers to their supply chain with projects built for the next fifty years, not just the next legislative session.

// The Dirt

🔥 Top 3 Headlines to Watch

🪙 Red Pine Exploration — intersects 7.76 g/t Au over 15.49m in potential open-pit area at Wawa Gold Project (ON) and commences updated independent resource estimate.
https://redpineexp.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Red-Pine-Drilling-Results-September-2025-Final.pdf

🪙 Midland Exploration & SOQUEM — announce discovery of new Cu-Au-REE zone in the Labrador Trough (QC), with grab samples up to 31.6% Cu, 6.9 g/t Au, 0.16% REE.
https://midlandexploration.com/2025/09/30/midland-et-soquem-annoncent-la-decouverte-dune-nouvelle-zone-de-cuivre-or-et-etr-dans-la-fosse-du-labrador/

🪙 Star Copper — Phase 1 drilling returns overlimit samples at Star Project (BC), including 226.5m @ 0.70% CuEq and 90m @ 1.13% CuEq from near-surface intervals.
https://starcopper.com/star-copper-reports-overlimit-samples-increases-grade-profile-from-surface/

// Exploration & Development Highlights

🔥 Fathom Nickel — launches additional prospecting at Gochager Lake (SK) following wildfire exposure, extending favorable footprint 1.4 km along strike.
https://fathomnickel.com/fathom-announces-additional-prospecting-program-within-expanded-footprint-at-the-gochager-lake-project/

🪙 Avanti Gold — unlocks 2,100m of untested core at Misisi (DRC), with potential to upgrade 3.1Moz gold resource.
https://www.avantigoldcorp.com/post/avanti-gold-corp-unlocks-2-100-meters-of-untested-core-with-potential-to-upgrade-3-1-moz-resource-a

// Financings & Market Moves

🪙 NioCorp — closes $60M U.S. public offering (9.76M shares at $6.15), advancing Elk Creek Project (NE) towards construction.
https://www.niocorp.com/niocorp-announces-closing-of-60-0-million-public-offering-of-common-shares/

🪙 Lomiko Metals — announces $800k hard-dollar private placement to advance La Loutre graphite project (QC).
https://lomiko.com/2025-news/lomiko-metals-announces-the-hard-dollar-financing/

// Corporate & Policy

🪙 TNR Gold — highlights 0.4% NSR royalty on Los Azules (Argentina) as IFC partners with McEwen Copper to align project with ESG standards and financing readiness.
https://tnrgoldcorp.com/2025-news/tnr-gold-nsr-royalty-update-ifc-supports-mcewen-copper-through-key-collaboration-towards-financing-for-los-azules/

🪙 Metalore Resources — reports results of its Annual General Meeting (ON).
https://www.metaloreresources.ca/post/metalore-announces-results-of-agm-3

🪙 St Barbara Limited — files notice of ceasing to be a substantial holder (Australia).
https://stbarbara.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/2025.09.30_pex-ceasing-to-be-a-substantial-holder-from-sbm.pdf#new_tab

// On the Horizon

Copper Revival — Midland & SOQUEM’s Labrador Trough discovery and Star Copper’s overlimit assays point to a new wave of Canadian copper potential.

Financing Momentum — NioCorp’s $60M raise and Lomiko’s $800k placement highlight strong investor appetite for critical mineral projects.

Royalty Leverage — TNR Gold’s positioning on Los Azules underscores how juniors are capturing upside through NSR strategies.

// The Hustle

I watched the sun rise over Lake Ontario today, for the first time in my life I saw daylight break over a body of water with nothing on the horizon. At 43, it’s a reminder that even small, simple things can still be new.

There’s hope and prosperity out there on the horizon, it’s just a matter of whether you’re willing to go look for it.

Have a great week all,
-Lee