Greetings Contrarian,

This is The Next Big Rush, your daily drop of mining/energy investing news. Where we come together and have another beer, because today is Friday indeed. 🍻

Here are the highlights:

👎 Barrick Fails At Takeover

🧐 US Military Going After Cobalt

👎 Barrick Fails At Takeover

First Quantum Minerals Ltd., one of the world’s major copper miners, rejected an informal takeover offer from Barrick Gold Corp., the world's second-largest gold producer. 

Barrick had approached First Quantum as part of its search for opportunities to expand in copper, but First Quantum expressed disinterest in a combination and declined substantive talks.

While there are currently no formal discussions between the companies, it remains uncertain whether Barrick will revive its interest.

It’s definitely M&A season, folks.

🧐 US Military Going After Cobalt

The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) has signed a $15 million agreement with Jervois Mining USA, a subsidiary of Australian miner Jervois Global Ltd, to conduct feasibility studies on expanding cobalt extraction in Idaho. 

The goal is to reduce dependence on foreign sources for minerals.

The agreement allows Jervois to expand cobalt resources through mineral resource drilling at its Idaho Cobalt Operations (ICO) and Sunrise deposit.

Additionally, the company will assess the feasibility of establishing a U.S. cobalt refinery.

The DoD uses cobalt in high-capacity batteries for military and commercial electric vehicles.

The agreement was finalized by the U.S. office of the assistant secretary for industrial base policy.

🤍 Top Silver Hits

💛 Top Gold Hits

Happy Speculating!

The Editor

DISCLAIMER: None of this is financial advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. Please be careful and do your own research.