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No limits, no inspections: US and Russia face post–New START era as Trump pushes new nuclear deal

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The United States and Russia are entering a new phase of nuclear relations with no treaty limiting their arsenals, as President Donald Trump calls for a sweeping new arms control agreement and Russian officials warn that Washington’s approach would make any deal impossible.

The last agreement that capped U.S. and Russian nuclear weapons, known as New START, expired Thursday, leaving the world’s two largest nuclear powers without legally binding limits on their arsenals or an inspection regime.

Trump called New START a ‘bad deal’ that was being ‘grossly violated,’ and said the United States should instead pursue a ‘new, improved and modernized treaty.’

Russian officials quickly pushed back. Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chair of Russia’s security council, said U.S. criticism of New START ‘means one thing: there’ll never be a treaty under these terms,’ arguing Washington is demanding limits that ignore other nuclear-armed states and new weapons systems.

The United States and Russia have entered a new phase of nuclear relations with no treaty now limiting their arsenals, after the last remaining arms control agreement between the two powers expired this week. As the two powers seek to negotiate a new framework, each is seeking to expand restrictions on each other’s allies, with the U.S. aiming to include China, and Russia countering by saying Britain and France should also be covered.

Speaking Wednesday at the Conference on Disarmament, Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Thomas DiNanno said New START’s limits no longer reflect today’s nuclear landscape.

‘As of yesterday, New START and its central limits have expired,’ DiNanno said. ‘Even if we could have legally extended the treaty, it would not have been beneficial for the United States — or the world — to do so.’

‘A bilateral treaty with only one nuclear power is simply inappropriate in 2026 and going forward,’ DiNanno said, pointing to Russia’s tactical nuclear weapons and China’s unconstrained buildup.

In practice, New START’s verification regime had already been largely dormant since 2023, when Russia stopped allowing on-site inspections of its nuclear facilities and halted required data exchanges under the treaty, even as both sides said they continued to observe its numerical limits.

But China remains far behind the United States and Russia in overall nuclear warheads and is unlikely to accept binding limits while it is still expanding its arsenal, arms control experts say.

The United States and Russia each maintain roughly 4,000 total nuclear warheads, with about 1,700 deployed on strategic delivery systems, according to expert estimates. China, by contrast, is projected to reach about 1,000 warheads by 2030.

Arms control experts caution that while New START had clear shortcomings, its expiration still removes an important stabilizing mechanism. Lynn Rusten, a former senior U.S. arms control official now at the Center for European Policy Analysis, said the treaty provided a foundation that is now gone.

‘We did lose something,’ Rusten told Fox News Digital. ‘It would have been good to continue that as a foundation and a stabilizing platform on which to negotiate a better deal.’

The growing uncertainty comes as the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists last month moved its symbolic Doomsday Clock to 85 seconds to midnight — the closest it has ever been to global catastrophe — citing rising nuclear risks, the collapse of arms control frameworks, and intensifying great-power competition.

Rusten said the immediate concern is not a rapid buildup of new missiles or bombers, but how many warheads each side could deploy on systems they already have.

‘Both countries have the capacity to increase deployed warheads on their existing strategic delivery vehicles,’ she said. ‘It would take time, but they could add several hundred if they chose to.’

Russia has also developed a number of nontraditional delivery systems that were not limited by New START.

Those systems include a nuclear-powered cruise missile known as Burevestnik, sometimes referred to as Skyfall, and a nuclear-powered underwater torpedo called Poseidon — weapons Moscow has touted as capable of evading existing missile defenses and striking targets at intercontinental range.

‘Those are systems that really should be included in any future treaty,’ Rusten said. ‘They’re troubling because they’re just adding to the number and type of strategic-range nuclear systems that can kill huge numbers of people.’

Separate from those novel strategic systems, experts say one of the biggest unresolved issues in nuclear arms control involves so-called tactical, or non-strategic, nuclear weapons — shorter-range nuclear arms designed for battlefield use rather than long-range strikes against cities.

Russia is believed to possess far more of these weapons than the United States, and they have never been subject to legally binding arms control limits. While Washington drastically reduced its tactical nuclear stockpile after the Cold War, Moscow retained and later modernized many of its own, viewing them as a key tool to offset NATO’s conventional military strength.

‘Russia has thousands of tactical nuclear weapons, and they’ve never been covered by a treaty,’ Rusten said. ‘That’s been a long-standing concern for the United States and our NATO allies, and it’s one of the hardest issues to negotiate.’

Because they are smaller, more flexible, and potentially usable earlier in a conflict, experts say tactical nuclear weapons pose a unique escalation risk — lowering the threshold for nuclear use and complicating efforts to prevent a crisis from spiraling into a broader nuclear exchange.


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Trump deletes ‘racist’ post after wave of Republican backlash, White House says he didn’t know

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President Donald Trump took down an inflammatory post from Truth Social that depicted the Obamas as monkeys after a wave of backlash from some of the president’s top allies on Capitol Hill. 

The post first appeared on Thursday night and went under the radar until Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., the lone Black member of the Senate GOP, demanded Trump take it down.

The post in question depicted former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama as monkeys or apes.

‘Praying it was fake because it’s the most racist thing I’ve seen out of this White House,’ Scott said. ‘The President should remove it.’

His reaction opened a floodgate of responses from other congressional Republicans, who didn’t buy the White House’s initial explanation for the video. 

‘This is totally unacceptable,’ Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., said on X. ‘The president should take it down and apologize.’ 

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt wrote the post off as a ‘meme’ that was part of a video depicting Trump as the king of the jungle from ‘The Lion King.’ 

‘Even if this was a Lion King meme, a reasonable person sees the racist context to this,’ Sen. Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., said in a post on X. ‘The White House should do what anyone does when they make a mistake: remove this and apologize.’

Still, it took several hours for the post to be removed. 

A Trump advisor told Fox News Digital that ‘the president did not see the video before it was posted.’

Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., said on X, ‘This content was rightfully removed, should have never been posted to begin with, and is not who we are as a nation.’

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., similarly called on Trump to take the post down. 

‘Racist. Vile. Abhorrent. This is dangerous and degrades our country — where are Senate Republicans? The President must immediately delete the post and apologize to Barack and Michelle Obama, two great Americans who make Donald Trump look like a small, envious man,’ Schumer said on X. 

The post has since been removed, and a Trump advisor told Fox News Digital that ‘the president did not see the video before it was posted.’

Scott and Trump have shared a warm relationship since he ran and ultimately dropped out of the Republican presidential race last year. 

He now chairs the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the Senate GOP’s campaign arm tasked with keeping Republicans’ thin majority in the upper chamber and expanding it during the 2026 midterm cycle. 

Scott has rarely bucked Trump, positioning himself as a top ally to the president — he was on the short list of possible vice presidential picks before Trump ultimately tapped then Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio. 

However, he has recently broken with the president on the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

Scott, who also chairs the Senate Banking Committee, said during an interview with Fox Business earlier this week that he didn’t believe Powell had committed a crime during his testimony to the committee last year.

The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.


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Sen Tim Scott calls Trump post ‘most racist thing I’ve seen out of this White House’

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Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., called out President Donald Trump for a post on Truth Social on Friday, demanding that the president take it down.

The post in question, which Trump put on his Truth Social Thursday night, depicted former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama as monkeys or apes.

Scott, the only Black member of the Senate GOP, called on Trump to remove the post.

‘Praying it was fake because it’s the most racist thing I’ve seen out of this White House,’ Scott said. ‘The President should remove it.’

Scott found an unlikely ally in his request in Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., who similarly called on Trump to take the post down. 

‘Racist. Vile. Abhorrent. This is dangerous and degrades our country — where are Senate Republicans? The President must immediately delete the post and apologize to Barack and Michelle Obama, two great Americans who make Donald Trump look like a small, envious man,’ Schumer said on X. 

Scott and Trump have shared a warm relationship since he ran and ultimately dropped out of the Republican presidential race last year. 

He now chairs the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the Senate GOP’s campaign arm tasked with keeping Republicans’ thin majority in the upper chamber and expanding it during the 2026 midterm cycle. 

Scott has rarely bucked Trump, positioning himself as a top ally to the president — he was on the short list of possible vice presidential picks before Trump ultimately tapped then Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio. 

However, he has recently broken with the president on the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

Scott, who also chairs the Senate Banking Committee, said during an interview with Fox Business earlier this week that he didn’t believe Powell had committed a crime during his testimony to the committee last year.

‘I found him to be inept at doing his job, but ineptness or being incompetent is not a criminal act,’ Scott said.

The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.


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Republicans blast Democrats’ Trump election meddling claims as hypocritical ‘conspiracy theory’

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Senate Democrats are accusing President Donald Trump of trying to meddle in the upcoming election cycle, and Senate Republicans are calling them out. 

The topic of election integrity was again thrust back into the forefront by House Republicans last week, who demanded that voter ID legislation be included in a deal struck by Trump and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., to fund the government. 

While that ultimately never came to fruition, the talking point and legislative push have remained. 

Trump has called on Republicans to nationalize elections throughout the week; the FBI conducted a raid on an election hub in Fulton County, Ga. and a cohort from the Senate GOP are pushing for the SAVE America Act to get a shot in the upper chamber. 

Senate Democrats see the moves as laying the groundwork for election interference during the 2026 midterm election cycle — a point that they railed against Trump and Republicans for years. 

‘I think as Trump gets more desperate, he’s looking at ways that he can rig the election anytime a Republican doesn’t win,’ Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., told Fox News Digital. ‘He thinks it’s unfair, and so he wants to tilt the rules to make sure the Democrats don’t win.’ 

‘So yeah, I think we ultimately have to be really vigilant about this,’ he continued. ‘The Constitution is crystal clear, the federal government can’t run state elections, but that doesn’t mean he won’t try.’

The accusation has made Senate Republicans balk, particularly after congressional Democrats raged against the GOP for questions of election integrity following the 2020 election and after Democrats pushed for their own, sweeping election reform packages under former President Joe Biden. 

Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., told Fox News Digital that Democrats’ charge was ‘ridiculous.’ 

‘Sounds like a conspiracy theory,’ Schmitt said. 

‘I think President Trump cares very deeply about the integrity of our elections,’ he continued. ‘If you ask the American people, they support voter ID by overwhelming numbers. So look, they’ve got some outrage of the week every week.’

Trump’s comments to nationalize elections came first during an interview with former FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino on his podcast, where the president said, ‘The Republicans should say, ‘We want to take over, we should take over the voting in at least many — 15 places.’’ 

Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., shot back that a Democratic politician didn’t need to weigh in on the issue because Trump ‘said it with his own mouth.’

‘You can take the president at his own words and believe what he says,’ Slotkin told Fox News Digital. ‘And he’s had an obsession with this issue, certainly an obsession with Fulton County, since he lost the 2020 election, and he’s now weaponizing the federal government because of his obsession.’

But some Senate Republicans have pushed back on Trump’s desire to implement more federal control over elections. 

They argue that it’s a request that runs headfirst into the Constitution, which dictates that elections are run at the state and local levels with little impact from the federal government. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., has also thrown cold water on the notion. 

‘Distributed, decentralized elections held at state-level, in my view, are a protection against hacking and other things, so it’s a lot harder to hack 50 systems than it is one,’ Thune said. ‘So, if that’s the issue, I’m a believer in keeping most of those administered — most issues, at least administered by the state. The issue of citizenship, when it comes to voting, would be an exception to that.’

And while there is a push to pass the SAVE America Act, which would include voter ID, proof of citizenship to register to vote, and other reforms, it’s unlikely to survive in the Senate. 

That’s because of the 60-vote filibuster threshold and Senate Democrats’ near-unanimous disdain of the legislation, which Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has called ‘Jim Crow 2.0.’

Still, Sens. Mike Lee, R-Utah, Ron Johnson, R-Wis., and Rick Scott, R-Fla., the three most vocal supporters of the bill, met with Trump to discuss a path forward on Thursday. 

‘It is Democrats bending over backwards to prevent voter ID and proof of citizenship for American elections,’ Lee told Fox News Digital in a statement. ‘It is Democrats demanding that nobody ask questions about election security and irregularities. The projection is jaw-dropping.’


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African Discovery Groupannounces signing of Definitive Sales and Purchase Agreementfor Butembo Copper Asset in the Democratic Republic of Congo; name change to Copper Intelligence, Inc

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AFDG, now Copper Intelligence, has successfully entered a binding contract for the transaction closing of the Butembo mining concession in Eastern DRC. In conjunction with the SPA, AFDG shares have been issued to the license holders, with ownership of the mining interest now held by the US domiciled entity, thus completing the Reverse Takeover transaction (RTO).

The transaction was signed in parallel with a Strategic Minerals roundtable held in Washington DC in conjunction with the launch of Project Vault by US President Trump, and the attendance by His Excellency, President Felix Tshisekedi of DRC, Aldo Cesano, Director of Copper Intelligence, and the inaugural Critical Minerals Ministerial hosted by Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the Department of State in Washington, D.C.

Copper Intelligence, Inc is now the first stand-alone DRC company to be publicly traded in the United States.

Andrew Groves, Chairman of Copper Intelligence stated, ‘ We are delighted to hold this status as a dedicated US company operating in Africa, aggregating assets in the DRC’s highest grade copper deposits in the world. The geology, and DRC’s prospective superlative yields, affords us the opportunity to create a unique, and dedicated copper exploration company. The Technical Team will now drive shareholder value through a methodical exploration program, asset addition, and validation of results.’

Aldo Cesano, Director added, ‘We believe Copper Intelligence will make a significant contribution to the people and communities of the DRC in which we work.’

Alan Kessler, Director and Founder concluded, ‘We are confident Copper Intelligence holds the resources, timing and execution capability to embrace the global copper shortage, and create shareholder value as a pioneering African company.’

About the Butembo Copper Project

Butembo is a near surface, low strip, Tier one exploration opportunity, located near the Ruwenzori mountain location of Uganda’s biggest copper mine (Kilembe with 4 million tons of verified reserves), located only 50km from the Ugandan border with verified access to rail. The High-grade copper samples thus far have returned 18% Copper assays, which if maintained at production would rank amongst the highest globally.

Industry and DRC positioning

According to The Washington Post, projected demand scenarios suggest that annual copper deficits could reach or exceed 6 million tons by 2035. The U.N. Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) estimates that closing this gap would require opening around 80 major new mines by 2030.

Click here to continue reading.

Media Contact:

www.copperintelligence.com
Maxine Gordon
mg@africandiscoverygroup.com
(917) 478-0406

Cision View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/african-discovery-group-afdg-announces-signing-of-definitive-sales-and-purchase-agreement-spa-for-butembo-copper-asset-in-the-democratic-republic-of-congo-name-change-to-copper-intelligence-inc-302681359.html

SOURCE African Discovery Group

News Provided by PR Newswire via QuoteMedia

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Equity Metals Exhibiting at the 2026 PDAC

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Equity Metals Corporation (TSXV: EQTY,OTC:EQMEF) (FSE: EGSD) (OTCQB: EQMEF) (‘Equity’ or the ‘Company’) is pleased to advise that it will be exhibiting at the annual 2026 Prospectors & Development Association of Canada (PDAC) Convention, the world’s premier mineral exploration & mining event.

To learn more about Equity Metals’ Silver Queen, silver-gold project in British, we invite you to visit the team at Booth # 2541 in the Investors Exchange, Level 800, at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, South Building from Sunday March 1st through Wednesday March 4th.

An updated version of our Corporate Presentation is now available on the Company’s website: www.equitymetalscorporation.com

About PDAC

PDAC 2025: The World’s Premier Mineral Exploration & Mining Convention is the leading event for people, companies and organizations connected to mineral exploration. This annual convention in Toronto, Canada is known for attracting up to 30,000 attendees from over 130+ countries for its educational programming, networking events, outstanding business opportunities.

Since it began in 1932, the PDAC Convention has grown in size, stature and influence. Today, it is the event of choice for the world’s mineral industry hosting more than 1,100 exhibitors and 2,500 investors. Visit PDAC’s website for registration and ticketing information.

Corporate Update

Further, the Company reports that it has engaged Research Capital Corporation (‘RCC’) as a financial advisor to provide advice and assistance in connection with defining strategic and financial objectives over a one-month term. Equity will compensate RCC by payment of $24,000 and issuance of 150,000 share purchase warrants (‘Advisory Warrants’) valued at $30,000 (calculated using a share price of $0.40 with warrants valued at half that of shares). Each Advisory Warrant is exercisable for one common share of the Company for a period of 36 months at an exercise price equal to $0.40 per share. Such Advisory Warrants have been issued are subject to a hold period expiring June 7, 2026. RCC is arm’s length to the Company.

About Equity Metals Corporation

Equity Metals Corporation is a member of the Malaspina-Manex Group. The Company owns 100% interest, with no underlying royalty, in the Silver Queen project, located along the Skeena Arch in the Omineca Mining Division, British Columbia. The property hosts high-grade, precious- and base-metal veins related to a buried porphyry system, which has been only partially delineated. The Company also has a controlling JV interest (57.49%) in the Monument Diamond project, NWT, strategically located in the Lac De Gras district within 40 km of both the Ekati and Diavik diamond mines. As well, the Company has an option to acquire a 100% interest in the Arlington Property, located within the Boundary District of south-central British Columbia where 2025 exploration work consisted of geophysics and diamond drilling designed to identify and delineate an apparent gold system.

On behalf of the Board of Directors,

‘Lawrence Page, K.C.’

Lawrence Page, K.C.
Chairman, Director, Equity Metals Corporation

For further information, visit the website at https://www.equitymetalscorporation.com; or contact us at 604.641.2759 or by email at corpdev@mnxltd.com.

Neither 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.

This news release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements address future events and conditions and therefore involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward looking statements include the timing and receipt of government and regulatory approvals, and continued availability of capital and financing and general economic, market or business conditions. Equity Metals Corporation does not assume any obligation to update or revise its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except to the extent required by applicable law.

Corporate Logo

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/282959

News Provided by TMX Newsfile via QuoteMedia

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Republicans warn Democrats’ ICE reform push is cover to defund border enforcement

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Senate Democrats are standing firm by their demands to rein in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), but Senate Republicans believe they have an ulterior motive: completely defund immigration operations across the country.

‘I’m really concerned that all the Democrats want to do is defund ICE,’ Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., told Fox News Digital, ‘They want open borders. They don’t want to get rid of criminals.’

Republicans argue the canary in the coal mine came last week when the Senate was advancing a Trump-backed funding deal.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., attempted to pass an amendment that would have stripped the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and ICE of $75 billion, which was summarily defeated on the floor.

‘Every single Senate Democrat voted yes,’ Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo., said. ‘That’s how radical Democrats have become. The Senate rightly rejected this amendment. The Sanders Amendment exposes Democrats’ open borders goals.’

That money came from President Donald Trump’s marquee ‘big, beautiful bill,’ which shoveled billions to DHS for immigration operations, ensuring the agency is flush with cash for the next three to four fiscal years, regardless of congressional Democrats’ desires to defund it.

Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., told Fox News Digital that the money from the ‘big, beautiful bill,’ wasn’t going anywhere. Britt is leading talks for Senate Republicans over the issue.

‘That’s not up for negotiation,’ Britt said.

‘Once again, just like they did in the last shutdown, they would be putting the American people in jeopardy and at a worse place as a result of trying to win on a political posturing or political issue,’ she continued. ‘So look, I plan on going into this with good-faith intentions, and I certainly hope that they will as well.’

As the week has gone on, some Senate Republicans believed that all their counterparts wanted to do was gut ICE. 

When asked if he believed that Democrats’ end goal was to completely defund immigration enforcement operations, Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., told Fox News Digital, ‘100%.’

‘There’s no way we’re going to put handcuffs on ICE to limit what they can do,’ Tuberville said.

Senate Democrats pushed back against the assertion that they wanted to gut the agency, arguing that because of the funding already established by the ‘big, beautiful bill,’ there was little they could actually do to defund immigration operations.

‘I want accountability,’ Sen. Andy Kim, D-N.J., told Fox News Digital. ‘I want to make sure that there’s oversight. But right now, what I’m seeing is lawlessness and some of the actions and behaviors that should be alarming to all of us, and you know, that’s the underlying factor that we want to address.’

‘It’s not about some game,’ he continued.

Congressional Democrats coalesced around a list of 10 demands, finally unveiling their proposal late Wednesday night. It included several policies Republicans have already spurned, like de-masking ICE agents and requiring judicial warrants.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., balked at the new proposal, and said that ‘there’s just a bunch of stuff in there that’s a nonstarter.’

‘They know that. Now maybe they had to put it in there to satisfy MoveOn.org, or some other special left-wing special interest groups,’ Thune said. ‘But there are a few things that actually there’s probably some room to move on there to negotiate on, but a lot of that stuff, obviously just wasn’t serious.’

Republicans are also mulling turning to another short-term funding patch, given that as of Thursday, their last day in session, they had just eight days left on the clock before the current continuing resolution (CR) for DHS ran out.

But Democrats aren’t keen on supporting another extension — Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., warned that Thune and Republicans ‘shouldn’t count on our votes.’

He also pushed back against grumbling Republicans, arguing that negotiations wouldn’t move along unless Republicans revealed what they wanted in return.

‘They have to get their act together,’ he said. ‘We spent three days diligently, seriously coming up with a comprehensive, commonsense plan that police departments throughout the country use. Where are they?’


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After Major Gold Payout, Bian Ximing Turns Bearish Sights on Silver

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A Chinese billionaire trader known for profiting from gold’s multi-year rally has turned sharply bearish on silver, building a short position now worth nearly US$300 million as prices slide.

Bian Ximing, who earned billions riding gold’s multi-year rally and later turned aggressively bullish on copper, is now positioned for a sharp reversal in silver—a bet that is already paying off as prices retreat from record highs.

According to exchange data analyzed by Bloomberg and people familiar with his positions, Bian has assembled the Shanghai Futures Exchange’s largest known net short position in silver, held through Zhongcai Futures Co.

The position, composed of roughly 30,000 contracts, or about 450 metric tons, has swung sharply into profit following silver’s more than 16 percent drop since late January.

The contrast with Bian’s copper strategy just a year ago could hardly be sharper.

In 2024, Bian emerged as China’s most prominent copper bull, building the largest net long position on the Shanghai Futures Exchange at a time when many traders were retreating amid trade tensions and growth concerns.

His thesis then centered on copper’s central role in electrification, grid expansion and industrial upgrading. That trade was built patiently and scaled over months, with Bian accumulating long positions across multiple contracts.

By the time copper prices surged, the position had generated hundreds of millions of dollars in gains.

Silver, by contrast, appears to have triggered Bian’s skepticism. While silver often trades alongside gold, its recent surge was increasingly viewed by market participants as driven by speculative positioning rather than fundamental shifts in industrial demand.

Unlike copper, where supply bottlenecks and electrification narratives were front and center, silver’s rally accelerated rapidly by drawing in leveraged traders and momentum funds.

Exchange data show that Bian began building silver shorts in the final week of January, as prices pushed into record territory in Shanghai. His exposure expanded quickly from about 18,000 contracts on January 28 to roughly 28,000 two days later, even as prices continued climbing.

The timing was costly at first, as volatility forced partial liquidations and earlier losses trimmed gains from prior silver longs.

However, Bian’s patience was rewarded when silver broke sharply lower.The short is now estimated to be worth roughly 2 billion yuan (US$288 million) in paper gains. After accounting for earlier losses, Bian’s net profit is estimated at around 1 billion yuan based on recent prices.

Whether the current selloff proves lasting remains an open question. Bian, who resides largely in Gibraltar and rarely speaks publicly, did not respond to requests for comment. Zhongcai Futures also declined to comment.

Securities Disclosure: I, Giann Liguid, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

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Saga Metals Acknowledges U.S. Strategic Critical Minerals Reserve “Project Vault” and Highlights Titanium’s Strategic Importance to North American Defense Supply Chains

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Saga Metals Corp. (‘SAGA’ or the ‘Company’) (TSXV: SAGA,OTC:SAGMF) (OTCQB: SAGMF) (FSE: 20H), a North American exploration company focused on critical mineral discoveries, acknowledges the recent announcement by The White House and Donald Trump of ‘Project Vault,’ a large-scale U.S. strategic stockpile initiative intended to strengthen domestic supply chains, advance national security priorities, and reduce reliance on foreign-controlled sources of critical minerals and raw materials.

Project Vault—announced in the Oval Office with participation from Export-Import Bank of the United States (‘EXIM’) — establishes the U.S. Strategic Critical Minerals Reserve as an independently governed public-private partnership designed to store essential raw materials across U.S. facilities.

EXIM has approved a Direct Loan of up to US$10 billion to support Project Vault, providing long-term financing for a partnership between original equipment manufacturers and private-sector capital providers—an effort EXIM has positioned as strengthening U.S. production and processing capacity, insulating manufacturers from supply shocks, and advancing U.S. national economic security objectives.

The stockpile is the latest move by the Trump administration to build a Western supply chain to counter China’s dominance in critical minerals — especially when it comes to refining. Beijing sought to cut off exports of rare earths, a subset of critical minerals, last year during trade disputes with the U.S.

A Media Snippet accompanying this announcement is available by clicking on this link.

Preferential trade alignment and allied coordination on display at the Critical Minerals Ministerial in Washington, D.C.

The U.S. efforts to diversify and stabilize critical minerals supply chains are expanding beyond domestic stockpiling toward allied coordination. On February 4, U.S. Vice President JD Vance outlined plans aimed at organizing partners into a preferential trade framework for critical minerals, including mechanisms intended to promote market stability and reduce vulnerability to price undercutting and supply disruption.

Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand was in Washington on Wednesday as the Trump administration made a case for international partners to join a preferential trade zone for critical minerals with forced price floors.

Canada and the U.S. Department of Defense already have a co-investment deal to accelerate Canadian mining development and strengthen critical minerals supply chains.

A Media Snippet accompanying this announcement is available by clicking on this link.

Titanium: A national defense critical mineral facing supply chain constraints

Titanium remains a cornerstone material for aerospace and defense platforms, infrastructure, and high-performance industrial uses, and continues to be a strategic concern for Western supply chains due to limited domestic sourcing and processing capacity. Titanium is deemed a critical metal by the U.S., EU and Canada and is essential for defense and aerospace applications due to its strength-to-weight ratio and corrosion resistance.

Titanium is characterized as a critical mineral for defense and aerospace, with supply-chain risk concentrated in titanium metal pathways (including aerospace-grade sponge capacity and certification) rather than in pigment markets. The vast majority – over 90% globally of mined titanium is processed into the pigment – a looming supply chain gap UK-headquartered market intelligence company Project Blue outlines in a recent report.

‘Titanium is essentially a defence metal – it can be up to 20% or more of the markets for total titanium consumption that goes into defence. An F 15 can be up to 40% in weight of titanium. There’s some serious volume going in these jet planes,’ Project Blue Founder and Director, Dr. Nils Backeberg

Saga Metals’ Project Focus: Critical Minerals and Titanium Exploration in Labrador

Saga Metals believes the evolving policy environment reinforces the strategic relevance of North American Critical Minerals projects that can support secure, resilient supply chains for defense, aerospace, and advanced manufacturing. The Company’s flagship Radar Ti-V-Fe Project is located in Labrador near the port community of Cartwright and is supported by existing infrastructure, including road access and proximity to tidewater logistics. Saga recently announced a 100% drilling success rate in 2025 with exceptional grades of titanium, vanadium, and iron in all 15 drill holes completed at the Radar Critical Minerals Project. The company is advancing towards a Mineral Resource Estimate and has completed four diamond drill holes in 2026 to start the year.

Mike Stier, CEO & Director of Saga Metals commented: ‘The U.S. government’s focus on critical mineral stockpiling reinforces the strategic importance of secure, allied sources of materials such as titanium—particularly for North American national security and defense-related supply chains. Saga Metals continues to advance its portfolio with a focus on critical minerals that support supply-chain security, advanced manufacturing, and future-facing technologies. We believe this policy momentum highlights the importance of investing in strategic mining projects that can help build resilience—diversifying supply, strengthening domestic and allied production capacity, and supporting stable investment conditions for the critical materials that power our economies and protect our industries.’

Key implications Saga Metals sees from Project Vault and allied initiatives

Saga Metals recognizes several key implications from Project Vault and the broader allied push toward critical-minerals security:

  • Rising strategic value of titanium and other critical metals in defense readiness, aerospace manufacturing, and industrial policy.
  • Potential acceleration of investment in North American exploration, development, and processing capacity as governments prioritize secure supply.
  • Expanded public-private cooperation to create resilient, domestically aligned supply chains and mitigate market disruption risk.
  • Increased allied coordination on pricing stability, trade frameworks, and supply diversification to reduce dependency on concentrated refining and processing pathways.

About Critical Minerals

Critical minerals are the foundation upon which modern technology is built. They are used in a wide range of essential products ranging from mobile phones and solar panels to electric vehicle batteries, medical devices and defense applications. Canada’s critical minerals list identifies 34 minerals and metals while the U.S.A identifies 60 minerals and metals as critical.

Investor Relations Agreement

Additionally, the Company and GRA Enterprises LLC DBA National Inflation Association (‘NIA’) entered into a consulting agreement (the ‘NIA Agreement’) for investor relations and communication services. The NIA Agreement has an initial term of twelve (12) months, at an aggregate cost of USD$100,000 for the term. Following the initial term, the NIA Agreement can be extended by three (3) months for an additional USD$30,000, six (6) months for an additional USD$50,000 or one year for an additional USD$100,000. NIA will leverage its expansive distribution channels – including targeted email lists, website features, and blog content – to highlight the Company’s growth story and project developments.

NIA, based in Mooresville, North Carolina, has a strong track record of investor communications for publicly traded companies. The Company will not issue any securities to NIA as compensation. NIA and its principals are at arm’s length to the Company. NIA currently has no direct or indirect interest in the securities of the Company, or any right or intent to acquire such an interest.

For more information about NIA: Contact ga@gerardadams.com or visit them at 112 Camp Lane, Mooresville, North Carolina, 28117.

Qualified Person

Paul J. McGuigan, P. Geo., is an Independent Qualified Person as defined under National Instrument 43-101 and has reviewed and approved the technical information disclosed in this news release.

About Saga Metals Corp.

Saga Metals Corp. is a North American mining company focused on the exploration and discovery of a diversified suite of critical minerals that support the North American transition to supply security. The Radar Ti-V-Fe Project comprises 24,175 hectares and entirely encloses the Dykes River intrusive complex, mapped at 160 km² on the surface near Cartwright, Labrador. Exploration to date, including 4,250 m of drilling, has confirmed a large, mineralized layered mafic intrusion hosting vanadiferous titanomagnetite (VTM) and ilmenite mineralization with strong grades of titanium and vanadium.

The Double Mer Uranium Project, also in Labrador, covers 25,600 hectares and features uranium radiometrics that highlight an 18km east-west trend, with a confirmed 14km section producing samples as high as 0.428% U3O8. Uranium uranophane was identified in several areas of highest radiometric response (2024 Double Mer Technical Report).

Additionally, SAGA owns the Legacy Lithium Property in Quebec’s Eeyou Istchee James Bay region. This project, developed in partnership with Rio Tinto, has been expanded through the acquisition of the Amirault Lithium Project. Together, these properties cover 65,849 hectares and share significant geological continuity with other major players in the area, including Rio Tinto, Winsome Resources, Azimut Exploration, and Loyal Metals.

With a portfolio spanning key commodities critical to the clean energy future, SAGA is strategically positioned to play an essential role in critical mineral security.

On Behalf of the Board of Directors

Mike Stier, Chief Executive Officer

For more information, contact:

Rob Guzman, Investor Relations
Saga Metals Corp.
Tel: +1 (844) 724-2638
Email: rob@sagametals.com
www.sagametals.com

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Service Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Cautionary Disclaimer
This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements are often identified by terms such as ‘will’, ‘may’, ‘should’, ‘anticipates’, ‘expects’, ‘believes’, and similar expressions or the negative of these words or other comparable terminology. All statements other than statements of historical fact, included in this release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. In particular, this news release contains forward-looking information pertaining to the Company’s Radar Project and IR agreements listed herein. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company’s expectations include, but are not limited to, changes in the state of equity and debt markets, fluctuations in commodity prices, delays in obtaining required regulatory or governmental approvals, environmental risks, limitations on insurance coverage, inherent risks and uncertainties involved in the mineral exploration and development industry, particularly given the early-stage nature of the Company’s assets, and the risks detailed in the Company’s continuous disclosure filings with securities regulations from time to time, available under its SEDAR+ profile at www.sedarplus.ca. The reader is cautioned that assumptions used in the preparation of any forward-looking information may prove to be incorrect. Events or circumstances may cause actual results to differ materially from those predicted, as a result of numerous known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Company. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking information. Such information, although considered reasonable by management at the time of preparation, may prove to be incorrect and actual results may differ materially from those anticipated. Forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this news release and the Company will update or revise publicly any of the included forward-looking statements only as expressly required by applicable law.

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Blackrock Silver to Present at the Precious Metals and Critical Minerals Virtual Investor Conference on February 10th 2026

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Blackrock Silver Corp. (TSXV: BRC,OTC:BKRRF) (OTCQX: BKRRF) (FSE: AHZ0) (‘Blackrock’ or the ‘Company’) is pleased to announce that Andrew Pollard, President & Chief Executive Officer of the Company, will present live at the Precious Metals & Critical Minerals Virtual Investor Conference hosted by VirtualInvestorConferences.com, on February 10th, 2026 at 2PM ET

Blackrock invites individual and institutional investors, as well as advisors and analysts, to attend online at VirtualInvestorConferences.com.

DATE: February 10th
TIME: 2:00PM ET
LINK:https://www.virtualinvestorconferences.com/wcc/eh/4814904/lp/5226511/blackrock-silver-corp-otcqx-bkrrf-tsxv-brc

This will be a live, interactive online event where investors are invited to ask the Company questions in real-time. If attendees are not able to join the event live on the day of the conference, an archived webcast will also be made available after the event.

It is recommended that online investors pre-register and run the online system check to expedite participation and receive event updates.

Learn more about the event at www.virtualinvestorconferences.com.

Marketing Agreement

The Company also announces that that it has entered into a marketing agreement (the ‘Agreement‘) with Epstein Research (‘ER‘), led by Peter Epstein, pursuant to which Mr. Epstein will provide investor relations services to the Company for a six (6) month term beginning on February 6, 2026 and ending on August 6, 2026 in consideration for a cash fee of US$2,500 per month, payable by way of a one time aggregate payment of US$15,000, paid in advance, subject to approval by the TSX Venture Exchange.

In accordance with the terms of the Agreement, ER will work with the Company on posting on social media and producing articles, interviews and commentary designed to increase awareness of the Company.

There are no performance factors contained in the Agreement and ER will not receive any securities of the Company as compensation.

Mr. Epstein does not beneficially own, directly or indirectly, any securities of the Company or any right to acquire securities of the Company. Mr. Epstein operates www.epsteinresearch.com, is an arm’s-length party to the Company, and has over 20 years experience in buy-side analyst roles.

Epstein Research is a research and analysis firm operated by Peter Epstein, located in the state of New Jersey, USA, specializing in investor relations and market awareness for public companies.

About Blackrock Silver Corp.

Blackrock Silver Corp. is an American-focused emerging primary silver developer systematically advancing the high-grade Tonopah West Project, situated in the historic ‘Queen of the Silver Camps’ in a jurisdiction consistently ranked as one of the top mining regions globally. The Company is backstopped by a veteran board and technical team with a proven track record of discovering, financing, and building major precious metal mines in Nevada and globally. Blackrock is committed to establishing a secure, high-margin, domestic supply of silver and gold.

Additional information on Blackrock Silver Corp. can be found on its website at www.blackrocksilver.com and by reviewing its profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca.

For further information, please contact:

Andrew Pollard, President & Chief Executive Officer
Blackrock Silver Corp.
Phone: 604 817-6044
Email: andrew@blackrocksilver.com

Sean Thompson, Head of Investor Relations
Blackrock Silver Corp.
Email: sean@blackrocksilver.com

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/282934

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