Coal remains dominant

Although the dataset highlights the role of critical minerals in the energy transition, it also shows that coal remains the single most common mined commodity by number of facilities. Coal accounts for a whopping 42 percent of all mines, followed by gold at 17 percent, copper at 12 percent and iron ore at 9 percent.

The prevalence of coal mines contrasts with global climate goals, but also reflects the legacy infrastructure of energy systems and the uneven pace of transition. Overall, Asia hosts the largest number of coal, copper and iron ore mines, while North and Central America contain the highest number of gold mines.

Playing the long game

ICMM stresses that the release of the dataset is the first step in a multi-year effort to improve transparency and support evidence-based policymaking in the resource sector. Alongside the full dataset, which draws on proprietary sources, ICMM has published a public version covering 8,508 facilities.

Dhawan said the council hopes the data will “continue to expand and improve through partnerships,” while building on key sustainability indicators in the coming months. More crucially, industry observers have long criticized the scarcity of comprehensive, public data on the sector. Without standardized information, they argue, it is difficult to evaluate the social and environmental impacts of mining or even craft effective regulations.

ICMM believes its initiative, though still limited by licensing restrictions on some proprietary datasets, represents one of the most ambitious attempts to date to assemble a global picture of the industry. The council said it will work with partners to expand the dataset and incorporate indicators on sustainability performance.

Prince Silver (CSE:PRNC,OTC:HWTNF) is a Vancouver-based exploration company advancing the Prince Silver project in southeastern Nevada. In July 2025, the company completed the transformational acquisition of Stampede Metals Corporation and rebranded from Hawthorn Resources to Prince Silver Corp. The flagship Prince project is a district-scale, past-producing silver-gold-zinc-manganese carbonate replacement system, historically mined for silver and base metals in the early to mid-1900s.

Fully funded and technically refreshed, the company’s near-term priority is to validate and build upon the 129 historic drill holes (over 16,600 m) completed on the property, with the goal of converting the large JORC-compliant exploration target into a maiden NI 43-101 mineral resource.

A drill program is scheduled to begin in early September 2025, targeting the validation of legacy data, step-outs along mineralized trends, and continuity across the deposit’s multiple mantos, veins, and breccia zones. In parallel, the company will undertake metallurgical test work, geophysical refinement, and updated geological modeling to support a modern pit-constrained resource and underpin a longer-term development strategy.

Company Highlights

• Flagship project: 100 percent ownership of the historic Prince silver mine in Lincoln County, Nevada, an open, near-surface silver-gold-zinc carbonate replacement deposit with a 25 to 43 Mt exploration target and strong historic grades.
• The company’s second project, Stampede Gap, is about 15 km north west of the Prince mine. Stampede Gap is a large porphyry copper-gold-molybdenum with an extensive alteration zone that presents a deep seated exploration target.
• Clean corporate reset: Hawthorn Resources completed the Stampede Metals acquisition and re-listed as Prince Silver Corp. on July 11, 2025, issuing 15 million shares for the acquisition and raising ~C$4 million in gross proceeds to fund drilling.
• Fully funded summer drill program: ~6,500-m reverse-circulation set to begin early Sept 2025 to validate historic holes and step out along strike/dip to expand known mineralization and potential resources. .
• Tight share structure: 45.9 million shares outstanding post-financing; Stampede shareholders voluntarily locked-up for 12 months.
• Experienced, hands-on leadership: President Ralph Shearing, plus new directors Robert Wrixon and Darrell Rader, add mine-building, corporate and capital-markets depth to the company’s leadership team.

This Prince Silver profile is part of a paid investor education campaign.*

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Understanding the two faces of AI

While public attention often gravitates toward chatbots and image generators, many of the most impactful AI innovations are systems that optimize supply chains, detect fraud in financial transactions or accelerate drug discovery.

Enterprise AI, as these systems are often referred to, offers solutions to complex challenges that are unique to large corporations, financial institutions and government entities.

A significant portion of Canada’s AI buildout has been focused on institutional or B2B use cases, even if business adoption has been slower compared to the US. The country’s AI approach involves an organized strategy largely guided by the government, conducive to creating AI products and services designed specifically for large organizations.

Canada’s blueprint for AI adoption within federal departments is laid out in a report released earlier this year, which lists building a central AI capacity as the first of four key priority areas.

A related initiative, the Canadian Sovereign AI Compute Strategy, outlines how Canada will ensure it has the physical computing capacity to compete globally and maintain data sovereignty.

It includes a C$2 billion investment to build and provide access to domestic AI computing power and infrastructure. This initiative is a key focus for Evan Solomon, Canada’s minister of AI and digital innovation.

Cohere, a privately owned leading Canadian AI company that specializes in enterprise-focused large language models, exemplifies the country’s strength in this space.

Cohere’s B2B AI strategy takes off

Founded in 2019, Cohere has become a prime example of a successful B2B strategy. The company develops highly specialized, institutional AI solutions for industries like finance, healthcare and logistics.

Its focus on privacy and security enables it to serve large markets needing specialized and secure solutions, providing enterprise-grade large language models and tools for custom AI applications.

Underscoring its growing success, Cohere secured US$500 million in an August funding round led by Canadian funds Radical Ventures and Inovia Capital, bringing its valuation to US$6.8 billion. The company has formed working relationships with several tech industry giants, including Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) and SAP (NYSE:SAP), and has onboarded former executives from Uber Technologies (NYSE:UBER) and Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META). Global consulting firm McKinsey also works with Cohere to help its clients integrate generative AI into their operations.

A key part of Cohere’s work is Cohere North, an enterprise-ready AI platform that Dell Technologies (NYSE:DELL) began offering to its enterprise customers this past May as part of a complete AI package.

In the financial sector, Cohere and the Royal Bank of Canada (TSX:RY,NYSE:RY) have partnered to introduce North for Banking, a secure generative AI platform designed to enhance productivity and data security specifically within the financial services sector. A January press release emphasizes the goal of speeding generative AI solutions.

This summer, Cohere teamed up with Bell Canada (TSX:BCE,NYSE:BCE) to supply specialized AI models to government and enterprise customers, with Bell providing the infrastructure layer with its AI Fabric network of data centers.

BUZZ High Performance Computing, a subsidiary of Canadian digital infrastructure company Hive Digital Technologies (TSXV:HIVE,NASDAQ:HIVE), contributes to the Cohere-Bell endeavor by providing NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) GPU clusters as the foundational hardware layer for large-scale AI workloads.

Cohere has also received backing from the Canadian government, with Ottawa signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the company to integrate AI into public services on August 19.

The non-binding agreement acknowledges the company’s public sector ambitions and the government’s interest in leveraging AI for productivity and domestic sourcing.

According to Cohere co-founder and CEO Aidan Gomez, this MOU represents “the beginning, hopefully, of our technology being rolled out quite broadly within the Canadian government.”

Cohere struck a similar agreement with the UK government in June.

Government support for Canadian AI ventures

Canada’s approach to AI is built on stable, institutional-grade solutions and is championed by the administration of Prime Minister Mark Carney, offering a nuanced and attractive proposition for discerning investors.

Focusing on the B2B market provides a foundation of stability, as it offers stable, predictable revenue through multimillion-dollar, long-term contracts and full-stack solutions that ensure customer loyalty and economic resilience.

Many investments also have government support, providing a somewhat “de-risked” play for investors.

The Carney administration has made public commitments to incorporate AI into the public sector, promised to provide tax incentives for companies and said it will slash regulatory red tape on AI infrastructure projects like data centers.

The Department of Finance has already introduced draft reforms to the Scientific Research and Experimental Development program that would extend refundable tax credits to Canadian public companies.

Finally, the strategy is buoyed by a robust domestic investment landscape.

Canadian investors have historically provided strong financial backing for homegrown AI startups. Firms like BDC Capital, Real Ventures and MaRS Investment Accelerator Fund have taken the lead in terms of deal count, demonstrating a strong, homegrown commitment to fostering the Canadian AI ecosystem from its earliest stages.

Canada’s quiet AI leadership

Canada’s stealthy AI strategy is cementing its role as a quiet yet formidable force in the global AI landscape.

Companies like Cohere, bolstered by initiatives such as AXL’s initiative to launch 50 Canadian AI companies in the next five years, underscore a commitment to developing and retaining Canadian AI talent and intellectual property.

For discerning investors, this focus on stable, institutional solutions offers a significant and differentiated long-term growth story beyond the consumer AI buzz.

Investor Insight

Electric Royalties is uniquely positioned to capitalize on the clean energy transition with a diversified, low-risk portfolio of high-value royalties that offer sustained growth and cash flow potential, making it a compelling investment opportunity.

Overview

Electric Royalties (TSXV:ELEC,OTCQB:ELECF) is an innovative royalty company offering investors exposure to the clean energy transition through its growing portfolio of clean energy metal royalties. The company stands out as the only fully diversified royalty firm in the space, holding 43 royalties across nine key clean energy metals, ensuring strategic access to the growing electrification and renewable energy industries.

The company’s strategy for shareholder value growth is centered on acquiring royalties in safe jurisdictions (primarily, the US and Canada) and focusing on properties with near-term production potential. This approach ensures steady cash flow generation while reducing operational risks. The company’s current royalty portfolio consists of assets that are either in production, advanced stage projects or exploration assets, ensuring cash flow generation and future growth potential.

The acquisition of the Punitaqui Copper Mine royalty provides immediate exposure to production, while assets like Authier Lithium and Battery Hill Manganese are expected to enter production in the near term.

This collective expertise within Electric Royalties’ management and advisory teams ensures a strategic and well-governed approach to capitalizing on opportunities in the clean energy metals sector.

Company Highlights

• Electric Royalties is the only royalty company that is fully diversified in clean energy metals, with royalties on nine different metals, including copper, lithium, manganese, nickel and vanadium.
• Electric Royalties currently holds 43 total royalties across clean energy metals, with 17 additional optioned properties that could be converted into future royalties.
• The company’s portfolio includes assets that are in production or near-term production, ensuring cash flow generation and future growth potential. The acquisition of the Punitaqui copper mine royalty provides immediate exposure to production, while assets like Authier Lithium and Battery Hill Manganese are expected to enter production in the near term.
• The company prioritizes low-risk mining jurisdictions, with most of its assets located in Canada and the United States.
• Led by CEO Brendan Yurik, the leadership team brings extensive expertise in royalty acquisitions, mine financing and strategic growth.

Key Royalties

Punitaqui Copper Mine (Producing) – Chile

The Punitaqui Mining Complex includes the copper processing plant that is currently permitted for 100,000 tonnes per month. (Source: Battery Mineral Resources Corp.)

The Punitaqui copper mine is a producing asset operated by Battery Mineral Resources (TSXV:BMR; OTCQB:BTRMF), on which Electric Royalties holds a 0.75 percent gross revenue royalty (GRR). Located in the Coquimbo Region of Chile, the mine benefits from four satellite copper deposits, strong infrastructure, and established processing facilities.

The mine is permitted for 100,000 tonnes per month of processing capacity, with regional exploration potential that could further extend its operational life and increase production.

In July 2025, Battery Mineral Resources reported that its Chilean subsidiary, Minera BMR SpA, had received unanimous approval of the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Los Mantos Copper Plant in Punitaqui, Chile. This extends the facility’s operational life by up to ten years and supports hundreds of jobs in the Punitaqui and Ovalle communities.

Authier Lithium Project (Pre-production) – Canada

The Authier lithium project is a key lithium asset in Quebec, Canada, operated by Sayona Mining (ASX:SYA). Electric Royalties holds a 0.5 percent gross metal royalty (GMR) on part of the deposit. This project is a major component of Sayona’s integration plan with North American Lithium (NAL), which commenced production in early 2023. Authier is expected to provide a stable supply of lithium for North America’s growing EV battery industry, aligning with the push for localized supply chains.

The Authier lithium royalty is expected to be integrated into the producing North American Lithium (NAL) mine operated by Sayona Mining, which is set to merge with Piedmont Lithium. According to NAL’s Feasibility Study, the integration of Authier has the potential to contribute to Electric Royalties’ cash flow in the near term.

Battery Hill Manganese Project (Prefeasibility Stage) – Canada

The Battery Hill manganese project, located in New Brunswick, Canada, is an advanced-stage project operated by Manganese X Energy. Electric Royalties holds a 2 percent GMR on the project, which is currently undergoing a prefeasibility study. The asset is well-positioned to support the growing demand for high-purity manganese, a critical component in EV batteries and energy storage technologies. Recent metallurgical testing has demonstrated strong recovery rates, further increasing its economic potential.

Mont Sorcier Vanadium Project – Canada

The Mont Sorcier vanadium project in Quebec, Canada, is operated by Cerrado Gold, with Electric Royalties holding a 1 percent vanadium GMR. Acquired when the project only had a resource estimate, Mont Sorcier has since advanced through additional metallurgical testing in partnership with Glencore and is now progressing through feasibility and permitting, with a Feasibility Study targeted for Q1 2026. As a large iron-vanadium deposit, the project has the potential to supply vanadium for both steel production and the growing vanadium redox flow battery sector, positioning it as a strategically important long-term asset.

Zonia Copper Project – USA

The Zonia copper project, located in Arizona, USA, is operated by World Copper (TSXV:WCU). Electric Royalties holds a 0.5 percent GRR on Zonia, with an option to add 1 percent GRR on Zonia North. Zonia is an oxide copper deposit with near-surface, leachable ore, making it a low-cost, open-pit mining opportunity. The project has undergone resource expansion, and a feasibility study is targeted for completion in 2025. Given the strong US push for domestic copper production, Zonia is well-positioned to benefit from critical minerals policies supporting infrastructure and electrification efforts.

The Zonia copper royalty, one of the leading copper oxide projects in North America, is being acquired by Plata Latina Minerals Corporation with plans to move toward construction in the near to medium term following closing of the transaction. World Copper reported last fall that the resource at Zonia nearly doubled.

Seymour Lake – Canada

The Seymour Lake lithium project in Ontario, Canada, is subject to a 1.5 percent NSR royalty held by the company. Acquired in an all-share transaction valued at C$1 million, the project has advanced significantly under operator Green Technology Metals (ASX:GT1), which has raised more than C$70 million and secured a C$100 million LOI with the Canadian government. Since acquisition, Seymour Lake has progressed from a historical resource to a Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) and resource upgrade. In February 2025, Green Technology Metals released an updated PEA assessing Seymour Lake on a standalone basis, following earlier combined development studies with the Root Project. A pre-feasibility study is underway.

Management Team

Craig Lindsay – Chairman of the Board

Craig Lindsay has 30 years’ experience in corporate finance, venture capital and public company management and is the managing director of Arbutus Grove Capital. Lindsay was the founder, president, and CEO of Otis Gold until its merger with Excellon Resources in April 2020. He is a director of Revolve Renewable Power, Excellon Resources, VR Resources and Silver North Resources.

Brendan Yurik – Chief Executive Officer

Brendan Yurik is the founder and CEO of Evenor Investments, a financial advisory group to junior mining companies for alternative financing, debt, equity and M&A with experience in over $2 billion in mining financing transactions throughout his career. He has prior global experience as a research analyst as well as in business development and mining financial advisory roles with Endeavour Financial, Cambrian Mining Finance Ltd, Northern Vertex Mining Corp. and King & Bay West Management Corp.

Robert Scott – Chief Financial Officer

Robert Scott has more than 25 years’ experience in accounting, corporate finance, compliance and banking. Throughout his career, Scott has helped raise more than $200 million in equity financing and developed extensive experience in IPOs, reverse takeovers, mergers and acquisitions, and corporate restructuring.

Robert Schafer – Independent Director

Appointed in November 2020, Robert Schafer brings more than 30 years of international experience in mineral exploration and mining, enhancing the board’s technical and strategic capabilities.

Stefan Gleason – Director

Stefan Gleason is the president, CEO, and majority shareholder of Money Metals Exchange LLC, a privately held company that is among the largest precious metals dealers and depositories in North America with over C$1 billion in annual revenues. Gleason is also the managing director of Gleason & Sons LLC, a Charlotte, N.C.-based family limited liability company which holds and manages debt, equity, and real estate investments. With past appearances on U.S. television networks such as CNN, FoxNews, Fox Business, and CNBC, Gleason is also a regular columnist for Seeking Alpha and Investing.com and has been published by the Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, Mining.com and TheStreet, among other publications.

Coal remains dominant

Although the dataset highlights the role of critical minerals in the energy transition, it also shows that coal remains the single most common mined commodity by number of facilities.

Coal accounts for 42 percent of all mines, followed by gold at 17 percent, copper at 12 percent, and iron ore at 9 percent.

The prevalence of coal mines contrasts with global climate goals, but also reflects the legacy infrastructure of energy systems and the uneven pace of transition.

Overall, Asia hosts the largest number of coal, copper, and iron ore mines, while North and Central America contain the highest number of gold mines.

Playing the long game

ICMM officials stressed that the release of the dataset is just a first step in a multi-year effort to improve transparency and support evidence-based policymaking in the sector. Alongside the full dataset, which draws on proprietary sources, ICMM published a public version covering 8,508 facilities.

Dhawan said the council hopes the data will “continue to expand and improve through partnerships” while building on key sustainability indicators in the coming months.

More crucially, industry observers have long criticized the scarcity of comprehensive, public data on the sector. Without standardized information, they argue, it is difficult to evaluate the social and environmental impacts of mining or even craft effective regulations.

ICMM’s initiative, though still limited by licensing restrictions on some proprietary datasets, represents one of the most ambitious attempts to date to assemble a global picture of the industry. The council said it would work with partners to expand the dataset and incorporate indicators on sustainability performance.