The February issue of Skillings Mining Review explores an industry in transition—where market corrections, geopolitical shifts, and rapid technological change are redefining mining’s future.
We open with After the Crash: Lithium Prices Rebound, but Australia Faces a Hard Restart Call, analysing why recovery in lithium markets does not automatically translate into operational certainty. The focus then moves to operational resilience in How South Africa’s Mining Equipment Suppliers Are Redefining Operational Power, highlighting the region’s evolving supplier ecosystem.
Global uncertainty takes centre stage in Trade Tensions and the New Mineral Order, followed by a deep dive into resource strategy and geopolitics in Inside the Arctic Rare Earths Reckoning. Industry competition is re-examined through Rio Tinto and BHP Redraw the Competitive Map, offering insight into how scale and strategy are reshaping leadership.
Technology-led transformation continues in Five Technologies Reshaping the Surface Mine, while human capability takes focus in 21st Century Training for Equipment Operators: From Seat-of-the-Pants to System Management, tracking the shift toward data-driven operations.
Investment strategy meets geopolitics in How Geopolitics Became Mining’s Decisive Investment Variable, and energy innovation is explored through How Small Modular Reactors Are Reviving Forgotten Mines.
Iron ore remains a dominant theme with Global Iron Ore Exploration: New Frontiers & Strategic Investments in 2026 and Inside China’s Growing Grip on the Global Iron Ore Market, setting the context for pricing realities discussed in Why Prices Are Defying the Odds.
Digital transformation is put to the test in Is Your Mine Truly AI-Ready? Three Benchmarks Separating Ambition from Execution, followed by a forward-looking exploration of discovery in The Digital Prospector: How AI and Advanced Geology Are Resurrecting Global Exploration in 2026.
We close the issue with strategic foresight in Why 2026 Will Test the Global Supply Chain, supported by Statistics and the 2025 Steel Statistical Yearbook Published, providing essential data for industry leaders.
