Global dealmakers are eyeing the resources sector as a key battleground in the next mergers and acquisitions (M&A) wave, according to the 2026 Global M&A Predictions report from Ansarada.
The report suggests mining companies could be among the biggest winners as geopolitical tensions, decarbonisation pressures, and AI-fuelled capital flows continue to rise and reshape deal logic.
With 26 leading M&A professionals from across the globe leading the report, Ansarada says resources companies are poised to enter 2026 with a renewed urgency to reshape portfolios.
Demand for clean energy and critical minerals are driving sustainability efforts, making the mining and metals industry a focal point for both strategic and financial acquirers.
One expert from the report notes the mining sector is “uniquely poised for consolidation and reallocation as the green transition accelerates”.
News of M&A are frequenting more on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), with a range of resources companies buying into the trend.
Tungsten concentrate producer Almonty Industries (ASX:AII) is entering the US scene after acquiring the Gentung Browns Lake Tungsten Project in Beaverhead County, Montana.
The asset has a predicted output of 140,000 tonne units each year, hosting a resource of 7.53 million tonnes @ 0.315% tungsten trioxide
CEO Lewis Black says the close of this acquisition marks a “transformative moment” for the company.
“By entering the United States, we are expanding into the world’s most strategic market for tungsten, one that is actively rebuilding domestic supply chains and reducing reliance on China,” Black says.
“The Gentung Browns Lake Project positions Almonty as a long-term, integrated United States supplier capable of supporting critical industries, from defence and aerospace to semiconductors and advanced manufacturing.
“Anchored by our flagship Sangdong Mine, this acquisition establishes the foundation of a Western tungsten powerhouse with the ability to deliver secure, sustainable, and high-quality supply to the United States and its allies.”
Catalyst for acquisitions
Catalyst Metals (ASX:CYL) has secured whole ownership over a legally disputed area of Western Australia’s Plutonic Gold Belt, now taking control over the entirety of the belt.
The company is now able to progress with mining and exploration at the K2 mine and the surrounding areas, after settling its inherited legal dispute over the asset.
When Catalyst consolidated the Plutonic Gold Belt in 2023, it did so by acquiring two neighbouring companies. Those companies were TSX-listed Superior Gold and ASX-listed Vango Mining.
One of the challenges with the consolidation was that Vango Mining had involved itself in several legal disputes. As such, the risk Catalyst took was inheriting each of these matters.
Over the past 2.5 years, Catalyst has gone about resolving each of these disputes. The company says this was the last one remaining. With it now settled, Catalyst puts to rest all outstanding legal issues.
By taking 100% control over the entire Plutonic Belt, Catalyst is able to exercise full control over the key area, which has long remained unexplored and unmined since the 1990s.
Catalyst will be required to issue 4.2 million in shares and $15 million in cash upfront to counter parties, which have a 4.1% interest in the tenement. This payment will relinquish counter parties’ claims in the asset and settle royalty and trailing payments related to future production.
The company will pay another $2 million in six months, relating to this. This allows Catalyst to avoid at least two years of complex and costly litigation and appeals, allowing it instead to accelerate mining and exploration activities.
Patriot in Zambia
Patriot Resources (ASX:PAT) is acquiring an 80% stake in the Mirkal and Chimban exploration licences, aligning with the company’s Kitumba Project in Zambia.
The company is under consideration for a 20% free-carry over the newly acquired assets, with no further cash payments.
Similarly, Patriot holds an 80% stake in Kitumba, where the company recently began ground magnetics and induced polarisation surveys.
Located in the Mumbwa district of Zambia, which is prospective for copper exploration, the Kitumba shares a boundary with the Chimban licence to the north with a number of regional structures cutting through the two licences, trending northeast to southwest.
Executive Chairman Hugh Warner says Patriot’s expansion of landholdings within the Mumbwa district is an “excellent outcome” for the company and shareholders.
“By securing an 80% interest in both the Mirkal and Chimban licences on a 20% free-carry basis and without any cash consideration, we have strengthened our ownership structure while preserving capital for exploration,” Warner says.
Write to Maddison Elliott at Mining.com.au
Images: Almonty, Catalyst & Unsplash,
