Sherritt Walks Away From Cuba, Vale Opens a C$945 Million Nickel Mine in Sudbury, Chile Rewrites Its Copper Playbook, and REalloys Adds Two Billion Tonnes of Appalachian Rare Earths

Today on The Mining Insider: Story 1 — Sherritt International Exits Cuba: Trump's Executive Order 14404 (May 1, 2026) sanctioned Moa Nickel SA and set a June 5 deadline for foreign companies to sever ties with Cuba's GAESA conglomerate. Sherritt suspended operations in May and repatriated staff. Cuba owes Sherritt at least $344M, including ~$277M from the Moa Joint Venture (nickel and cobalt). Sherritt is also exiting Energas S.A. A preliminary deal with Gillon Capital (Texas, Ray Washburne) could give Gillon 55% of Sherritt via private placement; requires US and TSX approval. Story 2 — Vale Canada Opens Copper Cliff Nickel Mine: Vale Canada Limited officially opened the initial phase of its C$945M Copper Cliff nickel mine in Sudbury, Ontario. The mine is part of Vale's broader integrated Sudbury operations, which feed the company's Sudbury smelter and refinery producing finished nickel, copper and cobalt. Story 3 — Chile Two-Layer Mining Reform: Ley de Permisología (Sept 2025) targets 30-70% shorter permitting timelines via streamlining and digitization. President Kast's Economic Reconstruction Bill (April 2026) adds a 25-year fiscal stability pact and corporate tax rate declining to 23% by 2029. Chile copper fell YoY every month of 2025 (Cochilco: -2%). Codelco projects only 0.8% production growth in 2026. $105B investment pipeline through 2034. Marimaca Copper received environmental licence within 12 months under new framework. Story 4 — REalloys Appalachian Rare Earth LOI: REalloys (NASDAQ: ALOY) signed non-binding LOI with Patriot Exploration and Mining for priority access to up to 30% of output from 2 billion metric tonnes across 150+ Appalachian Basin sites (Alabama to Pennsylvania). Targets neodymium, dysprosium, praseodymium, terbium. January 2027 US defense procurement deadline under 10 USC 4872 and DFARS 252.225-7052. CEO Lipi Sternheim: 'The defense industrial base has a 2027 deadline and a supply chain gap that REalloys intends to resolve.' Sources: CiberCuba (https://en.cibercuba.com/noticias/2026-06-03-u1-e199370-s27061-nid331086-estas-son-companias-abandonan-cuba-sanciones-eeuu), Business Wire (https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260603998426/en/Sherritt-Announces-Appointment-of-Interim-CFO), Mining Metal News (https://www.miningmetalnews.com/en), Mining.com (https://www.mining.com/chiles-right-wing-pivot-puts-mining-policy-under-the-microscope/), REalloys via Stock Titan (https://www.stocktitan.net/news/ALOY/r-ealloys-signs-letter-of-intent-with-patriot-exploration-gr1hbw9iw6aq.html)