Today's picks sell the stone, cement, and asphalt that every data center, chip fab, and highway project needs. One is the largest US producer of construction aggregates, still pushing prices up mid-single digits even as diesel costs bite.

Another is the North American building materials leader paying $8.5 billion for Arcosa's quarries and grid infrastructure products. The third is North America's biggest cement maker, trading far below its 52-week high after oil-driven costs dented its margins. All three report Q3 within the next week.

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Gold is trading just above $4,000, down about 7% from the January open and more than 25% below its 52-week high. You'd expect central banks to pause. They did the opposite.

The People's Bank of China added 23 tonnes in September, its largest monthly purchase since October 2023, extending its buying streak to 23 straight months. Goldman Sachs estimates central banks bought 79 tonnes in August, more than four times the pre-2022 monthly average of 17 tonnes. Poland, still 2026's biggest buyer, added about 25 tonnes in September.

Meanwhile, Newmont (NYSE: NEM) reported Q3 results Thursday with record third-quarter adjusted net income of $2.3 billion, or $2.20 per share, and improved its full-year all-in sustaining cost (AISC) guidance to $1,520/oz. Not every producer will look this clean.

RBC expects a second straight quarter of margin compression across North American gold miners, with the average gold price down 6% quarter over quarter to $4,266/oz while cost drivers stay elevated, and it sees consensus 2027 capex and cost estimates as too light.

If you own NEM, that cost guidance is the number to hold management to. If you own smaller producers, watch for 2027 budget surprises.

Your takeaway: Central banks keep buying through the pullback, but miner costs are the swing factor this earnings season. Lean toward producers with net cash and falling cost guidance, and be careful with names that need a higher gold price to hit their 2027 plans.

Benchmark Mineral Intelligence says battery-grade lithium carbonate fell 20.8% in Q3 to $19,025/tonne, while spodumene concentrate dropped 23.5% to $1,780/tonne.

Cobalt hydroxide fell 31% to $38,030/tonne as DRC exports rose, and LME nickel is trading around $15,900/tonne. The short version for you: supply came back faster than demand, so let carbonate prices stabilize before adding battery-metal exposure.

Here's the longer view: Benchmark also estimates the industry needs the equivalent of 134 new lithium mines by 2050, effectively a new mine every two months, and more than $100 billion of investment before any contribution from recycling. Price resets like this one make that capital harder to raise, which is how today's glut can set up tomorrow's shortage.

Your takeaway: The cycle is still washing out, so patience pays here. When you do add exposure, favor low-cost integrated producers and developers with offtake agreements already signed.

The US-Nigeria critical minerals deal signed on the UN General Assembly sidelines last month covers geological data, processing, and exploration, set against Nigeria's own estimate of about $700 billion in mineral resources.

On October 16, eight countries, including Zambia, Malawi, Egypt, and Mauritania, launched World Bank-backed metals and minerals compacts to formalize investment pipelines.

The same week, Mercuria delivered 12,000 tonnes of DRC copper to Project Vault, the US government's critical minerals reserve, and its joint venture with Gécamines agreed to market up to 240,000 tonnes of Kipushi zinc concentrate over two years, with a focus on Western supply chains. Map your copper and zinc exposure against these new Western-aligned offtake routes.

Zimbabwe also banned exports of tungsten and antimony ores and concentrates, effective September 8, to force more local processing. Treat resource nationalism as a 2026-27 investment theme in your allocation work, not a tail risk.

Your takeaway: The US-China contest for African critical minerals is heating up, and offtake agreements are now the prize. You want exposure to Western-aligned processors and diversified supply, not single-country bets.

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Vulcan Materials (NYSE: VMC)

Vulcan is the nation's largest producer of construction aggregates (crushed stone, sand, and gravel), with quarries serving fast-growing markets across Texas and the Southeast. You can't pour a data center foundation, a fab pad, or a highway without that stone, and because it's heavy and expensive to truck, local quarries carry real pricing power.

Q2 showed it: mix-adjusted aggregates prices rose 5%, shipments edged up 1% despite heavy rain in Texas and the Southeast, and cash gross profit topped $12 per ton. Vulcan isn't immune to the diesel spike. Unit cash costs rose 7%, or 3% excluding fuel, but pricing stayed ahead of it.

Management reaffirmed 2026 adjusted EBITDA guidance of $2.4 billion to $2.6 billion and expects pricing to exit the year at the upper end of its 4% to 6% range. Q3 results come before the open on Thursday, October 29, so watch whether pricing kept outrunning costs.

CRH plc (NYSE: CRH)

CRH moved its primary listing to the NYSE in 2023 and now calls itself the leading aggregates and critical infrastructure player in North America. In June it agreed to buy Arcosa for $150 per share in cash, an $8.5 billion enterprise value, adding quarries, asphalt plants, and the utility structures used in grid modernization and data center construction.

Arcosa shareholders have approved the deal, and CRH expects it to close in Q1 2027. The core business is already moving: Q2 Americas Materials Solutions revenue rose 10%, and adjusted EBITDA rose 12%, with aggregates prices up 5%. Management reaffirmed full-year adjusted EBITDA guidance of $8.1 billion to $8.5 billion and raised the quarterly dividend 5% to $0.39.

One trade-off you should know: CRH has paused new buyback tranches while it funds Arcosa, after returning about $10 billion through buybacks since 2018. Q3 results land before the open on Thursday, October 29.

Amrize (NYSE: AMRZ)

Amrize is the North American business Holcim spun off in 2025, and it is the continent's largest cement producer, with aggregates and roofing alongside. Demand isn't the problem: Q2 revenue rose 8.6% to $3.49 billion on strong volumes, and management raised full-year revenue guidance to $12.5 billion to $12.7 billion.

Costs are. Oil-driven freight, diesel, and raw material inflation pushed the adjusted EBITDA margin down to 28.2% from 29.0%, and management cut full-year adjusted EBITDA guidance to $3.1 billion to $3.2 billion. The stock fell about 9% on the print, and RBC and BofA have both downgraded it since.

That's why it trades far below its 52-week high. If price increases catch up with costs in the second half, as management expects, you're buying North America's biggest cement footprint after the bad news is out. Q3 results come after the close on Wednesday, October 28, and that report tells you whether price is catching cost.

• Gold: $4,020/oz, down 7.4% YTD from the $4,350.60 Jan 1 open and roughly $1,560 below the $5,586 52-week high. Goldman estimates central banks bought 79t in August versus a pre-2022 average of 17t a month.

• Silver: $54/oz, down 24% YTD from the $71.38 Jan 1 open and far below the $121 peak earlier this year.

• Copper: $6.50/lb, up 14% YTD from the $5.65 Jan 1 open. Off its highs, but still up double digits this year.

• Uranium: Spot is holding right around $90/lb, with long-term contract prices near $97, as utilities keep favoring term contracting over spot buying.

• Lithium (carbonate): Battery-grade carbonate ended Q3 near $19,000/tonne per Benchmark, down 20.8% in the quarter.

• Cobalt: Hydroxide fell 31% in Q3 to about $38,000/tonne as DRC exports rose.

• Nickel (LME): Cash nickel is around $15,900/tonne, with LME stocks near 281,000 tonnes. Indonesian supply remains the dominant price-setter.

• Rare Earths: China Pr-Nd oxide averaged 723,500 yuan/t on October 23 per SMM, down 1.3% over the month, while ex-China supply stays constrained by licensing.

Metal Trend Exploration Focus

Gold's pullback hasn't scared off central banks, lithium and cobalt are working through a hard reset, and Washington keeps signing critical minerals deals across Africa.

Over the next six months, look past the gold and lithium headlines to the materials every project needs regardless of the metal price: the stone, cement, and asphalt that go into foundations, roads, and grid sites.

Vulcan, CRH, and Amrize all report Q3 on October 28 or 29, which gives you a fast read on whether pricing is still beating costs.

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— Noah Zelvis, Resource Brief