Australia

New Hope Corporation, an Australian coal miner, saw its shares fall 7% Monday after it lowered its production and sales estimates for the year, citing problems with rail capacity at New Acland in Queensland. By 0058 GMT, shares had fallen as much as 7,1% to the lowest level since 30 April. The S&P/ASX 200 benchmark, which fell 0.4%, was also down. New Hope expects the saleable coal production to range between 10,58 million metric tones and 11,57 million tones for the year ending July, as opposed to the previous forecast which was between 10,83 million to 11,87 million tones. The...

On Thursday, climate change protesters shouted and blew whistles as they disrupted Australian Woodside Energy's Annual General Meeting. They also heckled Chief Executive Meg O'Neill. Similar to last year's protests, investors were also involved in the reaction to Woodside’s gas projects and sustainable measures. The Australian pension funds HESTA, and Aware, lodged protest votes against Woodside’s director who was charged with overseeing climate risk. O'Neill said to protesters who interrupted the opening of her speech: "I'd like to ask that you be respectful to the other shareholders who are in the room. They have a keen desire to understand what...

S&P Global Ratings changed the outlook of Australia's Woodside from "stable" to "negative" after the company made a final decision on investment for $17.5 billion in its Louisiana liquefied gas project. The rating agency stated that Woodside's decision to move forward with the project, without a substantial sell-down of the offtake exposure, has reduced the headroom for ratings. The agency has affirmed Woodside's 'BBB+ long-term issuer rating' and 'BBB+ long-term issuer ratings'. The Australian oil and Gas Company approved an LNG project worth billions of dollars in Louisiana earlier this week. They were confident that the U.S. government would be...

Amitava Mukherjee, chairman of the Indian miner NMDC, said that it is looking for coking coal assets in Indonesia and Australia. Coking coal is a key ingredient used to make iron ore and styrene. India, which is the second largest producer of crude iron and steel in the world, imports 85% of coking coal. More than half of Australia's coking-coal imports are accounted for by the country. Mukherjee stated that the company views this as an opportunity for business. The negotiations (for explorations) are at different stages. Due to confidentiality, he did not reveal the specifics of these discussions. NMDC,...

Ampol, Australia's largest fuel retailer, reported on Wednesday a drop of 49% in its first-quarter refinery margins at its Lytton Refinery in Queensland. The company cited a decline in Singapore refining profits -- a key indicator for Asia. The company reported that its Lytton Refinery margin dropped to $6.07 a barrel in the first three months, from $11.80 a barrel last year. The Lytton Refinery's quarterly production dropped by 5.7%, to 1.30 billion, due to the ten-day delay in production to prepare for Cyclone Alfred. The oil refineries have seen their profitability fall due to the slowing of economic growth...

The Australian share market posted marginal gains Tuesday, supported mainly by energy stocks and mining companies. However, the gains were limited, as consumer discretionary firms suffered due to U.S. China trade tensions, and domestic political uncertainties. The S&P/ASX 200 Index held steady, with a 0.2% gain at 7,766.80 by 1232 GMT. The iron ore price and metals prices have been strong, helping to extend gains for a fourth straight session. Shares in industry giants Rio Tinto BHP and Fortescue increased between 0.5% to 1.5%. Energy stocks gained more than 1% on the back of higher oil prices due to tariff...

Peabody Energy announced on Tuesday that it is reviewing all options in relation to its $3.78 Billion acquisition agreement with Anglo American, for some of the Australian steelmaking coal assets. This was after an ignition incident at a mine. The deal was signed in the last year, and it was expected to be completed by mid-2025. Media reports claim that production at Anglo American Moranbah North Mine, located in Queensland's Bowen Basin, Australia, was suspended last week after an underground fire broke-out at the mine. Peabody stated that it is in constant communication with Anglo American, to better understand its...

The "Buy Canadian' movement has sent new waves of concern to the U.S. consumer companies who had hoped to sell their products in Canadian retail stores. Jessica Hung, CEO of California-based Parasol Co, said that the company has been working with a distributor since January to increase sales to new retailers, including convenience shops, in Canada. Hung said that the distributor, whom she declined to identify, had stopped working on the deal in early March due to the growing anti-American sentiment? Canada. Hung, referring the distributor, said that "they were instructed by a retail to pause any American-brand launch." They...

Paladin Energy, an Australian uranium company, announced on Friday that it temporarily suspended operations at its Langer Heinrich Mine due to heavy rains in Namibia. This sent its shares to a record low of over a week. Paladin stated that the severe weather has caused access to the mine to be severely restricted and all activities suspended. The Langer Heinrich Mine, which is owned by 75% of the company, is an important contributor to its production. As of 2339 GMT the shares of Australia's largest pure-play uranium mining company fell by as much as 8,9%, reaching their lowest level since...

The Securities Regulator said that Australia's Federal Court ordered superannuation funds Active Super and SuperSuper to pay A$10,5 million ($6.70m) in penalties for misleading statements about their environmental credentials. The Federal Court found Active Super guilty in June of misleading statements about its environmental, governance, and social credentials. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission filed a lawsuit in 2023 against Active Super to challenge the fund's claim that it had divested itself from gambling, coal, oil tarsands and Russian investments. ASIC reported on Tuesday that Active Super had direct and indirect investments in SkyCity Entertainment Group and Russian company Gazprom...

The shares of Viva Energy Group plunged by 25% on Tuesday to their lowest level ever as the Australian fuel retailer missed its full-year profit forecasts and warned that challenging trading conditions will weigh on first-half earnings. The stock price dropped by nearly A$1 billion (635 million dollars) after it was listed in July 2018. This wiped out almost A$1 billion of the market capitalisation for the company, which is now A$2.86 Billion. Viva Energy’s underlying profit fell 20% to A$254.2 in 2024. This was below Visible Alpha’s consensus estimate of A$260.6, which had been provided. "Group performance has been...

Ampol, an Australian fuel retailer, saw its shares fall by nearly 10% after the company reported a sharp decline in annual profits and declared its lowest dividend in over a decade. Ampol announced a final dividend per share of 5 Australian Cents, down from 120 Aucents a year ago. This is also below Visible Alpha’s consensus estimate, which was 7 Aucents. As of 0010 GMT the shares of the company had fallen 4.3%, while the benchmark index was down by 0.6%. Ampol reported a net profit of A$234.8 (149.5) million on a replacement-cost basis for the period ended December 31...

Rio Tinto CEO Jakob Stausholm is stepping down in the second half of this year, once a new CEO is named, the company announced on Thursday. A selection process is currently underway. Stausholm was named as the company's top boss for 2020, despite legal, investor and public concerns over the destruction of 46,000-year old Juukan Gorge cave rock shelters. Stausholm replaced Jean-Sebastien Jacques, who had been ousted by Rio Tinto for its handling of the scandal. He will remain at the top of the company until a new leader is appointed. Glyn Lawcock, an analyst at Barrenjoey Sydney, said that...

Rio Tinto, a global miner, will take on one of the most challenging technological challenges in lithium's industry by leading Chile's largest project in recent years involving this battery metal. It will be working with state-run copper manufacturer Codelco. Maricunga is a pivotal moment for Rio and a turning-point for Chile. The country will now add a third lithium project to its portfolio, after years of stagnation. Codelco announced Monday that Rio will own less than half the project but will be responsible for design, construction, operations and sales. Industry experts claim that a major challenge in the separation of...

The Argentine government approved on Tuesday a $2.5billion lithium mining project of Anglo-Australian Rio Tinto. This is the first mining project to be approved under a newly introduced investment incentive program. Daniel Gonzalez, the secretary for mining and energy coordination in Argentina, announced the approval of Rio Tinto’s Rincon project in northern Salta Province under the RIGI scheme at a press conference in Buenos Aires. The mining industry in Argentina has expressed concern over the delays in the approval of seven projects that have been submitted to the government after the RIGI programme was launched nine-months ago. Roberto Cacciola of...

The president of the Malian court announced on Thursday that a hearing on the Loulo-Gounkoto mine complex owned by Barrick Mining, scheduled for Thursday, has been moved to May 22. Barrick Mining (formerly Barrick Gold) and Mali’s government are at odds over the implementation of the new mining code, which raises taxes while giving Mali’s government a larger share of the gold mines. Mali's army government, along with others in West Africa says that it wants to increase revenue from the mining industry as it feels the current arrangements are unfair. Foreign multinationals will have to comply with the demands...

Shares in Australia's NRW Holdings dropped as much as 24 percent to a two-year low Thursday after the company warned that a proposed legislation regarding Whyalla Ports assets could result in a loss of A$113.3 millions ($73 million) As of 0442 GMT, shares of the infrastructure services company were down 9.3% to A$2.635. Stock was the biggest laggard in the ASX 200 benchmark, which rose 0.2%. The South Australian Government drafted legislation earlier this week that could invalidate the lease agreement granted to Whyalla Ports Pty by OneSteel Manufacturing Pty. The bill proposes to allow OneSteel the right to acquire...

Peak Rare Earths announced on Thursday that Shenghe Resources, a Chinese rare earths producer, will purchase the Australian company for A$150.5m ($96.62m), plus the A$7.5m entitlement offer. If the entitlement offer is fully raised, Ganzhou Chenguang's Rare Earths New Materials, a unit of the Chinese miner, will purchase Peak for A$0.359 in cash per share. The offer represents a 19% premium over Peak's previous closing price. This sent the shares 150% higher to A$0.3 at early trading. Shenghe Singapore owns 19.8% of Peak Ngualla Project, an Australian-listed rare earths company. She has the right to purchase all the rare earths...

POSCO Future M is a South Korean manufacturer of chemical and battery materials. On Tuesday, it announced that it would be issuing new shares in order to raise approximately 1.1 trillion won (775 million dollars) for its expansion both at home and abroad. This includes its joint venture with General Motors Canada. The plan states that the company will continue to invest in the future despite "political risk" in Korea and in the United States. It also says that tariffs in the United States and possible cuts in federal subsidies for electric vehicles under the Trump Administration could slow down...

HESTA, an Australian pension fund, announced on Monday that it sold the remaining stake in Mineral Resources founded by billionaire Chris Ellison. The reason given was "serious concerns" about governance. The mining services provider is grappling with governance problems, mostly involving Ellison. Allegations include tax evasion, and misusing company resources for personal purposes. HESTA confirmed in an email sent to that it has divested its Mineral Resources stake for approximately A$14 Million ($8.99 millions). HESTA stated that concerns regarding the company's management were not addressed as quickly as they should have been despite the repeated engagement of the board. The...

A U.S. Federal Judge on Friday temporarily stopped the Trump Administration from transferring land for a copper mining project to Rio Tinto or BHP, which Native Americans opposed. The judge cited the Supreme Court’s ongoing deliberations. The Resolution Copper project has been a long-running battle between the San Carlos Apaches of Arizona and Washington, who want to increase minerals production while also protecting the religious rights. In an 18-page ruling, U.S. district judge Steven Logan stated that the Apache Stronghold (a nonprofit group comprised of Apaches and their allies) is likely to be dissolved. The Supreme Court of Canada has...

China's exports of steel in April exceeded 10 million metric tonnes for the second consecutive month, bringing the total over the first four-month period to a new record high. This was largely due to the fact that shipments were made ahead of the hefty tariffs announced by U.S. president Donald Trump. Customs data released on Friday showed that the world's biggest steel exporter and producer shipped 10,46 million tons last month. Exports were up 13.5% from the same period in 2024, despite being largely unchanged since March. Exports between January and April increased by 8.2% compared to the previous year,...

Data from the General Administration of Customs on Friday showed that China's imports of copper, including unwrought and finished products, were the same as last year at 438,000 metric tonnes, despite the fact that suppliers had rushed to ship to the United States in order to avoid impending tariffs. The data shows that copper imports for the first four-month period of 2025 were down 3.9%, at 1,74 million tonnes. Analysts expect China's strong demand for copper to drive up the amount of industrial metal imported. This month, however, the flow to the U.S. of copper in anticipation of U.S. tariffs...

Two people who were familiar with the incident said that the attack took place over the weekend in the Kayes area. The convoy was transporting heavy equipment from Bamako, the capital of Mali, to Allied Gold Sadiola Mine. The attack highlights the increased security risks and costs that mining companies in Sahel-led states, which are struggling to contain Islamist militants groups, face. Attacks on mining equipment are rarer than attacks on government or military convoys in Mali. Fortuna, a Canadian gold mining company, announced this month that it had recently decided to leave Burkina Faso's neighbor Mali due to increased...