Australia / New Zealand

The two companies announced on Tuesday that Australian natural gas producer Tamboran Resources had signed an agreement with Irish oil and gas company Falcon Oil & Gas to purchase it in a deal worth C$239,000,000 ($171.81,000,000) in cash plus stock. The agreement aims to strengthen Tamboran’s position in the Beetaloo Basin in Australia’s Northern Territory. This area is known for its immense natural gas potential. It also reflects the growing interest in untapped resources in this region, and exploration activities are expected to increase in the next few years. Through the deal, the firm would consolidate their presence in the...

In Australia, the biggest buyouts in 15 years have failed this year. Misaligned valuations and regulatory risks are adding to the challenges of navigating a regulatory environment that is becoming increasingly strict. The ADNOC-led group's decision to withdraw from its bid of $18,7 billion for Santos (Australia's second-largest gas producer) is the latest high-profile deal to fail in Australia in this year. Sources reported that the ADNOC bid, via its investment vehicle XRG was shelved because of disagreements between the parties on potential capital gains taxes relating to a Santos property. Analysts said that the deal would also have had...

BHP announced on Wednesday that it would suspend operations and eliminate 750 jobs in a Queensland coal mine, which it shares with an affiliate of Mitsubishi. It blamed low prices and high royalties from the state government for its poor returns. BHP Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA), Saraji South, a part of the Saraji Mine Complex will be put into care and maintainance from November 2025. The Saraji Complex produced 8,2 million metric tonnes of coking coal during the year ending June 2025. BHP is one of the top exporters in the world of coking coal, which is used to make steel....

Investors and bankers on Wednesday said that BHP, the world's largest copper miner, is focusing on growing its own assets as it transitions to a new leadership. This means it will not be able to gatecrash a planned $53 billion merger between Anglo American Resources and Teck Resources. Anglo American, a London-listed company, and Teck Resources, a Canadian firm, announced their merger on Tuesday. This is the second-largest tie-up in this sector. The goal of the merger is to create a global heavyweight focused on copper. The deal was announced just over a month after BHP canceled a $49-billion bid...

The gold price was on course for a rise of more than a month on Friday, after reaching a peak of over a month in the previous session. This was supported by a softer dollar in general and expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates in September. As of 0223 GMT, spot gold was unchanged at $3,412.56 an ounce. Bullion is up 3.9% this month, and on Thursday it reached its highest level of $3.423.16 in the last 23 days. U.S. Gold Futures for December Delivery were flat at $3.473.70. Dollars fell 0.4% overnight and were set to...

Brijendra Singh, chairman and managing director of India's National Aluminium Company said that the company will invest $3.43 billion in a new coal power plant and a smelter over the next five-year period. Singh, a New Delhi-based reporter, said that the state-owned aluminium company will spend around 180 billion rupees on the construction of the smelter proposed in Odisha in eastern India. He added that the project would be funded by a combination of internal accruals and debt. Singh stated that the remaining 120 billion rupees would be used for a coal-fired power plant. Coal India and NTPC are in...

Shares in Australia's Whitehaven Coal bounced back from early declines on Thursday, as the miner posted a smaller-than-expected decline in annual profit and plans to boost shareholder returns. The largest independent coal mining company in Australia announced a final payout of 6 Australian cents for each share. This was higher than the Visible Alpha consensus estimate of 5 Australian cents. Whitehaven also plans to spend A$48million on share buybacks. The shares ended the day 3.1% higher, at A$6.63, ending a losing streak of six sessions. Stocks had fallen more than 4% in the morning after the results. Whitehaven reported a...

The Australian government announced on Tuesday that it would provide A$135 (US$87.4M) in financial assistance to two smelters in Australia's southern region owned by Nyrstar. Nyrstar is a subsidiary of commodity trader Trafigura. Trafigura placed its Port Pirie lead-smelting operations, in South Australia, and its zinc processing operation in Hobart in Tasmania under strategic review in early this year after high energy costs and lower processing fees rendered the businesses unprofitable. Nyrstar, as part of its review, assessed the potential of producing antimony, a critical mineral, at its Port Pirie facility, but it would require government assistance to do so....

Shares of Viva Energy fell as much as 11 percent on Monday, after the Australian fuel retailer reported a decline in convenience sales in the first half due to new tobacco laws. The stock dropped up to 11.4%, to A$1.94, its lowest level since June 10 and set to suffer its largest single-day percentage decline since late February. The company stated that it expected its group-level earnings before interest taxes, depreciation and amortisation to be A$300 (A$195.4) million on a replacement costs basis. This is well below the A$452 reported a year earlier. Convenience sales fell 10% on an annual...

Around the globe, green hydrogen developers are cancelling their projects and reducing investments. This could lead to a longer-than-targeted reliance on fossil energy. The sector's initial goals have been exposed as being unrealistic due to the challenges it faces. Green hydrogen is prohibitively expensive for industries that are hard to electrify, like steelmaking and long distance transportation. Jun Sasamura is the hydrogen manager for Westwood Global Energy. He said that the gap between European ambitions and actuality shows the magnitude of the industry's reset. He said that only a fifth (or less) of all planned hydrogen projects in the European...

Ampol Ltd, Australia's largest fuel retailer, forecast lower half-year earnings on Wednesday as the sea-freight situation impacted its supply chains. It also reported a 1,1% decline in its Lytton Refinery's second-quarter margins. The company anticipates that first-half earnings will be A$400m ($262.04m) on a replacement costs basis, compared to A$502.1m a year ago. The company's second-quarter refinery margin in Queensland at its Lytton Refinery, one of its key assets, dropped to $8.71 a barrel, from $8.81 a barrel last year. The Queensland refinery has suffered from a number of operational disruptions, including planned maintenance, and loss of production due to...

During a meeting on Tuesday with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in Beijing, President Xi Jinping stated that China was ready to work with Australia for the purpose of deepening bilateral ties. China is trying to regain its footing in the region as a result of this meeting. Capitalise The U.S. President Donald Trump has announced sweeping tariffs on trade. China is attempting to counter this by portraying itself as a reliable and stable partner. Chinese officials expressed an interest in expanding the decade-old free-trade agreement and collaborating in artificial intelligence. Xi stated at the beginning of the meeting that...

The Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese expressed concern on Wednesday about a report stating that China's iron ore state buyer has taken steps to stop purchases of iron ore from BHP. Bloomberg News reported Tuesday, citing sources familiar with the situation, that the state-owned China Mineral Resources Group had asked steelmakers and traders in the country to halt purchases of BHP’s seaborne iron ore shipments denominated in dollars during the annual price negotiations. Albanese, a reporter, said: "I'm concerned about this and we want to ensure that the markets are operating properly." We have dealt with these issues before. I...

Bloomberg News, citing sources familiar with the situation, reported that China's iron ore purchaser has instructed major steelmakers to temporarily stop purchasing any seaborne iron ore freights denominated in dollars from BHP. China is the largest consumer of iron ore in the world, and purchases about 75% global seaborne ore. BHP is also the largest publicly listed mining company. China Mineral Resources Group, a state-owned buyer of iron ore, was created in 2022 to help Beijing increase its iron ore pricing power. BHP reported last month that it had recorded its lowest annual profit in five years due to a...

According to a document from the Mines Ministry, Mali's industrial production of gold fell by 32% on an annual basis to 26.2 tonnes by the end August. This was due to the long-term suspension of Barrick Mining operations. A mines ministry official reported that the industrial output in Mali was 22.5% lower than the government's prediction of 33.8 tonnes for the same time period. The source did not say if the country's target for this year would be revised. The source, who spoke under condition of anonymity, was not authorized to brief the media. Mali's industrial output of gold fell...

The Argentine government has approved McEwen Copper’s $2.7 billion Los Azules Copper Project in the country under a tax incentive program called the Large Investment Incentive Regime. McEwen Copper, a subsidiary company of McEwen Mining, is a McEwen Copper subsidiary. Economy Minister Luis Caputo stated in a blog post on X that the project will contribute to $1.1 billion worth of exports each year. Argentina hasn't produced copper since the Alumbrera Mine closed in 2018. But developers and analysts are hopeful that projects like Los Azules will make Argentina a major supplier to the world. Caputo stated that the approval...

Australian miner Fortescue is experiencing strong interest in its decarbonization-related offerings, Executive Chairman Andrew Forrest said in an interview, as he challenged U.S. President Donald Trump's claim that climate change is the "greatest con job" in the world. Fortescue, Australia's fourth-largest iron ore miner, has set ambitious targets for decarbonization. However, it was forced to abandon some green hydrogen projects. The fourth largest iron ore miner in the world, Fortescue, blamed the cancellation of an Arizona project on a shift away from green energy in the United States. Forrest, however, said that he would not give up, despite the criticisms...

Anson Resources, an Australian miner, signed a deal on Wednesday with LG Energy Solution in South Korea for the supply and purchase of battery-grade Lithium Carbonate. This led to a nearly 25% increase in its share price. The agreement stipulates that the South Korean battery maker will purchase up to 4,000 dry tons of lithium-carbonate per year from Anson's Paradox Basin project in southern Utah in the United States. Supply is expected to begin in 2028. The initial term of the agreement is five years, with an option to extend it by another five years. The partnership is expected to...

The U.S. Defense Logistics Agency wants to purchase scandium oxide from Rio Tinto for up to $40,000,000 over the next five-year period to ensure supplies of this critical material to add to the nation's stockpile. Scandium, one of the rare-earth elements, has gained prominence in recent years, especially since China, its main producer, began imposing export controls. "Scandium was, up until recently, mainly sourced from China. China implemented export controls for scandium in late 2024. This constrained the supply and led to this acquisition by the National Defense Stockpile," DLA stated in a report published last week. The company plans...

Three sources familiar with the matter said that Mercuria is the first major commodity company to start physical trading of uranium. It joins banks Natixis, Citibank and others as the expected nuclear energy boom fuels the interest in this niche market. Sources said that Mercuria started trading uranium earlier this year. Two sources confirmed that Citibank and Natixis both launched uranium trades this year. The information provided by the three sources is confidential, so they asked that their names not be disclosed. Citi and Natixis (part of French financial group BPCE) declined to comment. Three new banks will be competing...

The Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is leaving for the U.S. in this week. This raises expectations of the first meeting between President Donald Trump and the allies, where AUKUS partnership on defence and China will likely dominate the talks. Albanese, according to his office departs Saturday for the United Nations General Assembly, in New York. The prime minister has said that he will attend the reception hosted by Trump, on Tuesday. Australian media reported that a bilateral meeting "may" take place, even though Trump had said on Tuesday that Albanese was coming to visit him "very shortly". Michael Fullilove...

In August, the gap between China's steel industry and its appetite for iron ore imports widened. This highlights the difference between hope and reality. China, which produces just over half the world's steel, saw its output fall for a third consecutive month in August, to 77.37 millions metric tons. The month was the weakest since December and was down by 0.7% compared to August and 2.9% compared to the 79.66 millions tons recorded in July. The steel output in the first eight-month period was 671.81 millions tons, which is a decrease of 2.8% compared to the same period last year....

These are the most popular stories from the Wall Street Journal. These stories have not been verified and we cannot vouch their accuracy. Whirlpool, an appliance maker in the United States, told the U.S. Government that its overseas competitors may be undervaluing imports to avoid paying hefty tariffs by using federal data generated through import paperwork. ANZ Group has agreed to pay a total of A$240m ($159.70m) in penalties as part of a settlement deal for five issues within its Australian Markets & Retail business that were at the center of a regulatory investigation. The White House Chief of Staff...

Four sources familiar with the matter said that more than 20 Australian companies, including Trafigura's Nyrstar unit, will be heading to the U.S. to explore possible areas of collaboration next week. The Australian Trade and Investment Commission will lead a delegation to Washington and New York for meetings with senior officials of the Trump administration. The trip was described as routine by sources, but the companies are expected to arrive soon after the Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese spoke with President Donald Trump about the opportunities for the critical minerals companies of both countries in the last week. Albanese, the...