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Australian gold miner Northern Star falls 11% after production forecast is cut
The shares of Australia's Northern Star Resources dropped more than 11% Friday, kicking off the?New Year in a gloomy manner, after claiming unplanned maintenance as well as operational challenges. The shares of Australia's largest listed gold producer fell as much as 11.5%, to A$23.67. This is their biggest intraday decline since late June?2022. As of 0230 GMT the stock was trading at A$24.130 and was the biggest loser on the ASX 200 index, which was up by 0.2%. Northern Star has lowered its production forecast for fiscal 2026 to between 1,600 - 1,700 kiloounces (koz), down from its previous guidance of between 1,700 and 1,850 koz. The midpoint of the new range is significantly below the Visible Alpha consensus of 1,720.3 kg, but it's slightly higher than last year's production of 1,634 kg. Perth-based Western Australia-based company has been facing a number of problems across its sites in the last quarter. These include carbon-in leach tank failures and reduced mining fleets. The company will reopen its Kalgoorlie?production?centre in January. However, throughput will remain uneven in the second half of the year as it?shifts to the expanded mill. This is scheduled to be completed in the first quarter of fiscal 2027. Northern Star's quarterly results, which will be released on the 22nd of January, will include its costs for the December quarter and a forecast for annual costs. (Reporting by Shivangi Lahiri in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
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Oil prices rise after biggest annual decline since 2020
The oil prices rose on the first trading day in 2026, after they had suffered their worst annual decline since 2020 last year. This was due to Ukrainian 'drones' targeting Russian oil installations and a U.S. blockade that impacted Venezuelan exports. Brent crude futures rose 14 cents to $60.99 per barrel on Friday by 1:46 GMT. U.S. West Texas intermediate crude crude was up 14 cents at $57.56 per barrel. Russia and Ukraine traded accusations of attacks on civilians New Year's Day, despite intensive talks overseen?by U.S. president?Donald Trump aimed at ending the nearly four-year old?war. In recent months, Kyiv has intensified its strikes against Russian energy infrastructure to cut off Moscow’s sources of financing for the military campaign in Ukraine. Washington imposed sanctions Wednesday on four oil tankers and companies that it claimed were involved in Venezuela's oil industry. The U.S. Blockade is designed to prevent sanctioned oil tankers from entering Venezuela or leaving the country. This has forced PDVSA, Venezuela's state-owned energy company, to take extreme measures to avoid closing down refineries as fuel inventories increase. Brent and WTI benchmarks experienced annual losses of almost?20% in 2025. This was the largest since 2020 as concerns over supply and tariffs trumped geopolitical risk. Brent lost money for the third consecutive year, which is the longest streak in history. According to the Energy Information Administration, Wednesday, the United States' oil production reached a record of 13.87 million barrels a day in October. The EIA reported that last week, crude stocks dropped while gasoline and distillate inventory rose due to a robust refining industry. Reporting by Florence Tan, Editing by Tom Hogue
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Nickel Industries Australia says South Korea's Sphere will buy 10% of the Indonesian project
Nickel 'Industries, Australia's Nickel?Industries, announced on Friday that South Korea's 'Sphere Corp' will purchase a '10% stake' in the Excelsior Nickel Cobalt High-Pressure Acid Leach Plant (HPAL) Project in Indonesia for $2.4 billion. Nickel Industries, an Australian company, said that the South Korean materials manufacturer would acquire the stake in the project from Hong Kong's?Decent Resource. Nickel Industries, however, will keep its 44% stake in the project. Sphere, a supplier of special alloys to Elon Musk's SpaceX, has agreed to sell its 10% share of nickel as cathode. It also entered into a contract for the sale of additional volumes at market prices above 10%. According to Nickel Industries, the ENC HPAL Project, which is being built in Indonesia’s Central Sulawesi will be the first HPAL project with the ability to produce three Class-1 Nickel?products: mixed hydroxide?precipitate (MHP), Nickel sulphate, and Nickel cathode. The deal is made at a time when nickel prices are soaring, as Indonesia plans to reduce its mining output quotas in order to boost commodity prices. Nickel?Industries anticipates that funding will be completed in the first quarter 2026. Nichiket Sunil reported from Bengaluru, and Chris Reese edited the story.
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Three dead, seven missing after New Year's Eve attack in Peru on informal miners
A?local?mayor announced on Thursday that at least three people had been killed and seven more missing following a New Years Eve attack on informal gold miners. This was the latest in a series attacks against small-scale miners of the Andean nation. Aldo Marino, the mayor of Pataz, told local TV that the attack occurred in a city in northern La Libertad. In 'May of last year, police reported that 13 miners were killed in the same area as criminal gangs tried to gain control. Marino, who spoke to Canal N on the subject, said that he had received information from police indicating three people died in a mine entry, and seven others are still missing. He added that reports from other people living nearby suggested a higher death toll. The attack was not confirmed by the police and no government officials could be reached for comment. Pataz is now the main gold producing area in Peru, thanks to small-scale informal or artisan mines that operate under temporary government permits called REINFO. Illegal miners, who are said to be stealing the output of other miners in collaboration with criminal gangs according to sources from police and industry, exploit thousands of permits. The Peruvian government extended REINFO permits by one year in December, marking the fifth extension in the last decade. In July, it kicked out over 50,000 small scale miners, or more than half of them, and kept just over 30,000 to go through a formalization procedure. In 2024, Peru exported gold worth $15.5 billion. This is a dramatic increase from the $11 billion recorded in 2018. According to local industry estimates and the country's financial regulator, about 40% of gold in Peru is illegal. Reporting by Marco Aquino, Editing by Ros Russel and Nick Zieminski
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Two people are killed in fireworks accidents in the Netherlands. A historic Amsterdam church is destroyed by fire.
In the Netherlands, two people were killed by fireworks and there was a "scattered" outbreak of violence during the New Year celebrations. A historic church in Amsterdam also caught fire. In the Netherlands, people set off fireworks to celebrate New Year's Eve. This causes thousands of injuries every year and damages of millions of Euros. Police said that this year 250 people were arrested on New Year's Eve, and riot police in various towns were deployed. The impact of the heavy fireworks and arson on New Year's Eve was devastating in some areas. "The targeted violence against the?emergency service and?police were intense again," said police in a Thursday statement. Police reported that fireworks accidents had killed a man aged 38 in Aalsmeer (near Amsterdam) and a boy in Nijmegen in the east. A fire in Amsterdam's Vondelpark destroyed the neogothic Vondelkerk. The fire started shortly after midnight. Amsterdam's police and fire departments said that they were investigating the cause of the fire in the 1872-built?church and have not yet made any comments. The ban on fireworks sales to consumers nationwide will be in effect by 2025. Years ago, emergency room doctors, local and national politicians, and police and firefighters have been campaigning for the ban. (Reporting by Stephanie van den Berg Editing by Frances Kerry)
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Petroperu, the state-owned company in Peru, is now open to private investors after a reorganization
Late Wednesday, Peru issued an urgent decree approving the restructuring of?state owned oil firm Petroperu and allowing private investments in key company assets. According to the decree signed by?Peruvian President Jose Jeri, the company may be divided into one or several asset blocks. This includes the Talara refinery which the company has spent $6.5 billion upgrading. Petroperu also operates or has concessions on six crude oil blocks that have limited production. It has a fuel marketing and distribution chain. The Peruvian ministry of energy and mines stated that the decree is intended to "?ensure compliance with financial obligations through the technical management of their assets, laying a foundation for Petroperu's self-sustainability." The ministry stated that the company's "situation is particularly sensitive" with losses accumulating to $479 million between January and 2025 and debts to vendors of $764 millions through December. This is in addition to the $774 million reported losses last year. The company's financial problems are partly due to the debt from the Talara refinery upgrade, which cost more than double the original estimate. This led to the company losing its investment grade rating in 2022. Petroperu has received government financing totaling $5.3 billion from 2022 to 2024. (Reporter Marco Aquino, Editing by Alexander Villegas & Nick Zieminski).
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Ukraine condemns Russian New Year drone attack on power Infrastructure
Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the President of Ukraine, said that a Russian drone had damaged power infrastructure overnight in several Ukrainian regions. Meanwhile, Moscow accused Ukraine of a "deadly" new year's attack on a part of Ukraine under Russian control. "Russia deliberately starts war on the New Year. Zelenskiy posted on Telegram that "over 200 drones attacked Ukraine during the night." Zelenskiy stated that energy infrastructure in seven different regions of Ukraine was targeted. Russia has accused Ukraine of killing 24 people in a drone attack on a cafe and hotel where civilians were celebrating the New Year. The strike took place in an area of southern Kherson controlled by Russia. The Ukrainian military did not respond immediately to a question about Moscow's accusations. Zelenskiy stated that Russia's "holiday season" attacks demonstrated Ukraine could not afford delays in its air defence supply. "(Our) Allies have names of equipment that we lack. "We expect everything that was agreed upon with the United States for our defense at the end December will arrive on schedule," he stated, without elaborating. Zelenskiy has met with President Donald Trump in Florida on Sunday to negotiate a peace framework that will end the nearly four-year war. Donald Trump met with Zelenskiy in Florida, on Sunday, to discuss a framework for peace to end the almost four-year conflict. Both leaders have said that they are close in reaching an agreement. However, there remain thorny questions regarding the post-war control of territories. Ukrainian energy minister said that a "significant" number of households in Volyn, Odesa, and Chernihiv regions, located in western and southwest Ukraine respectively, were cut off from electricity by the overnight strikes. Volant's governor said that more than 103,000 households had lost electricity as a direct result of the attack. The Volyn region lies several hundred kilometers from the frontline and borders NATO-member Poland. (Reporting and editing by Gareth Jones, Ros Russell and Max Hunder)
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Police: Dozens of people are feared dead following explosion at Swiss ski resort bar
Swiss police said that dozens of people were feared to be 'killed' and 100 others injured after an explosion tore into a packed bar during a party on New Year’s Eve in the upscale resort of Crans-Montana, located in southwest Switzerland. The police had previously said that many people were being treated for injuries. A police spokesperson confirmed that more than 100 people were in the bar when the explosion occurred. Fire broke out in the early hours of the morning in Crans-Montana at "Le Constellation", where police, fire brigade, and rescue services had been deployed to help victims. Police said in a statement that the area was completely?closed and a no fly zone had been declared over Crans-Montana. They added that the cause of the explosion remained unknown.
Solar hits above its weight in powering US energy transition: Maguire
Solar farms produced less than 6% of the electricity produced by energies in the United States in 2023, however that yearly share vastly understates the vital role that solar plays in allowing power companies to speed up energy shift efforts.
On a day-to-day basis, solar plants can have such disruptive impact on system electrical power flows that energies have actually been forced to establish abilities to quickly cut output from other sources and store surplus power for later usage.
In turn, that resulting dexterity and emerging ingenuity throughout the energy sector is assisting to accelerate global energy transition efforts by requiring power systems to more efficiently accommodate large swings in tidy power output.
With products of all kinds of renewable resource set to quickly grow, energies that learn to increase the volume of solar energy within generation systems today will be finest put to assist drive the additional development of energy systems in the decades ahead.
CLEANER, BUT MORE VOLATILE
No other tidy power source comes close to producing both the opportunities and obstacles that rapidly broadening products of solar energy entail.
Solar's overall share of U.S. power output might currently be small, however it is growing quick, with output broadening by 155%. in between 2018 and 2023, according to the U.S. Energy Info. Administration (EIA.)
That growth rate compares to a 56% growth in wind power. and a 22.4% swell in natural gas-fired output over the very same. duration.
To accommodate growing renewables materials and make good on. dedications to lower power sector emissions, U.S. energies. decreased coal-fired power generation by 41% from 2018 to 2023,. which cut coal's share of the power mix from around 30% to 16%.
But by replacing such a considerable chunk of baseload power. from coal with growing amounts of intermittent renewable. power from solar farms, the U.S. power system has actually become more. unpredictable in addition to more clean over the previous 5 years.
MAKE WAY!
California's power system finest exhibits the volatility. that originates from fast boosts in solar generation.
As the largest solar energy manufacturer in the U.S., California. has actually improved solar power output by 72% from 2018 to 2023, and. relies on solar for around 28% of electrical power products,. according to energy think tank Cinder.
The state also represents around 25% of nationwide. electricity materials created from solar.
However it's a long-lasting obstacle to turn the state's abundant. sunlight into useable electricity without distorting power. markets.
As a growing number of solar plants were connected to California's. grid over the past years, power prices in the state came under. increasing pressure during the middle of the day when solar. output peaks.
A compounding problem is that the peak solar production. period overlaps with what is generally the most affordable period for. system need, so power firms have actually been required to lower power. costs in order to balance system needs till solar output. decreases later on in the day.
The resulting 'Duck Curve' shape of power prices became a. well known phenomenon over the last few years, with the. unexpected distortion to market dynamics caused by surplus solar. power widely lampooned in 2023 by opponents of the energy. shift.
The volume of California's solar output has increased. further up until now in 2024, with solar electrical energy generation. through May 23 running 27% ahead of the very same duration in 2023,. according to LSEG data.
The unequal distribution of this output causes daily. contortions to the state's power generation mix, with solar. power accounting for 0% of power generation before sunrise to. over 70% throughout the sunniest times of day.
And California's power prices continue to come under severe. pressure during peak solar production hours, consistently turning. negative for spells as the market pricing system tries to. lure need and deter production from other sources.
BATTERY BUTTRESS
To ease the effect of the system imbalance caused by. runaway solar output, California's energies have released. networks of utility-scale batteries that can take in surplus. power during peak solar production durations, to be released. when the sun decreases.
The battery network is still being built out, however currently. accounts for around 20% of California's system needs throughout the. peak demand duration just after solar output stops and when people. returning from work crank up family electricity demand.
The batteries also minimize the requirement for power imports by. California throughout those peak need durations, which minimizes. local power pressure and assists California become less dependent. on neighbouring states for power materials.
California's battery system likewise functions as a knowing tool for. other power networks who are also battling with the impact of. too much solar supply, prematurely.
And together with broader use of smart energy meters - which. motivate consumers to increase power intake when materials. are most abundant - all U.S. energies are learning key ways to. accommodate fast development in solar output and set themselves up. for additional energy shift progress.
<< The opinions revealed here are those of the author, a. columnist .>
(source: Reuters)