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Rio Tinto raises 2025 copper output view on increase from Mongolia's Oyu Tolgoi mine
Australian mining giant Rio Tinto projection higher consolidated mined copper production for financial 2025 on Wednesday, driven mostly by a prepared for 50% surge in output from its Oyu Tolgoi operation in Mongolia next year. While Rio Tinto's revenues mostly stem from iron ore, it is moving focus towards copper, projecting a 3% annual growth from 2024 onwards through existing tasks, which not only consists of the Oyu Tolgoi mine, but also partnerships with Codelco in Chile and First Quantum in Peru. The miner aims to reach a yearly copper production of 1 million metric loads by 2030, aiming to develop into a major player in the clean energy supply chain by focusing on premium, low-emission raw materials necessary for energy change. We are executing our method of delivering a stronger, more diversified, and growing business, underpinned by our belief in the demand for products which are important for the worldwide energy transition, CEO Jakob Stausholm stated. Rio Tinto, nevertheless, tasks an increase in total capital expenses for fiscal 2025, approximating $11.0 billion, compared to the $9.5 billion anticipated for 2024. In October, Rio Tinto agreed to purchase U.S.-based Arcadium Lithium in a $6.7 billion deal, a tactical relocation set to propel it to the position of the world's third-largest lithium miner, considerably increasing its existence in the electrical car battery supply chain. The world's largest producer of iron ore stated it anticipates copper production in 2025 to be 780,000-850,000. heaps, compared with 660,000-720,000 loads expected in fiscal. 2024. Rio Tinto's Rincon 3000 starter project in Argentina. attained a turning point with its first lithium production last. week, leading the way for a final financial investment on the job by. the year end. It keeps its predicted capital investment for. decarbonisation efforts through 2030 at the lower end of the. $ 5-$ 6 billion range.
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Activist financier Palliser advises Rio Tinto to scrap London listing
Activist financier Palliser Capital on Wednesday required Rio Tinto scrap its London listing and unify its corporate structure in Australia, saying that shareholders have already lost an estimated $50 billion in value due to the double structure. Palliser in a highly worded letter to the iron ore giant's. board stated ditching the out-of-date double listing structure would. unlock $28 billion in worth to London investors in the. near-term and extra value for the combined group in the. medium-term. We urge the Board to act quickly to stop the clock on. even more worth damage for investors in the hands of a. structure that is unsuited for the corporate world these days, the. hedge fund said. In its letter, Palliser cited BHP's example, which scrapped. its dual listing in favour of its main listing in Sydney in. 2022. The financier said that an unified Rio Tinto would trade up. to and ultimately exceed its current rate, which closed at. A$ 120.08 ($ 77.30) per share on Wednesday. The London-listed stock ended at 50.20 pounds ($ 63.68) on. Tuesday. Palliser is requiring an independent, comprehensive and. transparent review by the miner's board into the rationale for. maintaining a corporate structure.
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Australian shares end lower, dragged down by financials, weak quarterly GDP information
Australian shares ended lower on Wednesday, dragged down by financials as information revealed the economy grew less than anticipated in the third quarter and as financiers priced in rate cuts by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) from April. The S&P/ ASX 200 index alleviated 0.4% to 8,462.6 points. The sub-index scaled a lifetime high of 8,514.50 points on Tuesday. Australia's economy grew by less than anticipated in the third quarter as data from the Australian Bureau of Stats revealed real gdp (GDP) grew 0.3% in the September quarter, missing market forecasts of 0.4%. The weaker-than-expected quarterly GDP figures not only cooled recent stock market optimism, however also advanced expectations for the RBA's first rate cut from May 2025 to April 2025, said Hebe Chen, a market expert at IG. Rate-sensitive banking stocks led losses, closing 0.8% lower. The Big Four banks shed between 0.5% and 1.6%. Bucking the trend, miners finished 0.7% greater to its highest closing in over 3 weeks on remaining optimism surrounding China stimulus. Heavily-weighted BHP Group, Fortescue and Rio Tinto advanced in between 0.7% and 1.4%. Shares of Lynas Rare Earths ended 5% greater after China banned exports of some critical mineral to the U.S. Gold miners closed 0.9% higher, putting Advancement Mining and ASX-listed shares of Newmont Corporation among leading gainers on the benchmark. New Zealand's benchmark S&P/ NZX 50 index closed 1.5%. lower at 12,896.67 points, logging losses for a 2nd. consecutive session.
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Australia's Lynas near 3-week high after China prohibits export of important minerals to United States
Shares of Australia's Lynas Rare Earths climbed to a near threeweek high on Wednesday, a day after China prohibited exports of some critical mineral to the United States. China on Tuesday prohibited exports of gallium, germanium and antimony that have prevalent military applications to the United States, intensifying trade stress after Washington's. newest crackdown on China's chip sector. China's choice has actually raised concerns that it could target. other critical minerals, including those with even broader usage. such as nickel or cobalt, and rare-earths. Shares of Lynas, the world's greatest producer of uncommon earth. minerals outside China, ended the session up by 5% at A$ 7.32,. and was amongst the top gainers on the benchmark ASX 200,. which slipped 0.4%. The ban signifies the near-inevitability of an increased. U.S.-China trade war 2.0, as Beijing continues its tit-for-tat. action to Washington's chip constraints, said Hebe Chen, a. market analyst at IG. This increasing stress might potentially place Australia, a. crucial player in the international critical minerals market, to capitalize. on increased demand and diversify its export partnerships, Chen. said. The order also requires more stringent review of end-usage of. graphite items exported to the U.S. Shares of graphite companies in Australia such as Syrah. Resources and Renascor Resources closed 13.6%. and 3.3%, respectively.
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Oil rates edge up on geopolitical stress, OPEC+ supply plans
Oil rates firmed on Wednesday as market individuals weighed up geopolitical stress and the possibility of OPEC+ extending supply cuts against weaker need. Brent crude futures rose 16 cents, or 0.2%, to $ 73.78 a barrel by 0440 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate unrefined futures got 14 cents, or 0.2%, to $70.08. On Tuesday, Brent published its biggest gain in two weeks, increasing 2.5%. An unsteady ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, South Korea's reduced statement of martial law and a rebel offensive in Syria that threatens to attract forces from a number of oil-producing nations, all lent support to oil prices, said Priyanka Sachdeva, senior market expert at Phillip Nova. Oil markets, nevertheless, are largely marking down a perfectly provided 2025 in the middle of slow need signals from the U.S. and China, the world's leading 2 economies, she added. Weaker demand signals from mainland China are raising issues about need in the oil market ... The world's biggest crude oil importer may have a hard time to maintain its substantial share of international need by 2025. Meanwhile in the U.S., crude oil inventories increased 1.2 million barrels recently, market sources stated, pointing out data from the American Petroleum Institute. Gas inventory also rose, by 4.6 million barrels, even though the week consisted of Thanksgiving when need generally increases as families travel by car for vacation parties. Authorities data on oil stocks from the U.S. Energy Info Administration is due on Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. ET (1530 GMT). Experts polled anticipate a 700,000 barrel decrease in crude and a 639,000 barrel increase in gas. Also supporting costs, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies, or OPEC+, will likely extend output cuts up until completion of the first quarter next year when members fulfill on Thursday, market sources informed Reuters. OPEC+. has actually been looking to gradually phase out supply cuts through next. year. The main problem facing any return of OPEC+ supply is that. non-OPEC supply development in 2025 is expected to eclipse the development. in global oil demand, stated Commonwealth Bank of Australia. analyst Vivek Dhar in a note. The International Energy Company anticipates non-OPEC supply. growth, led by the U.S., Canada, Guyana and Brazil, to increase. supply by 1.5 million barrels per day (bpd) next year. Global. oil need is only expected to lift about 1 million bpd as. China's oil demand is expected to remain suppressed. In the Middle East, Israel said on Tuesday it would return. to war with Hezbollah if their truce collapses, and its attacks. would go deeper into Lebanon and target the state itself. The. remark followed the most dangerous day because Israel and Hezbollah. accepted a ceasefire recently. In neighbouring Syria, rebels advancing against federal government. forces pushed close on Tuesday to the major city of Hama, rebels. and a war screen said, after their surprise capture of Aleppo. last week.
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Salunda to Equip Transocean Endurance Rig with Monitoring Solution
Salunda, a provider of digitized solutions for safety critical industries, has secured a contract to install its HaloGuard zone monitoring solution on the Transocean Endurance semi-submersible rig in Australia.The award marks Salunda’s first installation of the patented zone monitoring product in Australia and the wider Asia Pacific region.The HaloGuard system, which incorporates Salunda’s patented CrewHawk real-time location technology, combines real-time location technology together with a machine vision system.The technology is designed to locate personnel on the drill floor during operations. When a crew member comes within a certain distance from working equipment, he or she is notified by an alarm through a wearable device. In the event the crew member remains near the equipment, the system can pause the equipment from moving until that worker returns to a safer, more distant position. Additionally, if unauthorized personnel enter the zone, HaloGuard sends an alert directly to the area authority. By enabling machines with the technology to sense and recognize the location of personnel on the drill floor, Haloguard provides an advanced layer of individual protection that can, if needed, warn personnel of hazards and pause operations.(Credit: Salunda)“Our ultimate goal for HaloGuard is to enhance the safety of critical operations. As the oil and gas industry continues to automate, the deployment of advanced technologies that can detect and notify personnel and equipment on the drill floor, and if needed, pause operations, can enhance the safety and improve the efficiency of operations,” said Alan Finlay, Salunda Chief Executive.
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RWE Receives Construction Permits for Polish Offshore Wind Farm
Polish authorities have issued two construction permits to RWE for its Baltic II offshore wind farm.The permits cover construction of offshore wind turbines along with inter-array and telecommunications cables and offshore substation for the 350 MW offshore wind farm.The project is being developed some 50 km offshore in the Polish part of the Baltic Sea, north of the town of Ustka, and covers an area of approx. 41 square km.In 2021, the Energy Regulatory Office granted RWE a Contract for Difference (CfD), subject to approval by the European Commission.Seabed surveys were completed, and both geophysical surveys and preliminary geotechnical surveys were carried out by Polish contractors.The Baltic II offshore wind farm is at an advanced stage of preparation, pending further decisions and administrative approvals, with the commissioning planned by end of decade.“We have obtained the building permits for our offshore wind farm. This is a very important milestone for the whole F.E.W. Baltic II project. We plan to obtain all remaining building permits in the first quarter of 2025. These documents will allow us to continue with our first offshore wind project in the Polish Baltic Sea as planned,” said Tomasz Kreft, Team Lead Offshore Consenting at RWE.
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Iron ore dips as trade tensions between China and US intensify
Iron ore futures costs slid on Wednesday on riskoff sentiment stimulated by the escalation of trade stress between United States and China, although lingering expectations of fresh Chinese financial stimulus topped losses. The most-traded January iron ore agreement on China's Dalian Product Exchange (DCE) ended early morning trade 0.19%. lower at 807 yuan ($ 110.84) a metric load. The benchmark January iron ore on the Singapore. Exchange was 0.67% lower at $104.4 a heap, as of 0405 GMT. China on Tuesday banned exports of crucial minerals gallium,. germanium and antimony that have prevalent armed force. applications to the United States, a day after Washington's. most current crackdown on China's chip sector, escalating trade. tensions. That has actually broadly weighed on investors and traders' cravings,. sending out downward pressure to rates of the crucial steelmaking. ingredient, said experts. However, hopes of more fiscal stimulus from China's upcoming. Central Economic Work Conference limited losses, as the country. is the world's most significant consumer of metals. The market is holding high expectations for incremental. stimulus ... domestic ore need remains resilient, experts at. Sinosteel Futures said in a note. That said, potential customers of growing abroad supply also restricted. the upside capacity for rates, according to experts. Vale, one of the world's biggest iron ore. providers, on Tuesday approximated that it would produce between. 325 million and 335 million lots of iron ore in 2025, compared. with about 328 million heaps this year. Other steelmaking active ingredients on the DCE tumbled, with. coking coal and coke down 3.33% and 3.35%,. respectively. Plentiful supply and a lack of market self-confidence weighed on. prices of coking coal and coke, analysts at Galaxy Futures said. in a note. A lot of steel benchmarks on the Shanghai Futures Exchange lost. ground on lower basic materials rates. Rebar fell 0.96%, hot-rolled coil slipped. 0.79%, wire rod shed 0.98% while stainless-steel. gotten 0.31%.
Russia's crude oil and LNG shipments to Asia slip a little in 2024: Russell
Asia's imports of Russian crude oil and melted natural gas are set to log little declines this year and while coal had a bigger drop, there's little evidence that Western sanctions are working well.
Russia has concerned depend on Asia, the world's most significant purchaser of energy products, to absorb freights that are no longer able to be sold to buyers in Europe and elsewhere as an outcome of sanctions put against Moscow in the wake of the February 2022 intrusion of Ukraine.
China and India became significant buyers of Russian crude, coal and LNG after the invasion, taking freights due to the fact that of the discounts on offer.
This dynamic has actually mostly continued in 2024, and while there is likely to be some small decline in Asia's imports of Russian energy products, it's difficult to say that this is since of sanctions or since of other elements, such as slow growth in China, the world's second-largest economy.
Asia's imports of seaborne crude from Russia, the world's. second-largest exporter, are on track to drop to 161.2 million. metric heaps in 2024, below 170.6 million in 2023, according. to data compiled by commodity analysts Kpler.
In barrels each day (bpd) terms, Asia's seaborne imports from. Russia are likely to come in around 3.22 million bpd this year,. down 5.6% or 190,000 bpd from the 3.41 million bpd in 2023.
The bulk of the decrease is since China, the world's. most significant crude importer, saw arrivals from Russia drop 100,000. bpd to 1.24 million bpd in 2024.
South Korea was responsible for the other major decrease in. imports from Russia, which dropped from around 100,000 bpd in. 2023 to simply 29,000 bpd in 2024.
India, which now counts Russia as its leading crude provider,. saw mainly constant imports of 1.76 million bpd in 2024, down. somewhat from 1.79 million bpd in 2023.
LNG, COAL
Asia's imports of Russian LNG are likewise likely to be lower in. 2024 than the previous year, but just by a tiny 1.6%.
An overall of 14.93 million lots of Russian LNG is most likely to. get here in Asia this year, below 15.17 million in 2023,. according to Kpler data.
China is the major purchaser of Russian LNG, with 6.65 million. heaps this year, up a touch from 6.63 million in 2023.
The other significant importer is Japan, which purchases Russian LNG as. an outcome of an ownership stake in the Sakhalin-2 LNG job.
Japan's imports of 5.47 million loads in 2024 are somewhat. down from the 5.90 million in 2023.
However, Japan's imports of all grades of Russian coal did. drop significantly in 2024, moving 75% to 610,000 heaps from. 2.42 million 2023.
Overall, Asia's imports of seaborne Russian coal dropped to. 102.3 million heaps, down 19.3% from the 126.8 million in 2023.
The decrease was largely driven by China, with imports. falling to 45.01 million loads in 2024 from 59.19 million in. 2023.
This is likely a price-driven dynamic as China's coal. imports have increased strongly up until now in 2024, with official. customizeds information showing a 13.5% boost in the first 10 months of. the year to 435.4 million heaps.
Russian coal needs to complete versus overland materials from. Mongolia, along with seaborne grades from Indonesia and. Australia, with prices from the 2 biggest exporters of the. fuel trending lower over the course of 2024.
Putting together Asia's imports of Russian energy. products and it's clear that the decline in volumes in 2024. is little, and even the somewhat bigger drop for coal is. described by price competitors, instead of by any sanctions. steps.
It's also likely that for crude oil, Russia has needed to use. discount rates in order to preserve volumes. The concern then. ends up being whether the discount was deep sufficient to trigger Moscow any. genuine pain from lost income.
The views expressed here are those of the author, a columnist. .
(source: Reuters)