Mining



Mineral Resources

Sources say that the China Copper Smelter Group is looking to expand its membership.

Four sources familiar with the matter have confirmed that C hina's leading copper producers are looking to expand the membership of their smelter team in order to improve their negotiating position with the miners regarding?raw materials supply. A group of 16 large producers who traditionally set the 'floor price' for copper concentrate processing contracts, called The China Smelters Purchase Team invited several potential 'new members to its quarterly meeting in Yantai, Shandong Province on Wednesday. Chinese smelters have begun negotiating with Antofagasta, a Chilean miner, about?concentrate supply deals. Smelters charge treatment and refining fees (TC/RCs), which are paid by miners...






Asia

Minutes of the meeting show that Danantara Indonesia will not be taking over contracts under the new export plan.

According to the minutes of a Friday meeting between Danantara Indonesia and industry associations, a unit assigned to manage strategic commodity exports won't take over existing customer relationships or contracts, which eases concerns about possible?trade flow interruptions. Investors are spooked at President Prabowo Subianto’s plan to put all strategic commodities in Indonesia under the control of Danantara, Indonesia’s sovereign wealth fund. Danantara Sumberdaya Indonesia met with the Indonesian Employer's Association, the Indonesian Mining Association, the Indonesian Coal Miners Group APBI, the Nickel Industry Group FINI, and the Palm Oil Producer Association GAPKI to discuss the implementation of the plan. The...

North America

Mineral Resources

Gold drops 1% after Fed keeps rates stable, signals rate increase this year

The gold price?reversed its course and dropped more than 1%?on Wednesday, after the U.S. Federal Reserve kept its benchmark interest rates steady but warned of a rise in borrowing costs this year. This sent the dollar higher. By 2:40 pm EDT (1840 GMT), spot gold had fallen 0.7% to $4,299.89 an ounce. U.S. Gold Futures closed 0.6% higher at 4,381.40. Nine out of 19 policymakers at the U.S. Central Bank believe that they will have to increase the policy rate for this year. This is according to the projections made on Wednesday, after the Fed announced their decision to keep...

Mining

Gold prices rise; Fed meeting and details of US-Iran agreement in the spotlight

The gold price?advanced? higher on Wednesday, as investors waited for the first policy decision by the U.S. Central Bank under the new Chairman Kevin Warsh. They also hoped to get more details about the U.S. Iran peace agreement. By 11:09 am EDT (1509 GMT), spot gold had risen 0.3% to $4,344.47 an ounce. U.S. Gold Futures rose by 0.2% to $4,364.70. Tai Wong, a metals trader, said that gold buyers could be betting on the dovish Warsh to come later today. This would explain why prices are rising despite indifferent stocks, higher yields, and a stronger dollar. Federal Reserve rate...

Mining

Gold stable as US-Iran details emerge; Fed verdict is awaited

On Wednesday, gold prices remained largely unchanged near a week-high as investors awaited the Federal Reserve's first meeting and details of a U.S. Iran agreement. As of 0747 GMT the spot gold price was unchanged at $4,328.67 an ounce after hitting a high of $4.370.82 per ounce on Monday. U.S. Gold futures for August delivery fell 0.1% to $4,348.40. Donald Trump claimed that the agreement with Iran will prevent?Tehran from developing nuclear weapons. A U.S. official stated that Iran will be allowed to export oil. Prices of oil hovered around a three-month high on the expectation of Iranian supplies, which...

Mining

Lumina Metals shares rise nearly 55% at Warsaw debut

Lumina Metals shares rose by nearly?55% in their Warsaw 'Stock Exchange debut, making them a'second copper - and?silver - focused company listed on the Polish bourse along with state miner KGHM. The Warsaw debut comes after Lumina's initial listing at the Toronto Stock Exchange in April, when it raised C$406 (290 million) through an IPO that was priced at C$12.50 a share. IPO proceeds will be used to advance the 'company's flagship Nowa Sol project. CEO Jordan Pandoff said that the company intends to invest approximately 1 billion zlotys (approximately $272 mln) in Poland in five years. * Lumina Metals...

Mineral Resources

Newmont announces new CFO and COO as part leadership overhaul

Newmont announced Monday a series of 'executive appointments', including the appointment of Brian Tabolt to its finance chief. The gold miner is reshaping its top management, under a new CEO. Tabolt was Newmont's group head of finances and chief accounting officer before joining the company. He joined Molson Coors Beverage in 2021. Tabolt replaces Peter Wexler who served as the interim CFO of the company. His appointment takes effect on July 1. The company also announced the appointments of David Thornton, chief technical officer and Mark Rodgers, chief operating officer. Newmont is undergoing a boardroom shake-up after Natascha Vijoen was...

Mining

Gold prices rise as Iran and the US agree to end war

Gold prices rose on Monday for the third consecutive session, reaching a record high of over one week after Iran and the U.S. announced that they had agreed to terms to end their conflict. This move eased expectations about higher interest rates. By 1:30 pm EDT (1730 GMT), spot gold had risen 2.6% to $4,327.82 an ounce after reaching its highest level since June 5, earlier in the day. U.S. Gold Futures closed 2.7% higher at 4,351.6. The dollar index fell by 0.2%, making metals priced in greenbacks more affordable for holders of other currencies. The dollar index fell by...

Mineral Resources

Gold nears a one-week high following US-Iran Peace Deal

On Monday, gold prices reached a near-week-high as a tentative peace deal between the?U.S. Oil prices fell as a result of the Iran deal, which also eased concerns about a rate hike by the U.S. Federal Reserve. As of 0857 GMT spot gold was up 2.7% at $4,334.48 an ounce. This is its highest price since June 9. U.S. Gold Futures for August Delivery climbed 2.8%, to $4355.30. U.S. officials and Iranian officials announced that they had reached an agreement to end the war and reopen Strait of Hormuz. This preliminary pact sent oil prices down but left the fate...

Mineral Resources

WSJ reports that Australia's richest Rinehart has invested $1 billion in the SpaceX IPO.

The Wall Street Journal, citing an individual familiar with the situation, reported that Australia's richest person, mining baron Gina Rinehart has invested a total of more than $1 billion into the $75 billion SpaceX record-breaking IPO. Hancock Prospecting, Rinehart's company, did not confirm the size of their'stake' in Elon Musk SpaceX. She said, however, in a press release: "This investment is significant for Hancock and we are happy to have received a allocation in an IPO that has been extremely popular and well oversubscribed." She praised Musk because he built two of the top 10 companies in the world. "We...

Mineral Resources

Gold gains more than 1% following US-Iran peace agreement

Gold prices rose by more than 1% on Monday after U.S. officials and Iranian officials announced they had reached an agreement to end their conflict. This lowered oil prices and eased concerns about inflation and rising interest rates. As of 0010 GMT spot gold rose 1.8% to $4,297.42 an ounce. This is its highest level since the 9th of June. U.S. Gold Futures for August Delivery rose 1.9% to $4,318.10. U.S. officials and Iranian officials announced on Sunday that they had reached an agreement?on the framework of a peace deal to end their conflict, stop?the U.S. Blockade of Iran, and...

Mineral Resources

Experts say that El Nino is a global threat, but it will likely help Argentina's crop production.

Climate specialists say that while El Nino conditions can 'hurt harvests around the world, it is more likely to boost agricultural production in Argentina during the second half of the year. The Climate Prediction Center of the United States said on Thursday that El Nino conditions would intensify in the second half 2026. El Nino is a phenomenon that causes ocean water to warm in the equatorial Pacific, causing lower rainfall across Asia and Australia. It also raises concerns about global food shortages and increased prices because of droughts. Climate specialists say that in Argentinia, an exporter of corn, soybeans...

Mineral Resources

Copper prices rebound on optimism about US-Iran Peace Deal

Copper prices rose on Friday as hopes of a quick peace agreement between the U.S.A. and Iran eased concerns about a slowing economy and rising inflation. Benchmark 'three-month copper' on the London Metal Exchange gained 1.6%, to $13,704 per metric ton at 0925 GMT. This ended two days of losses which saw copper reach its lowest level in three weeks. The price of copper fell on Thursday, amid the worst violence between Iran and the U.S. since the two sides signed a ceasefire agreement in April. Prices reversed when U.S. president Donald Trump stated that a peace agreement could be...

Mining

Gold to lose weekly value as inflation and rate hike fears persist

Gold prices dropped on Friday and were expected to lose money for the week due to concerns about inflation and possible interest rate increases by the U.S. Federal Reserve. As of 0745 GMT the spot gold price was down by 0.7%, at $4,183.19 an ounce. This was a loss of 3.4% for the week. U.S. Gold futures for August deliveries?rose by 2.2% to $4204.40. Gold dropped to a six-month low Thursday, before closing at $4,219.69. This was after U.S. president Donald Trump cancelled planned military strikes against Iran and announced an imminent peace deal. Iran, however, countered by saying that...

Europe

Mining

Nippon Steel's US Steel earnings are boosted by a strong American steel market

Nippon Steel is the world's third largest steelmaker. Vice Chairman Takahiro Mori, the vice chairman of U.S. Steel, said that he expects the American steel market to be buoyant. This is supported by import tariffs and resilient consumer demand. "We're confident that the U.S. "We are confident that?U.S. He predicted that U.S. Steel will generate a profit of between 300 billion and 400 billion yen per year in the long term. Mori described U.S. market conditions as favourable. Hot-rolled steel sheets are priced at more than $1,200 per ton. This is double what they cost in Asia. U.S. steel reopened...

Mineral Resources

G7 creates critical minerals alliance, crisis platform

The G7 leaders agreed 'on Wednesday' to increase coordination -on the critical mineral supply?chains. They also outlined plans to coordinate stockpiling, and a new platform for cooperation with IEA. Western powers are racing against time to diversify the?sources? of metals that are critical for defence, technology and renewable energy?and to reduce their over-reliance upon Chinese products. China shocked?the global economic system last year, when it imposed export restrictions on permanent magnets. This exposed the world's dependence upon a single supplier. In a joint statement, the leaders stated that they were "committed to working toward harmonized and interoperable mechanisms". This would...

Mining

The gold price has not changed much as the markets await Warsh's Fed debut and details of the US-Iran agreement

The gold price was essentially unchanged on Wednesday as'market participants were focused on the 'first policy decision of new Federal Reserve chair Kevin Warsh, and on details of the U.S. Iran peace agreement. After a four-session rise, spot gold was unchanged at $4,323.50 an ounce as of 0852 GMT. U.S. Gold Futures fell 0.3% to $4,342.40. The gold market will be influenced by the FOMC's signals today. Investors will be closely watching how Kevin Warsh interprets recent developments, said Saxo Bank analyst Ole Hansen. At 1800 GMT, the Fed will announce its policy decision. It is widely expected that policymakers...

Western Europe

East Asia

Mineral Resources

China's May aluminium production rises for the ninth consecutive month due to strong export demand

China's aluminium production rose by 1.7% in May compared to a year ago, marking the ninth consecutive month of gains. This was aided by higher overseas prices. Prices have since eased and may even fall further now that Washington and Tehran have signed a ceasefire. The National Bureau of Statistics reported on Tuesday that China's aluminum output reached 3.89 million tons in May. The first five months of this year saw a 3.5% increase in output to 19.22 millions metric tons. There was still a lot of uncertainty in May about a U.S. - Iran peace deal. The Strait of...

Mining

Iron ore miners look to India and ASEAN for growth as they seek alternatives to China

Iron ore miner's in Australia stressed on Tuesday that a?growing demand for steel in India and Southeast Asia?would offset the stagnating markets in China and other top customers. India, already the second-largest steel producer in the world, plans to double its current output from 168 million to 400 million ton by 2035-2036. The new targets, while still only a fraction of China’s production of almost 1 billion tons, will require huge additional quantities of metallurgical coal and iron ore, both of which India imports in large amounts. Michiel Hovers, BHP's group sales and marketing officer, said at a conference on...

Mining

Mongolia, a coal-rich country, aims to increase trade with China despite the risk of dependence

Mongolia hopes to increase trade with China by more than 10% this year, as it is the largest destination for its coal and mineral exports. This will help further strengthen its economic dependence on China. The two-way trade is expected to reach $20 billion this year, Ukhnaa Khuraelsukh, the President of Mongolia, told Wang Yi, Chinese Foreign Minister, during his first visit to Ulaanbaatar over the weekend. This is a rise of over 10% from 2025 despite the Iran War limiting the economic outlook of?the second largest economy in the world at a time when domestic demand has been stagnant....

Mineral Resources

ASIA GOLD - India gold demand rises as prices fall; China premiums are reduced

The demand for gold in India increased slightly this week, as jewellery buyers were attracted by lower prices, despite caution. In China however, premiums eased. The price of gold in India fell to its lowest level since April 2, at 146.444 rupees for 10 grams, on Thursday. It is down 1.5% this week. Chanda Venkatesh said that the demand for gold increased after the recent price correction, especially jewellery buyers. Dealers quoted discounts Discounts of up to $35 per ounce, including 15% import duties and 3% sales taxes, compared to last week's discount of up to $87.5. Although jewellers are...

Mineral Resources

Russell: China's May data is confusing, but the Iran war has not affected iron ore prices.

The U.S. and Israel war against?Iran has not affected the price of iron ore, but this relative calm hides a shift in the dynamics of the steel raw material. China purchases about three quarters of the global seaborne iron ore and uses it to feed mills that produce just over half of the world's total steel. Iron ore for the United States is largely sourced by Australia and Brazil. Other producers such as South Africa and Guinea contribute a small amount. This trade bypasses the Strait of Hormuz. The narrow waterway that connects Iran to Oman has been closed off...

Mineral Resources

Copper falls to a three-week low due to fund sales and concerns about the Middle East

The copper price fell to its lowest level in three weeks as the U.S. and Iran continued their attacks. Funds liquidated positions on concerns about rising interest rates, weaker economic growth worldwide, and softer metals demands. The benchmark three-month copper price on the London Metal Exchange fell 0.8% to $13,407 per metric tonne by 0925 GMT. It had earlier reached $13,378, which was its lowest since May 20. On Thursday, the U.S. traded air strikes with Iran for a second day in a row, undermining an already fragile ceasefire. Copper's decline is driven more by macro-headwinds than fundamentals. "Escalating tensions...

Mineral Resources

South Korea anticipates favorable outcome following Lee's EU Steel Request

A senior South Korean adviser to the president said that the European Union would give maximum consideration to South Korea’s request for favorable?treatment of their?steelmakers, under the new import regime. The request was made by the South Korean president Lee Jae Myung during a Wednesday meeting in Brussels with Antonio Costa, President of the European Council and Ursula von der Leyen, President of European Commission. Kim Yong Beom, a presidential policy advisor, told a press briefing that Lee had asked the EU to "consider" South Korea's status as a strategic?partner and a?partner in a free trade agreement. Kim said that...

Mining

Copper prices fall as the escalating conflict in the Middle East fuels concerns about slowdown

Copper prices fell Thursday as oil prices rose and concerns about the global economy grew. By 0700 GMT, the benchmark three-month 'copper price on London Metal Exchange had fallen 0.6% to $13,435 per metric ton. It had hit a new low of $13,378 per ton earlier in the day. The Shanghai Futures Exchange's most traded copper contract fell 1.26%, to 103 160 yuan (15,222.75 dollars) per ton. SHFE prices touched?102.640 yuan per ton earlier that day, their lowest level since May 8th. Iran announced that the Strait of Hormuz will be closed until further notice and the US Central Command...

Mineral Resources

Russell: China's May data is confusing, but the Iran war has not affected iron ore prices.

The U.S. and Israel war against Iran has not affected the price of iron ore, but this relative calm hides a shift in the?dynamics? for the steel raw material. China purchases about three quarters of the world's seaborne iron ore. It uses it to feed mills that make just over half the steel produced worldwide. Iron ore is mostly sourced from Australia and Brazil. Other producers such as South Africa and Guinea also contribute a small amount. This trade bypasses the Strait of Hormuz. The narrow waterway that connects Iran to Oman has been closed off since February 28, when...

Mining

Copper prices fall as the escalating conflict in the Middle East fuels concerns about slowdown

Copper prices fell on Thursday as the Middle East conflict escalated, pushing oil prices up and raising concerns about global growth. By 0300 GMT, the benchmark three-month copper price?on London Metal Exchange?had fallen 0.75% to a metric ton of $13,414.5. It had hit a new low of $13,378 per ton earlier in the day. The Shanghai Futures Exchange's most traded copper contract fell 1.5%, to 102 910 yuan (15,187.43 dollars) per ton. SHFE prices touched?102.640 yuan per ton in the early morning hours, their lowest level since the 8th of May. Iran announced that the Strait of Hormuz will be...

Mining

Copper prices fall as macro-concerns outweigh US Tariff Fears

Copper prices fell on Wednesday as the volatility of the Middle East conflict and macroeconomic worries overshadowed any price support that could be provided by potential U.S. Tariffs. Benchmark three-month Copper on the London Metal Exchange declined 0.32% as of 0700 GMT to $13,572 per metric tonne. The Shanghai Futures Exchange's most traded copper contract fell 0.29%, to 104110 yuan (15,366.79) per ton. Oil reversed gains and fell 0.1% even after U.S.-Iran exchanged some of their biggest "strikes" since they agreed on a ceasefire agreement in April. The war has pushed up energy prices and stressed manufacturing, which is a...

Mining

India's gold tax hike spurs smuggling, squeezes refineries and banks

India's sharp rise in gold import tariffs has fueled a surge in smuggling, which could reach 100 metric tonnes this year. This is because smugglers can now slash prices on the grey market, allowing them to undercut refiners and banks. India, which is the second largest gold market in the world after China, increased import tariffs by more than doubling to 15% to reduce demand, to cut the trade deficit, and to ease pressure on rupee. They said that the move created an opportunity for gold smugglers to compete with legitimate importers by offering prices they cannot match. A Mumbai-based...