Mining

Two sources familiar with the matter said that the state-owned China Rare?Earth?Group was in negotiations to buy Shenghe Resources. This would consolidate Beijing’s control over the rare earth sector, and give Beijing a stake in Washington’s rare Earth play. The deal, if successful, would transfer control of Shenghe’s stakes in foreign companies, including a 3 percent share of US company MP Materials. This firm counts the US Department of Defense, its largest shareholder, after an investment made last year. Shenghe Resources confirmed that it had been made aware of "false reports" in overseas media about a rare earth enterprise group...

Documents seen on Friday show that unions representing the workers at Barrick Mining's Loulo-Gounkoto Gold Complex in Mali have issued a series strike notices to management. This raises the risk of disruptions of work starting September 28th at one of Mali’s largest gold producing operations. Unions representing the workers of SOMILO SA (which operates the mines in the complex) and GOUNKOTO SA (which operates the mines within the complex) filed the notices. Separate notices of strike were filed by Barrick’s contractor for catering and support staff, Food & Events Africa (FEA), and workers at Mali's mining regulatory and other mining...

The US factory output unexpectedly dropped in August. Higher oil prices and increasing interest rates may have offset some of the benefits of an artificial intelligence buildout. This will likely keep activity low for the remainder of the year. The Federal Reserve reported on Friday that output had declined after seven consecutive months of growth. US central bank raised interest rates for the first time since three years on Wednesday. It also warned that borrowing costs would continue to rise in the months to come. The oil prices are above $100 per barrel and there is no end to the...

Two officials from the United States Department of Energy said that the United States wants suppliers to speed up development of uranium-enrichment capacity in order to avoid potential'shortages' as interest grows in nuclear energy. Several countries are looking to increase nuclear power, either by building new reactors or reactivating power plants that have been mothballed. This is to meet the rising demand for electricity, which is largely due to artificial intelligence. According to UxC, the industry consultancy, uranium prices have almost tripled in five years due to increased interest. James Danly, U.S. Deputy Energy Secretary, said at a nuclear summit...

Investors have reacted negatively to the uncertainty surrounding the listing of Tata Sons and its leadership following a public disagreement. The sale came just a day after the board of Tata Sons moved to comply with Reserve Bank of India regulations that could force the holding company, Tata Sons, to list. They also extended Chairman N. Chandrasekaran’s term by 5 years. The move follows a growing disagreement between Tata Sons, the Indian conglomerate's largest shareholder, and Tata Trusts over "aspects of governance" and "succession planning". Calculations based on LSEG show that by 10:45 a.m. Friday, the market value of listed...

According to the developer of the project, the US government approved $414 million in financing for an uranium?project?in Niger. This is a victory for Washington, two years after that nation's expulsion of all US forces. According to a statement released by Global Atomic on Wednesday, the US Development Finance Corp has approved the debt facility of the Dasa project in Africa. The company calls it the highest-grade deposit of uranium in Africa. The investment could boost US access to strategic uranium at a time when Niger, world's 7th largest uranium supplier, is in dispute with French-backed Orano which has long...

Democratic and Republican U.S. Senators on Wednesday asked President Donald Trump's administration to declassify?and release?all information regarding a?proposed?agreement?with Saudi Arabia?on civil nuclear energy?, including?two classified?side letters?agreed with Riyadh? The senators wrote to Secretary of Energy Christopher Wright and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, noting that the government had reached dozens such agreements, also known as the 123 Nuclear Agreements, with other countries, without hiding any information. The letter stated that "access to the full text" was required to ensure that the Senate and public had a clear understanding about the commitments made on behalf of the United States and Saudi...

Ammar Al-Joundi, CEO of Agnico Eagle in Canada, said that the company is not interested in Barrick Mining's proposed North American initial public offering. Al-Joundi stated that it would be a waste of money for Agnico Eagle to invest in Barrick Mining's proposed North American IPO ...,". He said that it was not a matter of valuation, or whether the deal is a good one or not. Al-Joundi said that it was up to Barrick's board and management at this point to decide if Agnico will attempt to buy the Nevada assets of Barrick in the future. Barrick declined comment....

The Trump administration announced on Monday that it was close to approving permits to'mine' the deep sea as part of an broader effort to increase U.S. access to the vital minerals needed across the U.S. economy. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum told a G20 gathering in Houston of energy ministers that the permits could be issued within months, as the administration pursues its strategy of "energy add" to expand the supply chains of the country and its allies. Donald Trump, since returning to office in 2017, has taken steps to bolster the deep-sea mine industry. However, he still hasn't issued operational...

Wall Street Journal reports that the Pentagon is in talks to loan $5 billion to the AI cloud computing startup Fluidstack to shore up the U.S. Data Center Supply Chain. The newspaper reported that the money would be coming from?the Pentagon Office of Strategic Capital. Fluidstack 'would use the loan to shore -up?the U.S. manufacturing capacity and supply chain for certain data centre-related components rather than funding a brand new AI 'facility, WSJ said. The U.S. The Department of Defense and Fluidstack have not responded to requests for comments immediately. Last month, U.S. president Donald Trump signed a presidential order...

Alcoa's chief financial officer said that the steep price of aluminum in the U.S. would not?drop much even if Washington halved the tariffs on metals imported from Canada because other countries are still needed. The price that U.S. The price?U.S. Molly Beerman, Alcoa's Chief financial officer, said that the U.S. needs to import around 4 million tonnes of aluminum each year. Canada can only provide 3 million tonnes of this. Beerman stated that Midwest would not drop significantly, even if the U.S. were to receive a favorable rate from Canada. "It may come down a bit, but it won't return...

Gold prices dropped by over 1% after?robust U.S. data on inflation and rising oil costs increased bets that the Federal Reserve will raise rates next week. Spot gold fell by 1.2%, to $4349.32 an ounce, at 9:24 am EDT (1324 GMT), whereas U.S. Gold Futures dropped 1.6%, to $4391.30. The data from the producer price index "sort of tells [us] that there has been an increase in inflation underlying in?the?U.S. The rising cost of energy is a major factor in the economy. U.S. Producer Prices increased in August in line with expectations, despite a rise in the cost of energy....

Prices of copper?rose on Monday for the fifth straight session, moving closer to records as expectations of a seasonal pickup in demand?in China?the world's largest consumer?kept speculative buyers going. The benchmark three-month copper price on the London Metal Exchange rose 0.9% to $14,654 per metric tonne by 0957 GMT after reaching $14,710.5. This was its highest level since 10 September, when it reached a high of $14,875. Ole Hansen is the head of commodity strategy for Saxo Bank. He said that renewed speculative interest has driven?copper up after funds reduced their net long positions on Comex copper futures during a...

Two sources with knowledge of the matter said that the state-owned China Rare Earth Group was in negotiations to acquire Shenghe Resources. This would consolidate Beijing’s control over the rare earth sector, and give Beijing a stake in Washington’s rare Earth play. The deal, if successful, would transfer control of Shenghe’s stakes in foreign companies, including a 3 percent share of US rare-earths company MP Materials. This firm counts the US Department of Defense as its biggest shareholder following an investment made last year. Sources who spoke under the condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the issue...

The price of iron ore rose on Thursday for a second session, as Chinese steelmakers increased seaborne purchases in anticipation of a national holiday. However, a shrinking margin at the steel mills clouded the demand outlook. As of 0147 GMT, the most traded iron ore contract at China's Dalian Commodity Exchange rose by 0.35% to $711 yuan (US$105.94) per metric ton. As of 0137 GMT the benchmark October 'iron ore at the Singapore Exchange was 0.26% lower at $96.05 per ton. It has been hovering below the important?psychological levels of $100 for six consecutive sessions. A number of steelmakers have...

Data from the London Metal Exchange showed that, in August, 44% of all copper stocks were Chinese origin, up from 42% one month earlier. Overall inventories also increased. Total copper stocks in LME warehouses 0#MCUSTX-LOC> rose to 111.17 metric tons by the end August, up from 101.425 tons in July. Investors rushed to cover their bearish positions, pushing prompt copper prices sharply backwards, which attracted some inflows. The amount of 'Chinese Copper' available has increased from 49,400 to 66,350?tons. In August, 95% of the LME's aluminium was made up by aluminium from Russia, which is unchanged from last month, despite...

Solvay, a Belgian chemicals company, is currently in discussions with One Investment Management regarding a possible strategic partnership for its rare earths division. Solvay announced this on Tuesday. OneIM, led by Rajeev Misra (former SoftBank executive), would gain exposure to rare-earths processing. This would complement its existing investments in this sector, which is dominated primarily by China. Sources with knowledge of the situation said that Solvay has been in talks with OneIM about Solvay’s rare earths operations since March. The West is looking to reduce its reliance on China as a supplier of rare earth minerals. These minerals are essential...

China's iron ore imports rose by 0.4% in August compared to a month ago, defying analyst's expectations of a drop, after multiple typhoons hit ports and delayed clearance. Data from the General Administration of Customs revealed on Tuesday that the world's biggest iron ore consumer imported 108.54 metric tons of this key ingredient for steelmaking last month. This is a 3.1% increase from the previous year. Four analysts predicted August ore imports between 107 and 108 millions tons before the release of data. Steven?Yu is a senior analyst with Mysteel. The monthly increase in ore imports could be due to...

Sejourne’s 'cabinet' released a statement on Friday stating that the EU's Industry Chief Stephane 'Sejourne decided to propose a 'broad ban' on the export of wastes, including aluminum scrap, 'to non-OECD nations'. Sejourne was expected to announce long-awaited measures for trade on September 23. These would only limit exports of aluminum scrap. In the internal discussion, it was revealed that the tool could only cover?around half of the scrap import. The Executive Vice President has withdrawn the proposal in order to look at a different proposal that is independent of trade instruments. We are currently working on a?act delegated under...

According to two sources briefed about the matter, China Baowu Steel Group is interested in a minority stake at BHP's Jimblebar iron ore mine located in Western Australia. Sources say that Baowu may seek a stake between 15% and 25 percent of BHP's project. They did not provide any other information or a possible valuation, but spoke anonymously due to commercial sensitivities. BHP, in a filing to the stock exchange after publication of the article, said that it has a history of partnerships with its assets and explores options that could create value for its shareholders. BHP also stated that...

The copper price was'stable' on Friday but is expected to end the week higher due to a drop in the U.S. Dollar, which has offset any pressure caused by falling supply fears. By 0710 GMT, the benchmark three-month copper price on London Metal Exchange had risen only by 0.03% to $14,337.5 per metric tonne. This put the metal on course to gain?by the exact same amount this week. It would be the tenth consecutive weekly gain. The Shanghai Futures Exchange's most traded?copper contract advanced 0.22%, to 108 780 yuan (16,208.24 dollars) per ton. After dovish comments by Fed Governor Christopher...

According to two sources briefed about the matter, China Baowu Steel Group is interested in acquiring a minority stake?in BHP's Jimblebar Iron Ore Mine located in Western Australia. Sources say that Baowu may seek a stake between 15% and 25 percent of BHP's project. They did not provide any other information or a possible valuation, but spoke anonymously due to commercial sensitivities. BHP declined to comment. Baowu has not responded to a comment request. There has not been a decision made, and it is not certain that Baowu will be able to complete a deal. BHP holds 85%, while Japanese...

The U.S. Dollar's overnight drop has helped to offset the pressure of receding supply fears. By 0300 GMT, the benchmark three-month copper price on London Metal Exchange had risen 0.06% to $14,342 per metric tonne. This puts the metal on course to gain 0.03% in this week's trading, marking its tenth consecutive weekly gain. The Shanghai Futures Exchange's most traded copper contract rose by 0.58%, to?109.170 yuan (16,254.73) per ton. After comments from Fed Governor Christopher Waller, the dollar fell overnight as expectations of a rate hike dwindled. CME's Fedwatch shows traders are now pricing in an even chance of...

Copper and zinc declined?on Wednesday as a stronger dollar and concerns?of higher interest rates for longer weighed down on the wider industrial metals complex. This offset support from tight supply. The benchmark three-month copper price on the London Metal Exchange fell 0.86% to $14,152 per metric tonne by 0700 GMT. Shanghai Futures Exchange's most traded copper contract fell by 1.35%, to 108.040 yuan (16,069.97 dollars) per ton. The dollar held steady after overnight gains as renewed hostilities erupted in the Middle East, pushing oil prices higher. Inflation concerns were revived and the bond market was sparked by a sale. Analysts...