Latest News
-
US bets against Australian miners will break China's grip over critical minerals supply
U.S. president Donald Trump and Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese have agreed to guarantee a constant supply of rare earths and critical minerals, as the United States reduces its dependence on Chinese supplies. The U.S. Export-Import Bank issued seven letters-of-interest (LOIs), on Monday, for financing of more than $2.2billion, unlocking up $5billion of total investment to advance critical mineral and supply chain projects between the United States and Canada. The Australian mining companies who have revealed details of their LOIs received from EXIM are listed below: ARRANGEMENTS ANNOUNCED MONDAY VHM has received a letter of interest updated from EXIM, for up to 200 million dollars in funding. The term could be extended to up to 15 years. This is to support the development of Goschen's rare earths and minerals sands in Australia. LATROBE MAGNESIUM Latrobe Magnesium announced that EXIM is willing to finance up $122 million of the stage 2 commercial magnesium plants in Victoria, Australia. RARE ARAFURA EARTHS EXIM has provided a nonbinding LOI to support Arafura’s Nolans Project in the Northern Territory. In preliminary discussions, EXIM is considering a financial support of up to $300,000,000. NORTHERN MINERALS EXIM stated that it could consider a potential debt financing of up to $230,000,000 to support Northern Minerals Browns Range Heavy Rare Earths Project in Western Australia. AUSTRALIA PROJECTS - AGREEMENTS ANNOUNCED PRIORLY AUSTRALIAN STRATATEGIC MATERIALS Australian Strategic Materials received an LOI in March 2024 from EXIM for a debt financing package of up $600 million, to support the construction of its Dubbo Rare Earths Project northwest of Sydney. EQ RESOURCES EQ Resources has received a Letter of Intent (LOI) from EXIM for a loan facility up to $34m to support the Mt Carbine tungsten project in Australia. VICTORY METALS Victory Metals secured an $190 million Letter of Intent (LOI) from EXIM in April 2025 for the development in Western Australia of its North Stanmore Heavy Rare Earths, Scandium and Hafnium Project. SUNRISE ENERGY METALS Sunrise Energy Metals received an LOI in September 2025 from EXIM to finance up to $67 Million for its Syerston Scandium Project in New South Wales Australia. Previous announcements of agreements for projects outside Australia AMERICAN EARTHS American Rare Earths has received a Letter of Intent (LOI) from EXIM for a debt financing package of up $456 million in September 2024 to support the construction of the Cowboy State Mine at its Halleck Creek Project in Wyoming. ANSON RESOURCES EXIM offered to provide $330 million by September 2024 for the construction of Anson Resources’ lithium production plant at the Paradox Basin in Utah. Meteoric Resources U.S. EXIM offered $250 million as a preliminary grant to Australian-listed Meteoric Resources in March 2024 to help develop the Caldeira rare Earths project in Brazil. IPERIONX IperionX announced in April 2025 the EXIM approved an equipment financing loan of $11,000,000 to support the significant expansion of IperionX’s advanced titanium manufacturing capability in the U.S. QUANTUM GRAPHITE Australian miner Quantum Graphite announced in July 2024 it had received a Term Sheet from EXIM to borrow up to $300,000,000 to fund the Utile Project near the North Atlantic Ocean. AMAERO INTERNATIONAL Amaero International received a $22.8 million loan from EXIM at the start of 2025 as part of its "Make More in America", a bank initiative that aims to strengthen the local supply chain. Reporting by Shivangi lahiri in Bengaluru, Shruti agarwal in Sydney and Melanie Burton in Bengaluru; editing by Jamie Freed
-
US and Australia invest $2 billion to advance Alcoa Gallium Project
As part of an extensive critical minerals agreement, signed on Monday to counter China's control over the industry, the United States and Australia extended financial assistance to several Australian firms. The agreement between U.S. president Donald Trump and Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese commits the two countries to investing at least $1 billion in each of the next six month's mining and processing projects, and to setting a floor price for essential minerals. This is a move that Western miners have long fought for. The governments will also support a plan announced by U.S. Aluminum producer Alcoa, to build a galium plant in Western Australia alongside its alumina refining facility. Alcoa signed a joint agreement in August with Japan Australia Gallium Associates, a venture between Sojitz Corp and the Japanese government. Alcoa said that after it completes its feasibility study, a vehicle owned jointly by the U.S., Australian and Alcoa governments will enter into a joint venture to build the plant. Parties would contribute capital to a special purpose vehicle, and in return receive gallium at a rate proportional to their interest. Alcoa stated that the plant was expected to produce 100 tons of gallium per year. Alumina is made from gallium, which is an essential mineral for technology. This includes the semiconductor and defense industries. Reg Spencer, Canaccord's mining analyst, said that the move could be a positive one for Australia-listed companies. The Export-Import Bank of the United States announced that it had sent seven letters of interest (LOIs), totaling over $2.2 billion, to advance U.S.-aligned vital minerals projects in Australia. The LOIs have been issued to Arafura Rare Earths and Northern Minerals. These LOIs represent the next step in the process of securing minerals that are vital to American manufacturing, national defense, and other strategic industries. (Reporting from AnshumanTripathy in Bengaluru, and Melanie Burton in Sydney. Writing by PraveenMenon; Editing Jamie Freed).
-
WSJ reports that Starboard has taken a stake of nearly 5% in Fluor Construction.
The Wall Street Journal, citing sources familiar with the situation, reported that activist investor Starboard Value had taken a stake of nearly 5% in the construction company Fluor. Starboard Value plans to seek ways to increase the shares of the company. Fluor shares jumped 6.7% following the release of the report. Stock has fallen by nearly 3% this year. Fluor has an almost 40% stake in small nuclear reactor developer NuScale Power, which has seen a jump in shares this year due to increased demand for data centers and other technologies fueled by the artificial-intelligence boom. Journal reported that Starboard believes that Fluor’s core business has been undervalued on the market in comparison to the value investors attribute to NuScale. According to the report, Fluor's activist investor believes that it should explore all options, including selling its NuScale shares. Starboard believes that Fluor, a company that helps build critical infrastructure in the United States, should also benefit from the new policies of President Donald Trump, which are increasing planned investments. Starboard and Fluor both did not respond immediately when contacted. Fluor reported in August that its second-quarter revenue fell by 6% to $4 billion. This was also below analysts' expectations of $4.55billion. The construction company revised its projected annual adjusted profit per shares downwards to between $1.95 and $2.15 from an earlier projection of $2.25 to $2.75 each. (Reporting and editing by Alan Barona in Mexico City, Juby Babu from Mexico City)
-
Officials say that a Russian strike has knocked out electricity in large areas of northern Ukraine
Officials said that a new Russian attack in the border region of Chernihiv, Ukraine, on Monday knocked power out to large areas of the northern part of the country. This included the main town near the decommissioned Chornobyl Nuclear Power Station. Chernihivoblenergo (the local power company) in the area said that the latest attack targeted an energy site but refused to identify it. Yuri Fomichev said that a part of Slavutych in Kyiv Region, located 45 km (28miles) west of Chernobyl, had lost electricity in the incident. The water supply system of the town was switched to reserve power, and heating at essential sites continued uninterrupted. Crews from the emergency services were working to restore power. The head of Kyiv Region also stated that emergency crews are restoring power. There was no immediate response from Russia. As winter draws near, the war in Ukraine has not ceased. More than a half-million people were left without power after a barrage of missiles that hit Kyiv and parts of Ukraine earlier this month. The Russian attacks on Ukraine this month have forced Kyiv to import more gas. Volodymyr Zelenskiy, President of Ukraine, said on Monday that Ukraine could import gas worth $2 billion this winter from Europe and the United States. Chernihiv is a city located north of Kyiv that has been the target of many attacks. At the weekend, a strike against an energy company knocked out the power for 55,000 people. There were also power outages in other towns of northern Ukraine. Officials in Izium in the northeastern Kharkiv Region said that parts of their city were plunged into darkness. The Prime Minister Yulia svyrydenko discussed Monday the resilience of Ukraine’s energy system with parliament members as part of a newly formed body dedicated to coordination work between the assembly and the President's Office. Ukraine has launched its own long range attacks against Russian energy targets. At least 58 of these attacks have been made on key sites in the last month.
-
Steel Dynamics beats quarterly profit estimates on declining scrap raw material costs
Steel Dynamics posted Monday a third-quarter profit that was above Wall Street expectations, thanks to a drop in scrap prices. The U.S. Steelmaker has benefited from the drop in scrap prices. Steel Dynamics exclusively produces steel in electric arc furnaces, and scrap raw material is a vital feedstock. Mark Millett, CEO of the company, said that he expects to see a stronger demand for all our products in 2026, including flat-rolled aluminum. He added that the firm expects a positive impact on performance from its various operating platforms due to the market dynamics. We have noticed some order hesitation from flat-rolled steel customers because of domestic trade actions despite many encouraging demand drivers. According to data compiled and analyzed by LSEG, the company's adjusted third-quarter profit of $2.74 a share was higher than analysts' estimates of $2.64. The revenue for the third quarter ended September 30, which was reported by Aatreyee Dasgupta and Anshuman Tripathy in Bengaluru, grew 11.2% from a year earlier to $4.83billion. This exceeded Wall Street's expectations of $4.8billion. Reporting by Aatreyee dasgupta in Bengaluru and Anshuman tripathy; editing by Shreya biswas
-
US yields are easing; stocks jump after key earnings reports
The major stock indexes rose sharply Monday as investors awaited the quarterly earnings reports of large U.S. corporations this week. Meanwhile, U.S. Treasury rates edged down ahead of forthcoming U.S. China trade discussions. Gold prices increased by more than 2% as investors awaited further U.S. rate cuts, and the demand for safe haven assets remained strong. Investors also monitor the U.S. government shutdown which is now in its twentieth consecutive day. Government agencies haven't published key economic reports as a consequence. However, the September U.S. Consumer Price Index is expected to come out on Friday. Kevin Hassett, White House economist, said on Monday that Closed This week is likely to be the last. Investors are eager to hear this week's reports from Tesla, IBM and other major companies. Wall Street saw the major U.S. indexes rise by more than 1% each. Jake Dollarhide is the chief executive of Longbow Asset Management, located in Tulsa. "Ofcourse, if there are some disappointing earnings that could negatively affect the market. Investors have a rose-colored view of the year and are feeling good. The Dow Jones Industrial Average grew 515.97, or 1.12% to 46,706.58, while the S&P 500 climbed 71.12, or 1.07% to 6,735.13, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 310.57, or 1.37% to 22,990.54. Some market watchers believe that tighter credit conditions may help to reduce some of the froth on the market as U.S. regional bank earnings continue to roll in. The MSCI index of global stocks rose by 11.79 points or 1.20% to 956.9. European shares closed higher after initial concerns about the stability of U.S. banks eased. The pan-European STOXX 600 rose by 1.03%. The U.S. Treasury secretary Scott Bessent announced on Friday that he will meet with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng this week in Malaysia. He said he hopes to prevent an escalation of U.S. Tariffs on Chinese Goods, which U.S. president Donald Trump has said is unsustainable. Trump confirmed that he will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping next week in South Korea, and expressed his admiration for him. The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. notes dropped 2.7 basis points from Friday's 4.009% to 3.982%. The dollar grew against the yen, and other currencies. The odds of a Bank of Japan interest rate increase this month were reduced by the markets to just under 20%. Meanwhile, in France, tensions on the political front eased. A coalition agreement in Japan has paved the way for Sanae Takaichi, who is pro-stimulus, to become Prime Minister. Federal Reserve is still widely expected to reduce interest rates next month by a quarter point and again in December. The dollar index (which measures the greenback in relation to a basket currencies) rose by 0.07%, reaching 98.61. Meanwhile, the euro fell by 0.08%, falling to $1.1642. The dollar gained 0.06% against the Japanese yen to reach 150.71. Spot gold increased 2.5% to $4.354.79 per ounce. Oil prices The price of oil has dropped to its lowest level since early May, amid fears about an upcoming supply glut. Brent crude futures dropped 28 cents or 0.46% to settle at $60.01 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate Futures fell 2 cents or 0.03% to $57.52.
-
The Spanish market regulator has approved changes to control voltage fluctuations
The Spanish market regulator said on Monday that it had approved some of technical changes requested by national grid operator, after it detected sharp voltage swings across the country following a massive blackout last April. Initial measures are for 30 days, but they can be extended up to 3 months. The CNMC has approved some technical measures requested from grid operator REE with minor tweaks, but it has postponed a decision on a major proposed measure that would change the power grid voltage requirements for both conventional and renewable power plants. The CNMC stated that the modification of such a step "requires a deeper analysis" after feedback from generators who raised doubts about the ability to meet the new obligations. It said: "Therefore its immediate adoption is inappropriate until the evidence provided during the hearing process by the parties and its implications has been properly analysed." The grid operator requested these measures in early April, warning of "rapid voltage fluctuations" that could "potentially cause demand and/or production disconnections which end up destabilizing the electrical system." In a report published this month, the European network of electricity transmission systems operators stated that the power outage on the Iberian Peninsula that occurred on April 28th was the first blackout known to be caused by excessive voltage. (Reporting from Pietro Lombardi in Madrid and Joan Faus; editing by Matthew Lewis.)
-
US yields are easing; stocks jump after key earnings reports
The major stock indexes rose sharply Monday, as investors anticipated more quarterly results this week from big U.S. corporations. U.S. Treasury rates also fell ahead of the upcoming U.S. China trade talks. Gold prices increased by more than 2% as investors awaited further U.S. rate cuts, and demand for safe havens remained strong. Investors also monitor the U.S. government shutdown which is now in its twentieth consecutive day. Government agencies haven't published key economic reports as a consequence. However, the September U.S. Consumer Price Index is expected to come out on Friday. Investors are eager to hear this week's reports from Tesla, IBM and other major companies. Wall Street saw the three main U.S. stock indices all rise by more than 1%. Nasdaq led this increase. The benchmark S&P 500 sector led the way with technology. Jake Dollarhide is the chief executive of Longbow Asset Management, located in Tulsa. "Ofcourse, if there are some disappointing earnings that could negatively affect the market." Investors are looking forward to the week wearing rose-colored lenses, and feeling good about how far we've come this year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average grew by 551.32 points or 1.19% to 46,741.93, while the S&P 500 gained 76.89 or 1.15% to 6,740.90, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 338.08 or 1.49% to 23,018.06. Some market watchers believe that tighter credit terms could reduce some of the froth on the market as U.S. regional bank earnings continue to roll in. The MSCI index of global stocks rose by 12.27 points or 1.25 percent to 996.17. European shares closed higher after initial concerns about the stability of U.S. banks eased. The pan-European STOXX 600 Index rose by 1.03%. Japan's Nikkei index rose 2.8%, setting a new record. A coalition agreement paved the way for Sanae Takaichi, a pro-stimulus politician to become Prime Minister. U.S. Treasury secretary Scott Bessent announced on Friday that he will meet with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng this week in Malaysia to prevent an escalation in U.S. Tariffs on Chinese Goods, which U.S. president Donald Trump has said is unsustainable. Trump confirmed that he will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping next week in South Korea, and expressed his admiration for him. The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. notes dropped 2.3 basis points from 4.009% at late Friday to 3.986%. The dollar's value against the yen, and other currencies was not much changed. The odds of Bank of Japan raising its rate this month were reduced by the markets to just under 20%. Meanwhile, in France, tensions on the political front eased. Federal Reserve is still widely expected to reduce interest rates next month by a quarter point and again in December. The dollar index (which measures the greenback in relation to a basket currencies) rose by 0.03%, while the euro fell 0.03%, at $1.1648. The dollar rose 0.02% against the Japanese yen. Spot gold increased 2.7% to $4363.34 per ounce. Oil prices The price of oil has dropped to its lowest level since early May, amid fears about an upcoming supply glut. Brent crude futures dropped 28 cents or 0.46% to settle at $60.01 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate Futures fell 2 cents or 0.03% to $57.52.
Sudan and UAE clash at UN Security Council over Sudan civil war
Sudan and the United Arab Emirates clashed at the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday over allegations by the armyaligned Sudanese government that the UAE is offering weapons and support to a competing warring celebration in the country's 14month long conflict.
Sitting beside each other at the Security Council table, UAE U.N. Ambassador Mohamed Abushahab said Sudan's U.N. Ambassador Al-Harith Idriss Al-Harith Mohamed had actually made ludicrous and incorrect allegations designed to sidetrack from severe infractions that are taking place on the ground.
War appeared in April in 2015 in between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Quick Support Forces (RSF) over a transition to totally free elections. The U.N. states almost 25 million individuals - half Sudan's population - need help, famine is looming and some eight million people have actually fled their homes.
The military aggression launched by the Rapid Support militia, supported with weapons by the Emirates, is intentionally and systematically targeting the villages and cities, Mohamed told the Security Council.
U.N. sanctions displays have actually referred to as reputable. allegations that the UAE had supplied military support to the. RSF. The UAE has actually denied involvement in military assistance to any. of Sudan's warring parties.
Without naming any nations, the Security Council embraced a. resolution last week that urged countries to avoid. external disturbance which looks for to foment conflict and. instability and advised member states who facilitate the. transfers of arms and military product to Darfur of their. commitments to adhere to the arms embargo steps.
The United States says the warring parties have actually committed. war crimes and the RSF and allied militias have likewise committed. crimes against humankind and ethnic cleansing.
Abushahab turned to his Sudanese counterpart at the Security. Council table and stated: If they look for an end to the conflict and. civilian suffering, then why will not they concern the Jeddah. talks? Why are they blocking help? What are you awaiting?
You must stop grandstanding in worldwide online forum such as. this and instead, take responsibility for ending the conflict. you started, Abushahab included.
Late last month Sudan's army turned down a call to return to. peace talks with the RSF in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Mohamed reacted angrily to Abushahab: Whoever wants to. create peace in Sudan must first include pure intents and. the United Arab Emirates is the state that is sponsoring. terrorism..
(source: Reuters)