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Chile delays copper output peak, cuts short-term forecasts
Chile has delayed its goal to reach a peak annual copper production of 6 million metric tonnes by several years, and cut a significant portion of its estimates for upcoming years. The report, released by the state-run Cochilco on Monday, was a result of falling ore grades, and changes to the mining plans. Andean countries, which are the largest producers of metal in the world, have made adjustments in their mining plans. Cochilco stated that in its 2025-2034 forecast, Chile's copper production is expected to reach 5.86 million tons by 2034 after reaching a high of 6.06 million tons the year before. In its 10-year outlook published in 2024, it had "predicted a peak production of 6,07 million tons" by 2027. The agency has now lowered its estimate to 5.97 millions tons. The annual production forecasts for 2026-2031 were reduced compared to last year's report. A recovery is expected in only the last three years of the projection horizon. Cochilco stated that "although projects currently under execution and those in the investment pipeline will allow for a gradual recovery of production toward the end of the period but output will stabilize at similar levels to today's," It emphasized that the development of the country's pipeline of investment is crucial in mitigating production decline. The agency stated that Chile's share in global copper production is projected to drop to 21,5% in 2030, from 23% in 2020, before rising to 27% in 2034 depending on the success of expected investments. (Reporting and writing by Fabian Cambero, Gabriel Araujo, Editing by Cassandra Garrison).
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South Sudan opposition forces march to Juba after battlefield victories
SPLA-IO captures Pajut, strategic town The commander orders an advance on the capital Juba UN condemns sabotage 2018 peace agreement JUBA, 19 January - South Sudan’s main opposition faction called on their forces to advance on Juba's?capital on Monday after they had captured a strategically important town last week. The Sudan People's Liberation Army-in-Opposition, which fought forces loyal to Salva Kiir in a civil war from 2013 to 2018, could not be considered a credible threat against Juba. The call was a sign of escalation for the SPLA-IO after months of violent clashes in various parts the country, which the United Nations said were at a level not seen since 2017. Heavy fighting took place last week in the north of Jonglei State, where the SPLA-IO captured the town of Pajut. This is more than 300 km north of the capital. The capture of Pajut puts the state capital Bor within striking range of the SPLA. In a press release, SPLA-IO spokesperson Col. Lam Paul Gabriel stated that Deputy Chief of Staff 'for Operations Wisley?Welebe Samson had ordered SPLA IO forces to "move to Juba from?all?directions in South Sudan" and?remove?the anti-peace government in Juba. A spokesperson from the South Sudanese military declined to comment. A spokesperson for the government was not immediately available to comment. In the war of 2013-18, Kiir's troops fought against those loyal to Riek Makar, his vice-president. The conflict was fought largely along ethnic lines, and?cost around 400,000 people their lives. In 2018, a peace agreement was reached, but localised clashes continued. Last year, heavy fighting erupted again after an 'ethnic militia' with historical ties to SPLA-IO took over an army base near the town of Nasir in the northeast. Machar was arrested by the government after he returned to vice-presidency under the peace agreement. He was charged with treason, crimes against humanity and alleged involvement in the incident. Machar denies the charges in a trial that is currently underway. Bol Deng Bol is a civil society activist from Jonglei. He said that the fighting has caused many people to leave their homes and many have fled into swamps. The U.N. Commission for Human Rights in South Sudan has condemned "deliberately sabotage" to the 2018 peace accord, including what they called indiscriminate air bombardments.
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Four killed in Inner Mongolia steel factory explosion
A blast at a steel 'plate factory in Inner Mongolia, China's northern region, killed four people and left six others missing on Sunday. CCTV reported that rescue efforts are underway. Inner Mongolia's?Baotou Steel Union?, whose subsidiary owned the factory, said in an earlier stock exchange filing that 84 people were injured by the explosion. The?steelmaker stated that the explosion of a saturated steam and water tank?at Baotou City unit?damaged?parts of?factory equipment and buildings. It was also expected to have an impact on production at the plate-mill and adjacent facilities. The company stated that it was still assessing?the extent of losses. It added that the injured were taken to hospital and that the company was cooperating with authorities in their investigation of the cause, which is still unknown. CCTV reported on Sunday that three of the injured are in critical condition. Baotou Steel Union stated that ecological monitoring revealed the incident did not have any impact on the soil or atmosphere surrounding the site, and produced no wastewater. Beijing Newsroom, Clarence Fernandez, and Susan Fenton edited the report.
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Chile fires kill 19 people in extreme heat
Authorities in Chile said that at least 19 people have died as a result of wildfires. The government has carried out?mass-evacuations and is fighting nearly two dozen fires, which are exacerbated by high winds and intense heat. Luis Cordero said, "At a Monday morning news briefing, while the weather conditions over night helped to control some fires but the largest ones were still active and adverse conditions are expected all day." Cordero stated that the forecast for today was?high temperatures, and that the main concern was the possibility of new fires erupting?all over the region. Extreme heat warnings were issued for parts of central and south Chile, with temperatures reaching up to 37 Celsius. STATE OF EMERGENCY DESCRIBED? IN NUBLE, BIO BIO The CONAF, Chile's forestry agency, said that as of late Sunday night, firefighters were battling 23 fires in the country. The largest were located in the regions of Nuble, and Bio Bio where President Gabriel Boric had declared a catastrophe. The largest fire, which covered 14,000 hectares, was on the outskirts of Concepcion, a coastal city. Over the weekend, the fast-moving fire tore through Penco and Lirquen, destroying hundreds homes and killing a number of people. Authorities are still assessing the damages. ARGENTINA IS ALSO AFFECTED by HEAT AND BLAZES The authorities are currently battling a fire that threatened the Manzano Prison on the edge Concepcion, and the town of Tome in the north. Heat waves have continued in both Chile and Argentina into the month of January. Wildfires began to burn around 15,000 acres in Argentina's Patagonia earlier this month. (Reporting and Editing by Bernadette B. Baum)
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BHP denied permission to appeal UK judgement over 2015 Brazil dam failure
BHP has been denied permission to appeal a ruling that found it liable for a 2015 dam collapse in the southeast of Brazil. The London lawsuit could be worth tens or hundreds of millions of pounds. The London High Court ruled in November that BHP is legally responsible for collapse of Fundao Dam, located in Mariana (southeastern Brazil), which was owned by BHP's joint venture with Vale, Samarco. BHP's request for a?permission of appeal this ruling? was denied by High Court. BHP has said it will directly apply to the Court of Appeal. BHP's spokesperson stated in a press release that they would be appealing to the Court of Appeal. BHP will continue to vigorously defend all remaining phases of this action. "Brazil's the best place to offer full and fair remediation to those affected." After their initial win, the claimants' attorneys sought nearly 200 million pounds of legal fees. They had previously valued the case, which was one of the largest legal cases in English history, as up to 36 billion pound ($48.26billion). In October, a trial will be held to decide the amount of damages that must be paid. A decision is likely to come in mid-2027. BHP was sued by hundreds of thousands of Brazilians as well as dozens of local governments, and about 2,000 companies, over the collapse of Fundao Dam, Brazil's "worst" environmental disaster. The collapse released a toxic sludge wave that left 19 dead, thousands homeless, and flooded forests. It also polluted the entire length of the Doce River. Last year, Judge Finola O'Farrell found that BHP had been negligent in continuing to increase the height of the dam. This led to its eventual collapse. Reporting by Sam Tobin, editing by William James. $1 = 0.7459 lbs
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Gold and silver reach record highs as safe-haven buyers buy after Trump EU tariff warning
Gold and silver reached record highs Monday as investors fled to safety following the warnings of U.S. president Donald Trump about extra tariffs being imposed on certain European countries over a dispute involving Greenland. Gold spot jumped by 1.5%, to $4,662.85 an ounce, at 1121 GMT. It had previously reached a high of $4689.39. U.S. Gold Futures for February Delivery increased 1.6% to $4.668 an ounce. Trump threatened several European Allies on Saturday with escalating Tariffs, unless they allowed the U.S. to purchase Greenland. This intensified a dispute about Denmark's vast Arctic island. Linh Tran is a senior market analyst with XS.com. She said that when institutional and policy risk resurfaces, the markets will tend to move quickly towards safe-haven investments, with gold emerging as a preferred choice. The dollar and stock markets?fell' as Trump's new tariff threats prompted investors to seek out safe havens like gold, Japanese yen, and Swiss franc. Gold is more likely to perform well in times of geopolitical or economic uncertainty as well as when interest rates are low. It has gained over 64% since 2025 and more than 8% in the first half of this year. Michelle Bowman, Vice Chair of the Federal Reserve's Supervision Department, said that a "fragile" job market could deteriorate quickly and that the U.S. Central Bank should be prepared to lower interest rates if necessary. The markets expect the Fed to hold rates at its meeting on January 27-28, but they are pricing in at least two 25 basis-point rate reductions this year. Silver spot also rose 3.7%, to $93.24, from a high of $94.08. White metal has increased by over 30% this year. Analysts at JP Morgan?said they prefer gold to silver. They said that any disruption in silver could have some short-term spillover into gold. However, it still represents a good opportunity to buy gold. Other precious metals rose in price as well. Spot platinum increased 1.2% to $2355.96 an ounce while palladium increased 0.7% to $1811.55.
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Hungarian opposition hires former Shell executive to fill economics role before April elections
Peter Magyar, the leader of Hungary's opposition party, has hired former Shell executive Istvan kapitany to fill a key economics position in his team. He is attempting to defeat Viktor Orban, the nationalist prime minister in upcoming elections. The campaigning for the 12th of April is focused on how to wake up the economy from its three-year sleep. Magyars' centre-right Tisza Party leads Fidesz by a wide margin in the majority of polls. However, many voters remain undecided. Kapitany is a former executive vice-president at Shell and a former Hungarian association president between 2020 and 2025. She said that the release of EU funding and the implementation of predictable policies will help to revive the economy. In a video on Facebook announcing Orban's appointment, he suggested that small local businesses be made more competitive instead of supporting manufacturing megafactories. The key task would be to restore confidence in the investment environment by creating a predictable one. Kapitany stated that Orban's policy changes were impromptu and windfall taxes imposed on certain sectors as a way to fill budget gaps. In the video,?Kapitany says: "I'd like to see this country perform better and I'm willing to work for that." "However I would like stress that there are not miracles. He said that "we need to work, have a decent approach, and corruption will kill business." Kapitany, a former executive of Erste Bank, will be working with Andras Karaman as Tisza's fiscal and tax policy adviser. The EU suspended billions of euro?of funding due to Orban's reforms in the rule of law, forcing the government?to cut back on investments for the economy. Orban has been in power since 2010 and has claimed that Hungary is no more corrupt than any other EU member. Kapitany stated, "We must bring EU funds back home... we need to use them fairly & well." (Reporting and editing by Susan Fenton; Gergely Szakacs, Gergely's assistant)
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Trump links Nobel Peace Prize snub to Greenland threat, EU looks at trade retaliation
Donald Trump, the U.S. president, has linked his desire to seize control of Greenland with his failure to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. He said he was no longer thinking "purely of Peace", as the row on the Arctic island threatened to reignite the trade war between Europe and the U.S. Trump is intensifying his efforts to take over Greenland, which belongs to NATO member Denmark. He has threatened punitive tariffs against countries that stand in his path and prompted the European Union (EU) to consider retaliatory measures. The dispute threatens to bring down the NATO alliance, which has been the backbone of Western security for decades. It was already in trouble due to the conflict in Ukraine and Trump refusing to protect allies who do not spend enough money on defence. The dispute has also thrown trade relations between the EU, which is the biggest export market for the EU, and the U.S. into new uncertainty, after both sides had painstakingly negotiated a deal last year to respond to Trump's sweeping tariffs. Trump wrote to Norway's prime minister Jonas Gahr Stoere in a letter that was read by: "Considering Your Country decided to not give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having ended 8 Wars PLUS, i no longer feel the obligation to only think of Peace. Although it will always remain predominant, I can now think of what is good and appropriate for the United States of America." The Norwegian Nobel Committee irritated Trump when it awarded the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize to Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, not him. She presented her medal to Trump at a White House gathering last week, despite the fact that the Nobel Committee had stated the prize could not be shared, transferred or revoked. In his message, Trump repeated his claim that Denmark is unable to protect Greenland against Russia or China. "... And why do they even have a "right of ownership"? He wrote: "The World will not be secure until we have complete and total control of Greenland." Trump promised on Saturday that he would implement a wave increasing tariffs on February 1 for?EU member Denmark, Sweden France, Germany, The Netherlands, and Finland?alongside Britain and Norway?until the U.S. was allowed to purchase Greenland. EU Leaders say they will not be blackmailed On Thursday, EU leaders will meet in Brussels for an emergency summit to discuss possible options. One option would be to impose tariffs on imports from the United States worth 108 billion dollars (93 billion euros) after a suspension of six months. The "Anti-Coercion Instrument", which has not yet been used, could be another option. It could restrict access to public procurements, banking activities, or investments, or limit trade in services where the U.S. enjoys a surplus over the bloc. This includes digital services. According to an EU source, the tariff package received a broader response as compared to anti-coercion actions. The German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil, and the French Finance Minister Roland Lescure have pledged to respond in a clear and united manner against any new tariffs from the United States. Klingbeil told his French counterpart at the German Finance Ministry that "Germany and France are in agreement: We will not be blackmailed." Klingbeil was hosting him. Lescure stated that "Blackmailing 250-year-old allies, or blackmailing friends is obviously unacceptable." British Prime Minister Keir starmer called for calm discussions between allies in Greenland. He added that he didn't believe Trump would consider military action against the island. He said that a tariff war was not in anyone's interest, and suggested that Britain would refrain from retaliating against any new U.S. Tariffs. Russia refused to comment on the U.S. plans for Greenland, but it said that experts were unanimous in their belief that Trump's takeover of the island would be "a momentous event" in world history. ECONOMIC SHOCKWAVES Trump’s threat has sent shockwaves throughout the financial markets and rattled the European industry amid fears that the trade war last year will return with the same volatility. Tony Sycamore is a market analyst at IG in Sydney. He said: "This latest flashpoint has heightened fears over a possible unraveling of NATO alliances as well as the disruption of trade agreements last year with several European nations." Oliver Burkhard is the CEO of TKMS - the world's largest non-nuclear sub manufacturer. He said that shifting transatlantic ties encourage Europe to focus its strengths and become more independent. He said: "There are certainly nicer ways to do it than to nudge people like that. But, it's probably necessary to give them a kick to the shin in order to realize that we might have to dress differently in the future."
China coal production 2025 hits record as cheap supply leads to stockpiling and lower imports
China's coal output reached a record level in 2025 according to data released by the Statistics Bureau on Monday. Lower domestic prices encouraged buyers to reduce imports and build up stockpiles using cheaper local supplies. However, regulators were able to limit this growth due to their efforts to slow production growth.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics, production in 2025 will reach?4.83 milliards metric tons, an increase of 1.2% over 2024.
The abundant domestic coal supply, a change from the coal and power shortages China suffered a few short years ago, also encouraged power plants to source higher quality coal. This was said by?Peng Chengyao. He is head of APAC power and renewables at S&P Global Energy.
This, in turn contributed to an increased coal washing ratio, which boosted volume of raw coal mined.
The December production, however, fell 1% from a year ago to 437.03 million metric tonnes. The monthly output surged in the early part of the year, but production was curtailed when domestic prices fell too low.
Feng Dongbin is vice general manager of Fenwei Digital Information Technology which operates the Chinese coal analytics platform Sxcoal. (Reporting and editing by Christopher Cushing; Christian Schmollinger, Alexander Smith and Alexander Smith).
(source: Reuters)