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Cerruti, Northvolt's CEO and co-founder of the North American division, steps down.
Northvolt, a Swedish manufacturer of electric vehicle batteries, announced on Thursday that co-founder Paolo Cerruti would step down as Chief Executive Officer of its North American Division. Karen Chang, who played a major role in the Quebec-based battery megafactory project, Six, will be the interim CEO during the transition period. The statement stated that Cerruti would retain his position as chairman of Northvolt Six's board. He will also continue to be involved in its development. The move comes just one day after co-founder and CEO Peter Carlsson announced his resignation in November, a few days after the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the United States. The two founders, who worked together at Tesla in 2015 in the supply chain and operations department, founded the Swedish company on October 16, 2016 with the aim of creating a sustainable European battery industry. Northvolt stated in its bankruptcy filing that it did not include its Canadian and German operations and will continue to progress. The company initially stated that the Canadian plant will begin operating in 2026. However, it has now said that the timeline is longer. In November, it was reported that Canada no longer plans to invest after the federal government and the Quebec province promised to contribute $1 billion each towards the first phase. In the past week, the company has sold its stake in a joint venture it had with Volvo Cars. The amount was not disclosed. It also said that they will be exploring possible collaborations in North America. Northvolt asked over 100 shareholders to contribute $1.29 billion in the next two year to help it restore its business. (Reporting and editing by Alan Barona; Urvi Dugar)
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New Zealand Government announces plans to double its mineral exports by the year 2035
The New Zealand Government announced on Friday its intention to double the country's exports of minerals to NZ$3 Billion ($1,69 Billion) by 2035. In a speech, Shane Jones, the Minister of Resources said that the Government had raised the target from NZ$2billion to NZ$3billion after the industry said the previous target was not ambitious. Statista New Zealand reports that New Zealand minerals exports totaled NZ$1.46 Billion in the twelve months ending June 30. Jones, in Waihi, a mining town on the North Island, said that the government sees the development of minerals as an important pillar for a strong economy. He also emphasized the importance of international trade, cooperation and investment. The government has also updated its list of minerals that are considered essential for the economy of the country and sought after by international partners. This includes gold and metallurgical coke. Jones stated that New Zealand is a potential destination for minerals such as antimony. We also have operators who are working on rare earth, titanium, and vanadium projects. I am aware of the fact that these are ways New Zealand can support a future transition to clean energy. The government also plans to reform the legislation to make it easier for miners to access minerals. Its strategy, released on Friday, outlines plans that include support for foreign investments in the sector as well as exploring domestic processing and refinement. Jones' speech drew protests, as many New Zealanders are opposed to the environmental impacts of mining in this country which markets itself as green and clean. The conservative government is trying to revive the economy after it entered a technical recession during the third quarter 2024. $1 = 1.7746 New Zealand Dollars (Reporting and editing by Sandra Maler; Lucy Craymer)
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Cardinal Health could raise prices to offset tariffs
Cardinal Health, a drug distributor, said that it could be forced to raise prices on some of its products in order to offset the rising costs of manufacturing within the region if proposed tariffs against Mexico are implemented. In an interview, CEO Jason Hollar said that it is difficult to redirect production away from Mexico because the costs of production are "pretty cheap". Mexico, together with China and Canada has been threatened Donald Trump has imposed tariffs on U.S. goods The countries cannot be a threat to each other Stop the flow of illegal immigrants into the U.S. and stop the dangerous opioid fentanyl. Hollar said that if there is a widespread increase in tariffs from 10% to 25%, the price will rise for customers. Cardinal has said that it may move its production from China to Southeast Asia, where it is expected to be affected both by tariffs and the limited exposure to supply chains. The company stated that it closely monitored the "highly volatile tariff environment", but did not indicate if potential tariff effects had been factored in to its fiscal 2025 outlook. Cardinal, a Dublin, Ohio, based company, said earlier in the day that it was expecting an adjusted profit between $7.85 and $8.00 per share. It attributed this to the strong demand of expensive specialty drugs and branded medications in its Pharmaceuticals Unit. Cardinal had forecasted a profit between $7.75 and $7.90 for the fiscal year 2025, which ends on June 30. LSEG data shows that analysts were expecting a profit per share of $7.86. According to LSEG, Cardinal Health's adjusted profit per share was $1.93, which beat analysts' expectations of $1.76, according to LSEG. (Reporting from Kamal Choudhury in Bengaluru and Christy Santhosh; editing by Tasim Zaid)
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Chile orders Lundin copper mine to close after massive sinkhole
The environmental regulator of Chile said that Canadian mining company Lundin will have to permanently close the Alcaparrosa Copper Mine in Chile after a sinkhole opened up near the mine in 2022. Lundin had stopped work on the site when a sinkhole of more than 60 meters in depth opened up in the Tierra Amarilla Village in northern Chile. However, it had pushed for the restarting of mining at Alcaparrosa. The SMA regulator in Chile said that they had determined that Lundin is responsible for the sinkhole and that the company must close the mine. They also fined the company $3.41 million. Lundin operated in unauthorized areas, including the Copiapo River aquifer. This allowed for more water to seep in, causing the rock mass to weaken. She added, "The company has caused irreparable damage to the environment." In a press release, the local miner's unit, Ojos del Salado said that it will review the ruling to determine its next steps. $1 = 984.0500 Chilean Pesos (Reporting and writing by Alexander Villegas, Fabian Cambero and Kylie Madry. Editing and proofreading by Anthony Esposito and Sarah Morland).
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India struggles to pay for carbon credits produced by its citizens
Carbon markets can assist farmers in adapting Low price of agri credit is a problem Experts urge tighter regulations to protect communities Bhasker Tripathi Many environmental experts believe that allowing companies to purchase credits from projects which lock carbon and then use them to offset emissions will help to protect the environment and to assist developing countries. Carbon credits are being purchased by corporations around the world, including airlines, fashion houses and technology giants. They have spent billions to offset their emissions. Companies label their products as "carbon neutral", and consumers are assured that they will not worsen the climate crisis. While the trade in credits generated by projects such as renewables, agriculture, and forestry reached $2 billion in 2020, they dropped sharply to $723 in 2023, after reports revealed that many of the credits issued to certification organizations were "phantom credit" which did not represent real carbon reductions. This has caused organisations that certify carbon capture projects to be more scrutinizing and delayed in their approval, affecting people like Singh. He said, "It'll happen when it happens." MIDDLEMEN HOLD UP FINANCES UNTIL VERIFICATION Carbon credits can be a great help for both farmers and the planet in a large country like India. 60% of India's land is under cultivation. India generated about 20% of carbon credits in the world, according to a report from the Centre for Science and Environment, a Delhi-based think tank. It had also earned over $650 million through them. The CSE also expressed concern about the effectiveness of carbon capture projects. It said that most of the money was consumed by middlemen, and very little trickled down to the people. The report stated that "the market seems to only work in the interests of project developers, and of course the paraphernalia consultants and auditors." This also means it is ineffective when it comes to real emission reduction. "The communities receive virtually nothing in proceeds and therefore have no stake in any emission reduction program," the report said. Trishant Dev is a carbon expert and an author of the CSE Analysis. He said, "The main issue that needs to be addressed is whether farmers get enough money to adapt or mitigate their practices." He said that the compensation farmers receive at present is not enough. PVS Suryakumar said that there is "so much" greed in the voluntary market for carbon. Everyone from project developers to contractors are rushing to get communities to join the market to make money. According to an executive with an Indian firm that manages carbon assets, who requested anonymity, the certification organizations are taking longer to review the rules and standards they have for projects because of concerns about the credibility, origin and effectiveness of certain credits. According to the executive, it is expensive and takes up to two years for the process of enrolling and selling credits on global markets. INDIA ACTS TO CREATE ITS OWN MARKET Suryakumar said that strict regulation was needed. He said that in the midst of all the confusion surrounding carbon markets, strict regulations and uniform standards are needed to protect the interests of communities. Integrity concerns have been addressed by the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market, an independent global governance organization. It has launched its Core Carbon Principles standards for certifying project. In August, the ICVCM reported that approximately a third (33%) of carbon credits did not meet its new standard. India is also creating its own marketplaces or registries to generate, validate and sell agricultural credits on an internal basis. Last year, the Indian government announced that it would use its vast resources to create a constant supply of agricultural-based credit to achieve its climate goals. Ritu Bharadwaj is the principal researcher at the International Institute for Environment and Development. She said that the London-based think tank was working with ICVCM and the Indian government to develop a robust market framework for India. Bharadwaj stated that the goal is to make sure "the monitoring and reporting of carbon credits and their verification are accurate, affordable and accessible for farmers, and they prioritize their rights". She said that transparency in the entire credit process - from the verification of the loan to the final sale - would boost market confidence and increase the money farmers receive. In order to achieve this, the Indian market will use a variety of methods. These include crowdsourcing data, such as monitoring, reporting, and verification, directly from communities via smartphones. They may also group farmers into cooperatives in order to increase their bargaining strength, and create a payment system that sends the proceeds directly to the farmers.
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Continental's ContiTech Division to close four factories in Germany
ContiTech, a division of German auto parts supplier Continental, will close four plants, and reduce the size of two more, according to a company announcement on Thursday. This will affect 570 employees. The group is aiming for more than 7,000 cuts in its restructuring plan, which it has been working on since over a month. It aims to save 400 million euro ($417 million), a dollar a day by 2025. ContiTech will close its factories in Bad Blankenburg and Stolzenau, as well the combined sites of Frohburg & Geithain in Germany. The company also said that production at its Hannover-Vahrenwald facility will end in the first quarter of 2026, and the plant will be moved to the Czech Republic. Meanwhile, activities at the site in Hamburg would be reduced. As they battle with low demand, high costs and competition from China, as well as a slower-than-expected transition to electric cars, automotive companies in Europe have announced the closure of plants and large layoffs. Philip Nelles is a member Continental's executive committee and the head of ContiTech. He said: "Developments within the automotive industry as well as in lignite mines in Europe present us with challenges."
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Eskom tariffs will rise less than the requested 12.7%
South Africa's Energy Regulator granted Eskom a 12.7% average increase in tariff for 2025/26. This is a third less than the company requested. Eskom's request for increases of 36% in April, 12% by 2026, and 9% by 2027 prompted opposition during public consultations. Political parties and consumers blamed the poor economy and cost-of-living crises. Eskom must be sustainable in the short-term and long-term. Thembani Bukula is the chairman of Nersa. He said that we must ensure that Eskom's electricity services are affordable. Eskom's request for tens or even hundreds of millions of rands to cover coal contracts, an increased carbon tax and increasing municipal debt is effectively denied by the regulator. Nersa has agreed to increase its rates by 5.36% for the 2026/27 financial year and 6.19% for 2027/28. The Minister of Energy said that the government would work with Eskom in order to increase efficiency and to compensate for the lower-than-requested tariff increases. In a press release, Kgosientsho RAMOKGOPA, the energy minister said that he was pleased with the fact these tariff adjustments took into consideration the need to reduce inflationary pressures for communities and businesses. Eskom announced last month that they expected to report their first annual profit for eight years. This was due to an improved performance in the field and state-funded relief. The company announced earlier on Thursday that it had generated 183.7 billion rand (about $9.9 billion) in revenue during the six-month period ending Sept. 30, an increase of 15.8% on the previous year. Profit after tax increased to 17.8 billion rand, up from a restated loss of 1.6 billion a year ago. $1 = 18.4647 rand (Reporting and editing by Jason Neely, David Goodman and Wendell Roelf)
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Andy Home: Uranium revival brings it back to the forefront of critical issues
Is Uranium a Critical Mineral? The U.S. Geological Survey has decided that it is not a critical mineral. It was removed from the list of critical minerals in 2022 because it wasn't a "fuel-mineral". Donald Trump, the president of the United States, wants you to reconsider. In one of Trump's "Unleashing America's Energy" directives, the Secretary of Interior is required to instruct the Director of the USGS "to consider updating the survey list of critical mineral including the possibility of including uranium." Included on the list, domestic uranium project funding and approvals would be expedited. It is curious that uranium slipped through the legal loophole in the Energy Act of 2020 which states only "non-fuel minerals" can be classified as critical minerals. Uranium checks off many criticality boxes. Uranium is experiencing a dramatic increase in demand. The global supply is highly concentrated, and the United States imports almost all of its uranium. These changing dynamics are reflected in the uranium prices. The frothy rally of last year to a 16-year peak of $106 per lb is over. At $71 per lb today, the price of uranium remains higher than it was in any decade following the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan in 2011. NUCLEAR COMBAT Fukushima forced many countries to reconsider the role nuclear energy plays in their energy mix, but the threat of climate change has brought nuclear back into the spotlight. This affirmation was made at the COP28 Summit in December 2023 when more than twenty countries released the "Declaration to Triple Nuclear Power". The official recognition was that "nuclear energy plays a key role in achieving net-zero global greenhouse gas emissions by the year 2050, and maintaining the 1.5 degree goal within reach." Trump's administration may not be impressed by such green credentials, but Republicans see nuclear energy as an important component of national defense, which is why it has bipartisan support, even if for different reasons. The big tech companies are also excited as they search for more and more power to fuel their data centers. Microsoft signed an agreement with Constellation Energy to help revive a unit at the Three Mile Island Nuclear Plant in Pennsylvania in September. Re-embrace nuclear power is an international trend. According to the International Energy Agency, the generation from nearly 420 nuclear reactors around the world is set to reach new levels in 2025. The IEA reported that 63 reactors were currently being built, which is the most since 1990. Over 60 reactors' lifetimes will also be extended. SHORTAGE OF SUPPLIES As nuclear power is on the rise, uranium is in high demand. The supply of uranium is not keeping up with the rising demand. According to the IEA, a decade of low oil prices has had a negative impact on production, especially in the United States. Production fell from nearly five million lb per year in 2014 to only 21,000 lb by 2021. The global uranium industry is heavily concentrated. According to the World Nuclear Association, Kazakhstan, Canada, and Australia will account for two-thirds or more of the global production in 2022. One of the factors that triggered the price spike in January 2024 was the warning by Kazatomprom of Kazakhstan, the largest producer of sulphuric acids, that it may not be able to meet its production targets because of a lack of sulphuric. Political stress and market stress are often combined. The United States wants to reduce its dependency on Russia in terms of enriched uranium. In 2023, Russian material will account for 27% of enriched uranium supplies to U.S. commercial nuclear reactors. The Joe Biden Administration banned Russian imports. However, there were waivers until 2027. Russia responded by placing restrictions on shipments into the United States. Trump's threats to impose tariffs against Canada, the biggest supplier of uranium for the U.S. Market, further complicates the situation. Going Critical After a decade of hibernation, the uranium markets are re-energized. Last year's price surge was driven by a lot speculative frenzy, with institutional investors like Goldman Sachs as well as retail investment vehicles like Sprott Physical Uranium Trust following the rally. The uranium prices remain historically high. The market has priced in a shortfall of supply relative to the demand from an expanding global fleet nuclear reactors. Many of these projects use leach technology to help fill the gap. The difference between a mineral that is critical and one called a "fuel-mineral" which is becoming increasingly critical will determine how quickly they can activate. The author is a columnist at
After a drop in approval, Brazilian leader Lula supports the autonomy of Petrobras and the central bank
Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva, Brazilian President, on Thursday expressed support for non-interference by the government in monetary policies and pricing strategies of Petrobras (the state-owned oil giant), in remarks market-friendly that followed a decline in his approval rating.
Lula said at a recent press conference that, if any additional fiscal measures were needed, "we would consider them" in light of the growing concerns on the market about Brazil's increasing public debt.
Leftist leader says central bank chief Gabriel Galipolo did "what he felt was necessary" following policymakers
raised
The key interest rate was raised by 100 basis points on Wednesday to 13.25%.
Lula said Galipolo would be able to set conditions for interest rate reductions "at the right time" in his new role as the head of the central bank.
Petrobras has been accused of being a terrorist organization.
Consideration
Lula stressed the fact that it is the company's decision, and not the president, to decide on a hike in diesel prices. Petrobras doesn't have to inform me about fuel price changes. "If Petrobras feels it's important to make a change, they can," he said.
A Genial/Quaest poll
Released
This week, Lula's approval rating fell, with disapproval exceeding approval for the very first time in over two years. The reasons were rising food prices and concerns about increased taxes, as well as volatility on financial markets.
Lula, when asked what steps could be taken to reduce food inflation, ruled out any that would lead to a black-market. He said that the best thing to do was to increase production.
The Brazilian real recovered some of its earlier losses following Lula's comments, trading down 0.4% against U.S. dollars, while the benchmark Bovespa index continued to gain, rising by 1.8%. (Reporting and writing by Lisandra paraguassu, Marcela Ayres, editing by Gabriel Araujo & Paul Simao).
(source: Reuters)