Uranium producer Niger launches mining sector overhaul

Niger temporarily suspended the granting of new mining licenses, the first step in an audit of its mining sector as it seeks to boost government revenue. The country will also take stock of... 

DP World’s $2bn Mozambique port expansion gets approval

Mozambique approved an extended deal for DP World, Grindrod and other operators of its biggest port, including a $2-billion expansion that will further draw cargoes away from neighboring South... 

Australia lithium miners start cost-cutting drive on price rout

Australia lithium miners are cutting jobs, trimming exploration budgets and reviewing dividend payments following a slump in prices of the key component in electric-vehicle batteries. Core Lithium... 

Winners of China’s 2023 coal-buying bonanza face a tougher year

China’s coal-buying bonanza last year benefited suppliers of higher-grade fuel the most, but 2024 is likely to prove more challenging for imports generally as the world’s biggest buyer dials back... 

Aurubis moves to terminate CEO’s contract after copper scam

Aurubis is preparing to terminate the contract of its CEO and two other executive board members, as the copper producer seeks to move on from a giant raw-material scam. The company’s supervisory... 

Nickel prices keep slumping even as mines close

Nickel continued its slump, heading toward the lowest level in more than three years, even as the collapse in prices for the metal force mines to shutter. The metal used in stainless steel and... 

Codelco wins shareholder approval to secure first lithium asset

Codelco, the world’s biggest copper producer, won approval to buy Lithium Power International after shareholders of the Australian junior voted in favor of a takeover that diversifies the Chilean... 

Nickel price crash seen strengthening Indonesia's grip on supply

A prolonged slump in nickel prices is stress-testing producers worldwide, raising the prospect of sweeping mine closures that will deepen Indonesia’s dominance of global supply. The metal used in... 

Forrest shuts nickel mines after prices crash

Wyloo Metals, the private nickel producer owned by billionaire Andrew Forrest, is shutting down its Western Australian mines due to a sharp slump in prices for the key transition metal. The mines... 

Two Australian resource-rich regions facing destructive storms

Two Australian resource-rich regions are bracing for potentially damaging storms that could lead to flooding, the latest threats after months of extreme weather events. A tropical low developing... 

Trafigura’s former battery metals co-head Wetterwald is leaving

Mehdi Wetterwald, who was briefly co-head of battery metals at Trafigura Group, is leaving the trading house in the latest senior departure from its metals unit. Wetterwald, who joined Trafigura... 

Lula pushes ally for Vale CEO as Brazil’s iron-ore miner weighs succession

Political lobbying as much as boardroom maneuvering could determine who wins the race to become the next boss of Vale, the world’s No. 2 iron-ore producer. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da... 

Gold riches fuel Sudan militia’s war to rule nation, UN says

Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) group is using large-scale proceeds from gold mining to fund its devastating war against the nation’s army, according to United Nations... 

Cyclone forming near Australia's coast may have 'severe impact'

Australia’s resource-rich Queensland state is bracing for its second tropical cyclone in a little more than a month, with a storm off the coast expected to strengthen during the weekend. A... 

Endeavour Mining says former CEO to lose $29.1m in pay

Endeavour Mining is stripping its former CEO Sébastien de Montessus of $29.1-million in renumeration after he was fired earlier this month for “serious misconduct". The London-based gold miner... 

Adani says green hydrogen can repeat solar's path to low costs

Billionaire ports-to-coal tycoon Gautam Adani has called for a renewed global focus on lowering green hydrogen prices to spur the clean fuel’s adoption in emissions intensive industries. Lowering... 

China cobalt buyers use global glut to challenge pricing

China’s battery industry has seized on a glut in the global cobalt market to push through a change in the way the commodity is priced. A rapid expansion of cobalt mining in Democratic Republic of... 

Alcoa threatens to shutter Spain complex amid mounting losses

Alcoa's CEO said mounting losses at the company’s Spain production complex leave few options other than to shutter the operation. William Oplinger said in a call with analysts Wednesday the San... 

AustralianSuper to swoop on lithium stocks after price collapse

Australia’s largest pension fund plans to double its exposure to local lithium stocks over the next five years, after a price rout made producers of the key battery material more affordable.... 

Top copper supplier Chile raises price forecast

Top copper supplier Chile raised its price projections for the metal based on the prospect of easing of credit conditions in the US and growing demand in the shift away from fossil fuels. State... 

De Beers cuts diamond prices to revive sales

De Beers made big cuts to its diamond prices as the world’s top producer tries to revive gem sales after the market ground to a halt last year. The industry almost came to a complete standstill in... 

Norway just raised the stakes over deep-sea mining

The Norwegian Parliament last week greenlit seabed mining exploration in the country’s territorial waters, a decision that contravenes the advice of government scientists and is set to intensify... 

China’s drive for record coal spurs yet another deadly accident

The human toll of ever-increasing coal production in China is once again to the fore after thirteen were killed in a mine accident just days after the government said it will start a three-year... 

Codelco caps worst year in quarter century with copper production drop

Codelco indicated copper output declined last quarter from a year earlier, as the world’s biggest producer of the red metal strives to recover from mining mishaps and project delays. Production... 

Communities agree to end roadblocks at Chile lithium operations

Indigenous communities in northern Chile agreed to lift roadblocks that have restricted access to the country’s giant lithium operations since January 9. Members of the the regional indigenous... 

Copper up from lowest in nearly a month on China stimulus hopes

Copper rose from its lowest close since mid-December, as inflation data from China bolstered calls for stronger stimulus measures from Beijing. China’s consumer prices posted their longest streak... 

Gold edges higher as US-led airstrikes on Yemen aid haven demand

Gold edged higher as US-led airstrikes on Houthi rebel targets in Yemen boosted haven demand. The military action against the Iran-backed group followed a string of attacks on vessels in the Red... 

Mining industry sees a way to navigate narco crisis in Ecuador

Ecuador’s budding mining industry sees a way through the violent mayhem sweeping the country, with operating mines and development projects expected to carry on as planned after stepping up... 

China’s Zijin plans stake in Canadian miner, testing security rules

Chinese mining firm Zijin Mining Group will acquire a 15% stake in Solaris Resources for about C$130-million, the Canadian miner said on Thursday. Zijin Mining Group plans to take a 15% stake in... 

Grupo Mexico weighs bid for First Quantum’s Spanish mine

Grupo Mexico is among several firms considering bids to buy a Spanish copper mine from First Quantum Minerals, as the Canadian metals producer seeks to bolster its balance sheet after its flagship... 

Forrest to advance 14 GW of new clean energy in Australia

Billionaire Andrew Forrest pledged to develop 14 GW of new clean power projects in Australia by 2030, offering a boost to the nation’s efforts to accelerate investments in renewable energy.... 

Uranium miners surge on $500m US enrichment push

Shares in uranium miners jumped globally after the US said it’s soliciting bids to boost domestic production of nuclear fuel in an effort to bolster national energy security. The Energy Department... 

Union members stage demonstration at First Quantum's Panama mine

Hundreds of Panamanian construction workers staged a demonstration at a shuttered copper mine that has become the subject of nationalistic sentiment in the Central American nation. Members of the... 

Battery metal price plunge is closing mines and stalling deals

A meltdown in some of the most-hyped energy-transition metals is wreaking havoc across the mining world, stalling projects, scuppering deals and triggering a scramble for cash that promises to... 

India’s plans to double coal production, ignore climate threat

As climate diplomats at COP28 in Dubai debated an agreement to transition away from fossil fuels last December, India was facing another energy conundrum: It needed to build more power capacity,... 

Gold One could dismiss more than 500 after mine sit-in

Gold One International could dismiss more than 500 workers at a South African mine after two incidents last year in which hundreds of employees stayed underground for days. The Sydney-based gold... 

Goldman veteran Jeff Currie remains bullish on commodities this year

Jeff Currie, who spearheaded commodities research at Goldman Sachs Group for almost three decades, remains bullish on the sector for this year. Demand for raw materials is at record levels,... 

Tianqi, LG, Eramet explore lithium options in Chile meetings

Some of the biggest players in the global battery supply chain held meetings with Chilean authorities late last year as the country with the biggest reserves of lithium gets ready to open up new... 

Peruvian miner Buenaventura sees Antofagasta as ally in copper growth plans

After a few weeks digesting Antofagasta’s surprise entry into its shareholder register, Buenaventura sees the new investor as an ally in its copper growth plans rather than a rival eying control of... 

Zimbabwe rescues 15 trapped miners alive – Mines Minister

An emergency operation managed to rescue all 15 small-scale Zimbabwean gold miners who had been trapped for four days after a shaft collapsed, according to Mines Minister Soda Zhemu. ”They are all...