Mining

    Gold is just taking a breath and the race is not over - Midas Discovery Fund’s Winmill teaser image

    Gold is just taking a breath and the race is not over - Midas Discovery Fund’s Winmill

    (Kitco News) - The gold market has taken another hit with prices dropping below $4,500 and testing critical long-term support at its 200-day moving average.

    Kitco Mining Channel

    Peabody locks out workers at NSW coal washery, Australian union says

    US coal producer Peabody Energy has locked out workers at its United Wambo Washery in New South Wales for two weeks, Australia’s Mining and Energy Union (MEU) said on Wednesday, escalating a pay dispute.Workers have been taking protected industrial action since early May after rejecting an offer that included annual wage increases of 2.5% and changes to bonus arrangements, the union said.Peabody confirmed the lockout in an emailed response to Reuters, saying it applied to employees participating in the industrial action.

    Australian explosives maker Orica flags Ebola, coal risks

    Orica (ASX: ORI) the world’s top supplier of commercial explosives, said on Wednesday it is facing a string of challenges around the world that could affect demand for its services, including Ebola and a coal mine collapse in China.A few of the sites where Orica works in Africa could be hit by Ebola, and the mining services provider is trying to revive COVID protocols to protect teams and keep those operations running, Orica CEO Sanjeev Gandhi said at a Melbourne Mining Club event.

    Australia’s International Graphite forms JV for Italy processing hub with Alkeemia

    Australia’s International Graphite said on Wednesday it had entered a joint venture agreement with chemical manufacturer Alkeemia to establish a graphite processing hub in Italy.The project will help build a European graphite supply chain less reliant on China, the graphite miner said in a statement.Alkeemia will hold a 51% interest in the joint venture and International Graphite the remaining 49%. Profits will be shared equally.International Graphite will contribute A$12 million ($8.48 million) in capital for the project.
    China’s copper smelters band together to strengthen hand in talks with miners teaser image

    China’s copper smelters band together to strengthen hand in talks with miners

    China’s top copper producers are seeking to add new members to an industry price-setting group, four sources with knowledge of the matter said, in a bid to strengthen their position in negotiations with miners over raw material supply.The China Smelters Purchase Team, a group of 16 major producers that traditionally sets floor prices for spot copper concentrate processing deals, invited at least six prospective new members to attend its quarterly meeting in Yantai in Shandong province on Wednesday, a fifth source said.
    BHP readies $1.5 billion Chile power transmission line sale teaser image

    BHP readies $1.5 billion Chile power transmission line sale

    Miner BHP is gearing up to sell its power transmission lines in Chile as it refocuses toward copper mining in the country, newspaper Diario Financiero reported on Wednesday, citing sources.The assets are valued at around $1.5 billion and the sale could be carried out this year, the newspaper reported.BHP did not immediately respond to a request for comment.The transaction would include the transmission lines that feed power to BHP’s Escondida, Spence and Cerro Colorado mines, according to the outlet.
    De Beers CEO sees sale of diamond firm in ‘weeks not months’ teaser image

    De Beers CEO sees sale of diamond firm in ‘weeks not months’

    A sale of De Beers, Anglo American’s diamond unit, has never been closer, its ‌CEO said on Tuesday, adding that a deal could come within weeks.Anglo put De Beers – one of the world’s leading diamond companies with operations and exploration spanning Botswana, Namibia, Angola, South Africa and Canada – up for sale in May 2024 as part of a ​broader restructuring amid falling diamond prices and the global rise of synthetic diamonds.
    China mine disaster, Indonesia policy changes upend global coal market teaser image

    China mine disaster, Indonesia policy changes upend global coal market

    A deadly mining accident in China’s biggest coal-producing region and mounting ​policy chaos around Indonesian exports are choking global supplies, which analysts and industry officials say could boost prices as liquefied natural ‌gas (LNG) supplies remain tight due to the US-Israeli war on Iran.
    India seeks rare earth samples from Rosneft-owned Siberian deposit teaser image

    India seeks rare earth samples from Rosneft-owned Siberian deposit

    Indian miner IREL is in talks with Rosneft to source rare ‌earth samples from Tomtor, the Siberian deposit acquired by the Russian oil producer last year, as New Delhi seeks to secure supplies of critical minerals dominated by China, a source said.The talks are taking place through government channels, ​said the source, adding that the samples would be processed in Russia before being shipped ​to India.
    India coking coal demand seen rising to 116Mt by 2050 – BHP teaser image

    India coking coal demand seen rising to 116Mt by 2050 – BHP

    India’s demand for coking coal is expected to climb to 116 million metric tons by 2050 from 55 million tons last year, said Michiel Hovers, group sales and marketing officer at BHP, at an industry conference in Singapore.(By Amy Lv, Ruth Chai and Solomon Cefai; Editing by Thomas Derpinghaus)
    China’s iron ore imports will fall to 50% of consumption by 2030, says think tank teaser image

    China’s iron ore imports will fall to 50% of consumption by 2030, says think tank

    Imported iron ore will account for half of China’s total consumption by 2030 as domestic supply grows and there is more use of scrap steel, an analyst from a think tank of state-backed China Mineral Resources Group said on Tuesday.Imports currently account for around 80% of China’s total iron ore consumption.
    Soaring scrap aluminum exports threaten UK defence, auto supply chains, industry group says teaser image

    Soaring scrap aluminum exports threaten UK defence, auto supply chains, industry group says

    Soaring exports of aluminum scrap risk leaving Britain short of a critical material needed for defence, clean energy, digital technologies and the auto industry, manufacturing trade body Make UK said.It warned the UK could face a crisis if more scrap continues to flow overseas, with industry moving abroad in search of better access to scrap markets. This risks jobs, investment and supply chain resilience.
    Vale plans to invest $2.6 billion in decarbonization initiatives teaser image

    Vale plans to invest $2.6 billion in decarbonization initiatives

    Brazilian miner Vale plans to invest up to 13 billion reais ($2.56 billion) in decarbonization initiatives to meet its voluntary emissions reduction targets and mitigate climate-related risks, a sustainability report showed on Monday.The company did not specify the timeframe for the investment. The amount includes up to 4 billion reais for decarbonizing operations, with 24% invested in the medium term and 76% in the long term.
    China launches national AI pilot base for steel industry teaser image

    China launches national AI pilot base for steel industry

    China launched a national AI application pilot base for the metallurgical sector in the eastern Chinese city of Nanjing on Monday, local newspaper Nanjing Daily reported, part of the country’s broader efforts to promote the technology.The base will bridge the gap between pilot testing and full industrialization in the steel industry, the newspaper said.Moving forward, it will focus on building datasets, industry-specific AI models, toolchains, and pilot-scale testing platforms to bring AI technology from early-stage research to practical, widespread applications.
    Japan to send delegation to Greenland to evaluate rare earth extraction, Nikkei says teaser image

    Japan to send delegation to Greenland to evaluate rare earth extraction, Nikkei says

    Japan is preparing to send a delegation to Greenland this summer to evaluate possible rare earth extraction, the Nikkei newswire reported on Sunday.The visit would include officials from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, trading companies and the Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security, which would hold talks with local government officials, Nikkei added.