Mining

    Record market cap, but stalled momentum as conference season approaches teaser image

    Record market cap, but stalled momentum as conference season approaches

    (Kitco News) - Mining companies are heading into this year's investor conference season with an all-time-high aggregate market capitalization, even as executives grapple with an energy cost shock that has undercut margins and forced dealmakers to rework their playbooks.

    Kitco Mining Channel

    Nigeria, US sign agreement to boost mining investment

    Nigeria and the United States have signed a framework agreement aimed at deepening US investment in the West African country’s mining sector, Nigeria’s solid minerals minister Dele Alake said on Thursday.The agreement, signed in New York on Wednesday by Alake and US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau, covers geological data, mineral exploration, mineral development and processing, infrastructure, and technical capacity building.

    High copper prices support miners in Chile, but investments dent gains

    Despite strong copper prices, growing investment demands are offsetting much of the gains posted by mining companies in Chile, Moody’s said in a report on Thursday.Chile, the world’s largest producer of the red metal, is undergoing an investment cycle focused largely on maintaining production levels and replacing depleted reserves as large deposits age.Moody’s said that the current investment cycle in the industry favors reserve replacement and strengthens long-term competitiveness, although it requires substantial financing at a time of rising costs and operational risks.

    Indonesian coal miner Bayan Resources lifts force majeure after quota revision approval

    Indonesian coal miner PT Bayan Resources (IDX: BYAN) said on Thursday that it has lifted a force majeure declaration on coal supply deals after the government granted additional production quotas to the company for this year.Bayan and three of its units declared force majeure on their coal supply obligations last week because proposed revisions to their mining quotas had not yet been issued.The companies’ production quota revisions were obtained on September 23, Bayan said in a stock exchange filing.Bayan said it expects the units to resume operations soon.
    Nyrstar launches strategic review of Dutch zinc smelting operations teaser image

    Nyrstar launches strategic review of Dutch zinc smelting operations

    Nyrstar, owned by commodities group Trafigura, has launched a strategic review of its loss-making Budel zinc smelting operations in the Netherlands due to rising energy costs and government policies, it said on Thursday.Operations to produce the metal mainly used to galvanise steel will continue as normal during the review, which is expected to conclude by the end of 2026, Nyrstar added in a statement.
    Unions call strike vote at Antofagasta copper mine in Chile teaser image

    Unions call strike vote at Antofagasta copper mine in Chile

    Two unions representing workers at Antofagasta Minerals’ (LON: ANTO) Centinela copper mine in Chile called on workers to hold a strike vote, saying negotiations with the firm had reached a “dead end”.The unions Trabajadores de Minera Esperanza and Trabajadores Distrito Centinela, which joined the collective bargaining, said they received the latest proposal from the formal dialogue process on Wednesday, with voting scheduled between September 26 and September 28.
    Copper falls from near-record highs on profit-taking and firmer dollar teaser image

    Copper falls from near-record highs on profit-taking and firmer dollar

    Copper prices fell on Wednesday under pressure from a stronger dollar and profit-taking after the metal tested technical resistance above $14,800 a metric ton.Benchmark three-month copper CMCU3 on the London Metal Exchange (LME) was down 1% at $14,606.50 a ton by 1600 GMT after touching $14,833 for its highest since the record high of $14,875 on September 10.Comex copper HGc1 hit a record peak of $6.83 per lb, or $15,057 a ton, on Tuesday before retreating on Wednesday.
    Mercuria commits $500 million to US strategic minerals reserve initiative teaser image

    Mercuria commits $500 million to US strategic minerals reserve initiative

    Swiss-based commodities trader Mercuria announced a $500 million commitment to Project Vault on Wednesday, aimed at ensuring US industry participants retain access to critical minerals during periods of supply disruption or market dislocation.Project Vault, designed with support from the Export-Import Bank of the United States, seeks to build strategic inventories of critical minerals for use by the US.Mercuria announced its commitment to the initiative in New York during the United Nations General Assembly summit.
    BHP Escondida mine supervisors’ union urges rejection of contract offer, strike looms teaser image

    BHP Escondida mine supervisors’ union urges rejection of contract offer, strike looms

    Unionized supervisors at BHP’s Escondida copper mine in Chile will urge members to reject the company’s latest contract offer, paving the way for a strike at the world’s largest copper mine, the union reported.BHP presented the offer at the end of Tuesday’s session in the formal negotiation process, which will be voted on by union members on September 28-30.The union board unanimously rejected the latest offer claiming it “lacks essential elements,” according to union leader Alexis Barrera.He called on union members to vote for a strike.
    Ghana to focus on rebuilding reserves as gold exports pause teaser image

    Ghana to focus on rebuilding reserves as gold exports pause

    Ghana’s central bank will prioritise rebuilding foreign exchange reserves in the coming months as it navigates a weaker current account, declining reserves and a pause in gold exports by state buyer GoldBod since August, Governor Johnson Asiama said on Wednesday.Speaking at the start of the Monetary Policy Committee meeting, Asiama said policymakers would need to balance generally positive domestic conditions against an increasingly uncertain global backdrop shaped by the Middle East conflict and rising oil prices.
    Zimbabwe secures funds for key commodity gateway upgrade teaser image

    Zimbabwe secures funds for key commodity gateway upgrade

    Zimbabwe’s government on Tuesday announced a funding agreement for the upgrade of the Chirundu border with Zambia, to reduce delays on a vital gateway connecting the central African copperbelt to southern African ports.The deal between Zimbabwe and its private sector partners, the Chirundu Border Consortium, clears the path to construction work, the country’s transport and infrastructure development ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.
    Canada aims to slash time needed to review major projects teaser image

    Canada aims to slash time needed to review major projects

    Canada on Monday unveiled draft legislation that would speed up the approval process for major natural resource projects, a goal Prime Minister Mark Carney says is necessary to help deal with US tariffs.Carney says Canada has to cut back on obstacles to growth, in particular streamlining a complex approval process for major projects that can drag on for a decade or more.The bill says the time can be cut to a year, in part by conducting federal impact assessments and permit reviews simultaneously instead of one after another.
    Lohum seeks to buy nickel mines in Indonesia and the Philippines teaser image

    Lohum seeks to buy nickel mines in Indonesia and the Philippines

    Indian critical minerals producer Lohum is seeking to buy nickel mines in Indonesia and the Philippines as it targets a tenfold increase in production to meet rising demand for battery minerals, its founder and chief executive said.India is seeking to sustain its rapid economic growth with increased use of renewable energy and electric vehicles while weaning itself off Chinese supplies and developing its own sources of the critical raw materials, such as nickel, needed for the shift to greener technologies.
    Indonesia nickel hub IMIP says nickel pig iron production cut because of water shortages teaser image

    Indonesia nickel hub IMIP says nickel pig iron production cut because of water shortages

    Indonesian nickel hub PT Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park (IMIP) on the island of Sulawesi said on Tuesday that a water shortage linked to this year’s El Niño weather pattern has forced some smelters to reduce their nickel pig iron production.IMIP informed companies at the weekend that they would need to reduce production of nickel pig iron due to water shortages, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday, citing sources.In response, IMIP spokesperson Dedy Kurniawan confirmed to Reuters that the shortage has led to the reduction of nickel pig iron production at some smelters.
    US battery startup that chose China over Kentucky opens first factory as Trump, Xi meet teaser image

    US battery startup that chose China over Kentucky opens first factory as Trump, Xi meet

    A US battery startup that scrapped plans to make Kentucky the site of its first factory has instead built it in China, exposing the limits of President Donald Trump’s efforts to lure manufacturing home just as he welcomes Chinese President Xi Jinping for a summit.EnerVenue starts mass production at its manufacturing facility in the eastern Chinese city of Changzhou on Thursday, the same day Trump meets Xi in Washington, as relations between the superpowers remain strained by a tariff war the US president launched partly to bring back manufacturing and jobs.