Iran war’s gas supply shock pushes top consumers back to coal

A deepening conflict in the Persian Gulf has upended oil and gas markets. It may also have provided coal — the dirtiest fossil fuel — with its most significant boost in years. Climate negotiators... 

Codelco sees war disruptions adding 5% to cost of making copper

Top copper supplier Codelco expects disruptions from the Middle East war to lift its production costs by about 5%, offering one of the first quantified inflation estimates from a major mining... 

Fortescue chair urges China to end iron-ore buying strategy

Fortescue's executive chairman Andrew Forrest said China’s state-backed iron buyer should stop using tactics aimed at negotiating lower prices for the key steel ingredient. Speaking Wednesday on... 

Eskom ordered by court to disclose coal, diesel contracts

Eskom Holdings said it has been ordered by the Supreme Court of Appeal to disclose details of its coal, transport and diesel procurement contracts to activist group Afriforum. South Africa’s state... 

Zijin’s Congo lithium mine set to be among world’s biggest

The lithium mine Zijin Mining Group plans to open this year in the Democratic Republic of Congo is set to be one of the world’s biggest suppliers of the battery metal. The Chinese company – which... 

BHP sees potash heading toward deficit as demand outpaces supply

BHP Group, the world’s largest mining company, expects the global potash market to tighten over the next decade as demand grows and geopolitical risks strain fertilizer supply chains. With demand... 

Zijin Gold acquires control of Chinese rival for $2.6bn

The gold unit of Zijin Mining Group Co. will acquire a controlling stake in Chifeng Jilong Gold Mining Co. for 18.26-billion yuan ($2.64-billion), cementing the group’s status as China’s top miner... 

De Beers makes sweeping cuts to its elite diamond-buying club

De Beers has made one of the deepest ever cuts to its group of handpicked diamond buyers as the former monopoly grapples with a prolonged crisis roiling the industry, people with knowledge of the... 

Peru proposal to limit idle concessions sparks mining pushback

Peru’s mining industry is warning that a bill moving through Congress to halve the time to hold unused concessions would end up discouraging investment and favoring informal operators. “It’s a... 

Zijin’s investment unit aims to expand strategic metal portfolio

Zijin Mining Group, China’s biggest gold and copper producer, wants to invest in metals like tungsten and uranium, as the global bid to secure critical minerals drives prices higher. “We are... 

BHP’s next leader faces same problems in deal-obsessed industry

BHP Group has picked the continuity candidate for its next boss: A life-long company man who has spent quarter of a century at the biggest miner, honing his skills in iron-ore and copper, its most... 

Cobalt shortages driven by Congo curbs seen lasting through 2030

A global cobalt shortage is expected to persist through the end of this decade as export restrictions from top producer Democratic Republic of Congo impact the supply chain, according to trading... 

Munitions metal tungsten outshines gold, copper in 557% rally

A metal used in weapons and semiconductors is finding itself the subject of geopolitical tensions as Chinese export limits and rising military demand squeeze supplies, sending prices to record... 

JSW Steel wins rights to develop coking coal mine in Mozambique

JSW Steel, India’s biggest steelmaker by capacity, won rights to develop a coal mine in Mozambique’s Tete province, securing access to a key raw material used in steel manufacturing. The company’s... 

Mali to introduce special mining brigade to curb illegal output

Mali is establishing a mining task force with judicial powers to oversee gold mining and quarrying sites in the West African nation. The Brigade spéciale des mines will step up inspections and... 

China’s State iron-ore buyer summons traders on BHP restrictions

China’s state-backed iron-ore buyer has summoned traders and urged them to refrain from buying new BHP Group cargoes to sell to buyers in the country after they were found to be flouting a... 

Aluminium hits highest since 2022 as Alba declares force majeure

Aluminum prices surged to the highest since 2022 after Aluminium Bahrain suspended deliveries of metal to some customers under so-called force majeure clauses in its supply contracts. The company,... 

MMG profit more than triples on copper rally, strong output

MMG said profit more than tripled last year, buoyed by higher commodity prices and strong output at key mines, though still fell short of analyst estimates. The Chinese-owned mining company’s net... 

BHP says Australian coal mines can’t compete for capital

BHP Group told workers at its vast coal operations across Queensland that the mines can no longer “compete for investment” and the company was receiving no returns from the projects. The mines in... 

Lithium producer SQM sees global demand growing 25% this year

Top lithium producer SQM said it sees world demand for the battery metal growing about 25% this year, after reporting record quarterly sales volume as the industry emerges from a global glut. The... 

Aluminum jumps as Middle East war threatens supply disruptions

Aluminum climbed on concerns that critical supply routes for Middle Eastern producers will be disrupted by conflict in a region responsible for a significant share of global output. Prices for the... 

Niche Australian metals miner Lynas has grown bigger than Qantas

Lynas Rare Earths has overtaken Australian blue-chip stalwart Qantas Airways by market capitalisation, as concerns about China’s dominance of critical minerals lift the miner’s stock. Both... 

World No. 2 gold miner is ‘willing to move’ on M&A, CEO says

Agnico Eagle Mines CEO Ammar Al-Joundi said the gold producer is “very well-positioned” to pursue acquisitions should opportunities emerge, signaling a renewed openness to deal-making after years... 

Goldman expects wave of South Africa deals fuelled by commodities

Goldman Sachs Group expects a busy year of deals for South Africa as the continent’s largest economy starts to benefit from structural reforms and rides a commodities-boom wave. “We expect activity... 

A years-long push to unite Glencore and Rio fell apart in a day

For more than a decade, it was the deal mining billionaire Ivan Glasenberg had sought more than any other: putting Glencore — the sprawling commodity trader-cum-miner he built — together with... 

Vale eyes 1Mt/y copper output

Vale’s base metals unit wants to eventually produce one-million tons of copper by developing existing assets, exceeding an output target for 2035. Major mining firms such as Anglo American and Rio... 

BHP risks $2bn hit from dispute with CMRG, Goldman says

BHP Group could face up to $2-billion hit from pricing pressures after China restricted its Jimblebar iron-ore, as discounts widen and lump premiums collapse, according to Goldman Sachs Group. The... 

Mining stocks on cusp of supercycle as AI boom stokes metals

Global mining stocks have shot to the top of fund managers’ must-have list, as soaring metals demand and tight supplies of key minerals hint at a new supercycle in the sector. With a nearly 90%... 

Godongwana plays down big tax changes in South Africa Budget

South African Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana ruled out any major tax changes in next month’s budget and stressed the importance of keeping fiscal consolidation on track. “It’s not something we... 

Global solar additions to fall for first time in 2026, says BNEF

Solar installations are set to drop next year for the first time since the industry emerged as a global force two decades ago, as policy shifts and saturation in major markets temper demand. The... 

Vale’s copper ambition is to produce 1Mt/y

Vale’s base metals unit wants to eventually produce one-million tons of copper by developing existing assets, exceeding an output target for 2035. Major mining firms such as Anglo American and Rio... 

China plants another Africa marker in campaign to globalise yuan

Zambia is the first African country to let Chinese mining companies pay taxes in yuan. It probably won’t be the last, as Beijing seeks to internationalize the currency and dilute its dollar... 

China’s CMOC bets on copper growth, maintains cobalt target

Major Chinese miner CMOC Group plans copper growth of up to double digits in 2026 after a price rally lifted profit, while maintaining guidance after record cobalt output. Copper output is seen at... 

Heavy rainfall disrupts Australian metallurgical coal supplies

Heavy rainfall in northeast Australia has triggered floods that are hampering mine operations and disrupting supplies of metallurgical coal in the region. Some coal miners have declared force... 

BHP is stuck on the sidelines of copper M&A frenzy it started

BHP Group’s bold bid to buy rival Anglo American in 2024 was supposed to set it up as the clear winner in a copper boom it had long predicted. Two years later, the copper market is indeed booming.... 

Congo sending first copper to US under Mercuria-backed venture

The Democratic Republic of Congo is sending its first shipment of copper to the US through a partnership with Mercuria Energy Group, as the Trump administration pushes to challenge China’s... 

Rio Tinto said to be open to owning coal if it buys Glencore

Rio Tinto Group is open to retaining Glencore Plc’s massive coal business if merger talks between the two companies are successful, according to people familiar with the matter. The move would... 

Glencore says it’s in preliminary merger talks with Rio Tinto

Glencore confirmed it held preliminary discussions with Rio Tinto Group on a possible combination of some of their businesses, including an all-share merger that would create the world’s biggest... 

Canada's exports to non-US countries hit record on gold

Canada’s merchandise trade balance swung back into deficit as imports of computers and electronics outweighed a spike in gold exports to non-US countries. The trade shortfall hit C$583-million... 

South Africa relaxes laws to salvage firms hit by power costs

South Africa eased antitrust rules to allow competitors in industries hit by high power costs to cooperate on negotiating cheaper power supply in a bid to prevent their total collapse, a move that...