BHP and Rio Tinto discuss energy transition; bet on minimal Trump impact: Russell
BHP Group, Rio Tinto and other mining giants have delivered similar results and outlooks this week for commodities. They chose to focus on the benefits of the energy transformation and minimise short-term risk. BHP, world's largest mining company, announced on Tuesday that its underlying profit attributable for the six-month period ending December 2024 had dropped by 23% to $5.08 billion. Rio, the largest iron ore mining company in the world, announced underlying earnings for 2024 of $10.87 Billion, down from $11.76 Billion a year earlier.
Japan has a plan to make green steel work.
The energy transition is a major challenge, and one of them is decarbonising steel production. This is especially true when consumers around the world are unwilling to pay more money for greener steel products. In order to achieve this, government policies and regulations will likely be used to set prices in a sector that is responsible for 8% of the global carbon emissions. It is a debate about which policies will produce the fastest and best results.
Japan has a plan to make green steel work.
The energy transition is a major challenge, and one of them is decarbonising steel production. This is especially true when consumers around the world are unwilling to pay a premium for greener steel products. In order to achieve this, government policies and regulations will likely be used to set prices in a sector that is responsible for 8% of the global carbon emissions. It is a debate about which policies will produce the fastest and best results.
Freeport to resume copper concentrate imports from Indonesia in this month, say sources
Freeport McMoRan will resume copper concentrate shipments from Indonesia in this month, under a newly issued export licence. The previous one expired in December. Indonesia has limited raw material exports in order to force companies to refine minerals and add value to their exports. Freeport, which has its own local refinery capacity, is trying to maintain exports of concentrate after a fire at the Manyar smelter in East Java last October. According to a source who has direct knowledge of the situation…
India reviews tariff surcharges on luxury goods, renewables and chemicals amid US pressure
India will review the import tariffs for over 30 items, including luxury cars and photovoltaic cells. This could lead to a rise in imports from America, according to a senior official at the finance ministry. To counteract President Donald Trump's increasing tariff actions, the Government has already reduced the tariffs on several products, including high-end cars, bikes, and chemicals, in the latest Budget. However, it has imposed an additional Agriculture Infrastructure Development Cess, which is an alternative tariff on many items.
ADM announces layoffs after quarterly profits fall due to weak crushing margins
Grains merchant Archer-Daniels-Midland reported a drop in fourth-quarter profit on Tuesday, pressured by weak oilseed crush margins and uncertainty over U.S. biofuel policy, and said it would be laying off up to 700 employees globally this year. ADM, a Chicago-based company, said that it would aim to reduce costs by $500 to $750 millions over the next 3 to 5 years through job cuts as well as lower raw material and manufacturing costs. In premarket trading, shares of the company fell 1.6%.
Africa's biggest copper countries are focusing on trade profits
Africa's largest copper producers, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Zambia (Zambia), are working to get exposure to metal trading, as the surge in demand linked to artificial intelligent and the move to greener energy promises big profits. Metals trading is a long-standing domain of international trading companies, like Glencore. Congo and Zambia which represent together more than 13% global copper supply have increased their focus over the past year on securing an share of the mined material that they can also trade for profit.
Tariffs on copper and aluminium by Trump could increase costs for U.S. customers
Analysts and industry participants stated on Tuesday that President Donald Trump's promise to impose tariffs on U.S. imports of copper and aluminum would lead to higher prices for local consumers due a lack of production at home and the time required to renew the industry. Trump told Republican lawmakers that he will impose tariffs on steel and aluminium, metals needed for the production of U.S. Military hardware. Trump was elected president of the United States in November…
Fortescue Energy CEO: Green hydrogen costs are key to reducing demand
Fortescue Energy CEO Mark Hutchinson said in Davos that buyers will not pay "green premiums" if the price is competitive. By splitting water into oxygen and hydrogen, using renewable electricity, green hydrogen can be created. The hydrogen can be used to generate electricity or as an ingredient in agricultural fertilisers. Hutchinson, speaking at the Global Markets Forum, said that electrolyzers which split hydrogen were expensive and that government subsidies intended to lower these costs have not been forthcoming as expected.
Serica Energy UK forecasts production increase for 2025
Serica Energy, a UK oil and gas company focused on the North Sea, expects to increase production by 15.6% in 2025, thanks to improved reliability, the company said Tuesday. Serica has increased production by acquiring and investing in the past few years. The company's output was affected by an outage on its Triton floating storage and offloading vessel (FPSO) in the North Sea, in 2024. Serica stated in a press release that production has increased since the resumption.
Glencore opens to deals as investors prepare for more mining M&A
Glencore, the commodity and miner trader, said that it was open to M&A deals that created value for its investors. It is leveraging its position in the top three producers of copper globally. Investors in the sector were most concerned about potential M&A transactions in 2024. However, BHP's failed $49 billion bid for Anglo American last May demonstrated the difficulties of merging diversified producers. Two sources familiar with the situation say that Glencore approached Rio Tinto in late 2013 and proposed a merger of the two mining firms.
Bloomberg News: RPT Rio Tinto and Glencore are in early merger talks
Bloomberg News reported Thursday that Glencore and Rio Tinto have had early-stage discussions about merging their businesses. The report was based on people familiar with this matter. If successful, the merger would be the largest in the mining industry and would create a combined company valued at around $158 billion. This value is higher than the $126 billion market valuation of BHP, the top miner. It was not clear whether the talks are still ongoing. Both companies declined to make any comment.
Bloomberg News reports that Rio Tinto and Glencore are in early merger talks.
Bloomberg News reported Thursday that Glencore and Rio Tinto have had early-stage discussions about merging their businesses. The report was based on people familiar with this matter. If successful, the merger of the two iron-ore mining giants would be the largest in the industry and create a combined firm with a value of $158 billion. This is more than the $126 billion market valuation for BHP, the top miner. It was not clear whether the talks are still ongoing. Both companies declined to make any comment.
Sources say that India's steel minister is seeking $1.7 billion from the budget to assist mills reduce emissions.
Two government sources who are directly involved in the matter said that the Indian steel ministry requested 150 billion rupees (1,74 billion dollars) to be allocated to the budget as incentives for mills to produce low carbon steel. Nirmala Sitharaman, Finance Minister, will present the federal Budget for 2025-2026 on February 1. India, which is the second-largest steel producer in the world after China, is working on a policy to decarbonise the production of the alloy.
Sweden builds 100,000-year storage site for spent nuclear material
Sweden began building a final nuclear fuel storage facility on Wednesday. It is only the second site of its kind in the world where highly radioactive wastes will be stored for 100 years. Since the commercialization of nuclear reactors in the 1950s, the question of how to safely store radioactive waste has plagued the industry. Finland is the only nation that has a permanent site in its final stages of construction. World Nuclear Association estimates that there are approximately 300,000 tonnes of spent nuclear fuel in the world.
China's Polysilicon Futures Debut on Guangzhou Exchange
On Thursday, China's Polysilicon Futures were launched on the Guangzhou Futures Exchange. Prices fell across the board at the midday break. Seven contracts are available for delivery beginning in June 2025. On Thursday, the price of the front month contract for June deliveries fell by half to 41 710 yuan (5 714.48 dollars) per metric tonne from its initial listing price of 44 000 yuan. Trading volumes stood around 260,826 lots. China is the largest producer of polysilicon in the world, which is a raw material for solar panels.
Japan Gas Lobby urges stronger diplomatic efforts to drop LNG Destination Clauses
The head of Japan Gas Association urged on Friday the government to intensify diplomatic efforts in order to eliminate destination clauses from long-term contracts for liquefied gas. This would allow the government more flexibility in reselling LNG in response to changing demand. The Japan's Industry Ministry unveiled on Tuesday a draft version of its revised basic policy for energy, which shows that LNG-fired electricity is needed to transition from dirty energy sources to cleaner ones.
US graphite miners ask Washington to impose tariffs of 920% on Chinese competitors
On Wednesday, North American miners of graphite asked the U.S. Government to impose tariffs as high as 92% on Chinese suppliers for the battery metal to combat what they call Beijing's "malicious" trade practices. This is the latest effort by Western suppliers of critical minerals to counter China's control over the extraction and processing of building blocks used in electric vehicles and electronic devices. Graphite can be produced synthetically or from natural sources.
Qcells claims that a new technology could reduce the space required for solar panels
Hanwha Corp.'s Qcells announced on Wednesday that it had made a significant breakthrough in a new solar technology. This has the potential of reducing the space needed by panels to generate electricity from the sun's light. The solar industry is facing a number of pressing challenges, including the need for more space. In some areas of the United States, large-scale projects that occupy vast tracts of land are being met with opposition. Qcells announced…
BHP and Rio Tinto will build a low-carbon iron plant in Western Australia
BHP Australia and Rio Tinto Australia will develop together a pilot plant for producing low-carbon iron using Pilbara ore as part of their efforts to accelerate decarbonisation within the steel industry. The companies announced this in a statement released on Tuesday. The facility will produce molten steel using direct reduced iron technology (DRI), and renewable energy in an electric melting furnace (ESF). It could have a production of up to 40,000 tons per year. BlueScope Steel will develop the facility in Western Australia's Kwinana Industrial Hub.
