Glencore, the Anglo-Swiss mining giant led by CEO Gary Nagle, has accelerated its decision timeline for the Mount Isa copper smelter and Townsville refinery to September 2025, warning that multiple Australian processing facilities face imminent closure due to Chinese overcapacity driving treatment charges to record negative levels. The company estimates monthly losses of $30 million...
READ MOREChinese mining companies have intensified investments across Africa’s copper-producing regions as Western nations implement restrictions on Chinese access to critical mineral assets, with the Democratic Republic of Congo emerging as the world’s second-largest copper producer through predominantly Chinese-backed operations. The strategic shift reflects China’s efforts to secure copper supplies essential for renewable energy infrastructure and...
READ MORESaudi Arabian Mining Company, the Kingdom’s largest diversified mining enterprise and a subsidiary of the Public Investment Fund, has completed the acquisition of minority stakes in two aluminum-related subsidiaries through a combination of share issuance and cash payments totaling $150 million. The transaction provides Maaden with full ownership of Maaden Bauxite and Alumina Company and...
READ MORELondon Metal Exchange copper has posted a 12% gain through the first half of 2025, outperformed only by volatile tin markets, as US President Donald Trump’s trade investigation launched in February created substantial price differentials between American and international markets. The CME copper contract currently trades at a $1,200 per metric ton premium over LME...
READ MOREEurasian Resources Group, a Kazakhstan-based mining conglomerate with operations across Africa and Central Asia, plans to invest $20 million in gallium production facilities that would position Kazakhstan as the world’s second-largest producer of the critical semiconductor metal after China. The company will extract gallium from bauxite ore waste streams at its existing alumina operations, targeting...
READ MOREThe International Aluminium Institute, a global trade body representing the world’s primary aluminum producers, reported that worldwide primary aluminum production increased 3.3% month-over-month to 6.25 million tonnes in May 2025, while annual growth reached 1.5% compared to 6.15 million tonnes in May 2024. China maintained its dominant position with 3.74 million tonnes of production, representing...
READ MOREHindalco Industries, India’s largest aluminium producer and metals flagship of the Aditya Birla Group, has acquired AluChem Companies, a US specialty alumina manufacturer operating since 1978, for $125 million as part of a broader strategy to capture growing demand from electric vehicle and semiconductor industries. The transaction provides the Indian metals giant with 60,000 tonnes...
READ MOREThe International Copper Study Group, a global intergovernmental organization monitoring copper markets, reported that worldwide refined copper surplus declined marginally to 233,000 tonnes during the first four months of 2025 compared to 236,000 tonnes in the corresponding period of 2024. Global refined copper production increased 3.2% year-over-year to 9.4 million tonnes while consumption expanded 3.3%...
READ MOREGazprom Neft, the oil arm of Russian energy giant Gazprom, is advancing plans to launch industrial-scale production of lithium and iodine by 2028, with additional prospects for extracting scandium, gallium, rubidium, and cesium from the associated waters of its oil and gas fields. The initiative represents a strategic diversification into critical minerals production while leveraging...
READ MOREAdani Enterprises, a diversified Indian conglomerate, has started processing ores at its new Kutch Copper smelter in Gujarat, India, after facing multiple delays. The facility, designed to be one of the world’s largest single-location smelters, commences operations at a time of unprecedented tightness in the global market for copper concentrate, the raw material it needs...
READ MOREVale Base Metals, the copper and nickel unit of Brazilian mining giant Vale SA, is aiming for an Initial Public Offering (IPO) by 2027 or potentially sooner, according to CEO Shaun Usmar. The move is intended to position the subsidiary for a premium valuation over other metals producers and provide strategic flexibility in a dynamic...
READ MOREThe International Finance Corporation has committed an additional $400 million subordinated loan to Barrick Gold’s Reko Diq copper-gold project in Pakistan, bringing the World Bank Group’s total financing commitment to $700 million for what is expected to become one of the world’s largest copper mines. The loan, announced June 13, supports the project’s total estimated...
READ MORERussia is planning to double its copper production over the next 15 years, leveraging massive, untapped deposits in its Far East to meet soaring global demand for the metal, which is critical for the green energy transition. Oleg Kazanov, head of the Russian Federal Agency for Subsoil Use (Rosnedra), confirmed the ambitious target, stating that...
READ MOREThe European Commission has officially designated Rio Tinto’s controversial Jadar lithium-boron mining project in western Serbia as a strategic investment under the Critical Raw Materials Act, placing it among 13 non-EU projects prioritized for the bloc’s energy transition. The move, announced in early June, comes despite years of mass protests, legal challenges, and vocal opposition...
READ MOREChina imported 2.4 million metric tonnes of copper concentrate in May 2025, an 18% decline from April’s all-time high, according to customs data. Despite the sharp month-on-month drop, imports were up 5.8% compared to May 2024 and year-to-date volumes reached 12.4 million tonnes, a 7.4% increase over the same period last year. The data underscores...
READ MOREAccording to Shanghai Metals Market (SMM), a leading Chinese metals industry data provider, China produced 551,500 metric tonnes of refined zinc in May 2025, marking a 2% increase compared to May 2024 but a 1% decline from April 2025. The cumulative output for the first five months reached approximately 2.658 million tonnes, representing a modest...
READ MOREThe Indonesian government is launching a new drive to attract investment into its downstream copper sector, aiming to transform the nation from a primary processor into a manufacturer of high-value, secondary products for the global electronics and electric vehicle industries. An official from the Ministry of Investment and Downstreaming confirmed that the government is preparing...
READ MOREChina’s East Hope Group, a diversified industrial conglomerate controlled by billionaire Liu Yongxing, has secured government backing for a $12 billion vertically integrated aluminum production complex in Kazakhstan. The project, announced following a meeting between Kazakh Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov and East Hope Group founder and CEO Liu Yongxing, will establish the country’s first large-scale...
READ MOREThe Indonesian government has revoked the mining permits of four nickel companies in the ecologically fragile Raja Ampat archipelago, a UNESCO Global Geopark renowned for its marine biodiversity. The decision, announced by Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia, follows a high-profile public campaign by Greenpeace Indonesia that exposed significant environmental damage from mining activities....
READ MOREToshiba, a Japanese electronics and industrial conglomerate, has begun delivering samples of its new rechargeable lithium-ion battery, the ‘SCiB Nb’, to manufacturers. Developed in partnership with Brazilian niobium producer CBMM and Japanese trading company Sojitz Corporation, the battery utilizes a niobium-titanium oxide (NTO) anode to deliver an estimated service life of 15,000 cycles and an...
READ MOREPlatinum prices in recent months have been volatile, driven by a combination of industrial demand, global macroeconomic conditions, and market sentiment. Prices are currently hovering around $1,210 per ounce, rebounding from May lows caused by US dollar appreciation and weak demand from the automaker segment. One of the leading drivers of current prices is the...
READ MOREThe Palladium Global Science Award, launched in March 2025, supports pioneering research in palladium-based materials. Open to scientists, startups, and research teams, the award seeks proposals for novel applications of palladium. Submissions are due by July 31, 2025. The initiative aims to recognize and fund breakthrough ideas in the development of palladium materials with unique...
READ MOREConstellium, a global aluminum products manufacturer, has entered a collaboration with Nikon Advanced Manufacturing, a digital manufacturing solutions company, and America Makes, a US public-private partnership for additive manufacturing, to broaden the use of its Aheadd CP1 aluminum alloy in the United States defense and aerospace sectors. The $2.1 million project is funded by the...
READ MOREHunan Zhongke Electric, one of China’s leading lithium-ion battery anode material suppliers, has committed to investing $1.1 billion (8 billion yuan) in a manufacturing facility at Oman’s Sohar Port and Freezone, marking the largest battery materials investment in the Middle East. The project will establish an integrated production base with annual capacity of 200,000 metric...
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