Author: Chloe Coutinho

The US Government shut down yesterday amid a funding standoff, temporarily shuttering government agencies and leaving about 750,000 workers facing furlough. Immediately following the shutdown, the spot price for gold reached a record high of $5904.61/oz. The spot price for gold has climbed nearly 50% since this time last year. US Government shutdowns occur when there is a funding gap — when Democrats and Republicans cannot pass a bill funding government services into the new fiscal year (beginning October 1 in the US). The shutdown is the first in nearly seven years and the third to occur with US President Donald Trump in office. The last shutdown, spanning December 2018 through January 2019, was the longest in history, lasting 35…

BHP (ASX: BHP) is investing in a series of growth-enabling projects at Olympic Dam in a move to strengthen the foundations of underground mining productivity. According to BHP chief operating officer Edgar Basto, the miner expects to grow its copper base from 1.7mtpa to about 2.5mtpa. “Achieving that scale requires significant copper growth and we are fortunate to have a world-class copper province right here in South Australia to do just that,” Mr Basto said. “The South Australian copper province is already performing strongly, consistently delivering more than 300,000tpa for the past three years. We are progressing a series of strategic projects that will strengthen our base business and help lay the foundations for future growth.” The investment is funding…

Queensland’s oldest and largest coal-fired power station — the Gladstone Power Station (GPS) — could retire in 2029, six years earlier than expected. Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO) says no final decision has been made to retire GPS, which has operated since 1976, and there is potential to extend the life of the power station should market and other factors allow. The miner says there is no immediate impact on operations and existing power supply contracts, including to Boyne Smelters, will remain in place until their scheduled expiry in March 2029. The GPS JV participants recognise the contribution of the power station to the Gladstone community and are committed to work with the operator NRG Gladstone Operating Services to ensure transparent…

Liontown (ASX: LTR) has amended its pricing mechanism in its long-term offtake agreement with Tesla. This comes as the miner shifts from lithium hydroxide indices to spodumene concentrate, in line with Liontown’s strategy to be exposed to a ‘basket’ of pricing references across the main lithium products. The revised pricing mechanism will apply to all future deliveries under the agreement. There is no change to the remaining volumes under the agreement for the balance of the term ending in 2029. Liontown is also in advanced discussions with Ford Motor Company in relation to proposed amendments to the offtake and loan facility agreements. To provide additional time to conclude these discussions, the parties have agreed to amend the loan facility agreement…

China’s state-run iron ore buyer has told major steelmakers and traders to temporarily halt purchases of all new BHP (ASX: BHP) cargoes, Bloomberg reports, citing people familiar with the matter.  China Mineral Resources Group (CMRG) reportedly asked domestic buyers to suspend purchases of any dollar-denominated seaborne cargoes from BHP.  CMRG was established in 2022 in an aim to centralise iron ore demand, tighten control over the global steel market and give Chinese steel producers more control over prices.  This ban signals an escalation from CMRG, as the group similarly halted the purchase of BHP’s Jimblebar blend fines in early September. As a leading producer, BHP is a major supplier of bulk iron ore to China’s steelmakers. In FY25, BHP generated…

Newmont (ASX: NEM) chief executive Tom Palmer will step down from his role as chief executive on December 31, 2025. Natascha Viljoen, president and chief operating officer, will succeed Mr Palmer as president and chief executive and will also join the board of directors on January 1, 2026. Mr Palmer will serve as a strategic advisor until his retirement on March 31, 2026, to support a seamless leadership transition. Mr Palmer comments on his resignation. “After 12 years with Newmont and almost 40 years in the mining industry, it is time for me to retire and hand over to to lead our company through the next chapter in its storied history,” he said. “It has been a privilege…

Mineral Resources (ASX: MIN) has safely completed the upgrades to the Onslow Iron private haul road, allowing unconstrained haulage to resume at normal speeds. Roadworks included seal binder upgrades and cement stabilisation to enhance pavement strength and moisture resistance, as well as asphalting along the entire length of the sealed road. The width of the upgraded private haul road spans 11 sealed metres from edge to edge, two metres wider than typical public roads used for heavy haulage in the Pilbara region. Mineral Resources managing director Chris Ellison comments on the upgrades. “Onslow Iron has continued to perform very strongly even during the upgrade of the private haul road,” he said. “The resumption of unconstrained haulage marks another significant milestone…

Alcoa (ASX: AAI) has confirmed a $1.36b (US$890m) plan to permanently close its Kwinana alumina refinery in WA, citing the age of the facility, scale and operating costs, market conditions and bauxite grade challenges. This follows the curtailment of production at the refinery in June 2024. The Kwinana refinery currently has about 220 employees. Alcoa says this number will be reduced during 2026 as the closure progresses. Certain employees will remain beyond 2026 to prepare the site for future redevelopment. Permanently closing Kwinana’s 2.2mmt of annual capacity will bring Alcoa’s global consolidated refining capacity to 11.7mmt. Alcoa has undertaken numerous studies and analyses since curtailment to determine the future of the refinery, including restart and closure. Alcoa executive vice president and…

BHP has entered into its third and biggest renewable electricity supply arrangement for Copper SA. Under this baseload electricity arrangement, 100MW of renewable electricity will be supplied to power BHP’s Copper SA province, including the Olympic Dam mine, smelter and refinery as well as the Carrapateena and Prominent Hill operations. It will be supported by output from the first 300MW of Neoen’s Goyder North Wind Farm, reinforced by their new Goyder Battery with a minimum capacity of 200MW/9800MWh, and Neoen’s in-house energy management expertise. Both assets are currently under development near Burra in South Australia’s mid-north, with BHP as the main customer. Neoen expects these two assets to create up to 550 construction jobs and 20 permanent jobs, supporting regional…

Fortescue (ASX: FMG) has signed agreements with four major green energy innovators to accelerate decarbonisation in the Pilbara and beyond. Announced in New York during the United Nations General Assembly, the agreements are with global leader in electric vehicles and in battery manufacturing and development, BYD; solar technology and manufacturing giant, LONGi; construction and mining equipment manufacturer, XCMG; and wind and energy storage leader, Envision Energy. Fortescue has also finalised the acquisition of Spanish renewable technology company Nabrawind. This all supports the miners partnership-led plan in which the miner is focused on building global alliances linking the Pilbara’s world-leading operational expertise, America’s and Australia’s research and development strength, the UK’s and Europe’s innovation and engineering excellence and anchoring it all…

Liontown Resources (ASX: LTR) posted a $193m loss for FY25 in the company’s first year of operations at the Kathleen Valley lithium mine in WA.  The statutory net loss after profit includes an $81m non-cash write-down of ore sorting potential (OSP) stockpiles, foreshadowed in the June quarter results.  Liontown managing director and chief executive Tony Ottaviano comments on the loss.  “While we reported a statutory loss, this was expected in a commissioning year and reflects depreciation and the treatment of stockpiles built up during ramp-up,” he said.  “What matters is that the underlying performance was positive and cash neutral.  “Our balance sheet was further strengthened with the equity raising completed after year-end, taking pro forma cash to $528m and ensuring we…