“Listing is an option,” Ajay Goel, chief financial officer of Mumbai-listed Vedanta Ltd., said Friday in an interview with Bloomberg TV. “It is hard to give a timeline definitely, but it’s under active consideration.”

He did not provide details on the size or location of the potential float.

The company regained control of the Konkola Copper Mines assets in Zambia last year, after the southern African nation’s government triggered its provisional liquidation about five years earlier, accusing Vedanta of lying about expansion plans and paying too little tax. The company has pledged to invest $1 billion in the operation as part of negotiations with the state to secure its return to Konkola.

Konkola boasts resources with copper concentrations much higher than those in South America — today’s biggest global source of the metal needed to build electric cars and artificial intelligence data centers. But the deposits are also deep underground, where vast rivers make the operation one of the world’s wettest.

Read More: Mining billionaire Agarwal moves closer to breaking up his empire

The new standard suite expands the due diligence toolkit for responsible sourcing, processing and manufacturing of raw materials to meet new and emerging regulatory requirements and to encourage continuous improvement of supplier practices across a comprehensive set of indicators, RMI said.

The standard suite underwent an extensive review process in 2024-2025, beginning with benchmarking against new and incoming regulations, including the EU Battery Regulation, the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, and the German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act.

The new standard suite includes the revised Facility Standard for Social, Environmental, OHS and Governance Risks, applicable for assessment of a mineral processor’s operations; and the Supply Chain Due Diligence Module Plus, focused on risk management systems for sourcing primary and secondary materials.

The module is an add-on available only in combination with the RMI’s Responsible Minerals Assurance Process (RMAP) standards or Downstream Assessment Program (DAP).

The new standard suite provides a strengthened framework for risk management, based on internationally recognized guidelines including the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the OECD Guidelines on Responsible Business Conduct.

The standards were also designed to support requirements outlined in new mandatory due diligence regulations, including the EU Battery Regulation and the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive.

These standards help companies identify, assess and mitigate risks, remedy impacts, monitor and report on sustainability management systems, and enhance transparency and accountability within their supply chains, RMI said.

The evolving regulatory landscape and voluntary standards present a significant expansion of expectations, actions, and investment by companies all along the minerals value chain. As such, the RMI said it has also expanded its team providing technical assistance, as well as new trainings, guidance and tools available to mineral processors engaged in an RMI assessment, free of charge.

“With this new standard suite and accompanying training and technical assistance resources, the RMI has significantly expanded its due diligence support to RMI members and mineral processors in our assessment program,” RMI executive director Jennifer Peyser said in a statement.

“The RMI standards remain rooted in longstanding international norms while now reflecting newly emerging company needs and stakeholder expectations for regulatory compliance, managing sustainability risks and impacts, and fostering responsible mineral supply chains,” Peyser said.

More information about the new RMI standards and associated tools can be found here.

Rare earths are a group of 17 metals used to make magnets that turn power into motion for electric vehicles, cell phones and other electronics.

The existing standard to refine these minerals, known as solvent extraction, is an expensive and dirty process that gradually became unpopular in the United States after it was developed in the 1950s but one that Chinese companies have mastered.

China’s exports of rare earths have ground to a halt, fueling a scramble across the West for replacements. Phoenix says its process can produce rare earths from mined ore or recycled equipment with little to no emissions.

Sumitomo’s Presidio venture arm, along with Builders Vision, Yamaha Motor, and venture capital funds Envisioning Partners, MPower and Escape Velocity, joined a $33 million tranche for Phoenix’s Series B funding round, which closed on April 25, the company said.

Phoenix declined to disclose each investor’s funding.

The company will use the funding as part of its construction of a $13 million facility in Exeter, New Hampshire, that can produce 200 metric tons of rare earths annually initially and should open later this year.

The company last December closed a first tranche of its Series B round worth $43 million, bringing the total round to $76 million.

A $10 million Series A funding round closed in August 2021.

(By Ernest Scheyder; Editing by Marguerita Choy)

Total gold demand reached 1,206 tonnes in the first three months of 2025, a 1% increase from the same period a year ago, the WGC said in a new report Wednesday. Soaring inflows into gold ETFs fuelled a 170% surge in investment demand to 552 tonnes, the highest since the first quarter of 2022, WGC said.

As gold prices set multiple record highs this year, including touching $3,500.05 per oz. last week, investors have piled into physical gold ETFs, which grew by $21 billion in the first quarter, their second highest quarterly level since the second quarter of 2020.

Gold’s average price reached $2,860 per oz. in the quarter, a 38% jump from a year ago, according to data compiled by the London Bullion Market Association.

Flows into gold

Investment flows into physical gold will probably continue to gather pace this year, the WGC said. Key factors supporting demand include continued geopolitical tensions, near-term stagflation risks, medium-term recession risks, elevated correlations between stocks and bonds and an expected increase in US deficits.

Central banks bought 244 tonnes of gold in the first quarter, 21% less than in the same period a year ago but within the quarterly range of the last three years. Persistent trade tensions will probably drive full-year central bank purchases close to the range of the past three years, according to the WGC.

First-quarter bar and coin demand rose 2.6% to 325 tonnes, which is 15% above the five-year quarterly average. China accounted for much of the increase, posting its second-highest quarter of retail investment.

Tech demand

Technology demand was little changed at 80.5 tonnes. Ongoing artificial intelligence adoption drove continued growth in the electronics sector, but uncertainty over tariffs should result in a challenging environment for the rest of the year, the WGC said.

Jewelry consumption shrank 21% from the year-ago quarter to 380 tonnes, weighed down by elevated prices. Consumption in the period hit its lowest level since the Covid-19 pandemic brought global economies to a standstill in 2020, and WGC economists predict full-year jewelry demand will be weaker than expected in 2025 on lower growth and higher prices.

Total gold supply grew 1% from a year earlier to 1,206 tonnes, with mine production hitting a first-quarter record of 856 tonnes. Recycling declined 1% as consumers kept their gold hoping for higher prices.

Mine supply this year will probably stay close to its 2024 record level, the WGC said. “Unprecedented” cash generation should allow announced development plans to advance and mine production to stay strong. While Ghana, Chile and Canada have healthy production pipelines, disruptions in Turkey and Russia and cutbacks in Australia are expected to weigh on total output.

Read More: Annual gold price forecast tops $3,000 for first time: Reuters poll

The Group, which recently concluded its biannual meeting with key industry players in Lisbon, forecasts global copper surplus to reach 289,000 tonnes in 2025, more than double the 138,000 tonnes from last year. This forecast also represents a larger surplus than its earlier projection of 194,000 tonnes.

In 2026, the surplus is expected to remain high at 209,000 tonnes, extending the surplus for a third straight year after a largely balanced market in 2023.

The widening surplus over the 2025-26 period, according to ICSG, can be largely attributed to higher mine supply and rising smelting capacity.

Mine supply growth

For 2025, the Group expects global mine production to increase by 2.3% to 23.5 million tonnes, benefiting mainly from the ramp-up of the Kamoa-Kakula mine in the DRC and Oyu Tolgoi in Mongolia and the commissioning of the new Malmyz mine in Russia.

In 2026, a higher growth of 2.5% is anticipated, supported by the continued ramp-up of new/expanded capacity (including China), an expected improvement in Chilean and Zambian output, and a recovery in Indonesia from expected declines in 2025.

In both years, ICSG said a series of smaller expansions and the start-up of a number of small and medium-sized mines will also contribute to the increase in global production notably in the DRC, Brazil, Iran, Uzbekistan, Ecuador, Eritrea, Greece, Angola and Morocco.

Higher refining capacity

The ICSG also sees expanded Chinese smelting capacity, as well as the start-up of new refineries in India, Indonesia and DRC, to contribute to a 2.9% increase in refined copper output this year.

In 2026, however, total refined production is expected to decline by 1.5%, due to constrained availability of copper concentrates leading to a slowdown in primary refined production. This will be offset partially continued growth in the secondary processing sector, which generates refined copper from scrap.

Demand impact

According to the ICSG, uncertainty surrounding international trade policy is likely to weaken the global economic outlook and negatively impact copper demand, dragging this year’s refined copper usage down to 2.4% compared to its previous forecast of 2.7% and the 2.8% recorded in 2024.

Copper usage growth is expected to slow further to 1.8% in 2026, largely reflecting an anticipated loss of momentum in China, where copper usage is expected to shrink from 2% this year to just 0.8% next year.

Demand in other key copper regions such as Europe, Japan and the US is also expected to remain “subdued”, leaving the Asia region as the lone key driver of demand.

However, ICSG also acknowledged that demand drivers such as energy transition technology and data centers will continue to support copper usage, helping to offset some of the broader manufacturing hit from a prolonged trade war.

The full ICSG report is here.

The miner’s consolidated profit attributable to owners of the company surged 154% to 34.83 billion rupees (around $412 million) in the quarter.

The company said its normalized tax rate dropped to 28% from 46% in the year-ago quarter, mainly due to changes in its profit mix and a reduction in the tax rate of a foreign subsidiary.

Overall revenue increased by around 14% to 397.89 billion rupees, boosted by higher prices for aluminum and zinc, which gained by 19.6% and 17.5%, in the quarter, as per data from brokerages.

Vedanta’s aluminum business is the biggest in India and contributes about 40% of the company’s revenue. Zinc is its second-biggest business, followed by copper, whose prices gained 9.3% in the quarter.

The company’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) rose 30% to 116.18 billion rupees.

Its EBITDA, or core profit, margin expanded to 35% from 30% a year ago, helped by the strong commodity prices and cost-saving initiatives.

Earlier this week, Vedanta’s subsidiary Hindustan Zinc reported a higher fourth-quarter profit, although its finance chief flagged price volatility due to the uncertainty related to US tariffs.

($1 = 84.6170 Indian rupees)

(By Manvi Pant; Editing by Savio D’Souza)

Read More: Mining billionaire Agarwal moves closer to breaking up his empire

Chief executive Gustavo Pimenta told reporters in Rio de Janeiro the market is oversupplied due to output from Indonesia. “Nickel remains attractive in the medium and long-term,” he said, citing demand for electric cars production.

“The question is how to remain profitable in the short term,” the executive added.

The CEO noted Vale must work to improve efficiency of its assets, and cut costs to have a profitable nickel business within current market prices.

“We are evaluating if some assets in the portfolio could have a strategic alternative,” Pimenta added.

In January, Vale said its subsidiary Vale Base Metals had started a “strategic review” of its nickel assets in Thompson, Canada, including their potential sale.

Pimenta also said on Tuesday that Vale has started to reverse in April the iron ore production decline it reported in the first quarter of the year, adding he is “very confident” that the miner will meet its 2025 production guidance for the steel-making ingredient.

The executive noted the company could again be the world’s largest iron ore producer if rivals such as Rio Tinto miss their output estimates for the year.

(By Rodrigo Viga Gaier, Gabriel Araujo and Andre Romani; Editing by Chris Reese and Aida Pelaez-Fernandez)

The three were arrested at their private residence in Kumasi, the second biggest city on a tip off, Ghana Gold Board said in a statement on X.

An amount of 1.9 million cedis ($133,333), 4,500 rupees, 4.36 kilograms of gold and two counting machines were found on the suspects, whose ages are 42, 35 and 22, it said. A CCTV recorder and an Indian passport were also found in their possession, it said.

Ghana is Africa’s top gold producer. The country’s gold exports rose more than 50% to $11.6 billion in 2024. Black-market trading of the metal is induced by small-scale mining activity, which represents about a third of output.

(By Moses Mozart Dzawu)

In its latest report, Sprott notes that uranium prices have stabilized near $65/lb following a correction driven not by weakening fundamentals, but by a pause in utility contracting. Buyers have been waiting for clarity on US tariffs and potential trade restrictions on Russian enriched uranium.

Some of that uncertainty began to clear in early April, helping steady the spot market. Sprott maintains that uranium’s decline reflects macro sentiment and technical selling—not a reversal in the commodity’s structural outlook.

“Despite market pressures, uranium’s term price remains stable at $80/lb and global supply is constrained below demand levels,” the firm said.

Resilience amid volatility

While broader equity and commodity markets have seen volatility in recent months, uranium has shown relative stability.

In early April, it remained uncorrelated with other risk assets—holding firm even as equities sold off, bond markets wobbled, and volatility spiked.

Uranium and uranium equities have outperformed other commodities and global equities over the past five years, driven by a deepening supply deficit and growing global policy support. That trend, Sprott argues, is far from over.

Supply lags demand

Supply constraints remain a central part of the bullish case. Few new uranium projects are advancing, and some juniors—like NexGen, Deep Yellow, and Paladin—have delayed development. Kazatomprom has also guided production toward the lower end of its outlook amid cost and input challenges.

In Australia, heavily shorted producers such as Paladin and Boss Energy have come under pressure, but Sprott believes short positioning in uranium equities is out of sync with underlying market dynamics. “This wave of equity weakness is a sentiment story, not a structural one,” the report reads.

On the demand side, China continues to expand its nuclear fleet, and the US—backed by bipartisan support—has reaffirmed its commitment to nuclear power as a strategic asset. Tech giants like Amazon, Google, and Meta are also pushing for an ambitious tripling of global nuclear power capacity by 2050 to meet growing baseload energy needs.

Sprott expects the next leg of the uranium bull cycle to begin as utilities return to the market and long-term contracting resumes. With global uranium production still well below reactor requirements and long timelines for new supply to come online, the firm sees a structurally tight market for years to come.

“We are encouraging our companies to acquire assets abroad, right from iron ore to coking coal to even limestone and dolomite,” Poundrik said at an industry event in Mumbai. “Raw material securitization is the most important aspect of steelmaking.”

India, the world’s second-largest producer of crude steel, aims to boost its overall steelmaking capacity to 300 million tons by 2030, up from about 200 million tons currently.

To support this expansion, coking coal imports are projected to rise to 160 million tons by 2030 from around 58 million tons now, Poundrik had projected on Friday.

Despite an uptick in steel output, India’s coking coal imports dipped 0.7% in the fiscal year ended in March due to lower shipments from Australia and the United States, said commodities consultancy BigMint.

India relies on imports to meet 85% of its coking coal needs, with Australia supplying more than half of those shipments.

In a bid to diversify supply, India has also been exploring partnerships with Mongolia. However, logistical challenges remain in sourcing material from the landlocked country, Poundrik noted.

India’s state-run miner NMDC is exploring coking coal assets in Indonesia and Australia, chairman Amitava Mukherjee said on Thursday.

(By Neha Arora and Sethuraman NR; Editing by William Mallard)

Speaking at the Future of Energy Security summit held in London this week, IEA executive director Fatih Birol highlighted the strong expansion of clean energy technologies in recent years — while remarkable — also creates a new problem: the urgent need for raw materials.

“To manufacture this new clean energy technologies, you need critical minerals,” Birol said during the two-day event co-hosted by the British government. “We look at where the critical minerals are produced, where they are refined and where they are manufactured, that is a huge concentration, and this is something that we think is risky.”

According to the IEA, the world’s supply of critical minerals — such as copper, cobalt, lithium and rare earth elements — are currently dominated by China, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Australia, Chile, Indonesia and, to a lesser extent, the US.

This concentration of raw materials, said Birol, represents a “new emerging energy security challenge”, and the reason why the Agency launched its critical minerals program.

“Currently, we are A) not able to keep up with the demand, and B) the ability of manufacturing these critical minerals is concentrated in one single country or two,” Birol said in a speech last year when announcing the program.

In response to this challenge, the IEA urged nations to focus on policies that promote the diversification of mineral sources and move away from “critical mineral monopolies.”

“Most of these critical minerals are currently controlled by just one or two countries and it is important to ensure diversity in clean energy,” Birol told reporters from Turkish state-owned news agency Anadolu on Friday.

“This is not about whether a country is good or bad. If there is a technical problem or a geopolitical development in that country, entire energy supply chains could be jeopardized,” he said.

On the sidelines of the summit, Birol noted China’s dominance in the critical minerals sector and its contribution to low-cost clean energy technologies. The Asian nation is the main producer for 30 out of 50 minerals deemed critical by the US, and is the world’s top miner and processor of rare earths.

Zinc prices, which averaged at about $2,900 a ton in financial year 2025, have oscillated between $2,500 and $2,700 so far in April, CFO Sandeep Modi said.

“It will take some time to create balance in prices due to US tariffs, but fundamentally prices will remain strong.”

Modi said prices are expected to average at $2,800-$2,900 a ton in fiscal 2026, which started on April 1. Rising commodity prices typically boost selling prices and margins for miners.

US President Donald Trump’s on-again-off-again tariffs have sparked trade uncertainty and gutted global markets in recent weeks.

On Friday, Hindustan Zinc reported a jump in fourth-quarter profit, supported by higher production and prices.

The company, India’s biggest producer of the refined metal, forecast production growth of saleable metal at 1,100 kilo tons per annum (KTPA) in fiscal 2026, up from 1,052 KTPA a year ago, CEO Arun Misra told Reuters.

It also expects a project capex of $225 million-$250 million this financial year.

Modi said an expansion plan for the company is underway and expects approval from the board for its first phase in about a month. He did not elaborate on the plan.

Demand for zinc, which is commonly used to coat steel to prevent corrosion, is set to grow by 5% this fiscal in India, while steel demand will rise 4%-5%, Modi said.

Domestic zinc prices rose about 17.5% in the fourth quarter, according to analysts, on higher demand from India’s construction and manufacturing sectors.

The company, which commands 75% of the domestic zinc market, said its revenue from operations rose 21.2% to 88.29 billion rupees, while total expenses grew only 8.5%.

The zinc division reported a 20.6% increase in revenue.

($1 = 85.4350 Indian rupees)

(By Anuran Sadhu; Editing by Varun H K and Sonia Cheema)

The group also forecast global primary nickel usage at 3.537 million tons this year and global primary nickel production at 3.735 million tons.

The market balance in 2023 was a surplus of 170,000 tons, rising to 179,000 tons in 2024, the Lisbon-based group said.

World primary nickel production was 3.363 million tons in 2023 and 3.526 million tons in 2024, with primary usage at 3.193 million tons and 3.347 million tons respectively.

In Indonesia, delays to issuance of mining permits (RKABs) resulted in ore tightness in the nickel market, the report said, adding that the effect of the country’s new royalties on the mining sector has yet to be assessed fully.

Primary nickel output in China is also forecast to increase, driven by additional nickel cathode and nickel sulphate production, the report said.

Prices for nickel, used in stainless steel and electric vehicle batteries, fell by more than 7% in 2024 and is up about 3% so far this year.

(By Anjana Anil and Ashitha Shivaprasad; Editing by David Goodman)

India, the world’s second-largest producer of crude steel, meets 85% of its coking coal requirements through imports. Australia accounts for more than half of the country’s coking coal imports.

The company is looking at this as a business opportunity, Mukherjee said. “They (explorations) are in different stages of negotiations.” He did not disclose the details of these talks due to confidentiality.

State-owned NMDC is India’s largest iron ore miner with four operational mines across the country.

The country’s top steelmaker JSW Steel’s CEO Jayant Acharya had told Reuters earlier in the day that the company sources coking coal from Australia, the United States and Mozambique. State-owned SAIL also procures coking coal from countries such as Mongolia.

Coking coal has traditionally been a volatile commodity because of its dominance in exports and the variability of weather, according to commodity consultancy firm BigMint.

In 2023, erratic weather conditions hit coking coal supplies from Australia.

(By Neha Arora and Manvi Pant; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala and Shilpi Majumdar)

First, the company announced on Tuesday that it’s exiting an Alaskan mining project by selling its 50% stake to billionaire John Paulson and Novagold Resources Inc. for $1 billion. Meanwhile, Barrick has also signaled more deals on the horizon as it seeks buyers for mines in Africa and North America.

The strategy follows a time-tested playbook that runs its course when prices of the precious metal surge: Sell smaller, aging gold mines at a time when they’re likely to fetch much better prices than normal. Barrick’s stake in the Alaska project sold for well above Toronto-Dominion Bank’s $600 million valuation for the investment.

Newmont Corp., the world’s largest gold producer, generated $4.3 billion on asset sales earlier this year — blowing past its initial projections of about $2 billion as bullion prices climbed.

Shedding those assets allows miners like Barrick to focus on major, so-called “Tier 1” mines that deliver the bulk of the company’s revenue, while freeing up cash to pursue expensive development projects elsewhere. Barrick is forging ahead on ambitious projects in Africa and Asia, with a $6 billion copper project in Pakistan and a Zambian mine expansion that could make it one of the largest in the world.

The mines that Barrick is looking to sell, meanwhile, generate increasingly little for the company. It retained bankers to find buyers for Tongon, a small gold mine in the Ivory Coast, last year, and did the same for Hemlo, its last gold mine in Canada, in April. Those two mines combine for less than 10% of Barrick’s overall production.

“Mining companies often say it’s just as hard to run a mine that produces 200,000 ounces as it is to run a mine with 500,000 ounces,” said Carey MacRury, metals and mining analyst with Canaccord Genuity. “And what Barrick wants is world-class, giant ore bodies that can last for decades.”

The divestment push comes at a time of transition for the world’s No. 2 gold miner.

Toronto-headquartered Barrick has signaled a pivot away from gold mining, with plans to spend heavily on copper projects. It’s even proposed changing the company name from Barrick Gold to Barrick Mining. Chief executive officer Mark Bristow has talked for years about expanding in copper, even weighing takeovers of producers Freeport-McMoRan Inc. and First Quantum Minerals Ltd., though they never came to pass.

If Newmont’s divestment push last year serves as a guide, finding buyers in a bullion bull market shouldn’t be tough. Barrick’s rival sold six small, aging gold mines last year to a handful of gold miners who paid more than Newmont anticipated.

The first sign Barrick has found similar interest came on Tuesday, when the firm said it reached an agreement with hedge-fund manager Paulson and Novagold Resources to sell its stake in Alaska’s Donlin project.

“It came to our attention late last year that Barrick wanted to sell their stake,” Paulson said in an interview. “And that was opportune for us. Barrick’s focused on other projects around the world, and is pivoting more to copper, but we’re looking to increase our exposure to gold.”

(By Jacob Lorinc)

While prices of aluminum, zinc, and copper have given up the heady gains of 2024, the 71-year-old tycoon is betting that a simpler structure for the sprawling group and growing demand for critical minerals will add to the allure of his companies even as the specter of a global recession looms.

The overhaul will allow the group to list each of its key businesses: aluminum, oil & gas, power, iron & steel, along with the publicly traded core company Vedanta. The demerger could provide new funding sources and increase financial transparency across the group, according to Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Mary Ellen Olson.

“The time for growth is now as demand is strong, supply is tight, and we’re positioned in the right markets,” Agarwal said in a recent video interview from his London home, adding that most of the materials mined by his company are locally consumed. The billionaire said that this makes Vedanta less vulnerable to potential disruptions in global supply chains arising from US President Donald Trump’s tariff measures.

Vedanta is also expanding the gamut of its operations by winning rights to mine critical minerals like nickel, chromium, platinum, and cobalt in India through November auctions. The global demand for these and other metals that are key to energy transition remains high and will give the group the next fillip of growth, Agarwal said.

Middle East and Africa

Agarwal has long dreamed of building an empire that spans continents and competing with the ranks of the world’s largest diversified miners, including Rio Tinto Group and BHP Group Ltd.

The group plans to spend more on overseas projects and is doubling on investments in the Middle East and Africa. Vedanta is set to invest $2 billion in copper-processing facilities in Saudi Arabia — one of the largest by a foreign firm — as the oil kingdom aspires to build its metals and mining industries significantly.

“Saudi not only has good geology but strong local consumption too,” Agarwal said, adding that “funding is never a problem for a project like that.”

According to local government estimates, Saudi Arabia has untapped resources, including phosphate, copper, gold, and bauxite, worth as much as $2.5 trillion. About a third of its investments in the country will be funded through internal accruals, and for the rest, the group will seek project financing, Agarwal said.

The company is currently seeking funds to develop mines in Africa, too. The Konkola Copper Mines in Zambia, which it controls, has a major copper deposit and cobalt reserves, according to Vedanta.

The financing options being weighed range from a billion-dollar bond offering, “off-take financing, or sale of a minority stake to global investors, for which there is significant demand,” Agarwal said.

Cutting debt

Vedanta shares dropped about 7% this year in Mumbai trading amid a slump in commodities prices. Other than economic growth woes, weighing on investor sentiment is the company’s $6.2 billion debt, the upshot of an acquisition spree since the turn of the century that includes stakes in Bharat Aluminium Co. and Hindustan Zinc Ltd.

Over the last two years, Agarwal has been on a drive to cut leverage and push back repayment deadlines on the group’s borrowings. The plan is to halve it over the next three years.

The group will be cautious about loading up on debt as it chases growth for each demerged unit, he said. All existing shareholders of Vedanta will receive one new share in each of the newly listed entities against each share they own in the parent company.

“There is no need for a stake sale to reduce our debt at the parent company level, and neither are there any plans to sell our stakes in any of the demerged entities,” Agarwal, who started as a scrap metal dealer and has weathered cash crunches and government friction, said. Each listed company can look at issuing fresh shares to raise funds for expansion, he said.

The so-called debt to earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization ratio — a financial metric that measures a company’s ability to pay off its debt obligations — for Vedanta has to be brought down to 1 from the current 1.4 and maintained, according to him.

Over the years, Agarwal has been grooming his daughter Priya Agarwal Hebbar to take over from him as the head of the conglomerate. A psychology and film studies graduate from the University of Warwick, the 35-year-old is the chairwoman of Hindustan Zinc and is on the board of Vedanta.

“The group’s future is very focused on transition and critical minerals, and that is where the company will go,” Hebbar said.

(By Anto Antony)

The report said China’s commerce ministry delivered the message in letters to Korean companies which make power transformers, batteries, displays, electric vehicles, aerospace and medical equipment, all of which use the key materials.

The letters said Korean companies could face sanctions if they violate the export restrictions, the report said.

South Korea’s Industry Ministry was not immediately available for comments outside business hours.

Early this month, China placed export restrictions on rare earth elements as part of its sweeping response to US President Donald Trump’s tariffs, squeezing supply to the West of minerals used to make weapons, electronics and a range of consumer goods.

(By Hyunjoo Jin; Editing by Kim Coghill)

Two weeks into the second quarter, the MINING.COM TOP 50* ranking of the world’s most valuable miners had a combined market capitalization of $1.36 trillion, up $79.7 billion so far in 2025.

The total stock market valuation of the world’s biggest mining companies remains almost $400 billion below the peak hit in the second quarter of 2022.

This snapshot was taken at the close of trading on 17 April and not at the start of Q2 as usual to avoid some of the market distortions brought on by the chaotic weeks following Trump’s on-again off-again tariffs.

This flatters the index to some extent as gold stocks rode the coattails of the record setting bullion price and almost all big names regained some ground after the severe sell-off during the first week of April.

Newcomers

The volatile trading saw the greatest number of new entries – six in all – in a quarter since MINING.COM started tracking the Top 50 six years ago. From $6.7 billion at the end of 2024, the lowest ranked entry must now be worth $8 billion.

Mining and metals arguably suffered some of the biggest swings and roundabouts as the economic effects of a trade war and the focus on critical minerals played havoc – exemplified by the volatility on copper markets.

The bellwether metal hit a record high in the US at the end of March, only to plunge more than 20% over the next week and a half and then make up a big chunk of those losses going into the long weekend.

Amid the hectic trading, copper producers and diversified companies with large base metal portfolios lost a combined $53 billion to April 17 and are now trading $205 billion below their collective peak end-Sep 2024 as the sector’s ranks thin.

Lundin Mining dropped out of the Top 50 during Q1 following another copper counter, Poland’s KGHM, which did not make the cut off in Q4 last year. Q1 was a mixed blessing for the Canadian mining empire with the copper producer making way for Lundin Gold, entering the Top 50 for the first time after doubling in value in USD terms to $10.1 billion in Toronto.

Huayou Cobalt’s inclusion proved to be short-lived while South32 failed to make the cut for the first time since being spun out of BHP a decade ago. The base metals sans copper producer sits at position 51 after being narrowly edged out by Shanjin International Gold, so the stock may well return if (and not necessarily when) profit-taking in gold and gold stocks starts to make sense.

Another notable mover of 2025 is Amman Mineral, the worst performer in the index which lost over $10 billion in value as reality about its piercing run since its debut in Jakarta early 2023 continues to set in. The Indonesian copper-gold company is now worth an eye-catching $20 billion less than its high point at the end of Q2 last year, even after investors ran up the stock more than 20% just in the last week.

Nothing counters gold

While the direction of the copper price over the last few months was almost impossible to judge, gold’s record breaking run looked inevitable. At $3,420 per ounce gold at the time of writing, the yellow metal has now finally also surpassed its 1980 peak in inflation-adjusted terms.

Unsurprisingly, precious metals counters dominate the best performer list and make up the majority of new entrants. Gold, silver and PGM miners and royalty companies now represent a third of the value of the Top 50. The strength in precious metals has also seen Canada overtake Australia for the first time in terms of the value of miners headquartered there.

At 22% of the index, the 13 Canadian companies collectively are worth a smidgen under $300 billion compared to $275 billion for the now eight Australian firms with the inclusion for the first time of Sydney-based gold stock Evolution Mining. In their current form Melbourne-based BHP and Rio Tinto have been the top two global mining stocks since the turn of the century, together worth $220 billion today.

The MINING.COM Top 50 tracks stock value in USD terms not share price gains on local exchange and many stocks in the ranking benefitted from strengthening currencies against the USD.

South Africa’s Harmony Gold tops the gainers after jumping 24 spots to enter the ranking at no 37 following a 117% advance since end-2024. Like Harmony, Goldfields also benefited from the strong rand against the greenback, lifting the Johannesburg-based company’s shares by 83% year to date.

Russia’s Polyus, which added $14.4 billion in Q1, was only beaten by the top two gold stocks Newmont and Agnico Eagle which added $18.6 billion and $19.9 billion year to date in market cap gains. The ruble has strengthened by 20% against the US dollar in 2025 and Norilsk Nickel, thanks to captive investors on the MCX, has maintained its good standing in the Top 50 despite sanctions and trading restrictions. Norilsk is still worth north of $20 billion but still a far cry from its peak position as the world’s number 5 most valuable mining company reached mid-2021.

London-listed Fresnillo returns to the index after years in the wilderness thanks to a 74% surge in value for the Mexican silver and gold miner, majority owned by Mexican industrial group Peñoles. Together with Southern Copper, owned by Grupo Mexico, the country now represents nearly 6% of the value of the Top 50.

Gold counters are likely to only increase in number and size over the rest of 2025. Kazatomprom dual-listed in London and Astana in 2018, and Uzbekistan is now readying an IPO for Navoi Mining and Metallurgy Combinat – the world’s fourth largest gold mining company and significant uranium producer later this year.

Rare earth representation

China Northern Rare Earth is the only producer of the 17 elements in the ranking and despite the frenzy surrounding the sector as China tightens control. There are no obvious REE candidates that could join the Top 50 in short order.

MP Materials, which operates the Mountain Pass mine in California, has surged by 69% in value year to date but the Las Vegas-based company is still worth only $4.3 billion.

The company’s valuation peaked above $8 billion in March 2022, but the whole mining industry was riding high at the time and the high price ticket for entry at the time meant it fell just outside the ranking. Australia’s Lynas Rare Earths have also come close in the past and is up 26% this year for a valuation of $5.3 billion.

Lithium down to a single stock

Lithium’s representation in the ranking is down from six companies to a single stock – Chile’s SQM languishing in position 42 and worth less than $10 billion – following the exit of China’s Tianqi and US-based Albemarle during the quarter, with the latter dropping by 38% in 2025.

The value destruction caused by the slump in lithium prices has been nothing short of astonishing. Lithium stocks in the index peaked in the second quarter of 2022 with a combined value of nearly $120 billion.

While Albemarle now worth $6.2 billion may well make a comeback (the longer term prospects for lithium demand remains bright), the absorption of Arcadium by Rio Tinto makes it unlikely that the Top 50 will see a rush of lithium stocks any time soon, a rebound of the commodity notwithstanding.

Zangge Mining, which does derive a good proportion of income from lithium, but is mostly a fertilizer producer, is bubbling under at number 53. The Chinese company may not stick around either – it’s the subject of takeover overtures by Zijing Mining, which also helps explain the 25% rise in the stock on the Shenzen exchange in USD terms.

Notes:

Source: MINING.COM, stock exchange data, company reports. Share data from primary-listed exchange at close April 17/18, 2025 close of trading converted to US$ where applicable. Percentage change based on US$ market cap difference, not share price change in local currency.

As with any ranking, criteria for inclusion are contentious. We decided to exclude unlisted and state-owned enterprises at the outset due to a lack of information. That, of course, excludes giants like Chile’s Codelco, Uzbekistan’s Navoi Mining (the gold and uranium giant may list later this year), Eurochem, a major potash firm, and a number of entities in China and developing countries around the world.

Another central criterion was the depth of involvement in the industry, and how far upstream is the bulk of its revenue, before an enterprise can rightfully be called a mining company.

For instance, should smelter companies or commodity traders that own minority stakes in mining assets be included, especially if these investments have no operational component or even warrant a seat on the board?

This is a common structure in Asia and excluding these types of companies removed well-known names like Japan’s Marubeni and Mitsui, Korea Zinc and Chile’s Copec.

Levels of operational or strategic involvement and size of shareholding were other central considerations. Do streaming and royalty companies that receive metals from mining operations without shareholding qualify or are they just specialized financing vehicles? We included Franco Nevada, Royal Gold and Wheaton Precious Metals on the basis of their deep involvement in the industry.

Vertically integrated concerns like Alcoa and energy companies such as Shenhua Energy or Bayan Resources where power, ports and railways make up a large portion of revenues pose a problem. The revenue mix also tends to change alongside volatile coal prices. Same goes for battery makers like China’s CATL which is increasingly moving upstream, but where mining will continue to represent a small portion of its valuation.

Another consideration is diversified companies such as Anglo American with separately listed majority-owned subsidiaries. We’ve included Angloplat in the ranking but excluded Kumba Iron Ore in which Anglo has a 70% stake to avoid double counting. Similarly we excluded Hindustan Zinc which is listed separately but majority owned by Vedanta.

With other groups like Mexico’s Penoles where refining and chemicals make up a substantial part of the business where possible the Top 50 would include separately listed operating subsidiaries that are dedicated to mining. This is also why Southern Copper represents Grupo Mexico in the ranking.

Many steelmakers own and often operate iron ore and other metal mines, but in the interest of balance and diversity we excluded the steel industry, and with that many companies that have substantial mining assets including giants like ArcelorMittal, Magnitogorsk, Ternium, Baosteel and many others.

Head office refers to operational headquarters wherever applicable, for example BHP and Rio Tinto are shown as Melbourne, Australia, but Antofagasta is the exception that proves the rule. We consider the company’s HQ to be in London, where it has been listed since the late 1800s.

Please let us know of any errors, omissions, deletions or additions to the ranking or suggest a different methodology: email Frik Els at fels@mining.com with Top 50 in the subject line.

Two weeks into the second quarter, the MINING.COM TOP 50* ranking of the world’s most valuable miners had a combined market capitalization of $1.36 trillion, up $79.7 billion so far in 2025.

The total stock market valuation of the world’s biggest mining companies remains almost $400 billion below the peak hit in the second quarter of 2022.

This snapshot was taken at the close of trading on April 17 and not at the start of Q2 as usual to avoid some of the market distortions brought on by the chaotic weeks following Trump’s on-again off-again tariffs.

This flatters the index to some extent as gold stocks rode the coattails of the record setting bullion price and almost all big names regained some ground after the severe sell-off during the first week of April.

Newcomers

The volatile trading saw the greatest number of new entries – six in all – in a quarter since MINING.COM started tracking the Top 50 six years ago. From $6.7 billion at the end of 2024, the lowest ranked entry must now be worth $8 billion.

Mining and metals arguably suffered some of the biggest swings and roundabouts as the economic effects of a trade war and the focus on critical minerals played havoc – exemplified by the volatility on copper markets.

The bellwether metal hit a record high in the US at the end of March, only to plunge more than 20% over the next week and a half and then make up a big chunk of those losses going into the long weekend.

Amid the hectic trading, copper producers and diversified companies with large base metal portfolios lost a combined $53 billion to April 17 and are now trading $205 billion below their collective peak end-Sep 2024 as the sector’s ranks thin.

Lundin Mining dropped out of the Top 50 during Q1 following another copper counter, Poland’s KGHM, which did not make the cut off in Q4 last year. Q1 was a mixed blessing for the Canadian mining empire with the copper producer making way for Lundin Gold, entering the Top 50 for the first time after doubling in value in USD terms to $10.1 billion in Toronto.

Huayou Cobalt’s inclusion proved to be short-lived while South32 failed to make the cut for the first time since being spun out of BHP a decade ago. The base metals sans copper producer sits at position 51 after being narrowly edged out by Shanjin International Gold, so the stock may well return if (and not necessarily when) profit-taking in gold and gold stocks starts to make sense.

Another notable mover of 2025 is Amman Mineral, the worst performer in the index which lost over $10 billion in value as reality about its piercing run since its debut in Jakarta early 2023 continues to set in. The Indonesian copper-gold company is now worth an eye-catching $20 billion less than its high point at the end of Q2 last year, even after investors ran up the stock more than 20% just in the last week.

Nothing counters gold

While the direction of the copper price over the last few months was almost impossible to judge, gold’s record breaking run looked inevitable. At $3,420 per ounce gold at the time of writing, the yellow metal has now finally also surpassed its 1980 peak in inflation-adjusted terms.

Unsurprisingly, precious metals counters dominate the best performer list and make up the majority of new entrants. Gold, silver and PGM miners and royalty companies now represent a third of the value of the Top 50. The strength in precious metals has also seen Canada overtake Australia for the first time in terms of the value of miners headquartered there.

At 22% of the index, the 13 Canadian companies collectively are worth a smidgen under $300 billion compared to $275 billion for the now eight Australian firms with the inclusion for the first time of Sydney-based gold stock Evolution Mining. In their current form Melbourne-based BHP and Rio Tinto have been the top two global mining stocks since the turn of the century, together worth $220 billion today.

The MINING.COM Top 50 tracks stock value in USD terms not share price gains on local exchange and many stocks in the ranking benefitted from strengthening currencies against the USD.

South Africa’s Harmony Gold tops the gainers after jumping 24 spots to enter the ranking at no 37 following a 117% advance since end-2024. Like Harmony, Goldfields also benefited from the strong rand against the greenback, lifting the Johannesburg-based company’s shares by 83% year to date.

Russia’s Polyus, which added $14.4 billion in Q1, was only beaten by the top two gold stocks Newmont and Agnico Eagle which added $18.6 billion and $19.9 billion year to date in market cap gains. The ruble has strengthened by 20% against the US dollar in 2025 and Norilsk Nickel, thanks to captive investors on the MCX, has maintained its good standing in the Top 50 despite sanctions and trading restrictions. Norilsk is still worth north of $20 billion but still a far cry from its peak position as the world’s number 5 most valuable mining company reached mid-2021.

London-listed Fresnillo returns to the index after years in the wilderness thanks to a 74% surge in value for the Mexican silver and gold miner, majority owned by Mexican industrial group Peñoles. Together with Southern Copper, owned by Grupo Mexico, the country now represents nearly 6% of the value of the Top 50.

Gold counters are likely to only increase in number and size over the rest of 2025. Kazatomprom dual-listed in London and Astana in 2018, and Uzbekistan is now readying an IPO for Navoi Mining and Metallurgy Combinat – the world’s fourth largest gold mining company and significant uranium producer later this year.

Rare earth representation

China Northern Rare Earth is the only producer of the 17 elements in the ranking and despite the frenzy surrounding the sector as China tightens control. There are no obvious REE candidates that could join the Top 50 in short order.

MP Materials, which operates the Mountain Pass mine in California, has surged by 69% in value year to date but the Las Vegas-based company is still worth only $4.3 billion.

The company’s valuation peaked above $8 billion in March 2022, but the whole mining industry was riding high at the time and the high price ticket for entry at the time meant it fell just outside the ranking. Australia’s Lynas Rare Earths have also come close in the past and is up 26% this year for a valuation of $5.3 billion.

Lithium down to a single stock

Lithium’s representation in the ranking is down from six companies to a single stock – Chile’s SQM languishing in position 42 and worth less than $10 billion – following the exit of China’s Tianqi and US-based Albemarle during the quarter, with the latter dropping by 38% in 2025.

The value destruction caused by the slump in lithium prices has been nothing short of astonishing. Lithium stocks in the index peaked in the second quarter of 2022 with a combined value of nearly $120 billion.

While Albemarle now worth $6.2 billion may well make a comeback (the longer term prospects for lithium demand remains bright), the absorption of Arcadium by Rio Tinto makes it unlikely that the Top 50 will see a rush of lithium stocks any time soon, a rebound of the commodity notwithstanding.

Zangge Mining, which does derive a good proportion of income from lithium, but is mostly a fertilizer producer, is bubbling under at number 53. The Chinese company may not stick around either – it’s the subject of takeover overtures by Zijing Mining, which also helps explain the 25% rise in the stock on the Shenzen exchange in USD terms.

Notes:

Source: MINING.COM, stock exchange data, company reports. Share data from primary-listed exchange at close April 17/18, 2025 close of trading converted to US$ where applicable. Percentage change based on US$ market cap difference, not share price change in local currency.

As with any ranking, criteria for inclusion are contentious. We decided to exclude unlisted and state-owned enterprises at the outset due to a lack of information. That, of course, excludes giants like Chile’s Codelco, Uzbekistan’s Navoi Mining (the gold and uranium giant may list later this year), Eurochem, a major potash firm, and a number of entities in China and developing countries around the world.

Another central criterion was the depth of involvement in the industry, and how far upstream is the bulk of its revenue, before an enterprise can rightfully be called a mining company.

For instance, should smelter companies or commodity traders that own minority stakes in mining assets be included, especially if these investments have no operational component or even warrant a seat on the board?

This is a common structure in Asia and excluding these types of companies removed well-known names like Japan’s Marubeni and Mitsui, Korea Zinc and Chile’s Copec.

Levels of operational or strategic involvement and size of shareholding were other central considerations. Do streaming and royalty companies that receive metals from mining operations without shareholding qualify or are they just specialized financing vehicles? We included Franco Nevada, Royal Gold and Wheaton Precious Metals on the basis of their deep involvement in the industry.

Vertically integrated concerns like Alcoa and energy companies such as Shenhua Energy or Bayan Resources where power, ports and railways make up a large portion of revenues pose a problem. The revenue mix also tends to change alongside volatile coal prices. Same goes for battery makers like China’s CATL which is increasingly moving upstream, but where mining will continue to represent a small portion of its valuation.

Another consideration is diversified companies such as Anglo American with separately listed majority-owned subsidiaries. We’ve included Angloplat in the ranking but excluded Kumba Iron Ore in which Anglo has a 70% stake to avoid double counting. Similarly we excluded Hindustan Zinc which is listed separately but majority owned by Vedanta.

With other groups like Mexico’s Penoles where refining and chemicals make up a substantial part of the business where possible the Top 50 would include separately listed operating subsidiaries that are dedicated to mining. This is also why Southern Copper represents Grupo Mexico in the ranking.

Many steelmakers own and often operate iron ore and other metal mines, but in the interest of balance and diversity we excluded the steel industry, and with that many companies that have substantial mining assets including giants like ArcelorMittal, Magnitogorsk, Ternium, Baosteel and many others.

Head office refers to operational headquarters wherever applicable, for example BHP and Rio Tinto are shown as Melbourne, Australia, but Antofagasta is the exception that proves the rule. We consider the company’s HQ to be in London, where it has been listed since the late 1800s.

Please let us know of any errors, omissions, deletions or additions to the ranking or suggest a different methodology: email Frik Els at fels@mining.com with Top 50 in the subject line.

Lumina’s flagship asset, the Cangrejos gold-copper project, is considered the largest primary gold deposit in Ecuador. Located in the El Oro province in the country’s southwest, the project sits approximately 30 km southeast of the Pan American Highway and 40 km from the deep-water port of Puerto Bolívar.

The Canadian miner launched a feasibility study on the project in January 2024, building on its 2023 prefeasibility study. Updates to date include a larger and more advanced processing plant, with projected throughput increasing to 40,000 tonnes per day — up from the previously envisioned 30,000 tonnes.

Cangrejos hosts 659 million tonnes of probable reserves grading 0.55 gram per tonne (g/t) gold, 0.1% copper and 0.69 g/t silver. This equates to 11.6 million oz. of gold, 1.4 billion lb. of copper and 14.4 million oz. of silver. These are contained within an indicated resource of 1 billion tonnes grading 0.48 g/t gold, 0.09% copper and 0.7 g/t silver — representing 3.7 million oz. of gold, 483 million lb. of copper and 7 million oz. of silver.

The 2023 PFS outlined a capital expenditure of $925 million and projected average annual gold-equivalent production of 469,000 oz. over a 26-year mine life.

CMOC’s move highlights growing investor interest in Ecuador, which is rich in mineral resources but has historically lagged behind regional mining leaders Peru and Chile. While the country shares geological continuity with Peru, political and regulatory uncertainty have slowed the development of large-scale mining projects.

Shares of Lumina Gold surged 31% on the TSX Venture Exchange following the announcement, pushing its market capitalization to C$480 million ($348 million).

The acquisition is expected to close in the third quarter of 2025, pending shareholder, regulatory and court approvals.

BHP, the world’s biggest mining company, projects copper demand to explode and rise by 70% in 2050, reaching 50 million tonnes per year.

To meet this staggering demand, the mining industry would need hundreds of billions in investment to keep pace and grow enough supply. BloombergNEF estimates that as much as $2.1 trillion could be required by 2050 to meet the raw materials demand of a net-zero world.

This places tremendous pressure on mining companies to not just discover new sources of supply, but also expand on their existing operations to achieve supply growth.

Over the next few years and decades, the biggest copper mines would play a pivotal role in the energy transition.

Below is a list of the world’s 10 biggest by 2024 production:

# 1: Escondida

The vast Escondida mine in Chile retains its top spot, churning out 1.28 million tonnes of metal for an increase of 16% from 2023. Escondida is majority owned and managed by BHP (57.5%), with Rio Tinto holding 30% and Japan’s Mitsubishi and JX Advanced Metals the remaining 12.5%.

In February, BHP said it would move forward with a $2 billion plan to optimize its concentrator at Escondida, the first initiative of its decade-long $10.8 billion investment plan announced last year.

BHP’s copper production in 2025’s first three months climbed 10%, boosted by the ramp-up of Escondida operations.

#2: Grasberg

Jointly owned by Freeport McMoRan and PT Mineral Industri Indonesia, the Grasberg mine produced 816,466 tonnes of copper in 2024, up 8.4% from 2023. Work at Grasberg was halted temporarily in 2023 after flooding and debris flow from heavy rains and landslides damaged its milling complex, but the skies were fairer in 2024.

#3: Collahuasi

The Collahuasi mine in Chile, jointly owned by Glencore, Anglo American and Mitsui, saw its production fall 2.5% to 558,636 tonnes in 2024, compared to 573,200 tonnes from the prior year. Watch a compilation of 21 years of mining at Collahuasi in 21 seconds here.

#4: Kamoa- Kakula

The Kamoa-Kakula mine complex, jointly owned by Ivanhoe Mines, Zining Mining, the DRC government and Crystal River Global, increased its production to 437,061 tonnes in 2024, up 11% from 2023. Kamoa-Kakula in 2023 was named the world’s lowest carbon-emitting major copper mine.

#5: Buenavista

The Buenavista mine in Mexico came in fifth place with 433,000 tonnes of metal produced in 2024, up nearly 4% from the 416,600 tonnes in 2023. Wholly owned by Grupo Mexico subsidiary Southern Copper, Buenavista has been producing since 1899, making it the oldest operating copper mine in North America.

#6: Cerro Verde

In sixth place is Cerro Verde in Peru, an open-pit copper and molybdenum mining complex that is a joint venture between Freeport McMoRan, Buenaventura and Sumitomo. In 2024, Cerro Verde produced 430,459 tonnes, down 3.71% from 447,034 tonnes in 2023.

#7: Antamina

Also in Peru, Antamina is jointly owned by Glencore, BHP, Teck Resources and Mitsubishi. The mine produced 413,000 tonnes in 2024, a 2.13% decline from 422,000 tonnes in 2023.

Production figures for the mines below are based on FY2024 estimates:

#8: Tenke Fungurume

The second Congolese mine on the list, Tenke Fungurume produced an estimated 400,000 tonnes in 2024, which would represent a 42.7% yearly jump. In 2021, China’s CMOC, which jointly owns the mine with Congo state-controlled Gécamines, invested $2.51 billion to double its production. The project was completed and came online in 2023.

#9: KGHM Polska Miedz

The only mine in Europe to make the list is KGHM Polska’s Miedz in Poland, churning out an estimated 395,160 tonnes in 2024, approximately in line with the 395,400 tonnes from 2023.

#10: Polar Division

The Polar Division copper mine in Russia, owned by Norilsk Nickel, rounds out the list with an estimated 345,000 tonnes in 2024, an approximate increase 6.3% from the 324,600 tonnes in 2023.

*Cobre Panama, Central America’s largest open-pit copper mine, produced 330,863 tonnes of copper in 2023 before the government ordered it to shut down. If it was still operating, it would have become a 100-million-tonne-a-year operation in 2024, placing it near the top of the world’s copper throughput ranking.

The 3-month nickel contract on the LME is currently trading around $15,600.

Later this month, Indonesia will start imposing higher royalty fees of 14% to 19% on nickel ore output depending on price levels, up from a single tariff of 10%, according to a copy of the regulation.

The semi-refined product nickel pig iron will be charged with a 5% to 7% royalty, while nickel matte will have a 3.5% to 5.5% royalty, the regulation said. That compared with the current 5% single tariff on nickel pig iron and 2% on nickel matte.

“We support the government’s royalty plan, but we need to pick a more appropriate timing,” Alexander Barus, chairman of smelters group Indonesia Nickel Industry Forum (FINI), told Reuters after a meeting with mining ministry officials.

He said the group had asked the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry to consider waiting until nickel prices on the LME has reached at least $17,000 per ton, a level that would allow companies’ margin to cover the costs from the royalty hike.

Researchers at BMI said earlier this month that they had downgraded their nickel price outlook this year from an annual average of $17,000 to $15,000 per ton due to oversupply conditions while US President Trump’s trade policy added exacerbated risks.

“The issue is, prices of our output, such as stainless steel, nickel pig iron and ferronickel, are also dropping now. It will be onerous with the royalties,” Barus added.

Nickel miners are already struggling with higher costs, including for fuel, Indonesia Nickel Miner Association (APNI) has said, after the government removed subsidies for biodiesel earlier this year. APNI has also called for a delay on the new fees’ implementation.

A senior official overseeing mining at the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request seeking comment.

Royalties on other products such as copper ore, copper concentrate, refined tin will also be raised, among others.

The government previously said the new royalty policy was intended to improve industry governance. It comes as the government’s budget deficit is widening due to a drop in tax revenue and bigger spending for President Prabowo Subianto’s flagship programs.

(By Fransiska Nangoy; Editing by David Evans)

Australian Newcastle futures declined to $94.25 a ton on Thursday, the lowest for a front-month contract since May 2021. Seaborne coal prices have collapsed in recent months after milder winter weather curbed demand in China and other major Asian importers.

China’s fuel oversupply was exacerbated by a drop in output from thermal power plants in the first quarter, while coal production hit an all-time high last month. And a tit-for-tat trade war between the world’s two largest economies threatens economic growth and consumption of coal.

“We expect the seaborne market to track sideways for a while as the effects of global trade disruptions play out,” said Steve Hulton, senior vice president of coal markets at Rystad Energy. “However, in our view, the likely price direction is up as there are producers at the top end of the cost curve who are hurting at prices below $100 per ton.”

Chinese spot coal prices are near the rates of long-term contracts set by the government, according to the China Coal Transportation and Distribution Association, a theoretical bottom for the market.

That, along with with action from producers to cut back output, could slow price declines. Glencore Plc, the world’s biggest coal shipper, said last month that it is cutting planned production at its Cerrejon mine in Colombia to halt a prolonged collapse in prices.

Read More: China to keep building coal plants through 2027, state planner says

MINING.COM and The Northern Miner mapped global copper production through a geopolitical lens, dividing the world into five “spheres of control”: American, Chinese, Russian, Coalition of the Willing, and Undrafted.

These groupings reflect geographic, social, cultural, and economic ties—as well as potential alignments in an increasingly polarized world.

In this interview, Anthony Vaccaro, the author of the graphic and president of The Northern Miner Group, explains how the five blocs compare in terms of copper extraction.

Explore the full infographic:

The changes to be introduced largely mirror those touted in a public consultation last month, with formerly flat levies on output now rising with commodity prices, according to a regulation document seen by Bloomberg and confirmed by people familiar with the matter. They asked not to be named as the details aren’t yet public.

The increase, at a time of trade turbulence and uncertainty in metals markets, is indicative of the extent to which the expense associated with flagship policies, including a new state investment fund and free school lunches, are weighing on Jakarta. Many producers are already under pressure from low prices.

The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, which regulates mining, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

According to the document, a flat levy of 10% on nickel ore production will be replaced with taxes varying from 14% to 19%, depending on price levels determined by the government. Lower grade ore that’s then processed into battery-grade nickel will pay a smaller 2% royalty.

“The regulation comes with a slight change to what had been proposed,” Ryan Davies, an analyst at Citigroup Inc, wrote in a note. “Overall, this might affect Indonesia’s dominance in the down streaming industry.”

“This might affect Indonesia’s dominance in the down streaming industry,” amid potential supply response in the medium-to-longer term via deterrent of new supply growth

Royalties paid on higher grade ferronickel and nickel matte will be lower than stipulated in the public consultation. Indonesia’s huge smelting industry has been grappling for months with a shortage of ore which has crimped margins and forced many firms to slash output.

Changes to royalties paid on open pit coal production, which accounts for the lion’s share of Indonesia’s massive output, will depend on existing permits. The levies for underground coal mining, however, will be lower by comparison.

Shares of coal companies including PT Bumi Resources and PT Indika Energy, who will see their royalties lowered under the new regime, rallied on Wednesday. Other Indonesian mining stocks were mixed.

The regulation comes into effect 15 days from April 11, the registration date, according to the document. The royalty increases were first reported by Bloomberg Technoz, a partnership between Mayapada Group’s PT Berita Mediatama Indonesia and Bloomberg Media Group, a division of Bloomberg LP, the parent of Bloomberg News.

(By Eddie Spence)

Two workers were killed and one was left missing after the accident at the Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park on Sulawesi island last month. The incident occurred in a tailings area affiliated with Chinese producer PT QMB New Energy Materials Co. Ltd, and has forced the factory to halt almost all production, according to traders with knowledge of the situation.

Nearby peers have also had to reduce output, they said, asking not to be named as the matter is sensitive.

QMB’s biggest shareholder GEM Co. Ltd., responding to a Bloomberg query, said production was lower but attributed the drop to planned maintenance and national holidays for Eid al-Fitr, which fell in the first week of April. Park manager PT IMIP, confirming the landslide and casualties, said in a statement that there had been no disruption to output as a result, and blamed prolonged heavy rainfall.

Nickel traders in Southeast Asia and China acknowledged the short-term price impact of the stoppage would likely be limited, but said they were increasingly worried about the potential for repeated disruptions, as the use of high-pressure acid leaching, or HPAL, grows. The method allows producers to use lower-grade ore to extract metal, but comes with high volumes of waste.

Indonesia accounts for more than half the world’s output of nickel and continued outages could crimp global supply — a concern for battery makers even if the metal has been in a persistent surplus in recent years.

Indonesia’s metals sector has been plagued by a string of accidents since it began its breakneck nickel expansion a decade ago — the worst being a 2023 smelter explosion that killed 21 workers and drew reprimands from the government. With the growth of HPAL plants, a failure to properly manage associated waste could once again revive concerns over uneven environmental and safety standards.

In the last five years alone, the Southeast Asian nation has commissioned about 10 HPAL plants, of which half are already in operation, most of them thanks to Chinese investment and expertise. The nickel-extracting method is both cheaper and less carbon-intensive than others but generates nearly double the tailings, which are then dried out and compacted before being deposited at a designated site. Any breakdown in waste management is likely to disrupt normal production.

Experts have questioned whether HPAL, given the significant waste involved, can ever be used safely in the humid archipelago where torrential rain, earthquakes and landslides complicate storage efforts.

“These issues should not be treated as isolated cases in different companies. They reflect a broader industry problem,” said Putra Adhiguna, managing director at the Australia-based Energy Shift Institute. He added that with repeated incidents, supply risks are “always looming in the background”.

PT IMIP said the hub was implementing measures to improve standards and mitigate geological disaster risks in the area — one of many industrial parks spearheaded by former President Joko Widodo to accelerate manufacturing growth — using land reclamation, leveling, and reforestation.

While the exact extent of the current production loss is unclear, the people familiar with the matter said QMB — which also counts China’s Tsingshan Holding Group Co. and Guangdong Brunp Recycling Technology Co. Ltd. among its shareholders — would likely see lower output in April than in previous months given an ongoing government investigation into the accident.

The plant shipped more than 25,000 tons of nickel in the first quarter of the year, according to an emailed statement from GEM.

A spokesperson for Indonesia’s ministry of industry did not respond to messages seeking comment.

(By Alfred Cang, Annie Lee and Eddie Spence)

India is the world’s largest cutting and polishing hub, handling nine out of every 10 diamonds processed globally. But it is sensitive to economic uncertainty – particularly in the US, its biggest market.

Cut and polished diamond exports, which usually account for nearly half of overall gem and jewellery shipments, fell 16.8% to $13.3 billion year-on-year, the Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) said in a statement.

The slump dragged down overall gem and jewellery exports by 11.7% to $28.5 billion – a four-year low – from $32.28 billion the previous year.

The lower demand for polished diamonds also prompted Indian processors to reduce imports of rough diamonds by 24.3% to $10.8 billion, the trade body said.

Gems and jewellery exports rose by 1% year-on-year in March, however, to $2.56 billion, the GJEPC said, as exporters ramped up shipments ahead of announced US tariffs.

US President Donald Trump initially planned to place a 27% tariff on imported Indian goods from April 9 as part of duties targeting dozens of countries, but then declared a 90-day pause on the measure.

“US buyers were loading up in March before the tariffs kicked in. Indian exporters were also rushing to ship out US orders first, so they wouldn’t get hit with those extra costs,” said Shaunak Parikh, vice-chairman of GJEPC.

India’s gems and jewellery exports are unlikely to recover this year, one major Mumbai-based exporter told Reuters, as the US tariffs have roiled global markets and shaken buyer confidence.

(By Rajendra Jadhav; Editing by Joe Bavier)

Trump’s comments were the latest in a series of confusing pronouncements in the long-running saga over Nippon’s pursuit of US Steel. Trump opposed the deal during the 2024 campaign, but has warmed to it since. On Monday, he directed a national security panel to take a fresh look at the all-cash bid for US Steel to help determine if “further action” is appropriate, raising hopes the deal could gain an elusive green light.

Since returning to the White House, Trump’s on-again, off-again approach to commerce has spooked business executives, who say the uncertainty has has clogged dealmaking and business activity, with the ramifications most evident in his decision to slap heavy tariffs on just about every major world economy, only to reverse course in the face of a market selloff and public pressure on Wednesday.

US Steel shares lost $3.12 to $42.02 on Thursday, well below Nippon Steel’s $55-per-share offer price.

“We don’t want to see it go to Japan,” Trump said, adding “We love Japan.”

“We don’t want it to go to Japan or any other place, and we’re working with them,” Trump said.

The comment shows the future of the deal remains uncertain given sudden changes in thinking at the White House.

White House officials gave no details about Trump’s comments or whether they contradicted Monday’s action. “Everything’s always on the table with the president,” one official said.

US Steel and Nippon Steel did not respond to requests for comment.

Outgoing President Joe Biden had blocked the merger in January on national security grounds.

After Biden’s decision, the two companies sued the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), which scrutinizes foreign investments for national security risks, alleging Biden had prejudiced the committee’s decision and violated the companies’ right to a fair review.

The deal was announced in December 2023 and almost immediately ran into opposition across the political spectrum ahead of the November 5 US presidential election. Both then-candidates Trump and Biden vowed to block the purchase of the storied American company.

The companies had argued that Biden opposed the deal when he was running for reelection to win support from the United Steelworkers union in the battleground state of Pennsylvania, where US Steel is headquartered. The Biden administration had defended the review as essential to protecting security, infrastructure, and supply chains.

Last month, the Trump administration filed a motion to extend two deadlines in the lawsuit to give the government more time to wrap up merger talks with the firms.

Late on Monday, the Trump administration and the companies asked an appeals court to pause their litigation until June 5 while CFIUS reviews the tie-up again, noting that the process has the potential to “fully resolve” the companies’ claims.

(By Andrea Shalal; Editing by Scott Malone, Bill Berkrot, Jamie Freed and Anil D’Silva)

The comment appeared to contradict recent actions by the Trump administration. On Monday, Trump directed a national security panel to take a fresh look at Nippon Steel’s all-cash bid for US Steel to help determine if “further action” is appropriate, raising hopes the deal could gain an elusive green light.

Following Trump’s latest comment, shares of US Steel fell as much as 14% to $38.57 in after hours trading before recovering slightly. They remained well below Nippon Steel’s $55 a share offer price.

“We don’t want to see it go to Japan,” Trump said, adding “We love Japan.”

“We don’t want it to go to Japan or any other place, and we’re working with them,” Trump said.

US Steel and Nippon Steel did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The comment shows the future of the deal remains uncertain given sudden changes in thinking at the White House.

White House officials gave no details about Trump’s comments or whether they contradicted Monday’s action. “Everything’s always on the table with the president,” one official said.

Outgoing President Joe Biden had blocked the merger in January on national security grounds.

After Biden’s decision, the two companies sued the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), which scrutinizes foreign investments for national security risks, alleging Biden had prejudiced the committee’s decision and violated the companies’ right to a fair review.

The deal was announced in December 2023 and almost immediately ran into opposition across the political spectrum ahead of the November 5 US presidential election. Both then-candidates Trump and Biden vowed to block the purchase of the storied American company.

The companies had argued that Biden opposed the deal when he was running for reelection to win support from the United Steelworkers union in the battleground state of Pennsylvania, where US Steel is headquartered. The Biden administration had defended the review as essential to protecting security, infrastructure, and supply chains.

Last month, the Trump administration filed a motion to extend two deadlines in the lawsuit to give the government more time to wrap up merger talks with the firms.

Late on Monday, the Trump administration and the companies asked an appeals court to pause their litigation until June 5 while CFIUS reviews the tie-up again, noting that the process has the potential to “fully resolve” the companies’ claims.

(By Andrea Shalal; Editing by Scott Malone, Bill Berkrot and Jamie Freed)

Leveraging $500,000 from BHP’s (NYSE, LSE, ASX: BHP) Explor accelerator program, the company intercepted more than 100 metres of mineralization, including 8.8 metres grading 6% copper and more than 3% nickel at Oval, Gan-Ochir said.

“As a country Mongolia is much more mature compared to newcoming jurisdictions,” Gan-Ochir said in an interview last month at the annual Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada convention in Toronto. “All our projects are close to infrastructure and accessibility is good.”

The company has $4 million earmarked for exploration this year at Oval, including 5,000 to 6,000 metres of drilling that’s already started.

Watch the full conversation with The Northern Miner’s western editor, Henry Lazenby:

Joint venture videos are paid-for content in arrangement with The Northern Miner.

The regulation seeks to improve industry governance and will raise royalties of metal products based on price levels, including introducing progressive rates for metals such as nickel ore, nickel matte and ferronickel.

Miners group have urged the government to reconsider the hike, however, as they are already struggling with rising operational costs.

“We appreciate all the inputs but we are seeing the bigger interest for our country,” minister Bahlil Lahadalia told reporters.

“The regulation will take effect in the second week of April,” he said.

The government proposed levying royalties ranging between 14% and 19% for nickel ore, depending on benchmark price levels, compared with the current 10% flat rate, according to the ministry’s public consultation document.

For coal, the government would raise royalty rates by one percentage point to up to 13.5%, but only when the benchmark coal price hits at least $90 per metric ton.

(By Bernadette Christina and Ananda Teresia; Editing by John Mair and Martin Petty)

Reko Diq is considered one of the largest undeveloped copper-gold deposits in the world, projected to generate over $70 billion in free cash flow and $90 billion in operating cash flow over its lifetime. The project is jointly owned by Barrick and the governments of Pakistan and Balochistan.

Phase 1 of the project, targeted to begin production in 2028, is currently under financing negotiations with multiple international lenders.

According to Cribb, the mine is seeking $650 million from the International Finance Corporation and International Development Association, $500 million to $1 billion from the US Export-Import Bank, and $500 million from other development finance institutions, including the Asian Development Bank, Export Development Canada and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation.

“We expect to close the term sheet in either late Q2 or early Q3,” Cribb said.

A recent feasibility study expanded the scope of the project. Phase 1 throughput is now expected to reach 45 million tonnes per year, up from 40 million, while Phase 2 is projected to process 90 million tonnes annually, up from 80 million. As a result of the increased throughput, the mine’s lifespan has been revised down from 42 years to 37 years, although unaccounted-for mineral resources could extend it to as much as 80 years. The estimated cost for Phase 1 rose from $4 billion to $5.6 billion.

Lenders are expected to secure offtake agreements as part of the financing terms. Potential buyers include countries in Asia such as Japan and South Korea, and European nations like Sweden and Germany, all seeking to lock in copper supply for industrial needs.

The World Bank has also pledged to invest $2 billion annually in Pakistan’s infrastructure over the next decade, reinforcing the country’s appeal for international development financing.

Strategic shift toward copper

Financing Reko Diq marks another major step in Barrick’s strategic pivot toward copper. CEO Mark Bristow has long expressed interest in growing the company’s copper portfolio, including previously exploring takeovers of copper giants Freeport-McMoRan and First Quantum Minerals — deals that ultimately did not materialize.

Reflecting this shift, the company is proposing a name change from Barrick Gold to Barrick Mining Corp.

“Barrick’s just really interested in copper now,” Carey MacRury, a mining analyst with Canaccord Genuity Group, told Bloomberg News.

“They haven’t really bought anything in gold, and they haven’t really built anything in gold since Bristow took over.”

(With files from Reuters and Bloomberg)

The new figures, published Tuesday in the biennial Red Book — a survey of the uranium industry — may trigger concern over the direction of Iran’s nuclear program. The Islamic Republic has been digging at more than a half dozen new uranium mines since 2022 yet its resources are considered uneconomic and well below what is needed to fuel a nuclear reactor.

Tehran’s government “indicates that Iran’s uranium reserves are much larger than previously estimated,” wrote the authors of the report, who work at the Paris-based Nuclear Energy Agency and Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency. The country may almost quadruple ore production to 71 tons this year, according to the report.

Unlike other parts of the nuclear-fuel cycle — the sprawling industrial process that concentrates uranium isotopes into fuel for energy — upstream mining activities are not frequently audited. IAEA inspectors track enriched uranium worldwide at gram levels because the material can also be used in weapons, but uranium ore can be mined and traded with fewer regulations.

While Iran has always maintained its nuclear program is peaceful, in 2015 world powers negotiated caps on its work in exchange for sanctions relief. US President Donald Trump left that agreement — which included IAEA safeguards on Iranian mining activities — in May 2018 and reimposed stringent penalties on Iran’s economy.

Since returning to office, Trump has said he wants a new nuclear agreement with Iran and has raised the threat of military action if Tehran doesn’t join direct talks to strike an accord soon.

After months of tensions, Tehran said it would hold talks with the US on Saturday in Muscat, Oman. Negotiations will be led by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and US special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and mediated by Oman’s foreign minister, according to Iran’s state-run Nour News.

Iran’s uranium mining activities have drawn scrutiny from security analysts who point out that, while its reserves aren’t enough to fuel its lone atomic-power reactor, they would be sufficient to build nuclear bombs.

The reactor at Iran’s Bushehr nuclear-power plant needs the equivalent of about 160 tons (145.15 tons) of uranium ore annually, but the country has been mining just 21 tons a year. Russia’s Rosatom Corp., which built the plant, also supplies the fuel.

“Despite having already acquired sufficient uranium to supply a sizable nuclear weapons arsenal, Iran’s domestic uranium resources do not match its nuclear power reactor goals, meaning it cannot have an economically viable, domestic source of uranium,” wrote the Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security in a report last year.

Iran’s engineers are now producing the equivalent of one bomb’s worth of 60%-enriched uranium per month, according to IAEA data. In February, an IAEA report noted that the country’s stockpile of this highly-enriched uranium had increased by 50% over the preceding three months, to 275 kilograms.

(By Jonathan Tirone)

Ma’aden is weighing a partnership with US-based MP Materials, China’s Shenghe Resources, Australia’s Lynas Rare Earths or Canada’s Neo Performance Materials, the sources said.

Ma’aden plans to choose at least one partner by the end of June to help develop plans for a rare earths processing facility and eventually a magnet facility inside the kingdom, according to the sources, who were not authorized to discuss the deliberations publicly.

The selection process, details of which have not previously been reported, underscores how minerals processing is fast becoming a necessity for tech-focused economies looking to produce their own building blocks for artificial intelligence, electric vehicles and other sectors.

Saudi’s growing mining industry is a key pillar in de-facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman’s Vision 2030 program to diversify the economy beyond oil.

The country, and the mining companies controlled by it, are eyeing projects to mine and process several minerals, including lithium, copper, zinc and rare earths, which are used to make magnets that turn electricity into motion for EVs, cell phones and other devices.

Ma’aden and MP declined to comment. Shenghe and Neo did not respond to requests for comment.

Lynas said it is focused on rare earths processing projects in Australia, Malaysia and the United States, and that it “regularly holds discussions with emerging rare earths companies around the world.”

Once chosen, the partner and Ma’aden will study how best to mine and process Saudi Arabia’s vast reserves of the minerals, a timeline expected to be finished by this December, one of the sources said.

Of the four companies under consideration, Shenghe and Neo have the most experience with rare earths processing and magnet production, although MP has been working to boost both inside the United States. Lynas processes rare earths in Malaysia and is building a refinery in Texas.

The standard process to refine rare earths can be dirty, expensive and time-consuming, fueling a push by scientists for better methods. Rare earths processors must contend with 17 metals, depending on a deposit’s geology, each of which is nearly the same size and atomic weight, making separation complex.

Those rare earths must be teased out in a specific order, a logistical challenge that would prevent Ma’aden and any future partner from cherry-picking specific elements they may want.

MP, which supplies Shenghe with rare earths from its California mine for processing inside China, invested in a Vietnamese rare earths processing facility with Shenghe in 2023. Both companies said earlier this year they planned to unwind that partnership.

China’s upper hand

China started rapidly expanding in the industry during the 1980s and now controls nearly 90% of global rare earths refining capacity, according to the International Energy Agency. Geologists with the state-controlled China Geological Survey have been mapping out Saudi Arabia’s mineral reserves since 2023.

China’s prowess in the minerals sector has helped propel the country’s economy to the second-largest in the world, a reality that the US and others have acknowledged and are working to break, especially after Beijing banned the export of rare earths processing technology in 2023.

Last week, Beijing placed export restrictions on rare earths, magnets and other finished products.

US President Donald Trump last month invoked wartime powers to in part boost American metals refining.

Saudi officials last year nearly doubled their estimate for the kingdom’s minerals reserves to $2.5 trillion, an increase largely due to the addition of rare earths.

Riyadh aims to have those rare earths processed into a form that can be used to make electronics inside the kingdom and does not want the supply chain to be exported elsewhere, according to one of the sources.

Broad investments

The move is only one part of Riyadh’s latest push into the minerals supply chain. The Global Supply Chain Resilience Initiative, a government program under the Saudi government’s National Investment Strategy, last November said it would invest 35 billion riyals ($9.32 billion) in copper smelters and refineries from India’s Vedanta and a zinc smelter from China’s Zijin.

The Saudi government’s sovereign wealth fund is the largest shareholder in California-based EV manufacturer Lucid, which in 2023 opened its first plant outside the US in Saudi Arabia.

Australia’s Hastings Technology Metals has also signed a nonbinding memorandum of understanding with the National Investment Strategy for a potential rare earths facility. US firm Critical Metals signed a non-binding MOU last year to explore the construction of a lithium refinery in Saudi Arabia with Riyadh-based Obeikan Group.

Ma’aden, which is controlled by the Saudi wealth fund, said last May it had successfully extracted lithium from seawater and was working to make the process commercially viable.

(By Ernest Scheyder, Clara Denina and Pesha Magid; Editing by Veronica Brown and Nia Williams)

The agencies’ biennial Red Book says demand for uranium is surging as countries and companies turn to nuclear power to reduce fossil fuel use and support the rapid growth of artificial intelligence (AI)-related power-hungry data centres. Without major new investment in uranium exploration and mining, supply may not keep up.

While the report concludes that enough uranium exists to support a “high-growth” scenario through 2050 and beyond, it stresses that unlocking those resources will require significant spending on exploration, mining operations, and new processing techniques.

Under that high-growth outlook, global nuclear capacity would rise 130% by 2050 compared to 2022 levels. However, that estimate is based on policies and data available at the start of 2023 — before a wave of renewed interest in nuclear energy by both governments and the private sector.

East Asia is expected to see the largest growth, with capacity potentially increasing by up to 220% over the 111 gigawatts of nuclear power it had at the end of 2022. Meanwhile, countries including the US, UK, South Korea and 20 others have pledged to triple global nuclear capacity by mid-century to help meet net-zero targets.

Iran concerns

From the region, Iran is by far the country with the most capacity to increase uranium output, the report shows. The nation could up its ore production by almost four times, reaching 71 tonnes this year, according to the report.

In addition to the current Ardakan uranium production facility in Yazd Province, feasibility studies are underway for the development of the Narigan production centre, also located in the same province.

Iran has always maintained that its uranium enrichment activities are for peaceful purposes. Last year, however, the US-based Institute for Science and International Security said that while Iran’s uranium resources could support a nuclear weapons arsenal, they are insufficient to fuel its growing nuclear power reactors.

Private sector investment is also climbing. Tech giants including Google, Amazon and Meta are betting on nuclear, investing heavily in the sector to power the next generation of energy-intensive data centres fuelling AI development.

The International Energy Agency said in January that nuclear power has entered “a new era,” with interest at its highest level since the 1970s oil shocks. 

The agency noted that annual nuclear investment rose nearly 50% between 2020 and 2023.

President Donald Trump said last week that he would impose a 10% baseline tariff on all imports to the US and higher duties on dozens of other countries, including some of Washington’s biggest trading partners, rattling global markets and bewildering US allies. The Trump administration imposed a 29% tariff on Pakistan.

“They (Rubio and Dar) discussed US reciprocal tariffs on Pakistan and how to make progress toward a fair and balanced trade relationship,” the State Department said.

The US goods trade deficit with Pakistan was $3 billion in 2024, a 5.2 % increase over 2023, according to the Office of the US Trade Representative.

“The Secretary raised prospects for engagement on critical minerals and expressed interest in expanding commercial opportunities for US companies.”

Pakistan’s foreign ministry said Rubio “reciprocated the desire to collaborate with Pakistan in trade and investment in various sectors, especially critical minerals.”

The Trump administration has also used prospects of engagement over critical minerals with other countries.

For example, it is attempting to strike an agreement over critical minerals with Ukraine as part of talks related to the Russia-Ukraine war. Washington has also said it is open to exploring critical minerals partnerships with Congo and help end a conflict raging in the African country’s east.

In the call with Dar, Rubio emphasized the importance of Pakistan’s cooperation with the US on law enforcement and addressing illegal immigration, the State Department said.

Last month, Pakistan highlighted its cooperation with Washington on countering extremism after the arrest of Mohammad Sharifullah, whom the US blames for a 2021 attack on its troops at Kabul airport, in a military operation along the border with Afghanistan.

The Pakistan foreign ministry said Rubio and Dar discussed the situation in Afghanistan.

(By Kanishka Singh; Editing by Alistair Bell and Kim Coghill)