This Month
Minerals over meat: EU farmers rail against trade deal with Australia
Agriculture lobby groups are unhappy with new duty-free access for Australian beef, sheep and sugar, but luxury carmakers want speedy passage of the FTA.
When it comes to smelter bailouts, being a ‘strategic’ asset helps
Boyne was the most logical aluminium smelter to save. The rationale for bailing out some of Australia’s other copper and aluminium plants is less sound.
Drill, baby, drill: It’s boom time for mineral and petroleum explorers
Pre-revenue exploration companies are holding a record $12 billion of cash as investors chase returns through the discovery of new mineral, oil and gas deposits.
European cars, Aussie critical minerals winners in EU trade deal
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will arrive in Australia on Monday to hash out the final details of the agreement.
Lynas Rare Earths inks supply and pricing deal with US government
The US will pay at least $US110 per kilogram for the WA miner’s rare earths, matching the global benchmark and backing its push to secure non-Chinese supply.
Liontown boss says loss-making lithium miner is ready to roar
Tony Ottaviano says his company is through the hardest part of its 10-year journey to develop the Kathleen Valley lithium mine.
Lynas sets rare earths floor price in landmark Japan deal
Government efforts to loosen China’s grip over pricing have borne fruit after the WA miner was guaranteed $US110 a kilogram for its critical minerals.
‘World is changing’: Albanese joins Carney’s call for new global order
Canadian PM urges a strategic counterweight to the US and China, but analysts say the push for greater middle-power diplomacy creates a dilemma for Australia.
Albanese and Carney to pitch investment and minerals partnership
The two prime ministers will pledge their nations to be partners rather than rivals and back plans for superannuation funds to expand in Canada.
February
Why Australia is the quiet loser from Trump’s new 15pc tariff
Australian exporters are back on equal footing with competitors after gaining an unexpected price edge from Donald Trump’s system of country-specific levies.
ASX darling Nova Minerals the latest target of US short sellers
New York-based activist investor Spruce Point Capital warned that shares in the critical minerals hopeful could collapse by up to 100 per cent.
The vacant lot at the heart of Labor’s battery manufacturing dream
An empty field at an old coal-fired power station is all that remains of plans to build a high-tech battery manufacturing hub in Queensland.
White House pushed Australian lithium player to sell claim to US firm
The Trump administration urged explorer AVZ Minerals to divest its stake in the Manono project in Congo to an American buyer.
Lithium refinery shuts in another blow to ‘Made in Australia’
US lithium giant Albemarle will shut its Kemerton refinery in a fresh setback to the Albanese government’s plan to add value to local minerals.
Lithium boss urges West to instate price floor after landmark deal
Lithium miners have been buoyed by a deal with a guaranteed price of US$1000 per tonne, the first agreement of its kind by a local critical minerals producer.
Brisbane critical minerals prospect eyes $1b valuation in ASX float
RZ Resources was named by the White House as one of several major future suppliers of the in-demand commodity. It has hired Bell Potter as it prepares to list.
Gold miners rush to join the large caps, pushing out blue chip names
At least four gold producers are set to reach the ASX 100 next month, forcing large and small-cap fund managers to revisit their portfolios.
Washington pitched a ‘critical minerals club’. Now allies must step up
The US is impatient for a plan to break China’s stranglehold on the supply of critical minerals. This week may mark the beginning of a breakthrough.
Kalgoorlie nickel and cobalt play in line for $1b government loan
Ardea Resources has secured interest from officials in Washington and Canberra as the Trump administration works on securing supplies of critical minerals.
Vance pitches critical mineral price floors to counter China
At a meeting with foreign allies, the vice president urged them to lock in co-ordinated trade rules that would offer price guarantees for new sources of minerals.
