Chilean lithium miner SQM begins laying off 5% of local workforce
A union source said the dismissals would amount to 5% of its workforce nationwide. SQM employs 8,344 people in Chile and elsewhere, with three-quarters working at the northern Chile operations where it extracts lithium, a key battery metal.
SQM declined to comment.
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Times
2 hours ago
- Times
Business live: Diploma finance chief quits over conduct issues
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Output beat forecasts of 0.1 per cent growth by economists and follows a 0.7 per cent expansion at the start of the year. The Bank of England had expected a second-quarter growth rate in the range of 0.1 to 0.3 per cent. Growth rose by 0.4 per cent in June, higher than estimates of about 0.1 per cent, and means that the economy rebounded after contracting by 0.1 per cent of GDP in April and May. Most big forecasters expect annual GDP growth to be in the region of 1.1 to 1.2 per cent this year. Read the full story here. Bitcoin hit a record high this morning, powered by the increasing certainty of Fed rate cuts, sustained institutional buying and moves by the Trump administration to ease investment in crypto assets. The world's largest crypto-asset by market capitalisation climbed as much as 0.9 per cent to $124,002.49 in early Asia trading, surpassing its previous peak hit in July. 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Reuters
5 hours ago
- Reuters
Antofagasta half-year earnings surge 60% on higher copper demand, prices
LONDON, Aug 14 (Reuters) - Chilean miner Antofagasta (ANTO.L), opens new tab posted a nearly 60% jump in half-year core earnings on Thursday, on higher production and prices its customers paid for energy transition material copper. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) for the first six months rose to $2.23 billion from $1.39 billion last year, slightly above analysts' consensus expectations. Antofagasta, majority owned by Chile's Luksic family, announced a dividend of 16.6 cents per share, up from an interim dividend of 7.9 cents last year. The company is expanding output of copper, key for the power and construction industries and for green energy transition applications. Some analysts predict copper prices will hit records above $12,000 a metric ton before the end of the decade, up around 20% from current levels, as the EV sector grows and on emerging applications such as AI-powered data centres. Antofagasta bucked the trend of other FTSE100 mining companies which reported lower results, with global trade concerns weighing on prices of most industrial metals this year. CEO Ivan Arriagada said the company expects more than 30% growth in output in the medium term. Shares were flat in early London trading, in line with the wider resources sector. "Antofagasta has produced a remarkably clean set of results," said RBC Capital Markets analysts, noting the company expects capital expenditure to speed up in the second half. The producer estimates 2025 capex at $3.9 billion, up from $2.7 billion in 2024, on works on its Centinela concentrator. Antofagasta operates four copper mines in Chile, and seeks to develop the Twin Metals project in Minnesota, which was stalled after President Joe Biden's administration blocked permits over environmental concerns. Arriagada on July 10 said he saw "an opportunity" to advance Twin Metals, following President Donald Trump's move to impose a 50% import tariff on copper.
Reuters
6 hours ago
- Reuters
Antofagasta posts a nearly 60% increase in core earnings in first half
LONDON, Aug 14 (Reuters) - Chilean miner Antofagasta (ANTO.L), opens new tab posted a nearly 60% increase in half-year core earnings on Thursday, on higher production and sales of its copper. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) for the first six months of the year rose to $2.2 billion from $1.39 billion last year, in line with analysts' consensus expectations. Antofagasta, majority owned by Chile's Luksic family, said it would distribute 16.6 cents per share to its shareholders, up from an interim dividend of 7.9 cents last year. The company is expanding output of copper, a critical material for the power and construction industries as well as green energy transition applications. CEO Ivan Arriagada on Thursday said the company expects more than 30% growth in output in the medium term.
