‘Improving air quality' is a priority for China
Ms Seligsohn told Sky News Australia that air quality in Chinese cities has 'improved dramatically'.
China is leading the global surge of renewables with an estimated 60 per cent of all solar and wind projects.
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West Australian
38 minutes ago
- West Australian
Let's work together: miners look for price stability
Lithium heavy hitters Liontown and PLS have talked up the potential of working together to solve the price volatility that has smashed miners in recent years. Liontown managing director Tony Ottaviano and PLS chief Dale Henderson both expressed support for a joint effort to come up with a more mature price mechanism that would shield them from Chinese market manipulation of the price of the battery metal. Speaking at the annual Diggers and Dealers mining forum in Kalgoorlie on Tuesday, Mr Henderson said the lithium industry was still nascent and lacked the market trading structures in more mature sectors like iron in coal. "So where that ultimately goes, I think, is probably the major participants of the industry pulling together to help resolve that," he said. The lithium market lacks a well-developed futures trading market, meaning prices are mainly determined via opaque private contracts. Developing a spot trading platform would increase liquidity and price transparency, helping iron out the wild price swings the market has suffered in recent years, Mr Henderson hoped. Fellow lithium giant Mineral Resources has previously called for a spot trading market to boost transparency. Mr Ottaviano said he was in favour of whatever it took to see a transparent and stable lithium price. "I'm very much encouraged by what Dale says," he said. "You cannot have a price like lithium on Friday go up $60 a ton, on Monday drop $60 a ton, or in the last three months drop 30 per cent. "How do you respond? It's very difficult to turn a ship in such a rapid time." The rapid market turnaround had driven Liontown down 70 per cent in two years, while PLS was two-thirds lower over the same period. But after oversupply caused the price of lithium-rich spodumene to plummet about 90 per cent from its 2023 peak, the commodity has recently stabilised. China was beginning to crack down on its supply glut to protect the sustainability of its own industry, Mr Ottaviano posited. "We're starting to see government policy to move private enterprise and state-owned enterprises away from this maniacal push for capacity at the detriment of economics," he said. Mr Henderson said it was hard to determine whether the lithium price had bottomed out. "It's hard to call given what we've seen in the market historically, with a disconnect to the fundamentals," he said. The pair saw further upside for demand, through a pick-up in the use of robots and home batteries, with Mr Ottaviano predicting demand could catch up with supply in as little as one year.
Perth Now
38 minutes ago
- Perth Now
Let's work together: miners look for price stability
Lithium heavy hitters Liontown and PLS have talked up the potential of working together to solve the price volatility that has smashed miners in recent years. Liontown managing director Tony Ottaviano and PLS chief Dale Henderson both expressed support for a joint effort to come up with a more mature price mechanism that would shield them from Chinese market manipulation of the price of the battery metal. Speaking at the annual Diggers and Dealers mining forum in Kalgoorlie on Tuesday, Mr Henderson said the lithium industry was still nascent and lacked the market trading structures in more mature sectors like iron in coal. "So where that ultimately goes, I think, is probably the major participants of the industry pulling together to help resolve that," he said. The lithium market lacks a well-developed futures trading market, meaning prices are mainly determined via opaque private contracts. Developing a spot trading platform would increase liquidity and price transparency, helping iron out the wild price swings the market has suffered in recent years, Mr Henderson hoped. Fellow lithium giant Mineral Resources has previously called for a spot trading market to boost transparency. Mr Ottaviano said he was in favour of whatever it took to see a transparent and stable lithium price. "I'm very much encouraged by what Dale says," he said. "You cannot have a price like lithium on Friday go up $60 a ton, on Monday drop $60 a ton, or in the last three months drop 30 per cent. "How do you respond? It's very difficult to turn a ship in such a rapid time." The rapid market turnaround had driven Liontown down 70 per cent in two years, while PLS was two-thirds lower over the same period. But after oversupply caused the price of lithium-rich spodumene to plummet about 90 per cent from its 2023 peak, the commodity has recently stabilised. China was beginning to crack down on its supply glut to protect the sustainability of its own industry, Mr Ottaviano posited. "We're starting to see government policy to move private enterprise and state-owned enterprises away from this maniacal push for capacity at the detriment of economics," he said. Mr Henderson said it was hard to determine whether the lithium price had bottomed out. "It's hard to call given what we've seen in the market historically, with a disconnect to the fundamentals," he said. The pair saw further upside for demand, through a pick-up in the use of robots and home batteries, with Mr Ottaviano predicting demand could catch up with supply in as little as one year.
Sydney Morning Herald
11 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘Let us see the audits': Kmart faces legal battle over alleged links to Uyghur forced labour
Kmart has defended its ethical sourcing practices after being served with a court challenge to provide documents on how it has dealt with two clothing factories that have been linked to forced labour in Xinjiang, an autonomous territory in north-western China. The Australian Uyghur Tangritagh Women's Association (AUTWA) filed a Federal Court application on Monday seeking documentation from Kmart about what it knew of two clothing suppliers linked to the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, where the Chinese government has systematically persecuted the Uyghur population and other Turkic minorities. Represented by law firms Maurice Blackburn and the Human Rights Law Centre, AUTWA is looking to determine whether Kmart followed its ethical sourcing procedures and monitored risks to mount a future legal case that would allege Kmart breached consumer law by making misleading and deceptive statements. In a statement, a Kmart spokesperson said the retailing giant had been corresponding with AUTWA's lawyers for more than 12 months and had provided 'extensive details' of its ethical sourcing program that had been in place for 15 years. Loading 'We invited the AUTWA to meet with us several times to help us understand their concerns,' said the Kmart spokesperson. 'Suppliers in the Kmart ethical sourcing program are regularly monitored through activities including our site visits, audit programs and investigations if we receive any reports or complaints of concern. 'Where we learn of an alleged non-compliance with our code through an audit, site visit or complaint, or by a worker in a supplier's factory, we take action to investigate and remediate the issue, working collaboratively with the supplier. 'When remediation isn't possible due to the supplier's refusal to do so, or repeated failures to make meaningful changes, we will exit the relationship.' However, Maurice Blackburn principal lawyer Jennifer Kanis said the Australian retailer's response during the 12 months of correspondence was 'not satisfactory' because it had repeated public assertions about its ethical sourcing without providing any evidence.
