Latest news with #RioTinto
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Tours of world's largest mine now available for the 2025 season
The Rio Tinto Kennecott mine, also known as the Bingham Canyon mine, opened its door to visitors for the 2025 season. Located southwest of Salt Lake City at the base of the Oquirrh Mountains, the iconic Kennecott mine is a human-made, open-pit copper mine operated by Rio Tinto. Sitting over a half-mile in depth and over 2 miles across, Rio Tinto Kennecott is the largest mine in the world. It's been operating for over a century, since its opening in 1903, producing more than 19 million tons of copper to date. During World War II, the Kennecott mine produced about 30% of the copper used by the Allies, establishing new records for copper mining. The self-guided tours, or 'Visitor Experience,' aim to spread consciousness about the role of the mine in modern life. The Kennecott mine supplies about 20% of the nation's refined copper, which is an essential element in today's infrastructure, manufacturing and technology. Guests can learn how ore is processed and turned into refined copper as well as safe mining practices and responsible environmental stewardship while seeing firsthand the gigantic scale of Kennecott's operation. The highlight of the visit includes a stop at the mine overlook, where guests can contemplate the gargantuan stature of the pit. The shuttle to the overlook runs every 30 minutes from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Tickets are available for purchase at the Rio Tinto Kennecott Visitor Experience's website, and should be booked in advance. Admission is $6 per person, and children under 5 enter for free. All proceeds go to the Kennecott Charitable Foundation, which supports local nonprofits. Walk-ins are allowed, but guests might not be able to see the mine overlook if the center is at capacity that day. The current visitor experience opened its new location in 2019 after a massive landslide buried the old visitor site along with several equipment trucks and fuel, according to Deseret News accounts, but there were no human casualties.
The Independent
7 hours ago
- Business
- The Independent
Blue chips edge higher amid gains on Wall Street
London's FTSE 100 posted modest gains on Tuesday as US markets rose after encouraging US jobs data, helping offset weak mining stocks and lower growth forecasts from the OECD. The FTSE 100 index closed up 12.76 points, 0.2%, at 8,787.02. The FTSE 250 ended down 11.19 points, 0.1%, at 21,017.78, and the AIM All-Share closed up 5.38 points, 0.7%, at 753.51. In London, mining stocks eased after figures from S&P Global showed China's manufacturing activity contracted in May, contrasting with expectations. The Caixin China general manufacturing purchasing managers' index fell to 48.3 in May, down from 50.4 in April and below the FXStreet-cited consensus forecast of 50.6. Stephen Innes at SPI Asset Management said the data 'isn't just a weak print – it's a body blow to the backbone of China's economy.' He noted small and mid-sized exporters are now caught in a 'brutal vice grip' between 'faltering global demand and a Washington-led tariff regime that's more carrot-and-stick diplomacy than ceasefire'. But Duncan Wrigley at Pantheon Macroeconomics does not expect a 'knee-jerk' reaction from Chinese policymakers. 'We think additional targeted support is likely, but a mega stimulus won't be needed,' he said. Rio Tinto, also hit by a downgrade to 'hold' by Jefferies, fell 1.2%, Anglo American eased 1.8% and Antofagasta slipped 0.6%. In European equities on Tuesday, the CAC 40 in Paris rose 0.3%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt firmed 0.7%. UK economic forecasts have been downgraded for the next two years as trade tensions linked to US President Donald Trump's tariff plans hit the global economy, according to a report. The Organisation of Economic Co-operation & Development also cut its projections for global growth in 2025 and 2026. Economists from the organisation cautioned that the global outlook is 'becoming increasingly challenging'. After 3.3% growth last year, the world economy is now expected to expand by a 'modest' 2.9% in 2025 and 2026, the Paris-based OECD said. In its previous report in March, the OECD had forecast growth of 3.1% for 2025 and 3.0% for 2026. In the UK, the economy is expected to grow by 1.3% this year, with the OECD cutting its previous forecast of 1.4%. It also reduced its prediction for 2026 from 1.2% in its March report to 1%, blaming the cuts to forecasts on 'heightened trade tensions, tighter financial conditions, and elevated uncertainty'. The US economy is now expected to grow by just 1.6% this year, down from 2.2% in the previous outlook, and slow further to 1.5% in 2026, the OECD said. Europe will also be severely impacted by the trade war, with sharp downgrades across the board and the euro area as a whole now set to see growth of just 1% in 2025, down from 1.3% previously forecast, the OECD said. Investors also weighed eurozone inflation data. Inflation in the eurozone eased to 1.9% in May, falling below the European Central Bank's 2% target for the first time since September, figures on Tuesday showed. According to a flash estimate from Eurostat, annual consumer price inflation is estimated to have been 1.9% in May, down from 2.2% in April. The deceleration, mainly driven by slower growth in services prices and ongoing energy deflation, came below the 2.0% FXStreet-cited market consensus. Prices for services rose 3.2% annually in May, slowing from 4.0% in April. Energy prices continued to fall, down 3.6% year-on-year for a second consecutive month. However, food, alcohol and tobacco prices rose 3.3%, accelerating from 3.0% the previous month. Core inflation, which excludes energy, unprocessed food, alcohol and tobacco, eased to 2.3% in May from 2.7% in April. On Thursday, the ECB announces its interest rate decision, with markets widely expecting a 25 basis point cut. The pound was quoted down at 1.3499 dollars late on Tuesday afternoon in London, compared with 1.3546 dollars at the equities close on Monday. The euro stood lower at 1.1385 dollars against 1.1429 dollars. Against the yen, the dollar was trading higher at 143.24 yen compared with 142.75 yen. The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was steady at 4.46% on Tuesday. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury narrowed to 4.97% from 5.00%. In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.4% at the time of the London equities close on Tuesday. The S&P 500 was also 0.4% higher and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.7%. US job openings unexpectedly rose in April, indicating demand for workers remains healthy despite heightened economic uncertainty, a report on Tuesday showed. Available positions increased to 7.39 million from a revised 7.20 million reading in March, according to Bureau of Labour Statistics data. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for 7.10 million openings. Wells Fargo said the report shows labour demand is 'far from collapsing in the wake of policy uncertainty, but the modest gain still leaves openings declining on trend'. But Samuel Tombs at Pantheon Macroeconomics suggested the report is an 'aberration', given the ongoing decline in Indeed's measure of postings throughout April and May, as well as the drop in the hiring intentions indexes of the regional Fed surveys. In London, housebuilders fell back after a profit warning from MJ Gleeson. The Sheffield, England-based housebuilder warned that annual operating profit will be below market expectations, reflecting lower gross margin at Gleeson Homes and fewer land sales than hoped. MJ Gleeson said it expects operating profit at Gleeson Homes for the financial year ending June 30 to be around 15% to 20% below current expectations. RBC Capital Markets said Visible Alpha consensus for operating profit at Gleeson Homes is £28.1 million. MJ Gleeson slumped 22%, while housebuilding peer Persimmon fell 2.0%, Vistry fell 6.2% and Taylor Wimpey fell 1.9%. GSK fell 2.1% after Berenberg downgraded the pharmaceuticals firm to 'buy' from 'hold', while Pearson slipped 6.6% after a weak update from IDP Education, the owner of the IELTS language test in Australia. IDP warned of a sharp fall in testing volumes owing to tighter immigration policies in its key markets. Pearson counts English Language Learning among its five divisions and competes with IDP in that sector. IDP notably said the UK is facing 'heightened uncertainty' following the recent immigration white paper published in the country. The price of gold fell to 3,349.93 dollars an ounce on Tuesday against 3,371.47 dollars on Monday. Brent oil was higher at 65.73 dollars a barrel at the time of the London equities close on Tuesday, compared with 64.58 dollars on Monday. The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were Centrica, up 6.8 pence at 164.0p, Airtel Africa, up 5.6p at 183.4p, Rolls-Royce, up 25.4p at 894.2p, Melrose Industries, up 12.6p at 473.5p and Ashtead Group, up 107.0p at 4,265.0p. The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were Pearson, down 77.0p at 1,085.5p, Rentokil Initial, down 12.3p at 350.9p, Severn Trent, down 67.0p at 2,655.0p, Haleon, down 9.3p at 405.1p, and GSK, down 32.0p at 1,485.0p. Wednesday's UK corporate calendar has a trading statement from WH Smith. The global economic calendar on Wednesday has an interest rate decision in Canada, and composite PMI readings in the UK, US and eurozone.
Reuters
11 hours ago
- Business
- Reuters
Rio Tinto bets lithium will retain its battery metal crown: Andy Home
LONDON, June 3 (Reuters) - It's a tough time to be a lithium producer as the light metal sinks under the weight of excess supply. Lithium hydroxide prices have collapsed by 90% from their 2022 peak and show no signs of recovery. Multiple producers are now operating at zero or negative margins, according to consultancy Wood Mackenzie. Even giants like Albemarle (ALB.N), opens new tab, the world's largest producer of the battery metal, have been cutting costs and deferring new projects to weather the supply storm. Rio Tinto (RIO.L), opens new tab, however, is undaunted. The global mining house remains "consistent in its belief in the long-term outlook for lithium". The company is putting its money where its mouth is, snapping up U.S.-based producer Arcadium for $6.7 billion and partnering with Chilean state entities on two projects. It's a big call, given the current despondency in the market, but Rio believes demand will be strong enough both to absorb the current excess and pull the market into deficit around the turn of the decade. It's a bet that lithium will remain the dominant battery metal in a fast-changing landscape. The weakness in the lithium price results from too much new supply hitting the market at the same time. Global lithium production grew by over 35% year-on-year in 2024, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). New mines are still ramping up and Chinese players show little appetite for cutting production. The supply tsunami, however, masks the strength of lithium demand. The IEA estimates global usage grew by 30% last year, the increase being equivalent to the size of the entire global market in 2018. The electric vehicle (EV) sector, the biggest user of lithium-ion batteries, is in robust health. Sales of new energy vehicles rose by 25% last year and were up by 29% in the first quarter of this year, according to consultancy Rho Motion. Lithium use in energy storage systems is growing even faster as global power systems pivot towards cleaner but intermittent energy sources such as solar and wind. Rio Tinto said it expects demand to grow at a compound annual rate of over 10% through 2040. The main threat to that scenario would be a shift in battery chemistry as manufacturers compete to produce ever cheaper, more efficient batteries. There has already been a big shift away from more expensive battery metals such as cobalt and nickel but to date lithium has maintained its status as the dominant ingredient in the chemistry mix. The amount of nickel and cobalt deployed in new energy vehicles was up by just 12% and 2% year-on-year respectively in March, according to Adamas Intelligence. But lithium deployment was up by 30%, matching the overall EV sales growth rate. The battery materials battle, however, is far from over. Chinese giant CATL ( opens new tab has been pioneering the development of sodium-ion batteries. The latest iteration, Naxtra, will almost match in efficiency the lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries that are displacing nickel-manganese-cobalt (NCM) chemistries. CATL's billionaire founder Robin Zeng sees sodium-ion batteries potentially replacing up to half the market for LFP batteries. The IEA is less sure, noting that sodium-ion batteries are most competitive in a high lithium price environment, which the current one is certainly not. Lithium's low price may be its best defence in fighting off challenges from other materials. It is also causing battery prices to fall, making new energy vehicles cheaper. Average battery pack prices fell by 20% to a record low of $115 per kilowatt-hour in 2024, the largest annual drop since 2017, according to the IEA. The share of cathode raw materials in the battery pack price fell to 10% in 2024 from over 20% in 2023 thanks to bombed-out prices across the battery metals spectrum. The shift to LFP batteries in the Chinese market has also played a significant role in reducing costs since they are 30% cheaper than the NCM batteries popular in Western markets. European auto companies have taken note. Volkswagen ( opens new tab is adopting LFP technology, opens new tab as it aims for a 20,000-euro entry-level electric car for the European market. Price has been one of the major deterrents for consumers to go electric but the gap with conventional vehicles is narrowing. In terms of EV sales, market forces are a powerful offset to the headwinds from tariffs and U.S. President Donald Trump's scrapping of his predecessor's green energy agenda. Lithium's battery metal crown looks safe for now. Even assuming sodium-ion batteries start taking market share in China, the impact on lithium will be mitigated by an acceleration in the global EV revolution and growing demand for grid storage solutions. Moreover, the IEA points out that despite the interest in novel chemistries, the primary driver of battery innovation remains existing, conventional chemistries based on lithium. Incremental improvements are being made all the time both to NCM and LFP technologies. Lithium demand is already growing phenomenally fast and every indication suggests it will continue to do so in the next few years. But how long before demand strength translates into a market deficit and higher prices will depend on how long the current supply surge lasts. Don't hold your breath. It could take a while. The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters.
Yahoo
13 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Rio Tinto shares down after Jefferies cuts stock to Hold on emerging headwinds
-- Shares in Rio Tinto (NYSE:RIO) fell 2% in U.S. premarket trading Tuesday after Jefferies lowered its rating on the mining giant to Hold from Buy, citing a more balanced risk/reward profile amid a series of emerging headwinds. The brokerage cut its price targets across listings, with the Rio Plc target lowered from 5,700p to 4,600p and the Rio Ltd target from A$147 to A$115. 'We do not believe that Rio (or BHP) is 'broken'. We just consider the risk/reward tradeoff to be more balanced following recent developments,' analysts led by Christopher LaFemina. One of the key concerns is the uncertainty surrounding the company's strategic direction following the announcement that CEO Jakob Stausholm will step down later this year. The analysts noted that potential successors—including Simon Trott, Jérôme Pécresse, and Bold Baatar—bring different implications for future strategy, including M&A potential. 'Until the new CEO is announced, the strategic direction of Rio will be a risk,' the analysts noted. Jefferies also flags growing concerns around Rio's lithium investments. While seen as countercyclical, these projects carry risks of 'rising capital intensity and potentially low returns' if demand fails to meet Rio's expectations. As spending increases, near-term free cash flow (FCF) could be negatively affected without a corresponding boost in earnings, the analysts said. The team is also cautious on iron ore, which accounts for over 70% of Rio's net present value. The analysts expect the price to ease in the near term, citing trade tensions between the U.S. and China, structural steel capacity cuts in China, and seasonal weakness. 'We model $90/t in 3Q vs current spot of $95/t,' they wrote, with a long-term forecast in the $80–90/t range. 'A lower iron ore price is negative for Rio,' the analysts added. As for the political landscape, Jefferies points out that U.S. tariffs on Canadian aluminum, a key production region for Rio, could reduce profitability despite potential gains in regional pricing. Meanwhile, political developments in Mongolia may complicate operations at the Oyu Tolgoi project, though Jefferies' base case assumes no major disruption. In the mining sector, Jefferies now favors Glencore (OTC:GLNCY), Anglo American (JO:AGLJ), and Vale SA ADR (NYSE:VALE) over Rio Tinto and BHP Group Ltd (ASX:BHP), citing better positioning with respect to capital allocation and geopolitical exposure. Related articles Rio Tinto shares down after Jefferies cuts stock to Hold on emerging headwinds Music majors weigh AI licensing deals with generative startups, WSJ reports TSX closes higher, remains resilient despite trade tensions Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Forbes
17 hours ago
- Business
- Forbes
Mega Mining Mergers Valued At $315 Billion Taking Shape
First steps have been taken in a complex process which could create two globally dominant mining companies valued at $315 billion, with Rio Tinto and Glencore edging towards a merger, while BHP considers a fresh takeover offer Anglo American. Speculation that the deals are being planned has seen a remarkable divergence of stock market performance with investors following textbook advice of buying the targets and selling the bidders. Despite all four having broadly similar exposure to industrial metals, Glencore's share price is up 16% while Anglo American has risen by 24% over the past month. The potential bidders have gone the other way. Rio Tinto is down 5% and BHP has eased back by 1%. A combination of BHP which has a stock market value of $125 billion, and Anglo American ($45 billion) would create a company worth around $170 billion, while Rio Tinto ($100 billion) and Glencore ($45 billion) would create a business valued around $145 billion. No official comment has been made by any of the companies, but a series of events point to preparations for a pair of deals. At London-based Glencore, which also has strong Swiss connections, a 'deck clearing' exercise is underway aimed at creating a separate company holding politically unpopular coal assets while another company focuses on copper and commodity marketing. The process of creating a copper-rich business which would appeal to Rio Tinto started earlier this year when a reported $20 billion in international assets were shifted by Glencore onto the books of an Australian subsidiary, Glencore Investments. Dubbed 'DirtyCo' by investment banks, Glencore Investments will hold all of Glencore's thermal and coking coal assets, as well as ferroalloys such as chrome, vanadium, and manganese. As well as copper and an extensive marketing business 'RemainCo' is being prepared as the home for zinc, nickel, and alumina assets. Barrenjoey, an Australian investment bank, said the restructure would make it easier to work with Rio Tinto on a merger after initial talks failed eight months ago. Another hint of a move by Rio Tinto to acquire Glencore is the unexpected resignation of Rio Tinto chief executive Jakob Stausholm, reportedly after a disagreement with his chairman, Dominic Barton, over the Glencore situation. Ben Cleary, a portfolio manager with the Australian fund manager Tribeca Investment Partners told the Australian Financial Review newspaper that no potential Glencore suitors want coal or assets in South Africa. A similar situation developed at Anglo American which successfully thwarted a takeover proposal last year from BHP by refusing to first sell its South African platinum assets and Australian coal mines. Deals by Anglo American to quit coal are nearing completion and the platinum interests have been shifted into a new company called Valterra which listed in Johannesburg last week and London yesterday. Another Anglo American asset not wanted by BHP is a controlling stake in the De Beers diamond business which has been prepared for sale, perhaps by Christmas. Once both Glencore and Anglo Amercian complete their house cleaning, the door will be open for a deal and the creation of mega miners more likely to attract the attention of major investment funds. A growing global appetite for copper, the metal in heaviest demand from producers and consumers of electricity, is the primary force behind the mergers brewing in mining. Both BHP and Rio Tinto have relied heavily on their iron ore business units for the past 20 years but with Chinese demand for steel starting to decline the next growth area for both is copper. Multiple approvals from a number of governments will be required before either deal can proceed but the incentive is to become a critical supplier of copper which BHP describes as a key 'future facing' metal.
