Latest news with #hightech
Free Malaysia Today
3 days ago
- Business
- Free Malaysia Today
Kelantan govt seals rare earths pact with Lynas
Lynas Rare Earths CEO and managing director Amanda Lacaze said Malaysia is already recognised as a rare earths centre of excellence through Lynas's operations. (AP pic) PETALING JAYA : The Kelantan government's investment arm has struck an agreement with Australia's Lynas Rare Earths Ltd to develop the state's rare earth resources that are essential for high-tech industries. The Australian mining company said today it has signed a memorandum of understanding with the state's Menteri Besar Inc (MB Inc) that provides a framework to negotiate a deal for the future supply of mixed rare-earths carbonate feedstock to Lynas. Under the non-binding agreement, the parties will cooperate on the growth of the rare earths industry in Kelantan and work towards developing Malaysia's locally sourced and separated rare earth products. 'Malaysia's ionic clay deposits have excellent potential as future feedstock for Lynas Malaysia, particularly given their high proportion of heavy rare earths which are in demand for future facing technologies including electric vehicles and electronics,' Lynas CEO Amanda Lacaze said in a statement. She said this initiative brings together Lynas Malaysia's expertise on the rare earths industry spanning more than a decade and Kelantan's rare earth resources. 'We look forward to working with MB Inc to ensure the (rare earths) it produces meets the high environmental and technical standards required by Lynas and our customers in Malaysia as well as global manufacturing supply chains,' she added. Lynas has been operating a processing plant on the outskirts of Kuantan, Pahang, since 2012. The miner currently sources all of its rare earths from the Mt Weld mine in Western Australia. The Kelantan land and minerals office previously stated that rare earth elements have been found in large quantities in Jeli and Gua Musang. Last December, the department said it deployed drones to monitor remote locations identified as having rare earth elements to prevent illegal mining activities. News reports then indicated police had arrested 55 individuals after uncovering an illegal rare earth mining operation in Gua Musang. Meanwhile, the federal government is encouraging state administrations to allow rare earth mining. Outgoing natural resources and environmental sustainability minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad was reported to have said Malaysia aims to position itself as a regional hub for rare earth mining and processing. 'Lynas's plant in Malaysia is the first plant outside China that can process heavy rare earth elements,' he said during a visit to the Lynas plant earlier this month. He added this achievement increased the nation's competitiveness in the rare earth elements market. Rare earths and geopolitics Geopolitical tension is fuelling interest in finding new sources of rare earths supply. After the US slapped ultra-high reciprocal tariffs on China last month, the Asian giant retaliated by tightening restrictions on the export of rare-earth materials, targeting US manufacturers, including Tesla. With the Trump administration now having a truce with China over its tariffs, exports of rare earths restarted this month for some companies. China remains in the driving seat as it currently refines almost all of the world's heavy rare earth elements, including dysprosium and terbium. Lynas has been seeking to break that stranglehold, and recently began commissioning a new separation circuit that will make it the only commercial producer of separated heavy rare earth products outside of China. Ironically, the opposition-controlled state of Kelantan may turn out to be a starting point in helping the US and its allies break China's virtual monopoly in rare earth elements.
Globe and Mail
3 days ago
- Business
- Globe and Mail
High-Tech Micro Cap Rallies After Securing Boeing Supplier Status
Investors pay close attention when a bellwether company with a market cap exceeding $150 billion approves a micro-cap firm as an official supplier. That's exactly what happened today—and the micro-cap stock is surging in response to the news. Shares of PyroGenesis Inc. (TSX: PYR) (OTCQX: PYRGF) are on the move as the high-tech company specializing in the development and commercialization of all-electric plasma processes and sustainable industrial solutions, announced this morning that it has officially been approved as a supplier to Boeing (NYSE: BA). The company's Ti64 coarse metal powder, with a particle size range of 53–150µm, has been qualified for use and added to Boeing's approved list of metal powders for additive manufacturing applications. This milestone supports PyroGenesis' mission to enable cleaner, more efficient production processes across heavy industry. 'PyroGenesis is proud to achieve official supplier status with Boeing. The high standard of Ti64 metal powder produced at PyroGenesis Additive for Boeing is the result of years of groundbreaking design and engineering work that went into developing our NexGen™ plasma atomization process,' said P. Peter Pascali, President and CEO of PyroGenesis. PyroGenesis is the inventor of the plasma atomization process and in fact coined the term 'plasma atomization' in its original patent. The Company's NexGen™ system is a patented upgrade to what is considered the gold standard process for the development of metal powder for additive manufacturing, also referred to as metal 3D printing. Shares of PYR are currently up 16.48% at $0.53 while U.S. listed shares (PYRGF) are up 14.8% at $0.387 in early-afternoon trading. Copyright © 2025 All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. View more of this article on About Media, Inc.: Founded in 1999, is one of North America's leading platforms for micro-cap insights. Catering to both Canadian and U.S. markets, we provide a wealth of resources and expert content designed for everyone—from beginner investors to seasoned traders. is rapidly gaining recognition as a leading authority in the micro-cap space, with our insightful content prominently featured across numerous top-tier financial platforms, reaching a broad audience of investors and industry professionals. Want to showcase your company's story to a powerful network of investors? We can help you elevate your message and make a lasting impact. Contact us today. Contact: Media, Inc. Phone: (800) 558-4560 Ext: 101
Bloomberg
7 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Xi Mulls New Made-in-China Plan Despite US Call to Rebalance
Takeaways NEW Supply Lines is a daily newsletter that tracks global trade. Sign up here. President Xi Jinping's government is considering a new version of its master plan to boost production of high-end technological goods, according to people familiar with the matter, signaling its intention to keep a firm grip on manufacturing as President Donald Trump looks to bring more factories back to the US.
BBC News
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Mountainhead review: Succession creator's nightmare vision of a world run by billionaire tech bros
Succession showrunner Jesse Armstrong's dystopian feature film debut, premiering on HBO, has "timely resonance" in this "high-tech moment". What if tech bros ruled the world? What if they already do? Jesse Armstrong's close-to-reality satire, Mountainhead, exposes that thin line between those actually holding government power and those pulling the strings behind it. It is the first film directed as well as written by the creator of Succession, and offers a reminder that before that brilliant drama about power, capitalism and family dysfunction, he was a writer on pointed political comedies including The Thick of It and the film In the Loop. Mountainhead, directed with a smooth confidence that shows Armstrong's experience, moves deftly from a satiric drama in its first half to absurdist black comedy in the second. It focuses on four tycoons, good friends on the surface but cutthroat underneath, who gather for a poker weekend at the luxurious home of the poorest of them, the one who is only worth half a billion dollars. Where Succession took a long view of power and media manipulation, Mountainhead is made to have timely resonance in this high-tech moment. Armstrong only began shooting the film in March and here it is. Armstrong has brilliantly cast those four characters, who all have agendas for the weekend and try to hide them from each other. Jason Schwartzman is Hugo, the host and creator of a meditation app, angling to get one of his friends to invest a billion or so in his business. Steve Carell is Randy, whose contacts in Washington, DC can influence the military and the country's power grid. Diagnosed with incurable cancer, he can't believe money can't fix that, but hopes to cheat death by getting his friends to create an artificial intelligence able to upload a human brain. Ramy Youssef is Jeff, whose company has a superefficient AI, and who appears to be the most humane of the four (which isn't saying much). But the most striking character is Ven (Cory Michael Smith), the owner of a social media app called Traan. Together they are an amalgam of tech tycoons such as Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg. But Ven pointedly and unmistakably evokes Elon Musk, however different Smith's look and manner. Ven is the world's richest man, who owns a social media platform that reaches four billion users and who gets a phone call from the US president (unnamed and unheard) while at Hugo's. The quick turnaround allows the film to be up-to-the-minute, even if it never explicitly mentions actual people. The fictional plot extrapolates a nightmare version of where a consolidation of billionaires' control might lead, in a world where social media has overtaken journalism and run amok. Even before the men arrive for the weekend, we hear news reports of global conflicts set off by misinformation and deep fakes on Traan – an assassination in France, a lethal fire set in India, migrants being targeted in Libya. The economies of Latin American countries start crumbling. Isolated at their mountaintop retreat in Utah, literally positioned above it all, the tech bros doomscroll these dystopian events and see an opportunity to gain even more wealth and power. The men arrive on their private jets, but the film quickly settles into one setting, Hugo's enormous, sterile-looking glass-walled house. We are immersed in their cringey friendship, as they throw supposedly mock insults at each other, following up any caustic remark that actually hits a nerve with "I'm just razzing." Armstrong keeps the camera and the dialogue moving fast, so the single setting and small cast never feel claustrophobic. All the actors make their outsized, unlikable characters believably awful. Schwartzman frequently plays hangdog characters, which is useful here as we instantly intuit that Hugo's bravado masks his insecurity. As always, Carell impressively turns from comedy to drama in a flash, and his line deliveries are supersharp. Armstrong has given him some of the film's most memorable dialogue. After Ven takes his call from the White House, which is not happy with the world disorder, Randy says, "The president's a really nice guy and a friend but he's…" and Carell takes a before going on: "he's a simpleton." Underlining the bros' arrogant but not unrealistic sense of their own importance, he adds: "It doesn't matter what he says. It matters what we say." Youssef's ever-sincere expression is perfect for Jeff, who actually thinks it might be possible to cooperate with the government. And Smith's depiction of Ven is just right, all sharp edges and social cluelessness. The first half's tone is one of droll wit rather than laughter, and it's absorbing but also a bit obvious. But halfway through, a shift in tone is signalled by a brief, almost slapstick scene in which Randy bumps into a glass door and leaps up off the floor. Three of the men begin to conspire against the fourth, and totally fumble carrying out their outlandish scheme, which shouldn't be spoiled here. This last half is livelier, with some laugh-out-loud moments that come from their ineptitude. But under the silliness and black humour we still see pure greed and ruthlessness. No wonder there's a dystopia taking shape below the mountain. Mountainhead may seem to be an argument for fast-turnaround films, but few writers and directors could do it with Armstrong's sharp eye and intelligence, as he entertains us with these heartless, all-too-convincing megalomaniacs. Mountainhead is released on HBO and Max on 31 May. ★★★★☆ -- For more Culture stories from the BBC, follow us on Facebook, X and Instagram.
CTV News
22-05-2025
- Automotive
- CTV News
There's a new car wash in town
There's a new car wash in town Jacks Car Spa isn't just another wash, it's a high-tech experience that's turning heads on social media.
