Latest news with #miningsector
Times of Oman
15 hours ago
- Business
- Times of Oman
India's industrial output to stay weak in the near term
New Delhi: India's industrial outlook is expected to remain weak in the near term due to the above-normal monsoon, mining and electricity output are expected to stay subdued, according to a report by ICICI Bank Additionally, the report mentioned that the ongoing geopolitical developments are affecting manufacturing exports at a time when urban demand is already underperforming. It stated, "With monsoon rainfall continuing to be above normal, mining and electricity output is likely to remain muted in the near future. Manufacturing performance too is likely to be lackluster amidst geopolitical developments and its impact on manufacturing exports when urban demand is under-performing." India's Index of Industrial Production (IIP) grew by just 1.5 per cent year-on-year (YoY) in June 2025. This is the lowest growth recorded since August 2024. As a result, the average IIP growth in the first quarter of FY26 (April to June) stands at 1.9 per cent, a sharp drop from 5.5 per cent in the same period last year (Q1FY25). What is more concerning is the slowdown in sequential momentum. The IIP contracted by 2.7 per cent in June 2025 compared to the previous month. This is worse than the 2.4 per cent contraction in June last year. June also marks the second month in Q1FY26 and the third time in 2025 when IIP momentum has turned negative, raising worries of a credible slowdown in industrial activity. The mining sector dragged the overall index lower, with a sharp contraction of 8.7 per cent YoY in June. This is the sector's weakest performance in nearly five years. The poor showing is largely due to early and excessive monsoon rainfall as well as the base effect. Electricity output also fell by 2.6 per cent YoY in June, adding to the downward pressure. On the positive side, manufacturing sector output grew by 3.9 per cent YoY in June, helping to hold up the overall index. The growth was mainly supported by the production of fabricated and base metals. For the full quarter, manufacturing grew by 3 per cent YoY, compared to the overall IIP growth of 2 per cent. Consumer non-durables declined for the fifth straight month, contracting by 0.4 per cent YoY. Output of consumer durables and capital goods also remained soft, indicating weak urban demand and low private investment. Overall, the data pointed to a slowdown in industrial growth, with weather disruptions, weak demand, and global uncertainties playing a major role.
Reuters
15-07-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Pentagon to keep investing in US critical minerals projects, defense official says
July 15 (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Defense plans to continue investing in critical minerals projects to ensure a diverse American supply of the building blocks for weapons and many electronics, a defense official told Reuters on Tuesday. The Pentagon signed a multibillion-dollar deal last week to become the largest shareholder in rare earths producer MP Materials (MP.N), opens new tab and also agreed to several financial backstop measures for the company. The move - which the defense official said reflected a desire to "share the risk" inherent in minerals projects - sparked questions across the mining sector about whether other companies could see similar investments from the U.S. military. The Pentagon has invested almost $540 million into critical minerals projects and "will continue such efforts in accordance with congressional appropriations and statutory authorities," the official said. "Rebuilding the critical minerals and rare earth magnet sectors of the U.S. industrial base won't happen overnight, but (the Pentagon) is taking immediate action to streamline processes and identify opportunities to strengthen critical minerals production," the official added. The U.S. government and military recognize that the country no longer can produce or process many critical minerals, but plans to "take the necessary time and precautions to produce critical minerals and associated products in a safe and responsible fashion," the official said, adding that approach was unlike China's. Chinese mining standards are considered to be lower than those in the United States. The MP deal structure reflects a "unique approach" by the U.S. government to "account for the difficulties in establishing and sustaining production of critical rare earth magnets in a market environment in which China controls much of the supply chain," the official said. The Pentagon investment in MP was undertaken via a Cold War-era law known as the Defense Production Act, as well as its Office of Strategic Capital, the official said.
Zawya
01-07-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Leveraging Zambia's Energy Transition Minerals: Roadmap for Economic Transformation
Zambia's economy grew by 4% in 2024, displaying resilience despite experiencing a historic drought and frequent power outages. According to the latest edition of the Zambia Economic Update (ZEU) launched by the World Bank Group (WBG) today, titled: Leveraging Energy Transition Minerals for Economic Transformation, this growth is driven by a strong recovery in the mining sector and expansion in services. The ZEU highlights that agriculture—the cornerstone of Zambia's employment and heavily dependent on rainfed farming—faced significant headwinds. However, its minimal contribution to GDP allowed overall growth to continue. Despite economic growth, GDP per capita growth slowed to 1.2% in 2024, and poverty remains pervasive, with 63.1% of the population living below the $2.15 poverty line. 'Notwithstanding these challenges, it is commendable how the government of Zambia has stayed fiscally disciplined amidst increasing financing needs caused by the drought, within the framework of ongoing debt restructuring and an IMF program,' said Albert Pijuan, World Bank Senior Country Economist for Zambia. 'Revenues increased thanks to expanded copper production—although they remain below potential— and investment spending was significantly reduced, allowing for a large primary surplus in 2024. ' The ZEU report highlights that exchange rate depreciation, combined with rising food and energy prices due to the drought, led to sticky double-digit inflation. The Zambian kwacha depreciated against major currencies because of sporadic foreign exchange supply and increased import demand during the drought. Despite monetary policy tightening to restrain inflation, prices continued to drift, and the policy stance remains accommodative as high supply-driven inflation results in negative real rates. The outlook is optimistic, driven by robust momentum in the mining sector, a rebound in agriculture, and improvements in tourism. Still, significant risks persist due to lower global growth, uncertainties in trade policies, and frequent climatic events. While mining will remain a major driver of economic growth and government revenues, Zambia must diversify its economy to accelerate economic transformation. The ZEU recommends (i) unleashing agricultural productivity by fully transitioning to the e-voucher system, improving targeting, and shifting toward private-sector-led financing to limit public liabilities; (ii) raising productivity through greater competition in the energy sector; (iii) closing tax gaps by strengthening revenue administration; and (iv) maintaining monetary policy tightening to anchor inflation expectations and protect policy credibility, to achieve positive real rates. Over a year ago, recognizing the importance of Zambia's mining sector for its economic growth in the foreseeable future, the WBG, together with the Government of the Republic of Zambia (GRZ), started preparing a practical roadmap: Repositioning Zambia to Leverage Energy Transition Minerals for Economic Transformation. This roadmap is guiding GRZ and its minerals sector stakeholders on realizing GRZ's vision to maximizing benefits for the country and expanding Zambian participation in the entire ETM value chain, including through value addition. The roadmap's analytical work has been supported by the Resilient and Inclusive Supply Chain Enhancement Partnership (RISE) initiative, which supports countries undertaking reforms in their mining sector and along the minerals value chain. Key recommendations of the roadmap have recently been presented by the GRZ to a select group of stakeholders at the WBG Spring Meetings 2025. The roadmap is part of larger WBG diagnostic work looking at the development potential for WBG client countries in its Eastern and Southern Africa region and how those countries can benefit more from the minerals and metals demand boom, driven by the global energy transition. 'Zambia's economy needs to diversify, but concurrently making the most of Zambia's green mineral deposits would provide a major boost to the economy and must also be leveraged for economic transformation,' said Achim Fock, World Bank Country Manager for Zambia. 'Zambia has the potential to use its energy transition mineral (ETM) endowments—increasingly sought after for the global energy transition—for growth, economic development, and shared prosperity.' In its focused chapter on ETMs, the ZEU argues that to maximize this potential, Zambia should focus on: Scaling ETM production: Implementing comprehensive reforms to boost ETM production, including identifying mineral resources, ensuring a reliable and cost-competitive clean power supply, transport, and logistics services, upskilling the workforce, and strengthening environmental and social risk management. Maximizing fiscal potential: Strengthening ETM revenue management and allocation to support fiscal sustainability and broader inter-generational development objectives. Adding value to mineral resources: Developing the copper value chain and addressing barriers to greater value-adding activities, including the lack of access to raw materials and finance, enhancing the inefficient investment climate, augmenting the electricity supply, and reducing trade and transport time and costs. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of The World Bank Group.
CTV News
16-06-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Barrick stripped of gold mine operation for six months by Mali court
The logo for Barrick Gold Corp. is pictured in this 2022 image. (Handout) A Mali court ruled Monday that western gold mines held by Canadian giant Barrick would be managed for six months by an appointee, effectively stripping operation of one of the world's largest gold complexes from the firm. The decision allows Mali's military government to appoint a new administrator in charge of the Loulo-Gounkoto complex and comes amid rising tensions between the junta and the Toronto-based company over taxes and mining. The court named the administrator as Zoumana Makadji. The ruling marked the first time Mali has placed a mining company under such a status. Makadji will be tasked with 'ensuring the mine is opened as quickly as possible', a magistrate from Bamako's commercial court told AFP, adding that after six months a judge will assess the progress of negotiations or an agreement with Barrick. The military junta running Mali has tightened regulations on the mining sector, which is key to the economy. It introduced a new industry code in recent years that grants the government a bigger share of profits from mining activities in the name of national sovereignty. Mali 'accused Barrick of not properly paying taxes, royalties and dividends owed to the state, of having a contract that does not reflect Mali's legitimate interests, and of keeping the state out of the effective management of the mine and its revenues,' a source representing the government's interests told AFP. For these reasons, Mali 'has decided to place the site under temporary administration through legal channels', the source said. Barrick has an 80-percent stake in the Loulo-Gounkoto complex, while the Malian state holds the rest. 'While Barrick's subsidiaries remain the legal owners of the mine, operational control has been transferred to an external administrator,' Barrick said in a statement immediately following the decision. It said that an arbitration process was 'fully under way' via the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), a World Bank arbitration panel. 'The arbitration tribunal has been constituted, and Barrick has submitted a request for provisional measures to prevent further escalation and to safeguard its rights under binding mining conventions with the state of Mali,' the company said. Intense escalation Tensions have escalated in recent months between the government and company, and in November four Malian employees of the firm were detained. Malian authorities issued national arrest warrants in December for the company's South African CEO and the complex's Malian general manager on allegations of 'money laundering'. In mid-January, activities at the mine were suspended after Malian authorities carried out an order to seize gold stocks at Loulo-Gounkoto, taking some three tonnes of gold. Last month, authorities ordered the closure of Barrick's offices in the capital Bamako for alleged non-payment of hundreds of millions of dollars of taxes. The Malian government filed its request with Bamako's commercial court to place the Loulo-Gounkoto site under provisional administration on May 8. Barrick says the escalation came despite it having paid Mali some $85 million in October 'as part of the ongoing negotiations' aimed at resolving 'all outstanding disputes'. One of the poorest countries in the world, Mali is ruled by a military junta which came to power in back-to-back coups in 2020 and 2021. Loulo-Gounkoto, which is situated in western Mali near the border with Senegal, was opened two decades ago and the first gold from underground operations was produced in 2011. It consists of both open pit and underground mining. According to the trade publication Mining Technology, the mine contributed around $1 billion to the Malian economy in 2023.
News.com.au
09-06-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Jobs with fastest-growing salaries in Australia revealed
Australians looking for a quick pay rise should think about becoming government and defence analysts after salaries for those roles jumped more than 25 per cent in the past year. The average salary for analysts is now $130,117 after a 26.8 per cent rise in their advertised pay rates since 2024, according to new data from Seek. The next highest pay bumps were 24.5 per cent for taxation consultants, 21.1 per cent for banking operations analysts, and 19.0 per cent for maintenance managers in the manufacturing, transport and logistics sector. Many of the roles with the highest salary growth were in skilled jobs in key industries, including infrastructure. Seek senior economist Blair Chapman said the salary growth in electrical engineering roles in the mining sector had been 'relatively rapid' over the past year. 'The mining sector pays some of the highest wages of any sector and they are increasingly competing with renewable energy providers for roles like electrical engineers, which is likely driving them to offer high wages to keep and attract workers into the sector,' Mr Chapman said. There was also growth in the building sector, with the average advertised salary for project administrators on construction projects up 16.8 per cent in the past year. 'An increase in building approvals and commencements, which were sitting around decade lows at the beginning of 2024, alongside ongoing infrastructure projects, has likely driven an increase in the competition for project administrators,' Mr Chapman said. 'This has contributed to the strong salary growth.' But all is not lost for those working entry-level roles. Customer service representatives working in retail saw a 16.2 per cent bump, up to an advertised salary of $68,435. Assistants in hospitality and tourism received a 15.6 per cent pay rise, bringing them to an average advertised salary of $70,762. This new data comes just days after the Fair Work Commission announced a 3.5 per cent increase in the minimum wage from July 1. Workers on the national minimum will earn at least $49,296 per year or $24.95 per hour. At the time, Employment Minister Amanda Rishworth welcomed the increase as a win for workers. 'Our government believes that workers should get ahead with an economically sustainable real wage increase,' Ms Rishworth said.
