China races to solve US$148 bil property threat as leases end
Shanghai local government officials in recent weeks circulated guidelines on lease renewal, outlining both the terms and the costs of lease extensions.
(Aug 12): China is tackling a problem that has plagued its real estate sector for years: a ticking time bomb of expiring leases that has scuttled deals and left investors facing the risk of heavy losses.
Scores of office towers, shopping malls and warehouses sit on land with dwindling lease terms, and owners could be forced to return the land to local governments when the leases expire. There has been little clarity over when — and how — property owners could extend these leases.
That has been a big headache for the developers and global funds that once rushed to invest in the country’s real estate sector, prolonging a slump that has lasted more than five years. More than one trillion yuan (US$148 billion or $189.5 billion) of non-residential property now has leases of 20 years or less, which means they have passed the halfway mark or gone beyond it, estimates Andrew Chan, the head of valuation and advisory services for Greater China at Cushman and Wakefield.
Developers including Parkview Group Ltd and New World Development Co have struggled to sell some assets because of dwindling lease terms, according to people familiar with the matter.
Chinese officials are finally waking up to the issue. Shanghai local government officials in recent weeks circulated guidelines on lease renewal, outlining both the terms and the costs of lease extensions. That follows a similar move in Guangzhou earlier this year.
These moves may help bring clarity to a real estate market that is trying to find a bottom, giving investors confidence that their assets won't become worthless due to expiring leases. Office values in some big cities fell more than 40% from peak levels, and developers across the market have defaulted on around US$130 billion of debt.
“Policy uncertainty over leasehold renewal has tanked appraisal values of commercial properties, hurt fundraising and impeded deals,” said Song Hongwei, research director at Tospur Real Estate Consulting Co. “Now, they’re all set to be improved.”
The Ministry of Natural Resources, which regulates land in the country, and the Shanghai municipal government didn’t immediately respond to faxes seeking comment. Representatives for Parkview and New World also didn’t respond to requests for comment.
Tipping point
Almost all urban land in China is owned by the state. The government wrote the current rules for leasing that land around the early 1990s, granting leases of 40 years for plots that house shopping malls, 50 years for industrial and office properties and 70 years for residential buildings.
By 2030, about 30 million square metres (3,000 hectares) of office and retail space in 18 major Chinese cities will have remaining land tenures of less than 20 years, property consultancy CBRE Group Inc previously estimated. The figure only includes properties with single owners, meaning it likely understates the true total.
These expiry dates might seem far enough in the future for the problem to be academic, but it has real economic consequences. Local insurers and developers typically require land terms to be longer than two decades before they will enter into deals, according to consultancy Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. The two groups have an outsized role in the market after the collapse of foreign inflows.
Many banks won’t extend or refinance loans to properties that have less than a decade left on their leases, risking a systemic issue if the problem carries on, said Cushman & Wakefield’s Chan.
The potential cost of lease extensions also affects how investors weigh up projects. For one thing, it makes a clear difference to how much of a discount they should expect to offer investors when they eventually decide to sell.
Some potential investors have assumed the worst case scenario for properties, which decline in value as their lease terms get shorter. That’s led to some low-ball bids for buildings, putting more pressure on overall prices, said people familiar with the matter.
Hong Kong-based builders Parkview and New World have struggled for months to offload some properties in mainland China in part because potential buyers don’t want to pay up for assets without the certainty of future land lease extensions, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified because the information isn’t public.
Parkview has been trying to sell a Beijing shopping centre which is affected by short land tenure, including one parcel with a remaining lease of less than a decade, according to four people familiar with the matter. That has led the Hong Kong real estate conglomerate to explore options including offering buyers a partial stake in the Parkview Green property, one of the people said.
A short tenure issue is also affecting one of New World's projects in Shanghai, as the developer attempts to sell an office tower on top of its Shanghai K11 Art Mall, according to people familiar with the matter.
Some executives have discussed the problem with government officials and regulators.
Executives at Singapore’s CapitaLand Group Pte, including the chief executive officer of its investment arm Lee Chee Koon, have raised concerns with senior Chinese officials, according to people familiar with the matter. The listed unit, which is backed by Singaporean state-owned investor Temasek Holdings Pte, manages or owns stakes in over two million square meters of real estate with remaining tenures of 20 years or less, including offices and shopping malls, according to Bloomberg calculations.
Potential solutions could include a lease extension on one of its oldest projects in the country, Raffles City Shanghai, whose lease ends in 2045, the people said. The mall, which sits in the financial hub, is majority-owned by Ping An’s life insurance arm.
Brookfield Asset Management has also been in touch with local government officials about land tenures for their properties and possible extensions, said people familiar with the talks.
Representatives for CapitaLand, Brookfield and Ping An declined to comment.
Hong Kong, which is guaranteed a separate legal system from mainland China until 2047, has taken a standardised approach to lease extension: Leases in the city can roll over for 50 years upon expiry, with property owners paying the government rent each year.
Better deal
Although officials in mainland China are finally addressing the concerns around expiring leases, some investors and property owners are still hoping for a better deal, said people familiar with the matter.
Shanghai and Guangzhou both proposed lease costs of at least 70% of a relevant benchmark, potentially payable over more than a year. The benchmark in both cases will reflect land prices before the added value of the malls or offices built on top, meaning extending the lease is likely to be just a fraction of total project costs.
A number of other areas, including the southern city of Xiamen and a district in eastern Hangzhou city, have also released similar rules on land for industrial use, albeit without providing as much detail.
Investors are still concerned about a lack of clear criteria for applying for a lease extension years in advance of its expiry, beyond some cities suggesting that future investment plans or capacity expansion will have to be shown, said Lillian Duan, a Shanghai-based managing partner who leads the real estate practice at Chinese law firm Kaiman Legal. Local governments have wide discretion to decide what that means in practice, she said.
The best chance for property owners to get an even bigger discount may come if and when Beijing issues a nationwide policy.
China earlier this year said for the first time that it would “refine laws and regulations governing the renewal of land-use rights for industrial and commercial purposes and advance extension work in a steady and lawful manner.”
The central government can “test the waters” with local rules in places like Shanghai and Guangzhou, said Duan, but will eventually have to figure things out on a national level. “You have to have a central rule to apply across China,” she added.
Uploaded by Magessan Varatharaja
https://www.theedgesingapore.com/news/china/china-races-solve-us148-bil-property-threat-leases-end
Europe's largest rivers are already at water levels normally seen at the end of summer, weeks ahead of schedule.
At this rate, another month of hot, dry weather could disrupt transport, electricity generation, agriculture and industrial production across the continent.
At this time of year, Alpine snowmelt and rainfall would typically replenish these waterways. But persistent drought and prolonged heat waves have pushed the Rhine, Danube and Po to near-historic lows in August.
Satellite images released by the European Union's Copernicus program between Aug. 1 and Aug. 3 show extensive sandbanks and gravel bars emerging along stretches of the Loire in France, the Rhine near Boppard in Germany, the Danube near Hungary's Paks Nuclear Power Plant and the Po near Cremona in northern Italy.
Areas that are normally submerged have become exposed, illustrating how widespread the hydrological stress has become across western and central Europe.
According to the EU's European Drought Observatory, drought conditions remained severe across much of the continent through July, while worsening further in central-western Europe.
The consequences extend far beyond shrinking rivers.
- Rhine: Europe's commercial backbone under pressure
The Rhine is Europe's busiest inland waterway, stretching about 1,290 kilometers (800 miles) from the Swiss Alps to the North Sea and linking Switzerland, Germany, France and the Netherlands to the Port of Rotterdam.
Germany's Low Water Information System (NIWIS) reported that 44% of Rhine monitoring stations recorded extremely low water levels at the end of July.
At Kaub, the river's most closely watched navigation bottleneck, navigable depth recently dropped to around 25 centimeters, matching the record low reached during the severe drought of 2018 before falling even further in some measurements.
While commercial shipping has not stopped, barges are carrying only a fraction of their normal cargo to avoid running aground.
That has immediate economic consequences.
Instead of transporting one shipment with a single vessel, operators must distribute cargo among several barges or shift freight to rail and trucks, increasing transport costs throughout Europe's industrial heartland.
Freight rates on several Rhine routes have climbed sharply, while cargo volumes moving between Rotterdam and inland Europe have fallen below seasonal averages.
Heavy industries are particularly vulnerable because they depend on reliable inland shipping for both incoming raw materials and outgoing products.
Should river levels continue falling through August, supply chain disruptions are expected to become increasingly severe.
- Netherlands battles freshwater shortage
Low Rhine discharge is also creating problems downstream.
For the first time ever, water authorities in the region between Rotterdam and The Hague have closed all locks along the Nieuwe Maas to prevent saltwater from the North Sea from intruding into freshwater systems.
Officials have simultaneously imposed a complete ban on extracting surface water for irrigation and other non-essential uses.
Normally, roughly 1,800 cubic meters of Rhine water enter the Netherlands each second during summer.
This year, flows have fallen to roughly one-third of that level.
Dutch authorities say sustained rainfall will be necessary before restrictions can be lifted.
- Danube threatens power generation
The Danube, Europe's second-longest river, is facing similar pressures.
Flowing through 10 countries, it supports navigation, hydropower and cooling water supplies for several major thermal and nuclear power stations.
Germany's monitoring network reported that nearly four out of every five Danube measuring stations registered extremely low water levels by the end of July.
The effects are already visible across southeastern Europe.
Hungary's Paks Nuclear Power Plant, which generates more than 40% of the country's electricity, has been forced to progressively reduce output because declining Danube water levels have limited cooling capacity.
Operators narrowly avoided a complete shutdown after river levels rose only slightly overnight, but the plant continues operating well below normal output.
A prolonged reduction could force Hungary to rely more heavily on imported electricity while tightening regional power supplies.
Romania has taken unprecedented action by carrying out a controlled explosion along the Danube to improve water flow toward the Cernavoda Nuclear Power Plant, where cooling water availability has also become a growing concern.
Serbia is facing a dual challenge.
Reduced river flows have lowered production at the Djerdap 1 hydropower station while simultaneously affecting cooling systems at coal-fired power plants, reducing electricity generation from both sources.
- Po River exposes agriculture's vulnerability
Italy's Po River, the country's longest river and the lifeline of its agricultural heartland, has entered another period of acute stress.
Authorities have raised drought alerts across the Po Valley after worsening hydrological conditions and forecasts indicating continued hot weather.
More than 100 municipalities across northern Italy are already experiencing difficulties maintaining drinking water supplies.
The drought is affecting one of Europe's most productive farming regions.
Rice fields between Turin and Milan are experiencing severe water shortages, while lower river discharge has allowed seawater from the Adriatic to push farther inland, increasing salinity and reducing freshwater available for irrigation.
Water released earlier this summer from lakes such as Maggiore and Como helped farmers temporarily but also accelerated declines in lake storage levels.
- France's nuclear fleet feels the heat
River shortages are affecting electricity systems even where water remains available.
France's nuclear reactors rely heavily on rivers for cooling.
During periods of extreme heat, environmental regulations restrict how much warmed cooling water plants can discharge back into rivers, forcing reactors to reduce output.
This summer has already seen record heat-related reductions in French nuclear generation.
Those constraints ripple across interconnected European electricity markets, contributing to higher wholesale prices in neighboring countries during periods of peak summer demand.
- Why are rivers reaching seasonal lows so early?
Hydrologists say the current situation reflects more than simply a lack of rainfall.
Much of Europe's river system depends on gradual releases of Alpine snow and glacier melt during summer.
After an unusually warm spring and repeated heat waves, snow reserves melted earlier than usual, reducing the amount of water available later in the season.
Meanwhile, shrinking Alpine glaciers continue to weaken one of Europe's natural safeguards against prolonged summer drought.
Scientists from the World Weather Attribution initiative note that while rainfall trends across much of Europe have not shown a clear long-term decline, rising temperatures caused by human-induced climate change are increasing evaporation from soils, reservoirs and rivers.
Higher temperatures are also increasing water demand from agriculture, households and industry, compounding pressure on already depleted river systems.
 "Hardeep Singh Puri, Union petroleum minister")
India's national oil companies have been able to contain the annual decline rate in production to around 2 per cent since 2014-15, three times better than the global average decline rate of 6 per cent for mature fields, according to the International Energy Agency, Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri told Parliament in a written reply.
He said domestic production of crude oil from offshore and onshore fields stood at 27.96 million tonnes (MT) last financial year (2025-26), against 28.70 MT in 2024-25 and 29.36 MT in 2023-24. "The domestic oil production over the last three years has shown slight decline primarily owing to natural decline in mature and ageing oil and gas fields," Puri said.
Domestic oil production by the NOCs, including Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and Oil India (OIL), dropped from 22.56 MT in 2023-25 to 21.91 MT in 2024-25 and further to 21.23 MT last fiscal. "During this period, the NOCs namely ONGC and Oil India have consistently sustained their production levels," Puri said.
The minister added that the government supports the efforts by NOCs to implement field-level projects for Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR), Improved Oil Recovery (IOR), or reservoir re-evaluation through policy incentives, basin-level studies and technical oversight.
Puri said the Union Cabinet approved the Samudra Manthan - National Offshore Exploration Scheme on July 31, 2026, for large-scale acquisition, processing and interpretation of high-quality seismic data, accelerated exploratory drilling in deepwater and ultra-deepwater areas, along with development of common infrastructure and an oil & gas manufacturing zone.
Strait of Hormuz Shipping Traffic Drops as US-Iran Deal Hopes Fade
Commodity vessel transits through the Strait of Hormuz dropped to seven on Monday, trailing the recent 10-day norm of roughly 12, as optimism over a potential US-Iran accord waned further. Kpler data compiled at 2.25pm UAE time on Tuesday showed six ships entering the waterway: a Handysize hauling steel, a Panamax with grains and oilseeds, a Handy/MR1 tanker moving diesel-type fuels, an MR tanker, a VLGC, and a small tanker—the latter two sailing empty. One Handysize loaded with coal departed the strait. The figures encompass tankers, dry bulk carriers, and LNG and LPG vessels, while excluding container ships. In the pre-conflict stretch, about 98 commodity carriers used the strait daily, a passage that typically moved roughly one-fifth of global oil and LNG supplies.
During the war's peak disruption, crossings fell to just two on May 8 and 9, then climbed through June into the 40s and 50s as diplomatic overtures fueled deal expectations. That rebound has eroded since mid-July following the collapse of a June US-Iran memorandum of understanding.
On the Red Sea, 25 commodity vessels passed through the Bab Al Mandeb strait on Monday, matching the 10-day average of nearly 24, per Kpler. Recent traffic has remained stable but trails the daily mean of about 35 crossings seen in June and early July. A blockade of Saudi ships by Yemen's Houthis, initiated in late July, has driven a notable drop, with crossings hitting 17 on July 26—the lowest since the war started on February 28. Since then, numbers have recovered to the low-to-mid 20s.
The slowdown at both chokepoints coincides with a stalemate in US-Iran negotiations. On Monday, President Donald Trump called on Iran to compensate individuals killed or seriously injured by Tehran-aligned forces over the last five decades. Iran, for its part, has pushed for war reparations and sanctions relief in discussions that closely echo its earlier MoU stance.
Oil markets reacted to the impasse on Tuesday, with Brent crude up 2.3% to $89.70 a barrel at 2.12pm UAE time and West Texas Intermediate rising 2.5% to $84.18. Charter rates for supertankers on the key Middle East-to-China route are nearing $500,000 daily, more than twice prewar costs, according to Bloomberg.
Additional shipping hazards stem from an oil slick near Oman's Hallaniyat Islands in Dhofar. The country's Environment Authority reported Monday that the spill spans about 389 square kilometres and has approached within 7km of the coastline. The leak originates from the Caroline Bezengi, a sanctioned tanker carrying nearly one million barrels of Russian crude destined for Asia. The vessel reported trouble off Yemen on June 8, with maritime security sources suggesting a possible onboard explosion. No group has claimed responsibility, and the ship's last public AIS transmission occurred on June 11.
https://www.indexbox.io/blog/strait-of-hormuz-shipping-traffic-drops-as-us-iran-deal-hopes-fade/
A day after President Donald Trump claimed the Strait of Hormuz is “open,” officials inside his administration are ramping up their forecasts for oil and gasoline prices as “constraints” block the flow of energy through that critical waterway.
The Energy Department’s forecasting arm, the Energy Information Administration (EIA), now expects energy transits through the Strait of Hormuz to remain limited through August.
The EIA raised its 2026 for Brent, the global oil benchmark, to an average of $87 a barrel on Tuesday. That’s up from a forecast of $82 a month ago for Brent, and close to current levels.
Officials now expect retail gas prices to average $3.78 a gallon this year, up from its prior call of $3.64 a gallon. Gas prices were just $2.98 a gallon nationally before the war started, according to AAA.
Forecasters also increased their estimates for oil and gasoline prices for 2027.
The EIA blamed “constraints on transit through the Strait of Hormuz,” adding that the forecast “assumes those constraints persist through August.”
This pressure on the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway which typically allows a fifth of world oil to flow through, also caused the EIA to increase its projection of how much oil production in the Middle East will be offline in the coming months.
The forecast is a stark contrast to Trump’s own comments.
Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Monday that the strait is “open now” and that only the United States Navy has control over the waterway.
Only eight vessels crossed the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, compared with the average of 120 before the war, according to maritime intelligence firm Kpler.
https://www.cnn.com/2026/08/11/world/live-news/iran-war-trump
EU gas storage sits at just 56.9% — the lowest late-July level since 2021 — offering only 99 days of consumption cover and an 80-day import interruption buffer, both post-2022 lows. Persistent Middle East tensions have blocked all Qatari LNG for three straight months, driving EU imports to their weakest in nearly two years and sending TTF prices up 19%. Meanwhile, Gazprom’s TurkStream flows rebounded 35% month-on-month to 45.7 mcm/d. Despite the EU’s phase-out timetable, Russian pipeline gas remains critical. Without it, Europe faces sharper price spikes, fiercer competition with Asia for scarce LNG, and dangerously thin winter buffers.
https://anasalhajjieoa.substack.com/p/gazprom-supply-surges-35-as-europes
By N Saeed
Agreements signed between Iraq and US companies last month will lead to a sharp increase in the Arab country’s crude output capacity, Iraq’s oil minister has said.
Bassim Mohammed told a news conference in Baghdad at the weekend that Iraq expects seven US companies to pump in excess of $200 billion into projects to develop oilfields and build an advanced infrastructure for the oil sector in Iraq.
“These projects will allow Iraq to largely increase in oil production capacity and also include the construction of an advanced oil infrastructure in Iraq,” he said.
Mohammed said investments by these companies cover development of oil and gas production in key fields.
The agreements were signed with major US firms during Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi’s visit to the US for the development of oil and gas fields in south and North Iraq.
Mohammed said HKN company would develop oil and gas output at Hamrain field in South Iraq while another agreement was signed with Halliburton for the development of Nahr bin Omar and Sindbad oilfields,
He said another MoU was finalised with Chevron for West Qurna 2 oilfield, which was quit by Russia’s Lukoil, adding that it is a giant field which requires huge investments.
Other agreements were inked with BP and Conoco Philips for four exploratory areas in North Iraq and one with three US firms for Akkas gas field in Al-Anbar province, Iraq’s largest governorate.
Last year, Iraq said it has devised a five-year plan to expand its crude oil production capacity to nearly 7 million barrels per day (bpd) despite OPEC’s output quota constraints.
The increase will be achieved through oilfield development projects to be offered to new companies and those awarded to France’s energy giant TotalEnergies and other foreign firms over the past two years, said Ali Maarij, Oil Ministry Undersecretary.
The rise represents nearly 55 percent over Iraq’s existing sustainable oil output capacity of around 4.5 million bpd, which is above the country’s actual production of 4 million bpd.
(Writing by N Saeed; Editing by Anoop Menon)
(anoop.menon@lseg.com)
Lanxess AG (Cologne, Germany) announced that it will use hydrogen instead of natural gas to dry iron oxide pigments at its site in Krefeld-Uerdingen, Germany. This will make the spray dryer one of the first large-scale industrial plants in Germany to use hydrogen as a fuel in continuous operation. Lanxess will thereby reduce its carbon footprint by about 6,000 metric tons per year.
The hydrogen is produced during chlorine electrolysis at the neighboring Covestro plant and transported directly to the Lanxess plant via a pipeline.
“Switching from a natural gas burner to a hydrogen burner is a significant technological step towards low-greenhouse-gas processes,” says Michael Ertl, Head of the Inorganic Pigments business unit at Lanxess. “We are proving that decarbonizing industry works not only in pilot projects, but also in the day-to-day operation of large production facilities.”
Lanxess installed the hydrogen burner at the end of 2025 and has gradually brought it online since then. The system is designed to be powered entirely by hydrogen. Technical integration includes a dedicated hydrogen line, an adapted burner, and measurement control technology, as well as additional safety and control systems.
“The project shows that industrial partners at a Verbund site can particularly successfully shape the transition to climate-friendly production,” says Rob Eek, Production Manager at Covestro in Krefeld-Uerdingen. The Verbund site’s close integration is the basis for this success: short pipeline routes, shared infrastructure, and established safety concepts ensure a reliable hydrogen supply.
Lanxess and Covestro have a long-standing partnership at the Krefeld-Uerdingen site. Covestro supplies nitrobenzene, which Lanxess uses to produce its iron oxide pigments. Aniline is produced as a byproduct of this process, which is then returned to Covestro as an important raw material for plastics production. The recently implemented use of hydrogen in the spray dryer adds an additional climate-relevant component to the established production partnership.
With its Inorganic Pigments business unit, Lanxess is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of inorganic pigments. Its portfolio includes iron oxide and chromium oxide pigments for the construction industry, paints and coatings, plastics, and various specialty applications. The products are characterized by high color strength, weather resistance, and consistently high quality. In Krefeld-Uerdingen,Lanxess operates the world’s largest production facility for iron oxide pigments, which have been manufactured at this site for 100 years now.
Lanxess’ iron oxide pigments have a particularly low carbon footprint compared to those of other companies in the industry. A key reason for this is the Laux process used in production. Unlike other processes, it produces virtually no waste and uses energy particularly efficiently.
https://www.chemengonline.com/lanxess-to-use-hydrogen-as-fuel-at-iron-oxide-production-facility/
Batteries have been a hot topic for years amid the energy transition rush of many governments, but now, it has become even hotter as the search for alternatives to traditional energy becomes frantic. While lithium continues to dominate in both EVs and storage, rivals are emerging, and one of these is, essentially table salt.
Earlier this month, Chinese media reported that the first truck with a sodium-ion battery had been delivered to the mine where it will be used. The battery has a capacity of 676 kWh, a report by Car News China said, and an energy density of 165 Wh/kg. The maker of the system, a company called Hina Battery, also boasted that its battery can be recharged in between 20 and 25 minutes.
Meanwhile, U.S. companies are also developing sodium-ion batteries with a view to not only coming up with an alternative to lithium-ion technology but making this alternative independent of China-dominated supply chains. In a report about such batteries this week, the Wall Street Journal’s tech columnist Christopher Mims called them “China-free” and said that the technology “has the potential to help every country on earth break its dependence on China for batteries, and the critical minerals that go into them.”
As is usual with battery breakthrough reports, however, the enthusiasm may be a bit premature. Sodium-ion battery technology is still relatively new and has flaws. One big flaw is energy density, as noted in a recent report in PV Magazine about progress in the field. They also have a shorter life than lithium-ion batteries. Both these flaws are related to the use of sodium instead of lithium. Sodium, the report explained, has a larger ionic radius, which “places greater mechanical stress on electrode materials and can accelerate degradation.”
These flaws are the reason why the Wall Street Journal’s Mims wrote about sodium-ion batteries “potentially” replacing lithium-ion technology. The promise is there, but first, the flaws need to be eliminated or minimized. The Car News China report about the sodium-ion mining truck noted that the battery could last for 8,000 charge-recharge cycles, saying that this was comparable to the average lifespan of a regular mining truck. So, it is China again that is making progress in alternatives to lithium-ion technology.
This is not to say that elsewhere progress is absent. The WJ article featured one startup that is eyeing a piece of the utility-scale battery storage market in the United States, currently dominated by Tesla. The company, Peak Energy, is betting on potentially cheaper, more reliable and less easily combustible batteries, the report said, noting one of the most dangerous flaws of lithium-ion systems: the risk of thermal runaway.
Other companies in the United States are also developing their own sodium-ion batteries to offer an alternative to the dominant battery tech, suggesting that there is a perception of strong demand for such alternatives. Much of that perception appears to be linked to the proliferation of data centers across the country. This, of course, has to do with data centers’ need for a reliable electricity supply at all times, combined with their ambition to use low-carbon energy. There is also the matter of grid connection delays, which are driving data center operators to turn to on-site solar plus storage to get the electricity faster, PV Magazine again reported this month.
Cracking the battery problem and developing batteries that are simultaneously reliable, long-lasting, cheap, and safe has eluded the tech industry for years. Nevertheless, progress is being made, and alternative battery technology is challenging the dominance of lithium-ion systems, little by little. It will probably be a while yet before this challenge threatens that dominance—if ever—but technological diversification in batteries is always a good idea.
John Ing, CEO of Maison Placements Canada Inc., joins BNN Bloomberg to discuss Barrick Mining earnings.
Barrick Mining said on Tuesday it had appointed Sebastiaan Bock as chief executive officer of its Rest of World division, placing him in charge of the miner’s gold and copper operations and projects outside North America, effective immediately.
The appointment gives Barrick a leader for its international business as the company prepares to split its North American and overseas assets, a move aimed at sharpening management focus and reducing the valuation drag investors often apply to miners with exposure to higher-risk jurisdictions.
Bock will oversee a portfolio spanning Africa, the Middle East, Latin America and Asia Pacific that produces more than 2 million gold-equivalent ounces annually, the company said.
The appointment follows Barrick’s resolution of a months-long dispute with Newmont NEM.N over Nevada mining assets, which cleared the final hurdle for a planned initial public offering of its North American gold assets that the company expects to complete by year-end.
Under the settlement announced Monday, Newmont agreed to pay Barrick $1.95 billion in cash within 30 days and consented to the IPO.
The company said on its second-quarter earnings call that it was looking for a CEO to lead its operations outside North America.
Bock joined Barrick in 2019 as finance chief for Africa and the Middle East and became chief operating officer for the region in 2022, the company added.
Barrick said its international operations could benefit from closer ties with Chinese partners through joint investments, technology access and supply-chain support.
Hindustan Copper is planning to sell copper concentrate sourced from Chile to Indian companies Hindalco and Adani, according to two sources familiar with the discussions, reported Reuters.
The concentrate is expected to come from mines that Hindustan Copper is acquiring from Chilean state miner Codelco.
The move forms part of efforts to address India's growing domestic demand for copper.
Three sources indicated that Hindustan Copper is also in talks to form a joint venture with Codelco to facilitate copper mining and sales, though these deliberations remain confidential.
Hindustan Copper, NTPC Mining and Coal India are discussing the acquisition of Codelco's four copper mining blocks.
This follows an earlier statement from India's mines secretary in April 2026 and a preliminary agreement between Hindustan Copper and Codelco last year aimed at identifying opportunities in exploration and mining.
In May 2026, Hindustan Copper entered into a non-disclosure agreement with Codelco and appointed an advisor for the potential deal.
Due diligence for the proposed partnership is ongoing, with Hindustan Copper said to be open to including Coal India and NTPC Mining as partners in the joint venture.
A technical team from the Indian companies visited Chile earlier this year, though sources suggest it could be a decade before mining and concentrate production begin.
India currently produces approximately 573,000 metric tonnes of refined copper a year, compared to a demand of 1.8 million tonnes.
The government has projected that India may need to import up to 97% of its copper concentrate requirements by 2047.
"Hindustan Copper plans supply of Chilean copper to Hindalco and Adani" was originally created and published by Mining Technology, a GlobalData owned brand.
Ottawa confirmed in a July 31 news release that it has given the go-head for Canada Nickel to proceed toward construction of its US$2-billion Timmins-area Crawford mine project.
The news was broken by the Globe and Mail on July 30.
The proposed open-pit mine and mill is 42 kilometres north of Timmins. With a project property size of 4,900 hectares (12,100 acres) it’ll be a massive low-grade, large tonnage operation with ore production of 240,000 tonnes a day.
But Canada Nickel is a year away from making a construction decision as the mine developer is still seeking capital.
In a decision statement, federal Environment Minister Julie Dabrusin said the mine will have an adverse effect on fish and fish habitat, migratory birds, water quality and Indigenous communities, but she was satisfied with the mitigative measures set forth by the company to minimize those impacts.
But Dabrusin said the positive effects of Crawford will create positive economic opportunities in generating jobs, contracting and procurement opportunities, and community partnerships.
There are binding conditions set out by the feds for follow-up monitoring around the future mine site over its 41-year operating life.
"Canada's impact assessment process is designed to support well-planned projects that benefit communities,” said Dabrusin in the release. “Through meaningful Indigenous engagement and evidence-based decision-making, it helps create the conditions for job creation, economic opportunity, and responsible development."
The Crawford project has favoured status in the eyes of the Carney government. It was referred by the prime minister to the new Major Projects Office last November for expedited permitting.
Canada Nickel management is leaning toward making a mine construction decision some time in 2027.
That’ll be made once a US$2.5-billion development funding package is in place. The company has said that will be in place in early next year. About half or more of that financing package will come from federal government sources through investment tax credits, direct program investments, and debt funding.
The US steel producer Nucor has once again raised its spot price (CSP) for hot-rolled coils by $5 per short tonne compared with the previous week. This is stated in a letter from the company to its customers dated 10 August.
The new offer price stands at $1,160 per short tonne. The CSP for the joint venture California Steel Industries (CSI) has also risen by $5 per short tonne to $1,220 per short tonne.
Delivery times remain unchanged at 3 to 5 weeks.
According to Steel Market Update, the average price for hot-rolled coils in the US as at 4 August stood at $1,180 per short tonne.
Meanwhile, Gerdau Long Steel North America also warned of price increases for rolled steel in a letter to customers, reports Kallanish.
The increase ranges from $30 to $80 per short tonne and came into effect for new orders placed from 10 August.
The largest price increase (of $80 per short tonne) applies to certain types of angle bars, channels and flat products. The price increase implemented on 3 August for similar products, but of different dimensions, is not affected by this adjustment. For orders confirmed by 7 August, the price remains unchanged provided that shipment takes place by 21 August.
As reported by GMK Center, the global market for hot-rolled coils showed mixed trends in July 2026. In particular, in the US, prices rose steadily due to limited spot supply and stable demand.
https://gmk.center/en/news/nucor-has-once-again-raised-hrc-price-by-5-t/amp/
Iron ore prices eased on Monday, as downbeat factory-gate data in top consumer China fueled worry over demand prospects for the key steelmaking ingredient, although a strike at a major export hub in Australia curbed some of the decline.
The most-traded iron ore contract on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) DCIOcv1closed daytime trade down 0.35% at 713.5 yuan ($105.79) a metric ton.
The benchmark September iron ore SZZFU6 on the Singapore Exchange was 0.26% lower at $94.75 a ton, as of 0820 GMT, staying well below a key psychological level of $100 for 15 trading sessions.
China’s producer price inflation eased more than expected in July to its weakest in three months, while consumer inflation also cooled, as global energy prices retreated despite the U.S.-Israel war against Iran.
“A core driving force currently is steel demand. Domestic steel consumption in the manufacturing sector may shrink more than expected,” analysts at Galaxy Futures said in a note.
Torrential rain and storms in Typhoon Dolphin’s wake have swept through several provinces in China’s east, hindering outdoor activities and steel consumption.
But prices loses were limited as more workers joined a strike at BHP’s Port Hedland operations in Western Australia on Sunday, in the first major industrial action at the iron ore export hub in a quarter-century.
The hub accounted for 75% of iron-ore exports from the Pilbara region of Western Australia in the year to June.
Investors and traders were watching closely whether both parties could reach an agreement soon, or if an escalation later would hit supply.
Coking coal DJMcv1 and coke DCJcv1, other steelmaking ingredients, climbed 1.43% and 0.11%, respectively.
Steel benchmarks on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were mostly weaker. Rebar SRBcv1 eased 0.43%, hot-rolled coil SHHCcv1 nudged down 0.12%, wire rod SWRcv1 dipped 0.67% while stainless steel SHSScv1 added 0.31%.
($1 = 6.7443 Chinese yuan)
(Reporting by Amy Lv and Lewis Jackson; Editing by Rashmi Aich)