Framatome has signed a first commercial contract to supply nuclear fuel enriched up to 10% uranium-235, with initial delivery planned for early 2028 to an unidentified US reactor.
September 23, 2026
Framatome has announced signing its first commercial contract for the supply of nuclear fuel enriched beyond standard levels, as part of its Advanced Fuel Management (AFM) programme. The agreement covers a series of enriched fuel reloads containing up to 10% uranium-235, with initial delivery scheduled for early 2028. The company did not disclose the identity of the US reactor that will receive this technology. The contract includes options for additional reloads in the longer term.
An Enrichment Threshold Pushed Beyond 5%
Uranium-235 is the main fissile isotope of uranium and accounts for about 0.7% of natural uranium. Standard fuel used in currently operating light water reactors relies on low-enriched uranium, known as LEU, with enrichment levels reaching about 4.8% U-235. More highly enriched fuel, containing up to 10% U-235 and referred to as LEU+, could according to Framatome improve fuel cycle economics for reactors already in service. The announcement comes as several US nuclear projects follow contrasting paths, illustrated by Bechtel's withdrawal from TerraPower's Natrium nuclear project in the United States, while other initiatives move forward, such as Turkey and the United States funding a nuclear study through the USTDA.
Manufacturing in Richland, Washington
The AFM programme spans the entire nuclear fuel cycle, including enrichment services, regulatory licensing and fabrication infrastructure. According to Framatome, enriching uranium oxide beyond the traditional 5% threshold, combined with its latest technology, would allow reactor operators to maximise energy production. The fuel will be manufactured at the company's facility in Richland, Washington, where installations underwent modifications over four years to support implementation of this technology. The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, or NRC, approved the fabrication of fuel with increased uranium enrichment as well as the production of fuel with higher burnup limits at this site.
Extending the Fuel Cycle from 18 to 24 Months
Framatome says the agreement builds on ongoing deliveries of its standard GAIA fuel, its most advanced pressurised water reactor fuel design, which serves as the foundation for these AFM-enabled reloads. According to the company, the US customer involved will be able to extend its fuel cycle length from 18 to 24 months, reducing outage frequency and improving operational efficiency as well as power generation. "This contract reflects the strength of our long-standing relationship with our customer and our shared commitment to advancing nuclear fuel technology," said Lionel Gaiffe, Senior Executive Vice President of Framatome's Fuel Business Unit.
A License Request Approved by the NRC in July
Framatome had submitted a license amendment request to the NRC in September 2024, seeking permission to handle uranium enriched up to 10%, up from 6.5% previously, in order to expand its domestic capacity for manufacturing advanced reactor fuels. The NRC approved this request in July. In October 2023, Southern Nuclear had announced it received NRC authorization to use advanced nuclear fuel from Westinghouse, enriched up to 6% uranium-235, at the Vogtle 2 reactor, marking at the time the first authorization granted to a US commercial reactor for fuel enriched above 5%.
https://energynews.pro/en/framatome-signs-first-contract-for-fuel-enriched-up-to-10?nl_auth=ok
Pioneer Natural Resources founder Scott Sheffield alleges ExxonMobil collaborated with the Federal Trade Commission in a "smear campaign" to keep him off the company's board following its $60B takeover of his company in 2024.
"I do firmly believe that Exxon schemed against me" in a dispute with the Federal Trade Commission, Sheffield wrote in his new autobiography, From Tehran to the Permian, to be released in early October. "Contrary to Darren's assurances to me, Exxon threw me under the bus at its earliest opportunity," referring to Exxon CEO Darren Woods.
The FTC barred Sheffield from joining Exxon's board as a condition of its approval for the Pioneer deal, its largest takeover since the company merged with Mobil in 1999.
The move followed an antitrust investigation in which the FTC alleged that Sheffield, who is considered one of the fathers of the U.S. shale oil revolution, colluded with OPEC to push up oil prices.
As part of the merger approval by the Biden administration, Exxon signed an FTC consent decree prohibiting it from appointing Sheffield to its board; at the time, the company said the commission's allegations against Sheffield were "entirely inconsistent with how we do business."
Sheffield was cleared of any wrongdoing last year by a Republican-led FTC, but Sheffield said his health suffered for several "excruciating" months during the investigation amid the threat of criminal charges and having his name "dragged through the mud."
"Now I understood why people had been telling me for more than 50 years that the two X's in Exxon stood for the double-cross company," Sheffield wrote in the book, saying he was "set up."
European officials say the prospect of a U.S. cutoff is exposing the risks of relying on American fuel.
President Donald Trump is considering plans to limit diesel exports to Europe. | Alex Wroblewski/AFP via Getty Images
By ZACK COLMAN and BEN MUNSTER
09/26/2026 05:00 PM BST
President Donald Trump’s threat to curtail diesel shipments abroad comes with a risk: the perception that he’s reneging on his promise to shower the world with U.S. fuels.
That move would inflame tensions between the U.S. and Europe while jeopardizing American credibility as a trading partner, energy experts and administration allies said. And it could compel nations to seek other suppliers, limiting Trump’s ability to wield energy as a negotiating tool in the future, they added.
“This is going to damage our reputation,” said an external adviser to the Trumpadministration, who was granted anonymity to discuss private conversations. “The whole premise of energy dominance was that the United States would be able to supply our allies around the world. Curtailing that is going to raise question marks.”
Plans to limit U.S. diesel exports are under discussion at the White House as the fuel’s price soars because of oil supply disruptions stemming from the Iran war. The Trump administration is considering different options, from a full-scale 90-day export ban to incremental limits on outbound diesel. The idea is fiercely opposed by the oil and gas industry over worries that it could make them less competitive in overseas markets.
The effort to corral fuel prices comes less than six weeks ahead of midterm elections that threaten strip control of Congress from Republicans — and break Trump’s unfettered influence over the Legislative branch.
A White House official said Trump is evaluating all his options to lower diesel prices, which have soared from $3.74 a gallon to $6.52 over the past year.
The European Union has increased U.S. diesel imports to record levels because of the Iran war, with imports rising by 1.5 million barrels a day in August, a 50% increase since the conflict began in February, said David Jorbenaze, a senior oil analyst at commodities intelligence firm ICIS.
According to S&P Global Energy, U.S. diesel now accounts for 10% of the continent’s consumption.
Finding replacement supply would be extremely difficult, with refineries around the world already operating at maximum capacity, Jorbenaze said.
“Removing that source would pull away the leg Europe has been leaning on hardest,” he said, adding that a ban would result in increased global competition for cargoes from a “shrinking pool” of suppliers, a drop in output of other crude products, and higher prices across the board.
The logical endpoint is demand destruction, according to Debnil Chowdhury, a senior fuel analyst at S&P Global Energy, with the cost falling on consumers to preserve fuel for agriculture and industry. “Europe will have to drive less; Europe will have to fly less,” he said.
It could also bring political blowback for the U.S., said Landon Derentz, vice president of energy and infrastructure at the Atlantic Council.
“Not too many people are connecting the dots here — this is one more element of concern with international partners about the reliability of U.S. supply,” said Derentz, who worked on energy security policy in the Obama, Trump and Biden administrations. “You can’t avoid some level of this leading into the broader aspects of further investment into the U.S. energy sector.”
However, there are already signs that Europeans’ trust in the U.S. is beginning to fray.
“If they’re not listening to their own people, why would they listen to us?” said one Eastern European energy official who was granted anonymity to describe internal discussions, referencing the U.S. oil industry’s pushback against the ban.
The official argued that outreach through official channels was fruitless thanks to a broader diplomatic breakdown.
“With this administration, official channels tend to be a slow waste of time,” the official said. “And yet that’s exactly why official channels are supposed to work. If everyone tries to get in through the back door, the back door becomes the front door.”
Another official from a mid-sized European country said the government was caught off guard by reports of a 90-day ban and was now scrambling to understand the risks — highlighting the country’s growing awareness of the dangers it faces from depending on U.S. imports.
“Nobody has really done any … risk analysis for [scenarios that last more] than two weeks,” the official said.
Other countries say the diesel issue is emphasizing the risks of being reliant on the U.S. as a fuel provider.
“We have a huge dependency on the United States — we have to do everything to become more independent,” Austrian Industry and Economy Minister Wolfgang Hattmannsdorfer said at a press conference on Thursday, in response to a question from POLITICO.
He said it was a sign that Europe needs to deepen its engagement with other exporting countries like Libya, Nigeria and Kazakhstan, while boosting its own output.
Others said if the U.S. curtails diesel shipments, it could undermine trust in American energy markets by continuing a trend of scattershot export policies, such as former President Joe Biden’s pause of new liquefied natural gas terminals.
The U.S. advantage with global buyers is that private companies execute deals, said Ben Cahill, director for energy markets and policy at the Center for Energy and Environmental Systems Analysis at the University of Texas at Austin. Trump meddling in private sector markets would be akin to the risks of dealing with state-run companies beholden to political leaders, he said.
“An action like this would definitely undermine the reputation of the United States as a reliable exporter and trade partner,” he said.
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/09/26/diesel-export-ban-energy-europe-01094058
By Felicity Bradstock - Sep 25, 2026, 5:00 PM CDT
Nigeria has ambitious energy plans for the coming decades, including expanding its oil industry and accelerating the development of its renewable energy sector. In recent years, Nigeria has begun to solidify its position as a major energy power in Africa. This led the International Energy Agency (IEA) Governing Board to decide in June to welcome Nigeria as an Association country. Nigeria joins South Africa, Kenya, and Senegal as an IEA Association country in sub-Saharan Africa.
To solidify the agreement, IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol met with Nigeria’s Vice President Kashim Shettima and Minister of State for Petroleum Resources Ekperikpe Ekpo in Abuja in September. The officials discussed Nigeria’s energy and economic priorities and the opportunities created by the country’s closer engagement with the IEA.
“Nigeria’s admission as an association country with the IEA is a significant milestone for our country, and it reflects Nigeria’s strategic importance in the global energy landscape and the confidence that IEA has placed in our commitment to constructive international energy cooperation,” Vice President Shettima said. “The country will benefit from IEA’s institutional knowledge, the intellectual resources, the reach and expertise to support our nation’s ambitions in this sector.”
https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Nigeria-Joins-IEA-As-Crude-Output-Hits-Six-Year-High.html
By Julianne Geiger - Sep 25, 2026, 12:15 PM CDT
The total number of active drilling rigs for oil and gas in the United States rose this week, according to new data that Baker Hughes published on Friday, with the total rig count in the US rising to 599, up 50 from this same time last year.
The number of active oil rigs rose by 3, reaching 455 during the latest reporting period, according to the data. This is 31 above this same time last year. The number of gas rigs rose by 1 to 135, which is 18 more than this time last year. Miscellaneous rigs stayed the same at 9.
The latest EIA data showed that weekly U.S. crude oil production fell for the second week in a row during week ending September 18. US crude oil production averaged 13.939 million bpdduring the reporting period, down slightly from 13.944 million bpd last week but up 438,000 bpd from a year ago.
Primary Vision’s Frac Spread Count, an estimate of the number of crews completing wells, rose again during the week ending September 18, gaining 3 crews to reach 187.
The number of active drilling rigs in the Permian Basin rose by 1 during the reporting period to 270. This is 17 rigs above year-ago levels. The count in the Eagle Ford lost a rig, landing at 50, which is 5 more than this same time last year.
Oil prices were down on Friday prior to the data release, with Brent now trading at $103.83(-2.60%) per barrel, roughly on par with prices this same time last week. WTI was also trading down on the day at $92.12 (-2.63%).
https://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oil/US-Oil-Gas-Drilling-Perks-Up-As-Pressure-Mounts.html
Canada’s Barrick Mining has reached an agreement with unions representing workers at its Loulo-Gounkoto gold mine in western Mali, Bloomberg News reported today, citing Abdoulaye Coulibaly of Mali’s National Workers’ Union.
“The strike threat has been resolved,” Coulibaly said, according to the Bloomberg report.
Coulibaly added that the agreement involved workers at Food & Events Africa, Somilo SA and Gounkoto SA.
Barrick Mining did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside regular business hours. The union could not immediately be reached for comment.
Earlier this month, unions representing Barrick Mining’s gold workers said they would begin strike action towards the end of September if demands related to overtime pay, reimbursement of mission expenses and implementation of labour agreements were not met.
Separate strike notices were also submitted by Barrick’s catering and support staff contractor Food & Events Africa as well as workers in Mali’s mining regulator and other mining administration agencies.
Mali, one of Africa’s leading gold producers, resolved a dispute with Barrick in November last year over profit-sharing and control of the Loulo-Gounkoto gold mining complex after two years of negotiations.
The military-led government has tightened its grip on the mining sector under a 2023 mining code aimed at boosting state revenues from the country’s natural resources.
https://sundayworld.co.za/news/barrick-mining-reaches-deal-with-mali-gold-unions-averting-strike/
Peru Wants to Unlock a Copper Boom. Permits Are in the Way. - Moby
THE GIST
Peru, the world's third-largest copper producer, is betting that it needs faster permits instead of new mines to unlock the copper growth it's been after for years.
The Peruvian government announced that it wants annual output up by 1 million metric tons within five to six years and the most obvious thing happened: Chinese and U.S. companies came back for stalled projects.
WHAT HAPPENED
Lima is wasting no time. Its energy and mines ministry has already identified 27 permits that can be cut from the roughly 100 that are required today. But President Keiko Fujimori's administration has assured that cutting approval delays will happen without compromising on environmental standards. It's a good reminder as the government tries to reverse copper output that's been essentially flat for years.
Peru's copper output is expected to hold between 2.5 million and 2.7 million tons this year, roughly unchanged from 2023, due to declining ore grades and recurring social conflicts around mine sites.
WHY IT MATTERS
But here's the thing: There is already a big backlog of mining projects Lima needs to address. Copper accounts for about 70% of Peru's $64 billion mining project backlog.
Yet most of the roughly $7 billion in mining investment expected this year is going toward sustaining existing operations rather than adding new mines. Which means the pipeline remains stagnant.
In the two months since the new president took office, roughly 20 mining companies, mostly Chinese and American, have met with the ministry to discuss reviving delayed projects.
The overhaul of permits is only one test of whether Peru can turn a deep project pipeline into actual output. Copper demand is rising globally on electrification and data-center buildout, and yet the world's third-largest producer has been stuck for three years despite sitting on one of the largest project backlogs in the industry.
WHAT'S NEXT
What's next is an update on the U.S.-Peru critical minerals cooperation agreement signed in February this year. Secretary of State Marco Rubio highlighted the partnership during a visit to Peru this month. Chinese firms remain among the most active dealmakers on the ground, so one can dream.
https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/commodities/articles/peru-wants-unlock-copper-boom-120200284.html
A fatal accident during routine maintenance has halted the world's largest copper mine, with BHP's Escondida operation in Chile's Atacama Desert facing a Sernageomin-controlled restart, two unions rejecting pause requests, and a supervisors' strike vote due the week of 29 September 2026, all while LME copper sits within striking distance of its all-time record of $14,875 per tonne.
By Branka Narancic-28 September 2026
A maintenance worker is dead and the world’s largest copper mine has stopped. The fatality happened during routine work on a front-end loader at BHP’s Escondida operation in Chile’s Atacama Desert, and Chilean regulators ordered a halt within hours.
The timing sharpens the stakes. The death arrived in the middle of an active collective bargaining dispute between BHP and both the supervisors’ and rank-and-file unions, with copper trading near record highs and global inventories already stretched thin.
Escondida is not a marginal asset. It is the single largest source of copper on the planet, majority-operated by BHP with Rio Tintoholding 30% and Japan’s JECO holding 12.5%. Even a brief stoppage carries real supply consequences.
This piece lays out what happened at the site, why regulators and unions are pressing BHP from two directions at once, and what the next seven days, culminating in the supervisors’ vote week beginning 29 September 2026, could mean for copper supply and price.
A worker is dead and regulators have stopped the clock at Escondida
The death came during maintenance, not during some rare or extraordinary event. A worker was killed while equipment maintenance was under way involving a front-end loader, and union leader Sebastián Livera, cited by Chemnet, stressed that the fatality arose from ordinary day-to-day operations rather than an unusual circumstance.
BHP’s first move was partial. The company initially halted only a portion of site activity, with other operations continuing until regulatory pressure escalated. BHP then confirmed it had fully suspended mining along with the majority of other operational areas at the site.
The regulator now controls the restart clock
Chile’s National Geology and Mining Service, Sernageomin, confirmed the fatal incident on 23 September 2026 and dispatched a regional investigation team. Reuters reported the same day that all operational activities at the mine had been suspended, with BHP offering no restart timeline.
Here is the operational sequence that matters:
Under Chilean procedure, operations cannot restart after a fatal accident until inspectors confirm the site is safe. That single requirement is the central operational fact of this story. BHP does not control its own return-to-production timeline; Sernageomin does.
Chile’s mining safety enforcement has drawn repeated scrutiny in 2026, with regulators facing pressure to demonstrate that fatal incident procedures are applied consistently across both state and privately operated sites.
For anyone tracking copper supply, this is the distinction to hold onto. A “gradual resumption” as of 25 September is not the same as normal production. The accident created a genuine, legally enforced production gap at the world’s largest copper source, and the regulator, not the operator, decides when it closes.
Both unions rejected BHP’s pause request, and a strike vote is coming
The unions said no. BHP asked to temporarily halt collective bargaining under a labour code provision, framing the request as a welfare measure so the company could focus on supporting employees after the death. Both the supervisors’ union and the rank-and-file workers’ union rejected it outright.
Their language left little room for interpretation.
The supervisors’ union characterised BHP’s attempt to pause talks as exploiting a tragedy, pointing to repeated concerns unions had already raised about inadequate safety conditions at the mine.
The rank-and-file union described the pause request as an unacceptable delay tactic, arguing that a worker’s death should not be leveraged for other ends. Reuters reported that even after BHP fully halted mining and most site operations, the unions insisted negotiations continue through the shutdown.
That refusal tells you something about the power dynamic. The unions are treating safety as a core bargaining issue rather than a separate matter to be handled outside the negotiating table, and they declined to cede procedural control during the crisis.
BHP union wage disputes at Port Hedland earlier in 2026 followed a similar procedural pattern, with workers rejecting pause requests during active negotiations and framing safety concerns alongside pay claims, suggesting the Escondida dynamic reflects a broader posture BHP’s unions have adopted across jurisdictions.
Here is where the two unions stand:
Reuters reported on 25 September 2026 that supervisors are due to vote the following week on BHP’s latest formal contract offer, with union leadership urging rejection. Reuters noted that a rejection would “potentially” clear the way for strike action, language that stops short of treating a walkout as certain.
The Chilean Labour Code collective bargaining provisions, codified under Law 20940, establish the formal strike notice process that would apply if supervisors reject BHP’s offer, setting mandatory timelines between a vote result and any lawful work stoppage.
That vote, scheduled for the week of 29 September 2026, is the next concrete decision point. A strike is a materially different category of disruption from the current stoppage: longer in duration and far harder to reverse. The union dynamic here is the forward indicator worth watching closely.
What the Escondida halt means for copper markets already running on thin supply
Copper was already sitting near the top of a historically elevated range when the mine stopped. On 23 September 2026, benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) touched an intraday high of $14,833 per tonne before easing to close down 1% at $14,606.50 per tonne, according to Kitco. That intraday high was the strongest level since the record of $14,875 per tonne hit on 10 September 2026, reported by MiningWeekly.
The LME copper record set in September 2026 was itself driven partly by tariff arbitrage flows that had already drawn down exchange warehouse stocks, leaving the market structurally exposed to any fresh production disruption before those inventories could be rebuilt.
The supply mechanism is direct. Any disruption at Escondida cuts the flow of copper concentrates shipped to global smelters, forcing consumers and traders to draw down inventories or bid up alternative supply. That pressure transmits straight into futures prices and physical premiums through ordinary supply-demand dynamics.
What amplifies the impact is when it landed. Northern Miner tied the outage directly to prevailing tightness.
Northern Miner reported that Escondida’s gradual restart “eases tight copper supply woes,” noting the halt came just as tight inventories and strong demand keep the copper market under pressure.
Reduced Chinese inventories and an approaching holiday period leave the market with limited tolerance for any interruption. When buffers are thin and demand is seasonally concentrated, a shock at a key source hits harder because buyers have less room to wait.
The technical picture reinforces the sensitivity. A Reuters technical analysis argued that copper could be positioned for a rally of nearly 14% if the metal clears a key technical hurdle, a reminder that prices are near inflection points where fresh supply shocks can trigger outsized moves.
For anyone treating copper as an input cost, a traded position, or a proxy for industrial demand, this is the read to take. The Escondida situation is a live supply-side variable in a market with almost no cushion to absorb it.
Strike history and what both outcomes mean for global supply through Q4
Escondida has been here before. The mine has seen both extended walkouts and last-minute settlements, and observers generally view it as a venue where hardline union tactics coexist with eventual negotiated deals. That history is why the current standoff is neither an automatic strike nor an automatic resolution.
Reuters frames the strike risk as conditional rather than inevitable, and Northern Miner’s report of a gradual restart already under way moderates expectations of an immediate total shutdown. Both a prolonged walkout and a negotiated compromise remain genuinely on the table.
The two scenarios carry sharply different supply consequences:
The ownership structure widens the exposure. BHP is the majority operator, but Rio Tinto’s 30% stake and JECO’s 12.5% interest mean the financial pressure of any prolonged disruption is not BHP’s alone. Three major stakeholders across two continents have direct exposure to how next week’s vote lands.
Timing matters as much as outcome here. With Chinese copper demand patterns, an approaching holiday period, and prices sitting within range of record levels as of 23 September 2026, when the dispute resolves shapes the market impact as much as whether it resolves.
For the reader tracking global supply, the supervisors’ vote is the near-term variable that decides whether Escondida’s contribution returns to normal or enters an extended period of uncertainty heading into Q4 2026.
This article is for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. Investors should conduct their own research and consult with financial professionals before making investment decisions. These statements are speculative and subject to change based on market developments and company performance.
The week of 29 September is when Escondida’s trajectory becomes clear
As of 27 September 2026, three pressures are converging on the same site at the same time. The safety investigation is still active, the regulatory restart is incomplete, and the union vote is imminent. Together they define exactly where Escondida stands, and none of the three is resolved.
The vote is the decisive variable. A rejection of BHP’s formal offer would likely trigger the formal strike notice process under Chilean labour law, moving the dispute into a longer and harder-to-reverse phase. Acceptance would return the dispute to a lower-intensity track while safety inspections continue in the background.
Current operational status, based on the latest reporting from 25 September 2026, is a gradual, partial resumption, not a return to full production. Copper, meanwhile, remains within range of its all-time record.
For readers tracking why markets have so little tolerance for Escondida disruptions, our dedicated guide to the copper supply deficit explains the structural shortfall building across the energy transition and why single-site outages now move prices at a scale that would have seemed disproportionate a decade ago.
Here is what to watch as the week unfolds:
This is a live situation in motion. With an unresolved safety investigation, an incomplete regulatory restart, and an imminent labour vote all in play, the picture can shift materially within days. The vote result is the specific marker that will tell you which direction the story moves next.
https://discoveryalert.com/news/bhp-escondida-copper-strike-accident-september-2026/
Iron ore prices in the Chinese market moved within a tight band through most of September, ending the month below the $100 per tonne mark, in contrast to conditions seen at the start of the period. According to Kallanish, the KORE 62% Fe/Qingdao price stood at $96.6 per tonne CFR as of 25 September, a decline of 4.2% from the level recorded at the beginning of the month on 4 September.
Sentiment during the second half of September was shaped by fresh appeals for output reductions in the steel sector and by soft fundamentals at steelworks, most notably shrinking margins. A short-lived rebound in both futures and spot prices during that stretch came from buying interest as purchasers rebuilt inventories ahead of the holidays.
As the week drew to a close, trading stayed quiet while market participants turned their attention to the holiday period running from 25 to 27 September for the Mid-Autumn Festival. Higher port inventories added further downward pressure on prices. Chinese steel mills had for the most part finished their pre-holiday buying. A number of them kept watching Brazilian cargoes closely amid mounting unease about possible supply reductions and higher delivery expenses.
Looking ahead, ore demand is expected to weaken considerably in the near term. Chinese steelmakers have increased the amount of scheduled maintenance on their blast furnaces this week, and part of that work is set to start in late September or early October. A drop in pig iron output is also projected from next month, set against soft steel demand and low profitability at steelworks.
It is worth noting that, as of early September, the KORE 62% Fe/Qingdao iron ore price had recovered to above $100 per tonne CFR, while in August the commodity mostly traded in a narrow band of $95 to $98 per tonne.
https://www.indexbox.io/blog/iron-ore-prices-slip-below-100t-as-chinese-market-narrows/
Ministry invokes emergency provisions to meet expected rise in electricity demand
India has ordered more than 100 captive coal-fired power plants to operate at maximum capacity from October 1 through year-end to meet what it expects will be a rise in electricity demand.
The federal power ministry's order, invoked under emergency provisions of the Electricity Act, applies to plants with installed capacity of at least 50 megawatts. The aim is to meet an "expected rise in electricity demand in the coming months," showed the order dated September 25 and seen by Reuters. Nearly 40% of coal-fired plants are operating with critically low fuel stock due to a surge in power demand as the El Nino climate phenomenon raises temperatures more than usual.
The plants primarily serve industrial facilities such as aluminium smelters, steel manufacturers, cement factories and oil refineries. The power ministry has directed generators to sell surplus electricity through power exchanges.
The order covers 112 plants belonging to companies including Vedanta, Tata Steel, Hindalco Industries, JSW Steel, UltraTech Cement, Reliance Industries, Indian Oil, Bharat Aluminium, Hindustan Zinc and Nayara Energy.
The ministry has ordered plants to report weekly to the Central Electricity Authority detailing generation, captive consumption, power sales, available capacity and coal stocks.
Separately, the ministry has extended an earlier emergency order requiring Tata Power's imported coal-fired plant in Mundra, Gujarat to operate at full capacity until December 31, citing the demand situation.
Section 11 of the Electricity Act allows the government, under extraordinary circumstances, to direct generators to operate power stations in accordance with its instructions.
https://tribune.com.pk/story/2631582/india-orders-coal-plants-to-run-at-full-capacity
