Indian Steelmakers to Sustain Profitability in FY2027
Indian steelmakers are expected to sustain their operating profitability in the 2027 financial year at 10,500-11,000 rupees ($110-115.5) per tonne, despite higher production costs, according to a report by Crisil Ratings cited by Kallanish.
The rating agency forecasts domestic steel prices to rise by 6-8 per cent, fully offsetting increases in raw material and operating expenses. Consequently, the EBITDA margin per tonne is projected to remain at its ten-year average.
Production costs are set to climb by 2,000 rupees to 53,000-54,000 rupees per tonne for the eight largest companies, which account for half of the country's steel output. The primary driver is a 5-7% rise in coking coal prices, which constitute 40% of production costs, due to supply disruption risks and high demand. Additional costs from higher freight, insurance, and electricity tariffs will also contribute.
Supporting margins are rising global prices, government protective measures, and strong domestic demand. In December 2025, India introduced a three-year phased protective duty of 11.5% on imports of certain steel types, limiting foreign competition.
Domestic steel demand is expected to grow by 5-7%, fueled by investments in infrastructure, automotive, and construction. The long-term potential is significant: in 2025, per capita steel consumption in India was 109.2 kg, compared to the global average of 209 kg.
Favorable conditions are prompting capacity expansion. Steelmakers' capital expenditure in the current financial year is projected to reach 750-800 billion rupees, up from 700 billion a year earlier. About 75% of this will be financed internally, improving the net debt-to-EBITDA ratio from 2.8x to 2.6x.
Crisil warns that the Middle East conflict remains a key risk, potentially disrupting supply chains and further escalating costs.
As reported by GMK Center, India can sustain high steel demand, growing 7-8% annually, with momentum likely to continue over the next two decades due to infrastructure development and new growth sectors like data centres, shipbuilding, and defence manufacturing.
https://www.indexbox.io/blog/indian-steelmakers-to-sustain-profitability-in-fy2027/
President Trump made over 1,000 equity trades in June, according to a newly released ethics disclosure , shrugging off political pressure over stock trading profits as the midterm elections approach.
A separate analysis from Democratic lawmakers additionally found that Trump's personal investments in oil and gas stocks have been paying off in 2026, with assets that have likely yielded millions in profits.
The ethics disclosure also underscored that Trump has shown little interest in reining in trading done under his name, with an average of over 30 trades a day in June, totaling between $78 million and $263 million in transactions.
President Donald Trump boards Air Force One in Morristown, New Jersey earlier this month. (Aaron Schwartz / AFP via Getty Images)
It was the latest in a series of eyebrow-raising transactions that stretch back to Trump's inauguration but have accelerated in 2026, with a velocity of trading that has drawn intense criticism, even as the president says neither he nor his family makes the investment decisions themselves.
The report covers the month when SpaceX (SPCX) went public and shows the president made an investment on June 23 of between $15,000 and $50,000 in Elon Musk's company as he joined others in Washington getting in on the IPO .
The president also continued trading in Musk's Tesla (TSLA), as well as other "Magnificent Seven" stocks , with three purchases of the EV maker in June totaling between $130,000 and $350,000 and one sale of between $100,000 and $250,000.
A growing portfolio in oil and gas
Meanwhile, the new analysis from Democrats on Congress's Joint Economic Committee zeroed in on the politically fraught topic of oil and gas stocks.
The analysis concluded that, at the end of 2025, Trump held as much $45.6 million in oil and gas stocks — assets that could now be worth up to $61.1 million as high gas prices tied to the war in Iran have driven up many energy sector stocks.
In the first three months of 2026 — the period when the war in Iran began — Trump bought up to $3.6 million in additional oil and gas stocks as his portfolio grew, the analysis also found.
President Donald Trump shakes hands with ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods during a meeting with US oil companies executives in the East Room of the White House in January. (SAUL LOEB / AFP via Getty Images)
"Trump's corruption is clear as day: He promised to deliver for Big Oil if they donated to his campaign…this in turn has caused Trump's own oil and gas stock holdings to skyrocket, all while Americans are left to shoulder the cost through high prices at the pump," Sen. Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, the Joint Economic Committee's top Democrat, told Yahoo Finance of the findings.
Kazakhstan’s Kondensat oil refinery will process Russian crude under an arrangement that will see 70% of the resulting petroleum products shipped back to Russia, Kazakh Energy Minister Yerlan Akkenzhenov said, according to The Moscow Times on August 25.
Under the agreement, Kazakhstan will retain 30% of the refined products for its domestic market, while the remainder will be exported to Russia.
“The agreements are that up to 30% will remain in Kazakhstan, while the rest will be sent to Russia. I believe these are normal conditions,” Akkenzhenov told journalists.
The minister said the owner of the Russian crude is not subject to sanctions but did not identify the company involved.
According to Akkenzhenov, the crude will be transported to the Kondensat refinery by rail, with the timing and volume of shipments dependent on available railway capacity.
Kazakhstan’s Energy Ministry had previously confirmed that it was negotiating with Moscow over plans to process Russian crude at Kazakh refineries. Under the proposed arrangement, the resulting petroleum products would be sold both on Kazakhstan’s domestic market and supplied to Russia.
The Kondensat refinery already processes Russian naphtha alongside Kazakh crude oil. In July 2026, the facility also exported motor gasoline to Russia for the first time.
The agreement comes as parts of Russia face pressure on domestic fuel supplies. Gas stations in the Volgograd region have reintroduced restrictions on gasoline purchases, with Lukoil and Gazprom stations limiting sales to a maximum of 40 liters per vehicle.
The restrictions followed an overnight drone attack on an energy facility in southern Volgograd on July 31. Satellite data subsequently detected thermal activity at the Lukoil-Volgogradneftepererabotka refinery, which has an annual processing capacity of more than 15 million tons of crude oil.
Meanwhile, Russia’s trade relations with another regional partner, Armenia, have also shifted amid restrictions affecting Armenian goods. Armenia recorded a sharp increase in exports to the European Union during the first half of 2026, while its trade with Russia declined.
Iran will find ways to deal with new US measures targeting its economy and oil industry, National Iranian Oil Co. (NIOC) chief Hamid Bovard said, as Washington ramps up pressure on Tehran in what US officials have called an “Economic D-Day”.
“We will certainly find solutions in the oil sector for whatever actions the enemy takes, as we have done so far,” Bovard, also Iran’s deputy oil minister, told Fars News Agency. “We will neither lose our way nor sit idle. We will certainly have our own plans in proportion to the enemy’s actions.”
Bovard said Iran’s oil production and exports remained “in their proper place” despite an ongoing US naval blockade affecting Iranian ports and vessels in the Gulf of Oman and the Indian Ocean.
He contrasted Iran’s position with neighbouring Persian Gulf countries, saying many of their oil operations had been disrupted due to difficulties in the Strait of Hormuz.
His comments came after President Masoud Pezeshkian and central bank governor Abdolnaser Hemmati said Iranian oil exports had stopped because of the US naval blockade.
The administration of US President Donald Trump on August 24 expanded secondary sanctions on entities and buyers doing business with Iran, as Washington seeks to bring economic pressure on Tehran to a peak.
A source familiar with the matter told Reuters the move was a final warning to cut commercial ties with Tehran and end a six-month conflict that began with US and Israeli attacks on Iran in late February and has blocked energy exports through the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump last week called the campaign the “most economically devastating operation” ever imposed on a country and described it as “Economic D-Day”, a reference to the Allied invasion of Normandy in World War Two.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on August 24 warned countries buying Iranian oil of an “Economic D-Day” punishment. Analysts said the message was aimed particularly at China, Iran’s biggest oil customer.
“We are level-setting with every country to tell them our expectations,” Bessent said on Monday. “We know who they are. They know who they are.”
More than 80% of Iran’s seaborne oil exports go to China, much of it to small independent refineries in eastern Shandong province. Kpler estimates Iranian oil exports to China fell to about 534,000 barrels per day in August, from 823,000 bpd in July and about 1.58mn bpd at a point earlier this year.
The US Treasury also added digital assets, technology, gold, aviation and shipping to sectors subject to Iran-related sanctions. Nearly 60 people, companies and vessels were also sanctioned over alleged roles in missile and nuclear programmes, cyber operations, oil exports and the transfer of oil revenues.
China’s oil demand probably peaked last year, earlier than previous estimates, according to the head of the nation’s top refiner.
Clean energy development, electrification and low-carbon goals mean that the country’s oil demand has probably already crested, Sinopec Chairman Hou Qijun said Monday at an earnings briefing in Hong Kong. The company had previously forecast usage to top out in 2027, while the government is targeting oil and coal consumption to reach their limits during the current five-year plan period, which runs through 2030.
“Next year, even if the US-Iran conflict eases up, things might recover, but it won’t hit last year’s level,” Hou said. “So it’s very likely demand peaked last year.”
China is the world’s largest oil importer. An earlier start to reducing consumption would help rein in its world-leading emissions while raising questions for the world’s top crude drillers.
Sinopec, known officially as China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., said in its earnings report on Sunday that road fuel demand plummeted in the first half as consumers shied away from higher prices and shifted to electric vehicles. The declines are expected to narrow a bit in the second half because of supportive economic policies, said Tian Hongbin, a senior vice president at the company.
Even as fuel demand drops, the company is making sure domestic supply needs are met, President Wan Tao said during Monday’s briefing. It’s diversifying crude sources away from the Middle East while working with its suppliers in the region on shipping routes safe from the violence of the Iran War. The refiner has received 11 oil tankers previously stuck in the Persion Gulf that were carrying a combined 2.76 million tons of crude, he said.
The company typically keeps about 20 days of crude storage for refining purposes, and 15 days of refined products for marketing, Wan said. Inventory levels have remained steady during the war, and Sinopec will continue to follow directions from the government on its commercial storage levels, he said.
source: Rigzone
https://ghanaupstream.com/sinopec-says-china-oil-demand-very-likely-peaked-in-2025/
Denmark’s export credit agency has provided a €100mn loan to Ukrainian agribusiness group Kernel to build a wind farm in central Ukraine, as the company diversifies into renewables to help plug the energy gap left by war damage to the country’s grid.
The Export and Investment Fund of Denmark (EIFO) is financing the project through its Ukraine Facility, a dedicated scheme set up to keep higher-risk investment flowing into the country during the war.
Kyiv-headquartered Kernel is one of Ukraine’s largest agro-industrial companies and a leading global exporter of sunflower oil. The wind project marks the company’s first foray into renewable energy, with power set to be used both for its own operations and fed into the national grid.
EIFO is providing a direct loan of €100mn to a special purpose vehicle within the Kernel Group in Ukraine, the agency told GTR. The loan has a maximum tenor of 14 years, including a construction period of up to two years.
To support the project’s ramp-up phase and initial liquidity needs, repayment begins after a two-year grace period and is then amortised linearly over 10 years, the agency said.
The 94.5MW wind farm – which is expected to be operational and on the grid by Autumn 2027 – will comprise 21 turbines supplied and installed by Danish manufacturer Vestas, alongside a 30MW battery storage system.
Around half of the country’s electricity generation capacity has been destroyed since the start of the war, according to EIFO, underlining the need for new power sources.
The agency said the addition of battery storage to the Kernel project will help balance fluctuations in power generation and make the national grid more resilient.
EIFO CEO Peder Lundquist said: “[Kernel] is already one of Ukraine’s most prominent companies, and now it is entering energy as a new and critical business area. We are pleased to help pave the way.
“At the same time, the reconstruction of Ukraine represents a significant business opportunity, where Danish companies such as Vestas are helping lead the way. This benefits Danish industry and is crucial for Ukraine,” he said.
Kernel CEO Yevgen Osypov said the new wind farm project represented “one of the largest private renewable energy investments in Ukraine today” and “is much more than a new source of electricity – it is an investment in Ukraine’s resilience, energy independence and long-term economic recovery”.
The announcement marks EIFO’s second wind farm deal in the Ukrainian market. In 2025, the agency guaranteed a US$420mn loan from Danske Bank to Ukrainian energy company DTEK to expand the Tyligulska wind farm in the Mykolaiv region, also using Vestas turbines, GTR reported at the time.
Its Ukraine facility has now backed more than 25 projects since Russia’s 2023 invasion, the agency said.
https://www.gtreview.com/news/europe/eifo-provides-e100mn-direct-loan-for-ukraine-wind-farm/
August 20, 2026 | Ryan Charles
$9 Term Premium & Thin Spot Trading Strengthen Uranium Mine Economics
TradeTech recorded only one 100,000-pound spot trade in the week of August 11 to 18, 2026, and the transaction lifted its weekly spot price indicator by $1 per pound to roughly $87.75.
URANIUM SPOT, MID-TERM, AND LONG-TERM PRICE INDICATORS, AUGUST 2026. SOURCE: TRADETECH; CRUX INVESTOR ANALYSIS.
TradeTech's August 2026 mid-term price indicator stood at $88 per pound and its long-term indicator at $97 per pound, leaving the long-term price roughly $9 above spot. Term contracts lock utility deliveries 5 to 10 years out, while the spot market primarily serves shorter-term demand. Because multi-year contract pricing feeds into realized producer prices and project economics, the roughly $9 long-term premium carries more weight for mine economics than a single weak spot print.
From 2011 to 2016, uranium term prices remained above spot while both declined, showing that a term premium alone does not guarantee higher spot prices when secondary supply covers near-term demand. The current roughly $9 premium therefore supports a tighter long-term contracting market, but does not by itself imply that spot prices will rise.
Delayed Utility Contracting & Higher Term Prices Support 2030 Uranium Projects
Utilities can temporarily meet reactor demand through secondary inventories and delayed long-term contracts, but below-replacement contracting pushes unmet purchases into future years. Cameco’s August 5, 2026 earnings release showed annual deliveries above 28 million pounds over five years and 2026 realized-price guidance of $91 to $96 per pound, roughly $3 to $8 above spot. That premium supports stronger contract economics and can improve offtake and financing prospects for developers targeting production around 2030.
Phil Hoskins, Chief Executive Officer of Atomic Eagle, a development-stage company advancing its Muntanga uranium project in Zambia, describes what he expects utilities and strategic financiers to be competing for once the project reaches production:
"If you've got credible near-term pounds in a very stable jurisdiction like Zambia, and you're able to bring it on in that circa 2030, 2031 time frame, when we come to have offtake and financing discussions with the same set of strategic investors, we think it will be a very tight market to do so."
Supply Constraints & Permitting Delays Keep Uranium Output Slow to Respond
Kazatomprom's production discipline and Cigar Lake's sulfuric acid constraint show how operating decisions and processing inputs can limit primary uranium supply.
Sulfuric Acid Constraints Cap Uranium Output Despite Available Ore
Kazatomprom maintained 2026 production guidance of roughly 27,500 to 29,000 tonnes of uranium despite second-quarter output running about 4% to 5% above its internal plan, limiting how much stronger near-term production translates into higher full-year supply. In Canada, Cameco temporarily suspended mining at Cigar Lake in July 2026 after a sulfuric acid plant outage at Orano's McClean Lake mill disrupted processing of Cigar Lake ore. Because sulfuric acid is a key reagent in uranium processing, an outage affecting its supply can interrupt production even when the underlying ore remains available. The Cigar Lake suspension shows that processing-input disruptions can remove uranium supply independently of mine geology or spot prices.
US Permitting Delays Keep Uranium Supply Behind Higher Term Prices
enCore Energy secured a 20-year renewal of its Nuclear Regulatory Commission Source Materials License for the Dewey Burdock in-situ recovery project in South Dakota, completing federal permitting under the FAST-41 infrastructure review process. State-level permitting in South Dakota remains outstanding, with no disclosed completion date. With state permits still outstanding after federal approval, Dewey Burdock shows that higher uranium prices cannot translate immediately into new US mine supply.
Low-Cost US Uranium Margins Fund Expansion Beyond Core Production
Energy Fuels reported a weighted-average production cost of approximately $23 per pound from its Pinyon Plain production run, leaving a roughly $65 to $74 per pound spread against the current $88 to $97 spot-to-term uranium price range. Alongside those uranium margins, Energy Fuels is pursuing a $104 million Phase 1B expansion at the White Mesa Mill and a proposed $1.9 billion acquisition of Vacuumschmelze to expand its rare earth and magnet businesses. The roughly $65 to $74 per pound spread between reported production cost and current uranium pricing strengthens Energy Fuels’ operating economics as it commits capital to businesses outside uranium.
Mark Chalmers, Chief Executive Officer of Energy Fuels, frames the uranium segment as the funding engine behind that broader platform:
"Uranium is now. We'll give guidance up to two and a half million pounds, and that's greater than anybody else in the United States. Really good cost structures, and prices are firming."
Higher Term Prices & Company Fundamentals Shape Uranium Equity Repricing
Production-stage companies can convert current uranium prices into realized revenue, while earlier-stage companies depend on equity-market repricing before higher term prices are reflected in their valuations. For development and exploration-stage companies, balance-sheet runway determines whether they can wait for that repricing or must raise equity at a weak share price, increasing dilution risk.
24-Month Exploration Runway & Weak Uranium Equities Reduce Dilution Risk
ATHA Energy, an exploration-stage company advancing the Angikuni Basin uranium project in Nunavut, raised $63 million in the first quarter of 2026, providing roughly 24 months of exploration funding and reducing its near-term need for additional equity. That 24-month runway allows ATHA to advance exploration without raising equity at a weak share price, reducing near-term dilution risk if uranium equities remain under pressure.
Peer Valuation Discount & Higher Uranium Grade Create a Repricing Test
Atomic Eagle, the same Zambia-focused developer referenced above, traded at A$3.12 per pound of Measured and Indicated resource as of its March 25, 2026 corporate presentation, against A$6.56 per pound for Deep Yellow and A$4.80 per pound for Bannerman, two regional peers. That gap exists despite a higher Measured and Indicated grade of 359 parts per million uranium oxide, against 285 parts per million for Deep Yellow and 223 parts per million for Bannerman. A grade-adjusted valuation discount that predates a company's latest exploration results is a testable, falsifiable data point rather than a subjective read on sentiment.
US Uranium Supply Gap & Processing Gains Support New Domestic Capacity
IsoEnergy is pairing its permitted Utah uranium portfolio with DISA Uranium, backed by a US$105 million private placement and implying a pro forma equity value near US$505 million. At Tony M, testing increased grade from 3,500 to 14,087 parts per million, achieved 88% recovery, and cut leach time from more than 20 hours to 2 hours. If replicated at commercial scale, those gains could improve project economics and support production from permitted US assets.
Philip Williams, Chief Executive Officer of IsoEnergy, frames the underlying US production gap:
"What you have in the United States is a massive disconnect between the domestic requirements and domestic production, and the gap is not going to be filled by just one processing facility… new processing facility is required."
Political Supply Risk & Reactor Expansion Widen Uranium’s Timing Gap
Niger shows how political control over producing assets can restrict access to uranium even after it has been mined. Niger’s dispute with Orano over the nationalized Somaïr mine includes a contested 156.231-tonne pre-nationalization uranium stockpile and an ICSID tribunal ruling restricting third-party transfers of Somaïr-produced uranium, showing that political and legal disputes can keep already-mined supply from reaching the market.
New reactor programs in China, India, and potentially Saudi Arabia could add uranium demand over several years, while new mine supply requires permitting, financing, and construction before it can respond. China’s State Council approved eight new reactors representing roughly $25 billion in investment in 2026, adding future uranium requirements as those units move toward operation.
India’s SHANTI Act is opening nuclear development to private capital, while Prime Minister Modi’s August 15, 2026 Independence Day address targeted five new reactors within six to seven years, adding another source of future uranium demand if those projects advance. A US-Saudi civil nuclear cooperation agreement signed July 22, 2026 is undergoing a 90-day congressional review, a step that could enable Saudi nuclear development and create another long-term uranium-consuming market. Together, these initiatives could add uranium requirements over the coming decade before new mine supply can be permitted, financed, and built.
Slow Uranium Supply Response & Rising Demand Put the Deficit Thesis to the Test
A background variable worth naming without overstating its pull on physical fundamentals is the Fed's Jackson Hole symposium, scheduled for August 27 to 29, 2026. Real rates affect financing costs for capital-intensive mine restarts and the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding physical uranium inventory in vehicles such as Sprott's physical trust and Yellow Cake, a secondary channel rather than the primary driver of the deficit thesis.
The supply evidence in this article shows that higher uranium prices cannot quickly translate into additional mine output. Sulfuric acid constraints in Kazakhstan and Canada and multi-stage US permitting requirements show why primary uranium supply can take years to respond even when prices support new production. Approved reactors in China, India’s five-reactor target, and potential Saudi nuclear development could add uranium requirements over several years while new mines move through permitting, financing, and construction. The key test is whether constrained supply and additional reactor demand sustain the term-price premium long enough for the uranium thesis to translate into producer cash flow and development-stage valuations.
Kazatomprom is targeting release of its interim results on August 21, 2026, providing the next test of whether its 2026 production guidance remains unchanged. Maintaining guidance near 27,500 to 29,000 tonnes would reinforce the case that stronger second-quarter output is not translating into higher full-year supply, while an upward revision would weaken that part of the deficit thesis.
The Investment Thesis for Uranium
Upcoming production guidance, utility contracting activity, and permitting milestones will provide stronger tests of the uranium thesis than a single spot-price move. Kazatomprom’s August 21 interim results, utility contracting activity through year-end, and US permitting milestones can test whether constrained mine supply and long-term contracting demand continue to support the roughly $9 premium of term pricing over spot. The financial consequence will differ by company stage because producers already realize uranium revenue, while developers and explorers depend more heavily on future financing, project de-risking, and equity-market valuation. Production-stage companies can already convert contracted uranium prices into revenue and cash flow, as Cameco’s 2026 realized-price guidance of $91 to $96 per pound shows against spot near $88. Development and exploration-stage companies could see greater valuation upside if stronger term pricing improves financing conditions, supports offtake negotiations, or narrows documented peer-valuation discounts, but that outcome remains company-specific.
Donald Trump announced a new 50% tariff on automobiles and crucial raw materials from Canada, the latest deterioration in trade relations between the two neighbors with historically strong economic ties.
The US president said that the increased tariffs would start on 1 January 2027 on all cars, trucks, automobile parts and steel. He also derided the nation’s tariffs on American farmers, writing on social media that Canada has been “ripping off” the US “for years”.
“On Trade, and in other ways, also, they are among the worst Nations in the World to deal with,” he wrote on Truth Social. “They feel entitled, and yet, WE DON’T NEED CANADA, THEY NEED US! They do 95% of their business with the U.S., with us, the exact opposite!”
In response, Mark Carney told reporters on Monday that Trump’s announcement was largely expected.
“It’s not a surprise for us that the US would take some form of reprisal to our response to their unjustified tariff, which was on top of other unjustified tariffs,” the Canadian prime minister said from Quebec.
“But what message does that send to the workers in Michigan, in Ohio, in Kentucky, in Alabama, who rely on Canadian demand?” Carney continued. “We’re their largest customer for automobiles, more than the European Union, Japan, Korea, many others combined, and the United Kingdom.”
He added that Canada would be ready to move forward with talks “when the Americans go to the negotiating table first with the right attitude toward our industry and a true partnership”.
Trump’s announcement follows the last-minute collapse this weekend of a potential deal to lower tariffs on automobiles and other materials. After Trump imposed another 50% tariff on $20bn worth of Canadian exports, including hockey equipment and electronics, Carney, rejected the latest deal between the two nations on Saturday.
Carney said that the US “asked too much and they offered too little”, and he has vowed to match the American tariffs “dollar for dollar”.
Canada and the US have been longtime partners, trading roughly $909bn, according to the office of the US trade representative. But Trump’s second presidential term and his aggressive trade policies have brought the era of “deep ties” between the two nations to a close, Carney said last year, vowing to fight Trump’s sweeping tariffs.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/24/canada-tariff-increase-trump-auto
Newmont Corporation (NYSE:NEM) shares climbed 7.9% to close at $125.08 on August 19 as gold gained more than 2% and traded near $4,516 per ounce. The gold rally coincided with Treasury bond buybacks, lower yields and a weaker dollar. Whether historically elevated bullion prices can continue outrunning higher mining costs is now the central question.
Newmont Corporation (NYSE:NEM) realized an average gold price of $4,414 per ounce in the second quarter. However, attributable gold production declined to 1.29 million ounces from 1.48 million ounces a year earlier. That combination leaves the company with exceptional commodity-price leverage but less support from production growth.
Bull Case
Newmont Corporation (NYSE:NEM) generated $2.2 billion of free cash flow, a non-GAAP measure, and ended June with $9.0 billion of cash, $13.0 billion of liquidity and $3.4 billion of non-GAAP net cash. The balance sheet gives management substantial flexibility to return capital without sacrificing investment in its mines.
Newmont Corporation (NYSE:NEM) also had $4.3 billion remaining under its $6.0 billion share-repurchase authorization. Continued buybacks at a time of strong cash generation could amplify the per-share benefit of elevated gold prices.
Newmont Corporation (NYSE:NEM) has considerable sensitivity to further bullion gains. Newmont's 2026 sensitivity analysis estimates that every $100-per-ounce change in gold prices affects pretax revenue and costs by approximately $505 million. Second-quarter realized pricing exceeded Newmont's non-GAAP gold by-product all-in sustaining costs of $1,621 per ounce by approximately $2,793 per ounce.
The company maintained its full-year outlook for approximately 5.3 million attributable gold ounces and non-GAAP gold by-product AISC of roughly $1,680 per ounce. At current gold prices, that cost structure still implies substantial operating leverage.
Bear Case
The challenge for Newmont Corporation (NYSE:NEM) is keeping more of the commodity windfall. Non-GAAP gold by-product CAS per ounce increased 93% sequentially to $1,043, while non-GAAP by-product AISC rose 58% to $1,621. Higher royalties in Ghana, diesel costs, and operating pressures at Cadia contributed to the increase.
Newmont Corporation (NYSE:NEM) expects third-quarter sustaining capital expenditures to rise by approximately $150 million sequentially. Its full-year guidance includes $1.95 billion of sustaining capital expenditures and $1.4 billion of development capital expenditures. Newmont's 2026 sensitivity analysis estimates that every $10-per-barrel change in Brent crude affects pretax costs by approximately $60 million.
https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/commodities/articles/newmont-nem-faces-gold-above-160043045.html
Swedish multinational engineering group Sandvik has announced that it has received a significant new order from Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) miner Kamoa Copper. Kamoa is a joint venture between Canada’s Ivanhoe Mines and China’s Zijin Mining. The order is for 19 Toro-brand trucks and loaders, for the Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex. Kamoa has successfully operated Sandvik loaders and trucks since 2019 and the Kamoa-Kakula mine already has one of the largest underground fleets of Sandvik equipment in the world. Indeed, Sandvik established itself in the DRC to support Kamoa-Kakula.
“Our decision to reinvest in Sandvik equipment is based on years of proven operational performance at Kamoa-Kakula,” explained Kamoa Copper MD Annebel Oosthuizen. “The trucks and loaders have consistently delivered the availability, productivity and reliability we need to support one of the world’s leading underground copper operations. Sandvik equipment gives us confidence that we can maintain safer, efficient and predictable production while supporting our long-term plans.”
The mine is a high-grade and long-life underground operation. It expects to mine between 290 000 t and 310 000 t of copper this year. It is targeting an annual production figure of 500 000 t from 2028.
Its latest order is for 12 Toro TH663i trucks and seven Toro LH621i loaders, with the first four trucks expected to be delivered during the last quarter of this year, with the remaining eight trucks and five of the loaders following in the first quarter of next year, and the final two loaders set to be delivered in the third quarter of next year. Two of the loaders will be fitted with Sandvik’s AutoMine system, allowing them to be remotely or autonomously operated. (Kamoa-Kakula already operates one AutoMine Lite system and has separately ordered another three of them.)
With this latest order, the size of Kamoa-Kakula’s fleet of Sandvik underground loaders, trucks and drills will exceed 100 units. Sandvik keeps a dedicated Expert-on-Site technical support team on the mine. It also maintains a vendor-managed inventory facility there, to ensure the maximum availability and productivity of the equipment.
https://www.miningweekly.com/article/sandvik-has-won-another-order-from-kamoa-copper-2026-08-25
Alumina exports from RUSAL’s Friguia refinery in Guinea have been halted after a train carrying the material derailed over the weekend, disrupting rail access to the plant and forcing production to slow, three sources told Reuters.
The train, operated by Russian aluminium producer RUSAL RUAL.MM, derailed near Kagbelen in the Dubreka prefecture on Saturday evening. Four people were injured in the accident, and rail traffic was subsequently suspended, two company officials said.
The disruption has affected both the movement of finished alumina and the delivery of supplies needed to keep the refinery operating. Fuel and caustic soda, among other production inputs, are transported by rail between the port and the refinery, a fourth source said.
A senior official at the Friguia refinery said production had continued, but at a reduced rate. The official was unable to quantify the impact of the disruption.
“Exports are currently at a standstill. A team has been dispatched to the site to assess the situation and carry out repairs,” the official said.
The sources spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to discuss the incident publicly. The cause of the derailment was not immediately known, and Guinean authorities had not released an official statement as of Monday.
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RUSAL had already cut alumina production before the accident because of difficulties securing fuel supplies, according to a second company executive and a mining analyst.
The derailment adds another setback for RUSAL, which has faced export challenges since the Iran war disrupted shipping routes.
Guinea, the world’s largest bauxite exporter, is an important part of the aluminium supply chain. RUSAL operates the country’s only alumina refinery at Friguia, which has an installed capacity of 600,000 tonnes per year and supplies alumina to the company’s aluminium smelters in Russia.
The country’s mining industry depends heavily on privately operated rail corridors that connect bauxite and iron ore mines with alumina refineries and export terminals.
A senior transport ministry official said the accident underscored longstanding problems with railway maintenance.
Friguia resumed operations in 2018 after being shut in 2012. The refinery has produced about 450,000 tonnes of alumina annually since restarting, according to the senior refinery official.
https://www.alcircle.com/news/rusal-train-derailment-in-guinea-halts-friguia-alumina-exports-120911
South32 has increased the Ore Reserve estimate at the Sierra Gorda copper mine in northern Chile by 61% to 1.1 billion tonnes, strengthening the long-term production outlook for the large-scale copper operation.
The updated Ore Reserve, effective as of July 31, 2026, averages 0.39% total copper, 0.016% total molybdenum and 0.06 g/t gold, with a total copper-equivalent grade of 0.46%. South32 said the increase followed improved definition of the orebody after approximately 85,000 metres of infill drilling across 200 drill holescompleted between 2023 and 2025.
The larger reserve base extends Sierra Gorda's initial reserve life by approximately five years to 2045. South32 also reported an updated Mineral Resource estimate of 1.87 billion tonnes, averaging 0.37% total copper, 0.016% total molybdenum and 0.06 g/t gold. The company noted that the orebody remains open at depth, providing potential for further resource and mine-life growth.
The reserve update follows South32's approval in July of a fourth grinding line project at Sierra Gorda, which is expected to increase copper production by approximately 30% from 2031. The combination of a larger reserve base and additional processing capacity supports a stronger long-term production profile for the operation.
South32 holds a 45% interest in Sierra Gorda, while its joint venture partner KGHM Polska Miedź holds the remaining 55%. Sierra Gorda is a large open-pit copper mine in Chile's Antofagasta region, producing copper concentrate for export to international markets.
The 61% increase in Ore Reserves provides greater visibility over Sierra Gorda's longer-term copper production and supports the recently approved expansion. With the orebody remaining open at depth, further exploration success could provide additional upside beyond the current reserve life to 2045.
