The EU has targeted Chinese firms in previous rounds of sanctions, but the latest proposals show the bloc doubling down on its strategy of going after Russia's enablers despite China warning of "consequences" over measures included in the EU's 20th round of Russia sanctions.
The tensions will be in the spotlight on Tuesday when Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič is meeting Chinese trade envoy Li Chenggang on the sidelines of an OECD ministerial meeting in Paris, according to Commission spokesperson Olof Gill.
The document seen by POLITICO, dated May 21, will feed into a "mini-package" of sanctions that two EU officials said would be adopted at a gathering of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg on June 15. That package will include a number of individual listings while the bloc works on a 21st package of sanctions that would take a wider, sectoral approach and is expected to be adopted later in the summer.
Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič arrives for a meeting in Paris on May 6, 2026. | Pool photo by Christophe Petit via AFP/Getty Images
Any EU sanctions must be approved unanimously by all 27 EU countries. Ambassadors can propose to remove one or several of the provisions included in the EEAS proposal.
Targeting oil revenues
In addition to the four Chinese firms, the document proposes sanctions against five firms located in the United Arab Emirates, three in Turkey and one in Azerbaijan, all of which are described as facilitating Russian shipping and energy sales. It also proposes sanctioning subsidiaries of Russian company Lukoil, as well as dozens of individuals and firms described as supporting Moscow's war machine.
The list is part of a "rolling" sanctions approach whereby entities are added or removed based on how Russia is changing its tactics to avoid sanctions.
https://www.politico.eu/article/china-russia-firms-that-help-are-next-for-eu-sanctions/
By Irina Slav - Jun 04, 2026, 5:00 PM CDT
The possibility of Iran developing a nuclear weapon is now higher than it was before the United States and Israel first attacked the country in February, the International Atomic Energy Agency has concluded in a report. The conclusion suggests the war has so far resulted in the opposite of what President Trump set out to do, namely, prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.
Bloomberg cited the report, which has restricted access, saying that in it, the IAEA had warned its member states that Iran already has a large stockpile of enriched uranium that is close to weapon-grade, and it can continue the enrichment to achieve weapon-grade nuclear material. The agency pointed out that this stockpile was subject to regular inspections by the IAEA, but Iran suspended these inspections following Israel’s and the U.S. strikes last June.
As a result, the IAEA “can’t draw any conclusion regarding this nuclear material,” and “This gives rise to a proliferation concern as this nuclear material, which the agency was not able to verify, includes a large amount of high- enriched uranium.”
In an official response to the IAEA report, the White House said, “Suggesting that Iran can more capably produce a nuclear weapon with no functioning nuclear enrichment facilities or military defenses is an indescribably stupid analysis by Bloomberg, which we would have shared had they reached out to us for comment,” as quoted by the New York Post.
In June 2025, Israel and the United States bombed Iranian targets, with the U.S. specifically reporting “obliterating” the country’s nuclear facilities. The U.S. bombed three of Iran’s nuclear sites – Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan – and warned the Islamic Republic that retaliation against U.S. troops in the region or any other retaliation would be the worst mistake it could make. The obliteration of these facilities, however, appears to have been incomplete based on both the IAEA’s report and the very fact that the U.S. launched a war against Iran, citing its nuclear capabilities as the casus belli months after that.
That war has upended energy markets, causing unprecedented supply disruptions in oil and gas. As for peace, that still seems a long way away, even though oil traders appear to be leaning towards strong optimism, even as the exchange of missile strikes continues. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, any peace deal that does not include its involvement as verifier of Iran’s commitment to not developing a nuclear weapon would be a bad deal, further complicating the situation for the United States.
“We are not a party to this negotiation. We participated until the last round which ended in February,” the director general of the IAEA, Rafael Mariano Grossi, told Al Jazeera in an interview on Tuesday, as cited by Bloomberg again. “Something that is not verifiable will lead to a bad agreement.”
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump said this week that Iran had “agreed” not to develop nuclear weapons, but added that “they can change their mind” in the latest of a series of conflicting and not infrequently confusing messages about the war, that in the early weeks included several declarations of victory.
“I did have to say we have to do something about Iran, because regardless of how well we’re doing [economically] we can’t let them have a nuclear weapon,” the U.S. president told the New York Post in a podcast quoted by CNBC. “They’ve already agreed they’re not going to have a nuclear weapon,” Donald Trump added. “I mean, now they can change their mind, but that was one of the things they’ve had to agree, they’ve agreed to that. That was the big thing,” he also said.
Grains
Posted 08:31 -- July corn is down 4 1/2 cents per bushel, July soybeans are down 7 3/4 cents, July KC wheat is up 1 cent, July Chicago wheat is up 1 3/4 cents and MIAX July Minneapolis wheat is up 3/4 cent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 539.88 points. The U.S. Dollar Index is down 0.270 and July crude oil is down $3.05 per barrel. August gold is up $64.70 per ounce. USDA: private exporters reported sales of 115,000 mt (4.5 mb) of corn to Colombia for 2026-27. Corn and the soy complex are under pressure early Thursday while wheat is just modestly higher. KC July wheat is trying to avoid an eleventh straight lower finish.
Livestock
OMAHA (DTN) -- Posted 11:49 -- August live cattle are up $3.75 at $241.6, August feeder cattle are up $10.55 at $353.175, July lean hogs are down $0.43 at $101.575, July corn is down 8 1/4 cents per bushel and July soybean meal is down $8.60. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 930.98 points and the NASDAQ is down 41.45 points. Upon hearing that the first confirmed case of New World screwworm has been detected in the U.S., both the live cattle and feeder cattle contracts are trading sharply higher. A thin movement has developed this morning in the South at $256, but no new Northern dressed trade has developed yet.
Posted 08:32 -- August live cattle are down $1.25 at $236.6, August feeder cattle are down $3.53 at $339.1, July lean hogs are down $2.05 at $99.95, July corn is down 4 1/4 cents per bushel and July soybean meal is down $1.30. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 526.89 points and the NASDAQ is down 263.21 points. Following the positive detection of a case of New World screwworm being found in Texas, both the live cattle and feeder cattle contracts are trading moderately lower. No new cash cattle trade is developing at this time but more business should develop throughout the day or on Friday.
https://www.dtnpf.com/agriculture/web/ag/news/article/2026/06/04/periodic-updates-grains-livestock
Lithuania's Transport Minister, Juras Taminskas, has dismissed discussion of resuming the transit of Belarusian potash fertilisers through the country as "a waste of breath," despite reports that the United States is encouraging regional governments to reconsider restrictions.
Speaking to Žinių Radijas on Thursday, Taminskas said European Union sanctions remained in force and were unlikely to be lifted in the near future.
"EU sanctions are in place and remain valid until next February," he said. "Last year, during discussions on Belarusian fertilisers, I said I was more than 100% certain that the sanctions would be extended. It is not worth wasting breath or engaging in speculation regarding the transport of fertilisers."
Taminskas said he had not personally encountered any pressure to restore the transit of Belarusian goods through Lithuania.
"I have experienced no pressure and have received no letters," he said. "If others have received letters or felt pressure, they should speak up about what kind of pressure they are facing."
His comments follow remarks by Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys, who said there was currently no basis for reviewing EU sanctions on Belarusian potash exports, despite the issue having been discussed with US officials.
Budrys noted that any decision to amend EU sanctions would require the unanimous support of all 27 member states and described discussions without any legal or political change as "a waste of time".
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has also stated that there is no justification for lifting sanctions while the reasons for imposing them remain unchanged.
According to a report byRFE/RL, US officials have urged Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine to ease restrictions on Belarusian potash exports and allow their transit through those countries.
Lithuania halted the transit of Belarusian fertilisers in 2022 following human rights violations in Belarus and the blacklisting of fertiliser producer Belaruskali. Although the United States subsequently eased some of its own restrictions, both Lithuania and the European Union have maintained their sanctions regime.
Budrys has previously suggested that Washington has exerted pressure on the issue.
TSX- and NYSE-listed Seabridge Gold has successfully closed the spin-out of its Courageous Lake gold project into a newly listed entity, Valor Gold Corporation, after receiving approval from the Supreme Court of British Columbia.
Pursuant to the transaction, which involves a statutory plan of arrangement, Seabridge has transferred its 100% interest in the Courageous Lake gold project, in Canada's Northwest Territories, to Valor, in a move aimed at unlocking value that the company says is not being reflected in its current share price.
Old Seabridge shares have been exchanged at a ratio of one new Seabridge share per old share, plus 1 Valor share for roughly every 1.957 old Seabridge shares.
The transaction will result in Valor's issued and share capital being 55-million shares.
The old Seabridge shares will cease trading on the TSX and NYSE on June 4, while the new Seabridge shares will start trading on June 5 - as will those of Valor.
Seabridge remains focused on developing the KSM, Bronson Corridor, Snowstorm and 3 Aces projects in British Columbia, Nevada and Yukon, respectively.
Courageous Lake is one of Canada’s largest undeveloped gold projects, hosting measured and indicated resources of 11-million ounces of gold, at an average grade of 2.36 g/t, plus a further 3.3-million ounces in the inferred category. The measured and indicated resource also incorporates 2.8-million ounces of proven and probable reserves, positioning Courageous Lake as one of the highest-grade openpit gold projects in Canada.
Seabridge chairperson and CEO Rudi Fronk said last year the asset had long been overshadowed by the scale of the company’s KSM project and that the spin-out would give shareholders greater flexibility and clearer exposure to the asset.
As the US and China compete for Zambia's copper, Barrick and First Quantum are backing its push to triple output to three million tonnes by 2031
Zambia has extended its suspension of the 10% duty on copper concentrate exports, as it works toward its ambitious target to reach three million tonnes of copper production by 2031.
The companies benefiting from the suspension include Canada's Barrick Mining and First Quantum Minerals, as well as Chinese-owned Nkana Mining and Minerals Processing.
The move comes as multiple Western countries race to secure critical mineral supply chains. Canada has mobilised more than US$18.5bn in critical minerals partnerships under its Critical Minerals Production Alliance.
The UK published its Vision 2035 Critical Minerals Strategy in November 2025, setting a target to reduce its reliance on any single country for key minerals including copper.
Washington is also actively courting Zambia, with Zambian Mines Minister Paul Kabuswe confirming investment talks with the US are underway.
With ambitious production targets and investment flowing from both East and West, Zambia is well placed to benefit from growing global competition to secure copper supply in the region.
https://miningdigital.com/news/barrick-and-first-quantum-back-zambias-copper-ambitions
MOPANI Copper Mines, the Zambian unit of Abu Dhabi-based International Resources Holding, will not export copper concentrate despite receiving the largest single allocation under a government waiver issued this week, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday.
Zambia’s government on June 2 suspended a 10% export duty on nearly 272,000 tons of copper concentrate, permitting shipments through state-owned Industrial Resources Ltd — which has a metals-trading partnership with Mercuria Energy Group — over the following three months. Of that total, Mopani was allocated 100,000 tons. The balance was divided between Barrick Mining and First Quantum Minerals.
Mopani said its position is unchanged from July last year, when the first such exemptions were announced and it similarly declined to use its allocation, the newswire reported. The company intends to channel all available concentrate through its own smelter as part of a long-term strategy to build domestic refining capacity, Bloomberg added.
The export duty exists to keep concentrate flowing to Zambia’s four operating copper smelters. Waivers are granted when smelting capacity becomes constrained. Konkola Copper Mines said on May 29 that its smelter had begun a planned 60-day maintenance shutdown, tightening available processing capacity.
This is the third consecutive allocation of 100,000 tons awarded to Mopani, following similar waivers last July and in March.
IRH, which is part of a conglomerate controlled by UAE national security adviser Sheikh Tahnoon Bin Zayed Ali Nahyan, acquired a 51% stake in Mopani in early 2024.
https://www.miningmx.com/trending/65550-mopani-declines-copper-concentrate-export-allocation/
On June 2, the U.S.-based mining company CopperTech Metals announced that it had begun the process required for a NYSE listing. The transaction would eventually connect the company to one of the world’s largest capital markets while supporting development plans at Konkola.
CopperTech operates as a subsidiary established by India-based Vedanta Resources in November 2025. Vedanta transferred operational management of Konkola to the new entity as part of a restructuring plan that included a commitment to invest $1.5 billion in the mine.
The company aims to increase copper production at Konkola to 300,000 tonnes per year by 2031. The mine produced approximately 80,215 tonnes in 2025, highlighting the scale of the planned expansion. A successful stock market listing could facilitate implementation of that growth strategy.
By targeting the NYSE, CopperTech seeks to expose the Konkola project to a broader pool of international investors. The company has already submitted a registration statement to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which must review the filing before the listing process can proceed. CopperTech has not yet disclosed a detailed timetable for the transaction.
However, the company’s objectives extend beyond raising capital for Konkola.
The U.S. focus also aligns with Vedanta’s broader strategy to position the Zambian mine as a potential source of copper supply that could support U.S. supply-chain security goals. The strategy comes as analysts expect tightening conditions in global copper markets due to rising demand from the energy transition.
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), global copper supply could face a deficit of as much as 30% by 2035 if investment and production growth fail to keep pace with demand.
The latest developments could also support Zambia’s national production targets. The country seeks to increase annual copper output to 3 million tonnes by 2031 from 890,346 tonnes in 2025.
Investors will now watch the progress of CopperTech’s listing application and assess market appetite for a company whose investment profile remains largely tied to the successful development and expansion of the Konkola mine.
This article was initially published in French by Aurel Sèdjro Houenou
Adapted in English by Ange J.A de Berry Quenum
JAKARTA - The Indonesian unit of French miner Eramet has halted nickel ore production after a government decision to slash its 2026 mining quota by 70% compared to last year left it unable to continue operating, the company's CE said on Thursday.
Weda Bay Nickel, Eramet's nickel mining joint venture in Indonesia with China's Tsingshan Group and State miner Antam, received an initial production allowance of 12-million tons for this year, down from the 42-million tons it produced in 2025, as part of the government's efforts to better control supplies and support prices.
"The mining quota has been exhausted, so now we are in discussion with the mining ministry to get an extension of our permit," Eramet Indonesia's CE Jerome Baudelet told reporters on the sidelines of an industry conference.
Production has been suspended since late May and the company has reduced its workforce and entered into a maintenance phase.
Baudelet said revisions to mining quotas, also known as RKAB, were typically made before the end of July.
"We produced 42-million (tons) last year, so obviously we could ask for the same," he said, adding that it was ultimately the government's decision.
"We just hope they will give us enough for us to sustain the operation," Baudelet said.
The 42-million tons of nickel ore supplied by Weda Bay Nickel last year accounted for about a third of the 120-million tons processed at Indonesia Weda Bay Industrial Park, one of Indonesia's major nickel hubs.
"If we don't get an extension, then you have a deficit of 30-million tons from Weda Bay Nickel," Baudelet said.
"If you cut production and you don't give an extension, imports from the Philippines are going to increase a lot because there's not enough ore around IWIP ... it will be high cost."
On May 29, 2026, Hunan Province issued the Notice on "Several Measures to Further Promote the High-Quality Development of Geological Work", which mentioned the launch of the province-wide "15th Five-Year Plan" mineral exploration breakthrough strategic action, with the focus on building four large-scale resource bases, concentrating on strategic minerals such as gold, manganese, tungsten, tin, antimony, lithium, niobium, tantalum, vanadium, and fluorite, deploying strategic mineral exploration projects in key metallogenic belts, encouraging and supporting old mines to actively carry out border-deep mineral exploration work, and strengthening resource security assurance.
According to CTIA GROUP, Hunan Province is one of the most resource-rich provinces in China, known as the "Hometown of Nonferrous Metals" and the "Hometown of Nonmetallic Minerals". Currently, Hunan Province has discovered various types of minerals, 121 in total (including 146 subspecies), accounting for 69.94% of the 173 minerals discovered nationwide, among which 88 mineral species have been proven reserves. By the end of 2020, among the proven reserves, 8 mineral species such as coal, bismuth, antimony, niobium, beryllium, ordinary fluorite, glass dolomite, and sepiolite clay have the highest resource reserves in China, and 8 mineral species such as vanadium, tungsten, tin, zirconium, light rare earths, cadmium, barite, and building dolomite have the second-highest resource reserves in China.
By the end of 2023, the tungsten reserves (WO₃) in Hunan Province were 2.1042 million tons, and the resources are mainly distributed in the five cities of Chenzhou, Hengyang, Yongzhou, Shaoyang, and Yueyang. The Shizhuyuan large tungsten polymetallic deposit is the largest tungsten mine in Hunan Province in terms of scale, with tungsten reserves of more than 700,000 tons, a super-large tungsten deposit unique in the world, and is renowned in the industry worldwide; in addition, multiple large tungsten deposits have been discovered in the province one after another, with a total reserves of 450,000 tons. Hunan tungsten concentrate production accounts for about one-third of the national total production, and its reserves and capacity rank first in the country.
The Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) reported that global recycled steel consumption grew by 4.5% year-on-year to 480 million metric tons (mt) in 2025 across key markets, even as global crude steel output fell by 1.9% to approximately 1.85 billion mt. Global direct reduced iron (DRI) production also climbed 4.9% to 153 million mt, largely driven by India's 7.4% output increase to 58.9 million mt. In terms of trade flows, the EU-27 and the US remained the largest scrap exporters at 16.68 million mt and 11.76 million mt, respectively, while Turkey retained its position as the top importer with 18.76 million mt despite a 6.6% volume decline. Pakistan posted exceptionally strong import growth, surging 39.8% to 3.02 million mt. This decoupling of scrap consumption from total crude steel production underscores the accelerating global shift toward lower-carbon electric arc furnace (EAF) steelmaking. The sustained demand for scrap and DRI signals structurally tighter future raw material supplies, which will continually reshape global trade dynamics as countries secure resources for decarbonization.
The U.S. plans to step up its investment in coal, as President Trump doubles down on his commitment to bolster the fossil fuel industry.
Mr. Trump on Thursday is expected to announce $700 million in funding for coal plants and energy infrastructure during an afternoon Oval Office event dubbed "Beautiful, Clean Coal." A White House official confirmed the details of the plan, which was first reported by Bloomberg.
Mr. Trump will invoke the Defense Production Act, a Cold War-era law that gives the U.S. president emergency authority over domestic industries, to distribute $75 million for a new coal export terminal in Oakland, California, and $425 million to support 13 existing plants across 10 states: West Virginia, Kentucky, North Carolina, Indiana, Tennessee, Arkansas, Arizona, Oklahoman, North Dakota and Wisconsin.
The president is also expected to announce nearly $200 million in Department of Energy grants to build two new coal plants in Alaska and West Virginia and to restart a coal plant in Maryland. The facilities in Alaska and West Virginia would be the first new coal plants built in the U.S. since 2013.
A White House official said the initiative will create thousands of jobs for miners, railroad workers, engineers and construction workers and save consumers $50 billion in energy generation costs.
Mr. Trump has long championed the benefits of exploiting U.S. fossil fuel resources. Since returning as president for a second time in 2025, he has moved to expedite oil and mining projects and open new drilling sites, while also scaling back investment in renewable energy.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-coal-industry-funding-boost/
