Mining

Nickel could sap electric cars’ climate batteries

31 Mar 2023

Although EVs are less emissions-intensive than gas guzzlers over a vehicle’s lifetime, their supply chains produce more greenhouse gases. Battery ingredient nickel is among the culprits. Car and cell makers may be exposed as investors and watchdogs scrutinise carbon footprints.

Capital Calls: World Bank, Bumble, Wood Group

23 Feb 2023

Concise views on global finance: The U.S. picks ex-Mastercard boss Ajay Banga to run the multilateral development bank; while the dating app’s shares are down, private equity owner Blackstone is still in the money; the UK oil services group has turned down three bids from Apollo.

BHP investors aren’t seeing the wood for the trees

21 Feb 2023

Boss Mike Henry is upgrading the $170 bln miner by selling its most polluting units, buying more energy transition metals and speeding efficiencies – while digging up good results. But shareholders eager for quick fixes don't appreciate the shift in how the giant is operating.

Vedanta will test limits of Adani contagion risk

16 Feb 2023

Investors are wary of possible funding shortfalls at Anil Agarwal’s convoluted commodities empire. He’s trying to reassure on refinancing plans for $8 bln of net debt as his peer’s problems infect Vedanta bonds. The mess will push weak edges of India Inc towards private lenders.

Glencore’s coal fudge risks satisfying no one

15 Feb 2023

The dirty fuel is booming, and made up half of the $80 bln commodity giant’s 2022 EBITDA. Green investors may want CEO Gary Nagle to phase it out faster, while financially motivated ones would favour more mining. He’s doing neither, and paying the price with a middling valuation.

Rio Tinto plays chancy round of Mongolian roulette

7 Dec 2022

After years of wrangling, the fate of a $3 bln offer for the rest of the Oyu Tolgoi copper mine’s partner heads to a vote. A win would make a key piece of growth easier to manage. If the bid fails, minority shareholders face stake dilution and Rio managers may merit the boot.

Nickel IPO puts Jakarta at centre of China EV boom

23 Nov 2022

China’s Lygend Resources, a trader-turned-producer of critical battery ingredients, is eyeing a $600 mln Hong Kong listing. A huge presence in Indonesia gives it an edge over rivals at home, where supply is scarce. That should help the company navigate a bumpy stock market.

Capital Calls: Ticketmaster and Taylor Swift

18 Nov 2022

Concise views on global finance: A meltdown involving the pop star’s upcoming “Eras” concert tour is attracting an audience on Capitol Hill and risks an unwanted corporate fight with the artist herself.

Philip Morris and Rio’s poker faces need some work

7 Nov 2022

The $139 bln Marlboro maker and $95 bln miner have upped buyout offers to try and clinch strategically key deals. In both cases, hedge funds and minority investors called their bluff. The lesson is that bidders can’t play hardball if everybody knows they really need a deal.

Gold will keep losing its irrational luster

27 Sep 2022

A pandemic, war and high inflation should be pushing the yellow metal’s price higher. Instead, at about $1,635 an ounce, it’s worth less than it was a decade ago. Miners also are extracting it at a faster rate than population growth. Farmland, for one, has become a better hedge.

Disney’s big ESPN choice, Rio Tinto Mongolia drama

15 Sep 2022

Activist Dan Loeb backed away from his demand that the $203 bln media firm sell its sports network. In this Viewsroom podcast, Breakingviews columnists debate whether it’s the right move. And the $94 bln mining giant’s attempt to secure copper supply may need heavier machinery.

Rio’s Mongolian buyout saga has further chapters

13 Sep 2022

Some investors in Turquoise Hill Resources, which owns 66% of the huge Oyu Tolgoi copper project, have spurned the $97 bln miner’s latest pitch. Rio Tinto’s offer is much improved, and backed by the Turquoise board. But minorities have some grounds to hold out for yet more.

Capital Calls: Amazon’s green coupons, Peloton

25 Aug 2022

Concise views on global finance: The internet giant’s promise to try green hydrogen technology is valuable to firms like Plug Power, so Amazon demands a taste. Investors in the exercise-bike maker suffer a rapid descent after dismal fourth-quarter earnings.

Rio minorities’ bet is far from copper-bottomed

15 Aug 2022

Investors who hold the 49% of Turquoise Hill Resources not owned by the mining giant have spurned a $2.7 bln offer to buy them out. True, copper prices could rebound and hike the value of their giant Mongolian copper mine. But Turquoise’s minorities may need a deal more than Rio.

BHP’s metals deal could use some schmuck insurance

8 Aug 2022

CEO Mike Henry’s rebuffed $5.8 bln bid for OZ Minerals pits a mining giant trying to bulk up on nickel and copper, vital to electric cars, against a scrappier rival. Offering performance payouts on top of a premium would help address both sides’ risk and reward calculations.

Capital Calls: Spotify hums along

27 Jul 2022

Concise views on global finance: The music service led by Daniel Ek added more subscribers and revenue in the quarter outperforming Netflix and Twitter.

Santos throws down M&A cost-cutting gauntlet

22 Jul 2022

The $17 bln fossil-gas giant took just six months to deliver promised savings from acquiring Oil Search. That handily beats the 18-month timeframe advocated by McKinsey, and embarrasses ANZ’s six-year timetable for its Suncorp deal. CEO Kevin Gallagher has raised the synergy bar.

War helps Russian nickel king expand his realm

5 Jul 2022

Tycoon Vladimir Potanin may merge Norilsk Nickel with aluminium maker Rusal. The West would be extra wary of sanctioning such a giant for fear of roiling metals markets. The pair may have some synergies, but their two main owners don’t get on. It would be a governance nightmare.

Lithium landgrab sparks new electric-car risk

24 Jun 2022

Tesla, Stellantis and others want to lock in long-term supplies of the battery component. Elon Musk might even try mining it. Such steps are enticing after the metal’s price rose tenfold in two years. But deals struck under duress can be a shock to the system down the road.

Gold Fields shells out to beat the ageing process

31 May 2022

The Johannesburg miner is buying Canada’s Yamana in a $6.7 bln all-share deal, creating the world’s fourth-biggest bullion producer. Scant cost savings don’t justify the premium. Given his middle-aged mines, CEO Chris Griffith has little option but a target with a longer future.