Latest news with #Chevron
News.com.au
2 hours ago
- Business
- News.com.au
Monsters of Rock: The shape of the lithium recovery, plus copper investments ramp up Down Under
Lithium prices remain subdued, but demand continues to rise Could deficit send spodumene prices back to US$1500/t next year? Copper investments ramp up as ASX options dry up Lithium prices remain very sick indeed, with lithium carbonate barely trading above US$8000/t and spodumene concentrate, the kind of product shipped to China by WA's hard rock miners, down around US$612.50/t, according to Fastmarkets. Few miners make enough cash at those prices to generate a profit, certainly not once capital costs are accounted for. June quarterlies will make for curious reading. There's more negativity on the supply side with the entry of Chevron into the Smackover Formation, a potential oil field brine source of lithium all the energy supermajors are keen on as they look to hedge their oil and gas businesses with exposure to 'new energy'. At the same time demand is still surging. China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology reported a 68% lift in lithium ion battery output in the first four months of 2025 to 473GWh, with export values up 25% to US$21.6bn. With demand for lithium continuing to grow, a modest deficit could emerge soon, some analysts say. "Spot spodumene prices have continued to decline and we have lowered our near-term price outlook to reflect this. We believe a price recovery is likely to be rapid once the market swings to a modest deficit, but the cycle is likely to be shorter given the volume of brownfield capacity that can be brought on-line, largely in Australia," Argonaut head of research Hayden Bairstow said in a note to clients. "We now expect spot spodumene prices to peak at US$1500/t in late 2026, which is likely to trigger a re-start of existing capacity. A return to a balanced market is then forecast for 2027 before the widening deficit pushes prices higher in the long-term. The changes have driven material cuts to earnings for the spodumene miners. We retain our positive view on the sector, with most stocks factoring in weaker spot prices for longer." Argonaut has buy labels on Pilbara Minerals (ASX:PLS), IGO (ASX:IGO) and Liontown Resources (ASX:LTR), with spec buys on Core Lithium (ASX:CXO), Wildcat Resources (ASX:WC8) and Patriot Battery Metals (ASX:PMT), the latter upgraded from a hold in the most recent update. Watch this space. Aussie copper investments accelerate ASX copper investors are facing a conundrum with more and more options taken off the table and heading overseas. Those that do remain in Aussie hands are trying to ramp up as many investments as they can to hit some sort of critical mass. On the outta here list are New World Resources (ASX:NWC) and MAC Copper (ASX:MAC), though there is at least some intrigue emerging at the former. While MAC Copper is yet to pull in competition to Harmony Gold's $1.6bn bid for it and the CSA copper mine in Cobar. But PE firm Kinterra Capital has emerged as a potential challenger to NWC's takever by Central Asia Metals. The bid from CAML was ratcheted up from 5c to 5.3c, lifting its consideration from $185m to $197m, with CAML also making a $10m placement at 5.3c (~5% of NWC) to meet bonding requirements on a quicker than expected Arizona state permitting timeframe for its Antler mine in the US state, as long as no competing proposal is lodged before COB on July 4. Kinterra, which recently emerged with a ~12% stake in NWC, has taken its grievance over the placement to the Takeovers Panel, which has yet to make any interim orders. Meanwhile, capital is being splurged from the top to the bottom of the mining sector on the critical mineral, expected to play a major role in the expansion of green energy and modern technologies. BHP (ASX:BHP) this week announced plans to spend $1.5bn in an arrangement with logistics provider Aurizon Holdings (ASX:AZJ), which will see much of its haulage of copper concentrate, cathode and inbound freight shift from road to rail haulage between Pimba and Port Hedland. Rail's a lot more efficient, creating cost savings as BHP looks to nearly double the scale of its SA copper business, including Olympic Dam, Carrapateena and Prominent Hill by the mid 2030s to 500,000tpa. The mining giant says 13m kilometres of truck movements will be taken off SA's regional roads annually, or 11,000 total truck movements. At a far smaller scale, AIC Mines (ASX:A1M) in Queensland has announced a $55m placement and US$40m prepayment facility ($61m) with Trafigura, which will be used to complete a $77.6m plant expansion led by GR Engineering Services (ASX:GNG) for its Eloise copper mine. The development will grow the Eloise plant from 725,000tpa to 1.1Mtpa to increase its production capacity from ~12,500tpa of copper to 20,000tpa after commissioning in the December 2026 quarter. It will also include the installation of oversized equipment, enabling the company to ramp up to a processing rate of 1.5Mtpa in the future. This all comes as the Queensland government mulls the future of the nearby Mt Isa copper complex, with the underground mine owned by Glencore set to close in the coming month and work now going on both behind and in front of the scene to keep the smelter that is the lifeblood of the town – known as Stack City for its iconic candy striped smoke stack – open up to and beyond its planned closure date in 2030. The ASX 300 Metals and Mining index fell -4.36% over the past week. Which ASX 300 Resources stocks have impressed and depressed? Making gains Capricorn Metals (ASX:CMM) (gold) +11.2% IperionX (ASX:IPX) (titanium) +9.2% Adriatic Metals (ASX:ADT) (silver) +8.6% Newmont Corporation (ASX:NEM) (gold) +7.9% Eating losses Patriot Battery Metals (ASX:PMT) (lithium) -17.9% ioneer (ASX:INR) (lithium) -16.5% Coronado Global Resources (ASX:CRN) (coal) -16.7% Vulcan Steel (ASX:VSL) (steel) -14.8%
Hamilton Spectator
7 hours ago
- Politics
- Hamilton Spectator
California is to examine its Amazon oil ties following pleas from Indigenous leaders from Ecuador
RICHMOND, California (AP) — An oil tanker sat docked at Chevron's sprawling refinery in Richmond on Thursday — a visible link between California's appetite for Amazon crude and the remote rainforest territories where it's extracted. Just offshore, bundled in puffy jackets against the Bay wind, Indigenous leaders from Ecuador's Amazon paddled kayaks through choppy waters, calling attention to the oil expansion threatening their lands. Their visit to California helped prompt the state Senate to introduce a landmark resolution urging officials to examine the state's role in importing crude from the Amazon. The move comes as Ecuador's government prepares to auction off 14 new oil blocks — covering more than 2 million hectares of rainforest, much of it Indigenous territory — in a 2026 bidding round known as 'Sur Oriente.' The Indigenous leaders say the move goes against the spirit of a national referendum in which Ecuadorians voted to leave crude oil permanently underground in Yasuni National Park. The preservation push in Ecuador comes as another South American country that includes part of the Amazon rainforest, Brazil, is moving ahead with plans to further develop oil resources. On Tuesday, Brazil auctioned off several land and offshore potential oil sites near the Amazon River as it aims to expand production in untapped regions despite protests from environmental and Indigenous groups . Indigenous voices Juan Bay, president of the Waorani people of Ecuador, said that his delegation's coming to California was 'important so that our voices, our stance, and our struggle can be elevated' and urged Californians to reexamine the source of their crude from the Amazon — 'from Waorani Indigenous territory.' On Thursday, the Indigenous delegation joined local Californians in Richmond for a kayaking trip near a Chevron refinery, sharing stories about the Amazon and perspectives on climate threats. For Nadino Calapucha, a spokesperson for the Kichwa Pakkiru people, the visit to California's Bay Area was deeply moving. Spotting seals in the water and a bird's nest nearby felt ¨like a gesture of solidarity from nature itself,' he told The Associated Press on a kayak. 'It was as if the animals were welcoming us,' he said. The connection between the Amazon and California — both facing environmental threats — was palpable, Calapucha said. ¨Being here with our brothers and sisters, with the local communities also fighting — in the end, we feel that the struggle is the same,¨ he said. California is the largest global consumer of Amazon oil, with much of it refined and used in the state as fuel. Ecuador is the region's top producer of onshore crude. Bay highlighted a March 2025 ruling by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, which found that Ecuador had violated the rights of the area's Indigenous groups by allowing oil operations in and around a site known as Block 43. The court ordered the government to halt extraction in protected areas and uphold the 2023 referendum banning drilling in Yasuni National Park, where the country's largest crude reserve lies, estimated at around 1.7 billion barrels. Bay appealed to the California government to reconsider if it 'should continue receiving crude from the Amazon' — or continue to be 'complicit in the violation of rights' happening on Indigenous territory. Defending Indigenous rights State Senator Josh Becker, who introduced the new resolution, praised the visiting leaders for defending both their land and the global climate. 'Their communities are on the front lines asserting their rights and resisting oil extraction,' Becker said on the Senate floor on Monday. 'They are defenders of a living rainforest that stores carbon, regulates the global climate, and sustains life.' Long criticized by environmental justice advocates, the refinery has processed millions of barrels of Amazon crude, fueling concerns over pollution, public health, and the state's role in rainforest destruction. The delegation also helped launch a new report by Amazon Watch, an Oakland-based non-profit dedicated to the protection of the Amazon Basin, which outlines the climate, legal and financial risks of operating in Indigenous territories without consent. 'Addiction to Amazon crude' Kevin Koenig, Amazon Watch's director for climate, energy and extraction industry, said the impacts of Amazon crude extend far beyond Ecuador. He joined the Ecuadorian delegation on the kayaking trip on Thursday. 'The Golden State, if it wants to be a climate leader, needs to take action,' he told AP. 'California has an addiction to Amazon crude.' Californians need to 'recognize their responsibility and their complicity in driving demand for Amazon crude and the impact that that is having on Indigenous people, on their rights, on the biodiversity and the climate,' he added. California's future is closely tied to the Amazon's — the state relies on the rainforest's role in climate regulation and rainfall, Koenig said, warning that continued Amazon crude imports contribute to the very destruction increasing California's vulnerability to drought and wildfires. He said environmental and public health damage tied to oil drilling is not confined to South America. 'We're seeing the same impacts from the oil well to the wheel here in California, where communities are suffering from contamination, health impacts, dirty water,' he said. 'It's time that California lead an energy transition.' California, one of the world's largest economies and a major importer of Amazon crude, must take stronger climate action, Koenig added and called on the state to phase out its reliance on oil linked to deforestation, human rights abuses, pollution, and climate damage. The resolution commends the Indigenous communities of Ecuador for their struggle in defending the rainforest and Indigenous rights. It also marks the first time California would examine how its energy consumption may contribute to the region's deforestation and cultural loss. The resolution is expected to be up for a vote within a few weeks, according to Koenig. ___ Follow Steven Grattan on X: @sjgrattan ___ The Associated Press' climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at .
San Francisco Chronicle
7 hours ago
- Politics
- San Francisco Chronicle
California is to examine its Amazon oil ties following pleas from Indigenous leaders from Ecuador
RICHMOND, California (AP) — An oil tanker sat docked at Chevron's sprawling refinery in Richmond on Thursday — a visible link between California's appetite for Amazon crude and the remote rainforest territories where it's extracted. Just offshore, bundled in puffy jackets against the Bay wind, Indigenous leaders from Ecuador's Amazon paddled kayaks through choppy waters, calling attention to the oil expansion threatening their lands. Their visit to California helped prompt the state Senate to introduce a landmark resolution urging officials to examine the state's role in importing crude from the Amazon. The move comes as Ecuador's government prepares to auction off 14 new oil blocks — covering more than 2 million hectares of rainforest, much of it Indigenous territory — in a 2026 bidding round known as 'Sur Oriente.' The Indigenous leaders say the move goes against the spirit of a national referendum in which Ecuadorians voted to leave crude oil permanently underground in Yasuni National Park. The preservation push in Ecuador comes as another South American country that includes part of the Amazon rainforest, Brazil, is moving ahead with plans to further develop oil resources. On Tuesday, Brazil auctioned off several land and offshore potential oil sites near the Amazon River as it aims to expand production in untapped regions despite protests from environmental and Indigenous groups. Indigenous voices Juan Bay, president of the Waorani people of Ecuador, said that his delegation's coming to California was 'important so that our voices, our stance, and our struggle can be elevated' and urged Californians to reexamine the source of their crude from the Amazon — 'from Waorani Indigenous territory." On Thursday, the Indigenous delegation joined local Californians in Richmond for a kayaking trip near a Chevron refinery, sharing stories about the Amazon and perspectives on climate threats. For Nadino Calapucha, a spokesperson for the Kichwa Pakkiru people, the visit to California's Bay Area was deeply moving. Spotting seals in the water and a bird's nest nearby felt ¨like a gesture of solidarity from nature itself," he told The Associated Press on a kayak. 'It was as if the animals were welcoming us,' he said. The connection between the Amazon and California — both facing environmental threats — was palpable, Calapucha said. ¨Being here with our brothers and sisters, with the local communities also fighting — in the end, we feel that the struggle is the same,¨ he said. California is the largest global consumer of Amazon oil, with much of it refined and used in the state as fuel. Ecuador is the region's top producer of onshore crude. Bay highlighted a March 2025 ruling by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, which found that Ecuador had violated the rights of the area's Indigenous groups by allowing oil operations in and around a site known as Block 43. The court ordered the government to halt extraction in protected areas and uphold the 2023 referendum banning drilling in Yasuni National Park, where the country's largest crude reserve lies, estimated at around 1.7 billion barrels. Bay appealed to the California government to reconsider if it 'should continue receiving crude from the Amazon' — or continue to be 'complicit in the violation of rights" happening on Indigenous territory. Defending Indigenous rights State Senator Josh Becker, who introduced the new resolution, praised the visiting leaders for defending both their land and the global climate. 'Their communities are on the front lines asserting their rights and resisting oil extraction," Becker said on the Senate floor on Monday. 'They are defenders of a living rainforest that stores carbon, regulates the global climate, and sustains life.' Long criticized by environmental justice advocates, the refinery has processed millions of barrels of Amazon crude, fueling concerns over pollution, public health, and the state's role in rainforest destruction. The delegation also helped launch a new report by Amazon Watch, an Oakland-based non-profit dedicated to the protection of the Amazon Basin, which outlines the climate, legal and financial risks of operating in Indigenous territories without consent. 'Addiction to Amazon crude' Kevin Koenig, Amazon Watch's director for climate, energy and extraction industry, said the impacts of Amazon crude extend far beyond Ecuador. He joined the Ecuadorian delegation on the kayaking trip on Thursday. 'The Golden State, if it wants to be a climate leader, needs to take action," he told AP. 'California has an addiction to Amazon crude.' Californians need to "recognize their responsibility and their complicity in driving demand for Amazon crude and the impact that that is having on Indigenous people, on their rights, on the biodiversity and the climate,' he added. California's future is closely tied to the Amazon's — the state relies on the rainforest's role in climate regulation and rainfall, Koenig said, warning that continued Amazon crude imports contribute to the very destruction increasing California's vulnerability to drought and wildfires. He said environmental and public health damage tied to oil drilling is not confined to South America. 'We're seeing the same impacts from the oil well to the wheel here in California, where communities are suffering from contamination, health impacts, dirty water,' he said. 'It's time that California lead an energy transition." California, one of the world's largest economies and a major importer of Amazon crude, must take stronger climate action, Koenig added and called on the state to phase out its reliance on oil linked to deforestation, human rights abuses, pollution, and climate damage. The resolution commends the Indigenous communities of Ecuador for their struggle in defending the rainforest and Indigenous rights. It also marks the first time California would examine how its energy consumption may contribute to the region's deforestation and cultural loss. The resolution is expected to be up for a vote within a few weeks, according to Koenig. ___ ___ The Associated Press' climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at
Winnipeg Free Press
8 hours ago
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
California is to examine its Amazon oil ties following pleas from Indigenous leaders from Ecuador
RICHMOND, California (AP) — An oil tanker sat docked at Chevron's sprawling refinery in Richmond on Thursday — a visible link between California's appetite for Amazon crude and the remote rainforest territories where it's extracted. Just offshore, bundled in puffy jackets against the Bay wind, Indigenous leaders from Ecuador's Amazon paddled kayaks through choppy waters, calling attention to the oil expansion threatening their lands. Their visit to California helped prompt the state Senate to introduce a landmark resolution urging officials to examine the state's role in importing crude from the Amazon. The move comes as Ecuador's government prepares to auction off 14 new oil blocks — covering more than 2 million hectares of rainforest, much of it Indigenous territory — in a 2026 bidding round known as 'Sur Oriente.' The Indigenous leaders say the move goes against the spirit of a national referendum in which Ecuadorians voted to leave crude oil permanently underground in Yasuni National Park. The preservation push in Ecuador comes as another South American country that includes part of the Amazon rainforest, Brazil, is moving ahead with plans to further develop oil resources. On Tuesday, Brazil auctioned off several land and offshore potential oil sites near the Amazon River as it aims to expand production in untapped regions despite protests from environmental and Indigenous groups. Indigenous voices Juan Bay, president of the Waorani people of Ecuador, said that his delegation's coming to California was 'important so that our voices, our stance, and our struggle can be elevated' and urged Californians to reexamine the source of their crude from the Amazon — 'from Waorani Indigenous territory.' On Thursday, the Indigenous delegation joined local Californians in Richmond for a kayaking trip near a Chevron refinery, sharing stories about the Amazon and perspectives on climate threats. For Nadino Calapucha, a spokesperson for the Kichwa Pakkiru people, the visit to California's Bay Area was deeply moving. Spotting seals in the water and a bird's nest nearby felt ¨like a gesture of solidarity from nature itself,' he told The Associated Press on a kayak. 'It was as if the animals were welcoming us,' he said. The connection between the Amazon and California — both facing environmental threats — was palpable, Calapucha said. ¨Being here with our brothers and sisters, with the local communities also fighting — in the end, we feel that the struggle is the same,¨ he said. California is the largest global consumer of Amazon oil, with much of it refined and used in the state as fuel. Ecuador is the region's top producer of onshore crude. Bay highlighted a March 2025 ruling by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, which found that Ecuador had violated the rights of the area's Indigenous groups by allowing oil operations in and around a site known as Block 43. The court ordered the government to halt extraction in protected areas and uphold the 2023 referendum banning drilling in Yasuni National Park, where the country's largest crude reserve lies, estimated at around 1.7 billion barrels. Bay appealed to the California government to reconsider if it 'should continue receiving crude from the Amazon' — or continue to be 'complicit in the violation of rights' happening on Indigenous territory. Defending Indigenous rights State Senator Josh Becker, who introduced the new resolution, praised the visiting leaders for defending both their land and the global climate. 'Their communities are on the front lines asserting their rights and resisting oil extraction,' Becker said on the Senate floor on Monday. 'They are defenders of a living rainforest that stores carbon, regulates the global climate, and sustains life.' Long criticized by environmental justice advocates, the refinery has processed millions of barrels of Amazon crude, fueling concerns over pollution, public health, and the state's role in rainforest destruction. The delegation also helped launch a new report by Amazon Watch, an Oakland-based non-profit dedicated to the protection of the Amazon Basin, which outlines the climate, legal and financial risks of operating in Indigenous territories without consent. 'Addiction to Amazon crude' Kevin Koenig, Amazon Watch's director for climate, energy and extraction industry, said the impacts of Amazon crude extend far beyond Ecuador. He joined the Ecuadorian delegation on the kayaking trip on Thursday. 'The Golden State, if it wants to be a climate leader, needs to take action,' he told AP. 'California has an addiction to Amazon crude.' Californians need to 'recognize their responsibility and their complicity in driving demand for Amazon crude and the impact that that is having on Indigenous people, on their rights, on the biodiversity and the climate,' he added. California's future is closely tied to the Amazon's — the state relies on the rainforest's role in climate regulation and rainfall, Koenig said, warning that continued Amazon crude imports contribute to the very destruction increasing California's vulnerability to drought and wildfires. He said environmental and public health damage tied to oil drilling is not confined to South America. 'We're seeing the same impacts from the oil well to the wheel here in California, where communities are suffering from contamination, health impacts, dirty water,' he said. 'It's time that California lead an energy transition.' California, one of the world's largest economies and a major importer of Amazon crude, must take stronger climate action, Koenig added and called on the state to phase out its reliance on oil linked to deforestation, human rights abuses, pollution, and climate damage. The resolution commends the Indigenous communities of Ecuador for their struggle in defending the rainforest and Indigenous rights. It also marks the first time California would examine how its energy consumption may contribute to the region's deforestation and cultural loss. The resolution is expected to be up for a vote within a few weeks, according to Koenig. ___ Follow Steven Grattan on X: @sjgrattan ___ The Associated Press' climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at
Washington Post
8 hours ago
- General
- Washington Post
California is to examine its Amazon oil ties following pleas from Indigenous leaders from Ecuador
RICHMOND, California — An oil tanker sat docked at Chevron's sprawling refinery in Richmond on Thursday — a visible link between California's appetite for Amazon crude and the remote rainforest territories where it's extracted. Just offshore, bundled in puffy jackets against the Bay wind, Indigenous leaders from Ecuador's Amazon paddled kayaks through choppy waters, calling attention to the oil expansion threatening their lands.
