Via Metal Miner The Rare Earths MMI (Monthly Metals Index) trended sideways with a slightly downward movement of 2.59%. Numerous factors remain at play within the global rare earths market. One of the most significant factors rare earths buyers need to remain aware of is the ongoing conflict within Myanmar, one of the world’s key rare earth suppliers, regarding rebel mine takeovers. The Kachin Independence Army (KIA) caused numerous problems throughout November, including seizing control of Kanpaiti, a pinnacle rare earths trading point within…

The clean Green energy fiasco has reached a new level of incompetence and waste... Totally Wasted Wind Power Bloomberg reports UK Is Paying £1 Billion to Waste a Record Amount of Wind Power Burgeoning capacity and blustery weather should have driven huge growth in output in 2024. But the grid can’t cope, forcing the operator to pay wind farms to turn off, a cost ultimately borne by consumers. It’s a situation that puts at risk plans to decarbonize the network by 2030 and makes it harder to cut bills. Crucial to the net zero grid…

The 29th Conference of the Parties (COP29) in Baku, Azerbaijan concluded last week, with lengthy and challenging negotiations yielding an eleventh-hour deal on tackling climate change. At its core was a groundbreaking pledge by wealthy nations to provide $300 billion annually in climate finance by 2035—a tripling of the current target, but significantly lower than what is needed to support emerging and developing economies.  Last year, energy end-users spent a staggering $10.5 trillion, with $6.3 trillion borne by non-OECD countries.…

NATO members have agreed to make protecting Ukraine's infrastructure a top priority, alliance chief Mark Rutte said on December 4, as Russia continues to pound Ukrainian cities and towns with drone and missile strikes. Speaking to reporters ahead of the second day of a meeting of foreign ministers from the 32-member military alliance, Rutte said the gathering discussed providing Ukraine with enough air defense systems to protect its infrastructure against Russian attacks. "There was a clear agreement around the table last night that to help Ukraine,…

Antimony prices soared 40% on Wednesday after China on Tuesday banned exports to the United States of several critical minerals. China enforced the existing limits on antimony, gallium, and germanium - critical minerals that have widespread military applications ahead of President-elect Donald Trump taking office next month. "In principle, the export of gallium, germanium, antimony, and superhard materials to the United States shall not be permitted," Chinese Commerce Ministry said. China is the world’s largest producer of antimony, accounting…

Antimony prices soared 40% on Wednesday after China on Tuesday banned exports to the United States of several critical minerals. China enforced the existing limits on antimony, gallium, and germanium - critical minerals that have widespread military applications ahead of President-elect Donald Trump taking office next month. "In principle, the export of gallium, germanium, antimony, and superhard materials to the United States shall not be permitted," Chinese Commerce Ministry said. China is the world’s largest producer of antimony, accounting…

Antimony prices soared 40% on Wednesday after China on Tuesday banned exports to the United States of several critical minerals. China enforced the existing limits on antimony, gallium, and germanium - critical minerals that have widespread military applications ahead of President-elect Donald Trump taking office next month. "In principle, the export of gallium, germanium, antimony, and superhard materials to the United States shall not be permitted," Chinese Commerce Ministry said. China is the world’s largest producer of antimony, accounting…

The Pentagon just got a painful wake-up call.Its stockpiles of crucial armaments are depleting at a record pace as the war in Ukraine drags on, and its poorly armed allies are even worse off. Intelligence officers in Germany said that the country has only two days’ worth of ammunition in case of a military threat.  In March 2024, the European Union allocated 500,000,000 Euros under the Act in Support of Ammunition Production (ASAP) to boost output capacity to 2 million shells annually by the end of 2025.But the Western militaries have…

Crude oil prices moved higher today after the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported an inventory decline of 5.1 million barrels for the week to November 29. The change compared with a build of 1.23 million barrels for the week, as estimated by the American Petroleum Institute a day earlier. It also compared with an EIA-estimated draw of 1.8 million barrels for the prior week. The authority also reported builds in fuel inventories for the period. In gasoline, the EIA estimated an inventory build of 2.4 million barrels for the final week…

Hungary, which continues to receive Russian natural gas via pipeline, has asked U.S. authorities to exempt Russia’s Gazprombank from the sanctions when payments for natural gas are processed, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on Wednesday. “Yesterday we filed our request with the relevant American authorities that calls for Gazprombank being granted an exception from sanctions when it comes to payments for natural gas,” Szijjarto said at a briefing, as quoted by Reuters. Last month, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s…

Hungary, which continues to receive Russian natural gas via pipeline, has asked U.S. authorities to exempt Russia’s Gazprombank from the sanctions when payments for natural gas are processed, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on Wednesday. “Yesterday we filed our request with the relevant American authorities that calls for Gazprombank being granted an exception from sanctions when it comes to payments for natural gas,” Szijjarto said at a briefing, as quoted by Reuters. Last month, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s…

Hungary, which continues to receive Russian natural gas via pipeline, has asked U.S. authorities to exempt Russia’s Gazprombank from the sanctions when payments for natural gas are processed, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on Wednesday. “Yesterday we filed our request with the relevant American authorities that calls for Gazprombank being granted an exception from sanctions when it comes to payments for natural gas,” Szijjarto said at a briefing, as quoted by Reuters. Last month, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s…

Hungary, which continues to receive Russian natural gas via pipeline, has asked U.S. authorities to exempt Russia’s Gazprombank from the sanctions when payments for natural gas are processed, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on Wednesday. “Yesterday we filed our request with the relevant American authorities that calls for Gazprombank being granted an exception from sanctions when it comes to payments for natural gas,” Szijjarto said at a briefing, as quoted by Reuters. Last month, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s…

Russia’s revenues from oil plunged by 21% in November compared to a year earlier as the international benchmark prices and the price of Russia’s flagship crude, Urals, fell last month amid concerns about global oil demand. In November, for a second month in a row, Russia’s oil revenues slumped from the comparable month in 2023, according to Bloomberg’s estimates based on official government data released on Wednesday. Russia has based its tax levies and calculations for November on an average price of the Urals grade of…

Thanks to a U.S. license for Spanish energy major Repsol to import Venezuelan crude, Spain’s crude oil imports from the South American country have hit this year the highest level since 2006, according to Spanish government data. So far this year, Spain has imported about 2.6 million metric tons of crude oil from Venezuela, per data from Spanish government agency Cores cited by Reuters. Back in 2006, Spain’s crude imports from Venezuela at this time of the year were roughly 2.7 million tons. Venezuela has boosted its crude oil exports…

Thanks to a U.S. license for Spanish energy major Repsol to import Venezuelan crude, Spain’s crude oil imports from the South American country have hit this year the highest level since 2006, according to Spanish government data. So far this year, Spain has imported about 2.6 million metric tons of crude oil from Venezuela, per data from Spanish government agency Cores cited by Reuters. Back in 2006, Spain’s crude imports from Venezuela at this time of the year were roughly 2.7 million tons. Venezuela has boosted its crude oil exports…

The High Court of South Africa has ruled that government plans for new coal-fired power capacity are unlawful as they violate the constitutional right to health. South Africa’s government has planned to seek 1.5 gigawatts (GW) of new coal-fired electricity capacity. But the plans have been challenged in court by activists who argued that new coal plants could lead to damages to public health. Upholding the challenge brought up by three environmental groups, the High Court says that the government plans and decisions to seek the procurement…

This week, the OPEC+ group is meeting to discuss when and how to begin easing the ongoing production cuts. The alliance looks to have dug itself deeper into a position between a rock and a hard place, again. Although they are not publicly admitting it, OPEC and its allies want to keep oil prices fairly high, as many of these need oil to trade at least above $80 per barrel to avoid budget deficits, and even above $90 a barrel for most, including Saudi Arabia.   OPEC’s Dilemma However, higher oil prices are also helping non-OPEC+ supply…

China's dominance in Rare Earth metals is hard to ignore, But for one lesser-known metal that fuels the U.S. defense sector, China's grip is so tight that the U.S. now finds itself desperately scrambling to discover and develop friendly new resources before supply is squeezed to nothing.This rare metal saved the Allies in WWII, and it has very suddenly reclaimed its critical status on three continents, leading to a recent 200%+ surge in spot prices.   Meet antimony, the most important metal you’ve never heard of. During WWII, antimony…

Wind power is the leading technology of the energy transition in the UK. It is the basis for the transition shift championed by the Starmer government—and it is failing because the grid operator is having to pay hundreds of millions to wind turbine operators to turn them off. The reason: there is no way to transport the electricity to where it can be consumed. The UK is not a country known for its many days of sunshine. What it is known for is the fact it is an island, and islands are windy places. Wind power was supposed to be perfect for…