BHP Group’s Australia chief said the nation can’t rely on its traditional mining export markets and is unprepared for a new era of lower-cost competitors.

China’s cancellation of tax relief on exports has left the aluminum industry scrambling to assess the impact on supply flows, with Chinese companies suffering steep stock declines while their international peers rally.

Avalon Advanced Materials has received a C$3.5 million ($2.5m) financing from Belgium’s SCR-Sibelco NV to help advance its Lake Superior lithium project in Ontario and the Nechalacho REE (rare earth elements) and zirconium project in the Northwest Territories.

The ore reserve estimate for Capricorn Metals’ Mt Gibson gold project in the Murchison region of Western Australia has increased 41 per cent, or 758,000 ounces.

Aluminum soared as China announced it was removing a tax rebate that covers over 5 million tons of exports of the metal.

Indonesia’s imports of nickel ore surged to 9.3 million metric tons in the first ten months of 2024, more than 50 times the corresponding figure of 161,917 tons for the year earlier period, the statistics bureau said on Friday.

Zimbabwe lithium miners want royalty payments to the government linked to metal prices as the current market downturn threatens the viability of investment projects.

Chinese zinc producers are rushing to send 30,000 to 40,000 metric tons of refined zinc to warehouses registered with the Shanghai Futures Exchange (ShFE) ahead of November contract expiry on Friday, three sources with direct knowledge said.

Soaring demand for copper will require $250 billion of investment over the next decade, helping to drive further mergers in the industry, BHP Group Ltd. chief executive officer Mike Henry said.

Harmony Gold, South Africa’s biggest gold producer by volume, said on Thursday it had appointed Beyers Nel as chief executive officer to take over from Peter Steenkamp, who is retiring.