Florence is expected to produce at least 1.5 billion pounds of copper over a 22-year mine life.(Image courtesy of Taseko Mines.
Canada’s Taseko Mines (TSX: TKO) (NYSE: TGB) has harvested its first copper cathodes at the newly built Florence Copper operation in Arizona, marking the first new copper production from a greenfield project in the US since 2008.
The company said the cathodes were produced following the late-February start-up of Florence’s electrowinning plant, which began commercial operations and copper output.
The milestone positions Taseko to become the third-largest copper cathode producer in the US once the operation reaches its nameplate capacity of 85 million pounds of LME Grade A copper per year.
Florence Copper is expected to produce at least 1.5 billion pounds of copper over a 22-year mine life. Taseko said all metal produced at the site will remain in the US, supporting domestic manufacturing and reducing reliance on imports.
February 2026, Preparing to harvest first copper cathode in SXEW tankhouse. (Image provided by Taseko Mines.)
President and CEO Stuart McDonald called the first harvest a landmark for both the Florence team and the company’s broader growth strategy in North America. “Producing LME Grade A copper cathode for America’s manufacturing sector, including automotive, semiconductor, defense/aerospace and AI data centers, will meaningfully strengthen US manufacturing and supply chain security,” McDonald said.
Step forward
US copper production has remained largely flat in recent years, even as demand accelerates. Benchmark Mineral Intelligence recently found the US can meet 146% of its domestic copper demand through a combination of mine output and scrap, compared with just 40% for China, the world’s largest consumer. Yet nearly 48% of US mined copper concentrate is exported, largely because of limited domestic smelting and refining capacity.
Taseko said Florence represents a step forward for the country’s critical minerals strategy as it is also the first greenfield site globally to use in-situ copper recovery, or ISCR. This is a lower-cost method that the company says offers environmental advantages over conventional mining.
The company said the project advances its goal of becoming a leading North America-focused copper producer.
https://www.mining.com/tasekos-florence-mine-delivers-first-new-us-copper-in-17-years/
AUD/USD continues its recovery for the second successive session, trading around 0.7100 during the Asian hours on Tuesday. The pair appreciates as the Australian Dollar (AUD) receives support from hawkish comments from the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) Governor Michelle Bullock.
Governor Bullock said the Board remains uncertain whether financial conditions are restrictive enough to return inflation to the midpoint of the target range within a reasonable timeframe. Bullock noted that a range of indicators continues to point to tight labor market conditions. Economic data released since the February rate hike broadly justify that decision. She also highlighted that developments in the Middle East serve as a reminder of persistent geopolitical uncertainty, warning that a prolonged shock could weigh on global economic activity.
Australia’s seasonally adjusted Building Permits fell 7.2% month-over-month (MoM) to a 19-month low in January 2026, missing expectations for a 5.5% increase. On an annual basis, dwelling approvals plunged 15.7%, reversing 0.4% rise in December 2025.
The Reserve Bank of Australia unanimously raised the cash rate by 25 basis points (bps) to 3.85% at its first meeting of 2026. Markets now turn to the Q4 Gross Domestic Product (GDP) report due Wednesday for further insight into economic momentum and the RBA’s likely policy path.
Meanwhile, the risk-sensitive AUD/USD pair may face challenges as the US Dollar (USD) stays firm amid heightened risk aversion linked to escalating tensions in the Middle East. Marco Rubio stated that the United States (US) is preparing for a “major uptick” in attacks in Iran over the next 24 hours.
According to CNN, US President Donald Trump said that the “big wave” is still to come. The United States Department of State has urged US citizens to leave countries across the Middle East immediately due to serious safety risks.
Shell and BP shares lifted as oil and gas price spike on Iran war Proactive uses images sourced from Shutterstock
Shell PLC and BP PLC shares were among the biggest risers on the FTSE 100 on Monday as oil and gas prices spiked after the US and Israel carried out military strikes on Iran, sparking retaliatory rocket and drone attacks against other sites in the region.
Brent crude oil futures jumped almost 8.8% to $79.25 a barrel, the highest since the start of last year.
UK natural gas prices leapt 25% to 98.5p per therm, not far from spikes in January to 10-month highs.
Oil prices are now up 30% since last December and year-on-year positive for the first time since December 2024.
Shell shares rose 3.7% and BP's were up 2.7%.
The conflict is likely to have a "sharp but short-lived" impact on oil and gas prices, said George Lagarias, chief economist at Forvis Mazars.
"This has less to do with Iran’s productive capacity (only 3% to 5% of global production), some of which OPEC+ suggested it can quickly make up for, and more to do with the effective closing of the Straits of Hormuz," he pointed out.
He said it would be "a matter of time" before contingency plans become operational that would allow oil to flow beyond Iranian chokepoints.
Analyst James Hosie at Shore Capital said the moves in oil and gas prices reflected "uncertainty around the scale and duration of the current conflict and recognises that Iran’s political future may have major implications for the stability of the Middle East.
"Higher near-term oil prices should continue to support the share prices of oil and gas producers operating outside the region and is a fresh reminder of the value of domestic energy security."
Hosie said oil producers outside the Middle East are set to benefit from an uplift in near-term revenues and cash flow.
"We expect UK North Sea producers to continue their recent share price rallies. The shifting geopolitical landscape also strengthens their case for changes in UK Government policy to support domestic energy supplies."
https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/shell-bp-shares-lifted-oil-083400175.html
Qatar’s state-owned energy giant QatarEnergy has stopped all liquefied natural gas (LNG) production, shutting down the country’s entire LNG output after Iranian drone strikes hit its major facilities at Ras Laffan and Mesaieed. The shutdown removes roughly 20% of the world’s LNG supply from the market and sends ripples through already volatile global energy markets.
QatarEnergy said in a statement on its website Monday that “due to military attacks on QatarEnergy’s operating facilities in Ras Laffan Industrial City and Mesaieed Industrial City and Mesaieed Industry City… QatarEnergy has ceased production of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and associated products.” No timeline for resuming output was provided.
The military strikes are part of a larger regional escalation following Iranian retaliation in response to ongoing U.S. and Israeli military actions. Attacks on energy infrastructure have also forced shutdowns at Saudi Arabia’s Ras Tanura oil refinery and precautionary suspensions of other Middle East oil and gas output.
Qatar is one of the world’s largest LNG suppliers. Halting its LNG output, which comes from roughly 14 trains and accounts for an estimated one-fifth of global export capacity according to energy market analysis before the conflict, sharply tightens global supply. Analysts warn this disruption could fuel spikes in gas prices across Europe and Asia, which were already climbing amid geopolitical uncertainty.
Natural gas and oil benchmarks spiked on the news; European gas prices jumped sharply, and Brent crude climbed as much as 8–13% in early trade Monday as markets digested the supply shock and broader instability in the Strait of Hormuz.
The Qatari government has not released detailed damage assessments, but the defence ministry confirmed Iranian drones targeted the Ras Laffan facility—a cornerstone of LNG production—and a power plant tank in Mesaieed.
Global energy buyers, including major Asian and European importers locked into long-term contracts with QatarEnergy, now face an unprecedented supply gap that could reverberate through markets and energy security planning.
The situation remains fluid, and QatarEnergy said it would continue to communicate updates to stakeholders as new information becomes available.
By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com
Saudi Arabia shut its largest domestic oil refinery on Monday after a drone strike, as a widening cycle of attacks across the Middle East forced precautionary shutdowns at key oil and gas facilities from Iraqi Kurdistan to offshore Israel, tightening regional supply and sending crude prices sharply higher.
State oil giant Saudi Aramco halted operations at its 550,000 barrels per day Ras Tanura refinery after two drones were intercepted at the site, Saudi authorities said. Debris from the intercepted drones caused a limited fire, the defence ministry spokesperson told Al Arabiya television, adding there were no injuries.
Saudi state news agency SPA cited an energy ministry official as saying some refinery units were shut as a precaution, but domestic supplies of fuel and petroleum products were unaffected.
Ras Tanura forms part of a major energy complex on the Gulf coast and is closely linked to one of the kingdom’s primary crude export terminals.
The escalation followed Israeli and U.S. strikes on Iranian targets and Iranian retaliation that entered a third day, prompting companies in Iraqi Kurdistan including DNO, Gulf Keystone Petroleum, Dana Gas and HKN Energy to suspend output. The region exported about 200,000 barrels per day via pipeline to Turkey’s Ceyhan port in February.
Offshore Israel, Chevron shut the Leviathan gas field on Saturday, while Energean halted production at its floating vessel serving smaller fields, curbing gas exports to Egypt.
Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, which carries roughly a fifth of global oil consumption, slowed sharply after vessels were attacked nearby. Brent crude rose around 10% to above $82 a barrel.
Separately, Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry summoned Iran’s ambassador to the kingdom, Alireza Enayati, on Sunday following what it described as Iranian attacks targeting Saudi Arabia and neighbouring states, according to the Saudi Press Agency. Deputy Foreign Minister Waleed Elkhereiji conveyed the kingdom’s condemnation of the attacks and warned against violations of sovereignty, saying Riyadh would take all necessary measures to defend its security and territory.
Middle East Eye also reported that Saudi officials urged Gulf Cooperation Council allies to avoid steps that could inflame tensions with Iran, as regional governments sought to prevent further escalation.
By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
The escalating conflict in the Middle East is delaying LNG shipments via the Strait of Hormuz from key exporters in the region, putting severe upward pressure on spot LNG prices in Asia and the European natural gas market.
The key Strait of Hormuz, where a fifth of global oil and LNG flows pass, is not formally closed. However, major shipping operators and oil and gas companies, and traders have effectively halted shipments through the narrow lane between Iran and Oman.
At least a dozen empty tankers on the eastern side of the Strait of Hormuz have diverted in recent hours, according to vessel-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg.
The delay to LNG shipments from Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) would see natural gas prices spiking in Europe and Asia.
A month-long halt to LNG exports via the Strait of Hormuz would push Asia's spot LNG price to jump by 130% to $25 per million British thermal units (MMBtu), Goldman Sachs analysts say.
Qatar, the world's second-largest LNG exporter after the United States, accounts for about 20% of global supply, all transiting the Strait, according to Kpler data.
While the risk to LNG shipments hasn't been as widely broadcast as the risk to oil supply, the risk is real, albeit quieter than the risk to oil.
The risk to gas supply is very real as Israel has curtailed production from its own offshore fields, energy tankers are already disrupted in the Gulf, and Qatar's position as a transit-dependent LNG exporter creates structural vulnerability, Amena Bakr at Kpler wrote in a Sunday note.
"For gas markets, the real impact will be on European and Asian LNG prices," ING's commodities strategists Warren Patterson and Ewa Manthey wrote in a note on Monday.
"While there's been a ramp-up in LNG export capacity and more to come, particularly from the US, this would not come soon enough to offset potential losses from the Persian Gulf."
Energy minister says ‘there is no need to rush to the service station and fill up’ as treasurer urges consumer watchdog to monitor for price gouging.
The energy minister, Chris Bowen, says motorists should not panic-buy fuel amid the escalating conflict in the Middle East, with refiners assuring the federal government the country has secure supply to last through to May.
Australia currently has about 36 days of petrol supply in reserve, as well as 34 days of diesel and 32 days of jet fuel, well below international benchmarks.
Australia is the only International Energy Agency member consistently failing to meet requirements for 90 days of stocks to cover periods of emergency. The 90-day obligation allows the IEA to trigger a collective stock release in case of an emergency. In that scenario, the country would make a proportional share of its oil reserve available to the market.
Bowen’s comments come as the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, put retailers on notice on Tuesday, urging the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to monitor for price gouging amid a jump in global oil prices. Long lines have been reported at some petrol stations in Australia’s biggest cities.
“There is no need to rush to the service station and fill up,” Bowen said.
“I do understand people’s concerns, but it’s important that people know we do have a good stock of petrol in reserve.
“There will be challenges in this difficult environment in the Middle East, the strait of Hormuz is a very important supply chain for the world. So there are real challenges, but there is no need for panic-buying, we just make the situation worse.”
Pump prices have tracked higher over the past month, reflecting rising global oil prices as traders anticipated a US-Israel attack on Iran, which began at the weekend.
Oil prices have jumped another 10% so far this week, and are close to $US80 a barrel, based on the international Brent crude benchmark.
That means petrol prices are likely to track higher in Australia over the coming week as wholesale prices feed through to the bowser.
Chalmers asked the watchdog to “investigate any concerns arising about misrepresentations regarding petrol prices, false and misleading conduct or anti-competitive conduct in petrol markets, and to take appropriate action”.
“The recent spike … should not be used as an excuse for retailers to gouge customers or to increase prices opportunistically above and beyond the impact of events in the Middle East,” he said in a letter to the ACCC’s acting chair, Mick Keogh.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has warned ships attempting to pass through the strait of Hormuz face attack. About 20% of the world’s crude oil supplies come through the strait, between Iran and Oman.
Bowen said he had spoken with the chief executives of Australia’s major refining companies on Tuesday, receiving assurances that contracts were in place to provide fuel through to May. The companies expect the contracts to be honoured.
“The biggest impact on petrol prices in Australia will always be oil prices, and oil price will come under pressure,” Bowen said.
“But for those Australians who are concerned about our supply of oil and petrol, I’m pleased to say that we are in good shape.”
By Tsvetana Paraskova - Mar 03, 2026, 4:14 AM CST
The United States does not plan an immediate release crude from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) as a means to mitigate the effect of the Iran war on global oil prices and domestic fuel prices, a source with knowledge of the matter has told Bloomberg.
Late on Monday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States would unveil on Tuesday a phased plan to mitigate the spike in oil prices amid the ongoing conflict in Iran and the wider Middle East.
The U.S. knew that oil prices would spike after the weekend in which attacks on Iran began, Secretary Rubio said.
“We knew that going in would be a factor. And so we have a program in place that will begin to be implemented by Secretary Wright, Secretary Bessent,” Rubio said, referring to Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
“And starting tomorrow you will see us rolling out those phases to try to mitigate against that,” Secretary Rubio added.
According to Bloomberg’s source, there is no immediate plan to tap the SPR.
The Trump Administration has worked over the past year to fill the reserve that was depleted in 2022 with releases in the aftermath of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent oil price spike to above $100 per barrel. Trump Administration officials have often criticized the previous administration of former President Joe Biden of letting the SPR levels fall so low.
The U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) currently holds about 415 million barrels of crude. Out of a capacity of 714 million barrels, it is less than 60% full at present as the U.S. has slowly rebuilt reserves following the major releases in 2022 at the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Should the President order an emergency sale of SPR oil, the Department of Energy would be prepared to begin deliveries of oil into the market within 13 days. Oil can be pumped from the Reserve at a maximum rate of 4.4 million barrels per day for up to 90 days, then the drawdown rate begins to decline as storage caverns are emptied. At 1 million barrels per day, the Reserve can release oil into the market continuously for nearly a year and a half, the DOE says.
In China, the world’s leading carbon emitter, a massive buildout of solar power is beginning to push fossil fuels into decline. Last year China saw its emissions drop, even as demand for energy rose.
Emissions from energy and industry dropped by 0.3 percent in 2025, while consumption of energy rose by 3.5 percent, according to official statistics. Last year, renewables supplied 40 percent of power in China, up from 37 percent the previous year, with solar accounting for most of the growth. The added renewable power more than met the uptick in demand, and as a result, coal power fell slightly.
“This is an encouraging signal, as it suggests that the sort of large-scale energy transition which China has been investing heavily in has begun to translate into measurable outcomes,” said Duo Chan, a climate scientist at the University of Southampton. “Whilst one year of lower emissions does not mean that the climate challenge is solved, the scale of China’s deployment of renewables can lead us to hope that this may be the start of a sustained decline in its emissions.”
Analysts believe that China is planning for further declines in coal power. As renewables ramp up, it has begun retrofitting its fleet of coal plants to serve as a complement to wind and solar, rather than as a source of baseload power. Increasingly, coal generators will act as “peaker” plants, meeting spikes in power demand or gaps in the supply of wind and solar.
Along with the recent drop in coal power, an ongoing slump in construction has led to a decline in cement production, further pushing down emissions. And according to recent analysis from Carbon Brief, transport emissions likely also declined last year as China continued its shift to electric vehicles. Carbon Brief found that China’s carbon emissions have been either flat or falling for nearly two years, raising the prospect that it has finally passed “peak” emissions.
Meanwhile, in the U.S., renewables are continuing to gain ground, even as the Trump administration slashes support for clean energy and dismantles regulations on the burning of fossil fuels. Last year, U.S. utilities generated a record amount of clean energy, Bloomberg reported, and this year 93 percent of new power capacity will come from wind, solar, and batteries, according to a government estimate.
Biofuel Demand and Middle East Tensions Drive Gains Across Global Crop Markets
Soy rose to its highest level in more than two years after strikes by the U.S. and Israel on Iran. (Clayton Steward/Bloomberg)
Key Takeaways:
Soybean oil jumped to a two-year high, leading gains across agricultural commodities, amid expectations that soaring crude prices will boost demand for biofuels.
Soy rose to its highest level in more than two years after strikes by the U.S. and Israel on Iran. Contracts in Chicago surged as much as 3.9% before paring some gains, though the most-active contract remains on track to advance for a sixth straight session. White sugar reached a one-month high, while other vegetable oils, including palm and rapeseed, also rallied.
Higher crude prices typically make alternative fuels such as biodiesel more attractive and increase demand for vegetable oils and ethanol made from corn or sugar. Crude spiked before trimming what had been its biggest surge in four years.
“The veg oils market, including soybean oil, has picked up a tailwind from the strength we have seen in crude oil,” said Matt Darragh, grains and oilseeds analyst at Kpler.
Benchmark palm oil prices in Kuala Lumpur climbed as much as 2.7%, and Paris rapeseed hit its highest level in more than six months.
The conflict has also triggered concerns about prolonged disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz.
“Vessels heading to the Middle East are avoiding those routes or demanding higher freight rates, which could increase vegetable oil prices for Gulf Cooperation Council nations and affect trade flows into the region,” said Mayur Toshniwal, president and head of trading at Emami Agrotech Ltd., an Indian vegetable oil processor and biodiesel maker.
In softs, raw sugar rebounded in New York as higher oil prices mean mills in top grower Brazil may tilt further toward ethanol production at the expense of the sweetener. White sugar futures rose as much as 3.3% to $421 a ton in London, the highest in nearly a month.
“We have sugar refineries in the region that will not manage to import raw sugar and they will not manage to export refined sugar,” said Claudiu Covrig, the lead analyst at Covrig Analytics.
Eleanor Thornber, Ben Westcott and Mumbi Gitau contributed to this report.
TORONTO, March 02, 2026--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Rio Tinto is moving forward on a research and development project to extract primary gallium from its alumina refining process in Quebec, with a conditionally approved contribution from Natural Resources Canada under the Global Partnerships Initiative (GPI).
After successfully extracting first gallium together with its partner Indium Corporation in May 2025, Rio Tinto will start construction of a pilot plant at its Complexe Jonquière in Saguenay, Canada to validate the technology in an industrial environment. The new plant is expected to be operational in 2027.
Plans are underway to build a demonstration plant with a capacity of up to 4 tonnes of gallium per year on the same site.
The Government of Canada has conditionally approved a non-repayable contribution of up to C$18.95 million in the project, in addition to the C$7 million committed by the Government of Québec in December 2024.
Primary gallium is available in limited quantities globally with current world production standing at more than 700 metric tonnes per year, all from outside North America. The transition to a commercial-scale plant could see Rio Tinto’s production reach 40 tonnes annually, representing approximately 5% of global production.
Rio Tinto Aluminium and Lithium Chief Executive Jérôme Pécresse said: "Our Vaudreuil alumina refinery in Québec, Canada is a strategic asset for our integrated aluminium operations. Extracting gallium from our existing refining process would create additional value from this asset and strengthen the North American supply chain for gallium, a critical mineral used in everything from high-performance radars, to smartphones, electric cars and laptops."
Canada's Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, The Honorable Tim Hodgson, said: "Research and development are essential to building the responsible and resilient critical mineral supply chains that power clean energy, advanced manufacturing and defence readiness. By supporting innovative projects like those led by Rio Tinto, we are strengthening Canada’s leadership in technologies that reduce environmental impacts, improve productivity and build long‑term economic and security resilience."
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260302061849/en/
https://sg.finance.yahoo.com/news/rio-tinto-advances-gallium-metal-162000889.html
Aluminium Bahrain (Alba) has agreed to acquire Aluminium Dunkerque, the European Union’s largest primary aluminium smelter, from New York-based American Industrial Partners.
The smelter is owned by a subsidiary of AIP Fund VII, the Bahrain-listed company said in a statement.
No financial details were provided, but Alba said the acquisition will be paid in cash, fully underwritten by a syndicate of relationship banks.
Located in Loon-Plage, northern France, Aluminium Dunkerque produces around 300,000 tonnes of aluminium annually.
The proposed acquisition will combine Alba and Aluminium Dunkerque into a geographically diversified industrial group with operations spanning Europe and the GCC.
Alba chairman Khalid Al Rumaihi said the transaction is a major step in its plan to build a globally connected, low-carbon aluminium platform with operational strongholds in the GCC and Europe.
Alba will offer a shareholding position to Bpifrance, a French public investment bank, to build up a long-term partnership for sustainable development of Aluminium Dunkerque.
Discussions have been initiated with Bpifrance and will be pursued in the coming days, the statement said without giving any details.
Last month Alba said net profit surged by almost a fifth to BD218.7 million ($582 million) in 2025 from BD184.5 million in 2024.
Manama-listed Alba’s shares fell 2.6 percent on Monday.
Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Company owns 69.38 percent of Alba, while Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Maaden) owns 20.62 percent.
In January 2025, Alba and Maaden ended talks about merging the Bahraini company with Ma’aden’s aluminium division, although Alba’s CEO said last August that such discussions may restart.
Aluminium prices are up 36 percent since late March last year.
https://www.agbi.com/manufacturing/2026/03/bahrains-alba-to-buy-europes-largest-aluminium-smelter/
