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Abu Dhabi-based natural resources investment platform International Resources Holding (IRH) and Zambian mining and energy investment holding company ZCCM Investments Holdings (ZCCM-IH) have reaffirmed their long-term partnership and shared ambition to advance the development of Mopani Copper Mines (MCM), strengthen its operational performance and deliver lasting benefits for its employees, host communities and Zambia's wider economy.

Following constructive discussions, both shareholders reaffirmed their alignment on the priorities ahead and their commitment to working together through the established governance framework to support MCM's next phase of growth.

This partnership is backed by IRH's existing $1.1-billion investment commitment towards MCM's operational and development requirements, including equity, shareholder funding and additional operational support.

Since IRH became MCM's majority shareholder in 2024, the company says it has made steady progress in rebuilding its operations.

Contained copper production increased by 63% between 2023 and 2025, and Mopani continues to target 300 000 t/y of finished copper by 2029.

IRH holds a 51% shareholding in Mopani, with ZCCM-IH holding the remaining 49%.

IRH points out that more than 99% of the workforce is Zambian, and many families in Kitwe, Mufulira and across the Copperbelt rely on MCM for their livelihoods.

Both shareholders have affirmed their commitment to safeguarding jobs and maintaining high standards of health and safety.

Beyond the mine, MCM continues to invest in the communities in which it operates, supporting healthcare, agriculture, skills development and local enterprise initiatives that are creating broader opportunities for Zambians, IRH highlights.

To date, Mopani has spent over $685-million with over 1 300 Zambian companies across its supply chain.

Both shareholders reaffirmed the importance of continued dialogue and constructive engagement as they work towards their shared objectives for Mopani and Zambia's ambition to increase national copper production to three-million tonnes a year.

Beyond MCM, IRH and ZCCM-IH say they are also exploring new opportunities for collaboration in mineral exploration and wider mining operations, with the aim of supporting increased mineral production, attracting investment and unlocking further growth opportunities across Zambia's mining industry.

"Our investment in MCM is a long-term commitment to the business and to Zambia. We value the open and constructive dialogue with ZCCM-IH and the engagement of Zambia's leadership. We have a strong partnership with ZCCM-IH and share the same ambition for MCM: to build a stronger, more productive operation that can play an increasingly important role in Zambia's copper industry," says IRH CEO Ali Rashed Alrashdi.

"Mopani is more than a mine. For generations, it has sustained jobs, skills and livelihoods in Kitwe, Mufulira and across the Copperbelt. ZCCM-IH and IRH share a long-term commitment to its success, and we will keep working constructively with IRH, through our joint governance framework, to build a stronger, more productive operation.

"Our focus is timely delivery that brings higher production, secure jobs, more opportunities for Zambian suppliers and real improvements in surrounding communities, creating lasting value for our shareholders and the Zambian people," says ZCCM-IH chairperson Phesto N. Musonda.

The reaffirmed partnership follows recent engagements between IRH, ZCCM-IH and the Zambian leadership, including a meeting in Abu Dhabi between Alrashdi and Zambia President Hakainde Hichilema, at which MCM's development and Zambia's broader copper ambitions were discussed.

This audio is brought to you by Endress and Hauser, a global leader in process and laboratory measurement technology, offering a broad portfolio of instruments, solutions and services for industrial process measurement and automation.

Diversified miner Rio Tinto said on Wednesday it was on track to release about $5-billion in capital by the end of 2026, after strong mine performance helped lift third-quarter iron-ore sales from its Pilbara operations above market expectations.

The world's largest iron-ore producer sold 85.7-million metric tons of the steel-making commodity from Pilbara in the quarter ended September 30, up 2% from a year earlier and ahead of a Visible Alpha consensus estimate of 84.41-million tons.

The miner said it had already released more than $2-billion in capital this year under a $5-billion to $10-billion optimisation programme, which was unveiled at its 2025 Capital Markets Day, and is aimed at supporting higher-return growth projects.

Rio shares were volatile in early trade, rising as much as 0.9% before reversing course to trade 0.2% lower at A$160.67 by 00:17 GMT.

Copper output was broadly flat at 205 000 tons as a 27% rise at Mongolia's Oyu Tolgoi mine offset lower production at Chile's Escondida and weaker refined copper output from Kennecott in the United States.

Rio maintained its 2026 Pilbara iron-ore sales forecast of 323-million to 338-million tons. It has shipped 243.4-million tons so far this year, implying it needs to ship 79.6-million tons in the fourth quarter to reach the lower end of the target range. The fourth quarter is typically Rio's strongest period.

In lithium, Rio said full-year production was now expected at the lower end of its 61 000 to 64 000 ton forecast range, citing a slower-than-anticipated ramp-up at its Sal de Vida project in Argentina.

Rio's Simandou project in Guinea sold 1.7-million wet metric tons of iron-ore in the first nine months. To meet the lower end of its full-year sales forecast of five-million to ten-million tons, the project will need to sell about 3.3-million tons in the December quarter.

This audio is brought to you by Endress and Hauser, a global leader in process and laboratory measurement technology, offering a broad portfolio of instruments, solutions and services for industrial process measurement and automation.

As demand for critical minerals continues to grow amid a global energy transition, Southern Africa's abundance of minerals, including copper, cobalt and lithium, offers opportunities to establish industrial linkages across mining, processing, manufacturing and services.

The regional challenge, however, is translating mineral endowment into commercially competitive value chains that retain greater value, generate jobs and connect enterprises across member States in the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

The SADC Industrialisation Strategy and Roadmap 2015–2063, Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan 2020–2030, Regional Mining Vision (RMV) and its Action Plan, and the Protocol on Mining provide a policy foundation for this ambition.

While the RMV's Action Plan and project prefeasibility work have advanced elements of the agenda, uneven implementation of regional strategies, together with energy, logistics, skills, quality infrastructure, finance and regulatory constraints, continues to limit cross-border investment and beneficiation.

According to the SADC Business Council, the ongoing process to amend the SADC Protocol on Mining seeks to strengthen the regional framework and incorporate the RMV and private-sector perspectives.

Proposed amendments have undergone regional consultation and validation but are not yet in force.

This was discussed by speakers during the SADC Critical Minerals & Regional Value Chains webinar, held on October 13 by the SADC Business Council and Mining Industry Association of Southern Africa (MIASA).

The dialogue considered how these instruments can better connect mining with trade and industrial development, and how member States can pursue complementary rather than competing segments of mineral value chains.

The webinar participants also discussed practical measures to translate SADC's mineral policy commitments into integrated, investable and market-ready regional value chains.

Speaking during the webinar, MIASA executive secretary and SADC Business Council member Vusi Mabena unpacked the role of public-private collaboration in driving value addition and beneficiation in the SADC region.

Mabena emphasised the importance of collaboration and fostering integration across the region in order to take advantage of the opportunities afforded by the critical mineral boom.

"We are talking about beneficiation and value addition – the region is actually [in] the best position and if we are not careful about how we handle this position, we will miss this boom. The region does not have much time left to make sure that all mining jurisdictions leverage on each other to benefit our economies and to grow," he said.

Hence, Mabena stressed the urgency of capturing economic benefits through regional cooperation.

"We need to leverage on one another to grow the industry," he added.

Mabena argued that the private mining sector needed to be supported by governments through legislation and policies that would promote investment in exploration and viable mining projects.

He thus highlighted the need to establish policies that encouraged investment in exploration.

"Our environments in our individual countries are not encouraging this investment, and it is therefore very important to sit down and reflect as a region on how are we going to review our policies and how are we going to reposition ourselves to make it easy for investors to come into our region."

Mabena added that challenges in areas such as infrastructure and insufficient energy availability also needed to be addressed through collaboration between the private sector and government.

"The mining industry is ready to engage at an even faster pace than before to make sure that the mineral-based industrialisation le...

This audio is brought to you by Endress and Hauser, a global leader in process and laboratory measurement technology, offering a broad portfolio of instruments, solutions and services for industrial process measurement and automation.

Norwegian industrial gas company Nel and German defence contractor and integrated technology group Rheinmetall have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to explore joint opportunities in decentralised renewable fuel production.

The collaboration will combine Nel's electrolyser technology for renewable hydrogen production with Rheinmetall's Giga PtX concept and systems-integration expertise to assess scalable, modular solutions for the localised production of low-carbon synthetic fuels for defence and critical infrastructure applications.

For the Giga PtX project, Rheinmetall has been seeking and announcing strategic tie-ups with local champions for specific markets. Building on this great progress, Rheinmetall is expanding its strong partner network with Nel for the Norwegian market.

The parties will explore the deployment of decentralised synthetic fuel production based on renewable hydrogen produced through electrolysis, enabling the production of synthetic fuels that can substitute conventional fuels without requiring changes to end-use applications.

By producing fuels closer to where they are needed, it can reduce reliance on centralised production and long, vulnerable supply chains. Additionally, by deploying modular fuel production nearer to demand centres, the collaboration aims to strengthen energy security and preparedness through a more decentralised fuel supply system.

In a period of heightened geopolitical tension, secure access to fuels is becoming an increasingly important part of national preparedness, Nel states, explaining that many countries remain dependent on imported fuels or refined products supplied through long, centralised logistics chains.

Under the MoU, Nel and Rheinmetall will jointly assess technical and commercial feasibility, including potential sites, infrastructure requirements, renewable power access, sustainable carbon sources and priority use cases.

The cooperation may include pilot projects to validate modular concepts and demonstrate the viability of decentralised fuel ecosystems.

"Producing fuels closer to where they are consumed can reduce exposure to disruption and strengthen national and regional energy security. This challenge is particularly evident in Norway. With only one oil refinery in operation, the country exports significant volumes of crude oil to Europe for refining before refined products are transported back for domestic use. In times of disruption, this can leave parts of the fuel supply chain dependent on infrastructure beyond national control," the company says.

"Countries that depend on long and vulnerable fuel supply chains face increasing uncertainty. We believe renewable hydrogen can play an important role in enabling more resilient fuel systems while reducing emissions," emphasises Nel CFO Kjell Christian Bjørnsen.

"Through this collaboration with Rheinmetall, we are exploring how our technology can be integrated into new value chains for synthetic fuels."

Rheinmetall brings extensive industrial expertise in defence, advanced systems engineering and infrastructure development, and sees strong potential in next-generation fuel ecosystems.

"The transformation of energy systems requires new partnerships across industries. By working with Nel, we are exploring decentralised synthetic fuel solutions that can support both civilian and defence-related needs. We see localised synthetic fuel production, enabled by electrolysis, as an important element in strengthening energy security and future fuel supply chains," comments Rheinmetall hydrogen programme head Shena Britzen.

For Rheinmetall, Norway represents a natural starting point given its strong renewable power base, industrial capabilities, and ongoing development of carbon captu...

This audio is brought to you by Endress and Hauser, a global leader in process and laboratory measurement technology, offering a broad portfolio of instruments, solutions and services for industrial process measurement and automation.

Indian factories, smelters and households are being hit by blackouts and rising energy costs as the impact of plunging coal stockpiles at the country's power stations ripples through the economy.

The weakest monsoon since 2015 has curbed hydropower output, while hotter-than-normal weather has buoyed demand for air conditioning and farm irrigation. That's seen coal-fired power stations, which supply about two-thirds of India's electricity, rapidly burn through their inventories.

Smaller factories, farmers and households are facing power cuts as demand outweighs supply on the grid. Meanwhile, large industrial customers - in metals smelting, chemicals and paper — can't get enough fuel to produce electricity themselves due to State-owned miner Coal India prioritizing deliveries to grid-connected generators.

Small steel mills in the central state of Chhattisgarh are facing outages of 10 to 12 hours a day, forcing plants to reduce output, said Manish Dhuppad, general secretary at the Chhattisgarh Mini Steel Plant Association.

Mills require an "uninterrupted supply of power," he said. "Say we have hot metal inside the furnace and just before we are able to take it out, the power supply goes. By the time it comes back, the material has solidified and we need to melt it again."

The power shortage highlights the increasing role that extreme weather is having on India's economy, with the weak monsoon driven by a record El Niño. It also shows how the country's continued reliance on fossil fuels is limiting its ability to respond to a changing climate.

Feedstock supplies at almost half of India's coal-fired plants had fallen to less than a quarter of required levels as of Oct. 10, according to the power ministry. A late burst of monsoon rainfall last month in coal-mining regions in the east of the country exacerbated the shortages, crimping production and also hampering rail transport of the fuel.

In the northern state of Punjab, homes and industries are enduring lengthy blackouts.

Badish Jindal, who runs a steel wire plant in Ludhiana, an industrial city in the state, said frequent power cuts of three to four hours had resulted in higher energy costs, as his factory needed to shift to expensive back-up generators.

"The power cuts are unscheduled," he said. "That makes it difficult to plan our operations and deliveries and affects product quality. The sudden stoppage and restart of machines as the power supply goes and comes back also raises the risks of accidents."

The country's electricity grid has faced an average shortfall of nearly 4 GW a day in the first 10 days of October, data from Grid Controller of India show. That's enough to power about two-million rural Indian households, according to Bloomberg calculations.

The policy to favor grid-connected power stations has left companies that generate their own coal-fired electricity at a major disadvantage, said Rajiv Agarwal, secretary general of the Indian Captive Power Producers Association, which represents the big industrial users.

They are having to pay high prices at Coal India auctions, and buy expensive power from the grid, he said. The firms are also having to wait months for rail transport, so those with limited operating capital are being forced to cut output, he said.

Average premiums at Coal India spot sales in September jumped to 94% over the base price, compared with a 59% difference in August. Two of the company's subsidiaries — Northern Coalfields and South Eastern Coalfields — charged more than a 200% premium at auctions last month, data from the miner show.

Coal India didn't immediately reply to a request for comment.

For those getting their power from the grid, bills have gone up in most Indian states over the past few years. That's ...