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World

Australian nuclear body joins search for missing radioactive capsule

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MELBOURNE, Jan 31 (Reuters) – Australia’s nuclear safety agency said on Tuesday it had joined the hunt for a tiny radioactive capsule missing somewhere in the outback, sending a team with specialised car-mounted and portable detection equipment.

Authorities have now been on a week-long search for the capsule which is believed to have fallen from a truck that made a 1,400 km (870 mile) journey in Western Australia. The loss has triggered a radiation alert for large parts of the vast state.

The capsule, part of a gauge used to measure the density of iron ore feed, had been entrusted by Rio Tinto Ltd (RIO.AX) to a specialist contractor to transport. Rio apologised on Monday for the loss, which happened sometime in the past two weeks.

The Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency said it was working with the Western Australian government to locate the capsule. It added that the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation has also sent radiation services specialists as well as detection and imaging equipment.

The truck travelled from Rio’s Gudai-Darri mine, north of Newman, a small town in the remote Kimberley region, to a storage facility in the suburbs of Perth – a distance longer than the length of Great Britain.

State emergency officials on Tuesday issued a fresh alert to motorists along Australia’s longest highway to take care when approaching the search parties, as vehicles carrying the radiation detectors are travelling at slow speeds.

“It will take approximately five days to travel the original route, an estimated 1400kms, with crews travelling north and south along Great Northern Highway,” Department of Fire and Emergency Services Incident Controller Darryl Ray said in a statement late on Monday.

The gauge was picked up from the mine site on Jan. 12. When it was unpacked for inspection on Jan. 25, the gauge was found broken apart, with one of four mounting bolts missing and screws from the gauge also gone.

Authorities suspect vibrations from the truck caused the screws and the bolt to come loose, and the capsule fell out of the package and then out of a gap in the truck.

The silver capsule, 6 mm in diameter and 8 mm long, contains Caesium-137 which emits radiation equal to 10 X-rays per hour.

People have been told to stay at least five metres (16.5 feet) away as exposure could cause radiation burns or radiation sickness, though driving past the capsule is believed to be relatively low risk, akin to taking an X-ray.

Reporting by Melanie Burton in Melbourne; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Edwina Gibbs

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World

Rio Tinto apologises for loss of tiny radioactive capsule in Australian outback

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MELBOURNE, Jan 30 (Reuters) – Rio Tinto Ltd (RIO.AX) apologised on Monday for the loss of a tiny radioactive capsule that has sparked a radiation alert across parts of the vast state of Western Australia.

The radioactive capsule, believed to have fallen from a truck, was part of a gauge used to measure the density of iron ore feed which had been entrusted to a specialist contractor to transport. The loss may have occurred up to two weeks ago.

Authorities are now grappling with the daunting task of searching along the truck’s 1,400 kilometre (870 mile) journey from north of Newman – a small town in the remote Kimberley region – to a storage facility in the northeast suburbs of Perth – a distance longer than the length of Great Britain.

The task, while akin to finding the proverbial needle in a haystack, is “not impossible” as searchers are equipped with radiation detectors, said Andrew Stuchbery who runs the department of Nuclear Physics & Accelerator Applications at the Australian National University.

“That’s like if you dangled a magnet over a haystack, it’s going to give you more of a chance,” he said.

“If the source just happened to be lying in the middle of the road you might get lucky…It’s quite radioactive so if you get close to it, it will stick out,” he said.

The gauge was picked up from Rio’s Gudai-Darri mine site on Jan. 12. When it was unpacked for inspection on Jan. 25, the gauge was found broken apart, with one of four mounting bolts missing and screws from the gauge also gone.

Authorities suspect vibrations from the truck caused the screws and the bolt to come loose, and the radioactive capsule from the gauge fell out of the package and then out of a gap in the truck.

“We are taking this incident very seriously. We recognise this is clearly very concerning and are sorry for the alarm it has caused in the Western Australian community,” Simon Trott, Rio’s iron ore division chief, said in a statement.

The silver capsule, 6 millimetres (mm) in diameter and 8 mm long, contains Caesium-137 which emits radiation equal to 10 X-rays per hour.

Authorities have recommended people stay at least five metres (16.5 feet) away as exposure could cause radiation burns or radiation sickness, though they add that the risk to the general community is relatively low.

“From what I have read, if you drive past it, the risk is equivalent to an X-ray. But if you stand next to it or you handle it, it could be very dangerous,” said Stuchbery.

The state’s emergency services department has established a hazard management team and has brought in specialised equipment that includes portable radiation survey meters to detect radiation levels across a 20-metre radius and which can be used from moving vehicles.

Trott said Rio had engaged a third-party contractor, with appropriate expertise and certification, to safely package and transport the gauge.

“We have completed radiological surveys of all areas on site where the device had been, and surveyed roads within the mine site as well as the access road leading away from the Gudai-Darri mine site,” he said, adding that Rio was also conducting its own investigation into how the loss occurred.

Analysts said that the transport of dangerous goods to and from mine sites was routine, adding that such incidents have been extremely rare and did not reflect poor safety standards on Rio’s part.

The incident is another headache for the mining giant following its 2020 destruction of two ancient and sacred rock shelters in the Pilbara region of Western Australia for an iron ore mine.

Reporting by Melanie Burton; Editing by Edwina Gibbs

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US

At least 29 killed in Mexico capture of Chapo’s son

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MEXICO CITY, Jan 6 (Reuters) – Nineteen suspected gang members and 10 military personnel were killed in a wave of violence surrounding the arrest of Mexican drug cartel boss Ovidio Guzman in the northern state of Sinaloa, Defense Minister Luis Cresencio Sandoval said on Friday.

Mexican security forces captured Guzman, the 32-year-old son of jailed kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, in the early hours of Thursday morning, prompting hours of unrest and shootouts with gang members, the minister said.

Guzman was extracted by helicopter from the house where he was caught and flown to Mexico City, before being taken to a maximum security federal prison, Sandoval added.

The arrest spurred the powerful Sinaloa Cartel – once headed by El Chapo himself – to go on a rampage, setting vehicles on fire, blocking roads, and fighting security forces in and around Culiacan, the capital of Sinaloa.

Twenty-one other people were arrested during Thursday’s operations, Sandoval told a news conference, adding there were no reports of any civilian deaths.

President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said there were no immediate plans to extradite Ovidio to the United States, where his father is in a maximum security prison after being extradited in 2017 and found guilty in a New York court.

“The elements (of the case) have to be presented and the judges in Mexico decide,” the president said. “It is a process…It is not just the request.” No U.S forces had assisted in Ovidio’s capture, Lopez Obrador said.

An enhanced security presence will now remain in place in Sinaloa, on Mexico’s Pacific coast, to protect the public, with an additional 1,000 military personnel traveling to the region today, Sandoval said.

Passengers on an Aeromexico passenger flight at Culiacan airport crouched low below their seats as shots rung out around the runway on Thursday.

“As we were accelerating for take-off, we heard gunshots very close to the plane, and that’s when we all threw ourselves to the floor,” passenger David Tellez said. Aeromexico said one of its plane was hit by gunfire at Culiacan but that no-one was hurt.

The airport was due to reopen later on Friday after being closed due to the violence.

In 2019, a failed operation to arrest Ovidio ended in humiliation for Lopez Obrador’s government. At the time, security forces briefly detained Ovidio, triggering a violent backlash from cartel loyalists and leading authorities to quickly release him to stave off the threat of further retribution from his henchmen.

His latest capture comes before a North American leaders’ summit in Mexico City next week, which U.S. President Joe Biden will attend. Cooperation over security is due to be on the agenda.

THE EXTRADITION QUESTION

The United States has sought Guzman’s extradition for years.

In 2021, the State Department announced a $5 million reward for information leading to his arrest and conviction.

Guzman, known by the nickname “The Mouse,” has been charged in the United States with conspiracy to traffic cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana into the United States. The State Department said he oversaw methamphetamine labs in Sinaloa responsible for producing “3,000 to 5,000 pounds” of the drug per month.

The State Department also said information indicated he had ordered multiple murders, including that of a popular Mexican singer who had refused to perform at his wedding.

Surging flows of the synthetic opioid fentanyl into the United States, where it has fueled record overdose deaths, have heightened pressure to capture Guzman.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration considers the Sinaloa Cartel, along with one other gang, to be responsible for most of the fentanyl inside the United Sates.

Additional reporting by Dave Graham
Editing by Alistair Bell

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US

Criminal justice postgrad charged with murdering 4 Idaho university students

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Dec 30 (Reuters) – A grad student seeking a criminal justice degree from Washington State University has been arrested and charged with first-degree murder in the stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students more than six weeks ago, officials said on Friday.

Police in eastern Pennsylvania acting on a fugitive arrest warrant took Bryan Christopher Kohberger, 28, into custody on Thursday night, according to James Fry, chief of police in Moscow, Idaho, where the University of Idaho campus is located. Fry said Kohberger resides in Pennsylvania.

Kohberger was arraigned in Pennsylvania and remained jailed without bond awaiting a hearing on Tuesday to determine whether he will waive extradition and return voluntarily to Idaho to face charges in the high-profile case, said Latah County, Idaho, prosecutor Bill Thompson.

Thompson said Kohberger was charged with four counts of first-degree murder and felony burglary in a crime that unnerved the small college town in Idaho’s northwest panhandle where the four victims – three women and a man in their early 20s – were slain.

The four were all found fatally stabbed on the morning of Nov. 13 inside the off-campus house where the three women lived, two of them staying in one room, and one sharing her room with the fourth victim, her boyfriend.

Two other female roommates in the house at the time were unharmed, apparently sleeping through the killings. Police said the cellphone of one of the survivors was used to call emergency-911 when the bodies were first discovered.

“This is not the end of this investigation. In fact it is a new beginning,” Thompson told a news conference.

The victims – identified as Ethan Chapin, 20, of Conway, Washington; Xana Kernodle, 20, of Avondale, Arizona; Madison Mogen, 21, of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho; and Kaylee Goncalves, 21, of Rathdrum, Idaho – all suffered multiple stab wounds, Fry said. Some of the bodies also showed defensive wounds, Fry said, suggesting they had tried to fend off their attacker.

NIGHT OUT BEFORE KILLINGS

[1/5] The Sigma Chi fraternity house, where victim Ethan Chapin was a member, is pictured after four University of Idaho students were found killed in their residence on November 13 in Moscow, Idaho, U.S., November 30, 2022. REUTERS/Lindsey Wasson

Chapin and his girlfriend, Kernodle, had attended a fraternity party the night before, while Mogen and Goncalves, who were best friends, had visited a local bar and food truck. Both pairs returned to the house shortly before 2 a.m. The two other roommates had gotten home about an hour earlier.

Authorities say they believe the slayings occurred between 3 and 4 a.m. on Nov. 13.

The victims appeared to have been killed with a knife or some other “edged” weapon, police have said. Fry said the murder weapon has not been recovered, though police had found a car they were searching for in connection with the killings.

Authorities said Kohberger was a graduate student at Washington State University (WSU) in Pullman, Washington, about 10 miles from the University of Idaho campus.

WSU issued a statement on Friday saying its police department and Idaho law enforcement officers searched both Kohberger’s apartment residence and his office on campus.

It said Kohberger “had completed his first semester as a PhD student in WSU’s criminal justice program earlier this month,” suggesting he had remained on campus, just miles away from the crime scene across the Idaho state line, for a number of weeks before returning to Pennsylvania.

Asked at the press conference in Moscow whether authorities there were seeking additional suspects, Fry said, “We have an individual in custody who committed these horrible crimes, and I do believe our community is safe.”

Fry said his department had received more than 19,000 tips from the public and had conducted more than 300 interviews as part of its investigation, assisted by state police and the FBI. He and Thompson urged anyone who knew anything about the accused killer to come forward.

He declined to offer a possible motive for the crime or to give any details about the investigation, such as how authorities traced Kohberger to Albrightsville, Pennsylvania, a small community in the Pocono Mountains resort region about 90 miles north of Philadelphia, where he was arrested.

Thompson said more details would emerge publicly from a probable-cause affidavit that summarizes the factual basis for the charges but remains under court seal until the suspect is physically back in Idaho to be served his arrest warrant.

Reporting by Rich McKay in Atlanta and Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Additional reporting by Brendan O’Brien in Chicago and Jonathan Allen in New York; Editing by David Gregorio and Neil Fullick

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World

Canada launches new Indo-Pacific strategy, focus on ‘disruptive’ China

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OTTAWA, Nov 27 (Reuters) – Canada launched its long-awaited Indo-Pacific strategy on Sunday, vowing more resources to deal with a “disruptive” China while working with the world’s second-biggest economy on climate change and trade issues.

The 26-page document outlined C$2.3 billion ($1.7 billion) spending, including to boost Canada’s military presence and cyber security in the region and tighten foreign investment rules to protect intellectual property and prevent Chinese state-owned enterprises from snapping up critical mineral supplies.

The blueprint is to deepen ties with a fast-growing region of 40 countries accounting for almost C$50 trillion in economic activity. But the focus is on China, which is mentioned more than 50 times, at a moment when bilateral ties are frosty.

“China is an increasingly disruptive global power,” said the strategy. “China is looking to shape the international order into a more permissive environment for interests and values that increasingly depart from ours.”

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government wants to diversify trade and economic ties that are overwhelmingly reliant on the United States. Official data for September show bilateral trade with China accounted for under 7% of the total, compared to 68% for the United States.

The strategy highlighted Beijing’s “foreign interference and increasingly coercive treatment of other countries.

“Our approach … is shaped by a realistic and clear-eyed assessment of today’s China. In areas of profound disagreement, we will challenge China,” it said.

Tensions soared in late 2018 after Canadian police detained a Huawei Technologies executive and Beijing subsequently arrested two Canadians on spying charges. All three were released last year, but relations remain sour.

Earlier this month Canada ordered three Chinese companies to divest their investments in Canadian critical minerals, citing national security.

The document, in a section mentioning China, said Ottawa would review and update legislation enabling it to act “decisively when investments from state-owned enterprises and other foreign entities threaten our national security, including our critical minerals supply chains.”

The document recognized the significant opportunities for Canadian exporters and said co-operation with Beijing was necessary to address some of the “world’s existential pressures,” including climate change, global health and nuclear proliferation.

Goldy Hyder, CEO of the Business Council of Canada, said it is important that the government converts “aspirations to actions and actions into accomplishments.”

The document said Canada would boost its naval presence in the region and “increase our military engagement and intelligence capacity as a means of mitigating coercive behavior and threats to regional security.”

Canada belongs to the Group of Seven major industrialized nations, which wants significant measures in response to North Korean missile launches.

The document said Ottawa was engaging in the region with partners such as the United States and the European Union.

Canada needed to keep talking to nations it had fundamental disagreements with, it said, but did not name them.

($1 = 1.3377 Canadian dollars)

(This story has been corrected to fix the amount to C$2.3 billion from C$2.6 billion in the second paragraph.)

Reporting by David Ljunggren; Editing by Denny Thomas, Leslie Adler and Daniel Wallis

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

David Ljunggren

Thomson Reuters

Covers Canadian political, economic and general news as well as breaking news across North America, previously based in London and Moscow and a winner of Reuters’ Treasury scoop of the year.

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Business

Canada orders three Chinese firms to exit lithium mining

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  • China says Canada breaks trade and market rules
  • Chinese companies’ shares fall
  • Companies say do not expect major impact on performance

OTTAWA/BEIJING, Nov 2 (Reuters) – Canada ordered three Chinese companies on Wednesday to divest their investments in Canadian critical minerals, citing national security.

China in response accused Ottawa of using national security as a pretext and said the divestment order broke international commerce and market rules.

As countries compete to shore up reserves of materials needed for a transition to a cleaner economy, the news pushed down the Chinese companies’ shares on Thursday, although they said in stock exchange filings they did not expect a major impact on their performance.

The three ordered to divest their investments are Sinomine (Hong Kong) Rare Metals Resources Co Ltd, Chengze Lithium International Ltd, also based in Hong Kong, and Zangge Mining Investment (Chengdu) Co Ltd.

The Canadian government ordered the divestiture after “rigorous scrutiny” of foreign firms by Canada’s national security and intelligence community, Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said in a statement.

“While Canada continues to welcome foreign direct investment, we will act decisively when investments threaten our national security and our critical minerals supply chains, both at home and abroad,” Champagne said.

Sinomine was asked to sell its investment in Power Metals Corp (PWM.V), Chengze Lithium was asked to divest its investment in Lithium Chile Inc (LITH.V) and Zangge Mining required to exit Ultra Lithium Inc (ULT.V).

‘UNREASONABLE’

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said the Canadian government was using national security as a pretext to block normal cooperation between Chinese and Canadian companies and was damaging global supply chains.

“China urges Canada to stop the unreasonably targeting Chinese companies (in Canada) and provide (them) with a fair, impartial and non-discriminatory business environment,” Zhao told a regular news briefing, adding that Beijing would resolutely defend the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies

Spot lithium prices have risen by more than 200% in the last year, driven by supply constraints that are expected to endure.

Rystad Energy forcast primary lithium minerals supply to be 8.5% short of the total lithium demand 2025, compared with about 10% short of demand this year.

“The latest attitude from Ottawa underscores the global competition of critical battery minerals in light of projected EV battery demand boom,” Susan Zou, a senior analyst at Rystad Energy, said of Canada’s decision.

The share price of Sinomine Resources fell 7.8% to 86.74 yuan ($11.86) on Thursday, while Chengxin’s share price fell by as much as 4% but closed at 0.7% higher at 45.65 yuan. Zangge Mining’s share price slid 3.7% during the day before edging 1.1% up to close at 28.96 yuan.

Last week, Ottawa said it must build a resilient critical minerals supply chain with like-minded partners, as it outlined rules meant to protect the country’s critical minerals sectors from foreign state-owned companies.

“The federal government is determined to work with Canadian businesses to attract foreign direct investments from partners that share our interests and values,” Champagne said.

Canada has large deposits of critical minerals such as nickel and cobalt essential for cleaner energy and other technologies. Demand for the minerals is projected to expand in the coming decades.

Earlier this year, countries including Britain, Canada and the United States established a partnership aimed at securing the supply of critical minerals as global demand for them rises.

($1 = 7.3163 Chinese yuan renminbi)

Reporting by Ismail Shakil in Ottawa and Siyi Liu in Beijing, additional reporting by Eduardo Baptista in Beijing
Editing by Chris Reese, Sandra Maler and Barbara Lewis

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World

Ethiopia peace talks delayed for logistical reasons

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NAIROBI, Oct 7 (Reuters) – African Union-led peace talks proposed for this weekend to try to end a two-year-old conflict in northern Ethiopia’s Tigray region have been delayed for logistical reasons, Tigray forces and two diplomatic sources said on Friday.

Ethiopia’s government and Tigray forces said on Wednesday that they accepted the AU’s invitation to talks in South Africa, which would be the first formal negotiations between the two sides since war broke out in November 2020.

The conflict in Africa’s second most populous nation pits the federal government against regional forces led by a party that used to dominate national politics. Thousands of civilians have been killed and millions uprooted by the violence.

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At least five people were killed and 37 more wounded on Friday in an air strike about 30 km (18 miles) outside Tigray’s capital, Mekelle, said Kibrom Gebreselassie, the director of the hospital that received the victims.

Ethiopian government spokesperson Legesse Tulu, military spokesperson Colonel Getnet Adane and the prime minister’s spokesperson Billene Seyoum did not immediately respond to requests for comment about the incident.

The diplomatic sources, who asked not to be named, said the postponement of this weekend’s talks was related to organising logistics and that a new date had not yet been scheduled.

Getachew Reda, a spokesperson for Tigray forces, said the AU did not consult Tigrayan leaders before sending out the invitations.

“You don’t just expect people to show up on a certain date as if this was some kind of get-together,” he said in a text message.

Ethiopian government spokesperson Legesse Tulu and Ebba Kalondo, an AU spokesperson, did not immediately respond to requests for comment about this.

Despite the agreement to hold talks, various parties have voiced concerns.

Some activists from Amhara, a region bordering Tigray that has fought alongside the federal government in the war, oppose the talks.

“The current AU-led peace talks process excludes Amharas – the largest affected group in the war,” the Amhara Association of America, a lobby group, said in a statement.

Even in its letter accepting the AU invitation, the leader of Tigray forces suggested he had reservations, asking for clarification on who had been invited as participants, observers and guarantors.

“There are a number of issues that need to be resolved before (talks) occurs, and mediators will then face a major challenge … to get the two parties to commit to a new truce,” said William Davison, senior analyst for Ethiopia at the International Crisis Group think-tank.

Meanwhile, the government of neighbouring Eritrea, which has also fought alongside Ethiopia’s federal government in the war, has not been invited to the talks, the two diplomats said.

Eritrean Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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Reporting by Nairobi Newsroom; Editing by Frances Kerry, William Maclean and Toby Chopra

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Business

S&P 500 ends choppy session nearly flat; investors eye Fed, earnings

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  • Apple, Amazon.com among companies to report earnings this week
  • FOMC to kick off two-day policy meeting from Tuesday
  • Miner Newmont falls after raising annual cost forecast
  • Indexes: Dow up 0.3%, S&P 500 up 0.1%, Nasdaq down 0.4%

NEW YORK, July 25 (Reuters) – The S&P 500 see-sawed on Monday and ended close to unchanged as investors girded for an expected rate hike at a Federal Reserve meeting this week and earnings from several large-cap growth companies.

The Nasdaq ended lower, and S&P 500 technology (.SPLRCT) and consumer discretionary (.SPLRCD) led declines among major S&P sectors. The energy sector (.SPNY) gained along with oil prices.

“Right now we’re just in a holding pattern waiting for all those developments to play out,” said Michael O’Rourke, chief market strategist at JonesTrading in Stamford, Connecticut.

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The Fed is expected to announce a 75 basis-point rate hike at the end of its two-day monetary policy meeting on Wednesday, effectively ending pandemic-era support for the U.S. economy.

Comments by Fed Chairman Jerome Powell following the announcement will be key, as some investors worry that aggressive rate hikes could tip the U.S. economy into recession. read more

This week is expected to be the busiest in the second-quarter reporting period, with results from about 170 S&P 500 companies due. Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) and Google-parent Alphabet (GOOGL.O) are due to report Tuesday. Apple Inc (AAPL.O) and Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) are set for Thursday.

“It’s a crucial earnings season for the market, especially given the (recent) attempt by Nasdaq to climb higher,” said Quincy Krosby, chief global strategist at LPL Financial in Charlotte, North Carolina.

The Nasdaq, which has led declines among major sectors this year, gained more than 3% last week.

A trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., July 25, 2022. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

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The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) rose 90.75 points, or 0.28%, to 31,990.04, the S&P 500 (.SPX) gained 5.21 points, or 0.13%, to 3,966.84 and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) dropped 51.45 points, or 0.43%, to 11,782.67.

After the closing bell, shares of Walmart (WMT.N) were down more than 8% after the retailer said it was cutting its forecast for full-year profit and blamed food and fuel inflation. read more

S&P 500 earnings are expected to have climbed 6.1% for the second quarter from the year-ago period, according to IBES data from Refinitiv. Along with inflation and rising interest rates, investors have been concerned about the impact of currency headwinds and lingering supply chain issues for companies this earnings season.

Tuesday brings reports on two housing indicators – the S&P Case-Shiller’s 20-city composite (USSHPQ=ECI) and the Commerce Department’s new home sales number.

Recent housing data has suggested the sector may be a harbinger of a cooling economy. read more

Newmont Corp (NEM.N)fell 13.2% after the miner raised its annual cost forecast and missed its second-quarter profit, hurt by lower gold prices and inflationary pressures. read more

Volume on U.S. exchanges was 9.34 billion shares, compared with the 11.0 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days.

Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 1.55-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.05-to-1 ratio favored decliners.

The S&P 500 posted 1 new 52-week highs and 29 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 50 new highs and 105 new lows.

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Reporting by Caroline Valetkevitch; additional reporting by Shreyashi Sanyal and Aniruddha Ghosh in Bengaluru and Sinead Carew in New York; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila, Anil D’Silva and David Gregorio

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Business

Ford announces series of deals to accelerate EV push

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Ford CEO Jim Farley attends the official launch of the all-new Ford F-150 Lightning electric pickup truck at the Ford Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Dearborn, Michigan, U.S. April 26, 2022. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook/File Photo

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DETROIT, July 21 (Reuters) – Ford Motor Co (F.N) on Thursday announced a series of deals to accelerate its shift to electric vehicles, including sourcing battery capacity and raw materials from such companies as Chinese battery maker CATL (300750.SZ) and Australian mining giant Rio Tinto (RIO.AX).

The deals are part of Ford’s push to have its annual EV production rate globally reach 600,000 vehicles by late 2023 and more than 2 million by the end of 2026. Ford said it expects a compound annual growth rate for EVs to top 90% through 2026, more than doubling the forecast industry growth rate.

“We are putting the industrial system in place to scale quickly,” Ford Chief Executive Jim Farley said in a statement.

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In March, Ford boosted its planned spending on EVs through 2026 to $50 billion from its prior target of $30 billion, and reorganized its operations into separate units focused on EVs and gasoline-powered vehicles with Ford Model e and Ford Blue, respectively. read more

The Dearborn, Michigan-based company also said at the time that its EV business would not be profitable until the next-generation models begin production in 2025.

As part of its push to boost capacity, Ford said it is adding lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cell chemistry for EV batteries to its portfolio, alongside nickel cobalt manganese (NCM). Ford said it has secured all of the 60 gigawatt hours (GWh) of cell capacity needed to support the 600,000 run rate.

The U.S. automaker said CATL will provide full LFP battery packs for the Mustang Mach-E crossovers for North America starting next year as well as the F-150 Lightning pickups in early 2024.

The company is also working with LG Energy Solution and its long-time battery partner SK Innovation.(096770.KS)

Ford said it has now sourced about 70% of the battery cell capacity it needs to achieve its annual production rate of more than 2 million by late 2026.

To support the battery cell deals, Ford said it is direct sourcing battery cell raw materials as well, announcing deals to acquire most of the nickel needed through 2026 and beyond through agreements with Vale SA’s units in Canada and Indonesia, China’s Huayou Cobalt (603799.SS) and BHP .

It has also locked in lithium contracts through agreements with Rio Tinto, exploring a “significant” lithium off-take agreement from the mining company’s Rincon project in Argentina, Ford said. That is part of a multi-metal agreement that leverages Rio Tinto’s aluminum business and includes a potential opportunity on copper.

Ford announced other battery material deals. It signed a letter of intent with EcoPro BM and SK On to establish a cathode production plant in North America, an offtake agreement for ioneer Ltd (INR.AX) to supply lithium carbonate from Nevada beyond 2025, an agreement with Compass Minerals for lithium hydroxide and lithium carbonate from Utah, and an agreement for Syrah Resources(SYR.AX) and SK On for natural graphite from Louisiana.

The drive to the 600,000 EV run rate by late 2023 includes 270,000 Mustang Mach-E crossovers, 150,000 F-150 Lightning pickups, 150,000 Transit vans and 30,000 units of a new SUV for Europe whose production will significantly increase in 2024.

(This story corrects mention to Rio Tinto’s aluminum business, not Ford’s in paragraph 11)

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Reporting by Ben Klayman in Detroit; Editing by Bernadette Baum

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World

Top producer Russia thwarts move to redefine ‘conflict diamonds’

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JOHANNESBURG, June 16 (Reuters) – Russia, supported by Belarus, Central African Republic, Kyrgyzstan and Mali, has torpedoed a Western-backed proposal to discuss whether its diamonds are funding war ahead of an international conflict diamond meeting in Botswana, letters seen by Reuters show.

The rift in the Kimberley Process (KP), which certifies rough diamond exports, risks paralyzing the body which makes decisions by consensus.

The letters, which have not been previously reported, show a dispute over a proposal by Ukraine, the European Union, Australia, Britain, Canada, and the United States to discuss Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and whether to broaden the KP’s definition of conflict diamonds to include state actors at its June 20-24 meeting in Botswana.

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The United States and Britain have already placed sanctions on Russia’s Alrosa (ALRS.MM), the world’s largest producer of rough diamonds, which accounted for around 30% of global output last year, and is partly state-owned. read more

A draft agenda dated May 20 included an hour-long slot to discuss the issue, but the item was removed after objections from Russia, Belarus, Central African Republic (CAR), Kyrgyzstan, and Mali.

“We find ourselves at an impasse,” Botswana’s KP chair Jacob Thamage told participants – who include 85 nations, industry representatives, and civil society organisations – in a June 9 letter urging them to find common ground.

The KP defines conflict diamonds as gems used to fund rebel movements seeking to undermine legitimate governments.

Officially labelling Russian diamonds “conflict diamonds” would require widening the definition. The KP Civil Society Coalition has been calling for such a change for years, along with some KP member countries.

The certification scheme, designed to eliminate the trade in so-called “blood diamonds”, was set up in 2003 in the wake of devastating civil wars in Angola, Sierra Leone, and Liberia, which were largely financed by the illicit diamond trade.

Russia’s KP delegate said in a May 20 letter that the situation in Ukraine has “no implications” for the Kimberley Process and is “absolutely beyond the scope” of its certification scheme.

Belarus, CAR, Kyrgyzstan and Mali all similarly argued that the proposal was “political” or outside the scope of the KP, and that its inclusion on the agenda was inappropriate. All four countries have backed Russia in recent United Nations General Assembly votes.

War-torn CAR is the only country in the world currently under a partial KP embargo for rough diamond exports. Russia, with which it has close trade and security ties, has worked to lift those restrictions.

Mali also has close ties with Russia. Hundreds of Russian military contractors have deployed there since the beginning of this year to help the government fight insurgents.

“If the Kimberley Process is to be a credible guarantor that diamonds exported with a KP certificate are actually conflict-free, it cannot refuse to consider the valid questions that have been raised about whether rough diamonds exported by Russia are financing its invasion of Ukraine,” Canada’s Ioanna Sahas Martin wrote to the KP chair earlier this month.

In a letter to the chair on Monday, Ukraine KP representative Andrii Tkalenko proposed two amendments to the certification scheme: To widen the definition to include government actors, and to allow KP countries, by a majority vote, to expel a country that infringes on another KP member’s sovereignty.

Britain, the European Union and the United States also said Russia should step down from the KP committees it currently chairs. read more

“Inaction would undermine the credibility and integrity of the Kimberley Process not only as a conflict prevention mechanism but also as a trade regulation mechanism,” the European Commission’s Marika Lautso-Mousnier said in a letter.

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Reporting by Helen Reid
Editing by Amran Abocar, Sandra Maler and Mark Potter

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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