2026-01-15 19:58
Order does not affect plans to restart production, firm says Bank of America downgraded Sigma shares, causing 15% drop Sigma still fighting former co-CEO in court over mining rights RIO DE JANEIRO, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Brazil's Labor Ministry has shut down three waste piles at Sigma Lithium's (SGML.V) , opens new tab flagship mine in the state of Minas Gerais, citing a "grave and imminent" risk to workers and the local community, according to documents seen by Reuters. The order adds to Sigma's ongoing struggle to restart the lithium mine, Brazil's largest, with annual capacity of 270,000 metric tons of lithium concentrate. It has been inactive since October, the documents show. Sign up here. The restrictions do not affect Sigma's ability to operate or compromise its schedule for resuming production, the firm said in a statement. The miner denied any safety hazards, adding that the piles only contain soil, with no contaminants. The piles remain a concern despite the shutdown, the ministry said in a statement, adding that a collapsed waste pile could cover nearby houses or spill into the Piaui River. SHARES PLUNGED AFTER DOWNGRADE In November, the firm said during an earnings call that the mine would resume production in two to three weeks. Last week, with the mine still non-operational, Bank of America downgraded the firm's shares, citing a lack of clarity on when production would resume. Their assessment sent shares tumbling 15% in a single day. On Tuesday, the Toronto-listed firm said it was advancing its plan to resume production. Labor officials issued the decision to close access to the piles on December 5, and on Tuesday, they dismissed the company's appeal to lift the order. It is unclear if Sigma could produce lithium at the Grota do Cirilo mine, its only productive asset, without using the three prohibited piles, where the miner stacks waste after processing. Sigma told inspectors that losing access to the piles would cause "significant operational and economic impacts, in addition to jeopardizing the continuity of mining activity," documents show. INDUSTRY LEADER NOW STRUGGLING Once the biggest player in Brazil's fledgling lithium industry, Sigma has struggled since 2023 with lower lithium prices and challenges expanding its mining operation. The firm has also tangled with former co-CEO Calvyn Gardner, ex-husband of the current CEO Ana Cabral. Gardner is suing the company over mining rights and has voiced concerns about safety at Grota do Cirilo. To resume using the prohibited waste piles, Sigma would have to present documents proving it has fixed issues identified by the inspectors, according to a Labor Ministry document. A labor inspector who visited the site of the mine reported on November 12 a "partial rupture" of one of the piles near a school in the small town of Poco Dantas, which he cited as evidence of structural issues. "The company was given ample opportunity to minimize its risks," said a labor inspector in a January 6 report dismissing Sigma's argument that the piles are safe. Sigma said the piles are fully within the safety parameters established by authorities, which it is demonstrating to the ministry. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/brazil-shuts-down-sigma-lithium-waste-piles-over-safety-concerns-2026-01-15/
2026-01-15 19:57
Jan 15 (Reuters) - Vineyard Wind, a nearly completed offshore wind project off the coast of Massachusetts, asked a federal court on Thursday to block the Trump administration's suspension of the industry in federal waters. The filing came the same day a federal judge in Washington dealt the administration a legal setback by allowing construction to proceed on an Equinor project off the coast of New York. Sign up here. Vineyard Wind, which is a joint venture between Spain's Iberdrola (IBE.MC) , opens new tab and Denmark's Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, is seeking a temporary restraining order and injunction to lift the Interior Department's December 22 pause. The project is 95% complete and was expected to be finished by March 31, according to documents filed in federal court in Massachusetts. It is already sending power to the grid, but is losing $2 million a day because of the administration's order, the company said. The Trump administration suspended leases for five offshore wind projects last month over national security concerns tied to radar interference. https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/massachusetts-offshore-wind-project-asks-court-block-trump-pause-2026-01-15/
2026-01-15 19:55
Keurig's takeover bid targets second-quarter completion Deal will split coffee, beverages into separate public companies Keurig secured financing, JDE Peet's board backs offer Jan 15 (Reuters) - U.S. soft drinks giant Keurig Dr Pepper (KDP.O) , opens new tab on Thursday launched its $18 billion all-cash takeover bid for coffee and tea group JDE Peet's (JDEP.AS) , opens new tab, setting the stage for a global coffee company that could rival market leader Nestle (NESN.S) , opens new tab. Keurig will offer 31.85 euros for each share in JDE Peet's, whose board and a majority of shareholders have committed to accepting the offer, the two companies and Dutch special purpose vehicle Kodiak BidCo said. Sign up here. The deal is set to close in the second quarter. Keurig had in August announced the buyout, one of Europe's largest in recent years and one that would consolidate the global coffee market as bean prices hit record highs. It had also announced plans to split the merged entity's coffee and other beverage businesses, including Dr Pepper sodas, into two publicly traded companies. COFFEE PRICES AT RECORD HIGHS ON DROUGHT, TARIFFS Global coffee prices have hit record peaks due to droughts in top producers Brazil and Vietnam and volatility after U.S. President Donald Trump imposed import tariffs on most trade partners. In October, Keurig raised $7 billion from private equity firms to finance the purchase, allaying investor fears about mounting debt. Shares of Netherlands-based JDE Peet's were little changed in early trading on Thursday and have been steady after a 17% jump on August 25, when the acquisition was announced. They were at 31.92 euros at around 0900 GMT on Thursday, implying a market capitalisation of about 15.6 billion euros ($18.15 billion), according to LSEG data. The companies said they had obtained competition clearances, and that the board of JDE Peet's fully supported the takeover and unanimously recommended shareholders accept it. Investors holding a combined stake of 69% had irrevocably committed to the offer, they said. ($1 = 0.8595 euros) https://www.reuters.com/business/keurig-dr-pepper-launches-all-cash-takeover-bid-jde-peets-2026-01-15/
2026-01-15 19:48
KRUGER NATIONAL PARK, South Africa, Jan 15 (Reuters) - South African authorities shut Kruger National Park on Thursday to day visitors, after several rivers that run through it burst their banks as the result of days of heavy rains, they said. Tourists already staying at lodges inside the park were permitted to stay, apart from areas around the Letaba river that were evacuated, South African National Parks said. Sign up here. Reuters TV footage showed vast areas of the park submerged by fast-flowing water, with treetops poking out of the floods and hippos swimming between them. Signs announced that roads were closed. Flooding in southeastern Africa has become more frequent and severe as climate change makes storms in the adjacent Indian Ocean more powerful. "This water's moving very fast," Kruger spokesperson Reynold Thakhuli told Reuters on the scene, next to a road that had been closed and was half submerged by running water, adding that authorities had shut the Phalaborwa gate, near Kruger airport. "We’ll close it for 24 hours and monitor what is happening." He added: "we're not really worried about the animals," because they tended to move to higher ground in such situations. South African tourist Gerhard Ackerman sat on the veranda of his lodge, overlooking the floods with a drink in his hand. "It's God's way of putting water back into the earth," he said. "We're enjoying it." https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/south-africas-kruger-national-park-shuts-after-severe-floods-2026-01-15/
2026-01-15 19:32
BRUSSELS, Jan 15 (Reuters) - NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte spoke to Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Thursday to discuss the latest Russian attacks on Ukraine, which have led to widespread power outages in the country. "Spoke with @ZelenskyyUa about the energy situation in Ukraine, with Russia's attacks causing terrible human suffering, as well as on the ongoing efforts to bring an end to the war." wrote Rutte on X on Thursday. Sign up here. "We're committed to ensuring that Ukraine continues to get the crucial support needed to defend today and ultimately secure a lasting peace." In his account of the conversation, Zelenskiy said he discussed the "serious challenges" posed by the latest Russian strikes and the need to bolster Ukraine's air defences. Writing on Telegram, Zelenskiy said he hoped supplies sent to Ukraine through its European allies by means of the PURL (Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List) programme would increase in January. Zelenskiy said "considerable progress" had been achieved in diplomatic efforts with the United States and Europe in resolving the nearly four-year-old war and pledged not to "ease up on pace". https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/nato-secretary-general-discussed-russias-attacks-energy-problems-with-ukraines-2026-01-15/
2026-01-15 19:22
The authorizations would allow crude exports, fuel supplies to Venezuela and debt recovery Trump's administration last year suspended most licenses, impacting exports Traders, refiners and producers including Chevron, Valero also pursuing licenses HOUSTON, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Several European partners of Venezuela's state-run oil company PDVSA, including Spain's Repsol (REP.MC) , opens new tab, Italy's ENI and France's Maurel & Prom (MAUP.PA) , opens new tab, have applied for U.S. licenses or authorizations to export oil from the OPEC country, six industry sources told Reuters. The requested terms are similar to those granted by Washington in past years, which allowed the companies to receive and export Venezuelan oil for their refineries and other customers, while supplying fuel to Venezuela through a debt-recovery mechanism, two of the sources said. Sign up here. The companies have not been able to export Venezuelan oil since the second quarter of last year, after the administration of President Donald Trump suspended the licenses. Repsol participated in a meeting last week at the White House, where Trump asked a group of oil companies to invest in Venezuela. Repsol and ENI declined to comment. Maurel & Prom did not immediately respond to a request for comment. When asked about Venezuelan license requests, a U.S. Treasury spokesperson last week said the department would not comment on specific authorizations, but Washington has said it plans to ease sanctions on Venezuela, imposed since 2019, following its capture of President Nicolas Maduro. PDVSA's European partners are involved in multiple projects in Venezuela and might need individual authorizations for each one. Some requests had been submitted months ago, while others were re-submitted in recent days, the sources said. U.S. oil companies, foreign refiners and global trading houses have also recently applied for Venezuela licenses, all of them related to the OPEC country's oil supplies, sources said. The petitions from the European companies follow a first group of two authorizations granted last week to traders Vitol and Trafigura, which allowed the first $500 million in oil sales, a government official said on Wednesday. At least two tankers have departed from Venezuela in recent weeks carrying the exports to terminals in the Caribbean, according to shipping data. Curacao's port authority said on Wednesday that one of the vessels arrived at the government-managed Bullen Bay terminal on the Caribbean island, where several trading firms lease storage tanks, local media reported. Caracas and Washington this month agreed to a 50-million-barrel crude supply deal, the first step of Trump's ambitious $100 billion plan to reconstruct Venezuela's dilapidated oil industry. Chevron (CVX.N) , opens new tab is expected to receive an expanded license from the U.S. government this week that could allow for increased production and exports from the South American country, Reuters reported on Wednesday. U.S.-based Valero Energy (VLO.N) , opens new tab, India's Reliance and traders Mercuria and Glencore (GLEN.L) , opens new tab have also been in talks for licenses from Washington to do business with Venezuela, industry sources said. Marathon Petroleum (MPC.N) , opens new tab confirmed in an email to Reuters that it was also in talks for a license. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/repsol-maurel-prom-applying-us-licenses-export-venezuelan-oil-sources-say-2026-01-15/
