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October 8, 2025

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Metro Mining

Investing 5 Mins Read

Investor Insight

Metro Mining is one of the few pure-play upstream bauxite companies globally listed on a stock exchange. As a direct exposure to the aluminum sector, Metro offers investors a unique opportunity to benefit from rising global demand driven by industrial applications and growth areas such as electrification, batteries, renewable energy, and lightweight transportation solutions.

Overview

Metro Mining (ASX:MMI) is a low-cost, high-grade Australian bauxite producer with its 100-percent-owned Bauxite Hills mine located 95 km north of Weipa on the Skardon River, Queensland. The mine forms part of a tenement package covering ~1,900 sq km.

Bauxite Hills Mine

As at 31 December 2024, Bauxite Hills contained 114.4 Mt of ore reserves, supporting an ~11-year mine life, with additional mineral resources extending mine life by roughly five years.

Following the infrastructure expansion commissioned in late 2023, the operation is ramping up production during 2025 and remains on track to deliver 6.5 to 7 WMtpa by year end. This positions Metro as one of the lowest-cost global bauxite producers.

The aluminum sector continues to see rising demand growth of around 3 to 4 percent annually, supported by EV manufacturing, renewable energy infrastructure, battery production and lightweight transportation. Market conditions have been strengthened by instability in Guinea, where government actions and weather disruptions have curtailed exports, creating supply uncertainty and reinforcing the importance of reliable Australian producers.

Company Highlights

  • Metro Mining’s flagship asset, the Bauxite Hills mine (BHM) in Skardon River, located 95 km north of Weipa in Cape York Peninsula Queensland, benefits from proximity to Asian markets, short haul distances, and a highly scalable, low-cost marine transportation system, ensuring industry-leading operating margins.
  • Production ramp-up continuing in 2025 following infrastructure expansion in late 2023. August 2025 shipments reached 753,101 WMT, up 6 percent year-on-year, with year-to-date production of 3.4 Mt, keeping the company on track for its 6.5 to 7 million WMT per annum CY2025 target.
  • Targeting a delivered bauxite cost below US$30 per dry ton CIF China, positioning the company firmly within the lowest quartile of global producers.
  • End of Q2 2025: Cash balance of AU$28.7 million, secured debt of US$56.6 million, and full-year hedged position at 0.63 US$:A$.
  • Ore reserves of 77.7 Mt underpinning ~11 years of mine life, with additional mineral resources providing ~five more years
  • Metro Mining maintains robust environmental and social governance, evidenced by receiving the Association of Mining and Exploration Companies’ 2024 Environment Award.

Key Project

Bauxite Hills Mine (Queensland, Australia)

Metro Mining’s flagship asset, the Bauxite Hills mine, is located on the Skardon River, about 95 kilometres north of Weipa in Queensland. The mine is underpinned by 114.4 Mt of ore reserves as at 31 December 2024, providing approximately 11 years of production, with further Mineral Resources extending mine life by around five years.

Bauxite Hills is a straightforward, low-cost DSO operation. The orebody requires no blasting, with only ~0.5 metres of overburden to remove, and short average haul distances of nine kilometres. Ore is screened to below 100 millimetres and hauled to the barge loading facility, where it is transported via tugs and barges to offshore transhippers for loading onto Capesize vessels bound for Asian markets. This efficient marine logistics chain enables Metro to remain in the lowest quartile of global cost producers.

Production continues to build steadily. In Q2 2025, the mine shipped a record 1.9 Mt, generating site EBITDA of AU$54 million and a margin of AU$32 per tonne. In August 2025, shipments reached 753,101 tonnes, a six percent increase from the prior year, with 3.4 Mt shipped year-to-date, putting the mine firmly on track to meet its 2025 target of 6.5 to 7 Mt.

Metro has established offtake agreements with leading global alumina and aluminum producers, including Chalco, Emirates Global Aluminium, Xinfa Aluminium and Shandong Lubei Chemical. To support growth beyond 2025, debottlenecking and optimisation studies are underway to enable potential expansion to 8 Mtpa beyond 2026.

The company is also advancing exploration in surrounding lateritic bauxite terraces. Drilling campaigns are planned across EPM 27611, EPM 16755, EPM 25879 and EPM 26982 during the second half of 2025, with approximately 150 holes scheduled.

In addition, Bauxite Hills hosts a significant kaolin deposit beneath the bauxite ore. Metro is progressing a feasibility study to assess extraction potential, market strategies and product testing, with applications in ceramics, paper, paints and industrial uses.

Management Team

Simon Wensley – CEO and Managing Director

Simon Wensley is a proven industry leader with extensive experience in mining operations and strategic growth. He spent 20 years at Rio Tinto in various operational, project and leadership roles across commodities, including iron ore, industrial minerals, bauxite, alumina, coal and uranium.

Douglas Ritchie – Non-Executive Chair

Douglas Ritchie brings more than 40 years’ experience in resources, previously holding senior leadership roles at Rio Tinto, including CEO of Rio Tinto Coal Australia, chief executive of the Energy Product Group, and group executive of strategy.

Nathan Quinlin – CFO

Nathan Quinlin is experienced in financial strategy and cost optimization, previously serving as finance and commercial manager at Glencore’s CSA mine, managing finance, risk management and life-of-mine planning.

Gary Battensby – General Manager and Site Senior Executive

Gary Battensby has extensive experience in managing large-scale metalliferous mining operations, budget control and regulatory compliance. He previously oversaw teams of up to 350 staff and operations with substantial CAPEX and operational responsibilities.

Vincenzo De Falco – General Manager, Marine Supply & Logistics

With over 15 years of global experience in the shipping and maritime industry, including at IMC and Louis Dreyfus Armateurs, Vincenzo De Falco is leading the Metro Marine Team to manage BHM transhipping logistics, including new Floating Crane Terminal (Ikamba) as well as Tug Mandang.

This post appeared first on investingnews.com

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Politics

Comey to be arraigned in federal court after being indicted for alleged false statements, obstruction

Politics 4 Mins Read

Former FBI Director James Comey will be arraigned in federal court Wednesday morning after being indicted on charges of alleged false statements and obstruction of a congressional proceeding.

Comey has said he is innocent.

The former FBI director is set to have his first court appearance at 10 a.m. Eastern Time in the Albert V. Bryan United States Courthouse in the Eastern District of Virginia.

The judge presiding over the hearing is District Judge Michael S. Nachmanoff.

Comey was indicted in September by a federal grand jury on two counts: alleged false statements within jurisdiction of the legislative branch and obstruction of a congressional proceeding.

The indictment alleges that Comey obstructed a congressional investigation into the disclosure of sensitive information in violation of 18 USC 1505.

The indictment also alleges Comey made a false statement when he stated he did not authorize someone at the FBI to be an anonymous source. According to the indictment, that statement was false.

Fox News Digital exclusively reported in July that Comey was under criminal investigation by the FBI. The probe into Comey centered on whether he lied to Congress during his Sept. 30, 2020, testimony about his handling of the original Trump–Russia probe at the FBI, known inside the bureau as ‘Crossfire Hurricane.’

‘No one is above the law,’ Attorney General Pam Bondi said on X after the indictment, adding that it ‘reflects this Department of Justice’s commitment to holding those who abuse positions of power accountable for misleading the American people. We will follow the facts in this case.’

FBI Director Kash Patel said ‘previous corrupt leadership and their enablers weaponized federal law enforcement, damaging once proud institutions and severely eroding public trust.’

‘Every day, we continue the fight to earn that trust back, and under my leadership, this FBI will confront the problem head-on,’ Patel said. ‘Nowhere was this politicization of law enforcement more blatant than during the Russiagate hoax, a disgraceful chapter in history we continue to investigate and expose.’

He added: ‘Everyone, especially those in positions of power, will be held to account – no matter their perch.’

Comey, after being indicted, posted an Instagram video, denying the allegations.

‘My family and I have known for years that there are costs to standing up to Donald Trump, but we couldn’t imagine ourselves living any other way,’ he said. ‘We will not live on our knees, and you shouldn’t either. Somebody that I love dearly recently said that fear is the tool of a tyrant, and she’s right.’

‘But I’m not afraid,’ Comey added.

‘My heart is broken for the Department of Justice, but I have great confidence in the federal judicial system and I am innocent, so let’s have a trial and keep the faith,’ Comey said.

Fox News Digital also exclusively reported that former CIA Director John Brennan is under criminal investigation related to the Trump–Russia probe. 

Under federal law, prosecutors have five years to bring a charge, with the five-year mark occurring Tuesday.

The case is being handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.

The FBI opened its Trump-Russia probe in July 2016, known inside the bureau as ‘Crossfire Hurricane.’ 

President Donald Trump, during his first term, fired Comey in May 2017. 

Days later, Robert Mueller was appointed special counsel to take over the FBI’s original ‘Crossfire Hurricane’ investigation.

After nearly two years, former Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, which concluded in March 2019, yielded no evidence of criminal conspiracy or coordination between the Trump campaign and Russian officials during the 2016 presidential election.

Shortly after, John Durham was appointed as special counsel to investigate the origins of the ‘Crossfire Hurricane’ probe.

Durham found that the FBI ‘failed to act’ on a ‘clear warning sign’ that the bureau was the ‘target’ of a Clinton-led effort to ‘manipulate or influence the law enforcement process for political purposes’ ahead of the 2016 presidential election.

‘The aforementioned facts reflect a rather startling and inexplicable failure to adequately consider and incorporate the Clinton Plan intelligence into the FBI’s investigative decision-making in the Crossfire Hurricane investigation,’ Durham’s report states.

‘Indeed, had the FBI opened the Crossfire Hurricane investigation as an assessment and, in turn, gathered and analyzed data in concert with the information from the Clinton Plan intelligence, it is likely that the information received would have been examined, at a minimum, with a more critical eye,’ the report continued.

Durham, in his report, said the FBI ‘failed to act on what should have been — when combined with other incontrovertible facts — a clear warning sign that the FBI might then be the target of an effort to manipulate or influence the law enforcement process for political purposes during the 2016 presidential election.’

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS

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Business

Paramount acquires Bari Weiss’ The Free Press, naming her the top editor of CBS News

Business 3 Mins Read

The newly formed media corporation Paramount Skydance has acquired The Free Press, an online news and commentary outlet co-founded by Bari Weiss, who will join CBS News as editor-in-chief.

Weiss launched The Free Press in 2021 with her wife, Nellie Bowles, and her sister, Suzy Weiss. They have presented the publication as a heterodox alternative to the legacy news media and a bulwark against “ideological narratives,” particularly on the political left.

Bari Weiss in New York in 2024.Noam Galai / Getty Images for The Free Press file

The acquisition is one of Skydance chief David Ellison’s most significant early moves to reshape the news unit at Paramount, which he acquired in a blockbuster $8 billion deal earlier this year.

In seeking federal approval of the merger, Skydance vowed to embrace “diverse viewpoints” and represent “the varied ideological perspectives of American viewers.” The company also pledged to install an ombudsman at the nearly 100-year-old CBS News operation.

“This partnership allows our ethos of fearless, independent journalism to reach an enormous, diverse, and influential audience,” Weiss said in a news release. “We honor the extraordinary legacy of CBS News by committing ourselves to a singular mission: building the most trusted news organization of the 21st Century.”

The Free Press has roughly 1.5 million subscribers on Substack, with more than 170,000 of them paid, according to Paramount Skydance. The Financial Times estimated that the publication generates more than $15 million in annual subscription revenue. NBC News has not independently verified that figure.

“Bari is a proven champion of independent, principled journalism, and I am confident her entrepreneurial drive and editorial vision will invigorate CBS News,” Ellison said in a statement. “This move is part of Paramount’s bigger vision to modernize content and the way it connects — directly and passionately — to audiences around the world.”

The acquisition talks between Ellison and Weiss were first reported in late June by Status, a media industry newsletter. Ellison is the son of billionaire tech mogul Larry Ellison, the co-founder of the software firm Oracle.

Weiss co-founded The Free Press after quitting the opinion section of The New York Times. In a resignation letter that was published online, Weiss decried what she characterized as the “illiberal environment” at the newspaper.

The Free Press earned wide attention in April 2024 after it published an essay from Uri Berliner, a senior business editor at National Public Radio who accused his employer of organizing around a “progressive worldview.” Berliner then resigned from NPR and joined The Free Press.

The publication’s regular stable of columnists includes Tyler Cowen, an economist and podcaster; Matthew Continetti, the author of a book about the evolution of American conservatism; and Niall Ferguson, a British-American historian.

CBS News has repeatedly found itself in the national spotlight in recent months. President Donald Trump filed a lawsuit last year against Paramount accusing “60 Minutes” of deceptively editing an interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris.

CBS denied the claim. Paramount settled Trump’s lawsuit for $16 million.

The Federal Communications Commission is still investigating whether CBS engaged in “news distortion.” The commission is chaired by Brendan Carr, who was appointed by Trump at the start of his second term.

This post appeared first on NBC NEWS

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