Kazakhstan’s silver production drops
Kazakhstan’s silver industry is shrinking even as prices soar. Production has now declined for a fifth straight year, underscoring a widening gap between market value and physical output.
In 2024, 697.5 tons of refined silver were produced in Kazakhstan, the lowest figure since 2012. Over the year, production fell by 21.2 percent, reported the Energy Prom analytical website.
Between January and November last year, the country produced 567.5 tons of refined silver, which is 11.1 percent less than in the same period of 2024.
Exports tell a more complicated story. Silver exports declined by 9 percent in volume during the first ten months of 2025, yet export revenues climbed nearly 20 percent, reaching $581 million.
Indonesia: coal production cut plan risks lower state revenue
The discourse on cutting coal production has resurfaced amid the government’s efforts to safeguard state revenue and energy stability. Several experts argue that reducing coal output would not be an effective way to influence international coal prices.
Dr. Ardyanto Fitrady, a lecturer at the Department of Economics, Faculty of Economics and Business, Universitas Gadjah Mada (FEB UGM), noted that while Indonesia is among the world’s largest coal exporters, it does not possess the largest coal reserves.
Indonesia’s limited coal reserves, he said, are the main factor behind his assessment that production cuts would not have a significant impact on the global market.
UAE uses ai to guide oil production decisions
The UAE is now using artificial intelligence to guide production decisions in its oil and gas sector, replacing traditional simulation-based methods, a senior official said during the World Economic Forum in Davos on Thursday.
Speaking during the Factories That Think panel, the UAE’s Minister for Foreign Trade Thani Ahmed Al-Zeyoudi said the move marked a major step in the country’s adoption of AI, robotics and digital technologies across manufacturing, logistics, and energy sectors.
“Now we are applying AI. The AI tells us where to produce. We don’t need simulation engineers anymore to tell us where,” Al-Zeyoudi explained.
He said digitalization was also transforming the entire value chain, adding: “Digitalization and digital twinning are not only happening in factories, they are now across the entire value chain, from extraction and manufacturing to logistics, distribution and customs clearance.”
In Norway, gas production hits 12-month high
Norway’s natural gas output averaged 367.6 million cubic meters (12.98 billion cubic feet) a day (MMcmd) in December, increasing for the third consecutive month sequentially and marking last year’s highest monthly production, according to preliminary monthly production figures released Tuesday by the country’s upstream regulator.
Last month’s gas production exceeded the Norwegian Offshore Directorate’s (NOD) forecast by 2.9 percent and rose 1.5 percent from November, the NOD reported on its website. Year-on-year the December figure climbed 1.6 percent.
The Nordic country sold 11.4 billion cubic meters (Bcm) of gas in December, up 600 MMcm from November.
In 2026-27, agriculture Canada expects farmers to plant more canola, less pulses
Canadian farmers will plant more canola in 2026/27, while lowering their pulse and special crop area, according to the first supply/demand estimates from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada for the upcoming marketing year, released Jan. 21. Production for most Western Canadian crops is expected to be down on the year, given a return to average yields. Meanwhile, corn and soybeans are forecast to see production increases.
Crop rotations, moisture conditions, price expectations and input costs/availability will be the main factors determining seeding decisions, said AAFC.
BHP reports record first-half iron ore production
BHP Group (BHP.AX), opens new tab has accepted lower prices for some iron ore sales while it negotiates a 2026 supply deal with China, it said on Tuesday, as it reported record first-half production of the key steelmaking ingredient.
The Melbourne-headquartered miner also flagged a 20 percent jump in costs for its Jansen potash project in Canada.
BHP is hammering out annual contract terms with state iron ore buyer China Mineral Resources Group (CMRG). It flagged it is looking to sell more of its products in other markets.
“During negotiations, we continue to optimise product placement distribution channels and take actions within our operations to preserve operational flexibility and productivity,” BHP said in a statement. “This has seen some impact to realised price.”
The statement is a rare acknowledgement from the world’s biggest listed miner about the impact of its protracted negotiations with CMRG, which has been trying to extract better terms for Chinese steelmakers, in an unfolding scenario that will be closely watched by its peers. While BHP has been raising its production of copper, iron ore is still its biggest profit generator.
Sugar production 22pc high
All-India sugar production has reached 159.09 lakh tonnes as of Jan 15, a 22 percent increase over the same period last year, but the industry expressed concern over mounting operational and cash-flow stress due to the continued mismatch between cane prices and sugar realisations.
The jump is also due to the number of operational sugar mills having edged up slightly, with 518 mills currently crushing, compared to 500 mills at the corresponding stage of the previous season, according to the Indian Sugar & Bio-Energy Manufacturers Association (ISMA).
The association called for an early revision of the Minimum Selling Price (MSP) of sugar, aligned with rising production costs, saying it would be critical to restoring financial viability, ensuring timely cane payments to farmers, and maintaining market stability—without imposing any additional fiscal burden on the Government.