BLY Boart Longyear Group Limited

MARKET MOVEMENTS:

-- Brent crude oil is down 0.6% at $80.36 a barrel.

-- European benchmark gas is up 4.8% to EUR35.82 a megawatt hour.

-- Gold futures are up 0.5% at $2,079.20 a troy ounce.

-- LME three-month copper futures are up 0.6% at $8,619.50 a metric ton.

-- Wheat futures are down 1.2% to $6.29 a bushel.

TOP STORY:

Explosion Kills 19 at Chinese Nickel Smelter in Indonesia

At a Chinese nickel smelter in Indonesia, workers were undertaking routine maintenance at dawn when a massive explosion rocked the facility. Waste from a furnace had flowed out and hit flammable material, resulting in the deaths of at least 19 workers and injuring dozens more as hot steam hissed out and fire ripped through the building.

The incident on Sunday is the latest and deadliest in a string of industrial accidents in Indonesia's nickel sector, where a rapid expansion, led largely by Chinese companies, has made the country the world's top producer of the mineral. The toll raises concerns about safety standards as more Indonesian nickel--needed in ever-larger quantities to make stainless steel and electric-vehicle batteries--enters global supply chains, including those of Western automakers.

Indonesia mined half the world's nickel last year, up from a quarter in 2018, according to the United States Geological Survey. Around half of all nickel used in EV batteries last year came from the Southeast Asian country, up from somewhere between zero and 5% in 2017, according to CRU, a London-based commodities business-intelligence firm.

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OTHER STORIES:

India Dispatches Warships in Arabian Sea to Protect Commercial Vessels

The Indian navy has dispatched three guided-missile destroyers to protect commercial vessels in the Arabian Sea, after an attack last week on a chemical tanker off the Indian coast.

India's ministry of defense said that the vessels were sent "in various areas of the sea to maintain a deterrent presence." It also said military aircraft would patrol the area.

The warships aren't officially part of the multinational, U.S.-led naval task force put together in the Red Sea to escort commercial vessels, after a series of attacks by Iran-controlled Houthi rebels from inside Yemen on ships heading to the Suez Canal. The Houthis say the attacks are in retaliation for the Israeli military operation in Gaza that began in October.

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Boart Longyear Agrees to Takeover by American Industrial Partners

Drilling services company Boart Longyear has agreed to a takeover by American Industrial Partners Capital Fund VIII in a deal that values its stock at around $371 million.

The Utah-based, Australia-listed company said its directors unanimously recommend the takeover and that its five largest shareholders-who in aggregate control almost 99% of Boart Longyear's common shares-have agreed to vote in favor of the deal.

Under the agreement, shareholders Ascribe II Investments and Centerbridge Partners will receive $1.2351 in cash per share. First Pacific Advisors, Corre Partners Management and Nut Tree Capital Management will exchange most of their respective stakes for shares in an affiliate of American Industrial Partners Capital Fund VIII, in which they will have a combined 33% interest after the takeover occurs. They will get $1.9554 in cash for the rest of their shares.

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Anglo American Plans to Sell Stake in U.K. Mining Project, The Times Reports

Anglo American could be preparing to sell a minority stake in the Woodsmith fertilizer mine, in North Yorkshire, as it seeks to share the $9 billion development cost, The Times of London reported.

The FTSE 100 diversified-mining company is seeking to identify potential investors--which could be infrastructure investors, sovereign wealth funds or distribution companies--before starting a formal offer of up to 49% stake of the project, The Times reported.

Anglo American declined to comment on the news, but said that the company would consider a minority stake sale for the right value with the right partner, at the right time.

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MARKET TALKS:

Palm Oil Closes Higher, Tracking Soybean Oil

1019 GMT - Palm oil prices closed slightly higher, tracking soybean oil's gains on the Chicago Board of Trade, said David Ng, a trader at Kuala Lumpur-based proprietary trading company Iceberg X. However, estimates of lower Malaysian palm oil exports for Dec. 1-25 put pressure on prices, Ng added. Ng pegs support for CPO futures at MYR3,650 and resistance at MYR3,850. The Bursa Malaysia Derivatives contract for March delivery closed MYR3 higher at MYR3,766 a ton. (jiahui.huang@wsj.com; @ivy_jiahuihuang)

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Metals Rise Amid Boost in China Industrial Earnings

0846 GMT - Metal prices are rising, with increasing Chinese earnings helping to boost prices in muted trading. Three-month copper is up 0.6% to $8,619.50 a metric ton while gold is up 0.4% to $2,078.70 a troy ounce. Data from China showed that Chinese industrial profits rose 29.5% from a year earlier in November--a sign that the government's stimulus efforts are helping the country's economy. Meanwhile, worries over the wider global economy are helping to boost gold prices, given its role as a safe-haven asset. (yusuf.khan@wsj.com)

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Oil Edges Lower During Festive Trading

0838 GMT - Oil prices are edging lower with trading muted through the festive period. Brent crude is down 0.2% to $80.71 a barrel while WTI is down 0.3% to $75.31 a barrel. Major shipping firms including Maersk and MSC are returning to shipping routes through the Red Sea, despite the ongoing fighting in the Middle East. Prices climbed on Tuesday over worries that exports through the region would be constrained by the hostilities. (yusuf.khan@wsj.com )

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Iron Ore Prices Rise but Likely to Stabilize

0244 GMT - Iron ore prices are higher in early Asian trading but are unlikely to rise further, Nanhua Futures analysts say. Supplies of iron ore are increasing and demand is falling, the analysts add. Iron ore production is up as the year-end approaches, but demand for the steelmaking ingredient will likely decline since some steel mills released their repair plans. With stable inventories, there won't be much need to stockpile soon, the analysts say. The most-traded iron ore contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange rises 0.4% to CNY984.0 a ton. (jiahui.huang@wsj.com; @ivy_jiahuihuang)

Write to Barcelona Editors at barcelonaeditors@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 27, 2023 07:29 ET (12:29 GMT)

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