Key transactions & industry news Weekly Update 11/14/2025

Metals & Mining

BHP found liable over Mariana dam disaster. Mining group BHP has been found legally liable for one of the worst environmental disasters in the history of Brazil in a landmark case brought in the UK over the 2015 Mariana dam collapse.

Glencore eyes cornerstone role in Chuangxin’s IPO, strengthening the Chinese aluminum industry. A new strategic investment has surfaced within the Chinese aluminum industry, with Glencore and Hillhouse Investment plans to acquire Chuangxin Industries during its upcoming IPO to be held in Hong Kong.

Major step forward for emissions-free aluminum smelting. Alcoa and Rio Tinto’s technology joint venture, ELYSIS, has successfully produced its first commercial-size inert anode cell at the Alma smelter, in Quebec, in what the partners describe as a first for emissions-free smelting technology at scale.

Guinea targets six alumina refineries by 2030 to end raw bauxite exports. Guinea is about to begin a new chapter with its first generation of alumina refineries, aiming to end decades of raw bauxite exports and finally capture more value at home. The government’s ambition is to have five to six refineries operational by 2030, giving the country a total processing capacity of around 7 million metric tons of alumina a year.

Century Aluminum shares fall after Glencore sells $275M stake. Century Aluminum Corporation’s shares tumbled sharply after reports emerged that Glencore, its key investor, sold a majority of its holdings in a large block trade. Reportedly, Glencore offloaded its 9 million shares of Century Aluminum at $30.65 each, generating gross proceeds of approximately $275.9M.

Transportation & Logistics

UP, NS shareholders overwhelmingly approve $85B rail merger. Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern cleared their first merger hurdle as shareholders overwhelmingly backed their deal to create the first transcontinental railroad. In separate votes, nearly 99% of NS shareholders and 99.5% of UP shareholders approved UP’s proposed $85B acquisition of NS.

PANYNJ proposes $45B capital plan, includes rail service improvements. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) proposed a record $45B 2026-2035 capital plan, calling for major investments across its infrastructure and subsidiaries, including the Port Authority Trans-Hudson (PATH) rail system.

Uber Freight enters last mile through Better Trucks partnership. Uber Freight is officially stepping into the last-mile delivery market through a strategic investment and partnership with last mile technology delivery platform Better Trucks.

NJ Transit to issue EOI in $917M fleet overhaul project. New Jersey Transit approved more than $917M, plus 10% for contingencies, to overhaul its fleet of 429 multilevel rail cars.

U.S. suspends port fees on Chinese ships. The United States Trade Representative officially announced the one-year suspension of port fees on China-built cargo ships docking at American ports.

Energy

Saudi Aramco to sign U.S. LNG agreements during crown prince’s visit to Washington. Saudi Aramco is set to sign two U.S. liquefied natural gas supply deals with Woodside Energy and Commonwealth LNG when Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman visits Washington.

Russia’s Lukoil in talks with potential buyers of its foreign assets. Russia’s second-largest oil producer Lukoil has been in talks with potential buyers of its foreign assets following last-month sanctions from the UK and the United States and as a deal with Gunvor trading house collapsed.

Adani Group to invest $7.17B in power projects in India’s Assam state. India’s Adani Group will invest about $7.17B in two major energy projects in the north-eastern state of Assam, including what will be the region’s largest privately built coal-fired power plant.

Oil settles up more than 2% as Russian port suspends oil exports after Ukrainian attack. Oil prices settled more than 2% higher as Russia’s port of Novorossiisk halted oil exports following a Ukrainian drone attack that hit an oil depot in the Russian energy hub, stoking supply concerns. Brent crude futures settled up $1.38, or 2.19%, at $64.39 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude settled up $1.40, or 2.39%, at $60.09 a barrel.

TotalEnergies agrees renewable power deal with Google for Ohio data centers. Oil major TotalEnergies has agreed a 15-year power purchase deal to supply Alphabet’s Google with 1.5 terawatt hours of renewable electricity from its Montpelier solar farm in Ohio.

Nuclear power will get the most Energy Department loans, Chris Wright says. Nuclear power will receive most of the money from the Energy Department’s loan office as the Trump administration pushes to quickly break ground on new reactors.

Others

Purdue Pharma wins court approval for $7.4B opioid settlement. Purdue Pharma won bankruptcy court approval for an opioid-related settlement of at least $7.4B, clearing a path for the OxyContin maker to exit its six-year bankruptcy and resolve mass lawsuits by governments, healthcare providers and individuals.

Anthropic to spend $50B on U.S. AI infrastructure, starting with Texas, New York data centers. Anthropic announced plans to spend $50B on a U.S. artificial intelligence infrastructure build-out, starting with custom data centers in Texas and New York. The facilities, which will be designed to support the company’s rapid enterprise growth and its long-term research agenda, will be developed in partnership with Fluidstack.