Key transactions & industry newsWeekly Update 01/16/2026

Metals & Mining

Ghana advances plan for large-scale alumina refinery with proposal submission. An investor selection committee has been formed in Ghana that has delivered its findings on proposals to establish the country’s first large-scale alumina refinery, a development officials say could finally reverse decades of exporting raw bauxite while importing higher-value finished products at a premium.

AB InBev to buy back 49.9% stake in U.S. can plants to cut canned beer costs. Global brewing giant AB InBev is set to reclaim a 49.9% stake in U.S. aluminum can manufacturing plants under a pre-existing contractual right, tightening its grip on packaging operations as tariff and cost pressures continue to mount. The brewer owns a global brand portfolio led by Anheuser-Busch.

China identifies 183 million tonnes of bauxite resources at the huge Shanxi deposit. In addition to bauxite, the Shenjiazhuang project also discovered significant associated resources, including 198 million tonnes of coal (mainly coking coal), 69.5 million tonnes of hard clay, 13,000 tonnes of gallium, 4.34 million tonnes of Shanxi-type iron ore, and 2.03 million tonnes of iron pyrite, the report said.

VALCO’s smelter expansion plan to support 25,000 downstream jobs. The Volta Aluminium Company Limited (VALCO) announced the plan for expanding its smelter operational capacity to 40% from the current 23%. The initiative supports Ghana’s downstream value-addition chain, overcoming the limitations of exporting primary aluminum only.

China sets five-year targets for renewable resource recycling. Under the Action Plan for Promoting the Application of Recycled Materials, by 2030, China aims to achieve an annual recycling volume of over 300 million tonnes for steel scrap and 80 million tonnes for wastepaper, as well as annual production exceeding 25 million tonnes of secondary nonferrous metals and 19.5 million tonnes of recycled plastics.

U.S. bets $450M to save its last alumina refinery and rebuild gallium from scratch. The U.S. has launched an industrial tactic to save its last domestic alumina refinery while building out critical gallium capacity, conclusively deemed a dual move with strategic importance of both feedstock and advanced materials for defense, aerospace and high-tech sectors.

Transportation & Logistics

Taylor Express closure leaves drivers sleeping in trucks, employees jobless. Pittsburgh-based R&R Family of Companies abruptly shut down its trucking subsidiary Taylor Express earlier this week, laying off all employees and leaving some drivers stranded far from home with no company support.

Canada’s Titanium going private with a 40%+ bump in stock price. Canadian-based carrier Titanium Transportation Group is going private at a hefty premium to the company’s closing stock price.

Abilene Motor Express being absorbed into Swift. Abilene Motor Express, almost eight years after being acquired by Knight Swift, is being folded into the Swift Transportation segment at the company.

Canada port, DP World complete $178M modernization. Canada’s Port Saint John and terminal operator DP World announced the completion of the Atlantic seaboard hub’s $178M West Side Modernization Project. The three-way public-private partnership included investment of more than $54M in terminal infrastructure investments by Dubai-based DP World between 2022 and 2025.

STG Logistics files Chapter 11, charts path forward. The nation’s fourth-largest asset-based intermodal marketing company, STG Logistics, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in a New Jersey federal court. The pre-negotiated plan wipes out 91% of the company’s nearly $1B debt load and gives it $150M in new capital to support core business operations and to pay employees and vendors.

Army Corp OKs $1B Baltimore container terminal. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has issued a permit for construction of an all-new ocean container terminal on the site of a former steel mill that could eventually double container traffic through the Port of Baltimore.

Boeing’s airplane deliveries are the highest in 7 years. Now it’s about to pick up the pace. Boeing is set to report this week that it delivered the most airplanes since 2018 last year after it stabilized its production, the clearest sign of a turnaround yet after years of safety crises and snowballing quality defects.

Energy

U.S. judge allows Dominion offshore wind project to restart, a legal setback for Trump. A federal judge cleared U.S. power company Dominion Energy, to resume work on its Virginia offshore wind project, the third legal blow this week to President Donald Trump's anti-offshore wind agenda.

U.S completes first Venezuelan oil sales valued at $500M, U.S. official says. The U.S. has completed the first sales of Venezuelan oil that are part of a $2B deal reached earlier this month between Caracas and Washington, a U.S. official told Reuters.

Chevron expected to receive expanded Venezuela license from U.S. this week, sources say. Chevron, is expected to receive an expanded Venezuela license from the U.S. government this week that could allow for increased production and exports from the South American country, three oil industry sources told Reuters.

Environmental law group seeks probe of Meta's $27B Louisiana data center financing. U.S. environmental law group Earthjustice asked utility regulators in Louisiana to investigate the financing of a $27B Meta data center project, which Earthjustice says threatens to leave everyday homes and businesses on the hook for build-out costs.

Montenegro's EPCG and Masdar to explore joint venture for renewables. Montenegro's state utility EPCG and United Arab Emirates' state-owned Masdar will explore setting up a joint venture to develop large-scale renewable energy projects in the Balkan country, Montenegro's energy ministry said.

Canadian Natural in talks to buy Tourmaline's natgas portfolio, Globe and Mail reports. Canadian Natural Resources, is in talks to buy a $1B+ portfolio of natural gas properties from Tourmaline Oil Corp, Globe and Mail reported, citing two sources familiar with the negotiations.

Shell and Exxon's UK gas asset sale to Viaro Energy collapses. Shell and Exxon Mobil have halted a planned sale of ​natural gas assets in Britain's Southern ‌North Sea to British oil producer Viaro Energy, Shell said in a statement.

Others

FedEx sets financing, board for FedEx freight spinoff. FedEx has lined up financing and a new board for its FedEx Freight unit ahead of its planned spinoff of the freight-trucking division. FedEx said FedEx Freight has entered into a five-year, $1.2B revolving-credit facility and a three-year, $600M delayed-draw term-loan facility.

European defense companies in line to benefit from bulk of EU’s $105B Ukraine loan. The European Union said Ukraine must buy weapons and military platforms from European manufacturers under a new $104.8B loan, unless they aren’t able to supply what Kyiv needs.

Defense company Czechoslovak Group aims to raise $873M in Amsterdam IPO. European defense company Czechoslovak Group said it plans to list on Euronext Amsterdam in coming weeks, and that it aims to raise $873.3M as part of its initial public offering.

AbbVie strikes $100B investment deal with Trump, will lower Medicaid prices. AbbVie struck a deal with the Trump administration to invest $100B in its U.S. operations and lower Medicaid prices in exchange for tariff and pricing exemptions.