The United States has expanded export restrictions on artificial intelligence (AI) chips produced by companies like Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), extending the controls beyond China to include certain countries in the Middle East. These restrictions, aimed at national security concerns, affect AI chips designed for machine-learning tasks, particularly Nvidia’s A100 and H100 chips.

Over the past three years, Australia has experienced a significant downturn in its exports to China, spanning a wide range of commodities. The imposition of trade curbs by China in 2020, including tariffs and unofficial bans, has taken a toll on various sectors, from luxury goods like lobster to vital resources like coal. These trade tensions were ignited when Australia called for an international investigation into the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic, further straining relations that had already begun to sour in 2018 due to Australia’s exclusion of Huawei from its 5G network.

Mining giants Rio Tinto and First Quantum Minerals have entered into a joint venture to develop the La Granja copper project in Peru. First Quantum has acquired a 55% stake in the project by paying $105 million to Rio Tinto and will be the operator. As part of the deal, First Quantum has committed to investing up to $546 million into the project, with a portion of the funds allocated to completing a feasibility study over the next two to three years. La Granja is considered one of the world’s largest undeveloped copper deposits, with significant potential for expansion.