India has swung back to being a net exporter of finished steel, a notable reversal after two years in which import pressure had become a major concern for domestic mills. Provisional government data show that in fiscal year 2025/26, which ended on March 31, India exported 6.6 million metric tons of finished steel, up 35.9% from a year earlier, while imports fell 31.7% to 6.5 million tons.

Crude steel production rose to 169.2 million tons, up 11.2%, and finished steel consumption climbed 8% to 164.2 million tons. Italy, Vietnam, Belgium, the UAE, and Spain were the biggest buyers of Indian finished steel, while South Korea, China, Japan, Vietnam, and Russia were the main sources of imports into India.

The sudden transformation of antimony from mining waste into strategically critical material illuminates how great power competition fundamentally reshapes resource valuations and industrial priorities. What prospectors once discarded while pursuing precious metals has become the object of frantic exploration, massive government investment, and contentious local battles, a metamorphosis driven entirely by geopolitical confrontation rather than technological innovation or market discovery.

Antimony’s journey from overlooked byproduct to national security priority reflects recurring patterns in how industrial economies value natural resources. Throughout history, materials have oscillated between obscurity and critical importance based on technological requirements and geopolitical circumstances.

Exxon Mobil announced its acquisition of U.S. rival Pioneer Natural Resources for about $60 billion, in a deal that positions it as the dominant player in the largest U.S. oilfield, securing a decade of low-cost production. The expected all-stock offer values Pioneer at over $250 a share, constituting the most…