Norway has awarded 47 oil and gas exploration licenses to 25 firms as part of its mature areas licensing round, Norwegian Petroleum and Energy Minister Aasland said on Tuesday. Each of the 47 drilling permits; 29 in the North Sea, 16 in the Norwegian Sea and two in the Barents Sea, will have multiple owners. Norway’s state-owned energy giant Equinor was the biggest recipient with stakes in 26 of the licenses. It will be the operator of 18 of them. 

Australia’s Arafura Rare Earths announced on Monday it signed a binding supply agreement with South Korean automaker Hyundai and its unit Kia to supply up to 1,500 tonnes of rare earth oxides per year. Neodymium-Praseodymium (NdPr) oxide, an element used in the making of electric motors for electric vehicles (EVs), demand from automobile companies has skyrocketed in recent years, spurring automakers to make hefty supply deals with miners.

Chilean finance minister Marcel introduced a tax reform bill that would increase copper mining royalties on companies that produce more than 50,000 tonnes a year, and raises taxes on bigger producers to fund the government’s proposed social programs and reforms.