Wagner Group linked to $2.5 billion in illicit gold trading — report
Globally, artisanal and small-scale gold mining accounts for about 20% of annual gold production.
Mining gear maker Epiroc reported operating earnings slightly below market expectations on Wednesday but forecast demand in the near term would remain at a high level.
The global mining industry – equipment makers as well as their customers – has benefited from rising raw materials prices while at the same time contending with climbing overall cost inflation, above all for energy.
Second-quarter operating profit at the Swedish company rose 9% from a year earlier to 2.38 billion crowns ($232.9 million) against a mean analyst forecast of 2.79 billion, according to Refinitiv data.
The profit included a provision of 400 million crowns related to Russia. Epiroc had previously announced it was suspending all deliveries to customers in Russia, which accounted for around 6% of the group’s total sales in 2021.
Order intake rose to 13.4 billion crowns, up 6% organically from the year-earlier quarter, and shares in the company rose 2.7% by 0952 GMT.
Sandvik, Epiroc’s top rival, reported earnings last week with its mining unit posting a 9% organic rise in quarterly order intake.
($1 = 10.2199 Swedish crowns)
(By Helena Soderpalm; Editing by Niklas Pollard)
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