Mining’s old guard needs strong medicine
A new report details subpar investor returns in the mining industry over the last decade, particularly big cap diversified companies which have not adapted to new realities.
Norwegian energy market regulator RME on Friday said it had fined Swedish miner Boliden 5 million Norwegian crowns ($450,000) for market manipulation and attempted market manipulation in 2021.
“In very simplified terms, you could say that Boliden has offered a product in the power market that they were unable to deliver,” RME Director Tore Langset said in a statement.
According to RME, the mining and smelting group had later increased its offer price to cover up its actions, but the regulator added that it did not believe Boliden had acted with a profit motive.
“The company has violated the prohibition against attempted market manipulation by submitting too high a price when bidding in the regulating power market, for a volume the company was unable to deliver,” the RME said.
Boliden’s behaviour had reduced the earnings of other players in the Norwegian Manual Frequency Restoration Reserve’s (MFRR) regulating power option market (RKOM), according to the RME.
“We have explained our views on the matter to the authorities, and it is important for us to be clear that we have never tried to manipulate the market, something RME has not accused us of, or concluded,” a Boliden spokesperson said.
($1 = 11.1164 Norwegian crowns)
(By Louise Breusch Rasmussen; Editing by Terje Solsvik)
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