A group of international shareholders has urged Australia’s federal government and the governments of South Australia and Tasmania not to provide additional subsidies to Trafigura, which owns Nyrstar. The shareholders point to a Belgian criminal investigation involving Nyrstar NV that includes allegations of forgery, false annual accounts and misuse of corporate assets. Nyrstar’s Australian operations are losing $15 million per month, and Trafigura has warned it could shut the Port Pirie and Hobart smelters unless more funding is provided. Governments have already provided $240 million in public funding, but the shareholders say the legal risks remain, according to ABC News.

Ampol chief executive Matthew Halliday said the conflict involving Iran has exposed how vulnerable global fuel supply chains are, underscoring the strategic value of Australia’s two remaining refineries, Ampol’s Lytton and Viva Energy’s Geelong. He said the pair together supply about 20% of Australia’s fuel needs, and the federal government has extended fuel security subsidies through 2030. Halliday said oil exports through the Strait of Hormuz are beginning to recover, but renewed kinetic activity has left conditions fragile. The report said it did not identify any confirmed supply outages or an immediate spike in oil prices, and cited no new data or policy moves from bodies such as OPEC or the IEA.