Higher electricity prices have added to the production costs of chrome alloy, especially low-carbon ferro-chrome, during the week to Tuesday October 12, at a time when the market was already short of material with prices at multi-year highs.Fastmarkets assessed ferro-chrome 0.10% C, average 65-70% Cr, delivered Europe at $3.05-3.25 per lb Cr on Tuesday, up 7-15 cents (+3.6%) from $2.90-3.18 per lb...Read More
The phase-two concentrator plant at the Kamoa-Kakula copper mine in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is expected to begin full operations ahead of schedule in the second quarter of 2022, joint-venture partner Ivanhoe Mines said on Tuesday October 12."Construction of the phase-two concentrator plant is progressing very well... Based on the pace of the work completed to date, we now expect...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mixed at the 5pm close on Wednesday October 13, with zinc performing particularly well during the day's trading.The LME three-month price of zinc led the complex on Wednesday; it was up by 4.4% to $3,401.50 per tonne from $3,263 per tonne at Tuesday's close, after hitting an intraday high of $3,440 per tonne."LME fund managers turned bullish tow...Read More
Iron ore shipments from Australia's Port of Port Hedland rose by 3.1% in September from a year earlier, according to data released by the Pilbara Ports Authority on Tuesday October 12.The port on the northern coast of Western Australia exported 47 million tonnes of iron ore last month, compared with 45.6 million tonnes a year earlier. Last month's shipments were...Read More
Prices for almost all steel scrap grades continued to drop in Mexico in the week ended Friday October 8, with market participants indicating there was no end in sight for the price reductions.Some buyers have been applying gradual price adjustments on a weekly basis, while others made sharp decreases at the beginning of the month.More price reductions are being planned, with at least one major scr...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday October 12 that are worth another look.A sharp rise in electricity prices has forced Spanish stainless long steel producer Sidenor Aceros Especiales to suspend production, Fastmarkets has heard.The London Metal Exchange has...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices were down on Tuesday October 12 amid limited trading at Chinese ports, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $129.00 per tonne, down $6.03 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $130.17 per tonne, down $8.93 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $98.51 per tonne, down $7.08 per tonne65% Fe Brazil-origin fi...Read More
The two biggest ferro-alloys producers in Ukraine - Nikopol and Zaporozhye - are almost halving production of manganese alloys in October due to surging electricity prices, a source told Fastmarkets on Monday October 11.The Privat Group, which owns the facilities is shutting five of its 13 furnaces at Nikopol, cutting its monthly manganese alloys output to 35,000 tonnes, from 65,000 tonnes in Sept...Read More
Canadian junior miner Rock Tech Lithium plans to develop a battery-grade lithium hydroxide conversion plant in the German region of Brandenburg, it announced on Monday October 11.The company is also developing a junior spodumene project in Ontario, Canada. The total investment required for the conversion plant in Germany would be ?,?470 million ($544 million), the company said. Once operational,...Read More
Member mills of the China Iron & Steel Association (Cisa) cut their crude steel, finished steel and hot metal production rates in late September compared with the preceding 10 days, according to data published by the association on Monday October 11.September 21-30 outputCrude steel: 1.77 million tonnes per day, down 11.18%Finished steel: 1.86 million tonnes per day, down...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday October 11 that are worth another look.Global cobalt supply can't keep pace with surging cobalt consumption because its production is tied to copper and nickel mining rather than underlying demand, the chief executive officer of diversified mining company Eurasian Resources Group...Read More
Tsingshan Group has set its tender price for October-delivery high-carbon ferro-chrome at 9,995 yuan ($1,550) per tonne, the Chinese stainless steelmaker said on Monday October 11.The tender price was unchanged from what the eastern Chinese mill - the country's largest ferro-chrome buyer - had sought for September-delivery material, suggesting that it chose not to acknowledge a recent price surge...Read More
Power cuts remained a prominent factor in China through the third quarter of 2021 as the world's second-largest economy grappled with soaring coal prices and its own strict limits on energy consumption - put in place to help the country achieve carbon neutrality by 2060.An increasing number of factories - especially those in energy intensive industries - have suffered from curbs to their power usa...Read More
Spot prices for hot-rolled coil in China fell sharply on Tuesday October 12 after futures prices tumbled on potential increases in supply.Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 5,750-5,760 yuan ($891-892) per tonne, down by 110-130 yuan per tonne The most-traded HRC contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange shed more than 200 yuan per tonne, or 3.58%, on Tuesday, marking the biggest one-day loss sin...Read More
Deep-sea scrap import prices in Turkey have continued to increase due to strong demand from Turkish steelmakers, market participants told Fastmarkets on Tuesday October 12.Late on Monday October 11, a steel mill in the Iskenderun region booked a Baltic Sea cargo, comprising 34,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $463 per tonne and 2,000 tonnes of shredded at $478 per tonne, along with 4,000 tonnes of...Read More
Global cobalt supply can't keep pace with surging cobalt consumption because its production is tied to copper and nickel mining rather than underlying demand, the chief executive officer of diversified mining company Eurasian Resources Group (ERG) said.The issue at the heart of industrially mined cobalt supply is that it is almost exclusively a by-product of copper and nickel mining, Benedikt Sobo...Read More
Spot prices for hot-rolled coil in China fell sharply on Tuesday October 12 after futures prices tumbled on potential increases in supply.Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 5,750-5,760 yuan ($891-892) per tonne, down by 110-130 yuan per tonne The most-traded HRC contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange shed more than 200 yuan per tonne, or 3.58%, on Tuesday, marking the biggest one-day loss sin...Read More
Tsingshan Group has set its tender price for October-delivery high-carbon ferro-chrome at 9,995 yuan ($1,550) per tonne, the Chinese stainless steelmaker said on Monday October 11.The tender price was unchanged from what the eastern Chinese mill - the country's largest ferro-chrome buyer - had sought for September-delivery material, suggesting that it chose not to acknowledge a recent price surge...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices dropped on Tuesday October 12 amid weaker demand and increasingly bearish sentiment among market participants. Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 5,920-5,960 yuan ($918-924) per tonne, down by 20-30 yuan per tonneCost pressures resulting from elevated rebar prices - which are at historical highs - resulted in contractors in the construction sector reducing their procu...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mixed at the 5pm close on Tuesday October 12 amid concerns over inflation, and rising energy costs and power outages in China.The three-month price of aluminium continued its upward momentum during Tuesday's trading, closing at $3,068 per tonne, up from $3,064 per tonne on Monday.The lightweight metal hit an intraday high of $3,114.50 per tonne...Read More