While Vedanta cheered over South Africa's recent court ruling against the Zambian government's liquidation of its majority-owned Konkola Copper Mines (KCM), Zambian officials rebuked the decision and denied the enforceability of the foreign ruling that determines the future of the country's largest copper smelting assets. The South Gauteng High Court on Tuesday July 23 granted Vedanta an urgent in...Read More
Ground preparation for a new copper smelter in Indonesia is in progress, with construction expected to begin in 2020, according to Freeport-McMoRan, one of the project's joint venture partners. The smelter is part of a package agreed by Freeport to extend the mining rights of its Indonesian unit PT-FI from 2031 to 2041. Under the terms of the agreement, PT-FI is committed to construct a new smelte...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Wednesday July 24 that are worth another look.While Vedanta cheered over South Africa's recent court ruling against the Zambian government's liquidation of its majority-owned Konkola Copper Mines, Zambian officials rebuked the decision and denied the enforceability of the foreign ruling that determines the future of the country's l...Read More
While Vedanta cheered over South Africa's recent court ruling against the Zambian government's liquidation of its majority-owned Konkola Copper Mines (KCM), Zambian officials rebuked the decision and denied the enforceability of the foreign ruling that determines the future of the country's largest copper smelting assets. The South Gauteng High Court on Tuesday July 23 granted Vedanta an urgent in...Read More
Ground preparation for a new copper smelter in Indonesia is in progress, with construction expected to begin in 2020, according to Freeport-McMoRan, one of the project's joint venture partners. The smelter is part of a package agreed by Freeport to extend the mining rights of its Indonesian unit PT-FI from 2031 to 2041. Under the terms of the agreement, PT-FI is committed to construct a new smelte...Read More
An overview of the minor metals markets and the reasons for any price moves.Read More
Key data from Fastmarkets' Wednesday July 24 pricing session in Europe:Key drivers The ferro-titanium market has stabilized after a run of losses and while there was one sale around $4.50 per kg and below the current range, it was in isolation, with most sources expecting a stabilizing in the market. The ferro-titanium market is establishing a price floor, with producer supply cited to be in...Read More
Key data from Fastmarkets' Wednesday July 24 pricing session in Europe:Key drivers The ferro-titanium market has stabilized after a run of losses and while there was one sale around $4.50 per kg and below the current range, it was in isolation, with most sources expecting a stabilizing in the market. The ferro-titanium market is establishing a price floor, with producer supply cited to be in...Read More
While Vedanta cheered over South Africa's recent court ruling against the Zambian government's liquidation of its majority-owned Konkola Copper Mines (KCM), Zambian officials rebuked the decision and denied the enforceability of the foreign ruling that determines the future of the country's largest copper smelting assets. The South Gauteng High Court on Tuesday July 23 granted Vedanta an urgent in...Read More
The first transaction of the week led to a fall in prices after a Turkish mill booked a mixed steel scrap shipment from the United States, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday July 24.Based in the Marmara region of Turkey, the mill bought a US-origin cargo comprising 21,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $294 per tonne, 22,000 tonnes of shredded material at $299 per tonne and 2,000 tonnes...Read More
A summary of Antofagasta's production results for the first half of 2019.IN BRIEF: First-half copper production of 387,300 tonnes was up 22.2% year on year because of higher throughput and grades at most operations, particularly at Centinela, where output rose by 36.8% to 141,900 tonnes. Production at the flagship mine Los Pelambres was up 13.4% year on year at 180,400 tonnes. First-half moly...Read More
Hopes that a US-China trade deal may be moving a step closer have given equities and US bond yields a slight boost this morning, Wednesday July 24, but the metals have not followed.Further evidence of slowing growth with disappointing US data out on Tuesday, which bodes ill for today's flash manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) data, are no doubt weighing on sentiment.The International M...Read More
The dramatic shift in the dynamics of the lithium market over the past four years has changed business practices and increased demand for price transparency. The dramatic shift in the dynamics of the lithium market over the past four years has changed business practices and increased demand for price transparency. Fueled by anticipated growth in the global battery market and the consequent price s...Read More
The Argentinian government will back moves toward price transparency in the lithium market, a senior official in the ministry of mining development has told Fastmarkets.The development of a globally accepted lithium price would help the Argentinian government to develop policy in the country, the country's undersecretary of mining development, Mariano Lamothe, told Fastmarkets recently."Today, the...Read More
Activity in the European hot-rolled coil (HRC) market has been limited over the past week due to high stocks at distributors and poor demand from end users, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday July 24.And demand is expected to slow down further in August due to traditional market cycle, with European steelmakers usually scheduling maintenances for the second half of summer and buyers preferring...Read More
German steelmaker ThyssenKrupp approved investment funds to build a 230,000 tonne per year chromium coating line for packaging steel at its Rasselstein site in Andernach, western Germany, it said late in the week ending on July 19.The new coating line will be a replacement for the current line, following a change in European Union (EU) regulations, with production capacity remaining approximately...Read More
China's hot-rolled coil sellers cut their prices on Wednesday July 24 amid weak demand, although some participants believe a rebound could take place in days due to ongoing production curbs in the northern region.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,830-3,850 yuan ($557-559) per tonne, down 50 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tianjin): 3,830-3,840 yuan per tonne, down 20 yuan per tonneSpot prices fell...Read More
The price of mesh-quality wire rod in Southern Europe continued to narrow upwards week on week on Wednesday July 24, with Italian mills looking to raise their offer prices ahead of the summer slowdown, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel wire rod (mesh-quality), domestic, delivered Southern Europe, was ?,?480-500 ($536-559) per tonne on Wednesday, narrowing...Read More
The domestic prices for hollow steel sections in both Northern and Southern Europe widened this week, with increases proposed for trading done after the summer break, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday July 24.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel sections (medium), domestic, delivered Northern Europe, was ?,?615-630 ($687-704) per tonne on Wednesday, widening downward from ?,?620-630 per ton...Read More
The price for rebar produced and delivered in Southern Europe was unchanged week on week, with Italian mills continuing their attempts to raise prices before the traditional August holiday period, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday July 24."We are chasing a demand that is lacking. Buyers are reluctant to place new orders until they have a clear perspective on the price direction," one Southern...Read More