A handful of recent cargoes of shredded steel scrap have successfully cleared through Chinese ports, raising hopes across the market that China may start to import more of this key material grade in the near future.Since China reopened its import scrap market in January, very strict standards have largely limited trades to high-grade heavy scrap (HS) from Japan and South Korea, and some parcels of...Read More

Seaborne iron ore prices rose on Tuesday May 25, on support from a trading activity recovery in the physical market, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $192.87 per tonne, up $0.45 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $194.49 per tonne, up $0.62 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $165.02 per tonne, up $1.55 per tonne65% Fe...Read More

High freight rates are pushing prices along the aluminium supply chain to multi-year highs, but there is one area where it is having the opposite effect: alumina.Alumina prices have been under pressure because of oversupply and high freight costs deterring buyers in China from importing despite low prices.Fastmarkets assessed its daily benchmark alumina index, fob Australia at $274.15 per tonne on...Read More

Base metal prices on the London Metal Exchange were little changed during morning trading on Tuesday May 25 from Monday's closing prices, with the complex consolidating following a month of peaks and declines.Nickel's three-month price, which recorded the highest rise in percentage terms among the base metals on Monday of 1.9%, was down slightly to $17,095 per tonne from its previous close at $17,...Read More

Sellers in China's domestic rebar market stopped lowering prices on Tuesday May 25, which led to a pick-up in end-user demand.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 4,900-4,920 yuan ($762-765) per tonne, unchangedThe stable prices encouraged contractors in the construction sector to replenish their inventories during the day. But transacted tonnages were not large because these buyers are not too bulli...Read More

The Shanghai Futures Exchange has allowed Glencore's Nikkelverk nickel brand to be physically deliverable as a registered brand against its nickel futures contracts as of May 21, the exchange said.Nikkelverk is a branded electrolytic nickel (Ni 99.80, electrowinning) produced by Glencore Nikkelverk, a wholly owned subsidiary of Glencore Canada, which has registered capacity of 80,000 tonnes, the S...Read More

The current bullish commodities market is mainly driven by a supply-demand mismatch during a pandemic instead of a super cycle, panelists said at the LME Asia Metal Seminar 2021 on Tuesday May 25.An energy transition is also driving demand and price momentum for some metals, they said."The [increased] metals price resulted from a disconnect between supply and demand, because demand for metals is r...Read More

Selenium prices in Europe have risen in the past two pricing sessions, against the backdrop of limited spot material availability and higher prices in China.Fastmarkets most recently assessed the price of selenium, 99.5% Se min, in-whs Rotterdam, at $8.20-9.20 per lb on Friday May 21, up from $7.90-9.00 per lb in the previous session two days earlier. The price was up by 10.2% from $7.40-8.30 per...Read More

The Cobalt alloy grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lbtrade log including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets publishes trades logs for its key price assessments and indices to bring more transparencyinto the markets it covers and the pricing process it applies.Fastmarkets...Read More

The Cobalt standard grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lb trade log including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets publishes trades logs for its key price assessments and indices to bring more transparencyinto the markets it covers and the pricing process it applies.Fastmarkets assessed Cobalt standard grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lb at 20.00-20.50...Read More

China-based Do-Fluoride Chemical Co will invest 300 million yuan ($46.67 million) to build a lithium-ion battery plant in the city of Nanning, Guangxi province, in southern China, it said on Tuesday May 25.The project will be led by Do-Fluoride, the Nanning municipal government, and the government of the Qingxiu district of Nanning, and will have an estimated annual production capacity of 20GWh.Th...Read More

Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange and Shanghai Futures Exchange were mainly positive on the morning of Tuesday May 25, with only SHFE lead showing significant weakness. Broader markets seem to have become more risk on again after US central bankers stuck to their dovish guidance.Asia-Pacific equities were firmer this morning, especially in China where government action has calmed inf...Read More

A summary of China's minor metals exports for April 2021.In brief China's exports of antimony declined in April amid weak overseas demand; buyers abroad were hesitant to place orders amid a downtrend in the material's price, according to market sources. Chinese shipments of gallium surged in April...Read More

In the first six months of fiscal 2021, Evolution Mining (ASX: EVN) banked over 50% of every ounce of gold it produced in terms of its EBITDA margins, posted a return on equity of 18%, and issued an interim dividend of US$247 per oz., or about 12% of its revenue, well above its peers."It's been all about a journey of trying to improve the quality of our assets and focusing mostly on margin and ret...Read More

Gold analysts are pointing to substantial levels of pent-up demand for mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity in the mid-tier and emerging producer space in the coming months as the world emerges from the pandemic crisis and people can conduct physical due diligence again.One of the hot picks tipped for acquisition is Orezone Gold (TSXV: ORE, US-OTC: ORZCF) and its Bombor?(C) gold development pro...Read More

Quite apart from being exactly the stoical leader we needed during WWII, Winston Churchill was surely the most quotable politician in history. His exhortations relating to the six-year conflict are legendary but Churchill also had some pithy observations about business."Some see private enterprise as a predatory target to be shot, others as a cow to be milked, but few are those who see it as a stu...Read More

This week's episode features Cameco's Q1 2021 conference call with president and CEO Tim Gitzel, who outlines the company's strategy as well as macroeconomic conditions facing the uranium industry. Gitzel sees a 'less certain' uranium supply as global demand for nuclear power increases. He also lays claim that Cameco is 'Canada's first net zero mining company.'All this and more with online editor...Read More

Local police confirmed on Monday that a senior manager of Rio Tinto's (NYSE: RIO; LSE: RIO; ASX: RIO) Richards Bay Minerals (RBM) was assassinated in South Africa's KwaZulu-Natal province, Zululand Observer reported.According to media reports, Nico Swart, RBM's general manager of operational services, was shot and killed on his way to work Monday morning. More than 20 high-calibre bullets were fir...Read More

First Cobalt (TSXV: FCC; US-OTC: FTSSF) has more than doubled its holdings in Idaho around its Iron Creek project, which the company describes as one of the few primary cobalt deposits in the world.The expansion, the second in a month, increases the company's land position to over 1,820 hectares thanks to an earn-in agreement into Phoenix Copper's (LSE: PXC) Redcastle cobalt asset.Redcastle is nex...Read More

Import prices for steel scrap in China were unchanged on Tuesday May 25, with the country's finished steel market crashing in response to a meeting held by the Chinese government on Sunday May 23 that put more emphasis on stability in the commodities sector.Fastmarkets' daily price assessment for steel scrap, heavy recycled steel materials, cfr China, which takes into account prices at ports in ea...Read More