Tin premiums in the United States and Europe were subject to pressure in the two weeks to Wednesday July 1, with a wide backwardation in the metal's forward curve on the London Metal Exchange limiting business while a narrowing arbitrage window to import tin into China supported current levels. Covid-19 resurgence hinders US marketRenewed spot interest fails to stop falling Rotterdam premiumStrong...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday July 1 that are worth another look.Brazilian iron ore pellet producer Samarco is on schedule to resume operations by the end of 2020 despite health and safety measures taken to prevent Covid-19 from spreading among workers, the company told Fastmarkets on July 1.Industry associations up and down the steel and metals supply chain...Read More
The company describes its project as in the Bullfrog mine area, where Barrick Gold had produced 2.3 million ounces between 1989-1999, and said its claims included the northern third of the Bullfrog deposit."The new holes along with existing holes in the MH [Mystery Hill] area now provide much closer hole spacings that better define all resource classifications within a potential expansion of the B...Read More
McIntosh has been Rio's group executive of growth & innovation and health, safety & and environment since 2016.He joined Rio as an exploration geophysicist in 1987 and led the exploration team from 2011 to 2016, joining the executive committee in 2016.McIntosh has been the most public member of Rio's senior leadership team, regularly giving interviews and speaking at industry events.Most r...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday July 1 that are worth another look.Brazilian iron ore pellet producer Samarco is on schedule to resume operations by the end of 2020 despite health and safety measures taken to prevent Covid-19 from spreading among workers, the company told Fastmarkets on July 1.Industry associations up and down the steel and metals supply chain...Read More
The Toronto-based company reduced full-year opex per ounce and all-in sustaining costs to between US$410-$430/oz and $790-$810/oz, respectively, from the previous guidance of $450-$470/oz andRead More
Zinc concentrate treatment charges rose from an 18-month low in June 2020, with market shorts facing less of a rush to cover positions on the spot market.Fastmarkets' price assessment for zinc spot concentrate TC, cif China, was $160-180 per tonne on Friday June 26, up from $155-170 per tonne at the end of May.Spot supply of concentrates remained limited to just a few mines, predominantly in Austr...Read More
Industrial metal demand and energies demand will be much higher than the second quarter. World will never be in lockdown mode for the rest of the year. Cities, localities, districts may be locked down but never a nation. Demand for metals and energies will be there. Pace of demand will vary each month in every nation. Human have to live with COVID. Wearing mask and other precautions need to be t...Read More
Key data from Fastmarkets' pricing session in Europe on Wednesday July 1.Key drivers Persistently quiet trading activity in recent weeks has seen lower offer prices in the past week, with suppliers and buyers making tentative inquiries amid uncertain near term demand. All markets are now back at levels last seen in January 2017. Industry talk centers on cheaper offer prices from China into Europe,...Read More
Spot availability for cobalt hydroxide remained tight in late June, with many suppliers sold out for July cargoes and taking time to gauge how much material they will be able to offer in August amid shipment uncertainties from South Africa, sources told Fastmarkets this week.Fastmarkets' cobalt hydroxide payable indicator, min 30% Co, cif China stood at 65-67% on Wednesday July 1, unchanged since...Read More
An overview of the minor metals markets and the reasons for their latest price moves.Read More
Turkish steel producers have resumed their deep-sea scrap purchases for August shipments after achieving lower prices, sources said on Wednesday July 1.A steel mill in the Iskenderun region booked a US cargo, comprising 16,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $256 per tonne, 6,000 tonnes of shredded at $261 per tonne and 8,000 tonnes of plate and structural scrap (P&S) at $266 per tonne cfr. The cargo...Read More
China will ban the import of all solid waste from 2021 for environmental reasons, but ferrous scrap will not be affected by the move.Well-placed sources with deep knowledge of government policy told Fastmarkets on Wednesday July 1 that the ban - announced by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment a day earlier - does not affect imports of the steelmaking raw material.Import restrictions imposed s...Read More
There are many crosswinds for the markets to contend with this morning, Wednesday July 1, with better manufacturing data in Asia and interest rate cuts in China, but a deteriorating Covid-19 situation - especially in parts of the Americas - and raised geopolitical tension over Hong Kong.China's Caixin and Japan's manufacturing purchasing managers' indices (PMIs) climbed to 51.2 from 50.7 and 40.1...Read More
Spot availability for cobalt hydroxide remained tight in late June, with many suppliers sold out for July cargoes and taking time to gauge how much material they will be able to offer in August amid shipment uncertainties from South Africa, sources told Fastmarkets this week.Fastmarkets' cobalt hydroxide payable indicator, min 30% Co, cif China stood at 65-67% on Wednesday July 1, unchanged since...Read More
We learned from Dr. Daniel Bullard, CEO of Arcanum Alloys that they are looking to change the way that steel is manufactured. Arcanum Alloys has developed a breakthrough technology to drive revolutionary performance and margins in numerous metal alloy markets. They are currently commercializing two products that are using Surface-Optimized Diffusion Alloy technology (SODA). One is a stainless stee...Read More
We hit another milestone in June.Today, the count of COVID-19 cases here in the U.S. has officially risen above 2.5 million.Things can always get worse, right? Keep whispering that mantra under your breath, it'll help.If you're like me and trying to find any silver linings during this crisis, all you need to do is know where to look.Fortunately for me, the answer was sitting right behind me.A few...Read More
Key data from Fastmarkets' pricing session in London on Wednesday July 1. Key driversCobalt prices edge closer to $14 per lb while sellers revise price expectations in an effort to lock in spot sales after a protracted period of thin demand. Demand is still reportedly firmer than in April and May, on balance, made up of...Read More
From the low-price environment and lithium's extended supply chain to the emergence of standardized battery-grade compounds, here are the key themes that dominated the conversation among panelists during Fastmarkets' webinar on "How Covid-19 has affected lithium markets" on June 23.Lithium production unhinderedLithium production has been free from any significant disruptions caused by Covid-19, an...Read More
European producers of hot-rolled coil have achieved a transaction price increase supported by the lack of import offers and a degree of demand improvement, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday July 1.The definitive decision in the EU's safeguard measures review on June 30 will also support domestic prices, market sources said. The European Commission has decided to replace yearly country-specific...Read More