Only a week into his administration, Joe Biden seems to have adopted something of an "America First" policy. But unlike with the previous administration, it doesn't have anything to do with foreign relations or diplomacy. Instead, Biden wants to put America first in regards to manufacturing and energy policy. Earlier this week, he announced a plan to replace the U.S. government's vehicle fleet wi...Read More

Warren Buffett’s decision to take a position in Barrick Gold (TSX:ABX)(NYSE:GOLD) surprised many. Indeed, the Oracle of Omaha has been pretty vocal about his dislike for precious metals as an investable asset class. After all, a pile of gold isn’t that productive — it just sits there. A company, however, is able to produce more and more of a good, and create value. This...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday February 3 that are worth another look.ArcelorMittal Italia has resumed operations at blast furnace (BF) No2 and coke battery No9 at its Taranto steel plant in the south of Italy, the producer said on February 3.Rio Tinto...Read More

Treatment charges for both zinc and lead concentrates fell in the last week of January 2021, moving for the first time since November 27 last year, in Fastmarkets' latest assessments.Market sentiment played a large part in driving TCs lower, because even with most producers recovering from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on the mining of zinc and lead, significant tenders were concluded at sh...Read More

A summary of London Metal Exchange warrant premiums from across the globe for the week to Wednesday February 3.Please click...Read More

January's services PMI came in at 52, missing a forecast of 55.5 and down from 56.3 in December.It was the lowest reading since April 2020, albeit showing the ninth consecutive month of expansion, Marex Spectron's Alastair Munro noted.It followed Caixin's manufacturing PMI for January showing a loss of momentum earlier this week.Metals and mining equities closed collectively higher in Toronto.Glob...Read More

All the big iron ore miners have been sold down since hitting multi-years highs last month, with some of the selling almost certainly the result of profit-taking thanks to a better-than-expectedRead More

Treatment charges for both zinc and lead concentrates fell in the last week of January 2021, moving for the first time since November 27 last year, in Fastmarkets' latest assessments.Market sentiment played a large part in driving TCs lower, because even with most producers recovering from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on the mining of zinc and lead, significant tenders were concluded at sh...Read More

Mining revenues soared in Brazil during 2020 despite the Covid-19 pandemic, led mainly by higher iron ore prices and an increase in total production, Brazilian mining institute lbram said on Tuesday February 2.Revenues totaled 209 billion Reais ($38.7 billion) for the mining industry last year, up by 36% from 153 billion Reais in 2019, lbram reported. Iron ore contributed the most to that number,...Read More

Western Australia-based Atrico has advised parties in six mining-technology related deals in the past few years, including TSX-listed Constellation Software's January acquisition of Centric MiningRead More

"The pace of recovery that was noted at the beginning of October continued throughout the fourth quarter," Widing said this week."Demand in our long-cycle mining business was strong and we saw a sequential uptick in our short-cycle business. Consequently, organic order intake - excluding major orders - for the group grew by 3% year-on-year."Despite lower revenues in the wake of COVID-19, we delive...Read More

Market activity in China's UG2 chrome ore and ferro-chrome markets slowed down ahead of the country's Lunar New Year holiday, but the confidence in the near-term outlook continued to support the markets in the week to Tuesday February 2. Fastmarkets' chrome ore South Africa UG2 concentrates index, basis 42%, cif China settled at $169 per tonne on Tuesday, up by $4 per tonne (2.4%) from $165 p...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday February 3 that are worth another look.ArcelorMittal Italia has resumed operations at blast furnace (BF) No2 and coke battery No9 at its Taranto steel plant in the south of Italy, the producer said on February 3.Rio Tinto...Read More

Key data from the pricing session in Shanghai on Wednesday February 3.Key drivers Spot cobalt metal price jumps amid futures strength and a rally in the international benchmark metal price on February 2.Domestic refineries in...Read More

Turkish steelmakers continued to stay away from deep-sea scrap purchases on Wednesday February 3, expecting prices to fall again due to limited demand for rebar and steel billet, sources told Fastmarkets....Read More

Key data from Fastmarkets' pricing session in Europe on Wednesday February 3. Key drivers European titanium scrap markets resumed price increases over the week on tightening supplies. Both low and high tin content turnings are particularly hard to source, with other feedstock to make ferro-titanium, such as vacuum-grade and sponge, also pushing higher as alternative feeds are sought.Scrap price g...Read More

The Japanese export scrap market has bounced off the floor to record higher prices over the past week following an effort from suppliers to resist new sales, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday February 3.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel scrap H2, export, fob main port Japan, was ?36,000-38,000 ($343-362) per tonne on Wednesday, up by ?1,500-3,000 per tonne from ?33,000-36,500 per tonn...Read More

Mining revenues soared in Brazil during 2020 despite the Covid-19 pandemic, led mainly by higher iron ore prices and an increase in total production, Brazilian mining institute lbram said on Tuesday February 2.Revenues totaled 209 billion Reais ($38.7 billion) for the mining industry last year, up by 36% from 153 billion Reais in 2019, lbram reported. Iron ore contributed the most to that number,...Read More

Glencore's mining output dropped for most products in 2020, with increases in zinc, silver and gold being the exceptions.2020 output summary  The suspension of Glencore's Mutanda operations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Central Africa, was cited as the cause of a decline in cobalt and copper production. Cobalt production dropped 41%...Read More

Base metals prices on both the London Metal Exchange and Shanghai Futures Exchange were mainly weaker this morning, Wednesday February 3, with zinc prices bucking the trend. Silver's rally turn into a spike on Tuesday and stronger pre-market major western equity index futures this morning suggest equity markets are turning more risk-on again.While three-month tin prices on the LME were off the hig...Read More