SANTIAGO, June 25 (Reuters) - Workers at Codelco's Chuquicamata copper mine in Chile, the state miner's second largest by output, are threatening to walk off the job soon to protest plans to transform the century-old open pit into an underground mine, a union leader said on Monday.Four of the Chuquicamata's six workers' unions voted to go ahead with strikes, alleging the company's plans to overhau...Read More
China announced that it had terminated steel production in all the country's illegal induction furnaces by the end of June last year. The majority of the operators in China are primarily small size private mills that use low quality scrap to produce substandard rebar. These rebars are mixed with grade III (HRB400) rebar and sold at a discount to construction contractors. For a long period, the gov...Read More
The outlook for lithium continues to shine, with demand from companies that produce batteries to power electric cars, laptops and other high-tech devices, expected to increase more than thirtyfold by 2027, a new study shows.While the next nine years will drain less than 1% of the reserves in the ground, battery makers will need more lithium to support their production, which will boost demand fo...Read More
Acacia Mining (LON:ACA), Tanzania's No.1 gold producer, said Monday that parent company Barrick Gold (TSX, NYSE:ABX) has yet to reach an agreement with the East African nation's government to end a running dispute over taxes that has severely hit the miner's bottom line.Barrick, which has been negotiating on Acacia's behalf with the Tanzanian government for over a year, had said it would deliver...Read More
Seaborne pig iron has become relatively competitive versus ferrous scrap over the past year in most regions, and China is no exception. As the first chart below illustrates, the gap between the MBR's proxy for imported pig iron price in China and the Metal Bulletin's Chinese domestic heavy melt scrap price assessment had shrunk by late 2017. The premium averaged $17 per tonne this year to date, co...Read More
BHP's Escondida, the world's largest copper mine, has an uncertain future as the contract between the main miners' union and majority owner BHP is supposed to expire next month.The union demanded a bonus of around $34,000 and a 5% general wage increase for each worker. The two parties have been negotiating since last year. The higher copper prices, due to fears that Escondida workers would go on s...Read More
The closure of some induction furnaces in China in 2016 followed by the government's crackdown on all unlicensed IFs in mid-2017 freed up some scrap volumes, albeit arguably of low-quality material. Chinese domestic scrap prices came under pressure from the increased supply, which prevented them from keeping pace with the rise in steel and other raw material markets in the fourth quarter of 2016;...Read More
About a year ago, metallurgical coal embarked on a long journey of great volatility and disruption. It emerged as the best performing commodity in 2016 after several years of declining prices. Prices have dropped and spiked several times since then and the volatility continued in 2017 with a cyclone disrupting the market and eventually also affecting the way the commodity is priced. Although therm...Read More
The past year, soaring metallurgical coal prices have greatly affected the costs involved in producing pig iron, a form of crude iron which is the product of the blast furnace. Metal Bulletin Research's Global Steel Cost Service details how coking coal and coke costs usually averaged around 35% of total pig iron production expenditure in 2014 and 2015 while iron ore stood for the majority of costs...Read More
SHANGHAI, Jun 26 (SMM) – This is a roundup of global macroeconomic news last night and what is expected today.Last nightThe US dollar index dipped overnight on risk aversion and closed at 94.3. News reports suggested that companies with 25% or more Chinese ownership may be banned from buying US businesses with “industrially significant technology”.Base metals fell across the boar...Read More
SHANGHAI, Jun 25 (SMM) – Nonferrous metals futures saw mixed trading on Monday June 25 as the decision of China’s central bank to cut the required reserve ratio (RRR) by 0.5 percentage point provided only limited support. SHFE lead gained over 1.1%, nickel rose 0.72%, while zinc slumped over 1.8%. Other base metals inched down.In the ferrous market, iron ore jumped nearly 2%, coking co...Read More
SHANGHAI, Jun 25 (SMM) – Spot copper was mostly offered at a discount of 180-110 over the SHFE 1807 contract in the Shanghai market on Monday June 25. This compared with a discount of 160-110 yuan/mt on Friday June 22.The SHFE 1807 contract gained 360 yuan/mt to a high at 51,930 yuan/mt in the morning as China's central bank said it will cut the required reserve ratio by 0.5 percentage p...Read More
SHANGHAI, Jun 25 (SMM) – China's copper scrap imports in May declined 33.3% from a year ago to stand at 210,000 mt, data released by China Customs on Saturday June 23 showed. This compared with a year-on-year drop of 36.7% recorded in April, and brought copper scrap imports from January to May to 950,000 mt. China's stricter inspections of all US-imported scrap from Ma...Read More
SHANGHAI, Jun 25 (SMM) –Copper: LME copper continued to consolidate around the $6,800/mt level last Friday, while the SHFE 1808 contract hovered within a narrow range. The liquidity brought by China’s reserve requirement ratios (RRR) cut is likely to ease the pressure at the 51,500 yuan/mt level for SHFE copper price. The SHFE 1808 contract is likely to rebound in near term. Spot disco...Read More
The London Metal Exchange will introduce three regional hot-rolled coil contracts at the start of 2019, coinciding with a change in attitude towards risk management tools for the ferrous sector, according to the exchange's business development manager. The contracts are aimed at the domestic markets in the United States and in Europe as well as the Chinese export market, said Marko Kusigerski...Read More
Turkish deep-sea scrap markets remained quiet on Monday June 25 due to the uncertainty in the market following the general elections in Turkey.Preliminary results from Turkey's presidential election on Sunday June 24 gave Recep Tayyip Erdogan a commanding lead, while his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) failed to win majority of the 600 parliamentary seats. However, the 'People's Al...Read More
Eurasian Resources Group (ERG) plans to boost output of alumina powders to meet growing demand in the 3D printing sector.The natural resources group is planning a pilot scheme for the manufacturing of 3D-printed components after completing a study into the production of alumina powders using alumina mined at its operations in Kazakhstan."At the moment only about 2,000 tonnes of powders for 3D...Read More
Comex copper prices started another week in negative territory with global trade volatility preventing a recovery. Copper for July settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange dipped 1.40 cents or 0.5% to $3.0130 per lb. Volatile global trading conditions continue to dampen investment after the United States' most recent announcement of a 20% import tariff on EU car im...Read More
The latest metal markets news and price moves to start the North American day on Monday June 25.Zinc prices on the London Metal Exchange fell 1.2% during morning trading on Monday June 25, hindered by tight spreads, a broadly strong dollar and escalating trade tensions between China and the United States.Here is how the LME base metals complex looked at 12:21pm London time:For...Read More