Brazilian slab producer Companhia Sider??rgica de Pec?(C)m (CSP) has announced that it appointed Cl??udio Bastos its chief executive officer on Thursday February 1, with immediate effect.He replaces Eduardo Parente, who will join the company's board of directors.Bastos was previously financial director at Vale's Indonesian unit and in Vale's Singapore office. He was also...Read More

Demand and prices for Indian finished steel products are likely to be boosted over the coming year after the country's government announced stronger spending on infrastructure in its new budget, Metal Bulletin heard on Thursday February 1.India's budget allocation for infrastructure spending in its 2018-19 financial year, which begins in April, will rise to 5.97 trillion rupees ($93.65 billion), c...Read More

Ukrainian steelmaker Metinvest increased semi-finished steel output in the full year of 2017 by 22% year-on-year, to 2.76 million tonnes, mainly due to a rise in slab production, the company said in its latest report.Metinvest produced 1.34 million tonnes of slabs in 2017, up by 83% year-on-year, amid favorable market conditions - in particular, higher prices.The average annual price for CIS expor...Read More

Turkish billet prices have fallen over the past week because of the poor demand in the domestic and export markets and the lower costs for imported scrap, while demand for imported billet has recovered slightly, sources said on Thursday February 1.Metal Bulletin's weekly price assessment for billet imports into Turkey was $505-520 per tonne cfr on the day, down from the $515-525 per tonne of last...Read More

Bahrain rebar producer Unirol is planning to increase its rebar production capacity to 300,000 tonnes per year from 200,000 tpy, a company executive told Metal Bulletin on Thursday, February 1. The company also plans to start exporting rebar by 2019, mainly to the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) countries. Rebar demand in the Middle East is currently moderate, while most...Read More

Turkish domestic rebar and wire rod prices have gone down over the past week, on falling imported scrap costs and weak demand, sources told Metal Bulletin on Thursday February 1.Metal Bulletin's weekly price assessment for domestic rebar in Turkey was $550-565 per tonne ex-works on the day, down from the $570-580 per tonne of last week.The...Read More

Slowing spot demand caught up with the molybdic oxide and ferro-molybdenum markets this week, with prices dropping after suppliers cut their offer prices to book profits following a strong rally in recent weeks, sources told Metal Bulletin. Metal Bulletin assessed molybdic oxide prices at $11.80-12.00 per lb in-warehouse Rotterdam on Wednesday January 31, down 20 cents from Friday. The market...Read More

Subscribe, rate and follow us on SoundCloud, iTunes, YouTube, Google Play, Stitcher or RSS Feed!This week we’re talking cash, capital markets and industry trends in 2018. Matt is joined on the floor of the Vancouver Resource Investment Conference (VRIC) by Oxygen Capital founder and chairman Mark O’Dea to discuss the current state of the market and the recent rally in commodity...Read More

Summary of Glencore's production results for the fourth quarter and full year 2017.(Own-sourced output volume, year-on-year % change) Copper Q4: 363,200 tonnes, 0% 2017: 1,309,700 tonnes, -8% Zinc Q4: 262,800 tonnes, -14% 2017: 1,090,200 tonnes, 0% Lead...Read More

Battery recycling is a viable way to ensure sustainable supplies of lithium and cobalt, but scalability, collaboration and primary raw material prices will all be key to its success, according to Christian Hagel? 1/4 ken, Umicore's director of EU government affairs. "Closing the battery loop [is] more than just getting access to material. Recycling is a sustainable source of cobalt, lithium and ni...Read More

Key data from Metal Bulletin's Wednesday January 31 pricing session in China.Tungsten concentrates 65% WO3 in warehouse China RMB/tonne Key drivers: - Chinese tungsten concentrates offers rose amid low availability, with some miners leaving ahead of the country's February 15-21 break for Chinese New Year. - Appreciation of the Chinese yuan against the dollar has supported tungsten export prices, a...Read More

Brazilian iron ore export volumes rose by 5.29% year-on-year in January, according to figures released by national foreign trade ministry MDIC on Thursday February 1.Iron ore shipments amounted to 30.44 million tonnes, against 28.91 million tonnes in the corresponding month last year.Export revenues, meanwhile, dropped by 5.55% in the...Read More

The London Metal Exchange has appointed four market-makers to its 2018 market-making programme for its steel scrap and rebar contracts, it said in a notice to members this week.Three liquidity providers - Alpha Academic, Ferrometrics and Gerald Metals - were appointed on January 1, 2018, with...Read More

Iron ore prices remained largely stable on Thursday February 1 with transactions at Chinese ports and in the seaborne market being concluded at levels close to those a day earlier. Metal Bulletin's 62% Fe Iron Ore Index Today: $72.88 per tonne cfr Qingdao Daily change: down by $0.04 per tonne Month-to-date average: $72.88 per tonne Metal Bulletin's 58% Fe Premium Index Today: $59.59...Read More

Acacia Mining (LON:ACA), Tanzania's No.1 gold producer, said Thursday it had bought $2 million worth of options that protect it against lower gold prices in a fresh effort to offset the impact of a government ban on concentrate exports.The company, majority owned by Barrick Gold (TSX, NYSE:ABX), acquired 20,000 ounce of gold put options at a price of $1,320 an ounce. The contracts will expire...Read More

Brazilian prosecutors said Anglo American's (LON:AAL) sale of its 70% stake in the Amap?? iron ore operation in Brazil to Swiss group Zamin Ferrous in late 2013 was full of irregularities, suggesting the miner offloaded the asset to avoid paying for environmental damage caused by it.In March that year, the company had to halt shipments from Amap??, located in the namesake state in northern Brazil,...Read More

Over 1,000 miners at Sibanye-Stillwater (JSE:SGL) (NYSE:SBGL) Beatrix gold mine in South Africa were trapped underground as a result of a storm that knocked out power on Wednesday night.Storm knocked out power on Wednesday night, preventing evening shift workers from exiting the mine.Spokesman James Wellsted told Eye Witness News that sixty-four workers had been rescued overnight, but over 900 oth...Read More

The decarbonization of the transport industry played a huge part in the precious metals story in 2017 when palladium exceeded platinum for the first time in 16 years, Hunter Hillcoat told Metal Bulletin.Investec topped the Apex 2017 price prediction table for both the precious metals (97.9% accuracy) and iron ore categories (90.7% accuracy). "2017 was a good year for precious metals all in all but...Read More

Prices in the physical iron ore market were rangebound on Thursday February 1 amid uncertainties over Chinese policies aimed at cutting emissions.Key driversTalk that emerged a day earlier about the possibility of an extension of restrictions on blast furnace operating rates until May 15 in China's top steelmaking province of Hebei continued on Thursday.But according to the province's official mic...Read More

The seaborne coking coal market held steady on Thursday February 1 after a cargo fetched a higher price earlier this week and the flurry of transactions last week. Offer prices for premium low-vol materials were reported to be firm at around $220 per tonne cfr China, though there was no buying interest heard at this level. China's domestic coking coal prices are firm this week amid tight supply, s...Read More