Recently announced changes to operating practices at coal rail freight operator Aurizon are affecting available rail capacity, Australian coal producer Wesfarmers said on Wednesday February 21.On February 12, Aurizon announced that it expected throughput to be reduced by 20 million tonnes per year while it sought to introduce changes to its operating practices and business decisions.The changes we...Read More

German steelmakers have settled their monthly scrap contracts for February with an average price increase of ?,?15 ($18) per tonne, sources told Metal Bulletin.Metal Bulletin's monthly price assessment for domestic grade-E3 scrap in Germany for February was ?,?265-280 ($326-345) per tonne delivered, down from ?,?280-295 per tonne delivered in January.The decrease was mainly driven by a decline...Read More

Iron ore prices slid on Thursday February 22 but stayed above $78 per tonne cfr China with market participants still on the sidelines despite returning from their Chinese New Year break. Metal Bulletin's 62% Fe Iron Ore Index Today: $78.20 per tonne cfr Qingdao Daily change: down by $0.23 per tonne Month-to-date average: $76.92 per tonne Metal Bulletin's 58% Fe Premium Index Today: $61.56 per tonn...Read More

Unfavorable weather conditions in Queensland, Australia have left buyers of seaborne coking coal anxious about how they might affect supply, though some services on the state's coal rail network have been restarted following recent disruptions.Some sections of the Goonyella line in the Central Queensland Coal System were re-opened to traffic on Thursday February 22 following track inspections this...Read More

Action to reduce high electricity costs for UK industrial users could boost domestic ferrous scrap consumption at UK steel mills, senior UK steel executives said this week. "We have a raw material in this country, which is steel scrap, and we're all consumers of that scrap, but 70% of it is being exported," Chris Hagg, head of external affairs at long steel producer Celsa Steel UK, said. Hagg was...Read More

Participants of the seaborne iron ore market continued to sit on the sidelines on Thursday February 22, the first working day in China after its weeklong Chinese New Year break, which kept prices rangebound.Key drivers Many are staying put to see how the market develops now that the holiday is over. Inquiries continued to center on high-grade fines as well as lumps, such as Carajas fines, Newman f...Read More

Nyrstar places the zinc concentrate market at a "turning point" and expects treatment charges (TCs) to increase in 2018, chief executive officer of Nyrstar, Hilmar Rode, said in a conference call after the company released its annual results today.Lower TCs and conservative hedging arrangements weighed on Nyrstar's 2017 profits, which rose just 5% on an annual basis to ?,?206 million ($253.74 mill...Read More

Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were lower across the board during morning trading on Thursday February 22, with a sell-off taking place following China's return to the market.Prices rallied at the LME close on Wednesday despite thin volumes and a lack of drivers, but this morning all gains were undone. Nickel is in its usual cycle of plummeting significantly just hours after stagi...Read More

Key data from the Wednesday February 21 pricing session in London.Cadmium min 99.95% MB free market Cts per lb cif global main port Cadmium min. 99.99% MB free market Cts per lb cif global main port...Read More

Good morning from Metal Bullet's London office, bringing the latest news and pricing stories on Thursday February 22.Base metals on the LME fell across the board this morning, with a sell-off taking place following China's return to the market.Below is an LME...Read More

Cobalt 27 has formed Electric Metals Streaming, a wholly-owned subsidiary incorporated in Ontario, Canada, to manage its future streaming and royalty investments. "With the formation of Electric Metals Streaming, our plan is to build on the company's 2017 acquisition of 2,982 tonnes of physical cobalt, to provide shareholders with near-term revenue and cashflow, diversified asset exposure and addi...Read More

Cobalt 27 has agreed a 1.75% net smelter return (NSR) royalty on future production of all metals, including nickel and cobalt, from the Dumont nickel sulphide project in Canada. In return for a one-off investment in the construction-ready project, Cobalt 27 will receive royalties on production of the key battery raw materials, which is forecast to begin in 2020. The investment is the first to be h...Read More

The metals prices on the London Metal Exchange on Thursday February 22 are down an average of 1.6%, with nickel prices down the most with a 2.3% decline to $13,460 per tonne and copper prices off 1.6% at $7,024 per tonne. With China back at work after the Lunar New year holiday, volumes on the LME have been high with 16,127 lots traded as of 07:32 am London time. Wednesday's trading had seen some...Read More

Anglo American saw earnings of $8.8 billion in the financial year ended December 2017, it said in its preliminary results report on Thursday February 22.Anglo American's underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (Ebitda) rose 45% year on year, benefiting from strong bulk commodity and copper prices, the company said. Profit for the financial year attributable to equit...Read More

Trading activity was subdued in East Asia's stainless steel markets over the past week with participants away for the Lunar New Year break.Metal Bulletin's price assessment for benchmark 304 stainless 2mm cold-rolled coil was $2,250-2,320 per tonne cif East Asian ports for the week ended Wednesday February 21, unchanged from a week earlier. Metal Bulletin's price assessment for benchmark 304...Read More

Taiwan saw a 25% year-on-year increase in ferrous scrap imports in December, according to the territory's customs agency.The island imported 236,058 tonnes of ferrous scrap during that month, 46,570 tonnes higher than the 189,488 tonnes it took in a year earlier, data from its Customs Administration...Read More

Barrick Gold (TSX, NYSE:ABX), the world's top bullion producer by volume, is stepping up efforts to hike output of the yellow metal by advancing a number of projects expected to add more than one million ounces a year starting in 2021.The Toronto-based company, which is now only 50,000 ounces - or about 125 gold bars - ahead of rival Newmont Mining (NYSE:NEM) in terms of annual production, said C...Read More

Global miner Anglo American (LON:AAL) was full of good news Thursday as it announced it had doubled its net profit in 2017, slashed debt and said it would pay its highest dividend in a decade, thanks mainly to rising commodity prices and lower costs.The company, the last of the world's largest miners to report annual results this month, said earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortiz...Read More

Anglo American's De Beers, the world's largest rough diamond producer by value, said Thursday it plans to mine precious rocks this year at a rate not seen since the 2008 global financial crisis.Delivering its preliminary financial results for 2017, the miner said it intends to dig up as much as 36 million carats this year, up from 33.5 million in 2017, thanks mainly to the participation of its ne...Read More

Canada is the world's most attractive region for mining investment, based on the combined rankings of all its provinces and territories, the latest annual global survey of mining executives released Thursday by the Fraser Institute shows.While the Maple Leaf country overtook Australia as regional destination number one, many of its provinces and territories did not fair well this year in the po...Read More