Iranian export billet prices dropped $5-10 per tonne over the week ended Wednesday January 31, with deals reported at lower prices than last week amid the global downtrend in the long steel market.Metal Bulletin's weekly price assessment for Iranian export billet was $489-505 per tonne fob on January 31, against $508-510 per tonne fob a week earlier.Several bookings were heard done at $496-505 per...Read More

Domestic prices for steel wire rod widened upward by ?,?10 per tonne in Northern Europe this week with mills in the region pushing through further price rises, sources told Metal Bulletin on Wednesday January 31.Metal Bulletin's weekly price assessment for domestic mesh-quality wire rod in Northern Europe widened upward week-on-week to ?,?550-570 ($682-706) per tonne delivered on Wednesday, its hi...Read More

Finnish stainless steelmaker Outokumpu expects to encounter continued cost pressure from high prices for graphite electrodes and ferro-silicon in 2018, it said on Wednesday January 31."We're seeing increases in graphite electrode [contract] prices into the early part of 2018 of more than 300% [year-on-year from the average cost in 2017]," chief financial officer Christoph de la Camp said during a...Read More

The appreciation of the South African rand since mid-November 2017 should preclude near-term price drops for the country's ores and alloys and will probably lead to further increases, according to producers. Metal Bulletin's indices for South African manganese ore, chrome ore and charge chrome have all been rising since early in December amid strong demand from China. Of those three commodities, t...Read More

Key data from the January 31 pricing session in Europe.Ferro-titanium 70% (max 4.5% Al) $ per kg, delivered duty-paid in Europe  TodayPreviousChange to midpoint of rangeMidpoint % change5.00-5.505.50-5.6000Titanium scrap turnings, unprocessed (max 0.5% Sn) $ per lb, cif European ports ...Read More

The following Metal Bulletin noble alloys and ores prices changed on Wednesday January 31:Noble alloys Molybdenum Europe drummed molybdic oxide, $/lb: $29.50-30.00 per lb from $29.75-31.00 Ferro-molybdenum basis 65% min, in-warehouse Rotterdam, $/kg Mo: $11.80-12.00 per kg from...Read More

Jupiter Mines this week opened a $42 million share buyback, partly funded by a 1.1 billion South African rand ($91.9 million) distribution to shareholders by South African manganese miner Tshipi, of which it owns 49.9%. The board of Tshipi resolved to distribute the cash to shareholders due to soaring production and higher manganese ore prices, Jupiter said. Metal Bulletin's 37% manganese ore...Read More

ArcelorMittal has predicted that its global iron ore shipments will rise by 10% year-on-year in 2018 following an increase in production at its mines in Liberia, the firm said on Wednesday January 31.Iron ore production will rise to 5 million tonnes from ArcelorMittal's Liberian mines in 2018, compared with around 2 million tonnes in 2017, the company said.Global shipments of iron ore shipped at m...Read More

Russia's Metalloinvest, one of the largest pig iron suppliers in the world, reduced its pig iron shipments in 2017 because of the effects of maintenance and repair works, the company said on Wednesday January 31.In 2017, the company reduced its pig iron output by 9.3% to 2.7 million tonnes. Shipments to third parties went down by 12% to 2.077 million tonnes.Traditionally, Metalloinvest exports...Read More

Billet import volumes into Turkey have fallen over the past three years, with the producers opting to buy scrap because the price margin between these two products has widened since the second half of 2016, making scrap imports more profitable.In 2015, Turkey imported 7.85 million tonnes of steel billet, while scrap imports totaled 16.25 million tonnes in the same year, according to the Turkish St...Read More

Turkish steel producers went quiet again on Wednesday January 31 but still expected to book more cargoes for March, according to sources.Market participants expected the Turkish buyers to show some buying interest through to the end of the week."The Turks need to buy more scrap for March. I think they will be back in the...Read More

Iron ore prices continued to hover around $73 per tonne cfr China on Wednesday January 31 amid an inactive physical market. Metal Bulletin's 62% Fe Iron Ore Index Today: $72.92 per tonne cfr Qingdao Daily change: down by $0.05 per tonne Month-to-date average: $75.83 per tonne Metal Bulletin's 58% Fe Premium Index Today: $59.96...Read More

The seaborne iron ore market continued to soften on Wednesday January 31 amid a subdued steel market in China. Key drivers Trading activity in China's steel market remained thin amid snow and freezing temperatures in many parts of the country, which have shaken market confidence.Many sources said that Hebei province could extend its restrictions on steel production - implemented for the winter hea...Read More

Buying activity in the seaborne coking coal market continued to pick up with the transaction price of a premium category fob Australia cargo moving up this week. The cargo was heard traded on an online trading platform at $215 per tonne fob Australia late on Tuesday January 30. The deal followed a transaction involving a higher-ranked cargo last week at $213 per tonne fob Australia.Market particip...Read More

Rio Tinto (ASX, LON, NYSE: RIO), the world's second largest mining company, denied Wednesday a report released by a Dutch non-profit organization claiming it had dodged $700 million in taxes to Mongolian and Canadian authorities relating to its Oyu Tolgoi copper and gold mine.According to the Dutch Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations (SOMO), Rio and its Canadian subsidiary Turquoise...Read More

Egypt-focused gold miner Centamin (TSX:CEE) (LON:CEY) delivered good news to its shareholders on Wednesdays, announcing it would pay a final dividend of 10 US cents per share, or a total of $144 million, as it vowed to return all of its excess cash to investors.The payment, on top of 2.5 cents given at the half-year, follows an $111 million compensation to Egypt in 2017, the first year of Centami...Read More

To thrive in the mining industry's historical boom and bust cycle and capitalize on new opportunities, companies must rethink the traditional mining model. (Image: PlusONE| Shutterstock.)In the last 10 years, the mining industry has been on a roller-coaster, with commodity prices reaching both historic highs and lows, as well as operational realities shifting irrevocably in the face of a digital...Read More

Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were back in positive territory across the board during morning trading on Wednesday January 31, with the complex recovering from recent price weakness. Nickel prices were worst affected by the complex's overall weakness yesterday, closing 3.3% lower, but dip buying has supported the metal price to recover by $210 per tonne this morning. "High price...Read More

Mass market electric-vehicle (EV) production will ultimately focus on shorter-range batteries, allowing automakers to manage their exposure to cobalt prices, according to Masato Origuchi, electrical storage system expert at Renault. By equipping mass-market EVs with smaller batteries, carmakers can keep their requirement for cobalt - and exposure to rallying prices - in check, Origuchi said, speak...Read More

Commodities fund Tiberius is seeking to underpin a new world of digital currency transactions with a bullish future for industrial and precious metals, by launching a physical metals-backed cryptocurrency called Tiberius Coin.The fund, based in Zug in Switzerland, has more than $300 million of assets under management. In March, it will allow initial investment in the currency ahead of an ICO, or I...Read More