Export prices for Brazilian pig iron remained at high levels this week amid firm market conditions.Metal Bulletin's weekly price assessment for Minas Gerais pig iron exports rose to $375-380 per tonne fob on Friday January 26, from last week's $370-375 per tonne fob. The increase reflects a latest deal which closed at $375 per tonne fob Mexico, for April shipment, as well as the price uptrend in t...Read More

World's second largest mining company Rio Tinto (ASX, LON:RIO) has lifted force majeure on shipments of refined copper from its Kennecott unit in the U.S., 79 days after adopting the measure.The company halted production of refined copper at its smelter at the Utah-based mine on Oct. 8 after a worker was exposed to sulphur dioxide gases at the plant while removing debris from a boiler. The employe...Read More

Iron ore prices retreated on Friday January 26 on China's declining steel and futures markets.Metal Bulletin's 62% Fe Iron Ore Index Today: $74.40 per tonne cfr QingdaoDaily change: down by $0.64 per tonneMonth-to-date average: $76.21 per tonneMetal Bulletin's 58% Fe Premium Index Today: $61.03 per tonne cfr QingdaoDaily change: down by $0.82 per...Read More

Swiss miner and commodities trader Glencore (LON:GLEN) has begun hiring for a number of new positions at its Lady Loretta zinc mine in Australia, which is slated to reopen in the first half of this year.Production at the Queensland-based operation was halted in 2015 because of falling zinc prices. Since then, the metal has more than doubled, so Glencore - the world's No.1 zinc producer - announce...Read More

Trading activity slowed down in the physical iron ore market on Friday January 26 on weaker futures and steel prices in China.Key driversFerrous futures generally trended downward during the day, while spot rebar and hot-rolled coil prices also dipped 10-20 yuan ($1.60-3.20) per tonne.These dampened iron ore trading activity. A source at a mill in Tangshan told Metal Bulletin that it initially pla...Read More

Ecuador-focused miner SolGold (LON:SOLG) (TSX:SOLG) said Friday it had begun additional exploration drilling at its 85%-owned Cascabel copper-gold project, 180 km north of the country's capital Quito.The Australian gold miner noted said efforts are now focussed on targeting high-grade extensions to the Alpala resource. It also said that an additional 13,384 metres of drilling has been complet...Read More

Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were stable during morning trading on Friday January 26, with recent gains well supported by the weak dollar. "There is a sluggish feel to the session so far mixed with nervousness as the fate of metals is firmly tied to the hourly moves on DXY [US Dollar Index] thereby reducing conviction for the bulls and making day traders jumpy," Matt France of M...Read More

An overview of the minor metals markets and the reasons for any price moves.Read More

The following Metal Bulletin minor metals prices changed on Friday January 26:Minor metals Bismuth MB China domestic, yuan/tonne: 70,500-71,000 yuan per tonne from 69,000-71,000 yuan Cobalt MB free market high grade, $/lb: $37.20-38.40 per lb from $37-38.05 Cobalt...Read More

An overview of China's minor metals markets in the week of January 22-26 and the reasons for any price moves.Read More

Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange are mixed this morning, Friday January 26, with the complex up by an average of 0.2%.Three-month nickel prices ($13,800 per tonne) are strongest with a 0.6% gain, lead prices ($2,599 per tonne) and copper prices ($7,143 per tonne) are up by 0.5% and 0.4% respectively, while aluminium, zinc and tin are down between 0.1% and 0.2%. This week has seen co...Read More

Summary of China's minor metals exports and imports in December and the full year 2017.Unwrought bismuth metal exports Month total: 232 tonnes On month: -29.05% On year: +53.78%* Full-year total: 2,580 tonnes On year: -14.95%* Wrought bismuth metal exports Month total:...Read More

Finnish stainless tube maker Stalatube will invest ?,?20 million ($24.86 million) in expanding its capacity in Finland and opening a new service centre in Poland, it said on Friday January 26. "We will install a new tube welding line at our Finnish mill [in Lahti, southern Finland] for special sizes," ceo Jukki Nummi told Metal Bulletin on...Read More

China's ferrous futures mostly fell during morning trading on Friday January 26 following the release of the latest Chinese customs data a day earlier. Futures closing prices - morning session Shanghai Futures Exchange May rebar: 3,944 ($623) per tonne, down 15 yuan per tonne May hot-rolled coil: 3,963 yuan per tonne, down 5 yuan per tonne Dalian Commodity Exchange May iron ore: 519.50 yuan per to...Read More

China's domestic stainless steel prices were unchanged over the past week with soft demand offsetting the supporting effects of costlier raw materials. Metal Bulletin's assessment of prices for benchmark 304 stainless cold-rolled coil in the major market of Wuxi was 14,500-15,200 yuan ($2,290-2,401) per tonne including VAT for the week ended Thursday January 25, the same as a week earlier.Nickel p...Read More

https://ca.reuters.com/BEIJING (Reuters) – China on Friday outlined its ambitions to extend President Xi Jinping's signature Belt and Road Initiative to the Arctic by developing shipping lanes opened up by global warming.Releasing its first official Arctic policy white paper, China said it would encourage enterprises to build infrastructure and conduct commercial trial voyages, paving the wa...Read More

By Ira EpsteinGold and silver continue to consolidate recent gains.https://www.iraepstein.com/ Read More

Posted: Jan 26, 2018JK: Discovery Watch Jan 26, 2018 with Jim Goddard and John KaiserPublished: Jan 26, 2018HSC: Discovery Watch Jan 26, 2018: Do we have a Discovery Watch Winner?Discovery Watch is a weekly 15-20 minute audio show sponsored by HoweStreet.com where Jim Goddard interviews John Kaiser about resource juniors with interesting exploration plays that have caught John's attention. The pro...Read More

By Ira EpsteinGold and silver continue to consolidate recent gains.https://www.iraepstein.com/ Read More

Peruvian steel producer Aceros Arequipa will invest $180 million to construct a new electric-arc furnace (EAF) at its Pisco works to reduce its dependence on imports of billet.The new facility will have an annual production capacity of 1.25 million tonnes per year, with its start-up expected in mid-2020, the firm said in a note to the country's securities regulator, SMV, late on Thursday January 2...Read More