Precious metals mining company Sibanye-Stillwater is going to buy the Sandouville nickel hydrometallurgical processing facility from French mining group Eramet SA in a move to build on its strategy to diversify into the battery metals supply chain, the company said.The current Sandouville facilities, located in Normandy, France, include a hydrometallurgical nickel refinery with a capacity of 12,00...Read More
A summary of Glencore's production results for the first half year of 2021, released on Friday July 30.In brief The company's own sourced zinc production rose year on year, mainly due to recovery from Covid-related suspensions in the second quarter of 2020, particularly in Peru. Its own sourced nickel production was lower compared to the corresponding period in 2020 due to major planned maintenanc...Read More
Technical analyst Clive Maund explains why he is bullish on gold and precious metals. Despite the looming threat of massive inflation, or at least stagflation in the event that markets collapse, many appear to have given up on gold at the worst possible time, perhaps due to the mistaken belief that it will be perpetually suppressed by market manipulators. The key point to grasp with gold, which h...Read More
Aluminium 6063 billet premiums climbed in Europe and Brazil on Friday July 30, while premiums in the United States and Asia were steady. Supply contract negotiations for 2022 have started, but high freight rates and a Russian export tax are likely to complicate talks.EuropeFastmarkets assessed the aluminium 6063 extrusion billet premium, ddp North Germany (Ruhr region) at $1,170-1,220 per tonne on...Read More
Expectations still abound for the long-awaited, vertical leap in silver prices. We are told it is inevitable; and that it is supported by solid fundamentals. Those fundamentals include supply deficits, a return to the 16 to 1 gold-silver ratio, increasing monetary demand for silver, etc.However, an examination of those fundamentals reveals a different picture. That picture is inconsistent w...Read More
Slab export prices from Brazil dropped sharply, with new offers and bids affected by low-priced material from Russia and Ukraine.Fastmarkets' weekly assessment for steel slab, export, fob main port Brazil was $920-930 per tonne on Friday July 30, down from $975-985 per tonne the previous weekMost deals for September shipment to the United States market were closed around...Read More
Negotiations in the United States' pig iron import market became more active during the week ended Friday July 30, although buyers have insisted on much lower prices than suppliers offered.Fastmarkets' price assessment for pig iron, import, cfr Gulf of Mexico, US, was at $620-635 per tonne on Friday, down by 0.79% from $625-640 per tonne a week...Read More
Brazil's pig iron export market declined in the week ended Friday July 30, in line with lower prices globally, sources said.Fastmarkets' price assessment for pig iron, export, fob port of Vitoria/Rio, Brazil was at $560-570 per tonne on Friday, down by 9.24% from $620-625 per tonne a week earlier."Suppliers have no more time to wait because they have availability...Read More
Spurred on by supply tightness and steady demand, the aluminium three-month price on the London Metal Exchange rose to a new 2021 high of $2,642 per tonne on July 30, while tin and nickel's three-month price, also supported by strained fundamentals, rose over 10% in July.Aluminium's price was up 5.3% on Friday from a closing price of $2,507.50 per tonne on July 1 and at its highest since April 201...Read More
Seaborne coking coal prices increased in the cfr market on Friday July 30 with more buying interest and fewer tradable resources, sources told Fastmarkets. The fob market was broadly stable on the last workday of the week.Prices for seaborne pulverized coal injection (PCI) rose in the cfr market in the week to July 30 following a strong domestic market. The fob market stayed largely stable during...Read More
Iron ore prices drop drastically on Friday July 30 with market sentiment depressed by worsening demand.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $181.57 per tonne, down by $14.49 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $182.80 per tonne, down by $14.66 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $146.61 per tonne, down by $14.26 per tonne65% Fe Brazil-origin fines,...Read More
The idea of cornering the silver market is a tall order. However, that doesn't mean that...*****Editor's Note: This is Part II of a 2-part article. Click here for Part I.*****by Claudio Grass via Claudiograss.chCase in point: Silver "apes" One of the most astounding elements of this shift in retail investing is the proof it offers for what many of us knew along: When people can freely and direct...Read More
Steel scrap prices started to move downward in major international markets such as Turkey and the US East Coast export sector over the week ended Friday July 30, amid plentiful supply of scrap in some areas but tepid buying interest.Turkey import buy prices drop amid poor long steel salesRising scrap availability on US East Coast depresses export pricesVietnam remains out of import scrap market am...Read More
Spurred on by supply tightness and steady demand, the aluminium three-month price on the London Metal Exchange rose to a new 2021 high of $2,642 per tonne on July 30, while tin and nickel's three-month price, also supported by strained fundamentals, rose over 10% in July.Aluminium's price was up 5.3% on Friday from a closing price of $2,507.50 per tonne on July 1 and at its highest since April 201...Read More
The United States Midwest aluminium premiumhit another all-time high on Friday July 30, with bullish sellers boosting their offers after a workers' strike forced Rio Tinto to cut output at its Kitimat smelter in Canada.Fastmarkets assessed the aluminium P1020A premium, ddp Midwest US at 33-34 cents per lb on July 30, up by 6.35% from 31-32 cents per lb on July 27.Spot activity remained quiet...Read More
The volume of copper stocks held in Shanghai bonded warehouses has fallen from a 23-month high in mid-July because of an improving arbitrage window between London and Shanghai, Fastmarkets heard on Friday July 30.But over recent weeks, stocks of aluminium, nickel and zinc in the bonded zone have all increased.The fall in copper inventories, although small, was the first decrease in almost six mont...Read More
A summary of Luxemburg-based Nexa Resources' copper, zinc, and lead ore production for the second quarter of 2021, according to results released on Thursday July 29 and a conference call on Friday July 30.In brief Nexa Resources' zinc production jumped by 30.7% year on year. The company cited renewed output from its Peruvian mines, which had been subject to government-mandated restrictions in the...Read More
Sudbury, a Vale SA mine in Canada where workers have been striking since June 1, has had "a very large impact" on the Brazilian miner's operations, the company's chief executive officer told analysts on July 29."Even if we quickly resolve the strike, we will still have many weeks until we normalize," CEO Eduardo De Salles Bartolomeo said, without directly answering a question on how long the strik...Read More
Fastmarkets' copper concentrates index jumped this week with both smelters and traders locking higher numbers for spot cargoes.Fastmarkets' assessment of the copper concentrates treatment charge/ refining charge index cif Asia Pacific has risen to its highest level since late April 2020, at $53.2 per tonne on July 30.Smelters bought spot cargoes in the mid-to-high...Read More
Precious metals mining company Sibanye-Stillwater is going to buy the Sandouville nickel hydrometallurgical processing facility from French mining group Eramet SA in a move to build on its strategy to diversify into the battery metals supply chain, the company said.The current Sandouville facilities, located in Normandy, France, include a hydrometallurgical nickel refinery with a capacity of 12,00...Read More