Iron ore prices were mostly higher on Monday September 28 due to active buying in the physical market by mills who were restocking ahead of the week-long National Day holidays in China, sources said. Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $116.15 per tonne, up $0.94 per tonne 62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $116.15 per tonne, up $0.41 per tonne 58% Fe fines high-grade premi...Read More

Seaborne premium hard coking coal prices edged higher on Monday September 28 amid bullish sentiment in the market. Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $133.86 per tonne, up $0.05 per tonne Premium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $143.57 per tonne, up $0.08 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $112.26 per tonne, up $1.50 per tonneHard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $121.12 per tonne,...Read More

ArcelorMittal resumed operations at blast furnace (BF) No1 at its Fos-sur-Mer plant in France last week, the company told Fastmarkets on Monday September 28. The steelmaker stopped BF No1 at Fos-sur-Mer as well as the converter and continuous caster on March 23 due to falling demand caused by Covid-19 lockdown measures across Europe. ArcelorMittal Fos-sur-Mer has two BFs...Read More

China imported 7.17 million tonnes of coking coal in August, by 20.9% from 9.06 million tonnes a year earlier, Chinese customs data showed. Last month's imports are also down by 2.7% month on month.Market sources largely attributed the year-on-year drop to China's tighter import restrictions this...Read More

China's hot-rolled coil prices weakened on Monday September 28 despite active buying, with buyers restocking ahead of an eight-day break to mark the country's National Day.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,820-3,840 yuan ($560-563) yuan per tonne, down 10-20 yuan per tonnePrices fell during the day even though most sources reported that there was more trading activity during the day than any one...Read More

The three-month copper price on the London Metal Exchange was slightly improved during morning trading on Monday September 28, with price action moving 0.4% higher despite a fresh inflow of just over 30,000 tonnes into LME-registered warehouses in Rotterdam, while tin futures led on the upside with 1.6% increase to trade firmly above the $17,000-per-tonne support level. Copper's outright price on...Read More

China's domestic rebar prices gained some upward momentum on Monday September 28 on a strengthening of demand.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,620-3,650 yuan ($530-535) per tonne, up by 10-20 yuan per tonneBuyers raised procurement rates during the day to stock up on materials for consumption during the Golden Week. The October 1-8 break marks China's National Day.A trader in eastern China said...Read More

Key data from Fastmarkets' pricing session in London on Friday September 25.Key drivers Antimony prices in Europe were supported by concerns about tight ore availability in China and reports of limited raw material stocks at plants, resulting in rising replacement costs for traders in Europe and the United States, especially for trioxide-grade material. Some market participants reported an uptick...Read More

The slowdown of the roll-out of fifth generation technology (5G) is continuing to weigh on the tantalum market with the concentrate price falling to a year-to-date low on Friday September 25. Fastmarkets assessed the price of tantalite, basis 25% min Ta2O5, cif China at $56-57.75 per lb on Friday, down from $57-59 per lb a week earlier and down from its year-to-date high of $65-68 per lb in May. T...Read More

The cobalt alloy grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lb trade log including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets publishes trades logs for its key price assessments and indices to bring more transparencyinto the markets it covers and the pricing process it...Read More

The cobalt standard grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lb trade log including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets publishes trades logs for its key price assessments and indices to bring more transparencyinto the markets it covers and the pricing process it applies.Fastmarkets...Read More

Key data from the Friday September 25 pricing session in London.Key driversCobalt hydroxide market steady; distributors anticipating some restocking ahead of or shortly after China's upcoming Golden Week holiday (October 1-8), and are therefore declining to...Read More

China's imports of cobalt metal hit a historical high in August after importers in the country looked to take advantage of noticeable arbitrage opportunities.A total of 1,130 tonnes of cobalt was delivered to China in August, an increase of 245% from the prior month and 421% higher than the same month of last year, according to Chinese customs data. August's volume is the highest ever in a month.T...Read More

Portside prices for both low- and high-grade manganese ore in China continued to fall in the week to Friday September 25, after ore traders cut their offer prices further in response to disappointing pre-holiday restocking activity among alloy smelters, market sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' manganese ore port index, base 37% Mn, range 35-39%, fot Tianjin, China, was 34.20 yuan ($5.01) per d...Read More

Great Bear Resources (TSXV: GBR; US-OTC: GTBAF) has reported assays that returned broad intervals of near-surface gold mineralization from ten drill holes along the LP fault at the company's wholly owned Dixie gold project, in Ontario's Red Lake district.The company continues to hit gold on 50-75-metre sections along a 5-km strike of the 18-km LP fault zone at Dixie.Drill highlights include 40 met...Read More

Lion One Metals (TSXV: LIO; US-OTC: LOMLF) has released an updated preliminary economic assessment (PEA) for its wholly owned Tuvatu alkaline gold project in Fiji, which suggests a high-grade, 1,000-tonne-per-day underground operation.The proposed five-year mine would generate an average of 77,969 oz. gold annually, at all-in sustaining costs (AISCs) of US$713 per ounce. With an initial capital co...Read More

Australian junior Piedmont Lithium (ASX: PLL) has confirmed it has signed a sales agreement with Tesla to supply the electric car maker with high-purity lithium ore for up to ten years.Piedmont accidentally released the announcement last week, following the hyped Tesla Battery Day, but the Australian Stock Exchange said it would not publish it then.The initial five-year agreement will see Piedmont...Read More

Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE: CLF) is buying "substantially all" of Luxembourg-based ArcelorMittal's (NYSE: MT) operations in the United States in a US$1.4 billion deal that will make it North America's largest flat-rolled steel producer.Under the transaction, Cleveland-Cliffs will pay about US$505 million in cash and US$873 million in common and non-voting preferred shares.The boards of both companies...Read More

Lundin Mining (TSX: LUN) has withdrawn its 2020 production, cash cost and capital expenditure guidance for its Chapada copper and gold mine in northern Brazil after a power outage caused damage to all four of the operation's SAG and ball mill motors.The company said that the operation, 270 km northwest of the capital Brasilia, suffered a power outage on the morning of Sept. 27. When power was res...Read More

Central Asia Metals (LSE: CAML) has been fined ?,?65,000 (US$75,757) for a tailings breach at its Sasa zinc-lead mine in North Macedonia on Sept. 14 that leaked an estimated 8,000 cubic metres into the Kamenica River.The company estimates that 3,000 cubic metres of the spill into the 14-km-long river consists of the dam wall, with the fines and water making up the remaining 5,000 cubic metres. The...Read More