Demand for lithium chemicals will not recover before mid-2021 due to the added headwinds caused by the global spread of the Covid-19 epidemic to an already oversupplied market, SCB's battery raw materials broker said.During a virtual lithium market presentation hosted by investment bank Morgan Stanley on Friday April 3, SCB's Martim Facada said the lithium market will remain in a bearish price env...Read More

China has re-acquired its taste for steel imports in the past few weeks due to an open window for arbitrage between its domestic market and the rest of the world.A more controlled descent of its steel prices has made it a major importer of steel, especially semi-finished products, with markets in the rest of the world trending downward amid stringent lockdowns and reduced operating rates imposed b...Read More

WHERE ARE THEY GETTING THE "PHYSICAL"?by Harvey Organ of Harvey Organ BlogAPRIL 2//LONDON SPOT GOLD UP $31.80 TO $1612.50//FUTURES//JUNE 1631.00///SILVER UP 65 CENTS TO $14.50// FUTURES: $14.62//MEXICO ORDERS ALL MINES SHUT AND THAT MEANS THE USA CANNOT GET ANY SILVER//DTCC SHUT DOWN IN MARCH: WHO ON EARTH ARE CLEARING?//PERTH MINT ANNOUNCES ALL GOLD SOLD OUT//CORONAVIRUS UPDATE FROM USA, SPAIN, I...Read More

The world's largest silver producer is closing its mines for 30 days! Mexico, however, won't be the only one...By Matt from Silver Fortune via Silver FortuneWorld's Largest Silver Producer Closing Mines 30 Days! And Mexico won't be the only one... Read More

The London Metal Exchange three-month aluminium price briefly breached the $1,500 per tonne mark, with an intraday high of $1,505 per tonne, but closed at $1,481.50 per tonne on Friday April 3. A little more than 9,100 aluminium lots were traded on Friday, and the underlying price remained under pressure despite an outflow of 2,550 tonnes across LME-registered warehouses. Overall aluminium invento...Read More

The benchmark for the supply of aluminium to main Japanese ports (MJP) in the second quarter of 2020 has settled at a premium of $82 per tonne cif over the London Metal Exchange cash price. The settlement represents a 1.2% drop or $1 per tonne lower from the first-quarter benchmark of $83 per tonne, which was set at the end of December.Compared to last year, however, the second-quarter aluminium P...Read More

Seaborne coking coal prices dropped below $140 per tonne on a fob-Australia basis on Friday April 3, with buyers maintaining a bearish outlook, though some traders highlighted potential supply concerns from Australia.Fastmarkets IndicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $138.60 per tonne, down $3.49 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $145.75 per tonne, down $3.62 per tonneHard cokin...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.A 6% decline in the daily average 62% Fe iron ore fines benchmark last week contributed to the lowest quarterly price rise for the first quarter in five years, in spite of clear evidence of supply-side constraints. Although there were clear demand-related obstacles to iron ore suppliers raking in more typical, seasonal price...Read More

The market for pig iron exports from the south of Brazil was stable during the week ended Friday April 3 because mills had sold out their material until June production.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for pig iron, export, fob port of Vitoria/Rio, Brazil, was unchanged at $297-300 per tonne on Friday."[There is] no doubt that the global market is depressed, but we have sold out all available...Read More

Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in Northern Europe have been stable day on day but were expected to decrease due to poor demand, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday April 3.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, was unchanged at ?,?470.00 ($512.11) per tonne on Friday.Friday's index was calculated based on offers and "achievable" prices heard at ?,?460-47...Read More

Aluminium scrap prices in the United States continued to trend flat to soft this past week as the novel coronavirus prompted industrial slowdowns through capacity reduction at smelters and manufacturing plants across the country.Prices for smelter-grade scrap mostly moved lower week on week due to sustained pressure resulting from automotive plant closures and reduced flow...Read More

The London Metal Exchange three-month aluminium price briefly breached the $1,500 per tonne mark, with an intraday high of $1,505 per tonne, but closed at $1,481.50 per tonne on Friday April 3. A little more than 9,100 aluminium lots were traded on Friday, and the underlying price remained under pressure despite an outflow of 2,550 tonnes across LME-registered warehouses. Overall aluminium invento...Read More

Fastmarkets' copper concentrates treatment charges and refining charge (TC/RC) index moved up to $65.70 per tonne and 6.57 cents per lb this week, underpinned by a handful of deals reported in the high $60s per tonne. Traders are cautious about offering tonnages to the spot market in anticipation of supply uncertainties from South America. Notably, the counterparty spread between TC purchase level...Read More

Independent shareholders of UC Rusal are to vote on a proposed $16.3-billion deal for the supply of up to almost 7 million tonnes of primary aluminium to Glencore over the next several years.The contract, which was approved at Rusal's board meeting on December 13 of last year, is for 2020-2024 and can be extended to 2025. It would mark the return of Rusal to a long-term sales contact with Gle...Read More

An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their price moves from the past week.Read More

Fastmarkets published its alumina index, fob Australia later than scheduled on Friday April 3 due to data coming in toward the end of Friday's pricing discovery process.Fastmarkets' price book and database have both since been updated.The following price was published in Fastmarkets' price book later than scheduled: Alumina index, fob Australia, $/tonneFor more information or to provide feedb...Read More

China's largest copper smelters will gather online next week to agree the second-quarter pricing floor for the processing charges of copper concentrates following significant changes to market conditions from the first three months of the year.The video conference meeting of China Smelters Purchase Team (CSPT), which accounts for more than half the world's copper smelting capacity, will be held ne...Read More

Prices for hot-rolled coil in the United States have come down sharply, to a more-than-four-month low, while suppliers have been fighting each other for any orders on the market amid anticipated deteriorated demand.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $25.92 per hundredweight ($518.40 per short ton) on Friday April 3, down by 2.7% from $26.65 per...Read More

Editor's Note: Mining Journal is making some of its most important coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic freely available to readers. For more coverage, please see our COVID-19 hub. To subscribe to Mining Journal, click hereOn March 31, the Mexican federal government mandated that all non-essential businesses temporarily suspend operations until April 30 due to help curb the spread of the CO...Read More

Carmaker Ford has extended the restart of its European operations into May, while Mercedes-Benz owner Daimler has chosen to bring in short-time working while European nations try to control the Covid-19 pandemic.The automotive manufacturers in Europe and the UK extended their initial production suspensions following the introduction or extension of national lockdown measures.The shutdowns were ann...Read More