Seaborne iron ore prices pushed up on Wednesday September 4 after looser production restrictions were confirmed for steelmakers in Tangshan.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $91.32 per tonne, up $2.18 per tonne.62% Fe Pilbara Blend fines, cfr Qingdao: $91.71 per tonne, up $2.18 per tonne.62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $89.10 per tonne, up $2.30 per tonne...Read More

While lack of progress on United States-China trade talks remains ever present, the potential removal of the logjam over Hong Kong seems to be providing some cheer across markets.Europe, Japan and the US are now suffering manufacturing contraction, but there are early signs that parts of China’s economy are starting to recover. Following a rebound in the Caixin manufacturing purchasing m...Read More

Seaborne coking coal prices were largely stable on Wednesday September 4, with Chinese end users continuing to procure top-quality Australian materials.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $155.27 per tonne, down $0.12 per tonne Premium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $169.34 per tonne, up $1.37 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $134.01 per tonne, unchangedHard coking coal, cf...Read More

The somber trading sentiment in Asia is turning exceedingly bearish, with ferrous scrap prices plunging to levels not seen for years, market sources told Fastmarkets."It's gloom and doom all over the place. No one has anything good to say about the ferrous scrap markets at this point in time," a trading manager in Singapore told Fastmarkets.Several of the key price points in Asia have shown sharp...Read More

U.S. equity index futures moved higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 25 points in pre-opening trade. Index futures responded to news that the extradition bill in Hong Kong has been withdrawn. The Hang Seng Index gained 3.9% in overnight trade. Index futures were virtually unchanged following release of the July U.S. Trade Deficit at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus was a deficit of $53.50 billio...Read More

Hot-rolled coil prices in eastern China gained more strength on Wednesday September 4, while those in the northern region fell amid thin trading.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,670-3,690 yuan ($511-514) per tonne, up 20 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tangshan): 3,630-3,640 yuan per tonne, down 10 yuan per tonneIn Shanghai, spot prices rose after mills raised their offers in the morning amid gai...Read More

China's domestic rebar prices moved up slightly on Wednesday September 4 on increased buying activity amid a strengthening of the futures market.Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,630-3,660 yuan ($507-511) per tonne, up 10 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Beijing): 3,600-3,630 yuan per tonne, widened upward by 10 yuan per tonneRebar futures experienced a strong morning and rose to a high of 3,443 y...Read More

While lack of progress on United States-China trade talks remains ever present, the potential removal of the logjam over Hong Kong seems to be providing some cheer across markets.Europe, Japan and the US are now suffering manufacturing contraction, but there are early signs that parts of China's economy are starting to recover. Following a rebound in the Caixin manufacturing purchasing managers' i...Read More

After a period of correction that lasted for about three weeks, the price for Chinese cobalt metal has been given fresh strength by rising raw materials costs and tightened spot supply.Fastmarkets' price assessment for cobalt, 99.8% Co min, ex-works China, was 265,000-285,000 yuan per tonne (equivalent to $14.83-15.95 per lb, minus China VAT) on Wednesday September 4. This was up by 2.2% from 258,...Read More

An overview of the minor metals markets and their latest price moves.Read More

Cobalt trade log including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets. Cobalt trade log including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets. Unless otherwise stated, all prices are per lb on an in-warehouse (in-whs) basis. Delivered prices are netted back. Fastmarkets prices Click here for Fastmarkets' price assessment for standard-grade cobalt, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lbClick here...Read More

The following Fastmarkets minor metals prices changed on Wednesday September 4:Minor metalsAntimony max 100ppm Bi, in-whs Rotterdam $/tonne: $5,700-5,900 per tonne from $5,750-5,950Antimony MMTA standard grade II, in-whs Rotterdam, $/tonne: $5,700-5,900 per tonne from $5,700-5,950Antimony MMTA standard grade II, ddp...Read More

Dear Reader,Our financial system has been corrupted.U.S. equity markets have become a hollow shell of their former selves, with 80% of demand fueled by companies buying their own shares with zero-real-interest-rate loans ultimately from the government.Silicon Valley is now full of bloated "unicorns" - 88 at last count - with venture capitalists capturing most of the profits. And the number of publ...Read More

The Fastmarkets holiday pricing schedule has been updated to reflect a change in the UK public holiday calendar. The UK government has changed the date of the Early May bank holiday in 2020 to Friday May 8 to mark the 75th anniversary of VE Day. This will affect the publication of some Fastmarkets prices, which have been noted in the holiday pricing schedule 2019-2020.Please click on the image bel...Read More

Key data from Fastmarkets' Wednesday September 4 pricing session in Europe.Key driversThe ferro-titanium market is stable, with industry sources reporting deals done within the current price range and market attention turning to consumer tenders due in the next few weeks. Almost 120 tonnes of alloy was reported sold in the past few days, with more tonnages heard at the upper end of the latest asse...Read More

Okay, let's just get it out there...A few months ago, I had another surfing-related trip to the ER.Without going into all the gory details, here's a quick picture:As you can see, I ended up with a small sideways smile right below my original one.Essentially, I was tumbling under the water and the pointy nose of my surfboard went straight under my lip - all the way through, in fact - and eventually...Read More

Chile should lead the world in lithium production.The Salar de Atacama in northern Chile is the world's largest and richest lithium resource, containing almost half the world's known reserves, according to the United States Geological Survey. And the region's geological and climatic conditions make it the most competitive place to produce the mineral.The country's only two lithium producers, Albem...Read More

Teranga Gold's (TSX: TGZ; US-OTC: TGCDF) Wahgnion open-pit gold mine in Burkina Faso started processing ore in August, two months ahead of schedule, and is expected to produce 30,000 to 40,000 oz. gold in 2019.Wahgnion has an estimated mine life of 13 years. During its first five years of operation, from 2020 to 2024, the mine is expected to produce an average of 132,000 oz. gold per year at an...Read More

Ontario is the largest mineral-producing province by value in Canada. Last year the province produced $10.1 billion in minerals, or 21.4% of Canada's $47-billion worth of mineral production. It also has an active exploration scene, with about 150 companies actively exploring more than 200 projects. Here is a look at eight companies with mines and exploration projects in the province.Argonaut GoldA...Read More

Theta's triumphant return to forgotten South Africa gold rush siteSPONSOREDtheta gold minesAmani Gold fires up ambitious growth moves in CongoSPONSOREDamani goldWhite Rock ready to roll with NSW gold projectSPONSOREDwhite rock mineralsThickened tailings deposition for closureSPONSOREDsrk consultingAs is so often said, children do not come with an instruction book.Read More