M2 Cobalt Corp and Jervois Mining Ltd are to merge in a deal that will complement the latter's ambitions in East Africa as part of its focus on the growing battery metals market. Upon completion of the deal, which has been approved by both boards, existing Jervois shareholders will own 77.9% of the new company while 22.1% will be owned by current M2 Cobalt shareholders. In late 2017, the company c...Read More

Turkish steel billet prices have increased slightly over the past week on an uptick in imported scrap values and reduced availability of billet in the CIS region, sources said on Thursday January 24.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for billet imports into Turkey was $410-420 per tonne cfr on Thursday, up from the $405-415 per tonne of last week.Suppliers in the Commonwealth of Independent Stat...Read More

Turkish domestic and export rebar prices have inched up this week, with mills in the country trying to increase their offers following higher scrap costs.Yet, demand was not supportive and no significant bookings have been heard over the past week, sources said on Thursday January 24.Turkish steel producers have raised their export offers to $445-460 per tonne fob on an actual weight basis but the...Read More

The domestic rebar price in Turkey has moved up slightly, in line with the increasing value of imported deep-sea scrap, while demand was very weak due to a seasonal slowdown in the country, sources said on Thursday January 24.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for domestic rebar in Turkey was TRY2,820-2,850 ($531-537) per tonne ex-works on January 24, up from TRY2,800-2,830 per tonne last week."...Read More

Steel billet import prices in Egypt increased this week on higher offers despite weak demand, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday January 23.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel billet imported into Egypt was $425-440 per tonne cfr on Thursday, widening upward from $425-430 per tonne cfr last week.Billet producers from Ukraine were offering material to Egypt at...Read More

Domestic prices for hot-dipped galvanized (HDG) coil in Europe are expected to start to increase in the second half of February, sources have told Fastmarkets.In the meantime, domestic HDG prices in the region have been largely stable over the past week with demand remaining low, market participants said on Thursday January 24."The market is very quiet and buyers are waiting for the definitive dec...Read More

Consumption of ferrous scrap in the United Kingdom will continue to increase over the coming years amid an expansion in the UK operations of international metals group Liberty House, Fastmarkets MB's research team believes. UK scrap demand in 2018 is on course to rise for the first time in four years after Liberty restarted a second electric arc furnace (EAF) at its site in Rotherham, northern Eng...Read More

The latest bids, offers and deals in the global markets for iron ore, pig iron, direct-reduced iron and other steelmaking raw materials. Latest transaction: iron oreIron oreVale, Beijing Iron Ore Trading Center (Corex),...Read More

Seaborne iron ore prices picked up on Thursday January 24 amid rises in futures and swaps markets.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $74.71 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up $0.23 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines Index: $75.55 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up $0.23 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index-Low Alumina: $76.40 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up $0.56 per tonne. MB 58% Fe Premium Index: $66.02 per tonne cfr Qingd...Read More

Import prices for steel billet in Southeast Asia staged a slight recovery this week amid limited offers and Turkey's strengthening scrap market, although participants reckon that the billet gains might be short-lived because they were not supported by demand.Fastmarkets' daily import price assessment for billet in Southeast Asia was $450-455 per tonne cfr Manila on Thursday January 24, narrowing u...Read More

A turnaround in sentiment in China sent seaborne coking coal prices higher on Thursday January 24. A miner's tender for a cargo of premium mid-vol hard coking coal with an end-February laycan was concluded at $198.37 per tonne cfr China, sources told Fastmarkets during the day.On trading platform Global Coal, a March-loading cargo of premium hard coking coal in the unbranded segment changed hands...Read More

Chinese steelmakers' narrowing margins and improvements in the supply of Brazilian iron ore have resulted in lower penalties for alumina content in the steelmaking raw material recently, though there are factors that could raise buyers' sensitivity toward this impurity in the coming months. The main driving factor for alumina sensitivity among buyers last year was the robust steelmaking margins in...Read More

Summary of Anglo American's production results for the year ended December 31, 2018.(Full-year total, year-on-year percentage change)Copper production 668,300 tonnes, +15% Iron ore production - Kumba43.1 million...Read More

Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange consolidated during morning trading on Thursday January 24, paring back gains made at Wednesday's close while continued fresh cancelations in LME aluminium and zinc stocks keep price action elevated. Similarly, both tin and lead futures remained well supported over the morning, with the former trading at its highest level since June 2018 and the latt...Read More

Arbitrage for copper, aluminium, zinc and nickel imported into China on Thursday January 24 *Copper -$71.40 (-485.77 yuan) Aluminium -$365.94 (-2,489.66 yuan) Zinc -$52.28 (-355.70 yuan) Nickel -$153.06 (-1041.33 yuan) *Fastmarkets calculates the physical arbitrage for import into China daily by using SHFE front-month and LME three-month...Read More

China hot-rolled coil market was largely stable on Thursday January 24 amid inactivity ahead of the Chinese New Year holiday.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,720-3,730 yuan ($548-549) per tonne, up 10-20 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tianjin): 3,650-3,670 yuan per tonne, unchangedPrices stayed at "a moderate level," which yields HRC producers profit margins of 250-500 yuan per tonne, several so...Read More

United States-based global miner Freeport-McMoRan has been issued with pre-tax charges of nearly $400 million in penalties and interest related to disputed mining royalty assessments for its Cerro Verde copper mine in Arequipa, Peru.The charges relate to the years 2009 to 2013, and have come after Cerro Verde, in which Freeport owns a 53.56% stake, chose not to appeal a decision by the Peruvian Ta...Read More

Freeport-McMoRan expects its copper and gold production to fall over the next two years due to a long-anticipated transition of its operations in Indonesia, before improving significantly again. The Arizona, United States-based copper producer forecasts consolidated sales of around 3.3 billion lb of copper in 2019, down from 3.8 billion lb in 2018, along with 800,000 oz of gold, also down from 2.4...Read More

A summary of Kaz Minerals' production results for the year ended December 31, 2018.What follows is a full-year total, and...Read More

The prices for cobalt products in China were broadly steady on Wednesday January 23 on limited availability of prompt cargoes, but market participants are wary of price vulnerability after the Chinese New Year holiday on February 4-10. Fastmarkets MB assessed the Chinese domestic min 99.8% Co price at 325,000-350,000 yuan per tonne ($18.72-20.16 per lb, less China VAT) on Wednesday, unchanged...Read More