This Morning in Metals: Mixed Monday for Chinese Base Metals

Nickel, Zinc, Lead All Fall

It was not a great Monday for Chinese base metals linked with the steel markets, Reuters reported.
According to the report, nickel, zinc and lead posted the biggest drops, while copper gained by 0.9%.

Multinational Company Wants to Mine in Ironwood Forest National Monument

Mining firm Asarco wants permission to set aside 11,000 acres of the Ironwood Forest National Monument for it to mine copper, according to an Associated Press report.
That request has received some pushback. U.S. Rep. Raul Grijalva, whose district includes much of Ironwood, emphasized the importance of preserving public land.
“The reason Ironwood was designated was to protect its habitat and protect its land in perpetuity,”  Grijalva told the AP. “There are no private rights to public property.”

On Again, Off Again

The Alcoa aluminum plant in Wenatchee, Wash., has had a wobbly existence since the turn of the century.
The plant first shut down in 2001, reopened in 2004 and shut down again in 2015, affecting the local working population.
With prices of aluminum ingots rising, could it mean the return of jobs there? The Seattle Times reported on the plant, its future and the locals whose livelihoods are linked with the plant’s future.
Free Download: The August 2017 MMI Report
Given that the total number of U.S. aluminum smelters in operation has declined from 23 in 1993 to six today, Wenatchee is just one example of a town hit by the decline of the U.S. aluminum smelting industry. Whether it, and other plants like it, can come back on stream remains to be seen. Of course, how the Trump administration concludes its Section 232 investigations of steel and aluminum imports will have a significant impact.