The oil price took a hit from rumors that a deal was close with Iran on curtailing its nuclear program, the quid pro quo of which would be easing of the oil export restrictions the US has tried to enforce since former President Donald Trump walked away from the deal in 2018. The oil price […]
Year: 2021
This Morning in Metals: UC Rusal to demerge high-carbon assets, change name to AL+
This morning in metals news: UC Rusal will demerge its high-carbon assets; meanwhile, steel industry groups issued a renewed call to the Biden administration to ask him to keep the Section 232 steel tariff in place; and the copper price has picked back up this week. You want more MetalMiner on your terms. Sign up […]
Companies team up to search the deep seas for coveted battery materials
Clean energy vehicles, such as electric vehicles (EV), are not really 100% “clean.” That is mostly because of the environmental toll of mining. Such mining generates incredible amounts of waste. Furthermore, it leads to damage of nearby flora and fauna. By 2040, mineral demand for clean energy technologies will likely quadruple. That’s a cause for […]
New ArcelorMittal hot strip mill Completed by in Mexico this year
ArcelorMittal Mexico plans to complete the construction of a new hot strip mill with a 2.5 million metric ton capacity at its steelmaking site in Lazaro Cardenas by the end of 2021, the Luxembourg-headquartered group said. The new mill would produce HRC for the non-auto, domestic and industrial use sectors. The mill is part of […]
This Morning in Metals: US steel capacity utilization rises to 79.2%
This morning in metals news: the US steel capacity utilization rate increased by over a percentage point last week; the Census Bureau released data for April residential construction; and average retail gas prices in the US are over $3.00 per gallon for the first time since 2014. With volatile steel markets, knowing which strategy to […]
Sanjeev Gupta’s GFG Alliance faces scrutiny from UK’s Serious Fraud Office
The UK’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has gone public investigating charges that Sanjeev Gupta’s GFG Alliance (Gupta Family Group Alliance) holding company and subsidiaries, such as Liberty Steel, has been involved in fraud, fraudulent trading and money laundering. As such, that has almost certainly put the end to refinancing efforts, at least for parts of […]
Democratic Republic of the Congo aims to assume control of artisanal mining sector
The Democratic Republic of Congo is undertaking a huge, and potentially significant, experiment, Reuters reported recently. The effort aims to clean up the DRC’s appalling reputational image as a supplier tainted with all manner of human rights abuses and lack of supply chain transparency. Reuters reports the state, in the guise of a new enterprise […]
This Morning in Metals: US, EU to tackle steel, aluminum overcapacity
This morning in metals news: the United States Trade Representative today announced the US and EU will begin discussions aimed at addressing global steel and aluminum overcapacity; meanwhile, the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) and United Steelworkers union issued their own statements on the news; and, lastly, three major miners have launched a competition […]
Copper prices continue to surge — is the market in danger of overheating?
Copper prices have risen relentlessly from $4,371 per ton in March last year to over $10,450/ton now. Stories of a new supercycle put out by the likes of Goldman Sachs may have helped. However, so have massive imports by China over the last year. Reuters reports physical purchases by China, both commercial and state, hit […]
Week in Review: Copper price surges; USW-ATI standoff continues; iron ore booms
Before we head into the weekend, let’s take a look back at the week that was and some of the metals storylines here on MetalMiner. In addition, our May 2021 Monthly Metals Index (MMI) PDF is now available for download. The PDF summary includes an executive summary, trends chart and portions of each MMI article […]