The breaking news this week is that Chile’s Escondida mine operator BHP has announced it looks like a strike has been averted and that a settlement plan is being put to the workers. That is good news for a market widely expected to go into deficit this year, according to Mining.com. But the prospect of […]
Category: Supply & Demand
Freeport-McMoRan Reports Q2 Net Income Jump As Copper Price Continues to Fall
Miner Freeport-McMoRan Inc., the world’s largest publicly traded copper producer, announced its second-quarter earnings Wednesday. Need buying strategies for steel? Try two free months of MetalMiner’s Outlook The miner reported Q2 net income attributable to common stock of $869 million and $1.6 billion for the first six months of the calendar year. The figures compare with […]
This Morning in Metals: E.U. Approves Provisional Measures to Limit Steel Imports
This morning in metals news, E.U. states have thrown their support behind measures to curb steel imports, Indian steel demand could double by 2025, and copper and zinc prices continue to drop. Need buying strategies for steel? Try two free months of MetalMiner’s Outlook E.U. Backs Steel Import Curbing Measures E.U. states voted to approve […]
Oil Price Rises Pose a Threat to Global Growth Next Year
Rising oil prices were seen last year as a positive result of growing global growth and recovery, but a combination of factors are turning this benign view into a more sinister scenario. Need buying strategies for steel? Try two free months of MetalMiner’s Outlook On the supply side, the combined efforts of OPEC and Russia, […]
Europe Has the Potential to Develop Domestic Lithium Sources
We normally associate Cornwall in England with scones and cream teas … or, if we are really metal nerds, we associate the sometimes sunny southeast country of the British Isles with mining (particularly with tin mining). Need buying strategies for steel? Try two free months of MetalMiner’s Outlook The area dominated with igneous morphology has […]
Nickel Fundamentals Come Back to the Fore
As my colleague Fouad Egbaria wrote last week, the U.S. administration’s relaxation of the timescale for implementation of sanctions against Rusal has had the effect of taking the panic out of the market. As a result, prices have fallen for several days, not just for aluminum but for other metals that the market feared could […]
Week in Review: Price Movements, Indian Exports and Section 232 Exemptions
Before we head into the weekend, let’s take a look back at the week that was with some of this week’s stories here on MetalMiner: Need buying strategies for steel? Try two free months of MetalMiner’s Outlook What’s going on with steel prices? Have they neared a top? MetalMiner’s Irene Martinez Canorea offered her analysis […]
Aluminum Prices Drop Sharply This Week After Announcement on Potential Easing of Sanctions
What goes up must come down, goes the old adage. Buying Aluminum in 2018? Download MetalMiner’s free annual price outlook Although that adage does not always hold true, it has for aluminum this week following a change of tone from Washington. According to the Financial Times, the U.S. Treasury made two important announcements this week, […]
Aluminum Consumers Pose a Not-Unreasonable Question: How High Can Prices Go?
Higher is the simple answer. The world with the exception of China was in deficit before U.S. sanctions against Oleg Derispaska and his aluminum company Rusal. So when the three million tons of primary metal Rusal exports outside of Russia are taken out of a market already worried by the recent partial closure of Norsk […]
Renewables MMI: Cobalt, U.S. Steel Plate Post Big Price Jumps
The Renewables Monthly Metals Index (MMI) rose seven points on the month, hitting 107 for our April reading.
Need buying strategies for steel? Try two free months of MetalMiner’s Outlook
Within the basket of metals, Korean, Chinese and U.S. steel plate posted price increases, while Japanese steel plate traced back slightly. U.S. steel plate jumped significantly, posting a 13.6% increase for the month.
U.S. grain-oriented electrical steel (GOES) coil fell on the month, while neodymium picked up by 0.7%.
The always volatile cobalt price shot up significantly last month, rising 10.6%.
Tesla Strategy Places Premium on Neodymium
As we mentioned earlier this week, growing demand for neodymium from electric vehicle (EV) maker Tesla will put even more pressure on what is already a constrained market.
In short, that means rising prices for the material, reflected in this month’s activity.
Tesla is looking to neodymium for magnetic motors in its Model 3 Long Range cars, as mentioned in the Reuters report we cited Tuesday. Last year, supply fell short of demand by 3,300 tons, according to that report.
DRC Looks to Shake Up 2002 Mining Charter
When it comes to anything cobalt, the Democratic Republic of Congo is typically at the center, being the source of the majority of the world’s cobalt.
Earlier this week, MetalMiner’s Stuart Burns wrote about President Joseph Kabila’s move to readjust the nation’s 2002 mining charter to, essentially, secure a bigger piece of the pie vis-a-vis the country’s vast mineral resources.
It comes as no surprise that the multinational miners doing business in the DRC aren’t exactly thrilled by the proposition of increased royalties and levies. However, as Burns noted, value of materials like cobalt and the demand they draw, combined with their relative scarcity, means such multinationals will continue to do business there, no matter what happens with the charter.
“If the state takes a little more of the pie, it will probably be reflected in prices,” Burns wrote. “But with limited alternatives for products like cobalt, it is unlikely to dent mining companies’ enthusiasm for investing in the DRC.”
MetalMiner’s Annual Outlook provides 2018 buying strategies for carbon steel
