IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: 5 key stories from March 19

Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Tuesday March 19 that are worth another look.

A cyber attack on Norwegian aluminium group Norsk Hydro has temporarily halted its rolling and extrusion operations, chief financial officer Eivind Kallevik said on Tuesday March 19.

The Chinese government has launched a round of safety inspections targeting 20 cities, including Ganzhou city of Jiangxi province – a tungsten production hub – which is lending support to the tungsten market.

Vale has obtained a court order allowing it to restart port activities at its Guaíba Island Terminal in Brazil, it said late on March 18.

Copper miner Antofagasta reported a 14% year-on-year drop in profits in 2018 despite it being a record year for output.

The price for used beverage cans soared further this week, hitting a five-month high due to seasonally slower flows in the United States and numerous reports of delayed and late shipments.

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Fastmarkets proposes to amend the frequency of the publication of several US base metal price assessments to a monthly basis, including MB-PB-0006 lead 99.97% ingot premium, ddp Midwest US; MB-SN-0036 tin 99.85% premium, in-whs Baltimore; MB-SN-0011 tin 99.85% premium, ddp Midwest US; MB-NI-0240 nickel 4x4 cathode premium, delivered Midwest US and MB-NI-0241 nickel briquette premium, delivered Midwest US.
The news that President-elect Donald Trump is considering additional tariffs on goods from China as well as on all products from US trading partners Canada and Mexico has spurred alarm in the US aluminium market at a time that is usually known to be calm.
Unlike most other commodities, cobalt is primarily a by-product – with 60% derived from copper and 38% from nickel – so how will changes in those markets change the picture for cobalt in the coming months following a year of price weakness and oversupply in 2024?
Copper recycling will become increasingly critical as the world transitions to cleaner energy systems, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in a special report published early this week.
Fastmarkets proposes to lower the frequency of its assessments for MB-AL-0389 aluminium low-carbon differential P1020A, US Midwest and MB-AL-0390 aluminium low-carbon differential value-added product US Midwest. Fastmarkets also proposes to extend the timing window of these same assessments to include any transaction data concluded within up to 18 months.
Fastmarkets invited feedback from the industry on its non-ferrous and industrial minerals methodologies, via an open consultation process between October 8 and November 6, 2024. This consultation was done as part of our published annual methodology review process.