Freeport-McMoRan Inc Chief Executive Richard Adkerson said on Monday his company has been investing heavily to mitigate any danger from tailings dams and is "comfortable" with engineering designs in place at existing dams.Adkerson's comments come a month after a Brazilian tailings dam controlled by rival Vale collapsed, killing more than 300.Phoenix-based Freeport controls 19 active tailings dams...Read More

The Chinese domestic ferro-silicon price fell in line with weaker demand in the week ended Friday February 22, while the European price has stabilized in February after a run of losses, with suppliers holding their offer prices. China market pares gains as supply outweighs demand  Europe flat, suppliers hold offers  US prices slip in sluggish spot market Domestic prices dropped last wee...Read More

A flurry of fresh cancellations in LME copper this month has left market participants questioning the metal's depleting exchange inventories.Declining London Metal Exchange stocks have seen copper's three-month price surge above $6,500 per tonne this morning, its highest level since July 2018. Stock movements have predominantly taken place across US locations in February, allowing t...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Monday February 25 that are worth another look.US President Donald Trump has postponed his administration's plans to increase the current import duties on $200-billion worth of Chinese goods, de-escalating the trade tensions between the two countries. A flurry of fresh cancellations in London Metal Exchange copper this month has&nb...Read More

Nyrstar's non-executive director Jes??s Fernandez has resigned his post in order to represent its major shareholder Trafigura in restructuring talks, the company said today February 25.Fernandez, who is Trafigura's head of mergers and acquisitions has been a board member since April 2016."Fernandez and Trafigura have agreed with Nyrstar that it would promote clarity around that process...Read More

European aluminium ingot prices fell to their lowest level since December 7, 2018 on February 22, due to dampened demand exerting downward pressure on the price.Fastmarkets assessed the price of European aluminium pressure die-casting ingot DIN226/A380, at ?,?1,470-1,530 ($1,666-1,734) per tonne this week, on a delivered consumer works basis.This is down ?,?50 from ?,?1,520-1,580 per tonne last we...Read More

MMG has delayed shipments of its copper concentrates output from Las Bambas copper mine in Peru due to a road blockade initiated by the local community, the Australian-Chinese miner said on Monday February 25. Las Bambas copper mine is one of the world's largest copper mines and produced 385,299 tonnes of copper in copper concentrates in 2018. Outbound transport from Las Bambas mine has been disru...Read More

Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were collectively higher during morning trading on Monday February 25, with copper and nickel futures rallying past nearby resistance levels, while progress in US-Chinese trade talks continue to buoy commodity investment. Copper's three-month price is now trading above $6,500 per tonne for the first time since July 2018, pushing higher over the morni...Read More

Export prices for steel slab from the Black Sea basin have jumped by $15-20 per tonne over the past week, supported by tight availability of the material in the region, Fastmarkets heard on Monday February 25.Necessary repairs at some production units were behind the reduced availability, market sources said.In particular, merchant slab output from Ukrainian steelmaker Metinvest in December-Februa...Read More

The Turkish steel industry managed to increase its export volumes in 2018 despite the creation of international trade barriers that had a huge effect on the market, the Turkish Steel Exporters' Assn (??IB) told Fastmarkets on Friday February 22.Turkey increased its steel exports by 20.80% year-on-year to 21.40 million tonnes in the full year of 2018, while the value of those exports rose by 36.10%...Read More

RAPAPORT... Profit at Sarine Technologies plunged sharply in the fourthquarter, amid weaker industry sentiment that impacted consumer spending, theequipment maker said Sunday. Profit dropped 85% year on year to $93,000 for the threemonths ending December 31, as uncertainties in China and tightening bank creditto India's manufacturing sector resulted in lower capital-equipment sales andreduced...Read More

Prices for flat steel exports from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) held steady this week although market participants were expecting discounts, sources told Fastmarkets on Monday February 25.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for CIS-origin exports of hot-rolled coil (HRC) was unchanged at $520-530 per tonne fob Black Sea on February 25.Ukraine-origin HRC was offered at $530-535 per...Read More

RAPAPORT... Actress and singer Lady Gaga sported a 128.54-carat yellowdiamond and platinum Tiffany necklace at the 91st Academy Awardsshow Sunday night. The Oscar winner wore the 141-year-old cushion-cut TiffanyDiamond - which originated  in the Kimberley mines in South Africa - was last seen on Audrey Hepburn at the publicity shoot for the 1961 movie Breakfast at Tiffany's. It's th...Read More

RAPAPORT... Signet Jewelers is offering employees at its Ohioheadquarters benefits and assistance to leave the company voluntarily, in aneffort to reduce costs. The Voluntary Transition Program (VTP) is available tosupport-center and field team members at the district-manager level or above,who have been with the company for more than two years, chief people officerMary Liz Finn told employee...Read More

South Korea has recommended five-year anti-dumping duties on stainless steel bar from Taiwan and Italy, after its trade commission found that imports had injured the domestic industry.The Korea Trade Commission requested the finance ministry to set tariffs of 9.47-18.56% against Taiwanese products and 10.21-13.74% against Italian products for five years, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industr...Read More

The latest bids, offers and deals in the global markets for hot-rolled coil, cold-rolled coil, hot-dipped galvanized coil, pre-painted galvanized iron, steel plate, steel sheet and other flat steel products. Latest transaction: hot-rolled coilHot-rolled coilEast China, domestic, commercial-grade...Read More

Gary Goldberg isn't pulling the trigger on a $10 billion gold-mining acquisition because he has to, you know. The CEO of Newmont Mining Corp. said Monday morning of his acquisition of Goldcorp Inc.:Simply put, this is not a deal we have to do. This is a deal that we want to do.Sometimes, though, one's choices are influenced by the choices of others. In this case, Goldberg can't have failed to noti...Read More

RAPAPORT... The Diamond Producers Association (DPA) will debut a newcampaign geared toward female self-purchasers during television coverage of the Oscarawards. The initial promotion of "For Me, From Me" will feature aseries of videos set to air on broadcast network E! Entertainment, followed by photo galleries onInstagram and the E! website. "Our latest campaign celebrates the distinct prid...Read More

Import prices for steel slab in Southeast Asia and East Asia moved up again over the past week amid higher offers and limited availability, although no transactions were heard due to the large bid-offer spread.Fastmarkets' weekly import price assessment for slab imports to Southeast Asia and East Asia was $460-480 per tonne cfr on Monday February 25, widening upward by $10 per tonne from $460-470...Read More

Bloomberg reports that Beny Steinmetz has ended a seven-year-old dispute with Guinea, a mineral rich country in West Africa. Reportedly, the settlement was brokered by former French President Nicolas Sarkozy. As a result of the agreement, Steinmetz-controlled BSG Resources Ltd. and Guinean President Alpha Conde have both withdrawn allegations of corruption and agreed to drop a two-year-old arbitra...Read More