IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: 5 key stories from May 8

Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Wednesday May 8 that are worth another look.

Jiangxi Copper has become the first Chinese company to receive the green light to set up a large-scale copper scrap processing facility in Malaysia after China’s clamp down on copper scrap imports led to mass scrap diversion to Southeast Asia, two company officials directly involved in the matter told Fastmarkets.

Norsk Hydro will aim to create a more sustainable footprint through the life cycle of its low-carbon aluminium products and solutions, the company’s new president and chief executive officer, Hilde Merete Aasheim, said this week.

Major talking points among copper market participants attending the annual LME Asia Week in Hong Kong this week are whether Chinese copper demand for April and May is weaker compared with previous years and when high domestic copper stocks in China will decrease.

Copper output by Chilean state-owned producer Codelco recovered in March 2019 but remained depressed when compared with last year’s figures, national copper commission Cochilco said on Wednesday May 8.

While spent lead-acid battery and cable lead prices in the United States slipped amid a decline in London Metal Exchange prices and softening demand, market participants shared mixed outlooks, with some anticipating steadiness and others wary of further price declines.

What to read next
The suspension of South32’s manganese ore operations at Groote Eylandt Mining Co (GEMCO) in Australia has been changing demand patterns among manganese ore buyers in Asia and this will benefit other manganese ore miners, market participants said on Wednesday April 24
Brazilian aluminium supply coming from Companhia Brasileira de Alumínio (CBA) is said to have tightened, helping to boost the P1020A ingot premium, market participants told Fastmarkets in the two weeks to Wednesday April 24
In anticipation of a tight market, copper concentrate traders have locked in 2025 volumes at notably low treatment charges, with deals being placed well below the long-term industry benchmarks
The Brazilian Executive Management Committee for the Foreign Trade Chamber (Gecex-Camex) decided to increase steel import duties during one year to 25%, while establishing import volume quotas for 11 steel products, according to a document published on Tuesday April 23
This move aligns with global demands for sustainability in the mining sector and sets Nexa on a path toward achieving net zero emissions by 2050
Fastmarkets will discontinue its lithium contract price assessments, effective October 2024.