IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: 5 key stories from July 17

Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Wednesday July 17 that are worth another look.

China’s top copper concentrate buyers are in a fix. On Thursday July 18, the historically powerful China Smelter Purchase Team will gather for a quarterly meeting that traditionally is an arena for members to share information on trade flows and maintenance schedules, and to set a quarterly purchasing price floor for copper concentrate treatment and refining charges. This time, however, things could be different.

Insurer AON and software developer Gen10 have joined Dutch bank Rabobank, international trading firm Concord Resources and warehousing firm PGS in the development of the blockchain trading platform for the metal repo financing business.

The United States Senate’s passage of a tax treaty protocol with Spain will unlock large investments in North American Stainless’ (NAS) facility in Ghent, Kentucky, the company said on Tuesday July 16.

A multi-year low in the cobalt metal price in China triggered the speculative buying witnessed over the week to July 12, which is likely to be followed by restocking activity in the spot market, Fastmarkets learned.

The price for antimony has softened due to stalled demand, with lower offers for cadmium failing to find resistance.

What to read next
The influential annual treatment and refining charge (TC/RC) benchmark that sets the price that smelters charge miners to process their copper concentrate could be at risk, according to multiple market sources, although most believe the system, or elements of it, will remain
Fastmarkets' initial low-carbon premium for nickel briquettes captured existing regional price differences, with growing awareness and legislative incentives indicating there is potential for a strong market to emerge
The Chilean government is pushing ahead with plans for a new copper smelter despite the global smelting crisis, Chile’s minister of mining, Aurora Williams told Fastmarkets, adding that the state will also play a key role in developing the country’s premium lithium assets
Just under two weeks ago, the chair of BHP made a phone call to his counterpart at mining peer Anglo American and set in motion a flurry of activity designed to create the largest copper producer in the world
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