IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: 5 key stories from September 16

Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Monday September 16 that are worth another look.

Brazilian multi-metal and mining company Vale has announced plans to build a further two nickel smelters in Indonesia in joint ventures with China and Japan, the deputy chief executive officer of Vale Indonesia said in a Saturday September 14 news interview.

Newmont Goldcorp has suspended production at its Peñasquito mine in Mexico, which is again being blockaded by the local community there, the company said on Monday September 16.

Copper miner PT Freeport’s export license for copper concentrates has been tripled by the Indonesian Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry for the March 2019-March 2020 period, Fastmarkets has learned.

Major Vietnamese integrated steel producer Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Corp has lowered its offers for hot-rolled coil to be shipped and delivered in November by $51 per tonne amid a weakening international market for the flat steel product.

The active contract price for aluminum on the Shanghai Futures Exchange may rise as high as 15,000 yuan ($2,128) per tonne by the end of October 2019 on the back of tightening supply, market participants have told Fastmarkets.

What to read next
The proposal would align the index more closely with physically traded volumes in the region, and enable it to adjust to evolving market conditions. This proposal follows an observed widening of the spread between trader and smelter purchase components of the index and is aligned with a majority of market feedback. Additionally, Fastmarkets seeks feedback […]
Until now, aluminium has been hard to move, not hard to find. Global aluminium supply had remained technically intact, even as output was curtailed in parts of the Gulf, inventory buffers were drawn down or repositioned, and shipping through the Strait of Hormuz was severely disrupted.
Global aluminium producers face heightened uncertainty over power supplies, with oil and gas prices elevated by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which around 20% of global oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) flows, sources told Fastmarkets.
Fastmarkets is extending the consultation period for the methodology of several of its black mass payables indicators and prices, and is also proposing changes to the names of CIF South Korea and EWX Europe black mass prices.
Rio Tinto Aluminium is expanding its footprint beyond its historic hydro-powered Canadian base, targeting Europe, Asia and Latin America as part of a deliberate diversification strategy, according to the unit’s chief executive officer.
Fastmarkets has corrected its copper concentrates treatment and refinement charge indices, which were published incorrectly on March 20 2026 due to a technical error.