IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: 5 key stories from November 21

Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Thursday November 21 that are worth another look.

Chinese stainless steel prices dived over the past week amid a sustained downtrend for nickel futures on the London Metal Exchange.

Press Metal, the largest aluminium producer in Southeast Asia, has finalized a shareholder agreement with Bintan Alumina Indonesia (BAI) for 25% of the company, which will allow the former to “secure a long-term supply of alumina.”

Copper miner Freeport-McMoRan and Chinese smelter Jiangxi Copper have agreed 2020 full-year contractual treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs) at $62 per tonne/6.20 cents per lb, Fastmarkets learned on Thursday November 21.

The Chinese cobalt sulfate price fell again in the latest pricing session, under constant pressure since mid-October from significantly shrinking buying appetite amid a bearish near-term outlook for electric vehicle development.

After a busy few days of meetings and annual contract negotiations, here are nine key takeaways from Fastmarkets’ International Ferro-alloys Conference in Budapest, Hungary.

What to read next
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
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