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

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

A sharp decline in market sentiment, linked to the spread of the coronavirus (2019-nCoV), has halted activity and reduced prices in the Japanese construction steel sector, steelmaker Tokyo Steel said.

Rio Tinto has slowed work on the underground project at its Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold mine in Mongolia because of the coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outbreak but it continues to operate and ship copper concentrates from the mine’s open pit.

The seaborne price of manganese ore in China fell to a two-months low in the week ended Friday March 13, after miners cut their offer prices in an attempt to offload material amid deteriorating sentiment.

Galaxy Resources expects to meet its production target of around 14,000-17,000 dry metric tonnes (dtm) of lithium concentrate for the first quarter of 2020 at its Western Australia spodumene project, Mt Cattlin, following the resumption of activities there in February.

The vanadium pentoxide price in Europe tumbled by more than 20% last week amid weakening demand and a falling alloys market, driven by growing fears of a global economic slowdown due to the novel coronavirus (2019-nCov) outbreak.

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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
Fastmarkets has corrected the pricing rationale for MB-AL-0302 aluminium 6063 extrusion billet premium, ddp North Germany (Ruhr region), $/tonne, which was published incorrectly on Friday April 19. No prices were corrected.