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

Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Friday April 17 that are worth another look.

Prices paid for Brazil-origin steel slab in export deals have narrowed in the week ended April 17, with recovering demand in Asia and Europe resulting in increased numbers of deals, sources said.

The Covid-19 pandemic is a unifier in that it impacts all. But sub-Saharan Africa is facing an unprecedented health and economic crisis that threatens to throw the region off its stride, reversing the development progress of recent years and hitting the mining sector hard.

Rio Tinto has cut its 2020 copper production guidance due to the Covid-19 pandemic and an earthquake last month at its Kennecott operations in the US state of Utah.

The Chinese domestic spot battery-grade lithium carbonate price fell by 2.7% on Thursday April 16 after buyers dropped offers again to stimulate a reluctant market, while the Asian seaborne market finally ended its steady streak.

The price of vanadium pentoxide in Europe jumped by more than 25% in the week ended Friday April 17 due to concerns over obtaining the material during the continued lockdown in South Africa.

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.