IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: 5 key stories from June 19

Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Friday June 19 that are worth another look.

Pig iron production at Tata Steel IJmuiden in the Netherlands was stopped on June 19, while the plant’s workers went on a 24-hour strike, sources told Fastmarkets.

The London Metal Exchange has fined warehouse operator Istim £30,000 ($37,120) for breaching clauses of its warehouse agreement, the exchange said in a notice to members on June 19.

The Attorney General of Switzerland has begun criminal investigations into Glencore’s business practices in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the company said on June 19.

Chinese spot nickel pig iron (NPI) prices fell slightly in the week to Friday June 19, with increased supply in the market outweighing rising raw material costs.

The Chinese domestic spot lithium price fell further on Thursday June 18 with thin downstream buying leading to more pressure and lower prices, while prices in the rest of the world kept flat, sources said.

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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