IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: 5 key stories from July 7

Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday July 7 that are worth another look.

Protests on July 7 halted road freight transportation in South Africa.

Steel plate prices in the United States weakened after the segment was hit by persistently slow end markets, and some mills were willing to capitulate in deal-making to book tonnage in the final days of the second quarter.

China has issued its ninth round of scrap metal import quotas for 2020, approving considerably larger volumes than in previous rounds at a time of persisting uncertainty surrounding the country’s move to rename certain non-ferrous scrap metal as renewable materials.

First Quantum Minerals is to resume production at its Cobre Panama copper project after Panama’s government lifted its Covid-19 suspension of operations at the site.

Demand for ammonium paratungstate (APT) in Europe and the United States is still struggling to recover from the effects of Covid-19 but prices might be approaching a floor, market sources told Fastmarkets.

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 publication of the following prices was delayed on Tuesday April 30 due to technical issues. Fastmarkets’ pricing database has been updated.
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
Fastmarkets launches MB-NI-0256 nickel low-carbon briquette premium, cif global, $/tonne, on Wednesday May 1.
Fastmarkets will amend its MB-STE-0092 steel reinforcing bar (rebar) domestic, exw Poland, zloty/tonne price assessment on Friday May 3.
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