IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: 5 key stories from October 3

Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Thursday October 3 that are worth another look.

Ukrainian steel billet producer Dneprovskiy Dzerzhinsky Metallurgical Plant (DMKD) has decided not to resume operations in part of its main production facility after a maintenance outage, due to the crisis in the global steel market, the company announced on Wednesday October 2.

Fastmarkets looks at the key takeaways from the annual Fastmarkets North American Ferro-alloys conference in Chicago on September 25-27.

India’s federal government has mandated that state governments in the country extend the iron ore mining leases of state-owned companies in blocks of up to 20 years if such applications are made at least 12 months prior to their expiry.

While copper cathode sellers welcomed the news that Chilean miner Codelco was raising its annual US copper cathode premium for 2020 supply, consumers expressed skepticism about the increase.

The increase in global freight rates caused by tighter emissions control regulations is putting pressure on steel product exporters already facing reduced demand and falling raw materials and steel prices, Fastmarkets has learned.

What to read next
The most recent financial results published by base metals mining companies highlight just how inflation is affecting profit margins, with increasing wages, financing costs and input prices all hitting profits, sources told Fastmarkets in the week to Thursday March 28
Century Aluminum is among those selected to start award negotiations for up to $500 million in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act funding to build a new aluminium smelter, the company said on Monday March 25
Participants in the copper concentrates market are struggling to comprehend an “unstoppable” decline in treatment and refinement charges (TC/RCs), with every week bringing spot deals at fresh lows and rumors each “crazier” than the last, sources have told Fastmarkets
The US Department of Energy selected five base metals projects to receive more than $900 million in federal investment from its Industrial Demonstration Program (IDP), leading to a reduction of four million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually, according to a statement by the Department on Monday March 25
Aluminium producer and recycler Constellium announced on Tuesday March 12 that the company is moving to test hydrogen utilization at an industrial scale as a power source in its casthouses
Fastmarkets has corrected its MB-ALU-0002 alumina index, fob Australia and its MB-ALU-0010 alumina inferred index, fob Brazil, which were published incorrectly on Monday March 18.