Reducing reliance on China’s hugely successful critical minerals supply chain dominance was never going to be easy, as some western mining companies are finding out the hard way.

Chinese battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (CATL) has been added to the US Department of Defense’s Chinese Military Company (CMC) list.

European imports of pipeline natural gas from Russia via Ukraine have ended, putting the region’s metals smelters and refineries on alert for potential hikes in operational costs.

“Trump Tariffs” will be back in 2025 and commodities markets are bracing for the impact.

United States Antimony Corporation has been holding financing discussions with the United States Department of Defense (DoD) as it seeks to significantly expand the capacity of the country’s only antimony smelter, the company’s chairman and co-chief executive officer told Fastmarkets.

It was already getting more difficult to source nickel qualified as compliant to the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). Under a future Donald Trump administration, it’s likely to get harder still, in the short-term at least.

Donald Trump has previously said he plans to repeal the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), at least partially, and rescind its unspent funds.

Freeport-McMoRan is in the process of ramping up its new copper smelter in Gresik, Indonesia, in a move that has seen the company switch away from being a marketer of concentrates as it becomes a fully integrated producer in the country, the company’s chief executive officer Kathleen Quirk told Fastmarkets in an interview during the London Metal Exchange (LME) Week 2024.

Long-term demand trends in the copper sector may reduce cyclical price moves driven by short term factors impacting sentiment, Freeport-McMoRan’s chief executive officer Kathleen Quirk told Fastmarkets in an interview during the London Metal Exchange (LME) Week 2024.