With competition heating up for the metals that are critical for the energy transition, companies that use these metals have been tapping junior miners with significant deposits to ensure supply, even when the start of production at these mines are years away

Panelists at Fastmarkets Biofuels & Feedstocks Americas conference warn that the national government's focus on electrification is leaving little to no room for renewable fuels

Delegates at the Cobalt Congress conference in Istanbul, Turkey, held May 9-11, discussed expectations and developments in the global cobalt market following a volatile 12 months. Here are four key takeaways

Fastmarkets invited feedback from the industry on the pricing methodology for cobalt sulfate, spodumene and graphite price assessments via an open consultation process between April 13 and May 18, 2023. This consultation was done as part of our published annual methodology review process.

Resource nationalism in Western economies was expected to be a major driver of investment in the cobalt supply chain in the second half of this decade

Li-Cycle more than doubled its production of black mass in the first quarter of 2023 thanks to its new and upgraded electric vehicle (EV) battery recycling “spokes” in the United States

China’s automotive output and sales dropped in April 2023 versus the prior month, with both largely subdued by general caution among consumers that had been fueled by the price wars in the automotive sector during the month

Overcapacity in the pulp market continues to drive prices down, with Arauco announcing more price cuts for multiple grades in June

Cobalt continues to be a key component for electric vehicle (EV) batteries, with nickel cobalt manganese oxide (NCM) remaining the key battery chemistry amid the growing market share of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries

The outlook for prime hard metallurgical coal is dim, even as demand dwindles in key end user markets China and India