MMG Dugald River, a subsidiary of MMG Ltd, has entered into an agreement to sell around 40,000 dry metric tonnes of zinc concentrate per annum to China Minmetals Corp (CMC) subsidiary Minmetals North-Europe from 2019 to 2020.

The latest news and price moves to start the Asian day on Tuesday August 21.

Workers will not strike at Escondida, the world’s largest copper mine, after an agreement was sealed between the union and operator BHP late last week.

Correspondent Dalton Barker recaps the week in the non-ferrous markets.

Large volume inquiries for spot cobalt units returned in the first half of the week, leaving market participants to suggest prices are close to bottoming out after 15 consecutive weeks of declines.

The latest news and price moves to start the Asian day on Wednesday August 15.

Warehouse queues emerged at London Metal Exchange-listed sheds in July after a surge in cancellations last month, especially in the exchange's aluminium inventory, according to LME data.

The electrification of vehicles and the need to store electricity generated by renewable energy sources - mainly solar and wind - point to huge demand for lithium-ion batteries.

Three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were positively higher in the morning of Thursday August 9, with the complex up an average of 0.4%.

With available stocks at record lows, aluminium spreads on the London Metal Exchange are increasingly volatile.