As major mills in the US steel industry inch closer to reinvestment decisions to reline their blast furnace operations, there is a window of opportunity to spur decarbonization in the already carbon-intensive sector, Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) told Fastmarkets in an interview on Tuesday April 14.

The Montréal Wood Convention 2026 revealed a North American wood products market at a turning point, with supply rationalizing and demand recovery pushed to 2027.

China's Tsingshan Holding Group is in talks with potential project partners about building another aluminium smelter in North Maluku, Indonesia, sources told Fastmarkets in the week to Thursday April 16.

For decades, tungsten sat on the margins of US industrial policy. Despite its essential role in armor piercing munitions, aerospace alloys and advanced manufacturing, the ultra hard metal was sourced overwhelmingly from China, while US domestic mining faded from view.

Osaka, Japan-headquartered Daikin Industries, the world’s largest air conditioner manufacturer, is partnering with Shin-Etsu Chemical, Hitachi and Tokyo Eco Recycle to recover and recycle rare earth magnets from compressors starting in 2027, the companies said in a joint statement on Tuesday April 14.

Copper in concentrate production from Ivanhoe Mines' Kamoa-Kakula complex in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) fell to 61,906 tonnes in the first quarter, down by 54% from 133,120 tonnes a year earlier, with the company now evaluating local third-party concentrate purchases to advance the ramp-up of its on-site smelter, according to an April 13 production release as the market focused its attention on the impact of global sulfuric acid shortages during CESCO Week in Chile from April 13-17.

Aluminium markets in the US and Mexico are facing an unprecedented mix of geopolitical disruption, trade policy shifts and tightening supply conditions.

The China Zinc Smelter Purchase Team (CZSPT) set its buying guidance for imported zinc concentrate treatment charges (TCs) at $35-70 per tonne for the second quarter of 2026 during a meeting held in Chengdu, China.

The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) lithium carbonate futures contract achieved its second consecutive record monthly trading volume in April, according to CME data.

Military readiness relies on a narrow set of industrial inputs that enable advanced systems to function under extreme conditions. As supply chains become more complicated and politicised, securing reliable access to these materials is emerging as a strategic challenge for the defense industry.