IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: 5 key stories from April 15

Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Monday April 15 that are worth another look.

Rusal intends to start an aluminium rolling mill in Kentucky, a key region for US aluminium production, with US holding company Braidy Industries Inc, the Russian aluminium producer said. 

Rio Tinto has committed $302 million of additional capital to advance its Resolution Copper project in the US state of Arizona, a mine that the company envisages will provide raw materials to help fuel the electromobility boom.

One concern at this year’s Minor Metals Trade Association (MMTA) conference overshadowed all other bearish factors affecting minor metals prices this year: the potential release of metal stocks held by the failed Fanya Metal Exchange.

The molybdenum market is set to remain volatile in 2019, Shaanxi Head-Moly sales director Jessica Young said during the annual MMTA conference in Edinburgh, Scotland, last week.

Producer stocks of cobalt sulfate, chloride and tetroxide need to record further drawdowns if cobalt prices are to recover meaningfully, Core Consultants managing director Lara Smith said.

What to read next
Own-sourced copper output from Glencore’s African copper assets — KCC and Mutanda in the Democratic Republic of Congo — surged by 68% year on year to 67,900 tonnes over the same period, while Glencore’s cobalt production fell by 39% year on year amid the DRC’s export quota system.
Copper’s long-term outlook is constrained by the industry’s limited ability to bring new supply online fast enough to meet rising demand, with permitting delays, higher capital costs and policy risks slowing project development, industry executives said at the FT Commodities Global Summit on Wednesday April 22.
Capital is flowing back into junior mining, but selectively. Investment is increasingly favouring development‑stage assets with clearer paths to production, supported by government funding and strategic partnerships. While demand for critical minerals underpins the cycle, early‑stage explorers continue to struggle for capital as investors prioritise discipline, ESG alignment and near‑term cash flow.
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.
China's planned sulfuric acid export ban from May 1, historic lows for copper concentrates treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs) and a fragmenting 2026 benchmark system dominated CESCO Week 2026 in Santiago from April 13-17.
The proposal would align the index more closely with physically traded volumes in the region, and enable it to adjust to evolving market conditions. This proposal follows an observed widening of the spread between trader and smelter purchase components of the index and is aligned with a majority of market feedback. Additionally, Fastmarkets seeks feedback […]