IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: 5 key stories from April 28

Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday April 28 that are worth another look.

Swedish special steel producer Ovako has used hydrogen to heat steel before rolling for the first time, the company announced on April 28.

Over the past month, Chinese importers have been keen to buy overseas copper scrap at more competitive prices, with scrap production shrunk by the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as disruptions in the supply of substitute copper products from Africa.

Rwanda has allowed some mines and exporters in the country to resume operations starting from April 28, sources told Fastmarkets.

The Indian silico-manganese export price and European domestic high-carbon ferro-manganese price rose in the past week amid tight alloy availability and hefty increases in the cost of ore.

China’s Taiyuan Iron & Steel (Tisco) has raised its ferro-chrome tender price for May delivery due to higher chrome ore prices caused by supply disruptions amid South Africa’s Covid-19 lockdown.

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Fastmarkets wishes to clarify that it accepts data submissions in outright price and as a differential to the Mineral Benchmark Price (HPM)-plus-premium for its Indonesian domestic trade nickel ore price assessments. Fastmarkets is also seeking market feedback on recent changes to the Indonesian government’s HPM specifications.
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.