IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: 5 key stories from April 8

Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Monday April 8 that are worth another look.

The World Trade Organization handed a victory to Russia in a Ukrainian transit dispute in its first-ever ruling on a national security exemption, which could have profound implications for pending Section 232 disputes at the WTO and potential automobile tariffs to be imposed by United States President Donald Trump.

Engelhart Commodities Trading Partners is accelerating its retreat from physical commodities with an exit from base metals, cotton, coal, iron ore and warehousing physical operations in the cards this year, well-informed sources told Fastmarkets on Monday April 8.

The deadly breach of one of Vale’s tailings dams in Brazil this year was a harsh reminder to the mining sector that it needs to consistently operate within the parameters of strict controls and stay alert to potentially tragic risks, Anglo American copper business chief executive officer Hennie Faul told Fastmarkets in an interview at the annual Cesco industry week in Santiago, Chile.

The mining, production and concentrate transport at MMG’s Las Bambas copper mine in Peru is expected to progressively return to normal operations, the mining company said in an April 8 notice to the Hong Kong Exchange.

Elections in two key Southeast Asian countries have dampened steel demand and prices in recent weeks, despite the rising cost of iron ore.

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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 […]
Until now, aluminium has been hard to move, not hard to find. Global aluminium supply had remained technically intact, even as output was curtailed in parts of the Gulf, inventory buffers were drawn down or repositioned, and shipping through the Strait of Hormuz was severely disrupted.
Global aluminium producers face heightened uncertainty over power supplies, with oil and gas prices elevated by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which around 20% of global oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) flows, sources told Fastmarkets.