IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: 5 key stories from August 13

Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Tuesday August 13 that are worth another look.

Glencore trader Hu Qiang has been released without charge 15 months after being arrested in a crackdown on illegal imports of secondary lead waste in China, Fastmarkets has learned.

Miner-smelter Nyrstar expects the most recent outage at its Port Pirie lead smelter in Australia to last for 12 weeks, owner Trafigura confirmed to Fastmarkets on Tuesday August 13.

South Korean copper producer LS Nikko shut its Onsan II smelter for unplanned maintenance on Thursday August 8, affecting concentrate throughput, sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Fastmarkets.

China exported 2,807 tonnes of ferro-vanadium (basis 75% vanadium) in the first half of 2019, a drop of 17.9% from 3,419 tonnes over the same period in 2018, according to official but unconfirmed data seen by Fastmarkets.

Import prices for steel slab in Southeast Asia and East Asia remained stable over the past week despite weaker currencies in some markets following a flare-up in trade tensions between China and the United States.

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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 […]