IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: 5 key stories from August 22

Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Thursday August 22 that are worth another look.

In March of this year, Norwegian aluminium producer Norsk Hydro was the victim of a cyberattack. Fastmarkets goes behind the scenes to find out how events unfolded, and what has happened since.

The Qingdao Intermediate People’s Court has put up for sale a significant quantity of aluminium ingots and copper cathodes impounded in 2014 during a government crackdown over the misuse of collateral for financing metals in Qingdao.

Brazilian steel slab producers are close to resuming bookings of semi-finished material to clients in the United States for November shipment, while they look forward to the renewal of the annual Section 232 import quota for 2020.

Global refined zinc usage dropped slightly in the month of June while mine production rose by 1.9% in the first half of 2019.

Switzerland-based AfriMet Resources has launched the world’s newest tin book, targeting tin trading and project investment with the support of steel specialist Vanomet Holding AG. Trading house AfriMet plans to target long-term tin projects in Africa, which has long been a large tin resource.

What to read next
The Mexican aluminium market might be strongly affected by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, with supply constraints and consequently higher premiums, market participants told Fastmarkets on Tuesday March 10.
Lundin Mining and BHP published a preliminary economic assessment on February 16 for their Vicuña joint venture, projecting average annual copper production of 395,000 tonnes over the first 25 years of operation as Argentina’s copper concentrate pipeline continues to build. PSJ Cobre Mendocino separately confirmed on February 14 that its feasibility study was under way.
Chinese lead smelters turned more bearish on the procurement of raw materials in the week to Friday February 13, amid heightened price volatility in silver, which is often contained in lead ores as an important by-product and contributor to smelter profits, sources told Fastmarkets.
Roughly 40,000 tonnes per month of copper cathode that once flowed smoothly into the United Arab Emirates (UAE) through Jebel Ali had few options to reroute after the Strait of Hormuz officially closed on Monday March 2, with the only alternative entry points — Khor Fakkan and Fujairah — already straining under the weight of diverted cargo, market sources told Fastmarkets.
Navigating market volatility with data-driven strategies for resilient mining operations
The publication of several of Fastmarkets' copper concentrates indices was delayed on Friday February 27 because of a technical error. Fastmarkets' pricing database has been updated.