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

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

The digitization of the iron ore market took another step forward this week with trader Cargill completing its first e-contract transaction for iron ore with a Chinese steelmaker, Ningbo Iron & Steel.

Chinese copper smelter Jiangxi Copper and Zambian blister copper producer Chambishi (CCS) have signed a 2020 supply contract at a refining charge of $128 per tonne cif China, Fastmarkets learned.

China’s domestic lithium carbonate price weakened in the week to Thursday December 12, while the rest of the world’s battery-grade lithium prices held steady due to thin buying activities on the spot market.

South Africa’s largest ferro-chrome producer Samancor Chrome will cut back both mine and smelter operations in response to “persistent depressed prices” and electricity supply constraints, it announced on Friday December 6.

Cobalt buyers returned to the market this week, but prices fell further towards $15 per lb while sellers sought to offload stock ahead of the end of the year.

What to read next
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.
Fastmarkets is extending the consultation period for the methodology of several of its black mass payables indicators and prices, and is also proposing changes to the names of CIF South Korea and EWX Europe black mass prices.
Rio Tinto Aluminium is expanding its footprint beyond its historic hydro-powered Canadian base, targeting Europe, Asia and Latin America as part of a deliberate diversification strategy, according to the unit’s chief executive officer.
Fastmarkets has corrected its copper concentrates treatment and refinement charge indices, which were published incorrectly on March 20 2026 due to a technical error.
Fastmarkets has corrected its copper concentrates treatment and refinement charge indices, which were published incorrectly on February 27 2026 due to a backend calculation error. Fastmarkets has also corrected the indices' rationale and all related inferred indices.