IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: 5 key stories from December 19

Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Thursday December 19 that are worth another look.

December 20, 2019

What’s in store for the steel and scrap markets in 2020?

Most copper scrap discounts in the United States increased as the Comex copper price continued to strengthen week on week.

Spot market prices for alloy-grade and standard-grade cobalt diverged in the first half of the week.

Two weeks of strikes in protest against government plans to reform pension arrangements have delayed some minor metals deliveries that will now be postponed until 2020.

The Chinese ferro-silicon market has been steady over the past week amid firm quotations from producers.

What to read next

Critical minerals boom boosts growth-stage juniors | Hotter Commodities

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.

April 30, 2026

By Andrea Hotter

Kamoa-Kakula Q1 copper concentrate output falls 54% year on year, Ivanhoe weighs third-party purchases

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.

April 20, 2026

By Julienne Raboca

10 topics in focus at CESCO Week 2026 as sulfuric acid upends the copper market

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.

April 17, 2026

By Julienne Raboca

Fastmarkets proposes changes to Asia copper concentrates index weighting, seeks feedback on normalization of gold and silver

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 […]

April 8, 2026

By Fastmarkets pricing team

Aluminium’s challenge now beyond moving the metal | Hotter Commodities

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.

April 2, 2026

By Andrea Hotter

Aluminium in energy crossfire as Hormuz uncertainty drags on

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.

April 1, 2026

By Madeline Morgan