IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: 5 key stories from January 29

Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Wednesday January 29 that are worth another look.

Sentiment in the seaborne iron ore and Asian steel markets has deteriorated amid a rapid spread of the 2019-nCoV – or Wuhan novel coronavirus – in China, which appears to have intensified in the last week.

Primary aluminium stocks at the main Japanese port of Nagoya declined by 8% month on month at the end of December 2019, according to data released by major Japanese trading house Marubeni Corp.

Copper premiums in Europe were stable in the week ended Tuesday January 28 after a drop in the three-month copper price on the London Metal Exchange failed to stimulate demand for the metal.

The low price of lithium and cost overruns on junior projects have made investors cautious about the sector, creating doubt about whether lithium juniors will be able to access capital and ensure a supply of lithium in the years ahead.

The Rotterdam uncut nickel cathode and US nickel briquette premiums rose in the week to January 28 on firmer demand for the former and weaker supply for the latter, while premiums in China held firm with participants out of the market for the extended Lunar New Year break.

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Mitsui & Co has locked in long-term copper concentrate supply by acquiring 40% offtake rights to Argentina's Josemaria deposit, while Fortescue has completed its acquisition of Peru's Cañariaco project for approximately C$139 million ($101 million), marking the latest in a wave of offtake deals and mergers and acquisitions (M&A) while majors race to secure supply amid an increasingly constrained market and record-low treatment charges (TCs).
The European Union’s Industrial Accelerator Act (IAA), published on Wednesday March 4, was a new step in the bloc’s efforts to decarbonize heavy industry and to support strategic supply chains in sectors such as steel, cement and aluminium.
Fastmarkets will increase the frequency of its two existing CIF China port copper scrap prices and add three new grades on Monday March 16.
Jeddah in Saudi Arabia and Port of Sohar in Oman are becoming tactical workarounds for base metal exports blocked by the Strait of Hormuz closure, with cargo transiting via land-bridge to other Gulf states, such as Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates – though capacity constraints and elevated logistics costs limit availability, sources with direct visibility of Gulf supply chains told Fastmarkets.
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.