IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: 5 key stories from June 14

Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Friday June 14 that are worth another look.

Chinese imports from the US of products including metals concentrates and non-ferrous and ferrous scrap are eligible for two rounds of applications for exclusion from Chinese tariffs, according to a new policy document seen by Fastmarkets. The document from the Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council implies that some Chinese metals importers will be able to buy these products without paying tariffs of as much as 25%.

With an international career that has spanned senior positions with some of the biggest companies and mines for non-ferrous metal production, Sonami president Diego Hernandez tells Andrea Hotter about the multiple roles that led him to the pinnacle of copper mining

In a new metals fraud case, state-owned Chinalco Shanghai Copper alleges that one of its trading subsidiaries paid more than $6 million for 900 tonnes of domestically warehoused copper from another trader, Jiangsu Trade Gold Supply Chain Management, only to discover that the material did not exist, company documents seen by Fastmarkets show.

Cuts to South Africa’s production of ferro-chrome have added to bearish market sentiment in China amid predictions that increased availability of raw materials will weigh on ore prices, Fastmarkets heard in the week ended Friday June 14.

The queue for aluminium at London Metal Exchange-approved warehouses at Port Klang, Malaysia, operated by Istim, edged down to 109 days at the end of May, according to the latest LME data.

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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 […]
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.