IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: 5 key stories from March 18

Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Monday March 18 that are worth another look.

Bulk alloy suppliers are reporting increased prompt demand from British consumers amid concerns about potential supply disruptions when the United Kingdom leaves the European Union.

A preliminary decision from a court in Brazil’s Itabira city, in the country’s southeastern Minas Gerais state, has ordered Vale to suspend activities at two of its tailings dams following a request from the Minas Gerais state prosecutors’ office, MPMG.

Growing fears of a bauxite supply disruption are putting alumina traders on alert for a potential price increase, sources have told Fastmarkets.

Treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs) for spot copper concentrates dropped sharply in early March, with Chinese smelters entering the market in earnest for units while a lack of supply from the blockaded Las Bambas mine in Peru has also prompted spot buying.

Revenue garnered from the United States’ Section 232 tariffs – in place for almost a year – stood at $4.3 billion for steel and $1.4 billion for aluminium as of Thursday February 21, 2019, according to data from US Customs and Border Protection. But there are some ways that companies can better manage trade under Section 232, sources told Fastmarkets AMM.

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Freeport-McMoRan is in the process of ramping up its new copper smelter in Gresik, Indonesia, in a move that has seen the company switch away from being a marketer of concentrates as it becomes a fully integrated producer in the country, the company's chief executive officer Kathleen Quirk told Fastmarkets in an interview during the London Metal Exchange (LME) Week 2024.
Long-term demand trends in the copper sector may reduce cyclical price moves driven by short term factors impacting sentiment, Freeport-McMoRan's chief executive officer Kathleen Quirk told Fastmarkets in an interview during the London Metal Exchange (LME) Week 2024.
The publication of Fastmarkets’ price assessments of calcined alumina on Thursday October 3 were delayed due to a reporter error. Fastmarkets’ pricing database has been updated.
The publication of Fastmarkets’ India import aluminium scrap price assessments for Wednesday October 2 were delayed because of the Gandhi Jayanti public holiday in India. Fastmarkets’ pricing database has been updated.
Chilean copper producer Codelco has not yet concluded negotiations for its 2025 premium offer to European customers but remains optimistic that the recent stimulus in China will provide a further boost to demand, the company’s chairman told Fastmarkets.
The copper concentrates market was suffering from a dislocation that would probably lead to smelting cuts, the chairman of Chilean state-owned producer Codelco has said.