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

Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday May 19 that are worth another look.

German diversified industrial group Thyssenkrupp has detailed its restructuring plan, confirming plans to sell shares in its steel business and sell or close its heavy plate sites.

Swedish state-owned iron-ore producer LKAB has confirmed that all production at its Kiruna mine has stopped following a seismic event on Monday, the company said on May 19.

Demand for copper products is likely to continue to worsen, Aurubis said even while reporting a profit for the second quarter of its financial year.

A string of Covid-19 cases among staff at Polyus PJSC, Russia’s largest gold mine and main antimony ore supplier, could threaten exports of concentrates from the country, sources have said.

China’s domestic prices of vanadium alloy products including ferro-vanadium and vanadium nitrogen continued to rise, though marginally, in the past week due to improved sentiment amid some positive signs in the downstream steel market, sources told Fastmarkets.

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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.