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.

What to read next
Fastmarkets invited feedback from the industry on the pricing methodology for its International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO)-audited non-ferrous metals, via an open consultation process between October 8 and November 7, 2024. This consultation was done as part of our published annual methodology review process.
It was already getting more difficult to source nickel qualified as compliant to the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). Under a future Donald Trump administration, it’s likely to get harder still, in the short-term at least.
Aluminium market participants in the US anticipate stable business supported by continued tariffs and potential interest rate cuts, while industry sources in Europe and Latin America are watchful of potential new trade restrictions.
Chinese authorities officially announced that they will be expanding the range of permitted recycled copper and aluminium imports from mid-November, but market participants Fastmarkets spoke to at a conference this week are not convinced that this will mean more material will be imported into the country in the short run.
Li-Cycle announced on Thursday October 31 that it had entered an agreement with Glencore to sell 100% of the premium nickel-cobalt mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP) production at its stalled hub in Rochester, New York – a step that could support Li-Cycle’s efforts to finalize a loan with the US Department of Energy (DOE).
Unprecedented supply tightness and record low treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs) are likely to challenge copper smelters in 2025 – even more than in 2024, sources told Fastmarkets.