IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: 5 key stories from May 22

Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Wednesday May 22 that are worth another look.

A consortium of commodities companies and financial institutions is planning to launch an inventory management system focused on the use of blockchain and other digital methods to manage the post-trade processing of transactions for metal commodities.

The liquidation order issued by the government of Zambia that would allow it to take control of Konkola Copper Mines, the copper-producing assets held in the African country by global metals producer Vedanta, has sent shockwaves through the global industry.

A decline in output from the automotive market in Europe has negatively affected demand in the vanadium and ferro-chrome markets, with prices for both materials falling to multi-month lows.

Germany’s Aurubis has agreed to acquire copper-tin recycler Metallo Group in a €380 million ($424 million) share purchase deal, it said on Wednesday May 22.

Troubled United Kingdom-based long steel producer British Steel has been placed into compulsory liquidation following an order from the UK high court, the UK official receiver – part of the UK’s Insolvency Service – said on Wednesday.

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Fastmarkets has launched a suite broker/processor and ex-works prices to service the domestic and export Mexican stainless steel scrap markets respectively.
Fastmarkets has decided to make changes and clarifications to its methodologies for nickel cobalt manganese (NCM) black mass price assessments, including name changes, to bring them into closer alignment with current spot market specifications.
An interview in which Andrea Hotter spoke with Jon Stibbs, managing editor for technology and energy metals, to explore a growing concern for global defense supply chains.
Fastmarkets invited feedback from the industry on the pricing methodology for its steel reinforcing bar (rebar), domestic, delivered Saudi Arabia price, as part of its annual methodology review process.
Fastmarkets has corrected its MB-STE-0816 Japan seamless Linepipe API 5L B fob and its MB-STE-0817 Japan seamless Linepipe API 5L X65 fob assessments, which were published incorrectly on Wednesday April 8 due to a procedural error.
Fastmarkets has decided to launch two weekly price assessments for graphite flake 94% C, -100 mesh and graphite flake 94% C, +80 mesh on an ex-works China basis on Thursday April 16.