IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: 5 key stories from May 24

Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Friday May 24 that are worth another look.

The three-month nickel price on the London Metal Exchange climbed by more than 4% at the close of trading on Friday May 24, soaring beyond $12,300 per tonne amid a slight softening of the dollar index and while investors sought to cover shorts ahead of the next week’s bank holiday in the United Kingdom.

Codelco expects to maintain current copper output at around 1.68 million tonnes per year over at least the next decade, the Chilean state-owned miner said, despite operational changes and sector headwinds.

Fastmarkets’ assessment of the tin warrant premium available on the LME climbed by more than 60% on Tuesday, reaching its highest level on record amid a flurry of higher-quality stock inflows.

Jiangxi Copper International Trading Co Ltd president Su Li has stepped down from his role, multiple sources with direct knowledge of the matter confirmed.

Belgian battery materials manufacturer Umicore SA has reached an agreement with Freeport Cobalt to acquire the latter’s cobalt refining and cathode precursor business at the Kokkola refinery in Finland.

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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.
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