IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: 5 key stories from May 27

Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday May 27 that are worth another look.

The annual sitting of the National People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference – widely known as the ‘twin sessions’ – in Beijing released a series of stimulus packages for the development of China’s economy amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Turkey has told the World Trade Organization (WTO) that it is planning to impose import duties on certain steel products from the European Union.

Alvance Aluminium Group, GFG alliance’s global aluminium division, named Guillaume de Goÿs its new chief operating officer May 27.

The Antamina copper and zinc mine in Peru has resumed operations following its shutdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic, shareholder Teck Resources said.

China’s imports of manganese ore totaled 2.1 million tonnes in April, marking a drop of 15.97% from approximately 2.50 million tonnes in March, according to the latest official but unconfirmed data seen by Fastmarkets.

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Jeddah in Saudi Arabia and Port of Sohar in Oman are becoming tactical workarounds for base metal exports blocked by the Strait of Hormuz closure, with cargo transiting via land-bridge to other Gulf states, such as Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates – though capacity constraints and elevated logistics costs limit availability, sources with direct visibility of Gulf supply chains told Fastmarkets.
The Mexican aluminium market might be strongly affected by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, with supply constraints and consequently higher premiums, market participants told Fastmarkets on Tuesday March 10.
Lundin Mining and BHP published a preliminary economic assessment on February 16 for their Vicuña joint venture, projecting average annual copper production of 395,000 tonnes over the first 25 years of operation as Argentina’s copper concentrate pipeline continues to build. PSJ Cobre Mendocino separately confirmed on February 14 that its feasibility study was under way.
Chinese lead smelters turned more bearish on the procurement of raw materials in the week to Friday February 13, amid heightened price volatility in silver, which is often contained in lead ores as an important by-product and contributor to smelter profits, sources told Fastmarkets.
Roughly 40,000 tonnes per month of copper cathode that once flowed smoothly into the United Arab Emirates (UAE) through Jebel Ali had few options to reroute after the Strait of Hormuz officially closed on Monday March 2, with the only alternative entry points — Khor Fakkan and Fujairah — already straining under the weight of diverted cargo, market sources told Fastmarkets.
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