IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: 5 key stories from November 14

Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Thursday November 14 that are worth another look.

China’s annual scrap consumption could reach 330 million tonnes by 2030 and account for up to half of the country’s steel output, according to the China Association of Metal Scrap Utilization (Camu).

Copper miners and smelters look set to agree the lowest annual benchmark for concentrate in eight years, according to initial indications for 2020 contracts tabled by both sides.

While the ferro-alloys industry prepares to gather in Budapest for the annual International Ferro-alloys conference on November 17-19, Fastmarkets looks at the key price moves since last year’s conference.

Cobalt briquettes produced by the Ambatovy joint venture in Madagascar have been approved by the London Metal Exchange for delivery against its physically-settled cobalt contract.

China exported just 1.9 tonnes of unwrought indium in September compared with 23.6 tonnes in September 2018, according to the latest Chinese customs data.

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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.
Navigating market volatility with data-driven strategies for resilient mining operations
The publication of several of Fastmarkets' copper concentrates indices was delayed on Friday February 27 because of a technical error. Fastmarkets' pricing database has been updated.