IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: 5 key stories from November 28

Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Thursday November 28 that are worth another look.

Electric vehicles are “the best thing to happen to the nickel market since the invention of stainless steel,” Nornickel’s marketing director told Fastmarkets in an interview, and his company’s high-quality sulfide ore deposits in Norilsk give the Russian mining company a competitive edge in the burgeoning battery market.

The Indian Supreme Court has given the go-ahead for ArcelorMittal to acquire Essar Steel, bringing an end to years of legal wrangles and giving the world’s largest steelmaker access to a much sought-after market.

Chilean copper miner Antofagasta Minerals has begun to settle annual copper concentrate supply contracts with smelters in Japan and China for 2020 supply, consolidating a benchmark set by US miner Freeport McMoRan and Chinese smelter Jiangxi Copper last week.

Having declared force majeure earlier this week, Anglo-Australian miner Rio Tinto is to resume shipments of aluminium from Canada after an eight-day rail strike came to an end.

Limited demand for rebar and low finished steel prices in Turkey are starting to have a big influence on deep-sea scrap deliveries, with Turkish mills stepping back from the market as a result.

What to read next
The publication of Fastmarkets' assessment of laterite ore with 1.6% nickel content, Indonesia domestic trade, delivered for Monday June 15, 2026 was delayed due to the unavailability of the latest Indonesian government mineral reference prices (HMA). Fastmarkets’ pricing database will be updated upon the release of the latest HMA.
Fastmarkets wishes to clarify details around the following aspects of the pricing methodology for MB-NI-0244 nickel sulfate min 21%, max 22.5%; cobalt 10ppm max, exw China.
Fastmarkets has corrected the rationale for its MB-MNO-0002 manganese ore semi carbonate index, 36.5% Mn, fob Port Elizabeth, which was published incorrectly on Friday June 5 due to incorrect source data.
A United Auto Workers (UAW) strike at the American Axle factory in Three Rivers, Michigan, that began on Monday June 1 could lead to reduced demand for automotive steel if not resolved quickly, but analysts disagree on whether it will ultimately have a significant impact.
The MB-MNO-0003 Manganese ore semi carbonate index, 36.5% Mn, cif Tianjin, $ per dmtu was published in error as $4.75 per dry metric tonne unit. It has been corrected to $4.74 per dmtu. The rationale for the same index on the same date was also updated to reflect this change. It erroneously stated that “Fastmarkets’ manganese ore semi-carbonate […]
The publication of Fastmarkets’ price assessments for MB-FEO-0004 molybdenum, MB drummed molybdic oxide Mo, in-whs Busan; for MB-FEO-0003 molybdenum, drummed molybdic oxide, 57% Mo min, in-whs Rotterdam; and for MB-FEO-0001 ferro-molybdenum, 65% Mo min, in-whs Rotterdam, was delayed on Monday June 8 owing to slow data processing.