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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: 5 key stories from September 16

Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Monday September 16 that are worth another look.

September 17, 2019
By Generic people page
Base metals Copper

Brazilian multi-metal and mining company Vale has announced plans to build a further two nickel smelters in Indonesia in joint ventures with China and Japan, the deputy chief executive officer of Vale Indonesia said in a Saturday September 14 news interview.

Newmont Goldcorp has suspended production at its Peñasquito mine in Mexico, which is again being blockaded by the local community there, the company said on Monday September 16.

Copper miner PT Freeport’s export license for copper concentrates has been tripled by the Indonesian Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry for the March 2019-March 2020 period, Fastmarkets has learned.

Major Vietnamese integrated steel producer Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Corp has lowered its offers for hot-rolled coil to be shipped and delivered in November by $51 per tonne amid a weakening international market for the flat steel product.

The active contract price for aluminum on the Shanghai Futures Exchange may rise as high as 15,000 yuan ($2,128) per tonne by the end of October 2019 on the back of tightening supply, market participants have told Fastmarkets.

What to read next
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Copper coils up close
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March 12, 2026
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Copper cathode
Lundin, BHP’s Vicuña project targets 395,000 tpy of copper concentrate from Argentina
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.
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Architecture, Building, Cityscape
Chinese lead smelters cautious on concentrates purchases amid silver price volatility
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.
March 10, 2026
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A shipping tanker sailing through the Straight of Hormuz on a sunny day
Strait of Hormuz closure threatens 40,000 t/month copper cathode flows to Gulf as Jebel Ali blocked, Khor Fakkan and Fujairah near capacity
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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By Julienne Raboca