Mitsui & Co has locked in long-term copper concentrate supply by acquiring 40% offtake rights to Argentina's Josemaria deposit, while Fortescue has completed its acquisition of Peru's Cañariaco project for approximately C$139 million ($101 million), marking the latest in a wave of offtake deals and mergers and acquisitions (M&A) while majors race to secure supply amid an increasingly constrained market and record-low treatment charges (TCs).

Fastmarkets will increase the frequency of its two existing CIF China port copper scrap prices and add three new grades on Monday March 16.

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.

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.

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

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The Democratic Republic of Congo's (DRC) state-controlled Entreprise Générale du Cobalt (EGC) announced its first copper and cobalt shipments to Swiss traders Trafigura and Mercuria on Monday February 9, with Trafigura using the Lobito Corridor to transport commodities.

Malaysia implemented an absolute ban on imports of electronic waste (e-waste) to take immediate effect on Wednesday February 4, in an attempt to tighten environmental controls and curb illegal shipments, Fastmarkets understands.

For a brief moment, the mining sector allowed itself to consider a bold idea: Rio Tinto and Glencore in merger discussions.