The geopolitics-led diversification of critical minerals supply chains is broadly viewed as a tailwind to the lithium market, senior executives said during the Executive Keynote Panel at Fastmarkets’ Global Lithium, Battery and Critical Materials in Las Vegas on Tuesday June 23.

Chinese zinc ingot exporters remain on standby on Monday June 22, after months of market positioning, with traders and smelters still waiting for a clearer margin signal before moving cargoes at scale, market participants told Fastmarkets.

Rare earths and uranium producer Energy Fuels has announced an agreement to acquire German rare earths magnet maker Vacuumschmelze (VAC) in a deal worth approximately $1.9 billion, the company announced on Tuesday June 23.

Here are some of the key discussion topics across the battery and critical minerals sectors ahead of Fastmarkets’ Global Lithium, Battery and Critical Materials conference taking place in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States on June 22-25.

Few battery raw materials entered the 2020s with as much momentum as lithium hydroxide. As automakers raced toward electrification, the industry widely expected high-nickel batteries to dominate the next generation of electric vehicles (EVs). Lithium hydroxide, a critical raw material for nickel-rich cathodes, was projected to become one of the battery sector’s fastest-growing products.

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.

Half a million tonnes of copper is sitting in US warehouses, and the traders who put it there are starting to wonder whether they’ve built a hedge, or a trap.

The Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly 20% of global oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) flows, has been closed for three months since US-Israeli strikes on Iran began on February 28, driving up energy costs and putting Europe's aluminium sector under pressure.

JX Advanced Metals, Mitsui Kinzoku, Marubeni and Mitsubishi Materials(MMC) inked a deal to integrate MMC's copper concentrate procurement and related products sales business into Pan Pacific Copper (PPC), marking a significant consolidation of Japan's copper concentrate purchasing sector amid persistent pressure from weak treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs).

An interview with Assistant Secretary, Michael Cadenazzi at the Department of War, as it is known, and Zach Boykin, the department's technical director for strategic and critical minerals with Andrea Hotter for the Fast Forward podcast.