Logistics disruptions, sharply higher freight costs and limited raw materials supply are among the main impacts from the ongoing conflict between the US, Israel and Iran on the Middle East's steel market, Asam Hussain, the chief executive officer of Arabian Gulf Steel Industries (AGSI), told Fastmarkets on Wednesday April 1.

Growing uncertainty over Guinea’s bauxite export policy, alongside severe disruption to alumina supply chains caused by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, emerged as key themes at the Fastmarkets Bauxite & Alumina Conference in Miami on March 24-25, with delegates warning of heightened price volatility and shifting trade flows.

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).

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.

Senior analyst Andy Farida offers reactive analysis on the impact the Middle East conflict could have on the aluminium market

Imerys has placed its Imerys British Lithium (IBL) project into care and maintenance, suspending active development for the foreseeable future as it reassesses capital allocation and seeks a long-term partner, the company announced on Friday February 20.

The US and Canadian steel industries are “aligned” in trade policies, and the imposition of Section 232 tariffs against Canada is “unjustified,” Canadian Steel Producers Association (CSPA) vice president for trade and industry affairs Francois Desmarais told Fastmarkets in an exclusive interview on Friday February 6.

The US is being very creative not only in providing funding for projects but also in finding sustainable ways to develop a Western supply of rare earths, Aclara Resources chief executive officer Ramón Barúa Costa told Fastmarkets in an interview on Monday February 9.

The build-out of the Indian battery and critical mineral supply chain requires an integrated approach in terms of government policy, investment and subsidies and technology, market participants said during the inaugural Fastmarkets India Battery & Critical Minerals conference in New Delhi, India, over February 2-3.

Indonesia’s palm oil exports in December reached 2.62 million tonnes, according to data from cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services (ITS), with the figure comprising exports of palm oil and its derivatives, palm kernel oil and oleochemicals.