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June 2021
16 June 2021
Chinese automotive production and sales figures both fell on a monthly and annual basis, although figures for new energy vehicles still increased, according to the data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM).
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16 June 2021
Junior miner Lithium Americas is on track to begin construction of its Thacker Pass project in the United States in early 2022, chief executive officer and president Jonathan Evans told Fastmarkets on Tuesday June 15.
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16 June 2021
Demand is returning after Covid-19 related lockdowns but the environment isn't right to warrant synthetic soda ash production expansions to guarantee supply in the years to come, according to Belgian chemicals group Solvay.
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16 June 2021
The gap between lithium spot and contract prices have narrowed significantly in 2021, which is the result of tight availability along the lithium supply chain and price evolution, market sources said.
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15 June 2021
The publication of Fastmarkets’ European magnesia price assessments for Tuesday June 15 were delayed due to an error in the peer review process.
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15 June 2021
The United Kingdom and Australia secured a free-trade deal on Tuesday June 15, the first agreement negotiated from scratch since Britain's departure from the European Union.
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15 June 2021
China lithium producer Ganfeng Lithium is acquiring a 50% stake in a special purpose company that owns the Goulamina hard-rock mine in Mali for $130 million, the company said on Tuesday June 15.
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14 June 2021
Canada-based Nouveau Monde plans to recycle its active anode graphite flake while developing its sustainable graphite project, company founder Eric Desaulniers has told Fastmarkets.
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11 June 2021
Spot market prices for foundry-grade chromite edged upward for the first time since March in the week to Tuesday June 8, with currency rate changes and logistics issues raising costs for producers.
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11 June 2021
China’s Ganfeng Lithium has been authorized by the Chinese Securities Regulatory Commission to issue around 48 million new shares overseas, the company said in a filing on Friday June 11.
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11 June 2021
Lithium prices were steady around the world in the week ended Thursday June 10, with both Asian, European and United States markets underpinned by tight availability.
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11 June 2021
Prices for brown fused alumina (BFA) moved up in the fortnight to Thursday June 10 amid increasing supply tightness following temporary closures in China’s Henan province. The price of white fused alumina (WFA) imports into Europe was supported by soaring freight costs, while bauxite also held firm.
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11 June 2021
The European Commission (EC) plans to set a carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) for imports of some goods, including steel and aluminium, to prevent the risk of carbon leakage, according to a draft of the EC’s proposal seen by Fastmarkets on June 10.
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11 June 2021
Madagascar-based graphite producer Etablissements Gallois SA is ramping up its flake graphite production to around 120,000-150,000 tonnes per year by the end of 2021, chief executive officer Richard Song told Fastmarkets.
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10 June 2021
Chinese caustic calcined magnesia prices were steady on Tuesday June 8 due to ongoing tight supply and high production costs, but buyers remained cautious and expected a decline in the market.
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10 June 2021
Key data from the graphite pricing sessions in Asia and Europe for the week ended Thursday June 10.
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09 June 2021
Swedish battery maker Northvolt has announced the signing of a $2.75 billion private placement to expandthe capacity of its gigafactory in the country, Northvolt Ett, to 60GWh from 40GWh to meet increased customers’ demand, it said on Wednesday June 9.
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09 June 2021
Imerys has expanded its presence in India with a new plant serving the refractory and infrastructure markets.
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09 June 2021
A rise in Covid-19 cases in China’s Guangdong province in recent weeks has led to tighter controls and rigorous testing at the huge Yantian International Container Terminal (YICT), causing extended delays in southern China.
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09 June 2021
China's Ganfeng Lithium will set up a joint venture to invest in and construct a lithium project with an annual output 50,000 tonnes of lithium salts in Fengcheng city, Jiangxi province, it said on Wednesday June 9.
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09 June 2021
Magnet demand will continue to drive the global rare earth market over the next decade, attendees at a Rare Earth Industry Association (REIA) webinar on the future of the sector heard on Thursday June 3.
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08 June 2021
The United States government has published a sweeping review of US supply chains, proposing measures to increase domestic production of a number of key minerals and products. These measures include a proposed tariff on neodymium magnet imports.
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07 June 2021
Walkabout Resources is preparing to go into graphite flake production in the second quarter of 2022, and is also looking into a potential downstream expandable graphite project, chief executive officer Andrew Cunningham has told Fastmarkets.
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04 June 2021
The spot iodine market rose on Thursday June 3 in response to tightening supply, led by exporters of Chilean material, while negotiations continued for contracts for the third quarter of the year.
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04 June 2021
German-based carmaker Volkswagen Group is mulling the possibility of launching an initial public offering (IPO) for its new battery division, a spokesperson for the company confirmed to Fastmarkets.
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04 June 2021
Mark Vergano will retire as chief executive officer of the titanium dioxide and fluorochemical producer Chemours on July 1.
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04 June 2021
Graphite industry participants attending a conference held in the Chinese city of Qingdao in May were looking to create a new market place for “fake flake” graphite by improving trading transparency and the yield rate from spherical graphite.
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04 June 2021
Battery-grade lithium hydroxide prices in Asia moved up over the week ended Thursday June 3 against the backdrop of continued tight supply and firm buying appetite.
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04 June 2021
Australian spodumene producer Galaxy Resources has increased its full year production guidance for 2021 to 195,000-210,000 dry metric tonnes (dmt) of spodumene concentrate in response to strong demand, it said on Wednesday June 2.
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04 June 2021
Belgian metals and battery materials company Umicore plans to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2035, it said in a webinar on Wednesday June 2.
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04 June 2021
Key data from the graphite pricing sessions in Asia and Europe for the week ended Thursday June 3.
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02 June 2021
Graphite and battery anode company Talga Group has concluded two feasibility studies into the technical and commercial prospects of an anode refinery in the United Kingdom, the company said on Monday May 1.
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02 June 2021
South Korean industrial conglomerate Posco has completed a 15% equity investment in emerging graphite miner Black Rock Mining in exchange for $7.5 million, Black Rock said on Tuesday June 1.
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02 June 2021
Nations Technologies signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) with South Korea-headquartered Posco Chemical this week to cooperate in the development of anode material used in lithium-ion batteries.
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02 June 2021
The chaos being experienced in the global container shipping industry is expected to continue for some time with a shortage of an estimated four million boxes creating havoc with congestion, routes and freight rates, according to an executive at logistics conglomerate DP World.
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01 June 2021
Industry participants attending the anode conference held in the city of Qingdao, in China’s Shandong province, at the end of May considered ‘green production’ to be the likely trend for spherical graphite production in the near future, amid Beijing’s growing efforts to bring in pollution controls.
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01 June 2021
Rising production costs, a more expensive Chinese yuan and the continuing global logistics issues continued to support prices for both brown and white fused alumina (BFA and WFA) and for bauxite in the fortnight to Thursday May 27.
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May 2021
28 May 2021
Junior miner Lithium Americas has commenced development planning for a second-stage expansion of lithium production capacity at the Cauchari-Olaroz lithium project in Argentina, it said on Friday May 28.
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28 May 2021
The markets for the lithium complex in Asia were mostly steady over the week ended Thursday May 27, except for the domestic Chinese market for lithium carbonate, which was under pressure due to rising supply and weaker demand.
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28 May 2021
Peak Resources will build the UK's first rare earths refinery after the Australia-listed mining company took out a £1.85-million ($2.63 million) lease on a production site in Redcar on the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England.
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27 May 2021
Experts from the battery value chain shared their understanding and insights into lithium price evolution and the new lithium futures contract during a Fastmarkets’ webinar on Tuesday May 25.
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27 May 2021
Key data from the graphite pricing sessions in Asia and Europe for the week ended Thursday May 27.
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27 May 2021
Fused alumina operations in Dengfeng city, Henan province - a major production hub for fused alumina - was said to be suspended on Monday May 24 due to an explosion, sources said.
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27 May 2021
Battery manufacturers in China have aggressively cut their orders for lithium cobalt oxide (LCO) cathode materials in the second quarter, with the move weighing on lithium and cobalt prices, market sources told Fastmarkets.
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26 May 2021
A manager at South African mineral sand miner Richards Bay Minerals, which is owned by Rio Tinto, has been killed on his way to work, the company has confirmed.
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26 May 2021
A summary of China’s refractory raw materials exports for April 2021.
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26 May 2021
Canada-based graphite producer NextSource Materials has signed an offtake agreement with Thyssenkrupp Materials Trading for up to 35,000 tonnes per year of its branded SuperFlake for 10 years from its Molo mine in Madagascar, the miner said on Tuesday May 25.
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25 May 2021
A summary of Australian lithium miner Orocobre’s results for the first quarter of 2021, released on Monday May 24.
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25 May 2021
The Chinese government held a meeting with the biggest iron ore, steel, copper and aluminium producers on Sunday May 23 to call for them to rein in commodity price hikes.
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24 May 2021
World crude steel production increased year on year but declined month on month in April, with the 64 countries that report to the World Steel Association (Worldsteel) producing 169.5 million tonnes of crude steel last month.
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24 May 2021
German chemical conglomerate BASF will acquire a 51% stake in China’s Hunan Shanshan Energy (Hunan Shanshan), a Chinese maker of lithium-ion battery materials that serves the battery materials’ market, it said on Friday May 21.
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24 May 2021
Automotive manufacturer Ford Motor Co and South Korean energy conglomerate SK Innovation have signed a memorandum of understanding to create a joint venture to manufacture battery cells and energy storage arrays for electric vehicles (EVs) in the United States, Ford said.
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24 May 2021
Small-flake graphite prices will be firm throughout the third quarter of 2021 due to spherical graphite market expansion amid sound development in the electric vehicle (EV) sector and low inventory, delegates from the supply side told Fastmarkets on the sidelines of an industry conference in Qingdao, China, on May 19-20.
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21 May 2021
A summary of Australian Stock Exchange-listed graphite producer Syrah Resources’ activity in 2020 and outlook for 2021, according to its annual general meeting on Friday May 21.
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21 May 2021
Battery-grade lithium carbonate and hydroxide prices in China diverged over the week ended Thursday May 20, with the latter underpinned by persistent tight availability and robust demand in Asia.
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21 May 2021
A summary of results for the lithium division of Chilean producer Sociedad Quimica y Minera (SQM) for the first quarter of 2021, taken from its quarterly update published on Wednesday May 19 and its earnings conference call on May 20.
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20 May 2021
Key data from the graphite pricing sessions in Asia and Europe for the week ended Thursday May 20.
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20 May 2021
Chinese magnesia prices held steady on Tuesday May 18 due to thin buying activity, while market participants are keeping a watchful eye on new Covid-19 infections reported in Bayuquan district in Yingkou city, Liaoning province, which could affect magnesia deliveries through Bayuquan ports.
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20 May 2021
Sales of passenger cars in the European Union rocketed by 218.57% year on year in April 2021, the European Automotive Manufacturers Association (ACEA) said on Wednesday May 19.
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20 May 2021
The battery-grade lithium hydroxide price in the seaborne Asian market has been mostly at parity with its peer in the domestic Chinese market during May, with the former closely tracking the latter amid overall tight spot availability in the region.
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19 May 2021
Awareness and incorporation of environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) policies within the graphite market is slowly developing, with take-up greater downstream - especially in the anode sector - and among developing companies, sources told Fastmarkets.
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19 May 2021
The chemical-grade chromite market dropped over the past week, with sellers forced to lower offers in the face of weak demand, with wet bulk foundry prices also weakening due to consumers' lack of appetite.
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19 May 2021
Australian mineral sands junior Strandline Resources has signed binding agreements for all its planned production.
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18 May 2021
Glencore has well-established recycling activities and is extending its role as a key part of the circular economy, Glencore Recycling’s global commercial lead, Kunal Sinha said.
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18 May 2021
Imerys' Andersonville mulcoa plant in Georgia in the United States is back online and working to meet a backlog in production, the company confirmed, expecting the shortfall to be made up by next month.
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17 May 2021
Energy Fuels is one of the newest entrants to rare earth processing but has already developed one of the longest supply chains for the materials outside China, which has long dominated the industry. Fastmarkets talked to Energy Fuels' chief executive officer Mark Chalmers about the company’s rapid entrance into rare earth-rich monazite processing after decades in the uranium industry.
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17 May 2021
Major Chinese lithium producer Ganfeng Lithium has signed a memorandum of understanding with Argentina’s Mining Ministry and Jujuy provincial state for the development of a lithium-ion battery factory in the north of the country, Argentina’s government announced on Friday May 14.
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17 May 2021
Australia-based graphite miner Syrah Resources has achieved its first fully integrated production of active anode material (AAM) in Vidalia, the United States, the company said on Monday May 17.
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14 May 2021
Prices of brown fused alumina (BFA) moved up during the past fortnight after holding firm for the past three months amid increasing electricity costs and tightened supply of calcined bauxite.
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14 May 2021
Lithium prices in the seaborne Asian market continued their strong upward trajectory over the week to Thursday May 13 while the equivalent domestic market in China calmed from the strong momentum in the first quarter of 2021, sources said.
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14 May 2021
Authorities in China's Yingkou prefecture have implemented strict entry and exit rules in Bayuquan district on Friday May 14 after a person testing positive for Covid-19, prompting concerns about shipments of magnesia through Bayuquan port.
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13 May 2021
China’s magnesia market has been mostly steady since the Labor Day holiday, May 1-5, with most producers retaining their current prices. With the ending of inspections in Liaoning by the central government, more production was expected to resume this month.
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13 May 2021
Key data from the graphite pricing sessions in Asia and Europe for the week ended Thursday May 13.
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13 May 2021
Chinese automotive production and sales’ figures both increased year on year, which provided support for most upstream battery raw materials prices, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) said on Thursday May 12.
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13 May 2021
Refractory producer Vesuvius will increase the price of refractory products to compensate for increased raw material costs, the company announced in a trading update on May 12.
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12 May 2021
The government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has approved a draft inter-ministerial decree relating to the development of the Manono lithium and tin project by Australian miner AVZ, the company announced on Monday May 10.
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12 May 2021
Chemicals producer Solvay intends to eliminate coal as an energy source from its German synthetic soda ash plant, meaning that the plant will produce the white salt with lower emissions than solution-mining from natural sources, it has said.
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12 May 2021
The so-called “Suez Armada” of vessels that were delayed by the unintentional blockage of the Suez Canal has now been processed by the Port of Rotterdam, but the port was still “extremely” busy and there were challenges ahead for the shipping sector, speakers said during the Supply Chain Talks digital event on Wednesday May 5.
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12 May 2021
A summary of United States-based lithium producer Albemarle’s results for the first quarter of 2021, as stated in its quarterly report published on Wednesday May 5.
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12 May 2021
Pilbara Minerals has signed a memorandum of understanding with Sydney-based technology company Calix Limited to jointly undertake a scoping study to evaluate a new refining process, the Australian lithium miner said on Tuesday May 11.
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11 May 2021
China’s fluorspar acidspar export prices were rangebound but showing weakness after the country’s Labor Day holiday, with no impreovement in downstream demand.
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11 May 2021
Canada-based miner Source Energy Services reported on Wednesday May 5 that frac sand demand was recovering slowly, although it remained below the levels seen before the Covid-19 pandemic.
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11 May 2021
Chrome and platinum concentrates producer Tharisa acquired 100% of the shareholding of Salene Chrome Zimbabwe on March 31, it has announced.
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11 May 2021
Global antimony prices edged downward amid reduced demand in Europe and more available supply from producers in China, despite continuous shipping delays, sources told Fastmarkets.
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10 May 2021
Consuming markets of commodity raw materials are under pressure yet again from a combination of renewed increases in sea freight costs and overstretched logistics, making delivery schedules unreliable and causing long delays at a time when suppliers are tightening contracting terms to reduce liability.
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10 May 2021
South Star Mining has agreed an offtake agreement for 4,000 tonnes of natural flake for four years from its Santa Cruz Graphite project, the company said on Monday May 10.
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10 May 2021
The global mineral industry will have to rapidly scale up production to meet surging demand from the new energy sector, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has warned.
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10 May 2021
China-based lithium producer Ganfeng Lithium has agreed to acquire Bacanora Lithium for up to £190 million ($264 million) via Shanghai Ganfeng, its wholly-owned subsidiary, according to a statement filed to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange on Friday May 7.
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07 May 2021
Fastmarkets launched a new price assessment for soda ash, natural and synthetic, dense and light, cif Southeast Asia, on Friday May 7.
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07 May 2021
Construction work will restart in the near future at the Kniwana lithium hydroxide plant in Western Australia after Australia-based exploration and mining company IGO joined the venture at the end of 2020, a spokesperson at joint-owner Tianqi told Fastmarkets on Tuesday May 4.
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07 May 2021
The battery-grade seaborne Asian lithium carbonate market continued to post gains over the week on Thursday May 6 amid tight spot availability.
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07 May 2021
A summary of ArcelorMittal's financial results for January-March 2021.
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07 May 2021
Chile’s lower house has voted to approve a controversial mining royalty bill that could see sales of copper taxed at a rate of more than 32%.
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07 May 2021
China-based lithium producer Ganfeng Lithium has agreed to acquire Bacanora Lithium for up to £190 million ($264 million) via Shanghai Ganfeng, its wholly-owned subsidiary, according to a statement filed to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange on Friday May 7.
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06 May 2021
Refractory producer RHI Magnesita noted supply chain disruptions and rising sea freight in a first-quarter trading update released on Wednesday May 5. The company issues financial results on a half-yearly basis.
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06 May 2021
Key data from the graphite pricing sessions in Asia and Europe for the week ended Thursday May 6.
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05 May 2021
Lithium miner Livent has resumed its plans for capacity expansion with lithium demand continuing to recover, and on Monday May 3 the US-based company announced increased first-quarter revenues.
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04 May 2021
The CME Group’s cash-settled lithium futures contract, which is settled against Fastmarkets’ assessment of the spot price for battery-grade lithium hydroxide in China, Japan and South Korea, was traded for the first time on Monday May 3.
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03 May 2021
Eagle Graphite expects a drive for diversification of graphite supply in North America and Europe to ease its push to finance its flake project in Canada, Jamie Deith, the company's chief executive officer, told Fastmarkets.
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03 May 2021
Brazil-headquartered steelmaker Gerdau has launched a new subsidiary to supply ready-for-use, value-added graphene products and to develop new markets for the carbon allotrope in the Americas region, the company told Fastmarkets on Thursday April 15.