Japan’s Aluminium Premium Rises for Third Consecutive Quarter

Shanghai nickel prices jumped nearly 6% on Tuesday, reaching a three-month high as trading resumed following a week-long holiday. The most-traded November nickel contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) rose 3.4% to 135,470 yuan ($19,304 per metric ton) after peaking at 138,800 yuan, the highest since July 9. Meanwhile, three-month nickel on the London…

Nickel, which accounted for 25% of Madagascar’s export value in 2022, faces a significant disruption following an incident at the Ambatovy nickel mine. Japan’s Sumitomo Corporation, which operates the mine, reported damage to the pipeline transporting ore to the processing plant, leading to a suspension of production. The halt at Madagascar’s largest nickel mine comes…

Operations at Vale’s Onça Puma nickel plant in Ourilândia do Norte, Pará, have been temporarily suspended following damage to the local power transmission network caused by a severe windstorm on Saturday, October 5. According to Vale, the network is expected to be fully restored by October 15. Vale estimates that this interruption will reduce nickel…

Asset manager Coronation has changed its position on platinum group metals (PGMs), acquiring a 5.07% stake in Northam Platinum, just a year after labeling the sector a “value trap” due to declining prices and demand. Northam informed the market of the acquisition on Thursday, marking a significant shift for Coronation, which had previously recommended disinvesting…

The Public Investment Corporation (PIC), Africa’s largest asset manager, has increased its stake in Sibanye-Stillwater, now holding over 15% of the diversified mining company. This move signals confidence in Sibanye-Stillwater’s long-term growth, particularly in light of its promising lithium project in Finland, which has recently received financial backing through a R10 billion green loan package….

**TerraVolta Resources Secures $225 Million for Lithium Project** The US Department of Energy has awarded a $225 million grant to TerraVolta Resources for its Liberty Owl project, which aims to extract lithium from formation water in hydrocarbon fields located in Texas and Arkansas. The project, with an estimated capital investment of over $1 billion, is…

Platinum group metals (PGMs), including platinum and palladium, are experiencing a renewed surge in demand, driven by the rising sales of hybrid vehicles. The shift in the automotive industry toward plug-in hybrids, as opposed to pure electric vehicles (EVs), is reversing the decline in PGM usage seen over the past few years. PGMs, which are…

Gold prices increased on Thursday, driven by expectations of a U.S. Federal Reserve interest rate cut next week. Meanwhile, supply concerns from Russia, the world’s largest palladium producer, pushed palladium above the key $1,000 per ounce level. Spot gold was up 0.1% at $2,513.78 per ounce by 1107 GMT, supported by the 21-day moving average…

Gold prices surged more than 1% on Thursday, reaching a record high as expectations for an interest rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve next week strengthened following data suggesting a slowing U.S. economy. Spot gold climbed 1.6% to $2,552.63 per ounce by 11:40 a.m. ET (1540 GMT), while U.S. gold futures rose 1.5% to…