With around seven years of experience, Lars has quickly become known for his sharp analysis of metals markets and emerging industry trends. He started his career in economic research, where he learned to simplify complex data into workable insights. Since then, Lars has contributed significantly to market forecasting, helping investors and industry leaders understand the often volatile metals markets. At Metals Wire, his focus is on clarifying the rapid changes in the industry, from regulatory updates to technological innovations.
South Korea’s LS Group has recently finalized significant copper concentrate purchase agreements, reflecting the increasing competition to secure this essential resource in the artificial intelligence (AI) era. LS MnM Inc., the non-ferrous metals unit of LS Group, has signed a 10-year contract in April to procure 1 million tons of copper concentrate annually from the...
China’s aluminium imports surged by 61.1% in May compared to the previous year, reaching 310,000 metric tons, according to customs data released on Tuesday. This substantial increase is attributed to a rise in shipments from Russia, which has been affected by Western sanctions. As the world’s largest consumer of aluminium, China saw a significant rise...
OceanaGold Philippines anticipates a strong financial year driven by increasing global gold and copper prices, according to the company’s president. “The positive outlook for gold and copper definitely helps,” stated President and General Manager for External Affairs and Social Performance Joan D. Adaci-Cattiling in an interview with BusinessWorld. In the first quarter of 2024, the...
Umicore, a Belgian cathode material company, has introduced plans for cooperation within the hydrogen fuel cell value chain. The announcement was made during the ‘Korea-Europe Hydrogen and Renewable Energy Partnership Plaza Online Forum,’ held on June 12, as revealed by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) and the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA)....
Global aluminium producers have proposed premiums of $185 to $190 per metric ton for primary metal shipments to Japanese buyers for the July-September quarter. This represents a 25% to 31% increase from the current quarter, according to sources involved in the quarterly pricing negotiations. Japan, a significant Asian importer of aluminium, sets the benchmark for...
On June 12, materials technology and recycling group Umicore announced a downward revision to its 2024 profit forecast due to a significant reduction in demand for battery materials. This announcement has caused the company’s stock price to plummet to a near 10-year low. According to Reuters, Umicore is the latest supplier to be affected by...
Zimbabwe’s Vice President, Constantino Chiwenga, announced plans to leverage Tajikistani expertise to establish a local aluminium production industry. During his visit to Tajikistan, Chiwenga commended the central Asian country’s rapid development of its aluminium sector, The Sunday Mail reported on June 16. Chiwenga toured the Tajik Aluminium Company (TALCO), which boasts an annual production capacity...
LiTHOS Group has announced its membership in the Alabama Mobility and Power (AMP) Center, joining forces with partners such as The University of Alabama, Alabama Power, and Mercedes-Benz U.S. International. This collaboration places LiTHOS at the forefront of electric vehicle (EV) and mobility innovation. The AMP Center is a research and development hub focused on...
Norsk Hydro announced an $85 million investment in a new aluminum casting line at its secondary aluminum production plant in Henderson, Kentucky. The project, supported by tax incentives from the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Agency, is scheduled to become operational in 2026. The new line will utilize HyForge technology, enhancing the plant’s capacity by 28,000...
Nornickel is installing a new flash smelting furnace at its Nadezhda Smelter, the world’s largest supplier of palladium and Class 1 nickel, said in a press release. This new furnace is set to replace one of the existing smelting units that has become obsolete and is being phased out of operation, Nornickel said. Its key...
A recent study published in the journal Advanced Science has detailed the unusual phase transition properties of an alloy composed of gallium and copper. Researchers observed the alloy transitioning from liquid to solid and back again, a behavior that is exceptionally rare but achievable when gallium crystallizes. Gallium, a metal that melts at temperatures just...
Golden Mile Resources has secured access to the Pearl Copper Project in Arizona through an agreement with Outcrop Silver & Gold. Located in the Laramide Porphyry Belt, this project is expected to hold substantial copper resources. The Pearl Copper Project, which has seen minimal modern exploration, contains over 50 historic artisanal workings and hosts the...
China’s primary aluminium production surged by 7.2% in May, reaching its highest monthly level in nearly a decade, driven by strong growth prospects in the solar and electric vehicle sectors. The world’s largest aluminium producer generated 3.65 million metric tons of primary aluminium in May, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics. This...
Mining conglomerate Vedanta Group has outlined a strategic roadmap to achieve a near-term EBITDA of $10 billion. This ambitious target will be driven by the timely execution of over 50 high-impact growth projects across its zinc, aluminum, oil and gas, and power businesses. In a recent presentation to over 45 fund managers and analysts, Vedanta...
Summit Nanotech and Zelandez have signed a non-binding letter of intent (LOI) on May 14, 2024, to streamline the process from brine to battery, utilizing Summit’s denaLi Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) technology and Zelandez’s ErLi carbonation technology. This LOI initiates discussions for an evaluation project using brine from one of Summit’s South American salars to...
Recycling-Innovations-Technologies (Reintech) plans to build a state-of-the-art plant in the Alekseevka settlement of Kinel township, Samara region, Russia, to recycle aluminum scrap and produce secondary alloys, according to Volga News. Rusal has confirmed its involvement in the project, indicating potential cooperation with Reintech. “We plan to build the most modern aluminum scrap processing and realloy...
Mining activity in South Africa is expected to continue its upward trajectory for the better half of this year after rebounding at the beginning of the second quarter. Data from Statistics South Africa (StatsSA) showed that mining production rose by 0.7% year-on-year in April, recovering from a downwardly revised 4.8% decline in March. This improvement...
Century Lithium has announced the filing of the “NI 43-101 Technical Report on the Feasibility Study of the Clayton Valley Lithium Project, Esmeralda County, Nevada, USA.” The report, dated April 29, 2024, supports the disclosure in the company’s news release from the same date. It was prepared by Wood Canada Limited, Global Resource Engineering, Ltd....
Design work on Rusal’s alumina refinery in the Lomonosov district of the Leningrad Region is set to begin in late 2024 to early 2025. The project involves an investment of approximately 400 billion rubles, with potential cost increases of 10-15%. Dmitry Yalov, Deputy Chairman of the regional government, stated that the construction of the alumina...
China’s imports of zinc concentrates have sharply decreased over the first four months of this year due to a tightening raw materials market. Spot treatment terms for imported mine concentrates are currently trading at uneconomic levels for many Chinese smelters, forcing them to rely more on domestic mine supply. In the first four months of...
Intense competition among some of the largest commodity traders for copper has opened up opportunities for miners to secure favorable terms, including large upfront payments and long-term contracts. Recent moves by cash-rich energy traders like Mercuria Energy Group to expand their metals business have heightened tensions and sparked a scramble for contracts in an industry...
Alara Resources has announced an update on its joint venture company, Al Hadeetha Resources’ Al Wash-hi – Majaza copper-concentrate production project in Oman. Alara holds a 51% interest in the joint venture. The first consignment of copper concentrate, comprising approximately 156 metric tonnes of copper and 6 kg of gold, was shipped in May. The...
Freeport-McMoRan, a major US mining firm, is leveraging new processing technology to significantly increase copper production without opening new mines. The company aims to add 800 million pounds of copper annually within three to five years, CEO Kathleen Quirk told Bloomberg. Quirk emphasized the difficulty of developing new copper supply, highlighting the necessity of this...
