Leonid Khazanov

Articles by Leonid Khazanov - Author at Metals Wire media.
  • The European Twilight: What’s Ahead for the Global Zinc Market

    See full Global Zinc Market Infographic here Zinc prices have been on a downward trend since January, following the sharp rises seen in 2022. This trend is not encouraging for zinc producers in Europe, who are already struggling with high electricity costs. In other regions of the world, the situation is different, but also ambiguous....
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  • Kazakhstan on the Verge of a Copper Junior Boom

    Ural Construction Union is about to launch a copper ore mining project in Kazakhstan. This is another boom in the creation of small companies in Kazakhstan to develop smaller deposits of the red metal. And this is not the first in the non-ferrous metallurgy of Russia’s neighbour. Western players The pioneer of Kazakhstan’s small-scale non-ferrous...
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  • The Future Begins Today

    A technological revolution is underway in the segment of the mining industry that is closely linked to metallurgy — working methods that have remained unchanged for decades and centuries are giving way to new ones. Before our very eyes, robots are becoming human assistants and polluting industries are being transformed into clean ones. A number...
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  • UMMC Faces New Challenges after US Sanctions

    The Ural Mining and Metallurgical Company (UMMC) has been added to the US Treasury Department’s sanctions list, posing challenges for the major copper producer in Russia. Despite the expectation of such sanctions, the move came as bad news for the company. UMMC is among Russia’s top three copper producers, estimated to produce around 450,000 to...
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  • Bolivian bridgehead: why does Rosatom need lithium?

    The Russian state corporation Rosatom has made a splash in Latin America: its subsidiary Uranium One has signed a framework agreement with Yacimientos de Litio Bolivianos to establish a complex for mining lithium salts and processing them into lithium carbonate in Bolivia. Rosatom’s attention to lithium is not accidental and implies far-reaching goals. The salt...
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  • A projected future: Russia plans to build new factories and more

    Every year in June, Russia traditionally hosts the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF). This year was no exception: despite the sanctions against Russia, the forum took place and was attended by a large number of delegates from all of its regions. It discussed not only the prospects of Russia’s economic development, but also concluded...
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  • A shortage of copper foil will drive up prices for the red metal

    The situation in South Korea is interesting: South Korean battery manufacturers could be facing a shortage of copper. Specifically, there could be a shortage of foil made from the red metal as a result of its limited supply on the global market. Not surprisingly, copper foil is essential for the anodes of lithium-ion batteries used...
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  • LME wants to capitalise on lithium race

    The London Metal Exchange (LME) and Qianhai Mercantile Exchange (OME) are jointly developing three new contracts. One will be for lithium carbonate, one for nickel sulphate and one for cobalt. They will be traded on OME, and transactions will be made in renminbi. And there are some interesting points here. The choice of lithium carbonate,...
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  • Platinum deficit could cause palladium shortage

    The world platinum market is expected to swing to a big deficit this year, close to 1 million troy ounces. Here is why this is happening and what implications this may have for the sister metal palladium. World Platinum Investment Council forecasts a platinum deficit of 983,000 troy ounces this year, according to the latest...
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  • Apollo to buy Arconic: what’s the deal of the year for the aluminium industry?

    Investment fund Apollo Global Management (“Apollo”) is to acquire US semi-finished aluminium goods producer Arconic for $5.2bn. After BHP Group’s recent $6.6 billion acquisition of OZ Minerals, the deal could be the second largest in the world’s non-ferrous metals industry this year. There is nothing unusual about it in principle: Apollo has been acquiring shares...
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  • Shortage of copper will push copper prices up

    The International Copper Study Group made a curious forecast: according to it, production of copper on the planet in the current year will increase by 2.6% to 26.317 million tons, its consumption will grow by 1.4% to 26.431 million tons. Thus, by the end of 2023, the global market is expected to be short of...
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  • Palladium: A story of ups and downs

    The global palladium market is at a turning point: it’s becoming cheaper, but there are also conditions that point to a possible increase in its price. The structure of palladium consumption is changing, preparing the market for a significant transformation. Unnecessary negativity The price of palladium is dropping, which is making investors nervous. In January...
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  • Japan’s ban on aluminium exports to Russia makes no sense

    A new package of sanctions adopted by the Japanese government against Russia is due to come into force on 7 April. The measures it envisages include, among other things, a ban on aluminium shipments. To all appearances, the Japanese government expects it to deal a devastating blow to consumption of the winged metal in Russia....
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  • France sets sights on ‘lithium club’

    Lithium de France has successfully completed its latest funding round, raising EUR 44 million after equity was allotted to institutional buyers including Arverne Group, Equinor Ventures and Hydro. It is worth nothing that Arverne Group, the main investor in Lithium de France, implements geothermal projects in France, Equinor Ventures is a subsidiary of Norwegian oil...
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  • Steel Dynamics bets on aluminium

    US-based Steel Dynamics has begun construction on a flat-rolled aluminium plant in Mississippi. The project cost is estimated at USD 2.2 billion, with operations expected to get underway in Q1 2025. The site will have an output of 650,000 tons of low-carbon aluminium sheets per year. The move has been received as an extraordinary event...
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  • Aluminium, copper, nickel, lithium: highlights of 2022 and forecasts for 2023

    Forecasts for 2023 – full infographics available here. Aluminium: For the aluminium sector, 2022 was a year defined by pessimism. The price of natural gas, coal and electricity in Europe, North America and Asia was relatively high and refused to come down. The European Union in particular suffered as a result, so it was no...
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