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Gerdau to idle Michigan bar mill melt, rolling ops

  • Spanish Market: Metals
  • 24/01/20

Steelmaker Gerdau will idle the melting and rolling operations at its special bar quality (SBQ) mill in Jackson, Michigan, beginning in mid-April.

The mill, located west of Detroit, has an electric arc furnace (EAF) with a production capacity of 300,000 metric tons (t)/yr (331,000 short tons/yr) and 276,000 t/yr of rolled steel products. The Jackson mill produces special bars and shapes and cold finished bar.

Gerdau said that the mill's processing and finishing facilities in Jackson will continue operating.

Gerdau will move orders from the Jackson mill to its other two special steel division mills in Monroe, Michigan, and Fort Smith, Arkansas. Those mills have a combined melt capacity of 1.15mn t/yr and 1.24mn t/yr of rolled steel products.

The move is the second idling of steelmaking capacity in Michigan announced recently.

Integrated steelmaker US Steel said in December that it would begin idling its remaining blast furnace and other steelmaking operations at its Great Lakes Works beginning in April. The mill is operating with 1.4mn st/yr of steel capacity, and produces hot rolled coil (HRC), cold rolled coil (CRC) and coated sheet products. The hot strip mill will be idled by the end of 2020.

By Rye Druzin


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24/04/25

Posco delays Argentinian lithium projects on low prices

Posco delays Argentinian lithium projects on low prices

Singapore, 24 April (Argus) — South Korean conglomerate Posco, which owns battery materials producer Posco Future M, is pushing back the completion of its Argentinian lithium projects by half a year because of a sluggish recovery in lithium prices. Its 25,000 t/yr lithium hydroxide plant in Argentina came on line last year. Posco was planning to complete its phase 2 — alongside an upstream brine project that provides feedstock to the plant, which would have raised its capacity by another 25,000 t/yr — by July-September. But this has now been postponed to January-March 2026. Posco is looking to ramp up its phase 1 by the end of 2025, but pushed back the completion schedule to "build optimal production system" given a market slowdown and slow recovery in lithium prices, it said in its latest quarterly results presentation on 24 April. It earlier this year ended a nickel refinery joint venture with major Chinese lithium-ion battery cathode active material (CAM) precursor manufacturer CNGR. The joint venture's liquidation is expected to be completed by June, Posco said on 24 April. Posco Future M's revenue rose by 17pc on the quarter but fell by 26pc on the year to 845bn South Korean won ($589mn), because of higher CAM revenue and more anode active materials' (AAM) sales. Operating profit came in at W17bn, rebounding from a loss of W41bn a quarter earlier but was lower than W38bn a year earlier. The subsidiary reported recovering CAM sales, partly owing to rising sales of high-nickel products, with a boost to AAM sales because of higher overall demand for non-Chinese AAM, said Posco. Chinese lithium carbonate prices have continued to trend downwards recently, weighed down by the trade war between the US and China since early April. Prices for 99.5pc grade lithium carbonate were assessed at 69,000-72,000 yuan/t ($9,463-9,874/t) ex-works China on 22 April, down from Yn69,500-72,500/t ex-works on 21 April and Yn70,000-73,500/t ex-works on 17 April. By Joseph Ho Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Australia’s Labor outlines $720mn critical mineral plan


24/04/25
24/04/25

Australia’s Labor outlines $720mn critical mineral plan

Sydney, 24 April (Argus) — Australia's governing Labor party has outlined its plan for a A$1.2bn ($720mn) critical mineral reserve from 2026, including offtake agreements to support project developments struggling to reach financial close, if it retains power in next month's election. Labor's reserve plan only covers some of the 31 minerals listed on Australia's critical minerals list . The party stressed the importance of rare earths in its statement issued on 24 April but declined to specify which minerals will be included. Labor will only be able to implement the plan if it is re-elected on 3 May . It is currently leading most parliamentary election polls. The plan includes a limited mineral stockpile, as well as offtake agreements that could underpin the development of projects struggling to secure funds. There were 25 projects at advanced feasibility stage but not yet at financial close as of 31 October 2024, according to Office of the Chief Economist. Of these, 19 were rare earths, graphite, mineral sands, nickel-cobalt or vanadium projects, which would benefit from government offtakes (see table) . The plan also involves the Australian government selling reserves to Australian businesses and some international partners, as nations look to diversify supply from China. Labor intends to set up the critical mineral reserve in 2026. The strategic reserve will mean the government has the power to purchase, own and sell critical minerals found in Australia, said the country's prime minister and Labor party leader Anthony Albanese. Albanese pledged to create the reserve on 4 April in response to US president Donald Trump's "liberation day" tariff announcement. Australia's federal government has supported critical mineral projects through grants and loans over the last three years. It also created a critical mineral tax credit in early 2025, covering 10pc of mineral processing and refining costs from 2027-28. State governments are also supporting Australia's critical mineral producers. Western Australia's (WA) government created a A$150mn lithium support package in late 2024, offering producers interest-free loans and fee waivers. Multiple companies have applied for interest-free loans since then, the state's mining minister told Argus on 1 April. By Avinash Govind Critical mineral projects (Advanced feasibility stage) Mineral No. of projects Rare Earths 6 Graphite 4 Titanium and mineral sands 3 Nickel-cobalt 3 Vanadium 3 Other 6 Source: Office of the Chief Economist Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Indonesia stands committed to Ni controls: Ni Indonesia


23/04/25
23/04/25

Indonesia stands committed to Ni controls: Ni Indonesia

London, 23 April (Argus) — Indonesia remains committed to controlling nickel exports as well as increasing downstream value, the country's environment minister told delegates at the first Argus Nickel Indonesia conference today. Cecep Mochammad Yasin, director of mineral business development at the energy and mineral resources ministry, said the rapid growth of Indonesian nickel output made it necessary to adjust royalty rates and maintain output controls to preserve "invaluable nickel reserves" and stabilise prices on the international market. The Indonesian government in March adopted Regulation 19 of 2025, increasing royalty rates for nickel ore to 14-19pc, up from a previous flat rate of 10pc, while Ferronickel and NPI royalty rates were introduced at 5-7pc and nickel matte at 3.5-5.5pc. The new rates will take effect from the end of April. "This is a critical step towards ensuring that our natural resources give optimum benefits to all Indonesians by gradually increasing royalty rates," Cecep said. Preserving Indonesia's mineral wealth Cecep emphasised his country's commitment to preserving nickel reserves, saying Indonesia needed to maintain production controls to increase the longevity of critical minerals. "We have a responsibility to manage this resource to ensure availability for future generations," he said. "Massive exploitation of natural resources without regard for conservation will result in resource depletion. We must learn from other countries' experiences to make sure our nickel reserves are not depleted too quickly." Indonesia earlier this year set a production quota for nickel ore in 2025 at around 200mn t, a reduction from 2024's estimated production of 215mn t. The government had previously approved 240mn t of production out to 2026, but a reduction was made in January owing to a nickel supply glut in the international market. Since then, nickel prices have continued to fall, reaching their lowest since early 2020 at $14,000-14,030/t on the London Metal Exchange (LME) on 9 April after US tariffs were announced. Prices have since bounced back to about $15,000/t on continued trade negotiations between the US and other economic partners. The minister also hinted at working with other nickel producing countries "to create a shared understanding of global production management", which he said would be a "key step" towards international price stability. Government officials warned delegates that over the coming years, the quality of nickel grades will decline, as some of the low-hanging fruit has already been picked. "Resource quality will gradually decline," Indonesia's National Economic Council executive director Tubugas Nugraha said. "Over the next 2-3 years this trend will be balanced by increased production, but in the longer term the nickel content, especially in our NPI products will face structural challenges." Increasing downstream ambitions Indonesia has ambitions to add further value downstream in the supply chain, including in stainless steel and battery production, delegates heard. "By promoting the growth of domestic nickel processing and refining industries, we can increase added value and reduce reliance on exports," Tabagus told delegates. "Downstreaming can also absorb part of the supply and produce consistent demand." Tubagus added that downstreaming is part of Indonesia's 2045 plan for economic development, moving from extracting raw ore to producing value-added materials. He added that the country's ambition was to become a "global hub" for stainless steel, battery raw materials and electric vehicle (EV) components. Under the Indonesia Emas 2045 plan, the country plans to invest over $600bn into commodity linked industries in the coming decades, in order to escape what Indonesian national development planning ministry energy resources director Nizhar Marizi called its own "middle-income trap". Tax revenues will be key to this plan, as a report by the World Bank in December 2024 highlighted, saying Indonesia would need "structural reforms" to increase tax receipts and fund its ambitions. By Thomas Kavanagh Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

South Korea's LGES exits Indonesia's $8.4bn EV project


22/04/25
22/04/25

South Korea's LGES exits Indonesia's $8.4bn EV project

Singapore, 22 April (Argus) — Top South Korean battery firm LG Energy Solution (LGES) has pulled out of Indonesia's Grand Package project, which is supposed to be an integrated electric vehicle (EV) battery project worth 142 trillion Indonesia rupiah ($8.4bn). "Taking into account various factors, including market conditions and investment environment, we have agreed to formally withdraw from the Indonesia [Grand Package] GP project," LGES told Argus on 22 April. The mega project was in the making since 2019. It involves an LG consortium that consists of multiple South Korean firms including LGES, LG Chem, LX International and Posco Future M, major Chinese cobalt refiner and nickel-cobalt-manganese precursor producer Huayou, Indonesian state-controlled mining firm Aneka Tambang (Antam) as well as consortium Indonesia Battery. Original plans included building a $1.1bn battery cell plant and were supposed to be followed by a smelter, precursor and cathode plant as well as "mining cooperation" with Antam. "However, we will continue to explore various avenues of collaboration with the Indonesian government, centering on the Indonesia battery joint venture, HLI Green Power," the firm added. The HLI Green Power is LGES' 10 GWh/yr Indonesian battery production joint venture with South Korean conglomerate Hyundai Motor, which started mass production last April. LGES earlier this year also invested in Chinese battery cathode maker Lopal Tech's lithium iron phosphate plant in Indonesia . LGES last year said it plans to reduce its dependence on the EV battery business and has signed multiple energy storage system battery supply deals so far this year, including with Taiwanese electronics manufacturing firm Delta Electronics and Polish state-controlled utility PGE . By Joseph Ho Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

India imposes 12pc safeguard duty on flat steel imports


22/04/25
22/04/25

India imposes 12pc safeguard duty on flat steel imports

Mumbai, 22 April (Argus) — The Indian government has imposed a 12pc provisional duty on certain flat steel imports for 200 days to shield the domestic steel industry. The duty, applicable from 21 April, was implemented following a recommendation by the Directorate General of Trade Remedies in March. It covers products under HS codes 7208, 7209, 7210, 7211, 7212, 7225 and 7226, the ministry of finance said in a notification. As recommended by the DGTR, the duty is only applicable if the import price is below a certain threshold, which is different for each product. For hot-rolled coils (HRC), the safeguard duty will not be applicable if the product is imported at or above $675/t cif, while the threshold is set at $824/t cif for cold-rolled coils. Domestic Indian steelmakers in 2024 sought protection from lower-priced imports from China and other Asian suppliers, which pushed local HRC prices to multi-year lows last year. The DGTR subsequently launched a safeguard investigation in December 2024. HRC prices rebounded last month, partly because of rumors and speculation around potential safeguard measures, and received a further boost following the duty proposal on 18 March. The Argus weekly Indian domestic HRC assessment for 2.5-4mm material reached over an eight-month high of 52,100 rupees/t ($612/t) ex-Mumbai, excluding goods and services tax, on 4 April, increasing by 9pc compared to the end of February. Sentiment shifted over the last few weeks because of escalating US-China trade tensions, with the assessment falling to Rs51,000/t on 17 April as restocking interest cooled. Surging imports pose a threat to the domestic industry and there is a need to implement provisional safeguard measures immediately, the DGTR said in its recommendations. India remained a net importer of finished steel in the April 2024-March 2025 fiscal year, with inflows increasing by 15pc on the year to 9.5mn t, according to ministry data. China has been a major supplier, owing to its weak domestic market, while imports from countries which India has a free-trade agreement with — such as South Korea and Japan — have also risen. South Korea was the top supplier to India during April 2024-February 2025, and accounted for 30pc of its total finished steel imports. Among developing countries, only China and Vietnam will be subject to safeguard duties. "Unchecked imports — especially from countries with significant excess capacity — threaten domestic manufacturing, employment, and future investments," said Indian producer Tata Steel's chief executive T.V. Narendran. "This decision will help restore fair competition, ensure the industry's long-term sustainability, and support India's vision of a self-reliant and globally competitive steel sector," Narendran added. The trade market reaction to the safeguard duty implementation was mixed, with some saying mills could take a cautious approach as buyers have been resisting latest price hikes, while others said steelmakers were likely to hike prices immediately. Indian steel mills increased prices by about Rs4,000/t following rumors around safeguards and the duty proposal, and now a further uptrend in prices is expected, an international steel trader said. A local steel distributor said steel mills would definitely raise prices, but in May instead of this month. By Amruta Khandekar Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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