Tharisa’s profits up on higher chrome production

Spanish Market: Metals
28/11/24

South African platinum group metals (PGM) and chrome producer Tharisa's full-year 2024 profits rose as revenue from higher chrome production offset low PGM prices, the company announced in its annual results today.

The company reported an operating profit of $119.6mn for the financial year. The increase of 26.3pc compared with 2023 was attributed to higher chrome prices that offset lower PGM prices and sales volumes. Chrome ore production contributed 68pc of Tharisa's revenue for the year.

Specialty chemicals group Johnson Matthey priced platinum at $945/troy ounce (toz) today, down by 7pc since the start of the year. Palladium prices also fell, down by 14pc since the beginning of 2024 at $998/toz today.

In Tharisa's October production report, the company said that chrome concentrate production over the 2024 financial year ending on 30 September was the highest in company history at 1.7mn t, up by 8pc from 2023.

Tharisa produced 145,100oz PGM (6E), a 0.3pc increase from the previous financial year.

The company is proceeding with plans to expand the Tharisa mine underground, with design, technical and feasibility studies expected to be finalised in the second quarter of 2025. The development is expected to extend the lifespan of the mine by 40 years.

Tharisa also said it is continuing development of the Karo Platinum Project mine, although the challenging PGM price landscape led the company to slow the project timeline.

By Ellanee Kruck

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29/11/24

Liberty units to be repaid in Speciality restructuring

London, 29 November (Argus) — GFG Alliance entities Marble Power and Liberty Fe Trade DMCC will be excluded from Liberty Speciality Steel's restructuring plan, meaning they will be repaid, according to documents seen by Argus . GFG Alliance is the overall parent of Liberty Steel and all its subsidiaries. Speciality Steel owes and will pay Marble Power, its power supplier, around £11.5mn. Liberty Fe Trade is owed £1.4mn for the procurement of software licences, and will not have sufficient reserves to cover those licences without being paid. Liberty declined to comment. In total, GFG Alliance entities are owed over £288mn by Speciality Steel, but aside from Marble Power and Liberty Fe Trade, those claims will be released, reflecting a "significant contribution" from the wider parent, according to the restructuring documentation. In the event that Speciality Steel creditors accept its restructuring, enabling the company to keep operating, it will reduce its higher-margin aerospace work "as it is unable to retain quantities produced during the last two years for its largest two customers beyond the first half of 2025", Liberty's business plan states. Two main aerospace customers are supporting the business through upfront payments and premiums for accelerate deliveries, but this arrangement will end by May 2025, after which aerospace work will be significantly reduced. Key customers will provide £27.5mn in cash support to January 2025. As the aerospace work winds down, the company will "hire out the excess capacity to another steel producer", and discussions about this are continuing. Market sources have said Speciality could produce billet for British Steel's rolling operations. Going forward, Speciality will focus on vacuum-induction melting at Stocksbridge for other industries, such as oil and gas, and industrial engineering. Speciality will also source steel — including semi-finished products — externally to "increase deliverability of customer products". The business plan envisages the ebitda margin increasing from minus 188pc in February-March 2025 to 2pc in 2026. The plan assumes steady production through the year, other than seasonally reduced capacity in December and August. This would be a big change from this year, with just 50,000t of steel emerging from the electric arc furnace, which has a capacity closer to 1mn t/yr. By Colin Richardson Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Japan’s Al imports rebound in October

29/11/24

Japan’s Al imports rebound in October

Shanghai, 29 November (Argus) — Japanese aluminium imports hit a peak for the year in October as buyers began restocking after a few months of inactivity. Imports of primary aluminium in October increased by 41.8pc from September and 20pc from the previous year, totalling 103,989t. This brought the total imports from January to October to 870,942t, marking a 0.6pc decrease compared with the same period last year, data from the Japanese finance ministry shows. India surpassed other major suppliers in October to become the largest supplier for the first time. Japanese buyers maintained low price expectations, pushing many suppliers to redirect their allocation to other markets owing to tight supply. Production of domestic aluminium goods in October decreased by 1.1pc year on year to 149,884t, according to the Japan Aluminium Association. Domestic shipments of aluminium products increased slightly by 1.1pc year on year to 151,077t, marking the first rise in three months. The car production and construction sectors remained quiet. Japan's domestic automobile production in October was largely stable year on year, but the number of new housing projects decreased by 0.6pc to 68,548 units in September, according to the latest industrial data. Japan's imports of secondary aluminium alloy ingots (ADC12) also hit a one-year high in October, increasing by 37.2pc year on year and reaching 110,680t, data from the finance ministry show. Japan's aluminium imports t Oct-24 Sep-24 ± % Jan-Oct 2024 Jan-Oct 2023 ± % India 22,897 1,466 1,461.6 93,753 68,942 36.0 Australia 22,830 21,997 3.8 235,745 245,798 -4.1 Brazil 14,895 11,302 31.8 142,514 137,261 3.8 UAE 10,481 5,973 75.5 93,544 76,189 22.8 New Zealand 7,983 8,497 -6.0 88,547 93,991 -5.8 South Africa 5,756 7,984 -27.9 63,314 56,827 11.4 Saudi Arabia 3,543 3,257 8.8 30,726 31,612 -2.8 Malaysia 3,199 5,807 -44.9 34,438 38,443 -10.4 Bahrain 2,207 878 151.3 15,645 30,463 -48.6 Russia 503 139 260.9 22,343 70,591 -68.3 Others 9,695 6,027 60.8 50,374 25,852 94.9 Total 103,989 73,327 41.8 870,942 875,969 -0.6 Source: Ministry of Finance Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Ambatovy to complete debt restructuring by Dec

28/11/24

Ambatovy to complete debt restructuring by Dec

London, 28 November (Argus) — Madagascan nickel project Ambatovy — one of the world's main sources of nickel briquette — has had a debt restructuring plan accepted by a British court, according to an announcement made today by Japanese nickel mining and trading group Sumitomo Corporation. The group expects to complete the restructuring in early December, it said, adding that it was considering all options for Ambatovy in lieu of the low nickel price environment as well as its social obligations. Production at Ambatovy was suspended in early October following damage to a slurry pipeline used to transport ore from its mine to its refinery. Operations resumed under close monitoring at the end of October, but future production plans are under review owing to the plant's high costs of production that are set against a sharp drop in nickel prices this year. In the six months to 30 September, Ambatovy experienced a nickel price drop of 19pc on a year-on-year basis to $7.87/lb, driving a decline in nickel output of 16pc to 16,000t. Benchmark nickel prices on the London Metal Exchange are currently hovering around $16,000/t, at least $10,000/t below Ambatovy's costs of production, traders surveyed by Argus said. By Raghav Jain Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Hastings signs Saudi metals refinery agreement

28/11/24

Hastings signs Saudi metals refinery agreement

Sydney, 28 November (Argus) — Australian mineral mining company Hastings Technology Metals has signed an initial agreement with Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Investment to explore building a metal refinery in the kingdom in preparation for the opening of Hastings' Yangibana mine. Hastings is expecting to be able to produce up to 37,000 t/yr of rare earth concentrates at Yangibana in Australia's New South Wales, beginning in the second quarter of 2027. The development also houses 20.9mn t of proven and probable rare earth ores, making it Australia's third-largest planned rare earth mine. The ASX-listed company is planning to enter the downstream rare earth supply chain by constructing a concentrate processing plant in either Western Australia, Estonia or Saudi Arabia. The company has not committed to constructing refineries in any of those locations at this stage. The recent agreement between Hastings and the Saudi Arabian government commits the kingdom to providing regulatory guidance to the company and helping it to secure Saudi-based capital and joint-venture partners for the refinery. Hastings currently has plans to ship refined rare earth metals to Hong Kong-listed magnet maker JL Mag and Canada-listed rare earth processor Neo Performance Materials, after 2027. Chinese magnet producer Jinli Magnet bought a 9.8pc stake in Hastings earlier this year and agreed to support its New South Wales operations. Manufacturers across a range of sectors, including the electric vehicle, air conditioning, and wind turbine industries, use neodymium and praseodymium, two of the rare earth elements found at the Yangibana mine, to produce industrial-grade magnets. Since 2019, Argus ' praseodymium-neodymium oxide min 99pc fob China price has increased by more than 40pc, from $40,750/t to $57,150/t. By Avinash Govind Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

US import tariffs would lift steel, scrap costs

27/11/24

US import tariffs would lift steel, scrap costs

Pittsburgh, 27 November (Argus) — President-elect Donald Trump's plans to introduce a 25pc tariff on all imports from Mexico and Canada could increase costs for US steelmakers and manufacturers, but so far lacks clarity on its application around existing steel tariffs and trade agreements. Trump pledged on social media earlier this week to use an executive order to implement a widespread tariff on imports from both countries on 20 January, along with an additional 10pc tariff on all imports from China. The import tax on Canada and Mexico could have sweeping ramifications on the steel and manufacturing industries across the three North American countries. The additional import tax on China, which could lift current tariffs to as high as 60pc for all steel imports, would likely have minimal effects on US steel and scrap markets because of already-low import volumes from the nation. Despite the potential havoc the tariffs could have on supply chains, many market participants are waiting to react until more details about the plan are formalized. Some market participants expect that the list will be refined, and others view the pledge as a negotiating strategy for broader trade agreements, but some US scrap importers are beginning to lightly sketch out what the tariff would mean for sourcing raw materials. Lacking clarity Trump's announcement did not specify how the proposed import tax would interact with the existing Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum, which were imposed by his first administration in 2018 under national security concerns. Canada, Mexico and a few other key countries have remained exempt from the Section 232 tariffs, while other countries have seen tariffs removed and a non-tariffed quota system imposed. Similarly, if the US implemented tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico it would be in violation of the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) that was also put in place by Trump's first administration in 2020. The proposed tariffs would equate to $2.1bn in additional costs for volumes of steel products imported this year, based on the latest preliminary data from the US Department of Commerce, and analysis of Canada and Mexico volumes. Canada and Mexico have exported 6.87mn metric tonnes (t) of steel products for consumption to the US with a value of $8.25bn year to date October, down from the 7.8mn t of products with a $9.65bn value imported the same period a year earlier, according to the latest available preliminary data from the US Department of Commerce. Scrap impact The import tax could have a significant impact on some US steelmakers' raw material pricing and sourcing strategies because Canada and Mexico are the two largest shippers of ferrous scrap into the country. The US has imported about 5mn t/yr of ferrous scrap over the last three years and ferrous scrap import volumes year to date September have so far totaled 3.5mn t, down 8pc from the same period last year. Canada has shipped 75pc of all ferrous scrap exports into the US, including stainless scrap and alloy scrap, over the last 10 years, while Mexico has shipped 12pc of the total over the same period. US steelmakers in the upper Midwest and Detroit region would be particularly impacted by the import tax because of the volume of prime and shred sourced from Canada. The US has imported a monthly average of 60,000t of #1 bundles and 44,000t of shred from the country since 2013. One US steelmaker said prime grades could see the greatest disruption because they are traded through longer-term, index-based contracts which might not have provisions regarding boarder tax changes because of assurances under the USMCA. Some Canadian traders said that if the tariff went into effect, the costs would be passed through to US steelmakers which would likely prompt them to cut back on volumes. This would increase regional demand for scrap in the US and could support a shift in flows from the east coast inland. Meanwhile, the timing of the US domestic ferrous scrap trade and the potential implementation of the import tax could also create challenges for some mills in January. One US steelmaker said that it would initially try to split the costs with Canadian dealers in January but work to establish a more formal agreement for the remainder of 2025 if the tariff were implemented. By Brad MacAulay and Rye Druzchetta Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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