Brimstone will produce alumina in US by 2030

: Metals
25/01/08

California-based cement maker Brimstone plans by 2030 to produce US smelter-grade alumina as part of its decarbonized cement manufacturing process.

Alumina is the core material used to produce aluminum, and the only operational alumina refinery in the US relies on imported sources of unrefined alumina.

Brimstone will produce alumina using carbon-free calcium silicate rocks, reducing the need for imported alumina as well as imported bauxite to use in alumina production.

From January-September, the US imported 989,000 metric tonnes of alumina, including 749,000t from Brazil. In the same period, the US imported 1.6mn t of unrefined bauxite, including 1.3mn t from Jamaica and 232,000t from Turkey, in addition to 272,000t of calcined bauxite.

Brimstone will begin pilot operations in 2025 and seeks to have its commercial demonstration plant operating by 2030. Today, Brimstone received $8.7mn of a total $189mn in federal cost share from the Department of Energy's Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations to help with site selection and other initial studies.

By Cole Sullivan

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25/01/09

Eurofer requests steel import duty, quota changes

London, 9 January (Argus) — The European steel association Eurofer has requested a reduction in the safeguard quota volumes and a higher duty on material above quotas amid the ongoing measures review, according to partner at law firm Van Bael & Bellis Yuriy Rudyuk. The reduction in the quota volumes is to reflect the decrease in steel demand in the bloc. Eurofer data shows apparent steel consumption has decreased nearly 15pc between 2017 and projected 2024 volumes. The association is looking for the safeguard tariff to increase to 32-41pc from the current 25pc, Rudyuk said. In addition, a 15pc cap to countries' access to "other countries'" quotas is being requested — this mechanism already applies to the hot-rolled coils (HRC) and wire rod quotas. This would be particularly impactful for the hot-dipped galvanised quotas, which have been typically dominated by Vietnam. The association would also like for more country specific quotas to be introduced, for no residual volumes to be carried over, and for no new developing countries exemptions. Currently, developing countries who are members of the WTO with small historical supply to the bloc are exempt from the safeguards. Eurofer did not answer a request for comment. The EC is currently inviting users and producers of steel to submit a questionnaire for the ongoing measures review by 10 January. By Lora Stoyanova Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Japan Al: 1Q premium surges on tight supply

25/01/09

Japan Al: 1Q premium surges on tight supply

Shanghai, 9 January (Argus) — Japan's aluminium P1020 premiums for the first quarter of 2025 was settled at $228/t over cash London Metal Exchange (LME) prices. Premiums rose by $53/t from the previous quarter, reaching the highest level since Argus began the assessment in 2016. Initial offers were much higher at above $240/t in December, and only a small volume was concluded at $228/t to Japan. The significant increase was primarily driven by concerns over future supply in the seaborne market and escalating trade measures in the global market. Some suppliers either withdrew their production forecasts or planned to reduce output levels, fuelling concerns about tight supply. China announced the cancellation of the 13pc export tax rebate for fabricated aluminium products from 1 December 2024, which led to increased demand from rolling mills outside China. The premium in the US also rose because of potential higher import tariffs. But demand in Japan is still weak owing to slow domestic car production and construction activity. Japan's domestic car production continued its downward trajectory for most of 2024, with output recording a year-on-year fall for every month from January to November, except in May and July. Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Hyundai Motor plans $16.7bn Korean investment in 2025

25/01/09

Hyundai Motor plans $16.7bn Korean investment in 2025

Singapore, 9 January (Argus) — South Korean conglomerate Hyundai Motor, which owns major automotive brands Hyundai and Kia, plans to invest 24.3 trillion won ($16.7bn) in South Korea this year in what it said is its largest ever annual investment domestically. The domestic investment amount is W3.9 trillion or 19pc higher than in 2024, in a bid to "overcome the crisis" and "secure future growth engines" given global uncertainties through "continuous and stable" investment, said the group on 9 January. Around W12 trillion will go into its current investments and W11.5 trillion will go to research and development, while another W800bn will be injected into what it called "strategic investment". Hyundai Motor still plans to continue developing new electric vehicles (EVs) and accelerating the electrification transition, it said. A major investment in building an EV-only plant will be made this year, said the conglomerate. Kia's battery EV plant in Hwaseong that has a production capacity of 150,000 units/yr is still expected to be completed in the second half of 2025. Its EV plant in Ulsan is currently under construction and is expected to begin producing in the first half of 2026. Kia is expected to feature a full line-up of 15 EV models by 2027, while Hyundai is expected to have 21 EV models by 2030, said the group. The conglomerate sold around 4.14mn units of vehicles in 2024, down by 1.8pc on the year, mainly driven by lower domestic sales. Domestic sales totalled 705,010 units, down by 7.5pc on the year ,while its overseas sales were steady at almost 3.44mn units. A sales target of 4.17mn units has been set for 2025. South Korea's top battery maker LG Energy Solution (LGES), which supplies a significant number of batteries for Hyundai's and Kia's EV models, is expecting its 2024 operating profit and sales to see sharp falls, it said on 9 January. LGES earlier similarly indicated an uncertain outlook on the battery and EV market. LGES expects its 2024 operating profit to plunge by 73pc to W575.4bn and sales to fall by 24pc to W25.6 trillion. LGES expects to post its only quarterly loss of the year for October-December of W225.5bn, with sales expected to be down by 19pc on the year to W6.45 trillion during the quarter. LGES earlier has warned that significant cuts in capital expenditure from the firm during 2025 can be expected. By Joseph Ho Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Titan extends Empire State Zn mine life

25/01/08

Titan extends Empire State Zn mine life

Houston, 8 January (Argus) — Canada-based Titan Mining reported an increase in zinc resources and the life of mine of the Empire State zinc mine near Gouverneur, New York. The mine's measured and indicated contained pounds of zinc increased by 22pc compared with Titan's 2020 assessment, totalling 636mn lb of total recoverable zinc and 541mn lb of payable zinc. Titan extended the life of mine out to 2033. The company is currently planning on 40,000ft of near mine underground drilling within existing mining areas in 2025 as well as 31,000ft of exploration drilling, 13,000ft in near mine drilling, and 18,000ft in regional surface drilling with the expectation of adding incremental production in the near term. The exploration drilling is made up of fifteen drill ready targets. Total near mine exploration targets are estimated to contain 4.8-5.3mn metric tonnes (t) of mineralized material at an average zinc grade of 10-14pc, coming out to between 935,000 and 1.47mn t of contained zinc. By Cole Sullivan Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Nickel briefly tests level below $15,000/t

25/01/08

Nickel briefly tests level below $15,000/t

London, 8 January (Argus) — Benchmark nickel on the London Metal Exchange (LME) fell below $15,000/t for the first time since October 2020 at the end of last week as the ongoing strength of the US dollar, increasing Class 1 oversupply and sluggish physical demand combined to sink the contract to a fresh low. The three-month nickel contract fell to $14,995/t on 3 January, the lowest since 8 October 2020. The official price recovered this week and was at $15,380/t in today's official trade as the US dollar moved lower on reports that US president-elect Donald Trump is scaling back plans to impose sweeping tariffs on imported goods. Near-term direction is likely to be determined by a combination of macro factors, supply-demand shifts and Indonesian nickel pig iron (NPI) prices. The global refined nickel market was in a surplus of 135,000t last year, according to Australian bank Macquarie. Russian Class 1 nickel producer Norilsk Nickel (Nornickel) pegged the total market surplus at 150,000t, approximately 130,000t of which is connected to high-grade production. The continuing rapid surge in processing capacity for Class 1 nickel metal in Chinese and Indonesian refineries is due to drive a rise in LME-held stocks to provide the biggest source of price downside this year, with Macquarie's research indicating 300,000t of new Class 1 refining capacity is due to come on line during 2024-26. Market participants surveyed by Argus through December said that Class 1 fundamentals are becoming aligned with the surplus story around other battery metals such as cobalt and lithium, with refined nickel due to be in structural oversupply for years to come on rich upstream and downstream Chinese investments. The rise in Chinese and Indonesian origin high-grade nickel supply is set against a tight Class 2 space, driven by a drop in global production of nickel pig iron (NPI) and ferro-nickel. Macquarie said ferro-nickel and NPI output is projected to drop by 3pc year on year in 2024 even as global stainless steel production rises by 3.5pc. But over the same period, Indonesian and Chinese Class 1 and nickel sulphate output is expected to grow by 30pc year on year, adding 200,000t of nickel units in the market. This supply glut together with capabilities that allow NPI to be converted to LME-deliverable metal (via matte) will keep LME prices near the marginal cost of NPI plus conversion. Current NPI-class 1 conversion costs are pegged at $3,500-4,000t, market participants told Argus . The spread between benchmark nickel on the LME and the Argus assessment for NPI 10-14pc China main port duty unpaid fell from $6,720.44/t at the end of the second quarter of 2024 to $4,093.33/t at the end of December. Three-month nickel on the LME shed 14.5pc in the second half of 2024, while the Argus NPI assessment rose by 2.23pc over the same period to show a closer alignment of the global benchmark with NPI conversion costs. The narrowing of this spread is likely to increase the positive correlation between nickel prices and nickel ore prices this year. Tight ore supply in New Caledonia and Indonesia led to a surge in nickel ore prices in 2024, which also raised downstream NPI prices. Market participants told Argus that Indonesia could pursue a strategic reduction of ore licences (RKAB) in 2025 to support prices given weak demand-side fundamentals and the pressure on the government to preserve margins for domestic producers. French nickel mining group Eramet revised down its 2024 ore production guidance at PT Weda Bay Nickel to 29mn wmt in October from an initially expected 40mn-42mn wmt because of permit restrictions. LME nickel is expected to find price support at the higher end of $15,000-16,000/t this year. A move above this range depends on further supply side cuts. Macquarie identified output cuts of 100,000-150,000t in Indonesia and 400,000t in the rest of the world over the past two years, driven by tight ore supply and falling Class 2 production in Indonesia and the inability of non-Indonesian suppliers to compete. A demand-side recovery in key consumption markets could also widen price bands for nickel on the higher end, as Nornickel projects nickel demand growth in the battery market to rise to 42,000t this year, up from 19,000t in 2024. By Raghav Jain LME Nickel three-month official price $/t Nickel pig iron 10-14% cif China main port duty unpaid $/t Argus NPI 10-14% cif China diff to LME Nickel $/t Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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