Critical Materials and Minor Metals
Independent pricing, news, and analysis across critical materials and minor metals markets, including hafnium, titanium, tungsten, tantalum, gallium, and other key strategic metals.
Overview
Argus provides independent pricing and market intelligence across the minor metals sector, supporting customers in markets where transparency is limited, liquidity varies widely, and supply is closely tied to byproduct production from major metals. Many of these materials also fall under the critical raw material frameworks in many countries, increasing sensitivity to policy changes, trade restrictions, and supply chain risk. For decades, Argus has been a trusted resource for companies looking for a reliable data source for pricing of critical materials outside of China.
Our coverage spans key metals including cobalt, tantalum, hafnium, titanium, tungsten, vanadium, molybdenum, gallium, germanium, indium, selenium, tellurium, magnesium, manganese, bismuth, and antimony and more, providing insight into spot price trends, regional dynamics, and technology-driven demand shifts. With a global team of market analysts across major producing and consuming regions, Argus delivers the independent perspective needed to support procurement planning, risk management, and strategic decision making in these opaque and highly politicized markets.
Argus’ critical materials and minor metals coverage is delivered through our global products, including Argus Non-Ferrous Markets, Argus Battery Materials, Argus Tungsten Analytics and Argus Rare Earths Analytics Service, giving customers a comprehensive view across specialty, technology, and critical metals markets.
Manufacturers dependent on engineered materials have additional challenges in determining the impact of critical metals on the cost of alloys they buy. Argus further supports clients with the Argus Alloy Calculator, enabling fast alloy should-cost analysis and synthetic indicative price generation to provide material value in the absence of traditional spot market assessments.
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Q&A: AMG Chrome talks US expansion
Q&A: AMG Chrome talks US expansion
Houston, 10 July (Argus) — AMG Critical Materials recently began production of chrome metal at its new plant in New Castle, Pennsylvania. Argus spoke with Kevin Lawson, president of the company's UK-based subsidiary AMG Chrome, on the expanded operations and trends in the chrome metal market. Edited highlights follow: What led AMG Critical Materials to open a chrome metal plant in the US? The key driver for us in the US is the designation of it as a critical material. We're aimed at onshoring critical materials to the US, because we foresee where the dynamic of the market is going geopolitically, and we have customers who are keen for us to invest into on-shoring and protecting their interests. What does the timeline look like for ramping up the Pennsylvania plant to full capacity? Netherlands-based AMG Critical Materials last month opened the 6,500 metric tonne (t)/yr capacity aluminothermic chrome metal production facility. We anticipate being at full capacity in the current site within the next eight weeks. At the moment, we're running one shift; everybody's new to the process and training. The key is to have control over the process. But more importantly, it's safe, and everybody's trained to a level, and then we will split them into two shifts, and thereafter it will be at capacity. Are there any noteworthy offtake agreements in place for the plant? We have many offtake agreements, but we are in deep discussion about a significant long-term offtake agreement now for the UK and US plants, and we believe it's going to require an expansion program or development of the UK and US plants. So, in terms of where we are now, potentially it could be three, four times what we need in quite short order. I'd like to keep it in the local area, because it's the industrial heartland and I think we've got a good name in New Castle and trained employees. But I think we're going to have to expand the facility we've got, because of the interest in the US market: a case of if we build it, they will come. Now we've got it, all customers understand the benefit of onshore material availability, but some markets are growing quite quickly, and they're looking to have secure volume on an offtake agreement. The interest has been quite high. The capacity of 6,500 tonnes, that's where we're running at a four-day week to get to that, and then clearly there's the option of running the other three days to ramp up again. We are looking at that. I'd like to walk before I run, get everybody trained and settled down, so that options are available quite quickly. At the moment, we're sold out in the UK, sold out in the US, which again lends itself to rapidly consider expansion. How long would it take to potentially triple or quadruple capacity? Once investment and commercial decisions are made, we could potentially fast-track this to about 18 months. What industries do you see driving chrome metal demand in 2026? The aerospace industry has become more selective in terms of their qualities and if they can get a lighter weight alloy, in terms of fuel economy of the jet engines. The fuel cell industry is a big industry now, serving the data centers, which is a new outlet for chrome, certainly not a traditional base for our market. Aerospace is growing. But fuel cell is growing somewhat exponentially. It's a massive market in terms of energy independence and being off grid, but aerospace is certainly picking up now. There was a constraint on Boeing's build rates, and that's opening up. Airbus is growing as well, so the whole aerospace market is growing, but it's not growing at the rate that we're seeing the fuel cell market. Are there any supply chain issues you anticipate that could disrupt aluminothermic chrome production, such as the war between the US and Iran disrupting aluminum supplies? There's no constraint in terms of volume on aluminum, but the premium has gone up because of some shortages in the market. So, securing the aluminum is okay. We've got our own aluminum powder plant. So in terms of getting the powder, we're self-sufficient on that, as long as we can secure the grade of aluminum. That seems to be a little tight in the market, but we've got long-term agreements so we're well covered. What constraints are you hearing from customers in the aerospace market on increasing engine outputs, a significant bottleneck for the industry? At the moment, we're actually not seeing any real constraints, we've seen the build rates going up. There's the timing in terms of obviously producing the alloy, then producing the parts and then producing the engine. We're seeing there may be little blips going on in terms of the deliveries of aircraft, in terms of the supply chain of how the materials are being pulled through. Then the build rate is good, and the order book for aerospace is very solid. By Jenna Baer Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
New EU steel quotas continue to pose questions
New EU steel quotas continue to pose questions
London, 10 July (Argus) — EU steel importers are still seeking clarity on the technicalities of the bloc's new import measures, 10 days after the regulation took effect on 1 July. Alongside significantly smaller free allocations, a key change in the new measure is the addition of a new residual quota. This quota is available on a first-come, first-served basis to countries that hold both a free trade agreement with the EU and a country-specific quota (CSQ) for a given product. But market participants noted that the EU's official legislative document lacks sufficient guidance on how the FTA-CSQ quota will be administered, with different companies having different working interpretations. The prevailing view among traders is that excess volumes in country-specific quotas cannot be automatically transferred to the FTA-CSQ category, and that many importers will have to clear the volumes they applied to customs for and pay the appropriate pro-rated duty. The exception to this would be importers in countries where customs authorities allow companies to withdraw volumes that they have applied to clear — in Italy, Spain, Portugal and Estonia. Importers in these countries will be able to remove some of their volumes from a country-specific quota and apply for clearance into the FTA-CSQ quota, some market sources understand. There is also ambiguity if the pullback mechanism is still available to importers at all, and in which countries. Other market participants have a different understanding, with one source at a major European mill suggesting that excess volumes in country-specific quotas will clear automatically into the residual quotas if there is room. Several market participants have expressed the view that the EU is likely to introduce some adjustments to its new import regulations within six months, as the legislation appears to have been drafted in a rush, being released on 30 June, the day before its implementation. At this point, member states were urged to vote on the regulation within 14 days. Perhaps for this reason, there is an unusually long blocking period for the quotas of 14 days. This means that customs are not allowed to release material into the market, although for many products the unanswered questions regarding FTA-CSQ allocations means that it is difficult to estimate the payable duties with certainty. Some suggested that should companies want to receive their material during the blocking period, they would need to pay a 50pc duty deposit. The European Commission did not respond to an Argus request for comment regarding duty calculations and volume transfers. Traders and buyers reported that enquiries sent to the commission and legal counsel have yielded no definitive clarity. By Brendan Kjellberg-Motton Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
UAE's EGA restarts alumina production at Al Taweelah
UAE's EGA restarts alumina production at Al Taweelah
Singapore, 10 July (Argus) — Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) has restarted alumina production at its Al Taweelah refinery in Abu Dhabi and expects output to reach around 50pc of the refinery's capacity within days, the company said today. Production at the Al Taweelah alumina refinery was suspended on 28 March after Iranian attacks on the Khalifa Economic Zone Abu Dhabi (KEZAD) disrupted the Al Taweelah industrial complex. The refinery expects to ramp up to 50pc of capacity within days and have the technical capability to return to full production by the end of 2026. The restart follows the resumption of hydrate production on 24 June, EGA said. Hydrate is an intermediate product in the alumina refining process. Further details such as the expected date of when the refinery will reach 50pc capacity were not disclosed. The Al Taweelah refinery produced 2.4mn t of alumina in 2025, supplying around 46pc of EGA's alumina requirements. EGA has restarted 89 of the 1,262 reduction cells at its Al Taweelah smelter in Abu Dhabi and will gradually ramp up its hot metal production as it progressively restores additional reduction cells, the company said on 2 July. Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Rhine water levels slow EU steel feedstock trade
Rhine water levels slow EU steel feedstock trade
London, 9 July (Argus) — Waterborne trade flows of steel feedstocks across central and northwest Europe have been slowed by falling water levels in the Rhine river, which has also pushed up shipping costs. Water levels fell to 78cm at Kaub as of 1pm local time today, down from 85cm at the same time yesterday and 118cm on 5 July, data from Germany's federal waterways and shipping administrations WSV show. Kaub is a key bottleneck on the Rhine and an important reference point for commercial shipping. Steel and raw material market participants have seen a direct impact on their logistics as a result, with strains on shipping and costs rising. "Low water in the Rhine means less capacities and higher freight costs," one Germany-based metals recycler said. "We're facing that vessels will [only] be able to load about 40pc of the vessel's capacity." A lot of material cannot be moved by ships, another recycler said, adding their customers are now trying to secure inflows through alternative transport means. "There are big problems receiving raw materials," one steel mill source said. "We lose a lot of trains, which get cancelled, and now we have low water in the Rhine." "Our barges can only load very low tonnages, which is very expensive," the mill source continued, adding that its raw material stocks are "very low". Waterway freight rates have risen as a direct result, with estimations ranging 40-60pc increases. Rates for shipping to Rotterdam, a major export hub for Europe, from Mannheim, in southern Germany before the Kaub bottleneck, were cited at around €38-42/t ($43-48/t) today, one market participant said. Warm weather is expected to continue, which could reduce water levels further, compounding logistic issues. Temperatures over 30 degrees Celsius are forecast for the south and the west of Germany heading into the weekend, according to the country's weather service DWD. The Rhine, which stretches over 1,200km from the Swiss Alps to the low countries, is one of Europe's busiest waterways and a crucial shipping route for steel raw materials such as scrap and coal, as well as other commodities. By Corey Aunger and Austin Barnes Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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