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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Argentina’s inflation extends gains
Argentina’s inflation extends gains
Montevideo, 13 August (Argus) — Argentina's annual inflation continued to increase in July, hitting 33.8pc, another high for the year and more than three times the government target. The consumer price index (CPI) rose by 33.5pc in June from a year earlier, up from 33.2pc in May, the statistics agency Indec reported. The latest figure was down from 36.6pc in July 2025. Leading the annualized increase was housing/utility, up 48.9pc, while transportation prices were up 40.9pc, education 40pc and entertainment, 36.7pc. Food/beverages increased by 34.5pc. All the leading categories were up compared to the previous month. On a monthly basis, CPI rose by 2.1pc in June, up from 1.9pc and matching the 2.1pc May rate. It peaked at 3.4pc in March for the year. President Javier Milei's administration forecasts inflation at 10pc for the year, while the International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecasts inflation at 30.4pc this year. -By Lucien Chauvin Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Gulf war reverses fortunes for US OCTG demand
Gulf war reverses fortunes for US OCTG demand
Houston, 13 August (Argus) — US oil and gas drilling companies and rig owners have boosted their demand outlooks because of the global crude oil supply shock from the US-Iran war. US drilling contractors and oil country tubular goods (OCTG) producers now anticipate higher oil prices and increased oil and gas drilling to raise US demand in the second half of 2026, a far cry from declining rig counts and lower oil prices at the start of the year. Pipe and tube companies are bullish as crude oil prices bolstered by the war in the Middle East raise US drilling activity. The Argus West Texas Intermediate (WTI) fob Houston assessment stood at $84.82/bl on 11 August, up from $68.19/bl at the end of February and before the onset of the war. Rig contractors raise estimates Publicly traded drilling rig contractors have seen the greatest shift, as they now expect a second quarterly rig count increase. Drilling rig contractor Helmerich & Payne (H&P)'s shifting outlook reflects the war-fueled reversal of fortune in the industry. At the end of 2025, H&P lowered its rig count estimates for the first quarter because of lower oil prices and drilling activity. "Going into [2026], things felt relatively bearish, but I do think it's quite a different story right now," H&P chief financial office Todd Scruggs said. "We think this [third quarter] is a pretty good marker for where we're going to be in [2027], we actually think we will be improving from this base." But the stronger outlook remains contingent on oil prices staying elevated and the conflict not widening into a disruption that undercuts economic growth or drilling budgets. At the end of the first quarter, H&P and fellow drilling rig contractors Nabors and Patterson-UTI guided for the second quarter an average of 294-301 active US drilling rigs between them. The rig operators surpassed that outlook and exited the second quarter with an estimated 316 active drilling rigs in the US, which the companies expect to grow to an approximate 324 active rigs by the end of the third quarter. US private and independent oil and gas exploration and production (E&P) companies drove higher drilling rig demand as they capitalized on higher crude oil prices, gains that are expected to continue in the back half of the year. The US weekly active drilling rig count has held at 588 since mid July, the highest level since April 2025 and up from 539 a year earlier, according to oilfield services company Baker Hughes. Pipe producers expect US volumes to grow As more US drilling rigs activate, OCTG producers are working to take advantage of greater demand, import constraints and tight inventories. Higher US drilling activity and lower import volumes raised Vallourec's second quarter US tubular mill production and OCTG prices, chief executive Philippe Guillemot said on a 30 July earnings call. He added that US OCTG inventory levels are below five-year averages. Tenaris chief executive Gabriel Podskubka said the company's Bay City, Texas, seamless OCTG mill is running at record production levels to meet demand. OCTG prices have responded to the shortage and higher demand. The Argus Pipe Logix OCTG all items index, which reflects distributor selling prices, has climbed by $45/short ton (st) in July to $2,233/st, which is $224/st higher since the start of the year. Domestic OCTG mills have pushed about $600/st of price increases into the market and have struggled to bridge a large import supply gap despite raising production. US domestic OCTG pipe mill shipments collected by Argus and import volumes less exports from January-June are at 2.24mn st, down by about 500,000st from the same period in the prior year. OCTG supply declined solely on lower import volumes as major foreign OCTG suppliers like Austria and Taiwan are under US antidumping investigations, causing many US buyers to refrain from importing from those countries. The majority of US OCTG distributors remain optimistic that pricing will continue to rise, with the Argus OCTG distributors index at a positive reading of 86 in July, down by two points from June and the fifth consecutive positive reading. Multiple OCTG distributors reported sourcing difficulties in July for certain products that they would normally buy as imports and cannot find domestically. By Rye Druzchetta Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Australia bails out Tomago Al smelter for $1.77bn
Australia bails out Tomago Al smelter for $1.77bn
Sydney, 13 August (Argus) — The Australian federal and New South Wales (NSW) state governments have committed A$2.5bn ($1.77bn) to keep UK-Australian mining firm Rio Tinto's 590,000 t/yr Tomago aluminium smelter in NSW running until 2038. Tomago's current power supply agreement is set to expire on 31 December 2028, but the subsidy will support a 10-year power purchase agreement (PPA) for the smelter until 2038, which will be fully powered by renewable energy from 2033, Rio Tinto said on 13 August. The government funds will be used to build 3GW of new renewable generation and firming capacity, the federal government said today, finalising a promise made in late 2025 . Rio Tinto will also invest A$1.1bn of its own capital to fund the PPA, including a A$100mn allocation to decarbonise the smelter. Rio Tinto owns 51.55pc of Tomago. The remainder is controlled by Australian distributor Gove Aluminium Finance and Norwegian producer Norsk Hydro, with 36.05pc and 12.4pc respectively. Rio Tinto also operates the 39mn t/yr Weipa and 13mn t/yr Gove bauxite mines in northern Queensland, as well as the 3.95mn t/yr QAL and 1.7mn t/yr Yarwun alumina refineries near Gladstone in Queensland. Rio Tinto's 190,000 t/yr Bell Bay aluminium smelter in Tasmania also deserves similar federal support, Tasmanian premier Jeremy Rockliff said on 12 August. Federal and state governments gave A$2bn to Rio Tinto's 500,000 t/yr Boyne smelter in central Queensland in March to subsidise its operations until 2038. They have also issued billions of dollars in grants and loans to copper, steel and zinc smelters since last year. Price uncertainty Taxpayers will "receive the added benefit of a monetary return on [the] investment" if aluminium prices rise, the government said. Aluminium prices have been supported since February by supply disruption in the Mideast Gulf caused by the US-Iran war, as well as strong electric vehicle demand in China. But acute supply tightness has pushed prices higher than demand levels would normally justify, meaning that an end to the conflict may push prices down again. Prices have already dropped sharply from a peak in early June following expectations of a resolution to the war. Moreover, supply fundamentals could shift well before 2038, as Indonesia is set to almost triple aluminium production to 2.5mn t/yr by 2027. Argus -assessed London Metal Exchange aluminium cash official prices were down at $3,307.250/t on 12 August ( see graph ). By Daniel Gage-Brown Aluminium prices 2025-26 USD/t Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
China's spodumene market awaits supply-demand signals
China's spodumene market awaits supply-demand signals
Beijing, 13 August (Argus) — China's imported spodumene market has remained relatively stable on broadly balanced market fundamentals, with its direction in the coming months likely to depend on how supply and demand dynamics evolve. Argus assessed 6pc spodumene concentrate at $2,020-2,120/t cif China on 11 August, unchanged from 4 August. Prices held steady over the period, as increased supply from Zimbabwe offset the impact of higher lithium salt prices and prevented further gains. Argus launched the world's first 5-5.5pc spodumene concentrate assessment in December 2025. The assessment stood at $1,820-1,970/t cif China on 11 August, also unchanged from 4 August. The launch reflected growing demand for lower-grade material, as years of intensive mining have reduced average spodumene grades from around 5.5-6.2pc to 5-5.5pc or lower at some operations. Shipments from Zimbabwe to China have continued to recover following the country's resumption of spodumene exports in April after an export ban introduced in February. This has been reflected in higher spodumene exports from South Africa, through which a significant portion of Zimbabwean shipments is routed. South Africa exported 111,514t of spodumene in May and 110,829t in June, up from 56,506t in April, according to customs data. China's spodumene supply base is also becoming more diversified. Australia remains the country's largest supplier, while Nigeria, South Africa, Brazil, Mali and Zimbabwe have emerged as important sources in recent years. Current lithium prices are viewed by market participants as attractive enough to encourage new project development and capacity expansion. Argus -assessed battery-grade lithium carbonate prices stood at 145,000-150,000 yuan/t ex-works on 12 August, a key benchmark indicator for the wider lithium market, up by around 20pc from the start of the year. Supply is increasing as Zimbabwean shipments recover and additional capacity comes on line in other regions. At the same time, demand is also growing. The direction of spodumene prices in the coming months will largely depend on whether supply or demand expands at a faster pace, market participants said. Global lithium demand has remained robust this year, driven by continued growth in the electric vehicle (EV) and energy storage sectors. China's new energy vehicle (NEV) sales continued to rise in July, with the penetration rate reaching a record 60.4pc, supported primarily by strong export demand. Higher oil prices linked to tensions in the Middle East have continued to improve the cost competitiveness of NEVs relative to conventional internal combustion engine vehicles. Energy storage systems are also seeing rapid global deployment. The sector has been characterised by accelerating project commissioning, expanding overseas partnerships by Chinese battery manufacturers and increasing competition among battery chemistries. Global cumulative energy storage capacity reached around 280GW at the end of 2025, up by about 67pc from a year earlier, according to industry estimates. Strong downstream demand has also supported lithium chemical production. China's combined output of lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide reached 724,000t lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) in January-June, up by 26pc from a year earlier, according to data from the Lithium Branch of the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association. Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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