Steel raw materials
Complete mine-to-mill steel raw materials coverage featuring daily pricing, forecasts, news and expert analysis.
Overview
Argus provides comprehensive and independent coverage of global steelmaking raw materials markets, delivering trusted price assessments, market intelligence and analysis across iron ore, coking coal, pig iron and other critical inputs used in blast‑furnace and electric‑arc‑furnace production, supporting cost visibility and stronger insight across the steel production process.
Argus provides steelmakers, miners and traders with robust visibility into raw material cost formation across the steel production lifecycle. Daily assessments and analysis capture supply fundamentals, international trade flows, mill buying patterns as reflected in physical transactions, tenders and spot market activity, and the key pricing drivers influencing iron ore, metallurgical coal and ferrous feedstocks. This is supported by a broad set of proprietary datasets, including iron ore shipment tracking, mine project intelligence, and Asia‑Pacific coking coal and PCI deal coverage, enabling clearer insight into upstream supply conditions that shape steelmaking costs and margins.
As part of the Argus Steelmaking Raw Materials service, all benchmark prices and supplementary datasets are integrated to give clients a cohesive, end‑to‑end view of raw material markets. The service includes a suite of established benchmark indices relied upon by miners, steel mills, traders and financial participants. Key assessments include the ICX 62% Fe and ICX 61% Fe iron ore indices, the Argus Asia‑Pacific Coking Coal benchmark and the US Coking Coal price assessments—core reference points used for physical contracting, indexation and risk management across global metallurgical coal and iron ore markets. These benchmarks are complemented by Argus pricing for international ferrous scrap (available in Argus Scrap Markets), pig iron, green steel production cost calculations, and the Argus Steelmaking Raw Materials Outlook helping support strategic sourcing, hedging strategies and cost‑modeling across the global ferrous industry.
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Aerolloy Technologies to supply Ti castings to Airbus
Aerolloy Technologies to supply Ti castings to Airbus
London, 6 August (Argus) — India's Aerolloy Technologies has signed an agreement to develop and supply titanium castings to European airframer Airbus. Aerolloy — a wholly owned subsidiary of PTC Industries — will produce titanium castings for Airbus' A320neo narrowbody jet and its A330neo and A350 widebody aircraft. The castings will be fully machined and ready to fit. The agreement establishes a pathway to serial production, subject to Airbus' qualification and programme requirements. Casting provides a near net-shape product, resulting in lower scrap material generated during machining to yield a finished part. PTC did not disclose the titanium grade, component type or volume of castings, and had not responded to Argus' request for details by publication. In March 2025, Aerolloy signed an agreement with France's Safran Aircraft Engines for supply of cast engine components for CFM Leap-1A and 1B engines. The 1A variant is an engine option for the A320neo. By Samuel Wood Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
LME nickel prices fall on expectations of higher supply
LME nickel prices fall on expectations of higher supply
Singapore, 6 August (Argus) — London Metal Exchange (LME) nickel prices dipped below $17,000/t in Asian trading hours today, pressured by market expectations that Indonesian nickel ore supply could increase. There were expectations that the nickel mining quota (RKAB) for a major Indonesian nickel operation has more than trebled from its initial allocation at the start of the year. The details remain unconfirmed, but the news fuelled expectations of higher nickel supply in 2026, weighing on market sentiment and prices. The LME three-month nickel price on LMEselect, LME's electronic trading platform, and interoffice telephone market fell to $16,760/t as of 09:21 UTC, down by $369/t from the closing price of $17,114/t on 5 August. Indonesia set the 2026 nickel RKAB quota at 260mn-270mn wet metric tonnes (wmt) in February and is expected to review the figure in the third quarter. Mining companies were allowed to submit revision applications by 31 July. The ministry of energy and mineral resources (ESDM) has indicated that any increase is unlikely to be significant and that additional allocations would mainly be directed towards smelters facing ore shortages. Although uncertainty remains over the final quota level, most market participants had expected only a modest increase of around 10pc, which would raise the 2026 RKAB quota to about 290mn-300mn wmt. But the potentially substantial increase for one mine has raised concerns that the broader quota revision could be larger than expected, boosting supply and putting further pressure on prices. Earlier this week, there was also market discussions of the possibility that additional RKAB allocations would favour companies paying higher royalties. Indonesia's energy minister Bahlil Lahadalia said firms contributing larger royalty payments would receive priority because policy decisions should deliver the greatest benefit to the state and the public, according to state news agency Antara . Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Japanese firms launch Al recycling from EV batteries
Japanese firms launch Al recycling from EV batteries
Tokyo, 6 August (Argus) — Japan's Prime Planet Energy and Solutions (PPES) and its partners developed and implemented a recycling scheme of aluminium scraps generated during the production process of electric vehicle (EV) battery cells' sealing boards. PPES — an automotive battery cell manufacturing joint venture between Japanese automaker Toyota and battery producer Panasonic with 51pc and 49pc stakes respectively — has partnered with metal producer Nippon Light Metal, manufacturing firm Fuji Springs and Panasonic subsidiary Panasonic Operational Excellence to launch the closed-loop recycling scheme to turn aluminium scraps into aluminium materials for EV battery parts, PPES said on 5 August. The companies plan to reduce the use of new aluminium ingot by 200 t/yr through this recycling process. They expect to enhance the supply security of aluminium, lower procurement costs and reduce the environmental burden from mining and refining. Metal recycling is increasingly important in resource-scarce Japan because of rising demand for metals for decarbonisation technologies such as EVs and stationary batteries for renewable power, as well as potential supply instability, especially from China. Japanese firms are attempting to develop recycling technologies and enhance partnerships with domestic and overseas organisations to address this. Japanese trading house Sumitomo plans to process used lithium-ion batteries from Australia and New Zealand into an intermediate material "black mass". Japanese industry group the Battery Association for Supply Chain signed an initial agreement with the European Battery Alliance and Brussels-based industry association Recharge in September 2025 to strengthen co-operation on battery recycling. By Nanami Oki Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Critical minerals to boost Brazil's GDP: AmCham
Critical minerals to boost Brazil's GDP: AmCham
Sao Paulo, 5 August (Argus) — Brazil's critical minerals industry could add up to R192bn ($37bn) to the country's gross domestic product (GDP) by 2050, according to the US chamber of commerce (AmCham) for Brazil. AmCham Brazil, the largest overseas US-centered business association in the world, published on 4 August a study about the potential economic gains that the critical minerals industry could bring to Brazil's GDP. For that, it considered two scenarios. In the first scenario, investment would come mainly from domestic capital and critical minerals output would remain focused on exports of lower value-added products — such as spodumene ore and rare earths carbonates — with zero to no domestic downstream integration. This case would focus on increasing critical minerals production by 2050, requiring R104.8bn in investments. The added output would lift Brazil's GDP by 1.1pc, translating into a R128.6bn rise, and create 304,000 jobs. The second scenario assumes greater foreign investment, expanded mineral processing in Brazil and growing use of higher value-added critical minerals products by the domestic industry. The necessary investments to support this expansion are R120.8bn, but returns could increase Brazil's GDP by 1.6pc, or R192bn by 2050, while also creating 750,000 jobs. Vertically integrating Brazil's critical minerals industry would bring R63.4bn in GDP gains, while also boosting domestic consumption of higher value-added critical minerals products by R32.3bn, according to AmCham. The study's result aligns with Brazil president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's push to vertically integrate the critical minerals industry in Brazil, despite skepticism from the industry towards the feasibility of adding downstream plants to the country without substantial federal grants. Production increases expected AmCham also expects Brazil's critical minerals output to increase across the board, including the addition of cobalt output, which is currently non-existent in the country. AmCham expects Brazil's copper, graphite, lithium, nickel, cobalt and rare earths output to consistently grow by 2050, with rare earths and graphite experiencing the sharpest growth spurts. Brazil has the world's second-largest rare earths reserves but minimal production. AmCham expects Brazil's rare earths output to rise from 20 metric tonnes (t) in 2024 to 12,800t in 2050, a 28pc compound annual growth rate (CAGR). Graphite is also expected to increase, going from 68,000t to roughly 1.6mn t, a 12.9 CAGR. By Pedro Consoli Brazil's critical minerals production projections metric tonnes Mineral 2024 output 2050 proj. output 2024-2050 CAGR (%) Copper 527,000 894,000 2.1 Graphite 68,000 1,600,000 12.9 Lithium 10,000 133,000 10.5 Nickel 77,000 117,200 1.6 Cobalt 0 17,400 na Rare earths 20 12,800 28.2 AmCham drew its figures from 2025 studies by Brazil's international relations (CEBRI), mining technology (CETEM), and mineral (IBRAM) institutes. AmCham Brazil Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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The Argus ferrous portfolio includes over 1,600 assessments and delivers unbiased price data, reports and market commentary from across coking coal, iron ore, ferrous scrap, steel and relevant freight rates.
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