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The global metals markets are evolving rapidly, shaped by shifting supply chains, rising demand for critical minerals, geopolitical uncertainty, and increasing price volatility across ferrous, non‑ferrous and emerging technology metals. Argus provides independent metals pricing, trusted benchmarks and actionable market intelligence that give mining companies, metal producers, traders, manufacturers and recyclers the clarity and confidence they need to navigate increasing cost exposure, manage risks and make data-driven decisions.
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Latest metals news
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Vietnam's first Al smelter starts production
Vietnam's first Al smelter starts production
Singapore, 14 July (Argus) — Vietnam's first primary aluminium smelter, the Dak Nong smelter located in the Nhan Co Industrial Park in Dak Nong province, produced its first batch of metal in early July, market sources familiar with the matter told Argus . The facility has a first-phase nameplate capacity of 150,000 t/yr . A second phase is expected to increase capacity to 300,000 t/yr in early 2027, before the smelter reaches its full design capacity of 450,000 t/yr in late 2027 or 2028. Vietnam is a key alumina producer in southeast Asia, supported by its abundant bauxite reserves. The country exported 1.37mn t of alumina in 2025, according to Vietnam customs data and Global Trade Tracker. The project marks a significant step in Vietnam's efforts to develop an integrated aluminium value chain spanning bauxite mining, alumina refining, and primary aluminium smelting. The commissioning of the Dak Nong facility could increase domestic consumption of alumina and reduce the country's reliance on imported primary aluminium. Market participants are waiting for the smelter to begin offering metal to the spot market, traders said. It remains unclear when commercial volumes will become available as the facility continues its ramp-up phase. The Dak Nong smelter is owned by Tran Hong Quan Metallurgical. Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Australia's Gladstone coal exports rise in FY2025-26
Australia's Gladstone coal exports rise in FY2025-26
Sydney, 14 July (Argus) — Australian producers exported 69.6mn t of coal from Gladstone port — Australia's largest coking coal export hub — in the financial year from July 2025 to June 2026, up by 8.3pc on the year as weaker demand from China and Vietnam was offset by stronger shipments to India and South Korea. The outlook for Australia's 2026 coking coal exports has been buoyed by favourable demand and price expectations . An El Nino event, which typically brings dry conditions across Queensland and limits rain-related disruptions, should aid supply over the next few months. Producers shipped 19.8mn t of coal to South Korea from Gladstone, up by 57.7pc on the year as South Korea sought to boost its stockpiles in early 2026, latest port data show. South Korea ramped up its coal procurement over January-April 2026 to accumulate stocks in response to the US-Iran war. Gladstone's coal shipments to South Korea were up by 179pc and 189pc, respectively, in April and May 2026 compared to the previous year, port data show. South Korea's finance ministry created a 400bn won ($277.48mn) export supply chain guarantee fund in November 2025 for the country's steelmakers, which could have contributed to coking coal demand. Higher automotive sector demand also supported the outlook for country's steelmakers in 2026. Producers shipped 12.7mn t of coal to India from Gladstone, up by 7.8pc on the year. Indian steelmakers have shifted away from Australian coal in preference for cheaper alternatives from Russia, Mozambique and the US. But the country's demand for seaborne coking coal is expected to ramp up as it aims to double its steel production capacity to 300mn t/yr by 2030, and reach 500mn t/yr by 2047. Gladstone's coal shipments to Vietnam fell by 6.2pc on the year to 3.8mn t over July 2025-June 2026. But steel demand in India and Southeast Asia is expected to grow over the medium term due to urbanisation, population growth, ongoing infrastructure and housing programmes, and growth in steel-intensive manufacturing, Australian government commodity forecaster the Office of the Chief Economist (OCE) said. Producers shipped 7.1mn t of coal from Gladstone to China, down by 30.5pc on the year. Chinese steelmakers' demand for Australian coking coal fell in 2025 due to high prices and occasional supply concerns. Chinese steelmakers are importing more coking coal from Mongolia and Russia due to their competitive pricing. Mongolian coal continues to attract Chinese end buyers due to its stable supply, logistics, and favourable pricing compared with other seaborne cargoes. Argus last assessed the price of hard coking coal fob Australia at $189.1/t on 13 July and premium hard low-vol coking coal fob Australia at $231/t on 13 July. By Emma Partis Gladstone export data mn t Destination Jul '25 - Jun '26 Jul '24 - Jun '25 YTD % ± China 7.1 10.2 -30.5 India 12.7 11.8 7.8 Japan 19.8 18.1 9.6 South Korea 15.6 9.9 57.7 Vietnam 3.8 4 -6.2 Total 69.6 64.3 8.3 *Total includes countries not listed Source: Gladstone Port Data Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Canada oil sands deal advances Pathways CO2 project
Canada oil sands deal advances Pathways CO2 project
Calgary, 13 July (Argus) — Alberta's largest oil sands producers have struck a trilateral memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the provincial and federal governments to advance a major carbon capture project and potentially end years of negotiations. The Oil Sands Alliance is moving forward with the Pathways project in northeast Alberta that will capture 6mn metric tonnes/yr by January 2035. The group is comprised of Canadian Natural Resources, Cenovus, Suncor, Imperial Oil and ConocoPhillips Canada. Together they represent about 95pc of Canada's oil sands production. The first phase of the proposed Pathways initiative would divert carbon dioxide (CO2) from 13 oil sands facilities in the Fort McMurray, Christina Lake and Cold Lake regions of the province to an underground storage hub in the Cold Lake area. More than 650km (400 miles) of pipeline would be required and the Oil Sands Alliance must make best efforts to procure it from Canadian suppliers. Another 10mn metric tonnes/yr of emissions reductions would be achieved through future Pathways expansions, with half of that increase coming by 2040 and the balance by 2045. A cost estimate was not provided by the Oil Sands Alliance, but Cenovus chief executive Jon McKenzie estimated in June that it could be as much as C$30bn ($21bn). Canada is offering investment tax credits for capital expenditures related to carbon capture, utilization and storage, and is planning to legislate investment tax credits for enhanced oil recovery related carbon capture. Definitive agreements between the oil sands members and the two levels of government are expected by 15 November this year. Broadly, the trilateral agreement lays out a shared goal of expanding market access, increasing oil production, reducing emissions and engaging with indigenous groups. As such, Pathways is tied to the proposed 1mn b/d oil pipeline to greater Vancouver, British Columbia, that was announced earlier this month and was referred to the federal Major Projects Office for potential fast-tracking. The planned West Coast Oil Pipeline (WCOP) will follow a similar route as the Trans Mountain system and is led by Canada and Alberta, with Pembina Pipeline owning a 10pc stake. WCOP is estimated to cost as much as C$44bn. By Brett Holmes Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Rock Tech advances transatlantic battery supply
Rock Tech advances transatlantic battery supply
Houston, 13 July (Argus) — Canadian-German lithium developer Rock Tech Lithium is stepping up its upstream investment in Ontario while applying an infrastructure-style financing model to its planned lithium hydroxide converters, chief executive Mirco Wojnarowicz told Argus in an interview. Rock Tech began as a spodumene explorer in Ontario but has spent recent years focused on downstream conversion, with its planned Guben converter in Germany and a second plant planned at Red Rock, Ontario. The mining side is now back in focus, however. "We have not done a lot of work on that in the last two years. Now we are focusing on it again," Wojnarowicz said. "We are even acquiring new exploration projects so that we increase our resource base." Georgia Lake anchors integrated Canadian chain Rock Tech's flagship mining asset is the Georgia Lake project, about 160km northeast of Thunder Bay, Ontario. The project is a modest deposit of roughly 14mn-15mn metric tonnes (t) grading around 0.9pc Li₂O, planned as an open-pit and underground operation over a nine-year mine life. A pre-feasibility study outlines production of about 100,000 t/yr of SC6 spodumene concentrate, from which the company intends to supply around 40pc of feed for the Red Rock converter. The project sits on ground first explored in the 1950s, with direct access to the Trans-Canada Highway and a power line running into the mine site. "Because of all that, permitting is very well advanced, and we see Georgia Lake positioned to be first to market in Ontario," Wojnarowicz said, noting the claims-to-lease process is complete with final environmental assessment steps under way. On 22 June, the company announced an option to acquire the Victory project, a 9,875-hectare exploration property between Dryden and Kenora, also in Ontario, hosting two spodumene-bearing pegmatite occurrences. "It's early stage, but the grade is what's very interesting," Wojnarowicz said. The more-advanced Last Resort pegmatite is about 30m wide with grab samples of up to 5.1pc Li₂O, while the Bounty occurrence, a 60m wide pegmatite, has returned samples up to 3.5pc Li₂O. Georgia Lake is 100pc owned, while Victory is held under option to acquire a 100pc interest, with no mining-level partners. GP/LP structure unlocks infrastructure capital Rock Tech is applying a general partner/limited partner (GP/LP) structure — common in real estate and investment funds but rare for industrial plants — to its Red Rock converter, after transferring the design of the Guben plant to Canada to build an integrated model with its Ontario mines. "One of the challenges we had in Germany is that infrastructure investors are not happy to invest into a chemical refinery, because they don't want to be part of the operation," Wojnarowicz said. "They want a kind of separation." Rock Tech has secured a C$200mn ($147mn) anchor commitment from Canadian industrial infrastructure firm BMI Group as lead limited partner. "We definitely take the majority in the general partnership, so we maintain operational control," Wojnarowicz said. "As the general partner, we receive management fees and royalties because we bring in the IP. We also maintain a stake in the limited partnership — there it is not necessary to maintain a majority — and for that stake we receive dividends." The model also accelerates returns, he said. "It gives us first cash flows for the project when we start construction, which is much better than waiting two years until you ramp up," he said. Back-to-back index pricing protects margins The 24,000 t/yr Guben converter has a binding offtake with Mercedes-Benz for 10,000 t/yr of battery-grade lithium hydroxide — about 40pc of nameplate capacity — with spodumene feedstock contracted through trading firm C&D Logistics. Under the offtake, Mercedes-Benz carries the payment obligation but directs delivery destinations within its battery supply chain. Contract pricing details are not public, but the structure is index-based, with feedstock purchases referenced to the same index as hydroxide sales. "Both prices are discovered the same way and they float together, which gives us a relatively secure margin," Wojnarowicz said. "Of course, in low-priced environments the absolute margin is less, but the relative margin stays sustained." Hedging options remain limited, Wojnarowicz said, with spodumene futures liquidity "very low", although CME lithium hydroxide volumes are better. China's Guangzhou Futures Exchange is more liquid and is opening access to non-Chinese participants. RTT Lithium, Rock Tech's 50:50 Geneva-based joint venture with trading house Transamine, handles paper hedging. The Guben plant is designed to blend spodumene from up to two sources at a time — Canadian, Australian or African — using an on-site blending facility, while Rock Tech's Red Rock lithium converter facility in Ontario would take Georgia Lake concentrate at an internal transfer price. On product choice, Wojnarowicz dismissed calls for Western carbonate capacity. "The reality is there is no real industrial-scale producer in the Western world — that knowledge is basically sitting in China," he said. "In Europe, hydroxide is still okay. In Canada, we will finalize it during the definitive feasibility study. I think both products make sense." Storage demand outshines EVs Wojnarowicz is currently more excited about battery energy storage than electric vehicles (EVs), he says. "We are not talking about consumers anymore, we are talking about infrastructure, so the growth rates are much more interesting," he said, estimating that EVs account for about 60pc of lithium demand, with energy storage at 30pc and the remainder including defense. "I see quite reasonable growth in demand. The question is what the supply response will be," he said. Beyond automotive, Rock Tech has a cooperation with cathode producer Ronbay Technology, whose plant in Konin, Poland, sits about 300km from Guben. "For us, a cathode producer is the more natural offtake partner, given its position further downstream in the battery materials value chain," Wojnarowicz said, describing the Mercedes-Benz deal as a strategic move by the automaker. "But we will only secure these additional contracts once our projects are more advanced." By Carol Luk Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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