Steel raw materials
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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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No value in making copper cathodes in Brazil: Vale
No value in making copper cathodes in Brazil: Vale
Brasilia, 12 June (Argus) — There is no value in making copper cathodes in Brazil, as producing red-metal concentrate already aggregates most of the gains a producer can have, a spokesperson for Vale Base Metals (VBM) said at a market event on 10 June. Concentrate aggregates 90-94pc of the value in copper's supply chain, leaving little gains in moving further downstream and producing copper cathodes, said VBM's corporate affairs director José Luiz Marques at the event organized by Brazil's mining institute Ibram. Marques explained that, especially in a high-price environment such as today's, VBM is already maximizing value through copper concentrate production. "When copper demand rises, treatment and refining charges (TC/RC) plunge, which is good for concentrate producers," Marques said, explaining that VBM prices its concentrate based on a formula consisting on London Metal Exchange figures, minus TC/RC fees and specific discounts depending on impurities. This means that the lower the processing fees, the higher the price of the concentrate. "It is a great time to be a copper miner these days," he said during a panel at the Ibram event. The costs to implement a smelter are very high, so there is not enough value added over the concentrate to make an investment worthwhile, according to Marques. "The aggregated value of copper concentrate needs to be around 60-65pc to make copper cathodes a valuable addition to Vale," he said, noting that few jurisdictions are able to profit from smelting. Criticism of Brazil's critical minerals bill Brazil's critical minerals bill , which considers all mineral resources and commercial partners equal, should have looked at copper through a different lens, Marques argued. Marques argued that copper has a much more established and liquid market than all other critical minerals, which should have been accounted for in the bill. Half of the bill's financial benefits are contingent on companies "processing and transforming" critical minerals in Brazil. As VBM and other local copper producers stand to gain little value in doing so, they could be prevented from accessing over R5bn in tax credits in a five-year period. VBM is slated to invest $10bn in the next 10 years in Carajás, its flagship copper asset. VBM's Marques also argued that the bill does not cover the most-needed improvement for Brazilian critical mineral producers: celerity. "It takes an average of 17 years to start-up a copper project in Brazil, and in 15 years the world will be in a supply deficit, so the numbers don't match," he said. "Only with celerity and agility in bureaucratic processes will Brazil be able to compete in the global copper industry." He noted that China added one-third of its smelting capacity in the last 10 years as a successful example of agile processes. Marques echoed the criticisms of fellow panelists at the Ibram conference, who pointed to slow environmental licensing and little predictability with bureaucratic processes, especially regarding timelines. By Pedro Consoli Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Western Australia backs 450,000 t/yr EAF steel mill
Western Australia backs 450,000 t/yr EAF steel mill
Sydney, 12 June (Argus) — Western Australia's (WA) state Labor government is set to invest A$9.8mn ($6.9mn) in Generation Steel, supporting the company's planned Collie electric arc furnace (EAF) mill, which will produce 450,000 t/yr of rebar from recycled scrap. The state funds will be matched by Generation and go towards completing pre-development activities after a bankable feasibility study confirmed the project's viability, WA premier Roger Cook said on 12 June. The pledge follows a previous A$4.5mn commitment from the government for the facility. WA issued an expression of interest for offtake-ready low-emission steel products in November 2025. Generation, previously known as Green Steel of WA, is targeting a final investment decision by late 2026, with construction starting shortly afterwards and first steel production within 24 months. The Collie EAF is set to be the state's first steel mill and the first new steel mill to be constructed in Australia in more than 30 years. The state's Pilbara region is the world's largest source of iron ore — the most critical input of steel manufacturing. Australian methane pyrolysis developer Hazer signed a letter of intent with Generation in March to supply up to 85,000t of graphite over a 10-year term, for use in the EAF. By Tom Major Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Brazil far from critical mineral processing
Brazil far from critical mineral processing
Brasilia, 11 June (Argus) — Brazil remains far from processing critical minerals domestically despite President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's push for greater capabilities, market participants estimate. Lula has championed critical mineral processing in Brazil since at least November. The debate gained prominence in recent months after his administration clashed with the US over this issue, as Lula has grown less flexible and making local processing a key condition to sign bilateral critical minerals agreements . Brazil's lower house approved on 7 May a critical minerals bill that aims to grant incentives to miners who process and refine volumes domestically, further increasing the topic's importance. Despite discussions on vertical integration, Brazil is far from processing at an scale, industry members said at a seminar on critical minerals hosted by national mining institute Ibram in the capital of Brasilia. "We are still unable to produce at sufficient scale to even consider this subsequent stage," national mining secretary Ana Paula Bittencourt said, noting that the gap between reserves and production remains wide. Brazil holds 24-25pc of global critical mineral reserves but produces less than 1pc, according to Brazil's economics ministry. Ibram says Brazil holds 10pc of global reserves of critical minerals, as the two groups have different definitions for critical minerals. Bittencourt said Brazil needs to speed up bureaucracy and improve geological knowledge to strengthen the mining industry. This could attract elements necessary to scale up production, such as credit lines and capital. Technical capacity Even with higher output, Brazil would need to train its workforce in critical mineral processing and develop technology to handle different minerals. Pedro Henrique Guerra, chief of staff at the vice-presidency, told the panel that each critical mineral has distinct market traits and price cycles. "We need technology and research to qualify our workforce," Bittencourt said. "We are looking for credit and funding mechanisms to back the technology development necessary to advance in supply chains for each mineral." Brazilian miners are skilled in extraction, but lack expertise in processing critical minerals, especially rare earths. "It is extremely difficult to find engineers capable of working on industrial production of rare earth magnets," researcher Fernando Landgraf said on a separate panel, where speakers noted that China holds a firm monopoly on this front. Pablo Cesario, Ibram's acting president, said Brazil needs to develop the technology but cannot achieve this without international partnerships. Legislative, operational bottlenecks The minerals bill, aimed at bringing clarity to the sector, could face delays despite expedited approval in the lower house and its move to the senate. Congressmen Jose Silva and Arnaldo Jardim, the bill's author and rapporteur, respectively, expressed confidence that it will pass the senate without major changes, ideally before October elections. But a senate official told Argus at the sidelines of an industry conference on 9 June that there is no timeline for a decision. Several major policies are pending in the senate, with the critical minerals bill awaiting prioritization by senate president Davi Alcolumbre, the official said. Brazilian will vote on 54 of 81 senate seats in October's election, alongside a large congressional reshuffle. Delaying a decision could present new roadblocks to the bill, which is urgently expected by stakeholders. "We need to sort this out before the elections, otherwise we will need to restart the debate with the newly elected group," Ibram president Pablo Cesario said. In addition to the legislative bottleneck, national mining agency ANM is about 60pc understaffed, with only four employees in its critical minerals division and 15,000 economic plans pending analysis agency-wide, according to its director-general. The ANM is responsible for managing and guaranteeing the safe usage of the country's mineral resources. By Pedro Consoli Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
US wholesale inflation surges to 6.5pc in May
US wholesale inflation surges to 6.5pc in May
Houston, 11 June (Argus) — US wholesale inflation surged to an annual 6.5pc in May, led by an energy price spike unleased by the Mideast Gulf war. Prices paid to US producers (PPI) rose to its highest level since November 2022 from an annual 5.7pc in April and 4.3pc in March, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) . Economists surveyed by Trading Economics forecast a median PPI gain of 6.4pc. Wholesale prices started the year at 3.1pc. So-called core PPI, which strips out more volatile food and energy, rose by a more moderate 4.9pc in May, matching its gain in April. On a monthly basis, May marked a second month of 1.1pc PPI inflation, following 0.7pc in March and 0.5pc in February. Core PPI rose by 0.4pc on the month. "This PPI report shows an intensifying shock to goods prices and an uptick in underlying services prices too," Pantheon Macroeconomics said in a note. "We continue to think that inflation will fall sharply around the turn of the year, as growth in wages and rents continues to slow, and as tariff-related price rises continue to drop." The PPI report comes one day after the BLS reported that the consumer price index (CPI) rose by an annual 4.2pc in May, the highest gain in three years. Futures markets show a 98pc probability the Federal Reserve will hold its target rate unchanged at its 17 June policy meeting, with nearly 70pc odds of at least a quarter-point increase by the end of the year. PPI for goods rose by an annual 10.4pc in May following a gain of 7.4pc in April. PPI for services rose by 4.9pc. Energy PPI rose by 36.6pc in May following a 22.7pc gain in April. Energy for export rose by 72.3pc in May following a 50pc increase in April. PPI for finished consumer energy goods rose by 30pc in May after rising 17.8pc in April. Food PPI rose by 2.6pc in May following a 2.2pc gain in April By Bob Willis Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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