Trinity ships first tungsten to US

: Metals
25/10/03

US tungsten supplier Global Tungsten and Powders received its first tungsten shipment at its Towanda facility in Pennsylvania from Rwandan mining firm Trinity Metals this week.

Details pertaining to the amount of tungsten shipped to the US were not disclosed by the company in its release.

Trinity owns the Nyakabingo mine in central Rwanda — Africa's largest tungsten-producing mine, according to the company. The mine produces 100-110 metric tonnes (t) of tungsten/month.

The company was created through the merger of three privately held Rwandan companies in 2022 to consolidate critical minerals mining operations. Ireland-based critical minerals firm TechMet supports the company through equity investment.

Trinity Metals also produces tin and tantalum, with its Rutongo and Musha mines producing 40-70t/month and 30-40t/month of tin, respectively. Tantalum output was not provided.

The company signed a letter of intent with US tin alloy producer Nathan Trotter in May to build a US-Rwanda tin supply chain.

By Reagan Patrowicz

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25/11/18

Cop: Climate Club eyes green steel, cement targets

Berlin, 18 November (Argus) — Members of the Germany-initiated Climate Club plan to set production targets for green steel and cement by the next UN climate conference Cop 31, Germany's environment minister Carsten Schneider said at this year's Cop 30 in Belem, Brazil, today. Club members agreed in Belem on a global pledge to grow near-zero and low-emissions steel and cement markets, aiming to increase the global market share of green steel through national policies and international co-operation. This could "potentially" lead to setting a quantitative target for both green steel and cement by Cop 31, Schneider said at a Cop 30 side event in Belem. Schneider called this a "good example of how the Climate Club advances lead markets and strengthens the business case for climate friendly production". Cop 31 is scheduled to take place in late 2026, though a location has not yet been decided. The club today also presented a joint statement and roadmap on international assistance and partnerships for green industry transition. Work under the roadmap will focus on areas such as mobilising investments, driving demand for green products, enhancing transparency through carbon accounting, and developing and scaling aligned or harmonised green standards and definitions. The joint statement has so far been endorsed by Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Sweden and the UK, as well as by organisations including the African Development Bank, international non-profit programme the Industrial Transition Accelerator, the World Bank-backed Climate Investment Funds (CIF), the Green Climate Fund, and the International Renewable Energy Agency. Germany, the UK and the CIF jointly pledged $1.3bn at Cop 29 last year in climate finance for developing low-carbon production processes and green lead markets in developing and emerging countries. CIF chief executive Tariye Gbadegesin said at the side event today that the first seven partner countries, which include Brazil, Mexico and Turkey, may receive up to $250mn of concessional capital, to "unlock additional funding" which could be ten times higher. Green industrial products could be worth over $1 trillion by 2030, Gbadegesin said. Schneider also announced today that Germany, the UK and platform the Global Industry Hub will inject €30mn into a new "industry decarbonisation hubs accelerator", which will be facilitated by the UN's Industrial Development Organisation (Unido) to advance industrial decarbonisation projects in emerging economies. This will allow targeted funding and make decarbonisation projects "bankable", Schneider said. Schneider pointed out the "unique" nature of the Climate Club, in which developed and developing countries collaborate on finding solutions. Most industrial investments will in future be made in the so-called global south, Schneider said, and the Climate Club over the past year was able to support nine countries through its global matchmaking platform, which is run by Unido. The Climate Club now has 47 member states, with Mexico joining today. Schneider welcomed the addition of another "important country", which he said will "strengthen our joint efforts to achieve green industrialisation". The Climate Club in September launched "voluntary principles" for its member countries to address carbon leakage, the phenomenon whereby emissions sources are relocated rather than cut, stressing the need for greater transparency on emissions reporting, and for accepting that countries will pursue different climate policies. By Chloe Jardine Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

EC imposes safeguard measures on FeSi, SiMn, Mn alloys

25/11/18

EC imposes safeguard measures on FeSi, SiMn, Mn alloys

London, 18 November (Argus) — EU member states voted today to impose safeguard measures on ferro-manganese, silico-manganese, ferro-silicon, and ferro-silico-magnesium. The measures are comprised of a tariff-rate quota (TRQ) combined with out-of-quota variable duties. The out-of-quota variable duty is the difference between an established price threshold for each product, and the actual price. Silicon metal and calcium silicon were not included in the product scope of the measures despite the urging of some market participants and ferro-alloys industry association Euroalliages. The chemicals industry was strongly opposed to the inclusion of silicon metal. But Ferroglobe, a major European producer, said today it will continue to advocate for silicon metal to be included in future safeguarding measures. The measures, which take effect tomorrow, will be in place for three years. But the practical details of the measures remain unclear after a highly unusual and last-minute voting process. The vote was scheduled at the beginning of last week for 14 November. On that day the vote was postponed to 17 November, and then yesterday it was postponed once more to today. Multiple market participants are not engaging in trading as they wait to understand the situation. A senior executive at a major steel mill said they are not buying currently because of the announcement. The lack of clarity may impact purchasing decisions. "How can you buy first quarter material if you do not know if you can custom clear it?" a trader said. The measures may reshape the European ferro-alloys trading space, as larger companies will take big tonnages and some smaller companies will come under heavy pressure to maintain operations due to the additional costs they will have to bear. "This will be the end of trading as we know it, and for industry, it will be an added additional cost for no reason because they will not get any improvement on the current situation," the trader said. But the measures will likely increase price volatility, a second trader said, which provides opportunities for smaller trading companies to find profit. Norway and Iceland subject to safeguards Norway and Iceland will be subject to the duties despite being part of the European Economic Area (EEA). Every three months, the commission will consult with Norway and Iceland to review the impact of the safeguard measures, the commission said today. At a briefing in Brussels, the commission noted questions raised in Reykjavik and Oslo. But safeguards are allowed "explicitly" under the agreement between the EU, Norway and Iceland, a senior official said. Under the measures, 75pc of Norway and Iceland's traditional imports will continue to enter duty-free, based on the last three-year period. "Outside the quota, the established minimum threshold price permits additional imports, provided their prices remain at or above this established level, which is also favourable to Norway and Iceland as their prices are generally higher than those of other suppliers," an EC spokesperson said. In a statement today, Norwegian ferro-silicon and silicon producer Elkem, which exports 160,000t of ferro-silicon to the EU annually, said the measure may result in a reduction in sales volumes allocated to the EU market. But Elkem expects the reduction in sales to be compensated by increased EU market prices. A senior executive at an ex-Europe ferro-alloy producer said they will likely need to idle some capacity, as it is difficult to find good sales alternatives outside the EU. Euroalliages is opposed to the inclusion of Norway and Iceland, and urged the EC to "intensify co-operation with its EEA partners", but it welcomed the trimonthly review. But one trader, although opposed to the safeguards overall, celebrated the inclusion of Norway in the measures as essential for supporting higher prices in Europe. "Norway is by far the problem," he said of Norway's large share of EU imports annually. By Maeve Flaherty. Additional reporting by Dafydd ab Iago. Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

EU minerals policy should follow US interventionism

25/11/18

EU minerals policy should follow US interventionism

London, 18 November (Argus) — The EU needs to take bolder, more aggressive action to secure critical minerals and could follow the US in pursuing interventionist policy to achieve that goal, delegates heard this week at the Antimony Day in Brussels. The US is deploying aggressive strategies to secure critical minerals, driven by national security concerns and a need to reduce reliance on China. These measures include using the Defense Production Act for funding, establishing price floors to de-risk domestic markets and acquiring stakes in foreign mineral companies. These developments from the US should serve as a wake-up call for EU policy makers, panellists noted. "The EU needs to ensure that truly strategic projects receive financing quickly," European Initiative for Energy Security executive director Alberic Mongrenier said. To achieve this, he urged the EU to repurpose existing public funds. The EU should start negotiating offtake agreements with metals producers, Mongrenier said. The US has already secured long-term deals with companies such as Critical Metals and Ucore Rare Metals for rare earths from Greenland and Canada. Panellists noted that the EU could consider taking equity stakes in companies, mirroring the US approach. The EU could also introduce mandates that require companies to source materials from key strategic projects, both upstream and midstream. This would be particularly significant for defence, but it could also apply to other sectors, including automotive, panellists said. The EU is not ruling this out, delegates told Argus , but it is a delicate topic. "Measures like price floors, mandatory sourcing and offtake agreements are not off the table," European Commission deputy director-general of trade Denis Redonnet said. "That is a complicated decision because it requires intervening in the functioning of free markets." "But we have to think more transactionally, be more tactical, and have a unified strategy," he added. Brussels is developing the EU Resource Plan , an initiative to identify alternative sources for critical minerals. This will address many of these challenges and provide long-term solutions, Redonnet said. The proposal is being finalised and will be discussed by the commission for approval in December. By Cristina Belda Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

EU announces Al scrap export restriction

25/11/18

EU announces Al scrap export restriction

Brussels, 18 November (Argus) — The European Commission has begun preparatory work on a new measure that will ensure Europe's aluminium recycling industry has access to adequate volumes of aluminium scrap, trade and economic security commissioner Maros Sefcovic announced at the European Aluminium summit in Brussels today. "We are preparing a balanced measure to address the issue of aluminium scrap leakage," Sefcovic said, adding that the measure is likely to be adopted in spring 2026. European industry associations have been calling for such a measure for some time. These calls have grown this year after US president Donald Trump's decision to impose 25pc tariffs on imports of primary aluminium, due to the likelihood that this would lead to semi-product manufacturers in the US using more scrap metal in their production facilities as a way of avoiding the duties. European Aluminium and Aluminium Deutschland in late March called for the use of export tariffs to ensure an adequate European supply of aluminium scrap in response to increasing demand from export markets. European Aluminium repeated its call for such restrictions after Trump doubled the tariff on aluminium imports to 50pc at the end of May. Delegates and speakers at the European Aluminium summit welcomed the commission's announcement today. Paul Warton, head of Hydro's extrusions business and chair of European Aluminium, said he was "very pleased" by the announcement, while European Aluminium director-general Paul Voss called the current situation with aluminium scrap leaving Europe in greater quantities "the definition of a market failure". The EU and UK together exported around 1.6mn t of aluminium scrap in 2024, almost a quarter higher than in 2022 and around 60pc up on 2019. It is not yet clear what form the measure announced today will take, although Voss said a full ban "was never on the table". But export tariffs or quotas could be considered. The European Commission will now engage in a public consultation and seek evidence to support its eventual decision, Sefcovic said. By Jethro Wookey Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Chinese battery producers brace for EU battery passport

25/11/18

Chinese battery producers brace for EU battery passport

Beijing, 18 November (Argus) — Chinese battery producers have begun implementing measures to brace for the looming EU's battery passport scheme, which is scheduled to take effect in February 2027. "The EU's new battery regulations are no longer an optional choice for the industry but have become an entry permit for Chinese battery companies to integrate into the global market," Liang Rui, vice president of major Chinese battery producer Sunwoda, told delegates at the 10th International Summit on Battery Applications held on 16 November. The EU announced in July 2023 that it will require electric vehicle (EV) and industrial batteries with a capacity greater than 2kWh placed on the EU market to be electronically registered from 18 February 2027. This registration will take the form of a battery passport featuring an identification QR code and CE marking. The passport is a mandatory digital system designed to leverage digitalisation in steering the battery industry toward a more transparent, circular, and low-carbon future. With the passport, EV or energy storage consumers can clearly understand a battery's history and current status, including its environmental compliance and whether it originates from a responsible supply chain. But this requirement means that battery and EV companies, especially those in China, will face more compliance pressures and higher associated costs in the short term. This will also force Chinese battery firms to enhance environmental competitiveness and transform towards high-quality development. The regulation poses a systematic challenge for battery companies because it involves supply chain traceability management, compliance due diligence, improvement of recycled material utilisation rates, and implementation of carbon footprint certification, Liang said. Sunwoda established a special project team dedicated to the battery passport policy in November 2023 to ensure its European market operations remain unaffected after the new regulations take effect in 2027. Liang also highlighted that the industry continues to face challenges in complying with the EU's new regulations, including an underdeveloped system for carbon footprint accounting and certification, coupled with issues concerning data transfer and confidentiality. "Battery companies cannot achieve this goal alone, as leading global automotive customers have set a clear requirement that full life-cycle carbon emissions of power batteries must not exceed 25kg/kWh, although the reality is that upstream supply chain processes account for as much as 80pc of the total carbon footprint," Liang noted. Sunwoda is seeking to collaborate with partners across the entire industrial chain to advance energy conservation and carbon reduction through technological empowerment and jointly established standards. It shipped 16GWh and 8.9GWh of power and energy storage batteries in the first half of this year, up by 93pc and 133pc respectively from the same period in 2024. Other major Chinese battery companies such as CATL and BYD are also adapting to the new regulation by accelerating the establishment of a green evaluation standard system for battery products and conducting research on methodology and standards for battery carbon footprint. The EU is one of the major export markets for Chinese battery suppliers. China exported a total of 1.05mn t of lithium-ion batteries to Europe in 2024, accounting for 35pc of China's total battery exports that year, customs data show. Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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Trinity ships first tungsten to US

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Cop: Climate Club eyes green steel, cement targets

Cop: Climate Club eyes green steel, cement targets

EC imposes safeguard measures on FeSi, SiMn, Mn alloys

EC imposes safeguard measures on FeSi, SiMn, Mn alloys

EU minerals policy should follow US interventionism

EU minerals policy should follow US interventionism

EU announces Al scrap export restriction

EU announces Al scrap export restriction

Chinese battery producers brace for EU battery passport

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